Growing up, I always thought of parchment paper as something people wrote letters on. It involved a fountain pen and a blotter. It was all very romantic but had nothing to do with chocolate chip cookies and poached salmon.

Times changed. Parchment crept into professional kitchens and elbowed its way into gourmet magazines. Confused, I asked my mother about it. She dismissed culinary parchment as an unnessessary money grab. Aluminum foil, waxed paper and plastic wrap were inexpensive and easy to get. Why on earth would she need parchment? Having survived the Great Depression, my mother is extremely pragmatic. She calls BS on products that dazzle fanciful people like me. She is seldom wrong. But when it comes to parchment, I think she’s living in the Dark Ages. Sorry, Mom. I hate to say it, but you’re wrong.

Coated with a thin film of silicone, culinary parchment is a non-stick, oven-safe, moisture-resistant culinary workhorse. It’s replaced my waxed paper completely. Even my eager plastic wrap is feeling neglected. And the aluminum foil? It can’t wait for the hot weather. Nowadays it’s called upon only for the grill.

I’ve been using PaperChef for a couple of years now. They recently sent me some samples to try out. I obliged. While it’s not ideal for letter-writing, parchment is indispensable in my kitchen. It’s right up there with my microplane and beloved French rolling pin. Here are 10 reasons I believe parchment products deserves a spot in your cramped pantry.

1. It’s user-friendly: Ignore the watermark. It’s branding, not an indication of which side to use. Unlike aluminum foil, either side is the right side. As far as handling goes, if you can tear off a sheet of aluminum foil or waxed paper, you can deal with parchment. PaperChef makes pre-cut sheets. If these appeal, be sure to check your pan size first. The sheets don’t fit my pans, but are still very handy for counter work.
2. It’s compostable and 100% recyclable: Our municipality earmarks waxed paper for landfill. Parchment paper, however, can be disposed of with the compostables. I feel no guilt tossing used parchment. Plastic wrap on the other hand? I apologize to future generations.
3. It’s reusable: As long as the item you’re cooking isn’t too wet, you can get a second or even third use out of a sheet of parchment. Think kale chips, cookies and granola. Fish? Not so much.
4. It works in heat: Because parchment can take indirect heat up to 425°F,  you can bake cakes or roast meat and vegetables without fear. But it is paper, so keep it away from the broiler or stovetop elements.
5. It works in cold: Moisture-resistant parchment withstands temperature fluctuations better than waxed paper. Use it to roll chilled items like icebox cookies or herb butter. Place a piece of parchment between hamburger patties, waffles, or squares before they go into the freezer. The food will divide easily and the parchment divider won’t tear.
6. It saves clean-up time:  While parchment doesn’t actually wash the dishes, it might save you the effort. No more chiselling cookies off baking sheets or leaving portions of cake in the bottom of the pan. And lasagna? Say good-bye to overnight soaks. Just line and lift. It also reduces prep mess. You won’t need cooking sprays and will never have to grease and flour straight-edged cake tins again. Convoluted bundt pans are another story.
7. It prevents spills: Parchment won’t defy gravity, but it can help you lift items from the pan more easily. Let the parchment overhang the edges to form a makeshift handle. Then simply lift the baked goods out. Bonus: When baking granola, fold the parchment lining into a funnel for easy pouring.
8. It saves your pans: Think of parchment as a protective layer. Since I’ve started using parchment my pans have stopped aging dramatically. Maybe PaperChef should branch into skin care.
9. You can write on it: Grab a Sharpie. The ink won’t soak through or smudge once dried. Label what you’ve wrapped. Trace your pan to cut a perfectly shaped lining. Or draw rounds for uniform meringues. (Just flip the parchment over before you pipe. You can see the outline but the food won’t touch the ink.) Wrap a sandwich and write a love note to embarrass your kids — or delight your husband. No fountain pen or blotter needed.
10. It takes many shapes: PaperChef sells parchment rolls, muffin cups, pre-cut sheets, and en papillote bags. If you have limited pantry space, keep a roll on hand. You can bend parchment to your will — or at least fold it into useful shapes. You can cut it to fit any shape or size of pan (see #9), form your own muffin cups (picture below), fold it into serving cones for snacks like popcorn, or make a disposable piping bag.

There. Ten reasons to use parchment. I’m not sure if I’ve convinced my mom. She’s a tough sell. Have I convinced you? If you’re already a convert, how do you use parchment?

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I know better than to go shopping without a list. I have at least three iPhone apps to help me compile them. Pads of paper cling to the fridge simply so I can jot  down items as I deplete their inventory. Lists prevent wastage, overstocking and second (even third) trips to the store. I advise others to always bring a list. I know about the dangers of wandering well-stocked aisles without a plan. So what did I do?

I went grocery shopping without a list.

I only needed three things. Three simple items. I’m smart. I have a pretty good memory. Just this once, I didn’t take a list.

Two items in? My mind went blank. I was this close. This close to pulling off the elusive list-free grocery trek. I stood at the cheese counter and stared at the tubs of feta. Nothing.

“Can I help you?” the young man behind the counter asked. I wanted to tell him I was beyond help. Instead, I shook my head. “I forgot my list.”

“Ooooh.” He shook his head and added a shrug.

I’ll see your shrug and add a sigh.

“Walk around the store,” he said. “That might help.”

As I turned, I suddenly remembered. “Asparagus!” I said this a little too loudly. He pointed to the produce section. “I want to make an asparagus and mushroom tart. I need cheese. Got any smoked Gouda?”

“No…” Even a list wouldn’t have helped.

“…But I have a really nice red wine aged cheddar.”

Wine. The answer to so many of life’s little problems. I took it. It was wonderful.

