Play To Win!
Winners of That Cookbook Is Mine Contest
Pictured (top to bottom): Lamb Rib Chops, Thai Red Curry Chicken.
Congratulations to Jason and Michelle on winning one autographed copy of Everyday Exotic The Cookbook which his stores TODAY.
Thanks to everyone for the wave of incredible entries. Keep looking out for more contests.
Winner of Damn That Was Hot Contest
After sifting through many many entries, congratulations are in order to Christa Poirier for winning the Damn That Was Hot Contest. She wins the set of hot sauces shown in the picture above that have been hand selected by Roger on his various travels.
Christa's winning entry is below:
"When I was still able to eat wheat, we loved to grab a quick bite at the local Italian restaurant (which will remain un-named as it is an embarassing commercial food chain of which I am not proud to have frequented on a regular basis). One of the meals I loved was the pasta in spicy arabiatta sauce. One day, it came to the table dressed with nothing but a sprig of herb and a nice little round tomato. I pushed both aside and dove into my meal with gusto. At the end of the meal I thought I would do my parents proud and finish it ALL off including the herbs and that nice little tomato. I took both on my spoon and down the hatch...
Well by now you have probably guesses that the beautiful little tomato was really a hot pepper in disguise. They say that the smaller the pepper, the more the heat. Well holy crap on a stick Batman was this enough to singe the nose hairs and make your scalp sweat!! My milk was gone, the water was gone, the pasta was gone...all that was left with was the end of the bread loaf served with each meal. Never again will I knock the cheap loaf of bread given at the beginning of the meal because I think it literally saved my life!!
When I could finally breath again and call for the nearest defib machine, I looked over to find my husband's face showing a mix of horror and delight, worry and amusement, fear and love, all battling for dominance. In the end I got a very meak " You ok Honey?"
Well, to say the least, the pain lingered for quite a while. However, I was even less enthusiastic the next day when I realized all the food, including that horrible pepper disguised as a tomato, had to eventually come out. I will say no more other than bread would do me no good with that problem.
I still don't know what kind of pepper it was but ever since then I have been particularly leary about throwing back a garnish tomato without a quick nibble."
Winner of Old School Music Contest
Congratulations to Laurie Hasbrouck-Rasmussen for her winning entry for the Old School Music Contest. As she says the record player was passed down to her from her mom and the oldest record she has for this player is from 1902. Now that is some music love.
Laurie, please email info@rogermooking.com with your address so that we can mail you your prize. Enjoy.
Winner of Dinner Snapshot Contest is...
This contest was a tough one to pic (pun intended). But... congratulations to Michael Hawkins from St. John New Brunswick who sent in his winning entry via Facebook.
Michael please email info@rogermooking.com with your address so we can send you your prize.
Look out for many more contests right here.
Halloween Contest Winner
Gotta love a Halloween costume that gets us ready for XMas. Congrats Becky.
Congrats To Ivana and Drago
Hi Roger,
We both wanted to express our immense gratitude for a most wonderful evening last Saturday October 23 at Nyood. Winning the Canada Dry Toronto Culinary Experience was such a thrill, and to have you as our host was just such an incredible opportunity and experience. We cannot stop talking about what a fabulous time we had with you and how amazing all the food was. As my husband mentioned that evening I was so nervous about meeting you, but you put me at ease immediately, we truly appreciate the time you spent with us and it was such a privilege to have that time to get to know you and share such a wonderful meal together. It was like having dinner with an old, familiar friend. We will never forget our experience, the memories will last a lifetime.
Looking forward to continuing to follow you on Food Network, watching out for that new CD release and especially excited about the upcoming cookbook. Wishing you all the best in your super busy career and with your ever growing family. I'll be keeping an eye out in the spring for that baby announcement, we are so excited for you, your wife and daughters, you are truly blessed!
Winner of "Thanks-GIVING Away More Stuff" Contest
I am thankful for my little dog Bingo. He has been in my life for over 10 years after he was rescued at my Aunt's doorstep. I was standing at her door when I felt a flutter on my right leg and looking down saw this starving little wiggling ball of fur that jumped into my arms when I leaned over to look closer at him and he has been in my and my family's life for 10 years-as he was rescued we don't accurately know how how old he is. A few months after coming into our lives I told Mom to watch him while I clapped my hands immediately behind him-he didn't react. I told Mom that bingo is deaf. Since he has no hearing he relies more heavily on smells to explore the world. Being right up in my face to sniff my mouth, nuzzling and sniffing my ears, smelling the yard, grass and other objects that he finds on his forays into the backyard. At night, he roams up and down in the bed but by morning he is usually in the crook of my arm, rolled onto his back or side, sometimes he is sleeping next to my head in the morning. When i come home he always greats me with a whirly dance and vocalizes. Even though he is totally deaf, he makes all of the normal dog noises such as growling when his bedspace is encroached on, especially by movement under a bedsheet, barking when he needs to go out or when his water bowl is empty and howling for companionship when I leave the room. When I get back home, he doesn't hear me so sometimes he is fully asleep when I enter the room, not moving until I pet and stroke him. He is the ultimate lap dog. This year I got his teeth cleaned, got him off canned food and give him Little Cesar treats. He also now is on medicine for heart failure that I give him twice a day. Since my Mom passed away from pneumonia secondary to lymphatic cancer in January, he is my only companion. I am also at home most of the time since having to give up my career prematurely as an MD Anesthesiologist 2 years due to developing severe heart failure and becoming disabled. Bingo helps give me a purpose and focus in life taking my mind off of the other challenges that I am meeting in life from my disability, loss of career and income and the loss of my mother. He is vibrant and still peppy, very insistent but does like to sleep a fair amount. For Bingo, I am most thankful that he is my companion and that life is good for him than when I first laid eyes upon him.
Winner of Fall Chills...Warm Thrills Contest
We love our stew, but the crock pot favourite is pulled pork. I cook the pork ( I usually use a better quality pork than what they generally suggest-suggest pork shoulder but I use pork tenderloin or a good pork roast) with garlic, salt and pepper , onions and a brown pop or a beer. When the pork is cooked use a fork to break the meat up and add Diana honey garlic sauce and continue to cook on low for many hours.
Simple and the teenaged boys love it on a bun.
Winner of "You Gots To Chill" Contest
Congrats go out to Calla for winning the Ice Cream Machine, its on the way. A LOT of entries came in for this one. Here is Calla's winning entry:
"I had to laugh when I first read this contest. We had just tried the experiment of making ice cream in a bag. It only took about 5 minutes. The ingredients were simple but the five minutes of bag shaking was more than enough. The finished product was okay, but I’d sure love to try the Cuisinart 2Qt Ice Cream Machine. I’m sure we’d get much better results and less mess. It would keep us all happy and smilin’.
I’ve included a picture of our bag experiment before the shaking began.(after it was done we were in a hurry to eat it before it melted!!)"
Winner of "Name That Super Heroine" Contest
This contest was a hard one. We received so many entries to name the Chef Super Heroine that it was a really hard decision.
This contest winners name is Jeff from Singapore and although we will be sending him his autographed poster we will not be revealing the winning name until it is time to release the Super Hero for real.
Congratulations Jeff on the winning entry and look out for your poster.
Winner of "Summer Salt" Contest
This contest winner is getting a premium artisanal salt basket mailed to their home. The best pic sent in showing what they will do if they won gets the Salt. Here is the winning entry (its all about the pic). Congratulations Alan - your Salt is on the way:
"If I win the Summersalt contest I will Jump for Joy on the top of the world!"
Winner of "Love Thy Grill" Contest
Congratulations Judy Osbirn. Here is Judy's entry and just one of her many grill loving shots.
"Hi there,
I'll have to enter to win again now that I know about the contest. I'm a nut about taking pictures of all of my food.
I'm visiting with a great friend of mine in North West Arkansan her in Fayetteville. What a fantastic place. They have a great Farmers Market downtown three times a week not to mention many others in the area. Lot's of great organic, fresh foods to be enjoyed. After making a trip this week we came home with lots of fresh basil and baby squash and best of all SQUASH BLOSSOMS !
We enjoyed a wonderful dinner of fresh Halibut cooked on a cedar plank with lots of fresh basil butter, with fresh lemons and parsley. Grilled our lovely baby squash with just a little EVOO and sea salt.
A nice fresh, simply wonderful meal. We also created a fresh baby herb salad with fresh baby raspberries with roasted pine nuts and a lovely assortment of edible flowers.
