mkayahara

You might check out the FoodPairing website. I'd also second the recommendation for Culinary Artistry.

So, by extension, wouldn't they also be the right tool for turning sausages (or duck breasts or whatever) in a frying pan? I can see not using them for fish fillets or hamburgers, for example, but I use them for practically every other pan-frying application I can think of, at least where meat products are involved.

Actually, I finally had the chance to dine at Atelier last Friday with several friends, in celebration of my birthday, and had a great time. A couple of my companions had trouble finding the location, as it is relatively inconspicuous. I found the design of the space to be a little on the austere side, but that became unimportant in light of the food, the company and the welcome we received. Several of us decided to have the wine pairings with the meal, and I was glad we did. Steve, the sommelier, was very friendly and engaging. Luckily for me, one of my friends took photos of most of the food, so I've included them below. The bread that evening was dill pickle. It tasted basically like dill pickle chips, but soft and chewy instead of crispy. Wine: Trius Brut NV The first course was whitefish caviar with frozen vodka cream, blue potato chip and claytonia. It was billed as the "James Bond" course: sparkling wine, vodka and caviar. A nice one-bite start to wake up the palate. Next was an oyster from Quebec with lemon and frozen sambal oelek, with rosemary attached to the handle of the fork for aroma. I was surprised at how balanced the flavours on this were: the resiny rosemary aroma, the spiciness of the sambal oelek, the brininess of the oyster and the tartness of the lemon unfolded very nicely on the tongue (and in the nose, in the case of the rosemary). Wine: 2006 Fattoria la Monacesca Verdicchio This was followed by a piece of trout with a ginger-cucumber-sunchoke salsa, clementine vesicles and chive vinaigrette. No photo of this one, unfortunately. I enjoyed the textural interplay between the tender fish and the crunchy salsa. "Name that chowder." A perfectly velvety smooth, buttery potato chowder with test tube spoons made by Ottawa design company Wingspan. Each of the test tubes was filled with a different garnish for the soup: popcorn, chili powder, bacon and truffle oil. I'm a big fan of interactive courses like this one, and everyone else at the table seemed to have fun with it, too, passing the test tubes around to try all the different toppings. With four garnishes, I'm not sure what the restaurant does for tables of less than four... Sumac, foraged, liquified and frozen. Liquid nitrogen is always fun. Chef Lepine came tableside with a sumac liquid (as well as the sumac berries themselves to show us what they looked like) and made sumac "freezies" as a palate cleanser. I admit that I tried to eat mine too soon, and part of it got stuck to my tongue. It melted eventually, though. Wine: 2006 Chateau des Charmes Gewurztraminer St. David's Bench One of the more dramatic platings of the evening was the "pork and beans": Braised pork belly with kidney beans, dehydrated olives, pressure-cooked black sesame seeds, egg yolk ribbon, dehydrated leeks, crabapple mayonnaise and butterscotch. Totally delicious with a variety of interesting textures. Wine: 2006 Villa Rubini Schioppettino The wine with this course was clearly the sommelier's favourite for the evening, and it quickly became our favourite as well. For that matter, this unassuming little dish was also my favourite of the savoury courses: an assortment of impeccable wild mushrooms with a sunchoke puree and goat cheese gnocchi. A great example of the dictum that great ingredients don't need to be flashy. Beer: Beau's All-Natural "Lug Tread" Lagered Ale Beer ice cream, pretzel crust with dipping sauces: whipped Frank's hot sauce, mustard sabayon and blue cheese "Cheez Whiz." The kitchen's sense of fun was clearly in evidence here, if it hadn't been before. Wine: 2005 Lotus Cabernet Sauvignon, Paoletti Vineyard Beef tartare with Riopelle cheese, truffle, mustard, thyme, lemon foam. This was the only course of the evening that was kind of a miss for me. The lemon foam came across as too sharp, and I didn't especially enjoy the texture of the beef. The truffle slice was, of course, delicious. Elk with bison salami, celeriac puree, dehydrated cabbage and onion, beet cube, beet paint, brussels sprout and white carrots. This was one of the runaway hits with our table. Perfectly cooked elk with many highly tasty garnishes. Wine: El Maestro Sierra Pedro Ximenez sherry "Six Degrees of Bacon". On the restaurant's Facebook group, Chef Lepine describes the principle behind this course as follows: Apparently this was a re-worked version of the dish. Starting at the left and moving clockwise, we have a toasted marshmallow with graham cracker puree, chocolate cake with chocolate ganache, coffee gel with milk foam, caramel creme brulee, apple pie and, finally, bacon ice cream. Each bite led clearly to the next. I guess the only thing to do now is try bacon s'mores! We had a brief interlude at this point in the meal for more liquid nitrogen theatrics. Because it was my birthday, pastry chef Michael Holland came out with a beautiful little piece of birthday cake for me... which he proceeded to drop into liquid nitrogen and smash into tiny little pieces. Before: After: The regular meal then resumed. Gingerbread, eggnog sauce, chestnut puree, candy cane ice cream (in the shape of a candy cane, no less), cranberry sauce. A great little Christmas-themed dessert sampler plate. Wine: 2005 Mountain Road Wine Co. Botrytis Affected Riesling Bubbles, grape soft meringue, cranberry firm meringue, plum poached in Champagne, clementine gel, green apple pop rocks. I'm sure I'm missing an element or two here, but this was a light, airy dish for the last course of the meal. Finally, we were offered Elvis truffles: peanut butter and banana, which tasted every bit as good as they sound. On the whole, it was a really enjoyable evening. The friends who were with me ran the whole gamut from veteran foodie to relative novice, and everyone found something they loved about the meal. There was enough avant-garde technique to be interesting, without it ever feeling contrived. Obviously, I was aware of the restaurant's stated mission of environmentally conscious cooking before I went in, but this approach certainly doesn't seem to place any limitations on what they can put on the plate. Where it could be felt was in the cool, quiet kitchen, which I visited after the meal. If this is one of the faces of New Canadian cuisine, Canada has a lot to look forward to! I'm sure I'll be back to see how Atelier progresses.

