Hey! I Make Sandwiches!

One of the benefits, (as far as food blogging goes) of moving into a new place is that the changes that occur during this process usually make for some interesting stories.  In my case, acquiring a new and previously unknown roommate means that everyday is something of an adventure.  As stated in my last post, Diesel, (the roommate) and I have very different eating habits.  I have yet to witness him cook a meal that takes more than 5 minutes and doesn’t require the use of a microwave.

The other night Diesel had a friend over.  The two of them were hanging out and having a couple beers when I came home.  As our kitchen, living room, dining room and Diesel’s den are all just one room, it meant that while I went about preparing my dinner and doing dishes, I was randomly drawn into their conversation.  After asking me about what I was making the friend proceeded to ask if Diesel had cooked me dinner yet.  I looked at him with a bit of a puzzled expression and replied that I didn’t think Diesel cooked.  Period.  It was at this point that Diesel’s head swung in our direction indignantly as he said “Hey! I make sandwiches!”

Ah yes, sandwiches.  The height of culinary achievements.  Now don’t get me wrong, some sandwiches are pretty awesome, like this bacon and avocado grilled cheese on homemade bread.  Diesel’s sandwiches, however, are more of the 4th grader lunch box variety: pre-sliced bread, deli meat and processed cheese.  He’s got some work to do before he’s allowed to make me a sandwich.  If it ever comes to that though and he decides on a grilled cheese, I hope he makes them the way I do.  I like to start my grilled cheese on the stove top, fried in butter so that the toast has nice colour but then I finish it in the oven so that the cheese is melty all the way through.  MMMmmm melty cheese….

Simple Breakfast Math

Homemade bread

+
Homemade maple smoked bacon
+
A poached egg courtesy of the chickens in my backyard

= 1 Tasty Breakfast

Duck, Duck… Duck

The more you do something the better you get at it, (hopefully). Excelling at anything comes only after hours of practice, (at least 10000 according to Outliers author Malcom Gladwell) and I understand that, but it still kills me to make mistakes if they’re at all avoidable. As much as I love experimenting and trying new things, I hate when they don’t work out. I hate it even more when things don’t work out in the restaurant kitchen as opposed to the safety of my home kitchen. That wide eyed look of fear Chef sees on my face when he throws something new at me is exactly that, fear. It’s a fear of messing up, even though I know it’s a part of learning. And it’s a fear of letting others down, especially those who believe in me the most. But along with the fear is a desire to achieve and to do better. A nervous desire, but desire nonetheless. I’d like to be at the point where not only can I understand why something didn’t work but also see when something needs adjusting while there’s still time to fix it. That’s one of the major problems with baking, there’s a finite amount of time in which to make changes. As soon as whatever you’re making goes into the oven, there’s nothing you can do except have faith that you’ve done everything properly and that it will turn out. If not, hopefully you’ve learned what not to do for next time. Cooking is more flexible to an extent, but if you overcook the duck there’s no way to make it raw again.

Speaking of duck, since the only way to get better at something is to keep doing it, I’ve been cooking a lot of duck lately. The price of duck is motivation to learn quickly how to do it right. Because when you mess up duck it hurts on many levels.

Cassoulet with Duck Confit

At the restaurant we serve cassoulet with duck confit and it’s probably one of my favourite things on the menu. I’ve wanted to make it at home for ages and finally decided if I was going to do it, I was going the full nine yards by first making the duck confit and then soaking and cooking the beans and assembling everything with a bread crumb crust and a prolonged bake in the oven. I used a recipe from Michael Ruhlman’s Charcuterie for the duck confit. Don’t let the fact that it takes over two days to complete put you off making your own duck confit. It’s not difficult and the hands on time is minimal. The pay off is definitely worth it as you’re left with beautifully done duck legs and a vat of duck fat that can be used for all sorts of awesome things, like making duck fat fried potatoes. The cassoulet recipe I used was taken mostly from Fat although I improvised a little bit. Consequently the end result was good, but not as good as at work. It was certainly a learning experience though. My finished dish lacked both seasoning and moisture, but at least I was able to determine that.

Duck Fat Fried Potatoes with Duck Confit Hash and A Runny Egg

Like I said though, when you make duck confit, you end up with leftover duck fat and the best thing you can do with that is to use it to fry up some potatoes. I happened to also have a leg of duck confit leftover one morning so I decided to make one of the most decadent but also amazing brunches ever. I shredded the duck leg and made a duck confit hash with peppers, onions and homemade bacon, (also from Charcuterie) then fried up some potatoes in duck fat and served the two with a runny egg overtop. Breakfast has never been the same since.

