My better half - blog editor, restaurant co-critic, and talented cook - celebrated her birthday this month. She is an invaluable member of the foodiePrints team. It is to her I turn when I try new recipes. She accompanies me to restaurants, where her fine senses of smell and taste can detect the faintest flavourings. She also happened to be the reason I started looking intently at food. What better reason is there to learn to cook than to cook for a loved one?

How does one celebrate the birthday of the editor of foodiePrints? Our friend Lou Lou started with a dinner party. I carried on with a foodie's picnic and finished with cake and ice cream.

Dinner Party:
As per the 6 months long tradition between our friends, Viv and Lou Lou, each weekend we have been attempting new recipes and inviting each other over to try the resultant dishes. If we're exhausted after a long work week, we fetch take-out and play Wii late into the evening. One Friday, we even discovered that freshly made Thai and Indian food go well together.

A Saturday before Jenn's birthday, Lou Lou invited us over to her place. There, she surprised us with quite the spread:

Lou Lou's Dishes
Clockwise from bottom left: stewed goat with sweet potato vermicelli noodles, stewed goat without noodles, turkey breast Thai green curry with young sugar snap peas, and fried rice with corn and green beans.

While everything was good, the stewed goat dish with sweet potato vermicelli noodles was by far the standout.

Stewed Goat with Noodles
The goat pieces came pre-chopped and bone-in from an Asian mega-mart in the Scarborough area. Lou Lou froze the pieces, intending them for a special occasion. To make the dish, she started by frying up some pantry dried spices (including some curry powder) and added sugar. Then, she added the goat meat and dashes of several prepared sauces. She was vague about which ones. I tasted some soy. Once everything was coated, she added enough water to cover and simmered the dish on low for three hours. Since neither my better half nor I have ever tried goat, she fished out some pieces for us to try before adding a little more water and the vermicelli noodles.

Sweet Potato Vermicelli Noodles

Stewed Goat
The noodles expanded almost magically in the cooking liquid, filling the pot. The flavours of the reportedly Northern Chinese dish were intense: sweet and savory, peppery, spicy, and slightly pungent. The texture, while not meltingly tender, just barely held together.

Goat meat does not have the strong flavour of lamb, but tastes different than beef. This red meat is somewhat sweeter.

When I first peeked into the pot, I thought Lou Lou had cooked up a batch of pig's trotters. Happily, I was wrong. It was much better. I will definitely attempt the recipe when again the temperature causes a frost warning. I should be able to find some goat meat in our local Chinatown.

For the green curry, Lou Lou used condensed coconut milk in a tetra-pack, which I've yet to come across in Ottawa.

Condensed Coconut Milk

For dessert, Jenn and I brought our attempt at Chef Rick Bayless' Olive Oil cake.

Picnic:
The next day, Jenn and I skipped breakfast and packed plates and utensils into a knapsack with a thermos of water and a stack of whole grain crackers. Around noon, we set off on foot to pickup provisions for a picnic in the park that divides Westboro Village's shops from its residential area. My intention was to have us enjoy a couple hours of quiet time, snacking on some locally made delectables for a late afternoon lunch.

On our way down Wellington Street, we stopped at the Ottawa Bagel Shop (1321) and Il Negozio Nicastro (1355). At the Bagel Shop, we picked up a loaf of white Art-Is-In bread and a portion of a Quebec-made raw milk cheese.

Bread and Cheese
Cost: $7.77 including taxes.

While we perused the artesanal meats and cheeses at Il Negozio Nicastro, we found ourselves spoiled with too much choice. We took some notes of things to try, but left empty-handed. That is, save for its business card.

Il Negozio Nicastro

A trip to through Westboro Village would be incomplete without a stopover at the Piggy Market (400 Winston Avenue). There, we picked up a 2 finger-wide slice of chicken pate and, as requested by Jenn, a rotisserie chicken. When last we went to the Piggy Market, co-owner Dave Neil didn't have a rotisserie setup.

Roasted Chicken and Chicken Pate
Before anyone asks, the pig container is actually a sandwich container that my better half picked up at the Dollar Store. Dave got a kick out of it when I asked him to forgo the butcher paper and deposit the pate into it.
Cost for Chicken and Chicken Pate: $35.02 including taxes.

Having only plastic utensils, leftovers from years of re-using them for my lunches, we discovered that one of the most important things to pack for a picnic is a sharp metal pocket knife. It would have made quick work of slicing the cheese and portioning the chicken. Instead, we made do with the serrated butter knife.

The raw milk cheese had a full flavour that I used to only associate with authentic parmigiano-reggiano.

Raw Milk Cheese
It also smelled somewhat strongly, but its sharpness and nuttiness were paramount! And yes, I eat the less substantial rinds of semi-hard cheeses...

The chicken pate actually had a mild offal flavour even though it more than likely included no liver.

Chicken Pate
It was extremely finely ground and smooth, spreading easily over crackers.

The chicken was simply the finest rotisserie chicken we've ever eaten. While it may have costed several times that of a mega-mart equivalent, the chicken was exquisitely succulent, both dark and light meat cooked to perfection.

Succulent Dark Meat

Dark Meat Served on a Cracker

Extremely Juicy White Meat
Jenn and I are still trying to figure out what went into the glaze that coloured the chicken's skin. It tasted strongly savory and sweet with a tart almost tomato-y-ness...We saw what looked like bottles of organic ketchup under a work bench at the Piggy Market, but that can't just be it...I surmise that the chicken must have been slow roasted to produce the wonderful textures. Perhaps it was brined beforehand...

I should note that bagpipers and uniformed cadets marched down the street during our picnic. They were escorted by two police cruisers, who blocked traffic.

cadets
With the elderly veterans gathered around a nearby military memorial, we figured they were commemorating a battle from World War II.

As for the cake and ice cream, they will follow with a recipe in another post , so stay tuned!

Update: Clearly, I need to get my taste buds checked. Sundays are Honey Mustard rotisserie chicken days. I just got back from the Piggy Market, having picked up a pair of smoked duck breasts and a loaf of Art Is In bread for appetizers this evening. The following is the weekly schedule as of May 17, 2009:

• Thursday - Mystery day (Dave makes whatever flavour of chicken he sees fit)
• Friday - Citrus
• Saturday - Jamaican Jerk (this WILL be the next rotisserie chicken I buy from the Piggy Market)
• Sunday - Honey Mustard

Update 2: I just got back from the Piggy Market (June 6, 2009), where Dave listed the ingredients of his chicken pate to me. There is liver in it, but other ingredients are added to complement it and ensure a creamy smooth texture. I bought another 1 inch loaf for supper.

Particulars:
The Ottawa Bagel Shop
1321 Wellington Street
(613) 722-8753

Piggy Market
400 Winston Avenue
(613) 371-6124
E-mail: thepiggymarket@gmail.com



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