I tried the duck proscuitto last year and I think you do need actual magret for that. By the time they dry out, a regular duck brest is pretty teensy. ← Good to know! You just saved me two duck breasts. Thanks.

When I make confit, I always start out with whole ducks, too. I usually end up serving the boned breasts as a meal. I also make stock from the bones and render any extra fat. This year, I've been thinking I might use some of the breast meat in a raft to clarify the stock for consomme. I've also considered trying to cure and dry the breasts as duck prosciutto. For that matter, you could try curing and smoking them - hot-smoked duck breast is a wonderful thing.

Thanks for all your help, Katie! The cocktail was a big hit at the party, which was on Saturday. I ended up making a spiced syrup with black and green cardamom, cinnamon, allspice, clove, star anise, chili flakes and tangerine zest. I batched it with the tangerine juice and gin, and topped the drinks with prosecco to order. There was a little left over after the party, and I discovered that it worked just as nicely when topped off with club soda.

I tried to make a foam similar to this, using roasted red peppers and whipping cream (35% fat) on the weekend, and found that I could only dispense about half of what was in the canister. (Though I liked the flavour of what I could dispense!) Could anyone give me a rough guide to a good proportion of peppers to cream? And should I be using all whipping cream for this type of application, or a combination of whipping cream and something lighter? Thanks in advance!

At this time of year, especially in the run-up to Christmas, I really like a Stinger.

Saw in today's National Post that, due to rising rent, Ruth Klahsen may be shuttering Monforte Dairy this winter. Story here. I can't even begin to express how disheartened I am by this news. I view Klahsen as one of Ontario's premier cheese makers. I guess I'll have to enjoy the products while they last.

Thanks, Katie! I did end up using a bit of the tangerine peel in the drinks last night, but I'm hoping to serve this as a punch at the party (if that doesn't break any rules of punch, a subject on which I am woefully undereducated). That's why I was thinking of infusing the peel into the syrup. And thanks, too, for the spiced syrup suggestions. I'll have to give it a try. As Jamie Boudreau pointed out on his blog recently, whole star anise also make a stunning garnish.

Let me rephrase that: Beefeater does (or did) produce an orange gin. It's listed in the LCBO catalogue, though it's also listed as discontinued and there's only one bottle in stock in the province. Quebec's liquor board has it in stock at CAD$21 here. Edit: Of course, I don't think they'll ship out of province, so I'm not sure that helps Erik at all.

Doesn't Beefeater produce an orange gin? (Not that it's necessarily any good...)

