Author: David

Herby Goodness

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Grilled Oysters with Rose Sauce

We are hoping that the menus for Monday Night Dining will  be predicted by the bounty of our garden : We have fresh herbs, rainbow carrots and Swiss chard, Roma and Heirloom tomatoes, cute stuff peppers, yellow and green beans as well as mesclun salad, red leaf lettuce and Red Romaine lettuce to guide us on our culinary journey. Steph has also planted an assortment of herbs and fresh vegetables that should make our Monday Night Dinners explode with freshness. Since we are still quite early in the growing season we only have spring salad and fresh herbs to help plan the menu, this week. But then again, we are in the heart of strawberry season in Ontario, so what else do you need. Along with our usual trio, we have invited Jen B and Lisa W. The clouds were looking a bit ominous for the barbeque, but it all cleared up in the end, and although it was 29 degrees, we had a lovely breeze and were able to enjoy the evening outside. read more

It’s still all Greek….

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After Shawn mentioned, in our “It’s All Greek to Me” post, the sweet Greek lady who helped him to appreciate what cooking from the heart is about.  I realized while scanning family pictures that we have a picture of this lovely lady and I wanted to share it with you…

 

This is the face of inspiration. When you do something with passion and love, that’s what real life is about.

 

It’s all Greek to me.

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As some of our followers already know this blog is dedicated to the memory of Bruce Kirkpatrick Hill, whose passing away over two years ago, became the unlikely catalyst of Monday Night Dining and now this blog. As Bruce was a major influence in my musical pedagogy and  development,  I had another influence in my culinary and gastronomic journey. Over twenty years ago I worked in a family run Greek restaurant, which was the genesis of my fascination with food and its preparation. I witnessed first hand the importance of quality ingredients and the respectful ritual of turning them into a simple and delicious meal. read more

The Soul of Tuscany

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As you may know this blog is dedicated to the memory of Bruce Kirkpatrick Hill, who inspired so many people and mentored many more. One such is our guest this week, Kathy H, so it is only fitting that this Monday Night dinner, the theme was Italian, in honour of Bruce who loved Italian food, music, wine, and its culture and made several trips to Italy with his wife, Stephanie.We were dining at Steph’s and it looks like the weather will not cooperate again this Monday, but Dave is undeterred and the main meal will be cooked on the BBQ while Shawn cooks the side dishes indoors. read more

It was a dark and stormy night…..

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So after a brief sabbatical, while Steph was off out west, plotting with the Elgar Society, we are all back together for Monday Night Dining….  But it’s Tuesday???  Like the dates in the paschal cycle, Monday night dining is a moveable feast.  So let’s get moving.

We were up north, while planning dinner and what do we find in the freezer? A beautiful filet of grouper that we purchased a few weeks ago. I do love my Foodsaver vacuum sealer.  One of our favorite ways to cook grouper is mexican style, so we had a theme. As it turns out our friend Tina was going to be in town, so we also had the guest list.  The day was one of those on again off again days, weather-wise.  I did get a message from Steph saying that things had cleared up and we would be dining outside. By the time our prep was done, it was a whole different story.  Low green sky and huge wind gusts.  As I got the barbecue lit, the sky opened up.  What’s a little rain compared with Monday Night Dining though?  We’ve cooked in worse (one day I will regale you with the tale of the turkey). We found out later that the town of Angus was hit with a tornado that night. So maybe this is the worst weather we have cooked in…. read more

How do you make your tomato sauce?

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My sister asked “So how do you make your tomato sauce?”  Simple question, but instead of the obvious answer, I wanted to stress freshness, so my answer started with “Well in May you prep the soil and plant your tomato plants…” I’m blessed to have a great spot for a little garden, right beside the lake. I also have a backup garden, at my Mom’s house.  I’ve seen a huge improvement in produce at the grocery store, especially imported stuff, when items are not is season here.  Having said that, there is nothing like picking something, bringing it the 10 feet to the door and using it.  There are certain things we grow every year and some things that we switch around. Here is a picture of the garden taken just after it was planted and 3 weeks later. read more

French Inspired

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Deciding what to serve for Monday Night Dining this week gave us some qualms.  We talked over a few options and then out of the blue I blurt out “let’s do something they won’t expect…..  Like pizzas!”  Let’s just say the response did not have the enthusiasm that I was hoping for. We went back and forth on ideas, but were not getting a cohesive plan.  Then Shawn said “let’s do french.”  Now I love french food, but I had pizza on the brain….  Then Shawn found an Alsatian pizza recipe.  Suddenly we had a plan. read more

Spanish Night!

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Monday May 26, 2014 After a brief break from Monday Night Dining, for vacation, we decided on a Spanish theme this week. Guests include our regular trio, John (an old friend of Steph’s), Trish and Merry-Anne.  When we arrived to prep, we are greeted by a rather large and appealing jug of Sangria, with lots of boozy fruit!!  The weather is gorgeous, so we are eating al fresco. I suggested that we not overdo the tapas course, otherwise nobody would have interest in the rest of the meal, so we managed to whittle it down to: Spanish Tomato Bread with Jamon Serrano read more

Post Concert Indian Meal

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I seem to be blogging backwards here….  I started with the most recent Monday night dinner, but wanted to review a few from the past.

April 28th, 2014:

After having just performed 2 shows of Passion and Peace with Pax Christi Chorale, featuring True North Brass, our season is over and MondayNightDining can be a more relaxed affair for a few months.  No time constraints, except bedtime and a larger choice of venues.  This week it’s off to Steph’s house, for an Indian Dinner.  Shawn and I prepped on Sunday and I did not realize how out of control we were getting until I attempted to lift the cooler.  Instead of going to the gym, I should just lift that thing in the mornings.  Guests tonight are Jake and Mathew, two recent graduates, one of whom sang beside me for my big debut! While we got the food ready for the table, the two young men discussed business ideas. I think they really have something there. read more