A Trip to Toronto, the Sights and Smells of the Big City

It's Fall in Toronto!

Over the past week and a bit, I took some time to go to Toronto. I was heading there to visit with my sister and brother in law who have moved into a new house and are soon to be having a baby. I was of course able to do some sight seeing and spent a lot of time with the family but the main reason I went was to help out around the house and cook for everyone. I don’t often get to cook for family or larger groups so this was a real treat for me. I visited markets and stores, dined out at fun restaurants and cafes, picked speciality ingredients, made classics and experimented with new flavors. I was able to really expand what I normally do and came up with some wonderful ideas that I hope to share over the next while with you on this site. Here are some of the pictures I took on my trip and a quick recipe for White Chocolate, Cranberry Brownie Cookies.

The unbelievable St. Lawrence Market in downtown Toronto is a foodie paradise,
everything you can imagine under one roof.

The food vendors there sell some exceptional eats, from the pickle juice cured bacon wrapped in cornmeal Toronto is famous for, to this monstrous breaded and fried eggplant parmigiana sandwich. Unbelievable.

The variety of ingredients available was truly staggering, from Canadian and exotic cheeses to cured meats, dry ingredients of every type from all corners of the world, the freshest seafood and meats, artisan products made with care, teas and coffees and everything else I could imagine. I wandered lost just trying to narrow my focus down to what I would cook that night.

I could cook with this.....

I could try and cook this.....

I don`t know if I could cook with this.....

From Coleman Cupcakes: my sister`s on the side company.

Dinner at Barque Smokehouse was a
highlight, one of many platters: Dry rub
Pork Ribs, Brisket, Cuban Corn,
Merguez Sausage and
Smoked Chicken.

The Spinach Speatzle was an unexpected treat, fried
with mushrooms, red pepper and topped with a
Parmesan crisp, it was a light side to a heavy meal.

Markets were everywhere, at town halls and shopping malls, producers
from all over Ontario flocked their wares. I had unlimited inspiration.

Did you know that brussel sprouts grew on stocks like in this picture? If possible buy them this way so they stay as fresh as possible. Like spinach or turnips, brussel sprouts suffer from our bad childhood memories where they were over boiled and under seasoned for the most part. Try them sauteed with bacon and mushrooms and you'll wonder why you hated them for so long.

Toronto has strong worldwide cultural roots and because of this wonderful bakeries seem to exist on every corner. You can find traditional French, German and eastern European pastries everywhere.

White Chocolate, Cranberry Brownie Cookies

I originally got this recipe off the back of a package of chocolate chips and adjusted it, tweaked it and made it my own. I baked these a few times while I was in Toronto to have on hand whenever we needed a snack. They also freeze well in uncooked balls of dough or they can be kept in the fridge ready to be baked for up to 4 days.

Ingredients:

1 ¼ cup butter

1 cup packed light brown sugar

2/3 cup white sugar

2 eggs

1 ½ tsp vanilla extract

2 ¼ cup flour

2/3 cup cocoa

1 tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

4 tbsp milk

225g white chocolate chips

1 ½ cup dried cranberries or cherries

Method:

• In a large bowl, beat together the butter and sugars for a few minutes until well mixed and smooth.
• Add the two eggs and vanilla one by one, beating well each time.
• In a separate bowl, mix flour, cocoa, soda and salt together.
• Slowly beat in the flour mix into the butter mix in three batches. After each batch, pour in a tbsp or so of the milk. The consistency should be thick and scoopable.
• By spoon, mix in the chips and dried fruit. Keep mixing until they are all evenly distributed.
• In a preheated 350⁰ oven, bake tbsp sized rounds on a sheet for about 10 mins. The color of the cookie makes it hard to see when they are done. Don’t over bake or you will lose the brownie texture you are looking for.
• The cookies will keep for only 3 days or so before they get crumbly.

Butter and Lemon Together as One: Sole Meunière

This is a classic. Fish fried in brown butter, lightened with lemon and topped with fresh parsley. A bistro dish all the way. I had my first encounter with this dish when I was quite young. I was an avid fisherman and not the biggest fan of eating fish unless it was battered and deep fried. The rich nutty brown butter, soft fish and acidic lemon really stuck with me and even years later I can still remember that distinctive taste. This dish is also perfect for those people who are a little nervous cooking fish: as long as you follow along all the steps and all of your ingredients are prepped and ready to go before you start it’ll be a dish to remember.

