Lobster Pierogies Recipe

Lobster Pierogies

For the Filling

Ingredients
2 lbs yellow skin potatoes ( like Yukon gold) peeled and quartered                                           2 lbs chopped Atlantic lobster meat
1/2 lbs butter                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 
½ tsp truffle oil (optional)                                                                                                        
2 tbsp chopped fresh chives

2 tbsp chopped fresh tarragon

Salt and pepper to taste

For the Pierogies Dough

Ingredients:
2 cup flour
4 ounces sour cream
2 ounces butter
1 egg
1 tbsp chopped fresh chives
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions for the Dough

1. Place flour in bowl and form a well.
2. Add remaining ingredients and mix by hand.
3. Form in a ball, wrap and refrigerate for 20 minutes.

 

Directions for the pierogies
1.Roll dough to 1/8 inch thick. Cut the dough into 2-inch circles. Wrap and set aside.
2.Boil the potatoes in salted water until tender and drain. Place through ricer and fold in the truffle oil, butter, tarragon and chives.
3. Fold in the lobster meat. Season with salt and pepper.

Stuff and pinch cook enjoy!

How do you know what spices to use?

This is one of the most common questions that I get as a chef.  My answer is usually the same and it goes like this.  “  Well, what is the best way to eat a beautiful fresh tomato from you garden?  With a little salt and maybe pepper.  So when it comes to cooking I have a few basic thoughts.  The best quality, fresh products, prepared simply and with respect.” 

That’s the short answer, but to be honest I do have a number of “go to” spices and herbs that I like to use in various aplications.  Keep in mind depending on the style of cooking that I am into at that moment, the flavours have a tendency to change. 

Some of my favourite herbs and spices are star anise, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, fresh ginger, lemon grass, kaffir lime, tarragon, chives, flat leaf parsley, cilantro, thyme, mint, dill.  I also like using interesting peppers like long pepper, sarawak pepper cubebe pepper.

Now how should we use herbs and spices? Well the first thing to remember is take it easy.  The primary flavour in any dish should be the main ingredients.  Also don’t go crazy on too many types of spices or herbs.  There are certain spices that go with certain foods.  A good book to check out for flavour pairing is called “Culinary Artistry” 

Another simple rule that I follow but has some exceptions is; lighter foods such as fish, salads and vegetables are better with the soft herbs, while the hard herbs(rosemary and thyme) can be used with meat.  The heavier red meat stands up better to the strong flavours. 

One last note.  When you are using fresh herbs, try and put them in near or at the end of cooking so you don’t lose all of the flavour.  Dry herbs and spices, need to go in around the beginning so you get the flavours out.

So how do I know what spices to use?  I guess the best answer is practice.

how to buy good kitchen knives

Frequently people, home cooks and aspiring proffesional ask me about what kind of knives are the best for them to buy.  So here is a quick insight into the world of kitchen knives.  The first thing you need to know is you really only need two maybe three knives.  Unless you like to collect them or have some really specific uses that require them you can pretty much work your way through any kitchen task with one of three knives.

The three types of knives that every cook needs are:

1.  A chef’s knife  around 8 inches

2. A paring knife less than 4 inches

3.  A serated knife ( preferably with an offset handle)

Now what brand of knives are best?  This question is not really answerable.  But I will give you some suggestions.  First of all there are basically two ways that kitchen knives are made.  The first is called stamping.  They take a piece of metal and stamp out the shape of the blade.  This type of knife is usually fairly inexpensive and very easy to sharpen.  It may not stay as sharp as long as a forged knife, but for household use and rookies in the kitchen it’s the way to go.  Some brands that I would recomend for a stamped knife are Victorinox from Switzerland and Grohmann which are made in Nova Scotia.

The second process for making knives is called forging or a forged steel knife.  Basically what they do is pound and fold the metal making many different layers so it is very strong and keeps an edge really well.  There are different types of metals and combinations of metal they use and this impacts the overall quality of the knife.  A little bit of research on your part into the type of steel used might be necessary.

