Smoking the *@!! out of Wild Salmon

With all this lovely fresh wild salmon being bandied about in BC, many of the chefs guesting at the supper club have been smoking up a storm. Here are some tips on how to make you own lightly smoked salmon as a main.

Buying the fish
Your smoked salmon is only as good as the fish itself, you can't fake freshness. Frozen is fine to buy though. Just make sure you bring the frozen fish back to room temperature slowly, run some cold water over it first and let it sit in the fridge for a few hours to defrost. The meat will stay firm this way. Fresh fish is best though, for texture. In Vancouver, buy it at Stevenson Warf or at Granville Island right off the docks for the best price and quality. Organic Ocean is a great boat at Fishermans Warf, call them to check what time they will be at the dock. (604) 862-7192
If you have to buy it from a fish shop, make sure you smell the fish to make sure it doesn't smell fishy... sounds weird, I know. I never buy farmed salmon... it tastes like crap.

Preparing the fish
Here's a video on one way to fillet a salmon if you want to learn, otherwise, buy fillets. For this recipe, take the skin off the fillets and remove any pin bones with tweezers.

Curing the fish
Let the fillets sit at room temperature for a couple of hours covered well in a 50/50 mix of kosher salt and sugar, you can add other ingredients (cilantro, parsley, onion) as well to the mix. Don't cure or brine in metal dishes ever. Have fun experimenting. Rinse the mix off the fish and pat dry after. Air dry for 30 min.


Smoking the fish
1. Let's talk about wood first - hardwood is what you want for smoking. Fruit tree wood is the best, also, alder, maple or oak. Hickory and mesquite flavour is too strong for salmon. Soak the wood chips or small pieces for 1 hour in water before using.

2. Generally, you need to build a fire in one side of your BBQ with charcoal or wood. Wait till it produces good coals. Put the wet chips on the coals to get them smoking, then add the fish on the other side of the BBQ - so that it smokes, but only cooks minimally. Position the grill as far away from the flames as possible. Close the lid and let the smoke do it's work.

3. Leave the fish on for 15-40 minutes, depending on how much smoke flavour you want and how hot your fire is. Flip the fish at around the half time mark. Taste the fish at intervals to check the level of smoke flavour. Once you've reached the desired smoke level, remove the fish and finish cooking in the oven if necessary. Cook at 350F covered with foil until the fish is ready to eat at 140F, check with a meat thermometer (should be only a few minutes).

Tips for the truly dedicated smoker: Look on craigslist for "free fire wood", often you will find lots of fruit woods there (you have to season it then though - let it dry).
Buy a real smoker - with a separate smoke compartment away from the fire.

Bread is life! Tuscan loaf cooked on the fire...

If only life could be this simple. Of all the bread that I've made, this one always gets the best compliments. This is the tuscan loaf with barrata cheese, heirloom tomatoes, dried olives and balsamic.



Fire Pit Bread instructions:
Mix a wet dough of 2.5 cups flour, 1/2 cup whole wheat flour, 1/4 tsp yeast, 2 tsp salt

Leave it for 18 hours or until bubbles start appearing in dough.
Flour your counter top heavily, turn out dough onto it, flour the top, fold dough 2 times on itself, let rest 15 min.
Put a tea towel into a bowl, flour heavily, turn dough into this bowl and cover with tea towel, rest 2 hours or until doubled in size.

Baking:
Oil well (canola) and then heat Dutch oven on indirect fire heat (watch this video for tips on fire pit cooking) in pit on a few stones to keep it from direct contact with the coals. Clear coals to surround but not touch oven. Gently turn dough into oven, bake 20 min with cover on. Remove from heat, turn dough gently into pot. Cover and bake for 20 min. Remove lid and then bake another 10 min.

Lamb on a Spit, the best crispy skin I've ever tasted... meat lovers rejoice!

How to cook a lamb on a spit and be king for a day...
1. Select your meat team, these will be the bros/chiquitas that will be in it with you through thick and thin, putting out fires, turning, carving and sweating buckets. Choose wisely, don't pick the town drunk.2. Buy a 50 Lb lamb from your butcher if you are popular or less if you don't have many friends (1/2 lb per person approx.)

