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Skillet “Roasted” Brussels Sprouts

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I have always liked brussels sprouts, but this fall I discovered a new way of cooking them, and that “like” has turned into LOVE – we’ve been eating them this way at least twice a week. Cooked over low heat with a smidge of olive oil and salt in a cast iron skillet, these baby cabbages end up caramelized and sweet and nutty tasting, with none of the bitterness that some people hate about brussels sprouts. They’re even better with a dusting of cheese on top. I will fight you for the last sprout. I will.

Brussels sprouts generally take a bit of work, what with the trimming and peeling off of the outer leaves. However, in my book, it’s totally worth it – especially when you cook them this way! – because they taste great and they’re great for you. Look for small-ish sprouts with tightly closed leaves. If you can find them still attached to the stalk, even better! These sprouts in particular were quite tiny and light green, and were grown locally at Vantreight Farms in Saanich :).

Skillet “Roasted” Brussels Sprouts

This is barely a recipe – more a method. Super easy. Makes about 2 servings. Inspired by 101 Cookbooks.

Cut the ends off several handfuls of brussels sprouts, peel off any blemished outer leaves, and cut them in half (if they’re really tiny you can leave them whole). You want to end up with about 2 cups of halved sprouts.Rinse the sprouts with water, drain well, and toss with a light drizzle of olive oil. Heat about 1 tsp olive oil in a large cast iron skillet over medium-low heat. When the pan is hot, add the sprouts – they should sizzle ever so slightly. Arrange them cut-side down in a single layer, and sprinkle with a few pinches of coarse salt. Cover and cook for 5 minutes, then remove the lid and stir the sprouts a bit to turn them over. They should be looking nice and browned on one side. Cover and cook again for 2-3 more minutes, until caramelized and crisp-tender and still vibrantly green. Remove from the heat and sprinkle with grated cheese (parmesan, gouda, gruyère) to serve.

Daring Bakers: Filipino Sans Rival Cake

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Catherine of Munchie Musings was our November Daring Bakers’ host and she challenged us to make a traditional Filipino dessert – the delicious Sans Rival cake! And for those of us who wanted to try an additional Filipino dessert, Catherine also gave us a bonus recipe for Bibingka which comes from her friend Jun of Jun-blog.

At first glance, it seems odd that Sans Rival is a traditional Filipino dessert, being that all of its components are decidedly French! This is a cake made of dacquoise discs – meringue mixed with nuts and baked until crisp – layered with French buttercream frosting and decorated with more nuts (traditionally cashews). Apparently, in the 1920s and 30s, many Filipinos went abroad to study and those who ended up in France brought home the French language and pastry chef techniques that originated the Sans Rival. Sans Rival means “without rival”, and it’s a pretty appropriate name: this is a delicious, rich dessert.

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Perfect Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

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These are the perfect marriage between a peanut butter cookie and a chocolate chip cookie. Both are classics in their own right, and this recipe somehow manages to combine the tastes and textures that makes each one great. Good peanut flavour, slightly chewy like a good chocolate chip cookie, and full of chocolate chips. Seriously, these are the best peanut butter and chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever tried.

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Apple Struesel Cake with Creme Anglaise

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Last weekend my friend Katheryn had me and some friends over for a calamari feast – which actually meant that we had to disembowel and clean 5 lbs of raw squid! But really I loved every tentacle-y, slimy minute of it ;). I offered to bring dessert – which actually meant that I phoned Katheryn and announced, “I’M BRINGING DESSERT! … oh, you need lemons and parsley? Yeah, I guess I can bring those too…”.

Anyway, we all know that dessert is the most important part of any meal, so let’s focus on that: I made an apple cake using my favorite one-bowl butter cake recipe, topped it with brown sugar struesel, and served it with creme anglaise, which is pretty much the best sauce ever – it tastes just like melted vanilla ice cream only better. It was all super delicious, and the cake actually tasted even better the next day – I guess the apple and cinnamon flavours had more time to develop or something. It was also a nice cozy thing to eat in the fall – very comforting and homey. So without any further ado, here’s how to make it!

Apple Struesel Cake

Adapted from the “Melt-and-Mix Butter Cake” in Modern Classics Book 2 by Donna Hay (I love her!)

