From The Deep Dark Depths - A Happy Birthday

It started small...very small, a minor scratch on a vast surface. It disappeared to somewhere deep and very dark, only to return now. The real question is, am I speaking of my own blog or of some crazy sea creature? We may get to find out the answer!

In one corner, we have a lobster. Crazy sea creature in my books, they start out very small and actually live near the surface until they develop enough to survive on the sea floor. When I say they start out small, think of mosquitoes. That will give you a good idea of their size as larvae (really young-I know I'm being too scientific). However, once this larvae becomes an adult they become one of the most delicious treats from the sea!

In the other corner, we have my blog. I started small, a few postings however June was the beginning of my "month of moving". By August 1st, I was moved in to a beautiful new home. Lakefront property, a large kitchen and a large backyard for a vegetable garden next season! This has kept me quite busy and this blog has slipped down into the deep dark depth of the vast oceans of blogs.

Oh, but what is this? It's my birthday, oh my! Maybe some lobster would like to come back to the surface to join me for this occasion...and two of them did! You can always count on the domino effect, if I am going to do my first lobster boil...I am definitely going to be blogging about it. So in the end, it seems like I was speaking of both!

The lobsters, about a pound and a half each were the perfect size. I love lobster but like it to be prepared in a simple fashion. I started with 2 cups of Santa Barbara Winery Chardonnay 09. It was a nice chardonnay, citrusy with a slight buttery texture. However, in retrospect I think I should have gone with a sauvignon blanc...next time.

Two cups for the lobsters, the rest for my roommate and I...oh and a lucky friend who just "happened" to stop by. I threw some fresh Italian sausage into the pot with some potatoes, onions, carrots, celery and fresh corn(and garlic of course).

The last things to go in the pot, our lobsters and a nice bit of cayenne pepper to spice things up. These were live lobsters from Nova Scotia, they steamed in the pot of goodies for about 15 minutes. They were tender and sweet, you just put everything on a plate and serve, simple!

So, two things have resurfaced here. Delicious lobster from the bottom of the sea and free time to continue blogging. What a birthday!

Sushi Ya - A Father's Day Lunch

This Father's Day, sushi was the consensus. My mother has been talking about Sushi Ya for a while so she insisted we go there. I hear many many things about restaurants, however, good value always strikes a chord with me(and at least 1 other person I know, you know who you are)!

We started with sushi, as always. I chose Pink Tuna, Yellowtail and Toro. The fish portions were nice for the price and the quality is good. This ended any sort of order, I went straight to a roll next.

This was the Tuna Bakudan, it was good however it could have been great. One thing I noticed, they use a lot of sauce and it can sometimes overwhelm everything else. The sauce itself, a spicy mayo is delicious with just the right amount of heat! The tuna was just spicy enough and the crunch from the tempura added a nice texture. The portions were nice again, just ease up a bit on the sauce. Appetizer time, yes there is no order here...deal with it. I did and I was still full afterwards.

The Soft Shell Crab was unbelievable and unlike a previous place I reviewed, I received the entire crab. It was served hot with a crisp outside and soft tender inside. The crunch from the batter was amazing and made me very happy. This one is a winner! On to the special rolls.

I chose the Magma roll and the Tornado roll. As you can see, The Magma roll on the top also has too much sauce. One quarter the sauce would have made this much better.. it made the roll to heavy. The roll itself was wonderful with tender sweet crab, cream cheese and the almighty avocado. The Tornado was a wonderful roll, simple and a good price! Smoked eel, shrimp, crab and cucumber with masago on top. What a treat and again, nice portions for the price.

Everything was good, some was great but not everything was great. I will definitely go back for another round though, you can count on it!

Sushi Ya
669 Corydon Ave
Winnipeg, Manitoba
204-452-3916



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Plans Are Meant To Be Broken - The Epic Adventure

Well, Saturday night I went out with a friend. The plan was to go to Smoke's Poutinerie for dinner, however as the oh so clever title suggests this was not to be the case(I will make it there). Parking in downtown Winnipeg sucks, there was a jazz festival in the area and parking was just non existent! We drove around for almost an hour before deciding to give up, where to now? We still need to eat, but what is open?

At this point we have no destination and are driving south on Pembina Highway. It is about 10:30pm and we are both hungry so we pull off into a strip mall to decide where to eat. Oh look, a Chinese restaurant and they are open until midnight! I believe this place is fairly new, it used to be something else.

We walked in, the decor was nothing special but somehow I sensed greatness in this place so after reading the menu, we sat down. Neither of us had been here before, or knew it existed for that matter.

We ordered and our food came shortly after, the dishes were simple:

Starting off with Mooshi, the filling was delicious! Tender strips of beef in a delicious sauce with garlic, tender mushroom and crunchy cabbage. The pancakes were authentic, and big! We could have made ourselves burritos with these. They held in the sauce, were soft and tasted great. That's a bonus in my books!

Chicken Fried Rice, always a staple of mine and they did it well! There was so much flavor without all the grease. Simple ingredients, large pieces of chicken with peas, green onions and egg. I could easily have eaten this whole plate, but that probably would not have been a great idea so I refrained!

