While this wasn’t the best year for my food blogging, it was definitely a great year for eating (being home *all the time* makes it a heck of a lot easier to cook every day doesn’t it). See below the tasty things I want to remember, replicate, and enjoy again in 2021.
1. An at-home feast created by Chef Luke
As a result of the pandemic, the hyper creative and oh-so funky Luke Hayes transformed his supper club creations into weekly menus that could be ordered for pick up and delivery. The first menu I tried—as a 30th birthday treat—was his three course Latin American inspired menu. It started with cheesy pupusas; moved along to pork, rice, and plantain with mojo sauce; and ended with rich and citrusy tres leches cake. If you’re in the Toronto area, I highly recommend signing up for his newsletter for weekly updates about what he’s cooking.
2. From a patio straight to Rome: an evening out at Ascari Enoteca
When I planned this night out, I was hoping to have something to celebrate. In the end, I was runner-up for a job I was hoping to snag after a series of interviews and assignments the week prior; sometimes it has to be enough just to celebrate your progress. Jamie and I ate, drank, laughed, made a toast to all my hard work in the job hunt and had the absolute best burrata of our lives—the ultimate use of summer-fresh tomatoes.
3. This breeze of an appetizer
I didn’t do a lot of recipe creation this year. As of March, I was suddenly cooking for more than just myself, so I stuck to tried and true meals as well as new recipes from a range of sources. The major exception were quick snacks that came together without any cooking required, like this quick, yet a little fancy, peach and prosciutto plate. Simply take juicy, in-season peaches, wrap them in thinly sliced prosciutto, and garnish with toasted pine nuts and a generous amount of freshly grated parmesan. If you’re still looking for NYE nibbles, give this one a try.
4. The hybrid dessert of my dreams
Before moving to Leslieville, I spent four years a little further north in East York, where you can’t help but fall in love with all the Greek bakeries. While I am particularly fond of Select Bakery just around the corner from my former apartment, a recent trip to Serano Bakery finally made me realize why it’s the go-to place to pick up loukoumades for a neighbourhood potluck or a scoop of gelato on a humid afternoon. Just before Halloween, I came home with a slice of baklava cheesecake. It’s literally baklava on top of cheesecake. A simple, yet perfect formula not to be tampered with. Head over to Pape Ave. if it makes its way into your dreams too.
5. A decadent pasta from the pantry
This was nominated by Jamie as a standout dinner from 2020. Using a basic cream sauce as a foundation—similar to the one in my Creamy Lemon-Tarragon Pasta—I added canned clams for something different. To be honest, we didn’t know what else to do with those canned clams… we assumed they were whole, but they were actually chopped. With a generous helping of lemon, parmesan, fresh pepper, and parsley, that humble pantry item yielded some pasta alchemy. This dish will definitely go into heavy rotation in 2021.
with abundance 