Our squash blossoms should win an award themselves. The best thing we have ever had ! Stuffed them with just a little fresh goat cheese and fresh basil and green onion. Made a lovely tempura batter and quick fried them. BEAUTIFUL to the eyes and taste buds.
We will have to come up with a special name for our dinner of wonderful flowers !
Enjoy the view, you can almost taste the food!"
Winner of "Welcome Summer - Phone Tastic" Contest.
An overwhelming response came in this month for the Welcome Summer - Phone Tastic Contest. Entries from the Philippines, the U.S., Canada, and Poland. But alas we had to pick a winner. This months winner got us with the well worn tape and abused phone. A lot of people taped their phones for the pic but this one looked legit. Congrats to Ian on winning the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic PDA. Have fun with it and happy Canada Day to you. Here is his winning entry:
"Well..its kind of heartbreaking cause I thought my cellphone was going to make it past the 15th year anniversary of having this phone. Through all the days of wear and tear...from mountain climbing in the Rockies, to skiing at Whistler, or forgotten in the beaches at a local lake...this phone has gone through so much. As you can kinda tell from the pic. The outside of the phone holding it together has been somehow came off after lending it to my son a couple years ago. The back of the phone came out while on a ski lift, and numerous scratches and dents from falls. But thank you for the invention of tape! It has kept my phone still in working function! But I think it's time to let go, as tape can only do so much! So hopefully, my phone deserves a makeover and be recycled for the nokia 5800!!! Haha"
Winner of "About To Pop" Contest
A lot of very fun entries came in for this contest. But we had to pick a winner. And here they are:
"Hey why not it's both spring and food related :) Plus rumor has it Roger loves his eggs."
Winner of "Bring on the Eats and Treats" Contest
Well, the winner is the entry we are calling "Catbreadt" around here. The pic and the entry explain it all:
Thanks to Tony and his cat - So here I go and try to make my first ever olive focaccia flat bread, I'm feeling good about the dough so I put down a damp tea towel and walk away while it rises a little. Oops! I forgot two things. My kitty tries to copy everything I do, and he loves olives! total Kodak moment.
Good Food Festival Ticket Contest
So, we had to add this 11th hour addition to the winners circle. Not only was the picture of the dish particularly delish looking but it was one of Roger's Everyday Exotic recipes. So congrats to Tony Wright for the last winning entry, here it is:
This is my curry provalone mac and cheese with a fucilly "twist" inspired by Mr. Mooking on "Every Day Exotic" Awsome show! All of the ingredeants were from the Kensington market.
Winners of Good Food Festival Tickets
OOO...just looking at all the food shots that came in for this contest made the team here very hungry.
We are pleased to announce the following winners who will each receive 2 free passes to the Good Food Festival and Market which will be taking place at the International Center from April 23rd to 25th:
Melissa Smich (Lobster Bisque) - Hey Roger! Here's mine!
Amanda Kou (Beef Stew & Orzo Salad) - I'm interested in participating in the Good Food Festival Ticket Giveaway contest. I have attached several pictures of food that I've cooked.
1) Sundried tomato and roasted red pepper orzo-this is a recipe I actually got from Roger Mooking himself from his show "Everyday Exotic"
2) Beef stew
Colleen Cole (Beef Saute with Rice) - Thanks for the contest! I really want to go to this show with my girlfriend (and Matron of Honour) and we have decided that the only shows we will attend this year are ones we win tickets to, so we can cut down on the cost of attending, so you would be making two good foodie ladies happy here. Let me find a pic for you, I post picks of my cooking from time to time on twitter. Okay, I found a pic of a plate of minchie. It is a family recipe that dates back to the second world war in Hong Kong. It involves ground beef, minced onions, saute diced potatoes and is served on a bed of rice. I added stir fried cabbage to the side. It doesn't sound like much, but it is so yummy!
Winner of "Spring Cleaning" Contest
The winner of the Asian Knife Set by Wusthof sent in the most painful picture of them using their current crappy knives. The expression says it all. Here is the winning entry:
"As you can tell from the photo, even slicing tomatoes is really frustrating with my current inexpensive, poor quality knives!
If I were to win an awesome Wusthof Asian Knife Set, I would set my old cheap knives down beside the
beautiful Wusthof knives as they sliced through everything with ease! I would hope my old knives would learn from the new knives...
My old knives need an education, because they are not very sharp! :-)
Thank you,
Logan"
Winner of 2 Toronto Maple Leaf Tickets!!!
We loved this story and hopefully your husband will appreciate it as much as you will. Here is the winning entry:
"Okay I am not the biggest Leafs fan (Im actually a Habs fan) , BUT my husband is a huge fan and it would be great to have him out of the house during a Leaf game so I would not have to endure his cheering, occasional gloating (if they are winning), snide comments regarding my choice of team and general Leaf fandom that ensues. I hope you will consider choosing me (on behalf of my husband) so I can send him out of the house to enjoy the game with other like- minded fans and I can have a Leaf-free night with my young daughter.
Cheers
Linda"
Winner of 2 Premium Raptors Tickets!!!
Congrats to Sean for winning the Raptors tickets!!! Let us know how you liked the game. Here is his entry:
Im from a part of the world that isnt very big on Basketball and I have fallen in love with the Raptors since moving here last year from Australia. Chris is my favorite player and I would do anything to win some tickets. Plus, my son is a huge Raptors fan and walks around the house in a dinosaur costume on gameday. I dont think it will be hard to convince him to wear his dinosaur costume if we win the tickets. If you want to see a dinosaur in the crowd in those seats then give me the tickets.
February Winner of "They Love Me Not" Contest
There was 2 contests this month and we are proud to announce that we have selected the second winner. The winner had to write about their worst Valentine's Day experience...a sob story if you will. Thanks Susie for the entry, your prize is on the way...(some salt to heal your wounds!):
Susie's Entry:
Below is my miserable Valentine's Day sob story as an entry to your artisanal salt giveaway:
For the first time in a long time I had truly been excited about an upcoming Valentine's Day. I had been casually seeing a new guy for a month or so. I thought there were many attractive things about him. He had asked me to join him for a nice supper at a local restaurant that evening. I had been looking forward to the evening, happily planning on what I'd wear for our night on the town etc.
However, on the evening before Valentine's Day rolled around I learned from a mutual friend that the new man in my life had booked an expensive hotel suite for the evening of Valentine's Day. It had an in-room jacuzzi tub and the whole shabang. I would have been thrilled to learn this if this man had been more of a committed partner in my life, my husband for example, but I was not interested in pursuing a sexual relationship with him at that point in time and the news made me nervous. I did not want him to spend a lot of money on the evening when I knew I was not prepared to engage in further intimacy in our relationship at that time. It would have been compounded disappointment for him (both dropping lots of money and getting no roll around the room for his troubles) and a great deal of anxiety and embarassment for me. I phoned him directly that evening and shared with him that I was really looking forward to our dinner together but I had learned about the hotel suite and would prefer that he cancelled it as I was not ready to sleep with him. Valentine's Day arrived, I had not heard from the man I was interested in so I scrubbed myself clean, scented myself with lovely products, donned my favourite clothes at the time, carefully applied my make up and styled my hair. I then sat on the living room sofa and waited for him to arrive for us to dine out that evening. It was a long wait. He never turned up and I never heard from him again. I felt incredibly let down and humiliated. I've basically hated Valentine's Day since then. It's only been recently that I've turned the day into a celebration for one by enjoying a hot, deliciously scented bubble bath, excessive consumption of quality chocolate and a plethora of cheesy chick flick movies. I can't be stood up again if I personally make the arrangements for myself...
I'm not bitter at all..well perhaps just a little. Please award me the artisanal salts, it might give me a new taste in my mouth. :) It would be nice to know that something great resulted from an experience that still makes my eyes feel moist when I reflect on the hurt and disappointment.
My morale of the story could be that 'SOMETIMES men can be dumb, but artisanal salts are ALWAYS delicious!'
The End.
Thanks for accepting and reading my contribution.
Enjoy your day.
Susie Nixon (AKA 'Jilted on Valentine's Day').
