restaurant quality pan seared scallops at home

It all began this afternoon. Actually, it all began about two weeks ago when midterm projects and exams began. That was around the same time that J came down with a wicked cold. I remember because it started the day after Yom Kippur and the day before Thanksgiving. The Jewish holy days always come with lots of traditional foods. Yom Kippur is different because it comes with the denial of food for 25 hours followed by a huge binge. I think this was a bit of a shock to poor J's system. This was his first fast and I was very proud of him for making Yom Kippur meaningful in his own way and in his own time. Le sigh.

Anyway, J started to come down with something the day of his mom's family Thanksgiving and spent half of the day trying to sleep in his old bedroom, avoiding his nieces and nephew. Since then, I've eaten more soup than any span of time in recent memory. I took very good care of J making soups from turkey bones, beans, and squash. My dad always told me, a good soup always starts with a mirepoix and a frying pan.

As you might expect, I eventually caught J's cold and had to continue the soup cycle for another week. J made a weird soup that kind of didn't work. I think he just make the mistake of putting too many things in it. One night I tried the Chinese take-out counter down the street, Mirama. Great chicken noodle soup. Cheap and cheerful soy sauce chow mein. Got a couple spring rolls for J and the three things came out to $11. Visit their website by clicking on the link for a take out menu and the number to call. Free delivery over $10! Cash only...

Today was a special day. It was the first day in two weeks that neither of us had an exam or paper and both of us were feeling on the better side of this cold. We walked down to Monkland Village. I am thrilled to say that the bad days are over and the coffee maker that I broke has been replaced with a lovely french press, a grinder, and some freshly roasted Kenyan beans. The coffee came from Le Maitre Boucher, 5652 Ave. Monkland (between Harvard and Oxford), (514) 487-1437. As did a most surprising assortment of goodies.

The shop was very crowded and there were all kinds of treasures inside. I spotted them out of the corner of my eye. In a little, see-thru plastic container, nestled in an open refrigerated case, there sat protected from the world, ten beautiful scallops from Nova Scotia. I should have taken a photo of them all cozy in the package together, each one a beautiful, clean tasting morsel of the sea.

I had to think of a plan fast so I went for some strong, crumbly, sweet blue cheese and a large, firm pear. They will end up in some sort of bruleed masterpiece when I figure out how to use my new blow torch. We quickly dropped off the precious ingredients at home and I leafed through old copies of Cook's Illustrated. I remembered a sweet pea puree that I had seen used under some halibut recently. I know I've read articles about how to complete perfect pan-seared scallops at home, if only I could find the issue.

Out the door again, this time to the supermarket for frozen peas and a couple other key ingredients. Cream for our new coffee. The baby bok choi also looked fresh so we picked some up and figured we'd find a way to cook it later.

The pea puree was very easy to make and left one huge but simple component complete and at the ready. The scallops needed little more than salt, pepper, vegetable oil, and unsalted butter. I wasn't sure of the exact order of what to do when, but I was sure I had read an article about it this summer. I kept looking through the magazines and couldn't find it. That's when I remembered my online membership. I was on the recipe faster than a flash in the pan.

Inside of a minute I had found a cross-referenced article about sauces for scallops and settled on a lemon-herb brown butter sauce. J came into the kitchen when things started to smell good and made himself useful as photographer, sous-chef, and dish boy. The penne aglio olio never would have happened without him.

Next time I make this (which will be at a dinner party near you) I would do a couple of things differently. Rather than boiling them in a high walled frying pan I would blanche and then stir fry the bok choi in ginger and green onion.

I would also add more liquid to the pea puree when I blended it.

We have enough leftovers to turn this into an appetizer for us tomorrow night. If they don't get eaten cold from the fridge as an afternoon snack during the day.


Pistachio ice cream for dessert.

Elevate yourself at Transcend on 109

I needed to get out. The house is a middle of the week mess. I've been working and sleeping the opposite hours as J. We are officially out of coffee because I didn't leave myself enough time for a cup of the already brewed pot that used up the last of the grounds. Let me explain. Roommate Mel and I thought we would be extra clever and set her fancy coffeemaker to an alarm to have some brewed for J before he left at 6:45 the next morning. It took the last of this batch of coffee to set the pot and it made a full one. Mel and I were then supposed to wake up at our more acceptable hour of 8 or 9 and pour ourselves some of the rest. Neither of us remembered and when I got home last night after work at around 10:30, the coffee was cold and the mood was tense.

J was an angel and cleaned up after the mess I left when I prepared a big pasta casserole to stretch over the next couple of busy days and nights' lunches and dinners. We are a good team and he helps me when it's my turn to get tasks finished and the last part (i.e. doing the dishes or folding the clean laundry) gets dropped as I race out the door to catch the bus to work.

