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table of contents
CITY PALATE SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2018
FEATU R ES
16 22 24 33
n Toasting our Silver Anniversary in Calgary’s Splendid Culinary Scene
Erin Lawrence
n Wild Harvest Recipes from our Talented Chefs
n Take Off Your Boots and Stomp a While
Drinking in Oliver Osoyoos wine country ’round Festival Weekend Kate Zimmerman
n City Palate Crossword
Play to win!
D EPA RTME NT S
5 n WORD OF MOUTH
Notable culinary happenings around town
7 n EAT THIS
What to eat in September and October Ellen Kelly
8 n DRINK THIS
Kitten Swish: Making your own wine with other people’s wines Brad Royale
10 n GET THIS
Must have kitchen stuff Wanda Baker
Abbondante (Ab-OH DON-te)
This is how we say “bountiful” in Italian. For Italians, delicious, bountiful meals are a way of life and the dinner table is where we bond. It’s where families come together, friends are found, and memories are made.
Gather with family and friends and celebrate a bountiful harvest season with us.
12 n ONE INGREDIENT
Plums Julie Van Rosendaal
14 n THE SUNDAY PROJECT
Ratatouille with Ellen Kelly
26 n STOCKPOT
Stirrings around Calgary
30 n 6 QUICK WAYS WITH...
Mushrooms Chris Halpin
32 n BACK BURNER... SHEWCHUK ON SIMMER
From trendy to the trash Allan Shewchuk
Grocery. Bakery. Deli. Café. EDMONTON Little Italy | Southside | West End CALGARY Willow Park
Cover Artist: Carol Slezak, Yellow Brick Studios.
READ US ONLINE AT CITYPALATE.CA
italiancentre.ca
CITYPALATE.ca SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2018
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city palate publisher/editor Kathy Richardier (kathy@citypalate.ca) magazine design Carol Slezak, Yellow Brick Studios (carol@citypalate.ca) contributing editor Kate Zimmerman contributors Wanda Baker Chris Halpin Ellen Kelly Erin Lawrence Brad Royale Allan Shewchuk Julie Van Rosendaal Kate Zimmerman
LIMITED EDITION
RESERVE TAWNY PORT
contributing photographers Kathy Richardier
International Avenue has provided East Calgary with one-of-a-kind restaurants, markets and specialty shops representing cultures from around the world … and has for decades.
WHERe HAVE HERe HAVE W YOUU BEeN? BEeN? YO East of Deerfoot Trail on 17th Avenue Southeast
CAlgary’s cUlinary and CULtural CapitAl Around the World Food Tour — Check website for availability
AN EXTRAORDINARY CREATION
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POINTS WINE ADVOCATE
INTERNATIONALAVENUE.CA
for advertising enquiries, please contact advertising@citypalate.ca account executives Debbie Lambert (debbie@citypalate.ca) Penny LeBaron (penny@citypalate.ca) Ellen Kelly (ellen@citypalate.ca) website management Jane Pratico (jane@citypalate.ca) controller Jesse Fergstad (citypalatecontroller@gmail.com) prepress/printing CentralWeb distribution Gallant Distribution Systems Inc.
Meals to Go - Heat and Eat Sunday Buffets Exclusive Country Weddings Book now for corporate and private parties.
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City Palate is published 6 times per year: January-February, March-April, May-June, July-August, September-October and November-December by City Palate Publishing Inc., Suite 419, 919 Centre St. NW, Calgary, AB T2E 2P9 Subscriptions are available for $48 per year within Canada and $68 per year outside Canada. Editorial Enquiries: Please email kathy@citypalate.ca
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NOTABLE CULINARY HAPPENINGS AROUND TOWN IN OU R OPIN ION
Pig & Pinot Divine Swine winner Chef Jenny Kang of Bow Valley Ranche restaurant and her team cooked up a great dish that the Pig & Pinot judges thought was the best of the lot, though there were many, many very good dishes concocted for Pig & Pinot. Chef Jenny’s winning dish was delicious, with good flavours and textures, it worked perfectly. As described by a judge: It was a pork meatball made around a bocconcini of mozzarella and then the meatball was put inside rice like an arancini and then breaded and fried and topped with tomato sauce, microgreens and sitting on a bechamel-y kind of sauce. Mmmmm, a winner for sure. Thank you, chef Jenny.
Omakase nights at Sukiyaki House Check into these, Wednesday to Friday nights, when sous chef Yuki Koyama brings in wild fish from Japan and guests sit at the sushi bar to experience Omakase, which means, “I’ll leave it up to you” (from Japanese “to entrust”). Chef Yuki prepares a variety of courses – mainly sushi – for guests to enjoy, interacting and explaining the different methods and techniques he uses to enhance or bring out the simplicity and purity of the ingredients. Sounds tasty and interesting to us, we’ll go, you should too.
Some of the best chocolate in the world… Calgary’s Cochu Chocolatier – has won 8 medals, including 3 gold, 3 silver and 2 bronze, in the prestigious 2018 Academy of Chocolate Awards in London, England. Cochu represented Canada, of course, along with more than 1200 entries from more than 45 countries at one of the largest chocolate competitions in the world. Cochu is helping Calgary and Canada become recognized as a source of fine chocolate around the world. Thank you Anne Sellmer, birth mother of Cochu.
People who aren’t runners will run for chocolate…. The inaugural Run4Chocolate, that takes place September 30, was created by HOF Chocolate, and takes place in the heart of the Beltline community. Visit hofchocolate.com for all the tasty details and to register for the run. This local chocolate company has cool stuff happening during the Run4Chocolate – a chocolate stop enroute, a fondue at the finish line and a Wine & Chocolate pairing reception for volunteers, sponsors and the first 100 run participants. As part of HOF Chocolate’s commitment to the community, a portion of the funds are donated to the YWCA.
A NEW Modern Steak hitting the downtown... We love Modern Steak in Kensington – good steak, good other food, good drinks, nothing not to like lots! Look for a second location opening in the fall, taking residence in the historical Imperial Bank building, former home of Catch and Catch Oyster Bar. The space will expand the Modern Steak brand and introduce three different dining concepts – Bar Modern, Modern Steak and The Rooftop at Modern. Modern Steak owner Stephen Deere says, “With three floors to work with, we want to provide a different experience on each level and cater to the varying moods and occasions of our guests.” Bar Modern, a meat-centric cocktail lounge located on the main floor, will feature couches, a DJ booth and full bar service. The second floor will showcase the tried-and-true Modern Steak experience with table seating and a full dinner menu. And ready for the spring of 2019, The Rooftop at Modern will provide sought-after views accompanied by equally sought-after beverages and bites for the warm summer months.
Canada’s Great Kitchen Party It used to be called Gold Medal Plates (GMP) supporting Olympic athletes and has now become Canada’s Great Kitchen Party (CGKP), providing young Canadians the opportunity to be extraordinary in sport, music and food, supporting local charities through MusiCounts and Community Food Centres Canada, as well as continuing to support elite athletes through B2ten. Like Gold Medal Plates there’s a culinary competition with local chefs at the Telus Convention Centre on November 1st. The chefs this year are: Matthew Batey, Teatro Group; Scott Beaton, Two Penny; Kayle Burns, Bread & Circus; Marc Bourgeois, The Derrick; Rupert Garcia, Oxbow; Jamie Harling, Deane House; Alison MacNeil, Social Eatery; Benjamin Mills, Bonterra Trattoria/Posto Pizzeria; Roy Oh, Anju; JP Pedhirney, Bridgette Bar. Visit greatkitchenparty.com for details.
Another successful Feeding the 5,000 Despite the rain, Calgary’s second annual food rescue event, Feeding the 5,000 (F5KYYC), was a huge success thanks to community partners and supporters. F5KYYC provided a free lunch to Calgarians on June 14 while teaching attendees about food waste. The event served 7,500 portions of food and saved over 700 kg of food from the landfill. The event included free food, cooking demonstrations, community tables and a station to pledge to reduce food waste. Grant funding for the event was received from Alberta EcoTrust and Community Natural Foods. Chefs from restaurants across Calgary created an amazing feast that included Poplar Bluff Organics potato salad, rescued fruit lemonade, great white northern bean salad, Mediterranean vegetable salad, and bread pudding. They also made a special giveaway item, a chocolate chip cookie made from spent grains from Banded Peak Brewing, Highwood Crossing organic flours and Cococo Chocolate. “We’d like to thank all the companies who donated food,” said head chef, SAIT’s Andrew Hewson. “We couldn’t have held the event without their contributions and through their efforts we created awareness about local food waste prevention.” The Guild provided the kitchen to prepare all the food in the week leading up to the event and LeftOvers donated the use of their truck to ship the food to Olympic Plaza and deliver the leftovers to other charities after the event. The public who attended had an opportunity to visit a variety of community booths including Fair Trade Calgary, the Arusha Centre, Alternate Root, Alex Food Centre, Green Calgary, Plastic Free YYC, Grow Calgary, YYC Growers, Community Natural Foods, LeftOvers YYC and the City of Calgary Waste & Recycling and Water Services. For more information on F5KYYC: recycle.ab.ca/f5kyyc
Read these: Here’s something familiar: Best of Bridge Weekday Suppers filled with delicious, nutritious and quick meals for our busy lifestyles. These from the latest members of the Bridge Family, Sylvia Kong, known as a food stylist and home economist in Calgary, partnered with Emily Richards, a cookbook author and home economist from Ontario. (Robert Rose, $29.95, hard cover) Here’s something different: Apocalypse Chow by David Julian Wightman, a remix of Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness. Meet chef Walter E. Kurtz, Canada’s “Greatest Chef” at the helm of Chow, an extreme destination dining restaurant in the wilds of northern Ontario. Kurtz is brilliant and talented, but he’s gone rogue and possibly insane. This novella explores the restaurant world from the inside out. Issues of food security and consumption are explored along with the prodigious and largely under-appreciated bounty of ingredients found naturally in northern Ontario. Download the e-book for free from the author’s web site iamdavidjw.com and paperbacks can be purchased on Amazon and other online retailers.
CITYPALATE.ca SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2018
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eat this
by Ellen Kelly
WHAT TO EAT IN SEPTEMBER AND OCTOBER Illustrations by Eden Thompson
As compensation for our all-too-brief summers, we’re frequently rewarded with extra sunshine and bounty as our days sadly begin to shorten. Peppers, squash, onions, tomatoes, potatoes, eggplants – and so much more – fill our markets and gardens to bursting. The nightshade family plays an interesting and key role in so much of this abundance. Tomatoes, eggplants, peppers and potatoes all share this somewhat unusual family connection. Thankfully, people no longer regard tomatoes and peppers with the suspicion they received in Europe when they were first introduced from the New World. Our relationship with the supermarket TOMATO has changed considerably in the last few years. Once all that could be found was the dreaded anemic coloured, papier-mache textured fruit we all felt compelled to purchase if only for a bit of colour. Happily, we can now find tasty, bright-coloured greenhouse-raised tomatoes even past the usual season. Thank goodness the dark days are over. Aside from ratatouille (see page 14), my go-to with fresh seasonal tomatoes is a simple soup that casts the fruit in the starring role. Where I would normally not bother to peel tomatoes, I do for this soup. A quick blanch in boiling water does the trick. Start by sautéing 1/2 c. chopped onion and 1/4 c. celery, with a minced clove or two of garlic, in olive oil and butter over medium heat until soft. Season with salt and pepper. Add about 4 c. peeled, chopped ripe tomatoes, juice and all, and 1 t. lightly chopped fresh thyme leaves; continue to cook for 10-15 minutes. Pour in about 1-2 c. good chicken or vegetable stock (depending on the juiciness of the tomatoes) and season again. At this point, you can purée the soup or leave it chunky. Cook for an additional 15 minutes and finish with a little heavy cream if you like it pink.
BUY: Look for tomatoes on the vine or at least fruit that still has the calyx attached. The leaves should be fragrant and pliable; any brittleness suggests they’ve been on the shelf for a little too long. The skins should be shiny and tight and the fruit heavy for its size. TIPS: Never store tomatoes in the refrigerator. Like eggplants, their flavour is diminished considerably when kept cold. Only resort to the fridge if the fruit is over ripe or split and won’t last on the counter. DID YOU KNOW? There are many more varieties available now. Watch for Cherokee Purple, Sungold, Yellow Peach, Black Plum and Amish paste to name just a few. They are rainbow coloured and vary hugely in taste, definitely worth experimenting with.
And what kitchen can survive without an allium in one form or another? Fall brings us this culinary essential in all its glory, not the least of which is the too often forgotten, delicate and subtle LEEK.
