Omnivore! Live at Montreal!!

 fig. a:  Hello, Montreal!

Remember when we told you about Omnivore way back in July, and how Omnivore's World Tour 2012 was going to be blowing through town in mid-August, bringing their "join the young cuisine" movement and their appetite for creation-destruction with them?  Well, guess what?  It's mid-August, people, and that time is nearly upon us.  The Omnivore crew, and their entire cast of European chefs and other gastro-provocateurs, is just about to descend upon Montreal.

Still haven't acted?  Need some additional convincing?  Well, not surprisingly, there's been a rash of local press about this imminent invasion.  So if you don't trust AEB (?!), may I direct you toward the following two authorities:

--Ève Dumas, "Festival Omnivore:  Montréal à croquer," in this past weekend's La Presse [en français]

--Natasha Pickowicz, "Omnivore food festival goes global with stop in Montreal this weekend," in today's Montreal Gazette [en anglais]

Ms. Dumas' article is particularly extensive and includes all kinds of helpful tips, but my favorite quote shows up at the end of Ms. Pickowicz's article, and it comes courtesy of Michelle:

Unlike the Festival en Lumière, which takes place in the dead of winter, the Omnivore Food Festival makes its debut in Montreal right at the peak of the lush harvest season. “Festival en Lumière is such a well-respected and well-funded festival, but when the visiting chefs come and you have to show them your local products, you’re like, ‘I’m sorry,’” Marek laughs. ”This time, we can really show them what this region is all about.”

Indeed.  Any initiative that encourages visitors to come and visit our fair and frosty city during the winter, as well as Montrealers to stay put, is a good one in our books.  But it's one thing for local chefs to embrace our Nordic culture, it's a whole other thing to force visiting chefs to deal with it.

See you this weekend!

aj

Don't let it slip you by, pt. 2

 fig. a:  lake girl 1

If you do have the means to get out of town:  get thee to a lake.  If you can spend a night or two there, all the better.  Just make sure to bring plenty of food and drink.  And lots of reading material.

 fig. b:  lake girl 2

 fig. c:  lake girl 3

Keep the wine flowing.

 fig. d:  rosé 1

 fig. e:  rosé 2

Eat with regularity.

In both cases, focus on quality over quantity, although the idea is to celebrate summer, so there's no point in being stingy.

As much as possible, keep things simple.  You'll find that the dishes that are the most elemental will also often be the most memorable ones.

It doesn't get any more elemental than Padrón peppers, which have been a sensation from Spain to California for years, and which are finally making their presence known in Quebec, thanks in no small measure to the Birri Brothers at Jean-Talon market.

 fig. f:  padróns 1

 fig. g:  padróns 2

Pan-fried Padróns 

Padrón peppers
bacon fat or olive oil
kosher salt
limes
Heat the bacon fat or olive oil over medium to medium-high heat in a large pan or skillet.  When the fat begins to smoke, add as many peppers as will fit comfortably.  Sear them until they are just nicely charred.  Toss liberally with kosher salt.  Place on a serving platter and add a squeeze of lime juice.  Serve immediately.  Devour while hot.   

Padrón peppers generally aren't hot, they're pretty mild, but they do have some heat to them, and occasionally you might encounter one that might make your lips tingle.  Maybe even one that makes you sweat.   We call this game Spanish Roulette.  

Serve as a side or as a snack.

Bring a charcoal barbecue, too, if you can.  There's nothing more elemental than fuel (wood, all-natural charcoal, all-natural briquets) and fire.  And if you can find choice oysters in sufficient quantities before you head out to the country, you're really in luck.

  fig. h:  rosé 3 w/ grilled oysters

Grilled Oysters 

fresh choice oysters
parsley
chives
garlic chives
scallions
hickory-smoked bacon
sharp cheddar cheese 

Shuck the oysters, severing the muscle and making sure to spill as little liquor as possible.   

Fry up the bacon until crisp.  Keep about one rounded tablespoon full of the bacon fat in your skillet, pouring the rest in a jar for a later use.  Mince the fried bacon into bits.  [3 strips of bacon made enough bits for 36 oysters.] 

