Culinary Travel
Culinary Travel
I am just returning from a seven-day trip to Porto and the Douro valley in Northern Portugal, but my head is filled with so many images and memories-it feels like I spent a full month there.
Last year, we went on a trip to Paris with our then-7-month-old baby. It was a long trip to undertake, but we wanted to quickly get some practice at travelling as a family and Paris seemed like the perfect place to do so. And guess what-we actually enjoyed the vacation.
Of all my travels, my trip to Japan stands out as the one that surprised, unsettled, and amazed me the most. Out of everything I did during my stay in Japan, my experience in a ryokan is one of the souvenirs I remember most vividly.
So, E and I spent the first part of our 10-year anniversary vacation in Venice. "Of course," you're thinking, "Venice is so romantic!" The thing is, we were actually joining friends. Yes, Venice is probably one of the best places to go to for a romantic vacation, but, to us, the city also rhymes with friendship.
Anyone that's curious about food cannot go to Tokyo without visiting its famous Tsukiji fish market. More than just a market, it's a city, really, with 2,000 tons of almost 500 different types of seafood handled every day.
When I was growing up, visiting a sugar shack in March was a tradition. It was the quintessential Québécois family activity.
The very name Dom Pérignon conjures up history. The famous champagne production house is associated with tradition, reliability, and luxury, a reputation it has maintained since its founding in the seventeenth century. I was invited, along with a handful of other bloggers, to meet Richard Geoffroy, cellar master for Dom Pérignon, during his most recent visit to Montreal.
While 5 days in Sicily was certainly not enough to experience all the deliciousness the Italian island has to offer, I went prepared (and hungry!) and was able to taste lots of local gourmet foods and dishes - enough to fill many notebook pages with recipe ideas to make at home.
Paris is well-known for its many passages; hidden shopping arcades that were created at the end of the 18th century. They were typically dug through existing building or created as the buildings were constructed, and they were covered by glass roofs to allow well-off residents to shop rain or shine.
I had never heard of Saba before E forwarded me a travel article presenting the island as a diver's paradise. We had been looking for a sunny and warm vacation destination, but we only had 9 days off, so we could only go so far.
I feel relaxed, peaceful, and calm even if I'm overwhelmed with deadlines to meet and e-mails to reply to. What's happening with me? I'm just returning from a week of sailing through the Bahamas - that's what. Last week, E and I joined three of our friends for a cruise through the exotic islands of the Exumas.
Researching Amsterdam's food scene before leaving for my 10-day trip to the Venice of the North, I quickly discovered that Dutch cuisine didn't have such a great reputation. Fried foods, pancakes, stews and beer seemed to dominate the culinary landscape.
If you're following me on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook, you know that I was in New York last week attending the International Association of Culinary Professionals' Annual Conference. It was an amazing culinary, educational, and inspirational experience, which I still need to decant to assimilate.
During our stay in Miami a few weeks ago, we rediscovered the pleasure of gourmet lunches. Not only did it fit our new "with baby" travel schedule better than did going out at night, but also it allowed us to treat ourselves with fantastic food at a much lower cost.
Note: This post is published in partnership with Expedia Canada and Food Bloggers of Canada. All recommendations and opinions are my own. I had long wanted to go on a road trip on the California coast, perhaps ever since peeking through the box containing my mom's slides of when she had done so with her friends while in her 20s.
Restaurant Reviews
Reviewing this restaurant has long been on my to-do list, and I initially planned on naming this post "A Hidden Gem in Copenhagen." Well, after Kadeau received its first Michelin star last week, let me tell you, this gem is no longer so hidden.
Panache is a long-time favorite of locals and visitors alike. Located in a riverside warehouse dating back to the 19th century, with plank floors and foot-thick stonewalls, the restaurant offers an intimate and luxurious yet comfortable ambiance.
More people asked me "Will you go to Noma?" when I announced I was heading to Copenhagen than I can even count. After I came back, only the tense of that question changed, as everyone I told about my trip was curious to know if I "got in".
The problem with going to Japan is that it completely shifts your expectations of Japanese food. When you come back, what you thought tasted great before you left now feels bland. Dishes that you thought refined look sloppy.
Opened back in 2000, casual bistro Le Clocher Penché is an institution in Quebec City. Popularly used words we hear so much today and the practices they represent fuel the raison d'être of so many newly opened restaurants-fresh, local, seasonal, artisanal-have always been at the forefront of Le Clocher Penché's mission.
While Quebec City shows no signs of changing its anti-street food regulations, initiatives like Panache Mobile still allow food lovers to enjoy fresh, high-quality meals on the go. An offshoot of renowned Panache, the restaurant of the award-winning Auberge Saint-Antoine in the Old Port, the mobile version (which now counts three locations) offers refined dishes made in trailers or small kitchens and served in the same spot all summer long.
