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What makes me think of community and family? How about sitting down at a long, communal table and breaking bread with others? Well, if you feel the same way as I do, then you are in for a real treat!

I recently started doing dinners at Two If By Sea Café in Dartmouth; pairing up with Tara MacDonald and Zane Kelsall (owners/baker/baritsa master) and all their lovely staff. What we do is bring local, seasonal and super awesome food to our friends, families and neighbors.

We recently had our third dinner (an Irish dinner) to celebrate that guy, St. Patrick. 36 lovely guests graced us with their presence and enjoyed an evening filled with love, laughter, leprechauns,  a lil’ lamb stew and a lot of fun.

We started our evening with a smoked haddock and cauliflower soup; velvety smooth with a hint of smokiness, garnished with chives. Next, an ode to the potato. New potatoes bathed in grainy mustard and cider vinegar, with pickles, herbs, peppers and double smoked bacon from Roselane Farm. Just when you thought that was all, it was drizzled with some bacon drippins’ and Westphalia ham that had been crisped up in the oven and crumbled on top. Oh happy potatoes! That salad was served on a bed of Riverview Herbs’ pea shoots. These spuds were no longer known as duds.

Lamb stew, oh lamb stew. Wood n Hart lamb, simmered in Propeller Bitter for hours on end and served with creamy, buttery turnip. My heart is feeling faint just describing this dish! And just when you thought it couldn’t get any better, Tara and Curtis baked up an absolute delight; bread pudding made from their croissants and cooked with apples soaked in whiskey.

In retrospect, what truly made this evening feel like a family dinner was the fact that most guests got to walk away with coffee cups full of leftovers!

If all this sounds like it might be up your alley, join us for our next dinner on April 22nd, when we’ll be celebrating Easter. If Easter doesn’t work for you we have already started planning our Mother’s Day Dinner taking place on May 8th. To stay in the loop about upcoming events, and to learn more about previous events, checkout our Facebook page (TIBS Family Dinners).

Well folks, it took all of the above! I was lucky enough to be asked to participate in the Shop Fashionably Late At Bishop’s Landing along with four other bloggers extraordinaire from the Halifax area (#1, #2, #3 & #4). We converged at Cafe Ristretto to meet one another and to pick our Secret Santa names. Now, having done a lil’ research on all four, I was in for a daunting task! I, a measly “cook” would have to perhaps shop for an artist, some fashionable peeps, or even a dapper young man. Taking a very deep breath and letting my liquid courage from my earlier tasting at Bishop’s Cellar help me out, I picked that one name…it was Laura aka: Pixies In A Glass House. Oh my, this would be difficult.

Laura writes about fashionable things and fashionable people, so me, a Converse and jean wearing mama who always has baby vomit stuck on me somewhere, was probably the worst person to have picked her. Feeling a little discouraged, I dragged my sorry ass outta the cafe and hit up the only place in Bishop’s Landing that I thought might have something for this young and hip chicky. Turbine, a local store that carries Nova Scotia’s own Lisa Drader-Murphy’s designs, was the perfect place for me to find something. With the help of my friend, Shannon, and the owner & designer herself, I  managed to come across a few things that I thought Laura might like, but just as I was about to decided, in she walked and the owner gave me a wink and told me to come back later, in hopes that she would catch Laura looking at something in particular. Off I went, and hit up a few more stores in Bishop’s Landing.

A stop at Sugah! and Rum Runners and One Stop Wood Shop were in order just in case I could find something else, before hitting up Ristorante a Mano for a quick glass of wine courtesy of their fabulous and lovely manager, Kelly Neil. Now back to Turbine to see if Laura had hovered over any one item.

It seems Laura had coveted a few items, and with the help of those around me, I decided to get her the signature “Obi” belt and crossed my fingers that she would like it! Back to the cafe to see what everyone got and to check out who my Secret Santa was!

Well, Shelagh from the blog “Alice Loves Art And Tea” ended up being my Secret Santa, and she knew exactly what to get this curmudgeon for Christmas; a bottle of Chilean red from Bishop’s Cellar (she couldn’t believe that they had me on file for likes/dislikes!)  and a gorgeous cutting board from the One Stop Wood Shop.

