Juniper Kitchen and Wine Bar

My in-laws took me out for a little post Christmas dinner. We wanted to go to Supply and Demand, but they were booked for a private party. So we decided to visit Juniper, an old standby. The food was very good and richly satisfying. Even after Christmas dinner. The service was attentive and friendly.

Amuse bouche Date with honey and spices
Amuse bouche
Date with honey and spices
Oysters with Juniper spicy kick, gin ice and citric pomegranate
Oysters with Juniper spicy kick, gin ice and citric pomegranate
STEELHEAD TROUT cured and smoked with carrot cinnamon purée and orange herb salad
STEELHEAD TROUT
cured and smoked with carrot cinnamon purée and orange herb salad
Interesting looking foon.
Interesting looking foon.
Orange Lemon Cardamum Crème Brûlée
Orange Lemon Cardamum Crème Brûlée
Amuse bouche for dessert Chocolate brownie
Amuse bouche for dessert
Chocolate brownie

Juniper Kitchen & Wine Bar on Urbanspoon

Christmas Dinner 2013

Every year, I venture over to Ottawa to celebrate Christmas with family. This year, no different, well except there were around 27 people this year. A record. We had the luxury of being able to use kitchens of houses right next door to each other. There were two 17 lb turkeys. (to ensure leftovers). Five cooks, over 1.5 days of cooking and prep. Now that’s my kind of gathering. A passion for cooking definitely runs in my family.

Fruit basket
Fruit basket
Navy beans and weights for baking blind
Navy beans and weights for baking blind
Dinner Menu
Dinner Menu
Double turkey time!
Double turkey time!
Dinner Buffet
Dinner Buffet
Dinner Buffet
Dinner Buffet

The deli and fruit trays were crafted by yours truly.

Deli Tray
Deli Tray
Fruit Tray
Fruit Tray
Fruit Tray
Fruit Tray

The Rock Cafe and Restaurant

When I first heard about this restaurant, I thought they served Newfie food. My mistake, I apologize. This is French Asian fusion cuisine.  The Chef and owner is very friendly; he likes to chat with his customers when he is not busy. The restaurant was empty when we arrived for 6pm.  Our meals arrived piping hot, and in good time. There was only one server, and as the restaurant got busier, the service slowed. We had to ask for the dessert menu and the bill, but that’s alright.

I’ve been waiting to try this place since they closed and moved in March. It is indeed worth the wait. The food comes in generous portions. Beware, the entrees come with two sides, that would easily serve as an appetizer. We started with the calamari. It was piping hot and crisp. I had the lamb shank with the corn chowder and house salad for an entree. The lamb was fall-off-the-bone fantastic. I liked the crisp potato skins that fell over the top. The sauce was rich and velvety. The corn chowder was smooth and creamy. The salad contained iceberg lettuce but probably would have been livened up with some dark leafy greens. It was served with a dressing that tasted like butter pecan. Yum.

Hubby wanted the prime rib but it was sold out. So he settled for the Muscovy duck. Settled is not the appropriate word. It was apparently delicious.  We both followed it up with a homemade tiramisu.

The clientele seems to be mostly Asian on this night. This is upscale food in a casual decor. I suspect that restaurant is family friendly as there were young kids there.

TEMPURA CALAMARI CRISPY CALAMARI BREADED IN TEMPURA FLOUR SERVED WITH THE ROCK TARTAR SAUCE
TEMPURA CALAMARI
CRISPY CALAMARI BREADED IN TEMPURA FLOUR SERVED WITH THE ROCK TARTAR SAUCE
MUSCOVY DUCK BREAST ROASTED 10 OZ DUCK BREAST SERVED WITH SAUTEED SPINACH AND MUSHROOM IN ORANGE BRANDY SAUCE
MUSCOVY DUCK BREAST
ROASTED 10 OZ DUCK BREAST SERVED WITH SAUTEED SPINACH AND MUSHROOM IN ORANGE BRANDY SAUCE
Soup of the day Corn Chowder
Soup of the day
Corn Chowder
ROCKING LAMB SHANK JUMBO LAMB SHANK BRAISED WITH ROSEMARY DEMI JUS
ROCKING LAMB SHANK
JUMBO LAMB SHANK BRAISED WITH ROSEMARY DEMI JUS
TIRAMISU HOUSE MADE
TIRAMISU
HOUSE MADE

The Rock Café & Restaurant on Urbanspoon

Tacos de Pescado

Memories of Baja. Specifically fish tacos. I had a hankering for some this week and crawled the web for something suitable.

I bought  some tilapia and pan fried it with salt and pepper. I also bought some haddock and baked it in cornmeal. To serve, I heated corn or flour tortillas with the fish on top in a frying pan. Topped with white sauce, red cabbage slaw and a squeeze of lime.