Mandarin Pancakes with Peking Duck

Mandarin pancakes might sound like breakfast food but they’re usually served for dinner in dishes such as Mu Shu Pork or, as in this case, with Peking duck. The pancakes are made with a simple dough, often made of just flour, boiling water and sesame oil which is allowed to rest and then rolled out flat and sandwiched to another pancake before being browned in a frying pan. The pancakes are then pulled apart and used to wrap up other ingredients, like duck. Mandarin pancakes are one of my favourites and I don’t make them nearly enough, I think it’s the sesame oil in the dough that I just can’t resist. When you pair Mandarin pancakes with Peking duck, life is good.

And last but certainly not least in my adventures in cooking duck is Pan Seared Duck Breast with Dried Cherry and Shallot Confit, served on Roasted Squash Risotto. Pan searing duck breast and finishing it in the oven is fast becoming my go-to way to make duck. I’ve also recently made Soy and Maple Glazed Duck, and Duck Breast with Chili, Honey and Ginger Glaze using the pan searing method. It’s pretty easy to do, (just be careful not to leave it in the oven too long and over cook it, I like my duck pink, thank you) and can be served with any number of sauces and sides. I’m a big fan of pairing fruit with meat and an even bigger fan of cherries so when I saw a recipe for a Dried Cherry and Shallot Confit I knew it was meant to be. As for the risotto, it’s one of those few dishes that I’m comfortable enough cooking that I no longer refer to a recipe. I know the basic method for making risotto and I’ve found that you can introduce any flavour you want to a risotto and it takes fairly well. That being said, as comfortable as I am making risotto in my own kitchen, if you asked me to do it at the restaurant it would be a completely different story…

Pan Seared Duck Breast with Dried Cherry and Shallot Confit with Roasted Squash Risotto

Dried Cherry and Shallot Confit (from Gourmet, 1991)

1 1/2 cups dried sour cherries
1/2 cup white-wine vinegar
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 cups thinly sliced shallot (about 1/2 pound)
1 cup finely chopped onion
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons sugar

In a bowl let the cherries soak in the vinegars for 30 minutes. While the cherries are soaking, in a heavy skillet cook the shallot and the onion in the butter, covered, over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes, or until the shallot is soft. Sprinkle mixture with the sugar and cook the mixture, covered, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes. Add the cherries with the soaking liquid, simmer the mixture, uncovered, for 10 to 15 minutes, or until almost all the liquid is evaporated, and season the confit with salt and pepper. The confit may be made 1 day in advance, kept covered and chilled, and reheat when needed.

Foodbuzz 24, 24, 24: Spring Has Sprung, Maple Syrup Is Here!

Maple Sap Dripping Into Collection Bucket

Spring has sprung, the sap is flowing and it’s time for maple syrup and another Foodbuzz 24, 24, 24 post! Each month Foodbuzz hosts a wonderful event whereby 24 bloggers post about 24 different meal experiences in 24 hours. It was easy for me to pick a topic this month as it’s maple syrup collection time. Canadian cuisine may be difficult to define but one food item that I associate strongly with Canada is maple syrup. And when you live in the country, surrounded by maple trees, it’s impossible not to have an appreciation for the sweet stuff.

Wood Fired Oven Used to Boil Sap Into Syrup

A memory that I’m sure is shared by many Canadians is a springtime visit to the sugar bush on an elementary school class trip. There you got to see not only how maple syrup is produced, but you also, (and most importantly) got to sample all sorts of maple products. The only problem is that too much maple candy can make anyone crazy. In retrospect, I feel bad for any teacher who has ever had to take their class to a maple sugar bush because that bus ride home is anything but pleasant. Want to know what a maple sugar high is like? Just watch this clip of Friends where Ross and Chandler stay at a fancy hotel, six hours away from home and on the way hit up every maple candy stand they see. Ross overdoses on maple candy and is completely nutty. Now picture Ross, times 30, in child form and you’ve got one of the worst ideas for a class trip ever. But also one that creates lots of memories.

Pouring Freshly Made Maple Sryup

In an effort to recreate some childhood memories, I recently visited a local sugar bush and was treated to a tour of the sugar shack, complete with mandatory maple taffy tasting, (a classic sugar shack treat, made by boiling maple syrup and pouring it over fresh snow). Bob and Mary-Beth Gray of Kemble Mountain Maple Products collect sap from their maple trees and boil it down to syrup in enormous pans, heated by a wood fired stove. The amount of wood they go through in one day is astounding, requiring them to constantly feed the fire with long logs. The fire heats the sap and it reduces, flowing down a gradient, becoming thicker at each level until it can be poured out as syrup at the other end. Tasty, tasty syrup.

