Martin Cooks

RECIPE OF THE DAY

admin — Sat, 12 Feb 2011 19:20:02 +0000

BUTTERNUT SQUASH WITH APPLE AND SOFT MAPLE MARSHMALLOW

1 MEDIUM BUTTERNUT SQUASH

1 SMALL ONION

1 TSP CINNAMON

1 TSP ALLSPICE

APPLE CIDER

1 PT HEAVY CREAM … OPTIONAL

ROUGH CHOP SQUASH AND ONION AND PLACE IN MEDIUM SIZE POT.

ADD ENOUGH CIDER TO COVER SQUASH AND ONION. ADD SPICES AND BRING TO A SIMMER. WHEN SQUASH IS TENDER AND SOFT TRANSFER CONTENTS TO BLENDER AND PUREE. BE CAREFUL THE TOP OF BLENDER WILL WANT TO BLOW OFF, I SUGGEST PULSING IT A FEW TIMES BEFORE YOU PURE ON HIGH. I LIKE TO ADD A BIT OF CREAM TO ACHIEVE THE DESIRED CONSISTENCY. RETURN SOUP TO POT AND ADD SALT AND PEPPER TO TASTE.

FOR THE MARSHMALLOW:

1 CUP SKIM MILK

2 TBL SP. MAPLE SYRUP

1 GRAM VERSA WHIP

.5 GRAMS XANTHUM GUM MIX ALL INGREDIENTS TOGETHER WITH HAND BLENDER UNTIL THICK. THINLY SLICE SOME APPLES OF YOUR CHOICE AND SEASON WITH OLIVE OIL AND LEMON S&P. TRANSFER SOUP TO BOWLS PLACE APPLE GARNISH ON TOP, SPOON SOFT MAPLE MARSHMALLOW ON TOP.

MY FAVORITE BOOKS

admin — Sat, 27 Nov 2010 18:28:46 +0000

SUSUR A CULINARY LIFE. This book holds a special place in my heart. I have had the pleasure of eating at SUSUR and LEES next door on many occasions and have met the legend himself. The first half of the book tells the story of his culinary journey and how he found himself in Toronto. There is a heartfelt story of his wife dying in a plane crash, and how he rose to become one of the best chefs in Canada. The second half of the book are his culinary masterpieces. Probably not geared toward the home cook. Some of the recipes can be a bit daunting with long lists of hard to find ingredients. SUSUR truly is a master of his craft with influences from all over the world to join his Chinese background. This book is a good read for the non cook as well, and is very inspirational for the home an professional cooks. Sadly SUSUR closed his doors in Toronto an he moved to New York. Lees is still open and serves some of the best food in the city. For those of us that live near Toronto we miss you.

GADGETS & TOOLS….. IMMERSION CIRCULATOR

admin — Sat, 27 Nov 2010 17:53:46 +0000

The immersion circulator is the kitchen tool of the future for many reasons. When my girlfriend first bought mine and it came in the mail I was giddy, like I was 6 years old and it was xmas. Cooking protein has never been easier & fool proof. This device allows you to cook protein to perfection every time. When using conventional cooking methods we heat our ovens or pan or grills to very high temperatures in order to cook a product to the appropriate internal temperature. The result is a product that is overcooked on the outside and cooked to the desired temperature in the middle. By simply setting the circulator to the desired temperature, vaccum sealing a protein and dropping protein in water bath for the desired time, the end result is a product that is cooked to the right temperature all the way through. I’ll use beef tenderloin as my example meat. Imagine having a dozen friends over for dinner and your cooking tenderloin. You could cook all of the meat in the morning to lets say 135 degrees, the simply pop them on the grill for a moment and you will have perfectly cooked steaks. I know that part of the ritual of grilling is standing over the fire and monitoring the the meat and drinking. If you are like me sometimes I have multiple things going on in the kitchen, and this is a real time saver, plus you will never be able to cook a more tender piece of meat. I’ve heard some chefs say this method of cooking is stupid, they have obviously never used one. In a restaurant setting the immersion circulator is a very valuable tool. I can cook 50 or so steaks at one time to the perfect temperature and simply sear them for a second just to give them some color and off they go to a happy customer. The reasons for owning one goes on and on, I may never turn my oven on again, I don’t need one. In a professional setting the kitchen stays much cooler because you don’t have all your ovens turned to 500. You will need to experiment with cooking times for different proteins, and they are are still somewhat expensive, about 1200 dollars from polyscience. I did see one at the mall of all places for 800. Thomas Keller has a book devoted to this method of cooking called under pressure which is a valuable tool as well. Using this method of cooking does bring up concerns of safe food handling so do your homework before you get someone sick. Like I said the beneficial reasons for buying one are endless, but the bottom line is the end result is the best piece of protein you’ll ever have.

