A GOOD REASON TO SAY MACKESON

i feel somewhat blasphemous doing this, but i knew the job was difficult when i took it. it's no secret that we're guinness drinkers over here, so it might shock a few that we're actually saying the word mackeson on the blog.

well truth be told, in a realm such as this, we're equal opportunity. so when i was given the choice of stag bread or mackeson bread at maria's bakery, i opted for the only available stout option. decided to take one for the team.

turns out that things could have been much worse. it was actually a nice bun. taking one for the team wasn't bad at all. though it was a hefty bread that was very filling (it was part of a relatively big breakfast that rallied me through the entire day!!) the price tag puts this in luxury class for me. at $25, this will have to be a once in a while treat. i mean, i think two people can share it if done right, but that's still a good bit of coin to put down on a round. now the bun i got (yes, got as in got a free sample. thanks for the generosity) was from the daily display, so there is a chance that the price tag might be the loaf price. we'll double check and let you all know.

following the recommendation of the sales rep (my bad fuh not getting her name but... more times fuh dat), i wanted to try it with something cheesy, so i whipped up some cheesy scrambled eggs with a few strips of turkey bacon at the side. i also toasted the round a little for no reason other than i like a lil crisp to my bites. it did go well with the sharpness of the cheese as it had that bitter sweet stout flavor. not the alcohol flavor, but the dark, roasted aftertaste you get from stout. it worked in this situation. i think it could also be nice at the side of a spicy chili bowl topped with cheddar. or even with a flavorful stew. i would imagine the beer versions might do well with a soup.

i would have preferred the flavor of guinness bread more (which they also make) because i don't really like the sweetness of mackeson, but that is purely a preference thing. it was a good bun with the right texture and flavor for a bread of that nature. if nothing else, it got me interested in finding out how the guinness and the stag versions would do. if you happen to be interested as well, you have to place an order to have it made as it's a specialty item. i think i'll be placing one soon.

o' what a meal

here's the thing. rostant ddb is on murray street. it's an ad agency. what's funny about that is murray street is known mostly for prostitution. in case you don't get the joke as yet, let me explain. a lot of people think that artists and writers who work at ad agencies prostitute themselves by using their skills to sell products. get it now? so basically, despite what we believe, there are people who think that after the ladies of the night do their thing, we come in and pick up the day shift. it doesn't help that people read the degree sign at the end of the ddb logo as an "o". after a tshirt design that featured the degree sign on the front, the agency got the nickname "the murray street o's". that's a laugh and a half if you ask me. so when the idea of entering the red bull flugtag came up, we couldn't pass up the opportunity to poke some fun at ourselves.

boom!! there goes the team.

and we have characters too. but wait!! this is a food blog. what does this have to do with food? well, we thought it would be cool to give our supporters a chance to contribute/celebrate our effort with us, so we planned a number of... ahmm... tasty events. the first one was a friday lasagna lunch made by the queen bee herself lorraine rostant.

we're talkin about hearty lasagna done the right way. a rich cheese sauce, succulent minced beef and spinach. heavy on the italian flavors.

we also had fresh home made rolls with a home made garlic butter. they were one notch away from stealing the spotlight they were so good. almost everyone commented on how delicious they were. i mean, people went for seconds of bread alone.

boxed up with a fresh salad, it was a $40 box of justice. support probably never tasted that good. but with a squad like the o's, you really can't expect much less.

thanks to all who supported. lunches were sold out in no time flat. and sorry to those who didn't get to partake this time around. don't worry, you'll get another chance soon. stay tuned for the next lunch session, the pre-victory after work lime and the post-victory after work lime. (yeah, i said it... we bong to win!)

link up on the facebook page:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Murray-Street-Os/179339082121606

the group too:

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_208364545866821&ref=ts

and vote for the o's at:

http://www.redbullcaribbean.com/cs/Satellite/en_CAR/Red-Bull-Flugtag---Team-Profiles/001242938124535

because o's need love too!

give us this day a tasty bread

i never had a sweet tooth, but once in a while something would trip the sugar rush switch to the on position. this time, miss estephanie did the trick with her wholesome version of the sweet bread we know.

i got her orange-cranberry-walnut bread, but she has a variety of options like coconut-raisin, banana-walnut, carrot-walnut and more, all made with thoughtful ingredients and 50% less sugar than regular sweet bread. check out her label above.

the bread is solid. firm but moist. it has the kind of sweetness i enjoy, which is the natural sweet from the fruits. plus the bran, wheat and oats balance the flavours off nicely. so it's just sweet enough. i'll say yuh should call the number on the label and get yuh hands on a loaf or two.

i found out about this bread via my friend nicole, who happens to be miss estephanie's daughter. it's been a topic on facebook for the week thanks to another friend, richard, who made it his business to showcase the various slices he purchased and all the things he topped them with. so i promised that when i got my loaf, i would offer a creation.

so i cut up my slice.

did that so i could manipulate it into this little glass. looked like a good way to control the portion size.

next, i put a layer of this land o' lakes light whipped cream. it's not that sweet, but made with real milk and cream so it's tasty.

then i added some chilled chunky mixed fruit for the flavour and the texture.

topped it off with another layer of the bread and that was it. a nice sensible dessert. thanks for the link up nicole. thanks for the inspiration richard. thanks for the bread miss estephanie...

leh we bubble

a crazy egg loaf

i've mentioned this more than once before in certain circles and got those looks that say "you're crazy. that can't be done." well crazy maybe, but it can be done, and if you actually give it a little thought, you can put your own twist and make it taste really good too. check it out.


i put six eggs in a bowl. simple enough right?



yuh know me with lime. gots to have it.



seasoned the eggs up with some salt, black pepper, all purpose and garlic powder.




next i put in some chopped pimento, onion and chive



now this is where one might think it gets crazy for some reason... i don't know why. anyway, how about some flour, baking powder and a lil yeast?


after mixing them in, making sure everything was well integrated into a smooth mixture, i added some parmesan and some cheddar cheese. mixed that in as well. it ends up looking like a rich cake batter. still smooth and fluid, but with a little body to it.




next step, cover it down and let it sit there for a bit, while the oven heats up.




greased up my trusty pyrex dish with a little touch of vegetable oil. just enough for the loaf not to stick while it cooked. then into the warm oven it went.




this is the loaf that came out. soft, even brown crust with a light, fluffy inside. not to mention a tempting, cheesy aroma.




the only problem is, i'm not quite sure how to use it. it's cool at breakfast with sausage or deli slices and a lil pepper sauce on the side. my father was suggesting that it could be served with a savory ketchup based something like a dip. i was even thinking about making a herb oil with shadon beni, basil and olive oil, drizzling it over a couple slices and trying it with a fresh salad. we'll see. but for now, let's just say it can be done and leave it at that. the real lesson here... doh knock it until yuh try it.

leh we bubble.