¡Ándele! ¡Ándele! ¡Jaiba! ¡Jaiba!

Spring used to come in like a lion 'round these parts, but mostly it just arrives in fits and starts these days, feinting and dodging, teasing and mocking.  Sure, you'll get some warm, toasty days every now and then, but there's sure to be a few bitterly cold days (and nights), too.  And like our friend at the dépanneur down the street says, "You can't be sure of anything until May 15."  And even then...

 fig. a:  printemps québécois

Anyway, signs of spring usually begin sometime in March in Montreal (like most places in the Northern Hemisphere), but, foodwise, it takes a while to see a whole lot of rebirth going on.  With the exception of maple syrup, most of our spring flavours tend to show up in May and June.

Which is why snow crab is of such importance to people like us.  Not only are we enormous fans of crabmeat, but snow crabs are one of the earliest spring arrivals, and snow crab season is really the only time of the year we can get fresh, live, and regional crab here in Montreal.  Officially, the season is said to last from April to November, but our experience has been that in actual fact it's a very short season, lasting no more than about 6-8 weeks.  But, oh, is it ever sweet.  Or, at least, it can be.  And it's going on now.

Just how excited about snow crab are we?

Well, Michelle and Seth have been preparing a lovely snow crab pasta dish as part of their Quebec Spring/Printemps québécois menu at the Foodlab.  It features handmade/housemade tagliatelle cooked to perfection and tossed with a medley of spring vegetables (string beans, peas, shallots, and the first of the cherry tomatoes from our friends at Birri Brothers), herbs (chives and parsley), a generous helping of snow crab meat, and a beautiful crab cream.

And here at home we've been going to town on our very favourite tacos in the entire world:  tacos stuffed with salpicón de jaiba.



 fig. b & c:  crab tacos!

We've featured this recipe before, but it's an absolutely essential one, and a great way to stretch your crabmeat a little further, because, god knows, those snow crabs are tasty, but they can also be quite costly.  Here it is again, revised and updated:

Salpicón de Jaiba 

1 tbsp vegetable oil
1/4 cup finely chopped white onion
1/3 cup finely chopped celery
2 serrano or jalapeño chiles, seeded and finely chopped
1 cup cooked, shredded crabmeat
1 tbsp finely chopped cilantro
1/8-1/4 tsp crushed chili pepper blend (some combination of ancho, pasilla, arbol, chipotle, and/or New Mexico grande chiles)
salt to taste

Heat the oil in a skillet and cook the onion gently until translucent.  

Add the celery and sauté for about one minute.  Add the fresh chiles and sauté for 30-60 seconds.   

Add the crabmeat and fry until it is warmed through and begins to brown ever so slightly.  The mixture should be rather dry--remember, you're going to be placing it in a taco. 

Lastly, take the mixture off the heat, add the cilantro, salt, and chili blend, and toss, allowing the flavours to mingle for a minute or two before serving.

Serve with hot tortillas and plenty of fixings, like pico de gallo, sour cream or crema, hot sauce, and limes.

Makes enough to fill at least 8-10 corn tortillas. 

[based on a recipe from Diana Kennedy's The Essential Cuisines of Mexico]

Might seem a little strange to make Mexican tacos with Quebec crab, but, trust me, a little cultural exchange can be a good thing.

 fig. d:  Juan Carlos, the Mexican crab

 fig. e:  Jean-Charles, the Quebec snow crab

Go, Crabs, go!

aj

New Ways to Boost Your Grain Power 3: Oats!

 fig. a toaster, oats

It's funny that this is the last recipe to appear in the New Ways to Boost Your Grain Power series, because in many ways this was the recipe that got me started on this train of thought.

It all started back in about the spring of 2010.  I'd been reading and re-reading issue #82 of The Art of Eating (Fall 2009) for a while, especially its cover story on new bistros and "the casualization of dining" in Paris ("New Ways to be a Restaurant in Paris," by Bénédict Beaugé and Edward Behr).  I was fascinated by its description of the new crop of bistros and micro-bistros in Paris, and the way these restaurants were redefining the dining scene there:  by making it less stuffy and more affordable, yes, but also by highlighting regional cuisines in a way that was helping to expand notions of bistro cuisine. And I studied the accompanying recipes closely.  Very closely, in fact, because there was one recipe that I just couldn't wrap my head around.

