Sriracha - a kind of mouth wash and my first veggie offspring!

Smoked Miso Chicken Spring Rolls, Organic Peanut Sauce

Sriracha! (and Asian inspired mat beneath to enhance authenticity)

VEG GARDEN UPDATE!

June 5th, 2010. 37gr.

I shall call them "Caprese!"

These baby toms just came up recently. They are "Forth of July" Tomatoes which mature really early, hence the name. I enjoy their sweet acidic taste a lot.

Sriracha is in the air! Also affectionately known as "Scratchy" to adoring cooks the world over, I wanted to showcase my favorite condiment in at least one blog. This should be seen as an understatement to just how much I go through the stuff.

I have at any giving time 3 giant bottles in storage at home. It's a personal seasoning for myself. It's also a crutch. I am a little nervous about using too much because now "hot" food is not so "hot" as it once was. Kinda like someone who over salts everything and now everything taste bland. ...but it tastes so awesome... I'll just ignore the consequences, similar to my addiction to good chocolate.

My last day off I did not feel like spending money on food; something I tend to do when I am bored and have free time. So, I used leftovers and did the spring rolls. Super easy, no real talent involved. Just slow cook a Miso marinated Organic Chicken over Pear Wood, make the Peanut Sauce with the ingredients you got from Kensington Market (Peanuts, Thai Basil, Curry, Chili, Stock), and garnish with a healthy splurt of Sriracha!

-Jerek

Cool plates and my veg garden - a beginning.

Chef Ryan and the team from Epic are honing in some new dishes as of recent. Above is a sample of the tastings. Speck and Medjool Dates, Brian Fanning Smoked Salmon and B.C. Spot Prawns, Quebec Fois Mousse with Brioche

Summer Strawberry Soup
Coconut Panna Cotta
(The Soup gets poured in a la minute)


Daniel D'Amore prepping the Strawberry Soup

Seared Lake Huron Perch
Nasturtium, Fennel Pollen Butter
Cauliflower Puree, Sweet Pea Emulsion
Heirloom Carrots, Rooftop Herbs

MY VERY OWN VEG GARDEN!!

(Note, how all my sweat and tears has been absorbed into the soil)

We bought our house last year when the market conditions were perfect. Nobody was buying and we had a huge selection to choose from. In the end we settled on a corner home with a huge yard. 2010 was going to be the year I made my garden. I have always really REALLY wanted a garden. Actually, if I had it my way, I would grow and raise everything I cooked. However, in our Leave It To Beaver existence, a Veg Garden makes due.

2010 will also be the year I get a back brace, because it's a lot of work.
I started by cutting the sod at 7ftXft. I went to work one night and my elder Italian Father In-Law made my garden 24ftX7ft. He was right. He is also freakishly strong. It took 5 yards of organic triple mix fertilizer to get enough top soil down (15 inches deep).

So, here is what I am growing my first year, and I will update the progress at BOHK to see what will stay on for 2011.

Herbs:
Thyme
Basil
Parsley
Tarragon

Veg:
Tomatoes -Forth of July
-Romas
Bell Pepper -Red, Green
Jalapenos
Cayenne
Heirloom Carrots
English Cucumber
Spanish Onions
Leeks

-Jerek

Fois Gras Mousse; the cook's tears of joy inducer. Judging; an experience.

Charcuterie! RUN PETA RUN!

The usual suspects; Cured Meat, Artisan Cheese (1608, Big Brother), Ice Wine Plums, Fig Jam, but note the Rabbit Ballantine hiding behind the Prosciutto. More so, the fois at the bottom of the pic is the recipe written below.

A mid course, but more importantly, another shot of the fois.

Proof I did go... Yup... can say I have been there, done that.
Moving on...


Proof I was in the arena with Chefs*

*by Chef's, two thirds present where teachers and instructors, so I use the term loosely. In fact, I still prefer and remain very proud to refer to myself as a cook.

The tasting.

God bless the sippy cup of water I clutched through this. Overall, it was a good experience, one which I took a lot away from.

A friend of mine I know through the C.W.C. program invited me to tag along as a tasting judge for the Skills Canada Culinary Competition. Based in Waterloo, it was our job to determine the national winner who were representing their province of residence. There were 12 dishes and by the end of the experience, at least for myself, just one clear winner. I will not go into further details but I will point out that I thoroughly tasted 12 meals, and only 1 (The Winner) was seasoned properly.

Last week, I was asked to prepare fois mousse and given a recipe by Chef. It was awesome. The marinated, cooking, and finally emulsion of the two fats really gelled well with the taste and texture. I will leave notes on how to achieve this god like ridiculousness from duckies below.

Fois Gras Mousse

Ingredients:

1.5 lbs. Fois (Cleaned)

2 oz. Cognac

1 oz. White Truffle Oil

S&P TT

Method:

1) Cryovac all the ingredients together and marinate for 4 hours refrigerated.

2) Sous Vide @ 212 for 4.5 Minutes. Check for doneness, it will be finished when the texture is identical to seared fois.

3) Remove and strain the contents of the bag through a fine chinoise (Reserve the fat!!!). Chill the fois (1 hour), and leave the fat @ room temp (actually, slightly cooler, like in a basement sort of temp).

4) Bring the fois back up to room temp and press through a fine mesh tamis (THANK YOU TAP PHONGS!).

5) In a mixer, whip the fois at high speed. VERY SLOWLY, incorporate only half the fat. Make sure the fat is more on the side of cold then room temp (fat at 11C is best. Anything past 12C will not emulsify properly and your eye will begin twitching). If you decide to spilt it (Insert swear word here), use small amounts of very cold butter to chill the fat. Season to taste.

6) Triple Cling Wrap a small Terrine Mould and pour the fois mixture in. Chill for 20 minutes before wrapping, and pressing with weights overnight (I use whole pounds of butter for this task).

Allow apprentices to rub your feet over the heavenly texture that is this accomplishment.

-Jerek

A random week worth of ramblings.

Random Shot #1

We are working on new ideas for Epic Lounge. This is Seared Duck Confit, De Puy Lentils, Chobai Sausage, Brussel Sprouts with Sundried Sour Cherries, and Preserved Orange Creme Fraiche. It's quite tasty, though, touches need to be made on the plating still.

Random Shot #2

Royal York Hotel Rooftop Honey Beer.

Mill Street Brewery introduced this awesome 6.5% Growler Beer to us this past week. It was interesting to discern the honey tones under the usual hops and bitter notes. Pretty Awesome. ...I like how it comes in a 1.89lt jug...

Random Shot #3
Astronaut Ice Cream
I have relocated my youth and it's only 21 grams and 110 calories!!!!
A "Mastermind" opened near my home north of Toronto so I stopped in to see if they still sold Astronaut Ice Cream and yeah, THEY DO! FOR $4!!! Never mind I am a fully grown mature adult with a valid drivers license and mortgage ...I took home 4 of them. I regret nothing. Best Day Off Ever.


Random Article of the week.
I usually post serious and very relevant articles pertaining to anything significant in my beloved field. I read this piece a couple days ago and figured well, frig, pretty much explains what I have been doing wrong when trying to recreate the same authentic smokey crisp dough I experienced over in Italy. As well, this truly takes creativity in the kitchen a step further then I have ever seen. ...I am sure there is something to take from all this if it's true:) I wonder how you could word that on a menu..

Enjoy!

-Jerek

Pizza in Naples may be baked using coffin wood: report


http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/afp/100517/oddities/italy_crime_food_offbeat_1