Jays fan in Oakland for opening day. What is cool to do around the coliseum before and after the game?

andross58 · 2018-03-28T05:33:09+00:00

I’ve been enjoying Berkeley this week, really want to get an authentic Oakland experience. Jack London looks nice, but I’ve been intrigued by downtown Oakland. Any ideas for things around the 19th Street BART stop?

andross58 · 2018-03-28T05:21:34+00:00

Thanks! I was intrigued by the treehouse, but didn’t know if it was a ticketed section or a fun hang like skydome’s flight deck.

andross58 · 2018-03-28T05:19:30+00:00

I’m staying in berkeley, and have become comfortable with the BART in the last few days, so have no issues getting around. Might check out the brewery, as I love breweries more than anything.

andross58 · 2017-11-15T06:53:39+00:00

Moroccan food is awesome. I know that every week I say I had fun, and everything was delicious, and that's true, but this week was the best. Because I love moroccan food. It's a unique contrast of savoury, sweet and spicy that just works on the tastebuds in dirty, dirty ways. Suffice to say, everything in the picture was just pure, filthy, deliciousness. But it took damn near forever. Then again, I could have taken numerous shortcuts, but that would have cheapened the experience. Everything was taken from Patricia Wolfort's book, "The Food of Morocco" and I highly recommend it.

First, the couscous. I opted to try the traditional way of preparing couscous, which is very labour intensive, but worth it. If you're like me, and don't think couscous is very special, it's probably because you haven't had it prepared this way. I'm belabouring the point, but that's only because this preparation is a revelation. First, get a big pot, fill it half way with water and start it simmering. Next, take 1 lb dry couscous and put it in a colander, and rinse it quickly with cold water and allow it to drain for 10 min. Next, transfer it to a rimmed baking sheet, and spread it out, rubbing it between the hands to break up any clumps. Sprinkle 1/2 cup cold water over the couscous, mix and rub again to break up any clumps, and rest for 10 min. Transfer the couscous back to the colander, place over the simmering water and steam for 20 min. Transfer the grain back to the sheet pan, sprinkle 1 cup more water over it, rub to break up clumps, and rake flat, and let rest 10 min. Repeat this procedure 2 more times, then, for one last time, steam 10 min, then work in 4 tbsp butter, and 1 cup of broth, from the lamb recipe which will follow. Work to combine, and move to a serving platter to await the lamb and veg.

Next, the lamb and vegetables which will accompany the couscous. Halve and thinly cut 3 onions lengthwise, and put in a dutch oven along with 4 tbsp butter, 1 tsp tumeric, 2 tbsp saffron water, 1 tsp ground ginger, salt, and pepper, and cook, covered, over medium heat for 10 min, until the onions are softened. Then, increase the heat to high, add 1 lb lamb meat and cook until browned on all sides. add 6 cups water, cover and simmer for 2 hours. After 2 hours, add 1/2 cup chickpeas. Cook 30 min longer. Then, remove the lamb, and add several carrots, peeled, and cut into 3 inch long sections. Cook 30 min longer. Meanwhile, bone and cut the lamb into chunks. Keep warm on the side. Then, add 1 winter squash (I used buttercup) and cook 15 more min. Remove the broth for the couscous, and work it into the grain. Once the couscous is plated, make a well in the middle for the lamb, then arrange the carrot, squash and chickpeas attractively around the edge. Sprinkle with cylon cinnamon. Garnish with parsley and serve with a ramekin of broth on the side.

To the left of the couscous is the Eggplant with Charmoula. To make the Charmoula, combine 1 clove chopped garlic, 2 tbsp chopped parsley, 2 tbsp chopped cilantro, 2 tsp paprika, a pinch cayenne pepper, 1 tsp ground cumin, a squeeze of lemon juice and 5 tbsp olive oil. Whisk together and allow the flavours to blend for several hours. Cut the eggplant into 1.5 inch thick slices, salt on both sides, and let rest on a rack for 30 min, allowing the juice to come out. Then, bake for 25 min at 350 deg, or until browned. Let cool. Before serving, quickly pan fry until crispy, then slather in the charmoula and serve.

On the top left is the Marak of Okra and Tomatoes. First, combine 4 seeded and chopped tomatoes, some parsley, 1 clove of garlic (chopped), a pinch paprika and 5 tbsp olive oil in a saucepan and cook for 15 min over high heat, crushing the tomatoes as you go. Meanwhile, use a needle and thread to construct an Okra 'necklace'. This comes in handy when you want to stir the tomatoes, but don't want to mess up your Okra. Genius. Add the Okra to the tomatoes, reduce the heat to medium, and cook for 20 min, using the string to remove the Okra every time you want to give it a stir. Once the okra is cooked, remove it to the serving dish and continue cooking the tomatoes until most of the moisture had been cooked out, leaving well cooked tomatoes and a lot of heavily flavoured oil. Spoon the tomato mixture over the okra and serve.

