Ail, Ail, Ma'am!

 fig. a:  petit aïoli monstre

Tomorrow, Thursday, August 14, 2014, le grand aïoli is back, and this time it's even grander than before.  In fact, it's going to be so huge, so extraordinary, that this time around they're billing it as un aïoli monstre (!).

Once again, this grand aïoli pools together the prodigious talents of the Foodlab, Oenopole, and the Birri Bros.

And once again, this aïoli monstre is inspired by and dedicated to our patron saints of Provençal cuisine:  Lulu Peyraud and Richard Olney.

If you're not exactly clear on the concept, the good folks at Oenopole have summarized it this way:  mange tes légumes et bois du rosé ("eat your vegetables and drink some rosé!").  In other words, all of Birri's most beautiful August vegetables, lovingly prepared by Michelle and Seth and served with generous amounts of Lulu's legendary aïoli, plus all of Oenopole's most delicious rosés.  But I have it on good authority that there will also be Provençal-style shrimp and Atlantic lobster on offer to sweeten the deal even further.

Aïoli Monstre
SAT Foodlab / Labo Culinaire
1201 boulevard St-Laurent
Montreal, QC
Thursday, August 14, 2014
5:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.
rain or shine! (but it's always sunny when a grand aïoli is being served)

Michelle's so excited about this grand aïoli that I heard her say, "You'd be a fool to miss it."  I'm not sure if she meant me personally, or whether she meant "you" more generally.  Either way, I'm not taking any chances.  I know where I'm going to be tomorrow night.

aj

Triple Threat

 fig. a:  meat + wine + grill:  any questions?

Oenopole

      +

Foodlab

     +

Boucherie Lawrence

     =

one helluva wine-soaked barbecue

In fact, they're billing this Thursday's event as:

 fig. b:  gros bbq

In addition to a white from Sébastien Brunet and a red from Le Coste, you can expect grilled pork chops, grilled sausages, and some baller steaks (grilled, of course), along with a whole slew of beautiful vegetable sides, like Michelle's famous minty sweet peas.

Having a hard time picturing it?  It will look kind of like this,

 fig. c:  très gros bbq

except that there will be greater variation in the meat offerings, a wider selection of vegetables, tastier wines, and a better view.

It all goes down:

Thursday, July 17
Foodlab/Labo Culinaire
1201 boulevard St-Laurent
Montréal, QC
5:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.
rain or shine (but, as of this moment, it looks like SHINE!)

aj

Kitchn Tour: Foodlab

TheKitchn's in-depth profile of Michelle continues with a tour of the Foodlab.

 fig. a:  Foodlab Kitchn

The thing is, TheKitchn doesn't typically cover restaurants.  They're very much focused on home kitchens and home cooking.  But they were interested in how the Foodlab works with homestyle cuisine, and they were especially interested in how Michelle's philosophy and her practice extends from home to the workplace, and from the workplace back into the home.

The photographs are lovely, and they were taken last fall, so you can see Seth & Michelle and rest of the gang working busily on their Provence menu.  All I could think of was warmth, and al fresco dining, and rosé, and it felt pretty good.

Thank you, TheKitchn!

aj

Greens Revolution

Labo Culinaire (a.k.a. Foodlab) made it into the pages of Bon Appétit last month!

They appeared in the RSVP section of the magazine, where readers write in asking Bon Appétit to lobby on their behalf and get a restaurant's heretofore secret recipe, because Elizabeth Munsell, of Boston, MA, did just that--she was curious about a dish she'd had at Foodlab last summer.

She wrote:

Dear Bon Appétit, 

The sautéed greens at Labo Culinaire in Montreal were the highlight of our vacation.

E.M. 

These were the greens she had in mind,

 fig. a:  sautéed greens with labneh

they appeared as part of Foodlab's Jerusalem menu last summer, and I fully understand Ms. Munsell's interest.  They were seriously delicious--a key part of Foodlab's Greens Revolution Summer--and a total crowd-pleaser, and I, too, have been curious about the recipe ever since.  So, thank you, Elizabeth Munsell, and thank you, Bon Appétit!  You made Seth and Michelle very happy, and you made me happy, too.  You'd be surprised how difficult it can be to get a recipe from a chef, even when you live with one.

If you're having a hard time figuring out what's going on in the photograph above.  The greens are wilted with garlic.  There's a dollop of labneh on top, which has been drizzled with olive oil.  And the ensemble has been topped with toasted pine nuts, fried shallots, and lemon zest.  Sounds good, right?

