Veal Sausages with Bok Choy and Onions

Sunday July 12

The frozen sausages were from Antipastos: they helped to keep the veal fresh as we smuggled our meats across the border. The bok choy was from the garden, and was first washed carefully after picking; then inch-wide slices were taken from the leafy crown; then the crisp white stalks were sliced, and washed again, because protein (i.e. bugs) can hide in there indefinitely.
First the sausages browned in oil, then got pushed to the sides of the pan while sliced onions and the white bok choy stalks fried in the center of the pan. Added some chicken broth, lowered the heat, and steamed everything tender, then added the green parts and stir-fried a bit. A nice variation on the sausage-and-onion-and-something theme.

Veal Chops and Portobellos

Saturday July 11

Lamoreaux Landing 2002 Pinot Noir
The veal coated with thyme, the portobellos with tarragon, and some Sugar Ann snap peas from the garden on the side.
Thistlehair farm blueberries, picked this morning, and a diced ripe peach, with whipped cream.

Barbara's Birthday at the Palace Restaurant

Friday July 10

It must have been a while - since 2006, in fact - since we've been to the Palace Restaurant at the Cincinnatian Hotel, since we can't find it on the blog. But it's a place we like a lot - well-prepared food in a sophisticated atmosphere, with a good jazz trio in the background, and it gives us a chance to dress up a bit.
Our amuse-bouche was a "shooter" of cold melon soup with a droozle of some spicy red pepper oil, absorbed while we waited for our Pinot Noir to be opened (Cloudline, from the Willamette Valley, Oregon, 2006).
Then we progressed to starters: yellowfin tuna two ways (seared and tartare - the seared looked like the little beefsteaks at Cucafera), with little piles of fennel with green herb squirt and piquillo peppers with red pepper squirt, and a teeny hard boiled quail egg; and the other was beef tenderloin tartare like a disc of well-seasoned hash, with a sunny side up quail egg and crispy capers on top, brioche "soldiers" to dip the eggyolk in, and sriracha aioli alongside.
Our first main was crispy-crusted roasted barramundi (just like Australia!) with tasty poached celery, sunchokes, and red pearl onions, on a beautiful marbled puddle of sauce soubise and black truffle vinaigrette; and incidentally, some slivers of truffle on top. And the second was a trio of pork, namely three thick little slices of hazelnut crusted tenderloin, a caul-fat-wrapped package of tender, savory slow roasted shoulder, and a slice of braised applewood smoked pork belly with garbanzo bean purée, frissée, and bacon jus.
Since it was a birthday, we HAD to have dessert. One was a pistachio financier: a toasted slice of cake filled with warm crème brulée, topped with sweet and sour cherries and morello cherry sorbet. And of course, Barbara had to have something lemon, namely a disassembled "meringue parfait" - a thin line of citrus “biscuit” with a line of lemon cream and then thin shards of meringue on top, spotted with dots of lemon curd and a ball of perfect lemon sorbet on the side. And at the end, a nice platter of little sweets: a wodge of candied quince jam, a tiny "oreo," a peanut butter cup truffle, and a couple of delicious chocolates.

A Quick Linguine Alfredo

Thursday July 9

Since we only set out from St. Catharines at 1 PM, got home quite late and hungry. So boiled up a pot of linguine, and made a quick Alfredo by coating a pan with butter, boiling down some cream in it until nice and thick, and melting some grated Romano cheese in it. Seasoned with salt, white pepper, and more grated cheese. Just what the Ph.D. ordered.

Zest, Fonthill

Wednesday July 8

The two foreigners got a chance to take their local hostesses, Jane and Jo-Ann, out for a local meal at a local place they had never been, Zest.

We almost passed it by because the "Zed" blended in with the background of its signboard, so it looked like a place called "est." But we were happy we finally found it.
It's a small place, but the tables are well-placed and comfy, all poised around a big open kitchen, so you can watch the chefs work. And the service is just as we like: friendly, knowledgeable, and attentive without being all over you. They even changed the music on the sound system to accommodate us.

The food is billed as "modern Canadian," mainly sourced locally, though they don't make a cult out of locavoraciousness the way some places do. First they dropped off an amuse-geule, a snackable little smoked-char fishcake, while we pondered over the menu and ordered a Cave Spring Sauvignon Blanc (we drink locally, too).

We just had them put the appetizers in the center, and let everyone graze on crispy fried calamari with sriracha sauce, mussels in a smooth lobster-vanilla tomato sauce with sweet peas and tarragon, a warm salad of roast asparagus and shiitakes with goat cheese, and a big plate of Lameque oysters from New Brunswick - they best place to read about these oysters (indeed, any type of oyster whatever) is here.

Our two mains were fillets of lake perch, sparkling fresh and delicate, perched on a vegetable tower and topped with a fried zucchini blossom; and haddock fried in a coconut flour crust (really - they showed us the flour, it's not grated coconut) with a dark mole-style sauce.
And of course, we had to have dessert. One was a frozen black forest cake with fresh red currants; the other some spoons of house-made strawberry ice cream, which was nice and light.

Verdict: Zest is definitely on our eat-local list.

Barbeque at Jane's

Tuesday July 7

Our friend and neighbor Sonya was taking off for vacation the next day, so our hostess Jane threw her a farewell barbeque - using Sonya's own gas grill. So the main dish was grilled steak, seasoned with Montreal Steak Spice - an excellent dry rub. There wasn't enough room on the grill for much else, so the side dishes - fried peppers and onions, fried zucchini and mushrooms, and a big green salad - were made indoors. We also ate indoors, as there wasn't as much table room outside.
Dessert was tasty strawberry and rhubarb pie, with vanilla frozen yogurt. As Sonya observed, several times: it's not ice cream.

In an Oakville Garden

Monday July 6

Ally and Dave are great cooks and wonderful gardeners, so the ultimate enjoyment is to get to eat their food out in their garden. Their cat Thera supplied the floor show, as she was on her leash among the plants, stalking the occasional bird, squirrel, and even a baby bunny (all of which were smart enough to stay just outside of leash-range).
We started with an amazing variety of olives and a Turkish-style eggplant-walnut dip on wholegrain toasted pitas; various good white wines flowed throughout the evening. Dave grilled some pretty pink trout, and there was a casserole of savory gigantes in a tomato sauce with a touch of honey. And finally, a giant plate of local cheeses, and a delicious fresh fruit cobbler - this rainy spring has been bad for local fruit, but you would never know from this yummer.
To top it all off, they brought out a souvenir of their recent trip to Skye - a bottle of scotch you couldn't equal anywhere else. We sipped (in the case of the driver, one sip was all) with delight, and resolved to visit Skye for a scotch-slosh of our own in the near future.
So thanks, Ally and Dave, for another inspiring evening!