Hi everyone,

I'm moving my blog to a new web address.  

To follow our crazy culinary adventures check it out here... Swallow Tail Blog

Figwood Smoked Salmon - Melt in your mouth

Everyone was asking me for this smoked wild BC salmon recipe, so here it is.  I love serving this with roasted eggplant or babaganoush, homemade kamut flour bread and wild sorrel leaves as a sandwich or a tasting plate.  I don't like smoking my fish until it's dry, this fish is meant to be eaten sooner and definitely refrigerated.  This is the kind of fish that melts in your mouth.

The Fish
This is key.  You can use this same recipe on trout too.  Pick a fatty fish, so that it stays moist while you smoke it.  Spring salmon is a good pick or steelhead.  You want to buy it as fresh as you can find it.  It shouldn't smell fishy at all and if you are buying it whole the eyes shouldn't be cloudy.  Fillet the fish yourself to save cash or buy it ready to go.  Make sure it's fully deboned before you start.  Keep the skin on and the fillet whole. 


Brine:
A solution of 50/50 water/kosher salt enough to cover the amount of fish you have
A good test is to taste the solution once you've dissolved the salt.  However salty it tastes, your fish will be around the same level of saltiness once brined.  I add in whatever flavourings I have on hand, ginger beer, lemon rind, keefer lime leaves and cracked pepper was in the last batch.  This is the fun part, so experiment and TASTE the brine.  Whatever you taste will be what your fish tastes like.
Leave fish in brine solution in the fridge for 24 hours.

The Fire
Start a small fire with your hardwood of choice.  It will burn at varying temperatures depending on how dry it is etc., so you have to check it every 1/2 hour or so and put another small log on here and there. I have a huge olive oil drum that I had made into a smoker with a vent at the top and bottom, so I can control airflow.  If you don't have a proper smoker then you can just prop your Bbq's door open enough to let the air in.  If you find that the smoke then doesn't come low enough to cover the fish, get some untreated cedar planks, soak them and place the fish on them (higher in the bbq).  Basically, you want the fire to stay burning at a very low temperature, creating smoke for a good 4 hours.  If you have a smoker... it's way easier.
Remember everyone - A grill isn't a barbecue!  A barbecue is a cooking device made for coal or wood, not gas!  I'm sure you could try and do this on a grill, but it wouldn't be the same... prove me wrong, I dare ya!

The Smoke
I had to chop down a lovely fig tree in my backyard, so I use figwood for the smoking.  You can use any good hardwood like cherry, applewood or alder. I like these better than hickory or mesquite for sure, fruit wood smoke is lighter and sweeter in aroma. I 'warm' smoke my fish.  Yes, yes, there's no such thing, ha!  Basically, you start the wood fire at one end of your barbecue and place the fish on the other far side of the grill.  If you place your hand where the fish will sit, it should be warm, not hot!  I usually put it in for around 3-4 hours, but you should check your fish and fire every 1/2 hour as this time will vary. Place your fish skin side down on the well oiled grill as far away from the flames as possible.  Check the fish every 1/2 hour until you see a white film coming out of the fish.  It's ready at this point.  Test the thickest portion of the fish and check that it's just done, not overcooked!  It's way better to undercook the fish, that can always be fixed, either by eating it that day (oh my God, it's soooo tasty) or just throwing it back into the smoker to cook longer. Take this off the barbecue and serve some of it warm to your best friends with a good beer on a hot day.  The rest put in the fridge for your second best friend to eat later.

Enjoy!
Chef Robin

Tiki's Falernum Cocktail Recipe

Everyone's been asking so here it is from our mixologist, Hailey Pasemko...

Tiki Event - bar in the jungle

"The greeting cocktail that was served at the party is called falernum.  It's a traditional syrup that originated in the Caribbean that can be made alcoholic or not.  It is often used as an ingredient in cocktails, but it is quite acceptable to simply drink it over crushed ice with a bit of fresh lime juice.  There are countless variations on the recipe.  I used the one from the kaiserpenguin website (great cocktail site by the way) and just tweaked it a tiny bit here and there.  It yielded about 600ml of syrup."