The brilliant thing about this dish is that it's great year-round:  it's just as good with winter greens as it is with summer greens.  It would be great right now as a Lenten dish; but it would also be delicious with an Easter lamb.  Serve it alongside grilled meats and seafood all summer long, or as part of a meze-style meal.  You get the idea...

And it's not difficult to make.  It's really all about the balance of flavours, and, for me, it's the fried shallots that really make it (although the pine nuts and the lemon zest are killer touches, too).

Sautéed Greens with Labneh and Pine Nuts 

2 tbsp pine nuts
2 medium shallots, thinly sliced into rings and separated
1/2 cup vegetable oil
kosher salt
3 tbsp olive oil, plus more for serving
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 lb hardy greens, ribs and stems removed if necessary, leaves torn
1 tsp finely grated lemon zest
1 tsp fresh lemon juice
freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup labneh 

Preheat the oven to 350º F.  Toast nuts on a baking sheet, tossing occasionally, until golden brown, 6-8 minutes.  Let cool. 

Combine shallots and vegetable oil in a small saucepan.  Cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until shallots are golden, 8-10 minutes.  Using a slotted spoon, transfer the shallots to a paper towel-line plate and season with salt. 

Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat; cook garlic, stirring until fragrant, about 30 seconds.  Add greens in batches, tossing to wilt slightly before adding more, about 2 minutes.  Add lemon juice and toss; season assertively with salt and pepper. 

Serve greens with a dollop of labneh; top with lemon zest, shallots, nuts, and a drizzle of olive oil. 

Serves 4.

Bring on the Greens Revolution!

aj

Divinyles

 fig. a:  VVV

Will "Vin Vignerons Vinyles" be the blowout of the year (possibly even the decade), as some are predicting?

What happens when you bottle a talent pool that includes Catherine Breton, The Four Horseman of the Oenocalypse, Foodlab, Joe Beef, Joshua Applestone, Café Myriade, and Walshy Fire & Jillionaire in the confines of the Sociéte des Arts Technologiques and agitate vigorously?

Will the bottle explode?

There's only one way to find out.

Tonight!
Monday, November 4
SAT
1201, boul. St-Laurent
from 7pm until...
$45 ("admission et bouffe")

Brought to you by the good, good people at Vinnovation.

aj

Plum Assignment

 fig. a:  fall plums

Michelle is back in the pages of Urban Expressions discussing one of her absolute favourite topics:  plums.  She's of Czech heritage, after all.  And there's a reason she named our line of preserves Švestka.

 fig. b:  Czech plum

Anyway, it's definitely the season for them, those beautiful Italian and Mont-Royal plums are the last of the year's stone fruits, and they're so versatile:  you can prepare them so many different ways across the sweet to savoury spectrum, from compote, jam, jelly, and butter, to cake, torte, tart, and pudding, to chutneys and pickles.

The featured recipe is for Michelle's beautiful plum and walnut torte.

 fig. c:  Czech plum torte

It's described as being for a "more adventurous baker," and, yes, it is a little involved, but it's absolutely worth the effort.  And if you decide the torte's too much trouble, you could always just make a batch of plum compote--the recipe is included.

Once again, you can find the article and the accompanying recipe here.

Now all you have to do is get out to one of our friendly neighbourhood farmers' markets to pick up a bunch of those plum dandies.

aj

Omnivores among us

 fig. a:  aaah! they're back!!

They're back!  That wacky band of Parisian bon vivants has returned to our fair city to put on another food festival, Omnivore Montreal 2013, and, once again, they've not only tapped many of Montreal's best chefs, they've brought along a whole bunch of talented friends as well.

 fig. b:  maudit barbu!

Participants in their tag-team-style Maudits Soupers include such vedettes culinaires as Jeremiah Langhorne of Charleston's legendary McCrady's (tonight! with Derek Dammann!! at Maison Publique!!!).

And, once again, the Société des arts technologiques' Foodlab is right at the centre of the action.  The SAT is where all of Omnivore's cooking demos will be taking place (in the tripped-out confines of the SATosphere, their multimedia dome).  The SAT is where Saturday night's Omnivorious bash will be held.  And the Foodlab will be the site of the festival's closing night Maudit Souper on Monday:  a collaboration between Michelle & Seth, and Nicolas Darnauguilhelm of Brussels' highly acclaimed Neptune.

 fig. c:  buchty, mmm...., buchty!

