food stories

FIDDLEHEADS: THE HARBINGER OF SPRING

Thu, 17 May 2012 09:48:46 -0600

April showers bring May flowers and wild foods like fiddleheads. Cinda Chavich, CBC’s radio’s food and cooking columnist in Calgary, is just back from a trip to New Brunswick, where she found lots of these harbingers of spring.

SO IT’S FIDDLEHEAD SEASON ON THE EAST COAST
Yes, it’s fiddlehead season across Canada, but really New Brunswick is fiddlehead central.
Not only do you find them popping up everywhere in the silty banks of the St. John River, and being sold by foragers on street corners, the fiddlehead is the unofficial emblem for the province. The town of Plaster Rock has a giant fiddle head sculpture in the centre of the village and an annual Fiddlehead festival at the end of May, plus you’ll find fiddlehead jewelry, key chains and locally-made pottery in the gift shops around Fredericton.
I was there for a writer’s conference, and I had a chance to got out along the riverbanks to forage for fiddleheads, and learn how to cook them with a local chef. And of course, we had lots of fiddleheads to eat.

SO WHAT EXACTLY IS A FIDDLEHEAD?
It’s actually the emerging sprout of the ostrich fern – just as the fronds come out of the ground, they’re rolled up in a coil, and look like the tuning end of a violin or fiddle.
It’s really one of the first greens to emerge in the forests and along the river banks on both sides of the border. But you have to know what you’re looking for.
At this time of year, there are different kinds of ferns emerging and not all of them are edible.
The ostrich fern is the one you’re looking for – so it’s good to have an experienced forager along like I did.

SO WHERE DID YOU FORAGE FOR FIDDLEHEADS?
I went out with Austin Watson, who took me down to the banks of the Nashwaak River, just outside his back door in Fredericton.
The Nashwaak is a tributary to the St. John River, and both are flat, slow moving rivers with shallow banks that routinely flood in spring.
That’s the best place to find these kinds of ferns growing – along with skunk cabbages and other water loving plants in the silty soil at the rivers edge.
We found the fiddleheads right down by the water, and further back from the shore, in patches in an open forested area.
They were just poking up among the leaf litter, through the woody brown crowns that we still visible from last year’s ferns. It was easy to see them among the brown leaves – they usually grow among skunk cabbages so when you see a patch of the early spiky leaves, you’ll find the fiddleheads, too.

HOW DO YOU PICK THEM?
That’s the thing – if you see them standing up out of the ground, five or six inches and partially unfurled, it’s too late to pick them.
You want them when they’re just barely poking through the crown of the plant and still tightly curled. Then you just reach down and cut them or break them off at the base, and put them in your pail or basket.
Every fiddlehead is a crosier, a single frond of the plant, each plant has several fronds. Of course you don’t want to pick them all – that would kill the plant – so you just take two or three fiddleheads from each plant and move on.

AND THEY’RE READY TO EAT?
Not quite. After he’d filled a bucket with the fiddleheads, Austin transferred them to a big wire basket to clean them. We headed to a little stream, where the water was rushing along, and he spent about 10 minutes swishing the fiddleheads through the current to wash out any sand and debris.
This cleaning step is important, because you have to get rid of all of the brown papery scale that surrounds the young heads.
Then you can soak them in cold water – some even recommend storing them in cold water in the fridge. They’ll keep this way for a few days or they can be blanched for two minutes and frozen.

WHAT DO THEY TASTE LIKE?
A lot of people say they taste like asparagus, and that’s tempting because they arrive at the same time of year and are the immature part of a fern, but I think they’re quite different.
They smell quite earthy, and they have a green, grassy taste, sort of like a cross between a fresh pea shoot and an artichoke. When you have them plain, just with butter, there’s definitely that mineral, almost metallic finish, which reminds me of artichokes.
But most people add them to soups or stir-fries and pasta dishes so then they’re just like any green vegetable, with the texture of fresh green beans.

AND HOW DO YOU COOK THEM?
They’re easy to prepare.
You just need to trim off any brown bits, remove any of the brown papery scales and wash them well under cold running water to remove any dirt.
Then you have to boil them for 10 minutes, or steam for 15, in boiling salted water. This is an important step, because if they’re undercooked, fiddleheads contain a natural toxin that can make you sick. They’re not going to kill you, but you can have an upset stomach if they’re not properly cooked.
But don’t over cook them. They should still be firm and bright green.
Then you can just serve them warm, with melted butter and a dash of lemon juice or balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper. They’re really the classic side dish to salmon out in Atlantic Canada.
Or, you can use them as you’d use blanched asparagus or green beans – add them to pasta dishes, risotto, quiches or omelets. Even have them with a lemon garlic vinaigrette in a salad with tomatoes and onions.
One of the chefs I talked to likes to pickle them – and many will freeze them to use in their cooking throughout the year.
I ate them several ways in New Brunswick.

SOME OF YOUR YOUR FAVOURITES?
Well, after foraging with Austin Watson, we sat down at his house for a bowl of fiddlehead soup which was a beautiful bright green colour and very creamy and delicious. It’s pretty common out there to use fiddleheads for soups and that’s an easy thing to make when they’re plentiful.
But I bought some here at Calgary Co-op this week and they were expensive, so it’s not something I’d probably be putting in the blender.
I had a lovely pasta dish in Fredericton made with fresh pappardelle pasta, fiddleheads and lobster in a light creamy sauce.
I think that was a great way to show off these special greens.
And Lizzie Stewart, the chef at The Blue Door, showed me how to make the dish - which you can make with any seafood, shrimp, lobster, crab, whatever.
She also said it’s nice to cook fiddleheads with mussels when you’re steaming them in white wine and garlic, the classic Moules Mariniere – basically just throw the mussels and fiddle heads in at the same time because they both cook perfectly in about eight minutes.

DID YOU BRING A RECIPE?
Yes, I have my version of Lizzie Stewart’s seafood and pasta recipe with fiddleheads in a creamy sauce. She uses a fresh, organic Red Fife pasta, wide pappardelle noodles that are really great, so try to find some flat fresh pasta, even lasagna noodles to cut into wide strips, or just use a good flat Italian noodle and cook it al dente before adding to the sauce.
It’s really just a quick sauté of shrimp or lobster, with a little garlic, white wine and cream. Very simple, very seasonal. Very Canadian.

Click for Lizzie’s fiddlehead recipe for Seafood Pappardelle

©Cinda Chavich 2012
www.tastereport.com

Eggs on top - of everything!

Mon, 9 Apr 2012 13:48:44 -0600

Spring is the time of year when we think about new life and at Easter, it’s the egg that symbolizes the season. While a lot of people will be enjoying big chocolate eggs this week, Cinda Chavich, the food and cooking columnist for CBC Radio’s Alberta@Noon show uncovered some new and trendy ways to enjoy eggs.

SO WHY ARE EGGS A SYMBOL OF SPRING?
As you said in the intro, the egg symbolizes new life which is what happens all around us in the spring time – it’s the time of year for things to grow and multiply, so like the very prolific bunny, eggs are very much connected with this spring holiday.
It’s usually the chocolate or candy eggs and bunnies that we see at this time of year, but before there was chocolate, actual eggs were a big part of Easter celebrations
I just have to think about my grandmother’s braided Easter bread, studded with coloured eggs. And, of course, there are the beautiful painted and dyed Ukrainian Easter eggs or pysanka, like the 27-foot tall egg sculpture we have here in Vegreville, Alberta.
The Easter egg hunt is a longtime tradition, whether its hardboiled and coloured eggs, or chocolate eggs that are hidden for kids to find in the house or the garden.
It’s interesting that the tradition of hard-boiled eggs for Easter likely comes from the fact that eggs were not eaten during the six weeks of Lent, leading up to Easter, so they were boiled to preserve them.

BREAKFAST IS THE TIME OF DAY WHEN WE THINK ABOUT SERVING EGGS BUT THEY’RE GETTING POPULAR FOR OTHER MEALS, TOO?
Yes, that’s true. Eggs – sunny side up, poached or scrambled and made into omelets and quiches are certainly popular breakfast fare. Bacon, eggs and toast is truly the classic Canadian big breakfast.
But these days eggs seem to be trendy to serve throughout the day. And I’m seeing top chefs using eggs in all kinds of dishes, whether it’s a fried egg on top of a burger or a poached egg on a salad or even a pizza.

WHERE IS THAT TREND COMING FROM?
I’m not sure but I think in some ways it’s a nod to rustic French cooking.
The first time I had an egg on a salad I was in a rustic bistro or bouchon in Lyon in France. That’s a traditional Lyonnaise salad, sturdy curly frisee greens or other rustic greens with crisp bacon lardons and a mustardy vinaigrette, and a soft-cooked egg on top.
In that case, the soft egg yolk spilling over the salad gives it a real richness, and of course the added protein to make it a full meal.

AND WHAT KIND OF MENU ITEMS ARE YOU SEEING IN RESTAURANTS HERE THAT INCLUDE AN EGG ON TOP?
Well, one of the most famous is the big share burger at Charcut. That’s a large beef patty that comes with a whole fried egg or two on top and several small buns. The idea is that you cut the egg and burger into sections and share it. So you have a beefy burger with the soft egg yolk becoming almost a sauce on top of it.
And at Taste, where I ate this week, they served a fried quail egg on top of a plate of crispy fried pigs ears – sort of pork scrunchions and egg, served as a sharable tapas dish.
You might even get a soft cooked egg on top of your thin crust, Italian-style pizza – Double Zero Pizza has a spinach and potato pizza with thinly sliced potato, roasted garlic and an egg on top that you can sort of slather around as a saucy addition to your pie.
So yes, eggs on top are trendy.

THAT’S INNOVATIVE – ANYTHING MORE TRADITIONAL WITH EGGS ON LOCAL MENUS?
At Cassis Bistro, a new French restaurant in Calgary, the classic Lyonnaise salad is on the menu – made with Sunwork’s farm bacon and a free-range egg on top. They also serve the classic Croque Madame sandwich, which is made with ham, cheese and béchamel sauce with a fried egg on top.

You’ll also get a whole egg on top of some classic ethnic dishes – for example, the Korean

dish, bi bim bap, is served in a hot stone bowl, rice topped with mixed vegetables and a raw or lightly fried egg that you mix into the rice. Again the egg is there to add richness and protein to the dish.
At Over Easy they serve a breakfast poutine – they call it Soul in a Bowl and it’s one of my favourites. Basically fried potatoes, squeaky cheese curds, poached eggs and hollandaise sauce on top.

Breakfast poutine is actually on the menu at several places now, though nothing is quite like Soul in a Bowl.

The other thing I’ve been seeing at the best restaurants a lot is the sous vide egg.

WHAT’S A SOUS VIDE EGG?
Sous vide is another trendy thing in the chef world – cooking things at a low temperature in a water bath for extended periods of time.
Usually the food is sealed in a plastic bag then basically poached in water around 60-65C (or about 140F – 147F) – much lower than the temperatures usually used for cooking.
Sous vide eggs are one of the easiest things to make using this technique and it’s a fun cooking experiment to try.
You cook the eggs in the shell, submerged in 140 F water for 50-60 minutes – when they’re done the white is softly cooked, just enough to hold together, and the yolk is hot, but still soft and liquid.
The trick is to keep the water at the consistent 140 F temperature for the entire time. You might need to add ice cubes to cool it. Some cooks also advise placing the sous vide eggs in boiling water for 2-3 minutes at the end of the cooking time to firm up the whites.
Then you can carefully peel away the shell, as you would with a hard-boiled egg, but have a whole soft-cooked hot egg.
Some chefs then like to bread the eggs or just the yolks and deep fry them – things like that. It’s quite fun to eat because the egg holds its egg shape until you pierce it. There’s lots of advice online to show you how create a sous vide egg at home.

AND WHAT ABOUT SIMPLY POACHING THOSE EGGS?
There are several easy ways – the best is to get a deep sauté pan of water just barely simmering, add a little splash of vinegar, then crack the eggs in to tea cups and slide them into the water all at once. Cover the pan and poach for 2-3 minutes.
You can carefully lift them out of the water with a slotted spoon and set them into a bowl of ice water to cool. Then you can refrigerate them and when you’re ready to serve the salad, just reheat the eggs by dipping them into boiling water for about 30-60 seconds.
The fresher the egg, the easier it is to poach because the white it nice and thick, so it doesn’t spread out in the water.
Another trick I found online was to poach the eggs in plastic wrap. Basically you take a square of plastic, brush it lightly with olive oil or butter, then set it in a bowl, break an egg into the plastic, and tie it into a little pouch. You can even add seasonings and herbs. Then place the plastic pouch into boiling water and in 3 minutes you’ll have a perfectly poached egg that’s nice and round. Just unwrap and place it on top of your toast, your salad or your pizza!

WOW, THOSE ARE CREATIVE WAYS TO SERVE EGGS – CAN YOU REPLICATE THESE DISHES AT HOME?
Yes, everyone has eggs in the fridge, so it’s really just a matter of looking at them as an ingredient that you can enjoy at any meal.
Eggs are healthy and nutritious – one egg has only 80 calories but a great source of protein and vitamins like Vitamin A, B vitamins and folate. Even Weight Watchers recently published a piece on line about serving eggs as a main dish protein – in things like shirred eggs, on pizza or baked in a bed of salsa.
They suggest topping a lentil and quinoa or faro salad with a poached egg or scrambling an egg into your fried rice.
But I really like the combination of eggs and sturdy greens, so I brought along the recipe for my favourite Lyonnaise salad.

THAT’S THE ONE WITH BOTH BACON AND EGG?
Yes, it makes a really nice light and healthy spring meal.
Traditionally in France they’d start with some kind of sturdy greens – maybe a mixture of curly frissee lettuce or chard with some spinach and romaine.
They add graton, which is really crispy fried pork belly – you can make them by crisping up some salted side pork or just frying bacon that’s been cut into little julienne strips.
The dressing should be a nice mustardy vinaigrette, made with olive oil, Dijon, minced shallots and white wine vinegar.
The warm dressing goes over the mixed greens to wilt them lightly, then you toss the crispy pork or bacon over the salad and top each serving with a soft-poached egg. The yolk combines with the dressing, creating a nice rich, and filling salad.
So serve more eggs – it’s trendy and fun. And it’s spring!

for Cinda’s recipe for Lyonnaise Salad click here

©Cinda Chavich 2012
www.tastereport.com

Canadian Lentils: chef michael smith’s lentil creations

Fri, 16 Mar 2012 12:28:40 -0600

Easter is still nearly four weeks away and we’re right in the middle of Lent. Cinda Chavich, our food and cooking columnist, says if you’ve given up meat for Lent, there’s always lentils.

SO LENTILS FOR LENT
Well, it is traditional to give up animal products or at least meat during the six weeks leading up to Easter, and lentils provide a good protein substitute.
Plus, I’ve just received some interesting new information from the Canadian pulse producers – the prairie farmers who grow the lentils that we ship all over the world.
So I’ve been inspired to cook with lentils this week.

WHAT KINDS OF LENTILS DO WE PRODUCE
That’s the thing, there are green and brown lentils, black beluga lentils, French green Du Puy lentils and tiny red lentils.
Lentils come in all different shapes, colours and sizes – regular green lentils are actually a light greenish tan colour while the Du Puy lentils and dark mottled green and black. And red lentils are a buff colour, too, but when they’re split, which is how you usually find them, they’re a dark orange colour.
We grow all of these various kinds of lentils in Western Canada and ship them everywhere. Canada is the world’s leading exporter of lentils – we actually grow 67% of the world’s lentil supply in Canada, and most of those producers are in Saskatchewan.

WHEN I THINK OF LENTILS, I THINK OF LENTIL SOUP
Well, lentils are great for soups.
But there are so many other ways to use lentils. Each type of lentil will cook up a little differently, so they’re used in different kinds of dishes.
India is the largest importer of Canadian lentils and they eat lentils every day in dhal. That can be a light soupy dish or a dense puree but it’s nearly always eaten with rice. Basically it’s a simple combination of sautéed onions with spices like cumin, ginger and curry powder, lentils and water. Usually the small red lentils are used for dhal because they soften and break down into a smooth puree when you cook them.
Red lentils are great to use in any kind of soup or stew, because they break down and thicken the sauce. And they’re great for making dips, lentil purees similar to hummus or bean dips to scoop up with pita breads or taco chips.
But you can also cook green, brown or black lentils, simply with water or broth an a little sea salt to serve as a side dish. You can flavour them with lemon juice and olive oil for a warm lentil salad, or add sautéed onions, garlic and bacon for a heartier dish. That’s the French style with lentils – you’ll see them served alongside all kinds of meats and poultry, especially duck, at bistros in France. In face, I just had Du Puy lentils this week at great little French restaurant in Calgary – the Cassis Bistro - it’s very elegant to serve lentils this way.

LENTILS ARE LOCAL AND THEY ARE PRETTY HEALTHY, TOO
It’s true. It’s interesting, lentils are a really inexpensive and healthy local food – half a cup of cooked lentils has 7 grams of protein and 8.5 g of fibre, but Canadians don’t eat as many lentils as people from other countries.
If you’re trying to eat more local foods, this is a great place to start, because lentils are high in protein and complex carbohydrates, and low in fat and calories. They’re naturally gluten free, very low on the glycemic index scale, so good for diabetics, and of course, with their protein, really essential for vegetarians. Lentils are also a very good source of potassium and manganese – and have the most folate of any plant food.

AND THEY’RE EASY TO COOK
Absolutely. Unlike beans, lentils don’t need soaking so you really just have to rinse them, season and boil them. It may only take minutes to cook lentils, depending on the type you buy.
The most common lentil you’ll find in the grocery store is the Laird Lentil – a medium-sized, greenish brown lentil – or the small red lentil, really a split lentil that’s a bright orange colour.
The whole lentils cook in about 20-30 minutes – use 2-3 cups of water for every cup of lentils. These are the best lentils for salads and side dishes.
And the red split lentils cook super fast, in about 5-15 minutes. Just combine 2 cups of water with one cup of red lentils, and any flavourings. The lentils break down and form a puree, that’s great for lentil dips or adding body to thinner soups, curries and stews.
You can vary the cooking times depending on how you plan to serve your lentils – for whole lentils for salads or side dishes, cook for the least amount of time, and they’ll be firmer. Cook them longer for purees and soups.
You can also precook your lentils and freeze them to add to dishes later.

WHAT ELSE ARE THE PULSE PRODUCERS DOING TO GET US TO EAT MORE LENTILS
Well, they’ve brought in some real star power – they have Food Network celebrity chef Michael Smith creating recipes and online videos with tips on how to use Canadian lentils in a variety of dishes.
So you can sign on to the Canadian Lentils website at www.lentils.ca and see a dozen videos featuring Chef Michael Smith – visiting lentil farms and cooking dishes he’s created, from basic brown rice and lentils to lentil lasagna, lentil meatloaf and even muffins and chocolate chip cookies with lentils.

COOKIES WITH LENTILS?
Yes, he calls them Sneaky Lentil Cookies – he’s adding pureed green lentils, whirled up in the food processor with a little water, to everything from tomato sauce to brownies and banana muffins.
He even makes biscuits with lentil puree – the lentils replace half the fat in the regular recipe, so you get a low-fat biscuit with extra fibre – and you’d never guess you’re eating lentils.
In some recipes, like his lentil meat loaf or lentil lasagna, he’s just combining ground meats with lentils to stretch the meat and boost nutrition, but in others, like his Vegan Lentil Burgers, lentils are the main protein, pureed together with sautéed onions, mushrooms, garlic and grated sweet potato.
You’ll find Michael Smith’s recipes on the lentils.ca website, and they’ve also published a cookbook – The Big Book of Little Lentils – with more inventive lentil recipes, from chocolate lentil cake to curried sweet potato and lentil pizza.

DID YOU BRING A RECIPE?
Well, since we started out talking about lentils for Lent, I thought I should bring a meatless recipe. So I have Chef Michael Smith’s lentil burger recipe – which you can cook as burgers or a vegetarian meat loaf – but I couldn’t resist his Sneaky Lentil Chocolate Chip Cookies, so we have two recipes this week.

Chef Michael Smith’s lentil recipes are posted here, at alberta@noon, and on my TasteReport.com recipe page

Tasty foie gras without the burden of guilt

Thu, 29 Dec 2011 11:15:24 -0700

By CINDA CHAVICH
Globe and Mail Update
Published Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2011 6:00PM EST
 
No matter how much you love the rich flavour of foie gras, seared to perfection or rolled into a silken torchon, there’s always the nagging issue of gavage – the controversial practice of force-feeding ducks and geese to enlarge their livers. But on Quebec’s Île d’Orléans, chef and organic farmer Jacques Legros has created his own way of producing the delicious liver, no force-feeding required.
“Venez, venez, venez,” Mr. Legros calls as a gaggle of fat-bottomed, white and brown geese waddle noisily toward him.
The gangly Mr. Legros is a fanatic about health – both personal and planetary – and raises his free-run flock at Au Goût d’Autrefois with sustainability in mind. His organic farm and homey restaurant, just outside Quebec City, is a destination for conscientious food lovers, a place to indulge in foie gras, rillettes, tender slow-smoked goose breast and fresh produce, all produced without chemicals or fossil fuels.
“Everything is done by hand – no machines or motors here,” he says, digging a massive clump of parsley from the ground and gathering some Brussels sprouts for our late fall lunch.
Over the honking of his flock, Mr. Legros describes how he began to develop an “ethical” method of producing foie gras eight years ago by crossing different breeds of geese to create a particularly voracious bird.
According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, traditional foie gras farms raise birds outdoors for three to four months, then fatten them over three weeks of twice-daily force-feeding with corn. While migrating wild ducks and geese naturally gorge to enlarge their livers each fall – the fuel for their long flights – it’s the artificial force-feeding, using long tubes inserted into the domestic birds’ gullets, that has led to animal rights protests. Several European countries, including Italy, Austria and Denmark, have banned force-feeding of ducks and geese. California’s ban goes into effect mid-2012.
Instead of force-feeding, Mr. Legros takes advantage of his birds’ natural inclination to gorge. “When it’s cold at night the geese will eat more, producing fat for winter,” he says. “I use this natural reflex and I give them food that they love.”
They’re fed a whole-grain diet of wheat, barley, oats and corn throughout their lives. The birds are naturally programmed to eat more as the temperature drops in the fall, he says, and in the final weeks before they go to the abattoir, he limits their regular food and begins hand-feeding the geese and ducks every hour with his high-energy ration of boiled corn and molasses.
His method is far more costly than the traditional one. “Last year I spent $20,000 more on grain, compared to what I would spend if I force-fed them for just two weeks.”

The livers are smaller than those produced by force-feeders – about 400 grams compared with one kilogram or more – but Mr. Legros’s system also produces exquisitely flavourful grain-fed duck and goose breasts, the kind he serves at his restaurant and sells to chefs in Quebec City and Montreal. He also sells jars of goose, duck and wild turkey rillette, cassoulet, confit and foie gras mousse from the farm. (A 120-ml pot of goose liver mousse costs $12, while his sous-vide duck confit is $48.95 per kg, and his special marinated and smoked goose breast sells for $14.50 per 100 grams.)

“It’s like a gift – the taste of the breast from these animals is exceptional,” he says.
At the farmhouse restaurant, Mr. Legros and his partner Lise Marcotte serve up tastes of the farm with multi-course, hyper-local tasting menus. “Ninety per cent of what we serve here is from the farm,” he says. “In my kitchen there is no spice, only sea salt, and I cook at very low temperatures to maximize the flavours and protect all of the healthy nutrients and natural enzymes,” he says.
The trio of duck, goose and wild turkey rillette we start with offers a fascinating flavour comparison: The shreds of his wild turkey, slow-cooked in duck fat, is pleasantly gamey, while the duck and dark goose meat are doubly rich, all mounded on platters to spread on crisp toast.

The sliced magret, marinated in local apple cider and maple syrup then slow-smoked over an apple-wood fire, is ruby-coloured, rare and sweet. The potatoes, Brussels sprouts and carrots from his garden are also luxuriously sautéed in goose and duck fat – both, he claims, have a cholesterol-lowering profile similar to olive oil. A simple dessert of maple syrup and fluffy whipped duck egg whites offers a delicate contrast to the meaty meal.
The chef just seems to be a natural nurturer, equally happy delivering his rustic dishes as he is digging in his garden or feeding his flock.
“I love animals, I love gardens and I love people,” he says. “It’s very important to me to have your satisfaction, but I have to respect my animals. I have to make something good with them.”

Special to the Globe and Mail
©Cinda Chavich 2011
www.tastereport.com

PAY IT FORWARD THIS SEASON: SUSTAINABLE FOOD SHOPPING

Tue, 13 Dec 2011 15:59:06 -0700

I talked about how you can make a difference with your food dollars by shopping locally and sustainably on a call-in show on CBC Radio’s Alberta@ Noon program on Dec. 8.

Shop Local, think Global

We all spend a lot of money over the holidays, especially on food.

I have lots of ideas about how people can get that “double-your-dollars” joy out of their grocery bills over the holidays, by being conscientious about what they buy, and thinking about the local, and global, impacts of the foods they choose.

We’re all probably going to be buying a turkey, some mandarin oranges, chocolate, maybe special coffee beans, wine or even smoked salmon or foie gras for holiday dinners and parties, but when you buy these foods for the season you can really help others if you make the right choices.

I spend my time traveling all over the world, learning about food, and this year I bumped into some interesting stories, that have certainly influenced me, when it comes to the foods we consume at home.

It’s a good time of year to celebrate some of the great local farmers and growers we have here in Canada, and in Alberta, and to give a little back to them by supporting their efforts. And to maybe make some resolutions to be smarter and more sustainable shoppers in 2012.

CHOCOLATE
Start with chocolate.
I went to Dominican Republic earlier this year with Green & Black’s chocolate to see how Fair Trade chocolate is produced.
This was an amazing thing to do – travel into the hills on this Caribbean island to meet with local cocoa farmers and their families, and see those big cocoa pods growing from the trees, then watch them being fermented and dried by hand, then packed up in big burlap sacks to be shipped to chocolate makers around the world.
But my most vivid memory is how that small extra bit of money – called the Fair Trade premium – actually helps in these little rural communities. It’s just an extra $200 a metric tonne that buyers pay for the cocoa beans, but it’s given families things like fresh running water in their homes, and community centres in their towns.
One group of women has used this seed money to start a chocolate tour, so if you’re at a beach resort in Dominican, you can visit their farms like I did, taste their homemade food, and understand what it’s like to grow cocoa, while helping to support their local communities.
When you’re buying chocolate, whether it’s for baking or just indulging over the holidays, you can choose Fair Trade chocolate.
All of Green & Black’s chocolate comes from Fair Trade sources like this – so when you buy one of their premium chocolate bars, not only are you getting amazing chocolate, you’re helping someone else.
Cocoa Camino is a Canadian company that also makes Fair Trade chocolate bars and even Fair Trade baking chocolate and chocolate chips, and when you buy them, you’re helping a farm family somewhere in the world.

MANDARIN ORANGES
I just bought a box of mandarin oranges, and there was a note inside from the Japanese company, saying Thank You for buying Japanese oranges.
They’re probably a little more expensive than the oranges from China or other places, but as this note reminded me, Japanese mandarins at Christmas are a Canadian tradition that goes back over 100 years, with the first Japanese immigrants to Western Canada.
And this year, more than ever, by putting that Japanese orange in the toe of your stocking, it gives money back to these Japanese fruit growers who are trying to rebuild their country.

SUSTAINABLE LOCAL ORGANIC WINE
I think we should all try to support the local, Canadian wine industry by buying local products this holiday season.
It’s great wine, and it doesn’t have to be transported all around the planet, so the closer to home, the better
There are so many wonderful Okanagan wineries but I have my favourites – Tinhorn Creek, Quail’s Gate, Gray Monk, Mission Hill, Blue Mountain, Orofino – but I do like imported wines, too, especially organically- or bidynamically-grown wines, like the wines from Benzinger in Sonoma, California, and the Perrin Family at Chateau Beaucastel in France.
Or I love this idea.
Like the Goats do Roam in a Village wine from South Africa.
The original wine, Goats do Roam, was a play on the Cote du Rhone wines of France, because they grown the Rhone varietals there at the Fairview Winery, and raise goats to make cheese. And Charles Back decided to pay it forward, and sent some of his milk goats to help AIDS orphans in Nambia, so this Goats do Roam in Villages label was born for his Shiraz-Pinotage blend.
And of course you can look for organic wine – there have been great improvements in the quality of wines made from grapes grown organically. So head down to one of the local wine stores and ask them about their organic and biodynamic wine selection. It’s really all about environmentally responsible agriculture – whether it’s farming without chemicals or conserving water and energy in the winemaking process. These are definitely positive changes in the wine business.
There’s also a local wine agency in Calgary called the Organic Wine Connection – their entire portfolio of wines from around the world are certified organic – and if you go to Connect Logistics, or liquorconnect.com, you can see which stores carry them.

BEER
Of course, if you live in Calgary you’ll notice we’re going through a bit of a beer boom around here – lots of new restaurants and pubs specializing in beer.
And if you’re serving beer over the holidays, probably the most sustainable products are those brewed right here at home, by breweries like Alley Kat or Big Rock or Wild Rose breweries.
But you can also look for Unity Brew, a charity brew, created by several different local breweries together. It’s the third year for Unity Brew – this year they all gathered at Big Rock to make the brew, and the proceeds go to local charities.
So you have the aforementioned Big Rock, Wild Rose and Alley Kat, plus Drummond, Brew Brothers, Banff Ave. Brewing, Jasper Brewing Co., Grizzly Paw and Brewsters, all teaming up to create this Unity Brew.
You’ll be able to buy it in mid-December on tap at the Wild Rose Brewery and Tap Room here in Calgary, and at other spots.

SUSTAINABLE SEAFOOD
When you’re looking for smoked salmon or caviar for your holiday parties, make sure you buy fish from a sustainable source.
In Canada, many restaurants are now serving Ocean Wise certified seafood, and you can buy this kind of fish and seafood from fish shops and other retailers, too. The certification ensures that the species is not overfished, and that the fishing is being done in a sustainable fashion, that doesn’t destroy the resource, or the environment for other species.
Seafood is often consumed over the holidays, but so much of it is overfished so read about sustainable seafood at the Sea Choice website, and make sure you read the label before you buy.
For salmon, smoked or otherwise, you want to look for a Canadian wild salmon, not a farmed product (if it says Atlantic Salmon on the label, it’s farmed).
Shrimp is a real minefield – unless you’re buying B.C. Spot prawns, which are rare and really expensive, you’re probably getting tiger prawns from southeast Asia which are all on the red list, not sustainably farmed or harvested, and really bad for the environment. So there will be no shrimp plates at my house this season.
Caviar is another minefield. But there is some sturgeon being farmed for caviar in New Brunswick and some called Northern Divine Canadian Caviar from Target Marine Hatcheries on the Sunshine Coast. They’ve been working on this sustainable caviar project for 10 years, raising white sturgeon in tanks on the shore near Sechelt, and finally are bringing it to market. So most will go to high end restaurants, like Hawksworth and C in Vancouver, but you might find it on a menu, and it’s a sustainable choice. A 30-g tin sells for $99 so it’s not cheap, but its getting rave reviews from chefs and their caviar customers. You can order it direct from Northern Divine on line.
Otherwise, there’s in the U.S. that’s considered sustainable, so look for that, too.

GIVING FOOD FUTURE
We collect food for the local food bank at this time of year but I also just received a Gifts of Hope Catalogue in the mail from Plan Canada, which was a real reminder to me of how important it is for everyone, everywhere, to be able to have a local, sustainable food supply.
There are lots of inspirational agricultural gifts that you can give – literally food on the hoof for someone in a developing country.
For $75 you can buy two goats, $80 buys three chickens and a rooster, $55 for a Beekeeping kit to get someone started in raising bees to generate family income for food, housing and healthcare.
We have plenty to eat here in Canada, but it’s still important to remember that having enough farmers on the land to produce our food is the only way to guarantee our food security for the future. So it’s good for the planet, the environment, and our local rural communities to buy local food as much as we can, but it also helps to insure that we’re not completely dependent on expensive imports in the future.

FAIR TRADE COFFEE
Back to Fair Trade. You can buy Fairtrade bananas, nuts, quinoa and rice, even sugar. And we all drink coffee – some 90 litres per person per year in Canada, so switching to Fair Trade coffee is just one change that could make a huge difference.
Starbucks offers some Fairtrade products but Tim Hortons doesn’t buy Fairtrade coffee. And you can ask for it at smaller local coffee houses and roasters.
Kicking Horse Coffee, based in Invermere, is the largest FairTrade roaster in Canada, and their coffee is available at many places. Their coffee is 100% organic and 100% fairtrade.
You are seeing the Fair Trade logo on supermarket products, too. Superstore’s President’s Choice brand for example has Fair Trade coffee and Fair Trade certified tea. They also have two President’s Choice dark and milk chocolate bars that are Fair Trade.

LOCAL
Chefs across Canada were recently surveyed and said that local and sustainable food is the biggest trend now and will continue into the future.
So the message they are hearing from their customers is that they want to see local food on the menu.
Buying your food locally, from farmers in Alberta and even B.C., is something we can do to strengthen our communities and the Canadian food supply, and help the environment.
So when you’re shopping for food, any time of the year, just be mindful of where it’s coming from, too.
It’s a good plan for a New Year’s resolution – to try to support local growers as much as possible.

Pesticide residues in organic apples……not good news for consumers but I guess you can look at that two ways. It may be more important to have a relationship you’re your food producer – to know the farmer and how they’re growing your food, rather than buy organic. However, I do believe that this just points to the fact that our land and water – and probably our fruit packing facilities – are contaminated. According to the CFIA’s investigations, most of the contamination of this fruit was “non-intentional” – that is, there’s no proof that the growers were breaking the organic growing rules, but rather that these chemicals have contaminated their products some other way, maybe chemical drift from other fields, residues in the water table, whatever.
I don’t think there’s any argument to be made that growing food organically – that is, without chemical pesticides and fertilizers – isn’t the best way to reduce these residues in our environment.

Expensive? Can be more expensive to buy local and organic or sustainably produced food but for many of us, it’s a matter of priorities. If we choose to spend more to buy healthier food, we are investing in our bodies, our environment and our communities. Cheap food is a false economy - eventually you pay with health care expenses, failing local economies, and unsustainable food systems.

The other trend I’ve been reading about lately is frugality – people are concerned about rising food costs and changing what they’re eating to compensate. One way to reduce the grocery bill is by decreasing the amount of meat and seafood we’re buying, and replace those proteins with things like beans, lentils, whole grains and rice.
Luckily, we produce those grains and legumes in Alberta, so having a few more chickpea curries or baked bean dinners is also a way to eat locally and reduced your carbon footprint. Another way is to cook from scratch - you’ll be amazed at how much money you save when you’re not buying prepared food, take-out and restaurant meals.

It’s all about priorities. It’s not easy to eat local sustainable food in today’s big box world, but it’s healthy for your body, for the planet and your local economy, too. Resolve to make the effort to eat more food from local farms in 2012, and someday it could be easy for us all.

©Cinda Chavich 2011
www.tastereport.com

EGG VS KEG THROWDOWN

Tue, 13 Dec 2011 15:13:09 -0700

COOL KAMADOS

By CINDA CHAVICH
Special to the Globe and Mail

For serious barbecue cooks, The Big Green Egg (BGE) is a cult classic, perfect for both slow smoking and high temperature charcoal grilling.
Modeled after traditional Japanese kamado cookers, the Roughrider green “Egg” has been around since the ‘70s, and sold in Canada for a decade. It’s thick ceramic exterior, and ability to seal in both heat and moisture, has made the BGE the Cadillac charcoal cooker but its high price tag – about $1,500 for the standard size model with stand – put it out of reach for the average outdoor chef.
That is, until now. There’s been a flurry of BGE knock-offs hitting the market – some with even more stratospheric price tags, but others that are a little more down to earth.
When Calgary chef Paul Rogalski told me about cooking crispy pizza at 800° and perfect pulled pork at 225° on his new Big Steel Keg charcoal unit, I was intrigued.
At about $800, the double-walled steel version of the BGE, looks like a khaki-coloured beer keg.

My professional jealousy took hold and not long after I had my own BGE knock-off on the patio – the Vision Kamado, a classy-looking black ceramic version of the BGE, with a similar bargain price.
Like many chefs and serious foodies in Calgary, Rogalski and I are both fans of barbecue cooking – that is, slow smoking of pork butt, ribs, chicken and other southern delights – and own smokers that accomplish the task. At his upscale Rouge restaurant, Rogalski has a little smoker to hit the elk medallions or char-grilled Alberta lamb chops with that sweet barbecue aroma, and I have an old R2D2-style bullet smoker at the cabin that makes perfect tender ribs, pulled pork and smoked trout.
But these heavy-duty, egg-shaped ovens promise what the average smoker can’t - both very low, slow cooking for tender pork butt and brisket, and high, high heat akin to a wood-fired oven for pizza and steak.
We took our cookers through the paces, both smoking a five-pound pork butt (shoulder), then opening the vents wide to let the charcoal take the ovens up to extreme heat.
Both have thermometers built into the lid – the Keg goes up to 800ºF but my Vision Kamado gauge stops around 550ºF, and we pushed both beyond the dial.
It was sometimes tricky to keep our barbecues at a steady 225-250ºF, but the smoky pork from both was tender, juicy and falling apart to the “pulled” stage after about eight hours. The bonus for both units was the moist cooking and the slow burning of the fuel. We both started with about 4 L of quality hardwood charcoal which lasted throughout the entire smoking process.
Our thin crust pizzas cooked perfectly on their ceramic pizza stones, crisp and lightly charred like a good pizzeria but we needed more charcoal – about 8L to maintain high heat. When we fired up the Keg for pizza, it took an hour to get to the upper ranges. My Vision Kamado soared up to high heat in 30 minutes, but while cooking we heard a loud pop. I’d read that pizza stones can break in the kamado but didn’t expect the hairline crack I found in the exterior of the unit after it cooled. While the dealer insured me the Vision Kamodo would cook at 150ºF to 800ºF – and agreed to replace the cracked unit – there’s only a one-year warranty, so hopefully this won’t happen again (actually, it did, and so hoping to test the new improved model they’ve designed for 2012).
The double walled insulted steel Keg is better designed for high temperature cooking. The BGE has this kind of cooking built right into its design, too, and is guaranteed for life.
Charcoal cooking is more hands-on than gas grilling, but if you’re serious about outdoor cooking, these kamado-style units are cool tools. Just make sure you check out the warranties and service before you buy.

Price:
Big Steel Keg $799
Vision Kamado $846 ($749 when available at Costco)

Ease of Use and Performance
The Keg has a heat-proof stove gasket to seal the top and base. The Kamado has a replaceable thick felt ring and the interior edge burned and blackened at high temperature.
The Keg is difficult to re-light as all of the grills need to come off to add coals, while the Kamado has a hinged grill that makes replenishing coals and adding wood chips for smoking much easier. On the other hand, the Keg has heavy cast iron grills - better for searing steak.
Both units are easy to use, and perfectly cooked pork butt and pizza, but the steel Keg was better able to withstand ultra-high temperatures.

Safety
Cooking with charcoal requires some safety precautions. Light charcoal with an electric starter or use a chimney charcoal starter, like we did, and pour the preheated coals carefully into the firebox.
Both of these units are well-sealed and can flare when the lid is opened. So always crack the lid slightly, and open slowly, or open the vents to stabilize oxygen levels before opening. Ceramic cookers don’t get as hot as metal units on the exterior, but use caution when cooking at high temperatures.

Design
The BGE and other ceramic kamado grills are definitely stylish – my black Vision Kamado with its sleek stainless steel base and bamboo side tables, adds a nice Asian focal point to the back garden. But it’s fragile and extremely heavy to move around (think, two or three men to lift it).
The Keg, on the other hand is light enough to lift onto a trailer hitch (it comes with an optional package so you can haul it out to tailgate parties), but it looks as clunky as it sounds with a khaki beer-keg profile, large black plastic wheels and side tables. It’s definitely a style statement for those who want the party central, macho look (hint: the original name was the Bubba Keg). Both are similar in size when it comes to cooking surface, but the Kamado weighs in at over 200 pounds, compared with 123 for the Keg.

Intangibles
This kind of cooking is tricky and variable – wind, rain, air temperature, even fuel, can affect cooking times and results. Paul used BGE charcoal which tends to be harder to light but burns slower than the Canadian Maple Leaf lump charcoal I used which burns very hot.
They say both are all-season barbecues but it’s hard to say how they will stand up over time. Metal barbecues like the Big Steel Keg are prone to rusting, and the ceramic Vision Kamado can crack. Neither is guaranteed for life, like the original Big Green Egg.

(EDITOR’S NOTE: Since this story was first published the Vision Kamado has been redesigned and now has a lifetime warranty on all ceramic parts).

©Cinda Chavich 2011
www.tastereport.com

pizza: thin, tasty, TRENDY and TRULY italian

Thu, 9 Jun 2011 00:02:23 -0600

As heard on CBC Radio’s Alberta at Noon show:

Calgary has some trendy new places to enjoy traditional Italian pizza and Cinda Chavich, our food and cooking columnist is here to talk about how they do pizza perfectly.

WE SEEM TO BE HAVING A BIT OF A PIZZA REVOLUTION IN CALGARY THESE DAYS – WHAT’S GOING ON?
I’m not sure, but pizza does seem to be the hot new thing on the local restaurant scene.
We’ve just had a few new gourmet pizza restaurants open recently, joining places like Pulcinella and UNA Pizza that have been open for a couple of years.
Now there’s Famoso Neopolitan Pizza, which is a chain which started with several locations in Edmonton and now has a location here in Calgary. WOP (without papers) recently opened in Inglewood, upstairs in the space which was once Nectar Desserts. And now we have Double Zero downtown, a modern pizzeria that just opened this week.
All are doing a traditional Italian thin crust pizza - as authentic as possible – with the best ingredients, including imported Italian Double Zero flour and San Marzano tomatoes. Some – like Famoso and Pulcinella – have even sent their chefs to train under the famous pizza makers of Naples.

THAT’S AMAZING – TELL ME MORE ABOUT AUTHENTIC NEOPOLITAN PIZZA
Well, Naples is ground zero for pizza – the place that the popular pie was invented. It started as a simple pie with tomato topping – cheese and basil were added in 1889 when a pizza was made to resemble the Italian flag for a visiting royal, Queen Margherita of Savoy.
So the basic cheese and tomato pizza with basil is still known as the Margherita.
Over the years, other styles of pizza making has been popular – things like the deep dish Chicago pizza or the thick Greek-style pizza.
But we’ve gravitated back to that thin, crisp crust of the traditional Italian pizza, especially those baked in a wood fired pizza oven.
The pizza of Naples is considered the gold standard – it’s even protected as an STG product in Italy – guaranteed traditional specialtiy – almost like a DOC or appellation designation for wine. So they take their pizza pretty seriously in Naples.

SO IS IT THE INGREDIENTS OR THE TECHNIQUE THAT MAKES THIS KIND OF PIZZA SO TASTY?
A bit of both. These new pizza chefs are using classic Italian ingredients, like real buffalo milk mozzarella cheese and imported Italian tomatoes. You’ll see a lot of menus that mention San Marzano tomatoes – they come from a small town near Naples and you can buy them in cans at Italian markets. Because they grow in the volcanic soils of Mount Vesuvius they have a very sweet flesh, and to make an authentic Neopolitan pizza, you must use San Marzano tomatoes in the topping.

