Late Summer Sunday Lunch - Crab Cakes

To Chill or not to Chill:
There is a lot of preparation for this dish but not a lot of cooking, so this is best if you can prep the day before and cook them off the next day. I thought I could do it all quickly in one day, but surprisingly, Alexis decided to sleep in, which is beyond rare. I was not getting up just to prep crab cakes when I could take advantage of relaxing in bed, so it did take me longer than expected to get lunch ready, but En didn't seem to mind; he got to cuddle with Alexis.

Everyone says chilling crab cakes are crucial to their maintaining form. Because I had to get lunch on the table, I thought to experiment. I made fourteen crab cakes, nine were put in the refrigerator and the last five were formed and went straight in the pan. It was true; the cakes were so delicate and I had to constantly repair the shape lightly with fork tines and the spatula especially when I turned them, but by the time they had finished cooking, they held enough form that I could slide them onto the plate without the cakes breaking. The chilled cakes held up to the spatula work without falling apart. This seems to make a better case for preparing it a day ahead.

Real Crab? Imitation?
I'm not a millionaire and cannot use real crab every week. Nor is any shellfish that healthy for us with high cholesterol, but of all the shellfish, crab is the one to use. This recipe works well with real, imitation, or a combination of the two. I admit, when I use imitation, I have to add the amount of crab paste stated in the recipe below. This provides the oils and essence of the crab. The important thing is that my family absolutely loves this recipe.

Crab cakes in the pan: Note the crust and the space in the pan.

Served with the spiced mayonnaise

Crab Cake

Lump Crabmeat		1 lb, drained
Corn Kernels		1/2 cup
Carrot		1
Celery		2 stalks
Onion		1 large
Garlic		1 head, minced
Whole Wheat Bread		4 slices
Barley Flour		2 tbsp
Light Mayonnaise		1 cup
Crab Paste		4 tbsp
Thyme		4 tbsp
Paprika		2 tbsp
Bay Leaf		2 leaves
Clove		3 cloves
Coriander		1 tbsp, whole seeds
Cardamom		5 pods
Ancho Chilli		1 dried chilli
Chilli de Arbol		1 dried chilli
Black Pepper		1 tbsp, whole seeds
Sea Salt		1 tbsp
Cornmeal		1/3 cup
Canola Oil		4 tbsp

Spiced Mayonnaise

Mayonnaise		1 cup, no fat
Ancho Chili		1 tbsp, freshly ground
Chili		1 tbsp, freshly ground

Preparation:

1. Drain the crab meat until most of the water has been drawn out (I weight it down with a plate and a weight on top of the plate).
2. Toast the bread until it is too dark and dry and let it sit.
3. In a spice grinder, pulverize the black pepper, cardamom, clove, bay leaves, coriander and salt and set aside.
4. In the same spice grinder, pulverize the ancho and de arbos chillis, add half to the previous spice mixture and set the other half aside.
5. In a food processor, add chopped carrot, celery, garlic and onion and work mixture until minced very fine.
6. In a mixing bowl, add vegetable mixture, corn kernels, crab meat, spice mixture and crab paste and work until combined.
7. Add 1 cup of the mayonnaise and stir to combined.
8. In the food processor, add the barley flour and break the toasted bread into manageable pieces and blitz until you are left with very fine, sand like breadcrumbs. Add this to the mixing bowl and stir until combined.
9. Shape the crab cakes as you please. I use a hamburger press and then push the sides in and press the top down for the perfectly formed crab cake.
10. Layer over plastic wrap and set in the fridge to firm up, anywhere from one hour to overnight.
11. Heat canola oil in the pan at medium high.
12. Dust each crab cake with a sprinkle of cornmeal on both sides and gently place each in the pan. Do not overcrowd the pan, else the cakes will not develop the proper crust.
13. Reduce heat to medium and cook for ten minutes on each side.
14. In a separate bowl, stir together the remaining mayonnaise and remaining chilli powder.
15. Serve crab cakes with the spiced mayonnaise.
16. Makes approximately 14 cakes.

