kitchen rap

• new to the kitchen
• on the chopping block… Save 20% on Precidio Glass Barware
• Kathleen Sloan-McIntosh's Spice Up February
• from Kathleen's recipe box… Tortilla Soup with Shrimp & Lime
• from Kathleen's recipe box… Fragrant Spiced Chicken with Fresh Mango Chutney
• from Kathleen's recipe box… Fresh Mango Chutney
• from Kathleen's recipe box… Cabernet Truffles
• from the Robin Hood recipe box… Honey of a Honey Cake
• publishing and subscription information

Demarle's Roul'Pat pastry mat

From the manufacturer of the Silpat non-adherent baking mat, this reusable non-adherent silicone pastry mat turns your countertop into a non-stick workstation. Made for kneading or rolling out dough with ease, place the Roul'Pat on your countertop and use when preparing bread, pizza, pie, or cookie dough. Also excellent for rolling gumpaste and fondant, sugarwork, and chocolate. The mat is coated with silicone on both sides, providing a non-stick rolling surface on top and a bottom surface which prevents the mat from moving on the counterop. The pastry mat is available in two sizes: small (16.5" × 24.5") and large (23" × 31.5").

Introductory special: save $10 on Roul'Pat pastry mats through February 16, 2003.

Silicone oven mitt

This all-silicone oven mitt is resistant to temperatures of up to 300C/572°F, and protects your hand as you are taking hot dishes out of the oven, moving frying pans around the stovetop, or lifting cooked items off the barbecue. The mitt is flameproof and waterproof, and protects you from contact with direct flames, grills, and charcoal, both in the kitchen and when using the barbecue, and from boiling water and oil; even when wet, the mitt provides the same unbeatable heat protection. Its special non-slip texture ensures a firm grip on any object handled. The mitt's extra length ensures that protection extends well beyond the user's wrist, unlike many oven mitts. The non-absorbent, non-porous silicone ensures that the mitt stays germ-free, allowing for a high level of kitchen hygeine. And, the mitt can be washed either under the tap, in the dishwasher, or in the washing machine! Fits either hand; sold individually.

Introductory special: save $5 through February 16, 2003.

Zap Cap bottle opener

A must-have staple for every bar, the Zap Cap is the ultimate bottle opener for crown and twist-off caps (such as those found on glass beer, soft drink, or wine cooler bottles). Place the Zap Cap on the bottle and simply punch down to remove the cap, which is held by a magnet for easy disposal. The Zap Cap has a brushed stainless steel finish.

Introductory special: save 15% through February 16, 2003.

Save 20% on Precidio Glass Barware

A perfect opportunity to stock your bar with new glassware! All in-stock Precidio glass barware is now on sale.

Cocktail shakers are $20.80, regularly $26.00 (from left to right):

• chainlink
• dots
• fluid ounce
• hydro
• olives
• sticks

Double old-fashioned glasses (from left to right):

• chainlink (set of 4: blue, brown, plum, and green) [coordinates with the chainlink cocktail shaker]
• dots (frost and plum) [coordinates with the dots cocktail shaker]
• sticks (set of 4: blue, brown, plum, and green) [coordinates with the sticks cocktail shaker]

Highball glasses (from left to right):

• dots (frost and plum) [coordinates with the dots cocktail shaker and frost and plum double old-fashioned glasses]
• waves (set of 4: green, orange, blue, and yellow) [coordinates with the hydro cocktail shaker]
• polka dot highball and old-fashioned (sets of 4)
• pinstripe highball (set of 4)

Martini glasses (from left to right):

• hydro cosmopolitain [coordinates with the hydro cocktail shaker]
• dots martini [coordinates with the dots cocktail shaker]
• sticks martini (set of 4: blue, brown, plum, and green) [coordinates with the sticks cocktail shaker]

If I win the lottery between now and Valentine's Day, I know exactly what to give the love of my life this February. I'll book a couple of weeks in a splendid little hotel on a remote Caribbean island. Then we will spend our time sipping heady concoctions, walking along sugar white beaches, share hammock time in the afternoon and contemplate nothing more taxing than the evening feast. Failing that, I also know I can heat things up in my home kitchen with hot chiles, spices and condiments inspired by the Islands in an effort to make this Valentine's Day dinner as exotic as possible. I think we Canadians crave hot things -- in temperature and spice level -- during these cold months to help us heat up from the inside out. There is no surprise that we look to nourishing soups, chowders and hearty main courses to arm ourselves against the serious chill that February provides. When those dishes include a few chiles, or fragrant, aromatic spices like cardamom, ginger or allspice, somehow they work even better to stoke our internal furnace.

The added good news for those of us striving to adhere to our personal resolutions in regard to wellness and eating, is that these are the very ingredients that help to jazz up meals that may be a little lighter in flavour than you would like. By now, we all know that less fat can often mean less flavour -- and that's where chiles, spices and the like come in. They effortlessly help to pump up the volume flavour-wise in everything from appetizers to main courses, drinks and snacks and they won't add any unwanted fat. In some cases -- fresh and dry chiles for instance -- these ingredients are even touted to be beneficial to health. Low in calories and sodium, they are naturally cholesterol-free, high in vitamins A and C and are good sources of potassium, folic acid and vitamin E. Some studies have shown that eating chiles helps to speed up our metabolic rate thereby assisting in the burning of calories more quickly. As if all this wasn't enough, they are also reputed to be an aid in facilitating digestion and even preventing heart disease. They even help to turn the aphrodisiac crank -- what could be more fitting for Valentine Day dinners?

