For this blog activity, I chose to pay a visit to my favourite local Asian market close to my home. I find that their meat department is quite vast and always offers great deals on some prime cuts of meat. While having a look at their selection, I came across an appetizing piece of Angus strip loin steak, which comes from beef cattle. I decided to purchase this steak and prepare it for my dinner. I have to admit that my decision to make this particular selection was based mainly on the price, but I also wanted to see if I would notice any difference between Angus beef in comparison to the non-Angus cuts that I have grown accustomed to. Beef cattle are domestic cows that are typically raised for their meat. They are ruminant animals that possess four stomachs which allows for them to be able to eat and digest various fibrous materials that could not be consumed by humans, such as various grains and hay (Beef production 101, 2013). As a result of this fascinating ability, these animals are capable of taking what they ingest and converting it into proteins that can be used by humans in the form of their meat (Beef production 101, 2013). The strip loin cut is a cut of meat that comes from the short loin of the cow (Gisslen, 2015). It can be purchased in its entirety as a larger cut or in smaller fabricated cuts of individual steaks. This particular cut of meat is located along to top side of the cow and consists of supporting muscles that do very little work in comparison to the voluntary muscles located in areas such as the front legs. Because of this, meat coming from this cut is known to be both flavourful and extremely tender. When you purchase beef, it is important to know that it has all been inspected to insure it is fit for human consumption. Beef is also often graded, though this is not a mandatory requirement for its sale. The grades assigned to beef takes into account the amount of fat marbling present within the meat. The more marbling that is present within the meat, the higher letter grade it would be assigned and the tastier it will tend to be when cooked (Gisslen, 2015). Unfortunately, the piece of meat I purchased did not appear to be graded, yet I could tell that it would be a good quality and flavourful piece of meat based on the visible marbling in the cut and the fact that it came from Angus cattle which is bred for meat production due to its increased marbling. The cost of strip loin can vary in price based on various factors, including the grade and where the meat is sold. It is seen to be one of the more pricier cuts of beef with prices often ranging between $14 to $18 per pound, yet one of the great benefits of this cut is that all of the meat can be consumed resulting in decreased waste (The steak breakdown, n.d.). Lately, I have been seeing some good deals on this particular cut, but when I saw it for $7.99/lb at my local market I simply had to buy some. The steak I purchased was just a little over 10 ounces in weight and cost me $5.43. For the best return on my investment I knew that this cut would have to be utilized whole, rather than being diced up for use in a dish such as a stew. Tender cuts of meat are best used in fast cooking methods that make use of dry heat, such as by grilling or pan searing (Aidells & Kelly, 1998; Gisslen, 2015). By using these methods and cooking the meat at a high temperature for a short period of time the resulting product will possess a nicely browned exterior with a moist and juicy interior (Curry, 2012). Having grown up in a family that tends to eat all of their meat well done, I wanted to make sure that this steak would remain tender and flavourful, so I chose to pan sear it to a medium-rare internal temperature of 145°F. I have included my recipe for my steak below along with photos of the raw product, how I chose to marinate it, the finished product as well as the interior after I cut it open. And no meal can be complete without some sides, so I prepared some port mushrooms and mashed potatoes topped with my homemade olive salt (check out my past blog on salts to learn more). I have to say that it was one of the juiciest and most flavourful steaks I have ever eaten. I definitely will never go back to eating my steaks well done no matter what anyone in my family might say. Hope you enjoy. References:
Aidells, B. & Kelly, D. (1998). The complete meat cookbook: A juicy and authoritative guide to selecting, seasoning, and cooking today’s beef, pork, lamb, and veal. New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin Company. Beef production 101. (2013) Retrieved from http://www.cattle.ca/resources/animal-care/beef-production-101 Curry, L. (2012). Pure beef: An essential guide to artisan meat with recipes for every cut. Philadelphia, PA: Running press. Gisslen, W. (2015). Professional cooking for Canadian chefs (8th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. The steak breakdown: Your ultimate guide to cuts of beef. (n.d.) Retrieved from http://www.foodbeast.com/news/the-steak-breakdown-your-ultimate-guide-to-cuts-of-beef
