guest post – trusted guinea pig

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IMG_2289Claude is a marvel, a delight and a law unto himself.  Even apart from being one of my favourite people – he is the consummate host.  Everything is impeccable, and yet it is still comfortable such that I don’t panic when the dinner party is at my house.  I suspect this is partly why it’s been so fun to throw a few curve balls at Claude through the MasterChef preparatory social events.  I’m allowed to admit to finding this fun because it still didn’t throw Claude off stride.  Green papaya?  Perfect – modernized slaws are a Claude specialty.  Kalamansi?  No problem – dressing it is.  (I still think it would have been interesting in the pana cotta, although I did adore the grapefruit and vanilla bean version.  And, as a side note, the kalamansi G&Ts is a worthwhile endeavour.)  Beef heart… a little pause, perhaps, but promptly off to trimming and prepping for rouladen, dill pickle and all.

I’ve been asked what I consider Claude’s specialties to be.  Instantly, I thought of champagne grape jelly, oven-hot pretzels, and themes of piquant salads and interesting cocktails… and then I stopped and realized I couldn’t think of any other dish I’ve had twice at Claude’s.  I admire his zest for trying new recipes and his skill at making them so deliciously (really with only one exception, and fresh sardines in Winnipeg are a bit of a challenge), and I am honoured to be a trusted guinea pig.

– Rachel L.

guest post – to the market we go!

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I’m on an early flight en route to Winnipeg as I type this out, it’s Canada Day and I can’t help but feel a little giddy because today is the last day before Claude’s audition for MasterChef Canada and I’m his self-appointed head cheerleader!

Friends and family are important to Claude, we have that in common.  He is the definition of Host with the Most in my mind.  As I reflect on the countless times I’ve sat at his table one time in particular sprung to mind.  We were visiting Rouge Mountain on the lovely island of St Martin.  Our housekeeper told us of the weekly fish market right on the shore and, always trying to embrace what the locals enjoy, Claude decided we’d be up at the crack of dawn to greet the boats as they came in with their catch of the day.

Since Claude is the planner that he is, we were early.  We found some locals getting coffee and a pastry I could only describe as a cross between a doughnut and a sweet bun and we happily tried one for ourselves.  Island time is a different sort of thing; the boats came in not en mass rather trickling in one by one.  We checked out the stalls as the attendants of each one tried to cajole us into buying from them.  Claude’s great to watch in a market.  He’s careful never to get to enthusiastic, and his laissez faire method usually nets us better pricing.  I on the other hand smile from ear to ear with such gusto that the market stall workers look at me as the answer to their prayers.  Suffice it to say I always let Claude carry the money and make the final decisions.Image

Phread and Eric believe that both Claude and I, when given the choice, choose the rarest ingredients (often searching a dozen stores to find it) or the recipe with the most ingredients.  Their assertion may be largely correct but I assure you Claude’s motives are simple; to make a pleasing dish.   On this particular morning he meet a man from a boat with a fish that we’d never seen before.  We made our purchases (after dickering on price en français) and headed back to the villa.

The fisherman told us he feed this fish to his kids lightly battered and it roughly translated to Old Lady.  It had one main piece of cartilage instead of many bones.  Unsure of what to do, Claude set to work cleaning and butchering it.  We floured it and lightly fried it in sort of a finger size format.  It was buttery, rich even and took a nice dusting of salt.  It was delicious but…weird.  Eating it was a little bit like eating ribs off a bone, not at all the fish experience one was expecting.  When our housekeeper saw what we made she laughed a little at us, which we took as a compliment.  Clearly we were the first visitors who braved a local dish like this.  That in itself is a win in Claude’s book.

I know the journey ahead for Claude will be filled with many first times and I know he’ll do well as he addresses all the challenges with reckless abandon.  And trust me, its going to taste great.

Sherri G.

kitchen chaos

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The stories have been told for years.  They are usually told as we lean back in our chairs, full from dinner and looking into the kitchen to see the less glamourous side of entertaining.  It would appear that, regardless of extent and complexity of the meal we have just enjoyed, every pot, every knife, every platter is piled up waiting to be cleaned.  In addition, a trail of flour, vegetable peelings, oils, and spice provide the visual evidence that Claude has been cooking.

We ask Claude’s mother:  “When did this start?  How come he never learned to clean up after himself?”

She explains that even as a young teenager, his creativity in the kitchen resulted in chaos:  “It would be 10:30 p.m… Claude would start baking.  I would get up in the morning to sweet treats and a sink full of dirty dishes.”  Despite the exasperation of the mess and despite the work to clean it up, the creativity and passion remains the star ingredients.  She goes on to say:  “That’s how Fearless began.  I am so very proud of my son the chef.  His pizza and homemade pasta are to die for.”

There is of course the time Claude prepared a grilled-cheese sandwich for lunch.  Two frying pans, a cutting board, three knives, bread crumbs and mustard drips on the counter.  The mess was epic, but mark my words – it was the best darned grilled cheese sandwich to ever come out of that kitchen.  And there in lies the conundrum:  would a push for a tidier, less tornado-esque Claude jeopardize the spirit and soul of the food?  For now, we are pushing for an evolution, not a revolution and are thankful for dish soap and scouring pads.

wine and laughter

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IMG_1275Tonight, we are very happy to host our friends David, Allan, and Rachel.

On the menu (despite it being 28° and 100% humidity) is spare ribs, baby potatoes, and coleslaw.  Tonight, we get to do one of our favourite things… sit around a table, break bread and spend time with friends.