Use the freshest fish you can find. Can’t stress that enough. Smell it...does it smell fishy? Like in a funky way? It’s no good. I used sole. It is cheap and easy to find where I live but you could also try this recipe with a thin filleted white fish of other varieties: cod, flounder, etc. It has to be thin because of the cooking process: you don’t want the butter to burn. Reading through some old cook books that talk about this recipe I see they all stress fresh lemon juice but I usually just buy one lemon for the zest and some of the juice with the rest coming from one of those big bottles I keep in my fridge of store bought lemon juice. The French might kill me for that.

Sole Meunière

Ingredients:

2-4 Fresh sole fillets (I usually prefer to make this for two people max as I don’t like to keep the fish waiting around long after it has been cooked. That being said sometimes the fillets are small and sometimes you want to pig out.)

A plate spread with a scant ½ cup flour, seasoned with salt and pepper

6 tbsp of butter

Lemon zest of 1 whole lemon

6 tbsp lemon juice (about 2 ½ whole lemons.....or juice of 1 lemon and 4ish Tbsp of lemon juice, I won’t tell.)

Small handful of finely chopped parsley

Method:

• Prep all your ingredients beforehand. Following this recipe is a simple recipe for the potatoes I used in the photo.
• In a shallow frying pan, melt the butter over medium high. Swirl it every once in a while until you start to see it brown slightly.
• Dredge the fillets into the flour, making sure they are fully coated and lightly shake off the excess. Lay them carefully into the pan and when they are all in, turn down the heat to just below medium.
• After about two minutes, carefully flip the fillets with a good flipper (obviously if they are not a nice color let them cook a little longer)
• When they are flipped, sprinkle over and around the lemon zest and juice, swirl the pan lightly to coat the fillets. Cook about another two minutes on that side.
• Plate the fish, drizzle with the pan juices and sprinkle with the fresh parsley. Serve right away, wasting no time.

Triple Cooked Potatoes

I am a big fan of this recipe simply because it doesn’t interfere with the entrée cooking. You literally get these suckers ready and then move them out of the way and do your thing. The combo of steaming and then pan frying creates a soft centred potato with a crunchy outside.

• Start with small potatoes (I don’t care what kind, Yukon gold, fingerling, red, white or purple), slice them in half and clean under cold water.
• Place the potatoes into a sauce pot and cover by about an inch with cold water and heavily salt them.
• Turn the pot on high, covered and bring them to the boil. Preheat the oven to about 400⁰.
• When the pot is boiling rapidly, let it go for about a minute and then drain the potatoes. Leave them in the colander to steam for a few minutes while you get an oven proof pan on the stove on medium high with a tablespoon or two of oil and butter inside.
• When the pan is nice and hot, slowly add your potatoes. Shake the pan, don’t stir (stirring causes them to break up). Cook for a few minutes and then add in some flavor. I used a little diced red onion, some minced garlic and some rosemary for this recipe here.
• When you start to see browning on the potatoes, give them one last good shake and flip and put the whole pan into the oven. Turn the oven down to about 300⁰.
• The potatoes will finish cooking in the oven for about 10-15 minutes, turn the oven off after that and they will stay warm until you are ready for them.

The Omelette: Every Young Gentleman Should Know How

Before I left for university I was told an invaluable piece of advice: “Every young gentleman should be able to whip up an omelette for a young lady for breakfast.” Years later I still have not forgotten this and I always keep eggs and cheese on hand in case a big breakfast is necessary.

Omelettes in the bistro are actually quite famous. They’ve became a symbol in the same way beef bourguignon and crepes symbolize the bistro culture. They were not just for breakfast either, the bistro was open late and omelettes are good anytime. It is also one of my favorite types of dishes: a kitchen catch all. Meaning that just about anything you have around can go in. You have some braised pork shoulder from dinner a day or two ago? Throw it in. Some odds and ends of different types of cheese? Throw them in. Some sautéed vegetables? Throw them in. There are many competing ways on how to make omelettes, this is but one way that I enjoy.

