Maison Cote (Grinder intruction)

You have recived one of my salt or pepper grinder and you wonder how to use it  well here is the basic info

Basic Grinder
Sorry those two pic are blur  but they show how to open the lid

This part is the grinder

 Where I point my finger is the lock  unscrew to open and refil

 Do not pull on the grinder to try to open as the rivet might pop out and then it will be ruin

 This is the dial for the grind size

Make your own Mustard

Infused a dijon or a old fashion mustard with some dry herbs or spices is a wonderfull way to bring a little extra flavor to your days


 Make from scratch it easy as well

Easy to make but need 4 day of rest befor use

• 6 tablespoons mustard seeds black and yellow 
• 1/2 cup mustard powder for binding 
• 3 tablespoons vinegar (cider, white wine. balsamic or sherry ) 
• 1/2 cup white wine, port wine, merlot or water 
• 2 teaspoons salt 

OPTIONAL

• 2 tablespoons honey 
• 2 tablespoons grated fresh horseradish 
• 1/4 cup minced fresh herbs (really any kind) 

1. Grind the whole mustard seeds for a few seconds in a spice or coffee grinder, or by hand with a mortar and pestle. You want them mostly whole because you are using mustard powder, too.
2. Pour the semi-ground seeds into a bowl and add the salt and mustard powder. If using, add one of the optional ingredients, too.
3. Pour in the vinegar and wine or water, then stir well. When everything is incorporated, pour into a glass jar and store in the fridge. Wait at least 4 day before using. Mustard made this way will last several months in the fridge

How to make Compound butters / "Beurre composé"

With all theses party coming to us for Christmas  here is a very easy and super tasty little gifts to bring to any friends true the festive season 

Compound butters Beurre composé

So easy to do so wonderful to recive

To make compound butter, you need to soften the butter and whip additional elements like aromatic liquids, herbs and spices into it. Refrigerate the reformed butter until it becomes firm. You can also give different shapes to the butter before chilling and use it as garnish later. Savory compound butters include a variety of ingredients like dried mushrooms, smoked paprika, mustard, saffron...

Fresh paste made from cilantro, chilies, parsley, dill, garlic, anchovies, mango & ginger...

Infusion with Alcohol  Cognac, port wine, Riesling...

Chop ingredients.  black truffle, salt confit meyer lemon...

 Pour the butter on vegetables and meat and let it melt to give food a rich flavor. Spread the butter before making sandwiches. You can also serve it with grilled meat or fish. 

 Organic butter

 Chilies , lemon grass, basil, salt confit meyer lemon, garlic, cilantro, truffle

 Papillote 

Mold 

You could put it in a pasty pouch and pipe it into a butter plate

Great to Stir fry as well

Compound butter has a smaller shelf life so use it just a few days after making it. 

The maximum you can use it for a month, only if frozen. 

one I really like is a tea infused butter  here is a recipe Infusion green tea Unsalted butter. Make sure to use a bit more butter than the recipe for whatever you're baking suggests because the butter will stick to the tea leaves. About 1 1/2 teaspoons of strong, loose tea How to make it all happen:

1. In a small saucepan, melt the butter into liquid

2. Add the tea leaves
3. Heat the mixture for 5 minutes on low heat
4. Remove the pan from the heat and let it stand for 5 minutes so that the butter is colored by the tea leaves                                                                                                                                             5. Pour the mixture through a sieve while pressing on the tea leaves. Throw the leaves away.
6. Let the mixture come to room temperature and then use it like regular butter in what you're baking

You could try it with a lapsang souchong smoke tea or with a rooibos 

Maison Cote Perfect stocking stuffers sea salt mini boxes...

Maison Cote offert since 1991 a great selection of gourmet spices, infused sea salt, peppers blends, rub, infused and aged balsamic, infused oil, sea salt and pepper grinder  & vanilla beans, paste, extract, powder & so much more ...

Mini Sea salt sampler boxes  

$4.00 Each or 3 for $10.00

Mini Sea salt sampler boxes  

4 per box $15.00

Olive Oil Cake with Blueberries and Pistachio Syrup

The Gourmandise School   of Sweets and Savories  Santa-Monica CA.

