It’s been just about a year since my trip to Vietnam.  With friends there, I think of it often.  And fondly.  I haven’t tried any more Vietnamese recipes since moving to Vancouver, but I haven’t much tried any recipes, really.  Vancouver’s dining options make it so easy for me not to cook.   Especially when so many of the options are so good.

But anyway, back to my story.  The grey of Vancouver is like the cold of Edmonton.  It gets to you in January and you long for something else.  Like Vietnam in February.  I’ve had some bare bones Vietnamese here—dodgy pho et al—like I got at home.  But, what I’ve been craving to wash away the Vancouver grey is the colour and perfume of the fresh food that embraced you every day on the streets of Vietnam.

I caught a little whiff of that tonight when at Chau Kitchen and Bar.  Although not really “authentic” Vietnamese, I could taste Vietnam.  I liked what I tasted.  A lot.

Two of us shared four dishes:  papaya salad, pork and mint salad rolls, jungle vegetable curry, and caramel pork.

I will order all again and have a number of other dishes I would like to try.  The pork was almost the same as the version I had when in the Mekong Delta.

Thanks to Chau, I can happily say ciao to January.
(I’m sorry, I had to.)

Along the Mekong.

Chau Kitchen and Bar
1500 Robson St
Vancouver

Remember how I loved my Momofuku Milk Bar experience so much?

The Momofuku Compost Cookie

I finally got around to trying my hand at recreating the Compost Cookie experience.
Verdict:  failure.  But, not because my cookies were icky.  They just did not taste like the original.  But given that I have a small apartment oven, made up my own recipe and am not a pastry chef of great provenance, I done just fine.

I wanted to keep my first attempt simple.  No crumbs or grounds.  (I also know too many non-coffee drinkers.)  Butterscotch chips can be hard to come by, so I added peanuts.  Next time, I would add more of everything.  I had about two cups of add-ins, but I easily could have increased that to three.  Another “aw, shucks” moment came when I bit down on decidedly uncrisp potato chips and pretzels.  I have no clue how the ones in the original stay so crispy!

In any case, what follows is one of my favourite drop cookie batters—note the lack of white sugar.  To ensure I always get chewy cookies, I underbake by just under a minute.  Freezing is fine.  I actually love cookies just out of the freezer.  After a defrost of about ten minutes, I am in cold dough heaven…
(Remnants of my childhood eating English Bay batter out of the fridge.)

My Compost Cookie

2/3 cup melted butter
2 cups lightly packed brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tablespoons hot water
2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2-3 cups add-ins (such as chocolate, nuts, pretzels, potato chips)

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.
In a large bowl, beat melted butter, brown sugar, eggs and hot water until smooth.
In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir into butter mixture until blended.
Stir in add-ins. Drop onto ungreased/parchment cookie sheet.
Bake 8 to 10 minutes. Let cool 1 minute, then move to wire rack.

I was fourteen when I went to Italy.  At the time, I could appreciate little more than gelato, cobblestone streets and glimpses of David’s naughty bits.  My true romance with Italy did not fully hit until I started learning the language in university.  So since then, I have longed to go back.  As this longing has grown and my palate developed, I can now understand why I favour Italian cuisine so much:   simplicity.  And not in the sense that it’s not worth going out for because you can make the dishes at home.  Good Italian food is not based around tasteless tomatoes, wilted basil, and mushy pasta…  crimes often committed by both the professional and home cook.  Good Italian food is the best ingredients combined simply to taste amazing.

Flipping through the pages of a Christmas present reminded me of this.  The recipes in David Rocco’s Dolce Vita are all based on only a handful of ingredients.  The sweet life is such because it’s not fussy.  It’s bread dipped in olive oil, biscotti in vin santo.  That’s amore.

When tasked with a dip for New Year’s Eve, I looked to David for inspiration.  I tinkered a bit and was proud of the results.  Creamy, cheesy, SIMPLE.   Quite cozy on the snack table with the other treats and the midnight bubbly.

Happy New Year!

