A Pair of Gourmands

Dinner Parties - by The Chef in Stead

Dinner at Ric’s Grill
Steak Seafood & Chop House
210 Lawrence Ave
869-1586

She says:

It appears to be a Kelowna institution – even early in the evening on a weeknight, it was relatively busy. The menu has all the crowd-pleasing favorites: Caesar salad, steak, salmon, pasta, burgers… nothing that you would really call “nouvelle cuisine” but certainly food you would expect to enjoy. We did. Fresh halibut is a wonderful thing, and Kristin had been thinking of fish and chips wistfully for a while. The homemade tartar sauce was a nice touch, and the fries were hot, if not homemade. A bit of coleslaw would have put it in the “awesome” realm, but as it was, it was really good. The service was friendly and attentive, but not intrusive just right. The other tables seemed to be happy too, and their plates of food also looked very tasty.

I can even recommend dessert. We headed home to let out the dogs, but I took a piece of chocolate cake with me, and it was just as good as my Mom’s, and that is saying something. Moist, rich cake and silky smooth, flavorful icing. The piece was just the right size, too – not enormous, but good value.
It was a completely enjoyable evening. Good food, great company (I married the guy, after all!) and a wonderful view. We even had a bit of comic relief, joking about the poor fellow in his hydroplane who was motoring around, as if he perhaps only had permission to “drive” the plane on water, but not to take off yet. (It took us a while to realize it was probably a safety precaution due to the high winds.) It will be fun to enjoy the patio on a summer’s day, which is not that far off!

He says:

Every once in a while it is nice for a chef to go out and not think about what to cook for dinner. I thought it would be fun to celebrate our first year in Kelowna with a night out enjoying the gorgeous view of the lake. So, we went to Ric’s.

It was a fun night. We got a table by the window and did enjoy the view. I even made my wife laugh with some jokes about a poor guy stuck on the lake in his hydroplane. I found that the food at Ric’s Grill was served hot, well prepared and big enough for my appetite (she likes to write about the details more than I do). I would go back to Ric’s!

Overall, great view, great food and lots of laughs.

In the event that you want to stay home with the kids and enjoy the same type of meal, I thought I would give you the batter I use when we do
Fish & Chips at home and the Coleslaw that we make with fish or a Corned Beef Sandwich.

Coleslaw!

Slice the Cabbage as thin as possible. Don’t use a food processor, though, as this gives more of a shredded version, and then it goes soggy too fast.

Mix together
1/3 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3 TBSP white sugar, or to taste
2 TBSP celery seeds
2 TBSP mayonnaise, or to taste
Salt & cracked pepper to taste

The secret to a great coleslaw is to combine the cabbage and dressing at the last minute, no more than 15 minutes ahead of eating time.

Chef Martin’s Tip 7:

Avoid overcooking or under-cooking!

Invest $10 to buy an instant-read food thermometer and learn to use it!

It’s easy to use and it will make it much harder to overcook meat or under cook fish. You will be able to look inside food to see if it’s cook. One of the best tools you will ever buy. These thermometers are now part of every chef’s toolbox!

“No matter what happen in the kitchen, never apologize.”
(Julia Child, 1912-2004)

The Chef in Stead - Website For Previous Chef Tips For comments or questions, you can reach Martin at 250-712-4440 or Email.

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.