Cookbooks from the Edge of Time - Winning Recipes (1998)

An occasional look at other Canadian cookbooks from the past.

Kicking off another year of blogging with this compilation of healthy recipes published for Swimming Canada.

I was in the mood for something healthy this morning (you know, for a change!) and I had all the right ingredients at home to whip up a Mocha Banana Shake from the "Breakfasts & Breads" chapter. In short: skim milk, bananas, and varying spoonfuls of instant coffee, cocoa and sugar. Hit it with the blender and pour. Easy and a bit fancy too.

This cookbook contains a lot of meat recipes to feed one's protein requirements, including the chunkiest chili I have ever seen. Plenty of vegan-friendly recipes too. There's a odd one for broiled oranges that I might try out of curiosity.

Not sure if this book was published for Swimming Canada only, or if it was a template book offered up to other sports organizations. It's got that generic feel to it, although some of the photos show plates of food as if they were poolside, or floating in the water, so I could be wrong. Nice photography though.

Anyway, hoping to get back into the swing of things soon with Madame B. Stay tuned, my babies!

Cookbooks From the Edge of Time - The Trout Point Lodge Cookbook (2004)

An occasional look at other Canadian cookbooks from the past.

Alright, one last shot of Nova Scotia before we move on.

One place I wish I had visited during a recent trip there is Trout Point Lodge. There, a trio of foodies from Louisiana set up shop, operating a Creole cuisine haven in the middle of the Acadian wilderness that spawned Louisiana's French culture in the first place.

It was a kind of reverse immigration, from the Bayou back to Acadie, and they brought their Creole cooking with them. In 2004, they published this cookbook, a fantastic collection of Creole-Canadian cuisine that fuses classy French-inspired techniques with local ingredients.

This cookbook is a recent acquisition of mine, but I already love it.

At Trout Point, they are big on seafood (obviously!). I recently whipped up a batch of succulent Seafood Gumbo over rice. I think Madame B. would have been dee-lighted! Other highlights of the book include a solid soups section, and some "wilder" options like mussels cooked in pine needles.

If you plan on travelling to Nova Scotia someday, that name again is Trout Point Lodge.

If you just want to get your hands on the cookbook, it is widely available online, at the usual online book-buying places.

Nova Scotia - Caramel Bread Pudding

Recipe:
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 egg beaten
2 slices heavily buttered bread
1 1/2 cups milk
1 tsp. vanilla

Pack sugar in a buttered casserole, cut bread in small pieces and place buttered side down on sugar. Mix egg, milk and vanilla and pour over mixture. Put in oven and bake until nicely browned. Serve with or without cream.


Review:
Bread pudding. A classic dish, simple and delicious. I enjoyed a fantastic bread pudding in Halifax recently, and when I got back this recipe leapt out of The Canadiana Cookbook. Madame B. didn't even bother with an intro for this one, so let's get right to it.

Well, there isn't much to say, really. It's ridiculously easy to make. I ended up using three slices of buttered multigrain bread, to fill an 11 x 7 inch pan. I also snuck some rum into the liquid mix. Not too much, just a little splishy-splashy!

Baked it for 40 minutes in a 350F oven and it came out lovely as you can see above. Beneath the soft, creamy bread was a layer of golden brown, stick-to-your-teeth caramel. Wonderful stuff.


Conclusion:
Probably the easiest dessert that anybody can make, using the most basic of household ingredients. Can't wait to make this again!

Review - Eating Seafood in Halifax

I recently spent a week in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

When in the Maritimes, what else are you going to eat but seafood? Here are some of the eateries I visited, and what I ate there.

[cue "Sleepy Maggie"]

Economy Shoe Shop Café and Bar - 1663 Argyle Street
(pictured above)
economyshoeshop.ca
From the outside, this place is a quaint, European looking café with a quirky name. When I showed up for lunch, the front patio was packed, but there was plenty of room inside. There, it's a labyrinth of spaces and levels, trees and foliage. Fantastic place, and the food was decent too. I had a trio of fish cakes with a side of french fries. They came with a yummy garlic mayo for dipping. Drank several beers. Can't go wrong here.


Café Chianti - 1241 Barrington Street
www.cafechianti.ca
Classy Italian joint, just south of the downtown core. A sprawling series of rooms, all tastefully decorated. Plenty of staff tending to the diners, yet still a relaxed, casual atmosphere. Had the Linguine Pescatore, a plate of soft pasta bathed in olive oil with scallops, mussels, shrimp and lobster. Delizioso! Went a bit overboard on the wine here, downing several glasses. Actually, things got nuts here. Ended up finishing off with a glass of port over dessert, which was a generous handful of figs soaked in Black Sambuca, served over vanilla ice cream. Memorable decadence.


Hamachi Steakhouse - 1477 Lower Water Street
www.hamachirestaurants.com
Was rambling along Halifax's excellent waterfront trail when I found this place. The name is a bit deceptive, because they offer all sorts of, er, offerings to please visitors. Mind, it's in a very touristy area of town, so expect a touristy-place sort of experience (busy place, slow service). On a brilliant late summer day, I grabbed a table on the patio. Ordered the Lobster Club Sandwich. It was pretty good, but the people-watching and sun-soaking were more memorable.

The Henry House Restaurant & Pub - 1222 Barrington Street
(pictured above)
www.henryhouse.ca
Located in a historic building along Halifax's main drag, the Henry House serves both traditional Maritime and classic British pub fare. Great location, great building, and a very friendly atmosphere. I stopped by for dinner on a rainy evening, and ended up enjoying my best meal in Halifax. The pan-fried haddock was outstanding, as was the micro-brewery beer, Granite Ringwood Ale. Dessert was a bread pudding to die for. If there is one place in Halifax to eat at while you are here, I'd say this would be the one!

