Modern French Cuisine

Rob was my date for the February curated dinner at the AGO, with French modern cuisine inspired by chef Eugenie Brazier.

Brazier (1895 – 1977) was a female chef and restauranteur, somewhat under appreciated in her own lifetime. In 1933 she was the first woman to receive 3 Michelin stars and went on to earn 6 more throughout her career. I'm currently reading At the Existentialist Cafe: Freedom, Being and Apricot Cocktails and can imagine Sarte and Beauvoir deep in passionate discussion at one of her tables. Many of the restaurants Eugenie established still endure and are still winning awards. In fact, La Mere Brazier, a restaurant in the country's culinary capital of Lyon took the "Enduring Classic" crown at the World Restaurant Awards on Feb 19, 2019.

8 courses (!!!!)  paired with French wines (even a CRU), with the chef and wine merchants saying a few words before each course. Unfortunately most of the wines were unavailable for purchase as they were produced in small quantities, sometimes only 50 - 200 cases. The descriptions of the food and wine helped to increase my appreciation for the terroir and techniques behind the flavours, but also fuelled anticipation, a needed ingredient for any feast.

I try to attend these extravagances once or twice a year - they are spectacular and such great value.

The citrus verrine was incredibly refreshing and helped to clear the palate after a couple of rich meat courses. I went looking for the recipe online but learned a verrine is simply a small glass layered with various fillings that can be sweet or savoury. Google search results were all returned in French when I searched 'simple verrine',  so I will have to test out google translator if I want to prepare something similar at home.

I was overstuffed by evening's end but savoured every single bite.

Menu

Brandade de morue / escabeche of winter vegetables, toast points 

(paired with Mittnacht-Klack 2015 Riesling)
*

Puree of pumpkin and leek
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salmon souffle / champagne sabayon

(paired with domaine Robert Vic 2017 Mas de la Source Sauvignon Blanc)
*

chicken dodine / bayonne ham, truffle, watercress, heirloom carrot

(paired with Domaine Bel Avenir 2016 Chenas)
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beef / beurre Bercy

(paired with domaine etienne pochon 2016 Crozes-Hermitage)
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intermezzo / citrus verrines
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cheese / selection with compte, triple cream and blue

(port!)
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petite baba au rhum

Get the Jump on Spring

Fairy gardens, honey bees, and flower arranging were the topics of the workshops I attended at this year's Toronto Botanical Gardens annual event, Get the Jump on Spring.

The fairy garden workshop really captured my imagination - I think it is just the antidote to the January/February blues and have marked my 2020 calendar to indulge in the creation of a garden or two. Maybe I will even try one a bit sooner. These little miniature landscapes are so whimsical, a playful way to spark a little magic. Maybe a bit of a seascape? I will have to keep my eye out for suitable containers that can come in and out of the house to overwinter. I'm already thinking the Irish moss could work well, a bit of myrtle, some enchanted doors....

Now I can just see myself with weird little horticulture landscapes all through the house and friends nodding politely as I take them on garden tours. Everything in moderation! Heinke Theissen gave the demonstration and spoke about how she crafted her accessories and added little touches like dinosaur footprints by Jurassic ponds. There is a workshop coming up at Canada Blooms and I am very tempted to sign up to design my own creation just to get a feel for it. Choosing plant materials, building miniature ponds or little deserts under terrarium skies. Such fun!

Beekeeper and breeder James Murray gave a brief history of honey bees in his Bee Happy talk that was absolutely fascinating. I had no idea that honeybees weren't native to North America, that English bees were aggressive and underproducing or that Italian bees were gentle and highly productive. Bee keeping dates back to the ancient Egyptians, Greeks, then Romans. Different bees are attracted to different coloured flowers and their proboscis are designed accordingly... white clover vs. red clover.

There are usually several honey flows in each season, marked by the times different blossoms open... dandelion honey is not pleasant tasting to humans but highly nourishing for bees. James touched on pesticides and bee diseases, and also mentioned how bees create a ball in winter to keep each other warm, with the queen in the centre and the others in the hive slowly revolving from outside to inward, and inside out. Such amazing creatures!

