Thursday, February 28, 2008

Dinner With Leo


Another reunion for SJJ and ILR took place this evening, thanks to nanny night off and McGill reading week. ILR's father Leo graced us with his presence, culinary talent, and wine collection.
The menu included:
-mixed greens with Leo's homemade cilantro-garlic vinaigrette
-beet and goat cheese sandwiches
-parmesan crusted white roughy (also known as vietnamese catfish)

As we drank our red wine and munched on the white roughy, Leo entertained us with his stories of growing up in communism, shaking Fidel Castro's hand, and raising children with cloth diapers.

All in all, a wonderful evening.

Addendum (Written by: Samantha Jane Jacobs)
Ok, this night was awesome. leo introduced me to trader joe's lemon sorbet. it was like eating the love child of a freshly picked sugar cane and a sun drenched summer lemon. i especially liked it paired with the wine that had apparently been opened and left on the counter for days. leo asked us to try, as his tastebuds were tainted with his "i'd drink it all anyway" attitude towards any sort of wine. of course, it was fine. although, i must say, i have a very similar perception.

as ILR stated before ,there was cilantro dressing served with the salad. i HATE cilantro. ya ya ya, i love good food and cooking and happiness and what have you, but i can't stand the stuff! it's like soap! ILR claims there is a genetic link towards one's taste for cilantro. that's fine either way, but i truly don't understand how anyone can eat it so liberally. however, leo's dressing was totally tolerable. he masked the cilantroness of it with a good bit of olive oil, lemon, and garlic (mmm).

leo also talked to us about sex. he told us not to have it casually. to that, i say this: i don't think casual sex is exactly written in the stars for me right now. speaking of which, thank you ILR for editing the picture so that i don't look as horrendously fat as usual. you really are such a great friend and i love you for it:)

SJJ

Cheers!

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

"Oops I Forgot To Buy Chicken" Veggie Borsch

The weather here is beyond freezing right now, which makes me crave something hot and hearty and easy to make. This borsch recipe comes from my mother, a petite russian woman who knows her soups. She's known for her homemade chicken soups, but if my memory serves me right, she made a delicious hot borsch with beef one cold winter night when I was maybe six or seven years old.

I've been limiting my meat consumption in the past few months, so I decided to try to make the borsch with chicken thighs. Unfortunately, I forgot to buy the chicken. So this recipe is now vegetarian. You can always add chicken if you wish (In the very beginning).

2 large packages of chicken broth (beef or veggie are fine)
1 large onion, roughly chopped
1/3 head of green cabbage, roughly chopped
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1/2 small bag of baby carrots (or 1.5-2 cups carrots)
3 large potatoes, diced (russets are good for boiling)
1 large can diced tomatoes (drained!)
1 large can cooked beets (they can be marinated. mine were)
2 tbsp Vegeta
lots of fresh dill
a dollop of sour cream

Add the chopped onion to a medium hot pan with a bit of olive oil. Please don't let these burn! Let them become translucent. Add the garlic, and let it cook for a minute. Then add the broth. Immediately add the cabbage and carrots. Let them cook for 5 minutes and then add the diced potatoes. At this point I added the vegeta.

For those of you who don't know what vegeta is, it's a packet of seasoning that comes from Croatia. I grew up on this stuff, so I'm addicted to it. My mother used to add it to fried potatoes and chicken soup, and those are pretty much the only things I ate as a child. It just adds so much flavor! But you can substitute with some salt, or any other seasoning mix you have. Just taste it before you add a bunch to the pot of soup.

Ok, so let this soup simmer away for about 10 or 15 minutes, and when the potatoes and carrots feel soft, not mushy, add the drained tomatoes and beets. Let it simmer for another 5 to 10, and then taste it. If you feel it needs an extra kick, add whatever you wish. My father likes his borsch with olives. I'm not so much a fan of this. But it's your soup, so do what makes you happy.
When it's ready to be served, add a dollop of cold sour cream and some chopped fresh dill.
And you can call yourself a russian!
-ILR

Thursday, February 7, 2008

Le Festin De Babette


In search of a scrumptious gift to send to the states for SJJ's birthday, I ventured through Montreal's Plateau neighborhood. It's well known for having adorable french boutiques and food shoppes filled with gourmet treats such as eggplant caviar and cayenne pepper chocolat truffles. On this particular day in the plateau, I stumbled into Le Festin De Babette, a gourmet cafe/truffle shoppe that carries not just sweets, but loose tea, china, tapenade, and other various european food items.

This boutique/cafe/wonderland is incredible. There's an entire shelf devoted to homemade jams and honey, a room filled with colorful tea cups and plates for purchase, and counters full of chocolate candies and caramels. I find it difficult to leave this cafe, especially empty handed.
I'm going back tomorrow.

4085, rue St-Denis
Montréal (Québec) H2W 2M7
Tél : 514.849.0214

photo courtesy: http://www.flickr.com/photos/young_toymaker/474069239/