{Sweet Treats} Maple Butter Tart Recipe for Canadian Thanksgiving

Today's Columbus Day here in NYC, but back home in Canada, it's Thanksgiving Day.  Because Thanksgiving in the U.S. doesn't happen until late November, I typically have a tough time recreating an authentic Canadian Thanksgiving here.  We couldn't find cranberries nor whole turkeys so we opted to roast a whole duck instead, served with tons of potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, and butternut squash.

But for dessert, I decided to bake a thoroughly Canadian sweet treat: Butter Tarts.  For me, these tarts are nostalgic. My parents would usually buy them from the grocery store and my brother and I devour them after dinner. Butter Tarts are similar to Pecan Pies - but instead of pecans, these tarts usually have raisins in them and the filling is slightly runnier. 



I used this award-winning recipe as inspiration. The biggest change I made was that I used Canadian Maple Syrup (a gift from my mom after she recently visited Quebec) instead of corn syrup.  I love the sweetness of these tarts combined with flaky crust. If you're a fan of pecan pies, give these butter tarts a try!

Butter Tart Recipe (makes about 20 tarts)

Tart Dough:

    1 cup ounces unsalted butter, softened

    3/4 cup granulated sugar

    1 pinch kosher salt

    3 large eggs

    3 cups pastry flour (you can substitute with 3 cups all-purpose flour)

Directions:

    1. Cream the butter, sugar and salt together.

    2. Add the eggs and mix until combined.

    3. Add the flour and mix until it all comes together.

    4. Wrap in plastic and chill thoroughly (at least 1 hour) before using.

Butter Tart Filling:

Tart dough

1 cup golden raisins

1/2 cup soft butter

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1 pinch salt

1 cup pure maple syrup

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

    1 teaspoon Bourbon Vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400F.
2. Prepare muffin pans by rolling out pie dough and cutting 4-inch (approx) circles; fit dough circles into muffin cups; set aside in fridge until ready to fill.
3. In a small bowl, place raisins and cover with hot tap water; let stand on the counter for 30 minutes. This will plump them up.
4.   In a large bowl, using a wooden spoon, mix together the soft butter, brown sugar, salt and maple syrup; stir well until sugar is dissolved and butter is creamed.
5. Add eggs and vanilla, then mix well.
6. Drain raisins.
7. Retrieve tart shells and divide raisins equally into all shells; then divide butter mixture into all tarts.
8. Bake at 400F for 15-20 minutes; filling will be lightly browned but still bubbling.
9. Canadians fall into two camps about butter tarts and are quite loyal to their favourite type: runny or firm.
10. For runny (the type that dribbles when you bite into one) tarts, you can take them out of the oven after about 15 minutes.
11. For firm tarts, bake them for the full 20 minutes, even adding another minute or two if you wish.
12. Let cooked butter tarts cool in pans for 10 minutes after removing from oven; then remove and place on racks until completely cool.

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Fancy Food Show in NYC

"Please don't leave yet!" I pleaded to fellow foodies Christine (Fresh, Local, and Best) and Lauren (Healthy Delicious) over the phone.  My flight had just landed from my Midwest travels (look for those posts soon!) and I was racing to get back to my apartment, drop off my bags, and meet them at the annual 3-day Fancy Food Show recently held at the Javits Center in NYC.  Luckily, I made it just in time to join them and meet some other foodies too!

The Fancy Food Show covers 331,000 square feet and features food and drink vendors from over 70 different countries and regions.  In addition to roaming the aisles with Christine and Lauren, I also tried samples with Jennifer (Savor the Thyme), Vanessa (Chef Druck), and Jackie (Diva That Ate NY). 

I met Chef Dave Martin (Top Chef Season 1) who partnered with La Tourangelle.  He was serving salad and crunchy Pistachio Oil and White Chocolate biscotto.  I liked the oil because it could easily be used to flavor dishes and desserts.  I also tried La Tourangelle's new product, Thai Wok Oil, that tasted like lemongrass and Thai basil.  I thought it could easily be used to flavor stir fry dishes when I didn't have the herbs on hand.

Passing by another booth, I wondered why the Canada delegation was featuring chefs from the White House along with a contestant from the Food Network show, Worst Cooks in America.