Use fresh eggs. Use cheese. Those are my ground rules, the rest is technique: Don’t salt the eggs before they cook, it makes them tough. Scramble them with a whisk to inject air and keep them fluffy, plus you want them fully scrambled. Cook the omelettes on medium high, show no fear and understand that sometimes they look crappy. If that’s the case you call it a hash. No one will know and if they poke fun at it: no breakfast for them.

Ingredients:

3 eggs, scrambled with a pinch of pepper

Small knob of butter

Insides: whatever you want as long as it is ready to eat (nothing raw). In this omelette I used two sliced sausages from a previous breakfast, a handful of grated cheddar and some chives. Keep the ingredients chopped small so they reheat quickly in the pan.

Method:

• Preheat a wide frying pan on medium high. The wider the better. I used a special omelette pan once: it made no difference.
• Throw in the chunk of butter and swirl the pan around so it is fully coated. If there is extra butter hanging around after the pan is coated, flip it out.
• When the butter has stopped bubbling, pour in the eggs. Work quickly with a heat proof spatula to work around the edges. The secret is to move the cooked egg away from the edges and then tilt the pan a bit to bring liquid egg from the centre to the edge to fill the void from the egg you just scraped away. You’ll start to get little ruffles in the centre of the pan as the egg bunches up.
• When you have run out of egg to fill the voids on the side of the pan (the omelette should still be moist looking just with no running egg) add your ingredients down the middle.
• Here is the hard part: Using your spatula lift one end up and over the filling. Tilt the pan in that direction and fold the other end up and over. Using the tilt to help you out, roll the whole omelette over so the seam is down. Let it cook for 30 seconds longer to seal it up and then roll it onto a plate.
• Salt the omelette and serve with hot buttered toast.

Seeking Out the Best Ingredients: Pan-Fried Halibut

Every time I read all about famous restaurants and chefs, I usually hear all about the food suppliers that support them. Strict standard farmers, creative artisanal producers and daring fisherman supplying the very best ingredients. The basic fact of the matter is, without good ingredients you can’t have good food. In the French cafes and bistros this was a way of life. Menus were based around what was fresh in the markets and restaurateurs who were able to form relationships with the producers first hand always had a leg up. I myself have never owned a restaurant but hey why can’t I have the same thing going on? I’m always striking up conversations in the markets, cheese shops, delis and butchers everywhere hoping to get the good stuff. Some of the best cooking in my kitchen is inspired by these fresh exciting ingredients.

A friend of mine is constantly out fishing up and down the west coast and I am always pestering him for a share of the spoils. Recently as halibut season has come to a close he made a couple of big catches and was able to supply me with all I needed. I have been eating Halibut non-stop and damn is it delicious. It is better fish than I can get from the fish mongers in town and I know that it was caught with care by someone who enjoys what they do: the very best of producers.

Halibut is an amazing fish. It grows very large and isn’t as delicate as most fish, allowing it to be cooked a little rougher than most. It is excellent poached, excellent roasted, excellent pan fried, excellent grilled. Compliment it with big bold flavors.

If halibut isn’t available where you are or if you want to try this recipe with another fish it’ll still work but you have to be careful not to overcook or it will fall apart.

Breaded Pan-fried Halibut with Fresh Tomato Salad

Ingredients:

Handful of flour, seasoned with salt and pepper

1 egg, scrambled well with 2-3 tbsp of water

Two handfuls of bread crumbs, if you want to make your own make sure they are very fine

A nice fillet of Halibut, skinned, rinsed and patted dry. Try and keep the pieces on the thinner side so they cook evenly. I usually shoot for 3”x3”x1” (squares one inch thick)

Oil for pan frying

A cup of cherry tomatoes, sliced in half and lightly salted

3 green onions, diced fine

1 clove of garlic, minced

Small handful of parsley, minced

1 Tbsp lemon juice

2 Tbsp olive oil

Method:

• Toss the tomatoes, onions, garlic, parsley, lemon juice and olive oil together in a bowl. Let it sit.
• Put the flour, egg and bread crumbs into three separate bowls.
• Dredge the halibut in the flour, then into the egg and finally into the bread crumbs. Make sure each time you dredge it gets fully and evenly covered, shaking off excess as you leave each coating.
• Preheat the oven to 400⁰ and at the same time preheat a frying pan on medium high with about a 1/8 inch of oil and a small amount of butter
• When the oil/butter is nice and hot, drop a breadcrumb in and if it sizzles it is ready to slowly add the halibut in.
• Cook the halibut until it is brown and then carefully turn and flip until its brown on each side, put it on a tray in the oven when it is brown all over. If it is a thin piece it won’t need long so check after five minutes or so, insert a sharp, thin knife into the middle and then remove a few seconds later.....is it warm? It’s done!
• Plate the fish simply with the salad on top. Delicious paired with some fresh greens!

The First (Of Probably Many) Lentil Experiments

Lentils definitely weren’t in my house growing up. A lot of rice, a lot of pastas, the occasional couscous type dish but lentils just weren’t around. Interestingly enough I just found out that Canada is the number 1 producer of lentils in the world. Lentils are also a large part of the bistro culture as they are a relatively cheap and easy to cook. Naturally I became interested and started a little experimentation. I have found that lentils are not only easy to cook but they hold flavor incredibly well, allowing them to take in liquids and seasonings in a similar way that rice does. I am not sure if lentils and I are best kitchen buddies yet but they certainly are a tasty and new experience for me.

This dish is derived from a classic bistro dish that uses a cured sausage for flavoring. I have substituted the cured sausage for fresh Italian sausage. Cooking everything together in one pan is a simple bistro technique that helps the building of flavor and hey.....less dishes are always a bonus.

Sausage on Braised Lentils

Ingredients:

Oil

1 large red onion, chopped fine

1 cup lentils, well rinsed twice and drained (a good choice is ‘du puy’ lentils but you can substitute other types there are about 10 different varieties available in most good grocery stores. If you use a different variety the cooking times might be a bit off, taste taste taste and you’ll be able to tell if they take less or more time)

2 cup stock (I used a simple chicken stock)

1 ½ cups water

Squirt of vinegar (I used a sweet balsamic, you don’t have to use much but it does make a difference)

4-6 good sausages of any type

Small handful of fresh herbs (pick a soft herb like savory, parsley or basil)

Method:

• Heat a small amount of oil on medium high in a frying pan just large enough to hold all of the sausages in a single layer.
• Add in the sausages and cook until nice and brown and caramelized on the outside. Remove to a plate saving the oil in the pan.
• Add in another splash of oil and the chopped onion. Cook for 4-5 mins until just starting to get soft.
• Add in the lentils and stir for 1 minute.
• Add in a ladle of the stock and deglaze the pan by scraping up all of the good sausage bits on the bottom.
• Add in the rest of the stock and the water, lower the heat to the point where you can bring the liquid to a steady simmer. Toss in a little pepper and salt, cooking for about 25-35 mins. Taste the lentils after 25 mins to see if they’re tender.
• Drain the lentils but reserve the cooking liquid. Return it to the pan and reduce for a few minutes until slightly thickened. Return lentils to the pan, stir in vinegar and top with the sausages and a lid for a few minutes until everything is nice and hot.
• Serve the sausage sliced on the lentils with a little herb sprinkled on top and some crusty, buttered bread.

Mushroom Ragout, Why are you always in my Fridge?

Today’s recipe is a quick and simple one that seems to be appearing in my fridge more and more often: Mushroom Ragout. Ragouts for me always brought to mind heavy pasta sauces, full of meat and tomatoes but in the bistro, Ragouts are just hearty slow cooked, over low heat preparations of vegetables or meat or both that is heavily seasoned. The reason this one seems to always be in my fridge these days: it goes on everything. I have it with some grilled chicken or pork, on sandwiches, with some roast and gravy, tossed into some sautéed vegetables or added to soups and stews to increase the flavor.

This ragout is more about technique than ingredients. You could use rosemary, thyme, savory or parsley. You can use simple white or brown mushrooms like I did or you could throw in some wild mushrooms or dried mushrooms that have been reconstituted. You could use white or red wine, chicken or beef stock, the combos are endless. Think ahead to what you might use it for. Topping a burger? Use plain mushrooms, white wine and chicken stock, they’re lighter flavor combinations. With a roast chicken perhaps substitute red wine for a deeper flavor.

