Porchetta... and etcetera (2011 Canada Day Event at The Boulevard)

Pork! Pork! Pork!

TS:
Having recently tried porchetta at a local sandwich shop, JS and I left reminiscing about our own porchettas from the past.

Surprisingly, it seemed that we had quite a porchetta spree in 2011. And perhaps 2012 as well!


Pork!

TS:
One such occasion -- it may actually have been the first time -- was during the 2011 iteration of our Annual Summer BBQ Event. (See the event from 2010.)

We are usually leery calling this summer party a "BBQ", as guests would undoubtably expect our oh-my-god-it's-so-good Philippine Pork BBQ Skewers. JS and I have not had the time nor energy for such a feat in years. This is, of course, because we would have had to make an obscene number of skewers to satisfy the crowd!

So, in 2011, JS came up with a new concept: a do-it-yourself sandwich bar! We can cook off huge hunks of meat and that would be that! (Well, and make all the sides and condiments, too, of course. I mean, we're not slackers or somethin'.)

DIY Sandwich Bar, aka "TJ's Sammie Shop"
a 2011 Canada Day Event at The Boulevard



WHOLE WHEAT FOCCACIA BREAD

We've used the foccacia from Calabria Bakery many times before

(here, here and here).

Fillings


PORCHETTA
Pork loin wrapped with pork belly, roasted with garlic and herbs.

There are more gratuitous shots of the porchetta below. Don't you worry.


JS’ FAMOUS ROAST CHICKEN
Our signature roast chicken, shredded and ready for your sandwiches!

ROAST BEEF AU JUS
Roast sirloin tip with Montreal steak spice, served with its own jus.
(Pictured in photo of entire buffet, after a few scrolls down.)


TUNA SALAD
Tuna, apple, celery, red onions, Dijon mustard, lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil, salt & black pepper.

I have been accused on more than one occasion of withholding some secret ingredient(s) and/or method. But, once again, I say,

"YES, REALLY, THESE ARE THE ONLY INGREDIENTS IN IT!"


Sides


CHEF’S SALAD
TS’ own mix of good stuff – romaine, hardboiled eggs, ham, cheddar, tomatoes
– tossed in a spectacular tangy creamy dill dressing.


TUSCAN KALE SALAD WITH CANNELLINI
Curly-leaf kale with scratch-cooked cannellini beans in a simple lemon juice and olive oil vinaigrette.


TJ Tip:
Add a little dressed Kale Salad to your sandwich for tang & texture!



Not just Roast Potatoes,
CHICKEN-ROAST POTATOES
What makes roast potatoes better?
Roasting them in roast chicken juices! A little pork fat also joined the party. Woohoo.


Condiments


GIARDINIERA
Pickled cauliflowers, carrots, zucchinis and celery. Its tang is a great addition to your sandwich! We made hot and mild versions.


CHIMICHURRI
Garlic, bird’s eye chilis, parsley, lemon juice and olive oil. More than the sum of its parts.

Oh man, what a SUPER APPETITE-STOKER!
See it in action here with flank steak and here on a burger.


OLIVE SALAD
Think you don’t like olives? Just add this to your sandwich and it will change your mind. Used in our muffuletta and "muffuletta-inspired" stuffed flank.

TJ Tip:

Mix the Giardiniera and Olive Salad together to make a SUPER CONDIMENT for your sandwich. Hell, throw in the Chiimichurri as well!

Holy, I just drooled a little. Those 3 condiments!!

BEEF JUS

(Not pictured.)

CARAMELIZED ONIONS

SAUTÉED MUSHROOMS

PROVOLONE CHEESE

MONTEREY CHEESE

FETA CHEESE

(Pictured in photo of entire buffet, after a few scrolls down.)

Of course, also available were

Mayo, Mustard, Pepperoncini, Hot Sauce…

Dessert

FRUIT CRISP

Pears, apples, mangos, peaches, blueberries and strawberries baked with a sweet crumbly topping. Great with gelato! (Pictured above before they donned their topping and got baked.)

The entire "sandwich bar" in all its glory.

