?
The braised ham with maple syrup is a really strong New Year?s sellers at Le Maitre Boucher.
Photograph by: Marie-France Coallier , Montreal Gazette
We can?t think of whom we?d rather spend New Year?s Eve with than friends ? and we can?t think of where we?d rather ring in 2013 than at home, surrounded by them.
We?ll chill some bubbly and beer, turn the lights down low and enjoy each other?s company in the glow of clusters of candles we?ll have lit all around: Candle light makes the mood mellow and convivial, the way jazz does played low.
We?ll feed our friends, of course. There is something elemental about food. ?Food brings us together, nourishes us both literally and figuratively,? as David Tanis, the chef and food writer, observed in his inspired Heart of the Artichoke and Other Kitchen Journeys (Artisan, 2010).
But we don?t want to fuss ? not on New Year?s Eve, anyway. So channelling the old Greyhound bus company slogan ?Leave the driving to us,? three of us came up with ways to leave cooking to others this New Year?s Eve, should you wish to. We have included ideas for nibblies and for more substantial fare to inspire your gathering, whether it?s a crowd you?re feeding or just a couple.
Susan Semenak looked to the ocean for two suggestions, and closer to home for the third, Julian Armstrong had comfort food in mind, and Susan Schwartz evidently had birds on the brain when she came up with her recommendations.
We prefer real glasses to plastic or (shudder) Styrofoam and metal flatware to plastic, but believe there?s no shame in using good-quality paper plates to cut down on cleanup.
Because holiday hours can be irregular ? many places we mention are closed on Boxing Day ? and because you want to make sure that what you want is available, it?s a good idea to call ahead to reserve for Monday.
From Susan Semenak:
Arhoma Boulangerie Fromagerie -?15 Place Simon Valois (at Ontario St. E., between Valois and Bourbonniere Sts.), in Hochelaga Maisonneuve, 514-526-4662
Setting out a wooden board groaning with cheese, nuts, dried fruits and cured meats on the coffee table or the kitchen island is an invitation to nibble, to linger, to be together.
It requires no advance preparation except gathering the best-quality ingredients ? and remembering to let the cheeses sit at room temperature for 30 minutes to soften before guests arrive.
Look for award-winning Quebec cheeses and an assortment of dried fruits and nuts. Find a good selection of fresh nuts at Bass? Nuts (locations at www.bassenuts.com); at Adonis, the Lebanese supermarket chain; at nut roaster Les Noix du March?, with kiosks at Atwater and Jean Talon Markets. Pair with small jars of fig jam, onion marmalade or port jelly, a few baguettes and wine.
Set out spreaders and cheese knives, small spoons, a pile of plates and napkins. And that?s it.
Here?s what Ariane Beaumont of Arhoma bakery calls her ?instant party?:
An assortment of great cheeses: at least one soft, creamy cheese, one or two hard or semi-hard cheeses, a blue cheese, a ch?vre and a sheep?s milk cheese. Calculate a total of 125 to 150 grams of cheese per person, if the cheese plate stands alone. If it precedes or follows a meal, calculate 30 to 50 grams per person.
To serve 10, Beaumont puts out five Quebec cheeses. Among her favourites: soft, creamy Riopelle de l?isle, La Sauvagine or Champfleury; firm Le 1608 and Louis D?Or; semi-firm La Tomme d?Elle s.
Add a scattering of toasted nuts. Dry roast shelled pecans, walnuts and/or hazelnuts on a baking sheet in a 350-degree-F oven for 10 minutes to release their aromas.
Add a selection of plump dried fruits such as figs, dates, apricots and cranberries. Akhavan, the Iranian grocery store at 6170 Sherbrooke St. W. in Notre-Dame-de-Gr?ce, has a good selection.
A few fresh fruit might be nice, too ? but nothing too acidic. Think ripe Barlett or Abate pears.
Make sure the bread is fresh. Warm it a little, if you like, to crisp up the crust. Arhoma?s pecan, cranberry and maple loaf is a good bet, or the walnut and pistachio loaf, with plenty of taste and texture. So is a small ?michette? flavoured with tawny port with raisins and dried fig.
A cheese plate can stand alone. Add a few slices of smoked salmon and an assortment of cured meats, though, and it becomes heftier. Beaumont might include a terrine of mousse au foie gras and a few pates, such as rabbit, boar or duck. She also likes Si Pousse dried, cured sausages and the mini-sausages from Les Viandes Biologiques de Charlevoix. All are available at Arhoma.
