Nu Restaurant

Monday night we ate at Nu restaurant, affiliated with C Restaurant. While it was excellent and the staff was fabulous, it wasn't quite as polished as C Restaurant, which makes sense given the price point (though both seem pretty pricey to me). The food focused on local products of all kinds.

First, we had fried oysters with a shot of lager. These were cute, and rather tasty.



Then we shared local Black Pearl oysters.

This was my husband's tuna tartare. The picture was blurry.


I had some mussels, along with some fries with awesome truffle mayonnaise.

It rained on us, so we skipped dessert.

The only bad thing about the restaurant were the chairs - they were really rather odd and uncomfortable.

Salt redux

Human # 1 and I went to Salt Tasting Room again for lunch. This time I remembered my camera. Even though we were late for lunch (2 pm) the place was hopping, totally unlike Saturday.

We took seats at the communal long table and immediately started chatting with some Vancouverites and who brought a Scottish friend. Quicky the conversation turned from food to the location of the restaurant on the edge of Gastown in an admittedly scary area. The local couple was extremely surprised that we tourists ventured this far. Being from between Baltimore and DC, and having worked in or near scuzzy areas of each, I have a pretty high tolerance. That said, a lot of the area outside Salt isn't one that I would hang around in at night. I had no issue with Human # 3 and Brother walking through together in the afternoon, though. But this time, maybe it was the gray weather and an odd encounter with a homeless man, I felt more nervous.



Anyway, we both asked the staff to pick our food and pair it with wines. Mine was cheese and Human # 1's was a mix. The sommelier gave us the same 3 wines. Possibly I have I love big dry wines on my forehead. It was awesome. First was a grigio from Van Western Vineyards, in Naramata, British Columbia. It was very dry, crisp with a bit of acidity. Next was a M. Chapoutier Tavel rose. I loved it. With apologies to my good friend MK, who loves white zin, this is not your stereotypical rose. Dry. Crisp. Light red rather than pink. Slight mineral feel. Finally we had a red blend, mostly Malbec, with some Cabernet Savignon and I think some merlot. I have my paper, but I can't read the handwriting on the name, unfortunately.



My plate started with a beautiful blue, Valdeon, served with honey. Next was Manchego with marcona almonds. This might be the greatest dessert combination on earth. Finally I had an amazing jeune mimolette with pressed date bread.



Human # 1 had a lovely combination of meats and cheeses. First, a capicollo with Guinness mustard, then a French comte cheese with the marcona almonds, and finally varazi with cornichons.


Of course, at this point we decided to order another tasting plate. We had the oka from Quebec, along with those divine marcona almonds, a cheese called poacher from Lincolnshire with olives, and pancetta with Guinness mustard.



We of course had dessert, again the Stilton cheesecake with fig compote and the chocolate mouse.

Tasty. The area's not that bad, and it's totally worth it.

C Restaurant

Human # 1 and I had a rather romantic dinner at C Restaurant. We were seated on the patio, watching the sunset over False Creek. The food was amazing and the service impeccable. Actually, there was no bathroom (or washroom as they say here) on the lower floor. One of the bussers insisted I use the staff bathroom and avoid walking up the stairs with my broken foot. I heard a waiter scream "a customer can't use that, it isn't clean!" It was actually way cleaner than any staff bathroom remembered from my own food service days. Anyway, back to the food.

C is organized around multiple tastes and presentations of seafood ingredients. They are all about sustainable seafood, and have a lot of local food, though it's not focused on local food. C won my heart by serving butter at, gasp, spreading temperature. The butter was creamy, not salty, but the dish had a few grains of sea salt on top. A bread server went around regularly. I liked the sourdough, but my husband loved the seaweed focaccia.

To begin, my husband and I shared a half dozen Black Pearl oysters. Okay, he had one, I had five. He isn't a fan of West Coast oysters, preferring bigger East Coast varieties. The oysters were served with an apple mignonette, which was terribly clever (apple vinegar and minced apple replacing shallots and vinegar in the traditional recipe) and a perfect compliment to the sweet, creamy oysters. A red pepper horseradish jelly was also offered, but I can't do bell pepper. Of course, the oysters were indeed best plain. I had a glass of sparkling BC wine with my oysters, a very dry sparkler with a bit of gold color.



Next, I had a gorgeous albacore tartare, served with a poached quail egg and some potato chips. I nearly licked the plate.