The Gabardine

I sometime have work lunches to attend. Being in the downtown core, there are some great choices, but how do you choose good food and an acceptable environment without the astronomical cost? Each factor will be weighed by those you lunch with, so if you are the one choosing, you had better have a few go-to choices in your back pocket.

I was debating my selections when I had less than a day to book reservations when I spoke to a colleague whom I'd recently dined with and clearly has a good handle on the food scene here in the city. When I told her my dilemma she made three suggestions, one of which I had already been to with my lunch companion, and one I would use as a backup. The third, Gabardine is on Bay Street immediately south of Richmond.

I had walked by many times but never opened the door. I’m not the only one who has walked past on several occasions, so had my colleague. It is one of those places which has the pleasant store front of a warm and friendly bistro, yet you pass it when you’re on your way to some other place. People who are looking for a place to eat are generally not going to be the ones walking by. That being said, they do not take reservations. This makes it tricky for a work lunch, which is probably what they want to avoid. My solution? Get there hella early and snag a table before my companion arrives. I got there at 11.40am and believe it or not I got the second last table there. It was packed. It was noisy. It was more noisy than most other restaurants, and being seated close together in such a small space, it intensified the bustle so typical of Toronto. It was in direct contrast to the implied calm laid back feel of the décor. But was it worth it?

My companion arrived and we ordered. We were offered a pretentious carafe of sparkling water, though I can’t pin the word the waiter used when he asked if we would like any. Neither of us knew what he was saying, and instead of coming off as worldly, he really came off as douchy, but we let it slide with a chuckle, racking it up to us just not hearing what he really said.

Rabbit Rillettes

We shared the Rabbit Rillettes to start since my companion had never eaten rabbit before. It was good, but it was so processed he couldn’t really get the distinct flavor, which is a shame, because for a first taste you really want it to be memorable. It was served with toasted baguette rounds, apple butter and sour cherry. All in all, good, but not unique. As my friend said, “you could have substituted any other meat in there and it would have been the same dish,” and unfortunately, I had to agree.

Seafood Chowder

Shrimp Po Boy

I ordered the Chowder and after seeing our nieghbour-table receive their dishes (and us openly gawking along with them), he ordered the Shrimp Po Boy. My only complaint about my Chowder were the saltines it was garnished with. If I wanted saltines I’d go to the grocery store. If you’re going to serve with a crunchy carb, give me some of that baguette you toasted up for the rillettes, at least that requires more finesse than opening a box. My colleague’s po boy, on the other hand, was outstanding. Shrimp piled up to your eyeballs. And he said the shrimp was perfectly cooked. They used some of the apple butter in the sandwich, so it wasn’t overly heavy on the savory side, it was nicely balanced in flavour. As loud as it was, we were still able to carry on an enjoyable and productive conversation while we enjoyed our meals. The staff was attentive to our needs and never rushed us though they had customers waiting for a table.

It’s nice to have a place like this around. Some reviews call it ‘gastro-pub’, and the term really doesn’t seem to apply. This isn’t a pub that serves higher end food, it is firstly a restaurant that has designed its menu with some dressed-up pub offerings in mind, yet also offering other more bistro style dishes. Beer is secondary in its focus, offering few artisanal beers and a modest wine selection. When I was there I didn’t see one person with an alcoholic drink, but then again, I wasn’t there for dinner service. There were no beers on the menu that I would have wanted to drink even if I was off the clock. However, upon leaving, I noted the bottle of Hendricks on the top shelf, so that in the least earns them some redeeming alcohol points. After pointing out the difference between gin classes to my colleague he must think I’m a lush, but in my opinion, if you drink rarely, you better make those drinks count.

