The Yum Yum Factor

I make my  Instant Pot Butter Chicken  fairly often but I don't always plan well enough to marinate the meat overnight and I do believe that an overnight marinade is essential to achieve a rich depth of flavour in the final dish and avoid it tasting like bland chicken plunked into delicious sauce. My theory was that if I added the chicken marinade ingredients INTO the meatballs, it wouldn't have to sit for so long before I can cook the finished dish. We also really, really love meatballs. A quick search for meatballs on The Yum Yum Factor will reveal my obsession with these orbs of tender delight so it stands to reason that I eventually try to meatballify every favourite recipe at some point. I have been mulling a meatball conversion with Butter Chicken for a while but I have been so busy cooking at work, that I have barely cooked more than scrambled eggs in my own kitchen all year but I finally got around to making it this week. don't be alarmed by...

Meet Luisa. Luisa grew up in Portugal, went to school in Belgium, lived in Spain and France and spent a large chunk of her life travelling the world while she worked in advertising before she quit to become a dressmaker, working out of her stunning former ship part warehouse space directly facing the Tagus River in Lisbon. Then, this past February, Luisa decided to change course yet again, built a beautiful kitchen in her warehouse and launched her newest venture, Mesa Luisa. Offering her version of the more typical market shop followed by a cooking class and lunch, upcoming workshops and private evening dinners by appointment  , Luisa has reinvented herself as a chef, hostess, guide and story teller in her hometown of Lisbon. Oh, did I forget to mention that Luisa's two children are famous musicians? Her son is Salvador Sobral, the 2017 Eurovision winner (Portugal's first ever win) and he won by singing a song penned by his equally famous sister, musician Luisa Sob...

Sunset over the River Tagus I just got back from a ten day trip to Portugal - okay, it was actually eight days in Portugal and 2 days in Paris. I did things a little differently this time as I was taking my big sister with me to experience Europe for the first time and didn't want to be a slave to my notes. I was there in 2014 so I wanted to let her kind of set the tone and let's be honest, I will be back another time. Or two. Or three the view from the São Jorge Castle  This time, although I still had my lists and my custom made Google map which was basically my google map from 2014 with a whack of new and exciting places to eat and shops to check out, we ended up just kind of wandering around and everything worked out just fine. The intrepid adventurers I booked one activity in Lisbon and one in Porto, pre-booked all of our airbnbs and a train ticket to get us from Lisbon to Porto but, other than that, we just showed up. the magical Quinta de Regaliera...

More Meatballs! My last recipe was for these crazy delicious Korean Meatballs and this time, I am showing you how to whip up a big batch of tender meatballs that you can bake off and then freeze because, I know you don't want to hear it, but SUMMER IS ALMOST OVER. Time to stock the freezer for September when life goes back to the daily grind and nobody has time to come home from work or school and make these puppies. So, the difference here is that I use a combo of ground beef, ground pork and Italian sausage and that give me a really tender, moist meatball that has enough fat content that it doesn't get all tough when you reheat the frozen balls of deliciousness down the road. I make this giant batch and throw some of them in a nice, light tomato sauce to eat that day and freeze the rest. The best way to freeze them is to lay them out on parchment lined baking sheets that fit in the freezer. Once they are hard, you can pop them off the tray and throw them in a f...

Oh my, what a spring/summer I have had. For the last year I have been working as a hired gun, cooking for a local caterer, teaching classes as well as hosting pop ups and private dinners around Toronto.  To be honest, I have had a hard time balancing this new schedule so it was not a huge surprise when i fell ill, mid April. What was not expected was spending  6 weeks on my ass with a lung infection followed by a family situation that took me away from home for the last month. At this point, I kind of feel like a brand new, baby blogger, brimming with fun ideas for some new, tasty treats and I have promised myself I will slow down a bit and make time for The Yum Yum Factor as well as washing my hair regularly and eating while sitting down. First up are these Spicy Koreanish Meatballs that I served with this addictive  Kimchi Fried Rice by fellow blogger, Diversivore  . These babies are sooooooooo good. The sugar/chili pepper coating is a spin on my ...

I am Back!! I have been sick since mid April, hence my absence from the blog. I bet you thought I had quit, didn't you? After a lengthy bout with some sort of lung plague, I am finally emerging from the fog and forced myself to get in the kitchen today. Okay, I have been in the kitchen but it's been all grilled cheese sammies, frozen potstickers and soup, mostly made by The Kid as I croaked out instructions from my sick bed on the couch, Netflix droning on in the background. I have a Supper Club coming up and the first course will be a version of this Basque style Leek and Potato Soup with Cod and Serrano Ham so it seemed like it was as good a time as any to whip up a batch and make sure it is as delicious as I recall. It is. The Traditional Soup, called Porrusalda, if often made with cod but you would normally add a whack of reconstituted salt cod and cook it IN the broth for a chunk, rustic soup. It's absolutely delicious and homey and wonderful but I n...

Okay my people, if you are in Toronto, you are in for a treat this month. I am going to make big, family style meal for 20 at The Kingston Social that is inspired by my recent trip to Barcelona. As always, Tanya will be on hand to whip up her amazing cocktails with a lovely wine and beer list available as well. Come and join us for a night of fun, delicious food and drink and if you are really lucky, some table top flamenco dancing by yours truly Reserve your spot by buying a ticket here