February Winner of "They Love Me" Contest
There will be 2 contest winners this month and we are proud to announce that we have selected the first winner. The winner had to write the most gushing love letter and Naomi did it. Thanks Naomi for the entry, your prize is on the way:
Dear Brian,
When I look at you, I am so thrilled I made the choice to marry you four years ago. I could not ask for a more loving, considerate, passionate husband. You are so strong yet gentle, so honest, so passionate. You are a man of true character, and I admire most your ability to be exactly who you are in every situation - and I love exactly who you are. In your presence I feel beautiful, safe and loved. You are my best friend and I couldn't imagine spending my life with anyone other than you. Thank you for all you do for me, the sacrifices you make for me, and the tender heart you try to hide. You're a lion with a lamb's heart. You are more than I could ever ask for. You are everything I never knew I needed. You are my husband, and for that I am truly blessed.
Love Naomi
Aww gush gush ;)
January Runner up of "Its A New Year" Contest.
After much discussion we have decided to grant a runner up prize for January. This picture was just too memorable to leave out. The team particularly liked the hammer, the bra, the tape measure and the whisk. Wow, what a New Years Eve.
I dont advise anyone to consume this much alcohol though, that is for sure.
January Winner of "Its A New Year" Contest
January's contest was all about capturing how your New Years Eve was spent in one picture. Everything had to distilled into that one photograph. Of all of the entries last month this one summed it up best.
The first contest winner of 2010 did so by trekking to Cuba to take this pic. The picture says it all.
Your Crock Pot is on the way. Enjoy!!!
December winner of "Touching" holiday contest!
Woah, we cant begin to tell you how many heart wrenching stories came in for this months contest - it was starting to feel pretty grim. Then this entry came in with so much hope and offering the sentiment of the season in all its glory. Congratulations Hope (yes that is her name) your prize is on the way and your story is below for all to see and share.
"Though married, too young and pregnant, my self-centered, selfish husband abandoned me and our unborn child! I held on to become a single mother of a young son. I struggled many years on the poverty line, doing menial jobs to make ends meet! One particular christmas it was the toughest. There was no turkey, or a tree and no presents at our house! To explain why this was happening to my 5 year old was a job I was putting off! Christmas eve finally came and I tucked my little guy into his warm bed, sipping on a cup of tea,dreading christma day, when I heard a noise outside my entrance door! It was dark out and I was hesitant to open it, but curiousity took over and I slowly opened it to see what was up! WELL imagine my surprise, sitting there on the ground, a small green tree with lights on it! There were 2 big boxes full of food! There was a plump turkey with all the trimmings ready to be cooked and in the other box were wrapped gifts for myself and my son too! I looked all around me, but could not see who had dropped off these precious gifts to us!
Well It was my pleasure to set up that sweet christmas tree, cook that turkey and trimmings and have presents under the tree for my son when he woke up the next morning! It was so wonderful to see the sparkle and joy in his eyes when he spotted all the goodies!
To this day, I still have no idea who that night angel was who left those much needed wonderful gifts for us, for in the giving essence, that gesture actually gave me more than that! It gave me hope and new inspiration to go forward to succeed with my life and know that there were caring, loving and generous people out there! I have since aged from that young woman, my son has grown and become a terrific man to be proud of, but I never forget those days of struggle and in my own way I pay back every time I go shopping. You see..when I do my grocery shopping now, I make sure I buy a few items for our local food bank!
For I know what it is like to not have the simple comfort of food. SO I keep the christmas spirit alive not only on the holidays but all year in this way and I smile when I think of the people I am now helping who need it like I needed it so many years ago!"
November Winner of "Phone Always Ringing" Contest
Well...after several entries and hours of reading and contemplating...we have a winner...
Congratulations goes out to Larry Ngo for submitting a very creative entry with a picture to match!!! Well done Larry!
Thanks to everyone who submitted a story I love to read them all! Keep entering the contests every month for a chance to win something amazing!!!
Check out Larry's submission below:
Down the beaten path of an endless sidewalk,
Fall's coldness biting at my face,
Alone without thought,
the people walk by,
Holding their phones high,
A thousand conversations without sight,
The advancement of technology,
Who am I to avoid this?
I walk along empty-handed,
Welfare stamps and letters left crumpled in my pockets,
Letters from relentless pit bulls demanding money,
People pass by enamored with their devices,
I walk along, until I see it.
A carelessly dropped phone,
Sleek, black, and all alone
The citizens around continue to pass by,
Still wrapped up in their own world,
I reach for it carefully,
Inspecting the device was a fascinating experience,
Songs?
Thousands of them, from a fellow named Kanye West
To Lady Gaga, and Beethoven,
Pictures?
Hundreds of them, depicting parties, weddings, and even a bar mitzvah,
Contacts?
Family, friends, acquaintances,
People whom I've never met,
The call of conformity demands that I keep it,
To make it my own
To be cool
To be hip
To be normal
But my conscious,
A saintly thing,
Tells me to return it,
Upon finding the owner,
I place it in his hand,
With neither a smile,
Nor frown
October Winner of "Crocktober Fest" Contest
This months contest generated a lot of entries!!! Thanks for submitting so many good stories. They were so good in fact, I had to go back and forth, and debate over and over, and after careful consideration, I have chosen Mary Tamaki as our winner! Congratulations! I've never seen Chocolate Cocoa in a Crock Pot before - what a great idea! Sounds scrumptious! Your crock is in the mail! Check out her Cocoa below:
I know a lot of people think of stews and soups when you mention Crock-Pots but here's a great recipe for when you spend a cool Autum day with you family outside, enjoying the wonderful fresh brisk air and the ones you love. Make this terrific Chocolate Cocoa so when your family arrives home after a great day together, you'll have this waiting in your Crock-Pot!
3 1/2 cups nonfat dry milk powder
3/4 cup powdered sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (use a quality brand like Bernard Callebaut)
3/4 cup plain powdered nondairy creamer
8 cups water
sweetened whipped cream
(Optional: 1/2 cup flavoured coffee creamer or Creme de Cacao)
Servings 12/6 oz cups
1. combine in your Crock-Pot, dry milk powder, powdered sugar, cocoa powder and nondairy creamer. GRADUALLY add water and stir/whisk well to dissolve.
2. cover & cook on lowest setting for 3 to 4 hrs OR on highest setting for 1 1/2 to 2 hrs (depending how long you think you'll be out)
3. stir in your 1/2 cup of flavoured coffee creamer, i.e., Irish Cream or Creme de Cacao just before serving.
4. pour Chocolate Cocoa into mugs and top with whipped cream.
Enjoy!
September Winner of "Golden Leaves" Contest
Beginning next month the prizing for the contests go to a whole new level. This months contest was won by Shelly, check out her story.
"Edmonton is my hometown and there are a lot of wonderful parks and ravines there which turn a beautiful golden color in the fall. One of the best parks is called Rundle Park in North East Edmonton that has paddleboats. My husband and I are sweethearts from elementary school and we spent many afternoons paddling in the ponds as kids. Last year was our 5th anniversary and we went back to Edmonton to paddle in the pond at Rundle Park."
August Winner of "Where Is The Summer?" Knife Contest
This months contest entries were out of control. So many people were vying for this months prize it was a tough one. So in a very special instance we have decided to give away a runner up prize this month as well. First Place goes to Meghan Ney. Runner Up Prize goes out to Cathie Besso for her story complete with recipe. Check out their stories:
First Place - My Discovery of the Brickworks Farmers Market: Tasting Summer!!!
The summer may have been inconsistent, but one Toronto market never failed...the Brickworks Farmers Market faithfully occurred every Saturday and not even days of rain or low temperatures could stop some of Ontario's finest producers from producing, harvesting and selling their cheese, fruits and veggies.
Having never attended the Brickworks Market before (in hindsight I must have been living under a rock) I was thrilled that first Saturday when my husband and I walked into the market to find gorgeous candy cane beets, Cookstown Greens salad mix with edible flowers, Kozlicks Mustard and fresh artic char for sale in one spot. The first meal we cooked with our market finds was like a breath of fresh air, you could taste summer on the palate even though the weather outside was thunderstorming.
As the summer progressed we brought more family and friends into the Brickworks fold, my parents even loading a cooler into the car and coming in from Whitby for the occasion. We got to know the producers by name, discovered some favorites (oh Fifth Town cheese how I love all you make) and saw some Canadian "celebs" sharing in the market joy (Adrienne Clarkson and John Raulston Saul thoroughly enjoyed their Jamie Kennedy fries)! We also saw the summer's progression reflected in the produce available - asparagus and rhubarb at the beginning of summer, heirloom tomatoes and fresh peaches towards the end.
