Comedian’s film on hair his funniest movie…ever?

12:00 am

EVERY YEAR AT the Toronto International Film Festival there’s a public interview with a celebrity. Two years ago, it was Bill Maher (very funny); last year featured Jimmy Carter (not so funny). This year, the guest was Chris Rock.

Rock was in town promoting his film Good Hair, a documentary about the way we, especially the black community, handle the issue of hair. This seemingly lightweight topic actually speaks volumes about politics, race and sexuality. In the film, Rock interviews a myriad of people in the hair industry to explore a topic.

Rock’s the perfect choice. His offhand, casual manner gets us onside before we even begin to realize how subversive it is. Evidently the 12 per cent of Americans that are black consume 80 percent of hair products. Billions of dollars are spent by many at the lower end of the socio-economic spectrum, mostly to straighten naturally curly hair; mostly to look “whiter.”

And the chemicals used are toxic; the long-term effects on the scalp and brain have never been studied. The topic should be serious, but Rock makes it funny.

At the screening, the audience was laughing, but the black members of the crowd were howling, recognizing a world that was uniquely theirs.

“I think it’s my funniest movie,” says Rock, master at stand- up and a hugeTV success, from Saturday Night Live to his hit series Everybody Hates Chris.

Rock’s movie output has not been stellar. Nevertheless, I’ve always been a huge fan. I remember his early stand-up days in NYC: his opening line was, “A hooker said she’d do anything for $50. I said, ‘Fine, paint my house.’”

I was also the first person to put Rock on national television in the U.S., although it was a comic misadventure. When I was producing the Joan Rivers Show, I flew Rock out to do his set. I explained to him that he had to give his last two lines to the bandleader so he could be played off. But when he did the set, I guess he didn’t like the way the audience was reacting, so at the two-minute mark of a six-minute set, he changed gears and did his last joke. The band had no option other than to play him off, hearing their cue. I will never forget the stupefied look on Chris’s face when the music kicked in and he had to leave the stage.

But now he is the subject of much deserved adulation. He sat in his TIFF interview as if he owned the building, legs outstretched in a swank khaki sweater and grey slacks. He talked about his film that was inspired, he said, by his daughter, who asked him, “Daddy, do I have good hair?”

It was a virtuoso performance. He talked about his relationship with Obama (“But I won’t visit him in the White House. Once you get that close, it would be hard to make fun of him.”). And there was a characteristic politically incorrect moment when an East Indian man asked him if he liked India, where some of the film had been shot.

“It was a bit too Slumdog for me,” replied Rock. “You’re lucky. You got out.” The audience applauded, laughed and gasped, all at the same time.

And with that, the afternoon was over. Rock waved to the crowd and disappeared into the sunshine.

Post City Magazines’ humour columnist, Mark Breslin, is the founder of Yuk Yuk’s comedy clubs, and the author of several books, including Control Freaked.

These boots were made for real life

8:39 am

With fall in full swing, it’s hard not to think about footwear. Summer sandals and adorable flats must be put aside (or worn with socks, and let’s face it, you don’t want to be the socks-with-sandals lady, do you?) The answer to fall’s footwear conundrum is, of course, the boot. We featured riding boots in our October issue, but maybe you’re not the crop and bridle type. And the fact is, a stylized leather riding boot that you can wear to the office might not do for walking the dog on the weekend.

No matter how fashionable you are, with the arrival of cooler weather comes a need for solid, outdoor footwear. You want something you can rock while raking leaves, wrapping burlap around your bushes, and yes, walking that dog. And if you’re stylish, you want something that won’t make you look like a frump. Here, a few good options:

1. Dubarry of Ireland’s Country Boots

Dubarry offers wateproof, breathable leather boots in a variety of styles and colours. They’re casual and fashionable at the same time. The Galway Boot (shown) costs $439.00 Buy online at www.dubarry.ca or visit one of the following local stores that carries the brand:

Covet + Crave, 789 King Street West, Toronto, 416-860-9898
The Sign of the Skier, 2794 Yonge Street, Toronto, 416-488-2118
Sporting Life, 2665 Yonge Street, Toronto, 416-485-1611

