Winter to Spring Victoria Food Culture 1 Cooking with Don Genova · Thursday March 10, 2011 by colin newell
As much as Victoria B.C. Canada is near the nerve center for coffee culture in North America (with nothing to be ashamed of from a Worldwide perspective…) local culinary culture is something that is fairly new – at least for the amateur like me.
And with the arrival of Cook Culture on Blanshard between Yates and Johnson, culinary learning has taken an uptick. And I am not saying that culinary learning is not available elsewhere in Victoria – because it is – but it either not well publicized (like some of the UVic programs) or it’s a professional caliber that is really more suited to the career cooking professional – the chef. Camosun is one place where you can take some serious chef training or community based cooking classes – all great.
What Cook Culture offers are single evening workshops more suited to the rest of us – slightly older folks like me (and my much younger wife) who are already pretty food smart who want to learn some more tricks or hone our existing skills.
Photo right – Mill Bay’s Don Genova was the affable and engaging host of Pasta 101 at Cook Culture in Victoria.
Cook Culture delivers in cupfuls.
Our first class (tonight) was Pasta 101 with food journalist Don Genova – in a fun, informal and intimately small group of 12 in a large and brightly lit gourmet professional kitchen.
Here’s what we did. We all got a chance to participate in the creation of a basic egg pasta dough. Don’s pacing was good and informative – we were all into it – and everyone has a chance to ask as many questions as they want, to participate to whatever degree they are comfortable or to just sit back and observe. Tonight just about everyone jumped in.
Our first dish after the basic sheets of pasta were produced was Tortelli di Zuca – a broadly interpreted recipe that features pumpkin or squash, olive oil, crushed amaretti cookies, a bit of nutmeg and cinnamon, beaten egg – under a sauce of butter and sage leaves. And topped with Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.
It’s brilliant and simple.
Second up, our group created some mighty fine looking spaghetti that Don turned into a quick Spaghetti with proscuitto ham, lemon zest, chopped parsley and the ever present Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.
Thirdly, a Fettucini with a duo of pesto and turkey ragu.
The fresh pesto was whipped up with fresh garlic, basil, olive oil, Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese and walnuts. Who needs pine nuts in a pesto? Walnuts are cheaper.
With some leftover time, Don expedited a pasta based dessert using (correct me if I am wrong Don…) some vermicelli pasta in something called Hazelnut Noddle pudding (with some Genova variations) and drizzled with a fresh Crème anglaise. Yummy.
Everyone had fun. Don Genova is the kind of food teacher that talks to his students, not down to them – in a lively and friendly environment. I can totally imagine spending some more time at Cook Culture (with Don and some of the other great chef’s and teachers.)
Homage to Julia Child Hot and Sour Sole · Monday February 28, 2011 by colin newell
My wife and I have been reading Julia Child My Life in France – a truly wonderful book suggested to us by CoffeeCrew.com writer/editor David Reimer of Vancouver.
The following is something of a “rap” on one of her classic Sole recipes. Enjoy.
Hot and Sour Sole
Take 2 Sole fillets – seasoned with salt and pepper.
Dredge fillets in white flour shaking off the excess.
Meanwhile, heat non-stick pan with olive oil to hot but not smoking.
Pan fry sole fillets 5 minutes a side – remove from pan.
Using same pan, reduce pan temp. to medium low.
Add a bit of extra olive oil if necessary.
1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions (Julia said use shallots – did not have any)
Saute for about 1 minute.
Add 1 minced garlic clove – saute for 1 minute.
Add 1/2 teaspoon of red chili flakes (to taste – this is the mild setting!)
Plump 1.5 tablespoons of golden raisins in Sherry (we used Harvey’s Bristol Cream)
Back to the pan: add the raisin / sherry mixture to pan.
Stir until it reduced briefly (about 1 minute)
Add 1/2 cup of grapefruit juice (Julia said Orange juice…)
Stirring gently until liquid is reduced by 1/3 (approx) 5 minutes or so.
Add 3 tablespoons GOOD Extra Virgin Olive Oil and
1 Tablespoon of white balsamic vinegar
Whisk the liquid gently until it is thickens (about 3 minutes)
Serve with white rice and your choice of steamed veg.
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Andrea's Dirty Rice with Chicken - Cooking Cajun · Sunday February 13, 2011 by colin newell
1 cups rice cooked
1 Pound chicken breast boneless fillet (pan fried with salt and pepper)
1 Yellow pepper chunky chopped
1 Red pepper chunky chopped
1 standard yellow onion chunky chopped
1 Anaheim pepper chunky chopped
Saute above vegetables in pan that was used for chicken
Saute/sweat vegetables for 10 minutes
5 minutes into sweat, add
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
3 tablespoons parsley flakes
3 tablespoons creole seasoning *
1 teaspoon chili flakes
Stir into vegetable saute – and add 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons Chilpotle sauce concentrate OR favorite hot sauce.
