Food Inc. and a humble soapbox.

Seared Tenderloin, 24-Hour Sous-Vide Short Rib, Quebec Fois Gras

Red Wine Jus, Truffle Vinaigrette.

No real purpose for the photo on this posting per se, but it is a great carnivores delight no?

I watched a good documentary called "Food Inc.", which has a left lean on the American food corporations and how they do business.

I enjoyed it, though I am also the first to admit that I am a hypocrite.

You see, I got in a decent debate with friends about this very topic. Out of 6 of us eating at Toritos in Kensington Market (http://www.toritorestaurant.com/), I was the only one to side with GMO's (Genetically Modified Organisms). My feeling on this issue is that there are concerns, (mainly, I am not a food scientist and am not privy to some rudimentary facts here) but I am not about to cause starvation for millions of people because of laymens' grey areas that I have with the subject by entirely ruling out GMO's on principle. It seems, as we all ate this amazing Chilean Tapas Feast that I was the only one to feel this way. I think it was more about everyone's lack of understanding the basic arguments involved. In regards to my friends, god bless them, they mean well, they'd love to buy local, "organic" is a word straight from Jesus, and it's all about Vegetarianism for a couple of them ...sheesh, but GMO's have a role too. A very important one.

The basic philosophy of the film was buy local, eat organic, use what's in season. As much as I buy into that, I still get cravings for fast food, which I deal with FOR ONLY $7 and 3 MINUTES! and having a habit of buying what's cheapest at the store (Though it's usually "fresh" and unprocessed) and not in season (I gotta have my blueberries in January...). See, I am a hypocrite, but everyone else is too. Nobody I know is 100% organic, local, sustainable.

My favorite one liner in the doc. was every item that rings through a scanner is a vote of food preference.

I love the idea of local, organic, sustainability. This year will be the first year I get to start up a reasonably sized garden, I have a cold cellar, where preserves are important, and prosciutto is cured. I make most dishes at home completely from scratch, and unlike most people, I am all too happy to kill things to eat on. ...though, I normally will use everything of the carcass if that's the case. ...I have Karma to live with...

I view GMO's in a grey coloured hue. Two opposite areas of my approach; On the one hand, some area's of GMO's (such as cloning) have been considered not to have had enough long-term studies to conclude their safety in our food chain. Contrast that to the current impact of bigger, fuller yields (like wheat and corn) in harder to grow parts of the planet through the work of people such as Norman Borlaug which has stemmed off starvation for millions of people (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Revolution).

I lean towards the latter view for the sake of humanity. Having said that, I would love to see cloning labels attached to the products we buy in the supermarkets.

Any who, here is a link to the movie,

Happy watching!

-Jerek

http://tvshack.net/movies/Food__Inc___2008_/

Christmas Eve 2009, 18 PAX, VIP, 18:00/ Recommend Mid-Course

Indulgence: 18 dishes for a party of 18.

Shucking Oysters with the man who introduced me to them in the first place. Grandpa.

Fun trick! When you have helpers, it's not always necessary for you to have to do the mundane jobs. In this case, I was all to happy to delegate my brother to mill 15 potatoes through a tiny ricer. Good man!

Dessert Spread

What it's all about.

Christmas Eve Menu

Thursday, December 24th, 2009

Starters

Seafood

Malpaque Oysters, Shrimp, Smoked Salmon, Lavash, Traditional Condiments

Antipasto

Prosciutto, Chobai Sausage, Grana Padano Parmesan, Oka, Artichoke Hearts, Egg Plant, Zucchini, Kalamata Olives, Sun dried Tomatoes, Anchovies

Autumn Salad

Mesclun Greens, Chevre, Toasted Chestnuts, Sun dried Cherries, Champagne Vinaigrette

