chewingfat

The makers of Vermont’s finest have done it again with their 2006 line-up. I’m not sure how these taste but the names are good for a laugh. Hold the phone, was the creative director at lunch when they named the last one? You decide.

Black & Tan™
Cream stout ice cream swirled with chocolate ice cream

Neapolitan Dynamite™
Cherry Garcia® and Chocolate Fudge Brownie ice creams, side by side

*Turtle Soup™ *
Vanilla ice cream with fudge & caramel cashews & a caramel swirl

Vermonty Python™
Coffee liqueur ice cream with a chocolate cookie crumb swirl & fudge cows

Berried Treasure™
Chunky Blueberry and Blackberry Sorbet Swirled with Zesty Lemon Sorbet

Jamaican Me Crazy Sorbet
Chunky Pineapple sorbet with a passion fruit swirl

Strawberry Kiwi Swirl
Chunky Strawberry sorbet swirled with kiwi sorbet

A couple of months ago I was at a client’s and found myself waiting in the reception area. I was pointed in the direction of a kitchenette so I could grab a coffee. When I got there I found myself face-to-face with a wicked little machine, the Keurig B2003. It was simple to use, remarkarable fast (about 30 seconds to brew), left no mess and tasted great. I liked it so much that we had one installed at our office.

It uses K-Cups. Single serving containers of coffee that require no opening or filters. they look like oversized creamers. You simply place one in the machine, put your cup under the nozzle and press “Brew”. In less than a minute you have a tasty cup of coffee. The spent K-Cup is automatically ejected into a bin so the next in line doesn’t need to deal with your waste – brilliant. It’s also hard plumbed into the existing water lines so there’s no need to measure out appropriate amounts of H2O.

I noticed they have models available for home purchase as well, though these versions aren’t directly plumbed and don’t include self disposing.

I have a week spot for chinese food. Yes, the north american stuff. I do enjoy more authentic stuff as well but there are times when all I want to do is tuck into a little beef chow mein, chicken fried rice and an egg roll.

There are also times that i wish some of my local chinese haunts would come correct and use decent quality ingredients. I’m not saying that what they cook with is bad. It certainly isn’t. The produce always seems fresh and the beef, seafood or chicken is always good, but it’s certainly a lower quality product.

This got me thinking. What if I take the food style I love and use some really great ingredients. Well, aside from a fairly expensive dish you get one hell of an egg roll.

Here’s what you’ll need [photo 1]

• 1½ lbs of king crab
• ½ avocado – not to ripe, not to firm
• 1 celery rib
• ½ small onion
• egg roll wrappers – you can find these at almost any grocery store these days
• 1 cup cornstarch and water mixture
• 1 jalapeño
• ½ cup oyster sauce
• Vegetable oil for frying

  Other stuff you’ll need

• Large pot
• Metal grill to set the fried goods on – a grill from the toaster oven works great
• Paper towel

  Prep the crab by removing the meat from the shells (I reserve all of the shells in freezer bag for making stocks). Julienne the avocado, celery and onion. Very thinly slice the jalapeño, remove the seeds. [photo 2]

  Take an egg roll wrapper and lay it on a flat clean surface at 45˚ so you have a diamond [photo 3]. Arrange the vegetables in a rectangle on the center of the wrap and spoon over some oyster sauce [photos 4+5]. Place a healthy amount of crab meat on top of the vegetables and add some fresh ground pepper [photo 6]. Dip you finger in the cornstarch mixtures and spread a small amount around the perimeter of the wrap. Fold in the two sides, then fold the top down, then the bottom up [photos 7,8+9]. This is likely confusing to understand so it’s best to refer to the photos.

  Take a couple of paper towels and make them damp, not wet. Drape one over the egg rolls as you finish them and another over the unfinished ones so they don’t dry out [photo 10].

  Heat the oil to 375˚F. Place a few in at a time making sure not to overcrowd them. Turn them once or twice and ensure they are golden and delicious. When they’re done place them on a rack covered with a sheet of paper towel – this will keep them nice and crispy [photos 11+12].

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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I really don’t think I can get enough red meat. Whether it’s a steak or a roast I love how simple the prep and cooking of it is – In my opinion the value far exceeds the effort.

I hesitate to even call this a recipe because it involves so few ingredients, such little technique and so little prep. It’s basically a seared steak that’s finished in the oven. However, the cut of beef and the temperatures at which it is cooked make or break the end result.