Not only did I use up the last of the phyllo from Ivy’s Pistachio Baklava Crisps, I got to try a new cheese. And I can boast that I shopped without a list. Yup, I winged it. And won.

Lists. Who needs ‘em? Only chumps use lists. Yeah. Chumps with a good cheese counter.

Asparagus, Mushroom and Red Wine Cheddar Tart

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Serves	4 as appetizer, 2 as main
Prep time	15 minutes
Cook time	20 minutes
Total time	35 minutes
Dietary	Egg-Free, Vegetarian
Meal type	Appetizer, Main Dish
Misc	Seasonal-Spring
By author	Charmian Christie

This asparagus and mushroom tart can be served as a main for a light dinner or as an appetizer. Either way, serve with plenty of napkins.

Ingredients

• 8 sheets phyllo (or 1 sheet commercial puff pastry)
• 1 tablespoon oil or butter (more if using phyllo)
• 12 to 18 large asparagus spears, washed and with tough ends snapped off
• 3 large cremini mushrooms, sliced
• 2 large scallions, sliced in rounds
• 2 to 3 ounces red wine aged cheddar, grated (about a generous 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup - less is good as this cheese is sharp)
• 2 to 3 sprigs fresh thyme (lemon thyme if you have it)
• fresh ground black pepper

Directions

Prepare and prebake the pastry:

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line a rimmed 10- X 15-inch baking sheet with parchment. If using phyllo, place a single sheet on the parchment and brush with oil or melted butter. Be sure to keep a damp towel on top of the unused sheets to prevent them from drying out. Repeat layering phyllo and brushing with oil or melted butter until you have used 8 sheets (refreeze unused portion for another use). If the sheets overhang the pan, scrunch them inside the pan's rim to form a ridge. If using puff pastry, roll the pastry to 10- X 12-inches and place on the parchment. Using a sharp knife, gently score the pastry all the way around 1 inch from the outside edge. Don't cut all the way through. Prick the pastry inside the scored margin all over with a fork. Bake for 8 minutes.

Prepare the vegetables:

While the pastry bakes, sauté the scallions over medium-high heat until soft. Add the mushrooms and continue to cook until they soften but don't weep. Transfer to a plate. Using the oil left in the pan, sautée the asparagus spears for 2-3 minutes, until they are bright green and not quite tender.

Assemble the tart:

Sprinkle the scallions and mushrooms over the pastry. If using puff pastry, stay inside the edge. Top with half the cheese. Strip the leaves from the thyme sprigs and sprinkle evenly over the cheese. Place the asparagus on top, alternating tip directions. Top with remaining cheese. Add a good grinding of black pepper, if you like.

Finish baking

Return the tart to the oven and bake another 10 to 15 minutes or until the pastry is golden and the cheese is melted and bubbling. Cut the tart with a pizza wheel or sharp chef's knife. Serve immediately.

Note

I used phyllo left over from the Ivy Manning's Pistachio Baklava Crisps. Phyllo is incredibly light but very shattery. Puff pastry is more robust. Take your pick. Either way, you'll need a napkin.

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One rainy summer day, unable to build blanket forts on the climbing bars or soar through the sprinkler on a tire swing, I decided my younger sister and I should do some baking. “Baking” meant raiding Mom’s pantry and dumping everything within reach into a bowl. Raisins, nuts, vinegar, flour, icing sugar, food colouring… There was no final dish in mind, just some frenzied sort of let’s-see-what-will-happen culinary experiment. If it looked interesting, we threw it onto the heap. Then stirred.

Mom arrived just as I was emptying a bottle of rainbow sprinkles. For some reason she was angry. Mom Mad. Mad enough to scold us. Mad enough to snatch the wooden spoon from my hand. Maybe even mad enough to break that spoon. Banished from the kitchen, my sister was in tears and sheepish. Me? I was right royally miffed. If I’d been given more time I could have made something good. Something really good.

Today, scarred by the incident, my sister would rather scoop kitty litter than cookies. As ringleader, I blame myself. This recipe is my attempt to make amends. When I saw Faith Durand, executive editor of The Kitchn, wrote an entire cookbook about bakeless sweets, I got a copy thinking her innovative, well-tested recipes would lure my baking-hating sister back to the stove. In my enthusiasm, I forgot she’s temporarily off dairy. And gluten.

But no worries, Faith has me covered. The book has more than 100 recipes that just happen to be gluten-free. Many also skip the dairy. Her Scarlet Rose and Berry Pudding does both. Drawing from many international inspirations, this dessert is a cross between a traditional Danish pudding and the classic British flummery, with a Middle Eastern aromatic stirred into the mix. But without cream or butter did the recipe deliver? In spades.

My sister, itching for a real dessert, loved the full-on flavour and creamy texture. My raspberry-fiend of a father was thrilled with what wasn’t there —pesky seeds. Mom love the colour. I was so pleased with the pudding I decided it deserved  more than $5 factory-end prop dishes. For the first time since they came into my possession, I dusted off my grandmother’s wedding crystal. There are only 5 glasses left in the set. Afraid of breaking them, I keep them hidden in the back of a cupboard. Out of harm’s way. Safe.

It was time to use them.

What would my grandmother have thought of all this? I believe she would have taken one bite and asked for the pudding recipe. Then she would have looked me straight in the eye and asked, “Why on earth haven’t you been using these lovely glasses? Why have nice things when you don’t use them?” I ask myself, “Why let cheap, replaceable dishes serve my best memories?”

My turn to be sheepish. I promise to use them more often. Cross my heart.

But in my defence, I was waiting until I’d made something good. Something really good.