If I had to put my finger on what Gabardine is, I would say it carryies the right amount of attitude to draw the higher end working lunch crowd by playing themselves down with ‘everyday’ appeal, but executing on the more exacting standards of their dining expectations and offering standards they know the crowd will like. That is, it’s like giving a chicken the duck makeover and offering it up as an everyday lunch at weekend lunch prices. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. That seems to be the standard in this great city. What’s important is whether or not I would return. For work? Definitely. I want to try that po boy sometime.

The Gabardine

372 Bay Street

Toronto, ON M5H 2W9

(647) 352-3211

Ma Po Tofu

Today was a snow day. Well not exactly; I worked from home, En took the day off to watch Alexis, and Alexis ran around the house. The storm dropped at least a foot of slush on the city which is worse than either rain or snow because slush is like liquid ice; it causes flooding, it is dense and backbreaking to shovel or walk through, and it is the perfect medium for hydroplaning. Our street was a river. The highways were flooded out. If it was En and I alone we would have battled our way in, but we couldn't bare to think of what could happen as we tried to get Alexis to and from my mother in law's.

So I had the ingredients in the fridge and figured this was the perfect day of the week to try this recipe. Believe it or not, I made it over my lunch (hour). Mind you, I prepped all the ingredients early in the morning, so by noon I was ready to go.

Ma Po Tofu is an iconic Szechuan dish which translates loosely to 'pockmarked face of grandmother' which is not a name fitting to its taste. It has become a favourite of ours after I got En to try some from a take out restaurant his family frequents. After that he was hooked! This is a much healthier version, of course, but what I did here was use actual black beans instead of the prepared black been sauce. Trust me, there is a difference in texture, and I'm writing the recipe below using the sauce, though the picture contains the actual black beans. Don't get me wrong - using actual black beans still made a very tasty dish, but it is not the same flavour or texture as the original dish, and to me transforms the dish too much from what it is intended to be.

Thinking ahead to prepare everything to make a bowl of comfort on a snowed-in-yet-working day is a wonderful mini escape that affords you that time of eating like it's the weekend. I prepped ingredients before the sun came up with a toddler running around my kitchen. I'm not saying to do this every day, but once in a while, it really is worth the effort. At least, that's what En and I thought as we relaxed on the couch with a bowl of Ma Po Tofu over Steamed Rice as we watched Alexis play on the living room floor.

Ma Po Tofu

Medium Tofu		1 pkg, drained, cubed 1/2"
Oyster Mushrooms		4 cups, sliced
Lean Ground Pork		2 lbs
Baby Bok Choi		6, shredded or minced
Green Onion		3 stalks, chopped
Onion		1 medium, minced
Garlic		5 cloves,  minced
Corn Starch		2 tbsp
Black Bean Sauce		4 tbsp
Hoisen Sauce		2 tbsp
Hot Bean Paste		2 tbsp
Crab Paste		1 tbsp
Soy Sauce		1 tbsp
Chilli Peppers		4 whole
Black Pepper		1 tsp, freshly cracked
Water		2 cups / 4 tbsp
Canola Oil		4 tbsp

Preparation:

1. If tofu is easily broken to the touch, wrap it in cheesecloth/heavy kitchen paper and press it in a sieve for an hour.
2. In a wok like pan, heat oil on medium and saute onions and garlic.
3. When translucent, add mushrooms and stir.
4. Once mushrooms have browned and reduced, add hot bean paste, black bean sauce, soy sauce, crab paste and hoisen sauce.
5. Add the ground pork and brown. Step 4 and 5 are interchangeable, but I've found browning meat with the mushrooms lends a better flavour and the nature of the dish allows for the mushroom to cook down.
6. Add the chilli peppers and cracked black pepper. Szechuan peppercorns are best and authentic, but if you don't have them on hand (and I don't), use fresh, good quality black peppercorns.
7. Once meat has browned and begins to sizzle, add two cups of water. This shouldn't cover, but come about half way up the mixture.
8. Cook for 10 minutes on medium heat. When it's ready the water has thickened slightly into a sauce.
9. Add the tofu and stir.
10. Add bok choi and stir. Bok choi is not authentic, but it gets some greens in to my diet, gives a nice freshness that deepens the mushroom flavour and that's just how I've done it.
11. RLet the mixture simmer for another 10 minutes.
12. Mix the cornstarch in the remaining four tbsp of cold water and stir vigorously into the pot.
13. Let the mixture come to a boil for a minute (to activate the thickening of the corn starch) and then remove from heat.
14. Stir and let rest covered for 10 minutes

