City Palate September October 2014

city palate T H E

F L AV O U R

O F

C A L G A R Y ’ S

F O O D

S C E N E

the harvest issue CITYPALATE.CA

SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2014

PIZZA

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CITY PALATE.ca SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2014

•

PASTA

•

E BASTA!

PROCESS COLOURS

CYMK

C0, M100

WHITE

Y100, K0

CITY PALATE.ca SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2014

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Envision a steakhouse and cocktail lounge unlike any other...

An evolved steakhouse, in both cuisine and design.

MODERN STEAK

OPENING OCTOBER 2014 @ModernSteakCA

ModernSteakCA

ModernSteakCA

www.modernsteak.ca

In the Heart of Kensington - 107 10A Street NW • Information and Reservations please call - 403.670.6873

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CITY PALATE.ca SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2014

CITY PALATE.ca SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2014

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Baked Fresh Every Day

VIS IT A NY O F O U R G R E ATER C A LGA RY LO C AT I O N S COBS 130TH AVENUE 5155 130 Avenue SE

COBS ASPEN L ANDING 366 Aspen Glen Landing SW

COBS CENTENNIAL VILL AGE 31 Southridge Dr | Okotoks

COBS COUNTRY HILLS TOWN CENTRE 500 Countr y Hills Blvd NE

COBS CROWFOOT 150 Crowfoot Cres NW

COBS GLENMORE L ANDING 1600 90th Avenue SW

COBS KINGSL AND PL AZA 7610 Elbow Drive SW

COBS STADIUM 1940 Uxbridge Drive NW

COBS TOWERL ANE MALL 505 Main Street S | Airdrie

COBS WESTHILLS TOWN CENTRE 236 Stewart Green Way SW

COBS WILLOW PARK VILL AGE

NOW OPEN IN

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Saskatoon and Regina CITY PALATE.ca SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2014

10816 Macleod Trail SE

W W W.COBSBREAD.COM

Saturday, September 27, 2014

Enjoy great taste in food, fashion & more!

Join us from 10 am - 5 pm on SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 27 for delicious samples, informative presentations and seasonal fun!

10:00 am Centre Parking Lot: Coffee & Gift Bags for the first 300 people with a nominal donation (monetary or non-perishable food item) to The Calgary Interfaith Food Bank.

11:00 am - 4:00 pm, Live Entertainment

by Rick Climans Jazz Group Visit our website for all the details from each of our participating merchants!

www.wpv.ca CITY PALATE.ca SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2014

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OVER 80 VENDORS

PREMIUM EXTRA VIRGIN & NATURALLY FLAVOURED OLIVE OILS + VINEGARS

CalgaryFarmersMarket.ca THURSDAY – SUNDAY b 9AM – 5PM b OFF HERITAGE & BLACKFOOT MORE AT

soffritto.ca

Alpine Wildflower Honey

Our Rocky Mountain Honey Now in Calgary!

The natural choice.

FREE RANGE PORK Pasture raised & naturally fed.

• family owned and operated • focused on quality and taste

403-968-7171 Or 250-346-3306

www.beeland.ca

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CITY PALATE.ca SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2014

Visit us in Rosemary, Alberta www.spraggsmeatshop.com

contents City Palate September October 2014

features

28 n Celebrating the Harvest

Each year at harvest, we ask some of our great chefs and foodie friends to contribute a favourite recipe you can make at home. This year it’s all about TOMATOES.

THE ONLY RESTAURANT IN CANADA TO HAVE

bigrockgrill

32 n Calgary Cooks Introducing an exciting new cookbook featuring 80 signature recipes from the city's top chefs!

Gail Norton and Karen Ralph

5555 76 Ave SE Calgary, AB

(403) 236-1606

b i g r o c k g r i l l . c o m

presents

36 n Food Myths You Shouldn't Believe

"Never make a decision based on fear!"

Patrick Dunn

40 n Harvest is Year-Round in Yuma, Arizona

46 n How 'bout a Sausage With That?

European Christmas markets serve fun street food in a festive atmosphere Holly Quan

F”

WF

CH

R

What do chefs eat on their days off?

Dan Clapson

UPGRADED MOBILE APP

SEA

42 n On the Menu... Off the Clock!

OUR APP S KY

CHEC

Two Calgary foodies take part in Field to Feast John Gilchrist and Catherine Caldwell

E TOR

FOR “RM

Celebrate Alberta’s largest selection of fine wine, premium spirits, quality beer & gourmet food

2014 GRAND TASTING HALL

CALGARY Oct. 17 - 18 Stampede Park BMO Centre EDMONTON Oct. 24 - 25 Shaw Conference Centre Friday Evening Session: 5 - 10 pm Saturday Afternoon Session: 12 - 4 pm Saturday Evening Session: 6 - 10 pm Please drink responsibly. Minors are not permitted.

Cover artist: Lori Lukasewich is an award winning artist, children’s author and illustrator, and popular art instructor.

To see more of her work go to lorislukasewich.com.

For tickets & festival details visit

rockymountainwine.com

CITY PALATE.ca SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2014

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city palate

NEW LOOK NEW MENU NEW ATTITUDE

Best Steak 2013

editor Kathy Richardier (kathy@citypalate.ca) publisher Gail Norton (gail@citypalate.ca)

Birks Silver Spoon 2013

magazine design Carol Slezak, Yellow Brick Studios (carol@citypalate.ca) contributing editor Kate Zimmerman

EXPERIENCE THE NEW RUSH

CELEBRATING OVER 10 YEARS AS CALGARY’S BEST STEAKHOUSE WWW.VINTAGECHOPHOUSE.COM

contributing photographers Kathy Richardier

bold, brash... evolved.

403.271.7874 www.rushoceanprime.com /RushOceanPrime @RushOceanPrime

contributing writers Karen Anderson Catherine Caldwell Dan Clapson Patrick Dunn John Gilchrist Chris Halpin Rebecca Kelley Ellen Kelly Geoff Last Jenni Neidhart Holly Quan Karen Ralph Allan Shewchuk Ruby Smith-Merovitz Julie Van Rosendaal Debby Waldman

320 11 Avenue SW, Calgary, AB 403-262-7262 /vintagechophouse @vintagechop

for advertising enquiries, please contact advertising@citypalate.ca account executives Liz Tompkins (liz@citypalate.ca) Janet Henderson (janet@citypalate.ca)

CELEBRATING SOUTHERN COOKING, SMOKEHOUSE BBQ, & SEAFOOD FOR OVER 15 YEARS

Ellen Kelly (ellen@citypalate.ca) prepress/printing CentralWeb distribution Gallant Distribution Systems Inc. The Globe and Mail website management Jane Pratico (jane@citypalate.ca) City Palate is published 6 times per year: January-February, March-April, May-June, July-August, September-October and November-December by City Palate Inc., 722 - 11 Avenue SW Calgary, AB T2R 0E4 Subscriptions are available for $35 per year within Canada and $45 per year outside Canada.

Editorial Enquiries: Please email kathy@citypalate.ca

403.264.6419

10

316 3rd St. SE

B www.bookersbbq.com

CITY PALATE.ca SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2014

/bookersbbq

@bookersbbq

For questions or comments please contact us via our website:

citypalate.ca

contents City Palate September October 2014

departments

BURSTING WITH FOOD FUN AND ADVENTURE

13 n word of mouth

Notable culinary happenings around town

15 n eat this

What to eat in September and October Ellen Kelly

16 n drink this

5 WALKING AND TASTING TOURS WEEKLY

Phrog gin and vodka

Kathy Richardier

18 n get this

Inglewood • Kensington • Designer District 17th Ave SW • Calgary Farmers’ Market

Must-have kitchen stuff Karen Anderson

CALGARYFOODTOURS.COM

20 n one ingredient

Salsa Julie Van Rosendaal

24 n feeding people

Making fruit leather for eating and gifting Debby Waldman

26 n the sunday project

Making duck confit with Rebecca Kelley

50 n well matched

Made-in-heaven food and wine pairings Jenni Neidhart and Ruby Smith-Merovitz

52 n stockpot

STO P IN FOR A BITE.

Stirrings around Calgary

58 n 6 quick ways with...

Eggplant Chris Halpin

60 n last meal

Keep it simple and seasonal Geoff Last

62 n back burner... shewchuk on simmer

Getting juiced Allan Shewchuk

read us online at citypalate.ca city palate

@citypalate

An exciting new venue for your next corporate event.

403.232.7770 • salesinfo@calgaryzoo.com

CITY PALATE.ca SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2014

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9 restaurants... 5 courses... 280 people...

1 really, really long table.

Now OPEN Sunday evenings!

Catch & the Oyster Bar, Trib Steakhouse, The Belvedere, Divino, Blink, Charcut, Home Tasting Room, Wine-Ohs and The Bank & Baron will each prepare a dish for this remarkable dinner, with wine pairings by The Cellar.

A long stretch of downtown Stephen Avenue will be our venue.

Gather your friends, and make some new ones at this unique event that celebrates the culinary side of Calgary.

Tickets: $200pp available now at reallylongtabledinner.eventbrite.ca For hotel packages including your seat at the table, go to VisitCalgary.com

join us!

CONTEMPORARY FRENCH BISTRO 105, 550-11th Ave. SW

PH 587.352.0964 AVECBISTRO.COM

Monday, September 8th, 5-9 pm

@AVECBISTRO AVEC BISTRO

city palate’s

#meatme@Avec

2nd annual

Really, Really Long Table Dinner

Fresh, offsite catering for your next board meeting, luncheon or big pitch. contact isabella rawleigh irawleigh@concordegroup.ca for details.

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CITY PALATE.ca SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2014

word of mouth Notable culinary happenings around town

pig & pinot winner At City Palate’s fourth annual Pig and Pinot Festival in June, the creative talents of Black Pig Bistro’s chef Alison Bieber took the Divine Swine trophy for her take on pork and beans that everybody loved. Best of all, you can have this Divine Swine-winning food at the restaurant. And how appropriate that the winning restaurant just happens to have “pig” in its name! Does Bieber look crazy happy, or what!

One of the silent auction items was a “bottle” of High Stick Vodka, a Canadian-made vodka bottled in a glass hockey stick – fun! Somebody thought so, because this vodka fetched $450 in the silent auction! Wowza! Last, but far from least, the event raised more than $20,000 for Meals on Wheels.

environmental achievement award

there’s a new apple in town

McKenzie Lake School received an honourable mention Calgary Award as a model environmental learning elementary school in part because City Palate ad exec, Janet Henderson, whose sons go to the school, started the school growing food in Earthboxes, then had Calgary chefs teach the students about food. In fact, chef Duncan Ly, Hotel Arts, comes in to cook with what the kids grow in the Earthboxes. Everyone at the school, and parents, contribute to the development of environmental literacy in the school and community. Good stuff! In the school staff photo, that’s Janet, second from left, and you’ll recognize Mayor Nenshi.

And you’ll want to try it.

It’s called SweeTango, a cross between the well-loved HoneyCrisp and Zestar varieties.

It ripens early and has a crisp, sweet-tart flavour. You’ll love this crisp, juicy apple. Find it in late September through November.

new market on macleod trail

this is going to be fun!

The creators of YYC Burger Week bring you YYC Pizza Week, September 26 - October 5th. 50 of Calgary’s best Pizza restaurants and participants will engage in a 10-day pizza battle, offering their best pizza in one of three categories. Partial proceeds of every pizza sold will go to Meals On Wheels.

Winners are determined by public vote and announced at a wrap party following Pizza Week. Visit yycpizzaweek.com for all the tasty details.

sourdough pasta good juices, good for you Cru juices are cold-pressed so all the nutrients remain as in the raw veg or fruit. Drinking raw, cold-pressed juices helps you feel better, and the flavours are tasty. The green and beet juices are spiked with ginger and lemon and the pretty pink pixie juice with strawberries and watermelon is spiked with lime and mint. The spicy lemonade has a hit of cayenne! Made in Calgary, find Cru at 236 4th St. NE.

bread to live for Created in SAIT’s artisan bread class: red wine and sausage bread, made with sourdough and rye flour to enhance the taste plus chunks of Genoa salami – talk about enhancing the taste! This toothsome baguette is twisted into its baguette shape! Check with the Downtown Campus to see what the bread-baking students are up to in the fall. For sure you’ll find this orgasmic red wine and sausage bread, a baguette with more than one twist!

Made in Kaslo, B.C., Kaslo Sourdough Pasta is made with a natural sourdough bacterial culture. We found it at Lina’s Italian Market, and you may find it at other Italian markets. Good texture and flavour, and a change from the usual pasta, if you like that, which we sometimes do!

urban farmer's market Open through October 9, so there’s still plenty of time to visit. The Bridgeland Riverside Farmer’s Market runs every Thursday, 3:30-7 p.m. at the Bridgeland Riverside Community Hall, 917 Centre Ave. NE. October 9 there will be a Fall Harvest Market with music, kids’ activities, all vendors, including Noble Gardens, YYC Growers, Bruce’s Bees, Eat Bake Love, Willow & Whimsy, Double Elle Bakery, Walker’s Own Produce, Field Stone Fruit Wines, and many more.

You’ll find lots of info at brcacalgary.org/ bridgeland-riverside-farmers-market.

Kingsland Farmers’ Market has morphed into Market on Macleod with new ownership and lots of new vendors but same location. You’ll want to check it out and catch up with the new vendors that include My Sassy Sister, Buzz Honey, Billingsgate Fish Co., Wicked Juice, Noble Tree Coffee, The Spicy Jamakin, Greens, Eggs and Ham, and Eden Essentials.

one peachy hot sauce We love a good hot sauce, but we don’t like the ones that blister our mouths and kill our taste buds. We like smoooooth hot sauces, like this one, Georgia Peach & Vidalia Onion Hot Sauce made in Delaware. It has all the requisite hot sauce ingredients, but the sweet Vidalia onions and peaches smooth the heat, and it goes with everything. Find it at the hot sauce dude’s place, Crossroads Market.

a new blissful location Bliss & Co. Cupcakes and Desserts left its Chinatown location that was below street level and got done in by flooding. We loved Bliss, especially the individual fruit galettes – peach, blueberry, strawberry-rhubarb, cherry, apple – the cupcakes are pretty darn good too! We’re happy to report that it’s resurfaced in the small Cambrian shopping area, corner of Northmount Dr. and 14th St. NW. Yay! blisscupcakes.com.

beautiful French stoves The French Barn, located at 1240 - 20th Ave. SE, is where you’ll find these colourfully enamelled stoves that are made in the charming village of Lacanche in the heart of Burgundy, France. Visit the web site at frenchbarn.com/lacanche-ranges.html to see all the colour and style possibilities. Every kitchen needs one of these, preferably in the happy colours of tangerine, Provence yellow, cherry red or coral blue. Green’s good too.

read this Here’s something different: Cooking with Capone: The Encyclopaedia of the American Mafia’s Links to Italian Cuisine,

by Olindo Romeo Chiocca (Black Scorpion Press, $22.22, soft cover) available on Amazon.com and at The Cookbook Co. Cooks. This book is so well researched and written – Chiocca is practically a “local” living in Nelson, B.C. – it’s a great read even if you never make any of the recipes. But you’ll want to, they’re organized into sections, including Sleeping With the Fishes, Dead at the Table, Slim Sally’s Lighter Fare, Hell’s Kitchen and Lawa-Buying Citizens. Wonderful/scary Mafioso stories, mobster profiles, great recipes, all done up as a fun read.

We all need one of these. Support your “local” cookbook author!

CITY PALATE.ca SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2014

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Mt. Pleasant’s Newest Restaurant

Now now open!

Open!

Come

visit

2411 4

st

Traditional Italian Grocer

NW

Eatdrinkblock.com lblockyyc fblockyyc

BIN905

WINE, SPIRITS & CRAFT ALES

NEW

Temperature controlled fine wine room and tasting area We specialize in California, Italy, Spain and France and we offer the finest selection of premium German Rieslings in Canada Est. 1963

403.277.7898 I 265 20 Avenue NE www.italiansupermarket.com

Three generations of service and quality

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CITY PALATE.ca SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2014

Visit bin905.com for upcoming tastings and events Online ordering at bin905.com 2311 4 St SW, Calgary, AB / 403.261.1600 / bin905.com

eat this

Ellen Kelly

What to eat in September and October Illustrations by Pierre Lamielle

Summer flies by; we attempt to squeeze out as much of the season as we can, but there’s just no denying autumn. Summer’s leisurely pleasures must make way for the rewards of the harvest. Time to trade the quick grilled for the long braised; the berry bowl for the baked fruit crisp. It’s time to think not just of alfresco dining in the garden, but of what we can cook and put by to temper the cold months ahead. This is my favourite time of the year.

BUY: Look for smallish firm, smooth turnips that are heavy in the hand. If the greens are attached, they should be fresh and leafy. Wilted or yellowed tops indicate turnips too long stored resulting in a loss of sweetness and flavour.

TURNIPS lend themselves readily to the cooler weather. They are as happily braised, boiled and mashed as they are roasted. Deborah Madison’s treatment of small new turnips is as fine as any I’ve eaten. Trim and peel about 1 lb. of tennis ball-sized Purple Top globe turnips; cut them into 4-6 wedges. Melt 1 T. butter in a skillet, add 2 T. mirin (rice wine) or sake, then add the turnip pieces. Season them with a sprinkle of sea salt and some freshly ground black pepper and cook, turning until coloured on all sides, about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, mix 3 T. of white miso with 1 T. soft butter. Add this to the turnips once they are tender, cooking just long enough to coat the turnips and heat them through. Serve them right away with a garnish of slivered green onions and toasted black or white (or both) sesame seeds.

DID YOU KNOW? Rutabagas, also known as swedes, are often called turnips. Though they’re also brassicas, they are, in fact, another species entirely. Wonderfully earthy and tasty in their own right, rutabagas are best later in the fall into the winter when the cold weather has had a chance to sweeten them and develop their flavour. Cook pieces of rutabaga with carrots, mash them together with lots of sweet butter, salt and pepper and a good grating of nutmeg for a tasty side dish alongside roast meat.

TIPS: Very young small turnips will require only a good wash before cooking. Consider cooking the greens as well if they are fresh and vibrant.

They will add a pleasant peppery flavour to Swiss chard and kale.

There are countless varieties of peppers, but the stalwart of the kitchen has to be the meaty SWEET BELL PEPPER. A most productive fall practice is to utilize the barbecue to grill red, yellow and orange bell peppers to freeze for winter use. With a pair of long-handled tongs in one hand and a glass of wine in the other, roasting a case of peppers for this purpose need not be onerous. Lay the peppers out on a hot grill, turning them constantly. Be watchful so you just blacken the skin and don’t overcook the flesh. Put them into a large covered bowl and let them steam and cool slightly to loosen the skin and aid in peeling. Remove the blackened skin with your fingers, using running water for the more stubborn peppers, then core and seed.

Put the flesh into small Ziplock bags with a drizzle of good olive oil, a leaf or two of fresh basil and a crushed garlic clove, then freeze.

BUY: Choose peppers that have smooth, taut, shiny skin, unwrinkled and unblemished. They should be firm and heavy for their size.

