Gourmet Stampede...but Christmas is starting to sneak up on us!

OMG! I've been so busy eating my way through the Stampede season that I JUST realized - Christmas time is 5 months from now. I need to get a move on things if I'm going to get everything done in time. I'll post details later on...as we don't want to spoil the surprise in case any of my friends and family who are getting my foodie treats are reading this :)

Time is ticking to source out ingredients, hit the farmers markets and cross my fingers that I'll be able to find jars (unlike last year when I ran all over town to find the half pint size).

Places I've eaten at during Stampede include Home Tasting Room, NOtaBLE, WURST, and of course, countless BBQ lunches, pancake breakfasts...and the stampede grounds for those irresistable mini donuts. Service has been great so far at most places....but I've been reminded why I don't ever go to Ceili's by choice. 



Wurst - Sir Perry Pear Cider (England)

I had a 200mL & 1/2 litre portion

 

Wurst - East Coast Oysters

Horseradish cocktail sauce & champagne jelly

  

Wurst - Schweinshaxen

Roast Pork Knuckle with Braised Cabbage and Potato Dumpling

(Seriously, this thing was bigger than my head) 



NOtaBLE - Dungeness Crab and Scallop "Corn Dog"
Served with Chipotle Aioli, blue cheese "Ranch"



NOtaBLE - "Beef on a Bun"
Braised beef shortrib with foie gras, brioche and
cipollini onion relish

NOtaBLE - Creamsicle and Donuts
Grizzly Pop orange semi-freddo with
mini vanilla donuts

NOtaBLE - DH "Big Mikey" Burger



Home Tasting Room - Grilled Flatbread
Proscuitto, basil ricotta, roasted red pepper & arugula



* Dishes not shown:

Home Tasting Room - Cheese Tasting, Charcuterie Tasting

WURST - Chocolate Fondue for two, Black Forest Cake



Oh my...Sweet Onion Tarts

I love parties where appetizer/hor d'oeuvres are served. There really is nothing better than standing around the kitchen (because everyone knows that the kitchen is where the party always ends up) in good company and having heavenly little bites of perfection.

There is nothing that really bugs me more than:

1) having that morsel of yumminess be super messy, and

2) trying to eat said appetizer in more than a couple of nibbles.

I mean, who really wants to stand there trying to have a conversation with sauce dribbling down their faces or hand, napkin held under the chin unceremoniously...and possibly wearing the sauce on your fabulous outfit!?

These little tarts also let me make use of a fantastic little tart tin I bought at Christmas time and hadn't gotten around to using. I had originally thought that it would be perfect vessel for making one-bite butter tarts...but who am I trying to kid? Those suckers wouldn't stand a chance in my house. My DH LOVES butter tarts...and chocolate chip cookies...and well, actually...I think he's secretly the cookie monster.

So, without further adieu... 

Sweet Onion Tarts

Makes 24 tartlets

Ingredients:

1 cup flour

75g (2.5 oz) butter, chopped

1 tbsp bottled green peppercorns, drained and crushed

1 egg yolk

1 tsp Dijon mustard

2 tbsp olive oil

3 onions, sliced

1 garlic clove, sliced

2 tsp sugar

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

3 tbsp raisins

1 tbsp olive paste

75g (2.5 oz) feta cheese, crumbled

Instructions:

1. Grease your tart pan.

2. Sift the flour and 1/4 tsp salt together. Add the butter. Rub together with fingertips until the mixture starts to look like breadcrumbs. Make well in center of mixture and add peppercorns, egg yolk, mustard and up to 2 tsp of water. Mix with a flat edged knife until it starts to come together. Turn out onto a floured surface and form mixture into a ball. Wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 20 minutes.

3. Preheat oven to 400F.

4. Roll dough out on lightly floured surface until it reaches a thickness of 2-3 mm. Cut rounds with 8 cm cutter. Place rounds in tart tin and prick with fork. (Or for a more rustic look, form 24 balls of dough and drop into the tin. Press dough along bottom and sides, then prick with fork)

5. Bake for 8-10 minutes until the pastry turns golden.

6. Heat oil in a heavy pan. Add onion and garlic. Cook, covered over low heat for approximately 30 minutes. Increase heat to medium then add sugar and balsamic vinegar, stirring until most of the liquid has evaporated and the onion mixture becomes glossy. Stir in raisins.

7. Spread a little olive paste into the base of each of the pastry shells. Spoon the onion mixture into the shells and crumble the feta cheese over it. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Not so authentic "Couscous Tabbouli"

Tabbouli is also known as Tabbouleh, Tabouleh or Tabuli. It's a salad that is traditionally made with bulgur, finely chopped parsley and mint, tomato, green onion and seasoned with olive oil and lemon juice.

