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contents VOLUME 6 • ISSUE 4 • NOVEMBER 2012
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COVER PHOTO and feature shots: Shot by Daniel Kaplavka Makeup and hair – Tracey Le Styling – Michael Black Assistant – Febe Ann
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Acclaimed chef and author Rob Feenie shares some of his casually classic dishes for the holidays.
2 4 Miss Universe Canada opens up about
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From parties to comfy nights by the fire, the season's styles have something for each occasion.
3 3 Need ideas for creating a festive feel
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B.C. wineries that make great wine and give back – now that's something we can all drink to.
4 0 Charity challenges offer participants
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bullying, her fight to increase organ donation, and media misquotes.
for your home? Indulge asks experts about trends and tips for decorating. the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to explore while giving back.
From the editor Sarah Massah
There is no doubt about it, the holidays are creeping up on us. From the special coffees infused with peppermint and eggnog, to the already-full parking lots with eager shoppers ready to stock up on gifts – everyone is getting ready for the festive season. While there may be many different traditions for those who celebrate their holiday – whether it be Hanukkah, Kwanzaa or Christmas – one thing that almost everyone can agree on is that the underlying message is quite similar. The holidays – after the gifts have been wrapped, the menorahs have been lit and the dinner has been prepped – is about being with the ones you love and giving back where you can. Even if that means simply putting a few coins in a charity collection or offering to help out at the soup kitchen. Some people, as our pages attest, take it a step further. For our travel segment, we have a Surrey woman who will be travelling to climb Mount Kilimanjaro in order to raise funds for the BC SPCA – a organization she holds 4 November 4 NOVEMBER 20122012 INDULGE INDULGE
close to her heart. For our feature story, we have Miss Universe Canada, Sahar Biniaz, whose story of struggle through years of bullying has inspired her to speak out against the growing problem. The loss of her cousin in a tragic accident has also spurred her into action as an advocate for BC Transplant. These stories are what I feel the holidays are really about. Good people doing good things. But I would be remiss to imply that giving and receiving presents amongst loved ones is unimportant. It's all about balance for the holidays, just like the rest of life. So, if you need some help to decide what to get the people on your shopping list, take a peek at our holiday gift guide. As for me, I'll probably be one of those poor souls who will be at the mall until closing-time on Dec. 24. I'm OK with that. At the very least, I'll have a hot cup of peppermint-flavoured coffee to help me get through it.
Publisher Rita Walters publisher@indulgemagazine.ca Managing Editor Lance Peverley managingeditor@indulgemagazine.ca Editor Sarah Massah editor@indulgemagazine.ca Creative Services Manager Jim Chmelyk creativeservices@indulgemagazine.ca Contributors Erin Anderson • Robyn Jenkins Grant McAvoy • Jason McRobbie Rob Newell • John Schreiner Indulge is published four times annually by Black Press Suite 200 2411 160 Street Surrey, BC V3S 0C8 Tel: 604-575-5321 Fax: 604-531-7977 www.indulgemagazine.ca Distributed free to select households in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia. Paid subscriptions available. Reproduction in whole or in part is prohibited. The publisher is not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts or photographs.
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INDULGE • November 2012 5
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Indulge in...
cuisine
Up close & casual A
Celebrated chef and author Rob Feenie shares his favourite holiday dishes
by Jason McRobbie • photos by Rob Newell
s one of Canada's most prolific culinary talents, chef Rob Feenie has always taken a nontraditional approach to the holidays. At least in the kitchen, he might just have found the answer to peace on Earth. He shops, chops, cooks and cleans with the best of them, but Feenie's first gift of the holidays is leaving the menu in the hands of his wife, Michelle. “It's more fun that way. She'll decide a week before what we are going to eat.” Then the fun begins for a chef who never tires of discovering new dishes. At present, in the Cactus Club test kitchen where he permanently resides as executive chef, he is crumbling a piece of blue cheese and admitting to its definitive presence in the holiday menu he has readied for Indulge's readers.
“We're a family of cheese lovers, especially during the holidays, and the kids love the blue, the creamier the better,” says Feenie. While roquefort or stilton would serve similarly well with the bold flavours on the festive table, a bit of Bresse Bleu really does work wonders with the baked figs, walnuts and honey. As per the pages of his fourth and most recent cookbook, Rob Feenie's Casual Classics: Everyday Recipes for Family and Friends – to say nothing of his culinary pedigree – it's not that Feenie lacks for ideas. It's simply that he finds inspiration pretty much everywhere and remains driven by culinary curiosity year-round. From the age of 20, when he entered Dubrulle Culinary Institute in Vancouver, that curiosity has given him the opportunity to both learn from – and over time become – the best of the best. From his time at Le Crocodile
in Vancouver through his culinary stages in Europe and North America, his three-star Michelin mentors have included chefs Emile Jung and Antoine Westermann; closer to home he has worked with chef Charlie Trotter in Chicago and Jean-Georges in New York. From the bright lights of Lumiere, to five seasons of food television, to Gold Medal Plate victories, to Canada's first Iron Chef America win, Feenie has never shied from either competition or the spotlight. Since joining Cactus Restaurants Ltd. in 2008, the impact of his influence has garnered the group “Best Casual Chain” four years straight from the Vancouver Magazine Restaurant Awards. While his culinary explorations will always carry him far and wide, these days home is a lot closer for the Burnaby-born father of three.
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INDULGE • NOVEMBER 2012 7
We do have our family traditions, but everyone in my family knows I am not a traditionalist, so we change things up.