BLACK CURRANTS are not usually found in supermarkets, but try farmers’ markets.

Sometimes you can find sweet/tart red and white currants on their stems, which are quite lovely and look extremely pretty on a cheese plate. They tend to be expensive, though, and buying enough of them to make anything is often unrealistic. Black currants are more strongly flavoured, even slightly resinous, not good for eating out of hand. They do, however, produce one of the most delicious and versatile jellies I’ve ever made.

Remove as many of the stalks as you can by holding a sprig with one hand and dragging a kitchen fork downward through the berries with the other, dislodging them into a bowl. Measure the berries into a large heavy-bottomed, oven-proof pan; for every 4 cups, add 1/2 cup water. Mash the berries a little with a potato masher, then place the pan, covered, in a low oven (275°F) for about 2 hours. Strain off the liquid, and then, to every 4-1/2 c. of juice, add 1-1/2 lbs. of sugar. Stir over low heat and, once the sugar is dissolved, bring to a boil and boil hard until setting point is reached. Process as you would any jelly. The pulp can be used again to make lovely syrup to use on pancakes and in fruit salads. Add sparkling water for a refreshing drink. Simply add a bit more water to the pulp, cook again and strain.

BUY: Kayben Farms in Okotoks (403-938-2857) grows black currants and has both pick-your-own and pre-picked options. The currants should be clean, plump and mould-free.

TIPS: Young bell peppers that are just ripening are best to eat raw in salads and on pizzas, but when they are fully ripe, the skins and flesh begin to thicken and are best roasted and peeled.

DID YOU KNOW? Peppers are native to Central and South America. They are generally divided into two main groups, sweet and chile (or hot). The sweet peppers tend to be larger and thicker walled while the hotter peppers are smaller.

TIPS: Kayben Farms is a terrific spot for the whole family. There are lots of things for kids to do while you pick currants, assuming you can’t convince them how much fun picking is. There’s an excellent café for lunch afterwards.

DID YOU KNOW? Black currants comprise crème de cassis, the liqueur used to make the festive white wine apéritif Kir Royale. Jane Grigson, in her seminal book Jane Grigson’s Fruit Book, offers a recipe for it, but buying a bottle always seems the easier route. Check it out if you feel adventurous.

CITY PALATE.ca SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2014

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drink this

Kathy Richardier

Phrog gin and vodka

Perfectly placed to make fine wine and good friends. www.tinhorn.com

My friend Doug’s son, Matthew, got married in June on Hornby Island, off the coast of Vancouver Island. After the wedding, Doug and I tootled around and discovered all kinds of cool things, including Island Spirits Distillery, where owner Pete Kimmerly fed us gin, took us on a tour and told us his story.

We were very interested to learn how the captain of an icebreaker came to be the captain of a distillery. Kimmerly built his first still in the late ‘60s while at university, then tinkered with, and built, many after that. His friend Naz Abdurahman did likewise. Later, Kimmerly went off to become the captain of an icebreaker while Abdurahman got a PhD in organic chemistry.

The two of them got together again in 1995 to share stories and talk booze, which led to the birth of Island Spirits Distillery in 2007. They now run stills capable of high reflux ratios – the evaporation/condensation process that happens many hundreds of times before the product hits the bottle. The benefit of this level of chemical perfection is, they claim ... no hangover. These two men have learned how to get rid of the stuff in booze that makes you regret having drunk it. We haven’t tested the waters yet on the hangover front, but since their booze is so good, you won’t want to drink so much of it that you can’t appreciate it any more. Thus, you won’t get drunk and not get a hangover!

The distillery is called The Phrogery and the bottles that leave it filled with gin and vodka are called Phrog. There’s a lot of experimenting going on, too. Brown Vodka is one of those experiments. It looks and tastes like smooth scotch and really goes down nicely. Black Jelly Bean Szechuan Pepper vodka tastes exactly as you’d expect – for lovers of black jelly beans only! And Wicked Orange is worth a trip to the distillery. It’s made from 130 kg of satsuma oranges that are ground up, then immersed in The Phrogery’s high-octane vodka for a month, then distilled.

Orange lovers sip this well chilled and straight. At least, that’s what I do.

We took a 375 mL bottle of the Brown Vodka to a friend’s house, where we were having dinner. He liked it so much, he drank the whole thing over a couple of hours and remained vertical and totally with it, so that probably says something for the “no hangover” claim.

Now Booking 2014 Holiday Parties Inquire at events@levilla.ca

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CITY PALATE.ca SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2014

The name Phrog salutes the local spring pond chorus.

The Ph instead of F denotes the chemistry angle.

The distillery is best known for its Phrog Premium Gin and Phrog Premium Vodka, the products that get into our liquor stores. Look for the gin at Bin 905, The Cellar and ZYN. Don’t mess with the premiums – they’re clean on their own, so you won’t want to dilute them with anything much. First, visit islandspirits.ca and check out the botanicals in the gin, then visit Hornby and The Phrogery, meet the maker, take a tour, taste the booze, and bring lots home with you.

photos by Kathy Richardier

Cider Festival Thursday, September 25, 2014 • 6:30 pm • $40

Sausage & Syrah Thursday, October 23, 2014 • 6:30 pm • $50 Distillery owner Pete talks about his gin.

Hornby offers other interesting places to visit – like The Thatch Pub at the ferry terminal that has a roof of grass and a push lawn mower to keep it in check. Don’t miss the Campbells’ soup “can” on its side, the wine circuit – there are signs on the roads – or the Cardboard House Bakery and Carefree Café. Ford’s Cove, the marina where the water taxi comes in, has a small store and café that serves some of the best coffee we’ve ever had.

Hornby Island is very cool. It just takes some ferry riding to get there.

To register for tastings or events call 403.205.3356 or book online at metrovino.com/events/upcoming

722 -11th Avenue SW • 403.205.3356 metrovino.com • events@metrovino.com

Pretty bottles of great booze.

The best use of the premium gin and vodka.

CITY PALATE.ca SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2014

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get this TACOS SANDWICHES BAKERY BUTCHERY FRESH PRODUCE COFFEE RETAIL-WHOLESALE

a very freekeh… grain Cooks love novel flavours and ones loaded with nutrition are fantastic to find. Greenwheat Freekeh is made from young grains of wheat harvested at their nutritional peak then lightly toasted. Throw it in salads and soups. Use the cooked grain in a stuffing for your Thanksgiving turkey after sautéing it with some fresh herbs and chopped onion. As pomegranates arrive, add their seeds to freekeh with chopped mint and diced sweet potatoes that have been roasted with Turkish baharat – a spice blend – to create a hearty salad. Drizzle with olive oil and pomegranate molasses for an unforgettable side that will have guests freaking out over freekeh.

Greenwheat Freekeh, $5.95/200 g, The Cookbook Co. Cooks

www.unimarket.ca

move over Betty and Duncan If you’ve reached for icing in a can to top your homemade cakes, you might be dismayed to read the list of ingredients. Enter a well-known Calgary brand to the rescue. Crave Cookies and Cupcakes’ fresh buttercream icing is famously delicious, has no additives, is packaged to order and available in vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, peppermint, cream cheese, lime or peanut butter flavours. Crave owners Jodi Willoughby and Carolyne McIntyre-Jackson still use their family’s recipes for the treats they make. When asked about all that buttercream, this pair of athleticlooking “baker-girl” sisters say they don’t indulge in sweets too often but when they do it has to be really worth the splurge. For them, a perfectly light and fluffy icing made with real butter and cream really is… the icing on their cake.

what’s for dinner? visit us for inspiration and culinary advice

Fresh buttercream icing, $7.50/400 ml, Crave Cookies and Cupcakes

brunch or lunch by the bunch Yum bakery owners David and Deb Catling are rolling in the dough – bread dough that is. They’ve had a sourdough starter going for a number of years (his name is Eduardo) that they use to make a variety of artisan breads each weekend. They also make sweets and savoury delicacies. l like their popular sundried tomato scones that make a perfect nest for eggs benedict. Now they’ve introduced a gluten-free potatocrusted pancetta gouda flatbread that’s good any time of day. Pick up a bunch for school lunches or slide an over-easy egg on top for brunch.

A T

D A L H O U S I E

403.286.5220

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S T A T I O N

www.zestkitchenware.com

CITY PALATE.ca SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2014

Scones and flatbreads, from $2.50, Yum Bakery at the Calgary Farmers’ Market

Karen Anderson

Must-have kitchen stuff

onions that won’t make you cry If crispy and fried are words that get your attention, then you’ll love these crispy Happy brand fried onions. Use them in rice pilafs and biryanis. Sprinkle them over cheese and potato soup. Top a caramelized onion dip with them. Load them on burgers and dogs.

For a tasty treat, dip chicken pieces into a bowl of beaten eggs, then press the meat into a combo of 2 c. crispy onions mixed with 2 T. flour and a dash of salt and pepper. Bake on a parchment-lined cookie sheet at 400°F for 30 minutes.

Load up the picnic hamper with the chicken, coleslaw and potato salad and catch one last picnic in the golden glow of an autumn afternoon.

Happy Fried Onion, $3.99/250 g, Hong Kong International Food Market

looking for Mr. Good (snack) bar Hurrying to a meeting or heading to the mountains for a hike requires fuel and the people at Calgary’s own Going Nuts have the solution. Located at the Calgary Farmers’ Market, Going Nuts makes high quality granola “fuel” bars that deliver nutrition and convenience in flavours such as Blueberry Hemp, Honey Sunrise, Chia Chip and Mango Ginger. Premium bars are date based with accents like blueberry, macadamia, almond, chocolate, coconut, lemon, raspberry, and tangy tangerine.

Going nuts has raised the snacking bar.

Going Nuts Granola Bars, $2.50 - $3, less when you buy five, Going Nuts at the Calgary Farmers’ Market

the crunch of a good dill pickle Fall seems just the right time to bite into a crisp dill pickle. The crunching sound mimics your feet on the leaf-covered ground. March those feet to the final days of The Hillhurst Sunnyside Farmers’ Market on Wednesdays and find Seed Plus Soil’s dills at the YYC Growers’ booth. The days might be getting shorter, but owners Mike Soucy, Vanessa Hanel and Monique Switzer use heritage food skills like making pickles to help extend the season. You may never be inspired to make your own pickles like Grandma did, but this trio is definitely channeling the most serious of Ukrainian bubbas when it comes to their dill-icious pickles.

Dill Pickles, $12.50/L, Seed + Soil booth at Hillhurst Sunnyside Farmers’ Market until closing in October

CITY PALATE.ca SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2014

19

one ingredient

Julie Van Rosendaal

Salsa

I can’t write about salsa without mentioning how much I love to say the word salsa. I’m a product of Generation Seinfeld – “I said I wanted seltzer, not salsa! You have the seltzer after the salsa!” It was during the Seinfeld era – in 1992 – that salsa surpassed ketchup and reined supreme as the bestselling condiment in the US. This year, it’s mayo.

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Although salsa is the Spanish word for sauce, Canadians don’t really think of it as a sauce. We consider salsa to be, for the most part, made up of chunkily diced tomatoes kicked up with jalapeño and maybe some onion and garlic or cilantro and a squeeze of lime. We scoop it up, rather than drizzle or dip. If the rest of the world is anything like my house, ninety percent of salsas are delivered from bowl to mouth by nacho.

In Mexico, salsa is less a Stanley Cup-style food item and more a staple of everyday cuisine, used as an ingredient for cooking as well as a finishing touch. Fresh salsas are made for almost every meal, wide-ranging in colour and texture, barely bound by their common denominators – tomatoes, chiles and onion. They can be made raw (cruda) or cooked (cocida), with thousands of variations, depending on the region and its terroir. Every home has its own salsa recipe – and likely more than one.

While we most often buy it jarred, with a range limited to red or green, and from mild to hot, salsa should fall within the realm of DIY – it’s one of the quickest, simplest ways to make use of fresh, seasonal ingredients. There’s no particular technique required for salsa-making; all you need is a knife and a bowl, or a food processor, to speed things up or make a more finely textured salsa. With tomatoes and peppers at their peak, fall can be considered salsa season – a great way to get your veggies when you’re tired of salad.

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Classic Pico de Gallo  At its most basic, salsa is a mulch of fresh tomatoes, onion, chiles and lime juice, a combination that comes together in five minutes, by hand or blender.

2-3 ripe tomatoes, finely chopped 1/2 sweet onion, finely chopped 1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and minced 1/2 c. fresh cilantro, finely chopped (optional)

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CITY PALATE.ca SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2014

juice of half a lime (or to taste) big pinch salt

Chop and combine everything in a bowl, or pulse it in the bowl of a food processor until it’s as coarse or smooth as you like, adjusting the salt, lime and jalapeño as needed.

Makes about 3 cups.

Mango Salsa  Sweet-tart mangoes make a salsa worthy of loading onto a fish taco. With a kick from purple onions and jalapeños, it’s also delicious on grilled chicken.

2 mangoes, peeled, pitted and finely diced 1/2 c. chopped fresh cilantro 1/4 c. finely chopped purple onion 1 jalapeño, seeded and minced juice of half a lime

Stir everything together and let it sit for half an hour or so to allow the flavours to blend.

Makes about 2-1/2 cups.

photos by Julie Van Rosendaal

Charred Corn and Radish Salsa  Charred corn adds a smoky flavour to this chunky salsa, while radishes add a peppery crunch. It’s coarse enough to be served as a side salad – for something more substantial, add some steamed quinoa.

2 ears corn on the cob 3 white or red radishes, finely chopped 2 plum tomatoes, diced half purple onion or 3-4 green onions, diced or chopped 1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and minced 1/4 -1/2 c. fresh cilantro, chopped (include stems) 1 garlic clove, crushed juice of half a lime big pinch salt

Husk the corn while you preheat the grill to high. Place the cobs directly on the grill and cook, turning until charred all over, about 10 minutes. Let cool slightly, then cut the kernels off the cob into a wide bowl. Add the remaining ingredients and toss to combine.

Serve immediately or let stand for an hour to let the flavours meld.

Makes about 3 cups.

Avocado Salsa Verde  Salsa verde is often made with green tomatillos, which look like small green tomatoes, wrapped in a gooseberry-like husk. They’re often cooked, but can be used raw as well. Unripe green tomatoes make an easier-to-source alternative, and a purple heirloom tomato looks nice thrown in with the pale green, too. This salsa can be made chunky, chopped by hand, or pulsed until almost smooth in the blender or food processor.

2 ripe avocados, pitted and finely diced

juice of a lime

2 green tomatoes or tomatillos, chopped

big pinch salt

1/2 c. chopped fresh cilantro

Toss everything together in a bowl, or pulse it in a blender or food processor until it’s as smooth as you like. Makes about 3 cups.

1/4 sweet onion, chopped 1/2 -1 jalapeño, seeded and minced 1-2 garlic cloves, crushed

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continued on page 22 CITY PALATE.ca SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2014

21

one ingredient Salsa continued from page 21

Salsa Roja Asada  (Roasted Red Salsa) Roasting tomatoes and peppers first condenses them, reducing their liquid for a more substantial, smoky-sweet salsa.

1 sweet or purple onion, peeled and quartered 5-6 Roma (plum) tomatoes, halved lengthwise 2 red bell peppers, halved and seeded 2 Anaheim peppers, halved and seeded 2 jalapeño peppers, halved and seeded 1 head garlic, halved crosswise extra-virgin olive oil, for cooking sea salt 1/2 c. chopped fresh cilantro (include stems) juice of half a lime

Sikil P’ak (Pumpkin Seed Salsa) A specialty of the Yucatán, this thick, rich salsa is based on toasted pepitas – green pumpkin seeds – blended with tomatoes and chiles.

Adapted from a recipe in Saveur.

1 c. raw green pumpkin seeds 1/2 c. sliced or slivered almonds 2 Roma (plum) tomatoes, halved 1 jalapeño or habañero pepper, seeded and minced (wear gloves!)

2 T. sesame seeds 1/4-1/2 c. chopped fresh cilantro pinch salt extra-virgin olive oil

Set a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add the pumpkin seeds and almonds and cook, stirring, until toasted and fragrant.

Transfer to the bowl of a food processor. Put the tomatoes and chiles skin-side-down in the hot pan and cook until they start to blister. Add to the food processor along with the sesame seeds, cilantro and salt. Pulse until chunky, then drizzle in the oil until the salsa loosens up.

Scrape into a bowl and, if you like, drizzle with a little more oil. Serves 4 to 6.

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CITY PALATE.ca SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2014

Preheat the oven to 450°F. Place the onion, tomatoes and peppers cut-side-down and the garlic cut-side up on a large rimmed baking sheet, drizzle generously with oil and sprinkle with salt. Roast for 30-45 minutes, until the vegetables are soft and charred on the edges. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool slightly.

Scrape into the bowl of a food processor (along with any oils and juices from the pan) and add the cilantro and lime juice. Pulse until well blended but still chunky, scraping down the sides of the bowl once or twice.

Makes about 3 cups.

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23

Fresh Produce

Antipasti

In-store Bakery

feeding people

Debby Waldman

Making fruit leather for eating and gifting

I have two summer food traditions: in July, I make jam that molds in the refrigerator, and in August I, make my children collect the rotten apples from underneath our tree and dispose of them – the apples, not the children.

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Last fall, in an attempt at self-improvement, I signed up for a dehydrating class.

I wasn’t particularly interested in learning to dehydrate – after I moved from the humid northeastern United States to Alberta 22 years ago, my body figured out how to dehydrate all by itself.

What attracted me was the promise of a lesson in canning, and the possibility that our apples could be used for something other than a lesson in composting.

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Until I attended the class, I hadn’t thought much about dehydrated food, mostly because I’m neither a camper nor an astronaut. But once the instructors showed us how to dehydrate everything from asparagus to zucchini (use a dehydrator!) and how to make apple juice and sauce without peeling or cutting (use a steamer-juicer! Use a food mill!), I forgot about canning.

In dehydrating class I discovered that it’s possible to eat dehydrated produce in its dried-out state (raisins are a good example) or rehydrate it in water or soup stock and bring it back to life – useful if you’re a camper or an astronaut.

About halfway through the class, the instructors got so carried away dehydrating beans and berries that they forgot they were also rehydrating apples. By the time they remembered, the apples had turned to mush. Rather than toss the mush into the trash, they decided to make fruit leather.

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I hadn’t thought about fruit leather since my children were little. Back then its appeal was that it was cheap and portable – unlike genuine fruit, it neither bruised nor went bad. Also, it was supposedly healthy, although I had doubts; its rubbery texture gave it a vinyl-like feel, which is why it never occurred to me that it was something I could make at home.

The instructors poured the rehydrated apple mush into a blender and pulverized it. Then they began adding strawberries, peaches, bananas – basically whatever was nearby.

“You can use anything!” they told us gleefully, in case that hadn’t occurred to us. When the mixture was the consistency of a smoothie, they poured it onto a greased plastic sheet atop a dehydrator rack.

While it dried, they passed around samples of fruit leather they’d already made.

