A Fair to Remember

The Red River Exhibition is on and boy, has the Ex ever changed since I was a kid! I must confess to not having been the Ex for quite sometime now. Probably about 10 years or so. What I remember from when I was a kid is the Ex always being set up in the Polo Park area around the old stadium and the old arena. It was always so much fun to walk around and play those carnival games, even though Mom always warned us those games were fixed, stand in line to get on the rides that will make you dizzy, and try some of that carnival food!

Nowadays, the Ex has a larger site on the west side of the city and so much more has been added. More games, more rides, more family activities, and more food. Food is what I am going to talk about. 

Monday evening the Boy, Hubby, and I ventured out to see what the Ex has to offer.  We were quite surprised at the variety of foods offered. It really isn't just corn dogs and candy floss anymore.  I highly suggest you do a full walk about before committing to a food choice. The concessions are spread out throughout the park and some concessions offer the same food item, but have a different take or recipe. (Also, if planning on partaking in the rides, ride first, eat later...)

Now, on with the food!

As I said before, take the full tour first. The 3 of us walked around, took in the sights and smells, and marvelled at a few of the vomit inducing rides.  We had 6 coupons to spend on any concession item we wanted. I enforced the sharing with your favourite food blogger law to make sure we all got to taste a little bit of everything.

This could be best expressed with the help of photos...

My memories of Ex food:

Corn dogs, candy floss, and snow cones..

Some of the food offerings this year:

Some of what we ate:  

Chipstix: fried potato on a stick. I was expecting this to be crispy  but was merely a soft, greasy fried potato on a stick. You do get to choose the sprinkle flavour of you choice, but this was a disappointment.

Souvlaki Skewers with chicken, lamb, and beef, all in the same pita! This was fabulous. All the meats were cooked just right and had all the Greek flavouring you would expect. The tzaziki was garlicky and delicious.

Tacos from Yo Quiero Tacos Tacos Tacos. Hubby ordered a trio of shredded beef tacos and the boys at the truck loaded them up with everything. They were messy and wonderful.  

Hubby here!  These tacos were awesome - nicely cooked meat, a hint of spice, cilantro, tasty tortillas and fresh vegis.  I would recommend these if you are a fan of Mexican food.  For me, they could have used more heat, but I recognize that what is spicy for most people barely registers for me.  Sadly, Yo Quiero is a native of Vancouver, but if you are out that way, find them and enjoy some mouthwatering Mexican cuisine.

Poutine from the Poutine King topped with bacon, mushrooms, green peppers, and green onions. (It was called the Canadian).  The fries were perfectly cooked on the outside and soft on the inside. The variety of different toppings offered was interesting.

Some more food we ate:

Deep fried foods are their own food group which happens to include Oreos, pickles, and mini donuts.

The pickles had a nicely spiced batter that had some dill and red pepper flakes in it. They were tasty and great for sharing.

Deep fried Oreos.....these are a must try. You will get 5 in your order and you will need to share. They are Rich, chocolatey, and have a hint of cinnamon.

Mini donuts. Freshly fried and coated in cinnamon sugar. Enough said.

I must not forget to mention the chocolate covered bacon... Or the free concert that happens every night.

The Boy thought the chocolate covered bacon was quite amazing. I felt it needed to be a better quality/tasting bacon for it to work better.

The quick and easy:

Parking at the Exhibition grounds will cost you 5$, so if you drive, be prepared for that.  City transit also makes regular runs out there.

Entrance to the park will cost 13$/person with children under 6 getting in for free.

Ride tickets bought on site run 1$/ticket with some price breaks on larger quantities.  Rides tend to be about 5 tickets each.

Ride all you want wristbands can be purchased for 45$, which, if you plan on riding a lot,  is a good deal.

Food costs vary and depend on what you order. There are many items in the 5$ range for quick snacks and sharing but you will also find items upwards of 10$ or more.  Have a look around.

Bottom line: bring money but plan out your time there. With so much to do and see, it will be easy to spend your money before the night is done.

Now don't get me wrong, once in the park there are some free things to go see. Entertainment such as  the lumber jack competition, concerts, animals and agriculture events, and so on.

The Ex also offers free admission during of small windows of time.  Check out their website for more info and entertainment line ups.

All in all, we were well fed and entertained while at the Red River Exhibition. It was a nice evening out for the three of us.

Until next time, stay warm and eat well.

