City Palate January February 2013 by City Palate

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city palate C E L EBRAT I N G 2 0 D E L I C I O U S YEAR S 1 9 9 3 – 2 0 1 3

great cheap eats

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january february 2013

decisioni, decisioni...

CITYPALATE.ca JANUARY FEBRUARY 2013

So much more than coffee... Sales, Service and Training

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So much more than coffee... Sales, Service and Training

www.cappuccinoking.ca

403.277.5169

CITYPALATE.ca JANUARY FEBRUARY 2013

where should i eat? S T A R T

S T A R T

GROUP

Are you a YES meatatarian?

YES Are you hung over? I'd like to be TOMORROW

YES NO

YES

Craving HECK YES OSSO BUCCO?

YES

NEED to VENT OVER COFFEE ABOUT your NO boss/DATE/in-laws/ government official?

C L A S S I C C O C K T A I L S

Is it saturday?

YES

no idea

1 0 A M - 3 P M

OUI

Wish you were in Europe?

un beau café B R E A K F A S T & L U N C H M O N - F R I F R O M 7 A M

SÌ

Una bella bistro

9 0 0 + W I N E S

B R E A K F A S T / L U N C H / B R U N C H

D I N N E R S E R V I C E M O N - S A T

9 0 0 + W I N E S &

. . . . . . . D E A T H

S A T U R D A Y B R U N C H

C A L G A R Y ' S O N L Y “ S T A T I O N A R Y F O O D T R U C K ” - O P E N S E A S O N A L L Y F R O M A P R I L T O O C T O B E R

U G H H H H H . . . . . . .

YES

CAN YOU WAIT TILL APRIL FOR BACON CREME BRULE?

Are YOU trying to impress your boss/date/in-laws/ government official?

do you consider wine a food group?

YES

P A N T S R E Q U I R E D !

G R A B & G O A V A I L A B L E O P E N 7 D A Y S A W E E K

are you a YES honey badger?

F O O D F O R T H E E N T H U S I A S T I C A L L Y C A R N I V O R O U S

TOO BAD.... They're AWESOME!

O U T D O O R D I N I N G

teatro - teatro.ca

SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE - TEATROGROUP.COM vendome - vendomecafe.com cucina - eatcucina.com

carne - carnecalgary.com

contents City Palate January February 2013

features

26 n Great Cheap Eats

Two can eat well for $50 or less.

32 n The City Palate Fancy-Ass Pantry

Great staples to gussy up your post-holiday cooking.

34 n A Short Guide to Classic Mac & Cheese

Great places to eat it, and how to make it from scratch. Julie Van Rosendaal

36 n Satisfying a Culinary Craving

Studying to be a chef at SAIT. Dan Clapson

38 n “Cooking is So Much Work!”

Tips, tricks and techniques from a chef. Patrick Dunn

40 n Rappie Pie

“It’s cheap, it feeds lots of people and everyone likes it.” Jessica Patterson

open all winter

42 n Fresno is All About Fresh, Local Food

Colleen Seto

53 n City Palate Culinary Crossword

Play to win!

Cover artist Fred Sebastian is an award-winning illustrator and designer. Winner, among others, of the International Editorial Cartoon Competition on Press Freedom, and Applied Arts Photography & Illustration Award for Editorial Section Illustration, his work was recently included in Benedikt Taschen's Illustration Now! Vol. 4. fredericksebastian.blogspot.ca

thursday – sunday b 9am – 5pm 510 77th ave se Calgaryfarmersmarket.Ca

CITYPALATE.ca JANUARY FEBRUARY 2013

Slow Food Calgary presents...

fresh Whole-grain breads

Brioche

Honey nuts

authentic Pretzels Cream horns

editor Kathy Richardier (kathy@citypalate.ca) publisher Gail Norton (gail@citypalate.ca) magazine design Carol Slezak, Yellow Brick Studios (carol@citypalate.ca) contributing editor Kate Zimmerman

Vienna apple strudel Danish

Stone-oven light rye

no preservatives

Second location now open in Bridgeland!

124 8th Street NE, across from the old City Bakery • 403.998.1877 Original store: 4306 17th Avenue SE , 403.272.0383 office@gfbaking.ca | www.gfbaking.ca

contributing writers Karen Anderson Shelley Boettcher Dan Clapson Patrick Dunn Ellen Kelly Geoff Last Gail Norton Jessica Patterson Colleen Seto Allan Shewchuk Julie Van Rosendaal contributing photographer Carol Slezak for advertising enquiries, please contact advertising@citypalate.ca account executives Liz Tompkins (liz@citypalate.ca) Janet Henderson (janet@citypalate.ca) Ellen Kelly (ellen@citypalate.ca)

Roots & Shoots

prepress/printing CentralWeb

Monday, March 18th River Café Prince’s Island Park Cocktails at 6, Dinner at 6:30

distribution Gallant Distribution Systems Inc. The Globe and Mail website management Jane Pratico (jane@citypalate.ca)

Slow Food’s annual celebration of spring’s return is once again hosted by River Café. Executive Chef Andrew Winfield will welcome three guest chefs into his kitchen on Prince’s Island Park to create an impressive seasonal menu, accompanied by stellar Canadian wines from the River Café cellar.

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 Fax 403-262-3322 Subscriptions are available for $35 per year within Canada and $45 per year outside Canada.

6 courses with wine pairings Members $115 Non-Members $145

Editorial Enquiries: Please email kathy@citypalate.ca

Tickets available on

rootsandshoots.eventbrite.ca

OSPITALITÀ ITALIANA

Learn more about the Slow Food Movement at slowfoodcalgary.ca

delicious

city palate

CITYPALATE.ca JANUARY FEBRUARY 2013

QUALITY APPROVED

For questions or comments please contact us via our website:

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contents City Palate January February 2013

departments

11 n word of mouth

Just say no to junk food!

Notable culinary happenings around town

13 n eat this

What to eat in January and February Ellen Kelly

14 n drink this

Georgian wine on my mind Shelley Boettcher

18 n get this

Must-have kitchen stuff Karen Anderson

20 n one ingredient

Coconut Julie Van Rosendaal

Jesse Lumsden

Olympic Bobsledder & CFL Alumni Proudly Sponsored by The Main Dish

24 n feeding people

The perfect omelette Gail Norton

48 n stockpot

Stirrings around Calgary

Cabbage

54 n 6 Quick Ways with...

56 n Last meal

Keep it simple and seasonal Geoff Last

58 n back burner... shewchuk on simmer

discover caLGary’s reaL meaL aLternative! Fresh, healthy and cheF dine-in or take-away

prepared meals to

GOURMET TAKE-AWAY HEALTHY ESSENTIALS MENU SANDWICHES, SALADS & SOUPS COFFEE, BEER AND WINE BAR BREAKFAST • LUNCH • DINNER CORPORATE & EVENT CATERING

3 Locations and GrowinG!

Bridgeland • Calgary Farmers’ Market • Edge School

Urge to purge Allan Shewchuk

read us online @ citypalate.ca follow us on facebook and win monthly prizes!

403.265.3474 • www.tmdish.com Find us on Facebook & Twitter

CITYPALATE.ca JANUARY FEBRUARY 2013

word of mouth Notable culinary happenings around town

city palate culinary travel grant: calling all back-of-the-house restaurant cooks!

You are a professional cook... have you ever wondered what pizza tastes like in Rome or Naples? Or what indigenous ingredients are used in Sydney’s best restaurants? Or what a blowfish tastes like in Tokyo? Or what it would be like to do a stage in a prominent restaurant in another country? City Palate can help you further your culinary education with a scholarship to help pay for your travel and expenses. For all the details on how to pitch us on where you’d like to go and what you’d like to learn... check out City Palate’s ad for this year’s Culinary Travel Grant on page 43, then go to citypalate.ca to see how to apply.

gold medal plates winners The judges at the Gold Medal Plates competition tasted 10 creative dishes from some of our top chefs and chose three winners: gold went to Eden Hrabec, Crazyweed Kitchen, Canmore; silver went to Cam Dobranski, Brasserie Kensington; bronze went to Duncan Ly, Raw Bar, Hotel Arts. Hrabec’s dish featured sweetbreads in a brown butter sauce spiked with garam masala spices nestled against smashed baby potatoes and wilted spinach, sauce of puréed apricots with a nip of masala spices and the palate-perking sparkle of preserved lemon. A poppadom of crispy chicken skin flecked with black pepper finished this “WOW!” dish perfectly. She paired it with the 2011 Noble Blend White from JoieFarm in the Okanagan. Original, delicious, big wow factor. Gold Medal Plates raises funds to support Canada’s Olympic athletes through the Own the Podium initiative.

erotic food for valentine’s day

read these

Put this on your calendar for February – it’s fun, romantic, spicily erotic, and delicious. What’s not to like? Each year, the Erotic Valentine’s Dinner menu at PaSu Farm, Carstairs, features the colours, textures, shapes and sizes of various foods creatively assembled to resemble our erotic body parts, starting with Pacific Rim oysters on the half shell, perfect morsels of ocean freshness, chased with crisp white wine. Then, a thick, spicy, smooth yam soup spiked with Indian spices to get the endorphins charged. Then, Venus Presents her Jewel, an audacious presentation of salmon mousse, smoked salmon and shrimp, followed by a passion fruit and champagne sorbet. Then Jupiter Presents his Lance – more audacious fun with a zucchini, baby vegetables and your choice of perfectly cooked beef or lamb medallions. Dessert brings Venus and Jupiter together with strawberry cheesecake, crisp almond tuile pastry, fresh strawberries and melted chocolate.

Support your local authors, including Shelley Boettcher, exec editor of Wine Access magazine, who has launched the second edition of her popular book, Uncorked! The Definitive Guide to Alberta’s Best Wines under $25 (Whitecap, $19.95, soft cover). If you love good wine, you cannot afford to not have this book to guide you. Boettcher not only provides you with all the “hard-core,” like name, year, price and a description of the wine, she provides thoughtful extras, like wine trivia – interesting tidbits – plus when to drink and with what foods.

If you like to have fun with your food, as we do, make sure this dinner is on your radar. Visit the PaSu web site, pasu.com to find dates and details. Owner Patrick de Rosemond says it’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but if it’s yours, reserve as soon as you can. (The yam soup is absolutely luscious – find the recipe on page 55.)

bacon jam for bacoholics Who isn’t a bacoholic? Edmonton chef Brad Smoliak has created a bacon jam for your grilled cheese sandwiches, pasta sauces, stuffed potatoes, ‘burgers, scrambled eggs, pizza topping and cheese tray. Anywhere you use bacon, you can use bacon jam. It’s in a jar called “Bacon”, but you’ll know what it is! Find it at Janice Beaton Fine Cheese. kitchenbybrad.ca.

november facebook winner Congrats to Wendy McElhiney Willard, the winner of City Palate’s Facebook prize for November – tickets to YYC Dishcrawl’s January crawl in Mission. Dishcrawl wanted to know your favourite restaurant and a restaurant you’ve always wanted to try. Wendy’s fave is any place she doesn’t have to cook! And she’d really like to try Cibo.

Fans of organic, vegan and raw eating will find much to work with in Gorilla Food, Living and Eating Organic, Vegan and Raw (Arsenal Pulp Press, $24.95, soft cover) by Aaron Ash, owner of the restaurant by the same name in Vancouver. Cooking raw, especially, can be a real challenge – like a buckwheat pizza crust that requires overnight soaking of grains and seeds followed by several days of dehydration – but if you’re willing to put in the time, this book is packed with good food. Out of the Okanagan comes... The Butcher, The Baker, The Wine & Cheese Maker, an Okanagan Cookbook, by Jennifer Schell (An Okanagan Cookbook, $24.95, soft cover). Lots of good stories and photos of Okanagan food and wine people plus a collection of their great recipes.

PREGO’S cucina italiana lunch • dinner • before theatre • after theatre

Taste the tradition Eau Claire Market On the 2nd level

403-233-7885

1040-8TH STREET SW PHONE: 403.265.0244 www.bumpyscafe.com HOURS: M-F 6:30-5 • S&S 7:30-4 CLOSED HOLIDAYS

Award winning espresso, cappuccinos, and lattes. We always pull you the best espresso shot – minimum double shots in our drinks. Muffins - Fresh baked, from scratch, all morning. Soul warming oatmeal – over 25 toppings to choose from. Fresh grilled Panini’s, homemade Mac & Cheese. Gooey Grilled Cheese, just like home. Made from scratch goodies – like Grandma’s Where service & cleanliness come first. Great shaded patio. Make yourself at home at Bumpy’s.

E AT- I N TA K E - AWAY C AT E R I N G

CITYPALATE.ca JANUARY FEBRUARY 2013

soothe INSPIRED FRENCH-MODERN ACHIEVING THE COVETED FOUR DIAMOND AAA RATING

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CITYPALATE.ca JANUARY FEBRUARY 2013

eat this

Ellen Kelly

What to eat in January and February

While some lucky folks in warmer climes wax rhapsodic about the first snowdrops pushing up through the February snow, we wait endlessly, it seems, in the throes of our prairie winter. The holiday festivities are over and what we need now is a tonic – a winter pick-me-up. What’s more taste-bud titillating than ginger? Lemons perhaps? Both give the lowly parsnip a new lease on life. As a matter of fact, very little in the kitchen isn’t improved immeasurably by the exotic warmth of ginger and the sparkle of lemon. This is marmalade season. Watch for Seville oranges, they’re here and gone in a flash. Try adding your own candied ginger to your next batch. It’s nice to have a little ginger on hand to perk up stir-fries and salad dressings. When you find especially nice ginger you can make candied ginger. Peel and diagonally slice (1/8”) 1 lb. ginger. In a heavy saucepan, cover with water and cook gently for 30 minutes, then drain. Weigh the cooked ginger and measure an equal amount of sugar – about 2 cups. Return the ginger and sugar to the pan and add 1/4 c. water. Bring to a boil, stirring often, and cook until the ginger is transparent and the liquid is almost absorbed. Reduce the heat and continue to cook, stirring constantly, until almost dry. Cool and toss in granulated sugar, then keep in an airtight jar for 3 months or more.

BUY: Look for rhizomes with smooth skin and a spicy fragrance, firm and heavy for their size. Don’t bother with ginger that’s wrinkled and light in the hand; it’s dried out and past its prime. TIPS: If substituting one for the other, use a ratio of 6 parts fresh grated ginger to 1 part dried. Both dried and fresh are often used together in recipes, as the tastes are quite different. Freeze ginger and grate or slice it while still frozen. DID YOU KNOW? Related to turmeric and cardamom, ginger is a rhizome. This versatile root has been settling stomachs and flavouring food for centuries. If all you ever do with it is make a hot tisane of fresh sliced ginger, honey and lemon, you’re well ahead of the game.

Meyer lemons

are perfectly suited to preserving. Small, herbal scented and a little sweet, they make a delicious Middle Eastern condiment. Not just for tagines – a little chopped preserved lemon in osso buco is revelatory. Fill a 1-litre Masonstyle jar with quartered Meyer lemons tossed in 1/4 c. kosher salt. Add a small stick of cinnamon, 10 black peppercorns, 1/2 t. dried chiles and a cardamom pod. Cover with freshly squeezed Meyer lemon juice (save the peel for “confit”) and let the jar sit in the refrigerator for at least 3 weeks before using. For the confit, cover slices of fresh Meyer lemons (or use the juiced lemons, halved again, from the preserved lemon recipe) in good olive oil. Cook slowly at low heat for an hour. Cool and keep in the oil. Add the chopped fruit to a green salad along with crumbled goat cheese and candied nuts.

Over the years, parsnips have received the same undeserved rap as Brussels sprouts and squash. People have a tendency to cling far too long to childhood aversions! Break free and discover the sweet earthy delight that is the parsnip. Simple oven roasting caramelizes the ample sugar and produces a candy-like treat.

Illustrations by Pierre Lamielle

Pre-heat your oven to 400°F. Cut 1-1/2 lbs. of peeled medium-sized parsnips into 2-1/2- to 3-inch batons. Toss them in olive oil, kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Roast the parsnips in a shallow baking dish with 1/3 c. rich turkey or chicken stock until tender, about 20-40 minutes. The broth should be completely absorbed and the vegetables tender. While the parsnips cook, make a compound butter by combining 3 T. room temperature butter with 4 t. drained, bottled horseradish, 1 t. chopped fresh parsley, 1 t. finely chopped chives or scallions, 1 small minced garlic clove and salt and pepper. Toss the butter with the parsnips and serve. The parsnip gains prestige with the spicy addition of fresh ginger and sweet, floral-scented Meyer lemons. Substitute 4 T. finely chopped preserved lemon for the horseradish and 1 t. grated fresh ginger for the chives in the compound butter.

BUY: Select small- or medium-sized parsnips. Large late-season parsnips often have fibrous centres that no amount of cooking will soften. Look for firm flesh and even colour. Avoid vegetables with soft or dark spots; dark spots indicate decay or freezer burn. TIPS: Boil 2-3 peeled parsnips and 2-3 whole peeled garlic cloves in the salted water with the potatoes when making mashed. Drain and mash all together with butter, milk and a grating of nutmeg. DID YOU KNOW? Parsnips are closely related to carrots and parsley, but are far richer in vitamins and minerals than either. This may help to sway the parsnipphobic – in Roman times, the parsnip was considered an aphrodisiac.

TIPS: With thanks to long-time advocates like Alice Waters and Martha Stewart, Meyer lemons are now fairly easy to find. Meyer lemons from New Zealand were sighted at Co-op this year as early as October. Freeze ice cube trays of the zest and juice when good fruit is plentiful and store in zip-lock bags for when the lemons are out of season. BUY: Look for lemons that are shiny, unblemished and heavy in the hand. Their thin fragrant skin should be “organic egg-yolk” yellow; pale yellow Meyer lemons will not be as sweet. DID YOU KNOW? A cross of lemon and mandarin, the ornamental Meyer lemon tree was brought to California from China by Frank Meyer around 1908. The majority of the trees were destroyed in the mid 1940s when it was discovered they were carriers of a particularly nasty citrus virus. Happily, Don Dillon of Four Winds Growers found a virus-free cultivar in 1950. Go, Don.

CITYPALATE.ca JANUARY FEBRUARY 2013

drink this

Shelley Boettcher

Georgian wine on my mind

the Grape Escape Wine, Spirits & Beer Festival

An event for Co-op members and their guests.

Join us at the Grape Escape brought to you by Co-op Wine Spirits Beer. Don’t miss this fun and informative event featuring wine, spirits and beer samples from producers from all over the world.

