Vancouver Lee

My neighbour threw a Canada Day party and did Ron Shewchuk's cedar plank salmon with Jack Daniels and maple syrup glaze, along with chicken kebobs with some sort of Indian marinade - lots of yoghurt and cumin, not sure about the rest of the ingredients. Myself, I Q'd 2 sets of hot dogs (sans marinade - lol) for the youngest member of the household, and did quesidillas for my wife and I last night. Whole wheat tortillas, shredded smoked gouda and monterrey jack cheese, some chopped tomato and peeled and sliced granny smith apples. They were great. Tonight, we'll be searing some tuna steaks on the grill. Not sure yet about a marinade. I'll probably roast some beets and grill some asparagas, both of which will have a simple EVOO-and-balsamic vinegar marinade with salt and pepper. Tomorrow we are off to Tofino, where we've planned to BBQ a) lamb burgers stuffed with goat cheese, and b) some locally-purchased seafood. Come to think of it, I'm not sure we cooked anything without using the grill this weekend...

Thanks for the recommendations, guys. Would there be enough interest to organize an eGullet golf tournament?

Yummy. Nicely done. Hilarious photo of the cat!

With the weather (hopefully) changing for the better, this man's thoughts have begun to turn to golf. I enjoy a good meal after playing a round (it gives me time to justify how I could have possibly shot 120), and was hoping for some recommendations for the best combination of good golf and good clubhouse dining.

That will make three eGulleteers, Deborah. Joie and I are in for the course starting in September.

Looks great, Tricia. You'll have to post photos of the end result.

I wonder....can gingerbread pudding be grilled?

Bravo to everyone at C - you put on the best lunch I've ever had, bar none. Simply outstanding. The taste of that scallop has spoiled me forever. Many thanks to Jamie and Arne for their work organizing the event. To the speakers, thank you for taking the time to come and share your perspectives with us. Your passion for the topic and the depth of your knowledge was obvious. It's a shame that there wasn't time for a more probing discussion and debate. And to the folks representing the fish farming industry (hopefully there are at least a few of you lurking here): your presence was missed. I for one would have enjoyed hearing "your side of the story". I understand why you might have felt afraid to come, but your voice needs to be heard, too.

People kept notes?

Thank *you*, Neil, and to Joan and the rest of the HSG family, Sorry to hear about the Patio Police - I hope it wasn't too bad....

Not exactly. But I do have an extra copy of Ron's book..... Road trip?

Holy smokes that sounds awesome! Thanks a bunch for the pic and the sharing your day with us stuck in cityville (spent 45 in bridge traffic this morning ). ← It really was fantastic. Who knew Jack Daniels was good for something other than getting sloppy drunk in a hurry?

I skipped breakfast. I agree. I thought I hated guacamole. It's usually this gross green paste, but the one Ron did was awesome. Well, for one it was a bit overcooked to my taste. I like burgers cooked medium, and this one was just shy of well done. That was accidental, I think, as I recall a discussion about not telling the food inspectors about how they were going to cook the burgers..... I can't stand carmelized onions, so I removed those. The burger was big, to be sure, but the height wasn't so much an issue as a) everyone got 1/4 burger only, and b) I have a big mouth. It was just too much of a bland meat taste for my liking. I'm a big beef fan, nothing beats a good juicy ribeye, but this burger just doesn't do it for me. I've made the same recipe (from Ron's book) at home and it tasted exactly the same, so I know it wasn't just the day/heat/etc. Ron's lamb burger stuffed with goat cheese, on the other hand, is stupendous.

