125 BROADWAY,ORANGEVILLE, ONTARIO 519-942-5908 WWW.KITCHENTOTABLE.COM

grill for breakfast or brunch (what a great start to Valentine’s Day). Chocolate is a traditional gift on this special day, so we offer you a wonderful recipe for a chocolate fondue, or how about a special cake, prepared in our NordicWare heart-shaped pan.

While I won’t be off in the far north this Valen-tine’s Day, I will be there in spirit!

Wishing you love & chocolate….

Sigrid Wolm

It’s February and a special month on my calendar, since it’s the month we cele-brate Valentine’s Day, and the birthday of several spe-cial people in my life.

February also brings back fond memories of the St. Valentine’s Day my husband and I spent on Baffin’s Is-land. I still treasure the traditional ulu knife that I purchased on our visit, and recall fondly experiencing many of the local traditions, including the wonderful and

unique cuisine. While I know most of you will be staying closer to home this Valentine’s Day, I’d like to share with you a recipe for Arctic Char, that reminds me of that special trip, so many years ago.

We hope you have the op-portunity to share your Val-entine’s Day with someone special, and to that end, we offer a number of sugges-tions and recipes to make your day complete.

In our November issue we told you about the fun you can have hosting a Raclette party (and in the March 2006 issue of Canadian Liv-ing, they too have discov-ered the joy of raclette cooking), but for a new twist on raclette cooking, consider using your raclette

From our kitchen to yours!

FEBRUARY 2006 VOLUME 2, ISSUE 2

SECRETS FROM OUR KITCHEN

Inside this issue:

Did you know…. Pg 2

Raclette for breakfast Pg 2

Fun Kitchen Toys Pg 2

Chocolate Fondue Pg 3

Papillote of Arctic Char Pg 4

Product of the Month Pg 3

NordicWare Bundt Pan Pg 4

Delicious Gingerbread Pg 4

Sign up for our monthly electronic newsletter, for all the latest in kitchen trends & products, and for unique recipes and entertaining ideas.

Visit our website at www.kitchentotable.com to subscribe.

FEBRUARY STORE HOURS:

Monday-Thursday 10:00am-5:30pm

Friday 10:00am-7:00pm

Saturday 10:00am-5:00pm

Sunday—closed

I had the pleasure of attending the Canadian Gift & Table-ware Association’s annual marketplace and trade show this past weekend. This annual event is where suppliers and manufacturers often unveil many of their new products, and where the latest and newest trends in the industry become evident.

I look forward to sharing with you, over the next few months, some of the neat new products and items I discovered at the show.

Did you know….

...Only the US, Canada, Mexico, France, Australia and the UK celebrate Valentine’s Day. ...15% of US women send themselves flowers on Valentine’s Day. ….In Victorian times it was considered bad luck to sign a Valentine’s Day card. ...Keep chocolate in a cool, dry place. The ideal storage location is around 65 degrees Fahrenheit and 50% humidity. A range of approximately 10% in either direction will not have any adverse effect. The normal air conditioned room provides adequate protection. ...Chocolates may be frozen for up to six months. If frozen, the chocolates should be wrapped in double air-tight sealed plastic freezer bags (or equivalent materials). Chocolates should remain in the bags when being thawed until they return to room temperature. This will keep moisture from condensing on the chocolate. ...Do not store chocolate near heat or in direct sunlight. The light will fade the color and the elevated temperature will cause tackiness and melting. ...Chocolate readily absorbs other flavors and odours. Do not store near chemicals, cleaning solvents, perfumes, air freshener, etc.

Sources: www.creativechocolates.com www.corsinet.com/braincandy

Page 2

SECRETS FROM OUR KITCHEN

Raclette for breakfast? How romantic! In our November issue we talked about the ease and fun of cooking on a ra-clette grill. Over the past few months raclette grills have been receiving rave reviews on television, radio and in specialty magazines (and we’re pleased to have told you about them before they became so popular!).

