Culinaire #4:7 (december 2015)

CALGARY / FOOD & DRINK / RECIPES :: VOLUME 4 NO.7 :: DECEMBER 2015

All’s Well That Ends Well…

Holiday Sweets & Treats To Devour!

Cream Liqueurs | Holiday Baking | Warming Hot Toddies | Spicy Beers 1

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14 VOLUME 4 / ISSUE #7 DECEMBER 2015

Features 14

Ending On A Sweet Note How are you planning to finish your holiday meal? These five farmers’ market vendors have dessert treats galore

by Diana Ng

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Kettle Valley Winery Photography Contest Results from our workshop competition winner

by Linda Garson

40 Old Man Winter Does icewine age?

by Tom Firth

30 Pairing Pitfalls Classic meals and the elements

to avoid

by Matthew Browman 33

3 Apple Desserts To warm your soul this winter

by Natalie Findlay

36 Cream of the Crop The luxury of cream liqueurs

by Steve Goldsworthy 38

A New Tradition Oh my — Carrot Pie!

by Christa Bedwin

Holiday Gift Guide Not sure what to get for the foodies and beverage lovers in your life? We have 15 great gift ideas for you!

by Linda Garson

42 Making the Case Wines to impress your palate

by Tom Firth 44 The Hot Toddy With the sweet heat of rum

by Patricia Koyich 46 Spice Up The Holidays …with these beers!

by David Nuttall 48 Chocolate Porter Brownies

For Winter

by Natalie Findlay

Departments 6

Salutes and Shout Outs

8

Ask Culinaire

9

Book Review

10

Potluck Party Menu Gems

12

Soup Kitchen

16

Chefs’ Tips – and Tricks!

20 Step-By-Step:

The Ultimate Yule Log 28 5 Ways to Spice Up

Nanaimo Bars

On the Cover:

50 Open That Bottle Gwendolyn Richards of

The Calgary Herald

by Linda Garson

Cookie crisis! Many thanks to Stephanie Eddy for baking and decorating our fun holiday cookies, and to Dan Clapson for his ideas and art direction of Ingrid Kuenzel’s fabulous photograph!

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Letter From The Editor I’m very grateful for all the feedback we’ve received this year, which has helped us steer Culinaire in the direction you’ve asked for. I’ve been listening closely, and I really feel we’ve made great strides, even as the new kids, and it feels great to be respected and appreciated for our efforts. Thanks to all of you who have been in touch, you can’t even imagine how heart-warming it is to receive emails like the excerpts from the two here that I’ve included at the end.

All’s well that ends well indeed, and I’m delighted to say that at Culinaire, we’re ending the year very well.

Even in challenging economic times, it’s been a great year for the Calgary food and beverage scene, with so many excellent new eateries and places to drink opening up. Look how far our cocktail culture has come in the last year – we have more options now than I’ve ever seen in my time in the city – and they’re quality choices too. It’s an exciting time!

And I couldn’t possibly finish the year without thanking everybody who has made Culinaire possible: our advertisers and supporters, our editors, our talented contributors of words and photographs, and of course, our readers.

I hope it’s a very happy holiday time for you, and look forward to hearing from you in 2016.

Cheers, Linda Garson, Editor-in-Chief

From Culinaire readers: We wanted to drop you a quick note to let you know how exceptional we both found this month’s magazine.

We normally enjoy the content but this month’s really hit the mark for us. Thanks for the work you do to spread the good word of wining and dining in Calgary!

Frank S, Calgary I enjoyed looking at and reading “The Results of the 2015 Alberta Beverage Awards” in the October issue. It turns out some of the winners are favorites of mine.

Thanks to your article there are many others I checked off to look for and add to the collection. As a native Calgarian who appreciates dining out as well as cooking dinners at home, I relate to your publication and read every issue cover to cover.

Cheryl W, Calgary

Easy is a beautiful thing.

#stepintoitaly Willow Park 9919 Fairmount Drive SE | italiancentre.ca @italianctrYYC | 403-238-4869 4

CALGARY / FOOD & DRINK / RECIPES Editor-in-Chief/Publisher: Linda Garson linda@culinairemagazine.ca Commercial Director: Keiron Gallagher 403-975-7177 sales@culinairemagazine.ca

Contributing Food Editor: Dan Clapson dan@culinairemagazine.ca Contributing Drinks Editor: Tom Firth tom@culinairemagazine.ca Digital Media Editor: Lynda Sea web@culinairemagazine.ca Contributing Photographer: Ingrid Kuenzel Design: Emily Vance Contributors: Christa Bedwin Matthew Browman Natalie Findlay Mallory Frayn Steve Goldsworthy Renee Kohlman Patricia Koyich Karen Miller Diana Ng Dave Nuttall Lynda Sea

To read about our talented team of contributors, please visit us online at culinairemagazine.ca.

Contact us at: Culinaire Magazine #1203, 804 -3rd Avenue SW Calgary, AB T2P 0G9 403-870-9802 info@culinairemagazine.ca www.facebook.com/CulinaireMagazine Twitter: @culinairemag Instagram: culinairemag For subscriptions, competitions and to read Culinaire online: culinairemagazine.ca

Our Contributors < Mallory Frayn

Mallory is a food writer and Ph.D. student living and learning in Montreal.

She loves to combine her two passions, food and psychology, to help people develop healthier relationships with food. Her site, becauseilikechocolate.com, aims to do just that (and obviously chocolate is always included). When she isn’t busy with research or writing, Mallory is most likely jogging, or eating (or both!) her way around Montreal. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram @cuzilikechoclat

< Matt Browman

Bartending in Japan in the early ’90s brought Matt, in a roundabout way, to the beginning of a vinous obsession in Niagara-on-the-Lake, where upon completion of an English Literature BA he accepted a beverage management position for which he was sorely unqualified. Having completed the ISG Diploma, WSET Diploma, as well as the Court of Master Sommeliers Advanced Diploma, Matt’s career has taken him through restaurant, retail, education, journalism and judging as well as many of the world’s wine-growing regions.

< Renée Kohlman

Renée Kohlman is a food writer and pastry chef living in beautiful Saskatoon. Her blog, sweetsugarbean.com, is a combination of her favourite things: cooking, food photography and writing, and she considers herself super fortunate to make a living doing what she loves. Renée writes restaurant reviews for The Saskatoon StarPhoenix, and her desserts can be enjoyed at Riverside Country Club. Her affection for bacon, butter, and living room dance parties is legendary.

All Trademarks presented in this magazine are owned by the registered owner. All advertisements appearing in this magazine are the sole responsibility of the person, business or corporation advertising their product or service. For more information on Culinaire Magazine’s Privacy Policy and Intention of Use, please see our website at www.culinairemagazine.ca.

All content, photographs and articles appearing in this magazine are represented by the contributor as original content and the contributor will hold Culinaire Magazine harmless against any and all damages that may arise from their contribution. All public correspondence, which may include, but is not limited to letters, e-mail, images and contact information, received by Culinaire Magazine becomes the property of Culinaire Magazine and is subject to publication. Culinaire Magazine may not be held responsible for the safety or return of any unsolicited manuscripts, photographs and other materials. Reproduction of this publication in whole or in part without written consent from Culinaire Magazine is strictly prohibited.

Salutes...

Congrats to Pascal’s Patisserie!

And to The Nash’s Matt Batey

Major Milestone for Mealshare!

Our local artisanal French take-andbake pastry maker has won the Globe and Mail’s Small Business Challenge Award for the region, from a record 3,300+ applicants. Having eaten far more than our fair share of his fabulous croissants, we know why!

… Gold Medal Plate Champion, who will now compete in the gruelling national event in Kelowna. Jinhee Lee, of Hotel Arts’ Raw Bar, took silver, and for the very first time, there was a tie for bronze between Workshop’s Kenny Kaechele and Shaun Desaulniers of ChefBar.

In November, Mealshare provided their 500,000th meal to someone in need – halfway on their “Road to 1 Million”! To celebrate, 10 Calgary restaurants joined the program, making a total of 48 local restaurants offering the opportunity to turn dining out into helping out.

and Shout Outs...

Welcome Ace Coffee & Diner Now open in West Springs, this 45 seat, all-day breakfast upscale café from seasoned Calgary restaurateurs, Kam and Raj Dhillon, has the vibe of a cool downtown diner but in the ’burbs!

Expect an elevated diner and coffee experience, with trained baristas serving up Phil & Sebastian coffee seven days a week. Ace is family-orientated – on Tuesdays, kids eat for $5 all day, and drip coffee is $1 all day Mondays. Stay and enjoy some of the home-style baked goodies or grab ‘em and go.

And to Home and Away … a food focused/sports inspired restaurant in the old Moxie’s spot on 17 Avenue SW, from the minds behind CRAFT Beer Market. Enjoy Exec Chef Mike Pigot’s menu of classic feel-good cuisine, with all antibiotic- and hormone-free meat and veggies from within 30K of Calgary, and admire designer Sara Ward’s wall of skateboards from ‘50s and ‘60s, and the reclaimed gym floor from a local elementary school. Eat, drink, but don’t leave without trying your hand at one of the vintage Skee Ball and Pop-a-Shot machines!

Neil’s Yard Remedies … have opened a new store in Southcentre, where you can find their new range of 100% organic and Soil Association certified herbal 6

teas. This could be a good month for the Echinacea Plus Tea to keep your immune system healthy and stave off winter colds!

Fine and Dandy Alberta’s smallest brewery, the multi award–winning Dandy Brewing Company has opened their brand new tasting room. Tours, beers, and special events are now available for craft beer fans at the source. 8 taps feature Dandy mainstays and seasonals, and also limited releases and one-off brewery only beers.

Nutritious Noshing Vancouver-based Left Coast Naturals have also introduced new flavours of their delicious Hippie Foods’ Coconut Chips snacks – Tamari & Cracked Pepper, and Coconut Bacon (meatfree!). Tasty, crunchy, gluten-free, and vegan – we can’t keep our hands out of the bags!

New Ocean Wise phone app Celebrating its 10th anniversary, Vancouver Aquarium’s Ocean Wise program has launched a slick new app for you to check which seafood options are Ocean Wise recommended, and access a database of 3,000+ Ocean Wise partners.

New Addictive Snacks!

A gift that keeps on growing!

Eccentric English vegetable chip producers, Tyrrells, have introduced three new flavours to our stores. Look for Beetroot, Parsnip & Potato; and Sweet Potato, Carrot & Potato, both with Sea Salt; and our faves – Sweet Potato with Smoked Chili. We can’t stop popping these completely moreish crunchy snacks – be warned!

Provide a hungry family with fresh fruit to eat and sell at market – five fruit trees are only $30, and an Agricultural Pack for three families, of seeds, animal feed, tools, fertilizers, pest control and training, is $35 – which is then doubled because of donations from the World Food Programme! catalogue.worldvision.ca/collections

CELEBRATE FRIENDS. MAKE THEM FAMILY. 2 01 3 K Vint ner ’s endallJa Re s e rve ® ckson ® Char donn ay

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Vintner’s Reserve Chardonnay has been the #1 Selling Chardonnay and white wine in the USA for 23 years!

