Bell Pepper Season!

One of the great things about August is that it's the in-between growing point where pretty much everything is in season. You can still get the tail end of July strawberries and corn and on top of it blueberries and bell peppers are coming in full swing. So my farmer's Saturday morning deliveries are now including the season's first baby bell peppers in a multitude of colours.

Peppers are very versatile and there's a multitude of ways to cook them. You can also preserve them, which is awesome. One of my favourite ways is to stuff them. There are a few ways you can do this. More traditionally they can be stuffed with a mixture of rice, meat, onions, garlic and whatever else you like and then stewed in a broth. If you're like me and like a crispier pepper that can stand on your plate, pre-cook your stuffings and roast them.

BRAD'S BISON-STUFFED PEPPERS

8-10 mini or 4-5 large local bell peppers (variety, but whatever you like); 1 lb free-range bison meat (or any rich ground meat like beef or venison); one yellow onion chopped; 7-8 cloves local garlic finely chopped; Kosher salt and fresh pepper; extra-virgin olive oil; 2 tbsp smoked paprika; 2 large handfulls of a variety of local mushrooms (whatever you can find); Parmesan to garnish.

Cut the bell peppers in half, seed and arrange on a baking sheet brushed lightly with olive oil. Preheat oven to 400. In a cast iron or steel skillet, sauté onions in olive oil until translucent, then add meat. Break down and sauté. Season generously. Add smoked paprika. When meat is about 2 minutes from done add garlic and mushrooms. Stuff peppers generously and bake for about 20 minutes. Garnish with fresh Parmesan to taste. This pairs amazingly with a rich sweet red like Syrah.

If you find small enough peppers they make for great finger foods too!

Ottawa's Steak and Montreal's Seafood

How lucky am I to be a short distance from an incredible steak house, and one of the best seafood experiences I've ever had.

For my next round of restaurant reviews, I'll start with Ottawa and head over to Montreal and say "hey" to Chuck Hughes - real food guru extraordinaire and definitely my new favourite celebrity chef.

"STEAK", Ottawa, ON
Dress: Semi-casual
Reservations? During events and large groups yes, but otherwise not usually necessary
Price: For complete three course with wine, probably anywhere between $55 to $85 per person

I like that they kept the name simple and to the point. This bar and bistro is one of Ottawa's newest and coolest places. And they cover pretty much every pallet. But my rule of thumb with restaurants is always start with what they take the most pride in. Certainly their fillet mignon is second to none in the restaurant scene - and I've had my share. And their wine selection is one of the best in Ottawa's Byward Market. Great for a fancy evening dinner, or a late night cocktail or wine tasting. And of course the kitchen is open late so there's never a shortage of exquisite munchies, from their fantastic beef tartar, to their best-in-the-world chocolate lava cake (note - order this 30 minutes before you actually want it because they make each one from scratch!). This is definitely an ideal choice for couples or groups that want a trendy, urban and sexy dining experience. If you happen to be there and not in the mood for steak, I highly recommend the lobster ravioli. Generally though, stick to steak, red wine and chocolate, and you'll be dreaming about the dinner you had.

http://www.steakottawa.ca/

"Le Bremner", Montreal QC
Dress: Semi-casual
Reservations? Always. Call as far ahead as possible and only call after 4 pm
Price: Large range - anywhere from $65 to $150 per person on average I would guess, but higher if you go crazy with the bottles of wine ;)

Last year I reviewed Chuck Hughes' incredible restaurant in the Old Port, Garde Manger. I would definitely put Le Bremner as a complete tie with this, because while it has a generally different focus (seafood), it's still clearly a Chuck Hughes restaurant with the earthy coolness, trendiness and downright food euphoria that Garde Manger is known for.

Le Bremner is also in the Old Port. Again, true to Hughes' style, no signage or website. You just have to call way in advance (a few weeks) and look for it. Tip - Reserve your seats at the bar!

The dishes are small enough that they allow you to sample several. We mostly stuck with the seafood theme, and oh... my... God! The spread of chilled marinated and raw oysters (from both BC and PEI), scallops, and lobster altogether combined to be one crazy delicious experience. We asked our servers to walk us through wine pairings, and oh man... bull's eye every single time. The Kimshee snow crab was definitely the highest peak for me in this experience, so I highly recommend it. And talk about creative presentation - ever have a lobster parfait? You can here. And from a distance you wouldn't know but it was a dessert, even complete with the "blackberry" on top that turns out to be a little cluster of caviar.

One surprising note about the dessert menu is that it didn't look like your typical fancy restaurant selection, especially with items like "cookies and milk" and "jelly donuts." I just had to try the donuts. And now I can say that before that evening, I had never tasted donuts... at least it's just as well that I had never. Four giant round crispy glazed donuts filled with a variety of berries and caramel, glazed and covered in powdered sugar... and even a wine pairing to go with that that was eye-poppingly dead on.

If you're looking for 5-star quality and true originality, you'll want to go here.
http://montreal.about.com/od/foodwine/ss/le-bremner-montreal-restaurant-chuck-hughes-seafood-diner.htm

Big News Coming Soon!!

Stay tuned! Details to come this October!

For the Love of Lamb!

The great thing about lamb is that even the free-range organic grass fed heritage lambs are shockingly easy to work with.

And the taste! I knew I found a gem when I first opened up a pack of lamb chops from my farmer and the first thing I smelled was clovers.

