My first restaurant of this year's Taste MTL (aka MTL à Table or Montreal Restaurant Week) was Taverne F. I generally don't dine at 10 p.m. but when the deal is this good... $19 for two courses. From the handful of options, I chose: Sardines with vegetable escabèche, and Grilled … [Read more...] about MTL à Table: Taverne F and Gluten-Free Fine Dining
Raspberry Jam and a Little More Canning
My canning cupboard is full. I open the door and pickles fall out. It's almost a problem. Almost. I will never say that having too much vanilla-plum jam, wild blueberry aigre-doux or pickled poblano peppers is a problem. Come April, I'll be begging for another jar of my … [Read more...] about Raspberry Jam and a Little More Canning
Re-living Summer One Salad at a Time: Sorrel and Tomato Salad with Sichuan Peppercorn-Pickled Eggplant
I remember how my last beefsteak tomato tasted from garden. I'll never taste it again. Cue music: "I'll never have that recipe again. Oh no!" But! All cheesy songs aside, I have one more jar of my homemade Szechuan pickled eggplant that paired so perfectly with it. It numbed … [Read more...] about Re-living Summer One Salad at a Time: Sorrel and Tomato Salad with Sichuan Peppercorn-Pickled Eggplant
My MTL à Table / Taste MTL Interview on CBC Homerun
I was invited onto CBC Radio's Homerun in Montreal yesterday to talk with host Sue Smith about MTL à Table (Taste MTL for the anglophones), the city's 11-day restaurant week. Host Sue Smith and I talked about where to get the best deals, the merits of dessert and the wonders of … [Read more...] about My MTL à Table / Taste MTL Interview on CBC Homerun
Zucchini Pickles and the Mighty Squash
It was a heck of a zucchini season, wasn't it? If you have no idea what I'm talking about, don't feel bad. For anyone who had giant leaves draping over trellises, weighing them down to the point of collapse, their two-foot-long fruit dangling above the ground, you get it. … [Read more...] about Zucchini Pickles and the Mighty Squash
Dry-Brined Fish with Roasted Tomatoes
What do you do with the leftover salt and sugar cure from your homemade gravlax? Why, make dinner, of course. If you add it to other fish or meat and let it sit about 30 minutes it soaks into the flesh and does a mini-cure. Then you rinse off the cure and roast the fish fillets … [Read more...] about Dry-Brined Fish with Roasted Tomatoes
How to Cure Salmon – The Cheap and Easy Way
You're supposed to drown the fish in vodka. Most recipes think so, anyway. Or gin. Or any high-proof alcohol that can seek into the fish's flesh and denature it. Denature: to cook without heat. Like what happens when you ferment cabbage into sauerkraut. But in this case there's … [Read more...] about How to Cure Salmon – The Cheap and Easy Way
Top Restaurants for MTL à Table
Does it seem strange to anyone else that Montreal's restaurant week is actually 11 days long? I guess "Montreal Restaurant Week and a Half" isn't as catchy. In any case, from October 30th to November 9, 2014 a ton of the city's top restaurants are offering three or four-course … [Read more...] about Top Restaurants for MTL à Table
Horrible Mistakes, Getting it Right, and Peach, Tamarind and Tarragon Pie
Have you ever made a horrible mistake? I'm talking worse than starting a grease fire when your confit cooking goes awry. Worse than overcooking fish. Even worse than deflating mousse. Actually, if you type "disaster" in the search bar of my blog you'll come up with a whole slew … [Read more...] about Horrible Mistakes, Getting it Right, and Peach, Tamarind and Tarragon Pie
Chocolate Sourdough and Dried Apricot, Fig, Date, Cranberry, and Apple Turkey Stuffing
This is what you need to make tonight for Thanksgiving. First, Bonnie Stern had a stuffing recipe up for Rosh Hashannah, and it seemed like a waste to stuff turkey breasts with it. You have to cut open all the breasts and you can never get enough of the delicious filling in … [Read more...] about Chocolate Sourdough and Dried Apricot, Fig, Date, Cranberry, and Apple Turkey Stuffing