A few of us Burger Broads were invited to a CUTCO #FoodiesForever party in downtown Toronto a couple of weeks ago and though there weren’t any burgers involved we had an educational,fun and delicious great time.Now,I don’t know about you but up until this event I had never heard of CUTCO before.Where have I been?! This company has been around and going strong since 1949!

Whoa.Whoa! What is CUTCO,you ask? CUTCO is cutlery but really it’s about their amazing knives! so amazing that they are forever guaranteed.Yes.Forever.

“The history is steeped in tradition and founded on the fine craftsmanship of early settlers to Western New York and Northern Pennsylvania. The company, located along the Allegheny foothills in Olean, N.Y., can trace its roots back to skilled cutlers who settled in the area after immigrating from England’s famous Sheffield cutlery industry in the late 1800s.

CUTCO Cutlery was created in 1948 as a new product for Wear-Ever Aluminum, a subsidiary of ALCOA. The name of the new cutlery line was derived from a company once owned by Wear-Ever, the Cooking UTensil COmpany – CUTCO.

ALCOA sought out the expertise of the finest cutlery manufacturer in the U.S. at the time, Case Cutlery in Bradford, Pa., to manufacture the new cutlery line. It was a joint venture that created a new ALCOA company called Alcas Cutlery (AL of ALCOA and the CAS from Case). The new Alcas Cutlery factory in Olean, N.Y., was completed in 1949 and the first set of cutlery was shipped to New Kensington, Pa. that same year.”

Anyways, if history turns you on you can read more about it here. 

Let’s back to present day and talk about how fun and delicious the evening was.There was SO MUCH FOOD! For the first hour we mingled,sipped on wine and had our pictures taken while we had  platters of non-stop delectable appetizers floating about the room.This definitely was a foodie bloggers heaven and we were thrilled to join in on something we normally wouldn’t have the chance to do. Shortly thereafter we were divided up into groups with team leaders who took us to the kitchen to prepare our meal (Kale salad and a Quinoa side dish )that we would all help make and then sit down to share afterwards.(It’s no secret I love burgers but I don’t eat them all the time.i do love salads too:) the Kale Salad  and Quinoa  we made was a meal unto itself.I also learned how to prepare Kale for a salad which will be having me eat it more often.Tree(de-stem) the kale and then roll the leaves up and use scissors to cut it up into fine bite sized forkfuls! easy peasy!) and jampacked with goodness.

The preparation of the meal but of course was with the amazing CUTCO knives!.

I  know this sounds like I am selling but truth be told…I am gushing!!!

When I showed up to this event I was suspicious. even cynical.I thought it was going to only be a demonstration while we the captive audience watched and got suckered into buying a set of knives..Cutlery.big deal. Knives.big deal..who needs cutlery when you are eating burgers?! Unless you are in the kitchen all the time preparing and making food,unless you are a Chef then I think the average person doesn’t put too much thought or investment into their kitchenware and cutlery.

Hell, I’ve been known to buy cutlery from a dollar store but after that CUTCO experience I made a promise that I would never do that again.Seriously, as much as I am gushing here there’s a part of me that says.. chill..they’re just knives …except they aren’t JUST knives. They are the ONLY knives to own.If you can afford it. Sure you can buy one knife at a time,depending on the knife anywhere between 25-80 dollars or you can buy the whole shebang for about 1500 dollars.

Again.. they’re just knives.Again.They are the ONLY knives to have! Come on.. with a company that has been around since 1949 and guarantees their products forever without any questions asked or hassles why wouldn’t you invest?These knives will be sharp Forever.No sharpening needed.Hard to believe? Guess,you’ll just have to turn yourself into a believer by doing some research or buying some knives;) and I will need to save up my money because I have no plans of getting married anytime soon to have  a gift registry.

Are you wondering why you have never heard of this company if you haven’t heard of this company? Because you won’t find them in retail stores.They are a direct to market business and you can even get involved and become a sales rep. Lately,I have had people approach me with direct marketing ventures from health food,to water, to makeup but somehow if I were to get into this kind of venture,CUTCO it would be for me where i could go to people’s homes and have a dinner party while showing off these exquisite tools.Our team leader, Dawn, is a testament.After owning CUTCO knives herself for the past 15yrs she recently became a rep because that’s how much she believes in them and the company.

is that not a PERFECT smile?!!!

