A Canadian Foodie:: 2009年4月

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2009/4/11

Todd English at Olives Meets A Canadian Foodie in Boston

A Canadian Foodie Meets Todd English in Boston at Olives!

Here's the evidence! He won't remember me. "What's your name?" he asked intently, with interest. "Valerie," I answered with confident pride. "Just give me a minute," he replied. A minute? No problem. After a phone call, a chat with a couple of people, he did generously find his way over to me waiting patiently. "What's your name?" he asked again. "Valerie," I mumbled somewhat incoherently this time. I remember a time in my life when my name was worth remembering the first time. Gosh. He probably didn't even remember he had asked me my name less than five minutes before, but visiting his restaurant and finding him actually there was a highlight of my trip!

Can you tell I am more than a little stunned?

We had reserved for three our last evening in Boston and his original restaurant, Olives, was top on my list of things to do in Boston. Equal to the Freedom Trail, the MFA and the Isabella Stuart Gardner. Lauren was to meet us there and when we arrived he was actually there taping a show for a TV program he will be airing on Public Television. It was a raining and cold early spring evening the last day of March and I felt the sun shine on me! I immediately snuck up behind the crew and watched the interaction between he and one of his chefs in an intimate corner of the kitchen bar. My dear husband found his way to our table on his own enjoying watching my little moment of joy from a distance, I have no doubt.

The hostess at the restaurant was so gracious. After the taping of the Thai Episode, she asked him if I could take his photo which I was thrilled about. I was even more pleased when he said he would come around so I could have a photo with him. He is a substantial man. That did surprise me. He is very tall, and solid. I truly was interested in talking with him for a moment about his food and the experience I have had with some of his recipes. How naive of me. He was actually very gracious, but clearly not at all interested in having any kind of discussion with me. If only he knew who he was actually talking to and what I had to offer him! (big grin) In any case, I left him to his work and his crew and stumbled through the restaurant to our table by the window - but not before asking him if I could take a photo of just him. I was actually shaking at this point which honestly surprised me.

Yes, he looks like he has posed a few times before, but who cares? This time it was for me!

Lauren was arriving just as I sat down so I took some photos of her just so I could catch him floating around in the background. "Mom!" Isn't she cute? The restaurant was fairly empty as we booked at 6 pm on a Monday evening as we were meeting Lauren's friend at Finale's later. When we left, it was a full house.

Isn't she sweet?

The focaccia laden with caramelized onions was to die for and paired with the tepanades and the olives was absolute heaven. My husband, Vanja, does not care for olives at all, but was liberallly slathering the green mixture onto his bread and enjoyed that one immensely. (I eventually told him what he was eating.)The wait staff was superb and clearly enjoyed our apparent pleasure as we lapped up every flavourful morsel with gusto. We were not quiet about our pleasure.

Then, the oven roasted octopus and squid arrived. We did not expect this soupy presentation, but it was brilliant. The smokey charred flavour could only be created from the wood buring fire in the back of the kitchen and the broth and tidbits swimming in it were absolutely sumptuous. I have never been to a restaurant where I wasn't confident that I could go home and prepare the same meal. Here, I was clearly out of my element, and the mystery and intrigue were compelling. My husband ordered this dish.

And I ordered the oysters for each of us to try one. I absolutely love them fresh and couldn't resist ordering to try the homemade seafood sauce and have my daughter and my husband experience the freshness of the Atlantic. Lauren dug in, and did enjoy hers. Vanja wouldn't even consider a wiff of one, so lucky me. I had two.

One straight up in its perfect simplicity. So clean. So fresh. And the other blanketed in the restaurant's homemade sauce. We sampled all three and there was no comparison to theirs... but it was fun to sample. The greens on the plate are apparently seaweed. I had our server check twice. Obviously, it is a special kind of seaweed, but I wasn't able to determine what it is called. It is beautiful... and tasty, too!

(Of course I sampled a bud of it!)

