Quaintrelle Weekender
Four ways to a better weekend
Welcome to Quaintrelle Weekender.
This is a short list of things I am currently loving to make eating, drinking, and hosting easier and a lot more interesting.
The sun is shining in my west-facing windows. It’s blinding.
An hour ago it was raining under low hanging, grey skies.
That’s fall in Toronto.
Even though it will likely stay warm – some days even hot – until Halloween, the crisp mornings, and sweater-weather nights, are really messing with my vibe. I’ll plan a hearty ragu for dinner, head to buy the ingredients in the sweltering afternoon and wonder if maybe it’s more of a saucy mussels and rosé kindof night.
Then it will turn chilly again, I’ll put on a sweater, and eat half a pan of lemon tarts while mulling over dinner. That’s a true story. I settled on Nigel Slater’s stunningly simple and utterly delicious sausage pasta with mustard and basil. It’s always a quick win around here.
“Every woman should have a blow torch” – Julia Child
Julia’s right. I put mine to work a surprising number of times. From charring the potato topping of shepherd’s pie, to getting French onion soup ooey and gooey, and, bien sur, crisping up a brûlée, a little hand-held torch goes a long way in the kitchen. I have one by Fox Run, and linked to it here, but I honestly don’t remember paying $40 for it. That seems a bit pricey for my Germanic/English/Scottish blood. There are loads on Amazon in the $20 range. While I can’t vouch for other brands, many other can.
The Big Cheese
Speaking of kitchen torches, this cheese is a terrific use for one. A chef I used to work with did this little kitchen trick at a wine and cheese workshop we were co-leading, and it was a bit of a showstopper. I’ve been doing it ever since. Paillot is a soft, surface ripened goat’s cheese that is shaped into that familiar log, and supported by straws along the outside (paillot apparently means straw in French.) Sometimes you can find the whole log, sometimes just a disc, which now has scalloped edges because the straw was removed to cut it. The outer ring of the cheese under the rind is slightly soft and translucent-ish, while the centre is bright white and firm. Paillot’s density and handles brûlée really well, resulting in a pleasing char note and slight warmth. Try it!
Make Memories
Years ago, when Jacques Pepin was making the rounds to promote his book, Art of the Chicken, he talked of his collection of menu books – art books he painted with the menu of each dinner party he ever hosted, and each guest signed. He now has volumes of them dating back to the 70’s with signatures from his long-gone parents, his late wife, his daughter when she was a child. He can look back to see what he served at any given Christmas, birthday, or garden party. I loved the idea and immediately started one of my own (the link is to a video I did about the guest book.) I’m not the artist JP is, but it’s still fun to draw a little doodle and collect the signatures of the people who gather around my table. And perhaps most surprisingly, my friends love it too! Even if you’re not an artist, this is such a great way to collect memories. You could peel off wine labels, glue in receipts from the grocery shop (how hilarious will it be to look back in a few decades and marvel at how cheap everything was), or even add the dried flowers of the centre piece… it doesn’t really matter, just make it yours.
Get Down
As I wrote above, October in Toronto is beautiful. Gorgeously warm without the stifling humidity of summer (usually), and bright and sunny days that hover somewhere in the 20’s. However, the mornings can be quite nippy, so the autumnal battle of what to wear is a real consideration. Layers are a must. I was introduced to this amazing vest a few years ago and it’s one of my favourite things: it’s super light weight, rolls up into a neat little package, you can stuff it into a purse, and it’s unbelievably warm. With a chic scarf, I look put together and climactically appropriate.
Thank you for reading Quaintrelle.
This newsletter is written by me, Erin Henderson, journalist-turned-sommelier-turned-entrepreneur. I literally drink and throw parties for a living, and every Saturday, I share some of my favourite finds for better weekends.
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