Blog - Flying Fourchette

Joe Beef, Montreal

October 29, 2012

When friends are telling me they’re going to Montreal for a weekend and would like a few restaurants recommendations, I have a long list of exquisite and charming neighborhood spots they can choose from depending on where they go, and then I’ll add a most obligatory stop at Joe Beef. A tiny restaurant that has become notorious, it is the best place to go to discover how to eat ‘Quebec-style’: loud, at once rustic and refined, packed with red meat and even more booze and dishes that are so bold it’s unlike anything you’ve had in North America. No wonder it’s become a major dining destination, joining perennial heavyweight Au Pied de Cochon to shine in on French Canadian’s more-is-more passion for simple but amazing good food and wine. That being said, I believe everyone should eat at Joe Beef at least once.

Coinciding with the restaurant’s burgeoning popularity came the launch at the end of 2011 of their acclaimed book The Art of Living According to Joe Beef: A Cookbook of Sorts, which has been on almost every top cookbook lists of 2012. I say book because it is a lot more than just a collection of recipes and I think everyone should buy it for pure enjoyment. It is a beautiful and fun read and includes a guide to Montreal, a history of the city, a chapter on trains, a guide to building a smoker, a chapter on booze and obviously tons of recipes heavy on foie gras, offal, red meat, and bacon.

The cacophony that envelops the dimly lit restaurant on a Friday evening is testament to the success of the chefs’ daily changing menu, happy eaters clamoring over their foie gras parfait, pasta with lobster, or giant côte de boeuf for the table and asking for yet more wine to down it all. Here’s a sample of what we had, which was only a tiny fraction of the large chalkboard menu flanking the restaurant’s wall.

Oeuf en gelee, chanterelle et poulet (jellied egg with chanterelle mushrooms and chicken)

Double Down Hot Chicken

Horse tenderloin with bacon

Side of crispy, garlicky French fries

Side of mac and cheese

Veal liver with cepes

A dessert called ‘Baked Potato’ is in fact frozen meringue topped with soft serve vanilla ice cream and drizzle at the table with hot chocolate sauce..hmmm

The restaurant is filled with a woodsman’s aesthetic, lending it a cozy vibe as if you were having dinner at an old friend’s chalet. The theme goes all the way to the toilet where a life size bison bust greets (or frightens!) you in.

Joe Beef

2491 Rue Notre-Dame Ouest

Montreal, QC H3J 1N6

T: (514) 935-6504

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Appetizer Recipes Vegetarian

Blue Ginger Crackers

October 25, 2012

You can count on Ming Tsai, American fusion chef and restaurateur, to perk up some savory crackers with his East-Meets-West approach. He serves them at his famous Blue Ginger restaurant in Massachusetts instead of the usual breadsticks and the spice-spiked dough is so addictive it’s a real treat he gave away the recipe.

This easily made dough will still require a fair amount of your time but its versatility makes it all worth it. You can make the dough by hand if you like, but it’s way easier to use a standard mixer with a dough hook like I did. Besides the crackers below, you can use it to wrap frankfurters for some fancy pigs in a blanket, make a great pizza crust, or cut into sticks and fry to serve with your favorite dip. Ming also uses this dough to make scallion pancakes and Asian pocket burgers.

Same versatility with the crackers. They’re great to accompany a meal, but you can also top them with curried shrimp salad, tapenade, smoked salmon, or flavored cream cheese, and serve them as an hors d’oeuvre as Ming suggests. I started eating them with a roasted vegetables tapenade but soon was experimenting with pretty much everything in my fridge and it all worked! Mine turned out thicker than the restaurant’s version as I do not have the full baking sheet and used half sheets instead which doubled the thickness. They were nevertheless super tasty and able to stand a whole lot of toppings!

Blue Ginger Crackers

Adapted from Simply Ming: Easy Techniques for East-Meets-West-Meals

Active time: 1h30 minutes

Total time: 3h

Makes about forty 3 by 4-inch crackers

For the dough

1 tablespoon cumin seeds
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
1 tablespoon fennel seeds
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
1/2 ounce (2 packages) active dry yeast
6 1/2 cups bread flour
1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons minced garlic
2 tablespoons kosher salt

For the crackers

1 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus more for pan
1 egg white for brushing
Kosher salt to taste
1/4 cup toasted sesame seeds

Make the cracker dough:
Using a mortar and pestle or a spice grinder, grind the cumin, coriander, fennel, and peppercorns and combine them in a medium bowl. Set aside.