KJ.COM @KJ WINES ©2015 Kendall-Jackson Winery, Santa Rosa, CA

Ask Culinaire

by RENEE KOHLMAN

Are homemade gifts a cop-out for the holidays?

When it comes to holiday gift-giving, it really is the thought that matters most. I’ve found that anything made with love is pretty much the best gift there is. Well, aside from diamonds, of course, but we all shouldn’t be holding our breath for those! Why not surprise dear friends and family with edible gifts, created in your own kitchen?

need vanilla beans and vodka to make a year’s supply.

The perks to this are many. You get to avoid malls, save money, and look like a culinary superstar. Cookies and bars all wrapped up in pretty tins are always a good idea, but why not switch it up with jars of delicious homemade salted caramel?

Anything made with love is pretty much the best gift there is

The bakers in your life will love you even more if you gift them pure vanilla extract, and the good news is you only

Speaking of vodka, making your own limoncello is a snap –­you just need vodka, sugar and lemons. And patience to let it age for a week or so.

For the more adventurous candymakers, homemade marshmallows and sponge toffee are a wonderful, creative gift for those with an insatiable sweet tooth and they’re easy to pull off too.

Another sweet idea: save vanilla beans you’ve scraped the seeds out of, and store them in granulated sugar for a lovely vanilla essence. Poured into small jars, it makes a wonderful hostess gift.

Last, but not least, for the chocolatelovers in your life, dip salted pretzels in dark chocolate and lay them on parchment paper. Sprinkle with Skor bits or other tiny candies, and chill until set. Wrap in cellophane with a festive bow and you’ll for sure make someone’s spirit bright.

Visit culinairemagazine.ca for recipes to make your own candies, cookies and bars, and see the smile on your family and friends’ faces when you surprise them with edible gifts this holiday season.

Renee is a food writer and pastry chef living in beautiful Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Her columns appear in The Saskatoon StarPhoenix and her desserts can be enjoyed at Riverside Country Club.

Also, check out her blog www.sweetsugarbean.com 8

Book Reviews

by KAREN MILLER

The Holiday Kosher Baker

by Paula Shoyer Sterling Publishers 2013. $38.50 An array of beautiful desserts at any festive gathering is a Jewish tradition.

Although the dessert recipes in this book are organized around each of the big Jewish holiday celebrations, they certainly can be used any time during the year by everyone, kosher or not. All the recipes are clearly marked as gluten-free, dairy- or nut-free, low in sugar or even vegan. Many recipes cater to the dietary restrictions associated with a specific holiday, but in no way do they compromise the decadence of the desserts.

Shoyer has lots of experience sharing her recipes with Jewish home bakers, touring North America after her first Jewish baking book, and she provides a lot of helpful hints. For example, many Jewish holidays involve fasting, with a big celebration scheduled immediately after, so she demonstrates the steps which can be done ahead and/or frozen.

Of course there are lots of the classic desserts you might expect in a Jewish baking book, some using Matzoh meal, and many varieties of babkas, challahs, latkes and rugelach, but there are many more recipes adopting a modern or more healthy approach! She even includes recipes for some French baking classics, including the delicious canelles, the beautiful, small caramelized domes of goodness from Bordeaux.

Some of the Jewish holidays have a tradition of giving packages of sweets as gifts, so the book has a wide spectrum of holiday cookie and candy gift-giving ideas for any occasion.

You will want to fast just so you can indulge in the endless variety of Shoyerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s treats this holiday season!

Karen Miller is a lawyer by trade, giving her a knack for picking apart a cookbook. She has taught many styles of cooking classes and was part of the Calgary Dishing girls.

Potluck Party Gems Are you ever stuck for ideas when choosing a dish to make for a potluck party?

We love the opportunity to try other people’s cooking, so we asked our contributors for their favourite potluck dishes. All these tried and true holiday recipes are available online at culinairemagazine.ca.

Mini Dutch Apple Pies

I love classic pies, and am usually in charge of desserts, so these tiny sweets are my go-to for potlucks. They’re superquick to throw together and work for large groups because everyone gets their own pie. Even if people are stuffed by the end of the night, they usually take them home!

Lynda Sea

Vegan Chocolate Haystacks (Gluten-Free)

I can’t help but to bring dessert to a potluck, especially during the holidays. These chocolate haystacks are a family favourite that I’ve been eating for as long as I can remember.

They are the perfect chocolatey bite for after a gut-busting holiday meal.

Mallory Frayn

Carrot Halvah

…is my favourite winter potluck dish. It’s a favourite with kids and adults alike, and it’s so easy. It’s a great way to get kids involved in cooking their own veggies they’ll love to eat. It’s versatile and practically allergen-free! You can serve it cold or hot, and as a side dish or for dessert. It’s fail-safe.

Christa Bedwin

“Wife Saver”

Having so many close friends who are chefs, I am fortunate to have fantastic potluck experiences, however it can also create a bit of “pressure” when choosing what to bring! I love brunch and so when we get together I make a modern variation of what is still called the “wife saver” today by the Best of Bridge ladies. It brings back childhood memories, and will leave any brunch-lover wanting more!

Patricia Koyich

Classically Meaty Lasagna

I was thrilled to find this lasagna recipe a little while ago; it’s so much better than store bought or even frozen ones, and really doesn’t take that much longer. It’s rich (but not too rich), meaty, and can feed a good-sized group of people for dinner, and a much larger group if part of a potluck. The base recipe is from America’s test kitchen, but it’s very easy to modify.

Tom Firth Volcano Chicken Wings

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Caramel Butternut Squash Apple Squares

It’s always nice to think outside of the standard ‘pumpkin spice’ box, so these caramel butternut squash and apple dessert squares have become my holiday potluck party go-to. Bet you can’t eat just one. Actually, I goddamn guarantee it!

Dan Clapson

Humus

Time is my most valuable asset, so for potlucks my dish has to be easy and delicious, but very quick to make. If I can put everything in a food processor and give it a little whizz, then it’s ideal for me! I love making humus as I usually have all the ingredients to hand, and can vary it easily by adding roasted garlic, chili flakes, basil, red peppers etc.

Linda Garson

Cheater’s Pulled Pork

As a home cook, I have always suspected the Crock-Pot as a failsafe way to cook the flavour out of any dish. But you can’t go wrong with a fatty pork butt slow cooked for twelve hours.

Traditionally, pulled pork requires specialized techniques, equipment, and know-how. No need to complicate things. Try this recipe for melting, savoury, moist pulled pork.

Matthew Browman

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Soup Kitchen story and photography by DAN CLAPSON

December is not usually a month that’s low on the calorie counter. I’m all for “everything in moderation,” but if there’s a time of year where indulgence is generally accepted, it’s the holidays.

These bowls of soup are full of comfort, perfect for those nights when a heavy snowfall and cold winds have you chilled to the bone.

If you’re throwing a holiday party before Christmas, try serving either of these in small mugs for guests to sip on. Soup shooters all-round!

Cream of Bacon and Blue Cheese Soup Preheat oven to 375º F.

1. Heat canola oil in a medium pot on

medium-high heat. Add sliced bacon and cook for 5 minutes. Remove cooked bacon from pot and place onto paper towel to absorb any excess oil.

2. Reduce to medium heat and add

butter. Once melted, stir in flour to form a roux. Slowly add half and half, stirring until you have a sauce-like consistency.

3. Add broth, wine, 1 Tbs of honey,

and spices, and cook uncovered, for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

4. Stir in blue cheese and cook another

10 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper and let warm on the stove until ready to serve.

Serves 4 Total cook time 40 minutes 2 tsp (10 mL) canola oil 4 bacon strips, 2 cm sliced 1 Tbs butter 2 Tbs all-purpose flour 3 cups (720 mL) half and half 3 cups (720 mL) chicken broth 12

½ cup (120 mL) white wine 1 Tbs, plus 2 tsp honey, separated 1 tsp cayenne pepper 1 tsp smoked paprika ¼ cup crumbled blue cheese 4 strips bacon To taste salt and pepper Garnish honey

5. Place bacon strips on a baking rack,

drizzle with honey and bake in preheated oven until crispy, about 8-10 minutes.

Allow to cool, then roughly chop.

6. To serve, ladle soup into bowls,

top with chopped candied bacon and a drizzle of honey.

Red Wine Braised Onion and Root Vegetable Soup Serves 5 Total cook time 1 hour 2 heads garlic, peeled 2 Tbs (30 mL) canola oil 1 Tbs (15 mL) olive oil 3 yellow onions, halved and thinly sliced 2 Tbs butter 3 cups (720 mL) red wine 2 turnips, peeled and julienned 3 carrots, julienned 6 cups (1.5 L) vegetable broth 1 Tbs (15 mL) soy sauce 1 Tbs (15 mL) Worcestershire sauce 1 Tbs (15 mL) balsamic vinegar To taste salt and pepper

Topping: 1½ cups grated mozzarella cheese 2 Tbs (30 mL) half and half 2 Tbs finely chopped parsley 2 cm slices of white baguette (amount required varies with size of soup bowl)

Preheat oven to 375º F.

1. Place peeled garlic cloves in tin foil,

pour canola oil over top and seal tightly.

Place in oven and cook until cloves are golden and tender, about 35 minutes.

Remove from oven, discard oil and allow cloves to cool.

2. Heat olive oil in a large pot on medium-high heat and add sliced

onions. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. If onions start to brown, add a small splash of water.

3. Add butter, and continue to cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. When onions begin to caramelize, add some red wine to the pot. Once it reduces, add a little more red wine and allow to reduce. Continue this process until there is only 1 cup (240 mL) of wine remaining.

4. Pour remaining wine into the pot

along with remaining ingredients, bring to a simmer, reduce to medium heat and let cook for 30 minutes, uncovered.

5. Use the back of a knife to press

confit garlic cloves into a purée and add to the pot. Stir well and season to taste with salt and pepper.

6. Combine cheese, cream and

herbs in a small bowl. Ladle out soup into 5 heat-safe bowls and top with baguette slices, followed by liberal amounts of cheese mixture.

7. Bake in oven until cheese starts

to melt and bubble and then turn to low broil and cook until cheese begins to brown, about 3-4 minutes.

Remove from oven and cool slightly before serving.

“WHO NEEDS MISTLETOE WHEN YOU HAVE SWEET ROSCATO!”

© 2015 Palm Bay International, Boca Raton, FL.

Ending On A Sweet Note:

5 Farmers’ Market Vendors With Treats For The Holidays

by DIANA NG photography by INGRID KUENZEL

Everyone says they’re stuffed after the turkey, potatoes and sides, but somehow, people always manage to make room for dessert.

Yum Bakery

And, let’s be honest, it really isn’t a holiday meal Yum Bakery without something sweet to Don’t show up to holiday dinner wrap it up. If the thought parties empty-handed, or worse, with of making a piecrust makes a fruitcake. Pick up tarts, cakes and macarons from Yum Bakery instead. you anxious, consider Fans of pillowy, light cakes will enjoy the vanilla chiffon raspberry mousse cake, taking the easy way and and chocoholics won’t be able resist the picking up treats from chocolate hazelnut royale. Whatever cake or tart you get, serve it with a few these vendors at farmers’ macarons on the side. markets in the city.