Morgana came over for a visit late this morning and we drank tea in my cold house ... the furnace is still on the fritz. When she mentioned that she wanted to go out to eat even though she wasn't really hungry, I knew it wouldn't take much convincing to go on a blog-research outing.
Since the move I've been getting our coffee from Transcend Coffee.

This operation began further south near Argyle Road - a local award winning roasting house, the good folks at Transcend spend several weeks every year on coffee travel - visiting the countries where the beans are grown and agreeing to buy from individual producers at fair prices. They then import the beans to Edmonton where they continue to be roasted in small batches at the Argyle location. This cafe opened in the old Pharoah's Pizza place on the corner of 87th Ave and 109 Street. It's a big, bright cafe with really really good coffee and espresso. For weeks I had been walking past this place mid-morning, on my the long trudge home from physio, reading the lovely sandwich board extolling their cappuccino and waffle deal - hot and fresh and only $6!

Today was the day. Today was our day to take time out from school, worries, the rudding piles of snow that still line the streets, and pause and enjoy something purely for ourselves. The cappuccino was creamy and rich and artfully rendered. For our waffle toppings we could choose from maple syrup, apple brandy butter, rosemary whipped cream, and jam (which changes periodically, today was Blueberry). They get their jams straight from The Jam Lady at the Saturday Strathcona Farmer's Market.

Though I was only supposed to get one topping included with my waffle I sprang for both the maple syrup and the rosemary whipped cream and just coughed up an extra buck. Still, at $7, this is the bargain of the year, as far as I'm concerned. The baristo brought us our delectable Belgian sweets and for a good 15 minutes or so Morgana and I ate in virtual silence, stunned by sensory overload.

I highly recommend stopping in at any of the Transcend locations as soon as you are able. Give your self a bit of time to escape from everything else and lose yourself in a cup of something. But be advised, you may want to bring your Mac laptop for fear of standing out...

3 Locations:
Garneau Café
8708 - 109 Street
Edmonton, AB T6G 1E9
780.756.8882

Argyll Café
9869 - 62 Avenue
Edmonton, AB T6E 0E4
780.430.9198

***And just recently opened***
Jasper Ave Café
10349 Jasper Avenue
Edmonton, AB T5J 1Y5
780.421.7734

Arriba! Authentic Mexican food in my own backyard.

I was recently called upon to assist a friend with a writing assignment. She had to do a piece for her travel writing class, becoming a tourist in her own city. She told me she wanted to try out a new restaurant somewhere on 118th Ave and I immediately thought of the brightly painted exterior of the Caribbean restaurant that I often pass on my way to the hockey games. In the depths of winter this seemed like an obvious choice to both of us so we made our plans and set a time and day to meet. I picked her up at her house and after a few wrong turns we found our way to the place. Of course, in the spirit of true touristic excursions we did not call ahead to reserve a table. Alas, when we made it through the snowy parking lot around to the front, there was a sign saying that they were closed for a holiday. So now what, we thought. Scouring up and down the main part of 118th we eventually had to turn around and were gloomily facing defeat.

Suddenly I noticed a sign for "El Rancho Spanish Restaurant" and read it out loud while Morgana looked out the window looking for other appealing options. "I thought they closed down," she said. "I guess they just renovated." Just off 118th, in a little commercial strip resides a vacation for your taste buds. El Rancho serves up Mexican and El Salvadorian cuisine made with grandma's love, from scratch. Truly, it's a grandma and mama operation, with no frills or pretense, just really really good food. Our server did not speak much English, but she definitely understood me when I told her I wanted whoever was working behind those swinging doors to teach me to make their tortilla soup. "It's easy," she told me, and then proceeded to walk me through the steps to her own version, using descriptions and hand gestures when the vocabulary failed. Start by boiling a chicken. Add celery and onion to the stock pot. Strain the liquid into another pot. Add tomatoes. Simmer until flavour is rich. Then finish with cilantro, avocado, queso fresco, and sour cream.

When we walked in there was only one other table occupied, not always the best sign. But it was already quite late in the afternoon and a Wednesday at that. The adobe coloured walls and solid wooden tables were warm and welcoming and the sturdy leather chairs were very comfortable. I've already told you how greatly I enjoyed the flavours of the tortilla soup. It was spicy but not overpoweringly so. The flavour base was chicken, onion, celery, and tomato and it was finished with fresh avocado, cilantro, homemade sour cream and crunchy tortilla strips. It tasted so homemade, as if my own grandmother (if she were Hispanic) had dished it out for me on a visit at her house. A great way to warm up and at $6.95 for a very large bowl it was perfect for sharing as a starter.

