Is it Fennel or Anise???

Have you ever gone into a grocery store and tried to find fennel but all you could find was something the looked like fennel but labelled Anise. Well I've offen wondered are they the same? Fennel Is one of my favourite ingredients to work with. Anise has a licorice aroma not as strong as fennel. Anise doesn't have a bulb unlike fennel that does. The seed of an anise plant is used to flavor many dishes,  I use it in my spice rubs. Fennel on the other hand has a very strong licorice aroma and flavor, Its bulb is used like you would use an onion,they have similar characteristics. The flower of a fennel plant is very edible and quite tasty with a  salad. You really have to be a fan of licorice to like this vegetable, but whether you eat it raw , roasted,braised with pork ribs Its definitely a get one to try.

Fennel Salad

Thinly sliced;

1 bulb fennel
2 large carrots
1 leek
1 of each: red, green, yellow and orange
1 medium red onion

Dressing: Lemon herb and garlic

4-6 clove of garlic minced

1 cup chopped herbs; use your favourites, basil, thyme, tarragon, oregano, dill, parsley etc.

1 lemon zest and juice
¼ cup of white wine vinegar
¾ cup olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
add some fennel flowers if you can find some

Quick and easy salad mmmm good. So when you see fennel that is labelled anise its wrong and thats the vegetable you want. Fennel and anise are very similar in aroma and apperance they often get confused and mislabeled. I love fennel and I just wanted to introduce it to those whon may not know what to do with fennel.

Its all in the sauce

One cook’s opinion: it’s all in the sauce

After 10 years in the culinary industry, I’ve learned a lot about food and wine, where the food I cook comes from—and a lot about myself.

I believe the most important part to any dish is the sauce. If the sauce misses the mark, the whole dish will suffer. Too salty, not salty enough; too thick, too thin—taste, texture as well as aroma and the way the flavours match the protein make a dish a winner or a loser. It’s about creating a balance of all those elements. Your protein could be cooked perfectly, but if the sauce has a bland flavour, is too heavy and smells like rotten feet, it will make the dish less desirable. (There’s nothing worse than a bad sauce to destroy a juicy piece of tenderloin!)

I always use fresh herbs and vegetables, meat from a butcher and fish from a fish market. The quality of the ingredients used will show in the food, especially when making sauces. I like to build flavours while I’m making a sauce, from the vegetables I use to herbs like basil or oregano and spices such as cayenne or paprika. Whenever I’m asked for the secret to my cooking, I always say, “It’s all in the sauce.” I like to cook with different ingredients, going on instinct and tasting everything I make.

I have several rules when making a sauce: Start with a well-flavoured stock (it’s harder to get a sauce that tastes good when you have a weak stock). If you’re deglazing, use a wine that you like to drink. Add seasonings in small quantities, tasting until you like the flavour. If you wouldn’t eat it, don’t make others eat it!

If you put some time, a little love and the best ingredients you can find into a sauce, you just might amaze yourself.