Our new kitchen gadget

My wife and I decided to purchase a kitchen appliance that I have heard a lot about, but never got a chance to try: a bread maker. And I've known several people who have had one, used it for a while, then put it in storage somewhere in the basement. Well, after doing a little research on the topic, I found one machine which met the majority of our requirements, the Cuisinart CBK-200:

The fairly large box holds several items, including:

- The CBK 200 bread maker
- The loaf pan
- The kneading paddle
- A measuring cup for liquids
- A measuring spoon for solids
- An instruction/recipe book

In essence, the bread maker is a fairly simple machine; an enclosed oven with a mixing system within the baking pan. With some simple programming, a timer and a thermostat, the bread maker can mix the dry and wet ingredients, knead them into dough, let the dough rise in a temperature-controlled environment (for as little or a long as required by a specific recipe) and finally bake the dough into delicious bread. One of the nice features is the inclusion of a convection cooking system, which allows for more even baking temperatures, and nicer shaped breads.

The CBK-200 is similar to many other bread makers. It uses a horizontal pan with the mixing paddle in the bottom to make loaves up to 2 lbs in size. Where it differs is with the exterior cladding of the machine, which in the case of the Cuisinart, is stainless steel, as opposed to the more common plastic of competing machines. Several setting buttons allow the user to vary the size of the loaf, the overall browning of the crust, and most importantly, allow various preparation methods, from basic white bread, to whole wheat and more.

We used it this evening to bake a basic white bread, using ingredients to make a 2 lbs loaf. The whole process, from start to finish was done in 3 hours and 15 minutes. Since we took the dough out at the indicated time to remove the mixing paddle, our first bread's shape left a little to be desired. But the taste was fantastic! The crust was golden and crispy, and we wound up eating half of our first bread pretty quickly!

We will continue to experiment with our new purchase, and will comment on our successes and failures at baking bread at home.

A fantastic first anniversary dinner

Yesterday was my first wedding anniversary, and I decided to treat my wife to a five star meal. We settled on Le Baccara, one of the restaurants at the Casino Lac Lemay, in Gatineau. Seeing as we had a reservation for 18h30, on a Sunday evening, we were the very first patrons to arrive, and received what we considered the best table in the house, with a fantastic view of the Ottawa skyline. It is not the first time that my wife and I visited this restaurant, and our previous experience was good enough to warrant a second visit. Le Baccara is a five-diamond establishment, and has maintained this rating since its opening several years ago.

Like many fine dining establishments, the menu is limited and seasonal, but wide-ranging enough in flavour experiences to suit almost every palate. We began our meal with some fantastic little amuse-gueules, including some Gruyere tuiles, with carraway seeds and some delicately flavoured crab and lobster bread. As I was finishing the freshly roasted almonds and walnuts , our waiter arrived with a another amuse-gueule, this time, a slice of cold marinated beef served over a slaw of root vegetables and drizzled with a herbed oil. The beef was quite good, with a great texture and flavour courtesy of its delicious peppercorn crust.

Next were the appetizers. Elena, my wife, had selected the Tartare of bison from la Petite-Nation with ewe's cheese and truffles, quail egg tempura with raspberry vinaigrette. The presentation was quite lovely, with the bison and ewe's cheese mixed together and served in a small tower, ringed with the rasberry vinaigrette. Bison has a delicate flavour when raw, and we both found that the dish might have been better with a stronger tasting cheese, perhaps even a goat cheese. I also found that the vinaigrette was perhaps a little too strong for the mildness of the bison, and I might personally have reduced it with champagne so as to reduce the acidic properties of the rasberries.

One the other hand, my Terrine of duck foie gras on a thin slice of grilled gingerbread quatre quart served with ginger and rhubarb sherbet was phenomenal. The combination of the sweet crunchiness of the quatre quart was wonderful with the rich, smooth and mild flavour of the foie gras. But what really made this dish standout was the absolutely amazing ginger and rhubarb sherbet, with a beautiful taste that clearly completed this dish. I commented to our waiter on the brilliance of the sherbet's flavour combination and he promptly returned with a small bowl of it, along with two spoons, and a smile, compliments of the chef.

Once we were done, our plates were removed and we waited for the main course. Elena loves seafood, and selected the Seared red tuna in a crisp roll, warm asparagus and artichoke salad, eggplant caviar with asparagus and walnut oil vinaigrette while I opted for the Fresh loin of lamb from la Petite-Nation with confit vegetables, fingerling potatoes and chanterelle mushroom fricassée, watercress with lemon and virgin olive oil vinaigrette. Our plates arrived quickly arrived and we began to eat. Suffice it to say that although both dishes were quite nice, I believe that my lamb was truly the better of the two. It was perfectly done, and flavourful, served over the fingerling potatoes and surrounded by the chanterelles and jus. Elena's dish was also beautifully presented, although milder in taste in comparison to mine. We slowly finished our plates and when we were finally done, our waiter returned to remove our plates and leave us the desert menus.

At this point, we were both quite contented and chose to skip desert and simply have an espresso to finish our meal. By this time, the restaurant had several customers, and as the peaceful ambiance was now disrupted by the sound of too many conversations, we settled the bill and we returned home.

A great anniversary meal in an excellent restaurant that provided outstanding service and quality once again. If you are in the region and would like to have an excellent meal, make reservations at Le Baccara, and I am certain you will not regret it at all.

A weird obsession...

I have developed a fascination for japanese lunchboxes, also known as Bento boxes. After seeing my first bento box, I was completely hooked. I have searched the Internet to find out as much as I can about where I can procure these fabulously designed boxes. I have been looking at a specific model for some time, and have now located a source in Ottawa:

This particular model is made by the Zojirushi Corporation in Japan, and they have several other models available, apart from a wide range of products for Japanese households.

For those who have never seen a bento, it is essentially a lunchbox with separate containers, that fit together to make a complete lunch package. Very efficient design, and I believe that it can adapt well to Western cuisine. During my research, I found several types and makes of boxes:


I will let you know more as soon as I pick up my new bento!