Adventures in the Spice Market

In the fall of 2010. My wife and a couple of our friends planned a trip to New York City.

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Each of us had a chance to pick one activity they would like to do while there so naturally my choice was a culinary experience in NYC. After a bit of research I decided that the Jean-Georges' Spice Market in the meat packing district was a good choice. Originally I considered his namesake restaurant, but heard that it could be a little cramped at times, plus it would be nice to try his Asian fusion menu.

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I think it's safe to say that everyone was pleased with my selection. The decor was warm and inviting, the waitstaff courteous and professional, and the food...exquisite. We agreed on the Tasting menu. Among the dishes were:

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• Shaved Tuna with Chile Tapioca, Asian Pear and Lime
• Chili Rubbed Beef Skewers with Thai Basil Dipping Sauce
• Char Grilled Chicken with Kumquat Lemongrass Dressing
• Cod with Malaysian Chili Sauce
• Ginger Fried Rice
• Thai Jewels on Crushed Coconut Ice
• Chocolate and Vietnamese Coffee Tart with Condensed Milk Ice Cream.

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I'm sure I'm forgetting something but never the less, an unforgettable dining experience. Not to mention the delicious and (literally) intoxicating pitchers of Ginger Margarita's we were drinking, made it a perfect afternoon's feast and a memorable New York experience.

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As we were leaving the restaurant, I noticed a cookbook in the lobby called Asian Flavors of Jean-Georges . Could all of the miraculous dishes that we tasted be in this beautiful book? If not all, then most seem to be in there. My wife insisted we buy this book, but after dropping so much money on lunch on the first day of our NYC adventure. I thought I'd hold off until we got home to check out the price online.

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Now, I own a lot of cookbooks; more than my little condo can hold. I've even made my own out of recipes I've gathered out of magazines and websites so the thought of buying another wasn't so appealing to me. So I decided to see if our trusty Toronto Public Library had the book in it's system. It did. I reserved it. And in a matter of days I had the book in my eager little hands free of cost for 3 weeks, no shelf space required. A good way to try out some recipes without committing.

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Initially I thought I'd just jot down the recipes that we had in NY and see if I could re-recreate them. But with the turning of each page, I found more and more recipes that looked too good to resist. So, bottom line, I ended up typing out 2/3 of the book, with my wife's persistent

urging to "Just buy the dang book!".

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So with the wealth of recipes, full of ingredients I've never used. How could I justify all that time wasted typing out all these wonderful recipes? Have a dinner party of course. An elaborate Thai fusion dinner party to re-produce the wonderful experience of the Spice Market. I sent out an invite to 8 of my more adventurous friends. And then it dawned on me. I'll be cooking for 10 people. 3 of which are vegetarian, 1 of which has a gluten sensitivity, and at least one that cannot handle excessive heat. What have I gotten myself into?!?!

The odyssey begins.

Turkey Stock 2010

Three days of brining, chopping and roasting

The holidays are over and with them this year's turkey dinner. The bird was largely a success, but with some definite lessons for future birds. Especially in the stuffing department. As I mentioned before, I was making the bird at my in-laws place in Halifax, and being a stranger in a strange land left plenty of time for working up a recipe and a plan of attack. As always, I wrote out all the recipes by hand. A little trick I developed first just to copy recipes out of books so as not to ruin them, how many sticky or warped pages are the result of this. And secondly, as a sort of dress rehearsal for the actual day by working out the recipes from prep chopping to cooking schedules so that everything comes out hot at the same time. It gives me the impression that I just made the dish a few days ago rather than a year. So there is a greater confidence in the kitchen, especially a foreign one.