WHAT ABOUT THE CRUST?

The crust is the other thing that’s vital to a perfect pizza. Italians use a special 0 or 00 flour for their pizza and pasta dough – hence the name of Calgary’s newest pizza spot, Double Zero.
I actually first encountered Double Zero flour when I was learning to make pasta a couple of years ago in Romagna. The lady who was teaching me had a big bag of flour labeled Manitoba zero zero. When I got back to Canada, I asked everyone about this flour – I even called the wheat board in Manitoba – but no one knew what I was talking about. Eventually I discovered that it’s a combination of Canadian hard wheat and soft winter wheat, ground to a very fine “double zero” texture, that’s almost like talcum powder, with much of the wheat germ removed. It’s another one of these food products – like Dijon mustard – that starts in Canada as a commodity, and is processed in another country.
So these new Canadian pizzerias are importing flour from Italy, made with Canadian wheat, to make their authentic pizzas. You can buy it at some Italian grocery stores in Calgary, and at gourmet food stores like Bite Groceteria in Inglewood.
The recipe for the dough is pretty basic, this special Caputo pizza flour with a natural yeast, salt and water. Then it’s all about technique – the dough should be kneaded by hand or with a low speed mixer.

Chef Justin Leboe, the consulting chef and partner at Double Zero Pizza, told me they named the restaurant after the grade of flour used in the dough, because he took so much time developing the perfect recipe for it.
Of course they use San Marzano tomatoes and fresh mozzarella made in Alberta.

HOW DO THEY GET THE PIZZA SO CRISP AND SMOKY?
First it must be rolled or stretched fairly thin, then it has to be cooked at a high temperature – somewhere around 800-900 degrees F. Restaurants usually have special pizza ovens, even wood-fired ovens, to get that kind of heat.
You can do it at home on a pizza stone in the oven at the highest setting, 550 F or so, but it might not be quite as crisp as a commercial pizza oven. I’ve even made it in my charcoal Kamado grill, which gets up to about 700 degrees.
If you’re really serious about making pizza, you can get an outdoor wood-fired pizza oven installed at your house.
Here in Calgary, Dave Thurgar sells the Italian Mugnaini wood ovens and has one in his backyard. He offers traditional pizza cooking classes through the Cookbook Company if you really want to learn how to make authentic pizza.

WHAT IF YOU JUST WANT TO DABBLE IN TRADITIONAL PIZZA AT HOME?
Pizza is really a pretty easy thing to master. You’ll need to buy a pizza stone for your oven or barbecue, and a pizza paddle to get the pizza onto the stone, but otherwise it’s really a question of good ingredients and a little practice.

We often host pizza parties – sort of roll-your-own potlucks where the guests each bring a pizza topping, I provide the pizza dough, and we spend the evening making and eating pizza together.
It’s lots of fun. You can make the dough yourself or just buy it freshly made at an Italian grocery like Lina’s or Scarpone’s. Make your own tomato sauce or buy a good quality canned San Marzano Italian tomato and just whirl it up in the food processor.
Once you’ve got a good crust, it’s the quality of the toppings that really make the difference. Use good Italian prosciutto and salami, fresh mozzarella, and fresh herbs like basil and arugula, and you’ll have pretty authentic pizza at home at a fraction of the cost of takeout.

A RECIPE?

Yes, I’m including my own pizza dough and sauce recipes, and some suggestions for topping combinations from my book, The Guy Can’t Cook. Stay basic with the basic tomato and cheese Margherita pizza or go gourmet with figs and goat cheese. It’s fun to make pizza at home – and we have lots of new pizza restaurants in the city where you can find some inspiration.

Click here for Cinda’s recipe for homemade pizza dough and tomato sauce

©Cinda Chavich 2011
www.tastereport.com

IN SEASON: A PILGRIMAGE FOR PRAWNS

Wed, 8 Jun 2011 23:51:08 -0600

By CINDA CHAVICH

(VANCOUVER, B.C.) - If ever there was a food that deserved a pilgrimage, it’s the B.C. spot prawn.
Our own very unique coastal crustacean, the spot prawn is only fished in May and June, and chefs rise to the seasonal occasion with special menus and festivals that make eating your fill of this sweet, pink wonder a local sport. Seared, steamed, grilled and gravlaaxed, spot prawns are on all of the best west coast menus, whether they’re served in the city, up the Sunshine coast or next to a wild beach in Tofino.

VANCOUVER’S PREMIUM PRAWN
A real delicacy – with a premium price tag – the wild spot prawn is a unique species, found only in west coast waters. It’s a rare carnivore among the mainly vegetarian prawn population, ergo, it can be trapped, like a lobster or a crab, in a baited trap, and isn’t dragged from the ocean floor or farmed under questionable conditions like so many of the other shrimp we eat.
That makes a spot prawn a truly sustainable seafood option, which feels good, even when you’re peeling a pot full and sucking out their tasty little heads.

Delicate and sweet on the plate, spot prawns are equally fragile once fished, so they’re delivered alive and kicking to west coast chefs just hours after they’re caught. Chefs in top restaurants across the country serve spot prawns, too – whether you’re dining at Rouge in Calgary or Canoe in Toronto – but away from west coast waters, most chefs must use frozen prawns.
So to really taste this perishable prawn fresh, as they do for just two months every spring in Vancouver, you must come to the source.

FISHING FOR SPOT PRAWNS

Ground zero is down on the docks at False Creek’s Fisherman’s Wharf, just opposite the Granville Island Market, where Steve Johansen and crew arrive every afternoon with their fresh catch of wriggling red specimens. When you get to Go Fish – the popular fish and chips stand – hang a right down the gangplank to Johansen’s big aluminum boat.
Johansen’s Organic Ocean is seafood supplier to the local (culinary) stars and during the short, eight-week spot prawn season, he’s out on the water at 6 a.m. every day, hauling up and emptying his 300 traps, resetting them in the deep waters of the Georgia Strait, and arriving at the public dock by early afternoon, with a pile of live, snappy spot prawns to sell to a hungry public and deliver to awaiting restaurants.

That’s how they get into the kitchen every day at Vancouver’s busy Coast restaurant, and at places like Yew in the Four Seasons Hotel, one of the many places in Vancouver and other west coast communities that offer special spot prawn menus during the season.
“We’re getting them in fresh every day at 4 p.m.,” says server David Lew, delivering a refreshing bowl of spicy gazpacho topped with grilled spot prawns and a perfect pairing of pink Laughing Stock Rosé, sold exclusively in the hotel. “They’re still jumping – it startled the cook when one jumped right out of the container!”
Yew chef Kevin Erving has a special spot prawn menu featuring dishes like grilled spot prawns with lemon, asparagus and spicy aioli, spot prawn and Meyer lemon ceviche with strawberries, and fresh seared halibut with local morel mushrooms and tender spot prawns on the side.
“They’re only available for a short time, like truffles or asparagus or any other seasonal food,” says Erving. “We only have spot prawns now, but I prefer this prawn to any others.”
Coast sous chef Alfred Contiga agrees.
“They’re just so naturally sweet and buttery,” says Contiga proffering a spot prawn salad with black sesame dressing, and a pot of steamy spot prawns in a spicy coconut broth from his special spot prawn menu. “This is the best thing about Vancouver and just like our motto – we catch it, we cook it, fresh every day.”

With partner Frank Keitch and chefs like C restaurant’s Robert Clark, Johansen helped bring the indigenous spot prawn – Pandalus platyceros – into our collective consciousness. And now, instead of the entire catch heading off in container loads to Japan, the spring celebration of spot prawn season is catching on across the country and Canadians are getting a chance to taste them.
It was the Chefs’ Table Society of B.C. that first championed the spot prawn with a festival in Vancouver five years ago, and now events are being planned across the country, the first in the Okanagan in June.
“The first year there were 400 people down here on the dock and this year there were thousands,” says Johansen, dumping a “bucket” of deep red prawns into a wire basket and hosing them down with sea water until they’re gleaming. With candy-cane tentacles and distinctive white spots, these prawns are pristine, unlike the ubiquitous tiger prawns Johansen says are farmed in fetid “sewage lagoons” with chemicals and antibiotics throughout Thailand, China and India.
It’s the kind of prawn you want if you’re having it raw in the Ama ebi sashimi at famed Tojo’s, or at any of the other A-list restaurants celebrating the unique local specialty over the coming weeks. And it’s the kind that gets the green light from the Vancouver Aquarium’s Sea Choice and Ocean Wise sustainable seafood programs.

It’s also the most amazing shrimp you’ll every taste, a clean, fresh and sweet spring treat – so there’s no time like the present for a prawn pilgrimage to the wonderful west coast.

MORE SPOT PRAWN PILGRIMAGES:

SPOT PRAWN FESTIVALS
The B.C. Chefs’ Table Society takes its popular B.C. Spot Prawn Festival on the road this year with spot prawn festivals in Kelowna June 4 from 1-4 p.m. at The Manteo Resort, and Oysoyoos June 5 from 1-4 p.m. at the Watermark Beach Resort. Local chefs will be cooking samples of creative spot prawn dishes and wild spot prawns will be available for sale at Codfather’s in Kelowna. Talk to the people from Vancouver Aquarium’s Ocean Wise program to learn more about why this local prawn fishery is considered one of the most sustainable on the planet. Look for spot prawn festivals in Calgary and Toronto in 2012.

FEAST!

In Tofino and neighboring Ucluelet, the first annual Feast! Seafood festival continues until June 5, celebrating sustainable local seafood, from salmon and oysters to halibut, Dungeness crab and spot prawns. Chefs will be cooking unique spot prawn dishes to sample for free, this weekend at the Tofino Dock and the Ucluelet Dock as part of Spot Prawn Festival Week. Look for spot prawns on the menu at the Wickaninnish Inn, Shelter, The Schooner, Norwood’s and Wildside Grill throughout the spring season, and see which chef takes the title of in Battle Spot Prawn this weekend at Black Rock Resort in Ucluelet. www.feast.bc.com

SPOT PRAWNS ON THE MENU

Look for spot prawns on Ocean Wise menus in restaurants across the country during the spring harvest season, but especially in Vancouver, on Vancouver Island and along the Sunshine Coast. www.oceanwise.ca/find-seafood

©Cinda Chavich 2011
www.tastereport.com

Chinese noodles for the year of the rabbit

Thu, 3 Feb 2011 16:00:13 -0700

Today is the beginning of the Chinese New Year. And to celebrate, Cinda Chavich, CBC’s food and cooking columnist, is here to talk about one of her favourite Chinese foods – noodles.  (Find her recipe for Spicy Szechuan Noodle Soup below, or listen to her on the radio here)

 NOODLES ARE AN EVERYDAY FOOD IN CHINA BUT THEY ARE ALSO AUSPCIOUS FOR CHINESE NEW YEAR CELEBRATIONS Yes, there are several traditional dishes served at a Chinese New Year dinner but one of my favourites is the Long Life Noodles. It’s a dish often made with bean thread or cellophane noodles, cooked with sesame oil and soy and topped with dried Chinese mushrooms, shredded cabbage and bamboo shoots. Like everything on the table – whether it’s the whole fish for abundance or the mandarine oranges for wealth – noodles symbolize good wishes for the new year, in this case the wish for long life. Noodles are traditionally eaten for birthdays, and for special banquets like this. Noodles are served long and whole – never chopped or cut, because that would shorten one’s life. The idea of serving the whole food item is very symbolic, indicating fullness or completeness, in Chinese culture. Which is why it’s perfectly polite to slurp up long noodles from your bowl without ever cutting them.   SO LET’S TALK ABOUT CHINESE NOODLES – THERE ARE MANY DIFFERENT KINDS Yes, you only have to go to a Chinese noodle shop like Hung’s in Calgary to see the incredible array of noodles that are available. They basically break down into two broad categories – flour noodles and rice or bean thread noodles. The flour noodles are the sturdy noodles made with flour and water, and sometimes with eggs. In the northern parts of China, you’ll find straight flour and water noodles, but the Cantonese usually prefer egg noodles. They can be thick like Shanghai noodles or very fine, like wonton noodles. They need to be boiled like pasta for a few minutes and drained before you add them to soups or sauté them in stir fries. The straight flour noodles are essentially soup noodles, while the thin egg noodles are used for stir fries, pan fried noodles and saucy dishes.   WHAT ABOUT RICE OR BEAN THREAD NOODLES? They are different, too. There are the noodles made with rice flour or bean flour. Rice noodles – sometimes called rice sticks - are usually sold dry. Rice noodles are white, and just need to be rehydrated to use in soups of stir fries. Bean thread noodles are also sold dry.  Bean thread or cellophane noodles are clear, made from mung bean powder, and are transparent and gelatinous when cooked. They can be stir fried or used in soups and with saucy dishes. Rice noodles are commonly used in Thai or Vietnamese dishes like pad thai or bun, but Chinese dishes most often use flour or egg noodles.    WHERE CAN YOU GET CHINESE NOODLES? We’re really lucky in Alberta, we have local Chinese noodle makers who sell fresh noodles, and great Asian groceries like T&T markets that sell both dry and fresh noodles. You can buy steamed Chinese egg noodles – which are great for soups or pan-fried noodles - in the produce sections of most supermarkets these days. Or go to a Chinese grocer or a shop like Mandarin Noodle that specialize in making fresh noodles every day. What’s especially fun is to watch a skilled noodle maker pulling long noodles from a piece of flour and water dough. I’ve seen Chinese chefs do this at restaurants in Vancouver and Richmond – and even in Calgary several years ago. It’s quite an art. Vancouver is really a mecca for noodle lovers – with lots of noodle houses and cafes, like the Legendary Noodle House, where Chinese chefs hand stretch the noodles to order. But these days you can actually buy fresh or dried Chinese noodles in most Alberta supermarkets.    WHAT’S THE BEST WAY TO COOK CHINESE NOODLES? It’s really just like cooking any other kind of pasta – just make sure you have a large pot of briskly boiling, salted water on the stove before you add the noodles, and just cook them until they’re al dente, or cooked through but still firm to the bite. Many of these noodles are very thin and delicate, so they don’t need more than a minute or so in boiling water – and the rice or bean thread noodles really only need to be soaked in hot water before you add them to soups or other dishes. One of my favourite noodles is the wonton noodle which has a nice chewy texture and is easy to work with if you want to brown the noodles or toss them in the wok with a stir fry. Or you can use the pre-cooked steamed noodles you’ll find in many grocery stores. After your noodles are boiled and tender, drain them, rinse them, and toss them in a big bowl with a little sesame oil to keep them from sticking together. Then you can add them to the wok with some oil to brown, or just add them to soups of stir fries.    AND HOW DO YOU SERVE CHINESE NOODLES? There are so many different recipes that use Chinese noodles, whether you’re making cold Sichuan noodles with spicy peanut sauce or panfried noodles with beef and broccoli. In China, noodles are often eaten for breakfast so you’ll see them served in big bowls in the morning markets, with a rich broth and all kinds of toppings, like cabbage, shiitake mushrooms and spicy ground pork with chilies and peanuts. Noodles are really very versatile. You can use them in big bowls of noodle soup, you can toss them with meats and vegetables, or even fry them into crispy noodle cakes to act as a base for saucy stir fries. The Chinese word for noodles is “mein” so any kind of Lo Mein is a simple dish of noodles tossed with meats and vegetables. When you’re making a stir-fry to serve with noodles, I think it’s nice to cut all of the ingredients into slivers – so use strips of pork or chicken, shredded cabbage, onion, mushrooms and bamboo shoots, and even long strips of carrot or green onions in the mix. Noodles are especially good with spicy toppings and sauces because they help temper the spice, so I’d always recommend using some hot garlic chili paste in a noodle dish. Noodles are great in hot pots or saucy stews to soak up all of the flavours. But really, anything goes. If you routinely serve your stir-fried meat and vegetable dishes over rice, try serving them over noodles for a nice change. Or just make a simple chicken broth, flavoured with a little fresh ginger, garlic and soy sauce, and add some cooked Chinese noodles with sliced green onion and shredded carrot, or a little cooked leftover chicken for a fast, easy meal.   DID YOU BRING A RECIPE? Yes, I did. When I was last in China, I got hooked on the bowls of spicy noodles and broth for breakfast and created a recipe when I got home that’s in my last book, The Guy Can’t Cook. It’s really simple – the secret is the ground pork mixture, cooked with onions, garlic, lots of hot Asian chile paste and a little peanut butter. If you make up this mixture, you can just boil your favourite noodles, put them in a bowl with some hot chicken broth, and top them with the ground pork and any chopped vegetables you have on hand. I like shredded cabbage or bok choy, with mushrooms and green onions, but you can also add fresh bean sprouts, shredded carrots, ham or slivered chicken. In China, they set out all of the toppings on the breakfast buffet and you can build your own bowl of noodles with your favourite toppings. They make it for breakfast but we like it any time of the day. Traditionally, this soup is made with a rich pork broth. So you can make your own when you have pork bones – but commercial chicken broth works well, too. And use any kind of noodles you like – the longer the better for a long, happy life!   RECIPE:   SZECHUAN PORK NOODLE SOUP At a hotel I visited in Kunming, China, the breakfast of choice was noodles in steamy chicken soup with spicy ground pork– aka Over the Bridge Noodles. Made to order and garnished with everything from salty Yunnan ham and spicy pork in chili oil, to fresh bean sprouts, chopped green onions and slivers of cooked chicken, it’s a build-your-own kind of dish. Black vinegar mixed with soy is a popular condiment in southern China. You’ll find everything you need at an Asian market. Set all of the toppings out so that diners can garnish their soup as they like. For a vegetarian soup, try making the sauce with ground soy protein instead of pork. A satisfying meal any time of the day.   6-8 cups (1.5-2L) hot chicken stock   3/4 pound (375 g) thin rice vermicelli or fresh Chinese egg noodles (if rice noodles are dry, soak in hot water for 15 minutes and drain)   Toppings: Fresh bean sprouts Chopped green onions shredded cooked chicken Slivered Yunnan ham or prosciutto Fresh pea shoots Black vinegar and soy sauce   Spicy Pork in Chili Sauce: 1/2 pound (225g) lean ground pork 2 tablespoons (25 ml) canola oil 1/2 cup (125 ml) minced shallots 3 cloves garlic, minced 1 tablespoon (15 ml) brown sugar 2 tablespoons (25 ml) soy sauce 2 tablespoons (25 ml) minced ginger 3-4 tablespoons (45-50 ml) Asian chili paste (or 4 minced red fresh chilies) 1 tablespoon (15 ml) crunchy natural peanut butter or sesame paste 2 teaspoons (10 ml) dark Chinese vinegar or lemon juice   In a wok, heat the oil over medium-high heat and cook the ground pork, shallots and garlic until the meat has turned colour and is starting to brown. Add the sugar, soy sauce, ginger, chili paste and cook together for 3-4 minutes, then stir in the peanut butter and vinegar and remove from heat. If not hot enough, drizzle with some chili oil (alternatively, cook the ground pork with a commercial Sichuan soup paste, found in jars in Asian markets). Set out all of the toppings in small bowls on the table. Bring the chicken stock to a boil and keep it hot. Heat a large pot of water to boiling and add the noodles. After about 1 minute, test the noodles to make sure they’re tender, then drain and divide them among four large soup bowls. Fill each bowl 3/4 full with chicken stock. Let your guests choose their own toppings – a spoonful of spicy pork goes on last, to give the soup its unique fiery flavour. Pass the black vinegar and soy sauce. Serves 4

©Cinda Chavich 2011
www.tastereport.com

Haggis: Not just for breakfast - at least in scotland

Mon, 24 Jan 2011 13:13:57 -0700

Like many Canadians, Cinda Chavich, our food and cooking columnist has some Scottish heritage. And this week she’s ready to celebrate the famous bard Robbie Burns, with a look at that oh-so-Scottish specialty, haggis.

SO YOUR GRANDMOTHER WAS FROM SCOTLAND – WHAT ELSE HAS YOU INVESTIGATING HAGGIS THIS WEEK?
Yes, like many Canadians I have a wee bit of the Scot in me - my maternal grandmother was actually born in Glasgow. So while I was in Scotland recently, I spent some time exploring the topic of local and traditional foods, especially the much maligned haggis.
As you probably know, haggis is a strange kind of Scottish sausage – made with onions, oatmeal and ground lamb scraps, seasoned with lots of pepper and stuffed into a sheep stomach.
Because Robert Burns wrote a poem, or actually and address to the haggis, it’s read at the annual Burns Night Dinners celebrating the poet’s birth.
And with Burns Night coming up January 25, I thought it was fitting to talk about the modern world of haggis.

HAGGIS IS STILL BEING SERVED IN SCOTLAND?
It certainly is, and in a variety of modern guises. Not only do you find the classic haggis, sheep stomach and all, at traditional butcher shops and on some menus, the whole regional cooking craze seems to have inspired chefs to do some creative things with haggis.
I ate haggis for breakfast, lunch and dinner – from Edinburgh to Loch Ness. It’s just part of the food culture there.
For breakfast, it’s usually a fried patty, like a haggis burger on the plate. Butchers are now stuffing haggis into fat sausage casings, like haggis salamis, and chefs just slice it, brown it, and serve it alongside the eggs, bacon, fried mushrooms and broiled tomatoes for a traditional Scot breakfast.
At lunch or dinner, in some cases the haggis arrived in a mound, obviously scooped from it’s casing, with the traditional tatties and neeps – mashed potatoes and turnips – alongside. At one spot I had it with a rich whisky sauce, at another, with a creamy leek sauce.
But I also had little haggis balls for canapés. I had a haggis tower appetizer – with the haggis served atop a layered stack of mashed potatoes and turnips. And I had haggis wrapped in puff pastry with a red wine sauce.

WOW THAT SOUNDS CREATIVE
I thought so, but that was really the most traditional kind of haggis I found being served in Scotland. It’s everywhere.
These days you’ll find haggis on all kinds of ethnic menus, too - spicy haggis pakoras, haggis samosas, spring rolls stuffed with haggis and chicken breasts stuffed with haggis and wrapped in prosciutto.
You can buy haggis in a can, and even “1-minute haggis” – two slices in a plastic packet that’s ready to microwave in a minute. So you can nuke your haggis for lunch at work.

SOUNDS LIKE YOU ATE AN AWFUL LOT OF OFFAL – YOU MUST LOVE HAGGIS
Well, not really. I was working. It was research. But everywhere I went, I felt compelled to try the haggis, whether I was in a fine boutique hotel or a rural pub.
And some of it was really not that bad. The high quality versions – from butchers like Findlay’s or Ramsay’s – are now made with lean ground beef and lamb, with lots of onions, steel cut oats, and only a little of the organ meats. So they can be quite good – sort of like a meat loaf or pate, that’s seasoned with lots of black pepper.
But my favourite haggis was actually the vegetarian haggis I had at the Urban Angel in Edinburgh.

VEGETARIAN HAGGIS?! ISN’T THAT A BIT OF BLASPHEMY?
Well, it is an oxymoron. But vegetarian haggis is very popular in Scotland. The MacSween company, which specializes in haggis of all kinds, made a vegetarian haggis several years ago as a PR stunt, and now it makes up nearly ¼ of their business.
They sell full-sized haggis balls (to serve four), smaller balls that serve two, and even little golf-balled sized haggis for canapés – in both traditional and vegetarian versions. You’ll find this McSween haggis in gourmet groceries and supermarkets throughout Scotland.

SO WHAT GOES INTO VEGETARIAN HAGGIS?
I’m not exactly sure about everything in those commercially-made vegetarian versions, but most vegetarian haggis recipes I found included the traditional oatmeal, onions and black pepper, but with beans, lentils and ground walnuts or cashews standing in for the meat. It’s really similar to a vegetarian nut loaf, but with the classic Scottish spicing.
Some of the recipes have finely chopped or grated carrots and turnips in the mixture, too. Some have a shot of whisky.
They’re usually baked in a loaf pan, some include a beaten egg to keep the mixture together.

AND HOW IS IT SERVED?
There isn’t a really pretty way to present haggis – it’s generally scooped out into a bowl, with mashed potatoes and turnips – either mixed together or mashed separately – on the side.
If you want to do the haggis tower – like the Scottish chefs I encountered – take a clean soup can, remove both ends and use it as a mold. Place the can in the centre of the serving plate, fill with a layer of hot mashed potatoes, a layer of cooked rutabaga and then a layer of cooked haggis. Press down lightly and pull the can straight up – you should have a nice layered stack that can be surrounded by whisky sauce or red wine gravy.

WHAT ABOUT LESS TRADITONAL SIDE DISHES?
One one-line cook suggested making a potato and rutabaga rosti – a sort of fried pancake made with shredded potatoes, onions and turnip – with some steamed broccoli to serve alongside. That sounds like it would be tasty – and colourful.
And while it’s not really traditional, I think haggis does benefit from some kind of sauce. I enjoyed it with the cream sauce flavoured with butter and sautéed leeks – but you could make a creamy whisky sauce, too.
And some cooks even suggested using their vegetarian haggis mixture like ground beef – in things like haggis lasagna and haggis nachos.

DID YOU FIND A RECIPE FOR VEGETARIAN HAGGIS?
I found several on the internet and came up with my own version. There’s mashed kidney beans and cooked red lentils in the mixture, but I think it’s best if you include lots of coarsely chopped toasted nuts for flavour and texture. I use steel cut oats, too, because they don’t get mushy, and keep the haggis toothsome – and it’s bulked up with sautéed vegetables, lots of onions, mushrooms and grated carrots.

THAT SOUNDS TASTY
It was. I had it with mashed potatoes and turnips – the traditional Scottish way – but I’ll make this vegetarian loaf again, even if it’s not Burns Night. It’s just a great vegetarian main coarse – much like a nutty meat loaf – and makes a healthy, low-fat meal. It’s the perfect way to stretch a dollar in January, with enough left over for a dram to toast the bard.

Click here for Cinda’s Vegetarian Haggis recipe....
©Cinda Chavich 2011
www.tastereport.com

TOURTIERE: A canadian christmas eve tradition

Thu, 9 Dec 2010 17:21:15 -0700

(This Urban Forager column ran in Calgary’s Avenue Magazine)

By CINDA CHAVICH

When the days grow short and the holidays are upon us, the time crunch of the season calls for easy entertaining, heat-and-eat dishes to pick up or pull out of the freezer for casual dining.
Meat pies fit the bill – from the classic British shepherd’s pie to French-Canadian tourtiere, ‘tis the season for pot pies. It’s the kind of home-style fast food you can pick up from chefs, markets and butchers around town for a casual winter meal anytime, but meat pies are especially convenient for busy days when you don’t have time to plan ahead. They’re perfect after a day of skiing, or for a festive and traditional holiday celebration.

THE FOOD
Tourtiere is the real Canadian meat pie – a Quebec tradition that’s spread across the country and morphed into a regional specialty.
In Quebec, the Christmas Eve Reveillon feast starts after midnight mass and a traditional dish that’s always served is tourtiere. This hearty French Canadian meat pie is usually filled with a savoury mixture of ground pork and mashed potatoes, but depending on the region, it might be a deep dish torte filled with layers of wild game, from rabbit to pheasant or partridge, even moose or elk. Creative Quebec chefs now make their tourtiere with all manner of fillings – chicken, lamb, seafood – and versions across the country include, Alberta beef, prairie bison and even soy protein for vegetarian pies!
Tourtiere is a double crusted meat pie, made with a flakey pastry, just like a fruit pie. The classic recipe includes pork, seasoned with summer savoury, and perhaps a touch of cinnamon or cloves. The pastry that encases this meaty filling is usually made with lard – it makes for a really crisp and savoury crust that browns well.
Of course, other cultures have their own versions of this French meat pie, from the British Melton Mowbry pork pies or steak and kidney pie, to South African bobotie and classic Canadian comfort foods like chicken pot pie or shepherd’s pie.
While there’s no French in my background, growing up on the prairies, we always had tourtiere for the holidays. In a book called Pioneer Kitchens, compiled by the Southen Alberta Pioneers in Calgary, there are two versions of tourtiere in the “North American” section of the book, and a very similar pork pie recipe in the “British Isles” section. So tourtiere may well be that truly Canadian dish that describes our country’s original roots – a little English, a little French, tossed together in a pie and enjoyed by families of every ethnic persuasion.

THE FIND
There are several places in Calgary to take out real artisan meat pies and tourtiere, both full-sized pies and individual pot pies made from scratch and sold frozen or ready-to-serve.
A truly Alberta-style tourtiere is the game pie from Wapiti Ways elk farm near Pigeon Lake, made by ECOcafe chef Tim Woods. Woods’ pie is made with ground elk and potatoes, finely spiced and encased in a classic crust, with an artful elk motif on top. He also makes a classic shepherd’s pie with elk. You can buy both fully baked and frozen at the Wapiti Ways booth at the Calgary Farmer’s Market. www.wapitiways.com
Also at the Calgary Farmer’s Market are the various savoury meat and poultry pies from Little Jack Horner, and the individual pot pies from Simple Simon Pies, their version of tourtiere made with ground beef, pork, potatoes and carrots.
For an upscale take-out tourtiere, try the bison or game meat tourtiere created by the chefs at Canadian Rocky Mountain Resorts and available from their CRMR at Home shop in Calgary. Pick up some of their pickled yellow heirloom beets or mustard melons to serve alongside.
Local butcher shops are a great source of home-style meat pies, too. The butchers at Bonton Meats near the Foothills Hospital make their own single serving meat pies, and at MacEwan’s Meats on Elbow Drive, you’ll find steak pies, steak and kidney, and chicken and mushroom pies, classic British pies in a shortcrust pastry. Second to None Meats has MacEwans Meat Pies in their freezer section.
For something less traditional, try the creamy seafood pot pies created by Brian Plunkett, the chef-owner of Blu’s Seafood. Or look for South African lamb currie pie and bobotie pie at SA Meats on Kensington Road. (www.sameatshops.ca)
In Canmore, you can pick up full-sized meat pies, made by the Griesor brothers, from the freezer at Valbella Gourmet Foods, or at their own Railway Deli, a combination gourmet food store and casual café on a busy corner along resort row. There are various versions, including chicken or vegetable pot pies, and the real Rocky Mountain-style venison tourtiere – hearty and healthy après ski fare.

THE FIX
The great thing about a meat pie is its versatility. For a casual meal for family or friends, simply heat the pie in a hot oven and serve big steamy wedges with cabbage slaw or a chopped salad on the side. Double crust pies like tourtiere are especially good with sweet gherkins, bread and butter pickles or pickled beets, something to cut the richness of the pastry.
Full-sized pies are perfect to tote along to the cabin, to a holiday pot luck, or to serve as part of a buffet dinner. Or buy a selection of individual meat, chicken or vegetarian pot pies and keep them in the freezer for busy weeknights, when kids and parents are running in different directions and need a quick heat-and-eat meal.
To make your own tourtiere for the holidays, just follow the pastry recipe on a box of Tenderflake lard – you’ll have enough for three double-crust pies, and the easy recipe works every time. For that many pies, you’ll need to make a lot of filling. Just sauté up a big chopped onion, three cloves of minced garlic and four stalks of celery, finely chopped (you can chop it all together in the food processor), with two pounds of ground pork and a pound of ground beef. When it’s all nicely browned, drain any excess fat, season with summer savoury, sage and a pinch of cinnamon and cloves, salt and pepper, then mix in three cups of hot mashed potatoes and a good handful of chopped parsley. Refrigerate the filling – it should be cold when you make your pies – and chill the pastry dough before rolling thinly, to fit three pie plates. Fill each pie crust with the cold filling, seal a second piece of pastry over top, then bake immediately or freeze the pies, unbaked. Thaw frozen pies in the refrigerator and bake as usual, at 375ºF for 30-40 minutes until the pastry is nicely browned and the filling is hot. Let the pies cool for 20 minutes before cutting to let the filling set up.
When you get back from church at midnight, or anytime you want a fast, comfortable meal, it’s easy as pie!

Canadian Lobster: a HOLIDAY LUXURY

Thu, 9 Dec 2010 15:13:54 -0700

I talked about lobster on CBC Radio in Alberta on Dec. 9. 2010...
(scroll down for my Lobster Mac and Cheese recipe)

It might not be exactly local Alberta cuisine, but fresh Canadian lobster is definitely in season in the Maritimes, and Cinda Chavich, our food and cooking columnist, says it’s the best time of year to indulge.

LOBSTER FOR THE HOLIDAYS – SOUNDS DECADENT
Of course, lobster is decadent on the prairies at any time of year, but with Christmas and New Years coming, it is time to indulge in special treats and I love lobster.
In fact, I was out in the Maritimes several times over the last year – in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick – learning about lobster, and of course eating lots of it.
I had whole lobster steamed right out on a boat, lobster rolls and even lobster poutine.
But when I went to Clearwater in Halifax, I learned a lot about Canadian lobster and why it’s the finest lobster in the world – mainly because it is fished in early winter and again in the spring, but not in the summer months.

FISHING FOR LOBSTER IN THE MIDDLE OF WINTER – WHY?
Well, as you can imagine it’s cold and dangerous work setting lobster traps in the ocean in blustery winter months. But Canada’s lobster fishery management system is very complex, designed for both conservation of the resource and quality.
While they can fish lobster in Maine at any time, including summer when lobster are at the soft shell stage, in Canada, the lobster fishing seasons are staggered.
The Canadian fishing seasons aren’t opened until the lobster get to the hard shell stage. That means they’ve had time to basically grow into their new shells, so they’re less vulnerable when caught and released, and those that are kept are of the highest quality, with the most meat per pound.
It’s the same species of lobster – called Americanus – that’s fished in Canada and the US, but because Canadian fishing seasons are in December and early spring the water is really cold, the lobsters are big, and full of meat. Hard shell lobsters have up to 50% more meat than soft shell lobsters – so bigger meatier tails and claws.
Then, at Clearwater, they have unique storage facilities to keep the lobster at its peak until it’s shipped out.

WHAT KIND OF STORAGE FACILITIES?
It’s quite amazing, really. Clearwater is the largest buyer and shipper of lobster in the world, and nearly every Canadian lobster caught goes through their facilities, before being shipped, live, around the globe.
When the lobsters come in, they’re kept in a big reservoir for 24-36 hours. They’re scanned to make sure they are “fully meated”, and then they go into what’s called the dry land. This is a system Clearwater developed that basically keeps the lobster in sort of suspended animation, until it’s shipped.
The lobsters go into individual storage trays, that are stacked like lobster condos in a huge cold room, with water running over them. Basically they’re alive but the cold temperatures put them into a hibernation state.
They have several dryland operations – the one in Halifax is small, it can hold about 45,000 pounds of lobster. The one in Cape Breton can keep 1.8 million pounds of lobster in dryland for up to six months.

SO HOW DO YOU GET A LIVE LOBSTER?
Clearwater specializes in delivering live lobster to your door, whether you’re a retailer, a restaurant or an individual. Many of their orders are 3,000 pounds but you can have lobster delivered to your home, too. They pack the lobsters with ice packs in special foam boxes with dividers, sort of like wine boxes, and they’re flown in, delivered live, to your door by Purolator. They do a huge business for Christmas and New Years.
Or you can buy live lobster at your local fish market.
Once you get your live lobster home, store it in the fridge, under a layer of wet newspaper for up to 12 hours, then cook it. Don’t put a live lobster in fresh water – some people mistakenly put them in the tub – but that kills them.
After they’re cooked, they only keep in the shell, refrigerated for 1-2 days, so make sure to remove the meat.

WHAT’S THE ADVANTAGE OF LIVE OVER COOKED?
Freshness basically, and control over how it’s cooked. You know the lobster is alive and healthy – you can guarantee the quality. If you plan to serve a whole lobster, it’s definitely superior to one that’s been pre-cooked.
But you can buy the processed lobster meat, which is great if you’re using it in something like a chowder or risotto. Clearwater also has a new system to extract raw lobster meat from the shells, so you can get raw, frozen tails and cook them yourself. That’s a great product, too.

AND THE DISADVANTAGE TO LIVE LOBSTER?
Some people don’t like the idea of cooking them when they’re alive – but it’s really easy.
You just boil or steam them in a big pot of boiling water with a big handful of sea salt. The formula is 1/2 cup of salt per gallon of water.
Drop them into the rapidly boiling water head first, cover the pan, return to a boil, then start timing. An average 1.5 pound lobster will cook in 15-20 minutes if boiled, 20-25 minutes if steamed.
To make sure it’s cooked, tug on an antennae or one of the small legs – they’ll come off easily when the lobster is done. The meat should be firm, white and opaque and the roe in a female lobster bright red – if it’s still green or black it’s undercooked.

WHEN BUYING A LIVE LOBSTER, WHAT DO YOU LOOK FOR?
They say the sweetest lobsters are the smaller ones – a 1.5 to 2-pound lobster is really the perfect size for one person.
You’ll see a lot of huge lobsters in tanks in stores or restaurants, and some people think these are the best, because they really are impressive to look at. But a lobster that’s over 6 pounds is probably more than 50 years old, so they really aren’t as tasty as smaller lobsters, and can actually be a little tough. The texture is definitely nicer in a smaller lobster.
When you’re choosing a live lobster at a fish market, pick it up and squeeze the shell – the shell should be hard and the lobster should be lively, putting its claws and tail up. And look at the rubber band on the claws – should say “Canada wild.”

AND WHAT ABOUT THE PRICE?
The price to fishermen really went down with the economic downturn, but unfortunately, the price to consumers has remained pretty stable. When I was in Halifax in October, the price for a whole live lobster was 9.49 a pound. And this week, on the Clearwater website, the prices was $27.50 for a 2-2.5 pound lobster, plus a delivery charge.
At Billingsgate in Calgary, cooked lobster tails were $30 a pound but live lobsters were only $9.95 a pound, so a pretty good price. You might even find them as low at $8.99 a pound at T&T Market.

ANY TRICKS TO EATING A WHOLE LOBSTER?
Well, it’s messy but pretty easy. Grab the body, twist off the big front legs, crack the claws and legs and remove the meat.
Twist the tail away from the body, then squeeze it until it cracks, then snap off the tail flipper and push the tail out in one piece.
Unhinge the back from the body and remove the green tomalley – basically the lobster liver – and if it’s a female, get the bright red roe, too. Break open the body – there’s meat to pick out of there, too – and pull the meat out of the small legs with your teeth. That’s about it. Some people like to dip their lobster into pots of melted butter – a lemony vinaigrette with buttery olive oil is nice, too.
Just make sure you have lots of moist hand towels and even lobster bibs – eating lobster is a messy business, but it’s fun.

RECIPES?
Well, if you don’t eat your lobster whole, or you buy lobster tail meat, or canned claw and leg meat, you can make a lot of neat lobster dishes.
It’s great in seafood chowder, bouilliabase or even corn chowder. Some people add lobster to their mashed potatoes and for something homey, but really decadent, I like to make lobster lasagna or lobster risotto. You can use canned or frozen cooked lobster for either of these dishes. Add a couple of cups of cooked lobster meat to a creamy tomato sauce when you’re making lasagna. Or make a lobster broth to cook your risotto, and add the lobster meat to the rice at the end along with Parmesan cheese.
But the hottest thing these days is lobster mac and cheese. So I’ve devised a recipe for lobster mac with creamy mascarpone – just the thing for a decadent holiday family indulgence.

LOBSTER MAC AND CHEESE
If you’re going to add expensive lobster to your mac and cheese, it better be a decadent homestyle version. Mine has mascarpone cheese – seriously creamy. Cinda Chavich.

1 pound small pasta (elbow macaroni, bowtie pasta, orechiette or penne)
5 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup flour
3 cups milk (2%)
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/2 cup mascarpone cheese
4-5 cups grated cheese (I like an Italian mixture of fontina, mozzarella and Parmesan; or use white cheddar, gruyere and fontina or aged Friulano)
salt and freshly ground black pepper
pinch of ground nutmeg or cayenne
1 pound cooked lobster meat, chopped
Topping:
1 cup bread crumbs (Japanese panko)
1 tablespoon melted butter or olive oil
salt and pepper

Bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil, add the pasta and cook until al dente, about 6-8 minutes. Drain and set aside.
In another saucepan, heat the butter over medium heat until melted and bubbly. Stir in the flour to make a paste, then slowly add the milk, whisking the mixture until smooth. Bring to a simmer, continuing to whisk to avoid lumps in the sauce, and when it’s nicely thickened, whisk in the tomato past and mascarpone.
Remove from heat. Add the grated cheese, a handful at a time, stirring until melted and smooth. Season to taste with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Stir in the lobster.
Mix the bread crumbs with the butter, salt and pepper.
Place the macaroni mixture into a wide shallow baking dish and top with seasoned bread crumbs (alternately, divide between 6 individual gratin dishes.
Bake in a 350F oven for 30 minutes, until sauce is bubbly and crumbs are nicely browned. Serves 6-8.

Making Pasta by Hand - in Italy

Thu, 25 Nov 2010 17:15:54 -0700

CINDA CHAVICH
Forlimpopoli, Italy— From Wednesday's Globe and Mail
Published Tuesday, Nov. 02, 2010 4:03PM EDT
Last updated Friday, Nov. 05, 2010 1:30PM EDT

There may be nothing quite so humbling as making pasta in Italy, alongside an Italian grandmother.
I've made pasta before, but I'm getting winded just watching Adele Casadio speedily flip and roll her piece of golden egg dough into a circle as thin as a handkerchief.
We're in Emilia-Romagna, in the upstairs modern kitchens at Casa Artusi, a new “living museum,” hands-on cooking school, culinary library and restaurant, dedicated to Italy's best-known cookbook author and local native son, Pellegrino Artusi
While Mrs. Casadio is ready to cut and shape her pasta in minutes, mine is still a stiff lump, refusing to yield to my weak attempts to flatten it. I wonder where they've hidden the hand-crank pasta roller (like the one in my pantry at home) but don't dare to mention it out loud.

“Do!” she frowns at me, gesturing for me to keep rolling. We don't speak the same language, but I understand that this adzora – homemaker in the local dialect – won't tolerate any slacking, so I put all my weight into the slender wooden pin and roll harder. Maybe it's my technique, or that high gluten “Manitoba 00” flour we used to make the dough, but the springy mass barely budges.
I wonder if Mr. Artusi ever had this same experience, learning the finer points of making pasta with a Romagnan housewife like Mrs. Casadio, and scribbling the technique into his notebook, much as I'm doing between floury steps as she stuffs cappelletti, cuts tagliatelle and pinches little butterflies of farfalle from the scraps.
Mr. Artusi was a prosperous silk merchant with a taste for good Italian home cooking. While he was crisscrossing the country selling silk in the late 1800s, he collected 750 recipes from local cooks, eventually self-publishing his La Scienza in Cucina e l'Arte di Mangiar Bene (Science in the Kitchen and the Art of Eating Well) in 1891. It laid the foundations for modern Italian cuisine – The Joy of Cooking for Italian households – and though it was rejected by publishers of the day, it remains in print more than a century later, filled with classic dishes such as chicken porchetta-style, stuffed with prosciutto, garlic and fennel, veal scallopine cooked Genovese-style with marsala, chicken liver crostini with sage, and creamy risotto with peas.
Casa Artusi is also home to the regional enoteca (Italian wine shop), and the Romagna Terra Del Sangiovese association, promoting local food and wine routes. While the wealthier Emilia area of Emilia-Romagna is home to Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, the traditional balsamic vinegars of Modena and Prosciutto di Parma, Romagna has its own specialties to discover – fresh squacquerone and smelly, pit-aged Fossa cheese, rounds of crisp piadina flatbread cooked on the open hearth, and cooks who make tiny tortellini, passatelli, garganelli and thick ribbons of golden tagliatelle, all by hand.
The food and wine route heads into the northern slopes of the Tuscan Apennine hills, and we stop at small vineyards and wine cellars to taste sangiovese, albana and sparkling pignoletto wines, with platters of pasta with beef cheeks and wild boar ragu.
All of the food here is delicious, but the pasta – what Mr. Artusi called “minestra” – is the centre of every meal, the perfect match with the local wine. When I sit down for lunch with the Turchi family at their charming olive oil mill in the hills outside Cesena, it is over big steaming platters of hand-cut tagliatelle with meaty Bolognese sauce, and thick slabs of rustic bread, toasted on an open fire and slathered with tapenade.