Fig or onion jam, as well as honeys and jellies, offer sweet, aromatic flavours to balance the rich saltiness of the meats and cheeses. They come in handsome jars that look great for serving. Beaumont likes green pepper and champagne vinegar jelly from C Traiteur and products from Simon Turcotte and Arthur Epicerie Fine, such as crabapple & basil jelly and honey infused with port & walnut.
If guests are lingering long after the cheese plate is gone, Beaumont makes coffee and sets out a bit of dessert, but nothing heavy or sweet ? maybe a plate of Christophe Morel chocolate or a platter of madeleines.
Les D?lices Falero -?5726 Parc Ave., 514-274-1440
The idea sounds extravagant ? but this is the New Year?s for getting fancy caviar at bargain prices. The worldwide recession has cut demand for this most luxurious of foods, driving prices down during the past few months by as much as 50 to 75 per cent.
This time last year, for example, sturgeon caviar was selling for $700 to $800 for 60 grams, or about 2 ounces. The current price at Les D?lices Falero, the takeout counter above the excellent fish store Nouveau Falero, is $184 for a 100-gram jar of Italian Calvisius farm-raised sturgeon caviar.
Traditionally speaking, by caviar one means salt-cured fish eggs from wild sturgeon fished from the Black and Caspian Seas in Russia. But the term has come to encompass eggs from many different, and often farm-raised, fish, including salmon, pike and trout.
Marlene Centrera, who runs the takeout counter at D?lices Falero, suggests a suite of caviars: start with inexpensive Canadian herring caviar ($5.99 for 50 grams) and black herring caviar ($7.49 for 50 grams), then move on to the delicate, pale pink-coloured Quebec pike caviar ($13.99 for 70 grams), then up the scale to the fancy Ossetia and Sevruga sturgeon caviars: stop wherever your budget demands that you stop.
Centrera serves caviar atop buckwheat blini (sold frozen, ready to defrost and serve), topped with dollops of sour cream or cr?me fra?che and garnished with finely chopped fresh dill.
What to drink? Champagne, of course, as a first choice. But Spanish sparkling cava is nice, too, as is Italian prosecco.
To make a meal of it, Centrera suggests following a caviar tasting with salmon coulibiac, the traditional Russian salmon filet covered in spinach and white sauce and enrobed in puff pastry. At D?lices Falero it is $36.99 a kilo, whole or by the slice. Call ahead to reserve, to be sure they don?t run out. Simply heat in a 375F oven and serve alongside a simple green salad.
And for dessert, a bowl of fresh strawberries.
Poissonerie Nouveau Falero -?5726A Parc Ave., 514-274-5541
Poissonerie La Mer -?1840 Ren? L?vesque Blvd. E., 514-522-3003
Assuming you?re an oyster lover, nothing is more fun than shucking oysters and eating them as you go. For the perfect kitchen party, line the kitchen table or counter with newspaper and get shucking. Get out large platters lined with a layer of coarse salt to hold the raw oysters in their half-shells. Equip yourself with an oyster knife with a thick, sturdy blade. If you?re not confident about your skills, get a wooden safety block that holds the oyster in place and prevents the knife blade from slipping. Les Touilleurs, the kitchen store at 152 Laurier Ave. W., stocks them.
Eldin Agovic, the oyster expert at Nouveau Falero, recommends a mix of East Coast and West Coast oysters. This season, he?s really into meaty Colville Bay oysters from Prince Edward Island with their bright green shells ($10.99 a pound) and briny Caribou ($9.99 a pound) from Nova Scotia. He also recommends the perennial favourites from Prince Edward Island: mild Lucky Limes ($10.99 a pound) and Raspberry Points ($9.99), with their salty flavour and sweet aftertaste.
For a range of flavours, he likes to add a few West Coast oysters. Try Kumamotos from Washington State and Oregon ($2 each.) They are small, deep-cupped oysters with a sweet, fruity, flavour and buttery texture.
Eat them as is, or serve with a selection of bottled hot sauces, a plate of lemon or lime wedges and perhaps a small bowl of mignonette, made by combining red wine or raspberry-flavoured wine vinegar and finely chopped shallots.