Making Maple Taffy

I left the sugar shack eager to return to my kitchen and to create a meal full of maple flavour. The options were endless but I eventually narrowed my choices down to include a maple flavoured cocktail, salad dressing, two maple glazes and a maple cookie. Let’s begin with the cocktail, shall we? It’s a good one and it’s called a Maplelito, a riff on the class mojito but it’s made with maple syrup instead of mint. In my version, I combined the juice of 1 lime, an ounce of white rum and an ounce of maple syrup and served it over crushed ice. Delicious.

Maplelito!

Next up was the salad course. In general, salad is for rabbits, but when you add maple cured bacon, homemade croutons, red peppers and freshly made maple vinaigrette, salad is awesome. The vinaigrette recipe is an inexact science but contained the following: maple syrup, olive oil, white balsamic vinegar, paprika, dry mustard and salt.

Maple Dressed Salad with Maple Cured Bacon Bits

The main course featured a double dose of maple syrup with maple glazed carrots, (recipe from Bon Appetit) and soy and maple glazed duck breast served over garlic mashed potatoes with a wild mushroom ragout. Making the duck breast couldn’t be easier. Simply season on all sides with salt and pepper and score the fat in a crosshatch pattern. Place fat side down in a skillet and allow some of the fat to render out and the skin to become crispy. Drain off most of the fat, flip with duck breast, glaze with equal parts maple syrup and soy sauce and put in a 400 degree oven for about 6-8 minutes, glazing again half way through. Remove from the oven and let rest before slicing and serving.

Maple and Soy Glazed Duck Breast with Maple Glazed Carrots, Garlic Mashed Potatoes and Mushroom Ragout

For dessert I made Chewy Maple Cookies from the always enticing blog, Habeas Brûlée. Danielle says these cookies, which were initially created by her partner Dave, are basically maple candy in the guise of chewy cookies. And although mine looked nothing like hers, they were still addictive and definitely along the lines of maple candy. After a couple of these cookies you started to feel a little loopy and doped up on maple sugar.

Chewy Maple Cookies

An all around sweet evening.

All of the maple syrup I used to create this meal came from:
Kemble Mountain Maple Products
“Produced with pride from the forests of Ontario’s beautiful Niagara Escarpment.”
Bob and Mary-Beth Gray
519-371-9128
kemblemt@log.on.ca

Happy in the Kitchen

Deep Fried Bison Burger

I think it’s pretty obvious that I have a love of food. Until recently though, my love of cooking and baking was restricted to my own kitchen. Since I started at the restaurant I’ve been asked by a lot of people whether or not I enjoy working in a professional kitchen. That’s a tricky question. I usually reply with something to the effect of, “I like work when we’re not doing work.” What’s that supposed to mean? Well, it means I like Chef Challenges and learning new things and playing around with different ideas. I like the silly days in the kitchen when we get our work done but have fun doing it. For example, one of my least favourite jobs is chopping herbs. I know it has to be done though. On silly kitchen days, the herbs get chopped, but they might morph into other shapes on their way to being finely chopped into, as one of the guys likes to say, dust!

Thyme Heart... Making Herb Chopping Bearable

On slower days when we find ourselves with a little extra time on our hands, a question that frequently comes up is “What can we deep fry?” I don’t think I ever get tired of that one. There have been some interesting things to go in the deep fryer, with varying results. Deep fried cheesecake was fun and completely decadent, especially after it was topped with chocolate and caramel sauce. Besides being decadent, it was really pretty too. Dropping the batter covered cheesecake into the deep fryer was a messy affair that resulted in ‘tails’ that were an arty accident. Times like those inch me closer to buying a dSLR and learning how to use it so that my pictures can reflect how cool food really looks.

Deep Fried Cheesecake with Caramel and Chocolate Sauce

One of the best things to come out of the deep fryer was a bison burger. I’m still having dreams about that burger. What was so special about it, besides being a deep fried burger? Let me break it down for you, from top to bottom: Ace bakery bun, a blend of mustards, lettuce, heirloom tomato, red onion, bacon, applewood smoked chedder cheese, a panko breaded deep fried housemade bison burger, gourmet housemade ketchup and an ace bakery bun. Wow. You don’t even know how amazing that burger was. We decided that it could in fact be improved upon though, by adding caramelized onions, a grilled portobello and embedding cheese in the centre of the burger. One day soon this must happen and when it does, it will be glorious.

