A Maritime Kitchen Party

My friend and fellow blogger Leah (we’ve hung out in real life, I can call her a legit friend now!) wrote an excellent post the other day titled “10 Reasons I Stop Following Your Blog.”

Number 3 in the countdown is “You Don’t Drink.” To quote:

Ok, not really. But kinda. It’s the same sort of thing as #4. If you don’t get down, I really can’t relate to you. And if I can’t relate to you, chances are I’m going to lose interest. And I like reading blogs where I know you can cut loose and have a grand time. I also love hearing about hangovers. I can’t help it. It gives me so much satisfaction – it makes me know I’m not alone in the world of lush’s.

So it is with this, and Leah, in mind that I present you the following post…

You can take the Maritimers out of the Maritimes, but you can’t take the Maritimes out of the Maritimers.

As I explained in my beer-filled dinner party post, Maritimers have an affinity for alcohol. The rest of Canada seems to think we drink a lot. Which is almost insulting. Until you learn it’s true. Kind of like how the world sees Ireland. Fitting, as most of us are Irish anyways.

The real reason we gathered wasn’t just to drink. I’d say about 50% of my university’s journalism class ended up in Toronto. As much fun as we have in the “big city,” there are some things from back home that we miss. Especially from our party-hardy university days.

So we deemed Saturday “Maritime Day” filled with East Coast food, drinks and tunes done the way we would have waybackwhen.

That includes donairs.

Probably most comparable to a gyro, but invented in Halifax, Nova Scotia. I told a few of my Ontario co-workers I was going to eat these and they had no clue what I was talking about. I thought it was just a myth they only existed on the East Coast!

Eaten on pita with various veggies, there are two things that make a donair a “donair.”

The meat.

Almost like a breaded meat, spiced with some Italian flavours, cayenne, and a fair bit of onion and garlic. This was my contribution to the party and it was fun to make. I used this recipe. The directions include: “Pick up the meat, and throw it down with force about 20 times, kneading it after each throw.”

It’s supposed to be thick and sliced real thin, then cooked a second time before eating.

The best part of any Maritime meal comes from the second donair component.

The sauce.

I LOVE this stuff. I could put in on anything and everything. Back home we just call it “donair sauce.” Made up of evaporated milk, garlic powder, sugar and vinegar (also found in this recipe). It’s not the tangy dressing you’re used to on most Mediterranean inspired pitas. It’s sweet, creamy and garlicky.

It’s pretty popular to dip your pizza in donair sauce. But the best way to have the sauce isn’t even on donairs. In my humble opinion, it’s with garlic fingers.

There are different variations of these found everywhere. The ones back east are pizza dough + garlic butter + mozzarella.

Some have bacon.

Some don’t.

ALL should be dipped in donair sauce.

 

More of a Canadian thing than just East Coast thing…

Ketchup chips. Is it really true these don’t exist in the United States?

There’s also the drinks of the Maritimes…

Started in New Brunswick with the Moose Green, then moved on to Nova Scotia with Keith’s and Keith’s White.

What’s a university throw-back party without jell-o shots?

I had one or two.

Or four.

There’s also no reason for drinking games to end with graduation…

Did I forget to mention? All of this started at 2pm. And we didn’t leave the kitchen all night. A true “Maritime Kitchen Party.”

The party ended at 10pm with a piece of DQ cake…

And a chilly walk to the bar…

A bar that wouldn’t let me in because I forgot my ID at home. Now that would never happen in the Maritimes. The people at the bars already know me!

And Leah, I’ll have you know that spreading out mass quantities of alcohol over a period from 5pm to 2am is actually pretty good for a hangover. I made it to work this afternoon and only had to take Tylenol once ;)

 

P.S. If you see any of my friends in Toronto, say hi and that you recognize them from my blog!! ;)