To drink, go for bubbly or a chilled, crisp white wine such as pinot grigio or sauvignon blanc.
From Julian Armstrong:
La Maison du R?ti -?1969 Mont Royal Ave. E., 514-521-2448
Tourti?re is in full season, and one of the headquarters for this traditional Quebec holiday pie is La Maison du R?ti, where Isabelle Bourbeau offers five varieties in eight-inch diameter size: the tourti?re maison is made with veal, pork, beef, duck, game, lamb; the Lac St. Jean style features the same meats, as well as potatoes.
If it?s a real party, the shop has the major meat pie called Tourti?re du Saguenay, at $16.99 per kilo. This big and lusty pie features a combination of cubes of game meat, such as bison and elk, as well as pork and beef: a pie that will feed 15 costs between $58 and $62. Accent for the meal should be pickles: pickled beets are traditional, but you be the judge. Add a tossed green salad and crusty bread, and the meal is complete. Order these big pies a day in advance.
This shop is a meat wholesaler, but is also a large specialty shop and deli. The counters full of choices will no doubt tempt shoppers with steaks and roasts for the holidays. If you have a recipe requiring a special cut of meat, call ahead to order what you need cut to measure.
Pasta Casareccia -?5849 Sherbrooke St. W., 514-483-1588
Italian dishes suit the festive season, and Pasta Casareccia, an N.D.G. fixture for satisfying Italian food, has a variety in its deli counter or to order. A full range of pasta dishes, from lasagna to luxurious tortellini alla norcina, with sausage and truffles, is available; this kind of easygoing comfort food needs only a tossed green salad and crusty bread to complete the main course.
In addition to pasta, owner Pina Petraccone offers Salsiccia Pepperonati, a colourful sausage dish featuring homemade sausages with red and green bell peppers, onions and tomatoes. A pan that will feed eight is $40. Order at least a day in advance.
From Susan Schwartz:
Le Maitre Boucher - 5719 Monkland Ave., 514-487-1437
A beautifully dark and shiny lacquered duck, made with a glaze of soy, sherry vinegar, corn syrup, orange juice and spices, is available on weekends and holidays from this amazingly well-stocked cheese, butcher and grocery shop. One duck ($19.99) feeds two or three, depending on one?s appetite and what else is being served. Looks fabulous when presented whole, but can also be served shredded. Nice with basmati rice studded with green onions and slivered almonds.
A ham braised with maple syrup and decorated with pineapple is another good seller, at the holidays or anytime: order a whole ham, with or without the bone, or whatever part of it you need ($18.99/kg). Prepare your own sides ? roasted beets and mashed potatoes pair well with ham ? or find them at the N.D.G. shop.
For more items available as part of the holiday menu, visit lemaitreboucher.com
PA Supermarch? - 1420 Fort St., 514-932-0922; 5029 Parc Ave., 514-273-8782
This is a heavenly barbecued chicken ? rubbed with oil and spices and slow-cooked in the oven until the meat is tender ($9.99). Available at both locations anytime between about noon and 5 p.m. Roast some potatoes tossed with olive oil and spices, assemble a salad of hearts of Romaine and fennel dressed with olive oil and lemon and you have a really nice dinner. You can prepare the potatoes in advance and just reheat them before serving.
These birds sell out quickly, so it?s best to call ahead ? especially if you want more than a couple.
Schwartz?s -?3895 St. Laurent Blvd., 514-842-4813
Brisket isn?t the only meat that goes into the smoker at this legendary place.
Smoked turkey is $75 to $80 for a bird weighing about 10 pounds. Add rye bread, coleslaw and potato salad and maybe a selection of mustards and most people will pile their plates high ? and then go back for seconds.
A smoked chicken is $10.95 for a two-and-a-half-pound bird. A smoked duck ($23.95) will feed two as a main course ? more if it?s intended as part of a buffet or a first course.
One of the many great things about serving smoked fowl is that, just like smoked meat, it tastes great cold or at room temperature: no need to serve it hot.
? Copyright (c) The Montreal Gazette
?
?
?
?
?
?
Source: http://www.montrealgazette.com/life/food-wine/Year+Leave+cooking+others/7742808/story.html
mary louise parker mary louise parker cher morgellons nhl all star draft seal team 6 touch
কোন মন্তব্য নেই:
একটি মন্তব্য পোস্ট করুন