The other night, I made a braised beef brisket for the main to accompany our wine tasting. I was a huge fan – and loved the pair with the wine. It’s not often I would say a particular wine and a particular food = synergy, but I do believe this classic pairing of beefy flavour and beefy red wine are … Read More
Almost Friday
I’m quite excited about tomorrow. First. It’s Friday. Reason enough to be excited. Our weekly morning trip to the ICS bakery is always enjoyable. Add to that: Friday wine night. But not just any wine night this week – it’s my first 4 Wines and a Plate event. I’m really hoping this format works out. One thing I do know … Read More
La miglior cucina comincia dal mercato
“La miglior cucina comincia dal mercato”–the best cuisine starts from the market. Rick Steves on Italian cuisine in his 100-day blog. I couldn’t agree more. This reinforces my position that to eat well at home, you don’t necessarily need to know how to be a great cook. But you do need to know food, and how to shop. Someone who … Read More
Why I don’t go out for breakfast
This is why I don’t go out for breakfast. Bacon I cured and smoked myself, bread I baked, marmalade my mom made, and an egg cooked how I like it from Sunworks farms. Food cost: about $0.50. Time from conception to eating: about 5 minutes. And if you don’t believe there’s a difference between a good quality egg and a … Read More
Whole grain foods
I’ve been on a whole grain food kick lately. Overall, I’d been feeling a little unhealthy all around – a general unwellness vibe that’s not pleasant when you’re used to feeling ‘well’. It’s winter-syndrome, really. Sleep more, move less, eat worse [no garden…] = bad news. Played some hockey, did some walking, and tweaked the diet and man do I … Read More
If they sell toilet paper, do not buy their cheese.
First off, I can’t believe I’ve never written about cheese before. Great cheese is a perfect example of why I can’t, and will likely never be okay with the ‘I can’t cook’ approach to eating. With the quality and diversity of food available, if you can’t serve nice food most of your problem is you just don’t know how to … Read More
Don’t Make This Mistake
I made an error today in the kitchen. A very simple but serious error. I removed an elk eye of round from the fridge, rolled it in crushed aniseed and szechuan peppercorn, then rubbed on Pam’s grandma’s mustard prior to browning it in a hot pan. My previous mustard crust was one of my best culinary accomplishments of the recent … Read More
Hit it with a car = regional.
Today I read an add in the paper from Normand’s – a respectable local restaurant – advertising: “Fine Regional Cuisine, Featuring Wild Regional Game: ELK, CARIBOU, and MUSKOX…”. Now for those of you who do not spend much time outdoors, you will not find, no matter how hard you search, a wild caribou or muscox within many, many, many hours … Read More
Crips, Bloods, and Guilt
I’m reading yet another book by Anthony Bourdain [my 5th]. In it, he discusses a Canadian author who categorizes chefs into two camps: Crips and Bloods. Crips being the fusion-loving multicultural innovators, and Bloods being the terroir driven, regional-and-in-season-only kind of folks. I like to at least think of my self as a ‘Blood’. I spend a lot of time … Read More
You should thank Gordon Ramsay
I hunted, killed, butchered, cleaned, cured, and confit’d 11 wild ducks. Not 1. Eleven. I pitted and dried a bunch of evans cherries that a friend picked for me. I roasted a sweet potato, days ahead. I ground pork fat and the above mixture. I moistened the mixture with some white wine I made. I stuffed it in hog casing. … Read More