Sifting through scans of slides that I’ve shot over the last five or six years has made me realize how lucky I’ve been to travel so extensively. I’ve never really taken the time to share any of these shots with more than a few people close to me, but, with the simplicity of getting photographs online for all to see, coupled with the almost complete disappearance of film, I thought it was time. I hope you enjoy them.
On the evening of December 19th, Szef Bartek and I organized the Dep’s last event of 2012, a celebration of eggnog and holiday indulgence. Here’s a snippet of what I posted on www.depanneurlepickup.com :
On Wednesday night, our congregation of eggnog worshipers and disciples of Yule time indulgence gathered for holiday communion. And, it is safe to say, that Szef Bartek delivered on a characteristically weighty promise: that is, by laying on the thickest, creamiest and most indulgent eggnog to be seen this side of the 49th parallel.
The Szef
Olivia, my friend and the Dep baker, was also on hand to make some rocking eggnog iced cupcakes, traditional mince pies and festive shortbread:
Ryan, Alex and Matt:
Happy holidays!
This is my Ebbets Field Montreal Royals hat. Having survived two years of kitchen work, I’m impressed with the patina of wear it’s taken on. It shrunk a bit in the first wash, but continues to serve me well. Quality products look better with age.
You can check out Ebbets’ impressive range of reproduction ball caps here:
(Source: montrealroyalshat)
I’ve really been getting into Japanese food this year, especially izakaya in the summer with the grill (check out this book) , and, more recently, the family-style cooking championed by Harumi Kurihara. So when Anissa’s birthday rolled around, we sat down and she bookmarked the recipes she’d like into a special birthday feast. Here’s what it looked like:
Egg drop soup :: making the base stock required brewing up some serious dashi (I’m not sure I left the kombu in long enough, for reference I’d say the stronger the better)
Tuna tataki salad :: this is one of the tastiest ‘salads’ I’ve ever made. It’s all about the ponzu and the garlic chips! The rest, dicing the daikon and frying the tuna, is pretty straightforward.
Marinaded pork in a leek sauce with pickled ginger and cucumber, simple bok choi :: I actually improvised this dish to resemble the “48 hr Pork” that we both love so much at Montreal izakaya Kazu.
If you have a savoury tooth, cooking Japanese food quickly becomes an obsession. I would recommend buying Harumi’s last book (that is beautifully photographed) published by Conran in London, and getting on with it!
(Source: japanesebirthdayfeast)
Yup, winter is here. And even though I say this every year, it feels pretty bloody cold already to this ex-pat Brit. All of which gives me an excuse to break into my repertoire of comfort (see junk) food, grabbing whatever’s in the fridge to make a hot meal at lunchtime.
This is an old favourite, adapted from the Petits Pois avec Lardons my French mum made when I was growing up. It’s pretty easy to make:
1. Fry up your lardons (here, I used cuttings from the maple cured bacon I made last month, but you can used any kind of cured pork) til they’re browned, and the oil is oozing out.
2. Pull them out, leaving them to rest on some paper towel. Throw in your spuds (peeled, roughly sliced, then rinsed thoroughly in cold water). Fry ‘em up til nicely crisp.
3. Throw lardons back in the pan, then grab your can of French style petit pois from the back of the cupboard.
4. Drain the petits pois, throw them into the mix, bring up the heat, and flip all the ingredients over in the pan a couple of times.
4. Salt to taste and a crack of black pepper, serve. The residual water from the petit pois gives the whole dish a buttery texture.
Cup of milky Fortnum’s breakfast tea optional!
(Source: wintercomfortfoodI)
