Although Spring is just around the corner (I hope), we had a cold spell in Ottawa last week dipping down to -21˚ Celsius (-6˚ Fahrenheit). Last week, I felt like making this hearty, flavourful chowder filled with bacon, chicken and potatoes scented with thyme.

"Chowder breathes reassurance. It steams consolation."

— Clementine Paddleford

I've always loved coffeecake. {It's somehow acceptable to eat coffeecake with breakfast or as a mid-morning snack but not a Devil's Food Cake. I love chocolate, but not before noon!} I was paging through one of Dorie Greenspan's older cookbooks, Sweet Times: Simple Desserts for Every Occasion, and saw this coffeecake. The combination of raspberry and almond flavors sounded delicious.

In mid-February I spent a wonderful afternoon with Chef Andrée Riffou of C'est bon Cooking who I met care of a food event at the end of January hosted at Ottawa's Urban Element (sponsored by the Chicken Farmers of Canada) through her marketing person, Paola St. Georges who I had met through Twitter!  It turns out that since Chef Andrée completed her Grand Diplôme at Le Cordon Bleu Ottawa (including one semester at the Paris school) in June 2009, she was given the opportunity to judge exam dishes, and ended up being a judge in November 2009 (therefore, judging my exam dish…blush!).

Pies are a popular dessert at our house. Although I'm not a huge fan, my 11-year old loves them. So she's become the resident expert. I've taught her the a-ha moments I had at Le Cordon Bleu regarding pastry: including fraisage. (See video below.) Although I'd read about fraisage, I didn't know exactly what it was until someone showed me. Some things need to be shown, and this was one of them. By not overworking the dough, it remains tender.