It was a recipe for Haferflockensuppe from Nicholas Scheidt of L'Office, and it was billed as an Alsatian specialty.  You see, I'd yet to Boost My Grain Power back then, and it literally took me weeks to decipher what I was reading.  I couldn't figure out why this wouldn't just result in an unusually savoury bowl of oatmeal.  Finally, after going back to that same recipe over and over and over again, it suddenly made sense to me.  I had something of a "Eureka!" moment.  It wasn't just an "oatmeal soup" (as a strict translation of the name would suggest), like every other recipe in this New Ways to Boost Your Grain Power series, the key had to do with the toasting of grains--in this case, the toasting of oats.  You see, it may very well be that mairzy doats and dozy doats and liddle lamzy divey, and that's all fine and good, but, here, it's very important that you begin this recipe with toasted oats.

With its combination of butter, bacon, oats, cognac, sour cream, and chicken stock, this might seem like kind of a wintery soup, and it is, but it's actually pretty ideal as an early spring soup, too, especially around here, where the fluctuations in temperature can be a bit of a rollercoaster ride (a cruel one) in March and April.  You see, it's got some of the greens that you're craving, like chervil and spring onions, but it's also plenty hearty enough for an unseasonably brisk day.  (In fact, tomorrow would be an ideal day for Haferflockensuppe--it's predicted that we're going to get 10-15 cm of snow [?!!].)  And it's easy, too, once you have the necessary ingredients, including a good (homemade, preferably) chicken stock.  You just have to take the time to carefully brown your oats to toasty, golden perfection, and everything else pretty well takes care of itself.

I offer you the recipe as it originally appeared in The Art of Eating.  I've found that one can tone down the amount of butter and oil significantly, and still wind up with the desired richness of flavour.  Everything else I'd keep exactly as is, although if you happen to have pumpernickel croutons around, instead of plain old country bread croutons, all the better.

Haferflockensuppe 

75g oat flakes (3/8 cup)
100g butter (1/2 cup)
4 tsp veg oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 thick slice bacon, cut into lardons
2 bay leaves
2 tbsp cognac
1 litre chicken stock
salt and pepper
4 eggs
1 slice country bread, cut into croutons
chervil, 1 bunch, minced
spring onions, thinly sliced
4 tsp sour cream 

Brown the oat flakes in half the butter and half the oil, with the garlic, bacon and bay leaves. Deglaze with the cognac, add stock and simmer 20 min. Remove the bay leaves and season to taste. 

Pan fry the eggs (or poach them for a finer look and taste), season them, brown the croutons in the remaining oil and butter, and season. 

Slide one egg in the bottom of each soup bowl (shallow ones make for a more dramatic presentation), pour some soup around it so the yolk still emerges, sprinkle with chervil, croutons, and spring onions. Finish with a dollop of sour cream.

Is it starting to make sense?  It will when you taste it.

aj

Today's loaves today 1

 figs. a-c:  testing 1-2-3

Easter Monday. Tests on AEB's sourdough Danish pumpernickel are going exceedingly well. Great with sweet butter. Great with cream cheese and tomatoes. Great with Old Amsterdam aged Gouda.  Testing continues. Desperately Seeking Smoked Fish.

News update: Michelle declared the following the "Best sandwich ever!": 2 x slices Danish pumpernickel, mayonnaise, Old Amsterdam, AEB spicy pickles, lettuce. I'm pretty sure she was exaggerating somewhat, but I know the feeling. Dense, moist, hearty with the taste of rye, crusty, somewhat salty, a touch sweet, and full of that wonderful toasted caraway flavour--this is a loaf that's got it all goin' on.

aj

Czech 'er out!

 fig. a:  torte?  Czech!

Michelle's new Czech Easter menu premieres tonight at the Foodlab.

It features this gorgeous new torte (walnut-plum) that Michelle invented.

They're also serving Czech-style bar snacks, and a tantalizing selection of Michelle's favourite Czech delicacies, including her Prague Spring salad, Poached Trout with caraway seeds, leeks, and butter-lemon sauce, and Beef Tenderloin with svickova sauce, dumplings, and lingonberry jam.

 fig. b:  Czech beer & sausages

Michelle will be making some Czech Easter treats in a couple of weeks, too, closer to the Big Day.

 fig. c:  Czech pastries

And they've got a selection of Czech beers on offer.

