The twenty-six half-hour episodes and one-hour documentary special received worldwide attention. Originally, ETA played on public TV stations across Canada, on PBS stations across the United States, in several countries around the world, and many episodes formed part of the inflight entertainment on global airlines and cruise ships.

During its initial run in the United States I received two Emmy® Award nominations – one for the documentary special (Entrée To Asia: The Golden Thread) and one for the series itself. This new website launches the entire package of videos globally via its very own YouTube channel for all to enjoy.

At the moment there are three videos on the channel:

○ Five-minute Press Screener
○ Twelve-minute Pilot Episode
○ One-Hour Special

New half-hour episodes will be encoded and uploaded at the rate of one per week beginning the week of January 1, 2012. That means new video content will be available through the end of June 2012.

Shot entirely on location throughout Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Thailand, Entrée To Asia is still… ‘Travel Television With A Bite!’.

[REW]

In the comment section after the article, let us know what’s been missed. What should be on a list of top culinary trails in Canada? Do you have a favourite? Let us know. We’ll compile our own list based on your comments and publish it here so all that good food doesn’t go to waste.

Now, let’s dig in – in no particular order!

1. Flavours Trail, P.E.I.
Canada’s smallest province is big on culinary experiences. For those who like to eat and do more, this is the place to pick apples, learn to shuck oysters and dig up your own batch of the island’s famous potatoes.

2. Butter Tart Trail, Wellington North, Ontario
Take flaky cups of pastry, top them up with a filling made with butter, raisins, sugar and nuts and you’ve got a quintessential Canadian treat. Along the country roads of the area, you’ll find more than a dozen varieties to sate your appetite.

3. Flavour Trail, Charlevoix, Quebec
Along the shores of the St. Lawrence River, farms and food artisans make the most out of the local agri-bounty, with everything from gourmet ice cream to clay-oven bakeries.

4. Chocolate Trail, Vancouver Island, B.C.
Nibble your way from Victoria (home to Rogers’ Chocolates, a local favourite since 1885) to Tofino for Clayoquot Blackberry Buttercream chocolates from Chocolate Tofino.

5. The Taste Trail, Prince Edward County, Ontario
Looking for the next hot culinary destination? This county, east of Toronto, is impressing serious foodies with its excellent wine, maple syrup and even award-winning hot dogs.

6. The Gourmet Cheese Route, Quebec
Cheese, please! Go ahead and take a bite from delectable creations from over 70 of the province’s cheese artisans, spread over 12 regions.

7. Ontario Craft Beer, Ontario
From southern Ontario to the Ottawa Valley, beer aficionados can sip and sample at 25 microbreweries. Pack up your thirst, pick a designated driver and get exploring!

8. Thompson Okanagan Wine Tour, B.C.
Home to more than 100 wineries, this is the place for wining and dining. It’s a self-guided tour that takes you to large, well-known wineries, as well as small-batch boutique wineries. Just follow the burgundy and white signs, or at a visitor centre, pick up a map or rent a GPS that provides commentary and directions.

9. Icewine Trail, Niagara Region, Ontario
The golden nectar produced by grapes frozen by Mother Nature is as well known around the world as fellow Canadian Celine Dion. More than 20 wineries in close proximity give icewine fans a chance to see the beautiful vineyards responsible for such a sumptuous drink.

10. ??? What’s missing? Let us know below. And bon appetit!

[REW]

Original Article Written By Michele Sponagle – Courtesy of the Canadian Tourism Commission. The text has been modified from the original.

Eating on the road is an opportunity to search for, seek out and to try different foods – meals you might not find at home. Local specialties, for instance, like Rava Dosa at the Tekka Wet Market in Singapore. Or a breakfast of Huevos Motuleños at Cafe Pasqual’s in Santa Fe…

…sorry: drifted off for a moment there.

But diners, especially American establishments, have had a place in the travelers’ psyche since long before cars plied asphalt covered roads and the motor hotel was invented.

