Raspberry Social Wrap-up

Such a good crowd, such amazing weather, such a great time! And such beautiful raspberries!

fig. a: framboises

From the outside, you might have just thought it was a particularly busy day at good ole Parc Laval.

fig. b: Parc Laval

On the inside, however, you found the sweet, sweet sounds of the Better Late Than Never String Band (version 2.0: banjo + fiddle) and a couple of trained professionals

fig. c: Team Laloux

serving up the most heavenly sponge cake, raspberries, and whipped cream combo,

fig. d: heaven

along with a veritable battery of drink options.

Big thanks to all of you who were able to make it down for our Raspberry Social (including a whole whack of Ottawans!), as well as all those who wished us well from afar. Once again, it was a smashing success (over 100 people!).

Will there be another social before the end of the summer? (The blueberry fanatics* have been clamoring for a Blueberry Social, among other things.) We're still not sure, but stay tuned to AEB for all the latest Summer Social information and updates.

Thanks again to Restaurant Laloux, Café Myriade, and Better Late Than Never (who tore things up!) for their invaluable assistance and their camaraderie. You guys are the best!

aj

* You know who you are!

Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)

fig. a: sweet dreams

Michelle had a dream the other night. This wasn't particularly unusual--she has dreams almost every night, some of them rather vivid. But this one was a little different.

It was essentially a work dream, but Michelle loves what she does, so any and all stress and anxiety was balanced by feelings of pride and satisfaction. It was also quite a bit sweeter than your average work dream.

Michelle had been asked to make the desserts for a large fundraising gala. She wasn't 100% sure what the cause was, but the guest of honour was none other than René Redzepi, the acclaimed chef of Copenhagen's Noma. The dessert she'd chosen to serve in her dream was a raspberry dessert that she'd been working on in real life earlier in the week, but that she hadn't quite finalized. In her dream, though, the dessert was fully visualized and complete, and she took it to be some kind of sign. So when she went back to work, she made the necessary adjustments--the ones she'd seen in her dream--and promptly placed her new, improved raspberry dessert on the dégustation menu.

fig. b: are made of this

Then she did the only logical thing: she tweeted about it.

Michelle_Marek: Dreamt I was doing a fundraising dinner and @ReneRedzepiNoma* was the guest of honour. What I made in my dream is now on the Laloux menu.

A tad matter-of-fact, perhaps, but that's what you get for 140 characters or less.

Apparently not too matter-of-fact, though, because hours later, she received this response:

ReneRedzepiNoma@Michelle_Marek: what is the dish?

To which she replied:

Michelle_Marek@ReneRedzepiNoma: It's a dessert: raspberries stuffed with creme fraiche, honey glazed puff pastry with orange flower water...

Michelle_Marek@ReneRedzepiNoma: ...raspberry-rose gelee, burnt honey ice cream and a pimenton-rose-mint-pistachio powder sprinkled lightly over it.

If all that wasn't enough, about an hour after this exchange, Michelle got a phone call--not from Mr. Redzepi (darn!), but from someone who asked if she'd be interested in producing the desserts for a fundraiser. For the very first time. You might think Michelle had gotten such invitations before, but you'd be wrong--this was actually a first.

No word on who the guest of honour will be.

Oh, yeah, I almost forgot. What about the raspberry dessert itself? Well, I loved the whole thing, from the ripe raspberries, to the crispy puff pastry, to the unexpected zing of that pistachio powder, but if I had to single out my favorite element, it was those those raspberry-rose jewels, which had the most delicate flavour, and the most extraordinary texture.

Overall: pretty dreamy.

aj

* If you're not a Twitterer, you should know that Michelle actually typed "René Redzepi"--again, very matter-of-factly. When she did, because she "follows" Redzepi on Twitter, it appeared as "@ReneRedzepiNoma" and linked to his Twitter account.

On Rhubarb, Rhubarbe, and Rhubarb Socials, or l'Eighties Night meets Kaffeeklatsch

fig. a: this is now

Wow, the notion of a culinary Eighties Night seems to have really struck a nerve (including our first mention in The New York Times!).

