The Purple Feather

A quick note to talk about this dessert cafe, which I visited on my recent trip to Cape Cod. The store had many, many choices that looked delicious (I was drooling over the display of red velvet cupcakes). The Engineer had one of their peanut butter cups, which was very good, if a little too rich. I tried three of their chocolate truffles. The Sex on the Beach was a little disappointing to me, because it tastes nothing like the cocktail of the same name (it was more like an orange creamsicle with white chocolate). The raspberry truffle was excellent, dark chocolate with bits of dried raspberry on top. But the best was actually something I had never tasted before: a pomegranate dark chocolate truffle, with a silver flourish on top. It was really amazing! Too bad The Purple Feather only ships to the U.S...

Montée de lait

Je me sens obligée de faire un court commentaire sur un article du dernier Coup de Pouce. J'aime beaucoup Coup de Pouce en général, je le dis tout de suite, mais cet article-là m'a vraiment déçue.

Il s'agit d'un article expliquant les bons choix à faire côté nourriture (en tenant compte des matières grasses et des calories), en comparant deux options dans chaque catégorie. Pour les desserts, on nous demande de choisir la meilleure option entre la tarte aux bleuets et le shortcake aux fraises. Jusque-là, tout va bien. Mais c'est dans la réponse que ça se gâte.

D'abord, Coup de Pouce tient pour acquis que dans une pâte à tarte, il y a du shortening végétal, ce qui est loin d'être le cas de toutes les tartes (je n'en utilise jamais, moi). Et voici le pire, ce qui me met encore dans tous mes états malgré moi: Coup de Pouce explique que le SHORTCAKE aux fraises est la meilleure option, parce que le GÂTEAU DES ANGES a un faible taux de matières grasses qui compense largement pour la crème fouettée. Quitte à avoir l'air d'une adolescente de 15 ans... RAPPORT! La question était de parler du SHORTCAKE, pas du GÂTEAU DES ANGES, bon sang! Ce n'est pas du tout la même chose! Le shortcake, c'est un genre de gâteau sablé, qui contient entre autres du beurre. Le gâteau des anges, c'est très bon aussi, et ça va très bien avec les fraises et la crème fouettée, mais c'est un mets tout à fait différent. Ça m'énerve au plus haut point qu'on puisse confondre les deux! Je ne m'explique même pas comment ça a pu être publié tel quel.

Boston: Sauciety and Galleria Umberto

The Engineer and I are back from our trip to Boston, where he won a prestigious prize at this year’s IMS (I’d tell you which one, but that would blow his cover). We spent three full days there, where we did the usual tourist stuff (shopping at Downtown Crossing, walking the Freedom Trail, visiting Harvard, going to the Aquarium...). We even had a private dinner at the Harvard Club by the Bay, complete with a police motorcade to shuttle us there!



Here’s a food-related picture. I won’t relate all the details of my trip here, but since this is essentially a food blog, I decided that I had to write about our dinner at Sauciety (425 Summer Street). We were tired after a day of sightseeing, so we opted for a quiet dinner at our hotel (the Westin Boston Waterfront). It turned out to be, by far, the best meal we had in Boston. The busboy was absolutely wonderful, and the waiter was very friendly, too. We started with a complimentary appetizer of a small assortment of bread and crackers along with three delicious dips (white bean, roasted red pepper and feta, and roasted garlic oil). The Engineer ordered a baked lobster macaroni and cheese, which was really gemelli pasta with lobster in a creamy, cheesy sauce. It was absolutely excellent. I had a Bosc pear salad with goat cheese, arugula and roasted walnuts, with a lemon dressing, beautifully presented in a tilted bowl, and I spent the rest of the evening oohing and aahing all over it. It was truly a wonderful salad, and the best meal I had eaten in recent memory. I’m still dreaming about it! We ended up not ordering dessert, because we were both too full from licking our plates clean. If I’m ever in Boston again, I’d go back there in a heartbeat.

Also, for a more casual lunch, be sure to visit Galleria Umberto, at 289 Hanover Street. The fare is very simple, and service is both extremely fast and friendly (though curt to the maximum, for efficiency’s sake). This cafeteria-style restaurant serves some of the best pizza in the US (according to a recent MSNBC article). While there is only one choice of pizza flavour (plain cheese and tomato sauce), it is truly excellent. The crust is thick, fluffy inside and crunchy on the bottom, and the sauce has just the right amount of herbs. Be sure to walk to this diner if you get hungry on the Freedom Trail. There are also calzones (several flavour choices) and arancini.

