Monday, September 13, 2010 at 07:17PM 
I had the chance to eat salmon quite often in my life, my day being a fishing expert. I had not made a lot of recipe with salmon since living on my own and recently had to came up with different recipe to suit the occasion. Here is BC we are experiencing a phenomenon hasn't happens in many many years. There is salmon in the river which has been really rare in the last 4 years.
My boyfriend, a fishing frenzy decided to make it worth while and went fishing every week-end in the last month. This also means I have been eating salmon for the last month. At first we were so happy, we made a salmon teriyaki in the oven and invited some friends over. The next day I took the half the remaining salmon meat and made a salmon pie, which is a very traditional recipe in our family which consist of salmon meat, mash potatoes, garlic, celery, onions, all mix together and bake inside a pie crust.
The next day I ate the left over of this wonderful pie. The day after I decided to take the other half of the meat and made salmon quinoa.
This week-end, David catch another salmon and it was too late to freeze it so we had to eat it. We made a smoke salmon on the bbq with maple syrup-butter sauce. It's pretty simple, purchase a smoker bag and insert the a big piece of salmon inside. On the stove melt 2 tablespoon of butter with 1/3 cup of maple syrup. Drizzle the mixture on the salmon and cook on the BBQ at 500 degree for first 15 minutes and then 30-40 minutes at 350 degree F.
Finally Sunday night I decided to make some salmon stew ! It is absolutely the best comfort food and paired really well with a glass of red wine and French baguette.
What you will need for the QUEBEC SALMON STEW is:
- 1 pound of salmon cut in medium cube
- 1/2 pound of fresh shrimp
- 1/2 cup of chopped green onion
- 1 leek, washed and shredded
- 1 pound of small baby potatoes
- 1 cup of carrots chopped in big cubes
- 1 cup of corn kernels
- 1 cup of red bell pepper in medium cube
- 6 cups of chicken broth
- 5 tablespoon of flour
- 4 tablespoon of butter
- sea salt
- fresh pepper
Recipe:
1- Cut all the ingredients and reserve.
2- In a non stick wok melt the butter. After the butter is melted add the green onion, leeks, carrots, and red bell pepper. Cook for 8 minutes on medium, stirring occasionally.
3- Add the flour, one spoon at the time and stir quickly in between each spoon. Make sure the flour coat the vegetable and doesn't create crumble.
4- Add 2 cups of the chicken broth, stirring constantly during 2 minutes to deglaze. Bring to a boil.
5- In a large pot bring the remaining chicken broth to boil. Add the previous mixture to the current one.
6- Add the potatoes and the corn kernels and reduce temperature to medium for 25-30 minutes.
7- When the potatoes are tender, add the salmon and the shrimp. Stir the stew. Turn off the heat and cover. Let the salmon and shrimp cook for 5-6 minutes.
Autumn in Quebec with a beef vegetables soup !
Tuesday, September 7, 2010 at 07:01PM Vegetable and beef soup
Ingredients
- 1 cup of carrots in cube
- 2 cups of cubes fresh tomatoes
- 1 cup of turnip
- 2 cups of browned beef cubes
- 2 cloves of garlic finely chopped
- 1 large onion finely chopped
- 2 cups of sweet potatoes cut in cube
- 1 cup of celery
- 1 cup of corn nibblet
- 8 cups of water
- 2 cup of beef broth
- 2 tablespoons of tomato paste
- Fresh thyme
- Bay leave
- Fresh cracked pepper and sea salt
- 2 tablespoon of olive oil
Recipe
1- Cup every vegetable in small cubes
2- In a large pan add the olive oil and cook the onion, garlic and celery over medium heat for 7 minutes.
3- Remove the onion, celery and garlic from the pan and place them in the bottom of a large slow cooker.
4- In the same pan, add the beef cubes and brown until no longer pink. Do not over cook.
5- In the slow cooker add the remaining ingredients: water and beef broth first, than tomato paste. Mix everything well.
6- Add all the veggies and beef cubes in the slow cooker.
7- Add the spice, salt and pepper.
8- Set your slow cooker on the lowest and cook for 10 hours or on medium for 8 hours.
Enjoy !
La Spaghetteria in New Westminster... Feeling like at home...
Friday, September 3, 2010 at 01:53AM Even if the restaurant is mainly Italian and the owner is from Sardegna in Italy, there is a part of me that feels like home when I have the chance to eat at this restaurant, located in New Westminster, BC.
It was created in 1976 and since it has maintain the standard of Italian cooking. I was welcome by multiple people right at the first step into the restaurant. I was by myself and I was looking to find the perfect restaurant in the area. I was first greeted by two servers and then a other man, who I discovered later was the owner, Salvatore. Salvatore came right to my table and begin chatting with me. He was really friendly but yet professional. We discussed a bit about our lives and he begin speaking French with me. This is when he told me had leave in Montreal in the past. Well, I couldn't be more pleased to have discovered a friendly, amiable place to eat and someone that could converse in French, English and in Italian.