Unlike the mass-produced stuff, it was smooth and pliable, like a really nice Roots purse, but edible.

A few days after the class, with apples piling up in the backyard, I borrowed a steamer-juicer, food mill and dehydrator from a friend and set about making my own fruit leather.

Steaming the apples whole and cooling them before putting them through the food mill – that grinds them up and sorts out the seeds and skin – took nearly two hours, longer than my usual applesauce-making method, using store-bought apples.

However, it was also easier because I didn’t have to peel and chop. Also, it yielded greater quantities of applesauce, and had the added benefit of generating juice.

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CITY PALATE.ca SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2014

To make my first batch of fruit leather, I started with four cups of applesauce and two cups of juice in the blender. It was too thick, so I added more juice. Eventually I added maple syrup, partly because I felt silly having deconstructed an apple only to put it back together again in a different form, and partly because everything tastes better with maple syrup. The last ingredient into the blender was cinnamon, because applesauce needs cinnamon.

When I poured the mixture onto the greased dehydrator sheets, it looked kind of boring, so I swirled in a few tablespoons of vanilla yogurt, as the instructors had suggested. However, while the fruity part dried to a soft, foldable material, the yogurt dried crunchy. When I folded the yogurt parts, they broke. I haven’t tried that again.

My next fruit leather experiment involved peach brandy sauce I’d made a month earlier. Because I didn’t have enough sauce to fill the blender container, and because what I did have was runny, I threw in a soft banana, a cup of applesauce, and the remainder of a jar of homemade strawberry-apricot jam.

Now it was too thick, so I added brandy. To enhance the flavour, I used cinnamon and cloves. After pouring the mixture onto the dehydrator sheets, I sprinkled finely chopped pecans on top. My family devoured the fruit leather within two days.

This was a marked departure from my jam-making experience, which, as I mentioned earlier, always ended with mold and disappointment.

Also unlike homemade jam, fruit leather lends itself to intense creativity. As long as the consistency is that of a smoothie (i.e., neither runny nor so thick you have to eat it with a spoon), I can pretty much use whatever ingredients I want.

Most recently, I thinned my applesauce with amaretto because I ran out of juice.

I’m thinking of using sunflower or pumpkin seeds, and also dried cranberries, on top of my next batch.

I have yet to learn how to properly seal a jar, but that’s one more advantage to making fruit leather: my family consumes it so quickly, it never has a chance to get moldy.

Peach Brandy Sauce 2-1/2 c. coarsely chopped peaches 1-1/4 c. sugar 1/2 c. brandy

Combine in a heavy saucepan and simmer until the peaches have softened. When the mixture has cooled, use a blender or food processor to smooth it to the desired consistency.

Grown-up Fruit Leather 1 banana 1 c. applesauce 1 c. peach brandy sauce 1/4 c. strawberry apricot jam 1 t. cinnamon 1/2 t. cloves 1 c. finely chopped pecans as garnish

Blend everything except pecans to the consistency of a smoothie, adding brandy, apple juice or maple syrup as needed (or, in the case of the brandy, as desired)

Coat two to three plastic dehydrator sheets with non-stick spray and pour the fruit mixture until the tray is just filled. Be careful not to overfill, or the mixture will spill into the tray (which makes a mess that is especially difficult to clean). Use a spatula to spread the mixture to the edges of each tray if necessary. Sprinkle chopped pecans over top.

I usually set my dehydrator to 180°F. Check on the fruit leather after eight hours. You’ll know it’s done when it’s dry and easy to lift off the sheet.

Some people slice and roll their fruit leather.

I use scissors to cut mine into two- or threeinch strips and store it in an airtight container.

It can last for months, but it probably won’t.

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You can also make fruit leather in a 180°F. oven, but as one of the instructors warned, it will tie up your oven for hours – at least eight, more if the mixture is thick – and use more electricity. If you use an oven, line cookie sheets with parchment paper. You’ll know the fruit leather is ready when it peels off the paper – or when the paper peels off the leather.

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Debby Waldman lives in Edmonton, where she is planning to buy a steamerjuicer to go with the dehydrator and food mill she bought last fall.

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CITY PALATE.ca SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2014

25

the sunday project

with Rebecca Kelley

Making duck confit

Confit means to preserve, derived from an ancient method of preserving meat – usually goose, duck or pork – whereby it is salt-cured overnight in a flavourful rub, then slowly cooked in its own fat. The cooked meat is then packed into a crock or pot and covered with its cooking fat, which acts as a seal and preservative. Before refrigeration it was a way of keeping duck on the menu all winter long. Confiting makes normally tough duck legs tender and moist. Duck confit is a vital ingredient in cassoulet, but it has many other uses – try the duck legs seared and served with lentils or shred the confit meat over a salad.

If you‘re feeling extra energetic you can make duck rillettes with the confit. The possibilities are endless and because confit is made for storage in the fridge, you can make a large batch and try them all!

Duck Confit Salt rub: 1/2 c. sea salt

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1/4 c. thyme leaves striped from the branches one whole bulb of garlic, minced

Combine all the ingredients for the salt rub in a mortar and pestle and grind them into a paste. Generously rub the salt mixture into the flesh side of the duck legs, then place them in a roasting pan or a baking sheet, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 24 hours.

Arrange the duck legs in a baking dish and pour the melted fat over. Make sure the flesh is completely covered. Place the confit in the oven and cook for 4-5 hours, or until the flesh flakes away from the bone. Remove the confit from the oven. Remove the legs from the fat and eat them, or if you want to preserve them for later use, put the legs into a jar or a dish where you can competely submerge them in the fat, then refrigerate. They will keep in the fridge for up to six months if they are completely submerged in the duck fat.

If pieces aren’t completely submerged, eat them right away, or tuck them into the fat.

Preheat the oven to 250°F. Remove the legs from the fridge and brush off as much of the

Duck confit is delicious eaten right away or eaten later. Bon appétit!

2 t. ground black pepper 5 duck legs (I get them from Greens Eggs and Ham at the Crossroads Market) 2 lbs. duck fat (ask your favourite butcher)

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CITY PALATE.ca SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2014

FOOD ON FILM

salt mixture as you can, then wipe the pieces so they are completely dry. (You do this because you don’t want to “poach” the duck legs – you want to confit them.)

photos by Regan Johnson

1. The salt rub ingredients.

2. Finished salt rub paste.

3. Salt rub applied to the skin, ready to be wrapped to cure overnight in the fridge.

4. Salt rub is brushed off after 24 hours.

5. Dry the legs.

6. Melt the duck fat.

7. Submerge the flesh in the duck fat, ready to go in the oven.

8. Finished duck legs looking golden and delicious, ready to eat or store in the fridge.

CITY PALATE.ca SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2014

27

Celebrating the Harvest Each year at harvest, we ask some of our great chefs and foodie friends to contribute a favourite recipe you can make at home. This year it’s all about tomatoes.

Paul Rogalski, Rouge Restaurant, Bistro Rouge Tomato Salad with Bacon Vinaigrette

Jared Alvey, Tavern 1883, Canmore Tomato and Asparagus Tart

Kenny Kaechele, WORKSHOP Kitchen & Culture Smoked Tomato Chutney

The key to making this dish a knockout starts with great tomatoes. Choose ripe but still firm ones for best results.

1 sheet butter puff pastry (Pascal’s Patisserie), thawed in the fridge overnight

This is one of my favourite ways to top seafood or for using as a condiment on a charcuterie plate. It’s great on scallops, too.

2 bacon strips

extra-virgin olive oil

30 cherry tomatoes

1/3 c. grapeseed oil 1/3 c. sherry wine vinegar 1-1/2 T. Dijon mustard

1/2 lb. asparagus salt and pepper 5 oz. aged gouda cheese, grated

salt and fresh-cracked black pepper, to taste

2 heirloom tomatoes, different colours

6 ripe tomatoes, about one per person. I like to have both red and yellow for the prettiest salad

1 large organic egg for each serving baby arugula

flavoured oils, like chive oil, for garnish

1 t. balsamic crema (available at specialty food stores)

crispy bacon slices and microgreens or other greens, like basil or arugula, for garnish

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Roll out the puff pastry to 1/8-inch thick.

Place it on a baking tray or pizza stone and prick it with a fork.

Lightly brush with olive oil. Trim the bottoms from the asparagus, lightly coat with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Lay the asparagus on the pastry. Sprinkle the gouda over the asparagus and pastry. Bake for about 15 minutes, or until the asparagus is tender and the pastry has browned around the edges.

Sauté the bacon until browned and the fat has rendered.

Roughly chop the bacon and place it and the rendered fat in a blender with the grapeseed oil, vinegar and mustard.

Blend at a low speed to begin with, then increase speed until the vinaigrette is smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Cut the tomatoes into slices or wedges and gently toss with the vinaigrette. Season again to taste. Arrange the tomatoes on 6 salad plates and garnish with crispy bacon and flavoured oil, if desired. Greens add another touch of colour to this salad. Serves 6.

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tom

CITY PALATE.ca SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2014

While the tart is baking, thinly slice the tomatoes, lightly brush them with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Fry the eggs to your liking and set aside. When the tart comes out of the oven, cut it into 4 servings and top each serving with the tomato slices, then with an egg. Garnish with arugula and drizzle balsamic crema on each plate, if desired. Serves 4 as an appetizer or as a light supper with a salad.

1-1/2 c. water 1/2 c. red wine vinegar 1 c. sugar 1 T. coriander seeds, crushed in a mortar and pestle 12 garlic cloves, roasted and mashed with a fork 1 T. tomato vinegar (find it at Savour Fine Foods in Inglewood) sea salt to taste pinch ground black pepper

Smoke the tomatoes in your barbecue over an old pie plate with hickory, maple, alder, apple or cherry wood chips in it. Put the tomatoes on the grill and the wood chips underneath on the heat. Cover. Low heat, nice smoke. Smoke the tomatoes until the skin loosens, then remove them and peel the skin off.

Put all the ingredients into a saucepan and cook over medium heat for 30 minutes, stirring often to break open the tomatoes. Reduce the heat and simmer 15 minutes more until the liquid mostly evaporates and the mixture has a chutney-like consistency. Adjust the seasoning, then cool and refrigerate in a covered container. Makes about 2-1/2 cups.

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Eben Brummitt, formerly at Brava Bistro and KORQ Winehouse Gazpacho “Bloody Mary” Tomato Jam 2 bell peppers, cored and seeded

1 onion

3 medium tomatoes

4 garlic cloves

1/2 long English cucumber

1 finger of ginger (about 2 inches), peeled

1 clove garlic, minced

olive oil

1/2 c. extra-virgin olive oil

1/4 t. ground cloves

1 T. sherry vinegar

1 cinnamon stick

salt and pepper to taste

2 to 3 medium tomatoes

gin or vodka

1/4 c. tomato paste

Roughly chop the vegetables, then put them in a blender with the garlic. Blend on high with the oil and vinegar until smooth. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Store the gazpacho in the fridge. Makes 4 cups.

When the cocktail hour arrives, add your favourite gin or vodka to the gazpacho for tasty drinks. If the gazpacho separates a little, just shake or stir it to re-mix. I like to use 2 oz. Grey Goose vodka or Victoria Gin to 8 oz. gazpacho.

Turkish Salsa 6-8 Roma tomatoes 3-4 shallots 1/2 long English cucumber 3 T. sumac (a tart, fruity spice found at Silk Road Spice Merchant) 1 T. dried oregano juice from 1 to 1-1/2 lemons 3 T. extra-virgin olive oil 1 t. honey salt and pepper to taste

Cut each tomato into 4 wedges and remove the seed core. Peel the shallots and remove the seeds from the cucumber. Chop the tomatoes, shallots and cucumber into small dice.

Put the vegetables, sumac, oregano, lemon juice, olive oil and honey into a bowl and stir gently to blend well. Taste the salsa and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper.

Makes about 2 cups.

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October 10 & 11, 2014

1/2 c. honey pinch of chile flakes, or to taste salt to taste

Chop the onion, garlic and ginger very fine. Start the mixture in a warm pan on low heat with enough oil to coat the pieces and cook it until the onion starts to soften and turn translucent, about 10 minutes. Stir in the cloves and cinnamon stick and continue to cook, stirring once in a while to make sure nothing sticks to the bottom of the pan. While the onion is cooking, cut the tomatoes in half and grate them with the big side of a cheese grater (the skin should just slide over the holes so no need to worry about your fingertips).

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After about 10 minutes, stir in the tomato paste and turn the heat up to medium. At this point you’ll want to continue stirring and keep an eye on the pan – you’re looking for a little browning to start to stick to the bottom.

Quickly, before the bottom gets too dark, add the grated tomato, honey and chile flakes – I like a small pinch just to offset the sweetness of the rest of the jam, but a little more is not necessarily a bad thing.

Stir everything well, scraping the bottom a little to get the browning and flavour cooking into the jam. Reduce the heat to a low simmer and cook it until the whole mixture starts to thicken, usually 45 to 60 minutes. Add a little salt and cool the jam. This lasts in the refrigerator for 1 to 1-1/2 weeks, or it can be canned like fruit jams.

Makes about 2 cups. continued on page 30 CITY PALATE.ca SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2014

29

Celebrating the Harvest

Michael Allemeier, instructor, chef, SAIT culinary program Panzanella Salad with White Beans and Lime and Chile Poached Shrimp

continued from page 29

tomatoes Pam Fortier, Decadent Desserts Fresh Tomato Pasta

Michael Noble, NOtaBLE, the Restaurant Tomato Sweet Pepper Jam

I think of this as “summer in a bowl.” It’s an extremely flexible recipe. Make it once and you’ll see the possibilities using different cheeses, like feta, manchego, pecorino. The quality of ingredients is key because the sauce is not cooked... especially the tomatoes. I always make enough to have leftovers for lunch the next day.

1 sweet red pepper, diced

1-1/2 lbs. tomatoes, both red and yellow are pretty 3 garlic cloves 1 t. sea salt freshly ground pepper (17 turns) 1/2 -1 t. Sriracha hot sauce 3 T. sherry vinegar 1/4 c. extra-virgin olive oil 1/2 small red onion, finely diced handful fresh basil, chopped 1/2 lb. Italian penne pasta 6 oz. Italian mozzarella, small dice or grated

Chop the tomatoes roughly into 1/2- to 1-inch dice. With your knife blade, mash the garlic and salt together, then combine it in a bowl with the pepper, hot sauce, vinegar and olive oil. Whisk together, then add the tomatoes and stir to coat them well . Stir in the onion and basil. Allow the sauce to macerate 1 to 2 hours at room temperature, stirring occasionally.

1/2 jalapeño chile, minced 1 c. red wine vinegar 1/4 c. brown sugar

Wade Sirois, Infuse Catering and Forage Roasted Tomato and Sylvan Star Gouda Tart The tomatoes and potato filling can be made a day in advance; the tarts can be assembled just before baking.

1/4 c. good quality extra-virgin olive oil 1 T. + 1 t. sherry vinegar 2 garlic cloves, finely minced 1-1/2 c. cooked white beans 1/4 c. thinly sliced green onions 4 c. day-old sourdough bread, cut into 1/2inch pieces 5-7 large, ripe tomatoes – preferably heirloom – cut into 1/2-inch pieces 12 fresh basil leaves, torn 24 lime- and chile-poached shrimp, sliced lengthwise or leave whole, recipe below

Roasted Tomatoes:

salt and cracked black pepper

pinch of salt, or to taste

3 lbs. tomatoes (a variety, from a local producer like Broxburn, Gull Valley or Hotchkiss)

1 T. coarsely chopped fresh cilantro

2 T. olive oil

Put the sweet pepper, jalapeño, vinegar and brown sugar in a saucepan large enough to hold the diced tomatoes. Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium-low heat and taste and adjust, to your preference, for the balance of sweet/sour, adding a little more sugar or vinegar. Slowly reduce the liquid until it becomes syrupy.

2 sprigs fresh thyme, chopped

In a large bowl, toss together the olive oil, vinegar, garlic, beans and green onions. Add the bread and toss well. Let sit for 5 minutes to absorb the vinaigrette. Add the tomatoes, torn basil leaves and poached shrimp and gently toss. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Serve at room temperature. Serves 8.

6 ripe beefsteak tomatoes, blanched, peeled, seeded and roughly chopped

Add the chopped tomato, bring back to a simmer. Lower the heat and cook, stirring occasionally, as the tomato juices are released and evaporate. This should take at least an hour, otherwise your heat is too high. You don’t want it too high or the mixture will stick to the bottom of the pan. When the jam is a deep red and the liquid has evaporated, remove from the heat. Season with salt to taste and stir in the chopped cilantro. Cool and store in the fridge until needed. This jam is excellent served with grilled meats and fish, and spread it on your favourite burger, under the cheese.

Cook the pasta to preferred done-ness in generously salted water, then drain well.

Gently combine the pasta with the sauce and mozzarella. Enjoy hot or at room temperature.

Serves 4 as a side dish.

1 t. sea salt 1/4 t. cracked black pepper

Preheat the oven to 425°F. Cut the tomatoes into roughly 1-inch wedges or pieces. Toss with the remaining ingredients. Place on a parchment-covered baking sheet and bake for about 30 minutes, until slightly golden. Set aside to cool.

Potato Filling: 4 c. mashed potatoes, chilled (I like to use Red Norland potatoes, but any good masher will do) 2 eggs 1/4 c. heavy cream 1 T. olive oil 1 T. sea salt 1 c. shredded Sylvan Star medium gouda cheese

Place all ingredients, except the cheese, in a food processor and process until just smooth.

Pour into a bowl, stir in the cheese and set aside.

For The Tarts: 1 sheet butter puff pastry (I get it from Pascal’s Patisserie) 1 c. shredded Sylvan Star medium gouda cheese

Cut the puff pastry sheet into 8 even pieces, roughly 3-1/2 inches by 5 inches. Roll each piece out to about half of the original thickness.

Prick each piece with a fork a few times.

Divide the potato filling among the sheets of puff dough and spread it out, leaving about 1/8 inch of pastry around the edges uncovered.

Divide the roasted tomatoes among the tarts.

Sprinkle with shredded cheese.

Bake in a 375°F. oven for about 30 minutes, until the puff pastry is golden and cooked. Serve as a starter or a light main course with a salad.

Makes 8 tarts.

30

Panzanella salad originated in Tuscany. This salad, made of ripe tomatoes and day-old bread, is refreshing on hot days for lunch or for part of a dinner. While there are many variations of this salad, this one is delicious as a complete meal!

Poaching the shrimp a day in advance makes for really good flavour.

CITY PALATE.ca SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2014

Lime and Chile Poached Shrimp: Cook the shrimp the day before. Chilling allows the flavours to develop.

1 c. thinly sliced leek, white part 1 c. thinly sliced peeled carrot 1/2 c. thinly sliced celery 1 c. thinly sliced fennel bulb 2 limes, zest and juice 2 bay leaves 1 t. dried chile flakes 8 c. cold water 2 t. salt 24 large shrimp, peeled and deveined

Put all the ingredients except the shrimp into a pot and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 30 minutes and strain into a clean pot. Discard the vegetables. Return the stock to a boil. Place the cleaned and deveined shrimp into a bowl and pour the boiling stock over the shrimp; let cool to room temperature. Cover and place the bowl in the fridge to chill the shrimp until needed.