Orchid Pastry If you’re looking for more unusual sweet treats, then you’ll want to pick some pastries from Orchid Pastry.

They specialize in interesting sweets like zoulbia (fried batter soaked in syrup), Moroccan date-filled cookies and saffron ice cream; but they also make a variety of small French and Italian pastries, like cream puffs and cannoli.

Can’t decide what to get? Pick up a piece or two of everything.

Find them at Calgary Farmers’ Market

Find them at Calgary Farmers’ Market

Burnt To Order Whacking a spoon through a crunchy layer of sugar is cathartic. It’s almost like ripping the wrapping paper from Christmas presents! While the concept is simple — making a custard, and torching white sugar on top to create a thin, crispy layer of caramel — making crème brûlée takes time and skill to get the creamy texture and thickness of the sugar just right. Save your sanity by visiting Burnt To Order, where you can find about a dozen different kinds of crème brûlée, including classic, strawberry shortcake and Earl Grey.

Find them at Crossroads Market 14

Orchid Pastry

Kruse’s Bakery

Kruse’s Bakery Le Picnic

Sometimes, you want a piece of artful and delicate pastry. Other times, you just want a simple but well-made piece of apple strudel, an almond square or apple danish. For those times, Kruse’s hit the spot with a variety of traditional baked goods. For the holidays, pick up a loaf of their stollen, a bread studded with dried fruit and covered in icing sugar.

And while you’re at the market, treat yourself to a sandwich that’s more than just cold cuts and French’s mustard.

Le Picnic specializes in sandwiches like croque monsieur, havarti and cheddar grilled sandwich, and the signature country paté sandwich with ham, dill and homemade mustard. If you want to cut back on the bread, the bakery also offers quiche, crepes and spanakopita for you to take to wherever you are going.

Find them at Market on Macleod

Find them at Symons Valley Farmers’ Market and Market on Macleod Kruse’s Bakery

Diana Ng is a co-founder of Eat North and freelance writer who will eat your food when you’re not looking.

Janine Deanna Photography

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Chefs' Tips Tricks!

Holiday Desserts

by LYNDA SEA photography by INGRID KUENZEL

Making show-stealing Executive Chef Craig Nazareth Fairmont Palliser sweets this holiday season doesn’t have to Paté seems to be making a comeback these days and Executive Chef Craig equal overcomplicated Nazareth of the Fairmont Palliser has a day-long affairs. For festive modern take that’s not your everyday dessert: chocolate paté. desserts that dazzle, here are some tips from three “It’s very friendly to make at home and easy, and is essentially just chocolate top Calgary chefs.

Their insights on holiday baking can save you time, yet still result in irresistible desserts that will satisfy your dinner guests’ sweet tooth and leave them wanting more.

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and cream together,” says Nazareth.

He prefers using milk chocolate to dark because it has a bit more sweetness and keeps the paté nice and creamy.

“Using a double boiler is very important so you don’t burn your chocolate; just steaming it melts your chocolate,” he says. “Low and slow is the key also with the crème anglaise.”

Chef Craig Nazareth

Nazareth says one of the biggest mistakes is being too impatient and rushing the crème anglaise step. “If you rush, you’ll end up scrambling your eggs and make lots of lumps, which isn’t a nice creamy consistency.”

What makes this a good recipe for the holiday season, says Nazareth, is that it’s one dessert with multiple uses. “You can have it for dessert one night with the family and the next day, it makes great French toast,” he says. Stuff any leftover paté inside your French toast and use the remaining crème anglaise as your syrup — yes, please!

Chocolate Paté with Crème Anglaise Serves 8-10

Paté 300 g dark chocolate couverture 1¼ cups (300 mL) heavy cream 100 g sugar 100 g butter 100 g glucose

1. In a pot, bring cream, butter, sugar and glucose to a boil.

2. Pour the boiled liquid over the chocolate.

3. Mix well and set aside to cool.

Crème Anglaise

1¾ cups (425 mL) heavy cream 1¾ (425 mL) milk 1 tsp (5 mL) vanilla paste 200 g sugar 215 g egg yolk

David Rousseau Ollia Macarons & Tea People tend to overcook, overbake and overstress around the holidays, so David Rousseau, of Ollia Macarons & Tea, is in favour of a holiday sweet that’s not heavy or time-consuming to make. He suggests whipping up a batch of light and crispy Florentines — thin and fine almond cookies that literally translate to “from Florence” in Italian but are actually French in origin.

“These are so simple and tasty and addictive,” says Rousseau. Put your batter in the fridge overnight so it hardens and is easier to work with.

When forming the Florentine, Rousseau’s trick is to wet a fork to spread the batter so it doesn’t stick, leaving uneven portions. “Spread them very thinly,” says Rousseau. “You want them as thin as possible without holes in the batter.”

1. Heat cream, milk and vanilla to a simmer.

2. In a bowl, whisk together egg yolks

and sugar. Gradually whisk in cream mixture into eggs. Return sauce to pot over medium heat.

3. Cook anglaise until the sauce coats

the back of a spoon. Strain and let cool in fridge.

For the full recipe for Craig Nazareth’s vanilla cake, visit culinairemagazine.ca.

To assemble: 1. Cut vanilla cake with round cutter.

2. Use a round piping tip and pipe

cooled chocolate paté around the edge of the cake, leaving the centre empty.

3. Garnish the center of the paté/cake assembly with fruits.

4. Plate the paté assembly with anglaise as desired.

David Rousseau

Wet a fork to spread the batter so it doesn’t stick For toppings, melt chocolate to drizzle over the cookies, or dip them half into melted chocolate, or throw in hazelnuts, walnuts or pecans. If dried fruit is more your thing, add dried cranberries and cardamom to the mix.

Florentines

Makes 40-50 Florentines 40 g almond flour 230 g icing sugar 140 g egg whites 250 g sliced almonds 50 g unsalted butter, melted

1. Mix almond flour, icing sugar and egg whites together.

2. Add sliced almonds and mix well.

3. Add unsalted butter, previously melted. Mix well.

4. Leave mix in fridge overnight or freezer for 30-45 minutes.

5. Scoop mix and place on baking mat, using a fork to spread it thin. Wet the fork so the batter doesn’t stick. Add crushed nuts/dried fruits if needed.

6. Bake in oven at 355º F for 4

minutes, then turn trays around and bake for another 3 minutes.

7. For shapes, use a cookie cutter

when they are baked and still lukewarm.

Drizzle chocolate or dip in chocolate when they have cooled down.

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Chef Kevin Yang

Chef Kevin Yang MARKET Calgary For Chef Kevin Yang at MARKET Calgary, baking is both chemistry and what he likes to call “science-y art.” So when it comes to Christmas baking, he likes the element of surprise and is known for his playful savoury desserts including this yam cake recipe.

Salt-baked Vanilla Yam Cake with Bourbon Spiced Eggnog Buttercream Serves 12

Yam Puree “Cold eggs make your cakes lumpy”

By baking the yam on a bed of salt to create a puree, Yang says it makes the root vegetable fluffier, which matters when it comes to cake. “The salt acts as a medium that transfers and holds the heat so it bakes more evenly.”

Make sure your eggs are also at room temperature before adding them to the mix, says Yang. “Cold eggs make your cakes lumpy.” A quick fix: soak the eggs in warm tap water out of the fridge for about 5 minutes.

“Instead of butter, I also like to work with olive oil in my cake,” says Yang.

While butter adds richness and makes it more crumbly, he says olive oil adds an interesting complement to the yam flavour and leaves the cake more dense and moist. While Yang made his bourbon-spiced eggnog from scratch, store-bought eggnog will also do.

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450 g evenly sized yam 3 cups kosher salt

Spread kosher salt evenly on a baking tray, rest the yam on top and bake at 325º F for 30 minutes or until fork tender. Once cool, scrape the yam out and smash it with fork and set aside.

For Kevin Yang’s full Bourbonspiced eggnog buttercream recipe, visit culinairemagazine.ca

Vanilla Yam Cake 400 g yam puree 93 g buttermilk 1½ tsp (5 mL) vanilla paste or extract 112 g olive oil 345 g granulated sugar 2 eggs, room temperature 245 g all-purpose flour 6 g baking soda 3 g ginger powder 3 g cinnamon 2 g nutmeg Pinch of clove

1. Combine yam puree, buttermilk and vanilla paste or extract and set aside.

2. Combine flour, baking soda, spices, sifted.

3. In a mixing bowl, add olive oil and

sugar, with a paddle attachment mix on medium speed until it comes together into paste for about 3 minutes.

4. Add one egg at a time, make sure

to scrape the side between the eggs, continue mixing for about 2 minutes or until the mixture becomes light and fluffy.

5. With the mixer on low, incorporate half of the dry ingredients, mix until done, scrape the side, then add half of the yam puree, again mix till incorporated, scrape down again, and repeat with other half of ingredients.

6. Grease an 8” cake pan lined with

parchment paper; add the mixtures then hold the cake pan about 30 cm off the counter and drop to get rid of extra air bubbles, repeat 2 more times.

7. Bake at 325º F for 20-30 minutes.

Lynda Sea is Culinaire’s digital media editor. You’ll never hear her say no to pie, especially if it’s apple.

Follow her on Twitter at @lyndasea

Lâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; I n s t a n t C h a m p a g n e , w i t h Vi t a l i e Ta i t t i n g e r.

Reims, Place Royale.

taittinger.com

To Find a Retailer Visit liquorconnect.com/40873

19

Chocolate and Espresso Yule Log with Whisky Mascarpone Filling Serves 10

Cake: ½ cup cake flour, sifted, plus more for dusting pan 5 large eggs, separated, room temperature for 30 minutes 1 tsp (5 mL) pure vanilla extract ½ cup plus 2 Tbs granulated sugar, divided ¼ tsp salt ¼ tsp cream of tartar ¼ cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled 2 Tbs icing sugar

Espresso Syrup: ½ cup (120 mL) espresso or strong black coffee 2 Tbs sugar 1 Tbs (15 mL) whisky

Filling:

Step By Step: The Ultimate Yule Log story and photography by RENEE KOHLMAN

Years ago I worked with a pastry chef at a posh private club who could whip up Yule logs by the dozen. They would be the centrepieces on the endless dessert buffets, and I was in awe as he worked his culinary magic on these edible pieces of art.

Mushrooms and woodland creatures were made out of meringue and propped on the logs, which had been covered in swirls of dark chocolate ganache to look like bark. The masterpiece was only complete once a light dusting of snow (icing sugar) had fallen on the scene.

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While you most certainly don’t have to be a pastry chef to pull off a successful Yule log, the process does take some time and a bit of acquired baking skill. And you mustn’t be afraid to flip super hot cake upside down onto another baking sheet.

The steps may be many, but the reward of seeing loved ones in awe of your culinary magic will be worth it.

225 g mascarpone cheese, room temperature ¼ cup granulated sugar ¼ tsp ground cinnamon 2 Tbs (30 mL) whisky ½ cup (120 mL) heavy cream, chilled

Ganache: 340 g dark chocolate (at least 60%) finely chopped ¾ cup (180 mL) heavy cream 2 Tbs (30 mL) corn syrup Icing sugar for dusting

Cake: 1. Preheat oven to 350º F with rack in middle.

