Last Saturday I decided to participate in the Select Nova Scotia IncrEDIBLE Picnic at Alderney Landing in Dartmouth. I concocted a little dish for the event called “Clam Chaos”. Some of you may have been a part of the lucky few one who got to try it (I sold out after 3 hours). Many had asked for a recipe, so here it is!

Clam Chaos

• 5lbs clams; steamed and shucked and kept in their cooking liquid until needed

• 1 lbs snow peas; julienned
• 1 apple; julienned
• 10 radishes; thinly sliced
• 1 lbs potatoes; thinly sliced and cooked
• 1/2 cup basil; chiffonade
• 1/2 cup parley; chopped
• 1/4 cup walnut oil
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 white wine vinegar
• salt & pepper
• truffle oil; optional

Mix all the ingredients together and add the drained clams at the end. This recipe makes enough for 4 people as a main course.

Tip: Use a mandolin or Benriner to prepare the thinkly sliced or julienned ingredients. As you may already know a Benriner is one of my favourite kitchen tools. Click here for my 10 Kitchen Tools I Can’t Live Without.

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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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My view on sea urchins.

Roll back twenty years to 1989; my first encounter with the prickly sea creature known as sea urchin. I still remember the trepidation I felt as my sister’s boyfriend took it upon himself to order our sushi feed; tuna, salmon, mackerel, eel and uni. Uni? What is this uni? Does this come from the Ottawa Valley? I dare not think so! I still picture the sushi as it came to our table; there it was, an orange hued blob (the only way a fifteen year old could describe it!). The first taste surprised me; salty, slightly sweet and slimy. I also remember thinking that the flavour has a slightly funky aftertaste, one which I cannot describe in this story as I would not want to offend anyone! So, I pretty much gagged on my uni, spit it up and vowed to never, ever try this vile creature again!

Let’s fast track to 2007; I was then somewhat of a grown up (I am sure that some will beg to differ!) and had just been hired as Executive Chef of The Five Fishermen restaurant in Halifax. My new position had me excited and I was pumped about working with local ingredients that I had never worked with before. Enter Nick Budreski, my seafood guru and pal, and his magical box filled with goodies. Oysters, bay scallops and sea urchin? ‘You gotta be kidding me!’ I told him; as sea urchin was still fresh on my palate. He explained to me that these had been harvested only hours earlier, by he and his two brothers, Matt & Mike. ‘Come on’, he said, ‘just crack it open and try it’.  As my staff looked on, I felt the need to be the leader that I was being paid to be. ‘OK.’ I grabbed my knife and a cloth and proceeded to crack open the prickly sucker. Once open, a bright orange roe spilled out of the shell along with many other goodies. The roe is the only edible part of this creature, and I scooped it out with my fingers. Once in my mouth I closed my eyes, swirled it around and got those old familiar tastes; salty, sweet, and yummy? That is right! What had I been missing all these years? This was awesome! I stuck my greedy fingers in for more and encountered more nirvana. As I continued to discover the urchin, I also tasted a familiar taste; rosewater. Rosewater you ask? Yup! I was now totally hooked. ‘Budreski!’ I shouted, ‘I need more of these spiny suckers ASAP!’ Needless to say, these bad boys have made their way onto my menus on many occasions over the years.

This past week I got thirty or so urchins for a tasting menu, which gave my staff a chance to learn about these lil’ guys. When handling these urchins remember to use a cloth as their spikes can get into your hands and cause major pain!  You can crack them open with a sharp knife on the top (the side without the beak). As I mentioned before, the roe is the only edible part, and any other “stuff” is not to be ingested. I would say that 99% of the time, sea urchin is served raw, and to me, that is the best way! I have served the roe on oysters, on top of a chowder & all by itself on a crostini.

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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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Tomorrow's Lunch

I remember my first fishing trip; I was eleven years old and my dad decided to take me on the “annual” fishing trip after making much commotion about not being able to go, as I was a girl. Well, off we went on a Friday night (my brother came too) to a lake that was pristine, but also three hours away with a house that had no heat or plumbing! My adventure left much to be desired; I spent the weekend complaining about the cold and the rampant smell of farts that was coming from my brother (yes, I got my first taste of the “Dutch Oven” on this trip!). That was the last time that I attempted to fish. Many years later while living in the British Virgin Islands, I took up fishing again and enjoyed it! Perhaps it was because it was hot, and my brother was nowhere in sight. I mostly caught small, tropical fish that I didn’t want to eat, but my love affair had been sparked.

When I met my husband, one of my qualities that I told him about was my ability to fish; so as a Valentine’s gift, he got me a fishing rod. I have yet to use the rod (I always forget to bring with me), but when we went to Cape Breton a while back, he asked me if I would like to go mackerel fishing. Well, of course I did, and off we went on a sunny Saturday afternoon. Our hosts offered me a rod, but I opted to fish with a traditional hand line, something that I had never done before. Fun! Here I was, off the coast of Cape Breton, fishin’. Doug had never seen me in action, and I think he was slightly skeptical as to whether I not I could actually a fish. A few minutes later, my jigging payed off and I caught 5, count em’, 5 mackerel! I took them off the line and dropped into a bucket for grilling later.