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Well after counting down the days, the time has finally arrived for restaurants to start taking their Winterlicious bookings… and I’m VERY excited. For those of you that may not be familiar with Winterlicious, it is a yearly occurrence in the Toronto food scene where participating restaurants offer a prix fixe menu for a period of approximately two weeks. I love being able to dine out during this time, as it allows me to take in the breathtaking atmospheres and indulge in some of the fabulous foods on offer at many of the finest restaurants in the city. So far, I’ve been able to make four different reservations… so I can pretty much guarantee that there will be a great deal of indulging happening this year. I will try my best to post a review for each restaurant I visit so stay tuned. In the meantime, I’d love to share my restaurant review for Antler. It doesn’t appear to be participating in Winterlicious, yet I highly recommend dining there if you get a chance. Enjoy. Restaurant Review: Antler Peter Patlakas Defining Canadian cuisine can prove to be somewhat challenging in comparison to the cuisine of other cultures, such as Italian or Chinese. One might describe a typical Canadian dish to consist of a burger grilled on a barbeque with a side of fries or poutine. Our American neighbours to the south may perceive that we live in igloos, yet they easily forget that Canada is comprised of much more than snow and ice. According to Natural Resources Canada (2016), Canada has 347 million hectares of forests which amounts to approximately 9% of the world’s forests. Canadian Chef Michael Hunter, former Executive Chef of Reds (ChefDB, 2015) in Toronto, has made it his mission to showcase wild regional ingredients in an attempt to define true Canadian cuisine at his newly opened restaurant, Antler, in Toronto. On the menu are various wild game meats, including deer and wild boar, accompanied by regional and seasonal ingredients. After dining at Antler, one can easily say that Chef Hunter’s mission is complete. Antler is located at 1454 Dundas Street West, a neighbourhood that has recently seen the opening of many new restaurants. Chef Hunter’s restaurant is small and cozy, so I would advise that you definitely ensure you make a reservation either by calling them at (647) 345-8300 or through their website at antlerkitchenbar.com. I reserved my table through their website and was pleased to see that they offer a space to write a note, which is great if you want to inform them that you are celebrating a special occasion or that you have a serious allergy they should be aware of. After booking my reservation, I was pleasantly surprised to get a phone call from one of their staff members the next day confirming my reservation. They said they were looking forward to having me, showing that they value my business and making for a great first impression. Upon my arrival, we were able to find ample metered street parking. We were promptly greeted by the hostess once we entered the restaurant and my party of three was immediately seated at a reserved table near the back, just in front of the bar. We were provided with menus printed on paper, making them much more sanitary than traditional laminated ones. Our table was clean, with a simple knife and fork placed on a cloth napkin for each diner and a tea light situated in a mason jar filled with dark blue-black pebbles in the centre of the table. After a few minutes of being seated, a server came and informed us about the daily specials. When we asked her about the price, she said that she did not know and that she would go check for us before asking if we wanted to order drinks. Antler’s drink menu consists of a small assortment of wines available by the glass or bottle. The price point for the wine was well matched to that of the food, ranging from an affordable $10 glass of Jean Luc Colombo Viognier French white to a pricey Collemattoni Brunelle di Montalcino Italian red available only by the bottle at $150. The diners accompanying me chose to skip the wine and ordered the Big Rock Rhinestone Cowboy, which was described to us by the server as an amber coloured lager beer. After looking at their drink menu I decided to order one of the various handcrafted cocktails available, all priced at $15. There were twelve cocktails to choose from which all sounded so marvelous that my indecisiveness kicked into high gear and I told the server that I would need a few moments before I could come to a decision. She left our table saying that she would return shortly for my drink order. It was at this point that Antler’s service momentarily waivered. Less than two minutes after our server had left, another server approached our table asking us if we were ready