Dairy-Free Berry Pudding with Whipped Cream

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Serves	8
Prep time	5 minutes
Cook time	15 minutes
Total time	20 minutes
Dietary	Dairy-Free, Gluten-Free, Healthy Choice, Vegetarian
Meal type	Dessert
Misc	Serve Cold

This dairy-free berry pudding can be made year round with either fresh berries in season and frozen berries any time.

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 large egg yolks
• 10 ounces strawberries or mixed berries, fresh or frozen (thawed)
• 10 ounces raspberries, fresh or frozen (thawed)
• 6 tablespoons sugar
• 1 lemon, juiced (about 3 tablespoons)
• 1 teaspoon rosewater (I used orange blossom water)
• Whipped cream, to serve

Directions

Make a Cornstarch and egg yolk slurry:

Put the cornstarch and salt in a medium bowl and whisk out any lumps. Slowly pour in 1 cup (240 mL) water, whisking constantly. Whisk in the egg yolks. (To be really sure, reach into the bowl and gently rub out any lumps between your fingers.)

Blend and warmed the berries:

Purée the strawberries and raspberries with the sugar and lemon juice in a blender until smooth and liquefied. Pour through a fine-mesh sieve into a 3-quart (2.8-L) saucepan. Turn the heat on to high and bring the fruit mixture to a simmer, stirring frequently. Turn off the heat.

Temper the slurry:

Pour 1 cup (240 mL) of the hot fruit into the bowl with the slurry. Whisk them together. Pour the tempered slurry slowly back into the pan, counting to 10 as you do and whisking vigorously.

Thicken the pudding:

Turn the heat back on to the medium. Bring the pudding to a full boil, whisking frequently; this will take 2 to 5 minutes. Large bubbles will rise up very slowly, making a noise like "gloop" or "plop." Simmer for 2 minutes, whisking frequently. Turn off the heat and whisk in the rosewater.

Chill the pudding

Immediately pour the hot pudding into a shallow container. (If you notice lumps, you can pour the pudding through a fine-mesh sieve to make it smoother.) Place plastic wrap or buttered wax paper directly on the surface of the pudding to cover it. Put a lid on the dish and refrigerate. Chill for 2 hours, or until completely cold, before eating. Best eaten within 3 days. Serve in dessert cups with a dollop of whipped cream on top.

Note

Author's note: Rosewater is a distillation of rose petals, a highly fragrant by-product of the perfume industry. Look for it in the baking aisle or at gourmet shops. Be sure you are buying food-grade rosewater.

My note: Like rosewater, orange-blossom water, sometimes called orange-flower water, is a floral distillate. Made from the petals of bitter-orange blossoms, it is used in many Middle Eastern dishes, both sweet and savory. It's usually found in gourmet or specialty shops.

This recipe is excerpted with permission from Bakeless Sweets: Pudding, Panna Cotta,Fluff, Icebox Cake and More No-Bake Desserts by Faith Durand. Published by Stewart, Tabori & Change ©2013.

 

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Whether you’re not sure where to start, afraid you’ll reduce the chicken to ashes, or are bored to tears with burgers, solutions lie on the printed page. Diverse, inspiring and informatiave, these grilling  books are sure to fire the imagination as well as the grill.

Grilled Pizzas & Piadinas

By Craig W. Priebe with Dianne Jacob
Published by DK Publishing @2008

Focus: No-fuss, low-tech, delicious, anyone-can-make-’em, crispy-crust pizzas. And piadinas, which are  unpretentious flatbreads with a pretty name.


Photos: While there are plenty of photos of the pizzas and piadinas, the step-by-step shots on how to roll, grill and top the pizzas are invaluable. There are also 18 photos in the Grills & Gadgets section so there’s no confusion about the different grills and what sort of support they require.


Stand out feature: 
This book is determined to get you making pizza no matter what stands in your way. No pizza stone? No problem. Live in an apartment? Got you covered.  Whether you have a charcoal, gas or indoor grill, you can bake up delicious, crispy-crust pizzas without special equipment of hard-to-get specialty flour. Recipes vary from the classic Margherita to exotic Moroccan. The book includes meat, chicken, vegetarian and dessert pizzas and well as salads.

Who’ll love it: 
Anyone who loves good pizza. Even the organizationally-challenged can spread the pizza love thanks to the handy Party Planning section.

If you try one recipe: In honour of the long weekend, I’m going with The S’more. Yes, a s’more in pizza form. My life is complete.

The Gardener and the Grill: The Bounty of the Garden Meets the Sizzle of the Grill

By Karen Adler & Judith Fertig
Published by Running Press ©2011

Focus: Whether you sear, plank, smoke or stir-fry, this books uses the grill to make the most of your seasonal vegetables and fruits. While not all the recipes finish at the grill, they all start there. For instance, Smoked Tomato Bisque uses grill-smoked tomatoes, which then form the base of a soup or get frozen for later use.

Photos:  The finished dish is the star in this book. With minimal food styling, the simplicity of the recipes stands out. You won’t find step-by-step illustrations, but the techniques are so basic those familiar with their grills won’t need them.


Stand out feature: 
The sheer ingenuity of cooking with seasonal produce. Green tomatoes are grilled and stacked with cheese. S’mores get a strawberry topping. And radishes get the Provençal treatment with grilled onion butter. My radish-loving mother would approve.

Who’ll love it: 
Anyone with with a vegetable garden, a Farmers’ Market addiction or a share in a local CSA. Serious gardeners will appreciate the article on Companion Plants. Did you know asparagus and tomatoes have a symbiotic relationship? Or that borage aids strawberries by attracting bees? You do now.

If you try one recipe: Charred Green Beans with Lemon Verbena Pesto. They had me at Lemon Verbena.

Where There’s Smoke: Simple • Sustainable • Delicious

By Barton Seaver
Published by Sterling Epicure ©2013

Focus: Celebrating sustainable food with the grill. Emphasis on celebration — in a down-to-earth way. Hop into your comfy jeans, slap on the sun screen and get outside where the food grows.


