Blog - Flying Fourchette

Peanut Butter and Bacon Truffles

March 31, 2013

Easter has arrived with his fluffy bunnies and chocolate temptations and like every year the sweet displays just don’t do it for me – overly sugary, processed, and not enough real cocoa taste. True that for a chocoholic like myself, this time of year could hardly change my consumption habits (would be unwise to increase my daily dose!) though I would take the occasion to make a batch myself, a luxury I very rarely indulge in.

I’ve always had a soft spot for anything ‘sweet and salty’ and have consumed numerous takes on the divine combo of peanut butter and chocolate, always a favourite whether it’s Reese or a fancier maker. As I was flipping through an old edition of Saveur magazine looking for inspiration, they jumped right at me, these ‘crazy sounding yet amazing looking’ Peanut Butter and Bacon Truffles – that was it! No need to elaborate on the ‘everything tastes better with bacon’ saying, I just had to make them and knew this was going to be one hell of a tasty trio (it was!). Adding bacon to sweet stuff and chocolate is no longer revolutionary as many have ‘been there done that’ (Vosges Chocolate has a collection of it) but it was certainly quite innovative in my kitchen.

Truffles take a bit of time to make with all the different cooling steps but this is still a pretty simple and easy recipe which anyone could do at home. You’ll feel like popping one into your mouth even before the chocolate has covered them as they just look too tempting. If you ever had doubts up until this point about the affinity between chocolate, peanut butter, and bacon, I guarantee they’ll be erased in a split of a second once you’ve taken your first bite of this crunchy truffle, marrying perfectly the already sublime mix of peanut butter and chocolate with a subtle hint of bacony goodness… Serve a few over Easter Brunch and you’ll most probably have just started a new yearly tradition.

Peanut Butter and Bacon Truffles

Recipe from Saveur Magazine

Active time: 45 minutes

Total time: 2 hours

Makes 15-20 truffles

6 strips very crisp, cooked bacon, well drained
1/2 cup salted dry-roasted peanuts
4 tsp. sugar
1/4 cup smooth peanut butter
8 oz. (1 1/4 cups) semisweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup quality unsweetened cocoa powder

Put bacon, peanuts, and sugar into a food processor and pulse until mixture is ground to a medium-fine texture.

Transfer bacon-peanut mixture to a small bowl, add peanut butter, and stir until thoroughly combined. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and chill peanut butter mixture in the refrigerator until firm.

Line a cookie sheet with parchment or waxed paper and set aside. Roll peanut butter mixture in 1″ balls and put them on the prepared cookie sheet. Drape plastic wrap over peanut butter balls and chill in the refrigerator until firm.

Meanwhile, melt chocolate chips in a small heatproof bowl set over a small pot of simmering water over medium-low heat, stirring often, until smooth. Remove bowl from heat and set aside to let chocolate cool until warm. Sift cocoa into another bowl and set aside.

Working with a few of the peanut butter balls at a time, roll them in the melted chocolate, coating them evenly. Transfer truffles to bowl of cocoa powder, dredging truffles completely.

Truffles will keep at room temperature in an airtight container with some additional cocoa for up to 2 days, in the refrigerator for up to 1 week, or in the freezer for up to 1 month. Bring to room temperature before serving.

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Montreal Restaurants

Park restaurant, Montreal

March 26, 2013

About a year ago Montreal saw its sushi restaurant scene going up a couple of notches with the opening of Park, a superb Asian restaurant with a creative Western bent. It went mostly under the radar at first and is still to a point one of Montreal’s best kept secret though such a stellar kitchen has since won over the best food critics (including myself!). The eponymous restaurant of Executive Chef Antonio Park bears all the fruits of his unconventional upbringing: Korean roots, Argentine-born, culinary training in Japan and work in some of the top kitchens in America. The result is a wondrous mix of impeccable Japanese techniques, American creativity, and stellar ingredients for one of the best sushi restaurant in town.

