It’s taken us a few days to absorb the success of our recent Foodiemeet : The Bake off. We all overdosed heavily on sugars and needed some time to recuperate. In case you missed it, we wanted to share the winners of the night with you…

Best Tasting - David Ort's Bacon Blondies

Best Visual - Kristin Perez's St Lawrence Market Cake

Best Pro Baker - Michelle Edgar from SweetEscapes Bakery

Most Creative - Lisa Pereira and her Sticky Date cakes

Best Overall - Paul Morrison and his Tandoori Shortbread Tarts

If you would like to re-create Paul’s delicious Tandoori Shortbread Tarts with Passionfruit curd, here’s his recipe.

Tandoori Scottish Shortbread w. Passion Fruit Curd
1 1/4 sticks unsalted butter
1 1/2 tbsp granulated sugar
1/4 c icing sugar
1 tbsp modified tandoori spice mix (below)
1 1/2 c pastry flour

1. Cream butter and sugars with tandoori spice mix until well combined and fluffy
2. Sift in flour and mix until combined and crumbly, careful not to overmix
3. Pat into a mini muffin tins to form cups and dock the bottoms to prevent them from rising.  For this step I actually used the back of a citrus reamer to punch out the shape of the cups.
4. Bake at 300 degrees farenheit for 40 minutes, fix and puffiness problems with the shells as soon as they are out of the oven, I repunched them with the citrus reamer to fix the shape.
5. When the shells have completely cooled and firmed you can fill them with passionfruit curd, which should be at least partially cooled.
6. Top with a grind of black pepper and enjoy!

Passionfruit Curd
3 eggs
3 tablespoons sugar
3/4 stick unsalted butter
1/2 cup passionfruit pulp (available from fresh passionfruit or frozen
from Latin grocery stores) – I got mine at a store on Augusta Ave in
Kensington Market

1. Whisk together sugar and eggs until the mixture lightens in color
2. Add passionfruit pulp and butter, stir or whisk more or less constantly over medium heat until the butter melts and constantly afterwards until the mixture thickens
3. Cool the curd on the counter, if you don’t plan to use it right away store it with plastic film right on the surface or be prepared to deal with some skin on the surface that may develop

Modified Tandoori Spice Mix (this makes enough for around 5 batches of cookies)
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp mace
1/2 tsp cumin
2 tbsp coriander
1 tsp fenugreek
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp green cardamom
1/4 tsp red-orange powdered food dye (optional)

1.  If you are using whole spices (I did) grind it all up in a spice grinder, if not, just mix-em

You can also find David’s recipe for his Bacon Blondies on his blog, Food with legs.

all photos by Ryan Couldrey (@rytron, www.ryancouldrey.com)

Thanks to everyone who came out to Samovar Room on Sunday night. FoodieMeet: Bake Off was a great success and we couldn’t have done it without you. Thanks again to everyone who came out to support us and raise money for The Stop, especially all the bakers! Thanks also go out to the Slow Clap (@side_b and @nicopop) for providing the soundtrack and Ryan Couldrey (@RyTron) for taking the amazing photos above.

All together, we raised about $1800 (unofficial tally) for The Stop. For our first fund raiser, we’re quite proud of that number. $1800 could purchase 72 food hampers for families in need. Thanks everyone!

Pre-Bake Off blogs

Yasmin on the pre-FoodieMeet nerves and creating the “Sri-Maican” patties
Joel Solish (@Foodie411) “And then God created bacon”
David Ort (@ortdavid) with a baking teaser
Alexa Clark (@alexaclark) writes about her Spice Route shortbreads
Jenny Gao (@jennygao) “My almond tarts, à la chez panisse”

Post-Bake Off summaries

Kristin Peres (@CakeorDeath) on the creation of her St. Lawrence Market cake
Alexa Clark (@alexaclark) on her “Sugar Hangover”
Sarah B. Hood (@SarahBHood)’s summary of the event
Madalinaa (@madalinaa) recaps her petit fours and the event
BlogTO’s writeup about the Bake Off (with great photos by @laurendoesthis)
Power of The Hour’s blog about holiday fundraiser

Also, follow the #foodiemeet hashtag for tweets before, during and after the event.