BUY: Look for leeks that are firm and stiff with white stalks or “shanks” and dark green or blue-green leaves. Buy leeks with their roots attached, they’ll keep longer.
Once known as “poor man’s asparagus,” especially in France, leeks are just as expensive as asparagus these days. Leeks can be found most of the year, but it’s the smaller leeks that are more available in the late summer, early fall. These tasty slender alliums are perfect when oven-braised with cream. Trim and clean several small leeks (less than one-inch diameter). Tie them in a bundle and parboil them in salted boiling water until tender. Remove the bundle, cut the string and allow to drain and cool to room temperature. Butter a pretty baking dish and arrange the leeks, covering them with a mixture of three parts heavy cream to one-part good stock, with a dab of Dijon mustard whisked in. Dot with butter and season with salt, freshly ground black or white pepper and, optionally, a touch of freshly ground nutmeg. A sprig or two of fresh thyme on the top is a nice addition. Bake uncovered at 375°F. for about 35-40 minutes, until the cream begins to coat rather than cover the leeks.
TIPS: Although the white shank is the most-used portion, the well-cleaned roots and the coarser green leaves are excellent additions to stock. The many layers of the leek hide fine sand and dirt; be sure to clean them well. Stand trimmed leeks (with a slit up the side) upside down in cold water for an hour or so to allow the sand to filter out.
In 1912, the pharmacist Wilbur Scoville invented a scale that ranks chiles and peppers by heat units; BELL PEPPERS are at the bottom of that scale. Known more for their sweet juiciness than any piquancy, this large, hollow fruit lends itself to many applications. My favourite thing to do with an abundance of red, yellow and/or orange peppers is to fire up the grill and roast and peel them. Using long tongs, place the whole pepper directly on the grill and turn as the skin chars and blackens. Put the peppers in a bag or covered container to steam and cool a bit before peeling off the outer papery skin. Remove the stems, seeds and membranes before putting the pieces, large or small, into small bags with a splash of good olive oil, a basil leaf or two and a crushed garlic clove. These little treasure packets can be frozen and used in many ways all winter – salads, soups, stuffing, stews and more.
DID YOU KNOW? This tall, striking, noble-looking plant (with names like King Richard and Lancelot) is the proud symbol of Wales.
BUY: Bell peppers should be firm and unblemished with tight skins. Wrinkled skins indicate a loss of moisture. Buy fruit that’s heavy for its size, an indication of a juicier, thicker-walled pepper. TIPS: When dicing and slicing peppers, open them up and cut into the inside wall instead of the shiny surface; your knife will find better purchase and you’ll be less likely to cut yourself, especially if using a dull knife. DID YOU KNOW? Some people claim raw green pepper upsets their stomachs. This makes sense since green peppers are in fact unripe and have a distinctive flavour that many people don’t care for even if they don’t cause them any gastric distress. Being unripe, they are also not as easy to char and peel as red, orange or yellow peppers. Ellen Kelly has written about food, among other culinary pursuits, for years and is a regular contributor to City Palate.
CITYPALATE.ca SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2018
7
drink this
by Brad Royale
KITTEN SWISH: MAKING YOUR OWN WINE WITH OTHER PEOPLE’S WINES
Sometimes you just have to do it. You have to go for it. You must take the deep breath and plunge into it, wild-eyed and screaming. The it that I’m referring to is that fantastic idea you have had bouncing around like a rubber ball behind your eyes since forever. It’s the idea that follows you everywhere, from the moment you wake up to the moment you fall asleep. As you drift off at night it curls itself around you and whispers, “Good night, Brad, see you in the morning.” And sure enough, every morning when the alarm goes off, there’s the idea, staring at you. “Good morning, Brad, shall we get up?” The idea eventually starts to drive you mad. It was this burgeoning madness that convinced me to start a wine company. I had to do it. Any good idea usually requires friends to help execute it, and a wine company certainly needs partners. In the early part of 2012, I met with Mark Kuspira, a longtime friend and business associate. Mark runs an extremely successful wine import company, Crush Imports. For this madness to work, there would have to be someone to run the import and logistics side of things and nothing could get off the ground without Mark. Mark has a killer palate and likes to travel, so he was a good fit. We set up a business that we would name Kitten Swish. A business name can be tricky. You want something someone can remember and, you hope, something that’s not insulting when translated… at least not too insulting. One morning when I was draped in a housecoat with a severe hangover for inspiration, two words popped up that had both meaning and a story. Kitten Swish. The Kitten part was prompted by a young cat with tragic OCD, no experience, and a penchant for following shiny things. Swish is a bit of a double entendre. On the one hand, it’s a slang term for something awesome, like the swish of a basketball hitting nothing but net. Swish is also a term for when you are flat-ass broke and somehow manage to score a recently emptied whiskey barrel that will help you get loaded (there’s an accurate description of this on Youtube via The Trailer Park Boys; check it out). You add water to the barrel and then drink the liquid. Results may vary. The “swish” part of our company name works with both definitions – swish can be something delicious and special, and we also had no money to start it. Every brand name needs a catch-phrase, or a tag line. I found inspiration from the silica packets shipped with electronics, those packets that read, “Do Not Eat.” Who eats these? Did anyone think that Sony had decided it would slip a little snack in with your speakers? Ridiculous. “It’s for your mouth,” an equally absurd instruction, became our tag line and adorns every bottle of Kitten Swish… just so you know where to put the bottle’s contents. Living in Calgary meant we had to find wine for our wine brand. Thankfully, history offered an answer in an old practice, the négociant. A négociant is a French term for a wine company that purchases wine from wine producers and sells it under its own brand name. This was, by and large, the way the wine world worked until the early 20th century when domaine bottling became more common. Previous to wineries bottling, labelling, shipping and marketing their own wine, they would sell the wine in bulk and let someone else take it to market. This system of various parties getting involved in wine production, promotion and sales dates back centuries. Since we live in the viticulturally desolate landscape of Alberta, and not wanting to move, I thought revitalizing this tradition would be a way to get into the wine business. Since we could not make wine here, we would bring the wine to us. Kitten Swish was going to be a micro-négociant; a very little company travelling to vineyards, buying and blending small lots of wine. The négociant process looks a little like this, more or less. Find someone who makes wine and likes you. Try to convince them that selling you their hard-earned wine is a promising idea. Once they say yes (this could take some time, depending on how much they like you), you show up and taste various lots of wine – could be from barrels or tanks – looking for something you like. Sometimes this process occurs when the wine is quite young and is in need of further cellaring, making you guess, as you taste, about how the wine will age and come together in a bottle. At other times, the wine is almost finished and just needs to be amalgamated and bottled. Barrels of wine are a lot like people – they’re all different and some of them work better together than others. When tasting you’re looking for something specific to your tastes, your interpretation of what is being presented. I think blending wine is a lot like curating. You take a few pieces from the main collection and arrange them in such a way that a new impression is created. This curating process captures something special that would otherwise be lost in the larger exhibition.
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CITYPALATE.ca SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2018
Once you’ve settled on a blend of various samples and are happy with the results, then all the other moving parts get scheduled. They include figuring out the bottling dates, bottling trucks, label designs, label printing, wax deliveries (expect sighs from those who have to wax the bottles) and, finally, the shipping companies that will take the wine to market. From the time the wine is tasted as a sample to when the wine hits a local restaurant, an entire year might go by. The only thing fast in the wine world is the drinking part. Stitch
Dirty
Below the Surface
Pleasure Buttons
Here and Gone
Our first travels to find wine were amazing. I remember the first flight to Sonoma to meet with Fritz Stuhlmuller. I sat by the window drinking a gin and tonic thinking, we’re actually doing this, finally! Our early adventures were properly exciting, involving blowing up watermelons with shot guns, late night dinners and quad rides into the Russian River. We even ended up at the hospital in the early morning hours to repair Mark’s forehead from an ill-fated quad ride up a hill. The hospital visit and the subsequent stitches resulted in the label for our first chardonnay release. The label was a blown-up picture of Mark’s damaged head, artfully redesigned to look like flowers. The wine was called Stitch. Our labels have always focused on our surroundings, our often-weird surroundings. Our first-ever release was 2011 zinfandel from the Stuhlmuller vineyard and featured our friend Daniel on the label. The label was a picture of Daniel at a Halloween party dressed as some pervy superhero, complete with tragic mustache. We didn’t tell Daniel about the release but waited until it was in market to show him. Thankfully no one was sued. We’ve continued this surprise labelling by including our dear friend Karen Kho on our current chardonnay release. Kho is happily lounging in a shopping cart after a rather successful and bottle-emptying Lilac Festival. The wine is perfectly entitled “Dirty.” Other labels have included images of a baby head named Frank, an archery target, a hotel in Bocas del Toro, a dead robin, the molecule for dopamine and a rotary phone. A fine mix of our surroundings and our weirdness, these labels capture the playfulness of wine and friends. To date we have bottled wine in France, Germany, Spain, the United States and Canada. On the horizon, we have a special 25th label release featuring magnums of kékfrankos from Master Sommelier John Szabo’s property in Eger, Hungary. In the works is a pinot noir project in the Yarra Valley in Australia with Mac Forbes, and our third release of cabernet franc with Laughing Stock Vineyards in the Naramata is about to come to market. It’s amazing what can happen to an idea, an idea that could have just macerated forever in two men’s brains. I can’t imagine today not having Kitten Swish as a reality. Mark and I have come a long way from sitting in Earl’s that afternoon brainstorming about owning a wine company. The community support for Kitten Swish has been fantastic. Amazing restaurants and retailers in Alberta and British Columbia have allowed Mark and me to take this bouncing-ballidea from nothing to something delicious, and we’re deeply thankful for that.
Brad Royale is a sommelier with a WSET diploma and is the Wine Director for Canadian Rocky Mountain Resorts.
Soirée | Celebration | Shindig
No matter the occasion, our all-butter, made-from-scratch pie is the perfect way to put a smile on your guests’ faces. The pie’s the limit.
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Small Group and Private Trips exploring local cuisines and wines around the globe!
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CITYPALATE.ca SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2018
9
get this
by Wanda Baker
MUST HAVE KITCHEN STUFF
Century old folk remedy rediscovered Elderberries have been a folk remedy for centuries in North America, Europe, Western Asia, and North Africa. The medicinal benefits of these berries are being investigated and rediscovered. They are known for their antioxidant activity, helping fight viral infections, coughs, colds and boosting the immune system. Catalina Llano started her journey brewing organic elderberries with a combination of organic herbs and spices in 2012 in St. Albert for friends and family. The popularity and community interest lead her to create Feel Good Syrup and start marketing it across Alberta. Try this syrup in smoothies, kombucha, cocktails, ice teas, milkshakes and even sorbets. Feel Good Syrup, Amaranth Whole Foods Market, SPUD Home Delivery, $19.99
Tea with the masters With a great grandfather who was a tea merchant in Wales, it appears Ted Jones was destined to open a tea shop. In 1993 opportunity knocked when he found a location in Inglewood, opening the first tea shop in Calgary, called Tea Trader. A flight of stairs takes you into a world of tea and accessories with a variety of teas from areas within India, Nepal, China, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Japan and Kenya. The herbal infusions and rooibos are from South Africa. They make their own blends and will customize blends for customers. Imagine enjoying your tea in one of the McIntosh Fine Bone China Tea Mugs featuring both Canadian Artists like Emily Carr and World Artists such as Van Gogh and Monet. These mugs are available at Tea Trader and appeal to the artist in all of us. Old Masters Fine Bone China Tea Mug with Infuser & Lid, Canadian Masters Fine Bone China Grande Mug, Tea Trader, $32
Happiness in a bowl Margaret Nemeth has the ability to take a favourite comfort food and turn it into a delicious tasting soup. Known for opening a former coffee shop in downtown Calgary to later buying a building and creating Primal Grounds Café in southwest Calgary, Margaret has been in the restaurant business for over 30 years. Seven years ago, she closed her café as the land was sold, and became the soup lady with Primal Soup in Market on Macleod and, later, Crossroads Market. Her manyflavoured soups are made using local ingredients and based on her own glutenfree, dairy-free lifestyle. All soups are made in a commercial kitchen with her own chef. After constant friendly harassment from former café customers, Margaret took over a space in the Crossroads Market and re-launched Primal Grounds Café making a 7-year comeback and planning to open a new 2,000 sq foot location in Glamorgan featuring all the favourites she is known for, including frozen gourmet soups to go and an outdoor patio. 1 Litre Primal Soups, Crossroads Market, Avenida Food Hall & Fresh Market, Primal Grounds Café, $13
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CITYPALATE.ca SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2018
Sweeter than pumpkin spice Add a festive touch to the table with the Staub Ceramic Pumpkin Cocottes. From oven to table these bake-and-serve dishes offer individual servings of soups, casseroles, vegetables, pasta dishes, stews or any of your favourite comfort food. The sky's the limit, really, as we could even envision serving a colourful fall salad in these cocottes. Made of stoneware with a vitreous glass porcelain-enamel finish, they will not absorb moisture but do retain heat-keeping food hot on the coldest of days. These cute pumpkins are available in three sizes and three colours – orange, white or black.