TS:
Of course, it was a bit of a struggle getting everyone to actually build sandwiches. Everybody just went straight for the meat (and the salads, too, actually). I guess that's just how we roll.

And now, more about the PORCHETTA!

Porchetta


JS:
TS is pressuring me to write my bit for the porchetta.

You have to remember that this party was almost three years ago! How can I remember what I did to a piece of pork three years ago?!?

Deliciousness of the porchetta not withstanding, everything seems like a dream now, and in two more years, it would not be far-fetched to imagine this porchetta dropping from the sky, like manna.

Maybe we'll just have to wait a couple of years. . .then this post would be FIVE years old.

Wow.



JS:

With a hunk of meat like this, I had to get it special from a butcher. An expensive butcher. I believe the whole thing cost about $300. . . three years ago.

I had asked for a loin and I had asked for belly.

I was concerned that it would take too much muscle (although these butchers were big guys) to try to wrap the belly around the loin, so I suggested to them that draping the belly over the loin would be good enough. They were going to tie the whole thing up with string anyways.

I had the butcher score the skin, as we only had dull knives at home. We still do.

Getting the pork was probably the hardest thing here.


The skin!

JS:
From there, it was a matter of seasoning the outside of the log.

Salt and pepper it was! And, I believe, some garlic powder and dried herbs as well (oregano, thyme).

Turned out that was all was needed because the pork was delicious as it was.

TS:
Perhaps, technically, this wasn't a "porchetta" because we didn't get to stuff the rolled up piece of meat. But no matter, we're still calling it porchetta.


The loin.

JS:
Look at it, so white and so tender and so juicy.



TS:
Since we were making this for sandwich filling, we decided to disassemble the porchetta after roasting. We sliced the loin and chopped the belly. We also separated the skin from the meat and chopped that up.

I believe for our subsequent porchettas, we mostly went with just pork belly. Who needs all that lean loin meat anyway?



JS:
If I may, I just want to say that the gardiniera was my favourite! Piled on top of the porchetta, it was simply fabulous. I loved the tang, the crunch, and the heat.


Want to try your hand at porchetta? Why not look to The Food Lab at Serious Eats?
The Food Lab: How to Make All-Belly Porchetta, the Ultimate Holiday Roast

Vietnamese Chicken Cabbage Salad (Goi Ga Bap Cai) on Sesame Rice Cracker (Banh Trang Me)

JS:
Going through our blog posts, we realized we didn't have a lot of Vietnamese recipes at all. How could that be? We love Vietnamese food: why haven't we been making it at home? A new blog event, Delicious Vietnam, is certainly an opportunity to rectify this situation.

When I butcher a chicken, I usually have several uses for the legs and thighs and can easily transform them into something palatable. The breasts, however, are a different story. I seem to get stuck in a rut with breasts, opting too often for chicken salad or Thai basil stir-fry.

When I don't feel like eating those two options, I find myself in a race against time, before the meat starts exuding that dreadful chicken BO.



TS:
After a quick browse through Wandering Chopsticks, we have killed two birds with one stone by making Vietnamese Chicken Cabbage Salad (Goi Ga Bap Cai).

Chicken


TS:
I was too lazy to poach the chicken breasts, so I cooked them in a pan. So, they're not exactly shredded chicken, but it was all right by me.

Vietnamese Vinegared Onions (Hanh Dam)


TS:
Too bad we didn't have red onions. They would've been prettier. For these pickled onions, it was a matter of adding rice vinegar and sugar to thinly-sliced onions and letting them sit.

Vietnamese Fish Dipping Sauce (Nuoc Mam Cham)


TS:
I normally use our mini food processor for any sort of garlic-choppery, seeing as we like a lot of garlic. But, Wandering Chopsticks recommends using the mortar and pestle. So, Wandering Chopsticks, this mortar and pestle action is just for you! ;)

(Although, I couldn't quite seem to get the garlic ground into a paste. Laziness reared its ugly head once again.)

I mixed together garlic, chile peppers, sugar, fish sauce and vinegar (in lieu of lime juice). I was already in the middle of this prep when I realized that we didn't have any limes in the house! Quel horreur.