Photos: The book is bursting with photos, most of them shot outdoors. Almost every page has a picture. Or two. Sometimes three. Seaver occasionally strays from the finished dish and includes shots of chickens, piglets, goats, cattle, and catch being pulled from the water.


Stand out feature: 
The level of detail. Seaver looks at techniques, ways to develop flavour, and green grilling before he cracks open the wine. When he does, he provides recipes for 10 wine salts, and more than a dozen cocktail recipes. Only once the drinks are served does he cook: Expect soup, salad, vegetables, fish, poultry, meat and marinades. The only thing missing is dessert, but I suspect you wouldn’t have room anyway.

Who’ll love it: 
Anyone who wants to reconnect to the land without giving up the grill.

If you try one recipe: Citrus-Marinated Diver Scallops. Bet you can’t eat just one.

Weber’s New Real Grilling: The Ultimate Cookbook for Every Backyard Griller

By Jamie Purviance
Published by Weber-Stephen Products LLC @2013

Focus: This is the go-to guide for grilling. After a fascinating infographic on how grills have evolved since the 1950s, Purviance provides everything you need to know about today’s grills, equipment, techniques, marinades, rubs, brines and sauces. Recipes range from starters to desserts. There’s even a recipe for chocolate chip cookies done on the grill with a pizza stone.


Photos: Every recipe has a photograph, some have step-by-step illustrations so you can’t go wrong. With teaching in mind, this book offers clarity before trendy food porn. Instructional photos encourage and inspire, and never confound.


Stand out feature: 
The educational approach. Purviance includes illustrated step-by-step instructions for using a wok, pizza stone, griddle, braiser and rotisserie. He even has a page on knife skills. Before diving into the recipes, each chapter has a 2-page Grill Skills spread. Add in grilling charts and a Top Ten Dos and Don’ts, and the only acceptable excuse not to get grilling this summer is that you’re going into space.

Who’ll love it: 
Anyone who is intimidated with the notion of grilling. If you can lift a fork, you can cook any recipe in this book.

If you try one recipe: Lamb Loin Chops with Lemon-Mint Salsa Verde. Lamb not your thing? Good. I’ll eat your share.

So, what are you grilling this holiday season?

The post Get Your Grill On – Four Books to Welcome the Summer appeared first on The Messy Baker.

The first Mother’s Day gift I made was a card. It had a flower and stars and kittens on it because I was obsessed with flowers and stars and kittens. Mom was allergic to two of these, but I was young and unable to fully understand how my mother might not love everything I did. Moving onto more utilitarian gifts, I later presented her with a pencil holder crafted from an empty soup tin studded with painted macaroni. I attached the helter-skelter pasta with so much Elmer’s, the glue became part of the design. By my teen years, I had advanced to more thoughtful, less material gifts. I generously allowed her to breathe the same air as me.

Having graduated beyond dried pasta and teenage entitlement, I am ignoring her plea not to make a fuss. Oh, Mom, I’m fussing. I’m fussing with chocolate, and cherries and pistachios. But in deference to you, I’m doing it in as non-fussy a way as I can.

Behold the non-dipped truffle puddle.

Instead of dipping, I’m dripping, letting gravity do the dirty work.

Chocolate drips like Elmer’s glue. Pistachio pieces are my new macaroni. The materials are higher end, but like a kid, I smear, drizzle and sprinkle my way through this Mother’s Day project.

Mom, these are for you. Because I love you. Because you taught me to cook. Because you let me breathe the same air as you during my impossible teenage years.

Cherry Cointreau Truffle Puddles

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Serves	24 truffle puddles
Prep time	45 minutes
Cook time	10 minutes
Total time	55 minutes
Dietary	Egg-Free, Gluten-Free, Vegetarian
Meal type	Dessert
By author	Charmian Christie

Tired of the same old chocolates for Mother's Day or Valentine's? These truffle puddles are a fun way to serve and eat chocolate. Tart dried cherries, a hint of orange and a dusting of pistachios make them a special treat.

Ingredients

Truffle

• 1/4 cup tart dried cherries, roughly chopped
• 2 tablespoons orange liqueur such as Cointreau
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 8 ounces good quality dark chocolate, chopped into small pieces (I used Cacao Barry Couverture)
• 1/2 cup heavy cream (35%)

Plating

• 1/3 cup lightly toasted pistachios, chopped
• 12 ounces good quality dark chocolate, chopped

Directions

Prepare the cherry paste

In a blender, the small bowl of a food processor, or with an immersion blender, purée the dried cherries, liqueur and vanilla together to form a thick paste. You won't get it totally smooth but you don't want big pieces of dried cherries either. Set aside.

Make the ganache

Place the chopped chocolate into a large bowl. In a small saucepan over medium heat, bring the cream *just* to a boil. Pour the hot cream over the chopped chocolate, leaving it undisturbed for a minute or two to warm the chocolate. Gently stir until the chocolate is smooth. Add the cherry paste and stir until the ganache is well blended. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until cool, about a half hour. You can do this up to 3 days ahead of time.

Get your ducks in a row

A half hour before you're ready to assemble the truffle puddles, remove the ganache from the fridge. Line a couple of baking sheets with parchment and set aside. If you have purchased raw pistachios, toast them now, then chop. Turn off the phone and close the kitchen door. Once you begin the assembly you want to be uninterrupted.

Melt the chocolate

Melt the remaining 12 ounces of chocolate. You can do this in a heatproof bowl over simmering water or in the microwave. To melt the chocolate in the microwave, zap in 30-second bursts, stirring in between, until the chocolate is half melted. Reduce zaps to 10-seconds and stop when only a few lumps remain. Allow the heat of the chocolate to finish the job.

