On one of our daily phone calls this week, my mother let me know that I didn’t write a newsletter last week. (As if I didn’t realize it.) But there was a reason for it! Ben and I went to Montreal, and between wrapping up work and packing and sifting through the list of recommendations my Instagram followers had sent us, I didn’t have a second to throw something together. But the trip was excellent, so I consider it a net positive.
Montreal is an amazing city. We flew in during a snowstorm and spent the first two days hunkered down in various spas, which was one of the reasons we went to the city in the first place. Ben is a sauna enthusiast (our third date was actually a schvitz at the Russian and Turkish Baths in the East Village) and we’d read that Montreal has a burgeoning Nordic spa scene. So after going to a Canadiens game on Thursday, we spent Friday, in the thick of the snowstorm, at Strøm Spa and Saturday, a freezing, gray day, at Bota Bota.
While the spas were incredible, I was really there for the food. And holy shit, did we eat. It was an interesting time in my life to go to a foodie city like this, since I’m in the midst of this journey with my grandmother’s recipes. I feel like cooking and testing and tweaking recipes the way I have been has been kind of like a training exercise for my palette. I’ve found a new appreciation for the way food is prepared and how certain flavors meld together. Montreal just so happens to have incredible restaurants, so it was just a blast all around.
Some highlights include: Montreal Pool Room for fast food poutine and hot dogs, Nouveau Palais for more poutine and martinis, San Soleil for Japanese small plates, Nouilles de Lan Zhou for *incredible* Dan Dan noodles, Bar Le Mal Nécessaire for tiki-inspired cocktails, St-Viateur for bagels that (forgive me) rival New York bagels, Schwartz’s Deli for incredible smoked meat, Caffe Un Po’ Di Pu for Italian small plates, and Joe Beef.
Holy shit, Joe Beef. I made the reservations for Joe Beef before we even booked our flights, and it did not disappoint. This meal was, potentially, the best meal of my life. Definitely top three. Foie gras, escargot, oysters, and a lobster pasta that was one of the richest things I’ve ever put in my mouth. We had to unbutton our pants for the subway ride home. Everything you’ve read about this place is correct.
All in, an incredibly cozy trip. (If you’re looking for more recs, you can check out my highlight on Instagram.)
After all that food, I was craving something simple, warm, and comforting when we got home. I’d also, luckily, commandeered the ham bone from my mother’s Christmas ham. So I got to work making split pea soup on a rainy Thursday this past week. It was exactly what we needed to attempt to get our systems back on track. It’s not inspired by the trip to Montreal, but it’s a recipe that I remember my grandmother making over and over again.
It felt a little like coming home.
INGREDIENTS
1 lb split peas
3 qt water
1 c potatoes, peeled and chopped
2 c carrots, peeled and chopped
2 c celery, chopped
2 c onions, peeled and chopped
1/4 c parsley, chopped
1 T oregano
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 cube beef bullion
1 ham bone (see notes)
INSTRUCTIONS
In a 6-8 quart pot, combine all ingredients, plus salt and pepper to taste. Heat to boiling.
Reduce heat and simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, for 1 hour 30 minutes until thick. Serve hot with some crusty bread.
That’s it, that’s the whole recipe.
NOTES
If you haven’t partaken in a whole roasted ham any time recently and don’t have an entire ham bone chilling in your freezer (weird, but okay I guess) you can sub in a pound of ham steak for this recipe. Just dice it up and sauté it in a little oil in the soup pot for a few minutes before dumping in the rest of the ingredients.
(If you’ve made it this far, please go over to Ben’s Instagram and tell him how much you like the new banner designs he’ll be making for my recipes. He’s the coolest and I love him and he’s sitting across from me at the breakfast table sketching the banner for next week’s recipe and he has no idea how much I freakin’ love him. That’s all!)