Just saying.

aj

La Grande Bouffe!, rev. ed.

Have you heard the news?

Foodlab and our friends at Cult MTL are teaming up to present a very special night of aural and oral pleasures (so to speak).

 fig. a:  bouffe/bal

The occasion:  the release of Cult MTL's eagerly anticipated March issue.

The location:  the SAT's Foodlab.  Saturday, March 9.  7:00 p.m.

The attractions:  Foodlab, Nouveau Palais, Soupson, and Dispatch Coffee will be combining their considerable talents to produce a $25 4-course meal & The Suuns (the March issue's cover boys) will follow with a $5 DJ set to celebrate the release of their most recent record, Images du Futur.  (Want to get yourself primed?  Check out the entire album here.)  But, get this:  if you buy a ticket for that tasty 4-course meal, you'll be admitted into the dance party gratis.

 fig. b:  suuns/cult

Sounds awesome, right?

Oh, it will be.  Just look at the menu.

 fig. c:  le menu

As Michelle is so fond of saying:  bouffe!

 fig. d:  santé!

Interested?  You can purchase tix here.

aj

Top Ten #48

1.  Endless Boogie, Long Island (No Quarter)

2.  Dead Man (1995), dir. Jarmusch

3.  S.C. Gwynne, Empire of the Summer Moon

4.  baked baby back ribs, AEB-style

5.  Amour (2012), dir. Haneke



6.  Yo La Tengo, Fade (Matador) + Yo La Tengo, Corona Theatre, Mtl, QC, Feb 11, 2013



7.  Lareau Farm Inn + American Flatbread, Waitsfield, VT

8.  Thai beef curry & Thai steamed fish à la Pok Pok + coconut rice



9.  Mocky, Graveyard Novelas EP + Mocky "Make You Rich" video (featuring Hilary Gay & Pegasus Warning)

10.  homemade congee (TY Danny Bowien!)

aj

New Ways to Boost Your Grain Power 2: Congee!

 fig. a:  Danny hearts Chinatown

There were numerous things to like about Lucky Peach's special on "Chinatown"(#5, Fall 2012)--it's an  issue of the magazine that we've gone back to repeatedly, and every time we seem to find something new hiding within.  But probably our favourite feature was the one on Danny Bowien and his love affair with Chinese food.  This might seem self-evident for a story about the chef of Mission Chinese Food NYC appearing in an issue on Chinese-American foodways, but Bowien is Korean-American and he grew up in Oklahoma, and the impression you get from the article is that New York's Chinatown continues to be a source of complete wonderment.  As Chris Ying puts it in the foreword:

On his days off from cooking Chinese food at Mission Chinese Food, Danny eats Chinese food.  Whenever I come to New York, he immediately brings me to Chinatown to show me what new gem he's unearthed.

The article features some typically tripped-out Mission Chinese-style Chinese-American fare, like Bowien's "Chinese McDonald's" spread, consisting of pigtail nuggets with seaweed fries and three dipping sauces (sweet & sour, General Tso, and spicy mustard), but we were most attracted to the more traditional recipes that bookend it.  (After all, the title of the article is "Cooking What Chinese People Eat:  Recipes by Danny Bowien.")  And we were especially attracted to the recipe for rice porridge, a.k.a. congee, that kicks off the article.

Montreal isn't much of a congee town.  At least it's not enough of one to support a large congee-centric enterprise such as a Congee Palace, Congee Village, Congee Garden, or a Congee Queen (or a Palais Gruau, Village Gruau, Jardin de Gruau, or a La Reine du Gruau, for that matter).  And, frankly, neither of us could claim to be too well-versed in the pleasures of congee--we'd only had disappointing experiences in the past.  But there was something about the purity and the simplicity of this recipe, something about the ingenious technique behind it, that intrigued us.  Plus, we'd prepared and eaten countless Asian breakfasts of all stripes over the years, but we still didn't know a whole lot about Chinese breakfast, aside from dim sum and cold leftovers out of the takeout containers, and Bowien made a pretty good case for it:

...there's no more fundamental Chinatown breakfast dish than rice porridge.  It's total stick-to-your-ribs stuff that'll keep you full the whole day.  It's quick and cheap, and couldn't be simpler to make.

