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.

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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)

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* 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."