Alan Crosby and I preparing to face off.

Last year I participated in the first ever “Cutting Edge Culinary Competition” organized by Taste of Nova Scotia at the Saltscapes Expo. If you hadn’t already heard, last year I was the winner of this competition. Thanks to my win I was able to walk away with a full set of Grohmann knives and a nice spread in the summer issue of Saltscapes Magazine. Despite being nine months pregnant and extremely crabby this year, I still felt the need to defend my title! I waited anxiously for the first weekend in May to roll around so that I could sharpen my knives, sharpen my skills and set out to kick some ass!

This year, I was paired against Chef Alan Crosby of White Point Beach Resort. I cannot even explain how much I looked forward to our “duel”. I arrived to find Alan already comfortably ready on the stage and looking cool as a cucumber. “Well,” I thought, “time to show him a thing or two!” We anxiously awaited to find out the contents of our “black box”. Would we be given lobster, yogurt from Fox Hill, or maybe some Blueberry juice from Van Dyk’s? Only two people knew the answer to these questions; Alain Bossé from Saltscapes Magazine and Christine White from Taste of Nova Scotia.

With pans on our burners, knives on our cutting boards and our volunteer sous chefs from the audience in place, the contents were unveiled: scallops, Farmer John’s Summer Savoury, honey, Tideview Vintage Cider and a big ‘ol green cabbage! With a look of awe on our faces, we set off to discuss our game plans with our sous chefs. I decided on making an Israeli couscous risotto with king mushrooms, fiddleheads, Tideview cider and summer savoury, pan searing my scallops and topping them off with a slaw of apple and cabbage in a honey-champagne vinegar vinaigrette. Forty five minutes on the clock and off we went! My sous chef started making the slaw and I tackled the risotto,  and took some time to entertain the crowd with my ridiculous kitchen stories. I was hoping that my cool demure would bother Alan and get him off track, but he is a true professional and came back at me with some jokes and jabs.

Our time was up, and we were ready to plate. Phil, my sous chef, had been a real trooper and helped me put the finishing touches on our plates. Alan plated up his dish; seared scallops on a double smoked bacon and cabbage hash with honey and savory roasted fingerling potatoes. His dishes looked fantastic and I suddenly felt a stab of worry as I looked on. The crowd cheered us on and with a friendly handshake, Alan and I left the stage to await the results.

Needless to say, the best man won the competition, Chef Alan Crosby! Despite hoping to land the sympathy vote due to by ginormous belly, Alan was the deserving winner! At the end of the day, we all had a blast. I look forward  next year and my next opponent.

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Nothing better than a bowl of udon!

About ten years ago, I was invited to my sister-in-laws’ parents house for a traditional Japanese meal. There in the kitchen were several generations of Taira women cooking up a storm! Udon, tempura, gyoza, teriyaki & sushi all being prepared while these women talked and gossiped. It was amazing to see them work together, rhythmically, without any communication about what was going on around them. Peggy had the udon on the go, Toyo was frying up some tempura and Aunt Lil was gossiping about the recent trip to the casino while rolling sushi. I was in culinary heaven! It was then and there that they beckoned me into this kitchen and asked me if I knew what they were doing. My response was vague, telling them that I had eaten and seen most of these things, but had never cooked them myself. Peggy and Toyo simply giggled and Aunt Lil pulled me by the arm and took me over to the stove to explain to me how the udon was made. What an education these three women gave me, and have continued to give me for years after. So, it probably  comes as no big surprise that I keep a secret stash of Japanese ingredients on hand at all times; bonito flakes, kombu, nori, tofu, wakame, edamame - you get the picture.

On a recent Sunday morning, when the thought of bacon and eggs was not even an option, I pulled out my big green Creuset and proceeded to make a big batch of udon for Doug, Zoe and I to enjoy. On this day, I made my dashi broth by cooking the kombu in water with the bonito flakes and some tamari (click here for a simple dashi recipe). While letting it cool, I cooked off my udon noodles and strained the stock. I was lucky enough to have a few fresh scallops leftover in the fridge, as well as some lobster meat – both perfect additions to the soup. I added in some shitake mushrooms, tofu, edamame and spinach and had myself a pretty amazing udon!

The great thing about udon is that you can basically add anything to it and it always tastes great! I suggest that on some blustery day, when you don’t know what to cook, have a go at making your own udon and see what combination works for you!

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Indian Point Scallop

My mother used to pride herself on her “Coquilles St. Jacques” whenever guests came over. Out came the pink, scallop shells, the tiny forks and the “good” china. I remember having my first taste and finding it salty and sweet. Scallops have played a major role in my life since my first salivating scallop moment at the age of six. While working in Toronto and Ottawa, they were always featured on my menus. While in Europe, they baffled me as I spent many hours cleaning their delicate shells and then “shucking” them. While in the Caribbean, they were shipped to me, first class, only to be gobbled up quickly by my boss. In Prince Edward Island, they were demanded by my guests, and paired with fatty, unctuous pork belly. Yes, that is my signature; scallops and pork belly. It has been on several of my menus, in several different ways, but it is always there; like a security blanket.

My usual Saturday morning these days consists of baby – baby feeding, baby changing and a baby outing to the Halifax Farmers’ Market. On this particular Saturday, I left for the market  with a purpose; Saturday night dinner. I was fortunate enough to finally get sommelier Alanna MacIntyre and her husband, Flavio, over for dinner, as well as a ‘foodie’ named David Hachey, and our usual suspects, Lekas and Shannon. So, to market to market to get a fat…scallop? Yes, there they were, staring directly at me from the stall of Mr. Peter Darnell of Indian Point Marine Farms. Peter has supplied me in the past with his meaty mussels and scallops, but on this particular day, they were so goddamn gorgeous that I had to have them! Big and meaty with their orange roe still attached; something quite rare these days. I snatched up a few pounds and started plotting my attack. Do I shuck them and serve them raw? Would I broil them with bread crumbs and cheese? Would Momma Lavallée get a phone call and a request for her Coquilles St. Jacques recipe? Nope, they were thrown into a 500F degree oven and baked in their shell until they opened, then doused with my special stash of Lungarotti Extra Virgin Olive Oil, fresh lemon juice and Maldon Salt. Alanna and David both brought over crazy amazing Chardonnays (Mazzocco from Sonoma & Springfield Estate from South Africa) that went beautifully with them. Eight bottles of wine later and a platter full of scallop shells, we finally rose from our long wooden dining table with a level of satisfaction that only be achieved by the right combination of scallops, fine wine and good friends.

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