Recipe: Lemon Ice, Dill Shortbread, Tobiko
Here’s a recipe for the next time you’re bringing dessert to a seafood-themed dinner party. Inspired by one part morbid curiosity, two parts Iron Chef, we wanted to round out our trio of seafood recipes with something decidedly thematic. Seafood dessert. You read that right; and it couldn’t be more simple. Allez cuisine!
It started with a simple question: could we make a three-course seafood meal? Appetizers (like our salmon gravlax) and mains (may we suggest our clam chowder?) are easy. But dessert? There are few things more culinarily disconcerting than sweet seafood. Challenge accepted.
Recipe: Vacuum Sealer Beet-Cured Gravlax
Gravlax is one of my favourite Nordic treats. With simple ingredients - and a just little time to smooth its flavours - gravlax is also the easiest luxury to make at home.
I’ve tried dozens of recipes over the years. The most traditionally accurate call for two fillets of fish - preferably from opposite sides of the same fish - liberally cured with salt and sugar and sandwiched skin-side out around a core of herbs and spices. It’s then tightly wrapped with cling film and popped into the fridge with a weighted object on top to help expel moisture.
De la Mer: All Men Are Equal Before Fish
Walk through the doors of De La Mer Fresh Fish Market, and you just might want to Instagram it.
You might be drawn to the shop’s name laid in black tile alongside whimsical representations of fish. Or the nautical-themed decor arrayed against the wall. There’s even a spot perfect for selfies; there, in the back, with the hand-lettered phrase “All men are equal before fish”. In some regards, it’s easy to forget that you’ve walked into a fish shop. That would be a mistake. You definitely want the fish here.
Homebrewing With Brew North
I remember my first experience with homebrewed beer.
It was during my university years, naturally. The concoction bore an insipid, pale yellow hue - the bare minimum needed to differentiate it from water. When nosed from the glass: the pungent aroma of wet bread.
Sisterhood Is Brew-tiful
Beer is the third most popular beverage on the planet. But when it comes to food and drink pairing, wine reigns supreme. In fact, is there even such a thing as a beer sommelier?
As it turns out, there are. We met Tara and Crystal Luxmore, also known as the Beer Sisters, at Tequila Bookworm.
Sake With Gushi
"Isn't it customary to never pour yourself your own sake?" I ask as I concentrate on filling four small cups up to the brim.
We're on our fourth bottle of sake and it's starting to have an effect on the accuracy of my pouring. Tonight, I'm drinking with Shinji Yamaguchi and his partner - in both life and business - Blessie Maturan.
Summertime Cocktails
It was a struggle to figure out how to fill an issue about dining al fresco in Toronto that wasn't just about booze and BBQ. But the reality is, that's exactly what we as Torontonians - no, as Canadians - do to cherish our impossibly short summers. So, rather than fight it, we went with the flow.
Day Drunk
It's a sunny Sunday afternoon and I've found a prime seat at one of the best places to drink in Toronto. The beer is cheap and free-flowing. The clientele, interestingly quirky. If I'm ever found holding an empty it is promptly taken away; what service! The catch is that I'm not at one of the trending patios in town. I'm in Trinity-Bellwoods Park, and it's time to get wasted.
But First, A Photo
"How difficult can it be to take a photo of a cup of coffee?"
I can hear the incredulous comments from a couple close to us. I agree, it's ridiculous. It's been more than five minutes since our drinks arrived and I've yet to touch one. In fact, it's quite impossible since we moved all of the necessary cutlery and accompaniments to a neighbouring table. A macabre roulette of orders has seemingly shifted each cup two seats down, then across. All in the name of taking the perfect picture. In this case, you could say I'm working; but how many people have had similar experiences when dining with friends?
Inside Instagram
For the first time in my Toronto brunch career, I'm the first in line for weekend brunch. Well, nearly first. Already seated on the lone bench in front of the restaurant, Beast, is Ryan, Alex, and Kelly. Or, rather, the masterminds behind the food-centered Instagram accounts @eatfamous, @hypebelly, and @kellyforyou (respectively) are waiting for us. Beast puts out an impressive brunch spread - but the sheer pleasure of eating isn't the only draw. You could call it a working brunch, in a way: The 3 Spoons' first Insta-meet as a collective.
In The Kitchen: Challah
Perhaps it's challah's intricate braiding that called us to it. Or the way its crust glows with tantalizing luster when it emerges from the oven. Or its softly yielding crumb, fluffy with just a hint of sweetness. Perhaps it's all of these things. Whatever the reason, we definitely didn't turn to baking this bread because we keep Kosher.
The Art & Struggle of Sourdough
There's flour everywhere. It's pervasive. It's in my hair and smeared across my apron. There's a fine dusting of the stuff on every surface of my house - cooking space or not. But it's not this wheat invasion that's concerning me; it's the amorphous mass of flour and water in front of me, mocking me. I'm trying to make bread, and it's going horribly.