Make the puddles

Using a spoon or small spatula, pour a generous tablespoon of melted chocolate onto the parchment and gently spread to form a puddle. It can be round or oblong, but the puddle should be wide enough to accommodate a truffle. Make sure it's not too thin so it can support the truffle. It's okay if the surface is a bit uneven. You're going for rustic. Sprinkle both ends of the puddle with chopped pistachios, leaving the middle plain. Before the puddle dries, scoop the ganache into a truffle using a melon baller, 1-tablespoon cookie scoop or spoon. Place the truffle in the middle of the puddle. Repeat the puddle-pistachio dust-truffle sequence until you have used all the ganache. Do one at a time or else the chocolate will harden and the pistachios and truffle won't adhere.

Garnish the truffle puddle

Working quickly, drizzle the truffles with the remaining melted chocolate and dust with more pistachio crumbs. Allow the chocolate to harden at room temperature. Serve with napkins.

Note

Of course, you are free to skip the puddles completely and use the chocolate to coat the truffles. Alternatively, you can roll them in cocoa powder or ground pistachios. Or just eat the ganache straight from the bowl with a spoon. I'm not fussy.

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I’m not interested in the prepackaged products like pasta sauce, gluten-free cookies or soft drinks laced with high-fructose corn syrup. I am, however, very, very interested in new ingredients I can use to create my own dishes. By the end of the show, I’d found enough products to fill the pantry a few times over.

Armed only with my iPhone, I visited every booth, taking shots of items that captured my imagination. Forgive the photography. I was working under the following conditions: Tradeshow flourescent lighting, 750+ booths from 44 countries, an armload of marketing material, lots of attendees also lugging armloads of marketing material, and a single day.

Below are the products I found most noteworthy. The order is random, determined by my wandering.

How can you get these products? I don’t know. Most businesses attend to get their products onto the store shelves. If these items aren’t available at your local store right now, they should be soon because some sales rep is trying his or her doggone hardest to get them there. I’ve included a link to each company. If that doesn’t work, FoodiePages also carries some of these products.

And without further ado, here are my top picks from SIAL Canada 2013.

Mycryo®

Mycryo®, pronounced mee-cree-oh, is powdered cocoa butter designed specifically for cooking. It was a finalist for the 2013 SIAL Innovation Grand Prize and I can see why. Unlike most food products, this one doesn’t want anyone to notice it. Made of nothing but pure cocoa butter, it’s designed to make food taste better without interfering. It has no flavour, no odor, no additives and is vegan. When you toss food in it, the powder forms a thin coating and seals the moisture in — something oil can’t do. Above are mushrooms tossed in Mycryo® and sautéed in a non-stick pan. I watched the whole process and to my amazement, none of the mushroom juice escaped. The finished mushrooms were incredibly flavourful and bursting with juice. Imagine — finally you can make a mushroom tart without fear of a soggy crust.

The apple slices shown in the top right corner were tossed in Mycryo to preserve their colour. Despite spending a day and a half being hauled in and out of the refrigerator, thus experiencing “temperature shock”, the apples remained fresh.

Mycryo® is part of Cacao Barry and  has their head office in St. Hyacinthe, Quebec.

Birch Syrup

You need 40 gallons of maple sap to produce a single gallon of syrup. That’s kid’s play compared to birch. Depending on the season, birch needs a 120:1 sap-to-syrup ratio. The boiling down is so intense, the Canadian Birch Company puts the sap through a reverse osmosis process to speed things along. The results are delicious and have a unique taste that’s sweet yet tangy. Depending on the season, the syrup is amber or dark, but the saps taste so different from each other it’s hard to believe they originate from the same tree. Both have a hint of malt, but amber is sweeter and more fruity, while dark is intense and borders on balsamic. The uses? Pour it on pancakes, drizzle it on ice cream or add it to cheesecake. It can even be used as a base for barbecue sauce or a salmon glaze.

The Canadian Birch Company  is based in Grand Marais, Manitoba.

Canadian Bison

The cones hold bison tartar while the little bamboo boats cradle a filet so tender you don’t need a knife.  Because bison are so big, they must be grass-fed on the open range. Given their size and temperament, factory farming just isn’t an option. Despite roaming the range all day, their meat is tender. The flavour? Tastes like chicken. Just kidding. Bison tastes like beef. To my surprise — and relief — it’s not gamey at all. It’s also low in fat.

Natural Frontier Food is based in Lasalle, Quebec.

Blueberry Juice

This might look like Ribena, but it’s not. It’s 100% pure, sugar-free, just-press-it blueberry juice. It tastes just like the juice that gathers at the bottom of the bowl when you defrost frozen berries. It’s not concentrated or blended with less expensive juices. It’s delicious and refreshing — especially when you’ve just finished tasting 97 varieties of olive oil. The downside of this juice? I just know mixologists will be making high-end blueberry juice cocktails. But the juice doesn’t need any help. Really. The only other issue I foresee is portion control.

Van Dyk’s Health Juice Products. is based in Port Williams. Nova Scotia.

12-Year Old Apple Cider Vinegar

Sorry this is a bit blurry. I got bumped. I didn’t notice at the time because I was distracted by the vinegar. It’s practically drinkable. I was so enamoured, I asked to buy some to take home with me. Unfortunately, vendors aren’t allowed to sell their product at this show.

This apple cider vinegar has two ingredients – apples and time. It’s barrel fermented for up to 12 years in French oak casks. As a result, it tastes nothing like the sinus-clearing version on the supermarket shelves. The raspberry version is infused with real raspberries for 24 hours and was my favourite of the three. I suspect my husband would have gone for the bourbon vinegar. This is another 2013 SIAL Innovation finalist but it was a definite winner with me.

