116 replies to this topic

[Peter the eater]

Island-made potato vodka?

There are bootleggers around. If I find some at the liquor store then yes, FauxPas. Oysters for sure.

Prince Edward Distillery (near Souris?) makes potato vodka, I wanted to visit them but didn't make it!

http://www.princeedwarddistillery.com/home.php?page=home

Thanks for the link. How did I miss that place?

[Peter the eater]

And no Cape Breton wedding is complete without 300 cookies and a canoe of beer.

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[kayb]

Love it already. Perhaps reading about someplace cooler than my 102 in Hot Springs will cool me off -- can't wait to see the extreme cheese and all the seafood (and of course, good whiskey!).

[Peter the eater]

Here are a few more veggie dishes -- fresh cukes and tomatoes with my homegrown basil. The bristol board planning poster stuck to the wall gives some idea what was going on the day before the big day. We also had a temperamental chocolate fountain.

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[Peter the eater]

Can't forget the obligatory eG Foodblog fridge shot. For the wedding we had four of them plus a few chest freezers and a system of coolers. I believe a few neighbors helped keep things cool as well.

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[annabelle]

Nice work, Peter! I feel cooled off looking at the water. It's been 104 here for, well forever, it seems. That canoe of beer is fun. I'll have to recommend that to the Finger Lakes in-laws.

[Peter the eater]

Nice work, Peter! I feel cooled off looking at the water. It's been 104 here for, well forever, it seems. That canoe of beer is fun. I'll have to recommend that to the Finger Lakes in-laws.

It's a guaranteed crowd pleaser. Be aware that a 16' canoe can hold a lot of beer.

[Peter the eater]

Before taking the ferry to PEI we had a lovely lunch stop in central Cape Breton. The Herring Choker Deli, like many places here, is not open year round. I went with a smoked beef sandwich on uberfresh white bread with a cup of curry pea soup.

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[rarerollingobject]

Fantastic food..those meat platters!!

[Shelby]

The day after the wedding, according to family tradition, we had a sunset bonfire on the beach. Hot dogs were roasted then out came the port, blue cheese and cigars. This fortified wine is from Newfoundland and it's a good value ruby. The cheese is Nova Scotian Dragon's Breath Blue from That Dutchman's Farm. It's a personal fave.

Niiiiiiiiiiiice.

I feel instantly relaxed just looking at that picture.

[Peter the eater]

Fantastic food..those meat platters!!

Hard to ignore those monsters. I considered several more shallow plates but it wasn't practical at the time. At some point any super-sized mound of meat winds up looking grotesque. Maybe not this time.

Last wedding we poached 5 or 6 big Atlantic salmons to go alongside the ham and beef. It made for an unexpected continuum of pinks and reds. And the poaching liquor from the fish was exquisite.

[Peter the eater]

There are three ways to get to Prince Edward Island.

Fly in from wherever, drive across the Confederation Bridge from New Brunswick as seen here, or take the boat from Nova Scotia as seen below.

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[Peter the eater]

As I mentioned before this Foodblog is on the road. Here's what I'm working with this week:

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[Peter the eater]

Family members have rented the adjacent cabin and they graciously stocked our kitchen with all kinds of goodies before we got here. We brought quite a few leftover items from the wedding and of course we have some of our own gear such as the pink KitchenAid stand mixer, a big honkin` cake decorating toolbox, and my knife roll.

I rarely travel with knives. When I go somewhere the fancy ones usually stay home. Those knives below with the non-riveted resin handles are supercheap so I wouldn`t really care if I lost one. They are stamped steel from China and are real easy to keep sharp. The twelve inch chef`s knife was around ten bucks at The Real Canadian Wholesale Club.

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[Peter the eater]

We hit the fish market down the road. Picked up a few fresh cod filets and some Malpeque oysters along with some Tourism PEI info:

Long recognized as one of the world's finest oysters, Malpeques from Prince Edward Island have an unequalled taste, superior appearance and excellent keeping quality. Oysters are a versatile seafood. In the shell they can be baked, steamed, grilled or used in specialty dishes such as Oysters Pommary or Florentine. Shucked oysters are excellent deep-fried, sauteed, grilled, in chowders, soups, stews, pies, casseroles, stuffings, dressings, or as an appetizer or main course. The Malpeque is excellent on the half shell, served with nothing but its own liquor. Its clarity and purity of flavour make it the connoisseur's choice.