2. Butter a 15x10 rimmed baking

sheet or jelly roll pan, line bottom and sides with parchment. Butter paper and dust with sifted cake flour, knocking off excess.

3. In the bowl of a stand mixer

with whisk attached, beat egg yolks, vanilla and ½ cup sugar until thick and pale, and mixture forms ribbons that take 2 seconds to dissolve ­– about 5-8 minutes.

4. Sift half of flour over yolks and

Ganache: 1. Place chocolate in a medium bowl.

Heat cream just until it comes to a boil.

Pour over chocolate, cover with plastic wrap and let it stand for 5 minutes.

fold in gently. Sift and fold in remaining flour. Gently pour mixture into a large bowl.

5. Wash mixing bowl and whisk in hot

soapy water and dry thoroughly. Beat whites with salt and cream of tartar until soft peaks form. Beat in 2 Tbs of sugar, ½ Tbs at a time, until stiff.

2. Stir slowly until smooth, then stir

6. Fold ¼ of whites into yolk mixture

Assembly: 1. Carefully unroll cake on a baking sheet, keeping it on the tea towel. Have the long edge of the cake nearest you.

in corn syrup. Chill until spreadable, stirring a couple of times, about 15 minutes.

then fold in rest, gently but thoroughly.

In a small bowl, stir together the melted butter and ½ cup of cake batter until combined. Stir this back into cake batter, gently and thoroughly.

7. Spread cake batter evenly on

prepared pan and tap a few times on counter to release air bubbles. Bake 7-10 minutes, until cake springs back when gently pressed. Sift top of hot cake with 2 Tbs icing sugar and cover with a clean tea towel and another baking sheet.

8. Using oven mitts, carefully hold

cake and baking sheet together and flip the cake onto the baking sheet. Now you can carefully peel off parchment paper. Using the tea towel as an aid, have the longest side facing you and gently roll the cake up in the towel, jellyroll style. Let cool on a rack.

2. Cover cake evenly with espresso Syrup: In a small saucepan, combine espresso and sugar. Bring to a boil and reduce to just under ¼ cup. Remove from heat.

Stir in whisky and let cool.

Filling: 1. In the bowl of a stand mixer with paddle attachment, beat the mascarpone, sugar, cinnamon and whisky on medium speed until creamy.

Scrape into a medium bowl.

2. Wash and dry the mixing bowl then beat the heavy cream until it forms stiff peaks. Fold the cream into the mascarpone mixture.

www.CococoChocolatiers.com www.bernardcallebaut.com

syrup and spread the mascarpone filling over cake, leaving 1 cm border all around.

3. Starting with long side nearest

you, carefully roll up cake (without the towel) and place it seam side down on baking sheet.

4. Use a mini offset spatula to cover

log in ganache, giving a tree trunk texture. Cut off a diagonal slice from each end and carefully transfer yule log onto a platter, or carefully cut log in half and arrange on a platter. Note: I find rinsing knife under hot water before each slice works best.

5. Dust with icing sugar and serve.

If you’re still Christmas shopping, here are 15 of our favourite culinary gifts that will make someone’s season bright. mud + stone Pottery

The beautiful bowl on our November cover was handmade by mud+ stone, a collaboration of two creative potters, Jenn McCurry and Lynne Mulvihill, in Winnipeg. Each piece is unique, and dishwasher/microwave/oven safe. Order online at mudandstonestudio.com

Knife Sharpening Lessons

Timerino Soup Mixes

Slicing and dicing is no fun with dull blades, so a knife sharpening class makes an ideal gift for the chef in your house. 2-hour classes for four people maximum, Thursday evenings and Sunday mornings at Knifewear in Inglewood. $60, knifewear.com

From pasta fagioli, to zuppa, to orrechiette with rapini, Timerino Soup Mixes from Puglia, in Italy, make perfect stocking stuffers. Each packet serves 3. $7 at Bridgeland Market, bridgelandmarket.com

Savino Wine Preserver

Adrian Martinus Kitchenware

Want! Brothers Adrian and Martinus Pool create the most beautiful rolling pins ($75), cutting boards ($90), cheeseboards ($66), coasters ($26), magnetic knife racks, and more for the home, here in Calgary from recycled skateboards. Available at Reworks and EAT Trattoria. adrianmartinus.com

If you just can’t finish that bottle, the innovative Savino is an easy-to-use wine preservation system to help keep wine fresh. Designed at a height for refrigerator use too, it’s a useful shortterm solution at a gift-friendly price of around $50. savinowine.com

Thermapen Thermometer

Accurate, fast, easy to read and use, the Thermapen is a professional tool that has now become the top cooking thermometer in the home.

They’re made by hand in England, and can be used for almost anything cooked or chilled. From The Compleat Cook, Willow Park Village, $130, compleatcook.ca 22

The Ultimate Barware

Are you enjoying the recent rise of Calgary’s cocktail culture? For making your favourite cocktails at home, the Japanese Yukiwa range of barware is the real deal. Impress with an authentic rose gold cocktail shaker ($146), bar spoon ($81), or jigger ($46), from Kent of Inglewood. kentofinglewood.com

Wiser’s Hopped

Beer drinker or whisky lover? Now you can have the best of both with JP Wiser’s Hopped whisky. This blend of 5-9 year-old Canadian whiskies is “dry hopped” at the end of its aging process, producing a whisky with aromas of toffee and burnt sugar, and deep flavours of mocha and malt. Yum. CSPC 774383, $29.

Okin’s Speculoos Liqueur

Speculoos is a delicious gingerbread cream liqueur from France. It’s reminiscent of sitting in front of a roaring fire and dunking ginger cookies in hot milk – perfect for the holiday season. CSPC 767071, $35-$38.

Coravin

With a Coravin, you can taste your prized wines, monitor them as they age, or just pour a glass of white for yourself when everyone else is drinking red – without removing the cork!

Smart technology indeed! $385, thewinesyndicate.ca/coravin-system

Philips Premium Pasta Machine

It’s never been easier to make pasta and noodles at home! From Philips’ Premium Collection, this fully automated machine can make a pound of pasta in just 15 minutes. $299, at The Bay, Home Outfitters, Sears, and good houseware stores. philips.ca

Chocolaterie Bernard Callebaut® Hand-Dipped Cherries These hand-dipped cherries from Cococo Chocolatier (owners of Chocolaterie Bernard Callebaut®) marinate for 100 days in Italian Kirsch before being enrobed in milk chocolate and placed on a bed of chocolate shavings. They’re only available during the holidays at Cococo Chocolatier’s stores $8 for 2, $33 for 9, $64 for 18. bernardcallebaut.com

Offcuts 2016 calendar

Supporting Brown Bagging For Calgary’s Kids, “Offcuts 2016” is a light-hearted calendar featuring 12 of Calgary’s well-known food dudes. At only $20, one calendar will provide 20 school lunches, so grab one for the foodie in your life. For stockists see culinairemagazine.ca/articles/offcuts

CRMR Kitchen Condiments

Brand new from the chefs at Canadian Rocky Mountain Resorts are small batch, locally made sauces, jams, condiments, and salsas, as well as frozen ready-made meals. Signature items such as Mustard Melons (perfect for charcuterie) make great hostess gifts, but you might not want to give them away! At Second to None Meats, Willow Park Village and Mission. crmrkitchen.com

Scotch Whisky Advent Calendar

Last but certainly not least, for that very special person, the limited and rare Scotch Whisky Advent Calendar, and even more limited Collector’s Edition (only 100 made!), are in your favourite liquor stores. For locations, visit scotchwhiskyadvent.com.

23

Kettle Valley Winery Landscape Photography Workshop Competition In the summer issue of Culinaire, we ran a competition for you to win a fantastic landscape photography workshop with Scott Forsyth, Photographer of the Year 2014*, at Kettle Valley Winery in Naramata, with two nights accommodation and a dinner at the winery with wines from the vineyards photographed during the day.

We asked you to tell us your most memorable photography experience, and weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d like to congratulate Kerri-Jo Stewart on winning this superb prize for her story of wine and photography in northeast Argentina â&#x20AC;&#x201C; her first time winning something for writing.

Here are three of her photographs from the workshop, and you can read her blog of the whole experience at kerri-jo.com/kettle-valley-workshop. *In 2014 Scott was named Photographer of the Year from the Alberta chapter of the professional photographers of Canada.

NOW OPEN Whitehall believes in honest food in a setting that pays homage to the familiarity and informality of sitting down together for a meal. This is honest food that is seriously comfortable.

Chef Neil McCue believes in fine cooking that can be enjoyed outside of the context of fine dining, and Whitehall is his chance to prove it.

whitehallrestaurant.com

@whitehallyyc

Ways to Spice Up

nanaimo bars

by MALLORY FRAYN

Nanaimo bars are a Canadian holiday favourite! How can you go wrong with three layers of chocolate crust, buttery filling, and more melted chocolate to top off the works? Despite the components, they are surprisingly easy to make, and make well.

Plus all of the different layers make it a cinch to personalize them to your own taste.

Here are some suggestions to do just that!

1. Crazy for chocolate

2. Get nutty

3. Cookie crumbs

To be honest, Nanaimo bars are pretty chocolate-laden to begin with, but during the holidays, can there be such a thing as too much decadence? Letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s start with the base. Why not stir some chocolate chips into the mix, or add melted chocolate for more of a fudgy texture. Blend some cocoa powder into the filling to add another layer of chocolate goodness.

Traditional Nanaimo bars usually have either almond flour, chopped walnuts, or both as part of the base or crust. Nuts work perfectly with chocolate, so there are plenty of other ways to incorporate different kinds into each and every layer, like:

Graham cracker crumbs are one of the key ingredients in a classic Nanaimo bar base. But why stop there? Crushed gingersnaps or Speculoos cookies are both easy substitutes to add some festive, holiday flare. Not to mention that warming spices, like ginger and cinnamon, go oh-so-well with chocolate.

Oreo cookie crumbs are also a winning idea, and frankly another excuse to keep amping up the chocolate! Or if you want to stick with tradition and use graham cracker crumbs, why not make your own? For amazing Nanaimo bars, the extra effort is totally worth it!

Finally, splurge and use some quality chocolate for the ganache. After all it is just chocolate and butter melted together, so the better the ingredients are, the better it is going to taste.

Although semisweet chocolate is typically used, milk or white chocolate are also viable options! Just be sure to go lighter on the sweetness of the filling, given that both of these have more sugar than dark chocolate.

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- Using various nut flours in the base (ground hazelnuts would be especially delicious) - Mixing chopped nuts into the base for added crunch - Blending peanut butter into the filling - Adding almond paste or pistachio paste into the filling (green Nanaimo bars!)

- Garnish the bars with toasted, chopped almonds, hazelnuts, or peanuts

4. Sweet and salty Nanaimo bars can be tooth-achingly sweet; I guess that’s what happens when the filling is compromised almost exclusively of butter and icing sugar – and custard powder. To balance out the sweetness, once the top chocolatey layer of the bars has almost set, sprinkle it with a liberal amount of good flake salt. Not only do the crystals provide a bit of a crunch, they also offset some of the sugar.