Now what type of forged knife would I recomend.  Well they get a little pricey, but first of all what I don’t recomend is Wustoff or Henkel.  Mostly a personal prefferance but to be honest bang for your buck there are way better knives on the market.  My suggestion is simple.  Japanese.  Do a bit of research but Japanese knives are the best.  They have taken the methods for making samurai swords and tranfered that into knives.  Thousands of years of craftsmanship, it’s crazy to think about it.

So thats the short version, if you want some suggestions about where to find Japanese knives just ask,  I have some go too spots.

The skies have opened up and delivered unto me a forager!

Finally, I have been trying to find someone who forages around here and now after almost 2 years voila.  For those of you who don’t know what that is basiscally it is someone who forages for wild edible products.  Hopefully things workout.  Today I got some more fresh chanterelles and some stinging nettles.  Awesome

Are good chefs an endangered species?

The Great Canadian Chef, an endangered species.

It is no secret that in today’s society the celebrity chef is a very mysterious and revered specimen.  With a gazillion tv shows highlighting the brilliance of chefs and the exciting life they live it’s no wonder there are thousands of people wanting to become one.

The truth is the only place where there is a growing number of chef’s is in the home.  There is certainly no shortage of house chefs these days, everyone has a secret recipe for the best chicken, or steak or salad, trust me I’ve heard them.  The problem is that house chef doesn’t transfer very well to restaurant chef.  To be completely honest there is really very little in common.  Sure a restaurant chef is supposed to know how to cook but we all know this isn’t always the case.

I’ve had the pleasure of working all over Canada, literally from coast to coast and everywhere in between.  What I have seen is not too promising.  Truth be told the restaurant industry is experiencing a horrible talent shortage.

There are still people out there who want to become a famous chef and head off to cooking school to learn the way.  The problem is that when it’s time to get to work they get more than they expected.  Working in a proper kitchen is a lot of pressure.  There are dozens of things going on at once and you usually have a chef standing over your shoulder yelling at you to do it again.  Ever seen “Hell’s Kitchen”?  That’s not just for show.

There are many reports that blame a strong economy and growing industry for the shortage of cooks.  This may in fact be the cause of the people shortage, but the lack of “Chefs” is a combination of factors.  Many “Restaurateurs” are willing to hire, promote, and pay an individual well beyond what they are worth and what they are capable of.  Rarely is this successful.  The effect of this is that many restaurants today are moving towards “convenience foods”.  It is cheaper to buy pre cut salad or powder hollandaise than it is to hire and train someone to do it properly.  I think this is a situation where the effect is actually the cause of the problem.  These restaurants may in fact be making it worse for the industry by not providing an opportunity for young chef’s to learn proper skills

If you are someone who enjoys going to a great restaurant don’t worry, it’s not hopeless.  The answer is simple.  Step one, everyone who has never worked in a restaurant before and has no idea what it really takes to operate one, stop trying to operate one.  Step two, all of you who go to restaurants, start questioning what you are being served and demand quality prepared food.  That means refusing to eat food that comes frozen in a bag and thrown in the microwave and slopped on a plate with a sauce that was a powder only minutes before.  Step three, I’m not sure what that is yet but steps one and two are a good start.

Trust me when I say that if we don’t do something soon, there may come a day when we can’t enjoy a quiet evening in a restaurant for all the microwaves beeping in the kitchen.

Remember, good food…it’s all about the details.

Classic French Moose Recipe?

