An afternoon of cooking with Kenwood

This week’s Hot Home column in the Saturday Toronto Star is all about test driving the Kenwood Cooking Chef with Sandra Bellomo, the company’s North American training and demonstration manager. Here are the recipes we made. They’re written for those lucky enough to own this $2,000 machine, but a competent home chef could easily adapt. Look at the post below for a separate gallery of shots from our afternoon of cooking.

Drunken Snowman Cocktail

Ingredients

• 2 scoops vanilla ice-cream
• 1 cup ice
• 3 oz. vanilla vodka
• 3 oz. Bailey’s Original
• 3 oz. Peppermint Schnapps

Combine ice-cream, ice and spirits and blend for 2 minutes. Serve in glasses rimmed with crushed candy cane.

 

Rim cocktail glasses with crushed candy cane for a festive touch

Chestnut Soup

Ingredients

• 15-20 chestnuts, preferably fresh, pre-boiled and peeled
• 2-3 shallots
• 2 garlic cloves
• ¾ cup heavy cream
• 2 cups vegetable stock
• ½ cup water
• Sea salt
• Fresh black pepper

Using the chopping blade on the food processor, finely mince garlic and shallots. Set aside. Insert the Stirring attachment. Warm up the bowl and season with olive oil. Keep temperature between 70º and 80ºC.

After 3 minutes, add the shallots and garlic, and cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Adjust temperature to 110 ºC. Set timer for 24 minutes.

Add chestnuts and 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Cook for 2 minutes, then add 1 cup of stock and cook for 1 minute. Add the remaining cup of stock.

Note: It’s normal for induction heat to lose temperature when a cool liquid is added. During the next 4 minutes, the temperature will increase to between 99˚ and 108ºC. The best temperature for cooking soup is 100º and 105ºC. Use the splash guard to contain heat.

After 12 minutes, add water.

Chestnuts will soften as the soup cooks and mixes. When cooking is complete, pour soup into blender. Add heavy cream, and salt and pepper to taste. Blend for 2 minutes.

Cranberry Relish

Ingredients

• 1 cup fresh cranberries
• 1 date
• 1 orange
• 1 small piece of ginger (optional)
• 2 Tbsp of agave syrup

Using the citrus press, extract juice from the orange. Reserve. If you use ginger, grate it. Add the chopping blade to the food processor and add the cranberries, date, orange juice, (ginger if using) and agave syrup. Pulse until just incorporated.

Chocolate Mousse

 Ingredients

• 4 tsp butter
• 2 Tbsp sugar
• 7 egg whites
• 6.5 ounces dark chocolate

Melt the butter and chocolate in bowl,keeping the temperature between 60º and 70ºC.  This should take under 6 minutes. Pour into bowl and set aside. Attach the Power Whisk to clean bowl, and add the sugar and egg whites. Whisk on max speed until it forms stiff peaks. Using the fold function, gradually add the melted chocolate and butter. Don’t mix too hard or you’ll knock the air out of the mixture. Pour into small glasses or chocolate dessert cups. Chill for 4 hours.

 Cranberry Apple & Walnut Risotto

Ingredients

• 1 cup Arborio rice
• 2.5 cups vegetable stock
• 2.5 white wine
• ½ white onion
• 2-3 gloves garlic
• 1 cup dried cranberries
• ½ cup walnuts
• 2 apples (Sandra likes Golden Delicious or McIntosh)
• 2 green onions
• ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 Tbsp unsalted butter
• ½ tsp chili powder
• Sea salt
• Fresh black pepper
• Olive oil

Using the Mini Chopper Mill, chop the walnut coarsely.

Peel apples and pulse in food processor into medium sized pieces.  Set aside. Thinly slice the green onions in food processor and set aside. Chop garlic and half an onion.

 Add the Flexi Beater to bowl. Warm up bowl and season with a drizzle of olive oil. Set the temperature between 70º and 80ºC.

After 3 minutes, add onion and garlic. Let cook for 3 to 4 minutes.

Add rice and cook for one minute before adding wine.

Increase the temperature to 120ºC. Adjust the timer for 24 minutes, and set the machine to stir.

When liquid is absorbed, add in one cup at a time of the vegetable stock. Use the splash guard to retain heat.