What I really love about Tabbouli is that it's so refreshing. What I dislike is the amount of time it takes to prepare the bulgur wheat. Really...soaking overnight or doing the shortcut version with boiling water and waiting a hour. IMHO, that is much too long for salad prep.

In my version, I used couscous because I'm lazy (10 minutes baby...whoot!)...and that's what I have at home in the pantry. I am also a sucker for anything with garlic in it, so guess what? I added a couple cloves of garlic yumminess. Seriously, the most time consuming part about this recipe is all the chopping. Enjoy, and bon appetit :)

Couscous Tabbouli
Serves about 4 people

Ingredients:
3 green onions (finely chopped)
2 cloves of garlic (finely chopped)
1/4 Cup olive oil
1/2 Cup couscous (boiled in chicken stock)
2 Bunches parsley (preferably organic Italian parsley)
2 Medium tomatoes
1/4 Cup lemon juice
1 tsp Sea Salt
1/4 balsamic vinegar

Instructions:
1. Boil a ½ cup of chicken stock and add couscous. Remove from heat and cover.
2. Let couscous steam for about 10 minutes, then fluff with fork.
3. Allow to cool to room temperature.
4. Finely chop onions, garlic, parsley leaves and tomatoes. Mix with couscous.
5. Make a dressing out of lemon juice, balsamic vinegar, olive oil and sea salt.
6. Mix all together in a bowl.
7. If you want more spice, throw in some fresh ground pepper and/or chili flakes to taste.

Rosolje - Estonian Herring, Beet & Potato Salad

Rosolje is an interesting thing to eat. I find that you either really like it, or you don't. I think it may have something to do with the fact that there is pickled herring in the salad. Pickled herring is a funny ingredient. I like to think of this particular ingredient much like I think of anchovies in a caesar salad. I suppose that if you are a herring-phobe (like my DH), you can always leave it out...but then again, it wouldn't really be Rosolje. I have heard people say that you can't taste the herring and that you can't tell that it's there (but my overly sensitive palate can, so I'm not going to say the same).

I first made this years ago alongside my best friends' Estonian grandmother. She only made this for special occasions because it was very labor intensive (took her two days) chopping all those ingredients into the perfect dice by herself. Now that she has moved onto a better place, we had a party and made this in her honor/memory. Since there were quite a few of us, we placed all the ingredients we needed to dice upon slips of paper and drew ingredients to make it a little less of a tedious task. I think Grandma would have been so proud and happy to see us all together passing on her recipe.

The flavor develops nicely with a day or two in the fridge...but if you are like my DH, and are trying it for the first time, then having it right after it's made might be a safer bet.

Rosolje (Estonian Herring, Beet & Potato Salad)

Makes a lot

Ingredients:
1 small jar pickled herring in wine
7 potatoes - cooked and peeled
7 eggs, hard boiled
2 cans beets
1 lb cooked roast beef, cooled
1 small jar kosher pickles

2 cups mayonnaise
Salt and Pepper - to taste
Keens Mustard - to taste

Instructions:
1. Cut the herring, potatoes, eggs, beets, roast beef and pickles into a small dice (about 1/4").
2. Place all diced ingredients into large bowl.
3. Mix mayonnaise, mustard (to taste) and salt and pepper throughly in a small bowl.
4. Add dressing to diced ingredients and mix. Salad will be a nice pink color.
5. Refrigerate for several hours before serving.

Simple Marinated Carrot Salad

I love it when the weather becomes nicer and we can have people over to entertain. Whether it is a simple or elegant affair, there is just something so amazing about firing up the grill or stove and inviting your closest friends and family over to enjoy the sunshine. Having people over always means libations and nosh...and what better deal can you get when almost everything can be prepared ahead of time so that the hosts can relax and mingle too?

Simple Marinated Carrot Salad
Makes about 10 servings

This carrot salad is divine. I first tried it at a friends' birthday BBQ and begged for the recipe. I later found out that this was his grandmothers signature salad. Thank you grandma! A little rustic but a great side to complement your little shing-ding.

<pictures to come>

Ingredients:
2 lbs. Carrots
1 large green pepper
1 large onion
1 tin tomato soup
½ cup cooking oil
¾ cup vinegar
¾ cup sugar
1 tsp worcestershire sauce
½ tsp. each salt and pepper

Instructions:
1. Cut up carrots. Boil 3 minutes. Drain and let cool.
2. Cut up green pepper and onion. Mix with cooled carrots.
3. Heat remaining ingredients for dressing. Pour over vegetables and mix.
4. Refrigerate for 24 hours to improve flavour. Keeps for weeks in the frig.