My husband had a Dungeness crab salad, with the most awesome zebra tomatoes.



For the main course, I had a lovely local salmon, cooked medium rare, paired with a BC pinot noir. The salmon rested on some lovely potatoes and beets, and was topped with salmon roe. It was also served with, and on, a parsley sauce. I've got to say, I don't think the sauce added anything, and sort of had a watery feeling. I think I would have preferred a cleaner presentation, but it was awesome nonetheless.



My gorgeous husband had an ultrarare seared Albacore loin for his main course, served with a truffle cesar salad. I can't even describe it - it was amazing.

We did have some dessert - mine was Valrhona chocolate in three textures, my better half had a chocolate mint pudding with berries. No pictures though, we were too busy eating.

Salt Tasting Room

Salt Tasting Room has an interesting concept - no kitchen, just meats, cheeses, bread, condiments, desserts, wines, beers, etc. It was awesome, incredibly so. I forgot to take pictures in the restaurant so unfortunately all I have now is some pictures of the papers they gave us, and some really awful cell phone pictures, which unfortunately I am having some trouble uploading. I'll edit this when I have a better connection.

The location in Gastown, at 45 Blood Alley, was interesting. When we arrived a wedding party was taking photos. The surrounding streets were posh, but the alley was, well, an alley. That part of Gastown is slightly on the edge of a not-s0-great area of Vancouver, as we found out when we walked back and got slightly turned around. Okay, hobbled back.

We each ordered a tasting plate, Human # 1 and I had our plates paired with wine flights, while Human # 3 had a big bear beer bottle with her tasting plate. We shared two desserts - a sublime Stilton cheesecake (and I think I licked the plate), and a chocolate mousse over a layer of apricot preserves. The chocolate mousse was very, very good, and the salt crystals on top were sublime. That said, it was simply classic French chocolate mousse, well executed, but not special. The Stilton cheesecake, on the other hand, was beautiful, layers of flavor and an amazing texture.

I chose my own cheeses. I chose a tallegio, an Italian semi soft dessert cheese, which was paired with a dry Italian red, Renato Fenocchio Dolcetto. Next I had an Oka, which was new to me. It's a semi-soft nutty cheese from Quebec. This particular cheese had a round, creamy, fatty mouth feel. The cheese was paired with a sherry, Alvears Amontillado. While I appreciated it, I have to admit I didn't really care for the sherry. It was just a bit too sweet for me. Finally, I had a beautiful, creamy Brie from British Columbia, paired with a lovely steel-aged Chardonnay from British Columbia, Joie Un-Oaked Chardonnay, which I found crisp and refreshing, despite a hint of residual sugar.

Human # 1 ordered the BC plate and BC wine flight. Salt chose the foods and the wines, illustrating the best of local foodstuffs. Toscano Salami with cipollini onions was paired with Joie Chardonnay. Though I really liked the Joie, Human # 1 hated it, and described it as apple juice. Ironically he likes the residual sugar and I love the dry wines. He does like his chardonnays with more oak, though. Ash camembert with Okanagan apple chips was paired with a Sandhill Viognier. Oh my god was that cheese good. And I really liked the wine (I traded for my sherry). A pancetta casalingo with quince was paired with Pentage Cabernet Franc. Now, I hate cabernet franc. What's supposed to be earthy tastes like muddy to me, and I swear I taste something moldy in every cab franc. So I'll say this - I didn't want to spit it out. Human # 1 absolutely loved it.

Human # 3 ordered the cheesemonger plate, three cheeses and condiments of the staff's choosing. A French Roquefort was paired with quince, and a British Comte was paired with Marcona almonds. However the best of the plate was a Jeune Mimolette with Spanish pressed date bread. The four of us - including one adamant non-foodie - nearly fought over it. To say it was awesome isn't enough.

The space was interesting - funky, halfway between a butcher's shop and a coffee shop. Very industrial chic. The menu changes constantly and is placed on the chalk board.

By the way, I'd love to see something like this locally!

In the Pacifc Northwest

This blog has been spotty recently, not only because I'm terribly undisciplined at times, but because (1) I just took the Bar exam, and (2) I have a very broken foot. Two months ago we thought my toe was just hyperextended and foot sprained. I followed instructions with great diligence, but it still hurt. Went to a podiatrist - of course, it's very broken. Which means I'm in a walking cast and am really not supposed to be standing around and cooking. Thankfully Human # 1 and Human # 3 are excellent and helpful. Canine # 1 wants to help as well, however, she's not as helpful as she thinks she is being.

