Posted by Sheryl Kirby in holidays, meat and poultry, prepared foods, where can I find? on October 5, 2008 at 8:16 am

Autumn kind of came out of nowhere and with it, the best holiday; Thanksgiving - a celebration focused on food that allows an unabashed, no-excuses day in the kitchen where I get to cook some of my favourite foods. To my surprise, not everyone shares this joy of cooking, so we've got our annual primer of where to get everything for a perfect Thanksgiving, regardless of whether you know a whisk from a broiler.

Cook It Yourself

For those not content with ye olde industrial butterball, there are a few happier, healthier poultry options available. Organic turkey can be hard to track down, but The Butchers (2636 Yonge Street) is offering in-house smoked turkey and ham, as well as fresh organic turkey and a limited number of Heritage Bronze turkeys. Customers are advised to place their Thanksgiving orders at least two days in advance.

Posted by Sheryl Kirby in holidays on March 19, 2008 at 8:02 am

As an atheist with Buddhist tendencies, Easter is an interesting holiday to watch other people celebrate. For Christians, Easter is the holiest of days, but the more secular aspects of the holiday are actually pagan in origin - all the chicks and bunnies and goats represent new life and the beginning of the harvest season. How this came to be celebrated via chocolate is beyond me, but the traditional chocolate Easter bunny, usually included in a basket of various egg-shaped candies, is now the norm. It's just too bad it's such awful chocolate.

Posted by Sheryl Kirby in holidays on March 17, 2008 at 8:08 am

My brother was born with bright red hair, and despite family assurances to the contrary, has grown up convinced that we’re descended from a long line of Irish Kirbys, as opposed to the more prominent version from Northern England or Scotland. He once worked in an Irish-themed pub and honeymooned in Dublin. Or it may just be that he likes the Irish meaning of our name better; “dark son” as opposed to the pedestrian English definition of pretty much any place with or by a church. Regardless of whether we’re real Irish or not, today we join millions of people the world over in being “Irish for a day.”

Here in Toronto, with our historically strong Irish roots, there are plenty of options available to celebrate the emerald isle, as a plethora of Irish pubs stock up on Guinness and all the non-Irish pubs stock up on green food dye. Surprisingly, not many places seem to be offering Irish-themed meals, but then St. Patty’s Day has never really been about eating – that would take up valuable space meant for beer.

The Arcadian Court atop The Bay at Queen Street West (401 Bay Street) offers their annual St. Patrick's Day lunch for $17.95 from 11:30am - 3pm. Call 416-861-6611 for reservations.

Posted by Renée Suen in holidays on February 13, 2008 at 7:36 am

Strolling along Toronto's busy streets and gazing into the hundreds of store displays around this time of the year reveal one thing: Love is in the air - the love for food that is! As chocolatiers package their wares into boxes tied with red satin ribbons, bakers pump out anatomically-incorrect shaped cakes, and restaurateurs busy themselves with set menus featuring love themed his-and-hers combos, those who wish to celebrate the day and step beyond the Valentines Day trap may find it a challenge, especially if the loved one is a foodie.

What options are there besides the holy trinity (we're speaking of roses, chocolates, and a candlelight dinner)? Is there an alternate suggestion that can be pursued without the need to endanger the slotback pig? To examine this further, I asked a group of food enthusiasts what they would constitute as their ideal Valentines date or gift. Our kind participants were able to provide a host of ideas guaranteed to sweep a food lover off his or her feet. After all, they do say that the best way to a person's heart is through the stomach.

Posted by Susan Hu in bread, candy, chocolate, holidays, ice cream, pastries on February 11, 2008 at 7:28 am

Valentine's Day is:

a) a day to celebrate love and passion
b) just another exploitive commercial event
c) a reminder of singledom
d) extra pressure on relationships
e) my birthday

I don't know if anyone really looks forward to Valentine's Day. Even though people always coo, "Oh you're a Valentine's baby that's nice," I can't really believe that they mean it. Typically, what it does mean is that my coupled friends have plans, and I get pushed to the week before or after. If I do try celebrate punctually, restaurants and any other establishments that can cash in on the red and pink are usually too overpriced or fully booked. Over the years, instead of feeding any acrimony, a solution arose: the "birthday week", during which I treated myself to a little something each day.

