WCN & The Cookbook Store Honour Jennifer McLagan, Naomi Duguid & Jeffrey Alford

Posted by Alison

Foodies, media and friends gathered at Pangaea on Monday June 22nd for a party thrown by the Women's Culinary Network and The Cookbook Store to honour authors Jennifer McLagan, Naomi Duguid & Jeffrey Alford(who alas could not attend), for their books, Fat and Beyond the Great Wall.

This Spring these local Toronto authors took top prizes in their respective categories from the prestigious International Assoc. of Culinary Professionals and the James Beard Foundation Book Awards. The Beards are The Oscars of the food community, I kid you not, right down to the black tie and a who's who of chefs, tv personalities, writers and probably the best stand up food afterwards!

Naomi & Jeff's latest book Beyond the Great Wall swept both awards from each organization as did Jennifer's book Fat. Not only is this a great accomplishment in one year to have two Toronto authors so decorated, but Jennifer's book also won Cookbook of the Year from the Beard Foundation.

On hand to speak were Bonnie Stern on behalf of Beard Foundation, Dana McCauley (IACP), Anne Collins (publisher - Random House Canada), and Doug Pepper (President of McClelland and Stewart), as well as Chef Martin Kouprie of Pangaea. Needless to say Alison had a few words as did Nettie Cronish of WCN before raising a glass to toast the honorees. A great time was had by all and hopefully there will be lots of opportunity to honour Canadian food writing in the future.

L-R: Jennifer McLagan, Naomi Duguid, Alison Fryer, Nettie Cronish, Doug Pepper, Anne Collins

L-R: Bonnie Stern, Nettie Cronish, Jennifer McLagan, Naomi Duguid

L-R: Jennifer McLagan, Naomi Duguid, Alison Fryer

L-R: Anne Collins, Nettie Cronish, Jennifer McLagan, Naomi Duguid, Doug Pepper, Alison Fryer

The Stockyards Smokehouse and Larder restaurant review

Posted by Josh

This new bbq place is literally smoking! I went on Friday June 12th and had virtually everything on the menu and what I couldn't get, because it wasn't available, I went back and had the next day!

So what do they do really well?
The 6 hours smoked meat pastrami is very good, but is not as good as Caplanski's at its best. Their version of a BLT(called BAT) is made with deep fried green tomatoes, lemon aioli and smoked bacon, is novel and very good. The grilled burgers are good and arrive medium rare but this is not why you go to a smokehouse. There is even southern fried 1/2 chicken for which your wait 25 minutes. The chicken is marinated in buttermilk and is made with a very tasty buttermilk fresh herb batter which is perhaps the best fried chicken that I have tasted in Toronto, not overcooked, but again this is not why one goes to a smokehouse.
They also make a wonderful fennel and garlic scented porchetta sandwich made with the pork loin, belly and cracklings served on a ciabatta roll with a lovely garlic aoli.
There's also a very good smoked chicken and an interesting home made fennel sausage.....but what they really excel at is perhaps the best smoked pork ribs I have tasted in Toronto.

Go before the crowds start if you really like bbq!

Posted by Josh

The Stockyards Smokehouse and Larder
669 St. Clair Ave. West
Toronto
416-658-9666

What We Eat When We Eat Alone

Posted by Gina


The arrival of Deborah Madison's new book What We Eat When We Eat Alone sparked lots of lively conversation among staff and customers at the store. The book is a collaboration between Deborah Madison and her husband Patrick McFarlin, who have been asking people this question for years. It consists of stories examining the title question with 100 accompanying recipes.

We decided to poll our staff and customers to find out what exactly we eat when we're alone. The most popular items consisted of eggs, bread, cheese and pasta... all delicious and filling comfort foods.

Award winning cookbook author, Jennifer McLagan said her solitary meal of choice is an "omlette and a glass (or two!) of wine".

Quebecois writer and Food Network star Ricardo Larrivée charmed us with his answer: "Have a bottle of water and wait for the wife to come home. If she's away more than a day [I] start to get anxious!"

Below is a selection of some of our favourite customer responses:

-charcuterie, cheese, olives & a bottle of wine :)
-Harbord Bakery blintzes
-steak & peas with red merlot
-rice pudding
-grilled cheese, apple
-take out
-Baskin-Robbins Jamoca Almond Fudge ice cream
-goat cheddar broiled on Ezekiel bread with paprika
-zaatar mixture with bread dipped in olive oil
-Guinness
-cookies - lots of them!!
-pickled herring
-"I eat the best when I eat alone"
-pickles or anything with a a lot of garlic, and PRUNES
-sardines on toast
-popcorn with dill seasoning or truffle salt
-sour cream with egg noodles (and vodka)
-large slices of chocolate cake with extra icing
-can-alone-i
-street meat (hot dog)
-valrohna baking chocolate
-toast with cream cheese & pickles
-chicken fingers & brocolli
-leftovers

Our New Blog

Posted by Gina

Welcome to The Cookbook Store's new blog!

Here we will be chronicling our many adventures in the culinary world. Check back frequently for updates about our newest books, local food events and initiatives, discussions of food trends far and wide, and MORE.

Please drop by the store! We're located at 850 Yonge Street (at Yorkville) in Toronto. We can't wait to meet you!

To tide you over for now, here are some photos from some of our Spring 2009 events:

Ruth Reichl promoting her new memoir Not Becoming My Mother.

Laura Calder visited the store and signed copies of French Taste.

Ricardo and our manager, Alison.


Alison with Ted Reader grilling up some grub from his new book Everyday Gourmet Plank Grilling.