Meals on wheels

Merely a "chip truck" no more, the ubiquitous food truck/mobile canteen/roach coach (roach coach???) has finalement rolled into Montreal. 

After years (66 of them!) of complicated, and annoying, rules and regulations forbidding the sale of good eatz on Montreal streetz, the city has finally gotten with the program and joined the rest of the 21st century in enjoying meals on wheels. 

And then some.

Even the high-end, and mouth-watering, Au Pied de Cochon is getting in on the moveable feast action which currently centres around the Just for Laughs festival in the city's Quartier des Spectacles (no English translation provided on the city's official website).  

How bilingual of them.

While the food trucks are sadly not a permanent fixture and have temporarily been given a schedule and set of operating sites by the city, it certainly is a step in the right direction. Mayor-to-be Jean Drapeau took a major step in the wrong direction when he banned food trucks in 1947 because he deemed them "undignified and unsanitary." 

Do these look undignified and unsanitary to you?

While Montreal is a little late getting on the mobile meal bandwagon, the Food Network's Eat St. has been singing the praises of street meat and other goodies for the last four years and is a great place to get the low-down on the down low. 

Or something like that.

Bon appetit!

Friday five

These days my life seems to be all about E!.

And by E! I mean the E! network, natch.

While I have absolutely no patience for the schlock televised by most local and basic cable networks - and don't even get me started on the quality of "news" these days - the E! network holds a nearly endless fascination for me.  

From Joan Rivers and Chelsea Handler to Kimora Lee Simmons and Betsey Johnson, without forgetting the ubiquitous Kardashians (of course), the roster of talented, or at the very least entertaining, folks at the E! network is mind boggling.

As if turning 80 isn't enough to celebrate, Joan Rivers has a total of two, count 'em, two shows on E!: Fashion Police and Joan and Melissa. Fashion police is an hour of fashion truth doled out by the queen of comedy along with her Joan Rangers; Kelly Osbourne, Giuliana Rancic and George Kotsiopoulos. 

While several celebrities don't seem to find the humour in being (good-naturedly) ridiculed - aka Anne Hathaway "we've seen your breasts, calm down" - I find it fabulous.

Speaking of fabulosity, Kimora Lee Simmons, self-proclaimed style icon, offers a behind-the-scenes look at her online shoe empire, JustFab, on Kimora: House of Fab. As a member of JustFab that has not yet taken the plunge and purchased a pair of sky-high stilettos, the show is pretty convincing. I mean... just check out what my fave gay Johnny JustFab has to say about... matching shoez and bagz.

While there is no one I enjoy keeping up with more than the Kardashians, I especially enjoy keeping up with their eating.

I'm weird in that I like to watch a lot of food shows. Whether it's watching food be prepared, served or actually consumed, I enjoy it. It calms me. It's like living umami. 

I dare you to watch an episode, nay, a segment, of Keeping up with the K's without getting hungry. When they're not taking food out of a (perfectly organized) fridge, eating in, eating out, ordering in or taking out, they're talking about how hungry they are.

I know exactly how they feel.

I actually went online to try and find out who made and delivered their at-home meals (hello Sunfare!), because the chicken Caesar salad looked so good.

But back to business.

That's what she said. 

Betsey Johnson I mean.

After going bankrupt, or out of business, the cartwheel-into-splits designer is re-launching her career, and returning to New York fashion Week, via the Style network and E! with XOX Betsey Johnson.

And then there's Chelsea Lately... 

Sing it sister!



 



 
   

Churro don't know what you're talking about

I thought I couldn't do it.

Make donuts at home, I mean.

But it turns out I can. 

And did.

I wouldn't go as far as calling the process easy, or even quick, but it was definitely satisfying to finally glaze and cool over 24 donuts at 11:45 p.m. Almost as satisfying as enjoying one the next morning with a cup of coffee.

After watching Donut Showdown on Food Network Canada I was tricked into thinking making donuts was a simple task. One that could be accomplished in 30 minutes. It is not.

The recipe I used claimed to taste exactly the same as Krispy Kreme, the ubiquitous (and freakin' delicious) Original Glazed® American doughnut which (supposedly) dates back to a recipe from the 1930s. 

I was aware of the danger involved in heating large quantities of oil at home but I figured that was the only major risk involved. 

Apparently not. 

It seems as though every ingredient needs to be heated to a different temperature (warm water for the yeast - 35 degrees Celsius, lukewarm milk for the batter - how many degrees is "luke"?, hot oil for the frying - 175 degrees Celsius, and so on).

Math is not my strong point and I had a near disaster with the yeast situation but I persevered. And I kneaded. And I timed. And I heated. And I cooled. And so on.

 
In the end, the donuts came out (were they birthed or baked?) quite delicious though not exactly the same as "ye old registered trademark."

Churro gotta love a donut.

Or, if you're in the States, a doughnut.

  

Friday five

I had the great pleasure of visiting a mecca of Asian food yesterday: T & T. For those of you who haven't yet had the pleasure of shopping at T & T, the country's largest Asian supermarket, let me explain: aisles and aisles of rice, noodles and hot sauces, the freshest produce around and of course, assorted guts!

Today's Friday five is all about my favourite Asian foods (and assorted guts, by the way, is most definitely not one of them). 

In fifth place is bibimbap, the Korean dish made with rice, vegetables, meat and an egg. I first tried bibimbap when I lived in Toronto and worked for a delightful Korean couple. They would always make sure to feed me after a particularly hard day of work and I shared many a delicious Asian meal with them. 