Chop the scallions and the herbs and sauté them in the bacon fat until wilted.  Toss with the bacon bits. [4 scallions, 1/3 bunch of parsley, 1/2 bunch of chives and garlic chives made plenty enough for 36 oysters.] 

Spoon a little of the herb mixture into each oyster. 

Top with grated cheddar cheese. 

Grill over a hot charcoal fire until the cheese has melted. 

Serve immediately.  Savour.

I usually make my Mexican-style corn pretty tricked out:  lime mayonnaise with premium chili powder (freshly toasted and ground); fresh cheese; aged cheese; cilantro; and grated radishes.  But even this stripped-down version is sensational if you start with great corn and you grill your cobs just so.

 fig. i:  grilling corn

Grilled Corn 

fresh sweet corn, preferably Grade A Quebec
mayonnaise
limes
Tabasco sauce
salt 

Shuck the corn completely.   

Mix your lime mayonnaise.  Add enough lime juice to make it just a bit looser than a regular mayonnaise.  Add salt and Tabasco sauce to taste. 

Place the corn cobs directly over a medium-hot charcoal fire.  No need to keep the husk on.  No need to soak the corn in anything.  No need to brush it with any substances.  Being careful not to scorch your corn, roast the cobs over the fire.  Rotate them from time to time.  Don't worry about cooking them completely evenly.  It's okay if some portions are slightly more charred than others.  This will only add to the taste sensation. 

When the cobs have been cooked on all sides, remove from the grill and slather with the lime mayonnaise.   

Allow to cool for about a minute, then serve while still hot. 

Repeat as needed.

[If you don't believe this method works, check out this video.  I used to fuss around with my corn cobs before I grilled them, and they often turned out great, but Mark "The Minimalist" Bittman made a convert out of me.]

As Michelle put things recently, "18 wines, 4 people, 2 days, 1 lake = perfect weekend."

80 Padrón peppers, 36 oysters, 20 eggs, 18 ears of corn, 2 briskets, 2 racks of ribs, and 1 pound of bacon didn't hurt either.

With this much fun built into your weekend, you won't even care if there's a little rain.

 fig. j:  did someone say "rain"?

Go swimming anyway.  You might stay in long enough to see a truly celestial display of light.

We did.

aj

Don't let it slip you by, pt. 1

Yes, it is the summer of 2012.  And, yes, it's important to not let this summer (or any other) slip you by, especially when you live in a nordic country.*

 fig. a:  preparations were made

If you don't have the means to get out of town:  eat al fresco as much as possible, and if you can do so in the proximity of an outdoor ping pong table, all the better.  You'll have to bring your own paddles (BYOP), as well as your own table tennis balls, and you may have to wait your turn (God knows outdoor ping pong has its dedicated followers), but if you pack yourself a nice picnic and you lubricate the proceedings with a sufficient amount of chilled whites and rosés, you'll find the results most agreeable.  You may want to bring your pétanque set to amuse yourself during intermissions, but this step is purely optional.  You may also want to bring your swimsuit--there may very well be a pool nearby to help you beat the heat.**

Recommended meal:  salade niçoise with a crusty loaf of bread + tomato and ricotta tartinades.

Recommended bottle:  Thymiopoulos Vineyards' 2011 rosé de xinomavro

Basic Salade Niçoise*** 

height-of-season salad greens
height-of-season tomatoes
high-quality olive-oil-packed tuna
high-quality olives of your choosing, like picholines
hard-boiled eggs
gently poached green beans, preferably those French-style skinny ones
boiled new potatoes
extra-virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar
salt and freshly ground black pepper 

Make sure your green beans have been poached to perfection.  They should crisp-tender.  Make sure your potatoes are boiled just-so.  You don't want them mushy.  You can use the same pot of boiling water for both, but, for heaven's sake, don't cook them at the same time.

Assemble the salads on your plates out of the first seven ingredients listed above.  Dress each salad individually by eye and/or according to taste.  Salt and pepper each salad as you wish. 

Tomato and Ricotta Tartinades 

baguette
fresh ricotta
height-of-season tomatoes
extra-virgin olive oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper 

Tear off pieces of a crusty baguette.  Split them in two.  Slather them with ricotta.  Top them with slices of tomato or halved cherry tomatoes.  Dress with a drizzle of olive oil, salt, and pepper.