The Brickworks Farmers Market brought our friends together to share some incredibly special meals, provided a quiet oasis for my husband and I on Saturday mornings and gave us something to look forward to each weekend, despite the weather. It's truly been a highlight of my summer!
I hope you've enjoyed my story as much as I've enjoyed the market. As a Toronto chef I'm sure you know how wonderful that space is.
Runner Up Prize!!!
Hi Roger My knives are ancient and have been destroyed by children using them inappropriately. I don't know how many times I asked, "why did you use a good knife on a pizza box, or wires to various game systems-and please don't put my good knives in the dishwasher". Anyways, the summer story isn't that exciting, (although we had a lot of laughs-as we do) but I think that the recipes are.
Firstly there was the marinated flank steak that was absolutely to die for. Suzanne and I went on a Thelma and Louise trip to Delta Ontario (1/2 hour north of Gananoque) to visit my Aunt and cousins. Stayed there 2 nights, and made a wonderful beef tenderloin roast, which had been marinated in worschestshire sauce, red wine, garlic and pepper. After our 2 day visit of wonderful food and drink we headed to Nepean for dinner. Suzanne's cousin served us this wonderful flank steak.
They were marinated for 8 hours in:
Soy sauce
Oyster sauce
Sesame Oil
Lime Juice
Chili flakes
Fresh garlic and ginger
Chopped green onions
Barbeque to med rare
Cut meat on bias
Also, my nieces came to my place for hair night. One brought an awsome cold chicken, blueberry, walnut rice salad. Everybody went nuts over this dish.
Blueberry Walnut Wild Rice Salad
Ingredients:
Salad:
½ cup Walnuts, coarsely chopped
2 cups Blueberries, washed and drained, stems removed
½ tsp Tarragon, fresh, chopped
1 tsp Honey
1 cup Brown rice, cooked and cooled
1 cup Wild rice, cooked and cooled
2 Chicken breasts, boneless, skinless
To taste Salt and ground black pepper
Salad Dressing:
½ cup Orange juice
2 tbsp White wine vinegar
1 tbsp Flat-leaf parsley, fresh, finely chopped
2 tsp Thyme, fresh, finely chopped
Method:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place walnuts on a baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 5 to 7 minutes, until lightly toasted. Set aside to cool.
In a large bowl, combine the blueberries, honey, tarragon, and stir to combine. Let stand 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, cook the brown rice and wild rice according to package directions.
Grill the chicken breasts on a grilling pan until cooked and set aside to cool. When the chicken has cooled dice.
Add the rice, chicken and the toasted walnuts to the blueberry mixture and mix well.
To prepare the salad dressing, whisk together the orange juice, vinegar, parsley, and thyme in a small bowl. Pour the dressing over the blueberry-rice mixture and toss to combine.
Season to taste with salt and ground black pepper.
July Winner of "Asia Persuasion" Knife Contest
The winner is in. Check this one out:
"Singapore is my home. We love to eat food here and have many places to eat. So many times we go out to eat food on the street but I love cooking. The knife we use is very dull and that is why I want your knife. I hope you can give me a sharp knife, I have heard a lot about this kind of knife. By the way, what is an Asia Persuasion?"
June Winner of "Fathers Day BBQ" Contest
I am proud to announce that the winner of the "Fathers Day BBQ" Contest is none other than Ric from Ontario. And here is the winning entry sent in by his wife:
"My husband is the best Father on the planet. Not only is he an extremely talented artist and creative force but he is also the most loving, giving, and generous men that I am so proud to call my husband. I dont really have any fancy story but I do know what a dedicated father he is and I will use the knife to make him the best Fathers Day meal he has ever eaten. Hopefully I can win the knife."
May Winner of "Yo, Mama Needs a New Knife" Contest
The winner is in! Congratulations go out to Rebecca from Ontario. See her winning entry below and hopefully we have helped her make food time a little easier to deal with.
"Why do I need a new knife? I am the proud mom of the funniest little girl I have ever met, this girl loves to eat! Anything that I put in front of her will go in her mouth, especially fruits and broccoli :) I cannot cut her fruit fast enough, and my poor knife is now dull...I could REALLY use a new knife so I can keep up with my baby girl's appetite!"
April Winner - "Give Me My Knife" Contest
I would like to congratulate Clark Ma on his winning entry for April's "Give Me My Knife" Contest. After reading his entry it was clear to me that we MUST give Clark this beautiful 8" Wusthof Classic Chef Knife. See his winning entry below.
Hi Roger,
I am a cook at a private sports club, but actually, I would love to have the knife for different reasons.
My 10 year old brother, Calvin, has been inspired ever since he started watching your show and has started become interested in the food network. He's started talking about wanting to eat papaya and asking me to get him one. He's never even seen a real papaya! Hahaha. (except for your show)
I love my egg salad with paprika, but he would never eat it in the past because he was never open to trying something he never heard of. One day, he saw one of your episodes where you used paprika in one of your dishes, and he realized afterwards it was the same spice I used in my sandwich! He even pronounces "pap-rik-a" the way you pronounce it which annoyed me at first, but I find cute now :)
Calvin has never been a fan of the kitchen - except to grab his food to go. Now, he's asking to help me and my girlfriend cook dinner. It's crazy. He even mentioned becoming a cook one day (like me) and studying at Chef School. I told him it was early and he should just enjoy cooking for the time.
The reason why I would like the knife is because when I teach Calvin to use a knife properly, I want him to have your knife. It is the representation of what inspired him and I think it would mean a lot to him. I really feel that enjoying food starts at a young age and I want him to have a good relationship with food throughout his life.
Thank you and I look forward to dining at your restaurants someday,
Clark Ma
March Winner - Finger Lickin' Good Contest Winner!
I would like to congratulate Ray Gleba on his winning entry for the "Finger Lickin' Good Contest." You are in for a real treat with this new Ikon Paring Knife. Your recipe sounds delicious and thanks for sharing your story with us. Read below for the winning entry:
"There is only one recipe that can make one look so messy when eating ribs. Its my wife, Chris's B-B-Q rib sauce.
This recipe uses ketchup, worchester sauce, brown sugar, vinegar, diced onions and spices that enhance that flavour that is a home cooked meal.
After those ribs are precooked in the roasting pan, drained of liquid and then her sauce is poured over the ribs. Let them cook for one and a half hours. Oh that aroma is a magnet for us to ask...is it ready yet?
This is where our family sits down to some finger-licking good home food.
During the meal we all look at each other and break out laughing at the sight of each others messy hands and faces.
Something to see and experience, the love we have for each other and the good home cooked food we share together. My family takes time to be with each other as often as we can. The memories of past rib meals brings the call for another one....please and thank-you.
Cheers Roger
February Winner - Why I deserve a Chef Knife Contest
Wow, this month we had an incredible number of entries for the Knife contest. After careful consideration we'd like to congratulate Rajwant on her winning entry in the "Why I deserve a Chef Knife" contest. Your prize is on the way.
"Hello Roger,
The reason I deserve a brand spanking shiny new $160 knife that will last a lifetime is because...
In India, I used to enjoy waking up and creating meals that would satisfy the soul! I always made my food with love and prayers whenever I was cooking food for people. I am really passionate about food and it's healing properties in the human body and the incredible tastes that foods have. I love the way different cultures prepare foods.
When I came to Canada, I fell in love with other cultures' foods, Vietnamese, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Thai, Italian, Portuguese and the list goes on. I have tried my best to fuze different foods together.
I really enjoy watching the Food Network and especially your show! I fell in love with your knife when I saw it on television. It is so sharp and delivers results in the kitchen. That kind of knife would help me in creating dishes that enrich peoples lives gastronomically.
Thanks for your time Roger!!"
January Winner - Pair it Up Contest
We would like to congratulate Aleem on his winning entry in this month's Pair it up Contest. Your prize is on its way.
"I was watching the show when i saw Roger making Crispy Orange Beef with Orange Glaze, Wilted Garlic Greens and Orange Fennel Salad. Yo that salad was dope, I chose to make the similar salad but added thinly sliced raw Yellow and Red beets, a thinly sliced cold roasted Beets, sliced Radish, dried Cranberries, roasted Pistachios,grilled Green Onions it turned out wicked!! I don't know why but when i add zaatar to the mix, that was the sceret touch!!!! Try that out and holla at me!!"
Vespa Contest Winner
Congratulations go out to Leanne Elnicki who won my Vespa by selling fudge and shortbread.
