Category: Food

New year, new gourmet dinner

Some years ago, DH and I started cooking a gourmet dinner on New Year’s Eve—yes, just for the two of us. (Everyone seems to find that odd, but believe me, when your friends all start having babies… You start doing a lot of things just the two of you!)

Last year, that dinner didn’t quite land on New Year’s Eve itself, and this year it was even later. DH had call duty over New Year’s weekend, so we picked the weekend after for our dinner. That way, there could be wine.

First course: Mushroom and cappuccino velouté

Source: The ever-cheery sounding Cooking with Foods That Fight Cancer

Wine: Stoneleigh 2006 Pinot Noir (New Zealand)

Green mug with foamy white stuff and a bit mushroom soup poking through; bottle of Stoneleigh Pinot.

Certainly the healthiest item of the meal, the soup was also very easy to make: Sauté mushrooms, garlic, and shallots in olive oil, add good-quality chicken stock and let simmer, add fresh basil and blend, season with sesame, then froth milk and put on top. We don’t have a proper “milk frother”, though, so that wasn’t as foamy as it might have been.

But since shitake mushrooms are delicious, the soup was delicious. The wine was also very nice, living up to its reputation as a really good Pinot Noir for less than $20 a bottle. Fruity but subtle, complementing the earthiness of the mushrooms nicely.

Second course: Squash Ravioli with Sage Butter Sauce

Source: LCBO—Squash ravioli, Sage butter sauce

Wine: Chateau des Charmes St. David’s Bench Chardonnay (Ontario)

Ravioli on a white plate; Chateau des Charmes bottle.

I’d been wanting to try making ravioli for a while, and had these two LCBO recipes on hand. What we made was a bit of a combination of both.

I had my doubts when the roasted squash ended up a bit overcooked, with burnt edges; was the whole thing going to end up tasting charcoal-y? Plus, one squash didn’t seem to provide quite enough material, so we supplemented with can pumpkin.

Actually stuffing the things, which I had been dreading, was actually much easier than expected. And amazingly (to me), almost none came apart in cooking, and the won ton wrappers, which seemed so doughy when raw, turned very light after cooking.

The butter sauce was also cause for some concern enroute. (And can I say, that was a shocking amount of butter! Not how I usually cook!) It was supposed to get light brown; it kind of went beyond that, to a darker colour. Was it going to taste all charcoal-y?

But everything was delicious. No charcoal accents at all. And the detail of crisping the sage leaves in olive oil added a really cool texture to the whole thing.

The wine, recommended by LCBO, did match the food very nicely. It took on a completely different, fuller character, compared with drinking it alone.

Main course: Macademia-Crusted Lamb with Celery Root-Fennel Mash and Coconut Mango Chutney

Source: LCBO again, their Holiday 2004 issue.

Wine: Clos des Brusquières 2003 Chateauneuf du Pape (France)

Lamb chops with mashed root and chutney on another white plate; Chateauneuf du Pape bottle.

This recipe was a last-minute substitution when we weren’t able to get our hands on sushi-grade tuna. The idea was accompanying honey-encrusted French-cut lamb chops with a fairly subtle-flavored mash and a very strongly flavored chutney.

None of this was hard to make, but it did take a while. DH handled the mash, which involved a couple of vegetables we don’t cook with very often: the ugly celery root and a fennel bulb (with some other flavorings, like garlic and sea salt). The result was very pleasant-tasting.

The chutney was all strong flavors: sugar, vinegar, chili, ginger, mango, cinnamon, coconut, mint, raisins, lime. It seemed like such a hodge-podge, and the color ended up so odd (brownish), that I was actually surprised how good it tasted!

The main event lamb, by comparison, was a master of simplicity. And it all worked together with the wine, which was very nice, as those tend to be. (And yes, we were feeling a little tipsy at this point, though by no means getting close to finishing any of the bottles!)

Dessert: Pumpkin-Wild Blueberry Pie

Source: Michael Stadtlander’s The Heaven on Earth Project

Wine: Cave Spring’s 2006 Late Harvest Riesling (Ontario)

Blueberry and pumpkin pie with whipped cream; Cave Spring bottle.

Michael Stadtlander is considered one of the best chefs in the world. He runs a restaurant out of his own home. It’s extremely difficult to get reservations there now, but many years, we were able to. (We just had to book four months in advance. Seriously.) And it was, indeed, a sublime experience.