Who's a maid...Marmalade?!

I've always had it in my head that making marmalade was hard. I mean...growing up, I would always look at all the little wee bits of orange and citrus peel so delicately suspended in all that tasty goodness. Visions of someone slaving away at the kitchen tediously removing pith and cutting perfect slivers of citrus peel just kept me away from ever attempting to make some. It wasn't until today when I was reading about Cara Cara Marmalade that I was inspired to make my own adaptation. Special thanks to Isabelle from foodbuzz.com for reassuring me that it is super easy to make.

First of all, I didn't have any Cara Cara Oranges. No matter - I wanted something bold, with a nice pop of colour to get me through these last few weeks of winter. Since Moro oranges are in season (and there were a couple pounds of them sitting in my fruit bowl), I decided to use these tasty little morsels in my version. The striking rich red colour is just utterly amazing....like viewing a sunset in a jar.

I also loved the lovely red hue that was left on my hands. It's a small price to pay for our craft. Enjoy all!

Blood Orange (Moro) Marmalade
Makes about 4-250mL jars

Ingredients:

2 lbs of blood oranges (Moro)

4 cups granulated sugar

Water

Instructions:

• Using a sharp knife, trim the top and bottoms from the oranges. Remove the peel and place in a large stainless steel saucepan with a generous amount of water (to cover). Bring to a boil over medium-low heat and let boil for about 10 minutes. Drain. Cover with fresh water and return to a boil. Boil for another 10 minutes until the peel starts to become soft. Drain.
• Scrape the white pith from the peel with a spoon and discard. Cut the peel into strips and place in saucepan. Segment the oranges over the saucepan to catch any juices. Squeeze the membrane to remove as much juice as possible. Discard seeds and membrane.
• Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, making sure to stir occassionally. Reduce heat and gently boil, stirring occassionally until the peel becomes soft - about 30 minutes.

• Meanwhile, prepare the canner, jars and lids.
• Increase the heat on the marmalade back to medium-high. Slowly stir in the sugar while maintaining boil. Boil for 12 minutes, or until your thermometer registers approximately 220F.
• Do the plate test (Pour a small amount of jam - about a tsp onto a chilled plate. Chill in the freezer for a minute. Push the jam - if it wrinkles at the surface...it's ready)
• Remove from heat and skim off foam.

• Ladle marmalade into hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Wipe rims, center lid and screw band down until finger-tip tight. Place jars into canner and process for 10 minutes. Let stand in canner for 5 minutes. Remove jars from canner and cool.

Bacon Jam

Bacon Jam is a wonderful thing. I almost feel like the woman in the Franks Hot Sauce Commercial because I really could "Put that (insert explicit here) on everything!"

I first found the recipe while perusing through the foodiewithfamily blog and immediately flagged it as something I just had to try. I mean - really, what is not to like about caramelized onions, maple syrup infused bacon?!

I served my precious jam with asiago cheese buns from my favorite restaurant (leftover from their amazing burger feature) and a fried egg. IT WAS DIVINE! You should totally make some jam....and make lots of it. My friends keep asking when I'm going to make more. BUT, to be totally honest with you - I don't want to share. It's so yummy.

NOtaBLE - New Years Eve Party

Alright, so I admit that I haven't been too great at updating this blog. Truth is that I've been very busy stuffing my noggin' with good eats at NOtaBLE. So it wasn't such a big surprise to everyone who knows us that that's exactly where we ended up going for New Years' Eve.

Unlike years past where we have been to restaurants that made things a touch easier on themselves by doing a set course menu (aka prix fixe)...NOtaBLE did two seatings of à la carte. TWO!! Now, for those who do not know, à la carte (pronouced  /ælæˈkɑrt/) is french meaning "according to the menu". Or in layman's terms...it is a reference to a menu of items which are priced and ordered separately.

You can view the whole delectable New Year's Eve menu here.


Confit of Brome Lake Duck, Alpindon cheese gratin, roasted pear salad

Lobster and leek risotto, butter poached loster claw, Asiago cheese



1/2 dozen Pristine Oysters - On the half shell, Thai mango relish
(These were so good that I had another order all to myself)

From the Rotisserie - Prime Rib of 28 day-aged beef, oxtail and celery root pave



Double baked warm chocolate cake, chocolate sorbetto


Our entertainment for the evening was provided by Los Morenos. Their sound is a cross of many styles such as rumba, flamenco, jazz, and funk with an infectious dance beat that kept the dance floor packed all evening. I would love to see them play again in a heartbeat.