I am excited to announced that we raised over $8,000 for Show Kids You Care. Thanks to everyone who fundraised for the opportunity to win my Vespa. And thanks to Vespa for their participation in this contest.
As far as the money that was raised, click link to visit the Show Kids You Care!
• Click here to visit Show Kids You Care website.
December's Winner - Be a Chef Contest
We would like to congratulate Alison on her winning entry for the "Be a Chef Contest." Your prize is on its way!
A couple of weeks back my uncle had the whole family over for dinner and surprised us with Curry Macaroni and cheese. It was delicious, the hint of spice and cumin in the curry really made this mac and cheese something different. It was the perfect dish for a cool late fall night at the lake.
Alison
Winner of Verve Girl ONCampus Contest
We'd like congratulate Sara Loconte on her winning entry for "Verve Girl ONCampus Contest"- Roger looks forward to spending the day with you!
What i do to make a regular recipe out-of-this-world is simple: I dice up a red bell pepper (the sweetest variety, as opposed to the unripened green or semi-ripened red or yellow) and throw in peas and caramelized onions. Then I bake it, and just before it's ready, I remove it from the oven and sprinkle on breadcrumbs (with Italian seasoning) and bake until the top is just golden brown. It tastes incredible! I hope you try it.
Winner of A-Z Contest Chosen!
Thanks to all your entries, the A-Z Contest was HBC and Zellers most successful to date with 3.8 million entries!
The winner is Patti Sokoloski of Winnipeg Manitoba and Roger looks forward to showing her the "ultimate culinary experience."
November's Winner- Pair it Up
We would like to congratulate Jason for his winning entry in the Pair it Up contest. Your prize is on its way!
After the Szechwuan Peppercorn episode aired my mother-in-law was so excited
to try the steak and sweet potatoes dish she went out THAT night and cooked
it. She watched the 8:30 thursday airing so she was cooking steak and
potatoes at 9, 10 o'clock at night. She said it just looked so good she had
to have it and she couldn't wait.
Jason
October's Winner - Be A Chef Contest
We'd like to congratulate Marika Pick on her winning entry for the "Be A Chef Contest" - Your prize is on it's way!
"I made a curried macaroni and cheese one night for my boyfriend who is a cook. I am not a cook, so whenever I try recipes at home I ask him for his supervision, but I specifically tell him NOT to touch anything because I want to do it myself. So he paced around the kitchen anxiously awaiting this mac and cheese dish, and even tried to cut in a few times, but I had to yell at him to keep him under control.
Finally, the dish was ready. It was summer time and beautiful out, so we ate on the patio. He had four huge helpings of this mac and cheese (it is not a light recipe!) and by the end of it our bellies were full of food, and he was left on the couch stuffed! We loved the recipe and added a few little twists to it to make it our own. Beautiful! "Now that's Everyday Exotic!"
Congratulations to Jason and Michelle on winning one autographed copy of Everyday Exotic The Cookbook which his stores TODAY.
Thanks to everyone for the wave of incredible entries. Keep looking out for more contests.
Winner of Damn That Was Hot Contest
Christa's winning entry is below:
"When I was still able to eat wheat, we loved to grab a quick bite at the local Italian restaurant (which will remain un-named as it is an embarassing commercial food chain of which I am not proud to have frequented on a regular basis). One of the meals I loved was the pasta in spicy arabiatta sauce. One day, it came to the table dressed with nothing but a sprig of herb and a nice little round tomato. I pushed both aside and dove into my meal with gusto. At the end of the meal I thought I would do my parents proud and finish it ALL off including the herbs and that nice little tomato. I took both on my spoon and down the hatch...
Well by now you have probably guesses that the beautiful little tomato was really a hot pepper in disguise. They say that the smaller the pepper, the more the heat. Well holy crap on a stick Batman was this enough to singe the nose hairs and make your scalp sweat!! My milk was gone, the water was gone, the pasta was gone...all that was left with was the end of the bread loaf served with each meal. Never again will I knock the cheap loaf of bread given at the beginning of the meal because I think it literally saved my life!!
When I could finally breath again and call for the nearest defib machine, I looked over to find my husband's face showing a mix of horror and delight, worry and amusement, fear and love, all battling for dominance. In the end I got a very meak " You ok Honey?"
Well, to say the least, the pain lingered for quite a while. However, I was even less enthusiastic the next day when I realized all the food, including that horrible pepper disguised as a tomato, had to eventually come out. I will say no more other than bread would do me no good with that problem.
I still don't know what kind of pepper it was but ever since then I have been particularly leary about throwing back a garnish tomato without a quick nibble."
Winner of Old School Music Contest
Laurie, please email info@rogermooking.com with your address so that we can mail you your prize. Enjoy.
Winner of Dinner Snapshot Contest is...
Michael please email info@rogermooking.com with your address so we can send you your prize.
Look out for many more contests right here.
Halloween Contest Winner
Congrats To Ivana and Drago
We both wanted to express our immense gratitude for a most wonderful evening last Saturday October 23 at Nyood. Winning the Canada Dry Toronto Culinary Experience was such a thrill, and to have you as our host was just such an incredible opportunity and experience. We cannot stop talking about what a fabulous time we had with you and how amazing all the food was. As my husband mentioned that evening I was so nervous about meeting you, but you put me at ease immediately, we truly appreciate the time you spent with us and it was such a privilege to have that time to get to know you and share such a wonderful meal together. It was like having dinner with an old, familiar friend. We will never forget our experience, the memories will last a lifetime.
Looking forward to continuing to follow you on Food Network, watching out for that new CD release and especially excited about the upcoming cookbook. Wishing you all the best in your super busy career and with your ever growing family. I'll be keeping an eye out in the spring for that baby announcement, we are so excited for you, your wife and daughters, you are truly blessed!
Winner of "Thanks-GIVING Away More Stuff" Contest
Winner of Fall Chills...Warm Thrills Contest
Simple and the teenaged boys love it on a bun.
Winner of "You Gots To Chill" Contest
"I had to laugh when I first read this contest. We had just tried the experiment of making ice cream in a bag. It only took about 5 minutes. The ingredients were simple but the five minutes of bag shaking was more than enough. The finished product was okay, but I’d sure love to try the Cuisinart 2Qt Ice Cream Machine. I’m sure we’d get much better results and less mess. It would keep us all happy and smilin’.
I’ve included a picture of our bag experiment before the shaking began.(after it was done we were in a hurry to eat it before it melted!!)"
Winner of "Name That Super Heroine" Contest
This contest was a hard one. We received so many entries to name the Chef Super Heroine that it was a really hard decision.
This contest winners name is Jeff from Singapore and although we will be sending him his autographed poster we will not be revealing the winning name until it is time to release the Super Hero for real.
Congratulations Jeff on the winning entry and look out for your poster.
Winner of "Summer Salt" Contest
"If I win the Summersalt contest I will Jump for Joy on the top of the world!"
Winner of "Love Thy Grill" Contest
"Hi there,
I'll have to enter to win again now that I know about the contest. I'm a nut about taking pictures of all of my food.
I'm visiting with a great friend of mine in North West Arkansan her in Fayetteville. What a fantastic place. They have a great Farmers Market downtown three times a week not to mention many others in the area. Lot's of great organic, fresh foods to be enjoyed. After making a trip this week we came home with lots of fresh basil and baby squash and best of all SQUASH BLOSSOMS !
We enjoyed a wonderful dinner of fresh Halibut cooked on a cedar plank with lots of fresh basil butter, with fresh lemons and parsley. Grilled our lovely baby squash with just a little EVOO and sea salt.
A nice fresh, simply wonderful meal. We also created a fresh baby herb salad with fresh baby raspberries with roasted pine nuts and a lovely assortment of edible flowers.
Our squash blossoms should win an award themselves. The best thing we have ever had ! Stuffed them with just a little fresh goat cheese and fresh basil and green onion. Made a lovely tempura batter and quick fried them. BEAUTIFUL to the eyes and taste buds.
We will have to come up with a special name for our dinner of wonderful flowers !
Enjoy the view, you can almost taste the food!"
Winner of "Welcome Summer - Phone Tastic" Contest.