It is harvest time, and the small press has been running all morning, producing a steady stream of golden fruity oil, but Mariangela Turchi has been making pasta for the handful of mill workers here, including her husband, Pierluca, and son, Michele, and we toast her fine, home-style food with a hearty regional red.
It's the same at Casa Zanni in Rimini, a family-run osteria, butcher shop and gourmet food store, where the hand-made, grilled piadina bread arrives warm with today's fresh white squacquerone cheese, and a bottle of the owner's own sangiovese.
Back in the comfortable Casa Artusi restaurant in Forlimpopoli, I peruse the menu, each dish from the famous author's comprehensive cookbook, numbered to correspond with its 460 classic recipes.
I choose the Cappelletti Romagna style – recipe No. 5 – the fat little hats bursting with creamy cheese and chicken filling and served in a rich broth, exactly as they would have tasted to Mr. Artusi himself in a grandmother's kitchen more than a century ago.
It's what I learned to make with Mrs. Casadio and it's the last thing I eat before flying home.
From Mr. Artusi's cookbook, I know that “two dozen should be sufficient for a healthy eater,” but after taking many hours to roll and stuff 100 of these tiny pasta “hats” for my family, I know something else. I need an Italian grandmother.
click here for Artusi’s recipe...
MORE RELATED TO THIS STORY
• Cook from Artusi’s renowned Italian recipes
• Sightseeing in Forlimpopoli, Italy

Special to The Globe and Mail

URBAN FORAGER: COLD COMFORTS - BEST ICE CREAM IN CALGARY

Thu, 22 Jul 2010 17:38:05 -0600

Appeared in Avenue Magazine - summer 2010

By CINDA CHAVICH

When the weather turns warm, as it always eventually does, stepping out for an ice cream cone just seems like the best way to chill out here in Calgary.
Where once there was a simple choice – the reigning triumvirate of strawberry, chocolate and vanilla “hard” ice cream, versus a swirled cone of soft serve ice milk– we are now spoiled for choice. There are premium ice creams, frozen yogurts, Italian gelatos, fruit ices, ice milks, even new fruity frozen Korean yogurt. Here’s the scoop:

THE FOOD:
There are rules about what can and can’t go into your favourite ice cream.
By law, ice cream is a frozen dairy product that must contain at least 10% butterfat (less than that, and it’s ice milk). Premium ice creams have closer to 18% butterfat and even more. Overrun – how much air is whipped into the mixture while it’s being frozen – is also a consideration when it comes to creaminess and quality. Premium products, like local MacKay’s Ice Cream, have an overrun of 60%, while less expensive supermarket products have overruns up to 125%. A low overrun means a denser dessert that melts more slowly in your mouth.
Soft serve – the stuff you get in a Dairy Queen cone – is actually ice milk, with only 5% butterfat. That means fewer calories and less fat per serving, but also a whack of sugar.
Gelato, the Italian style ice cream, is lower in milk fat and higher in flavourings – whether mixed with fresh fruit purees, or chocolate and hazelnut tartufo.
Frozen yogurt is just that – made with milk-based yogurt, tangier in taste and with less fat than most ice cream.
You can flavour your ice cream, frozen yogurt and gelato with almost anything – from garlic to purple yams – but the old classics - chocolate, vanilla and strawberry - are still the best sellers.

THE FIND:
For sheer longevity – and flavours - McKay’s Ice Cream is the local brand of note. They’ve been churning out small batches of their premium ice cream in this mom-and-pop “plant” in Cochrane since 1948. It was James Mackay who started making ice cream by hand in the family’s general store, to lure people out for a Sunday drive, and a Mackay’s cone is still a fine reason for a mini road trip. Now his daughters Robyn and Rhona run the Cochrane scoop shop, and make the myriad of flavours you’ll find in groceries around the province, whether it’s good old-fashioned strawberry or maple walnut, or something of-the-moment like Mayan Chocolate (with chili and cinnamon) or Chai Tea. MacKays is a particularly rich and dense ice cream – 17-18% butter fat and only about 10% overrun (air).
My Favourite Ice Cream shop is another classic spot to line up for a cone with the kids. With 80 flavours of ice cream, and its old-fashioned ice cream memorabilia, this south Marda Loop scoop shop oozes nostalgia. Play the piano in the shop for 10 minutes, and get a free ice cream.
At the luxury end of the scoop, there’s the silky ice cream made in house at Manuel Latruwe Belgian Patisserie, flavoured with good things like Callebaut chocolate, or the handmade ice cream at another French pastry shop, Eclair de Lune.
Amato Gelato is a classic gelateria specializing in authentic Italian ices – retailing 72 flavours of premium Mario’s Gelati from classic spumone and hazelnut to chocolate truffle, durian, green tea and wicked espresso macchiato, swirled with caramel. They also make gelato tortes and pies to take home.
Local favourite, Fiasco gelato, had sadly closed its Kensington shop at press time but promises a new location for scooping their locally-made Italian confection soon.
Or for the latest in healthy frozen yogurt, in a tangy Korean style, try Spoon Me (also in Kensington), a new shop featuring fat-free plain, acai or green tea frozen yogurt, loaded with live cultures, and served with your choice of fresh fruit toppings, nuts, chocolate chips and even cereal.

THE FIX:
Back in the 1500s, when ice cream was first invented, ice was so expensive and rare that the frozen milk dessert was considered the ultimate luxury, reserved for royals. Catherine de Medici may have spread the recipe from Italy to France when she traveled there as a new bride – apparently with recipes for frozen desserts in her trousseau.
It wasn’t until the mid 1800’s when the hand crank home ice cream freezer was invented. And the simple crank models you can find today – even the fancy electric machines - use essentially the same technology.
So if you want to make ice cream at home, find a good recipe for the base (made with real cream and eggs), and use top quality flavourings.
If that sounds too much like work, just pick up a tub of your favourite frozen dessert and scoop it into pretty dessert dishes or goblets for a festive finale.
You can also have fun making frozen desserts with ice cream or gelato. Soften and smooth into a graham wafer crust, then freeze for an ice cream pie. Or make a multi-layer frozen torte in a spring form pan, freezing between each layer.
Match the ice cream to the occasion – mango and coconut with an Asian or Indian meal; pecan praline with southern BBQ; strawberry rhubarb ice (or maple) for a local feast.
You can also top your ice cream with fresh fruit or chocolate sauce banana split style, or layer it with crunchy crushed cookies or nuts, and drizzle it with coffee, mint, white chocolate or praline liqueur.
You can whirl it up in the blender with milk and strawberries or chocolate syrup for a home-style shake. Or for even more childhood nostalgia, I like my ice cream in a creamy float – a scoop of vanilla topped with fizzy Coke to slurp in the sun.
Or just scoop it into a good waffle cone and lick. When summer hits the city, we all scream for ice cream!

©Cinda Chavich 2010
www.tastereport.com

INTO THE WILD: PACK THE PERFECT PICNIC

Thu, 22 Jul 2010 17:25:46 -0600

URBAN FORAGR - Avenue Magazine May 2010

By CINDA CHAVICH

One of the best things about Calgary is its proximity to the Rocky Mountains, and all of that wilderness to explore.
But you can’t go forth into the great outdoors without fuel, it’s always great to have something special when you’re “eating out”.
So whether you’re packing a cooler for an afternoon in Fish Creek Park, or filling your pack to hike a mountain pass, you’ll need some ideas for portable treats.

THE FOOD
Picnic food is essentially cold food, meals to eat al fresco, in a plate- and flatwear-free zone, preferably while perched on a smooth, sunny rock or lolling on a blanket.
Ergo, picnic food needs to provide elegance with simplicity - the best sandwich, a perfect piece of fruit with a wedge of ripe cheese and a tasty baguette, a super salad, a nice pate or terrine.
Depending on the locale (and the proximity to the car or cooler) your picnic may be as simple as a good ham and cheese bun, or as complex as a tapas feast of frittata,
stuffed peppers and ceviche.
If you have time, you can prepare an elaborate picnic menu at home, but if you’re trying to be spontaneous, it’s good to know where to go for grab-and-go picnic fare.
Sure, you can find the fixings for an adequate picnic at any supermarket, but if you’d prefer to stay away from processed foods, or the banal on the cheese and charcuterie front, it’s best to cherry pick your picnic from some of the city’s best food markets, smaller deli and take-out food stops.

THE FIND
When it comes to Calgary’s best picnic food, you need to know what you’re after.
If it’s the weekend, you can cruise the Calgary Farmer’s Market for fresh fruits and vegetables – Blush Lane is a favourite stop for organics, or get your fill of fresh mini cucumbers and sweet cherry tomatoes at the Gull Valley Greenhouse booth. The market has other great finds to fill the picnic basket – several local sausage makers and butchers for things like bison pastrami or turkey chorizo, the Greek salad, artichoke salsa, olive spread and eggplant antipasto from 2GreekGals, and local Sylvan Star cheeses.
Speaking of cheeses, a cheese shop like Janice Beaton’s Fine cheese makes a good spot for picnickers to find a wide variety of cheeses, crackers and condiments – and she now also makes lovely sandwiches to take away, featuring local charcuterie and, of course, cheese.
Delis are also perfect for picnic provisioning. A great one-stop spot for bread, meat, cheese, chocolate and other goodies is the Rustic Sourdough Bakery, with its fine hearty breads and deli next door. Their Alpine Meusli bread is filled with nuts, fruit and seeds, and is lovely with cheese. The Swiss Light Rye is a classic but they also make heavy 100% rye which is a rare treat and totally portable. At the deli, you can build your own take-out sandwich from their wide variety of cheese, meats and condiments.
Lina’s Italian market is another one-stop deli – head to the cheese and deli meat counter in the back for salumi and sopressata, and collect small containers of savoury snacks, from spicy mixed olives to stuffed peppers, baby boconcini and colorful salads. There’s always nice fresh Italian focaccia and crispy bread sticks or taratelli, too.
L’Epicerie is French deli with great food for a special picnic, whether you’re going upscale with foie gras torchon or just looking for a rustic pork and pistachio terrine enjoy with a baguette from Manuel Latruwe bakery next door. Include some imported French cheeses or a slice of his truffle cheese terrine in your basket, a jar of French cornichons, and finish with individual portions of take-out crème brulee.
CRMR at home is another great spot for local bison and elk charcuterie, their housemade pickles and breads, and the kind of individual desserts you’ll find at CRMR properties like Buffalo Mountain Lodge, Divino or The Ranche.
If a big sandwich will satisfy your picnic requirements, there may be nothing better than a stop at Spolumbo’s deli for their classic Italian paninis, loaded with cold cuts.
And the new Boxwood – a tiny counter service restaurant in the new Central Memorial Park – promises more of the River Café’s fresh local food at approachable prices, with big porchetta sandwiches served on their own freshly baked bread, or rotisserie free-range chicken to eat in or take out.
If a salad is more your style, check out the offerings at Planet Organic – their creative sweet potato salad with ginger and pecans, soy bean and arame salad, couscous and kale salads, are just the kind of sturdy stuff you need when you’re packing a picnic. Plus, it’s a great spot for fresh fruit and killer cookies.
And if you find yourself in the mountains without a proper picnic, stop in Canmore at Valbella Meats for bread and pate, or at the well-stocked Railway Deli. Or get a sandwich at the Bison in Banff.

THE FIX
Pack a picnic that fits the moment – high energy foods like power bars, nuts, cookies and chocolate, with lots of hydrating liquid for a summer hike; or cold, kid-friendly foods like fried chicken, pasta salad and watermelon for a family picnic in the park. Fresh fruit can range from portable blueberries and bananas, to melon wedges draped in prosciutto or elaborate fruit salads. Pack fresh carrots and broccoli to nosh, or a premade tabouli or potato salad, and consider protein sources from beef jerky to bean dips, devilled eggs or cold quiche, depending on the setting. Choose pita breads, tortillas, naan and Mediterranean flatbreads for your pack, with spreadables from hummus to refried beans, vegetable spread and herbed cream cheese. But leave the soggy stuff – like tomatoes – out of your sandwiches. If you must, carry them separately and add just before eating.
If you have more time to plan – and you’re carrying a cooler - think about make ahead picnic foods, a big layered muffuletta sandwich filled with roasted vegetables, a potato and spinach fritatta, or even a home-baked calzone, filled with Italian sausage and cheese.
Make sure to pack your picnic well – in an insulated cooler bag, or inside zippered plastic bags to prevent spills. Use bagged ice or pre-frozen freezer packs (or even frozen juice boxes) to keep perishable food cold. A small cutting board and sharp jack knife is handy for slicing cheese and charcuterie, and bring along some paper napkins, with plates and cutlery for more formal al fresco dining.
A perfect picnic is all about location, location, location - so choose your picnic site well.
Here in the city, a quiet corner of Confederation Park or a place to watch the ducks paddle around Prince’s Island make good picnic spots, or fill your panniers, and ride the city’s amazing bike trails, to Carburn Park, Edworthy Park, Stanley Park or the wild Weaselhead, and you’ll feel like you’ve left the city behind. Ditto for the Rockies – whether you’re just hiking around West Bragg Creek and Kananaskis Country for the day, or taking a longer trip into Banff National Park, you can stop for an impromptu picnic almost anywhere along the trail.
Just remember to sit back in the sunshine and enjoy the great outdoors – everything just tastes better when you’re eating outside.

©Cinda Chavich 2010
www.tastereport.com

A hankerin’ for pie on the cowboy trail

Thu, 22 Jul 2010 17:04:30 -0600

By Cinda Chavich
CALGARY, ALTA. — From Saturday's Globe and Mail
Published on Friday, Jul. 16, 2010 12:06PM EDT

The small towns of southern Alberta may not always be the most stylish spots when it comes to cuisine, but oh my, there's pie.
Along the Cowboy Trail, a pretty route that skirts the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains, there's a lot of cowboy cuisine on the menu. But what's particularly plentiful on this Prairie road trip is pie – saskatoon berry pie, famous apple custard pies, tart prairie berry pies and sweet potato pies, served up at farm-gate cafés, historic houses and small town bakeries. I'm hankering to taste them all.
There's something about the wide, rolling landscape here that draws you down the back roads into serious cowboy country. Pie is the dessert of choice in these parts and has been ever since the first cowpokes trailed their rangy longhorns up across the U.S. border into the wide, unfenced swathes of Alberta ranchland in the 1880s.
The first sweet offering I try is a hand-held pie – dubbed Dead Fly Pie – a version of the British Eccles cake, and a throwback to the campfire “fried pies” once served on the range. I find it in Black Diamond, a sleepy old coal town next to Turner Valley, where they first struck oil in 1914. The gushers are gone and the populace is a quirky collection of artists, musicians and urban escapees. The Dead Fly Pie, from the Black Diamond Bakery, tastes considerably better than advertised, with layers of crisp puffed pastry studded with sweet dried currants and encrusted with sugar. It goes down well with a dark roast from Ian Tyson's Navajo Mug coffee shop.

Cinda Chavich for The Globe and Mail
Marv Garriott of Marv's Classic Soda Shop performs a decent version of the King's That's All RIght, Mama when you order the Elvis Burger.

We make the obligatory stop at Marv's Classic Soda Shop for a root beer soda – hand-muddled by Marv himself – and snoop through his collection of old-fashioned candy. While we twirl on the stools and sip our sodas, someone in a pink vinyl booth in the back orders the Elvis Burger and, as advertised, Marv doffs his soda jerk cap, grabs his guitar and launches into a surprisingly decent rendition of the King's That's All Right, Mama.
If the pie and coffee and ice cream aren't enough to keep you going, you can always stop in Longview for the famous beef (and now bison or elk) jerky, dried to chewy perfection in a converted baker's oven by the Kirk family at the Longview Jerky Shop.
From Longview, the trail heads south to Cardston via Waterton Lakes National Park – true Alberta cattle country. It's one of the prettiest rural routes in the land – carved through the last of the native fescue grasslands of the Eastern Slopes, with the mountains rising sharply to the west, jagged and blue along the horizon. We pass the famous Bar U Ranch – now a national historic site – imagining former ranch hand and outlaw Harry Longabaugh (the Sundance Kid) enjoying the ranch cook's famous apple pies. Next door is the historic EP (Edward Prince) ranch, once owned by the Prince of Wales, where they surely served pie fit for a king.
At the Twin Butte general store, a lone prairie watering hole and post office, we share a plate of perfect nachos, and tip a frosty margarita at a picnic table outside, while a local rancher describes his favourite beef jerky, from the butcher in nearby Cowley.
But we have a date in Cardston for more pie. The apple pie at the historic Cobblestone Manor is legendary, though I'm more intrigued by the artistry of the house builder who cobbled together this river rock masterpiece while waiting for his sweetheart nearly 100 years ago. Chef/owner Ivan Negrych's pie is unique – a creamy custard filling studded with tart apples, and a caramelized coconut crust – but the story of the love-crazed Belgian carpenter who built this crafty, and sort of creepy place for an absent lover, while slowly going mad, speaks to the isolation of these prairie towns.

Cinda Chavich for The Globe and Mail
The wide open landscape of Alberta's Cowboy Trail draws you down the back roads to small-town bakeries and farm-gate cafes.

Still, you'll never go hungry out here. Menus are filled with hearty fare – organic beef, bison, smoked trout, even buffalo-milk mozzarella – much of it sourced from a growing number of artisan producers clustered in this corner of southern Alberta.
Broxburn Vegetables is one such spot, much loved by the best city chefs, where the De Jonge family grows tasty tomatoes, slender beans and sweet peppers, and has a market garden store and café.
As we loop around to head back north on the Trail we stop at Broxburn's shop, a restored barn on a rural road south of Lethbridge for the famous red pepper soup. It's swirled with sweet local cream as artfully as any big-city barista. We're saving room for the “Broxberry” pie and it doesn't disappoint, a tart mélange of saskatoons, strawberries and currants, piled high in a perfect, hand-rolled crust.
While the “keep your fork, there's pie” phrase – pokes fun at the lack of sophistication in rural environs, today even small-town cooks make fresh, local ingredients a priority.
At Divine in Okotoks, chefs Darren Nixon and Adrienne Penny source the best local products for their menu. Before our next pie stop, we're trying the meaty burgers, an Olson's High Country Bison burger studded with bits of spicy chorizo sausage, and a local Driview Farms lamb burger.

Continuing our quest for the best pie, we head next door to a converted Baptist church. Calgary's popular Heartland Café has expanded here, and today's menu includes sweet potato, lemon custard with blueberry, and coconut cream – three of the 30 different pies they make. Baker Beverly Pell admits to using vegetable shortening for her fragile, flakey crust, though cowboy cooks of old would have used rendered pork lard for pastry.

Cinda Chavich for The Globe and Mail
Grandma Judy's famous apple pie at JoJo?s Caf? outside Okotoks is pie perfection.

Still debating the merits of shortening versus lard, we pull into our final stop, JoJo's Café at Kayben Farms just outside town. Kayben specializes in blackcurrants and other prairie berries. Claude and Judy Kolk and their three daughters run the pick-your-own berry farm and greenhouse, this year opening the café where their chef, daughter Stephanie, cooks up blackcurrant swirl cheesecake and house-roasted local turkey and brie paninis with blackcurrant compote.
Stephanie talks about this dry, windy, prairie environment, where, whenever they got an inch of rain (a godsend in these parts), her grandmother celebrated by baking an apple pie.
Maybe it's the story – or maybe it's the tart apples and cinnamon and the delicious butter in the crust – but the slice of Judy's famous apple pie is truly memorable, the perfect way to close our tasty loop around the Cowboy Trail.
Special to The Globe and Mail
HIT THE TRAIL
The Cowboy Trail follows Highway 22 through Alberta’s historic cowboy country, from Mayerthorpe to Cardston, with more than 20 small communities and 100 different western attractions, from restaurants to ranch vacations. For more information about cowboy culture along the Eastern Slopes, read The Cowboy Trail by D. Larraine Andrews.
WHERE TO STAY
Homeplace Ranch, Priddis; (877) 931-3245; all-inclusive packages (including riding) start at $866/person; www.homeplaceranch.com.
Cobblestone Manor, 173 7 Ave. W., Cardston; (866) 653-2701; $85 (includes breakfast); www.thecobblestonemanor.com.
The Norland Bed and Breakfast, 5801 1st Ave. S. (Highway 512), Lethbridge; (403) 317-1447, from $145 (includes breakfast); www.thenorland.com.
WHERE TO EAT
Marv’s Classic Soda Shop, 121 Centre Ave. W., Black Diamond; (403) 933-7001; marvsclassics.ca.
Black Diamond Bakery, 119 Centre Ave. W., Black Diamond; (403) 933-4503; www.thecowboytrail.com/bdbakery.html.
Ian Tyson’s Navajo Mug, 140 Morrison Rd., Longview; (403) 558-2272; thenavajomug.com.
Longview Jerky Shop, 148 Morrison Rd., Longview; (403) 558-3960; longviewjerkyshop.com.
Twin Butte General Store, Twin Butte; (866) 976-7378; www.twinbuttestore.ca.
Cobblestone Manor, 173 7th Ave. W., Cardston; (866) 653-2701; www.thecobblestonemanor.com.
Broxburn Vegetables and Café, Highway 512 and Broxburn Road, Lethbridge; (403) 327-0909; www.broxburn-vegetables.com.
360 Inspired Cuisine, 100 5 St. S., Lethbridge; (403) 329-3609; www.chooselethbridge.ca/conventionevents/360.php.
Divine, 42 McRae St., Okotoks; (403) 938-0000; divinefood.ca.
Heartland Café, 46 McRae St., Okotoks; (403) 995-4623; www.heartlandcafe.ca.
JoJo’s Café, Kayben Farms, 314064 32nd St. E, Okotoks; (403) 938-2857; www.kayben.com.
C.C.
©Cinda Chavich 2010
www.tastereport.com

25 Best Things to Eat in Calgary 2010

Tue, 20 Apr 2010 14:46:26 -0600

Published on Avenue http://www.avenuecalgary.com

A taste of what’s new and delicious in Calgary's dining scene this year.

By Cinda Chavich 
It can be difficult to choose the 25 best things I’ve tasted in Calgary in any given year, what with all the great new restaurants, bakeries, takeout joints and gourmet groceries popping up around town. Add to that the creative farmers and food producers, the chefs branching out into upscale delis and the wine bars, and it’s all a bit of a blur. But, here’s a taste of what’s new and delicious.
25 Best Things to Eat in Calgary 2010: The Map [1] Where to find all 25 purveyors of Cinda Chavich's top eats in the city for 2010.
CHIP AN EGG  The crispy eggplant chips at Vin Room are wicked. This stylish wine bar specializes in small plates and a current addiction is the thin rounds of purple eggplant, crusted in parmesan and panko crumbs and deep fried until golden brown. Served like a deconstructed eggplant parmigiano, with intense tomato chutney and toasted pine nut aioli on the side, it’s a decadent study in textures to be enjoyed sparingly. (2310 4 St. S.W., 403-457-5522, vinroom.com [2])
BELLY UP  Pork belly — really just un-smoked bacon — is the latest hot ingredient among the charcuterie set, and few do it better than head chef Alain Chabot at Sky 360 in Calgary. Chabot serves a small, crispy cube, no bigger than a stack of poker chips, glazed with soya on a somen noodle salad with mirin vinagrette in this iconic room atop the Calgary Tower. (101 9 Ave. S.W., 403-532-7966, sky360.ca [3])
PUFF DADDY  When you fancy real French pastry, flaky butery croissants, chocolate éclaurs and other ethereal treats, a trip to Éclair de Lune bakery is in order. Philippe Pncet creates perfect three-cheese or sweet almond cream-filled croissants, puffed pain au chocolat filled with chunks of Callebaut chocolate and shattering palmier. Magnifique. (1049 40 Ave. N.W. 403-398-8803)
A CHICKEN ON EVERY GRILL  The fat, juicy chicken breasts from Country Lane Farms east of the city are a wonder on the barbecue. While Country Lane’s Chicken isn’t certified organic, it’s fed whole grains and raised without chemicals, hormones, antibiotics and animal by-products, with extra space to keep birds as stress-free as possible. It all adds up to old-fashioned chicken flavour. (403-934-2755, great-chicken.com [4])
IZAKAYA DREAMS  Bross Izakaya Dining in Braeside specializes in kushiage, a panko-crusted deep-fried Japanese kabob on a stick (think oysters, scallops with bacon, chicken or pork cutlets, even quail eggs). But you must order the Cruncky sushi — a giant roll filled with crispy soft-shell crab cream cheese and fish roe, then rolled in panko and fried to crispy perfection. Presented with tobiko and wasabi mayo, it’s a sight to behold. (26, 11440 Braeside Dr. S.W., 403-238-3770, brosscatering.com [5]) 
THE OTHER RED MEAT The folks at Valta Bison have perfected smoked bison, a bit of Alberta-centric charcuterie. Called Montreal Smoked Bison, the dense, deep purple slices are lean, smoky and silky. It’s not exactly like the smoky beef from Montreal, but it’s even better on a round of bannock bread or slivered in soup. Find it at the Calgary Farmers’ Market or at Valta Bison’s funky little gourmet grocery in Ramsay. (703 23 Ave. S.E., 403-237-9667, valtabison.com )
BITE OF RICE PUD Bite Groceteria now has a rice pudding bar in the store, featuring several flavours of Teatro executive chef Romuald Coladon’s creamy puds, from vanilla to nutty pistachio, chocolate and citrus-infused rice pudding. (1212 9 Ave. S.E., 403-263-3966)
MARGARITAVILLE Moxie’s Classic Grill’s California fish tacos — three tacos served on small, very fresh corn tortillas, with crispy pieces of fish, guacamole and fresh tomato salsa — will satisfy your cravings for Mexican food. Check out the stylish 17th Avenue location with its apple green and black leather upholstery, a busy cocktail lounge and some inspired multi-ethnic noshes. (1331 17 Ave. S.W., 403-228-1447, moxies.ca )
HOT AND SOUR SUPREME Hans Restaurant is a hole in the wall tucked inside a tiny mini-mall on Centre Street, next to a food court, and is renowned for its fresh, spicy Taiwanese food and friendly owners. Try the bubbling hot pots, deep-fried long beans and onion pancakes for breakfast. And its traditional hot and sour soup is the best in town. (116, 303 Centre St. S.W., 403-263-5667)
VERY CHERRY WINE The industrious fruit farmers at Field Stone Fruit Wines have taken old-fashioned fruit wines to new heights, creating two new, modern, very drinkable incarnations of that chokecherry wine you might remember from generations past. The Field Stone cherry wine is reminiscent of a very fruity pinot noir, and the wild black cherry dessert wine, aged with oak, has a distinctly port-like flavour. Both work well with pork. (403-934-2749, fieldstonefruitwines.com )
BREAKFAST OF CHAMPIONS  Executive chef Justin Leboe always has something sublime to taste at Rush, like his elegant milky vichyssoise served in a “cereal” bowl of paper-thin, house-fried local Agria potatoes. It’s fun with fine food in one of the city’s most luxurious locales. (100, 207 9 Ave. S.W., 403-271-7874, rushrestaurant.com )
THE GAME’S THE THING  Chef Tim Wood has teamed up with Wapiti Ways elk farm to create a line of yummy game entrees, including huge elk pies. Called Hunter’s Pie, they are filled with lean elk simmered in dark ale gravy with mushrooms, carrots and pearl onions, and have a pastry elk cut-out leaping across the flakey pastry top. Available at Wapiti Ways at the Calgary Farmers’ Market. (wapitiways.com) [10]
AMEN TO THAT  Beef and blue cheese is a match made in heaven, and at the Holy Grill it’s served with a little love from the staff on an all organic patty. Their gourmet beef burger with creamy blue cheese and avocado is a divine combo, but it’s just one of the great burgers made to order here by one of the city’s friendliest cooking and service teams.  (827 10 Ave. S.W., 403-261-9759, holygrill.ca [11])
SOUTH INDIAN DELIGHTS  The dosa, a crispy crepe made with rice and lentil flour, is a rare commodity in Calgary, but Southern Spice will cure your craving for this south Indian specialty. The Paper Dosa is especially ethereal. Have it filled with spicy masala potatoes or topped with sambal. Wednesday is dosa night — $5 for a big Madras masala dosa. (102, 4655 54 Ave. N.E., 285-2255, southernspicecalgary.com [12])
PUCKER UP  Korean frozen yogurt is tangier than regular frozen yogurt and it’s a fresh, new trend in cities like Vancouver and Seattle. Now we have our own Spoon Me franchise in Calgary, the first in Canada. Try a scoop of plain, acai or green tea flavors with fresh fruit toppings. It’s tart, tangy, low in sugar and fat-free, and served in biodegradable containers with spoons made from cornstarch.  (100, 1130 Kensington Rd. N.W., 403-453-2101, spoonme.com [13])
WELL PRESERVED Canadian Rocky Mountain Resorts now has many of its specialties available for takeout, including breads, desserts, frozen pizza, soups, sauces and a variety of its famous preserves. Whether it’s bumbleberry jam, pickled local yellow beets, mustard melons for your charcuterie platter or fig jam, you’ll find it on the shelves at CRMR at Home. (330 17 Ave. S.W., 403-532-0241, crmr.com/athome [14])
FLAMING GOOD  The Tart Flambe at the new AKA Winebar isn’t actually flaming, but it’s bloody good. While the original usually includes quark or fresh fromage blanc, AKA’s version is topped with sweet caramelized onions and lean chunks of yummy Broek bacon lardon and drizzled with crème fraiche. (709 Edmonton Tr. N.E., 403-984-7534)
CRABBY CAJUN  When you have a hankering for crab, Bookers BBQ Grill & Crab Shack is a great spot. It serves crab in all its guises in a funky old warehouse space — buckets of crab legs, perfect crab cakes with red pepper aioli and all-you-can-eat-crab on Sunday and Monday evenings. (316 3 St. S.E., 403-264-6419, bookersbbq.com [15])
SMALL IS BEAUTIFUL  From the tiny open kitchen to the small, creative menu, everything is affordable, doable and delicious at Petite. Executive chef Jared Alvey turns out perfectly balanced, creative dishes, like his superb marriage of pine nut crusted scallops with scalloped potatoes and brussel sprout and arugula salad. (1301 10 Ave. S.W., 403-452-5350, petiterestaurant.ca )
SIMPLE PLEASURE  There’s nothing as perfectly comforting as a bowl of pasta with meatballs and tomato sauce at Cilantro. Chef Ken Canavan tweaks this old-time fave to take it into gourmet territory with tender penne pasta made on site and spicy meatballs made with Spolumbo’s chorizo sausage with the restaurant’s beef tenderloin trimmings. (338 17 Ave. S.W., 403- 229-1177, crmr.com/cilantro )
PERFECT PORK  The Berkshire pork from Broek Pork Acres near Lethbridge is turning up on all of the best menus, and for good reason. The Vanden Broek family (Joanne, Allan and their nine kids) raise their pigs the old-fashioned way — on plenty of pasture with sunshine, natural feed and no antibiotics or growth hormones. Special order their Berkshire bacon at Second to None Meats (3, 2100 4 St. S.W., 403-245-6662, stnm.ca [18]), or look for the Broek pork with saskatoon berry barbecue sauce on the menu at River Café (200 Prince’s Island Park, 403-261-7670, river-cafe.com ). (broekporkacres.com)
BLACKOUT  If you love licorice, you’ll love Dutch Cash & Carry, a longtime Calgary institution. Set in a nondescript warehouse in the city’s southeast industrial strip, this little grocery features all things Dutch. Whether you like your licorice hard and salty, layered in colourful licorice allsorts or chewy and wrapped around pastel fillings, this is a licorice-lover’s heaven. (3815 16 St. S.E., 403-298-5899)
FRENCH MACAROON  The macaroon has replaced the cupcake as the trendy sweet of choice, and you can find a variety of flavours, from pumpkin spice and maple to addictive double lemon, at Nectar Desserts. Rebekah Pearse is even offering courses to teach devotees to create these exquisite little meringue cookies at home. Or you can simply buy them at her popular Inglewood dessert café. (Upstairs, 1216 9 Ave. S.W., 403-263-8486, nectardesserts.com )
SUPER SALAD BAR  The selection of creative salads at Planet Organic’s deli counter in the city’s southwest is superb — fresh, organic and made on site daily. From the edamame salad with meaty green soy beans, arame and sesame seeds, to the drop-dead-delicious sweet potato salad, you’ll never miss the meat. Try the kale salad, couscous, wild rice salad and Mediterranean lentil salad. (10233 Elbow Dr. S.W., 403-252-2404 and, 4625 Varsity Dr. N.W., 403-288-6700, planetorganic.ca )
CANADIAN PRAIRIE PIES  They say the butter tart is a classic Canadian treat, but when you add saskatoon berries, like they do at Pearson’s Berry Farm, it’s a pure prairie pie. Sweet and gooey, loaded with buttery brown sugar and those saskatoons, these big butter tarts are a step up from the ordinary. Available from Pearson’s at the Calgary Farmers’ Market. (airenet.com/pearsonsberryfarm)
25 Best Things to Eat in Calgary 2010: The Map Where to find all 25 purveyors of Cinda Chavich's top eats in the city for 2010.
Calgary’s Best Restaurants 2010: Avenue's 7th Annual Awards The full meal deal. All the restaurants and write-ups as they appeared in the March issue.
Calgary's Best Restaurants 2010: The List  All 86 winners in 31 categories. Categories, names, contact details. That's it. The diet version of our annual awards.
Calgary's Best Restaurants 2010: The Map  All 86 winners, runner-ups and honourable mention restaurants on one interactive map.
©Cinda Chavich 2010
www.tastereport.com

URBAN FORAGER: MAKING SUSHI

Tue, 20 Apr 2010 13:46:19 -0600

Published March 23rd, 2010 AVENUE MAGAZINE
Roll Your Own: A DIY guide to making fresh sushi in Calgary
For a party, picnic or portable snack, sushi is the perfect healthy choice
Story and Photography
By Cinda Chavich

Of all the fast food, sushi is the snack that best fits fast-paced Calgary. It’s grab-and-go food, fresh, healthy and even stylish, which may be why the sushi bar has become as popular as the burger joint for refueling here, whether you’re in a downtown office tower or a suburban mall.
Learning to make your own maki, or slice your own sashimi, at home is the logical next step. Sushi does require some specialized ingredients, but it’s really quite easy to make. Here’s a primer on where to find everything you’ll need to stock your pantry for an authentic sushi party, right here in Cowtown.
THE FOOD
Sushi is a simple Asian snack — short-grain Japanese rice, seasoned with sweet rice vinegar that’s molded into oval balls, or wrapped like a jelly roll in thin sheets of nori (seaweed) with raw or cooked fish, vegetables and spicy wasabi.
The rolls are called maki sushi, the individual pieces are known as nigiri sushi, and the delicate slices of raw salmon, ruby red tuna, tender sea scallops and other fish are collectively called sashimi. Futo-maki are large rolls, often filled with pickled vegetables and egg; hosomaki are thin rolls, with a single filling like a strip of cucumber or some chopped raw tuna. Gunkan-maki are individual pieces, wrapped in a belt of nori to keep soft toppings like sea urchin or fish roe with mayonnaise enclosed. Temaki are hand rolls or cones, filled with rice, fish and other toppings, while inari is a sweet pouch of deep-fried tofu filled with seasoned rice.
Invented in the late 1700s, sushi was the original Japanese fast food, designed to be eaten quickly from your hand, at a roadside stand, which may be exactly why it’s so popular in today’s fast-paced world.
Modern western innovations include B.C. rolls (with crispy salmon skin and cucumber), Dynamite rolls (with tempura shrimp) and California rolls (with cucumber, avocado and crab).
While basic sushi rolls are simple to make once you learn the technique, there’s no substitute for authentic, and incredibly fresh, ingredients.
To make sushi you must have the right kind of Japanese rice and rice vinegar, sheets of roasted seaweed for rolling, wasabi for flavoring and top quality fish, the kind you can eat raw with confidence.
The Japanese are serious about fish and sushi chefs are trained to choose only the best quality, so if you’re making sushi, you must buy “sushi grade” fish, which is often sold frozen. Salmon should always be frozen before eating raw to kill any potential parasites.
THE FIND
There are several fish shops where you can buy sushi grade fish in the city, but the most well-stocked market for Japanese ingredients is Arirang Oriental Food (1324 10 Ave. S.W., 403-228-0980).
This Korean-owned market specializes exclusively in Japanese and Korean foods, from housemade kimchi and crunchy marinated soft shell crabs, to paper-thin rib eye for sukiyaki, fresh shiso leaves and organic miso paste. You’ll find a whole aisle of soy sauce, seasoned rice vinegar, jars of toasted sesame seeds, wasabi and instant dashi broth.
There are a dozen different varieties of nori, even marinated tofu pouches and gari (sweet pickled pink ginger), freezers filled with sushi grade salmon, octopus and tuna, alongside neon yellow pickled radish, rosy flying fish roe, and big kilogram bags of imitation crab. Don’t miss the wonderfully spicy beef and kimchi dumplings in the freezer section (locally made by You Chun, Taste of Korea), an excellent addition to a sushi party meal, or the selection of Japanese tea.
A good brand of sushi rice is Kokuho Rose, though you will find many different brands of rice here, sold by the sack. There’s even brown short grain sushi rice, when you want to be extra healthy, and special, pressurized rice cookers to achieve the perfect degree of stickiness and bite, and keep the rice at the perfect temperature for rolling.
The best nori is dark green and shiny (it loses colour and browns over time), with no holes. Nori is graded (gold, silver, bronze), so you get what you pay for.
At Arirang, they sell everything you need to make sushi, including the special bamboo mats used for rolling maki sushi, plus panko crumbs for tempura, and slabs of seasoned egg pancake for futo-maki.
Another source of Japanese ingredients and sushi grade fish is T&T Supermarket (800, 999 36 St. N.E., 403-569-6888 and 1000, 9650 Harvest Hills Blvd. N.E., 403-237-6608, tnt-supermarket.com). You’ll find it in the freezers, or thawed and ready to use in the take-out counter, next to the selection of house-made sushi. They even have fresh sea urchin or uni — the foie gras of the sushi world — in the refrigerated case, along with whole filets of barbecued eel and pale pieces of raw hamachi (yellowtail tuna).
Next to the 36th Street location is Utsuwa-No-Yakata, a shop filled with beautiful imported Japanese tableware, from sushi plates and dipping bowls to lacquer bento boxes, chopstick rests and saki sets.
And if you’re really serious about becoming a sushi chef, check out the exquisite Japanese knives at Knifewear, Kevin Kent’s hamono-ya (knife shop) in Inglewood (1316 9 Ave. S.E., 403-514-0577). Sushi knives, like the long Yanagiba or shorter Kaisaiki designed to sliver sashimi, are beveled on one side only, to create the traditional tapered cuts. You’ll be amazed by the beauty and precision of these knives, blades that have morphed over centuries from Samurai swords into exquisite kitchen tools.
THE FIX
To make sushi, you first need to make the rice. Don’t even attempt to make sushi with long grain or basmati rice — you need to use short-grain sushi rice, as it’s the only kind sticky enough to mold and roll.
A rice cooker is fool-proof but you can also make it in a pot on the stove — make sure to wash and drain the rice three times in cold water, and use a 1:1.2 rice to water ratio (5 cups rice to 6 cups water). Place the cooked rice in a large bowl and toss with sweetened rice vinegar and salt to season, then roll while still slightly warm.
To roll, lay a square sheet of nori, shiny side down, on a bamboo rolling mat or flexible placemat. With wet hands, spread a layer of rice over the nori, leaving a bare strip at the top edge. Smear the rice with a line of wasabi, then fill with strips of vegetables or fish, and, holding the filling in place with your index fingers, lift the bottom edge of the mat and roll the nori and rice up and over the filling, rolling away from you to form a log. Use the mat to compress the roll and set it seam side down to seal. Slice rolls into six pieces using a wet, sharp knife and serve with extra wasabi and soy sauce for dipping (rolls can be made a few hours in advance, sealed in plastic wrap and refrigerated, but the nori will lose its crispness).
For nigiri, form a small oval ball of rice in your palm, and top with a smear of wasabi and a thin sliced of raw fish, pressing and smoothing the fish over the rice. To make a temaki cone, use half a sheet of nori, spread some rice into one corner, top with vegetables and fish and roll into a cone.
If you’re still in the experimental sushi stages, both of these Asian grocers offer decent take-out sushi. At Arirang, it’s a colourful Korean-style roll with batons of fresh carrot, pickled burdock and daikon radish, steamed spinach and imitation crab, a unique take on the oversized Futo-Maki roll you’ll see on sushi bar menus.
At T&T supermarket, there are various rolls and nigiri pieces ready to go, from saucy grilled eel to silky raw salmon, spicy tuna rolls, cucumber rolls, and California rolls, all conveniently packaged with wasabi, soy sauce and pickled ginger on the side. There’s no need to eat raw fish to enjoy sushi — lots of rolls are strictly vegetarian or include cooked fish like crab sticks and tempura shrimp.
So for a party, a picnic, or a portable snack, serve sushi.

(This Urban Forager column appeared in Avenue Magazine)

©Cinda Chavich 2010
www.tastereport.com

Wales: from culinary desert to michelin hot spot

Mon, 19 Apr 2010 17:18:22 -0600

Beyond lamb and leeks
CARDIFF, WALES — From Saturday's Globe and Mail
Published on Thursday, Apr. 01, 2010 3:18PM EDT

When London food critic A.A. Gill slagged all of Wales, deeming it a “culinary desert,” he probably didn't get past the currant-studded Welsh cakes and a meaty mutton cawl.
Both the cakes and the broth are ubiquitous here, but the most memorable dish at the new ffresh restaurant, in Cardiff's iconic Wales Millennium Centre, has serious Welsh provenance, with nary a lamb or leek in sight.
Chef Kurt Fleming's take on the organic, woodland-raised Gloucester Old Spot pork from nearby Red Pig Farm is wickedly addictive – the belly slow-braised and scented with bay and star anise, then seared to crispy perfection and balanced on a cloud of creamy cauliflower purée, with sweetly spiced red cabbage to cut the richness of it all.
“The majority of Welsh families still do survive on basic meat and potatoes, but our goal is to be a unique restaurant, celebrating what's seasonal and local,” sous-chef Dean Way says. “A few years ago, you wouldn't have found Michelin-starred restaurants in Wales. A.A. Gill was right. In part by stirring up that legendary stubborn Welsh pride, Gill – the powerful arbiter of British taste – may well have been the catalyst for the country's current culinary renaissance: Wales now has four Michelin-starred restaurants, three making the grade for the first time in the new 2010 guide.
Wales on a Plate
THE POLITICOS AND THE PLATE
Traditional bounty in Wales is gaining new cachet, whether it's the Welsh Black Beef and famed salt-marsh lamb, laverbread (seaweed purée) smeared on toast for breakfast, plump cockles and mussels, local farmhouse cheeses, heirloom pork, venison, or organic and foraged wild vegetables. Traditional Welsh cider, perry (made with pears) and even fresh white Welsh wines are also finding favour.
And that's thanks, in no small part, to the Welsh Assembly Government's push to make local, sustainable food available to all. From its annual True Taste food and drink awards – the foodie Oscars of Welsh food producers and purveyors – to the Food Tourism Action Plan, Wales's politicos want to see more local products on Welsh plates, and it seems to be working.
“Local sourcing of food and drink is one of the priorities of the Welsh Assembly Government,” writes Rural Affairs Minister Elin Jones in the stylish True Taste magazine.
“The Welsh Assembly Government's scheme, One Wales: One Planet, sets an enormous challenge, which includes the need to produce more food at prices consumers can afford, and to ensure that Welsh food and drink is widely available.”
It's a lofty ideal for a small region, but there's no doubt the initiative is bolstering Wales's award-winning menus.
COUNTRY STARS
Still, it takes a trip outside the capital of Cardiff to find most of this newly minted, Welsh haute cuisine. All of this year's Michelin stars went to restaurants in the Welsh countryside, and I find two on a day trip to the food-obsessed town of Abergavenny.

