The West Side Beef Co. Story

Ryan Donovan of West Side Beef Co. See more photos here.

It all started because Kurt Krumme was hungry. He was hungry for traditionally raised, high quality, affordable beef and it was surprisingly hard to find in Toronto. After his search yielded little in the way of results, he got some friends together, contacted a butcher and ordered a whole side of beef to divide amongst the group. What he ended up with was mislabeled beef, poor butchery and a large bill. Kurt believed beef should not be this confusing or difficult.

“I’d been doing some reading about where food comes from and I didn’t really like the answers. So I actually tried to order an entire side of beef.”

-Kurt Krumme

Shortly after this experience, Kurt ran into an old friend of his, Ryan Donovan, and relayed his tale of woe. Ryan responded immediately by saying he was now a butcher, he knew farmers and he could make this work. And he did.

Ryan got a side of beef from farmer Dennis Harrison at Dingo Farms. He butchered it himself, got in his car and drove it over to Kurt’s house where he was hosting a barbecue. Everyone was so impressed with the quality of the beef that they demanded Kurt and Ryan get them more. When other friends found out about it, they wanted some too. It soon became evident that there was a hole in the market that needed to be filled.

Chef Challenge: Battle Cream Cheese

Zeppole

I’ve previously told you about how lucky I am to work in a restaurant where we get to do some pretty neat things in the kitchen when we’re not busy. Sometimes that comes in the form of challenging Chef to create something on the spot, but sometimes Chef will flip the tables and challenge us instead. Usually that involves Chef telling us to produce a fully plated dish, using whatever we want, in under 30 minutes. This doesn’t sound like it should be a difficult task, but if you’re an indecisive person like myself, it can be 30 minutes of torture.

Cook1's Lamb Dish

The other day I was bugging Chef to make me something wonderful and he decided that I should instead make something for him. I hate when he does that. To buy myself some time, I suggested that one of the other cooks should have to take on the challenge. When Cook1 came back into the kitchen from a trip to the walk in fridge, completely unaware of what was going on, he was told he had 30 minutes to plate two identical dishes and that he’d better hurry up and get started. He began scrambling around to gather ingredients and come up with something to make. As he was doing this, Cook2 who had been observing, was pulled into the game when Chef told him he also had 30 minutes and the same challenge. I escaped being a direct part of the challenge as I actually had some work to get done before service. As Cook1 and Cook2 approached the 30 minute mark, (with Chef counting down in Iron Chef fashion… 10 minutes have elapsed) I suggested they should get 45 minutes instead as it was becoming clear that 30 wouldn’t cut it. I’d fail on the real Iron Chef as I’m all for giving out extra time when needed. Coming up with a dish under pressure is hard enough as it is, I’ll take any bonuses I can get.

Cook2's White Fish Dish

When Cook1 and Cook2 finished their dishes they had to explain what they were before we all gave them a taste and Chef gave his opinion on the outcome. That’s also my opportunity to ask questions like “What part of the dish did you think of first?” I find it interesting to hear how other people conceive of a dish and where their ideas come from. I like answers that tell a story and let me get a little glimpse into their twisted minds, (they work in a kitchen, their minds are inherently twisted… we’re an odd bunch). I dislike answers like “I don’t know.”

Cook1 chose to make a lamb dish with greens beans, rice, walnuts and a pear puree.

Cook2 made a white fish mousse with rice and veg medley.

I love these little challenges because two completely different dishes were made, using different techniques and different trains of thought to lead to a final product. It’s just neat to watch.

Chef's Appetizer

The following day Chef told me to make him something amazing. I decided to make donuts since it’s something that allowed me to use the deep fryer. I don’t have a deep fryer at home, especially not an industrial one, so I like any excuse to use it at work, (even though really hot oil kinda scares me). I was also looking for an excuse to try out a recipe I had seen in Giada DeLaurentiis’ most recent book, Giada’s Kitchen. She calls them Zeppole, but they’re basically deep fried pâte à choux. Also, you can call me a cheater if you want, but I used a recipe. It’s much harder to create something pastry related in 30 minutes without some sort of recipe to build on. It’s not nearly as forgiving as cooking. I did, however, create two dipping sauces to go with the zeppole that I made without measuring utensils. The first was an orange caramel and the second a maple blueberry compote. When Chef came to taste them, he asked if they would be super mind blowingly awesome and amazing. Somehow, between the time he asked me if I was making him something and tasting time, his request got a few more adjectives tacked onto it. And while I wouldn’t qualify the zeppole as super mind blowingly awesome and amazing, they were alright but definitely best almost right out of the fryer.