"Well..its kind of heartbreaking cause I thought my cellphone was going to make it past the 15th year anniversary of having this phone. Through all the days of wear and tear...from mountain climbing in the Rockies, to skiing at Whistler, or forgotten in the beaches at a local lake...this phone has gone through so much. As you can kinda tell from the pic. The outside of the phone holding it together has been somehow came off after lending it to my son a couple years ago. The back of the phone came out while on a ski lift, and numerous scratches and dents from falls. But thank you for the invention of tape! It has kept my phone still in working function! But I think it's time to let go, as tape can only do so much! So hopefully, my phone deserves a makeover and be recycled for the nokia 5800!!! Haha"
Winner of "About To Pop" Contest
"Hey why not it's both spring and food related :) Plus rumor has it Roger loves his eggs."
Winner of "Bring on the Eats and Treats" Contest
Thanks to Tony and his cat - So here I go and try to make my first ever olive focaccia flat bread, I'm feeling good about the dough so I put down a damp tea towel and walk away while it rises a little. Oops! I forgot two things. My kitty tries to copy everything I do, and he loves olives! total Kodak moment.
Good Food Festival Ticket Contest
This is my curry provalone mac and cheese with a fucilly "twist" inspired by Mr. Mooking on "Every Day Exotic" Awsome show! All of the ingredeants were from the Kensington market.
Winners of Good Food Festival Tickets
We are pleased to announce the following winners who will each receive 2 free passes to the Good Food Festival and Market which will be taking place at the International Center from April 23rd to 25th:
Melissa Smich (Lobster Bisque) - Hey Roger! Here's mine!
Amanda Kou (Beef Stew & Orzo Salad) - I'm interested in participating in the Good Food Festival Ticket Giveaway contest. I have attached several pictures of food that I've cooked.
1) Sundried tomato and roasted red pepper orzo-this is a recipe I actually got from Roger Mooking himself from his show "Everyday Exotic"
2) Beef stew
Colleen Cole (Beef Saute with Rice) - Thanks for the contest! I really want to go to this show with my girlfriend (and Matron of Honour) and we have decided that the only shows we will attend this year are ones we win tickets to, so we can cut down on the cost of attending, so you would be making two good foodie ladies happy here. Let me find a pic for you, I post picks of my cooking from time to time on twitter. Okay, I found a pic of a plate of minchie. It is a family recipe that dates back to the second world war in Hong Kong. It involves ground beef, minced onions, saute diced potatoes and is served on a bed of rice. I added stir fried cabbage to the side. It doesn't sound like much, but it is so yummy!
Winner of "Spring Cleaning" Contest
"As you can tell from the photo, even slicing tomatoes is really frustrating with my current inexpensive, poor quality knives!
If I were to win an awesome Wusthof Asian Knife Set, I would set my old cheap knives down beside the
beautiful Wusthof knives as they sliced through everything with ease! I would hope my old knives would learn from the new knives...
My old knives need an education, because they are not very sharp! :-)
Thank you,
Logan"
Winner of 2 Toronto Maple Leaf Tickets!!!
We loved this story and hopefully your husband will appreciate it as much as you will. Here is the winning entry:
"Okay I am not the biggest Leafs fan (Im actually a Habs fan) , BUT my husband is a huge fan and it would be great to have him out of the house during a Leaf game so I would not have to endure his cheering, occasional gloating (if they are winning), snide comments regarding my choice of team and general Leaf fandom that ensues. I hope you will consider choosing me (on behalf of my husband) so I can send him out of the house to enjoy the game with other like- minded fans and I can have a Leaf-free night with my young daughter.
Cheers
Linda"
Winner of 2 Premium Raptors Tickets!!!
Congrats to Sean for winning the Raptors tickets!!! Let us know how you liked the game. Here is his entry:
Im from a part of the world that isnt very big on Basketball and I have fallen in love with the Raptors since moving here last year from Australia. Chris is my favorite player and I would do anything to win some tickets. Plus, my son is a huge Raptors fan and walks around the house in a dinosaur costume on gameday. I dont think it will be hard to convince him to wear his dinosaur costume if we win the tickets. If you want to see a dinosaur in the crowd in those seats then give me the tickets.
February Winner of "They Love Me Not" Contest
There was 2 contests this month and we are proud to announce that we have selected the second winner. The winner had to write about their worst Valentine's Day experience...a sob story if you will. Thanks Susie for the entry, your prize is on the way...(some salt to heal your wounds!):
Susie's Entry:
Below is my miserable Valentine's Day sob story as an entry to your artisanal salt giveaway:
For the first time in a long time I had truly been excited about an upcoming Valentine's Day. I had been casually seeing a new guy for a month or so. I thought there were many attractive things about him. He had asked me to join him for a nice supper at a local restaurant that evening. I had been looking forward to the evening, happily planning on what I'd wear for our night on the town etc.
However, on the evening before Valentine's Day rolled around I learned from a mutual friend that the new man in my life had booked an expensive hotel suite for the evening of Valentine's Day. It had an in-room jacuzzi tub and the whole shabang. I would have been thrilled to learn this if this man had been more of a committed partner in my life, my husband for example, but I was not interested in pursuing a sexual relationship with him at that point in time and the news made me nervous. I did not want him to spend a lot of money on the evening when I knew I was not prepared to engage in further intimacy in our relationship at that time. It would have been compounded disappointment for him (both dropping lots of money and getting no roll around the room for his troubles) and a great deal of anxiety and embarassment for me. I phoned him directly that evening and shared with him that I was really looking forward to our dinner together but I had learned about the hotel suite and would prefer that he cancelled it as I was not ready to sleep with him. Valentine's Day arrived, I had not heard from the man I was interested in so I scrubbed myself clean, scented myself with lovely products, donned my favourite clothes at the time, carefully applied my make up and styled my hair. I then sat on the living room sofa and waited for him to arrive for us to dine out that evening. It was a long wait. He never turned up and I never heard from him again. I felt incredibly let down and humiliated. I've basically hated Valentine's Day since then. It's only been recently that I've turned the day into a celebration for one by enjoying a hot, deliciously scented bubble bath, excessive consumption of quality chocolate and a plethora of cheesy chick flick movies. I can't be stood up again if I personally make the arrangements for myself...
I'm not bitter at all..well perhaps just a little. Please award me the artisanal salts, it might give me a new taste in my mouth. :) It would be nice to know that something great resulted from an experience that still makes my eyes feel moist when I reflect on the hurt and disappointment.
My morale of the story could be that 'SOMETIMES men can be dumb, but artisanal salts are ALWAYS delicious!'
The End.
Thanks for accepting and reading my contribution.
Enjoy your day.
Susie Nixon (AKA 'Jilted on Valentine's Day').
February Winner of "They Love Me" Contest
There will be 2 contest winners this month and we are proud to announce that we have selected the first winner. The winner had to write the most gushing love letter and Naomi did it. Thanks Naomi for the entry, your prize is on the way:
Dear Brian,
When I look at you, I am so thrilled I made the choice to marry you four years ago. I could not ask for a more loving, considerate, passionate husband. You are so strong yet gentle, so honest, so passionate. You are a man of true character, and I admire most your ability to be exactly who you are in every situation - and I love exactly who you are. In your presence I feel beautiful, safe and loved. You are my best friend and I couldn't imagine spending my life with anyone other than you. Thank you for all you do for me, the sacrifices you make for me, and the tender heart you try to hide. You're a lion with a lamb's heart. You are more than I could ever ask for. You are everything I never knew I needed. You are my husband, and for that I am truly blessed.
Love Naomi
Aww gush gush ;)
January Runner up of "Its A New Year" Contest.
I dont advise anyone to consume this much alcohol though, that is for sure.
January Winner of "Its A New Year" Contest
The first contest winner of 2010 did so by trekking to Cuba to take this pic. The picture says it all.
Your Crock Pot is on the way. Enjoy!!!
December winner of "Touching" holiday contest!
Woah, we cant begin to tell you how many heart wrenching stories came in for this months contest - it was starting to feel pretty grim. Then this entry came in with so much hope and offering the sentiment of the season in all its glory. Congratulations Hope (yes that is her name) your prize is on the way and your story is below for all to see and share.
"Though married, too young and pregnant, my self-centered, selfish husband abandoned me and our unborn child! I held on to become a single mother of a young son. I struggled many years on the poverty line, doing menial jobs to make ends meet! One particular christmas it was the toughest. There was no turkey, or a tree and no presents at our house! To explain why this was happening to my 5 year old was a job I was putting off! Christmas eve finally came and I tucked my little guy into his warm bed, sipping on a cup of tea,dreading christma day, when I heard a noise outside my entrance door! It was dark out and I was hesitant to open it, but curiousity took over and I slowly opened it to see what was up! WELL imagine my surprise, sitting there on the ground, a small green tree with lights on it! There were 2 big boxes full of food! There was a plump turkey with all the trimmings ready to be cooked and in the other box were wrapped gifts for myself and my son too! I looked all around me, but could not see who had dropped off these precious gifts to us!