So as much as this was all about knives it was also about creating a meal and more importantly breaking bread with strangers who quickly became friends. >>>>Shout out! to Isabelle Boucher (@Izzbell) of www.crumbblog.com.

She was in our group and right away I took a shining to this woman.She was sharp, witty and self-possessed.I asked her for her card and when I read it i recognized her name  and blog from twitter as we had had a few conversations back and forth so it was a thrill to meet in person after all this time..I sure can pick em’ and smell em’ a mile away.

She’s a Broad in my books!

So here’s to playing with KNIVES! and only the best knives!

A special Thanks to Dawn our fun and beatiful team leader and to everyone involved who made the evening a delicious and spirited memorable  event. Chop On CUTCO!

I am now a believer!.and maybe one day I too will become a sales rep but for now I have other fish to fry, other burgers to flip and more good trouble to cause:)

-Ms.D-(Madame of The BroadHouse)

Meat made from human excrement! Is it true?

if it is would you try it?

see here for the full article and video

In 1908 it began in New York City.Today  it is observed all around the world.The United States even designates the whole month of March as ‘Women’s History Month’.  March 8th is a day to celebrate achievements and inspire women of all walks of life to encourage and inspire  little girls who will grow up to be women who will be agents and leaders of change whether globally, in the workforce,in the community or right at home.

So without getting into too much of it here..you can click the link above for the whole herstory:)

Last month a few of us Broads attended a burger eating contest but what also caught my interest was the fact that the GM was a woman.A position you don’t see too often in the restaurant/burger business. When she gave me her card on it it read *Burger Queen*

That was it.I had to find out more about her.I set up an interview date with one of my Burger Broads,Zane, and away we went to interview Laura and get to know the woman who is an integral piece of the puzzle at the burger joint.

The following is in her own words.

“In the beginning I was quickly taking on more and more responsibility at BQM Ossington, and Saeed (the owner) was opening at Queen and Spadina.  At the time he had a manager down there too, although we were never assigned official titles.  I think some people would be uncomfortable with this, but I liked it because it allowed me to carve out my own place using what I felt my own strengths were, defining my own role.  The time came to order business cards, and Saeed’s title had always been Chief Burger Tester.  He suggested that we also give ourselves fun titles, relating to burgers – again I liked the fact that it was all unofficial, the opposite of corporate.  Once given the freedom to choose my own Burger Title – well, my inner broad knew the obvious choice immediately Burger Queen it was.”

The video.It is about a 9 minute interview with ‘rapid fire’ questions at the end.

Come find out what it means for her to be a Broad,what gets her up in the morning and whether she prefers boxers or briefs.

Ms D ( Madame of the BroadHouse)

apple pie? sports?entertainment? Hollywood? fast food? albeit an appropriation of food from other cultures,ie:pizza and without argument,hands down…burgers.

Why are North Americans obsessed with food? with celebrities? And why do we like to see celebrities eating? especially burgers? and WHY must we insist on taking pictures?!

I looked around the web and this is what I found.

If you have found a picture of a celebrity eating a burger please post in the comments!

Helen MirrenJustin Bieber Hugh Hefner Lindsay Lohan President Barack Obama

Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen Padma Lakshmi Paris Hilton

Angelina Jolie Clive Owen Gene Simmons Hilary Swank Marilyn Monroe Paula Deen

and who can forget the Hoff! remember this video? that went viral after his daughter video taped him while he was drunk eating a burger.

It was funny.sad.pathetic and just one example of North American Culture at it’s worst.

I still love burgers.

Ms.D-Madame of The Broadhouse.

Sally Field has had a long and rewarding career first starting out as Gidget in the TV series of the same name in the 60′s.  52 years later she has become and is a fine example for other gracefully aging women..proving that women are much more interesting and dynamic with layers and layers of emotion that comes with experience and loving the skin you’re in..and not afraid to show it or their laugh lines..This year she  is nominated for Best Supporting Actress for her portrayal  as Mary Todd Lincoln,the First Lady of the United States, to Daniel Day- Lewis’ President Abraham Lincoln. She dominates every scene and even when she ‘s not on the screen her presence can be felt.

Go Sally! and keep going!