There will be wine and there will be laughter.  Life is good.

iron chef – emergency preparedness week style

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Each year, my workplace acknowledges Public Safety Canada’s Emergency Preparedness Week in early May by hosting guest speakers, themed events and trivia draws. This year, the coordinator, Kristina, recruited budding chefs for the ultimate challenge – 30 minutes to make a creative and impressive meal from pantry staples. The scenario:  a local disaster has trapped you in your house for several days without power. Your perishables are gone and you only have an ethanol gel stove to use – and guests are on their way!

Never one to shy away from a challenge, I immediately began brainstorming meal ideas. After quite a bit of frustrating thought (really what CAN you make without fresh herbs or produce?), an entrée and dessert were chosen. Spicy green Thai curry shrimp followed by bruléed bananas Foster – after all I did receive a kitchen torch for Christmas and it would still be full of butane!

I must confess – I didn’t necessarily have all the ingredients in my pantry. But anyone who knows me wouldn’t doubt I might’ve had them. Any good competitor knows proper planning and preparation prevents poor performance. I decided I would treat the spoils of my trial run on the eve of the big day. Sadly, my can of bananas didn’t really work as I was hoping (they were pink, mealy and sourced from Thailand).  Time to launch into Plan B: Tropical Trifle.

Once the meal was over, I made my notes – after all 30 minutes with an ethanol stove was not very forgiving considering I needed to soak rice vermicelli noodles in ‘hot’ water. There must be a precise plan and order of tasks to complete my two course meal.

The challenge began with lighting the stove (kitchen torch saves the day) and warming a pan (full of water in my case). A projected Chopped-style 30:00 minute countdown was set and the action began!

ClaudeSome competitors had an appetizer ready in minutes – another was heating military rations. I consulted my list and began knocking the tasks off the list. Soak the rice noodles. Shake coconut milk with instant pudding powder *ahem*. Chop and mince and sauté onion and ginger (they keep for a few days during a natural disaster, right?). Open and drain cans of spinach and chick peas. Slowly build the entrée flavours. Remember to add canned shrimp at the last minute, lest they resemble mush! Layer the trifle – crushed flaky sugar cookies, chopped canned pineapple, coconut milk pudding and vanilla sugar. Assemble the entrée. Rice vermicelli, shrimp green Thai curry – strategically place extra shrimp on top. Serve in hand thrown glazed ceramic bowl with hand carved chopstick. Quick – brûlée the vanilla sugar and serve alongside the main. Oh my, 8:00 minutes to spare.

I guess I could have let the curry simmer a bit longer.

After an excruciating fifteen minutes, the top three are announced. An authentic Indian curry with handmade roti, crab chowder and yours truly taking top spot! A thrill – and a bit of a surprise!

Now what to make for tomorrow night?!?

Want to make Claude’s creations? Follow these links or go to the favourite recipes page.

unknown outcomes

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“I am totally fearless! Well, of course, I’m not totally fearless. I worry constantly and obsess over things, but I just don’t let fear stand in the way of doing something that I really want to do.” – Tom Ford

 

Often expressed in food and entertaining, Claude’s approach to life is consistent – take a challenge, dream or goal head on and just make it happen.  In preparing for the MasterChef Canada adventure, Claude has invested much time in preparing.  He has reviewed past episodes, done a lot of extra cooking and tried a number of new cooking techniques.

Yesterday, his colleagues were treated to chocolate cupcakes with dulce de leche buttercream frosting.  It is not so much that making cupcakes is fearless, it is that standing in front of friends, family and strangers in a very public way allowing the for possibility of judgement is fearless.

MasterChef is an extreme version of this same process.  Claude is walking head on into a competitive experience designed to push a person to the edge of abilities.  The outcomes are real.  The outcomes are public.  The extraordinary part of all this is that Claude walk’s into this adventure in spite of any fear and unknown outcomes.

guest post – it begins

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There is something infinitesimally wonderful about a friendship that is formed on common likes and dislikes.

glfac2When I first meet Claude, we were ever so skeptical of each other.  This big strong fabulous man was coming into my inner circle with a claim on my best friend’s heart.  Love was in the air and I wasn’t sure I liked that one bit.  As it turns out Claude felt a similar skepticism regarding moi.  Who was this best friend and why did she seem to be such a solid team with his beloved?

Well it wasn’t long before our shared curious nature had us laughing together as if we were friends of old.  I knew in those early moments, I’d been gifted with a best friend within a best friend.  As precious as pink diamonds, Claude and I formed a friendship that simply stated, is the best thing since sliced bread.

Even though our common interests match up on a multitude of fronts, none run as deep as our love for hospitality and entertaining.  Together we rival the likes of even our mentor Martha Stewart.  That’s right, we own the entire collection of Living from its inaugural issue, in duplicate.  We have tested more cookie recipes then Betty Crocker and we’ve whetted every stone and queued every Barbie over our near double decade friendship.

The reason “we” work is plain.  Claude is better than me.  And to put a finer point on it, we, happily, both accept this.  It’s not my desire to be the best, its Claude’s. It’s not my desire to go so far outside of our skills et that we spend oodles just on practice rounds, its Claude’s. Its not my desire that makes us take on more then we can possible chew, its Claude’s. He is the visionary leader of our improbable duo and he is the master of all our plans.  I aim only to keep up.  Well that’s a lie; I aim to keep pushing him up.

Claude, my kitchen companion extraordinaire, I would go anywhere, do anything, and chop a mountain of onions to save your eyes from weeping, just to see you achieve one more culinary feat just to hear those stodgy ole scotch drinkers we love so much say ‘that was incredible!’.  (Let’s not ever tell them how much we spent on that Christmas dinner that cost us several hundreds of bucks in ingredients for four people, ok?)

If you’re following à la Claude for the first time, put your seat belt on, your about to have the time of your life and yes, pyrotechnics are included.

– Sherri G.