to order drinks. We told her that we had already been looked after and she apologized before leaving. To me, this eagerness to take a drink order appeared as a desire for the server to earn a tip rather than to please a customer. Eventually, our server returned and I ordered the foraged cedar gin sour made from cedar infused gin, lemon, simple syrup, bitters and egg whites. When my drink arrived, I took one sniff and could smell the delicate aroma of cedar. This fragrance took me back to the times when I would walk through the forest at my cottage just after it had rained and I was delighted by the taste of the drink and its artful presentation in a coupe glass. I asked for shot glasses so I could pour some of my drink for the other people in my party to taste and the server obliged my request. As we sat at our table relaxing with our drinks, we soaked in the ambiance of the restaurant itself with its dim lighting and walls painted in natural earthen hues. The seats along the wall were repurposed church pews, with the chairs across the table were wooden with wicker-like seats. Despite the small space of the restaurant, measures were taken to allow guests to enjoy a roomier feel. Along one of the walls hung a long horizontal mirror, giving the narrow restaurant space a greater sense of depth. A bar-height table was placed along the open front window, allowing the eye to merge the restaurant with the outside street. Above us on the wall hung an animal skull, likely a deer, with some green foliage sprouting from it. The whole atmosphere had a ‘woodsy’ feel to it, including the washroom which had pictures hanging on the doors of deer profiles. Both pictures were similar, and it took a few moments to be able to distinguish that the deer with the antlers symbolized the men’s washroom while the one without the antlers was the women’s. The small but clean bathrooms were located in the basement and not accessible to those with mobility issues. The ceiling height was extremely low, and any man over 5’6” would unfortunately have to duck his head in order to use the urinal. In the dining room, music was playing but could hardly be heard due to the volume of noise coming from the large party of individuals well into their fifth or sixth drinks seated at the table beside us. Our server returned and apologized for the noise, and this was greatly appreciated. She then asked if we were ready to place our order, and in our eagerness to experience Antler’s cuisine we forgot to ask her if she found out the prices of the specials and instead ordered directly off the menu. For appetizers we ordered the wild mushroom tarte Tatin ($10) which consisted of caramelized onions, foraged mushrooms, sorrel walnut pesto and puff pastry. The pastry was perfectly cooked and delicately flaky and the mushrooms were rich in taste and abundance. I could barely taste any caramelized onions, but the sorrel walnut pesto with its pleasant savoury taste and bright green hue made up for this. After seeing the table next to us order the charcuterie board, we decided to place an order for this as well. Our server informed us that it came in two sizes, with the small priced at $18 and the large at $36. We ordered the small and found that it was a perfect size to be shared between the three of us. The board arrived with all of the items presented on a long wooden plank that I wouldn’t doubt had been foraged from the woods and hand prepared for use in the restaurant. On top of the board was an arrangement of foie gras pâté, smoked duck breast, ham hock terrine, thinly sliced beef tongue and a smoked sausage. All of this was accompanied by a homemade grainy mustard and an assortment of pickled vegetables and peppers scattered throughout. Such an assortment allowed us to taste the flavours of various game meats and compare each of them by their flavours and textures. This was an exquisite platter that I would highly recommend to any diner and will easily order again on my next visit to Antler. To top it all off, our server ensured that all of the cutlery was changed and that our table was crumbed prior to our main courses arriving. I really enjoyed that these extra steps were taken so that we could fully enjoy our dinner. As for the mains, my party and I decided to select three different plates to share. All of our selected mains were served on simple but elegant white plates with portion sizes that were large enough to share. Our first choice was the rabbit pappardelle ($24) which consisted of braised rabbit meat, buttered leeks, verjus apricot preserve, parmesan cheese and sautéed greens. This was a spectacular dish. The pappardelle noodles were cooked al dente and the ratio of meat to noodles was just right. The rabbit itself was succulent and well-seasoned. It was slightly difficult to notice the apricot preserve and sautéed greens though, but the flavours of these ingredients came through in the dish itself.