Please note that while our evening at the Ex was generously donated to us, it has no bearing on our opinions regarding quality and taste.

My Weeknight Out at the Lobby on York

Every now and then it is nice to be spoiled rotten, isn't it? Ahhh.....yes.....spoiled rotten. You see, a few weeks ago I received an offer that was just too darned good to pass up. So of course, I said yes! I don't know too many people who would pass up a night out with a group of fun loving people for dinner at the Lobby on York. I simply cannot think of a better way to spend a Tuesday evening! So here I sit, watching some baseball and reminiscing about the fun, food, and wine at the Lobby on York.

I must admit to not going to the downtown area all too often these days but once upon a time when I first started dating Hubby, he lived in the building across York street from where The Lobby on York is located and to be quite honest, the location was a little on the seedy side. Opened in May of 2009, The Lobby has such a nice warm glow that it gives off the perfect vibe for a nice slow meal with friends and loved ones.  It has definitely been fixed up, looks completely different, and serves up some modern grub in a gentle, warmly lit environment.

It was a quiet evening in this cozy restaurant and lounge, well it was quiet until us ladies showed up! We were greeted warmly at the front desk by general manager, Shan, and escorted to the back where they had a room set up for us. Almost as though they knew we might cause some sort of trouble. Shan gave us the low down on the Lobby, including the two different rooms they have for various sizes of gatherings.
Everything was already set up for us, including a table with the different wines we would be enjoying that night. Dinning room manager, Karl, got the wine flowing right away for us, with a nice light Riesling from Loosen Brothers. I am going to leave the wine comments up to Sarah as she actually knows what she is talking about in that department, all I know is that it went down smoothly. Once all the ladies (Trina, Shel, Rebecca, Susie, Sarah, and myself) showed up and we got settled, Karl hopped to it! Before we knew it we had 7 appetizers and 3 different wines in front of us.

We were treated to the following scintillating appetizers:

Albacore tuna tartare served with avocado, sesame, chili aioli, cilantro, and these delectable little homemade ripple chips. I have never tried a tuna tartare before and this was fabulous! I would order this again.

Sliced beef & crostini: smoked tenderloin served on a Guinness mustard with horseradish cream, Parmesan, and fresh arugula. An overly strong smoky flavour on the beef but it goes so well with the horseradish cream that is cut the smokiness.

Village Bay oysters served with lemon and a red wine mignonette. (These gems are from Canadian waters.) These oysters were salty and fresh. The mignonette paired so well they went down smoothly. I could have have a few more of these guys.

Tomato salad served with blue cheese, baby greens, spiced nuts, pickled onion, and a smoked buttermilk dressing. Fresh, crisp, tasty....need I say more?

Korean beef short ribs done in a ponzu marinade with sesame, cilantro, and a house made red chili sauce similar to Sriarcha, but better. Another one of my favourites.

Chopped salad consisting of crisp romaine, corn, onion, cucumber, olive, radish, and feta finished with an oregano cream dressing. Another great combination of crisp, fresh veggies.

Duck quesadilla made with pulled duck, a Brie and cheddar mix with sesame, bell peppers served with spicy mayo. Served as a roll cut into sections, a complete taste sensation.

Three wines where chosen to be served with our appetizers. To be honest, I just smiled and nodded when Karl explained the wine related details. My only question was 'Karl, is there alcohol in that wine? Then pour please.' It all tasted fabulous and that is really what matters to me.

While the 6 ladies chatted, laughed, and made a lot of noise, our selection of entrees was being carefully prepared by head chef Jesse.

For our entrees we were treated to a fabulous selection of food:

Peppercorn New York strip loin served with a pink peppercorn sauce, scallion mashed potato and seasonal vegetable. (Beef at the Lobby comes from High River Alberta, not local, but still Canadian.) The steak was well cooked but I am not a huge fan of too many peppercorns. If you love pepper, then this is for you.

Portobello rib steak served with a marinated portobello mushroom and truffle butter on scallion mashed potato and seasonal vegetable. My favourite entree of the night.

Australian rack of lamb with a tamarind mint sauce. I know lamb is best served rare but this was a bit too rare for my liking. Taste wise however, it was quite good.

Ricotta Gnocchi with a red pepper pesto, walnuts, mushrooms, asparagus, brocollini, and fresh arugula. A nice vegetarian option.

Seafood trio which turns out to be prawns, scallops, and a 1/2 lobster tail served on lemon risotto. I don't eat a lot of seafood but this not only was pretty to look at, it was pretty to eat as well.