Pick up Welsh lamb at the market.Cinda Chavich for The Globe and Mail
This compact corner – roughly triangulated by the towns of Monmouth, Abergavenny and Skenfrith – is rich in top food producers and purveyors.
“This region of Wales is our first food tourism destination,” says Nerys Howell, co-author of the new book Wales on a Plate, as we tuck into plates of tender Welsh venison haunch and salted duck breast, prepared according to a historic recipe and served with aromatic pickled plums at Abergavenny's Angel Hotel.
Set on the edge of Brecon Becons National Park, Abergavenny has become the culinary capital of southeastern Wales, thanks to restaurants such as The Walnut Tree, a long-time locovore haunt that has earned Michelin's favour under the direction of chef Shaun Hill. It's also home to the annual Abergavenny Food Festival, a two-day village party that attracts throngs every September for chef-led master classes, tutored tastings, impromptu food rants, scholarly debates, and the chance to meander the streets and covered Victorian market to visit 200 food stalls offering the best artisan tastes of the nation.
“Forty-thousand people come to town for this festival, but 15 years ago this didn't exist,” says Kim Waters, the new chief executive of what has become one of Britain's most popular gastronomic events. “The food industry has changed massively here.”
En route to Abergavenny, along the River Wye, we find The Crown at Whitebrook, a luxurious little country inn where chef James Sommerin's seasonal cuisine – stylish dishes such as poached and roast squab with duck liver, butterscotch and gingerbread – have won him a Michelin star for the past four years running. It's a perfect base for exploring the spectacular ruins of Tintern Abby or hiking the Wye valley's forested trails.
It's also here that we encounter another True Taste winner, wild food forager Raoul van den Broucke, a supplier to several notable area restaurants.

“The chefs are most interested in the wild mushrooms and ramsons, wild garlic, and onions,” says van den Broucke, who collects sweet pennywort, feathery wood ear fungi and chanterelles, samphire and sea spinach for chefs as far away as London.
But even rural pubs provide simple but stellar meals. At The Bell, a 17th-century coach house in near Skenfrith, owner William Hutchings augments the menu with vegetables from the kitchen garden and wild game he shoots himself on the nearby Blackwater Estate. The Hardwick, a country pub near Abergavenny, received the Good Food Guide top award for local food, which owner and Michelin-star chef Stephen Terry, a Walnut Tree alumnus, says is easy, working so close to his favourite farms.
And at Nantyderry, just south of Abergavenny, celebrity chef Matt Tebbutt has made The Foxhunter a destination gastro-pub too, augmenting his seasonal menu with wild garlic, rocket and sea spinach. You can order his set wild foods menu, or arrange a walk in the woods with forager van den Broucke, then cook your finds in back at the restaurant kitchen.
CAPITAL FLAVOUR IN CARDIFF
Back in Cardiff, perhaps the best way to taste fresh Welsh food is to hit the markets. At the weekly Riverside Community Market, set up next to the Millennium Stadium every Sunday, small-scale producers sell everything from artisan breads and free-range eggs to preserves, organic vegetables and farmhouse cheese.
Exploring the glass-roofed historic shopping streets of Cardiff also turns up some gems for food lovers. In the Royal Arcade – the city's oldest covered Victorian street – Wally's Delicatessen has all manner of international and gourmet food products, and we leave with a waxed Black Bomber Welsh cheddar and boxes of flakey Welsh Halen Môn sea salt from the Anglesey Sea Salt Co. In the Castle Arcade, we find a killer three-cheese Welsh Rarebit at Madame Fromage, a lovely cheese shop and slow-food café with 150 different cheeses on offer. It's a brilliant stop for a hearty lunch of broccoli and Stilton soup or Welsh lamb cawl.
Locals also swear by the vegetarian lunches at Crumbs and its Cardiff curries – from the upscale Indian cuisine at Mint and Mustard to the cheap £5 feast of chicken curry on chips (the Welsh answer to poutine) at Dorothy's along Chippy Alley, a late-night nosh after several pints of local Brains beer.

Pick up cheese from Madame Fromage in Cardiff. Cinda Chavich for The Globe and Mail
We duck into the historic Cardiff Market – set in an impressive Victorian building in the heart of the city's pedestrian shopping area – to talk to long-time stall holders, like the fishmongers at E. Ashton who have been selling fish here since 1891. Manager Jonathan Adams offers a taste of traditional laverbread – a kind of mushy local seaweed, reminiscent of nori, that's cooked in bacon fat and spread on toast – and the chewy cooked welks and cockles that locals buy for snacks. At A.W. Griffiths, the chatty butchers are already sold out of their popular Welsh Dragon sausage – a spicy mixture of pork, leeks and chilies – and at G. Anthony Butchers, Gavin Burgess offers a recipe for faggots, the Welsh version of haggis.
The classic stalls are jammed with bakers selling fresh baguettes, piles of cabbage and parsnips, and yes, leeks. But the true champion of all things Welsh is butcher Brian Morgan who, for 25 years, has been selling what, for him, will always be Wales's premiere product.
“Welsh lamb – it's a small breed, raised in the mountains and the salt marshes – and it's the best lamb in the world.”
Wales tasting
Ffresh is Cardiff's locovore restaurant, set in the Wales Millennium Centre. www.ffresh.org.uk
Cardiff Market opens at 8 a.m., Monday through Saturday. www.cardiff-market.co.uk
Madame Fromage is Cardiff's premiere cheese monger. www.madamefromage.co.uk
Wally's Delicatessen is a gourmet food store set in the historic Royal Arcade in Cardiff. www.wallysdeli.co.uk
The Riverside Market in Cardiff is open Sundays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Fizhamon Embankment along the River Taff. www.riversidemarket.org.uk
The Crown at Whitebrook (Monmouth) has had a Michelin star for four years running. www.crownatwhitebrook.co.uk   The Walnut Tree is the Michelin-star restaurant and inn just east of Abergavenn www.thewalnuttreeinn.com
The Bell at Skenfrith is famed for sourcing local produce. www.skenfrith.co.uk
The Foxhunter (Nantyderry) offers a wild food menu. www.thefoxhunter.com
Special to The Globe and Mail - link here
©Cinda Chavich 2010
www.tastereport.com

grilled cheese goes gourmet

Mon, 19 Apr 2010 15:50:08 -0600

Click here to listen to Cinda on CBC radio....

Cinda Chavich, CBC Wildrose food and cooking columnist, talks about how to create a really great, gooey grilled cheese.

SO WHERE HAVE YOU UNCOVERED GOURMET GRILLED CHEESE?
Well, here in Calgary, at Janice Beaton fine cheese, they’ve just installed a “grilled cheese bar” in their cheese shop.
I talked to Janice this week and she told me that it just gives people another easy way to enjoy some of the unique cheeses they have in the shop.
So they set up a take-out counter and a few seats to perch while you’re enjoying a hot gooey cheese sandwich, and they’ve come up with some seriously gourmet combinations.

AND WHAT EXACTLY GOES INTO A GOURMET GRILLED CHEESE SANDWICH?
I can tell you, it’s not processed cheese, that’s for sure.
They actually had a grilled cheese sandwich contest at the cheese shop, asking people for their ideas for great grilled cheese combinations, and they had more than 60 entries.
While there were some standard white bread and cheddar sandwiches, they also had very inventive combinations – like a braised shortrib, blue cheese and carmelized onion “Manwich” on crusty Tuscan bread and a grilled
Spanish Manchego cheese sandwich with white anchovies and roasted red peppers. Some combined cheeses with fruits, like sliced apples or pears and fig jam or quince paste. While others went for cheddar cheese and double smoked bacon or ham, lobster with applewood-smoked cheddar, and even cheese with smoked buffalo and olive tapenade.
They asked people to vote for their favourite combo, and the number one choice was a combo created by Kyle Groves, a chef at Catch, which included sautéed chanterelle mushrooms and Comte cheese with thyme. That one’s now on the menu, along with a grilled cheddar and oka with tomato chili jam; a goat cheese, roasted garlic tapenade and arugula sandwich; and a classic ham and cheese combination of gruyere with Valbella maple pepper ham, arugula and mustard mayo.

SO HOW DO YOU MAKE A GREAT GRILLED CHEESE?
That’s still up for debate. Of course, most people are familiar with the home-style grilled cheese – the bread is buttered on the outside and the sandwich is cooked in a hot frying pan, until the inside is suitably gooey and the outside is suitably crisp.
But the Panini or sandwich press – especially handy home-style presses like the great little Breville grill that I have at home – has done a lot to revive the hot, toasty gooey grilled cheese sandwich. It’s just so fast and easy to grill a sandwich, and you don’t even have to add any extra butter or oil.
Janice Beaton isn’t using the “P-word” but that’s essentially how they’re making their grilled cheese sandwiches at the cheese shop. She’s using ciabatta buns from Manuel Latruwe bakery – she likes ciabatta because it’s both an airy and a dense bread that gets nice and crunchy when it’s toasted.
As you mentioned earlier, April is actually National Grilled Cheese Month in the U.S., and you’ll find lots of restaurants and websites devoting their attention to the toasted cheese sandwich these days, and many variations on the theme.

IS IT USUALLY JUST CHEDDAR CHEESE?
Well, that’s classic, I guess, in the basic grilled cheese sandwich it’s the orange cheddar melted between two slices of bread.
But in the Italian versions – the Panini sandwiches that are so popular – there could be any number of cheeses, like fontina or mozzarella, with other ingredients like roasted peppers or caramelized onions, sundried tomatoes or olive pastes. In France, you have the classic Croque Monsieur, with ham and cheese, and of course, there’s the Rueben, with smoked meat, sauerkraut and gruyere. Even a quesadilla, cheese melted inside a tortilla, is essentially a Mexican grilled cheese sandwich.
So hot, gooey toasted cheese sandwiches seem to crop up wherever you find cheese.
And it can really be any cheese that melts well – whether you like Swiss style cheeses, mozzarella or cheddar, even Brie. Only the really young cheeses, or the really old dry aged cheeses – like Parmigiano Reggiano – don’t work well for grilled cheese. You can experiment with almost anything in the fridge.

IS THE GRILLED CHEESE A NORTH AMERICAN INVENTION?
Not at all, there are gooey melted bread and cheese concoctions in many cultures.
Apparently the grilled cheese first became popular in North America during the Depression in the 1930s, something cheap and tasty to serve.
Today, it’s the new popular phenomenon in the US – a comfort food thing like burgers, or mac and cheese. They even have a Grilled Cheese Invitational sandwich cookoff every year in Los Angeles, which is coming up on April 24, and at least two people are planning to open grilled cheese restaurants in LA this year.
But grilled cheese is universal. South Africans make a pan-fried cheddar sandwich, and it’s popular with Australians, too. In the UK the grilled cheese is known as a cheese toastie.
And I was just in Wales, exploring the food scene there, and of course they have the classic Welsh Rarebit, a combination of various shredded cheeses – like cheddar, Lancashire or Welsh Caerphilly – mixed with green onions and even a bit of beer, that’s melted over a slab of toast and served open face, to eat with a knife and fork.
In fact, they say the original grilled cheese here in Canada, served in the 1920s and 30s, was open face, too. It wasn’t until the 1960s that the second piece of bread was added on top, to make a true grilled cheese sandwich.

WHAT DO YOU SERVE WITH GRILLED CHEESE?
At Janice Beaton’s grilled cheese bar, every sandwich comes with house-made cole slaw, which I think is a nice crunchy, acidic foil for a gooey cheesy sandwich.
Of course, other things like pickles or chutney or tomato jam make a nice contrast to the rich protein of a cheese sandwich. For some reason, tomato soup is always a classic combination with grilled cheese – sort of a comfort food double whammy.
And at a recent event at the cheese shop, they even did a wine and grilled cheese sandwich pairing. It all depends what’s in the sandwich, but for a basic toasted bread and cheese-wich, I like a nice crisp white wine with a little acidity – I’m thinking a good Okanagan Riesling, or even a dry crisp champagne or prosecco. Champagne is actually good with any salty food, and grilled cheese is definitely salty.

RECIPE?
As I said, I just got home from Cardiff, Wales and I had a most awesome Welsh Rarebit – essentially an open-faced grilled cheese sandwich - at a cheese shop there called Madame Fromage.
So I am attempting to recreate that gooey melty meal here with my own recipe that combines some of my favourite cheeses – a nice sharp white cheddar cheese with some aged friulano, and even a bit of Parmesan. Some people just like to make the cheesy rarebit sauce – with butter, dry mustard, a little ale or cider, green onions, and shredded cheese - and pour it over toast, but I think it’s best if you broil it on top to brown the whole thing before serving.
If you google Welsh Rarebit and you’ll find a fun bit of video with the late James Barber, The Urban Peasant, making his TV Welsh Rarebit in about 2 minutes. It’s easy and fun and everyone loves an ooey, gooey grilled cheese sandwich – it’s universal, really.

click here for my Welsh Rarebit recipe...

©Cinda Chavich 2010
www.tastereport.com

EATING UP the boudin trail

Sat, 20 Mar 2010 07:42:21 -0600

Cinda Chavich, CBC radio’s food and cooking columnist, has been exploring Cajun cuisine – and a classic Cajun sausage called boudin - on a road trip in Louisiana. She’s here to tell us about this obscure but delicious regional road food.

(listen)

SO YOU’VE BEEN ON THE ROAD, EATING AGAIN?

Yes, I was recently down in southwestern Louisiana, for a trip that focused specifically on a relatively unknown Cajun specialty, a sausage called boudin.
I know this is a rather obscure food topic, but this is one of those unique local dishes that can only be truly appreciated at the source, and so I was drawn to the small townsaround Lake Charles, near the Texas border, to taste it.
And it was fascinating to learn about this unique meaty snack that’s eaten in this part of the U.S., all year round, but especially popular for mid winter celebrations.
I thought it would be fun to introduce our listeners to this authentic Cajun dish, because there’s a Canadian connection, too.

WHAT’S THE CONNECTION WITH CANADA?
The French Cajuns who live in this part of western of Louisiana have their roots in the Acadian communities of Nova Scotia. In fact, when the British expelled the Acadian settlers from Nova Scotia in the late 1700s, because they refused to swear allegiance to the Crown – the Grand Derangement you might remember from your history lessons, or the epic poem Evangeline – these French families found their way to the bayous of the southern U.S., the “no man’s land” of southwestern Louisiana, and brought their French language and Acadian food customs to this part of the world. Which is at the root of the famous Cajun boudin.

SO WHAT EXACTLY IS CAJUN BOUDIN?
Well, strictly speaking, boudin is a smooth-textured sausage – either a delicate white boudin made with pork, chicken or veal, or boudin noir, a dark spicy pork sausage, enriched with pork blood – with roots in the northern parts of France.
French-style boudin sausage – the kind you’ll still find on menus in Paris and across France – originates in the Normandy area, which is also where many of the French settlers, who settled in Nova Scotia, originated. You’ll still find boudin served in Acadian communities in Canada – from Cape Breton to eastern Quebec – or in traditional French restaurants. For example, the French Canadian TV chef Martin Picard serves his own boudin at his restaurant, Au Pied du Cochon in Montreal. I even had a dish garnished with crisply fried slices of boudin noir at a new little bistro in Calgary called Petit.
But in Louisiana, boudin is quite a different kind of dish. It’s really a spicy meat and rice mixture, stuffed into a sausage casing, that’s eaten for breakfast or snacks, a fast, take-out food that you’ll find hot and ready to eat at small local cafes, butcher shops and even gas stations.
Which is how I enjoyed it – cruising from place to place along the Southwestern Louisiana Boudin Trail. Usually it’s made with pork, but you’ll also find crawfish boudin or even alligator boudin.

AND IS THERE A SEASONAL SIDE TO BOUDIN?
These days, Cajuns eat their boudin as a daily snack, but traditionally it was something served over the winter. Traditionally Cajun families would kill a pig in late fall at an event known as la boucherie – literally the butcherie. Every part of the pig was salted, smoked, roasted and used in everything from sausages, like boudin, to pork cracklings, something else that’s still popular in this part of Louisiana.
Because they grew rice down in the watery bayous, they added that to their boudin, probably originally to stretch the meat, but now it’s become a completely unique product.
Today people literally eat boudin any time of the day and night, and at all times throughout the year.

SO HOW IS IT SERVED?
That’s what’s so crazy about this Cajun boudin. It’s really just eaten out of hand, usually from the piece of butcher paper that it’s wrapped in.
In this part of Louisiana, boudin is a snack. They stop for boudin for breakfast and serve it as an appetizer at tail gate parties and weddings.
While it’s called sausage, Cajun boudin is not what you’d think of as a traditional sausage. It’s really a rice dressing, or a dirty rice mixture - mostly rice, with pork, onions and spices - that’s fully cooked and then stuffed into a sausage casing.
Then they simply steam it to keep it warm for serving.
When I bought boudin, it was right out of the electric steamer or steam drawer behind the counter at the grocery store or café. They cut the boudin into 3-inch chunks and you use your teeth to strip the filling out of the casing.
Most people eating it sitting in their cars in the parking lot.
But you can also order it on the menu at Cajun restaurants, along with the gumbo, shrimp etouffee and boudin balls.

WHAT’S A BOUDIN BALL?
That’s another Cajun snack, made by forming the boudin stuffing, the rice, pork and onion mixture, into a ball about the size of a golf ball, and then deep frying it. It’s sort of like a fried Italian arancini, a fried risotto ball.
In Louisiana, they serve the crispy boudin balls as appetizers, or press them flat in a bun, for a boudin burger. Not particularly healthy, but very tasty.

SO HOW DO YOU MAKE BOUDIN?
It’s really a very simple, old-fashioned dish – essentially a combination of slow-cooked pork, ground and combined with green onions, rice and Cajun spices.
It’s a nice flavourful mixture. Some people use 100% pork, usually a lesser cut like pork shoulder, and some people add pork liver and other secondary cuts. You can vary the ratio of rice to meat, but I like a 2:1 ratio – two cups of cooked rice for every cup of meat. You should use a starchy medium or short grain rice – if it’s a little sticky, it will be easier to form into balls or patties.
Some people grind the rice and meat together to make it almost smooth, but I like to chop the meat and onions in the food processor, and then just whirl the rice in with the meat to combine it, without losing too much texture in the rice. Then you can add back a little of the cooking liquid to make the mixture moist.
The thing about boudin, is if you don’t live in southwestern Lousiana you pretty much have to make it yourself. You can’t even find decent boudin in New Orleans.

DID YOU BRING A RECIPE?
Yes, I’ve developed a basic recipe for basic boudin, using pork shoulder (and no liver) and short grain rice.
But since most people probably don’t have the machine you need to stuff sausage casings, I’m going to recommend that you make boudin balls or patties. Just make the ground meat and rice mixture, then press it into a ball or patty and fry it until nicely browned.
Boudin balls or patties make nice little appetizers or even a meal with a salad on the side.
You can also serve the boudin mixture hot, as a rice dressing, or use it to stuff things like thick pork loin chops, pork tenderloin, boneless pork roasts or small chickens. We even stuffed sweet bell peppers with the boudin mixture and browned them for a fast dinner.
It’s a Cajun dish you won’t find outside of this region of Louisiana, but a fun thing to make at home for a Cajun feast.

Click here for my homestyle boudin recipe....

©Cinda Chavich 2010
www.tastereport.com

OAts: Sweet or Savoury, always HEalthy

Thu, 4 Feb 2010 10:22:48 -0700

January 25 is the day to celebrate Scottish poet Robbie Burns, and in honor of the season, Cinda Chavich, CBC Radio’s food and cooking columnist, explores something oh-so-Scottish, and Albertan, oats.

SO WHY CONNECT OATS WITH ROBBIE BURNS?
Well, two things, I guess. For one thing, we grow a lot of oats in Alberta, and for another, oats are an integral ingredient in haggis, the classic dish that will be served at every Burns dinner this weekend around the world.
But I have a confession to make about oats - even though my grandmother was from Scotland, and loved to serve us porridge for breakfast, it’s one of the foods that I really don’t like.
My husband, on the other hand, loves his porridge, and loves to make it for breakfast. I do eat it, usually smothered with maple syrup, and sometimes a bit of cream, but even then, I can’t say I love porridge.
But, I do know that oats are very healthy, so last week at breakfast, I wondered out loud, why you couldn’t make a savoury dish with oats – something with onions and garlic or even cheese. My husband thought that sounded gross, like haggis – but I wondered if the cook who first created haggis was really searching for a way to make oatmeal more palatable.

SO HAGGIS IS MADE WITH OATMEAL?
Yes, haggis actually sort of a sausage, made with ground lamb scraps and offal, mixed with oats and onions, and stuffed into a sheep’s stomach. The rolled oats are probably considered more of a binder, like bread crumbs might be in meat loaf, but it did get me thinking about how you might make a savoury dish using oats. So I got out my bag of Highwood Crossing steel cut oats, grown right here in southern Alberta, and started experimenting.

WHAT ARE STEEL CUT OATS?
That’s a very Scottish or Irish style of processing oats for porridge – in fact, they’re sometime sold as Scottish or Irish oats. Here in North America oats are usually rolled in a mill, basically flattened – so you get large rolled oats and quick oats, which are both sliced, steamed and flattened into flakes. These kinds of oats lose some of their nutritive value in processing, and instant oats are even less healthy.
Steel cut oats are tops when it comes to nutrition - simply whole oats that are dried and chopped, not steamed or rolled. They are processed with no heat, so they retain all of their healthy B vitamins. They also cook up into a chewier porridge with more texture, something like kasha or bulgar wheat.
Because steel cut oats are rather pilaf-like when cooked, even for your breakfast porridge, I thought they might work in savoury side dishes, too.

SO TELL ME ABOUT SOME OF THE OATMEAL DISHES YOU DEVISED
First, you need to know how to cook steel cut oats – the ratio is 1:3 or 1:4 oats to water. I like 1:3 or even 1:2.5 as the oats stay chewier. Boil water, add the oats and simmer for about 10-15 minutes, then remove from heat and let stand 5 minutes.
You can add butter or cream to steel cut oats when you’re having them for breakfast, so I started by adding some butter.
That was pretty good, and even better when I stirred in some grated cheese, salt and pepper. Simple, savoury, oats and cheese, and a good breakfast – with grain, fibre and protein. Sounds weird, I know but when you think about it, it’s a little like congee, the savoury rice porridge that people eat in China, and very similar to that southern breakfast classic, cheese grits.
It was a revelation actually – after years of choking down oatmeal with brown sugar or syrup, I found a way to eat it that I really love. So that’s my new savoury breakfast porridge.

AND DID YOU COME UP WITH ANY OTHER IDEAS?
Well, I talked with Tony Marshall at Highwood Crossing, where they grow and process certified organic oats and other grains, and he gave me a few more ideas.
They soak their steel cut oats overnight with milk, which sort of pre-hydrates them and makes them extra creamy, or they make their steel cut oats overnight in the slow cooker, combined with sweet additions like chopped dates and dried cranberries. Of course, oats go into recipes for breads, granola and granola bars, even cakes and cookies. But I was looking for savoury uses for oats.
For savoury oats, Tony Marshall suggests a steel cut oats pilaf, cooked with chicken stock, onions, celery, diced carrots and fresh herbs. In fact, some chefs have done creative pilafs with their Highwood Crossing power grain cereal – a combination of oat groats, flax and millet – combining it with stock, herbs and couscous in a savory side dish

DO YOU COOK THE OATS DIFFERENTLY FOR SAVOURY DISHES?
The trick is cooking the oats so they’re tender but not too mushy or wet. If you start with the steel cut oats – say 1 cup, and soak them in 2 cups of boiling water for about 30-45 minutes, the oats will hydrate and swell, then you can drain off any excess liquid and use them like rice in pilafs or even in salads like tabouleh. They’re even tastier if you toast the oats first in a dry pan in a 400F oven for about 5-10 minutes.
I often make kasha – which is buckwheat groats – in a kind of pilaf with mushrooms and dill, so I tried substituting steel cut oats in that recipe which worked quite nicely.

ANYTHING ELSE?
Oats also act as a good thickener in soups and stews – there’s a classic Scottish chicken and root vegetable soup with oats. Some people use rolled oats, or quick oats, to coat fish or chicken for frying.
There’s also something they call scrapple, which is sort of a hash made with pork hocks – you use the broth from cooking the meat to cook the oats, adding flavourings like minced onions, garlic, thyme and sage. And then you let that mixture cool in a pan – it will set up like polenta – and you can slice the scrapple and sauté it in butter to serve. Real peasant food.
I even found a recipe for oat risotto – just substitute steel cut oats for the short grain rice, and use the usual onions, garlic, chicken stock and Parmesan cheese.

AND WHY EAT OATS?
Actually, oats are super healthy – they’re loaded with B Vitamins, Vitamin E and are an excellent source of fibre, about 8 g per ½ cup serving, low in fat, with higher levels of protein than other grains, and lots of calcium and iron, zinc and magnesium. It’s the soluable fibre in oats, the kind that substantially lowers cholesterol, that makes this grain so important for preventing heart disease and cancer. It also helps control blood glucose, thanks to that fibre, and helps reduce high blood pressure and aid in weight loss. Oat beta glucans also seem to speed healing so eating oats can really help your body on many levels.
It took awhile, historically speaking, for people to see oats as anything more than horse feed. But the Crusaders carried oats with them on their travels, and when they returned home to Scotland, Ireland, Wales, England, Denmark, Germany and France, they planted fields of this grain that sustained them. The rest is history, as they say.
We grow lots of oats in Canada – about 1/3 of the country’s production right here in Alberta.

RECIPES?
Yes, I’m including a delicious oat and onion risotto recipe, you can add mushrooms or other vegetables, too, and a Western style oat groat tabouli salad made with steel cut oats, tomatoes, cucumbers, avocado and cilantro.

click here for recipes...

©Cinda Chavich
www.tastereport.com

12 days of christmas entertaining tips

Wed, 16 Dec 2009 15:31:04 -0700

The holiday clock is ticking, and before you turn around, it will be Christmas. Holiday celebrations always centre around food, and with just days left to get organized, Cinda Chavich, CBC radio’s food and cooking columnist, shared 12 tips, to make holiday entertaining easy and economical.

Listen to Cinda on CBC Radio’s Wildrose show...

CHRISTMAS DOES SNEAK UP QUICKLY – YOU HAVE A DOZEN IDEAS TO MAKE IT EASIER?

Well, yes. Christmas is really just two weeks away, which got me thinking about the Twelve Days of Christmas, at least the next 12 days of holiday planning and parties.
So I put together a list of 12 ideas to make cooking for the holidays easier, just some of the kinds of things I’ve learned over the years that make holiday entertaining go a little smoother.

OKAY, SO NUMBER ONE:
First, and foremost, I always make a list, and check it twice. If you’re in charge of Christmas dinner, make a list of everything you plan to serve and all of the ingredients you’ll need. Then shop in advance. If you buy a frozen turkey, plan enough time to thaw it out totally by Dec. 25 – that is 5 hours in the fridge for every pound, 100 hours, or four and a half days for a 20-pound turkey.

WHAT KINDS OF THINGS CAN YOU DO IN ADVANCE TO BE PREPARED FOR CHRISTMAS?
That leads to my number two tip, use your freezer. If you bake several batches of cookies and freeze them, you’ll have a nice selection to serve by Christmas. You might have to hide them from your kids, but you can pull them out of the freezer for holiday parties or give them away as gifts. In fact, anything that you make yourself is always a welcome gift, especially at this time of year. Cookies freeze well, and are easy to package in pretty gift bags. Or you make things like antipasto or fig jam to serve with cheese, the kinds of things that really come in handy over the holidays. You can have appetizers ready in the freezer too, which leads me to another tip.

WHAT ABOUT APPETIZERS – ANY TIPS FOR EASY APPETIZERS?
You always need appetizers and finger food on hand to serve visitors over the holidays. Tip three: make simple stuff that you can freeze or at least make in advance. I always make a huge batch of nuts and bolts, which is a holiday tradition at my house for snacks. Dips like hummus are easy, white bean puree with rosemary, or you can make a base of cream cheese and sour cream, then flavour it with pesto or salsa, or make it really fancy by adding things like chopped smoked salmon and fresh dill. Slice up a bunch of onions and caramelize them in olive oil to serve on crostini, or mix into your dip base. Onions can be caramelized in advance, and keep several days in the fridge.
Seafood always makes an elegant and easy appetizer - boil up a few pounds of large shrimp, chill them and serve cold with a sauce made with ketchup and horseradish. Smoked salmon or gravlax is also nice with a dab of horseradish cream on a cracker.
You can also buy a tray of sushi on the day of your party from your favourite sushi restaurant, or get sushi at a good Asian supermarket like T&T. Asian supermarkets have other exotic appetizer type stuff, too, like frozen shrimp dumplings and rice paper rolls, or you can order samosas from your favourite Indian take-out. Serve a selection of marinated and stuffed olives – find the best selection at Greek or Italian markets.
I also think it’s important to find a good butcher, and serve some interesting local charcuterie to your guests this season.

CHARCUTERIE?
That’s tip number four. Charcuterie is all the rage in restaurants – we’re talking about top quality, artisan made sausages, ham, pate, terrines and other kinds of smoked and cured meats. With some nice breads, crackers and cheeses, a charcuterie platter makes an easy and instant party appetizer. Find a good butcher – a German or Polish or Italian deli – and select a few different kinds of sausages and cured meats, have them sliced and arranged on your own platters. You can’t go wrong with products from Canmore’s Valbella Meats – their sausages, smoked beef and pates are widely available. Or get a nice smoked ham sausage, some prosciutto or dried Italian sopresetta for your charcuterie platter.

GOOD IDEA. NUMBER FIVE?
Sticking with butchers, they are a godsend for entertaining. Many good butchers and fish mongers have lovely ready-to-cook products, things like rolled and stuffed roasts, pre-made beef or lamb kabobs ready for the grill, and marinated meats. I recently visited Blue Seafood Market here in Calgary, and the chef there has things like lobster thermidor, seafood pot pies and Coquilles St. Jacques, all freshly made and ready to pop in the oven and serve.

SO YOUR RECOMMEND PREPARED FOODS TO SAVE TIME AROUND THE HOLIDAYS?
Yes, but just remember to consider the source. I like the classic tourtiere and other meat pies, for example, that they have at Valta Bison, which are made by chef Tim Woods with all local ingredients. There are several nice shops in the city where chefs are making top quality prepared foods – from appetizers to main dishes and desserts for take-out. It’s not inexpensive, but you can try places like Meez or Fresh Kitchen for upscale prepared foods. Planet Organic is a great place to buy fresh, organic salads – interesting stuff like edamame beans or sweet potato salad with pecans, to serve alongside chicken or chops. Or again, think about preparing dishes like braised shortribs or lasagna in advance yourself, so you can pull them out of the freezer when you need them.

WHAT ABOUT SUPERMARKET STUFF?
That’s tip number seven. If you’re discriminating about what you choose, there are some great ideas for making holiday entertaining easier right at your local supermarket. I found some lovely marinated mushrooms in a jar, and really good chocolate covered gingerbread bites and biscotti from President’s choice. They also make a lovely cranberry orange sauce, for cheese or turkey, and frozen hors d’oeuvres like mini beef wellingtons in puff pastry.
You can get good products like imported black olive tapenade or antipasto in a jar from Italian markets like Lina’s.
Supermarkets also always have things like pita bread and hummus, French baguette and, of course, fresh vegetables like cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, broccoli and radishes for vegetable platters.
Many supermarkets also have a decent cheese counter and you can stock up on a variety of cheeses before Christmas.

HOW DO YOU SERVE CHEESE?
That’s tip number eight. There’s no end to what you can do with cheese for easy and elegant entertaining over the holidays, whether you’re serving a crowd, a bunch or kids or planning a romantic Christmas Eve.
First, get a selection of cheese – hard, soft, fresh, aged, blue – so you have a variety. Cheeses can simply be sliced or small wheels of brie served whole at room temperature with a selection of crackers, fruit or chutney.
Mash blue cheese with cream cheese or goat cheese and serve on endive leaves.
Use your Panini press, or waffle iron, to make grilled cheese sandwiches – with grainy mustard or prosciutto ham – and cut them into small squares to serve.
Marinate cubes of sharp old cheddar in brandy and serve on toothpicks, or shred and roll into a cheese ball. Cook up a big batch of macaroni and cheese for kids, or melt several cheeses down into a fondue for an intimate meal in front of the fire.

AND TIP NUMBER NINE?
Back to holiday meals – not every meal is a big production or a party. When you’re busy or have people visiting you’ll need quick lunches and simple suppers. That’s where soups come in – have a couple of batches of home made soup in the freezer for quick, satisfying meals. I like to make hearty main meal soups like black bean soup, seafood gumbo, minestrone or borscht to have on hand for healthy, easy meals.

SPEAKING OF SIMPLE MEALS, WHAT ABOUT BUFFETS?
That’s my tenth tip. It’s far easier to serve a group at home with a buffet than individual plated courses. You can have a buffet dinner – or an appetizer buffet or a dessert buffet. Think about lots of cold foods and salads that can be made in advance – sturdy grain, pasta or potato salads that stand up to advance preparation, then one hot dish on your buffet that’s cooked to order, like a nice roast of beef or pork, or a leg of lamb. Even a whole salmon. It’s also fun to decorate your buffet table to make it really festive with lots of cedar boughs and candles.

AND THE TRADITIONAL TURKEY WITH ALL THE TRIMMINGS?
Tip number 11 is all about turkey dinner. To save money, buy a regular supermarket turkey, and brine it to improve the flavour. Don’t buy turkey injected with butter and oil – a regular turkey is a far healthier way to go. Turkey is really one of the easiest things to cook, as long as you have your side dishes in order. Make your stuffing in the morning, and stuff the turkey just before you put it into the oven. Plan to make mashed potatoes and a couple of other vegetable dishes – cold dishes like marinated beets or sturdy apple/walnut/celery Waldorf salads are classic. I like to add pomegranate seeds instead of grapes for colour and crunch. Buy a bag of fresh cranberries and boil with sugar and water for the best cranberry sauce (the recipe is on the bag), and use grainy bread with lots of onions, celery and fresh thyme and sage for a really classic stuffing. Stick to seasonal vegetables to save money – root vegetables, carrots, beets, brussel sprouts, the kind of things that are in season. Frozen mixed vegetables are great to have on hand too, they are a bargain when compared to many fresh vegetables at this time of year.

ONE LAST TIP FOR YOUR 12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS?
Keep it simple, but make sure to include at least one traditional family food that you reserve for the holidays.
For me, it’s my mom’s classic Scottish shortbread, and my mother-in-law’s steamed carrot pudding. These are classic Christmas flavours at our house, along with things like dark Christmas cake, cabbage rolls and tourtiere. It might be oyster soup on Christmas Eve or eggs benedict on Christmas morning, gingerbread, rum balls or pannetone. Whatever your family background and tradition, it’s important to have these special things on the table for the holidays.

A RECIPE THIS WEEK?
I waffled about what traditional recipe to bring – shortbread, tourtiere, cabbage rolls? - but I settled on my own Christmas addiction, homemade nuts and bolts. It’s my favourite kind of junk food – I only make it at Christmas time, but everyone loves it, and it’s one of those things that’s great have on hand when visitors come calling. I can’t wait to hear about everyone else’s holiday traditions.

RECIPE:

NUTS AND BOLTS
The retro snack my mother made is still part of my holiday celebrations. From The Girl Can’t Cook (Whitecap Books) by Cinda Chavich.

1 cup non-hydrogenated margarine 250 ml
3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce 45 ml
12 cups Cheerios 3 L
2 cups Shreddies 500 ml
3 cups Rice Chex or Crispix cereal 750 ml
3 cups roasted peanuts (skinless) 750 ml
4 cups straight pretzels, broken into 1-inch pieces (skinny ones)1 L
1 tablespoon celery salt 15 ml
2 teaspoons onion salt 10 ml
1 teaspoon granulated garlic 5 ml

Get out the biggest roasting pan you have (you might need two).
In a small saucepan, melt the margarine and whisk in the Worcestershire. Set aside.
Combine the cereals, peanuts and pretzel bits, and toss. Drizzle the margarine mixture evenly over top, mixing gently with a wooden spoon to coat everything.
Then sprinkle on the celery salt, onion salt and garlic powder and toss to season everything evenly. Taste – if you think you need more flavoring, add it now.
Place the pan(s) in a 200ºF oven and bake for 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally. Cool and store in large plastic containers (or freeze). Then drag it out when you’re ready to pass the sidecars and artichoke dip at the family Christmas party, or whenever you’re feeling festive. Weird traditions die hard. Makes tons.

The GAME’S The Thing

Wed, 16 Dec 2009 14:37:42 -0700

By CINDA CHAVICH

When it comes to local Alberta cuisine there may be nothing more indigenous than elk and bison, the wild game meats that sustained First Nations families long before we put cattle on the open range.
While there are still wild elk herds and a few free-ranging bison in the West - and some hunters will put wild game in their freezers every fall - the game that’s served in restaurants and sold in local butcher shops is farmed.
The result is a clean and exceptionally lean red meat, and something that’s a true flavour of the foothills when paired with the season’s wild mushrooms and prairie berries.

THE FOOD
Elk and bison are popular game meats with chefs, because the steak and roast cuts they provide are familiar, and very similar to beef.
Bison is the closest relative to cattle, and the strip loin and rib eye steaks, sirloin tip and shoulder roasts, could easily pass for lean, grass-fed beef on the plate.
Bison, or buffalo as it’s been erroneously named, has a rich, beefy flavour that some people describe as “more like old-fashioned beef” – that is, the kind that ranged on wild pasture, before it became fashionable to fatten cattle in feedlots. It has a dense texture and slightly sweet flavour when served medium rare, as it must be – the lack of intramuscular fat is what surely differentiates bison from beef.
In fact, bison is raised without growth hormones, antibiotics and animal by-products, and is very low in fat and cholesterol, but dense in protein and iron, so you’ll be satisfied with a smaller portion.
The numbers are impressive. A 100-g portion of cooked bison has 2.42 g of fat, 143 calories, 82 mg of cholesterol, and 3.42 mg of iron – a similar portion of beef has 9.28 g of fat, 211 calories, 86 mg of cholesterol and 2 mg of iron; while 100 grams of lean chicken clocks in at 7.41 g fat, 190 calories, 89 mg of cholesterol, and 1.21 mg of iron.
Elk is a very lean red meat, too, but it’s denser with even higher levels of protein and B vitamins. A 100-g portion of elk has 3.41 g of fat, 162 calories, 72 mg of cholesterol and 4.07 mg of iron.
Like bison, elk are raised in a free-range environment, without hormones, steroids or antibiotics. These massive beasts, with their white rumps and barrel chests are the giants of the deer family. The Wapiti, as it’s known in the Shawnee language, can reach 800-1,000 pounds, so unlike other smaller deer, you’ll find elk venison cuts that are similar to beef, from short ribs and loins to rib eye steaks.
Because it is raised on ranches and slaughtered under controlled conditions, farmed game meat has none of the “gamey” flavour of wild meat. In fact, most chefs described the flavour of farmed bison and elk as mild, with a rich and slightly sweet taste that marries well with tart wild berries and fruity red wine reductions.

THE FIND
Luckily, you don’t have to head out into the bush with a shotgun to serve game at home.
Canadian Rocky Mountain Resorts (CRMR), which owns many popular restaurants and hotels (including Emerald Lake Lodge, Buffalo Mountain Lodge, Divino, Cilantro and The Ranche) has recently opened CRMR at Home, a take-out spot featuring their own breads, desserts, stocks, pizzas, sauces, condiments and farm-raised bison, elk and caribou. You’ve probably never noticed the nondescript little two-story building next to Cilantro’s walled patio on 17th Avenue, but that’s where to shop for fresh and frozen cuts of game meat, along with CRMR executive chef Alistair Barnes’ game stocks, reductions, meatballs, meat sauces, game pies, plus game sausages and charcuterie from Valbella Meats in Canmore.
Valta Bison’s little shop in Ramsay is the place for fresh bison steaks, roasts, burgers, sausages (from bison/Saskatoon breakfast sausages and bison chorizo to fresh bison Italian sausage and cheese smokies) and products from other local producers. Valta Bison also has a meat counter at the Calgary Farmer’s Market (CFM), and a space at the Sweetgrass Market. With information about how to cook bison, bison-inspired pottery, rubs, locally-made bbq sauces and specialty products like lean ‘Montreal smoked’ bison and tender, house-roasted bison for sandwiches, this is a one-stop shop for this indigenous prairie meat. You’ll even find daily lunch specials – bison chili, bison burritos and bbq bison on a bun.
Also at the CFM is Craig Armstrong of Wapiti Ways. These Alberta elk producers graze their elk herd near Pigeon Lake, and sell their own steaks, roasts, sausages, plus elk tourtiere, elk gumbo, elk calzone and shepherd’s pie, created by Pigeon Lake chef Tim Wood. Look for lean ground elk burgers, elk sirloin, elk garlic ring and elk antler for treating arthritis, too.
Several local butcher shops – from Second to None Meats to Bon Ton Meats, Venture Meats and Gour-Mart – routinely carry game meats. But game ranchers say it’s important to know the source the meat when you’re buying game to guarantee consistent quality.

THE FIX
The rich and meaty flavours of bison, venison and elk work best with intense sauces. Anything with wild blueberries, currants or saskatoons seems to naturally compliment the flavours of game, and it marries well with woodland mushrooms, juniper berries, rose hip jelly and Port reductions.
Because bison and elk are much leaner than beef, both are a little trickier to cook. While a highly marbled beef steak can survive overcooking to well-done, you won’t be happy if you cook game meats past medium (155F) – the results will be dry and tough.
Rare (135F) or medium rare (145F) is preferred for both elk and bison steaks – cooked quickly on high heat on the grill. Larger steaks or roasts should be cooked at lower heat (275-325F), low and slow, to medium rare (145F). Use an instant-read oven thermometer to test the internal temperature, and let roasts rest for 20-30 minutes before carving.
At Valta Bison, round roasts are rubbed with Diamond Lake seasoning rub and roasted, uncovered with a little water in the pan at 300F, to an internal temperature of 145 D (65C) then wrapped in foil, chilled thoroughly, and sliced thin for roast bison sandwiches.
Elk is even leaner than bison, and should be cooked slowly on medium heat, too. Armstrong says steaks shouldn’t be cut too thick, and must be cooked on medium heat (around 350F) for only 3-4 minutes per side, to a maximum internal temperature of 130F (55C). Cook elk roasts, covered with a little red wine or water, at 325 F. And always let the meat rest, to allow the juices to settle, before serving.
While farmed game should never taste wild or gamey, Armstrong says you can improve any wild meat by marinating it in whole milk (not skim milk) for 20 minutes.
Like beef, both elk and bison come in tender cuts for grilling and roasting, and less tender cuts for braising. These specialty meats have a premium price tag – about $33/kg for elk sirloin steak or a “baseball” sirloin bison steak – so make sure that you protect your investment by cooking low and slow, and never past medium rare.