March 22 & 23, 2013 5pm to 9pm BMO Centre, Stampede Park $65 per evening, plus GST Tickets are available at all Co-op Wine Spirits Beer locations. For details on this and other tasting events, visit coopwinespiritsbeer.com

CITYPALATE.ca JANUARY FEBRUARY 2013

The scent of woodsmoke. An ancient Lada car packed with watermelons – on the roof, in the trunk and crammed into the passenger seats. Bushels of corn lit by fall sunshine. A lamb carcass – or is it a goat? – outside a shack by the side of a gravel road. A bloodied cleaver is jammed into a butcher block beside it. Nearby, men squat and talk. Flies buzz. Then, a child’s small, smiling face, bright as a star. I memorized everything I could see while travelling through the small towns and countryside in the republic of Georgia, a small but fierce country that borders the Black Sea to the west, Russia to the north, Turkey and Armenia to the south and, in the southeast, Azerbaijan. At every corner, it was clear that Georgia is a country of contrasts – eastern and western influences, rural and urban. The capital city, Tbilisi, features designer shops, lively bars and fancy restaurants, but a visit to the countryside is a step back in time. Everywhere I looked, I was mesmerized by Georgia’s fascinating history and its rich food and wine culture. It hasn’t always been easy to visit Georgia. For 70 years, the country was hidden under the banner of the Soviet Union, one of the many formerly independent countries that were swallowed up by the USSR in the 1920s. In 1991, it regained its independence, but along the way there have been major hiccups, including a brief war with Russia in 2008. A year or so ago, I visited Georgia to attend the first international qvevri symposium, a celebration of the country’s wine-making traditions. As the executive editor of Wine Access, a Canadian wine magazine, I had been invited to join a group of writers, wine critics and sommeliers from around the world, who were gathering to find out more about Georgia’s ancient wine-making history, long hidden from outsiders. Georgians have been making wine for more than 8,000 years, since the fifth and sixth centuries BC. For generations, they put their crushed grapes in qvevri – massive terracotta clay vessels (some hold 9,000 litres) that are lined with beeswax and hidden in the ground. Some say this was a practice started as a way to hide it from invaders. (Over the years, myriad armies – Roman, Arab, Russian, Turkish, to name just a few – have invaded the small nation.) The unusual style became popular, so much so that the Georgians began exporting their wines more than 2,500 years ago. In the 20th century, Russia was Georgia’s

largest market – largely because of proximity and the fact they were both part of the Soviet Union. The Russians, however, put an embargo on Georgian wine imports in 2006, citing undefined “safety concerns” as the official reason, although no evidence has ever been provided and most say the embargo is simply an attempt at causing financial hardship for the former Soviet satellite state. So Georgian wine makers turned their sights on the wine-drinking West – the U.S. and, increasingly, Canada.

Craving Something healthy?

For North Americans more familiar with sweet Auz shiraz or oaky California chardonnay, these eastern wines are mysterious, with unusual flavours and grapes we’ve never heard of – kisi, saperavi, rkatsiteli, mtsvane. Even how the wines are made is different from what we see in North America. The Georgian clergy, for example, has preserved many of these grapes along with the country’s ancient wine-making traditions. Massive old monasteries dot the countryside, and most seem to have at least one resident wine-making monk. Yet, as in the days of the Soviet Union, much Georgian wine is still made in massive co-ops, where every farmer’s grapes are dumped together and crushed. The end product isn’t as much about producing fine vintages for one’s cellar as it is about washing down one’s dinner. Other Georgians – such as the Margvelashvili brothers – own and operate Tbilvino, a large, modern winery located in Tbilisi. They rely on indigenous grapes (Georgians claim more than 500 varieties) as well as international varietals, grown in various regions throughout the country. Their products – made by an Australian vintner – would be at home on any wine lover’s table around the world. (You can find a selection of their wines in Alberta.)

Sensational Salads Nutritious Breakfasts

Still others are redefining artisanal wine making, with an emphasis on natural (free of all chemicals) wines and small production. American John Wurdeman is one such person. Based in Kakheti, the country’s largest wine region, he teamed up with a local wine maker to create Pheasant’s Tears. Their unusual lineup of smallproduction wines now sell internationally, including in Calgary.

photos by Shelley Boettcher

With wine comes food, and plenty of it. Every night I was in Georgia, I was treated to a supra – a legendary feast where a single toast can go on for half an hour, and people celebrate each other and their ancestors half the night. (These feasts are pretty common, but the Georgians held myriad extra celebrations for the visiting journalists.) A supra – a sort of uber-dinner party – is an awe-inspiring experience, with hours of singing, dancing, wine and food. There are platters of local fish, eggplants stuffed with ground walnuts, salty home-made cheese, long loaves of dense bread, cabbage salads, skewers of grilled lamb and chicken, and bowls of cucumber and tomatoes. A favourite supra dish is the kachapuri – a flat, warm cheese bread that’s also served at every meal, even breakfast. For us, in the morning, it was accompanied by locally grown tea, and at night, we washed everything down with cold white wine, served in small clay bowls. Several times outside the monasteries, I saw women selling lumpy, brownish strings of something that appeared to be edible – or maybe not. “Candles? Sausage?” I asked a guide. “No, Georgian ‘Snickers,’” he said with a laugh, explaining that they’re a popular home-made candy bar. By chance, at our next stop, at a small rural restaurant, a woman in the outdoor kitchen was making them. She saw me watching and gestured. Would I like to help? I found myself threading walnuts onto a long loop of string, and then dipping the nut-laden string, again and again, into a warm sticky syrup made from grape pulp. We hung our creations to dry and later, at the meal, they were presented as dessert. Delicious. The next day, while the two women I was travelling with and I were waiting for a ride at our small-town hotel, a woman who worked at the hotel heard via the young man at the front desk that we really enjoyed Georgian food. She offered to teach us later that morning how to make khinkali, artfully twisted dumplings that are often served at dinner. Boiled and then eaten, hot, by hand, they’re filled with cheese, potato or a brothy ground meat and onion mixture that squirts everywhere when you bite into a steaming bundle. Our newfound instructor didn’t speak English, but cooking is universal. Throw some flour on a wooden board. Take a rolling pin and a bowl of dough. Use a grinder to prepare the filling, and a pot, positioned on top of an outdoor fire, to cook the final product. She demonstrated while we watched, and then we tried to duplicate her efforts. It didn’t take much to see that I needed practice, but, after we boiled the dumplings in a pot over the firepit in the hotel courtyard, my friends and I ate them outside as an impromptu lunch in the sun. Several times, walking down the streets in the small towns we visited, I was surprised by how few Georgians smiled when they were greeted by a stranger – especially one who was so obviously a tourist. (I was taller than most of the other women. I was the only redhead. Unlike the other women my age, I wore jeans. continued on page 16

Energizing Smoothies

7207 Fairmount Drive SE Calgary

Ph: 403-252-2083 | www.cravingsmarketrestaurant.com @cravingsyyc

facebook.com/cravingsmarketrestaurant

BISTRO ROUGE Opening February! T @BistroRouge rougecalgary.com 308 1919 Sirocco Drive SW (403) 514-0561

CITYPALATE.ca JANUARY FEBRUARY 2013

drink this continued from page 15 Tastings begin January 16th. Metrovino...Bringing Wine to Life

And I was constantly snapping photos.) Especially in the small towns we visited, they pulled to the opposite side of the street, and they avoided eye contact. Mothers shooed their children away quietly. Later, I asked a Georgian fellow beside me at dinner if I’d been doing something wrong. Was I being rude when I smiled or tried to ask questions? “No,” he replied. Then he paused. “Think about it. For thousands of years, we have watched people fight over our tiny country. They want what we have, and they’re prepared to take it at any cost. Of course we are suspicious of strangers.” Their attitude changed once they knew why I was there – to learn more about their culture, to experience their hospitality and to check out and share our experiences of their fascinating wine scene. Then I was welcomed like I was long lost family. On my last night, I found myself sharing a bottle of chacha with a group of my new friends, all Georgians. Between mind-numbing shots of the fiery, clear grappa-like alcohol, they were trying to teach me to dance like they do. Despite the fact that the liquor’s name sounded like a dance move, my hands refused to follow the delicate flutters the Georgian women demonstrated, and my feet – still clad in the dusty work boots I had worn in the vineyards earlier in the day – moved like they were made of clay. I gave up and returned to my seat, where someone had ordered us more kachapuri – this time, with a slightly poached egg nestled on top. I was assured that it was ideal for taking the edge off drunken nights with friends. The egg melded with the warm cheese and dough and it was so delicious, I ate and ate. “You like it?” the woman sitting next to me asked. “Do you like our country?” “Yes. Guamarjos!” I said, as I held up my glass and offered a traditional Georgian toast to her and her friends and country. The expression means “To victory!” I meant it, and I still do. This beautiful, intriguing country holds so many secrets. I can’t wait to hear more.

722 -11th Avenue S.W. 403-205-3356 www.metrovino.com

Look for these Georgian wines

at various liquor stores around town, including Willow Park Wine & Spirits and WineInk. I’ve found the Tbilvino at Co-op Wine Spirits Beer. Metrovino and Willow Park carry some of the Pheasant’s Tears wines. The Mildiani wines are at Willow Park, as well as select Liquor Depot and Olympia Liquor locations. Prices are approximate. Pictured left to right:

n o e l s i i m h s ce t a Put l’s fa s Day! r ine’ i g a lent Va contemPorAry FrencH Bistro 105, 550-11th Ave. sW

PH 587.352.0964 AvecBistro.com Avec Bistro @AvecBistro

CITYPALATE.ca JANUARY FEBRUARY 2013

Mildiani Khvanchkara, 2008 (Telavi, Kakheti) $24 This red from a family-owned winery is medium sweet with plum and raspberry notes. Try it paired with fresh walnuts and hard cheese as a simple dessert, or maybe roast lamb or duck with a rich berry reduction. Mildiani, Kindzmarauli, 2008 (Telavi, Kakheti) $22 From a small, family-owned winery in the heart of Georgian wine country, this red, medium-sweet wine is made from saperavi, a popular indigenous grape. Try it with hard cheeses and salty almonds or walnuts. Tbilvino, Tsinandali, 2011 (Kakheti) $17 This blend of rkatsiteli and mtsvane grapes is the Tsinandali appellation, made by Tbilvino, a familyowned winery based in Georgia’s capital, Tbilisi. Expect an unusual, bold, dry white, with notes of grape and flowers. It will pair well with grilled fish dishes and hearty Niçoise-style salads. Tbilvino, Saperavi, 2011 (Kakheti) $17 This rich, quirky, but pretty red wine is made from the saperavi grape. Expect slightly sweet notes of cherries and a hint of smoky vanilla. Pair it with roast duck with a cherry reduction, grilled lamb or even lamb burgers. Pheasant’s Tears, Chacha (Kakheti) $33 This spirit comes from an American artist named John Wurdeman, who fell in love with a Georgian woman and the Georgian way of life. His winery, Pheasant’s Tears, is located near the lovely town of Sighnaghi, where he and his family live and operate an atmospheric wine bar. Chacha is not a wine, but a Georgian form of grappa, distilled from pressed grape skins and seeds. Georgian men will open a bottle of this at the end of a party, then pass it around the table until it’s gone. Not for the fainthearted, it’s about 48 percent alcohol. Shelley Boettcher is the executive editor of Wine Access magazine

get this from cleaning to compost

{ 1963 }

This Swedish dishcloth performs with sturdy but stylish substance. The secret lies in its cellulose and cotton fabric. Cellulose is the most common organic fiber on earth, constituting 33% of plant matter. The cloth loves moisture and can absorb 15 times more than a paper towel, but with a quick wring it will dry faster than a sponge. These properties mean clean, streak-free countertops and fewer germs and odours for you. You can accent your kitchen with the pretty Scandinavian designs and pitch your cloth in the compost when it wears out. From cleaning to compost by design; now that’s going out in style.

Established

Swedish dish cloth, $6.50, Savour Fine Foods & Kitchenware

...from our family to yours

Celebrating our 50th Anniversary 3 generations offering the best in Italian groceries THANK YOU CALGARY!

breaking (through) bread Aviv Fried’s Sidewalk Citizen Bakery sourdough bread is tasty and toothsome. The crumb is moist, flavourful and filled with air pockets that show that the levain and kneading have done their work. The crust is thick, golden brown and etched with tiny air pocket blisters. It’s a crust that requires a knife capable of slicing definitively. Lesser knives tear the crust and squish the crumb. Fried’s customers asked him to find them a knife that could break through his bread crisply and evenly. He found the Opinel bread knife, which he imports from France..

! N I W

Hint: If you love Sidewalk Citizen’s bread you can take a class with Fried and learn about sourdough, levain, kneading, proofing and baking, and finish the night with pizza fresh from the oven. Check the class schedule at sidewalkcitizenbakery.com and pick up your knife while you’re there.

Enter our draw to WIN these great prizes… 1st prize: $1000 Italian Super Market Gift Certificate

Opinel bread knife, $49.99, Sidewalk Citizen Bakery

2nd prize: $500 Italian Super Market Gift Certificate 3rd prize: $250 Italian Super Market Gift Certificate Name: __________________________________________ Phone: _________________________________________

peachy winter dreams

E-mail: _________________________________________

403.277.7898 I 265 20 Avenue NE www.italiansupermarket.com

Cut out and place your completed form in the draw box at the Italian Super Market store. No purchase necessary. Draw date: May 31, 2013. Winners will be notified by phone or e-mail.

Peaches are best eaten in season and from a local source. But, even in the heart of the winter, you can recapture a little of summer’s glory with CRMR at Home’s preserved BC peaches. Ken Canavan, who’s been the chef at CRMR at Home’s neighbouring Cilantro Restaurant for 22 years, does oodles of preserves each fall for the CRMR brand. These are great straight from the jar, over ice cream, in a crepe, smothering your baked ham or snuggled up next to hot blueberry crumble straight from the oven. CRMR BC Peaches, $16/l, CRMR at Home

CITYPALATE.ca JANUARY FEBRUARY 2013

Karen Anderson

Must-have kitchen stuff

passion and pastry Remember that romantic scene in the movie Jerry Maguire where Renée Zellweger tells Tom Cruise “you had me at hello”? Well, here are two bits of love advice for those of you who aren’t Tom Cruise – get to the point and add chocolate to be on the safe side. Try these three words: pain au chocolat. Get your supply from Pascal Bagioli of Pascal’s Patisserie because he spent years as a Viennoiserie pastry chef in France. Bagioli does all the work and freezes his creations. All you have to do is lay the pastries out on a cookie sheet to thaw before bed and then pop them in the oven before your sweetheart awakens. Let her slip out of slumber into a day that starts with layers of buttery flaky pastry wrapped lovingly around an inner sleeve oozing with the finest imported French chocolate. With this breakfast, served in bed, you may kindle more than a passion for pastry.

Lunch Time

220 42AVE SE CALGARY AB 403 287 9255

WWW.ALLOYDINING.COM

Pain au chocolat, $15/6, Pascal’s Patisserie

portrait in chocolate Add a little fun and personality to Valentine’s Day this year with a box of Chocolate Portraits. All you need is a jpeg file of that special photo. Epiphanie Chocolates charges a $30 printing set-up fee, then, depending on the size, you can have 15 rectangles at $2.40 each, 10 ovals for $2.75 each or four business cardsized chocolates for $3.30 each. The ink used to transfer the photo onto the chocolate is edible and the chocolate is made according to the recipe of in-house chocolatier Debra Fleck. Epiphanie also sells chocolate chips so you can whip up a giant heart-shaped cookie or melt your valentine’s heart with a fondue for two. May your love last longer than the chocolate.

Love is in the air

Chocolate portraits, $43 - $66, depending on size, Epiphanie Chocolates

raspberry razzle-dazzle While shopping at the Calgary Farmers’ Market, we stopped for a tasting at the Field Stone Fruit Wines booth and were delighted by the 10 wines on offer. Field Stone, operating since 2005, was Alberta’s first Cottage Winery and grows all its fruit on its 50-acre Bumbleberry Orchard outside Strathmore. The wines are great for sipping solo and complement poultry, pork and game meats especially well. The Raspberry Dessert Wine would add a sparkle of flavour to raspberry jam filling for moist chocolate cake. Add a tablespoon to brown sugar for a new twist on a crème brûlée topping. Add it to whipped cream and thawed raspberries to redefine tiramisu or add razzle-dazzle to a good old-fashioned trifle. Raspberry Dessert Wine, $24.95/375ml, Field Stone Fruit Wine, Calgary Farmers’ Market

Your romantic Valentine’s Day starts and ends with Hotel Blackfoot. Dinner for you and your honey at Green’s restaurant with the most delightful desserts imaginable. Not to forget the chocolate decadence the two of you will enjoy in our Lobby Lounge…And we’ll always have a room for you. Make a dinner reservation by calling 403.212.1728 and visit hotelblackfoot.com for room bookings and hotel packages.

Live in the moment

CITYPALATE.ca JANUARY FEBRUARY 2013

Fresh Produce

Antipasti

In-store Bakery

one ingredient

Julie Van Rosendaal

Coconut

Specialty Foods Olive Oils Balsamics Catering

Olives Deli Meats &Cheeses Gift Baskets

Anyone who grew up with Gilligan’s Island has dreamed of drinking a piña colada from a coconut, or fashioning a “bra” out of one. You might even remember convincing your mom to bring a coconut home from the grocery store, and having your dad bash it open with a hammer, trying not to lose the precious liquid inside. My memory doesn’t include getting to drink the delicious water from a perfectly cracked shell, but of trying to pry the coconut meat from chunks of a dusty shattered coconut with a butter knife. A coconut is unique in the produce section. Botanically, it’s classified as a fibrous, one-seeded drupe – a fruit with a hard, stony covering enclosing its seed, like a peach or an olive. Historically, few foods have proven themselves to be as useful, providing not only food and drink, but a shell for a bowl and utensils that can also be used for fuel, and tree bark, trunk and leaves to build with. The whole tree is useful.

Hot &Cold Lunches

Cappuccino Dessert Bar

Visit Lina’s for the real ItaLIan experience.

2207 Centre St NE • 403.277.9166 • www.linasmarket.com

Sterile coconut water has even been administered intravenously in cases where medical saline was unavailable for short-term hydration. And, of course, coconut cream pies have been administered to faces in comedy sketches for centuries. Although they are universally recognizable, whole coconuts are rarely brought home from the grocery store. If you found yourself on a desert island with only a coconut palm to sustain you, what you’d see at the top of the tree might not be recognizable. A young coconut is large, smooth and green and looks like a melon. As it ripens, the outside starts to harden and turn brown and shaggy, while the meat on the inside thickens into the layer that we grate, sweeten and eat. Culinarily, coconut can be anything you want it to be – sweet or savoury, delivered in solid or liquid form. When choosing a fresh coconut, give it a shake – you should hear the coconut water slosh around inside. Look into its eyes and make sure there is no mold, and ensure the shell is free of cracks. Since coconuts have no convenient pulltab, you’ll need a few tools to get to the meat inside. If you start with a young coconut, with its shaggy outer coat still concealed in a soft ecru pulp, you can lay it on its side and hack off the dome end with a cleaver, like whittling down a pencil. Eventually you’ll reveal the familiar shaggy husk. This is what you usually find – a Swiss Family Robinson-style coconut – in the produce department. When you check its eyes, one will be softer than the other two. On a stable surface, poke out its soft eye by hammering a screwdriver through it. Drain the coconut water into a bowl. Tap the back of a knife along the seam that runs from the eyes to the equator, and the coconut should crack open. If it doesn’t, place the coconut in a heavy zip-lock bag or wrap it in a tea towel and shwack it against a hard surface or hit it with a hammer. Once opened, pry the flesh away from the husk with a spoon, then shred it with a vegetable peeler or on the coarse side of a box grater.

Good food, good wine, good friends... that’s BoccaVIno! (right next door to Lina’s) ask about our divine weekly chef’s Specials! 2220 Centre St NE • 403.276.2030 • www.boccavino.com

CITYPALATE.ca JANUARY FEBRUARY 2013

Of course, it’s easier to get your coconut from a can, jar or bag. Coconut milk and cream – made from coconut meat – are inexpensive and easy to find, perfect for enriching curries, soups and stews, or for making creamy pies, cakes and puddings. To whip coconut cream – for a dessert topping that’s especially good for people who can’t tolerate dairy – chill a can of coconut milk or cream, then scoop off the solids that rise to the top. Save the coconut water that’s left to add to the likes of smoothies and muffin batter. Beat the creamy, solid coconut cream with a bit of sugar until soft peaks form.

