Tag: french

Brownstone Restaurant (Kamloops, BC)

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Two cities could not be more different than Squamish, which we left mere days ago and Kamloops, where we find ourselves now. Squamish was a quiet, compact, college and outdoor sports town, Kamloops a sprawling spaghetti of onramps and railyards. Squamptons prefer their food and drink unfussy while Kamloopers relish the theatre of “a big night out”.

Crystal and I were also hankering for one of those big nights out so we squared some reservations at Brownstone in the heart of what we were told was downtown Kamloops. We stumbled in early for our reservation after scoring a cheap copy of Marquis Moon by Television over at Barnacle Records a few blocks down. It was one of the few businesses we found to be open.

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Pork and Chicken Liver Pâté

Shawn 1 Comment

It’s long past New Year’s and I’m not into resolutions, but I was inspired over the holidays to try my hand at more charcuterie and I’ve decided that trend will continue into 2019 as part of my weekend kitchen routine. The sausages we made over the break (more on that in a bit) were not the first bit of salted meat I attempted and my first foray into this exciting new realm of grinders and guts was quite a hit at our holiday table.

Call it pâté, terrine or fancy meatloaf the concept of salted, pressed, finely ground fat, flesh and offal that is shaped into a mold then slow cooked and served cold is about as old as the concept of “cuisine” itself. If you didn’t pick up the accent, this dish is French, unapologetically oldschool French in the same way that quail with grapes or veal tripe in white sauce is. The process has been streamlined since the days of Grandfather Escoffier, but it’s still got that that slightly fussy way about it that both makes it a joy to execute and a hell of a story for your guests when you drop it on the table.

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Chestnut Soup with Crispy Pancetta

Shawn 1 Comment

Many years ago on a whim I purchased a rather strange cookbook by Lois Anne Rothert dedicated entirely to the various soups of rural France. Normally I don’t pitch in for something so bizarrely specialized but something about this tome’s yeomen charm captured my imagination and it’s survived many cookbook purges over the years when shelf space became scarce.

Now, three months deep into my still-UN-identified illness this book has more than earned it’s keep with such soul-satisfying and sanity-soothing soups as Country Sorrel and Potato, Oyster and Cognac stew, Lentil Potage and this deeply savoury winter soup of pureed chestnuts, aromatics and crispy pancetta. Read More

Sun-Dried Tomato and Olive Tapenade

Shawn 4 Comments

Tapenade 1Shortly after returning home from our adventure in South-Eastern Ontario I received a request from the new couple (still kickin it in Newfoundland) for the tapenade recipe that appeared at their wedding dinner.

Now, back in Gan I kind of winged it, but do not fear newlyweds! I have a recipe! Like a Platonic Form all of my tapenades spring from a single perfected recipe that I may or may not have stolen from a Jamie Oliver book many years ago. Read More