The Yum Yum Factor

It was mid December and we realized that we had nothing happening for an entire week. Sadly, The Kid didn't want to miss any school (WHO IS THIS PERSON??) so Shack and I booked our trip late Friday night and flew to NYC early Sunday morning. No time to plan or overthink. We landed to find ourselves sweltering in our winter coats. The first thing we did was check into our hotel and ditch the coats and set off to explore the city in nothing more than long sleeves two weeks before Christmas Day. We spent the entire day wandering midtown, making our way towards Central Park where we rented bikes and rode through it, again WITHOUT COATS, until the sun set. Dinner consisted of a couple stops in Little Italy for meatballs and pasta and then a third place for espresso and dessert. Even late at night, the weather was balmy and perfect for exploring the magical wonderland that is New York at Christmas without having to brave the cold and snow.  Perfection. We spent a d...

Just in time for NYE, I am sharing not only a recipe for a great appetizer with you that will wow your friends and solidify your reputation as an amazing host, but a chance to win $25 worth of A rla Dofino Harvarti , a bamboo cheeseboard and cute, ceramic dry erase cheese markers. I make no secret of my love for frozen puff pastry, especially during the holidays so if you don't have any in your freezer, you need to do something about that STAT.  Come on, quick like a bunny - you still have a couple of days to get ready for New Years. For this particular turnover, I chose to use the creamy harvarti  because this appetizer required maximum melty creaminess and a mild flavour that would complement the savoury filling. For my cheese board, I went with the inferno (havarti packed with chipotle and habanero chili), smoked harvarti and roasted garlic. I would say that it was a close call but the inferno was the favourite at both of my Christmas parties with the smok...

Anyone who has read my blog, even casually, is probably aware that I have a couple of irrational fears when it comes to cooking and I am proud of the fact that I have worked to overcome these fears in the last few years, for the most part. It's not like I am deep frying every day now, but I do it when I have to and I not only can jam and stuff but I give the results to people I care about and nobody has died. Yet. That leaves the final frontier - pressure cooking. Just like I did not grow up with a mom who canned, I also did not grow up around pressure cooking so it's always felt like living on the edge to me. I think pressure cooker and visions of this immediately come to mind: Enter the magical electric pressure cooker: My shiny, new Instant Pot After following the reviews of the Instant Pot for more than a year, I finally decided that it was time to bite the bullet and get myself one of these bad boys This thing bills itself as a 7 in 1 machine that s...