LongTime.

Haven't been many posts around here as of late.

Presently at the airport in Vancouver fresh of a sojourn in Alaska. Salmon, octopus, shark, and a variety of crabs were visited and/or dined on. Peep game.







*Bonus snicket stopped in a saloon for a quick gin & tonic. Thought the bottle art was bonkers.




**Double bonus: The sky.

Keys, Please.

Happiness Is A Warm (& Crispy) Apron

So I had my first official stint in a bona fide kitchen last week at Zingerman's making fresh buckwheat pasta for thirty people. I arrived on site with my Godmother's pasta machine (like the one you see in this video which makes me so happy), a rolling pin and a whole lot of butterflies. I'd never made buckwheat pasta before and had only used the flour well and fork technique for making dough in the past so I was a little nervous about feeding thirty, but when a giant food processor was placed in front of me the flutterings in my stomach soon vanished. After making the dough I decided to hand roll it and leave all cutting up to my knife. The pasta machine stayed in the bag. The use of machinery (to make the dough) had to be compensated by some serious manual labor. I wish I had taken a moment to take some photos of the finished product. I thought of my grandmothers, my mom and all the important women in my life and had many flashbacks into the various kitchens of my youth where I found so much happiness. Busy hands can free the mind... I heard through the grapevine that people loved the pasta. Gush.

Rise & Shine

P & M's Lorne Crescent Morning Menu:

Chamomile tea or Genmaicha
Bowl of rice
Pieces of nori paper to enjoy with rice
Miso soup
A sliced pear

Napoleon's Bubbles

Jacquesson was the champagne of choice of Napoleon Bonaparte. My favorite, cuvée No. 729, is composed of 34% chardonnay, 34% pinot noir and 32% pinot meunier. Its bubbles are strong and crisp and explode in the mouth like fireworks; its notes of pear, citrus and black pepper are beautiful. It is refined and sophisticated but by no means detached from its earthly provenance. A great character to accompany food or to be sipped on alone, I give it many thumbs up and hope you will consider the small house of the Chiquet brothers in the future. What some have said:

"This House is superbly demonstrating its commitment to producing full, concentrated Champagnes, exemplified by the impeccably long Brut Perfection and a magnificent, unctuous 1988. All the other cuvées are similarly remarkable."
- Bettane & Desseauve, Le Classement des Vins

"Jacquesson was always good, but is now exemplary, with amazing attention to detail in the vineyard finding its way through into stunning cuvées."
- Serena Sutcliffe MW, Decanter

2007: Year of the Log

I will remember 2007 for many reasons. However, with respect to my culinary endeavors, I will remember it as "The year I made my first Bûche de Noël". Daunting as I thought the task would be I had such a ball I made a second one a handful of days later. Yellow cake, crème de marrons and chocolate ganache. A beautiful trio that goes something like this...

Ingredients:

3/4 c. flour
1 c. hazelnuts or almonds, finely chopped
1/4 c. sugar
1/3 c. sugar
7 eggs, separated
pinch of salt
2 tbsp. butter, melted

Oven: 400 degrees Farenheit
Line a shallow 9 x 12 baking pan with aluminum foil.
Butter or oil the aluminum foil.

The Cake:
1) Mix together 1/4 c. sugar with the cup of chopped nuts. Add 2 tbsp. of melted butter and a shot glass of liquor if you wish.
2) In another bowl blend together, until pale yellow, 6 egg yolks with 1/3 c. sugar
3) Combine bowls 1 and 2 together and add 3/4 c. of flour
3) In another bowl add a pinch of salt to egg whites and foam until stiff
4) Fold egg whites into cake batter, reserving about 3/4 c. to 1 cup of egg whites to make the mushroom meringues for decoration.
5) Pour into baking pan and bake until a toothpick comes out clean, about 30 minutes

The Filling:
500 g can of Clement Faugier Crème de Marrons vanillée

The icing:
Whip all of these together, incorporating the sugar and cocoa gradually so as to control the sweetness and/or bitterness desired.
1 cup of heavy whipping cream
1/2 c.- 1 c. cocoa powder
1/4 c. - 1/2 c. sugar

Assembling the cake:
Remove the cake from the pan by flipping it upside down. The cake will fall out of the pan with the aluminum foil facing upwards. Remove the aluminum foil. Spread marron cream over the cake. Roll into a log. Place onto a serving dish. Spread icing and decorate with grated chocolate, powdered sugar and mushroom meringues.

