This is a great, flavourful and simple vegetarian preparation that works as a terrific appetizer or light main course. Simply omit the butter in place of vegetable or olive oil in the recipe and it becomes completely vegan as well! This recipe of ours is a little unique in that it uses both red curry and yellow curries. Yellow curry powder for the vegetables, and red curry paste for the sauce. The result is a visually appealing dish with a ton of flavour, without a particular component being too overwhelming. Try this one out next chance you get!

This is one of our favorite dessert recipes. It’s unique, delicious and a lighter dessert choice! Try it out, you won’t be disappointed:

We use Tater-Ware biodegradable and compostable food service utensils for all our corporate catering lunches in the Vancouver area.

What is Tater-Ware? It’s a great line of products made from, you guessed it, potato starch. These incredible utensils are tan in colour and feel very similar to a high quality plastic, however they have been proven to even out-perform plastic in boiling and microwave tests, are dishwasher safe and of course, will completely biodegrade or compost when disposed of.

I encourage anyone planning a large event where disposable food service items would be required to consider using these fantastic products:

http://www.bdfs.net/products/TaterWare/

While they are not the most cost-effective option out there, they are the highest quality and most sustainable product available that we could offer to our clients, so for our business, it was an easy choice.

I’m always surprised how many people have never heard of brining, much less tried it. This incredibly easy technique is the key to most amazingly juicy turkey you’ve ever eaten. It’s not difficult, and it uses ingredients everyone has at home. All you need is a little time and a vessel large enough to hold the turkey and the brine. So what is it?

A brine is simply a solution of water, salt,  sugar and often some other basic flavouring ingredients. These ingredients are mixed and the turkey is submerged in the brine, and allowed to soak refrigerated overnight, or up to 24 hours. The result is the juiciest bird you’ve ever eaten with a virtually fool-proof technique. Ready to try?

Recipe:

2 gallons water
1 cup kosher salt
1/2 cup brown sugar
3-4 bay leaves
a dozen or so black peppercorns
1 lemon, halved
1 bunch fresh thyme sprigs

Step 1: Ensure your turkey is fully thawed. A frozen bird will not absorb the solution and the brining will be all for not.

Step 2: Mix all ingredients in a large stockpot, big enough to hold the turkey and the brine solution. If you don’t have a pot large enough, use a cooler.

Step 3: Submerge the turkey in the solution, what you have at this point should look something like this:

Step 4: If using a cooler, add in a large quantity of ice to keep the solution very cold, and place in a cold place like a garage or a safe place outside. If using a stock pot, place in the refrigerator.

Step 5: Allow to soak overnight, or up to 24 hours. For a large turkey, the brine needs a minimum of 6 hours to have an effect, though longer is desired.

Step 6: Remove from the brine, pat dry and roast as usual!

That’s it, and this technique works on ALL poultry, so don’t hesitate to try it and put the usual BBQ’d chicken over the top. Happy Thanksgiving everyone, and happy brining!

…for the Drew Cooks! van making it’s way around the Lower Mainland!

Let us know what you think of the design by leaving a comment on our blog.

Crispy skin is one of the true delights of cooking fish like salmon, trout or bass. The combination of perfectly cooked fish and skin so crisp you could strike a match on it is in my opinion one of the best textural experiences in the culinary world.

Too often I find people removing the skin, largely due to bad experiences eating fish improperly prepared resulting in soggy, rubbery skin. No thanks! But once you get these few steps down and nail your first fillet, you’ll never go back to sans-skin, trust me.

Salmon is a great fish to start with on this. It’s firm enough that it holds up well in the pan during flipping, and has lots of natural oils which help it to crisp up more easily.

Step 1: Preheat oven to 325F. Start with a smaller piece of fillet (5 oz or so, skin on of course). Ensure all the scales of the fish are removed by running the blade of a knife against the direction of the scales across the skin. Rinse under cold water.

