cleanse, day 5

Backtracking a quick moment (is there a non-quick moment? I suppose there is when I start rambling), I should note that cleanse day 3 was a benefit dinner at Yoshi's that I may yet blog. I behaved as best I could. Cleanse day 4 was leftover eggplant and green pea curry - for lunch and dinner. On to Friday!

Cool, grey, wet outside, and the notion of soup was most appealing. I'd made the Greek lentil soup recipe from the Rebar cookbook. Ah, Rebar - I miss Victoria.

Anyway, it's a fairly easy soup to make and carries a nice little punch of chile flake and some zing from lemon zest and juice. The asparagus was unnecessary, and in hindsight I think it detracts from the purity of the bowl. On the other hand, I really do love asparagus, and I thought it a nice way to add extra green to the meal.

Conrad and I sat in the kitchen enjoying our bowls along with a simple salad and some fresh berries. Out of season, I know, and they tasted it - especially the blueberries. Ah well.

Tomorrow night I will make us some fish!

two midweek dinners

I don't think I've made anything really great lately. Some things that have been decent, reasonable, adequate. A bit of a rut with cooking? Ah well - Conrad and I are hardly going to bed hungry at night.

Yesterday was, of course, Pancake Tuesday. Yes, right, Mardi Gras. Whatever. King Cake wasn't my family's tradition, no. Pancakes for dinner on Shrove Tuesday was the custom. So it was I set to work on crepe batter and filling when I got home. Ultimately I turned out a pleasant and filling but unexceptional meal.



Some cauliflower, some onion, some bacon - all sauteed together, then some red chard mixed in. I filled the crepes with that mixture and some Robusto cheese. A bit of green veg, and Bob's your uncle: dinner.

I joked tonight that I was tempted to keep the chicken in the fridge and order in sushi. In fact, I was sorely tempted. Just not in the mood for chicken tonight, and that may be why it was a bit of an indifferent meal. I marinated the pieces in sherry and olive oil with some salt, pepper, garlic, and saffron. I then baked the pieces and served them with some of the super-delicious cumin-stewed lentils from Monday night (even if I'm less than satisfied with my cooking, the source recipe in a John Bishop cookbook is reliably good)(and Whoa! Amazon has a category of Canadian regional cookbooks? Awesome. Rebar is most popular? Cool!) and a few Brussels sprouts. The lentils saved the dish - it was alright, nothing spectacular, but I think I plated somewhat appealingly.

Oh, I know, I'm my own worst critic. Truly, though, most of what I cook and we eat at home is pretty basic, pretty simple. But one day I'll try a few new things, and we'll have some real fun at the dinner table again.

dinner at L'Espalier

Before I really start flagging, badly, let me try to get a blog entry up. And then crash. Ah insomnia. I need to keep an emergency supply of sleep aids on hand, perhaps, though I dislike the idea of drugging myself to sleep.

In any case, let's talk dinner, and a very good meal (I've had a couple, in fact) in Boston. Last night it was L'Espalier. I wish I had brought a far better camera.

Dinner last night was a return to my tradition of dining out at conference with RAD, and a further return to dining with Mary Augusta and her husband George. RAD, Mary Augusta, and I had all served on a particular committee together, and it was through that and running into each other at nicer restaurants that we first decided - in DC - to dine together. A fine meal in Alexandria that time. I'm the only one of the three of us on that committee now, though, and with the change to the scheduling of the conferences, we have had to shift from a Tuesday night meal to earlier in the extended weekend. Sunday it was, and while it meant missing a social, it also meant a very very very good time and food.

A side note - only an iPhone with me to take photos, and low restaurant lighting. Not that I'd change that. It's a remarkable room, and the entry by elevator was really sleek. Also (TK!): a coat check!

Alright then, a glass of Champagne in front of me, and after a little gougere and a smoked salmon stack as a pre-amuse bouche, out came the amuse bouche, a witty little seafood salad.Why witty? It had elbow macaroni in it, an homage to the tuna casseroles and salads we all grew up with.

And then there was another amuse. George had been kind of keen on a particular menu item because of the shrimp potstickers that came with it. He then decided on a different dish, but lo, a plate of potstickers came by. Well alright then, you're earning a good tip!