In a 5-quart mixer bowl, or very large bowl if working by hand, combine in this order the yeast, 2 1/2 cups cold water, the flour, oil, garlic, and salt. Using a dough hook, mix at low speed until the flour’s gluten is fully developed and the dough is smooth and doesn’t tear easily when stretched, about 15 minutes.

Remove the dough from the machine and knead in the spices. If working by hand, combine the yeast, flour, oil, and salt and mound the mixture on a work surface. With your fingers, make a well in the mixture. Add 2 1/2 cups cold water to the well and, working with a pastry scraper or large fork, gradually incorporate the flour into the water, as if you were making fresh pasta. Work the dough into a rough ball and then knead in the garlic and the spice mixture. Continue to knead until the dough becomes smooth, 10 to 12 minutes.

Cover the dough with plastic wrap. If using immediately, allow the dough to rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour. Otherwise, refrigerate or freeze until ready to use.

Assembly:
Preheat the oven to 350°F. In a small bowl, whisk the 1 cup of olive oil and the egg white and set aside.

If using defrosted frozen dough, allow it to double at room temperature, about 1 hour. Flour a work surface generously. Place the dough on it and with your hands flatten the dough into a 1″ rectangle. Fold the dough in half and flatten it again into a similar rectangle. Wrap the dough in a damp cloth and allow it to rest for 15 minutes.

Grease 2 large baking sheets, preferable rimmed with olive oil and set aside.

Quarter the dough rectangle and roll each piece 1/4″ thick, keeping the rectangle shape. Transfer 1 rectangle carefully to each of the pans and, using your hands, stretch the rectangles to the sides of the pan, making them as thin as possible without tearing. Using a pizza cutter, trim the dough edges. Keep the trimmings, which can be combined and used to make more crackers.

Brush the dough with the oil-egg white wash. Sprinkle the dough with salt and sesame seeds. Using a pizza cutter, cut the dough into rectangles of any size you like.

Bake the crackers until lightly golden, about 20 minutes. Remove the crackers with a spatula and cool on racks.

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Main course Recipes

Bucatini all’Amatriciana

October 21, 2012

Flavor-packed and simple paste sauces are such a convenient thing to know how to do, especially when like me you’re trying to avoid consuming out of cans and jars as much as possible. There’s little introduction to be made when it comes to all’Amatriciana sauce since it’s been around for centuries and considered one of the most celebrated dish in Italian cuisine. Its success is mainly due to its perfect balance of sweet, salty, and acidic which is accomplished by using only a few quality and complementary ingredients, all essential to the intense flavor combo.

Onions and tomatoes make up the base of the sauce but it’s the addition of the pork that’ll give it the depth it is known for. True all’Amatriciana sauce is made with guanciale, cured pork cheeks with a high fat content and luxurious taste, truly the star of the show here.

It can be hard to find if you don’t have a good Italian market in your town. Pancetta is a fine substitute though it won’t give as strong a flavor as guanciale would. The preferred cheese for this recipe is Pecorino for its sharp flavor, a nice contrast and salty kick to the porky sauce. And if you can get your hands on Bucatini (hollow pasta strands, sometimes referred to as ‘spaghetti with a hole’), they’re the original way to savor the sauce and you would then have yourself a traditional Roman pasta dish, quick and easy made out of a pan. It’s really an ode to simplicity the Italians are masters of and a classic sauce everyone should have in their repertoire.

Bucatini all’Amatriciana

Adapted from Food and Wine magazine

Active time: 20 minutes

Total time: 50 minutes

Makes 4 servings

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
1/4 pound guanciale* or pancetta, cut into 1/2-by- 1/4-inch strips (see Note)
1 1/2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1 1/2 tablespoons dry white wine
One 14.5-ounce can whole peeled tomatoes with their juices, crushed
Salt
Freshly ground pepper
10 ounces bucatini
Freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese

*Guanciale is available at Italian markets.

In a large, deep skillet, heat the oil. Add the onion and cook over moderately low heat until very soft, 7 minutes. Add the guanciale and cook until translucent, 3 minutes.

Add the vinegar, wine, tomatoes and 2 tablespoons of water and simmer until thick, 30 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

In a pot of salted boiling water, cook the bucatini until al dente; reserve 2 tablespoons of the cooking water.

Drain the pasta, add it to the sauce along with the reserved cooking water and cook over moderate heat, stirring, for 1 minute.

Remove the skillet from the heat and stir in 3 tablespoons of cheese. Serve right away, passing more cheese at the table.