Well It was my pleasure to set up that sweet christmas tree, cook that turkey and trimmings and have presents under the tree for my son when he woke up the next morning! It was so wonderful to see the sparkle and joy in his eyes when he spotted all the goodies!
To this day, I still have no idea who that night angel was who left those much needed wonderful gifts for us, for in the giving essence, that gesture actually gave me more than that! It gave me hope and new inspiration to go forward to succeed with my life and know that there were caring, loving and generous people out there! I have since aged from that young woman, my son has grown and become a terrific man to be proud of, but I never forget those days of struggle and in my own way I pay back every time I go shopping. You see..when I do my grocery shopping now, I make sure I buy a few items for our local food bank!
For I know what it is like to not have the simple comfort of food. SO I keep the christmas spirit alive not only on the holidays but all year in this way and I smile when I think of the people I am now helping who need it like I needed it so many years ago!"
November Winner of "Phone Always Ringing" Contest
Congratulations goes out to Larry Ngo for submitting a very creative entry with a picture to match!!! Well done Larry!
Thanks to everyone who submitted a story I love to read them all! Keep entering the contests every month for a chance to win something amazing!!!
Check out Larry's submission below:
Down the beaten path of an endless sidewalk,
Fall's coldness biting at my face,
Alone without thought,
the people walk by,
Holding their phones high,
A thousand conversations without sight,
The advancement of technology,
Who am I to avoid this?
I walk along empty-handed,
Welfare stamps and letters left crumpled in my pockets,
Letters from relentless pit bulls demanding money,
People pass by enamored with their devices,
I walk along, until I see it.
A carelessly dropped phone,
Sleek, black, and all alone
The citizens around continue to pass by,
Still wrapped up in their own world,
I reach for it carefully,
Inspecting the device was a fascinating experience,
Songs?
Thousands of them, from a fellow named Kanye West
To Lady Gaga, and Beethoven,
Pictures?
Hundreds of them, depicting parties, weddings, and even a bar mitzvah,
Contacts?
Family, friends, acquaintances,
People whom I've never met,
The call of conformity demands that I keep it,
To make it my own
To be cool
To be hip
To be normal
But my conscious,
A saintly thing,
Tells me to return it,
Upon finding the owner,
I place it in his hand,
With neither a smile,
Nor frown
October Winner of "Crocktober Fest" Contest
This months contest generated a lot of entries!!! Thanks for submitting so many good stories. They were so good in fact, I had to go back and forth, and debate over and over, and after careful consideration, I have chosen Mary Tamaki as our winner! Congratulations! I've never seen Chocolate Cocoa in a Crock Pot before - what a great idea! Sounds scrumptious! Your crock is in the mail! Check out her Cocoa below:
I know a lot of people think of stews and soups when you mention Crock-Pots but here's a great recipe for when you spend a cool Autum day with you family outside, enjoying the wonderful fresh brisk air and the ones you love. Make this terrific Chocolate Cocoa so when your family arrives home after a great day together, you'll have this waiting in your Crock-Pot!
3 1/2 cups nonfat dry milk powder
3/4 cup powdered sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (use a quality brand like Bernard Callebaut)
3/4 cup plain powdered nondairy creamer
8 cups water
sweetened whipped cream
(Optional: 1/2 cup flavoured coffee creamer or Creme de Cacao)
Servings 12/6 oz cups
1. combine in your Crock-Pot, dry milk powder, powdered sugar, cocoa powder and nondairy creamer. GRADUALLY add water and stir/whisk well to dissolve.
2. cover & cook on lowest setting for 3 to 4 hrs OR on highest setting for 1 1/2 to 2 hrs (depending how long you think you'll be out)
3. stir in your 1/2 cup of flavoured coffee creamer, i.e., Irish Cream or Creme de Cacao just before serving.
4. pour Chocolate Cocoa into mugs and top with whipped cream.
Enjoy!
September Winner of "Golden Leaves" Contest
Beginning next month the prizing for the contests go to a whole new level. This months contest was won by Shelly, check out her story.
"Edmonton is my hometown and there are a lot of wonderful parks and ravines there which turn a beautiful golden color in the fall. One of the best parks is called Rundle Park in North East Edmonton that has paddleboats. My husband and I are sweethearts from elementary school and we spent many afternoons paddling in the ponds as kids. Last year was our 5th anniversary and we went back to Edmonton to paddle in the pond at Rundle Park."
August Winner of "Where Is The Summer?" Knife Contest
This months contest entries were out of control. So many people were vying for this months prize it was a tough one. So in a very special instance we have decided to give away a runner up prize this month as well. First Place goes to Meghan Ney. Runner Up Prize goes out to Cathie Besso for her story complete with recipe. Check out their stories:
First Place - My Discovery of the Brickworks Farmers Market: Tasting Summer!!!
The summer may have been inconsistent, but one Toronto market never failed...the Brickworks Farmers Market faithfully occurred every Saturday and not even days of rain or low temperatures could stop some of Ontario's finest producers from producing, harvesting and selling their cheese, fruits and veggies.
Having never attended the Brickworks Market before (in hindsight I must have been living under a rock) I was thrilled that first Saturday when my husband and I walked into the market to find gorgeous candy cane beets, Cookstown Greens salad mix with edible flowers, Kozlicks Mustard and fresh artic char for sale in one spot. The first meal we cooked with our market finds was like a breath of fresh air, you could taste summer on the palate even though the weather outside was thunderstorming.
As the summer progressed we brought more family and friends into the Brickworks fold, my parents even loading a cooler into the car and coming in from Whitby for the occasion. We got to know the producers by name, discovered some favorites (oh Fifth Town cheese how I love all you make) and saw some Canadian "celebs" sharing in the market joy (Adrienne Clarkson and John Raulston Saul thoroughly enjoyed their Jamie Kennedy fries)! We also saw the summer's progression reflected in the produce available - asparagus and rhubarb at the beginning of summer, heirloom tomatoes and fresh peaches towards the end.
The Brickworks Farmers Market brought our friends together to share some incredibly special meals, provided a quiet oasis for my husband and I on Saturday mornings and gave us something to look forward to each weekend, despite the weather. It's truly been a highlight of my summer!
I hope you've enjoyed my story as much as I've enjoyed the market. As a Toronto chef I'm sure you know how wonderful that space is.
Runner Up Prize!!!
Hi Roger My knives are ancient and have been destroyed by children using them inappropriately. I don't know how many times I asked, "why did you use a good knife on a pizza box, or wires to various game systems-and please don't put my good knives in the dishwasher". Anyways, the summer story isn't that exciting, (although we had a lot of laughs-as we do) but I think that the recipes are.
Firstly there was the marinated flank steak that was absolutely to die for. Suzanne and I went on a Thelma and Louise trip to Delta Ontario (1/2 hour north of Gananoque) to visit my Aunt and cousins. Stayed there 2 nights, and made a wonderful beef tenderloin roast, which had been marinated in worschestshire sauce, red wine, garlic and pepper. After our 2 day visit of wonderful food and drink we headed to Nepean for dinner. Suzanne's cousin served us this wonderful flank steak.
They were marinated for 8 hours in:
Soy sauce
Oyster sauce
Sesame Oil
Lime Juice
Chili flakes
Fresh garlic and ginger
Chopped green onions
Barbeque to med rare
Cut meat on bias
Also, my nieces came to my place for hair night. One brought an awsome cold chicken, blueberry, walnut rice salad. Everybody went nuts over this dish.
Blueberry Walnut Wild Rice Salad
Ingredients:
Salad:
½ cup Walnuts, coarsely chopped
2 cups Blueberries, washed and drained, stems removed
½ tsp Tarragon, fresh, chopped
1 tsp Honey
1 cup Brown rice, cooked and cooled
1 cup Wild rice, cooked and cooled
2 Chicken breasts, boneless, skinless
To taste Salt and ground black pepper
Salad Dressing:
½ cup Orange juice
2 tbsp White wine vinegar
1 tbsp Flat-leaf parsley, fresh, finely chopped
2 tsp Thyme, fresh, finely chopped
Method:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place walnuts on a baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 5 to 7 minutes, until lightly toasted. Set aside to cool.
