Beef Hummus Wraps made in the Hamilton Beach Panini Press

With this Hamilton Beach Panini Press and indoor grill, we have endless possibilities to pack our sandwiches with flavourful ingredients and make delicious meals within minutes. 

A Whole New Way of Microwaving with Breville Quick Touch Crisp

Cooking or heating food on non-metal dishes using standard microwaves usually ends up with soggy food, as it cooks and releases steam. The Breville's innovative Quick Touch Crisp microwave changes this reality for us. 

Kitchen Prep Made Easy with OXO

Having kitchen tools that make prep work easy, makes cooking and baking easier. I like using the OXO Grip Chopper regularly to chop a variety of ingredients such as nuts, herbs, onions, garlic, and other vegetables by simply pushing down the black knob that exposes the blades, which chops the ingredients.

Win Your Own Trudeau Holiday Baking and Decorating Tools

Before long it will be holidays, and I am sure many of us our thinking what gifts we can get for family and friends. Winter holidays is a time when my family and I get together to bake and decorate cakes and cookies. I like the colourful, quality Trudeau tools that are essential in the kitchen when we bake. 

Korean Potato Salad

Korean Food Made Simple by Judy Joo is a wonderful book, as it gave me the opportunity to make food from Korean cuisine at home. There are 130 recipes in this book, and I like that we can prepare some of these in less than 30 minutes.

Baking Bread using Banneton Proving Basket and Terracotta Bread Form

I love using terracotta pots to cook over my gas cooker, as I find it gives the dishes an additional delicious flavour. Other than baking on a clay pizza peel, I haven't baked bread inside a terracotta pan before. I am excited by using the Mason Cash 34cm unglazed Terracotta Bread Form, I can bake bread at home inside a terracotta pan. I found using the terracotta bread form gave the baked bread a delicious flavour, and it smells fabulous. 

Making Meals in the Clipso T-Fal Pressure Cooker

A pressure cooker is very handy tool to have at home for me because it allows me to cook healthy meals quickly. I think every cook needs a tool like a pressure cooker that will help them cook meals fast. I have been using the T-Fal Clipso Pressure Cooker for a while now to make a variety of meat dishes, lentil, and soup.

Carrot Salad using the Microplane Spiral Cutter

I enjoyed using the Microplane Spiral Cutter to quickly cut the carrots before tossing it with the below ingredients and enjoying it as a side dish. Before using the Microplane Spiral Cutter remove the plastic from the blades and wash the unit. This cutter is similar to a pencil sharpener, and it is fun to use. We can use this cutter with vegetables such as carrots and radishes that can be added to stir fries, pickles and other dishes. We can cut larger vegetables such as zucchini and cucumber with the larger hole.

ActiFry an Appliance to Make Oil Free Fries

We love fries, but I don’t enjoy frying them with lots of oil because it is unhealthy. The thought of all that oil being absorbed in our body is the reason why I don’t make fries often, as we would like eating fries. I love that by using the T-Fal ActiFry we don’t have to use anymore than a tablespoon of oil to fry 1 kilogram of potatoes or other vegetables. I found that the fries come out crispy just like it would if it was deep fried, but this is better without the oil. This way we can enjoy fries more often than we usually would without the excess fat and calories. The ActiFry Express, made in France is the second generation ActiFry that is faster, more powerful, and efficient.

Breville's IQ Kettle Pure Helps Make the Perfect Cup of Tea

I believe the correct temperature of the water makes a big difference in making the perfect tea. Recently, I have been using the Breville the IQ Kettle Pure (BKE830XL), which has 5 temperature settings that allows us to make the perfect green tea, oolong tea, French press, black tea, or boil water.