Slow Cooked Ribs in a Mushroom Gravy

Step 10: Close Up

Ribs are not a staple in my home or my mothers while we were growing up. We ate them, but it wasn't something we made, so when there were back ribs on sale at the local Asian grocery store they called out to my adventurous side. Maybe it was having all the usual during our holiday feasts. Maybe it was the yearning to try something new before I returned to work. Maybe it was wanting to use the new sautee pan my mom got me for Christmas. Maybe it was the need to cook En one really nice treat before I'm too busy with my job. For whatever reason, I picked them up and needed to figure out what to do with them. My mom's Doubleday Cookbook has a basic recipe for slow cooked ribs. I took it and modified it slightly to be a little more tasty.

Step 10: Simmering Ribs with Aromatics

Step 15: Gravy Returned to Pot

Step 15: Close Up

Ribs in Mushroom Gravy on Rice

Ribs in Mushroom Gravy

Beef Back Ribs		3 lbs, cut & cleaned
Mushrooms		4 cups, sliced
Onion		2, finely sliced
Carrot		1, chopped
Celery		1 stalk, chopped
Garlic		3 cloves, minced
Barley Flour		2 tbsp
Black Pepper		1 tsp, ground
Soy Sauce		2 tbsp
Fennel Seed		1 tsp, ground
Thyme		2 tsp
Bay Leaves		1
Vinegar		1 cup
Salt		1/4 cup
Water		to twice cover ribs
Canola Oil		4 tbsp

Preparation:

1. Wash ribs
2. Brine ribs in salt and vinegar solution diluted with only enough water to cover for 1-2 hours
3. Rinse off ribs and set aside to dry
4. In large saute pan, heat canola oil and sear meat over medium high heat and remove to a dish
5. In the same pan, saute the mirpoix (onion, carrot, celery) until translucent
6. Add the garlic, thyme, black pepper, fennel and bay leaf and half the mushrooms
7. Return the ribs to the pan
8. Add the soy sauce and stir all ingredients together
9. Cook covered for 10 minutes on medium heat
10. Add water to cover and bring to a boil
11. Reduce heat to low and simmer covered for 1 1/2 hours
12. Remove ribs and pour all other ingredients into a food processor
13. Return ribs to pan
14. Puree mixture in food processor until liquidized
15. Return mixture to the pan and stir together with the ribs
16. Sprinkle barley flour lightly over the entire pan and stir in thoroughly to avoid clumps (if you can't do this without clumping, add to food processor in step 12)
17. Continue simmering on low for 1 hour
18. Stir and let rest covered for 10 minutes

Christmas Dinner At Our House

This year we hosted En's family for their Christmas Dinner which is held annually on Boxing Day. The time was drawing close and no one had offered to host, so in the spirit of the holidays to ensure tradition continued, we opened up our home to everyone.

Their family does Christmas in a potluck style which suited me just fine, because I was all cooked out. I tried to take pictures of everything, but as the arrival time of the food was staggered I missed the last few dishes, but they are listed below. This menu is typically representative of their Christmas meal, with the exception of the bird. There was no way in hell I was going to attempt a turkey for the first time completely solo the day after a full week of Christmas visiting and exhaustion.