Churrascaria & Restaurante
Staub Ceramic Pumpkin Cocotte, Britannia Kitchen & Home and Zest Kitchenware, Dalhousie Station, $39.99-$299.99
High performance peanut butter In a market full of nut butters and healthier peanut butter options, Jill Van Gyn couldn’t find a peanut butter to suit her lifestyle. “I got tired paying high prices for a nut butter not offering a rich nutritional profile” says Jill. When she finally found something worth trying, she learned quickly it was failing miserably in the market. Jill did what any entrepreneurial spirt would do and bought the rights to the peanut butter, re-worked it with the help of a nutritionist, and created Fatso High Performance Peanut Butter. Fatso is all about good, nutritious, life-giving super fats made of organic coconut oil, avocado oil, MCT (medium chain triglycerides) oil, macadamia nut oil, organic chia seeds and organic flax. They add in a prebiotic fiber derived from tapioca providing a light sweet taste and high dose of fiber leaving it low on the glycemic index. We love the price and taste of this peanut butter and the fact it’s gluten-free, dairy free, vegan and Keto friendly.
Celebrate your holiday event in style!
Fatso High Performance Peanut Butter, Blush Lane Organic Market, $10.99
Drinkware built to last YETI Coolers found their beginnings when two brothers combined their passion for the outdoors and the need for a durable, good looking and incredibly effective cooler. Following the success of the coolers and other items in the product line, they decided to channel their insulation expertise into portable bottles, creating the YETI Rambler Collection. These Ramblers are made with kitchen-grade stainless steel and have two walls of vacuum insulation to keep hot liquids hot and cold liquids cold, plus a handle built into the leak-proof cap. They maintain the temperature of your drink. Ramblers are available in Tumblers, Bottles, Lowball Mugs, Cups and Colsters. YETI Rambler Collection, Atmosphere, MEC, Cabela’s, $24.99 - $129.99 Wanda Baker is a Calgary food writer and author of bakersbeans.ca who writes about life, adventures and food.
Not your typical Brazilian Steakhouse! (403) 454-2550 136 2nd STREET SW info@minassteakhouse.com www.minassteakhouse.coM
#EATATMINAS
CITYPALATE.ca SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2018
11
one ingredient
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Che h f de Cuisine Tob o ias Larcher
CITYPALATE.ca SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2018
PLUMS
I’ve long argued that in Canadian kitchens, plums are the most underutilized of the conventional fruits – for cooking with, at least. The perfect balance of sweet and tart, irresistibly juicy, never woody or stringy, the plum is ideal for cakes, pies, cobblers and crisps, but also for jams and chutneys, for stewing to spoon over ice cream or yogurt, or tossing in halves on the barbecue. Firm, almost crunchy plums are perfect chopped into salads. A plum is such an ideal example of what we should look for in a fruit, its name is used to describe other desirable things. And yet we rarely realize its potential in the kitchen. Like other stone fruits, plums come in clingstone or freestone varieties, the former with tiny stones fused to the surrounding flesh, the latter easier to release in clean slices. They’re more diverse than their cousins – while you may have the option of only one kind of apricot and a few types of peach and cherry, plums come in a wide range of shapes, sizes and colours, differing both inside and out: there are deep purple black plums, with flesh and juice as dark as their exterior; tiny, bright green greengages; yellow-orange Mirabelles; droplet-shaped pinkred Japanese beauties; and oblong, dusty purple damson plums with contrasting yellowgreen interiors. And these are just the more common varieties – you may come across a plum you don’t recognize, but regardless of its outward appearance, if it’s ripe, you can bet it will be juicy and delicious. Which plum you choose may at least partly be dictated by your intentions for it; if you’re concerned with slicing plums cleanly or want to set them cut-side-down on the grill, a nottoo-ripe freestone variety may be in order. But if you’re eating them out of hand, or simmering them into jam or other preserves, there’s the option of cleaning off the pit with your teeth, or gingerly extracting the stones from the pot when your cooking is done. (I like to count the individual pieces of fruit before they go in, to ensure the right number of pits comes back out.) Although plums are perfectly suited to dense, buttery cakes and pastries – Eastern Europeans know this – their lush tartness also makes them ideal for roasting and serving with pork, chicken, turkey and even lamb, their astringency cutting the richness of the meat and their sweetness enhancing it. I sometimes halve or quarter plums and roast them alongside meat in its juices, as you might do with potatoes and carrots, and they can be simmered into sauces and chutneys, threaded onto kabobs or tossed onto the grill to cook alongside whatever else is for dinner. And while plums are in season and at their peak, it’s perfectly reasonable to slice a few into each course.
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by Julie Van Rosendaal
Plum Chutney I can think of few better accompaniments to a cheese board – for some reason, plums make a perfect pairing to cheese of every texture and intensity. It’s simple to simmer a batch, and measurements are approximate; it’s a great way to use up plums that are starting to get wrinkled or squishy. olive or canola oil, for cooking 2 shallots, grated or finely chopped 1 lb. plums (any kind), roughly chopped or squished off their pits 2 t. grated ginger 3/4 c. packed light brown sugar 1/2 c. red wine or apple cider vinegar 1 cinnamon stick 2 t. black mustard seed (optional) 1 t. cumin seed pinch red chile flakes freshly ground black pepper
In a medium pot, heat a drizzle of oil over medium-high heat and sauté the shallots for a few minutes, until soft and starting to turn golden. Add the plums – if they’re very ripe, you can crush them with your hands right over the pot, removing the pits with your fingers – and the remaining ingredients. Simmer for 20-30 minutes, until the chutney is thick, soft and jam-like. Cool and refrigerate for up to a month, or freeze for longer storage. Makes about 2 cups.
Marian Burros’s Plum Torte
Maple Pork Tenderloin with Plums
This torte – really just a simple butter cake – was so popular in the nineties, it ran in the New York Times every September from ’83 to ’89. In its final run, the recipe was printed with a dotted line frame “to encourage clipping.” This version is adapted slightly – the original has the eggs added along with the dry ingredients and calls for 24 plum halves, which I find is a bit too much for the pan to accommodate. I use about 5 large plums, cut into quarters, or 8 small ones, halved. Press them cut side down into the batter, and let them slump down into it as the cake bakes. This cake is delicious eaten out of hand with coffee, or warm with whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Plums are magic with roasted pork, chicken and turkey – browning the meat first makes it easy to make a sublime sauce by loosening up those tasty bits with juicy plums.
1/2 c. butter, at room temperature
2-3 plums, pitted and cut into wedges
1 T. Dijon or grainy mustard 1 T. lemon juice 1 T. soy sauce 1 sprig fresh rosemary 1-2 pork tenderloins olive or canola oil, for cooking 2 T. butter
3/4 c. sugar
Kataifi Torte with Ricotta and Plums
1/4-1/2 c. heavy (whipping) cream
2 large eggs
Kataifi is finely shredded phyllo dough, available in most Middle Eastern groceries alongside the phyllo and often used for baklava. Here, it’s tossed in melted butter and pressed into a pie plate or cake pan, layered with honey-sweetened ricotta and topped with more kataifi, for a ridiculously delicious creamy-crunchy dessert that’s divine topped with sweet-tart stewed plums. The plums can be simmered in advance and kept in the fridge until you’re ready for them.
In a small bowl or zip-lock bag big enough to hold your pork, combine the maple syrup, mustard, lemon juice and soy sauce. Pour over the pork (or place the pork in the bag), add the rosemary and let sit for half an hour, but preferably refrigerate for at least two hours, or overnight.
1 c. all-purpose flour 1 t. baking powder 1/4 t. salt 5-8 plums, pitted and cut into wedges (or halves, if they’re small) turbinado or granulated sugar and lemon juice, for topping
Easy Plum Tarts
1/4 c. maple syrup
Preheat oven to 350°F. In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar until creamy. Beat in the eggs, and then the flour, baking powder and salt, beating on low or stirring just until combined.
1 pkg (about 340 g) kataifi (shredded phyllo dough), thawed
Spoon the batter into a buttered 9-inch cake pan or pie plate, smoothing the top, and arrange the plum slices skin side up in concentric circles (or whatever works). Press the fruit lightly into the batter. Sprinkle with sugar and a squeeze of lemon juice, if you like. Bake for 40 minutes, or until golden; the fruit should be soft and juicy, the cake springy to the touch. Serves 8.
1/4 c. honey (or to taste)
1/2 c. butter, melted 1 c. ricotta
Slide it into the oven for 15-20 minutes. It’s finished cooking when a meat thermometer registers 155°F/68°C . Transfer the pork to a cutting board and let it stand (cover with foil if you like) until you’re ready for it.
2 T. cream 1 c. sugar 1/2 c. water 1 cinnamon stick a few green cardamom pods (optional) 1 t. vanilla Plums: 3 plums, pitted and chopped
A sort of fruit-heavy evolution of the classic Danish, these tarts are quick to make using store-bought puff pastry and thinly sliced plums. They couldn’t be easier, and are perfect for dessert, served warm with a scoop of ice cream, or to nibble with coffee for breakfast or brunch. I like to use turbinado sugar for its sprinklability and coarse texture.
1/4 c. sugar, or to taste
1/2-1 pkg. puff pastry, thawed
Press a bit more than half of the mixture into a deep pie plate, baking dish or cake pan, and use your fingers or the bottom of a measuring cup to press it down into the bottom and up the sides. (It doesn’t have to be perfect.) Stir together the ricotta, honey and cream and spread it over the bottom. Top with the remaining kataifi, pressing loosely to make an even surface.
1/4 c. sugar 2-3 T. sliced almonds or flaked hazelnuts (optional) 1 egg, beaten (optional)
Preheat the oven to 425°F. On a lightly floured surface, roll the pastry out to 1/4-inch thick (or less) and cut into 3-4 inch squares. Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet, sprinkle each with about half the sugar and the nuts (if you’re using them), then top with thinly sliced plums, fanning out about a half plum per pastry. Fold the edges over the fruit about half an inch and, if you like, brush with some beaten egg. Sprinkle with the remaining sugar and bake for 20 minutes, or until golden. Makes 6 tarts.
When you’re ready to cook, preheat the oven to 400°F. Heat a drizzle of oil in a large ovenproof skillet set over medium-high heat. Remove the pork from the marinade, reserving the marinade, and brown the tenderloins on all sides, turning as necessary. (You can also grill them on your barbecue, if that appeals to you.)
crème fraîche or whipped cream (optional)
Preheat the oven to 350°F. In a large bowl, gently pull the kataifi apart with your fingers, and cut it with scissors so that it’s in roughly 2-inch pieces – just enough to make it easier to handle. Drizzle with the melted butter and toss to coat the phyllo well.
Don’t wash out the skillet. Instead, add the butter to it and sauté the plums for 3-5 minutes, until they soften and caramelize on the edges. Add the reserved marinade to the pan and bring to a simmer, scraping up any flavourful browned bits stuck to the bottom of the pan. Add the cream and cook until the mixture thickens slightly, and your spoon leaves a trail along the bottom. Slice the pork and serve it topped with the plums and sauce. Serves 3-6.
Bake for 45-50 minutes, until deep golden. As the torte bakes, bring the sugar and water to a simmer, adding the cinnamon stick and cardamom pods. Simmer for a minute, remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla. Set aside to cool. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan or skillet, cook the plums and sugar over medium-high heat until the mixture is soft and saucy. Remove the cinnamon stick and cardamom pods from the syrup and pour it evenly over the torte while it’s still hot. Once cooled at least slightly, invert it onto a plate and serve in wedges with the stewed plums and a dollop of crème fraîche or whipped cream, if you like. Serves 8.
Julie Van Rosendaal is a cookbook author and blogs at dinnerwithjulie.com
CITYPALATE.ca SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2018
13
the sunday project
Offering a locally inspired menu, featuring items that are meticulously crafted.