3. Get an electric rotisserie from your butcher(this is the easiest, $80 at Windsor Meats) or just a metal pole, securing brackets and 2 brackets to rest the spit, 2 halves of a steel drum and some wood charcoal. You can hand turn the meat or have the ease of a motor, it depends on how old school you want to kick it.

4. Watch this video for great details on how to secure the lamb to the spit and set up the coals

5. Cook a 50Lb lamb about 7 hours depending on the heat of your fire, you can use a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the lamb to check the 'doneness' - 140F for rare, 150F for medium

6. Stuff the cavity of the lamb with onions, lemons, Moroccan spices(cumin, Cayenne, kosher salt, pepper, ginger, cloves) and stitch up with butcher string.

7. Baste with olive oil and lemon, salting occasionally. An occasional IPA or ale poured over the lamb couldn't hurt either, one for you, one for the lamb.

This will make the best lamb you've ever tasted with perfect, crispy, slightly spicy, lemony skin. You don't need any sides, just eat the meat and drink some beer. C'est tout!

Strawberry Season - The Evil Strawberry

You thought they were so sweet and nice, but really they're pure EVIL!
Ingredients:
Ripe Summer Strawberries
400 grams Bitter Chocolate, ONLY Callebaut or another high quality brand
Optional Port

Directions:
Take a little bit of love (the strawberries) and a little bit of pure, evil, dark chocolate from Callebaut. Dip the love in the evil. Serve to friends and fiends alike.

Melting the chocolate:
I usually melt it in the microwave, slowly, 20 sec at a time making sure you don't overheat it (stir lots). Take it out and temper the chocolate with 2 Tbs of chocolate shavings, mix in well. Chocolate is ready for dipping now.

Optional Booze filling:
You can also take an apple peeler and cut a small hole in the strawberry, fill it with goodness like sherry or port! Dry the strawberry off if it's moist. Then, cover the strawberry with melted chocolate, hole side up.

Chocolate tips:
If you aren't going to eat the chocolate right away, put each chocolate strawberry on wax paper so that it doesn't stick to the plate. Don't refrigerate if you can help it, keep in a cool dark place in a sealed Tupperware. If the chocolate does get 'bloom' on it (whitish colour), don't worry, it still will taste fine.

Like Gandalf vs Predator - Radicchio Marmalade

I love strange twists on old favourites like Gandalf vs Predator, this one is spectacular. This recipe was passed on to me from my friend Eddy, it may be originally from Cin Cin. It's rad and seasonal with all the Radicchio popping up in my yard. Serve with duck, pork or on toast.


Makes 4 cups
Ingredients: Radicchio - 4 heads, chop fine
Sugar - 2 cups
OJ - 2 cups
Butter - 1 cup
Balsamic vinegar - 1 cup
Spices: zests of 1 orange, a bay leaf, thyme, 4 juniper berries, 4 cloves, 1/2 stick cinnamon

Directions:
1. Caramelize chopped radicchio with 1 Tsp sugar and 1/2 cup of butter
2. Add OJ, remaining sugar, balsamic, spices
3. Reduce liquid over med-high flame, stirring and keeping an eye on it that it doesn't burn. Think of it as a jam. It's gotta be quite thick (no more liquid pooling in the pot), cook for around 15 min. Once it is jammy, you add the rest of the butter, reduce the flame to med, and let it thicken nicely, around 10-15 more minutes cooking.
4. Can the marmalade if you like or refrigerate if you'll eat it faster.

BC Spot Prawns made glorious!!

Rhubbarb, apple salsa...sliced tomatoes, prawns rubbed with cilantro salt and olive oil. Now Barbeque! The season is upon us.
On the menu at Swallow Tail secret Supper Club.

Pork Rillette Recipe - with Sherry, Thyme, Juniper Berries

A rich, amazing way to treat your pork shoulder cuts....

Ingredients:

2.5lb pork shoulder

1 drop of truffle oil per ramekin

1/4 cup amontillado sherry

2 bay leaves

1 small handful of thyme, leaves picked

1 tablespoon of sea salt

10 black peppercorns

6 juniper berries

1 cup of fat - either lard, duck, or a preferably a mixture of both

2 cups of good stock - chicken or veal

small handful of chopped parsley

Toppings:

Sauteed Leeks in butter, torn fresh watercress and a very, very good balsamic vinegar (Venturi-SchulzeVineyards in Vancouver). Drizzle over warm toasts.

