tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17613825Mon, 13 Oct 2008 21:03:57 +0000Recipes, reviews and the ruination of my figurehttp://www.gastronomydomine.com/noreply@blogger.com (Liz)Blogger383125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17613825.post-3674133315992378102Mon, 13 Oct 2008 12:52:00 +00002008-10-13T15:58:38.988+01:00reviewsrestaurantsMontrealGiven that we happened to be in Montreal for our wedding anniversary, visiting Toqué! was something Dr W and I didn't stop very long to think about. The restaurant twinkles with a positive galaxy stars from a number of awarding bodies, and has a reputation as one of Canada's very best, specialising in Quebecois market cuisine - and you've already seen here just what kind of magic goes on at http://www.gastronomydomine.com/2008/10/toqu-montreal.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Liz)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17613825.post-472249941243511577Wed, 08 Oct 2008 20:38:00 +00002008-10-08T21:38:39.560+01:00baconsavouryaccompanimentscabbagepotatoesEnglishI mentioned to a group of friends from America that I was planning on cooking bubble and squeak for supper. They all chorused: "What the hell?" One said that the name suggested the boiling of mice. I suspect that this is one of those recipes which needs a short introduction. Bubble and squeak is a traditional English supper dish made from the leftovers of a roast dinner. It should always containhttp://www.gastronomydomine.com/2008/10/bubble-and-squeak.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Liz)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17613825.post-5139910743751689752Tue, 07 Oct 2008 12:18:00 +00002008-10-07T13:21:37.218+01:00noticesApologies to those of you who've been wondering where the new posts (and, on occasion, the entire blog) were over the last week. Two technical problems, one at my host's end and one at mine, managed to combine into a freakishly awful whirlwind of complicated things I do not really understand. Bother my classical education. It's all fixed now - welcome back.http://www.gastronomydomine.com/2008/10/technical-problems-fixed.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Liz)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17613825.post-8331621286293945666Mon, 06 Oct 2008 12:40:00 +00002008-10-07T13:12:58.269+01:00drinksreviewstisaneHerbsmintflower waterrestaurantsMontrealThis is my version of the gorgeous Staff Tisane from Alep and Petit Alep (the restaurants share a building at 199, rue Jean-Talon Est, Montreal (514) 270-6396). I'm eternally grateful to the very nice lady with the stylish glasses at Alep - the more formal of the two restaurants, which is only open in the evenings - who was able to find me a table for 11 people with only three hours' notice on a http://www.gastronomydomine.com/2008/10/floral-mint-tisane.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Liz)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17613825.post-4669502385140728243Sat, 27 Sep 2008 20:23:00 +00002008-09-27T21:43:46.123+01:00fruitShoppingVegetablesmarketMontrealOne of the things that makes food in this city so fabulous is the abundance of lovingly raised, local produce. I'm just back from Marché Jean-Talon (between Jean-Talon and De Castelnau metro stations). This is probably one of those occasions where pictures speak louder than words. Yes, that's me. I look even more cheerful than that now, because I'm gorging myself on strawberries from http://www.gastronomydomine.com/2008/09/jean-talon-market-montreal.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Liz)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17613825.post-7328960029749244718Thu, 25 Sep 2008 15:07:00 +00002008-09-25T18:42:53.665+01:00duckreviewsduck fatrestaurantsfoie grasMontrealThe French (and, doubtless, the French Canadians) have a term for the thing that happens to your body after a meal like this - it's a crise de foie, or a liver crisis. My own liver is palpitating and throbbing, has likely become hardened and greenish in parts and feels as if it's doing its job about as competently as Gordon Brown, but this is a small price to pay for a sublime meal. Even if it's http://www.gastronomydomine.com/2008/09/au-pied-de-cochon-montreal.