Peach Prosciutto Salad

Another recipe from an old magazine that someone kindly left in my building’s laundry room. This is a really simple recipe, perfect for summer.

For the dressing
1 very ripe peach
2 Tbsp cider vinegar or white wine vinegar
¼ tsp salt
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

For the salad
6 slices prosciutto
3 ripe peaches
3 green onions
3 Tbsp roasted pine nuts
mixed greens, about 12 cups (I’m a big fan of arugula myself, but baby spinach would be good too)

For the dressing
Peel the peach. Coarsely chop. Place in a food processor; add vinegar and salt, then purée. Add oil and whirl again until thoroughly mixed. The dressing will be quite thick. It will keep well, covered and refrigerated, up to 3 days.

For the salad
Place greens in a very large bowl. Slice prosciutto into small(ish) pieces. Slice peaches into wedges. Thinly slice green onions. Add to the bowl with the greens and toss. Add dressing and top with pine nuts. (If you will be eating the salad in more than one sitting, then only add dressing to the portion you are eating; the greens will stay crisp in the fridge if you withhold the dressing.)

Élargir les horizons culinaires

Je suis la première à l’avouer : je suis assez difficile, côté nourriture. Mais je m’améliore. Il y a certains aliments que je n’aimais pas du tout quand j’étais petite, mais mes goûts ont changé. Par exemple, j’adore maintenant les oignons, les pois chiches et les poivrons (enfin, les verts un peu moins, mais quand même). Souvent, par contre, je me rends compte que je peux en fait aimer certains aliments, du moment qu’ils sont préparés à mon goût. Manger un demi-avocat avec une vinaigrette au citron, ça ne me dit pas, alors j’ai longtemps cru que je n’aimais pas les avocats. Mais en fait, j’adore manger des tranches d’avocats dans un sandwich ou un hamburger et je raffole du guacamole. Et bien que je n’aime toujours pas les courgettes cuites comme plat d’accompagnement, je les aime crues, en salade.

Bon, même chose pour les tomates. Je n’aime pas le cœur, la partie avec tous les pépins. Mais le pourtour, la partie qui ressemble en fait à un poivron mou, sur une belle tomate mûre, ça peut être assez bon. Et selon une vidéo de Chowhound, les chefs enlèvent parfois le cœur des tomates – comme quoi je ne suis pas la seule avec des goûts particuliers! Ça va donc sûrement surprendre ma mère de savoir que j’ai acheté de belles petites tomates de trois couleurs différentes, juste parce que je les trouvais belles, et que j’ai fait une bonne salade colorée.




J’ai aussi récemment mangé un excellent sandwich pain entier-mayonnaise-tomate jaune-poivre-bacon-roquette-cheddar fort.



Sachant cela, j’ai décidé d’essayer une salade de choux de Bruxelles crus, après avoir vu un billet de Ninnie s’inspirant d’une recette de 101 Cookbooks. Je l’ai présentée à l’Ingénieur en disant que c’était de la salade de choux, parce que je savais très bien que si je prononçais le mot « Bruxelles », il refuserait d’y goûter. En fin de compte, ça a été un succès mitigé. Notre partie préférée de la salade, c’était les pacanes rôties, le parmesan et la vinaigrette citron-huile d’olive-thym. Et bien que les choux de Bruxelles nous plaisent plus crus que cuits, on ne les a pas aimés tant que ça. Ça reste du chou, et ça pue. Mais je pense tout de même essayer une salade de brocoli cru cet été, alors je vous tiendrai au courant, le brocoli étant mon ennemi juré. (Sur la photo du bas, la salade derrière la fourchette était un délicieux mélange de pois chiches, d’oignons, de tomates jaunes, de feta et de coriandre.)





Et comme le dit très bien Lucie, quand on veut faire goûter quelque chose aux autres, il suffit souvent d’adapter le nom du plat. Par exemple, j’ai une recette de gâteau au chocolat que j’ai faite à mon mariage afin de permettre aux gens avec diverses allergies et intolérances de profiter quand même d’un dessert (depuis cette soirée, en fait, je l’appelle souvent le gâteau « sans rien », vu tous les ingrédients potentiellement dangereux qu’il ne contient pas). Quand je disais qu’il s’agissait d’un gâteau sans gluten, la plupart des gens tenaient pour acquis qu’il ne serait pas bon. Quand j’ai plutôt dit que c’était un gâteau au chocolat sans farine, tout d’un coup, c’était nettement plus appétissant! Mais la recette du gâteau reste la même, bien sûr.