Coconut oil has become the new “it” fat. Unique as a vegetable fat that’s naturally solid at room temperature, it appeals to vegans wanting to bake tender pastry and biscuits, and to those avoiding dairy, since it works well in baked goods and for sautéing or roasting veg. Previously ignored, coconut water has recently joined the energy drink force. It’s a good source of electrolytes – sodium, potassium, manganese and magnesium – and is touted as nature’s Gatorade. It’s also supposed to be the new miracle cure for hangovers. Naturally, we take all the hype with a grain of salt, so to speak. Coconut water is pleasant to drink when chilled, and it makes a tasty cocktail, without the heavy richness of coconut milk. Look for Zola Coconut Water in Calgary Co-op stores.

Do you know where your wine comes from?

Coconut meat – dried, shredded or flaked and sometimes sweetened - is the stuff we like to turn into cookies, cakes and macaroons, roll beer-battered shrimp in, and toss into granola. Grocery store coconut comes in flakes or shreds, but some of it can be too sweet and some too finely shredded. As is the case with any other ingredient, it’s worth seeking out the real thing. You just need to count a hammer among your kitchen tools.

Classic Coconut Cream Pie Who doesn’t love coconut cream pie? This is a classic – coconut custard poured into a baked shell and topped with a cloud of whipped cream. Adapted from a recipe in Bon Appétit. pastry for a single crust pie (or use a graham crust)

look for this symbol in our stores to find family-run wineries

Filling: 1/2 c. sugar

We do! Meet the Arlaud family, one of the many organic, family-run estates you'll find on our shelves. At J. Webb Wine Merchant we know our growers.

3 T. all-purpose flour 2 large eggs 1 large egg yolk

w w w. j w e b b . n e t

1 14 oz. (398 mL) can coconut milk 1 1/2 c. shredded or flaked coconut

Glenmore Landing: 90th Ave. and 14th St. SW

Casel Marché: 24th St. and 17th Ave. SW

1 t. vanilla 1/2 t. coconut extract (optional)

Topping: 1 c. whipping cream 3 T. icing sugar 1/4 t. coconut or vanilla extract 1/2 c. shredded or flaked coconut, toasted

On a lightly floured surface, roll out the pastry and fit it into a 9-inch pie plate (don’t use a deep-dish pie plate); crimp the edges and poke the bottom a few times with a fork. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line the pastry with foil and fill with pie weights or dry beans. Bake the crust for 15-20 minutes, or until pale golden. Recipe photos by Julie Van Rosendaal

Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan whisk together the sugar and flour to get rid of any lumps. Then whisk in the eggs, egg yolk and coconut milk and set over mediumhigh heat. Bring the mixture to a simmer, whisking almost continuously, until it thickens and bubbles. Cook for a minute, stirring constantly, then remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla and coconut. Set the custard aside to cool slightly, then pour it into the pastry shell, top with a piece of plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm. To make the topping, beat the cream, sugar and vanilla until stiff peaks form, then spread it over the filling and sprinkle with toasted coconut. Chill the pie until ready to serve. Serves 8 to 10. continued on page 22

CITYPALATE.ca JANUARY FEBRUARY 2013

one ingredient Coconut continued from page 21

Creamy Coconut Cake This is like coconut cream pie in cake form – dense, moist coconut cake made coconuttier with the addition of coconut extract, topped with creamy coconut frosting and crunchy toasted coconut. For coconut lovers only. Cake: 2 1/2 c. all-purpose flour 2 t. baking powder 1/4 t. salt 1/3 c. butter, softened 1 1/2 c. sugar 2 T. canola oil 3 large eggs 2 t. coconut extract 1 14 oz. (398 mL) can coconut milk, divided

Coconut Frosting: 1/4-1/2 c. butter, softened (depending on whether you’re watching fat intake or not) 1 t. coconut or vanilla extract 3 c. icing sugar 1/2 c. shredded coconut, toasted

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray two 8” or 9” round cake pans with nonstick spray. In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, and salt. In a larger bowl, beat the butter with an electric mixer for about 30 seconds, until it’s pale and creamy. Pour in the sugar and oil and continue to beat for 3-4 minutes, until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each one, then beat in the coconut extract. Scrape down the sides of the bowl now and then.

Chocolate Coconut Scones Sidewalk Citizen Bakery’s scone master Aviv Fried devised this chocolate-coconut combo; these are made in his style – rich and sweet, dropped and baked for a crunchy, shaggy edge. They are the most divine scones ever. 1-1/2 c. all-purpose flour 1/3 c. sugar 2 t. baking powder

These recipes are on our website

pinch salt 1/2 c. butter, cut into pieces 3/4 c. dark or milk chocolate chunks or chips 1/3 c. shredded or flaked coconut 3/4 c. half & half cream

Preheat the oven to 425°F. In a large bowl or the bowl of a food processor, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Add the butter and pulse or blend with a pastry cutter or fork until almost completely blended. Add the chocolate and coconut and toss to combine the ingredients. Add the cream and stir the batter just until combined. Drop the dough in 8 large blobs onto a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake the scones for 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden. Set them aside on a wire rack to cool. Makes 8 scones.

Add about one-third of the flour mixture to the butter mixture and stir it in by hand or with the electric mixer on low speed, just until it’s combined. Remove 1/4 c. of the coconut milk from the can and set it aside for the frosting. Add about half the remaining coconut milk to the batter, then another third of the flour, the rest of the milk, and the rest of the flour, mixing just until the batter is blended.

Where gourmet meets love. Everybody needs love in their lives, so we’ve made it our main ingredient. Take our Confit Chicken Ravioli for example. These hand-made “little pillows of love” are filled with confit chicken, roast crimini mushrooms, Boursin cheese and finished with butter sauce, asiago, parmesan–and yes–a whole lot of love. Drop by, and experience it in all that we do.

4611 Bowness Road NW | 403.288.4372 | notabletherestaurant.ca

CITYPALATE.ca JANUARY FEBRUARY 2013

Divide the batter between the greased cake pans and tap the bottoms a few times on the countertop to remove any air bubbles. To prevent a domed top, spread the top of the batter with a spatula, creating a slight dent in the middle and a raised edge. This compensates for the way a cake tends to rise higher in the middle. Bake the cakes for 30-35 minutes, until golden, the edges pull away from the sides of the pans, and the tops are springy to the touch. Let the cakes cool for about 10 minutes before running a knife around the edge of the pans and inverting them onto a wire rack. Cool completely before you frost them. To make the frosting: in a medium bowl, beat the butter and extract with an electric mixer until creamy. Add about a third each of the icing sugar and the remaining coconut milk; beat and continue to add each ingredient until you have a spreadable frosting. Add a spoonful or two of water if you need it. Frost the cake once it’s completely cooled, then sprinkle with toasted coconut. Makes 1 cake, serves 16.

Coconut Water Cocktail In India, the shooter du jour is coconut water and vodka, topped with a sprig of mint. This cocktail is light and deliciously different. The morning after, lose the vodka and drink it to cure your hangover. 3 - 4 parts coconut water 1 part vodka big pinch of freshly grated coconut pinch chopped fresh red chile two pinches finely chopped fresh mint

For each drink, shake the coconut water, vodka and grated coconut in a cocktail shaker over ice. Pour into a tumbler over ice and add the chiles and mint. Serves 1.

Coconut Pork Ribs

Tom Ka Gai

Coconut pairs perfectly with ginger, lemongrass, cilantro and pork. For something completely different, these Thai-style ribs are roasted, then marinated... you can do them ahead of time, then finish them on the grill. They’re perfect for a party. Adapted from a recipe in Bon Appétit.

A bowl of Thai coconut soup makes an easy, warming meal when it’s cold outside. Although it’s creamy and noodley, it’s also free of wheat and dairy. This is a great way to use up leftover roasted chicken or turkey, as well as the stock you made with the bones. Adapted from a recipe in Self magazine.

2 racks pork ribs 1 14 oz. (398 mL) can coconut milk 1/2 c. chopped fresh cilantro (stems too) 1/2 c. golden brown sugar

4 oz. thin rice or bean vermicelli noodles (or enough for 4) 4 c. chicken or turkey stock

1/4 c. soy sauce

1–2 red Thai or jalapeño chiles, seeded and sliced into rings

2 shallots, finely chopped

3 garlic cloves, chopped

3 T. chopped garlic

1 T. grated fresh ginger

2 T. finely shredded unsweetened coconut

1-inch piece fresh lemongrass – pale part only – cut in half lengthwise

2 T. chopped peeled fresh ginger 1 stalk lemongrass, pale part only, chopped

Preheat the oven to 300°F. Place the ribs on a rimmed baking sheet, cover them tightly with foil and cook them for 2-1/2 to 3 hours. Combine the coconut milk, cilantro, brown sugar, soy sauce, shallots, garlic, coconut, ginger and lemongrass in a food processor and process until almost smooth. Transfer the marinade to a large baking dish or heavy-duty Ziploc bag, add the ribs and turn them to coat them in marinade. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Heat the barbecue to medium-high, or preheat the broiler. Remove the ribs from the marinade and put the marinade in a small saucepan. Bring it to a simmer while you grill or broil the ribs until golden, turning occasionally, about 8 minutes. Serve the ribs with the marinade. Serves 6.

2 t. grated lemon zest 1/4 c. fresh lemon or lime juice 3 T. Thai fish sauce 2 c. sliced fresh mushrooms (I use oyster mushrooms) 1-2 c. chopped or sliced roasted turkey, or 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips 1 14 oz (398 mL) can coconut milk salt to taste 1-2 c. baby spinach 1/4 c. chopped fresh cilantro and/or Thai basil, for garnish

Soak the noodles in warm water until they’re soft, according to the package directions. Meanwhile, heat the stock and add the chiles, garlic, ginger, lemongrass, lemon zest and juice, and fish sauce, and bring the soup to a simmer. Drain the noodles, then add them and the mushrooms and cook the soup for a few minutes, until the noodles are tender. Remove the noodles from the stock with tongs, and divvy them among 4 shallow bowls.

YOU

Add the turkey or chicken and coconut milk and bring the soup to a simmer (if you’re using raw chicken, simmer for 3 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through.) Season with salt. Add the spinach and cook just until it wilts. If you like, fish out the chile slices and/or lemongrass. Stir in some of the cilantro and/or basil, saving the rest for garnish. Ladle the soup over the noodles and serve hot.  Serves 4.

CITYPALATE.ca JANUARY FEBRUARY 2013

feeding people

Gail Norton

The perfect omelette

103, 2115 - 4th Street SW - down the alley 403.244.4443 | www.inspirati.ca

In a small village in southeastern France that I visit every year, there’s a restaurant called Pierre et Amis. It’s billed as a “Crêperie et Saladerie,” and many times over the years I’ve approached it in hopes of having an omelette with a simple salad on the side. For a long time I failed to meet this seemingly modest goal, as my schedule and the restaurant’s didn’t jibe. It was closed for Monday lunch or Wednesday dinner, exactly when I had a craving and time to spend over such a lunch or dinner. Finally, I was successful. I walked in the door onto one of those decorated cement floors that are so common in the south of France and was enveloped in a dark wood booth. The room was beautiful. The little place shrieked “I’ve been here a long time, you know!” The omelette I ordered was perfect – salty, fluffy, just cooked through and not gooped-up with too many additions. A glass or two of rosé and – voila! – a perfect lunch. I returned again to Pierre et Amis on a cold, rainy May day this year. I walked through the door and was saddened to be greeted by a bright, cheery red and white “IKEA” décor with jaunty photos of New York and London buses on the wall. What the heck? The only similarity between the “two” restaurants was the warm, smiling face of the owner. I guess not everyone is as fond of what’s “been here a long time” as we who live on the historic-buildingstarved prairies. The march of modernization had hit Pierre et Amis. Pierre thought that the dark, aged look of the place was keeping customers away. So, thinking to improve business, he had all that gorgeous décor ripped out and, along with the disappearance of the old, came the new omelette – overcooked, brown and flat. Waaaaah! The comfort of that perfect omelette in a dark, cozy café is now relegated to a wonderful memory. But there’s hope for me – I can make the perfect omelette in my own space. You can too. Here’s an omelette and simple salad primer. Pull your chair up to your lunch table, pour yourself a glass, or two, of rosé and enjoy this classic combination that, to my mind, never gets old.

CITYPALATE.ca JANUARY FEBRUARY 2013

Your Basic Perfect Omelette What a feast you can have with a minimum of ingredients – butter, salt and an egg or two! Not just a breakfast food, omelettes are great for lunch or dinner, and they’re always comforting. Flip one onto a plate and enjoy. If you want a fluffier omelette, add a teaspoon of cold water to the egg mixture. Have a flat-edged wooden spoon or a silicone spatula at the ready. It’s important to use a flavourful, fresh butter. And I find the omega eggs give the omelette the best flavour and colour. 2 fresh medium organic omega eggs 2 pinches salt 1-2 T. cultured butter splash of olive oil, optional

These recipes are on our website

pieces of baguette

Add the eggs and salt to a bowl and quickly beat them with a fork. Turn the burner to high and plop the butter into a 7” or 8” frying pan. Start melting the butter and then lift the pan off the burner and swirl it, to allow the butter to melt but not brown too much with direct heat – adding a splash of olive oil helps, too. (Make sure that your pan is clean – all that should be in the pan is the melted butter. If you have any bits in the bottom, the omelette will stick to the pan.) Turn the burner to high and place the pan on it. Once the pan is quite hot, add the eggs, immediately turning the heat down to medium. The pan should be hot enough that the egg mixture should instantly curl up at its edges. Use a spatula to gently push the edges into the middle of the omelette to let the uncooked eggs pour into the space you’re creating. You are trying to keep the eggs moving across the hot surface of the pan so that they don’t brown too much. Do this around all the edges until the runny part of the egg is used up. When the omelette is set but still fairly liquid in the middle, turn the heat off and let the eggs sit for a moment and firm up in the middle. Fold one half of the omelette over the other half, put it on a plate and serve it with crunchy baguette and/or salad. Serves 1. continued on page 44

Wednesday’s

Lasagna Makeover

Transform your everyday favourites easily with the makeover magic of Real Cream. Enjoy lasagna like you've never tasted it before.

Make-Ahead Veggie Lasagna

You can create your own convenience food from scratch with this make-ahead version of a family favourite meal. The simple assembly means you can whip this up after dinner one night and have it ready to pop in the oven the next. While it bakes to creamy, cheesy perfection, toss a salad, set the table and get ready to relax and enjoy. 1. In a saucepan, whisk together 1/4 cup (50 mL) all-purpose flour, 2 tsp (10 mL) dried Italian herb seasoning and 1/2 tsp (2 mL) pepper. Gradually whisk in 2 cups (500 mL) 10% Half-and-Half or 18% Table Cream. Bring to a boil over medium heat, whisking often. Reduce heat and simmer, whisking, for 2 min or until thick. Remove from heat; whisk in 1-1/2 cups (375 mL) reduced-sodium tomato pasta sauce and 1/2 cup (125 mL) water. 2. Pour 1/2 cup (125 mL) more pasta sauce and 1/2 cup (125 mL) water into a buttered 13- by 9-inch (3 L) glass baking dish; stir and spread evenly. Arrange 4 oven-ready lasagna noodles on top of sauce, breaking to fit. Spread 1/3 of the tomato Cream sauce on top of noodles. Sprinkle 1 pkg (1 lb/500 g) frozen diced Mediterranean vegetables on top of sauce; sprinkle with 1/2 cup (125 mL) shredded Canadian Provolone or Mozzarella cheese.

Top with 4 more lasagna noodles, 1/2 of remaining sauce and another pkg (1 lb/500 g) frozen vegetables. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup (125 mL) shredded Canadian Provolone or Mozzarella cheese. Top with 4 more lasagna noodles, spread with sauce and sprinkle with 1/2 cup (125 mL) shredded Canadian Provolone or Mozzarella cheese. Cover dish with foil and refrigerate for at least 8 hrs or for up to 24 hrs. 3. Bake lasagna, covered, in 375°F (190°C) oven for about 40 min or until hot, bubbling and noodles are tender. Uncover; bake for 10 min or until topping is browned. Let stand for 10 min before serving. Preparation time: 15 minutes Cooking time: 5 to 8 minutes Baking time: 50 minutes Yield: 8 servings

Visit anydaymagic.ca for fantastic tips on this recipe. You’ll also find the Recipe Makeover Challenge, cream recipes and cooking tips.

Great Cheap Eats Two can eat well for $50 or less. A good meal doesn’t have to cost a small fortune, especially in these days of Calgary’s explosion of great casual eateries that offer tasty, interesting, fun food at really affordable prices. What the heck, Air Canada’s enRoute magazine decided two such restaurants – Model Milk and Borgo – should be included in the top 10 of Canada’s best restaurants 2012. This is the trend, and we figure it’s destined to hang around forever because it makes so much sense. Really good, really affordable food? Brilliant! By great “cheap” eats, we mean this kind of food exactly – a good meal for $50 or less. For our 4th eating challenge, we asked a handful of discriminating palates to take $50 and buy a tasty meal for two in a favourite restaurant. This is what they found. (The $50 didn’t include tax and tip.)

CITYPALATE.ca JANUARY FEBRUARY 2013

Shikiji Japanese Noodles & Sushi 1608 Centre Street N 403-520-0093 shikiji.ca Jackie Cooke and Kirk Shaw With the explosion of new restaurants in Calgary over the last two years, we have more dining options than ever before. This is great news from a culinary point of view – we can choose from any number of restaurants based on price point, cuisine, size, atmosphere, even hours of operation. With so many choices available, City Palate has challenged us with the criteria of price point to make a decision about where we spent our hard-earned cash. I’m always searching for great value Japanese food, which is difficult when fish is much more expensive here than other cities located closer to large bodies of water. Fish is my “major craving” that must be satisfied, and I don’t stop thinking about it until I eat it. Salty, savoury, refreshing, pungent and crisp – lots of descriptions in the memory bank. Paired with an especially cold beer to wash it down, this is my idea of a perfect meal. Shikiji Japanese Noodles & Sushi is definitely one of my go-to spots when I need my fish/sushi fix and don’t want to spend triple digits on a meal. This place is always bustling, and a reservation is a must if you want a seat as soon as you walk in the door. The fresh sheet is a perfect place to start a meal. We ordered the tuna poke – raw tuna, green onion, nori and sesame – for $5, practically free when you consider the cost of good tuna. It was well seasoned and the tuna had a rich texture and a beautiful colour. The beef tataki was sashimi style, rolled quite thin and was super tender. The crunchy autumn roll consisted of salmon and avocado topped with sweet potato tempura and spicy mayo sauce. It was delightfully rich but with balanced sweetness. I know it’s not always “correct” etiquette to use soy sauce, but I am a huge fan of the salty/sweet combo, so I use it. Moving on to the regular menu, we ordered the chicken karaage. The portion size of the chicken was quite large, and it satisfied our salt craving from the previous evening’s festivities. The final and best dish was the pork gyoza, which is made in-house and is fabulous – stuffed to bursting with pork and vegetables. Last but not least, when considering ordering a beverage, the restaurant offers a nightly feature every night, which means your dollar stretches even further. Overall, our service was quick and attentive and the dishes came out of the kitchen at the appropriate temperatures. We couldn’t have been happier parting with our $50.