Ingredients:

50 cloves

1 tablespoon whole allspice

1 whole nutmeg

zest of 8 limes (I used a micro plane to avoid the bitter white pith)

1/2 cup fresh ginger, peeled and sliced

4 oz white rum

4 oz amber rum

2 cups sugar

1 cup water

crushed ice

Directions

Combine the lime zest and ginger in a glass jar.  Toast the cloves, allspice and nutmeg in a dry pan over medium heat for for a few minutes or until they start to smell really good, and then add them to the jar too.  Add the rums and make sure all the goodies are covered by the rum.  The stuff in the jar looks pretty cool at this point.  Then seal the jar and let it sit overnight.  The next day strain the spiced up liquid through cheese cloth or a fine mesh strainer.  Try and squeeze as much goodness out of the solids as you can.

 

Combine the sugar and water in a pot over high heat and stir until dissolved.  Let cool.  Combine the spicy rum with the sugar syrup and you have a basic falernum syrup.  Some recipes call for fresh lime juice to be added to the syrup at this stage but apparently it wont keep as well.  So just add the fresh lime at the time of consumption.  For the party I used a ratio of 3 parts syrup to 2 parts fresh lime juice.  The crushed ice is key as it chills, dilutes and mellows out the sweetness and acidity.

 

What to do for Mother's Day? Wild Edibles Trip...

Honey Mushrooms

I can never figure out what to give my mom for Mother's Day, usually, she just wants to spend time with me and have some fun.  So, I created this tour for her, a stroll through the forest with a gorgeous lunch in a mountain cabin to finish.


Mother’s Day 2 for 1 Wild Edibles Trip:
Treat Mom to a Wild Herb Tour and you can come along too, for free.

We’ll do a guided walk through the forest, learning about native edibles like Fiddleheads, Plantain, Miners Lettuce, Wild Willow & more.

Then, lunch will be served in a mountain cabin featuring Home-Made Kamut Bread, Wild BC Mushrooms,  Fiddleheads & Dandelion, plus a delicious herbal tea made with the wild plants we will be identifying.

When: May 13, Mother’s Day

Duration: 2 hours 
Where: Near Vancouver

Price: $69 for guided herb tour + gourmet lunch. (treat mom and you come for free!)

To book, email info@swallowtail.ca.
 

How to make "Chili Garlic Crisp Snowflakes"

This recipe is really fun to make with kids or adults that act like kids, either one. They're easy, pretty and add a tasty, spicy crunch to the any soup.  Why, you might ask, did I think these up? I was bored one day and had extra spring roll wrappers, plus I love deep frying everything.  I once tried to make deep fried ice cream with my sous chef, Helen.  We were tired from cooking all day, but thought it was a brilliant idea.  We proceeded to put ice cream scoops directly into the scalding hot oil... no batter.  Oops, we pissed ourselves laughing.
- Chef Robin

Snowflaked crisp on Tom Yum Soup

• Buy some 5 inch spring roll wrappers
• Fold them in squares and cut sections out of them like you did when you were five.  Or if you are so ancient that you've forgotten, follow these instructions - How to make snowflakes
• Heat some peanut oil to deep fry them in - 375F
• Unfold snowflakes and set in to deep fry one at a time till golden brown
• Lift out carefully and drain onto paper towels
• Use a mortar and pestle to grind 1 clove garlic and 1 red Thai chili into a paste, add 1/4 cup salt and grind the flavours into the salt.  You can grind any spice into salt, or a fresh herb like cilantro even.
• Sprinkle salt on to each snowflake
• Serve on top of tom yum soup, tom ka gai.. or some other soup you've been craving.

French Quarter Beignets - Recipe

I remember these from years ago, sitting in an outdoor cafe in New Ordeans where powdered sugar covered the floor of the cafe an inch thick. People eat these for breakfast, lunch or after dinner with strong coffee. It's basically a bread dough, not too sweet. I've put a twist on these and added Kaffir lime leaves, so that when you first bite into one, the escaping steam reminds me of the tropics. - Chef Robin

 This recipe base is taken from Paula Dean

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups lukewarm water
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 envelope active dry yeast
• 2 eggs, slightly beaten
• 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
• 1 cup evaporated milk
• 7 cups bread flour
• 3 Kaffir lime leaves, ground into small bits
• 1/4 cup shortening
• Oil, for deep-frying - I used peanut oil and vegetable shortening, equal proportions
• 3 cups confectioners' sugar

Directions

Mix water, sugar, and yeast in a large bowl and let sit for 10 minutes.

