ARCTIC CHAR & BEURRE ROUGE

Arctic Char is a saltwater and freshwater round fish that is an ever popular choice on today's fish menu! It is a fish that is very similar to slamon and trout, as it is related to them! The flesh is pinky, like salmon but with less fat.

Last week in our culinary skills classe we made potato crusted arctic char with a beurre rouge (a red wine butter reduction!). I will share with you, as this is one of those recipes that would be sure to impress anyone! And cooking fish is so great, because it literally takes only five minutes, so the prep time is so much less!

Potato Crusted Arctic Char (Serves 4)
Ingredients:
- 4 filets of Arctic Char
- 1 yukon gold potato thinly sliced into rounds (best done on a Mandolin)
- Vegetable oil
- Splash of lemon juice
- Salt and pepper

Directions:
- Cut the potatoes into thin thin rounds (you want them paper thin)
- Season the filets with the lemon juice, salt and pepper and then arrange your thin potato rounds on top of the char forming a sort of "crust"
- Heat a splash of oil in a saute pan until reaching the smoking point
- Remove the pan from the heat, and turn to low
- Add the char to the pan (presentation side down) and return to the heat
- Pan dry gently to ensure the potato crust is cooked and golden brown
- Once potatoes are cooked through carefully flip the char to finish cooking it all the way through
- Serve immediately with the beurre rouge

Beurre Rouge (Red Wine Butter Sauce)
Ingredients:
- 100ml red wine
- 30g shallots (chopped)
- 150g butter
- 1/2 lemon (juice)
- salt and pepper

Directions:
- Reduce the wine, shallots and half of the lemon juice by 2/3rds (on medium high heat)
- Cut the butter into small cubes
- Swirl in the butter cubes into the read wine and let melt, while continually swirling or stiring with a wooden spoon
- Add salt and pepper and adjust seasoning if necessary
- Strain and serve with char


photo credit: carl of course!

PORK, APPLE, SAGE SAUSAGE

In our Banquet & Production class at school, each week we are given a certain protein. For example pork. And with this protein we use our butchery skills to butcher the piece of meat into workable sizes to produce about four different dishes. Last weeks lab was pork. The best part about this class is our chef challenges us to make one more dish using any of the extra ingredients we have or any of the spice supplies in the lab. I took on this challenge and was inspired by last weeks Top Chef Canada where Connie showed supermarket goers how to make sausage at home! I settled on making a pork sausage, seeing as we had leftover ground pork, apples, onion and sage.

A classic pairing combo with pork is apples (pork & applesauce), so I cut up some apples and onions into small cubes, brunoise as its called and sauteed them off so they were a bit soft. I then mixed in chopped sage, some white pepper, garlic powder and a pinch of nutmeg and salt. Before making them though, I fried off a piece to make sure they tasted alright, and I must say, they really were delicious! As Connie showed us on Top Chef, you can easily make your own sausages by rolling out a long tube in a piece of plastic wrap and then poaching in simmering water on the stove! It was incredibly easy, and you really could do this at home!

Here is a picture of my dish! The sausage shape is not the finest, but at least it tasted great!

photo credit: carl & the iphone

THE BLACK HOOF

If you know Toronto's food scene, you know that The Black Hoof if now one of the best spots in town, loved and adored by the critics. I have been itching to go for months now, but was always nervous to try it on a Friday or Saturday since they don't take reservations! I finally went! With my three classmates from George Brown on a Monday night, at 6pm. By 6:25, the place was almost full - on a MONDAY!

The Black Hoof is cozy on the inside fitting about 25 including bar seats, decorated with dim lighting, rustic wood and tin. The kitchen is open and the smallest I have ever seen. Four of them squeezed into a tiny cube with an old-school electric oven that one would expect to see at a cottage. As someone learning to be a chef, the respect I felt for that team after seeing that was insane!

As the Monday I went was a gorgeous night we decided to sit on the patio that had recently just opened. The patio is constructed of beautiful wood with a large image on a pig on one wall and two chalkboard menus, one for the drinks and one for the wine. We started with the Hoofs creative cocktails, a basil fawlty (gin, orange blossom water, lime, simple syrup and basil), a tequila Maria and two lemon meringue-inspired cocktails sweetened with a lavender simple syrup called lillypies.