Local pickerel served on saffron couscous, marinated tomato, and herb pesto topped with crispy Serrano ham. I am a fan of pickerel and this fish swam well with all the rest of this dish.

Alaskan lingcod served on wild mushroom risotto, truffle butter, and shaved asparagus. This was a new fish to me. It was a meaty filet but the most memorable part of this dish was the risotto. A nice combination.

Three different wines were carefully selected to go with our entrees and yet again, the wines went well with the food.

Karl was a good man and even brought out a few desserts to try:

I am fairly new to the restaurant review game but if you are looking for a night out with great food but don't want the same old boring food, this is the place to go. Be prepared to spend a little extra money but it will be worth your while and your taste buds will thank you.


The quick and easy:

Lobby not only has their dinner menu, they also offer up a fabulous lounge menu and a lunch menu!

Lounge offerings run from about 8$ for sides to 16$ for appetizers or a burger, and the steaks start at 24$

The lounge at the Lobby has some fabulous deals during the week which include:
   - Thursday's buck a shuck oysters and 8$ drinks.  Now don't go ordering a ton of oysters for 1$ each and drink water. Have a drink or two. The bartenders will fix you something nice.
    -Friday in the lounge you can get a 5 oz glass of wine for 5$ or a 9 oz glass for 9$ (or how about the bottle for 25$)
     -Jets nights will find the lounge offering shots for 3.50 and appetizer 2 for 20$ (not signature appies though)

 The lunch menu runs from about 6$ for the soup up to  about 16$ and cover a wide range of salad, sandwiches, and seafood offerings.

Dinner offerings are more expensive but have plenty to offer. Starters are in the 10 to 15$ range. Entree offerings will run from 24$ to 39$ with side dishes starting at 8$.

A funny thing happens when you dine out with food bloggers; Everyone HAS to take photos of all the food before we eat. Not only that, everyone feels the need to live tweet the event as well thus sending my phone into a tizzy of notifications. At least when dining with fellow bloggers, no one complains about everyone having their phones out. We all understand each other.

Thank you so much Lobby for putting up with us!!!

Until next time, stay warm and eat well.

Please note that while the Lobby generously provided us with all the food and drinks during our night out, it had no bearing on my opinions regarding quality and taste.

Hands Off My Cheese, Gromit!

This week had a bit of a theme to it; cheese!! Last night I met some of the girls at Bistro 7 1/4 for an evening out. (LOVE that place).  This is a night out we need to book way more often then we actually do. This is a group of girls that date back to the good old days.  In fact, Lisa's parents still live across the street from my dad on the street were we grew up! Many of the others in the group are friends from high school. We have seen each other through so much. From weddings, to children, to funeral these ladies have always been there for each other. You WANT these ladies on your side. These are the friends who you may not talk to as often as you should but are the first ones you call or text with news, whether it is happy news, or you are in tears, you call them. Unfortunately we had a few cancellations and only 3 of use met. But hey, life happens and we will have to plan another one soon to make up for it!

 Trina and I shared a cheese plate and it was cheese heaven. Lisa had the roasted beet salad, which is always a great choice. I then had the mac n cheese and a nice glass of red wine which helped round out all that cheese. Lisa and Trina both had the moules et frites.....mussels and fries. They reported tastiness all around! It is safe to say I nearly went into a cheese coma, which isn't necessarily a bad thing!

Earlier in the week, Tuesday evening to be exact, I had a wonderful night out with a couple of newer blogger friends. (newer friends, not newer bloggers! We are getting to know each other and I'm sure we'll be friends for a long time!) We participated in a cheese making class at the Food Studio on Roblin. The class was taught by Louise May from Aurora Farms. She's got her own little farm in St Norbert, just South of Winnipeg. We learned a wealth of information about goats' milk, the process of making soft cheeses at home, and had some fun too.  It was nice to get out and learn some new things, even though I probably won't have time to make cheese until I am on winter holidays, I took extensive notes and I have Hadass and Anna to ask questions. (Thank goodness!) 

It was fabulous cheese and friend filled week!!!

Until next time, stay warm and eat well!

Barley's Angels: Beer and Desserts, Together At Last

First of all, a quick update.  The Boy has received his luggage finally and they have started working on the floor of a library for the Salabwek Primary School in Kenya.  From the sounds of the last email, they are being kept busy!  I am dealing better now with the empty nest thing, especially now that I know the Boy has his luggage.  Hubby and I have painted the bathroom, the living room, and the front entry way.....my arms are tired.