The fish is the main reason to go as it’s some of the freshest I’ve ever had the pleasure of tasting. Chef Park is one of the rare chefs with a private import license which means the fish arrives several times a week from the world’s top fishermen and you can really see the difference. Sushi and sashimi are served perfectly seasoned, the chef having already added the ideal amount of wasabi, sauce and any other garnishes to create the most perfect bite every time… elegant, silky, smooth, sublime. The variety and quality of the fish is astounding and you can have an incredibly filling and more than enjoyable meal by sticking strictly to ordering sushi.

If you like a bit of diversity, the seasonal menu offers as well a multitude of other dishes as expertly prepared as the fish such as steaks, Asian salads, Korean specialties with a twist and daily specials. You can also have the omakase tasting menu of five courses which surprisingly doesn’t have to be ordered for the whole table so we tried it coupled with a few more dishes from the a la carte menu. Our feast was of gargantuan proportions and well worth stuffing ourselves into seafood heaven. We all knew fish of that stature wouldn’t cross our palate so soon…

Oysters

Asian salad

Dashi soup with eggs and peppers

Park-style sashimi – salmon from Ireland, albacore tuna, red snapper from New Zealand, Japanese plaice

Arctic char tartare with white beet salad

Sushi platter – salmon, Japanese butterfly seabream, Japanese catfish, hamachi toro, albacore tuna, abalone, Japanese plaice

Poached lobster with potato salad, asparagus with truffle oil, and sweet potato puree – all topped with a poached egg

Bibimbap with poached egg

Maki of two tunas with salmon belly on top

Cheesecake with vanilla pod

Park

378 Victoria Avenue

Westmount

Tel: +1 514-750-7534

map

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Main course Recipes

Fish Cakes with Paprika Lemon Mayonnaise

March 20, 2013

It’s the first day of Spring today even though it really doesn’t feel like it. Nevertheless, it does mean that we can start thinking of warmer days and beach vacations, which for a lot of Northeasterners are often associated with seafood shacks along the coast. Lobster rolls are my fave but fish cakes come in close second and these lightly spicy ones are some of the best I’ve ever made.

The preparation is super easy, 10-15 minutes and you’re done, and the best part is these will benefit from being prepared in advance. Making the patties in the morning and leaving them in the fridge until frying time helps them hold their shape better.

Using meatier fish such as hake or cod means you have some large flakes to bite into, a much more satisfying experience I think than the usually creamier crab cakes. They have a bright taste and the paprika lemon mayo is to die for. Served over a bed of greens with a squeeze of lemon and a cold beer and I swear the sunny days won’t seem so far away…

Fish Cakes with Paprika Lemon Mayonnaise

Recipe from Gourmet Magazine

Active time: 15 minutes

Total time: 30 minutes

Makes 4 servings

For fish cakes

3 garlic cloves
1 cup coarsely chopped onion
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
2 large eggs
1/2 cup fine dry bread crumbs
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 lb skinless hake or Pacific cod fillet, cut into 2-inch pieces
6 tablespoons olive oil

For mayonnaise

3/4 cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon finely grated fresh lemon zest
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Rounded 1/4 teaspoon hot paprika
1/4 teaspoon salt

Accompaniment: 1 (5-oz) bag baby salad greens such as herb salad, Asian mix, or mesclun

Make fish cakes:
With motor running, drop garlic into a food processor and process until finely chopped. Add onion and pulse until finely chopped. Add coriander, egg, bread crumbs, mayonnaise, cumin, and salt and pulse until combined.

Add fish and pulse until coarsely chopped.

Line a baking sheet with wax paper. Quickly form fish mixture into 8 (1/2-inch-thick) patties (about 3 inches in diameter), transferring to lined baking sheet as formed.