So, if a trip to Jamaica is out of the question, woo your Valentine with the chilies and spices of the Islands and help to warm more than the cockles of each of your hearts with these jazzed-with-spice recipes.

Until next month, cook and eat with love,

Kathleen Sloan-McIntosh

Kathleen Sloan-McIntosh is a Toronto-born food writer whose work has appeared in major Canadian newspapers and magazines. Author of six cookbooks -- Rustic Italian Cooking, The Global Grill, The Sticks & Stones Cookbook (with Ted Reader), The Wine Lover Cooks (with Tony Aspler), Great Potatoes: A Cook's Guide to Over 150 Delicious Recipes, and A Year in Niagara: The People and Food of Wine Country -- she lives with her beau and their black lab and assorted children who come and go, in Niagara wine country.

Tortilla Soup with Shrimp & Lime

This Mexican soup is a terrific choice for February. If you want to make it more substantial, add a couple of cooked, chopped chicken breasts to the broth as it cooks. Usually, I make this soup in the summer when I char the required tomatoes, garlic, peppers and onion -- even the shrimp -- on the outdoor grill. You can use your grill pan or indoor grill to do this. Use rubber gloves when handling hot chilies and avoid contact with your face.

Recommended to go with: ice-cold Pale Ale or Pilsner

• Bring the broth to a boil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Have all the other ingredients -- shrimp, tomatoes, garlic, jalapenos, onion, lime juice, oregano and tortillas -- ready and divide them amongst the serving bowls. Pour hot broth into each bowl, sprinkle liberally with the chopped cilantro and serve immediately.

Serves 4 - 6

Fragrant Spiced Chicken with Fresh Mango Chutney

Serve with basmati rice tossed with toasted cashews and chopped chives or cilantro. The recipe for the mango chutney follows.

Recommended to go with: Gewurztraminer

1. Combine the onion, garlic, cumin, coriander, salt, ginger, cinnamon and turmeric in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse to achieve a fine paste. Scrape this mixture out into a small bowl and blend in the lemon juice, olive oil and yogurt. Mix together well.
2. Arrange the chicken pieces in a glass baking dish and cover with the marinade. Cover with plastic wrap, refrigerate and let marinate for at least 2 hours or overnight.
3. Preheat oven to 350°F/175C. Remove the plastic wrap and bake the chicken, loosely covered with foil, for about 35 - 40 minutes (although if you cook it longer it will still be moist). Serve with the following chutney.

Serves 4

Fresh Mango Chutney

As good as store-bought mango chutney is, this fresh-tasting version makes a nice, sunny-tasting change at this time of the year.

• Heat a small saucepan over medium-high heat and add the olive oil, shallots and mango. Saute until mango softens, about 8 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer and cook gently until the chutney has a jam-like consistency. Keep warm until ready to serve with the chicken.

Cabernet Truffles

Well, what would Valentine's Day dinners be without a dark, delicious chocolate component at the conclusion? A little bit of Cabernet Sauvignon adds another dimension to chocolate in these sumptuous little treats.

1. Pour the cream into a very small saucepan placed over high heat and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to low and simmer the cream for about 2 minutes, until it is reduced by half, about 2 tablespoons (30 mL). Remove from the heat.
2. Melt the chocolate along with the reduced cream and the wine in the top of a double boiler set over simmering hot water. Stir frequently until the mixture is smooth. Remove from the heat and add the butter to the chocolate mixture, blending until smooth. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, about 5 hours.
3. When ready to form the truffles, have the cocoa ready in a little bowl or plate. Use a melon baller or teaspoon to scoop out some of the chocolate mixture. Dip the tips of your fingers lightly into the cocoa, shaking off the excess. Roll it into a little ball, then roll in the cocoa to coat it on all sides. Place on a tray lined with parchment paper while you work.
4. Store the truffles in an airtight container away from heat.

Makes about 30 truffles

Honey of a Honey Cake

Have a sweet spot for honey? Then you’ll love the honey, cinnamon and coffee flavour in this cake. For an impressive Valentine's Day dessert, bake this cake in NordicWare's Bundt rose pan or Wilton's Bundt big heart pan.

1. Combine first 6 dry ingredients in a large bowl. Add remaining ingredients. Mix thoroughly with a wire whisk or on low speed of electric mixer (batter will be thin). Spread batter in greased and floured Bundt pan.
2. Bake at 350°F/180C for 55 to 65 minutes, or until cake tester inserted in centre comes out clean. Cool 20 minutes in pan, then remove to wire rack and cool completely.

Recipe © 2003, Robin Hood Multifoods Inc. Reprinted with permission.
For more great recipes, see the Robin Hood Baking Festival Cookbook or visit the Robin Hood website.