Day 1

Shopping and Brining

The bird was on it's third day of thawing in the neighbor's fridge (long story), still a little frozen which turned out to be a blessing by the end of the day. So today was Brine Day. But first...Shopping!!! Big lesson learned, when working in someone else's kitchen, you never know what they have in their pantry and more importantly how fresh it is. So rather than take inventory, I went to the Bulk Barn where I could get the exact amounts of ingredients I need for the recipes and little goes to waste. And the rest of the goods I picked up at the Superstore, except for ginger and wild mushrooms which were a bit too exotic for the SS so we took a special trip to some organic fruit place for those . The brine was my old faithful Apple Cider brine I suspect I picked up from Canadian Living Magazine years ago. I used the sweet cider, not the hard cider as recipe originally asks for. I've tried both and enjoy the sweetness and the golden colour the non alcohol cider gives the bird. But I've included a combination of both in the recipe.

Day 2
Stuffings!!!

This year, I did something I thought I'd never do. As a kitchen purist I thought if it doesn't involve the turkey, I'm not doing it. But something inside me wanted to make both a meat lovers AND a vegetarian stuffing. Why? who knows, maybe I just wanted to try two different stuffings and needed and excuse. My original plan was a Sausage and Sourdough Bread Stuffing for the meaties, and a Wild Rice and Mushroom Stuffing for the veggies. using the same base and herb mix for both to save myself some work. But at the last minute I made some changes that I would later regret.
Mistake #1
Something made me think that a good substitute for a nice country sausage would be pepperoni. And I'm not even talking about good quality dried stuff. I'm talking about the big processed one's that give you a headache after eating a slice. Why? I thought "well, since there is literally a Pizza joint on every street in Lower Sackville, they must really love their pizza, So why not make the stuffing taste like pizza?" I guess playing to the crowd never really works out and it didn't work out in this case. When you're eating something as subtly flavoured as turkey. The overpowering processed taste of cheap pepperoni really doesn't work. Strike one!!! Although I have to admit, a couple of days later, on it's own. I did mind it. If I added some hunks of mozzerella and a squirt of ketchup I might be on to a whole new pizza cuisine. I'll open a shop in between Pete's Pizza and Frank's Pizzeria.
Mistake #2
Wild Rice seemed a little bland in my mind, so I thought I'd try a Cornbread stuffing instead. Making a pan cornbread from scratch was easy enough. And on it's own tasted fine. But once again when relating to the subtlety of the bird. the cornbread flavour was too strong and the texture too grainy. Strike 2. And I can't say it got any better with time.

I tried my best to get both stuffings done the day before but once again working in someone else's kitchen led to unforeseen difficulty. And then we went to mass.

Day 3
Game day

Getting up bright and early on Christmas day, I got the bird out of the brine and dried it off and continued working on the stuffing and my bird rub. A version of my Paprika/Fennel dry rub and butter. Next time I think I'll use olive oil or melted butter because it will clump if the bird isn't completely dry. I left the bird out for an hour thinking it's dry enough. On the outside yes, under the skin, not so much. But I managed to rub the bird inside and out. Popped it into the oven covered in foil. I've decided not mess with changing temps, rotating the bird, or any other tricks for a crispier skin. With the marinade the bird will stay juicy and the rub will make the skin crispy enough. 350 is where the temp stayed throughout. Meanwhile I worked on the stuffing amongst the present openings. And I couldn't have timed the bird more perfectly because it was done just in time for dinner. Resting time and all. I was happy with the results this year. A well cooked bird. The colour was wonderful. My wife has a picture of it somewhere but she hasn't given me a picture she's taken in the last 3 years so let's not hold our breath. Suffice to say. The results were well received.

So This Christmas Bird was a success, the stuffing not so much, next year I'll stick to a bread stuffing. Maybe I'll try the wild rice and mushroom. But I've also learned a lot this year. One thing I learned is if you don't have a baster, just tilt the pan to one side and ladle the juices over the bird. Try to keep the bird from touching the side of the pan, because the bird will cook unevenly. Sharp knives and fridge space are invaluable. And last, although I may forget the specific reasons I decided this over time, I will never make Christmas dinner in anyone's house other than my own. Cooking in someone else's kitchen is a nightmare. And because, as Arron Sorkin wrote in the Social Network "the internet is not written in pencil. It's written in ink." I'll keep my reasons to myself and though they may fade away, I will look back at this blog posting and hopefully past Christos can remind present Christos why he had to stop.

