Meditations

Personal Consumption: the last days of 2009


Alaskan Turbot with Kale and Beet Fries.

Alaskan Turbot with Kale and Beet Fries.

December 29th, 2009
We stopped in at Whole Foods this morning which is always good for a little culinary inspiration. Picked up some red and green kale, 2 beets –one the colour of a sunburst– and a nice piece of Alaskan Turnbot, which the fish monger more or less described as the poor man’s halibut.

I felt like making something healthy tonight, The holiday excesses had finally hit rock bottom the day before with a double bacon burger fiasco at the Science World Triple O’s. It would seem that hedonism of any form is perfectly acceptable in our society as long as it is kept under some reasonable level of control and, most importantly, that it remain high end. As soon as decadent starts leaning towards depraved and you find yourself looking for those cheap easy highs, its is time to clean yourself up.

And so we did. Boiled the beets and cut them into French fry strips. Tried to crisp them up in a pan of olive oil and fresh thyme but it didn’t do too much. For the kale, I threw 2 cloves of garlic into some oil, then added the kale (finely chopped) and some sherry and cooked it down, finishing it with a generous sprinkling of salt and pepper. I was going to do either a batter or breading for the fish but at the last minute, I just kept it simple with a light dusting of flour and basic seasoning. Served the fish on top of the kale. If it weren’t for the frying of the beets, this would have been an insanely healthy meal. As it was, it tasted pretty darned good.

Wine: Nederburg Sauvignon Blanc.

Fennel, Beet & Parmesan salad.

Fennel, Beet & Parmesan salad.

December 30th, 2009
A brilliantly luxurious lunch at Trafalgar’s (duck confit sandwich on rye with asiago, herb and truffle oil embellished fries, and a glass of Pinot Noir; hedgehog cake and coffee to follow) left us not feeling too hungry for dinner so we decided to keep it light. Thinly chopped a bulb of fennel and combined this with the remaining beets from the night before in a large salad bowl. Tossed in a handful of mixed greens and topped it with some shaved Parmesan. I made a simple tarragon white wine vinegar dressing with Dijon, salt and pepper, olive oil and lemon. Wonderful mix of sweet and sharp flavours made this the perfect main dish salad.

Wine: finished off the Sauvignon Blanc.

December 31st, 2009
Brunch at Seb’s (Elk medallion bennie with wild berry sauce).

Dinner at Mistral (Starter: Cold cut platter – Duck Rillette, Duck Paté in crepine, smoked duck breast and prosciutto garnished with cornichons and onion jam Main: Venison stew with orange quince, root vegetables and shitake mushrooms, Scalloped potatoes; Wine: a Bergerac cab merlot blend (forgot the name).

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