Milk Calendar's 40th Anniversary - Eggs Benedict With A Twist Recipe

Holy cow! I just had to do it.

Dairy Farmers of Canada's Milk Calendar which has been an integral part of many Canadian families from coast to coast is celebrating their 40-year milestone with their 2017 edition. Like many of us, every year we eagerly wait for the new Milk Calendar to hang up on our walls, providing us with easy, innovative, and delicious dairy related recipes for every meal and occasion.

The majority of Canadians do not consume the recommended servings of milk and dairy products, so the Milk Calendar was created 40 years ago to help Canadian families get their recommended daily servings using 100% Canadian milk in its recipes. This year of course is no exception and the 2017 edition reflects the milestone with a "How Far We've Come" theme that is also intended to honour Canada's 150th anniversary in 2017.

As soon as you turn to the first page of the 2017 Milk Calendar, you'll notice they've included some of their favourite recipes from their four decade old collection such as the Piquant Potato Salad from 1974, the Beef Ring with Seasonal Vegetables from 1981, and the Apple Berry Cobbler from 2000. All of these nostalgic recipes have been updated with flavours and ingredients using the current culinary tastes that anyone will come to love and enjoy in today's times.

Breakfast/brunch is absolutely my most favourite meal of the day so it is quite fitting that I will be sharing with you all the December 2017 Milk Calendar recipe, Eggs Benedict With A Twist. Fast forward a year from now, many Canadian families will be serving this up for the whole family to enjoy during the Holiday season. But for now you all get a sneak peak into this take on eggs benedict that includes the fresh and creamy taste of avocado.

Eggs Benedict With A Twist

Prep Time: 10 Minutes
Cook: 3 Minutes
4 Servings

Ingredients

2 tsp (10 mL) butter
4 tsp (20mL) all-purpose flour
1 cup (250mL) milk
1/2 cup (125mL) finely grated Canadian Parmesan
1/2 tsp (2mL) mustard power
1/4 tsp (1mL) each, hot sauce and salt
4 small slices olive, cheese, or crusty Italian bread
4 eggs
4 thin slices Black Forest ham
4 slices tomato
1 avocado, peeled, and thinly sliced
Chives for garnish (optional)

Directions

1) Melt butter in a small saucepan. Whisk in flour. Gradually whisk in milk. Stirring continuously, bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer gently 1 min. Whisk in Parmesan, mustard powder, hot sauce, and salt. Remove from heat; sauce will thicken slightly while preparing remaining ingredients. 2) Toast bread. 3) Poach eggs in simmering water about 3 mins. Fold ham to fit on each slice of bread, followed by a slice of tomato, avocado slices then egg. Drizzle with sauce then sprinkle with chives if using.

Cooking Tip

Add about 1 tbsp (15mL) white vinegar to eggs' poaching water; this helps eggs to hold their shape. Gently pat eggs dry with paper towel after cooking to prevent bread from becoming soggy.

Variation

Try fried eggs instead of poached and prosciutto instead of ham. 

Per Serving

Energy: 344 Calories, Protein: 19 g, Carbohydrate: 21 g, Fat: 21 g, Fibre: 4.6 g, Sodium: 694 mg, Calcium: 267 mg

All Milk Calendar recipes since 1974 are also available online at MilkCalendar.ca. Visit MilkCalendar.ca to see how you can pick up your copy of the 2017 calendar!

POM Wonderful - Bountiful & Beneficial

The almighty pomegranate. If you are willing to put in the effort to tackle an often time messy endeavor, the end result will be a bounty full of delicious and nutritious red jewels that your body and taste buds will appreciate. We all can understand though that you do have a busy life, and there is sometimes not enough time to dig for those red seeded jewels yourself. As pomegranates are ripe and in season now, let POM Wonderful do the work for you as it is the perfect time to indulge in a cold, refreshing glass of pomegranate juice.

According to a recent Leger survey, 93% of Canadians want to live a healthier lifestyle, and part of that dedication to healthier living starts with changing beverage choices from sugar-filled carbonated drinks to more natural options. Pomegranate juice contains natural ingredients that are vital for our bodies. POM Wonderful (original) is made with 100% pomegranate juice and does not contain any added sugar, colourants, or cheap filler juices. It is also a great source of potassium.

Did you know that every 473ml bottle of POM Wonderful 100% Pomegranate Juice has the juice of four whole pomegranates inside and nothing else? That means that 125mL is a serving of fruit towards the 7-10 servings a day recommended for adults by Canada's Food Guide.

One thing I was not aware of about POM Wonderful was not only do they sell their pomegranate juices that we all know and love, they also sell POM Arils! If you have never heard of what an aril is, it is simply the seed pod inside a pomegranate. Translation? The pomegranate seeds have all been magically picked out for you to enjoy with no work or mess involved on your part! It is a wonderful, wonderful thing. You really won't be able to appreciate the hard work it is to pull those arils out unless you have actually cut the pomegranate fruit open and tried it for yourself. It's tough work! 