If you blogged about FoodieMeet, please let us know and we’ll add the link to the list.

We know you’re excited for the Foodiemeet: Bake Off this weekend. To get you even more excited, we’ve decided the menu that will be served on Sunday. We’ve been drooling over it for the last week and we know you’ll love it too. We’ve got a great variety of treats from savoury to sweet. If you don’t have a ticket, you can still get one here. All proceeds go to The Stop. See you Sunday!

Catherine, @sugarbaking
www.sugar-baking.com
Pina Colada cupcakes and Ferraro Rocher cupcakes

Niya Bajaj, @destiniya
Jewelled minced pies

Kristin Perez, @cakeordeathca
www.cakeordeath.ca
White velvet cake w/caramel pecan cream cheese

Michelle Edgar, @sweetescapes
www.thesweetescapedistillery.com
Rum and egg nog mousse macarons.

Joel Solish, @foodie411
getthefoodie411.blogspot.com
True North Strong and Frees (maple frosted almond shortbread with pig candy)
Triple Threats (Frozen)

Paul Morrison, @ekkridon
Tandoori Shortbread Tarts with Passionfruit Curd

Bonita Mok, @boneats
http://boneats.blogspot.com/
Black sesame & white chocolate wasabi cupcakes
Chocolate & brandied chestnut cupcakes

Monica Reyes, @sporadicity
http://nervouschef.craftique.org/
Lavender French butter with salted butter caramel buttercream cookies

Yvonne Lam, @dearbaaah
Earl grey cake/ honey buttercream with meringue/chocolate garnishes.

Jenny Gao, @jennygao
http://stheory.posterous.com/
Almond Tarts

Yasmin Seneviratne, @yasminatlesauce
http://www.lesauce.typepad.com/
Sri lankan Jamaican patties

David Ort, @ortdavid
http://www.foodwithlegs.com/
Bacon blondies

Hannah Classen, @hclassen
Scuffles (a Ukrainian pastry)

Connie Positano
http://www.forgoodnessbakes.ca
Decadent chocolate cupcakes

Riona Kum
Coconut cupcakes with kaffir lime icing

Jen H. @piccantedolce
http://piccantedolce.blogspot.com
New York black & white cookies
Kentucky bourbon bacon brownies

Carrie Brunet, @wifewithknives
http://kitchenvixen.ca/
Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

Alexa Clark, @alexaclark
www.unsweetened.ca
Spice Route shortbreads

Sarah Hood, @sarahbhood
www.totastings.blogspot.com
Tarte au sucre

Monica Fitzpatrick, @sweetmonimons
Brownie tartlets w/butter cream icing

Madalina Paul, @madalinaa
www.duhlicious.com
Petit fours

Karen Ho, @karenkho
www.karenho.ca
Chinese almond-cookie cupcakes with a wonton wrapper snowflake garnish

Preena Chauhan
www.arvindas.com
Mango curry snow crescents

Colin
Mini chai coffee cakes

Lisa Pereira,
Sticky date cake with beer-caramel sauce with a side of pomegranate compote

Genevieve Trickey
Spirulina bars

Nora Young

Nora is one of Canada’s most recognizable voices. She started at the CBC as the founding host and producer of Definitely Not The Opera. Now as host of CBC Radio’s Spark, she examines  technology, culture, and armchair sociology. She creates miniseries and documentaries for shows such as Ideas , and is the technology columnist for CBC Radio afternoon shows.
Nora tweets at @nora3000.
(Photo by Gilberto Prioste)