Directions:

Cut the meat in to 1inch cubes. In a spice grinder (or mortar and pestle if you want the work out) grind up the bay, thyme, salt, peppercorns and juniper berries. Put the meat in a large bowl, pour over the brandy. Pour over the spices, and toss really well to combine. Cover the bowl, and bung it in the fridge for 8 to 24 hours, whatever takes your fancy really.

Preheat oven to 225-250F

In a heavy (enameled cast iron would be lovely) large pan with a tight fitting lid, heat up a couple of tablespoons of the fat. Toss in the meat, and brown lightly. Add the rest of the fat, and let it melt. Pour in enough stock to almost cover the meat. Pop the lid on, and place in the oven. Let this cook for about 3 hours.

Check on it from time to time. Give it a good stir. If the liquid level looks too low, add some more of the stock - or water.

After three hours remove the meat from the cooking liquid. Let the meat cool just enough to handle. Pull the meat apart with your fingers, and put it into a large bowl. Shred the meat up using a couple of forks and cross-wise strokes of them against each other. Careful here, there will still be some mixing that will happen later - so don’t shred that meat up too fine. We are looking for something with texture here, not a completely smooth emulsion.

Add the cooking liquid, 1 tablespoon at a time to the meat. If the liquid has separated into fat and broth, mix it back up. After adding each tablespoon give the meat a good mix up. You want the meat to be moist, but not soaking. When you have reached your desired consistency, add the chopped parsley to the meat, and mix some more.

Pack this meat into small ramekins, leaving about 3/4″ headroom - we are going to top these bad boys off with some fat. Once you have all the meat packed into the ramekins, put them in the fridge. This will help them set up, so when we pour liquid fat on top, it forms a nice clean layer, and doesn’t go down in to the meat, making it fattier.

Strain the cooking liquid through a fine mesh sieve into a measuring jug. The fat will settle on the top. Spoon this fat off into a separate bowl and add 1 drop of truffle oil per ramekin to the fat. Once the ramekin meat has set up well (3o minutes to an hour should do it) pour this liquid fat over each one. You want to cover the meat with about a 1/4″ layer of fat - enough to get a good seal.

Return to the fridge, covered with aluminum foil. Covered like this, they should last a couple of weeks easy. Once you break the fat seal however you will want to eat them within a couple of days. Like that is going to be hard to do….

Base recipe & writing, originally, from the Wrightfood

Wild BC Licorice fern, sauteed leek & goat cheese salad

This salad is both comfortingly warm and fresh, reminiscent of Spring.


Ingredients:
8 leaves Licorice fern (optional if you know where to pick it)
250g Hard goat cheese (like BC Farmhouse Cheeseshop- Caephilly)
4 Radishes, thinly sliced, round
1 tsp Olive oil
1/2 Lime, juiced
2 Leeks - sliced fine
3 Tbs butter (salted)
4 tsp roasted BC hazelnuts
sea salt to taste

Directions:
Cube goat cheese into 1 cm. Tear licorice fern leaves off the stalk.
Saute leeks in butter till just soft and bright green. Mix all ingredients together, serve in the garden if you have one.

Licorice fern grows near streams in the Fraser Valley, BC. Shady places where there may be stinging nettles, so watch out and wear pants. It's not actually a fern, but it sure looks like one.
It's a slightly furry, fern leafed plant that tastes like sweet licorice when you eat the leaves. You can see the leaf in the picture of the salad above.

Paint your plate with Beets...

This bright red, beet coulis goes great on cheesecake, steak or on a salad. It's very versatile. And, way too much fun.



Recipe
Ingredients:
8 small beets (red/yellow or whatever you like)
5 Tbs Hazelnut oil (or walnut or just a good olive oil)
1 lemon - juiced
1 tsp molasses or brown sugar
1 tsp flour
water
salt to taste

Directions:
Puree the above ingredients in your blender or food processor till smooth.
That's it... done. Refrigerate to keep. Put in squeeze bottle for the most fun with the paint or just use the back of a knife to paint with. Play around with it on a blank plate before you decide on your final design.

Seriously, I'm going to try making a beet coulis and blackstrap molasses cheesecake. I swear it's going to knock my socks off.

Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream - all you need is a bag!

Top with wild blackberry reduction and roasted hazelnuts for extra points.

Don't do this with your kids... Deboning a Rabbit

I am currently on a mission to eat as many BC wild meats as many ways as possible. My task is simple; to develop an array of recipes for the wild meat lovers of the world, myself included. Starting with the cutest, apparently, and ending with the biggest... bear maybe?
I've never eaten a whole rabbit. They just aren't offered in non-terrine forms for some reason in Vancouver. So, I grabbed a British recipe and an Italian one (Sicilians love their rabbit, who knew?) and cooked one up at home. Last night, I started with the Brit version, cider braised rabbit with shallots, thyme and rosemary from my garden. Here it is...

The deboning took me 40 minutes and was tiring but interesting from a biological standpoint. Here's a good video if you've always wanted to learn to debone a bunny.

It was good, but not great. Rabbit tastes like a less flavourful pork it seems, boring. I am disappointed so far. Anyone with any ideas for spectacular rabbit dishes, please email me!!!

Strange yet yummy little packages - Wontons

Wontons are one of the easiest things to make, so don't be scared. You can fill them with anything you like and they present really well. If you like appearing cooler than you really are, I would highly recommend wonton making for potlucks. Ok, so here are the steps to social fame... good luck.

Makes about 45 wontons
Great deep fried appetizer or in soup.

Wonton wrappers:
Buy at any Chinese grocer - full egg wonton wrapper, I use Double Happiness Ltd. wrappers.

Wonton filling:
8 medium sized Shitake mushrooms, diced small
1 package enoki mushrooms, diced
5 Tbs Chinese green onion, diced
1 Tbs sriracha or chili sauce (to taste if you don't like spice)
1 Tbs braggs or soy sauce
1 Tbs fish sauce
1 clove garlic minced
Mix and put about a level tsp of the mixture in each wonton. Here's how to wrap a wonton... it's really easy, I use the video style. http://www.homemade-chinese-soups.com/how-to-fold-wontons.html
Find a friend, grab a glass of wine and have a wrapping, chatting good time (should take you about 15 min to wrap 45). They also freeze well, so make more and then freeze them in a ziplock bag on a plate. Make sure they aren't clumped together so they don't stick to each other.
Deep Frying Instructions:
Once the wontons are made, set some safflower (best), peanut or canola oil to fry if you have a home fryer and drop in until brown. Strain on a paper towel.
or
If you don't have a fryer, put oil in a small saucepan (you want to submerge the wontons fully in the oil) and set to high heat, make sure the oil doesn't smoke. Heat to around 375ºF, just before smoking. Make sure you don't get any water in the pan, that will cause the oil to spit which can be very burny. Brown wontons and then strain on paper towel.

Or boil the wontons in a good chicken or fish stock with some carrots and chives for colour if you don't like fried food. Voila, wonton soup.

Spicy Fruit Sauce:
6 apples
2 cups huckleberries (sour berries)
or
4 cups plums
1/2 onion diced
2 Tbs grated ginger root
1/2 c water
Combine in sauce pan and bring to boil then simmer till soft. Strain through sieve and put the juice back in the pot.

1/3 c sugar
1 tsp chili flakes
1/4 c vinegar
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp salt, to taste
Add the rest and reduce by 1/2, around 30 min or until desired thickness is reached.

The alchemy of the perfect mulled wine... fresh ginger is key

Okay, I spent yesterday with my alchemists hat on trying to devine the most kick ass mulled wine possible. I made three batches and got a skilled panel of ... um, my friends... to taste test for me.

Tested by a panel of 10 judges
Date: Dec 14, 2009 at 7:02pm

The Winner:
Step 1: It matters what red wine you buy, put goodness in and you'll get goodness out. But you don't need to break the bank. This wine isn't going to stand alone, it's got whiskey added for backbone.