Petits poudings aux cerises

Cette recette est tirée du dernier Coup de Pouce (malheureusement, elle ne se trouve pas sur le site web du magazine, alors je ne vous donne pas de lien). Je vais reproduire la recette presque comme elle a été publiée, mais en mentionnant que l’Ingénieur et moi sommes d’avis qu’il faudrait mettre un peu moins de cerises et doubler la quantité de pâte. Personnellement, j’aurais aimé un peu plus de sucre dans les cerises (je suis une bibitte à sucre), mais l’Ingénieur trouvait ça parfait tel quel. J’avais mis de l’eau au lieu du jus d’orange, mais j’avais compensé en ajoutant du zeste de clémentine (on fait avec ce qu’on a).



3 tasses de cerises fraîches, dénoyautées et coupées en deux
¼ tasse de jus d’orange ou d’eau froide
2 c. à thé de fécule de maïs
3 c. à soupe de farine
2 c. à soupe de semoule de maïs
1 c. à soupe de sucre
¾ c. à thé de poudre à pâte
1 pincée de sel
1 pincée de muscade
4 c. à thé de beurre ou de margarine
1 œuf
2 c. à soupe de lait

Dans une casserole, mélanger les cerises, le jus d’orange et la fécule de maïs. Laisser reposer pendant 20 minutes, puis cuire à feu moyen jusqu’à ce que la préparation ait épaissi et soit bouillonnante.



Préchauffer le four à 400 °F.

Dans un bol, mélanger la farine, la semoule de maïs, le sucre, la poudre à pâte, le sel et la muscade. Ajouter le beurre et, à l’aide d’un coupe-pâte ou de deux couteaux, travailler la préparation jusqu’à ce qu’elle ait la texture d’une chapelure grossière. Faire un puits au centre de la farine. Dans un petit bol, mélanger l’œuf et le lait. Verser d’un seul coup dans la préparation de farine et mélanger à l’aide d’une fourchette jusqu’à ce qu’elle soit humectée et homogène.

Répartir la garniture aux cerises dans quatre ramequins d’une capacité de ¾ tasse chacun. Répartir la pâte sur la garniture aux cerises. Cuire au four pendant 15 minutes, ou jusqu’à ce qu’un cure-dents inséré au centre de la pâte en ressorte propre. Servir chaud.

Gâteau au chocolat de chez Le Cluny

La recette du gâteau au chocolat du restaurant Le Cluny a été mise en vedette à la di Stasio il y a un an ou deux, et depuis, elle s’est répandue partout sur le web. Est-ce que j’étais au courant? Pantoute. Mais mieux vaut tard que jamais, pour un si bon gâteau. J’ai modifié la recette pour la faire sans lactose (donc avec du yogourt sans lactose, ce qui n’est pas le cas de tous les yogourts, malgré ce qu’on voudrait bien vous faire avaler), et le résultat était excellent. J’ai aussi sorti ma balance pour le chocolat, pour une fois.

180 g + 60 g de pépites de chocolat noir
½ tasse de beurre ou de margarine
1 tasse d’eau bouillante
3 œufs, à la température de la pièce
2 tasses de sucre
2 c. à thé de vanille
½ tasse de yogourt nature
1 c. à thé de bicarbonate de soude
2 tasses de farine
½ tasse de cacao
1 ½ c. à thé de poudre à pâte
½ c. à thé de sel

Préchauffer le four à 350 °F. Graisser généreusement un moule à cheminée et le saupoudrer de cacao. (J’utilise toujours du cacao au lieu de la farine pour un gâteau au chocolat, car les traces sur le gâteau paraissent moins dans le premier cas. Cependant, puisque mon moule avait des creux, il est resté un peu trop de cacao quand même, mais c’était très bon.)



Faire fondre 180 g de chocolat avec le beurre. Ajouter l’eau bouillante, mélanger et réserver.



Dans un bol, battre ensemble les œufs, le sucre et la vanille. Réserver.

Mélanger le yogourt et le bicarbonate de soude. (Je l’ai fait à même la tasse; remarquez dans les photos que le bicarbonate de soude a fait en sorte que le yogourt double de volume, le temps que je sois prête à l’incorporer. Ce n’est pas un problème, mais il faut soit prévoir l’espace nécessaire dans le contenant, soit le faire à la dernière minute.)



