A day in the life of dohhead

A very Fergie Saturday, and a bit 'o pizza porn!

"Have you any croissants for sale?" asked the very well-dressed  elegant 50 something madam. I replied with just a hint of The Queen's accented english, "Madam, we are a trans-fat and oleo-free bakery".  "Very well, I'll have the lot then".  Such is retail, wonderful, when folks are demanding, and know exactly what they want. I'm sure that Fergie's has something for everybody, I know I can't wait to make more chocolate items.....Dark chocolate cheesecake, dripping with  ganache, velvety truffles, chocolate sauce, chocolate profiteroles, filled with Gianduja custard, and fudge icing....Ooops, just went off a wee bit there.....Back to reality, here are a few images from a typical Fergie Saturday....Enjoy, all my little foodniks, and eat with your peepers!   

One of these little pumpkins didn't have their oat bran this morning, can you guess which one?

 

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Welcome to Fergie's!

 

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 Pass the butter and jam, please....

Cupcakes, pour apporter...

sausage nibbles....

Halloween cupcakes on a school trip....

Deep, deep,deep dish apple pie...

Almond biscuits...

PIZZA TIME.....

Before...

After....

More random pizza imagery to make you salivate, enjoy!

Meat lovers.

All dressed....Bein oui!

Quattro formaggio...

 

 

 

Bocconcini-filled polpetti....MMMMM!

Can't you get any closer, already?

 

 

A dose of "Bad" medicine...

01 Bon Jovi - Bad Medicine

Today, being Saturday,  I wanted to take pics of all the Saturday stuff that normally adorns the weekend post of dohhead's blog....I'm in a funk, it seems, a good funk, but one that is distracting nonetheless.  No, it's not that  the product going out, wasn't tasty and golden brown, and properly iced, and made people smile, and didn't smell like Grammaw's kitchen.....It's just that I'm warring with these chocolate vibes that have crept up on me lately. I mean, I love chocolate, y'all know that....But it (chocolate), has a way of taking your mind off what you're doing, and taking you elsewhere, it seems, in my case.  Anyways, to pay homage to this Godsent bean, I would like to post nothing but chocolatey debauchery for today's entry.....Buon apetito!

 

Double chocolate almond chesecake cookie...

Chocolate ganache torte....Bittersweet chocolate, cream, and buttery cocoa crust...OMG!Maple chocolate tarts.....(sigh)

Ridiculously chocolatey vanilla ganache torte....Pattattattattattattattta goes my heart!

Chocolate almond danish.....Hello steaming hot cup of Summermoon inferno!  Double chocolate danish coffee cake.....Gasp! 

Chocolate cheese pie.....Huh?

Chocolate cheesecake pizza....

Quadruple chocolate cheesecake heart stating the obvious...

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Sacher tortes.....Red raspberry, ganache and more ganache.....

Ganache covered raspberry profiteroles....Drool!

To those that would like to be covered in chocolate, and eaten to death slowly....I commend you for your selection!

Fergussian porn....bakery porn, that is....

Today was one of those days where lots of beautiful stuff came out of the kitchen.  A day where little goes wrong, if at all.   The weather held out, so Michelle was able to brave the October temperatures, and sell the lion's share of our Saturday contribution to the Elora farmer's market...Last weekend, she almost froze to death. There were cakes, and pastries, and cookies and tarts and pizza and all manner of good eats. At Fergie's were not about just baked stuff, or soup , or Tourtiere....Were about fine food, and good eats...Made in house, with a whole lotta love!  Even the loveless folk get things made with love!  Here are some pics of the day that was had, courtesy of the dohhcam, on behalf of FERGIE'S.

First ever croissants: Made at Fergie's! 

 

Penny's legendary buttertarts....

 

Pizza of the day: Garlic encrusted soft chevre, black olives, onion, 3 cheese blend and fresh tomatoes on a WW , crispy crust. 

 

Are these things cute or what?  Cake pops. Here are a couple more gratuitous shots...

 

 

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Basket o' Fergio's

A wee fern tart, with  proper icing.... 

 

Penny's bottle cap cake.....Just gorgeous !

This last clip is of Penny performing the final assembly of Adrien's (yesterday's  birthday boy) cake. It is a chocolate cake depicting a mountain bike , face-planting in the hillside......Of course this never happens to Adrien, and we do not advocate trying to replicate this feat at home! So this concludes this day at Fergie's....Home of fine foods, in this wee burgh we call Fergus.

http://bit.ly/rbZ1Hq

Adrian? Adrian? (uttered like Rocky)....It's your birthday!