POM Wonderful being such a versatile drink also comes in three delicious flavours. Of course there is the original 100% pomegranate juice, but there is also POM Cherry and POM Blueberry! A small fruity twist to the already wonderful flavours and nutrition of pomegranate. If you are feeling even more adventurous and want to try something else besides drinking it on its own, with the Holiday season upon us it can also be transformed into the Winter Warmer Cocktail. This is a winning drink recipe created from Toronto bartender Meghan McIntosh, designed to taste festive as we head into this Holiday season. Enjoy!

Ingredients

1.5 oz Tromba Anejo
1 oz POM Wonderful
1.5 oz Apple cider
1 oz Cinnamon syrup
0.75 oz lemon juice  

Method

1) Shake
2) Served straight up or on the rocks with lemon wheel and pomegranate seeds as garnish

Teriyaki Experience 2.0. Enter Here For Your Chance To Win an $800 Gift Card!

Teriyaki Experience has come a long way since my days of undergraduate studies at McMaster University. When it came to deciding what I wanted to to eat before heading back to my dorm room, many times I would find myself lining up at Teriyaki Experience in our student centre to pick up a bowl of freshly made steamed rice, a helping of their signature veggie mix, my go-to protein of chicken, and of course that was all drenched in their famous teriyaki sauce.

Back then Teriyaki Experience was quite simple. The toughest decision when ordering was just figuring out which protein you wanted to have which was a choice of chicken, beef, shrimp, tofu, or a mix of two. As simplistic as the menu was, customers were still lining up in droves because of the pure quality of its dishes. There's also a fun factor involved when placing your order here because the line cooks literally make your food right in front of you. You can hear the sizzling of the meats, smell the aromas of the veggies, and see the steam rise to the ceiling. Teriyaki Experience already had a great foundation to work with, and backed by customer loyalty and just sheer great tasting food, they are about to evolve into its next phase. Teriyaki Experience 2.0.

Chicken Sandwicchio with Edamame Beans

Currently rolling out at 3 locations in Ontario so far (Sherway Gardens, Toronto Eaton Centre, Dorval in Oakville), Teriyaki Experience 2.0 comes with a brand new look and menu. You will notice immediately that they now have new, sleek, and modern looking menu boards. All the employees are also sporting a brand new uniform that resembles a chef's jacket, and if you ever need to take your food to go their take-out packaging has also been revamped.

One of my favourite changes to version 2.0 is their partnership with the French-Asian patisserie, Bake Code. I have a large sweet tooth, so the offering of a variety of desserts like Japanese cheesecake, cream puffs, and rolls are definitely a welcome addition. I personally also really enjoyed the Pineapple Chicken which is part of their new Signature Meals. The pineapple chunks mixed into the rice and veggies really gives the dish some sweetness that none of their other offerings do adding a real exotic flare to it. A big bonus of their new Signature Meals is that they also come with two pieces of gyoza dumplings, another personal favourite of mine. It's hard to dislike anything that gets deep fried, and these gyoza dumplings are no exception.

Teriyaki Experience 2.0 Changes Overview

Made in Japan: Tea & Sweet Shop - Teas

• Sencha and Genmaicha organic loose leaf tea made the traditionally Japanese way (steamed) as opposed to many green teas, which are actually from China (pan-fried)

• Loose leaf teas flown directly from Japan

• Genmaicha green tea has roasted rice!

Made in Japan: Tea & Sweet Shop - Desserts

• Famous fluffy Japanese cheesecake

• Black sesame roll

• Green tea matcha cream puff pastry

• Green tea matcha roll

Upgraded Signature Meals

• Different veggie cuts so the meals are more Instagram-worthy

• Comes with gyoza dumpling

• Bigger veggie portion

• Famous Chicken Teriyaki is now a Signature Meal

Design-Your-Own-Bowls

• Rice and noodle bowls can be customized to guests’ taste

Sushi

• Made fresh everyday

Bento Box

• New menu product – get a bit of everything!

You may be wondering why Teriyaki Experience is making all these changes to its brand. They are actually celebrating 30 awesome years of being in business and to thank all of their customers for their support, Teriyaki Experience wants to give you a chance to win a free meal every week for a year (grand prize will be in the form of an $800 gift card which accommodates one meal per week for fifty-two weeks). All you have to do is enter by clicking HERE to register. The grand prize winner announcement will happen on Wednesday, December 5th in the afternoon via their corporate social profiles.

