Weekend Cooking

You would think that when you cook for a living, you would want to take your weekends off. Nothing could be further from the truth. I look forward to the weekends largely because it gives me an opportunity to cook in a totally different way. At the Red Apron, we cook each day for over a hundred families. At home, I cook for my own family and friends. At the Red Apron we purchase from local farmers and producers who we have established relationships with. On the weekend, I scour the Farmer’s markets looking for new producers, and unique items to experiment with.

This year my family has purchased a sheep milk share from Canreg Station farm, which we pick up every Saturday at the Main Street Farmer’s market. This week I plan to make sheep milk ricotta, if I can stop my family from drinking it all! We have also enjoyed a number of lovely dinners featuring their tender rack of lamb.

Much of my weekend cooking is done at our Riverhouse, located on the Gatineau River near Wakefield. The gourmet kitchen is much better equipped than my home kitchen. When the Riverhouse is not rented out to fellow foodies, this is where we spend much of our spare time. The meals we have prepared in this kitchen have been spectacular. We have roasted a whole lamb & a suckling pig; we have hosted cocktail parties for up to 50 people; we have made cinnamon buns & homemade bread in the wood fired oven; and we have toasted our fair share of marshmallows.

In truth, most of the cooking is done on our ‘Big Green Egg’. My good friend Mike (aka the Grateful Griller) sells these kamado style cookers. Quite honestly, once you have tried it, it’s impossible to think of going back to the old gas BBQ.

My Big Green Egg!

The ‘Egg’ works more like an oven or smoker and the temperature is very easy to regulate. The result is that you can slow cook at 250 degrees for hours, or you can sear a steak at 450 degrees for minutes. The ability to use ‘flavour agents’ like hickory smoke, add to the experience. This past weekend I was experimenting with a new batch of orange wood – fantastic!

This past weekend’s feast included a gluten free focaccia (baked on the ‘Egg’), accompanied by a medley of grilled vegetables, and a strip-loin steak, purchased from the ‘local meat’ section of the Wakefield General Store.