2. Greenhawk Harness & Equestrian Supplies’ Rubber Boots

Did you know you could get an all-rubber riding boot that looks like leather but offers all the ease of a rain boot (wellington or galosh)? You can. Do as the jockeys do and check out the Auken II Riding Boot, make of 100% rubber. It’s 100% stylish. Visit www.greenhawk.net or:

Greenhawk, 1950 Avenue Rd., Toronto, 416-782-9598

3. La Canadienne’s Annabelle Boot

Keep your tootsies toasty in this adorable, casual option that also happens to be made in Canada. The boot comes in black or camel nubuck with genuine shearling. It’s weatherproof, and has a roll-down collar and a wool liner, so it’s perfect for fall, and for the winter months to come.Visit www.lacanadienne.ca or check out the brand’s options at any of the following:

Harry Young Shoes, 1421 Yonge St., Toronto, 416-924-4431
Eye On Fashion, 9665 Bayview Ave #12, Richmond Hill, 905-780-9098
Feet First, Promenade Shopping Centre, 1 Promenade Centre, Thornhill, 905-707-6274

Going cold turkey

1:19 pm

Thanksgiving is upon us, and the first word that comes to my mind is “turkey.”

Many of us are usually intimidated by just the thought of cooking a 10- to 20-pound bird, which is quite different from our traditional dinners of a three-pound chicken! But once you have a few foolproof techniques of roasting and stuffing a turkey, the size won’t matter and you’ll always end up with a moist, perfectly cooked bird.

I prefer to purchase a fresh turkey for the flavour, but frozen is fine if necessary. Just be sure to thaw in refrigerator, which will take about 48 hours for a 10-pound turkey. Naturally there will be lots of leftovers, so toss them into your soups, stews, sandwiches and salads. If a turkey is too large for your family, try the boneless breast, which is actually lower in calories and fat than chicken. Here are some recipes to try.

Turkey Roast with Pine Nuts

Fall Turkey Scallopini

Sesame Turkey Fingers

Rose’s Tip:

For a perfect bird this Thanksgiving, you should first decide the number of guests you will be having, and if preparing a whole turkey, plan on about 1-1/2 pounds for each person. There are a number of especially great spots to pick up a fresh turkey for your holiday table.

Cumbrae’s is my favourite and it offers the “bronze turkey,” which has a richer flavour than a typical white turkey. Another great place to try is Beretta Organic Farms (they offer online ordering). And of course, the St. Lawrence Market has a long history of offering quality birds from White House Meats.

Post City Magazines’ culinary columnist, Rose Reisman, is author of 17 cookbooks, a TV and radio personality and a health and wellness expert. Visit Rose at www.rosereisman.com.

Campground sommelier’s greatest challenge

11:49 am

Why do six seemingly intelligent men, mainly senior citizens, voluntarily subject themselves to the following indignities?

1) Sleeping cheek by jowl in a Stalag 17–style hut

2) Having to trek 30 yards uphill through sand to reach the outdoor privy and shower

3) Sitting for eight hours a day swarmed by squadrons of black flies the size of smart cars and mosquitoes that sound like Ferraris

4) Bouncing on bone-jarring waves in motorized canoes to reach rapids an hour’s ride from camp

And all of the above in pursuit of the elusive Arctic char, the king of fish. But the elements, the discomfort, the bites and the cold, all of this is forgotten the moment there is an exhilarating tug on your line.

We are 1,000 miles north of Montreal in Nunavik. We flew to Kuujjuaq and then boarded a Twin Otter with all our gear, including the cases of wine, for the 112-mile flight north west to Sammy Cantafio’s Ungava Adventures camp.

There is nothing here but a landing strip in the tundra and a cluster of cabins. The only communication with the outside world is by radio. A generator provides the power for lighting and heating. But the night sky has more stars than I have seen anywhere, and occasionally the universe puts on a dramatic display of northern lights at 3 a.m.

I am the rookie of the group. This is my 12th year of fishing with Steve, Sam, Art, Leo and Harold. The others have been fishing together for two decades.