Here, I won't give a recipe, because it's completely unnecessary... just an approach. I will post some stellar lamb recipes this fall when I get my next year supply from the farm, but for now, the simplest and most delicious way to enjoy heritage lamb.

Plate - season with coarse or Kosher salt - cast iron skillet - melt 2 tbsp unsalted butter on medium until lightly smoking - sear - 2-3 minutes per side - tent under foil for 3 minutes.

Whatever you're serving this with, make it in advance because once you're ready to go with the lamb, it should have your undivided attention. This is for a couple of reasons - a) it cooks fast and b) it would be truly tragic to ruin one of the best quality (and possibly expensive) meats you'll buy. You truly want to enjoy this rare to medium rare, so be cautious. Better to take it off a bit too soon and refire if it's too rare for your taste, than to have an over-cooked chop that you can do nothing to salvage. [Here's a helpful tip - you should be able to tell doneness by touching the meat with your finger. Blue feels like your cheek; rare-medium like your chin; well-done (or ruined) feels very firm.]

This hit my table at least three or four times this past year. I remember the first time I delicately cut into the meet with my knife and tasted that tender, buttery goodness, dropped my utensils and ate the rest like a neanderthal. Why does food always taste better when you eat it with your hands?

Summer Simplicity

Next to the bright sweet variety of tastes it offers, my favourite thing about summer cooking is the simplicity of the food. After all, on a hot summer day, it's not like we really want to be in a hot kitchen cooking. But if you have the right ingredients on-hand and plan ahead, you can be full and have clean dishes with hours of day light left.

Certainly it helps if you have some pre-cooked chicken on-hand, or meat that cooks quickly like fish or steak. But for me the most important aspect of being prepared for a work week in summer is a fridge stocked with local vegetables. Taking an hour or so once a week can make all the difference and will ensure everything gets eaten.

Right now, I have a local farm that happens to do weekly deliveries, so not only is the veg delicious, bright and nutritious, it's also sustainable. But wherever you get your fresh produce, wash and dry in advance - you'd be amazed how much easier this makes week night meal time.

When you're not interested in spending time in the kitchen or prepping the BBQ, a simple cold or hot salad is always the best way to feed everyone and only have a bowl or a pan to clean. You can even add a simple carb to your salad by mixing together flour, water, oil, herbs, salt and pepper to a dough, roll it out on a floured surface and make little tortillas or naan bread, and either cook it in a dry pan or in the oven on a greased baking sheet (a process that takes 20 minutes from start to finish).

A cold salad is simply a matter of finding your favourite combination of ingredients for a quick dressing (i.e., oil, lemon, salt and pepper), fresh veg and a quick steak, shrimp or some left-over chicken. Personally I love a quick hot salad, for example, a fajita-style salad (sautéed local onions, white peppers, garlic, mushrooms; topped with sprouts with some quick home-made naan bread).

When you have fresh seasonal produce washed and ready to go, it allows for some playfulness and creativity, because you know the veg is that much easier to just toss in.

The Real Shepherd's Pie

Can you really get any better than meat and potatoes? Sure, if you "Brit" it up a bit and bake the works in a hot, gooey, buttery casserole. This 200 year old classic is certainly one of my favourite autumn comfort foods and is easy as........ ah, you thought I was really gonna go there!

I would hazard to guess that, if you're like most people, and me up until a year ago, you've only ever experienced this with beef, which is truly the classic Shepherd's Pie, but Shepherd's Pie with lamb (or more accurately, mutton pie) will take you from that home comfort experience to the next level. So as my year's supply of free-range organic lamb dwindled this past spring, I decided to work on perfecting one of my childhood favourites.

BRAD'S CLASSIC SHEPHERD'S (MUTTON) PIE

(For 4-5) 1 lb ground free-range lamb; 6-7 medium russet potatoes roughly chopped; 1 1/2 cups green peas (preferably fresh, or the larger frozen peas); one white onion finely chopped; 3-4 medium carrots finely diced; 1/2 cup beef stock; 2 tbsp tomato paste; 3-4 tbsp unsalted butter; tbsp unbleached all-purpose flour; 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese; 2 tsp smoked Paprika; Kosher salt; fresh pepper

Prepare a deep baking dish (preferably 8-10 inch) by greasing with butter. Preheat the oven to 375.

Steam potatoes until tender, set aside. In a cast iron or steel skillet, melt a tbsp of butter and sauté onions and carrots until the onions are soft and add the lamb. Season well. Once the lamb is cooked, add the 3/4 cup of the peas and cook for a minute. Then add the flour and stir. Add the tomato paste. Then add just a splash of the stock and scrape the pan to deglaze. Then add the rest of the stock, bring to a boil and and reduce to a simmer for 5-7 minutes or until you like the consistency (should be the thickness of lava). Stir in 1 tsp of the paprika, and spread the mixture in the baking dish.

In a bowl, mash the hot potatoes by hand with the butter. If they're too stiff, add a splash of milk and even some sour cream for even more flavour. It should be creamy. Stir in a good bit of S&P (to taste) and add the rest of the peas. Spread over the meat mixture and grate fresh Parmesan. Sprinkle over the rest of the paprika.

Bake this off for about 20 minutes. If you like a crispy top, pop the temperature to 475 for the last 5 minutes.