You could even use flavoured salts (think vanilla, chili, or cardamom) if you really want to amp up standard Nanaimo bars.

5. Gluten free, dairy free, vegan I won’t claim that Nanaimo bars are “healthy” per se, nor do they have to be, but they can be a treat that is accessible to everyone, regardless of their dietary restrictions. Nanaimo bars are surprisingly simple to make gluten free, dairy free, or vegan. Given that they don’t have any flour, the only gluten you have to worry about is in the graham cracker crumbs, and nowadays, gluten free graham cracker crumbs are an easy substitute. For dairyand/or egg-free bars, swap the butter for coconut oil, milk for non-dairy milk like almond or soy, and use a flax egg (ground flax mixed with water) instead of an actual egg, or just leave it out altogether. A few easy substitutions guarantee that everyone can take part in this favourite holiday dessert.

Peanut Butter Nanaimo Bars Makes 25 squares

Base ½ cup butter ¼ cup white sugar 6 Tbs cocoa powder 1 egg 1 Tbs (15 mL) milk 2 cups graham cracker crumbs 1 cup coconut

Middle Layer ¼ cup butter, softened ¼ peanut butter (creamy or crunchy) 3 Tbs (45 mL) milk 2 Tbs custard powder 3 cups icing sugar

Top Layer 200 g semisweet or dark chocolate of your choice 2 Tbs butter

1. To make the base, combine the

butter, sugar, cocoa, and milk in a large saucepan. Heat to melt the butter, stirring until smooth.

2. Remove, and add in the graham

cracker crumbs, coconut, and egg. Stir until well incorporated and pack into a parchment lined 9×9” pan. Bake at 325º F for about 10 minutes. Once it is out of the oven, put it in the freezer to cool for 5 to 10 minutes.

3. To make the middle layer, beat

together the butter, peanut butter, milk, custard powder and icing sugar until smooth. Spread this on top of the base and chill.

4. Melt together the chocolate and

butter in the microwave for the top layer. Allow it to cool slightly. Pour this over the first 2 layers, spreading it evenly across the top.

5. Refrigerate until everything is set, 30-60 minutes. Slice and serve.

Mallory is a Calgary freelance writer and grad student now living, learning and eating in Montreal. Check out her blog becauseilikechocolate.com and follow her on Twitter and Instagram @cuzilikechoclat

Pairing Pitfalls:

Classic Meals And The Elements To Avoid

by MATTHEW BROWMAN

“You don’t like cranberry sauce?” my mother-in-law asks every time we have turkey. Oh, she’s not judging. She’s just observing, and is genuinely dedicated to ensuring I have the best possible experience.

“I do!” I answer. “I just find it really kills the wine, which kinda tastes like cranberry, so I avoid the sauce and use the wine. You should try some!”

She’s a teetotaller, so she would never, but her sense of humour allows her to grin at my teasing counter-offer of some sauce for the sauce.

Cranberry sauce is just one of the compromising accoutrements to classic meals. When it comes to pairing, a food element too intensely sweet, hot, sour, bitter, or salty can, at best, challenge, and at worst, destroy your wine. In very rare cases, they can harmonize and elevate. Below are some preparations to beware, and some suggestions to cope.

Turkey and Cranberry Sauce Just thinking about savoury, crisp turkey skin, creamy, buttery potatoes and rich, salty gravy sets your tummy rumbling.

But it’s too much, better call cranberry sauce to the rescue. But while the fruit acids and sugar freshen up the flavours, unfortunately, they also foil any wine you might serve, so serve wine instead.

Even though pinot noir is classic, this harvest-type meal will welcome Cru Beaujolais or other gamay noir wines.

If you must keep the cranberry sauce, experiment with pink wine – something on the crisper side, like a cool climate pinot noir rosé.

30

Ham and Pineapple You know you’ve made it if you’re on a pizza. Sweet, tropical, moist pineapple chunks or glaze lifts ham’s relentless saltiness. Unfortunately, the fruit’s high sugar will sour wine while the acid will emphasize the alcohol. Finally, pineapple’s intense fruitiness will suppress the actual fruit flavour of any wine you serve. Meet the high sweetacid-fruit components of the dish with a similarly scaled-up wine. Serve an Auslese riesling, or eliminate the pineapple altogether and go with a Kabinett-level riesling, or a fruity, soft red like zinfandel or grenache, or pinot noir.

Maple Glazed Salmon Salmon can pair perfectly with lighter reds and weightier whites. Dill, butter, asparagus, lemon – any of these in moderation works with wine.

While a maple glaze will add a sweet counterpoint to the distinctly fleshy fillet and savoury skin, its sweetness can waylay your wine. Since acidity isn’t your worry in this case, try an off-dry Alsatian gewürztraminer as the lychee and jasmine flavours will complement the maple.

Lamb and Mint Sauce or Jelly

Roast Beef Dinner The boiled green beans, roast potatoes, Yorkshire pudding and jus could be your Sunday evening tradition, a wedding meal option, or on the restaurant menu as a meal to share. But hold your horse…radish. The combination makes a formidable enemy of any wine on the planet. Fortunately, we typically only dab small amounts on our plate, and the other rich textures and flavours from the beef, jus, and potatoes easily override it, so no need to cancel your claret. Before sipping your wine, have a mouthful of meat without the horseradish, or neutralize with a bit of roast potato.

This distinctly British condiment is believed to have carried over from the Middle Ages. When mint leaves sprouted they were mixed with other seasonal roots, shoots, nuts, berries and herbs. Then a sheep was chosen for the chopping block, and the mint mixture would tame its intensely gamey flavour.

But when isolated and amplified as part of a spicy sauce with vinegar and sugar, or as a sweet jelly, it becomes wine’s worst nightmare. Go ahead – brush your teeth before decanting a Chateauneufdu-Pape or Pomerol – I dare you.

Simply avoid mint sauces and jellies, or find subtler ways to integrate the flavour, such as yoghurt with cucumber, as in Greek and Middle Eastern dishes.

Duck and Cherry This one is a little trickier, as duck is so fatty and meaty that a little tang lifts the whole thing. If using cherries (or orange, or blackberries) as a glaze or reduction, less is more. It plays back to the pineapple problem – fruit acids and sugars will massacre your wine. Pinot noir counts as a classic pairing for duck because of its already cherry-like flavour and fat-cutting acidity. If you have too much of a too-strong sauce, your wine will whimper.

Pork and Applesauce The further down the list we go, the more apparent one principle becomes: wine IS, or at least should be, the sauce.

Savoury yet light-protein pork dances with the tart tang and mild sweetness of applesauce. Here’s the thing, though: riesling tastes like the grown-up liquid form of a Granny Smith. If you “don’t like white wine”, but do like applesauce on your pork chop, think of the wine as the sauce.

When it comes to pairing, a food element… can at best challenge, and at worst, destroy your wine

Chefs and home chefs alike strive to execute a dish that harmonizes the flavour relationships – balancing salt with sweet, savoury with sour – yet still incorporating wine to great effect. Most of the difficulties stem from fruit served with savoury dishes.

The trick is not to eliminate these elements entirely, but rather to tame them. Use less, and work your glaze or reduction to suggest and enhance rather than flavour your dish. And chuck your mint sauce.

Matt Browman’s 1980s inception into the restaurant world led to certification from ISG, WSET and the Court of Master Sommeliers, with restaurant, retail, education, journalism and travel experience.

32

Apple Crisp with Goat Cheese Cream

Apple Desserts

To Warm Your Soul This Winter story and photography by NATALIE FINDLAY

Apple Crisp with Goat Cheese Cream Serves 8

2 gala apples, peeled, cored and sliced 6 Fuji apples, peeled, cored and sliced 105 g brown sugar 60 g butter ½ cup (125 mL) cider pinch sea salt ½ lemon, zested and juiced 10 g cinnamon 125 dried cranberries 200 g walnuts, roughly chopped

Topping 400 g oats 175 g walnuts, roughly chopped 75 g brown sugar pinch salt 4 g cinnamon 60 g butter, melted ¼ cup (60 mL) cider

Preheat oven to 375º F.

1. In a cast iron pan, melt butter and

brown sugar on medium high and whisk to combine. Add apple slices (you may have to add half the apples then once they have cooked for about 5 minutes add the other half).

2. Sprinkle over the top of the crisp, then bake for 45 minutes or until bubbling and hot in the centre.

3. Remove from oven and cool. Serve in cast iron pan with cream on the side.

Goat Cheese Cream

cinnamon and stir into the apples. Cook another 5 minutes.

125 g goat fromage blanc 1 cup (250 mL) cream 60 g icing sugar 1 tsp (5 ml) vanilla

3. Add the cider and let cook 3

1. Whip the cream until medium

2. Add the salt, lemon juice and

minutes. Remove from heat and add the walnuts, lemon zest and dried cranberries.

Topping 1. In a medium bowl, combine the oats, walnuts, brown sugar, salt, and cinnamon. Add the melted butter and cider, stirring.

peaks form.

2. Whip the goat cheese with the icing sugar and vanilla until soft. Fold in 1/3 of the whipped cream then fold the mixture into the remaining whipped cream. Serve with the apple crisp.

33

Apple Upside-Down Cake Serves 6 - 8

65 g butter 65 g brown sugar 3 Tbs (45 mL) cider 3 medium gala apples, peeled, cored, sliced

1. Place butter and brown sugar in

5 g ground ginger 8 g cinnamon 100 g sour cream 60 g butter ¼ cup (60 mL) cider

Preheat oven to 350º F.

1. Grate apples, and set aside.

sauté pan to melt. Whisk to combine, then add cider and whisk again. Add apple slices, cook for 5 - 10 minutes.

2. In a bowl combine flour, sugar,

2. Cut parchment paper to fit, and lay

3. In a small bowl whisk together

in the base of your baking pan.

3. Butter parchment and lay apple

slices in a pattern on top. Pour remaining juices into the pan, reserve.

Cake 5 medium gala apples, peeled and cored 300 g flour 100 g sugar 10 g baking powder 1 tsp (5 mL) vanilla pinch mace

baking powder, cinnamon, mace and ginger.

butter, egg, cider and vanilla. Add to dry ingredients, and add shredded apple.

Apple Fritters with Cardamom, and Orange Cider Anglaise Serves 4 - 5

3 apples, peeled, cored, rough chop 300 g flour + extra for coating apples 50 g sugar 7 g baking powder 5 g cardamom pinch salt 30 g butter, melted 1 egg ¼ cup (60 mL) cider 1 large orange, zested garnish icing sugar

4. Spoon mixture over apples in the pan and even out batter. Bake 35 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

Serve warm with anglaise on the side

5. Let cool on a wire rack 10

minutes, invert onto serving plate and cool completely. *Note: this cake is thinner and more moist than a regular cake.

1. In a mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, cardamom and salt.

2. In a separate bowl, beat the egg Apple Upside-Down Cake

with a fork then add the melted butter and cider. Gently stir the dry and wet ingredients together until just combined (do not over-mix).

3. Meanwhile, in deep-fat fryer or pan,

heat about 5 cm of canola oil to 360º F.