2 0 0 8 A i r p o r t R o a d N E , C a l ga r y | w w w.y a k i m a y y c .c o m
with Ellen Kelly
RATATOUILLE
Ratatouille is one of those iconic Mediterranean dishes perfectly suited to the late summer, early fall. Eggplants, tomatoes, peppers, onions and summer squash are in their glory now and begging to be introduced to each other. Ratatouille is a changeling – delicious hot or cold; served alone or as a side dish; inside an omelet or morphed into an exquisite vegetable soup or pasta sauce. It can be made incrementally, as I’ve done here, or you can oven roast all the vegetables (including the onions) for optimal umami-ness and combine and season them before serving. I usually use good quality canned tomatoes (a must-have pantry item), but fresh plum tomatoes are fine as long as they’re in season and taste wonderful. Fresh basil, or any favourite herb or herbs, adds the finishing touch. Remember to always add fresh herbs at the end of the cooking so as to retain their flavour. Ratatouille freezes very well and it’s always worth making more than you will eat at one sitting. A bit of crumbled chevre or feta gilds the lily and adds protein – or without, and the dish is vegan and gluten-free. It doesn’t get The ingredients. more versatile than that!
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CITYPALATE.ca SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2018
ELBOW DRIVE & 49 AVEN UE SW O PEN 7 DAYS A WEEK
B R I TA N N I A P L A Z A . C O M
1. Start by sautĂŠing chopped onions and garlic in olive oil until soft; season with salt and pepper.
2. Add cubed eggplant along with a little more oil and continue to saute until the eggplant starts to colour slightly.
3. Season again.
4. Chop the peppers.
5. And add to the pot, stirring regularly.
6. Chop zucchini (a little larger than the other vegetables since summer squash cooks down more rapidly).
7. Add to the pot and check seasoning.
8. Add tomatoes, fresh or canned.
9. Add a little tomato paste for a deeper flavour.
10. Add a dash of Worcestershire sauce and tabasco for extra depth.
11. Put the lid on and continue to cook on a medium-low heat on top of the stove or in a 325°F oven for 45 minutes to an hour.
12. Add chopped fresh basil a few minutes before serving.
Ellen Kelly is a regular City Palate contributor. Photos by Regan Johnson.
CITYPALATE.ca SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2018
15
TOASTING
Silver Anniversary OUR
IN CALGARY’S SPLENDID CULINARY SCENE
by Erin Lawrence
There’s something about columns that just screams historic. That’s probably thanks to art history classes that laud buildings like the Colosseum, the Vatican, or the Acropolis as places that have stood the test of time. To get that same sense of history in Calgary is harder, but fortunately, if you look for those columns, you can tap into history just the same. Cut from sandstone with terra cotta tiles, the former home of the Dominion Bank is as iconic and historic as Calgary architecture gets, so it should come as no surprise it’s where you’ll find one of the city’s most storied restaurants – Teatro. The restaurant is celebrating 25 years in Calgary, which, when compared to the age of the building it’s in, and the age of something like the Colosseum, seems practically toddlerish. But make no mistake, 25 years is a long time in the restaurant business. “It’s amazingly uncommon, and it’s made more evident in this last year, where we’ve seen heritage properties like Belvedere and Divino closing. Those properties are all within a block of Teatro,” says Matthew Batey, Corporate Executive Chef of Teatro Group. Batey credits Teatro’s longevity to an unwavering commitment to quality ingredients, exceptional service, and to consistently adapting to an ever-changing restaurant culture. “Quality of ingredients is massively important, but having the best people is so important too. The people business isn’t just about the guests, it’s about the people on your team who know how to take care of others,” explains Batey. Another Calgary food purveyor toasting a silver anniversary is Lina’s Italian Market. While original owner Lina Castle retired a few years ago from the family business she created, her eponymous establishment is still going strong on Centre Street north. Recently, Creative Restaurants Group, which bought the business, has switched up its leadership of Lina’s, and made some tweaks. New General Manager Matt Rai says the changes are designed to take Lina’s Market back to its roots. “We’ve been very fortunate to have a strong customer base. I recently had a meeting with Lina because she had a vision and a strong belief in how the store should be. We’re taking her vision from the last 25 years and are pushing it forward to the next 25.” Lamb and game meats are now on offer at Lina’s meat counter and fresh fish is flown in all the way from Greece for what’s been dubbed, “Fish Friday”.
Also celebrating 25 years is the magazine you’re reading right now. City Palate turns 25 this issue. 16
CITYPALATE.ca SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2018
Editor-Publisher Kathy Richardier says it’s been a way to chronicle Calgary’s changing food scene and to put local chefs, food and talent on the map for the rest of Canada and the world.
Title Sponsors:
“It has blossomed beautifully,” enthuses Richardier of Calgary’s foodie culture. “It has had periodic setbacks, as the economy gets hammered sometimes, but it has thrived and Calgary chefs have become known in the wider culinary world, as have our restaurants.” The last round of hammering has definitely taken a toll on some of the city’s heritage dining establishments. In the May June 2017 issue, City Palate published a profile on restaurants that have endured to nearly a half-century or longer, including Hy’s, Caesars, The Carriage House Inn, Smugglers Group, and Silver Dragon. But the list of heritage restaurants continues to dwindle. Despite a sometimes harsh and ever-changing economic climate, new restaurants and food concepts continue to open in Calgary. (See our list of new and new-ish places, on page 20.) Social media is definitely fuelling an extraordinary interest in food culture and local chefs. “Social media has, I think, helped everyone, because information is all over the place,” explains Richardier.“At the same time there’s still a huge place for print media in this city. People are still as interested in picking up a copy of City Palate today and seeing what’s new, as they were when we brought the idea here, after seeing a similar publication in Vancouver a quarter of a century ago. It’s still such a thrill to connect with readers and fellow foodies after so many years.”
Life’s short
— Eat. Drink. Celebrate.
OCTOBER 12 & 13 Stampede Park BMO Centre
Get Your Early Bird tickets by September 7 and save!
Tickets available at rockymountainwine.com Please enjoy your beverages responsibly. Minors are not permitted.
While they may not have the same longevity to brag about, there’s also a host of restaurants in the city that deserve props for milestone anniversaries too. Places like Rouge, which has been open since 2003, River Café, which started as a seasonal concession before transforming in 1995 to an enclosed space which began operating year round, and Anju, which opened in 2008, in a self-proclaimed “obscure location on the west side of downtown Calgary,” before relocating to its current digs on 17th Avenue. Of the new restaurants that have opened in the last year or so in Calgary, many have bold new concepts, and several are being backed by serial restaurateurs and established chefs. How they’re evolving Calgary’s food scene was the subject of much discussion at a special 25th anniversary dinner held at Teatro this spring. Teatro invited many of its former chefs, wine experts, servers and managers for what it called an “alumni dinner.” Seated around a large communal table underneath a mammoth monochromatic painting were: Karen Kho, co-owner of Empire Provisions, who was Teatro’s operations manager; Hayloft’s Jason Barton Browne was the sous chef at Teatro; Andrea Robinson, a former server, can now be found at Two Penny Chinese; while former Teatro manager Brendan Bankowski, owner of popular breakfast spot Beltliner, opened Gorilla Whale in June. Toshi Karino was Teatro’s wine director, and now owns Carino Reserva. Fitting that, in toasting its own history in a storied sandstone financial building, Teatro is giving a nod to Calgary’s culinary future, one these restaurateurs are banking on, too.
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A truly uniquesymonsvalleyranch.com year-round Farmers Market 14555 Symons Valley Road NW Calgary T3K 2A8
Open Fri / Sat / Sun 10am - 5pm See all our vendors at symonsvalleyranch.com 14555 Symons Valley Road NW Calgary T3K 2A8
continued on page 20 CITYPALATE.ca SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2018
17
eggs
Congratulazioni
are a natural choice to be part of a balanced, healthy diet!
(CON-gra-TU-la-zee-OH-nee)
Eggs contain: 6 grams of the highest quality protein 14 key nutrients, including Folate, Choline and Vitamins A, D, E and B12 only 70 calories Canada’s Food Guide considers 2 eggs to be 1 serving from the Meat and Alternatives food group.
Congratulations City Palate on your 25th year, from all of us at the Italian Centre Shop. Congratulations Grocery. Bakery. Deli. Café. EDMONTON Little Italy | Southside | West End
www.eggs.ab.ca
CALGARY Willow Park
italiancentre.ca
! s n o i t la u t a r g Con ON 25 YEARS OF
CULINARY INSPIRATION!
FROM YOUR FRIENDS AT
ting Connec Food , s r Farme eas and Id
on 25 years!
CONGRATULATIONS CITY PALATE ON 25 GREAT YEARS!
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Calgary’s best fried chicken for 60 years! Online Ordering now available: chickenonthewaycalgary.ca We’re in your neighbourhood ~ seven locations in Calgary & Airdrie
Congratulations City Palate on your 25th Anniversary!
FRESH • LOCAL • GLOBALLY INSPIRED
Congratulations City Palate on your 25th Anniversary!
WE ALL KNOW THAT SOME THINGS GET MUCH BETTER WITH AGE, LIKE... LOTS OF W
Happy 25th City Palate!
Say CheeSe
FROM ALL OF US
Fromagerie
Find us at Crossroads Market
403.819-6706
Thank you CITy PalaTe, for CelebraTIng Calgary’s CulInary CuIsIne for 25 years!
Summer’s not over when you capture it in a bottle.
Celebrate 25 years of City Palate with Summer Love Vodka from Starr Distilling
2405 Edmonton Trail NE
Find us at fine liquor purveyors.
128 50th Ave SE WWW.UNIMARKET.CA Unimarket Latin Food Store
City Palate 25 years making an Impact. Congratulations!
HAPPY 25TH BIRTHDAY thank you for your continued support
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821 4 Ave SW, Calgary, AB T2P 0K5 / (587) 353-1484
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TOASTING OUR SILVER ANNIVERSARY IN CALGARY’S SPLENDID CULINARY SCENE continued from page 17
Calgary's New and Newish Restaurants 10 FOOT HENRY With a staple of vegetarian favourites that will have you turning your back on meat, 10 Foot Henry is constantly pushing the boundaries of food in Calgary. 1918 TAP & TABLE Owned and operated by the Royal Canadian Legion, this not-for-profit restaurant is bright and airy, serving comfort food from locally sourced ingredients. ALUMNI SANDWICH & LIQUOR BAR Offers a delicious sandwich menu and stellar cocktails with gourmet ingredients.
PADDY’S BBQ & BREWERY Find small batch brewed beer and delicious southern-style barbecue. PROOF Offbeat and stylish cocktail bar featuring thoughtfully prepared drinks, and small plates.
BRIDGETTE BAR Ultra-creative and insanely flavourful wood-fired cuisine. BUFFO Rustic Italian fare with a fun contemporary flair in an authentic, vibrant setting. CARDINALE Where new-school Italian meets an old-school neighbourhood vibe. Everything is made from scratch, including fresh pasta every morning. COTTO A small, family-owned restaurant and bar serving classic Italian comfort food. DONNA MAC This eatery from the owners of Proof and Vine Arts aims for culinary resourcefulness and sustainability.
EMPIRE PROVISIONS Handmade charcuterie favourites, with a charming lunch café in front, located in Haysboro. FOREIGN CONCEPT Find unique Pan-Asian food using locally sourced ingredients, and modern cooking techniques. The clean, distinctive and subtle flavours honour colonial Vietnamese cooking with surprising flavours from across the continent.
MINAS BRAZILIAN STEAKHOUSE Traditional Brazilian restaurant featuring tableside carved meats, classic sides and sleek decor. NATIVE TONGUES TAQUERIA Authentic Mexican food and atmosphere.
BLOWERS & GRAFTON Taste Halifax street food in Calgary.
ELBOW ROOM This stunningly modern room is a treat in itself. Find bold and creative foods and flavours with a deliciously creative cocktail menu and a sunny second-storey patio.
GORILLA WHALE Opened in the space where Sugo used to be in Inglewood, co-owner Brendan Bankowski (who has the Beltliner) goes heavy on the cocktail program, while also serving food he describes as “Japanese-ish.”
RICARDO’S HIDEAWAY This Havanastyle oasis combines the best parts of Cuba and the Caribbean with just a touch of the South Pacific. SAIT TASTEMARKET An urban eatery for downtown foodies, it’s also an innovative learning environment for future culinary entrepreneurs. TAVERNETTA Tavernetta co-owner Tony Migliarese also co-owns Proof. This warm and unassuming casual spot features hearty, rustic food. THE DUMPLING LAB The best place for traditional, contemporary and innovative handmade dumplings. THE LOFT AT GRANARY ROAD Up among the wood rafters, this new spot in the Granary Road market in the deep south serves up casual dishes made with ingredients sourced from local producers. THE WEDNESDAY ROOM Get upmarket lunch fare and small plates at this swanky, 1960s-style cocktail lounge. TWO PENNY CHINESE Two Penny is a modern urban Chinese restaurant. Two Penny offers familiar Chinese dining in a beautiful Shanghai Art Deco inspired space. ✤
Erin Lawrence is a Calgary TV producer, journalist and freelance writer who loves Calgary’s fun food scene. Find her online at ErinLYYC.com or on Twitter & Instagram @ErinLYYC.