There were so many cheeses to sample from around the world.  I tried a few versions of horseradish cheese.  But some of the most beautifully presented cheeses (that was also tasty) were the ones offered by Cypress Grove Chevre.  Some of these goat cheeses have flavors of truffles and lavender.  And had I seen their wedding cake made out of cheese when I got married, my husband would have gotten his dream cake!

The large number of cheesemongers could only be rivaled by the sheer number of chocolatiers.  I thought that the bride and groom chocolate covered apples were cute.  Vosges always offers inventive flavors.  I really liked their new Cherry Rooibos Bar because it uses the African tea (rooibos) in it along with actual dried cherries.

Eclat Chocolate showed their new Obsession Chocolate Bar collection.  My favorite flavor was the Toasted Corn in dark chocolate.  It was like a new take on the chocolate pretzel idea, but with bits of toasted corn.  Finally, I loved the Madagascar chocolates from Brooklyn-based Madecasse.  The Sea Salt with Nibs was my favorite as the cocoa nibs provided a nice crunch. 

After sampling hot sauces made with ghost peppers from Blair's, I was grateful for the chocolate-covered ice cream lollipops (Lollibons) from Phillip R's Frozen Desserts. In addition to providing relief from spicy foods, I thought these lollibons were very tasty and would be great at any catered event.

Other interesting items, to me, was bag of Go-ggi or Korean-style beef jerky that tasted like bulgogi.  Made by Artisan Snacks Corp, this savory snack is made with USDA beef and contains no artificial colors or flavors.  I also liked these individual extra virgin olive oil capsules by La Vita Imports.  The company has sold a balsamic vinegar/extra virgin olive oil version to an airline for in-flight meals.  I thought these would be great for picnics and brown-bag lunches.

From Canada, I tried all of the lobster products by Village Bay.  The lobster caviar had the salinity and texture of caviar with the taste of lobster (reminded me of the tasty green stuff, or tomalley, in lobster).  The lobster pate could easily be served on hors d'oeuvres while the scallops cooked in lobster butter

Over in the Spanish area, I gravitated towards the Saffron tea.  I love cooking with the spice itself and never heard of a tea made with it.  Coming in Red Saffron, Green Saffron, and Black Saffron versions, the tea I tried had the saffron fragrance and a soothing subtle saffron taste.  As the charming Spanish salesman explained to me, saffron is known for its digestive, sedative, and aphrodisiac properties.  This product will be introduced to the U.S. in the Hawaiian market.  And with the boxes only being priced at a few dollars each, this product should perform very well.

One of the most photographed items had to be the Mona Lisa replica made with thousands of Jelly Belly jelly beans.  Their new collection is the Cocktail Classics collection with flavors like Pomegranate Cosmo and Peach Bellini.  But the most eye-catching flavors were their weird Harry Potter-esque flavors like Canned Dog Food and Toothpaste. 

The Fancy Food Show was fun to sample new products, speak with so many vendors, and randomly bump into other foodies.  The next Fancy Food Shows will be held in San Francisco (Jan 2011) and Washington D.C. (Jul 2011). 

Happy Canada Day!

After a wonderful dinner last night at Jean Georges' abc kitchen (details to come!), we walked by the Empire State Building.  To my delight, the top of the Empire State Building was lit up in red and white to celebrate my home country.  (It was a bit surprising too since it was a day too early)  So as we're getting ready to enjoy the July 4th holiday weekend, we want to wish all of our Canadian friends and family a very Happy Canada's Day!

{Wine Wednesday} Seriously Cool Canadian Chardonnay event in NYC

Since my wife is Canadian, I always keep an eye out for wines from her home country. They're difficult to find in NYC so I like to try them out when the wine makers themselves come to town.  Last month, we tasted Canadian Chardonnay wines at the Seriously Cool Chardonnay presentation held in midtown Manhattan.  The trade event was held by Wines of Ontario and Wines of British Columbia.  Upon arrival, we were greeted with a glass of sparkling wine, the 2006 Cuvee Peter F. Huff Blanc de Blancs from Huff Estates in Prince Edward County, Ontario.  This 100% chardonnay sparkler spent three years on lees and was a pleasant introduction at 12% ABV.

