thE 2 GoLiGHtLyS

"Breakfast at Tiffany's" was supposed to star Marilyn Monroe. Word is, Capote couldn't stand Audrey Hepburn and had written the character of Miss Golightly with Norma Jeane in mind.

When I came across this photo of Miss Hepburn it reminded me of the time my friends baked a batch of Neiman Marcus chocolate chip cookies. The introduction to their recipe says it better than I possibly could.

It's a sumptuous cookie I'm sure both Golightys would have enjoyed...

soOiSHi

In Japanese, oishii means delicious and I'd have to agree that this blog is, indeed, quite tasty. There's also So Oishi Tokyo to visit. From what I gather, the mastermind behind So Oishi lived there for the summer. You'll be able to catch some live footage from a Daft Punk concert, some beautiful photographs of the Tokyo fish market and many other things oishii.

claFoutiS

In France we eat a lot of these for dessert or in the morning for breakfast. A clafoutis (pronounced kla foo tee) is made by placing fruit in a pan and covering it with batter that would otherwise have be used to make crêpes. It doesn't call for any fancy ingredients and can be prepared in under 15 minutes. *Watch out for cherry clafoutis; it may make you weak in the knees.

Ingredients:

1/2 c. flour
1 1/4 c. milk
2/3 c. sugar
3 eggs
2 tsps. or tbs. vanilla, rhum, cointreau or grand marnier
pinch of salt
3 cups of the fruit of your choice ( I used little plums for this one)

How to make a clafoutis:

Set oven to 350 F degrees.
Prepare your fruit. Pit and slice if need be (it's common to not pit the cherries in France).
Mix all of the liquid and dry ingredients together in a blender for about a minute on its highest setting.
Getting air into the batter will create a fluffier end result.
Take a round baking dish that is 1 1/2 - 2 inches high and about 8 -9 inches in diameter, butter and flour it.
Arrange your fruit on the bottom of the dish in a pattern or just leave them any which way.
Take the blended batter and slowly pour it over the fruit.
Place dish in oven and bake for about one hour, or until a knife comes out clean and the top is golden brown.
Allow to cool.
Sprinkle with sugar.
Enjoy.

Many thanks to Jean for the first Ketchup Kid banner, ever.

5 A.M. At tHe WaFFle hOusE

A warm cup of good morning, waffles, eggs, bacon, toast and grits at the Waffle House make for one of the most monumental breakfast experiences the highway can offer. We stopped into one in Ohio on our way back from Indiana. If you're ever roadtripping through the U.S. and see that yellow and brown sign, pull over...






Other breakfast spots of note:

1) Northside Grill, Ann Arbor, MI (for the bacon, eggs and tasty hashbrowns)
2) EATS, Los Angeles, CA (outdoor seating that looks out onto a golf course, you feel like you're in Caddy Shack)
3) Barney Greengrass, NY, NY (for the bagel and lox)

Favorite Montréal breakfast spots:

1) McGill Pizza (for the Special: 2 eggs, bacon or sausage, potatoes, toast, coffee, and a small glass of orange juice)
2) Beauty's (for the bagel and lox)
3) Moe's
4) Restuarant Lamarche, 804 Roy (corner with St. Hubert). They offer cretons and baked beans with their breakfast special.
***Any place that has an all-day breakfast

TheTastySnicket.

When in Japan make sure to stock up on Marie biscuits.
They are tastiest with a cup of green tea.
I usually eat them about an hour after gorging on oooodles of that tasty Uni.

LeXinGtOn, KeNTucKy.

julePs & GreEn tOmaToeS

A friend and I headed south for Kentucky last weekend. She needed to escape the doldrums of work life and I needed to get my hands on a mint julep. A pit stop in a motel and a few hours later, we found ourselves in Lexington at the tourist office inquiring about horse races, best places to camp and...where to find a mint julep. We'd miss the races (which take place in April and October) but could still have a drink, according to the two ladies from the office. In fact, they were so thrilled that we try some while in Kentucky that phonecalls to local hotels and restaurants quickly ensued. And that's how we ended up at DeSha's Restaurant greeted by the entire staff about an hour later. By 11:30 a.m., we had a julep in one hand and a fork to indulge in some fried green tomatoes in the other. That's when we learned that mint juleps are a bit like egg nog (in that they are seasonal) and are enjoyed during Derby season, in principle, when they are served in silver cups with lots of crushed mint. So while ours weren't the most authentic...we did learn a thing or two about bourbon.

WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO BE A BOURBON?

Bourbon must be made from corn and must be aged for at least two years.

TASTE-TESTING BOURBON?

Drinking a bourbon with something made with or from corn will help bring out its natural aromas and flavors. We had cornmeal battered fried green tomatoes with ours...but, cornbread may be an excellent thing to eat while taste-testing different bourbons. And, a little side note: fried green tomatoes are not made from unrippened red tomatoes, but rather a unique variety that always remain green. Green tomatoes(the kind you find in the south) are a bit tarter than regular red tomatoes and have a bit of a lemony taste.

According to DeSha's bartender, Ronnie, Kentucky's finest bourbon is a bottle of 20 or 23-year-old Pappy Van Winkle. At $60.00 a shot or $250.00 a bottle, it's supposed to be the smoothest and most incredible of all bourbons. People sign up on the Van Winkle waiting list every year, as well, as there are only about 900 to 3,000 bottles available per bottling season. The next one is scheduled for Spring 2007. I've already started putting away a dollar a day.