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A T D A L H O U S I E S T A T I O N 403.286.5220 www.zestkitchenware.com
CITYPALATE.ca SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2018
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Shaved Rainbow Carrot Salad
Goose Breast Pastrami
Chef Jenny Kang, Bow Valley Ranche Restaurant
Chef Matthew Batey, Teatro
10 rainbow carrots, shaved with a peeler
2 goose breasts rinsed and patted dry
5 oz. baby kale
For the brine:
1 oz. pistachio nuts, toasted for 5 min. and chopped 3 oz. feta cheese, crumbled 1 smoked duck breast green sprouts for garnish
Honey Lemon Vinaigrette: 3 T. honey 1 T. white wine vinegar juice of 1/2 lemon 1/2 t. Dijon mustard salt & pepper to taste 1/2 c. canola oil
Put all the ingredients in a bowl, except the canola oil. Slowly add the canola oil and whisk well.
8 c. water 9 oz. brown sugar 5 oz. salt 1 oz. instacure no.1 (a curing salt)* 2 t. each, coriander, crushed black pepper, fennel seed, anise seed (all toasted) 2 t. mustard seed, crushed 2 t. chile flakes
Combine the ingredients for the brine in a pot and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat and let cool. Make sure the brine is cool, then place the goose breasts in the brine, ensuring they are completely covered, and let stand for 4 days.
Put the shaved carrot and baby kale in a stainless steel bowl and toss with the vinaigrette. To serve, put some of the carrot and kale on plates, sprinkle with the crumbled feta and chopped pistachio, then slice the duck breast, put on top of the salad and top with more of the carrot and kale and garnish with green sprouts on top. Serves 4 to 6.
Our chefs’ harvest recipes were made from meats donated by hunters with Alberta Conservation Association, Alberta Hunter Education Instructors’ Association and Alberta Fish and Game Association. Visit harvestyourown.ca to find out more about good local game meats.
Remove the breasts from the brine, rinse in cold water and pat dry. Thoroughly coat the meat with dry rub and smoke gently at 180°F. for 3 hours using a combination of cherry and apple woods. Dry Rub: In a spice grinder, blend 1/3 c. EACH sugar, black peppercorns, toasted coriander, toasted fennel seed, plus 2 t. EACH salt and chile flakes. Blend to a medium fine consistency and store in a sealable container until needed. Once smoked, remove from the smoker and place in a vacuum seal bag with enough brine to surround the breasts, but not too much that you can’t seal the bag. Put into an immersion or sous vide circulator at 58°C. for 36 hours. This is an optional step, but it creates a fantastic texture. The goose is fully cooked after the smoking process, if you don’t have a circulator. Chill the breasts in the fridge overnight. Thinly slice and serve with your favourite garnishes, pictured here is the plated goose breast pastrami at Teatro, the flagship property. A portion is about 2 oz. – a very tasty 2 oz.! Serves 6 to 8. * Find at CTR Refrigeration & Food Store Equipment Ltd.,
4840 - 52nd St. SE., and at Barbecues Galore. Photo by Dave Bohati.
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CITYPALATE.ca SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2018
Sherry Lemongrass Glazed Duck Breast with Pan Roasted Butternut Squash Chef Duncan Ly, Foreign Concept For the Sherry Lemongrass Glaze: 2 t. vegetable oil 1/3 c. shallots, finely diced 1 T. plus 1 t. finely chopped ginger
Elk Outside Round Roast with Bourbon Saskatoon Berry Cream Chef Saravanan Senniappan, Big Fish/Open Range
1 large carrot, chopped 3 celery stalks, chopped 1 yellow onion, chopped 6 garlic cloves 1/2 lb. ground antelope 8 oz. red wine 1 T. kosher salt 1 T. coarse ground black pepper 8 oz. tomato paste 8 oz. tomato sauce 4 oz. vegetable stock 1-1/4 lbs. fresh pasta 6 fresh basil leaves chopped wedge of Piave Vecchio (for grating)
Cook and then purée the carrot, celery, onion and garlic. In a large saucepan, put the ground antelope, puréed vegetables, red wine, salt and pepper and tomato paste. Stir well and break up meat untill smooth. Cook over med/low heat until the antelope is cooked through and the sauce begins to thicken.
1 T. cooking oil
For the Pan-Roasted Butternut Squash:
1 oz. bourbon
1 T. canola oil
Slice the elk roast into 4x 4-oz. slices and salt and pepper them. Into a large frypan put the cooking oil and sear the slices on one side for 1 minute. Flip them and sear the other side for 1 minute. Remove the pan from the heat and add the bourbon (watch out for a possible flame-up). Bring the pan back to heat and simmer for 1 minute. Remove and serve with the Bourbon Saskatoon Berry Cream.
1 butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1/2” x 1/2” dice 1 bunch of asparagus (approximately 15) cut into 1” pieces 1 T. butter 1 oz. vegetable or chicken stock salt and pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced 1 oz. bourbon
For the Duck Breasts:
1 c. Saskatoon berries
4 duck breasts
1/2 c. apple juice
salt and pepper
2 c. whipping cream
2 t. canola oil
1 t. each: ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg, chopped fresh rosemary
1 c. of the sherry lemongrass glaze
2 t. vanilla extract
salt and pepper
2 T. butter
Season the duck breasts with the salt and pepper. Place a large sauté pan on low heat and heat the oil. Add the duck breasts skin side (fat side) down. Cook on the low heat for about 8-10 minutes periodically draining the fat that renders from the duck. Keep cooking the duck until the skin side is golden brown and crispy because the fat has rendered. Flip the duck over and cook for about another minute. Add the sherry glaze and the butter and baste the duck breasts with the butter and glaze. Cook for about a minute. The duck should still be pink inside. Place the duck onto a plate and allow the breasts to rest for about 5 minutes. Reserve the remaining glaze from the pan. Cut the duck into thin slices, approximately 1/4 inch wide.
Bourbon Saskatoon Berry Cream: 1 T. cooking oil
salt and pepper to taste
Add the cooked pasta to the sauce and toss. Add the basil. Dish into four pasta bowls and finish with the grated Piave. Serves 4.
Serves 4.
Meanwhile, cook the fresh pasta in 4 qts. (16 cups) of heavily salted water. Drain well.
15 button mushrooms, quartered
Place a large sauté pan on medium-high heat. Add the canola oil. Then add the butternut squash. Allow the squash to cook for about 5 minutes while occasionally stirring. Add the button mushrooms and cook for another 3 minutes. Add the asparagus and continue to cook for another minute. Add the butter and the stock and continue cooking until the stock is reduced and the butter glazes the vegetables. Season with the salt and pepper and keep warm.
In a medium size saucepot, heat the cooking oil and add the garlic. Cook it until it starts to stick to the bottom of the pot. Add the bourbon (watch for possible flame-up) and scrape the bottom of the pot to deglaze, about 1 minute. Add the Saskatoon berries, apple juice, cream, spices and rosemary and simmer for about 8 minutes. Add the vanilla extract and butter and stir until the butter is melted and incorporated into the sauce. Add the salt and pepper to taste and ladle on top of the elk slices.
Add tomato sauce and vegetable stock and continue to cook until the liquid has reduced by half.
1 c. sherry vinegar
salt and pepper
1 lb. elk round roast
Chef Steve Dowdell, Cardinale
1 c. sugar
Place a small saucepan on medium-low heat. Add the oil and shallots. Sweat the shallots for about 3 minutes occasionally stirring so that the shallots do not burn. Add the ginger and the lemongrass and continue to cook for another minute. Add the sugar and the vinegar. Simmer for about 10 minutes or until the glaze is a syrup consistency. Place into a container until ready to use (can be stored for up to 1 week in the refrigerator).
Elk Outside Round Roast:
Antelope Bolognese
1 c. lemongrass, finely minced
2 T. butter
Plating: Place the butternut squash mixture into the centre of a bowl. Place the duck on top. Drizzle the remaining glaze from the pan that the duck was cooked in over the duck breast. Enjoy! Optional garnish with frisée and watercress. Serves 4. ✤ CITYPALATE.ca SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2018
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Take Off Your Boots and a While DRINKING IN OLIVER OSOYOOS WINE COUNTRY ’ROUND FESTIVAL WEEKEND by Kate Zimmerman
River Stone owner Ted Kane.
Grape Stomp.
They’re cool, but not icy, nubbly, but not that hard, and they squish satisfyingly between your toes. What it all comes down to is that stomping grapes barefoot is a juicy purple blast. At the Oliver Tourism Association’s Festival of the Grape (FOG), the Grape Stomp competition’s 24 three-member teams are chosen by lottery. If selected, you’ll learn that in addition to grapes and a barrel with a spigot inserted to let the juice out, a prize-winning stomp requires genuine exertion and very silly costumes. Think babushkas. The Grape Stomp is a goofy good time, and a popular attraction at FOG, the annual wine-tasting event held on “Festival Weekend,” which takes place September 29 and 30 this year. Fortunately, stomp losers aren’t forced to drink the unsavoury liquid they’ve produced. As some of the 4,200 annual FOG attendees sampling the wares of 40-plus wineries in Oliver Community Park, they’re unlikely to be thirsty anyway. There’s plenty going on locally, including the Golden Mile Bench’s Hester Creek Garlic Festival (Sept. 29, 10 am-5 pm). It draws some 2,300 people to Hester Creek Estate Winery to sample wine, food and various permutations of “the stinking rose.” Sept. 29 from 6-10 pm, the distillery/brewery/cidery festival Cask & Keg takes over Oliver Community Park. FOG moves in on Sunday, Sept. 30. Festival Weekend or not, an autumn visit to “Oliver Osoyoos Wine Country,” as the region’s officially called, offers you 41 wineries to explore. Oliver Osoyoos wine country stretches between the southernmost tip of Osoyoos and McIntyre Bluff, north of Oliver, and boasts 5,052 acres “under vine.” Its numerous tiny microclimates and its soil‘s pockets of clay, limestone and granite contribute to the region’s terroir. Visitors like to check out big names, but there’s a handful of lesser-known newbies worth a look, like the stylish Rust Wine Co., the southernmost winery in the Golden Mile. Owned by Mt. Boucherie, it’s the proud producer of the tasty 2014 Golden Mile Zinfandel. Another youngster is Pipe Dreams Winery, the brainchild of Alberta/B.C. surveyor John Ness. Pipe Dreams focuses on some unusual varietals – Kerner, Zweigelt, Gamay and Gruner Veltliner; its first vintage was 2016.
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CITYPALATE.ca SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2018
Harvest at Stone Boat.
Just as every local winery has a unique origin story, each wine you encounter has a tale that informs every mouthful you consume. “Small is the new big,” for example, describes tiny vinAmité Cellars, run by the Coulombe family, former Montrealers. Their five-acre vineyard results in 1,200 cases per year. Find a spot inside or outside its Wine Lounge and order a bottle of Chanson d’amour. A nightingale that trills of summertime, it’s an enchanting blend of gewürztraminer, orange muscat, unoaked chardonnay and pinot gris grapes. Also consider the irresistible appetizer platter: cheese, chicken liver paté, rillettes, wild boar terrine, apple chips, and vinAmité’s own Petit Claret wine Saucisson Sec.
Kismet Estate Winery offers a different sort of surprise – it’s owned by families who moved to B.C. from the Punjab. The Dhaliwal brothers and their kin arrived in the 1990s and worked as farm labourers at Burrowing Owl. They bought a few acres of land and went into grape growing. Observing that nobody in B.C. was producing wines to suit Indian food, Kismet sought the advice of local winemaker Mark Wendenburg, then began making aromatic wines that pair well with medium- to heavy-bodied dishes from the owners’ homeland. Kismet’s 4,500 cases each year tend to sell out; sample them alongside Indian dishes at the winery’s Masala Bistro.