With gifts in hand, my friend and I walked back into the dark and rainy night feeling like we had accomplished a great deal at the Fashionably Late At Bishop’s Landing and are planning on returning this coming weekend to take in some more of the fabulous shopping during the extended evening hours! Grab your friends, stop by many of the stores that have amazing and knowledgeable staff, buy lots o gifts then grab something to eat and drink at one of the three restaurants. There is certainly something for everyone down at Bishop’s Landing and it sure beats hangin’ out at the mall on a Friday night!

Indian Point Scallop

My mother used to pride herself on her “Coquilles St. Jacques” whenever guests came over. Out came the pink, scallop shells, the tiny forks and the “good” china. I remember having my first taste and finding it salty and sweet. Scallops have played a major role in my life since my first salivating scallop moment at the age of six. While working in Toronto and Ottawa, they were always featured on my menus. While in Europe, they baffled me as I spent many hours cleaning their delicate shells and then “shucking” them. While in the Caribbean, they were shipped to me, first class, only to be gobbled up quickly by my boss. In Prince Edward Island, they were demanded by my guests, and paired with fatty, unctuous pork belly. Yes, that is my signature; scallops and pork belly. It has been on several of my menus, in several different ways, but it is always there; like a security blanket.

My usual Saturday morning these days consists of baby – baby feeding, baby changing and a baby outing to the Halifax Farmers’ Market. On this particular Saturday, I left for the market  with a purpose; Saturday night dinner. I was fortunate enough to finally get sommelier Alanna MacIntyre and her husband, Flavio, over for dinner, as well as a ‘foodie’ named David Hachey, and our usual suspects, Lekas and Shannon. So, to market to market to get a fat…scallop? Yes, there they were, staring directly at me from the stall of Mr. Peter Darnell of Indian Point Marine Farms. Peter has supplied me in the past with his meaty mussels and scallops, but on this particular day, they were so goddamn gorgeous that I had to have them! Big and meaty with their orange roe still attached; something quite rare these days. I snatched up a few pounds and started plotting my attack. Do I shuck them and serve them raw? Would I broil them with bread crumbs and cheese? Would Momma Lavallée get a phone call and a request for her Coquilles St. Jacques recipe? Nope, they were thrown into a 500F degree oven and baked in their shell until they opened, then doused with my special stash of Lungarotti Extra Virgin Olive Oil, fresh lemon juice and Maldon Salt. Alanna and David both brought over crazy amazing Chardonnays (Mazzocco from Sonoma & Springfield Estate from South Africa) that went beautifully with them. Eight bottles of wine later and a platter full of scallop shells, we finally rose from our long wooden dining table with a level of satisfaction that only be achieved by the right combination of scallops, fine wine and good friends.

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Nothing makes me happier than when a perfect plan comes together…sunny Saturday, friends, food and wine. I was lucky enough to have my friend Nick & his wife Nicole come over to my house with the most spectacular oysters and clams, that Nick’s family harvests. Add some cheeses, bread, veggies & meat that were acquired at the Halifax Farmers’ Market that morning as well as a few more friends and we’ve got a dinner party! The oysters needed nothing but a good scrub and a few shavings of fresh horseradish to be ready to slurp down. The clams were placed on my old school charcoal bbq and grilled until they opened, only to be doused with some fresh lemon juice. The meat and sausages from Roselane Farm were done up on a platter with the most colourful radishes that were picked up from Hutten  Family Farm, and some Red Fife bread from Boulangerie La Vendéenne. The Old Growler & Dragon’s Breath were paired with red pepper jelly that Doug’s Auntie Susan made. All this glorious food was washed down with a little Benjamin Bridge Nova 7 (courtesy of my old co-worker and partner in crime, Darrick). The meal was topped off with ice cream sandwiches from Dee-Dee’s. With a full belly and a rosy glow to my cheeks, my evening was over and I can only look forward to my next one.