When the timer gets to 17 minutes, add cranberries and walnuts, and set mixing speed to 1. At 14 minutes, add apple. In the last 5 minutes, add butter, Parmesan, green onions, chili powder, sea salt and black pepper.

Love having all the appliances function from one hub

 

 

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Cooking with the Kenwood Chef

Quelle machine. Look at all the stuff I made with Sandra Bellomo of Kenwood, and how much fun we had.

Sandra makes Drunken Snowmen (recipe in post above)

With all the attachments, the Cooking Chef is like a kitchen in a box

The first time I had Chesnut soup. But it won't be the last!

Consistent heat and stirring - the secrets to perfect risotto

The machine is great for melting chocolate and butter

We made a super fresh-tasting cranberry relish in about three minutes flat

Attachment tools are exceptionally well amde

Food processors are great for dicing and chopping. I like to prep loads of fresh veggies on Sunday, so it's easy to add a couple of veg dishes to meals.

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My Kenwood Multi-Food Grinder Attachment (AKA Mincer)

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One cup, many views

Consumers are favouring simple to use one-cup coffee makers over more conventional makers, such as this vacuum model from Bodum

My faithful readers (that would be my kids, my husband and Bill Chow, who helps run the bench on my son’s hockey team and may just be my biggest fan), know how I feel about one-cup coffee makers. I think the plastic pods are wasteful (yes, yes, I know you can recycle some of them, but really, reduce comes before recycle, remember?), that they make dreadful tea** and that the beverage doesn’t stay hot for as long as conventional coffee makers. Which is why, btw, I sometimes heat the milk and or the cup when I test single serve makers.

 

The hordes, however, appear not to be with me on this one, as one-cup coffee makers, last time I checked, were the fastest growing segment of the coffee appliance category. I have to admit  too, that when the Man of the House (MOTH) took the pretty little Tassimo we tested to the staff room at his school, it was a smash hit. Teachers loved having fresh, hot coffee without a trip off the grounds, and MOTH said many were delighted by the discs that gave them a “latte”.

In fairness, I must also add that there are now companies
selling compostable single-serve coffee. Take Oakville-based Reunion Island. It boasts other sustainable practices — harvesting only from farms certified as green and fair, investing in local economic development in countries like Nicaragua and Tanzania, and partnering with organizations like Coffee Kids. Coffee is roasted at a local facility powered entirely by renewable Bullfrog Power. They also have some great recipes for cooking with coffee — Espresso Bourbon Caramel Sauce, anyone?

Reunion Island has teamed with Bunn, whose first made-for-home coffee maker works with pods. You can buy both the coffee and the maker at the website. That sounds a lot better. But I’m still not drinking the tea.

So it’s not news that lots of folks like these one-cups. What is news is that it manufacturers are now trying to differentiate themselves by creating signature blends — sometimes in partnership with brands with lots of heft.

Tassimo, for example, is promoting exclusive Tim Horton’s coffee disks. They’ve also launched a sweet holiday contest — inviting Canadians to nominate a “Tim” (or Tina, or Tom or Uncle Ted) they would like to reunite with for the holidays. Nice. Check it out on Facebook 

Nespresso has a sexy new machine, called the U, which has a lovely, tiny footprint and is super-easy to use. As per usual, it’s small and cute, but my complaints still stand (see above). New flavours from Nespresso include Hawaii Kona, which is grown on the side of volcanoes on Hawaii. In coffee geek terms, it’s fruity, subtle, nutty and silky. I’m not generally a fan of flavoured coffees, but I do make the odd exception – especially at this time of year, when I might mix it with hot chocolate for a sweet treat. So I did enjoy  Nespresso's naturally flavoured Coconut, Hazelnut and Macadamia nut. Very nicely flavoured.

Speaking of sexy, Nespresso just nabbed Penelope Cruz as the face of its marketing campaign in North America. Watch for her in an ad campaign that launches nationally in Canada on Dec. 3rd.

 

 

 

Penelope Cruz and I agree to disagree on one-cup coffee makers.

 

 

My fave way to make just once cup of coffee? A French press, preferably from Bodum.

** If you love tea, you need to visit the House of Tea, preferably in person. If that won’t work, check it out online 

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Speaking of artisnal

 Michael Simardone is a Toronto furniture builder. If that’s not artisanal enough, he also makes just about everything from building refuse and cast-aways. He and his wife Caroline are in the process of opening up a Junction storefront with his own pieces and accessories.