Then there was a flower arranging demo, with three arrangements fashioned in 45 minutes. Of course that is with all material pre-sourced, pre-cut, and partially pre-assembled. I enjoy flower arranging but could definitely benefit from taking courses, and TBG offers a whole series for people at different levels of ability. As a novice I won a few ribbons at the East York garden club many years ago for my beginner efforts, but have a long way to go in building my skill set. It is a very absorbing pastime, however I always found it hard to cut down the flowers in my own garden, enjoying them more on the stem. Rob is actually the better flower arranger in our house, he seems to have a natural eye for proportion and colour. Maybe I could just sweet talk him into taking the certificate course?

Now signed up for an early morning tour of Canada Blooms March 9. Today there is a cold warning and lots of winter ice still on the ground. Gotta get my fix somehow!

Full Snow Moon - February

The moon will be full Feb 19. Last night it was an oblong egg shape against the dark sky.

It woke me up in the middle of the night, moon shadows cast on the bedroom walls. I actually shook Rob awake so he could admire the view;  he didn't seem to mind and fell back to sleep quickly.

There have been cold, icy, snowy, work-at-home days this past month. For the first time in eight years the Toronto District School Board declared itself closed.

Jan 28

Today the snow has an icy crust on top and the sidewalks are treacherous. I suppose I should force myself out for a walk but I prefer to snuggle indoors with a pot of tea.

It's that time of year when I crave warmth and sun. Short trips south only seem to make the winter that much longer and harder to bear. So we're staying put this year, seeing friends' photos of their trips on Instagram and Facebook. Having some regrets about toughing it out.

In a few years I hope to spend January and February in warmer, sunnier climes. Palm trees and surf. Costa Rica? Mexico?

Feb 3

The snowman Rob made a few weeks ago half-melted during a warm spell and is now an unrecognizable block of ice with the hat and scarf frozen at its feet. Pretty much reflecting how I feel about winter right about now.

At least the dark days are lengthening. When the sun does come out it seems a strange phenomenon. Skies are mostly grey. The snow on city streets turned to brackish piles.

Feb 17

To counter the winter blues I've enjoyed an Epitourist feast with a Mexican theme. I've also taken in a few plays and concerts and films. The Art Gallery tomorrow, to see the Impressionists. Escape!

Allan Gardens is such a godsend, too. Last week I walked over at lunchtime twice, to witness the red camelia opening, the pink cyclamen, the amaryllis. Shots of colour. But it is the green I love the most.

Garden shows are coming. Get the Jump on Spring at TBG next weekend; after that, Canada Blooms.

Looking out my window I find it hard to believe there will be crocus and daffodils in a month or two. I know spring is coming but it feels such a long, long way off.


Full Snow Moon, February 19, 2019

Trivia!

A Friday's winter night down at the club. Trivia night! I volunteered to host and Rob helped with editing the questions, playing the music on cue, and then delivering the answers.

It was fun preparing questions, and surprisingly a fair bit of work to research & verify. I actually ended up lifting the whole cocktail section from the trivia questions I'd prepared a couple years ago, and no one was the wiser! The first five were the toughest for the players there that night, with a fair bit of grumbling about providing multiple choice on harder questions. Oops! I actually didn't think they were that hard but then they aren't, not when you know the answers. I can't say Rob didn't warn me of a few of my selections.

Overall feedback was positive. People really like guessing the smells, seeds and objects; enough to forgive the nerdy lit bits.