Sadly, I was too busy having a good time with my tablemates and getting regaled by the multi-course spectacle that unfolded that night to concern myself with being a shutterbug. So the photographic documentation is lacking, but the memories are vivid. And one of the clear highlights of the night was Michelle's Rhubarb and White Chocolate Éclair. I'm not enough of a historian of pâtisserie to weigh in on how '80s that combination of rhubarb and white chocolate was, but I can tell you that the very sight of the éclairs made perfect thematic sense, and that their "pretty in pink" color scheme didn't hurt either.

If you're curious as to how Michelle made her éclairs, well, I managed to coax the recipe out of her. (Membership has its privileges.) This way, if you didn't have the opportunity to actually attend l'Eighties Night, you might at least be able to recreate some of the magic at home (with your very own soundtrack!).

Rhubarb éclairs with white chocolate

for the pâte à choux:

160 g water
200 g milk
2 tsp salt
2 tsp sugar
150 g butter
200 g flour
6 eggs

Mix water, milk, salt, sugar and butter together in a medium pot. Bring to a boil, add flour, take off the heat and stir like mad until there are no lumps. Put back on the heat to dry out the mixture a bit, stirring all the while.

Place mixture in a standing mixture with the paddle attachment, mix 1 min on low. Add eggs one at a time, making sure the mixture is homogenous before adding another.

Place the mixture in a piping bag fitted with a round or star tip. Pipe strips of dough about ½ inch wide and 3 inches long on a baking sheet lined with paper. Brush dough with a bit of egg wash (1 egg, dash of milk, pinch of salt). Bake at 400º F for 8 minutes, then 375º F for 12 min. Make a small hole with a knife in each and let cool.

for the rhubarb compote:

500 g rhubarb, cut into small dice
150 g sugar
125 ml syrup

3 g NH pectin
3 g sugar

Mix rhubarb with sugar and let macerate for 1 hour. Cook briefly until the rhubarb is tender, strain, reserving the syrup. For every 125ml of syrup add 3 NH pectin and 3 sugar, boil a few minutes. Pour over the rhubarb and let cool in the fridge.

for the white chocolate ganache:    

300 g cream
480 g white chocolate
430 g yogurt
2 gelatin sheets

Soften gelatin sheets in cold water. Bring the cream to a boil, add gelatin, pour over the chocolate, let stand 1 min. Whisk the chocolate mixture gently until emulsified. Add the yogurt and mix until homogenous. Let cool in fridge.

to finish:

Cut the éclairs in half lengthwise. Dip the tops in a white chocolate ganache. Pipe one layer of white chocolate cream inside the bottom half. Add a layer of rhubarb compote. Finish with the dipped top half and serve.

All of which brings me to Part 2...

You see, the other reason I chose to focus on this particular recipe is because it's the perfect lead-in to the next Kaffeeklatsch event: Kaffeeklatsch presents Rhubarb Social.

You got it, Kaffeeklatsch is back (version 3.0), and this time the theme is "Rhubarb." This means two things:

First of all, this time around, Michelle will be collaborating with her good friend Stéphanie Labelle, chef-pâtissière of the justly lauded Pâtisserie Rhubarbe.

And secondly, while the menu will feature some of your favorites from Kaffeeklatsch #1 and #2 (apple strudel! sachertorte!), it will also feature a selection of rhubarb desserts by Stéphanie (rhubarb tart! rhubarb religieuse!), featuring the loveliest pink Quebec rhubarb available.

And, yes, once again, coffees will be provided by our good, good friends at Myriade (yes!), who were all too happy to take up the challenge of a coffee that pairs well with rhubarb.

fig. b: that was then

Kaffeeklatsch presents Rhubarb Social

Sunday, June 5, 2011
1:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Restaurant Laloux
250 ave des pins est
$12 = pastry, petit four, & coffee

for more information: 287-9127

See you on Sunday!

aj

Oh, yes, it's l'Eighties Night...

...what a night!

fig. a: Frankie says...

Some of you Eighties Revivalists out there are probably too young to actually remember the 1980s, but it wasn't all oversized slogan t-shirts and Wayfarers, fluorescents and Body Glove, underwear-as-outerwear and Sperry Top-Siders.