You've eaten and drunk well.  You've worked up a mild sweat playing ping pong.  Haven't you done enough?  Take yourself out for ice cream, perhaps after a dip in the pool.

aj

* Formerly nordic?  

** You can find all three of these features (the outdoor ping pong tables, the pétanque courts, and the swimming pool) at Parc Laurier in the Laurier Village neighborhood of Montreal.  On weekday evenings, admission to the pool is FREE.

*** The true salade niçoise is a hotly debated topic in some parts of the world.  This version puts an emphasis on ease and immediacy over authenticity, while insisting on the best of ingredients.  Now is the time!

Coq-la-la!, rev. ed.

What is up, Montreal?  Baby's on fire.

The momentum's been building for a few years now, but, rather suddenly, after years and years of outright persecution, street food is cropping up all over the place.  You could find it along Ste-Catherine, in the heart of the Quartier des Spectacles, during the Festival Juste Pour Rire, where it was getting star billing.  You can find it in Place de la Paix, where it's been accompanying a series of films and DJs (and will be until the end of August).  You've been able to find it at Parc Olympique where the Association de Restaurateurs de Rue du Québec have been holding street food shindigs on the first Friday of every month all summer long (check out the August edition, the last one of the summer, tomorrow).  You can find it in our food courts and at our outdoor markets.  And now you can get one of the classics of the global street food phenomenon, Vietnamese bánh mì, delivered right to your doorstep.

In all of these cases, we're not talking about third-rate carny dreck (as much as I like a good batch of funnel cake)--we're talking about street food staples, both North American and international, that have been carefully sourced and prepared.  And the same holds true for this latest venture, the cheekily named Coq Asian, which pools the talents of a couple of local line cooks and one of our favourite local coffee gurus, to bring you the bánh mì you've been dreaming of all these years (you know, the one with the quality bread, the top-notch ingredients, and the ultra-fresh preparation) plus some pretty amazing iced Vietnamese coffee (made with locally roasted beans!).

 fig. a:  nice package!

We were pretty psyched by just the look of our duo of grilled beef, green peppercorn, and chilli bánh mìs with "white" cold-brewed Vietnamese coffees (which came in mason jars!).

 fig. b:  bánh me!

We were way more psyched when we actually bit into that bánh mì--the beef was plentiful, rosy, perfectly grilled, and spicy-tangy, the condiments were fresh.  And we were even more psyched when the jolt of that Vietnamese coffee kicked in.

Coq Asian is only in operation Fridays through Sundays.  You can get in touch by following them on Facebook and/or Twitter.  Place your orders early.  They sold out on weekend #1.  And keep in mind that their range is limited--we were able to get our order delivered downtown, but, for the moment, their focus is on the Plateau/Mile End.

Like the proverbial crooning rooster, we're proud to sing the praises of Coq Asian.

And keep the street food coming!  Who knows, maybe we'll soon have Tamale Ladies strolling through our late-night establishments and wood-burning pizza trucks popping up on our rues, avenues, and boulevards.  Maybe we'll start hosting full-on street food festivals!

aj

p.s.  Update:  you'll be happy to know that Coq Asian's quality control is excellent--we've only missed one week since they started up, and we haven't been disappointed yet.  Not even close.  And the next time they do their Vietnamese meatball sandwich, like they did this past weekend (Aug. 17-9), do not miss it!  That was by far and away the best meatball bánh mì I've had in a very long time.

BBQ Bash

 fig. a:  invitation to a social

From the time we received our invitation, we couldn't wait to make our way down to the Catskills for this year's summer social.  Actually, even before we received our invitation we were pretty giddy with anticipation.  Just the thought of smoking those Fleisher's pork shoulders was enough to get us excited.  When we factored in the summer cordials, the musical entertainment, the swims in nearby creeks, rivers, falls, and swimming holes, and (especially) the company, we found ourselves prone to sudden bursts of uncontrolled and enthusiastic exclamation.

"I can't wait!"

"Yes!"

"Slow & low, baby!"

"Summer 2012!"