4. Coat cubed apples with extra flour

and fold into batter (about ¼ at a time).

Place individual coated apple cubes, gently into the hot oil. Make sure not to overcrowd.

5. Cook, turning once, until golden,

3 to 4 minutes. Drain on paper towel.

Repeat with remaining apples. Sprinkle fritters with icing sugar; serve warm with anglaise on the side.

Note: you can make these before dinner and keep the fritters warm in a 250º F oven until time for dessert 34

Apple Fritters with Cardamon and Orange Cider Anglaise

Celebrate the

Season

Orange Cider Anglaise 1 cup (250 mL) cream 4 egg yolks 50 g sugar ½ vanilla bean 1 orange, zested 3 Tbs (45 mL) cider

#1

1. Add cream, vanilla bean and ½ the

sugar to a small pot and heat until small bubbles start to form on the surface.

#1

2. Meanwhile, whisk yolks and

New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc in Alberta

New Zealand Pinot Noir

remaining sugar in a medium bowl until light and frothy.

in Alberta

3. Pour half the hot cream into the

yolk mixture while whisking (make sure the heat of the cream does not cook the yolks to make scrambled eggs). Pour the yolk mixture back into the cream and cook, constant whisking until thick.

4. Pour mixture through a sieve into

*Note: Anglaise can be made a couple of days ahead, and kept in the fridge.

Natalie is a freelance writer, photographer and pastry chef. A graduate of Cordon Bleu’s pastry program, she manages her own business too to create custom-made cakes.

Please enjoy our wines responsibly.

a bowl. Add orange zest and cider, and gently whisk together. Cover with cling film. Make sure the film is completely touching the sauce so it doesn’t form a skin as it cools.

facebook.com/kimcrawfordwines

Cream Of The Crop

by STEVE GOLDSWORTHY

Exciting cocktail experiences often begin with experimentation.

Trying a new combination, or a unique liqueur can often produce dramatic and delicious results.

Yet I am always so perplexed by the dislike some people have for cream liqueurs.

While very few can resist a rich French press coffee with a swirl of Irish Cream on a chilly winter’s night, they are reluctant to enjoy the same drink by itself over ice.

Holiday party-goers seem quite content to down glasses of everything from tequila to Sambuca, but when it comes to cream-based drinks, they shy away.

Perhaps it is the sweetness, perhaps it is the dairy, or maybe over-indulgent teenage experimentation with the household liquor cabinet.

Trying a new combination, or a unique liqueur can often produce dramatic and delicious results

But if you take the time to explore the high-quality products in the market, and aren’t afraid to experiment with a few recipes, cream liqueurs can be quite a luxurious experience. Also, many producers will insist you can leave a bottle of cream liqueur sealed on the counter for months at a time without spoilage – but probably best to keep an opened bottle in the fridge.

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Irish Creams

All Irish creams share the same basic recipe. Producers begin with a quality Irish whiskey, add cream, and either sweetened condensed milk or evaporated milk. Some may also add a little coffee. The process of marrying these ingredients is a fascinating one.

Cream, of course, is known to curdle when introduced to acidic liquids such as citrus or tonic water. While alcohol doesn’t exactly have the same effect, cream liqueurs, such as Baileys, go through a process of emulsification involving vegetable oil to prevent the alcohol and cream from separating in the bottle, and most manufacturers resist the use of preservatives as the alcohol itself preserves the cream.

Of course, the granddaddy of all Irish creams is Baileys. Gilbey’s of Ireland created Baileys in 1974, as something new to offer to international consumers, and it

became the first Irish cream available on the market. In addition to the classic, Baileys now comes in a variety of flavours including caramel, chocolate mint, vanilla cinnamon, and biscotti.

Today, Baileys remains the world’s bestselling cream liqueur retailing for about $33 for a 750mL bottle.

More than 150 Irish cream liqueurs exist in the worldwide market. Other quality Irish cream liqueurs available locally include Ryan’s, St, Brendans, Feeney’s, and Carolans.

Chocolate Cream Liqueurs Many fine chocolate cream liqueurs are available on the market as well. Most start with either rich Dutch or Belgian chocolate combined with cream and a spirit such as vodka or bourbon. Godiva makes a white chocolate liqueur. Mozart Chocolate Cream is available in Canada from time to time.

A recent addition to the market, the Laura Secord Chocolate Cream Liqueur, is Canada’s answer to Baileys. A brand extension of the Laura Secord chocolate store chain, it is a delicious combination of milk chocolate and cream.

At 17% alcohol, it is neither stupefying nor cloying in its sweetness. A delight over French vanilla ice cream.

These liqueurs are a natural component to any decadent hot chocolate, and can liven up any ice cream dish (around $30).

Other Cream Liqueurs

Of course, cream liqueurs come in a variety of flavours, with a wide range of ingredients. South Africa’s Amarula (about $30) is a unique cream-based product. First produced in 1989 by the Southern Liqueur Company of South Africa, it combines cream, sugar and the distilled fruit of the African marula tree.

Cabot Trail Maple Cream ($26-30). The fine folks at Domaine Pinnacle in Quebec decided to honour trailblazer John Cabot, the first European to explore Canada. They combine a hand-selected mix of grain alcohol and rum with fresh dairy cream, then add pure premium maple syrup to the mix. The maple is what sets Cabot Trail above many others in the category. A natural sweetness combines with the alcohol for that warm glowing effect. It is heavenly over ice.

Amarula Brandy and Cream 1½ oz Amarula Cream Liqueur 1½ oz light cream ½ oz Brandy Chocolate Shavings

Shake the Amarula cream liqueur, brandy and light cream together with ice. Strain into a tumbler filled with ice and garnish with chocolate shavings.

Classic Chocolate Martini

1½ oz Laura Secord Chocolate Cream Liqueur ¾ oz vodka

Baileys Vanilla Spiced Cocktail

Shake ingredients with ice in a martini shaker and strain into a martini glass.

Garnish with chocolate shavings or drizzle chocolate sauce over the surface.

Combine ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a martini glass, garnish with grated cinnamon.

Steve Goldsworthy is a freelance writer, children’s author and screenwriter and filmmaker. He has spent 17 years “learning” about wine while running Britannia Wine Merchants.

1½ oz Baileys Espresso ¼ oz spiced rum ¼ oz espresso

Probably best to keep an opened bottle in the fridge

The succulent and tart fruit is a favourite food among South Africa’s elephant population. The brandy-like distillation is aged for two years in oak before being blended with the cream. Besides the smooth creamy texture, the liqueur offers distinct citrusy notes, with some dried fruit and walnut character. Best enjoyed on its own, Amarula can be a refreshing component to many cocktails.

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Making A New Tradition: Christmas Carrot Pie

by CHRISTA BEDWIN

Imagine that you’re one of Western Canada’s first pioneers, and you’ve just tasted your first pumpkin pie at a church potluck.

Your family is clamouring for more of it, and you would love to make them some, but you didn’t grow any pumpkins this year! Will everyone have to wait for next year before they can get that rich and warming autumn dessert again?

Perhaps for pumpkin, but there are plenty of carrots around just ready and waiting to be cooked up.

The sweetness of carrots…. make them a perfect and almost undetectable substitute for pumpkin I first found carrot pie decades ago in a pioneer womens’ cookbook and knew I had to try it. The sweetness of carrots, along with their deep orange shade make them a perfect and almost undetectable substitute for pumpkin.

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Christmas Carrot Pie Filling: 3½ Tbs cornstarch 1/3 cup sugar (raw or granulated) 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice (or approximately ½ tsp each cloves, nutmeg, ginger, cinnamon) 1 pinch sea salt 1 2/3 cup (400 mL) milk ½ (2.5 mL) tsp vanilla extract 2 cups cooked carrot puree

1. Whisk the first 6 ingredients

together, then add pureed carrots and mix well.

2. Put the mixture into a large

saucepan and cook on medium heat, whisking often, until the mixture starts to bubble, about 6-8 minutes. Continue cooking until the mixture is thick and a visible ribbon forms when spooning it across the top.

3. Pour the filling into the prepared

tart shell (see below) still hot, and cool the whole mixture together for several hours. Serve cold with whipped cream.

Did you know?

The beta-carotene in orange pumpkins and carrots is not just visually cheerful. Warm orange veggies are good medicine against winter depression, too. So fill your menu up with orange to help combat the late-to-rise and early-to-set sun during the cooler months.

Spices for health! The traditional Christmas spices: cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves, are all a boost for your immune system. So add them to your food and drinks this season to warm your blood and beat the sniffles.

Crust: Either use your favourite pie crust recipe or consider pumping up the Christmas richness with this incredible variation: 2 cups pitted dates 1 cup pecans 1 cup almonds Ÿ cup oats or unsweetened coconut flakes ½ tsp cinnamon

1. Put the dates in the food processor and pulse until it forms a ball or makes a paste.

2. Remove the dates from the

food processor and pulse the nuts, cinnamon, spice and oats into a meal.

Add the dates back in a little at a time, continuing to pulse the processor.

3. Press the mixture by hand into a

tart pan (the silicone ones are ideal as theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re so easy to turn the tarts out).

4. Fill the tart and put in the fridge for a few hours before serving with whipped cream.

Christa Bedwin is a travelling writer and editor. She has two cats, one son, and many worthy adventures under her belt.

Icewine is expensive for several reasons, starting with the fact that pressing a frozen grape only yields a small amount of highly concentrated sugary juice.

Ripe grapes left on the vine are a treat for every passing bird or bear, and as fall turns into winter, the wild beasts make a banquet of remaining grapes. The temperature has to fall to below about -10º C for several hours and stay there long enough for the pickers to rush their soon to be frozen behinds (often in the middle of the night) to pick grapes and rush them into the press. Finally, making good icewine isn’t easy and it takes skill and experience to turn the juice into good icewine.

Old Man Winter

Once released, the icewine is typically sold in half size bottles that usually retail for more than $50 and often more than $100 for 375 mL. Remember the Germans? Well they get good conditions for eiswein about once or twice a decade. Canada? Winter comes every year. We got really good at icewine really fast.

by TOM FIRTH

Making good icewine isn’t easy and it takes skill and experience to turn the juice into good icewine

Does Icewine age?

It’s a question I’ve heard more than you’d think.

Icewine has been around forever. The Germans have been making it for centuries and while eiswein as they call it, can be made whenever enough grapes freeze on the vine, even in coolerclimate Germany, it doesn’t happen often or early enough to make it an every year treat.

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Icewine is – simply put – wine made from frozen grapes. With the advent of modern refrigeration, one could freeze grapes anywhere in the world, press and ferment them, and make ice wine.

Though anyone interested in making a good or quality-driven icewine (it is one word in Canada), those grapes are best when frozen on the vine.

Canadian icewine is (and should be) in the pantheon of the great dessert wines like Sauternes, Sherry, Port, and others – though it is a little sweet for some. But given our fairly recent timeline of quality winemaking in Canada, I decided to pull out all sorts of weird icewines from the cellar and beg a few other bottles to see if in fact, icewine does age gracefully.

These wines are generally no longer available for retail purchase, and the estimated prices reflect scarcity, auction values or similar.