The company, Vinaigrerie Gingras, is based in Rougemont, Quebec.

Single-Flower Honey

I have been skeptical of honey ever since I learned it can contain sugar syrup and still be labelled pure honey. Naturoney assures me that loophole remains closed in Canada. Phew! These honey’s are all 100% honey and nothing but honey. The taste varies  based on the flowers the bees visited. To my surprise, the blueberry honey does not taste like blueberries at all. Thinking it through, it makes sense. It’s made from the pollen of blueberry flowers, not the blueberries themselves.

I didn’t want to like the Golden Rod honey since my husband is so allergic to the flower, but the honey it produces is deliciously floral. It was my favourite until I tasted the orange blossom honey. A hint of citrus won me over.

Naturoney is based in Château-Richer, Quebec.

 Wild Rice & Wild Rice Flour

Tony Atkins, the owner of Wild Man Ricing, was too enthusiastic to resist. He loves his wild rice (which is actually an aquatic cereal grain) and borders on evangelical about it. Gluten-free, organic and tasty, wild rice is likely the next “it” food. His wild rice flour is just wild rice, ground into flour. No filler, additives, or fixatives. Alone, it’s a bit heavy, but when combined with buckwheat, another gluten-free flour, it apparently plays nicely with pancakes. I’m betting the pancakes would play nicely with birch syrup.

Wild Man Ricing operates from East St. Paul, Manitoba.

Olive and Nut Oils

These flavoured olive oils come with a spritzer so you can spray them on a salad, your chicken or pasta. Flavours include Basil. Lemon, Chili and Fresh Garlic. The other two bottles are spritzable balsamic vinegars — white or regular old dark brown. Not pictured here are two of my favourite oils from the whole show: roasted hazelnut and roasted walnut. These oils are rich, buttery, and taste like their namesakes. I’ve used roasted nut oils before and found the quality varies widely between brands. I’ll definitely be looking out for Maison Orphée. The roasted hazelnut oil was so good it’s another product I would have bought on the spot had purchases been allowed.

Maison Orphée operates out of Galilée, Quebec.

2013 SIAL Innovation Grand Prize Winner

I don’t have a photo of the Grand Prize winner. Shame on me. Congratulations to A Acadien Atlantic who won the grand prize for their Smoked Atlantic Salmon Pâté. They’re located in Caraquet, New Brunswick.

Do you buy or use any of these products?  I’d love to hear from  you.

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Altogether now. On the count of three, “Ivy, you’re a genius!”

Ivy Manning, author of Crackers & Dips: More than 50 Handmade Snacks (Chronicle ©2013), wasn’t always receptive to this praise. As a caterer, she found complex dishes like Pheasant Under Glass went virtually unnoticed. But when she brought out the basket of simple homemade crackers? The response was “You’re a genius!”

Whether Ivy Cracker-Maker Manning likes to hear it or not, I agree with the Cracker Lovers and offer as evidence the following proof: She reverse engineered Almond Thins using local hazelnuts. She scaled down a restaurant-sized batch of deconstructed s’mores to create a rosemary graham cracker suited to home cooking. The accompanying salted whisky caramel sauce didn’t hurt her case either. She even figured out the combination of flours needed to produce the ultimate, shattery soda cracker. Claiming she’s “no baker” and “too impatient for bread,” Ivy assures me crackers are “technical”, but very easy. I was skeptical.

After giving a few of her recipes a try, I believe  her.

The instructions provide enough details to walk you through unfamiliar territory without overwhelming. First timers should be able to make the soda crackers with little more than a calendar and a rolling pin. Because they’re based on a sour dough, the trickiest part is planning ahead to ensure you’ll be around to execute the steps in a timely fashion. Mess up the timing? Even then you’ll likely succeed. I was tardy in my cracker making by days, not hours, yet the crackers tasted (and shattered) like perfect saltines. If you ask me, crackers are not only easy, they’re also forgiving.

If recipes like Ritzy Peanut Butter Sandwich Crackers, Brown Butter-Hazelnut Crackers or Skinny Mint Chocolate Grahams don’t get you, the visuals will. Beautifully photographed by Jenifer Altman, the real life crackers are incorporated into Kristina Urquharts’s whimsical illustrations. It’s as if the recipes are so appealing Henry flees the Land of the Chalk Drawings to steal Simon’s share.

Of course, crackers aren’t eaten alone. You can show off your baking with Molten Black Bean and Chorizo Dip, Figgy Bourbon Conserve or Spicy Mint and Cilantro Chutney. The (Don’t Tell Them It’s Vegan) Mushroom and Cashew Pâté is on my must-try list. Andrew hates mushrooms so that means I’ll have to eat it all myself. The things I do for research.

With so many enticing recipes, selecting one to excerpt was challenging. In the end, my sweet tooth won out. I just couldn’t resist Ivy’s fresh take on baklava. This flaky, three-layer crisp is not the potentially cloying, frustratingly fiddley, impossibly sticky dessert served at Greek restaurants. Sorry, Ivy. When you swapped Pheasant Under Glass for Baklava Under Baking Sheet you nailed your genius status. Live with it.

Cinnamon Pistachio Baklava Crisps

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Serves	32 triangles
Dietary	Egg-Free
Meal type	Baked Goods, Dessert

These little triangles have all the yummy goodness of Greek baklava compresssed into just three layers of phyllo. They take minutes to put together and disappear just as fast

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup shelled unsalted pistachio nuts (70 g)
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter (55 g)
• 1/4 cup honey (60 mL)
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1 roll of 9-by-13-in phyllo pastry sheets, defrosted (23-by-33-cm)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C/gas mark 4. Cut two pieces of parchment paper to fit exactly into a baking sheet and a third sheet that is slightly larger. Place the nuts and sugar in a food processor and pulse until the nuts are finely chopped, the consistency of cornmeal. Set aside. In a small microwave-safe measuring cup or a saucepan over low heat, melt the butter. Add the honey, cinnamon, and salt and whisk to combine.