Chef's Main

Later that night Chef decided someone should still complete a proper challenge and since a new sous chef just started this week, he was the perfect candidate to choose. To make things more interesting, Chef decided to compete against him and allowed the cooks to choose a mystery ingredient for them to use. There’s nothing like starting a new job and immediately being thrown into competition with your boss… The New Sous handled it a million times better than I would have. And being the generous group that we are, we granted them a fifteen minute preparation period, followed by one hour of cooking to produce an appetizer and main dish in Battle Cream Cheese. I really should have been taking notes as this happened last week, but from what I can recall, this is what they made…

New Sous' Appetizer

Chef’s Appetizer: Bacon wrapped around a cream cheese filling, topped with lobster ceviche and julienned marinated peas, sprinkled with small diced red onion and a reduced lemon liqueur drizzle.

Chef’s Main: Venison chop topped with cream cheese, leek and mushroom, with green beans, candied cherry tomatoes and pine nuts.

New Sous’ Appetizer: Smoked salmon, potato and cream cheese croquette, sitting on top a cream cheese based sauce and topped with orange and onion relish and micro greens, surrounded by a reduced balsamic drizzle.

New Sous’ Main: Chorizo stuffed chicken breast with a mustard and cream cheese sauce, accompanied by grilled portabello mushrooms, orzo and veg.

New Sous' Main

After plating their dishes, both the kitchen team and servers got to taste everything and vote on whose they thought was better. Everyone chose their favourites except me. I gave my opinion on what I liked and disliked about each dish, but refused to say definitively which I liked better. Chef and New Sous are both waiting for this post because they think I’m going to reveal a winner. I keep telling them I love them both equally and refuse to cast a vote. Instead of leaving them completely in limbo however, I’ve decided to let you vote. In the comments section, simply say who you think should win Battle Cream Cheese, based on which dish you think you’d like better. At least this way they’ll be able to sleep at night. Although I don’t know how accurate that decision method is either since Chef has been known to comment on my blog anonymously, using up to four aliases to keep his identity a secret. I might have to start Chef at negative four votes just to give New Sous a fair chance.

Zeppole (from Giada DeLaurentiis’, Giada’s Kitchen)

½ cup unsalted butter

¼ cup sugar

½ cup water

¼ tsp salt

1 cup all purpose flour

4 eggs

1 T grated orange zest

Vegetable oil for frying

Combine the butter, sugar, salt, and ½ cup water in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Take the pan off the heat and stir in the flour. Return the pan to low heat and cook, stirring continuously, until the mixture forms a ball, about 4 minutes. Transfer the flour mixture to a medium bowl. Using an electric hand mixer on low speed, beat in the eggs, one at a time, incorporating each egg completely before adding the next. Add the orange zest and beat until smooth. Set aside.

Pour enough oil into a large frying pan to reach a depth of 3 inches. Heat the oil over medium heat until a deep fry thermometer registers 350F.

Using a small ice cream scoop or 2 small spoons, carefully drop about a tablespoon of the dough into the hot oil. Make three more zeppole, being careful to not crowd the pan. Turn each zeppole once or twice, cooking until golden and puffed, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a plate and continue frying the remaining batter in batches of 4.

Vita-Mix Giveaway!

Oh yes, you read that correctly, I’m giving away a Vita-Mix! After a long dreary winter we could all use some cheering up and in an attempt to make one lucky person especially happy, I’m giving away a brand new Vita-Mix 5200. If you’ve never heard of Vita-Mix then you live under a rock. Seriously. It’s a high powered blender that can chew up virtually anything. How do I know this?

Quick Raspberry Ice Cream

Recently the wonderful people at Vita-Mix offered to let me try one out and I jumped at the chance. I love kitchen toys and this is a particularly awesome one. After playing around with it for a while, (and pretty much throwing everything in my fridge and cupboard into the canister just to watch it blend) I decided it was selfish of me to keep something so great all to myself. But I didn’t want to give it up though either. So I asked Vita-Mix if they would be willing to give away another blender to one of my readers. They graciously agreed and there you have it.

Silky Smooth Pumpkin Soup

I’m not the only one who thinks highly of Vita-Mix. Michael Ruhlman lists their blender as one of his favourite kitchen gadgets, (besides his hands that is). And I could give you a list of all the things you can do with your Vita-Mix, but we’d be here forever.

Almond and Lemon Macaron

Here are a few random suggestions:

• Grind your own almonds and then proceed to make Almond and Lemon Macarons.
• Whip up a homemade prune and Armagnac bbq sauce and then smother it on ribs.
• Whir together some cream, sugar and frozen fruit and you’ve got soft serve ice cream, freeze it a little longer if you want to be able to scoop it.
• Smoothies, smoothies, smoothies.
• Soup! You can make hot soup, from raw ingredients in about 5 minutes. And the texture is out of this world, super smooth.

