Eating Local in the City

More and more people are bringing the trend to eat local right into their backyards.  There is obvious satisfaction in being able to pick your veggies for your salad just before the meal.  You can't get more local or fresher than that but it's also a lot of work!   

I partook of some of those joys when I spent a week in San Jose and my hosts had strawberries and tomato planters on their back patio and orange trees on the side.  I picked strawberries every morning to go with my breakfast cereal and picked cherry tomatoes and oranges when I felt like having a snack.   I visited friends in Toronto on the weekend who turned their back garden into a vegetable garden, practically. You can see pictures below.  My hardworking friends were watering and working in the patch even as we visited.  You can't let up as your crops are at stake.  And what happens if you decide to take a summer vacation?  

I also can't help but wonder if my generous friends get more than their share of visitors.  We came back with fresh-picked beans and cherry tomatoes - and best of all, a precious jar of yummy pesto!!  I couldn't wait to dig into the pesto and you can see my "local" dinner below.  

Patio vegetable planters in San Jose

Vegetable garden in Scarborough (Toronto)

Looking good!

Tasting good!

Bountiful beans!

 Lonesome fuzzy squash on the garden arbor - there is something growing in ever corner of the yard!

Sweet harvest

My "local" food dinner:  the beans; basil and garlic from the garden was the base for the delicious pesto on the pasta.  No, I don't know where the trout came from but fresh frozen tasted good too!

Learning to cook in farm country

What better place to teach the production and preparation of food than in farm country!  The Niagara  College Canadian Food and Wine Institute is doing precisely that.  In addition to learning how to cook, students also learn how to grow food and grapes for wine.  The Institute is at Niagara-on-the-Lake, right in the middle of fruit and wine country.  There is a full service restaurant Benchmark right on campus, providing practical experience as well as paid jobs for the students and high quality local food at very reasonable prices for the public.  

We drove up to the quiet campus and enjoyed a quiet lunch in the spacious glass enclosed dining room.  It was a bonus not to have to fight the crowds at Niagara-on-the-Lake on a long weekend!  You can check out the menus and the amazing prices and maybe find another culinary institute closer to home that offers you similar value.   I look forward to hearing about other experiences with culinary institute restaurants. 

I had the prix fixe menu called "Trust Us" and had never been such a happy guinea pig.  It started with the crunchy chopped green salad with smoked trout, followed by a pan-fried pickerel with rice and summer squash paired with an oaked chardonnay produced at the school.  One  might question why fish in both appetizer and entree but they tasted so different I didn't mind.  My luncheon companion ordered a la carte starting with a delicious pepper bisque the recipe for which they promised to email us.  The smoked pork ribs were smothered in a little too much sauce but scored a pass nevertheless.  Dessert of creme brule provided a smooth finish.  Too much food for lunch but we promised ourselves (alas not too convincingly) that we'll skip dinner...

Chopped salad with smoked trout

Pan-fried pickerel with summer squash and rice

Creme brulee

Pepper bisque

Smoked ribs with sweet potato frites and cabbage slaw

The dining room
and patio

Eating in Ontario farm country

We spent a day in Ontario's farm country this week, starting with a visit to the St. Jacob's farmers' market - an annual ritual for us.   We arrived just in time for an early lunch at one of the best fish places in the area - Vandijk's Fish truck offering Alaskan pollock in a light crunchy batter at the fantastic price of $6 served on your choice of multigrain or white bun.  This is topped off with the yummiest apple fritter ever - this comment from someone who wouldn't go near a donut.  There is usually a lineup out the door for this treat on weekends.   A weekday visit makes this a more pleasurable experience - you head straight to the cashier, pay your dollar and a freshly made fritter is in your hands!

Fried fish from Vandijk's

Vandijk's truck

Apple fritter!

On the way out, as the market neared closing time, we got great deals on cantaloupes (look at the size!), big juicy peaches, and leeks, cherry tomatoes and potatoes.  

We next headed to Stratford for the afternoon performance of 42nd Street followed by a leisurely dinner at a new restaurant at the Mercer Hall Inn in the old location of the former Tango restaurant.  It was a complete makeover - all tastefully done, in more ways than one - and best of all, the focus is local.

