carswell

The leaves are great in lasagne and other pasta dishes, and, as jackal10 suggests, in a savoury or sweet tourte aux blettes (to which the perfect accompaniment is a glass of Provençal rosé). My favourite sweet tourte recipe is in Pat Wells' Bistro Cooking (two hints: dry the leaves in the salad spinner before processing, and use golden raisins and pine nuts). The stalks are delicious blanched, cooled and layered in a buttered baking dish, the layers interspersed with grated parmesan, with more parmesan and butter dots on the top and the whole thing baked in a medium oven until golden. Other gratins (e.g. chopped pancetta, garlic, parsley and tomato topped with béchamel or cream) are great too, but it's the parmesan one that sends me swooning.

Just in from emptying my bank account for the government (quarterly GST/QST payments). Ouch. The pain was eased when I dropped by Exofruits, the upscale green grocer on Côte-des-Neiges north of Queen Mary, and couldn't believe my eyes. Sitting front and centre in the dairy compartment was a new product: Liberty Crème Fraîche! It comes in a white plastic 250-ml tub, retails for $3.89 and is so new it's not even listed on the Liberty website. The thick texture immediately convinced me it had been adulterated but the ingredient list is short and sweet: cream (40% MF). The taste? Not quite as nutty as the artisanal stuff from Hamel but not bad at all. To celebrate, tonight's roast chicken with cumin, smoked paprika and seville oranges will be preceded by the best ever sweet potato soup with lime crème fraîche. Hey, guys, do we have clout or what?

Marlene, excuse my confusion, but are you using a splatter screen instead of a peel? Anyway, it sounds like either you didn't have enough cornmeal on the "peel" or the pizza sat on the peel too long. One thing you might try next time is sliding the parchment paper onto your stone with the pizza. The paper will turn black but it won't adhere to the stone or the cooked pizza or prevent the crust from crisping.

This subject was discussed a year and a half ago in a thread with exactly the same title: What's wrong with Merlot?. Excuse the self-citation, but it is my answer to your question: Edit by Jason Perlow: Topic merged

Learned this trick years ago from a caterer. He'd used it to dollop a mound of blueberries and then drizzled on a spoonful of blueberry honey. I still make that dessert every summer and, if I don't have any crème fraîche around, I do the Jacques Pépin thing (though I've always tended to use equal amounts of sour and whipping cream). There are four hitches, however. First, though the mix has some of the tang of crème fraîche, it doesn't have that nuttiness Lesley refers to. Second, you have to dirty a whisk and at least one bowl. Third, it's best used in cold preps. If used in sauces, it should be added toward the end of cooking and never boiled, lest it curdle. Fourth, it can be wasteful. At the very least, you have to buy at least 500 ml of cream/sour cream (2 x 250 ml), which I rarely make it through before it goes stale or spoils. So, yeah, it'll do in a pinch but I still fail to see why we can't buy the genuine article, ideally in 125 ml containers like yogurt comes in.

And you wouldn't be even happier with a well-crafted key lime pie made with good key limes? It's hard not to read this as saying second best is good enough. Also, if no key limes were harmed in its making, it ain't a key lime pie. (Not trying to be a smartass here or to belabour the obvious; it's just that in the context of the debate it seems a point worth making.)

Thanks, g. As you surmised, I was hoping the news was that, say, Liberté had announced they were going to start marketing crème fraîche. Thanks, Lesley. That's pretty much what I do when I make my own. As you point out, though, it's not quite the same thing. Also, it requires me to buy buttermilk, which I never drink and, except for the occasional cold soup in the summer, never cook with (haven't made pancakes or waffles in at least 20 years), so I end up throwing out one litre's worth less two tablespoons. And, last but not least, it denies spontaneity; you have to plan at least 24 hours ahead, and that's not how I normally cook. If Lesley's refrigerator trick doesn't work, try putting it in your oven with the oven light turned on. Alternatively, you could do like an acquaintance of mine, who sets her thick glazed earthenware bowl on one of those electric coffee cup warmers. (And on really cold days, she wraps the bowl in a down vest!)