Vegetables and Herbs


TS:
I shredded a cabbage head and a couple of carrots. I had half a cucumber in the fridge so I shredded that too.



TS:
Then, I realized that we didn't have cilantro in the house! How is that possible? We did have some Thai basil and some flat-leaf parsley, so that's what I added to the salad.

It was simply a matter of mixing everything together: chicken, hanh dam, nuoc mam cham, shredded vegetables and chopped herbs.



Sesame Rice Cracker (Banh Trang Me)


TS:
There has to be a better English translation because "sesame seed cracker" doesn't quite do these justice.

We first learned about banh trang me on a Food Safari episode. The girl making green papaya salad simply popped one of these in the microwave, then served her salad on it. So, when we saw a package of banh trang me on the aisle while trolling through a Vietnamese supermarket, we snatched it up. This package of sesame rice crackers was fragrant with coconut milk.

Following her lead, here's our chicken cabbage salad on a sesame rice cracker.



Recipe by Wandering Chopsticks:
Goi Ga Bap Cai (Vietnamese Chicken Cabbage Salad)

Vietnamese food at eatingclub vancouver
Squid with Black Pepper
Trout in Vietnamese Caramel Sauce
Pho Bo (Vietnamese Beef Noodle Soup)
Vietnamese Salmon Steaks with Cucumber, Garlic and Ginger
Pho Ga (Vietnamese Chicken Noodle Soup)
Vietnamese Chicken Cabbage Salad (Goi Ga Bap Cai) on Sesame Rice Cracker (Banh Trang Me)
Vietnamese Spring Roll (Cha Gio)
Asparagus and Crab Egg Crêpes

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We are submitting this post to Delicious Vietnam, a blogging event founded by A Food Lover's Journey and Ravenous Couple.

For more information on this first edition of the event, click here.

The round-up will be hosted by Anh of A Food Lover's Journey.

Quinoa Lentil Apple Salad

[ts]
This is the first time I've cooked quinoa. Since the package stated that it cooks like white rice, I simply used the rice cooker. Easy peasy!

I decided to add lentils for more substance. But, now what else?

I've always liked apples with anchovies as a snack (yes, that's right), so I thought to include those components into a quinoa and lentil salad.

Voilà!

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Recipe
Quinoa Lentil Apple Salad
Makes approximately 8 cups
(Serves 4?)

150 grams (approx. 3/4 cup) uncooked quinoa
1 cup uncooked green lentils
1 tin anchovies (50g)
2 cloves garlic
2 apples
4 tablespoons olive oil
juice of 1-2 lemons

Cook quinoa according to package instructions. (It cooks like white rice, the directions says, so I cooked it in the rice cooker.) Let cool.

Cook green lentils: add lentils and cold water to a small pot. Bring to a boil, then simmer. Cook lentils until desired doneness. Drain and let cool.

Finely chop/mince anchovies and garlic. Cut apples into small dice, about the same size as the lentils.

Combine cooked quinoa, cooked lentils, anchovies, garlic and apples with olive oil and lemon juice. Mix well.


For showcasing QUINOA and LENTILS, we're submitting this post to Weekend Herb Blogging, a world-wide food blogging event (created by Kalyn's Kitchen, now maintained by Haalo of Cook (almost) Anything at Least Once) with the goal of helping each other learn about cooking with herbs and plant ingredients.

If you'd like to participate, see who's hosting next week. WHB is hosted this week by Katie of Eat this.

Fragrant Celery and Tofu Salad (芹菜拌香干)

[ts]
This may sound boring to some of you, but the moment I saw this salad over at teczcape, I knew I wanted to eat it!

The bonus, it's dead simple to make.


left: Chinese celery; right: celery

[ts]
I started by blanching celery and Chinese celery. I cooked them to still retain their "crunch".

I used marinated tofu because we had it on hand, but I'm sure regular firm or extra firm tofu would do fine. Then, everything got chopped up!



[ts]
The only seasonings for this salad are sesame oil, then salt and white pepper. That is it! Of course, feel free to adjust each component to your taste.



[ts]
The result is so fragrant and flavorful, you could hardly believe it was that simple.