We instantly devoured the menu and settled on ten different sharing plates. The Black Hoof is really a place where you go to share food. The dishes are meant for that, as the mains are smaller then one might expect a typical main to be. We started off with house-pickled vegetables, warm marinated olives, a cheese board and of course the famous meat platter. On the meat platter we had a wild selection! Genoa salami, duck proscuitto, fennel salami, sopressata, spicy sausage and horse mortdaella. The meats were arranged carefully on a beautiful wooden plank and served with grainy mustard and lavendar lard. A crazy duo but one that worked very well! The thing I loved most about The Black Hoof was the time they took to make their food pairings perfect. For example on the cheese board, the cheese were paired accordingly with a red current and rosemary jelly, a nutmeg and blueberry jam and a hazelnut and vanilla sauce with a bourbon glaze on the apples. Each component on their own was as lovely as when they were paired with the specific item. The originality behind the flavours at The Black Hoof is sheer culinary genius, as we all agreed at the end of the meal.

 Marinated Olives

 The Cheese Board

The Charcuterie Board

The complexity yet simplicity is apparent in each dish, and with every dish presented on a different type of plate, there was just such excitement when each dish was brought to the table! The real winner of the meal was the fried sweetbreads finished with fiddleheads (in season right now!), sautéed ramps, fingerling potatoes finished with a velvety butter sauce. My other favourite was the  N'Duja and brussel crostini with a parsley pesto, fried parsley and fresh Parmesan (N'Duja is sort of like chorizo in my mind, a bit spicy!) You can tell that the quality of the ingredients used is there, and when we talked with one of the owners, Jen she told us that they are constantly changing the accompaniments of each dish according to the season.

 N'Duja Crostini

 Tongue on Brioche

 Fiddleheads

The concept behind The Black Hoof is meat, taking on the philosophy of snout-to-tail (aka using the whole animal, not just one piece.), where they use different sorts of meat and make the off cuts available to the general public. For example on their menu is horse, beef heart, sweetbreads, cod collar, fois gras, duck liver, tongue and pig belly. What a crazy selection! But they know what they are doing, and their execution is perfect. Never have I tried horse or sweetbreads, but both were extremely pleasurable to eat, something I would have never imagined!

The mood in The Black Hoof was calm but you could just feel all of the love and passion from everyone working there to those eating. The general manager and part owner Jen just finished off our meal perfectly by talking with four star struck chef school students on our way out. I will most definitely be heading back to the Hoof as soon as possible. 

And as my classmate, friend and fellow blogger Carl put it, The Black Hoof - "Where capicollo, chorizo and prosciutto happily clog the menu and your arteries."



photo credit: carl and his cool iphone

APPLIANCE FUN

I found this image while on StumbleUpon and I just thought I would share it! What a great idea for a grater! I want it!!

AGAVE Y AGUACATE

A newly opened hole in the wall in Toronto's Kensington Market, Agave & Aguacate has become my newest Mexican obsession! Run by Chef Francisco Alejandri, a former Stratford Chef School grad, this Mexican stall you could almost call it (as it is in a store with about four other vendors selling their own specialties) focuses on "Fresh Mexican take-out with quality in mind." Featuring the "tostada", Agave & Aguacate is quickly making a name for themselves, being named a daily lunch pick by the Toronto Life. A tostada is a dish where the base is a toasted form to hold the meal. In this case Alejandri's tostada is a fried tortilla so that it puffs up and is light crispy and airy.

He has two different options, the ting tostada and the green tostada. The ting tostada which was written about in the Toronto Life (which both friends I went with had!) was topped with chipotle chicken, creamy avocado, some Mexican crema fresca and slivered red onions lightly marinated in lime juice and salt.

Of course I had to go for the one that included guacamole, hence the green tostada. Expecting the guacamole to already be made, I was over the moon when Alejandri began to make it fresh by hand with ripe green avocados, lime juice, salt and some jalepeno. Super simple, incredibly flavourful. It was then topped with a large slice of queso fresco (a Mexican cheese, quite mild), some cream (much like sour cream) and a whole plum tomato that was sliced so perfectly and delicatley you would think his hands were that of a surgeon! The tomato was seasoned with just a little bit of salt and then the whole tostada was topped with guajillo - a type of dried chili pepper.

The day I went was also miserably cold and rainy and the pinto bean soup option just jumped off the blackboard at me! I love pinto beans, and with some toasted tortilla strips and a little queso fresco in the bottom, this soup could not have been more warming or delicious. A great start as I stood watching Alejandri make our tostada's! And finally for dessert - (this meal seriously came to a total of 15$ for the three items!) Lime Charlotte, a decadent lime cake that when served is drizzled with fresh lime juice, lime zest and a splash of good quality olive oil. The cake was extremley moist and the cream held so well with the lime flavouring. Needless to say, the three of us were extremley impressed. Alejnadri's skills are sensational, my eyes were glued to the precision, speed and perfectness of the food he prepared! I one day hope to have skills like that!