Both Michelle and Seth will be giving demos this weekend, with Michelle's covering the use of cheese in desserts (including her remarkable farmer's cheese- and fruit-filled buchty,* which you can see pictured above, fresh out of the oven).  You can catch Michelle's demo on Saturday, at 3:40 p.m.,** while Seth's will take place on Sunday at 12:20.  Demos run from 11:00 a.m.-1:30 p.m. and 3:00 p.m.-5:30 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday.

Omnivores of Montreal, unite!

aj

* If you haven't had the pleasure, buchty are traditional Czech yeasted buns that are stuffed with fruit or cheese, and sometimes (as in this case) both.

** BTW, she's making enough buchty for everyone who attends!

Get Thee to the Greek

 fig. a:  Greek spring!

Team Foodlab & Team Oenopole are teaming up again to bring you another Greek extravaganza, featuring not one, not two, not three, but FOUR honest-to-goodness Greek wine producers

Thymiopoulos
Argyros
Tselepos
&
Papagiannakos

Opa!

 fig. b:  Opa!

and a wide range of Greek delicacies, including

grilled lambchops
stuffed eggplant
octopus salad
grilled Izmir-style kebab
fresh grilled flatbreads
&
honey-walnut cake

 fig. c:  Foodlab + Oenopole

And, get this:  you don't have to wait, because the festivities take place TONIGHT!

Wednesday, May 15
5pm till close
Foodlab
1201 boul. St-Laurent
3rd floor
Montreal, QC

It's official--Greek Spring has arrived!

aj

¡Ándele! ¡Ándele! ¡Jaiba! ¡Jaiba!

Spring used to come in like a lion 'round these parts, but mostly it just arrives in fits and starts these days, feinting and dodging, teasing and mocking.  Sure, you'll get some warm, toasty days every now and then, but there's sure to be a few bitterly cold days (and nights), too.  And like our friend at the dépanneur down the street says, "You can't be sure of anything until May 15."  And even then...

 fig. a:  printemps québécois

Anyway, signs of spring usually begin sometime in March in Montreal (like most places in the Northern Hemisphere), but, foodwise, it takes a while to see a whole lot of rebirth going on.  With the exception of maple syrup, most of our spring flavours tend to show up in May and June.

Which is why snow crab is of such importance to people like us.  Not only are we enormous fans of crabmeat, but snow crabs are one of the earliest spring arrivals, and snow crab season is really the only time of the year we can get fresh, live, and regional crab here in Montreal.  Officially, the season is said to last from April to November, but our experience has been that in actual fact it's a very short season, lasting no more than about 6-8 weeks.  But, oh, is it ever sweet.  Or, at least, it can be.  And it's going on now.

Just how excited about snow crab are we?

Well, Michelle and Seth have been preparing a lovely snow crab pasta dish as part of their Quebec Spring/Printemps québécois menu at the Foodlab.  It features handmade/housemade tagliatelle cooked to perfection and tossed with a medley of spring vegetables (string beans, peas, shallots, and the first of the cherry tomatoes from our friends at Birri Brothers), herbs (chives and parsley), a generous helping of snow crab meat, and a beautiful crab cream.

And here at home we've been going to town on our very favourite tacos in the entire world:  tacos stuffed with salpicón de jaiba.



 fig. b & c:  crab tacos!

We've featured this recipe before, but it's an absolutely essential one, and a great way to stretch your crabmeat a little further, because, god knows, those snow crabs are tasty, but they can also be quite costly.  Here it is again, revised and updated:

Salpicón de Jaiba 

1 tbsp vegetable oil
1/4 cup finely chopped white onion
1/3 cup finely chopped celery
2 serrano or jalapeño chiles, seeded and finely chopped
1 cup cooked, shredded crabmeat
1 tbsp finely chopped cilantro
1/8-1/4 tsp crushed chili pepper blend (some combination of ancho, pasilla, arbol, chipotle, and/or New Mexico grande chiles)
salt to taste

Heat the oil in a skillet and cook the onion gently until translucent.  

Add the celery and sauté for about one minute.  Add the fresh chiles and sauté for 30-60 seconds.   

Add the crabmeat and fry until it is warmed through and begins to brown ever so slightly.  The mixture should be rather dry--remember, you're going to be placing it in a taco. 

Lastly, take the mixture off the heat, add the cilantro, salt, and chili blend, and toss, allowing the flavours to mingle for a minute or two before serving.

Serve with hot tortillas and plenty of fixings, like pico de gallo, sour cream or crema, hot sauce, and limes.

Makes enough to fill at least 8-10 corn tortillas. 