Burrowing Owl Estate is at the top of the heap in Oliver Osoyoos. Named after a bird once thought extinct in B.C. that’s being encouraged to slowly re-populate the area, the winery’s environmentally attuned operations use alternative pest control systems to keep the natural scourges of its vineyard at bay. Its unique design and gravity-flow system would set Burrowing Owl apart even if its gorgeous merlot did not dance across your palate with the effortless grace of Fred Astaire. Last fall, over dinner in its Sonora Room restaurant, owner Jim Wyse, a civil engineer and former Vancouver developer, remembered taking a “huge gamble” when he planted 30 acres of French hybrid vines after buying land on Black Sage Bench in the 1990s. Burrowing Owl now makes 50,000 cases per year of critically acclaimed wines, including 100-plus cases of its fortified port-style “Coruja.” Distinguishing an Oliver Osoyoos winery from its competitors takes imagination. Platinum Bench Estate Winery & Artisan Bread Co., owned by former Winnipeggers Murray Jones and Fiona Duncan, makes 2,200 cases of wine every year. Jones’s wines are only sold at Platinum Bench, but it also does a brisk trade in Duncan’s wonderfully chewy house-made epi (sourdough) bread, all 200 daily loaves usually sold out by 1 p.m. Taste the bread with the wines for maximum pleasure – the 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon is a dream alongside the sopresatta bread with Swiss cheese. Over at Intersection Estate Winery, which opened commercially in 2012, education is on the menu. Moss Scheurkogel, director of marketing and education, teaches wine appreciation and education classes for $20-$25 apiece (vinstitute.ca). Individuation of terroir is one of the focuses of this winery. Co-owner Bruce Schmidt chose the property for its patchwork quilt of soils, Scheurkogel says – there are seven different geologic zones in 10 acres. If you try two single-varietal merlots, side by side, made from the same grape, but grown in different types of soil, he’ll explain how and why they taste so different. Established in 2007, Stoneboat Vineyards has a cult following for its awardwinning wines. Family-owned and operated, Stoneboat’s warm staff and proprietors Lanny and Julie Martiniuk ensure a worthwhile and informative visit, which may include mention of the vineyard’s indigenous yeast. Oliver used to be known as Canada’s cantaloupe capital. Former respiratory therapist Ted Kane, of River Stone Estate Winery, is one of those local land-owners who transformed a cantaloupe and melon farm into a vineyard. Kane had little exposure to wine as a lad growing up in Edmonton, but he started growing grapes in a greenhouse and producing bottles for himself as a teenager, going on to study wine making at OUC Okanagan. He moved to Oliver in 2001 with his wife, Lorraine, a doctor who practices in Osoyoos. Kane began planting in 2003 and opened River Stone’s doors in 2010. So what does it take to be an Okanagan winemaker? An entrepreneurial spirit and a supportive partner, says the apparently tireless Kane; others would likely add “a ton of hard work.” On the other hand, travelling to Oliver Osoyoos and sampling its wines requires nothing but a few spare shekels, a little energy and heartfelt enthusiasm for vinous pleasure.
Unleash your senses,
Festival of the Grape (FOG – Sept. 30, 2018) http://oliverfestivalofthegrape.ca Hester Creek Garlic Festival: hestercreek.com Burrowing Owl Estate Winery: burrowingowlwine.ca Intersection Estate Winery: xwine.ca Kismet Estate Winery: kismetestatewinery.com Pipe Dreams Winery: pipedreamswinery.com Platinum Bench Estate Winery & Artisan Bread Co.: platinumbench.com River Stone Estate Winery: riverstoneestatewinery.ca Rust Wine Co.: rustwine.com Stoneboat Vineyards: stoneboatvineyards.com If you go: Osoyoos’ Walnut Beach Resort is just a bit off the beaten track and thus slightly quieter than other major hotels. Its generous suites have great kitchens, fullsized fridges for all the local wine and vittles you accumulate in the day. There’s also an inviting pool area that overlooks the beach. walnutbeachresort.com ✤ Kate Zimmerman was the guest of Oliver Osoyoos Wine Country, its members, and Walnut Beach Resort, none of which previewed this article.
bolerocalgary.com 403-259-3119 6920 Macleod Trail S, Calgary, AB T2H 0L3
CITYPALATE.ca SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2018
25
!
@urbangrubyyc @urbangrubyyc @urbangrubyyc
U b g rban ru
Real Food Made Easy
Carmie Nearing
formerly of Spoon Fed Soup has made her triumphant return to Calgary & to Indulge Group as our Executive Chef! ’nuff said
stockpot
STIRRINGS AROUND CALGARY
“The best food I’ve found in Calgary!” -Google Review
Made Meals Made Better, Made Easy!
Eat North’s travelling dinner series, the Prairie Grid Dinner Series, returns September 27 to October 4, beginning in Calgary and traveling to Edmonton, Saskatoon and wrapping in Winnipeg. The series of pop-up dinners is meant to celebrate prairie culinary talent, artisans, artists, musicians and more.
bistro open weekdays breakfast, lunch & take-away
5524 1A St. SW, Calgary AB. T2H 0E7
urbangrub.ca
403.723.4012
Indulge Group
!
U b g rban ru
Real Food Made Easy
PRAIRIE GRID DINNER SERIES 2018: FROM DAWN TO DUSK
ndulge management
This year’s theme, “from dawn to dusk”, is an homage to the long hours farmers put in during harvest season. Five chefs from across the prairies, including J.P. Pedhirney of Bridgette Bar as well as visual artists, artisans and fashion designers, have been tasked with creating custom art and wares to help bring the feeling of sunrise-to-sunset throughout the five-course dinner, which will be paired with prairie-made spirits, cider and more. Alberta-based companies involved include: visual artist Lisa Brawn, designer Kat Marks, Christian and Planck lighting design, Porter’s Tonic, Eau Claire Distillery, Big Rock Brewery and Meuwly’s Artisan Food Market. Tickets are $140 or $170 (which includes a limited-edition Prairie Grid T-shirt). Tickets include a cocktail hour presented by Big Rock Brewery with live music by Amy Thiessen, a five-course dinner with drink pairings, September 27, 6:30 p.m. at the Calgary Shrine Centre. Tickets and details at EatNorth.com. Join the conversation using #proudtobeprairie and #eatnorth.
RESTAURANT RAMBLINGS
EXPERIENCE E X C E L LE N C E .
LET OUR WINE EDUCATORS GUIDE YOU THROUGH A SEATING TASTING EXPERIENCE IN THE STUNNING OKANAGAN, UNLIKE ANYTHING ELSE. ENJOY INCREDIBLE WINES AND IMMERSE YOURSELF IN THE BEAUTIFUL VINEYARD SURROUNDINGS.
For more information & reservations:
www.blackhillswinery.com 250.498.0666
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CITYPALATE.ca SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2018
n The Hotel Arts Group has launched Hotel Arts Kensington, which we always knew as Kensington Riverside Inn. It has been rebranded to deliver a more welcoming, relaxed hospitality experience and better reflect the Hotel Arts Group values, emphasizing local connections, boutique experiences, culinary delights, artful flair and exceptional service. For more information, visit hotelartskensington.ca. n SUCH a good name! The Barclay’s restaurant in the Sheraton Suites Eau Claire has become a restaurant called Flower & Wolf and it’s now open with a stylish, modern redesign. The menu explores globally inspired flavours prepared with locally sourced ingredients translated through a North American lens. Japanese yuzu, Mexican huitlacoche and southern fried chicken are a few of the diverse offerings available.“ Quality and value are never compromised,” says executive chef Cole Glendinning. And the drink menu is classically rooted but adventurously reinterpreted. Sounds like both tasty and fun at Flower & Wolf. Visit flowerandwolfcalgary.com for more information. n Pasta Night Thursdays at Vero Bistro Moderne invites you to a Pasta Platter Special for two for $89 per couple that includes a variety of cicchetti (Italian-style tapas) to start followed by a pasta platter consisting of three pastas to share. Total yum! Reservations are required at 403-2838988 or opentable.com/vero-bistro-moderne. n Enjoy a $50 credit toward exceptional dining experiences, savouring signature dishes in San Diego or interactive market to table dining in Hong Kong. Stay two nights or
more at participating Grand Hyatt hotels, now through September 30, 2018, and receive a $50 dining credit. Because nothing compares to an exceptional meal matched with impeccable service in an extraordinary setting. Book on hyatt.com for the best rate guarantee. DRINKS DOCKET
n The Man overdid the Stampede again, so is making amends with non-alcoholic beer for a while. He says Clausthaler is one of the best he has ever had. Tastes like real beer! A lager from Germany. Found it while shopping at Lina’s Italian Market – clearly a place for more than just great food! Thank you, Lina’s. n The Rocky Mountain Wine & Food Festival returns to Calgary with lots of palate-pleasing sips and bites on October 12 & 13, Stampede Park BMO Centre, Halls D & E. Sponsored by Sobeys and Safeway Liquor, look forward to indulging in some of the best wines, spirits and beers along with delectable gourmet bites from Calgary’s top restaurants. It’s always fun and early bird tickets are available until September 7, so
don’t wait. Visit calgaryrockymountainwine. tix123.com to get your early birds. And visit rockymountainwine.com for lots of good information, and tickets, too. Drink, eat and give back – the festival donates lots of money to local charities and organizations thanks to guests and sponsors, like more than $16,000 last year. n On Tuesday, September 11, Trialto celebrates 20 years of representing, importing and promoting great wineries throughout western Canada. To honour this milestone there’s a grand tasting and celebratory Paulée Dinner in Calgary at Murrieta’s Bar & Grill, downtown, at 6:30, reception and silent auction that supports BB4CK (Brown Bagging for Calgary’s Kids), dinner at 7:30. Tickets $125 include tax and gratuity, reservations at 403-269-7707. Visit trialto.com for more information. n JoieFarm was also recognized as one of Canada’s best wineries. Joie’s winners were: 2016 En Famille Reserve Chardonnay, 2016 Gamay, 2016 PTG, 2016 Pinot Noir, 2016 En Famille Reserve Pinot Noir and 2017 Quotidien Brut. Go find these wines and enjoy drinking them! Liquidity, too.
n Mill Street Brewery’s core lineup of beers has gone certified organic. Good beer, it is, you should drink it, you can find it in Calgary.
n This is another good-drinking, non-alcohol beer. Look for Partake Brewing beer, a craft nonalcoholic beer. Partake Brewing was launched by Ted Fleming to bring all the things that make craft beer great to non-alcoholic beer drinkers, including taste, variety, authenticity, creativity and passion. Non-alcohol beer drinkers want to Partake in the craft beer journey because, fundamentally, they’re beer lovers too! Find Partake in places like The Guild, Kensington Wine Market, Co-op Wines Spirits Beer, Craft Beer Market Downtown, 1918 Tap & Table, Sobeys Liquor, Beer Vault and Craft Cellars. n Liquidity Wines, Okanagan Falls, B.C., has been recognized among Canada’s best wineries by the 2018 WineAlign National Wine Awards of Canada (NWAC). The winery scooped up Gold and Silver awards at the country’s biggest and most revered assessment of Canadian wines, adding to its already impressive collection of national and global accolades. With the opening of Liquidity’s state-of-the-art VIP Equity Tasting Lounge, this is a great time to visit the vineyard and sip award-winning wines surrounded by a beautiful landscape. For more information, visit liquiditywines.com.
n Road 13 Vineyards turns out to be Canada’s top winery. Wine Align’s National Wine Awards gives top billing to the Golden Mile producer – 15 medal wins include platinum for the 2016 Roussanne, plus 8 gold, 2 silver and 4 bronze. Visit road13vineyards.com for more information. Road 13 Vineyards is also a great destination for guests to do feature tastings in the “Castle” or more leisurely tastings of the entire Road 13 portfolio in the Executive Lounge. Go check it out! Fun.
Whether you visit us with a few friends or you plan your corporate party, Oktoberfest lives at WURST with Great Bavarian Food, Authentic Draft Beers, Real Oktoberfest Live Bands and German Dancers. We can also bring Oktoberfest to your office with full catering packages, including themed staff and a band! For more information for daily Oktoberfest events or to book your party or event, please email: events@wurst.ca
n Alberta Beer Festivals has developed a new sampling event called The Mashing – a common process used in brewing, distilling and cider making – that brings together the best distilleries, breweries, restaurants, entertainment and community for a tasting event unlike any other in the world! September 21 and 22 at the Stampede Grandstand. Tickets are, for a limited time 2 for 1 special at showpass.com/2018-themashing-calgary-promotions. And for details, visit albertabeerfestivals.com. n Every fall, WURST Celebrates Oktoberfest better than anyone! Officially, Oktoberfest runs September 22 through October 7, however at WURST the festivities begin with a Pre-Party, their Brewers Battle, September 19, and carry on through the month of October. There is always a fun time at WURST with events happening right through Oktoberfest including: Hacker-Pschoor Oktoberfest, September 22, Annual Steamwhistle Party, September 29, Erdinger - Weissbrau Brewmasters Dinner, October 3; and Fahr Friday Happy Hour every Friday with tastings and prizes. Tickets for all these events can be purchased online at: showpass.com.