Now back to our regularly scheduled programming...as much as this blog is scheduled...

Last night I had the fabulous opportunity to head out to Bistro 7 1/4 for a Barley's Angels outing.  Barley's Angels you ask? The Barley's Angels are a group of women looking for learn more about beer. Last night they held a beer and dessert pairing evening....WOW!
We were completely spoiled rotten with four beers and four full size desserts...seriously. We were expecting mini desserts....I went to the gym today!

Now let me remind you, that I do not know a lot about beer or pairing it with food I am learning so I have included the links to the beers to give you a more accurate description of each one.

First we started with a vanilla creme brulee and the Innis & Gunn Original.
The Innis & Gunn Original definitely had a strong malt flavour and bitterness that cut through the sweetness of the creme brulee.  The creme brulee was almost mousse like and wasn't very dense. It did taste absolutely heavenly although I would have liked more vanilla in the dessert.

Second, they brought out chocolate banana bread pudding with caramel sauce.  This was paired with Half Pints' Bulldog Amber Ale. Bulldog Amber Ale has a softer bitterness to it and wasn't as big a contrast to the dessert as the first pairing was.  It was a tasty combo.  The bread pudding was everything a bread pudding should be and that caramel sauce...well, I wish I had a glass of caramel sauce to drink too...

The third dessert was a wonderful goat cheese cheesecake with fig compote paired with the Innis & Gunn Highland Cask. This beer had a smoother finish than the original and I preferred this beer over the original but it really evened out  the sweetness from the fig compote.  I was expecting a sharper tasting cheesecake with the goat cheese in it but it was all sweet and all delish!

Last but not least, we had a dark chocolate espresso cake with Kaluha ganache and the coveted Half Pints Black Galaxy Beer. This beer is a dark IPA.  When you look at it, you think stout, but when you drink it, you think India Pale Ale.  This went so well with the dense chocolate cake.  The bitterness of the beer and the overt sweetness of the cake (and the ganache) made this a great way to close the evening.  It is only too bad I was too full to finish the dessert!

A fabulous night out with great food, drinks, and company! I look forward to the next Barley's Angels outing.

Until next time, stay warm and eat well.

A Night Out With Manitoba Food Bloggers

Exciting things are happening around Winnipeg.  The Manitoba Food Bloggers have had their first gathering and are planning more.  Now please excuse the lateness of this post.  We actually had our night out February 29th  at Elements.  It was a fabulous night of food, drink, a seminar on photography with the fabulous Ian Mcausland,  and friendship. Many of us met for the first time in person.  Our name tags also had our twitter handles and out website names on them. It was so neat to see these and say "Oh hi! I read your blog all the time!".  There were door prizes, goody bags, and donations to Siloam Mission.

It was such a fantastic opportunity to chat with others who have similar interests.....FOOD!  There wasn't just bloggers there. We had restaurateurs and business owners, representatives from different producer groups, Half Pints Brewery was there with free samples, as was the Tipsy Thief. 

I had my camera with me but I didn't take too many photos. I wanted to enjoy the evening and not worry about photos.  I did manage to click a couple of pics but I spent the evening enjoying the company and learning to not rely so much on my flash!

I am looking forward to the next Manitoba Food Bloggers event and can't wait for future plans with this fabulous group of people!  A huge thank you to everyone involved in making this event happen!

Until next time, stay warm and eat well!

We Be Grillin'

The fall weather is just so lovely right now we want to get every last bit of BBQ time in that we possibly can.  Tonight we grilled pizzas! I  made up a batch of pizza dough, the boys prepped the toppings, then out to the yard we went or our grilled pizza party!  You can either make your own dough or use store bought, it is up to you.  Get some help slicing up your favourite fixings, get everyone stretching their own dough and topping their own pizza and you get a whole lot of fun, with everyone pitching in!

Grilled pizza party

The boy works on his pizza

Pizza dough of your choice
toppings of your choice
pizza sauce of your choice
garlic oil
oil
pizza peel or non melting cutting board
tongs

Pre heat the grill, scrape clean, and oil up the grates.

Stretch out the dough into small pizza shapes....the fun here is stretching out your own dough, and making any shape the dough will go.

Brush some oil on to the dough and slap it on the grill.

no worries if some pizzas are funny shapes...it all tastes great!