I found an absolutely amazing strip-loin [photo1 ] at Witteveen Meats in the St Lawrence Market [photo 2]. Though I didn’t measure it, it was well over an inch thick, likely closer to two. The final weight of this beauty was a shade over 20oz. It was well trimmed, well marbled and aged 21 days.

Without further ado…

Here’s what you’ll need [photo 3]

• 20oz Striploin, well aged and marbled trimmed of excessive fat (a little is okay)
• Vegetable oil – don’t substitute oil that has a low smoke point like olive oil
• Kosher salt – in this case I cracked out the Camargue (Fleur de Sel)
• Ground pepper

  Other stuff you’ll need

• Cast Iron Skillet
• Tin foil

  Preheat your oven to 550˚F (500˚F if that’s its max). Crank your burner to high and get the skillet really hot. Don’t put oil in the skillet.

  Put a liberal amount of salt and a moderate amount of pepper, too much pepper at this high a heat and it will burn. Do this to both sides of the meat [photo 4]. Oil the meat on both sides [photo 5] and begin to sear it [video 6+7]. This is healthy size steak so you can leave it for a couple of minutes on each side – careful not to disturb it.

  After the meat has been seared on both sides transfer the skillet to the oven. The time it takes will depend on you oven’s settings and how thick the steak is. An instant read digital thermometer will work or just push on the meat with your finger. the firmness will tell you how done it is, more on this below.

  Once it’s “done” place it on a warm plate and tent it with foil [photo 8]. This will allow the pressures trapped inside the steak to distribute the juices evenly. If you’ve cut into it or excessively poked the steak you’ll be left with a fairly dry piece of meat sitting in a pool of juice. You don’t want that until you start to eat this [photo 9+10].

  I must admit this turned out tasty but it was overcooked for my liking. I’ve never used this method on a steak this thick so hopefully I’ll learn from my mistakes. Namely, thinking it was done before it was, which meant taking it oven of the over, testing it, then placing it back in. I think this was giving me false readings on my thermometer as the meat had time to cool slightly.

  Here is an excerpt from Culinary Institute of Smoke-Cooking book by Charlie & Ruthie Knote

  bq. You use both of your hands. The muscle between your left hand’s thumb and first finger becomes the “meat” (this is for right-handed people). Hold the left hand very relaxed with its first finger and thumb drooped and parallel to each other. Use the first finger of your right hand for your “doneness tester.” Push against the “loose” muscle (not the loose skin) between your thumb and finger on your left hand. This soft feel compares to the center of your meat if it is raw up to rare. Next, straighten your thumb and finger out straight, push against the same muscle. This springy feel equals meat cooked medium. Next, make a tight fist; test the same muscle area. This firmness equals meat cooked well-done.

  As for temperatures here is what you can look for:

• 120 to 130˚F for rare
• 130 to 145˚F for medium rare
• 145 to 155˚F for medium

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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A few days ago a friend asked me if I had a good recipe for bouillabaisse. I didn’t. In fact, I’ve never even made it before. I had preconceived notions that it was incredibly difficult to make and that the ingredients were somewhat unobtainable. I was wrong on the first count.

Before I set out to buy an assortment of produce and seafood I did my research. It seems there is a good deal of debate over what seafood comprises an authentic bouillabaisse. Tony Bourdain explains disagreements over what fish to use and whether or not lobster is a part of this dish. Further reading uncovered there was such debate that a charter signed by 11 restaurants (La Charte de la Bouillabaisse Marseillaise) dictates ingredients of an authentic bouillabaisse. It seems as though they were able to agree on everything except for the inclusion/exclusion of lobster.

My recipe is a conglomeration of recipes I’ve perused (Including Tony Bourdain’s) while researching this dish. It doesn’t include the impossible to find fish that the charter outlines but it does include lobster and a few other tasty eats.

Here’s what you’ll need: [photo 1]

• 2 leeks
• 1 vidalia onion
• 1 anise bulb (or fennel)
• 3 roma tomatoes, seeded
• 12 fingerling potatoes
• 4 cloves of garlic
• ½ peel of a blood orange (or orange)
• 3 pistils of saffron
• 12 shrimp (large, de-veined with shell on)
• 1¼ pound lobster
• 1 king crab leg
• small filet of cod
• small fillet of halibut
• 1 baguette
• bouquet garni
• extra virgin olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste
• 4 cups fish stock

  Other stuff you’ll need:

• strainer
• ladle
• rolling-pin
• large pots

  Boil a large pot of water and submerge the lobster head first. Cook for 3 minutes [photo 2]. Remove the lobster from the water and let it cool. Once it’s cool enough to handle twist off the tail, claws and legs. Halve the tail lengthwise, crack the knuckles and claws with the back of your bad-ass knife and set aside. If it still looks a little rare that’s good – we’ll be finishing it later [photo 3]. Take the small legs and use a rolling-pin to extract the meat [photo 4]. Grab a small spoon and dig out the guts from the lobster’s main body cavity – reserve the hollow body and what’s left of the flattened leg shells.

