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Posts Tagged "Sela"
I had the opportunity this week to stay at Toronto’s Drake Hotel and we had a fantastic time. I had never heard of the Drake Hotel although it has the sort of name that sounds familiar to me. I found it on Trip Advisor and every other hotel in Toronto was full. I never did figure out why everything was booked, but the Drake Hotel seemed like a good fit for us. I picked up my chef daughter from her job in Muskoka and we spent 2 nights and 3 days together in Toronto. We checked in on Sunday afternoon. The hotel is small, charming, and has multiple restaurants and bars full of trendy, interesting people. We were given a room on the 3rd floor. We were surprised to find out there is no elevator so we trekked up the stairs and found a lovely but small, very cool guest room. We were greeted with complimentary sparkling wine on ice and the room was full of interesting items for purchase as well as a fun “mini-bar” area full of tasty beverages and snacks. The design concept really stood out and we felt like we were not quite cool enough for our hip accommodations. That said, Jonathan the manager greeted us warmly every time he saw us and made us feel incredibly welcome. He hugged us when we left–we felt loved and cared for in this fun hipster hotel. I am not sure we were cool enough for our surroundings, but we felt welcome and enjoyed its charm. We ate breakfast twice in their cafe and the food was fantastic. I only wish we had the energy to explore more of what was going on. There is a roof-top bar that looked very fun. We heard happy people partying late into the night. This didn’t bother us, it was kind of fun–like falling asleep on the couch during a really great party. During our stay, there was an open mike and a pickle contest...
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Super Summer Guacamole Guacamole is one of those remarkable foods that has appeal across cultures and generations. There are many different variations out there, and more than once I’ve been snacking at the hors d’oeuvres table with fellow party-goers when curiosity about the contents of the host’s “guac” has turned to lively debate among guests and outright defense of a tried-and-true recipe. Red onions go head-to-head with garlic; limes duke it out with lemons. Cilantro? Tomatoes? Hot sauce? Mayonnaise??? A really good guacamole takes a little more planning than most dips. Very rarely am I able to find the perfect avocado in the store or at the market, so great guacamole is a perfect way to practice the under-appreciated art of postponing gratification. A rock hard avocado usually takes about a week to soften, while a medium hard avocado takes about three days. The soft avocados on the shelf are usually too ripe and won’t have the flavor of the perfect avocado. Organic avocados are readily available, even in the winter when other fruits and vegetables are out of season and you’re craving a taste of summer. My daughter, Sela, is a chef. She is an amazing cook. Almost everything she makes is perfect. We happen to have different guacamole recipes. People ask which one I prefer, and I always say, “I prefer anything she cooks for me.” That said, I make my guacamole differently! Sela’s Ingredients: 3 “perfect” organic avocados 2 cloves organic garlic, pressed or micro-planed 1 tbsp fresh squeezed lime juice Salt to taste My Ingredients: 3 “perfect” organic avocados 1/4 cup diced yellow or white onion 1-2 tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice Salt to taste With both recipes, mash the avocados with a fork or a pastry cutter until they are creamy. Add other ingredients and salt to taste. On occasion, when I need to stretch the guacamole (more guests come than are expected or the kids are starving), I add tomato to the guacamole. This can be done with...
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I have eaten out frequently my whole life and some meals are better than others. Every now and then, I have a spectacular meal either by attending a super nice restaurant or, just by accident, everything collides and a meal unexpectedly astounds me. I thought it would be interesting to try to make a list of my top 10 most memorable restaurant meals. I have placed them in chronological order. Some of these meals we have talked about for years or I have enjoyed the sweet aftertaste of the memory of them over time. For each, I can still remember how the flavors hit my tongue. The impermanence of art as food intrigues me. Sometimes everything just comes together as food and theater – something special happens with raw ingredients being transformed into a completely unique and dramatic experience. These are my top 10 most memorable restaurant meals. 1. The Tower Restaurant, London circa 1984. They served me the best scallops I have ever had–still, to this day. I was 16 years old and with my parents, and this was one of my first experiences with fine dining in a top-notch restaurant. I just couldn’t believe how good the food was. We had grilled scallops and I have been searching ever since for a scallop that comes close to how good they were. 2. Sadie’s Restaurant, Albuquerque, NM, circa 1987 when the restaurant was still in the bowling alley. The margaritas were psychedelic and the food was sublime. After 2.5 hours waiting for a table, I still remember how spectacular the flavors of the food were with the deep dark red chile and the papas (fried cubed potatoes). Sadie’s still has good food but the bowling alley days offered an unparalleled experience. 3. Sushi with Rich, 1992, Evergreen, Colorado. I had never really figured out how to “do sushi.” I was from New Mexico and although I had eaten Japanese food, sushi seemed too foreign and I didn’t really know how to order...
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Some days I am overcome by love. When I pull up at the school and let my kids out, I watch them tromping off with their lunch boxes and backpacks and my heart fills up until it overflows and fills my eyes with tears. I love being married and seeing how good we can make it and how fast we can recover from when we make it bad–when we mess up and have to fix it or get over it. I read a friend’s blog recently. He was describing the death of his lover. His raw words of love touched me deeply. It was as if he opened his heart on the page–splayed open for everyone to see. It was just love. I loved him for the open-hearted love he shared. I watch my parents aging and I want to ease their way. I want them to stay eternally young like they are in my mind. I want to be able to spare them the agony of growing older. I want to protect them from the elements of time and my heart fills with love and compassion for their humanness and frailty. I love them so much and yet my love can’t keep them from experiencing their challenges. I think of two family members who got mad at me and don’t talk to me anymore. On bad days I protect myself with anger and on good days I remember that their anger can’t make me stop loving them. Memories of them fill my heart and I surreptitiously send loving thoughts their way and wish them well. I love dinner parties. There is something about the echo of laughter over food that fills my heart. I love the people I laugh with. Especially if they think my jokes are funny. I love saying I love you to friends. It was something I realized years ago. It did once go bad when I told my friend Mara I loved her in a phone message. Her husband listened...
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Last night we had a meal that made my top 10 list. It was a meal like nothing I have experienced. Alexandre Gauthier came to the Stratford Chefs School bringing his front of house manager and his pastry chef. Gauthier is a Michelin Star chef with a restaurant called La Grenouillère. Sela was lucky enough to be the student chef during the dinner we attended last night. It was a snowy night but thanks to some great driving by our friend, we made it. There were 7 of us who added to the festivities, and the meal was a tasting menu that knocked our socks off. I can’t tell you how many courses there were. I can never figure out how to count the amuse-bouche at the beginning and the petit fours at the end. There were 12 distinct dishes that we ate plus delicious dark bread. There wasn’t a menu, just a list of ingredients and we continually got the unexpected. What we had: there was a corn tart, a veal and sardine tartar with cauliflower, scallop and avocado roll, a souffle with crab, beet ravioli with eel, a lobster salad, lamb with broccoli puree and wheat berries, an apple curl with celery cream, butternut squash ice cream with meringue, a strawberry gelée, and a truffle that exploded in my mouth. The pace was faster than any meal I have ever enjoyed and the drama of each course kept me on the edge of my seat. I felt excited each time a new course came out. I couldn’t wait for the description of what each dish contained and had to hold myself back. The colors and textures were striking and the uniqueness of each dish was remarkable. Several of the dishes were a little intimidating–it was a little scary to take the first bite of the blood red eel ravioli. But the flavors in each dish were so deep, rich, balanced and satisfying that the food provided a thrill and a world class...
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