As an additional bonus, the recipe involved toasting the rice, which made it ideal for this series.  So a few weeks ago, we went to our local butcher to pick up an organic chicken, we measured some jasmine rice, we opened up our issue of Lucky Peach, and we got to work.



 fig. b & c:  preparing the bird

Rice Porridge, a.k.a. Congee

1 whole chicken, preferably with head and feet
1 celery stalk
1 carrot
2 cups white rice
8 qts water
cheesecloth
2 chopsticks

toppings of your choice (such as toasted sesame seeds, chopped cilantro, egg yolks, salmon roe, smoked eel, sea urchin, etc.)

Salt the chicken heavily inside and outside the cavity.  Make sure you rub salt under the wings.  Stuff the cavity with the carrot and celery stalk.  Refrigerate overnight. 

Bundle the chicken in a large piece of cheesecloth and tie it off.  The cheesecloth needs to be big enough that you'll be able to tie the excess cloth to the side of a stockpot in a knot. 

Toast the rice in a dry stockpot over medium heat.  Don't rinse the rice first.  Here, you want the starches on the surface of the rice to thicken the porridge.  Also, be careful not to burn the rice.  Stir constantly until it is lightly toasted and aromatic--just a few minutes.

Add the water and bring to a boil over medium heat.  Starting with cold water and boiling over medium heat (as opposed to high heat) will yield a lighter, cleaner soup.

Once the porridge boils (be patient, this will take a while), lower the chicken in and tie the cheesecloth to the handle of the pot, so the bird doesn't sit on the bottom and burn.  

 fig. d:  venting the pot

Vent the pot with a pair of chopsticks by balancing the chopsticks on opposite ends of the pot.  Point one toward you, and the other away from you, then rest the lid on the chopsticks.  (Bowien notes:  "My cooks used to burn this porridge because they thought they knew a better way to vent the pot, but this is the way grandmothers do it.  Trust me."  We note:  this method works perfectly.  It both vents the pot and catches the condensation.  The result is an ideal cooking temperature and maximum flavour.) 

Cook at medium heat for 45 minutes to an hour.  The rice should be very soft but not completely exploded into mush.  Pull the chicken out and shock it in ice water.  Once it's cooled, you can slide it and use it as a garnish or any other application that calls for a nicely poached chicken.  Because that's exactly what you get:  a nicely poached chicken with hints of rice flavour. 

Season with fish sauce and salt.  Bowien suggests:  "Garnish with chopped cilantro, sesame seeds, an egg yolk, and your choice of toppings--smoked eel, ikura, uni, whatever." 

 fig. e:  Danny Bowien's rice porridge

Bowien claims that this recipe produces "4-6 servings," but, in fact, it makes enough for at least 12.

 fig. f:  we heart leeks

We followed his advice to a point, but instead of going the seafood route, we went the pork and vegetables route.  Specifically, I made some sweet & sour Chinese-style ribs, and Michelle sautéed some leeks, as well as some baby bok choy.  Why?  Well, we were pretty sure it would taste great.  Plus, there must have been something about Bowien's description of rice porridge as "total stick-to-your-ribs stuff" that struck a chord.  And, finally, we had a feeling that sweet & sour caramel would be a pretty nice thing to drizzle over the congee as a finishing touch.  We were right.

The result is the very definition of comfort food, as delicate, satisfying, and warming a variation on chicken soup as you're likely to find.  The texture is somewhere between risotto and cream of wheat, if that makes any sense.  It may be "total stick-to-your-ribs stuff," but it's definitely not stodgy.  And it's also another great way to increase your grain power.

aj

New Ways to Boost Your Grain Power 1: Barley!

 fig. a:  icy

Some days, all you really want for dinner is a bowl of soup--preferably, with a loaf of freshly baked bread, and some butter.  Soup lovers get this feeling throughout the year, of course--even in summer--but during the winter, the pursuit of soup can take on added urgency.  You know the days:  the ones with the snow squalls, the arctic blasts of wind, the temperatures that drop like an anvil in a matter of just a few short hours, possibly even a freak thunderstorm (!).  On days like these (because that's exactly the kind of day we're having here today in Montreal), there are few things as life-affirming as the first spoonful of that steaming bowl of hearty soup.  Sample the right soup, and you'll immediately feel its restorative powers begin to kick in--the very same powers that gave the first modern restaurants their allure (and the name by which these establishments became known).