Ricotta Dip
1 454-g tub of ricotta cheese
Small log of goat cheese
3 cloves of garlic, minced (roasted is preferable)
Zest of one lemon
2 teaspoons of extra virgin olive oil
Salt and black pepper, to taste

Mix all ingredients well and smooth into serving dish or bowl.  [Can be chilled in advance at this stage.]
Before serving, drizzle with more olive oil and top with more s&p.

I love Christmas. The baking, the smells, the sounds, and that warm nostalgic feeling that always creeps in. On a cold a snowy Edmonton day, while listening to the musical styling of Bing’s “White Christmas”, we decorated the tree. A fresh and lovely smelling pine, little white lights, peacock feathers, the little 1950’s flower rings on the lights that were once on my Dad’s Christmas tree as a child, and all the ornaments that I have been collecting since my very first Christmas. My sweet mother always had an ornament for each of us to mark each year. My favourite remains the little wiry doll with matted auburn hair in a blue gingham dress from my first Christmas in 1974 . She goes on the tree first every year. The little tulle fairies circa 1910 that were once on my Grandmother’s tree run a close second, and hanging them on the tree this year I was reminded that this will be our first Christmas without her.

Lovely Irene was a fiercely independent, joyful, strong, and talented woman who lived a full 99 years of spitfire life. An outdoors woman with a love for a nature, a nice glass of rye at happy hour, and a dirty joke or two, she was a light in our lives. Irene was a meticulous cook with many gifts in the kitchen and a panache for entertaining. As we said farewell to her this year, we carried on a tradition that ended many a tipsy gathering at her house where the neighbours would roll down the alleyway still singing “Goodnight Irene” after a night of delicious food, drink, and company. It was bittersweet.

So this year, it is with extra gratitude that I pull out her little hand written recipe cards to prepare the things that taste like Christmas to me…things that were always made with love by her hands. The first is her Traditional Christmas Carrot Pudding with Vanilla Sauce. This rich, sweet, spiced, steamed carrot cake is so tender and delicious. It warms the air in the house with smell of all things Christmas. My second essential is Butter Tarts…made with currants and NEVER raisins, loads of butter, and a touch of cream. They are sweet and delicious and magically disappear. This year as I grate the carrots, and whip the butter, I know her spirit is near.

Christmas Carrot Pudding with Vanilla Sauce

For the Pudding:

1 cup grated raw carrot

1 cup grated raw potato

1 cup flour, plus 1 tbsp

1 cup sugar

3/4 cup raisins

1/2 cup currants

1/2 cup dried cherries

1/2 cup butter

1/2 tsp ground cloves

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp baking soda

2 large cleaned and buttered tin cans ( I use large tomato cans)

Cream the butter and sugar to a smooth paste. Add the grated carrot, half of the grated potato, and mix well. In a separate bowl, mix dried fruits and the tablespoon of flour to lightly coat the fruit, and add it to the first mixture. Sift the one cup of flour together with the spices and add to the mixture blending lightly. Dissolved the baking soda in the remaining half cup of grated potato and add it to the mixture last, lightly combining all the ingredients.

Fill buttered cans with batter leaving an inch and a half at the top. Cover with parchment and tie tightly with string. In a large pot ( I use a pasta pot) boil water so that the cans are just submerged at the bottom, cover tightly, and steam for 3 hours or more.

For the Vanilla Sauce:

2 tbsp butter

2 tbsp Flour

1 1/4 cups hot milk

dash of salt

3 tbsp Sugar

3/4 tsp vanilla extract

In a small saucepan, melt butter and whisk in flour over medium heat. Do not brown the butter or flour but cook gently for a minute. Add hot milk and gradually stir over direct heat until mixture thickens. Add sugar and salt. Cover tightly and cook on top of a double boiler for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and add vanilla.

To serve:

Spoon warm cake out of tins into bowls and top with the warm vanilla sauce!

Butter Tarts

1/3 cup butter

1 cup brown sugar

2 tbsp cream

1/2 cup currants

1 egg, beaten

1 tsp vanilla extract

24 tart shells

Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees. Mix butter and brown sugar together. Add cream, currants, egg, and vanilla and combine. Spoon into pastry about 3/4 full. Bake at 450 degrees for 8 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake until pastry is golden brown. Cool and serve.

