Rabbit Confit

I took a break from making pate this week. Last week I picked up a new electric meat grinder. That cut down on a substantial amount of time. It also helped with the overall texture.

Allison made some rabbit confit at home today. The plan is to either add it to the list of entrees, or to transform it into Rabbit Rillettes. Maybe both?...

Trou de Cru

Trou de Cru has a name that sounds a lot like "Trou de Cul", which is french for a certain part of the rear anatomy. Perhaps it is a play on words. This tiny 60 gram cheese comes to us from Burgundy, and is brushed with marc de bourgogne. Essentially this smelly cheese is a baby epoisses.

Soup

I've been researching soup packaging over the last few months, and we've decided to switch over our packaging to a 600 ml clear boilable bag. We'll start off with a few flavors to "test the waters". I think it is going to work great. It's a CFIA approved clear bag that is not made using BPA (BISPHENOL-A). Other advantages are that you can now heat the soups by simply placing the bag directly from the freezer and into a pot of boiling water and heat for 20-30 minutes. It can also be heated in the microwave, or it can be thawed and heated on the stove in a pot. It's going to be a big improvement for our customers.

Pork Terrine

I've been toying with the idea of making our own terrines at les amis. In case you are wondering...no, i don't think I can keep up production just using the grinder in the picture. However, old technology sometimes is more than adequate. I borrowed this grinder from Alice and it worked great. I tried the basic recipe out of a recently purchased cookbook Charcuterie: The Craft of Salting, Smoking, and Curing by Ruhlman and Polcyn. The recipe was straightforward. I didn't have any Italian parsley, but I did have some lovage that is growing like crazy in the yard. I added some Madagascar green peppercorns and I placed a seared pork tenderloin with Esplette pepper down the middle. It worked like a charm. I'll have to tweak it a tiny bit, but I think I'm on the right path. Alice has a few recipes she is going to share, and maybe I'll practice with those next.

Robiola a Tre Latti

Robiola a Tre latti is made from cow, sheep and goats milk. It has a sour richness that is simply delightful. Max McCalman describes it as "...very approachable and quite irresistible to the taste". This may be my new favourite cheese to pair with German Riesling. We're bringing it along to dinner tonight at friends to pair with a 1996 Huet sec (chenin blanc) and 2003 JJ Prum Wehlener Sonnenuhr Auslese. Works for me.

Pecorino with Truffles

I opened up an Italian aged pecorino with truffles today. The smell is so incredible. Thinking of it finely diced and mixed in with some steak tartar from Pied a Terre makes my mouth water...

Hastings Update

Meetings with the city were positive today. We now have approval to dedicate part of the main floor for cheese tasting events. That will be a real plus. The space should be able to seat 40-50 people.

I've had a few people asking me about vacancies in the area around our new spot on East Hastings over the last few weeks. It seems like people are starting to eye the area with long term business aspirations. What we need is a good butcher and a baker.