The bill at Shikiji Tuna Poke

Beef Tataki

Autumn Roll

Chicken Karaage 10 Gyoza Total

8 11 $ 46

Cucina Market Bistro 515 - 8th Avenue SW 587-353-6565 eatcucina.com Liz Tompkins and Sam Shaben The recently opened Cucina is the sister restaurant to Teatro and is located across the street from Holt Renfrew. The atmosphere is fun and the long communal tables lend a casual note, which, for me, is just the kind of place where I like to dine. I also like the restaurant’s “grandma chic” ambiance – white clapboard walls and recycled furniture – that makes me feel like I'm visiting another city. My young cousin, Sam, was visiting from Edmonton, so off we went to show her one of Calgary’s newest restaurants.

We told our server of our challenge to dine well for $50 or less. I half expected this revelation might result in poor service, especially since I was suffering from laryngitis and had to have my cousin translate my every whisper. Happily, exactly the opposite occurred. Our knowledgeable server helped us by suggesting menu items that were both conducive to sharing, because they were a healthy portion size, and well priced for our mission. Nice. We started with the house-cured bresaola, a generous portion of beautifully cured meat, thinly sliced, laid atop a warm fingerling potato salad, and finished with Parmigiano Reggiano curls. Delicious. Next, we enjoyed the tomato insalata. The colourful tomato wedges were served at room temperature, the way all tomatoes should be served, and were topped with double-smoked bacon, toasted focaccia and red grapes. Another great choice. Feeling quite sated and running low on funds, we decided to share an entrée of porchetta with apple and caramelized fennel risotto. The chef divided our meal onto two plates so we didn’t have to – a thoughtful touch to finish off a great night 3316901_AD_CityPalate_4.625x2.75_Husky.indd of food at this super cool eatery. When you go, be sure to make a trip to the bathroom. I love it when attention to detail goes into the decor and doesn’t stop at the bathroom door – “grandma’s” CREATIVE ART Copy silver-like tray offered a selection of hand lotion and soap, just like home! Cucina DIRECToR DIRECToR wRITER knows how to look after its customers. FILE nAmE: We didn’t have wine with our meal, but there is a good selection ranging from $10 3316901_AD_CityPalate_4.625x2.75_Husky to $15 for a glass. We look forward to going back again andpRojECT: seeing what this great 3316901 Glenbow City Palate Ad place serves for lunch.

pRoD mAnAgER

STUDIo mAnAgER

STUDIo ARTIST

ACCoUnT mAnAgER

Vy ExECUTIon:

CLIEnT:

noTE:

ConTACT:

Husky N/A

Glenbow

03/12/12 4:19 PM

CLIEnT

SpELL ChECk

pRoCESS

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pUbLICATIon:

City Palate

bLACk

pAnTonE

AD SIZE:

4.625" x 2.75"

House Cured Bresaola 13 14

Market Risotto

Total

$ 49

continued on page 28

CITYPALATE.ca JANUARY FEBRUARY 2013

LIVE AREA:

N/A

wAx

RiCHelle PeteRs studio manager D403 781 3379 F 403 262 9399 richelle@WAX.ca

The bill at CUCINA:

Tomato Insalata

pAnTonE

Great Cheap Eats Old Country Sausage Shop

continued from page 27

Cassis Bistro #105 - 2505 - 17th Avenue S.W. 403-262-0036 thecassisbistro.ca Allan Shewchuk and Pat Blocksom If you read food magazines, you’ll notice one ongoing lament – that, in France, the true bistro is dying. Little places that serve inexpensive wine and simple traditional regional food with good seasonal ingredients are becoming extinct. So, what a bonus that restaurateurs Gilles and Andrea Brassart decided to buck the trend and open Cassis Bistro last year in that bastion of southern French cuisine, Calgary. Knowing that they wanted a true bistro, they enlisted the services of chef Dominique Moussu (L’Epicerie) and created an authentic French experience with a short but excellent selection of wine, and an ever-changing classic menu of organic products all served up in a cozy space while classic French movies are projected onto one wall. Don’t worry – you won’t be paying much attention to the movie. The food is the star here and with excellent, knowledgable servers you will have a great dining experience unlike any other in Cowtown (sorry, La Ville de Vache). And... you won’t have to break the bank. The “starters,” which are more than appetizer size, range from $8 to $19 and are all excellent for sharing. These dishes are very regional French and include mushroom tart, seafood cassolette and beef tartare “au couteau.” For mains there are divine steak frites, duck leg confit and the plat du jour. Our favourite meal always starts with a glass of house wine each and the ridiculously good black olive tapenade with croutons, which immediately transports us to sunny France. We share a bountiful charcuterie plate which is piled high with delicious imported French ham, salamis, cornichons and orgasmic Dijon mustards. Frankly, this would be enough on its own accompanied, as it is, with never-ending fresh baguette. But, to balance the bread-centric meal, we split the huge seared chicken liver salad composed of tons of frisée and perfectly done livers in a port wine sauce that also serves as the perfect dressing for the greens. If you want to go lighter, you can do the wine, tapenade and charcuterie and be very continental by splitting a perfectly dressed mixed salad of B.C. heirloom tomato carpaccio, red onion and vinaigrette at the end of your meal. The tab (or, as the French say, l’addition) for either option is a real deal: (Alors. Bon. Voila. Oh, who am I kidding? My French speaking ended with my teacher, M.Thibault. But I feel totally Gallic whenever I go to Cassis and so will you, without spending beaucoup d’argent.)

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The bill at Cassis: 2 House Wines (red or white) Black Olive Tapenade

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CITYPALATE.ca JANUARY FEBRUARY 2013

Charcuterie Plate

Seared Chicken Liver Salad

Total

www.wpv.ca

$ 50

Carino Japanese Bistro+Wine 709 Edmonton Trail NE 403-984-7534 carinobistro.ca Karen Ralph and Roisin Hutchinson Bridgeland seems to have the perfect terroir for restaurants and the challenge to dine for $50 or less was the perfect excuse to head up Edmonton Tr. to Carino Japanese Bistro + Wine. Carino sounded like a dream come true: European and Japanese food together at last. I asked my friend Roisin Hutchinson to be my date and made an 8:30 reservation for a Saturday night. Located at the top of Edmonton Trail, Carino stands out. Intimate and elegant, the warm restaurant was inviting. I felt like we were about to discover a delicious secret. After a friendly greeting, we were led to our table and given menus. Owner Toshi Karino, formerly in charge of the wine program at Teatro, has created an excellent wine list for Carino with several well-priced glass pours. The food menu featured interesting dishes like mozzarella agedashi, calamari fritters, combining aioli and yuzu paste, and a teriyaki Kobe beef burger.

403 261 9003 • 230, 11 TH Ave S.e. • grumAnS.cA

We ordered two glasses of Vouvray. The golden, fruity, off-dry wine was only $9 a glass, leaving us with $32 for food. The seared fois gras on braised daikon in dashi broth was calling to us, and it would be delicious with the honeyed flavours in the wine. From insalata, we chose the shabu shabu salad on mixed greens with a yuzu vinaigrette and a side of steamed greens. The shabu shabu salad was easily large enough for two of us to share: a generous portion of thinly sliced, aromatic, slightly sweet beef sat atop a mound of mixed greens and shredded daikon. The cool crunch of the greens and daikon balanced the richness of the meat. Roisin and I almost bumped heads leaning in to inhale the intoxicating, earthy scent of the seared fois gras. The fois gras had a delicate, crisp crust that was invisible to the eye but cracked on the tongue, giving way to tender creaminess. The daikon was braised to a jelly-like consistency and literally melted in the mouth. We dipped baguette slices into the delicate, clear, amber-coloured dashi broth. The care, attention and expertise that went into creating these dishes extended to the side of perfectly al dente, emerald green, steamed broccolini. Every dish was an ode to delicious, umami savouriness. We finished every bite and we had no room or budget for dessert, but that gave us an excuse to go back. Carino is a magical restaurant and Toshi Karino has taken the best of Europe and Japan and combined them to create a new, authentic food experience. Bridgeland has always been Calgary’s cultural ground zero and Carino Japanese Bistro + Wine is a perfect fit. Reservations are recommended on the weekend.

The bill at Carino: 2 glasses of Vouvray @ $9 a glass

Shabu Shabu Salad

Seared Fois Gras on Braised Daikon

Steamed Greens Total

6 $ 50

continued on page 32

www.bernardcallebaut.com

CITYPALATE.ca JANUARY FEBRUARY 2013

ancy-ass The city palate

Marash Chiles

Marash Chiles from Turkey aren’t as hot as the chile flakes you see in the grocery store, so you can sprinkle them on your food for a small kick of heat that doesn’t make your eyes bleed. They have a smoky flavour and are pretty too. (Silk Road Spice Merchant)

Smoked Paprika

La Chinata smoked paprika is very addictive, it adds a hit of smoke and zip to soups, stews, nuts – whatever! You will find yourself adding it to everything or wishing that you had.

Dried Fruit, like cherries and apples

For cheese plates, kid’s lunches and great snackin’ food.

Banana Chips

Add another texture to salads, give a crunch to an ice cream sundae and make a great addition to trail mix.

Capers

For that salty, slightly herbal bite in tartar sauces and vinaigrettes or just tossed over a piece of grilled fish or added to a brown butter sauce. Salt-cured capers, too, and fat little caperberries.

Dried Rosebuds

To decorate and perfume dishes. They make a great tea and an interesting addition to a cocktail. Grind the buds with pepper and other spices to season couscous and rice. Mmmm, grind with pepper to season scallops that are sautéed in butter. Pretty as a cake decoration too. (The Cookbook Co. Cooks)

Pomegranate Molasses

For that sweet-sour hit in marinades and dressings. The magic ingredient in braised red cabbage. (Middle Eastern groceries)

Anchovies

Especially anchovy paste in a tube to add that umami – savoury deliciousness – depth to sauces, gravies, vinaigrettes, marinades, soups.

Canned Corn

Toss into soup, chili, stew, salads, corn bread.

Scarpone’s Fire Roasted Diced Tomatoes

The best thing that ever happened to pasta sauces, soups, stews. It’s that slightly charred flavour that elevates tomatoes to the next level of deliciousness.

Taste #5 Umami Paste

A luscious combination of Mediterranean ingredients – tomatoes, parmesan, mushrooms, anchovies, black olives, balsamic vinegar – in a tube that adds umami – savoury deliciousness – to everything it’s added to, like mayonnaise for a sandwich spread and tomato-based sauces. A suggestion on the box says to add it to fresh chopped tomatoes, torn arugula, basil, olive oil and grated lemon zest, then toss it with hot pasta. Yum! (The Cookbook Co. Cooks)

Emmanuelle Baillard Secrets de Cuisine Tomato Vinegar

Adds zest to salads and soups and makes great cocktails, like the “adult” caesar: shake 2 oz. Skyy ginger-infused vodka with 1 oz. tomato vinegar and a big squeeze of lemon juice. (Savour Fine Foods)

CITYPALATE.ca JANUARY FEBRUARY 2013

pantries

There are pantries, and then there are . The word “pantry” comes from the Old French, paneterie, a store for bread. These days, the French refer to a pantry as a garde-manger. We like to think that translates loosely as “guarding the edibles” – foodstuffs that are tucked safely away until we need them.

pantry

Our prediliction for wanting to dude up our food leads us to accumulate some pretty esoteric stuff. But it’s stuff that gets used. Herewith, a rundown on some ordinary, and a lot more un-ordinary, items in the City Palate Fancy-Ass Pantry. Perhaps you may gather a few new ideas for your own pantry – fancy-ass pantry staples offer you great options for gussying up your NOT so fancy-ass post-holiday cooking.

Maldon Sea Salt

Maldon is specially made to produce large, delicate flakes of salt. Use it as a finishing garnish for pleasant texture and wonderful, satisfying crunch.

Dried Wild Mushrooms

Makes winter soups, stews, sauces, risotto sooper-dooper.

Toasted Coconut Sugar

The lush aroma and flavour of fresh coconut – sprinkle it on top of cupcakes and lattes. (Salt Cellar, thesaltcellar.ca)

Variety of Olive Oils

Aggressive, grassy green Laudemio olive oil as a garnish on foods like tomatoes and grilled meats. A more mild-flavoured oil, such as California Olive Ranch, for more general uses like sautéing and frying.

Citrus-Flavoured Avocado Oil

Pacifica Culinaria – there are others too – light and infused with just the right note of lemon, lime, or blood orange, that elevates everything it touches. Drizzle on greens or roasted vegetables just out of the oven.

Walnut Oil

A beautiful addition to salads, especially with the addition of toasted walnuts. Make a salad of chopped apple and snap peas, toasted walnuts, a big squirt of lemon juice, salt and pepper and a generous drizzle of walnut oil. Toss together and allow to marinate in the fridge. When ready to eat, mix in a splodge of mayo. Serve on lettuce as a side salad or just snack on it.

Blue Door Oil & Vinegar’s Blood Orange Olive Oil The infusion of blood orange adds so much sparkle to the oil flavour and gives salads a real “wow!” factor.

Lavender-Infused Oil

Lovely drizzled on baked chicken and vegetables, or tossed with simple greens and lemon juice. It makes a surprisingly delightful addition to whipped cream for sweets too.

Quinoa

The powerhouse of goodness. Toss it with whatever fresh veg are in the fridge, crumbled feta, fresh herbs, nuts, seeds and a fave vinaigrette. A pretty, healthy, filling meal in a bowl. For a hot side dish, caramelize a whack of onions and roast some grape tomatoes, then set them aside. When your quinoa is cooked, toss with the onions and tomatoes. Combine the three colours – beige, red and black – for added attraction.

Skyy Vodka Infusions

Blood Orange, Lemon and Ginger – for a tasty cocktail while cooking.

Mrs. Balls South African Chutney

Added to curry is just the thing. The slogan in South Africa goes, “You can’t have a party without inviting Mrs Balls.” Nothing else like it in Canada. (SA Meat Shops in Kensington and Calgary Spiceland)

Fresh Lemons

A must in the fridge “pantry.” There’s hardly any dish that isn’t improved with a squeeze of lemon juice or a grate of zest to bring out its sparkle – salad dressing, soups and curries, meat and veg... everything. And, of course, a twist of zest into a martini.

And sometimes our favourite pantry item is a phone – to make a restaurant reservation. ✤ CITYPALATE.ca JANUARY FEBRUARY 2013

Great Cheap Eats

continued from page 29

Café Koi #100, 1011 - 1st St. SW 403-206-1564 cafekoi.com Al Drinkle and Anita Viitala Café Koi has a great vibe. It’s managed by nice people who hire nice people as servers and a seemingly perpetual flood of nice people frequent the premises every day. “So what the hell were you doing there?” you might ask. Hah! The word “karma” is to be found throughout the menu, so I have to tell this story. A couple of years ago my beloved bicycle was stolen and a mere two days later, while eating at Koi, a dubious character rode by on it right outside the very window where I was sitting! It was recovered in a semi-peaceful manner and I ride it to this day.

Slow Food Canada ®

Have you ever noticed that great restaurants are even more comforting on oppressive evenings? It was with great anticipation that my wife and I fought through the most severe ice and snow of the year for a pre-punk-show nosh at Café Koi. Our dietary propensities of vegetarianism (me) and gluten-intolerance (her) weren’t the least bit prohibitive (a point of pride at the establishment) and we were enjoying an order of “Yam-abushi!” before we knew it. This consisted of a generous portion of thick-cut, brightly seasoned yam wedges with just the perfect amount of char accompanied by both garlic coconut curry and ginger-inflected miso dipping sauces. As A Fistful of Dollars silently unfolded on the Koi movie screen and vintage music spiced up the room, we made short work of the delightful appetizer, agreeing on a slight preference for the miso sauce. With Anita handling the designated driving and the peppermint tea, I made a rare deviation from my persistent dedication to wine and washed the wedges down with Calgary’s own Wild Rose IPA. A pair of “bowls” graced the table next. I had enjoyed the Lotus Bowl in the past and was enticed to try it again. I must say that even as a veggie guy, I’m suspicious of tofu, but Koi nails its pan-seared rendition, included in this dish, every time. To my unsophisticated palate, the sauce is teriyaki inspired, but with skillful use of maple syrup instead of honey and with a spicier kick. Atop a heap of bok choy, broccoli, roasted almonds (the best part!), rice and the miraculously tasty tofu, it was both delicious and heartwarming. Anita’s Sea of Happiness bowl was equally inspiring and probably the most irresistibly aromatic dish on 1st Street that night. Mussels, prawns and salmon slabs swim amongst a bevy of veggies in a sublime and nimbly spicy coconut curry. Both dishes were happily delicious. Throughout the evening, the service was warm, casual and seamless, and as Eastwood put a bullet into Volontè on the screen, we parted with a mere $50 and made our way through the frozen streets completely satisfied with our evening of inexpensive overindulgence. ✤

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CITYPALATE.ca JANUARY FEBRUARY 2013

The bill at KOI Yam-Abushi 10 Lotus Bowl

Sea of Happiness

Wild Rose IPA

5.5

Organic Peppermint Tea

2.5

Total

$ 50

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Need Some Comforting?

Mac & Cheese A Short Guide to Classic

story and photos by Julie Van Rosendaal

EVERYONE loves a good mac & cheese, whether it’s home made or eaten bellied up to a booth in your favourite diner. When it’s cold outside and dark by dinner time, here are some great places in town to get a bowl of proper mac & cheese – and how to make it yourself if your plan is to curl up on the couch with a bowl of bubbly, cheesy carbs.