Of course, it has to be said that Chef spoiled us all by making homemade S'mores for us to all nosh on after we all rang in the New Year. I'm going to be honest here and say that I have never in the past been a fan of S'mores (I know....what's wrong with me?! I think it's the camping aspect of it that turned me off of them) but I'm a convert after eating these ones. You can just taste the LOVE...and look, you can see chef in action making them on the rotisserie! Also love the fact that everything is made from scratch. 'Nuf said.

Homemade S'mores

   



NOtaBLE - the restaurant

Have you ever been somewhere and had that perfect dish...One that you could eat for the rest of eternity? I've found my weakness at Chef Michael Noble's restaurant NOtaBLE. Seriously, where do I even begin?

Since our very first visit, it has become our most favorite restaurant to eat at. The place is hip, and happening...and who can resist all the feel good gourmet comfort food? It's also a place where I can safety say that I've eaten (and drank) my way through the constantly revolving seasonal menu several times over.

I'm salivating. I just can't help it. Even the thought of my next visit makes me hungry. Feeling...a bit like Pavlov's dog but I honestly can't help it. Besides, it's not every day that you can say that you have eaten food cooked by the first Canadian chef who competed against Iron Chef Morimoto on Iron Chef Japan (Episode 724 - Battle Potato).


Salmon Hash - the dish that started our "love affair" with NOtaBLE.

We found out about NOtaBLE via our friends Joanne and Jeff (Hi guys!), and now we are utterly and completely hooked. We've have laughed, cried, partied and even opened and closed the place on one occassion. Really, I should just let the photos speak for themselves. Yum! 

** Note: I'm normally too much of a glutton to remember to take photos before I tuck into the dishes (hence only one of the three tasting menus I've tried so far have actually made it up).

 

Butter Poached Venison. OMG ~ Enough said!
Chef, may we please have this on the menu all the time? Please please please??

  

AAA 28 day aged rib-eye - 12 oz

Spragg Farms Pochetta (available on Sundays)

  

Naturally-raised Chicken (available on Saturdays)

The NOtaBLE Burger inspiration - Wild Boar

 

Whole Grilled Sea Bream, lemon, thyme, buerre rouge

 

12 hour-braised & rotisserie-finished Galloway beef sandwich, mustard slaw

Market Menu

And finally, my favorite market menu yet - 1.5 pounds of amazing lobster! This menu was created in celebration of NJ's father who was a lobster fisherman. I have to say that I'm normally not a big lobster fan (I prefer crab)...but this was hands down THE BEST lobster I have every eaten. Look....I even remembered to snap all four courses of this one :)



 If you live in Calgary and you haven't been yet...you are missing out. Seriously. Go already.

  





 

My Halloween pumpkin turned into something delicious...Creamy Coconut Pumpkin Soup!

Each year in my neighbourhood, a local realtor and her team does a food drive for our city's food bank...and in exchange for a bag of non-perishables, gives out a pumpkin. In my quest to find another use for the annual Halloween Pumpkin (other than just for a jack-o-lantern or pumpkin pie), I decided on making a Creamy Coconut Pumpkin Soup.

It combines my love of Asian flavors, with the creaminess of pumpkin and it also gives me another reason to use my all-time favorite condiment - Sriracha. I think it's the perfect dish for fall...comfort food for a chilly evening (plus, it give me an excuse to be in the kitchen...I'm so busted!)

DH gave it two thumbs up...he noted that the heat is subtle, but creeps up on you after the first couple of slurps.

Creamy Coconut Pumpkin Soup

Ingredients:

3 to 4 shallots, peeled
1 1/4 pounds peeled pumpkin (or butternut squash)
2 tablespoons oil
2 cups canned coconut milk

2 cups of chicken broth

1 cup loosely packed cilantro leaves

1-2 Kaffir Lime Leaves

1 tablespoon Thai Red curry paste

a couple chunks of rock sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons Thai fish sauce (or to taste)

1 1/2 teaspoon Sriracha (or to taste)