Dans un grand bol, mélanger la farine, le cacao, la poudre à pâte et le sel. Réserver.



Au mélange de chocolat, ajouter le mélange d’œufs et de sucre. Mélanger avec une cuillère jusqu’à homogénéité.



Verser le mélange chocolaté sur les ingrédients secs. Incorporer à la cuillère; fouetter ensuite jusqu’à ce que tous les ingrédients secs soient incorporés.



Incorporer le yogourt et le reste du chocolat. Verser dans le moule.



Cuire environ 45 minutes, ou jusqu’à ce qu’un cure-dent en ressorte propre.



Laisser refroidir environ 20 minutes, démouler et laisser refroidir complètement.

Magrets de canard rôtis, poires au miel

J'ai pris cette recette dans un vieux magazine que quelqu'un avait gentiment laissé traîner dans la salle de lavage de mon immeuble. Je n’ai malheureusement pas pu la retrouver en ligne sur le site du magazine, alors je ne vous donne que ma version. Je l’ai modifiée un peu, notamment parce qu’il fallait, de un, du miel d’acacia (eh non, ça ne traîne pas dans mon armoire, alors du miel de trèfle, ça va faire l’affaire en masse); et de deux, la recette recommandait de laisser reposer les magrets à même la poêle chaude, et comme vous le voyez sur la photo, ce n’était pas adéquat. Je vous recommande donc de laisser reposer les magrets sur une planche de bois, hors de la chaleur, comme du monde, pour éviter qu’ils se vident de leur jus quand vous les découperez.

½ tasse de sucre
3 c. à soupe de vinaigre de cidre ou de vinaigre de vin
24 pacanes (environ, quoi)
2 magrets de canard
sel et poivre
2 c. à soupe de vinaigre balsamique
2 c. à soupe de miel

Pour les poires au miel
2 ou 3 poires fermes, pelées et coupées en quartiers
2 c. à soupe de beurre
2 c. à soupe de miel
poivre
zeste d’une orange, râpé
1 c. à soupe de gingembre frais pelé et émincé
le contenu d’une gousse de vanille

Dans une poêle, faire un caramel avec le sucre et le vinaigre de cidre. Y plonger les pacanes et bien mélanger. Égoutter les pacanes et les laisser refroidir.

Quadriller la peau des magrets de canard à l’aide d’un couteau. Saler et poivrer. Dans une poêle à feu moyen, faire cuire les magrets, côté peau en bas. Quand ils sont presque cuits, les retourner côté chair et terminer la cuisson. Ils devraient être encore rosés au centre. Les retirer de la poêle et les laisser reposer sur une planche de bois. Retirer le gras de la poêle (mais idéalement, ne le jeter pas, ça peut toujours servir ensuite, genre pour faire rôtir des patates). Verser dans la poêle le vinaigre balsamique et le miel; laisser réduire pour faire une sauce.

Pendant ce temps, dans une grande poêle antiadhésive, faire fondre le beurre. Ajouter le miel, le poivre, le zeste d’orange, le gingembre et les grains de vanille; bien mélanger. Ajouter les poires et les faire blondir à feu vif, en les retournant.

Découper les magrets rôtis en tranches. Servir les magrets nappés de la sauce, accompagnés de pacanes caramélises et de tranches de poires au miel.

Pizookies

I got this recipe from the White on Rice Couple. It’s called a pizookie, because it’s a deep-dish (like the pizza) cookie. I made the chocolate chip version, of course, but you could make these with any soft cookies you like.

The following recipe actually makes a few dozen cookies. Depending on how many ramekins you have (and what size they are), expect some leftover dough. It should be rolled in a log and frozen; later, you can make slices from the log and bake cookies, or make more pizookies.

Note that I found these almost too sweet when they were still warm, so serving them à la mode is a must. Also, using sea salt means that as you are eating the dough, you will occasionally bite down on grains of salt, and the flavour will show through. I loved that mix of salty and sweet; that being said, if you don’t think you’ll like it, feel free to use ¼ tsp of table salt instead. I’ll also mention that Baker’s is now making a premium dark chocolate for the home cook, which is quite good, but it is sold in 6 oz (170 g) packages, so you’ll need two for this recipe.