1. FARM is known for its cheesy dishes – its homemade mac & cheese is no exception. Janice Beaton, cheese meister extraordinaire and owner of FARM is an expert when it comes to anything cheesy. Her secret? “Fabulous cheese, plus kick-ass mustard and some hot chiles,” she says of her famous penne mac & cheese, served in the restaurant or available at Janice Beaton Fine Cheese to take home and bake. Beaton’s bubbling, mildly spicy mac & cheese comes straight up ($13) or add a Broek Pork Acres smoked ham hock for $3. 1006 - 17 Ave. SW, farm-restaurant.com

2. The Fine Diner offers creamy, home-made, threecheese mac & cheese, topped with crumbs and baked with additions like thick-cut bacon or prosciutto, veggies or jalapeños ($12-$14). It also offers the option of gluten-free pasta. 1420 - 9 Ave. SE, finedinercalgary.com

3. Taste Restaurant serves up a popular mac & cheese made with aged cheddar and parmesan ($11). 1210 - 1 St. SW, taste-restaurant.com

4. The Palomino serves up mac & cheese with white cheddar, smoked cheddar and blue cheese ($13). Of course, you can add pulled pork, brisket, chicken or double-smoked bacon for $4. 109 - 7 Ave. SW, thepalomino.ca

5. Cheezy Bizness food truck folks serve Mac Melts – that’s right, mac & cheese right inside your grilled cheese sandwich. Once a week, they tweet the hash tag #macmelts when serving this gooey goodness. You can find them on twitter @cheezybiz or at cheezybizness.com

CITYPALATE.ca JANUARY FEBRUARY 2013

Prima Donna Mac & Cheese with Bacon & Chard (or Not) Use a single cheese or a combination in this creamy classic mac. I like sharp cheddar, gouda or prima donna – a Dutch cows’ milk cheese that’s similar to gouda (available at the Dutch Cash & Carry, 3815 - 16 St. SE). For a gluten-free version, use brown rice pasta and rice flour to thicken the sauce, and swap the bread crumb topping for more cheese. If you’re a mac & cheese purist, ditch the onions, bacon and/or chard altogether. 3/4 lb. elbow macaroni 6-8 slices bacon, chopped 1 small onion, finely chopped 2 garlic cloves, crushed 1 small bunch Swiss chard, ribs removed and roughly chopped 1/4 c. butter 1/4 c. flour 3 c. milk 3-4 c. (about 250 g) grated aged cheddar, gouda or prima donna or a combination salt and pepper to taste

Crumb topping: 2 slices white sandwich bread, torn into chunks 1/4 c. freshly grated parmesan 2 T. butter, melted

These recipes are on our website

Preheat oven to 350°F. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta according to the package directions. Drain and return to the pot. Set aside. Meanwhile, in a heavy skillet or medium saucepan, cook the bacon and onions until the bacon is crisp and the onions are starting to turn golden. Drain any excess fat and add the garlic and chard; sauté for a few minutes, until the chard wilts. Add the mixture to the pasta. Return the empty pan to the heat and add the butter. When the foam subsides, add the flour and cook, stirring, for a minute. Gradually whisk in about a cup of the milk, whisk until smooth, and then add the remaining milk. Cook over medium heat, whisking often, until the mixture comes to a boil; let it boil gently for a minute or two, whisking constantly. Stir in the cheese, remove from the heat and continue to stir until the cheese melts and the sauce is smooth. Season with salt and pepper. Add the cheese sauce to the pasta, bacon and chard and stir everything together. In the bowl of a food processor, pulse the bread to crumbs; add the parmesan and butter and pulse to blend well. Pour the pasta mixture into an appropriately-sized baking dish (9”x13” is about right, or any casserole that will accommodate it), scatter the crumbs overtop and bake for 45 minutes, until bubbly around the edges and golden on top. Serves 6.

Baked Mac & Cheese Mac & cheese that doesn’t come out of a box is something everyone should be able to make. It doesn’t require much more time or effort than KD, and is the ultimate in comfort food. Experiment by adding different cheeses – intensely flavoured ones such as gruyère or blue cheese are best. It’s a great way to get rid of leftover cheese bits you might have lurking in the fridge. 1/2 lb. (250 g) dry macaroni, whole wheat rotini, small shells or other pasta salt 1/4 c. butter 1/4 c. flour 3 c. milk 3 c. grated old cheddar, aged gouda, or any combo of cheeses you have in the fridge

Bread Crumb Topping (optional): 1-2 slices sandwich bread, torn into pieces 3 T. melted butter or olive oil 1/4 c. grated parmesan

In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the pasta until it’s tender but still al dente. Drain well in a colander and set aside. Preheat the oven to 350°F. In the empty pot (no need to wash it out), melt the butter over medium heat. Add the flour and stir well with a whisk, cooking for a minute or so until the mixture starts to turn golden. Stir in the milk and bring the sauce to a boil, whisking constantly. (The sauce must reach a full boil in order for the flour to reach its full thickening potential.) Reduce the heat and simmer for a few minutes, until the mixture is nice and thick. Remove the sauce from the heat and stir in the cheese until it melts. Add salt to taste, then stir in the drained pasta. If you want a bread crumb topping, pulse the bread, butter and parmesan in a food processor until the bread turns to crumbs and the mixture is well blended. Pour the macaroni and cheese into an appropriately sized baking dish and top with the bread crumbs or additional cheese. (The mac & cheese can be made up to 24 hours ahead and refrigerated in the baking dish; sprinkle with the crumb mixture or cheese right before you bake it.) Bake for 15-20 minutes, until bubbly around the edges and the topping is golden. Serves 4 to 6. ✤

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Food writer Julie Van Rosendaal has published several cookbooks and blogs on dinnerwithjulie.com. CITYPALATE.ca JANUARY FEBRUARY 2013

Satisfying a Culinary Craving Studying to be a chef at SAIT by Dan Clapson

In the world of Food Network glitz, filled with the over-glamorization of all things culinary, you have to wonder why it is that some people want to go to school to become a chef. Is it because of years of lying on the couch, watching television, hoping to be “the next” Bobby Flay or Rachael Ray, or is it that earnest little spark inside that’s saying, “I just want to cook something great.” For humanity’s sake, let’s hope it’s the latter.

“I was incredibly naive before starting at SAIT,” student Theresa De Beaudrap says. “My prior cooking experience had always been in my own house, which was relaxing. So, when I started I was shocked, to say the least, at how physically demanding a job like this is.” De Beaudrap is not your typical chef-to-be. She is a retired school teacher and now second-year student in SAIT’s Professional Cooking program. “I have always had a passion for food. When I was a teacher, I would model writing for the kids in my classroom and would write: “When I grow up, I want to be a chef and learn how to cook for other people.” Then, the kids always said: “But Ms. De Beaudrap, you are a grown up!” Although, she’s not quite sure where the completion of her degree will take her, you can tell, just by looking in her eyes, that she is excited for new opportunities. “Right now I think this is a bridge between retirement and another possibility, but that possibility hasn’t yet been defined. Perhaps something in catering or volunteering that would link me to the culinary world.” Another student, new to the kitchen, is Zahra Setork. Originally from Iran, Setork moved to Canada almost five years ago with a masters in political science. Her degree was not applicable in Canada, so Setork decided to pursue her second love – cooking. “My mom was a really bad cook. She was terrible!” says Setork, laughing. “So, I always loved to cook. Her weakness inspired me!” For Setork, relatively new to the country, the road to a culinary degree has been more challenging than for others. “Everything was new to me. I was not familiar with most of the ingredients. I’ve never been in this kind of kitchen environment before, but I wanted to learn from scratch. I don’t like short cuts and want to learn things properly.” Though she may be one of the greenest in the batch, just by watching her work, you can tell by her focus that a successful path lies ahead. As for life after school, Setork is hoping to open a small restaurant specializing in Persian cuisine. “I want to save money to open a small restaurant, but I need to spend more time working in a kitchen, to see what’s happening and learn.”

As with any profession, there can be many reasons why a person chooses cooking as a career. For some, it may be the future responsibility of a family restaurant resting on their shoulders, and for others it could simply be a creative outlet for their love of food. After choosing to study in Calgary, people signing up for the two-year culinary program at SAIT have two avenues: Professional Cooking and Baking, and Pastry Arts. In addition to regular classes and labs on the main campus, students gain hands-on experience during rotations at The Highwood Dining Room and the downtown Culinary Campus, as well as a 10-week internship at a local restaurant. Regardless of the reason for enrolling, most people don’t anticipate the intensity of the two-year program that lies ahead of them.

CITYPALATE.ca JANUARY FEBRUARY 2013

Inspiration is integral for aspiring chefs, something that not only comes from inside, but from outside too, from teachers. Fresh to his role as an instructor, chef Michael Dekker left an esteemed executive chef position with Rouge restaurant last summer to take on the challenge of SAIT’s new Culinary Campus in Calgary’s downtown in the Scotia Centre at 226, 230 - 8th Ave. SW. Working with large groups of students is new for the talented chef (a SAIT alumnus), but he welcomes the challenge with open arms. “I’ve always enjoyed the teaching aspect of our profession,” says Dekker, continued on page 44

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“Cooking is so much work!” Tips, tricks and techniques from a chef. by Patrick Dunn

“Cooking is so much work!” As a chef who teaches cooking classes, I can’t tell you how often I’ve heard that. Many people don’t cook because they believe that cooking tasty, healthy meals takes too much of their limited time. What people don’t realize is that they’re often doing unnecessary things and making the cooking process longer than it needs to be. In the customized private, public and corporate cooking classes I teach, I’ve learned a few things about how people cook by observing them. Here are some of the ways your cooking time might be wasted, but you can get it back by following simple tips, tricks and techniques that make cooking quicker, easier and more fun. Some of these may surprise you.

Cookbooks

Cooking can take a long time. There are plenty of cookbooks with recipes that are two and three pages long. If you’re starting out or getting re-acquainted with cooking, look for recipes online and in books that are no more than a page in length. You’ll figure out quickly which recipes scare you, and which ones make you say, “I could make that!”

Spices and herbs

I’m an herb and spice freak. A spice is a dried seed, fruit, root or bark used as a food additive for flavour, colour, or as a preservative. Herbs are leafy, green plant parts used for flavouring and colour. Both require very little to showcase their great culinary qualities. Purchasing spices in seed form and toasting them yields a superior taste. Toast spices following these simple steps: Place a wide frying pan on your stove over medium-high heat and add your whole spices. No oil is required for this process. Periodically shake or stir the spices, just like you would if you were toasting nuts, in order to evenly toast the seeds.You’ll know you’re getting close when the spices start darkening and their aroma fills the air. Transfer the spices to a coffee grinder or a mortar and pestle.

Kitchen gadgets

There are definitely time-saving gadgets, like a few of mine – a monkey-shaped vegetable peeler, a “rastafarian” potato masher, microplane grater and a mandoline. But if possible, I’ll use my hands to get the job done. Hands are quicker and easier to clean, and don’t take up space on your counter top and in your drawers.

Cutting boards

I have two cutting boards, one for meats and other proteins, the other for everything else. Two boards reduce the risk of cross-contamination. Even having cutting boards of different sizes for smaller and larger jobs is handy. My favourite are lightweight, dishwasher-friendly cutting boards made of many layers of recycled paper and resin that make clean-up a snap. Plastic cutting boards are falling out of favour due to bacteria that can reside in the cut marks left behind from sharp knives. Glass and marble cutting boards are the quickest way to dull your knives.

Knives

I’m frequently asked which knife brand is the best. The best knife is the one that feels the most comfortable in your hand and gets the job done. A heavier, thicker Henckel knife may be a good choice for a wrestler. A lighter, shorter, Japanese knife would be suitable for a ballerina. A good knife purveyor will be able to help you find the right knives, but it’s partly intuitive. The right knife for you just feels comfortable. A chef’s knife, a bread knife and a paring knife are all you really need for cooking. Keeping your knives sharp will help you get the job done faster.

Salad greens

I’m still working on my green thumb, so I salute those of you who have beautiful crops. If you grow lettuce, rinse the dirt off it and spin it dry. Store-bought salad blends can be hit-and-miss as far as cleanliness goes, so I use a very simple method to determine their cleanliness: place your greens in a bowl big enough for both of your hands to move around in. Pick up a handful of the greens and rub your fingers gently through them. If you feel anything dirty or gritty, wash them. If not, don’t bother.

CITYPALATE.ca JANUARY FEBRUARY 2013

Grind the spices until they’re powdered, then store them in a glass jar and away from heat sources. Delicate herbs, such as basil, cilantro, chives, and parsley, will release their flavour by simply tearing apart their leaves with your hands before adding them to your dish. If they’re being added to a hot dish, be sure to add them at the very end of the cooking process to retain their colour and flavour. Stronger, more savoury herbs such as rosemary, thyme, sage and bay leaves can handle heat for longer periods of time, and cooking mellows their robust personalities. Pluck the leaves off rosemary and thyme stems for sauces, rubs and dressings, especially when their stalks and stems are tough and woody. If you’re cooking a roast or a stew, or prepping ingredients for a slow cooker recipe, just throw the whole herb in, stem and all. Better yet, tie a few stems together with a twist tie or string – the French call this a bouquet garni. That way, you get the flavour you want, then you can toss the spent herbs afterwards in one easy-to-dispose package. To store fresh herbs, this is the best trick ever. Wash and pat your herbs dry. Place them in a storage container with a raw egg still in its shell. Seal the container and keep it in your fridge. You’ll have fresh, crisp herbs for up to two weeks. The semi-permeable membrane of the egg shell allows excess moisture to be absorbed into the egg. Eventually, built-up pressure inside the egg will cause it to crack. Up to that point the egg is totally edible – it will merely take on some of the herbs’ colour and fragrance.

Ginger

You don’t have to peel ginger as long as the ginger root is clean. You can freeze ginger in a small Ziploc bag. When you need some, remove it from the freezer and immediately grate it on a fine grater. The result is fluffy, “snowflaked” ginger. Just be sure to return any unused ginger to the freezer, otherwise you’ll end up with a ginger sponge.

Garlic

People love the flavour, but not the labour that goes into removing the skin. Here’s an easy way to peel garlic. Snip a bit of the rounded bottom off a garlic clove. Lay your chef’s knife on top of the clove and give it a good smash. The skin will come off easily. continued on page 46

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Rappie Pie

“It’s cheap, it feeds lots of people and everyone likes it.” story and photos by Jessica Patterson by Marielle Boudreau-Cormier and Melvin Gallant, and, armed with glasses of wine and Great Big Sea playing in the background, we went to work. I coarsely grated five pounds of russet potatoes into long strands with my four-sided box grater, and chopped two white onions and put them into a large pot with a quartered chicken to make stock. While the stock was simmering, I squeezed the juice out of the grated potatoes for all I was worth. They turned pinkish brown, oxidizing like cut apples. Soon, the potato juice was brown too, and a thick layer of starch coated the bottom of the bowl. The next step was to reconstitute the potatoes with the chicken stock we’d been simmering on the stove. I dumped my potatoes into the pot with the chicken and stirred. The potatoes turned a sickly grey colour, but I persevered. I layered potatoes and chicken into a baking pan, according to the directions, then put the pan in the oven. Two hours later, our finished rappie pie was grey, slimy and glutinous – not what I remembered. My memories were of light, golden, chicken-flavoured potatoes, with a creamy consistency. As I found out from my Acadian friends in Calgary – Cindy Corriveau and her mother Vel LeBlanc – rappie pies are as different from one another as the people who make them. Corriveau grew up watching her parents make rappie pie. Râpure was a traditional Christmas dish in her childhood home in Yarmouth. “They started early on Christmas Eve day, and by the early evening, they put it in the oven, went to mass, and ate it when they got home.” These days, rappie pie is still served as a Christmas tradition in her house, and Corriveau’s mother still makes it. LeBlanc has been making rappie pie since she was old enough to help in the kitchen. “My mom made it all the time,” she says, adding that her mother’s was much better then her own, with a beautiful golden crust. “Everyone’s is different.”

After five years of living in Calgary, having had more beef on a bun than I could stand, I recently found myself desperate for a taste of home – specifically, for one of the dishes I ate with abandon in my childhood. I wanted rappie pie. To my 10-yearold mind, it was chicken and potatoes, but there was something different about its slightly sticky consistency, something reminiscent of Dad’s chicken pot-pie that made rappie pie one of my favourite dishes. It was delicious comfort food. Now, don’t raise your eyebrows – hear me out. I grew up in the Land of Evangeline, also known as Nova Scotia’s Annapolis Valley. There, Acadian culture is as alive today as it was in the early 1600s, when the settlers from France first came ashore. In the counties of Clare, Digby and Yarmouth, present-day descendants of those early Acadians still hold traditions close, especially in the kitchen. Rappie pie – pâté à la râpure or simply râpure – is the name of an Acadian dish of grated raw potatoes mixed with meat and vegetables and baked. The protein part might include rabbit, chicken, mussels, clams, pork, beef or venison. This savoury dish has been popular throughout Nova Scotia, P.E.I. and New Brunswick for generations and is unique to that part of the country. In the French-speaking areas of the Maritimes, each pocket of Acadian culture has its own unique variations. Though rappie pie doesn’t exist in Calgary restaurants, the dish is alive and well in some Calgarians’ kitchens. This dish’s culinary origins are shrouded by the veil of time. Some say the concoction was a way of stretching the family’s meat supply. Others say it was a good way to get copious amounts of starchy water (from the potatoes) for the week’s laundry. No one really knew the origins of the dish – it’s simply a cultural mainstay that’s been passed down through generations of Acadians. Determined to revive childhood flavours by making a rappie pie, I asked my foodie boyfriend to help. We found a recipe in an Acadian cookbook, A Taste of Acadie

CITYPALATE.ca JANUARY FEBRUARY 2013

Corriveau and LeBlanc invited me to prepare rappie pie with them. They started with the stock, simmering the chicken with the chopped onions, some chicken fat and salt, for about two hours. After an hour and a half, they grated the potatoes. I learned that the potato texture should be mushy and slightly frothy, like creamed wheat. They began squeezing the potatoes through cheesecloth to remove the water. Then they poured the hot chicken broth onto the potato. (Not dumping the potatoes into the broth, as I had in my earlier attempt.) They told me that it’s important to put the same amount of chicken broth back into the ‘taters as the amount of water you squeezed out. The consistency of the potatoes will be like oatmeal. Then, in a large square pan, Corriveau and her mother layered potatoes on the bottom, covered them with onions and chicken, and added another layer of potatoes. They placed butter chunks on top, though LeBlanc says the original recipe calls for little cubes of pork fat. It turned out beautiful and golden-brown and delicious. My second attempt at re-inventing flavours from my childhood, with the hands-on knowledge I’d gleaned from Corriveau and LeBlanc, turned out remarkably better than my first. But it wasn’t perfect, so I turned to Calgarian Zac Ryan. Ryan grew up in Weymouth, Nova Scotia, which is located between Digby and Yarmouth on the southwest shore. He moved to Calgary in 2002. Ryan’s father’s family is Acadian, and the transplanted Maritimer grew up eating rappie pie. “It’s a typical meal in my region of Nova Scotia. We made it for special occasions, because it’s cheap, it feeds lots of people and everyone likes it.” Rappie pie is a staple in Ryan’s Calgary home. He believes his aunt taught him how to make it just right. He’s been making râpure for five years – he’s a pro at it now. Ryan’s favourite version of rappie pie is made with quahog clams (bar clams). “I have my family ship me jars of the clams so I can use them in my râpure,” he says. “I also make rappie pie with chicken, on occasion, but prefer quahog clams. I think the quahog thing is regional to Clare county because quahog râpure is the most popular kind.” For me, rappie pie has again become a comfort food in my home. I am finally proficient at making it, after my third, fourth and fifth attempts. And my inner 10-year-old is all smiles. continued on page 45

KNITSPIRATION

CITYPALATE.ca JANUARY FEBRUARY 2013

resno F

is all about fresh, local food by Colleen Seto

As I explained to Jason, I felt that while everything in Calgary’s great outdoors was, for the most part, frozen, Fresno would offer a warm and welcoming reprieve. It would be teeming with life as its many crops were budding. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Fresno County is the top agricultural county in the U.S. with its $6 billion industry, not to mention the third largest wine region in California. The thriving wine industry is not surprising, since the southern San Joaquin Valley has the perfect climate for grape growing. In fact, the area is home to 95 percent of the state’s raisin and table grape vineyards (remember those bizarrely popular singing California Raisins?) and 70 percent of the state’s wine grapes, as well as a number of wineries. (We discovered that there are separate vineyards for raisin grapes, table grapes and wine grapes.) Since we were smack in the middle of wine country, we decided we should sample some. We dropped in to CRU Wine Company’s tasting room (cruwinecompany.com) in Madera, just outside Fresno, to tease our taste buds and stretch our legs. It’s a mere five bucks to sample from CRU’s portfolio of hand-crafted wines, including award-winning pinot noir and chardonnay. It was still morning, and my stomach was empty, so the wine went straight to my head. Nothing like starting the day with a good buzz! While grapes are the top crop here, they’re not all that’s grown in abundance in Fresno County. Something is always being harvested, whether it’s almonds, peaches, plums, apricots, nectarines, tomatoes, bell peppers, cantaloupe, lettuce, pistachios, or oranges – and the list goes on. When we finally hit Fresno, our growling tummies led us to the Mediterranean Grill, an unassuming hole-in-the-wall that’s only open for a four-hour lunch rush – and rush it was, as the place was jam-packed! The food was delicious and the service friendly. Cranky from the drive, baby Annabel refused to play nice. Our server suggested that his mom could rock her to sleep while we ate, but I declined, since even my fussy baby couldn’t divert me from my flavourful rice pilaf and tangy Lebanese chicken. After we filled up, we made our way to Blossom Bluff Orchards (blossombluff.com), a family-owned farm, located just beyond Fresno in the town of Parlier. We were too late in the season for many blossoms, though I did see a few trees still in bloom. A highlight of touring Fresno County is doing the Blossom Trail, made up of endless rows of fruit trees in full bloom. The best time for this is from the end of February to the middle of March. After that, Blossom Trail morphs into Fruit Trail. We bounded down a country road and eventually pulled up to a quaint blue farmhouse, situated on a bluff overlooking Kings River. Out came Ted and Fran Loewen to welcome us. This had been Fran’s family farm since 1931. Her parents farmed it, and before that, her grandparents. “I still remember my grandma baking in here,” Fran said of the cozy kitchen, as she took me on a tour of the house. Ted and Fran took over the farm more than 20 years ago from Fran’s father, Herb, who also passed along his farming know-how. But Ted decided to make some changes by joining California Clean Growers, an association whose members practice sustainable farming methods, such as restoring soil fertility, encouraging beneficial insects and minimizing reliance on pesticides. Now the farm is certified organic and grows up to 175 varietals of fruits chosen for flavour, not durability. The Loewen children are the fourth generation to work the 80-acre farm – one of only two family farms remaining in the area. Blossom Orchards supplies restaurants and bakeries, as well as local grocers, and sells at farmers’ markets, including San Francisco’s Ferry Plaza. As we noshed on sun-dried mandarin oranges on the front deck – the Loewens also dry plums, pluots, peaches, nectarines and persimmons – I got the impression that this place gives its inhabitants a real bond with the earth as they respectfully work it to reap its rewards. Fruit farming ain’t for the faint of heart, however.