Now we offer you a new way to enjoy your raclette — as a great way to pre-pare a breakfast or brunch buffet.

Prepare various omelette toppings, and place in separate dishes. Cook your eggs on the top of the grill, adding your individual topping choices, as de-sired.

Melt your raclette cheese on the paddles, and spread over top of your pre-pared omelette, or on top of English Muffins (which may also be toasted in small sections, on the raclette paddles).

Serve with a fresh cup of coffee, tea or hot chocolate, prepared in your Keurig Beverage maker, and you’ve prepared a gourmet breakfast, with ease and simplicity.

Enjoy a special breakfast or brunch with omelettes cooked up on your raclette grill and a freshly brewed cup of coffee, tea or hot chocolate

from your Keurig Hot Beverage Brewer.

Fun Kitchen Toys • CuisiPro Butter Slicer—perfect for professional, thin slices of butter or choco-

late.

• CuisiPro Thermo Whisk—with built-in thermometer allows for perfect whisk-ing of hot chocolate, custards or ice-cream based desserts.

• Swissmar Silicon Brush—in my opinion the best, and sturdiest silicon brush in the marketplace, and endorsed by the one and only Martha Stewart.

• Swissmar Silicon Spatula— in 12” or 16” models in a variety of colours; colourfast & good for use up to 500F or 260C.

• FreshWave All Natural Odor Neutralizing Spray—naturally eliminates a wide spectrum of odours without using or adding fragrances or chemicals.

PRODUCT OF THE MONTH — CUISINART ELECTRIC FONDUE

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VOLUME 2, ISSUE 2

CUISINART ELECTRIC FONDUE Cuisinart’s electric fondue set is now easier than ever, featuring a stick-free heating element built into the base of the pot and a thermostat that adjusts to a wide range of temperature settings. Consumers can prepare chocolate, cheese, broth or oil fondues in this elegant 3-quart brushed stainless spot. As al-ways, Cuisinart makes cleanup easy. The nonstick pot offers superb food release, and the entire unit is dishwasher safe.

Decadent Chocolate Fondue

400 grams bittersweet chocolate, chopped

1 1/2 cups (375 ml) whipping cream

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper, or to taste

Preheat fondue maker for one minute. Put chocolate, cream and cayenne into fondue pot. Heat on low, stirring until smooth, approximately 2 minutes. If mixture becomes too thick, stir in a little more cream.

Great dippers include strawberries, pound cake, apple or banana slices, melon balls, marshmallows, grapes, pine-apple chunks, dried apricots, orange slices, dried mango. Cut the dippers into bite-sized pieces. Leave small fruits whole.

Arrange dippers attractively on a platter or individual plates. Guests choose their dippers, securing them on a fon-due fork, and then dip into chocolate.

Note: Juicy fruits such as pineapple need to be dried with a paper towel, since the chocolate will not adhere prop-erly to wet fruits. Dipping raw fruit in lemon juice prevents browning.

Be sure to use a good quality chocolate such as Lindt, Toblerone, Callebaut, Gherardelli or Cacao Barry. Consider adding 3 tbsp. liqueur, such as Grand Marnier, Contreau, Kirsch, Brandy or Kahlua, to your fondue if de-sired. Semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate tastes much better than milk chocolate when using in a fondue.

Source: Cuisinart 2005 Calendar

Whether you are planning an intimate dinner for two or a large party, fondue is an excellent choice. Served out of a heated pot with fresh fruit, vegeta-bles or chunks of bread to dip and enjoy, this deli-cious and interesting dish naturally encourages meeting and mingling at any gathering.

Fondue has made a recent and welcome comeback from its 1960s rage. A Swiss classic, fondue comes from the French verb “fondre”, meaning “to melt”. It originated as a way to use hardened cheese during the long winter months in the Swiss Alps, when fresh food was unavailable.