In another bowl, beat the eggs, salt and evaporated milk together. Mix egg mixture to the yeast mixture. In a separate bowl, measure out the bread flour. Add 3 cups of the flour to the yeast mixture and stir to combine. Add the shortening and continue to stir while adding the remaining flour. Remove dough from the bowl, place onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth. Coat a large bowl with a light film of oil. Put dough into the bowl and cover with plastic wrap or a towel. Let rise in a warm place for at least 2 hours.
Preheat oil in a deep-fryer to 375 degrees F.
Add the confectioners' sugar to a paper or plastic bag and set aside.
Roll the dough out to about 1/4-inch thickness and cut into 1-inch squares. Deep-fry, approx 5-7min, 3 min a side, until they become a golden color. After beignets are fried, drain them for a few seconds on paper towels, and then toss them into the bag of confectioners' sugar. Hold bag closed and shake to coat evenly.

Tiki - A cocktail party of tropical proportions

Our lastest Pop-up Restaurant, shelter from the rainy day, Vancouver blues.  April 13, 2012

  

Tiki is currently SOLD OUT, but if you want to get on the waiting list, we will be releasing a few more tickets the week before.  Email us at theswallowdive@gmail.com if you want in.

Location Imagine a warm indoor jungle, koi pond, whimsical wooden bridge, orchids blooming all around you.

The Food There will be five tiki stands in the jungle serving canapés and hand-food for under $5 each. We’ve collected together a diverse group of Vancouver’s underground culinary stars to create tropical themed nibbles.

• Butter on the Endive chef Owen Lightly formerly of Araxi & West will dazzle us with his gorgeous canapes.
• The classy Curious Oyster Catering boys on fresh shucked BC oysters.
• Caribbean whole pig smoked by Anatoli Belov Woodland Smokehouse. 
• Soho Road bringing the spice to the mix and their delicious homemade naan and Indian food.
• Sea Monstr Sushi creating some classic Tiki rolls.
• One more mystery sweet tiki creator.

The Drinks Tiki inspired cocktails are the stars of our show, mixed by award winning bartender Hailey Pasemko!  There will be beer as well to keep you cool. 

 

What to wear? We encourage tropical inspired outfits, bright colours and crazy hats, whatever you like.  Please remember that it will be warm in the jungle, and there is no space for a coat check at this venue.  As this is a cocktail party (standing), wear your most comfortable, sexy shoes.

Time: 8pm to midnight
Tickets: $15 including one Tiki cocktail

Love & Hate - My Top 10 Vancouver Food Trends

Grain of salt required, please. This rant is coming from a wine nerd and chef that finds it a little too easy to get a touch of the rage.  I was raised in the West End, so I've watched Vancouver's food culture blossom like an atom bomb.  Here they are...Vancity food trends that put a bee in my bonnet or a zip in my sip...