Close the lid and let the dough bake for a few minutes.

Carefully remove the half baked dough from the grill and flip it over.  The cooked side is the side you will arrange your toppings on.

Slide the pizza back onto the grill, close the lid and let it bake a few more minutes.

Enjoy!!

Everyone made their own pizzas tonight and we all made extras for lunch tomorrow!

These pizzas were so darn tasty! They hit the spot and made a great lunch!

Until next time, stay warm and eat well!

Marvel-ous Zucchini Chocolate Cakettes

The season's first zucchini, fresh from the garden!

Bless me fellow bloggers for I have a confession to make....it wasn't a pretty sight......my Tupperware and other assorted containers got completely out of control!  I didn't know where to put them anymore.  It seems no one else knew where to put them either.  Lids and containers stood perilously on counters, fridge tops, and window sills.  The slightest of miscalculations in movements would cause a landslide of plastic container hell to come tumbling down.  It was unsightly, it was bothersome, it was not what the Little Kitchen needed.  Especially since I have been on holidays for a while....how did I let it come to this?

A small portion of the un matched and un used plastic explosion!!

 Too much time in the hammock? Too distracted by Cleo Coyle novels? Too many doctor appointments?  Who knows.  I think I have fixed it.....for now....as long as everyone else co operates...I mean there are only 3 of us in the house.  It must be the cats getting into the plastic containers messing them up and hiding lids....hmmmm.

Neatly stacked, lids stored

Lids!!!

Now that I have cleared away the clutter, it is time to de-stress with some baked goods!  These honestly made me giggle while baking...I am sure the boys assumed I was up to no good: they were right. I turned zucchini into chocolately cakey goodness.....it just so happens the cakes were in the shape of Marvel superheroes! (A special Thank you to my sister for picking these up at the Williams Sonoma when she was in Oklahoma City, OK!!!!!! According to the sales lady, it was the first day they had them and my sister snagged it up!! THANK YOU!)

Best Cake pan ever!!!

I can assure you that chocolate zucchini cake is a delectably moist and chocolately cake, you won't taste the zucchini at all, just chocolatey cakey goodness!



Chocolate Zucchini Cake
Printable version

1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1/2 cup oil
1 3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup buttermilk (or 1/2 cup milk soured with 1 1/2 tsp lemon juice)
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup cocoa powder
2 cups zucchini, grated (or shredded)
3/4 cup chocolate chips (optional)


Pre heat oven to 350F



In a bowl and set aside until ready to use, sift together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt.

In the bowl of your stand mixer (or a bowl and a hand mixer, or in a bowl with a wooden spoon and some elbow grease....) cream together the butter, oil, and sugar until light and fluffy.

Add the eggs, one at a time until mixed in.  Mix in the vanilla and butter milk.  Keep the mixer going for a few minutes on medium low until the mixture is a nice pale yellowish colour.

Now find the bowl you set aside with the dry ingredients and add it all to the mixing bowl.  Mix until well combined.

Add in the zucchini and the chocolate chips, and once again mix to combine.

Now scoop the batter into a pan that has been greased and floured or muffin tins with liners.


This pan takes 1/2 cup of batter per form.

Make sure the batter gets into all the nooks (ears) and crannies!

Bake cupcakes for 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
With this pan, I give it a shimmy shake to make sure the cakes are loose.  After a 10 to 15 minute rest, flip them out onto a rack to cool.

Oh Thor, you are so handsome!!!

Until next time, stay warm and eat well!

Drink Your Cocktails, Cupcake

Did you know it is very easy to add booze to your cupcakes?  It is as simple as brushing on some rum or tequila, or whatever on to cupcakes when they come out of the oven, again before icing, and heck, put some in the frosting as well!

Strawberry rhubarb daiquiri

Remember those amazing strawberry rhubarb cupcakes?? Well, I brushed a batch of these little beauties with rum, twice...then I added rum to the the strawberry meringue butter cream....Yum!! You heard me correctly....just add some liquor to a Swiss meringue butter cream after it is finished and you are set!!

Mango lime margarita

Then there was the wonderful mango lime cupcakes?  Those were brushed with tequila, twice then were topped with a tequila lime icing!!  Tequila lime icing is as easy as switching out the water or other liquid for lime juice and tequila.  A little lime zest never hurts either!!

I took these little gems over to a friend's house to help celebrate her birthday.  I must admit I enjoyed hearing the rave reviews!!

Until next time, stay warm and eat well!!