Les toasts de sardine d’Ambroise

A few weeks ago, while on l’Ile de Sein, I met a real sea salt. He’s a fisherman who spent his entire life going up and down the coast of France as well as up to Scotland. His stories of pre-GPS navigation and knowing the tides and the sea are mesmerizing. His knowledge of sea creatures is expansive. But most amazing is his humility and his smile. Ambroise is a national treasure and I had the pleasure of sharing an apéro at his house, a glass of Breton cider. In addition to this fine drink, he also served up his version of sardine toasts. Here is his recipe.

• One can of top-quality sardines in oil, drained
• Lemon juice
• Peperoncino oil (the Italian kind with the chili flakes in it often on the tables at pizzerias)
• Toasts or plain crackers

Take the sardines out of the can and mash them whole (bones and all) with a fork until entirely homogenous. Mix in a few drops of lemon juice and a few drops of the spicy oil. Spread the mixture on the toasts or crackers and serve, ideally with apple cider, from Brittany.

Banana Chocolate S'mores

It's a weeknight, you need something sweet, but it needs to be quick and satisfying without being enormous... here it is.

Serves 2

• 1 small banana
• 4 speculoos cookies (you can use graham crackers)
• 2 squares of 70% chocolate from a tablet

Take the banana, unpeeled and put it in the microwave on medium heat for 30 seconds. It should be very warm to the touch when you remove it.

Take two speculoos cookies and place a chocolate square on each. Peel the hot banana, cut it in half in the middle, and cut the halves in half along the length. Place two banana quarters on top of the speculoos and the chocolate square combination. Top eah open-faced sandwich of cookie, chocolate and banana with the remaining speculoos. You now have a premium chocolate banana s'more in hand. Eat over a small plate - the chocolate melts and oozes in a very delicious fashion.

Moules Mayenne

There are magical things that can happen on a boat. I know this because I spent five days on one this summer, navigating the Mayenne in the Loire valley. How to describe the feeling? It’s like you fall off the face of the planet because you completely forget that there is life on terra firma, while simultaneous thinking that everything is possible on your nautical kingdom. In consequence to this state of mind, it is likely that you will encourage the possibilities for inventive thinking. This is what happened on our peniche with mussels.

Here is a recipe for Moules Mayenne, concocted with the only spice we had on board, and a purchase that we didn’t necessarily intend to use for something savoury, and a can of vegetable that destined for a salad.

Serves 2 and can easily be double, tripled, as long as you have a big enough pot! 

• 1 kg of mussels (Buchot if possible)
• 1 tbsp of sunflower oil
• 3 shallots sliced
• 3 tbsp of Curry Corsaire (Olivier Roellinger) or your favourite curry mix
• 1 tomato finely diced
• ½ cup of corn niblets
• ½ cup white wine
• 1 cup of coconut milk
• A sprinkle of tarragon

Scrub and de-beard the mussels

Over medium-high flame, heat oil in a deep casserole or saucepot (like Le Creuset) with a lid. When hot, add the shallots and sauté until translucent. Add curry powder and stir to toast lightly. Add the tomato and the corn and heat through.

When the onion, tomato, corn mix is hot, add the white wine and let the alcohol burn off for 30 seconds, then immediately add the mussels, stir briefly and cover. Lower the heat to medium-low. Let the mussels cook. You will know they are ready when they are all open.

Once the mussels are cooked, remove the lid and add the coconut milk. Stir well and let the sauce come to a simmer before removing from the heat.

Serve the mussels with a sprinkle of tarragon and loads of naan bread to sop up the sauce.

And if you really want to be authentic, enjoy these on a 9 meter péniche, with a bottle of Chablis from Dauvissat and your loved one. We also personally recommend eating them on deck so as to discard the shells by throwing them behind you into the river.

French-Style Italian-Inspired Lemon Cheesecake Verrines

In Europe, it is particularly hard to find cream cheese. However, it is very hard to resist all the other products that they do have that North Americans don't, such as fromage frais. Another fine example, speculoos, which are probably the best spice cookies on the planet - ginger snaps are a joke in comparison. Lately I have been in a discovery phase, something that is quite normal when one moves to another country. Except the difference is that I now have a permanent and very willing test subject for the recipes I concoct with the new ingredients I find. Here is a perfect example of new textures, new flavours, yet with classic pairings that won rave reviews.

Serves 2.

• One single-serving lemon yogurt
• About 75g of fromage frais
• 8 speculoos cookies, crushed in a mortar and pestle
• Half an unused nespresso capsule of coffee
• Lemon curd (ideally Welsh, can be bought at a store)
• A few fresh basil leaves
• 2 empty yogurt jars (about 175g each)

Mix the lemon yogurt and the fromage frais well until the two are well blended. Mix the coffee grindings and the speculoos cookies together. Separate the cookie/coffee mix between the two empty jars. Tear the basil leaves and places inside the jars on top of the coffee/cookie mix. Add the cheese/yogurt mix, again separating between the two jars. Finish with a dollop of lemon curd. Refrigerate a few hours to let the flavours mix.

Itzkowitz Style Pulled Pork

This summer I had the privilege of meeting a fellow who enlightened me about the possibilities of making real BBQ without a BBQ. As the weather gets colder, the reasons for staying inside and tackling such a project become more and more evident. Not to mention, at this time of year when celebrating in groups calls for recipes that feed the masses, having this in your repertoire comes in handy.

So without further ado, I present Itzkowitz Style Pulled Pork with sauce and tips.

BBQ PORK

• 3 Tbs. brown sugar
• 3 Tbs. paprika
• 1 1/2 Tbs. garlic powder
• 1 1/2 Tbs. coarsely ground black pepper
• 1 Tbs. dry mustard
• 1 1/2 tsps. Salt
• 1 tsp. ancho chili powder (sub cayenne or other)
• 1 L cider vinegar
• Ketchup
• Crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 3-6 lb Boston Pork Butt (BONE IN)

Mix Dry ingredients

Cover pork butt with rub...there may be some left over.

Turn oven to 250F, put pork in oven.

Cook for at least 6 hours.

Mix cider vinegar, ketchup and red pepper flakes.

Baste pork with cider vinegar mix during cooking...add extra rub on places where the meat splits open...this will make an amazing crust around the pork.

RED BBQ SAUCE-CAROLINA STYLE (courtesy of epicurious.com)

• 1 1/2 cups apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 1 tablespoon (packed) brown sugar
• 11 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper

Warm up cider vinegar in saucepan.

Add all ingredients

Mix well

Remove from heat.

Serve pork and sauce on cheap hamburger buns.

Top with cole slaw.

Dirty, but good.

Jesse’s additional tips:

Put about a teaspoon of the homemade rub into the sauce as well. Pretty nice.

It is best to make this recipe with a bone-in cut, but a boneless one is equally as good.

Once it is done, wait about 1/2 hour before you begin to try and pull apart the meat, use your fingers (fun) and a fork to pull the meat into small chunks/strands.