Though I had not had many that impressed me in the past, Morgana urged me to try the fried plantains. I am so glad I went against my instincts there because I think they were my favourite part of the meal. I've never had plantains like this - plantanitos, chewy, gooey, sweet and salty. Amazing. They were served with the same homemade sour cream. This sour cream was unlike any I've had before. It was a bit salty. It cooled the heat from the spice in the soup and added an even richer dimension to the plantains while cutting their richness with its acidity. Good to know that a dish of heaven can be yours for $5.95.

The spicy grilled shrimp came next, served with mango salsa and a little green salad. The mangoes were well ripened but diced just small enough not to become the focal point of the dish. For an appetizer, this was also a very large portion and could easily have been a main course if paired with a smaller appie to start or the soup. Priced more like a main dish too at $10.95.
The only other busy table was occupied by three Spanish speaking men. They said "hola" to us as we came in and carried on chattering away and joking with the server as she brought them more food. One of them was whistling and singing along to the salsa music playing cheerfully in the background.

When the next course arrived, I could hardly stifle the giggle. Our chicken quesadilla was smiling right at me, with sour cream and salsa for the eyes. I took this as a good omen and went right for one of the pieces in the middle. Melted cheese and refried beans oozed out onto the plate. As I took my first bite I was surprised to discover that unlike the usual cubed pieces of grilled breast meat I was enjoying sumptuous morsels of slow cooked meat, pulled from the bone. One after the other, each dish was making me fuller and happier. The quesadilla was smiling back at me as I smiled at Morgana and she smiled at the friendly men at the next table. This dish also came with a green salad and I think next time I will try the tofu version, just to see how they do it. Chicken quesadilla, $8.95.

Since we had a little extra room left and were still craving more from that incredible, mysterious woman in the kitchen, Morgana and I decided to each order a dessert and share those too. I ordered the flan (not the kind with crust and gelled fruit topping, more like a creme caramel) and Mo ordered the Mexican fried ice cream. Our server told us it would be a bit of a wait because the kitchen had to heat up fresh oil. Heavenly! We didn't mind waiting at all. The flan came out with whipped cream on the side and a stewed strawberry sauce on top. Morgana's ice cream was utterly delightful, totally fantastic, and wonderfully decadent. The coating was crunchy and the whole dish was doused in sweet syrup of some kind.

As we swooned over our desserts, saying very little to one another but exchanging looks of deep satisfaction, a family of four came in with two young girls in pigtails between 2 and 5 years old. As mom and dad looked over the menu we heard squeals of delight. I turned to see what was going on and the mother looked up and said in an accent, "Sorry, we just haven't had these foods in so long." Reading the menu out to her daughters in Spanish, she paused here and there as her husband nodded eagerly in agreement and I couldn't stop myself. "You should really try the plantains. The best I've ever had. Amazing." They took my advice. Both the parents and Morgana and I were clearly on the same page - nothing ventured, nothing gained.

easy avocado enchiladas

I just learned that enchiladas were one of the recipes included in the first definitive Mexican cookbook, El cocinero mexicano ("The Mexican Chef"), in 1831. Wikipedia told me this when I went looking for info on the origins of this marvelous dish. They were informed, by the way, in "Tacos, Enchiladas and Refried Beans: The Invention of Mexican-American Cookery" published by Oregon State University.

Enchiladas are essentially any mixture of meat, fish, vegetables, or beans wrapped up in a soft (usually corn) tortilla and baked in a chili sauce. I have had them in many restaurants in Canada and even in Mexico. None have been all that memorable, save some that I once had cooked for me essentially out of someone's kitchen at a little beach snack bar somewhere near Manzanillo.

The enchiladas I like to make come from Mollie Katzen's "The Enchanted Broccoli Forest." First she explains the enchilada's basic components and construction. Then she gives three different recipes for fillings: Cheese with Surprises, Avocado, and Zucchini and Pepper. Honestly, as soon as I laid eyes on that avocado recipe my heart skipped a beat. I've never even tried the other two, though "with surprises" intrigues me a great deal.
Combine:
1/2 C fresh lemon juice
4 ripe avocados, coarsely chopped
3 cloves of garlic, minced
6 green onions, finely chopped (greens and whites)
3/4 C fresh cilantro (didn't have any so I used Italian parsley)
2 ripe tomatoes, diced
1 tsp salt
3/4 tsp ground cumin

Make this just before you're ready to assemble the enchiladas and fit them into a casserole to be baked.

Mollie Katzen also gives two different recipes for enchilada sauce - a salsa verde, which requires green tomatoes (perfect for a big crop in summer) and the red sauce which can be made as long as you have access to a few basic supermarket ingredients like ripe tomatoes and a red bell pepper. Sometimes I blend it smooth but today I left it chunky for a nice texture.