Excuse my prying, wattacetti, but I'm curious about how you use the chili paste with garlic. In my kitchen, it tends to find its way into stirfries, especially eggplant, tofu preps and, in the spring, chicken or shrimp with asparagus. I've also been known to add it to the braising liquid for red-cooked duck and lamb.

FYI, Andes also has a branch on the corner of Bélanger and St-Denis (it's where Le Jolifou does much of its shopping). Supermarché Andes 514 277-4130 436 Bélanger Montreal, QC H2S 1G2

Can't believe no one has mentioned rabbit. (Actually, given North Americans' silly aversion to eating Thumper, I guess I can.) Anyway, it takes beautifully to braising. With prunes, pearl onions and lardons With white wine, mushrooms and thyme With Pineau des Charentes With celery, vinegar, olives and capers With red peppers With cream and dijon mustard With red wine, tomatoes, pine nuts, saffron and orange peel With white wine, anchovies and capers With carrots, leeks and green beans With preserved lemons and garlic With cider With tarragon and cream With bacon and brandy With choucroute With green or red cabbage With beer Niçoise style (eggplants, zucchini, red peppers, tomatoes) Sicilian style (parsnips, celery, pine nuts, golden raisins, fennel seed, vinegar and chocolate) Cacciatore style Etc., etc., etc.

Yes! How could that have slipped my mind? It's why the event has to be prearranged. How many hoops do they make the owner jump through? What's the normal delay before the permit is issued? How much does it cost?

That's my understanding based on what a couple of restaurateurs have told me. Also, it would explain how wine groups are able to hold tastings and wine dinners in licensed establishments when the events involve bottles from private collections. But I've not read the Act from end to end, which is why you should take all this with a grain of salt. Surely one of our chef/owner members can confirm or deny.

The Publications du Québec site is down, so I can't cite chapter and verse, but "licensed" restaurants (the quotation marks are because BYOs are also licensed) can sell only alcoholic beverages they have purchased from the SAQ. The bottles sport a special sticker and agents of the Régie des alcools, des courses et des jeux have been known to poke through restaurant garbage bins in search of stickerless flasks. The fines for non-compliance are stiff (hundreds to thousands of dollars and eventual loss of licence). In other words, no corkage. Bummer, eh? Especially for a zin lover... I believe there is a single loophole: if a prearranged party alone occupies a separate room or takes over the entire restaurant, the event is considered catered and the patrons can provide the liquor. Some wine lovers with connections are said to have convinced some restaurateurs to illegally serve wines they've brought, and corkage in such cases is said to run $15 to $20 a bottle plus a tasting glass or two for the wine steward and/or owner. I don't think BYOs are prevented from charging corkage but I've never heard of one that does. The relevant legislation, the Act Respecting Liquor Permits and the Act Respecting Offences Relating to Alcoholic Beverages, can be downloaded free of charge from the Publications du Québec website, provided it's functioning, that is. edit: Don't quote me on that loophole until I can check the legislation, OK?

Tastet gives Jolifou a big thumbs-up in today's issue of Voir (the link will take you directly to the review only through next Wednesday, after which you'll have to click the archival link on the left side of the page).

Oooh. Quite the lively debate, with lots of good points being made on both sides. For my part, I land squarely in the middle. Hope to join in the fray later, after I've got a big job off my desk. But ademello's post leads directly to a point I've been thinking about (in fact, I was just checking out census figures), so I'll add it now. Bear in mind that post-merger (and pre-post-post-merger!) Montreal has a population of around 1.8 million, while greater Montreal (probably the more relevant stat) clocks in at around 3 million. Is it really fair to compare us with New York (7.5M and 17M respectively), Los Angeles (3.5-4M, 12M) or Chicago (3M, 7M)? Admittedly, Boston (0.6M, 3M) and San Francisco (0.8M, 3.7M) are better fits, but so are cities like Dallas (1M, 3.2M), Detroit (1M, 3.6M) and Houston (1.7M, 3M). Also, compared with, say, Boston, San Francisco and Toronto, Montreal is a poor city by any measure (median income, number of cars per capita, number of renters, etc.). Lots of conclusions to be drawn from those sets of stats.