Forget waiting for candy and cards from Cupid. That's why every year I gift myself with some I "Choo-choo choose" me, indulgences. The following are my treats for 2008. Sometimes bitterness, like in dark chocolate, can turn out to be something nice.

Posted by Sheryl Kirby in chocolate, holidays, shops on February 8, 2008 at 3:25 pm

Craving Chocolates
119A Roncesvalles Avenue
416-538-1212

Valentine’s Day is commonly thought of as the biggest holiday of the year for chocolate sales, but statistics show it actually ranks third or fourth after Easter, Halloween and Christmas. Due to shopping habits related to the day, however, Valentine’s generates more one-week candy sales than any other holiday. Apparently shoppers are better prepared for the other holidays (something about women doing the bulk of the shopping as opposed to men), and Valentine’s Day purchases are more last minute. Which is a shame, because it means an awful lot of people are getting big ugly boxes of sub-par candy, when a little planning could mean a better product.

Tucked away behind a flower shop on Roncesvalles Avenue is exactly the kind of place where people should be buying their Valentine’s chocolates.

Posted by Erin Letson in candy, holidays on December 2, 2007 at 8:54 am

Halloween and Easter are two holidays where there's a large return on candy, but none can compare to the sheer quantity of candy available at Christmas. There are the standards - candy canes, chocolate lollipops, foil-wrapped chocolate balls, and red and green jelly beans - and then there are the more nostalgic and limited edition treats that make everyone feel like it's Christmas as much as all those classic TV specials. Here are some festive finds - both old and new - I came across downtown.

Posted by Renée Suen in holidays, pastries, recipes on November 24, 2007 at 8:43 am

(A Trio of squares, from front to back: chocolate dipped cardamom pistachio cookies, Pierre Hermé's sablés à la noix de coco (aka coconut biscuits), and chocolate dipped candied ginger cookies.)

Baking is a great way to share that warm fuzzy feeling of giving from the heart. As the holiday season fast approaches, those of us who are slaves to the kitchen can feel the clock ticking on our holiday baking projects. Brainstorms, plans and checklists are made for the treats that will fill our homes with delicious scents and end up filling many happy tummies. Every year I venture to package a number of special goodies to spread a little Christmas spirit. This year is no exception, but instead of ruining the surprise to my dear family and friends, I'll share the scrumptious offerings I've made in the past.

Posted by Sheryl Kirby in holidays on October 31, 2007 at 11:22 am

To all our readers, from everyone here at TasteTO - best wishes for a safe and happy Halloween full of tasty treats and no tricks!

Posted by Sheryl Kirby in events, events upcoming, holidays on September 28, 2007 at 2:11 pm

We're coming up to our favourite holiday here at TasteTO - Thanksgiving! It's the very best holiday - no gift buying, no decorating, no church service, and in Canada, usually no travelling. It's just all about the eating! Well, and the cooking.

Thanksgiving is traditionally poultry-related, and not having eaten turkey in a good many years, I'll leave readers to their own devices in terms of procuring and cooking their bird, or other animal of choice, although we do highly recommend organic, free-range birds, because they at least got to live a passably happy life before they became dinner.

Posted by Irene Ng in chinese, holidays, pastries, products on September 19, 2007 at 7:55 am

It is almost time to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival, and this year, it falls on September 25th. This celebration of the end of the harvest season also honours abundance and togetherness. Falling on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month, the mid-autumn festival often parallels the autumn equinox of the lunar calendar. Most festivities have traditional foods that are associated with them, and for this celebration of fall, the moon cake takes centre stage.

Traditionally, moon cakes are made with lotus seed paste and a salted duck’s egg yolk (or two, three or four) encased in the paste. This dense mixture is then encased by pastry ingrained with a symbol of ‘mid-autumn festival’ on the top, or the name of the company who manufactured them - my mom deems Wing Wah as the moon cake gold standard. Nowadays, with consumers being more demanding about variety, there are different flavours and fillings available, as well as healthier options such as low sugar.