Mushroom Ragout

4 cups fresh brown mushrooms, cleaned and quartered if small, sliced if bigger (keep them chunky)

2 tbsp butter

1 tbsp olive oil

1 large onion, minced fine

2 garlic cloves, minced fine

1 ½ cups wine

1 ½ cups stock

Method:

• Melt the butter with the oil over high heat.
• Toss in the mushrooms, swirl around the pan and leave for a few minutes to brown (this sealing process builds flavor and prepares the porous mushrooms for the stewing process)
• When the mushrooms are browning give them a careful stir to not break them up, add in the onion and soften for a few minutes.
• Add the garlic and sauté for a minute or two and then lower the heat to medium.
• When everything is taking on a light brown color, deglaze with the wine and scrape the bottom of the pan of all the tasty bits.
• Reduce the wine until it just covers the bottom of the pan.
• Add a ½ cup of the stock and reduce again and then add the rest of the stock reducing everything down to the consistency of light cream.
• Season with salt and pepper, serve hot or at room temp however you want it. It lasts about a week in the fridge.

Served up on a sandwich or burger, its good hot or cold.

Its a easy side dish to a grilled protein and because its a stewed style recipe,
it goes well with something fresh like a sprinkling of herbs.

An easy classic, an easy vessel: Flourless Chocolate Cake

Everybody who is close to me knows that I am a sweet tooth having, don’t leave the dinner table till dessert is served kind of guy. That being said, I’m not a big dessert chef. In the past few years I have fought hard to get the basics down. Some cookies, pies, tarts and others. Classic recipes that don’t go out of style and I can pull out without much forethought. That doesn’t stop them from being catastrophes from time to time, BELIEVE me. I've scraped burnt pastry and sugar out of enough tins to know that I still need a lot of work.

This recipe is one of my favorites and also represents my favorite style of dessert: the vessel. This dessert can carry all types of flavors: a little light whip cream, some caramel sauce, a fruit coulis, whole fruit, maybe a little jam, anything can go on this dessert. Try to follow the seasons if you are using fruit and remember that this is a dense, heavy dessert because there is no flour. Don’t serve it after heavy roast slathered in gravy. Strawberries and whipped cream is by far my favorite topping.

My only piece of advice with this one is that because of the relatively short ingredient list, make sure those ingredients are fresh and the highest quality. It’ll make a difference. Also, with most of my recipes you can slide a bit off book, a little more of this, some of that. With baking....don’t try it. She will mess you up. She is mean.

Flourless Chocolate Cake

Ingredients:

250g Milk chocolate (use the good stuff, not baker’s chocolate. The darker you use the less creamy it will be)

110g unsalted butter

6 eggs, separated

75g sugar

Method:

• Preheat the oven to 350⁰
• Put an inch of water into a saucepan and bring to a low boil. Place a metal or glass bowl onto the top of the sauce pan. The bowl cannot touch the water. A bowl on top will raise the heat inside the pot so remember to turn it down to keep it at a low boil.
• Melt chocolate and butter in the bowl and stir with a spatula until ¾ melted. Take the bowl off the heat and stir until it is fully melted. This technique will prevent the chocolate and butter from burning.
• In a second bowl, whip the egg yolks with the sugar until thick and pale.
• Pour the chocolate mix into the yolks in small sections, stirring constantly. It should be nice and stiff.
• Whip the egg whites in a third bowl until medium, stiff peaks form. This means that when you stop whisking and pull your whisk out, it should leave a peak behind. It might fall back a bit but you can still see it.
• Fold a small amount of egg whites into the chocolate mix to loosen it all up. Then fold the chocolate into the whites in two parts. Work fast to prevent air loss in the whites.
• Pour into a loose bottomed (cheesecake style) pan about 9” in diameter.
• Bake for about 40 mins. The cake will rise a bit and collapse a bit. A knife inserted into the centre will some out clean.
• Let it cool to room temp before unmoulding onto a serving plate. It may crack as it cools.