[based on a recipe from Diana Kennedy's The Essential Cuisines of Mexico]

Might seem a little strange to make Mexican tacos with Quebec crab, but, trust me, a little cultural exchange can be a good thing.

 fig. d:  Juan Carlos, the Mexican crab

 fig. e:  Jean-Charles, the Quebec snow crab

Go, Crabs, go!

aj

Czech 'er out!

 fig. a:  torte?  Czech!

Michelle's new Czech Easter menu premieres tonight at the Foodlab.

It features this gorgeous new torte (walnut-plum) that Michelle invented.

They're also serving Czech-style bar snacks, and a tantalizing selection of Michelle's favourite Czech delicacies, including her Prague Spring salad, Poached Trout with caraway seeds, leeks, and butter-lemon sauce, and Beef Tenderloin with svickova sauce, dumplings, and lingonberry jam.

 fig. b:  Czech beer & sausages

Michelle will be making some Czech Easter treats in a couple of weeks, too, closer to the Big Day.

 fig. c:  Czech pastries

And they've got a selection of Czech beers on offer.

Just saying.

aj

La Grande Bouffe!, rev. ed.

Have you heard the news?

Foodlab and our friends at Cult MTL are teaming up to present a very special night of aural and oral pleasures (so to speak).

 fig. a:  bouffe/bal

The occasion:  the release of Cult MTL's eagerly anticipated March issue.

The location:  the SAT's Foodlab.  Saturday, March 9.  7:00 p.m.

The attractions:  Foodlab, Nouveau Palais, Soupson, and Dispatch Coffee will be combining their considerable talents to produce a $25 4-course meal & The Suuns (the March issue's cover boys) will follow with a $5 DJ set to celebrate the release of their most recent record, Images du Futur.  (Want to get yourself primed?  Check out the entire album here.)  But, get this:  if you buy a ticket for that tasty 4-course meal, you'll be admitted into the dance party gratis.

 fig. b:  suuns/cult

Sounds awesome, right?

Oh, it will be.  Just look at the menu.

 fig. c:  le menu

As Michelle is so fond of saying:  bouffe!

 fig. d:  santé!

Interested?  You can purchase tix here.

aj

Olney Love Can Break Your Heart

2012 was also Foodlab's first year of existence, and, oh, what a year it was.  Sure, it was wild & wooly at times, but mostly it was a year of lovely, often adventurous menus, stellar events, a truly incredible summer that seemed to want to live up to Foodlab's seasonal theme ("Club Med"), loads of positive feedback, some well-deserved acclaim, and lots and lots of ping pong.

Like I said, Foodlab was the site of a number of fantastic events over the course of the year (a Greek kebab night, on a hot August night, that was amply lubricated with ouzo comes to mind), but my favourite was definitely Michelle & Seth's hommage à Richard Olney.  From the thoughtful Provençal menu, to the fine Bandol wines (courtesy of Theo Diamantis and the Oenopole crew), to the convivial ambiance, and the lively and appreciative crowd, this was a truly memorable night, a heartbreakingly beautiful night, one that Montreal desperately needed, and one that, I'm sure, made dear Richard very proud indeed.



Michelle & Seth put the finishing touches on the chalkboard.



Theo's pride & joy.



The night's menu.



Ratatouille.



Game terrine with red-wine-soaked prunes.



Stuffed and braised squid.



Marinated & grilled mushrooms.  Stuffed lamb shoulder with jus and white purée.



Michelle's Salade Olney.



Red-wine-poached pear.



Honey & apple tartlet.



Here's to many more amazing Foodlab events, and let's hope the hommage à Richard Olney becomes an annual event!

aj

top ten #47

1.  Fall/Christmas bazaar season, Montreal

2.  Meek's Cutoff (2010), dir. Reichardt



3.  The eel hunt, Kamouraska

4.  R.I.D.M. 2012



5.  hommage à Richard Olney



6.  lapin à la kriek

7.  Foodlab turns 1



8.  Errol Morris, Believing is Seeing (Observations on the Mysteries of Photography)



9.  turkey, turkey gumbo, hot turkey sandwiches





10.  More (original soundtrack/"music played and composed by Pink Floyd," 1969) + Zabriskie Point (original soundtrack/various artists, 1970)

aj

Fou de Kamou, rev. ed.

 fig. a:  Kamou view 1

Until this summer, Michelle had never set foot in Kamouraska.  Oh, sure, she'd heard lots about it.  In this part of the world, Kamouraska is a fabled region.  Situated at the point where the salt water of the Atlantic mingles with the freshwater flowing east along the mighty St. Lawrence River ("entre la mer et l'eau douce"), at the beginning of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, the largest estuary in the world, and encompassing verdant fields, lush forest, impressive rock formations that shoot out of the landscape, and fantastic views of the river, its marshes, a number of its islands, and the mountainous north shore, Kamouraska is a pretty striking place.

 fig. b:  Kamou view 2

Michelle felt instantly at home.

 fig. c:  Kamou girl

She took to the landscape, and the landscape seemed to agree with her.  And she quickly adopted Kamouraska as a home away from home.