A favourite prep this time of year: Cook ten or so chestnuts until just done. Peel and set them aside. In a casserole with a cover, sauté a handful of chopped pancetta in olive oil until it has rendered some of its fat and begun to colour at the edges. Remove and reserve. Salt and pepper your pheasant and brown it on all sides in the hot fat. Remove and reserve. Add a sprig or two of rosemary to the pan then pour in 1/2 cup each of brandy and white wine. Bring to a boil as you scrape any brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Return the bird and the pancetta to the pan. Add the chestnuts and, if necessary, 1/2 cup of chicken stock. Cover and simmer until done. Remove the bird, rosemary and all but one or two chestnuts from the pan. Degrease the sauce, then smash the chestnuts remaining in the pan to thicken it. Carve the bird and serve with the chestnuts and sauce. (Based on a recipe in Tempo di Castagne.) For a deluxe prep, look up Robuchon's recipe in Simply French (or PM me for the gory details). The bird is stuffed with a bit of foie gras, trussed and seared in a very hot oven, then set on a bed of braised endives in a casserole (JR seals it with puff pastry or luting dough; I normally just place a sheet of parchment paper between the casserole and the cover) and braised in the oven. The meat is juicy, tender and fragrant and the endives are out of this world. As you might guess, I prefer braising to roasting. If you do roast, be sure to bard the bird and baste it often, and don't overcook.

Where've you been hiding yourself, Andrew? Walter's bacon is OK. It's what I buy when at the JTM. But the best bacon I've found in town is at Boucherie de Paris in Côte-des-Neiges (5216 Gatineau, 514 731-6615). The owner, Thierry, says he goes through several slabs a week. Certainly everyone I've served it to has remarked unprompted on its tastiness and quality. What's more, he often has an extra-smoked (aka boucané) version (personally I find it a bit too much of a good thing; YMMV).

Hey, wattacetti. The short reply is that although I resuscitated it because of the crème fraîche connection, this thread was started 14 months ago and — lucky us — many of our wishes have been granted. The long reply? Well... Actually, a friend recently told me he'd seen some good-looking if not exactly affordable pigeons at the Jean Talon Market (Les vollailes et gibiers du marché, IIRC). Have also been meaning to ask the butchers at some Chinese markets, since that's where cost-conscious Manhattanites buy squab in their fair city. Interesting. What do you mean by "hasn't stuck?" Taiwan and Hong Kong aren't my models. San Francisco's Slanted Door and, with its excellent selection of German wines, Las Vegas's Lotus of Siam are. Mushrooms are definitely one of the areas that have gotten better in the last year and a half. Both Chez Louis and Chez Nino had beautiful lobster mushrooms early this fall, and both reliably stock a good selection of "wild" mushrooms year round (stunning pieds bleus at Chez Louis last weekend). Even my neighbourhood green grocer regularly offers king, chanterelle, yellow oyster and shiitake mushrooms these days. The purpose of this thread wasn't to say we don't have it good — heck, the title refers to Montreal's gastronomic tapestry — but rather to discuss perceived gaps in the hope that others might divulge existing sources us mere mortals are ignorant of and that it might prompt industry people to think, "hey, there's a gap I can fill." I'll take the SAQ over the LCBO any day of the week. And, yes, it was really encouraging to see them selling a number of excellent German wines. (And, judging by how fast many of them disappeared from the shelves, the enthusiasm on local wine boards and the reaction of several local winelovers of my acquaintance who, after tasting, bought German wines for the first time in their lives, I suspect the SAQ got the message, too.) Word is that New Zealand is next up for the treatment. Austria, alas, appears to be below the SAQ's radar; too bad, as it produces many delicious and unique wines and has yet to suffer from the price inflation rampant in France, Italy and Germany. Here our model should be NYC. With the proviso that, in Quebec, beef can only be pasture-raised for five or six months a year, there are producers. One's in the Laurentians (can't recall the name) and has a storefront there (can't recall where). Don't know if any producers sell their beef in the city proper; you might ask at Boucherie St-Vincent at AM or soon at JTM. Salt-marsh lamb used to be obtainable in season at the JTM, though demand has lately outstripped supply. edit: opération de nettoyage...