For an amazing Mexican fresh lunch or light dinner I urge you to try Agave & Agucate!

Agave y Aguacate, 214 Augusta Ave. (look for El Gordo Fine Foods), 647-208-3091.

ROASTED BEET SALAD

So the other night with my banoffee pie for dessert, one of my side dishes was a roasted beet salad! This past weekend we went out for dinner to Scaramouche and one of the starter's was a roasted beet salad with goat cheese, so from this delicious appetizer, I was inspired! This salad is so simple and a great alternative to a classic green salad. Beets have a really sweet natural flavour to them, making it a tasty treat for those kids who don't like leafy greens! The basis of the dressing, red wine vinegar, dijon and tarragon are a natural combination, and a perfect light dressing for the beets.

Roasted Beet Salad with Tarragon

Ingredients:
- Large red beets (depends on how many people you are having, at least 1 medium size beet per person)
- 1 tsp dijon mustard
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
- salt and pepper
- olive oil
- 3 sprigs of tarragon

Directions:
- Wash beets. Set oven to 400degrees F
- Place on a layer on aluminum foil and mix olive oil salt and pepper around with the beets to cover them. Then take foil and mold it into a tent shape (in order to both steam and bake the beets at the same time)
- Place beets in oven for 45minutes to an hour, or until for tender.
- Remove from oven and peel (you may want to wear gloves when doing this as beets do stain a bit!)
- Slice into rounds.
- Whisk dijon, red wine vinegar, olive oil, salt & pepper together until emuslified. Mix in the tarragon leaves (you may chop them if you wish but I like the look at the leaf in tact)
- Toss beets in the vinaigrette and let rest until serving.
- This salad may be served warm or cold. ENJOY!

photo credit: my sister, nora b.

BANOFFEE PIE

I have been dying to try out Chuck Hughes' Banoffee Pie and tonight I finally made it. The bottom layer of the pie is ground up Oreo's and melted butter, followed by caramel, bananas and whipping cream. Could it sound more heavenly?! I however stray a bit from Chuck's recipe, as instead of using boiled evaporated milk as the caramel, I made my own caramel. (Which for those of you who don't know, is SUPER easy and takes legitimately 10 minuets max!) This dessert was so great, fun to make, and a total hit with my family tonight! Give it a try!
 

Banoffee Pie
Serves 4

Ingredients: 
- 20 Oreo cookies
- 1/4 cup butter, melted (60 ml)
- 1 can of condensed milk (300 ml) ** ( Instead of this I made my own caramel. To do that: dissolve one cup of sugar into 1/3 cup of water. Bring to a boil on med-high heat stirring occasionally (5-7 minutes max). Once you reach a medium brown colour add in 1/3 cup of cream and thicken on low heat for about 2 minutes. Finish with a splash of vanilla and cool.)
- 2 ripe bananas, sliced
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 2 cups 35 % cream (500 ml) (I used whipping cream instead)
- 1/4 cup icing sugar (60 ml)
- 2 tablespoons strong coffee (30 ml) 

 

Directions:
- Pre-heat the oven to 350 F (180 C).
- In a food processor, add the cookies and process until it becomes a crumb like mixture. Add butter and process again. Set aside.
- Meanwhile, take the condensed milk can and place it in an oven-proof stockpot filled with water. DO NOT OPEN THE CAN. Make sure the can is constantly covered in water. Bake in the oven for 3 ½ hours. Remove, let cool, open and set aside.
- In a bowl, mix the bananas with lemon juice. Set aside.
- Whip the cream with icing sugar and coffee in another bowl until soft peaks form. 

To serve: Using a round 4 inch mold directly on the serving plate, put a layer of the cookie mixture, then the slices of bananas, cover with the condensed milk (now toffee) and repeat the layers. Remove the mold and garnish with a dollop of cream. (I just used a regular circle cake mold as my cake was for a family of 8!) 

 

photo credit: my sissy

TOMATO BASIL BOCCONCINI SKEWERS

My mom was having a dinner party this weekend so I offered up my help, and one of the dishes I though to make were tomato/basil/bocconcini skewers. These hors d'oeurves are beyond cute and extremely tasty! So easy to make, with basically no prep time involved, these are perfect for the stressed dinner party host!