COOKING CLASSES n SAIT’s Downtown Culinary Campus: Introduction to Cooking, September 4October 2; Date Night, Sept 14/October 26; Canning, September 15; Alsatian, September 20; Knife Skills, September 27; France, October 4; Intermediate Cooking, October 15-November 5; Portuguese, October 18. The Tastemarket by SAIT: Date Night at The Tastemarket, September 7/28, October 19. SAIT’s Main Campus: Baking Cakes, September 15; Fish Cookery, September 18; Date Night, September 21/ continued on page 28
Cheers, Drinks are on us!
Book your holiday party before October 31st and receive a complimentary drink for each guest!
For more details: (403) 256 7150 greateventscatering.ca info@greateventsgroup.com greateventsyyc
CITYPALATE.ca SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2018
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stockpot continued from page 27 October 12; India, September 21; Assorted Buns, September 22; Butter Cream Basics, September 29; Cake Decorating, October 12-November 9; Introduction to Baking, October 13/20; Bar Mixology, October 15-November 1; Sausage Making, October 27. Visit culinarycampus.ca for details and more courses. n Thermomix cooking classes coming up in September are focused on Asian cooking, and the classes coming up in November will be focused on getting ready for Christmas. Classes are held at the Richmond Hill community hall and you can find details about the classes on thermomix-thyme.business. site/?m=true n The Cookbook Co. Cooks presents in September a hands-on fermenting workshop and a quick pickles and canning workshop, a pie and pastry making workshop, handmade stuffed pasta, girls’ night out with cocktails and hors d’oeuvres, night out couples classes, risotto and prosecco, Italian and French farmhouse menus, perfecting paella, Vietnamese cooking, handmade Asian dumplings and lots more. In October, handmade Asian noodles, make & take perogy-making workshop, Mexican and mezcal, one-bowl wonders of balanced meals to fuel your day, cut like a pro knife skills, cast-iron workshop, sausage-making workshop and a tour of Italy with City Palate back-burner dude, Allan Shewchuk. Visit cookbookcooks.com for more information on all the fall classes.
GENERAL STIRRINGS n September 20-23 brings the Calgary Fall Home Show to the BMO Centre at Stampede Park. It features designer and TV host Tommy Smythe, HGTV Canada Home to Win designer Tiffany Pratt, and The Marilyn Denis Show design and lifestyle expert Amanda Forrest, along with notable Calgary designer Amanda Hamilton and Cityline DIY expert Leigh-Ann Allaire Perrault on the Urban Barn Main Stage. Visit calgaryfallhomeshow.com for details and tickets you can save $3 on by buying online. n A fun and tasty Edmonton event – FEASTival of Fine Chefs, a foodie gala that attracts about 1,000 people at the Shaw Conference Centre and features NAIT / SAIT culinary students teaming up with chefs from Edmonton restaurants, paired with Alberta-produced meats and vegetables. It takes place September 19, 6-10:30 p.m. More information and tickets are on sale at afpa.com/feastival As background, about 15 restaurants partner with students from the culinary program at NAIT to make a four-course meal for about 65 people each. 24 hours before the event, the teams receive a black box of secret ingredients (meat, veggies and pulses) and they must prepare the menu then the meal. Participants receive a stack of four numbered papers which tell them which restaurant they go to for their next course; each restaurant has a number at its station, but its number changes each round so no one visits the same restaurant twice. This is the 30th anniversary of FEASTival and they have been doing the black box of secret ingredients years before the cooking
WINE & SPIRIT
EDUCATION
TRUST AWARD
COURSES
Whether you’re a novice or experienced professional, the WSET Award courses are the perfect way to increase your knowledge.
shows. It is always attended by government and the Minister of Agriculture attends and hands out awards. Calgarian foodie types come to this event, too.
n The 19th Annual Salt Spring Island Apple Festival, September 30, celebrates Albert Etter, red flesh apple breeding genius. Look for about 500 varieties of apples and this wonderful red-fleshed apple that you’ve probably never seen before. n The Friends of Fish Creek Park invite you to their annual A Taste of Autumn – Wine & Beer Tasting and Silent Auction Fundraiser, September 28, 6:30-9:30 p.m. at Canyon Meadows Golf & Country Club. Sample beer and wine from local producers: Six Corners, Field Stone, Village Brewery, Spirit Hills, Zero Issue and Wild Rose along with tasty appetizers provided by Canyon Meadows Golf & Country Club. Tickets are $75 and you receive a tax receipt for $35. Purchase tickets by contacting the Friends of Fish Creek at 403-238-3841 or visit friendsoffishcreek.org/event/autumn18 n Calgary Meals on Wheels has been handed the reins of YYC Pizza Week from Wanda Baker, who founded YYC Pizza Week, a fun event that lets local restaurants battle for YYC’s best pizza. And YYC has a lot of good pizza! So it’s truly a battle, September 21-30. Visit yycpizzaweek.com for all the updates.
n TasteTro is your portal to exploring and tasting a vast world of flavour options directly from your kitchen counter. With Bluetooth and RFID technology, the TasteTro Spice System creates mouth-watering blends at the touch of a button, making it simple and easy to prepare snacks, dips, dressings and meals. All blends are conveniently paired with delicious and easy-to-prepare recipes. TasteTro, the smart kitchen spice appliance, has been chosen as one of the finalists by the International Housewares Association (IHA) in product design for the smart home category. Each year the IHA looks across the world and acknowledges the very best in product design and exceptional retailing practices through the Global Innovation Awards. Visit tastetro.com for more information, and it will launch in February 2019. n Calgary’s Hyatt Regency has completed an expansive renovation where the guest rooms and Regency Club lounge have received extensive design refresh. The guest rooms have been transformed into more sophisticated and contemporary spaces, and The Regency Club has expanded in size to include a Quiet Zone that allows guests to have a more private dining and lounge experience. The renovation offers guests an elevated level of comfort and luxury, which travellers expect from the Hyatt Regency brand. And the renovations are sustainabiityfocused, such as LED lighting that reduces
UPCOMING CLASSES (registration closes 2 weeks prior to start date)
WSET Level 1 Award in Wines September 8 9:30 AM - 5:30 PM Beddington Tasting Centre WSET Level 2 Award in Wines Oct. 13, 14 & 20 9:30 AM - 5:30 PM Crowfoot Tasting Centre WSET Level 3 Award in Wines October 27, 28 & November 3, 4, 17, 18 9:30 AM - 5:30 PM Shawnessy Tasting Centre coopwinespiritsbeer.com/wset
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CITYPALATE.ca SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2018
Eating fresh local produce and micro greens is easier than ever!
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We grow, harvest and deliver... a healthy option for your family. lilgreenurbanfarm.com 403.660.2103 lighting power consumption by 50 percent, and low-flow fixtures that reduce consumption by 30 percent. And the water faucets have a filtration system to eliminate the need for plastic bottled water. Visit calgary. regency.hyatt.com for more information.
n For all your canning needs – jams, jellies, pickles, chutney, and more – the wellknown Bernardin canning jars are now available in smooth sided jars (250mL) to show off your beautful preserves even better. Find these great new jars at Walmart, Loblaws, Canadian Tire – most big name grocery stores carry them. n SAIT’s hospitality students are eager to host you and your guests at The Highwood dining room in the fall. The Highwood reopens on September 6 for lunch and dinner service, through October 31. The popular and fantastic gourmet Thursday buffet requires online reservations and is offered September 13, 20, 27 and October 4, 11, 18, 25. Visit sait.ca/highwood to book your table and explore the menus. The Highwood is one of the best places to eat in the city, the students with their instructors on hand, make great food. n Beakerbites: The Science of Deliciousness. Dining is a whole new experience when chef and bartender become scien-
Willow Park Village 10816 Macleod Trail South | 403.278.1220
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Compleat Cook Cooking Classes 3400 – 114 Avenue SE | 403.253.4831 www.compleatcook.ca
tists! Each year, creative Calgary chefs, mixologists and brewmasters experiment with a new theme. This year, the theme ingredient is canola. There’s a lot of science in its history, and a lot of magic in its chemistry! Deep fried Beakerhead, coming up! Participating restaurants include Shokunin, Deane House, Burger 320, Home & Away, Oxbow, Yellow Door Bistro, Brasserie Kensington and River Café. Lunch Without Light takes place at Dark Table, a restaurant where you dine in the dark and let your senses be your guide, September 19, during Beakerhead, September 19 to 23. Have Dinner with Drones, an outdoor bring-your-own-picnic and have it next to a hive of drones, picnic dinners are included, a Beakerhead original powered by the Great Lakes Drone Company, September 21, location is a surprise. Visit beakerhead.com for all the fun details.
flavours. Find this great product at Whole Foods Market, Loblaws and Sobeys.
n Think inside the box – the pizza oven box by BakerStone. Creates pizzeria quality pizzas in two to four minutes, bakes breads and cookies, roasts meat and vegetables, cooks fish. This pizza oven box raises the temperature of outdoor grills to that of a real wood-burning pizza oven, transforming 450°F. up to 750 F. and providing a classic Italian wood oven flavour. Check it out at bakerstonebox.com and find it at places like Canadian Tire, The Home Depot and Home Hardware.
n The Vancouver Aquarium opens its doors for an enchanting evening under the sea, as it invites you to Toast to the Coast, October 19. Wander through the galleries as you taste gourmet dishes from top Ocean Wise Seafood restaurants as well as signature drinks from B.C. wineries, breweries and cocktail makers. Then dance to the music of a live DJ. Details and tickets at vanaqua.org. This event sells out, so don’t wait to get your tickets!
n With the hectic life of kids going back to school rapidly approaching, duBreton offers its delicious chiffonnade hams for the kids’ sandwiches in three flavours that all taste like great ham – no antibiotics, no GMOs or chemical agents, just good flavours – classic white cooked ham, applewood smoked and smoked ham with boreal
n Ohh! Foods, made in Markham, Ontario, would like you to try its allergen-free snacks, called Ohh Munchies, currently in three diffferent flavours – Apple Pie, Chewy Coconut Brownie and Chewy Cookie. They are nutritious and tasty as well as allergen free. No artificial flavours, dairy-, gluten- and soy-free, too. Visit ohhfoods.com for all the tasty details, then buy them online. n Shay Latte Coffee is promoted as the world’s first nutrient coffee brand you can get in a cold brew beverage that offers exotic blends of flavours packed with health-enriching antioxidants as well as coffee beans in various flavours. Each flavour contains a fusion of chocolate, lavender and plum tastes to enrich its smooth blend. Check it out online ad shaylattecoffee.com and order some!
n The Kananasks Country Golf Course has opened for its first season since the floods of 2013. The team is making it a spot for golfers and non-golfers alike can enjoy quality time that includes relaxed dining with great mountain views. Chef Drew Double, executive chef at its Summit Kitchen, Lounge and Patio, has extensive cheffing experience in Calgary, and says,
“Food can be social and fun without sacrificing quality and taste.” Look for breakfast, lunch and dinner n Here’s something we should be interested in – edible cutlery instead of plastic. Visit twentyfiftyfork.com to find out about this cutlery we can use to eat with, then throw it into the yard, or into the food recyle bin, when we’re through with it, it’s a natural grain base and will decompose within 30 days. Or, you could probably cook it, too, and sauce it and eat it! And it’s strong and heat resistant to 170°F. n Natrel, a Canadian dairy co-operative offering a wide range of fresh and inspiring dairy products, will soon launch a new product, Natrel whipped cottage cheese – a dip and spread made from cottage cheese, whipped to smooth and creamy perfection – no more lumpy cottage cheese texture! Look for three delicious flavours: chive and garlic, roasted red pepper and plain in grocery stores in September. Visit natrel.ca for more information.
CITYPALATE.ca SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2018
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6 quick ways with...
by Chris Halpin
MUSHROOMS
The world of mushrooms is a fascinating one. There are over 10,000 known varieties and researchers say that this may only be about a third of what actually exists! Of the edible ones that I have seen in the city, I can count about 15, and of them, about 7 are usually around in various markets and grocery stores. Small crop wild mushrooms come and go fast! So, I like to keep my eye open and when I see them, I get them, and decide later what I am going to do with them. As a general rule, I will interchange any mushroom in any recipe. They will bring their own nuance and texture, so if you can’t find one of the mushrooms that I am suggesting, feel free to mix it up. Shiitake Ginger Soup Shiitakes must always have the stems removed, they are too woody to eat. This is a fresh, fast soup, perfect to warm the soul. In a pot put 3 c. unsalted chicken stock and place over high heat. Add 1 c. sliced larger shiitakes, 1/2 c. thinly sliced leeks, 1 t. grated fresh ginger, 1 t. grated fresh turmeric, 1 t. salt, 1 garlic clove, minced. When the soup comes to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat, adjust the salt to taste, ladle into bowls, garnish with cilantro leaves. Serves 2.