I don’t have a specific recipe for these bejeweled beauties; we usually clean them, then grill them with olive oil, salt and pepper. Some people find the flavour to be too strong, but I find dipping the grilled flesh in some citrus aioli to be the perfect balance! Pair this with a crisp white wine, such as a l’Acadie Blanc, and you are off to the races.

Click for the full set.

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Casa Mono & Bar Jamon

I have never been a die hard fan or follower of the “celebrity chef’, but I was very curious to try out Mario Batali’s two Spanish resto’s in New York’s Grammercy Park. After a full day of walking over the Brooklyn Bridge and eating various forms of street meat, we ventured back up to our  midtown hotel to shower up and figure out our evening game plan. Bar Jamon was the first place I wanted to check out, but they did not take reservations, and Casa Mono, located right next door, had a booking cut off that we had missed. So, Doug & I decided to take are chances and head downtown towards Union Square and find these little “boites”. Along the way we met up with another “Haligonian”, Dave Kirby, and took him along on our adventure.

We arrived at Casa Mono around 8pm, and were very surprised to hear that they could fit us in with only a twenty minute wait! Woo-hoo, we had hit the jackpot! Better yet, the hostess told us that we could head next door to Bar Jamon and have some drinks while we waited. Over we went and walked into a tiny space that had two long wooden communal tables and a small marble topped stand-up bar. The wine list was extensive including a large choice of Sherries, but we opted for a cool and sparkly bottle of their house cava – Cava Mono. After taking in the small, vibrant space and drinking our Cava, we were called next door. I was sad to leave this gem, as I was dying to try some of the anchovy stuffed olives and Jamón Iberico, but I knew that a culinary adventure awaited me next door. We were seated tightly amidst a few of the dozen or so tables in the restaurant. There was a small bar that ran the length of the room and over looked the tiny open kitchen. Dave and Doug decided to leave the ordering to me, so I chose six items to share: Charcuterie Di Casa with Black Truffles, Cana de Cabra (goat’s cheese) with Fig, Pig’s Feet Croquettas with Green Tomato, Calamares Fritto, Tripe with Chickpeas and Blood Sausage and Sugar Snaps with chopped Marconas (Spanish almonds). The food was outstanding; every bite had popping tastes and textures. The only downside to our evening was that we had a limit of an hour and a half to eat, so we had to leave. My favorite was the tripe, as tripe and I have a very public love affair. The Cana de Cabra salad was also a huge hit at our table; the creamy goat cheese combined with the sweet figs paired beautifully with the last few drops of our cava.

I enjoyed my dinner at Casa Mono so much that when we haphazardly walked by the next day and saw a couple of empty spots at the bar, we bolted in and sat down like excited kids. This time around we had a more leisurely experience since we had time to enjoy every last morsel that I ordered. We tried the following items: Razor Clams a La Plancha, Flash Fried White Anchovies, Sepia (cuttlefish) A la Plancha with Salsa Verde, Pulpo (octopus) with Grapefruit and Fennel and Manchego Cheeses (3 month, 6 month and 1 year old) accompanied with a Quince Jam. Our server paired all this with an interesting wine that neither of us had tried before, Txomin Etxaniz. A perfect choice for a warm summer afternoon, this wine reminded us of a Vino Verde and left us wanting more.

My kudos goes out to Mr. Batali, as he stayed true to Spanish cuisine, and the restaurants showed no indications of being owned and operated by a “celebrity chef”; no t-shirts with orange clogs being sold here!

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A lovely lady named Jennifer Reynolds gave me a few bags of cleaned Sea Cucumber last Sunday when we were both finishing up at the Catch Seafood Festival.  Jennifer had spent some of the weekend cooking up this mysterious creature of the sea, and kindly offered me some to take home and experiment with.  My first thought was to treat it like conch and make a stew, but I opted to make a soup with the sea cucumber that incorporated some of my favorite pantry items; coriander, garlic, limes and chilies.

Doug and I sat down to our steaming bowls of sea cucumber soup and were pleasantly surprised by the taste and texture.  I hope that if anyone out there can get their grubby lil’ paws on any of this plankton eating creature, that they do so and experiment with it as I did today!  It has a sweet flavor similar to a clam, but without the saltiness and has the texture of one of my favorite foods, tripe (specifically honeycomb tripe). The following is the recipe that I came up with that stars the sea cucumber in the leading role.

Sea Cucumber Soup

• 1 onion chopped
• 3 cloves of garlic; sliced
• 1 scotch bonnet chili; minced (optional for heat lovers)
• 2 red peppers; diced
• 2 plum tomatoes; diced
• 1 cup chopped coriander – stems included
• 2 potatoes; diced
• 3 cups broth (chicken/fish/vegetable)
• 3 limes; zest and juice
• 2 cups cleaned sea cucumber
• salt & pepper to taste

Sweat the onion, garlic, chili and peppers in olive oil until translucent.  Add the sea cucumber and cook for 2 minutes.  Add the remainder of the ingredients and bring to a boil; reduce to a simmer and cook until the potatoes are tender.  Finish with a little more fresh coriander a squeeze of lime and some Matouk’s hot sauce (if you can handle it!)

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