We decided to go on vacation anyway, the three of us and my husband's (and sister-in-law's, obviously) brother. This year, we decided on the Pacific Northwest, specifically Seattle and Vancouver. Since all the outdoorsy stuff I wanted to do is foreclosed upon thanks to my broken foot, gastronomy is the only pleasure for this trip. This isn't the usual focus of my blog, but I think I will post a bit about where and what I have eaten, with an emphasis on the local foods of the Pacific Northwest.

We arrived Friday night in Seattle, and had an amazing dinner at Shucker's. Amazing Washington oysters. We're going back, so I'll post more about them later. Now we're in Vancouver - got here via Quick Coach bus, with wi-fi! It's gorgeous here, and we had an awesome lunch and dinner. Lunch at the Salt Tasting Room and dinner at C Restaurant, each of which deserves its own post.

Vegan Blueberry Tart

Had a party last weekend. I made a bunch of things, but the only thing that I think was really different and special was the vegan blueberry tart I made.

Vegan Blueberry Tart
Ingredients:
6 cups blueberries, picked over and washed
1/3 cup sugar, or to taste based on the sweetness of the blueberries
One stick Earth Balance Butter Sticks, or similar, cut into small pieces and popped in the freezer for 10 minutes
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
Cold water, enough to make the dough dough-like, usually about 4 tablespoons
If desired, powdered sugar to garnish (I don't)

Method:
Oven to 425F.
Sift together the salt, flour, and 2 tablespoons sugar
Using a pastry blender, or a food processor, cut the buttery stick pieces into the flour mixture. It should resemble pebbles.
Start slowly adding water until a dough forms.
If things are getting too melty, pop into the freezer for a few minutes.
Grab your tart pan, and pop your dough into it. Using your *clean* hands, push the dough around the pan until it's fully covered.
Place a piece of parchment paper over the crust, weigh it down with some pastry weights or beans, and bake 10 minutes.
Reduce heat to 350F.
Mix together the rest of the sugar with 3 cups of blueberries. Pop it into the crust, and place the pan back in the oven for 35 minutes or so, until the blueberries have turned into jam. At least once or twice, pop into the oven and stir the blueberries.
Pull the tart out of the oven, and place the rest of the blueberries on top. Really, you could place them in concentric circles. But I don't. I actually think that's slightly crazy. They're pretty enough without perfection.
If desired, sprinkle some powdered sugar to garnish.

Millions of peaches, peaches for me...

Peaches come from a can, they were put there by a man, in a factory downtown....


Okay, well, peaches don't come from a can. Except when they do. Like now. Except they were put there by me, a woman, in a suburban kitchen. I assume they're delicious. I wouldn't know, because peaches make me itch. However, many people like them, including Human #1. So I'm canning some poached peaches, to be eaten later, or to be given away as holiday presents.

While Human #1 and I were in Charlottesville (Canine #1 and Human #3 stayed home), we drove up Carter Mountain, which is right by Monticello. They have fabulous fruit - they actually supply a lot of the local Whole Foods. We got half a peck of freestone peaches, and half a peck of nectarines. The latter are basically in my stomach. The half peck got a little lighter, so I added in the peaches from this week's CSA. Bad idea - the CSA peaches were clingstone, not freestone, which meant that they needed to be done separately. Oh well. Here's how you poach peaches. Get thee to one of the farmer's markets, or a local farm, or a farm stand, or the grocery store, and poach some peaches. Serve it over ice cream, or in a bowl with some cream dribbled on top, or just eat it with a spoon.

Poached peaches

Ingredients:
1/2 peck peaches
3 cups water
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup honey
2 sticks cinnamon
1 tsp ground allspice
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

Method:
Blanch peaches. This means take a small pot, fill 3/4 of the way with water, and boil. Grab a big mixing bowl, fill 1/4 full of ice and 1/2 full of cold water. Note both the pot and bowl are only 3/4 of the way full. Stick a peach in the boiling water for about 1.5 minutes, then pull it out with a slotted spoon, let it drip a few seconds, plunge it in the ice water. Slip off the skins.