Ingredients:
2 bottles of Montalto, Italian wine, Cabernet + Nero D'avola blend, excellent value wine, buy at any BCLC
8 oz Irish Whiskey
1 lemon, peel 1/2 the rind and squeeze the juice
2 xmas mandarins sliced with peel
1 1/4 c sugar
5 c water

Spices:
All are best if whole and grated rather than ground. They taste fresher that way.
Amounts: put in little amounts of each and taste it to balance it to your taste if you like.
1/2 tsp nutmeg
2 tsp cloves
1 vanilla bean sliced lengthwise
8 pieces star anise
10 white peppercorns(or 1/2 the amount of black)
1 tsp chilli flakes (or less if you don't like heat)
fresh ginger, two big slices

Step 2: Boil water, lemon rind, mandarins, sugar and spices for 20 min till the flavours are extracted. Put on simmer and add the lemon juice.

Step 3: Heat the wine on medium in a separate pot. Do not boil! Turn off heat and add whiskey.

Step 4: Add the sugar and spice liquid to the wine slowly, about 2 cups worth. Taste along the way to make sure you get it just right for your sweetness tolerance, add more lemon juice to balance if necessary. Put the rest of the sugar syrup in the fridge for another evening.

Step 5: Serve with a fruit cake or spice cake. Makes about 8 glasses.

Mulled Wine recipe... circa 1869, full of spice and mothballs

Traditional English Mulled Wine, I couldn't have said it better myself. In fact, if I was born in the 1900's I may have said it like this and it wouldn't have even been funny.

An authoritative recipe can be found in Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management at paragraph 1961 on page 929 to 930 of the revised edition dated 1869:(from Wikipedia)

1961.-TO MULL WINE.

INGREDIENTS.- To every pint of wine allow 1 large cupful of water, sugar and spice to taste.

Mode.-In making preparations like the above, it is very difficult to give the exact proportions of ingredients like sugar and spice, as what quantity might suit one person would be to another quite distasteful. Boil the spice in the water until the flavour is extracted, then add the wine and sugar, and bring the whole to the boiling-point, when serve with strips of crisp dry toast, or with biscuits. The spices usually used for mulled wine are cloves, grated nutmeg, and cinnamon or mace. Any kind of wine may be mulled, but port and claret are those usually selected for the purpose; and the latter requires a very large proportion of sugar. The vessel that the wine is boiled in must be delicately cleaned, and should be kept exclusively for the purpose. Small tin warmers may be purchased for a trifle, which are more suitable than saucepans, as, if the latter are not scrupulously clean, they spoil the wine, by imparting to it a very disagreeable flavour. These warmers should be used for no other purpose.

Okay, back to me: She doesn't say this, but don't boil the wine, just heat it. Otherwise, you lose the booze and that is a very sad state of affairs indeed.

Duck Maderia Pate with Creme Fraiche

This is a lovely fall snack or appetizer for those strange people like myself who love liver pate. The madeira is perfect to balance the savory with it's fruit. Wine pairing classically is Sautern (Sweet wine from France), I stand behind the pairing 100%. Seriously, try it.

Ingredients:
500 g duck liver
250 g chicken liver
30 ml butter(2 tbs)
1 onion, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tbs chopped parsley
50 ml madeira (cognac/brandy or port are fine too)
25 ml whiskey (fruity or smokey!)
250 ml heavy cream
1 Tbs thyme
salt and pepper to taste

500 ml creme fraiche for topping
1 baguette cut into slices and toasted to serve pate on.

Directions:
Remove fat from liver if needed, chop liver into cubes. Melt butter, add onions and garlic, cover and cook on low 3 min. Add liver and spices, Season well with salt and pepper. Cook 10 min over low until meat is cooked through. Bring heat up to high and cook till moisture has evaporated. Add whiskey and flambe(light alcohol with match and cook till flame dies down), be careful!

Puree mixture in food processor or blender. Pour puree into double boiler, add port and cream. Stir and retaste, season with salt and pepper. Cook 10 min on low heat. Remove from stove and serve on toast with a dollop of creme fraiche on top.

Snuggly Wild Mushroom Ravioli with Lemon, Cream, Thyme and White Wine Sauce

What happens when mushrooms snuggle up to arugula and wrap themselves in ravioli bundles? Well, cover the bundles in lemon, thyme, cream and white wine and you have the warmest of comfort food for fall feasting. I served this dish at my last 'garden party' supper club. One of my guests commented that it was the best pasta he had ever eaten! It's all about the ingredients; how can anyone go wrong with mushrooms, thyme, cream and white wine?