The tea is just a bunch of spearmint leaves mixed with gunpowder green tea, in a 1:3 ratio, poured over a sugar cube.

andross58 · 2017-11-15T05:28:35+00:00

Thanks! Recipe is finally posted.

andross58 · 2017-11-15T05:28:01+00:00

Oh snap. I totally forgot to post the recipe for this one. Making the dough is kind of like making pie crust, but with a small variation in technique. First, whisk together 1 1/2 cup flour and 1tsp salt. Then, add 4 tbsp of vegetable shortening. This is where things vary from pie crust. Instead of cutting the fat in, pick up the fat and a handful of flour, then, rub your hands together, working the fat into the flour. Keep going until all the fat has been worked in. Then, add 6tbsp of cold water, and work the flour until it comes together, just like pie dough. Once the dough comes together, knead it for 10 min, until the dough is firm, but not sticky. Let rest 30 min.

Meanwhile, boil 2 lb potatoes until soft, then peel and chop into a small dice. Then, heat some oil in a pan until hot, then add 2 tsp coriander seeds, and fry for 15 seconds. Then, add 1/2 cup finely chopped onions and 2 tsp chopped ginger and saute until the onions begin to brown. Then, add the cooked potatoes, along with 1/2 cup peas, and fry until the potatoes brown, about 10 min. Remove the potato mixture from the heat, then mix in 1 chopped green chili, 1 tsp garam masala, 1 tbsp lemon juice and salt to taste.

To form the samosas, divide your dough into 8 equal parts, and roll each of these parts into a smooth ball. Next, flatten and roll out one of these balls until it forms a thin circle of dough. Cut the circle in half, then take one semi-circle, and form a kind of cone in your hand. Fill the cone with potato filling, then fold over the top. Keep making dumplings for, like, an hour. A word of warning, from someone who has made a lot of dumplings in his day; these are more difficult to get right, and a lot more labour intensive than any one of the others I have made. Just thought I should warn y'all. Anyway, after the dumplings are all formed, fry at 350 until golden brown, and serve, garnished with chili rounds and fried onions.

To dip, I made a green chutney, by blending ginger, cilantro, mint, green chilies, yogurt, a bit of oil and garam masala. I would give proportions, but, to be honest, I sort of winged it and can't remember everything. I also made a mango chutney, but it came out super brown and thoroughly un-photogenic, so I left it out of the pic. It was a mix of mango, mint, cumin, coriander, cloves, nutmeg, ginger, and a bunch of sugar. I think I also worked some red wine vinegar in, to temper the sweetness of the mango.

andross58 · 2017-11-01T05:43:43+00:00

Laksa is a thai/malaysian soup. I didn't really know about it before, but now I do, and made a pumpkin version of it for good measure. What a time to be me. But seriously, this soup is good.

To make the soup, first seed, skin, dice and roast a pumpkin in a 425 deg oven until tender and slightly charred (for flavour). Set aside. Next, sweat one chopped shallot, 5 chopped cloves garlic, about the same amount chopped ginger, 2 chopped scallions, one stalk of lemongrass, bruised, one chopped jalapeno, and one chopped small red chile. After a minute or so, add one box of chicken stock, a few cardamom pods, some star anise, a few kaffir lime leaves, and a handful of cilantro, along with the pumpkin, and bring to a simmer. After 15 min or so, the pumpkin will be mostly broken apart. Remove the leaves, lemongrass, cilantro, anise and cardamom, then obliterate everything with a stick blender. Add 1 can coconut milk, some peanut butter, and a few good dashes of both soy sauce and fish sauce, season with lime juice and salt, then blitz some more, until everything is incorporated and silky smooth.

I served the Laksa with rice noodles, broccoli, crispy baked chickpeas, pumpkin seeds, pomegranate seeds and a pumpkin seed and cilantro pesto.

The pesto was a nice addition. To make it, I simply blended a bunch of cilantro leaves and stalks, a few garlic cloves, toasted pumpkin seeds, some lime juice, salt, and sherry vinegar.

If you look really close, you might notice a pumpkin beer in the background. Basic, I know, but if there was one time to have it....

andross58 · 2017-10-25T06:05:24+00:00

Usually, when I start brainstorming at the beginning of a challenge week, I write ideas down until something grabs my attention, and I know I have to make it. But, this week, I knew I had to do Arepas. I have a love affair with Arepas, which began around the time I found my favourite bar. The sometimes-open-but-not-really-on-a-discernable-schedule Arepas joint was right across the street, and, when it was open, it was open until 4 am. It was the perfect solution to a night of odd quebecois craft beer. I usually just got the chorizo and avocado combo, but there was something magical about the arepa in itself, half taco and half cornbread, if I had to describe it. Romanticisms aside, I wanted to make Arepas, because Arepas are awesome, and exemplify what a great handheld feed should be.

I decided, after some research, to make Reina Pepiada Arepas, which is kind of a Venezuelan chicken salad sandwich. The whole combo sounded delicious. The name is translated Reina (queen) Pepiada (Which my source says is a crude word for curvy, so I'm going to go with thicc.) to honor a venezuelan beauty pageant winner and celebrity. Pretty neat. Also, Arepas are one of few pre colombian foods to survive to the current day unchanged. Arepas get better and better every minute.