Tomato Basil Bocconcini Skewers
To serve 8 people
Ingredients:
- 16-20 bocconcini balls
- 16-20 baby tomatoes
- 1 basil leave per skewer
- salt and pepper
- olive oil to drizzle over top
- 16-20 mini wooden skewers

Directions:
- Season bocconcini balls with salt and pepper
- To assemble place half of the basil leave then tomato on the skewer, then the rest of the basil leave and finish with the bocconcini ball (refer to image)
- Drizzle the skewers with olive oil and let rest before serving in order for the flavours to marry.

FENNEL GRATIN

Today in our Banquet & Production class, one of the foods we made was Fennel Gratin. I truly love fennel, and I find it so underused! Today just reaffirmed my need to get fennel back into my cooking program! As my classmate Kyle put it, fennel is like "licorice celery." Fennel is known for its licorice-y flavour, but fennel is also a bit of a tougher vegetable that needs to be braised or cooked slowly and for longer times in order to soften it right up.

Today’s recipe could not have been more simple - only 5 ingredients! A perfect side dish and one that is sure to wow anyone you have over for dinner.

Fennel Gratin
Total time: 1:20 minutes

Ingredients:
- Fennel bulbs (1 will serve two people, or you can serve one per person depending on how large the bulbs are)
- 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- salt and pepper
- 1 cup vegetable stock (chicken will be fine too)
- softened butter

Directions:
- Heat oven to 350 degrees F
- Remove the leaf part of the fennel bulbs and split in half. Cut fennel into strips but maintain the shape of the fennel (this is a bit tricky to explain, but look at the picture for clarification. When putting the “half fennel bulb” in the baking tray, it maintains it shape and does not look like it has even been cut up)
- In a roasting pan with high sides, smear the butter all along the bottom so that it covers the pan.
- Add in the fennel bulbs with each half laying flat on the bottom of the pan side by side.
- Season with salt and pepper.
- Cover midway up the fennel with the stock.
- Cover the pan with aluminum foil and place in the oven for 45-60 minutes.
- Remove the aluminum foil, and sprinkle the cheese so that it covers the fennel.
- Bake for about 20 minutes or until golden brown.
- Serve warm

photo credit: my own

TOP 5 SPRING INGREDIENTS

Back in the winter I talked about my top five winter ingredients and ways in which to use them. So here are my favourites for Spring, and what I am looking forward to stocking up on! Knowing 5 ingredients like this is great as sometimes just being able to focus in on a few key items helps can really help in meal planning and recipe searching!

1) Peas
I love peas! They are just to me the epitome of springtime, with their fresh taste, vibrant green colour and sweet flavour. They are a great ingredient for many different dishes; soups, pastas, side dishes. Quite versatile and extremely inexpensive, peas are a great go-to for the spring.
- Sweet pea risotto
- Crostini with mushed sweet peas and lemon ricotta
- Pea soup

2) Asparagus
I don't think there is one vegetable I truly couldn't live without other than asparagus. Such a great flavour, and to me a good looking vegetable. It always looks good on a plate and can really make a dish look pretty and rustic. Great on their own, with natural flavours of olive oil, salt and pepper or one of my favourite ways, with eggs in a frittata. They also could accompany any meat dish you serve!
- Roasted asparagus
- Asparagus frittata

3) Lemon
I am obsessed with lemons these days. Their tart flavour, versatility and bright colour just draw me in! A great springtime flavour, you will be sure to love this ingredient. It can be in salad dressings, in desserts, freshly squeezed
- Meyer Lemon tart
- Lemon ricotta for a crostini (basically this is a light and fluffy spread that can go on a crostini, delicious on its own or with crushed peas on top, this is a great springtime dish. To assemble just mix 1/2 ricotta with 2 tbsp lemon juice, some lemon zest, salt and pepper. For a deeper lemon flavour continue adding lemon juice to the mix)


4) Mint
I keep repeating how "fresh" flavour all of these ingredients are, and I guess the word fresh is just what I think of as necessary for Springtime. Mint is another one of those ingredients. After using it in my lab at school this week I rediscovered my love for mint! Beautiful as a garnish!
- Mint sauce for lamb chops
- Mojito (Cuban drink with fresh mint crushed into it)
- Two ingredient combo: pea soup with mint (also mint as a garnish for this)

5) Honeydew melon 
Honeydew for me just brings back the memories. In high school, everyday after school my mom would have a fruit platter waiting for us, and springtime meant copious amounts of honeydew, that is definitely part of the reason I adore honeydew. A great fruit, with a smooth texture and extremely sweet flavour, kids will gobble this one off their plates!
- Cold melon soup
- Melon wrapped with prosciutto
- Cut up on a fruit tray


Happy Spring!!


photo credit: google images