1. The Continuous Gastown Food Explosion! - Lukewarm - It's great, but lets clean up Commercial Drive before we put ANOTHER tiny, hipster eatery into Gastown please.  Commercial Drive should be like Gastown, shouldn't it? It's got the best groceries and delis in town, why not the best selection of restaurants?  It baffles me.
2. Glutards - I only hate the pretend ones - It's unbelievably annoying to cook for fake gluten intolerant guests.  You take half your bloody day to make a separate lasagna with rice noodles or whatever.  Anddd... they eat the tasty real noodle version and leaving a tiny portion for the rest of us normal folk.  Sigh.
3. Paleo Diet - Hate it! -Eat like a caveman, hmmm.  No processed foods, grains, dairy or fun!  Just eat meat all the time, cause that's super healthy and great for the environment.
4. $17 tiny pizzas - Starting to hate it - Nicli, Nook, Campagnolo, Barbarella, Farina, you're all making very tasty pies, but you're starting to inch your prices up a titch too much.  A sliver of dough with a smattering of tomato sauce and 9 artfully placed pieces of bacon and arugala is not worth $17 bucks.  You're making a killing, so maybe I'm jealous.
5. Steak Frites - Hate it - It's boring.  We think of it as 'fancy food', ridiculous! Just because it's written in French doesn't mean I should pay $25 bucks for steak and chips.
6. The death of fine dining - Hate it! - Take off your running shoes everyone! Come on Vancouver, sometimes it's nice just to get gussied up, go out and be served like a king?  With the exit of Lumiere and many others, it's sad to see all of our new restaurants in the bistro category. 
7. Asian Fusion - Still love it! - Bao Bei, Fat Dragon, Wild Rice - This cuisine IS Vancouver, we need more of it!  Barbecue pork, potstickers, dim sum, more, more!
8. Man-Food - Starting to hate it - Meat & Bread style eateries.  Have you ever noticed how a ton of our new restaurants/butcher sandwich shops are throwing the salad out the window in favour of a thick slab of braised pork ass?  Bring the salad back, someone, quick before my heart stops.
9. Hot & Sticky foods - Lukewarm - Pomegranate, dates, figs - Meh - Dates stuffed with goat cheese, um.. I can't taste the cheese anymore, my filling is screaming at me. Pomagranates, tasty but yesterday's news, super not local. Figs, still love em, the green ones are local even.  Bake them slowly with a dash of a good balsamic and then serve them with Tiger Blue, BC cheese. 
10. The Death of Sweet Wine - Hate it! - As much as Salt Tasting Room tries to promote it's sherry selection, it's still not catching on.  Joey's wine bar for example, has not one even off-dry wine on offer.  A good German riesling like Balthasar Ries would be fine.  JUST ONE!  Why do we hate anything that's even slightly sweet?  Brainwashing and memories of Blue Nun, I guess.

My top 5 Must have Wine Apps for Wine Lovers in BC

Domaine Carneros - yummy bubbles

Iphone wine apps are affordable tools that let you learn more about wine and remember what you have learned.  Remembering being the key to future enjoyment.

1. Pair It (4.99)  - Wine and food pairing database.  Because what you eat with it will completely change the wine you're drinking, seriously.  Great for burgeoning wine nerds and chefs.
2. BC Liquor Stores (free) - All my BC readers will need this one.  Not sure if our headless monster of a liquor monopoly has what you're looking for or what the price is?  Product search any wine here, easy.
3. Fromage (2.99) - Cheese and wine were lovers from the start; and a journey into wine should start with cheese.  This app demystifies all those crazy French cheeses, categorizing them by milk type, wine pairing suggestions, your own tasting notes, 750 cheeses listed
4. Wine Spectators Vintage Chart (free) - Vintage matters folks, especially with cool climate wine countries like France, Germany, Canada etc., but who wants to memorize all those dates! Before you buy that expensive bottle, check it!
5. Drync Wine (free) - A virtual cellar tracker/ and general tool to take wine notes on all the lovelies you sample.  That way you'll remember what you like:)

Your resident Chef and Sommelier,
Robin

Molecular Gastronomy vs Hunter Gatherer - FIGHT!

Which new food trend are you into? Has anyone noticed how strange it is that the molecular gastronomy and hunter/gatherer food movements happened simultaneously?  It's like we're bored of regular ole yummy food.  Are we so pampered that we have to make it super difficult to create meals that will blow our minds?  Please tell me what you think, I'm dying for a debate.

Adam Melonas's "Octopop": a very low temperature cooked octopus fused using transglutaminase

I'm not sure yet whether I'm amazed or annoyed with molecular gastronomy.  Possibly, it's like when photography became an art form, I just have to learn to appreciate the new medium.  My past as an art director has me enraptured by the new frontiers of food design that the food science mind contrives. +1 point to molecular gastronomy, it's cool looking.  But it leaves me a bit cold, it treats food most distinctly as a product.  A set of bells and whistles that react to our heavily studied desires.  I don't like my food being treated like a brand new car. With it's use of rotary evaporators, gels and the ubiquitous 'foam', it leans food towards being complicated and elitist.  But check above the photo out.  I don't know if I want to eat it, but it sure is purdy.

Oyster Mushrooms in BC, gorgeous aren't they.