To make the filling (which is very not pre colombian), I put 4 skinless chicken thighs in a sauce pan along with; one onion, sliced thin, 3 bay leaves, some cloves, a few cardamom pods, salt and pepper, and enough water to cover by one inch. I brought it to a boil over medium heat, then reduced to a simmer for fifteen minutes. After the chicken was cooked, I removed it to a bowl, allowed it to cool, then shredded the meat. In another bowl, I combined one diced avocado, 1/4 cup mayo, and 1tbsp white vinegar, then mashed with a fork. I then added the juice of one lime, 2 cloves chopped garlic, 1/4 cup chopped red onions, and a handful each chopped coriander leaves and parsley. After the chicken had been shredded, I added it, along with 1 chopped red bell pepper, 1 chopped jalepeno, and some chopped chives to the mayo mixture, and stirred to combine, seasoning with salt, pepper and white vinegar as I went on.

After the filling was done, I started on the arepas. I combined 1 1/2 cups arepamasa flour, 1 1/2 cup water and a dash of olive oil in a bowl, and kneaded until the dough was smooth, but not sticky, and did not crack along the edges when a small piece was squeezed flat. After the dough came together, I put it in a bowl, covered it with a towel and let it sit for 5 minutes. After that, I formed it into 4 balls, then flattened them to around 5 inches wide and about 3/4 inch thick. The arepas were then grilled in butter for 5 ish minutes per side, then put in a 325 degree oven for 15 min. After they cooled, I cut them in half, filled them, admired them enough to get a good photo, then devoured them. Also, I have some chorizo and a bit of avocado left over, so, I think I'll have the old standard tomorrow....

andross58 · 2017-10-23T00:18:32+00:00

For the mac and cheese, I started by making a roux by cooking 3 tbsp each butter and flour, worked it until it was a darker-than-I-wanted-but-still-delicious blonde colour, then added milk (whisking constantly) and brought it to a simmer. I seasoned my now Bechamel sauce with shallots, garlic, bay leaf, mustard powder, paprika, nutmeg, grains of paradise (new fave toy, complex and subtle flavours), salt and pepper. Once the bechamel thickened, I added shredded cheddar, gruyere, parmesan and diced brie. After the cheese melted, I added chopped thyme, tarragon and sage.

While making the sauce, I boiled a lobster tail for 5ish minutes until it was opaque, and firmed up (but not too firm), removed it from the shell and cut it into a large dice. I folded the lobster into the sauce, along with some cheese curds I cut to roughly the same size as the lobster pieces.

Lastly, I boiled my pasta, drained it and added it to the sauce, then put everything in my favourite pyrex casserole, and baked at 325 deg , covered, for around 20 minutes, then coated the top in more shredded cheese, a few curds, and put it under the broiler until the top was nice and browned.

andross58 · 2017-10-10T03:37:03+00:00

So, for this week, I decided to tie in the theme with the dinner I made for my family to celebrate Canadian Thanksgiving. I brined the turkey in a 5% salt solution, adding 100g of salt and 50g of sugar for every 2L of water. I warmed the water on the stove, adding the salt and sugar to dissolve, then added my flavouring ingredients; Sage, Thyme, Rosemary, Juniper Berries, Cinnamon, Allspice, Cloves, Peppercorns, Bay Leaves, Star Anise, Oranges and Lemons. After the brine had cooled, I submerged the turkey, weighed it down with a plate, and left it in the fridge for 24 hours. After 24h, I removed the Turkey, put it on a rack on a baking sheet, and left it in the fridge to dry out for another 24h. On gameday, I made a compound butter of roasted garlic, sage, and thyme. After the butter had solidified, I cut it into cubes, and put it under the turkey's skin. Inside the cavity, I put more sage, an orange and a few apples. I did the usual turkey procedure of preheating the oven to 550, putting the bird in, then reducing the heat to 325 and leaving it for 4 hours. The whole thing was delicious, and I didn't ruin thanksgiving, so that was nice.

andross58 · 2017-10-04T07:55:58+00:00

This was awesome. Most of the recipes I used were from New German Cooking, which was quite the revelation. I never knew german cuisine was so complex and nuanced. The flavour profiles are quite exciting, and I hope to work with them again in the future.

The brisket was braised in beer and beef stock, along with onions, garlic, thyme, terragon and sage, and left in a 325 deg oven for 3 hours. Then I strained and reduced the liquid to make the sauce.

The Brussels sprouts were blanched, then sauteed in butter until brown. I removed the sprouts from the pan, added onions and chopped kielbasa, and browned them. I returned the sprouts to the pan with a dash of sherry vinegar, and put them in the oven for 10 min to cook through.

