Gone fishin'

This is how we're hoping to get our fish-dinner on Cape Cod.

Stay tuned...

aj

Return to Smokey Mt.

 fig. a:  the invite

It was that time of year again.  Time to head down the 87 to the Catskills.  Time to fire up the smoker. Time to feed a whole mess of nice people from the City, from the Catskills, and beyond, on a gloriously beautiful midsummer's eve with some true Southern hospitality.

 fig. b:  the bill

Thing is, up until the last minute, for the first time in five years, we weren't sure if we were going to be able to make it--which is why we didn't make the bill.

But by Friday afternoon, by the grace of God (and with a little help from an extra-special friend--TY!) we'd arrived at the Stone House, checked in, and gone for a dip in a nearby swimming hole.  And by evening that Smokey Mountain smoker was all fired up, sending sweet hickory smoke wafting in the air, and slowly, magically turning almost 40 pounds of Fleisher's pork shoulders into hog heaven.

 fig. c:  getting up to temp

By noon the next day those shoulders had been pulled, chopped, and dressed into a towering heap of luscious North Carolina-style smoky chopped pork, and we were busily putting together our sides.

By 3:00 p.m. the guests had started to arrive in full force.  And by 6:00 p.m. dinner was served.

The spread:

3x 12-lb Fleisher's pork shoulders, hickory smoked and chopped 

Martin's potato rolls 

Tidewater coleslaw 

AJ's Down East baked beans 

Smokehouse potato salad 

AJ's Holy Grub BBQ sauce 

AEB Totally Jacked-Up BBQ sauce 

Blackcurrant lemonade 

Michelle's rhubarb & white chocolate petit fours

By about 7:15 the pork had been entirely cleaned out.  People made themselves four or five heaping sandwiches.  It was like a well-mannered, totally relaxed feeding frenzy.

By 9:00 p.m., as Color War took the outdoor stage, hickory smoke wasn't the only smoke in the air.

 fig. d:  up in smoke

And by 10:00, after Color War's set had ended in ecstatic dancing and thunderous applause, there was a whole mess of other smoke shooting into a clear, star- and firefly-filled Catskills night.

 fig. e:  c'mon, baby, light my pyre

I'm not sure if it was all that smoke, or what, but I started to have all kinds of strange and interesting visions.  Like this guy.

 fig. f:  double fantasy

Saw him in a vision not long after the Theme from Twin Peaks played announcing the arrival of Color War onstage.  Had the even stranger experience of seeing him mounted to the wall of a log cabin the very next day.

Didn't get an invite?  Like to try some of my "luscious North Carolina-style smoky chopped pork"?  Well, if the Good Lord's willing and the creek don't rise, you'll get your chance tomorrow.  I'll be selling chopped pork sandwiches at Place de la Paix, right next to the Société des Arts Technologiques and the Foodlab, tomorrow, July 17, from 7:00 p.m. till 9:00 p.m.  What's the occasion?  It's a Pop Montreal/Film Pop presentation of Computer Chess on the outdoor screen.  It's also part of a Film, DJ's, and Chefs series that's going on all summer again this year.

Hope to see you there!

In smoke we trust.

aj

p.s. Many thanks to Patricia for making all of this possible, and to Flannery for invaluable assistance in the kitchen.

Top Ten #46

1.  Kamouraska

2.  David Grann, "The Yankee Comandante:  A Story of Love, Revolution, and Betrayal," The New Yorker, May 28, 2012



3.  Bill Fay, Life is People (Dead Oceans)





4.  cottage weekends





5.  green chile summer

6.  Ian Frazier, Travels in Siberia





7.  more summer swimming & picnicking

8.  Cat Power, "Cherokee" + "Ruin" (Matador)



9.  Coq Asian

 

10.  Omnivore Montreal 2012

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!

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

Go Green, rev. ed.

fig. a: lettuce soup, Lawrence 

Mile End's Lawrence has a well-deserved reputation for its handling of meat--for a small restaurant with a concise menu, it's one of Montreal's most daring when it comes to both the variety of meats it serves, and the cuts it puts to use (offal "salad," anyone?).

What's less readily acknowledged is the finesse with which its kitchen handles vegetables, and, while I may be imagining this, it seems to me their lunch menu is when they really place an emphasis on the pleasures of the garden.

A few weeks ago Michelle started raving about a magical Lettuce Soup she'd had at Lawrence one day for lunch--first on Twitter (where else?) and then to anyone who'd listen. I wasn't with her at the time, but it sure sounded good, although the question that Michelle's encomium inevitably raised with everyone she mentioned it to was how, exactly, a lettuce-based soup could possibly be so transcendent.