Our second choice was the game burger ($18) which consisted of a burger patty of ground wild boar, bison and deer meat served on a toasted bun with hot mustard, garlic aioli, lettuce, tomato, pickles and house smoked cheddar. We asked for onions on the burger and were delighted to see that they ended up plating the burger with a copious amount of homemade onion jam rather than the traditional sliced raw onions. The burger patty was cooked to medium-well and retained a good amount of moisture. It was not at all dry like most of the wild game I have tried in the past. The burger was accompanied by a generous side of seasoned fries. I would definitely come back again simply to enjoy one of these burgers all to myself. Lastly, we also opted for the spice ash crusted rack of deer ($39) which came served on a parsnip purée topped with Swiss chard and braised deer shoulder meat. Upon the arrival of this meal we were provided with steak knives with handles resembling carved antlers, further adding to the theme of the restaurant. The deer was cooked to a medium doneness and was beautifully moist. The spice ash appeared to be a blend of various spices including cinnamon which had been burnt and ground into a powdery consistency and crusted over the deer. It was quite fragrant but managed to preserve the flavour of the meat itself. The dish was well plated and inviting with the warm colours of the accompaniments on the plate evoking images of the changing colours of leaves in fall. Lastly, our meal would not have been complete without dessert. We chose to share a peach tarte Tatin ($10) and cedar infused ice ($6) topped with a blueberry compote. The tarte was flavourful and nicely arranged, but it seemed to lack some of the uniqueness of Antler’s other dishes and came across as a pastry that could be purchased at any bakery within the city. The ice, on the other hand, was an experience in and of itself. The consistency was like that of fresh snow. The delicate taste of the cedar infusion was refreshing when paired with the blueberry compote and lingered pleasantly in the mouth. Antler could have easily taken this dish, portioned it smaller and served it as a palate cleanser between meals. Overall I have to say that I was very impressed by Antler and rate this restaurant as 3.5 toques out of 4. The food was impeccable and the atmosphere accentuated the wild cuisine. Service was better than I expected, but there is still slight room for improvement. Expect to spend between $50 to $60 per person with appetizers, desserts and drinks which is a reasonable value for your dollar given the quality of the cuisine and fresh wild regional ingredients used. After dining here, one can clearly see why this restaurant has been nominated as one of Air Canada enRoute Magazine’s best new restaurants for 2016 (Air Canada enRoute, 2016). If you want to experience Chef Hunter’s vision of what real Canadian food has to offer, take the time to eat at Antler and you will be thoroughly amazed. References Air Canada enRoute. (2016). Retrieved from http://eatandvote.com/en/ Antler. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://antlerkitchenbar.com/ ChefDB. (2015, October 23). Retrieved from http://www.chefdb.com/nm/29916/Michael-Hunter Natural Resources Canada. (2016). How much forest does Canada have? Retrieved from http://www.nrcan.gc.ca/forests/report/area/17601 So, my first semester in the George Brown culinary program has ended and my second semester has just begun. I am really excited to further sharpen my cooking skills and techniques this semester and decided to look back at my last semester to see how I have been inspired. Interestingly, I find that many of the people and situations that inspired me helped to elevate my productivity and drive in the culinary program much in the same way that seasoning our dishes with salt helps to elevate and take them to a heightened level of taste for our palates. Taking from this, I decided to come up with some flavoured salts that are representative of some of these inspirations from last semester. Flavouring salt is quite exciting and simple to do. All you need is the inspiration for your salt, some coarse salt as a base and flavourings to infuse into the salt. There are various ways to add flavour to your salt. One method of doing so is by using the ‘dry’ method, in which your salt is gently pulsed in a food processor along with a dry ingredient for the contribution of aroma and flavour. Salt can also be flavoured using a ‘wet’ method, where the salt is mixed with a wet ingredient and then allowed to dry. Drying can be accomplished in various ways, including leaving the salt out in the sun for a few days, placing it into a very low temperature oven or even using a dehydrator to help extract the moisture. Additionally, salt can also be infused with even more flavour by following the ‘wet’ method using a reduced liquid with more concentrated flavours. Have a look at my ‘inspirational salts’ below and enjoy.
