Canadian Prime: Rib Eye Steaks

 

Who:     rather peckish crew

What:    canadian prime: bone in rib eye steaks (aged 60 days)

Where:  rp kitchen  

When:   april 2012

Why:     to break in the new grill
Web:     you are already here

rp was anxious to break in our new kitchen addition.  What better way than to grill some Canadian Prime - bone in rib steaks in the dark. Thank god for flashlights. We used maple briquettes to get the fire started and apple wood chips for extra flavour. All we added was a little olive oil and some salt & pepper. These steaks were aged for 60 days before they hit our grill. This was a rare delicious treat for us.

prepping the steaks: olive oil, s & p

nice marbling

soaking the apple wood chips

they look ready

the charcoal is ready to fire up

we are ready to rock

cooked to a nice medium rare

it was delish.

zocalo...yum

 

Who:     Zocalo

What:    fresh local fare

Where:  bloor/ symington  

When:   march 2012

Why:     birthday celebrations continued
Web:     zocalobistro.com/ 

Apparently there is some debate as to what the name of the hood between the Dundas West and Lansdowne subway stations should be (read about it here).  The only name that is of any importance to us, however, is Zocalo.  Zocalo is a small, inconspicuous restaurant that serves absolutely delicious food.  The ingredients are fresh, the meals are hardy, the service is always friendly, and, well, it is just fantastic. And as an added bonus, it is extremely reasonably priced for the quality and flavour of the food.  Because of that, Zocalo is one of our favorites.  It is a gem. 

Lunch Menu: Too many delicious options!!

raw milk cheese from quebec with apple and
currant relish,  spiced almonds & spelt and seed crackers

house spiced almonds

beef & bacon loaf with bone marrow jus, warm
 celery root mash, red onion and cranberry relish, honey &
bourbon roasted acorn squash, roasted parsnip hummus
and house spiced almonds served with house greens and
organic artisan bread

cup of sweet potato soup

smokey whipped butter on organic artisan bread

apple and current relish on organic artisan bread

rp kitchen addition: the weber performer

 
Who:     rather peckish kitchen addition

What:    weber performer charcoal grill

Where:  rp kitchen  

When:   april 2012

Why:     we had to have one
Web:     you are already here

Deciding on a new television is super difficult.  Plasma, LCD, LED, true blacks, viewing angles, inches etc...  In contrast to electronics, purchasing a new addition to the rp kitchen was WAY easier.  Charcoal is what we wanted, and charcoal is what we got.  We opted for the Weber Performer. It comes complete with a 22.5 inch kettle, work station, ash collector and storage for the charcoal and wood chips. And the grilling gods said: let there be fire!!

weber performer charcoal grill

weber performer charcoal grill

inside the kettle

let's fire this baby up!!

its getting hot in here (so take off all your clothes...) just kidding!

where there is smoke there is fire.  and when we
have fire, we have good food!  yes we most
certainly do.

toronto underground market

Who:    toronto underground market 
What:   social food market
Where: evergreen brickworks  

When:  april 7, 2012

Why:    tons of delicious food!!!
Web:    yumtum.ca/

should have arrived earlier...

rather peckish was thrilled to receive a last minute invite to this popular food fair that took place at the Old brickworks in the don valley.   Despite being reclaimed and re-purposed as a community environmental centre, the factory maintains its industrial aesthetic.  As such, it is an ideal space to host a social food market as it fills nicely with food and drink vendors.  That night home cooks, caterers, student chefs, and budding restaurateurs prepared foods from a variety of cuisines.  The lines were long and several dishes sold out but we managed to sample fare from many of the vendors.  The majority of what we tried was tasty, tasty, tasty.  Below are pics from our favorite samplings.  Next time, we will definitely arrive early so as not to miss out on anything! 

rather peckish FYI: this is a great post to exploit the slide show feature.  it is as easy as clicking on one photo!

first stop: cannele

small french pastry with a soft and tender custard center 
and a dark, thick caramelized crust.

delish

link: backyard kitchen  delicious

lemongrass & chili satay tenderloin with coconut infused rice and slaw

lemongrass & chili satay tenderloin with coconut infused rice and slaw

mama nashi's gourmet indian fare

chicken tikka and curried beef samosas. the beef samosas 
were our FAVORITE nibble of the night)

the sauces, never tried them, we will next time

artist at work

paying careful attention to details equals more flavour. yum

ese: pulled pork with pickled onions

ese: caramelization = flavour

yummy

natural italian cold cuts. preservative-free and full of flavour.

sample plate: excellent.

the slow room: another one of our favourites

working hard prepping

the porchetta: juicy and tasty with pepe atomico chilli pepper oil.

the porchetta: juicy and tasty with pepe atomico chilli pepper oil.

bacon/chorizo sloppy joe's

bacon/chorizo sloppy joe's

bacon/chorizo sloppy joe's

the porchetta: juicy and tasty with pepe atomico chilli pepper oil

so many people! where should we go next.

babi & co. melt in your mouth juicy satays

mami's infamous pork satays served with pickled cucumbers

mami's infamous pork satays served with pickled cucumbers

mami's infamous pork satays served with pickled cucumbers

mini potato and pork croquette served with garlic chili sauce

mini potato and pork croquette served with garlic chili sauce