We bought his book a few months ago and—guess what?—a lot of the recipes are really hard to make. But this pie was approachable, and this seemed a good time to try it.

I didn’t compromise on it too much. I used can pumpkin instead of cooking my own, and the blueberry glaze seemed to require the sacrifice of too many delicious wild blueberries for too little input on the pie. But I did follow pastry recipe, and was pleased how easy it was to mix. Rolling got a bit sticky (the crust had sugar and vanilla in it), but adding flour made that work. No amounts were given for the various spices in the pumpkin pie, so I just threw in what seemed like a reasonable amount of each.

So if not entire Statlander-esque in the end, it still turned out very good. Pumpkin and wild blueberry (frozen after we bought them up North this summer) is a good combination. And the Riesling had about the right amount of sweetness to match.

Pie was even better the next day when it had had a chance to chill longer.

The Christmas part of Christmas (or Christmas in parts)

With dispersed families, Christmas celebrations get dispersed over various events, not all of which occur on December 25.

DH and I traditionally hold “our” Christmas on the weekend before we go north. We exchange whatever gifts we’ve bought for each other, and have a Christmas dinner.

This year was no exception. For the dinner, I decided to follow an entire menu provided in the Nutrition Action Newsletter. The biggest challenge, apart from it just being a lot of dishes (turkey breast, stuffing, wild rice salad, green beans, sweet potato casserole, cranberry sauce, pumpkin dip, cranberry apple pear crisp), was that a lot of the recipes were for 8-10 people—way too much for two. So not only was I making a lot of different dishes, but I was having to do arithmetic (divide in two) on all the ingredients as well.

But everything turned out. Although all “healthy”, nothing was lacking in flavor. The cranberry sauce was nicely punched up with ginger, the sweet potato topped with walnuts and coconut. And I liked that the stuffing was much less greasy and salty than stuffing usually is.

For gifts, we went small, since we’re looking at yet another trip soon. With the help of very specific hinting, I got very cute pyjamas on a musical theme (“Here comes treble!”), but was also surprised with some new kitchen gizmos. The gift I was most excited for DH to open was a bottle of Stratus White that I’d spotted at an LCBO, despite its being completely sold out at the winery itself. Tasting notes:

The 05 Stratus White invites the awesome comment. Cliché but true. Feels like Chardonnay Musqué on steroids—delightfully excessive. A wine to propose with, or serve with foie gras, perhaps to mark an anniversary celebration.

The next event was up north, on the eve of the 24th, which is when French Canadians celebrate Christmas with a Réveillon. Food features prominently here, with little appetizer thingies like bacon-wrapped water chestnuts, sweet and sour meatballs, devilled eggs, smoked salmon canapes, shrimp, sucre à crème, and so on.

The gift exchange is more on the jokey side. Everyone gets a $10 gift on a theme, this year’s being “Cowboy”. Then we sit and play a “left / right” passing game until you end up with whatever gift in the end. I threw a Cowboy Junkies CD into the pot.

On the third day of Christmas, it was finally December 25. But Christmas morning was pretty quiet, just DH, me, and my parents, as one sister was staying in Toronto, another not due up until Boxing Day, and the brother’s family only stopping by later that day. So we did a leisurely breakfast, then each of us opened our stocking things, and DH and Dad exchanged gifts, since they had each other’s names.

DH and I split up for Christmas dinner, each joining our respective parents’ for the traditional turkey feast. I did get to see my brother’s family at this point, which is always fun, along with some aunts and uncles.

So Boxing Day was another event, as finally all the kids (my brother’s and my sister’s) could get together. The reunion occurred later than originally expected, due to a stomach bug that struck my brother and his wife (though not the kids). It was crazy-ness when they were finally all together, tearing through their remaining presents.

I also opened my gifts from my brother-in-law, who had my name. Got a very nice-looking exercise top (that I probably won’t limit to workout wear—it’s pretty cute), the Who’s Amazing Story DVD that I’ve been thoroughly enjoying the past couple days, a nice pair of earrings and necklace from the One of a Kind show (and thinking my sister may have helped with the shopping here), and a Paul Anka Rock Swings CD.