Over at AOL’s food website — Slash/Food — they weighed-in (no pun intended) on a TLC program called “Best Food Ever”, and it’s 10-Best List of American Diners.

I’ve actually been to a couple of these places, and if the rest of the list is any indication of terrific food, then I’m definitely adding them to MY personal list. Check it out.

Damn! Now I’m hungry.

[REW] – [Source]

If you live in Vancouver you can easily become blase to the awesome vitality of the place, and especially forgetful of its reputation as a multicultural feast for the taste buds. It’s a well deserved reputation that can get taken for granted even if you do remember that you live in what The Economist magazine has said is the ‘most livable city in the world’ (2009).

To live in a place that was once referred to as a ‘village’ by the late, great ABC Sports commentator Jim McKay, and where to this day geographic confusion continues to reign (just last week AOL’s Gadling travel site referred to Vancouver as being on an island!), it’s worthy of note when someone outside the city says something extraordinary about it… and gets it right. It’s even more impressive when that ’someone’ is The New York Times.

Sam Sifton is one of the Times’ food critics and earlier this week he devoted several pages (online) to the gastronomy of YVR. He’s an excellent writer – you can practically taste the city in the prose. Definitely worth the read!

[REW]

Comments below.

Article and New York Times are Copyright © 2010 The New York Times Company. All Rights Reserved.

Header photo courtesy Kim Stallknecht for The New York Times

I digress. Make notes – have fun.

Pastilla – also called bisteeya – is a delectable multi-layered pie. Although usually made with pigeon (African pigeon is different than its North American cousin), this specialty of Fez also works well with chicken. Pastilla is both savoury and sweet and is wrapped in deliciously thin filo pastry. Not a quick dish to prepare, but well worth the effort.

Pastilla

Sauce/Chicken

2 tbsp oil
1 1/2 lbs grated onion
1 chicken (approx. 3 lbs) cut into pieces
Salt and pepper to taste
4 tsp ground cinnamon
1 bunch parsley
1 bunch coriander (cilantro)
1 tsp. sugar
6 eggs, lightly beaten

Almond Purée

1 2/3 cup peeled almonds
2-3 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp cinnamon
2-3 tsp rose or orange blossom water

Pastry

2 tbsp melted butter
1 lb package, frozen filo pastry

Decoration

3 tsp confectioners sugar
3 tsp cinnamon
2 tbsp Grand Marnier (optional)

Preparing Sauce/Chicken

In a large saucepan, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion and cook until transparent. Add chicken, salt, pepper and cinnamon. Cook approximately 1 hour, turning pieces occasionally. Add parsley and coriander. Cook another 30 minutes, or until meat falls easily off the bone. Remove chicken and set aside. Strain broth, reserving liquid, and return onion, parsley and coriander to the pan, adding back 1 tbsp of liquid. Beat eggs with sugar and add to pan, stirring gently and cooking until ingredients reach the thickness of a purée. Set aside. De-bone and finely shred chicken.

Preparing Almond Purée

Roast the almonds in a lightly oiled pan until brown. Process with cinnamon, sugar and rosewater (or orange blossom water) in blender until fine and moist, but not sticky.


Assembling Pastilla

Grease a 9 inch baking dish with melted butter. Brush 4 rectangular sheets of filo with butter and place in the dish, overlapping layers at angles, like a star. Add a thin layer of chicken followed by the egg and onion sauce, then the almond purée. Cover with 4 more filo sheets, folding edges under. Add another layer of chicken, egg and almond, cover with 4 more filo sheets (in the shape of a star) and continue layering until all the fillings are used up. Brush top with Grand Marnier. Bake in 350ºF oven until pastry is golden brown. Remove from oven, brush again with Grand Marnier and decorate top with a grid of cinnamon and confectioners sugar. Serve immediately.

[CFJ]

Have you ever grabbed recipes on your travels? Tell us about it. Comments below.