Obviously, there are many, many soups that can produce this effect, but some of the most satisfying winter soups are those that make ample use of grains, like rice, barley, or oats.  These grains provide flavour, they provide substance, and they also provide comfort.  (Think about it:  why do most variations on the proverbial chicken soup come with noodles or rice, or something similar?)  Serve them with that freshly baked bread and you'll find that your grain power will be amplified.  Serve them with that freshly baked bread and a tasty beer and your grain power will be boosted even more.

Barley soup is one of the classics of the genre, but I'd more or less given up on it until I found a recipe for Grauensuppe, a German barley soup, in an issue of Saveur way back in 2011.  The recipe showed up in a fantastic article on the soup-making traditions of Central Europe, aptly titled "The Art of Soup." This was not the stodgy beef & barley soup found throughout the Anglo-American and Anglo-Canadian worlds.  Here, the barley in question was pearl barley, which keeps its form and its texture better than other varieties; the meat was German-style sausage; the vegetables included one of the staple trios of the German soup-making tradition: carrot, celeriac, and leek; and the barley was sautéed first to toast the grains and give the soup additional flavour.  The results were fantastic--one of my favourite soups of the last couple of years.  Even better:  this soup is quick and easy to make.

 fig. b:  ja, voll!

Grauensuppe 

4 tbsp unsalted butter
1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
1 cup pearl barley
8 cups vegetable stock, preferably homemade
1/2 cup finely chopped peeled russet potato
1/2 cup finely chopped carrot
1/2 cup finely chopped celeriac
1/2 cup finely chopped leek
1 tsp dried marjoram, preferably wild
2 German sausages, like bockwurst or bratwurst
1 2-oz piece of smoky bacon
freshly grated nutmeg
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup thinly sliced flat-leaf parsley leaves 

Heat the butter in large saucepan over medium heat.  Add the bacon, and sauté for about 1 minute.  Add the onion and cook, stirring, until soft, about 5-10 minutes.  Add the stock, potato, carrot, celery root, leek, marjoram, and sausages and cook, stirring occasionally, until the sausages are tender, about 35 minutes.   

Remove the sausages and bacon from the saucepan.  Thinly slice the sausages and discard the poor hunk of bacon.  Season the soup with nutmeg, salt and pepper, being careful not to overdue it with the nutmeg.   

Ladle the soup into 8 serving bowls, and garnish with parsley and sliced sausage.  Serve hot, with plenty of good, freshly baked bread, and butter.

 fig. c:  pumpkin seed sourdough

Serves 8. 

[based very, very closely on a recipe that appeared in Beth Kracklauer's "The Art of Soup" in the November 2011 issue of Saveur]

To your health (and your warmth)!

Note:  while the health benefits of this soup might prove to be lasting, its warming properties will likely prove to be fleeting.  Please remember to snuggle up afterwards.

 fig. d:  the art of snuggling

aj

Come Cook With Me

(photos by Aran Goyoaga)

The SAT Foodlab is thrilled to present Cannelle et Vanille's Aran Goyoaga for an intimate night of cooking, eating and drinking.

Sunday, January 20th, 20 lucky participants will spend the afternoon preparing a beautiful 5-course feast with Aran, and then join her at the table for an evening of great wine, conversation and eating.

Aran will be joined by sommelière Etheliya Hananova (from Lawrence), who will take care of the wine selections and discuss the ins and outs of pairings.

The meal will be entirely gluten-free, and each participant will receive a signed copy of Aran's book Small Plates and Sweet Treats. Two glasses of wine are also included in the price.

Sunday, January 20th, 2013, from 3:00 pm
At the SAT Foodlab, 1201 St. Laurent 3rd floor (between Rene Levesque and Ste. Catherine)
Cost: $115 (including taxes, $135.72) Tickets can be reserved by emailing foodlab@sat.qc.ca or by following this link for direct purchase.

I can't wait for this lovely event. Space is very limited. Reserve soon.

m

so long, 2012!