Chateau des Charmes 2004 and 2007 Paul Bosc Vineyard Riesling Icewine St. David’s Bench, Ontario Neither cork was in great shape, but those are the breaks. The ‘04 is significantly darker than the ‘07 but aromas were pretty consistent. Both had high-toned citrus aromas, though the ‘04 was more honeyed. Acids were pleasant all around, though the wines were exceptionally sweet. Drink or keep. Current vintage is about $65 at the winery; these two bottles should be valued about $120-140 each.

Tinhorn Creek 2006 Kerner Icewine Okanagan Valley, British Columbia

Gehringer Brothers Minus 9 2009 Ehrenfelser Icewine Okanagan Valley, British Columbia

Pillitteri Estates 2007 Vidal Icewine Niagara Peninsula, Ontario

Deep colouring, with great varietal character, spice, lemon, apricot. Really nice acidity to balance the sugar – showing very, very well. Currently $42 estimated value $75.

Yellow-orange moving to tawny in colour, aromas are of canned peaches, lemon, beach ball, and lemon scented wax. Starting to wobble, the acids aren’t quite balanced by the sweetness and fruits are oxidizing. Value about $90.

Sumac Ridge 2005 Gewurztraminer Icewine Okanagan Valley, British Columbia

Summerhill Pyramid Winery 2004 Zweigelt Okanagan Valley, British Columbia

Orange gold colouring with lychee, mandarin orange, honey, and hints of sponge toffee. Still unctuous with acids well balanced, showing some development to the fruits, but very enjoyable even now. No longer being made, estimated value around $60.

A red icewine made with the zweigelt grape, it’s moving to brown with colour similar to 10 year tawny port. Aromas are herb and vegetable leaf with dried cherry fruit and mahogany wood. Sorry, this one is a bit over the hill, a bit like eating sweetened, cinnamon-dusted sawdust.

2007 is current vintage at $148.

Jackson-Triggs 2005 Proprietors Reserve Vidal Icewine Niagara Peninsula, Ontario The big hybrid for icewine is holding up well, lemons and apricot with a little of that “vinyl” character vidal is known for.

This beauty has balanced acids, great fruits, and a long finish. Still many years left here. About $80.

Magnotta 2007 Cabernet Franc Icewine Niagara Peninsula, Ontario A bit more redness to this red icewine, but still quite brown. Aromas are subdued with pepper and dried wood over softer bruised fruits. A little tired but wow, this is tasty. Maraschino cherries, spice, and a little summer fruit.

Very interesting. Worth about $75.

The 2006 is still quite bright and pale, with floral aromas, apple core, and lemon pie on the nose. Still excellent, some minor bottle development is bringing subtle layers of caramel – awesome. I prefer this one over the recent vintages of the same wine.

Valued about $40 per 200mL for current vintage.

Canadian icewine is… in the pantheon of the great dessert wines

Nk’Mip Cellars 2009 Qwam Qwmt Riesling Icewine Okanagan Valley, British Columbia Bright yellow in the glass with lemon, mineral, apricots, and a touch of apple cider on the nose. Again quite sweet, but zingy acids cut through and bring some balance. The lemon fruits are just starting to move to dried lemons, but this is going to go for a while yet.

Excellent. $52 at the winery, current value – about $80.

Tom Firth is the contributing drinks editor for Culinaire Magazine and the competition director for the Alberta Beverage Awards, follow him on twitter @cowtownwine.

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Making The Case

by TOM FIRTH

In December, it would be easy to just recommend dessert wines for fancy meals or sparkling wines for New Year’s Eve celebrations, but really the best wines are good quality wines that impress the palate, or complement a meal, or that you save for a special occasion with friends or family.

That said, sharing wine with people you love is the perfect time to open a nice bottle.

Have a safe and happy holiday season!

Gaja 2010 Pieve Santa Restituta Brunello di Montalcino Cru Rennina Tuscany, Italy At a tasting of all the Gaja wines on the market (a pretty magical day for sure) this was one that sung on my palate. Fresh picked black cherry, cassis, pepper, and clove and much more on the nose lead to an “oh my” moment on the palate. Layered and contemplative – a treasure. Cellar five years if you can, but will go much, much longer.

CSPC +716652 about $180-190

Catena Zapata 2010 Malbec “Argentino”, Mendoza, Argentina A blend of grapes from the Adrianna and Nicasia vineyards, this captivating bottle showcases blueberries over raspberry fruits with violets and a little citrus peel and herb aromas. A mighty wine in the glass as expected, but with full and balanced fruits to match the tannins.

Drink or keep 5-10 years, but whenever you decide to open it, plan on beef tenderloin or NY steak. $110 CSPC +660118

Gaja 2013 Magari Bolgheri, Italy A merlot blend with 25 percent each of cabernet sauvignon and cabernet franc, this single estate gem is rife with cedar and currant characters along with plenty of spice. Full-bore tannins and gobs of fruit, this is classic, beautiful, and a keeper.

Should sing with game meats or well-aged cheese. CSPC +709345 about $61 42 42

CedarCreek 2014 Platinum “Block 3” Riesling Okanagan Valley, British Columbia

Taittinger NV Prélude Grand Crus Cuvée, Champagne, France

Taittinger 2005 Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blanc Champagne, France

A bottle of riesling should always be chilling in your home. This “dialed in” riesling has such wonderful balance between mineral, acidity, citrus fruits, and a pinch of sweetness, I couldn’t put down the glass. Drinking perfectly this winter, but should develop nicely over the next few years too. $28 CSPC +340691

If I could drink this everyday – I would, no question. Lush and intense, with dried lemon fruits, bright mineral characters, and a long, evolving experience on the tongue. To try to pin down too many notes or descriptors (other than “Hell Yeah!”) would be a disservice, but this is a wine I want to share with someone I love. Worth every penny at $95 CSPC +719323

Catena Alta 2012 Malbec “Historic Rows”, Mendoza, Argentina

Bollinger NV Special Cuvée Champagne, France

Burrowing Owl 2013 Malbec Okanagan Valley, British Columbia

A well-known malbec for good reason, look for wonderful ripe fruits with savoury herbs, liquorice, and pepper spices. Nicely balanced by firm tannins, and bright acids as well as a loamy earth character. A beautiful malbec for malbec fans, enjoy with beef of all types, though something from the smoker would be a treat. About $50 CSPC +521849

Enjoy champagne the way James Bond does. Dress up your evening (or morning, who am I to judge) with this bright, crisp champagne bursting with tight apple fruits, a little bread crust, and a sleek finish, all wrapped up with a steely mineral character. A perfect match with strawberries, but also good with popcorn and a movie for a NYE in with a special someone. $85 CSPC +384529

Although malbec may seem to some to only come from Argentina, its value as a blending grape means it pops up everywhere from Canada to France.

Dense black fruits on the nose with dried herb and spice, while on the palate, it’s full of firm tannins, great acids, and the right flavours to impress any malbec fan. Drink now through 2020, enjoy with beef. Retails for about $40 CSPC+1118353

JoieFarm 2013 Gamay Okanagan Valley, British Columbia

Fonseca Bin 27 NV Reserve Port Douro, Portugal

Lanson Black Label NV Brut Champagne, France,

Gamay is such a hot grape right now and it’s easy to see why. Peppery spice profiles with strawberry and raspberry puree fruits with lighter tannins and some lovely acids. Perfect for holiday dinners big and small – or just as a nice alternative to a pinot noir. Drink now.

About $27-28 CSPC +760431

A very approachable and well-priced port to grace your table this December.

Rich berry fruit structure with gentle spice and herb aromas and a long, graceful finish. A near-staple at my house over the winter, it’s a great match with brownies, a little cheese, or chocolate cake. CSPC +156877 $22-23

A consistently high performer at the Alberta Beverage Awards, this champagne has everything you need for a special occasion. Tart apple and citrus fruits with light toasty characters and a zesty finish. A perfect tipple for appetizers, lighter seafood dishes, or just relaxing. $53-57 CSPC +41889

An incredible treat for your palate, with layers of lemon and late-picked apple, mineral, creaminess and subtle toasted coconut and nuttiness. The epitome of elegance in champagne, you just can’t help feeling like one of the upper crust or a captain of industry with a glass of this in your hand. A joyful experience.

A little north of $200 in most shops CSPC +514398

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The Hot Toddy: Warm Your Body And Soothe Your Soul With The Sweet Heat Of Rum!

by PATRICIA KOYICH

The snow is falling, ice crystals are in the air, hibernation is imminent, but for some – thoughts of skiing, skating and/or snowshoeing exhilarate and excite. I shiver just thinking of it.

During the winter months we tend to gravitate to sweeter, richer flavours that bring us a sense of warmth and comfort.

Thoughts of a crackling fire, a good book in hand, a warm mug of hot chocolate, or a snifter filled with soothing spirits like Cognac or a fine whisky in reach, are sure to bring a satisfied smile to your face.

In the past three to five years, brown spirits have definitely grown in popularity; bourbon stole the show this past year for sure, but what about rum?

Sipping rum might appeal to those who find Armagnac or Cognac overwhelming or too intense. The sweet nature of this spirit, particularly of quality, aged, dark rum, can take you on an aromatic journey while experiencing robust and intriguing flavours on the palate.

The history of rum is fascinating, dating back to the 1600s with distillation taking place on the sugarcane plantations in the Caribbean. Enjoyed locally, it was also sold to naval officers to sip on to better endure the harsh conditions of life at sea – later part 44

of the rum ration for sailors – but also used for medicinal purposes, rum soon became a valuable commodity in worldwide trade. Rich in influence, politics, rebellion, acquisition, prohibition and celebration, the stories of rum and its producers are passionate and unique, not unlike the flavours found in each bottle.

Why mix it into a cocktail creation and not just enjoy it on its own?

The majority of rum production worldwide is still in the Caribbean. Rum is made by distilling fermented sugar and water. This sugar came from sugar cane initially, but more recently sugar beets are used. Molasses, incidentally, is the sweet, sticky residue that remains after sugar cane juice is boiled and the crystallized sugar is extracted.

The history of rum in cocktails is as rich and romantic as the exotic places from where the spirit is known, so for the holiday season try these versions of classic holiday cocktails to warm your body and soothe your soul!

Hot Rum Toddy (Classic)

1 tsp unsalted butter 1 tsp brown sugar Vanilla extract Optional spices to taste: cinnamon, ground nutmeg, allspice 2 oz dark rum Hot water

Place the butter, sugar and spices at the bottom of a coffee glass or mug. Mix well or muddle, then pour in the rum and hot water. Stir. ...or you can make a large batch of the “base mix” and keep it in the fridge.

Hot Rum Toddy Base Mix (Classic) Approximately 25 servings 3 cups brown sugar ½ cup unsalted butter 3 Tbs honey 1 Tbs rum extract 1 Tbs vanilla extract 1 tsp ground nutmeg 1 tsp ground allspice 1 tsp ground cinnamon

Mix the ingredients using a beater until everything is blended together. Store in a well-sealed jar in the refrigerator until needed.

To use in a “Hot Toddy”: Pour 1½ oz of dark rum into a coffee glass or mug. Add a heaping spoonful of the hot buttered rum mix. Fill with hot water (not boiling) and stir well.