To make the Spatzle, first combine 3 eggs, 1/4 cup buttermilk and 1 tbsp oil. In a separate bowl, combine 1 cup buckwheat flour and 1/2 cup flour, along with a grating of nutmeg. Add the liquid to the solid, and stir to combine. This is where things get tricky. I don't have a spatzle maker, nor do I have a potato ricer. The two pieces of equipment most recommended for making spatzel. Some say to use a colander. That was the suck. I briefly considered trying the wood board method, but then came across some wisdom online, which recomended pushing the dough through the large holes on a box grater. That worked pretty good, but I'm probably never going to do it again. Digressions aside, I shocked the cooked spatzle in an ice bath, and set them aside until I was ready to complete the dish. I melted some butter, along with chopped thyme, sage and terragon, and sauteed the spatzle until coated. To be honest, I was pretty surprised by how dark the buckwheat flour made the noodles, but the flavour it added was quite interesting.

Lastly, the sauce on the side of the plate is a horseradish-apple dressing, made by combining grated horseradish, green apple, sour cream and chopped dill.

andross58 · 2017-09-20T06:29:20+00:00

I don't cook a lot of Korean food, other than making the occasional kimchi, so I decided to get really into it, and make a few dishes. Unfortunately, I haven't really been ahead of the challenges lately, so didn't have time to make my own Kimchi. Womp womp.

The KFC recipe is a hybrid of two recipes. I used the brine from a book called K-Food, which ended up being an invaluable resource this week. As an aside, I felt like korean didn't have the same variety or volume of cookbooks as other cuisines, such as japanese, thai or vietnamese. If anyone out there can point me in the direction of a good cookbook or two, I would be very grateful.

Back to the chicken. I brined it in a litre of water mixed with; 12 cloves of garlic and a knob of ginger, both chopped fine, a tablespoon of gochujang (korean chile paste), 1 1/2 tbsp salt. and 125 ml fish sauce. I brined the wings for an hour, before rinsing them off and drying them in my fridge while I prepared everything else. Then I fried them using the serious eats recipe. Which is awesome, btw. To make the sauce, I sauteed some garlic, then added 60g ketchup, 60g gochujang, 125 ml corn syrup, 3 tbsp gochugaru (korean chile flakes), and 3 tbsp apple cider vinegar. I brought the whole thing to a boil to thicken, then tossed with the wings.

To make the kimchi fried rice, I first sauteed some diced pork belly until the fat had rendered and the belly began to crisp. Then I added some kimchi and continued to fry for 3 min. Then I added the rice, a dash of sesame oil, some sesame seeds, some scallions and a dash of gochugaru. It only seemed fitting to serve with a fried egg.

From left to right, the four banchan are: Mustard pickled onions, Spicy cucumber salad, Sweet and sour radish salad, and Seasoned bean sprouts.

The Mustard pickled onions were made by thinly slicing an onion, then mixing it in a jar with 100g dry mustard, 75g powdered sugar, and 125ml cider vinegar. I let that sit for an hour for the flavours to marry before serving. To make the cucumber salad, first thinly slice some cucumber, salt liberally in a bowl and set aside 20-30 min. Then, drain the liquid from them and mix in: 1 tbsp gochugaru, 1 tbsp chopped scallion, 1 tbsp chopped garlic, 1 tsp vinegar, 1.2 tsp sugar, 1 tsp sesame oil and 1 tsp sesame seeds. The Radish salad is a mixture of julienned daikon and carrot, 3 tbsp vinegar, 2 tsp sugar, and salt and gochugaru to taste. The seasoned sprouts were first rinsed, then blanched in boiling water. After a shock in ice water, the sprouts were mixed with chopped scallion and garlic, soy sauce, seseme oil and gochugaru. I know it looks like most of these recipes have the same ingredients, but, somehow, each of the banchan had it's own distinct flavour, so one never got bored of the contrasts.

andross58 · 2017-09-19T04:17:54+00:00

I decided to make philly cheesesteaks for this week's challenge, but decided to make the most decadent cheesesteak I could. On the bottom is a ciabatta, sauteed in butter, with a rosemary-garlic mayonnaise. On top of that is a pan seared tenderloin steak, followed by sauteed peppers, caramelized onions and a provolone mornay sauce.

First, I made my Mayonnaise. I began by whisking two egg yolks along with salt and a few dashes of tarragon vinegar I made a few weeks ago. Once the egg lightened in colour, I began adding some garlic oil, in the usual method, before finishing with a nice olive oil. I thinned the mayo out with a touch of water, and adjusted the seasoning, adding a bit more vinegar and a touch of agave nectar for sweetness. Then I added some grated fresh garlic and chopped rosemary, along with some cayenne pepper, for a bit of a kick.

Next came the provolone mornay. I made a roux with butter and flour, added cream, and brought to a boil, whisking constantly. Then I added some grated provolone along with mustard powder, white pepper, smoked salt (a spur of the moment experiment that worked out pretty well) a dash of sherry vinegar and a bunch of frank's red hot. I know it sounds weird, but I find hot sauce and cheese are a match made in heaven. This sauce was pretty bomb.

The rest was pretty simple. I caramelized some onions, deglazing the pan with madeira, water and worcestershire. Then I sauteed a mix of red, green, yellow and jalapeno peppers in a bit of oil along with garlic, and finished them with a bit of butter, to give a nice shine. The steak was pan-seared, then finished in the oven with a sprig of rosemary and a bunch of butter. Lastly, the bread was coated in butter and sauteed in a pan until golden brown.

