Thanks'Giver

I know, I know. Thanksgiving isn’t until another week and half away. BUT my mouth won’t stop watering at the thought of that feast: turkey, stuffing and all the fixings. I’ve even started seriously thinking about the leftovers (extremely premature…). I found this AHH-mazing recipe for a turkey/cran/brie grilled cheese on a blog I’ve been digging for years: Closet Cooking. How perfect is that? Check out the recipe here.

Picture from here.

Grilled Turkey and Brie Sandwich 

with Cranberry Chutney

Ingredients:

2 slices of bread

1 tablespoon of butter (room temperature)

1 serving of roast turkey (sliced)

2 tablespoons of cranberry chutney

4 ounces of brie cheese (sliced)

Directions:

Assemble the sandwich and grill until golden brown on both sides.

Groovin' into Fall

Although the last few days have still been sweltering (can you say Indian summer?), I’m definitely getting in the mood for fall by wrapping myself in long cozy scarves, slipping on my leather jacket, ordering my first pumpkin spice late of the year and watching the leaves start to fall outside. I’m jonesin’ to take a trip up north to truly admire fall’s beauty at its best- walking through a forest full of bright colourful leaves. I’ve put together a few pictures to help get us all in the right mooooood.  

All Pictures found on my pinterest, here.

Irassyai-Mase!

Irassyai-Mase! ('Welcome’ in Japanese) is what they scream at you upon entering the doors at Guu Restaurant on Church street. My second time going and trust me all the yelling and waving does not get old. Guu is a restaurant that began in Vancouver and has expanded to Toronto (now with two different locations here!), its food is a la Japanese pub food and let me tell you it is guuuu-d…hehe. The atmosphere alone is really what makes this place, it is always packed, everyone is yelling in Japanese, fire is exploding out of the open kitchen and the Sapporo comes in a massive jug that takes two hands to lift (well…for me at least).  You just can’t help but smile and feel happy here… I’m sure the massive Sapporo and Asian Pear infused Sake might have helped with that a bit, but when the food arrived I knew I my beaming smile was the real deal.  Tanoshimu! 

Takoyaki- deep fried octopus balls with tonkatsu sauce and karashi mayo

Maguro Tataki- seared B.C. tuna sashimi with ponzu and garlic chips

MASSIVE Sapporo (hand used to show true size...)

Yakiudon- pan fried udon noodles with beef, mushrooms and scallion

The bustling open kitchen, I suggest sitting at the bar!

I Scream for SANDWICHES!

Every morning on my walk to the subway I pass by this cute little shop; white walls, black awning, with all its blinds closed. The first time I lay my eyes on it it completely sparked my curiosity. I didn’t know what it was or what it sold but I knew I wanted some. So I strolled up and with nose pressed to the glass, peered inside. I did some research afterwards and found out that “Bakerbots” was a newly opened bakery which the owners run a catering service out of during the day and open it up at night (usually from 5pm-11pm) to sell their goods. What ESPECIALLY caught my eye was the fact that they had homemade ice cream sandwiches. WOAH. You get to pick the homemade cookie of your choice and then choose from a selection of ice creams to be wedged in between. Obviously I had to try it out, so last night when my sweet tooth kicked in my man and I headed on over. I had the Everything cookie with Sweet Cream ice cream (described as similar to Whipped cream- my ultimate favorite thing). My final words: I’m going back ASAP. 

Picture from Blog.TO (Here)

Picture from Blog.TO (Here)

Picture from Blog.TO (Here)

Picture from Blog.TO (Here)

Summer’s Finale…

 In one last fantastical ‘Hurrah!’ before the last days of summer wind down and fall plants its feet firmly on the ground, a small and close-knit group of my friends ventured up north to enjoy the last of the ‘bikini weather days’ on the dock. Though temperatures fell to zero degrees at night- as I kept informing everyone of, we enjoyed sunny days lounging on the dock- the few adventurous of us jumped in the lake, fabulous meals and nighttime campfires. A few friends from Germany came along, which prompted one too many “In Gerrrmahny…” jokes (well, only by me) and the totally HIGH-larious game of Apples to Apples was brought out, inducing more and more laughs.

Goodbye Summer, Welcome Fall!

Dock Lounging

A 'Before Dinner' Appetizer Spread...which just turned into Dinner.

A rousing game of Apple to Apples

I was in charge of Saturday morning’s breakfast, which gave me a perfect opportunity to try out “Breakfast Cups”- A great breakfast idea for a big crowd. Though the name really needs to be improved on, these were delicious! Paired with Fruit Salad (don’t forget the Kiwi!) and breakfast sausages- because there really isn’t ever too much meat-  it was perfect to soak up the booze from the previous night and to get us started on the right track for the rest of the day!

The "Complete Breakfast" Cup

Preheat oven to 400F

Grease the number of muffin tins you will be using with butter or cooking oil spray (I made 2 for each person)

Cut out 3 inch circles from bread and place on the bottom of each muffin tin

Pan-Fry a package of bacon until it is half way done, place on paper towel lined plate

Wrap each individual toast bottom with a strip of bacon on the outside wall of the muffin tins and sprinkle the middle with grated cheddar cheese

Bake for 5 minutes so that cheese is melted and toast bottom firms up (we like firm bottoms!)

Crack an egg in a bowl and place yolk and as much egg white into the middle of the bacon circle (can usually only fit half the egg white), crack and place each egg in one at a time

Place in the oven again for about 10 minutes. Watch carefully! You want the egg whites to be set and the yolks to be nice and runny, YUMMmmm

Serve with Fruit Salad and Sausages, Enjoy!