"Boof!"

 fig. b:  the list

We knew this wasn't going to be a cake walk, though.  There going to be dozens upon dozens of guests--discerning ones, too--so we knew we had to be on the ball.  That's why we came armed with lists, and schedules, and hard-to-find ingredients, and tools.

When we arrived, things were pretty mellow, though.

 fig. c:  afternoon shadows

We put our things down and took a look around.

 fig. d:  turkey coop

Coolers had yet to be filled with ice.

 fig. e: mud room

Lanterns had yet to be filled with fuel.

 fig. f: photo studio/bandstand

And the outdoor photo studio/bandstand was vacant.

 fig. g:  welcome to Smokey Mountain!

I was especially excited because I had a new toy to play with.  Instead of the battery of Weber One-Touch grills I'd used in the past, I had a brand-new Weber Smokey Mountain smoker at my disposal.

By the day of the party, though, we were totally prepared.  We'd done all the necessary shopping.  We'd prepped all the food we could.  We'd tidied up and decorated.  I'd run a smoker test to season that Smokey Mountain.  It was showtime.

 fig. h:  me & Willie

So I got up at the break of day, put on my lucky barbecue t-shirt, fired up the smoker, and made some coffee.

 fig. i:  red sandals diaries

Meanwhile, Michelle put on her dancing shoes, and then we started finalizing this year's menu.

Hours later, this was what we served:

3 x 12-lb Fleisher's pork shoulders, applewood-smoked and pulled  

8x racks of MO-style ribs

Martin's potato rolls 

AJ's Down East baked beans 

Smokehouse potato salad 

Tidewater coleslaw 

Poor man's caviar

Baked cheese grits 

Sweet tea

Michelle's peach and raspberry cobbler with Graeter's vanilla ice cream 

This may very well have been the best version of the bbq social we've yet to orchestrate (the 7-hour ribs were pure candy; the 14-hour shoulder was a deeply lacquered work of art, and it made the smokiest and most tender pulled pork we'd yet to achieve).  It certainly was the craziest.  Guests arrived in unprecedented numbers, and they arrived hongry.  When we started serving, food was disappearing at such a rate that we could barely keep up, prompting a flurry of GoogaMooga jokes.  But then things began settle down again, as they do, and people began to mellow out again as their focus shifted from just FOOD, to a combination of FOOD, DRINK, MUSIC, SOCIALIZING, and so on.

 fig. j:  as the band began to play

And then a stripped-down, two-man version of Golden Bones began to play.

 fig. k:  bravo!

And they played with passion and conviction.  And the crowd was appreciative.

 fig. l:  engagement ring*

And then a couple of lovebirds got engaged, right there in the outdoor photo booth, and the crowd went wild.

 fig. m:  bonfire

And when night fell, the bonfire was lit up, and that's when things turned appropriately bacchanalian.  And the fireflies sparkled all around us, and the music throbbed, and the party lasted deep into a warm summer's night.

----

One major new addition to this year's menu was the batch of cheese grits.  We considered making mac & cheese instead, but ultimately settled on the cheese grits.  People go crazy when they have cheese grits.  Those who've had them know to load up on 'em.  Those who haven't experience something quasi-religious.  There's something pretty exotic about them for a lot of Northerners, and we had several people who said the grits were the best thing they'd ever tasted (!).

Baked Cheese Grits 

2 eggs, beaten
3/4 cup grated sharp hickory-smoked cheddar cheese (just use sharp cheddar cheese if you can't find a premium hickory-smoked cheddar)
4 tbsp butter, melted
2 tsp dry mustard
1/2 tsp salt
1 clove garlic, finely minced
2 cups cooked grits, still warm (purists will likely scoff, but we recommend using quick grits for a recipe such as this) 

Preheat your oven to 350º.  Butter a 4-6 cup casserole dish. 

Mix the eggs, cheese, butter, mustard, salt, and garlic.  Stir this mixture into the warm grits and then pour it into the prepared casserole dish. 

Bake uncovered for 50 minutes.  Serve immediately direct from the casserole. 

Serves 4-6 (we obviously made a much, much larger batch for our group of 100+ guests) 

[based very closely on a recipe that appeared in Jane & Michael Stern's Popular Plates:  BBQ in 2010]

Remember:  it's summer, people.  2012.  Don't let it slip you by.

aj

p.s.  Sincerest congratulations to Paige and Thomas.  True love!

p.s. 2  And extra-special thanks to our host, Stephen!