He and I worked together on an Upcycle Challenge for Habitat for Humanity Toronto this year, in which we strung together building  left-overs to craft something new. See the results below.

All that to say, if you’re an artisan, you might want to contact la Simardone about selling your stuff through his store. Even if it doesn’t turn out to be the century’s best business deal, I guarantee you’ll like him.

Michael is on a nice little stretch of street that seems poised to take off. Same neighb as the always-worth-a-visit Eclectic Revival  (Artisanal Steampunk?). And if memory serves, there’s a little resto about half a block west (north side) of Simardone that makes amazing pastry — some of which gets stuffed with fruit. Yum.  Art you can eat. 

Art for Craft’s Sake

Quick - if navy is the new midnight blue, what does artisanal mean? That’s a trick question — artisanal can mean whatever. Heck, I’ve squirted Srirachi hot-sauce into ketchup and called it “an artisanal blend of tomato and pepper”.

So I know, folks, that the term can tart everything from stationery with pictures of birds on it to the “limited edition” of a new line from a hip retailer, “richly inspired” by raw talent in a far-flung, picturesque spot, but mass made in China.

If you want the real thing, from Africa, for example, you have to go to Snob, a jewel box of a store tucked away in a tiny corner at 388 Carlaw, between Dundas and Gerrard. 

It's tempting to take one of everything at Snob

Right now, there are amazing textiles (ethereal threads of wool and silk washed into felt, heavy cotton fabrics with detailed stitching – both geometric and organic in design — in earthy browns, yellow and pumpkin tones - I’d use it on bedding, lampshades, headboards, soft ottomans.

 

 Also, elaborately carved poles on stands; in another life, they held up tents in a desert. Highly beaded and elongated wooden figures. And a curiosity cabinet, with artifacts such as hair picks made from ancient destructible woods. In fact, this store is a bit like the museum. Plan to stay a while.

Of all of the gorgeousness, the most beautiful thing there for me are the handmade Egyptian pendant Zenza lamps, with hammered patterns that create shadow webs on the nearest wall — to very, very pretty effect.

I know because I have one hanging in a hallway at home. Every time I look at it, I stop and marvel at the craft-work and the effect it has on light.

Recently at Snob, I saw for the first time the slim cylindrical pieces from Zenza. If I had a high ceiling and a lot of money, I’d buy 20 of them. The choice of models will only expand, given that Snob owner Denise Zidel (or, as her intimate friends like to call her, La Snob Dynamo) is now the national distributor for these pieces. Go and visit the store. In the meantime, check out the pics below.

Love the new textiles at Snob

 

The Zenza lamps I love, love love.

 

BTW,  a little birdie told me to look out for news from Snob early in the new year.

Around town, the shortest route to local talent is probably through the One of a Kind Show, which is the Platonic Ideal of Artisanal. One of the few home shows that’s worth the price of admission.Check out my Pinterest board for a sneak peak.

This holiday season, World Vision is selling scarves and jewelry to support their education and development projects. The Haitian hand-beaded necklace is attractive, with thin bands of strong colour.You need to order by Dec. 10th to get them for Christmas.

Frida framed

All pics by Nickolas Muray. Frida and Diego runs until January 20, 2013 at at the AGO  GO!

Jo Alcorn loves the high and lows

Photos by Robin Stubbert

Jo Alcorn is a veteran of home improvement tv, sells her own line of furniture and interior lighting. She also tosses off a couple of stagings for high-end homes for resale. There’s more about Jo in my Hot Home column in the Saturday Star, but here are a few pics  of her spaces that likely did not make it through to the print edition. Alas.

Because we like to give credit where credit is due, here's some info on the spaces:

Bedroom: Design Republic, TEB interiors mixed with Bouclair
Living Room: Zsemba Furniture, Jeff Turner Coffee table mix with Bouclair
Office: Chair Table Lamp, James Connelly Art mixed with Bouclair

Alcorn’s website has links to a previous showcase and videos with tips for mixing high and low pieces.  In one she advocates for DIY art. The most recent example of that for me was that my sister Cathy picked up three brilliant colour postcard photographs of Frida Kahlo. (See images below. All are from Nickolas Muray © Nickolas Muray Photo Archives)  We saw the show on the weekend. Sad. Operatic.Fascinating.  We’ll house these in cheap Ikea frames and they’ll brighten yet another corner of my house. Thank you, Frida — and Cathy.

