Peter the eater
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Posts posted by Peter the eater
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When it comes to Nova Scotia's traditional foods, the searching is fun but so is the experimenting! We went to the Dartmouth Farmer's Market today and picked up some duck eggs, Tancook sauerkraut, Digby scallops, Lunenburg sausage, local westphalia-style ham and organic beef rib eyes. Some friends came by for a visit and some finger foods.
scallop, sausage, sauerkraut, chive:
surf n' turf shooter with a hidden ball of horseradish:
scallops wrapped in the ham:
surf 'n' turf "burger":
The last one was best - it didn't require teeth.
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Rollmops!
This a German invention - often served at breakfast and purported to resolve hangovers. It's a pickled herring fillet wrapped around pickled cucumber and onion, secured with a broad toothpick. Very popular down the South Shore of Nova Scotia.
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18 minutes at 425F.
That's a hotter oven than you'd find in many cookbooks, Joy of Cooking for example, but Julia Child and my village's elders do it this way so that's good enough for me.
If you like the crunchy skin you could do it in the way of the miller's wife a la meuniere and dust the fish with flour. JC would also stick herbs into the eye sockets, which is also fine if the whole fish is on the table - those damn eyeballs get so big, it's like they're judging me. . .
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What a clever idea, Peter! Something like a cross between planking salmon (which I love) and parchment cooking- and it's gotta be cheaper than buying those cedar planks. I'll have to keep my eyes open for appropriate veneers, and give this a try.
You are right - it is a cross between en papillote and cedar planking. The way to keep planking cost low is to hit the lumberyards in the autumn. Summer is over and nobody is building decks or fences so the cedar is on sale - at least around here. Veneer, however, doesn't have the same seasonal market. I've tried apple and maple veneer with good results, but any fruit tree should work.
I did monkfish in cherry here post #63.
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This is a small haddock stuffed with lemon and chives, ready for roasting in the oven. More details here post #26.
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I take my 3 year old twins to playgroup in Dartmouth until 11am,
This sentence made me unaccountably homesick for a moment.
Good luck with the monkfish. I've never tried it, but I hope to one day. I'm not sure if you can get it in Japan
I thought that line might stir up an emotion for you!
Check out Hiroyuki's anko tsurushi giri post #4.
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From Canada's Department of Fisheries and Oceans or DFO:
Haddock (Melanogrammus aeglefinus)Haddock, long familiar to fishermen on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean, belong to the same family as cod and pollock. Among the most popular of the north Atlantic fish species, haddock were once more abundant along Canada's east coast. Intensive fishing in the 1960s, however, greatly reduced the stocks. In the 1990s, most of the remaining fishery was located on the Scotian Shelf, the Bay of Fundy and the Gulf of Maine.
Haddock range from the Strait of Belle Isle to Cape Cod. In Canadian waters, they occur mainly on the continental shelf from the Bay of Fundy to the east coast of Cape Breton, and eastward to the Grand Banks, most commonly in depths of 45 to 240 m.
Haddock are dark purple-gray on the head and back. The lateral line is black, and below it the colour lightens to silver-gray with a slight pink cast. A distinguishing mark is the large, black, thumbprint spot appearing just above each pectoral fin. Fish in the commercial catch are usually between 0.9 to 4 kilograms in weight.
Haddock are caught with otter trawls but other gear such as longlines and gillnets are also used.
These fish are marketed as fresh and frozen fillets. Smaller quantities are sold as fresh and frozen whole fish and as headless split and smoked fish (finnan haddies).
They're also affordable, delicious and versatile. One good way to treat a whole haddock is to bake it:
This was a particularly small haddock but it still fed a family of four, although half the family is under 3' tall. The cavity was stuffed with a chives and lemon. Sometimes I like a whole roasted creature on the table, but not this time. I made a pan sauce with a bunch of colorful bell peppers and served it with a potato.
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You're right. No big deal.
1 heaped teaspoon of it per 600 ml (if it's a product of Japan). Note that all instant dashi contain some MSG.Thanks Hiroyuki. I quite like MSG - no allergies - I grew up with marmite. As you may know, it's a tar-like spread full of rich umami flavor. Very popular in the Commonwealth.