Thai food or anything cooked with coconut milk comes in fourth. I first tried Thai food in Thailand (lucky me) and absolutely love the combination of basil, hot sauce and coconut milk.

In third place is dim sum, the Cantonese specialty consisting of small, individually prepared dishes, including lots of steamed dumplings. Literally meaning "to touch your heart" dim sum is a great way to start a Sunday (as well as a great post night out cure). 

Pho soup is literally like chicken (or beef) soup for the soul. Delightfully flavoured with cardamon, cinnamon, cloves, fennel and star anise and full of rice noodles, bean sprouts and basil, its is the best thing to eat when you're feeling under the weather (or the weather just isn't cooperating). 

First place comes as no surprise to anyone (who knows me) and is, of course, SUSHI. Actually it's sashimi and salmon sashimi specifically. While eating raw slices of salmon doesn't float everyone's boat it is literally my absolute favourite thing in the world.  

Next to hot dogs.

Better with butter

I always thought that Julia Child was a big fan of butter, and like Paula Deen, had said any number of great things about it. But apparently not. 

True enough, many of her recipes feature a fair amount of the wondrous fat, but nothing scandalous.

Well, not in my opinion. 

I also thought that Julia Child was known for making sole à la meunière. But apparently not. I looked through her classic Mastering the Art of French Cooking, made famous (for some) in the 2009 film Julie & Julia with Meryl Streep and Amy Adams, among others, and the closest recipe I found to it is fish filets in white wine sauce. 

I just looked up the original publishing date of said book and it is 1961, by Knopf. The edition I have, bought for me by my father, is also 1961, by Knopf. Does this mean it's a first edition?

Anyhow, back to my soul. I mean my sole. I finally found the recipe in question in Martha Stewart's Cooking School, bought for me by my cousin.

Hey, Wait a sec. I'm detecting a pattern here. Does the fact that various members of my family purchase cookbooks for me mean that I am a bad cook or  a budding chef?

Let's be positive and assume the answer is the latter.

A la meunière means in the manner of the miller's wife and it involves salting and peppering the fish before dredging it in flour and cooking it in clarified butter. A sauce is then made of (more) butter and lemon and the dish is finished with parsley.

I served mine on "a bed" of arugula with balsamic dressing next to sliced avocados and tomatoes. With a smidge of basil. Mmm.

On a butter roll (and soon-to-be sugar high), I also decided to make egg-free peanut butter cookies. Not because I'm vegan (not that there's anything wrong with that) but because I was out of eggs. I also had to substitute the granulated sugar and brown sugar for regular sugar and the vanilla for lemon (thanks mom!).

And guess what? The result was deen-licious!

I enjoyed mine with a refreshing glass of pink lemonade. 

 
 



 

A fish called Wanda

A little while ago, in October 2012 (haha), I penned a transcript of my interview with Eric Ripert, head chef and co-owner of Le Bernardin, a 3-star Michelin restaurant in New York that specializes in seafood. This past weekend, I had the pleasure of watching Jiro Dreams of Sushi, a documentary about another 3-star Michelin restaurant that specializes in seafood - sushi specifically - this one in Tokyo.

Jiro Ono is a shokunin, a master in his field. He has been making sushi since the age of nine and is now 85. He is the head chef and owner of Sukiyabashi Jiro, arguably the world's best sushi restaurant. A meal there consists of about 20 pieces of exquisite sushi, takes about 20 minutes to eat and costs the equivalent of about $400. If you're at all mathematically-inclined, you've already calculated the break-down: it's $20 a minute. 

Some other interesting facts about Sushi Jiro include the fact that the "restaurant" seats a maximum of 10 people and that Jiro makes each and every piece of sushi with each and every customer in mind. Is the customer male or female? Right-handed or left?

Heaven.

Though I lived in Japan for one year and would have, had I known about it, eaten at Sushi Jiro in a Tokyo minute, I didn't. But watching the documentary almost makes me feel like I did. Beautifully filmed and filled with transporting classical music, the documentary is not only full of interesting facts, it is also full of flavours.

You heard me. 

I could literally taste the sushi while I was watching it.

Ripert himself has claimed to be a huge admirer of Jiro and I hope to one day have the pleasure of saying the same. Until then, I'll settle for my very own, homemade salmon tartare. Not quite 3-star... but not bad!

If you're wondering what the drizzle is, it's a balsamic reduction. Oh yeah. That's what I said.

Where in the world is Carmen Sandiego?

I've been somewhat MIA lately - and by somewhat I mean completely and by lately I mean since the end of November - but I'm finally back (I know... big sigh of relief, right?) and super excited about sharing my pictures from a recent trip to Playa del Carmen. I've been at a loss for words lately but figured I shouldn't let that get in the way of blogging. That's what pictures are for! 

Playa del Carmen is located in the Riviera Maya, in Mexico, and was always one of my favourite places to write about. Unlike other destinations I faux-travelled to under the guise of a virtual travel blogger named... oops, I almost forgot I can't say... it's a place I've actually visited a few times and absolutely love.

During my most recent visit, I spent a day strolling up and down famous Fifth Avenue, or La Quinta, to stock up on some day of the dead and lucha libre paraphernalia, went on a day-long catamaran trip, visited a quaint little necropolis (!) and enjoyed my all-time favourite tortilla soup on Isla Mujeres, or the Island of Women.

Last but most certainly not least, I snapped these for you!

 Now what was that about tortilla soup?