Deep Fried Bison Burger with All the Fixings

Right up there with, “What can we deep fry?” is, “What can we fry in duck fat?” Duck fat is an ingredient I’ve come to have an appreciation for since working at the restaurant. I just didn’t know what I was missing before then. A more difficult question might be, “What can’t we fry in duck fat?” Because I think the answer might be nothing. Potatoes in duck fat are basically the best French fry in the world but a lot of other items have been fried in duck fat at work too.

I find I get the most random creations from Chef after he’s been cooped up in his office for a while and hasn’t been in the kitchen cooking. When he finally makes an appearance and I ask him to teach me something new or make me something awesome he gets a certain glint in his eyes and comes up with Spaghetti Bolognese or Turkey Pizza. Of course, neither of those things sounds very unusual until you see them made his way. Spaghetti Bolognese was turned inside out and became a beef tenderloin and tomato confit wrapped in spaghetti and pan fried in duck fat. It had the flavours of spaghetti Bolognese but looked nothing like the classical version.

Spaghetti Bolognese

Most recently Chef made turkey pizza, which is to say, not really pizza at all. He butterflied a turkey breast, pan fried it in duck fat and brown butter before topping it with more traditional pizza toppings like mushrooms, onions, salami, tomatoes, basil puree and bocconcini. Turkey pizza! Sort of.

Turkey Pizza

Every now and then actual work is kinda fun too, even if it’s completely different from just playing around at home. Recently there was a function that required 75 portions of white chocolate mousse in dark chocolate cups. That’s clearly not something I’m going to be making at home on a regular basis, (at least not in that quantity) so getting to make something new and seeing the process is fun for me. The ‘cupcakes’ so to speak, were then garnished with sugar glass, a sprig of mint and a little fruit salad of oranges, blueberries and strawberries. I’m sure if you ask me again in the middle of summer when I have to make a million of them if I like making white chocolate mousse cups, you may get a different response, (and possibly a cupcake in the face) but who knows? Hopefully I’ll like it just as much. When work is fun, I’m happy in the kitchen.

White Chocolate Mousse in Dark Chocolate Cups

Foodbuzz 24, 24, 24: Five Courses, Five Primary Tastes

It’s time for another round of Foodbuzz 24, 24,24, whereby 24 bloggers post about 24 different meal experiences in 24 hours. This month I proposed to make a five course meal, with each course highlighting one of the five tastes, which are bitter, salty, sour, umami and sweet. The folks at Foodbuzz thought that was a good idea so here we are! Let’s get right into it.

European Imported Beers

The first taste that I wanted to highlight was bitter. The bitter taste can also be described as sharp and can be detected in chocolate, coffee, olives, beer, bitters and some leafy greens. Since it’s my dinner to host I’m allowed to say that liquid courses count! That means it’s time for beer. To whet our appetite for more good things to come, we sampled some European imports. Beer always makes me hungry for snack food so it’s a good thing the salty course was up next.

Roasted Potatoes with Bacon, Cheese and Parsley

Salty tastes are produced predominantly by the presence of sodium ions. My favourite example of the salty flavour is bacon and I seriously debated for a while about just serving a few different slices of homemade bacon on a plate. Who wouldn’t love that? My somewhat rational side eventually vetoed that idea but only because I decided to enhance bacon with other delicious things like potatoes and cheese. Roasted Potatoes with Bacon, Cheese and Parsley from Gourmet complimented the beer perfectly and it began to become clear why it’s essential to combine all five tastes for ultimate enjoyment.

Lemon Raspberry Sorbet

After all of that saltiness we needed a palate cleanser. Sour taste buds to the rescue! Sour is the taste that detects acidity. The most common food group containing sour tastes is fruit like lemons and limes but wine can also have it. One bite of this mouth puckering Lemon Raspberry Sorbet is all you need to know exactly what sour tastes like. It’s definitely not dessert and you wouldn’t want a whole bowl of it but it was a great way to prep the mouth for umami. U-ma-what??? Just keep reading.

Roasted Veal Chops with Morels

Umami is the 5^th taste, although it is only as recent as 2002 that it has been included in culinary textbooks and literature as such. The concept, however, is not new. Escoffier identified sauces made with veal stock as having a flavor distinct from the four primary tastes although it took another hundred years before this fifth taste was finally accepted as valid. The word umami is Japanese and can mean yummy or delicious and has been described in English as meatiness, relish or savouriness. The umami taste is produced by compounds such as glutamate and is commonly found in fermented and aged foods, among others. Some examples of food containing glutamate are beef, lamb, mushrooms, parmesan and Roquefort cheese as well as soy sauce and fish sauce. I decided to take a cue from Escoffier and made Roasted Veal Chops with Morels to give my main course that umami taste.