* I wish I could take credit for this one, but this amazing ring/s/Coke/nails photograph comes courtesy of Travis Blue Photo.

Mark your calendars..., rev. ed.

Hot on the heels of a glowing review of Foodlab in this weekend's New York Times (!), it's another eventful week in the wonderful world of Foodlab/Michelle/AEB.  Check it!

 fig. a:  Zorba the sommelier

Wednesday, July 25:  Theo Diamantis and Team Oenopole will be descending upon Foodlab for a special Greek Grill Extravaganza, featuring grilled Greek sausages (loukaniko), Izmir-style kebabs, grilled sardines, and a whole mess of Greek wines, in addition to all the Greek delicacies already on offer.  The fun starts at 5pm and lasts till 10pm.  Bring an appetite, and a thirst!

 fig. b:  red menace

Sunday, July 29:  Michelle and "...an endless banquet" will be running yet another fruit social (the first one of 2012) at Parc Jeanne-Mance from 1pm until supplies last.  This one's a Strawberry Social, and, once again, it will feature beautiful Quebec strawberries, Michelle's famous shortcake, and lightly whipped cream.  Portions will be generous.  Payment is by donation only, with a suggested donation of $7.  And all the proceeds will be going to support Head and Hands.  Location is by the beach volleyball courts, as Michelle's stand will be there to augment Serve, Head and Hands' annual bars & restaurants beach volleyball tournament.  Come one, come all!

And don't forget about Omnivore, which gets underway on August 16...

aj

p.s.  kebabapalooza follow-up:

 fig. c:  foodlab + oenopole

What a night!  Such great wines, such awesome food, such a good vibe...

Top Ten #45

1.  The Cornwallville Summer Social, Cornwallville, NY



2.  Stop Making Sense, dir. Demme + the revival of the Mile End Rockumentary Club

3.  Santouka, Vancouver, BC

4.  Le Grand Aïoli + Domaine du Grand Noré rosé 2011

5.  Moonrise Kingdom, dir. Anderson



6.  summer swimming



7.  summer quilts @ The Little Shop

8.  Hudson's Hamburgers (since 1907!), Coeur d'Alene, ID

9.  Jessica Mitford, Hons and Rebels



10.  Zingerman's Roadhouse, Ann Arbor, MI

Omnivore's Dilemma

 fig. a:  Look! Up in the sky!

Omnivore is coming to Montreal, and the dilemma they're presenting us with is a schedule so jam-packed with tantalizing events, how can we possibly consume it all?

To celebrate the year 2012, these Paris-based culinary provocateurs and advocates of "100% young cuisine" have embarked upon a world tour encompassing 12 cities.  Brussels, Copenhagen, Geneva, Istanbul, Moscow, New York, Paris, Rio, San Francisco, Shanghai, Sydney, and, yes, Montreal.  The road show pulls into town on August 16, and the next four days will amount to an intercontinental culinary powwow of the highest magnitude featuring 18 cooking & wine demos, 5 Maudits Soupers, and 1 major bash.  The dinners will take place all over town, but the base of operations and the site of both the demos and Omnivorious, the chef- and DJ-driven extravaganza that will likely be the highlight of the series, will be the Société des Arts Technologiques/FoodLab.

Most of our favourite Montreal food and wine people will be participating, but the series is meant to put these New World practitioners of "100% young cuisine" in conversation with some of their Old World counterparts.  As a result, it will also include a number of notable European talents, such as Gregory Marchand of Frenchie (Paris), Peter Nilsson of La Gazzetta (Paris), and Jérôme Bigot of Les Grès (Lindry, Burgundy).

Michelle will be doing overtime that week, giving a demo on August 19, cooking a Maudit Souper with Seth Gabrielse and Jérôme Bigot, and playing a central liaison role throughout the entirety of Omnivore Montreal.