Ivy Knight

When not working on the grill station at one of Toronto’s hottest restaurants or organizing culinary competitions between the city’s best chefs, Ivy Knight writes about the food scene for various publications, among them The Globe and Mail, Toronto Life, City Bites, The Toronto Star, Egullet, Good Food Rev.  In her 4 years as a freelance writer she’s interviewed some of the world’s greatest chefs from Jacques Pepin to  Vikram Vij, to Jamie Kennedy. Her latest project, a food radio show called “Swallow” has wrapped, episodes will be available soon on her website
Ivy tweets at @ivyknight
(Photo by Chris Blanchenot)

Ruth Klahsen
“Life is about relationships. My relationship with people is through cheese”

Monforte Dairy’s owner/lead cheesemaker, is a veteran chef whose cuisine is well-known to patrons of Stratford’s stellar restaurants Rundles and the Old Prune. A graduate of the inaugural class of ’83 at the Stratford Chefs School, Ruth is past chef at the Stratford Festival’s Green Room restaurant, simultaneously teaching at the Chefs School.  Ruth was recently honoured at the Stratford Optimism Place 10th Annual Women of the Year Awards. She won the 2008 Women in Agriculture Award in recognition of her innovative role as a cheesemaker and entrepreneur.
Monforte Dairy tweets at @MonforteDairy
(Photo by Nigel Dickson)

TICKETS ARE STILL AVAILABLE HERE

FoodieMeet Holiday Bake Off!

Here in Toronto, we’re blessed with delicious food and wine options. Unfortunately, not everyone in Toronto can afford to eat like we do. On Sunday, December 13th, please join FoodieMeet to raise money and awareness for The Stop Community Food Centre.

The Stop started off as one of Canada’s first food banks but has since grown to offer an fantastic lineup of programs: drop-in meals, community gardens, pre and post-natal nutrition support, farmers markets, sustainable food education, civic engagement and many other valuable initiatives.

We have more than 25 bakers who will be presenting their baked goods for the first ever FoodieMeet Bake Off! They’ve been given only two rules: 1) you must bake these goods and 2) they must follow our theme: Escape from Toronto. Expect delicious cakes, cookies and even baked goods inspired by our diverse ethnic backgrounds.

With your ticket, you will be given four tasting tickets, each redeemable for one baked treat and a voting ballot to help us determine the best baked goods. Additional tickets will be available for purchase at $2/each. All the proceeds are going towards The Stop. Fuelled with sugary treats, we’ll dance the night away with music provided by The Slow Clap (@nicopop and @side_b). Make your requests by using the #FMDJ. Holiday-themed music is especially encouraged.

This isn’t a bake sale, it’s a party!
Get your tickets quickly here.
http://guestlistapp.com/events/7734

The official Facebook Page
http://www.facebook.com/#/event.php?eid=348196370533&ref=ts

We will also be collecting food donations at Samovar. Here’s a list of what they need: http://thestop.org/wish-list
We welcome foodie-related gifts for raffle prizes, please email us (contact @ ) for more details.

Photo by Flickr user clever cupcakes

We’re organizing a holiday bake off and need your help!

This December, we’re organizing FoodieMeet: Bake Off, a holiday party with yummy baked goods to help raise money for one of Toronto’s most dedicated community food organizations.

We’re working details on the date and location but the concept is to bring together bakers, and have a bake off with a to-be-announced theme. We’ll ask bakers to commit to baking a set number of items (or more if you wish) and award prizes to the people’s favourite professional and amateur bakers.

If this sounds like something you’d like participate it, please let us know by leaving a comment or sending an email to contact@foodiemeet.ca. In your message, please state whether you’re a professional or amateur baker.

For those of you who don’t bake, be prepared for a delicious evening!

Tickets for the October 24th FoodieMeet: Prince Edward County Edition are now *****Sold out*****. Thank you everyone for supporting Foodiemeet!.

We’ll be visiting Norm Hardie, Rosehall Run, By Chadsey Cairns and Black Prince wineries. The ticket includes tastings and tours at these wineries, transportation, breakfast and lunch.

Full itinerary details here.

If you need more reasons to visit Prince Edward County, check out “5 Reasons to visit Prince Edward County” on our blog.