Also, I did not realize that this is a "standard" Chinese dish! Of what origin, I don't know. Also, I think this dish is usually served with thin slices of celery and tofu instead of finely chopped ingredients. I'll have to try that the next time.

For the recipe, visit teczscape - an escape to Food.
Celery and Fragrant Tofu Salad, 芹菜拌香干

For pictures of other versions of Celery and Tofu Salad, click on the following links:
http://www.healtheat.cn/html/95/n-2695.html
http://www.meishichina.com/Eat/LMenu/200909/68310.html
http://blog.sina.com.cn/s/blog_4b6ba8040100dfv2.html?tj=1

Enjoyed this post? Why not subscribe to our blog? Subscribe via reader or subscribe via email. Thank you!

For showcasing CELERY, Chinese and otherwise, we're submitting this post to Weekend Herb Blogging, a world-wide food blogging event (created by Kalyn's Kitchen, now maintained by Haalo of Cook (almost) Anything at Least Once) with the goal of helping each other learn about cooking with herbs and plant ingredients.

If you'd like to participate, see who's hosting next week. WHB is hosted this week by Prof. Kitty of The Cabinet of Prof. Kitty.

Tomato Bread Salad, Greek-style

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[ts]
As part our of "healthier lifestyle" -- not that our lifestyle was grossly unhealthy before -- I made this salad to accompany our lean pork souvlaki and our lean chicken souvlaki.

Whole Wheat Herb Foccacia Croutons

odd bits and ends

[ts]
Don't ask how, but we had a ton of odd bits and ends of whole wheat herb foccacia bread (from Calabria Bakery, mentioned here and here). So, I simply toasted them until they were crisp.

Tomato Salad, Greek-style


[ts]
I made this "Greek-inspired" tomato salad by combining halved cherry tomatoes, red onion, orange and green bell peppers, and kalamata olives.

The dressing is almost exactly like the marinade for our souvlaki: lemon juice, olive oil, dried oregano and salt and pepper.



[ts]
To finish the bread salad, we added the bread! The toasted whole wheat herb foccacia pieces got tossed with the tomato salad.



[ts]
This tomato bread salad was very flavorful and satisfying. The toasted foccacia pieces, great by themselves, were made even better by the tomato salad juices.


Pork and Chicken Souvkali, with Tomato Bread Salad


eatingclub vancouver Greek
"Greek" Calamari
Simple Greek Meal
Caper Salad
Greek Meatball Soup (Giouvarlakia)
Marinated Feta
Greek Shrimp with Feta
Greek Ribs with Tzatziki
Mushroom Ragu Pastitsio
Spanakorizo (Greek Spinach Rice)
Zucchini Ribbons Salad with Anchovy Dressing
Souvlaki (Pork and Chicken)
Tomato Bread Salad, Greek-style
Grilled Fish Fillet on Oregano
Pastéli (Greek Sesame Snaps)

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Recipe
Tomato Bread Salad, Greek-style

This is more a non-recipe than a recipe.

stale bread

tomatoes, diced
red onion, diced
bell peppers, diced
kalamata olives

lemon juice
extra virgin olive oil
dried oregano
salt
pepper

Determine the quantities of each ingredient according to your personal tastes.

Tear or cut stale bread into piece. Toast stale bread pieces until crispy (like croutons). Set aside.

Combine the rest of the ingredients together and adjust according to taste. Toss tomato salad with toasted bread. Serve.

Broiled Sardines with Beet Greens and Beetroot; Wild BC Seafood Fest; Steveston Fish Market

[js]
TS had this Wild BC Seafood Fest pencilled into her calendar, and lacking anything better to do on a sunny Saturday afternoon in late August, we decided to head on over to Steveston (Richmond, BC) to partake.

The event starts at 11 in the morning and ends at 4 in the afternoon and we got there at around 3. Somehow, we dawdled and dawdled until it was almost too late. We got there too late to see the cooking expo being given by the Provence team. Still, we managed to score some tasty eats from some of the vendors there.



