missmaggiepops

The perfect toddler’s Ploughman’s lunch: (Left-Right) Raw, Grass-Fed Cheddar, Grass-Fed Butter on Sourdough, Black Forest Ham, Felino Salami, Nectarine Slices, and Chocolate Milk.

So I’ve been MIA for a bit. Some of it due to work, and chasing a toddler around, but mostly because I’ve been doing a lot of introspective work on myself as of late. And I just realized that with all of this inner reflection going on, I’ve naturally reclused from social media rabbit holes. But far from removing myself from all realities, I have been quite busy, and I have been eating and drinking merrily without mentioning it to the world play-by-play.

I found Chef’s Table, on Netflix, have you heard of it/seen it? Each episode is a mini-documentary of influential chefs around the world, touching on his/her cooking (and life for that matter) philosophy. What’s great about this series is that it expands your culinary world away from the usual suspects that are constantly mentioned on social media, reducing the food world to “a level of sameness”. After reclusing from social media, I realized I had pigeon holed myself to the same references that everybody else uses on social media- restaurants, recipes, chefs, photography styles. How boring. This series will set anybody straight who’s in an uninspired streak. Motivating you to do something more with what you have; getting out of your comfort zone, seeking out the brink of failure and coming back stronger than ever before.

I was in Kohler for the PGA tournament working, and I was able to eat at The Duke of Devon, an authentic English pub, complete with Aero bars for sale (photo above is of one of their specials: Wagyu beef). Sheboygan, WI, is in the middle of nowhere. I take that back: Sheboygan, WI is in the middle of farmland, a place you wouldn’t expect to find such innovative, and authentic food, but there it is, a diamond in the rough. The only thing that keeps these jewels from being written about quite often is that they are located so far far away from the epicenters of foodie-ism- NY, San Francisco, LA.
The restaurant is owned by the same group that operates Il Ritrovo (pizza straight out of Venice, I swear to God), and Field to Fork (chia seeds, raw kombucha, avocado toast, pressed kale juice, and the best brunch using local ingredients). Everything on the menu is amazing. We shared duck fat poutine, I had vegetarian curry, husband ordered the golden Wagyu, while kiddo had the best fish and chips this side of the pond (although he really only ate bread and Aero bars…) As a Canadian, I’m always suspect of a non-Canadian’s take on poutine, but this was the real deal. It’s all about the gravy; and they nailed it.

I worked for US Foods a few weeks ago. We shot in their test kitchen, it was Amazeballs. Here’s a shot of one of their stoves, you can apparently roast an entire pig on this thing, it was that big. And their sous-vide machine….. OMGah…

We celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary a few weeks ago. We split a bottle of Chateau Marquis D’Alesme, Margaux, 2005, Bordeaux. If you can find this, buy it, it was amazing.

If you live/work in San Francisco, Palo Alto, or Chicago, you need to check out the app called Sprig. It’s a spin on take-out, delivered right to your desk/door. Instead of calling up your favourite restaurant, Sprig is the restaurant. You choose from a small selection of organic, sustainable meals delivered within 15min, starting at $9/meal. It’s the new kid on the block without the brick and mortar, and I’m surprised this isn’t up & running in NY yet.

If you’ve ever wondered how to plate your food (my husband is Much better than I), check out: How To Plate Like A Michelin Chef

And because we all love toast, here are 10 ideas to rotate in with your avocados