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Written by Michael Costa
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Friday, 09 July 2010 23:43 |
 For any cook—whether you’re a professional or the executive chef of your home kitchen—there are certain markets around the world that are so one-of-a-kind, they can inspire a pilgrimage: The Boqueria in Barcelona, Marché Bastille in Paris, and the Benito Juarez Market in Oaxaca, Mexico, to name just a few.
I’ve visited the places above, and I recently added one more to my list: Montreal’s Marché Jean-Talon, in the city’s Little Italy neighborhood, which is a short Metro ride north from downtown. Like all market meccas, Jean-Talon is expansive, full of serendipity and open all year. But if you really want to see the full bounty of Quebec—one of the most fertile regions on the planet—July is the time to visit. Here are a few photos I snapped during a recent visit. More can be found in the slideshow on the Share & Learn tab.
 Jean-Talon is also an important part of the community, and supplies many of the city’s amazing restaurants on a daily basis. In fact, while walking around the market, I noticed one mystery vegetable that was on my plate from the previous night’s dinner: salicorne, which is a kind of mini-asparagus that grows along the ocean shore, and has a sharp, natural sea salt bite to it.
The home cook has just as much opportunity at Jean-Talon, and they can collect the same ingredients as the pros. All I could do was lament that my city (Chicago) doesn’t have a comparable market on such a grand scale, with deep roots in the area’s day-to-day existence. However, the upside is, it’s a great excuse to travel again! |
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Written by Ann Shepphird
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Wednesday, 14 July 2010 22:20 |
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 What says summer more than an icy white sangria? Here’s a summer sangria recipe from Executive Chef Mario Alcocer (pictured right) of the Four Seasons Hotel Westlake Village. The drink was inspired, in part, by some of the herbs (specifically, the mint and rosemary) found in the hotel's new chef’s greenhouse and garden, which Chef Alcocer oversees along with Head Gardener Benji Zavala. Guests who want to learn more can join Chef Alcocer each Saturday on his garden tours – or in one of his cooking classes. Enjoy!
Summer Sangria
Ingredients:
One bottle - white wine (any preferred varietal)
1 oz chopped fresh rosemary
1 oz fresh mint
2 fresh ruby red grapefruit (segmented and cut in half)
4 oranges (segmented and cut into small pieces)
½ cup of lemon juice
2 cups of white cranberry juice
3 oz organic agave syrup
Method:
Combine all ingredients and allow mixture to rest for one hour. Mix well and serve chilled or over ice. Makes 4-6 servings.
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Written by Ann Shepphird
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Friday, 09 July 2010 15:49 |
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 You’ve gotta love a restaurant that a. has their own take on macaroni and cheese on the menu, b. uses it as a way to keep people from yakking into their cell phones while the rest of us are dining (the menu notes that the use of cell phones interferes with the dish’s taleggio sauce) and – perhaps most importantly – c. comes up with a sassy new take on a summer heirloom tomato salad. Chef Bill Bracken (pictured, left) and the Palm Terrace Restaurant at The Island Hotel in Newport Beach have done just that.
Here’s his take on a salad of baby heirloom tomatoes – together with hearts of palm, micro basil and (here’s the really sassy part) avocado ice cream. Baby Heirloom Tomatoes
with Hearts of Palm, Micro Basil and Avocado Ice Cream
Recipe courtesy of Chef Bill Bracken, Palm Terrace Restaurant and Lounge
Serves 4
¾ pound baby heirloom tomatoes
1 teaspoon fresh micro basil
2 teaspoons chopped shallot
½ teaspoon minced garlic
3 teaspoons lemon juice
¼ cup olive oil
Salt and black pepper to taste
3 ounces fresh hearts of palm, thinly sliced
1 cup Avocado Ice Cream (recipe follows)
Micro basil for garnish |
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Written by Ann Shepphird
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Sunday, 13 June 2010 00:51 |
 Anybody who’s been to the North Lake Tahoe town of Truckee knows that Moody’s Bistro & Lounge is an institution, known both for its jazz and for its food, with its emphasis on seasonal, locally sourced ingredients. This summer, Moody’s will again take diners to the root (as it were) of those ingredients with its third annual “Dinner in the Barn” series. For this, Moody’s executive chef and co-owner, Mark Estee, has partnered with Gary Romano of Sierra Valley Farms, a certified organic farm and native plant nursery on the Feather River near Sierraville, to provide four-course meals in the farm's 1936-era barn (built by Romano’s uncles) over eight evenings this summer: June 19-20, July 24-25, August 28-29 and September 4-5.
Each meal will be put together by Chef Estee and Moody’s Chef de Cuisine Guy Frenette using fresh organic vegetables that are picked that day and paired with appropriate wines and live music. Before dinner, guests are encouraged to tour the farm. Romano will talk about how the vegetables are picked and then Estee will talk about how they were prepared -- in other words, it's about as farm-to-table (or, as Romano calls it, farm-to-fork) as you can get.
Cost for each “Dinner in the Barn” event, which is limited to 60 people, is $125 per person. This includes the four-course dinner, wine, beverages, farm tour, tax and tip. Transportation to and from the farm dinner will be available through Truckee Tahoe Transportation. For reservations to “Dinner in the Barn,” call Moody’s at (530) 587-8688 or for more information on "Dinner in the Barn" (or the summer cooking classes) visit MoodysBistro.com. |
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Written by Ann Shepphird
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Wednesday, 05 May 2010 21:06 |
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 A funny thought occurred to me midway through the organic gardening workshop I took last week up at Esalen: In recent years, we’ve turned a lot of chefs into celebrities or even, really, rock stars. And yet the gardeners and farmers – who are so important in providing the actual materials for that food – remain anonymous. I think that's too bad because, let's face it, I don’t care how good a chef you are, you can’t make a good caprese without a great tomato.
So, here’s to the rock-star gardeners, three of whom -- Amigo Bob Cantisano, Shirley Ward and Wendy Johnson (pictured, from left to right) – led our workshop. All three are passionate and knowledgeable but also offer their own unique perspective when it comes to gardening, with Amigo providing the science, Wendy the art and Shirley the intuitive. The information they provided was amazing (if, at times, a little overwhelming) and could (and has) filled books. After awhile, though, some patterns emerged and I was able to coalesce at least some of the information into four categories that provide a good place for newbie gardeners to start (click "read more"):
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