[js]
I don't think I had a proper lunch before going to the Fest, so I eagerly ordered a sockeye salmon burger from the Seaside Shack family. I was very pleased when I bit into the burger: although it was a tiny bit dry, it was very tasty, with a mouthful of salmon in every bite. This was pure salmon, no filler, and I love me my sockeye salmon.



[ts]
I wanted to order the tuna burger but they were sold out. No matter. I wasn't really hungry.



[js]
We also saw the [C] crew, headed by Chef Robert Clark, serving up some pink salmon tacos and we grabbed one to share.



[js]
It was served with a lime wedge which we promptly squeezed all over the taco. The shredded cabbage, which was pickled, went surprisingly well with the salmon.

[ts]
There were other booths/vendors, but no need for photos. We just so happened to buy a couple of bunches of beets from a vendor.



[js]
Then, we saw this sign.



[ts]
6 sardines for $5! We were quite happy to be scoring such a deal!

With some sardines in hand, we realized we had to leave pretty soon, seeing as they're perishable. However, since they were frozen, and since we were already in Steveston, and since we haven't been there for 10 years, let's say, and since it appeared that a lot has changed (a lot more shops), we decided to stay for a little while longer and get out of the fest environs to walk towards the fisherman's wharf.

Were we glad we did!



[ts]
That, my friends, is the fish market!



[ts]
As JS and I remarked, "So this is where they hide the fish!"

There were quite a number of shrimp vendors; there were snapper for sale, sole, etc. But, more importantly, there were halibut and tuna fishermen! We almost always never buy halibut and tuna because they are just too expensive. But, pricing here seemed to be very reasonable.



[ts]
There's tuna for sale. The catch was, of course, that one had to buy the whole fish. Tuna is big! But, now that we know a source for not-ghastly-expensive tuna, we can actually imagine making something-tuna at home.


The largest ship there.

[ts]
Ah yes, that above is the largest ship there. One might say, the rock star of the boats. They were completely sold out of their rock star item, black cod (also known as sablefish).

Oh, walking along the boats, we spotted one selling sardines. They were selling 8 fish for $5! That's 2 more fish than the vendor at the Wild BC Seafood Fest for the same price! Man! We had no choice, we had to get the 8 sardines.

So, we go home with our loot of 14 sardines and 2 bunches of beets. I thought that we should make a dish using both of the ingredients for a BC-tastic meal. ;)


Blurry photos for "sensitive" readers? Or perhaps I just couldn't take good photos? Hmm...

[ts]
First thing, cleaning the sardines.

[js]
Just thinking about having to gut and clean the sardines made me want to chuck the sardines altogether. However, I persevered, consoling myself with the fact that there are only 14 sardines to be gutted and cleaned. I put on the gloves and got to work.

[ts]
Second, prepping the beets.



[ts]
I used both the roots and the greens. I must say, they were the dirtiest greens I had ever come across.



[ts]
To cook, the beets went into water with a touch of vinegar. The beet greens were washed multiple times, then were finally wilted in a wok with some garlic.



[ts]
I decided to make a salad using the wilted greens and the cooked beets, so I diced some red onions (pinkish purple, like the beets!) and picked a few mint leaves for that purpose.

We had some not-too-sweet raspberry sauce we made a while back sitting in the refrigerator, lonely from being left alone all this time. In keeping with the red-pink-purple theme, I decided to use that to make raspberry vinaigrette. I simply mixed together the raspberry sauce, some vinegar and/or lemon juice, some olive oil, then seasoned with salt and pepper.


Beet Greens and Beetroot Salad with Raspberry Vinaigrette

[ts]
As for the sardines, we simply broiled them, like we do with our mackerel: a generous amount of salt, some oil, and then we wait until the skin blisters. Of course, if you have the grill ready, that would also be very nice indeed.

See:
Grilled Pike Mackerel and/or Broiled Pike Mackerel



[ts]
I guess you could say that that Saturday afternoon was well-spent after all.

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BC Salmon Marketing Council
http://www.bcsalmon.ca/

Canadian Pacific Sardine Association
http://www.bcsardines.com/

Wild Canadian Sablefish Association
http://www.canadiansablefish.com/