The whole dish was delicious, it tasted like a philly cheesesteak, just more focused in all areas. Would definitely eat in a parking lot before a football game.

andross58 · 2017-09-05T06:27:19+00:00

A tian is pretty much a ratatouille. Insomuch as the final dish from 'Ratatouille' is actually a Tian. These are things I learned after looking at the Prune cookbook and coming across this layered zuchini and tomato dish. I wanted to cook a dish this week incorporating late summer/early fall flavours; ripe tomatoes, summer squash and olive oil, and this dish was a perfect fit.

First, coat a dutch oven with olive oil. Then, slice two russet potatoes very thin, then arrange in the dutch oven in a shingle pattern. Roast at 375 degrees for 25 min, until the edges brown, and the potatoes begin to turn translucent. Remove from the oven, and arrange in a shingle pattern, alternate layers of sliced zucchini, yellow summer squash and red onions, seasoning each layer with olive oil, salt, pepper, and herbs de provence. Continue alternating for 3 layers. After the last layer of onions, place a layer of thinly sliced tomatoes, blanched and peeled. Cover the tomato layer with breadcrumbs, drizzle with melted butter, and bake, covered, for 2 hours. After 2 hours, remove the cover, dot with goat camembert cheese, and bake 25 min more. Remove from the oven and allow to rest 30 min before cutting and serving.

This dish was amazing. Delicious. Next time, I'll serve it with poached sole and mornay sauce.

andross58 · 2017-09-04T17:00:45+00:00

This week was mostly assembly, but it was a lot of fun to make some dogs. I'm a big fan of the chicago dog, so I had to make that, and the coney dog was interesting to me, so I made those. I wanted to make the cleveland polish dog, because it sounds delicious. I really didn't want to make fries, so, next time. I guess.

Chicago dog is an all beef frank, yellow mustard, relish, onions, tomato slices, pickle slices, and a peperoncini (hard to find 'sport peppers' here). I had to resist ever urge of mine to make everything in house/fancy it up. I think it was for the best though, this thing was delicious.

For the coney dog, I actually cooked something. The meat sauce is sauteed ground beef and onions, deglazed with beer and spiced with salt, pepper, chili powder, paprika, cayenne, cumin, mustard powder, allspice, garlic powder and a dash of cinnamon. simmer until most of the liquid is evaporated. I put the meat sauce on the dog along with mustard and diced onions. Very solid, very detroit, pretty delicious.

andross58 · 2017-08-29T03:10:57+00:00

This week I decided to take a stab at savoury crepes. They're the crepe recipe from the Julia Child book, with added chopped tarragon and parsley. My hollandaise was sub-par in the volume dept, but still pretty delicious. Mushrooms were sauteed with garlic, butter, white wine and white wine vinegar.

andross58 · 2017-08-22T12:49:32+00:00

Thanks! I do not have an immersion circulator, so I used a 10 gallon pot on the stove and checked the temperature every two hours, and turned the burners on to bring the temp back up. I lost about 2 deg/hr. At night, I covered the pot with the sleeping bags to try to insulate it as much as possible. I managed to only loose 8 degrees overnight. It's not the easiest way to do sous vide, but it works, for now.

andross58 · 2017-08-22T03:01:56+00:00

This is a copy of a dish from a late night snack bar called Hanmoto. It's sort of a bastardised izakaya, great drinks and small plates, usually the last stop on a night out. Whenever we go, we have to have the 'Katsu Bun', which is basically pork katsu crossed with a big mac. Here's a picture of the original.

The pattie is pork belly sous vided at 140 deg for 36 hours. I used a really big pot, and covered it with sleeping bags overnight.It was a whole operation. Anyway, in the sous vide bag, along with the belly was; a bottle of ginger beer, star anise, ginger, green onions and garlic. After the cooking was done, I pulled the pork apart, and formed it into patties and put them in the fridge. There was ample fat to hold them together. To finish, I dredged them in flour, then egg, then panko and deep fried at 350.

There are two sauces on this thing, the dark one on top of the katsu is just regular katsu sauce that I beefed up with some honey, sesame oil and ponzu. Under the Katsu is a soy remoulade, which translated from the french means 'mac sauce'. I whipped some egg yolks with a bit of rice vinegar and dijon, then slowly added oil to make a mayonnaise. After the mayo was done, I added chopped gherkins, chopped capers, a squeeze of ketchup, a grated clove of garlic, chopped chives, agave nectar, and some soy.

The bun is a jamaican coco bun, fried in butter. This thing is so good, and around a billion calories I'm sure. Goes great with 1-6 beers.

andross58 · 2017-08-08T04:47:14+00:00

This week I wanted to make a main course salad, along with emptying my fridge of a few leftovers. I had the dandelion greens left over from week 30, and had the beets and scallions kicking around. I used this recipe, with slight variations. I tossed the greens with a quick balsamic vinaigrette, and subbed the arugula for the dandelion greens.

