Nothing makes me happier than when a perfect plan comes together...sunny Saturday, friends, food and wine. I was lucky enough to have my friend Nick & his wife Nicole come over to my house with the most spectacular oysters and clams, that Nick’s family harvests. Add some cheeses, bread, veggies & meat that were acquired at the Halifax Farmers’ Market that morning as well as a few more friends and we’ve got a dinner party! The oysters needed nothing but a good scrub and a few shavings of fresh horseradish to be ready to slurp down. The clams were placed on my old school charcoal bbq and grilled until they opened, only to be doused with some fresh lemon juice. The meat and sausages from Roselane Farm were done up on a platter with the most colourful radishes that were picked up from Hutten Family Farm, and some Red Fife bread from Boulangerie La Vendéenne. The Old Growler & Dragon’s Breath were paired with red pepper jelly that Doug’s Auntie Susan made. All this glorious food was washed down with a little Benjamin Bridge Nova 7 (courtesy of my old co-worker and partner in crime, Darrick). The meal was topped off with ice cream sandwiches from Dee-Dee’s. With a full belly and a rosy glow to my cheeks, my evening was over and I can only look forward to my next one.
Mother's Day at Sugar Moon Farm
One of the great things about moving to Halifax four years ago, was that I discovered the little gem that is Sugar Moon Farm. I recently went back for my third "appearance" and had a blast! This time around, I not only had put together a menu based on maple (as they are a sugar shack), but I also had to incorporate all things "Spring". What a task... spring goodies that are found in Nova Scotia; lamb, rhubarb, asparagus, fiddleheads, baby spinach & sorrel. So, those were my ingredients, and what follows was the finished product. Behind the scenes I had a little help from my usual sous-chef/driver/psychiatrist/husband, Doug, as well as two of my favourite cooks in the world, Johnny "The Mad Scientist" and Darrick "Mr. Rock ‘n' Roll".
The meal started off with an amuse bouche of Roselane Farm Westphalia ham, fiddleheads, That Dutchman's Old Growler Gouda & a lemon vinaigrette..very pretty. Next, for the first course, a soup of Jerusalem artichokes with maple roasted shitake & oyster mushrooms..silky smooth with nice, sweet & salty roasted mushrooms. The third course was a salad of baby spinach with sorrel from Riverview Farm, smoked halibut from Scotian Halibut and a mint, maple and barberry vinaigrette. As a main course, I was asked to use lamb, and as always I purchased it from Bill Wood of Wood'n'Hart Farm in Tatamagouche. I had been experimenting with lamb bellies, and came up with the following dish; lamb belly stuffed with ground lamb, sultana raisins, pine nuts, mint, fresh coriander and a plethora of mid-east spices including sumac, cumin, zataar. This was roasted, thinly sliced and served atop a quinoa salad with grilled asparagus, goats' feta from Ran-Cher Acres and a ton of fresh herbs. We topped off the evening with a trifle of maple custard, stewed rhubarb and maple soaked brioche...very decadent! All this was graciously paired with wines by Bishop Cellar's sommelier, Alanna MacIntyre. What a night!