Still on Vacation

I had a choice; I could be posting to the blog - or - I could be spending time visitiing places like this.



What would you choose?

Ya. Me too.

A Long Beach - Vacation Foto

O-o-oh but it's nice.

Halibut (Vacation Post II)

Quick post. Great picture (getting the hang of the camera)

Lovely Halibut - with gnocchi & wild mushrooms
The Pointe Restaurant, Tofino, B.C.
A Relais & Châteaux restaurant - pricey. Good though.

Also had

Sumac Crusted Ostrich Carpaccio
Potato & Roasted Pepper Salad

Seaweed Crusted Halibut
New Potato, Peas, Island Mushrooms

and other stuff

Halibut

Halibut, uploaded by willsong.

Raincoast Café, Tofino, B.C.
Go there
Killer food

Ah, Vacation

On the road.

Steak Tartare [Tartar]

This here is meat. Not expensive meat; it's what we normally grind into hamburger meat (beef); a sirlion. Steak Tartare isn't made with the "top top" cuts because they're too lean.

In Spain we typically buy the meat at the butchers and they grind it to order. Not this one; I'll chop it by hand.

These are the ingredients for Steak Tartare. There's lots of them, I forgot to put the egg in the pic and photoshopped it in.


You can/should hand chop the beef. It only takes a minute (literally) - if you have a good sharp knife.


The finished product. Click on the pic to see it larger than life-size.


It's quite similar to making a hamburger but mixing the pickles and mayo with the meat instead of having them separate in the bun.



Inspiration: see: Les Halles Cookbook; Anthony Bourdain

Steak Tartare

Serves: 3

Ingredients

• 1 egg yolks
• 1 T Dijon mustard
  
• 2 anchovy filets, very finely chopped
• 1 t ketchup (yes, really - homemade if you've got it)
  
• 1 t Worcestershire sauce
  
• Tabasco sauce, more is good
  
• Black pepper
• 2 T corn oil
• 2 T Cognac
  
• ½ small onion, brunoise, fine [diced]
  
• 25 g capers, rinsed [1 oz]
  
• 25 g cornichons, finely chopped [1 oz]
  
• 2 sprigs of flat parsley, finely chopped
• 375 g fresh sirloin, chopped, by hand [12 oz]
  

Procedure

1. Put the serving plates into the fridge (hours before, if you like)
   
2. egg yolk into a smallish bowl
   
3. add dijon and smooshed anchovies
• mix well
  
4. add ketchup, Worcestershire, Tabasco, and pepper
   
• mix well (again)
  
5. Slowly... whisk in the oil (use a whisk if youve got it
   
• You're making a very light dressing/mayonnaise
6. add cognac
• mix yet again.
  
7. Reserve some onions for decoration.
8. Fold the rest of the onions, capers, cornichons, and parsley (don't mix - just fold in)
   
9. Add the meat to the bowl
   
• mix well, use your hands (or a spoon if you're the overly neat type)
  
10. Get the cold plates. Split the meat into 3 parts, form into disks (use a ring mold if you've got one, or a hamburger mold, or an old tuna can)
    
11. Decorate with the chopped onion
12. Eat it now; after all, it is raw meat
13. Really good with french fries

Notes

1. You don't need a really big bowl, There's not a whole lot of volume in this, maybe a half cup of sauce and then, later, the meat.

Roast a Chicken

More than anything this is a placeholder post to remind me about this interesting cooking video site.

Good things about this one: simple recipe, uses kitchen gadgets, a nice extra touch (pears), Christopher Walken, and a cat