With the passage of time, certain aspects of these trips have become ritualized. Steve, an amateur chef, cooks all the shore lunches on a Coleman stove when we’re above the treeline or on an open fire if we’re not. Leo makes the Bloody Marys for happy hour. Art brings his wife Ellie’s amazing cookies. Sam brings the wine from his Aladdin’s cave of a cellar. Harold brings the malt whisky and I, well, I’m the sommelier and historian.

The guides, who are used to fried fish, chips and beans think we’re weird with our shore lunches that last for two hours, accompanied by three bottles of wine (served in plastic wine glasses. But then, a fine wine will taste good even out of a Wellington boot).

And, of course, we fish, casting lines until our backs ache and our hands are numb. When we pack up at the end of the week, we are already discussing where we will go next year. It’s the best therapy there is.

Wines to serve with fresh fish:

Lone Kauri Sauvignon Blanc 2008, $14.95
Feudo Arancio Grillo 2008, $11.95
Hillebrand Artists Series Unoaked Chardonnay 2008, $10.95
Château des Charmes Chardonnay White Label 2007, $11.45
Flat Rock Cellars Estate Riesling 2008, $16.95

Mark McEwan's blog: My game is rabbit

9:50 am

mcewan headshot

For me one of the main things that makes the advent of fall easier to take — even after a lousy summer like this one — is starting to think about fall foods and the end of year harvest. Of course, I savour the lightness of spring cooking and the simplicity of a meal designed for the heat of high summer. But after a few months of that I’m definitely ready for game meats, roasts, braises, and full-flavoured root vegetables.

I guess I like it all and just think that we are lucky here to have such distinct seasons that the food we eat changes so much all year long. Now matter what I’m enjoying at the time, the calendar for the weeks ahead is loaded with other things to look forward to. Right now, we’re in transition, with warm days and chilly nights.

At this time of year I like braised stews on the lighter end of the spectrum. Beef short ribs and even veal can wait for colder weather. Right now for me it’s about whiter meats like poultry — and nothing quite so much as rabbit. It’s such a great, underappreciated meat. Tasty, but lean, and when you braise it right, exceptionally tender.

At the store right now we’re doing a variation on a dish of braised rabbit with grainy mustard sauce that I started trying to perfect for North 44 nearly a decade ago. It’s a contemporary riff on the classic French lapin sauce moutarde that’s no less tasty but a whole lot leaner because we’ve gotten rid of the cream component. Instead, we get the creaminess in the sauce from the rabbit itself by braising it so long that it’s ready to fall off the bone.

Right now, I can’t think of a more perfect takeout meal and I’m really happy that my team at the store is getting the dish so right.

Celebrity chef Mark McEwan is the force behind some of Toronto’s finest restaurants, including Bymark, North 44 and One Restaurant. His latest venture, McEwan, is a gourmet food market at the Shops at Don Mills.

From bored-room to bedroom

4:04 pm

Usually this column is about women pampering themselves. But, occasionally, even the most pampered of princesses should probably acknowledge that special someone in our life and even go out of our way to give that someone a little pampering. What’s that phrase? Pay it forward?

This is why I head to Good for Her, for a seminar called, How to Drive Your Man Wild with Pleasure. Good for Her, located on Harbord Street, is described on its website as “Toronto’s cozy, comfortable place where women and their admirers can find a variety of high quality sex toys, books, DVDs, workshops, sensual art, and much more,” which is definitely a better way to describe it than as a “sex shop.” I’ve walked by Good for Her hundreds of times, but have never been inside. I’m surprised when, as soon as I enter, I’m offered a cup of tea, as if I’m — la-di-da — visiting a great aunt.

Carlyle Jansen founded Good for Her 12 years ago and explains she purposely designed the store to feel like a home.

There are chairs in the book section at the front of the store, cozy curtains and even a chair for breast-feeding mothers. In fact, it feels like an indie bookstore or cute gift shop.

“We recognize that people are nervous when they come in, and giving them a cup of tea gives them something to clutch onto,” she says.

The seminar I’m about to attend — led by Rebecca Rosenblat-Billings, a TV and radio host who specializes in relationships and sexuality — usually sells out, as it has tonight.

“Women want to please their partners,” she says. “They want to be better and there’s always more to learn.” She leads me around the quaint store and shows me products. Is that really a vibrator masked as a rubber ducky? When did sex toys get such cute names, like Liv and Mia? Oh, that’s the one featured on Sex and the City!