Olive Oil Cake with Blueberries and Pistachio Syrup You can bake this cake in an 8 or 9" cake pan or as 18 individual cupcakes (cutting the baking time in half). In a large bowl, place: 1 cup sugar 2/3 cup plain, whole milk yogurt (creme fraiche will also do) 3 large eggs 2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil zest of 1 orange    In another, smaller bowl, place: 1- 2/3 cup flour 1 -1/2 tsps baking powder 1/4 tsp baking soda 1/2 tsp salt   Set aside: 1 cup fresh blueberries 1 cup pistachio simple syrup (see recipe below)   1.  Preheat oven to 350.  Butter the sides of an 8 or 9" round cake pan (3" tall pans are best for this cake).  Cut out an 8 or 9" circle of parchment paper and place it at the bottom of the pan. 2. Whisk together your wet ingredients. 3. Whisk together your dry ingredients.  Pour the dry ingredients over the wet ones and stir just until combined. 4. Pour the batter into your cake pan or muffin tin and sprinkle with bluberries.   5. Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until set in the middle.  Invert cake after 5 minutes of cooling onto a serving plate and peel off parchment paper.  Pour syrup as soon as you invert the cake.   Pistachio Simple Syrup 1 cup water 1 cup sugar 1 cup pistachios    1.  Toast the pistachios by placing them on a cookie sheet and into a preheated 350 oven.  I like them well done, so 6-8 minutes usually does the trick. 2. Prepare your simple syrup by bringing the water and sugar to a simmer oven medium heat.  Once the sugar has dissolved, add 1/2 your pistachios. 3. Continue cooking down the syrup for 8-10 minutes, or until noticeably thicker.  Pour over your inverted cake.  Sprinkle cake with remaining pistachios.   Wishing you a delicious day, Clémence and Hadley

Infused Olive Oil

I just finish to bottle some Basil, rosemary, habanero, lemon & Truffle olive Oil 

We are on granville island till Dec 19 

Oh Winter Tomatos

Oh so sad Summer is gone and fall is fast leaving  winter is at our door with it winter crop of rock tomatoes  the only way they taste a bit more like Summer is by cutting them thin and flavour them with basil and oil a bit of sea salt and top on a slice of brie on top of a good crusted bead 

Maison Cote at Granville Island Public Market in December

This December we will be on Granville Island Public Market  with confirf date from Dec 03 true Dec 19  Then back Dec 27 true 30 

We are on the Waiting list for  Dec 17 to 24

Hope to see you then 

25 year old Modena traditional balsamic

Italian elixir only 3 Left 

This traditional balsamic vinegar of Modena is at least 25 years old.

It is not an ordinary vinegar as the word vinegar may suggest but a true mysterious Italian elixir. Traditional balsamic vinegar of Modena is made with trebbiano grapes must. This must is first boiled in an open vat over a fire. The juice is then placed in high quality wooden barrels (oak, chestnut, then cherrywood, ash and mulberry barrels) for at least 25 years and up to 80 years. It undergoes a long oxidation and fermentation process. This long aging process lets it achieve a unique and exceptionnal balance of fragrances and flavors.

Tasting : bright dark brown colour. Fluid and syrupy consistency. Complex fragrances with a noticeable harmony of sweet and sour notes.

100 ML.  $130.00 per bottle

Maison Cote Edible made in Vancouver, Vanilla for Holiday Baking

As we are all familiar with vanilla extract, very popular flavor in our world.  Maison Cote Vanilla Extract is a 2 fold  each fold is 100 beans per gallon of alcohol  a stronger flavor for your pastry, Maison Cote paste offer full-bodied vanilla flavor with a unique twist: the addition of the distinctive vanilla seeds in a rich concentrated paste. Vanilla bean paste have a thicker viscosity great to flavor cakes, puddings, cookies, custards, icing, frosting's, whipped cream, ice cream or anywhere the flavor and appearance of vanilla bean is desired, great on seafood, butter & potatoes. Using vanilla paste saves the effort of scraping the seeds from the whole vanilla bean and render a full vanilla flavor as the extract just leave a delicate imprint of vanilla, You will experience a professional result, you get a much fuller, richer and intense hit of vanilla. Our Vanilla Paste is for the chef or baker who wants performance out of their vanilla. Since it is full of Vanilla seeds this paste packs a serious flavor punch!

Maison Cote Pure Vanilla Powder is as it name mention Pure nothing els then ground Vanilla beans pod & seeds, you could see on our picture  the vanilla  powder is dark as it should be as the Vanilla beans are the same color there is cheap vanilla powder in Vancouver Store they are beige  Read the ingredients before as they are full of maltrodextrine, starch...

