3 body week-long hangover

    Well, I guess that it's been a week since getting back from Vegas. I originally thought that I would come back to the weblog without much adieu, but in this case, what happened in Vegas DID NOT stay in Vegas; it came back with me and continued to bite me in the ass for the following 5-6-7 days. The kosmos was working it's vengeance on me and my little grab for the good times of ethereal cashola - yet I ask, what else could a stag be for?

(By the way Rommel, I asked all the bartenders down in LV about "the third leg of kermit" and they all thought that I was trying to pull THEIR third leg instead. I have also searched the on-line bartending databases and have come up with no dice on the famed kermit martini thus far. Again, I ask, in which bar in Vancouver had you imbibed this fine concoction?)

    'Tis been a long while since my last week long hangover, only difference this time is that I was actually able to feel it in all 3 bodies - gross, subtle and causal. F--k. I was as contracted and compacted as could be. Discombobulated might be the word I'm looking for here. Luckily I did not have to return immediately to work as my employes were still escaping the Canadian winter blues in the Carribean. Nice. I did have a project to work on however during their absence and it will become the subject of the next handful of entries here: Eric's first cooking class!

    I taught my first cooking class last night to a sold out "crowd" of 24 foodie-peeps. It was one of the hardest and most interesting tasks that I have ever performed. Seriously. Not since working my first night on the Saucier station (at Catch Restaurant) has something thrown such a pronounced curve-ball at me. Tossing me right out of my comfort zone, which in this cae was a good thing. Usually is.

Preparing and cooking up 5 dishes in 2.5 hours is one thing; doing it in front of a gathering of 30 people (including the serving aids, etc.) is another; but HAVING TO TALK THE ENTIRE TIME AND SOUND BOTH KNOWLEDGEABLE AND ENTERTAINING IS SOMETHING ELSE COMPLETELY. It challenged me in a unique and unforgettable manner which has given way to an odd sense of "relief/mountain-top sigh" that lasts even now as I sit to write this. It was possibly even more un-nerving than doing the cooking video for Integral Naked, perhaps in part due to the time constraints involved - one must also remember that video editing can make anyone appear to know what they're talking about.......thanks much, dear Ballard :-)

Anyway, I have chosen to share with you all the recipes that were concocted/demonstrated for this particular teaching debut. The class was entitled "Feasting on Salmon". (if anyone has information which contradicts or complements what I have entered into these recipe sheets, please shout it out loud! I am by no means the bearer of all culinary truth, as mucu as I would purport or like to be......) Here's an overview of the class and following it will be the first offering:

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Feasting On Salmon
Monday March 6th, 2006 / 6:30-9:00pm
Chef Eric Giesbrecht

Dishes to demonstrate:

- 1 salmon sashimi
- 2 cured salmon “lasagna” with avocado mousse
- 3 salmon tartare with crème fraiche, black Hawaiian volcano salt, salmon roe (on conge spoons or tuile cups)
- 4 salmon skewers (on lemongrass?) with orange-miso glaze
- 5 salmon mousse ravioli with homemade goat’s milk ricotta cheese, goat’s milk butter sauce
- 6 oven roasted salmon saltimbocca with eggplant relish
- 7 poached salmon with gewurtztraminer cream

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Salmon Sashimi

It doesn’t get any simpler than this – find yourself a sushi grade* salmon fillet (or tuna, etc.), pay the purveyor, bring it home, place on clean cutting board, invite your friends, and start slicing. Traditional accompaniments to raw fish in general would be some wasabi** paste, pickled ginger and soy sauce. Stop asking questions, grab a glass of chardonnay and tuck in.

*Depending on whom you ask, there is some discrepancy in the potential explanations of what exactly constitutes “sushi-grade” product. To purists, sushi-grade describes fish product which has met specific requirements of freshness, fat content, and firmness. In contrast to this, it also is understood to mean fish product that has met the aforementioned requirements AND has been frozen for a minimum of seven days at a temperature of about –25C . Use your intuition and make you own decision. (ed. just so you know, I have seen pictures of someone who had worms replicating under the confines of his scalp - he apparently ate sashimi 2-3 times per day. That particular fish was most likely NOT frozen beforehand.)

**Unfortunately, I have recently discovered that most of the wasabi paste that is consumed in North America is a faux mixture of ground horseradish, mustard, corn starch, and food colouring. (sigh…) While I have yet to secure a line of true-blue wasabi myself, I have come across a website (thanks do dear Ottmar) which claims to supply the real deal. Check out www.realwasabi.com to begin the journey. If you want to authenticate the experience even more, consider pickling your own ginger as you would any other vegetable, only make sure you get it sliced thin enough by employing a Japanese mandoline. As for the soy sauce, spend as much money as you’re comfortable with and go organic, as the fermentation process involved in creating it can only amplify toxins and undesireables.

la, la, et la.