White Chocolate Cheesecake with Chocolate Crumbs and Candied Kumquats

Finally, we end our meal with the sweet taste, one that is generally regarded as a pleasurable sensation. Sweetness is found in sugar rich foods and naturally in things like fruit, honey and maple syrup. I chose to go the less than natural, (but still very sweet) route with White Chocolate Cheesecake with Chocolate Crumbs and Candied Kumquats. Even the sour foods have been made sweet in this dessert, as kumquats are transformed into candied bites of sweetness with the aid of a simple syrup. I usually find white chocolate almost too cloyingly sweet to bear but combined with the tanginess of cream cheese it was actually quite enjoyable. Which reminds me, although each of the primary tastes can be delicious on their own, they’re at their best when combined with one another for a more complete and well rounded flavour. And although I enjoyed my five courses of tastes, I like how they play off of each other best as opposed to being sampled separately.

Be sure to check out the other 24, 24, 24 meals, there are sure to be some interesting ones that no doubt make full use of all five primary tastes. And if you’re looking for umami, look no further than the following recipe for Roasted Veal Chops with Morels.

Roasted Veal Chops with Morels, (From Gourmet, Adapted from Jean-Jacques Rachou and Charlie Palmer)

1 1/2 cups boiling water

1 1/4 oz dried morels (about 1 1/3 cups)

2 (1 1/3-inch-thick) veal rib chops

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 garlic clove, smashed

1 thyme sprig

1 tablespoon finely chopped shallot

2 tablespoon Cognac

1/2 tablespoon chopped chives

1 teaspoon chopped tarragon

Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle.

Pour boiling water over morels in a small bowl and soak until morels are softened, about 30 minutes. Transfer morels with a slotted spoon to a medium-mesh sieve set over a bowl. Press on morels with back of spoon to remove excess liquid (be careful not to squeeze out all the moisture), then add to soaking liquid and reserve. Rinse morels to remove any grit. Reserve morels and liquid separately, allowing liquid to settle.

While morels soak, let veal chops stand at room temperature 30 minutes.

Pat chops dry and season with 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and pepper (total). Heat an ovenproof 12-inch heavy skillet (not nonstick) over medium-high heat until hot. Add oil and heat until smoking, then add veal chops and sear underside well, 2 to 3 minutes. Turn chops over and sear 1 minute.

Add butter, garlic, and thyme to skillet and baste veal with melting butter. Transfer skillet to oven and cook, basting every few minutes, until an instant-read thermometer inserted horizontally into center of chop registers 130 to 135°F for medium-rare, 10 to 15 minutes.

Transfer chops to a plate to rest. Discard garlic and thyme, keeping juices and fat in skillet, and return to burner over medium-high heat. (Handle will be very hot.) Add morels and sauté 1 minute. Add shallot and sauté 1 minute.

Remove from heat briefly and add Cognac, then return to heat and deglaze, stirring and scraping up brown bits, until most of liquid has evaporated. Slowly pour in reserved soaking liquid, being careful to leave last tablespoon (containing sediment) in bowl. Add meat juices from plate and boil until liquid has reduced to about 1/3 cup.

Stir in crème fraîche, swirling to incorporate, and boil until morels are lightly coated and liquid is slightly thickened. Stir in chives and tarragon and season with salt and pepper. Serve chops smothered with morels.

The French Laundry

As is evident by this blog of mine, I like food and I like to write. So you would think that if I ate dinner at The French Laundry (!!!) on the 21^st of January, I would have had a post up about it immediately. But The French Laundry left me speechless. So what follows is my meager attempt at describing my greatest dining experience.

To begin, I was fortunate enough to get reservations by putting my name on the waiting list. I was planning my trip to Napa specifically to go to The French Laundry and wasn’t going if I didn’t get a table. The problem was, I had to coincide my dinner there with having time off from work. When I called for reservations I put my name on the list for a weeks worth of dinners and hoped for the best. On New Year’s Eve I got a call to confirm that I had a 9pm reservation for two on January 21^st. That meant I had three weeks to plan my trip and figure out who I was taking with me. Although quite a few people expressed interest in coming, most of them couldn’t take the time off work, didn’t have the money, excuses, excuses. Then I realized the best person to take with me was my Dad. He’d appreciate it, (unlike some others who just wanted a trip to sunny California) and his birthday was a couple days afterwards so a celebratory dinner at The French Laundry would certainly be one to remember. As I mentioned last year on his birthday, Dad’s also pretty awesome and I couldn’t ask for a better traveling companion.

