Very good food is a place for people who love cooking, authentic food and seeking out real food experiences. If you sometimes enjoy cooking for hours and not just for 20 minutes, occasionally consider using more than five ingredients in a recipe, choose to vacation in the country of your favourite ethnic take-out, or read recipe books like novels, you’re in the right place!

“Asparagus is in season and I’m already getting asparagus-ed out, but soon, thank God, peas are coming on so I do a really great summer truffle dish with seared scallops, pea ravioli and summer truffles with a very acidic sauce with pinot gris from the county.” Michael suggests simplifying this dish to make at home by searing the scallops with some fresh peas, some shallots, deglaze the pan “and maybe serve it over some nice tag” – that’s short for the flat wide noodles know as Tagliatelle.

Michael tells me his whole family loves to get in on the Foodie action, “(my daughter) wasn’t even one year old and she was eating caviar scallops and foie gras, but that didn’t last long.” Cooking with his daughter allows him much needed family time in a busy schedule, “My daughter is eight and she can cook like the wind – she’s awesome! She likes to cook pasta, pancakes, eggs, and she’s always on the restaurant kitchen helping out with mis en place.”

I asked Michael some tips to bring the local, seasonal philosophy of Harvest to your home kitchen, Micheal suggests “Try to buy fresh foods… some people shop everday but it’s not realistic for most people, a few times a week is good and keep it really fresh. Keep good staples on hand, good olive oil, right kind of vinegars, so your not running for the basics all of the time. Also don’t just cook for one day, cook for two or three days at a time – leftovers are great!”

Hope you enjoyed that, we’re being called back to the set… watch for more details about Chef Worthy coming soon!

See you on the patio!

“I purchased a spice called Merquen when in Chile. We had it in a dip served with sopappilas. I was wondering if you have a dip recipe using this spice.”

Merquen is a chili spice blend. It is made from smoked chilies called Cacho de Cabra or “horn of the goat.” Depending on the preparation and producer, the dried chilies are ground and blended with various spices; usually coriander seeds, cumin and sometimes salt.

Use it as you would use chili powder. If the one you have has salt in it, decrease the salt you are using in your recipe. It is also great as a spice rub for steak or pork, sprinkled over grilled corn on the cob or anywhere you would like a smokey hit of flavour.

I would try substituting the spice in any of these recipes with the Merquen, I think the Red Pepper dip would be especially good!:

Curry Dip
Bean Dip with Zahtar
Red Pepper Dip
Sun Dried Tomato Dip

My last copy of  Relaxed Cooking with Curtis Stone goes out to Teresa Brogno, Of Montreal QC. Congratulations and enjoy the book!

Look for 5 more new celebrity cookbooks for subscribers starting next week!

The fourth copy of Relaxed Cooking with Curtis Stone goes out to Dan and Brenda Dube of Perth, Ont. Congratulations and enjoy the book!

Keep subscribing! I have one more Curtis Stone cookbook to give away and then I will be announcing the new celebrity chef cookbook coming up for my celebrity cookbook drive!

Join me there and know what’s coming up before anyone else and keep up in real time with the foodie-file.

Hope you join me at twitter!

Don’t forget to subscribe to the Foodie-file to be eligible for a Curtis Stone Cookbook. I’m giving away one cookbook every week to a lucky subscriber!

“I would like to have someone explain to me the difference between Belgian waffles and normal waffles… Please advise. For example, could a waffle recipe be used in either machine, Belgian or classic? Thank You So Much, Jenni”

Any pastry that is made in a waffle iron is called a waffle. There are many different varieties, some are made with a raised batter and some are not. What you generally think of as a “normal” waffle is a round or square waffle made with a batter of eggs, milk (sometimes buttermilk), flour, butter and leavened with baking powder and/or baking soda – these are usually less than an inch thick and round or square.

Belgian waffles are traditionally much thicker, and lighter in texture with deep holes, but the real difference is that they are made with a batter that is leavened with yeast and egg whites which give them a light crispy texture. The round waffle irons with deep cavities are generally called Belgian waffle irons.

However, the term “Belgian waffle” is really very loose and undefined. It is not necessary to cook a Belgian waffle on a deep waffle iron for it to be a called a Belgian waffle. Also, you will definitely find recipes for Belgian waffles that do not contain yeast, sometimes an American waffle batter is made and cooked on a Belgian waffle iron and it is called a Belgian waffle. There are also many recipes for either type of waffle, even in Belgium.

Waffle makers generally come with recipe books that have exact proportions for their specific maker. Any recipe can be uses on a regular iron or a Belgian iron, you just have to adjust the amount of batter for each waffle.

Here are some waffle recipes to try:
Chocolate Chip Waffles
Pumpkin Waffles
Buttermilk Pecan Waffles
Blueberry Whole Wheat Waffles
Cornmeal Waffles with Eggs

Don’t forget to subscribe to the Foodie-file to be eligible for a Curtis Stone Cookbook. I’m giving away one cookbook every week to a lucky subscriber!

This is really somewhere between a quick bread and a pancake. It’s great as a main course with a salad or a few roasted potatoes, or slice it up and serve on the side with your favourite eggs -  scrambled or poached would be great. You can serve this bread warm or at room temperature so it makes for very relaxed cooking. 

Today, my third copy of Relaxed Cooking with Curtis Stone cookbook goes out to Jen Aragon of North Vancouver, B.C. Enjoy the cookbook Jen!

Keep subscribing! I have two more Curtis Stone cookbooks and lots of other celebrity cookbooks to give away once a week!