Foraged meals have the potential to be spectacular right from the start. As the Italians fully understand, something that is freshly picked and grown native to your area tastes like a little piece of place and time.  The challenge is in getting familiar with the forageable ingredients native to our region, a skill that is quite lost on us in Canada as most of us are immigrants.  A hefty chunk of foraging fear comes along with the territory, mushrooms are scary (or not if you learn about them - check out this mushroom ID trip)! On an intellectual level, I understand the hunter/gatherer movement, it fits in nicely with the 'eat local' mentality which is essential to our survival.  We're looking to have a closer connection with mother nature, so that she doesn't turn her back on us.  Intuitively, I 'feel good' about this trend more so than molecular gastronomy.  Foraging is something that we need to be careful with though, so that we don't tax our dwindling and fragile natural ecosystems.  Foraging is challenging and time consuming, no doubt.  But hand picking a chanterelle, bringing it into your kitchen and introducing it to butter and a good sherry is simple magic.

Not that these trends are mutually exclusive as the worlds top rated restaurant NOMA would attest to.

But what do you think?
Chef Robin

Candied Rose Petals & Why I don't care about Valentine's

It's my birthday on Valentine's Day.  So, why did I decide to run a secret supper that day and cook for three days straight for 16 guests?  Because, I don't really care about Valentine's Day or my birthday.  I'm going to Cuba in a week!

The menu is centered around  love and truffles.  White truffles, black truffles and chocolate truffles.  For the chocolate truffles I wanted to add a delicate crunch and some colour to the presentation.  I'm going to nestle each truffle in a rose petal.  One thing about candying flower petals is that they usually taste pretty green and slightly bitter.  I don't mind the bitter contrast, but I'm going to add a little orange zest to the egg white to bring some dimension to the flavour.  Here's the recipe..

Ingredients:
2 Roses - pick your colour
1/2 cup sugar (chose whatever grade you want, berry sugar is a nice fine grind)
1 egg white - beat with a whisk to break up
dash of vanilla or zest from an orange (add to egg white to flavour)

Instructions:

• Pick some roses from your garden or find a flower store that you trust to sell you food grade roses.  Or throw caution to the wind and buy a regular ole rose. 
• Spread a 1 mm thick coat of sugar onto parchment paper. 
• Use a pastry brush or clean small paint brush to spread egg white lightly on each rose petal.  Make sure all surfaces are coated.
• Put each petal on the sugar, then dust with more sugar to coat the top.
• Leave out on counter for 24 hours or until dry.

Place artfully on a cake or use to cup a chocolate truffle to give to your lover.

Top 10 Cookbooks - Suggestions from a committed food nerd

It must have been something I ate - J. Steingarten
For sheer entertainment value, plus exquisitely mouth watering and complex recipes. Look no further, I've read this book 4 times over just for a laugh, and used his pizza dough recipe to great acclaim countless times.  This from Vogue Magazines myth debunking, food writer extraordinaire, Jeffrey Steingarten. He's way nicer in writing than on TV, you'll love him, I swear.

Ratio: The simple codes behind the craft of everyday cooking - M.Ruhlman
Trains you to become a more intuitive cook.  Great basic recipes for a burgeoning chef from sauces to pasta to consomme.

On Food and Cooking - The science and lore of the kitchen - H.McGee 
For food nerds, biologist chefs and farmer scientists that want to understand why cakes rise, just how long those eggs will keep and the history of smoked fish.


Rebar Cookbook - Alsterburg/Urbanowicz
Health nuts, vegans and vegetarians love this book.  I must confess, I make fun of every one of my friends that professes that their potluck dish is 'from the rebar cookbook'.  I hate hippie food, but must confess that this book is worth it's weight in gold.  And the restaurant is in Victoria, BC, so support local:)

The River Cottage - MEAT - H.Fearnley-Whittingstall
Just to counter the Rebar book, all meat eaters must get this one. If you eat meat, you should know about it from all aspects; farm to table as they say.  This book is a candid look into how your meat gets to your table, why knowing about your farmer is important and how to prepare the bounty that comes from proper butchering of well cared for animals.  Great recipes on how to use all of the animal and how to make brains taste like a million bucks:)


The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook
From one of my favourite magazines, Cooks Illustrated.  This is the easiest cookbook for new chefs to use as the instructions are very explicit.  You almost can't mess any of the 1200 recipes up.  If you want to know how to cook the basics of everything perfectly... this is the book for you.

Taste - Sybil Kapoor
Sour, salty, bitter, chili, sweet and flavours are the categories for this amazing distillation of what makes our tongues tick.  The recipes are simple and beautiful, just like Italian food.  I can't recommend this one enough, but it may be out of print, not sure.