Apparently my assistant extraordinaire, Adrien was having a birthday this Friday,Oct 21st.  Not only did he have a  birthday, turning 12, he also came to work. Huh?  To make me even more incredulous, he brought an equally hard-working friend ....Morgan with him. I had to smile, because my pseudonym, on a certain social media site is MORGAN FREW, a take off  on : Morgen fru , or "Early morning " ,  in German.  Morgan compliments Adrien perfectly: They are both focussed, hard-working and keenly interested young men.  I realized that I would have to make pizza dough, and let Adrien make himself a pie for lunch.    I fashioned a nice WW crust, using a 20% liquid levain base, and a pinch of instant yeast. The crust turned out nice and crisp, with  a little chewiness to it.  Needless to say, the samples put out for clients....Would not last long. Tomorrow,  Part II, of the Fergie's pizza experiment.

Here is a clip of the birthday boy, cutting up his pie, prior to diving in.  

                Happy birthday, dude! 

 

When the weather sucks....It's still Fergalicious!

WEEK ONE:  Fergie's fine foods.  According to my  very forward-minded  employer, when one scours the classified ads in search of baking equipment that contain the word "dough".....My profile appears!  I don't know whether to be flattered that I materialize so easily, or insulted that I am synonymous with unbaked bread!  Either way, it was a good day to be found by Miriam Baltensperger, the drive and passion behind Fergie's fine foods in Fergus, Ontario.  Situated on the banks of the Grand river (A Canadian heritage river), this little burgh is chock full of things to see and do.  The main drag, St Andrews street, is lined with gorgeous 200 year old buildings alive with little boutique-type stores that boast all manner of  things both Artisanal, whimsical and practical.  A mere hour's drive from Toronto, one gets the feel thay have been transported back in time (in a good way!), to a bygone era when things were simpler and more easily appreciated.  Fergie's fine foods , is just such a place.  The store itself is a mix of Epicurean delights, condiments, locally fashioned goods, freshly hand-fashioned and baked on the premises goodies, and ......A  vibe that draws one in gently with aromas and perfumes of days gone by.....Clients can often be seen, seated at the giant work table in the production area sampling the soup of the day, or chatting with Miriam about.....Whatever!

Yes, Avis, I would be referring to you......Yesterday anyways. Good thing we like you so much!

My new favorite assistant, and apprentice extraordinaire: Adrien. Focus and work ethic such as his, in a young man, I have rarely seen....Saturdays, he comes in at 0600, and was still working when I departed at 1600!!

 

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Penny Kellum, our cake Diva, is decorating some gorgeous little Halloween Jack 'o lantern cookies. Her steady hands, and eye for beauty enable her to make some exquisite and breathtaking cakes and tortes.

See the link in my left sidebar:  http://sugarcake.ca/home.html

 

Here are a few more pics of week 1, in this little shop of creative license!

 

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 Penny's Jack 'o lantern cookies.

A cinnamon coffee cake....

The soon-to-be famous Fergie cinnamon swirl....

Some healthy blueberry muffins.....

Get out the prosciutto, provolone and marinated veggies.....Mr. rustique bun is in town, baby.

My first fern (FAIRN) tart... A work in progress.....A cakey/tart thingy with a whole lot of flavor goin' on!

 

 

Thanksgiving in Hudson, a la Quebecoise!

My new foodnik friend,  Manon.....Is a food afficionado.  Lately, perhaps reconnecting with her inner  passion for producing beautiful, colorful and tasty food, has been a wee bit more difficult...After sharing my thanksgiving repast with her via blog, and visual evidence.......She shared photos of her Thanksgiving evening spent with the people she loves, and the delicious goodies she  loves to fashion....I will let the photos do her justice:  

Canard confit....Duck poached in fat, sometimes pork fat, sometimes duck fat , (if you're lucky enough to find it).  Meat cooked this way, absolutely melts in one's mouth,This is not a dish for those with heart problems!
 Courges au thym gratinee:  Squash, with fresh thyme and dusted with a nice pungent strong cheese....Delicious, when the top gets a little caramelized....

Now that's a SEXY table:  Fragrant bleu cheese, a large earthenware bowl of delicious duck confit, the crunchy and tender squash gratinee, and a bowl just waiting for some potage au carottes (cream of carrot soup).  This photo make one want to pull up a chair...

I couldn't helpo but notice the baguette, deja a demi mangee, (already half-eaten), I think someone has been snacking, eh?  I'm guessing that the rich , red condiment in the right part of the photo must be "un ketchup maison, peut etre?"

One more shot of the table, with the "pommes mousseline a l'ail" (garlic mashed), and the "flageolets" (a sort of bean salad).  Delicieux, Manon, bravo a toi.

.............And lastly, the part of the meal that always makes me drool..........Le dessert.....Jewish apple cake, with cinnamon "creme Chantilly" (cinnamon whipped cream).   Doesn't it look moist?  Bundt cake is the perfect finale for this kind of meal, gourmet, yet non-snobby.............That was a peek into a Quebecois Thanksgiving..........Not that we don't eat this way a lot of the time,  if it's in your soul..........It just happens this way, eh Manon?