It seems many Canadians have heard of Fresno, a three-hour drive southeast of San Francisco, yet few have actually made the trek to this agricultural cornucopia in the heart of the San Joaquin Valley. The San Joaquin is the southern half of California’s Central Valley, bordered by the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range to the east and the Coast Range to the west.

CITYPALATE.ca JANUARY FEBRUARY 2013

Ted added, “I’m gratified when people say, ‘This peach tastes great.’ It seems that what we do here helps make life a bit better.” Sitting in the warm California sun, munching on the Loewens’ delectable fruit, it sure felt that way. This enterprising family has moved beyond farming into agri-tourism, offering tours of their farm to share what they do – a mindful evolution. We left with packets of dried fruit and a bag of juicy oranges in hand, and headed back to Fresno to investigate the area’s six farmers’ markets. The Vineyard Farmers’ Market (vineyardfarmersmarket.com), in particular, is the place to see Fresno County’s full-blown harvest in action. The market showcases a colourful array of fruits, vegetables, flowers, juices, cheeses, nuts and artisanal chocolates beneath an open-air, vine-covered arbour, every Wednesday and Saturday. The market’s producers must be located within two hours of Fresno to participate, and the focus is on things organic. continued on page 45

photos courtesy Fresno/Clovis Convention & Visitors Bureau

Last April, I packed up my family – husband Jason and baby Annabel – and set off for California, desperate to escape the tail end of a cold and dreary Calgary winter. After spending a couple of days acclimatising in San Francisco, we piled into our car and hurtled along Highway 99 towards Fresno, California’s fifth largest city. A friend had suggested we visit it. En route, Jason turned to me and said, as had everyone else I’d told about this trip, “Tell me why we’re going to Fresno?”

“Fruit orchards are a big commitment,” Fran explained. “It takes three years before you see fruit, but we love it, especially meeting our customers. Food connects people.”

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Calling all restaurant cooks! Ever wondered what a fresh baguette tastes like from a Paris bakery? Or how tuna is prepared by the sushi chefs in Tokyo? Or why Morocco is the spice capital of the world?

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CITYPALATE.ca JANUARY FEBRUARY 2013

Satisfying a Culinary Craving continued from page 36

In Downtown Calgary

R E S TA U R A N T & L O U N G E

Dekker continues, “The best thing about working with our students is watching how they progress during their time with us. Not much compares to the satisfaction of developing the skills to make something of your passion.”

Due to its location, the Culinary Campus is an extremely fast-paced environment that challenges the students to put all they’ve learned in their program into action. “They’re getting real-life experiences, face-to-face with customers on time-constrained lunch breaks. We have a discerning clientele and we do large volume,” Dekker explains. “It’s great that our students have an opportunity like this, while still remaining in a learning environment.”

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CITYPALATE.ca JANUARY FEBRUARY 2013

The perfect omelette continued from page 24

“I wanted a chance to foster the next generation of cooks and really get to work with their enthusiasm and help that grow my career in this dynamic new setting.”

The slick new downtown space, which opened in the fall, operates as a hands-on restaurant experience for second-year students in SAIT’s culinary degree program. Groups of student cooks are brought into the Culinary Campus in three-week rotations. Once arrived, they prep and execute daily baking, pastry and lunch service to an onslaught of busy downtown professionals looking for some quality sustenance.

French Inspired & Locally Grown.

feeding people

An Omelette with a bit more... If you’re feeling like a more substantial omelette, heat up some butter or oil and sauté a variety of ingredients that you find in your fridge: asparagus bits, spinach, roasted red peppers, cooked bacon, sausage, cooked potatoes, artichoke hearts – one or all of the above. Create a yummy filling. Once the omelette is set and you are ready to fold it over, add a big spoonful or two of your cooked, warm mixture and maybe some grated cheese on top, then fold the omelette in half and serve. Garnish it with minced chives or fresh herbs.

The quick service “grab-and-go” setup here is far from a simple marketplace. Here, a hungry patron may find something like wild mushroom risotto – made to order – topped with chicken confit and chicharrón – pork skin deep-fried into a honeycombed puff – ready in minutes, for only $7. Now, that’s one hell of a deal! With De Beaudrap and Setork’s class only a few months from graduation, there will be a whole fleet of newly groomed culinary professionals about to find their way in various culinary worlds, and a fresh, new batch of eager students beginning in the fall. If there’s one piece of advice to hang onto to help get through culinary school, De Beaudrap says this: “You have to be passionate about this, because it’s hard work. It’s stressful, it requires serious time commitment and personal sacrifice. It has to be your passion.” She couldn’t have said it better. ✤ Dan Clapson blogs on dansgoodside.com (the good side of food) and runs Start From Scratch.

Simple Vinaigrette for Your Salad 1 T. olive oil 1 t. flavourful vinegar 1 t. grainy mustard 1 t. honey pinch of salt

Mix the ingredients together with a fork until they’re emulsified, and use the vinaigrette to dress your salad greens.

Rappie Pie continued from page 40

Fresno is all about fresh, local food continued from page 42

Rappie Pie You can make variations by substituting seafood or pork for the chicken. 1 whole chicken, cut into large pieces 1 onion, chopped salt and pepper 10 lb. russet potatoes, or new white potatoes 1/2 sweet onion, like Walla Walla, minced salt and pepper to taste butter

Have the following at the ready: a potato peeler, two box graters, cheesecloth, several extra basins or bowls, and an extra set of hands or two. Preheat the oven to 400 F. Put the chicken into a large pot with cold water to cover, and bring it to a boil. Add the chopped onion, salt and pepper. Simmer the chicken until it’s tender, about 2 hours. Remove the chicken from the pot and let it cool enough to handle, then pull the meat from the bones into bite-sized pieces. Strain the onions from the broth and reserve both. Peel the potatoes, putting them into a bowl of cold water as they’re peeled. Grate the potatoes, using the shredding side of a box grater. (Note: as potato oxidizes, it turns pink. Speed is essential at this part of the process – you don’t want the potatoes to turn brown.) The potatoes will be mushy and half liquid. Squeeze all of the liquid out of the potato through cheesecloth, until they’re quite dry. Measure and make note of the amount of liquid you remove from the potatoes. Bring the chicken broth back to a boil. Add as much broth to the potatoes as the amount of liquid you squeezed out. Blend the broth and potatoes with a hand-held mixer for two minutes, or stir them until they’re thoroughly mixed. Salt and pepper to taste. Butter a deep 9"x 12” foil baking dish liberally. Spread half the potatoes on the bottom of the pan followed by a layer of the chicken topped with the minced sweet onion. Cover with the other half of the potatoes. Dot dollops of butter over the top. Bake the rappie pie for 1-1/2 hours, covered for the first hour. Broil it for the last 4 to 5 minutes for a beautiful browned top. Serve hot with vegetables and/or a green salad. Feeds lots of people, like 6 or 8, depending on portion size. ✤ Jessica Patterson is a Calgary-based freelance journalist. When she’s not gobbling the comfort foods of her childhood, she often digs through City Palate for interesting recipes to share with her family and friends.

The next morning we woke to an unseasonal rain. We opted to stay dry and visited the Hye Quality Bakery (hyequalitybakery.com), originators of America’s first soft cracker bread in 1980 – the Hye Roller. It’s shipped all over the country every day. Its origins lie in authentic Armenian cracker bread, which the bakery has been making since 1957. The Hye Roller is a soft, white, round flatbread that’s great for making wrapped or rolled sandwiches. We watched as blobs of dough were rolled out, baked and packaged, all onsite at the now semi-automated bakery. Afterward, we chowed down on fresh baked cracker bread – an instant hit with all of us, especially Annabel. We spent the rest of our three days poking around Fresno’s neighbourhoods, dining on local produce at every opportunity. Coming from a place with a growing season that’s shorter than the Mediterranean Grill’s lunch rush, we gobbled up as much fresh, seasonal goodness as possible. Fresno must be one of the few places in North America that can boast a fresh fruit delivery service – what was hanging from trees only hours before is delivered to your office, ready to eat. RIPENOW (ripenowonline.com) helps Fresno businesses provide healthy workplace snacks by supporting local farmers. RIPENOW susses out what’s at peak ripeness, then selects, packages and delivers fruit orders direct to businesses – a concept we Calgarians can only dream of. So the next time someone asks me, “Why go to Fresno?” I’ll have my answer ready. Go there to eat fresh local food, and lots of it. Visit playfresno.org to plan your trip. ✤ Colleen Seto pounds out prose for the likes of Avenue, up! and Canadian Living. Find her at colleenseto.blogspot.com. CITYPALATE.ca JANUARY FEBRUARY 2013

Home of the Wor Wonton

Serving soul-satisfying soup for over 30 years

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“Cooking is so much work!” continued from page 38

Washing mushrooms

Contrary to popular myth, mushrooms are not grown in a steaming pile of manure. Commercially grown mushrooms are grown in treated, often organic, compost. If your fresh mushrooms have black specs on them, just take a damp cloth and wipe them off. Mushrooms absorb water easily, so don’t wash them. Wild mushrooms:

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7070 – 11th Street SE • 252-6612 (across from Trail Appliances)

3449 – 12 Street NE • 291-3538 (across from Timber Town)

Foothills Industrial Park

Kings Restaurant

7800 – 30th Street SE • 236-4224 (next to Sobey’s Warehouse)

104 Meridian Road NE • 272-2332 (Centre Ave. & Barlow Trail)

Plus come see us at our NEW LOCATION!

52 Street & 72 Ave SE (across from the Subway Soccer Centre) home of the wor wonton

wontonking.com

Wild mushrooms are going to have much more dirt on them than cultivated mushrooms. For example, morels are cavernous. Let morels soak in a big bowl of cold water, giving them the occasional stir. You’ll see dirt settle to the bottom of the bowl after about 20 minutes. Gently squeeze excess water from the mushrooms, then dry them in a salad spinner or on a big cloth before preparing them for the recipe.

Washing meat to remove bacteria

I once got in a debate with a friend over this subject. We had two beautiful pieces of trout, and I was excited to season mine and put it on the grill. She insisted that it needed to be washed to remove bacteria from its surface. I tried to explain that there is no scientific evidence to support her claim – rinsing proteins will not remove or kill bacteria. Worse still, rinsing adds moisture, which makes it much more difficult to get that wonderful grilled/seared caramelization that makes proteins taste so good. She washed her trout anyway and drowned it, much to my dismay.

home of the wor wonton

kingsrestaurant.net

Stay Connected! Be notified of monthly promotions by joining our “I EAT AT KING’S RESTAURANT” group and our “WONTON KING” page.

city palate

The Cookbook Co. CookS

invite you to enjoy a unique, communal dining experience...

A Long Table Dinner

Searing, Frying and Grilling

I risk alienating some readers by saying this, but we men like to think this is our domain when it comes to cooking. We’re proud peacocks once in front of our grills proclaiming, “Don’t worry honey, I’ve got this covered.” For all you grill kings – AND queens – here are some tips that’ll help you maintain your reputation: Your cooking surface needs to be really hot. Putting meat in a cold pan or on a cool barbecue will cause the meat to stick and tear. Pat any excess moisture off the meat. This will help achieve grill marks, searing colour and the light caramelization of the meat that adds to its flavour. Some barbecue aficionados recommend wiping your barbecue grill with oil to help prevent sticking. I put a little oil on the meat instead – it produces less smoke than oil on the grill. For pan searing, use a hot pan and high-smoke-point oil such as grapeseed, peanut, coconut, or avocado. Or use oil and butter in equal amounts. You’ll know your grill/pan is hot enough when the meat sears loudly and proudly when it touches it. No sizzle? Not hot enough. Once the meat is sizzling in the pan or on the barbecue, leave it alone. If it resists when you try to flip it, it’s saying, “I’m not ready! Go get another beer!” Over-flipping causes the outer flesh to overcook, which can create an impenetrable barrier so the heat doesn’t reach the middle of the meat. What you end up with is a well-done exterior and sushi-like rawness on the inside. You’ll know when it’s time to flip the meat when you’re able to easily lift it away from the grill/pan and your grill marks/searing colour is visible. Determining meat doneness with your finger tips is a practiced skill that should be used in conjunction with an instant-read thermometer – it’s fast and accurate.

A fabulous, seasonal 5-course meal, served family-style, prepared by the chefs at The Cookbook Co. Cooks, with wine pairings by the sommeliers at Metrovino.

February 8th at 6:30 p.m. 724 -11th Avenue SW – next door to The Cookbook Co. and Metrovino Tickets $95, available at The Cookbook Co., 403-265-6066, ext 1.

CITYPALATE.ca JANUARY FEBRUARY 2013

There are many more tips, tricks and techniques that are time saving, interesting and easy to learn, but I hope these few suggestions have encouraged you to try a few new things in the kitchen. Recipes are a great road map to show us how someone else got there, but one of the joys of cooking is to find your own path. Knowing these techniques is like taking the car out for a spin to a new location. You’re not exactly sure where you’ll end up, but you’re going to learn a lot along the way, and probably have fun, too. ✤

Patrick Dunn is the Proprietor of InterCourse Chef Services. He specializes in customized private, public and corporate cooking classes and runs Calgary Market Tours. Learn more about him at inter-course.ca

SUIT UP FOR A WHOLE NEW DOWNTOWN COOKING EXPERIENCE.

Stephen Avenue is ready to sizzle at SAIT Polytechnicâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s new Culinary Campus. Built for amateur cooks and professional chefs alike, this state-of-the-art facility will bring hands-on culinary instruction to the heart of downtown Calgary. For a full listing of individual, professional and corporate team building programs, and market hours for meals to go, visit culinarycampus.ca today.

2nd floor Scotia Centre 226, 230 8th Ave SW, Calgary

CITYPALATE.ca JANUARY FEBRUARY 2013

stockpot Stirrings around Calgary

hot app, hot app n Ten of Canada’s top restaurant writers, experts in their own cities – including Calgary’s John Gilchrist – have banded together to launch Eat Canada, the country’s first restaurant app for the business traveler. We bet any traveler would find it useful. For the business traveler stuck in an unfamiliar city, it helps find the perfect downtown spot for a business lunch, power breakfast or client dinner, after-work drinks or private functions. There are recommendations for more than 200 restaurants in 11 major Canadian cities. The app works with both iPhone and iPad and supports VoiceOver for the visually impaired. To get the lowdown on all the handy features of Eat Canada, go to forcegrind.com/ eatcanada/. You will be amazed.

restaurant ramblings n Now open – Xocolat. Posh Mexican Cuisine, the tag line, says it all. Upscale Mexican, unlike anything Calgary has seen before – that’s what they say. Mexican food re-defined, including a focus on molecular gastronomy and beautiful plating. Check it out at 816 - 11th Ave. SW where Nood gallery used to be, and visit the web site at xocolat.ca.

sizzle SEARINGLY CREATIVE SOUL WARMING

n Your favourite King’s Restaurant’s wonton soup is now available at Co-op stores in the deli department. This single serving meal is packed in a convenient “ready to heat and serve” grab-and-go bag. An effortless lunch or dinner solution, combined with King’s Heavenly Hot Sauce, also sold at Co-op stores, the two will warm up your winter days. A new Wonton King location will be open mid-January across from the Subway Soccer Dome (corner of 72nd Ave. and 52nd St. SE). n Friday, January 25, Hotel Arts hosts the 15th Annual Bill Brooks Prostate Cancer Benefit, “Billy Poppins,” an event of sugar, song and spectacle. Proceeds to research, education and patient support in the fight against prostate cancer, 7 p.m. – 12 midnight, 119 - 12th Ave. SW. Tickets at calgaryhealthtrust.ca/events.