Alinea 
These books are mainly for super foodies, as you need nutso things like vacpac machines to actually make the food.  I use them for inspiration; the flavour combos are mind boggling in this cutting edge culinary manifesto.  This book is Grant Achatz's of Alinea Restaurant, Chicago which is consistently rated as one of the top restaurants in the United States. A former sous-chef at The French Laundry, Achatz won the James Beard Foundation's Outstanding Chef Award for 2008.

Moosewood Cookbook - Mollie Katzen 
This is my #1 hippy, vegetarian go to cookbook.  One of the worlds top selling cookbooks from the former Moosewood Restaurant, New York.  Why?  Because, purely, the recipes are simple and so yummy (love the stuffed zucchini). No pictures in this book though, booooo.

Wood-Fired Cooking - Karlin
One of my favourites for the backyard backyard barbequer or the camp cook.  Fire does make things taste better, it's not just because you're hungrier outside.  Gorgeous recipes from super simple cast iron bread (I get comments on this one all the time) to fire roasted marinated vegetables.

Enjoy!
Chef Robin

Snowshoe Feast Tour

Hot Apple Cider in the clear air of the North Shore Mountains, nothing is better. Except the 3 course menu we serve on the peak...

Peak Menu
1. Smoked leek & White Truffle soup with Bee pollen breadstick
2. Duck Confit, ginger cranberry sauce, purple cabbage & fennel slaw
3. Sticky Toffee Pudding with pistachio crumble & whip

Come with us! Snowshoe Feast info

Cocktail for a Rainy Day

Amontillado Sherry Hot Toddy
Just what you need on a dreary Vancouver day to warm you up and get you giggling. I created this for the Down the Rabbit Hole - Alice in Wonderland pop-up restaurant last year. It's all about the Amontillado, yummmmmmy!

Serves 4

Bring to a boil...
2 Lemons juiced 1 Lemon rind zested Cayenne - pinch 1/4 c Sugar - add a little more or less depending on how sweet you like it

Reduce heat to a simmer and add the booze...

2 shots Alvear Amontillado Sherry 2 shots Ballentine's Whiskey
Turn element off and serve in classy tea cups Add a tarragon leaf - one in each cup

We're running a cocktail making event at a secret underground bar in a few weeks - Pearls & Cocktails

Augustus Caesars.... Sticky Toffee Pudding

This is a British dessert invented in 1907... but I've Italy-ified it with corriander and pistachio accents. A little Italy in Britain can't be bad.

Preheat oven to 350F Sticky...

Equipment: Baking sheet, 8 - 3inch ramekins greased with butter

Serves 8

Ingredients

6 oz pitted dates, chopped

1/2 tsp vanilla

2 tsp coffee essence (just brew up a strong pot)

1 Tbs ground corriander seed

3/4 tsp soda

3 oz butter, room temp

5 oz caster (berry) sugar

2 lg eggs, beaten

6 oz flour (self raising or just add 1 1/4 tsp baking powder + 1/2 tsp salt)

Sauce:

1 lemon zested

6 oz brown sugar

4 oz butter

6 Tbs whip cream

Topping:

1 oz chopped pistachios

Whip Cream (unsweetened)

Method:

Begin by putting the chopped dates in a bowl and pouring 6 fl oz (175 ml) boiling water over them.

Then add the vanilla extract, coffee essence, corriander, lemon rind and soda and leave on one side. Next, in a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar together, beating (preferably with an electric hand whisk) until the mixture is pale, light and fluffy.

Now gradually add the beaten eggs, a little at a time, beating well after each addition.

After that, carefully and lightly fold in the sifted flour using a metal spoon, and then you can fold in the date mixture (including the liquid). You'll probably think at this stage that you've done something wrong, because the mixture will look very sloppy, but don't worry: that is perfectly correct and the slackness of the mixture is what makes the puddings so light. Don't overmix.

Now divide the mixture equally among the eight containers, place them on a baking tray and bake in the centre of the oven for 25 minutes. When they're cooked, leave them to cool for 5 minutes, then, using a cloth to protect your hands, slide a small palette knife around each pudding and turn it out. Next, make the sauce by combining all the ingredients in a saucepan and heating very gently until the sugar has melted and all the crystals have dissolved.