Eden Hrabec, Crazyweed Kitchen, Canmore Pan Seared Halibut in Tomato, Kalamata, Pinenut and Preserved Lemon Tagine with Crispy Kennebec Potato Rosti and Lemon Citrus Aioli Tomato, Kalamata Olive, Pinenut and Preserved Lemon Tagine: 8 Broxburn Farm beefsteak tomatoes 4 garlic cloves, minced

the vegetable oil in a thin stream until completely combined. You want to achieve the consistency of a thin mayonnaise. Stop the food processor, season with sea salt, pulse until thoroughly mixed.

1-1/2 T. turmeric

Kennebec Potato Rosti:

2 T. coriander seeds, crushed

3 Kennebec potatoes (or use russet potatoes if you can’t find Kennebec)

1 dried red chile, crushed sea salt to taste 2 preserved lemons (buy them at Mediterranean groceries and specialty food stores) 1/2 c. kalamata olives, halved lengthwise 1/4 c. toasted pinenuts chopped fresh Italian parsley for garnish julienned preserved lemon rind for garnish

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Score the bottoms of the tomatoes with a small slit and core the tops, removing all stem. Submerge the tomatoes in the boiling water for about 4 minutes. The skin will start to peel; remove the tomatoes and remove the skin. Chop the tomatoes into a rough dice and set aside.

In a large saucepan, sweat the garlic until it’s fully cooked, about 4 minutes. Add the tomatoes, turmeric, coriander seeds, chile and salt.

Cook the mixture until most of the moisture is gone, about 20 minutes. This is the tagine.

Take 1 cup of tagine and purée it with the pulp from the two preserved lemons until completely blended, then mix it with the rest of the tagine.

Put the tagine back into the saucepan and add the olives and pinenuts. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Keep warm until ready to serve.

Serves 6.

Lemon Citrus Aioli: 2 lemons – juice of 2, zest of 1 1 orange, juice and zest 2 egg yolks 1 T. Dijon mustard 1 c. vegetable oil coarse sea salt (to taste)

Place the lemon and orange zest and juice, egg yolks and mustard into the bowl of a food processor. With the motor running, slowly add

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6 cups vegetable oil coarse sea salt and freshly ground pepper

Steam the potatoes for 20 minutes, then let them cool a bit. When cool enough to handle, grate them and form them into 6 loosely packed cakes – a good handful for each. Heat the oil in a medium-size pot to 360°F. on a candy thermometer. Deep fry the potato cakes until golden brown, a few at a time. Put them on paper towels to absorb excess oil and season with a generous amount of salt and pepper.

Keep warm while cooking the halibut.

Halibut: You can buy halibut from most fish markets until the beginning of October. You will need to purchase six 5-oz. portions, which usually come with the skin removed.

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Preheat the oven to 450°F. Season the halibut generously with salt and pepper on both sides. Heat a large skillet until almost smoking, then add enought oil to just coat the bottom.

Using paper towels, pat the halibut dry after seasoning to absorb extra moisture.

Place the halibut in the pan, one piece at a time and sear it until you start to see a nice golden crust forming on the bottom. Place the pan into the oven for about 4 minutes. Flip the halibut and place it back in the oven to finish cooking. Keep each piece warm while cooking the others.

To assemble the dish: Set out 6 plates and sauce them with the tomato tagine. Divide the rosti among the plates and place in the centre of the tagine. Place the halibut on the rosti and garnish it with the aioli.

Sprinkle the julienned preserved lemon rind around the plate for a pretty accent and sprinkle all with the chopped parsley. continued on page 34

Ghosts & Gourmet October 29, 30 & 31 • 6 p.m.– 9 p.m.

Enjoy a frightfully delicious dinner in the Wainwright Hotel followed by a ghastly ghost tour through the dark and deserted streets of the Historical Village.

Tickets: $64.95 +GST/person Available at HeritagePark.ca or 403.268.8500

CITY PALATE.ca SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2014

31

Flourless Hazelnut Ca

Radicchio Salad with Po Wild Boar Carbonara

Introducing an exciting new cookbook featuring 80 signature recipes from the city's top chefs...

Ricotta Gnocchi w

Sticky Toffee Doughn

Mo-lacquered Pork Belly

Orange Almond Lav Wild Mushroom Tart

Una’s Famous Meatb

Calgary’s food scene is bristling with raw energy and creativity and shows no signs of slowing down.

Whether we’re savouring Spanish tapas, authentic Italian, innovative desserts, pop-up restaurants, locally grown and sourced produce, belt-busting breakfasts or startlingly great local catering, we – Gail Norton and Karen Ralph – keep being reminded that we’re witnessing a red-hot restaurant renaissance. We decided that we wanted to share our newfound joy with the home cook.

When we approached restaurants and chefs with the idea of a Calgary cookbook, they enthusiastically embraced the idea, and almost 40 restaurants signed on to share their most popular recipes and trademark dishes with us. We asked for two recipes from each restaurant, and the 80 featured recipes are fresh, contemporary and designed to be made in your own kitchen.

Calgary Cooks showcases the best of our local ingredients and the creativity and skill of our chefs, whose dishes reflect respect for the ingredients and the demands of our constantly evolving food scene. Thanks to our boom-and busteconomy, we know that the good times can suddenly end and only the strong survive. This Darwinian aspect of our economy drives creativity, reinvention and self-reliance, and Calgary’s current restaurant rampage epitomizes the changes that have shaped the city over the last 20 years. It used to be fairly simple to decide where and what to eat, but those days are gone forever, both in terms of choosing restaurants and, once there, selecting menu items, and deciding what to cook at home.

Meet the chefs who made it happen...

Glen Manzer, Bonterra

Daniel Labutes, Michel Nop & Duncan Ly, Chef’s Table

Rogelio Herrera, Candela

Paul McGreevy, Craft

Justin Leboe, Model Milk

Roy Oh, Anju

Stephen Smee, UNA Pizza + Wine

Dave Bohati, Market

Judy Wood, Meez Cuisine & Catering

Spencer Wheaton, Mercato

Dominique Moussu and JeanPhilippe Charpentier, Cassis

Andrew Winfield, River Café

Aviv Fried, Sidewalk Citzen

Nicole Gomes, Nicole Gourmet

John Michael Macneil, Teatro

Kevin A. Hill, The Living Room

Erik Burley, Vendome

Duncan Ly, Yellow Door Bistro

32

CITY PALATE.ca SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2014

ake with White Chocolate Sour Cream Ganache and Raspberries

oached Pears and Burrata

Rhubarb-glazed Weathervane Scallops with Braised Bacon

Roasted Carrot and Split Pea Soup with Moorish Spices, Goat Yogurt, Toasted Fennel Oil and Mint

Goat’s Milk Ricotta Cheesecake with Lemon and Rosemary

and Green Tahini

Butternut Squash Velo

with Brussels Sprouts and Chanterelles in a Roasted Garlic Sauce

nuts

Seared Halibut on a Tomato Gratin with Pine Nut Relish

y and Seared Scallops

vender Torte

Rhubarb-glazed Weat

Beef Tartare

Achiote-rubbed Boneless Chicken Thighs and Warm Hominy Salad

Lobster Brot

Braised Rabbit Legs with Ricotta Gnocchi, Chanterelles and Two Mustards

Goat Cheese Fritter Salad with Apples and Toasted Almonds

balls

Tiramisú

Scallop Salad with Apples, Mangoes and Radish

Bacalao Fritte

Smoked Pork Rib Chops with Caramelized Applesauce

We all know how satisfying it is to serve our friends and family dishes that really make them aware of the flavours they are tasting, food that’s comforting and exciting – food that makes everyone feel the love.

Calgary Cooks features recipes that local restaurant enthusiasts already adore, and now you can impress your dinner guests by making Una’s Kale Salad, Chef’s Table Lamb Shanks with Ginger and Orange-glazed Carrots, Bonterra’s Veal Meatballs, Candela’s Crispy Calamari with Ancho Chili Mayo, Janice Beaton’s heavenly Mac ‘n’ Cheese, Yellow Door’s Dungeness Crab with Coconut Lime Dressing, River Café’s Roasted Carrot Soup, Nicole Gomes’ Truffled Mushroom Risotto, Charcut’s Tuna Conserva or Model Milk’s Cheddar and Apple Pie, to name just a few!

Calgary Cooks is a fun, adventurous way to expand your cooking repertoire. Source the best ingredients that you can buy, and start cooking! ✤

SEE PAGE 47 FOR DETAILS ON THE OCTOBER 22nd BOOK LAUNCH PARTY, AND HOW TO PRE-ORDER YOUR COPY NOW.

Romuald Coldaon, Cucina

Thierry Meret & Marnie Fudge, Cuisine et Chateau

Darren Maclean, downtownfood

Janice Beaton, FARM

Dilan Draper, Avec Bistro

Angelo Contrada & Joshua Stoddart, Sugo

Kevin A. Hill, Añejo

Rosanne Tripathy, Jelly Modern Doughnuts

Cody Willis, Native Tongues Taqueria

Kevin Kent and Mike Wrinch, Knifewear

Matthew Altizer, The Cookbook Co. Cooks

Connie Desousa & John Jackson, Charcut Roast House

Aaron Creurer, Red Tree Catering

Kyle Groves, Catch Restaurant & Oyster Bar

Shawn Greenwood, Beltliner

Brian Diamond, Il Sogno

JP Pedhirney, Muse

Jennifer Norfolk, Brûlée

Christopher Dewling, Blink

Stephen Smee, Ox & Angela

Dalia Kohen, The Coup

CITY PALATE.ca SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2014

33

Celebrating the Harvest continued from page 31

A long-standing family tradition in the heart of the city.

Great food. Great location.

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Metrovino’s Al Drinkle Pairs Wine with Tomatoes.

As with any other food and wine pairing enterprise, there are no strict rules to pairing wine with tomatoes and tomato-based dishes, but a few guidelines will help to achieve maximum enjoyment.

First, if we consider tomatoes to be vegetables – a scientifically inaccurate suggestion but entirely appropriate in regard to their culinary usage – it’s worth noting that tomatoes are higher in acid than most other vegetables, which gives them an inherent freshness. Second, more than any other vegetable, tomatoes contain significant levels of the amino acid known as glutamate, which is responsible for umami or savoury sensations on the palate. Neither of these components makes for particularly amicable pairings with wines that are tannic, corpulent in body or inordinately high in alcohol. Instead, wonderful harmony can be achieved with fruity, mid-weight wines of all colours that boast clarity and vibrancy.

As demonstrated by these colourfully disparate recipes, tomatoes can be utilized in many different ways and with varying degrees of their personality showing up in the completed dish. When they merely play a supporting role, we should pair wine to the more important components of the dish while remaining cognizant of tomatoes’ invigorating and mouthwatering qualities. This might entail opting for a slightly zestier wine than one otherwise would. But when the spotlight is on the tomatoes, in dishes like panzanella or caprese salad, where the flavours of ripe, fresh tomatoes are as important as anything else, serve with vermentino, dry riesling or Spanish verdejo among many other thirst-quenching whites. Less obvious, but equally enticing matches can be achieved with light, juicy Tuscan sangiovese, Loire Valley cabernet franc or Austrian zweigelt, especially when these reds are lightly chilled. The right rosé, being the midpoint, can work too if it’s dry, crisp and flavourful.

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CITY PALATE.ca SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2014

In many Mexican dishes where ripe tomatoes might stand alongside onions, peppers, cilantro and lime, one need not look past sauvignon blanc, be it from Sancerre or New Zealand, but there’s also great potential with muscadet or a modest grüner veltliner. To the chagrin of Italians everywhere, I have to say that with the ubiquitous tomato sauce and almost anything that it’s applied to, there’s no better wine than a Beaujolais, and this equally applies to pasta and pizza. From environs as varying as Oregon to the Jura, young, simple pinot noir can also be a delight, as can many indigenous Italian specialties such as grignolino, dolcetto or the aforementioned sangiovese. When tomatoes are roasted, baked or stewed, such as stuffed tomatoes or tomato-heavy ratatouille, I’ve had great luck with spicy and savoury wines like Australian grenache, Mediterranean carignan or Spanish tempranillo, just as long as they’re on the low side of 13.5% alcohol. Last but not least, gazpacho is excellent with fino or manzanilla sherry, which is an exception to the low-alcohol guideline.

But try the pairing and you’ll see why I will break my own rule. ✤

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CITY PALATE.ca SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2014

35

FOOD

Myths

You Shouldn’t Believe

“Never make a decision based on fear!”

by Patrick Dunn

I believe one of the reasons that people don’t cook more for themselves is because of fear. Fear that they’re not doing it the “right way.” Believing food myths could also be viewed as a form of fear, if not ignorance. How do we conquer fear in the kitchen? With education and practiced techniques. Here are some food myths that you might believe but shouldn’t.

1

MYTH

#

THERE’S NO SUCH THING AS GOOD FAT

Hardly a day goes by when we don’t hear warnings about consuming too much fat. We might even hear that there is no such thing as good fat. But fat equals flavour. The reason real chocolate ice cream tastes so good is because the fat from the cream coats your mouth as it melts deliciously.

The reason your steak tastes so good and cooks up so tenderly is because the fat marbling throughout melts and keeps your meat juicy and tender.

Make no mistake, lean protein is very good for you, but you’re going to have to work harder or – gasp! – undercook it (with the exception of chicken of course) in order to prevent it from becoming a bland, tough piece of shoe leather.

If your fear of fat petrifies you to the point of eliminating it, take heart.

There are actually tasty fats out there that are good for you.

Here’s how I remember it: polyunsaturated and monounsaturated are the good ones. (Think of girl’s names – Polly and Mona). You’ll find these in avocados, walnuts, almonds, olives, peanut butter, fatty fish (salmon, tuna, mackerel, herring, trout, sardines). Use cold-pressed oils like walnut, flax and hemp seed when making dressings or drizzling on vegetables. These fats are delicate and easily damaged by light, air and heat. Just buy small bottles, store them in the fridge. Use cold-pressed olive oil that can be heated a little. Avocado oil excels for use in stir frying.

Saturated, especially animal-based saturated fats, and trans-fats are the ones that, when eaten in excess, can cause health problems. But, let’s be honest, they taste so good. Saturated fats are found in beef, chicken and pork, and in dairy products such as cheese, butter, palm and coconut oil (look for virgin coconut oil).

The real culprits are trans-fats found in many commercially produced foods, like chips, cookies, fried foods, candy bars and pastries. And don’t be fooled by many of the “low fat” versions of your favourite foods. The fat that is taken away is replaced with modified versions of sugar (high fructose corn syrup and other artificial sweeteners are the common culprits).

Make friends with the good fats, but not best friends. Let’s talk about one type of healthy fatty acid: omega-3. Nutritionists say that 30 percent of our daily calories can come from these omega fats. They play a part in healthy cell production and the maintenance of brain and nerve function. Since our body cannot produce them naturally, we have to ingest them – there are many delicious ways to do so. There are proteins such as flax, chia and hemp seeds, walnuts and salmon, among many other sources.

Switch from animal-based fats to plant/nut-based oils – high-quality olive oil, walnut oil, avocado oil, for example. I now put extra-virgin olive oil on my popcorn, and don’t miss the butter at all. Add nuts to your stir-fries, salads, pestos. Change your go-to chicken dishes for seafood dishes with nuts and pestos. Vegans can get what they need from berries, squash, nuts, mangoes and cabbage, to name just a few.

2

MYTH

#

RAW BROCCOLI IS BETTER FOR YOU THAN COOKED BROCCOLI

Even though I enjoy eating a plateful of raw veggies with salad dressing, it can be tough to digest at times. To me, perfectly steamed broccoli with a little butter, salt and pepper is a beautiful thing.

Broccoli is jammed-packed with Vitamin C, fiber, and a valuable substance called sulforaphane which is known to protect against breast cancer, and cancer caused

by UV radiation. Unfortunately, boiling broccoli reduces the amount of sulforaphane and vitamins that are available to the body. It is much better to steam broccoli or stir-fry it with a little sesame oil, as studies have shown that this does not remove the nutritional benefits. However you cook it, don’t overcook it. Usually once the broccoli turns a bright green, it’s done. No mushy veggies allowed.

3

MYTH

#

OLIVE OIL IS THE BEST OIL FOR YOUR HEALTH

All organic cooking oils are healthy because they’re derived from plants. It’s our old friends Polly and Mona again, polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats.

Look for oils that are organic and cold pressed, meaning the device that presses the fruit to extract the oil doesn’t go above a certain temperature, thus retaining the oil’s natural goodness. These oils give us linoleic and alpha linoleic acid (found in flax, walnut, canola and hemp oils), something our body needs and cannot make on its own. Other healthy oils, such as extra-virgin olive, non-GMO canola, peanut, flaxseed, walnut, hemp, avocado, and almond oils top the list.

Heating oils will change their nutritional value to a certain degree. Oils such as avocado, almond, grapeseed and peanut have a higher smoke point than extravirgin olive and sesame oils. The smoke point refers to the point at which oil breaks down, burns and smokes. Unrefined oils such as extra-virgin, walnut and flaxseed should be used in salad dressings, since their flavours are more delicate and they burn at a much lower temperature.

4

MYTH

#

REMOVING THE SEEDS FROM CHILE PEPPERS WILL SOFTEN THEIR HEAT LEVEL

Why would you add a de-seeded chile pepper to a dish if you didn’t like heat in the first place? The fact is that the heat, capsaicin, originates in the flesh and white membranes of the chile. As the chile matures from green to red, some capsaicin oil leaches into the seeds, giving the impression that they are the heat source. The simplest solution to adding less heat to your dish is to add less of the chile to the dish. continued on page 38

36

CITY PALATE.ca SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2014

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CITY PALATE.ca SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2014

37

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FOOD

Myths You Shouldn’t Believe

continued from page 36

5

MYTH

#

SEARING MEAT SEALS IN MOISTURE

The real reason for searing the outside of your meat is to create flavour, texture and eye appeal by caramelizing the natural sugars in the meat. These sugars darken and latch onto your favourite dry rub as your meat sizzles. The meat will brown even without a rub or marinade.

Your meat needs to be left alone on one side long enough to achieve all of the above. Once the desired colour is achieved, flip it! Once. If your meat is constantly in motion, none of the above occurs and you may end up cooking it too long. It’s nearly impossible to remember, “how long did I cook it on this side?”

Patience and visual inspection work best here.

6

MYTH

# 6455 Macleod Trail SW

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SALT IS SALT, AND YOU CAN USE ANY KIND FOR BAKING OR COOKING.

When I was growing up, my mother had one kind of salt, Sifto, an all-purpose salt.

These days, salt has become another accessory in the kitchen for true foodies.

The most notable differences between sea salt and table salt are in their flavour, texture and processing. Sea salt is considered “healthier” because it is less processed and contains other minerals such as magnesium, potassium and calcium.