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Liz)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17613825.post-2653091771405254160Mon, 22 Sep 2008 18:07:00 +00002008-09-24T02:13:24.056+01:00sandwichreviewsJewishVietnameserestaurantsMontrealEvery life has a few golden moments. I had one today, when I realised I'd eaten two of the best sandwiches in my life in the space of 24 hours. First stop - Schwartz's Charcuterie Hebraique (3895 Boul. St Laurent), where you'll find great heaps of something called smoked meat, sliced thin and piled on white bread spread with mustard, accompanied by a slightly obscene-looking pickle, some crisp, http://www.gastronomydomine.com/2008/09/montreal-sandwich-wars.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Liz)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17613825.post-1890163091907584052Fri, 19 Sep 2008 10:56:00 +00002008-09-19T14:03:09.112+01:00reviewsrestaurantsCambridgeFinally - a foodie oasis in Cambridge's wasteland of chain pizza restaurants and noodle bars. Alimentum, which has just received three well-deserved AA rosettes, fills me with a sense that perhaps things in this town aren't really so bad after all; here, at last, is a restaurant which pays the attention to detail you really want to see in a fine-dining joint. A few factors make Cambridge a http://www.gastronomydomine.com/2008/09/alimentum-cambridge.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Liz)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17613825.post-5164773054713718382Wed, 17 Sep 2008 11:29:00 +00002008-09-17T13:41:36.833+01:00sweetgingerbreadcakegingerEnglishMassive apologies for the gap in posting. Something dreadful happened: Dr W bought me a copy of Spore, and my week subsequently vanished. It wasn't just the week that disappeared - with it went my ability to sleep or get anything besides evolving, building cities, murdering pirates, searching for the Grox and colonising several star systems done. Still - I'm back now, and the really good news ishttp://www.gastronomydomine.com/2008/09/gingerbread.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Liz)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17613825.post-7179768600915093954Wed, 10 Sep 2008 14:43:00 +00002008-09-10T16:27:11.302+01:00saucesavouryHerbsbutterfishtroutTalking food on the phone with my Mum last week, the subject got on to sauces. It turns out that we share a favourite - beurre blanc, a deliciously fatsome emulsion of melted butter suspended in reduced wine infused with herbs and shallot. After putting the phone down, I headed straight for the fridge. Being fatsome, beurre blanc works best as a sauce for very lean dishes. I steamed trout en http://www.gastronomydomine.com/2008/09/paper-baked-trout-with-beurre-blanc.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Liz)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17613825.post-3779548780382412345Mon, 08 Sep 2008 11:18:00 +00002008-09-08T17:59:17.718+01:00memeI'm distracted today - I've been waiting for the plumber to turn up for the last three hours. To pass the time, I thought I'd participate in the most recent foodie meme that's been doing the rounds. Andrew from Very Good Taste has come up with a list of 100 foods he thinks every omnivore should eat in their lifetime. I've eaten everything that's marked in bold on the list - crossed-out foods are http://www.gastronomydomine.com/2008/09/omnivores-hundred.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Liz)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17613825.post-2916460115802161039Wed, 03 Sep 2008 11:13:00 +00002008-09-09T13:41:19.661+01:00savourySpicescurryMalaysianchickenmustardThis is a recipe with a really interesting pedigree. It's a Malaysian curry, but it's not a Tamil Indian, Malay or Chinese recipe. This dish is unique to the Kristang, descendants of Portuguese traders who lived in the port of Malacca, and is deliciously different in flavour to the curries you usually find in Malaysia. Chicken devil curry is a bit like a cross between the vinegar-seasoned http://www.gastronomydomine.com/2008/09/chicken-devil-curry.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Liz)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17613825.post-608404903204594358Mon, 01 Sep 2008 09:29:00 +00002008-09-01T11:06:58.623+01:00chilliessavourySpicescurryMalaysianlentilsIndianI decided on a bit of childhood nostalgia for supper over the weekend. When I was a very little girl and we went to visit family in Malaysia, the biggest treat in the world was a trip with my Grandfather in his Mini Moke, starting before dawn, to inspect the rubber and palm oil plantations. It was magical - the stink of curing rubber, a thrilling terror of snakes in the dark, the burst jackfruit http://www.gastronomydomine.com/2008/09/dal.