Tag: holidays

CINCO DE MAYO

With Easter behind us, a rainy April well under way, and BBQ Season sputtering to a slow start, let’s look forward to one of our favourite “Holidays”, Cinco de Mayo!

For the past 5 years, The Piggy Market has been marking the occasion with tacos, tacos, and more tacos.  With the 5th on a Friday this year, we’re expecting a huge run of tacos, and are producing the following varieties:

Tacos Pastor – Slow Roasted Marinated Pork, with Red Onion, Cilantro, and Pineapple

Tacos Pibil – Banana Leaf wrapped pork, with Pickled Red Onion

Beef Cheek Tacos – Dave’s personal favourite, slow braised beef cheeks, with hot sauce, onion and cilantro.

Lamb Tacos – Braised local lamb, with black bean salsa and crema

Last year, we added Tamales to the list of Cinco de Mayo products, and will most likely do them again this year.  This decision has yet to be made….

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Roasting the Perfect Holiday Turkey

 

The holiday season is here, which means creating wonderful memories with friends and family over delicious food and drinks. We love getting to be a part of different festive celebrations in various communities throughout the city through the fresh and local offerings we provide. Our ready to eat (or simple reheat and eat) options are great, but it’s the things like cooking a turkey to perfection from start to finish which can sometimes be tricky…which is why we want to be as helpful as possible!

Here are some steps to ensure you cook the perfect turkey this holiday:

  • Tuck wing tips underneath body of turkey.
  • With fingers, separate skin from turkey breast. Stuff softened butter under skin.
  • Season the inside cavity of the turkey with salt.
  • Using kitchen twine, cross the legs together and tie them securely.
  • Season turkey all over with freshly ground black pepper.
  • Put turkey into roasting pan. It’s ready to roast.

Important Note: If you’ve brined your turkey cook it for 15 minutes/lb at 350 degrees. Non-brined turkeys should be cooked for 20 minutes/lb at the same temperature. It’s also suggested to cook the turkey breast side down for the first hour and then flip it breast side up for the remainder of the cooking time. Also, if you’re going to make stuffing, cook it on the side; refrain from stuffing your bird before cooking it as raw juices will drop into the stuffing, and you will need to cook the turkey to an internal temperature of 165 degrees, which will overcook the turkey.

Make sure you stop by The Piggy Market this week to get a fresh Scotch Line turkey and our famous stuffing to help make your holiday feast a memorably delicious one!

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Fresh Bread & Pastries: Baking the First Steps

They say no person shall live by bread alone, but we think that it’s a great place to start! Every morning at 4:00 a.m. (or 3, or 2… you never can tell with those crazy bakers), either Julie or Dave arrives at the store to get things started for the day. Honey buttermilk breads, scones, Jamaican patty dough, pie dough, muffins and banana breads for Equator Coffee House; all are made in house from scratch and with love and devotion.

Many of our recipes here at The Piggy Market were handcrafted by us, and go through rigorous testing before we are ever really satisfied with them. Anyone remember the early days of the Jamaican patties, when we were doing them only one day a week?! Or when we started making our now infamous Whole Wheat double chocolate chip cookies (that one went through 20 batches to get perfect!)?

In our kitchen we do our best to minimize unnecessary waste; we love to use things that otherwise would get thrown away. Our beer baguette was made as a way to use spent grains from Kichesippi Brewery, and now holds a special place on many peoples table (It’s also about collaboration). Our Sourdough starter was actually a gift from another bakery, Bread and Sons. Now, we turn it into at least three different sourdoughs of our own, the most popular being the classic white sourdough, with just a touch of whole wheat flour. Once Julie came aboard 1 1/2 years ago, we started experimenting with other breads, and now make challah, ciabatta, and marble rye.

One thing is for sure, we’re always shifting, and experimenting with new things, while keeping the classics around that so many of you come in for. Our breads are now featured at Thyme and Again, and Sutherland Restaurant, and retail at Rainbow Foods, on Richmond Road.

Come on in as early as 7am, to say Hi to the baking team and breath in the wonderful smells!

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