Reminded of the California ban on foie gras, we decided to "indulge" as the menu suggested on the foie gras appetizer.  You can see how puny each of the 2oz servings were - they looked like sides with the ample serving of crustini.  My rating - serving too small to provide meaningful "indulging" - although it was uniquely good, as only foie gras can be!  What was actually a better deal were the seared scallops - done to perfection.  The seared duck on pulled duck and rice was excellent.  The schnitzel, a bow to Mennonite farm country, was an unexpected delight - two pieces of thin moist pork in light batter served with a warm potato and bacon salad with fennel and green apple slaw.  It was one of the best schnitzel we've had, certainly comparable or even better than the ones we tried in Berlin, if only because it was a more delicate serving size and likely local.  It was a wholly satisfying day for the palate!

Diinner?!

Foie Gras (on the side!)

Seared scallops

Seared duck and pulled duck confit with wild and red rice

Local pork schnitzel

Can't go wrong with chocolate ganache finish

Table Service at home

How hard is it to do table service for twelve guests at home?!  No mean task!  I was one of the lucky guests at a recent dinner and couldn't not talk about this fabulous treat.  And may be you can get some ideas for a simple but elegant menu that is easy to serve, timing of preparation suitably staggered to allow you time to enjoy the dinner yourself.

It was a special dinner celebrating the 45th anniversary of a group of people's arrival in Canada - certainly significant, definitely worth the effort, but still a lot of work for the hosts.  But through careful planning, smart organization and detailed preparation, our hosts achieved a seamless service without imprisoning themselves in the kitchen.  They were actually able to sit down and eat with us!

The guests all felt pampered.  Buffet style had been the norm for the last 45 years as families grew - and shrank.   Empty nests provided an opportunity for a more civilized way of eating.  Civilized, that is, for the guests...

Perfectly grilled scallops and jumbo tiger shrimp on a bed of chives

The popular tomato, avocado, basil, hearts of palm salad from an earlier post on this blog - can be made hours ahead

Our hostess spent two hours making the pasta sauce, sieving basil and garlic so it came out smooth and flavourful for our palates.  If you don't have two hours, maybe you can use ready-made pesto.

meanwhile the rack of lamb and quail sizzled on the BBQ - smashing when matched with an oaky cabernet sauvignon from Elderton

finishing with a melt in your mouth lemon panna cotta (made ahead and refrigerated) perfectly paired with a smooth Amarone 

and more desserts as we relax with Oolong tea:  contributions from the guests - 
rich tiramasu beside dark chocolate dipped strawberry

Finally,  this huge fruit contribution was passed around - we regressed back to helping ourselves - the only way to go when you've had too much...

In-flight Meals

Until recently we would expect free food, if only peanuts, when taking a commercial flight. In-flight meals came a long way when in the beginning, with unpressurized cabins and the planes flying low hitting turbulence was a given. The main concern with passenger flights was deciding how many air sickness bags to carry and not what food to serve. My parents fled to Hong Kong in 1949 where I was born upon arrival. Life was difficult and it took a few years before my father found a job with Hong Kong Airways. In 1956 the airline introduced a new Viscount V.700 series plane and arranged a test flight over Hong Kong for publicity. My father brought me along, and was able to sneak me on board and signaled me to sit in back. Some time into the flight a very pretty lady came by, smiled at me and gave me some water in a wine glass and a finger sandwich, probably left over from the service up front. It was a plain butter sandwich and it tasted really good. I don’t know whether it was the sandwich or the pretty lady, but from that moment on I became fascinated with airplane food… I have a photo of that flight. Please note the large oval window. You won't find that in modern planes.

 

Lots of Shrimps

Mr. A went to market in the morning and found two kinds of live shrimps.  There were large spot prawns (red shrimps with a white spot on each side of the abdomen) and the small coonstripe shrimps (red brown shrimps with irregular dark striping on the abdomen).  The coonstripes were not quite the length of a finger from head to tail.

Mr. A was in the mood for blanched shrimps.  He bought almost four pounds of coonstripes, which were more suitable for blanching because of their size and texture.  For lunch, he boiled a large pot of water, and put most of the shrimps in after turning off the heat.  Mr. and Mrs. A peeled and ate the shrimp meat with a  simple dipping sauce of soy and Thai chili peppers and drank sparkling wine.

 

Live coonstripe shrimps

Cooked shrimps, soy sauce with Thai peppers, sparkling wine

He saved some shrimps for making an egg dish in the evening. 

Shrimps and slow cooked eggs

Mr. A used the shrimp heads and shells to make “shrimp butter” and shrimp stock.  