Last Sunday, I had the pleasure of attending a day-long BBQ Cooking class taught by Ron Shewchuk (Canada's reigning BBQ Champion and author of Barbeque Secrets) and Michael Allemeier, the winery chef at Mission Hill Family Estates. The class was held outside, under the shade of a grove of trees on the grounds of the winery. With grapevines beside us and a glorious view of Lake Okanagan in the background, it was a spectacular setting for the class. Ron's style is terrific - he's easy going, funny and extremely knowledgable. In his words, the class was "The French Laundry meets Bubba from Kansas City". He never takes what he is doing too seriously, but he knows a ton about how to cook great BBQ. He's an excellent teacher, and obviously loves what he is doing. Ron and Chef Michael had a great rapport together and kept the mood light and cheery. Prep work for the class has begun the night before. Ron and Michael put the pork butt and brisket into the smoker on Saturday, and got the kitchen staff working on preparing the food for the Sunday class. Mission Hill's man in charge of the vineyards (I never caught his name) had prepared two large half-barrels full of hardwood charcoal by burning down one with local cherry wood and the other using oak from barrel staves that had been used to cellar Mission Hill wine. The first course was grilled asparagas with a chipotle & roasted garlic aioli. I was truly surprised to see how few people at the class has not cooked asparagas on the grill before - go figure. The asparagas was perfectly matched with a 2003 Five Vineyards Dry Reisling. Ron then moved from asparagas to quesadillas. I love quesadillas, but for some reason have never tried making them at home. Ron's demonstration showed me how easy it is to make them on the grill. He used jack and smoked gouda in his.... Following the quesadillas, Ron smoked some fresh tomatoes and made a Smoked Tomato Guacamole. Fantastic. Enough of the appetizers, on to the main course! Next up were cedar plank-cooked white salmon filets with a Jack Daniels/maple syrup glaze that was too die for. The salmon was paired with a 2002 Five Vineyards Pinot Noir. While the salmon was cooking, Ron spent some time showing everyone the ins and outs of using a smoker. Ron told us a great story about being at a BBQ competition in Tennesse. It seems that between tending the smokers and partying, people don't sleep much at these events. Ron's BBQ team (Rockin' Ronnie's Butt Shredders) has a tradition of marguerittas at dawn. They had just finished their dawn drink when a guy in a golf cart comes driving by, yelling out in his deep southern accent: "Fried Pies" "Git Yer Fried Pies Here" Someone on Ron's team, perhaps feeling the effects of no sleep and tequilla at dawn, called the guy over and asked him what the heck a fried pie was. The guy replied "Ma'am, these pies are so good, if you put one on yer head, yer tongue would slap you to death tryin' to git at it". I never did catch what a fried pie was..... Anyhow, once the salmon was finished, Ron took the brisket and the bork shoulders out of the smoker. We all checked out the smoke rings, and watched Ron pull the pork: Ron made some fresh cole slaw for the pulled pork sandwiches and Chef Michael had whipped up some baked beans, and everything was served: By this point, we all started feeling a little bit full. No matter, next up was grilled rack of lamb with a balsamic reduction. The lamb was cooked over the wine-infused oak charcoal, and was simply stupendous. It was paired with a 2002 Reserve Shiraz. Next up were a trio of steaks: Italian, Asian and Southwestern. For the first two Ron used ribeyes and strip loins respectively, but the most interesting was the Southwestern. Ron used a pork blade steak coated with salt, dijon mustard and toasted cumin seeds along with his special rub and some olive oil. This recipe (along with a little bio of Ron) is in the June issue of Food and Wine magazine. I'd never had pork blade steak before, but I will definately be having it again. Nice and meaty with a strong pork flavour. A very nice change of pace when you feel like meat but don't want something as heavy as beef. I was begging for mercy at that point, but Ron was not done. Up next were burgers with a herbed butter core. These were actually my least favourite thing of the day. These burgers are made by placing a frozen disk of herbed butter inside a patty made from fresh ground chuck and coated with prepared mustard and Ron's rub. The disk melts when the burger cooks and infuses the meat with butter and herbs. Not for the faint-of-heart or narrow-of-arteries. The burgers were topped with a generous dollop of Salt Spring Island goat cheese, roasted red peppers and carmelized onions. Dessert was pears that were grilled on a cedar plank: The pears were topped with a glaze made by reducing jack daniels and honey, adding icewine and reducing it further, then adding fresh lavendar blossoms. Chef Michael also used a new Mission Hill product, a rhubarb compote made with late harvest vidal. The pear was topped off with whipped cream and a small triple chocolate brownie. What can I say about such an over-the-top dessert? It was specatcular. Unfortunately it was very hot by that point in the day and the whipped cream melted before I was able to take a photo: This class was truly outstanding. By the end of the day I was stuffed, sunburned and my face hurt from laughing so much. The Mission Hill staff were truly excellent, and Chef Michael was the consumate host. Ron is holding a two day class in Whistler over the long weekend that will be much more hands-on (i.e. he encourages you to bring your own smoker). If you are at all interested in learning to cook great BBQ, I can heartily endorse Ron's seminars. He's a great guy, very entertaining, and an excellent chef. MOre detail is available at Ron's Web Site What a great way to spend Father's Day!

