Hello Friends!

Its been a while since I have posted but a great food blogger once told me that "you should always live life first, then blog second." So, that is exactly what I have been doing. I spent some time recovery from a nasty fall that happened during a basketball game. Banged up my shoulder pretty good and I ended up not going to the gym or playing basketball. I was pretty down. =(

But as Chinese New Year draws near, it is a good reminder that we all have a second reset in life. I have been constantly running errands for my grandma. It is always such a big thing in my home to have big feasts and family over. Are you guys going celebrating Chinese New Year?

Anyways, finally I found some time to invite some friends over to experience my cooking side. It always makes me feel happy to see them look forward or talk about the dinner parties that I host. I hope one day I can open up a restaurant with my sister or something and have my parents do the accounting part while I cook.

Now for the exciting part. I decided to try something new and do a blueberry soup. Crazy huh? I wanted something light and sweet but also stunning. Everyone thought it was a beets soup that was hot and spicy but when they tried it, everyone fell in love. Except my friend John, he doesn't like anything sour. This recipe was inspired by Soup. 

Here is how you make it:

2lb of blueberries
1.25 L of water
70 mL sugar
1 mL salt
7 ml fresh rosemary chopped.

Dumped all the ingredients in a pot. Throw in the berries, chopped rosemary, water and sugar. Bring it to a boil and then turn down the temperature. Simmer for 4-5 minutes.

Transfer the soup to a blender and puree the contents. Strain the soup, making sure you catch the rosemary and blueberry skins.

Chill the soup for at least 4 hours. Upon serving, spoon in 5mL of sour cream or yogurt to top it off.

The soup itself was very mint like but no mint leaves were used at all. At first sip, it seemed very weird and no one really like the taste but they got use to it and started to taste the flavours. As I topped off their bowls with seconds, they asked how it was made and if it was possible to drink it hot.

Definitely, you guy would see me talking about this soup again. Since I got so many positive comments about it. I will also share with you later on this week the other dishes that I made. They were all winners in my opinion.

After dinner we just finished the evening with boards games. Can't wait till I host more of these parties. Let me know if you have any questions. =)

Thanks for reading!

Hello!

Happy holidays guys! Oh my, I am so sorry, I have been falling behind on my posts and left you in the dark for so long. No worries, I have been very busy in the kitchen baking and cooking up a storm. I always try to live life first, then blog so bare with me. =) Let's see...where to start.

If you live in Toronto, chances are you heard of Winterlicious. It's basically a way for local restaurants in Toronto to promote themselves by giving a set price for a set menu. I decided to use that idea and start a winterlicious event at my place. My friends obviously loved the idea and wanted in on the action. I looked through some of my favourite cookbooks to gain inspiration and kind of put my own twist to it.

So here we go.

This is the Carrot and Pear Puree Soup. At first glance, it may look like your typically squash soup with toast but looks can be deceiving. In this soup there are:

5 carrots (peeled and chopped)
5 pears (peeled and cubed)
1 L of veggy stock
1 sweet onion
10 ml cinnamon
1 generous gulp of olive oil
30 ml ginger
salt and pepper

With a generous amount of fresh ingredients you want to start off by sauteing the onions with olive oil. Add the cinnamon and ginger. Making sure the onions don't brown. Then add the carrots, pears and veggy stock. Season with salt and pepper. Bring it to a boil then simmer until the pears and carrots are soft. When you reach to that point let it cool down a bit and then transfer the soup to a blender and puree the ingredients.

Then serve with a toasted french bread of your choice. If it tastes a bit bland, add salt and pepper to adjust the flavours.

This soup is perfect for a cold winter's night, especially when you are in Toronto where the harsh winds can really take you off your feet.

Next we have the Roasted Chicken with Cherry tomatoes and Asparagus. I always loved working with chicken, I find that chicken is almost like the default meat for any restaurant because you can get so creative with it in so many ways. My dad gave me some good pointers on how you prep the chicken and I felt bad if I didn't listen to him since he was more excited then I was about the party. And trust me, I was pretty stoked. =)

6 chicken breasts
36 halved cherry tomatoes
11 asparagus
salt
pepper
olive oil
thyme leaves
rosemary leaves
topped with balsamic vinegar

Season the chicken breast with olive oil, salt, pepper, thyme leaves and rosemary leaves. Add the cherry tomatoes, asparagus and spread it evenly. Making sure it covers the top and bottom of the breasts. Let it season for at least half an hour.

Heat up a iron cast pan and sear the chicken skin making sure you get that nice golden brown tone but not to the point where its going to burn.

Preheat the oven at 400F, place the chicken breast along with all the seasonings in the middle of the oven and let it bake for 30 minutes. When it is done, top it off with balsamic vinegar. Serve with choice of veggies or Garlic Mash Potatoes.

Dessert was a no brainier, with the cold weather not going away and old man winter knocking on the door. I wanted to leave my friends with a warm feeling. The Fruit Crumble was an excellent way to end the evening.

2 lbs of fruits of your choice
250 ml all purpose flour
125 ml melted butter
10 ml cinnamon
10 ml nutmeg
125 ml brown sugar

Preheat the oven at 350F.

On a oven safe bowl, scatter your fruits and season them with nutmeg and cinnamon.

Combine the flour, brown sugar and mix in the melted butter. Use your hands to make sure all the ingredients are incorporated properly.

Spread the combined dry ingredients on top of your fruits, making sure it covers all the fruits. Toss it in the oven and bake for an hour until the juices of the fruits start to bubble on the side of your bowl. Serve with whipped cream or choice of ice cream.

Ah, 2012 is coming to an end fast. What are your plans? I can't wait for 2013 to come. It is going to be such a fun and amazing year. I will definately have more dinner parties and share with you more recipes!

Cheers and thanks for stopping by!