To make “Mr. A’s shrimp butter” which, unlike the usual recipes, contains no shrimp meat:

·         Cut up shrimp heads and shells into small pieces;

·         Add a stick or two of butter (salted or unsalted, your choice);

·         (Optional) add seasoning and spices if so desired; sometimes I put in a couple of red chili peppers for heat;

·         Cook over low heat until the butter turns rosy orange with shrimp aroma and flavor;

·         Drain the butter and store in refrigerator. 

-    Use it for pasta and seafood dishes.

"Shrimp butter"

Shrimp heads and shells with a stick of butter

·         

Chicago Eats

I have never been to Chicago.  I would like to go there, if not for its architecture, at least for its good restaurants.  

I had three on my mind – Charlie Trotter’s (new American cuisine), Rick Bayless’ Frontera Grill (Mexican) and Alinea (“molecular gastronomy”).

But it is too late to eat at Charlie Trotter’s.  It will close after celebrating its 25^th anniversary at the end of August of 2012.  Mr. Trotter will be going back to school to pursue a master degree in philosophy.  He said he would open another restaurant after school.  We will see.

Senor Rick Bayless lived in Mexico to learn Mexican cooking.  In recent years, he follows the path of many celebrity chefs to run an empire of restaurants.  He also appears on television often.  Can I expect him to be at the helm of his kitchen?  I am not sure.  

Alinea has been a success since its opening – Michelin-starred, World’s Top 50, etc.  The owner-chef, Grant Achatz, has survived cancer and stays on top of everything.  Reviews are always raving.  The pictures in his coffee table cookbook and on the restaurant website are artistic and inviting (an example is placed at the end of this post).  But, being a traditional eater, I am no longer sure about eating there after I realize that Alinea is as much art and theater as food and dining there is “an experience”.  That's just me.  Watch the video “Lamb 86”, released by Alinea in May this year, and see for yourself.  The video has been circulated on the internet, so you may have seen it already.  If you have not, here is a link http://alineaphile.com/2012/05/garnish-key-for-alinea-restaurants-lamb-86-recipe/.  “Lamb 86” is a course of sous-vide lamb three ways, served with a rich jus and an accompaniment of 60 condiments on a plexiglass tray.  Altogether there are 86 ingredients, thus the name.  The diners choose the condiments from the tray for the lamb.  The dish has a great visual impact.   It also poses a challenge.  What condiments would one choose?  What would one’s dinner companions choose?  Has one made the “right” choices?  I suppose there are no right choices; I don’t think the chef would include anything that ruins the course.  "Lamb 86" is fun.  But, if I am eating that dish, my three small pieces of meat would be long gone by the time I get to the 10^th condiment.  I would not know what to do with the untouched condiments.

May be I should just go to Chicago for its architecture.  (I am only kidding.  Chicago is a good food city.  There is no lack of wonderful restaurants.  Alinea should be experienced.  An eating trip is warranted.)

Candycap (Alinea)

Tastes of Greektown

This is the weekend of "Tastes of the Danforth" in Toronto, an annual food fest in Greektown which we had been in a habit of visiting in recent years.  For me, it was the draw of roasted quails and the yummy Greek dessert - Bougatsa.  There were many restaurants selling quails - I just went with the one that had the quails roasting on an open fire.  The quails all looked plump on the spit but the one that was handed to me always looked small!  But truly, it's all that's needed for lunch!  And I still had to leave room for the roasted corn and of course, the dessert.  

Choice of quails, chicken, pork and calamari
Those are not the only choices of course, all along the street there were all kinds of food, even dim sum!

Bougatsa - layers and layers of phyllo with a custard filling;  for me, the best and the least sweet of Greek desserts 

We arrived just before noon with plenty of time to look around and eat before the lineups like this began around one o'clock.  By that time, we were sitting back at Second Cup with our coffee and "take-in" dessert watching the crowds go by...

Souffle Souffle

I am sharing my soufflé here as well.   

It was a tiny one.  A warm Edam cheese soufflé with crispy bacon on top, paired with fromage blanc sorbet and a white sesame tuile to end my dinner at La Folie in San Francisco when we visited that city in late June.

It was a good dinner.  Mrs. A ate frog legs, escargots bone marrow gratin, seared foie gras, and foie gras torchon.  Mr. A had goat cheese tatin, a pig feet sweetbread and lobster terrine, seared foie gras before his soufflé.   

Our friend’s dessert was a huckleberry Baked Alaska, basil ice creams, served with lemon biscuit and huckleberry panna cotta.  It looked good, didn’t it?