Sure, the '80s had some of this,

fig. b: slippery people

this,

fig. c: into the groovey

and this.

fig. d: power, corruption, & lies

But that's not all there was.

They entertained like this,

fig. e: luau!

they drank like this,*

fig. f: Campari!

and they partied like this.**

fig. g: Parrrr-tyyyy!

But what about the haute cuisine of the Eighties? What was that like? Can you even imagine an era before sous-vide, before the widespread use of liquid nitrogen?

Well, if you're having a hard time visualizing such a cuisine, now's your chance to experience it firsthand.

You see, this coming Monday, May the 23rd, Restaurant Laloux will be presenting a very special occasion in celebration of their 25th anniversary: Eighties Night! They will be welcoming special guest chef Stelio Perombelon (Les Cons Servent, Pullman) to Laloux for one night only to collaborate on an Eighties-themed menu inspired by the year 1986, the year that Laloux opened for business.***

What's in store?

to begin with, three types of canapés:

-tomates cerises antiboise, sablé et crème à l'oseille (cherry tomatoes stuffed with tuna, capers, and tarragon mayonnaise and served on a sablé)

-accras d'esturgeon fumé (smoked sturgeon accras)

-tartelettes de foie de lapin, brunoise à la crème d'ail (rabbit liver tartlets served with a garlic cream-laced brunoise)

first service: salade de crevettes nordiques, mousseline d'avocat, paris crus et huile de noix (nordic shrimp salad, avocado mousseline, raw Parisian mushrooms, and walnut oil)

second service: gougeonettes de doré, flan de courgettes, abricots secs et beurre de liquoreux (pickerel gougeonettes, zucchini flan, dried apricots with Condrieu butter)

third service: pigeonneau, crème fevettes, chanterelles, tartines d'abats au vert, pommes dauphines (squab, purée of fresh peas, chanterelles, giblets-topped brioche with herbed breadcrumbs, potatoes dauphine)

and, to close, a selection of three desserts by Michelle:

-citrons givrées, salade d'agrumes, sabayon (meringue-topped lemons stuffed with lemon sorbet, cirtus fruit salad, sabayon)

-éclairs au chocoat blanc et rhubarbe (white chocolate and rhubarb éclairs)

-crêpes Suzette (um, crêpes Suzette)

All this, plus service that wouldn't be out of place in an episode of Dynasty (please! no cat fights, though!).

1980s prices, too:**** the whole extravagant affair will only set you back $65.

Intrigued? Act fast, places are limited!

fig. h: ...Laloux

Restaurant Laloux, 250 ave. des Pins, 287-9127

aj

* Yes, that is Kelly "Weird Science/The Woman in Red" LeBrock, and, yes, she is wearing Valentino.

** In fact, they're the ones that first coined the usage of "party" as a verb.

*** Chef Perombelon has a baby face, but he claims to be old enough to have been trained in the mysteries of 1980s French cuisine. He's also one of the most talented chefs in Montreal, and a good friend of Team Laloux.

**** Adjusted for inflation, of course.

Zurück!, rev. ed.

fig. a: Kaffeeklatsch 2

That's right. Kaffeeklatsch is back.

You'll find all your favorite Central and Eastern European pastries (Apple strudel! Linzer cookies!), a few new treats (Dobos torte! Chestnut truffles!), phenomenal filtered coffee by Anthony Benda and the rest of our friends at Café Myriade, and the Old World charm of Laloux in the afternoon.

fig. b: kaffeekultur

All you've got to do is bring your sweet selves and some peppery anecdotes and we're off! (No top hats or petticoats required).

Still not 100% clear on the concept? Check out this recent write-up in the Montreal Gazette.

Want to see what Kaffeeklatsch 1 looked like? You can find AEB's post-klatsch coverage here.

Got the picture?

Kaffeeklatsch 2
pastries: Team Laloux
coffees: Team Myriade
sounds: DJ Der Kommisar
time:  Sunday, April 17, 2:00 - 5:00 PM
place:  Laloux, 250 ave. des Pins E.