Then there is Naomi Watts.  ok.. she hasn’t been on the planet for as long as Sally but she still embodies what it means to be a Broad.She’s always chose very diverse roles from one extreme to the other,from dramatic to comedy.I’ve always been a big fan of her work.Recently,I saw her in J.Edgar Hoover and didn’t know it was her until the end.She’s a chameleon and in my opinion underrated..so this year, at the age of 44, for her to be nominated for Best Actress for The Impossible, well I say, it’s about damned time! Look for her this coming year in Two Mothers playing with another of my favorite actresses,Robin Wright who have love affairs with each others sons.

Talk about being fearless and pushing boundaries! Like I said she’s a Broad.

And then there is Emma Stone,at the age of 25 yrs she’s the youngest of the Broad bunch who is co-hosting the award show with Seth MacFarlane.

If it’s possible,I would like to nominate Seth as an Honorary Burger Broad.

Emma has mostly done comedies in her short life/career and even though I haven’t seen it yet,I’m sure her role as  Grace Faraday in Gangster Squad will show that she is much more than a comedy gal. She also likes cheeseburgers:) her favorite place to munch  in L.A is Apple Pan, a legendary eat-in restaurant that has been around since 1947 that is  known for its apple pies but it also  serves up meals like the Hickory Burger and the Steak Burger.

So that pretty much sums up this years Broads at The Oscars but it goes without saying,  always Meryl Streep <see this link where she is Seussified!)

and Helen Mirren are and always will be quintessential Broads.

So what exactly is a Broad? This is how We define it.

for mini burgers by Wolfgang Puck.Will you be watching?

Valentine’s Day is just around the corner

and just another day….

…but…. it can be oh so fun if you choose it to be!

See here for a previous post

There’s a heart shaped burger recipe there too:)

Why do we celebrate Valentine’s Day anyways?

This is why

Regardless of how much is in your wallet or on your debit card that’s a good variety of  burgers to choose from within doorsteps of each other for Torontonian burger lovers! However, when it comes to so called competition there isn’t any. BQM Burger burgers are premium quality.The beef is family farmed in Ontario and raised without any added hormones or antibiotics.Every single patty is in house grinded-brisket,chuck and sirloin and served up medium rare and they also  have a large selection of craft beers to compliment any burger of your choosing.

Ok..on with the BURGER EATING CONTEST!

Normally, Doing burger eating contests is not our style.We like to bite.chew.swallow and savor every bite very slowly.And in general, food eating contests of any kind are the epitome of food gluttony in the Western World.When I was approached by BQM to join in and attend the contest,I had to think about it.Was it something we, The Burger Broads,wanted to be a part of ? promote? Well, I decided to wrangle a couple of Broads to do it afterall because as much as we like to showcase burgers and interview owners I thought this could be a fun thing to do, just once and a good way to break up the monotony of  these dreary weeks of winter in January while also giving myself a break from the homework at hand of the ideas i have in store for this coming year.

The Burgers were kept simple.

No toppings of any sort.Only ketchup,mustard and aioli if you  chose to…..it was just meat and bun..and OMB! (oh, my Burger!) The meat! The Bun! both so good individually so imagine how burgasmic they were together.To me, the true test of a deliciously made burger is eating it with out all the accoutrements and BQM is The Truth! The meat was void of fillers and seasoned ever so lightly with kosher sea salt and black pepper. Perfect.The bun was an egg bun and it too was perfect.And perfect for the meat.

There were seven contestants in total and 2 of them were the only females,My Broads,Sharon and Krista.Seems to me these food eating contests are mostly attended by males so I was proud to have The  Burger Broads represent the female contingency.

These boys you’ll see in the video below were very serious about this contest while us Broads ate,laughed and gushed and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

So as you can figure we didn’t win the contest,which by the way was a case of Sleeman’s Draught, but because we ‘took on the boys‘ so to speak, we were awarded a 6pack:) Not a bad day at all for saying yes….free burgers and beer! and lotsa laughs….

…….and that’s how We Broads eat’n'roll!

In Burgers We Trust,

Ms.D-Madame of The BroadHouse

CLICK THIS for more pics on facebook.