This Urban Forager column appeared in Avenue magazine in November 2009

The Flu - fight back with healthy foods

Wed, 16 Dec 2009 14:22:43 -0700

Thoughts of H1N1 flu vaccinations are on everyone’s mind these days, but are ways to prevent the flu by strengthening your immune system? Cinda Chavich, CBC’s our food and cooking columnist, talked about how to fight the flu with healthy foods.

Listen...

SO HOW ARE YOU DOING ON THE FLU FRONT?
I haven’t been able to get a flu shot but so far so good – we seem healthy.
But even at my house, we’ve been talking about what kinds of things we can do to prevent the flu by eating a good immune boosting diet, and what kinds of foods we might want to have on hand, just in case we do get sick.

SO ARE THERE FOODS THAT YOU CAN EAT NOW TO HELP YOU FIGHT OFF THE FLU BUG?
There absolutely are foods that support the immune system, and that are anti-bacterial and anti-viral. A good balanced diet, with lots of fruits and vegetables, is your best defence.
It’s the phytonutrients found in fruits and vegetables that really do the most for keeping us healthy, so the best advice during flu season, is an apple – or two or three – a day, with lots of other fresh, colourful plant foods.
Again, anything that’s high in Vitamin C – citrus fruit, red bell peppers, strawberries – and green plants – from spinach and kale to wheatgrass and seaweed – help maintain a strong immune system.
So eat your greens, eat as much fresh fruit, salad, and dark coloured fruits and vegetables – blueberries, red grapes, cranberries, beets, spinach – and orange coloured foods – carrots, squash, oranges and sweet potatoes have beta carotene which is also important for the immune system.

WHAT OTHER KINDS OF FOODS FIGHT INFECTION?
Some other foods that are important to eat to prevent the flu include garlic, it’s antiviral, especially when fresh; the flavinoid quercetin, found in apples, onions, broccoli and tomatoes; green tea which also has anti-viral properties: foods rich in Vitamin D like baked salmon, tuna, sardines, milk and cereal; yogurt with live and active probiotic cultures, and other fresh fermented foods like sauerkraut and miso, that fight bacteria; and chilies, which are rich in Vitamin C like other Vitamin C fruits and veggies including red bell peppers, kiwi, oranges, brussel sprouts, cantaloupe and papaya. Mushrooms are also loaded with selenium which helps build disease fighting white blood cells, and even chocolate is said to support T cells, important in the immune system.
So really, you should strive for a balanced diet – heavy on the fruits and veggies, and lean protein from both vegetable and animal sources - it’s important to remember that you can’t get swine flu from pork

WHAT ABOUT GOOD OLD CHICKEN SOUP TO FIGHT A FLU?
They don’t call chicken soup Jewish penicillin for nothing – there really is something curative in chicken soup, in fact, studies have shown that chicken soup has anti-inflammatory properties and so really does help to relieve a head cold. It’s even better if you add vegetables like carrots, celery and garlic, or some fresh ginger and a spoonful of fermented miso paste.
Any kind of soup is good when you’re sick – it’s hot, easy to digest and delivers lots of food value in the form of soluable vitamins and minerals that are leached out during the cooking process. You can make some homemade soups and freeze them now, to sustain you if you get sick.

WHAT IF YOU OR SOMEONE ELSE GETS SICK AT YOUR HOUSE?
Well, as you know, when you have the flu, the best thing to do is to stay in bed and drink lots of fluids. That’s where soups, teas and juices come into play.
Your doctor may prescribe antiviral drugs or antibiotics to deal with bacterial infections, but one bit of information that surprised me, that I found on the Centres for Disease Control website, was the warning against aspirin. They specifically warn flu sufferers to avoid aspirin, also known as acetylsalicylic acid or ASA) and to check all over-the-counter cold and flu medications to make sure they don’t contain aspirin. Fevers and aches should be treated with Tylenol or Ibuprofen, things like Advil and Motrin.
Water is important, but it’s also important to drink things like chicken broth or fruit juices, to prevent dehydration and give you the vitamins and minerals you need to fight the flu.

DO YOU HAVE SOME SUGGESTIONS FOR HEALTHY DRINKS?
When you’re sick, you might not feel like eating much, but a hot drink always helps. Mugs of plain hot chicken broth, flavoured with chili peppers and ginger, can really help clear your head.
I also like to make a honey and lemon ginger tea by steeping fresh minced ginger in boiling water or green tea, with lots of honey and fresh lemon juice. I keep my lemon ginger tea hot in a thermos by the bed – it stays hot for hours and really soothes a sore throat.
Vegetable juices are good, too, either hot or cold. You can make your own fresh vegetable and fruit juices if you have a juicer. Juices are easy to digest and offer all of the vitamins and minerals your body needs to fight off infection.

FRESH JUICES AND SMOOTHIES ARE GREAT – ANY REAL IMMUNE BOOSTING COMBINATIONS?
Some simple things you can make in the blender are smoothies made with fresh fruits, juices and yogurt. I like the basic combination of orange juice, with a banana and plain or vanilla yogurt – you can add fresh pineapple or mango chunks, even frozen strawberries or blueberries to the basic orange and banana combination. Or you can throw in some soft tofu to add a little protein to the mix.
The great thing about fruit smoothies, is that kids love them, even if they’re sick, and they’re easy on the stomach.
If you have a good juicer, you can make really healthy fruit and vegetable juices too – I like a combination of carrots, with a fresh apple and ginger for lots of vitamins, potassium, calcium and other minerals.
Green drinks are also loaded with nutrients, so you can add a spoonful of the green drink supplements that you find at health food stores and pharmacies to any juice mixture.
Or you can make a really green flu fighting juice from scratch, with things like fresh ginger root, garlic, spinach, lemon, celery, carrots and cayenne – and heat it up before drinking. Ginger is antiviral and garlic is said to be a natural antibiotic. Like citrus fruit, cayenne pepper is high in vitamin C.

DID YOU BRING RECIPES?
Yes, I brought some recipes for simple smoothies to make when you’re feeling sick – or to keep your immune system strong to fight off infection before you get sick. And I also brought a recipe for spicy Thai Hot and Sour Soup. There’s nothing as good as chicken soup for a cold, and this soup starts with a chicken broth base, and has lots of other immune boosters like garlic, ginger and chilies. Good for what ails you!

This column was aired on CBC radio in Alberta in November 2009.

click here for Cinda’s immune-boosting recipes...

Fall Fermentation - sauerkraut SEASON

Fri, 2 Oct 2009 11:15:34 -0600

Just in time for your Octoberfest parties, CBC’s food and cooking columnist, Cinda Chavich is here to fill you in on the finer points of fermentation – and making sauerkraut.

click here to listen to Cinda on CBC radio...

SO WHY IN THE WORLD ARE YOU INTERESTED IN LEARNING HOW TO MAKE SAUERKRAUT?
Well, it is fall and in many parts of the world, that means it’s time to ferment grapes and make wine.
And while we don’t have grapes in Alberta, we do have all of the same fall conditions for “wild fermentation” – that is the wild yeasts in the air to start the fermentation process – and here in Alberta, what was historically fermented in the fall, along with maybe some dill pickles and some chokecherry or saskatoon wine, was sauerkraut.
In fact, I just came back from a Sauerkraut Festival at The Jungle, a U-pick farm just outside of Innisfail, where I learned everything you’d ever want to know about making, and serving sauerkraut.

A SAUERKRAUT FESTIVAL – THAT SOUNDS LIKE AN INTERESTING EVENT
Yes, it was the first annual Sauerkraut Festival at The Jungle, a lovely family farm where they grow vegetables, pumpkins, and have all kinds of things that make a visit with your family an interesting outing.
In September they had their Sauerkraut Festival, and coming up this weekend, on Saturday, is the annual Fall Festival, complete with wagon rides, fortune telling, a corn maze, duck races, a Mini Cooper car show and, of course, pumpkin picking, in their massive fields of pumpkins.
It was a similar day at the Sauerkraut Festival – with the addition of cabbage bowling, sausages and sauerkraut to eat, and, of course, a demonstration in making sauerkraut from scratch.

SO HOW DO YOU MAKE SAUERKRAUT?
Well, there are two kinds of sauerkraut, as it turns out – the old-fashioned home-style method of making fresh sauerkraut, and the more commercial style. The latter is pickled in a salt and vinegary brine, and sealed in jars – basically cooked and pasteurized.
But the old-fashioned kind of sauerkraut – the kind that many people from Germany and Poland and Eastern Europe might remember making – is simply made by slicing fresh cabbage, salting it and letting it ferment in barrels.
At The Jungle, Leona Staples showed me how she was making sauerkraut, using sliced cabbage and pickling salt – about 3 ounces of pickling salt for every 10 pounds of sliced cabbage – and fermenting it in large food-safe plastic pails.
The cabbage and salt is pounded together, using a large wooden stick, to bruise the cabbage and release the liquid from the vegetable. The cabbage and juices are then weighted down – Leona Staples uses a big bag of water but traditionally they’d use a board, weighed down with a rock – the idea is to make sure the cabbage is down below the level of the liquid.
Because you want it to ferment, but you want an anerobic fermentation – that is, without oxygen. Leona said she only fills her containers about half full because the fermenting sauerkraut will bubble and foam up while it’s working. She keeps the pails in a warm place during fermentation – it takes about two weeks to complete the fermentation process which gives the cabbage a slightly sour, tangy taste.
Then you can keep the sauerkraut in a covered container in the refrigerator for several months. Or you can pack it in canning jars, seal them and process them for about 10 minutes for pint jars, for shelf stable storage.

WHAT IS THE HISTORY OF MAKING SAUERKRAUT IN ALBERTA?
Traditionally, sauerkraut was make is big glazed clay crocks, the kind that were made at the Medicine Hat potteries. Many people made their pickles in open crocks, and sauerkraut was a similar process.
Any families with German, Ukrainian or Eastern European heritage might have had a big wooden slicer for sauerkraut – something that looks like an oversized grater with a box that slides across the top, to hold the cabbage for cutting it into thin slivers.
I talked to Lothar Twardzik at the Sauerkraut Festival on the farm. He was there with his accordion, to play German music to set the scene for the festival. He grew up in Germany, in Hanover, and remembers that sauerkraut making season was a big family affair – they used a large wooden box grater to shred the cabbage and, when he was a kid, his job was to stomp around in the barrel to release the juices from the vegetables.
Some people also put other vegetables into the cabbage with the sauerkraut – shredded carrots or peppers. But coarse pickling salt is the only other ingredient – the natural, wild yeasts in the air and on the cabbage start the fermentation that pickles and preserves it.

YOU MENTIONED WILD FERMENTATION?
Yes, this means using the wild yeast that are naturally in the air to ferment – whether you’re making sourdough bread, wine or sauerkraut.
Using wild yeast is a trend in the artisan wine making business these days – while it’s risky to use wild yeasts, because it’s harder to control the fermentation, they can give you unique flavours in the wine, and a real sense of place or terroir.
It’s wild yeast that also ferment your sour dough starter for making bread – this is actually the best time of year to yet that kind of a starter started. You can use grapes or apples as a base for sourdough, then use and feed your starter indefinitely.
A lot of chefs have been experimenting with Wild Fermentation, thanks to a book of the same name by Sandor Katz, that came out a few years back. Fermentation is also something that happens in the sausage-making process – when you’re making dried sausages like salami or yogurt or natural cheeses – it’s the fermentation that creates the acidity that preserves the meat, and gives the sausage or yogurt or kimchi its unique tangy flavour.
It’s the same thing that sours sauerkraut. This naturally made fermented cabbage is actually quite healthy – the microscopic bacteria and fungi that ferment foods, things like lactobacillus, are actually very good for you, they aid in digestion and protect against disease. In unprocessed sauerkraut, you get that live culture, which is what you want.

I KNOW SOME LOCAL CHEFS ARE EXPERIMENTING WITH THEIR OWN SAUSAGE AND CHARCUTERIE – BUT SAUERKRAUT?
Yes, if you go to the River Café here in Calgary, you’ll find chef Scott Pohorelic serving his own house-made sauerkraut on the bison smoked meat sandwiches (that bison smoked meat, by the way, from Valta Bison here in Alberta is amazing stuff).
John Jackson, who is set to open the new Charcut Restaurant in Calgary in December, is doing a lot of local food preservation, including cabbage and even fennel kraut, fermented in traditional glazed crocks from Medicine Hat Potteries.
Leona Staples sells her sauerkraut on the farm and at the Calgary Farmers Market – she’s one of the Innisfail Growers – and says a lot of her customers are from France or Germany or Europe. They really appreciate the fresh crunchy texture and flavour of the sauerkraut made with fresh local cabbage and nothing but a little salt.

AND OTHER THAN THE CLASSIC REUBEN SANDWICH, HOW ELSE WOULD YOU SERVE SAUERKRAUT?
Sauerkraut and pork are a perfect match, and it goes especially well with smoked meats and even smoked fish.
It’s great on a grilled frankfurter or smokie – the classic German style sausage and sauerkraut.
Or there’s the French dish known as choucroute – from the Alsace region of France – that combines sauerkraut with sausage and pork hocks.
There’s a similar polish dish, called Hunter’s Stew or Bigos, made with sauerkraut, smoked sausage, smoked ham and other smoked meats.
Blaine Staples told me his Polish mother filled her perogies with ground pork and sauerkraut, and I’ve had delicious perogies with mushroom and sauerkraut filling.
It does go with Smoked Meat on a classic Rueben sandwich, but you can put sauerkraut on any sandwich or wrap. We even put a little on the corn tortillas we were filling with chili and avocado for dinner last week.
You can put it in soups, like borscht or potato soup with bacon, sauté it with bacon and onions, use it as a base for braised pork dishes with white wine and apples, or layer it with cabbage rolls before you bake them.
Unlike the more vinegary commercial sauerkraut, this fresh homemade version isn’t too sour and doesn’t need to be rinsed. You can cook with it, or use it fresh as a side dish with almost anything.

RECIPES?
I brought a recipe for Hunter’s Stew that I created for my newest Pressure Cooker Cookbook, a very classic Polish stew made with smoked sausage and bacon and ham, along with mushrooms and sauerkraut, and a recipe for Polish Sausage and Cabbage Soup from my book High Plains, a rich and creamy potato soup, also flavoured with smoked sausage and sauerkraut, but more like a meaty chowder.

Click here for Cinda’s sauerkraut recipes...

ARAXI’S WORLD CLASS CANADIAN CUISINE

Sun, 30 Aug 2009 14:10:42 -0600

WHISTLER’S UN-HELLISH KITCHEN

By CINDA CHAVICH

In an early episode of this season’s Hell’s Kitchen, one contestant in the culinary reality show rips off his chef’s jacket and challenges host Gordon Ramsay to take it outside.
That’s not the kind of thing you’d expect to see in chef James Walt’s kitchen at Araxi in Whistler, but the last chef standing will soon be there, winning the job of head chef on Walt’s brigade for a year.
By October we’ll all know which of the TV cooks will emerge from Ramsay’s well-orchestrated living hell and into the light of laidback Whistler, a mountain town locals love for its cool, collaborative vibe. It will be like escaping a dysfunctional relationship, into the arms of a caring friend – for chef Walt is the antithesis of the abusive, expletive-spewing persona Ramsay unleashes on Hell’s Kitchen.
“I always had issues with authority figures, and I never bought into that,” says Walt of Ramsay’s draconian style. “I’ve worked around people like that but I’m not like that. You don’t have to lead by fear - I think you can lead by example.”
Despite being odd bedfellows on the surface, Ramsay’s declaration on CBC’s The Hour earlier this year that Araxi was the best restaurant in Canada, and would host the reality show’s victor, has been good for Araxi, and owner Jack Evrensel’s other popular Vancouver properties (West, CinCin, Blue Water Café).
And it’s thrust Walt – an acclaimed chef for more than a decade in this country – into the international spotlight. His first book, the Araxi Cookbook, to be released in October by Douglas & McIntyre, is already selling briskly in pre-orders and there’s been “a flood of interest” in the restaurant, he says.
The wide screen TV installed in the restaurant lounge for the upcoming 2010 Olympic Winter Games is now tuned to the reality show every Tuesday, for Araxi’s Hell’s Kitchen night, including a $35 four-course menu. It’s an event that’s consistently sold out.
“It’s been pretty crazy,” says Walt. “People think he’s up here and they want to book when he’s in the kitchen.”
Ramsay, in fact, hasn’t been in Whistler since February – when the FOX television crew filmed segments with Araxi staff, slated to air as part of the show this fall.
Fame has certainly put Araxi under the microscope, some of the attention unwelcome. A 2008 health inspector’s report, which found several violations at Araxi and other Whistler establishments, made news in the Vancouver Sun on August 1, despite the fact that several subsequent inspections gave the restaurant a clean bill.
Ramsay isn’t the first to recognize the high calibre of cuisine coming out of Araxi’s kitchen. Set in the centre of the Whistler village – the pedestrian mall of shops, pubs and hotels at the base of the Whistler-Blackcomb ski resort – Araxi has been named top Whistler restaurant for nine consecutive years.
Walt has been leading the kitchen off and on here since 1997, with stints in between cooking for the Canadian Ambassador in Rome and opening Vancouver’s Blue Water Café. He’s cooked at the James Beard House in New York, led the kitchen at Sooke Harbour House, and built Araxi’s stellar reputation.
He says he was pretty much in the dark about any backroom deals with the British celebrity chef, who was crossing Canada on a book promotion tour when he arrived at Araxi to dine.
“No, I did not know that before I fed him,” says Walt. “There was a lot of talk, a lot of things swirling around, that we were being ‘looked at’ so I knew he was coming, but that’s all.”
Walt says everything he served Ramsay was “off the menu” and the celebrity chef “was just blown away.”
“I got a chance to meet him and talk to him for quite awhile,” adds Walt. “He came into the kitchen, and asked about my family and my kids. I was really impressed with the guy.”
Ramsay was really impressed with Walt and his team, too, declaring that the restaurant could have “two or three Michelin stars.” That’s the kind of publicity restaurant owners love.
“I respect chef Ramsay’s talent, and when Gordon Ramsay is talking about you, it does have a really positive effect,” says Everensel who brokered the Hell’s Kitchen deal over the last two years. “It has been wonderful for the restaurant – it’s a real feather in our cap.”
Both Ramsay and chef Heston Blumenthal have endorsed Walt’s cookbook, which reflects the region, his seasonal style of cooking and recipes created for the restaurant over the years.
“Everything I’ve liked in cookbooks, I’ve tried to include in this book,” says Walt. “It’s off the menu, but it’s also 100% a book you can cook from – there’s something for everybody.”
Walt’s food is born of collaboration, not only with his kitchen team but with the local fishers and farmers. He buys from several farmers in the neighboring Pemberton Valley, including organic grower (and local mayor) Jordan Sturdy, who grows almost every possible vegetable including exotic items like crosnes and salsify.“I have been working with Jordan (Sturdy) for 10 years, and that has been the key to what we can do on a large scale,” says Walt. “Helmers have 15 varieties of organic heirloom potatoes and Bruce Miller grows all of our greens and arugula – the best I’ve ever had. When he calls in the morning, it makes your eyes tingle.”
When Walt fed Ramsay and his entourage in January, it wasn’t exactly high season for local produce, but he went to his root cellar for the storage crops he serves in mid-winter. He served Ramsay a frothy scallop soup with B.C. spot prawns, octopus and Qualicum Bay scallops, a stuffed saddle of rabbit from the Fraser Valley, natural AAA beef tenderloin and braised short rib from Pemberton Meadows farm, and local tuna, seared tataki style, with North Arm Farm crosnes, salsify and sunchokes, pickled in a maple vinaigrette. Dessert featured pears from a nearby orchard. The menu was paired with B.C. wines.
It’s ironic that the chef who can hold his (or her) own against the tirades of one of the nastiest men in the professional kitchen, will find a new reality in Walt’s collegial kitchen. While the winner hasn’t yet arrived in Whistler, Evrensel says the contract has been signed and “that person is coming” in early 2010, in time to bolster Araxi’s longtime brigade during the Olympics.
Walt says he discussed the dynamics of hiring the Hell’s Kitchen winner with his chefs, some who have been working with him for more than a decade.
“Whoever it is will be coming into a very talented team and I don’t want this to affect my team in any way,” he says. “I will have tasks and jobs and they will be expected to work.”
“But fresh blood is always a good thing, and hopefully I will be able to teach them some new things, and they will have something to offer as well.”

click here for a recipe from James Walt’s new cookbook, Araxi (Douglas & McIntyre)...

(This story appeared in the Globe and Mail newspaper)

©Cinda Chavich 2009
www.tastereport.com

INTO THE WILD: PICKING SASKATOONS CLOSE TO CALGARY

Sat, 15 Aug 2009 11:52:49 -0600

click here to listen to Cinda’s column on CBC radio....

Summer has been slow arriving this year but there are some advantages – the Saskatoon berry season is extending well into August. Cinda Chavich, our food and cooking columnist, recently spent some time picking her favourite prairie fruit.

FIRST, FOR PEOPLE WHO DON’T KNOW, WHAT ARE SASKATOONS?
Saskatoons are the quintessential prairie berry – a fruit that grows wild on tall, leggy bushes that you’ll find in the coulees and river valleys across western Canada.
They’re sweet little dark blue berries – but what saskatoons are not, is blueberries.
People who grow up with saskatoons usually prefer them to blueberries – whereas those who grew up eating blueberries, usually say saskatoons are inferior.
I don’t know if it’s an acquired taste, but I love the sweet wild flavour of saskatoons.
Saskatoons are definitely seedier than blueberries – they’re actually related to roses and rose hips – but there’s no doubt saskatoons are sweeter than blueberries, at least the giant blue fruits grown commercially and sold at the supermarket that I’ve been buying this summer.
The saskatoons I picked were about half as big as the oversized blueberries from B.C., and more of a reddish purple in color, but the flavour is incredibly sweet, a little like honey with a lovely aftertaste of sweet almond paste. I brought you some blueberries and saskatoons so that you can taste the difference.
Growers says there’s sort of a cult around the Saskatoon berry among prairie people – so if you grew up here like I did, there’s really nothing like the flavour of saskatoons, fresh or baked up in pies.

MMMM….I DO TASTE THAT NICE NUTTY ALMOND FLAVOUR IN THE SASKATOONS, THEY ARE REALLY SWEET…SO SASKATOONS ARE STILL IN SEASON?
Yes, it’s quite amazing – saskatoons are usually finished in July but the weather has been so cold, and recently so wet, that the Saskatoon season has been quite slow to ripen here in Alberta this year. It really depends which part of the province you’re in – but in central Alberta and around Calgary, there are still lots of berries on the bushes and if the weather stays warm, there should be a week or so left for picking.
I was out at Pearson’s Berry Farm near Innisfail over the weekend, and I picked my fill of ripe berries one sunny afternoon.

HOW WAS THE PICKING?
It was really a lot of fun. I could have bought a four-litre pail of berries, already picked for $18, but I decided to go out into the field and pick my own instead. I saved $6 by picking the pail myself – and it really took me back to childhood summers, when I’d be picking berries with my dad and my cousins out in the country, while my grandmother and my mom and aunts made pies.
The picking was pretty slow – it took me an hour and a half to pick my four-litre pail – so you might not consider that particularly cost effective, but it was an enjoyable afternoon.
Because the berries have been ripening slowly and unevenly, you can only pick a few berries at a time, which makes it slow. But I was careful only to pick the nicest and ripest berries, so I brought home some really nice fruit.

PICKING YOURSELF DOES SAVE MONEY, BUT THERE ARE OTHER REWARDS
It made me think of those really special wines, made with grapes that are hand picked and selected – there is a lot of value in something that you actually grow or go out to pick yourself.
If you bring your kids along they’ll learn more about where their food comes from, and how much work it takes to grow and harvest it.
Plus, there’s a great back story – the whole family will remember the day you went for a drive out into the country to pick Saskatoons, and the tasty Saskatoon pie and ice cream you had at the farm after you finished picking. I think there’s value in that.
Most U-pick operations offer pre-picked fruit at a premium, usually about $18 for a 4-litre pail versus $12 or $13 if you pick yourself. And if you buy berries at the market they can be a lot more - last week, I paid $6 for about 2 cups of berries at the Crossroads Market, so that’s a pretty steep markup.

ARE THE U-PICK BERRIES YOU FIND ON THE FARM SIMILAR TO WILD SASKATOON BERRIES?
They’re special cultivars – Smoky and Northland saskatoons - that were developed at the University of Saskatchewan for orchard production, and they’re more consistent and usually a little bigger than wild saskatoons, but the flavour is the same.
I have some wild bushes that are really tall – it’s pretty hard to pick the berries that are on the highest branches. But most of the bushes at Pearson’s are only 6-7 feet high so you can reach up and bend the top branches down to pick.
And it’s a lot easier to pick berries from bushes that are neatly planted in row – getting to the wild berries in steep hillsides or out in the bush can be a lot trickier.

ARE SASKATOON BERRIES GOOD FOR YOU?
Yes, they’re similar to blueberries, a fruit that’s now been dubbed a “super food” for it’s antioxidant properties.
Like blueberries, saskatoons are small fruits with lots of deep purple coloring – and we know that a lot of the healthy properties in fruits and vegetables are found in their deep colours. Saskatoons are especially high in fibre, B Vitamins, iron and antioxidants.
Saskatoons actually also contain higher levels of protein, fibre and fat than other fruit, and are a wild source of Vitamin C.
We know that saskatoons were the berries that kept prairie First Nations people healthy – dried saskatoons, pounded with dried buffalo meat, made pemmican, a combination of protein, fat and important vitamins in a single food that was a staple in their winter diet.

YOU SAID YOU CAN BUY BERRIES – OTHER SASKATOON PRODUCTS THAT ARE AVAILABLE?
Yes, the people at Pearson’s Berry Farm make a variety of jams and syrups with saskatoons, as well as pies, tarts and pie filling. They even make a Saskatoon berry flavoured lemonade and a concentrate for hot Saskatoon berry cider.
Many of the U-pick Saskatoon farms offer fresh saskatoon products, like pies and muffins. I especially like the butter tarts made with saskatoon berries instead of raisins from Pearson’s Berry Farm.
You can even buy Saskatoon berry wine here in Alberta – Field Stone Fruit Winery near Strathmore makes a dry Saskatoon berry wine and a Saskatoon berry dessert wine that you can buy direct from the winery, or at the Calgary Farmer’s Market.

AND WHAT DO YOU PLAN TO DO WITH YOUR SASKATOON BERRIES?
Most of them are already in the freezer. I just washed them well and dumped them into zippered freezer bags. They freeze well and you can use them later in pies, muffins, smoothies or other desserts.
I made a nice Saskatoon berry and apple crisp – the saskatoons really add a lovely flavour and colour. I used the thin-skinned new crop Transparent Apples, which are really tart and delicious, and added a couple of cups of saskatoons – with an oatmeal, butter and brown sugar topping it’s a really easy and delicious dessert. We even ate the leftovers for breakfast.
But Saskatoon pie is really the classic dessert for prairie people. Just make a double pie crust – I just use the easy recipe on the box of lard – and fill the pie with 4 cups of Saskatoon berries tossed with about ½ cup of sugar, seal with a top crust and bake at 350F for 45 minutes.
Or you can use saskatoons anywhere you might use blueberries, in muffins, in fruit sauces to serve over cheesecake, or in jams and jellies.
I even use saskatoons in savoury dishes – in Saskatoon berry and mustard sauce to serve over roasted pork tenderloin, or in a juniper berry and port sauce to serve with beef or venison. I even make my own “pemmican” patties or meatballs, made with ground bison or ground beef, and Saskatoon berries, to serve with pancakes for breakfast, or glazed with wild berry jelly for appetizers.

SO DID YOU BRING US A RECIPE?
Yes, we’ll post a couple of easy recipes on the website from my book High Plains – one for my Apple Berry Crisp that combines apples and saskatoons for a simple but delicious dessert, and the other for the pemmican patties, something really local to serve at your next party or Sunday brunch.

click here for Cinda’s Saskatoon berry recipes...

BACON: Everything you ever wanted to know, and more

Fri, 24 Jul 2009 18:34:02 -0600

PERFECT PIG

By CINDA CHAVICH

Salty, crispy, fatty, smoky – what’s not to like about bacon?
Served alongside your morning eggs or added to that toasted summer tomato sandwich, bacon is an essential ingredient. Almost every culture (save those that eschew pork) have come to the same conclusion, that salting and smoking the pig’s streaky belly bits turns something simple into something sublime.

THE FOOD
While you can now buy beef, turkey and even vegetarian “bacon”, true bacon is strictly made from pork bellies, a cut that’s heavily streaked with fat.
When you cook bacon, much of that fat is rendered away, and the kind of bacon you end up with on the plate depends on how fatty it was to begin with.
While I want my bacon to be meaty, I like the crispy bits, too. Bacon that’s too lean, leaves out this part of the essential bacon equation. On the other hand, too much fat gives you lots of crackly bacon bits, but not much else. According to my Food Lover’s Companion food dictionary, the best bacon is ideally half, or even two-thirds fat, “because fat gives bacon its sweet flavour and tender crispness.”
All bacon is cured before smoking and most cures include nitrites to fix the red color of the meat. Some butchers also make nitrite-free bacon but, in most cases, bacon contains at least some nitrites.
Salt, smoke and sugar are the other essential flavours in bacon. While some mass produced versions rely on artificial maple or smoke flavorings, the best bacon starts with a brine that balances salt and sugar to cure the pork, and a real smokehouse to add the essential woodsmoke.
The best classic bacon comes from European butchers – in Calgary that means the Polish, Hungarian and German experts in the smoking traditions. Italians also make their own special kind of peppery rolled bacon – called pancetta. Back bacon (a.k.a. Canadian bacon) is an entirely different animal – lean slices of smoked pork loin that’s more like ham than side bacon.
While you might find a “dry-cured” bacon from a small butcher, most bacon is “wet-cured”, that is, immersed in a salty brine for three or four days before smoking. Mass produced bacon is also pumped full of liquid and even phosphates and chemical flavours, to cure the meat faster and add bulk, not what you really want in your bacon.

THE FIND
Luckily, there are still some old-fashioned, European butchers left in Calgary who have their own small smoke houses and make their own smoky bacon from scratch, brining the pork naturally and smoking it over real wood fires. Nitrites are minimal, or non-existent, in these handmade meats, making them the tastiest and healthiest of all.
In foodie circles, the hottest thing is THICK bacon, sliced in slabs ¼-inch thick. When you buy bacon direct from small butchers, you can have it sliced the way you like it – thin (about 35 strips per pound), regular (16-20 strips per pound) or thick (12-16 slices per pound), and even buy bacon rinds to chop up for crispy cracklings.
I always ask for my bacon cut thick, too, but found the thinner slices, especially of the leanest bacon, were crisper when cooked.
Salting and hot smoking helps preserve bacon, but it only has a shelf life of a week the refrigerator. Wrap well and freeze for longer storage.

THE FIND
Every small butcher has their own secret recipe for brining and smoking their bacon, so the best way to find one that you like is to try a few different kinds. It also depends what you’re going to do with the bacon you buy – a thicker meatier bacon might be best for sandwiches but won’t crumble for a spinach salad.As your devoted food sleuth, I not only scoured the city in search of artisan bacon makers, I conducted a pseudo-scientific experiment with the spoils.
I fried two slices of each on the stovetop, and measured the amount of fat rendered. Since the size of slices varied, this isn’t a definitive test, but does offer some parameters. I also tried baking the bacon in a 400F oven for 10 minutes (which actually didn’t work as well as some cookbooks suggest but is easy if you’re cooking for a crowd).
I tried six types of pork bacon, plus one beef “bacon” sample.
Herewith, my small survey of some of my favourite bacon:
The pepper bacon from Valbella Meats in Canmore was first in the lean department, leaving very little fat in the pan. It was a favourite, thinly sliced and crispy, with a lovely natural pork flavour.
At the other end of the fat scale was the German-style bacon from Regina’s at the Crossroads Market. It came in large, thick slices and had the highest ratio of fat to meat, cooked up crisp and was the saltiest of those tested. I rendered more than 8 teaspoons of fat from two slices – great if you’re looking for enough fat to fry your hash brown potatoes or collard greens. Rich and good for crackly bacon bits.
For both nicely balanced flavour and a good ratio of lean meat and crispy bits, I like the bacon from Jan’s Meats and Deli. Jan Igras
is a Polish butcher who selects his own Alberta pork, cures it with salt, spices but no sugar or nitrates, and smokes it in his smoke house for 6-7 hours. Jan then slow cooks his bacon and says it’s ready to eat when you buy it. When cooked crisp, this is lovely stuff, for my palate the perfect balance of salt, smoke and meaty pork flavour. I had 2 ½ teaspoons of bacon fat in the pan after cooking two medium slices.
The other three bacons tested came from the same shop – Second to None (STN) Meats – and from the local pigs with the highest profile pedigree, Broek Acres near Lethbridge.
The Broek family makes their own slab bacon from their pasture-raised, natural pork. The slices are large, lean and thickly cut, resulting in big pieces of bacon with a meaty texture.
STN Butcher Bob Choquette also makes his own bacon using Broek pork bellies – a similar product but with a little less salt, a little more smoke and a slightly lower price. Both samples (the largest slices) left me with 3-4 teaspoons of bacon fat in the pan. This is the kind of chewy, meaty bacon for a big BLT.
The other Broek bacon I tried came from their heirloom Berkshire pigs, and was much streakier and even tastier than their slab bacon. The bacon from this special breed was wonderfully sweet – closer to the nutty, sweet flavour of a good Spanish ham. Cut thinner, and with more crispy bits, this would be my first choice with breakfast eggs.
Choquette’s beef bacon is just that – salted and smoked beef brisket that’s more akin to jerky or corned beef in flavour. It’s delicious, though, very lean and just the thing for those who don’t eat pork.

THE FIX
There are many ways to cook bacon, from the traditional frying pan to a fancy grill pan (even a microwave works in a pinch, if you wrap the slices in paper towels). But the best way to get perfectly crisp bacon for breakfast is to cook it slowly on the stovetop.
For stovetop cooking, lay strips of bacon in a heavy pan and cook on medium-low heat, turning occasionally, until the fat is rendered and the bacon is crisp. Drain cooked bacon on paper towels to soak up any excess fat, and serve alongside your eggs or in your BLT.
The other place good smoky bacon shines is in soups and stews. Ask for double smoked bacon and buy it by the slab, so that you can chop it into small cubes. Render this bacon to start your dish, and use the fat for frying the onions and garlic, or browning the beef for stew. These bits of bacon, and the resulting bacon fat, are also the classic flavours in Cajun cooking, whether you’re making gumbo or cooking collard greens.
As they say, “everything is better with bacon”. Bacon goes perfectly with spinach in salad, it’s always excellent with eggs (whether fried or baked into a quiche), and these days you’ll even find the salty stuff paired with chocolate in desserts and confections.
And BTW, in peasant cultures (and hard times like these) a careful cook would never toss the tasty fat that renders forth from a batch of fried bacon – keep it in a jar the fridge and use it to brown those hash browned potatoes you’re serving with your bacon and eggs.
Yes, it’s saturated fat, and yes, it tastes good. You may feel less guilty if you use it to sauté spinach or kale, or for a warm cabbage salad - just don’t throw it away.
Bacon is my passion, but you needn’t have a special penchant for all things porcine to find romance in a slab of salted pork. In the Middle Ages, a married couple who could prove that their first year of marriage was free of arguments, was rewarded with bacon, hence the saying “bring home the bacon.”
Literally (or figuratively), that still makes a mate a keeper in my books.

(This Urban Forager column appeared in Avenue Magazine)

©Cinda Chavich 2009
www.tastereport.com

LOCAL BOUNTY: BEANS GROW ON THE PRAIRIES

Fri, 17 Jul 2009 08:55:41 -0600

If you haven’t had your fill of cowboy beans, it’s time to turn to some other prairie pulse crops. Alberta is a big producer of various beans, lentils and even chickpeas. CBC food and cooking columnist Cinda Chavich talks about how prairie pulses work in summer salads, burgers and other seasonal favourites.

listen...

I THINK ABOUT ALBERTA PRODUCING FIELDS OF WHEAT AND BARLEY AND CANOLA, BUT BEANS?
Yes, a lot of peas, beans and lentils are grown on the Canadian prairies, mainly in Saskatchewan, but Alberta is a large producer of pulse crops, too. We grow nearly one-third of all red and black beans produced in Canada, 16% of the peas grown in the country, and 4% of the chickpeas. If you go down to the town of Bow Island, in southern Alberta around Taber, there’s a huge bean plant, where they clean, sort, bag and ship Alberta beans around the world – black and pinto beans to Mexico, red beans to the Caribbean, peas and chickpeas to Mediterranean countries and even to India. There are 25 different kinds of pulse crops grown in Canada. It’s quite amazing to see these massive piles of red, white and black beans, several stories high, in this huge processing plant in southern Alberta, bagged into big sacks to be sent across the globe.

SO MOST BEANS ARE GROWN IN SOUTHERN ALBERTA?
Beans, yes, but peas – both green and yellow peas – are grown across the province.
I’m actually doing an heirloom bean experiment this year in my own garden up near Innisfail. The weather hasn’t really been cooperating this year – and according to the farmers I’ve talked to in the area, it’s not usually good for beans in central Alberta, not hot enough. So it will be a miracle if I actually have a bean harvest but I’m trying. You never know what August and September will bring – hopefully some really hot dry weather.
I’ve planted eight varieties of heirloom beans, many which came from an heirloom seed company in Manitoba. All of my beans are up, and growing well, even the ancient white beans called To:Ta Bawi White Tepary Beans, Native American beans that I brought home from Arizona.
I have some great heirloom varieties, things like Arikara yellow beans, a beautiful mottled yellow and burgundy bean called Pepa de Zapallo and red and white beans from a family here in Alberta, called the Sweeney Family Bean.
I’ve experimented with cooking these different heirloom beans and it’s actually quite astonishing – they all have unique flavours and textures, just like heirloom tomatoes or potatoes. So if you see unusual beans, in the store or on your summer holiday travels, bring them home and try them out. Beans can be really very delicious.

….AND SATISFYING AND HEALTHY TO EAT, TOO….
Yes, extremely good for you. I was talking with Wendy Benson, the nutrition consultant for the Alberta Pulse Growers Commission, who told me about the amazing health properties of beans, lentils and peas. High in fibre, these foods slowly release their carbohydrates, which makes them perfect to eat before a soccer or softball game, the kind of food that gives you protein and carbs to keep you going.
Unlike simple carbohydrates and sugars, that spike your insulin levels and your energy fast, with an equally speedy decline, legumes give you even blood sugar levels and long-term energy.

WHAT OTHER HEALTHFUL PROPERTIES?
Between 2006 and 2008, Agriculture Canada actually funded several human clinical trials focused on pulses, and their role in preventing chronic diseases, and found that pulses can help in the management of diseases including diabetes, obesity and heart disease.
Because they’re loaded with fibre and slow-release carbohydrates, beans and lentils help reduce hunger and regulate blood sugar. Regular bean eaters actually lose weight because they stay full longer and tend to eat less.
Regularly eating pulses – 5 cups per week or more - can also reduce your blood pressure, reduce cholesterol and keep your digestive system healthy.
They call pulses a “pre-biotic” when it comes to the health of your gut – regularly eating beans and peas seems to free up space for healthy lactobacillus and bifido-bacteria to flourish in your digestive tract.
It’s recommended that we eat at least 3-5 cups of beans a week to gain the health benefits, which would translate into about 2-3 meals, or about ½ cup of beans every day.

SO, OTHER THAN POTS OF CHILI HOW CAN WE GET MORE BEANS, PEAS AND LENTILS INTO OUR DIETS?

There are really so many ways. Peas and lentils are great along with grains, like rice or barley or quinoa, and a variety of vegetables and herbs in portable potluck salads or rice and bean dishes.
I’ve been making a salad this summer with quinoa, which is an ancient, high-protein grain, combined with chickpeas or beans, roasted red peppers, corn, cilantro, green onions, and a dressing made with olive oil, garlic and lime juice – sort of a south American salad – and it makes a real full-meal salad for picnics, lunches or pot luck dinners. I also like to add a can of lentils to a basic tabouli salad, or just cook a pot of small French lentils and serve them warm with a lemon and mustard vinaigrette and some chopped onions and red peppers.
There’s also the classic red beans with coconut rice and chilies, a great Caribbean-style dish, or bean purees and dips, to scoop up with tortilla chips. Hummus and pita chips makes a very healthy and satisfying snack.
I also often serve a white bean slather - a bean puree combined with caramelized onions, fresh herbs and goat cheese - as an appetizer for parties.
You can use also beans and peas and lentils to make vegetarian burgers – you can make small patties to eat like falafels in pita pockets.
You can also add pea fibre or pea flour to your diet. Pea flour is a gluten free flour that you can buy from Kinnikinnick Foods in Edmonton. Or you can buy besan or chickpea flour at Indian groceries for making flatbreads and batters for frying fish and vegtables. These are great flours to experiment with if you have a problem digesting gluten.
I also like crispy peas as a snack. KSL Foods in Grassy Lake, near Taber, makes spicy snack peas called Crispeas, in flavours like hot barbecue and ranch – they’re like the crunchy wasabi peas you get at Asian grocery stores. Buy them at the Calgary Farmer’s Market at Currie Barracks.
Or you can switch from peanut butter to high protein Pea Butter, a product made by Mountain Meadows in Legal, Alberta, that’s amazingly similar in taste and texture to peanut butter, and a great alternative for school kids who can’t have peanut products in their lunches.

THAT’S A LOT OF DIFFERENT IDEAS TO GET MORE BEANS AND LENTILS INTO YOUR DIET. DID YOU BRING US SOME RECIPES THIS WEEK?
Yes, I have two recipes.
When most people think of peas and lentils they immediately think of soup, so I brought you soup recipe. I recently had an amazing French-style pea soup – what they call Potage Saint-Germain - topped with crispy croutons and shredded Swiss cheese at the Bistro Provence in Okotoks.
I know they offer cooking classes there once a week in the fall and winter – so I asked chef Nicolas Desinai to share his recipe, because it’s one of the ones he teaches in his classes. He also offers this advice – don’t use salt when cooking beans or peas, not even a salty ham bone or a commercial chicken or vegetable broth – because the salt will significantly slow down the cooking process.

I also brought a recipe for chickpea burgers with mushrooms and brown rice. You can have them on a bun or like we did, stuffed into pita pockets with yogurt, cucumber, lettuce and tomatoes.

You’ll never miss the meat.

click here for recipes...