We were only in Kamouraska for a little over two days on that visit, but we had a pretty active couple of days:



 figs. d & e:  sowing seeds

We attended a traditional seed-sowing ceremony, featuring live musical accompaniment and an elaborate fertility ritual, at Patrice Fortier's magical Société des Plantes.





 figs. f, g, & h:  there will be eels

We visited a cultural centre dedicated to eels and eel fishing.  (Eel fishing has been a staple of the local economy for hundreds and hundreds of years, long before the settlers arrived.  Eel was a traditional part of maritime Quebec's diet, but has decreased in popularity over the last several decades, due in part to the misconceptions that surround it.  Still, the eel hunt persists, with most of the catch shipped to either Japan or Europe, but mostly to Japan.)

 fig. i:  Boulangerie Niemand

We checked out Boulangerie Niemand, perhaps Quebec's very best bakery (and almost certainly its most beautiful), and a real hub for the local community,

 fig. j:  côté ouest de Côté Est

as well as Côté Est, right next door, a fine new addition to the local dining scene, with wonderful views on the river, a convivial atmosphere, and a menu that specializes in local delicacies like eel and locally raised salt-marsh lamb, as well as natural wines from Montreal's own La QV.

 fig. k:  got fish?

We made sure to pick up some smoked eel, sturgeon, and salmon before we skipped town.

 fig. l:  faire du pouce

And although the idea of hitchhiking from Kamouraska to La Pocatière to visit our friends at Fou du Cochon (the very same ones who'd made the wonderful charcuterie pictured above at Côté Est) held a certain romantic appeal, ultimately we opted for other means of transportation.

 fig. m:  golden age

When we got to Fou du Cochon we were blown away by how meticulous an operation it is, but we were especially impressed by the hand-crafted maplewood architecture they'd created to age their vast array of charcuterie, which not only looked beautiful, with its golden hues, its aromas also imparted an additional goût du terroir to their product.

 fig. n:  après Kamou

When we got back home, we celebrated our trip with an après-Kamou feast.  And Michelle immediately started to put the plans together for an Hommage à Kamouraska menu for the fall.

Notes:

Kamouraska is roughly 400 km away from Montreal along Autoroute 20/the Trans-Canada, but it pays to follow Hwy 132 along the river soon after you pass Quebec City--it's one of my favourite drives in Quebec.

 fig. o:  beauty queens

If you'd like to experience the flavours of Kamouraska, but you're not in a position to make a trip out to that region anytime soon, you might want to visit Seth & Michelle at Foodlab over the next couple of weeks for their Hommage à Kamouraska menu.  That's right:  it's now fall, and their Kamou menu has gone live.  It features bread from Boulangerie Niemand, charcuterie from Fou du Cochon, smoked fish from Poisonnerie Lauzier, and a truly amazing array of fresh produce from our good friend Patrice at la Société des Plantes.

For an extra special treat, you might want to attend tomorrow night's (November 15) Fou du Beaujo festivities at Foodlab, featuring the entire Hommage à Kamouraska menu, plus some amazing Beaujolais wines from La QV.  If you happen to be in Kamouraska that night, you can attend the tandem Fou du Beaujo event at Côté Est (!).  How's that for inter-regional togetherness?

And if all that wasn't enough, the Hommage à Kamouraska menu features one my favourite Michelle Marek desserts in recent memory:  a phenomenal maple custard with caramelized apples and pecans.

Fou du Beaujo info:

Foodlab, 1201 boulevard St-Laurent, November 15, hours:  5 à 7

Fou de Kamou addresses:

Boulangerie Niemand, 82 avenue Morel, Kamouraska, QC, (418) 492-1236 

Côté Est, 76 avenue Morel, Kamouraska, QC, (418) 308-0739 

Poissonerie Lauzier, 57 avenue Morel, Kamouraska, QC, (418) 492-7988 

Site d'interprétation de l'anguille de Kamouraska, 205 avenue Morel, Kamouraska, QC, (418) 492-3935 

La Société des Plantes, 207 rang de l'Embarras, Kamouraska, QC, (418) 492-2493 

Fou du Cochon et Scie, La Pocatière, QC (available in fine food establishments across the province)

aj