Been holding out on us, Lesley?! Saw that your column in the online edition of today's Gazette is titled "You can call off the search for creme fraiche" or some such (can't check because the site has been down for the last few minutes). Can we get you to spill the beans here? Or are you going to make us freeze our tushes off schlepping around town in search of a copy?

Am surprised none of our professional chef members have chimed in. Some of them probably cook more foie in a week than I will in my lifetime... Anyway, to answer your question, I think not. Many (most?) restos use grade A for searing. And all the foie I've seared has been grade A. In my admittedly limited experience, the sought after texture has more to do with the temperature of the pan and foie, the type of pan and the thickness of the scallop. I second your enthusiasm for Les Caprices and Anise's seared foie. Also, Le Club des Pins, Au Pied du Cochon and Les Chèvres. At least some restos use the same product we can buy; again, let's hope we hear from a chef or two. I suspect it was an off night, doc, as the rest of the meal was nothing to write home about either (the foie was the nadir, though). The other meals I've had at Toqué! have been more enjoyable but — once burned, twice shy, especially at those prices — I've avoided the foie ever since.

Am unsure about the packaging, gruyere. I've bought a whole foie gras only twice, so I don't see the label very often. Will ask the next time I'm at my butcher's, who BTW sells only A (like most local butchers, I believe). Can't help you, since AFAIK I've never cooked with anything other than A. But here's a piece of anecdotal evidence. One of the several great meals I had at the original Christophe (on Lajoie in the premises now occupied by Delfino) began with a slice of seared FG served atop a pile of couscous studded with dried fruits and accompanied by two sauces (cranberry jus and a veal demi-glace). When I commented to the maitre d' that their foie was far superior in taste and texture to the greasy scallop I'd been served the week before at Toqué! (atop creamy grits with dried cranberries – not one of their stellar efforts), he shrugged and said, "That's funny. They use grade A and we use grade B."

Yes, there are three grades: A, B and C. I've only seen A in local stores. B is frequently used for patés, mousses, etc.; a couple of chefs have also told me they use it like A when appearance isn't a major concern. C is not very appealing and is rarely used alone.

Marché Oriental had a dozen or so jars of Lan Chi chili paste with garlic this afternoon. Located on the shelves facing the produce section, toward the back of the store and next to the Tabasco sauce. $2.25 a jar. Marché Oriental 7101 St-Denis, a few doors south of Jean-Talon 514 271-7878 Sa-W 09:30-19:00 Th-F 09:30-21:00

Bet you're talking about: Thaï Hour 7130 St-Denis 514 271-4469 M-W 09:30-19:00 Th-F 09:00-21:00 Sa 09:00-19:00 Su 09:30-19:00

Yep. I should also point out that a large portion of their clientele appears to be of Taiwanese extraction, always an encouraging sign. How about we agree that whoever eats there first will post a thumbs up/down style report? Hah! I've taken pity on them once or twice; they always seem so forlorn next to Cuisine Bangkok. As you might guess from the looks of the place (one of the neater shawarma joints in town), the food is pretty good. It's just that I can get decent shish taouk at any number of fastfood joints around town, something that unfortunately isn't true about, say, pad thai or squid with eggplant and basil. I'm under the impression that most of their business comes from Arab students. When you've got the jones for it, only Thai will do, even if you have to queue up.