Mussels: The Mother Recipe and Two Variations

I was introduced to mussels at a young age, but believe you me, that meeting did not go well. It was off a plate at a dinner party, they were smoked and canned. Ugh I can still remember the taste. Not pleasant. Years later I was forced to try them again, they were fresh and from my hometown. They had been cooked just like in the classic French bistros: fresh herbs, garlic and wine. I again got sick but this time it was from eating so many I could barely walk. Living where I do in beautiful Victoria BC, there are many many options of good mussel places BUT as with most food adventures, they always taste better done yourself!

I have a handful of Mussel variations all built on the same mother recipe which I will share with you. In the bistro kitchen variations were as endless as their menu: had some pancetta left over? Toss it in. Had some caramelized onions hanging around from last night? Let’s build on that. Have delicious light bisque ready to go and want to make it into a proper meal? Let’s add some mussels! Regardless of what I’m adding in I always start with onions, garlic, herbs (thyme is the classic and parsley is a light option) and wine. The idea is to start with aromatics and steam/infuse their flavor into the mussel.

When you buy mussels (as with any seafood) get the freshest possible. Place them into a bowl of water and pick each one out and give them a scrub to remove dirt and barnacles. Remove the little dangling hair attached to each mussel (called its beard) by either cutting it off with a sharp knife or pulling it off. For any mussels that are slightly open at this time, give them a quick rap on the counter, if they close they are good to go. If they stay open, throw them out as they are not good to eat.

Mother Recipe: Mussels

Ingredients:

1 kg Fresh mussels, Cleaned (see text)

2 small onions, finely chopped

1 clove garlic, smashed and roughly chopped

1 bay leaf

3 sprigs thyme

1 handful of Parsley, stalks removed and chopped fine, leaves roughly chopped and separated

200 ml of white wine

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Method:

• Preheat on medium high a large pan with a lid.
• Add onions and garlic, sauté for a few minutes.
• Add in herbs, parsley stalks and wine, bringing the pot to the boil.
• As soon as it is boiling, toss in the cleaned mussels, cover with the lid immediately.
• Shake the pot occasionally without removing the lid to redistribute the mussels. Cook for about 5-7 minutes. Open the lid a bit quickly at the 5 minute mark and check to see if all the shells have opened. If not continue cooking for another minute or two.
• Serve in a big bowl topped with parsley, drizzled with olive oil and seasoned with salt and pepper. A bit of Foccacia on the side works wonders to mop up all the juices. Click here for my recipe for Foccacia Bread.

Variations:

• They can be simple: leek instead of part or all of the onion, a touch of cream at the very end of the cooking time, red instead of white wine, beers instead of wine, etc.
• Here are two of my favorite recipes (and yes, I made both in one day and yes I ate both at the same time):

Rosemary and Cream: Use rosemary instead of Thyme in the mother recipe. When you check the mussels at the five minute mark, toss in a ¼ cup cream. The strong herb flavor of rosemary goes well with the heavy cream and the additional liquid combines with the wine and mussel juices to create a ‘quick soup’ in the bottom of the serving bowl.

Bacon, red wine and tomato sauce: This is a heavy more robust flavor profile. With the onion and garlic add some diced bacon, pancetta or smoked ham. Sauté until the onions are slightly caramelized and proceed as usual except exchanging the white wine for 100ml red wine and 150ml crushed tomato sauce. Right before serving skip the oil and drizzle with a nice balsamic vinegar instead. This recipe is also delicious tossed with linguine or similar pasta.

Carbonnade: A French Beer Braise, Bistro Through and Through

Carbonnade is a recipe found in many countries under many names. This beer braise became popular in northern France when the dark specialty beer culture of Belgium began to migrate south. It made its way into bistro menus because of its relatively uncomplicated cooking style and big bold flavors. Although it is delicious warm out of the oven with some boiled butter potatoes and steamed greens, my weakness hits the day after. I tend to do larger amounts of carbonnade and eat it out of the fridge for days smeared on bread.

With a little bit of sunshine still left in the forecast, cook up some carbonnade and throw into a picnic basket some pickles, mustard and fresh bread. Ultimate date in the park. Go the extra mile and try my recipe for foccacia, click here for the link.

