Friday, May 3, 2013

the weekend to end all weekends

i can not believe that tomorrow is may 4th. i've been anticipating/dreading this weekend for quite some time now. halifax crafters coupled with the seaport market means it will be a logistical nightmare with double the baking, double the salads, double the table displays... you get the picture. it's a lot of work.

don't get me wrong though, i'm really excited to be at halifax crafters again. it was such a nice change to be there for the christmas show. ckdu will be there all weekend taking care of the tunes. the food wolf will be set up outside - i'm pretty amped to try their grub. and the array of crafters is pretty epic - i sense a shopping spree in my near future. don't forget, it's in the olympic centre on the corner of cunard & hunter (just before windsor). it's open from 10am-5pm both saturday & sunday. oh and admission is FREE so come by!

as for my table at the market, my friends jenna (yes, another jenna) and femke will be holding down the fort on saturday and krista will be taking care of business on sunday. don't be alarmed when it's an unfamiliar face, all the food is the same. also, please be patient. i wrote some crib notes with descriptions of every menu item for them - but there are FORTY FOUR menu items!!! also, i'll have the credit card stuff with me at crafters so i won't be able to accept plastic payment at the seaport this weekend (unless you're there really early in the morning when i'm there setting up the table), sorry for any inconvenience.

i'm also catering a reception for ~40 on sunday for some of my best customers. thankfully i can drop the food off early in the morning so it fits in with the rest of this wacky weekend. it'll be a couple of cakes, cupcakes, rolls, sweet potato salad & baked ham.


yup that's three hams! i slow roasted them in a mustard glaze for 6 hours last night, they'll probably get another couple of hours today. they smelled ridiculous & it was quite the upper body workout getting that roaster in & out of the oven.

as for market cooking, this week i made another batch of beef shepherd's pies. it seems like i just made some, but this one is definitely my best seller and really a staple on my menu. as always the beef is from getaway farm. it's in a tangy sauce which is predominantly my homemade bbq sauce - a maple bourbon & chipotle lime combo. the veggies are peas, carrots, corn, onions, celery & mushrooms and the whole lot gets topped off with cheddar-green onion mashed potatoes.
small $10 large $20

this week also felt quite springlike & my bbq came out of hibernation. it's that time of year again when thoughts turn to slow smoking & high heat grilling. so, i made a new flavour of bbq sauce. it's caramelized onion, mustard & beer, featuring garrison's irish red beer.


this sauce is more tangy than sweet and will work particularly well with beef. there's a touch of horseradish and the spices are reminiscent of montreal steak spice.
250ml - $5   500ml - $7.50

there's also a fresh batch of carrot, apple, ginger soup to round out my soup selection. it's both vegan & gluten-free. it's seasoned with cardamom, star anise and a touch of lime & coconut. this one is very light and refreshing.
500ml - $7

there are 5 varieties of salads this week. the sweet potato will be in short supply because most is heading to the gig on sunday. the other flavours are beet, quinoa, baby potato & broccoli.
beet: wheatberries, balsamic, asian pear, raddichio, arugula, goat cheese
quinoa: asparagus, cherry tomatoes, olives, garlic, fresh herbs, citrus
new potato: green beans, celery, radishes, dijon dressing, dill, parsley
broccoli: bacon, almonds, sunflower seeds, dried cranberries, red onion, red pepper

the sweet selection is virtually identical to last week.

ok, time to go show this prep who's boss! hope to see you all over the weekend :)

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