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Liz)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17613825.post-892635002003575007Fri, 29 Aug 2008 11:09:00 +00002008-08-29T14:36:54.946+01:00chilliessavourymincebeefcasserolesMexicanIt is with a degree of trepidation bordering on downright terror that I post a chilli con carne recipe. Chilli is one of those dishes which people have very set ideas about - your family chilli will probably differ from mine, the canonical chilli recipe from your town will differ in some subtle and important way from the canonical chilli recipe from the town next door, and I fully expect howls ofhttp://www.gastronomydomine.com/2008/08/chilli-con-carne.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Liz)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17613825.post-2485465265520878195Wed, 27 Aug 2008 09:26:00 +00002008-08-29T13:41:49.682+01:00chilliescreme fraichesavourysalsaPoblanocorianderaccompanimentsMexicanspring onionsSaladI live about ten miles from Ely, where there is a cathedral, a very, very good bookshop, and an excellent twice-monthly farmers' market. There are about 30 stalls, and it's a great place to pick up local meats (a slab of belly pork is lurking deliciously in the freezer as we speak) and things like good free-range eggs, pork pies and ostrich products from Bisbrook farm. Because this area is right http://www.gastronomydomine.com/2008/08/roast-poblano-crema.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Liz)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17613825.post-998513222171966028Fri, 22 Aug 2008 13:47:00 +00002008-08-22T15:07:57.524+01:00sweetbakingcakeorangedessertchocolateI eat precisely one Terry's Chocolate Orange every year, at Christmas. Here, for non-festive times of year, is the same thing in cake form. There will be no post here on Monday; it's a Bank Holiday, and I shall be spending the day on a boat. To make 16 little cakes, you'll need: Cake 100g soft butter 100g caster sugar 2 eggs 100g self-raising flour 1 teaspoon baking powder Grated zest of 1 http://www.gastronomydomine.com/2008/08/chocolate-orange-fairy-cakes.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Liz)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17613825.post-1549358191569115243Wed, 20 Aug 2008 14:10:00 +00002008-08-20T16:20:23.560+01:00sandwichfocacciacheesesavouryHerbsmozzarellabreadlunchhamartichokesOozy, garlicky, herby, smoky and greasy. What's not to like? Focaccia is the ideal bread to make this sort of baked sandwich from. It's oily, so it bakes to a gorgeous crisp, and it's a relatively flat bread, so works well sliced in two horizontally. I like to make my own focaccia (the feeling of an oil-enriched dough, stretchy, silky and puffy with yeast is obscenely - there's no other word forhttp://www.gastronomydomine.com/2008/08/stuffed-focaccia-with-mozzarella.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Liz)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17613825.post-7112521196209154682Mon, 18 Aug 2008 13:31:00 +00002008-08-18T14:49:40.429+01:00startersaucesavouryItalianHerbsfishtunadipThis is a lovely starter for lazy days when you're eating outdoors. I like to dibble crudités (especially sweet batons of carrot) and good bread in this tuna dip. It's also very good spread on toast or crostini, and, cold or warmed through, makes a good strong sauce to dollop on bland cooked fish. Apologies for the horrendous photo - by the time I realised how rubbish this looked, the bowl had http://www.gastronomydomine.com/2008/08/italian-tuna-dip.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Liz)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17613825.post-6059818655502085230Fri, 15 Aug 2008 10:51:00 +00002008-08-15T12:52:19.256+01:00goat's cheese oilbaconsavourywalnutrocketbeetrootwatercressSaladlardons"I felt miserable about having a salad for tea," said Dr W, "until I realised it was a salad full of bacon." There's nothing like a bit of crispy pig to encourage men to eat things which are green. This is a lovely salad. Freshly roasted beetroot is gorgeously sweet and has a lovely smooth texture. It is complemented beautifully here by peppery leaves, salty charred goat's cheese, crisp nuts andhttp://www.gastronomydomine.com/2008/08/warm-salad-with-beetroot-goats-cheese.