Mushroom meringues? To be continued...

Rest In Peace Bobby

(Scallops en Papillote)

Ingredients: 1 lb. of bay scallops, 1 bunch of asparagus, 3 or 4 handfuls of cherry tomatoes, 1 can of cannellini beans, 1/4 c. fresh dill, 3 tbsp. of olive oil, salt & pepper, to taste. **Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. Scoop out handfuls of the mixture onto individual sheets of parchment paper. Make little packages and cook in oven for 15-30 minutes (depending on how done you like your scallops) at 350 degrees . **As delicious as it is good for you. Serve with rice, quinoa or by itself for an extra low calorie feast. Backstory: This recipe was introduced to me by Miss A. Williams - doctor by day, chef and master knitter by night - at a dinner party last week, where sommelier Maciek D. kept our glasses brimming with ice cold Vinho Verde - a perfect match for the dish - and Watercolor/Acrylic powerhouse K. Jacobson set the mood by dimming the light switches and playing the tunes of Don Covay.

11 O'Clock Tick Tock

The Louvre on a Friday's morning.

De l'Histoire Naturelle

Talking Country

The grive (a kind of thrush) is a coveted bird of the terroir that people in the south of France have been eating for generations in the months of winter...when the men go hunting in the hillsides. Their preparation goes something like this, for those with weak stomachs spare yourselves from reading past the colon: we pluck them, hang them in a dark closet with their innards intact (upside down) and allow them to ferment for two to three weeks or until a droplet forms on their beaks. This "goutte" as we call it indicates that the birds are ready to be wrapped in lard and roasted in the fireplace. After the 20 or so minutes it takes to cook them, we open a bottle of red and eat every part of them with toast. A salad of frisette with garlic dressing usually accompanies the meal as well as banter about whose grive ate a juniper berry (a berry which heightens the taste of the meat). A delicacy of Provence, author P. Labonté might call this dish, "real talk". I just hope I haven't hurt anyone's stomach...

MercyMercyMe...

With the possible exception of Gérard Mulot and Pierre Hermé most Parisians will agree that Ladurée's macaroons are the best in the city. Last week I went to rue Bonaparte to taste for myself. Between the sweet pillowy delights of lemon, vanilla and rose; not the mention the opulence of the shoppe, I left feeling pleasantly lightheaded. For a little sugar, click here.

inaKi San

Events and circumstances iotas short of demonstrating the principles of string theory led my friend Ismay and I to the Chateaubriand this afternoon to break bread. Grateful they did as we were both in need of what we found: serious comfort food.

Pictured above: My new favorite drinking glasses; joue de boeuf (cow's cheek) served on a bed of spinach and leeks topped with zesty persillade; almond milk infused with roses, served with litchis & a pavé de chocolat with matcha ice cream; our empty plates.

I was so happy to learn, afterwards, that Inaki and his team of four recently melted the heart of the Figaro's harshest critic. Watch for him. The young basque chef has got his ticket to ride.

Interviews with the chef 1 & 2

Le Chateaubriand
129, Avenue Parmentier
Paris, 11ème
Métro: Goncourt

**Lunch (served between 12h-14h): 14 euros
**Dinner (served between 20h-21h30): 20-30 euros

December 14th Baby:

dELiciOus MoRseL

This walnut cake is a lot like a string quartet. The way I hear it: the nuts play the bass line on cello; the eggs carry the tenor voice on viola; the sugar plays the alto register of the first violin; and, the lemon zest, the soprano register of the second violin. It's light, and the crispy layer which forms on top of the cake will remind you of those little Amaretto cookies you find in cafés...which are always wrapped in the loveliest paper.

Recipe copied, parola per parola, from Maxine Clark's cookbook, Viva Italia.

L'Ingrediente:

2 cups walnuts
4 eggs, separated
1 1/4 cups sugar
Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
Confectioners' sugar, to decorate

Instruzioni:

Uno: Grease and flour a 9-inch springform pan. Line the bottom with wax paper.