Place one smaller sheet of the parchment paper on a work surface. Center one sheet of phyllo pastry on the paper. Keep the other sheets of pastry covered with a damp dish towel to keep them from drying out. Drizzle 1 1/2 tbsp of the butter mixture over the phyllo sheet and then use a pastry brush to distribute the butter mixture evenly over the pastry. Sprinkle a generous 2 tbsp of the pistachio mixture over the pastry, and then top with a second sheet of phyllo, lining up the edges exactly to make a neat stack. Press down on the top sheet to adhere the layers.

Repeat the process again, brushing the second sheet of phyllo with 1 1/2 tbsp of the butter mixture and topping with 2 tbsp of the nut mixture. Place a third layer of pastry on top of the first two and press firmly to adhere the layers.

Transfer the stack of buttered phyllo pastry on the parchment paper to a baking sheet. Cover with the larger piece of parchment paper, and then place a baking sheet or inverted cooking rack directly on top of the phyllo stack to weigh it down. Bake until the dough is rich golden brown and crisp, 8 to 10 minutes, rotating the baking sheet once from front to back while baking, and peeking after 8 mintues to check for doneness.

Remove the whole setup from the oven and let the pastry stack cool for 10 minutes with the baking sheet still on top of the pastry. (This weighted cooling time will keep the phyllo layers from coming apart when you're cutting them into triangles.)

Remove the top baking sheet and top parchment paper (reserve for the second batch), and transfer the phyllo stack on its bottom layer of parchment paper to a cutting board. Using a sharp chef's knife, cut the phyllo stack in half lengthwise. Cut the stack crosswise three times to create eight squares and then cut each square diagonally to create 16 triangles.

Repeat the buttering and layering process with the remaining phyllo sheets, butter mixture and nut mixture. Bake, cool, and cut as with the first batch, reusing the top piece of parchment paper when baking the second batch. (Refreeze unused phyllo sheets for another use.)

When the crisps are completely cool, transfer them to an airtight container. The crisps are best eaten within 1 day.

Note

Ivy's note: Honey is the dominant flavour here, so this is a good time to splurge on single-flower honey. Experiment with local single-source honeys from your farmers' market; you'll be surprised at the difference between the commodity "honey bear" stuff and artisanal honey collected from carefully tended bees.

My note: Taking a hint from Ivy's notes. I made mine with honey gathered from the apiary atop the Fairmont Royal York in downtown Toronto. I think the bees would approve.

Recipe is excerpted with permission from Crackers & Dips: More than 50 Handmade Snacks by Ivy Manning. Published by Chronicle Books ©2013.

If you’re reading this in an email or RSS feed and the recipe fails to embed, you can read the entire recipe here.

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Swag. It used to mean some sort of garland or window dressing. But times have changed. Ignoring the Urban Dictionary’s profanity-laced first definition, I pieced together other entries and conclude it’s an overused term meaning one’s personal style or attitude. I think it’s the new “mojo”, but don’t quote me. I’m hopelessly square and can’t even use “bling” correctly .

Moving into more comfortable territory, I can say with authority that for conference attendees swag is stuff sponsors give you in hopes you’ll try it and like it. Having recently attended the Food Bloggers of Canada Conference, I came home loaded with swag. One of the items, which I am under no obligation to write about, was a whole grain cereal called Erewhon (pronounced Air-wahn). It’s a cocoa version of Rice Krispies®, only it’s organic, certified gluten-free and non-GMO. People with food allergies will like that it’s also free from dairy, soy, peanuts and tree nuts. It’s basically rice, air and natural sugars. What could go wrong?

Uh… me.

I took this healthy, pure, unadulterated cereal and swagged it up.

Squares for the square? Cocoa for my mojo? Riffing on the classic Rice Krispie Square, I used the chocolate cereal and added cocoa to the marshmallow mix. The results are crisp, chewy and far less sweet than the original. Will kids like it? I hope not. Will it make me cool? Not likely. Will it make me popular with the adults. Very much so.

Crispy Chocolate Rice Squares

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Serves	16 squares
Prep time	5 minutes
Cook time	10 minutes
Total time	15 minutes
Dietary	Egg-Free, Gluten-Free, Vegetarian
Meal type	Baked Goods, Dessert, Snack

A chocolatey twist on a classic, these rice crisp squares are less sweet thanks to cocoa and chocolate-flavoured cereal. These easy-to-make treats will disappear faster than you can make them.

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 10-ounce/250 g bag marshmallows (about 40 regular or 4 cups miniature marshmallows)
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 5 cups cocoa-flavoured crispy rice cereal (I used Erewhon Cocoa Crispy Brown Rice)

Directions

Butter an 8-inch square pan. You can use a 9X9 or 9X13, but I like my squares nice and thick.

Put the butter and marshmallows into a large saucepan over very low heat - the lowest setting your stove will provide without being simply room temperature. Sift the cocoa powder over the marshmallows to remove any lumps. Add the salt. Once the butter and marshmallows begin to melt, stir them constantly and gently until the cocoa is absorbed and the mixture is completely smooth. Stir in the vanilla extract.

Remove from heat and gently fold in the cereal, coating evenly. Work fairly quickly since you want to do this while the marshmallow mixture is still warm and cooperative.

Transfer the warm mixture into the pan, and using clean, buttered hands (excuse the oxymoron, but you know what I mean) or a silicone spatula, press the mixture firmly into the pan. Neat fanatics might want to place a sheet of waxed paper or parchment over the mixture and press with clean unbuttered hands.

