Playoff fever is hitting the city of Vancouver, and even though I haven’t made a post about it yet… rest assured, I have been watching every Canucks game and following the team with dedication this year. After all, I did wear my jersey every single day of the playoffs last year as my “playoff beard”. You can check out some of my other posts on the Canucks.

I think the Canucks have a pretty good shot at the playoffs this year, despite some problems in the last two games against the Kings. I think they will pull through and get a win tonight, and we’ll see the Sedins step up again and hopefully Edler will come out hitting. It’s been a humbling time for Luongo and I think many fans are falling off the Lou bandwagon as his performance has been less than stellar as of late. Still — I believe in Blue and Lou (get it?  ha ha) and I’m rooting for my ‘Nucks all the way.

Go Canucks Go!

Anyway, in other news, this past weekend Allan and I cooked up some pretty ridiculous fish and chips. Yes, we cooked it in duck fat. Wait… before you recoil, know this: animal fat gets a bad rap but it’s actually pretty good for you. It doesn’t contain any of the chemicals that some butters, margarines and oils do… and it certainly tastes a lot better. Still, if you don’t want to cook using animal fat, simply modify this recipe and use canola oil instead.

Other compliments to the meal that we made?

Homemade aged-cheddar cheese buttermilk biscuits… (see recipe here) …

And dark chocolate chunk cookies (see recipe here) for dessert.

DECADENT GUINNESS-BATTERED FISH AND CHIPS COOKED IN DUCK FAT RECIPE

1 package of duck fat (approx 8 oz or more, you can find this at your local butcher or in Vancouver at Oyama Sausage on Granville Island)
Canola oil for frying (a few cups depending on how much duck fat you use)
2-4 large russet or other starchy potatoes, peeled and chopped into fry strips the size of a finger
1 cup flour
1 cup rice flour plus 1/2 cup rice flour for dredging
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon chili powder/cayenne/paprika (choose one or use a mix)
2 Tablespoons chopped parsley (optional)
1 large egg, beaten lightly
1 can of Guinness beer or other dark beer (use about 75% of the can) .. THIS MUST BE COLD.
2 fillets of cod, halibut, haddock or turbot fish (approx 8 oz each, cut into half on an angle)
Tartar sauce, malt vinegar and lemon squeezes if you want

1. Heat the duck fat and enough canola oil (likely 1-2 cups, enough to cover the chips and eventually the fish) in a large bottomed pot or a deep fryer to 325 degrees F. Use a oil/candy thermometer if you have one, otherwise try and eyeball it on medium-high heat.

2. Place the chips in the oil/fat and dry for approximately 2 or three minutes. They won’t be fully cooked yet, but remove them to a plate lined with plenty of paper towel to drain.

3. Raise the temperature to 375 degrees F and then start mixing your dry ingredients.

4. In a large bowl, mix together the rice and normal flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, pepper, chili powder, and about 75% of the parsley. Now, mix in the egg. Whisk in the beer until the batter is smooth. Now quickly coat the fish in the rice flour (on a separate plate) and then dip them into the batter, making sure you shake off the excess batter. Too much batter will cause your fish to be kinda mushy with overly thick batter.

5. You are now going to fry the fish and the chips in the same pot. If there isn’t enough space for both, do it in batches (fries first and then fish for 4-5 mins each). Otherwise, place the fries and fish in the pot making sure they are submerged completely. Fry for 4-5 mins until crispy brown. You may want to flip over the pieces of fish at around 2 minutes so that both sides are evenly brown. Remove to a plate. Let sit for a couple minutes (the fish will continue to cook inside and this will allow it to retain the juiciness).

6. Sprinkle with freshly ground salt and pepper and a little fresh parsley.  Serve and eat… yum! I ate mine with a biscuit instead of fries, but Allan had his with the chips. Both taste great! Sooooo good. It was really crispy.

Yes, this post is pretty much everything but the kitchen sink. Snowboarding, logos, food… yeesh!

First off, I want to share an awesome new logo/graphic that my long-time and good friend Mike M. made! He knows I love surfing and snowboarding, and so he created an amazing new identity for me to make into a graphic for my snowboard. I love it! Thanks Mike!

Before I get to the recipes, I wanted to talk a little bit about our plans for the upcoming easter weekend! Remember that contest that I entered for catboarding? Check out the video entry I sent in below. I was surprised several weeks ago to find out that I won! So we’ll be heading to Mustang Powder for three full days of sweet, sweet catboarding at their remote lodge including food and accommodation! Allan had to pay for himself so I’m going to help out with that… so really it’s more like getting catboarding for half price.

Packing for the trip starts this afternoon, and then we’re off early tomorrow morning for a 7 hour drive almost near Revelstoke into the Monashees mountains where we’ll be picked up by snowcat to get to the lodge. I am extremely excited. You can bet that we’ll be taking lots of photos and videos.

In other news, somehow I got roped into cooking a couple times during this busy week, so I thought I’d post up a couple more photos and two more recipes for you to try out. The first is the arctic char. I actually had this dish at West Restaurant here in Vancouver, but there was no recipe for it in their cookbook. So I created this dish only from taste and memory, but I totally lucked out and it actually turned out almost identical! This is one of my favourite fish dishes because of the really crispy skin but tender buttery flesh, along with the contrast of texture and flavour of the fennel, mushrooms and spinach.