...piCniCpiCniC...

On Murray Hill way up in Westmount with the first lady of J. Shiek, Miss Julia S., for a picnic, yesterday. On the menu: sandwiches of camembert, basil and tomato, followed by a dessert of yellow watermelon (enjoyed in the company of dear friend, Charlie the squirrel) and some mineral water straight from the springs of Bergamo.

***All items were carried from Atwater station, to the 24 bus, to the top of the hill in J. Shiek beach party bags. All goods arrived in pristine condition.

tOwN & CouNTry #1

There's been a lot of lamping in the Laurentians going on this month and I should have some photos of blueberry bushes (as well as a recipe for a five o'clock apéro) up sometime early next week.

Here are some photos from our last weekend's trip.
Miam...merguez.

...tHe HuRRicane...

...LiMeSoDA...

Ingredients: limes, sugar & club soda

1 lime for every 8 ounces of club soda
1 tsp.-1 tbsp. sugar for every 8 ounces of drink

Squeeze limes into a pitcher or cup.
Stir in desired amount of sugar and allow to dissolve.
Pour in club soda.

Try again with lemons, grapefruit or oranges.

..cRuMbLers...

Flour, brown sugar, butter and the fruit(s) of your choice.
That's how the crumble crumbles.

The key is to take a 1/4-1/2 cup of butter out of the fridge before you get crack-a-lacking, as it's ideal to make your crumble with softened butter. This should take anywhere from 30-60 minutes.

Once the butter has mellowed, take a bowl and mix together, with one hand (so that your other hand may add the following ingredients as you go along), flour (about 1 cup) and brown sugar or white sugar (1/4-1/2 cup) until you have a crumbly and sandy mixture. Other things to consider adding to the crumble include: vanilla bean, cinnamon, dried coconut or nuts.

As for the fruit...any fruit will do: peaches, apples, blueberries, cherries, strawberries, raspberries and all other fruits I've forgotten to mention make for a fine crumble...used alone or in combinations. Some people sprinkle sugar on the fruit before covering them with the crumble topping; however, if you're looking for tang, you won't need to do this. Just make sure you grease your baking dish or ramequins before adding the fruit. Once that's done cover them with the crumble topping and bake in an oven set to 250 degrees.

Allow to bake for 30 minutes, or until you see that the fruit has cooked well and the crumble top is golden brown.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool.

Crumble is delicious served with vanilla ice cream or crème anglaise.

The ones in the photograph are peach/blueberry.
If you looking for ramequins you'll find them at the Dollar Store.
4 for $1.oo?

...L'aCe de PiC qui PiQuE MoN CoEuR...

The Chi-town princess flew into town the other day to find herself a flat. And, after a day of hunting, joined us for dinner with tickling stories (of applying to over 60 medical schools) and this lovely box of chocolate "shooters"...

"Cause chocolate should spend more time with alcohol, especially the Jack Daniel kind," says she.

I hear they make mayanesque hot chocolate and remarkable gelato, too.

Suite 88
3957, rue St. Denis (between Roy and Duluth)
Montréal, QC H2W 2M4
tel: 514.844.3488

Merci, Caro.

...eYE cAnDY...

...ChAiNed tO thE sToVe...

I look forward to the day when I will be able to waltz into a shop like this and buy one of these bad boys.

The Ketchup Kid endorses all gas ranges made by Miele, Viking, Gaggenau, Aga and DeDietrich.

...CaNdY ShOPpe...

Caffarel chocolate, caramels from Britanny and highland toffee!

Confiserie Louise-Décarie
4424, rue St. Denis
Montréal, QC H2J 2L1

...OLa MojitOs...

Shizaam! The best mojito on the island.

Barraca (Rhumerie & Tapas)
1134 Mont-Royal E. (cross-street Christophe-Colombe)

...BuRgeRs aNd GeNghis KhAn...

The season of BBQing has arrived and Ferguson has introduced us to the "FergurBurger".

Here's the recipe, as dictated by the chef:

900 grams ground beef
one egg
1/4 cup bread crumbs
2-4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tbsp. Jamaican all-spice
1 tbsp. herbes de provence
½ tsp. black pepper
1/2 tsp. salt
chili powder or flakes, to taste

You just take all of the above ingredients and "câlice them together" (as the chef would say) in a bowl, preferably, with your mits.

The FergurBurger is excellent served on a bed of your leafy-green-of-choice, with thin slices of sweet red onion and tomato...Dijon mustard and ketchup. Or, do as the Kid and dip your burger in to a dollop as you munch along.

Interesting tid-bit: The Mongols used to pack patties of meat underneath their saddles, which tenderized the meat and avoided them the hassle of dismounting in order to eat while on campaigns. And, contrary to popular belief…Genghis Khan was the greatest conqueror of all-time. Not Alexander. That’s right. He conquered more territory, with fewer men, than any other man in history. Genghis Khan didn’t allow anyone to write anything about him while he was alive, either. I like that.

...uN pEtit cHeF daNs sA CuisiNe...

Babysitting lesson of the week: when you're three and someone helps you reach the counter you can prep your own dinner.