Wild Mushroom Ravioli with Lemon, Thyme Cream Sauce
Ingredients:
1 Tbs olive oil
2 Tbs butter
1 Tbs garlic, fine mince
2 Tbs shallots, fine chop
1 1/2 lb fresh mushrooms - Chantrelles are my favourite but any mushroom will do. Chop fine (around 5 cups)
2 oz sherry or brandy
1 Tbs lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste
2 Tbs fresh parsley
2 tsp fresh thyme
1/2 cup arugula, chopped fine
2 Tbs fresh chives
1 egg
8 sheets of fresh pasta 16 inch x 4 inch - there is a recipe if you want to make it by hand on my blog, just search for pasta. It's really easy, you just have to have some time to play with it.

Sauce:
1 Tbs butter
2 shallots (or some onion if you don't have shallots), dice fine
1/2 cup white wine
3/4 cup whipping cream
2 tsp fresh thyme leaves
1 Tbs lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste
2 oz pecorino cheese(crumble over pasta to finish it) or Parmesan

Directions:
Heat olive oil in medium skillet, add butter garlic and shallots. Cook stirring constantly a 2 min. Add mushrooms and cook until they are golden brown and most of the pan juices have boiled off. Add brandy and lemon juice. Cook 1 min. Season with salt and pepper. Allow mixture to cool, then add the greens(parsley, thyme, arugula, chives or whatever greens you like, experiment). Mix and taste for seasoning.

Crack egg into small bowl, beat.

Now, it's time to bundle these little buggers up. Put 4 sheets of pasta on a floured counter. Brush the pasta lightly with the egg mixture. Put intervals of about 1 Tbs of filling down on each sheet, 2 finger widths apart from each other. Two rows of about 7 spoonfuls of mushroom mix on each sheet. Put the remaining 4 sheets of pasta on top and press around the mushroom spoonfuls to make your ravioli bundles. Try and work out any air pockets if you can. Once pressed, cut with a knife or a pasta cutter if you want to get all fancy. Both will taste amazing.

Make your sauce...
In a medium saucepan, melt butter, add shallot/onions and cook 1-2 min on medium till the onion is translucent. Add wine and cook on high heat till it is reduced by 1/2, 2 min. Add cream and thyme, simmer till approx 1 cup remains, 5 min. Add lemon juice, salt/pp to taste. Optional Tips: Double the recipe if you like saucier pastas and serve on warm plates.

Place a large pot of water to boil, add salt to the water. Gently, place the pasta in the water and boil for 3 minutes. Drain the cooked pasta in a colander. Serve hot with lemon sauce and top with pecorino.

Serves 6

Squash your blues away

Squash is actually fruit. Its seeds are on the inside like a tomato. It is the harbinger of Fall when the weather turns crisp and we all get nostalgic and contemplative. Sadness fills our hearts at the dying of summer, so we have to stuff our bellies with good food to compensate. This recipe is a celebration of the squash as a great, warming appetizer or accompanying side to any Fall meal.

A note on Parmesan: This is a very simple dish, the quality of the ingredients will make or break it. Use 2-3 year old Parmigiano-Reggiano; go to your local deli and ask to try a slice before you buy it. It's best when you can taste the punti bianchi in the cheese which are tiny amino-acid crystals that add a crunchy, satisfying texture to each bite. Don't be afraid to pay more for good Parmesan; you'll use less, because the flavour is stronger in a better quality cheese.

This recipe is for six portions as a side dish or small appetizer cubes with pear slices.

Ingredients:
One 3 pound Autumn Cup, Buttercup or Kabocha Squash
1 tsp brown sugar
1 Tbs Walnut oil
2 tsp butter
10 leaves of fresh sage
50 grams aged Parmesan.
10 whole walnuts, crack and crush nut to desired size. I ask for whole because they should be fresher and more pungent then pre-crushed nuts.
coarse sea salt and cracked black pepper to taste

Optional appetizer version of this dish...
2 anjou pears(or whatever pear you can find)

Directions:
Cut squash in half and scrape out the seeds. Mix walnut oil with sugar and rub over inside of squash. Wrap in tin foil. Bake at 400F for 30 min or until very soft(test with fork).