The seminar takes place on the upper level of the store. Jansen says all types of women sign up. (As the 16 seats fill up, I see this is true. There are women ranging from their 20s to their 50s.

“Some are recently divorced,” she tells me. “Some are in dead sexual relationships. Some have had their children just move out, and now they’re looking at each other and thinking, ‘Now what?’ They realize sex is important.”

The truth is, I don’t have to be here. Good for Her also hosts house parties all over the city including in Rosedale, Forest Hill and many in the 905 area code.

“We do a lot of bridal showers, birthday parties, divorce parties and even book clubs,” she says. Jansen says that house parties are a bonding experience for friends. “Many have dinner first and have wine, which is always a good social lubricant to loosen things up. There’s always a lot of laughing.”

Most women at the house parties, she says, have the children all day and are exhausted by night. So when their partners come looking for a little action, they’re like, “You’ve got to be kidding me!”

Women, at house parties, she says, get “really excited” to try out sex toys, including harnesses, something they’d never even look at outside the privacy of their own homes. And there is a lot of, “I’m not the only one!” going on when it comes to talk of, shall we say, the big O or lack thereof.

A home party is a bargain. Good for Her charges $10 a person, with a minimum of 12 people. “And we don’t push products.”

I learn a lot during the seminar, some of which I’d love to pass on but can’t think of how to describe it without giving this magazine an R rating. However, I did learn that, while it’s OK to listen to music when you’re fooling around, as you get to the actual sex part, the music should be turned off.

“Kill the music,” explains Rosenblat-Billings, who reeks of sexuality, in her skin-tight black pants and red heels. “Your man will start singing the lyrics in his head and not pay attention to what’s happening.”

I learn that men love dirty talk and that any “food-related” words, like “suck” “lick” “slurp,” said in a husky voice, should do the trick. (Men also like to hear, “Just like that!” “Just like that!”)

She explains that men are very visual and goal-oriented (ha!), so doing a striptease dance, while wearing lots of layers, is a surefire way of turning them on. “Don’t let him touch you at first. He has to be trained, like a dog,” she says.

“The longer you prolong the experience, bringing him close to the edge but not quite letting him spill over, the stronger his orgasm will be.”

Rosenblat-Billings gets into details that I would never have thought of, such as how important it is to size shoes properly. “Toe to heel divided by two will give you a heel height that won’t cause injury,” she says. And, I learn that men’s ears are androgenic sites.

And what is Jansen’s best advice for pleasing partners in bed? “Enthusiasm!” she answers.

All the seminars can be taught at home parties. But I have to ask why there isn’t a course called, How to Drive Your Woman Wild with Pleasure. Jansen admits there is the occasional seminar but that it’s harder to get men to come out.

“It’s like how they don’t like asking for directions.”

Purest water in the world here in Ontario

3:31 pm

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” — Margaret Mead, anthropologist

Margaret mead’s words came to mind when I recently heard about a victory for the citizens of Tiny Township and the area in Simcoe County, Ont. The people banded together to stop a garbage dump from being built on one of the purest sources of water on the planet — the Alliston aquifer, a subterranean lake that stretches from Georgian Bay to the Oak Ridges Moraine.

The aquifier is the source of drinking water for local residents, and it provides cold water to the Wye River and wetlands, which support wildlife species.

Citizens in the area argued for nearly 30 years that the provincial government should explore other options to manage the region’s garbage, such as composting programs, upgrades to existing landfills, and improved recycling. But local authorities and the Ontario Environment Ministry gave the go-ahead for a solid waste landfill to be built in and on top of the Alliston aquifer, on a parcel of land known as Site 41.

We have a tendency to ignore the costs of disposing of garbage. We create waste, greenhouse gas, and other forms of pollution, and then we bury them in the ground.

Site 41 became a flashpoint of conflict this summer when area residents peacefully blockaded the landfill site. As the blockade dragged on and the number of people being hauled off to jail increased, the “grassroots” battle to close Site 41 attracted the support of the “grass-tops” — powerful organizations such as the Council of Canadians and the David Suzuki Foundation. I was impressed by the skills and courage of the citizens of Tiny Township and local First Nations in trying to protect our precious drinking water.