Originally made from Swiss Emmental and Gruyere with wine and spices, today it can be made with any number of combinations of cheeses paired with everything from traditional bread cubes to vegetables, meats, fruits and seafood.

Swiss tradition says that if a woman drops her cube in the fondue, she has to kiss all the men; if a man drops his cube, he has to buy everyone a bottle of wine.

Source: www.gianteagle.com

125 BROADWAY,ORANGEVILLE, ONTARIO 519-942-5908 WWW.KITCHENTOTABLE.COM

125 BROADWAY,ORANGEVILLE, ONTARIO 519-942-5908 WWW.KITCHENTOTABLE.COM

Memories from Baffin Island—Papillote of Wild Arctic Char

NordicWare is best known for creat-ing the original Bundt pan. Since it first began in 1946, NordicWare has been known for providing long-lasting, quality kitchenware prod-ucts.

NordicWare’s Platinum Series Cast Aluminum Bakeware provides finer details and superior baking per-formance. The heat reflective exte-riors allow for uniform browning so as to enhance the unique Bundt cake design. NordicWare’s elegant heart Bundt pan, made from this heavy cast aluminum is coated with a non-stick coating, for a perfect cake anytime.

Impress your loved ones by making a delightful heart-shaped Bundt cake, such as this delicious Ginger-bread Cake, for Valentine’s Day, or for any occasion.

2 X Arctic Char fillets 1 1/2 tbsp. olive oil 1/2 lb. chopped spinach 1/2 lime, juice & grated zest 1 ounce diced tomatoes 1 tsp. finely chopped garlic 1 tsp. chopped shallots 1/2 bunch fresh oregano 1 bay leaf 1/2 bunch fresh parsley salt and freshly ground pepper

Preheat the oven to 350F. Clean the spinach and blanch it in boiling, salted water for about one minute. Drain it, cool it and chop it coarsely into large pieces. Cut a large piece of parchment paper. Cover with 1 tbsp. olive oil and add shallots. Add the garlic, tomatoes and oregano. Place the Char on top. Give it a good screw of black pepper, pour over the lime zest and juice, add the bay leaf and the parsley. Cover it with the chopped spinach and add 1/2 tbsp. olive oil. Close the papillote by folding paper in half lengthwise, and them roll edges together to seal the pack-ets. Place on a baking sheet and cook in the oven for 25 minutes. Remove the Arctic Char fillet from the papillote and serve with the cooking juices, boiled pota-toes or rice.

Yield: 4 servings. Source: Cook Like a Chef (George Laurier), Food Network

HOME-STYLE GINGERBREAD 1/2 cup brown sugar 1/4 cup butter 1/4 cup shortening 1 egg 3/4 cup molasses 2 cups all-purpose flour 2 tbsp. ground ginger 2 tsp. cinnamon 1/2 tbsp. baking soda 1 tsp. ground cloves 1/2 tsp. salt 1 cup boiling water 1 tbsp. lemon juice

Preheat oven to350F. Grease the NordicWare Bundt pan. Cream together sugar, butter and shortening. Beat in the eggs and molasses, stirring well. Sift together the flour, ginger, cinnamon, baking soda, cloves and salt and gradually beat them into the creamed mixture. Pour the boiling water and lemon juice into the batter and beat the mixture well, until smooth and light. Pour the bat-ter into the pan and bake for about 50 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the middle comes out dry.

For a real indulgence, serve the gingerbread warm, topped with vanilla ice cream or fresh whipped cream.

Source: Canadian Family Cooking by Norman Kolpas

Arctic Char is one of the most northern fish in our diets. It resembles salmon and the two can often be interchanged in recipes.

Like salmon, Arctic Char is now farmed, and in general, farmed Char has more calories and fat than wild Arctic Char.

Tip: Prepare fish packets up to a few hours ahead of time and keep refrigerated. You can also use aluminum foil instead of parchment paper.