It's so good to hear from you all. It's been a busy one this month. People call the Gord phone with questions such as "How is the bacon shipped?", "Is this the real thing imported from Ontario?", and "How do you cook a peameal roast?". Others have asked us to be their bacon gurus, by helping them find not only peameal bacon but other kinds of bacon. We take those calls from one and all and do our best to answer them. If we don't have the answer when you call, then we'll research it and get back to you. Some of the answers to the questions are listed in the "Frequently Asked Questions" at the top of the page. Check that out first, and if you don't find the answer, just give us a call.

One of our customers ordered peameal for her "Canadian Breakfast", hosted for her family and friends. As an American married to a Canadian, I wondered what went into a "Canadian breakfast". Elizabeth Baird, who authored Classic Canadian Cooking, whet my appetite with this menu for a Leisurely Spring Breakfast:

Rhubarb Compote

or

Fresh Pineapple

Apple Cider Baked Bacon

Scrambled Eggs

Hot Cross Buns Toast

Assortment of:

Strawberry Jam

Pineapple-Rhubarb Conserve

Clover honey

Buckwheat honey

Seville Orange marmalade

Coffee Tea

Sounds pretty tasty to me. I know Gord's peameal will make it fit for royalty!

The last two months found us spending some time in the Big Easy, New Orleans, and Toronto, peameal capital of the world! Both great pork towns. Gord and I like to see what different communities do with pork as we travel around.

In November, it was pretty balmy for a Northerner in New Orleans. We walked around the French Quarter with Jackson Square and the French Market and enjoyed watching the ferry and boats on the Mississippi. It's quite a contrast between old and new (who knew that you need 10 vendors selling sunglasses in the flea market...). It is quite the city for a "foodie". Whether in a chain restaurant or a little local bistro, you'll find yourself enjoying great food. One of our favorites is Cochon, http://www.cochonrestaurant.com/, Chef Donald Link's restaurant. Only a short trip from Canal Street and the French Quarter, in the Warehouse district, you'll find yourself in "comfort food with a contemporary twist" heaven. With appetizers like pork cheeks and entre's such as a "to die for" bacon and oyster sandwich, as well as tender, tender beef brisket and rabbit, you can't go wrong.

December found us in Toronto, with the cold wind blowing in off the Lake. It was great weather for the skaters in Nathan Philips Square. We walked and walked, and were happy to make our way to the St. Lawrence Market, http://www.stlawrencemarket.com/, for the warmth and the food. You'll find cheese (oka cheese, Canadian Black Diamond cheddar), wonderful bakery goods, meats, spices, fresh fruits and vegetables, and a whole lot more. For the true experience, you have to get their early on Saturday morning and enjoy breakfast amid all the hustle and bustle. For Torontonians, it's just Saturday morning shopping as usual as they fill their bags. Gord and I brought home some Wild Boar and Apricot pate' from Quebec on this visit. A visit isn't a visit without a ledgendary peameal sandwich.

That's it for now. Happy Holidays to you and your family! Comments are always welcome at Gord's.

Best Wishes,

Gordette