On request from a  few of our  facebook fans  who wanted to know who some of  the Burger Broads were they had been seeing in previous burger eating videos I thought it time to do a little showcase and give them each  a spotlight about who each of them are when they are Not eating a burger.

Afterall, this burger eating business is more than just about burgers;)

These Broads are talented,creative,funny,smart,witty and definitely not camera shy but definitely raw.organic.fresh and messy.They love the skin they’re  in. They are not Babes. They are not Barbies. They are Broads. Broads with a healthy sense of humor who can  be free, sassy,cheeky,bawdy ..even cheesy;) and they like to EAT! and did I mention? They love Burgers and everything about Burgers.

Welcome to the tenth showcase feature in our Monthly Sunday Series of

*BROADS BEHIND THE BURGERS*

Signed,Ms D-Madame of The BroadHouse

Meet Nicole Dean-Burger Fiend

She  is  wry, dry and witty and  a one woman show waiting to happen.She writes, sings and plays the guitar too.

The Winner of the Mother’s Day 2011 Burger Broads T-shirt contest. We bent the rules when it came to the contest rules because We loved her story so much,so much that we decided to  make her a Burger Broad too. This was her submission.

“Good afternoon lovely ladies of Burgerland!

I am writing to you after just consuming my very own delicious, home made hamburger. It was nothing fancy, just a solid quarter pounder with some carmelized onions, tomato, lettuce topped with Jalapeno havarti. I like simple burgers from time to time you know? Like mom used to make on hot summer days. My girlfriend rather enjoyed it but between you and I, I’m excited to make it better the next time we make burgs (which, who’s kidding who? Will be tomorrow..)

Ahhh, burgers. I would consider a good burger to me my one true love. If I were a cartoon character I’d definitely be Jughead Jones because they are literally on my mind, ALL THE TIME. I like em all shapes and sizes, fat and sassy too! Well, as you know my name is Nicole and I’ve just come back to the city for the second time round, from my home province of New Brunswick. I come from a long line of burger loving lumberjacks and have been on the search for my perfect burg ever since I realized there IS life outside of a canteen truck that parks outside the rink during hockey games. See, burgers have always been there for me when times were rough. All those times I never picked up at the bar and who was there waiting for me at last call? A burger. You’re really hungry & on your way to a Bea Arthur impersonation contest, but you forgot your lunch! You’re starving but you’re already wearing the wig and rouge and you need something tasty and FAST: A burger. Last summer, I almost got arrested for passing out on someone’s front lawn because of a kareoke night that got away from me. When I was hanging my head in shame the next morning, wondering if anyone still loved me, you know who did? A burger.

When I left Fredericton last month, we had a going away party. Nothing fancy, just me in my banana suit and beers all around. My roomie knew how much I was going to miss our post hangover burger runs and how much they really mean to me, so she secretly started collecting money from everyone at the party, snuck away with some other party goers (I didn’t even notice) and came back with that glorious platter, consisting of 48 bacon cheeseburgers from McDonald’s. Now, I understand you don’t review chains and I think that’s great, and I would also like to point out that McDick’s is my least favorite choice if I were to make a fast food run, HOWEVER, no one can really deny a giant pyramid of burgs being waved in front of your face especially when your room mate knows you don’t really like McDonald’s, but had to go quantity over quality and THAT my friends, is why she made a separate trip to a Burger King and put a Whopper Jr on top, just for me. Gosh, I must’ve eaten at least 10 burgers that day. You see, before the party we went to a gourmet Burger place in Fredericton called Relish. (I’ll send you a link cause you should check it out even though it’s far. Wonderful wonderful expressions of burgers!) I tried a gourmet turkey patty with goat cheese, guacomole, a little pesto and their signature beet relish. Divine.

SO! To answer your question, that day I consumed 11 burgers. And you know what? I woke up the next day, realized I had hoarded 4 burgs in a drawer in the fridge, and I heated them up and ate those too!

I want to be a Burger Broad. I can send you more pictures of burgers and me eating them or whatever you want really. I could talk about Burgers all day and I love to write about them too. I’m an aspiring singer songwriter of the comedy variety and I currently don’t have a real job so anything you need help with or simply would like to chat about burgers, I’m down.

Thanks for taking the time to read this! I love what you’re doing for women out there. WOMEN LOVE BURGERS TOO. (And we’re probably better at making them so SUCK ITTT)

HAVE A GREAT DAY BURGER BROADS!