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[Peter the eater]

I found a small roasting pan in the drawer which looked just about right for poaching the cod. I put some sliced lemon and onion on the bottom, fish on top and oishi water for extra liquid. Some butter and black pepper then 5 +/- minutes on the electric stove top.

Meanwhile, there were some big scallops wrapped in bacon in my crisper so they went into a non-stick skillet with a bit of butter for browning. I wouldn't have bought them this way because it's so difficult to get the bacon crisp without over-cooking the scallop. But I'm not complaining.

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[Anna N]

I found a small roasting pan in the drawer which looked just about right for poaching the cod. I put some sliced lemon and onion on the bottom, fish on top and oishi water for extra liquid. Some butter and black pepper then 5 +/- minutes on the electric stove top.

...

Do tell us more about oishi water! Please.

[Peter the eater]

I found a small roasting pan in the drawer which looked just about right for poaching the cod. I put some sliced lemon and onion on the bottom, fish on top and oishi water for extra liquid. Some butter and black pepper then 5 +/- minutes on the electric stove top.

...

Do tell us more about oishi water! Please.

It's a teriyaki sauce relative as far as I can tell. It's made here in PEI based on a century old Japanese recipe. Here's the link.

The Oishi makers promote it for marinating and flavoring just about any kind of meat. PEI gets a lot of Japanese tourists which I suspect helps with sales.

[Genkinaonna]

I love the idea of something called "delicious" water...that's brilliant. I'd totally buy it if I had it available to me. How could it NOT make everything delicious, it's right there on the label...

[Peter the eater]

It's a month early for local blueberries. I'm not sure where the ones below came from but they taste as good as they look. Right now we're seeing lots of local strawberries and saskatoons.

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[Peter the eater]

I found something that explains what's in season when.

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[Nayan Gowda]

Excuse the ignorance of an Englishman, but what's a "saskatoon" (apart from animation from South/Central Canada)

Very much loving the blog.

[heidih]

Excuse the ignorance of an Englishman, but what's a "saskatoon" (apart from animation from South/Central Canada)

I wondered as well but these 2 sites seem to explain:

http://www.pickyourown.org/unusualfruits.htm
http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/proceedings1993/v2-516.html

[Peter the eater]

Excuse the ignorance of an Englishman, but what's a "saskatoon" (apart from animation from South/Central Canada)

I wondered as well but these 2 sites seem to explain:

http://www.pickyourown.org/unusualfruits.htm
http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/proceedings1993/v2-516.html

Nayan Gowda, I have zero experience with the saskatoons. I see them around and I think blueberries that are red. I will check out those links Heidi, thanks.

[Peter the eater]

Some context. Prince Edward Island is the smallest Province in Canada and the least populated with around 150,000 full time folks. It's also the site of Confederation where Canada became an official country in 1867. The place I'm blogging from is on the North Shore at Cavendish just down the road from Anne of Green Gables Central. Lucy Maude Montgomery created the character Anne Shirley a century ago and the legacy remains all over.

Here's what the Island looked like and how they dressed . . .

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[Peter the eater]

I found this notice on my cabin wall a bit weird. What do you mean no currie?

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[Pam R]

Excuse the ignorance of an Englishman, but what's a "saskatoon" (apart from animation from South/Central Canada)

I wondered as well but these 2 sites seem to explain:

http://www.pickyourown.org/unusualfruits.htm
http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/proceedings1993/v2-516.html

Nayan Gowda, I have zero experience with the saskatoons. I see them around and I think blueberries that are red. I will check out those links Heidi, thanks.

Saskatoon berries are wonderful for pies or sweet perogies. I never knew they grew out east - thought they were more of a prairie thing.

[Peter the eater]

No seafood this evening. Local T-bone steaks on the gas grill with new spuds and veg. Red wine from heaven.

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[heidih]

I see you are a kindred user of the disposable aluminum pans

[Peter the eater]

I see you are a kindred user of the disposable aluminum pans

I wouldn't go so far as to say we're bosom buddies.

The pans actually worked well. The one on the gas grill (peppers, mushrooms and onions) has small raised ridges on the floor that are perforated. As a result you get some nice barbecue flavor entering the container and enhancing the veggies without losing the juices.

Normally, I try to avoid disposable anythings. If they were thicker metal I could probably reuse them.