Portobello and Swiss Chard Hash Portobello’s meatiness works well in this recipe. This is great with salmon or sausages, but I love it with poached eggs. In a large skillet, put 2 T. butter and place over high heat. Slice 2 large portobellos and 1 red onion. When the butter has melted and is frothy, add the mushrooms, onions, 1 t. salt, 1/2 t. pepper and 1/2 t. nutmeg and sauté for about 4 minutes. Cut the stems where they meet the leaves of 6 Swiss chard stalks, thinly slice the stems and rough chop the leaves. Add the sliced stems to the portobellos and sauté a minute more. Reduce the heat to low and add in the chopped leaves, 2 T. cider vinegar and sauté until wilted. Serves 2 to 4.
Chanterelle and Walnut Crostini with Fig Jam Chanterelles and walnuts are magic together, but when you add fig jam – wow! Chanterelles come in varying sizes, so if you can find the very tiniest ones, don’t slice them. I am using larger ones, so I’ll dice them. Place a skillet over mediumhigh heat and put in 1/4 c. olive oil, 2 c. diced chanterelles, a pinch of dried sage and dried thyme, 1 t. salt and 1/2 t. chile flakes and sauté about for 3 minutes. Then add 1 garlic clove, minced, and 1/4 c. white wine and continue to sauté until almost all the wine has reduced. Now add 1 c. walnuts, broken into medium pieces and sauté a minute more. Before removing from the heat, adjust the salt and squeeze 1/2 a lemon in and give it one last stir. Smear some fig jam onto 12 crostini and arrange them onto a platter. Spoon some of the mushroom mix onto each and garnish with finely chopped green onion. Makes 1 dozen.
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CITYPALATE.ca SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2018
Le Creuset dinnerware sets 25% off*
Flatbread with Oyster Mushrooms, Poblano Peppers and Boursin Cheese
Located in Historic Inglewood 1331 - 9th Ave SE
savourfinefoods.com
Oyster mushrooms like to be roasted because it brings out their subtle flavour and prevents the fragile fronds from breaking. Never cut oyster mushrooms, but rather tear them into strips from top to bottom. My “new” favourite flatbread crust is plain lacha bread, a flaky East Indian flatbread. You will find them in the freezer section and they come in packs of 5. Preheat the oven to 425ºF. Into a bowl put 1/2 a poblano pepper, seeded and sliced, 1 c. shredded oyster mushrooms, 2 T. olive oil and 1/2 t. salt and mix well. Arrange this onto 1 lacha bread and crumble about half a round of garlic herbed boursin over top of this. Place on a baking sheet and bake in the oven for about 10 minutes or until crisp, golden and bubbling. Serves 1 or 2.
*in stock items only
403.532.8222
Shrimp Stuffed Cremini Caps This recipe is best with good-old-fashioned button mushrooms or creminis; they have the best shape. Anytime I am stuffing mushrooms, I will prebake the caps and blot out the excess moisture that pools in the bottoms – I don’t like soggy mushroom caps! Preheat the oven to 425ºF. Remove the stems of 12 medium-sized creminis, arrange the caps hollow side up on a baking pan and bake in the oven for about 5 minutes, or until you can see juice pooling in the bottoms of each. While they are baking, finely chop about 10 medium shrimp and put them in a bowl with 2 T. green onions, finely chopped, 1/4 c. finely chopped cilantro, 1 minced garlic clove, 1 T. toasted sesame oil, 1 t. each of Sriracha hot sauce and salt, mix well. Remove the mushroom caps from the oven and with paper towels, blot each dry. Fill each cap with the shrimp mixture and return to the oven for another 5 minutes or until the shrimp have turned a gentle pink. Serve warm to room temperature. Makes 1 dozen.
CONNECTING CALGARIANS WITH LIFE-CHANGING IDEAS
Pasta with Sautéed Morels and Butternut Squash with Brandy and Cream Morels burst with nutty earthy flavours. In my books, morels must be served in butter or cream, or both! Boil water for pasta. Peel and dice 1/2 a small butternut squash and 1 onion. In a skillet over medium heat, melt 2 T. butter. Add the squash and onions with 1 t. salt and 1/2 t. pepper and sauté for about 5 minutes. When the water is boiling, cook your pasta. I used bucatini that’s like macaronispaghetti. To the skillet add 2 c. morels, broken into pieces and continue to sauté for a couple of minutes. Add 1/4 c. brandy and continue cooking for about a minute or so, then add 1 c. whipping cream. Increase the heat to high and allow the cream to reduce by half, then adjust the salt and remove from the heat. When the pasta is cooked, and drained, arrange some onto plates and spoon the sauce over top, garnish with chopped parsley. Serves 2.
Tickets at WORDFEST.COM 403-237-9072
Chris Halpin has been teaching Calgarians to make fast, fun urban food since 1997 and is the owner of Manna Catering Service. mannaonline.com. Recipe photos by Chris Halpin.
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CITYPALATE.ca SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2018
city palate
crossword play to win!
The first puzzle that comes in successfully completed will receive 4 tickets to:
The Rocky Mountain Wine & Food Festival kindly donated by the festival! They are for Saturday afternoon, October 13, 2018
Please scan and email your completed puzzle by September 28, 2018, to Kathy Richardier at kathy@citypalate.ca
ACROSS 1 How old are we now? 3 words 10 Peach dessert 13 Talk a lot 14 Old vinyl record 15 “Plebeian” fruit, but it makes a nice reassuring dessert 16 Sushi side dish 18 Standing ___ ____, 2 words 21 Daiquiri ingredient 23 Sweet and abounding in butter or cream 24 Herb added to Ethiopian coffee 25 Lobster, shrimp, etc. 27 Calgary microbrewery where you can try the Lazy Mutt Authentic IPA 29 Christmas drink 31 Geographic area where Sunday roast and Yorkshire pudding originated 32 Use a paper towel 34 After-dinner drink 37 Swarms that can damage crops 40 BYOB word 42 Robust, as a meal 44 Of, in Bordeaux 45 Light dessert, 3 words 48 “Goodbye” in Venice 50 Movie extraterrestrial
52 Circle ratio, sounding like a dessert 53 Small hotel 54 Dance or hot sauce 56 Calgary brewery famous for its Hijacked IPA 59 LTJG subordinate 61 Informal turndown 63 Summer month, abbr. 65 Seafood choice 67 Word that goes with Benedict 68 The best BLT in the city 69 One ___ person 70 French for where 71 Wine vessel 73 Sleek and cozy Calgary wine bar, 4 words 79 Paintings, sculpture, exquisite desserts, etc 81 Fish story 83 Calgary’s other name 84 Cream puffs 85 Pita bread sandwich 87 Greenhouses 90 It’s in Greek salads, 2 words 93 Onion reaction 94 Navigator’s concerns 95 Dine at a restaurant, 2 words 96 Pollinator 97 Chicken pot pie veggie
DOWN 1 Other 25 year olds, ___ ___ ___’s, 3 words 2 Italian dark-roast coffee 3 Cake layers 4 Sweet spread, 2 words 5 Calgary wine bar that offers more than 100 bottles by the glass, __ Room 6 Product 7 Expression of dismay 8 Like some steaks 9 Winter sport action 10 Light and white 11 Period of time 12 Italian wine area 17 Smallest US state, abbr. 19 Croissant cousin 20 “So that’s it!” 22 Chinese restaurant no-no 26 Spanish for gold 27 Six, on a phone 28 Keep alive 30 Lustrous 33 Onion sections 34 Close friend 35 Type of vegetable 36 Time for a late lunch, maybe 38 Fluid container 39 Offal delicacy 41 State on the Canadian border, for short 43 Hi! 46 Unagi in a sushi bar
47 Wonderful spread 49 Comfy 51 Fashionable 55 Like a whole lot 56 Calgary craft brewery 57 Restaurant raters, ___ at 58 Canadian comments 60 Japanese fermented beverage 62 Cheese category 64 Canadian neighbour 65 They pick up unused food from restaurants and take it to people in need 66 Hero, for short 69 Section 70 Not edible any more 71 Pina Colada ingredient 72 Uncooked 74 The A in IPA 75 Whole grain for example 76 River in Quebec, meaning black 77 Core 78 Place 80 Salad ingredient 82 Squash, for example 86 Informal greeting 88 A pepper 89 Go solid 90 Large African antelope 91 Before, before a word 92 Mincemeat dessert, e.g.
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back burner
Allan Shewchuk
SHEWCHUK ON SIMMER
FROM TRENDY TO THE TRASH
Time flies when you’re having fun, and it must have been fun writing for the City Palate, given that 25 years has gone by in a flash. I’ll admit that due to my wine consumption, I’m not all that crisp on the details of the whole journey, but I’ve been proud to be a part of the Palate team, because for a quarter of a century, this has been where Calgary foodies have come for advice about how to live the culinary life. The Palate has seen a lot of trends come and go and has been on the cutting edge of covering them all.
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I thought about the trends that City Palate has reported on as I watched a group of millennials on a patio this summer swilling their Moscow Mules out of those little copper mugs that those trendiest of cocktails must be served in. I wondered how long it would be until bar owners would be selling those mugs at garage sales and dumping out their supplies of the ginger beer needed to concoct a perfect mule. It reminded me of all of the trendy gear I’ve bought over the years, which my darling wife, a self-proclaimed “purger,” has thrown into the recycle bin. She always waits until I’m away from home and then pounces into action by chucking my stuff out so I can’t plead with her to let me keep my treasures. When I was in the hospital for three days, having my hip replaced, all my dusty, trendy stuff got gleefully purged. A warning to all you married guys out there: if you go under general anaesthetic, be prepared to wake up and find your beer mug and hockey card collections gone. Not that getting rid of some of my old collections was all bad. Probably the most deserving purge was the Alsatian wine glasses that I bought more than 20 years ago, when people were going gaga over rieslings and gewürztraminers to pair with the new “fusion” foods that were all the rage. The glasses were super-ugly with their green long stems and the tiny little cups on top that could hold only about as much as a thimble. Given the size of my nose, I had to cock my neck back to sip even a drop of wine, which caused me to develop a painful case of Alsatian whiplash. The glasses made their way to the garage swiftly. I also have to admit that I don’t miss the ridiculously huge Long Island Iced Tea glasses that came along with that cocktail trend. These weren’t really glasses, but gigantic fishbowls passing as stemware. Trying to drink a full Long Island Iced Tea was like lifting a washtub full of water that was swishing back and forth. The more people drank, the unsteadier they became, so I suppose the advantage was that Long Island Iced Tea glasses kind-of had their own built-in sobriety test. Sober or drunk, though, everybody looked ridiculous using those glasses – but given that they were utilized at embarrassingly bad chain restaurants like Chi-Chi's, no one seemed to care. Let’s be clear – if you were going to a place that specialized in deep-fried ice-cream, then you had no pride to start with anyway. Along with glasses, the purging also included cooking equipment that was a walk through the trends in the food business over the years. Squirt bottles used to decorate plates so they resembled Jackson Pollock paintings. Foamers and smearers that made meals look like they were sitting on a kid’s finger painting. Hot plates for serving fajitas that I used once and nearly burnt the back deck down. Little metal holders for mini hamburger sliders, and micro hotdogs, also used only once because it was so much fussy work to bake my own mini buns that I swore to never do it again. And, sadly, my sous-vide machine, which I also stopped using when I realized that just grilling meat tasted better than what I got after struggling to stuff it in a vacuum bag.
Premier 40+ Resort Style Community Located on Calgary’s Picturesque Fish Creek Park Wine Cellar | Movie Theatre | Games Room Fitness Centre | Swimming Pool | Bowling Alley Woodworking Shop & Much More
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CITYPALATE.ca SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2018
I don’t know what the next 25 years will bring in food trends. All I know for certain is that I will continue to buy whatever the hip thing is and then probably, in short order, stop using it. If you should be interested in picking up any of these trendy items, just dig around my recycle bin the next time I go under the knife.
Allan Shewchuk is a lawyer, food writer and sought-after Italian food and wine guru. He currently has kitchens in both Calgary and Florence, Italy, but will drink wine pretty much anywhere.
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