Salsa blanca para tacos de pescado (White sauce for fish tacos)

Ensalada de col lombarda (Red cabbage slaw)

Oven fried fish

Tacos de pescado with pan fried tilapia
Tacos de pescado with pan fried tilapia

Holiday Cookie Exchange

I used to call it a Christmas Cookie Exchange, but since people starting bringing all sorts of cookies, it’s an excuse for those of us that like to bake to get together during the holidays.  I think in terms of numbers, this was the most cookies I’ve had at an exchange. We had everything from traditional holiday shortbread to cheesecake tarts.  I baked my famous black sea salt caramel cookies and matcha cookies. I love the variety. Sadly, I end up giving most of it away at work, or to friends. If I ate all that, I would be a blimp!

For snacks, I made some mulled cider (non alcoholic). I also ordered a pumpkin spice cake from Fraiche Desserts. They are local and make wonderful desserts and baked goods. I also found some savoury Indian doughnuts at the Dalbrent Spice Rack. They are gluten free, but are made in a factory with wheat. So, not for celiacs. They went really well with the sweet and spicy chutneys.

Black sea salt caramel, chocolate, red raspberry twirls, s'mores, ginger shortbreat, peanut butter sandwich, peanut butter, ginger snap, matcha, shortbread, cheesecake cookie tarts.
Black sea salt caramel, chocolate, red raspberry twirls, s’mores, ginger shortbread, peanut butter sandwich, peanut butter, ginger snap, matcha, shortbread, cheesecake cookie tarts.
The spread.
The spread.
Pumpkin spice cake, samosas and savoury lentil doughnuts with spicy mango pickle and homemade chutney.
Pumpkin spice cake, samosas and savoury lentil doughnuts with spicy mango pickle and homemade chutney.
Pumpkin spice cake, samosas and savoury lentil doughnuts with spicy mango pickle and homemade chutney.
Pumpkin spice cake, samosas and savoury lentil doughnuts with spicy mango pickle and homemade chutney.

Broiled Oysters

After visiting Big Fish today, I decided to continue with the seafood theme. I went to Billingsgate to pick up eight Village Bay oysters and a fillet of Artic Char. I simply pan fried the fish with lemon pepper Mrs. Dash, salt and pepper.

Broiled Oysters

  • 8              oysters in the shell
  • 1               green onion, finely chopped
  • 3 tbs        butter
  • 1/4 C       panko crumbs
  • 5 tbs       grated parmesan cheese

Shuck the oysters. It helps if you have an oyster shucker. If not, try a flat head screwdriver. Arrange the oysters on a baking sheet or pie plate. Use the extra shells so they will be level. Melt the butter in the microwave. Add to the panko and mix well. Top each oyster with some green onion. Spoon on top some of the panko mixture. Top with parmesan cheese. Broil on high until the cheese melts.

20131201_194700

These are a little over browned, but still tasty!

20131201_195559

Korean In My Kitchen

I was going through my list of things that I would get around to trying. Kimchi and Korean seafood pancake were on it. Last weekend, I made kimchi salad according to this recipe. It was quite tasty. This week, the leftovers became kimchi fried rice.

Kimchi salad with char siu and jasmine rice
Kimchi salad with char siu and jasmine rice

Kimchi Fried Rice

  • 2 cups             leftover kimchi, chopped
  • 3 large            eggs
  • 1 small            onion
  • 1 lb                  ground pork
  • 3-4 cups         cooked rice
  •                         oil for frying
  •                         salt and pepper
  •                        soy sauce

Beat eggs and add a dash of salt. Scramble and chop. Saute the onions in a little oil until slightly cooked. Cook ground pork in a pan with a little oil until browned. Season with salt and pepper.  Add a few tablespoons of oil to a wok. Add the cooked rice, breaking up the chunks until it is warm. Add the eggs, onion, meat and kimchi to the rice. Add dashes of soy sauce to taste. Cook until heated through.

This week I tried to make Korean seafood pancake, or haemul pajeon.  I followed this recipe.  Well, most of it.

Ingredients
Ingredients

I used a package of small frozen shrimp and small scallops for the seafood. I actually found the Korean pancake mix at the Korean grocery store. By the way, sweet rice flour is also known as glutinous rice flour. Note that it doesn’t actually contain gluten! I think it refers to the rice being sticky.

I decided, that because the only large frying pan I owned is 12″ to fry twice instead of three times. A bit of a mistake. The pancake fell apart when I tried to flip it. I’ll need to follow the instructions with my new 8″ Calphalon pan or buy a 10″… Decisions. Oh well, it turned out tasty.

20131201_115820

Oopsie.
Oopsie.
But tasty
But tasty