Here’s how I use different types of salt in my kitchen: Table salt is very fine and dissolves quickly in water. Use it to enhance the sweet flavours in your baking. Use this in your pasta water, or for boiling your potatoes. This salt is too fine for marinades, as it will penetrate your proteins too quickly, which may cause them to dry out more quickly when cooked. Sifto contains additives, like potassium iodide and anti-caking agents that help the salt flow soothly from its container.

Coarse salt is chunks of salt that are pure and used for pickling and marinades.

Coarse salt is also used for salt crusts for baked fish and other proteins. It creates a moist environment which keeps juices in.

Sea salt contains minerals which give foods a slight sea water flavour. Ideal for poached fish, boiled lobster and court-bouillons.

Grey sea salt is unprocessed, and its natural gray colour comes from particles of clay. Since it adds quite a lot of flavour, add it to meat and poultry near the end of the cooking process, or use it as a crust for cooking whole fish.

Kosher salt is an all-purpose salt that’s free from additives and dissolves quickly.

It tastes less salty than table salt, so don’t be alarmed when you add more of it to a dish than you are used to.

Fleur de sel is “fancy” special-occasion salt! Also known as a “garnishing” or “finishing” salt, its coarse texture adds a crunch to sliced tomatoes, popcorn, pasta and even chocolate. Add fleur de sel as a garnish to the food on your plate.

Hawaiian black lava salt and pink Himalayan salt, to name two more “fancy” salts, are also good garnishes.

Pink Himalayan salt from Pakistan can be used in lieu of sea salt or table salt, depending on how fine it is processed. Rule of thumb: Larger crystals of salt will dissolve more slowly on your food and on your palate, which is the point of finishing salts. You get a pleasant crunch in your food and it will penetrate your marinades more slowly. You can even use it in the bathtub.

Hawaiian black lava salt, formed through evaporation, has been blended and coloured with charcoal, which is beneficial to digestion. Black salt is typically used to add eye appeal to a plate.

Go ahead, ditch the myths. Enjoy your cooking experience armed with facts and an adventurous spirit. ✤ Patrick Dunn is the owner of InnerChef Services.

38

CITY PALATE.ca SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2014

Join us at The Highwood on SAIT Polytechnic’s main campus for exceptional food and outstanding hospitality. With a team of renowned chefs and service instructors to guide them, our students can’t wait to show you what they’ve been cooking up this semester. For lunch or dinner reservations: sait.ca/highwood | 403.284.8615, ext. 2.

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CITY PALATE.ca SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2014

39

Harvest is Year-Round in Yuma, Arizona Two Calgary foodies take part in Field to Feast story and photos by John Gilchrist and Catherine Caldwell

The motorized conveyor belt slowly tracked across the cabbage field, a couple dozen field workers walking alongside it. Every few seconds, workers would bend over, cleave a machete into a stalk of cabbage and lift it up. A quick trim of excess foliage and the cabbage was dropped onto the conveyor belt. As they made their way along, more workers packed the cabbages into shipping cases and trucks hauled them away. Next stop – Wal-Mart or Safeway or some other grocery location across North America. Just another wintery work day in the green fields of Yuma, Arizona.

The workers, bussed in daily from Mexico, can pick a 20-acre field clean of cabbages or broccoli or romaine or whatever vegetable you’d like in just a few hours. Looking across the broad expanse of the fertile Colorado River basin, the distinctive white school buses that transport the workers are visible in field after field as the January harvest rolls along.

Come winter, fresh greens can be sparse in our northern climes. But a small area in the southwest corner of Arizona, the sunniest, driest, warmest region in the whole U.S.A., is still planting, growing and harvesting, providing us with lettuce and kale during our coldest months. From November through March, this area provides 90 percent of the fresh produce consumed in the U.S. and Canada.

Yuma Field to Feast tour group harvesting the feast.

It provides a tourism opportunity for food fans at the same time. We were on a Field to Feast agriculture tour organized by the Yuma Visitors Bureau (YVB), along with a busload of other food-focused folks, when we watched the cabbage harvest. Many of our cohorts were farmers from northern climes who, like us, were basking in the Arizona sun and interested in the Grand Canyon State’s agriculture. Led by a local farmer, the tour came with expert information on crop yields and cycles, but was also a fun way to spend a half day.

We met at the Yuma Quartermaster Depot State Historic Park for the short bus ride to a University of Arizona research farm. There, we were given a short food safety lesson, outfitted with charming hairnets, gloves and mini machetes and told to go pick lunch. The tour guides were very nice about it – they handed each of us a slip of paper instructing us what to pick – a grocery list, so to speak. We were assigned radishes and beets (Catherine) and broccoli and romaine (John) among the dozens of other growing plants, like cauliflower and kale. We and our fellow field workers strolled the immaculate rows of greens and completed our assignments. While we were at it, we couldn’t resist sampling the lettuces fresh from the ground (shhhh… don’t tell the organizers) – they were juicy and firm, a sweet treat on a mid-January day.

The veggies were to be prepared for lunch by culinary students at Arizona Western College. (More accurately, we ate the ones plucked the previous day by another tour group; the next day’s group would get ours – lucky beggars.)

The quality was outstanding. Lunch was a lush medley of salads, braised greens and borscht sided with stellar home-made buns. And as a special treat, each of us was given a fresh-cut cabbage as a souvenir. It was so good, we ate it raw for the next few days. (Wedges of it were great as an appetizer with chips and salsa.)

Date trees – the bags protect the fruit from birds, bugs and “sunburn,” and also catch any dates that fall off the stem before the pickers get to them. Photo courtesy Yuma Visitor’s Bureau.

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While the Field to Feast tour allowed us to dirty our hands (just a little), there are many other food-related activities around Yuma. Our next stop was Martha’s Gardens Date Farm where we hopped on a trolley tour of the waving palm trees.

The tour guide filled us in on their history (Medjool dates have been grown in southwest Arizona since 1944, and the area is now the world’s largest producer),

their nutritional attributes (fat-free, high in fibre and anti-oxidants) and the numerous grades of dates. It also tempted us with Yuma’s signature dish – the date shake.

(Do not leave Yuma without having a least one of these sweet confections, especially at Martha’s.)

On the dining side, YVB offers Savor Yuma progressive dinner tours that showcase Yuma’s restaurants and all the products grown in the area. And for those who like a festival atmosphere, there’s Yuma Lettuce Days, held annually near the end of February. Lettuce is huge in Yuma – during peak production months, the processing plants in the area handle over two million pounds of it… each day! So it makes sense to celebrate the leafy green with celebrity chef cooking demos, a giant salad bar, a farmers’ market and so on.

Yuma also offers a selection of cooking classes – Cooking with Sabor; From the Farm and Afar; Tina’s Cocina – that emphasize the great local ingredients.

And if dining out is more your style, there are a number of restaurants – like River City Grill, The Hills, and Stan’s Grocery for ginormous breakfast burritos – that showcase local products.

Between meals, Yuma has some interesting attractions to pique your interest and appetite. The city of 100,000 is known for the notorious Yuma Territorial Prison, opened in 1876 and closed in 1909. Over that time, it held more than 3,000 prisoners, the first seven of whom helped build the original cells.

The prison is now a state historic park.

After 1909, it became the local high school for a few years; the school’s teams are still known as… wait for it… the Criminals.

A short stroll away along the scenic Colorado riverfront sits the Yuma Quartermaster Depot State Historic Park.

In the mid-1800s, it supplied military posts throughout the southwest with supplies shipped up from the Gulf of California along the Colorado River.

Now, it’s a beautiful park.

Situated between the two historic sites, and with the cheeky address of 310 North Madison (a reference to Elmore Leonard’s memorable short story, Three-Ten to Yuma), is the Hilton Garden Inn. Built on the site where the first train crossed the Colorado into Arizona Territory, the Hilton offers the perfect spot to stay when visiting the city. A short walk takes you into the downtown core, along the thoughtfully restored riverfront, and those historic sites.

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A short walk was something we were particularly thankful for. That was one heavy cabbage to tote around after our Field to Feast tour. ✤ John Gilchrist and Catherine Caldwell are Calgary-based food and travel writers who like their cabbage any size – from those big Yuma gems down to small Brussels sprouts.

CITY PALATE.ca SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2014

41

Earlier this year, I took a trip to San Diego with a friend who is also the owner of a custom baking business. After almost a week of strolling different neighbourhoods enjoying great drinks and food, we had one final stop to make, at a boutique cupcake shop. In the name of research, my friend ordered several cupcakes and ate them meticulously, noting the texture of the cake, density of the icing, flavour balance, all of the elements that can make a food item an exceptional product. But this sort of eating isn’t for fun.

On the flip side, if you’re a regular food-loving Calgarian walking by Crave Cupcakes, seeing a cupcake in the window, craving it, and succumbing to your sweet tooth is a completely different experience from eating something for inspiration, comparison or even to make a judgement.

It sort of makes you wonder... do chefs ever step out of their cooking persona? Do they ever let themselves take a mental break from the stress of worrying about an upcoming menu change or the new restaurant opening around the corner that might turn out to be their biggest competitor?

Feeding the creative hunger that chefs need to fuel their own menu creations while keeping their regular appetites satisfied isn’t always an easy balance.

Eight familiar faces in Calgary’s culinary world share their thoughts on eating for the sake of their work and eating to appease their appetites.

Justin Leboe CHEF/OWNER MODEL MILK If you like to go out to eat after wrapping up dinner service, where do you love to go? As far as pizzerias go, I eat at all of them. Double Zero, Without Papers... they all do a good job. Sometimes you want to know you’re going to get good service and a decent wine list along with that kind of casual food, so that’s where those types of restaurants really come into play.

Why is it important for a chef to dine out regularly? There’s a certain amount of diligence to try and be different. Like, when everyone started doing fried chicken in Calgary, we took it off the menu. You have to keep pushing. But you don’t necessarily look at your menu compared to everyone else’s menu. It’s more in the spirit of seeing what’s generally going on than in seeing who’s doing what.

Alison Bieber CHEF/OWNER BLACK PIG BISTRO Where do you like to grab a bite to eat on a day off? Usually we’ve been going to Kanpai Sushi, right across the street from my house. The food is really good, the fish is really fresh. If I’m not working, I’ll pop over there.

Is it hard for you to turn off your “chef brain” when you’re dining out, regardless of the type of restaurant? Absolutely! I’m not necessarily judging all the time, but I’m always thinking.

If I’m out having something that is interesting or different, it gives me ideas. Always looking for new ideas.

Kyle Groves EXECUTIVE CHEF, CATCH RESTAURANT AND OYSTER BAR Where do you go when you’re craving a casual, satisfying meal? If I’ve got a day off and am looking for a quick bite, then it’s usually the ramen at Goro + Gun or pizza at Una. I like the atmosphere in Una, and it’s a great meeting place for a bite late at night. Goro + Gun is pretty close to Catch, so I can sneak over there after popping into work to check up on everything.

Is it hard for you to turn off your “chef brain” when you’re dining out, regardless of the time of day or quality of restaurant? Yes and no. It depends what the restaurant is trying to do. If it’s a brand new place that is charging big prices and proclaiming itself to be amazing and the best in town, then I’m critical. However, if my parents want to go to Swiss Chalet, I’m not going to complain that the chicken sauce is gross (it is), or that the fries should have been blanched before frying. That’s pretentious dick territory and I’ll save that for my Urbanspoon account (joking). continued on page 44

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CITY PALATE.ca SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2014

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43

Paul McGreevy CORPORATE CHEF, CRAFT BEER MARKET Is there a certain type of dish that you always order on a menu when you see it? Burgers, burgers, burgers.

Sometimes two per sitting.

continued from page 42

Is it hard for you to turn off your “chef brain” when you’re dining out, regardless of the time of day or quality of restaurant? Virtually impossible. It starts from the greeting at the door, all the way to the last bite of dessert. It’s not easy to sit across from me – all I talk about is the restaurant we’re in and how it rates!

Dwayne Ennest CHEF/OWNER BIG FISH AND OPEN RANGE If you go out to eat after wrapping up dinner service, where do you love to go?

My wife Alberta and I love to go up the street to Carino. Fried mozzarella and riesling, yum!

When you eat for the first time at a new restaurant that has some buzz around it, what are you expecting when the food comes to the table? When we hit a new place, the first thing I look for is menu mix, what products the chef is using and, when the food comes to the table, it’s all about technique versus creativity for me.

Jonathan Sobol EXECUTIVE CHEF, FARM Is there a certain type of dish that you always order on a menu when you see it? I love rabbit and I admire restaurants that put it on their menus. It’s also one of those ingredients that if you mess around with it too much, it gets lost – it has a wonderful flavour and texture all on its own.

How do you judge a dining experience when you’re trying a restaurant for the first time? I tend to have different gauges, depending on my eating experience. If I’m about to spend $300 on dinner, I will expect a level of service and food that makes me think and challenges my palate. If I’m going out for pizza, the litmus test is as simple as “you either successfully made a pizza or you did not.” I’m definitely not as critical of some places as others!

Nicole Gomes CHEF/OWNER, NICOLE GOURMET CATERING If you like to go out to eat after wrapping a catering event, where do you go?

Late night Chinese or the Blackfoot Diner where I’ll have a grilled cheese with ham and tomato soup. I love that place and the people.

It’s a bit quirky and odd.

As a chef, why is it important for you to dine out regularly? It’s important to dine at other chefs’ restaurants to keep you on your toes. I think a huge part of being in the culinary world is competition, which is healthy. It’s always good to keep an open mind to other chefs’ styles of cooking and that’s where people can be narrow-minded sometimes. If you think you’re amazing or perfect, then maybe not, right?

Michael Noble CHEF/OWNER NOTABLE AND THE NASH Is there a certain type of dish that you always order on a menu when you see it?

I love a great burger, but I resist always having them because if I always ordered them I’d get too fat!

How important is it that you stay aware of what other chefs in the city are serving?

Not so much. I’m an old dog, so I just believe in what I do and I trust that guests will like it. I never follow but rather prefer to lead, which doesn’t mean I recreate the wheel – it means that I’m solid in what I’m doing. ✤

Dan Clapson is a food writer and blogger at dansgoodside.com.

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CITY PALATE.ca SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2014

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45

H O W ' B O U T A S A U S A G E W I T H T H AT ?

European Christmas markets serve fun street food in a festive atmosphere

by Holly Quan, photos by Vireo Creative Communications and Larry Dziedzic

Off-season travel can be a gamble.

For example, Europe in November or December might reward you with blizzards and flight delays.

Plus, daylight hours are short and opening hours for galleries and museums can be shorter.

On the other hand, if you travel to Europe at the end of the year, you get fewer crowds (mostly), terrific seasonal events, concerts and Christmas markets.

From Scandinavia to Slovakia, every village, town and city organizes some manner of Christmas market. Big cities may have several separate markets; smaller places are more modest but still fun and festive. In every case, sellers set up tables, stalls or booths – often elaborate, like mini stores – to offer every imaginable handicraft from pottery to socks, sheepskin slippers to Christmas ornaments. Some stock unique regional specialties while others seem to be re-sellers of mass-produced plastic items.

Never mind, it’s all in the Christmas spirit.

Large or small, tacky or terrific, the carnival atmosphere at European Christmas markets is unbeatable. Especially on weekends, locals throng to the markets, towing the elderly, kids and dogs, to meet friends and family and do their Christmas shopping. Music fills the air, and people rush around with packages stopping to buy a treat to eat. The smells of baking, roasting and frying mingle with the cool sensation of snowflakes and the sounds of carols and excited kids’ laughter. European Christmas markets are street parties guaranteed to put a smile on your face and restore your faith in Christmas traditions: friends, family and food.

Ah, the food. Euro Christmas markets are as much about street food as they are about shopping and socializing. Generally, market fare is simple stuff you can eat on the run. Sausage is ubiquitous – think bratwurst on a bun and you’ve got the picture; likewise, pastries and sweets, from pretzels to cookies and all stops in-between. The lowly potato takes a turn as star of the show, from crunchy salty fries and spiral spuds on a stick to plate-sized onion and potato pancakes that are a finger-lickin’ delight.

And there’s always mulled wine to sip while browsing the stalls.

MUNICH, GERMANY Our trip started in Munich, where the Christmas market is enormous, occupying many blocks of a pedestrianonly shopping street that culminates in Marienplatz, the central square. The crush is amazing – it seems that all of Munich’s million-plus residents come to the market at the same time. Shoppers scan the wares while sipping glüwein (hot spiced wine), munching sausages and sweet treats, and trying to keep track of their kids.

A glüwein stall at the Munich Christmas market looks more like a permanent installation, right down to the costumed server.

Fruit at the Dallmayr delicatessen

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We encountered yet more humanity inside Hofbräuhaus, first among the city’s famous beer halls. Customers sit family-style, often sharing a table with strangers. No-nonsense waitresses maneuver enormous (and heavy) beer steins and plates of food through the seat-seeking crowds. Every so often the band strikes up a drinking song, complete with trombones and tubas. OOM-pah-pah!

B U D A P E S T, H U N G A R Y Budapest’s Christmas market is centered on Vörösmarty Square and branches along other streets in several directions. The first thing you notice is a sweet, heavy aroma – a combination of pastry, honey and cinnamon. Turns out that the local specialty is kürtös kalács – foot-high cylindershaped pastry that resembles a tall chimney, baked over an open fire, then rolled in ground walnut, cinnamon, coconut, sugar or chocolate. The smell is intoxicating, kinda like a giant outdoor doughnut factory. (These are also made here at Twisted Café in the Crossroads Farmers’ Market.)

What you see: pretzel and mustard. Hidden in the bowl below: two succulent veal sausages bathing in hot water.

Budapest offers other culinary delights, including terrific cafés, fine dining and the Central Market Hall, open daily year-round. It’s a re-purposed train station reminiscent of Vancouver’s Granville Island Market. Even in winter, the variety and quality of the produce are remarkable. So, too, are the sausages, paprika, and that wonderful local wine called Tokaj (pronounced “toe-KAI”). Like French Sauternes or Okanagan ice wine, Tokaj is concentrated, intense and velvety smooth.

PASSAU, GERMANY

Long spirals of dough are wrapped around cylinders and baked rotisserie-style over hot coals until toasty golden.

It’s one big sausage-fuelled street festival, and definitely worth organizing a trip to Europe around the Christmas markets.

In December 2013, we traveled from Munich to Budapest, Bratislava, Vienna, Salzburg, Passau and Prague before closing the circle in Munich.

We visited a number of Christmas markets, each with particular charms and quirks. Here are some of the best, along with a few other foodie finds and faves.

Besides the Christmas market, other Munich standouts are the amazing Dallmayr delicatessen and the equally fine Hofbräuhaus. Dallmayr, which opened its doors in 1539, is a purveyor of meats and seafood, cheeses, pastries and baked goods, chocolates, condiments, even proprietary wines and champagne – and every product is exceptional.

If we thought the crowds were thick in the market, we could barely breathe inside Dallmayr, but it was worth every elbow in the ribs to experience such an array of fine foods.