How this dump got approved in the first place boggles the mind. Experts say that for the landfill to be built 225 million litres of groundwater could have to be pumped out. Over the life of the landfill, more would have to be pumped out to maintain the dump’s structural integrity.

Landfills can be the preferred solution for garbage because the costs seem low, when compared to other methods, but we fail to include the costs dumps incur when they degrade our natural services. When these services are degraded, they must be replaced with expensive substitutes, such as water-filtration plants.

The government approved a one-year moratorium on the Site 41 landfill. This shows that people who join together for a common cause can affect the choices of corporations and governments. The backhoes at Site 41 are silent — for now. Let’s hope that politicians continue to listen to the people and work to find better ways to deal with our waste.

Franco Mirabelli's blog: The perfect suit

9:45 am

For those of you that know me, I often pop into my shops to see what customers are trying on and liking… and sometimes, not liking.

Recently, I was in our new Mirabelli Bayview Village location and a customer began telling me that she had been out of the workforce for the past three years having a family. She said she was now returning to her former job as a lawyer at one of the downtown law offices and that it was time for her to “dress up” and start to wear a suit to work again.

So the search was on to find the ultimate cool suit for her so that she could walk into the office and make a statement that she was back and ready for work. It had to be something that would make her feel confident and still allow her to be taken seriously by her colleagues and clients.

I always like to show options and different ways of wearing my designs. I pulled out two pant suits in two different fabrics for her to try plus two skirts in the same fabrics. To me, great suits always come with an interesting jacket, a great pant that can be worn with a shirt or sweater on its own, and a pencil skirt for days when you want to feel feminine while wearing your suit.

The first suit had a fine black stripe and was made of wool with a Lycra blend. We teamed the mid-hip length two-button jacket with multi-seam detail over a skinny almost mannish pant with a cuff and tied it all together with a fitted stretch shirt with black-and-white stripes.

This look — very menswear inspired — seemed to give her confidence. She looked sexy and powerful all at once. She was sold on it, but I wasn’t done with her just yet. There was still another suit to be tried on and I thought this could be another option even though it was an entirely different look.

The second suit was made of a viscose-blend with Lycra in a small and very subtle glen check, with a plum yarn running through it. The jacket was short with an asymmetrical collar and kimono sleeves. The pant was slim around the waist and hips but had a wider leg. When we looked at this jacket with the pencil skirt, we went “mad” alla “Mad Men.”

She looked at me and told me to pick the suit she should get and that although she loved both, she wasn’t going to buy both. I couldn’t decide, she looked great and completely different in both suits. We came to a stalemate until she came up with a brilliant idea. Let her husband decide. So she made the phone call.

The solution was made in a second: he told her to listen to Franco and buy the two outfits and that after three years of minding the family, she deserved them both. A win-win situation for all of us. A happy customer and a new home for pieces from my collection.

With three corporate stores in Toronto, Franco Mirabelli continues to distinguish himself as one of Canada’s strongest fashion talents. Keep up with him by following his weekly blog at PostCity.com or by visiting mirabelli.com.

Patrick McMurray's blog: No reservations

12:59 pm

Ah, the plight of the restaurateur. To reserve a table for someone you don’t even know or don’t reserve and hope that people will come in through the door — without the security of having a table ready.

When reservations are taken in advance, it helps the restaurant plan with regards to product and staffing to better run the business. You can direct customers to other times that are available to potentially turn the tables over. You can also make sure that your regular clients can get that special service: their favourite table at the time they want, a special table setting, or some food and bevies ready for their arrival. It’s the little things that count.

Then there are the dreaded factors of reserving a table for people — cancellations, and no shows. If you can’t make it, cancelling is great and highly advisable because it allows for the restaurant to book the table or give it to that couple that just walked in at 7:30 p.m. on a Friday. But cancelling five minutes before your reserved time, although appreciated, makes it difficult for the restaurant to re-book. It is, however, better than the evil no-show.

