Inspired by the Market and Hilary's Cheese

One of the great joys in my life is a trip to the local farmer's market. Produce right from the farm, plants, flowers, jams, jellies, pickled veg, handmade goods and samples. Oh the samples. I walk a full circuit of the market before making decisions on what I am going to buy, sampling all I can. It is my little slice of bliss.

Fortunately for me, Victoria where I live is packed with markets. Local shops set up booths and offer up everything you can possibly imagine. For those culinary adventurers like myself, it is a prime time to talk to these vendors and get their personal recommendations.

The following recipe comes from just such a conversation. I recently took in the sights of the first Bastion Square Sunday market of the season. As I was touring around (sampling of course) I came upon the Hilary's Cheese booth. The company is from Cowichan nearby, but they own a store in town of which I am a frequent patron. I love their fresh cheeses and unique flavors. The vendor and I started talking and I asked what he would be eating if he was off today. He immediately sliced open a sample of honey infused cream cheese. It was amazing! It was sour and sweet, smooth and spreadable. It was my first purchase of many.

This recipe was inspired by the market and my visit to Chinatown right after. The unique flavor of the cheese really works well with the creamy, sweet and sour salad and smokey sweet sausage.

Kohlrabi, Apple and Chinese Sausage with Hilary’s Cream Cheese

1 medium kohlrabi, matchstick or shaved

1 medium apple, matchstick or shave

1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

2 tsp whole grain mustard

1 tsp honey

1 tbsp mayo

Salt and pepper

Olive oil

3 Chinese sausages, steamed and BBQed (you can use any sausage in replacement of the sweet Chinese variety but I like the way it all melds together)

1 tbsp Hilary’s cream cheese per person (or use plain cream cheese, goats cheese, etc)

1 piece French toast or ciabatta, grilled

3 or 4 big basil leaves, chiffonade (fancy word for rolled and sliced)

Method:

• Slice up the kohlrabi thin and salt evenly. Place in a bowl off to the side as you prepare the other ingredients. This will soften it up and take some of the bite out of it. After a few minutes, rinse with warm water and squeeze dry.
• Slice up the apple and shake with the apple cider vinegar so there is no oxidation. Mix with the kohlrabi.
• Add in the mustard, mayo, honey, pepper and a tbsp or so of olive oil. Refrigerate so the flavors all merry together.
• Prepare your sausages according to the package and grill slightly (or if you are using other types of sausages, grill or fry until golden and cooked through, try to stay away from crispy exteriors however). Slice and dice into small chunks. Mix in with your salad.
• Grill the bread. Slather with delicious cream cheese and plate with your kohlrabi-apple mix on top. Sprinkle basil all over and devour.

Steak Tonight? Good Idea

Steak is still thought of as a rich man’s food. It adorns many an oversized plate in North America and people take pride in how they cook it. In pretty much every cook book on my shelf there is a different theory on cooking steak. Confusing yes but I love a good steak served with sauce on the side, some crusty bread and greens. In the bistros of the world, where cheap hearty food is the norm steaks are actually quite common. This might seem like a contradiction but steaks don’t have to be expensive. You don’t have to have a BBQ to cook them and you don’t have to make it a huge, heavy potato and carb filled meal. Try a nice tomato salad or fresh greens.   Here are some general tips on cooking a decent steak:

• Talk to the man behind the counter – Ask your butcher, he works with meat more than you do. Ask for a recommendation. Of course the rib eyes, t-bones, strip loins and filet mignons shown on display for an arm and a leg will make a good steak BUT take a look for the other cuts. Take a look around the butcher counter for the bottom sirloins, the top rounds and the flank steaks. A little less tender, a little less fat, still deliciously flavorful. People push these cuts aside because they have never heard of them but they can taste as good as the more expensive ones if cooked right.
• Keep the seasoning simple – Salt and pepper each side and a little bit of oil. Done.
• Preheat the surface – Don’t go screaming hot unless you are planning on searing it rare. Do it around medium high. I prefer a grill pan, some prefer cast iron but in reality any pan will do. Lightly oiling the meat will allow a good crust to form on the outside without it frying in an oily pan.
• Put it on the grill/in the pan, don’t touch it – Leave it be. Don’t poke it around the cooking surface; don’t lift a corner to check on it. Let it cook for a bit. Watch the Cooking techniques episode of Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations on YouTube, he discusses this in detail with a certain flair that I can’t achieve through typing.
• Flip and finish – Flip the steak and adjust the heat if you feel it is going to fast or too slow. Cook until you have reached your preferable doneness of meat (yes doneness is a word). Here is a tip: Hold your hand up with thumb and middle fingers touching like you’re meditating. Touch the round muscle below the thumb, that is what medium-rare feels like. Push down on the top of your steak....does it feel similar? Good. Done.

• The most important step: Rest – Place the steak on a plate and tent with foil. As the steak cooks the juices move around a lot, resting allows them to relax and make the meat juicy again. This is always a good thing. A good rule of thumb is you should rest it for about as long as you cooked it minus a minute or two. The steak is a large one and cooked for about 15 minutes you say? Let it rest at least 10 minutes. You cooked it 10 minutes? Let it rest 7 or 8.

This is a very general primer on cooking steak that I use as my guideline. There are many other tricks and tips out there and I encourage you to read through them all. Just remember each piece of meat is different, so is every person at your dinner table. Just because you like it red and rare doesn’t mean they will. If someone asks you to cook it longer don’t scoff.