Ingredients:

A couple Tbls of Oil

2 pounds or so Beef Spareribs, look for those that are heavy with meat, less sinew and bone

2 large onions, sliced

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 Tbls brown sugar, If the beer you use is a dark heavy (slightly sweet) brew use less sugar, if its lighter use a bit more, you need caramelization

2 Tbls Apple Cider Vinegar

2 Tbls Flour

Some Herbs, a bay leaf or two, some Thyme. Whatever you got.

Big Bottle of Beer, around 750ml (Go dark, Go local, Go quality. Crappy beer = Crappy carbonnade)

Method:

• Pour a few tablespoons of oil into a dutch oven with a tight lid and preheat on high. I used a cast iron crock type pot.
• Salt and pepper then sear off all sides of the spareribs until golden and set aside the meat. Turn down the heat to medium high.
• Toss in the onions and garlic and cook until soft, turn down to medium and keep cooking until you see some color and the onions are getting caramelized.
• Mix in the flour, herbs and vinegar. Cook for another minute.
• Add the meat back in and pour over the beer, the meat should be 90% covered or more. If you don’t have enough beer add a little water, if you have too much beer.....pour a glass, you’ve been working pretty hard, you deserve it.  
• Put the lid on and place into a preheated 350⁰ oven and cook for two hours. Lift the lid and check the consistency of the sauce. If it’s too runny, take the lid off and cook longer, checking every 20 minutes until it’s reduced to coat the back of the spoon. As the sauce reduces it will free up more of the beef and if you see it crisping up, take it out so the sauce can reduce unimpeded.
• Remove the pot from the oven and let cool for around 20 minutes. The meat should be tender enough you can remove the bones. Before you put it away in the fridge transfer the sauce to a clean container and shred the meat a bit and stir with the sauce. It’ll stay moist and easily spread the next day.

A Primer on Bread: Foccacia

Most people don’t think of summer as being a big bread season but in my mind: Bread is always in season. I’m not a big fan of slaving over the oven on hot evenings so I tend to rise my breads in the morning or overnight and bake mid day when I can retreat into the garden or onto the patio or even run some errands. This simple recipe is for foccacia bread, one of my favorites (it might be my favorite because it’s so easy!).

A good focaccia has a soft inside and a chewy crust, making it great for sandwiches, breakfast or just dipped in olive oil and balsamic vinegar as a starter. The recipe I’ve included is a bit long because it has my notes and theories on the kneading and rising. When you’re going to the trouble of baking bread, think ahead to what you’re going to do with it. There is no point in baking if you’re not going to have opportunity to eat it within 24 hours.

Ingredients (Get a scale, seriously it’ll pay off):

7g dried active yeast

1 tsp salt

450g white flour

300ml water, warm (not super hot but warm...)

50ml olive oil

Fresh rosemary and coarse salt

Method:

• Mix together flour, salt and yeast.
• Add in the olive oil and fully incorporate, then do the same for the water.
• Turn your formed dough out onto a floured surface and allow to rest for 5 minutes.
• Knead the dough for about 10 minutes of CONTINUAL movement. Stretching, pulling, flattening and re rolling. My preferred method is to put both hands into the dough and then pull one toward yourself making a long thin stretch. Roll it up and turn then repeat. Sometimes it'll tear, sometimes it'll clump. It'll get easier as it goes.
• When the 10 minutes is up form the dough into a ball and drop it on the counter, press your finger lightly into the surface of the dough: if it bounces back to its original shape it is done. Otherwise knead a minute or two more and try again.
• Put the kneaded dough into a large bowl and cover the bowl with cling film. Put it in a warm place (usually the kitchen will do, my favorite spot being on top of the fridge!) until it has doubled in size.
• Knock it back with a few kneads and then stretch the dough into a larger rectangle and place it onto a roasting tray. For a crunchier bottom, sprinkle the tray down with corn meal.
• Shape your dough: use your thumbs to press out the dough and leave little indents, then sprinkle with olive oil, rosemary and sea salt. 
• Preheat the oven to 450F while you allow the dough to rise again on the tray for 15 minutes then place in the oven and bake for around 20 minutes or until cooked through. I have no idea why but sometimes it'll take 40 minutes sometimes 25. Lift the dough up and knock on the bottom, if it sounds hollow it is finished.