Egg Nog (Festive)

Bacardi Nocturno (Sipping)

If you are not up for making this yourself, stop in at the Ship & Anchor, as they have been serving their infamous Eggnog for over 18 years!

1½ oz of dark rum ½ oz of coffee liqueur Orange peel

5 eggs ½ cup of berry sugar 1 cup dark rum ¼ cup brandy 1½ cups light cream 1 cup heavy cream Nutmeg

1. Separate the eggs. Beat sugar into

egg yolks at high speed until thick and sugar has dissolved.

2. Stir in rum, brandy and light cream.

Chill for several hours (3 hours at least).

3. Beat egg whites until stiff, beat

heavy cream until stiff. Fold egg whites and the whipped cream into the yolk mixture. Pour into a punch bowl and sprinkle over fresh ground nutmeg.

The stories of rum and its producers are passionate and unique Fill a tumbler glass with ice cubes and pour in the coffee liqueur. Then slowly pour in the dark rum and stir briefly.

Cut a round “coin” of orange peel and hold a lighted match just above the drink. Then hold the orange peel (coloured side down) above the lighted match and squeeze the peel over the flame. Finish up by dropping the twist into the drink.

Patricia Koyich was born and raised in Calgary, and considers Calgary one of the best cities in the world.

She continues to inspire, learn and achieve within the Food, Beverage and Tourism industry.

To Find a Retailer Visit liquorconnect.com/312686

Spice Up The Holidays With Beer!

by DAVID NUTTALL

spicy (adj.) 1. Having the flavour, aroma, or quality of spice. 2. Piquant; zesty.

Nothing encapsulates the holiday season in a bottle quite like spiced beer. Many people have their own definition(s) of spicy- so much so, that one man’s zing can be another man’s bland. To some it means “hot”, as in chili peppers. To others, it means having a zesty flavour. It can also mean that something simply has spices added to it.

Fortunately, the beer world covers them all with several beer styles which can be considered “spicy”, for many and varied reasons.

Beers with added spices and herbs occupy 4 subcategories alone in the new 2015 Beer Judge Certification Program guidelines. Using their definition, these are beers with “…spices... (that) are the dried seeds, seed pods, fruit, roots,

bark, etc. of plants, …and herbs are leafy plants or parts of plants (leaves, flowers, petals, stalks)… as well as nuts, chili peppers, coffee, chocolate, spruce tips, rose hips, hibiscus, fruit peels/zest, rhubarb, and the like.”

Chili peppers have also become popular, as they can provide both sweet and hot flavours to anything from lagers to stouts. Most of these beers are made in small batches, and are available only in limited quantities.

Whoa, that covers a lot of ground. Given that the base beer can be any style, you can find all sorts of (insert spice or herb here) stouts, porters, IPAs, ales, lagers, etc. These beers are especially popular in the fall, when autumn spice (especially pumpkin) and winter/Christmas beers flood the market, evoking the flavours of Thanksgiving or Christmas dinners and desserts.

It may surprise people that many Belgian (and Belgian inspired) beers have spice additions as well. As a former part of the Netherlands, with their East and West Indies Trading Companies, the Belgians began using tropical spices in their beers half a millennium ago.

Although the use of spices is permitted

Of the beers widely available year round, alcoholic ginger beer has become a favourite in recent years. Many taste much like the non-alcoholic version, while others have just enough hint of ginger to give them an added zest.

These beers are especially popular… when winter/Christmas beers flood the market, evoking the flavours of Christmas dinners in many varieties of Belgian beers, the most popular style is witbier (literally, white beer). This slightly cloudy, refreshing ale is made with the additions of orange peel and any combination of spices ranging from chamomile, cumin, cinnamon, Grains of Paradise and more.

Many other Belgian beers also appear to have added spice, but it is the mainly the yeast that produces that impression. Belgian brewers use all kinds of yeast strains, even wild ones, which produce esters, phenols and fermentation by-products that emulate spicy characteristics. Likewise, German hefeweizen ale yeast produces fruity esters of banana or citrus and phenols

46

of clove and even bubble gum. Some grains can also add a spiciness to the beer, the most predominant being rye.

Look for its distinctive spicy sharpness in North American rye beers and German roggenbiers.

Lastly, but certainly not least, are the hops. In the last 40 years or so, Americans, especially from Washington and Oregon, have been cultivating hops with high alpha acids which have changed the way people have been drinking beer. These hops have the ability to produce many aromas and flavours, from grapefruit and other citrus fruits, to floral, all the way to pine, liquorice, black pepper, and other characteristics. With Belgian yeasts now being used in North America and American hops crossing the Atlantic to infiltrate the new craft breweries of Europe, there is no end in sight to whatever and/or however brewmasters want to season their beers.

Some Varieties of Spicy Beers Saugatuck Serrano Pepper Ale This beer is exactly what you’d think it is – an amber ale spiced with fresh Serrano Peppers. This strong ale finishes with a fair amount of heat, befitting the pepper’s rating of 15,000-25,000 Scoville units. (650 mL, 6.8% ABV, CSPC +767890, $9)

Fine Wines

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Spirits

•

Beer

Hoegaarden You could write a book about this 570 year old brewery located in the small Belgian town of the same name, and the man, Peter Celis, who resurrected it from the dead in 1965.

Its wheat and barley base and noble hops are combined with coriander and dried Curaçao orange peels. Often imitated, the witbier category owes its renaissance to this beer. (6 pk, 4.8% ABV, CSPC +554089, $19) Royal Jamaican Ginger Beer Ginger grows perfectly in Jamaica’s climate, and their non-alcoholic ginger beer is famous the world over. This alcoholic version is made with fresh

ginger, Cascade hops, cane sugar, and a bit of new crop rum. The ginger notes dominate the aroma, and the flavour has the heat to complement spicy foods.

(6 pk, 4.4% ABV, CSPC +741988, $17) Bangalore Torpedo IPA Fort Saskatchewan’s brand new Two Sergeants Brewing created this British IPA/Double IPA cross. At 100 IBUs, the spiciness comes from the citrus and pine flavours you’d expect from Pacific Northwest hops, but it is so well balanced that it finishes with a caramel smoothness. (6 pk cans, 5.7% ABV, CSPC +772342, $17)

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Chocolate Porter Brownies For Winter

by NATALIE FINDLAY

This brownie recipe is sure to become a winter favourite in your home; full of rich, chocolate flavour, not-too-sweet, and quick and easy to make, it leaves plenty of time to enjoy an afternoon in the snow or by the fire with a book. Try them warm, with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream on the side.

These brownies can be frozen and are just as delicious – great for a make-ahead dessert or a warming winter treat.

48

Chocolate Porter Brownies 125 g brown sugar 1½ eggs 1 Tbs (15 mL) vanilla extract 100 g butter, melted 140 g chocolate, melted 40 g all-purpose flour 50 g cocoa powder 1 tsp baking powder 50 mL chocolate porter beer 75 g pecans, toasted, roughly chopped 50 g chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350º F.

1. Line a 8x8” baking pan with foil.

2. Place brown sugar and eggs in a large bowl or mixer, and whip on medium-high speed until doubled in volume.

3. Melt butter on the stove or in

the microwave. Melt chocolate in a microwave or over a double boiler, stirring gently as it melts. Slowly add the melted butter into the melted chocolate, stirring gently.

4. With the mixer on low speed, slowly combine the butter/chocolate into the brownie mixture.

5. Sift cocoa powder, flour and baking

powder together in a small bowl. On low speed, slowly combine into the mixture.

6. Pour in the chocolate porter and

combine. Slowly pour into the brownie mixture. Fold in the chopped pecans and chocolate chips.

7. Pour brownie mixture into lined baking pan. Bake 15 - 18 minutes.

Let cool.

8. Turn brownies right side down on

a cutting surface, remove foil and return to right side up. Cut into squares.

If freezing brownies, wrap with foil, label and freeze in desired amounts for easy access.

Note: To kick this dessert up a notch, add a chocolate porter float. Simply use the rest of the bottle of chocolate porter beer and top with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

䤀吀 䐀伀䔀匀一ᤠ吀 吀䄀䬀䔀 䄀 䌀刀伀圀䐀 吀伀 䘀䤀一䐀 吀䠀䔀 倀䔀刀䘀䔀䌀吀 䜀䤀䘀吀

Open That Bottle

by LINDA GARSON photography by INGRID KUENZEL

“I’ve always had a great love of food, and I was lucky enough to grow up in a family that embraced that, and where good food was always something that happened,” says Gwendolyn Richards.

Growing up in Vancouver, Richards was greatly influenced by her stepfather, who, as a cab driver, worked nights, and would make curries from scratch and full roast beef dinners midweek. Her grandfather was sixth generation ItalianCanadian and also a very enthusiastic cook; they would make pesto and pasta together from a very young age.

An A/B+ student all through high school, Richards rejected math and calculus for a writing major, and studied at UVic, signing up for co-op and working at a variety of different newspapers. After graduation, she hired herself out as a fill-in editor for small newspapers, parachuting in so they could take vacation or medical leave.

A year teaching English in Japan followed, before a Masters in Journalism at UBC, which provided an opportunity to connect with major dailies. After a contract with the Globe and Mail, Richards applied at the Calgary Herald, and was brought in on a six-month contract with no guarantee of employment. “12 years later and I’m still here,” she laughs. “I was hired as a news reporter, and then transferred to the cop desk.”

With shift work, she had a lot of free time during the day when working 50

nights, and in 2007, decided to start a food blog, ‘Patent and the Pantry’. It occupied her day and also provided a creative outlet, combining her love of food and cooking, and her passion for photography.

“I would make recipes and post them, and do little personal essays,” she says, until she wrote up her week with her little sister to find the best burger in the area. The Herald ran the story and actively encouraged her to write more. When their food writer left five years ago, she took over the position.

“And the funny thing is that I hesitated because I was afraid I would miss the news,” she says.

Richards relentlessly pushes herself, and decided to write a cookbook without taking any time off work. She took all the photos herself and tested recipes through the night. Since its release in November last year, ‘Pucker’ has sold more than 4,000 copies.

So what bottle is Richards saving for a special occasion?

In 2012, a friend invited her for Thanksgiving, and knew bourbon was her drink but didn’t know anything about it.

The liquor store recommended St. George Breaking & Entering, a blend of bourbons from different distillers.

“At the end of the night, I decided that I should buy a bottle,” says Richards. “I went to Kensington Wine Market and asked for Breaking & Entering, and they had special bottles that they had handselected and had bottled exclusively for them, from one barrel. It was a celebration bottle, so I bought it.”

And when is she planning to open that bottle?

“I thought I’ll open it when I hand in my manuscript for Pucker, and I didn’t,” says Richards. “And then I said ‘I will open this when I hand in the photos’, and I didn’t. I will open this when I do the first edits, and I didn’t. I will open this when I get the book, and I didn’t.

It’s still unopened and I’m not sure when I’ll open it because in the interim, Saint George spirits has stopped making it.”

She adds, “If I couldn’t even do it when I handed in my book manuscript, I’m not really sure what’s going to top that. It’s now become a floating target that I just keep pushing back. When it’s gone it’s really gone!”

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