119 12th Avenue SW | 403.206.9565 reservations | hotelarts.ca

CITYPALATE.ca JANUARY FEBRUARY 2013

n Yellow Door Bistro is slated to open in mid-January on the lobby level of Hotel Arts. Executive chef Duncan Ly, 2012 bronze medal winner at Calgary’s Gold Medal Plates, has designed menus that feature bistroinspired cuisine with a contemporary twist. Yellow Door Bistro will be open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Pastry

chef extraordinaire Karine Moulin has returned to the Hotel Arts Group to oversee the dessert and pastry program. Executive sous chef Craig Boje, most recently at Chef’s Table at Kensington Riverside Inn, will assist chef Ly with banquets and catering. n Check into Boxwood, that mighty tasty little place in Central Memorial Park, and pick up your Club Sandwich Card – buy seven sandwiches and get the eighth one for free! Students can enjoy an extra 10 percent discount to eat real food. Sunday suppers offer generous platters of wholesome food for $35 per person and free corkage. Watch “You Gotta Eat Here” on food TV in January that features Boxwood’s porchetta sandwich, and check boxwoodcafe.ca for how to win your Sunday supper. Have a casual, wholesome, spontaneous romance at Boxwood on Valentine’s Day. n River Café is closed January, reopens February 1 and reminds you to book for your Valentine’s Dinner at river-cafe.com. If you’ve wined and dined your love at River Café, share your story on River’s Facebook page for a chance to win brunch for two. Enjoy an early bird dinner of three courses for $25 throughout the year, 4:30 – 5:30 p.m. n Bar C Food & Drink – expressed as a bar with a capital C under it, like a local ranch – is open and buzzing. There are two bars, a liquor bar – of course – and a charcuterie and cheese bar set off by cool brushed metal and pine decor. This is the newest of the Canadian Rocky Mountain Resorts (CRMR) siblings, situated next to one of the oldest siblings, Cilantro on 17th Ave SW. Sparkling wine on tap! Fancy that. n Bistro Rouge is the new casual restaurant concept from the creators of Rouge Restaurant in Inglewood. Scheduled to open the beginning of February, Bistro Rouge will offer menu items such as grilled paillards (thinly pounded meat topped with ingredients, like a pizza), rotisserie, along with modern and classic bistro dishes. You’ll find Bistro Rouge at 308, 1919 Sirocco Drive SW. n FARM restaurant invites you for chef Pete’s daily sandwich creations paired with a tasty cup of soup or fresh salad – fuel for the second half of your day. Book the harvest table for you and your family or friends – entertaining can be that easy! Weekend brunch, with FARM’s twist on your classic favourites may be what you need to conquer the rest of your weekend. On 17th Ave. at 9th St. SW, farm-restaurant.com, 403-245-2276.

n Look for the opening of MARKET at 718 - 17th Ave. SW early in the new year. Executive chef Geoff Rogers, most recently at Home Tasting Room, has partnered with owner Vanessa Salopek to serve authentically local, seasonal and fresh cuisine, making their bread and cheese in-house, butchering their own animals, and growing their own greens and herbs. n Mission DISHCRAWL, parts 1 & 2 take place January 21 and 22. Visit 4 Mission restaurants in one evening to sample each restaurant’s signature dish, hosted by Jessie Cayabo. All restaurants are within walking distance of each other. Details at dishcrawl.com/calgary.

wine wanderings n High Performance Rodeo and One Yellow Rabbit present Wine Stage at Devonian Gardens, Saturday, January 26, 7:30 pm, 324 - 8th Ave. SW (access via Plus 15). Sexy, stylish and sophisticated, Wine Stage celebrates its 14th year. Participating wine merchants include Banff Wine Store, Bin 905, J. Webb Wine Merchant, Kensington Wine Market, MetroVino, Richmond Hill Wines and Vinestone Wine Co. All proceeds from this event support One Yellow Rabbit Performance Theatre. Tickets at epcorcentre.org/whatson or by calling 403-294-9494 or at the Epcor Centre box office, main floor, 225 - 8th Ave SE. n Winefest Calgary takes place February 22 and 23 at Stampede Park, Big Four, Hall A. This all-inclusive event allows the opportunity to “try before you buy” within a casually refined atmosphere – every sip and sample is included in the ticket price. Savour delicious hors d’oeuvres with your wine in a relaxed, fun atmosphere. It happens every year and you love it! Details and tickets at celebratewinefest.com.

n Organic wines for your Valentine – a rich and smooth French malbec: Seduction ($16) or a white: Pearsuasion and Adam’s Apple dry wines ($24) from Forbidden Fruit Winery in BC that pair with food just like a riesling or a chardonnay would. New arrivals: The Organic Wine Connection offers a delicious Côtes du Rhône from Domaine des Cèdres and, from South Africa, The Ladybird red and white from Laibach winery. To find if your fave store carries these wines, visit organicwineconnection.com. n Robert Mondavi in the Napa Valley celebrates its 100th anniversary with these two luscious celebratory wines: 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon, hit with portions of merlot, cabernet franc, syrah, petit verdot and malbec. Bold, yet supple, the dark, rich fruit flavours are balanced by a bright acidity and long finish; 2010 Fumé Blanc, predominantly sauvignon blanc with a small hit of semillon. The ample mouthfeel and creamy texture are enlivened by zesty acidity and lingering citrus flavours. Find these at Calgary Co-op Wines, Spirits, Beer, Crowfoot Liquor Stores, Zyn and Willow Park.

Riesling... Fruchtig Style; March 7, Special Buyers’ Tasting (huge discounts on more than 20 wines); March 13, Loire Lounging; March 14, Comte Armand’s Clos des Epeneaux: A Vertical Tasting; March 20, Uniquely Rare; March 21, Sherry, Baby. All tastings are from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. To register, call Metrovino at 403-205-3356 or book online at metrovino.com. n Tastings at Janice Beaton Fine Cheese: Taste and Dine: January 9, Wine & Cheese to Comfort the Soul; February 13, Sensuous Sipping; March 13, Breaking all the Rules!; April 10, Let’s Hear it for Beer!. Sip and Savour: January 22, Wagons West, North

American Coastal Gems; February 26, Brews Best Beloved – Cheese; March 26, Bubble-licious!!!; April 23, Olè! We love Rosé!. February 5, April 16, Cheese 101. 1017 - 16th Ave. SW, jbfinecheese.com, 403-229-0900, Twitter @JBFCandFARM.

cooking classes n At The Complete Cook: Weekend Entertaining - Light, Hearty & Healthy @ Home, Flavours of India (vegetarian), Chocolate Indulgence, Mediterranean Cuisine, Rajun Cajun, Thai One On and Gluten-Free Gourmet. Details at compleatcook.ca or 403-253-4831. continued on page 50

n Don’t miss Wine Tasting Wednesday before Alberta Theatre Projects’ showing of This is What Happens Next, January 30, with wine by Willow Park Wines and tasty treats by Boxwood, followed by the play, 6:30 p.m. n Tastings at Metrovino: January 16 - 18, Bacchus for Beginners (wine basics); January 22, 2010 Burgundy; January 30, Australia, Sans Chardy and Shee-raz; February 6, Chateau de Beauregard; February 13, French Kiss; February 20, Sangiovese 6 Ways; February 21, Zen and the Art of Imperfect Pairings (food and wine pairing); February 27, The Beautiful North (Spanish Style); February 28, Bagging the Elephant; March 5,

Margaret and Pam are back together offering their much-loved home-cooked meals. You know, the way Mom used to make it!

Now at Kingsland Market with all your old favourites - including soups, mac ’n’ cheese, our famous turkey sandwiches and carrot cake! While you’re at the Kingsland Farmers’ Market, check out PriMal souPs and hold the Mustard too! 7711 Macleod Trail S (in the old McKay Pontiac dealership) CITYPALATE.ca JANUARY FEBRUARY 2013

stockpot continued from page 49 n At Salsita Mexican Food Market: Mexican cooking classes in January, February and March – turkey enchiladas, chilaquiles, chimichangas, Spanish rice, and much more. Visit the website for details and to register – salsita.ca. n At Cuisine et Chateau’s Interactive Culinary Centre: January and February – Vegetarian Kingdom, Tapas Night, Made in France French menu, Simple Charcuterie, Curing and Smoking, A Fish Tale seafood class, Table for Two, A Cut Above lamb meat cutting workshop, Say Fromage cheese and wine class, Brittany and Normandy tasting menu, Valentine’s Day romantic tasting event, Lunch in a Rush, and much more. For details visit cuisineandchateau.com. n At The Cookbook Co. Cooks: in January and February, look for Hands-On Couples classes, Bread Making, cupcakes, Pasta Fasta!, Stuffed Pasta, Braising, Roasting and Grilling, Vietnamese Cooking, An Ethiopian Menu, Girls’ Night Out: Cocktails & Hors d’Oeuvres... and much more. Visit cookbookcooks.com for all the tasty details.

general stirrings n Join City Palate, Metrovino and The Cookbook Co. Cooks for a “Long Table Dinner” on February 5, 6:30 p.m. Get to know your dining neighbours around one long table while eating good food and drinking good wine. Tickets ($95) at The Cookbook Co., 403-265-6066, ext. #1. Long table dinners at 724 - 11th Ave. SW, next door to The Cookbook Co. n The Italian Supermarket celebrates its 50th anniversary this year! Three generations of the DiGaeta family have offered some of this city’s best Italian groceries plus hot lunches and signature wood oven pizza since 1963. The DiGaeta’s say thanks to their customers by offering the chance to win $1,000, $500 or $250 to spend in their store. Check the entry form on their ad, page 18, or drop by the store and fill it out. Have a pizza while you’re there and look for a fun line of glutenfree, organic, fun pasta shapes for kids of all ages – Hello Kitty, Bob the Builder and Thomas the Tank Engine.

EscapE thE

up arm w d l co

CITYPALATE.ca JANUARY FEBRUARY 2013

mExican stylE

n Our very own ex-Calgarian foodie Dee Hobsbawn-Smith’s book Foodshed: An Edible Alberta Alphabet is the winner of Best Food Literature (Canada-English) at the 2012 Gourmand World Cookbook Awards and was voted best Alberta cookbook in the CBC Books crosscountry cookbook shelf. Good stuff! Dee’s book now competes for the Gourmand Best in the World award at the annual awards event during the Paris Cookbook Fair.

n You and your honey pictured on a chocolate – what better way to celebrate Valentine’s? Call Epiphanie Chocolate for fabulous Valentine’s ideas, 403-370-4592, or visit epiphaniechocolate.com. n The weather outside is frightful and the fire is so delightful, so why go out? Sunterra offers same-day grocery delivery, including fresh produce, prepared meals and everything inbetween. Phone 403-287-0553 or order online at sunterramarket.com before 4 p.m. and your groceries will be delivered to your door. This Valentine’s Day, have a cozy night in. Sunterra offers a four-course, fully prepared Valentine’s Day dinner that’s sure to heat things up in the kitchen. Visit sunterramarket.com for details. n Congratulations to Cococo Chocolatiers – winner of the World Finals Silver Medal in the category of “Bars – Flavoured Milk Chocolate” in the International Chocolate Awards 2012 in London, England. This bar is the newest product, a large-format bar – made to be shared – made with Bernard Callebaut milk chocolate infused with rosemary and thyme, and finished with habanero sea salt. Find it in Calgary in the new year. Cococo (the Chocolaterie Bernard Callebaut company) is one of only two Canadian companies to be named a World Finals' winner. For Valentine’s Day, find the signature chocolate hearts filled with

chocolates, plus the hand-painted  love shack and Callebaut’s signature copper boxes filled with chocolates. n The Friends of Fish Creek presents A Taste of Spring, the annual wine and beer tasting and silent auction, March 8, Willow Park Wines & Spirits, 10801 Bonaventure Drive SE. For tickets and details, visit friendsoffishcreek.org, or call 403-238-3841, or email chris@ friendsoffishcreek.org. Have you had enough of winter? The Taste of Spring fundraiser is the perfect way to unwind just days before the spring equinox. The Friends are dedicated to protecting and preserving Fish Creek Provincial Park so that future generations will have a chance to enjoy this treasured area as much as we do today. n In December, Premier Alison Redford, the Alberta Food Processors Association and Canada Safeway launched “BUY ALBERTA” in Safeway stores. More than 1,800 products in Safeway groceries and liquor stores across Alberta will be highlighted with “BUY ALBERTA” signs. buyalbertafood.com.

n Don’t miss the Glenbow Museum’s Schmancy, a raucous night of arts and culture, February 9 at the Glenbow Museum. Dust off your finest faux furs, slap on your Spanx and grab your feathered fascinators for this fun fundraiser evening of special guests, entertainment, food and cocktails. Tickets at 403-268-4188 or glenbow.org/schmancy. n Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) at Noble Gardens is your source for locally grown, chemical-free produce that tastes great. Noble Gardens, in Nobleford, northwest of Lethbridge, is a family farm entering its 8th year of strawberry production and 4th year CSA. Join the Noble Gardens CSA and enjoy a season of delicious veggies and farming news/ photos from your farmers, Tim and Brenda. Visit noblegardenscsa.com for more info and to register today! n Calgary’s newest boutique builder, Market Street Homes by Baywest, launches its brand of smart, savvy, and price-accessible single-family homes with designs that are internationally inspired to make better use of space rather than building bigger houses. To celebrate its Grand Opening in Nolan Hill, January 19 /20, Market Street partners with Jelly Modern Doughnuts and Phil & Sebastian Coffee to serve fresh treats all weekend. To preview the debut collection of homes (all aptly named after famous markets) and for more information on exciting culinary contest opportunities, visit MarketStreetHomes.com. n Duck! Hot tip from a City Palate reader who wants us to know that Calgary Co-op Dalhousie carries Brome Lake duck breasts and legs, which are frozen and very reasonably priced. “It would be great to give the Dalhousie Co-op a shout-out and let people know you can find duck easily.” n If you can’t get to Jelly Modern Doughnuts’ bakery-cafe near downtown, you can now visit Jelly Modern Doughnuts at the Calgary Farmers’ Market for the same delicious gourmet-style doughnuts and doughnut sandwiches as seen on Food Network’s You Gotta Eat Here . n Care Bakery, started by a SAIT culinary graduate and based in Calgary, has special baking pans for its glutenfree products. Sometimes customers doubt they are really getting a glutenfree product so Kerry, the owner, decided to bake the logo into her products. Care Bakery’s gluten-free breads and pizzas are in restaurants and retail stores. You can recognize the products by the baked-in logo. Check carebakery.com for retailers and restaurants. n Orca Bay Fish Company has opened in Kingsland Market with wild-caught, sustainable treats from the sea, like salmon, ahi tuna and

blue marlin, and 2 exotic features every week. A welcome addition to Kingsland Market. n Cool stuff from CRMR at Home: chopping boards for everything reduce the likelihood of cross-contamination. Four large colour-coded polypropylene boards are tabbed to show which food to use it for, then store them in a stainless steel case. How convenient is that? Just as convenient are “doubledish” bowls for snacks like nuts and olives. The serving dish sits on the larger collection bowl, so shells and pits are hidden from view. More convenience – citrus reamers with seed and pulp catchers so just the juice gets through. Find these at CRMR at Home, 332 - 17th Ave. SW. n Cuisine et Chateau is booking French Culinary Journey tours for 2013. A one-week all-inclusive luxury experience in the heart of Périgord, France, the trip combines cooking classes, visits to local producers and wineries, cycling and fantastic food. Accommodation is in a 17th century château. For details and to download the itinerary and brochure for May 12-18 and May 19-25, go to cuisineandchateau.com. n Seasoned Solutions Culinary Tour of Portugal, October 3 to 17, with Gail Hall, food maven and culinary tour expert. For information on itinerary and costs, and to register, go to seasonedsolutions.ca or contact Gail at 780-4370761 or gail@seasonedsolutions.ca n Don’t Miss the Canadian Culinary Championships on February 8 and 9 in Kelowna featuring Canada’s top 10 chefs from across the country who won gold in their city – including, Eden Hrabec, Crazyweed Kitchen in Canmore – see word of mouth, page 11 for the details of her winning dish. Witness the crowning of Canada’s top chef. Featured guests:

Olympic medalists Jamie Salé and Adam van Koeverden, Alan Doyle of Great Big Sea and Juno Award winner Barney Bentall. Details and tickets at goldmedalplates.com. n Research has shown that children who grow up in families who have regular family meals are healthier, do better in school and are less likely to get into trouble. Meaningful Meals’ mission is to bring people back to the dining table. If you’d like to be a part of this movement, apply for a board membership position. Email anneke@ culinarycalgary.ca for more information or to apply.

n Culinary Calgary’s Winter Picnic, with a Parisian theme, takes place March 1st at the Devonian Gardens, 6 p.m. Enjoy a three-course dinner with wine plus live entertainment. Details and tickets ($95) at culinarycalgary.ca. Kick the new year off right with these four rules for life: Show up. Pay attention. Tell the truth. Don't be attached to the results. (Angeles Arrien, teacher and author)

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Berry, Oat & Yogurt Muffins 1 cup Highwood Crossing oats 1 cup plain Bles-Wold yogurt 1/4 cup milk 1 large egg 1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar 1/2 cup canola oil

1 cup all-purpose flour 1 tsp. baking powder 1/2 tsp. baking soda 1/4 tsp. salt 1 cup fresh or frozen berries: blueberries, raspberries or blackberries

In a large bowl, stir together the oats, yogurt and milk and let sit about an hour. Preheat oven to 400Â°F and line 12 muffin tins with paper liners. Add the egg, brown sugar and oil to the oat mixture and stir well. Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt and stir until almost combined; add berries and stir just until blended.

Real Food Served for Breakfast & Lunch

Divide the batter evenly among the prepared muffin tins and bake for 20 minutes, or until golden and springy to the touch. Serve warm. Makes 1 dozen muffins. Recipe contributed by Julie Van Rosendaal

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CITYPALATE.ca JANUARY FEBRUARY 2013

Highwood Crossing Foods* produces only 100% organic crops that include wheat, rye, flax, canola, oats, barley, peas, hay and sweet clover.

Bles-Wold* all natural yogurt is farm produced in Lacombe, Alberta.

Highwood Crossing is a family owned, certified organic grain farm located between Okotoks and High River.

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city palate culinary crossword

Across 3 Cream-enhanced mozzarella di bufala 4 Culinary term for almost burnt 10 Fermented anchovy condiment (4,5) 11 Vegan frozen dessert 14 An embarrassed wine 16 Pliable icing 19 Flat, hole-y Italian bread 21 Italian wine bar 22 Bubble tea necessity 23 Mexican kicker 24 Fruity sauce 25 A string of bread 27 Spanish snacks served on a toothpick 28 Conical lidded Moroccan pot 29 Fish only sushi 33 Tiny stuffed pasta from Turkey 36 Italian baloney 37 A really naughty egg 38 A dry style of champagne 39 Butter and white wine sauce (6,5) 41 Spanish turnovers 42 The result of simmered bones 43 Thinly sliced raw meat 45 Celery, peanut butter and raisins (4,2,1,3) 48 As the leprechaun said, “They are always after me _________” (5,6) 49 National noodle dish of Thailand (3,4) 51 Japanese dumplings 56 Not so ‘fresh’ dairy product (5,7) 58 Dried smoked jalapeno 59 Salt cod spread 62 A gift for soups and stocks (7,5) 64 Tuscan beef variety 65 Essential ingredient in pesto (4,4) 66 Nursery nickname is ‘fish eggs and glue’ (7,7) 69 A pulse by any other name 71 Sesame butter 72 Sweet paste accompaniment to Manchego 74 A holy sweet Italian wine (3,5) 75 To incorporate air 78 Seuss-ian accompaniment to ham (5,4) 79 Grate-able Italian cheese 80 Potato dumplings 81 Goat milk’s leap to immortality 82 Developed with contact to grape skins 83 Sourdough starter with a French accent

Down 1 No engraving on this Ligurian pasta 2 Cheese maker 3 Cubed stock 5 Bourbon cocktail named after an island 6 Pooh’s favourite food 7 French fisherman’s stew 8 A fungus and a chocolate 9 Pressed fish eggs 12 Swiss dip 13 Pienza’s specialty cheese 15 Spanish sparkling 17 Lye treated Norwegian dish 18 A Greek dip made with yogurt 20 Most expensive spice in the world 26 This cheese should not be orange 28 15 ml 30 Scrapes and flips 31 We all scream for it (3,5) 32 New Zealand gooseberry 33 Trees and pancakes have this in common (5,5) 34 Tandoori bread 35 The “butter” of Italy (5,3) 38 Italian salt cured beef 40 Milk that grows on trees 44 Eggless Tuscan pasta 46 Indian spice blend (5,6) 47 Italian toast 50 Mediterranean fast food 52 Minty summer quaff 53 Uncured, fresh German sausage 54 Giant green Italian olives 55 Giving wine time to breathe 57 Biscotti’s cousin 60 Cooking instructions 61 Paper lid 62 Wine bacteria that creates a barnyard taste 63 “Colourful” wheat (3,4) 67 Moroccan ketchup 68 Italian pigs with white belts (5,6) 70 Brunello’s grape variety 73 To cook slowly in fat 76 Mexican sweetner 77 French fry accompaniment

Play to win

Tickets for 2 to ATP’s Flavours of BC’s Naramata Bench February 28th, 7 p.m. at Willow Park Wines & Spirits Meet the winemakers. Taste 40+ wines, enjoy gourmet food and entertainment. Details @ ATPlive.com. (See ad on page 33)

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Mail in your completed puzzle by January 31st, 2013 to: City Palate, 722 - 11th Avenue SW, Calgary T2R 0E4 or fax it to: 403-262-3322, or scan & email it to: gail@citypalate.ca

CITYPALATE.ca JANUARY FEBRUARY 2013

6 quick ways with Either way you choose... amazing food, wine, culture, history and photographs will be in abundance every single day!

