Québec City - Quartier Petit Champlain

Summer Festival Festival d'été: 11-day music festival!

Beautiful first stop for the road trip! We stayed in the wonderful Quartier Petit Champlain in a beautiful boutique hotel called Le 71. They offer bikes (with baskets) to the guests for touring and the decor is beautiful. Great spot to start from to see this beautiful city. We really love Québec City -

Lunch at Bistro B: Very nice, trendy and friendly atmosphere. Open kitchen concept to watch the chefs at work: Québec Goat cheese with strawberry fennel salad and maple dressing. Very good! (sorry about the pictures - taken on my iPhone and did not come out as clear as I would have liked).

Second course: Smoked haddock brandade with roasted red pepper sauce and eggplant, cheddar french toast! Excellent and light.

Dinner at La Légende: This is the new offspring (5 weeks old) of chef Frédéric Laplante of La Tannière who presents a very creative and gastronomic way of showcasing ingredients found in our Canadian boreal forests. I really like this new trend in restaurants that give you the option of entrée or main portion of each item on the menu. We ordered three entrée portions between the two of us to sample. The decor and staff were wonderful. Very good dinner at a reasonable price!

Des mains du pêcheur: - From the fisherman's hands - oysters, Matane shrimp,
lobster mousse, smoked salmon, salicornia, sea snails, accras de morue (cod cakes -
similar to crab cakes)- excellent - Also to sample: Des mains du boucher, des mains du fromager

Animelles d'agneau: Lamb testicules - very interesting -
cooked sous-vide on a bed of picked fiddleheads and roasted potatoes. Not sure
I would have again but glad I tried it. Researched this and they are usually prepared
as you would a sweetbread - lightly floured and sautéed in butter

Comments

Summertime Chocolate Fondue

It's summertime and the fruit is amazing. Recently, when we were invited to a party and I asked if I could bring something, this idea came to mind. Actually, it was inspired by my husband who suggested we buy a wonderful chocolate fondue that we found in Switzerland (that is actually from France) to bring back as gifts for friends and family in Montreal. The fondue preparation itself is presented in clay jars that stay very warm once heated and work extremely well to keep the chocolate melted and at the right temperature. We bought two flavours: Dark Chocolate 70% cocoa with red pepper aroma (actually quite spicy and really good) and Dark Chocolate 70% cocoa with sea salt. Both were amazing and added a little twist to the traditional basic chocolate fondue. The jar needs to be heated on medium power in the microwave for two minutes at a time until the chocolate is the right temperature and consistency. Very easy.

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup with Smoked Cream

Add a piece of crisp smoked bacon for texture and roasted seeds This is one of those great recipes that is easy and can be dressed up a bit for any occasion. The flavor of the soup is really good and the smoked cream adds a little subtle surprise in the mouth. We served this at a cocktail party in little shot glasses with a breadstick and it was quite a hit. Infusing milk and cream are quite popular in France. The principle is always the same in that the liquid is heated and left to cool with the ingredients it is being infused with.

Chocolate Babka

When we lived in France, I learned that every dish you create, prepare and serve must tell a story. This way, when you offer something to someone, you share with them a little piece of who you are and a little bit of your own life story. The meals and dishes you choose to create always reflect happy, enjoyable moments and this, in turn, infuses the dish with love. This is very important to me and is what inspires me when I cook. I think if you cook this way, it will be hard to create a bad meal.

EpiCurious Generations

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