The very next week, she went back--this time with me in tow. It didn't take much convincing--I couldn't wait to give that soup a spin.  And, you know, she's right.  That Lettuce Soup is a thing of beauty, simultaneously earthy and ethereal, with a deep green colour that rejuvenates by sight alone, and a surprisingly rich flavour that borders on the sublime.  It comes accompanied with a healthy hunk of toast slathered with brandade, and the pairing is simply brilliant.

You see?  Now I'm raving, too.

This is easily the best soup I've had in Montreal in quite some time, and, right now, it's the taste of the Summer of 2012 for us.  Do I have the recipe?  Unfortunately, no.  But I immediately bumped up the lettuces in our back garden so that I could start to do some experimenting.  Details to follow...

Lawrence, 5201 St-Laurent Blvd., Montreal (Mile End), (514) 503-1070

p.s.  Wouldn't you know it?  Their Lettuce Soup disappeared from Lawrence's menu this week (!).  I'm happy to say that they replaced it with a lovely sweetcorn + bacon soup, but I'm still hoping they bring that Lettuce Soup number back sometime soon.  Please?

Summer Picnic/Barbecue 101

fig. a: not bad

1. Find yourself a perfect spot to spend the day. Preferably one with easy access to a big, clean, and natural body of water. Preferably one that allows for barbecuing.



figs. b & c: afternoon snack

2. Bring yourself an afternoon snack to give you plenty of energy for an afternoon of swimming, and to tide you over until your late afternoon/evening barbecue.

Sample snack:
Maplebrook Farm burrata
Red Hen Baking Company ciabatta
extra-virgin olive oil
fresh basil
farm-fresh tomatoes

Drizzle your ultra-ripe burrata with extra-virgin olive oil. Serve with a fresh tomato salad and a crusty loaf of bread. Devour.

fig. d: don't hold back

3. Go swimming. A lot. (Note swimming pier + floating swimming platform to the right of the frame.)

fig. e: read a book

4. Do some summertime reading. Bring a good read. Relax. Take in the breeze. Listen to the birds.





figs. f, g, and h: steaks, corn, beets, cipollini

5. Plan a simple meal: one that doesn't take a great deal of preparation, one that makes full use of the barbecue, and one that's not overly elaborate. Part of the goal, here, is to make sure you'll have as many opportunities to swim as possible. Your meal should be a complement to this goal, not an impediment.

When it is time to prep your meal, crack open a crisp beer or a nice bottle of wine. You're picnicking, after all. You're outside and the weather's beautiful. Enjoy yourself.

Sample meal:
Santa Barbara steaks
grilled corn
grilled cipollini
grilled summer squash
roasted beets
fresh tomato salad

fresh peaches

for the steaks:
sirloin or rib steaks, preferably grass-fed

Using your hands, apply Santa Barbara rub generously to your steaks. Allow the steaks to reach "room temperature." Grill over a medium-hot fire for 2 minutes per side. Move steaks away from the coals and continue cooking over indirect heat (without flipping them) for roughly another 4-8 minutes, depending on your preferred doneness (and on the thickness of your steaks). We like ours rare to medium-rare.

Santa Barbara rub works wonders with tri-tip, but it's also pretty great with sirloin steaks, rib steaks, and t-bones.

We mixed a batch of Santa Barbara rub before we left home, based on the following recipe:

Santa Barbara Spice Rub

1/4 cup salt
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup ground cumin (preferably toasted)
1/4 cup chili powder
1/4 cup ground black pepper
1/8 cup cayenne pepper
1/2 cup sweet paprika (preferably Hungarian)

Mix everything together and keep in an air-tight container until use.

[recipe from Jane & Michael Stern's Popular Plates BBQ 2010]

for the corn:
Keeping the husks intact, remove the silk from your ears of corn. Pull the husks back over your corn cobs and soak your ears of corn in water. Tightly wrap the corn in aluminum foil. Place the foil-wrapped ears of corn directly onto your medium-hot coals, and cook, rotating a quarter turn every 10-15 minutes, for about 45 minutes. Some of your kernels should have caramelized. The others should be moist and perfectly tender. Peel back the husks, add salt and butter or chipotle-lime butter, and serve.

for the beets:
Peel the beets and chop them. Place them on a sizable piece of aluminum foil. Drizzle with a bit of olive oil and add salt and pepper. Wrap the piece of aluminum foil into a tight package. Place the package directly on the coals and cook, flipping once, for about 40-45 minutes. The beets should be perfectly tender, with some signs of caramelization showing.

fig. i: sun set

6. Get back in the water at least one more time before the sun sets.

When you've gotten your fill, climb back out of the water, find a seat with a view on the beach, on a rock, or on the grass, and pause to watch the sun set. Fully.