¾ cup brown sugar
¾ cup granulated sugar
1 ¼ cup (2.5 sticks) unsalted butter or margarine
2 large eggs
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 tsp sea salt
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
350 g dark chocolate, cut into 1/2″ chunks or smaller (this is about 2 cups, or one package of dark chocolate chips)

Preheat oven to 375 °F.

Beat together the butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, vanilla and sea salt; beat again.

Whisk together the flour and baking soda. Stir into the batter, then add chocolate and stir until it is well mixed.

Fill ramekins ½ inch deep with cookie dough. Place ramekins on a baking sheet and put on the middle rack in the oven. Bake 15-20 minutes, until the top starts to turn golden-brown. (Remember that, as with most soft cookies, you want then slightly underdone when you pull them out of the oven.)

Serve warm, with vanilla ice cream.

As you can tell by the pictures, I filled my ramekins more than ½ inch deep (because they’re small and I wanted a decent serving in there). This caused some impressive collapse in the center as the pizookies were cooling down, but it was the perfect spot to shove some ice cream. :)

Légumes rôtis à l'érable

Vu que la saison de l’érable a été meilleure cette année que l’année dernière, autant en profiter un peu! Vous y allez avec les légumes que vous voulez : pommes de terre, poivrons, oignons, courges, asperges, navets... C’est selon la saison et vos goûts.

4 tasses de légumes, coupés en cubes
¼ tasse de sucre d’érable
¼ tasse d’huile d’olive
2 c. à soupe d’herbes fraîches ou quelques pincées d’herbes séchées (comme des herbes de Provence)
sel et poivre, au goût

Préchauffer le four à 400 °F.

Dans un grand bol, mélanger tous les ingrédients. Déposer sur une tôle à pâtisserie recouverte de papier d’aluminium. Enfourner 30 ou 40 minutes, jusqu’à cuisson désirée. Bon appétit!

Murray's Rice Pudding

Anglophone Montrealers probably know about Murray’s, a diner whose main claim to fame seems to be its rice pudding. Everyone talks about it nostalgically – there is only one location of Murray’s still open, and people just don’t seem to go as often anymore. A woman who was a waitress at Murray’s for something like 30 years kindly posted the rice pudding recipe on Chow, at the request of several members. I made it, and the Engineer loved it. He said it was pretty much as he remembered. I, on the other hand, was a little confused by this dessert, because it is completely different from my mother’s rice pudding, so it really wasn’t what I was expecting. I’ll post her recipe eventually, but for now, I’ll give you Murray’s.

4 cups of cooked short-grained rice (I used jasmine)
2 to 3 cups of milk (I’ll explain in a moment)
½ cup of sugar
3 eggs
½ cup of 15% cream (I put lactase drops in mine, hence the lactose-free tag)
½ tsp of vanilla
½ cup raisins

Preheat the oven to 375 °F.

Put the cooked rice in an 8-inch pan with the sugar and add enough milk to just cover the rice (in my case, that was 2 cups). Cover the pan with paper (preferably parchment, or wax if you don’t have anything else) that has been cut to fit just over it. Place the pan in the oven and bake until the top browns slightly, about 30 minutes.

Beat the eggs and add the cream, vanilla, rice, raisins and enough extra milk so that the mixture is fairly loose. (Here, I felt the mixture was loose already, so I didn’t add any more milk. That being said, the Engineer felt that my pudding was slightly harder than Murray’s, so maybe a little more milk would have helped. Also, the recipe is supposed to make about 8 servings, while I only had 6 – so yes, more milk than 2 cups would be preferable.)

Spoon the mixture in small ramekins. Place the ramekins in a large pan filled with boiling water (this will help the custard bake evenly). Put the pan in the oven and bake uncovered until the custard has set and the pudding is golden brown, about 30 minutes. Chill and serve.

Star Trek

I won’t write too much about this movie, both because I don’t have much time to do so and because I don’t want to spoil any of the moments that thrilled me. I just want to say that this movie was fantastic! It’s been a long time since I was able to say that about any movie, but this one really delivered. You don’t need to be a fan of the franchise to enjoy it, though if you are a fan, you’ll love it. You should all go see the movie this weekend (even if theatres are packed, because trust me, the crowd’s reactions will enhance your experience). Awesome actors, awesome effects, some very funny lines. Long live Star Trek!