Kaffeeklatsch: putting the Vienne back in Viennoiseries...

See you there!

aj

p.s. I think it's safe to say that Kaffeeklatsch 1 generated a fair bit of enthusiasm. 150 people showed up to partake in the festivities. Articles were written. And Michelle received lots of positive feedback. You never know with these things, but, this time, it seemed like she'd really struck a nerve. In fact, just today, she even received some fan mail. The real deal--the kind that actually comes through the mail (!).

fig. c: kaffeeklatsch kard

The card (and accompanying letter) was written in the most elegant script (unmistakably Central European), and it spoke of childhood in Vienna and fond memories of time spent in pastry shops, of Kaisergugelhupf, Vienna Gugelhupf, Punschtorte, Haselnußtorte, Zimtsterne, Erdbeer-Topfenknödel, and numerous other Viennese specialties.

Michelle was already "majorly psyched" about this week's kaffeeklatsch. When she came home with that card, she was walking on air.

Come see what all the commotion is about.

Northern Rites

fig. a: curling scene, Montreal

We, here at "...an endless banquet," have been spouting off about the affinities between Québécois culture and Nordic culture, and especially about the notion of Québécois cuisine as Nordic cuisine, since at least 2006. In fact, that's one of the very reasons that René Redzepi and Claus Meyer's New Nordic Cuisine struck such a chord with us--it seemed to provide a model for how chefs here in Quebec might reinvent the local cuisine, pushing it in a direction that was more seasonal, more sustainable, less dependent on imports, and truer to the terroir. But Quebec remains a culture of Nordiques turned Snowbirds, a culture that in many ways has lost sight of its essential Nordic-ness. A people that had once proclaimed "mon pays c'est l'hiver," took to proclaiming "mon pays c'est la Floride/le Cuba/le Mexique/le Las Vegas" a long time ago. And, thus, in spite of our agitating, the New Nordic Cuisine has yet to take hold. Montreal is still a city of open-air hockey rinks and tobogganing, of Montréal en Lumière, Nuit blanche, and La Fête des neiges, but it's also the home of the Underground City, and it could definitely use some more Northern rites.

fig. b: old-school

With this in mind, Team Laloux--namely chef Seth Gabrielse and AEB's very own Michelle--has devised a night of Nordic cuisine at Pop!: a good, old-fashioned Scandinavian-style smörgåsbord, complete with all the trimmings. Think open-faced sandwiches and Scandinavian sweets.

fig. c: new-school

Think gravlax, Danish teak, and aquavit.

fig. d: Krogstad Aquavit

Starting to get the picture?

Michelle's been so excited about this event that her birthday turned into an extended Scandinavian food- and fact-finding mission (alas, not east to Copenhagen or Stockholm, but south [?] to New York City). And, let me tell you, she found plenty.

And when we returned she also found Scandinavian prezzies sent by a psychic friend (!).

fig. e: proof of E.S.P.

So Team Laloux is ready for you, and they'll be serving up Nordic delicacies both "new" and "classic" in the Danish Modern splendor of Pop! one night only (!), this Monday, March 28th.

Smörgåsbord!
Monday, March 28th
6:00 PM - 11:00 PM
Pop!
250, avenue des Pins E.
RSVP: (514) 287-1648
Facebook page

Skål!

aj

Trans-Europe Express

fig. a: kugelhopf 1

It's been two days since the Kaffeeklatsch event at Laloux and we're still buzzing. We had a good feeling going into this--there seemed to be a lot of enthusiasm in the air leading up to Sunday. And with fresh snow on the ground, a bright sun in the sky, mild temperatures, and a star-studded lineup of Central European pastries ready to go, it really seemed like everything was falling into place. The Linzer cookies were finalized. The strudel dough was stretched, brushed with butter, gently folded over apples, rum-soaked raisins, and walnuts, and baked. Cookies and cakes were placed on display. Team Myriade fine-tuned their equipment and prepped their coffees. Team Laloux readied themselves for service. And by 1:45 (!), people started to show up--in numbers (!!). What was billed as a 2:00 - 5:00 affair turned into a 1:45 - 5:45 affair, but, more importantly, the atmosphere was positively electric. No one spontaneously burst into poetry the way Michelle had imagined, but she was treated to an impromptu poetry reading as she made the rounds (and she received another poem via email), and everywhere you looked people were klatsching it up and partaking in kaffee und kuchen as if they'd been doing it their entire lives.

fig. b: kugelhopf 2

I was maybe not the most objective observer, but the combination of Michelle's cookies and pastries + Team Myriade's amazing brews + the charm and ambiance of Laloux's dining room on a bright winter's day was something to behold. And a lot of people I talked to seemed to feel similarly.