While it's baking, fry the sage in 1 tsp olive oil(or walnut oil) till it crisps up, then crush it with a spoon into small pieces. Crack the walnuts (with a hammer if you don't have a nut cracker) and grind with a mortar and pestle or just use the hammer. I like a fine crush on my walnuts. Grate Parmesan with the large grate size. Slice the pear into 1/8 inch sections if you are making appetizers.

Once the squash is cooked, melt the butter in the microwave or a pan and pour over squash. Then, cut squash into desired piece size. I cut a small 2cm square for an appetizer size or chop into 6 pieces for a side dish. Now, I would test one piece and balance the garnish proportions to your own taste first. Then, add all your garnishes, sage, salt, pepper, Parmesan and crushed walnuts to the rest of the squash. Stab each cube of squash with a slice of pear to add a fresh note to the mouthful. Enjoy.

Excellent site with pictures and flavour profiles of various squash:
http://www.thenibble.com/reviews/MAIN/vegetables/squash-glossary3.asp

If you aren't familiar with walnut oil, one of my favourites, read this before buying...
http://www.theepicentre.com/tip/walnut_oil.html

Excellent article on Decoding Parmesan in Jeffrey Steingartens, "It must have been something I ate"

Lemon Gratin & Baked Thyme Spatchcocks

This recipe is so satisfying to make on a rainy day. Rich, but with a nice citrus bite to keep you awake and wanting for more. And, you actually eat the baked lemon slices rind and all, they're really great. Ok, you're wondering what 'spatchcocks' are, right? They're teenage chickens(small), ask your butcher he should be able to tell you or he'll think you're rude either one. Or you can just substitute a bone in, skin on chicken breast. I highly suggest that you buy organic chicken (not just because I'm a hippie), they taste better, hands down.

Ingredients:
1 kg sebago(starchy) potatoes, slice very thin, 1/8 inch
1 lemon sliced 1/8 inch, cut each slice in quarters and cut the pith off + remove seeds
2 cloves garlic, sliced thin
sea salt & cracked black pepper
1 1/2 c single cream
4 x 500g spatchcocks or 4 bone in chicken breasts
1 bunch lemon thyme (or regular thyme if that's all you can find), soak in olive oil
olive oil
32 pearl onions, peeled

Directions:
Preheat oven to 390F.
Layer potato and lemon slices on the bottom of a greased 1.25 litre baking dish, (just make sure the cream is just nearly covering the potatoes). Sprinkle with salt and pepper, pour the cream over everything. Bake for 15 min till the potatoes are just tender when tested with a fork.

Tie the Spatchcock legs together with cooking string and secure lemon thyme to the legs with more string. Rub birds with olive oil and salt. If you are using chicken breasts instead just push the thyme up under the skin leaving a bit sticking out for presentation, then oil the birds.

Place birds on top of potatoes, throw the pearl onions in and continue cooking for 30 min. till the birds are browned. You can use an oven thermometer to check that the chicken is done or do the unthinkable and cut into the meat to check that it's not pink. Do not overcook your chicken, this is the most important key. It shouldn't be pink, but it should still be nice and juicy.

Serve chicken on top of a layer of gratin and garnish with a beet roasted in balsamic vinegar if you're feeling fancy.

Braising the Roof - A Lamb Shank Dance Party

Braised Lamb in red wine, garlic, mirepoix, thyme, pepper... Thank you, I can die happy. This is a RICH dish, the lamb falls of the bone and melts in your mouth. You barely have to do anything, you lazy flops out there, no chewing is required. Even the cooking is easy as pie (though pie isn't really easy, who came up with that phrase?). To balance the richness of the dish, you MUST serve it with a full, red wine, please! Grape juice won't cut it here. Colores del Sol (Argentina), Malbec was perfect, but a Cabernet Sauvignon or a Bordeaux (if you want to get fancy) will do fine.

Braising is one of the most 'hard to screw up' cooking techniques on the planet. Take a tougher meat, immerse it in a great tasting liquid and cook for a long time. That's it really, you can make endless substitutions and it will still come out amazing. The only thing you need is time, and if you're lounging around the house on a weekend (as I was) you're set.

Recipe
Braised Lamb Shank

Serves 6
Serve as an appetizer wrapped in crepes with a shoot or two of watercress for bite.
orrr... serve on dill couscous or steamed new potatoes. Anything goes.