MY FAVORITE BOOKS

admin — Sun, 21 Nov 2010 18:07:26 +0000

I love this book for too many reasons. Peter Meehan was able to capture David Changs true personality. The book was written through the words of a cook not a writer. I am a collector of food related books and nobody has used the word FUCK as many times as Chang. I have read reviews of this book and many say the recipes are complicated, I couldn’t disagree more. I have found the recipes straight forward and easy to understand. Ingredients can be found at most Asian markets. As a professional cook I am always looking for new recipes and methods. Changs fried chicken is a revelation, and his steamed buns are to die for. This is a great book on all levels, its a good read for the non cook, great for beginners and professionals, GO BUY THIS BOOK.

GADGETS

admin — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 20:05:38 +0000

THE SMOKING GUN FROM POLYSCIENCE

This is a must have for the home cook. You can cold smoke anything in the comfort of your own home. Simply add whatever ingredient you choose to smoke to a bowl, cover in plastic wrap, feed the tube of the smoker under plastic wrap, light and smoke its that simple. I like to smoke spinach and other greens, but works well with most anything. Be careful the smoke really pours out so turn your hood or fan on the first time you use it. Rumor has it you can buy this at a mall near you now for around 80 bucks. this is a great way to take your kitchen skills to the next level, and its fun to use.

TORONTO RESTAURANTS

admin — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 19:48:49 +0000

trevor = HEAVEN. Located at 38 Wellington street East Toronto Ontario.

Phone: 416.941.9410 www.trevorkitchenandbar.com

This is a somewhat new restaurant to the Wellington neighborhood. On my first visit to this fine eatery I was surprised to find it located downstairs below another restaurant. This is my kind of place. For a starter we had the pork belly with apple crumble, smoked cheddar & black truffle mustard, then came truffled goat cheese poutine, at this point the chef Jesse Vallins sent out cold tomato consume, it tasted like summer punched me in the face. Lobster and prawn spaghettini in congnac & chive sauce arrived next with duck confit with corn & sage risotto and shaved foie gras. If any of this sounds remotely appetizing you can add seared foie gras to anything on the menu and I did, I could feel my arteries happily hardening while I consumed a dark chocolate and caramel tart. This is a must dining destination in Toronto the food is very well prepared but never pretentious. It just feels comfortable. Since my first visit I have become a bit of a regular, and never had anything I didn’t love, did I mention you can add foie gras to any menu item. Before you go, there is a vodka bar down the street called Pravda I would highly advise stopping in for a martini, consider it a pre game cocktail before trevor. As always if you have any questions about where to park or how to get there don’t hesitate to ask. NOW GET OFF YOUR ASS AND GO.

BOOKS

admin — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 21:32:55 +0000

An affectionate tribute to all things porcine. With lots of humorous hand drawn sketches and tons of beautiful photographs, PORK & SONS takes the reader on a journey through France. Stephane Reynaud is perhaps the most famous butcher in all of Europe and it shows in his pork rillettes and his club sandwich with 3 types of pork. This has become one of my favorite books, the recipes are straight forward and easy to prepare. The author tells wonderful stories of his childhood and shares his real life experiences from farm to table. Some ingredients may seem foreign but can be easily found at Bender meats 852-4422 or JOHNNYS MEATS 876-2500. This is the quintessential pig cook book.

MUSIC THAT COOKS

admin — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 23:32:27 +0000

In 1980 TALKING HEADS released remain in light a Brian Eno production. Filled with heavy African grooves and David Byrnes haunting schizoid lyrics this album still remains a classic. As soon as born under punches comes on for some reason it just makes me want to cook, maybe because it was always on in the kitchen at work. Adrian Belew from KING CRIMSON shows up on this masterpiece on tracks like once in a lifetime and crosseyed and painless.

PARISIAN SCOOPS

admin — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 23:32:47 +0000

Parisian scoops are a great way to turn ordinary food into something a bit more special. They can be purchased at most quality food oriented stores, sometimes the smaller ones can be difficult to find. I purchased mine in Toronto. they work well with most vegetables and fruit.

TORONTO RESTAURANTS

admin — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 15:43:57 +0000

Colborne Lane 45 colborne street Toronto Ontario 416-368-9009

Toronto is only one and a half hours away and people in Buffalo do not take advantage of the wonderful food in this great city to our north. Claudio Aprile the chef/owner of colborne lane uses technology as a resource to allow him to elevate his craft, but never at the expense of flavour. This is a experimental restaurant that creates dishes a home cook cannot. I have had the pleasure of working there as well as dining on many occasions. If you are looking for that wow factor this is the place for you, everything from ice cream made table side with liquid nitrogen to perfectly prepared protein. Ask to sit at the chefs table so you can watch the kitchen preform their magic. If you decide to do the tasting menu dinner can be several hours so be prepared to feast. Dinner for two can range between 120-300 dollars depending on the wine and cocktails, but with the high quality of food its well worth it.