After receiving countless e-mails on the recipe for Michael Howell's sandwich, I was able to track down the recipe. I found it on a Nova Scotia Blog called Loopy Lair: Home of the Laughingwolf. Here's the address: http://laughing1wolf.blogspot.com/2010/09/canadas-best-grilled-cheese-recipe.html Award-winning Panini Toscano by Chef Michael Howell. Photo courtesy Dairy Farmers of Canada. Panini Toscano By Chef Michael Howell Ingredients: 1 fresh ciabatta bun, about 5“ (12cm) square 1 tbsp (15 mL) lemon aioli 1 ripe fig cut into 4-5 slices 2 slices of Parma prosciutto thinly shaved 2 slices 1 oz (30g) each Canadian Havarti cheese, 1/8“ (2mm ) thick 1 oz (30g) fresh baby arugula ½ roasted red pepper, peeled & cut into ¾“ (2 cm) slices 1 tbsp (15 mL) balsamic vinaigrette Lemon Aioli Ingredients ¼ cup (60 mL) prepared olive oil mayonnaise Juice and zest from ½ a lemon 1 clove garlic Balsamic Vinaigrette Ingredients 1 tsp (5 ml) balsamic vinegar Pinch of ...

Maple Bacon Chocolate Truffle No, I didn't stutter. At the Taste of Nova Scotia's Culinary World Summit, I went to the lobster dinner that they had for delegates and for the good people of Halifax. Following the Lobster Dinner was the Chocolate Salon which was a history of chocolate starting from the discovery in South America. I'll go more into this in a future post, but on the truffle tray was a Maple Bacon Chocolate Truffle- I don't know if you can go more decadent than this. The chocolate had a warm maple taste with a hint of saltiness and the perplexing wowness of bacon grease. It was definitely droolworthy.

The Coastline: Nova Scotia This is near Peggy's Cove in Nova Scotia.

I was lucky enough to meet up with a native Nova Scotian while I was in Halifax this week for the culinary world summit. Mr. Michael F. is the father of a friend of mine, Marie and he offered to show me around the city for the day. We first checked out downtown Halifax. Then we went to Opa! Taverna for a fabulous lunch. After lunch he was even kind enough to take me to Future Shop in Halifax to indulge in my technonerdiness. The highlight of the trip was heading to Peggy's Cove- a beautiful seacoast town. Here are pictures. Enjoy and be sure to visit Nova Scotia! The Lighthouse on Peggy's Cove

I feel inspired. I didn't wake up in the middle of the night because of jet lag or because the copious amounts of chocolate that I indulged in at the Chocolate Salon Dinner last night at the Culinary Tour Summit in Nova Scotia. I woke up because my mind was on fire with ideas. Being invited to the Culinary Tour Summit in Nova Scotia has reconnected me with myself and the reasons why I have always been drawn to working in the food industry. I woke up with a craving for food so fresh and so flavorful that I wanted to embed my brain with the memories of its flavors of Nova Scotia before I leave. I want to embed a memory so strong and so deep that it will make me in the future pack my bags and to make this journey back to Nova Scotia to enjoy these tastes again. So I am up at 4:30am having a mug of wild blueberry juice and having spoonfuls of matured, organic, artisan made cheddar cheese. For me, this is culinary tourism at its core: it taps into memories. It creates a sense of p...

Chef Josef Majaess from Opa! Greek Taverna I got to meet Chef Josef Majaess at Opa Greek Taverna in Nova Scotia. He is a very humble and worldly chef that pushes Greek food to the edge of tradition and sprinkles a bit of new age. His flavors are bright, lemony, and a slight hit of spice. Now, I don't know if you knew this, but my first job was as a dishwasher in  a little Greek Restaurant in Delaware called "European Bistro." I was a Pearl Jam listening, long haired, "grunge" kid that went there to work at a very conservative (but very pink- literally, everything was pink) Greek restaurant. The husband and wife owners, Gino and Ruth Veriopolas, were the most caring people I ever met and it was here that I fell in love with Greek cuisine and culture. Most times I come back to the states or travel to another country, I try to have at least one Greek meal. It is nostalgia and it reminds me of my youth. Sometimes, it is great, but often it's just...meh. At ...

Downtown Halifax, Nova Scotia

I only have a minute or so to blog this because I have a conference to get to. Here is my first night and morning in Nova Scotia. I went shopping at Lawson's Drugstore in the morning and I am going to have to find a grocery store tonight. Cheers, Dan S'more Candy Apple Interesting Local at the Split Crow

Japanese Kiss Here are some pictures that I took on my way over in Narita and Toronto Airport. Cheers, Dan