To serve the puddings: pre-heat the grill to its highest setting, and pour the sauce evenly over the puddings. Place the tin under the grill, so the tops of the puddings are about 5 inches (13 cm) from the heat and let them heat through for about 8 minutes. What will happen is the tops will become brown and slightly crunchy and the sauce will be hot and bubbling.

Serve with chilled whip cream and pistachios.

Cocktails & Oysters

Lûdzu, is my favorite cocktail making, evil genius.

The guy makes his own bitters. That takes a lot of time...and doesn’t make you any money. So if you do it, you do it because you have an obsession.

I was actually introduced to a bottle of his Pirate Rum before I ever met him.  It was clearly created by someone with a remarkable palate and attention to detail. I knew I had to work with him.

Don’t tell him I said this, but he eats a lot of weird stuff.

We were on a road trip once and stumbled upon this Bison farm. Lûdzu insisted we buy all the Bison tongue we could eat, and then fiendishly went to work preparing it back at camp into a fabulous pate. It was incredible.

So, i’m excited to announce that we’ve finally paired up to create something tasty for Dine Out Vancouver.... voila!

Cocktails & BC Oysters
Join us in a classy underground bar, hidden in a chinatown warehouse for Cocktails & Oysters.

Cocktails (4) 
Gin & Tonics are all well and good, but it’s easier than you think to impress dinner guests with first class cocktails. Let Lûdzu show you how!

• 2 Classic Cocktails. These are your Go-To’s for dinner parties
• Lûdzu explains when to shake, when to stir, and how to make them with style, while effortlessly rambling off fun facts about their historic significance
• Local Ingredients Cocktail
• Made with local herbs and ingredients, hand picked by Lûdzu himself.
• Molecular Mixology
• Crazy cocktail creations using foams and mists

BC Oysters (4) 
Curious Oyster Catering will lead a tasting of 4 distinct varieties of local oysters.

• Experience the intricacies of varying flavor profiles, in the freshest local oysters from Desolation Sound, BC
• Black Pearl - White shell with black stripes, light and sweet with hints of melon 
• Marina’s Top Drawer - Gold in color with a frilly shell. Sweet and smooth
• Beach Angel - Robust and briny flavor, with a long, clean, cucumber finish
• Outlandish Gems - Delicate meat with hints of green apple candy and a delicate, briny finish

• How to shuck without stabbing yourself :)
• What to look for when buying oysters
• How to detect red tide

Dates:
Sat Jan 28, 7:30-9pm - Sold Out
Sat Feb 4, 7:30-9pm - Sold Out

Ticket price -  $89
Double Date Rate (Group of 4+) - $79 

Email now to book - theswallowdive@gmail.com
Chef Robin

California Wine Roadtrip - Essentials...

Anyone going to California for some wine tasting soon? No? You'd be utterly insane not to. Here are some tips on where to go and how to bring it back to BC.

How to bring it back...
I packed all these puppies on the plane back to Vancouver in my checked luggage. You pay an 85% BC tax on each bottle brought back to Canada, but you'll never find any of these wines here and if you did they'd be marked up to that percentage anyway, so have at 'er. Whites have a cheaper tax rate than reds which is weird. Check your airline for baggage restrictions and pack really tight, lots of padding. You do run the risk of breakage, but I like living on the edge, I guess. I will do anything for the love of wine! Vivre les Vins!

On $236 worth of wine... (I got lots of industry discounts at the wineries so that's why the total value is so low) I paid about $11/bottle in taxes (13 bottles). The volume of wine and the price is how they calculate how much you owe. Take your 2 most expensive bottles and use them as your allotted exemption (1.5 litres). They didn't check my receipts which I found weird. I had some wines that were gifts from a winery, in that case, you just have to ballpark the prices.

Where to taste...
There are a LOT of wineries, plan your route and phone a week in advance to make reservations especially in Sonoma/Napa or you won't get in to the top wineries. Go to the Wine Ghetto in Lompoc, Central Valley, you'll taste a lot more wineries in that small area. It's not as glamorous as the vineyards, but if you are a serious taster, there are no lines here and the pourers can actually talk to you.

Get the Santa Barbara Vintner Wine Map for Central Valley, very useful (ask at the tourist info center or the wineries themselves). Wine tasting fees abound $10-20 for each winery, but they pour you a hefty glass so don't feel shy to share with a buddy. Central Valley was my favourite region, I almost couldn't find a bad bottle and the prices were kick ass. Really good range of big reds to light delicate sparklers too.