Allow the mixture to cool fully before cutting into 16 squares.

Note

If you can't find chocolate flavoured rice crisps, use regular rice ones. The chocolate won't be as intense, but you can still enjoy a less sweet version of the classic marshmallow snack.

If you are reading this in an email or RSS feed and the recipe fails to embed, you can read the entire recipe here.

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I got myself into this and I’m going to get myself out. I did not, repeat not, acquire a one-trick pony of a pan. I could point you to the Indian, Thai, Korean and Japanese variations of the aebleskiver, but really, they’re all just spins on batter cooked into engaging little spheres. So, that ain’t gonna fly.

What about a batter-free mushroom cap, resting on a bed of garlic butter and sherry-sprinkled spinach, topped with cheesy crumbs? Does that count? I hope so, because I created Mushrooms Rockefeller to use up extra mushroom caps and justify the real estate the aebleskiver pan requires.

I’m not sure if this recipe will work with cast-aluminum. My pan is extra-heavy cast iron designed to go on the stove top or into the oven. The good people at Lodge assure me it can even go on a barbecue grill or camp fire. I wanted something indescructable, and their 5 1/2 pounder was it. They also tell me Emeril Lagasse uses his for Oysters Rockefeller, so you know it’s a workhorse.

Riffing on the Rockefeller theme, this exceptionally rich dish has most of the classic flavours of its oyster counterpart —only without the pricier ingredients like oysters on the half shell and French liqueur. With affordable mushroom caps in lieu of seafood and reasonably priced dry Spanish sherry replacing the spendy Pernod, this appetizer practically pays for itself.

Yeah. That ain’t gonna fly either.

The truth? Even if you never turn another aebleskiver in your life, you’ll want to heat up your pan just to give this a try. Providing you like mushrooms. And cream. And bone dry sherry.

Got a creative use for your aebleskiver pan? Share. Pleas.

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I’m often asked to recommend cookbooks as gifts for someone’s mother-in-law, sister, aunt, neighbour, co-worker, friend visiting from far off foreign lands. I feel a bit like I’ve been asked to select a paint colour for their living room without seeing the house let alone knowing how many people live there. Sure, I could point people to Amazon, but am often baffled by the biased ratings and vague comments. Enter T. Susan Chang. The regular cookbook reviewer for the Boston Globe and NPR, she knows her way around a cookbook review like no one else.

To save angst, time and money, Chang has created a cookbook rating app, CookShelf. Unlike Amazon or Goodreads, it’s authoratative, not collaborative. She’s not swayed by pretty pictures or trendy “it” ingredients. She tests cookbooks for a living and as the app description says, “you’ll be warned if there are impossible-to-find ingredients, eye-straining page designs, or recipes that require 4 days and a vacuum sealer.” Where were you, Susie, when I was seduced by the Momofuku Milk Bar?

Using a 5 point scoring system (1 being low, 5 being high) Chang rates each cookbook on the following areas:

• Skill: A 1 is ideal for new cooks or busy people. A 5? Hire staff.
• New: This looks at the recipe’s originality. Are there a billion versions on the web or are the recipes so unique they borders on a dare? Here a 5 is not always a good thing. Chang likes a 3-4 since anything lower can be fulfilled with a quick web search and anything higher means special equipment or a trek for obscure ingredients – or more likely, both.
• Gift: Pretty plays a role, but the book has to be practical. She also provides a bit of guidance on who it will appeal to since the book I choose for my mother will not be the barbecue-sauce, smoke-filled grill guide my friend’s husband drools over.
• Keeper: Is this a fly-by-night book or a book you’ll turn to again and again? Chang admits this is the most controversial rating, but I find it the most helpful.

Sounds complicated? It isn’t. You can see in a glance if you want to read more.

Still not sure? Chang provides a brief description, a link to the full review (where available), and a link to the full recipe index on Eat Your Books. Don’t worry, non-members can access this information without signing up. If you really know the recipient, the review also includes: sample recipe titles, page design, recipe speed, recipe style, how many people it serves, how easy/hard the ingredients are to find, the type of equipment required and even the type of measurements used (metric weight, US volume). If you own the book already, the app includes a link to a similar book you might like. If you’re ready to buy, Chang provides links to an independent bookseller (way to go, Susie!) as well as Amazon.

Okay, but does CookShelf work in the real world?

Of the 200 books listed, I have 24 on my shelf and another 5 in e-book format. I read her rating on all these and for most part I’d say Chang’s spot on. I would shift a few Keeper ratings up or down a notch, but that’s personal preference. For most books I found myself nodding wildly. As I mentioned earlier, I love that she was honest about the wildly popular Momofuku Milk Bar (Skill 5, New 5, Gift 3, Keeper 1). That said, I’d rank Roots by Diane Morgan (Skill 3, New 4, Gift 4, Keeper 2/3) as a definite keeper. But then I fell in love with its photos (hence the high gift rank) and am a gardener itching for new vegetables to explore.

The only drawback to this app is that it will leave you wanting more books. The Secret of Baking by Sherry Yard calls to me. And I simply must have The Food of Spain by Claudia Roden before my trip to Andalucia. And how can I get through another winter without All About Braising by Molly Stevens? No worries. I have a birthday coming up. In June. Hint. Hint.

Want to win the Cookshelf App?

Got an iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad with iOS 4.3 or later and $2.99? It’s yours. Feeling lucky? You can win one here. Chang provided me with a copy of the app to review plus one to give away. To enter, all you need to do is leave a comment telling me what your favourite gift book is (either given or received) and what makes it special. I’ll draw a name at random tomorrow (Tuesday) morning.

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