Red Velvet Cake

I found this amazing recipe on Velvet Lava Cafe. It is referred to as Utterly Ridiculous Cake – and yes, it is that good. Dare I say it? This cake is better than the one I had as my wedding cake (which the baker made with my recipe). But what really makes this cake is the frosting. I’ve never had anything like it. Yes, it is a little... shall we say... high-maintenance, but it is well worth it! And part of its appeal is that it is not as sweet as one would expect by looking at it. So this will now be my go-to Red Velvet Cake recipe. (As for my second wedding cake, the so-called “Free Cake”, that recipe still stands and will be shared here eventually.)

Before we begin, one word about ingredients. I did make the cake lactose-free (that is, if using the right kind of margarine and by replacing the buttermilk with lactose-free milk and lemon juice). But then, I tried to substitute ingredients for the frosting, with disastrous results. You see, the frosting calls for shortening and butter. On the first night, I substituted (non-hydrogenated) margarine for both – luckily, I did not double the recipe, simply because I did not have enough margarine. While it could probably replace the butter without too much trouble, it turns out there is no way it could replace the shortening. The consistency is just too different. The frosting made with margarine was too liquid, and no amount of butter and icing sugar could salvage it. The cake itself was still delicious, and we used some of the icing mixture as a sauce. On the second night, the Engineer having kindly gone to the store to get shortening (which we don’t keep in the house, normally), I made another batch of frosting for the leftover cake – and boy, was it awesome. It came out floofy and perfect. I do suggest making a double batch for frosting the whole cake. If you only do a thin layer of frosting, you could probably get away with a single batch, but really, with this recipe, you should go all the way! Double-batch it and you’ll have some leftovers.

So my dilemma is this: is there a product that is, if not healthy, at least healthier than shortening? I know it’s vegetal, but it’s all hydrogenated fat! And they make it yellow now, which is just weird. I’ve recently read a very interesting article on lard that makes me want to try it, but I haven’t seen it at my grocery store yet. What are you views on these types of ingredients? Any suggestions for me?

On to the recipe!

Batter
1 Tbsp cocoa , heaping
1.5 oz red food coloring (3 Tbsp)
½ cup butter or margarine
1 ½ cup sugar
2 eggs (at room temperature)
1 Tbsp vanilla
½ tsp salt
2 cups flour
1 cup buttermilk (at room temperature, if possible)
1 tsp baking soda
1 Tbsp white vinegar

Frosting (I recommend that you double this recipe)
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup milk
½ cup shortening
½ cup unsalted butter (at room temperature) or perhaps cold margarine
1 cup sugar
1 Tbsp vanilla
½ tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350°F, placing baking position to middle rack. Grease two 8-inch or 9-inch pans, then line bottom of pans with parchment paper; grease again.

Batter
In a small bowl, combine cocoa and food coloring, making a runny paste; set aside. Using a mixer, cream margarine and sugar until combined. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Beat until combined and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the red paste and beat until completely incorporated.





Add the vanilla and salt; beat until incorporated. Add 1 cup flour, beat just until combined; add all of the buttermilk, beat until combined; add the remaining cup of flour, beat just until combined. Do NOT overmix. Sprinkle the baking soda over the top of the batter; pour the vinegar over the top of the batter. Gently fold these last 2 ingredients in by hand. Pour batter into the prepared pans.


Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until tester inserted into middle of cakes comes out clean. Place cakes on cooling rack to cool, then remove from pans. Frost once completely cooled.



Frosting
Prepare a cooling bath. Fill a sink or large, wide container/pan with ice water; have a medium bowl ready to cool the flour mixture. In medium saucepan, over medium heat, add milk and flour, stirring occasionally at first and then almost constantly as the mixture begins to warm and thicken. Attentive stirring will prevent lumps from forming while the flour and milk begin to combine. The mixture will continue to thicken; bring the consistency just past pudding stage, where it begins to get a bit gummy. Take the mixture off the heat and pour into the waiting medium bowl. Stir vigorously and place bottom of bowl into cooling bath to speed cooling, stirring every few minutes to avoid big lumps, until the mixture cools.


In a large bowl, beat shortening and butter until creamy. Add sugar and beat until incorporated and fluffy. Add vanilla and salt, beat until completely incorporated. When cooled, add the flour mixture and beat, at high speed, until completely incorporated (about 5 minutes).


When the cake has completely cooled, frost it to your heart's desire!


*Update*
I made this for the Engineer's birthday (Aug. 2009), so here are a few pictures that are more representative. Pardon the smooshing effect on the cake!