Maille Flavoured Kebab and Vegetables Grilled in MR. BAR-B-Q Grilling Basket

La Maison Maille have been making mustard for 268 years, and they have set the standard for Dijon mustard. Maille is the leading premium producer of mustard, vinegar, and French cornichons in France because of its attention to detail and carefully selected ingredients. The production of mustard dates back to early Roman cuisine, where they combined mustard seeds with unfermented grape juice and called it mustum ardens that is now known as mustard. Mustard has many different varieties, and can be used beyond a topping for hamburgers and hot dogs. Maille products are available in select gourmet grocery stores and supermarkets in Canada.

Grapefruit and Ginger Drink made using the Hemisphere Twist Blender

I love the beautiful sleek and stylish Breville® appliances that we can use everyday. Breville’s Hemisphere Twist Blender adds a twist to our daily routine with a splash of flavour. I really like the innovative design of the Breville Hemisphere Twist that livens up our recipes and add greater depth to our drinks. The standard lid is interchangeable with the unique citrus cone lid that allows us to bring an instant infusion of citrus into any delectable creation, from smoothies and cocktails to dips, spreads, soups, and more.

Apple Tart with Sweet Pie Dough

This sweet pie dough and the adapted apple filling recipe is from the Pies sweet and savory DK book. The crust with the filling is delicious, we enjoyed this apple tart with ice cream.

For the Sweet Pie Dough

1 cup flour

5 tbsp chilled unsalted butter

Substitute 1 tbsp flour with 1 tbsp granulated sugar

1 lightly beaten egg yolk optional to make a richer dough

flour for dusting

New Kitchenaid® Collection: A Fresh Take on Brand's Iconic Design

KitchenAid is unveiling a dramatically designed major appliance collection available in stainless steel, black, white and black stainless steel reflecting visual cues from its best known product, the iconic stand mixer. The new collection is wholly original yet uniquely identifiable as the KitchenAid brand. It will be the brand's first collection to launch globally, with U.S. availability starting in April of 2015.

Season Two of Rachael vs. Guy: Kids Cook-Off

Season Two of Rachael vs. Guy: Kids Cook-Off Premieres August 17th at 8pm ET/PT on Food Network. Rachael Ray and Guy Fieri return for season two, as eight multi-talented junior chefs are split into two teams, each mentored and coached by Rachael and Guy, as they compete over six episodes in new challenges, guaranteed to test their skills in the kitchen. 

Sharpening the knives at home®

Sharpening knives at home is convenient and easy if we have a good sharpener. We put one of our dullest knives, to test this Chef's Choice Pronto Pro manual diamond hone® knife sharpener and were happy with the results. 

This extremely fast manual sharpener can be used on European, American and Asian style knives such as straight edge, santouku, sports, serrated and pocket knives. This sharpener has a crisscross technology that allows a precise bevel angle control that creates ultra sharp 15-degree and 20-degree edges. The wheels hold shape, and do not load up, so it is durable and easy to clean. The edge to hold the sharpener is "soft touch" and allows us to have secure grip while sharpening. 

To use this sharpener just slide the blade back and forth in a sawing-like motion by applying a downward force. Using this 100% diamond abrasive wheels in stages 1, 2, and 3 helps the knives to have a razor sharp edge. 

Stage 1: Apply a 15-degree edge for fishing, light, hunting knives, and Asian style knives.

Stage 2: Apply a 20-degree edge for fishing heavier hunting knives, and European and western style knives.

Stage 3: Honing and polishing, sharpens serrated knives, and Asian style knives.

This lightweight Chef's Choice Pronto Pro manual diamond hone® knife sharpener 4643 is made in USA and is safe to use for all knives. This is a wonderful tool to have in the kitchen that can be bought from cookware stores, sports, and hardware stores, as well as through mail-order catalogs and online retailers for $60 Canada and $50 US.

All rights reserved on photographs and written content Torviewtoronto © 2010 - 2013 unless mentioned. Please Ask First

Vegetable Savoury Quinoa and Delicious Dishes Made at the CUTCO Event

Savoury Qunioa, Kale orange salad and Fruit salad

I have been a fan of CUTCO for several years, so I had a wonderful time learning more about CUTCO knives at the #foodiesforever event in Toronto. I learned about different types of knives, its specific uses and knife skills at the event, while preparing and enjoying a healthy delicious meal.