Merry Christmas Everybody!!!

Holiday Bird Take 3

Well the time has come upon us. I have commited to make the Christmas turkey once again. And as of yet, haven't done any research into what I am going to do to the bird. My first attempt was a bit of a letdown, burnt the skin in the first hour. So non of that high initial heat stuff for me, I'm all about the foil til the last hour, also the brine made the gravy salty.Last year was a complete success. I think largely due to the fact that I did it in my own kitchen with all handy tools and no distraction. Focused, well thought out and properly timed. Sorrily, I didn't document it in any way so I have nothing to blog for it. Basically I brined the bird, rubbed a butter,herb and spice mixture under the skin and on it for the most gloriously browned bird you've ever seen. and I think I went with a sourdough stuffing. Don't want to stray too much this time around but like I said I haven't set my eyes on anything new. I'll check my American Thanksgiving newsletters and see what pops out, if anything.

Soup: Not you again!

After a long day of Christmas shopping and holding off on mall junk food binging. I go grocery shopping because I am going away for the holidays. So I have to finish what is left in the fridge. And out of the kindness of her heart, my wife has made a healthy mixed bean soup. Well, made as in she bought a package of pre-made(grrrr) dry soup mix from The Big Carrot (so you know it good).
Soup; there are good ones out there. My mom's greek lentil soup called "Faki" is equally good hot or cold, and gets better as the flavours meld together every passing day. But unlike my mother who puts flavour first, my wife's oh so healthy and easy soups tend to be....bland. Where is the slow sweating of the onions, celery, garlic. The richly flavoured broth with, if I'm lucky, has the gelatinous richness of a good chicken stock (which I have frozen in my freezer for such soup emergencies.)
But I know health is important and to tell you the truth the issue here is not the flavour. I can stomach a healthy, rich in folate and fibre organic soup on a weeknight meal with a wedge of cheese and a bit of bread. It's the quantity that kills me. I've got about 6 servings of this stuff and nothing else to eat.
Why does it seem that the people who try to stuff you full of "healthy" foods tend to eat out a lot more and rely on pre-mades more than us true omnivores. My wife is presently enjoying lunch at Fresh while I'm here stuck with wet legumes. And believe me I'll probably be the one finishing them off... Was that a tangent? oh well. I guess I'm just trying to put of the soup eating.

So to soup I say you're welcome to visit. But don't pack an overnight bag.

Mac n' Cheese Without the Cheese?

When it comes to cooking I believe in the truth, real ingredients for real food. No lo-fat alternative made of artificial substances, no pre-made time saver. Hell, I won't even use pre-made sausages in a dish because I consider that cheating. So when someone suggested to me that there is a non-dairy cheese alternative that was not processed beyond recognition. but actually an all natural product, I was skeptical, and when I found out it was yeast, I was a little grossed out.

But this is no ordinary yeast, it is Nutritional Yeast Flakes. and unlike Active dry yeast, it is dead, or rather, deactivated, having been grown on molasses and sugarcane, then laid to rest. and in passing has a nutty cheese-like flavour.
Kudos on the first soul to try a spoonful of this stuff.

So I was intrigued, ever on the hunt for a different take on something familiar, more to prove that there is no replacing the original than anything else. I picked up a tub of flakes and tracked down a recipe for the cheesiest of all cheesy dishes. The classic homemade Mac n' Cheese. I tracked down a couple of recipes online, amalgamating them, and to my surprise, not only was it easy to make but damn tasty. Now, I'm not going to say it's as tasty as the real deal, but I will say that Vegan mac n' cheese is to homemade MnC what what homemade Mac is to Kraft dinner. Maybe not as flavourful but probably a lot better for you. And as a former KD junkie, I have come a long way.

The recipe is similar to the classic, Start by making your pasta and straining it when done.

Then to the sauce starting with a roux of equal parts non-hydrogenated margarine and spelt flour.