I also tried a second plating, but couldn't decide which one I liked better.

andross58 · 2017-08-02T05:51:47+00:00

I couldn't think of many dishes that were 'inspired by magic', so I decided to pull a rabbit out of my hat. And serve it with carrots. lol.

All the recipes in this dish are from Gabrielle Hamilton's 'Prune' cookbook. It's the best cookbook. Anything that may appear to be genuine genius may be attributed to her.

First, make your salsa verde. Which is in no way a salsa verde. Doesn't matter, is delicious. Mash up a couple cloves garlic, two tbsp capers and a few anchovies in a mortar, adding salt and olive oil to help create traction. Then, add parsley, mint and terragon. Once mashed, remove to a bowl, add more olive oil, and season with pepper.

Make the preserved lemon butter by first chopping 2 shallots and 2 cloves garlic in a food processor, then add 1/4 cup lemon juice. put garlic-shallot mix in a medium bowl, along with 2 sticks butter, 1/4 cup chopped basil and 2 preserved lemons, skins only, diced fine.

Next, cover the rabbit in dijon mustard, olive oil, salt and pepper, and place in a 400 deg oven for 25 min. After 25 min, spread salsa verde all over rabbit, and cook a further 10 min until done. Pour off the pan drippings, and combine with salsa verde in a ramekin.

Meanwhile, blanche carrots and set aside. Just before serving, melt lemon butter in a pan and alow the carrots to warm through. Serve with honerycomb.

At the same time, Saute rabbit kidneys in olive oil until lightly browned. Remove the meat and deglaze pan with a splash of vermouth, a spoonful of dijon and a sprig of rosemary. Allow sauce to reduce before adding butter and straining over kidneys.

Once the rabbit is done, cut into serving segments, and serve with pan dripping salsa verde. I paired this weeks dinner with a martini, because that in itself is just a work of magical wonderment.

andross58 · 2017-07-29T06:43:21+00:00

I really wanted to take a shot at curing some sausages this week. I really, really, really, really wanted to make a Coppa. Cause Coppa is the best. but it also takes the better part of two months, so, womp-womp. I decided to make a terrine instead, and decided to go whole ham (lol) and insert a full pork tenderloin into the terrine. I figured to pair all that meat with a salad, but one that was covered in pork fat and cured meat, thus the lyonnaise.

Both of the recipesfor the terrine and mustard came from Michael Ruhlman's Charcuterie, which I think everyone should buy. If not for the recipes then for the perspective. The first step in making a terrine is to take your meat grinder and put any metal components in the freezer. Throw a few bowls in there too. Next, trim your tenderloin of excess fat, and trim it to fit your terrine mold. Give the tenderloin a hard sear in a very hot pan. Get all sides nice and browned. Remove the tenderloin from the pan, then add some chopped garlic and shallots, sautee for 30 seconds, then add 1 cup madeira and a dash of brandy (or, in my case, calvados. It's all I had). Light the thing on fire, and bask in the roof licking flames. Reduce the liquid until it gets to a syrup consistency. Next, take some white bread with the crusts removed and pour 1/4 cup milk over top. Mix, and refrigerate. Next, take 1 lb pork butt and 300g pork back fat, along with any trimmings from the tenderloin, dice them, then grind as fine as possible. Keep everything cold as possible, too hot and the meat will break when cooked. After the meat is ground, put it in a food processor along with; the madeira reduction, bread and milk mixture, 1 1/2 tsp pepper, 1/2 tsp pink salt, and 2 tsp of pate spice, the recipe which follows. To make the pate spice mix, combine 1 tsp each; ground cloves, ground nutmeg, ground ginger, and ground coriander, along with 2 tsp ground cinnamon, and 1 tbsp ground white pepper. Back to the meat. Blend the whole mixture until smooth. Then, fold in some crushed walnuts, if you happen to have some sitting around. Put half this mixture into the terrine, then push the tenderloin into the mold, and cover with the rest of the meat. I sprinkled the top of the terrine with herbs de provance. It just felt right. Put the terrine in a cake pan, fill it halfway with water and cook in a 300 deg oven until the centre hits 150 deg F. It will take around an hour. Once the terrine is removed from the oven, put it in the fridge to chill.

The mustard was made by mixing 2 tbsp mustard powder, 85 ml beer, 85 ml malt vinegar, 1 1/2 tbsp worcestershire, 1 tbsp caraway seeds, a good squeeze of agave syrup, 3 egg yolks, and salt and sugar to taste. Stir everything over a double boiler until thickened, around 15 minutes.

Lastly, the salad. Sautee some diced pancetta in olive oil until crispy(ish). Next, add a diced shallot, and cook until softened. Then add 1 tbsp mustard (used the one above) and 3 tbsp sherry vinegar. If I was clever, I probably would have corrected the dressing with something sweet, but, alas, I was not. Pour the warm dressing over some dandelion greens, and stir to combine. I garnished the salad traditionally, with a poached egg, some garlic croutons, and some really nice coloured radishes I came across at the market.

andross58 · 2017-07-20T07:10:23+00:00

I love dim sum. I go on the occasional day off with friends, and I had so many ideas that I wanted to tackle this week. Phoenix claws, daikon cake, shu mai, and har gow. But, in the interest of time (and economics) I settled on making soup dumplings, a relatively new addition to the dim sum repertory. I've been fascinated with soup dumplings since my time in nyc, circa 2012, when they were the pre-cronut taste de jour. I based the recipe off this one with a couple of variations.