Due: Grind the walnuts in a food processor until they are finely ground.
* Processorless, I got to chopping; it didn't take long to get the job done.

Tre: Put the egg yolks and sugar into a large bowl and whisk with an electric mixer until they are pale and creamy. Fold in the ground walnuts and lemon zest. Whisk the egg whites in a separate bowl until stiff then carefully fold them into the nut mixture. Gently pour the batter into the prepared pan.

Quattro: Bake the cake in a preheated oven, 350 degrees, Farenheit, for 45 minutes to 1 hour; until risen and firm. Let the cake coolin the tin; it will shrink away from the edges. When the cake is cold, remove it from the pan and dust with confectioners' sugar.

cHocolate, cReaM puFFs & OpeRa

Verdi, pastries and claymation. Sigh.

From the series "Opera Imaginaire" (1993)
Directed by Guionne Leroy & Pascal Roulin

All The Trimmings (Part 2)

This summer my dear friend Ruth made a lot of pies on her native island of Vinalhaven, located two hours off the coast of Maine, using the wild berries of the island and her family's legendary crust recipe, which, along with her tour de main, won her the hearts of many local market goers. Pictured above are the pies she made for her family's Thanksgiving feast, which I was lucky enough to attend for the second yearin a row. I had no difficulty finding room for slices of all three after the turkey and fixings. And her raw apple pie even quelled my inner voice's resolute skepticism. To make matters more American, we headed west towards Boulder at the crack of dawn the next morning. We had ourselves a picnic on the Iowa banks of the Mississppi at noon with the leftovers of the previous day and enjoyed some more of them in North Platte, Nebraska a few hours later. On the road, eating turkey and listening to Bruce Springsteen; we did not drive through the Badlands but The Boss painted us a fine picture.

hUitRes+mOuLesFritEs=deLiCiEuX

The Big Boss of the North shucked all 24 of these oysters in a record seven minutes. Bottles were popped by minute eight of the evening and by minute 27 the mussels and sweet potato fries were on the table. Now that's what I call delicious.

wHat's CookinG graNdma?

I did a quick two-step when I read about this site in this month's issue of Gourmet magazine. Like peaches and cream.

tHe bAnK

brOdy sTyle scALLops

A nice recipe from another famous New Yorker, Jane E. Brody, who, like Grimaldi's resides in Brooklyn.

Sauce:

3 tbsp. dry sherry
2 1/2 tbsp. tomato sauce
4 tsp. oyster sauce
4 tsp. soy sauce
2 1/2 tsp. sesame oil
1/2 tsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. ground pepper

optional, in my opinion:

1 tbsp. cornstarch
1 1/2 tbsp. cold water

Stir- fry:

2 tbsp. peanut or canola oil (I used olive oil)
1 pound bay scallops
3 large garlic cloves, peeled and minced
2 tsp. minced or grated gingerroot
1 large red pepper (i used an orange one)
1 large zucchini
(I had a 1/2 cup of uncooked eggplant leftover in the fridge and used it, as well. Turned out nicely.)
4 scallions

1) Prepare the sauce by combining the sherry, tomato sauce, oyster sauce, soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar, pepper in a small bowl. Set bowl aside.

2) If you would like to use the cornstarch to thicken the sauce place it in another small bowl with water, stir and set aside.

3) Heat your wok or large frying pan over high heat. Add the scallops and stir-fry them until they become opaque. Remove them with a slotted spoon onto a dish and set aside. Do not discard the oil in the pan, you will continue to use it.

4) Add the minced garlic and ginger to the oil. Allow them to simmer in the oil for about 10-20 seconds. Now, add the red pepper, zucchini and scallions. Stir-fry until they are cooked to your liking.

5) Stir the reserved sauce and pour it into the wok or pan along the sides. Return the scallops to the pan. Stir in the cornstarch one teaspoon at a time. Stir-fry so as to reheat the scallops and serve.

6) I added a little lime zest for garnish, you could also use some chopped fresh scallions.

Recipe taken (and annotated) from p. 162 in Jane Brody's "Good Food Gourmet: Recipes and Menus for Delicious and Healthful Eating" (1990)