Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Canada - A Mouthful of Maple - RIP 24 May 2008

Chef Notes
Was Romaine too bitter? It might have been without the apple and raisins. A combination which definitely challenged the palate with pungent mustard and sweet fresh basil. Textures worked well thanks to the crunchy walnuts and creamy avocado.


Chef Notes
I was looking forward to both making and tasting this. Slow cooking the pumpkin over 2 hours with the regular baste of maple marinade created the sweetest of flavours while the sage added some herbal subtlety. The fennel coleslaw was a continuation of the maple/pumpkin theme and added a fresh and sour crunch to the dish.

Chef Notes
The roasted flavour of the soup was incredibly rich but perhaps needed tomato to really complete it. Cannelini bread worked as a visual but the softness of the cannelini beans was lost during the cooking transformation and ended up a little too salty and dry. Caraway seeds were the right flavour though.

Chef Notes
My favourite of the evening. The buttery maple flavour of the truffles lifted by creamy pecans was decadent and completely Canadian. Shiraz cherries gave the dish some juice and the sour yogurt flavour was a perfect foil for the diverse flavours of sweet.

My research into Canadian cuisine was not extensive – does it show?! I loved working with these flavours though especially as the days get colder. A review which is set to once again expose my lack of portion control – “It is a whole plate of pumpkin!”

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Where are the beaver tails? Ur food looks good - when will you cook in Canada?