Lauren got the Caesar Salad even though I tried to encourage her to order something else - anything else. What can be exciting about a Caesar? But, the salad had salty anchovies hidden within it and grilled radichio accompanied with an oven roasted tomato on it , all of which did add interest. I am not sure why it is on the menu, though. Everything else was completley unique. Maybe for the Lauren's in the world.

My sweet husband, Vanja, and myself enjoying a moment between courses.

At this point, I am so satisfied, and so happy, and enjoying the flavours, the atmosphere, and the company so much nothing else is necessary. The sun has gone down, so my camera can no longer take photos that will do justice to the chef's food, but I carry on. The moment must last, and I have to record it anyway I can. Lauren had the roasted chicken with some amazingly delicious potatoes. Vanja's steak frites was so memorable he still talks about it.

I can't eat meat, and it was a difficult choice for me, but had to taste the handcrafted pasta. There were three on the menu. The deconstructed lasagna was not a possibility, but I was able to have a half portion of the other two dishes and by the time I tasted each I was just about bouncing out of my seat. The brown butter with the butternut squash ravioli on the left was again indescribable. The pea tendrils with the tagatele pasta were singing summer. Oh my gosh. I actually ate it all! Happy, happy, happy, and so much fun to have such a pleasing and satisfying meal. These last photos do not do these dishes justice.

I had to take photos on the way out so I could come back to them time and time again to revisit my one evening at Olives during my trip to Boston in March 2009. Not pretentious.

One perfect night in my life. Thank you Todd English, and thank you, Vanja! XO

2009/4/10

Bruschetta with Fresh Vine Ripened Tomatoes Garlic and Basil

Bruschetta: à la Luciana!

I cannot remember how many years ago Luciana taught me how to make this simple salad. It was about 15 years ago, I suppose. I remember that after one bite of the toasted bruschetta with the luscious tomato salad topping that I was not moving from the side of the island she placed it on. Luciana and I have been friends since we were prepubescent 12 year olds. We met at a sleepover at a neighbourhood friend's house. We were the two who couldn't fall asleep and had a blast that night hiding everyone's panties as they slept. We were too naughty!
We have been friends ever since and have shared many memories, and have always shared the love of preparing really good food for those we love. We both love parties and entertaining. I have learned a lot of great little tips and gleaned some fabulous recipes from her through the years. We used to get together every fall at her house to prepare Christmas appetizers that could be frozen. Our children were young, we entertained at home a lot, and it was so much fun to do it together. Many of those recipes are still family classics. Unfortunately, such get-togethers are far less frequent these days. No need for preparing such huge amounts as our families have grown.
It didn't take me long to take ownership of this little recipe. So simple. So fresh. Such a burst of flavour in the mouth and so healthy! It is also not a trendy recipe that is dated like a nut covered cheese ball of the 70's, or the spinach dip in the round bread loaf of the 80's. This bruschetta topping is timeless and addictive, and every time I make it I think of Luch. That is the beauty of preparing food. There is always a story to tell and a memory behind every great dish in one's repertoire.

As there are only 5 ingredients, each is key. The beautiful fresh garlic must be minced just prior to serving.

The basil must be fresh, and I love to chiffonade it as the slender slivers of basil add a gorgeous contrast to the diced tomatoes.

The tomatoes must also be vine-ripened and taste like tomatoes used to taste.

Then, the garlic, hand-mined sea salt , and filavourful Tuscan olive oil are added. Finally, the basil.

LOOK at that! YUMMERS!

Tomato Salad for Bruschetta

Ingredients:

2 plump cloves of garlic

2-3 cups of diced tomatoes

1 generous teaspoon of hand mined sea salt

1/4 cup thinly sliced leaves

2-4 tablespoons of really good olive oil

As there are so few ingredients, each of them needs to be as fresh as possible. The tomatoe gelée must not be removed as it holds the appealing umami taste that is the foundation of this dish. he ingredients cannot be combined until immediatey before serving. This is usually served on a freshly sliced bagette that has been toasted and rubbed with garlic; however, I love it buy itself as a side dish, or with fresh bocconcini cheese.

With thanks and love to Luciana!