Roll me out of here

I'm back you guys! What a great trip! Got to see lots of family in Toronto and Montreal and eat lots L-O-T-S of food!

 Let's take a little tour...

First stop! Tim Horton's...  Tim Horton was a hockey player.. are we surprised that Canada's most insanely (really.. it's nuts) popular coffee house is named after a hockey player? no? I didn't think so. Extra large double double is the way most people order their coffee - 2 cream, 2 sugar. Boston cream donut filled with custard. Not cream or frosting. No exceptions. I cross the border and this is the first thing I want.

ohhhhh, the Montreal bagel... don't get me started. NY and MTL have had a rivalry over their bagels forever. I'm biased (obv.) Montreal's are the best. They are made by hand, boiled, then baked in a food fired oven. Ever have a bagel melt (MELT) in your mouth? Go to Fairmount bakery and get one right out of the oven. It'll change your life.

 

 

Ok, you guys... it's getting serious right now. We're talking Steamie's and Poutine. Montreal hot dogs are steamed & dressed with mustard, relish and coleslaw. The fries are thick and dirty. You can eat them plain... or with sauce (don't call it gravy. It's sauce.).. or you can have a poutine.. which is fries, with curd cheese covered in sauce. The Poutine (Poot-Sin... not Poo-Teen) is a 100% French Canadian shameful guilty pleasure dish. Don't be scared. It's incredible. Try it. It won't be the same because we can't get the right cheese down here, but it'll be close.

So we all know I'm Italian, right? This right here is a plate of my childhood. Death row meal? This is it. Fresh cold cuts - Mortadella San Daniele, Hot Capicollo, Proscuitto di Parma, Genoa Salami, Provalone, marinated artichoke hearts, tomato focaccia, roasted red peppers, stuffed olives, panini. I'm done.

 

 

 

So, while I was in Montreal my mother had a craving for French Macarons... so much for linacucina's vacay ;)  Mocha Macarons with ganache filling. Voila

I had the chance to hit up a couple restaurants while back in Montreal. Here's a shot of probably the most moist piece of swordfish I've ever eaten. No need to be complicated. A beautifully grilled piece of fish with capers and lemon juice will hit the spot every single time.

I don't know that I've ever known another city to do breakfast like they do in Montreal. Restaurants are often times just as busy if not busier for brunch, than they are on a Friday or Saturday night. I went out for brunch with a couple old ladies I know and I had Smoked Salmon Eggs Benedict with a Dill Hollandaise sauce. It looks like a lot.... but I only ate half of my potatoes.. the other half fell off my plate I'm looking at you J.W. ;)

...meanwhile, back at the ranch......  This is my all time favorite thing to eat for brekkie. My great grandmother who had 13 children and lived until she was 94 used to have this all the time. It's a toasted mortadella sandwich. We didn't (or very rarely) ever have bologna in our house. Our bologna was Mortadella. It's divine. Toasted Mortadella for breakfast is Italian grubbing at it's finest.

 

 

 

It was a great trip, and I loved seeing everyone and stuffing my face, but I'm glad to be back in NC... of course I couldn't come back empty handed, so as I sit here drinking my Timmy's out of my HBC mug dipping my maple cookies, I'm comforted in knowing that my freezer is packed with bagels and my pantry is loaded with cans of dark amber maple syrup, Cherry Blossom's, cornets de guimauve and ketchup chips  ;)

 

 

xo

L



Vay-cay-cay

I'm on vacation as of 2pm today and I'm not even going to lie.. I'm so excited I can barely stand it! Early (4am-URRRRRR-LEEE!) tomorrow morning we're loading up heading to "The North".  We haven't been home in almost a year and we're due.
First stop - Toronto. (lies... first stop - Pittsburg for a Primanti Bros sandwich. We're driving. True story.) The hubs' family lives in and around the T-Dot. We'll be staying with my inlaws at their horse farm. Love it. My husband and I have been together for almost 13 years and his parents have had horses on the farm the whole time. I still love watching the horses run and play in the paddocks. It never gets old. So magical.
Next up is Montreal to see my gang. There are no horses at my parents' place. There are, however, lots of crazy Italians... which, when you think about it, are as close as it comes to wild animals anyway. Same diff. Just with better shoes....and more gold chains.
I'll be taking photos and blogging about all the food I'll be enjoying which is going to contribute to the 15lbs I'm about to gain.. so stay tuned!
xo
L

Elephant in the room

I know it might seem like it's been two months since my last blog post, but .... I've got nothing. It's been two months since my last blog post. Your girl's been busy, though! .. so maybe that gives me a bit of an excuse? notreally
It's wedding season and things have been non stop nutso since about mid-April. I've been knee deep in cupcakes, wedding cakes, stadium cakes, cooler cakes, photo shoots and naughty naughty bachelorette cookies. Here are just a couple of the sweet things that have come out of my kitchen in the last couple of months ... and no, you're not getting a photo of the cookies, you filthy bb's you're my kind of people

Things are going get back to normal for a little bit over the summer, so I promise you I'll blog more often.. at least once a week ... and if I don't, get on me! Follow me on Facebook and Twitter and call me out on it! I'll give you a discount on your next order if you catch me slacking off
xo
L