County General

Cinnamon ketchup

Foodie friends are the best because you get to try new things together and break the dishes apart without fear of judgment (yes, this is actually when the words, "these flavours meld perfectly because of the cumin" actually make sense).

Tonight, lil' bro C and I went to County General (a.k.a Splendido's little sibling) on Queen Street West. Small, unassuming, but incredibly busy, Country General serves up some amazing fare. The menu is inspired by Asian and Southwest flavours, but with familiar comfort foods. C's been quite a few times (they knew him by name at the door!), so we ordered what he recommended.  And MAN, OH, MAN was it good.

Roasted bone marrow

We started off with a series of appetizers: roasted bone marrow, fries (because they were out of sausage poutine), jerk coleslaw and trio of steamed pork buns. (To be fair, the portions were REALLY, REALLY, SMALL).

The jerk coleslaw was good - I think I tasted a hint of curry and other familiar spices - but slightly warm. Great texture and flavours though. Must remember to add coriander and carrots to my own coleslaw.

And fries...how could you go wrong with fries? They were fresh cut, amazingly crispy, but the best part of it all? The homemade ketchup - flavoured with - you'll never guess - cinnamon. I NEVER would've thought cinnamon and ketchup would mix, but it does - and beautifully too.

The roasted bone marrow came with some toasted cheese bread - the marrow had strong, comforting beefy flavours, but it definitely needed the bread to cut through the fat.

Pork buns from heaven

But my favourite appetizer of all? The steamed pork buns. When I first saw it on the menu, I assumed it was similar to Chinese pork buns...but not at all. The buns are actually topped with different things: avocado chutney, kim chi and green apple slaw (I got to try the first two). But no matter the topping, the unifying theme was the pork belly that sat on each bun - which, but the way, were amazingly soft...but back to the pork belly. All I can say is: O.M.G. Never have I had such amazing pork belly. Perfect flavour, soft texture and amazing smoky flavour. I could've sat and ate another plate all by myself.

But there were still main dishes to be had. C ordered "The Verga", a sandwich served on pan fried sourdough bread, topped with scamorza affumicata, grilled poached pear, rosemary and house smoked bacon. All I can say is: mmmmmm. The poached pear balanced the cheese, and the salt from the smoked bacon balanced the sweetness of the pear. Had I not had a belly full of appetizers, I would have appreciated this dish more. As things stood, I was already full by the time our mains came.

Buttermilk chicken sandwich

I ordered the fried chicken thigh sandwich, which consists of buttermilk chicken, avocado chutney, coriander and green onion served on a milk bun. The bun was heaven and the avocado chutney brought a freshness to what otherwise would've been a very heavy dish (as things stood, I could only eat half of dinner...C stepped up and finished the rest).

But still...what an incredible dinner of comfort food. And through it all, I had nursed a drink called the "Intemperate Lass": Jim Beam, Martini Bianco, Campari Fielding Sparkling Riesling topped with a slice of orange zest. Very good, if a little on the strong side.

Food is amazing, but I also had good company, both of which when combined, made for good times and a truly remarkable dinner.

Restaurant rating: Definitely worth an extra hour or two at the gym.

The secret is in the pasta water...

I love watching other people cook. Why? Because I ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS learning something new. For example, a while back, J, his boyfriend K, and I had a seafood boil (and yes, I'll get to this in another post). The seafood boil was incredible, but the leftovers - the water that was left behind from the boil was something else entirely. Not only was it flavoured from the herb and seasonings, it was also infused with the seafood we cooked in it (lobster, little neck clams and shrimp).

The flavour was so incredible it seemed a waste to throw the water out. So we froze it. And then we decided to cook pasta in it.

And let's just say that if I have a choice, I will ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS, cook pasta in flavoured water. Why? Because as you are cooking the pasta, you are giving it flavour. And the water you cook it in can be anything - water from vegetables (lazy person's vegetable stock), store-bought soup stock, whatever. My point is that I realized the water you cook the pasta in can be just as important as the final sauce you put on it.

In this case, the flavours came from pickling spices (mustard seed, coriander, bay leaves, dill seed, fenugreek, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, red pepper, black pepper, cloves, soy, cottonseed oil,  and ground cayenne pepper).

After cooking the pasta to al dente (after all, what other way is there to cook it?), throw it into the sauce you've prepared.

In our case, it was minced garlic, cooked in olive oil with pancetta, cherry tomatoes, salt, pepper and topped with fresh basil. Mmmmm...

I have to admit, the first time I had this pasta, it was as a student. I observed and managed to recreate something that wasn't too shabby. Except I added shrimp.  Here's exactly what I did:

Ingredients

For cooking the pasta
- Soup stock
- Pasta (preferably something that is shaped to hold onto the water...I chose something with pockets)
- Teaspoon of oil (preferably olive oil)

For topping the pasta
- Olive oil
- Pancetta
- Minced garlic (as much or as little as you like)
- Pinch of salt and pepper (you won't need much since the pasta is already flavoured, and the pancetta is inherently salty)
- Cherry/grape tomatoes (halved)
- Uncooked shrimp (shelled and de-veined)
- Fresh basil leaves (chopped)

Instructions
For cooking the pasta
- Bring your stock to a boil
- Add the pasta and the oil (the oil keeps the pasta from sticking to the bottom of the pot)
- Bring back to a boil
- Let it simmer for about 8 minutes - STIR CONSTANTLY!

While the pasta is cooking...
For the sauce/topping
- In a pan, heat the olive oil until it sizzles
- Toss in the minced garlic (keep it moving so it doesn't burn)
- Turn the heat to medium and cook for 1-2 minutes
- Throw in the pancetta and cook for 2-3 minutes
- Add the shrimp and cook until it just turns pink (about 2-3 minutes)
- Add in the cherry tomatoes
- Cook for another 2 minutes
- Drain pasta and add to pan
- Toss and remove from heat
- Top with fresh basil leaves

Serve and enjoy (trust me, this is amazing).