Some of the things I learned about kitchen knives are that dull knives can be dangerous as it makes us put pressure when cutting, which is more likely to get us hurt. Also, wooden knife handles are porous and are prone to splintering. 
These things are not a problem with CUTCO, as their knives are sharp and have a forever guarantee to keep them always sharp. The comfortable thermo-resin CUTCO knife handles are dishwasher-safe, which keeps them clean and good as new.

We made this delicious Savoury Quinoa at the event, which I tried at home as well. This easy to make healthy meal was also enjoyed by everyone in my family.

1 cup quinoa

2 cups water

1 vegetable cube

1 carrot

1 zucchini

1 tbsp coconut oil

salt and pepper optional

Cut the carrot and zucchini into cubes and leave it aside. Heat the oil in medium heat and sauté the carrots and zucchini for 1 to 2 minutes. Then add the quinoa with the water and vegetable cubes. Let the quinoa cook in low heat covered for about 20 to 25 minutes. Let the cooked quinoa sit for about 5 minutes and serve it warm.

All rights reserved on photographs and written content Torviewtoronto © 2010 - 2013 unless mentioned. Please Ask First

Cassava chips and Cooking with CUTCO Giveaway

To make Cassava chips...

2 cups cassava slices

1/2 to 1 tsp chillie powder

1/4 to 1/2 tsp salt

oil to fry

Cut the cassava into thin slices and then remove the peel.  Toss the cassava slices with chillie powder and salt.  Fry in hot oil and serve.

Using a sharp and reliable knife makes our kitchen jobs easy and safe.  I am a big fan of CUTCO and have been using CUTCO knives for many years, so I can personally guarantee their products.  Once you use a knife from CUTCO it will for sure become a favourite and the only one you will want to use :)  

The stain resistance CUTCO knives are easy to clean and store.  Some of their knives have the special Double-D edge that makes clean cuts all the time.  High-carbon stainless steel is used to make the knives.  All CUTCO knives have a full-tang feature where the steel of the blade extends to the full length of the knife.  The knives are attached to the blade with three highly polished, nickel silver rivets.  The ergonomically designed "hand perfect" handle is contoured to distribute the workload equally to all parts of the hand.  With CUTCO knives it doesn't matter if you have small or large hands or use your left or right hand.  The handle is made with smooth, thermo-resin material that will not crack, chip, fade or absorb moisture.  

CUTCO has a wide collection of wonderful cutlery and cookware.  Their products have a forever guarantee, even if the CUTCO products are passed from generation to generation.  We don't need to hold on to the receipt :)  They sharpen the knives for free, but there is a small fee for shipping.  If you are not 100% satisfied, CUTCO will repair or replace the knives from free.

Cooking with CUTCO is a new venture from CUTCO cutlery that gives people an opportunity to run their own business from home.  Their products are sold through direct sales (home presentations) and online, to keep the costs low.  If you want to be a part of selling CUTCO and become a representative, the company will provide hands-on and video training.

Check out their Facebook to keep up to date about their fabulous products.

Giveaway

If you would like to win this 7" Santoku knife (value of $138) please leave a comment on this post and enter through the rafflecopter below.  This giveaway is open to people in Canada and ends on November 10th.

Update: The winner is Brenda

a Rafflecopter giveaway

All rights reserved on photographs and written content Torviewtoronto © 2012 unless mentioned. Please Ask First

Apple cinnamon bread pudding and butter bell crock

The Butter Bell® crock is a family owned business founded in 1996 in Los Angeles, California.  They provide unique, time-honoured kitchen tools, gourmet housewares and decorative tabletop linens to consumers worldwide. The original Butter Bell® crock is a modern version of the authentic French beurrier.  It is made out of high quality durable new bone china.  This dishwasher safe container keeps butter at room temperature on the counter/tabletop without spoiling.  