What you are contributing:appetizers, snacks, desserts, vegetable entrée, meat entrée, carbs (rice/pasta/noodles/potatoes), alcohol*
Tio Rudy/ Tita Encar	Richard/ Sharon	Butch/ Thet	Valerie/ Justin/ Paola	Tito Dodong
Fried Calamari Fried Pork Chop	Portuguese Chicken Portuguese Rice Portuguese Potatoes	Popeye's Chicken	Filipino Spaghetti	Biko (dessert)

 

What you are contributing:appetizers, snacks, desserts, vegetable entrée, meat entrée, carbs (rice/pasta/noodles/potatoes), alcohol*
Caesar/Grace	Ash/Justin	Uncle Boy/ Ante Digna	En/ Mish	Den/ Jev
Korean vegetarian sweet potato noodles Green Beans Dessert Sqares	Rotinni Alfredo with Chicken and Spinach	White Rice Lumpia Filipino Dessert Tray Fruit salad Fried Plantain	Beef Curry Mash Potatoes Dressed Salad H'ors Douvres: Olives, Cheese Salmon Cream Cheese, Sausage, Crackers Pop & Bottled Water MOM: CheeseSandwiches Baked Pasta White Cake	Coffee Almond Ice Cream Torte

 

UNTENSILS	PERSONS RESPONSIBLE FOR BRINGING
Dinner plates	En/ Mish
Dessert plates	En/ Mish
Napkins	En/ Mish
Utensils	En/ Mish
Drinks (non-alcoholic)	En/ Mish
Cups	En/ Mish

Portuguese Chicken - courtesy of Sharon & Richard / Popeye's Chicken - courtesy of Butch & Theresa

Rice - courtesy of Ma / Lettuce and Carrot 'Roasted Red Pepper' Dressed Salad - courtesy of me

Pork & Ricotta Conchiglioni - courtesy of Mom / Steamed Garlic Green Beans - courtesy of Grace

Rotini Chicken Alfredo with Spinach - Justin B & Ashley

Vegetarian Glass Noodles - courtesy of Grace

Mash Potatoes - courtesy of me

Beef Curry - courtesy of me

Crab Curry

My favourite curry ever. Hands down.

If I have one pet peeve, it's when a dish is referred to as '...in a curry sauce.' Maybe in asian cuisines this is acceptable, but to me, an authentic curry of any cuisine (and this is an absolute for Caribbean curries) a curry is defined by the meat or vegetable cooked in it. The sauce of a curry is flavoured by that ingredient. You do not make the curry and then add the meat to it; you create the base for the sauce and add the meat, which helps to develop the flavour of the sauce. You cannot slap the sauce from a chicken curry on fish and call it fish curry. If a West Indian tastes the sauce and cannot tell you what kind of curry it comes from, they are not worth their weight.

My rant over, I will say that crab has a flavour that clings well to curry (probably oil soluble?) and is all around hearty while sweet at the same time. My husband doesn't prefer it for all the work required to get at the flesh, but to me, the best tasting foods need some effort put in to reap the delicious rewards.

Big Pot of Crab Curry for Easter Lunch

Crab Curry

Sri Lankan Sea Crab, or King Crab		2 lbs, on knuckle
Potato		5 large, peeled and cubed (1.5")
Onion		2 med onions, chopped
Garlic		6 cloves, minced
Tomato Paste		2 tbsp (heaped)
Coconut Milk		3/4 cup
Maririri Pepper		4 (depending on your heat preference)
Curry Powder (Sri Lankan)		6 tbsp
Cumin (parched)		3 tbsp (ground)
Turmeric		1 tbsp (ground)
Sea Salt		1 tsp
Canola Oil		2 tbsp

Preparation:

1. Wash and clean crab legs in lemon water
2. Pour canola oil into pot on med-high heat
3. Saute onions and garlic until translucent
4. Add tomato paste and stir until mixture is coated and paste begins to sizzle
5. Add curry powder, cumin and turmeric
6. Cook out all moisture until the paste begins to fry
7. Add potatoes and stir to coat
8. Cover and let cook on medium heat until partially cooked
9. Add crab, increase heat to medium high and stir to coat
10. When mixture barely begins to sizzle, add coconut milk
11. Add enough just-boiled water to cover and stir briefly
12. Add whole maririri peppers
13. Partially cover and bring to a boil
14. Reduce heat to medium, stir once, and let cook uncovered for approximately 20-30 minutes.
15. Skim the fat continuously. I've said before: most people don't do this, but in our family we cook flavourful food as healthy as possible.
16. Reduce heat to low for fifteen minutes and continue skimming fat
17. Stir. The liquid will have turned to a thickened sauce. Turn off heat and remain covered until ready to serve. Traditionally, seafood and fish curries are served over rice, not roti.

Roast Pork Tenderloin with Button Mushrooms

Tenderloin is one of the healthiest cuts of meat you can eat. There are many ways to season the tenderloin for a variety of side pairings. I have four seasoning methods which can slightly vary but each are great bases from which to jump off into whatever creation you desire. With all seasonings, the longer it sits in the marinade, the better. This meal below paired well with mushrooms, which is a bonus for time saving, because you can toss it in the oven with the tenderloin and let the oven do the cooking. I'm sure time saving is the priority of every parent who is also responsible for providing a healthy dinner.

Rosemary Garlic Pork Tenderloin

Roasted Button Mushrooms

Provincial Seasoning

Garlic		4 cloves, minced
Rosemary		1 1/2 tbsp
Bay Leaf		1, ground
Sage		1 tsp, rubbed
White Wine Vinegar		2 tbsp
Black Pepper		1 tsp, ground
Sea Salt		1/2 tsp
Canola Oil		1 tbsp

Morrocan Seasoning
(I am aware of the irony in using an Arabic palate on swine)

Garlic		4 cloves, minced
Pomegranate Molasses		1 1/2 tbsp
Lemon Juice		1 lemon
Coriander		1 tbsp
Cloves		1 cloves ground
Cumin		1/2 tsp
Black Pepper		1 tsp, ground
Sea Salt		1/2 tsp
Olive Oil		1 btsp

Cantonese Seasoning

Garlic		4 cloves, minced
Sweet Red Wine Vinegar		2 tbsp
Shallot		2, minced
Star Anise		1, ground
Black Pepper		1 tsp, ground
Soy Sauce		1/2 tsp
Sesame Oil		1 tsp

Greek Seasoning

Garlic		4 cloves, minced
Lemon Juice		1 lemon
Lemon Zest		1 lemon
Plain Yogurt		1/4 cup
Bay Leaf		1, ground
Thyme		2 tbsp
Black Pepper		1 tsp, ground
Sea Salt		1/2 tsp
Olive Oil		1 tbsp

Roasted Button Mushrooms

Mushrooms		4 cups
Garlic		1 clove, minced
Thyme		1tbsp
Black Pepper		1 tsp, ground
Sea Salt		1/4 tsp
Olive Oil		1 tbsp

Tenderloin Preparation:

1. Wash and trim tenderloin of silverskin
2. Stab tenderloin repeatedly on all sides. Great stress reliever. Just don't catch your fingers in your enthusiasm. This step seems counter intuitive, but once the meat is cooked you will not notice the incisions, and making these slits will allow maximum flavour penetration, necessary for such a lean cut of meat.
3. Rub tenderloin with seasoning, massaging in to all the slits
4. Allow to sit in marinade for at least 1 hr (overnight in plastic bag with air removed is best)
5. Allow tenderloin to come to room temperature
6. Place on roasting rack and pour (or pat) remaining marinade on top of the tenderloin
7. Set oven to 330F and roast uncovered for 20-25 minutes
8. Remove from oven and tent for 10 minutes
9. Carve into medallions when ready to serve

Mushroom Preparation:

1. Wash and cut mushrooms into quarters or sixths
2. Toss in remaining ingredients
3. Empty into roasting tray
4. Roast in oven on 330F for 20-25 minutes or until Mushrooms and juices sizzle