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The only thing in my house that looks like this is the yeast pellets in a jar in the fridge, which is why I had to taste.
That's exactly the stuff I have sitting in my pantry. I think it looks like yeast too! Except that seems to be a really big bag of it.......
Add it to warm water, using about 1 tsp for 200ml or so, and use it like stock.
Whachagonna make?
Thanks Nakji, yes I think that bag of dashi will be with me for a while.
Wednesday is my fishmonger day - I take my 3 year old twins to playgroup in Dartmouth until 11am, then we drive through Bedford where my buddy said he'd have a small monkfish for me. They had only 1 unbutchered . . . and it was bigger than me! Or at least it was close - I was a little scared of it's seven tools!
Seriously, I asked for a more manageable one. Next week I'm assured a 5 to 20 pounder. We'll see.
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Sounds like you do have a good thing going, maybe keep it - but add to the menu a similar sandwich with a stronger cheese or lesser mayo?
I had a bison/camembert/mayo sandwich months ago that I still remember.
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I don't think I'm qualified to answer your question, but the stuff looks OK to me. I think I'll post some photos of my instant dashi later.
Mirin: Mirin usually has an alcohol content of 14%. Probably your "mirin" is "mirin-fu chomiryo" (mirin-like seasoning). Some mirin-fu chomiryo contain some salt. Have you checked out the ingredient label?
I've got MANJO AJI-MIRIN (SWEET COOKING RICE SEASONING) and the ingredients: glucose syrup, water, alcohol, rice, corn syrup, salt.
It's a KIKKOMAN product of Japan.
35 calories per tablespoon!
Let me rephrase my question: Is this dashi like a dry soup mix that I can add water to as I please, no big deal?
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What a coup for the Deathmatch gang!
I've not watched a full show before but I'll now make a point to do so. I feel like I know many of the characters from the previous 'matches. I'm anticipating the dishes . . .
the Bizarre foods team asked the Deathmatch Posse if they could film an outdoor gathering of the group cooking with Maine-based ingredients - the more bizarre the better.Hmmmm . . . I'm confident you guys found some handsome ingredients from the ocean and forest. I'm on tenterhooks.
BTW your lupines are a week or two ahead of ours.
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I have a dashi/soy/mirin question . . . so I think this is the right place!
Here's what my trio looks like:
The mirin says 8% alcohol and it tastes rather sweet (but I think, if I had to, I could drink it as is
) and the soy is low sodium but it tastes just fine to me. I don't know yet what I'll cook with these ingredients but I do have a question about the dashi. Today was the first time I've ever purchased the stuff and since it's sold bulk style with no description or instructions, I'm wondering if this looks the same as the powdered dashi you have talked about. It came from a mom-and-pop Asian grocery store that was really a Mandarin store with a few extra things from the south and east, and I couldn't get any more info from them. A few bits on the tongue tastes very good, and it reminds me of kombu from Japanese restaurants. The only thing in my house that looks like this is the yeast pellets in a jar in the fridge, which is why I had to taste.
So is it reasonable to treat this dashi like I would any other bouillon cube or powdered stock?
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Looks like a good idea to me - I see from the site that the product is available nearby at Pete's Frootique. I'll get some next time I'm there. I've been buying bricks of honeycomb there but I don't think it's PEI honey. I'm on it!
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Hiroyuki, this is an enlightening topic for me - I've just scrolled through the 170 posts!
What strikes me most is the way ingredients are treated so minimally and with great care. The Japanese tradition makes use of so many sea creatures, and recognizes food value where others don't. Seven tools of monkfish! I'm lucky when I can get a tail, skinned and boned - that's barely half a tool. Like Domestic Goddess, I have an order in for a whole monkish!
I'm also struck by the consistent presentation - your recurring nigiri set is almost identical each time. I'm also glad to see french fries and ketchup on your daughter's plate, it tells me it's not a "sushi snob" place to use use your expression.
Are mussels used by sushi chefs? If so, how?