Next, add water with flavour enhancement of salt, mustard, tumeric and hot sauce,

tasting it at this point you get a savoury yet empty taste but once the yeast is added,

the whole sauce become this rich full flavoured magic that has me thinking of how many other ways I can use this magical sauce.

Mix half the sauce with macaroni, then pour the rest on top.

I used brown rice mac just to go completely wheat free as well and you won't believe how utterly edible this faux comfort food can be.





I have just made my third batch of the stuff and just ran out of yeast. but believe me, I will add it to my shopping list from now on.


So as a fan of real food where would I place this? There is not an artificial flavour in this dish, nothing pre-made or highly processed. So yes, it is real by my standards. The only thing unreal about it is to call it mac n' cheese but the alternative Mac n' Yeast isn't as appealing. So I'll stick with MnC for now, until I come up with a word that defines the amazing flavour of the sauce better. Maybe Mac n Crazy Good?

Christos's Classic Cookbook: Mains is Complete!!!

I like most foodies love cooking magazines. And at certain point the time comes where the collection of these magazines becomes overwhelming. I don't want my shelves cluttered with them but I can't bear to throw them away. So I decided to clip the best recipes I could find and catalogue them in a binder. And so the C.C.C. was born. This was roughly 3 years ago and I'll have to admit I have been working on it sparatically. So the clipping began and as I was cutting out the recipes I have been collecting for possibly the past 10 years from magazines and the internet. I soon realized I was "going to need a bigger boat" So I broke them up into Volumes. As of right now there are 4. Appetizers, Vegetables, Mains, and Desserts. Knowing that over time I will be adding and removing recipes I catalogued the pages in groups of ten rather than numbering each page. As the years go on I will keep on adding to the collection So I may break it down into even more Volumes, Pastas, Fish, etc. But as of this morning I am happy to say it is complete. Over 240 pages of Breads, Soups, Pastas, and Meats,Condiment, Rubs, and Sauces. All in one go-to book. Now onto Appetizers, or maybe Desserts. That one seems like it's going to be a big one.

Makeshift Falafel with Donahini Sauce

I omitted this important step in the recipe, Pulse chickpeas in the processor on their own first before adding other ingredients!!! Now back to your regularly scheduled blog entry.

My wife has been soaking chickpeas for three days.
She intended on making a healthy soup to torment me with but it was a busy week for her so it never happened. So what does one do with fermenting chickpeas? Make Falafels!!!
The chickpeas were re-hydrated to the point that they were getting soft. This is exactly what is required for falafels. I found this out just as we were beginning to boil the garbanzos out of them. So I immediately pulled the peas off the fire, drained them and into the processor they went, I had no fresh parsley and trying to get through the entire day without taking off my track pants, I opted for about 2-3 tbsps of dried parsley I had, up until now any homemade falafel I made came from a box so if dried parsley was good enough for me then, it would do now. along with the other ingredients I cobbled together, and then baking them instead of frying (I know, I know, but we ordered in the night before and I think I passed my greasy goodness quota. (BTW, Orderit.ca + Sammy's Eatery = good times)I managed to make a pretty decent tasting Falafel, better the next day if left out for a few hours, the baking doesn't get them as crispy as frying but air drying remedies that.

Online on Saveur magazines site I saw a Tahini sauce which I have had and found just a touch too bitter for my liking. So instead I took a note from the Donair shops on Pizza Corner in Halifax, For their Donairs they use a sweet sauce made of condensed milk and sugar which for those of use you are use to Tahini was gross at first but then became somewhat addictive. So I made a hi-bred Donair-Tahini sauce for us which I dubbed the "Donahini" Sauce.

On a sad note we bought some "Pita Break" multigrain pitas from our local Metro which kinda got me thinking about Falafels in the first place. But alas they were completely mouldy less than a week after buying them. Way to go Metro. So we made due with some toast and salad. But overall very pleased and will do it again as soon as I buy some more parsley and onions and oversoak some more chickpeas.