Applewood Smoked Garlic

I recently bought a Smoker, I am always wanting to experment with foods and have always had a passion for smoked meats. Wanting to try something out of the box I decided last weekend to experiment with garlic. I took about 25 bulbs of garlic and just cut off the tops exposing the heads of garlic just slightly. I poured Virgin Olive Oil on the tops and sides and then layered them on my wire racks. I placed these in my smoker at 250 degrees for about 2 hours.

 The end result is these beautiful golden heads of garlic with cloves that come out golden brown, soft and sweet smoky texture. I pulled the cloves out of the bulbs and placed in a food processor. I then pureed the garlic. Spread this on a toasted baguette with a slice of brie cheese. So simple and so easy. I pulled from my Osoyoos trip a bottle from Church and State a Cabernet Franc, full, rich and silky texture. Ripe dark fruits of cassis, cedar and cigar box pairs perfectly with the smoky flavours of the garlic.

Coffee, my addiction. 

If I had only one beverage to drink the rest of my life, I would choose coffee. 

It’s soothing and delicious.  It’s social.

There are lots of articles online that pair coffee with everything from spicy Cajun or Thai food to glazed ham.  All good I’m sure, but personally I like my coffee with dessert, specifically biscotti.  They just go hand in hand.

There is nothing like freshly grinding your favorite bean and brewing up coffee in a French press after a great meal with family and friends.  And a little something to satisfy your sweet tooth.

The aroma fills the room and mixes with the conversation and laughter.

Biscotti, to me, is the quintessential pairing with coffee.  Kind of a cake-cookie combo.

If you want to be a rock star, pre-make the loaf and put it in the oven right after dinner.  It takes about an hour to bake, just in time for coffee.

 You can dip it or not.

2 Cups Pistachios (roasted)

3 ½ Cups Flour

4 tsp Baking Powder

1 tsp Salt

1 ½ Cup Sugar

1 Cup Soft Butter

1 Tbsp Vanilla

4 Eggs

Lay the pistachios on a baking sheet in a single layer and roast in the oven at 300 for 12 minutes, until fragrant, set aside
Combine the dry ingredients and set aside
Cream butter and sugar
Add vanilla
Mix in the eggs one at a time
Combine wet and dry ingredients
Add pistachios
Form a loaf
Bake at 325 convection for about  45-60 minutes until golden brown, let loaf cool while coffee is brewing.

Place the loaf on a cutting board and slice it at the table.
A perfect end, or beginning to your evening.

Burgers and Innis and Gunn

Even though it's September, the weather is still fantastic for grilling outside. With the leaves changing and the nights cooling off you know autumn is around the corner. One of my favorite dishes to BBQ at this time of year is a Blue Cheese Burger. It’s still summery with a feel of comfort food.

Angus beef mixed with melted chunks of blue cheese on a fresh toasted Kaiser bun and an Innis and Gunn to wash it down. I'll also throw on some garlic roasted nugget potatoes.

The Beer
Innis and Gunn is a Scottish, hand-crafted oak aged beer. It is matured in oak barrels for 77 days which gives it flavors of toffee, vanilla and oak on top of the beers natural malt and fruity hop notes. It's a perfect complement to the gooey blue cheese in the burger.

You pay for quality. Innis and Gunn is only sold by the bottle. I like to drink it out of a pilsner glass so I can get the full aroma and taste. It's a cold beer, but it warms your soul.

The Burger
1-1/2 pounds Angus beef

3 ounces blue cheese, crumbled
1/4 cup minced fresh chives
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt (leave the salt out if your cheese is salty)
6 Kaiser Buns

1. In a large bowl, mix the Angus beef, blue cheese,    chives, Worcestershire sauce, black pepper, and salt. Cover, and refrigerate for 2 hours.
2. Preheat grill for high heat. Gently form the burger mixture into about 6 patties.
3. Grill patties 8-10 minutes per side, or until the internal temperature is 165 degrees.
4. When the burgers are resting, warm the buns on the BBQ and grab the garlic roasted potatoes.

I like to change up the toppings, but I keep condiments to a minimum because these burgers are so flavourful, sometimes it's a thick ring of red or Spanish onion, other times I'll slice up an avocado.
Bacon, yes please!

The Spuds
2 pounds of nugget potatoes (new, golden or red)
3 tbsp Olive oil
3 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
1 tbsp Kosher (or to taste)

1. Boil the potatoes until they are about 80% cooked.
2. Drain and cool until they can be handled and cut them in half.
3. In a large bowl, combine the oil, garlic and salt then toss in the nuggets
4. Place the potatoes cut side down in a pan that can go on the BBQ. It will have to be small enough so that you still can cook your burgers.
The potatoes take about 40 minutes to get crispy so I start them first then put my burgers on after 20 minutes.

The great thing about nuggets is that they keep their shape once cooked and cut. They are also sweeter because their sugar has not yet converted into starch.

Beer Battered Fish and Chips

                                                               

Hello I know it has been awhile, but we have been having a crazy summer between the kids and all the weddings not to mention the Restaurant Consulting.  I have finally have found time to sit-down and write again.