  Slice the leeks using only the white part, slice the anise bulb and coarsely chop the garlic. Heat some olive oil in a large pot and cook the mixture down for 5 minutes [photo 5]. Dice your seeded tomatoes, add them to the pot with the blood orange peel and cook it down for another 3 minutes [photo 6]. Add the stock, lobster shells, bouquet garni and saffron [photo 7]. Put the heat on low and let it simmer for about an hour [photo 8].

  Remove the lobster shells making sure there are no liquids hiding inside. Strain the soup base through the sieve making sure to press every last drop from the spent vegetables [photo 9]. Set aside.

  Boil the fingerling potatoes until cooked, it’s okay if their on the firm side – they’ll be simmering later for another 15 minutes.

  Prep the seafood by cutting the crab leg into 1½ inch sections leaving the shell on. Cut the fish fillets into large pieces (I regretfully cut mine into bite size cubes, but think it would have been better with larger pieces) [photo 10].

  Place the fish on the bottom of the pot and season with kosher salt and pepper to taste. Make sure you pot is big enough so the fish aren’t sitting on top of each other. Add the potatoes in and amongst the fish. Depending on the size of your potatoes you may want to cut them in half. Ladle enough of your delicious liquid to cover the fish and potatoes. Bring it to a simmer and let it cook for about 15 minutes. While that is simmering slice off some rounds from the baguette and brush liberally with extra virgin olive oil. Toast them until crispy and golden brown. While they are still hot grab a clove of garlic and rub it over the bread – make a few extra these things are delicious.

  When the fish is nearly done add the shrimp, lobster, crab and the remaining liquid. Simmer it until everything is cooked through [photo 11].

  Get out some nice big bowls and place a healthy amount of seafood and potatoes in them. Ladle the hot liquid over and serve with the fresh croutons [photo 12].

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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  Seeing as I made a gigantic portion for two, I was curious about how this would reheat. The next night I slowly brought it to a simmer and de-shelled everything (I was feeling slightly less rustic). My wife couldn’t do another night of garlic croutons so I oiled them up and sprinkled them with some Hawaiian red salt. it was equally tasty.

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The St Lawrence Market is one of my favorite places to shop in the city. Today’s visit was like any other, save for this is the Saturday of Superbowl weekend, making it slightly more crowded than usual. I suppose the $8 for parking, insane crowds and a few relentless sales people could be seen as potential drawbacks over your local Supermarket – I think it’s just part of the charm.

Your supermarket simply doesn’t have half of the goodness stocked at the St Lawrence. Need a skate wing? no problem. How about fingerling potatoes? Yup. Buffalo steak? what cut?

Aside from the product offering, the service level far surpasses any grocery store. Want to hold that lobster to make sure its got a nice hard shell? Just ask. Veal bones for Demi-glace? you bet. Want a 20oz cut of Alberta’s finest? Ask. Blood oranges, heirloom tomatoes, orka? Ask, ask, ask. The vendors at the market are more than willing to help you locate whatever it is your looking for. Today I couldn’t find a fennel bulb. When I asked one of the guys who was restocking some tomatoes he pointed out some anise. He noted it was very similar but is typically a little stronger in flavour. Think the teenager at Loblaws could have done that?

On a side note, this trip really had one purpose – pick up ingredients for TBD Bouillabaisse recipe as requested by some good friends.

Four favorite dishes

• Mom’s fusilli with lamb sauce
• O’Carroll’s dublin lawyer lobster
• Seared Ahi Tuna at Harbour 60
• Barbecue Shrimp served with a Petite Rosemary Biscuit at Emeril’s

  Four great restaurant experiences

• O’Carrolls – Halifax, NS
• Emeril’s New Orleans Fish House – Las Vegas, NV
• Famous Ray’s Pizza – NY, NY
• House of Chan – Toronto, ON

  Four places I need to give a second chance

• Delmonico – Las Vegas, NV
• Susur – Toronto, ON
• Amuse-Bouche – Toronto, ON
• Peppino’s on the Beach – Toronto, ON

  Four kitchen tools or appliances I love

• my knives
• Instant reading thermometer
• Cast iron skillet
• Coffee maker