That day, I had a glass of white wine and the Cannelloni Verdi. I was served fresh homemade focaccia bread and a mixture of balsamic and olive oil as a dipper. I choose the custard for dessert which was really sublime.
Recently I went again, but this time I wanted to bring someone I knew was really hard to impress, my boyfriend. We arrived at the location and we were greeted the same way I had been greeted the last time, with a smile and a lot of attention. Right away I felt like we were at a relative home for a nice dinner. The staff was once again really friendly. The restaurant patio was full of people enjoying their evening and yet the service was prompt and everything ran smoothly. So we ordered, David wanted to try the homemade ravioli with cheese and tomatoes. I wanted to try the same ravioli but stuffed with smoked salmon. So we ordered one of each kind. The server advised David that they also had sockeye salmon on the menu as a special for the time behind. David could not say no to either of the dish he had chosen so he took both ! Of course I ended up bringing some back home because their size are pretty big. Anyway, the ravioli was really tasty, fresh and rich. But I have to admit that the star of the dinner was the salmon. Never in my life did I ever tasted a salmon like this one. It literally melted in your mouth and the taste was not too strong, definitely not blend, flaky, buttery taste without the butter. The server told us it had been cooked right on the Barbecue. Funny enough, David had been fishing all last week-end on the Fraser River in order to catch one of these famous Sockeye salmon that everyone in BC is talking about. He was not successful that time but this meal sure gave him a boost for this week-end.
We finished the meal with a coffee and dessert. We had to ask what kind of coffee they served because it was just so great. It smelled like dark roast italian coffee with a hint of cacao and nutmeg. The lady told us that the equipment they use to make the coffee was the key to the great taste ! To finish we had the Tiramisu which was served on a beautiful plate.
I got to learn more about Salvatore this time and I also understood why there was a lot of people there. If you go eat at the Spaghetteria, you feel appreciated and treated like family. There is hugs and kisses on the cheeks, there is laughs and cheers. Not to forget the most important, the food is outstanding and the service is great. I had the chance to take a peek inside the kitchen and saw from my own eyes, a lady making the bread and pasta for the restaurant from scratch.
The price range from 10$ to 20$ an entree. There is a lot of space inside the restaurant and there is also a party room conveniently located on the top floor to accommodate bigger party. I am always proud when I discover something worth sharing and this is definitly a secret I would not keep for myself.
http://laspaghetteria.com/
604-525-2611
232 6th Street, New Westminster, BC
Annie
It was created in 1976 and since it has maintain the standard of Italian cooking. I was welcome by multiple people right at the first step into the restaurant. I was by myself and I was looking to find the perfect restaurant in the area. I was first greeted by two servers and then a other man, who I discovered later was the owner, Salvatore. Salvatore came right to my table and begin chatting with me. He was really friendly but yet professional. We discussed a bit about our lives and he begin speaking French with me. This is when he told me had leave in Montreal in the past. Well, I couldn't be more pleased to have discovered a friendly, amiable place to eat and someone that could converse in French, English and in Italian.
That day, I had a glass of white wine and the Cannelloni Verdi. I was served fresh homemade focaccia bread and a mixture of balsamic and olive oil as a dipper. I choose the custard for dessert which was really sublime.
Recently I went again, but this time I wanted to bring someone I knew was really hard to impress, my boyfriend. We arrived at the location and we were greeted the same way I had been greeted the last time, with a smile and a lot of attention. Right away I felt like we were at a relative home for a nice dinner. The staff was once again really friendly. The restaurant patio was full of people enjoying their evening and yet the service was prompt and everything ran smoothly. So we ordered, David wanted to try the homemade ravioli with cheese and tomatoes. I wanted to try the same ravioli but stuffed with smoked salmon. So we ordered one of each kind. The server advised David that they also had sockeye salmon on the menu as a special for the time behind. David could not say no to either of the dish he had chosen so he took both ! Of course I ended up bringing some back home because their size are pretty big. Anyway, the ravioli was really tasty, fresh and rich. But I have to admit that the star of the dinner was the salmon. Never in my life did I ever tasted a salmon like this one. It literally melted in your mouth and the taste was not too strong, definitely not blend, flaky, buttery taste without the butter. The server told us it had been cooked right on the Barbecue. Funny enough, David had been fishing all last week-end on the Fraser River in order to catch one of these famous Sockeye salmon that everyone in BC is talking about. He was not successful that time but this meal sure gave him a boost for this week-end.
We finished the meal with a coffee and dessert. We had to ask what kind of coffee they served because it was just so great. It smelled like dark roast italian coffee with a hint of cacao and nutmeg. The lady told us that the equipment they use to make the coffee was the key to the great taste ! To finish we had the Tiramisu which was served on a beautiful plate.
