Monday, November 07, 2005

First Birthday

It's hard to believe, but "...an endless banquet" has already been "on the air" for a year now. We weren't sure how long it would last or just how frequently we'd be posting when we started out. We were just looking for someplace to channel some of our food-related energy. We took a while to find the right name, then took our first hesitant steps. Within a few days we'd both gotten the bug pretty bad. That bug hasn't subsided yet.

We were planning on throwing a big shindig to celebrate. We had something like this in mind:


proposed anniversary party
Originally uploaded by michelle1975.



But plans didn't exactly come together the way we thought they might, so instead we celebrated our first anniversary by taking a little jaunt back down to Franklin to visit our friend M. Safian. We weren't sure if his stand would still be in operation, but we needed some more apples, and the day had turned into a lovely one, so we threw all caution into the wind and set out. When we got to his stand things looked pretty grim. His premises were fenced off and although there were some large crates full of apples still in view, there were no signs of life. I made a slow pass-by, then made a u-turn, and parked the car right in front. I tried to convince Michelle to go up and ring the doorbell, but she said the last thing she wanted to do was disturb a man on what might be his day off. We were trying to decide what to do next when, out of the blue, I caught a glimpse of M. Safian crossing the road in the rear-view mirror. What luck! We got out of the car, said 'hello,' and got ourselves let in.


chez Safian
Originally uploaded by ajkinik.



M. Safian, didn't have too too much left, he mostly had apples he'd set aside for making apple cider, but he had plenty enough for us. We picked out a few big baskets of empires, spys, and russetts, spent some quality time with his 9-year old doberman, "Susie,"


"Susie"
Originally uploaded by ajkinik.



talked about the merits of blending apple varieties when it comes to baking, cooking, and juicing, and tried to determine M. Safian's schedule over the next couple of weeks in case we need to come back for a third helping. Then we set out in search of artisanal apple cider vinegar.

We didn't find any apple cider vinegar, but we did come across Cidrerie du Minot in Hemmingford, one of the first artisanal cider makers to have been established in Quebec. There we had a dégustation of their superior line of ciders, including low-alcohol, sparkling, and ice cider. We were so impressed that we bought two bottles.

Tonight we celebrated our anniversary with some sparkling cider, some cheese, some wine, some steaks from Maison du Roti, and a selection of vegetables we bought from Patrice on Saturday.

Hello, Year 2.

And many thanks to all of you out there for reading.

Cidrerie du Minot, 376 Covey Hill Road, Hemmingford, (450) 247-3111

aj

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Congratulations aj & michelle! I'm very glad to hear that you still haven't lost 'the bug', and I'll take that as a positive sign that I have many more food-related adventures of yours to follow in the future.

Anonymous said...

Happy Birthday Guys!

I stumbled upon your blog oneday when i was searching for montreal based food blogs. Have been a regular visitor since then.

Here's to you guys!!!

-Mathy

Anonymous said...

I have a request.

Three years ago, when i came to Montreal, I taste apple gallete. I didn know what it was and when told, couldnt grasp the name. was quite shy to ask the second time. :( i have been searching for it ever since. And when i came upon tartes tatin, thought that it could be what i ate. and stumbled upon apple gallete. the mention of frangipane makes me think that it could be the winner.

But, I would like to taste both.

I have two requests.

1. Where can i buy good apple galette and tartes tatin?

2. Would Michelle be kind enough to share me a recipe for me to try? (or may be a post with um.. photos?

I came across

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=60839

and am planning to try this out.

urgh..

where can i buy good puff pastry? (super market) I can feel Michelle cringing. :)

Thanks a lot guys.

-Mathy

Anonymous said...

Congrats! Drinkies, drinkies, get your drinkies...

Ching-ching! Bottoms up :D

michelle said...

Hi Melissa, thanks for all of your kind words over the last few months. We are looking forward to year two.

Mathy, I did cringe when you asked where you can buy puff pastry, but I never make it at home, either. It takes too long! Both Premiere Moisson and Gascogne sell it, and I have found it to be good. Make sure you read the ingredients when looking to buy puff pastry, as some places use a plastic-like shortening called SPS which is highly dubious: trans fat, anyone?

About the tarts: I can not vouch for any tatin in town. I haven't found one to my liking, but making it isn't hard. Look for a post soon.

S.J., you can be sure drinks have been plentiful around here. Thanks for yet another reason to indulge.

kelli ann & lorie said...

happy first birthday! good job

Anonymous said...

We sure were happy to be visiting you at the time of your first birthday ---

Best wishes to you both!

R&J

Anonymous said...

Bonne Fête Endless Banquet!! You have been a source of many late-night reading sessions. Keep it coming.