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Liz)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17613825.post-8219093855084692836Thu, 14 Aug 2008 09:50:00 +00002008-08-14T11:34:48.789+01:00white saucesmoked salmonsavourysmoked haddockprawnshaddockpiefishSupperpotatoesThey tell me it's brain food. I remain unconvinced - I am absolutely no better at doing sums than I was before I cooked this, but I am deliciously full and thinking hard about marine biology. This is a lovely take on fisherman's pie, a thousand miles away from any variant you may have eaten in the school dining hall. Some of the fish is fresh, some smoked, and this gives it a deep, warm http://www.gastronomydomine.com/2008/08/fishermans-pie.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Liz)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17613825.post-8949991239042065008Tue, 12 Aug 2008 14:09:00 +00002008-08-13T11:28:16.879+01:00competitionWaitroseCalling all Cookery Masterminds! To celebrate the launch of Allrecipes in the UK, Gastronomy Domine, Allrecipes and our friends at Waitrose are offering you the chance to win £100 worth of grocery vouchers by proving you know your basil from your bay leaves! To prove yourself as the UK’s Cookery Mastermind you will need to do the following: Find the answers to the five questions listed http://www.gastronomydomine.com/2008/08/competition-win-100-in-waitrose.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Liz)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17613825.post-6048326950043039197Tue, 05 Aug 2008 18:19:00 +00002008-08-06T13:26:47.301+01:00savourychorizotapasSpanishstartersChorizo is fantastically savoury, and makes a great tapas dish just frizzled up in its own oil in a pan, with no adornment. But if you feel like doing something a bit special with it, your chorizo will be even better cooked and marinaded in red wine, creating gorgeously boozy, smoky, spicy, porky juices to dibble lots of bread in. It's worth preparing a couple of cured chorizos at once, even if http://www.gastronomydomine.com/2008/08/chorizo-al-vino.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Liz)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17613825.post-8248073049709404738Mon, 04 Aug 2008 09:01:00 +00002008-08-04T10:52:25.417+01:00drinkstapasSpanishorangecocktailsI know plenty of books and Internet commentators will tell you strictly that you should only ever cook or mix cocktails with wines you would be happy to drink on their own. I thumb my (adorable button) nose at them. I've made this sangria twice in the last week with two different £3 bottles of Rioja, and I can assure you that using a more expensive bottle will simply be a waste of money - I http://www.gastronomydomine.com/2008/08/sangria.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Liz)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17613825.post-2657132324732938764Fri, 01 Aug 2008 10:17:00 +00002008-08-04T10:41:27.227+01:00marinadesardinessavouryfishbarbecuetapasSpanishThose Padron peppers have got me thinking about Spain, sunny weather and booze, so last night I made a selection of tapas and a big jug of sangria to eat in the garden. It rained, so we ate indoors. Some fat sardines, marinaded in olive oil, lemon, garlic and herbs, formed the core of the meal. (More recipes, including one for sangria, to come next week.) If you're fortunate enough to be able http://www.gastronomydomine.com/2008/08/herby-grilled-sardines-gore-warning.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Liz)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17613825.post-5597333889694829308Wed, 30 Jul 2008 09:01:00 +00002008-07-30T10:07:14.766+01:00obscenecakeI was sent the following obscene Sainsbury's cheesecake photo by a reader, who is enjoying looking at it in her fridge so much that she hasn't eaten it yet. I am almost tempted to start an obscene vegetables week on GD. Almost. Many thanks to Hannah for both the photograph and the rather brilliant title.http://www.gastronomydomine.com/2008/07/better-than-finding-allah-is-love.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Liz)