Japanese cuisine is very new to Québec City. Sure, the city has a profusion of sushi joints (most of which serving rolls that have nothing to do with Japanese sushi) and there are fast-food restaurants that offer teriyaki and yakitori, but until recently, there was almost nothing a traveler coming back from Japan would have recognized.
Chez Ashton is an institution in Quebec City. Ask locals what their favorite poutine is, and the vast majority will reply it's Ashton's. Founded in 1969 by Ashton Leblond, the restaurant chain started out as a snack bar selling burgers, fries, and ice cream, but Mr. Leblond soon imported the idea of making poutine that comes from the Centre-du-Quebec region, where it's said the dish was invented.
Le Canard Goulu is a Muscovy duck farm located on the South side of the St. Lawrence River, in the small village of St-Apollinaire, about a half-hour outside of Quebec City. It is located in a very charming setting so visiting the Canard Goulu farm on a sunny summer weekend is a popular activity.
Recipe Development
If you live in a northern climate, you know the gleeful feeling that comes with seeing the first seasonal crops appear on market stands. Asparagus are among the first of a long line of vegetables and fruits that are to follow over the summer, which is why every year, starting late May, I dutifully watch for their arrival.
I've had a major crush on pistachios ever since I came back from Sicily. As the only region cultivating the nut in Italy, Sicily is especially proud of its "green gold," serving them in both sweet and savory dishes. I was fascinated by the use of pistachios in pasta dishes, where they were often paired with seafood.
It's one of my favorite times of the year: lobster season! I love cooking with lobster because I find it incredibly versatile. Although many people like to eat lobster straight out of the shell, using the lobster's meat as the star of a recipe is my favorite way to enjoy it.
What makes creamy soups served in fine dining restaurants so delicious? The garnishes! Of course, the flavors incorporated into the liquid component of the dish are important, but textures bring a humble bowl of soup to the next level.
In my last post, I talked about a mix of ingredients (strawberry and pistachio) that I thought was great but, in fact, isn't-at least, according to flavor experts. Now, I think we can all agree that the combination of strawberries and rhubarb IS a match made in heaven, right?
Contrary to many good cooks I know, I love following recipes. I don't believe that they are restrictive. On the contrary, I feel super satisfied and proud when I follow a recipe step-by-step and produce an outstanding dish. But I like formulas, too -you know, recipes that provide guidelines, rather than instructions, so you can let your creative juices flow?
I have a newfound crush on panna cotta. I see it all the time on cooking shows, and until quite recently, I simply could not understand why it was so popular. Pudding with a fancy name, I thought. Plus, panna cotta is a cream-based dessert, so it was clearly out of my lactose-intolerant bounds.
Is it spring yet? Not here in Quebec City, it's not. No flowers or even buds are in sight yet, and it's been raining for several days straight-which, in a way, is good because it made our several feet-high snowbanks melt in a flash.
Ah, wild blueberries. They're simply not the same as the regular, dare I say, ordinary blueberries, aren't they? Tiny but twice as tasty, wild blueberries are said to contain twice the antioxidants as regular blueberries, as well as the highest antioxidant capacity per serving, compared to over 20 other fruits.
How-Tos
I’ll be flying to Rome at the end of the month and, to prepare for my trip, I’ve been reading guidebooks every night, sticking Post-It notes to each spot I want to visit and every restaurant I want to go to. I love, LOVE the planning phase of each new trip. I think I might have been a travel agent in another life.
I discovered Arancine during one of my first trips to Italy, but I have truly fallen in love with them last month in Sicily. They're the perfect finger food: creamy rice, slowly simmered meat sauce, melting cheese - all of that, fried in a neat little package?
I have long been addicted to gougères. These cheesy savory choux-like confections that are light as air, with a slight crunch on the outside and a moist, tender interior are like the posh version of cheese puffs and they taste better than your favorite cheese crackers.
Macarons are a French delicacy I am completely crazy about. Since I can't always be in Paris close to my favorite pastry-chef, Pierre Hermé, I have decided to make my own. It's not an easy task, and it needs a lot of patience.
Having been in Italy for two weeks, it has been a bit difficult to keep up with the competition in Project Food Blog, away from home and without access to a kitchen for half of my trip.
Last weekend, as a belated nod to Chinese New Year, I decided to stock up on dumplings. Once in a while, I make a big batch of these bite-size wonders and freeze them for future use. It's a time-consuming task, but I find it relaxing and I'm rewarded with many great meals to come.