Yes, We Take Requests - Madame Benoît's Mousseline Sauce

A reader in Santa Barbara, California, wrote asking for Madame Benoît's recipe for Mousseline Sauce.

Madame B. makes her Mousseline Sauce by starting with a basic Hollandaise, and then folding in a couple of stiffly beaten egg whites. The recipe is not included in The Canadiana Cookbook, but it does appear in Madame B's massive, phone-book-sized Encyclopedia of Canadian Cuisine.

As always, she favours the simple approach:

Madame Benoît: "The hollandaise, which to so many of you, appears to be so filled with mystery, is in short the easiest sauce to make, when it is known that it must cook with the minimum of heat, as it is only an emulsion of butter and egg yolks. I do not wish to advocate the double boiler and melted butter methods. Here is the most simple and fastest method of making hollandaise sauce."


Recipe:*
1/4 to 1/2 cup very cold butter
2 egg yolks
juice of 1/2 lemon, or less (to taste)
2 egg whites, stiffly beaten

Place in a frying pan, the very cold butter, egg yolks lightly beaten with a fork, and the lemon juice. Place the frying pan over very low heat and stir constantly until the mixture resembles creamed butter. If the frying pan becomes too hot, remove from heat and continue to stir. In many cases, depending on the thickness of the saucepan used, the heat of the pan is sufficient to finish cooking the sauce.

Should the sauce separate, quickly add 1 tablespoon ice water or an ice cube and beat hard, until it becomes smooth again. If water is not sufficient, heat a fresh egg yolk and add the separated hollandaise to this egg yolk, beating over very low heat.

Making the Mousseline:

To the hollandaise sauce, add the two stiffly beaten egg whites. To make a very fluffy sauce, fold in the egg whites only when ready to serve.


Review:
Yes, the method is as simple as it gets. The only thing you need to add is a little elbow grease.

Over very low heat, the butter and egg yolks come together to form the sauce. Once that happens, go at the egg whites with gusto, then fold into the sauce.

The result is a light, fluffy Mousseline Sauce that you'd be proud to serve the lady herself!


Conclusion:
The asparagus pictured above did not last very long after their photo session. The sauce is quite ethereal, a unique experience when you want to try something other than the usual Hollandaise or creamy sauces.

Keep those requests coming in. We aim to please!


* Recipe taken from Encyclopedia of Canadian Cuisine (De Luxe Edition) by Mme Jehane Benoît. Published by Canadian Homes Magazine, 1963. Lift with the legs, not the back.

Nova Scotia - Apple Blancmange

Madame Benoît: "A homemade applesauce gives something special to this old-fashioned dessert."

Recipe:
2 cups milk
2 1/2 tbsp. cornstarch
few grains salt
3 tbsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 cup prepared applesauce

Scald 1 1/2 cups milk. Mix cornstarch and sugar with 1/2 cup cold milk. Pour the hot milk over the cornstarch mixture, stirring until smooth. Cook over low, direct heat until thick and smooth. Add the salt. When nearly cold add the vanilla and stir in prepared applesauce. Turn into individual moulds which have been rinsed with cold water. Serve with cream, or other desired sauce. A variation of this dessert is to put the blancmange into a serving dish; when firm, top with applesauce and whipped cream.


Review:
Here's another recipe that caught my eye as I flipped through the Nova Scotia chapter of The Canadiana Cookbook.

Before Jello, there was blancmange, the milk- or cream-based sweet that is thickened, set and served chilled. The recipe is old school, what with the scalding of milk and all. I spent an hour yesterday heating and stirring the ingredients together. Overnight in the fridge, it had set nicely.

Not having any fancy blancmange moulds, I found Madame B's "serving dish" suggestion useful. My collection of big Belgian beer glasses came in handy. The result was a sweet, appley treat for an Autumn evening.


Conclusion:
I'd definitely try making this again, especially if I ever get some proper blancmange moulds. Still, there's nothing wrong with a fancy Belgian beer glass!

Nova Scotia - Crabmeat Chowder

Recipe:
3 slices salt pork
1 large onion, sliced thin
2 cups sliced potatoes
1 1/2 cups hot water
2 cups hot milk
1 - 1 1/2 lbs. frozen crabmeat
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. savory
2 tbsp. butter

Cut the salt pork into 1 1/2-inch squares. Melt and brown over medium heat in a large saucepan.

Make alternate layers of potatoes and onion slices in the pan. Add the hot water. Cover. Bring to a boil and simmer from 10 to 15 minutes or until the potatoes are tender. Add the milk, crabmeat, salt, savory and butter. Do not mix, simply keep warm until ready to serve.


Review:
Hello my babies! Back after a long absence. I spent some time in Halifax last month and loved it there. Especially loved dining there.

Obviously, Halifax is all about the seafood and I ate a lot of it! I'll try to throw together a post listing the places where I dined.

When I got back home, I found myself flipping through the Nova Scotia chapter of The Canadiana Cookbook. One of the things I didn't get around to ordering in Halifax was a crab dish, so Madame B's recipe for this crabmeat chowder caught my eye.

It's simple to make, and very authentic with only a handful of ingredients. They all go together very well. Don't be stingy with the crabmeat -- load it up for maximum flavour!


Conclusion:
Quick and easy. Makes for a nice light chowder. You can add to it as you like, eg. corn, spices, cream, herbs, etc. Recommended!