If you couldn't make it out on Sunday and you're having a hard time imagining what Kaffeeklatsch looked like, this should give you an idea:

fig. c: petit fours*

fig. d: kugelhopf plate**

fig. e: strudel**

fig. f: sachertorte mit schlag

fig. g: Michelle & co.**

And even if you did get a chance to attend, you might be curious to see what was going on behind the scenes. If you've never made a strudel, this is what the process looks like as the dough is stretched to the point of translucency, stuffed with the apple/raisin/nut filling, and folded.



figs. h, i, j: strudel 101

If all this sounds/looks like fun and you weren't able to make it, I can say with some degree of certainty that there will be repeat performances of Kaffeeklatsch in the future. We had too much fun for it to be otherwise--it would be a shame not to throw another one. Plus, we've got all kinds of ideas for future ones: readings, live music, films, etc. So stay tuned to "...an endless banquet" for news of future Kaffeeklatsch events (or, if you can prefer, you can join our new Kaffeeklatsch Mtl page on Facebook). We just need to figure out a schedule (monthly? bi-monthly? quarterly?).

I can also say that if you're interested in trying Michelle's sachertorte, she'll be offering this chocolate-apricot delicacy as the dessert du jour at Laloux all this week.

Lastly, thanks to Laloux for hosting, Team Myriade for kicking out the jams, and extra-special thanks to all of you who graced Kaffeeklatsch #1 with your presence and made the event a smash hit.

aj

P.S. After all that coffee, after all the excitement, after listening to DJ Der Kommisar's Kaffeeklatsch Klub Mix for hours on end, we were jonesing for a classic Central European meal of some kind. Thing is, we were also exhausted, so when we got an invitation to a Super Bowl tacos night with some friends, we jumped at the opportunity, and it was just what the doctor ordered: overstuffed tacos, ice-cold beers, chips, football, Glee, and good times.

The next day that hankering hadn't subsided, though, and we still had a few pieces of Michelle's kugelhopf left over, so we did the only sensible thing: we baked some sourdough rye, whipped up some goulash, and invited some people over for a collaborative Hungarian feast, complete with cucumber salad, körözött júhtúró (an enchantingly umami-rich cheese spread), Hungarian freak-folk (Félix Lajkó!), Hungarian folk-metal (Vágtázó Halottkémek!), some simultaneous translation, and a trio of impressive Hungarian wines: a dry 2007 Tokaji Furmint, a 2007 Hunyadi Kéthely, made with the pinot noir-like kékfrankos (blaufrankish) grape, and 1996 Tokaji Aszú 5 Puttonyos dessert wine.

fig. k: après le déluge

Want to make your own goulash? You can find our AEB recipe here.

Curious about that cheese spread? Here's a recipe:

Körözött Júhtúró, a.k.a. Liptó Cheese Spread

1/2 pound Liptó sheep's milk cheese [this cheese is known as Liptauer in Austria, and Romanian/Slovak Brindza is an acceptable substitute--in Montreal, you can find it at select Central- and Eastern-Europe specialty food stores, like Slovenia (6424, rue Clark)]
1/4 pound lightly salted butter, softened
1 tsp Hungarian paprika [you can use either sweet or hot paprika--we opted for hot]
1/2 tsp prepared mustard [think Central European/German mustard]
1/2 tsp pounded caraway seeds
1 small onion, grated
1/2 tsp anchovy paste [we made our own using salt-packed anchovies]

garnishes: radish slices, green chiles, scallions

Sieve the cheese and mix it with softened butter and all other ingredients until the spread is light red in color and evenly mixed. Refrigerate.