Preheat oven to 325˚F. In a medium bowl, stir together:

1 3/4 cups all purpose flour

1 3/4 tsp baking powder

2/3 cup granulated sugar

a pinch of salt

a few dashes cinnamon

1 apple, peeled and chopped

Add:

1/4 cup milk

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1/2 cup melted butter

1 tsp vanilla

Stir everything together until there are no dry patches. The batter will be quite thick – almost more like cookie dough than cake batter. Spread the batter into a 9″ greased cake pan, lined with parchment paper. Arrange 1 peeled and sliced apple over the top. To make the struesel topping, mix together:

1/4 cup flour

1/4 cup brown sugar

a few good dashes of cinnamon (about 1/2 tsp)

1 tbsp melted butter

Stir until crumbly. Sprinkle over the cake (you probably won’t need all of it). Bake the cake at 325˚F for 40-45 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out with only a few moist crumbs sticking to it. Allow to cool in the pan for a few minutes, then invert the cake onto a plate, remove the pan and parchment paper, and revert (re-invert? un-invert?) onto a cooling rack. Slice into wedges and serve warm or at room temperature in a puddle of creme anglaise (recipe follows).

Creme Anglaise

This is a rich, delicious vanilla-scented pouring custard that is a great alternative for anything that you might want to serve with vanilla ice cream. I have no idea where I got this recipe from.

In a heat-proof bowl, whisk together:

3 egg yolks

2 tbsp granulated sugar

Beat with the whisk until very pale and thick, about 5 minutes (a good arm workout).

This should be MUCH paler and thicker – I somehow managed to delete ALL of the dozen photos I took of this stage!

Meanwhile, in a small pot, scald:

1 cup whipping cream

1/4 cup milk

(or you can use all milk – whole or 2% probably for best results)

When the cream/milk is scalded (ie, almost-but-not-quite boiling), whisk a very small amount into the egg yolk mixture to temper it (ie, so it doesn’t make scrambled eggs), then slowly add the rest of the milk/cream mixture, whisking constantly. Pour everything back into the pot and heat over medium-low heat, stirring constantly in a figure-8 motion, until the mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon (ie, you can drag you finger through it and it leaves a clean trail without the sides running into it). Don’t let it boil! While all this is happening, place a sieve over a small bowl that is sitting in an ice bath (ie, in a larger bowl of water and ice cubes). When the mixture has thickened, pour it through the sieve into the small bowl. This will make sure the creme anglaise is smooth and the ice bath will stop the cooking process. Stir in 1/2 tsp vanilla extract, then cover the creme anglaise with plastic wrap, pressing it right onto the surface so it doesn’t form a skin. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Pasta Shells with Chicken, Bocconcini, and Cherry Tomatoes

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It’s been a long, busy week, and I’m kind of uninspired in the kitchen right now, so it seems that now is a good time to share this pasta dish that I made several months ago. The recipe comes from my trusted friend Martha’s Everyday Food magazine, which I was fortunate enough to have been gifted a subscription to a few years back. This is my kind of pasta: chicken, cheese, fresh vegetables, and a light sauce. It’s SUPER easy to throw together – you barely even need to use measurements, just a handful of this and a handful of that – and you can make it even easier by using left-over chicken. Aside from cooking the chicken, this is a one pot meal: you boil the pasta, drain it, and then toss everything right into the pot with the pasta along with some parmesan, butter, and a splash of the pasta cooking water. Really good, really simple, and now I want it for dinner!

One thing to note – because the tomatoes are just mixed in with the hot pasta and cooking water, they don’t actually get cooked. Nate is not a huge fan of raw tomatoes (neither am I actually, but I don’t mind them here) so next time I will give the tomatoes a quick sauté in a hot pan with some butter or olive oil before adding them to the pasta.

Pasta Shells with Chicken, Bocconcini and Cherry Tomatoes

Adapted from Martha Stewart; serves 2 (with leftovers)

Season 6 – 8 chicken breast cutlets (depending on size) with salt and pepper, and cook on both sides under a preheated broiler or on a grill until cooked through. Cut into bit-sized pieces, cover to keep warm, and set aside.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil for the pasta. Meanwhile, assemble the other ingredients:

a handful of cherry or grape tomatoes (about 6 or 7), cut in quarters

several spears of asparagus, cut into one inch pieces

2 oz of bocconcini – about 2 large balls cut into 1/4″ dice, or a handful of tiny pearl or cherry bocconcini

a few handfuls of freshly grated parmesan

a small palmful of chopped parsley

1 soup bowl full of medium/large pasta shells – pasta tends to double in volume when cooked, so start with half the amount (raw) that you want to end up with (cooked) (or about 4 oz raw pasta, if you won’t want to eyeball it)

When the water boils, chuck in the pasta. When it is *just* al dente, toss in the asparagus and cook for about 30 seconds. Drain the pasta/asparagus in a colander, reserving about 1 cup of the pasta water. Working quickly so you don’t lose any residual heat, toss everything but the bocconcini in the pot along with:

about a tablespoon of butter

salt and pepper

Stir to combine, adding the reserved pasta water a little at a time until you have a light sauce coating the pasta (you probably won’t need all the water). Stir in the bocconcini. Serve with more grated parmesan on top.

