Eat to the Beat: A Celebration of Life and Food

Steve Pitt is a Toronto-based freelance writer and an award-winning journalist. He has written many young adult and children's books, including Day of the Flying Fox: The True Story of World War II Pilot Charley Fox.

In the mid-1990s, a group of women formed an association called Willow
Breast Cancer and Resources to provide information and emotional support
to patients and their families. One of the ways this nonprofit
organization raises money is an annul fundraising event called “Eat to
the Beat,” where hundreds of guests gather together to eat treats
created by scores of Canada’s top female chefs while a live swing band
plays (hence the name). This cookbook features more than 180 recipes
from the nearly 50 female chefs, caterers, and bakers who have
participated in the event.

The recipes are divided into six sections: “Desserts,”
“Appetizers,” “Salads, Sides and Vegetables,” “Soups,”
“Entrées,” and “Pizza, Pasta, Grains and Bread.” Each section
is prefaced with a page or so of history about a specific Eat to the
Beat fundraising year; selected recipes from that year follow.
Selections include Apple, Pear and Cranberry Charlotte; Ontario Sour
Cherry Pie; Icewine Soaked Figs on Hazelnut Crus; Chиvre and Roasted
Red Peppers; Black and White Sesame Chicken; Sautéed Calamari and Spicy
Sausage; Club House Salad; Avocado and Shaved Beef Salad; Indian-Style
White Corn Soup; Gazpacho with Grilled Shrimp; Pork Tenderloin with
Shiitake Sauce; Salmon in Phyllo; and Wild Rice Casserole.

A seventh section groups recipes according to Indian, Italian, or
Contemporary (East-West fusion) feast themes so readers can create full
meals from appetizers to dessert. A few of these recipes may have you
scouring your supermarket’s gourmet food section, but none ask for
impossibly obscure ingredients. The difficulty levels of the selections
vary; some might be challenging for a novice cook, but anyone with
intermediate skills will have no problems.