The photograph shows my inspirational salts plated between coarse sea salt. The following are my salts and the inspiration behind them, starting from the left-hand side: Vanilla-Espresso Salt – Inspired by how frequently vanilla beans were used in my baking class as well as how often I needed a coffee to wake me up in the early mornings. I made this salt using a wet reduction of espresso infused with Madagascar bourbon vanilla bean paste. Tomato Salt – Inspired by the use of tomato in many of the dishes in my first semester culinary courses. This salt was made using the dry method where tomato paste was placed on parchment paper, dried in the oven and subsequently pulsed with coarse sea salt in a food processor. Olive Salt – Inspired by my love for olives but dislike for traditional Greek food (which is rare for Greeks like myself but I’ve learnt not to apologize for my palate). For this salt, I used the dry method and baked sliced olives on parchment paper in the oven for approximately 1 hour on the lowest heat possible. I then added some sea salt flakes and chopped it all up with a knife to allow the salt to maintain a crunchy texture. Sesame Salt – Inspired by my newly found desire to eat Korean food after class. For this salt, I simply lightly toasted some sesame seeds in a pan on the stove and then finely ground them in a food processor along with some salt. Port Salt – Inspired for my love of wine and the art of eating and dining course. This salt involved taking an entire bottle of port and reducing it down until it became syrupy with highly concentrated flavour. This reduced liquid was then combined with coarse sea salt and mixed by hand until the salt was uniform in colour. It was then dried in the oven, followed by leaving in a dehydrator overnight before gently pulsing again in a food processor to break up any remaining clumps. It’s amazing how well my salts turned out and I can’t wait to make some great dishes so I can put these salts to use. The process was fun, and I highly recommend you try making some salts of your own based on what inspires you or the flavours you enjoy most. Hello everyone. I hope you all had a very enjoyable holiday and took advantage of the well-deserved time off. For many of us, the holidays resulted in numerous opportunities to feast on various meals and a great deal of turkey. If you are like me, and not particularly a fan of turkey, it may be that you were saving your appetite for the desserts that would be brought out after the holiday meal. Christmas desserts in my family often consist of traditional Greek pastries which usually include melomakarona (a soft pastry made from flour, olive oil, honey and walnuts) and kourabiedes (a soft butter cookie coated with copious amounts of powdered sugar). These pastries are deliciously sweet but I find that they tend to lack many flavours reminiscent of the holidays, such as peppermint and chocolate. This year I decided to put some of my newly improved baking skills to use and created some Christmas themed sweets as a surprise for my family to enjoy. Firstly, I wanted to create a muffin that could satisfy my entire family so I decided to make a cherry almond muffin. These muffins included the sweet and tart flavour of cherries that appeals to my dad’s palate, the warm aroma of toasted almond slivers which always sends my mom running into the kitchen to sneak a few to herself and the soft crumbly texture of the muffin itself which is greatly appreciated by the elderly members of my family. These muffins were a definite hit. Yet what resulted in even more excitement at my family Christmas was my butter tart platter. Every time we have any sort of family gathering all my relatives long for my butter tarts and devour them within minutes of their arrival. I admit that I sometimes get a little lazy when it comes to making the tart shells and opt for store-bought shells, saving me time when I end up having to bake 5 or 6 dozen tarts. This year I ended up making some pecan butter tarts using my tried and tested secret recipe but I also decided to try and make a ‘crazy tart’ version. This version is the one in the centre of the platter and was made using my own dough recipe rather than pre-made tart shells. It consists of the same filling used for my pecan tarts but is loaded with crushed toasted pecans, golden raisins, milk chocolate chips, white chocolate chips and shredded coconut. I thoroughly enjoyed these tarts yet my family still preferred my original pecan tarts. I guess this only goes to show that you can’t always make everyone happy and should stick to what people say they enjoy rather than trying to change a time-tested favourite. But don’t let this stop you from making a batch of something different that you personally enjoy and hiding them in the back of your fridge for a late-night snack. Lastly, I wanted to create a centrepiece for our Christmas sweet table. My sister had told me that she doesn’t have the patience to bake anything and wanted to buy some Christmas cookies. I told her that it would be simple, fun and cheaper to create a platter that would feature various bite-sized cookies for my family to snack on and managed to convince her to come over and assist me with their preparation. We ended up making gingerbread cookies, white chocolate covered pretzels, rum balls, peppermint meringues and chocolate-orange thumbprint cookies topped with powdered sugar. The cookies were then placed on a platter with some Christmas candies before all the guests arrived. As soon as my family saw them, they quickly swooped in and sampled everything before I even had a chance to tell them what each cookie was. Shockingly, or maybe not so shocking, the rum balls were the first to be eaten by the elderly guests and they quickly went back for seconds. Overall, I have to say that I was impressed with how well all of my sweets turned out this year. It pleased me to see the smiles on everyone’s faces and to receive a great deal of compliments on my baking skills. Next year I’ll have to be sure to create more delicious goodies for my family to enjoy over the holidays and hopefully my sister will have gained further confidence in baking and will come over to assist me again. Enjoy the rest of your holidays and I look forward to hearing some stories about everyone else’s holiday creations when we return to class next week.
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AuthorHi everyone. I'm Peter, and I have decided to follow my passion and pursue a career in cooking. I look forward to connecting with you all. Archives
February 2017
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