Shrimp with Spicy Salt is quickly becoming a favorite dish of mine and it was exceptional here. The shrimp were plump, tender and juicy! Deep fried and then seasoned with Szechuan Salt they were delicious and went quickly!

On to the last dish, but certainly not least. Another winner, the Cantonese Chow Mein was full of wonderful colors, textures and flavors! There were crunchy vegetables, and lots of them and a combination of wonderfully smoky BBQ pork, shrimp and chicken. The noodles were wonderful, with some bits of crunchy noodle from being grilled, awesome! The sauce was just delicious and brought it all together.

So, things did not go as originally planned...but we both had a great time. We found a great new restaurant. The menu is large, the service is quick, the portions are great! The prices made this a great value and an even better find. Sometimes, the best plans are not planned at all.

Huang Pu River
2-1875 Pembina Highway
Winnipeg, MB Canada
204-261-4407

Happy Mothers Day - A Bit Late

Yeah, I was gone for a while...that happens when viruses destroy your hard drive. A fun experience I must tell you about, or maybe I will just talk about food and wine! Lets talk about a simple yet elegant wine and food pairing, the classic red wine and steak. Mother's Day is the perfect day for this, my mother does not like anything other than seasoning salt on her steak. This is my favorite way to have a steak.

The setting...a table. White tablecloth, simple and elegant.

The dog...Dijon, falling asleep...such a hard life!

The steak, a huge Canadian AAA t-bone with great marbling, perfect for the grill. Seasoned with seasoning salt and cooked to medium rare. The potato, baked on a BBQ and then topped with butter and sour cream. The wine, a syrah with a splash of viognier...the Vina Maipo Grand Devocion 09...dark plum and cocoa with a subtle hint of apricot.

Oh, whats that you say, another contender? Oh yes, in swoops black cherry ice cream with a fresh strawberry. You know what, lets drizzle in a little Provenance Merlot Chocolate Sauce because that definitely won't improve anything!

In the end, it was a tough night. I never came to a decision on the best part of the meal. I will call it a draw. You will have to ask mom for the tiebreaker. Happy Mother's Day to all!

Saturday Night - Try Something New

Well, this is my paycheck for rent...so the next two weeks are a very tight budget. This also means I can not afford to go out! However, as I am sure anyone who follows me regularly will know that this does not stop me from eating well. I had two ingredients I had never worked with in my kitchen, so I decided to use them.

The first item was a cross rib roast, commonly referred to as a pot roast. While I have definitely had my fair share of pot roasts, I have never actually cooked one before. After a bit of research, I learned I should cook it for a few hours with some liquid to help keep it moist. I had a great rub to use so I was ready to go.

The second ingredient was celery root. I have never cooked with this, and as far as I can remember I have never eaten it either. Celery root has a lighter taste than the stalk and is less fibrous and more starchy. I decided to mash it with potatoes!

My spice rub consisted of dry mustard, garlic powder, smoked paprika and kosher salt. You should put quiet a bit on the meat, it needs to season the whole roast.It is important to sear the meat on all sides, I added a handful of carrots and some chicken stock for moisture and then it went straight in the oven at 325F where it sat for about two and a half hours.

Next I began to peel the celery root, and this is not an easy feat! Then I cut it up and put it in some salted water. I let this cook for about 5 minutes before I added the potatoes to the mix. I mashed it all together with a nice bit of butter and it was ready to go!

Finally, the roast was ready to go. The meat was moist and tender and very flavorful from the spice rub. The potatoes were spectacular, creamy with a slight taste of celery. The baby carrots were tender and flavored form the juices of the meat. Most of the liquid had evaporated, leaving a concentration of delicious jus.

This was a great dinner, fairly easy to cook. It was not something complicated, just something new to try on a Saturday night. It made me feel better about staying in:)

Tour du Chocolate - A Delicious Way to Spend a Few Hours

So, this month was Chocolatefest in Winnipeg. There are 25 restaurants that are participating with their own chocolate dishes. April 16th and 17th was Tour du Chocolate, for a mere $5 you receive all the chocolate offerings from The Forks Market. There were 21 vendors involved and it was a fun way to spend a few hours. For you chocolate lovers, it is a lot of chocolate...you will be in heaven...for everyone else, it is a lot of chocolate so be prepared!

My roommate and I went, for the price we knew it would be a great time. The Forks Market puts on quite a few events each year, and I have always enjoyed the ones I have gone to. It is wise to come early as they only sell a limited number of the passports. I must stress again that this is a lot of chocolate, it was just enough to have everything, anything else would have been too overwhelming. All the vendors were great but there were a few that stood above the rest.

The Almond Tree provided chocolate for fondue, I chose to have a fresh strawberry dipped in dark chocolate. It was amazingly delicious, a great way to start the sampling!