Chop up cooked chicken into bite size pieces and add to vegetable mix.
Add rice in thirds.
Add 1/2 cup of chicken stock.
Serve with sleeves of Irish Beer – this is a hot and spicy dish.
Creole seasoning recipe we use:
2 1/2 tablespoons paprika
2 tablespoons salt (optional)
2 tablespoons garlic powder
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon dried leaf oregano
1 tablespoon dried leaf thyme
Winter storm series The Victoria food scene chapter 1 · Wednesday December 1, 2010 by colin newell
Hey folks. We Vancouver Island residents live in, quite arguably, one of the most beautiful and moderate places on Earth. This is Canada after all – home of white winters for most of us North of 49. But not here in the North west. Snowfall is pretty rare up here and often an entire winter will pass without one flake of the frosty white stuff.
So it’s not bitterly cold. And it begs the question: Why is there so much hit and miss in the food department – especially when it comes to what should be hot.
We try and make a point of getting out at least once a week for a nosh, ideally somewhere new. Because it is easy to fall into a habit of finding a favorite and eating it to death. So we mix it up.
So my beef is this: What is wrong with so many restaurants in Victoria? We live a boat or plane ride from two gastronomic super-powers; Seattle and Vancouver. Two totally World class cities that have more 4-star eateries than they have any right to. And I am not saying that we do not have any winners folks… No, it is just that we have way too many losers. Why?
A couple of examples. There are a couple of “Earl’s and Cactus Club” type places in Victoria that are wildly and frustratingly uneven. And they shouldn’t be. One is Brown’s Social House. Great concept. Passionate staff on the floor and in the kitchen. And yet more often than not they fall flat on their faces. I have had orders show up at my table stone cold. The only thing that should arrive at the table stone cold is ice cream… Not a side of fries, pizza or a burger. These items should be piping hot.
Another is the Canoe Club. The food and service is up and down like an express elevator at the Empire state building – and for no good reason. I had a burger and fries there last weekend and the potatoes were raw and mealy and the burger was pinker than ahi tuna sashimi.
I have a theory. Victoria is a tourist town. We have a lot of folks that show up once. We have a lot of folks that show up often. My thinking is – some of these “so-so” places are depending on the “once served, never seen again” much like the Vancouver airport RCMP detachment. No sense giving your best if there is no return business. Which is to say that the local joints are merely keeping the bar up for one reason. This is does not explain the wild swings in overall quality.
We pay a bit of a premium for eating out in Victoria… because it is a tourist town. We have some of the best (if not the best) coffee culture in Victoria, per capita. One would think the food scene would be in step with the cafe scene. But it’s not.
And it bugs me.
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Fall fun Food and Follies in Victoria B.C. 2010 chapter 3 Stone Cold · Wednesday October 13, 2010 by colin newell
I have a rule that I almost never break.
Writing reviews of cafes or restaurants shall never revert to stone age nit picking, whining or saber rattling rants.
Unless a couple of things come up during said cafe or restaurant visit.
And ironically, a restaurant I recently reviewed for EAT Magazine… Browns Social House, broke one of my golden rules in food service.
There are two such rules that cannot be broken.
Raw food that is dangerous when raw. Like chicken or pork.
And cold food that should be hot. That is colder than room temperature. Because that I cannot forgive.
While having a late lunch on Monday (after returning from a glorious weekend at Point No Point cabins), we stopped into Browns Social House for a quick bite; a blackened halibut burger (with fries) for me and a “flat bread” Pizza called the Royale with Cheese for Andrea.
The sandwich was good and as described: Blackened, spicy and thermally hot. The fries, on the other hand, were stone cold. Colder than room temperature… which was utterly remarkable and unacceptable.
Andrea’s flat bread was haphazardly thrown together – a flat bread with chunks of ground meat, sauce and cheese – a burned black on the bottom. Pity. It all could have been done right and these 2 offenses should have never left the kitchen.
Perhaps I have been watching Chef Ramsay and Hell’s Kitchen too much but really… when you think about it, if the chef does not care enough about the obvious details, like hot food, what the heck else is going on in the more subtle areas of preparation?
Anyway. In the end I got a plate of sizzling hot fries (that had not been fully drained of grease) and were way hotter than most people would get. There was no comp other than a “our fries are great and, by the way, sorry about that…”
Unacceptable.
Browns Social House in Victoria will now be on the blocked list for the next indefinite period until they can get their crap together.
Meantime, we now have the Atrium, Zambri’s, PIG BBQ and Al’s Organic Cafe to check out.
Comments please?
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