Uncategorized

Put your hand in a bowl of rice grains and stir. Follow the rules. Carefully move the grains around with your chilled fingers until the water is milky. Drain it. Add more water and stir again. I do it all six times. No skimping. What reason do I have to rush? There's comfort in … [Read more...] about Rice for Mango Chicken

Back when I was living in a shack in Northern Ontario, I met a Québecoise who told me about the wonder of frozen grapes. Simply pop some grapes in the freezer for a few hours or a few weeks (they don't get any MORE frozen...) and enjoy the pleasure of biting into the best … [Read more...] about From Montreal With Love, Sweet Conclusions: Grapes Soaked in Port

The table was set, the black olive tapenade was made, and the next step was to prepare the Artichokes a la Provencale. Apparently people from Provence drink a lot of dry vermouth. I'd actually never made fresh artichokes before, and I wasn't quite prepared for how prickly they … [Read more...] about Duck Confit, Part 2: Artichokes a la Provencale

Here we go... The hors d'oeuvre for the great duck confit dinner was to be a black olive tapenade. Josée di Stasio's cookbook "A la di Stasio" offered only a handful of hors d'oeuvres options, and my first choice, Chicken Liver Mousse with Figs would have been too heavy since … [Read more...] about Duck Confit, Part 1: Black Olive Tapenade

Turns out I didn't have enough duck fat after all. Who knew 800mL wouldn't be enough? Certainly not Chef Rob Feenie, whose Gold Medal Plates cooking competition 1st prize-winning recipe I half-used for the duck confit. It only called for 2 cups of the stuff...thank goodness I … [Read more...] about Something was gonna get a-rendered…

This was the last dish I prepared as part of the huge Indian meal I made for friends last week. This whole meal looked like this: (plus the yogurt and tomato relish), and here's everything put together into one rainbow of a plate: Chicken curry, yogurt, tomato relish, split … [Read more...] about Jhinga Aur Ghia (Shrimp with Zucchini): Madhur Jaffrey’s “Indian Cooking”

Yam Saag Potato Saag Okay, so I've done at least two other saag posts. Maybe three...it's getting excessive, I know. ...but I really, really love saag. I've made simple spinach saag, aloo saag with regular potatoes, a version with jerusalem artichokes or sunchokes (by … [Read more...] about The Joy of Yam Saag

Chana dal is not the same as yellow split peas, despite my misleading title. Yes, split peas are very similar and they're a fine substitution, but no, they're not the same. Rube's, in St. Lawrence Market, did not have Chana Dal. I could have asked where else to find it, I could … [Read more...] about Chana Dal (Yellow Split Peas): Madhur Jaffrey’s “Indian Cooking”

No, that didn't really happen...no one sneezed in the tomato, onion, and cilantro relish. I made this dish to complement the rest of the big Indian meal I cooked last week mostly because of the colour, but also because I figured that if anything was bland, this would add enough … [Read more...] about Cachumber! Gesundheit!

My brother and I bought a chip and dip dish. This is a much better use for it... This is also such a simple recipe. No cooking involved! Yogurt is often served with an Indian meal to beat the heat of spicy meat and vegetable dishes. It balances out and tempers a plate of mixed … [Read more...] about Akhrote ka raita (Yogurt with Walnuts and Cilantro)