Like Buttah:In true American fashion, (those who want to have their cake and eat it) I’ve skipped ahead to dessert in my research for the American-Canadian Cooking Project with Jill in Ottawa.My sweet assignment is the classic Canadian butter tart. “The Pioneer Cook: An Historic View of Canadian Prairie Food” by B. Barss says the recipe reflects the simple ingredients found in the pantry of the
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I am a Curious Yellow:It appears that Canadian cuisine can be color blind. For some reason, that I have yet to uncover, French Canadian Pea Soup is traditionally made with yellow peas.What would the Jolly Green Giant do with this revelation? Perhaps start a spin-off company? Designate a golden cartoon side-kick? As I work towards the culmination of the American-Canadian Cooking Project, I’ve come
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A Salad for a Grand New York Hotel:As our research on The American-Canadian Cooking Project continues, Jill has shrewdly decided to spend a few sunny days in Florida. I’m truly envious as I brave sub-zero temperatures in the Northeast. Before her departure, Jill sends in another installment in her research into American regional cuisine. She writes:Next on my list is Waldorf salad. I'm pretty
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Et tu Caesar?One if the menu items mentioned by Jill for our American-Canadian Cooking Project is a curious concoction. She suggests that I quench the thirst of my March 18 guests with a Caesar. What can she mean? Is this a Shakespearean reference? A tragic cocktail? What is the connection between the biggest emperor of them all and a Canadian beverage?I delve into Internet research that’s as
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Chowder:As we move towards the culmination of our American-Canadian Cooking Project, Jill’s research is all about shell fish. She writes:According to the Encyclopedia of American Food and Drink, chowder was a staple dish of early New Englanders. The term "chowder" appears to derive from the French word for cauldron, chaudière, after the large cooking pots into which sailors from French fishing
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Canadian Bannock Bread for Beginners:Jill’s productive trial-run with Boston Brown Bread reminds me that perhaps I should practice a bit before my guests arrive on March 18th to taste the results of our American-Canadian Cooking Project. I’m just back from another long flight, and not feeling particularly ambitious, so I decide on Bannock Bread for my maiden Canadian culinary venture, since the
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A Taste of Munich:The early morning is raw and gray, and there are just a few pedestrians on the streets of Munich as I wander into the old city center on a pre-breakfast exploration. Munich is the cultural and economic center of German Bavaria. I pass empty beer gardens and ratskellers and eventually I find myself at the Marienplatz, a large open square where the Old and the New Town Hall is
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