#LGChuckBites - Tomato Pie Recipe From Chuck Hughes & LG Appliance Showcase

Celebrity Chef Chuck Hughes was in the city last week showcasing some of the latest, most technologically advanced kitchen appliances LG has to offer. Utilizing the LG Stainless Slide in Range with ProBake Convection, Chuck Hughes demonstrated right in front of our eyes how easy it was to put together a delicious and savoury Tomato Pie that is perfect to share around the Christmas dinner table. Speaking of Christmas, the entire time spent watching Chuck work his magic in the kitchen, all I could think of was how I was going to lure my family and friends to get me one of these sleek LG kitchen appliances. I mean it would fit perfectly in my kitchen decor. Honest! 

LG has really stepped up its game recently by releasing their newest generation of kitchen appliances, notably the new LG Black Stainless Slide in Range with ProBake Convection (MSRP $2899.99). Inspired by pro-style ranges, it has a modern, luxurious look that is fingerprint resistant with a finish that easily wipes clean with just a smooth, dry cloth. Its heating element is moved from the bottom of the oven to the back wall for optimal heat distribution, and cleaning has never been easier using EasyClean for just ten minutes.

Watch Chuck Hughes create his Tomato Pie recipe using the LG Black Stainless Slide in Range with ProBake Convection below!

Need a place to store all your tomatoes? Look no further than the new LG Stainless Fridge (MSRP $4899.99). The coolest thing about this fridge has to be its InstaView Door-in-Door with ColdSave Panel built right into it. With just a double tap on the right side door, it instantly lights up allowing you to see what's inside without opening the fridge. Its Slim SpacePlus Ice System is also located on the door, so you end up with more storage space on the top shelf of the freezer.

Watch Chuck Hughes show us the features of the LG Stainless Fridge including the built-in InstaView Door-in-Door with ColdSave Panel below!

Now this Tomato Pie recipe from Chuck Hughes does not require you to have the above LG appliances (although it would be nice to have), so any oven and fridge will do. This savoury pie combines fresh tomatoes, basil, and sweet onions in a delicate phyllo crust with zesty Cheddar topping. It's extremely flavourful and presents very well, yet so easy to put together.

Ingredients

Crust

6 sheets of phyllo
1 cup cold butter, cut up, melted

Filling

6 large field tomatoes, divided
2 tsp kosher salt, divided
1 1/2 cups (6 oz) freshly shredded extra-sharp white Canadian Cheddar cheese
1/2 cup freshly shredded Gruyere cheese
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/2 red onion, sliced paper-thin
Basil leaves
1 tbsp instant tapioca

Directions

Crust

Melt the butter. Lat out 1 sheet of phyllo and brush with clarified butter. Lay another phyllo sheet on top and repeat until you have 6 layers of buttered phyllo sheets

Filling

Cut 4 of the 6 tomatoes into 1/4" thick slices and remove the seeds. Place tomatoes in a single layer on paper towels. Sprinkle with 1 tsp salt. Let stand 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 425F (220C). Stir together Cheddar, Gruyere, mayonnaise, eggs, sugar, salt, and black pepper in a large bowl until combined.

Pat tomato slices dry with paper towel. Sprinkle tapioca over the bottom of the crust. Lightly spread 1/2 cup of the cheese mixture onto the crust. Layer with half of the tomato slices in slightly overlapping rows.

Spread paper-think red onions and basil leaves evenly. Then spread on another 1/2 cup of the cheese mixture.

Repeat layers, using the remaining tomato slices, red onions, basil leaves, and cheese mixture. Cut the remaining 2 tomatoes into 1/4" thick slices and arrange on top of the pie.

Bake at 425F (220C) for 30 - 35 minutes, shielding the edges with foil during the last 20 minutes to prevent excessive browning. Let stand 1-2 hours before serving.

Sudio Sweden

Fond memories of my latest summer's trip to Europe included a stop at the city where the headquarters of this consumer electronic's company is based in. I'm talking about the beautiful city of Stockholm. Sudio Sweden is a lifestyle brand that makes elegant earphones with both studio quality sound and exquisite quality. For people in the food industry like myself, the wireless, hands-free earphones are great to use when in the kitchen.

Their latest, premium model is called Vasa Blå which is a light-weight, wireless, and stunningly crafted headphone with amazing sound quality. They come in 4 different colours (Black, White, Blue, Pink) along with two colour accents (Gold, Rose Gold).

Each headset comes with an exclusive leather carrying case along with its built-in microphone. It's made compatible with all bluetooth devices with up to 8 hours of wireless freedom.

To get your hands on your very own Sudio Sweden headset such as the Vasa Blå, please visit HERE. To all our loyal followers, use the exclusive promo code theeverydayfoodie at check out to receive 15% off your purchase! Sudio Sweden always offers tax-free purchases as well as fast and free worldwide delivery.