Two generations of the Simon family demonstrate traditional gingerbread making.

Prior to our trip we had never heard of Passau, which is surprising for two reasons. One, this upscale city is home to the world’s largest church organ. With more than 17,000 pipes, it rattles your bones when the big bass pipes kick in.

Two, Passau is famous for gingerbread. At Confiserie & Café Simon, the same family has been making gingerbread for four generations. The original recipe pre-dates the widespread availability of sugar in Europe, so traditional gingerbread, called honiglebkuchen, is made with rye flour, honey and spices. The dough is pressed into molds or rolled flat and cut into shapes – animals, stars, flowers – then baked.

The cookies can be used as gifts or ornaments to hang on a Christmas tree. When cane sugar came into common use in Europe, new varieties of gingerbread were invented. All are delicious – the very flavour of Christmas. continued on page 48

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H O W ' B O U T A S A U S A G E W I T H T H AT ? continued from page 46

PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC

“A portrait of power and majesty” Bronze by Sandy Graves

If you’ve never been to Prague, you should go.

It’s visually and architecturally stunning any time of the year.

There are at least two Christmas markets, one in Old Town Square (Staré Mesto) and another that occupies the several blocks of Wenceslas Square. The Old Town market features cheerfully decorated booths that look like tiny cottages, The Christmas market in Prague’s Old Town Square is dominated by an enormous tree. plus a stage hosting children’s choirs. Everyone makes merry while browsing for unique gifts. The street food is focused on pork: sausage is a mainstay and there are lots of varieties to choose from. You’ll also find Prague ham (pražská šunka) – boneless, brine-cured, smoked, then spit-roasted. When you place an order at a market stall, the server grabs a knife and starts carving off hunks while the ham continues to turn over the fire.

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C E S K Y K R U M L O V, C Z E C H R E P U B L I C About 90 minutes south of Prague is the village of Cesky Krumlov, named a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its large castle, winding cobbled streets and original buildings dating from the Middle Ages. It’s picturesque, for sure, although the aged buildings now house shops selling ice cream, jewels and souvenirs. Never mind, it’s a fun place to walk around and definitely has an ancient vibe – you expect cloaked monks to appear around every corner.

We discovered Cesky Perník, a store specializing in old Bohemian gingerbread. Unlike the gingerbread in Passau, old Bohemian gingerbread – although edible – is primarily decorative.

Cesky Perník makes old Bohemian decorative gingerbread, The dough is pressed into such as the fish hanging over the doorway. wooden molds and baked until hard. This store is packed with molded gingerbread in every shape and size.

The “cookies” are meant to be hung on a wall, in a window or doorway, or on a Christmas tree. If you must nibble, you can soften the gingerbread in milk or tea first.

The Christmas market in Cesky Krumlov is modest but it was the only place where we managed to find traditional Czech Christmas food – carp. We enjoyed a delicious plateful of pan-fried chunks of fresh carp. We knew it was fresh because there was a fish tank behind the booth that contained a couple of live carp awaiting their fate.

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CITY PALATE.ca SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2014

The final day of our trip was the Saturday before Christmas, so the Munich Christmas market was even busier. We muscled our way through the glüwein stalls and found ourselves in the Viktualienmarkt, a year-round concentration of specialty food stalls, stores and cafés that includes an outdoor beer garden. The several major brewers in Munich take turns selling their product here, so on any given day there’s only one kind of beer available at the garden. After quaffing your brew, it’s great foodie fun cruising the shops and stalls, wishing you had a kitchen waiting instead of a hotel room.

European Christmas markets are a blast – a total sensory experience, from cold air to warm mulled wine, from the vast array of crafts and gifts to the heady scent of baking and roasting.

Overall, the festive season in Europe seems more about tradition and less about consumption, except when it comes to food. We regretted that we didn’t sample more of the street food – a good reason to return.

Helpful web sites: Munich Christmas market: germany-christmas-market.org.uk/ munich_christmas_market.php Budapest Central Market Hall: visitbudapest.travel/guide/budapestattractions/central-market-hall

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Passau - Simon Confiserie & Café: simon-passau.de Prague: for information about Christmas markets: pragueexperience.com/ events/christmas_markets.asp Hotel Paris, a terrific old-world hotel: hotel-paris.cz Cesky Krumlov, old Bohemian gingerbread: ceskykrumlovoriginal.com/en.php Eurail – the best way to travel long distances in Europe. raileurope.ca

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Day trip to Cesky Krumlov? No problem. ckshuttle.cz ✤ A writer based in Turner Valley, Holly Quan loves sausage at home and abroad – and Prague is her favourite Euro destination (so far).

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well matched

eggplant lentils

sage

garlic lemon cream onion

Roasted Eggplant and Lentil Soup with Sage Butter This robust soup is perfect for early fall. The sage butter adds a layer of richness and herb-y essence to round out the eggplant and lentil flavours.

Soup: 2 large eggplants olive oil sea salt freshly ground pepper 3 c. chicken stock 3 T. olive oil 1 c. diced yellow onion 1 T. finely chopped garlic 1 c. green lentils 1 c. heavy cream 1 T. lemon juice fresh sage leaves for garnish

Sage Butter: 1/4 c. unsalted butter, room temperature 2 T. finely chopped Italian parsley 1 T. finely chopped sage leaves 2 t. lemon zest sea salt freshly ground pepper

Preheat oven to 375°F. To start the soup, cut the eggplants in half lengthwise. Score the eggplant flesh and generously brush it with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Put the eggplant flesh-side down on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Roast until the flesh is very soft, about 30 to 40 minutes. Remove from the oven and reserve.

While the eggplants are cooking, warm the chicken stock in a saucepan.

Make the sage butter. Place the butter in a small bowl and, using a spoon, stir in the parsley, sage and lemon zest along with a good pinch of salt and pepper. Place the butter on a piece of plastic wrap and wrap it into a log shape. Place in the refrigerator to harden.

Put the 3 T. olive oil plus onion and garlic in a mediumsized stockpot and cook about 5 minutes until the onions are soft and translucent. Add the lentils and stir well. The lentils should be glossy – if not, stir in a bit more oil. Add the stock and bring the soup to a simmer, cook about 20 minutes until the lentils are tender.

Scoop the flesh from the eggplants and, when the lentils are cooked, add it to the soup with the cream and lemon juice. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Cook another 10 minutes over low heat, stirring to incorporate the eggplant into the soup and let the flavours become well acquainted.

Remove from the heat and cool slightly before puréeing in a blender or using a hand-held immersion blender.

Purée until smooth. Serve topped with a cold pat of the sage butter and garnish with fresh sage leaves.

Serves 6.

Pair this dish with:

Mullineux White 2011 (Swartland, South Africa) $29 Pairings for this dish can go in both the white or red direction, and this chenin blanc blend from superb South African wine makers is a great white option. This dish is all earth and smoke, so a white that is substantial and earthy is required.

This wine has a touch of new oak, a flinty minerality and some chenin-driven honey and chamomile qualities to complement the earthbound nature of the soup.

Heinrich St. Laurent 2011 (Burgenland, Austria) $46 As with the white pairing, it seems appropriate to recommend a red that has smoke and earth to it. This Austrian St. Laurent delivers. A grape native to Austria, St. Laurent has inherent notes of forest floor and a delicate rusticity, yet maintains freshness to not overwhelm the soup.

Find dried and fresh black currant qualities along with subtle herbaceous notes

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CITY PALATE.ca SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2014

recipes by Jenni Neidhart, wine pairings by Ruby Smith-Merovitz, Metrovino

Made-in-heaven food and wine pairings

chèvre rosemary lamb thyme fig orange mint

garlic parsley

LUNCH. YOU WANT IT. WE GOT IT.

Lamb Chops with Pine Nuts, Fig and Goat Cheese Salad This fresh salad is a great way to take advantage of the beautiful fall figs coming into season. You can either grill the lamb chops on the barbecue or bake them in the oven.

12 lamb chops, Frenched

Marinade: 1-1/2 T. fresh thyme, roughly chopped 1-1/2 T. fresh rosemary, roughly chopped 2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped 1/3 c. olive oil 2 t. sea salt 1 t. ground black pepper

Sauce: 1 c. fresh-squeezed orange juice 2 T. balsamic vinegar 1/4 c. honey 1 clove of star anise 1/2 cinnamon stick

Salad: 1/2 lb. mixed greens 1 small bunch of mint, leaves only 1 small bunch of Italian parsley, leaves only 3/4 c. pine nuts, lightly toasted 2 T. olive oil sea salt 1/2 c. chèvre 6 fresh figs, halved or quartered lengthwise

Pair this dish with:

In a medium bowl, mash together the thyme, rosemary, garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper. Add the lamb chops to the bowl and rub the marinade into the lamb so it’s generously coated. Leave the lamb in the bowl to marinate, tossing every few hours.

The lamb should be left to marinate for a minimum of four hours or overnight in the fridge.

To prepare the sauce, place all of the ingredients in a small heavy-bottomed saucepan and bring to a gentle boil. Reduce the heat to low and continue to cook for 20 minutes, until the sauce has reduced by half and is slightly thickened. Remove from the heat, take out the star anise and cinnamon, and set aside to cool.

Preheat oven to 375°F. Remove the lamb from the marinade and gently blot dry. Place the lamb on a baking sheet lined with parchment, drizzle with a bit of olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Bake it for 10 to 15 minutes until done to your liking. Remove the lamb from the oven and tent with foil to keep it warm and let it rest.

While the lamb is resting, combine the greens with the mint and parsley leaves. Toss with the pine nuts, a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkling of salt. Place the salad on six plates, crumble the chèvre over and place fresh figs on top. Put two lamb chops next to the salad on each plate; generously drizzle the lamb chops with the sauce and lightly drizzle it over the salad.

Serves 6.

1919 4TH STREET SW | 403 719 0049 | CANDELALOUNGE.COM | @CANDELACALGARY

We catyeorur! next event

Bringing good food to

Michel Gassier Viognier 2013

(Rhone Valley, France) $24 White wine with lamb? Make no mistake, this viognier is seriously full-bodied wine. The viognier grape has great capacity for ripeness, especially in warmer climates like the southern Rhone, and in this case we have a sumptuous, fleshy wine. The intensity of the wine is a great match for the lamb.

The rich, fruity qualities complement all around: great with the figs, as well as the sweet/fruity flavours in the sauce, and is a good counterpoint for all the savoury notes.

S.C. Pannell Tempranillo-Touriga 2012

(Barossa Valley, Australia) $35 This pairing takes a New World slant on the traditional pairing of lamb with red Rioja, wines based on the tempranillo grape. The hot Barossa Valley climate graces this wine with lots of fruit to make it a nice companion to the figs and all the sweet ingredients in the sauce. Touriga nacional, the main grape of Portugal’s Douro region, often expresses Christmas spices, which marry with the anise element in the dish to wonderful effect.

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stockpot Stirrings around Calgary

visit our farms this fall n For a definitive listing of all the possible ways to visit local farms and take urban agriculture tours, visit City Palate’s web site citypalate.ca and under “current events” you’ll find a listing of farmers’ markets and farm tours. Fall is harvest season, a good time to visit our farms and take advantage of the bounteous bounty at our farmers’ markets. Visit albertafarmdays.com to find out who is opening their farm gates!

restaurant ramblings n Chef/owner Roy Oh is back in the kitchen creating his wonderful contemporary Korean food that you can pair with his creative cocktails at the newly opened Anju. We are SO glad this tasty place is open again – the only thing that’s changed is the location, corner of 4th St. and 17th Ave. SW., at 344 - 17th Ave. SW.

Face it...

Maybe you just aren’t into cooking!

FRESH HEALTHY LOCAL CHEF-PREPARED DINE-IN AND TAKE-AWAY BRIDGELAND • CALGARY FARMERS’ MARKET www.tmdish.com 403-265-DISH (3474)

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CITY PALATE.ca SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2014

n Stephen Deere, ex-Muse, that closed its doors in June after 12 years, has a plan for a modern steak house called Modern Steak! We love the name, speaking of an evolved steakhouse in both cuisine and design with a tasty cocktail lounge. With a focus on Alberta beef, Deere says the restaurant will have Kensington’s first true cocktail bar.

An early October opening is anticipated.

Modern steak – gotta eat some! n Look for delicious and healthy Saturday and Sunday brunch offerings at The Main Dish in Bridgeland. Try the Italian Quinoa Bowl – quinoa tossed with tomato basil sauce, Spolumbo’s spicy Italian sausage, arugula, roasted red peppers and topped with two poached eggs. Or the Southwest Quinoa Bowl – quinoa tossed with salsa verde, sweet peppers, black beans and corn, topped with two poached eggs. And... hot quinoa cereal cooked with almond milk and tossed with roasted apples, topped with honey, yogurt and toasted almonds.

Mmmmmm, good. n Formerly Rembrandt’s Lounge on 4th St. NW, the space has been gutted and rebuilt to become the super good restaurant called The Block Kitchen and Lounge. The owners are chef Kai Salimaki and his wife Norma Jean, both of whom have hugely good creds with the likes of Vin Room, Catch, NOtaBLE, National Beer Halls and Double Zero Pizza. Need we say more?

The menu is just the right size, full of casual food packed with good flavours.

Like grilled pork belly... ahhhhhhhhh...

Get yourself up there and eat. The Block is at 2411 - 4th St. NW. n Join Vin Room for the perfect nightcap with $5 feature tapas nightly after 9 p.m. at both Vin Room locations. vinroom.com. n National on 10th celebrates Oktoberfest September 19 - October 5. Oom-pah-pah bands, beer specials, German dinner specials for the whole two weeks. In the Bourbon Room, Los Montebauns six-piece Latin band.

Doors open at 7 p.m.,band at 10 p.m.

Recurring Soul Night Saturdays, doors open at 7 p.m. n Wednesdays are Steak & Frites nights at Vero Bistro Moderne in Kensington. Dine sumptuously on 28day aged AA Alberta New York steak, truffle parmesan frites, organic green salad and dessert for $39. verobistro.ca n Smuggler’s Group of Restaurants’ diners have helped provide 13,817 meals through the Mealshare Program.

Good show! Open Sesame has a fresh new menu and Tango Bistro hosts Community Night on September 8 featuring the art of Hayley Steward, fresh tunes and special culinary creations. n Blink restaurant invites you to help celebrate the 10th vintage of Laughing Stock Winery, one of the finest wineries on the Naramata Bench, September 25, 6:30 p.m. Dinner is four courses with wines, including three vintages of the portfolio, syrah, pinot gris, blind trust white and red. Only 60 tickets are available at $130 each, call Blink at 403263-5330 to reserve. blinkcalgary.com; laughingstock.ca n Vintage Chophouse celebrates tenderloin with A Tenderloin Affair, 8-oz. tenderloin and all the trimmings for $49 on Sundays. Local jazz blues and rock bands in the Tavern on weekends, vintagechophouse.com/features. n Rush Ocean Prime Rush Hour celebrates with fresh shucked oysters, appies and feature cocktails in the lounge, 3 - 6 p.m.

Redwater Grille invites you to bring in a Stampeder game ticket stub to Redwater Stadium, Monday to Thursday, for a free appy or dessert; $20 wine Tuesday at all locations; Sunday Brunch at Redwater Aspen with modern brunch faves; Happy Hour at Redwater Bow Valley has $1 off drink specials in the lounge. n Bookers BBQ + Crab Shack has a pulled pork sandwich, Wildrose pint, game ticket and bus to and from McMahon Stadium for you for just

$35 every Stampeders’ home game; all-you-can-eat mix ‘n’ match crab legs and bbq ribs for $42.95, Sunday and Monday. Live music Saturday and Sunday, local blues and rock bands. n Join River Café September 3 to celebrate chef Ned Bell on the final leg of his cycle across Canada to raise awareness for sustainable seafood.

Proceeds from the evening will be donated to the Vancouver Aquarium Ocean Wise Program. Chefs Ned Bell (Yew, FS Vancouver), Kyle Groves (Catch), and Paul Rogalski (Rouge) join chef Andrew Winfield in the River Café kitchen for a lively collaborative dinner featuring fresh-caught sustainable seafood from the West Coast.

River Café offers fully prepared, readyto-roast Thanksgiving turkey dinners to take home – specially brined, trussed and seasoned organic turkey from Winter’s Farm ready for roasting, delicious local vegetable dishes and all the traditional accompaniments, River Café style. Spend more time with family and friends, and less time in the kitchen! Complete menu details at river-cafe.com. n Order a picnic from Boxwood, spread out your blanket and join us in Central Memorial Park for an afternoon of music and food at the Honens Open Air concert (free), September 7.

Picnic basket details at boxwoodcafe.ca.

Boxwood offers free range rotisserie chickens to go – perfect for an evening at home or a simple and easy Thanksgiving! Call 403-265-4006 to order. n Priority Table, an online restaurant reservation system, helps restaurateurs who are on other more expensive systems save thousands of dollars a year with online reservation and table management costs. PriorityTable gives restaurant owners and managers access to their reservation book from anywhere, on any device. Join other Calgary restaurants, like Cassis, Gaucho Brazilian BBQ, Colonial Fusion and Murrieta’s, and become a part of the PriorityTable family. Details at prioritytable.com, 1-800-962-1389.

wine and beer wanderings n Celebrate the 2014 Calgary Rocky Mountain Wine & Food Festival, October 17, 5 -10 p.m., October 18, noon - 4 p.m. and 6 - 10 p.m., Stampede Park, BMO Centre. Sample a wide selection of premium wines, spirits, and import and micro-brewed beer, as well as food from an assortment of Calgary’s top restaurants and hotels.

Visit rockymountainwine.com for details and ticket info. n Wine-maker dinners at Franca’s Italian Specialties, 100, 3811 Edmonton Tr. NE., where you always get very well dined, you can get extra-specially

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Chef Judy Wood

RETAIL 403.264.6336 • CATERING 403.640.FOOD (3663) w w w.meezcuisine.com

Bring a friend and this ad for a two for one drop-in class 403-243-8830 In Marda Loop at; 3522A, 19th St. SW yogamandala.ca

well wined too on September 6 with Giorgio Contermo at the Piedmont Paulo Contermo Winery dinner and on November 7, with Giacomo Sisti at the Umani Ronchi Winery dinner. Phone Franca’s to reserve, 403-277-0766.

Visit perfectgifts.ca for details. n Tastings at Kensington Wine Market: September 19, Cheese Please with Peasant Cheese, Italian cheese and wine; September 30, Revolutionary Gin; October 2, Passport Series 1, Cabernet, Cabs that taste like Cab; October 9, Okanagan Mini Wine Fest; October 17, Brews Festival; October 21, Modern Cocktail, tricks, techniques, ingredients; October 23, Passport Single Varietal II, Nebbbiolo; October 24, Spanish Wine Festival; October 31, Brewster’s Trick or Treat. kensingtonwinemarket.com, 403-283-8000. n Tastings at Metrovino: Bacchus for Beginners (Wine Basics) September 10/October 2, November 6; $35; Vicariously French (Food & Wine) September 18, $65; Cider Fest! September 25, $40; Riesling! October 1, $60; Sabor de Andalucia! October 9, $65; Artist Series: Caroline Connolly Unplugged, October 16, $40; Buyer’s Tasting & Sale (15-30% off) October 17-19; Sausage & Syrah, October 23, $50; Killer Wines, October 30, $50; A Vertical Tasting: Lamarche La Grande Rue, November 13, $250; Welcome to the

Back to school special…

Buy 2 loaves, get 1 free!