East Coast Lobster Bisque

Lobster Medallions, Brioche Croutons

Mains

Spruce Tip Roasted Turkey

Grandma's Tourtiere

Truffled Mashed Potatoes

Brown Butter Biscuits

Heirloom Apple, Tarragon Sour-Dough Stuffing

Sage Gravy

Green Bean Casserole

Maple Glazed Carrots

Our Own Cranberry Preserves

Dessert

Toblerone Chocolate Fondue

Vanilla Bean Genoise, Banana, Strawberry, Marshmallow

Apple Pie

Sugar Pie

Pumpkin Pie

Grandma's Treats

Sucre La Creme, Mint Nanaimo's, Rum Balls

I had a lot of fun working with my Grandmother on the 24th with this menu. Thanks, and gratitude go to my young brother and sister who showed up and happily got bossed around for 5 hours. It went out well with very few casualties. I will note that suicidal chestnuts not only explode when put on broil for too long a period (I am going to cap them off to 4 minutes for now on...), but will leave trace amounts of themselves for weeks afterwards to let you know that they are a messy proposition to consider when putting them on the menu.

Welcome to 2010! BOH will be posting on a weekly basis with a refreshing emphasis on the new and untested. I have been spoiled throughout the holiday season and have 5 new books added to my library to give me ideas and motivation going forward into the new year.

Best Wishes,

-Jerek

Oysters, a cook's day off.

Imagine my delight to be at the market trying to decide what supper will be, when the fish monger offers 50% off a new shipment of P.E.I. Oysters because she knows I'll take such a bargain and clean them myself.
Well.
I was delighted.
I took home 33 of Canada's best Malpaques. I purchased a lemon for seasoning, but better still, at home I have a bottle of home-made Kressi Vinegar Mignonette for just this sort of an occasion.

That's how I spent my night off recently. I had the place to myself; conditions where perfect. For the record, it's never fun to eat oysters around people who don't like them (the annoying majority). Most have never tried one, rather, at some point, they were offered one, looked down at it, and without accepting the offer to try it, made a snap judgment. BAM! Just like that, they abstained from ever knowing the pleasures of an oyster... Well, it's a form of hate, and it's wrong.
This goes deeply against my philosophy of trying everything at least once before making snap judgments.
I have always liked the saying "The bravest man to have existed is the first person to have tried an oyster raw". It's a primal, tasty food, best kept simple.
It's a great self-indulgence, best enjoyed with a steely Chardonnay, Champagne or Still Water and something great on tv - (say like, The Matrix Trilogy), which you would not normally get away with while being around non-oyster eating people such as your wife.

Kressi Mignonette

Yield: 500ml

Ingredients:

500ml Kressi Vinegar (Or Apple Cider, Champagne, Red Wine Vinegars will all do great!)

2 Shallots - very small, perfect brunoise (As small as possible, don't rush)

1 Tbs. Toasted, pan crushed Whole Black Peppers

Method:

1) Add everything together in a dressing bottle.

2) Store in fridge for at least 24 hours before using. Will last easily 6 months.

3) Shake the mixture and pour a tsp. worth on the oyster. Don't get carried away, try not to annoy the neighbors with the volume of the tv.

-Jerek

If you are a cook and reading this, why aren't you at work right now?

5:35pm

The beginning of the evening service.

2:23pm

Prep. Cooks not paying attention to the one cook not prepping (me!). As you may tell from their postures, this is not a good time to be taking pictures for a blog.

4:00pm
Gnocchi being prepared.

Autumn Salad
(Featuring House-made Granola, Heirloom Beets, "Fifth Town" Chevre, and Apple)

De-Constructed Hot Chocolate

(From back to forefront) Steamed Milk, Dark Chocolate Ganache (on a stick!), Chantilly Cream, Couverture Shavings

I have taken a noticeable absence from this blog for the past ten days. Christmas season is here. All cooks know what that means. No excuses. Busy is busy is busy. We all know it, we're all prepared for it. I love this time of year. Usually, you can expect a full service, being called in early and working multiple stations on a daily basis from late November to mid December. To me, this is what Christmas is all about. Forget the tv specials and decorations. Christmas rush is where it's at. It's typically busy with a lot of pressure, but what makes it great is everyone (BOH) tends to be in high spirits and it's reflected in the food.

Having said this, during the Christmas rush, days off do not happen as much, and the time to take quick photos and detail a blog every few days temporarily falls down the priority scale. Everyone is in a positive mood, as long as everyone else keeps busy. Such is the rhythm of a tight kitchen crew.

So, today I have posted some random shots from the past ten days which shall have to do until the final Christmas rush of this decade comes to a close.

-Jerek