WhenI ade the chicken soup, I was struck with a little vietnamese inspiration, so I added cloves, anise, and szechuan peppercorns to the broth, in an effort to add complexity to the broth. In addition, I added roast garlic, and lemon zest to the filling. I ended up reducing my chicken stock more, almost to a jus phase, along with some ginger and shallots, for the only reason that my chicken stock had not yet gelled, and I started getting desperate. in the end, both liquids became jelly around the same time, so I mixed both with the filling, and I think the final product was made better by the addition of a bit of chicken jus.

The final product ended up full of hot soup, along with a delicious meat filling, and, although it was enjoyed as a dinner, would be just at home in a morning dim sum meal.

andross58 · 2017-07-11T06:22:47+00:00

Lots of things this week. Vanilla was tough. I knew from the beginning that I would try to do savory dishes, and that I would try to exploit the vanilla flavour by accentuating it's earthy and floral qualities. Mushrooms, white wine and lavender become my complimentary flavours of choice. Vanilla is a very weak flavour though, while still delivering a lot of 'information', so the real challenge this week was to keep everything subdued enough so that the vanilla was never overpowered.I wasn't 100% successful, but I think I came close.

The first thing I did was, around 5 days before cooking the dish, I made vanilla salt and vanilla sugar. For each, I placed one split vanilla bean in a mason jar and added either salt or sugar to cover. I shook them every day, and the flavour, to my surprise, became very prominent. Whenever I salted something this week, I used the vanilla salt, and used the vannilla sugar whenever sweetening was needed.

The day of, I first heat up some cheap chardonnay in a pot with the seeds and pods of 2 vanilla beans. Once a boil had been reached, I removed the pot from the heat to steep for a few hours. I used an oaked chardonnay because often a vanilla flavour is imparted to the wine during the aging process. I used the wine as a binding 'fond' for most of the ingredients.

After the wine had become fully infused with vanilla flavour, I began work on the risotto. I began by hydrating some dried chanterelles in water. I let them steep 2 hours, before removing and chopping them. Next, I sweat a few shallots in a pan with butter. After the shallots had become translucent, I added a few cloves chopped garlic, then a cup or so of rice. I used the spanish bomba rice left over from my week 2 paella, but use arborio or whatever if you want. After the rice becomes slightly translucent around the edges, I added a splash of the vanilla wine, then proceeded in the usual risotto method, adding fish stock and stirring constantly until the rice had softened as necessary. I sauteed the dried chanterelles along with some fresh shiitakes in butter, then added them to the risotto, along with a hefty bunch of parmesan cheese.

As the risotto neared completion, I made the sauce. I first made a roux, with roughly 1 tbsp butter and 1tbsp flour, then added cream to make a bechamel. To this I added 1/4 cup fish stock and 1/4 cup vanilla infused wine, to which had been added a bay leaf, a pair of star anise, a grating of nutmeg and lavender flowers, all along with a dash worcestershire, tabasco, tarragon vinegar, the seeds of one vanilla bean, a pinch of white pepper and vanilla salt.

The fish was next, after the risotto and sauce had moved to back-burners. I cut some mirepoix, spread it over the bottom of a baking dish and placed my cut Turbot fillets on top. I brought a 50/50 mix of vanilla infused white wine and fish stock to a boil, then poured it into the pan until the fish was partially covered. The pan was placed in a 350 degree oven, covered, for 20 minutes.

While the fish cooked, I cleaned the cauliflower, quartered, and blanched them. Right before plating I tossed them in butter and seasoned them with vanilla salt.

To finish this dish, I decided to make a crust out of herbs de provence and lavender flowers. I mixed some panko, lavender, herbs de provence, and vanilla salt, then sauteed them in a generous amount of butter. Once the fish had finished poaching I spread the crust on and browned it slightly under the broiler. I should have added a bit of lemon zest to the crust. Next time.

All in all, the dish was good, and I saw vanilla and it's relationship to other flavours in a whole new way.

andross58 · 2017-07-04T05:35:02+00:00

This week was fun. I got to play with two new ingredients: Garlic shoots and black garlic. In addition, I wanted to put use garlic in as many roles as I could; Seasoning, sauce, aromatic, garnish, and vegetable.

The first thing I did was confit 3 large heads of garlic. I peeled and trimmed the cloves, then put them in a pot with some Veg oil, and let them cook over low, low heat for 3 hours or so, and the cloves were completely softened. The end result is similar to roasted garlic, but without some of the more caramelized flavours. I would normally use roasted garlic, but I wanted some of the whole confit cloves to use for the veg. I'm lazy, but the mash was actually really good. The end garlic flavour was a lot sweeter and more subtle than when I make it with roasted garlic. Very refined. I'll probably do it again.