Yes, I know that you all think that this practice of not showing for a reservation died out in the resto-heyday of the eighties, but I assure you that it is alive and well. The practice has an increased occurrence towards the weekend — Friday and Saturdays especially. As you would think, the restaurant quite often will lose out completely on a no-show as we have let the table sit for an (unwritten) customary 15-30 minutes "late grace period." After that, the table is released from purgatory, and sat at its earliest convenience, which is usually the next night.

This past Saturday was the latest event for myself, and one that was most interesting, as I was able to catch Mr. Reservation on the phone, after my grace period.

I booked a table for six people at 7 p.m. when Mr. Reservation called at noon. I called Mr.Reservation at 7:30 p.m.. I always ask to make sure that I did not write the reservation down on the wrong day.

"Oh no, we were going to come in today, but then when we got together, we decided not to go out. I was going to call…"

I turned away four potential tables that night that could have had Mr. Reservation’s table, had he actually decided to call and cancel, even five minutes before 7 p.m. Loss of potential sales is $3-500. To me it’s not the money, but it is the fact that I had to say no to people who wanted to come out.

Now what can be done about this? Restaurateurs have many methods to help stop the no-show. Calling to confirm the reservations on the day is what would be done with most places with a hostess. In New York, a credit card is taken to reserve, with the knowledge that if you do not call to cancel, you will be charged a fee — usually $30-50 per person. I have done this once — on Valentine’s Day — and I actually called the no show with regards to their naughtiness but I never charged the card. The time it takes to record the number, and explain the reason, makes this type of reserving an ordeal for both parties.

For me I think it is common sense — you call to book the reservation, you call then to cancel, or change your booking. My gosh can it be that simple? I know that 98 per cent of the dining population reserves correctly, and we encourage you to keep up the good work! If we could just get through to the other 2 per cent.

Shuckingly yours, Patrick

Patrick McMurray is the owner of Starfish Oyster Bed & Grill and The Ceili Cottage. He is also a World Champion Oyster Shucker. Catch his blog weekly at PostCity.com.

Biana Zorich and Marc Thuet's blog: Grandma's Thanksgiving stuffing

2:26 am

Seems like just days ago we were blogging about the start of September and now it’s already October! Time is flying.

We’re just about at the halfway mark on Conviction Kitchen (airing Sunday nights at 10 p.m. on CityTv). It’s still a surreal experience watching the show. The upside is all the feedback we’ve been getting from folks all across the country who are tuning in. It’s great fun to hear people’s (very diverse) reactions to the show.

The first episode where Marc demonstrated how to butcher a lamb was certainly a polarizing moment for many. Stay tuned for more drama to come…

Like most Torontonians, we’re finding it hard to say goodbye to summer, especially in a year like this when the weather was so uncooperative. We spent some very rainy days at a cabin up North with the kids. While it made for some very successful fishing expeditions, the arrival of Fall seems a bit hurried. As we prepare to pack up the patio, it’s time to start thinking about pumpkins, pies and all the goodness associated with the harvest season.

I have a hunch that we’re not the only ones who are caught off-guard by the quick dip of the thermometer that’s thrust us firmly into autumn. At Petite Thuet we’re quickly gearing up to help out with holiday celebrations.

Marc’s created a Thanksgiving menu featuring traditional favourites available to simply take home and heat such as: roasted Ontario butternut squash potage, slow roasted and maple glazed ham, Ontario heirloom beets, goat cheese, orange segments, and maple pumpkin seed salad, and, of course, slow roasted turkey with crab apple stuffing and a less obvious but mouth-watering option, Beef Wellington.

To help take the guesswork out of your Thanksgiving meal prep there’s two full-course options ranging from $26 to $28 per person, in addition to an extensive menu of a la carte items. All dinners come in oven-ready containers and cooking instructions. Our best advice is to order early and enjoy the holiday!

Marc wanted to share one of our favourite family recipes of the season. When he was a young boy in Alsace, during the hunting season, the children were in charge of picking the apples in the orchards. These apples were used for numerous preserves, sweet sauces, desserts and his grandmother’s favourite stuffing made with apples, boudin noir and chestnuts. Marc still uses her recipe for this special dish. We hope your family enjoys it as much as ours.