Crispy Arctic Char with Crispy Fennel, Buttery Mushrooms, and Spinach Puree Recipe

2 fillets of arctic char or one whole fish (we found ours at Granville Island)
1 bunch of spinach
1 fennel bulb
1 shallot
1 cup chicken stock
Half a paper bag assorted mushrooms (preferably chanterelles, Portobello or those small clumpy white ones that I’m not sure the name of, they usually come stuck together in a box)
4 tablespoons of butter
Olive oil, salt and pepper

First, make sure the fish is scaled, de-boned and filleted. Leave the skin on. Wash each fillet and then pat dry with paper towel. Salt and pepper both the skin side and the flesh side.

Cook the spinach with a tablespoon of butter in a pan until vibrant green. Place into a blender (but don’t blend yet) and set aside.

Slice the fennel bulp into small strips (peel outside layer).

Cook the fennel with another tablespoon of butter (yes, this is about taste and not healthiness, feel free to substitute for olive oil) at a very high heat until crispy and browned. Add salt and pepper to taste. Set aside. Then cook the mushrooms in a tablespoon of butter until browned, and add salt and pepper.

Start boiling the chicken stock. Lastly, heat the last tablespoon of butter with tablespoon of olive oil and cook the arctic char fillets skin side down until VERY crispy, approximately 3-4 minutes. Then flip over and cook another 2-3 minutes until the fish is firm yet still soft and flaky inside.
Quickly blend the boiling chicken stock (approx half a cup to a cup, depending on how much spinach you have… you want a creamy texture) in the blender with the spinach. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve! Spoon the spinach puree into the bottom of a large bowl or plate, and then top with the fennel and mushrooms, and lastly serve the arctic char skin side up. Delicious!

Next up… beef short ribs last night. This was heavily adapted from a Mario Batali recipe. This is Allan’s favourite meal in the whole world and he constantly pesters me to make it. It’s fall off the bone delicious, and very rich. It also makes a large batch and heats up great for leftovers. This is a great way to make any man fall in love with you

Tender Beef Short Ribs with Red Wine and Creamy Pappardelle

4 x 12-14 oz beef short ribs with bone, well marbled (we like ours from Tenderland Meats at Granville Island)
2 cups nice red wine, preferably a Barolo if you’re baller, or a cheaper Cabernet Sauvignon
3 Carrots
2 Celery stalks
4 shallots
5 cloves of garlic
2 sprigs thyme
1 sprig rosemary
1 sprig oregano
2 sprigs parsley
2 Bay leaves
1 Tablespoon dried juniper berries
1 can Italian tomatoes
3-4 cups veal or beef stock (Stock Market at Granville Island is awesome)
Fresh homemade pasta or dried pappardelle noodles
Assorted wild mushrooms
1 cup whipping cream
2 Tablespoons butter
1/4 cup Parmigiano Reggiano, finely grated
Handful of pine nuts
Olive oil, salt and pepper (also white pepper if you have any)

First, salt and pepper the ribs. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F. Heat a deep dutch oven or large saucepan (Le Creuset if you have it) over high heat with 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Cook the short ribs about 3 minutes each side until deeply browned, approx 15 minutes. Set the ribs aside on a plate.

Now cook the shallots, carrots, celery, and garlic in the same pot, making sure to scrape the browned bits off the bottom of the pan until the vegetables are slightly soft and browned. Crush in the Italian tomatoes by hand but do not add the juices. Add the wine and stir.

Now add the veal or beef stock. Try adding 3 cups and see how the levels in your pot look. Would it cover the ribs? If so, that’s enough. Otherwise — add another cup. Then add the herbs, juniper berries, and any extra spices. Cover and place in the oven, cooking for approximately 2 1/2 hours.

Meanwhile, make your fresh pasta or ready your dried pasta. When there’s about half an hour before you take out the ribs, start by placing 2 tablespoons of butter in a pan and on medium-heat, melt until bubbly. Add the whipping cream and bring to a boil, then simmer for about 15 minutes until slightly thick. Meanwhile, in a separate pan cook the mushrooms in a little olive oil or butter until soft. When the cream mixture is thick, add some white pepper (or normal pepper), salt, and the Parmigiano Reggiano cheese. Stir in until smooth and creamy.

Check on the ribs. At 2.5 hours, take the pot out and let sit uncovered for a few minutes. Take the ribs out to cool.

Scoop out and discard excess fat and oil from the pot. Strain the rest of the mixture through a sieve. Shred the beef and then place into the strained sauce.

Just before serving, mix the mushrooms into the cream sauce and stir in the cooked pasta noodles.

Enjoy! Serve the noodles up and then place pieces of beef over the noodles. Sprinkle some pine nuts and slices of Parmigiano Reggiano over to finish. Yum!

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And that’s it… see you guys on Tuesday when we are back from our trip! What are your plans for the Easter long weekend?