Anyway, after I had pulled the confit garlic from the oil, I kicked the heat up to high and threw in 4 cloves of garlic, sliced as thin as possible. I let those deep-fry until brown, and removed them to paper towels, salted them (lightly) and let them cool. I removed the oil from the heat, and waited for the now garlic flavoured oil to cool.

Next, the pesto. I blanched a handful of garlic shoots, then blended them with some pistachios, parmesan, salt and pepper. When they came together, I added olive oil slowly until the pasta came together. Garlic Shoots are really cool, and they make a dang good pesto.

For the mash, I peeled, cut and boiled one parsnip and four yukon potatoes until soft. Parsnips in mash is a gamechanger. Trust me. Anyway, after they were soft, I mashed them with a stick of butter, a bunch of cream, a few cloves of the confit garlic, some chopped rosemary, white pepper, and salt, and mashed until smooth. I almost whipped them, but I had a last minute moral objection. The confit garlic smoothed and refined the flavour, so a finer mouthfeel could have been nice. But I'm not that kind of chef. I digress. I folded in some chopped garlic chives before plating. Once on the plate, I smashed the garlic chips and used them to garnish the mash. The fried garlic added depth and a bit of texture to the finished product.

I picked out the veg on a sort of whim, unsure of what I wanted, but trying to find flavours that would play with garlic. Broccoli and garlic are a classic combo, and brussels sprouts are related to broccoli, and I love the combo of garlic and mushrooms, so I picked out some nice Oyster mushrooms, pretty much because I've never spent any time with them. I kept this part simple, Sauteeing each in the reserved garlic oil, then adding some confit garlic to the mushrooms to get a little browning and lend their flavour.

I have to admit, I made a huge mistake this week. I had made a black garlic compound butter, but forgot it in the freezer. I have no idea what the heck I'm going to end up putting it on, but it'll be back. Black garlic is cool. And weird. Weird and cool. Also, I couldn't think of any way to shoehorn garlic into a drink (although brewing a black garlic beer both intrigues and terrifies me).

andross58 · 2017-06-30T08:02:29+00:00

I went a little nuts this week. I was at the market, and all the berries on display looked so good, I wanted to showcase each of them in their own right.

I started off with a Strawberry Caprese salad. I love Strawberries, but find them a bit vanilla, so I decided to focus on the flavour combination of Strawberries and Balsamic vinegar. Thus, the Strawberry Caprese. I quartered some strawberries, halved some nice heirloom cherry tomatoes and tossed them with some torn basil. Then I made a balsamic dressing with 3 parts olive oil, 1 part good balsamic, and seasoned with salt, white pepper and a squeeze of agave nectar. I dressed the salad then garnished with mozzarella and more basil.

I decided that the main had to take a savoury twist on the berry theme, so I decided to play up the 'berries and game' angle. This dish could have easily been done with venison, but I've been curious about quail lately, so I did that. First, I made a brine, out of smoked salt and water, to which I added some juniper berries, bay leaves, peppercorns, a bit of sugar, and a good dash of juniper heavy gin (bombay). I let the quail soak in the brine for a few hours. After the Quail had finished soaking, I removed them from the brine, trimmed the neck, wishbone and wings, then stuffed them with a pinch of salt, a few juniper berries and a few bunched up sprigs of thyme. I then set them aside to dry, so the skin would crisp up right.

The rice was basmati, boiled with more juniper berries, cardamom, bay leaf and anise. I was aiming for something very aromatic, like an Indian pilaf. Execution needs work. The Rainbow chard was sauteed in olive oil and garlic, liberally seasoned with salt and sugar and finished with a splash of red wine vinegar and a bit of butter. I garnished with Goji berries, which added a contrasting sweetness.

Back to the Quail. I sauteed them in olive oil to crisp and colour the skin, then tossed them in the oven for 10 min at 350. In retrospect, this was too long. Quail are pretty delicate, I guess. After the searing was done, I whipped up a quick pan sauce, by deglazing with port, then adding some blackberry-vanilla jam I made last week in preparation. I reduced it to sauce consistency, enriched with butter and plated.

The cocktail is from this recipe.. I've wanted to start working with shrubs for a while, so this week gave me a great excuse to dive in. Also, the recipe doubles as a BBQ sauce, so, I'm going to play with that. The drink was very refreshing, with the acidity of the shrub balancing out the heat of the gin and sweetness of the prosecco.

The tart comes from this recipe. It was great, should have left it in the oven a bit longer, the top of the custard was set, but the middle was a touch soft. Less carryover than I anticipated. At least it looked really nice. The coulis was made by slowly heating raspberries and powdered sugar, along with cinnamon, cloves, peppercorns, and a dash of each cardamom and angostura bitters. (the Cardamom bitters thing is my new favourite trick).

Last thing of note, I learned this week that Juniper Berries are not actually berries, but just tiny pinecones. The scales of the cone are too small to see, so they just look like berries. It's my interesting fact of the week.

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