Roasted goose studded with crab apples, boudin noir and foie gras

Servings: 4 to 6

Ingredients:

1 goose (3kg)
150g crab apples, peeled and cut in half
6 boudin noir
100g of raw foie gras
6 shallots, finely chopped
1 sprig of sage, snipped
120g butter
3oz aged Calvados Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

Soak the crab apples with the aged Calvados and set aside for 2 hours.
Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
Sauté the shallots, boudin noir and apples in half of the butter for 8 minutes. Add sage.
Softened the other half of the butter and set aside.
Stuff the goose with the apple, boudin noir and shallot mixture and the seasoned foie gras.
With the meat, sewing needle and butcher string, close the back of the bird.
Massage the bird with salt and pepper and the other half of softened butter.
Place it in a roasting pan and place in the oven.
Cook for 40 minutes per kilogram.
Baste as often as possible and the last 30 minutes, baste with hidromel (or replace with a mixture of honey and vinegar).

To dress:

Open the goose and take out the apples, boudin noir and foie gras.
Place the bird in the middle of a serving platter with the garnishes around.

Bon Appétit!

World-renowned executive chef, Marc Thuet, and his wife and business partner, Biana Zorich, will be blogging weekly for PostCity.com about their new show and restaurants.

Wendy Woods' blog: Wrap it up

2:00 am

I was thrilled to discover Lola and Gigi! This online and by appointment boutique caters to women size 12+ who are searching for high quality pieces that look good on their bodies. After perusing the online pictures, I decided I really wanted to have the full senses experience — feel the fabrics, and see the true colours of these beautiful garments. I immediately booked my appointment with Laura, the bubbly and style savvy owner, and made my way north to her 427 and Finch location.

The trip was well worth it! I immediately fell in love with two designers – Anna Scholz and Melissa Masse — who both have collections filled with glorious dresses. Of particular interest to me was this Anna Scholz silk wrap dress with bright yellow lilies that is perfect for a tall curvy woman who wants a piece that can go from day to evening.

The David Kahn jeans also caught my eye, as this is a popular brand I recommend to all my clients with hips. Lola and Gigi is the only store in Canada that carries David Kahn jeans in plus sizes — sweet!

If you’re a 12+ woman who tends to make a clothing purchase only “because it fits”, Lola and Gigi will change the way you shop. At this fabulous boutique, you will fill your change room with pieces that not only fit, but that you love!

Always on the lookout for Toronto’s best boutiques!

Wendy

As a personal style coach with THE REFINERY, Wendy Woods translates the world of fashion into a personal style that makes her clients shine! A true expert in her field, Wendy has been featured on CosmoTV, SunTV, CTS, Sweetspot, BlogTO, Yummy Mummy, Modern Urban Mom Magazine — amongst others. She holds workshops at boutiques around the GTA, for students at McMaster University, York University and Seneca College. Through Wendy’s guidance, her clients discover their own REFINED. sense of style and a new found confidence in themselves.

Robert J. Sawyer

10:32 am

The idea for one of fall’s biggest TV shows was born of the high school memories that sifted through Robert J. Sawyer’s modest Thornhill condominium 14 years ago.

Sawyer, then a struggling science fiction writer, was hosting a 20-year reunion for his Northview Heights Secondary School science fiction club.

As he and his friends reminisced, it occurred to Sawyer that none of them, himself including, had ended up where they thought they’d be.

One man was supposed to be a cop; he became a cordon bleu chef. Another wanted to be a movie director and instead worked as a legal counsel for the Hudson’s Bay Company. Sawyer, who always thought he’d write sci-fi as a hobby, didn’t exactly live up to his dreams of dusting dinosaur bones as a paleontologist.

“Everybody who came to that party — and I mean everybody — was saying the same thing. If I’d only known 20 years ago what I know now, today, my life would have been better,” recalls Sawyer.

That’s when the light bulb went off in Sawyer’s outer-worldly mind, and he had the premise of his next novel, Flashforward: what would happen if we could see our own futures?

Two years later, Sawyer finished the book and sent it to his agent in L.A. Eventually, the novel found its way into the hands of Brannon Braga, who produces 24, and David S. Goyer, who wrote Batman Begins. From there, it was a short step to becoming a TV series.