Restaurant Lists and Profiles
Quebec City’s “French charm” is one of the top reasons why tourists love to visit. Lots of travelers come to Quebec to enjoy a taste of France without having to suffer the long (and expensive) flight overseas. Quebec has indeed inherited a lot from its founding nation...
A gem of a coffee place located out of the way in the industrial area of the Mile End, Café Falco is worth hunting for. Owned by a couple, Frédérik Froument and Yuko Toda, the cafe skillfully blends loft features such as extra-high ceilings and concrete floors with eclectic decorative pieces and warming materials such as wood and leather to produce a bright and artful space where one wants to linger for hours.
Many people come to Quebec City dreaming of indulging in classic French cuisine. Although part of our culinary heritage does come from the French (yes, we have delicious croissants!), the city in fact counts few classic French restaurants among its offerings, and they are certainly not the best places to sample what our chefs are capable of.
Visitors walking along St. Jean Street, in Quebec City's St-Jean-Baptiste neighborhood, usually can't resist Choco-Musée Érico's charming storefront, with its quaint green canopies and mosaic that bear the owner's nickname, Érico. The rich, distinctive smell of cocoa welcomes chocolate-lovers in this boutique that's half-museum, half-chocolate shop, where many gourmet pleasures await.
The coffee scene is booming in Montreal, and new, independent coffee shops are sprouting across the city. New owners are part of the so-called "third-wave" of coffee makers, a movement that started over a decade ago in the Pacific Northwest.
Québec Travel
The best of Quebec City, from family activites to romantic hotels, shared by a travel-loving local.
Quebec City's Hôtel de Glace is a hotel located just 10 minutes outside the city center that is built anew from the ground up every winter since 2001. Open from January to March, it allows visitors to wander in a magical wintery atmosphere and, for adventurous travelers, to live a one-of-a-kind experience by sleeping at the hotel, on beds carved in ice.
Cap Tourmente is a National Wildlife Area located on the north shore of the St. Lawrence River, just 50 km outside of Quebec City. It's a popular outdoor activity site open to visitors 12 months a year, but it is most popular in the spring and fall when it becomes a temporary home for tens of thousands of Snow Geese during their migration.
The Quays of the Old Port, a linear park that runs along the St. Lawrence River in Old Montreal, welcomes over six million visitors annually, who come to enjoy the park's countless winter and summer activities, major attractions, festivals and cultural events.
Old Montreal is the Montreal neighborhood that is blessed with the most outstanding boutique accommodation options in the city. Travelers seeking a contemporary and intimate hotel with top service and amenities should definitely look into staying at Hotel Gault, a 4-star hotel with 30 luxurious rooms ranging from the generously sized regular room to the top-floor penthouse apartment.
Fairmont The Queen Elizabeth ( Le Reine Élizabeth in French) may very well be the Montreal hotel with the richest history. Opened in 1958, it was at the time the second largest hotel in the Commonwealth and the first hotel in the world to offer air conditioning and electronically controlled heating.
Hôtel La Ferme is the latest creation of businessman Daniel Gauthier, who co-founded the Cirque du Soleil in Baie-Saint-Paul, a small town in the heart of the Charlevoix region, over 30 years ago. The hotel is part of a massive project that first started when he bought Le Massif, a ski mountain 70 km east of Quebec City 10 years ago.
Walking along the Promenade, it's hard to believe that before 2008 the waterfront stretching from Sillery to the city's bridges, a former industrialized area, was left to itself and neglected after gas companies abandoned it in the early 80s.
Recipe development - en français
C’est à Paris que j’ai goûté à la saveur « caramel à la fleur de sel » pour la première fois, où elle est employée dans plusieurs pâtisseries. C’est la rencontre ultime du sucré-salé, une saveur que plusieurs trouvent totalement irrésistible. Faire du caramel à la maison, ça peut être un peu intimidant, mais avec un thermomètre à bonbon et une attention constante, c’est un dessert facile à réaliser qui impressionnera tous ceux qui auront la chance d’y goûter.
Cette salade bien croquante et fraîche saura faire oublier le froid de l’hiver et la richesse des repas du temps des fêtes. Idéale en accompagnement de la volaille, elle rassemble multiples saveurs et textures qui se contrebalancent à la perfection tout en demeurant simple à réaliser. Les endives rouges ajoutent une belle touche de couleur, mais si on ne les trouve pas, on n’a qu’à utiliser les jaunes, tout simplement.
Les oeufs mimosa font partie des grands classiques des buffets rétro et je les adore, même à leur plus simple expression, saupoudrés de paprika. Pour actualiser la recette, les oeufs de caille étaient le véhicule parfait : petits et élégants, ils se laissent manger sans gâcher la faim. Grâce aux classiques saveurs italiennes comme le basilic, la pancetta et la truffe noire, le côté kitsch laisse place au raffinement. Présenté sur un croûton pour faciliter la dégustation, c’est le canapé...