If the peaches are freestone slice in half with a paring knife, and pull out the stone. If, on the other hand, they are clingstone, start cursing. Then ignore the whole slicing open thing and follow the steps with the pit in. And remember to get freestone peaches next time.



Take a big pot, fill with all the other listed ingredients. You can do all honey or all sugar, I just used what I had on hand. Bring to a boil. Decide whether you're a presentation kind of person. I am very much not a presentation kind of gal. Like, so totally not it's not even funny. So I just break my peaches in half and cook them. I assume you could cut them nicely. Slap the peaches into the liquid. Lower heat, let cook about 5 minutes, maybe 10 if they are big chunks.

If you have stones still in your peaches, cut the peach with a knife and fork (I swear it works), and pull out the stones. Bring to a boil for 1 minute to kill any germs introduced in this process.

Now, how to store? You can serve immediately, put them in the fridge, or can them. Basically, that just means taking hot peaches, placing them in hot sterilized jars, and processing them in a hot water bath for 5 minutes. It's easy, but I'll give better directions in another post.

These peaches are fabulous for just about anything. Be creative. And try tossing my recipe, and poach with vanilla! Or basil!

This week's CSA - July 3, 2008

This week's CSA included bread from the Breadery, a dozen eggs, and the following:


Cucumbers, lettuce, cherries, cabbage, broccoli, basil, potatoes.

Not sure what I'm going to do with it, especially the potatoes. Currently, I have too many potatoes on hand, but no high starch ones so gnocchi is out.

Chocolate Chewies

This is a flourless chocolate cookie, which is gorgeously crackly, chewy, and deeply chocolatey. Great for those who can't have flour for some reason. It's low fat, but does anyone really care?? It's still full of sugar and is nutritionally somewhat devoid. Except for the fact that chocolate has flavnoids and other beneficial compounds, and eating chocolate makes one happy. Happy is good.


Chocolate Chewies
Ingredients:
32 ounces powdered sugar
8 oz cocoa powder. I prefer non-dutch processed for this, since I think the flavor is more interesting in a fairly naked cookie.
1 teaspoon salt.
1 cup of egg whites - if you end at an egg under a cup, crack another, erring on too much egg white.
1 tablespoon vanilla


Method:
Preheat oven to 350F.
Put parchment paper, silpat mats, or more grease than you think reasonable on 2 big cookie sheets. Let's just realize non-stick is a figment of the imagination.
Sift together the dry ingredients.
Mix together whites and vanilla with a fork in a vessel with a spout.
Stick dry ingredients into a mixer. Start on low/medium with the paddle attachment (say 2-3 on a Kitchenaid).
Slowly, slowly, slllooooowwwwllly pour in the egg mixture. Do you remember when I said slowly?? Literally dribble it in. Every 1/4 cup stop and scrape the sides.
Mixture will look dry and just wrong until the very end.
Place about 1 tablespoon each on the the cookie sheets, about 12 per sheet.
Bake 6 minutes, then pop out, reverse top/bottom and front/back, and bake 6 more minutes.
Let cool 1-2 minutes on the cookie sheet, until they're a bit hard, then move to wire racks to finish cooling.

Voila! Low-fat, gluten free cookies. But never tell anyone that.

North Carolina!

So one of my friends and I decided to play hooky. Mostly so I could study for the Bar. Went to OBX for a few days.

On the way home, I bought some fresh (as in a few hours dead) shrimp, some corn, cute baby potatoes, and some luscious tomatoes. And when I say luscious, I mean I ate one out of hand in the car, with juice dripping down my chin. Sliced the tomatoes, and everything else went into a shrimp boil.

With the leftover tomatoes and corn, I made a corn and tomato pudding, in which I reduced the fat fairly decently.

Corn and Tomato Pudding (lower fat version)

Ingredients:

4 cobs corn, boiled and cooled
3 tomatoes, diced
Salt to taste
Chili pepper
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 egg
1/4 to 1/2 cup cracker crumbs
A bit of olive oil

Method:

Cut the corn off the cob.
Toss together the corn and tomatoes. Salt and pepper to taste. Place into casserole dish.
Mix buttermilk and egg.
Pour buttermilk and egg mixture over the corn and tomatoes in the dish. Mix well.
Mix just enough olive oil to moisten cracker crumbs, then spread on top.
Cook covered on 350 degree until hot through (roughly 45 minutes), then remove cover and raise heat to 425 F for about 15 minutes or until the top browns.