Song



Roy Harper, Stormcock

Sixto Rodriguez, Coming From Reality

Cat Power, Sun

More (original soundtrack), "music played and composed by Pink Floyd"

Zabriskie Point (original soundtrack), v/a



Fotheringay, s/t

Grimes, Visions

Beach House, Bloom

Lynyrd Skynyrd, Street Survivors

Destroyer, "Leave Me Alone"

Futurisk, "Lonely Streets"

Divine Fits, A Thing Called Divine Fits

Neil Young, Psychedelic Pill + Yuma



Bill Fay, Life is People + The Time of the Last Persecution

The Faces, BBC TV special, 1972

The Dirty Three, Toward the Low Sun

Tim Hecker, Live at the Red Roof, Pop Montreal

Sharon Van Etten, Tramp

Fairport Convention, Bouton Rouge session, 1968

Print







Manny's Delicatessen Restaurant brochure, ca. 1970


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






Ian Frazier, Travels in Siberia

Errol Morris, Believing is Seeing (Observations on the Mysteries of Photography)

Ariel Levy, "The Space in Between:  Naomi Wolf's Vagina:  A New Biography," The New Yorker, September 10, 2012

Henry James, Portrait of a Lady

Jon Krakauer, Into the Wild



Magnus Nilsson, Fäviken

Ernest Hemingway, A Moveable Feast

Eleanor Clark, The Oysters of Locmariaquer

John McPhee, The Crofter and the Laird

Jill Lepore, "The Lie Factory:  How Politics Became a Business," The New Yorker, September 24, 2012



Vladimir Nabokov, Pale Fire

Jon Halliday, Sirk on Sirk

Mark Kurlansky, The Basque History of the World:  The Story of a Nation



David Jury, Graphic Design Before Graphic Designers:  The Printer as Designer and Craftsman, 1700-1914

Jessica Mitford, Hons and Rebels

Hugh Garvey (w/ Chef Andy Ricker), "Simply Thai:  A BA Cooking Primer," Bon Appétit, January 2012

Moving Images



Muhammad Ali:  The Greatest, dir. Klein

Treme, season 2

I Know Where I'm Going, dir. Powell

Searching for Sugar Man, dir. Bendjelloul

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, dir. Alfredson

Oslo, August 31, dir. Trier

Moonrise Kingdom, dir. Anderson



Stop Making Sense, dir. Demme

Blank City:  New Cinema, No Wave, New York, dir. Danhier

Museum Hours, dir. Cohen

A Separation, dir. Farhadi

Meek's Cutoff, dir. Reichardt

Monsieur Lazahr, dir. Falardeau

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, dir. Fincher



The Limits of Control, dir. Jarmusch

Ratcatcher, dir. Ramsay

Detropia, dir. Ewing & Grady

The Wire, seasons 1-5 (all over again)

Food & Drink



Green Chile Summer

Grilled Corn Summer

Hôtel Herman, Montreal, QC



Foodlab, Montreal, QC

Bao Bei, Vancouver

Toro, Boston



Zingerman's Roadhouse, Ann Arbor, MI

Revolver, Vancouver



Montreal bazaars

Santouka, Vancouver

crunchy granola



Neptune, Boston

Toshi, Vancouver



Cream-Nut peanut butter

Hudson's Hamburgers, Coeur d'Alene, ID

Boulangerie Niemand, Kamouraska, QC



summer peaches

The Farm House "Lady Jane" cheese + Les Amis du Fromage, Vancouver

Le Grand Aïoli, Alexandraplatz, Montreal, QC



Montreal food enterprise of the year:  Coq Asian

Furco, Montreal, QC



bo ssäm & ssäm bburritos

Miscellaneous



escapes to Vancouver

The Cornwallville Summer Social 2012, Cornwallville, NY

This American Life, "What Happened at Dos Erres"



Mystery Train, Gloucester, MA



summer swimming + cottage outings



Kamouraska, QC



bags by Erin Templeton

Le Creuset cookware (in black)



Cornwallville Soaps

Birdkage waxed canvas aprons

ping pong!


All the best to you in 2013 (?!!), from your friends at "...an endless banquet."  Thanks for reading!

aj

p.s. And if you're wondering what our most popular post was this year, it was our "Boston Notebook (go figure!)."