In a large bowl, combine the blueberries, honey, tarragon, and stir to combine. Let stand 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, cook the brown rice and wild rice according to package directions.
Grill the chicken breasts on a grilling pan until cooked and set aside to cool. When the chicken has cooled dice.
Add the rice, chicken and the toasted walnuts to the blueberry mixture and mix well.
To prepare the salad dressing, whisk together the orange juice, vinegar, parsley, and thyme in a small bowl. Pour the dressing over the blueberry-rice mixture and toss to combine.
Season to taste with salt and ground black pepper.
July Winner of "Asia Persuasion" Knife Contest
The winner is in. Check this one out:
"Singapore is my home. We love to eat food here and have many places to eat. So many times we go out to eat food on the street but I love cooking. The knife we use is very dull and that is why I want your knife. I hope you can give me a sharp knife, I have heard a lot about this kind of knife. By the way, what is an Asia Persuasion?"
June Winner of "Fathers Day BBQ" Contest
I am proud to announce that the winner of the "Fathers Day BBQ" Contest is none other than Ric from Ontario. And here is the winning entry sent in by his wife:
"My husband is the best Father on the planet. Not only is he an extremely talented artist and creative force but he is also the most loving, giving, and generous men that I am so proud to call my husband. I dont really have any fancy story but I do know what a dedicated father he is and I will use the knife to make him the best Fathers Day meal he has ever eaten. Hopefully I can win the knife."
May Winner of "Yo, Mama Needs a New Knife" Contest
The winner is in! Congratulations go out to Rebecca from Ontario. See her winning entry below and hopefully we have helped her make food time a little easier to deal with.
"Why do I need a new knife? I am the proud mom of the funniest little girl I have ever met, this girl loves to eat! Anything that I put in front of her will go in her mouth, especially fruits and broccoli :) I cannot cut her fruit fast enough, and my poor knife is now dull...I could REALLY use a new knife so I can keep up with my baby girl's appetite!"
April Winner - "Give Me My Knife" Contest
I would like to congratulate Clark Ma on his winning entry for April's "Give Me My Knife" Contest. After reading his entry it was clear to me that we MUST give Clark this beautiful 8" Wusthof Classic Chef Knife. See his winning entry below.
Hi Roger,
I am a cook at a private sports club, but actually, I would love to have the knife for different reasons.
My 10 year old brother, Calvin, has been inspired ever since he started watching your show and has started become interested in the food network. He's started talking about wanting to eat papaya and asking me to get him one. He's never even seen a real papaya! Hahaha. (except for your show)
I love my egg salad with paprika, but he would never eat it in the past because he was never open to trying something he never heard of. One day, he saw one of your episodes where you used paprika in one of your dishes, and he realized afterwards it was the same spice I used in my sandwich! He even pronounces "pap-rik-a" the way you pronounce it which annoyed me at first, but I find cute now :)
Calvin has never been a fan of the kitchen - except to grab his food to go. Now, he's asking to help me and my girlfriend cook dinner. It's crazy. He even mentioned becoming a cook one day (like me) and studying at Chef School. I told him it was early and he should just enjoy cooking for the time.
The reason why I would like the knife is because when I teach Calvin to use a knife properly, I want him to have your knife. It is the representation of what inspired him and I think it would mean a lot to him. I really feel that enjoying food starts at a young age and I want him to have a good relationship with food throughout his life.
Thank you and I look forward to dining at your restaurants someday,
Clark Ma
March Winner - Finger Lickin' Good Contest Winner!
I would like to congratulate Ray Gleba on his winning entry for the "Finger Lickin' Good Contest." You are in for a real treat with this new Ikon Paring Knife. Your recipe sounds delicious and thanks for sharing your story with us. Read below for the winning entry:
"There is only one recipe that can make one look so messy when eating ribs. Its my wife, Chris's B-B-Q rib sauce.
This recipe uses ketchup, worchester sauce, brown sugar, vinegar, diced onions and spices that enhance that flavour that is a home cooked meal.
After those ribs are precooked in the roasting pan, drained of liquid and then her sauce is poured over the ribs. Let them cook for one and a half hours. Oh that aroma is a magnet for us to ask...is it ready yet?
This is where our family sits down to some finger-licking good home food.
During the meal we all look at each other and break out laughing at the sight of each others messy hands and faces.
Something to see and experience, the love we have for each other and the good home cooked food we share together. My family takes time to be with each other as often as we can. The memories of past rib meals brings the call for another one....please and thank-you.
Cheers Roger
February Winner - Why I deserve a Chef Knife Contest
Wow, this month we had an incredible number of entries for the Knife contest. After careful consideration we'd like to congratulate Rajwant on her winning entry in the "Why I deserve a Chef Knife" contest. Your prize is on the way.
"Hello Roger,
The reason I deserve a brand spanking shiny new $160 knife that will last a lifetime is because...
In India, I used to enjoy waking up and creating meals that would satisfy the soul! I always made my food with love and prayers whenever I was cooking food for people. I am really passionate about food and it's healing properties in the human body and the incredible tastes that foods have. I love the way different cultures prepare foods.
When I came to Canada, I fell in love with other cultures' foods, Vietnamese, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Thai, Italian, Portuguese and the list goes on. I have tried my best to fuze different foods together.
I really enjoy watching the Food Network and especially your show! I fell in love with your knife when I saw it on television. It is so sharp and delivers results in the kitchen. That kind of knife would help me in creating dishes that enrich peoples lives gastronomically.
Thanks for your time Roger!!"
January Winner - Pair it Up Contest
"I was watching the show when i saw Roger making Crispy Orange Beef with Orange Glaze, Wilted Garlic Greens and Orange Fennel Salad. Yo that salad was dope, I chose to make the similar salad but added thinly sliced raw Yellow and Red beets, a thinly sliced cold roasted Beets, sliced Radish, dried Cranberries, roasted Pistachios,grilled Green Onions it turned out wicked!! I don't know why but when i add zaatar to the mix, that was the sceret touch!!!! Try that out and holla at me!!"
Vespa Contest Winner
I am excited to announced that we raised over $8,000 for Show Kids You Care. Thanks to everyone who fundraised for the opportunity to win my Vespa. And thanks to Vespa for their participation in this contest.
As far as the money that was raised, click link to visit the Show Kids You Care!
• Click here to visit Show Kids You Care website.
December's Winner - Be a Chef Contest
A couple of weeks back my uncle had the whole family over for dinner and surprised us with Curry Macaroni and cheese. It was delicious, the hint of spice and cumin in the curry really made this mac and cheese something different. It was the perfect dish for a cool late fall night at the lake.
Alison
Winner of Verve Girl ONCampus Contest
What i do to make a regular recipe out-of-this-world is simple: I dice up a red bell pepper (the sweetest variety, as opposed to the unripened green or semi-ripened red or yellow) and throw in peas and caramelized onions. Then I bake it, and just before it's ready, I remove it from the oven and sprinkle on breadcrumbs (with Italian seasoning) and bake until the top is just golden brown. It tastes incredible! I hope you try it.
Winner of A-Z Contest Chosen!
The winner is Patti Sokoloski of Winnipeg Manitoba and Roger looks forward to showing her the "ultimate culinary experience."
November's Winner- Pair it Up
After the Szechwuan Peppercorn episode aired my mother-in-law was so excited
to try the steak and sweet potatoes dish she went out THAT night and cooked
it. She watched the 8:30 thursday airing so she was cooking steak and
potatoes at 9, 10 o'clock at night. She said it just looked so good she had
to have it and she couldn't wait.
Jason
October's Winner - Be A Chef Contest
"I made a curried macaroni and cheese one night for my boyfriend who is a cook. I am not a cook, so whenever I try recipes at home I ask him for his supervision, but I specifically tell him NOT to touch anything because I want to do it myself. So he paced around the kitchen anxiously awaiting this mac and cheese dish, and even tried to cut in a few times, but I had to yell at him to keep him under control.
Finally, the dish was ready. It was summer time and beautiful out, so we ate on the patio. He had four huge helpings of this mac and cheese (it is not a light recipe!) and by the end of it our bellies were full of food, and he was left on the couch stuffed! We loved the recipe and added a few little twists to it to make it our own. Beautiful! "Now that's Everyday Exotic!"