Sincerely,
Nicole Banana Suit Dean

the picture of the long line of hamburgers, is from the young 18 year old who rang the order in. Everyone was in such excitement because no one had ever made that many, ALL AT ONCE! hahahah They asked him to take a picture then tag me in it so I could see it. What a great gift!

Relish —- check it out! Relish Me.ca “

You can see her in Woody’s and Paupers Pub video.

She has also contributed to this blog a couple of times.

A Glimpse into the Life of a Burger Queen.Pt 1

A Glimpse into the Life of a Burger Queen Pt 2

I don’t make resolutions  but one of my New Years traditions,well the only one, is to jump off of a chair at midnite to signify jumping INTO the New Year

………and What  a crazy, freakin’ first couple of weeks it has been!!!.

I don’t know about you but is it summer yet?!

New Years day my significant other collapsed in the kitchen due to an unsuspecting kidney infection.It left his leg numb,cold and without any motor skills.We went to the ER where we sat for nearly 12 hrs while the handful of doctors on duty asked a million questions and poked and prodded and took tests before he was finally admitted to a room where he stayed for 4 days.

Turns out he had Rhabdomyolysis. He’s home now and back to being his Self  but f*ck was it stressful and downright sobering.We just adopted a 12 yr old dog from the Humane Society 3 days before Christmas and now I was left to do the dog walking and household duties on top of coming down with a wicked  cold that went back and forth between my head and chest AND I was on my period.Good times! HA! Needless to say, Life has to go on so I had been popping flu/cold pills and Nyquil to get through it all.And this is why I am writing this blog post. That medication makes for  some very vivid if not strange dreams.

I had this dream about 3 days ago now but cannot get it out of my head.

I dreamt that I was  a Bingo Caller wearing a beautiful fox fur coat at a Bingo  Hall.

Calling out numbers…B5.B12.B22.I8..and then a skinny Barbie of a woman in the crowd yells hysterically BINGO! BINGO! BINGO! but she was screaming like it was a life and death matter more than about being a winner…..And you know what her prize was? yup.You guessed it.Burgers. 5 platters of mini burgers were delivered to her right there at her table and she ate every single one of them while other people looked on in disgust and awe while others were cheering her on. When i woke up I went online to search out what the hell that dream meant to me cuz’ I like to interpret my dreams:)

I typed in Fox Fur and Bingo (first,I must clarify, I don’t own or wear a fur coat and I don’t play bingo)  and the first thing that popped up was this online Bingo site called Foxy Bingo out of the UK where there is this mascot (fox) wearing a purple velvet suit on the front page.HILARIOUS! but What am I to make of this dear reader?

I would love your take on my dream and what it means.

Or should I chalk it up to the medication?

Well, On that note May Your dreams for the New Year become a reality.

May 2013 be full of opportunity,abundance and adventure and of course, Health:) and May it be A Bingo! of a Year.

In the coming weeks I will be sharing with you my journey the next steps what I have in store for this idea called *Burger Broads*.

Thanks for riding the bus with me:)

Stay Hungry!

Ms.D

  This Burger Ball/fundraiser is something we want to do every year.To help raise awareness and /or funds for food related or women related charities that don’t get much press,exposure or financial assistance.

 This year our guest of honor,Honorary Burger Broad, was Dana McCauley, one of the  judges from Recipe to Riches on The Food Network. She is even more of a Broad in person!

We hosted it at a burger joint called Burger Stomper which was also featured on Dragon’s Den recently and they did a delicious job of catering to the meatatarian and vegetarian crowd with their patented Burger Stomper while our official sponsor SteamWhistle kept our whistles wet.

As I mentioned in a previous post, we are winding down around here at the BroadHouse preparing and making plans for next year.

Do hope you will continue to follow our journey as we go forth with new, unpredictable and exciting things!

Here’s an article from On The Danforth (magazine) about the party.

and here’s a video of me, Ms.D giving a speech and presenting the award to Dana, filmed by one of the party-goers

Here are some pics (see below) from The Burger Ball 2012

Happy Holidays to you and your loved ones and may 2013 be a year of less french fries and more green beans;)

Stay Hungry and Munch On!

Ms.D