“Irene good night, Irene good night,
Good night Irene, good night Irene,
I’ll see you in my dreams.”

On a day like today, where Vancouver has a dusting of snow and Edmonton is in the midst of a deep freeze… I am quite happy where I am, thank you very much.
But cool temperatures fill me with warm memories of people I love and miss.  And cool air still puts me in the mood for food that comforts.

“Plain spaghetti” as a child meant cooked noodles bathed in salted butter and dusted with Kraft parmesan from the green shaker.  As an adult, it means spaghetti aglio e olio—garlic and oil.  It’s not a difficult endeavour and besides knowing that chilies, pecorino and Italian parsley are involved, it’s quite literally what it proposes to be.

One of the great things about Edmontonians is that we tend to rally around hometown heroes and heroines when they do good so that they continue to do good.  Daniel Costa is a great local chef who made me crave Da Capo salads and pizza and has recently upped the ante with pub food at Red Star.  I used his recipe for this dish, and included a splash of white wine as he suggested.  Although I did not use anchovies.  Delicious and comforting all the same.

Stay warm, Edmonton.

Bigger cities mean more people.  Often, you’re also looking at more people in a small area; more bustle.  More bustle means more running into people, rubbing shoulders, more earshot.  I like that.   Especially at restaurants.  It reminds me of New York.   So, while here in Vancouver I’ve particularly enjoyed meals at small restaurants that are too tight and naturally, too loud.   Right or wrong, I attach the buzz of such places to the buzz of urbanity and want to return again and again.  That is why I bring up La Quercia (The Oak) again.
Small, tight, loud.
Excellent food—that happens to be Italian.

For my first visit, my party and I ate our way through 9, n-i-n-e, courses.  This time, I noticed you could do a 5- or 9-course family style set menu. Remembering my previous food baby… my dining date and I chose the 5-course menu.   As the kitchen takes your food allergies and aversions into consideration, what follows is the perfect fresh and seasonal menu created just for our table.  I noticed that the table over did 9 courses and had none of the same dishes as us.  Methinks that’s pretty cool.

Some days I dream about those perfect soft, but supportive pasta pillows.  Other days I want to savour little spoonfuls of that light-as-air soufflé.  All days usually require a moment where I want to twirl al dente spaghetti.

House-smoked trout

Parmigianno souffle

Fennel salad with walnuts and blue cheese

Spaghetti ai frutti di mare

Gnocchi with walnuts and gorgonzola

Ruby trout with chanterelle sauce

Saffron and quince tart, chocolate mousse, tiramisu

Dreams can become reality:  I already have another reservation.

La Quercia
3689 West 4th Avenue
Vancouver

I’ve had the privilege of having some pretty terrific jobs the past few years.  Terrific not only in the fact that experience brought me to an exciting opportunity here in Vancouver, but because I’ve met some amazing people and lifelong friends along the way.  I’m happy to say that I’ve lucked out again in this regard.
To introduce me to a popular dining spot, some coworkers took me out to Baru Latino Restaurante one Friday eve.  I can’t say much more beyond the food was very good and the house specialty-ceviche-was outstanding.  Oh yes, and Vancouver Magazine’s recommendation of last year to try the arepa con chorizo was a good one.

Plantain, cassava and yam chips

Baru ceviche

Arepa con chorizo

Guava quesadilla

Why can’t I say much more?  Because I was too busy enjoying an evening out with new friends to pay too much attention to the food… beyond taking photos with my sangria goggles on, that is.

Baru Restaurante Latino
2535 Alma St
Vancouver

It took me almost two months to turn my oven on.

After the upheaval of a move, a new city, and a new job, I’ve found little energy to do much beyond cereal and toasted bagels for myself at home. For a few weeks I’ve thought about turning that little dial and crossing fingers for proper calibration. In preparation, I have slowly been building up my kitchen arsenal.
Perhaps the death knell of the weekend finally roused me. Because it was a Sunday night of all times that I decided to take the plunge and bake. Cookies.