I got to learn more about Salvatore this time and I also understood why there was a lot of people there. If you go eat at the Spaghetteria, you feel appreciated and treated like family. There is hugs and kisses on the cheeks, there is laughs and cheers. Not to forget the most important, the food is outstanding and the service is great. I had the chance to take a peek inside the kitchen and saw from my own eyes, a lady making the bread and pasta for the restaurant from scratch.
The price range from 10$ to 20$ an entree. There is a lot of space inside the restaurant and there is also a party room conveniently located on the top floor to accommodate bigger party. I am always proud when I discover something worth sharing and this is definitly a secret I would not keep for myself.
http://laspaghetteria.com/
604-525-2611
232 6th Street, New Westminster, BC
Annie
Carree aux dattes / Dates squares ... A keeper in any Quebec house....
Monday, August 30, 2010 at 08:43PM 
I can't promise this is a exclusive French Canadian recipe but it was made so often in my family and my aunt, uncle and cousins family that I begin to believe it might of originally came from some French town. The ingredients used in the date square also match perfectly the Quebec spirit; sugar, butter, sugar again, oatmeal... It is so good that you would believe your eating dates. You could also make it with blueberries, raspberries.
This recipe is from Mme Bourque, a relative which has passed away a few year ago. She was a true cook and was very talented. I would like to give her this homage and to thanks her for making me discover my passion for cooking.
Ingredients
Mixture
- 1 pack (500 g) of Jaffa dates
- 1 cup of brown sugar
- 1 cup of boiling water
Crust
- 1 1/2 cup of flour
- 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon of salt
- 1 1/2 cup of oatmeal
- 1 cup of brown sugar
- 1/2 cup of melted butter
Recipe
Mixture
1- Mix all the ingredients together
2- whisk constantly the mixture in a heavy bottomed pan over low to medium heat for 5 minutes or until smooth consistency.
3- Let the mixture cool down
Crust
1- Mix together the flour, baking soda and salt.
2- Add the oatmeal and the brown sugar
3- A little bit at the time add the butter whisking every time.
4- When the crust mix is done it will look grainy.
5- Add half the crust in a buttered ceramic or glass dish ( 8 X 12 inches)
6- Lay the previous mix with the dates on the top and then cover by the rest of the crust mix.
7- Cook in the oven at 375 F for 25 minutes.
Aspic aux fruits de mer / Seafood Aspic ... A authentic french recipe !
Tuesday, August 24, 2010 at 07:54PM 
You will probably see this recipe a lot if you get a chance to study Julia Child. This has been and still is a popular dish amoung the French. It has become also popular in Quebec and has been adapted by the ingredients available in the region or what is in season. A popular aspic recipe in Sept-iles was one made with seafood because this was readily available to us but it can be made with chicken or other type of meat. I still recommend to try to make it with sea food as it is THE BEST thing I ever ate... or close to it :)Ingrédients
- 1 tasse de céleri / 1 cup of celery
- 3 a 4 échalote / 3 or 4 green onions
- 1 livre de crabe / 1 pound of fresh real crab meat
- 1 livre de crevette / 1 pound of baby shrimp, not cooked, devained and peeled
- 2 sachets de gélatine knox / 2 packet of Knox Jelly powder
- 2 œufs cuit dur / 2 eggs hard boiled and peeled
- 2 tasses de mayonnaise / 2 cups of mayo
- sel et poivre / salt and pepper
- persil/ parsley
Recette/ Recipe
1- Couper finement les échalotes, le céleri et les oeufs et les fruits de mers. Minced the green onion, celery, eggs and seafood.
2- Chauffer la mayonnaise dans un chaudron a feu doux pour quelques minutes. Warm over low heat the mayonnaise in a iron cast or similar pot for a few minute.
3- Melanger la gélatine a 4 c. a soupe d'eau froide dans un grand contenant.
Mix the Knox jelly with 4 table spoon of cold water in a large container.
4- Ajouter la mayonnaise au mélange de gélatine. Add the warm mayo to the jelly mixture.
5- Ajouter les onions, celeri, les oeufs et les fruits de mers au mélange précédant.
Add the onions, celery, eggs and seafood to this mix.
6- Déposer le mélange dans un plat pour réfrigéré, pour meilleur présentation utiliser un plat avec des motifs. Pour the entire mix in a large airtight container. For a better presentation choose a container that have some design on the bottom.
6- Mettre au réfrigérateur pour 5 heures.
Leave in the fridge for 5 hours.
7- Déguster avec du pain baguette frais ou avec des chip bugle! Enjoy with french bread of Bugle type chips !!! Délicieuse
Image: Daniel St.Pierre / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
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