Dangerous Dan’s, Toronto - Fat drippingly good!

The Big Kahuna

If Gillian McKeith’s knew Dangerous Dan’s existed she’d be campaigning for it to be shut down. Their catchy but taunting footnote: ‘22% of Ontarians are obese, we can do better’, would be enough to make her self combust from aduki bean gas build up.  This politically incorrect restaurant in Toronto’s East End, wears its artery clogged heart proudly on its tight fitting sleeve. They make no apologies for the food they serve, in fact they positively encourage it.  Junk food tastes good, and once in a while we all like to take a break from miso soup and salads to indulge in our guilty pleasure, so why not go all out?


DD’s is the place to overload. Burgers are the menu mainstay, and you can go for a baby 8oz, but there’s really no point, you didn’t come here for a regular cheeseburger, so man up and go for a big’un. There’s the heart stopping Elvis, which comes topped with bacon, peanut butter and fried banana or how about the Big Kevorkian which comes with an excessive number of fried garnishes; fried onion, fried onion ring (because you need both, right?) fried mushrooms, fried bacon, fried sliced pickles and slathered in mayo and garlic sauce. I’m surprised they don’t fry the bun too. It’s questionable whether you need any ‘add-ons’ or side orders, but if you’ve planned ahead and worn your elasticated waistband, then by all means go for it. Gassy beer will only take up precious room in your stomach, so avoid that and instead try the equally filling traditional milkshakes made in the ultra noisy blender. For most people the above will satisfy, but we all know someone with a ridiculous appetite. They were often accused of having hollow leg syndrome or called ‘dustbin’ at school. They always had seconds, if not thirds. They should refer to the back page of the menu, reserved for ‘your incredibly excessive beef needs’ – their words not mine. The Coronary Burger Special consists of two 8oz patties, layered with 4 slices of bacon, cheddar cheese and crowned with a fried egg, plus fries, gravy and a can of pop just in case you haven’t already popped. If that’s still not enough, then you have a serious appetite that can only be sated by the Colossal Colon Clogger Combo; 24oz burger with double fried egg, ¼ lb of bacon, ¼ pound of cheese and a side order of ‘poutine’ which is a French Canadian delicacy that my friends from the north of England will know simply as chips, cheese & gravy. Gillian McKeith would have a field day examining your poop sample after that.


CCP - Cookie Cow Pie.  Pan Fried cookie dough of course!



Thai Meatball Curry

Whenever I have minced meat in the fridge it invariably gets turned into Bolognese sauce, chilli or maybe a cottage pie.  There’s nothing wrong with any of those dishes, but I wanted to do something different this time.  I had a portion of minced pork (just over 450g) left over from another recipe plus a can of coconut milk in the cupboard, and decided to go the Thai curry route.  You could make it with beef mince if you have that, but I think pork creates a richer dish.  It can be as hot as you want it.  I didn’t add any chillies, so it was only the paste creating the heat, and as a result you have a mild curry which is sweet from the coconut milk and very child friendly.  If you like it hotter feel free to add some chopped fresh chilli to the meatball mixture or fry some off along with the paste.  It’s a really easy mid-week dinner too.  You can make the meatballs in advance, even the night before, and then you just add them to the sauce which is really quick to make.

Ingredients for 4 people

For the meatballs
450-500g pork mince
1 small/medium onion finely chopped
1 egg
1 tsp. cumin seeds
1 tsp. coriander seeds
1 tsp tumeric
1 slice stale or fresh bread to make breadcrumbs.
salt & pepper
1 medium bunch fresh coriander roughly chopped

For the curry sauce
2 heaped tsps. Thai red curry paste
1 x 400ml can coconut milk
1 tbsp. lime juice
1 tbsp. fish sauce
1 tsp. sugar
2 handfuls frozen peas
chopped fresh coriander and lime wedges to garnish

Start by making the meatballs.  Add the cumin and coriander seeds to a dry frying pan and heat through for a minute or so just to lightly toast.  Shake the pan occasionally so they don’t burn.  Add the pork, onion, toasted cumin & coriander, tumeric, egg and fresh coriander to a bowl.  Whizz a slice of bread in a processor to create breadcrumbs, or use a generous handful of ready made ones if you have those.  Mix everything together with your hands until everything is evenly dispersed.  Start making the meatballs; you are aiming for smaller than golf ball bite size meatballs that will cook quickly.  This mixture should make about 30 meatballs.  When they are complete, chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

Add a little oil to a shallow pan and heat to medium/high.  Fry the meatballs in 2 batches to brown them evenly.  This should take about 5 minutes per batch, they don’t have to cook through as they will finish off in the sauce.  Remove browned meatballs to one side, and add a little more oil to the pan if needed and fry the curry paste for 1-2 minutes.  The sauce is easy and quick, so have everything ready to hand before you begin.  Pour in the coconut milk and stir well to incorporate the paste and turn the sauce orangey-red.  Add the lime juice, fish sauce and sugar and stir in.  Re-introduce the meatballs to the sauce, reduce the heat to a low simmer for about 10 minutes until the meatballs are cooked through.  After about 5 minutes of simmering add the frozen peas.  Serve over rice and garnish with fresh coriander and a lime wedge.