1	Q. Name the Pulitzer Prize winning poet who died in January 2019 at 83.  Hint:  Here’s a  line from one of her poems: “What do you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?	Mary Oliver	She was called the ‘people’s poet’ and derided in some literary circles
2	Who won the Nobel prize for literature in 2016 but didn’t accept it until 2017?	Bob Dylan or Robert Allen Zimmerman	- Although he was awarded the prize in October 2016, he did not accept until April 2017
3	What novel about an eleven-year old field slave won the 2018 Giller prize?	Washington Black	- Washington Black by Esi Edugyan was also a finalist for the 2018 Man Booker Prize and the 2018 Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize
4	What is an ambigram?	Reads the same when turned upside down	- Swims,  - and depending on cursive font: Yeah, chump
5	What is a pangram sentence?	pangram sentence is one that contains every letter in the English alphabet	- “The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog”
6	Who won Best Actress at the 2018 Golden Globe and for her role in The Wife?	Glenn Close	- Among her films are World According to Garp, The Big Chill, Albert Nobbs, and of course the bunny boiler, Fatal Attraction with Michael Douglas
7	What movie was mistakenly awarded the Oscar for best picture in 2017?	LA LA LAND	Moonlight won the award.
8	Which two actors presented the 2017 Oscar for best picture?	. Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty
9	What material was used to make an Oscar in 1943, 44, and 45	Plaster	Due to the wartime metal shortages the Oscar was made of plaster and painted gold. Recipients were able to trade up later.
10	What actress said of Marilyn Munro, “She thinks if she wiggles her ass and coos away, she can carry her scene----- well, she can’t!"	Bette Davis	Bette Davis intimidated Marilyn Monroe so badly on the set of All About Eve that Monroe went into the bathroom to vomit after their scenes together. After one particular scene, Bette whispered to her other co-stars-- within poor Marilyn's hearing-- "That little blonde slut can't act her way out of a paper bag!
11	What is this object?	Absinthe spoon	a sugar cube is placed on the spoon, and water is dripped through and into the glass of absinthe beneath
12	What is this object?	Edison Record
13	What is this called?	Wearable sundial or shepherd’s watch
14	Who was the oldest Marx Brother	Chico	There were 5 brothers that made up the troupe, Chico, Harpo, Groucho, Gummo and Zeppo.
15	What flower variety produces the spice saffron?	Crocus (or saffron crocus)	It takes 70,000 crocus flowers to produce one pound
16	What is the most common day of the week for heart attacks in the US?	Monday	I hate Mondays!
17	What is the most common day of the year for heart attacks to happen in the US?	December 25th	Christmas day is the most common day of the year for heart attacks to happen.
18	Where did the Sidecar get its start? Paris, London or New York? One bonus point for knowing the 3 main ingredients.	Paris - brandy, Cointreau and lemon juice.	The sidecar took off in Paris during the early 1900s.
19	What cocktail was invented in New Orleans in 1838 and is known as the first American cocktail?	Sazarac.	The Sazerac named for the Sazerac de Forge et Fils brand of cognac brandy that served as its original main ingredient. Wikipedia Ingredients: 1/4 oz Absinthe, One sugar cube, 1 1/2 oz Rye or bourbon whiskey or Cognac, Three dashes Peychaud's Bitters
20	What cocktail was invented and named by Ian Fleming in the 1953 James Bond novel Casino Royale  a Corpse Reviver b Vesper c Ladykiller d Martini	A Vesper - “Shake or stir as you prefer, and garnish with an olive or a lemon twist”	“Three measures of Gordon's, one of vodka, half a measure of Kina Lillet. Shake it very well until it's ice-cold, then add a large thin slice of lemon peel. Got it?"
21-25	What are these smells? 1 point for each correctly guessed, so 5 points in all. Come check them out during the break	rose water spritz, orange blossom spritz,  apple cider vinegar,  eucalyptus, scotch
BREAK
26	Play Song 1  Name the band	Beatles/Besame Mucho	- This is the first song the Beatles recorded with George Martin
27	Play Song 2 Next 3 are all eighties synthesizer openings	Cars / Gary Newman
28	Play Song 2	Heart of Glass/ Blondie