7. Pack up your things. Put out your fire. Leave nary a trace.

aj

Thrill of the grill 1

Sure, there's something undeniably magical about barbecue that's been cooked slow and low with patience and care, the kind of barbecue that's the focus of Saveur's June/July 2011 "BBQ Nation" double issue. We love the entire culture that surrounds this heritage form of barbecue. We love all the fussing, the beer-drinking, and the jawing that goes into an all-day barbecue session. And we never cease to be amazed by the transformative power of that holy smoke coupled with the mild heat from those ashy coals.

fig. a: thrill of the grill

But sometimes you just want the pure thrill of the grill. You want the slight blackening, the light smokiness, the caramelized flavors, and the primal pleasures of cooking directly over flames. You want the payoff to come sooner rather than later. You want to take full advantage of the fact that cooking over a hot grill can be quick and easy.

Among our favorite sources for this kind of grilling are Rose Gray and Ruth Rogers, the chefs behind London's legendary River Cafe and the authors of the utterly brilliant "Easy" series: River Cafe Cookbook Easy (2003) and Italian Two Easy: Simple Recipes From the London River Cafe (2006). Both cookbooks fall under the "simple recipes for busy people" genre, but their concision, their clarity, and their clever minimalist design put them in the top of their class.

Years ago, we featured a recipe of theirs from River Cafe Cookbook Easy that we'd adapted for the grill. The recipe was for pork chops with lemon, and Gray and Rogers called for it to be executed it in an ovenproof griddle pan, but it was a lovely late-spring afternoon and we were very much in a grilling state of mind, and our simple adaptation of their simple recipe (two ingredients!) turned out beautifully. We could have just as easily chosen from the dozens of grilling recipes contained in Gray and Rogers' two books, but, in that particular case, we started with a very specific ingredient: the pork chops.

One recipe that we haven't had to adapt, and that's been a favorite around here recently, is a recipe that appears in the "grilled fish & meat" chapter of Italian Two Easy: Simple Recipes From the London River Cafe and that bears a typically matter-of-fact title: Flattened Sardine, Chile, Lemon.

fig. b: sardines by River Cafe

Four ingredients--that's it, that's all. And once you've figured out how to butterfly your sardines, you're almost to the finish line, because flattened sardines cook even faster than whole ones.

The lemon and the olive oil are no-brainers. They're both staples of Mediterranean grilling. It's the butterfly technique, the use of the lemon zest, and the added kick of the chiles that are the stroke of genius here.

Flattened Sardine, Chile, Lemon

16 sardines
4 dried hot chiles
5 lemons
extra-virgin olive oil

To flatten the sardines, cut off the head and then prize open the fish. Press down to loosen the bone, then remove it from the flesh, pulling gently with your fingers.

Crumble the chiles. Finely grate the zest from the three lemons; halve the remaining lemons.

Prepare the grill.

Rub the flesh of the sardines with chile, salt, pepper, and lemon zest.

fig. c: sardines by AEB

Place skin-side down on the grill and cook for 1 to 2 minutes. Turn over and grill flesh-side down for 1 to 2 minutes longer.

Drizzle with olive oil, and serve with lemons.

[recipe from Italian Two Easy: Simple Recipes From the London River Cafe, by Rose Gray and Ruth Rogers]

A couple of additional notes:

1) Because the sardines we've been using have been rather delicate, we've found that they cook best on the outer edges of a medium-hot grill (the cooking times remain the same--about two minutes per side). We've been saving the center of our grill for the assortment of vegetables we've been grilling simultaneously: mushrooms, scallions, fennel, ramps, asparagus, etc.

2) Gray and Rogers don't specify, but you're going to need a spatula to handle those delicate sardines once you've placed them on the grill. Other implements tend to tear the poor dears.

This recipe is, well... easy. It's also incredibly delicious--addictive, even. The only trick is finding a good source for your fresh sardines. This is reasonably easy in some parts of North America (like Northern California), but not so easy in others.

Montreal has such a large number of citizens of Portuguese and Italian descent that the demand for sardines is high, but our experience has been that some days of the week are much better than others. We've been having very good luck on Mondays recently, so our sardine fiestas have tended to be on Mondays.

This recipe makes for a great starter for a group, but it also makes for a great light meal for two, with a salad, some bread, and a crisp white. We can attest to that. These sardines--delicate, crispy, piquant, and easy--have been the taste of late spring around here. And, like I said, they're addictive. They might very well become the taste of the summer of 2011 too.

aj

p.s. Rose Gray passed away in early 2010. May she rest in peace.