Here's the list of my favs:
Sta.Rita Hills and around...
Sanford Fleur du Domaine - V+R White Rhone blend '08
LaFont - Chardonnay '09
Palmina - Malvasia Bianca
Longoria - Syrah '04 & Vino Dulce

Sonoma & Carneros...
Benovia - Cohn Vineyard PN
Rochioli - Ranch Red
J Vineyards - ViognerTruchard - Napa Cab & Roussanne 2000
Copain - Chardonnay(Anderson Valley) & Syrah (James Berry, Paso Robles) '07

Not present cause I drank it already... Iron Horse - Brut Rose, Domaine Carneros - Brut Rose... both fabulous!!
Best Pinot Noir I tasted was, actually, in Sta.Rita Hills at Sanford Winery. Their $75 Vista al Rio goes toe to toe with the best Burgundy in a top vintage. You'll notice the glaring lack of Cabernet in my list... we ran out of time and I lean to lighter wines anyway:) That's for next year.

My last tip is make sure you do some spitting if you want to remember any of your wines and be sure about your capability to judge your purchases. Or just feck it and drink your face off, your choice.

Down the Rabbit Hole - a pop up restaurant

Nov 24th to Dec 18th 2011

Follow us down the rabbit hole to amazing food, wild performance in a mysterious underground space. Swallow Tail is joining up with the In the House Festival to conjure a restaurant & show out of nothing. It will live for one month only.

Book the whole show just for you, your friends, co-workers or what-have-you, min 25 guests. Price is $129 reg/$99 booked before Oct 30. Perfect for your business xmas party, convince the boss!

Email us at theswallowdive@gmail.com if you want first grabs at tickets and to keep posted on this event.

Open
Thursday - 7pm show
Friday - 7pm show
Saturday - 4pm show, 8pm show

Nov 24-26
Dec 1 (sold out),2,3,15,16(sold out),17

Chefs List - Top 5 Favourite Restaurants in Vancouver

Wonder which restaurants in Vancouver are closest to our local chefs hearts? I've polled a few friends in the field that I know, love, respect and fear slightly. Chefs are by nature pick-aparts, everything is critiqued. Join any chef at a restaurant table and they won't be able to help themselves. It's like itching a mosquito bite, MUST DO IT. The perfect panel to highlight some of the true gems in Vancouver's huge roster of restaurants. It was really hard to narrow it down, there are so many wondrous restaurants, it was like choosing which body part you wouldn't mind losing. However, the final tally of restaurants were the ones that we dined in and left fully inspired or scratching our heads in delighted confusion at the artistry and perfection that graced our table.

Note: I have to keep the chefs vaguely anonymous as we all work in the industry and wouldn't want a scandal:)

So, here they are...
Chef Francie Pants
1. Nook
2. Motomashi Shokudo
3. Little Nest - Try: Any pastries! Especially the ricotta muffins.
4. Shiro sushi - Try: Sushi Fry #3 - on the special menu, it's salmon/halibut deep fried
5. Lin's Chinese - Try: Crispy Pancakes stuffed with BBQ pork

Chef Tee Wo
1. Au Petit Cafe - Try: Any sandwich with hot peppers
2. Kintaro - Try: Miso Ramen w/ fatty meat and rich broth, may kill you.
3. Belgian Fries - Late night chef craving most likely, like crack.

Chef Cork
1. Raincity Grill - Pacific Northwest at it's finest, great BC wine selection as well
2. The Nook - Try: Chicken Liver Pate kicks your mothers ass!
3. Tojo's - Try: You must order the set menus, they will blow the creative lid off your noggin'
4. Toshi Sushi- worth the wait. Try: House Roll or BBQ eggplant
5. Cibo

Chef Vega
1. West - amazingly consistent, creative, adventurous. Try: Octopus Salad with a glass of sherry!
2. Hawksworth - Try: Melon and Chicken Satay appetizer is pretty cute.
3. Bishops
4. Cru
5. Pied a Terre

Sommelier X
1. Maenam - Try: Red Curry Duck. Lunch special is a great deal.
2. La Quercia - Try: Seven course family style tasting
3. Chambar
4. L'Abattoir
5. Vij's