We hope to see you abord the FoodieMeet bus!

Here’s how the day will unfold:

8:45 meetup at Sherborne subway station where we’ll travel in style to Prince Edward County. On the way, we’ll prepare our palates for a day of wine-tasting with breakfast from Pantry.

Once in PEC, we’ll sample Norm Hardie‘s wines, then head to Rosehall Run. We’ll have lunch and after refueling, it’s back on the bus to By Chadsey Cairns and Black Prince. Before we head back to Toronto with our bellies full of wine and food, we’ll make one last secret stop to ensure we’ll have a sweet ride home. By 6:30, we’ll roll back into downtown Toronto.

All this (transportation, breakfast, lunch, tastings at four wineries and one surprise stop) for $95!

To ensure it’s an intimate and fun experience for everyone, there will be a limited number of tickets (18).  Tickets go on sale tomorrow, please return to this blog tomorrow (Thursday, Oct. 1) at 3 pm ET to buy them. Online payment only, sorry.

Add FoodieMeet #4 to your Facebook Events and don’t forget to join our Facebook Group if you haven’t already.

If you have any questions, please leave a comment. Thanks!

If there’s anything we love as much as food, it’s wine. In Toronto, we’re lucky to be sandwiched by two exceptional wine regions: Niagara region and the up-and-coming Prince Edward County. While many foodies and wine-lovers have visited Niagara, fewer of us have made the trip to PEC. FoodieMeet wants to change this with our fourth event, FoodieMeet: Prince Edward County edition on Saturday, October 24th.

Here are five reasons you should join us:

1. Location, location, location: Prince Edward sits atop limestone, the same rock found in Burgundy, home of world renowned wine. Add PEC’s position on Lake Ontario and you get an ideal place for grape growing. Every delicious bottle starts with good grapes, so PEC’s location alone is a perfect stage for wine-making.
2. Real Canadian Wine: The LCBO only makes a small fraction of Canadian wines available in its stores. Visit the wineries and you can taste all their offerings and bring your favourites home. Now, more than ever small, wineries producing true Ontario wine need your support. These wines aren’t just “Cellared In Canada,” they’re grown, produced and perfected in Ontario.
3. Now is the time: Although it may not be as established as Niagara or the Okanagan in British Columbia, Prince Edward County is quickly gaining recognition with wine awards. Its newness means wineries are still experimenting with their products which makes for some really interesting tastes you won’t find elsewhere.
4. Rising stars: While names like Norm Hardie, Rosehall Run, Black Prince and By Chadsey Cairns are relatively new to the wine world, they are four of the best wineries in the province. They’re all in Prince Edward County and we’re going to all of them!
5. Delicious food: Before the first PEC wines were bottled, “The County” had already made a mark as a go-to food destination.  From Buddha Dog’s gourmet hot dogs to Copper Kettle’s to-die-for chocolate, PEC has all the culinary delights to quench your thirst and satisfy your hunger.

Tickets for this event are very limited. They’ll go on sale later this week, but to make sure you don’t miss out, please sign up for our newsletter and join our Facebook Group.

You may have heard about the miracle fruit by now. This little berry alters the way some foods taste. Things that are normally spicy or sour are suddenly sweeter. Following the lead of foodies south of the border, we decided we’d hold our own miracle fruit tasting party.

Join us on a flavour trip!

FoodieMeet #3: Miracle Fruit Edition
The National Film Board Mediatheque (150 John St. at Richmond)
Sunday, September 20th at 2 pm to 4:30 pm.

All attendees will get one miracle fruit and will be able to sample different foods. We’ll have a variety of fruit, cheese, drinks and more. It will be a vegetarian and vegan-friendly event!

Find out more about miracle fruit:

The Star’s staff tries it for the first time (video)
New York Times’ article about miracle fruit

There is a limited number of tickets available so please purchase tickets early to avoid disappointment. Tickets are $20 and you can purchase them online at Guestlist (no fees).