I have to ask: Godzilla roll - Japanese or American invention? I had one last week and it was cho-umai!
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Interesting. . . they sound delicious.
When you wrote cheat pickles I was expecting the technique of quickly pickling something on the stove for immediate consumption. Its not really cheating but it is a powerful trick - I do it all the time for cukes, zukes, eggplant, garlic, etc. It's a great starting point for hot sauces too.
Could you give more details on your stovetop technique?
My meaning of "pickle" means to preserve using salt and acid. If you chop up veggies and simmer them in a water-vinegar-salt mixture until cooked through, they're basically pickled and ready to eat. Stuff such as sugar and spices adds infinite variety to the mix. In some cases it's just a soak in the low pH brine without actually cooking anything, no mason jars required.
Charlie Trotter Cooks at Home has an excellent basic pickling juice on page nine - he goes on to use it in all kinds of ways for interesting sides or condiments. His technique is pretty fussy (like most visionary chefs) but in reality it's a very forgiving way to create a lot of great food.
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. . . . they're drowned in armagnac so with their last breath they draw in some of the liquor . . . .
That's it! If I'm ever so unlucky as to have a "do not resuscitate" order it will follow with "drown Peter in armangnac". I used to think being eaten by a great white shark would be the coolest way to go.
. . . . Oh and it's absolutely banned in the EU to serve this dish in any restaurant. Though there are ways to get round it I think I will carry on dreaming about this!!!I thought it was illegal to sell but not illegal to eat ortolans. Maybe there's still a way . . .
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Some nice responses - it's hard not to include context such as place, time and company.
I had to look up this one. I'll assume you are not referring to those ridiculous blue elephant creatures from Star Wars but rather the classic French bird dish.. . . . 1. Ortolans . . . . Sounds like you need to catch one yourself to experience the tradition.
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Plunge them into boiling water for 30 seconds then scoop them out into cold water. Now they should squirt out with a little force. Trimming the tips off beforehand helps too.
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Wow, Peter, that looks AMAZING. Were do you get hardwood veneer from? Plus, cooking time and temp of grill/coals estimated for just cooked through salmon?
I got a pile of cherry veneer from Lee Valley at the clearance table, not thinking of culinary uses at the time. This stores sells woodworking tools, gardening stuff, etc.
I cooked the fish on a small Weber gas grill for 12 minutes on medium/high. I rolled the bundles over mid way - you can tell how the salmon is doing by looking into the open ends. The salmon gets sort of steamed/roasted inside while the ends go dark and crunchy. The wood smoke flavor is mild and the maple adds sweet chewiness. Easy clean up, too.
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Interesting. . . they sound delicious.
You are essentially reprocessing a slightly processed food. Is there nothing available at the store that resembles your own results? If there was would you buy them instead of the big jar of kosher dills?
When you wrote cheat pickles I was expecting the technique of quickly pickling something on the stove for immediate consumption. Its not really cheating but it is a powerful trick - I do it all the time for cukes, zukes, eggplant, garlic, etc. It's a great starting point for hot sauces too.
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Is that you and your daughter?
Yes it is - Iris has developed quite a taste for lobster.
Uh-oh.
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I do keep a life list of all the animals I have eaten..... does that count?
And it includes crickets and mealworms.
Some people think my list is weird.
Yes, your list is weird but fortunately you're in the right place. So how long have been doing this? And how long is your list?
I think it's only a matter of time before insects as food becomes way more mainstream. I've only eaten bugs by accident - but since I don't find them very appealing they're not on my life list. I'm about as interested in eating one of those crispy tarantulas on a stick from Vietnam as I am in anthropophagy.
The new Bon Appétit
in Food Media & Arts
Posted
I don't know if I'd grab the mag at the checkout, this year's covers seem harsh. They do state what's inside and give a page number - that's good - but the one image is a high contrast close up of comfort/diner food. This month it's a burger! I'll go on record and predict that there will be a casserole on the cover by year's end.
Also missing from the new cover is the price. December 2007 says $3.99 but January 2008 says nothing.