CULINARY TOURIST: FISH TACOS AND FRIED CHICKEN IN SCOTTSDALE

Thu, 18 Jun 2009 12:28:53 -0600

This is an exquisite fish taco from The Mission, an upscale Mexican restaurant in Scottsdale, where they make the guacamole table side and even infuse a creamy margarita with avocado puree.
There were other great spots to nosh in this resort town. I loved meeting nose-to-tail aficionado chef Payton Curry at Digestif (really, he had a whole pig in the walk-in, and I’m still dreaming about his fried chicken, crisped to perfection in duck fat). At Sanctuary on Camelback Mountain, chef Beau MacMillan served a cool caramel panna cotta in a pool of caramel sauce strewn with bits of sea salt and dark chocolate, the perfect dessert to beat the desert (or summer) heat.
Scottsdale inspired me to talk about fish tacos on CBC radio...

click here for my recipe for fish tacos...

WHAT DO IN-LAWS EAT?

Mon, 8 Jun 2009 07:36:49 -0600

DEAR GIRL:
This is it. Sunday dinner is looming, the in-laws are coming into town and I’m sure they’re not expecting Lean Cuisine. I’ve never cooked a roast – don’t even know how to carve a big chunk of meat like that – and I’m starting to panic. What can I cook that will impress my conservative father-in-law? These are real meat and potatoes people. PLEEZE HURRY!
Panicked in Pittsburgh
DEAR PANICKED:
Take a deep breath and pull the car into the closest supermarket parking lot. Repeat after me – “I will serve a Sunday roast, and it will be sensational.”
I’m gonna say serve pork, because it’s more forgiving than beef and less expensive. Your in-laws probably never had it with a groovy white wine gravy and baby vegetables either, so that’s sure to impress.
Plus, it’s easy to find a nice lean, boneless leg of pork almost anywhere. The boneless part is the trick – every slice will look perfect on the plate, it’s a snap to carve and the people will actually get more meat than the dog. You don’t have to use the baby fingerling potatoes and perfect little beets, but make the effort to find them and you’ll at least have one fascinating thing to talk about over dinner.
Get out your best dishes (you know, the fine china your in-laws gav e you that never gets used), and set the table before they arrive. Plate the dinner in the kitchen and garnish with fresh herbs, and they’ll think you’re a gourmet goddess.

SUNDAY ROAST PORK
Pork is lean and easy to cook – and a roast pork dinner makes an impressiv e family meal on Sunday (with leftovers for tacos and miso-laced noodle soup during the week). Start with a roast from the butcher that’s been de-boned and tied, or enclosed in one of the new string mesh sleeves, and pick one that’s evenly shaped (not too skinny at one end). Use a heavy roasting pan and an instant read thermometer, and you’ll have a perfect dinner, done in just over an hour.
1 3-pound boned and rolled pork leg roast
2-3 cloves garlic, smashed and roughly chopped, PLUS 6 whole cloves garlic, peeled
6 fresh sage leaves, sliced, or 2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary (fresh herbs are a secret weapon, don’t substitute dry,)
salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
2 cups small baby carrots
8-12 baby or fingerling potatoes, halved (or larger potatoes cut into 1-2-inch chunks)
2 large onion, peeled and cut into wedges
whole baby yellow beets, peeled (optional)
1 cup white wine
extra sprigs of fresh sage or rosemary to garnish

1. Preheat the oven to 500°F.
2. Reaching your fingers under the string that’s tying the roast, find the cuts where the roast has been de-boned and push the smashed garlic and sage or rosemary as far inside the roast as you can. If your roast is held in a mesh sleeve, work some of the garlic and herbs under the sleeve to hold it against the meat as it roasts. Rub the roast with about 1 teaspoon of the olive oil and season it on all sides with salt and pepper.
3. Find a large roasting pan, large enough to hold the meat and the vegetables in a single layer. Place the carrots, potatoes, whole garlic cloves, onion wedges and beets in the roasting pan and drizzle with the remaining olive oil. Toss to coat the vegetables with oil. Season with salt and pepper and toss again. If you can’t find baby yellow beets, don’t substitute purple beets (they will bleed) but consider using something else for colour, like chunks of red or yellow peppers, or even squash.
4. Push the vegetables to the outside of the pan and place the roast in the centre. Place the pan in the preheated oven and immediately reduce the oven temperature to 350° F. Roast for about 1 hour, stirring the vegetables every 20 minutes and brushing the roast with the fat that it will release as it cooks. After 1 hour, test the internal temperature of the meat using an instant read thermometer. The interior should be 145-150°F. You may need to return the roast to the oven for 15 minutes if it has not reached the desired temperature.
5. Remove the roast from the roasting pan and set on a cutting board to rest for 10 minutes, covered with a tent of foil. Remove the vegetables from the pan with a slotted spoon and arrange around the edge of a serving platter. Drain any excess fat from the roasting pan and discard. Place the pan over high heat on the stove top, add the wine and simmer, scraping up any brown bits. Boil until the sauce has been reduced by half. Season with salt and pepper and strain into a small pitcher.
6. Remove the string from the roast and carve into 1/4-1/2-inch slices. Arrange in the centre of the platter. Drizzle the meat with the sauce. Tuck some fresh herbs in among the vegetables to garnish the platter and voila! Sunday dinner for four.
©Cinda Chavich

TAG:
Sure you’re busy rock climbing and running your own company, but you gotta eat, and sometimes you gotta cook. So let the Girl solve your culinary conundrums – and make you look good next time the kitchen calls. Send your dining dilemmas to chavich@telus.net or read The Girl Can’t Cook.

FOOD NEWS: TEAM Canada at Bocuse d’Or

Wed, 25 Feb 2009 08:28:00 -0700

By CINDA CHAVICH

(Lyon, France) – They practiced for two solid years. They had the $20,000 silver platters crafted by an artisan in Paris and a killer lobster sauce concocted with 25 Atlantic lobsters and three bottles of fine cognac.
They came with a cheering section decked out in red hockey jerseys, with Canadian flags and Canada goose calls.
But David Wong, Canada’s hope for the biennial Bocuse d’Or competition, didn’t make it to the podium position the team’s organizers had predicted. While Wong’s commis, Grace Pineda, the 22-year-old cook who assisted him through the grueling five-hour, live cooking event, was named the top apprentice among the 24 countries competing, Wong finished in a disappointing ninth place.
“It’s not the place we wanted to be but we felt good in our effort,” said the 37-year-old chef instructor at the Art Institute of Vancouver, after the awards ceremony that saw Norway, Sweden and France take the top three spots in the prestigious professional cooking contest, presided over by France’s famed chef, Paul Bocuse.
Wong and Pineda made a cohesive team, and Pineda’s award as top commis in the world attests to Wong’s skill as both a chef and a mentor.
“This is the world’s most demanding competition and we felt good about what we did,” a visibly exhausted Wong said as he left the building with his wife Danielle.
Wong’s main dishes – a roll of wild cod and king scallops served with a lobster veloute and rare beef tenderloin with foie gras custard and braised ox cheeks - looked stunning as they were paraded before the 24 star chef judges, including American chefs Thomas Keller and Daniel Boulud. Wong’s food was complex and tasted “very, very nice” according to Canada’s judge, chef Simon Smotkowicz.
But Canada faced some technical difficulties during the cooking marathon and, like France, lost 12 points when their platters were sent out several minutes late for judging.
Wong’s coach, chef Robert Sulatycky, who placed fourth in the Bocuse competition in 1999 (Canada’s best showing in the 22-year history of the event), was confident before the contest that Canada would finally reach the podium this year. Calgary chef Vincent Parkinson, the team’s Chef de Mission, said Canada’s entry looked strong.
“They’ve stood up very well against the best here, if indeed there are any better looking platters,” said Parkinson as the last plates were delivered to judges before a din of screaming fans.
Sulatycky pushed the chefs hard but said he was proud of Wong’s hard work and devotion, especially when the team faced technical problems in the kitchen.
“I was really hoping for top five, but we had to call for an electrician four times today,” he said. “That really slowed them down.”
Transformers failed, blowing fuses during the competition, and the chefs faced several hurdles leading up to the event. Their $200,000 budget was small compared with other countries – the U.S. team raised more than $500,000 while some reportedly spend up to $1 million to finance their Bocuse bids.
Canada has a distinct disadvantage compared with the many European teams who routinely place in the top three spots at the Bocuse d’Or. The logistics and cost of hauling 500 pounds of equipment and a dozen huge boxes of food across the ocean proved one of many challenges. Flight delays caused the Canadian team to arrive in Lyon at 1 a.m., nearly nine hours behind schedule, and forced them to store their carefully selected perishable ingredients on hotel balconies overnight. Wong scoured local markets to replace items but some – like butternut squash – proved difficult to find. The high school where the team was scheduled to practice was closed over the weekend, compressing schedules, and forcing chefs to prep food in their hotel rooms while the support team struggled to replace Canadian sous vide thermal circulators, heat lamps, blenders and other electrical equipment with European models compatible with local power sources.
Even the optics of the event did not favour Canada. Much media attention was focused on the U.S. team leading up to this year’s contest. Paul Bocuse himself asked top American chefs Daniel Boulud, Thomas Keller and his son, Jerome Bocuse, to recruit a candidate to represent the U.S. at the 2009 event. Timothy Hollingsworth, sous chef at The French Laundry and a Keller protege, was chosen as the U.S. candidate and practiced at a special replica kitchen set up near the famous Napa Valley restaurant. Hollingsworth and his team arrived in Lyon Jan. 16 to practice and worked in the kitchens at Paul Bocuse’s eponymous Lyon restaurant and culinary college to prepare for the event. At the competition itself, much attention was paid to Keller and Boulud, named honorary president of the 2009 Bocuse d’Or event, and the most recognizable international chefs among the judging panel.
An American win would have put the French competition in the spotlight across the U.S., and boosted investment in the show. But, despite the big budget and hype, Hollingsworth finished sixth.
Canada’s Bocuse d’Or team says their organization is strong, and they will endeavor to raise more money and make even better plans for the next contest in 2011, when Vancouver chef Ryan Stone will represent Canada.
But both Parkinson and Sulatycky said Pineda, who now travels to Paris for a stage at Joël Robuchon’s two Michelin star restaurant, L’Atelier, is a young chef to watch.
“To have achieved such an exceptional result is testament to David’s and Grace’s skill and determination, as well as to that of a large group of dedicated professionals who have provided their invaluable support over the past two years,” said Parkinson.
“In the culinary world, there is no greater accomplishment than to be recognized at the Bocuse d’Or.”

Bocuse d’Or 2009 Winners:

GOLD and €20,000 - Geir Skeie, Norway

SILVER and €15,000 – Jonas Lundgren, Sweden

BRONZE and €10,000 – Philippe Mille, France

BEST COMMIS: Grace Pineda, Canada
BEST FISH DISH: Jasper Kure, Denmark
BEST MEAT DISH: Jasper Kure, Denmark

(This story appeared in the Globe and Mail newspaper)

copyright Cinda Chavich
tastereport.com

IN SEASON: LEEKS ARE a winter treat

Wed, 25 Feb 2009 08:27:59 -0700

SO WHAT DO LEEKS HAVE TO DO WITH ROBERT BURNS?
It’s a big of a tangent, but I was thinking of Robert Burns day coming up January 25 – it’s actually a big anniversary year this year, the 250th anniversary of the Scottish poet’s birth and a big homecoming year in Scotland – and I was thinking about Cock-a-Leekie soup, the traditional chicken and leek soup that’s often served at these annual Burns dinners, along with lots of scotch and haggis.
Leeks aren’t as common in Canada as they are in Europe but they should be, because they’re delicious and actually quite unique. So in a nod to Robert Burns and Scotland’s homecoming year, I thought I’d talk about leeks this week.

SO WHAT EXACTLY IS A LEEK – JUST AN OVERGROWN GREEN ONION?
That’s what it looks like, but that’s what it’s not.
A leek is a member of the onion family, but a very unique kind of onion. It looks like a gigantic green onion, growing in layers with a tall green top, but that’s where the similarity ends.
Unlike onions which are pungent and sharp, leeks are mild, almost sweet, so sweet you can eat them raw. Cooked they sort of melt and caramelize, adding lovely fresh colour and sweetness to soups and sauces.
The leek is actually the emblem of Wales – Welsh soldiers wore a leek in their helmets to distinguish themselves from their enemies - so leek soup is also served on St. David’s Day, March 1.

THEY USE MORE LEEKS IN EUROPE?
Yes, I guess it’s because they’re a cool weather crop that grows right into the winter in more temperate, Mediterranean parts of Europe.
I remember being in a vegetable market in Italy last year, late in November, and the leeks in the market were amazing – three feet long, and stacked on the pavement in huge piles. People were hauling them away by the sackload, and I know they were going into some kind of soup or leek gratin.
The leek is best at this time of year because a touch of frost actually helps to make leeks sweeter.

HOW DO YOU PREPARE LEEKS?
The only part of the leek you can eat is the white and light green part at the base. When growing leeks, farmers pile dirt around the base of the plants, to keep the leeks white and that means a lot of dirt gets into the layers of the leek.
So the first thing to know about cooking leeks is cleaning them – unlike regular onions, you have to cut the leeks open lengthwise and wash well between the layers, to remove all of the dirt. Rinse them under cold running water, making sure you get all of the sand out from between the layers.
Then you want to slice them, just the white and pale green parts. The tough green tops, well washed, can go into your bag of vegetable scraps in the freezer for soup.
Leeks can be really big, but actually the smallest ones are the most tender.

WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO COOK LEEKS?
Thinly sliced raw leeks can be used in salads, and leeks are delicious when caramelized in butter and olive oil, with a splash of balsamic vinegar - just cook them slowly for about 30 minutes but they are soft and sweet and serve as a side dish, or add them to a quiche with bacon, or a leek pie, with cream and shredded Gruyere cheese.
You can also just cut leeks lengthwise, clean them and braise them whole, with a little butter and broth for about 20 minutes – then finish them, gratin style, in the oven with a little melted Parmesan or Swiss cheese.
But traditionally leeks are used in soups and sauces. Leeks are lovely in cream sauces, over pasta or chicken. The classic is leek soup – whether it’s in vichychoise, a potato and leek soup, or the Scottish Cock-a-Leekie.

SO HOW DO YOU MAKE THE CLASSIC BURNS DINNER SOUP, THE COCK A LEEKIE?
Well, it’s a basic chicken and leek soup but there is a surprise ingredient in many recipes – a few chopped prunes – that add subtly to the sweetness of the soup.
Some people also add some cream or oatmeal to the soup – very Scottish ingredients – but I like my cock-a-leekie soup a little lighter, with just a little rice to add body.
You can make it traditionally, starting with a stewing hen and making the stock from scratch, but I’ve created an easier version, made with chicken stock, lots of leeks and a little rice.
It’s very simple, just wash and slice about a pound of leeks, sauté them in butter until tender, then add about 8 cups of chicken stock, ¼ cup of long grain rice and ½ cup of finely chopped prunes. Simmmer it all together for about an hour, season with salt and pepper and serve.
If you have some leftover roast chicken, add it, or include two or three skinless chicken thighs in the pot, and shred the meat into the soup once it’s done.
Both easy and yummy ways to enjoy winter leeks.

click here for leek soup recipes....

(produced for CBC radio, Wild Rose)

copyright Cinda Chavich, tastereport.com

INGREDIENT: FOIE GRAS

Wed, 25 Feb 2009 07:34:31 -0700

FOIE GRAS FOLLIES

By CINDA CHAVICH

Foie gras is the kind of luxury food most people only eat occasionally at the finest restaurants. But if you’d like to pass a sliver of house-made duck liver terrine on a bit of baguette at your next party – or just hoard a whole jar of foie gras pate and that bottle of Sauterne yourself – it’s now possible to find a steady supply of all things foie, right here in Calgary.

THE FOOD
On the culinary controversy scale, foie gras is right up there in the red zone. Foie gras – literally “fat liver” – is the enlarged liver of a duck (or sometimes goose), a liver that has reached its big, fatty (and ergo, extremely rich and delicious) state by force-feeding a duck large amounts of grain during the last two weeks of its life.
That said, foie gras is an authentic Canadian artisan food product. It’s been produced this way in France (and now in Quebec) for centuries. It’s something that’s decadent and expensive and not to be scarfed everyday – like caviar, ramps and wild sockeye salmon, foie gras is a delicacy, something special to eat for a special occasion. We need to respect the rarity of the product and use it accordingly.
And to be fair, wild ducks and geese gorge on grain naturally as part of their annual migration ritual, storing fat in their enlarged livers to sustain them for long flights across continents. Which is doubtless how some early French forager first discovered the addictive richness of duck liver for pate. We’ve just discovered a way to replicate the process, and add value to that Moulard duck, on the farm.
Foie gras producers are also duck producers, so companies like Rougie and Palmex (the country’s largest producer of foie gras in Quebec) sell a variety of duck and duck liver products, from whole ducks, to duck breast, duck confit, whole lobes of liver for terrines, smoked duck breast, and foie gras products, from foie gras mousse in jars, slabs and ficelle (convenient little rolls of mousse for slicing into coins), and duck confit.

THE FIND
There are a few places in Calgary to indulge in take-out foie gras.
Dominique Moussu of Teatro – and now L’Epicerie – is a French chef with a penchant for fattened duck liver. Where Moussu grew up in Brittany, nearby farms used the classic “gauvage” method to feed ducks during the last two weeks of their lives to fatten their livers for terrines and decadent seared appetizers. The rest of the duck went to the meat market, as it does today – legs for confit and tender breasts (magret).
That’s exactly what you’ll find Moussu doing with duck in the kitchen at Teatro, and at his L’Epicerie, tucked into the little mall between Bernard Callebaut and Manuel Latruwe Belgian Bakery.
Moussu sells whole lobes of fresh foie gras to adventurous cooks, but his specialty is turning it into the terrines and torchon that make the most elegant cold appetizers. You’ll also find other examples of his hand-made charcuterie in his shop, from traditional Pate Breton to duck rillettes and confit.
The day I visited, Moussu was rolling the fresh liver into mini-terrines – enough for 6-8 servings – stuffed with his own fig compote, apple and Calvados, or black truffles and speedily steamed to perfection in the pressure cooker.
At $139 per kg these products aren’t cheap, but you’re getting true artisan charcuterie from a master chef. The torchon, rolled and cooked in duck fat, is the housemade foie gras delicacy that Moussu uses in his now-famous foie gras sandwiches - creamy slices with topped with arugula and Fleur de Sel, on his own rustic breads ($14 with hand-cut potato chips).
Bite Groceteria in Inglewood is another hot spot for foie gras lovers, a chic little gourmet grocery that’s built its business on importing foie gras – and whole ducks - from Quebec.
Owner Julie Denhamer says spending her high school years in Italy introduced here to fine food early and when she returned to Calgary it seemed natural to import it.
Paul Rogalski, the chef and co-owner of Rouge, was one of her first customers, she says, and foie gras was the big seller.
So now, along with the authentic Italian Torrone, artisan pasta and cheese, Bite Grocerteria dedicates a complete corner (and cooler) to foie gras in its many forms. More than 200 kg of duck arrived the day I was there – that’s a week’s worth of whole ducks, magret, and foie gras for Calgary chefs, and the rest of us. Most of it comes from Quebec – via the big French producer Rougie – and the price ranges from whole ducks ($15/kg) and legs ($24/kg) to the Rougis Foie Gras pate with armagnac ($36/80 g).
The whole big yellow duck liver comes vacuum packed, as it does at L’Epicerie, with a price tag of about $90-$125/kg, ready for you to bake or sear at home.

THE FIX
There’s nothing particularly pretty about a coin of creamy foie gras mousse, perched on a piece of toasted baguette, or a lobe of fresh fat, yellow duck liver, but with a sip of sauternes, a dab of ice wine gelee or a bit of port-infused fig paste, the foie gras taste experience is ambrosia. That’s the beauty of foie gras – simply seared and caramelized in its own rich fat, even an unappetizing looking slab of anemic liver is transformed into the kind of appetizer you won’t soon forget. Rich, unctuous, decadence with very little work on behalf of the cook.
You can pick up the pre-cooked torchon, terrine or mousse – or take home the whole lobe of duck liver and start from scratch. You’ll need one or two 1.5-pound livers (about $150 worth) for a classic terrine.
Moussu says it’s important to work with fairly cold foie gras (too warm, and it melts like butter). Each lobe comes apart into two sections (much like a chicken breast) and then you need to use your tongs or tweezers to gently pull out the veins that connect the lobes and reach deep inside the flesh. For a classic terrine, marinate the pieces of liver in sweet wine or cognac, salt and white pepper, for 24 hours in a sealed plastic bag, then pack into a heavy loaf pan, cover with plastic and foil, and bake slowly, in a water bath, at 200F for about 45 minutes until the internal temperature reaches 120F, no more. Lastly, cover with foil, top with a piece of cardboard, and a tin of tomatoes to weigh it down neatly in the fridge. Two or three days later, it’s ready to slice, although under it’s thick layer of duck fat, your terrine will keep for a week.
Unmold and slice with a hot chef’s knife, dipped in boiling water. Serve with toasted bread.
For seared foie gras, just slice the cold, raw foie gras with a hot knife, season with salt and pepper, then sear it quickly in a hot dry pan, and serve warm over a bit of frisee with a dab of rhubarb confit or fig sauce.
Canadian producers of foie gras do feed their ducks a paste of crushed corn and warm water, twice a day, for 14 days, through a tube that fits into the duck’s mouth, but each feeding only lasts three seconds. As chefs like Dominique Moussu say, those who worry about foie gras production methods might ponder the conditions faced by the factory farmed fast food chicken or other of our modern meat animals. Foie gras is graded, he adds, with any product that shows signs of damage losing value, making it important to treat the animals, and their precious livers, with care.

(This article appeared in Avenue Magazine)

©Cinda Chavich 2008
www.tastereport.com

ETHNIC FOOD: Shopping halal for Ramadan

Tue, 9 Sep 2008 10:35:25 -0600

By CINDA CHAVICH

Whether you’re marking Ramadan this month, or just celebrating a new season of Little Mosque on the Prairie, there are plenty of places in Calgary to find your favourite Middle Eastern ingredients and halal meats.
From fat fresh pita breads, straight from the oven, creamy yogurt, bulk bins of whole grain couscous, olives, chickpeas and salty pistachios, to fresh dates, preserved lemons and pomegranate paste, a trip to a halal grocery is like a stroll through the medina.

THE FOOD
“Halal” simply means “lawful” – indicating it’s permissible for Muslims to use or consume, and not forbidden according to their religious rules. What’s forbidden is pork (and any ingredients like enzymes or gelatins derived from pork products) and alcohol.
Of course, there’s no single Islamic cuisine – Muslims are found all over the world, from Africa to Southeast Asia – but when it comes to halal meats and groceries, many focus on Middle Eastern products.
You’ll find the ingredients for classic dishes like hummus made with chickpeas and tahini, tabouli salads of cracked wheat and bulgar mixed with fresh tomatoes and mint, or grilled kabobs wrapped in pita bread.
While Ramadan is a religious holiday for Muslims which requires a month of fasting, between sunrise and sundown, families typically break the daily fast with dates and sweet drinks.
At the end of Ramadan comes the three-day festival of Eid, which brings people together for feasting, often around dishes like biryani, a meal of rice studded with chicken or lamb and exotic spices, or koshari, an Egyptian dish of lentils, rice, chickpeas and pasta with fried onions and tomato sauce.
When it comes to meats, strict Muslims only consume halal products – that is beef, chicken, lamb and goat - that is butchered according to special rules. A prayer must be said before slaughter, and there should be no blood remaining in the meat.
When you’re in a Middle Eastern grocery, stock up on items that you can’t buy at regular supermarkets – things like pomegranate molasses or pomegranate paste (great for brushing over chicken or meats before grilling or adding to stews); all kinds of couscous (from regular instant to instant whole wheat couscous and big pearl-sized Israeli couscous); the freshest dates, raisins and dried fruits; all kinds of nuts, from pistachios to big walnuts, almonds and cashew nuts; and spices and flavourings, from spicy chili paste called harissa, to rose water and za’atar, a spice blend of thyme, sesame seeds, anise, coriander, sumac, cumin and salt, the perfect combination to rub over lamb chops before grilling, sprinkle on chopped vegetable salads, or stir into your pot of couscous.
Middle Eastern Groceries are also the best place to buy dried legumes of all kinds – from beans to lentils and split peas – and a great source of whole spices like cinnamon bark, cloves, allspice berries, nutmeg and saffron. Don’t forget about sweets like halva (sweetened ground sesame paste with pistachios), date-filled biscuits, baklava (or the filo pastry, honey and nuts to make it) and cardamom-scented coffee.

THE FIND
With 65,000 Muslims in Calgary, there are several Middle Eastern grocers and halal meat shops around the city, but you’ll find some of the best in the city’s northeast quadrant.
Hage’s Mideast Foods & Halal Meats – on 52nd St. N.E. just south of 16th Avenue - is a full service Middle Eastern market, complete with fresh fruits and vegetables, a halal butcher shop, and a café serving Middle Eastern takeout like chicken fatayer, za’atar pie, and even halal rotisserie or fried chicken. The take-out food here is worth the trip.
Owner Nagah Hage is partial to CLIC (Canadian Lebanese Investment Corporation) brand products from Montreal, including their canned or dried beans and lentils, dried fruits, halloom or baladi cheeses, Tukas jams and Gardenia spices. The large store is divided into sections where you’ll find specialties from Lebanon, Syria, Iran, Egypt and Turkey, and there are loads of choices, whether you’re looking for chewy squares of Turkish Delight candy studded with pistachios, instant falafel mixes, imported olives and fresh rotab dates from Iran, or big bottles of unfiltered Lebanese olive oil.
On 17th Avenue S.E. - Calgary’s “international avenue” – you’ll find Green Cedars Food Mart and Halal Meats, a smaller store where the friendly Sarout family sells a variety of international foods, many from their home country of Lebanon.
Specialties here include Miriam Sarout’s own cooking, from ready-to-eat (or ready to cook) kibbe and hummous to homemade yogurt cheese (labneh), tabouli salad and stuffed grape leaves. They also offer all manner of beans and lentils, grains (including smoked “green” cracked wheat berries called fereek), jars of preserved lemons and olives. Don’t miss the roasted pistachios flecked with lemon zest (in the bulk bins), and fresh baking, from local pitas and sweets to huge sheets of markouk, a Lebanese flat bread that’s as thin as a silk scarf. It’s perfect for mopping up stews or wrapping up falafels, grilled meats or leftovers. They even have fresh, spongey injera bread (an Ethiopian specially made locally), boxes of fresh local baklava and karkade (hibiscus tea).
For great Persian food and ingredients, visit Atlas Specialty Supermarket & Persian Cuisine, a comfortable downtown restaurant with a little grocery store tucked alongside. After you’ve enjoyed their halal menu and specialties like tender kabobs, slow cooked fesenjoon (chicken stew with pomegranate sauce) or masto mosir (a dip made with yogurt and wild garlic), you can pick up the thick homemade yogurt, dried garlic and pomegranate molasses you need to make these authentic dishes at home.

THE FIX
For an Eid feast at the end of Ramadan, you might serve a thick chickpea and lentil soup called harira and a lamb-studded rice biryani pilaf with date-filled turnovers (klaicha) and tea biscuits (kaak), for dessert. Kibbeh is another classic Middle Eastern dish – a kind of torpedo-shaped fried dumpling, with a crispy shell made with bulgar, and a spicy filling of vegetables or ground lamb.
Sweets are a big part of Ramadan, too. Dates are traditionally eaten to break the fast each day, along with sweet drinks made with apricots, guava and other fruits. Fatayer – pastries filled with savoury ingredients like spinach or meat – may be served. Pastries, filled with ground dates, nuts, raisins, figs and coconut, are also popular.
Amal Leithy, a teacher at Calgary’s Islamic School, recommends serving koshari, a vegetarian dish from her native Egypt, made by combining equal amounts of cooked brown lentils, small pasta and basmati rice, and topping it all with a spicy tomato sauce flavored with cumin and garlic, chickpeas and lots of caramelized fried onions.

(This Urban Forager column appeared in the Sept. 2008 issue of Avenue magazine)

©Cinda Chavich 2008
www.tastereport.com

IN SEASON: Preserving salsa

Tue, 9 Sep 2008 09:08:37 -0600

By CINDA CHAVICH

While we all love fresh fruits and vegetables, the sheer volume of the local bounty can be a bit overwhelming at this time of year.
The farm markets are overflowing with piles of colourful peppers and tomatoes, peaches and plums from B.C., and prairie gardens are producing bumper crops of carrots, beets, cucumbers and squash. Bargains abound, so it’s the perfect time to pickle a peck of peppers or put up those juicy peaches, to enjoy in the months ahead.

THE RAW MATERIALS
It’s possible to preserve almost any fruit or vegetable for future use, but some take to canning better than others.
For low-acid foods or things like garden peas, roasted bell peppers, corn and fresh berries, freezing may be the best process for preservation.
But anything that can be pickled with vinegar or preserved with sugar, can safely go into a jar. When there’s no more room in the freezer for berries or corn, there’s always shelf space for raspberry jam, peach preserves and corn relish.
Think about jams and jellies or canned fruits, pickled cucumbers or beans, canned tomatoes or tomato sauces and salsa, and any kind of relish or chutney that uses plenty of sugar or vinegar in the mix.
Then make sure to start with the finest fresh ingredients you can find. This is not the time to salvage bruised apples or moldy blueberries. The “garbage in, garbage out” adage applies when it comes to canning, and in the interest of food safety, it’s always smart to start with clean, ripe and unblemished produce.
That said, it is possible to create a silk purse with your canning kettle, even if you are stuck with green tomatoes or a mountain of oversized zucchini.

THE PROCESS
Heat processing is the most important part of successful home canning – boiling jars of prepared food in boiling water for specific times to ensure that a vacuum is created to properly seal the contents inside, and kill microorganisms that can cause spoilage. This is what makes canned food shelf stable at room temperature for months, and even years.
It’s also vital to follow up-to-date published recipes to the letter. Without the right amount of sugar or acidity in the mixture, you risk dangerous spoilage, and even deadly botulism. So don’t be tempted to cut back on the sugar or vinegar, or try to bottle meats or fish at home. Stick to the recipes and follow the processing guidelines to the letter.
The first step is to cook your jam, chutney, relish or salsa in a big canning kettle until the mixture is reduced to the proper thickness. To test jams for jelling, drop a bit on a chilled plate from the freezer.
Fill the jars, leaving ¼-inch headspace, then wipe the rims clean, top jars with snap lids and screw bands (tightened just finger tip tight). To process and seal the contents, the jars are lowered into a deep kettle of rapidly boiling water (deep enough to submerge the tops by an inch or two), set on a rack and boiled (processed) for the time specified in the recipe.
Make sure to use the same size of jars that the recipe specifies – changing the jar size changes the processing time.
A good canning book, like one published by Bernardin (the company that makes canning jars and equipment) is essential. Or go to their website (www.homecanning.com) for detailed canning instructions and recipes.

THE EQUIPMENT
Don’t be tempted to recycle commercial jars for home canning. You’ll need to invest in some heat resistant mason jars with two-piece metal snap lids for safe canning.
You can reuse the jars and metal bands, just buy new metal snap lids every canning season. Then make sure you clean the jars well, and sterilize in boiling water before filling.
It’s easiest to fill your jars using a wide-mouthed funnel (this prevents spillage and sticky jar rims that won’t properly seal). You’ll also need a large deep stock pot or canning kettle – the latter is a good investment, especially if you buy one with a rack that helps you lift the jars out of the boiling water when the processing time is up.
Any high acid foods (tomatoes, pickles, chutneys) can be processed in this kind of boiling water (or “water bath”) canner. Low acid foods must be processed in a special pressure canner to be safe.
A jar lifter is a handy tool for picking up hot jars and you’ll need lots of labels so that you can record the date that the food was preserved. For best quality, store canned foods in a cool, dark place and use within one year.

THE EMBELLISHMENTS
Your grandmother might have stuck to basic pickled cucumbers and beets, but you can find all kinds of creative new recipes for making chutneys, spicy salsas and preserved fruits at home.
Every culture has its preserving traditions, from Moroccan salted lemons to Hungarian pickled peppers and Korean kimchi. Start with simple fruit jams, then get creative with mustard pickles, spicy chutney or pickled asparagus and herb-infused wine jelly.
Soon you’ll have a collection of glistening jars in the pantry, homemade condiments for daily dinners or holiday gifts.

click here for salsa and apple chutney recipes...

©Cinda Chavich 2008
www.tastereport.com

TECHNIQUE: Perfectly searing a steak

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 13:28:18 -0600

A STEAK PRIMER

By CINDA CHAVICH

Before there was a oil economy on the prairies – canola or heavy – there was beef.
And while it’s long been traditional in the West to slap a thick steak on the barbecue for a summer meal, these days you have even more choices. From T-bones and rib eye steaks, to strip loins, New York (and Manhattans), even flank and flat irons, available from conventional, grass-feeding, organic, Angus and exclusive Kobe beef ranches, you’ll need a good butcher to walk you through the variations and permutations of beef on the market.

THE RAW MATERIALS:
A good steak is always a treat, while a bad steak is always disappointing. The difference may be in the grade, the breed, the feed, even the aging and handling of the meat. So before you buy, you should know a bit about what goes into the best beef.
Cattle are raised throughout the West, but most spend their final days in Alberta – getting the famous Alberta Beef pedigree by way of the packing plant. Beef is graded according to the amount of intra-muscular fat in the meat, the highest being AAA. Good restaurants buy AAA or USDA Prime, while most supermarket beef is A or AA grade. While the major packing plants have their own premium brands for food service – like Sterling Silver or Certified Angus – this is all conventional beef, produced using growth hormones and antibiotics, and fattened in feed lots. There are also smaller brands available to consumers, usually created by smaller producers using specific breeding stock or management practices. Some like Diamond Willow or Hoven Farms are certified organic. TK Ranch beef is 100 per cent grass-fed and raised using low-stress handling techniques. Other producers rely on natural feeds and single breeds, like the Galloway cattle raised by the Canadian Celtic Cattle Co. or the Wagyu-Angus cross used exclusively for Kobe Classic beef. Some smaller producers and butchers still dry age their beef for added tenderness.
You’ll have to go directly to the rancher, to a farmer’s market or to a small local butcher to find anything other than conventional beef, but it’s a good way to reconnect with local producers and get a better understanding of the food you’re buying. A good butcher can also cut your steaks to order – they should be 1-1 1/2 inches thick – and suggest the best way to cook any particular steak.
A rib eye or strip loin (a.k.a. New York Strip) is a favourite to barbecue, with enough fat to keep it juicy whether you cook it rare or medium. The T-bone includes the strip loin (on one side of the bone) and the tenderloin on the other. But with cattle getting bigger all the time, these traditional cuts are bigger, too. So ask the butcher to cut the steaks thick and share one between two or more people (or order the half-strip Manhattan or strip loin “medallion” cut). It’s far better than trying to cook a steak that’s cut too thin.

THE PROCESS
At this time of year, the outdoor grill is the best place to cook your steak. A 1-inch steak should take about 5 minutes per side on a medium hot barbecue. You can shift the steak once on each side (to get some nice cross-hatched grill marks) but only flip it once. Then set the steak aside on a warm platter to rest for 5 minutes to let the juices set before serving. Don’t over cook it – the steak will continue cooking as it rests so remove it from the grill before you think it’s ready.
Use the steak house “touch test” to insure you’re steak’s properly cooked (see recipe sidebar).

THE EQUIPMENT
While the equipment isn’t critical, it is important to get a good, high-heat sear on your steak – and fast.
There are some barbecue cooks who only use a charcoal grill, others who will invest thousands in the biggest gas grill for the back deck. But, basically, it’s all about consistent heat.
Tender cuts like steak need quick cooking over direct heat. Larger cuts do better on low, indirect heat – the tougher the cut, the longer and slower the cooking time. Smokers are great for slow-cooking tougher cuts like beef brisket or shoulder roasts.
If you’re cooking on charcoal, wait about 25 minutes after you light the briquets to start cooking – charcoal should be evenly coated in grey ash. With a gas grill, set all burners on medium high and preheat the grill before putting the steaks on.
For indirect cooking or roasts or thicker steaks, sear the meat first, then move to an unlit side of the grill (turn one burner off) to finish cooking.

THE EMBELLISMENTS:
A grilled steak is like a basic black dress – you can take it into any ethnic or style territory with additional embellishments.
My favourite way to dress up a grilled steak is with a medley of mushrooms – sautéed in butter with fresh minced garlic, then deglazed with a splash of wine and a tot of cream to pull it all together.
Or you can go southern of the border - rub you steak with a barbecue rub of brown sugar, garlic salt and chili powder, then top it with a Chimichurri sauce of pureed parsley, cilantro, garlic, chilies and olive oil, for an Argentinian touch.
Add any sweet barbecue sauces just before your meat comes off the grill or you’ll have a blackened, char-grilled steak.
For an Asian style steak, start with a soy, ginger and garlic marinade, then slice your steak across the grain and serve on a pile of grilled bok choy and bell peppers.
Leftovers go into steak sandwiches, crispy Italian buns filled with rare slices of beef, topped with creamy blue cheese sauce (see recipe below), or sliced and rolled with grilled veggies and guacamole in tortillas.
Classic steak side dishes include baked or stuffed baked potatoes, Caesar salad or crispy frites (French fries).

click here for steak recipes...

TOUCHY FEELY
Wonder when your steak is done to your liking? Use the touch test — the steak house chef’s “rule of thumb”. If you know how a steak feels when it’s done, you’ll never be stuck with over- or undercooked meat again.
Relax your hand and press the triangle of flesh below your thumb. That’s how a spongy rare steak feels.
Holding your thumb and index finger together, press the spot again. It’s firmer, like a steak cooked medium rare.
When you touch your thumb and middle finger together, the spot gets even firmer, like a steak that’s cooked to medium or medium well.
Fourth finger - bouncy, tough and well done. If you go any further, that steak is shoe leather!

Recipes and tips from The Guy Can’t Cook, by Cinda Chavich (Whitecap Books, 2007)

(this column first appeared in West magazine, summer 2008)

©Cinda Chavich 2008
www.tastereport.com

CULINARY TOURIST: Kelowna is cooking

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 11:57:30 -0600

By CINDA CHAVICH

The wine business is booming in the Okanagan Valley, and the food scene is finally catching up, making central B.C. a must-stop for foodies this summer.
A recent tour through Kelowna found as much excitement in the kitchens as the cellars, with new restaurants like Ned Bell’s Cabana Grill and Mark Filatow’s 764, amazing artisan goat cheese makers, and even a truffle farm, where arborists are producing hazelnut trees inoculated with black Perigord truffles, in the hopes of creating a Canadian truffle industry.
You’ll find local lavender jellies and apple cider, amazing artisan bread and new steak spots, like the upscale Sal’s Prime Steakhouse, where where an 14-ounce, organic Kobe beef filet sells for $69, in a sleek, urbane atmosphere. Early adopters - like chef Rod Butters at Fresco and Bernard Cassavant at Burrowing Owl - continue to set the bar high at their popular restaurants, while homegrown chef Grant De Montreuil champions local ingredients at the new Hanna’s Lounge and Grill.
Whether you dine on the comfortable new patio at Gray Monk, or indulge in the fine cuisine from chef Michael Allemeier at Mission Hill, winery chefs are leading way when it comes to excellent eating using the freshest local products. You’ll find local cheeses and delis with home-smoked sausages and charcuterie, and there are wonderful farmer’s markets, fruit stands and road-side stops to fill your cooler or resort refrigerator.
The Guisachan Village mall is a one-stop food shopping spot in the city. There’s Paul’s Produce, a Bernard Callebaut chocolate shop and Codfathers, a fresh fish market with a selection of fresh B.C. oysters, salmon and halibut, house-made smoked salmon pate or oysters Rockefeller, Vij’s curries from Vancouver, and a busy sushi bar.
But the true necessity for me is a daily dose of fresh artisan breads, like those created by baker Monica Walker at her tiny Okanagan Grocery Artisan Breads. From fat loaves swirled with peanut butter and jelly or studded with black olives, to fig streusel bars and “fired to order” crème brulee, this is the place for breads and baking. There’s also a cooler filled with Filatow’s Seasons soups and sauces, local Carmelis and Poplar Grove cheeses, and other Okanagan goodies to stock your pantry. Once a week, there’s a feature bread (like pumpernickel date sunflower) or you can always get crispy baguettes and hand-formed sourdough loaves.
So don’t assume the Okanagan is just peaches, beaches and burgers - it’s also a hot spot for fine food shopping and destination dining.

THE SCOOP
In Kelowna, here’s a list of great restaurants, shops and other food lover’s haunts to visit:

MARKETS AND FARMS:
Okanagan Lavender & Herb Farm – 4380 Takla Road, 250-764-7795, www.okanaganlavender.com
Come here for culinary lavendar, lavender jelly, lavender lemonade and ice cream during the summer lavender season – two acres blooming with 60 varieties of lavender.

Carmelis Goat Cheese – 170 Timberline road, 250-764-9033, www.carmelisgoatcheese.com
Visit the farm cheese shop to sample 20 kinds of artisan goat cheese and goat milk gelato.

Mediterranean Market – 1570 Gordon Drive, Kelowna 250-762-2000
This is your one-stop shop for Italian (and Greek and Portuguese) ingredients.

Illichman’s Deli – 1937 Gordon Drive – This family-owned business is the place for fresh meat and charcuturie and European imports. Try their house made sausages and home-cured bacon and hams, including their own Westfalian-style and air-dried prosciutto.

TruffiCulture Trees
13991 Middlebench Road, Lake Country 250-548-0020
Cathy and Quentin sell truffle-innoculated trees from their orchard and have a comfortable guest house available for nightly or weekly rental.

Kelowna Farmers’ and Crafters’ Market – Located at the corner of Dilworth and Springfield roads, this big outdoor market features 150 vendors and is open Saturday and Wednesday mornings, from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. and Thursdays from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Gatzke’s Farm Market
Highway 97, Lake Country 250-548-3444
www.gatzkefarmmarkets.com

Kelowna Land & Orchard Co.
3002 Dunster Road, Kelowna, 250-763-1091
www.k-l-o.com

RESTAURANTS AND EATERIES
Cabana Bar and Grille
3799 Lakeshore Road, Kelowna 250-763-1966
www.cabanagrille.com

Seven Six Four – 4600 Lakeshore Road
And Waterfront Wines, 102 1180 Sunset Drive, 250-979-1222 www.waterfrontwines.com

Le Triskell Creperie, 467 Bernard Ave. Kelowna, 250-763-5151 www.letrickellrestaurant.com

Memphis Blues BBQ, 289 Bernard Ave., Kelowna, 250-868-3699, www.memphisbluesbbq.com

Fresco, 1560 Water Street, Kelowna 250-868-8805 www.frescorestaurant.net

Bouchons Bistro, 105 – 1180 Sunset Drive, Kelowna 250-763-6595 www.bouchonsbistro.com

Hannah’s Waterfront Lounge & Grill
1352 Water St., Kelowna 250-860-1266
www.rosespub.com

Hotel Eldorado
500 Cook Road, Kelowna 250-763-7500
www.eldoradokelowna.com

Sal’s Prime Steakhouse, 366 Bernard Ave., Kelowna, 250-862-2909 www.salsprime.com

Staccatos Gelato (in the Rotary Centre for the Arts) – 421 Cawston Ave., 250-868-2113 – creamy gelato made with fresh Okanagan fruit

WINE COUNTRY DINING:
Mission Hill Family Estate
1720 Mission Hill Road, Kelowna 250-768-5125 www.missionhillwinery.com

Quail’s Gate Estate Winery
Old Vines Restaurant
3303 Boucherie Road, Kelowna 250-769-4451
www.quailsgate.com

Gray Monk Cellars
1055 Camp Road, Lake Country 250-766-3168
www.graymonk.com

Cedar Creek Estate Winery
Vineyard Terrace Restaurant
5445 Lakeshore Road, Kelowna, 250-764-8866
www.cedarcreek.bc.ca

GALLERIES AND ARTISANS:
Kelowna’s Cultural District is also growing – taking over the corner of the city that was once devoted to fruit packing plants. Today, some of those warehouses have morphed into museums, and there are modern loft apartments above artistic boutiques and galleries, like Funktional and the Art Ark, and public art and performance spaces, including the Kelowna Art Gallery and the Rotary Centre for the Arts, featuring nine artists’ studios and shops. Perfect stuff for setting the table and decorating the dining room.
www.downtownkelowna.com

©Cinda Chavich 2008
www.tastereport.com

Ethnic food: Matzoh bread FOR Passover

Sun, 13 Apr 2008 21:40:10 -0600

listen....