While White Rock is still a bit of a drive, the commute carries an upside that has easily won over both the foodie and the family man in Feenie. “Our son plays soccer and our daughter is in gymnastics. There is a real community feel,” he explains. “What I love is the quiet. We all do the drive. Once you're there though, you don't need to really go anywhere.” With local growers such as Hazelmere Farms on his doorstep and Choices just around the bend, the Feenie family has found much to love in the valley, and looks forward to calling it home for the holidays for years to come. Fortunately, with Cactus Club locations already in Abbotsford and South Surrey, and another slated for 2013 in Langley, Feenie's world continues to evolve nicely. As for the absence of a turkey recipe for Indulge readers? “We do have our family traditions, but everyone in my family knows I am not a traditionalist so we change things up,” says Feenie. “That said, there is always a roast for 8 NOVEMBER 2012 INDULGE
Christmas Eve, poultry for Christmas dinner and always a light lunch of charcuterie and cheese on Christmas Day.” As anyone who ever visited Lumiere, the
Lumiere Tasting Bar, Feenie's or, more recently, any Cactus Club location might attest, Feenie has always had a fondness for the cheese plate. His touch with charcuterie has only improved with age, but reaches far back to days of Christmas past. The latter is a long-standing family tradition that continues strong. On the cheese side, cave-aged gruyere and aged goudas balance the blues, and Feenie has already found a favoured cheesemonger in his new neighbourhood. “Keso Cheese. I love to go in and pick and try new things whenever I can.” As for the charcuterie itself, Feenie family favourites are anchored by speck, prosciutto and Serrano ham, which he gladly travels to Oyama Sausage Co. at the Granville Island Public Market to procure. In recent years, sopresatta, mortadella and salami from the Italian delicatessen have served equally well in bringing family and friends to the table with almost zero fuss – and maximum appreciation of the day and the shared feast ahead. i
Blue-cheese stuffed figs 10 fresh Black Mission figs (about 1 lb.) 4 oz. 1/2 cup 1/2 cup 1 tsp. 1 tsp.
soft blue cheese walnuts, coarsely chopped honey lemon zest flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
Preheat the oven to 350 F. Using a sharp knife, cut an X into the top (stem end) of each fig. Cut deeply into the fruit without cutting all the way through. With your fingers, gently squeeze open each fig like a flower. In a small bowl, mix blue cheese and walnuts until thoroughly combined. Stuff each fig with a heaping tablespoon of the cheese mixture and arrange it in an ovenproof baking dish. Drizzle with honey and bake for 10 minutes, or until figs are warm and the cheese has softened. Remove from the oven and arrange on a serving platter. Just before serving, sprinkle with lemon zest and parsley. Refrigerate leftover figs in an airtight container for up to three days.
Cornish game hen with dried fruit, honey and almonds 3 tbsp. 1/2 cup 1 cup 2 2 2 cups 1/2 cup 2 tbsp.
extra-virgin olive oil blanched whole almonds dried fruits (any one or mix of dates, apricots, prunes) Cornish game hens, 1.5 lbs each medium onions, diced 1/4� water fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped fresh ginger, minced
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1 tsp. 1/2 tsp. pinch 1/4 cup 1/3 cup
ground cinnamon ground nutmeg ground cloves honey raisins
Line a large plate with paper towels. Heat 1 Tbsp of the olive oil in a large frying pan on medium. Add almonds and saute until golden, 7 to 8 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to the plate to drain. Set aside. Prepare dried fruits by pitting dates and cutting large apricots and prunes in half. Set aside. Cut Cornish game hens into quarters (two breasts and two legs per bird). With a paper towel, pat game hens dry and season with salt and black pepper. Heat the remaining two tbsp. of oil in a large frying pan on medium-high heat. Arrange hen pieces in the pan and saute until golden brown on all sides, about five minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer hen pieces to a plate and set aside. Add onions to the pan and saute until translucent and softened, about 10 minutes, stirring up the brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Return the hen pieces to the pan and add water, parsley, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer, covered, for about 35 minutes or until cooked. To test for doneness, insert a sharp knife in a thigh piece. If the juices run clear yellow with no tinge of red, the hen pieces are cooked. Transfer hen pieces to a large plate and cover loosely with aluminum. Increase the heat to medium. Add dried fruits, honey and raisins to the pan and simmer until fruits are soft and the juices have reduced and thickened somewhat, about 15 minutes. Return hen pieces to the
pan and reheat quickly, basting with the juices. Transfer the game hen pieces and fruit mixture to a large serving platter, sprinkle with almonds and serve immediately.
Baklava with walnuts and brandy-soaked prunes 2 cups 3 cups 1 cup 1 1 cup 1 lb. 2 cups 1 lb. 1/2 cup
granulated sugar water liquid honey lemon, in 1/8� slices brandy dried pitted prunes walnuts, finely chopped frozen phyllo pastry, thawed unsalted butter, melted
Make a simple syrup by combining sugar and two cups of the water in a small pot. Heat on low and stir until sugar dissolves, about five minutes, then increase the heat to medium and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer without stirring, for five minutes. Stir in honey and simmer for just one minute. Remove from the heat, add lemon slices and allow to cool. Transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate for one to two hours, or until chilled. In a medium bowl, combine brandy with the remaining one cup of water. Add prunes and allow to soak at room temperature for one hour. Drain prunes, discard soaking liquid, then chop finely (about the same size as the chopped walnuts.) In a small bowl, combine prunes and walnuts. Set aside. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Have a damp towel to cover the unused phyllo sheets, a pastry brush and all your ingredients ready to go. You’ll want to work quickly so the phyllo pastry does not dry out.
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