This year was a big learning curve for me to learn about great comfort food with awesome flavor and a twist. I felt the need to learn about the simple things again and  to go back to the basics and then to take it up a notch by finding something I could do even better to some new recipes I created this year.

So I have to begin to tell you about my favorite comfort food fish & chips. Through out this past year when I was out, I would frequently hit up a pub and one of my favorite things to order at a pub is fish and chips. Up until now I have not tried to make fish and chips at home as I don't have a deep fryer that could be used. It had been too long since I last had fish and chips and I was craving it. It was time to try making fish and chips at home!

I had seen the fish described as being beer battered on several menus and I wanted to try making beer battered fish. I went with cod for the fish but you could use pretty much any white fish such as haddock or halibut, etc. For the beer I went with Guinness and it gave the batter a nice dark color. It is very easy to make Guinness battered cod you can do it too! The batter was nice and light and crispy and the fish was moist and tender and so good! To complete the pub fish and chips experience, I serve the fish with chips, coleslaw, tarter sauce, lemons slices and of course a pint of Guinness.

Ingredients:
1 bottle beer
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 large egg(lightly beaten)
1 pound cod fillets (or halibut, or haddock, etc, cut into serving sized pieces)
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup flour
oil for frying

Directions:
1. Mix the beer, flour, baking powder, salt and egg into a batter in a bowl.
2. Season the fish with salt and pepper.
3. Dredge the fish in some flour and shake off any excess.
4. Dip the fish into the batter.
5. Fry the fish in preheated 375 Fahrenheit until cooked, about 4-5 minutes.

Sit back have a cold pint and enjoy one of my favorite comfort foods.

Tea Smoked Chicken

Ingredients

1 tablespoon Szechuan peppercorns

1 teaspoon five-spice powder

2 tablespoons kosher salt

1 pound boneless skinless chicken thighs

1/4 cup white rice

3 tablespoon Chinese black tea

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons medium-dry sherry

2 tablespoons soy sauce, preferably dark

1 tablespoon peeled and minced fresh ginger

2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil

5 scallions (white and green), thinly sliced

1/4 cup chopped peanuts

1/2 head iceberg lettuce

Sriracha sauce or other Asian chili sauce, to taste

Juice of 1/2 lime

Toast the Szechuan peppercorns in a dry skillet until fragrant, about 4 minutes. Cool slightly, and then crush in a spice grinder or mortar and pestle with the salt and five-spice powder until very fine. Rub seasoned salt all over the chicken thighs. Place in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or preferably overnight.

Bring the chicken to room temperature about 30 minutes before cooking.

Line the bottom of a wok, skillet or heavy pot with a double layer of aluminum foil. Mix the rice, tea and brown sugar together and mound on the foil. Set a steamer on top, and evenly space the chicken on the rack. Cover and cook over high heat. Hot smoke the chicken until smokey-brown colored and cooked through, about 12 minutes.

While the chicken cooks, whisk the sherry, soy, ginger, and sesame together in a small saucepan. Bring to boil over high heat, remove from heat and steep for 5 minutes. Brush over cooked chicken.

To serve: Dice the chicken into very small pieces. Toss with the scallions and peanuts in a medium bowl. Cut the lettuce leaves into 40 squares or triangular scoops. Place a drop of Sriracha on top of each lettuce cup, and top with about 2 teaspoons of the diced chicken. Squeeze lime juice over the top, and drizzle the remaining soy-ginger sauce over the chicken. Serve.

Happy New Year 2012

Happy New Year to all. Hope 2012 will bring you lots of joy, great health and good food.

What do you plan to eat more in 2012? I suggest putting your focus on whole, real foods instead of seeking out the next big superfood or eating diet.

IN: Real Butter. OUT: Margarine.

IN: Whole eggs, cage free. OUT: Egg Whites.

IN: Grass-fed meats. OUT: Processed soy protein.

IN: Sea salt. OUT: Low sodium.

IN: Healthy Fats. OUT: Fat free.

IN: Farmstead cheese. OUT: Processed factory cheese.

IN: The Family Dinner. OUT: Activities trumping meal time.

IN: Fresh produce. OUT: Excessive supplements.

IN: Portion Control. OUT: Elimination Diets.

Just some food for thought. I know that I really want to change my habits and those of my family. So begins the change....How about you?

Olives the fruit of the Gods

From time to time I attend the food and trade shows here in Vancouver. It's a great way for those of us in the industry to keep in touch with new products, technology and for me personally to see so many familiar faces. I love going up and down the isles looking at everything new or discovering things I was looking for but didn't know where to start looking.

All of a sudden I come across OLIVES. This may not be so new of an item, but I have really come to appreciate these little fruits in the last couple of years. I marvelled in how these were so fresh and had so much flavour and well 10 times better then what I have been buying in the local grocery store at times. The unfortunate thing is I can't even recommend where you can buy these from, because here I am dealing with Restaurant Wholesalers who don't sell to the public.

But my point is don't miss an opportunity to find these little gems in some Mediterranean or even little Italian store tucked away somewhere or at the fresh markets that Vancouver has to offer.Use them as a snack, cut them up in a salad, fry them with chicken or fish there is endless possibilities.

Pour yourself a glass of wine, place a small bowl in front of you and just enjoy.