Get your kids eating whole grain right from the beginning of the school year.

This coupon is valid until Oct 31/2014 at the Northland Drive and Edmonton locations only

129, 4820 Northland Drive NW, Calgary • Tel: 403.282.6455 14253 23rd Avenue, Edmonton • Tel: 780.436.0920 www.prairiemillbread.com Jura, November 20, $70; Fizztival, November 27, $55. Visit www.metrovino.com or call 403-205-3356 for details and to register. n Big Rock Brewery makes really tasty dry ciders – Rock Creek Cider – from apples and pears (not together).

Much better than the usual ciders, which tend to be on the too-sweet side. Dry and crisp is how we like our cider. Beer launching in September and October: September launch of Brewmaster’s Edition, Rad Trad, a six- pack variety featuring the offspring of Traditional: The Anarchist and The Cascadian. Each beer is Traditional, flavoured with different hops. Brewmaster Seasonals, Belgian Tripel and barrel-aged beer. October launch of Barn Burner 12-bottle variety, new signature series beer, Dunkleweizen.

Anthea Wet Hop Ale 2014, and extremely limited quantities of Kvass

Beer, where Big Rock employees helped make the bread that goes in the beer, and Estate beer. n One of our favourite wineries – JoieFarm on the Naramata Bench – has won significant wine awards: 2012 JoieFarm “En Famille” Reserve Pinot Noir, to be released in September, 2015, won gold and the 2012 Pinot Noir, to be released in September 2014, won silver at the UK’s Decanter World Wine Awards, one of the world’s largest and toughest wine competitions. It’s no wonder the wines produced at JoieFarm are some of our favourites – they are some of the best. n The Naramata Bench Wineries Association annual Tailgate Party takes place September 13 celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Canadian film, “My American Cousin,” that was continued on page 54

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Slow Food CAlgARy pReSenTS

Stockpot continued from page 53 The 13th AnnuAl

Feast of Fields SundAy, SepTeMbeR 14th 1 - 4 pm In The gARden AT Rouge ReSTAuRAnT 1240 - 8th Ave Se, CAlgARy

Join us

shot in the Naramata. Poplar Grove Winery, from 6:30 - 9 p.m, and is all about wine, food, music and fun. Details and tickets at naramatabench.com. or call 1-800-663-1900. n Experience Christmas every month!

Join one of VR Wine’s wine, beer or spirits clubs and get delivery to your door each month. From $100/month with a complimentary welcome gift.

For more information, vrwine.com or phone 587-353-8814. n Get carnivorous with Carnivor, a big, bold, tasty cabernet sauvignon by Carnivor Wines from California. It’s as meaty a wine as you’ll find anywhere, and just craves the T-bone fresh off your grill or barbecued pork right out of your smoker. Find it throughout the city, probably at your fave wine purveyor.

for a delicious afternoon of grazing, sipping and conviviality in the beautiful, historic garden at Rouge restaurant. Come meet the local people who grow your food and the dynamic, creative chefs who prepare delectable delights with our wonderful Alberta harvest.

Music with Tim Tamashiro.

n Spirit Hills Honey Winery in Millarville uses organic herbs and berries with ancient honey wine fermentation methods to make good dry and medium-dry foodfriendly wines with lots of backbone.

For one, Bastard is made from black currants, saskatoons and grapes, with a nice balance of oak.

Widely available throughout the city. n Just launched over the summer, a new look for Two Oceans Sauvignon Blanc that reflects the brand’s South African origins in the Western Cape.

Pretty new label and the wine inside the bottle is fresh, crisp and slightly herbaceous, with a kick of ripe gooseberries.

Look for it at your fave wine store.

cooking classes n Deliciousness @ The Compleat Cook Kitchen: Autumn BBQ, Healthy Gourmet Pantry, Sweet & Savoury, My Indian Kitchen, Fall Soups & Salads, Alternative Holiday Feast, Thai One On, Whole Foods & Holistic Nutrition, Date Night – French Bistro, Dinner @ The Greek, Healthy & Homestyle, Hot & Spicy, It’s All About Bacon. Bring your appetite! compleatcook.ca, 403-253-4831. n Cuisine et Chateau’s Interactive Culinary Centre in Kensington: 4 course/4 wine sampling demonstration “Learn & Dine” Events, $89.

September 6, Field to Fork; October 9, Wild Chef, a menu of Canadian Game; October 11, A Thanksgiving Brunch; November 1, Calgary Cooks, recipes from Calgary’s newest cookbook; and lots of great hands-on classes to choose from. Visit cuisineandchateau.com or call 403-764-2665, 227 - 10 Street NW.

Slow Food MeMbeR $70 noT-yeT MeMbeR $90 Slow Food FAMIly* $180 noT-yeT A Slow Food FAMIly* $240 *FAMIly IS 2 AdulTS And 2 ChIldRen AgeS 14 & undeR.

SandwicheS – made freSh daily

TICkeTS AvAIlAble onlIne @ FeASToFFIeldS.evenTbRITe.CA 1613 9th Street SW (juSt off 17th Avenue)

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CITY PALATE.ca SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2014

n ATCO Blue Flame Kitchen: Lunch ‘n’ Learn, $20, September 11/12, Healthy Packed Lunches; September 1, Fall Raw Foods; September 25/26, Cuban Tour; September 13, Hands-On Fall Preserving; September 13, Chef’s Table, Fall Harvest; September 27, Hands-On Pasta. Lunch ‘n’ Learn, October 2/3, Oktoberfest; October 9/10, Pub Grub; October 16/17, Soups & Stews; October 23/24, Seafood; October 30, Hors D’oeuvres; October 4, Chef’s Table Oktoberfest; October 18, Chef’s Table Seafood. atcoblueflamekitchen.com n Macrobiotic Cooking Class, with natural health/macrobiotic practitioner Amie Nasayao-Jiwa, the last Sunday of every month at Epicurious Kids Cookery kitchen, unit 20, 710 Crowfoot Cr. NW. Classes resume in October, details and registration at albertahealthinstitute.ca.

n Poppy Innovations is about healthier eating. Parents & Kids culinary program has expanded. Canning and preserving captures great flavours only available in seasonal produce.

At the Calgary Farmers’ Market with Cook with Your Kids classes. There’s a new Gate to Plate cooking class. poppyinnovations.ca. n Culinary Bootcamp: Gluten-Free Baking at the South Health Campus Wellness Kitchen with nutritionist Kristyn Hall. Bake tasty dishes using gluten-free flours and ingredients, learn about gluten-free flours and their unique properties, discuss the nutritional challenges of eating gluten-free, share recipes and tips for gluten-free baking, October 28, 4448 Front Street SE, $79. Canadian Celiac Association Members receive a $10 discount, details and registration at nutritionandculinarysolutions.ca.

general stirrings n Don’t miss Slow Food Calgary’s Feast of Fields, September 14, 1 - 4 p.m., in Rouge Restaurant’s beautiful garden, 1240 - 8th Ave. SE. Celebrate the harvest showcasing Calgary and area’s crop of good, clean, fair producers and the chefs who create magical dishes from their bounty. This year’s celebration showcases the family farm and features 20 of Calgary’s best chefs in partnership with more than 50 local food producers and 15 beverage purveyors. Smooth jazz by Tim Tamashiro sets the mood. Tickets at feastoffields. eventbrite.ca, members, adults $70, family $180; non-members, adults $90, family $240 (family is two adults and two children, ages 14 and under, children under 8 are free.) n Don’t miss REAP’s 5th annual Food For Thought event September 28, 1- 4 p.m. at Hotel Arts. This harvest celebration connects citizens, farmers, retailers and chefs for sampling, live music and conversation. Keynote presentation by Judy Wicks, mother of the buy local movement, co-founder of BALLE, author, activist and restaurateur. Tickets $30 at reapcalgary.com/ foodforthought5 or call 403-862-2874. n Master blacksmith, Masashi-san, is coming to Canada to visit his only customer outside of Japan – Knifewear.

He will engrave customer’s names (Kanji characters) into the blades of his knives. Usually in Japan this is a costly service, but for Knifewear customers it will be free. His knives are made with SLD tool steel and are mirror polished – super performance and super sexy. Mr Masashi is at Knifewear September 4. knifewear.com. n Calgary winners in the MadeWithLove National Mixology Competition regional finals were Graham Masters of MARKET on 17th, who took the

Judge’s Choice with a Campari-based “Entitled no. 1,” while Deanna Breland from Raw Bar by Duncan Ly took Public’s Choice for her tea and Hendrick’s Gin-based “Perilous Elderflower Frost.”

They will compete in the nationals in Toronto in May. enjoymadewithlove.com. n Have you had your art fix lately?

Next time you are in Invermere, stop by the Artym Gallery on Main Street.

With more than 100 paintings on the wall, you can always find a favourite – original pieces from more than 50 Canadian painters, sculptors and jewellery artists. You can see it online at artymgallery.com and the gallery offers delivery to Calgary. On October 11 the Artym features a trio of painters who specialize in western Canadian landscape paintings: Roger Arndt, Denise Lemaster and Branko Marjanovic. n The University of Calgary needs an executive chef for catering. This is a fast-paced, intense kitchen operation, a great opportunity for someone who wants to really dig in and make a difference in a unique environment. Go here for more information: goo.gl/paVoqB. n Dîner en Blanc returns to Calgary, September 4, when 3,000 pop-up picnic-ers dressed all in white meet at a secret location for this 2nd annual event, to dine on picnic meals prepared by chefs Michael Noble, NOtaBLE and The Nash, and Nicole Gomes, Nicole

Gourmet Catering. Dîner en Blanc is a global phenomenon that started in Paris 26 years ago and now includes, in Canada, Vancouver, Victoria, Edmonton, Montreal, Toronto and Calgary. n Don’t miss Circle the Wagons, Travelling Beer Food & Music Carnival, presented at a beautiful secret outdoor location on September 20, 11 a.m. - 10 p.m. From the adventurous imaginations of BassBus, YYCFoodTrucks and Village Brewery teamed up with Green Event Services for a “zero waste” event. Find local food, beer, music, art and performers, with net proceeds going to build new parks and playgrounds and assist in giving back in ways that can be shared by many. Tickets at circlethewagons.ca. n Bees are abuzzzzzzzz everywhere in the city these days! SAIT has installed four hives with four queens and 100,000 honeybees on the rooftop of the John Ware building. The project is spearheaded by chef Andrew Hewson, who established Jackson’s Garden with its bubble greenhouse. Culinary students will get a better perspective on the intricate process that makes food possible through the process of pollination. Honey should be available in the Marketplace this fall. n Amaranth stores give youth a chance to have their artwork made into a greeting card that will be sold for the

Christmas season with funds going to food and gifts for their adopted family.

A 4- to 17-year-old artist in your life can submit a drawing to any Amaranth store before November 3. Check the guidelines at amaranthfoods.ca.

n Save the date! Saturday, November 1, the Calgary Humane Society invites you to Cocktails for Critters, a fundraiser for our furry friends at Hotel Arts, 119 - 12 Ave. SW. Visit calgaryhumane.ca/cocktails for all the details and tickets.

n Coconut water is great for post-workout rehydration and, when well chilled, it goes down real easy. These go down even easier – O.N.E. Coconut Water splashed with mango or pineapple. The shot of fruit flavour works its magic on the coconut to deliver quite a delicious rehydrator. Find it at Superstore, Shoppers Drug Mart and most 7-Eleven and Mac’s convenience stores.

n The Salt Cellar has put together variety packs of sea salts and in-house blends that will change the way you cook. The 8-pack is geared toward outdoor cooking, the 4-pack for popcorn and wings. All sets come with recipe instructions. Great personal and corporate gifts. Visit thesaltcellar.ca to order online or find vendors.

n Check out the granola at Going Nuts. With more than 10 kinds to choose from, be it granola with dried fruit, hemp, chia, quinoa or something equally great tasting, you’ll find what you’re looking for at Going Nuts, with markets in Calgary, Edmonton, and Lethbridge. Check goingnuts.ca for a market near you. n 18 Degrees of Jazz, a New York Kind of Night brings you music from across the genre delivered in a modern sound by Calgary’s own Ellen Doty and her fabulous seven-piece jazz band.

This event, in support of Big Brothers Big Sisters, takes place at Saltlik Restaurant, upstairs, 101 - 8th Ave, SW, September 13, 7:30 - 11:30 p.m.

Tickets and details at 18degreesofjazz.ca.

n Corbeaux Bakehouse plans to open in September in the space formerly occupied by Melrose Café & Bar on 17th Ave. SW. Owners Chris and Russ Prefontaine, Fratello Coffee Roasters and Analog Cafés, hired chef Keith Luce to oversee the breads, made from small-production ancient grains, pastries, sandwiches and desserts inspired by local ingredients, everything made in-house. n At the top the the list of energy bars for hiking or office or for just snacking on, Clif Mojo trail mix bars are made in Canada. Made with 70 percent organic ingredients and gluten free, these bars are chunky with good stuff – Dark Chocolate Cherry Almond, Dark continued on page 56

FABULOUS FALL TASTINGS!

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WINE MARKET JOIN US FOR FUN AND INFORMATIVE NIGHTS OUT. TASTINGS START AT 7:00 AND YOU’RE DONE BY 9:00 FRI SEP 19

Cheese Please: Peasant Cheese in Kensington will guide us as we explore the world of Italian cheese and wine. Stand up format. $35

TUE SEP 30

Revolutionary Gin: With an impressive variety of expressions, we’ll taste gins with an eye to distinct styles and unique offerings. $35

TUE OCT 2

Passport Series I, Cabernet: “Cabernet Without the Makeup” or “Cabs that Taste Like Cab”! For the love of Cab, sign up! $40

THR OCT 9

Okanagan Mini Wine Fest: A mini walk-about showcasing the very best Okanagan wines – food, good music and of course wine! $30

FRI OCT 17

Brews Festival: It’s been a while since we hosted a beer festival, so we’re excited to show you what we’ve got! $30

TUE OCT 21

Modern Cocktail: What makes a great cocktail? Mixologist Phil Grandbois teaches tricks, techniques, and ingredients of the trade! $35

THR OCT 23

Passport Single Varietal II, Nebbiolo: Nebbia is Italian for fog; Nebbiolo is the grape used in the region’s most famous wine, Barolo. $40

FRI OCT 24

Spanish Wine Festival: We’ll showcase the best reds, whites, cavas and sherries in the house. Music, cheese, tapas, wine! $40

FRI OCT 31

Brewster’s Trick or Treat: Funky brews, and even funkier dress up - prizes for the best and worst costumes. Stand up format. $30

1257 Kensington Road NW, Calgary • www.kensingtonwinemarket.com • 403.283.8000 CITY PALATE.ca SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2014

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Stockpot continued from page 55 Chocolate Almond Sea Salt, Coconut Almond Peanut. Find them where you find other healthy, organic energy bars. n Take a foodie road trip to Fort Macleod for Taste of Fort Macleod, Friday, September 12, 5:30 - 9:30 p.m. at Urban Core. Featuring food and drink from local artisans and producers, this event will leave your taste buds happy.

Like our page facebook.com/TasteofFortMacleod or email domiec@gmail. com for info. (Urban Core, 257 Main Street, Fort Macleod, 1.5 hours south of Calgary on HWY 2) n Heritage Park Activities: Calgary Produce Marketing Association Harvest Sale, September 6/7. Join the Calgary Produce Marketing Association, Heritage Park and the Alberta Children’s Hospital as they partner to offer truckloads of fresh fruit and vegetables at turn-of-the-century prices.

Funds raised at this event will support the Children’s Hospital Foundation, Heritage Park Society, and the Calgary Community Kitchen. Cooking Through the Decades, Friday, October 3, 1- 4 p.m. Move back in time with recipes that demonstrate cooking methods to keep it simple and affordable. You help prepare the meal and dine on your finished creations. Ghosts and Gourmet, October 29, 30, 31. Enjoy a frightfully delicious dinner in the Wainwright Hotel followed by a ghastly ghost tour through the dark and deserted streets of the Historical Village. For details on all of the above visit HeritagePark.ca. n To learn more about Cuisine et Château’s France Culinary Tour 2015, attend an information session on September 28, 6 - 7:30 p.m. at the Interactive Culinary Centre, 227 - 10th St. NW. Details at cuisineandchateau.com. n If you work downtown, you probably know all about the new-this-summer food trike, Lettuce Beet, serving organic salads on Stephen Avenue.

Discover the power of the pedal that delivers a delicious, nutritious alternative to the usual Stephen Avenue fast food – not that there’s anything wrong with that! Visit lettucebeet.com to view menu selections. And, you can thank Kirsten Lankester for bringing Lettuce Beet your way. n If you’re in the neighbourhood of Salt Spring Island, you won’t want to miss the annual Sip & Savour Salt Spring, harvest food and drink festival, September 19 - 21. Sip & Savour brings together growers, food producers, chefs, brewers and vintners on Salt Spring and Vancouver Island, details at sipandsavoursaltspring.com. n Alberta Food - Eat Local (abfood.ca) is a new project focusing on bringing Albertans closer to their food. The web site spotlights local farms, producers and businesses throughout the province. Go to the web site to find out all about it.

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n Meez delivers – call the Willow Park Village location at 403-264-6336. Check the web site, meezcuisine.com for the Thanksgiving menu. Chef Judy Wood and 7K Panorama Culinary Ranch introduce Community Food Centres Canada (CFCC) to Alberta at The Harvest Moon fundraising event on September 13 that hosts the Sam Roberts Band, Chad Brownlee, and eight of Calgary’s top chefs. For more information, search “Harvest Moon” on eventbrite.ca. n The new Bowness Park Café and Concession building will soon be complete and is nearly ready for a food services vendor. The building is inspired by the parks’ original 1920s’ era tea room, featuring a fir-lined vaulted ceiling and a large veranda that extends over the Bowness lagoon. For more information, contact Kevin Kisilevich 403-714-6373 (kevin@siteworksdsl.com). n Attention athletes, fitness groups, corporate wellness people, and regular gym junkies. Stuck in a rut and need some culinary inspiration on what to eat without cheating on your goals?

Book chef and certified health coach Michael Christen to demo how easy it can be to stay on track. appetite4life.ca or 403-813-3675. n If you find yourself surrounded by jars and seasonal produce, The Cannery’s online store has canning supplies and preserving books as well as plenty of accessories to make those jars more versatile. The Cannery is in Calgary, so pick-up and delivery are available within the city. The selection features hard-to-find supplies like Pomona’s pectin and Tattler reusable lids. the-cannery.ca. n Dr. Brian Clement, the director of the Hippocrates Health Institute, is in Calgary September 27, University of Calgary Science Theatre 148. The event includes topics on living foods, food’s role in health care and disease reversal. Register at eventbrite.ca by searching An Evening with Dr. Brian Clement. More information at reach. out33@gmail.com or 403-880-7613.

