The best part of Ottawa is the Rideau Canal Skateway, which is the world's largest skating rink. When all sections are open, it stretches 7.8 km (4.8 miles). The season seems short as the ice tends to last for four to six weeks, if we're lucky. And a skate on the canal for me always ends with a BeaverTail. Freshly made bread dough is dipped in hot oil and then sprinkled with cinnamon sugar. The line ups are always long, but worth the wait for this bite of sweetness.

BeaverTail shacks have been around since 1978 and started in Ottawa. Now franchises can be found in other parts of Canada, Colorado and recently in Saudi Arabia!

I tried making BeaverTails at home, and although they are delicious, they can't measure up to the ones from the BeaverTail shack.











Recipe

adapted from Link

1/2 cup warm water
5 teaspoons active dry yeast
1 pinch white sugar

1 cup milk, warmed
1/3 cup white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
1/3 cup vegetable oil
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups whole wheat flour, or as needed

4 cups oil for frying

Cinnamon sugar (or toast dope)

Click here for method.

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Pescado Zarandeado is a signature Mexican dish that varies depending on the chef creating it. It can involve marinating a whole fish in a combination of lemon juice, garlic, soy sauce and lime. The choice of fish is often Pargo, which has sufficient fat content to prevent it from drying out during the grilling process. However, other types of fish such as Snook or Red Snapper can also be used. Then, the fish is butterflied and grilled over an open fire.

Pescado Zarandeado is thought to have originated on the isle of Mexcaltitan in the state of Nayarit. Today, Diego's in Mazatlan has mastered this national dish without losing sight of its basic roots. His version was a mayonnaise-based sauce with garlic, oregano, soy sauce, herbs and cilantro, which was different from the recipe I tried here.


Chef Diego Becerra, barefoot on the sand, made us Pescado Zarandeado grilled on the beach outside his restaurant. The smoky aroma of fish as it was slowly being grilled was tantalizing while the sound of the waves and the children playing on the beach made it memorable. Traditionally, mangrove wood was used to smoke this dish, however, now mesquite is used so that the mangrove forests are protected.

The Pescado Zarandeado was served on a large platter with all the sides filling the table. Everyone dug in to fill their tortilla with the fish, refried beans, salsa, onions, rice, a squeeze of lime and all sorts of other fillings. It was moist, tender, and delicious.


Recipe for Pescado Zarandeado

from link

Serves 6


For the marinade:
1/3 cup olive oil
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup lime juice
6 cloves garlic, minced

For the fish:
1 3-pound fillet Snook, Dorado, Bonita, Red Snapper, Pargo or other white-fleshed fish suitable for grilling
6 tomatoes, deseeded and quartered
2 green bell peppers, cut into thick strips
2 red bell peppers, cut into thick strips
1 purple onion, cut into thick slices
6 jalepeños, sliced

Whisk the marinade ingredients. Let steep to blend flavors for about 15-30 minutes. pour over fish and let the fish marinate for 30 minutes.

If you don't have a grill or fish cage (or if it's winter!), you can put the fish in foil with the vegetables.

Grill (or bake the fish in the oven at 375° until the meat flakes). The time it takes depends on how large the fish is. My small Red Snapper took 20-30 minutes in the oven.

Serve with salsa, guacamole, refried beans, rice, limes and tortillas.


I would like to thank www.gomazatlan.com for inviting me to the 2011 Gran Fiesta Amigos. All stories, opinions and passion for all things Mexico shared on my blog are completely my own.

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You'd think with all the food that appears on this blog that there would be clouds of flour and aromas of cinnamon wafting throughout my home. But, like everyone, I'm scrambling to find the balance of working, blogging and family life.

One year, I made over 500 cookies before Christmas for friends and family. This year, I was able to pull off a batch of gingerbread and shortbread!

My girls love decorating gingerbread cookies. So one night we spread out all the sprinkles I've collected and tinted some white icing with food coloring. We have cute gingerbread men, gingerbread Dr. Seuss characters, ghoulish ones with missing legs, and ones with more icing and sprinkles than cookie for the sweet tooth in the bunch (my youngest).

So, though our cookie jar isn't overflowing, we have a table that's still sprinkled with dragees, sugar and dried icing. But best of all we have sweet memories.

Recipe for Gingerbread

From Epicurious

Makes about 50 regular-sized gingerbread cookies

6 cups (about) flour
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1½ teaspoons ground cloves
¾ teaspoon salt
11 tablespoon (1 stick plus 3 tablespoons) unsalted butter, room temperature
2/3 cup solid vegetable shortening
1 cup sugar
1 cup mild-flavored (light) molasses
1½ teaspoons grated lemon peel
1 large egg
¼ cup buttermilk
2 teaspoons water
1 teaspoon soda

Whisk 5¼ cups flour, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and salt in a bowl.

Using a stand mixer, blend the butter and shortening. Add sugar, molasses, and lemon peel and beat until smooth. Beat in egg and buttermilk.

Blend 2 teaspoons water with soda. Beat into butter mixture. In two additions, beat in flour mixture. Add more flour, ¼ cup at a time, until the dough feels slightly firm.