The enchilada sauce can be made ahead of time.

Simmer in a pot:
5 ripe tomatoes, diced
1 large red sweet pepper, finely diced
1 tsp. salt
5 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 tsp crushed rep pepper, or chili pepper flakes
1/2 tsp. ground cumin

It's not in Mollie's recipe but I like to top the enchiladas with mozzarella or jack cheese before baking in the oven. Also, she covers with foil before baking and I leave the dish open to brown a little on top.

Tonight I paired the hot casserole with a quick spinach salad with chopped kalamata olives, big chunks of Starkrimson pear (a new discovery and positively delicious!), chopped green onion, and crumbled chevre. I made a vinaigrette of maple syrup, honey Dijon mustard, balsamic vinegar, and olive oil.


via Wikipedia:
Oregon State University -
http://web.archive.org/web/20070718154326/http://food.oregonstate.edu/ref/culture/mexico_smith.html. Retrieved 2008-07-14.

by golly! biscotti!

I'm working on my grad school application. This activity is stressful at the best of times. But the grad school happens to be in Italy and so I must undergo this ridiculous process of having all my transcripts and diplomas and such translated into Italian to be accredited by the Italian Embassy. The translator I found is a lovely old Italian lady and she's doing me quite a favour working on these for me on such short notice. To say thank you, I thought I would go pick up some baking and bring it over to her house. And then I thought, "Why don't you just bake her something yourself?"
So that's what I did. Ecco qua! (Here it is!) The recipe comes from something I found on recipezaar.com

Gingered White Chocolate Biscotti

2 2

Servings Size

• dozen

Serves: 12 , Servings: 2 dozen

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 2/3 cups sugar
• 2 teaspoons candied ginger, minced
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 ounces premium white baking chocolate, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• 1 egg white

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to at 350°F.
2. Combine first 6 ingredients in a large bowl.
3. Combine the vanilla and next 2 ingredients, and add to the flour mixture.
4. Stir until well blended (dough will be dry).
5. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead lightly 7 or 8 times.
6. Shape dough into a 16-inch long roll.
7. Place roll on a greased baking sheet coated with cooking spray, and flatten roll to 1-inch thickness.
8. Bake for 30 minutes.
9. Remove the roll from the baking sheet to a wire rack, and let cool for 10 minutes.
10. Cut the roll diagonally into 1/2" slices.
11. Place, cut sides down on a baking sheet.
12. Bake for 10 more minutes.
13. Turn cookies over and bake an additional 10 minutes (cookies will be slightly soft in the center but will harden as they cool).
14. Remove cookies from the baking sheet and let cool completely

*baker's note: I modified the baking times for my hotter than normal oven - reduced the first baking to 20 minutes and the second to 3-5 per side.

my green salad

Let it just be said, I am a fan of salad. One might go so far as to call me a master (and some have...) of the sweet and savoury blend that makes my salads so spectacular. When I make salad, it is not an accompaniment, oh no. It quickly rises to the highest echelons of pot luck history to become a legend in its own right. There are plenty of reasons why you should begin exploring the wonderful world of salad. Not only is it good for you, but it can be cheap, fast, and the ingredients may be prepared in advance and assembled just in time to eat. Here now is my latest creation, crafted from whatever random ingredients I found in the fridge, plus a few things I always make sure to have nearby.

Baby spinach - usually comes pre-washed, just make sure.

baby cucumbers - local and organic from the farmer's market - sliced (not so thin that they're see-through, but not so big that they would have to be cut on the eater's plate)

green onion - sliced or chopped - please make use of the white of the onion, it's a strong flavour, but it adds freshness and a colourful dimension to this "green" salad

seedless green grapes - washed and halved lengthwise - welcome sweet! meet savoury!

avocado - diced, cubed, triangulated, as you like it

goat cheese - crumbled

These are the basic elements of any successful salad: greens; savoury like onion or garlic; sweet like a fresh or dried fruit; something unexpected - which may be satisfied by the sweet, but could also come in the form of an exotic ingredient like avocado, or something like toasted pine nuts, candied walnuts, or a meat of some kind, and cheese. In my mind, there is no dish that cannot be improved with the addition of the marvelous bacterial culture. Cheese is the moon in the sky and the waves on the shore. Oh cheese!

For a vinaigrette, begin with the basics: extra virgin olive oil and good balsamic vinegar. For this salad I added some honey and a bit of dijon mustard. You could also use real maple syrup, pesto, fresh crushed garlic, or ginger paste. Stir vigourously until the vinegar and oil are emulsified. Drizzle over the salad, toss and serve.

Et voila! Something simple, healthy, and unique to surprise whomever you are feeding next. Enjoy.