White Asparagus Part 2

As I said in White Asparagus Part 1, I'd always just boiled my white asparagus. Well this asparagus season we went to Spring restaurant in Paris. My favourite taste in the meal was the grapefruit jelly for many reasons, but the white asparagus were delicious too and a revelation. Obviously  chef Daniel Rose shares my opinion that white asparagus should be big and fat, look at these beauties in the photo. You can read about Daniel and his restaurant in an article written by my friend Lesley Chesterman.

White Asparagus Part 1

I'm an asparagus snob. For me asparagus are white and fat. You have to peel white asparagus, so you want something left when you finish and I'd rather eat three fat ones than half a dozen skinny ones.  When I first came to France eons ago, green asparagus, the only ones I was familiar with at the time, were no where to be found. You could find skinny wild green asparagus, but everything else is white. Today green are everywhere. To my taste white asparagus are superior to green. They are the same plant except the white ones are buried under a mound of sandy soil. This protects them from the light and stops the formation of chlorophyl resulting in a pure asparagus taste, free of the grassiness of the green ones.

Fat Dinner part 2

Well after all that fat, dinner began with lean duck breast and salad, although it did have a healthy layer of fatty skin, I'm happy to say. Neumarkt chef Rene Zimmermann followed my recipe, using figs, which were in season, rather than blackberries that weren't. This is exactly how recipes should be approached, smart alternatives rather than following them to the letter.

Group of 7 Odd Bits Dinner

I've been looking forward to this night, since Scott from Beast and Matty from Parts and Labour first suggested it. As members of the Group of 7 Chefs they thought an Odd Bits dinner would be fun and a way to help them raise money for their trip to New York to cook at the James Beard House later this year. Importantly it would be a way for offal lovers and neophytes to try a range of dishes not often found on restaurant menus. All seven chefs picked an odd bit and created a dish. The list was bone and tendon, lamb kidneys, lamb tripe, tongue and testicles, pork heart, veal brain and pork blood.

Epiphany - Galette part 2

Well I hope you have leapt out of bed and gave your puff pastry two more rolls this morning. Now you will have this -

The day before Epiphany-Galette part 1

If you follow this blog you will know that I have written about galette des rois before. So instead of recounting the history of this cake, this post is a practical how to make one, no need to buy the book Fat: An Appreciation of a Misunderstood Ingredient, with RecipesIf you have the book the recipe is p 64.

Hot Cross Buns

Here is what I had for breakfast Easter morning - a toasted  hot cross bun slathered with butter - a perfect breakfast with coffee. They are good fresh baked, but somehow toasting them make everything come together, the dried fruit, candied peel and the spices. Best of all, the butter melts into the bun and drips down your fingers.

Tarte Tatin

Here is a dessert to chase away the winter blahs - tart tatin. 

Truffles

In my excitement over my galette des rois I forgot to post about New Year's Day. So here it is.

Croissants

Perhaps you thought I didn't get my croissant? Well I did have to wait until Saturday morning but it was worth it. Crisp, flaky and made with enough butter to stain the bag and make my fingers greasy,  it was delicious and the perfect start to the day. Best of all the bakery is a mere five minute walk away, dangerous.

New York New York

You might be wondering why a photo of butter goes along with a post titled New York? Well, unlike in Toronto, in NYC I can get just about any butter I want, well almost. As I am going to France next month I bought butter from elsewhere in Europe, Italy, England and Ireland. One of my favourites is Kerrygold,a butter that is widely available throughout the States. They helped sponsor my event with the New York Women's Culinary Alliance. It rains a lot in Ireland and there is lots of green grass, the basic building block of butter. We often forget on this side of the Atlantic that cows were designed to eat grass. Grass, flowers and herbs add the flavour to butter and the most flavourful late summer milk goes into Kerrygold salted butter - taste it and you'll know the cows has a wonderful diet plus you will be getting healthy omega-3 fatty acids as well. A big thank you to Suzen at Cooking by the Book and the members who cooked recipes from my book for everyone to taste, leaving me with nothing to do but talk about fat. Here is a photo of the flavoured pork fat and one member's comments on the event. I made everyone think again about animal fat and definitely convinced them of the importance of good quality butter. I made more converts at the French Culinary Institute, where I was lucky enough to talk to the students and explain the benefits of cooking with animal fat. I haven't been neglecting my home town. Back in February I was praising fat to a very favourable audience at Coupe Space and last week I was at Cowbell restaurant, where chef Mark Cutrara cooked a delicious fatty meal and I was able to talk about fat again. You can't really stop me, and I am not finished yet - details of upcoming events with the Weston Price and Slow Food groups here in Toronto will be posted soon.

Alive in Vancouver

Well I am still alive but I've been too exhausted to blog, sorry. My body still hasn't decided what time zone it is in. My return to Toronto from Paris was only three days before I set off for the west coast. That was not enough time for my body. I am still waking up in the middle of the night craving cafe au lait and a freshly baked croissant. Despite a wacky body clock, my Seattle was visit was great. I met some serious dedicated foodies at Microsoft; one was fellow Aussie from Sydney. They were all keen on fat and we had a passionate discussion about butter. I discovered a good choice of butters in The Creamery at Pike Place market from France, Ireland and Vermont. As I still had a three-day stop in Vancouver before returning to Toronto, I only bought the Kerry gold. Sunday morning before leaving for Vancouver, I enjoyed two thick slices of toast thickly spread with this Irish gold, and reluctantly left the rest for my friends.
During my stay with my friends, I replaced the skinny milk in their fridge with whole milk and convinced them to cook their eggs in butter. One family at a time is my motto.
The flight from Seattle to Vancouver, a mere 35 minutes was spectacular, clear skies and a wonderful view over the snow-capped mountains.