The thanksgiving that nobody knows about......

 
Yup, that would be the Canayjun one!  Noo doot aboot it, fer sher!  Even though thanksgiving in this amazing country is basically an afterthought...It doesn't mean that were not thankful.   Freedom, family,friends, the right to be who you are.....The list is long of things to be thankful for.  As my mom is dealing with a lot on her plate right now, and has been for some time, I opted to do thanksgiving dinner for her.  Turkey, a fresh one is front and center....I mean were lilly white crackers, what else are we gonna make for thanksgiving?  I take creative liberty with the accompaniments, as mom doesn't mind. Here is the bird, stuffed with a carb-friendly mixture:  toasted almonds, vidalia onions, rye croutons, Gewurtztraminer  and herbs. In the  bottom of the pan go the giblets and the neck, and more veggies...........they will make an amazing pan gravy.  

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 I had hickory smoked some Idaho potatoes the day before, they would be roasted anew prior to consumption....

The little terror made sure I knew he was watching my every move....

I had decided to make up some white asparagus, wrapped in basil and prosciutto....3 color, like the Italian flag..........Ma che voi??

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 After ignoring him, he flaked out, whilst watching me......

Here is the Bouffay table, just prior to the "serve yerself" line....The white and dark plates...

The hickory smoked taters....

My Jamaican yam casserole...

The Prosciutto wrapped asparagus, with a few wrapped in low fat ham, for those that don't like "pro-skioo-toe"!  

2 variations of stuffing:  The internally roasted low carb version, and my aunt's traditional stove top version with freshly picked apples and sausage....MMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!

 

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 Dessert:  A quadruple chocolate mousse "bombe", with a strawberry sauce, and some creme chantilly....The plated version, with a cross section for those interested in the nitty gritty....77% dark chocolate, rich and  chocolatey, not too sweet. 

So how was your "thanksgiving"?

Une pissaladiere pour moi et toi......

The title reads: A pissaladiere (french for pizza) for you and I.....This is what I was thinking when I received this photo from my new foodie friend...Manon.  I had a hunch she was into food, being from a small town in Quebec , where most things are elaborated at home, over a huge stove....Fresh produce, and free-run eggs, from chickens that know no boundaries.  Milk, from dairy cows that munch contentedly on their cud, with that silly look on their faces and those doleful eyes....I did chide her , however for only providing me with a before photo.....I mean how is one to know how the end result looked?....She has a little to learn about food porn, but I am a willing teacher......Here are  her pissaladiere (2)  a deux:  The first,  Escargots and tomato,  the second pesto, escargots and bocconcini...Drool! 

 Can you imagine the aroma from this kitchen around the time of the evening meal?    Of yes, I forgot to mention she is FRENCH, and only eats dinner (fashionably) at 10pm or later....Excuse us anglos that have to do the early-bird special most nights!  Enjoy, and Manon, welcome to "A day in the life of dohhead".

Sunday dinner....Comfort food style

I don't now about you, but growing up, Sunday dinner was always a big deal...In OUR house it was the noontime meal that  was prominent, but as we got older, it shifted to supper.  Once the weather starts to chill out a bit, and the leaves  begin their metamorphosis into those autumnal hues.........I believe it's comfort food time. Nothing says  comfort food quite like a roast with the trimmings, IMHO.  My aunt Eleanor, is an adventurous and  willing hostess, that seeks to break out of her comfort zone , every time she makes a meal.  She surprises me on many an occasion. I guess it's all those cooking shows, she watches that help fuel her fire.  Yesterday , she had asked me to help put Sunday dinner together for some family and friends.  Unable to locate a cross-rib roast, she settled on a pair of Sirloin tip roasts, which she marinated with a dry herb rub,  the second with a paste type marinade.  The cuts were seared stovetop, and then convect-roasted.
 
   

In keeping with the oven baking  theme, some butternut squash, and brussel sprouts, were tossed in maple syrup, honey, butter ,nutmeg salt and pepper and roasted for some 30 minutes or so.  The antipasto appy course was a very tasty Sockeye mousse , made terrine style and embellished with a couple of salsas. Delicious, and light.

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 Here is a plate on its way to the table: Med-rare sirloin tip roast, galettes Duchesse (Duchess potato galettes), our roasted caramelized veggies.....We served this with 2 sauces:  A cold sour cream-based horseradish/Dijon sauce, very tangy and cool.  I made up a pan gravy with a little merlot to deglaze the roasting pan, some pureed roasted macedoine, the crusty bits from the roasts that always adhere to the pan, and a good measure of gros sel and fresh ground pepper. 

 

Alas, I have no dessert to show you.......Oh the shame, (head hung low).  Too much fantasy football pooling, and not enough elbow grease I fear!!