Ingredients:
6 Lamb Foreshanks(their meatier)if you can get them
coarse salt and fresh ground black pepper
3 Tbs plus 1/2 cup olive oil
3 carrots
2 ribs celery
1 large spanish onion
1 small can tomato paste
5 sprigs thyme
1 bay leaf
1 Tbs black peppercorns
3 anchovy fillets
1 head garlic, cut each clove in half
2 cups good red wine(not expensive, but not bad)
1 cup dry white wine (as above, not bad wine please)
1/3 c white vinegar
1 tsp sugar
4 cups chicken stock(or 2c chick + 2c veal stock if you can find it)

Directions:
preheat oven to 325 degrees F

Season lamb with salt/pepper. Cut lamb shanks 1 inch from tapered end to expose the bone for cooking. Roughly chop all veggies(your mirepoix).

Heat 3 Tbs oil in pot over medium-high heat, add veggies, cook till soft (careful not to singe). Add tomato paste, cook 1-2 min. Add herbs, peppercorns, anchovy cook another 2-3 min. Add wines, vinegar and sugar, raise heat up to boil. Lower heat to med and add the stock. Leave over med heat while you brown the shanks in another pan.

In a big frying pan saute shanks in 1/2 cup oil, brown on 3 sides(1 min per side ish).

Transfer shanks to big roasting pan and pour the stock/wine liquid over top. Put lid on roaster or cover with foil. Cook for 1 hour covered.

Remove lid and cook for a further 3 hours turning the shanks every 1/2 hour until the meat is very tender.

Remove shanks from braising liquid. Strain liquid and skim fat off top, use this heavenly liquid as sauce for lamb.

Notes:
This recipe is very forgiving for the creative chef, add in turnips or squash instead of carrots. Add only white wine or change the herbs to whatever you like.

I call on all you budding chef alchemists to experiment! Please send me any successful variations, thanks.

The Caramel Secret

Cream and burnt sugar, can it get better than that? Serve the caramel with tart fruit and you have a perfect flavour balance. Everyone thinks making candy is hard, it's not. You don't really even need a candy thermometer, just watch the colour of the caramel as you cook it, it should get double as brown as when it is uncooked before you pour the cream in.

Some key advice; watch that you aren't tired or hungover when making the candy! It's super easy to burn the crap out of yourself with this hot molten liquid, pay attention. Not that I've ever burnt myself.. ok, maybe once. It is very satisfying making caramel, makes you feel like a wizard or a medieval alchemist. Caramel is a very forgiving beast, even if you mess up the proportions and it ends up not setting, it still tastes amazing as a sauce.

2 Recipes for you...
Honey Butter Caramels with Sea Salt
...adapted from Alice Medrich's Pure Dessert on Dessert First's Blog

Makes about 80 caramels

1/4 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup honey
1 cup (200 g) sugar
1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt
2 cups heavy cream %36 MF is best
3 Tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces, room temperature

Line the bottom and sides of an 8 or 9 in baking pan with foil or parchment paper. Let the sides of the foil or parchment hang over the sides of the pan; this will make it easier to remove the caramels.

In a large saucepan (use at least a 3 quart saucepan, as the boiling caramel will increase in volume), combine the corn syrup, honey, sugar, and sea salt, and bring to a boil. Let the mixture continue cooking until it reaches 305 degrees F.

Meanwhile, place the cream in a small saucepan and warm on the stove until it is just at a simmer. Turn off the heat and cover the saucepan to keep the cream warm (you do not want to add cold cream to the hot caramel or it will seize up and harden.)

When the caramel is at the right temperature, take it off the heat and add in the butter, stirring until it is melted and combined.

Add in the cream slowly - when you pour it in it will bubble up violently, so don't add the cream all at once or it might overflow. When you have added all the cream, stir the mixture until combined.

Return the saucepan to the stove and cook on medium heat until it reaches 250 degrees F.

Pour the caramel into the prepared pan. Let it set overnight before removing and cutting into individual pieces.

Caramel Dipping Sauce for Granny Smith Apples

Directions:
Make recipe as above, but add more cream (1/4 cup ish) to keep it from fully setting.
Chop up 6 apples into bite size pieces and serve caramel as a fondue in a dipping cup. Watch the apples disappear before your very eyes.