Fast forward to January 21^st, the time is 8:50. As we walked through the front door I was nervous. I almost didn’t want to eat there. I’ve read so much about The French Laundry and Thomas Keller and heard so many amazing stories that it seemed as though it was destined to disappoint. But I had traveled over 3000km to get there and I would not be going home on an empty stomach. I gave the hostess my name and we sat down to wait for our table to be ready. As with almost every other location in the Napa Valley, there were copies of Thomas Keller’s books on the coffee table. I wanted to dig into Under Pressure as I’ve only skimmed it at the bookstore, but I was too excited to be able to focus. Our table was taking a couple extra minutes to prepare so two glasses of complementary champagne were brought out to us while we waited. It was only the beginning of over four more hours of impeccable service.

It wasn’t long before we were seated and our server, Shannon, (one of about nine people who waited on us throughout our meal) greeted us warmly, handed us menus and encouraged us to ask her questions if there was anything we were unsure of. There are only two menu options at The French Laundry, both are nine course Chef’s tasting menus but one is vegetarian. I’m sure the vegetarian option was amazing, (I read it over just because I was curious) but there was no way this carnivore was choosing it. Within the regular Chef’s tasting menu there are four courses that require you to choose between two options. For the most part Dad and I made sure to coordinate our selections so that we got to taste everything. However on the course that offered either a cauliflower salad or foie gras, Dad and I both chose the foie. As for wine, we put ourselves in the very capable hands of the sommelier, Anani. It was the right thing to do as he chose an excellent white and then red to carry us through the meal. We couldn’t have asked for a nicer sommelier. I liked him so much I wanted to take him back to Canada with me and to the restaurant I work at. I even offered him free golf… Somehow I don’t think there’s a sweet enough deal in the world that could lure him, (or anyone) away from The French Laundry.

The first bits of food to arrive were two tiny gougères, served on an equally small silver platter. We popped them in our mouths and so began our taste adventure. Warm from the oven and full of cheesy goodness, the gougères left us eager to see what would come next. It was the reknown Thomas Keller Salmon Cornet, the cutest, most delicious little savory cone you’ll ever eat. That was followed by our first official course:

“Oysters and Pearls”: “Sabayon” of Peal Tapioca with Island Creek Oysters and White Sturgeon Caviar

After one bite from a mother of pearl spoon it became very clear to me that The French Laundry would not disappoint. I savoured that little dish of oysters and pearls like nothing I ever have before. The balance of flavours and textures was unlike anything else. Dad, who previously thought he didn’t care much for the texture of oysters was blown away by how much he liked these.

Moulard Duck “Foie Gras en Terrine”: Sunchokes, Apple Mustard Seed Relish, Toasted Brioche and Dijon Mustard

Attention to detail. This dish embodies it. Every element on the plate has a purpose and every flavour combination has been carefully considered. The foie is served with a trio of salts so that you can customize it to your liking, as well as with warm, toasted brioche to spread it on. Half way through this course a server appeared to whisk away our partially eaten brioche and to replace it with warm ones. Thomas Keller thinks the warm brioche enhances the dish and wants to ensure that your last bite is as enjoyable as your first. Attention to detail.

Columbia River Sturgeon “Confit à la Minute”: Globe Artichokes, Pearl Onions, Parsley Shoots and Hobbs’ Bacon

Cod Milt “En Aigre-Doux”: Fennel Bulb, San Marzano Tomato Compote, Niçoise Olives, Arugula and Smoked Eggplant Coulis

This was the first course in which Dad and I had something different, although after eating our way through half our plates, we switched so we could taste everything. I think I’m quickly becoming a fan of anything confited, the sturgeon was to die for. The Hobbs’ bacon that accompanied it was also spectacular, served paper thin but with such a robust bacon flavour that you could have sworn you were tucking into a full slab of it. As for the cod, at first glance it looked like little more than a cod fritter but one bite combined with the tomato compote and eggplant coulis told a very different story.

“Beets and Leeks”: Maine Lobster Tail “Pochée au Beurre Doux” with King Richard Leeks, “Pommes Maxim’s” and Red Beet Essence

Dad and I have eaten a lot of lobster in our lives. His family is from the East coast of Canada and they know how to have a lobster feast. But both of us immediately remarked that we’ve never before had lobster this good and vowed that next time we made it at home it would have to be poached in butter. Of course, we’ll have to try our hand at the gourmet ‘potato chip’ that accompanied it, as well as the beet and leek sauces. The lobster was truly a highlight.