29	Play song 4	Skin Deep/ Stranglers
30	Song 5  not the eighties anymore!	King of the Road/ Roger Miller
31	Which Beatle crosses Abbey Road last on the famous album cover?	George Harrison	John leads followed by Ringo, Paul and then George
32	Yusuf Islam is commonly known by his stage name Cat Stevens. Was he raised a Muslim or did he convert?	Convert	His father was Greek Orthodox and his mother Baptist. His brother converted to Judaism.
33	Who commissioned the building of Casa Loma	Sir Henry Pellatt
34	What is the only musical instrument registered as a weapon of war	Bagpipes	Many pipers died in both world wars; until 1996 the bagpipes were classified as a weapon of war.
35	How many keys on a full size piano? Bonus. Point….how many are black?	88/36
36	Which point upwards, stalactite or a stalagmite	A stalagmite	- grows up from the floor of a cave from the mineral drippings of a stalactite. The world’s largest known is located in Ireland and is 24 feet in length, in a cave in County Clare
37	How many hearts does an octopus have?	3	a systemic heart that circulates blood round the body and two branchial hearts that pump it through each of the two gills
38	What’s the plural of Octopus?	Octopuses	According to the Oxford dictionary and Octopi…is incorrect
39	Approximately how many times does the average human heart beat every day? - 65,000 times each day - 82,000 times each day - 108,000 times each day	108,000 times each day
40	What 3 groups make up the new Canada’s food guide?	vegetables and fruits whole grains  protein foods (lentils, lean red meat, fish, poultry, unsweetened milk and fortified soy beverages, nuts, seeds, tofu, lower fat dairy and cheeses lower in fat and sodium).	Dairy lobbied hard against dropping Milk but was unsuccessful. Previously the food groups were: dairy, meat and alternatives, grains and fruits/vegetables
41	What are the traditional three meats from sheep are found in haggis?	heart, liver and lungs	In her book, The Haggis: A Little History, Dickson Wright suggests that haggis was invented as a way of cooking quick-spoiling offal near the site of a hunt, without the need to carry along an additional cooking vessel.[5] The liver and kidneys could be grilled directly over a fire, but this treatment was unsuitable for the stomach, intestines, or lungs.[5] Chopping up the lungs and stuffing the stomach with them and whatever fillers might have been on hand, then boiling the assembly — probably in a vessel made from the animal's hide — was one way to make sure these parts were not waste
42	Q. Name the following spices –   ¼ point for each (circulate and allow tasting)	A. coriander B. cumin C. fennel D. - caraway
43	What famous African American woman was honoured by a Google Doodle at the start of 2019’s Black History month?	Sojourner Truth	She published her memoir, The Narrative of Sojourner Truth: A Northern Slave, in 1850, and gained national acclaim as a speaker, delivering dozens of speeches and lectures on women's rights and abolitionism. A year later, she delivered her famous "Ain't I a Woman?" speech in Akron, Ohio, in which she advocated for equal human rights for women as well as African-Americans.
44	What planet is known as the morning star and the evening star?	Venus
45	What financial index is known as the footsie?	The Financial Times Stock Exchange 100 Index	Accept acronym or full name- also called the FTSE 100 Index, FTSE 100, FTSE, or, informally,/ˈfʊtsi/, is a share index of the 100 companies listed on the London Stock Exchange with the highest market capitalisation.
46	What products do Aurora, Canopy, and Namaste sell?	Weed, marijuana, etc
47	According to the Chinese zodiac cycle, 2019 is the year of the what?	Pig	Pig  symbolises wealth.  Famous pigs:  Amy Winehouse, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Stephen King 1947, 71, 83, 2007
48	Where would you find your Hallux?	On your foot or the big toe
49	In what city was the last Canadian penny minted? Bonus – what year?	Winnipeg, 2012
50	Who is on the Canadian $10 bill	Viola Desmond	On Nov. 8, 1946, Desmond was arrested after refusing to leave a whites-only section of the Roseland Theatre in New Glasgow, N.S., in an incident that has since become one of the most high-profile cases of racial discrimination in Canadian history.