Sunday, January 15, 2006

Roast Beast with Smirking Bastards

You know I give my mother a lot of guffaw, concerning cooking. A lot of it is well deserved. She is the 'Master' of well done. But she has always meant well and we never went hungry (She does make a killer 'apple crisp'). My mother did give me exposure to the city beyond my front door. I remember going to 'Chinatown' where we would buy blue and white 'rice bowls', rattan mats, sandalwood soap, slippers and all the exotic things that were not for us in the suburbs. I also remember snagging a size 4 raw silk Alfred Sung suit that I, and my friends wore for years. We would walk right by the hanging flattened Peking ducks along Spadina, ( avert your eyes girls) and be marshaled through the cafeteria at 'Shopsy's Deli' for lunch. Where we were instructed that we had to order apple juice to eat with our meal to conform to 'Jewish Dietary Laws' because we would not have been allowed to have milk in our tea. I don't remember anything remarkable about the smoked meat sandwiches, but I do remember the time when my sister Clare pointed out that they had a 'Pepsi' machine that we felt that we had been rooked into apple juice by our parents. Shopsy's is gone from Spadina and moved to a higher rent district and the days of a 'kosher deli' in the core of downtown have all but vanished. As an adult, I have discovered that I like my beef medium, which is something that I never had growing up. And I love asparagus, which is not that 'unaffordable' of a vegetable and I like it ' al dente' . That being said, you might be wondering what on earth a 'smirking bastard' is? Anyone who has read 'Acquired Tastes' by Peter Mayle might know. A smirking bastard is the waiter in a restaurant that sells asparagus 'by the inch' and 50$ lamb chops for lunch ( published in 1986 ). And as well it is a joke between the 'husband' and I, its what we call white asparagus, one of the ultimate in midwinter decadence (Truffles would be dipping into the long term savings plan). This is an adaption of an two LCBO recipes one, http://www.lcbo.com/lcbo-ear/RecipeController?action=recipe&language=1&recipeID=217&recipeType=1 and the other adapted for the oven from ' France, love at first sip' undated. The Roast Beast: Marinade 3 tbsp Grape or violet mustard ( or coarse Dijon) 2 tbsp soy sauce 1 tbsp dried Herbes de Provence 1 tbsp chopped garlic 1 tbsp olive oil freshly ground pepper one 2.5-lb beef fillet roast Sauce 6 tbsp cold butter, divided into 1 tbsp sections 1 cup thinly sliced onions ( two small) 1 tsp sugar 1/4 cup ruby port 1/4 cup white wine 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar 2 cups beef broth Salt and freshly ground pepper Combine marinade ingredients and brush over roast. Marinate at room temp for a couple of hours. Preheat oven to 450 degrees ( it really helps to have a super clean oven) . Place roast on rack over a roasting pan ( I wrap the pan in foil for easier clean up.) Bake for 40 minutes for medium . Remove from oven Place on board and let sit for 10 - 30 minutes. Meanwhile, you have popped the roast in, heat 2 tbsp butter in skillet on medium-high heat, reserving remaining butter. Add thinly sliced onions and saute until softened and slightly brown, about 3 minutes. Add sugar, cook 1 minute, add port, wine and balsamic vinegar. Reduce heat and cook for 10 minutes or until wine is reduced almost evaporated . Add broth and simmer 10 to 15 minutes or until reduced by half. Remove from heat and whisk in remaining butter piece by piece until sauce thickens. Smirking bastards: White asparagus Fleur de sel Steam asparagus, sprinkle with lovely crunchy 'fleur de sel' or sea salt. Serve beef thinly sliced with sauce on top , asparagus, green salad and potatoes if desired.

Saturday, January 14, 2006

She is so cute!

I just had to share this with you all. This is my great niece on her first visit to the dentist. I think I want to go to this dentist ( although my current dentist is very nice, unhurtful and really cute). You get to dress up as the toothfairy and they take your picture, how great is that? Sure beats the sadistic dentist's, who drilled for gold, that I went to as a kid.

Friday, January 13, 2006

Tarragon Roast Chicken

Could it already be halfway through January? I have really been slack with my posts for my Blog during the last quarter of 2005. I could use the excuse that I was busy at work, relentless travel schedule, crunching numbers and burning the midnight oil to finish out the year on a corporate high. I was really busy, and I have only been to Vancouver, Barrie, Orillia, Bracebridge. Not necessarily glamorous and mostly not work related. I really never crunch numbers, unless eating cookies shaped as numbers or balling up the change from shopping and throwing it into the bottom of my purse instead of my wallet counts. I have been really busy at work running a product blitz, designing a new training program, National Sales Meetings and product presentations. But I have always found the time to be cooking something, it brings out my creativity..... And Santa ( aka 'the husband') gave me some truly wonderful cookbooks for Christmas. Also my sisters gave me a really great one from Vancouver called "La Regalade", by Alain Raye. But truthfully, I was just too lazy. I just slacked off. I just got back home from a week away from home. Monday through Thursday, I was at a national sales meeting away from my home but as a guest in my own city. It was really cool to be a tourist and tour guide on your home turf. But tonight I have a tiny tickle in the back of my throat and craving food from my own kitchen, and on the menu is Roast Chicken. Comfort food. This is just a basic roast chicken, I have made it with and without the Tarragon and with all sorts of other herbs like thyme or rosemary even with cilantro all of which taste great. I have also made it 3 at a time to feed a crowd. It is super easy, smells and tastes great, and your guests ( if they mostly eat out of boxes) will think you have reached a stage in your cooking akin to splitting the atom. Be creative have fun it will be our little secret. 1 chicken 2 small onions roughly chopped olive oil 3 - 5 sprigs fresh Tarragon 1 lemon, quartered seasalt ( or any other salt you may have on hand) 3 tablespoons of melted butter toasted slices of French bread Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Remove any giblets from chicken, rinse and pat dry with paper towels. Generously salt the inside of the bird. Roughly chop the Tarragon. Loosely stuff, the chicken with about 1/2 to 3/4 of the lemon and Tarragon. Place the onions in a roasting pan, drizzle with olive oil and place the chicken on top and any left over lemon. Brush with melted butter and place in a preheated oven for about 1 hour or until the juices run clear ( if you are doubling or tripling adjust the time accordingly). Remove chicken from the pan and rest for 15 minutes but keep warm. Drain excess fat off the top of the juices in the pan. I toast my French bread in a pan on the stove top as rough croutons with olive oil and a bit of garlic but in a pinch I guess you could just throw them into the regular toaster. Place the croutons on a platter, slice chicken and place on top. Pour the pan juices , onions and any blackened roasted lemons from outside of the bird over it. The crisp bread will soak up all the juicy sauce, yummy. Serve with Green Beans and a salad, if desired add some couscous as a extra side for a crowd.