Yes, Rock Swings—Paul Anka doing songs like Jump, Smells Like Teen Spirit, and Black Hole Sun in his style. This was purchased in all seriousness, since I’ve been known to enjoy oddities such as dance-mix and orchestral versions of Queen songs. But this CD is something else. We played it one night and, well, you almost have to hear it to believe it. It was quite the conversation piece for us.

Canadian federal election: Week 2 recap

The Liberals were much more visible this week, taking my advice by taking on Harper on a number of fronts, including childcare. The Liberal team was emphasized, which seemed wise. Dion explained the Green Shift on The Current podcast, and was, to my mind, clear and convincing.

The NDP and the Conservatives, meanwhile, were busily injecting a rare note of humour into the campaign. The NDP experienced the resignation of not one but two, toke-smokin’, car-drivin’, former members of the Marijuana Party as candidates for the party in BC, because they apparently didn’t bother to YouTube them before offering them the nomination. And the Conservatives, of course, had the whole “death by a thousand cold cuts” kerfuffle. Am I a bad person because that made me chuckle?

Anyway, this inspired the fourth apology by Harper since the campaign began (emphasizing why he’s so reluctant to let his candidates speak to the media), but the first that seemed to stick. And stick. Please, enough with the calls for his resignation, already! Lack of regulation might be the serious issue here. A dark sense of humour is not.

The US economy provided some excitement, with huge companies collapsing and stocks going on a roller-coaster ride in the wake of the sub-prime mortgage crisis. It ended only when the Bush government reversed its laissez-faire policies and stepped in with massive investment. (Fun fact: $1 trillion could buy you 5 billion iPhones. Or 1 war in Iraq.)

Canada never allowed sub-prime mortgages, and so isn’t at risk of this exact same crisis. But there’s a more general lesson here about what happens when governments aren’t involved enough, when companies (banks, meat) that need regulation don’t get it, when governments are downsized to the point of ineffectuality.

[Harper’s] inability to think in a positive, passionate way about large political projects shows starkly at this tense economic moment. In policy, he prefers to act small. His favourite word is modest. “Our plan is simple, modest and practical,” he said about a tax break for home buyers. As if he’d rather do nothing but, in a pinch, will settle for the least possible. His modest GST cuts give little relief, but they whittle government revenues down so he can claim we can’t afford much anyway. This week, he announced a ban on tobacco ads, which are already banned, and sales to kids, ditto. I know this “modesty” reflects Stephen Harper’s political philosophy and he could rattle on passionately about why government should do the least it can, for the good of us all. It’s the reason he wants a majority: so he can do even less and eliminate more. But he may be the wrong leader at the wrong time.

Rick Salutin, Globe and Mail

Living the 100-mile diet… At least for one meal

The “One Book, One Community” choice for Waterloo region this year is “The 100-Mile Diet”, an account of a BC couple’s attempt to restrict their diet to food produced within 100 miles of their home, for one year. In that spirit was the Region of Waterloo Chef Association President’s Dinner, in celebration of Earth Day. By combining with Foodlink Waterloo Region, they wanted to show that even in April, when local produce options are limited at best, a fine meal was possible.

The evening began with a “Champagne reception”, featuring a nice, Inniskillin sparkling wine. Jean and I debated how “environmental” our presence at this event was—certainly it supported the producers and the idea; on the other hand, we did drive there.

Issue unresolved, we found that seating was in tables at eight, so we randomly selected one that had two spots available. While at first it looked like everyone was only going to talk to those they already knew, a gentleman from Wellesley suggested we all introduce each other, and things got rolling.

It was an interesting group. One couple owned Lyndon Fish Hatcheries—and also happened to have 10 children. The main focus of their business is growing fish to feed other fish hatcheries, but they do a small sideline in smoked arctic char. More on that later. They were there with another couple. He worked for Laidlaw and was frequently consulting his Blackberry; apparently he frequently had to fly out to various offices on short notice. But he wasn’t the type you’re probably picturing now from that description—he was much more down to earth.

The Wellesley couple owned a small food shop in that town. She was noticeably younger than him, with a thick Ukranian accent, but they’d met in New York City. Apparently he decided on the first day that they’d end up married, and proceeded to woo. She expressed perfect satisfaction with life in Wellesley, despite spending her teenage years in Manhattan.

