wattacetti

This was on Food Network Canada a few years back. Some interesting presentation ideas, but I could never get past the Rubinos.

Will this be this weekend (23-Feb-2006 through 26-Feb-2006) or the next? We're sort of in the middle of the Montreal en Lumière festival so most (if not all) of the places mentioned will be booked solid this week.

Ooh! If you find yourself there in the near future, would you mind trying to get a photo of the steak tartar that Luckylies has been waxing eloquent about? That is one tiny kitchen: makes my galley kitchen seem enormous in comparison, but it's skill and not size (sic). Think I'll make your soup the next time I'm called upon to cook.

This is beginning to sound like the Architectural Digest issue that showcased Pierre Trudeau's place. Chapters had kept their copies on the racks attached to the pillars, not on the regular stands. Have you tried Indigo?

Chapters downtown (Stanley/Ste-Catherine) definitely has copies, as it's where I bought mine. Most of the newsstands should have already received theirs, as the distribution for new magazines is usually done on Tuesdays.

I liked this issue. Didn't read anything that I didn't already know about from personal experience or other sources (including eG) but it's a nice showcase of the city. It's too bad that there were space considerations to adhere to but I only have three minor quibbles: 1. Unless my copy missed something, I didn't see a whole lot written up about Quebec's cheeses apart from the listing of three fromageries. 2. Ontario and BC in particular are home to some great wineries so why in the world is Mission Hill product making up half of the eight wines listed in that cozy menu? 3. Page 58. Okay, so that last one is a personal thing. Anyway, back to Jamie's original question. The Big Croissant's is an international city with strong European roots and influences; it's a mix of the language, the local history, the architecture and being somehow intertwined in European geopolitics at some point or another since Cartier made it down the St. Lawrence. I don't agree with Vinfidel in needing to do a 1:1 comparison to any other city because overall each city is different so it isn't a meaningful exercise. e.g. I can find better classic French in Tokyo but the city's an entirely different beast than Montreal. Here's hoping that Gourmet decides to do a single-city issue on Canada's other international city: YVR.

There has been at least one study looking at plasma levels of one statin with people who were drinking grapefruit juice. There was a significant change in plasma levels for people who had more than 1 L of juice/day (4 cups) during the entire period of the study. I measured this against whole grapefruits and it came to about 5 medium ones per day. So, the odd grapefruit on occassion should probably be okay but you should really review this with your physician. If you're on a moderate or high dose of statin, you probably shouldn't chance it.

Photographing anything and everything would be great. More of those madeleines too (those were nice).

Will wonders never cease. I was curious about the flavor injector, thinking it was some deviation from that Ronco syringe but they appear to be the same disposable pipets I used to use in the lab. We weren't pipetting flavors though…

Lunch no Joou, but it's been over for a while (DVDs apparently available). The other Jdoramas I watched last season had food, but not as a primary focus.

You mean like consommé? I've never done this with stock made in a pressure cooker (anal-retentive enough to sit there and skim/simmer for 12 hours), but: 2-3 egg whites approximately 1/4 pound ground chicken meat (because it's chicken stock) 1 onion and carrot, minced Whisk egg whites slightly and add to the other ingredients. Mix thoroughly and chill (it better be really cold). Use a pot with a relatively narrow diameter because the mix has to spread out across the top. Mix the stock with mix and slowly heat in the pot until it comes to a boil. DON'T MIX! It's supposed to form a crust. Once the crust is thoroughly cooked, sieve again through cheesecloth. Good luck.

Hi Lynnette, I used pork fat when I made confit shanks; the lamb makes the fat unusable after cooking so don't waste the duck fat on those. The moulard legs make good confit legs, and I buy whole Pekins to break down into (single-portion) magrets, skin for rendering fat, and carcasses for stock. The Pekin legs get the confit treatment too, but I usually wind up processing everything into rillettes. Will you have photos of your production?

Do you have a photo of Blue Ribbon's tartar?

Thanks for confirming: I'm looking forward to the March issue. August in Montreal is hot and humid too; June/July gets you Formula 1 and Jazz Festival if those interest you.

Visually I think your two gelatine terrines look great. A recent asparagus disaster makes me concur with you on having individual servings rather than whole bricks when it comes to aspic. Looking forward to your next one.

The next few days would not be good to visit, but late spring is always nice. And would that be the March issue of Gourmet?

I get mine at Poissonerie Gidney's. 5055 Henri-Bourassa Ouest (corner Marcel Laurin) Saint-Laurent, QC H4R 1B7 514-336-3163 Address listing (with map) here.

I've actually seen a row of Yquem Methuselahs in the cellar at Bistro à Champlain (wine list available as a 157 page PDF); quite impressive until you spot the 100 or so Methuselahs of DRC in the same cellar. According to owner Champlain Charest there are actually people who do buy them when they want to have a little party. I didn't ask whether they were garbed in togas and laurel leaves though. FWIW Costco's price seems reasonable: the SAQ (Quebec's monopoly) sells a Methuselah of the 1998 for $CDN 2930 (magnums of 1997 for $CDN 705).

Black truffles sound like a great idea though it would be a serious hurt on my ingredient budget. It sure beats what I had been thinking of: tinting something with squid ink.

My chef? Novelli's a chef who wrote a book with really nice-looking food p0rn laden with generally impractical recipes. He had a little mini-restaurant empire going for a while (apparently collapsed) and I read somewhere on eGullet that he's restarted with one. Anyhoo, the lentil terrine is not exactly a terrine in the pan sense of the word. The hocks and lentils are spread onto cabbage leaves and the everything is tightly roll packaged into a sausage with cling film and foil. There is no gelatin used in that one either; rather the cooking fluids from the hocks is further reduced and used as the binding gelatin. Personally I vote for the translucent look rather than the white stock. There's just something nicer about being able to see hints of shapes too. I don't know about adding the vinegar though; I've never done it but acid doesn't do wonders for protein complexes and I suspect that you may have problems getting it to set.

First of all, I'm already looking forward to your photos. I've only made simple mushroom terrines with aspic but a cookbook I have by Jean-Christophe Novelli outlines two terrines similar to what you thinking about: one with the components found in cassoulet, and the other with ham hocks and lentils. The answer appears to be yes, though tapping the terrine pan to remove bubbles seems to be equally important. The cassoulet terrine specifically mentions weights and refrigeration for at least 24 hours. Cassoulet recipe says 1 cup stock with 4 gelatin leaves. I believe that your instinct is correct though. My vote goes to sliced - terrine cross-sections are always nicer to look at than a loaf. Perhaps something vibrantly colored in the terrine itself?

I know that I'm at least 3-4 months early, but has anyone seen either fresh fava beans or peas at any Montreal-area market? I'd like to replicate something that I saw/ate at Raza and I'm in need of something green to purée. Thanks in advance.

This definitely sounds exciting! I had a choice between Carver's or McD's the last time I was in the city (limited; we needed either speed or a quiet spot to eat and take the conference call). As a flight back to SK appears to be in the works for later this year, I'm looking forward to hearing about your endeavors.

Yes, I did. Green cabbages become dark purplish liquidy ones given enough time. Still it's better than cleaning the blower hood vent.

I did this for one dinner (not the erotica part, the Disney references): wound up with a bunch of people staring at their plates.