Serve with slices of good, crusty bread, such as freshly baked sourdough rye, accompanied with garnishes.

Mystified by the anchovies? I was. Especially when our friend A. described this dish as something you might get served in the Hungarian countryside. When I asked him about the anchovies he had one word in reply: "Trieste." Of course.

Never tried a Hungarian wine? You can find all three of the wines mentioned above at the SAQ.

* l-r: rum balls, Linzer cookies, vanilla spritz cookies, hazelnut crescents

** very special thanks to EM for the additional photographs

Kaffeekultur

fig. a: cupboard, Prague

Those of you who've been reading "...an endless banquet" for a while know that our Czechoslovak roots run deep, which is one of the reasons Michelle's been busy organizing a real Central European kaffeeklatsch at Laloux, one inspired in large part by the cafés, coffeehouses, and kavárnas of Prague. You'll also know that we have a certain fascination with serendipity, so if it takes me a while to get to the 411, you'll excuse me.

So, let's see... Where to begin?

Well, I guess we'd have to start in California, last August.

fig. b: Vladimir's

We'd spent a particularly delightful day in western Marin County, north of San Francisco, swimming, eating oysters, daydreaming, and generally having a good time. Late that afternoon, we chanced upon a Czech pub in Inverness, CA called Vladimir's, and we decided that the only sensible thing to do was to stop in and have a pint. We figured that, at the very least, it was a great excuse to write some postcards to our Czech friends and family. So that's exactly what we did.

fig. c: book barn

Five months later, we were visiting our friends in Upstate New York, and they, knowing our weaknesses all too well, took us to a truly fantastic second-hand bookstore. A book barn, actually. The Rodgers Book Barn of Hillsdale, NY. There, among numerous other treasures, Michelle came across a book titled Manka's Czech Cookbook and Memoirs by one Milan Prokupek, Sr.

fig. d: Manka's

She began to read the back cover and learned that the book recounts the story of Milan and Maria Prokupek, who left Czechoslovakia in 1948, moved to North America, and got involved in the restaurant business, first in Victoria, BC, and then in Inverness, CA. There they opened their second Manka's restaurant (the first had been in Victoria) and quickly became fixtures of the community. They eventually took over a second restaurant in Inverness--a pub called Drake's Arms--and when their daughter, Alena, and her Czech husband, Vladimir, decided they too wanted to get into the hospitality business, the spot was rechristened--you guessed it!--Vladimir's.

fig. e: Milan

Anyway, this coincidence aside, Manka's Czech Cookbook and Memoirs is a classic of self-publishing (or, at least, a classic of the Central-European emigré memoirs/cookbooks sub-genre of self-publishing*). It's got a lot of heart and soul, and it's replete with authentic Czech recipes and a healthy dose of folk wisdom. Michelle instantly recognized it as a "must-have," and snapped it up. Among other things, she figured the book might come in handy as a source of inspiration for her upcoming Kaffeeklatsch event.

So when we got back to AEB HQ, here in Montreal, Michelle cracked her book open and instinctively turned to Chapter 13: "Manka's Desserts." And there, in the chapter's introduction, she found Mr. Prokupek's vivid reminiscences of café culture in his native land:

Vienna and Prague were always well known for their desserts--cakes filled with rich butter creams, pastry heaped and decorated with real whipped cream!

Also, Vienna and Prague were known for their beautiful ladies and girls living there. Their figures were attractive but a little thickish--they liked those Czech and Viennese pastries! Between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m., you would find them, very nicely dressed, at small marble topped tables at the confectionaries gossiping with their female friends, and, with coffee, eating not one but two and three pieces of beautiful pastries.

The male white collar workers stopped in cafes after the end of work at 4:30 p.m., on the way home from their offices for dinner (which was usually served at 8 p.m.). They were large coffee houses on the main streets the size and luxury of large restaurants but serving only excellent coffee and pastries. The homeward bound people met their male friends there for light talk, a few new peppery anecdotes or a game of cards ("maryash")--and coffee and also the pastry. To those sitting alone, the waiter brought a pile of the daily papers or magazines from all over the world to read.