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The ideal candidate would bring energetic, entrepreneurial sales and marketing to the role. We are looking for someone who is interested in a career in the catering and events industry.

Please submit your resume to peter@grumans.ca

CITY PALATE.ca SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2014

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Eggplant is a vegetable that is often misunderstood and can be a little intimidating for many cooks. First, it isn’t actually a vegetable, it’s a fruit, specifically a berry, from the nightshade family and related to the tomato, sweet pepper and potato. If you don’t cook it properly, it can be bitter or greasy or have a most unpleasant texture! If you don’t like eggplant, it’s because you’ve never had it cooked properly.

I love eggplant so much that I consider it a comfort food. It has a remarkable ability to be silky or toothsome and goes well with anything acidic or garlicky.

There are many varieties of eggplant, but the ones most commonly found in our markets are globe, Chinese, sometimes called Japanese, and Italian, also called mini.

We’re most familiar with the globe’s pear shape that’s about six to eight inches long and dark purple. The Chinese variety is longer and narrower, dark or light purple and mild in favour. The Italian variety looks and tastes very similar to the globe but is much smaller, which is why it’s often referred to as a mini. When this variety grows and has not yet turned purple, it’s easy to see why it’s called “egg”plant.

When choosing an eggplant, be sure that it’s firm, evenly coloured, heavy for its size, and not too large – which will ensure it’s not too seedy.

Eggplant oxidizes (turns brown) quickly, so be sure to either roll it in oil, salt it or squeeze lemon over it shortly after cutting to keep it from turning brown.

Eggplant readily absorbs oil, so if you’re sautéing it, make sure to have a very hot pan before adding the oil and eggplant. This will help keep it from becoming greasy. Here are six of my favourite recipes:

Baba Ganoush Dip Randomly poke holes into a large globe eggplant, four or five times, then coat the skin with olive oil and place it on a baking sheet. Roast in a pre-heated 400ºF oven until soft, about 25 to 30 minutes, then remove and cool. Put 1/4 c. olive oil and 1 large diced onion into a sauté pan and sauté the onion until translucent, about 10 minutes. Set aside to cool. When the eggplant has cooled, scoop the flesh out and place it in a food processor with the onions, 2 crushed garlic cloves, the juice of 2 lemons, 2 t. coriander, 1 t. salt and 1/2 t. hot sauce. Purée until smooth. Taste and adjust seasoning. Add 1/2 c. chopped parsley and blend a little more until well mixed. Chill and serve with flatbreads or vegetable crudité. Makes about 2 cups.

Eggplant Roulade Provençal Pre-heat the oven to 400ºF. Slice 2 medium globe eggplants lengthwise into 1/2-inch slices, brush both sides with olive oil, arrange on a baking sheet and salt lightly. Bake in the oven for 10 to 15 minutes, or until soft and pliable. Remove and cool. Grate 2 small zucchini, squeeze out the excess liquid and place in a bowl. Add 2 garlic cloves, crushed, 1 t. nutmeg, 1/2 t. dried thyme, 1 t. white pepper, 1/2 c. bread crumbs and 1/2 c. grated parmesan cheese. Add 1 egg and mix well. Lay out the eggplant slices and, at the bottom of each slice, place about 3 T. of the zucchini filling and roll. Place the eggplant rolls seam-side down on a baking sheet and bake for 15 to 20 minutes. Serve with your favourite tomato sauce, as a starter, or as a side for a main course. Serves 4.

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CITY PALATE.ca SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2014

Chris Halpin

Savour the tastes of the season...

Eggplant

O C S S

recipe photos by Chris Halpin

Lamb Stuffed Italian Eggplant

All our products are FREE of: Binders / Fillers / Gluten / Sugar / Colouring And have NO added: MSG / Nitrites / Hormones / Antibiotics

Pre-heat the oven to 350ºF. In a bowl put 1 lb. ground lamb, 1 t. cumin, 1 T. paprika, 1 t. chile flakes, 1/2 t. cinnamon, 1/2 t. dried savoury, 1 small grated onion, 1 t. salt, 1 egg and 1/4 c. bread crumbs. Mix until the breadcrumbs are well moistened. Slice 8 Italian eggplants almost in half lengthwise, hinged from the stem down. Place them in a bowl and coat them with 2 T. olive oil and the juice of 1 lemon. Place the eggplants on a baking sheet and stuff each with as much lamb as possible between the two halves. Bake in the oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the eggplants are soft and the lamb is cooked through. Serves 4.

Eggplant, White Wine Mélange with Tortellini In a skillet, heat 2 T. each butter and olive oil over high heat. Add 1 small diced onion and 1/2 small fennel bulb, shaved, and sauté until the onions start to soften, about 2 minutes. Add 20 mushrooms, sliced, 1 t. chile flakes, 1 t. herbes de provence, 1 t. salt and sauté about 5 minutes. Add 1 small globe eggplant, diced, and continue to sauté for another 5 minutes before adding 1 basket of grapes tomatoes, 1/4 c. white wine and 2 crushed garlic cloves. Bring to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes. Squash the tomatoes when they’re soft. Meanwhile, cook your choice of tortellini, drain well and mix with the mélange, adjusting the salt. Serve with grated parmesan cheese. Serves 4.

Our sausages are available at the following locations: Amaranth Whole Foods – Arbour Lake, Calgary Blush Lane Organic Markets – Calgary & Edmonton Community Natural Foods – Calgary The Cookbook Co. Cooks – Calgary Market 17 – Calgary Mrs. Green’s Natural Market – Calgary Old Country Sausage Shop – Raymond, AB Planet Organic – Calgary & Edmonton Springbank Cheese Company – Marda Loop, Calgary

We have ham for the season – quantities limited.

FOR DELIVERY DATES OF ON-LINE ORDERS PLEASE CALL 1 403 752 3006 OR VISIT WWW.OLDCOUNTRYSAUSAGES.COM. PICK UP IS AT THE WILD ROSE BREWERY PARKING LOT.

Grilled Eggplant and Pepper Salad with Pine Nuts and Parmesan Pre-heat the grill to hot. Halve and core 3 peppers, any colour. Slice 2 Chinese eggplants crosswise 1/4-inch-thick and brush with olive oil.

Grill the peppers and eggplant until soft and well marked, about 5 minutes on each side. Place in a bowl and cover until cooled and wilted. Cut the peppers into wedges, return to the bowl and add 1/2 minced red onion. Season with salt and pepper, 1/4 c. champagne vinegar and 2 T. olive oil, mix well and sprinkle with 2 T. chopped dill, shaved parmesan and toasted pine nuts before serving. This is good served either hot or chilled, I love it with grilled sausages or lamb chops. Serve 4.

Eggplant Napoleon with a Warm Raspberry Mustard Dressing Blend 1 c. raspberries, 2 T. grainy mustard and 1/4 c. mirin (rice wine, available at Asian groceries) until smooth, then pour into a bowl.

Cut 4 half-inch-wide slices each of globe eggplant and tomato – make sure the eggplant and tomato are about the same width – and brush each side with olive oil. Sprinkle with a pinch of sugar and salt, place the slices on a hot grill and cook about 5 minutes on each side.

In a bowl, mix together 1/2 c. chèvre, 1/2 t. each nutmeg and white pepper, and 2 T. each chopped chives and parsley. Form into four patties, but save some cheese crumbs for garnish. Construct the napoleons by placing a chèvre patty on top of the eggplant and the tomato on top of the chèvre. Serve either warm or at room temperature. To serve, smear some of the raspberry dressing onto 4 plates and place a napoleon in the centre. Garnish with chopped black olives, chèvre crumbles and capers. Serves 4.

Chris Halpin, owner of Manna Catering Service, has been teaching Calgarians to make fast, fun urban food since 1997. For more about the wonders of eggplant have a look at his blog mannaonline.com

CITY PALATE.ca SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2014

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Join us The Cookbook Co. Cooks welcomes

Barbara-jo McIntosh

owner of the renowned Barbara-jo’s Books To Cooks in Vancouver

for a special cooking class event in November!

TIN FISH GOURMET

Great Seafood from Cupboard to Table with author Barbara-jo McIntosh Thursday, November 13 6:30-9pm, $95pp Class includes a copy of the book.

THE COOKBOOK CO. COOKS 722 - 11th Avenue SW, 403-265-6066, ext #1

Call now to register!

First published in 1998, the book was an instant hit with its elegant, quick and inventive recipes using tinned fish. Now, 16 years later, it has been completely redesigned, with colour photographs, new chapters and new recipes.

Elevating canned seafood to new and delectable heights, Barbara-jo McIntosh transforms everyday canned seafood into stylish, delicious dishes with her innovative recipes! This class is perfect for students, those on a budget, or those with time constraints, but it’s also a sea-worthy companion for any home cook with a pantry.

AROUND THE WORLD IN

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26- 61 Streets on 17 Avenue SE The location for speciality food shops and restaurants Book now for our $25 food tour (est.1997) 403 248 -7288 www.internationalavenue.ca

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CITY PALATE.ca SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2014

last meal The focus of this menu is comfort food of the Italian persuasion.

For years, I’ve searched for the ultimate version of mac ‘n’ cheese. I finally created this version, which is a hybrid of some of my favourites. It’s rich and comforting, the ideal dish for a cool fall day. The recipe calls for penne but you can use macaroni or any other tubular pasta. The meatless crowd can omit the pancetta and it will still be good. The bruschetta is a nice change from the usual chopped tomato affair – save time and use jarred or canned beans. The cake is very easy, and a number of people I’ve made this for have declared it the best chocolate cake ever. You be the judge.

Bruschetta with Braised Cannellini Beans, Arugula and Pecorino 6 slices bruschetta (recipe right)

Bruschetta

2 c. cannellini beans, drained (I used jarred beans)

extra-virgin olive oil 6 slices of rustic bread, about 3/4-inch thick

2 c. arugula

1 garlic clove, halved

block of aged pecorino (or parmesan) for shaving extra-virgin olive oil, high quality 2 T. balsamic vinegar

In a small pot, combine the cannellini beans with a tablespoon of water and place over medium heat. Bring to a simmer just to heat through, then remove from the heat. Spoon about 1/4 c. of beans onto each bruschetta and top with a small handful of arugula.

Using a vegetable peeler, shave a few curls of pecorino or parmesan on top and finish with a drizzle of olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Serve immediately. Serves 6.

bruschetta

Bruschetta is simply grilled bread, with nearly endless combinations of possible toppings, but chopped tomato is the one most of us know as bruschetta. I like to use the barbecue but a broiler works. The bread should be toothsome, such as Sidewalk Citizen’s sourdough, which is perfect for bruschetta. Brush the olive oil evenly over both sides of each bread slice. If using a grill, place the slices on the grill rack and grill for about 3 minutes, or until golden brown. Flip them and grill two minutes more. If using an oven, arrange slices on a baking sheet and broil for about a minute on each side until golden brown.

Rub each toasted slice on one side with the cut side of the garlic, and top immediately with your chosen topping. An especially good olive oil can be all the topping that’s needed.

pecorino arugula parmigiano-reggiano

gruyère

cream

penne rigate

pancetta

cheddar

Wine Recommendation Coltibuono Chianti Classico 2011 - $27 Needless to say, this is not your mom’s mac ‘n’ cheese; it is rich and deeply flavoured and needs a wine that can cut the cheese, so to speak. This wine displays a big core of sangiovese fruit – think black cherries and campfire – with typical bright acidity. The acid cuts through the richness of the dairy while the lush fruit complements it.

Geoff Last

Keep it simple and seasonal

1

count on

copper

We proudly handcraft our chocolate confections in Calgary using only the finest natural ingredients and no artificial preservatives.

Baked Pasta sea salt

1/4 lb. (100 g) pancetta, or thick-cut bacon, diced

This cake is a specialty of Capri, which I have adapted from the first River Café cookbook. You will want to use high quality, bitter chocolate, about 70 percent, if possible. The cake should be a little bit gooey in the middle, almost like a dense chocolate pudding.

1/2 medium onion, finely chopped

2 c. bitter chocolate pieces

2 T. all-purpose flour

2 c. ground almonds

1/2 t. mustard powder

1/2 lb. unsalted butter, softened

1/4 t. each cayenne and freshly grated nutmeg

2 c. granulated sugar

1 c. whole milk

4 large eggs, separated

1/2 c. each heavy cream and buttermilk

Preheat the oven to 325°F. Butter a 10-inch spring-form cake tin and line the bottom with parchment paper.

16 oz. penne rigate 4 T. unsalted butter 2 c. panko or home-made breadcrumbs 1 c. finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

2 c. each coarsely grated aged cheddar cheese and gruyère cheese

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Bring 3 to 4 quarts of water to boil in a pot. Add 1 tablespoon salt and the pasta. Cook, stirring a few times, until just tender but still quite firm (very al dente). Drain and rinse under cool water.

Melt 2 T. of the butter in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the breadcrumbs and Parmigiano-Reggiano and stir well, about 1 minute. Spoon the mixture into a bowl and wipe out the pan. In the same Dutch oven, melt the remaining 2 T. of butter over medium heat. Add the pancetta and sauté over medium heat, until it’s almost crisp, then add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes.

Slowly whisk in the flour and stir until the mixture starts to colour slightly and smell a bit nutty, about 3 minutes more. Add the mustard powder, cayenne and nutmeg. Stir well to incorporate.

recipe photos by Geoff Last

Bitter Chocolate Almond Torte

Coarsely grind the chocolate in a food processor, then add the ground almonds and pulse until the mixture looks like coarse breadcrumbs.

Cream the butter and sugar together with an electric mixer until pale and light.

Beat in the egg yolks, one by one, then the ground nuts and chocolate.

Beat the egg whites separately until they form soft peaks. Fold about a quarter of the whites into the stiff chocolate mixture to loosen it a little, then fold in the remaining egg whites.

Put into the prepared tin and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes, until set. Allow to cool 15 minutes, then serve warm or at room temperature.

Serves 8.

fo r yo u r hol iday gif t s & co rporat e cl ient s E-mail: gifting@bernardc.com Phone: 403.265.5777 ext. 577

In a medium bowl, mix the milk, cream and buttermilk together and gradually add to the pancetta/onion mixture, whisking to incorporate. Stir until thick enough to see streaks on the bottom of the pan. Gradually add 1-1/2 c. of the cheddar and all of the gruyère. Stir until the mixture is thick and all the cheese has melted, about 2 minutes.

Add the reserved pasta to the Dutch oven and stir well. Smooth the top and sprinkle with the remaining cheddar. Spread the breadcrumb mixture evenly on top. Bake until bubbling and golden brown, about 30 minutes. Let cool about 10 minutes before serving. Serves 6.

Calgary: 1st Street SE (Head Office Retail & Factory) • 17th Avenue SW • Aspen Landing Bankers Hall • Calgary International Airport • Chinook Centre • Crowfoot • Dalhousie Station Glenmore Landing • Kensington • Signal Hill • Southcentre Mall • Banff: Harmony Lane Mall www.bernardcallebaut.com www.CococoChocolatiers.com

CITY PALATE.ca SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2014

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I found a taste of Paris at Ratatouille Bistro

back burner

Allan Shewchuk

SHEWCHUK ON SIMMER

Getting juiced

As I have admitted here before, I’m wary of any new technology that’s supposed to make our lives “better” because, in my experience, the exact opposite usually occurs. For example, cell phones seemed like a great idea but led to a loss of private time, which led to Blackberries, which led to texting addictions, which led to iPhones, which led to a complete breakdown of normal social interaction as we know it. In the kitchen, the advent of the microwave meant that entire generations of young people never learned how to cook anything in the traditional way and lost any patience for having to wait more than three minutes for their food to be ready. And recently, in my own kitchen, the newest and trendiest invention that proclaims it will make life “better” is making my life a living hell.

It started when my wife declared (again) that we needed to eat more healthily and returned home from her latest shopping spree with a mega-blender known as a Vita-Mix.

Classic French fare with a touch of Morocco at Elbow Drive and 49th Avenue SW in Britannia Plaza.

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For the uninitiated, these miracle blending contraptions are so powerful that they will chop your meats, purée anything from soup to nuts and will even cook your food as it slices and dices. This does sound like it would make life better, except for the one horrific by-product of this glorified juicer: the dreaded smoothie. You see, because of smoothies, instead of actually “eating” more healthily, my wife and I don’t actually “eat” at all any more. Instead, there are only variations on smoothies, which means that to start, every conceivable fruit or vegetable is put into the Vita-Mix. From what I’ve observed, there are no limits to what you can combine, as pineapples, berries, apples and oranges get tossed in along with beets, carrots, celery, yams and anything else that’s been lurking in your crisper. In fact, it appears that making a smoothie is really just a modern form of composting – except that this is compost you’re supposed to drink as an enjoyable meal.

As if drinking compost is not bad enough, you’re also supposed to add such unappetizing things as bee pollen, hemp seed, chia, and indescribable additives such as spirulina and chorella, which are then whipped into an oozing mess. Worse still, apparently to achieve maximum health, it’s mandatory that every smoothie also includes a whack of kale, which means that, no matter what you start with, each and every batch turns a sickly green, closely resembling what came out of Linda Blair’s mouth in The Exorcist. Imagine my dismay each morning when I am presented with a glass of chartreuse slime and a chirpy “Enjoy your breakfast!”

My lunch and dinner smoothies may contain a few different ingredients, but they still include the mandatory kale and so differ only slightly in their colouration. Our so-called meal plans should be called Fifty Shades of Green.

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CITY PALATE.ca SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2014

Due to this never-ending smoothie consumption, my extensive cookbook collection has been deemed redundant and is relegated to the basement. Now, in place of classics like Essentials of Italian Cooking or From Earth to Table, there are shiny magazines disguised as books, with titles like Liquid Meals That Heal and The Juicing Bible. This has driven me to pull out my own Bible so that I may pray to God to intervene and let us go back to the olden days of using plates, knives and forks and ingesting real food. I’m actually getting worried that I may forget basic life skills such as chewing and swallowing because the next step will be taking nourishment by a smoothie stomach tube. It may not be far-fetched to picture me one day living like an imprisoned human in The Matrix, being kept alive in a pod with a constant flow of bee pollen and kale from a giant smoothie factory run by robots. So much for buying a blender to make my life “better.”

I know I shouldn’t be so dramatic. History teaches us that soon enough the next great thing that purports to make our lives better will come along and the blender will be on the scrap heap. Personally, I’m hoping that someone discovers that huge portions of chunky red meat, pasta, cheese, pork sausages and unlimited wine is the key to living a long, healthy life. It would be a bonus if the research also clearly shows that the intake of liquefied kale along with compost is bad for you. I’ll drink to that – only if you promise that what’s in my glass is not green.

Allan Shewchuk is a food writer and sought after Italian food and wine guru. He currently has kitchens in both Calgary and Florence, Italy, but will drink wine pretty much anywhere.

CITY PALATE.ca SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2014

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