Pear-Filled Vanilla Birthday Cake with Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

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One of my co-workers recently had a birthday and a cake was requested, so I obliged with a vanilla cake filled with pears and frosted with chocolate buttercream. It went over really well at work (someone actually said, “This is the best cake I’ve ever had!” 🙂 ) so I have a feeling I’ll be making more. This will continue the trend of me having made more cakes in the past six months than I have in the past six years, but that is totally fine with me ;).

The slightly battered piece I brought home for Nate

This vanilla cake (aka yellow cake, because it contains egg yolks) is super easy to make and comes out fluffy, moist, and delicious. It’s my favorite plain cake recipe because it doesn’t require any fancy ingredients and it could easily be jazzed-up-up with lemon or orange zest or something. I baked it at a slightly lower temperature than the recipe stated and wrapped the pan in strips of damp towel to insulate it against getting a big domed top, and the cake came out perfectly baked and perfectly level. I wanted to fill it with something fruity, and over Thanksgiving my mum gave me a big bag of gorgeous pears from her pear trees, so I sautéed some in butter and brown sugar and spread it between the cake layers. I also wanted to try proper Swiss meringue buttercream frosting after the cream cheese frosting fiasco, and it came out awesome! Fluffy, buttery, and not too sweet. I can’t wait for an excuse to make it again in another flavour. Plus it was really fun to decorate with :).

Pear-Filled Vanilla Cake with Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

Because of all the butter in the frosting, this cake should be stored in the fridge, but let it come to room temperature before serving – the texture of the filling will be much better, and cake tastes best when it’s not cold anyway!

Yellow Vanilla Cake

Modified slightly from A Passion for Baking by Mary Goldman.

Can be baked as a sheet cake in a 9″x13″ pan, as a circular layer cake in two 9″ round pans, or as 24 cupcakes. The original recipe says to bake at 350˚F, but I had success with 325˚F.

Preheat oven to 325˚F. Spray/grease your pan(s) and line the bottoms with parchment paper.

In a mixer bowl, cream together:

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

Mix until light and fluffy, then add:

3 eggs (one at a time, mixing after each)

1 tsp vanilla

Mix until well blended.In a bowl, combine:

3 cups all purpose flour

4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix on low speed while slowly pouring in:

1 1/2 cups warm milk

Blend until the batter is smooth. Pour into prepared cake pan(s) and spread the batter evenly. Wrap the pans in a strip of wet towel to insulate the edges of the cake from cooking faster than the middle and creating a domed top. Bake at 325˚F for 35-45 minutes, until lightly golden brown on top, slightly springy when touched, and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out with no crumbs (check after 35 minutes). Cool for 10 minutes in the pan, then invert onto a wire rack, peel off the parchment paper, and cool completely. Split, fill, and frost as desired (it’s easier if the cake has been chilled before splitting it).

Pear Filling

In a large skillet over medium heat, melt:

3 tbsp butter

Add:

3 cups finely diced pears

Sauté until softened. Add:

3 tbsp brown sugar

a dash each of nutmeg and salt

Cook until the pears are very soft and the juice is syrupy. Stir in:

a squeeze of lemon juice

Remove from the heat and let cool before filling the cake. The butter in the filling will solidify if kept in the fridge, so serve the filled cake at room temperature (it’s fine to store it in the fridge though).

Chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream Frosting

From Sweetapolita. For a detailed tutorial on making Swiss meringue buttercream, click here.

Makes about 5 cups of frosting, enough to frost the outside of a 9″x13″ cake, to frost and fill a 9″ round 2-layer cake, or to frost 24 cupcakes. Best made in a stand mixer because it requires a lot of beating!

Cut 1 pound (2 cups) of butter into cubes and leave at room temperature to soften slightly. Pour a splash of vinegar or lemon juice in a mixer bowl and wipe out with a paper towel to remove any traces of oil. Also wipe down the whisk attachment with vinegar/lemon juice. This ensures that there is no oily residue that will prevent the egg whites from whipping up.