SO WHY IS MATZOH BREAD ASSOCIATED WITH PASSOVER?
During Passover – the eight-day spring festival marking the exodus of the Jews from Egypt over 3,000 years ago – it’s forbidden to eat leavened grain products.
The tradition comes from the fact that there was no time to let the bread rise as they hurried to make their escape to freedom. So even today, for Passover meals, they eat Matzoh – special unleavened bread that must be prepared and baked in less than 18 minutes.
This is really how matzoh is made commercially today – under strict conditions – it’s mixed and baked almost instantly so that there’s no chance it will come into contact with wild yeasts in the air.
There’s even a special hand-made kind of matzoh bread that’s made using flour that has been carefully guarded, right from harvest, to make sure it has never come in contact with water.
Matzoh bread or matzoh meal stands in for flour in all kinds of Passover recipes, from breakfast dishes to desserts.

AND WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE?
It’s a large square flatbread, a crisp crunchy cracker that looks and tastes a lot like an oversized water cracker, the kind you have with cheese.

WHERE CAN YOU BUY IT MATZOH BREAD AND OTHER KOSHER FOODS?
The great thing about Kosher foods is you can buy them almost anywhere. A lot of foods are kosher – even if they’re not traditional items like matzoh.
Just look at labels when you’re in the supermarket – you’ll find everything from soup to nuts, noodles to cream cheese and yogurt, with the certified kosher or Passover label.
When it comes to Matzoh bread there are several brands – like Manischewitz – and you can buy it ground into matzoh meal, or broken into matzoh farfel.
Most wine stores have a selection of Kosher wines.

IS IT TASTY – WOULD YOU EAT IT AS A REGULAR BREAD YEAR ROUND?
Well yes, and no. It’s not super tasty – and there are lots of running jokes about matzohh bread, especially for people who must eat it at certain times of the year. But really matzoh bread is just a simple plain cracker bread, like a water bread or lavosh, which is perfectly nice to have with cheese or soup.
Matzoh brie is a brunch dish you’d find in restaurants all over New York and other places where there is a big Jewish community – sort of an egg and matzoh bread scramble, either sweet or savoury, with smoked salmon and dill, or asparagus and carmelized onions, or applesauce and sour cream.
And typically kids eat matzohh pizza and matzohh grilled cheese over Passover week.
But I was googling around for recipes this week and I found all kinds of uses for matzohs.
One recipe used the crushed matzoh bread with onions, bell peppers, pistachios and raisins in a spicy Middle Eastern stuffing for chicken breasts. Another recipe used matzoh bread in place of the noodles in a spinach, feta and cottage cheese pie, flavoured like Greek spanakopita but layered like lasagna – that sounds like something I would try.
I even found an Asian-inspired matzoh ball soup – with a lemongrass-infused homemade chicken broth, with ginger and shiitake mushrooms.
And a matzohh bread baklava dessert –matzoh bread layered with walnuts, pistachios and a lemon and rose water infused syrup.
Or a chocolate caramel matzoh crunch – similar to a baked brittle we make at Christmastime with a graham cracker base and a butter and brown sugar mixture poured over top and caramelized in the oven, then topped with chocolate chips, this time matzohh breads stand in.

WHAT ELSE IS TYPCIALLY SERVED FOR A PASSOVER MEAL?
Well, there is a ritual associated with the Passover meal – specific foods are included in the ceremonial Seder plate to symbolize different aspects of the story.
There is always a roasted shank bone or chicken wing, representing the eaten on the eve of the exodus. There’s a hard boiled egg, something bitter like bitter greens or horseradish, a green vegetable to represent Spring, and a mixture of dried fruits or apples, nuts and cinnamon, which resembles the mortar the Israelites used when they were slaves under the Pharoh.
But there are also three ceremonial matzohs on the table, too, along side the matzohs that will be eaten with the meal.

AND THE SEDER MEAL ITSELF?
Some Jews will not eat legumes, corn or rice during Passover, but chicken, fish, vegetables and fruit are all eaten.
A traditional Passover meal might include hardboiled eggs and gefilte fish, ground fish balls or patties made of whitefish or pickerel, or chopped liver pate as an appetizer. Then there’s usually chicken soup with matzoh balls, which are dumplings made with crushed matzoh bread , and a main course of roast chicken, turkey or beef brisket. There might also be some classice Eastern European dishes – like beet borscht or cabbage rolls, potato pancakes or latkes, or a kugel, a baked dish made with vegetables and eggs or noodles.
Kosher wine is consumed, but never any alcohol made from grain like whisky or beer.
And dessert is typically poached fruit and sponge cake, cheesecake or chocolate cake.
But there are also more modern Passover menus, including everything from popular Middle Eastern dishes like hummus and roasted eggplant salad, to braised lamb with horseradish and grilled asparagus, or chicken with pomegranate glaze.

SO WHAT RECIPE DID YOU BRING FOR US TODAY?
I think this is the time of year to make chicken soup from scratch, so I have my own grandmother’s chicken soup recipe. We always had her chicken soup with homemade egg noodles – but for Passover, I’m including a recipe for homemade matzoh balls, big dumplings that really make this soup a meal in itself. The trick is a touch of club soda, for fluffier matzoh balls.
You can make matzoh balls from a mix, but like anything, from scratch is always tastier.
Plan to make it on the weekend, when you have time to let the soup simmer for several hours, or make it in the pressure cooker – only 45 minutes to perfect chicken soup.
Matzoh ball soup is really comfort food. A good thing for traditional Passover celebrations in Jewish households, or for anyone, anytime of the year.

RECIPE:

GRANDMA’S CHICKEN SOUP WITH TRADITIONAL MATZOH BALLS
Also known as “Jewish penicillin,” chicken soup, made from scratch by grandmothers the world over, has a reputation for curing whatever ails you. It’s dead easy – especially after you’ve roasted a bird, so ever pitch a chicken or turkey carcass. Or start with a stewing hen, then just add water, along with some veggies, and simmer for a few hours and you’ll have stupendous broth for making chicken soup. It really does cure a cold, and with homemade matzoh balls, it’s a holiday tradition. This recipe is from The Guy Can’t Cook, by Cinda Chavich (Whitecap Books, 2007)

1 4-pound (2 kg) stewing hen, cut up (or a chicken or turkey carcass)
2 to 3 parsnips, peeled and cut into chunks
2 to 3 carrots, peeled and cut into chunks
2 stalks celery, with leaves, cut into chunks
1 onion, quartered
4 quarts (4 L) cold water
2 teaspoons (10 mL) salt
4 to 5 black peppercorns
3 sprigs of fresh parsley or dill

1/2 cup (125 mL) dried egg noodles (tiny diamond or thin egg noodles are best)

Place everything, except the noodles, into a big stock pot--the tallest pot you can find--and bring to a boil over medium-high heat, making sure the chicken is well submerged. As the water comes to a boil, a foamy scum will rise to the surface – use a slotted spoon to skim this off.
Once boiled, reduce heat to low and simmer for 2 to 3 hours, adding extra water if chicken is no longer submerged. Throughout the simmering process, keep the heat very low: the soup should barely bubble (this makes for the clearest broth).
After 2 or 3 hours, taste the broth – if it’s concentrated to your liking, remove from heat and strain the liquid through a fine sieve into a heat-proof glass bowl or measuring cup. Discard the chicken bones. If you’ve used a whole stewing hen, you can serve the boiled meat and vegetables alongside the soup.
As the strained broth cools you will see a layer of fat rise to the top. Skim this off with a spoon if you plan to use the broth right away or cover the broth and refrigerate overnight before skimming off all the congealed fat.
To serve, reheat the broth to boiling, season with salt and pepper to taste and serve with one or two matzoh balls per person. Or simply add egg noodles, and boil for 5 to 10 minutes or until the noodles are tender. Serves 6-8.

TRADITIONAL MATZOH BALLS: For a truly traditional dish, skip the noodles and add matzoh balls. To make matzoh balls, combine one cup of matzoh meal with a few tablespoons of chicken stock or club (makes fluffy matzoh balls) and a few teaspoons of olive oil to moisten. Season with a teaspoon of salt, a tablespoon of chopped parsley or fresh dill, and a pinch of nutmeg, then bind with 2 beaten eggs. Refrigerate for a few hours, or overnight, then roll gently into golf-ball-sized balls. They’ll expand while they cook so don’t make them too big, and don’t work them to much or they’ll get tough. Poach in a large pot of boiling water or stock, covered, for 30-40 minutes or until the matzoh balls float to the surface. Remove with a slotted spoon and serve 1 to 2 balls in each bowl of soup. Makes about 16.

copyright Cinda Chavich, tastereport.com

TREND: Haute Cuisine Prairie Style

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 21:20:14 -0600

PRAIRIE GOURMET

By CINDA CHAVICH

The breadbasket of the country has long been famous for its fields of waving wheat, but not necessarily for its distinctive dining.
The concept of Canadian cuisine is relatively new here on the prairies and until recently, the idea that there might be a unique “prairie cuisine” – worth exploring and celebrating – definitely had its skeptics.
But thanks to the kind of grassroots movement so popular in the West, and the emergence of creative new restaurants, chefs and food producers, it’s now clear that prairie cuisine is more than beef, beans and bannock. It’s a style of cooking inspired by the region’s unique local ingredients and cultural heritage, and tied inextricably to the land.

CREATIVE PRAIRIE PEOPLE
At upscale restaurants like Calgary’s River Café, Regina’s The Willow on Wascana, and Winnipeg’s Fusion Grill, there may be meat and potatoes on the menu, but it’s not just any meat and potatoes.
River Café’s Scott Pohorelic serves his mushroom-dusted bison strip loin on a bed of black trumpet mushroom and barley risotto ($45), and starts diners with platters of housemade charcuterie, from Native candied trout and wild boar rillettes to salt-cured bison ($21 for two).
Chef Lorna Murdoch of Fusion Grill offers starters like crispy grass-fed beef dumplings ($10.95), then morphs into mains of bison tenderloin with white truffle and Bothwell cheddar potato gratin and Quebec foie gras mousse ($39.95), or truffled duck sausage perogies in walnut cream sauce ($10.95).
And in the hands of The Willow’s Moe Mathieu, surf and turf becomes his “land and lake” combination of smoky wild boar belly, cooked sous vide, with apple coleslaw, prairie beans and a crisp Saskatchewan pickerel fillet ($32).
“Originally my partners insisted that in a fine dining restaurant, we must serve lobster,” says Mathieu, “but I said no, not until we find lobster in our lakes and rivers.”
“The goal is source everything that we can from Saskatchewan,” adds the chef who selects his own lamb, and ships it to Alberta for slaughter and back to guarantee its provenance. “I had to be creative – I had to show people what could be done.”
It’s that willingness to experiment with local ingredients – and serve pickerel and organic carrots instead of mahi mahi and pineapple salsa – that’s driving the regional food trend on the prairies. Restaurant chefs, and their customers, are gaining a new respect for local foods on a number of levels, whether it’s the intense flavour of a locally-grown heirloom tomato or the fact that it doesn’t come with the baggage of thousands of carbon-polluting food miles.
But that doesn’t mean chefs reject all imported foods. Even strict regional chefs still often buy Canadian ocean fish and Quebec foie gras, or add exotic spices to seasonal staples.
In a nod to the reality that prairie regional cooking includes both the best local ingredients, and the food we must import to survive, Fusion Grill tags its menu, “Right around the corner. Right around the world.”
It’s a matter of finding the best flavour, says proprietor Scot McTaggart.
“We’re not saying there’s an exclusivity to the ingredients we choose for our prairie cuisine, but we have said we’re going to showcase local suppliers,” he says. “Great cuisine and freshness go hand in hand, and freshness has a geography.”

FARM FRESH, REGIONAL AND SEASONAL
That’s the real root of the trend to local cuisine for many chefs – utilizing the tastiest, freshest ingredients to improve quality. A fresh and organic food movement that started with California’s Alice Waters of Chez Panisse, spread around the world, landing in Canada at iconic regional Canadian restaurants like Sooke Harbour House on Vancouver Island. Some of the earliest Alberta proponents of cooking with local foods were mountain tourist hotels like the Banff Springs and Buffalo Mountain Lodge, serving a “rocky mountain” cuisine based on ingredients like wild game, mushrooms and berries. Chefs across the prairies took notice and began working with local elk and venison, prairie beans and lentils, Saskatchewan mustard seed, pickerel, root vegetables, wild rice and saskatoons. Many are now advocates for local ingredients and local farmers, championing ideas like sustainable and organic agriculture and fishing from their restaurant kitchens.
“We choose ingredients first on the basis of quality and taste, but we also choose on the basis of how it is produced, strongly supporting our organic growers and sustainable farming and ranching practices,” says Sal Howell, the proprietor of River Café, and one of the earliest supporters of local growers. Not only does the restaurant buy locally, the chefs spend time working in the gardens with Tony and Penny Marshall of Highwood Crossing Farm near Calgary, where many of the fresh vegetables and herbs used in the restaurant are grown.
Howell, who opened the restaurant in 1995 by transforming a circa-1969 city concession in the centre of downtown Prince’s Island Park, was inspired by her surroundings to create a regional cuisine concept. She was a pioneer in the pursuit of the authentic prairie palate and her restaurant has spawned a whole generation of Calgary cooks devoted to local and seasonal cuisine.
Today, River Café sources its ingredients directly, from up to 75 growers, farmers, ranchers and fishers, with Pohorelic and his team of chefs making everything from scratch, from breads to preserves.
But Howell says her buying decisions, including a largely regional and organic wine list, are also governed by environmental and community ethics.
“Often people have no idea we buy like that, and we often wonder how much of that information we should relay at the table,” she says. “But we put ourselves out there, and we hold these values, and we’ve built a real culture at the restaurant around it.”
Still, what makes some sense on the temperate coasts isn’t quite as easy on the cold, land-locked prairies. For Terry Gereta, the chef-owner of Mise in Winnipeg, it’s a constant challenge to remain true to his local and sustainable ideals – replacing Canadian scallops with diver caught scallops from Mexico because of concerns with over dredging, fighting for a share of a very limited supply of local shiitake mushrooms, and getting creative, again, with carrots and rutabagas.

CULTURAL CONNECTIONS
Selling prairie cuisine to discriminating diners can be tricky, too, as there is no precise definition of the concept.
“The system is still not set up for this, but our clientele is good, and adventurous, too,” says Gereta, who dubs his cooking “Canadian regional dining”.
For Jennifer Cockrall-King, editor of the Edible Prairie Journal, a quarterly magazine that celebrates authentic prairie food, regional cuisine may include excellent homemade ice cream from a small shop in Edmonton or seasonal treats like sweet Taber corn-on-the-cob and local asparagus.
“When I think of prairie cuisine, I think of what my grandparents would be eating at this time of year, connected to the season and to the land,” she says.
“It’s really that simple – it’s the food we eat on the prairies – the food we eat that’s specific to our heritage and the reality of what we can grow.”
While the prairie pantry can be limited, the cultural history is vast. Like the neat patchwork of fields that cover the prairie provinces, the West has a past checkered with waves of immigrants from Eastern Europe, Ukraine, Germany, Poland, Hungary, Italy, China, Japan, Britain, Italy, Iceland and France. Chefs draw on that ethnic mix to inspire their regional dishes, too. From Pohorelic’s perogies to Mathieu’s bannock, family traditions are on the table.
“I’m a prairie guy, so I try to be true to the old style of food,” says Matheiu, a Metis of mixed English and French heritage. “I serve bannock with soup and my cabbage-domed crepinette is based on my mom’s cabbage rolls.”
He also riffs on the classic Ukrainian beet soup in a molecular gastronomy-inspired amuse bouche of borscht caviar topped with shavings of frozen sour cream, served in a shot glass.
While sourcing local ingredients is easier than it was a decade ago, some restaurants are joining forces to ease the transition. In Edmonton, a group of independent restaurants have formed Original Fare (www.originalfare.com) to promote local suppliers and share resources.
“It makes our community a more interesting and economically viable place,” says Jessie Radies, owner of Edmonton’s Blue Pear restaurant and founder of the group that includes fine dining establishments, pizza parlours and ethnic restaurants. “It doesn’t mean all of our suppliers are local, but we share the core value of supporting local and independent businesses when we can.”
While is can be more expensive to buy some ingredients locally, chefs say costs even out, especially when they shop seasonally and serve more than just prime cuts. Like their grandmothers, these chefs save money by canning and preserving, even salting their own hams and sausages, and cooking from scratch.
“It’s a neat way for us to eat – it’s healthy and way better for the local economy,” says Mathieu, who began making his own goat cheese when he found no Saskatchewan supplier.
“There’s just a greater awareness of where the food comes from,” adds McTaggart, “and an understanding that we’ve gotta stop raping the earth. That starts with your own little world and your own little business.”

INSPIRED PRAIRIE MENUS:

Calgary, Alberta: River Café: Cedar-planked Arctic Char Caramelized Onion Perogies Chanterelle Mushrooms, Pickled Pumpkin Tartar Sauce - $34

Westerose, Alberta: Eco Café: Tortiere-style game pie made with local elk, duck, pork and organic vegetables, or their Canadian Club sandwich of local tomatoes, turkey and Sylvan Lake smoked bacon.

Calgary, Alberta: Forage Farm-to-Fork Foods: organic Sunworks rotisserie chicken, with mashed potatoes and gravy to go - $38 whole, $25 half; or Broek Pork Acres Berkshire pork meatballs with Italian herbs simmered in tomato sauce on penne - $12

Calgary, Alberta: Open Range: Alberta lamb shank braised with chorizo, local ale, fresh thyme and grainy mustard - $21

Banff, Alberta: Bison Mountain Bistro: Braised Squash & Goat Cheese Cabbage Rolls, Toasted Garlic Tomato Sauce, Wild Rice, Pickled Chanterelle Mushrooms, Crème Fraîche - $19

Turner Valley, Alberta: Route 40 Soup Company: Grilled Steelhead & Smoked Trout Wrap - Fresh Alberta Lakefish with Green Tomato Tartar, Bermuda Red Onion, Spinach, Basil & Brown Rice Vermicelli with Smoked Chili infused Chinook Honey - $11.75

Canmore, Alberta: Quarry Bistro: Duck Breast, butternut squash orzo, watercress and saskatoon jelly - $26

Calgary, Alberta: Bistro Piq Niq: Alberta Ranched Elk Medallions, spaghetti squash, red rice pilaf, black currant jus - $34

Winnipeg, Manitoba: Fusion Grill: Pickled beets with Dragons Breath cheese ice cream, arugula, and apple cider vinaigrette - $9.95
Slow roasted Manitoba bison back ribs with spicy Seagram's Five Star glaze and garlic smashed potatoes - $28.95

Winnipeg, Manitoba: Mise: Elk-stuffed quail with Cumberland sauce, sun-dried blueberries and puffed wild rice - $13.95
Duck confit with Brochet mossberry preserve, seared breast with sweet apple hot chili glaze, roasted potato and veg - $29

Regina, Saskatchewan: The Willow on Wascana: Handmade ravioli stuffed with Saskatchewan duck confit, caramelized red onions and house-made goat cheese nestled in a carrot and vanilla infusion - $22.95

Saskatoon, Saskatchewan: Weczeria: Northern pike, fennel, potato pave + aioli - $23

(This feature appeared in Food Service & Hospitality magazine)

©Cinda Chavich 2008
www.tastereport.com

IN SEASON: Spring lamb

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 20:56:43 -0600

WHY IS LAMB TRADITIONAL IN SPRING?
It’s interesting to see – lamb is traditional in many cultures in spring – the time to eat fresh meat again after months of fasting.
In Greece, for example, lamb is the classic dish for Easter, which is actually coming up at the end of April in the Greek Orthodox calendar.
Today, lamb is produced all year round, so it’s not necessary to wait until spring for the best lamb. But we still have a tradition of eating lamb – with spring vegetables like asparagus – at this time of year.

DO WE EAT A LOT OF LAMB IN CANADA?
Not that much, really. Compared to beef, pork and poultry, lamb is way down the list. In fact, the average Canadian consumes about 13 kg of beef a year, about 10 ½ kg of chicken, 10 kg of pork, 2.2 kg of turkey, and less than ½ kg of lamb and mutton, less actually than offal.
But lamb consumption has been growing slightly in recent years, along with meat consumption in general.
When I was a kid, eating lamb usually meant eating mutton, an older animal that was often tougher and much stronger and gamier in flavour. So it wasn’t always a positive experience.
But the lamb we have today is much younger and milder in flavour. The definition of lamb is sheep meat that is less than one year old, while mutton is used for meat from older sheep.
Today lamb is raised in Alberta much like beef, finished on a grain-based diet to increase the fat and tenderness of the final product. It’s such a mild lamb flavour, that eating a grilled lamb chop is almost like eating a steak.

AND HOW MUCH LAMB DO WE PRODUCE HERE IN ALBERTA?
Well, not nearly as much as beef. Most people don’t know that we have had a sheep industry in Alberta for more than 100 years – the Alberta Sheep Breeders Association is actually one of the oldest livestock organizations in the province, formed back in 1902.
Still, lamb production in countries like Australia and New Zealand is massive by comparison, which is why we do see a lot more New Zealand lamb in the market. It has a lot to do with the climate – in New Zealand they can raise sheep year round but it’s more seasonal here. And sheer numbers. According to the latest statistics, there are about 155,000 head of sheep in Alberta, and 40 million in New Zealand.
So Alberta lamb is rare. It tastes milder than New Zealand lamb, because it’s grain fed, like beef, which means it costs more to produce. New Zealand lamb is grazed on grass year round, which gives it more lamb flavour and a healthy level of Omega 3’s, which is good, too.
Chefs often serve the premium-priced Alberta lamb but for consumers, it’s usually far easier to find imported New Zealand lamb in the supermarket, and it’s usually considerably cheaper than Alberta lamb.
If you’re looking for local lamb, contact a smaller butcher or go directly to a producer on the farm or at a local farmer’s market. Driview Farms near Lethbridge is one source of locally-grown lamb.

WHAT ARE THE BEST CUTS OF LAMB?
It really depends what you want to cook, lamb is really quite versatile and goes into a lot of classic dishes.
Thick lamb loin chops are simple to sear on the barbecue like a steak.
Rack of lamb is really just two whole loins, with the rib bones exposed or Frenched, that is cleaned of excess fat and meat, then interlocked together like fingers to roast.
Lamb shank is delicious for osso bucco, braised for hours in the oven with aromatic spices and tomatoes. Or you can use lamb steaks, cut from the shoulder, for stews.
I usually take a lamb shoulder apart, cut it into large cubes and then make a braise with rosemary, red wine, garlic and black olives. And lamb makes great kabobs, pieces cut from the leg or shoulder, then marinated with garlic and lemon juice, skewered on sticks and grilled for souvlakia.
Ground lamb is great in lamb burgers with blue cheese, or in dishes like Greek Moussaka. And leg of lamb is the classic Sunday roast – the whole leg, on the bone, or a boneless leg that you can stuff and roll.

THERE ARE A LOT OF TRADITIONAL GREEK DISHES THAT USE LAMB.
Yes, go to any part of the world where it’s difficult to graze cattle, and you’ll find lamb and goat on the menu.
Lamb is really popular in Greece – likely partly due to the rocky topography of most small Greek islands – and it’s classic in places like Iceland and the west coast of Scotland, other rocky places where the animals thrive. Lamb is an ancient food – first domesticated about 8900 B.C. in Iraq and Romania, both places where lamb is still traditional. But it’s also popular in the south of France, and in Morocco and Tunisia, really in countries throughout that whole Mediterranean region.

WHAT’S THE TRICK TO COOKING LAMB PROPERLY?
Lamb is really very easy to cook. Tender cuts like chops are like beef steaks – easy to grill and very juicy and tender.
Always start with high heat, to sear the meat and caramelize it well on the outside, then finish cooking at a lower heat.
The trick with lamb is never to overcook it. A chop or rack of lamb should never be cooked past medium – I like my lamb medium rare. You want your lamb to be pink inside when you serve it, so don’t cook it past medium rare, then make sure you let it rest for 10 minutes before service to let the juices set in the meat. Use an instant read thermometer and cook your lamb just to 140 or maximum 150 degrees F – that’s medium rare or medium – and you’ll have perfect chops and roasts every time.

WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE WAY TO COOK LAMB?
I love lamb so I have lots of good recipes – we often do a Daub of Lamb, a recipe from the south of France for braising lamb in a stew with rosemary, red wine and dry-cured black olives. Or we’ll marinade a roast, Greek-style, with lots of lemon juice and garlic
But I also love lamb on the grill, which is great for spring. You can buy thick lamb chops and cook them like a steak, no more than 5 minutes a side on a hot grill. Alberta lamb tends to be bigger – so the chops are a lot bigger and one or two chops is often enough for a serving.
But I cooked a centre-cut leg of New Zealand Spring Lamb last weekend on the barbecue and I must say, it was delicious. The meat was incredibly tender, and I didn’t find the flavour strong at all.
It was really a bargain, too. The 3.5 pound centre-cut leg was about $20, less than $7 a pound, and I had the butcher bone it out, so that I had a nice boneless piece to butterfly out flat and grill.
You can also stuff a boneless leg, with tapenade or bread stuffing or feta cheese and olive, roll it and tie it and roast it.
But grilling a whole piece, butterflied, is a really simple and easy way to make a really special meal.
We used the bone and scraps to make soup – scotch broth with barley, carrots and turnips – and we grilled the boneless leg after marinating it in a rub of garlic, green onions, mustard, paprika, olive oil and herbs like thyme, oregano and rosemary for a few hours. The pieces were thick – 1-2 inches – so we seared the meat on high heat first, then moved it over to a cooler side of the grill to cook indirectly for about 25 minutes. It was perfectly medium rare, pink and tender all the way through.

ANY OTHER TIPS?
Well, I think lamb works so well in exotic preparations – whether you’re making an Indian curry or a Moroccan tagine with couscous, lamb is the classic ingredient.
Spring lamb is great for grilling but it’s great to experiment when you’re cooking lamb. Try a rub with curry paste or garam masala, or a herbal rub with lots of cilantro, garlic and chilies. Lamb can stand up to intense flavour, it really takes to it well, so try using more exotic spices, and more assertive herbs like rosemary, oregano or cilantro when you’re cooking lamb. It’s really nice for kabobs, too, when you marinate it with lemon juice, olive oil, garlic and dill; or with a robust black olive sauce, like they make in the south of France.
And don’t forget ground lamb for burgers – a lamb burger is wonderful with a little blue cheese on a crusty roll, or try them Greek style with black olive tapenade, yogurt and cucumber tzatziki or feta cheese, and sliced tomatoes in a pita pocket.
Lamb is a great alternative to beef - it just makes your backyard barbecues a little more interesting, and your dinner parties more exotic.

RECIPES?
Yes, I’ve got a two-for-one deal for your leg of lamb this week – buy a centre cut leg, bone in, get the butcher to debone it for you (they will do this at the supermarket) and then you can make a fancy grilled lamb dinner, and a pot of lamb and barley soup, also known as Scotch broth. Perfect for a warm spring day, and a cool one, too.

click here for lamb recipes...

copyright Cinda Chavich, tastereport.com

Local Bounty: PRairie Pickerel (AKA Walleye)

Mon, 11 Feb 2008 15:45:26 -0700

Click here to listen to Cinda talk about pickerel on CBC radio...

By CINDA CHAVICH

(Gimli, Manitoba) – The fishing season may be over in most of Canada but out on Lake Winnipeg, arguably one of the coldest spots in the country, serious pickerel fishing is just getting underway.
Fishermen like Chris Kristjanson are setting their gill nets – under several feet of ice – for some of the finest pickerel (a.k.a. walleye) in the world.
Canada’s commercial pickerel fishery feeds the growing market for this sweet, mild fish, shipped from Norway to New York. In fact, the fish that many prairie kids remember catching in northern lakes has become one of the most expensive fillets in the fish monger’s case. It’s a simple supply and demand issue - there is no commercial fishery for pickerel in the U.S., so all of the firm white fillets that turn up in top restaurants like Everest in Chicago are from Canadian waters.
This pickerel, and all of the other freshwater fish caught commercially in Canada, is funneled through the Freshwater Fish Marketing Board in Winnipeg, the central buyer and processor of pickerel caught in about 400 lakes throughout western Canada, two thirds of it from Manitoba.
The pickerel fishery has never been better in Lake Winnipeg, but it’s a mixed blessing. Fish numbers are growing now thanks to “nutrients” in the lake – the phosphate and fertilizer pollution being funneled into its watershed by urbanites, farmers and intensive livestock operations. That’s good for commercial fishermen now, but the lake is dying.
“We used to go out all day and get a box of fish (80-100 pounds) and now it’s 10 or 15 boxes,” says Eric Goodman. “There’s so much fish now.”
In midsummer, the northern reaches of this massive water body – the traditional pickerel fishing grounds – are covered in thick patches of blue green algae, a result of phosphates, manure and fertilizers from farms as far away as Alberta. While that makes for plenty of fish food in the short term – leading to record catches in recent years – in the long run, the algae dies, drops to the bottom of the lake and, as it decomposes, strips life-giving oxygen from the water. The algae bloom is a symptom of a very sick lake and many fishers here are now calling on government to act quickly to keep phosphorous out of the water system, to save the lake and a fishing tradition that has been ongoing for more than a century.
Fishing began here in 1882, and by 1887 2.5 million pounds (1.13 million kg) of fish were caught in the lake, most by the Icelandic immigrants who settled here. Gimli is still an Icelandic town and third and fourth generation fishers – the Kristjansons, Olsons and Goodmans – still make their livings from pickerel, pulling in about 3.2 million kg of this fish from Lake Winnipeg each year.
“Pickerel has given me my way of life,” says Paul Olson, 89, a retired fisherman who remembers going fishing with his father in February, on a sled with a team of dogs, and whole daughter Karen still runs the family’s Gimli Fish Market in Winnipeg.
“We started selling fish when we were kids – we’d grab the bus to Winnipeg Beach in the morning and we’d pedal fish to cottages along the lake shore,” he recalls. “That’s how we started building up the pickerel market.”
Today the Gimli fishers still head out on the ice in mid-winter – many in vintage 1940s and ‘50s Bombardier snow cats. They drop their gill nets through a hole in the ice, then use a “race horse jigger” that “walks” the net along under the frozen surface to a second hole, where the nets are hauled in several days later.
“We’re out by the end of November – as soon as the ice makes – until the end of March,” says Kristjanson.
Which makes mid-winter the best time to enjoy fresh pickerel.
At The Current in Winnipeg, chef Brian Roloff serves pan-fried fillets of Manitoba pickerel in a champagne beurre blanc sauce, topped with braised leeks, which is a tasty way to enjoy this delicate fish. And in Gimli, the heart of pickerel-ville you can indulge in the sweetest bits – the pickerel cheeks – ordered at the counter, with fries and sodas or Greek salad, at the Beach Boy restaurant, although most locals say they usually serve their favourite fish prairie style – “fried in butter with mashed potatoes, creamed corn and pickled beets.”
Despite the strong supply of this freshwater fish, demand is keeping prices high.
At Mariner Neptune, the Winnipeg fish wholesaler and retailer that ships fresh pickerel across Canada daily, the price in the shop is $9.99/pound, more expensive than sole or cod, and nearly as high as Arctic char.
“It’s one of the most expensive fish we sell,” he says, “but Costco now buys 5,000 to 7,000 pounds a week.”
Growing up on the prairies, where pickerel – or perhaps perch or pike – were once the only fresh fish on the plate, a feast of pan-fried pickerel didn’t seem particularly exotic. But these days the sweet, white fish is sold across the country in the wintery ice fishing season, a true western Canadian treat.

(This story appeared in the Globe and Mail newspaper)

Click here for recipes...

©Cinda Chavich 2008
www.tastereport.com

ETHNIC FOOD: Chinese Dumplings

Mon, 11 Feb 2008 15:19:23 -0700

URBAN FORAGER: MEMORIES OF JUICY CHINESE DUMPLINGS

By CINDA CHAVICH

As the lunar calendar opens on the Year of the Rat, thoughts turn to Chinese feasts of pan-fried dumplings, whole fish steamed with black beans, and other lucky dishes that signal a prosperous new year.
In Chinese families, the New Year means new clothes, clean houses, red envelopes of “lucky money” and communal cooking, pinching and pleating of hundreds of dumplings. These perfect packages of ground pork, slivered cabbage and spices may be steamed or pan-fried, but one thing is certain, the round, golden snacks symbolize money and wealth. So at this time of year, you can never eat too many dumplings.

THE FOOD
When it comes to creating authentic Chinese cuisine at home, it depends which part of the country you want to explore. But whether its spicy Szechuan and noodles from the north, or dried shrimp paste and grilled fish from the coastal cities like Shanghai and Hong Kong, all Asian cooking depends on a variety of fresh vegetables, herbs and sauces.
Some ingredients for Chinese cooking can be purchased any large grocery store, but to get a good selection of authentic sauces and exotic produce, Asian markets are key.
They’re the only place you’ll find a consistent supply of sweet, slender Asian eggplant and bitter melon, bunches of spicy watercress, unusual herbs like Thai basil, and really crunchy bean sprouts. The produce section of a good Asian grocery is an unbelievable bargain source for anything from mandarin oranges and exotic fruit like longan or plantains, to ginger, galangal, baby bok choy, and cheap red and yellow bell peppers, even in the middle of winter. If you want fresh lotus root or bitter melon, this is the place.
On the noodle front, the selection of fresh choices is vast, whether you like fat Shanghai noodles, flat rice noodles or chewy steamed egg or wonton noodles, the best base for a saucy stir fry. Look for fresh noodles from local makers like Hung’s Noodle House.
Chinese grocery stores are also a great source for fresh meat, especially pork, and fish. Live fish is a Chinese specialty, and the best markets have tanks of swimming, locally-raised tilapia, imported live shrimp, crabs, lobsters, oysters and clams, including the huge geoduck, with it’s fist-sized shell and thick protruding muscle. But don’t skip the freezer section – look for deals on flash frozen shrimp and other fish, from halibut to sand goby.
It’s here that you’ll also find bags of frozen edamame (soy beans to steam for appetizers), Chinese sausages, banana and kaffir lime leaves. And vegetarians will find soy protein (aka tofu) in many forms – fried, pressed, puffed, stew-style, dessert-style, marinated, silken or even extruded into tofu noodles.

THE FIND
There are many Asian food stores in Calgary, but at the top of the heap is T&T Supermarket, the country’s largest Asian grocery store chain with two locations in Calgary and 12 more across the country.
T&T has the usual supermarket sections and a good fresh fish counter, plus an in-house bakery (featuring things like barbecue pork buns and crispy black sesame seed chips), a sushi bar for excellent take-out sushi, and a hot food section where you’ll find everything from take-out Peking duck to barbecue pork or Singapore fried noodles, and dim sum selections like pan-fried turnip cake and spring rolls. There’s even a Chinese herbalist and tea shop.
On the sauce front, Chinese markets are a gold mine – several choices of the usual soy and hoisin sauces, plus bottles and jars of fish, chili, black bean, oyster, satay, XO and curry sauces and pastes.
At traditional markets, like the Lamda market on Centre Street, you’ll find giant, restaurant-sized 3.5 L jars of garlic chili sauce and massive tins of baby corn and coconut milk, alongside regular consumer sizes, the Sun Fat meat store and King’s Seafood shop inside the store, and the same brand name dumplings in the freezer. On 17th Avenue S.E., Shun Fat, is another large supermarket with a wide selection, and there are small grocers, like Can Fung, in Chinatown.

THE FIX
Outside of China, some of the best dumplings I’ve enjoyed were in a restaurant in Richmond, B.C., where they’re filled and pinched right before your eyes. While you’ll never experience the juicy joy of freshly made Shanghai dumplings from the supermarket freezer, there are many choices when it comes to pre-made pork dumplings.
I tried three widely available supermarket brands, including those made locally by Ginger Beef Choice and Golden Happiness Frozen Foods, but I found the pork and chive dumplings from Sum-m! (Fine Choice Foods) in Richmond to be the best, for both flavour and presentation.
The Sum-m! brand dumplings were the smallest, and after 8 minutes of boiling, browned perfectly in the pan. The ground pork filling was flecked with green chives and had authentic Asian flavor. The dumpling skin was the thinnest and most delicate, and crispiest once pan-fried, while other brands failed to brown nicely and tended to be tough. This was the most expensive brand but the quality was noticeably superior.
Still, dumpling nuts go directly to the source for their fix, to the small shops selling frozen dim sum, directly from the makers. The best pork dumplings in town are from Lucky Dim Sum in the Central Landmark Mall, juicy and fat, but not greasy, with delicate wrappers and hand-pinched pleats – $11 for 50. Chuen May Food Products in Chinatown, makes a decent frozen pork dumpling, and authentic Shanghai style dumpling, too.
So next time you plan an Asian feast, head to a Chinese grocery market – the frozen dumplings are delicious, and you’ll find a wide selection of Asian ingredients, from live fish to fresh exotic vegetables, herbs, noodles and even tableware, for authentic flavour and style.

Click here for dumpling recipe...

(This Urban Forager column ran in the February 2008 issue of Avenue magazine)

©Cinda Chavich 2008
www.tastereport.com

Technique: BASIC French sauces

Mon, 21 Jan 2008 09:01:05 -0700

By CINDA CHAVICH

When Julia Child wrote her 1960s classic – The French Chef – she knew one thing for certain: French cooking is all about the sauce.
Yes, you must learn the fundamentals, the way to braise and roast and poach your protein to perfection. But after that, it’s the French skill with sauces that turns a basic chicken breast into Suprêmes de Volaille au Champignon, makes a simple steak a Bifteck Sauté Béarnaise, and gives poached eggs on toast the cachet of Eggs Benedict.
There are only a few “mother” sauces in the French repertoire, all of the others are variations on the theme. So learn to make a basic white sauce, a brown sauce and hollandaise, and you’ll be on your way to gourmet territory.

WHITE SAUCES
You may know it as béchamel or velouté, even mornay, but all are basically white sauces, with a twist.
A white sauce is the basis for many everyday dishes, whether you’re making macaroni and cheese, creamed spinach or asparagus gratin. The formula is essentially the same for any basis white sauce – flour, butter, milk or white broth (chicken or fish) – and the sauce will be done in five minutes.
A medium white sauce requires 1 ½-2 tablespoons of flour for each cup of liquid, and about the same amount of unsalted butter. Start by melting the butter over low heat in a heavy saucepan. Whisk in the flour, getting rid of any lumps, and cook the mixture together, stirring, for about 2 minutes. This is called the roux. You must cook it together to make sure the sauce has no floury taste.
Meanwhile, heat the cup of milk for béchamel (or broth for velouté). Slowly add the hot milk or broth to the roux, whisking constantly as you pour to prevent lumps. Bring the sauce to a boil over medium heat and boil, whisking, for a minute to thicken. Season to taste with salt and white pepper. A velouté sauce is usually made with slightly more liquid, and reduced over low heat for 30 minutes to achieve a very velvety texture.
Et voila – white sauce, béchamel or velouté. If the sauce is too thick, whisk in milk, cream or stock, a tablespoon at a time. If it’s too thin, boil it down over low heat (reduce), stirring constantly, or whisk in a little beurre manié (equal parts of softened butter and flour, mixed to form a paste). Remember, a white butter sauce should be semi-transparent, not heavy.
VARIATIONS:
Enrich the white sauce by whisking in a bit of cold butter at the end (a tablespoon per cup) or make an extra thick white sauce and beat whipping cream into the simmering sauce (about 1/4 cup cream per cup of béchamel sauce).
Season the white sauce with minced green onions, sautéed mushrooms or onions, herbs like tarragon or basil pesto, tomato paste or curry paste.
For mornay sauce (a.k.a. cheese sauce), make a medium white sauce and whisk in grated Swiss cheese (or a mixture of Swiss and Parmesan), until melted, and season with a pinch of nutmeg. Use 1/4 cup of cheese for each cup of sauce. Or for mac and cheese, add 2 cups of grated old cheddar to 2 cups of sauce and mix with cooked macaroni.

BROWN SAUCES
A basic brown sauce or Sauce Espagnole starts like a white sauce, with a roux of 6 tablespoons of butter or olive oil and 4 tablespoons of flour, cooked together slowly until the mixture starts to brown and turn colour. Add a little more butter or oil if the mixture is too dry – it should be creamy and start to look like peanut butter. This is called a brown roux and gives a brown sauce its colour.
Make sure to watch it and stir constantly while the roux browns to prevent burning.
You can also add the flour to pan drippings – from a roast beef or pork – to make a brown sauce. Just remember to whisk the flour into the fat well so there are no lumps. You’ll need about four tablespoons of flour, and fat, for 6 cups of beef stock.
A homemade beef stock is the best but you can also use canned bouillon, simmered with a bit of white wine or sherry and some minced onion or bay leaf. The stock should be strained and hot before you add it to the browned roux. Add the liquid slowly, and continue to whisk, to avoid lumps. Season the brown sauce with salt and pepper, and whisk a couple of tablespoons of tomato paste to add flavour and body. A classic brown sauce is a demi-glace, which is enriched with an intense, syrupy reduction made by making a brown meat stock from scratch, then boiling it until it is reduced to a thick glaze.
Brown sauce should be translucent and glossy, never glutinous.
VARIATIONS:
To make a more substantial brown sauce, start with finely chopped carrots, onions and celery, even some chopped meat trimmings, and brown it all in the fat before making the roux. Remove the vegetables and meats from the pan before adding the flour to start the roux for the sauce.
For a pepper sauce, season the brown sauce with coarsely crushed black peppercorns and red wine.
Try adding red currant jelly to the brown sauce, or finishing it with some cream.
Add ¼ cup of Madiera, port or cognac to the finished sauce and simmer for a minute or two. Or reduce ½ cup of Madiera or port until very thick, then stir in brown sauce and a few additional tablespoons of the liquor.
For a brown mustard sauce, slowly cook minced onions in butter until browned and caramelized, add some white wine and simmer to reduce, then stir in 2 cups of brown sauce and 3 tablespoons of Dijon mustard.
For a brown mushroom sauce (sauce duxelles), sauté minced mushrooms and shallots in butter, add white wine and reduce, then stir in brown sauce and simmer together.