We were having the winter prix fixe, so three courses. Up first for me was breakfast. Really, it was. A coddled egg, slow cooked for hours (!!) and served atop a toast and that atop a hash of Indian spiced pork and potatoes. Oh, I was tempted by the sweetbreads, but the egg sounded so offbeat and fun. I went for it. The sommelier, meanwhile, had recommended an interesting white wine to pair with our appetizers, the L'Oustal Blanc Naick 6 from the south of France. Fragrant, sweet-scented, but soft, subtle, not acidic. I loved it, and I loved it with my food.

Dinner. I had no idea mine would be the one with the full production. I felt rather spoiled, happily so. A bowl was set in front of me. In it were lentils du Puy and baby turnip halves, each topped with a slice of black truffle. Then the server removed pieces of Guinea hen from a hot pot he carried, adorning the meat with the juices. Oh wow, this was good. The wine, meanwhile? Another excellent recommendation. Well, that and a treat. You see, I had noted a modestly priced Otago Pinot, the Mt. Difficulty Roaring Meg, and mentioned it. It wasn't where the sommelier was leaning, but she offered to bring the bottle, pour us each a little so the others could taste it. And she sold us on the French red. The Roaring Meg was delicious, certainly. The French wine (I wish I could remember it) was a better match. No complaints from me.

Ah, but there's more. Dessert. How about this for an interesting sounding one: Barley and tea creamy custard with mango croquant and lime hibiscus; red bean ice cream. Very. Good. the plating of the long strips and curls was really something as well. Ah, heaven. A cup of decaf, and I had one of the little sweets offered after that (blood orange gelee atop a milk gelee).

At the end of the meal, the sommelier shook all of our hands and asked our names. She and the other staff were an incredible enhancement to the evening, and I am very sorry I didn't have Conrad along. Well, another time. I hope.

NYE dinner, 2008

I feel lazy today, and can you blame me. Hours of slaving away in the kitchen yesterday. My difficult life.

No, not difficult. Dinner for three of us was a doodle to prepare, all the more so since we drew it out over the course of a handful of hours on our way to midnight. New Year's Eve was, as a result, a relaxed affair, and glad we were of it.

The dinner:

Cheeses (smoked cheddar and pecorino romano) and olives, Rain Coast Crisps, a bottle of a 2006 Sumac Ridge Stellar Jay Brut.

Seafood broth with local prawns, pine nuts, hedgehog mushroom, and thyme. A bottle of a Quails Gate Chasselas Pinot Blanc.

Oven-braised lamb shank with French green lentils, Brussels sprouts, roasted hedgehog mushrooms, and a reduction of the braising liquid.

A bottle of a Cedar Creek Platinum Reserve Pinot Noir and a bottle of a Quails Gate Pinot Noir.

Chocolate budini.


Forme d'Ambert cheese, dried figs, more Crisps, some dark chocolate.

Oh, and several bottles of sparkling mineral water. Can you imagine the shape we'd have been in this morning without downing that water throughout the night?

Chris looked spiffy,
no surprise there. His marvelously hammy side came out time and again as well
- also no surprise.

I took up residence in my kitchen


but welcomed Conrad and Chris' presence and conversation. Conrad photographed all he could and seemed never to be sitting still.

Just after midnight we packed it in. Chris went home, stuffed (I hope), and we headed for bed. One of the most enjoyable NYE in my experience - thank you Chris for coming over - due largely to how well we could let it all unspool as we felt.

pork and lentils

Yes, Dad (if you're reading this), we had pork tonight. May that make you giggle at least a little.

One of my favourite old restaurant recipes is for a side dish of lentils prepared according to a recipe in a cookbook by John Bishop. [Side note: I've yet to make it to his restaurant. I really should one day.] Cumin stewed lentils.

Tasty as all get out. Fragrant beyond words. Necessary to close the doors to the other rooms because otherwise we'll go to bed smelling it in our room and wake up to find that all our clothes and furniture in the bedroom have a subtle reek of cumin and curry. All good things come at a price, right?

The lentils served as the bed on which I parked slices of pork tenderloin. I seasoned the meat very simply and tossed it in a hot oven. I even rested it afterwards, resulting in decently juicy meat. Well done Peter.

The other accompaniments were some simply cooked Brussels sprouts and dried Rainier and sour Michigan cherries plumped in Venturi-Schulze balsamic vinegar and a bit of petite sirah. We sipped some of the (overly oaky) red wine with the meal, and had a relaxing little meal of it.

And now, friends, I'm listening to the Christmas music I downloaded from iTunes. Hey, it's October - that's not too early.