In the perfectly clean mixer bowl (not attached to the mixer), combine:

5 egg whites

1 cup + 2 tbsp granulated sugar

Make a bain marie/double boiler by placing the mixer bowl over a small pan of simmering water (make sure the bottom of the bowl is no touching the water). With the whisk attachment, stir the egg white-sugar mixture until it comes to 140˚F, or use your (clean) fingers to feel that the sugar is totally dissolved in the egg whites and the mixture is hot. Note that you are stirring to keep the mixture from turning into scrambled egg whites, not to incorporate air. Attach the mixer bowl and whisk to the mixer and beat the egg whites at medium high speed until stiff peaks form. Continue stirring on low speed until the egg whites are COMPLETELY cool – the side of the bowl should be cool to the touch.When the egg whites are cool, it’s time to add the butter. Switch the whisk for the paddle attachment, and mixing on low speed, add in the cubes of butter, one at a time, allowing the butter to incorporate before adding the next cube. The egg white meringue will fall and go through various stages of looking weird and curdled as you add the butter – this is all okay. When all the butter is added, the mixture will probably look quite clumpy, curdled, and thick. Keep stirring on low and after a few minutes it will emulsify and smooth out into a thick, creamy, fluffy frosting.Add:

2 tsp vanilla

dash salt

3/4 cup chocolate chips, melted and cooled

Stir well to incorporate the chocolate.Keep the frosting at a cool room temperature to frost the cake.

To Assemble the Cake:

Split the cooled cake in half horizontally and place the bottom layer on a cake board, protected by 4 strips of waxed paper. Pipe a wall of frosting around the edge of the layer, and spread the cake with the pear filling. Place the second layer on top, and coat the cake with a thin “crumb coat” of frosting. Refrigerate for about 15 minutes, until the frosting is set, then frost with a thicker layer. Decorate as desired – this frosting is great for piping.

Maple Coconut Pumpkin Pie with Spelt Shortbread Crust

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Happy Canadian Thanksgiving! I still can’t believe it’s October and, according to all the store displays and lifestyle/cooking magazines, the beginning of the holiday season. Where the heck did summer go so quickly?

I’m enjoying fall though – I love the cooler weather, the coloured leaves, and the abundance of delicious, harvest food – and maybe I’m okay with the holiday season starting. Heck, I’ve bought my first holiday cooking magazine and I’m already thinking about Christmas baking. Yeah, I’m totally okay with it ;). For me it’s mostly about the food anyway, and a Thanksgiving meal is a great way to kick it all off.

I’ve been in charge of holiday desserts in my family ever since I can remember, so this is the pumpkin pie I took to my parents’ house for Thanksgiving dinner. By the way, my mum is a turkey super-star – it is always juicy and awesome. And it has bacon on it. That’s all you really need to know.

The real turkey bacon

Anyway, back to pie. This recipe comes from my trusted friend Martha, and this is the second year I’ve made it. What sets it apart from other pumpkin pie recipes is the crust, which comes out tasting more like a shortbread cookie than regular pie pastry. Rather than rolling out the pastry, you just press the crust right into the pie plate and then blind bake it. This is definitely the easiest and best recipe/method I have come across for blind-baked pastry, because it doesn’t shrink or bubble up like other pastry often does.

The pumpkin filling, while quite tasty and nicely spiced, was not particularly special or unique as far as I could tell the last time I made it, so I cut out the regular white sugar and used maple syrup and brown sugar instead. I also added a splash of maple syrup to the whipped cream – because what’s pumpkin pie without whipped cream?

Because my mum can’t eat wheat or dairy, I used whole spelt flour in the crust and coconut milk instead of cream in the pumpkin custard filling (she missed out on the maple whipped cream though – next year I might try this coconut whipped cream recipe). The spelt flour gives the crust a slightly toasted flavour, and the coconut milk (which might sound weird) actually pairs really well with the pumpkin, maple, and spices. You can substitute heavy cream if you want, but I would recommend trying it with coconut milk even if you don’t have a dairy allergy!

Maple Coconut Pumpkin Pie with Spelt Shortbread Crust

Modified from Martha Stewart; makes one 9-inch pie

Spelt Shortbread Crust

A note on baking with spelt: spelt flour is a cousin of wheat flour, but is lower in gluten so it behaves a little differently in baking – basically, it absorbs less liquid and often turns out a bit crumblier. I usually think of it as similar to cake and pastry flour, but I’m not sure how accurate that actually is. In most cases, to substitute spelt for wheat flour, just increase the amount of flour by 25% (or, you can decrease the amount of liquid by 25%, but this sometimes also decreases the volume of whatever you’re making, so I usually go with the other method). However in this recipe, because there is no liquid added to the crust, a straight one-to-one substitution works.