Parfaits pour le brunch ou le thé d’après-midi, ces muffins pas trop sucrés ont une texture moelleuse, mais substantielle qui rappelle celle d’un scone. Le sucre d’érable amène une belle complexité gustative, mais si on n’en a pas sous la main, on utilise la cassonade sans remords. Le granola croquant ajoute une touche nutritive alors que la gourmande glace à l’érable rend ce muffin irrésistible.
Plusieurs personnes raffolent des rouleaux de printemps, mais peu se doutent qu’ils sont si faciles à préparer. Pour les festivités, on les transforme en élégants canapés grâce au canard confit, dont la richesse se marie à merveille à l’exotisme du cinq-épices chinois. Ces rouleaux peuvent être préparés à l’avance, congelés et réchauffés au four à la dernière minute.
Ma grand-mère est à l’origine de cette recette, mais comme je ne l’ai pas connue, c’est pour moi la recette de ma mère, qui la prépare chaque été quand les fèves et les haricots sont en saison. C’est une soupe crémeuse à souhait, parfaite avec une miche de pain rustique. Elle est ici présentée avec un pistou tout frais qui sait mettre en valeur les saveurs délicates de la soupe.
La préparation d’une dinde entière a ses avantages : on se retrouve souvent avec des restes qu’on a le plaisir de grignoter pendant plusieurs jours. Pour faire changement du sandwich et de la salade, pourquoi ne pas incorporer la dinde cuite dans un élégant risotto ? Ce plat raffiné et festif ne laissera personne indifférent.
Difficile de ne pas faire l’unanimité avec un dessert au chocolat ! En le mariant avec une saveur classique de Noël, la clémentine, on intrigue et on émerveille. La délicate acidité de l’agrume relève l’amertume du chocolat et allège la richesse de la ganache. Bien sûr, utiliser une marmelade de clémentines maison est idéal, mais à défaut, on utilise celle du commerce — et on garde le secret !
Le canard ajoutant une touche d’élégance à tout repas, il est donc plus qu’approprié d’en servir durant le temps des fêtes. Cette recette est plus simple à préparer qu’elle n’y paraît : la courge peut être préparée à l’avance et la cuisson des magrets est très rapide. C’est la recette parfaite pour un réveillon intimiste.
Les galettes à la mélasse dans ma famille, c’était une véritable production : la recette de ma grand-mère donnait plus de 200 galettes. Chaque année, ma grand-mère et ses aidants s’installaient sur l’immense table familiale pour mélanger, rouler et cuire les galettes, qui étaient dévorées presque aussitôt. Ici, la mélasse est mariée au gingembre confit et au citron, une combinaison de saveurs complètement irrésistible.
Rien de mieux qu’un cadeau fait maison pour gâter ses proches ! La guimauve fait un retour en force, et son secret bien gardé est qu’elle est très simple à préparer. Cette recette sans sirop de maïs (un ingrédient qui ne fait pas l’unanimité) crée une guimauve bien moelleuse qui fond dans la bouche. Pour un résultat décadent, on les trempe dans le chocolat noir.
blogging 101
There's no question that when you have a blog, blog design is always on your mind. Hiring a designer can seem expensive when there are so many theme options out there - both free and premium. But which should you choose?
The following post was written specifically for WordPress users but, the principles apply to any blogging platform where you have the ability to choose a theme or a blog skin, including Blogger, Typepad, Tumblr etc. Starting a blog is easy. Just sign up on any blogging platform, choose a theme, and start writing, right?
Everybody loves discovering great content, but who likes stumbling around a clumsy design that makes it hard to access said content? I've seen it time and time again: talented bloggers who seem to go out of their way to make it difficult (or even impossible!) for readers to browse through their past articles and recipes.
Finding the right WordPress plug-ins for food bloggers can be an intimidating task for new and experienced bloggers alike. Here's a list of 20 of our favourite WordPress plug-ins for food blogs to take some of the trial and error and mystery out of the process.
Articles en français
Je rentre tout juste de mon quatrième voyage en Italie où j’ai constaté que je n’aurai jamais fini d’en apprendre sur la cuisine italienne : mes connaissances se sont décuplées en quelques jours seulement. J’ai posé des questions, fréquenté les restaurants où les Italiens mangent, fait connaissance avec des locaux. À Rome, j’ai aussi eu le plaisir d’effectuer une visite gourmande en compagnie d’une guide qui s’est fait un plaisir de démystifier certaines idées préconçues et de m’expliquer des...