“Aiguillette” of Liberty Farm Pekin Duck Breast: Roasted Savoy Cabbage, Hen-of-the-Woods Mushroom, Tokyo Turnips and Young Ginger Sauce

Corned Marcho Farms Veal Tongue: Tuscan Lentils, Black Trumpet Mushrooms and Brussels Sprouts

Being fans of wild mushrooms, we were happy to see that two different kinds appeared in these dishes. And I was happy to try something completely new to me, veal tongue. Veal tongue is one of those ingredients that when I mention it to my non-foodie friends, I usually get somewhat of a horrified or disgusted look as a response. I challenge anyone to eat veal tongue at The French Laundry and not like it. It was delicately nestled into a perfectly cooked bowl of Tuscan lentils and it was fantastic. Dad went on at length about how wonderful his duck breast was.

Snake River Farms “Calotte de Boeuf Grillée”: Sweet Garlic “Pain Perdu,” French Laundry Garden Carrots, Broccolini, Bone Marrow Pudding and “Sauce Bordelaise”

I now have dreams about Snake River Farms beef. And considering the price, that’s probably all I’ll be doing about it for quite some time. But it was, hands down, the best piece of beef that has ever passed my lips. I let it dissolve on my tongue and tried to make it last for as long as I could so that the memory would remain even after I swallowed. I wanted to lick the plate clean so as to garner every drop of beefy goodness. I miss that beef.

“Tomme de L’Ariège”: Belgian Endive, Green Grapes, Watercress and Black Truffles from Provence

The cheese course arrived and with it came truffles! Hurrah! Point of interest- the grapes were peeled. Every detail is accounted for.

Ruby Red Grapefruit Sorbet: Pistachio “Pain de Gênes” and Mascarpone

Prior to going to The French Laundry I had recently tried to make grapefruit sorbet. The flavour of mine was decent but the texture was woefully inadequate in comparison to the velvety smoothness of TFL. Their pairing of grapefruit with pistachio and creamy mascarpone is something that I can only hope to one day think of on my own. Sadly, this was one of my worst photos of the night. Taking pictures by candlelight is not easy.

“Mousse au Chocolat Amedei”: Gros Michel Banana Ice Cream, Candied Cashews and Curry “Arlette”

Braised Golden Pineapple: Spiced Sweet Rice Beignet, Dark Raisin Coulis and Long Pepper Sherbert

When we were seated at the beginning of the meal, our server had asked if we were celebrating anything in particular and I told her Dad’s birthday was in a couple days so when they brought out the desserts his was adorned with a ‘Happy Birthday’ sugar paste plaque. I managed to snag a tiny spoonful of Dad’s chocolate mousse and I could have happily eaten a whole bowl of it. The only slight hiccup in the whole FL meal came at dessert for me, (and I cringe at calling it a hiccup because it was barely anything). The long pepper sherbert that accompanied my dish just hit too hard at the back of my throat. The spice was overpowering for me. Although it didn’t linger long, I found the taste to be too sharp when I swallowed it. I debated whether or not I would even mention this little tidbit but decided I would, just to show that in a four hour meal, the only thing I could find to complain about was a tiny element of one single dish.

Mignardises

Chocolates

We were getting pretty full by the time the beautiful box of mignardises was brought to our table but neither of us could resist sampling one or two anyways. The rest were boxed up and given to us to take home, likewise with the selection of gorgeous chocolates. As much as I wanted to eat them at the time, I couldn’t manage another bite. I enjoyed them on the plane ride home instead. Besides the mignardises and chocolate, our take home package included shortbread cookies for each of us and extra chocolate bars for Dad for his birthday.

The service at The French Laundry is nothing if not accommodating. They ask specifically at the beginning of your meal if you have any food allergies that they should be aware of but seem equally good about personal preferences as well. At the table behind me, one of the women requested that there be nothing “cold” in her desserts. The course consisting primarily of Ruby Red Grapefruit Sorbet was therefore out, as were both of the final dessert options which contained ice cream. The kitchen improvised with completely different plates for her. I almost wanted to make up an allergy just to see what they’d make for me…

As we were finishing up, our wonderful server Shannon, knowing that I work in a kitchen, asked if we wanted to see The French Laundry kitchen after our meal. Absolutely! We were one of the last tables to finish at the end of the night and it was after 1am by the time we were lead back to the kitchen. There was a team of cooks working hard on tomorrow nights menu. They use a matrix to ensure that no ingredient is repeated twice throughout the meal. If I hadn’t of been in awe of the kitchen itself, there were a million questions I wanted to ask them.

As Dad and I made our way out the door I felt like I was walking on a cloud. Time had flown by and I couldn’t believe my French Laundry experience was over already. Despite the fact that it was after 4am my time, (it’s a three hour time difference between California and Ontario) I was wide awake and spent the next couple hours running over every aspect of the meal in my head. The flavours were so distinct on the plate and yet worked in perfect harmony with each other. I went over the meal course by course, trying to remember exactly how everything tasted. It was overwhelming in the best possible way.