Flashforward premiered on Sept. 24 on ABC, first in its time slot, beating out ratings juggernaut Survivor by 1.3 million viewers. The show, filmed in L.A., stars Joseph Fiennes (Shakespeare in Love) and John Cho (Star Trek) as two of the men who glimpse their futures six months ahead — and grapple with the notion of whether destiny can be avoided.

“To have it go in front of the cameras is quite literally like winning the lottery,” Sawyer says.

He rose to sci-fi fame in 1996 after his book The Terminal Experiment won The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America’s Nebula Award for best novel of the year (what Sawyer calls the “Academy Award of the science fiction field.”

Since then, he’s been on the Globe and Mail’s best-seller list for Calculating God, and Flashforward won a Canadian science fiction Aurora Award. In total, he’s written 19 science fiction books, and is currently working away on his twentieth, Wonder. Science fiction, says Sawyer, is a genre that interests him because it asks the big questions, with Flashforward being no exception.

“The question of whether or not even having foreknowledge would even allow us to evade our destinies is, I think, one that people find profoundly interesting,” says Sawyer, today, from his upgraded digs in Mississauga where he’s lived since 2000.

“Who doesn’t have some degree of cold feet on their wedding day, wondering if they’re making a mistake? Is this person the right person? When you choose this job or that job, this house or that house, this major or that major in university, every one of us would want to know: ‘Am I making the right choice?’ It’s a universally compelling question.”

Sawyer’s personal belief is that, like physics, fate is fixed. He compares one’s destiny to the end of a movie that’s already been written.

He just wishes someone had told him that 20 years ago.

“I would have been much happier to know what my future held. Twenty years ago, which would have been now going back to 1989, is just when I was packing up and getting ready to move to Thornhill. My first novel hadn’t yet been published or sold 20 years ago. It sold early in 1990. In fact, I sold my first novel just after moving to Thornhill,” he says.

“I had an enormous amount of self-doubt about whether I was doing the right thing, pursuing this dream of making my living as a writer.”

Sawyer was born in North York in 1960 and came of age during the space race. He remembers watching 2001: A Space Odyssey and Planet of the Apes with his father and being intrigued by the prospect of something beyond his North Toronto life.

“It looked very much to me, as a young man, as a young boy, that the future of humanity was going to be in space and was going to involve science and technology. So I was naturally drawn to writing stories about those things, about what the future was going to hold,” he says.

In 1975, as a student at Northview Heights, he formed the science fiction club where he met his future wife, Carolyn Clink. After graduation, he worked as a freelance journalist in the 1980s, writing for the Toronto Star and the Financial Post, among others. But Sawyer wasn’t satisfied with ephemeral stories and decided to try his hand at full-time science fiction writing.

Thornhill, it turns out, was a great place to start. Near to his Bathurst Street and Centre Street condo — called Forest Hill North, which was also the titular inspiration for the Forhilnor aliens in Calculating God — was Sci-Fi World, then Canada’s largest science fiction bookstore, at Steeles and Dufferin. There was also the Vaughan Public Library and a Chapters Superstore, at Steeles and Yonge, where Sawyer spent many a day during his eight years in the area, from 1992 to 2000, perusing the competition.

But mostly, it was a place far from the fantasy worlds he chronicles.

“Thornhill is, was, a wonderful place to be a writer,” says Sawyer.

“A writer may write about exciting places, but a writer needs peace and quiet to get his or her work done. And Thornhill certainly afforded that while having the advantage of being so very close to the hubbub of downtown Toronto when I needed to go there.” Not to mention a trip or two to L.A. where Flashforward is currently under production. Sawyer, who’s visited the set, has been consulted on all episodes and will pen number 16, if it gets picked up for another season. He’s also shared a lunch date with star Joseph Fiennes.

“It is very exciting. The actors are fabulous,” he says of his recent visit. “It’s been an experience that has brought literally tears to my eyes as I watched it happening on the set.”

As for the future, Sawyer doesn’t have any plans to rush off to Hollywood just yet. Or ever, for that matter.

“I can’t stand the air quality in L.A. I can’t stand the heat in L.A. I can’t stand the traffic in L.A.,” he says. “Greater Toronto will always be my home. I love this area.”

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