au pied de cochon

We ate at the famous Au Pied de Cochon, and I must say it was probably the best food I`ve ever tasted. This was my first time trying froi gras and it definitely lived up to the hype.

I would recommend anyone (that likes meat) visiting or living in the Montreal area try out this restaurant if they haven`t already.

Here are some details about the restaurant -

Restaurant:Au Pied de Cochon
Location:536 Duluth Est, Montréal

What we ordered:
- the daily special: gnocchi in duck confit
- Duck in a can
- Tatare
- some drinks, including Pied de Cochon beer



The meal started off amazingly with the gnocchi dish (pictured above). It tasted very very fresh and the duck consume was to die for. After the appetizer I already knew this was to be one of the best meals I have ever had in my life.





I was really dissappointed in myself for ordering the Tatare and not the duck in the can. The duck in a can comes as the name states - in a can & the server opens the can on the spot and pours all the goodness onto your plate. Luckily I was able to steal some wonderful morsels of duck off of Dave`s plate. I am usually very skeptical of duck, as Chicnese restaurants usually win hands down int he duck preparation department, but I must say that this was absolutely the best duck I have ever had. The delictable duck flavour was so incredibly and wonderfully powerful. I`m drooling just thinking about it. I was seriously considering calling my dish a write off and ordering a whole other meal. Don`t get me wrong, the Tatare was fine, but definitely nothing compared to the duck in a can.

brick toast

I've been searching on the internet for possible recipes for this Bubble Tea joint-favourite. So far I've found:

Via eaglebrand.ca

Ingredients:
1 loaf unsliced white bread
1 can (300 mL) Regular or Low Fat Eagle Brand® Sweetened Condensed Milk

Preparation:
1. Line a baking sheet with foil.
2. Slice bread into l ½” (4cm) slices. You should get approximately 8-10 pieces. Place on baking sheet. Score each piece from top to bottom with an X. Spoon 1 tbsp (15mL) condensed milk over bread. Let sit 5-10 minutes.
3. Place under broiler and broil for 1 minute or until bread starts to get golden. Watch it carefully as it can burn quickly. Serve immediately.


Via chowhound.chow.com

Ingredients:
1/2 cup of non-fat powered milk
1/3 cup of granulated sugar, dial down for less sugary result.
1/3 cup of salted butter (Margarine is actually a better substitute as it melts much faster)
1/2 egg yolk
2 slices of 1″-thick brick toast.

Preparation:
1. Preheat toaster oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Score the toast in a pound sign (#), marking the large toast slice into 9 squares. Make the incisions deep to allow better butter penetration.
3. Mix remaining ingredients in bowl with spatula, resulting in bechamel-esque paste below.
4. Split mixture evening into two portions, and spread evenly onto toast. Be sure to cover the edges so the tip of the crust won’t burn. Place into toaster oven for 6-7 minutes, or remove when sugary mix is lightly browned.

I can`t wait to try both recipes!

things i want to do in 2010

- make brick toast at home -- Done successfully
- learn to make pasta (inspiration from CinnamonKittin) -- Failed attempt 1
- eat healthier
- reduce my potato chip intake
- reduce my Coca-Cola intake
- eat at least 1 serving of fruit per day
- eat at least 1 serving of vegetables per day

eating our way through montreal

Some of the places we ate while in montreal:
- Pho Bac
- Au Pied de Cochon
- Eggspectation
- McDonalds
- La Banquise Resto
- Cafe Depot

la banquise resto

Me & Dave are back from Montreal! It was very relaxing and we stuffed ourselves silly with great food.

As I mentioned previously we tore a page from Anthony Bourdain's "No Reservations" (a show which we are totally obsessed with right now), and ate from La Banquise Resto which is famous for their poutine.



Here are some details about the restaurant -

Restaurant: La Banquise Resto
Location: 994, Rachel Est, Montréal

Average price per person: $11-$25

What I ordered: Classical Poutine & a drink
What Dave ordered: Bacon Poutine & a drink

I absuloutely love this place and I wish we had one of these 24hour poutine places nearby. The poutine was excellent and the place was hopping. Nestled in the Mount Royal neighborhood, I'm so glad No Reservations introduced us to this place as we probably would never have found it otherwise.

turkey pot pie

Christmas dinner means turkey leftovers and that always means turkey pot pie!

I've been making this recipe routinely with chicken and it'e a winner every time!

Ingredients:
- turkey leftovers
- diced up carrots
- diced up celery
- diced up cauliflower
- diced up shiitake mushrooms
- 1 can of cream of chicken soup
- store bought puff pastry (I recently tried the tenderflake which requires being rolled out, but it was quite good)

Instructions:
1) satay carrots, celery, cauliflower and mushrooms in frying pan.

2) combine carrots, celery, cauliflower, mushrooms, turkey, and cream soup in oven safe bowls.
3) cover with puff pastry and cook in oven according to puff pastry instructions (approx. 20-30 minutes).

And voila....

shiitake musrooms

My mom gives me dried shiitake mushrooms and I keep them in water for a few hours & they're ready to be used!

I'm making turkey pot pie tomorrow & I put shiitake mushrooms in them sometimes. Probably makes them very expensive, but i LOVE shiitake mushrooms!

hmmm

I wonder how long it will take for CinnamonKitten to notice I've started posting again.

montreal bound

Me & Dave are heading to Montreal for a few days for a little getaway during the holidays. We're looking forward to lots of shopping & stuffing our faces with lots of yummy food.

We're tearing a page from Anthony Bourdain's "No Reservations" (a show which we are totally obsessed with right now), and on the agenda so far:

Poutine at La Banquise Resto
Dinner at Au Pied de Cochon

Look forward to some posts about our Montreal food adventures!

new bookshelf addition

My sister & brother-in-law gave me "How to Cook Everything: Easy Weekend Cooking" by Mark Bittman for Christmas.

I haven't ever checked out the series, but the work "easy" in the title is always an indication that it's my kind of cookbook. I'm looking forward to pouring through this book.

I really need to get off my butt and start trying new recipes again - I'm in a rut!

Image from: amazon.ca

wedding feast (continued)

In addition to a truly unforgettable wedding feast, we gave each of our guests a box of macarons made by Bobbette and Belle.

My sister first introduced me to these gems and I thought there were lovely and would make the perfect favour to cap off our food-centric wedding.

We ended up purchasing them from McEwan which was nice and convenient as it is not too far from my parents home in North York.

They came conveniently and beautifully packaged which mean we didn't have to do anything except pick them up!

And they were so delicious.