So amid the lively conversation, we got some pretty nice food. First course (earth) was a nice celeriac and potato soup. Second course (water) proved the highlight—the smoked char on greens and tomatoes (greenhouse, if you’re wondering about that one), with a side of brie. Great fish! And we had it first hand that it had all been smoked the night before. Third course (air) featured pheasant and chicken. Then there was a lovely sorbet of apple and chardonnay from the Breadalbane Inn (which I think we need to try). Fourth course (land) was black Angus filet mignon, potatoes, and green beans (definitely a surprise this time of year). Dessert was a nice trio of tiny crepes with apple butter, delicious double brie ice cream, and equally delicious maple syrup tart.

Despite a few moans and groans, everyone at the table seemed to manage to eat everything. Oh, and there were also wine pairings: a nice white meritage from Jackson-Triggs, a good Pinot from Inniskillin, and a bigger red—Cabernet?—to go with the beef.

The evening ended with an auction for a personal chef’s dinner (we dropped out after the first price point) and some door prizes, one of which we won! Dinner for four at Conestega College. All in all a good evening out, whether or not the earth thanks us for it.

New Year’s Eve Eve dinner

For the past few years, our New Year’s Eve activity has been to prepare a gourmet dinner for two. This year, however, Jean was interested in going to Verses for their New Year’s Eve dinner. So, we decided to do our gourmet dinner the day before—on New Year’s Eve Eve. Time will tell how wise it was to plan on two multi-course meals in a row.

In the meantime, this year we remembered the request to post descriptions and pictures of what we made for dinner. 

Appetizer: Dried Cranberry Scones with Stilton

Source: LCBO Food and Drink Magazine, Holiday 2005

Matching “wine”: Fonseca vintage 1988 port

Dried Cranberry Scones with Stilton

Description: Baked scones with dried cranberries, cut in half and filled with cranberry-orange marmalade, topped with Stilton cheese, more dried cranberries, and chives.

Assessment: The Stilton really “pops”, but is nicely contrasted with the cranberry and the touch of chives. The scones turned out really well—fluffy and tasty. Both scones and marmalade were made the day before, which meant only assembly was required.

The port was amazing—complex flavours, smooth going down but a little bite afterward. And a good match for the cheese.

Salad: Apple and oyster mushroom salad

Source: Cooking with Foods That Fight Cancer (cheery, huh)

Matching wine: NZ Kim Crawford Pinot Noir (Vintages)

Apple and oyster mushroom salad with Pinot Noir

Description: Apples and oyster mushrooms cooked in a little butter and placed over arugula coated with olive oil and cider vinegar. Topped with walnuts.

Assessment: The mushrooms, in particular, tasted quite nice, and went well with the apples, arugula, and walnuts. The Pinot Noir smoke was a good match for the mushrooms, as hoped.

Fish course: Lemon-Shallot Scallops with Sugar Snap Peas

Source: Cooking Light Magazine, June 2002

Matching Wine: NZ Whitecliff Sauvignon Blanc

Scallops, snow peas, Sauvignon Blanc

Description: Scallops are first pan-seared in a little olive oil, then shallots and garlic are cooked in a little butter, and simmered in white wine. Scallops are then tossed with the sauce and topped with fresh parsley.

Sugar snap peas are simply steamed.

Assessment: Simple but effective. The key is to not overcook anything. The Sauvignon Blanc is a typical NZ type, with a nice bite to it.

Meat course: Loin of lamb with fresh herbs, served with oven fries and cinnamon sweet potatoes

Source: A Taste of Quebec Cookbook (lamb), The Best Light Recipe Cookbook (oven fries), LCBO Food and Drink Magazine, Holiday 2002 (sweet potatoes)

Accompanying wine: Spanish Merlot-Cabernet Sauvignon blend (not available in Canada; we brought it back from Spain)

Lamb, potatoes, sweet potatoes, red wine

Description: The boneless lamb is pan-seared, then baked at 450. Meanwhile, a red wine, beef stock, and fresh herb sauce is prepared for it. The oven fries basically involve soaking the cut potatoes, then mixing them with some olive oil, salt, and pepper, and baking them. The sweet potatoes are cut into disks and baked. They get topped with a mix of brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt for the last 10 minutes or so.

Assessment: I’d never cooked lamb before, but this turned out quite well—nice flavour, not overdone, good sauce. I had done the two potato recipes before, and they both turned out fine, even though we had to compromise on cooking times and temperatures in order to get everything done together.

