December 17th, 2010 by Dawn Becker

My latest trip to the St. Lawrence Market was fruitful. Oh that was a bad pun but not entirely intentional. I purchased two rare items from the market.

The first item was from Chris’ Cheesemongers. If you hurry you might still find some small-sized containers of burrata.

Burrata is fresh mozzarella cheese that comes from Puglia in southern Italy. The outside is a fresh pulled curd cheese made from buffalo milk that becomes the casing for a filling of luscious cream and stracciatella cheese (not to confused with the soup) which essentially comes from the word “torn apart” in Italian.

While Chris’ Cheesemongers usually have the softball sized burrata, what’s unique is that they were carrying a small selection of baby burrata, I believe because the regular size wasn’t available at the time.

This couldn’t be more perfect for me. I’m always loathe to waste anything delicious and a find as sweet as burrata must be eaten fresh and preferably all in one sitting. Once you cut into the burrata the insides ooze out and it’s virtually impossible to save it for longer than that. The baby burrata is just the right size for two tapas style or as part of a caprese salad. Or if you’re like me, it’s good for one, on a greedy night with a glass of wine and some crostini drizzled with olive oil. Yum. The cost for the baby burrata was $12.99 when I went earlier this week. (Added note: Allow the burrata to come to room temperature before eating. It will make the difference between delicious and to-die-for.)

The second hard-to-find, buy-them-when-you-see-them item were P.E.I. Scallops in the Shell from Mike’s Fish Market. Going for $8.99 a pound, if you’ve ever wanted to make “singing scallops” as I knew cooked scallops in the shell to be called from my Granville Island days growing up in Vancouver, you’ll know what a real treasure these are.

The clerk told me that they usually have scallops in the shell during the holiday season so keep your eye out for them. I think a pound, as shown above, is good for two as an appetizer. Cook them like mussels so throw whatever flavour base you wish in the pot and then steam until they open. Scallops are naturally salty so you won’t need to add much, if any salt and be careful if you’re using an Asian base of soy or fish sauce. I like mine with garlic, shallots, and white wine with a crusty baguette for soaking up the sauce.

December 15th, 2010 by Dawn Becker

A quick add-on to my previous post on holiday gift books, I just finished reading Cooking Dirty by Jason Sheehan. In a similar tell-all-tales-from-the-kitchen vein of Anthony Bourdain’s earlier book Kitchen Confidential  and Marco Pierre White’s The Devil In the Kitchen, Jason Sheehan doesn’t fail to shock and awe. Be warned, there is some colourful text. You quickly realize it’s just vocabulary as opposed to punctuation and so the f-bombs easily blend in and what you’re left with is a raw, honest and strangely tender account of Sheehan’s life in the kitchen. It’s a tough world out there and Sheehan really transports you into the boiling, sweaty, thrilling mess of the average restaurant kitchen. I recommend this book for readers who enjoy a truly gritty, graphic tale of personal discovery where the kitchen is the playground.

Katherine Darling’s Under The Table: Saucy Tales from Culinary School, has also recently held its post by my bedside. Memoirs are written with such a personal voice and an author can pull you in and make you feel a part of their private club as they share their most intimate memories and honest reflections. But sometimes someone’s voice grates you the wrong way and Katherine Darling does that to me. Under The Table is an entertaining account of life in culinary school but I think for me there’s an undertone of privilege or pretention that I can’t shake. Still I think the book is worthy of checking out and just because I seem to have a personality conflict with her written word doesn’t mean you will.

Released a few years back but one that I’ve only recently had a chance to read is Wife of the Chef by Courtney Febbroriello. An interesting account of another side of restaurant life, being co-owner and wife of the Chef is not a bed of roses as you might imagine. Single ladies, when you find yourself ogling the hot young Chef at the bar after the kitchen closes for the night, you might want to read this book first. Wife of the Chef leaves you a little breathless. When recounting her day to day work schedule, Febbroriello’s quick-paced staccato rhythm makes you genuinely feel the rush of her daily life… and the chaos. This is a revealing behind-the-scenes book peppered with real world frustration and a good dose of the passion and thankless commitment it takes to survive in the restaurant business.