The thing is, the line-up is so good and the prices are so reasonable, that you might just want to take in the whole maudite thing.  You can catch demos by Patrice Demers (Les 400 Coups), Alex Cruz and Derek Dammann (Société Orignal), Stéphanie Labelle (Rhubarbe), Samuel Pinard (La Salle à Manger), Cyril Kérébel (La QV), Michelle (!), and many other stars of the Montreal culinary scene, in addition to all the distinguished European guests, and prices are just $40 per day, or $100 for the full-three day demo schedule.  Prices for the Maudits Soupers have yet to be announced, but I've been told that you can expect remarkable value, and, in the meantime, you can find the whole schedule and the numbers to call for reservations here.  And, finally, a ticket for Omnivorious will only set you back $40, and it includes a drink, special canapés prepared by a Dream Team of contemporary chefs (Patrice Demers and Marc-André Jetté, the Grumman 78 crew, Petter Nilsson, Samuel Pinard, Simon Mathys, Gita Seaton, Jérôme Bigot, Martin Juneau, and John Horne!), and a whole mess of other entertainment that's guaranteed to derange the senses.

For full details, check out Omnivore's complete rundown of its Montreal festivities here.

aj

Kebab Connection, rev. ed.

Do you like music & film?

 fig. a:  kebab connection 1

Do these look good to you?

Imagine these lovingly-marinated-then-grilled morsels of chicken sandwiched inside a lightly grilled pita, with grilled tomatoes, mixed herbs, and a tangy, garlicky yogurt sauce.  Imagine them being sold on the streets of Montreal.  Imagine them being sold for a song.  Imagine them being sold with a song.  Almost too good to be true, right?  Except that that's exactly what's going to be going down this Thursday through Sunday when Yours Truly takes over the grill at Place de la Paix.

 fig. b:  kebab connection 2*

What's the occasion?  Well, FoodLab is hosting a series of grill/barbecue cooks over the next month for a series called Cinéma, DJs & BBQ.  Basically, you get two hours of DJs & barbecue earlier in the evening, followed by two hours of open-air film spectatorship.  Last week, none other than Szef Bartek got the party started right with an ode to pork & fire in advance of a RIDM en plein air screening and a couple of Vues d'Afriques films.  This week I'll be firing up the grill while four top DJs (Maus, Jan Pienkowski, Tind, and B'ugo) get the crowd fired up for a bunch of outdoor Fantasia screenings (Fantasia à la Belle Étoile, a warm-up for the 2012 festival, which gets underway next week).

 fig. c:  sound + sight

The fun starts each evening at 7:00 pm and lasts a mere two hours.  That's right, the grilling will be over and done with by 9:00 pm, in order to make way for the films.  So get in while the grilling is good.

Also:  vegetarians will be happy to know that I'm also serving a delicious grilled halloum cheese number.

And THIS JUST IN:  Michelle will be joining me in the grill pit on Saturday and Sunday night (weather permitting), so the entire "...an endless banquet" team will be reunited for yet another Montreal street food event.

Place de la Paix is located directly adjacent to the Société des Arts Technologiques (SAT) on St-Laurent between René-Lévesque and Ste-Catherine.

aj

* photo courtesy of Uncornered Market

Return of Winesdays

 fig. a:  "votre caviste"

"La QV été" is back.  That's right, my favourite weekly wine tasting salon of 2011, featuring phenomenal wines (and occasionally ciders and beers), delectable nibbles, and a vast assortment of other temptations (charcuterie from Fou du Cochon, preserves from Preservation Society, the available La QV line, and so on), is back and better than ever for 2012.

 fig. b:  return of Winesdays

Every week there's a new theme.  Every week the tastings are as relaxed and friendly as they come.

 fig. c:  strawberries & bubbles

A couple of weeks ago, the main attraction was Quebec strawberries served with a delicate sirop and a Preservation Society marshmallow and paired with one of the sensations of the 2011 season:  a sparkling Bugey rosé.  Tomorrow the duo consists of a chèvre and cherry tomato gratin and another bubbly:  a 2001 (!) Saumur, faite methode traditionelle.  Taken all together, that's a lot of entertainment for a mere $11.

La QV, 29 Beaubien E. (Little Italy), (514) 504-4082

For more information, contact Julie "Miss Vivres" Rondeau (julierondeau@laqv.ca) and/or Cyril "Boss Soif" Kérébel (info@laqv.ca).

aj