Test-driving a drink tonight that I'm thinking of serving at the Christmas party this year, possibly in a punch bowl. I started by making a spiced simple syrup with allspice, cinnamon and clove, then built this in a Champagne flute: 1/2 oz. + barspoon (so, say, 2/3 oz.?) spiced simple syrup 1 oz. Plymouth gin 1 oz. tangerine juice Top with sparkling wine (I used Freixenet Cordon Negro, but only because that's what I can get in small bottles for cheap) Tangerine twist Garnish with a frozen cranberry Something of a variation on the French 75, but an artillery name seems out of place for a Christmas cocktail. Maybe I'll call it a Silent Night. The tangerine twist was really essential here, because the flavour of the juice just didn't come through on its own. If I do it as a punch, I'll probably steep the tangerine peel in the syrup with the spices to bolster the flavour. If anyone has any other suggestions, I'd love to hear them!

I agree with you on the naming of the quickfire, especially when they called out one cheftestant for using *gasp!* store-bought hot dogs. Unless they were given a more complete explanation off-camera. I also got the impression that one of the factors that went into Jill's elimination was her incoherent defense of her performance, which is one of the reasons I like this show.

There's a great thread on rendering fat here. You can also check the RecipeGullet recipes here and here. Enjoy! Rendering fat is one of life's great pleasures.

Yeah, souffles often use the yolks to enrich the base, then fold in the beaten whites separately, but you can use the whites on their own. Julia Child gives a whites-only cheese souffle recipe in volume 1 of Mastering the Art. I've done a beet souffle in the past that used only the whites.

How about souffle? The other option is to freeze them; egg whites freeze remarkably well.

I saw a commercial on TV last night for individual frozen salmon "Wellingtons." Normally not the sort of thing I'd buy, but my partner has fond memories of the full-sized version. More importantly, they're made with Marine Stewardship Council-certified salmon, and I'm happy to support that, so we might pick some up.

Oh sure, like "I know I can do this, just give me another chance" is an articulate, impassioned defense of one's failure? Absolutely true, and ample reason for him to have been eliminated. Me too. The editing of that whole "A vinaigrette isn't an emulsion... You stupid Americans don't know anything" section was hilarious! It made you wonder if he even knew what an emulsion is. I haven't followed the show right from the beginning before. Do they usually start of with 17 contestants, or did they sign on one extra person this season so they could eliminate someone in that first quickfire?

True - but most white, chicken, fish and vegetable stocks aren't reduced to that point. And I doubt that any real comparison can be made between homemade stocks and canned or boxed stocks that are purchased. ← It depends on what you're cooking and how many stocks you have on hand: I regularly reduce the heck out of chicken stock to make a pan sauce to go with roast chicken. If I salted the initial stock to the point that I could taste it, it would definitely taste oversalted (though not necessarily inedible) by the time my sauce was ready, at least to my palate. I agree though, that homemade stocks and boxed stocks are different, and that a little bit of salt in the homemade stock won't ruin your sauce. But I find it much easier to add the salt to other components of the finished dish, rather than the stock.

The most compelling argument I've ever heard against adding salt to stock is that, if you're going to reduce the stock for any reason (a sauce, for example), the end result may well end up inedibly salty if you salt before you reduce. Indeed, I've experienced this very phenomenon when using boxed stock from the grocery store. Salt can always be added; it can't be removed.

There's a great discussion of gelatin conversion in this thread. Warning: may contain arithmetic.

I've never had the chance to play with St. Germain, so I'm not sure whether it would work, but I'm sure it's worth a try! The only thing I would say, though, is that this is already a fairly sweet drink. It might be worthwhile to dry it up with a little vermouth or something.

So, for once, I actually followed up on one of my hare-brained ideas. I made up a little browned butter, added some fresh pumpkin puree and water and simmered the whole thing for 20 minutes. Then I added 0.5% gold-strength sheet gelatin by weight, set it in the fridge, and froze it overnight. The next morning, I put it in a coffee filter-lined colander. Three days later, voilà! Pumpkin water. So tonight I mixed up a drink. It went like this: 2 oz. pumpkin water 1.5 oz. Remy Martin VS Cognac 0.25 oz. St. Elizabeth Allspice Dram dash orange bitters It tastes pretty much exactly like a pumpkin pie.

The space looks great - much better "after" than "before"! Any chance of seeing the dining room, too? Good luck with the opening next week!