The First in the Tinker Taster Supper Series
Beware of Green Chartreuse's potency while indulging in Winter Ski Chalet classics
Somewhere between the palate cleanser and the first of the mains, we talked about strippers. And that the Zanzibar Strip Club in downtown Toronto is so pedestrian. “It’s basically just like going to a regular bar these days,” someone declares.
“Was this the kind of conversation you were expecting when you decided to host this dinner party?” someone else asks me as I chuckled over soup curry. As the conversation advanced (regressed?), a couple of others repeated the question.
I wasn’t expecting strippers, but it’s a decent analogy to what I did want. Free-flowing conversation that loosens up over each subsequent course - people laying bare their thoughts, even better when bordering on the uncensored. And ultimately everyone having a fun, delightful, and intimate (in conversation) time. (OK for this analogy to somewhat work I am assuming a world in which strippers willingly choose their jobs and are not exploited and love what they do!!)
The inaugural Tinker Taster Savour Supper (we’re still workshopping the name) was nerve-wracking, laborious, heady, delicious, fulfilling. In my family, we’re big skiboarders (James skis; I snowboard) with a deep love of alpine environments and thus I decided on “Winter Ski Chalet” as the first theme.
Our menu featured European aprés ski classics like raclette and verte chaud, plus a fun spotlight on Hokkaido Soup Curry - a relatively new dish in the Japanese ski region that’s growing in popularity, and other winter foods. If you’ve been following for a while, I made the Vietnamese Bò Kho (Beef Stew) Pie (from the very first newsletter) - a twist on your classic anglo steak pie with a Vietnamese filling and an all-butter crust. Throw in a few winter citrus dishes and you get a meal that’s balanced between savoury and tart, heavy and refreshing. Pair them all with a few bottles of wine and well, you get conversations about strippers.
This dinner alone took ~22-24 hours of prep work, not including menu research and testing, and ingredients procurement. It’s not for the faint of heart. On the night, I set a schedule for when I wanted each dish served and unsurprisingly wasn’t able to keep to it. I forgot to prep some veggies for the soup curry, which threw off timing. The servings for mains were just a little too much. And I realized that green chartreuse is 55% alcohol only after I freepoured it into my verte chaud and started feeling hallucinatory. Lots of lessons learned to take into the rest of the series.
And ultimately, this is what it’s all about. The supper series is my way to bring together fun and interesting people over a delicious and flavour-packed meal loaded with great wines. But it’s also a vehicle for me to express my culinary creativity and experiment with different concepts. I’d love to turn this into bigger thing one day - rent a place somewhere, charge per head, put on some great music, and create experiences that awaken people’s palates and keep them coming back.
If this sounds like something you’d be interested in, gimme a shout. I’d love for you to join.
Thanks always for reading,
Theresa
Ginger Lime Green Tea Sorbet
This is the aforementioned palate cleanser. An off-menu item from this first supper. I adapted this from another recipe I found online but now can’t seem to find it again.
Ingredients
200g granulated sugar
2 green tea teabags
4 long slices fresh ginger
2 tbsp grated fresh ginger
Grated zest and juice of 2 limes
1 medium egg white
Method
Dissolve the sugar in a pan with 700ml water over low heat
Add teabags and slices of fresh ginger (not the grated) and bring to a boil
Reduce heat and let simmer for 5 minutes
Add grated ginger, lime zest, and juice
Set aside to infuse for 30 minutes
Remove teabags and slices of ginger and let sit until it reaches room temperature
Pour mixture into a shallow freeze-proof bowl and freeze for two hours or until ice crystals form
Remove from the freezer, pour into a deep mixing bowl, and beat with an electric hand mixer until smooth
Pour back into the freezer container and return to freezer for another two hours
Repeat this process every two hours until the sorbet is nearly completely frozen (it took me 3-4 times)
When the sorbet is nearly completely frozen, put it into a blender/food processor, add the egg white, and blend it until smooth
Put it back into the freezer until it’s completely frozen
Enjoy!