Quick to drum up and certainly not complicated-how come cookie recipes are never listed under “One Dish Dinners”?-these peanut butter and chocolate chip gems have all the cookie attributes I prefer: soft, not too sweet, and guaranteed to please workmates the next day when they’re left in the office kitchen.
That is, it’s one thing if I like my own cookies, but if others do as well, I’m a very happy girl. I’m sure I have said that before.

Did I mention that they are also topped with fleur de sel?

You’re not something these days if you haven’t been topped with fleur de sel.

First we welcomed fat back into our lives, then salt. Thank god.

Whenever I think of food trends, I think of that line in When Harry Met Sally when Jess says that he wrote about how pesto is the quiche of the 80s. Is fleur de sel the quiche of 2008 or 2009? Truffle oil had to be the year before that, no?

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies with Fleur de Sel

The recipe is from Whole Foods.
This was the second time that I’ve made them and I made one tweak: milk chocolate chips instead of dark.
I also think it’s important to use a natural peanut butter (simply peanuts and salt, such as the Adam’s brand). I always have chunky on hand.

The beauty of a big city is choice.  Especially a big American city.  When it comes to food and restaurant choices, New York is very comfortable assuming a Top Dog place. Having been there a few times now, I must admit that New York is less of a foodie heaven for me now.  Not because there isn’t good food, but because you know it’s everywhere.  So, it’s simply about making a choice.  I tend to get more excited searching and trying to separate the wheat from the chaff—that’s the Edmontonian in me, I think.  And because visiting there for me is now more about spending time with good friends and feeding off New York’s unrelenting energy, I’m less concerned with my choices.  With so many, you make good, you make bad, but in the end, you’re always in a city that is a feast for the eyes. This visit, some previous favourites solidified their status in my life more because of nostalgia than for what was served.  Some new tries were fun, but not necessarily requiring a return or recommend.  I’ll make a giant leap to say that perhaps it’s a sign of the economic times that the best tastes of the week were the comforting ones that came from Dumont in Williamsburg; pear and parsnip soup, a burger and fries, and an amazing mac ‘n’ cheese warmed some souls on a lovely fall evening.

The seeking out of specific spots happened more often during the day when I was wandering alone.  And this seeking out was about two things:  sandwiches and ice cream.  I’ve been craving these a lot lately (or always) and being in New York meant that I could easily find some delicious options.  I find great pleasure in a good sandwich.  Nice bread, fresh fillings, the right amount of chew, two-fisted without being insurmountable.  It’s surprising to me how hard getting these attributes can be at times.  Not in New York, however. In addition to Bread and Snack for some yummy sandwiches, I made a trip to the Hampton Chutney Co. in Soho for what essentially is a South Indian sandwich:  the dosa.  Since being introduced to Hampton Chutney a few years ago, it’s become a place I must make my way to when in New York.  Although nowhere near authentic in terms of fillings, the crepes themselves are as crispy and chewy as they should be and the accompanying chutneys always fresh.

Fontina & grilled veg at Bread

Seasonal dosa with mint and pumpkin chutneys

I have no problem admitting that I’m a big fan of Tasti-D-Lite.  I never say no to soft-serve treats and because I grew up in the 80s around all things sugar-free, my palate is completely immune to chemical aftertastes.  That being said, I had none this journey because I had my sights set on more exciting options.

At the Shake Shack in Madison Square Park, I had my first try of frozen custard.  It’s correctly described as the meeting of soft serve and hard ice cream:  the give of hard ice cream with the texture of soft serve.  I loved my cone of that day’s flavour, salted caramel.

Another soft-serve adventure was to Milk Bar, of the Momofuku clan.  Essentially the clan’s dessert outpost, the Milk Bar has quite a following for its cakes and pies, delicious cookies (the Compost variety I tried were crazy good), and inventive soft-serve flavours.  On offer were sweet and salty cucumber, watermelon, horchata, and cereal milk—and guessing what flavour of cereal it is that day is part of the fun.  I sampled what I’m sure was Corn Pops.  I think my afternoon treat of horchata soft serve was one of the highlights of my trip.  Especially as it complemented my walk around the East Village on a warm, fall day.

