Triscuit Thin Crisps

I've been a fan of these super tasty and addictive baked whole-grain crackers for a while now. I first got hooked on their Rosemary and Olive Oil flavoured crackers. I never thought I would enjoy anything THAT healthy so much (only 90 calories, 3% fat, 3% sodium). No guilt at all going through a box! Today, I discovered their new Applewood Smoked Barbecue flavour and it so ridiculously good that I had to mention it to everyone. Bye bye potato chips, hello Triscuits! Check out all the the other flavours here

The Burger's Priest

Being blessed with another incredibly warm March weekend in Toronto, it seemed like everyone was out in the city streets revelling in the joy of our early spring weather. I also never noticed so many people dressed in green (in shorts and sandals too) on the streets to celebrate St Patrick's Day on Saturday. An extra dose of Irish Spring fever in the air!

So what goes better with great weekend weather than a damn good burger? I finally made my way to the The Burger's Priest on Queen St East to try their much talked-about classic American cheeseburger. The two draw-backs about this place are the long line-ups and that it's strictly takeout. Considering the warm weather, I didn't mind waiting outside for a bit and taking the food to go. Once inside, my first thought was that this joint was TINY but the looks on people's faces were of pure happiness and thick with anticipation. I had high hopes for this food considering Zagat's 2012 Restaurant Survey has named this restaurant the 3rd best food in Toronto (following the far more upscale Scaramouche and Chiado/Senhor Antonio Tapas and Wine Bar).

I ordered the "The Priest", a cheeseburger topped with a fat juicy fried Portobello. Did I mentioned the mushroom was also stuffed with cheese? Hello heartburn. It was tantalizing to see the whole masterpiece assembled and cooked right in front of you.

The bottom line: This burger couldn't get any more fresher and juicier. I love mushrooms, so the blend of flavours and textures bursting in my mouth was amazing. It was well cooked, not overdone so juice was dribbling down my face. It did lack a signature taste, compared to a Harvey's burger (which coincidentally is across the street). But the taste is truly home-style: biting into the burger, I dreamily recalled hot summer days and BBQs. This is the perfect burger you can grill yourself, without having to.

The Burger's Priest

1636 Queen St West (and Coxwell Ave)

www.theburgerspriest.com

(647) 346-0617

How to Make Better Scrambled Eggs

Who doesn't want to start the day with a plate of hot creamy, buttery eggs? According to Ruth Reichl, the simple secret for the most luxurious eggs is to keep the heat low and keep stirring. Take it away, Ruth...

Everybody thinks they can make great scrambled eggs. Most people are wrong. They think that great scrambled eggs are fast and easy. They aren’t. They think they need a lot of fancy added ingredients. They don’t. The main point to remember—other than using the best, freshest eggs that you can find along with good sweet butter—is that scrambled eggs, cooked with great patience, have a texture like velvet and a taste that reminds you why you want to be alive.

I learned how to make this kind of scrambled eggs from The Alice B. Toklas Cook Book, and Alice learned to make them from the painter, Francis Picabia, who understood that scrambled eggs should not be fluffy curds, but a dense, almost custardy concoction that you eat with great joy and concentration. To achieve that, Mr. Picabia had five rules:

Cook them over very low heat.

Stir them constantly; he used a fork, but I prefer a heatproof rubber spatula.

Keep adding butter as you cook them. Mr. Picabia preferred 2 tablespoons of butter per egg - which comes out to a stick of butter for every 4 eggs that you’re cooking. “More,” he counseled, “if you can bring yourself to it.” I don’t mind counseling the opposite; it’s really the slow cooking that makes these eggs, not the butter.

Don’t rush; Mr. Picabia says to take half an hour to prepare the eggs. That, I’ll admit, also seems slightly excessive to me. I think you can turn the heat up slightly and do it in about 15 minutes.

Below is the recipe verbatim from The Alice B. Toklas Cook Book. Feel free to adjust it as I have, but as long as you keep the heat low and your hand moving until they’re creamy but nearly set, you’ll end up with the most luscious eggs of your life.

Eggs Francis Picabia

Break 8 eggs into a bowl and mix them well with a fork, adding salt but no pepper. Pour them into a saucepan - yes a saucepan, not a frying pan. Put the saucepan over a very, very low flame, and keep turning them with a fork while very slowly adding in very small quantities ½ lb. butter - not a speck less, more if you can bring yourself to it. It should take ½ hour to prepare this dish. The eggs of course are not scrambled, but with the butter, no substitute admitted, produce a suave consistency that only gourmets will appreciate.

Source:
http://www.gilttaste.com/stories/4078-how-to-make-better-scrambled-eggs

Crispy-Cakey Chocolate Chip Cookies

When I'm craving chocolate, nothing hits the spot like fresh homemade cookies (plus a glass of milk or scoop of vanilla ice cream). This cookie is exactly how I like it. The high oven temperature makes the cookie crispy around the edges, while the middle stays thick and cakey due to the short baking time. You can achieve this texture especially if you scoop smaller-size mounds of dough.

Makes about 36 cookies.

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups of all-purpose flour

1 1/4 tsp salt

3/4 tsp baking soda

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened

3/4 cup packed light brown sugar

3/4 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs, at room temperature

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Procedure:

Whisk the flour, salt and baking soda in a large bowl.

Beat the butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar in a bowl with a mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes (use the paddle attachment for a stand mixer). Beat in the eggs one at a time, then beat in the vanilla. Reduce the mixer speed to low, add the flour mixture and beat until combined. Stir in the chocolate chips by hand. Press plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the dough and refrigerate at least 1 hr or preferably overnight.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Drop scant tablespoonfuls of dough onto the prepared baking sheets, about 2 inches apart. Bake until golden brown around the edges but still light in the center, about 8 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool 10 minutes on the baking sheets, then transfer to racks to cool completely.

Source: Food Network Magazine