Halloween Cupcakes & Bonfire Night Sausage Stew

These pumpkin cupcakes are good for autumn/winter and not just for Halloween.  The recipe is from the Hummingbird Bakery book, which I can’t praise highly enough.  It has proved indispensible for all things North American, and definitely justified its place in my suitcase.  The original recipe is for pumpkin cupcakes which I haven’t strayed from, and a cream cheese frosting, which I have slightly adapted by just adding a 1/2 tsp of ground cinnamon and 1 tsp ground ginger.  Those in the UK are likely to find it hard to get hold of tinned pumpkin puree, so you have two options; make regular vanilla cupcakes and make sure you add the cinnamon for the autumnal flavour, or make your own pumpkin puree.  You don’t actually need to buy pumpkin, any squash will do – even butternut squash.  Just roast it off in a hot oven, skin on for 40 minutes or so, then scrape away the flesh and blend in a processor.
 
Makes 12
For the cupcakes:
120g plain flour
140g caster sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
pinch of salt
40g unsalted butter at room temp
120ml whole milk
2 eggs
200g tinned pumpkin puree

For the cream cheese frosting:
300g icing sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
50g unsalted butter at room temp
125g cream cheese

Heat the oven to 170c/325f/Gas Mark 3.
Add the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and butter and beat together with an electric mixer until you get a something that resembles sand.  Add the milk slowly until combined.  Crack in the eggs and mix well.  Stir in the pumpkin puree.
Pour into cases so they are about two thirds full and bake for 20 mins.  They should be light and golden and spring back when touched.  Leave to cool for a bit and then turn out onto a cooling rack.
For the frosting, sift the icing sugar and spices into a bowl, add the butter and mix together until you get a sandyish texture.  Add the cream cheese and keep mixing for about 5 minutes until it turns light and fluffy.  It will take a while!

The decoration part is easier than it looks.  I stole the cobweb idea from one of the baristas at a local coffee shop, where they serve vanilla mint tea lattes (yum), with a dark chocolate cobweb on top.  You just need some decorating gel and a steady hand.  I used Wilton’s in black, then start in the middle, and draw a circle spiral, a bit like a snail.  Then using a tooth pick, start at the centre and quickly and gently draw the toothpick out to the edge.  You’ll probably need to do about 6 lines at even gaps to create the effect.  The spiders are easy.  Small blob for the head, larger blob for the body and then use a toothpick again and flick it out from the main body to create four legs either side.

 

Bonfire Night must mean bangers, and this is an easy and filling dish that will feed a crowd.  Perfect for serving in warm bowls whist you watch the fireworks in your back garden.  Happy Guy Fawkes Night!


1 large onion thinly sliced into half moons
2 peppers either red, yellow or orange, but not green, thinly sliced into strips
olive oil
2 garlic cloves thinly sliced
6-8 sausages
1 tbsp plain flour
1 tbsp tomato puree
2 tsps smoked paprika
500ml beef stock
Worcestershire sauce
1 x can of haricot (navy) beans
200g pasta shapes such as penne or fusilli
salt & pepper

Start by cutting the sausages into bite size pieces and browning them off in a pan.  Add a little oil if you need to.  Remove from the pan and set aside once they are browned – they don’t have to be cooked all the way through, as they will cook in the stew.
Add some olive oil to the same pan, and add the sliced onion and peppers.  Fry off on a low heat until they are silky soft, but not browned.  Should take about 10 minutes.  Add the garlic and cook for a further 2 minutes, stirring it so it doesn’t burn.  Add the sausages back to the pan, scatter over the flour and paprika and cook for 1-2 minutes.  Turn the heat up, add the tomato puree, stock, beans and a good dash of Worcestershire sauce.  Bring to the boil, cover with a lid, reduce the heat to low and leave to simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally so that the mixture thickens.  Meanwhile cook your pasta in boiling water, strain and then stir into the stew when you are ready to eat.  Serve with garlic bread and some grated cheese.