The trade group is using the term ‘Cool Chardonnay’ to differentiate its wines from warmer climates (Napa one could guess) as the grapes are grown in the cooler climates of Ontario (Niagara region and Prince Edward County) and a few from British Columbia.  The wines are closer in style to wines from Burgundy and Sonoma, but in a more restrained, food-friendly style.

Before the general wine tasting, we partook in the special seminar tasting and panel discussion.  The panel consisted of Tony Aspler (The Wine Guy), Thomas Bachelder (Le Clos Jordanne), John Szabo (Master Sommelier) and Tara Thomas (Wine & Spirits Magazine).  One of the central themes was the ripeness levels of grapes (phenolic and aromatic ripeness) compared to the alcohol level of the wine produced.  I guess this discussion plays into the constant debate of what ‘balance’ means in wine (can a wine be 'ripe' but low in alcohol or high in alcohol but still have acidity to balance the fruit?).  Other panel topics were acidity and pH levels, 'reductive' winemaking techniques, barrel-aging vs. stainless steel, and fermentation methods implemented (including the use of malolactic fermentation).

The wines tasted covered a wide range of prices, vintages and style with the majority of wines under 14% ABV, with some under 13% or even 12% (which I rarely see anymore).  Several wines have a strong mineral backbone to it (which I love) or even a bit of earthiness to it, but a common takeaway for me is that these wines are easy on the palate (too bad oysters and crab were not served) with crisp acidity.  There was even a 1998 Chardonnay from Southbrook Vineyards in Niagara to finish up the tasting to show aging potential of the wines, albeit on the sweeter side.  I would not mind seeing some of these showing up on a restaurant wine list, especially the Norman Hardie Cuvee 'L', Tawse Quarry Road Vineyard and the Quails' Gate Stewart Family Reserve. 

After the seminar, we toured the walk-around tasting.  There were 31 wineries pouring over 50 Chardonnays from various price ranges and styles. Similar to the structured tasting, I really liked the Norman Hardie unfiltered wines and the  Claystone Terrace Chardonnay from Le Clos Jordanne.  Although we did not get to try them all, both my wife and I enjoyed the wines from Tawse, Quail's Gate, Maliviore, Flat Rock and the blanc de blancs from  Cave Spring Cellars (I missed the Pelee Island Barrique 2005). We finished off the tasting with the mouth-watering 2007 Icewine from Pillitteri Estates, (Chardonnay not Riesling or Vidal Blanc) in Ontario.

Overall, it was a great opportunity to hear the panelists and other industry veterans' reactions to taste alongside them.  It seems they are targeting the elegant end of the white wine spectrum which would be a nice break from the high alcohol, low acid and fruit forward wines still dominating store shelves.  The wineries are seeking to get their name out about their terroir and style (and even if unfairly, how it compares to Burgundy and California).  Unfortunately, most, if not all, of these Chardonnays are not available in the U.S. (a couple of wineries have limited distribution of other wines).  Hopefully we’ll start seeing some soon here in the U.S.

{Fun Friday} Scoobi Doo pasta

Do you ever walk through the grocery aisles and chuckle at names of food seen on the shelves? For us, it's all part of the fun in food shopping and discovering new products.  When we were up in Toronto, we stopped in our tracks when we saw this package of pasta named Scoobi doo.  A friend of ours had mentioned making a dish with it, but we just thought she meant macaroni pieces of that famous cartoon dog.  We were wrong.

Not a lot of resemblance between Scooby Doo (left) and Scoobi Doo (right)

After buying this large bag of Scoobi doo pasta (who could we not?), we did some more research.  We were surprised to find that this Scoobi Doo pasta was even called for in recipe magazines like this one.  My half-Italian husband couldn't imagine his ancestors rolling dough and saying, "Scoobi doo" to each other.  Upon further research, we learned that this pasta is called Cavatappi pasta.

Its shape is similar to a corkscrew or double elbow macaroni.  The Scoobi doo, I mean, Cavatappi pasta is actually very functional - its shape holds sauces well and can easily be used in macaroni pasta dishes as a fun alternative.  The list is endless:  Cavatappi and cheese, Cavatappi with pesto sauce, Cavatappi with tomatoes and bocconcini pasta salad, etc.

What are you funniest grocery finds?