2012 - Here I come.

It’s the New Year. We all have lists of things we loved, things we hated, and for me, it will be what I hope to see happen in 2012. Remember folks, these are just my opinions, so don’t get angry.

Bacon

Here is a product that most of us love, but poor bacon has been turned into something other than that salty meat we eat in the  morning. This past year, and for a few years actually, it has been bacon overload! Enough I say. Let bacon be bacon and choose to be eaten plainly and simply beside some eggs, in a club sandwich or a ceasar salad. Please don’t turn him into jam, put him in a chocolate bar or hidden in a cake. Hasn’t he been ridiculed enough already?

Cauliflower

My favorite vegetable! Underused, made fun of, and left to be eaten as a pureed soup. Cauliflower is King! He is mighty and tasty and can stand up to anything. Give him a chance; he is well worth the effort. Roasted with cumin seeds and chili then doused in a tahini-lemon sauce is pretty damn good. Pureed with obscene amounts of butter and cream and he is better than any fancy puree you may find in top restaurants. He lives forever in the fridge, and is even pretty yummy late at night dipped into tzaztiki. Cauliflower, you will reign in 2012!

Millet

Little perfect grains of crunchiness. Often forgotten due to that girl named “quinoa”, but for me, there is no competition. Cooked with earthy mushrooms and served over spinach, your delicate flavor caresses me. On your own with olive oil and salt and pepper, or thrown into a soup to give it strength. You and I will have a torrid love affair in 2012 and may even invite cauliflower into our mix.

Return To The Past

Who remembers the 70′s? I do. The colorful cookbooks with elaborate spreads, crazy looking food, but tasty. Who doesn’t like Beef Wellington or Lobster Thermidor? I might stay clear of the “chaud-froid” on chicken breasts, but a honest version of Chicken Cordon Blue or Kiev is nothing to snicker at. How about a Waldorf Salad? A Ceasar salad; pure and simple with just a handful of ingredients? I don’t know about you, but a potluck that includes some kickin’ meatballs, a lasagna, and a good loaf of garlic bread sounds pretty tempting to me.

Chemistry On My Plate

If I wanted to eat out of a test tube or beaker, or have scent waft my way as I eat, I’d pop in a Glade plug-in and get out my kid’s chemistry set.

Asian Fusion

Seriously, this is 2012. Do I even need to mention this? Yes, apparently the memo never reached some people. FYI…it died along with Tex-Mex back in 1993.

Allspice

Ooh you sassy lady! Spicy, yet understated. I love adding allspice in place of pepper whenever I can. It brings brightness to my hummus and works wonders on top of rum punch, Bajan style!

Sea Urchin

I know it is in abundance in sushi places, but here in Nova Scotia we have tons of the stuff…everywhere! I love it. The smell is almost rose-water-esque, with a sweet and salty taste. People are afraid of the texture, but if you’re willing to eat brains, then….Why is it not on more menus? It doesn’t have to be a main course, but just a taste, a tease of the spiny creature. (FYI…I still have a sea urchin stinger stuck in my finger circa 2008!).

OK, so some are good, and some are bad. But after all is said and done, all that makes me happy is being able to enjoy food, any way it comes at me, in 2012. Happy New Year!

My view on sea urchins.

Roll back twenty years to 1989; my first encounter with the prickly sea creature known as sea urchin. I still remember the trepidation I felt as my sister’s boyfriend took it upon himself to order our sushi feed; tuna, salmon, mackerel, eel and uni. Uni? What is this uni? Does this come from the Ottawa Valley? I dare not think so! I still picture the sushi as it came to our table; there it was, an orange hued blob (the only way a fifteen year old could describe it!). The first taste surprised me; salty, slightly sweet and slimy. I also remember thinking that the flavour has a slightly funky aftertaste, one which I cannot describe in this story as I would not want to offend anyone! So, I pretty much gagged on my uni, spit it up and vowed to never, ever try this vile creature again!

Let’s fast track to 2007; I was then somewhat of a grown up (I am sure that some will beg to differ!) and had just been hired as Executive Chef of The Five Fishermen restaurant in Halifax. My new position had me excited and I was pumped about working with local ingredients that I had never worked with before. Enter Nick Budreski, my seafood guru and pal, and his magical box filled with goodies. Oysters, bay scallops and sea urchin? ‘You gotta be kidding me!’ I told him; as sea urchin was still fresh on my palate. He explained to me that these had been harvested only hours earlier, by he and his two brothers, Matt & Mike. ‘Come on’, he said, ‘just crack it open and try it’.  As my staff looked on, I felt the need to be the leader that I was being paid to be. ‘OK.’ I grabbed my knife and a cloth and proceeded to crack open the prickly sucker. Once open, a bright orange roe spilled out of the shell along with many other goodies. The roe is the only edible part of this creature, and I scooped it out with my fingers. Once in my mouth I closed my eyes, swirled it around and got those old familiar tastes; salty, sweet, and yummy? That is right! What had I been missing all these years? This was awesome! I stuck my greedy fingers in for more and encountered more nirvana. As I continued to discover the urchin, I also tasted a familiar taste; rosewater. Rosewater you ask? Yup! I was now totally hooked. ‘Budreski!’ I shouted, ‘I need more of these spiny suckers ASAP!’ Needless to say, these bad boys have made their way onto my menus on many occasions over the years.

This past week I got thirty or so urchins for a tasting menu, which gave my staff a chance to learn about these lil’ guys. When handling these urchins remember to use a cloth as their spikes can get into your hands and cause major pain!  You can crack them open with a sharp knife on the top (the side without the beak). As I mentioned before, the roe is the only edible part, and any other “stuff” is not to be ingested. I would say that 99% of the time, sea urchin is served raw, and to me, that is the best way! I have served the roe on oysters, on top of a chowder & all by itself on a crostini.