For the purist we cary  Vanilla beans  Madagascar a wonderful aroma of light cook buttery vanilla  in pack of 5 for $6.00  2 pack for $10.00 or in 1/4 Lbs  $20.00

 

Warm Salad of Roasted Artichoke, New Potatoes and Pine Nuts

From my Friends in Santa Monica  Warm Salad of Roasted Artichoke, New Potatoes and Pine Nuts Serves 6 1 lb. baby artichokes  1 lb. fingerling potatoes  ¼ cup pine nuts 1 lemon 6 cloves garlic, peeled 1 small bunch parsley, chopped Sea salt Extra virgin olive oil Parmesan, pecorino or asiago cheese (whole, not grated!) Pre-heat the oven to 375. Cut the potatoes in half lengthwise, and blanch in boiling water for 5 minutes. Shock in cold water for 5 minutes to stop the cooking. Combine the potatoes, artichokes, garlic cloves and pine nuts in a roasting pan. Using a vegetable peeler, remove a few long curls of lemon zest and add to the pan. Give everything a nice lug or 2 of olive oil so all the items are coated. Bake in a 375-degree oven until all the veggies are soft and beginning to brown-about 45 minutes. Take out of the oven and toss in a large handful of chopped parsley, the juice of the lemons and perhaps more salt and olive oil. Turn onto a serving platter, top with shavings of Parmesan, pecorino or asiago cheese (also made with your handy vegetable peeler) and serve.    Wishing you a delicious day, Clémence and Hadley

Oru Dinning at the Pacific Rim Fairmont Hotel Vancouver

Every year after Circle Craft I invited my Family and friend who have help me to a good Dinner where price is no object, it is hard even in big city to fine a great restaurant late on a Sunday or Monday Night
I start this tradition years ago  where we go to the Pan Pacific hotel or at the 5 sails from the same hotel.
I remember the first time we try to go to the 5 sails it was just to late on a Sunday night to be served or there was a private function, we enjoy the little bar where they served a very decent meal, When we finally where in time for the last service at the 5 sails we where very happy and the food and service where wonderful, the second year we did go and it was horrible so we switch the following year to Oru at the Pacific Rim Fairmont Hotel Sunday night always a challenge for those big hotel, but there was a seafood buffet  very nice my family really like it so I decide to please them again this year at the same place after Circle Craft Show last Sunday,  so the 3 of us  get to Oru. When we get there, there was a function in the foyer of the restaurant but Oru was open for business, we get to our table, the service was impeccable, Everyone run like there was a million clients, As I was so relax after my own show at Circle Craft I was just happy to be sitting down, not in a rush at all  & in a very good mood,  the show from the Kitchen stadium was impressive, working as a well oil machine preparing all the dishes in a perfect rhythm, We received our first appetizers

We order

natural pastures buffalo mozzarella caprese | 16

village farms tomatoes, watercress, tomato and cracked pepper jam, basil purée

Not bad the Tomatoes and pepper jelly was the most memorable taste, like fresh tomatoes water in agar or liquid pectin

I do not remember the basil puree but deep fry basil leafs  it was OK, not spectacular

yarrow meadows duck and rabbit terrine | 14

Lostock Farms Rabbit, heirloom radish salad, house-made mustard and pickled mustard seeds

Two little dry triangle of terrine  with some mustard seeds bloom in Vinegar Nothing spectacular 

for our main courses we chose

James had

12 oz angus reserve striploin | 38

&

chimichurri mashed potatoes | 6

Well I am very surprise to see a restaurant of this level not to have a sous vide station 

the meat was order medium rare and it was so caramelize and the center have no degree of coloration  it was very strange  as James removed all the side of it piece as it was so hard and burn 

the Potato with chimichurri was exceptional

Julisa had 

lobster and angus reserve short rib | 45

whole lobster with chili lime butter, braised short rib, roasted root vegetables, chimichurri whipped potatoes

The lobster was OK  but the braised short rib was horrible dry and look like a left over for the day before as we where all very disappointed  we where quiet thinking we have to find a new place for Next year

I had

thiessen "blue foot" chicken fricassée | 28

pan roasted chicken breast, chorizo jus, pearl onion, sweet pea, crispy fingerling potato

Well I do not know how you could dry out a chicken leg like this but they did

The server ask me if I was done with my meal and how it was   I respond it was OK Thank-you 

then he reply just OK was it something wrong with your dish  I respond  the chicken was very dry , but it find it OK 

I was so tired I just want to go back to the Hall and finish wrapping my 2 pallet to go back to my factory. 

The Server was genuine if apologies  I told him do not worried it find, he insisted in offering complimentary desert 

I refused I repeat we are fine, everything is fine, do not worried about it , 

I just ask the bill as I just want to leave 

When the bill arrived he removed my dish from the bill ( It was very nice but not necessary as I have eat my dish) 

I leave a very good tip as the service was not the problem 

I do not Understand how a restaurant of this caliber could miss out on such basic cuisine dishes, it like there is no chef 

or sous chef to tastes what is coming out of the kitchen.

So disappointing, it is not the money is the lack of seriousness in a good cuisine.

My family ask me to go to a Chinese restaurant next time.

I am very sorry to write this critic but it was so, so bad.