So glad to hear that, Deborah. Our Rodeo experience kicked of my semi-annual fortnight-long McDonalds cravings, which happily is now past. Bring on Feenies!

A bit off the beaten track for local burger afficianadoes, but I just posted a report about the Clamshak in Port Alberni. Click Click

Memo's post, plus the fact that I'd be driving through Port Alberni on my way camping, inspired me to check out the Clamshak. The place is just slightly off the main drag in Port Alberni, down the street from the Norske mill and across the street from KalTire. Not much in the way of mise en scene, but hey, it's a drive-in in Port Alberni, not Lumiere. As reported, there is indeed some indoor seating, along with a picnic table outside you can sit on. The clientele do indeed appear to be well fed. I didn't see/hear any burn-outs in the parking lot, but there were several homebuilt monster trucks parked there...perhaps I just didn't stay long enough to enjoy the show. We sampled their hot dog, chicken toes (fingers to us Mainlanders), cheeseburger, fries and onion rings: Hot Dog: not bad, a bit too small for the bun but otherwise OK. The dog was for my son, so lacked toppings other than ketchup, but it seems a decent assortment of toppings are available. Served slided in half. Chicken Toes, Onion Rings: cooked from frozen, right out of the Sysco box. My son loved them. Me, not so much. Cheeseburger: Meh. Nice homemade patty, but way too thin - a double burger would be a must here. Lettuce and tomato were fresh and crispy, but the bun was of the day-old-grocery-store type. Cheese is the plastic, processed variety. Overall, not as bad as it sounds but nothing to write home about. French Fries: My experience was the exact opposite from Memo's - my fries were excellent. Perfectly cooked and nicely salted with no greasy taste at all. They were the first fries in recent memory that actually tasted like potatoes - a little weird at first, but nice once I got over the shock!

um........oh, never mind.

How was the food? I'll be passing through there on Monday. I'll stop by, try the food, take some photos and post a report later on next week.

Huh... that would explain the grainy web cam look of the picture and why you are in the shower... I was confused what it had to do with wine - I just thought it was cutting edge.. ← Lee, you owe me for a new keyboard. I just sprayed orange juice over mine, laughing at your reply..... Seriously, where does one get a copy of Vancouver Life magazine?

Today's Globe & Mail has an article comparing FatBurger and Vera's. Alexandra Gill's take on it: Vera's is better. The battle rages on..... BTW, the article also quotes a certain restaurant chef/owner best known for his Gingerbread Pudding....

If you find yourself in the airport craving a burger again, try out the Portobello Mushroom burger at the Fairmont.

"The official Nanaimo Bar recipe was available as a handout as well as on quality tea towel and apron souvenirs." I'll be passing through Nanaimo on Monday is anyone wants me to pick them up one of these must-have kitchen accessories.

Thanks for the links. It looks very heart-friendly....

Just thinking out loud here, but is there enough interest to approach one of the schools about doing a couple of courses for eGulleters? I'd love to do some of the "serious foodies"-type courses with the folks around here....