Feisty Chef

Cape Breton Crab Creation

2010-08-27T12:49:18Z

Crab!

I can count on my fingers and toes how many times I have been asked to put a crab cake on one of my menus. I had them on my menu at the Five Fishermen for quite a long time, and after feeling blase about these bad boys, I decided to turn over a new leaf and create a new "cake". My salt cod cakes were smashing and went very well with my salsa verde, but over and over again, I would get the request for crab cakes. "Crab cakes?!" I would yell, and tell the server that there was no way in hell that I was going to give in to the customers. I know, they are always right, but they needed to broaden their horizons! So, after a few weeks of hair pulling and nail biting, I relinquished my salt cod cakes, and those crabby concoctions made their way back onto my menu.

On a recent trip to Cape Breton, our host, Duper, was very excited to tell me that his father had some snow crab and was eagerly awaiting my arrival so I could whip up a batch of somethin'-somethin'. Oh no, my nemesis, the crab cake was suggested. Okay, I like Duper and his wife, Katrina, and I was smitten by his father, Billy, so I put my feelings aside and whipped them up a batch of my super-duper (get it, Duper) crab cakes. I called them my 4 C's (My Caper Crab Cake Creation). Here is the recipe for my 4 C's, and I only hope that you get crab as fresh and delicious as I got, courtesy of one Billy MacDonald and his brother Harold.

My 4 C 's

1 lbs picked over crab meat; strained of any liquid
1 lbs new potatoes; boiled
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp mayonnaise
1 egg
1/4 cup chopped parsley
zest of 3 lemons
salt and pepper

Boil the potatoes with their skins. Once cooked, roughly mash and let cool slightly. Add all the other ingredients and mix by hand. Taste for seasoning. Shape into cakes (I use a small ice cream scoop), and fry up in a pan with a little oil until golden brown.
Click to enlarge.

Baked Goodness

2010-07-28T11:33:33Z

: My favourite snack. Bread, butter, fleur de sel.

I have had one Saturday staple for the past five years, and that is the Apricot-Honey loaf from Boulangerie La Vendéenne. Every Saturday we religiously line up at this stall (always a crazy long line!) and wait to purchase our loaf. It is chewy, sweet and studded with apricots and nothing makes a better snack than slathering it with some butter and a dusting of fleur de sel. My lil' Zoe has been known to beg for this bread; putting her chubby little hands into the brown paper bag and tearing off a piece even before we make it out of the line. For two days we are a happy household; using it for toast, sandwiches and finally turning it into crostini. We do not waste a single inch of it! La Vendéenne not only make this amazing bread, but their sourdough, fougasse and brioche are also out of this world! If you have been hesitant in the past to brave the line up at this stall on Saturday morning, I beg of you to take the time, grab a loaf, and enjoy a little bit of heaven!

My Saturday Food Round-Up!

2010-06-23T12:58:17Z

Everyone has one day out of the week that is their favourite; for me it is Saturday. Saturday is sacred in our household. It is the day that Doug, Zoe, Philippe & I do our big "round-up" of food for the coming week. This week it started off with our trek down to the Halifax Farmers' Market, which we try to visit as early as humanly possible in order to beat the crowds. We picked up our 'usuals' including; bread from La Vendéenne, vegetables from several different kiosks, meat from Roselane Farm (spicy pepperettes & coarse liverwurst), eggs and lamb from Bill Wood of Wood'n'Heart Farm, feta from Ran Cher Acres, and yogurt and quark (for the munchkin) from Fox Hill Cheese House. After leaving the market we hit Steve-o-Reno's drive through hut on our way home for our weekly cappuccino fix. With pastries and coffee in our bellies, we were fueled up for our next few stops.

We started with Gourmet Cash and Carry on Kempt Road for quinoa, millet, paneer, and a plethora of spices (sumac, black cumin, etc). We then dropped into the "220 volts", as my husband likes to call it, which is the Indian grocery store at Robie and North. This is where I grab my staple chutneys (tamarind, coriander, mint & green chili), as as well as poppadoms, asafoetida and candied fennel seeds. We walked around the corner and stopped into Local Source Market, owned and operated by Doug's old roommate, Sean Gallagher. After a quick browse we decided on a jar of pickled Daikon made by "Holly Molly Ferments", some incredibly fresh salad greens and stewing beef from VanOostrum Farm. The buzz of coffee and pastries started to wear off, so our last stop on our sacred Saturday was the Mid-East Food Centre, where we picked-up some take-out of stewed eggplant, hummus, tabouli and chicken biryani. With a car full of goodies, food for our bellies and plans for our dinner, we headed back to the "Darkside" to do some cooking.

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Les Moules Magnifiques!

2010-05-28T18:01:09Z

I moved out to the East Coast about six years' ago; first, starting off at the Inn At Bay Fortune in Fortune, PEI, and then Halifax, Nova Scotia. One of the things that I first noticed when I moved here was that East Coasters were crazy about their mussels. While in PEI, the kitchen that I ran had the fortune of changing its menu daily, but one thing that could never change was a daily "mussel". People ordered mussels in droves; the more the better! After moving to Halifax, I worked as the Executive Chef of The Five Fishermen Restaurant, where they have an "all you can eat" mussel bar. At the Five Fishermen, we would go through 500lbs of mussels a night! That's right, 500lbs. So, burning through this amount of mussels meant that we needed a gifted supplier with only the best product available; Indian Point Mussel Farm.

Peter Darnell is the amazing person behind these amazing mussels and his farm is located in Mahone Bay. Peter started the mussel farm back in 1982, and it is a family run business. The mussels can be found suspended in the water over 7 mussel leases in Mahone Bay. Did you know that it takes almost 24 months for a "spat" to mature into a mussel that you would buy? Peter also is proud of the fact that he uses cotton mesh socks to start growing the spat and that biodegrade, instead of using plastic ones. Because of this, Peter's method for growing these mussels is sustainable. If you aren't a fan of mussels, Peter also produces beautiful scallops in the shell.

Peter and his mussels and scallops can be found at the Halifax Farmers' Market every Saturday morning. Here is my recipe that I use whenever I buy some of Peter's mussels!

My Cider Mussels

5 lbs mussels; cleaned
4 garlic cloves; sliced
2 whole tomatoes; roughly chopped
1/2 lbs bacon; roughly chopped
Butter
3 bay leaves
2 bottles hard apple cider (I like Tideview or Stutz!)
Salt & pepper

In a large pot, heat butter and add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Next, add the chopped bacon and cook for another 4 minutes. Add the tomatoes and cook down for 2 minutes. Add the mussels and bay leaves and give a good stir (or shake with lid tightly on). Pour in the cider, cover and cook until all the mussels open. Season to taste. Remember folks, if the mussel stays shut, do not eat it!

Enjoy!