Showing posts with label Brains. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Brains. Show all posts

Monday, June 8, 2009

Brain Carpaccio

Nic from Niagara St. Cafe had been asking about the raw veal brains ever since i ate it the other week. His birthday was on friday and he celebrated it with 50 other people at the hoof. What better a time to try version 2.0 then 2 in the morning on a friday night. I rinsed the brain and froze it vac packed. Out of the freezer, i sliced it thinly on the slicer and layed it on a plate with a bit of preserved lemon juice, maldon salt and cracked black pepper. 7 lucky people, including myself all took a slice on our fork. As soon as the fork  touched it, the brain shriveled up and clung to the fork. Nic described the consistency best. It had the consistency of an oyster. It was perhaps one of the most interesting things i have ever eaten. Im not sure it will go on the menu ever, but definitely something i will keep in the back of my head for special occasions.

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Calf's Brain Tortelli

After a slow unproductive sunday we decided to use our minimal prep day to make some pasta. Colin made the dough, Guy made the brain filling, and i made the pork belly pastrami filling. Its been a while since i've touched some good home made pasta and it reminded me how much i miss it. Because of the beautiful weather, we decided to do it outside. Here's Colin rolling out the first piece on a mini pasta roller i dug out from the bottom drawer of my home kitchen. I bought it for 10 bucks years ago and its still gets the job done. 
Here's Guy and Colin making tortelli with the brain mixture which consists of ricotta and lemon zest. We served some up last night with a bit of brown butter, lemon and cracked black pepper and it was tasty. 
Fortunately, there's a ton of filling left, so me and colin will be finishing up the rest today. Look for it on the menu next week. 

Saturday, May 16, 2009

Veal Brains

After an inspiring dinner at Splendido last week where i was served brains, i decided to see if i could get some in from my suppliers. Talks of them being illegal from one supplier made me want them even more. My supplier was on a mission to find them though and one day 10 lbs of brains were at my door. I havn't quite figured out what to do with them, i was thinking a sandwich, because it is quite popular in the south, but im not sure toronto is ready for a brain sandwich. I'm not sure people will even order brains and its not something that can just sit around in the fridge for a few days. I'm thinking of pairing it with truffle, perhaps it will help it sell. 
But come to think about it, i didn't think the stuffed snout would sell, and it sold out every night. 
So perhaps i am underestimating Toronto and not giving the people of this city the props that they deserve. We shall see....