Step 2: The most important factor in crisping skin is removing as much excess water as possible from the skin. Excess moisture will cause steam and prevent the skin from browning properly. Dry the fish thoroughly with a paper towel. Next, use the blade of a knife and draw it over the skin. This is called the “Squeegee” technique and is designed to draw out excess moisture from the skin. Dry again with paper towel.

Step 3: Using a good size sauté pan, heat over med-hi heat. Coat the bottom of the pan a thin layer of vegetable oil or a similar good high heat oil. It is very important to ensure the oil gets hot enough before placing the fish in the pan. It should be hot enough to sizzle right away, but not hot enough that the oil is smoking, this will cook the skin too quickly causing it to burn before it crisps.

Step 4: Season the fillet with salt and pepper and place skin side down in the hot pan. Cook for approximately 5-6 minutes, until the fish is nearly cooked through, and the skin is golden. Flip the fish and place immediately in the oven to continue cooking for an additional 3 minutes.

Remove from the oven and serve…..skin on!

Our latest article has been published in Home Makeover Magazine containing 2 product reviews, summer grilling tips, and a fantastic summer party recipe.

Check it all out here!

Over the last few months we’ve been working on putting together a sister website for our main page. We love making videos and wanted to have a place where we could feature them on their own and expand on what we’ve been doing, and do it better! Without further adieu, we are proud to launch:

http://www.drewcooks.tv

We are still in the process of getting it chock-full of high quality videos, recipes, product reviews and more, but there are still some great videos and recipes up right now for your viewing pleasure, including a brand new HD recipe for a Braised Duck Leg Fettuccine!

We’re still going to be posting great informative content here at the Drew Cooks! Food blog, but from now on all videos will be posted on Drew Cooks TV.

For the latest updates, pictures and more, you can also join our facebook page or follow us on twitter.

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I wanted to take a moment to share some information about a program throughout the Greater Vancouver Area that some may not be familiar with: The Food Runners Program.

When most people think about a food bank, they think of donating non-perishable canned goods, however the Vancouver Food Bank has the Food Runners program set up to take donations of all sorts, perishable produce, meats, anything you can imagine. In fact, they will send refrigerated trucks to your house, kitchen, or restaurant to pick up donations anywhere in the Greater Vancouver area!

I encourage anyone having a large gathering or BBQ this summer to consider donating surplus food to this great program.

For more information or to schedule a pickup, contact Will, manager of the Food Runners Program at 604-834-7457.

Here’s our newest video demonstrating a delicious and simple dish for you all to try at home.

Pan Seared Halibut with Lemon Pesto Risotto – Vancouver Personal Chef Drew Cooks! from Drew Munro on Vimeo.

Recipe: Seared Halibut with Lemon Pesto Risotto (Serves 4)

Ingredients:

- 4 halibut filets
- 1 cup arborio rice
- 5 cups chicken stock
- 1 small onion, diced
- 4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
- 3 tbsp basil pesto
- 2 tbsp + 1 tsp butter unsalted
- 1 bunch chives
- olive oil
- vegetable oil
- salt and pepper
- juice and zest from 1 lemon
For garnish:(optional)

- Cherry tomatoes, and shallots, chopped

Heat the chicken stock in a sauce pan. In a large saute pan over med high heat, add in olive oil, onion and garlic and sauté until softened. Add in the rice, a bit more olive oil and stir to evenly coat the grains. Sauté for an additional 2 minutes and begin ladelling in hot stock small amounts at a time, stirring after each addition. Continue this process for about 15 minutes or until rice is just about cooking through.

Remove from heat, add in the 2 tbsp of butter, pesto, and lemon juice/zest. Stir to combine and set aside.

For the chive oil, place the chives in a food processor or blender with 1/3 cup vegetable oil. Blend for about 5 minutes until the oil has turned a bright green colour, then strain and set the oil aside.

Preheat oven to 350F.

In a hot saute pan, heat olive oil and add in 1 tsp of butter. Season halibut filets and saute 2 minutes per side, then transfer to the oven for an additional 4-5 minutes.

While halibut is cooking, saute the cherry tomatoes and shallots, season with salt and pepper.

To plate:

Watch the video!