The wine was really fantastic. Big and fruity but not overwhelming.

Dessert: Chocolate Torte with Dried-Cherry Port Sauce

Source: LCBO Food and Wine Magazine, Holiday 2004

Accompanying “wine”: We went back to the port!

Chocolate torte, cherries, vanilla ice cream, port

Description: A totally decadent mixture of quality chocolate, butter, and eggs, topped with a port sauce mixed with dried cherries. Not too hard to make, and all doable the day before. Served with vanilla ice cream as well.

Assessment: We had to wait a bit before digging into this, but it was certainly good. And a small piece is perfectly satisfying.

Full gallery at https://photos.app.goo.gl/8u2LKohrknHgusXBA

Dinner was served

I don’t do dinner parties very often, and when I do, it’s only after a lot of planning. Often the planning is so exhausting, I don’t get to enjoy the actual party. But this time I managed. I kind of had to, given the effort Tim and Kristi put in, helping us renovate the living room. Thanks were definitely in order. So we invited them, and added Karen and Herb, whom we owed dinner to, and whom we thought would balance things out well.

We’d hoped to be showing off a largely finished living room, but were deterred by our new couches not having been delivered yet. (We’re getting them tomorrow, about a month late.) As a result, other finishing touches weren’t quite done yet, either: paintings not put up yet, area rug not purchased. But people still needed to sit, so “move downstairs couches upstairs” had to be added to the list of tasks to do.

The planning challenge for this meal was the combination of a vegetarian, a meat and potatoes guy who doesn’t really eat vegetables, and an idiosyncratic eater. I came up with the idea of a multi-course Italian menu, figuring that each person would eventually get to a course featuring food they liked, and then they could stick there. That actually worked out! Here was the menu (which I also typed and put at each place):

Apertivi

Black pepper pâté, brie cheese, crackers

Wine: Cuvée Catherine, Henry of Pelham (Ontario)

Antipasti

Fresh oysters [for the daring]

Wine: Oyster Bay Sauvignon Blanc (New Zealand)

Prosciutto-wrapped melon (or just Melon)

Wine: Collavini 2005 Pinot Grigio, Villa Canlungo (Italy). “Crisp, lively, and jolting. This will get you going.”

Primi

Vegetable Lasagna

Source: The Best Light Recipe. “We wanted to make a vegetable lasagne comprised of tender noodles enveloping evenly cooked vegetables… Creamy cheese and tangy tomato sauce pull the dish together into a hearty crowd pleaser for vegetarians and carnivores alike.”

Wine: Fontanafredda 2004, Barbara d’Alba (Italy). “Plummy meets rustic”

Secondi

Parmesan-herb chicken with Herbed roasted potatoes and seasonal steamed vegetables

Source: In Shape magazine, HM magazine. Brady’s chicken coated in herbs and Parmesan; Crisp-roasted, small gourmet red and white potatoes; Ontario broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots in butter and maple wine vinegar.

White wine: Mike Weir 2005 Chardonnay (Ontario). “This charmingly impressionable wine is easy drinking on its own or a great accompaniment to food. It’s the wine for all, and all occasions.”

or

Red wine: Domaines Bernard 2005 Côtes du Rhône-Villages (France). “Gorgeous, fruity, peppery flavours and a ton of charm and vitality.”

Intermezzo

Easy romaine salad, with basil, balsamic, and pine nut dressing (on the side)

Source (dressing): Jamie Oliver, The Naked Chef Takes Off. The way to get Jean to eat his greens—add meat, nuts, and fruit.

Wine: Your call!

Dolce

Tiramisu

Source: Cooking Light magazine—their most requested recipe ever

Chocolate gelato

Source: Whole Lotta Gelata Waterloo).

Wine: Rush Creek Wines Framboise. “Rush Creek’s premier dessert wine. Very rich and full bodied bursting with luscious raspberry flavour and smooth raspberry essence.”

Coffee, tea

Minimal last-minute preparations were required, other than throwing things into the oven at the right times, and everything seemed to turn out well. More importantly, though, everyone seemed to have a good time. Things were pretty relaxed, and fun, and several of us are getting together again in a couple weeks!

So maybe I’ll do this again sometime. But not for a little while.