Heat 3 tablespoons oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over moderate heat until hot but not smoking. Cook 4 cakes, turning over once, until golden brown and just cooked through (reduce heat if cakes brown too quickly), about 6 minutes total. Transfer cakes with a slotted spatula to a plate and keep warm, loosely covered with foil. Wipe out skillet and cook remaining 4 patties in remaining 3 tablespoons oil in same manner.

Make mayonnaise while fish cakes cook:
Whisk together all mayonnaise ingredients in a small bowl until smooth.

To serve:
Divide fish cakes among 4 beds of greens and top with paprika lemon mayonnaise.

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Appetizer Recipes Vegetarian

Hearts of Palm Dip

March 16, 2013

One of the only vegetables I consistently eat out of a can, hearts of palm have this very mild and mysterious taste that I absolutely fell in love with many years ago, and the silky smooth texture adds to the appeal in making them one of my all-time favorite snacks. No time to ever chop and throw into a salad or anything, I like them best eaten straight up, still dripping from the can. The exception to this rule though I recently discovered with this insanely simple hearts of palm dip recipe. It’s rarely seen (I’m always attracted to odd things…) and the ingredients are so pure and simple I thought this would surely taste almost just like the real thing.

Intrigued, I took the whole 10 minutes necessary to put this appetizer together and…wow! You get a rich, buttery, creamy yet a bit chunky dip even though you know you haven’t added any of the usual high fat mayo or cream cheese in it. Blended with some olive oil and garlic, this is one of the healthiest dip you could ever find and it tastes so luscious no one would ever believe you. The lime zest makes it refreshing and the few simple flavors blend so well together anyone would have a hard time guessing what it is, making it an ideal appetizer or snack for dinner parties.

You can serve it with pita chips like I did or else it would also go great with plantain chips, flatbreads or your favorite crudités. It’s seriously as delicious and satisfying as hummus, way healthier than the average artichoke dip, and a nice change from your usual salsa. Really there’s no excuse not to try it – it’s almost instantaneous, low-calorie and low-fat, and will make you feel like you’re splurging while getting one of your daily dose of veggies…priceless!

Hearts of Palm Dip

Recipe from Food and Wine Magazine

Active time: 10 minutes

Total time: 10 minutes

Makes 2 cups

1 large garlic clove, minced
Salt
Two 14-ounce cans hearts of palm, drained and rinsed
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 teaspoon finely grated lime zest
Freshly ground white pepper
Plantain chips, pita chips or flatbreads, for serving

Using the side of a chef’s knife, mash the garlic to a paste with a generous pinch of salt. Scrape the paste into a food processor. Add the hearts of palm and oil and process to a medium-fine paste.

Add the lime zest, season with salt and white pepper and pulse just to blend.

Transfer the dip to a bowl and serve with plantain chips, pita chips or flatbreads.

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London Restaurants

Opera Tavern, London

March 12, 2013

Opera Tavern is what happens when the successful team behind two of London’s favorite tapas joints (Salt Yard and Dehesa) takes over an old boozer in theater land and transforms it into a go-to place for modern tapas. A stone’s throw from the Royal Opera House (hence its name), the bi-level space offers the choice between a casual downstairs bar, closer to what you’d find in Spain, and a slightly more formal dining room upstairs.

If the pig trotter door handles aren’t enough of a hint, the inside as well as the menu will leave no doubt as to the pork-centric meal you’re about to experience. Though mainly Spanish, the sharable dishes show some creative Italian twists which traditional tapas lovers will no doubt appreciate, and while you can easily eat to your heart’s content of old favorites like Ibérico ham and croquettes, you’d be missing out if you didn’t try some more unique items like their famous pork and foie gras burger or Scotch eggs.

As with their two other restaurants, plates come out as they’re ready, looking pretty as a picture and most importantly tasting just as good if not better than they look. Add to this a great range of Spanish and Italian wines to choose from and you’ve got yourself another very successful foodie heaven by the Salt Yard Group which is bound to stick around for a while.

Here’s a peek at what a leisurely lunch or dinner there could look like…

Padrón peppers