My French Laundry experience was everything I hoped it would be and more. I can’t adequately express in words how wonderful/amazing/incredible it was, (the thesaurus can’t help me here either). A very special thanks to everyone at The French Laundry who made our meal there an unforgettable one.

Foodbuzz 24, 24,24: The 10 Mile Dinner

You’ve heard of the 100 Mile Diet? Well this is the 10 Mile Dinner! Because I’m always up for a challenge I decided to submit a proposal to Foodbuzz’s January round of 24 Meals, 24 Hours, 24 Blogs that would require me to make a three course meal using ingredients within a 10 mile radius of my house. I was thrilled when they accepted my idea and set to work on planning an exact menu. The results are as follows:

The 10 Mile Dinner

Lavash cracker tower with sautéed watercress, caramelized onion, bacon lardons, smoked trout and maple syrup.

Venison chop roast with mashed potatoes, pan fried shiitake mushrooms and roasted butternut squash.

Pavlova with maple whipped cream, grape sorbet, candied walnuts and wine reduction.

Wine: 2007, Back from the Dead Red from Coffin Ridge

Ever since my proposal was accepted for this round of 24, 24, 24, I’d been trying to think of all the possible ingredients I could use in my 10 Mile Dinner. Some of the ingredients came to mind immediately like venison and mushrooms. Others took a little more time. I would think about it while cooking other meals and reading my cookbooks but I also found myself thinking about while doing things unrelated to food, like cross country skiing. It turns out that was a great time to think about it as I found one of my ingredients while skiing around my backyard. Watercress. It grows in a natural spring that feeds our pond. The spring runs year round which prevents it from freezing and allows watercress to grow even in the dead of winter and surrounded by 3 feet of snow, (its current state). The only way to get to the spring however, is either by skis or snowshoes as the snow’s too deep to walk in for any distance. So ski I did and then proceeded to numb my hands completely as I pulled watercress from the frigid spring. But it was a necessary part of my appetizer so it was worthwhile.

Speaking of which, my appetizer started out as being ‘something with smoked trout’ and evolved to become a napoleon of sorts made by layering homemade lavash crackers with sautéed watercress, caramelized onions and homemade bacon lardons, smoked trout and a drizzle of maple syrup.

Like the appetizer, the entrée began as simply ‘something with venison’ and turned into a venison chop roast with red wine that was rubbed with thyme, rosemary and juniper berries and then covered with the fatcap from the bacon that I finished making on the same day, (bacon is a 7 day process, requiring a cure before it can be smoked). The venison was served with mashed potatoes and roasted butternut squash, both cellared from the garden. There were some unusually large butternut squash in the garden this year so every time I cut one up to roast there are always leftovers, perfect for soup.

I thought dessert might be a bit trickier as I certainly couldn’t use chocolate or coffee and try to call it local. But then I remembered that the freezer is full of summer’s bounty, including a container of concord grape juice that was pressed from our own grapes and was begging for an excuse to be used. Grape sorbet then became the first component of my dessert, which was soon followed by pavlovas, (made with eggs from a nearby farmer) and whipped cream sweetened with maple syrup, (from the nearby sugar bush) candied walnuts, (from my tree) and a red wine reduction, (with the wine coming from this county’s only winery, Coffin Ridge).

Complete List of Local Ingredients

Wine, 2007 Back from the Dead Red from Coffin Ridge

Shiitake mushrooms, from Wylie Mycologicals

Venison, Dad shot it with his bow, locally

Watercress, wild from a spring in my backyard

Potatoes, cellared from my garden

Butternut squash, cellared from my garden

Onions, cellared from my garden

Rosemary, dried from my garden

Thyme, dried from my garden

Juniper berries, wild from my backyard and dried

Concord grapes, juice pressed and frozen during the summer from my garden

Bacon, pork belly was bought from local butcher at Cottenie’s Country Meat and I cured and smoked it

Smoked Trout, caught in Georgian Bay by my Dad and smoked at our house

Eggs, from a farmer down the street

Maple Syrup, from Kemble Mountain Maple Products, (also just down the street)

Flour for crackers, from Saugeen Specialty Grains

Sometimes I miss living in the city but when you can make a meal like that out of ingredients you harvested yourself from your backyard, it’s hard to complain about living in the country.

Be sure to check out Foodbuzz and all of the 24, 24, 24 dinners from around the world. There are sure to be some great ones!