HOLLANDAISE SAUCES
A hollandaise is like a mayonnaise – an emulsion sauce thickened by the action of fat, like olive oil, suspended in a mixture thickened with egg yolks.
It can be tricky to regulate the heat on the stovetop to make a hollandaise so I like to make it in a blender. This always works and it’s easy to keep warm in a small thermos.
Just start with 3 egg yolks at room temperature. Then you’ll need 2 tablespoons of freshly-squeezed lemon juice, a pinch of salt and cayenne pepper, and ½ cup of hot melted butter.
Just put the egg yolks, lemon juice, salt and cayenne in the blender and, with the machine running, slowly add the melted butter in a steady stream. When the butter has all been incorporated, the sauce should be thick and emulsified.
VARIATIONS:
If you beat in a tablespoon or two of white sauce or béchamel, or add a teaspoon of cornstarch to the egg yolks, the sauce will hold without breaking in a warm water bath for longer.
To make a Sauce Mousseline (or Chantilly) for fish fold 1/4 cup stiffly whipped cream into 1 cup of hollandaise.
For asparagus and vegetables, make Sauce Maltaise, using orange juice instead of lemon juice and folding in some finely grated orange peel at the end.
The classic Béarnaise Sauce is made by using a reduction of white wine and white wine vinegar, boiled with minced shallots and tarragon, in place of the lemon juice.
A Sauce Choron is a Béarnaise Sauce, flavoured with 3-4 tablespoons of tomato paste – good on eggs or fish.

MAYONNAISE
Like hollandaise, mayonnaise can be made with a whisk or in a blender, the latter being the far faster method.
Start with 1 whole egg and 2 egg yolks, at room temperature, a tablespoon of wine vinegar or lemon juice, a teaspoon of Dijon mustard and about 1 1/2 cups of good quality olive oil.
It’s the same technique – combine everything but the oil in the blender or food processor and, with the machine running, very slowly drizzle the oil into the mixture through the feed tube. You must do this slowly, really drop by drop at first, until the mayonnaise emulsifies and thickens. If it gets too thick, stir in a few additional drops of lemon juice or vinegar. Refrigerate the mayonnaise.
VARIATIONS:
Add some minced fresh herbs like basil, chives, parsley etc. Blanche them quickly in boiling water, then chill in cold water and pat dry before chopping – this keeps the colour brighter and the mayonnaise fresher.
Aioli is a garlic-infused mayonnaise – add 4-8 cloves of finely minced or pressed garlic to the sauce.

for Cinda’s recipes for eggs benedict, easy blender hollandaise sauce and mac and cheese (from scratch!) click here...

(This story originally appeared in West magazine, 2008)

©Cinda Chavich 2008
www.tastereport.com

food news: eliminating trans-fats

Sun, 20 Jan 2008 17:48:17 -0700

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SO GIVE US A BIT OF BACKGROUND ON THE TRANS FAT BAN
Well, as of New Year’s Day, 2008, Calgary became the first city to ban trans fats in restaurants – so no restaurants are allowed use oils or spreads that have more than 2 per cent trans fat content. In phase two of the ban, expected next year, trans fats in all processed and manufactured foods in Calgary will be limited to 5 per cent.
The federal government is recommending that trans fats be limited to less than five percent of all foods. And while these suggestions are already being voluntarily implemented by some companies across Canada, the government says it will give companies two years to reduce trans fats before regulating them.
Countries like Denmark have already banned trans fats and we are behind many cities in the U.S. on banning trans fats. The first cities to ban trans fats in restaurant meals were in California – back in 2004 – and since then trans fats have been banned in New York City, Boston, Seattle and in municipalities in states from Kentucky and Florida to Connecticut.
Across Canada, reducing trans fats in foods is not yet compulsory, so some restaurants and food companies are doing it, while others are not.
Calgary is the only Canadian city to make this compulsory so far. Right now Calgary health inspectors are issuing warnings to restaurants that don’t comply – but after a first warning they will lose their food permits if they continue to cook with trans fats.

AND WHAT EXACTLY ARE TRANS FATS?
Trans fats are molecularly-altered fats – made by adding a hydrogen molecule to turn liquid oils into semi-solid fats. Another name for trans fats – what you might see on a label – is partially-hydrogenated vegetable oil or vegetable shortening.
These fats are found in all kinds of processed foods – from spreads like margarine to cookies, crackers, snack foods, breakfast cereal, granola bars and frozen French fries. They were created to give the food processing industry a cheaper alterative to butter and lard. In processed packaged food, trans fats give foods crisp texture that you get with butter or lard, but with a much longer shelf life. And restaurants, especially fast food restaurants, love the texture and taste that trans fats give to fried foods like French fries, chicken nuggets, doughnuts and fried fish.
They have been using these kinds of manufactured fats in food products for more than 75 years – it’s interesting that now the chair of the department of nutrition at Harvard’s School of Public Health says “trans fat from partially hydrogenated vegetable oil is a toxic substance that does not belong in food.”

WHY ARE TRANS FATS UNHEALTHY?
Too much of any fat is unhealthy but trans fats are among the baddest of the bad fats. They clog your arteries and boost cholesterol – especially bad cholesterol – while lowering good cholesterol. In terms of heart disease, saturated fats (or fats from animal sources like butter and lard) are bad – but trans fats are worse.
The Heart and Stroke Foundation says consuming trans fats accounts for 3,000 to 5,000 deaths a year – and that by eliminating trans fats, we could see a 22 per cent reduction in heart disease and stroke.
But it’s not just trading one fat for another. To really reduce the risk of high cholesterol and clogged arteries, it’s important to limit animal fats, found in meat, cheese and dairy products, and your total fat consumption.

WE CAN’T JUST GO BACK TO BUTTER?
Sadly, no. Butter is pure saturated fat, which is also known to clog your arteries and lead to heart disease. You can make a sandwich without adding butter – or any kind of fat – but when you need a solid fat – for baking, for example – using butter or even lard is actually better than partially hydrogenated margarine or vegetable shortening.
Cook with olive oil or canola oil – using as little oil as possible. And save the butter for those times when you really need it – like on the occasional cob of corn or baked potato.
Try to limit saturated fat to about 15 g per day – that’s about a tablespoon of butter in total (not to mention the saturated fat found in meat and dairy products). You need fat in your diet, but not much – the Canada Food Guide recommends 20-45 mL of unsaturated fat per day – that’s only 2-3 tablespoons in everything that you eat, from breakfast cereal and salad dressing to cooking oil.

SO IS IT DIFFICULT FOR RESTAURANTS TO MAKE THESE CHANGES?
When it comes to cooking oils and spreads it’s more expensive, but not that difficult to eliminate trans fats. There are lots of non-hydrogenated margarines on the market today, and liquid vegetables oils, like corn, olive and canola oils, are completely trans fat free, as long as they are not partially hydrogenated.
But it gets tricky when it comes to manufactured foods – the kind of products that restaurants use, and the many processed foods in the supermarket that still contain trans fats. You will find partially hydrogenated oils in all kinds of packaged cookies, crackers and even soups and tomato sauces – the only way to avoid these trans fats is to cook from scratch and carefully read the labels of all prepared foods.
Even “health foods” and organic products contain hydrogenated oils. I try to avoid all trans fats but I did find some “gourmet” foods in my pantry that contain hydrogenated oils, including a box of imported gouda cheese straws, Gourmet Thins, bran and rye Scandanavian crisp beads from Norway, and Five Grain Premium soda crackers that proclaim “O Trans Fats” on the from label, but list hydrogenated cottonseed oil as the third ingredient.
This, I assume, means they fall within the labeling rules which state that as long as there is less than 0.5 g of trans fat per serving, the label can say “trans fat free”. So pay attention.

ANY OTHER LABELING TRICKS TO BE AWARE OF?
Don’t be fooled by labels that say “cholesterol free” – that just means that the product contains no animal products. It still may contain trans fats or saturated fat like palm oil – the kind of fat that will raise your cholesterol if you eat it.
And remember – no trans fat does not mean no fat. Unfortunately, the rules limiting the use of trans fats don’t ban the use of saturated fat – so your fries may be cooked in lard instead, which is almost as bad. Or your cookies and crackers may contain palm oil, which is naturally saturated and not a healthy fat.
You need to read the ingredient lists before you buy.

HOW CAN YOU AVOID UNHEALTHY FATS WHEN SHOPPING FOR GROCERIES?
Buy pita breads instead of crackers, baked pretzels instead of fried chips. Eat more vegetables – at least two with every meal – and fresh fruit instead of pastries and cookies for dessert. Choose skim or 1% milk, cheese, yogurt and other dairy products.
Buy lean meats like pork tenderloin, chicken breast and well-trimmed beef steaks – things that are fast and easy to grill without adding fat.

IF YOU’RE EATING OUT, WHAT’S THE BEST WAY TO AVOID FAT, ESPECIALLY TRANS FAT AND SATURATED FAT?
Well, of course there are the obvious ways – don’t order anything that’s deep fried, battered or breaded, choose lean meats and fish that’s grilled, avoid cream sauces and excess cheese. Go for the vegetarian entree. Skip dessert or share and have a bite or two.
Fast food restaurants are the worst culprits as so many things on the menu are deep fried. Eliminating trans fats doesn’t address the total fat issue.
Even sandwich shops use a lot of high fat sandwich meats and cheeses.
There are a lot of hidden fats in prepared salads – always get the dressing on the side and use it sparingly – and remember that many dips and appetizers are loaded with fat. Start with soup or salad, or whole grain bread without butter, then choose items that are baked, grilled, poached, steamed or stir-fried – all likely to be lowest in fat.
But remember, restaurant meals are notoriously oversized and high in calories – and fat. A recent study revealed the average menu entrée at popular restaurants like Kelsey’s, Milestones and The Keg contained more than 1,000 calories, and including an appetizer, drink and dessert boosted calorie counts over 2,000. That’s more than the average adult needs in a day, so try cooking at home.

LOW FAT RECIPES?
I went to the Heart and Stroke Foundation website for a couple of low-fat recipes this week. The first is a main meal Minestrone soup – perfect for a winter evening or to pack in your lunch – only 3 g of fat, and lots of vegetables and fibre.
The second is a hearty rotini pasta and ground beef dish – there’s cheese and tomato sauce, but only 225 calories and 10 g of fat per serving, which is proof that you can lower the fat in your diet by making simple choices in the supermarket, for things like lean ground beef, fat-reduced sauces and skim milk cheeses.

click here for recipes...

copyright Cinda Chavich
tastereport.com

CHEFS: DANIEL BUSS

Wed, 5 Dec 2007 14:37:43 -0700

BUSS OF THE BANFFSHIRE

By CINDA CHAVICH

When it comes to the finest of gourmet cuisine, the devil is always in the details – a careful combination of tastes and textures that can take a plate of food far beyond its simple parts.
A sweet caramelized carrot, a shard of crisp eggplant atop a tiny quenelle of eggplant puree, a foamy sauce or an unexpected mouthful of ethereal egg white, poached in a savoury soup and floating like a tiny island alongside perfect pearls of roasted heirloom apple – there’s a special finesse in chef Daniel Buss’ exquisitely-designed dinners at the Banffshire Club.
In the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel’s eponymous five-diamond restaurant, Buss oversees a team of eight who work feverishly in their own kitchen to create this kind of creative cuisine for a mere 40 or 50 diners each evening. But at the hotel’s recent 16th annual wine and food festival, Buss spread his magic around, designing and executing two elegant lunches and a gala dinner for 175, featuring the same kind of rare local ingredients and finely-detailed plates that have become his signature.
“It took me 3 ½ hours to butterfly and roll the salmon for the salad for lunch,” he says, admitting the prep for the gala dinner began five days before the event, and he spent months devising the menus and sourcing ingredients, from the aforementioned organic Chinook salmon to the miniature honey mushrooms scattered alongside.
“My food is very fine and I do love tiny tastes and texture changes on the plate. That’s one of my signatures.”
No where was that more evident than the festival’s cooking demonstration, where Spanish chef Sergi Millet created a deliciously rustic dish of panfried monkfish and white beans in a chunky romesco sauce, while Buss made a silky pumpkin soup, topped with a tiny hand-made pheasant and foie gras boudin sausage, a spoonful of curry-infused miniature roasted squash cubes, and a floating island of egg white, surrounded by his signature mini balls, scooped from organic apples and caramelized.
“I love my turbo Vita-Mix blender, it’s the most used tool in my kitchen,” Buss says, “and I do like little things.”
On the gala dinner menu, tiny micro-greens and farmed Canadian sturgeon caviar garnished a local heirloom potato, smoked rainbow trout and lobster terrine starter, while rabbit loin with rabbit confit and locally-foraged chanterelle mushrooms was served with sage and pumpkin ravioli, in a velvety pumpkin sauce.
“We made 960 tiny squash balls for the rabbit plate at the gala, and we used those baby honey mushrooms, and tiny squeeze bottles to add our sauces.”
At 40, the lanky Buss has a youthful appearance and quiet demeanor, the kind of chef who inspires respect and loyalty, not fear, in the kitchen. For the festival lunches, he brought his team of 20+ chefs out of the kitchen into the dining room to plate each course – an amazing exercise in flawless teamwork that impressed diners.
Buss is a Guelph, Ontario native who trained in Canada and Switzerland before landing at the Banff Springs and opening the swanky destination restaurant seven years ago.
A recent trip to London – and a two-week stage at Le Gavroche with star chef Michel Roux – inspired Buss to create new soufflés for his menu and seek out a local Alberta source of milk-fed lamb.
And while his cooking style is French, it’s driven by pure, fresh flavours. Like the best European chefs, Buss has always demanded the finest seasonal ingredients for his kitchen. Every product is carefully sourced from local farms, like the Dirt Willy Farm pheasant and wild turkey, local Lund’s carrots and Hotchkiss greens, now served throughout the hotel.
“That’s all I use at the Banffshire and it’s had a huge influence on the hotel,” he says. “I’m proud and happy for our suppliers, they grow some of the best things I’ve ever tasted.”
“Now Fairmont wants all of the hotels to source local and sustainable products, which is really great.”
When Buss isn’t in the kitchen, the married father of two young children is in the mountains, cycling, fly fishing or just hanging out with his family. It’s a lifestyle that obviously balances his incredibly detailed and creative cooking.
“I don’t get too stressed – it always comes together – and I have a great staff,” he says. “I put all of my energy into it, and we all go full blast, to get that real wow every time.”

PUMPKIN SOUP WITH PHEASANT BOUDIN
Chef Daniel Buss created this elegant soup for a cooking demonstration at the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel.
Serves 6

Pumpkin Soup:
1 kg cooking pumpkin (Cinderella pumpkin or Kuri squash)
1 teaspoon sugar
300 ml heavy cream
½ cup butter, divided
170g onions (about 1 medium onion), chopped
1 shallot, chopped
1 bay leaf
2 springs fresh thyme
1 litre chicken stock
¼ teaspoon Four Spice (equal amounts ground cinnamon, clove, allspice and nutmeg)
1 tablespoon honey
fleur de sel
freshly ground pepper

Cut the pumpkin in half, remove and discard the seeds, and cut the flesh into wedges. Place the pumpkin on a baking sheet, spread with two tablespoons of the butter, and sprinkle with the sugar. Season with salt and pepper, and roast in a 350-400F oven until softened and starting to caramelize. Cool slightly, scoop out the flesh and discard the skin.
In a soup pot, add the remaining butter, onions, shallot, bay leaf and thyme. Cook together over medium high heat, until the onions are translucent, then add the roasted pumpkin. Sweat together for 1 minute, then add the chicken stock. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 15 minutes.
Remove the herbs from the soup and puree everything in a blender until very smooth.
Return the soup to the pot, season with Four Spice, honey, fleur de sel and pepper. Strain through a fine mesh sieve and keep warm.

Pheasant Boudin:
1 pheasant breast, about 130 g/1/4 pound
40 g foie gras
150 mL/2/3 cup heavy cream
½ teaspoon Armagnac
sea salt and pepper

Chill the food processor and ingredients in the freezer. Dice the pheasant breast and foie gras and mix in the cold processor for a few seconds. Clean the sides with a spatula. With the machine running, slowly add the cream. Don’t overmix or the cream will break. Season mixture with Armagnac, salt and pepper.
Place the mixture into a piping bag and pipe into a clean sheep’s casing (or alternately use plastic wrap to encase the mixture and roll tightly). Tie the ends, and tie string along length of casing to form small sausages.
Place the boudins in a pan of barely simmering water (80C) and poach for 5-6 minutes. Remove and cool slightly, then remove plastic, cut each sausage on the bias and serve a piece in each bowl of soup.

IN SEASON: Cookies for Christmas

Wed, 5 Dec 2007 14:37:42 -0700

click here for recipes...

SO YOU ENJOY BAKING AT CHRISTMAS TIME?
Yes, I really do. I’m actually more of a cook than a baker – so baking isn’t necessarily my strong suit – but I think it can be a lot of fun to spend a weekend baking Christmas cookies, and I think I’ll be doing some of that this weekend and in the weeks ahead.
Baking is a good thing to do with your family and friends, and it’s something that can really get everyone into the holiday spirit.
Of course everyone loves home-baked cookies and candy. So when you’re finished baking, you have some lovely treats that you can package up for gifts, and you’ll never need to make dessert over the holidays.

BUT AREN’T ALL OF THOSE PRETTY LITTLE CHRISTMAS COOKIES DIFFICULT AND REALLY TIME CONSUMING TO MAKE?
Well, that just depends on what kinds of cookies you choose.
Of course, the tradition during the holidays is to make smaller, prettier cookies – the kind that can be displayed together on a dessert tray.
So I try to make a variety of smaller cookies rather than the usual big chocolate chip or peanut butter cookies.
But they don’t have to be difficult to make. I would never make more than one rolled cookie – like gingerbread or sugar cookies – because I think they’re more work than cookies that can be rolled into balls or just dropped onto the cookie sheet for baking.
There are easy bar cookies you can make, cookies or truffles that don’t even require baking, and simple ginger cookies, reminiscent of old-fashioned gingerbread that are super simple. Often I will make ice-box style cookies – using the kind of cookie dough you can make into a log and chill or freeze it, then you can just slice off nice little round or square cookies and bake them as needed.

SO HOW DO YOU DECIDE WHICH COOKIES TO MAKE?
Baking holiday cookies is a good family event to get into the holiday spirit – a nice tradition to pass down to your kids, so think about making a kind of cookie that’s significant for your family, an ethnic recipe passed down from your grandmother or just a family favourite.
Christmas cookies are supposed to be the kind of dainty morsels that you can combine on a sweet tray for a buffet, or pass after a big meal. So, again, think small.
When you’re planning your holiday baking, imagine that mixed tray of sweets, and make a variety of items – something buttery, something chocolately, something nutty or chewy like nougat or macaroons. It’s also a good time of year to create homemade candy, nut brittles, hand-rolled truffles and even homemade fudge or marshmallows are welcome on a sweet tray.

WHAT ABOUT DECORATING COOKIES?
That’s a great creative activity for kids which can be a lot of fun. You can just bake a bunch of ginger bread people or stars and let your kids get creative with coloured sugar, Smarties and silver candies, secured with a slather of royal icing, either homemade or squeezed from a tube.
Icing always makes a cookie look fancier, whether you spread your cookies with a thin layer of icing or just outline the edges with thicker icing in plain white or festive colours.
Decorated cookies, especially firm cookies like gingerbread, can also be hung on the Christmas tree as edible decorations. If you’re making gingerbread to hang on the tree, make sure you make a hole in each cookie with a straw before you bake, then you can string them with ribbons for hanging.
But there are other easy ways to decorate cookies – try sifting some icing sugar over them when they’re warm from the oven or drizzling with just a few lines of melted white and dark chocolate, drizzled from a fork.
I made some pretty icebox cookies by rolling the log of dough in egg white and coarse grained raw sugar before cutting the cookies and baking them – each cookie was perfectly ringed in a crunchy and glittery sugar coating. Or you can just sprinkle decorations over cookies before baking, things like chopped nuts, colored sugar decorations of coconut.
You can even scatter bits of edible gold or silver leaf – the kind of thing you can buy at an Indian grocery – over your chocolate brittles and bars for a festive touch.

OTHER COOKIE BAKING TIPS?
Like all holiday food, I think Christmas baking is all about decadence so ingredients are key – lots of butter and chocolate and nuts, liqueurs like Grand Marnier or peppermint schnapps. This is the time to break out all of the really good ingredients. That means super good quality baking chocolate – like Callebaut or Valrona – lots of hazelnuts and pecans, fresh unsalted butter, and things like maple syrup, dried exotic fruits like candied ginger and cherries, or crystallized cane sugar.
Don’t be tempted to substitute low fat spreads or margarine for real butter – they often have added water and make runny dough and flat cookies. Make sure nuts are very fresh – they can turn rancid quickly in the cupboard so store them in the freezer. Always use large eggs – not medium or extra large, they can throw off the whole recipe – and bring ingredients to room temperature before baking. Whole wheat flour is good in bread but not always great in cookies, so use only a small portion if you must. Don’t add too much flour or overbeat the dough – this makes tough cookies.
If your cookies come out flat and overbaked, it may be an altitude problem (Calgary is at 3,000 feet) – so reduce the baking temperature by 25, use a little less baking powder and a little less sugar (about 2 tablespoons less per cup)
Like anything, when you have really good ingredients, you often don’t have to do that much with them to end up with a great result.
We always make a white chocolate brittle, for example, using good white chocolate, with chopped green pistachios and sundried cranberries or cherries sprinkled on top. It’s really festive and beautiful, yet it only requires that you melt the chocolate and spread it on some parchment, chop the nuts and cherries and scatter them around, chill it and break it into pieces.
You can also do this with good dark chocolate and chopped candied ginger, or crushed candy canes.
Packed into a pretty cellophane bag with a big bow – or into a nice little tin – it’s a great gift.

ANY IDEAS FOR STORING OR PACKAGING CHRISTMAS COOKIES?
Some cookies are delicate, so they really need a tin or a box for storage. Others look really nice in a little cellophane bag with a bow or a bit of greenery tied on.
Some cookies can be packaged together, but often it’s best to keep them separate.
I like to snoop around in stationary stores or hobby craft stores for interesting containers. I’ve seen some really funky little Chinese-style take-out boxes that make great little boxes for cookies, or you can use miniature paper bags or frosted plastic boxes. If you are making chocolate truffles or homemade marshmallows, it’s good to set each piece in a tiny foil or paper cup, and then to present them, like chocolates in a single layer. Christmas card boxes, with clear plastic tops, work well for this.
If you’re planning to ship cookies, make sure to stick with small, firm cookies – nothing too crumbly or sticky. First they need to go into tins or boxes, then into a larger box filled with crumpled newspaper or Styrofoam bits.

WHAT IF YOU DON’T HAVE TIME TO MAKE SEVERAL DIFFERENT TYPES OF COOKIES?
I think a great way to solve that dilemma is to share the work – either organize a baking bee, or a cookie exchange party.
I like the latter idea, because that way you can have a great assortment of cookies, and you only need to bake one kind.
It works like this. Say you invite eight of your friends to gather for a cookie party. Everyone makes eight dozen of one kind of cookie, and packages them in one-dozen bags or tins. Then everyone goes home with eight dozen cookies – but eight different kinds.
You can do it with fewer friends two – say four friends, and you each do four dozen cookies, or double it up. Then everyone still has eight dozen cookies, four different kinds – plenty to get you through the holidays.

SO GIVE US SOME EXAMPLES OF THE EASY COOKIES YOU’LL BE MAKING?
Well, I’ve brought several recipes this week that we will be posting on the CBC website so that everyone can get started on their holiday cookies.
I always like to make a butter cookie and that means my grandmother’s Scottish style shortbread, which is basically just butter, flour and sugar. This is really easy, you can make it in the food processor – and we do it traditional style, just cut into thick squares and baked until barely golden. If you want to get fancy, you can press it onto molds, or cut it into bars and dip each one in dark chocolate. Some people even like to add things to their shortbread, like coconut or chocolate.
I think ginger cookies are important at this time of year – but I don’t like to take a lot of time rolling and cutting cookies. Instead, I always make my favourite ginger sparkle or crackle cookies – you roll the ginger cookie batter into balls, then roll the balls in sugar and bake – they crackle on top and look pretty. The trick is to make them small. You can also add some chopped candied ginger to the batter for extra zing.
My grandmother always made a little Viennese crescent cookie – reminiscent of a Greek or Mexican butter cookie, with ground nuts, butter, sugar and flour. Very simple really – each cookie is rolled into a little pin, then curved into a crescent on the baking sheet, but you can also just make little snowballs. When they come out of the oven you dust them heavily with icing sugar so they’re pretty, too.
For chocolate lovers, I always do a simple chocolate hazelnut truffle – it’s just a matter of whirling up some toasted hazelnuts, sugar and orange zest in the food processor until its all finely chopped, stirring in some melted good quality chocolate and brandy, and then chilling the mixture until it’s stiff enough to roll. It’s a bit messy, but you just roll the truffles into small balls, toss them in some good Dutch process cocoa to coat them and set each in a paper or foil cup and refrigerated.
The same goes for the date and nut balls – no baking required. Just cook up a slurry of butter, brown sugar, vanilla and chopped dates. Mix in an egg, then pour it over a mixture of Rice cereal and chopped nuts. Make the mixture into balls, roll them in coconut or powdered sugar and you’re done. Sticky but addictive.
I’m also going to try to make some home made marshmallows this year – something one of my aunts always used to do – and I’ll likely resurrect my friend’s easy chocolate addicts bar, made with a base of graham crackers, topped with a simple brown sugar and butter caramel, then baked and spread with expensive chocolate while hot – this is easier to make than peanut brittle and really, totally addictive.

SO IT SOUNDS LIKE THERE WILL BE A LOT OF SUGAR PLUMS DANCING THROUGH YOUR HEAD THIS HOLIDAY SEASON
Yes, it is the season for sweets - it’s a good thing that Christmas only comes once a year. In a month, we can diet, but even if you only bake once a year like me, this is the time to do it.
So set aside a day for baking, gather together all of the ingredients and equipment you need, then make a pot of spicy mulled apple cider, play some Christmas carols and let it snow.
By the end of the day, you’ll have several batches of delicious cookies to eat, or give away, and some nice warm holiday memories.

click here for Christmas cookie recipes....

©Cinda Chavich 2007
www.tastereport.com

Local Bounty: White Truffles of Alba

Fri, 16 Nov 2007 17:00:35 -0700

In these parts, when you say “truffle” you usually mean the rich, sweet, chocolate variety. But Cinda Chavich, CBC’s food and cooking columnist, has recently returned from the land of white truffles, and we don’t mean chocolate. She’s here to tell us about the rarest – and most valuable – fungus among us.

Listen...

SO YOU’VE BEEN AWAY AGAIN – THIS TIME TASTING WHITE TRUFFLES IN ITALY?
Yes, I’ve just returned from a week in northern Italy – the region of Piemonte which is home to the famous white truffle of Alba.
These are the rare round fungus – a kind of mushroom – that grows underground, on the roots of oak and willow trees. The famous tartufo bianco.
If you’ve eaten in any good restaurants lately, you’ve likely tasted, or at least smelled, truffles – many chefs like to drizzle a bit of truffle oil over a plate to finish it with the unique, heady aroma that comes from this rare mushroom. And right now – in November when truffles are in season in Italy – you might even see a few thin shavings of truffles on your plate of pasta or risotto in a good Italian restaurant here in Alberta.

SHAVINGS?
Yes, the white truffles are so incredibly rare and expensive, that that you usually just get a gram or two, shaved over your plate.
But the sweet musky aroma of a fresh white truffle is so incredibly strong, that you only really need a few grams.
In Italy, many restaurants have a truffle menu – that is you can have truffles shaved over a dish for about 45-55 euros (that’s about $72 -$88) per plate.
That’s pretty expensive for me but I did have a truffle course one night, in a very good restaurant in Roero.
I had a soft-cooked egg, coddled in a coffee cup with a little cheese sauce and white truffles shaved on top – just an amazing flavour, when you stirred it all up together into a soupy mass. It didn’t look that appetizing, but I loved it. And it was truly the most expensive egg I’ve ever eaten - 15 euros for the egg dish, plus 55 for the truffles on top – so 70 euros or just over $100 for that little second course.

WOW, TRUFFLES REALLY ARE EXPENSIVE – DID YOU BUY ANY?
I really couldn’t afford to make the investment – and I wasn’t even sure they would get through Canadian customs – so the only truffles I brought home were in pictures.
But I certainly spent time talking to people about them and smelling them – the aroma of truffles really permeates the town of Alba and it’s really intense when you’re inside a little shop that’s selling them.
The price is especially high this year because it’s been a very dry season in Piemonte, and so they aren’t finding as many truffles as usual.
I saw white truffles in one gourmet supermarket in Turin selling for 8,000 euros per kilo – about $13,000 per kilogram. A specimen about the size of a small potato was 800 E or about $1,300.
They were a little cheaper when I saw them in a small shop in Alba – that’s the little town south of Turn where they were celebrating the truffle season with an annual truffle fair. In that shop, truffles were selling for about $450 per hundred grams – I could have bought one that was about as big as a walnut, for about $75.
Here in Calgary, white truffles are selling this week for $15,000 per kg in retail stores or $15 per gram, while black truffles are much cheaper, $2,000 per kg.

SO WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE?
They call the white ones white diamonds, but really they look like a lumpy potato, not particularly attractive.
Black truffles are jet black, and sort of pebbled on the surface, with a thick skin. They’re much more common so less expensive and so usually used in products like truffle paste or truffle-flavored rice for risotto or cornmeal for polenta.
White truffles are more delicate, sort of a muddy buff colour. They really do look a lot like a white potato that’s just come out of the ground.
Which, of course is where they’re found. Truffle hunters in Italy go out at night with their trained truffle dogs to hunt for truffles in the forest. They grow underground, among the roots of different trees. The white truffles from oak trees are tinged with pink and considered the very best, but there are truffles that grow near other kinds of trees, like willows or poplars, too. They can range in colour from white to grayish brown.
The thing about these rare white truffles is that they’re totally wild and unpredictable – they can’t be cultivated and you can’t find them in the same spot every year. It’s a real treasure hunt – and with the high prices, very clandestine and very secretive.

AND THE TASTE?
There’s not much flavour in a truffle – it’s all about the earthy, sweet aroma, especially with white truffles which are particularly pungent. The odor is so strong, one truffle will literally fill the room with its aroma.
It’s difficult to describe - a faint aroma of sweet roasted garlic with something sort of musky and peppery behind – like a mushroom but not. I smelled them side by side in the market in Alba, and really, black truffles have very little aroma when compared to white truffles.
The flesh looks creamy and dense, like a portabello mushroom, and it’s usually shaved, paper thin over top of your dish. White truffles are always served raw, whereas black truffles are usually cooked.

SO TRUFFLES ARE AVAILABLE HERE IN CALGARY?
Yes, in November, fresh truffles can be purchased here, but they’re very expensive.
I talked to Victor Caracciolo at Mercato, an Italian market here in Calgary, and they are selling fresh white and black truffles this week in the store.
As I mentioned, the white truffles are about $15 per gram, so you’re going to pay a fair bit for a whole truffle. They’re various sizes – from walnut sized to the size of your fist for a big one.
At Lina’s Italian Market there’s a locked case with truffle oil, truffle butter and jars of preserved black truffles. Even the black truffles are expensive. I saw a little 3.6-oz. jar of black truffles at Lina’s this week for $79.95.
And at Mercato they also sell truffle oil, truffle butter, packaged of risotto rice flecked with black truffles, and polenta with truffles. But it’s pricey, too – a 350 g bag of rice or cornmeal with truffles, is $35.

WHAT ABOUT TRYING TRUFFLES AT LOCAL RESTAURANTS?
Yes, you might find a truffle on your plate at a better restaurant this month. I talked to Giuseppe Di Gennaro, the chef at Capo here in Calgary, and while he doesn’t have truffles on the regular menu, he says he does include them in his dishes when he is able to obtain fresh specimens. He says he may have some fresh truffles arriving this week, but the supply is inconsistent, and often the truffles aren’t in the best shape by the time they get to Calgary, so he doesn’t list it on his regular menu.
But he does use truffle oil in his cooking – he finishes his famous gnocchi dish with white truffle oil, and he has a lentil dish on the menu that’s flavoured with truffles, too.
And this week at Mercato, you can have pasta or risotto, with fresh truffles shaved on top, for $75 a plate.

SO HOW WOULD YOU TRUFFLES AT HOME?
Well, according to Dominic Caracciolo at Mercato, most people who buy truffles here use them with eggs. I’ve had wonderful scrambled eggs with black truffles – just beat the eggs and combine them with the chopped truffle the night before, refrigerate and use to make amazing, decadent breakfast omelets or scrambled eggs.
If you invest in a whole white truffle, you can get a truffle shaver – a special tool that slices off paper thin pieces – and treat your guests to a simple rice or pasta dish topped with slivered truffles. The dish is really just the canvass to showcase the truffle – it should be very simple and plain, like fresh pasta tossed with butter and a little Parmesan cheese. It’s good with cured meats like prosciutto, butter, cream and nuts – try shaving truffles over a simple risotto, a creamy cauliflower and cheese soup, mashed potatoes or even a simple salad.
If you buy a whole truffle, make sure to store it properly – wrapped loosely in paper towels in a cool spot, changing the paper regularly. You can also store truffles submerged in a neutral oil, like light olive oil or grapeseed oil, or even in clarified butter – the truffles will scent the oil but retain some of their aroma.
In Italy and France, it’s common to store a whole truffle inside a sealed bag of rice to scent it with truffle aroma. This is a short term solution, for a week or two.
I’ve also heard through the grapevine that Worldwide Specialty Foods brings in an great cheese with truffles – so that would be something to look for, for a special party or event.

WHAT ABOUT TRUFFLE OIL – IS IT WORTH THE COST?
Truffle oils, butters and pastes are quite easy to find at Italian markets and gourmet specialty stores, but you have to be careful what you buy because even truffle-flavored oil is really expensive.
If you’re buying white truffle oil, look for the origin – it should be from Alba, or at least from the Piedmonte region, because that’s the only place in the world where real white truffles are found.
And read the label – make sure it contains white truffles, not just “flavouring” or “natural aroma”. Even in Italy, they told me that many of the oils and other bottled truffle products are favoured with “aromi naturali” or “natural aroma” which is a chemically derived flavouring designed to mimic fresh truffles. It’s really too strong and cloying – you can tell when a dish is flavored with this kind of product.
On the other hand, I had a white truffle oil on my shelf that said it included extra virgin olive oil and truffle “essence” – I think that just meant they bottled it with the aroma of truffles in the air because it seemed that the moment I opened it, it was gone.
So be careful what you buy – these can be nice products but they’re pricey, too. A small 55 ml bottle of truffle oil is going to set you back about $30 – about the same for a tiny jar of white truffle cream.
So you may be best to enjoy your truffles at a good restaurant.

AND IS IT WORTH ALL OF THE HYPE?
Well, like many of these things, I think it’s always best to enjoy exotic foods like this at the source.
I have had white truffles in the past – at special meals in Italian restaurants like Da Guido in Calgary – but the dish I had last week in Roero, at a one-star Michelin restaurant, was truly amazing. Really, it was nothing more than soft boiled egg with cheese sauce and truffles and it was incredibly delicious. I’m still thinking about it.
So to get the full truffle experience, you really need to go to Italy in November during truffle season, or ask your favourite Italian chef when he plans to have fresh truffles on the menu. Then make sure you pour a wine from that region of Italy, too – a nice Barbaresco or Dolcetto from the Langhe region is pretty special, too.
But do try fresh white truffles if you get a chance – there’s really nothing like them on the planet.

copyright Cinda Chavich, tastereport.com

IN SEASON: Talking (wild) turkey

Sat, 6 Oct 2007 13:58:40 -0600

Listen to Cinda’s report on CBC radio...   SO ARE WILD TURKEYS INDIGENOUS TO ALBERTA? Yes, in fact wild turkeys are found throughout western Canada, especially in southern Alberta and B.C., and there are wild turkeys in the U.S., from the eastern seaboard to the Grand Canyon, and along the Colorado River from California to Idaho. At one time, there were millions of wild turkeys but they were nearly wiped out in southern Alberta and across North America by the turn of the 20th century. In the 1970s the Alberta government let 22 birds loose in the High River area and you can still bump into a truly wild turkey in that area, around the Porcupine Hills. It’s estimated that there are now about 2,500 turkeys in the wild in Alberta, about 100 in Saskatchewan and about 3,000 in B.C. They were also released in southern Ontario, where they are really thriving – there’s an estimated 30,000 wild turkeys (or more by some counts) throughout southern Ontario.   WHAT KIND OF WILD TURKEYS ARE WE TALKING ABOUT? WHAT DO THEY LOOK LIKE? Well, they look nothing like the big white, red-headed domestic turkey – the standard Broad Breasted White – that’s found on most of today’s intensive turkey farms (and subsequently in most Canadian roasting pans). Actually, even here in the West, it’s most often the Eastern Wild Turkey that we find in the wild. The original western breeds of wild turkey include the Merriam, found through the Rocky Mountains, and the Rio Grande, found from California to Oregon and Colorado, but of the various breeds of wild turkey in North America, the Eastern Wild Turkey is most plentiful. In the wild, they live on the edges of wooded areas, and they roost at night in trees.   They’re really very dramatic-looking birds, with wrinkly blue heads and bronze feathers that glint in iridescent metallic blues, golds, reds and greens when the sun hits them. Their heads are bumpy and blue, and there’s a long flap of skin, called a snood, that hangs down over the beak, quite an odd looking bird. The females are smaller than the males, which have the big fanned tails, with a white band near the tip, and bright red wattles covering their throat. The males can be up to 20 pounds and quite tall, up to 2 ½ feet with their big tails fanned out. Pretty impressive to look at. They look like the classic old-fashioned Thanksgiving turkey, the kind we see on holiday decorations and turkey platters. While the wild turkey is the largest game bird in North America, it’s a lot smaller than the big white domestic turkey that you’d find on most commercial turkey farms. It has a smaller breast and longer legs, and is actually able to stand up and fly, unlike the top heavy domestic turkey. In fact, a wild turkey is a strong flyer, is disease resistant so isn’t grown with any antibiotics and is a good forager. They grow slower and are built differently, but the meat is also more flavorful. So in the roasting pan, a wild turkey looks sort of long and skinny, compared to what we’re used to cooking.   IS IT DIFFICULT TO GET A WILD TURKEY TO COOK? Actually, most of the wild turkeys that are released in Canada, on both private and public land, are released for hunting. There is a spring hunting season for wild turkey in May, but they’re pretty rare in Alberta, and hunting permits for wild turkey are given out by draw, so you might not want to count on bagging your own bird. We’re lucky here in Alberta, though, as there’s a farm just east of Edmonton where these wild turkeys are raised for their meat and you can buy them. Rick Wood-Samman has been raising wild turkeys and other game birds – like pheasant and guinea hens – for many years, commercially since 1996, and he sells meat birds to chefs, and chicks to farmers and to Fish and Game groups who release them in the wild. You can buy a frozen wild turkey directly from Rick at his farm.   SO YOU WENT UP TO SEE THESE TURKEYS, IN THE FLESH? Yes, we drove up to Rick’s farm – Dirt Willy Game Bird Farm – just east of Edmonton, on the border of Elk Island National Park, and had a look at the many types of wild birds he is raising there. It makes a great fall day trip. It’s almost like a game bird zoo – with everything from wild turkeys and pheasants to chukker partridge and Canada geese to see, each in their own large, covered pens. Rick raises five types of wild turkey, including the Merriam, Eastern and Rio Grande turkeys, and one native to Mexico that looks almost like a peacock. He raises the birds for meat and for release – he sells thousands of chicks from his hatchery across western Canada every year.   SO THEY’RE RAISED OUTDOORS IN PENS? Yes, each type of game bird has it’s own enclosure, covered with a large netting so they can’t fly out. But they are essentially free range birds. They’re fed some alfalfa and grains, but they have lots of space to scratch around and eat what wild turkeys eat – grass, buds, leaves, roots, seeds, bugs and the like, the kind of varied diet that gives them lots of flavour. While this is essentially a hobby farm for Rick and his wife (who both have day jobs in Edmonton) he has about 1,500 birds on the property, so it’s a pretty big operation. The wild turkeys are big but they’re very calm and friendly – I went right into the pens to take pictures of them. They’re actually quite beautiful, and the sound of all of those turkeys gobbling in unison is really amazing. I read that their gobble can be heard more than a kilometer away.   AND HOW DO THEY TASTE? I cooked my first wild turkey last year for Christmas and it was truly the tastiest turkey I’ve ever had. I almost went out and got a bigger conventional turkey on Christmas eve, because the wild one seemed so small – only about 8 pounds and quite scrawny looking – but since there were just the two of us for dinner, we decided to cook the smaller wild turkey. And now I’d never go back. We brined the bird in a solution of salt and maple syrup, and it was just delicious, tender, moist and with wonderful turkey flavour. The gravy was especially flavourful and rich, and the carcass made wonderful turkey broth. This is the kind of turkey you might find on the menu at a top restaurant like the River Café in Calgary or the Banffshire Club at the Banff Springs Hotel. It really is the king of the turkey world – lean and extremely flavourful.   HOW CAN I GET ONE? Well, you have to buy it directly from the farm gate or have Rick ship out a frozen bird via Greyhound. At $5 per pound, the wild birds are pricey, but they’re small (usually less than 10 pounds) so you’re not going to be spending more, in total, than you would for a good free range, pastured turkey. It’s probably a little late to get a wild bird for Thanksgiving unless you can go directly to the farm and pick one up, but you can order one now for Christmas (at www.dirtwilly.com <http://www.dirtwilly.com> )   AND WHAT’S THE BEST WAY TO COOK A WILD TURKEY? Well, the meat is very lean, so you don’t want to over cook it. We used a brine recipe from the chefs at River Café, which seasons the meat, adds moisture and denatures some of the proteins, making the meat more tender. It’s really simple to do. Just combine 1 tablespoon of kosher salt and a tablespoon of sugar or maple syrup, with each cup of cold water you use. You can also add some spices and herbs – bay leaves or rosemary or coriander seed – and just heat the brine to a boil. Remove from heat and cool completely before brining the bird. You need enough brine to completely submerge the turkey, so you might need 6-8 cups of brine. Put the bird into a large container, cover with the cold brine and brine in the refrigerator for about 4 hours or overnight. Then rinse the bird, pat dry and roast as usual, about 10-15 minutes per pound. The salt in the brine seasons the meat and the sugar gives it a wonderful crispy browned skin. If you start with a frozen bird, make sure you have plenty of time to thaw it in the refrigerator before brining it. You’ll need five hours per pound in the fridge to thaw a frozen bird – that’s 40 hours, even for a small 8-pound wild turkey. And make sure you don’t overcook the wild turkey as it’s lean and will dry out quickly. You’re looking at about 10 minutes per pound or about 1 ½ hours for an 8-pound wild turkey, a little longer for a domestic bird. A 12-16 pound bird only takes 3-4 hours in the oven – don’t be tempted to bake it all day, it’s not necessary. If you buy a fresh turkey, remember you need to cook it right away, within two or three days.   RECIPES? I brought recipes for side dish ideas, because no matter what kind of turkey you cook, you need something other than potatoes and gravy on the side. I’m going to post my favourite bread and sage stuffing recipe, a good way to cook brussel sprouts and, of course, an easy cranberry sauce, all from my new book, The Guy Can’t Cook. It’s really easy to make a turkey dinner. Just plan ahead and have a happy Thanksgiving.   click here for recipes...

©Cinda Chavich 2007
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