 

Game Meat Choucroute Garni 

Yield: Makes 8 servings

Ingredients

• 2 ¾ lbs or 1 ¼ kg corned Moose cooked
• 3 lbs or 1 ¼ kg Game Sausage ( use a variety if you have it)
• 8 oz or 250 g double smoked gourmet bacon cut crosswise into 1-inch strips pieces
• 1 tbsp or 15 ml duck fat or whole butter
• 2 large onions, chopped
• 1 tsp or 5 ml juniper berries 
• 1 tsp or 5 ml whole black peppercorns
• 4 Yukon gold potatos peeled
• 2 cloves of garlic peeled
• 8 corriander seeds
• 8 anise seeds
• 3 bay leaves
• 3 granny smith apples, peeled, cored, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 2 2-lbs or 1 1 kg jars sauerkraut, rinsed 6 to 7 times and squeezed dry
• 2 cups or 500 ml Alsatian Pinot Blanc or Reisling
• 2/3 cup or 150 ml chopped fresh parsley
• Assorted mustards

Preparation

Preheat oven to 450 F or 210 C.

Wash choucroute 6 to 7 times under cold water, squeezing choucroute well, changing water in between.

In a large saucepan over medium heat sweat onions in duck fat.

Add half of the choucroute and spices.

Add bacon and garlic.

Cover the meat with remaining choucroute and spices and apples.

Add Riesling and a little coarse salt.

Bring to a simmer, cover with a lid and continue to cook on stovetop for two-hours, stirring occasionally.

After one and a half hours add the corned moose.

Boil or steam the potatoes until fork-tender. Keep warm.

Bring a pot of water to a boil and reduce to a simmer.

Prick Sausages with a knife or fork and place in simmering water to heat thoroughly. Do not boil or sausages may burst.

In an ovenproof fry pan over medium-high heat, add sausages and. Sear all sides and place in oven for 2 to 3 minutes, or until cooked.

To serve: Remove meat and thinly slice.

On a large serving platter or on individual plates spread choucroute.

Place sliced meat and sausages on top.

Add potatoes sprinkle chopped parsley and accompany with Dijon or grainy mustard.

Eating on the road

When your traveling where do you like to eat?  Are you a person who goes to a chain fast food restaurant or do you try and find the local greasy spoon or ma and pap café?  I think there is a way to determine what kind of person chooses one or the other.  The same kind of person who will stay at a B&B is more likely to look for that unique dining experience where chain motels and franchise burgers are like peanut butter and jam.

 

     I was thinking about this question last week when I was sitting on the beach at an all-inclusive resort in the Domincan Republic.  This was the first vacation that I took in almost ten years, and my first all-inclusive experience.  I wasn’t really sure what to expect getting into it, and to be completely honest I didn’t really care.  All I knew was lying around on the beach for a week sounded really good. 

    

     Overall my vacation was more than I could ask for.  However being the guy that I am and unable to turn off my food-o-meter I had a few thoughts that I wanted to share.  It occurred to me sometime between the breakfast buffet, lunch buffet, afternoon buffet, supper buffet and midnight snack that the quality of the dining experience being offered wasn’t necessarily the prime objective of the resort operators.  It wasn’t horrible but I would liken it to a weird version of a North American Chain restaurant.  By that I mean that it was obviously geared towards a demographic that is not what we call in the biz “food savvy”.  The experience made me realize how much weight I put on being able to relate to the local culture through food. 

    

     It is quite a shame that in our fast food society even our vacations have fallen victim.  We go to another country simply to be treated the way we would expect here, and eat the food we would expect here.  I felt an extreme disconnect to where I was.  I also felt that I was denying myself the experience of other people and their culture. 

    

     One day we got off the resort and went on a Safari tour.  When we were driving around I saw carcasses of beef hanging outside shops in 86 F sun. Certainly those types of food handling standards are highly illegal in Canada but I wanted to try it. 

Our tour guide joked with us about being served iguana for lunch, and while everyone else on the trip ooooed, I thought he was serious and was excited to try something new.              

 

     After a few days of thought I realized something about our culture. We always claim to want something different, but most of us really just want another version of what we already have.

      Next year I think that I will likely trade in the all-inclusive beach resort for a backpack and a hostel.  If I’m lucky I might even get to try that Iguana.