Preheat oven to 375˚F.

In a bowl, cream together:

4 tbsp unsalted butter or margarine, softened (I used dairy-free margarine to accommodate a dairy allergy)

3 tbsp white granulated sugar

Stir in:

1 large egg yolk

Add:

1 cup whole spelt flour (or all purpose wheat flour, or 1/2 cup each all purpose and whole wheat flours)

1 tsp coarse salt

Stir until the mixture is uniformly crumbly – it should clump together easily when squeezed between your fingers. Press it evenly into the bottom and just over an inch up the sides of a 9-inch pie plate. Freeze until firm (20 minutes – I forgot to do this and it turned out fine), then bake in a 375˚F oven for 15-20 minutes, rotating half-way through, until golden brown. Let cool while you prepare the pumpkin filling.

Maple Coconut Pumpkin Filling

Preheat oven to 325˚F.

In a medium bowl, whisk together until smooth:

1 14-0z/398 ml can pure pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)

3/4 cup coconut milk with a high fat content (ie, not light – the one I used had 14 grams of fat per 1/3 cup – and make sure you shake the can well)

1/3 cup pure maple syrup (the darker the better – darker = more flavour)

2 eggs, beaten slightly

2 tbsp dark brown sugar (demerrara if you can find it)

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 tsp coarse salt

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/4 tsp ground allspice

1/8 tsp ground nutmeg

1/8 tsp ground cloves

Pour the filling into the prepared pie crust. Bake the pie at 325˚F  for 65-70 minutes, until the filling is slightly puffy and just set (it should still jiggle a bit). Cool completely on a wire rack, then refrigerate, uncovered, for at least 6 hours. Serve with maple whipped cream (1 cup whipping cream + 1 tbsp maple syrup).

Carrot Coconut Cupcakes

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We were supposed to visit Nate’s parents for his mum’s birthday a few weeks ago, and Nate asked me to make a birthday cake, which I happily agreed to. Sadly the visit got canceled, but I already had my heart set on carrot cake, so I made it anyway as cupcakes rather than a layer cake. This is the carrot cake recipe from the rebar cookbook, and it is the best carrot cake I have ever had. I like my carrot cake with lots of stuff in it, and this one delivers: carrots, coconut, pineapple, pecans, and dates, along with a good hit of spices. Moist, crumbly and delicious – this is definitely a cake that requires a fork and a napkin. The icing that goes along with it in the cookbook is an incredibly sweet cream cheese white chocolate icing, but I decided to try this cream cheese frosting from smitten kitchen because it contains maple syrup, and in my mind, you can’t go wrong with maple syrup! Unfortunately, things did not work out so well. I’m pretty sure I used all the right amounts of everything, but the frosting remained runny and soupy (albeit delicious – sound familiar?!) no matter how much extra icing sugar I added or how long I chilled it. It tasted great – not too sweet, with a good tang of cream cheese, although not as much maple flavour as I was hoping for – but it just slid right off the cupcakes. I had to add double the amount of icing sugar to make it stay on at all, and even then there’s no way I could have piped it into spikes like I was supposed to! I must have bad cream cheese frosting mojo, because after this round the score is cream cheese frosting: 2, Korena: 0. (And I swear this was a completely different recipe and method than that damn wedding cake frosting!). Nonetheless, the cupcakes were (messily) enjoyed, and this is definitely a carrot cake to try. I am including the original cream cheese white chocolate icing because I know that it actually turns out. If you are brave, try the maple cream cheese frosting – maybe yours will work out better than mine did!

Happy Belated Birthday, Kathryn! I owe you a cake 🙂

rebar Carrot Coconut Cake

From the rebar modern food cookbook

Preheat oven to 350˚F. Butter and flour two 8″ round cake pans, or line 12 muffin tins with cupcake liners.

In a bowl, combine:

1 1/2 cups grated carrots

3/4 cup drained crushed pineapple

3/4 cup unsweetened shredded or flaked coconut

3/4 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

1/2 cup chopped dates

In another bowl, combine:

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp allspice or cloves

In the bowl of a mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat until light and fluffy:

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup white sugar

3 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

With the mixer on low, slowly pour in a thin stream down the side of the bowl:

3/4 cup vegetable oil

Mix to blend.