The next stop for us was Fergies Fish n' Chips where we had a Deep Fried Mars Bar. Yes, you heard it right. It was warm and contained melty, gooey Mars bar with a crisp batter on the outside. It just screams delicious, very rich! This could be a fun dish to bring home and share with a significant other...I am just saying;)

On to Caramel Crepe, they were offering a delicious Vida Crepe. This was a crepe made with a chocolate batter. It was then topped with a luxurious Grand Marnier chocolate sauce and almonds. The crepe was good but the sauce was amazing. I would eat it drizzled on...a spoon! It was so good, wow!

Next we went to Danny's All Day Breakfast. I have always loved their hash brown poutine(if you do not know what poutine is, ask a Canadian, it is so good!), so I knew this would be good. It was not a disappointment, they served us Banana Chocolate Chip Pancakes and they were wonderful. The batter contained the bananas, which is how I prefer it. It was light and fluffy and the bananas were nice and sweet. Then on top was a delicious chocolate sauce with chocolate chips. What a sweet breakfast, literally!

The next stop was Chile, and we did not even have to leave the building! The Chilean Corner had Palmiers, a Chilean pastry often found in pastry shops. It was delicious with a wonderfully flaky texture and a light chocolate coat on the tip. The taste reminded me of butter cookies, the ones I was addicted to as a child but only got at grandma's house. Anything that brings back pleasant memories, is good in my books!

The next item we had was very chocolaty, it was good but a lot of chocolate! Tall Grass Prairie Kitchen is a great local place and all the ingredients used are local and often organic. This was a Chocolate Banana Bread Pudding. It was soft with a wonderful texture and plenty of banana goodness.

Next, we visited Italy with CasaBella Deli & Market. I really enjoy the sausages they make and their meat is all local. I have never had any baked goods from them but the Italian Chocolate Amaretti was wonderful. Crunchy on the outside and soft inside they were chocolaty with a hint of what I believe was amaretto. It was superb!

The next place had a wonderfully refreshing dish, it was savory! This was amazing timing as I was beginning to bore of all the sweet dishes, I do not have much of a sweet tooth. Grass Roots made this unbelievable Manitoba Bison Mole Chili. It was spicy, a nice heat on the finish with nice bits of tender bison meat. This was definitely the highlight of the festival for me! I could have eaten 2 bowls.

Last, but certainly not least, another local delight. Locally made hard pretzels dipped in chocolate. They were a nice light finish to a super chocolate day. These were courtesy of The Almond Tree again!

My roommate and I had a great time. We spent $5 each, tried some amazing dishes, what could be better? It was definitely a delicious way to spend a few hours!

Pork Shoulder Blade Roast - Slow Cooked Heaven

Time for another lesson from your host, the Food and Drink Man, and tonight's lesson, pork(oh what a surprise)! Tonight we are going to talk about a very popular cut, the shoulder blade however you may not realize how popular it really is. The shoulder blade is my favorite cut for several reasons:

1. Cost - Usually one of the lower priced cuts of pork, I usually pay about $15 for a 9lb roast
2. Taste - Very flavorful due to extensive marbling, should be cooked low and slow
3. Simple - Great cut for slow cookers, can cook all day while you work
4. Versatile - Throw it in a slow cooker, pop it in the oven or slowly smoke it for hours

The majority of my exposure to pork shoulder was through barbecue, but it is used by almost every food culture. In fact, my favorite version, carnitas originated in Mexico and I used this very style with this roast, but this post is not about carnitas so I will stop there! This cut is very popular in street food too, but you may not realize it.

Sausage - I am going to have to blame Anthony Bourdain again on this one. Something about grinding pork and putting it in a tube that just seems right! Okay, so some may not appreciate that imagery as much as others but when properly seasoned, sausage can have some of the most amazing flavors. So many different varieties, but I bet you did not know that most of it comes from the shoulder blade.

Gyros - Yes, believe it or not but the pork version of gyros is often made with shoulder blade steaks. Stacked on a vertical rotisserie, gravity does the work basting everything in delicious pork goodness! Shave a bit off into a pita, yogurt, onions, peppers and olives. A bit of feta cheese, the ultimate street food!

Tacos - I already touched on carnitas, which is shredded pork shoulder. You will also find tacos made with shaved pork, using shoulder blade steaks roasting on a spit. Filled with a bit of avocado, tomato and cilantro and then topped with queso fresco. Sounds like a great snack to me!

Sandwiches - This is where I first got my start, pulled pork sandwiches. The ultimate in delicious, pulled pork starts as a shoulder blade roast which is slow cooked for hours until the meat can be "pulled" by hand. The meat is pulled and mixed with a house made sauce, put on a bun and topped with coleslaw. Oh sweet comfort.

That picture is meat mountain, taken after shredding the roast. Most beautiful mountain I have ever seen! The roast was slow cooked at 200 F for 12 hours, if using a pot or a slow cooker, do not add any liquid, there is more than enough in the meat itself, trust me on this one. After I shredded the meat, I mixed it back with all the juices from the cooking and fresh garlic, mustard and pepper. Then into the oven to crisp up the ends of some of those yummy pork bits.

In the end, I made a simple sandwich! Two slices of toasted bread, cheese, a little mayo and Sriracha...and of course pork. Now doesn't that look good? So get yourself a shoulder blade roast, and you too can experience slow cooked heaven.