Taste of India

Taste of India, on Monkland, is one of the best Indian restaurants in Montreal. While you peruse the menu, you can snack on pappadum with a delicious salad of onions, tomatoes, cucumber and coriander. I always seem to turn into a klutz when I eat that, but it’s worth it – it’s so good! And before you order, let it be said that I always recommend a ginger ale with Indian food (though they do have a good selection of Indian beers).

There are several different combos that are very tasty and give you good variety while covering the classics. I definitely recommend the onion bhajis, along with samosas for a starter. The Mulligatawny soup is also very good. The butter chicken is always a safe bet, as is the chicken tikka masala and the tandoori chicken (which is excellent). The beef bhoona is also very good, as are some vegetarian dishes, like the saag aloo (potatoes and spinach) and the aloo gobi (potatoes with cauliflower). The rice pilao, while a little dry, tastes wonderful by itself and is also great to absorb sauce or cut spices. And let’s not forget the nan bread, which is amazing! Off the combo menu, I recommend the coconut chicken or chicken korma, if you like mild dishes, as well as the vindaloo or naga chicken, if you like spicy dishes.

For dessert, try the gulab jamon (pastry and Indian cheese dipped in sweet honey syrup and rosewater) or the borfi (squares made from coconut and Indian cream).

Chicken Fried Rice

This recipe is based on the Chicken Fried Rice that Curtis Stone made on Oprah.

1 ½ cups rinsed, drained, uncooked long-grain white rice
2 2/3 cups water
5 Tbsp canola oil, divided
4 large eggs, beaten
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
4 small peeled and finely diced carrots (about 4 ounces total)
2 branches of celery, cut into small pieces
salt and freshly ground black pepper
¾ cup thinly sliced green onions
1/3 cup reduced-sodium soy sauce
1 tsp toasted sesame oil


Combine the water and rice in a saucepan and cook according to the manufacturer's instructions.

Heat 1 Tbsp of canola oil in a large wok over medium-high heat. Add the eggs and stir with a fork for about 30 seconds or until just cooked. Remove the eggs from the wok and set aside on a plate.

Heat 1 Tbsp of oil in the wok, season the chicken with salt and pepper and cook for 4to 5 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through. Remove chicken to a plate.

Heat the remaining 3 Tbsp of canola oil in the wok over medium-high heat. Add the carrots and celery to the wok and stir-fry for 2 minutes. Add the rice and stir-fry for 2 minutes or until heated through. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in the eggs, chicken and ¾ of the green onions. Add the soy sauce and sesame oil and continue to stir-fry for 1 minute. Transfer the rice to a bowl and sprinkle with the remaining green onions.

Légumes en vrac

J'ai des photos et des billets qui s'accumulent, alors j'ai pensé en mettre quelques-unes ici avec une recette simple, en espérant que ça vous donne des idées.

Pommes de terre rôties à la provençale

4 pommes de terre moyennes, en cubes ou en tranche de 1 cm d'épaisseur
1 oignon rouge, en gros dés
2 poivrons (rouges, orange ou jaunes), en gros dés
2 gousses d'ail, hachées
1 c. à soupe de jus de citron
sel et poivre, au goût
1 c. à soupe de romarin frais, haché
2 c. à soupe de basilic frais, haché
huile d'olive

Préchauffer le four à 425 °F.
Faire chauffer un peu d'huile d,olive dans une grande poêle et y faire revenir l'oignon pendant 5 minutes à feu moyen. Ajouter l'ail et poursuivre la cuisson 2 minutes.
Disposer, avec les pommes de terre et les poivrons, sur une plaque à biscuits huilée. Arroser de jus de citron, saler et poivrer, saupoudrer du romarin.
Faire cuire 30 minutes ou jusqu'à ce que la préparation soit dorée et que les pommes de terre soient cuites. Retirer du four et saupoudrer du basilic.
Servir aussitôt (avec du poulet, par exemple).


Aussi, les frites aux patates douces: je ne donne pas de recette, car je n'ai pas encore maîtrisé la technique, mais il faut les découper avec l'épaisseur voulue, ajouter un peu d'huile et les faire cuire au four. Ce n'est pas sorcier, mais il me manque la bonne durée à la bonne température, selon la grosseur des frites. J'y travaille!



Enfin, des oignons caramélisés (délicieux sur un hamburger). Il suffit de trancher un oignon et de défaire les rondelles.
Faites chauffer de l’huile dans une poêle à feu très doux. Mettez-y les oignons avec un peu de cassonade.