Homemade BBQ Rib Sauce In Blender, After Blending and On Ribs

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Want a chance to win? There are lots of ways:

1. Leave a comment on this post telling me your favourite Spring recipe.
2. Twitter about the giveaway, linking to this post and leave me another comment to let me know. Or follow me on Twitter! @jumboempanadas
3. Post about the giveaway on Facebook, linking to this post and leave me another comment to let me know.
4. Post about the giveaway on your own blog, linking to this post and leave me another comment to let me know.

I'll give you an entry ballot for each way that you enter the contest. Unfortunately the contest is only open to readers in the USA and Canada, (but I love you all equally). Make sure you leave an email address,(or link to your blog if you have one) so that I can contact you if you win. The contest will run until Saturday, March 28th, at which point I’ll use a random number generator to determine a winner. Good luck everyone! Happy Spring!

Banana Berry Smoothie

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.

Inspiration

Inspiration comes in many forms and from many different places. Although lately I’ve felt as though my cooking inspiration has overwhelmed my writing inspiration and I’ve been struggling to find ways to tell you about all of the things I’ve been making. And then I realized that I should just tell you what’s been inspiring me to cook.

I don’t even think it’s necessary to say how inspiring my experiences were at the Thomas Keller restaurants, The French Laundry, Ad Hoc and Bouchon Bakery in California. While I was there I kept a list going of all the things I wanted to make once I returned home. Somewhere on that list were simply the words “make anything Thomas Keller”. If it’s on the list, it has to be done. I decided to go with a recipe from the Bouchon cookbook, which is ironically, the only Keller restaurant that I didn’t eat at while in Yountville. I guess I felt like I was missing out and needed to fill that void with my recreation of a Bouchon meal, Boeuf Bourguignon. In typical Keller fashion, no detail is left out and the steps required to make the dish are multiple. It’s worth it in the end.

Bone Marrow from Bistro Jeanty (Left) and My Kitchen (Right)

While in Yountville I managed to eat at one non-Keller restaurant and that was Bistro Jeanty. I had received a recommendation from the good folks at Foodbuzz that Bistro Jeanty was a fine place to go and I’m glad I went because it was there that I was introduced to bone marrow. They had it on the menu as a special appetizer for the evening and I was immediately drawn to it. I’d heard nothing but good things about bone marrow and I’ve lived for far too long without trying it. That appetizer was the best part of the meal and when I got back to the hotel that night I wrote “make bone barrow” on my to-do list. So of course, it had to be done. I used a recipe from Fat, (subtitle: An Appreciation of a Misunderstood Ingredient, oh yeah!) and did my best to recreate Roasted Bone Marrow with Red Wine Sauce. And although it would have been easier to eat if my bones had been cut in half, it was tasty nonetheless.

Apricot Ginger Scones

Sometimes inspiration is as simple as Mom requesting that I make her something with apricots. Occasionally such broad guidelines are agonizing for me because I can’t choose only one thing. Other times one word is enough to spark an idea and I immediately know what I’m going to make. When Mom said she wanted apricots it meshed perfectly with my desire to make scones and Ginger Apricot Scones were the result. If only it were always that easy…

While in New York City in January I ate at Bar Boulud and Café Boulud and enjoyed both experiences very much. This made me want to recreate some Daniel Boulud magic in my own kitchen. I have the Café Boulud cookbook, (co-authored by Dorie Greenspan) so I pulled it off the shelf and promptly lost the next hour just reading through the book before deciding to make Spiced Fresh Pork Belly with Lentils. You can never go wrong if the dish you’re making contains the almighty pig.

Spiced Fresh Pork Belly with Lentils

One of the places that inspiration comes from is, like it or not, The Food Network. I know there are a lot of mixed feelings about TFN but I get tons of ideas from it. I don’t love all of the shows, but I can still manage to find inspiration even in the ones I don’t like. For example I decided to braise oxtail for the first time in my life after seeing Paula Deen make them on Paula’s Home Cooking. I usually switch to the music station when Paula Deen comes on because in general I find her terribly annoying and can’t stand how she uses “y’all” as punctuation. But on this particular day, the remote control was out of reach and I was quite simply too lazy to be bothered to get up to change the channel. The result was that I saw how ridiculously easy it was to make braised oxtail and decided to make it for dinner the following night. I loved it and will definitely be making oxtail again.

Where does your inspiration come from?

Braised Oxtails with Egg Noodles

Braised Oxtails (from Paula Deen)

2 whole oxtails, sliced in 2-inch pieces
House Seasoning, recipe follows
Several dashes soy sauce
2 large yellow onions, sliced into half-moons
3 to 4 bay leaves

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Trim fat from oxtails. In a broiling pan, toss oxtails with House Seasoning and soy sauce. Top with onions and bay leaves. Add water to fill pan 1/4 of the way to the top. Cover pan with foil and bake until oxtails are tender, about 2 1/2 to 4 hours. Remove foil cover from meat and brown in oven for an additional 5 to 8 minutes.
Paula served her oxtails over rice, I chose egg noodles.