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New York Restaurants

La Churreria, New York

October 17, 2012

Tall, thin and hot…for most guys this describes the ultimate girlfriend fantasy… for me; one of my favorite snacks and breakfast hangover cure: churros! Having completely fallen in love with them on my first trip to Spain 10 years ago, I never quite found their equivalent stateside, the dried up versions sold by subway vendors here resembling nothing like the fresh and fluffy originals. I had abandoned all hopes when I heard rumors of a Spanish ‘churreria’ opening in busy Nolita. .. It was almost a year ago and it has since diverted a lot of my shopping towards that hip neighborhood just to get a fix!

La Churreria occupies a small and narrow storefront on Mulberry Street and although the surrounding blocks are packed with cute eateries, this is one you really shouldn’t miss. While like me you’ll probably be dragged in by the prospect of biting into a long string of the delicious fried dough, I’d highly recommend you stop here for lunch as the rest of the menu is as much a success as their star attraction.

I don’t think I’ve ever been to a Spanish restaurant where I didn’t order pan con tomate, or here referred to as ‘Tostada‘ with tomato and serrano. It’s my go-to appetizer and this one didn’t disappoint, though I could always do with a bit more of the crushed tomato…

The traditional tapas are well represented on the short menu and the gazpacho was fantastic, drizzled with fruity olive oil and perfect as a dunk for the slice of crusty bread that accompanies it.

Crispy croquetas contain a creamy chicken filling, ready to be rolled in aioli.

For bigger appetites, the bocatas are delicious Spanish sandwiches on baguettes, served with homemade potato chips. We tried the Madrileño, packed with fried calamari rings and pimento-laced aioli – to be eaten right away while it’s still crunchy!

Saving the best for last, the sexy churros, fried to order, arrived piping hot at our table, erasing all memories of the food we previously consumed as great as it was. One look at them and I knew we had been reunited once more… this was the real deal.

The first bite revealed the crispy exterior and moist interior with just the slightest hint of sweetness, begging to be dunk over and over again in the accompanying cup of hot chocolate. Thick, velvety and dark, the pudding-like chocolate enrobes the churros in a glossy coat worthy of the wildest (and twistiest!) imagination…food porn alert! 😉

Leaving on the side the firework ending, the whole meal really felt true to what I’ve eaten in Barcelona and Madrid. La Churreria is an honest, simple, and totally addictive slice of Spain in a busy corner of Manhattan and I can’t think of a better place right now to load up on carbs for the cold days ahead.

La Churreria

284 Mulberry Street

New York, NY 10012

T: (212) 219-0400

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Main course Recipes

Seared Bass with Cauliflower Duo

October 13, 2012

When it comes to having a light meal of freshly cooked fish, simplicity is key and most people will reach out for the usual dash of lemon juice and minimal seasonings, which is perfectly fine on most days. Sometimes though, I want a bit more personality and texture and that’s where this addictive cauliflower duo comes in. Mild cauliflower is often overlooked in favor of more colorful side vegetables and I suspect it’s largely because we tend to eat it either raw or steamed, not bad methods per se but definitely not what will make it shine.

Roasted cauliflower is pretty good, but try deep-frying it like this recipe calls for and you’ll wish you had done this before! It truly is the star in this recipe and frying the cauliflower florets not only brings out an unexpected and addictive nuttiness, it also adds a little crunch to the dish, perfect texture contrast to the bass’s delicate and tender flesh. The nuttiness really enhances the fish and the little morsels with the cauliflower shavings look so elegant on the plate it’s hard to believe how easy it is to make. Serve with a side of green salad for a very good and light meal with a bit of panache!

Seared Bass with Cauliflower Duo

Adapted from Gourmet Magazine

Active time: 30 min

Total time: 45 min

Makes 4 servings

1 small head cauliflower (1 to 1 1/2 pounds), leaves discarded
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
4 (1-inch-thick) pieces striped bass or mahi mahi fillet with skin (6 ounces each)
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Equipment:
an adjustable-blade slicer

Shave floret portion of cauliflower with a knife to create cauliflower “confetti” (3 to 4 cups). Set aside. With slicer, cut thin lengthwise slices from base and stem, dividing among 4 plates.

Heat vegetable oil and 1/4 cup olive oil in a 12- to 14-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat until oil shimmers, then fry cauliflower “confetti” in 4 batches, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, about 3 minutes per batch. Transfer with a slotted spoon to paper towels to drain, seasoning lightly with salt.

Discard oil and wipe out skillet. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in skillet over medium heat until it shimmers. Season fish with 1 tablespoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Sear, skin side down, 8 minutes. Turn fish and cook until just cooked through, 3 to 4 minutes.