Gently fold the flour mixture into the egg mixture, then fold in the carrot mixture. Scoop the batter into your prepared pans and bake at 350˚F for 25-30 minutes (cupcakes will still take at least 25 minutes), until a toothpick inserted in the centre of the cakes comes out clean. Cool in the pan for about 10 minutes, then remove and cool completely on a wire rack. Frost when totally cool, and garnish with toasted coconut or nuts (pecans/walnuts), if desired.

Cream Cheese White Chocolate Icing

In the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat until smooth and fluffy:

8 oz brick cream cheese, soft

1/4 cup unsalted butter, soft

1 tsp vanilla

Add:

3 oz white chocolate, melted and cooled but still liquid

Scrape down the sides, then slowly add:

3 cups icing sugar

Beat on high for about 3 minutes, until the icing sugar is well mixed and the icing is fluffy. Makes enough to frost 12 cupcakes, or fill and frost a two layer, 8″ cake.

Daring Bakers: Homemade Croissants!

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The Daring Bakers go retro this month!  Thanks to one of our very talented non-blogging members, Sarah, the Daring Bakers were challenged to make Croissants using a recipe from the Queen of French Cooking, none other than Julia Child!

I have been wanting to try making croissants for a long time, so this was the perfect challenge! It became immediately apparent, however, that croissants can be very finicky. To make then, you encase butter in dough and then roll it out and fold it and let it rest and roll it out and fold it and let it rest and repeat several more times, all the while making sure that the butter in the dough doesn’t get too soft and melt or get too hard and shatter and that you keep it evenly layered, so that in the end you hopefully end up with beautiful, flaky, light crescents of buttery, airy, honeycomb-textured pastry. No wonder croissants are considered daunting by many home bakers!…

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Breakfast at Dish Cookhouse & Diner

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Farmer’s Skillet with House Smoked Sausage and Ham

There are more breakfast places in Victoria that you can count, but because going out for breakfast on the weekend is such a popular sport among the locals, most restaurants have a huge line-up by 9:30 am. We have our regular favorite breakfast spot in town, but sometimes you have to break out of your routine. This morning we drove out to Sidney (about 20-30 minutes away) to have breakfast at Dish Cookhouse & Diner. We first heard about this place about a year ago from my parents, and we’ve been going back ever since, whenever we aren’t feeling too lazy/starving to survive the drive out there in the morning. Aside from serving up awesome food, the place is never busy (which is surprising because the food is so good), and we have never had to wait for a table. It’s located in the industrial area of Sidney, which probably explains why it’s not super busy on a weekend morning – but that’s just fine with me!

They smoke their own ham, sausage, and bacon, and make their own jam. The ham is amazing – I’m not sure which cut of pork they use, but it reminds me almost of Chinese bbq pork with the ratio of meat to fat and the slightly spiced, sweet, smokey flavour. Seriously, some of the best breakfast ham I’ve ever had. This morning I had the ham benny and it was delicious – yummy hollandaise sauce, too.

House Smoked Ham Benny

The portions are large, but not in that oh-my-god-I’m-going-to-die-if-I-eat-this kind of way – it’s not your average deep-fried, grease-laden, heavy diner breakfast. The ingredients are fresh, tasty, and very well-prepared. Their regular breakfast menu (they also have a lunch menu, but we’ve only ever been for breakfast) includes the traditional eggs with bacon/ham/sausage with hash browns and toast, as well as omeletes, skillets (corned beef hash, turkey sausage and bacon hash, veggie hash), french toast, and eggs bennies. They also have monthly and daily/weekly breakfast specials. The last time we were there, Nate and I both ordered the specials: Nate had a bacon cheddar burger benny, and I had the special french toast with bananas in rum caramel sauce. Both were insanely delicious (although I’ll admit I was in a bit of a carb-coma after!).

Special French Toast with Bananas in Rum Caramel Sauce, with awesome grilled ham on the side

I don’t know why this place isn’t more popular. I guess it’s because it’s a bit far from downtown, but it’s definitely a better alternative to waiting in line for a mediocre breakfast in a crowded restaurant. The service is great, the coffee is good, and the prices are comparable to any other breakfast place – for the food you’re getting, it’s a steal. If you live in Victoria, Dish should be your next breakfast destination!

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All content © Korena Vezerian and Korena in the Kitchen, 2011 – 2021. Please contact me before duplicating any content, including pictures. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Korena Vezerian and Korena in the Kitchen with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.