By 7 p.m., everybody had gone home for dinner. And after dinner time, the cafes again filled with young people singing and dancing to large orchestras.

Such were the places where the famous Vienna pastries were served and enjoyed...

Now, if that doesn't get you in the mood for Sunday's Kaffeeklatsch, maybe this profile in this week's Hour will.

fig. f: strike a pose

Kaffeeklatsch
Sunday, February 6
2:00 p.m - 5:00 p.m.
Restaurant Laloux
250, ave des Pins East
287-9127

Michelle Marek, pastries
Anthony Benda, coffees

"Putting the Vienne back in Viennoiseries."

Hope to see you there! Don't forget to bring your peppery anecdotes!

aj

p.s. Yes, we know Sunday is Super Bowl Sunday. Don't worry--2:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m. is plenty of time to get your klatsch on** before kickoff.

* I mean, just check out the full title: Manka's Czech Cookbook and Memoirs, My Own Story and How My Mother Cooked in Prague and How We Cook Now in Inverness, California.

** TY, MS!

Kaffeeklatsch!

fig. a: picture yourself here

Michelle ended 2010 on a high note. Actually, her whole month of December was pretty stellar. There was her candied fruits class at Dépanneur Le Pick Up. There was her appearance on the CBC's All in a Weekend. And then, on December 31st, one of her desserts--her strawberry verrine from the summer of 2010--led the "best dessert" category on Lesley Chesterman's list of standout dishes for 2010 in the Gazette. Michelle's combination of fresh strawberries, camomile foam, verbena-basil-mint granité, and strawberry sorbet was simply "divine," according to Chesterman (check it out), and, frankly, I'd have to agree. It was one of my favorites of the year, too, but then I'm just a little bit partial.

The new year is still young, but 2011 is already off to a good start. For one thing, this year marks Restaurant Laloux's 25th anniversary. How many fine-dining restaurants here in Montreal can claim that? To celebrate, Laloux will be hosting a series of events all year long, featuring guest chefs and other guest collaborators, theme nights, promotions, etc. Michelle is leading the charge with event #1 and she's asked her good friend Anthony Benda of Café Myriade to team up with her. The concept? A real, old-fashioned afternoon kaffeklatsch (a.k.a., coffee klatch)*, complete with an array of frothy coffee drinks by Herr Benda and a full assortment of traditional Central and Eastern European pastries and petits fours by Michelle. Sachertorte? Check. Strudel? Check. Kugelhopf? Check. Linzer cookies? Check.

Sound good? Thought so.

fig. b: kugelhopf, aerial view

Kaffeeklatsch #1 takes place at Laloux on February 6, 2011, from 2 p.m. till 5 p.m.

For more information, check out their Facebook page.

Restaurant Laloux, 250 ave. des Pins E., 287-9127 (Plateau Mont-Royal)

aj

* Still not clear about the concept? Well, if I had to break it down it would go something like this Coffee + Conversation + Sweets = A Good Time, or, as Michelle puts it, "You provide the gossip, the laughs, the witty repartee, we'll provide the coffee, the sweets, the ambiance."

Hear, ye! Here, ye!

Wow, that was quick.

fig. a: MM @ CBC #2

For those of you who missed Michelle being interviewed on yesterday's edition of All in a Weekend, you're in luck--the interview's already available. Just click here, and you'll be taken to the CBC's "Listen Again" archive.  Scroll down the list, click on the appropriate tab next to the words "Michelle Marek," and you'll get to hear Michelle and Jeanette Kelly having a chat about desserts, candied fruits, holiday baking and more.

And for those of you who'd like to see the dessert that Jeanette was sampling during the interview, it looked something like this,

fig. b: apple x 3

minus the dulce de leche ice cream (which would have melted en route).

However, if you'd like to actually try the dessert Jeanette tried, sorry, no link, no photograph will do. You're just going to have to go and visit Laloux (or Pop!) in person.

aj

November/Novembre/Noviembre

fig. a:  "Bring on the cupcakes!"