Gelato is a form of frozen milk I can never say no to.  So, knowing that I would be on the Upper West Side one afternoon, I made my way to Grom, a chain from Italy.  Creamier than most gelato I’ve tried, I was happy with my cone of vanilla and seasonal cinnamon.

After a turn at the Atlantic Antic, I got my first scoops of gelato from my most favourite gelateria—Il Laboratorio del Gelato—at One Girl in Brooklyn.  Ricotta and caramel.  Later that week, I celebrated/bemoaned my last day in New York by heading to their Lower East Side shop to partake in fresh mint, rum raisin, and malt.  There is never enough.

And there is never enough time in New York.

Fresh from a New York holiday of gastronomical delights, I find myself in food heaven withdrawal. After a week of the best of everything, where striking two items off of  “Anthony’s Bourdains Top Thirteen Things to Eat Before You Die” in a matter of one afternoon, between bagel and lox at Russ and Daughter’s and a pastrami sandwich at Katz’s Deli was a breeze, it’s not easy coming home. With some remnants of culinary NYC delights that happily fit in a suitcase such as Jacques Torres hot chocolate, and the object of my chocolate obsession, Michael Recchiuti delivered to our NYC hotel from San Francisco, the transition was made easier. ( I couldn’t resist taking advantage of the US only shipping opportunity to enjoy what I believe to be the BEST chocolate in the world. I do not make this statement lightly. Between the rose caramel, fleur de sel caramel, varietals, fruit jellies, and the many other offerings in the burgundy box, I am so far ruined for all other chocolate. Period.)

Now don’t get me wrong, here in Edmonton we have some delightful culinary spots that I am fiercely loyal to (Tree Stone Bakery, Cafe Leva, Culina, Viphalay, The Red Ox Inn, Acajutla to name a few), but we certainly have had some gaping holes and can’t expect to find the same variety that a populated city like New York can offer (like a counter service shop that has dedicated itself to turning out perfect porchetta sandwiches, cleverly called Porchetta). That is why I could not be more delighted to have intersected with friends on the same mission for sweets, and to have enjoyed a chilly October Saturday afternoon right here at home in the newly opened Duchess Bake Shop on 124th Street in Edmonton.

After treats at NYC’s Balthazar Bakery and the post-Paris constant craving for Pierre Hermé macarons, I am in a constant state of lusting after proper French sugar delights, and I am rejoicing in the fact that they have finally arrived in grand form in Edmonton. Duchess Bake Shop is a simple and elegantly decorated space with high gilded ceilings, a shabby chic chandelier, clean white lines,  and a well appointed pastry case that highlights their beautifully executed creme tarts, croissants (almond croissants and pain au chocolat which they were sadly sold out of….I will be back to sample the almond paste filled double baked almond croissants with a secret wish that they will be as delicious as their counterparts at Thomas Haas in Vancouver), duchess signature petit gateaus, madeleines, florentines, and of course, macarons.

With anticipatory glee, we ordered a plate of macarons in all four of the remaining flavours of the day: chocolate, strawberry, pistachio, and lemon. With word that they had sold out of the lavender and salted caramel, and with a rose flavour in the works, I knew I would be back soon for more. For those who have not had the pleasure of enjoying a macaron before, do not confuse these with the sugary coconut and chocolate bonbon that we call a macaroon here in North America. Wikipedia describes the macaron as “dating back to the 18th century, macarons are a traditional French pastry, made of egg whites, almond powder, icing sugar,  and sugar. This sweet pastry came out of the French courts’ baker’s oven as round meringue-like domes with a flat base. Macarons are sandwich-like pastries made with two thin cookies and a cream or ganache between the cookies.”

The crisp, chewy, soft goodness of these well executed macarons, combined with the excellent ganache fillings that are not too sweet, and are naturally flavoured, was just the post-holiday medicine this girl needed. Add to that excellent cafe au laits and a nice selection of black teas, and Duchess Bake Shop gets two sugar coated thumbs up. Exquisite French Pastry Shop? Check. Now if only someone would open a good Jewish deli……