Divide dough into three equal disks. Wrap them and chill until firm enough to roll, at least 2 hours. (Can be made 2 days ahead. Keep refrigerated. Soften slightly before rolling out.)

Roll out one disk of dough at a time, between sheets of waxed paper.

Either cut the dough using cookie cutters (or another shape) or press the dough into a heat-resistant shot glass or silicon shot glasses. (See blog post for Gingerbread Cookie Cups.) Chill the dough again before baking. (Cutout cookies can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and keep chilled.)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake cookies for 10-12 minutes, turning the pan halfway through the baking time.

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Head on over to Natalie MacLean's blog to check out my simple but tasty holiday brunch idea: Salmon Dill Crepe Recipe Paired with Oyster Bay Sauvignon Blanc, New Zealand



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Here are some other delicious Christmas treats:

Linzer Sablés

Rice Pudding
(which is what we like to have for dessert at Christmas)

Shortbread

Spiced White Chocolate Cappuccino Happy Holidays!

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Though it's already December, I'm still trying to catch up on my November to do list! Here are some highlights from last month.


November started out with an amazing trip to Mazatlan, Mexico for a Gran Fiesta and Culinary Tour. Here are a couple of the food highlights: Horchata and Huevos Divorciados. I'll be writing more blog posts and sharing some of the hundreds of photos I took.


Two of my recipes appeared on Natalie MacLean's blog:

• Mushroom Risotto with Butternut Squash Recipe Paired with San Michele A Torri Chianti Colli Fiorentini

• Ratatouille Recipe Paired with Bordeaux Chateau Des Moines 2008
Finally, Taste & Travel (Issue 3, Fall 2011) hit store shelves at the beginning of last month. In this issue, you can travel to ten countries including Hawaii, Japan, Australasia, Peru and China. Some recipes worth tasting include Kataifi and Macadamia Nut-Crusted Fresh Kauai Prawns, Crispy Fried Garlic and Scallion Shrimp with Honey Chili Aioli, Sour Cream Apple Pie and Banoffi Pavlova. You can subscribe here or pick up copies at Chapters stores across Canada. I hope you check it out!

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I haven’t touched a palm tree in many years. For me, a palm tree is my centering thought, the one thing I visualize when I’m tense or stressed. It was the image I was going to use during labor, but now it’s one I use during everyday life. It had been too long since I felt the bark of the palm. And I don’t intend to let time slip away before I’m shaded by a palm tree again.








Hotel Riu, Mazatlán, Mexico

I have long been a fan of Huevos Rancheros, that popular Mexican dish consisting of eggs served with a fried corn tortilla and topped with a spicy chili or tomato sauce. But I had to go to Mazatlán, Mexico in person to experience “divorced eggs” known as Huevos Divorciados.

This dish, a spin-off of Huevos Rancheros, features two eggs situated on opposite sides of the plate, each egg preoccupied and bathed in a sauce of its own – usually one adorned with green chilies and tomatillos while the egg on the other side of the plate is dressed in a saucy red chili creation. The plate is further decorated with delicacies such as refried beans and rice, strong cheese, pinto beans, guacamole, or rings of onion. These accompaniments are often placed down the middle of the plate, further separating the two divorced eggs, which have so obviously gone their separate ways. Instead of two salsas, I used one salsa on one side and guacamole on the other.

And though I can’t bring the palms or the sand home, I can bring the food home to share.

Recipe for Huevos Divorciados

Serves 6

For the salsa:
3 medium tomatoes, quartered
½ onion
½ hot green chile or 1 teaspoon canned green chilies
3 sprigs cilantro leaves
½ red bell pepper
2 cloves garlic
1/8 teaspoon salt
½ lemon, squeezed

For the guacamole:
½ large ripe avocado
2 tablespoons green onion, minced
1 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped
½ teaspoons Asian chile sauce
2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
¼ teaspoon salt

For the tortillas:
6 tortillas, cut into rounds that will fit a muffin tin

For the poached eggs:
12 eggs, poached

Prepare the salsa:
Put all ingredients in a food processor and whiz until chunky. Drain.

Prepare the guacamole:
Put all ingredients in a food processor and whiz until smooth.

Prepare the tortillas:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Cut the tortillas into rounds that will fit a muffin tin. Carefully push a round into a muffin cup. Bake until golden, about 5 minutes.

Prepare the poached eggs:
Poach 12 eggs.

To assemble:
Put the poached egg into the baked tortilla cup. Top with salsa on half of the cups. Top with guacamole on the other half. Garnish each plate with refried beans and cilantro along with a tortilla cup of each type. Serve immediately.



Tips
If you don't feel like making this at home and if you happen to be in Ottawa, Canada, you should check out the Huevos Rancheros at Edgar. The best in the city.



And if you're in Mazatlán, Mexico, you can get this dish at several places. Here is the one I had at the Shrimp Bucket in Olas Altas.



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Disclosure: I would like to thank www.gomazatlan.com for inviting me to the 2011 Gran Fiesta Amigos. All stories, opinions and passion for all things Mexico shared on my blog are completely my own.