As the story goes, Caprèse Salad was first created in the 1950s in Italy.

So I imagine myself sitting in a little restaurant in Italy, in the region of Campania, perhaps, and before my meal, I order a Caprèse Salad. I know that to prepare this dish, the Chef will pick a top quality tomato in its prime—ripened on the vine. He will then lift some Mozzarella di bufala (buffalo mozzarella) out of the liquid in the special place he stores it. The buffalo mozzarella will be fresh and springy—even a little juicy and creamy and definitely delicious.

To this, the Chef will add the other simple ingredients, always ensuring that the quality of each individual item is top notch. The Extra Virgin Olive Oil (or Balsamic vinegar).The fresh basil from the Chef’s own herb garden. Using dried basil from a spice jar would be irreverent. Even the salt the Chef sprinkles on the salad as a final touch is special sea salt.

And so the simple, yet exquisite ingredients come together to create a salad delicious, yet deceiving in its simplicity. The same salad made with lesser ingredients would be ordinary, even mundane. But something magical happens in the fusion of these fine flavours and textures and the salad becomes a dish fit for royalty.

Paired with a medium bodied white wine, somewhat aromatic and fruity, Caprèse Salad is perfection on a summer plate.

I finish my Caprèse Salad, take a sip of wine, and order dinner.

Actually, that's not far from what I experienced in June -- only the location was Paris, not Italy.

I enjoyed a Caprèse Salad on the patio of a quaint café called Camille in Le Marais, Paris. While people-watching and sipping wine, I marvelled at the melding of these three perfect elements on my plate. Summer is the perfect time to enjoy this salad when you can get two of the key ingredients from your own garden or the local farmer's market.

Buffalo mozzarella is a type of mozzarella cheese that's made from water buffalo's milk, not from cow's milk. In Ottawa, you can get this cheese at La Bottega Nicastro Fine Food Shop or House of Cheese in the Byward Market.
When I returned home from Paris, a friend made this simple salad at his cottage using a drizzle of some fine Balsamic vinegar to dress it.


This salad pairs well with a fruity, light sipping wine such as Inniskillin's Winemaker's Series 2008 Pinot Gris (LCBO/Vintages #177766 $19.95) that's barrel aged. With its slightly crisp, tropical tones, it's a perfect afternoon-on-the-patio sipping wine.



Recipe

Serves 1

1 fresh tomato
4-5 leaves of Basil
4 oz buffalo mozzarella
Balsamic vinegar

Slice the tomatoes. Slice the mozzarella. Layer the tomatoes, basil and mozzarella. Drizzle with Balsamic vinegar (or make a homemade pesto to drizzle on top). Season with salt and pepper.


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You likely won’t find a recipe for Tortilla Soup in your hand-me-down cookbooks. Tortilla Soup is a fairly recent newcomer to the culinary scene. Popularized in the American Southwest and northern Mexico, this soup is now sought after in far flung locales – even as far north as Canada. And why not? This soup is easy to make, flavourful, and satisfying either on a hot, hot day in July or on a cold, blizzardy day in January.

Tortilla Soup had its origins as a simple homemade chicken soup, until innovative chefs tried mixing it up a bit by topping the soup with fried tortilla strips, avocado chunks, chili salsa, lime juice and sometimes a sharp, grated cheese. The combination became so popular that what had been known as plain old chicken soup was renamed “Tortilla Soup” and has become a popular menu choice in many restaurants.

While Tortilla Soup may have entered the culinary world as recently as the late 70s, tortillas themselves have been around since 10,000 BC where, according to Mayan legend, tortillas were made of native corn with dried kernel.

For this recipe you can use tortillas that are somewhat old and dried out. However, if you choose to use fresh tortillas, bake them on a baking sheet for about 10 minutes in a 200 degree F oven to get the moisture out of them. Then, cut the tortillas into ¼ inch strips and fry over medium heat until brown and crisp. Pat the fat off with a paper towel and set aside until ready for use.

(If you’re interested in a lower fat content, instead of frying the strips, you can lay them on a lightly greased cookie sheet and bake for about 20 minutes in a 300 – 325 degree F oven. Sprinkle lightly with salt before baking).

If you are someone who likes a bit of heat in your food, this soup is for you. If you have a more moderate palate, you might want to add a dollop of sour cream before serving to modify the heat. The beauty of this recipe is that it invites innovation. After all, that’s how it came into being!