Cabbage

Cabbage is an under-appreciated vegetable that’s plentiful in the fall in Alberta. In fact, it’s plentiful all year. We like cabbage because it lends itself to many preparations, both raw and cooked.

1. Stir-Fried Coleslaw

From Eat Greens, by Barbara ScottGoodman and Liz Trovato. Delish with barbecued chicken or ribs. Put 6 c. shredded green cabbage into a large bowl and sprinkle it with 1 t. salt. For the stir-fry sauce, in a small bowl, whisk together 2 T. light soy sauce, 2 T. sugar, 3 T. rice wine vinegar and a pinch of red pepper flakes, and set aside. Drain the cabbage and pat dry. Heat 2 T. oil over high heat in a large skillet. Add 2 T. minced fresh ginger and stir-fry about 10 seconds. Add 1 each, medium red and yellow bell peppers, seeded, deveined and thinly sliced, and toss for 2 minutes. Add the cabbage and 2-1/2 c. shredded carrot and toss another 2 minutes. Add 2 T. sake, cover, reduce heat to medium and cook until the veg are tender, about 2 minutes. Stir in the stir-fry sauce for 1 minute. Transfer to a serving bowl and garnish with 2 T. minced scallions. Serves 6 to 8.

2. Asian Slaw

From Barbecue Secrets DELUXE! by Rockin’ Ronnie Shewchuk. To make the dressing, whisk together 1/4 c. creamy peanut butter, 2 T. each soy sauce and rice vinegar, 1-1/2 t. finely minced fresh ginger, 1 t. each toasted sesame oil, Vietnamese chile sauce and sugar, and 1-2 t. water, if needed. You want a smooth, fairly thick liquid. Combine in a large bowl 2 c. shredded savoy or napa cabbage, 1 c. shredded red cabbage, 1 grated carrot, 1 chopped green onion, 1 julienned small red bell pepper and 1/4 c. fresh bean sprouts. Add the dressing and toss to coat. Serve garnished with 1/4 c. chopped dry-roasted peanuts and chopped fresh cilantro. Serves 4 to 6.

3. Simmered Sweet and Sour Cabbage From Quick Cuisine, by Dee Hobsbawn-Smith.

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Cook 2 diced slices of smoked bacon in a large sauté pan over medium heat until crisp. Discard most of the bacon fat, leaving about 2 T. in the pan with the bacon. Add 1 sliced onion, 6-8 sliced garlic cloves and 2 fresh rosemary sprigs, minced leaves only. Cook until the veg are tender. Add 1 finely sliced napa or savoy cabbage and 1 T. mustard seeds. Cook and stir until the cabbage is wilted and tender, about 10 minutes. Stir in 1 diced tart apple, 1/4 c. brown sugar, juice and zest of 1 lime, 1 - 2 T. red wine vinegar, 1/4 c. raisins or dried cranberries and salt and pepper to taste. Simmer until the apples are tender and serve hot. Serves 6 to 8.

Simmered Sweet and Sour Cabbage, Haddock and Winter Vegetable Casserole From Everyone Can Cook Seafood by Eric Akis, scooped from The Ocean Wise Cookbook, edited by Jane Mundy. Preheat oven to 450°F. Grease a 9"x13” casserole dish with butter. Cook 2 carrots, halved lengthwise and sliced diagonally, and 4 medium red-skinned potatoes, cut into wedges, in a pot of boiling water until tender but still firm. Add 2 c. chopped green cabbage and cook until the cabbage brightens in colour, about 2 minutes. Drain the veg and put them in the casserole dish. Set four 5-oz. haddock filets on top of the vegetables and season with salt and pepper. Whisk 2 T. melted butter with 1/2 c. dry white wine, 1/2 c. fish, chicken or vegetable stock and 2 minced garlic cloves, then pour the mixture over the haddock and vegetables. Sprinkle with 1/2 c. frozen peas then cover the casserole and bake it for 20 minutes, or until the haddock is cooked through. Sprinkle the dish with chopped parsley and serve. Serves 4.

5. Red Cabbage

From The Best of Bridge Cookbooks’ The Rest of the Best and More. Shred 3 lbs. of red cabbage and place it in a large saucepan with 2 green apples, peeled and chopped, 1 onion, finely chopped, 1/4 c. white sugar, 1/4 c. vinegar, 2 T. bacon fat, 1 t. salt, freshly ground pepper and 1/2 c. boiling water. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 1 hour. Stir occasionally. Excellent with fowl and a must with wild game. Serves 6 to 8. (Though the recipe doesn’t say this, it’s a good idea. If you don’t have bacon fat sitting around in the fridge, cook some bacon, use the fat, then when you serve the cabbage, crumble the bacon overtop.)

6. Sweet and Spicy Slaw

From Atco’s Blue Flame Kitchen cookbook, From the Grill, Our 100 Favourites. To prepare the dressing, whisk together 1/2 c. light sour cream, 1 T. orange marmalade, 1 T. rice vinegar, 1/4 t. ground chipotle chile pepper and 1/4 t. salt until well-blended. Place 4 c. coleslaw mix – which is mostly cabbage – into a bowl, add the dressing and toss. Cover and refrigerate for up to two hours, then serve. Serves 6. (If you’re a coleslaw purist, you might want to shred your own green cabbage. Shred some carrot, too.)

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Magic Yam Soup This is the soup PaSu Farm serves at its Erotic Valentine’s Dinner. This is the quantity PaSu makes – it will serve a crowd – but it freezes well. Magic Yam Soup is a creamy, rich, golden orange soup with a zingy flavour from the Eastern spices and herbs. As far as PaSu knows, it’s unique to them. Like all soups, the ingredients and quantities can be altered to suit availability and personal preference. You can garnish the soup the way PaSu does for the Valentine’s dinner... or not. 1 lb. butter 4 large leeks, washed, trimmed of their dark leaves and coarsely chopped 4 lbs. yams, peeled and cut into small cubes 3 small turmeric roots, grated coarsely (available at Asian stores) 6 oz. gingerroot, peeled and grated coarsely 2 T. lemongrass paste (peel the bulb end and pound it into a paste) 2 oranges, zested and juiced 2 lemons, zested and juiced 6 garlic cloves, crushed and chopped 4 c. chicken stock 1 T. chicken bouillon paste (mashed bouillon cubes) 8 c. water 8 c. whipping cream 8 kaffir lime leaves (available at Asian stores, usually frozen)

water. Cook until the yams are tender. Purée and pass through a sieve. Return the purée to the pot, add the cream and kaffir lime leaves and heat slowly until the soup just comes to a boil. Now tweak it to balance its flavour by adding a bit of sugar to taste and a splash or two of good quality fish sauce. Add small amounts of both until the flavour is well balanced. Serves lots and freezes well. To make the red pepper sauce, roast 2 red peppers over open flame or in a hot oven until the skin blisters and turns black. Remove the skin, seeds, stem and membrane, then chop. Blend the pepper flesh with the juice of a small lemon, 1/3 c. ketchup, 1 T. sweet smoked paprika, 1 T. dark brown sugar. Blend well and balance flavours with salt, pepper and lemon juice. Whisk an egg white until stiff and carefully fold in the pepper sauce – this lightens the sauce and helps it float on top of the soup.

roasted red pepper sauce, crème fraîche and puff pastry hearts, for garnish

To decorate, drop red pepper sauce on the top of the soup and draw a toothpick through to create a heart shape, as illustrated in the photograph. Do the same with crème fraîche, then place a puff-pastry heart in the centre.

Melt butter in a large soup pot. Sauté the leeks without browning. Add the yams, turmeric, ginger, lemongrass, orange and lemon zest and juice, garlic, chicken stock, chicken bouillon and

To make puff-pastry hearts, cut heart shapes out of rolled out puff pastry, grate parmesan cheese overtop, and bake them at 350°F. until puffy and golden. ✤

sugar and fish sauce, to finish

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last meal

Geoff Last

Keep it simple and seasonal

Tapas with a hint of Japanese Style and Flavor

1002 Edmonton Trail NE 403.250.8894 Find us on Facebook CEREZO cafe & bar

This menu focuses on pan roasting, a technique widely used in restaurants. It creates good flavour by browning the meat over high heat on the stove top then by finishing the dish in the oven, all in the same pan in a short period of time. This process works well for most small cuts of meat such as beef tenderloin, thick steaks and double-cut pork or lamb chops and salmon. I use the convection feature on my oven when I pan-roast chicken – it encourages browning and helps the vegetables to caramelize slightly. As for the pan, a Dutch oven works well, but my first choice is a large, heavy stainless steel skillet with deep sides. The openness of the skillet allows for better browning in the oven. You can turn this into an all-in-one dish by adding several potatoes – cut into 2-inch chunks – to the vegetable mixture and forgoing the potato recipe, but you do so at your own peril because the potato recipe I have included is indeed magical. It is essentially an Italian version of scalloped potatoes, a great accompaniment to virtually any roast meat. The potatoes are rich and comforting and will help take the sting out of a cold winter’s eve. The starter is a simple tapenade that has been given a dimension of sweetness thanks to the addition of sun-dried tomatoes. It’s a good go-to appetizer since the ingredients – other than the parsley – can all be pantry staples. If you opt to do it in a food processor, take care to not overwork it or it will turn to paste. The idea is to retain some texture. The dessert is an old favourite that never fails to impress. It utilizes fall and winter fruits, and the inclusion of rosemary and olive oil make it uniquely Italian. It’s rustic and simple, two of the things I love best about Italian cooking.

Menu: Sun-Dried Tomato Tapenade Magical Potatoes Pan Roasted Chicken with Shallots, Carrots, Fennel and Olives Miascia – Mixed Fruit Tart

Sun-Dried Tomato Tapenade

Magical Potatoes

1 c. pitted kalamata olives 2 T. good olive oil

3 lbs. yellow-flesh potatoes, peeled and cut into uniform wedges (roughly six wedges to an average sized spud. If the potatoes are new and relatively unblemished you can leave the skins on)

1 T. capers (rinsed, if using salt-packed variety)

1/4 c. good olive oil

1/2 c. stemmed flat-leaf parsley, loosely packed

4 oz. pancetta, sliced 1/4-inch thick, then diced

1/2 t. sea salt

4 shallots, coarsely chopped

1/2 t. black pepper

10 fresh sage leaves

Place all ingredients in a food processor with blade attachment and pulse a few times until mixture is still coarse and textured, but well mixed. Alternatively, finely chop olives, sun-dried tomatoes and parsley and mix with remaining ingredients in a medium bowl. Serve the tapenade on rounds of baguette or crackers, such as Raincoast Crisps. Makes about 1-1/2 cups.

1 c. whipping cream (or whole milk if you want to cut back on calories, most of it cooks off anyway)

1/2 c. sun-dried tomatoes, drained

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sea salt and black pepper to taste 1/2 c. freshly grated parmesan

Preheat oven to 400°F. Place the potatoes in a large roasting pan. In a medium skillet, warm the olive oil, add the pancetta and cook over medium heat until it starts to brown, then add the sage and cook for 30 seconds more. Add the oil/pancetta mixture and shallots to the potatoes, and toss well. Add the cream and season with sea salt and black pepper. Cover the roasting pan with foil and bake for 1 hour. Remove the foil, sprinkle the parmesan evenly over the potatoes and cook for another 15 minutes. Serves 4 to 6.

1012 17th Ave SW

 Pan Roasted Chicken with Shallots, Carrots, Fennel and Olives

Miascia – Mixed Fruit Tart

1 fennel bulb, trimmed, cored and cut into 8 sections 3 large carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces

8 (1-inch-thick) slices rustic white bread (I like to use Sidewalk Citizen Bakery’s sourdough for this recipe)

4 shallots, peeled and quartered

1 1/2 c. whole milk, divided

1 T. chopped fresh thyme (feel free to add a little fresh rosemary and sage as well)

butter for greasing

1 t. olive oil

3 apples, peeled, cored and cut into wedges similar in size to the pears

1 large chicken (preferably free range), cut up; breast split lengthwise and then cut in half to yield four equal pieces; also separate the thighs from the legs 4 T. olive oil 1 c. kalamata olives sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400°F. Place the vegetables – except the olives – into a medium bowl and toss with 1 T. olive oil and chopped herbs. Season them with fresh ground pepper and sea salt. Season the chicken pieces with salt and pepper. Heat 4 T. oil in a large skillet or Dutch oven over high heat until very hot (but not smoking), then add the chicken pieces, skin-side down. Depending on the heat of your stove, you may have to turn the heat down slightly to avoid burning them. However, if the pan is not hot enough, the chicken will stick and be hard to turn. Frying chicken in this manner does create some grease splatter (and smoke); you can use a mesh splatter-guard if this is a concern. Let the chicken pieces brown nicely for about 4 to 5 minutes then flip them over. Cook for another minute, then remove the pan from the heat. Remove the chicken pieces and add the vegetables, spreading them out evenly in the pan. Place the chicken pieces on top of the bed of vegetables and transfer the skillet to a hot oven and pan-roast for 20 minutes. Remove the skillet from the oven and transfer the chicken pieces to a plate. Turn the vegetables in the pan to encourage browning then add the olives and return the pan to the oven for another 10 minutes while the chicken is resting. Plate the chicken and vegetables on a large serving platter (if I have some flat-leaf parsley on hand I will garnish the dish with a chopped tablespoon or two). Serve with a simple green salad and the magical potatoes. Serves 4. Wine recommendation: A mediumbodied red, such as a Chianti Classico, Lirac, Pinot Noir or Rioja.

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1/4 c. raisins 1/2 c. boiling water

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3 ripe pears cut into 8 wedges each

2 T. flour 1/4 c. + 2 T. sugar, divided 2 T. cornmeal

Sundays

$13 lasagne

1 t. grated lemon rind 3 eggs, lightly beaten 1/2 c. seedless red grapes, halved 2 t. chopped fresh rosemary 2 t. of your best olive oil

Preheat oven to 350°F. Put the raisins in a small bowl, cover them with the boiling water and let them stand 15 minutes. Drain and set aside. Trim the crusts from the bread (optional; I only do this if the crust is really hard) and place the bread in a single layer in a 13 x 9 x 3-inch baking dish. Pour 1/2 cup milk over the bread and let stand for 5 minutes. Line a 10-inch deep-dish pie plate with parchment paper and grease it with butter. Carefully – the bread will be soggy – arrange the bread slices in the bottom and up the sides of the pie plate to form the crust. Fill it with the apples and pears. Place the flour in a medium bowl and gradually add the remaining milk, whisking until blended. Stir in 1/4 c. plus 1 T. sugar, cornmeal, lemon rind and eggs; mix well. Pour milk mixture over apple and pear slices, top with the reserved raisins and the grapes, and sprinkle with rosemary. Drizzle the oil over the mixture and sprinkle with the remaining 1 T. of sugar. Bake at 350°F. for 50 minutes and then cool on a wire rack and serve warm or at room temperature. Serves 6 to 8. These recipes are on our website

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back burner

Allan Shewchuk

S h e w ch u k o n si m m e r

Urge to purge

It’s my observation that on the great continuum in the battle of the sexes, nothing generates more skirmishes than the uninvited disturbance of a mate’s personal property. The cry that can be heard in basements, bedrooms and garages is “Don’t touch my stuff!” I would go further to say that it is more often the male in the relationship who protests about the egregious disposal or movement of his precious possessions and it is the female who most often commits the trespass to a man’s treasures. I admit that there may be exceptions to this general rule, but my marriage is not one of those. In fact, my bride is a proud and selfprofessed “purger” who loves to not only touch my stuff, but to dispose of it, too. My wife’s urge to purge has been the source of much friction between us. I develop great angst every time I leave her at home alone for an extended period because I know that something dear to me will likely end up in the garbage. Perhaps the best example of this phenomenon was when I had my hip replaced. Within minutes of my going under general anesthetic, a purge assault took place in our garage, and in the blink of an eye my beloved cassette tape collection went into a dumpster. I was devastated, but my wife defended herself by pointing out that I hadn’t actually opened the box or listened to any of the tapes for over a decade. I rightly retorted that this fact was irrelevant because it was my stuff and it was up to me to deal with it. In answer to my grievance, I was met with the scurrilous charge of being a “hoarder.” And so we always have an uneasy peace in our house that holds until I squirrel away another box in the attic and she embarks on her next purge. We’re not alone. Recently some close friends bought a new house, which was very exciting. However, it meant that they had to move out of their old abode, which they had junked up to the rafters. It’s fair to say that they didn’t need a cleaner as much as they needed an archeologist. One day while the husband was at work, the wife was going through a crawl space and came upon her hubby’s notes from university, which had been sitting in the same box for 32 years, undisturbed. She made the unilateral decision then and there to pitch the hallowed binders of knowledge. When she admitted this purging to her man, he erupted in a storm of disbelief. Sure, he hadn’t looked at the notes in over 30 years, but he knew they were there, like a security blanket warming his soul. Of course, when the couple told us this story over drinks, my wife and I took appropriate sides – it was the purgers versus the hoarders for the rest of the night as I consoled my brother-in-arms using fine scotch as a lotion to heal his wounds. “How can women be so insensitive about such important belongings?” we wailed. Needless to say, we bonded. I do admit that there is one common area where men and women tend to behave the same way in terms of stockpiling stuff that ought to be purged. Just look in your fridge and I’ll bet you there are a hundred containers of weird condiments and foodstuffs that for some reason no one in the house, male or female, can ever bear to throw out. I’ve watched my wife, the great purger herself, rooting through the top shelf of our fridge, eyeing a jar of zinfandel mustard we got in Mendocino in 1997 evidently thinking, “Oh, we may use this some day,” as she shoves it back into the spot where it’s resided for 15 lonely years. There are little jars of antipasto that friends made for Christmas gifts and pickled asparagus spears for Caesars, even though no one has had a Caesar in our house since before the Internet was invented. Worst of all are the opened jars that no one ever wants to finish, where the solitary mini-dill pickle floats in brine like a science experiment gone bad. Why can’t we toss this junk? My guess is that people have a problem throwing out food. So, boys, if you want to safely hide your university notes, cassettes or that hockey card collection, just put them in the fridge behind the pickles. She’ll never get them there…

Allan Shewchuk is a lawyer by day, and an Italian ”chef,” wine taster and food writer by night. Sometimes he tastes wine before nightfall.

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