Tune into "daytime" on rogers cable 20 on Monday, February 9th to see me prepare a delicious dessert for valentine's day!

I'll be preparing "coeur a la creme" - a delicious whipped cream/creme cheese dessert.

The recipe will be featured in my next Waterloo Chronicle article (which will be published and distributed on Wed, Feb 11th, 2009). You can also visit my web site (after Feb 11th) for the recipe:
www.danashortt.ca/news.htm

• our pick up 5 course dinner (see right hand side)
• gourmet gift baskets
• Rheo Thompson Candies (Stratford) chocolates (mint smoothies...)
• Reid's (Cambridge) chocolates
• Dana Shortt Gourmet gift certificates
• stock your valentine's fridge and/or freezer with a selection of our gourmet goodies!
• we also carry a wide selection of shorttbreads, cookies, candies and other treats for your sweetheart...

Louise Murray's:
"roasted grapes with parmesan"

This "tapenade" is delicious on baguette or crackers (I imagine that it would be delicious on baked brie or spooned on top of grilled or baked chicken as well!)

This was a real hit at a birthday party I recently attended and Louise generously allowed me to share the recipe with you!
Happy Birthday Carolyn!

ingredients

• 3 cups red and/or green grapes, sliced in half lengthwise
• 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
• 2 teaspoons grated shallots
• drizzle of olive oil
• pepper, to taste
• hunk of good quality parmesan or asiago cheese
• baguette and/or crackers

method

1. Preheat oven to 400 F.
2. Toss sliced grapes with vinegar, shallots, pepper and drizzle with olive oil. Let stand for 5 minutes.
3. Spread onto a parchment lined baking sheet and bake in oven for about 30-40 minutes, stirring halfway through.
4. Remove from oven and cool.
5. Spoon onto baguette slices or crackers and top with a shard of parmesan or asiago cheese.

Chef Mark has come up with another new creation - asian chicken wraps (thai rice noodles with sliced chicken, vegetables in a sesame-chili dressing wrapped in phyllo pastry), ready for you to bake at home.

Also, try his addictive "garlic bruschetta bread" (I call it addictive because when he first made it, I had some for lunch AND dinner AND lunch the following day!).

We are still accepting orders for our annual "5 course pick up Valentines dinner" - see menu and details below:

appetizer - petite brie with preserves in phyllo pastry, served with crackers and flatbread (one brie to share amongst 2 people)

salad - baby arugula with roasted butternut squash, pears and shallots, served with a balsamic vinaigrette

soup - "heartbeet" soup with creme fraiche

entree - choose between:

chicken carbonara bake - tender chicken, pasta and bacon in a light cream sauce topped with fresh herbs

or

pork schnitzel on braised red cabbage with dijon-mushroom cream sauce

dessert - rich chocolate mousse sided with a triple chocolate fudge brownie

price and details

please pre-order by Wed., Feb 11, 2009

$36.95 per person
(plus applicable taxes)

Note: a Visa or MasterCard number is required to hold your order.

We recommend that orders be paid for in advance to reduce your wait time during pick up

Available for pick-up on
Sat., February 14th
between 2 p.m. – 4 p.m. only

Sorry, the meals will not be available before 2 p.m.

The meals come with detailed heating and serving instructions.

Do you have trouble trying to replicate "restaurant-quality" seared scallops at home?

Wonder how chef's are able to get such a nice golden crust on the scallops?

Try these tips for the best results:

• pat any moisture away from scallops using heavy-duty paper towels
• lightly coat scallops in flour seasoned with salt and pepper
• cook scallops in a mixture of oil and butter (butter for flavour but oil for temp as oil has a higher smoking point than butter)
• make sure that pan is very hot before adding scallops to pan
• don't overcrowd the pan - leave plenty of room between the scallops so that they don't "steam"
• don't overcook - they don't require much cooking time!

For an easy way to decorate a cake, try chocolate curls - use a vegetable peeler to shave curls from a chocolate bar.

One last thing – we’re hoping that all of you receiving this newsletter want to be on our distribution list.

If you would like to be removed from this list, please let me know and we will fulfill your request asap.