Recipe

Serves 4-6


2 chilies
2 cloves garlic
1 small onion
1 pound tomatoes (2 large)
1 can 28-ounce tomatoes
¼ cup vegetable oil
6 stale corn tortillas
6 cups chicken stock
1 cup whipping cream
salt, to taste
thyme, to taste

Garnish: sour cream, guacamole, cheddar, lemon or lime wedges

Blend chilies, garlic, onion, and tomatoes. Fry tortillas. Heat chili mixture in a bit of oil for about 8 to 10 minutes. Add stock and boil. Add seasoning. Cook 3 to 4 minutes longer. Taste and adjust.

Variation: Add 1½ tablespoons chili powder and 1 teaspoon dried oregano.



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Pâte feuilletée, which means pastry with many leaves, is one of the most elusive doughs you can make. With only three key ingredients, it remains a difficult dough and one I have yet to master.

What's an evening like with a bunch of food bloggers in the national capital's art centre in a kitchen that serves hundreds of people many nights of the week with a chef who loves to talk about his life and work? Memorable.

Between the camera clicks and lip smacking, it was a night full of animated talk of all things food. I often ask people about their most memorable meal, and this was one of them for me. It wasn't just the food, but the people I was sharing it with along with the ambiance of being in a working kitchen.

Although Spring is just around the corner (I hope), we had a cold spell in Ottawa last week dipping down to -21˚ Celsius (-6˚ Fahrenheit). Last week, I felt like making this hearty, flavourful chowder filled with bacon, chicken and potatoes scented with thyme.

"Chowder breathes reassurance. It steams consolation."

— Clementine Paddleford

In mid-February I spent a wonderful afternoon with Chef Andrée Riffou of C'est bon Cooking who I met care of a food event at the end of January hosted at Ottawa's Urban Element (sponsored by the Chicken Farmers of Canada) through her marketing person, Paola St. Georges who I had met through Twitter!  It turns out that since Chef Andrée completed her Grand Diplôme at Le Cordon Bleu Ottawa (including one semester at the Paris school) in June 2009, she was given the opportunity to judge exam dishes, and ended up being a judge in November 2009 (therefore, judging my exam dish…blush!).

Sweetbread fritters were supposed to be on the menu today. However, they weren't something I wanted to taste, but may have to if they're on the list of recipes at Le Cordon Bleu Ottawa. Instead, the Whisk Wednesdays group decided Spiced Shrimp Balls sounded tastier and found it in one of Le Cordon Bleu cookbooks called Le Cordon Bleu Complete Cook Home Collection.

Moving away from typical French cuisine and into something a little more Asian-inspired was a nice change. Practicing deep-frying technique is always helpful and usually renders something crunchy and tender at the same time.

This is a simple recipe. I used my food processor to mince the shrimp into a purée. Then, I stirred in the remaining ingredients. After whipping the egg whites, I folded them into the mixture. Finally, I formed the shrimp mixture into balls and rolled them into sesame seeds.

I followed the same technique for deep frying that I learned when frying potatoes.

Recipe

Serves 6


1½ pounds large uncooked shrimp
1 tablespoon oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
½-inch piece fresh ginger, finely chopped
¼ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon chopped fresh cilantro
1 teaspoon cornstarch

½ egg white, whipped

2/3 cup sesame seeds

Oil, for deep frying
You can find the recipe for Spiced Shrimp Balls in the book Le Cordon Bleu Complete Cook Home Collection. To see how the rest of the Whisk Wednesdays group fared with their recipe, click here (or check out the sidebar) and then click on each blogger!

Tasting Notes
Crunchy and yummy.

Next Class
• Grenadins de Veau au Coulis de Celeri-Rave (Veal with Celery Root Cream Sauce) pages 330-331 in Le Cordon Bleu at Home cookbook

. . . . . . . . . .

Running total: $1,521.17 + $19.04 = $1,540.21
($3.17 per serving)

Butter used so far: 12 pounds, 31 tablespoons

93% complete Basic Cuisine (on blog) / 3% in real life

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For such a simple recipe, Gazpacho has a lot of history dating back to the Middle Ages in Andalucia. The name gazpacho means "soaked bread" and is essentially a cold liquid salad, says Clifford A. Wright in his book Mediterranean Vegetables.