1.  In spite of the fact that The New York Times announced earlier this week that it's "time's up" for the cupcake, the good people at Cupcake Camp Montreal are soldiering on, fully determined to prove to the world that although the cupcake may soon be yesterday's food fad, those little, iced mindbombs can still generate a whole lot of revenue for a good cause or two.


Last year, Cupcake Camp Montreal resulted in 3,500 cupcake donations, 700 attendees, and $8,000 in proceeds.  This year CCM is aiming higher--much higher.  If everything goes according to plan, this year's edition will result in 7,000 cupcake donations, 2,000 attendees, and a whopping $15,000 in proceeds (!).  The thing is, everything isn't going according to plan--Cupcake Camp Montreal has already received over 19,000 cupcake donations (!!).  That's one serious sugar high.


The fun takes place this Sunday, November 21st, from 1-5 pm, in the Fairmont Queen Elizabeth Hotel (900 Rene Levesque Blvd. W).  There'll be a cupcake sale, a cupcake competition, and a slew of other activities.  And the panel of judges for the cupcake competition is made up of a veritable who's who of local food biz celebs, a Dream Team, if you will, including Chuck Hughes (host, Chuck's Day Off), Nadia G (host, Bitchin' Kitchen), Ricardo Larrivée (host, Ricardo & Friends), Patrice Demers (chef, Les 400 Coups), Lesley Chesterman (critic, The Montreal Gazette), and AEB's very own Michelle Marek (chef, Restaurant Laloux).


Hoping to donate cupcakes?  Hoping to compete?  Just want to attend?  Need more information?  Look no further.


fig. b:  "Bring on the choucroute!"


2.  In more Michelle-related activity, Restaurant Laloux is hosting chef, author, and bread baker extraordinaire James MacGuire for two nights of Alsatian revelry, featuring tarte flambée, an elaborate, 100% traditional choucroute garnie made entirely from scratch (sausages, sauerkraut, cured pork belly, etc., etc.), authentic Alsatian rye bread, an all-star lineup of some of our favorite Alsatian Rieslings (Domaine Ostertag Heissenberg 2007 [Rézin], Barmès Buecher Herrenweg 2008 [Oenopole], etc.), and a dessert collaboration between Michelle and James:  Alsatian apple tart.


The fête takes place November 29th and 30th.  For more information or reservations, contact (514) 287-9127.


Restaurant Laloux, 250 Pine Ave. E.


fig. c:  "Bring on the tacos!"


3.  And, finally...  Taco lovers, rejoice!  Looks like the Grumman '78 posse has a standing engagement at Le Nouveau Palais, Friday and Saturday nights, from midnight till close.  For more information:  273-1180.


Le Nouveau Palais, 281 Bernard St. W.

Sweet Tweets

All those interested in following Michelle's dolce vita, look no further: she's now on Twitter.

How else are you going to keep abreast of limited-time-only desserts like the mango medley* you see pictured above? Live and in-person, perhaps:

Laloux, 250 Avenue des Pins East (Plateau Mont-Royal), 287-9127

aj

* featuring Kesar mango sorbet, coconut milk panna cotta, Assam tea crumble, candied cashews, candied fresh coconut, lime, and cilantro leaves.

Calling all Anise fans! Calling all Bazaar fans!

Just a quick note to let all you Anise/Bazaar fans know that Laloux is hosting Anise's former chef, Racha Bassoul, for a special tasting menu. With our new chef (and Racha Bassoul protégé), Seth Gabrielse!

fig. a: reunited, and it feels so good*

Two nights only: Tuesday, February 9th and Wednesday, February 10th. Here's the deal: six courses, including foie gras, for $80 without the wine pairings, or $120 with the wine pairings.

What's for dessert? Glad you asked: a rose & cardamom-scented semolina pudding with a fresh orange salad (Seville & blood oranges, to be specific), candied pistachios, and a dash of rose water.

To reserve, call (514) 287-9127. For more information, take a look here.

And to all you modern lovers: you can find our St. Valentine's day menu here.

Laloux, 250 Ave. des Pins E.

peace,
m

*photo: Christine Bourgier