Faites cuire en remuant de temps à autre, jusqu’à ce que les oignons soient caramélisés (20 à 30 minutes).


Bon appétit!

Breakfast at Tiffany's

I couldn’t resist the title of this post after eating at Tiffany’s, on Décarie, this past Sunday. The restaurant is like a cross between Bâton Rouge and a nice diner. Tiffany’s is not strictly a breakfast place, it is also a grill, but they are known for brunch. It’s got an American-style menu with eggs, pancakes, French toast and waffles, as well as more health-conscious options. For my part, I couldn’t help but order the Holly Golightly (two eggs, pancakes, potatoes, fruit and toast) with a side of bacon (not included in the meal itself). The pancakes were wonderful. The potatoes were intriguing: halfway between roasted and mashed, and with an unidentifiable spice. After the first bite, I wanted more, but by the end, it just became weird. I’m told those were not the potatoes that are usually served, though, but they are described on the menu only as house potatoes, so I guess anything goes depending on what the chef has on hand. The bacon was cooked perfectly and the eggs were quite good. The fruit was a few slices of melon and orange. I opted not to get the toast, though, because I’m never hungry enough for the whole thing. But the meal itself was very satisfying.

Tiffany’s, while busy, is a nice place for breakfast, and I would like to try more of their dishes. I’m glad I got to try it out.

*On a side note, I just can’t get over how nice it is outside today! It’s April 27th, but it’s 30 °C outside. The air is warm and smells wonderful; the buds in the trees are turning green; some lucky people have tulips and daffodils. I wish I had more time to go enjoy this weather outside. In the meantime, all my windows are open!*

Meat Market

I went to the Meat Market last Saturday, in my continuing quest for the best burgers in Montreal. I would say they are in the top three, which is great news to me.

I had the Swiss Miss hamburger: bacon, Swiss cheese, caramelized onions, pesto mayonnaise, lettuce and tomato. I was a little scared when I received my plate, because the burger looked huge! But it turns out that the bun is oversized compared to the filings. The beef patty tasted really good and was cooked perfectly; the toppings were a perfect match. The burgers also came with fries and a mixed-green salad. The salad was good and had a tasty dressing. The fries were what really caught my attention, though: a wonderful mix of sweet potato and potato skinny fries. I loved the whole dish!

The meat brochettes are quite good, too. Actually, the menu was very interesting, and had I not been there specifically for burgers, I would have had a hard time choosing only one thing to eat. You might be interested to know that there are several vegetarian options that looked quite good, so don’t be fooled by the restaurant’s name. The Meat Market also serves (and sells) their own spice mixes, which include Buddha salt – a delicious mix of salt, coriander and fennel seeds, cloves and nutmeg.

The restaurant itself has a very urban feel and is quite busy on most nights, so reservations are recommended. Service was friendly, fast and efficient. We were given an olive tapenade with chips while we waited for our mains, which was an appreciated gesture. The only downside: the chairs seemed a little narrow because of the way the arms of the chairs met the thighs of the person sitting in it. But that certainly won’t keep me from going back!

Vegan Carrot and Oatmeal Cookies

I saw the recipe online and made a mental note to try it as soon as I found coconut oil. It turns out that my Metro had some, and since my Metro usually doesn’t have anything, this oil should be pretty widely available by now. They are very easy to make, contain no eggs (so eating the batter is perfectly safe), and when they came out of the oven, they were the best thing ever.

For the flour, I now almost always use Robin Hood’s Nutri Flour, because it’s very similar to white flour but is actually whole wheat (made from blonde wheat, which is therefore paler), so I added a few ingredients since I was substituting it for pastry flour. I didn’t need to warm the coconut oil, just because it’s so hot in my apartment that it was liquid already. I think you could add raisins (provided you’ve plumped them up in hot water first), pecans, lemon zest, or something else you like.

1 cup all-purpose flour
2 Tbsp cornstarch
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup shredded carrots
½ cup real maple syrup, at room temperature
½ cup coconut oil, warmed until just melted
1 tsp grated fresh ginger

Preheat oven to 375 °F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, salt and oats. Add the carrots.


In another bowl, mix together the maple syrup, coconut oil and ginger. Add this to the flour mixture and stir until just combined.


Drop onto the baking sheets, one spoonful at a time, twelve to a sheet. Bake about 10 minutes, until the cookies are golden.