Ad Hoc

Ad Hoc: For Temporary Relief of Hunger. Or, because you can never have too much Thomas Keller in your life. I thought I’d give you a little breather from my epically long French Laundry post before I launched into another Thomas Keller lovefest. My trip to the Napa Valley was specifically to eat at The French Laundry but I figured while I was there I might as well experience as much amazing food as I could and that meant more Keller, in the form of Ad Hoc and Bouchon Bakery.

Ad Hoc, (which literally means, "for this purpose") was initially supposed to be a casual, temporary restaurant, serving family style four course meals that changed daily. The public response was so great that they couldn’t close. And for that, I’m glad.

Ad Hoc is completely different from The French Laundry and yet it’s still Thomas Keller, through and through. When you compare them side to side, however, that may be difficult to see at first. Servers at TFL wear suits. Servers at Ad Hoc wear jeans and running shoes. The lighting at TFL is by candlelight and is dim and intimate. The lighting at Ad Hoc is bright with lots of reflective and shiny surfaces. Courses at TFL are individually and intricately plated. Courses at Ad Hoc are served family style for you to dish up however you’d like. What are the similarities? The food is outstanding, (though different, to be sure) and attention to detail is paramount.

On to the food… First course was an Escarole and Pear Salad with Prosciutto Di San Daniele with torn garlic croutons and creamy olive dressing. The prosciutto melted in my mouth. I enjoyed every bite and it pained me to see the woman to my left doing her best to cut all the fat off her proscuitto. I wanted to tell her she was missing out on the best part! And then swipe it off her plate if she wasn’t going to appreciate it. The pear was a perfect addition to the salad and getting a bite with proscuitto, pear and escarole was delightful.

The second course was Veal Scallopini with Lemon and Capers, Braised Swiss Chard, Toasted Pine Nuts and Buttered Rustichella Tagliatelle. Basically anything that includes pasta is going to get high marks from me, but when you smother that pasta in butter, I’m completely sold on it, (sadly the pasta is hidden under the veal in my pic so you can't actually see it in all its glory). I was happy to see veal on the menu too because it’s not something that I prepare very often at home. This trip has definitely changed my habits though. Since coming home I’ve been making an effort to branch out more and try making things that I ordinarily wouldn’t have, (I actually just bought veal chops today).

A cheese course is featured on the menu at Ad Hoc and on this day it included, in addition to cheese, Marshall’s Farm Wildflower Honey and Spiced Mixed Nuts. I’m becoming a big fan of cheese courses and they’re also something that I wouldn’t have thought twice about in the past. While in Napa I started having afternoon snacks of a few different slices of cheese with a chunk of crusty bread and some honey. Since I was in the land of wine, I had a glass of that too. I really need to carry on that tradition at home.

Finally, dessert was a Buttermilk Panna Cotta with a Vanilla Cookie and French Prune Marmalade. This dessert piqued my interest in panna cotta, which I had previously not had a very high opinion of. Apparently I just hadn’t had it done properly. The panna cotta at Ad Hoc was soft and creamy and lacked that gelatinous, borderline jello-like mouth feel that I previously associated with panna cotta. It was a simple but elegant finish to the meal.

Dining at Ad Hoc made me wish I lived in the Napa Valley because it’s a spot that I would make return visits to. For someone who doesn’t like to go to the same restaurant twice, that’s saying a lot. In fact, contrary to what my posts of late would have you believe, I rarely dine out. When I do, I usually like to try out new places. For the most part though, I find that I’d rather make my own dinner than go out to eat where I pay too much for food that I could make better and for less money. Ad Hoc, however, at $49 for four courses, is a place at which I wish I could be a regular. And since the four courses change nightly I get the benefit of variety combined with the comfort of returning to a place which is familiar.

If I lived in the Napa Valley, I would also be making return visits, (almost daily, in fact) to Thomas Keller’s Bouchon Bakery. I bought bread and treats there every day, (I couldn’t resist the TKOs- Thomas Keller Oreos) and spent an almost creepy amount of time staring through the windows to watch the bakers at work. It made me want an enormous bread oven of my own and a Master Baker to show me proper technique. Bouchon Bakery supplies bread to all of the Keller restaurants in Yountville so they work around the clock pumping out beautiful and delicious loaves of bread in all shapes, sizes and types.

Just writing about all the great food I had on my California trip has made me want to get back in my own kitchen. It was certainly inspiring on a culinary level and I’ve got tons of cooking and baking ideas that need to be worked on so that I can achieve temporary relief of hunger too.

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.