If we’d been museum hopping, we might have also made it down to the Textile Museum of Canada gift shop, where we might have found lovely tea towels by Raingoose.  About $15. Definitely frame-worthy.  But I'd also buy them because they'd help with the everyday art of drying dishes and the such. And because they'd be awfully pretty fluttering on the laundry line.

Kaffe Fassett - a colourful life

What a pleasure to talk to Kaffe Fassett last week. Here are lots of pics of his work, and a few thoughts from Fassett, one of the most important textile designers of his time, that did not make it into the paper.

On textile being a medium that gives the artist great colour control:

When I first started knitting lots of people were into Fair Isle -  that scattered colour into little tiny facets. I was so thrilled by all the colours sitting in the  basket, and saw them as units, and I began to build those geometric patterns into bigger patches of colour. I like pools of colour.

On everyday beautiful:

I remember knitting a hat for a little child. The father came to me three or four times and said, "you have no idea the amount of beautiful aesthetic information you put into that hat". He was living with it and realizing how special it was.

On colour and contrast:

The other day there was amazing mist when I was in Mt Pleasant -  a thick mist on the just-turning autumn leaves. We were just tripping on it. I think my appreciation for that kind of palette comes from antique textiles — old faded, dirty patchwork – in which the colours have gradually become more harmonious and muted and less sharp. Beautiful.

 

A young and handsome Kaffe Fassett with the (under-appreciated?) 60s fashion designer Bill Gibb

 

Chenille, lurex and pearls for Bill Gibb

 

 

Incredibly, Fassett had two clients paint over wall murals he'd been comissioned to do. "Never again," he vowed, after I invited him to come to my house and do one, with the promise it would stay forever. "I poured myself into those and to see someone come and just make it disappear..."

 

 

Sumptuous, subtle colours. Fassett points out that his colour pairing for quilts are always low contrast.

If this has you dying to learn more about his work, you'll want to know that Fassett tells his fascinating life story in a beautifully written and illustrated autobiography, Dreaming in Colour (www.melaniefalickbooks.com. About $30 on Indigo.ca and Amazon.ca.)

 

 

 

 

Terrific toiles, tickings and other textiles

Fans of lovely textiles, rejoice. Annie Sloan’s new line, which includes toiles and tickings made in Belgium and France, should start showing up soon in a few select Canadian retailers.  Here’s a sneak peak.

Let’s start with the toiles — a perennial favourite. Although the inspiration for toile fabrics originated in India, it was in 18th century France that they became popular. Typically, they featured a bucolic theme repeated across a pale background. But you also see the designs against stonger backdrops - sometimes mustard yellow, deep pink or event black. Originally, these prints were often designed as a graphic interpretation of news or important local events.  BTW, check out the very modern Marimekko design below. Doesn't it remind you a bit of toile? It does me.

Ticking is a tightly woven, highly serviceable striped cotton fabric, originally used for mattress covers. The black and taupe Paris Noir ticking from Sloan is a smart and chic, while a horizontal stripe in off white and tomato red in different intensities (Panama Rouge) is softer. French Hens is retro rural; chickens, roosters, eggs and feathers on a linen-look background.  It would work well on draperies in the kitchen or garden room, or on as pillows. Faded Roses is strewn with delicate, dainty roses in faded pinks and greens. Prertt, pretty, pretty.

To see all the new fabrics, check out my Pinterest board 

Colour me Canadian

It’s appropriate that Beauti-Tone, the paint line from Canadian owned and operated Home Hardware,  has launched a colour tribute to the nation it calls home. The Simon Chang Oh Canada! collection has 42 colours  in six palettes, each one inspired by a region of Canada. They include Savoir Flair, which celebrates French-Canadian heritage (see top pic);  Arctic inspired  Northern Reflection (second pic); Beauti and the East, which reflects the charm of Atlantic villages; Culture Club, a hip, urban palette; Wheat till you try it, echoing the big sky colours of the Prairies and Pacific Overture, which captures the beauty of the Pacific seaboard. See the 2013 trend card  below.