This natural method of preserving the creamy texture and delicate flavour makes butter more desirable and easy to spread.  It holds 1/2 cup (1 stick) of butter. Check out this effective, beautiful, innovative butter storage that is available in USA and Canada.

Disclaimer: This sponsorship is brought to you by the butter bell crock who we have partnered with for this promotion.

Here is a quick recipe for reusing bread.  Apple cinnamon bread pudding.

2 eggs

2 cups milk

1 cup whipped cream

12 pieces of old sliced bread cut into cubes

1 tsp cinnamon

1/8 tsp salt

4 tbsp brown sugar

1 apples cut into cubes

Whisk the eggs, milk, cream, cinnamon, salt and sugar.  Soak the bread and apples with the mixture and leave it for about 10 minutes.

Put in individual ramekins or baking tray and place it a pan with hot water.

Bake for an hour at 325F in a water bath, until a wooden skewer inserted comes out clean.

Serve it warm or cold, on its own or with ice cream.

All rights reserved on mentioned photographs and written content Torviewtoronto © 2012 unless mentioned. Please Ask First

Kitchen paddle and challah bread

Peel apart kitchen paddle is an eco-friendly, unique and useful tool made with bamboo. Unlike other pizza peels this one comes in 2 parts, each part measures 6" x 20". The working part of the paddle measures 12" x 12". We can use one or both of it depending on the size of the pizza or bread. This paddle is handy and can be used for serving cheese, making bread, flatbreads and for other baking needs.

This peel apart kitchen paddle is very smooth and easy on the hand because it is not heavy. When not in use we can easily store in the cupboard or conveniently hang the paddles as it has holes on the holding portion of the paddle. The paddle cleans easily by hand without a hassle. I like the innovative design and the earthy colour of the bamboo wooden board.

To use this paddle for pizza, first prepare the pizza on it, lift the right paddle slightly before peeling apart and then rotate the pizza in place by moving the paddle back and forth to place it in the oven or baking sheet/stone.

To pick up the finished pizza use the tapered sides of the paddle and simply lift. I am happy that I don't have to worry about the pizza breaking apart and toppings falling off when I pick it up from the oven and grill.

Here is recipe for challah bread adapted from Artisan bread in five minutes a day.

3/4 cup lukewarm water

3/4 tbsp yeast

3/4 tbsp salt

3 eggs lightly beaten

1/4 cup honey

1/4 cup unsalted butter melted and for greasing cookie sheet

3 1/2 cups flour

1 egg beaten with 1 tbsp water for egg wash

sesame or poppy seeds for the top

Mix yeast, salt, eggs, honey, melted butter and water in a container with a lid. Mix the flour with wooden spoon don't knead. Cover and rest at room temperature until the dough rises and collapses about 2 hours, don't cover the container airtight.

The dough can be used after the initial rise. It is easy to work with if the dough is chilled a little in the fridge, so keep it in the fridge with the lid on.

Prepare a cookie sheet or line a baking sheet with butter. Dust flour on the surface of the rested dough, and cut 1 pound grapefruit size piece. Dust flour on the working board and quickly shape dough into a ball tucking the dough in the bottom. Divide the ball into 3 parts and make thin long ropes. Braid the ropes starting in the center and working to the end. Turn the loaf over, rotate it and braid from the center out to the other end, this will help make a uniform thick bread. Allow the fresh braided dough to rest for about 40 minutes. If it is refrigerated dough, let it rest for 1 hour and 20 minutes.

Brush the loaf with egg wash and sprinkle seeds. Bake at 350F in the center of a preheated oven for 25 minutes, the time depends on the size of the loaf. If it is golden brown and the center of the loaf is resistance to pressure it is ready. Cool and slice to eat.

This dough can be kept of 5 days in the fridge, if more than 5 days leave it in the freezer in an airtight container for up to 4 weeks. Defrost frozen dough overnight in the fridge before using. Then allow it to rest and rise again.

All rights reserved on photographs and opinion of the written content Torviewtoronto © 2012 unless mentioned. Please Ask First