This rustic, simple dish is perfect when you don't want to cook. You can serve it as a soup or as a sauce over chicken or fish. Pull out your mortar and pestle (and muscles) or plug in the food processor and give it a try with fresh vegetables from your garden! Get creative by adding crabmeat, shrimp, avocado or twist it into a fruity version with peaches.
Recipe

Serves 6

2½ ounces fresh white bread, crusts removed
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar (another recommendation is Sherry vinegar)
2 cloves garlic
¾ English cucumber, unpeeled and roughly chopped
1 onion
½ green bell pepper, coarsely chopped
3½ pound ripe tomatoes, quartered and seeded
½ cup olive oil

For the Garnish:
¼ English cucumber, unpeeled
½ green bell pepper
4 slices bread, crusts removed, toasted
You can find the recipe for Gaspacho (Gazpacho) in the book Le Cordon Bleu Complete Cook Home Collection. To see how the rest of the Whisk Wednesdays group fared with their recipe, click here (or check out the sidebar) and then click on each blogger!

To let the flavors build, it's best to let the soup sit in the refrigerator overnight.

Tasting Notes
Chunky or smooth, this soup is refreshing on a hot day. The bite from the raw onions and garlic, the sweetness from the garden-fresh tomatoes and the hint of acid from the vinegar rounded out with a pinch of salt make this soup a palate pleaser. My Bucket List
• Visit Andalusia and enjoy a bowl of Gazpacho by the sea.

Next Class
• Coquelets sur Canapés (Roast Squab Chickens with Chicken Liver Canapés and Mushrooms) page 246 in Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume I by Julia Child and Pommes Pont Neuf (Pont Neuf Potatoes) page 253 {Substitute straw potatoes for pont neuf, if desired.} (post on Wednesday, August 26, 2009)

. . . . . . . . . .

Running total: $1,489.66 + $7.89 = $1,497.55
($1.32 per serving)

Butter used so far: 12 pounds, 22.5 tablespoons

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This is an easy soup to make if you don't have to take your daughter to a birthday party, pick her up from the party, go shopping for a different birthday party, take another daughter to a sleepover, make meals in-between, and watch Hoodwinked.

The soup is named after Contesse Dubarry, a favorite of Louix XV, and just so you know ... the cauliflower represents the powdered wigs of the time. Vinegar
First, you soak the cauliflower in vinegar for 5 minutes (or all afternoon while you're shopping!). The vinegar helps retain the whiteness of the cauliflower.

Roux + Stock = Velouté
Next, you cook the leeks and onions in some butter until translucent. By adding the rice flour (which absorbs more moisture than regular flour), you're making a light roux. The next step is to add white stock, such as chicken stock. Now, the mixture is called a velouté. Stir in all but 1 cup of the cauliflower florets and cook for about half-an-hour.

Here's a video showing how to make a velouté sauce.

After puréeing the soup, strain it through a fine-meshed strainer so that you get a velvety, smooth soup. Bring the soup to a boil and simmer for a bit on low.

Liaison
The last step is to make the liaison, which is a mixture of cream and egg yolks that thickens the soup and adds a richness of flavor. This is the trickiest part of the recipe since the eggs can curdle. Slowly whisking some hot stock into the cream and egg mixture is key. After "tempering" the cream and egg mixture by bringing it up to a similar temperature as the stock, combine the rest of the stock and liaison in the pot. Then, stir and watch it carefully on the heat so that it thickens a bit more without letting it boil.

Garnish
Cook the remaining cauliflower florets by boiling in salted water or steaming in the microwave. These will be part of the garnish, along with some toasted, homemade croutons.

Recipe

Serves 6

1 small cauliflower
2 tablespoons white vinegar
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 large leek (white part only), chopped fine
1 large onion, chopped fine
¼ cup rice flour
6 cups Chicken Stock or water
Salt and freshly ground pepper
6 slices firm white bread, crusts removed
1 egg yolk
1 cup crème fraîche or heavy cream
Chervil or parsley leaves for garnish
You can find the recipe for Velouté Du Barry (Cream of Cauliflower Soup) in the book Le Cordon Bleu at Home. To see how the rest of the Whisk Wednesdays group fared with their recipe, click here (or check out the sidebar) and then click on each blogger!

Tasting Notes
The soup was smooth, rich, flavorful, slightly salty and perfect with a crunch from a crouton.

Next Class
• Mignons de Porc Arlonaise (Pork Tenderloins with Beer) pages 367-368

. . . . . . . . . .

Running total: $1,445.42 + $7.71 = $1,453.13
($1.29 per serving)

Butter used so far: 12 pounds, 22.5 tablespoons

87% complete

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::Whisk Wednesdays::
We're cooking our way through a cooking school curriculum using the Le Cordon Bleu at Home cookbook. The "classes" are based on the Le Cordon Bleu curriculum found online and used as a guideline. Not all the items in the curriculum are in the cookbook, but most are. Where the items are not in the book, we try to find a suitable substitution. Find out more here.