Black pepper

minced green scallion (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350F.
2. Peel the pumpkin and set aside the seeds (these are great for roasting later). Cut the pumpkin into 1/2 inch cubes. You should have around 4 1/2 to 5 cups.
3. Toss the cubed pumpkin and the peeled shallot with 2 tbsp oil, place on a baking sheet in a single layer and roast in the oven for 40-50 minutes.
4. Place the shallots, pumpkin cubes, coconut milk, broth, cilantro leaves, Thai red curry paste, sugar and kaffir lime leaves in a large pot and bring to a boil.
5. Add the salt and simmer over medium heat until the pumpkin is tender, about 10 minutes.
6. Stir in the fish sauce and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes. Taste for seasoning, adding more salt and/or fish sauce if desired.
7. Remove Kaffir lime leaves.
8. Blend with immersion blender.
9. Let the soup stand for an hour (it tastes better if you do this step, but you can always eat it right away if you're greedy), reheat just before serving.
10. Serve - grinding black pepper generously over soup.
11. Garnish with a sprinkle of minced scallion greens if desired (I used a sprig of cilantro instead)

Rocky Mountain Wine & Food Festival

Can you believe that this amazing Wine & Food festival has been running for thirteen years now?!

It is a local show that showcases more than 50 local area restaurants and more than 120 beverage exhibitors.

Every year, I've been meaning to go and check out this event...BUT it seems that every year, I just so happen to miss it because I waited too long to get my ticket and the event is sold out. So, this year I decided that I needed to stop being a serial procrastinator and bought myself my ticket ridiculously early. I arrived to the event on a cool, and snowy day, full of excitement/anticipation...and armed with my tasting glass, program guide and BlackBerry, I set about to wine and dine my way through the Grand Tasting Hall. And yes, you read that right...I took all my photos with a BlackBerry (sad, but true).

Now, I'm not going to write about absolutely everything I drank and ate (and boy, did I have a lot to drink) but just the stuff that was truly memorable. Besides, if I can be totally honest - as the night went on, my pictures got progressively worse. Funny how that works eh?

All in all, a great night out....and considering it was $30 for the ticket and $40 for 80 tasting tickets, for a grand total of $70, I left with a full and totally satisfied belly. Will definitely be back next year!

---

The Kraken Black Spiced Rum

Shiver me timbers....'tis be not ye typical spiced rum! At a whopping 94 proof (47% alcohol), I tasted this bad boy on the rocks. This rum is distilled in Trinidad & Tobago, then infused with more spices and flavoring in Indiana.

What drew me in was the unique bottling. The Kracken has a couple of grip handles for ease of drinking whist on the pirate ship. Another thing that drew me in before even tasting it was the beautiful labelling. Seriously?! This rum has a Latin name (Acchiteuthis dux)...AND how can you resist a bottle that says:

BIZARRE & FIERCE Sea Creatures

As seen through the eyes of imagination

Rusted hook line 'n sinker, I had to be off in fer a taste. As fer th' taste, 'tis dark rich 'n smooth.

I detected chocolate and molasses, with a strong vanilla finish. Definitely something that would be wasted if you are serving it as a cocktail or even a highball. This one, I highly recommend to be served on the rocks - or if you must, with a splash of water (leave the mixed drinks to your trusty well brands). Then again, it's not me holding the bottle to your lips!

Best part is that this rum retails for approximately $20. Now go get yourself a bottle or two.


Ballast Stone 2004 Emetior Shiraz

This was a great wine which I found quite unusual from my typical Shiraz picks. Although my friends thought that I was nuts when I told them that I detected a hint of coconut in the nose, (What?! Is it wrong that I may have a better palate than my sommelier friends?) all I can say is "Ha! I'm right!" (doing my happy dance)...

The vines are apparently over 65 years old and the vino is matured in both American and French oak for 30 months. I detected smokin' vanilla, oak, chocolate and coconut with a hint of floral notes (courtesy of the violets). It's big and bold, with not too much of a tannin finish. Highly delicious!

I don't know where I can find this wine sadly. I need to look it up - because this one, I can seriously drink all the time.

Giuseppe Campagnola 2006 Amarone

I.LOVE.AMARONE. What more is there to say? I'm such a sucker for it...I'll try them all....

Made in the Passito (pah-see'-toe) method, the grapes are harvested and laid on racks until January when they are then crushed and fermented into wine. Because they essentially turn into raisins before being pressed, it results in a much more concentrated sugar ratio.



The result is a really full bodied wine where I detected an explosion of fruit. Bright jammy flavor with hints of blackberries, red apple, vanilla, oak and cola. Smooth and velvety, this puppy retails for approximately $40.

The Food

After all my drinking, I started to get a little tipsy (and hungry), so I went in search of some nosh. Pictures of my two favorite bites of the night. A delectable Foie Gras (sadly, I don't remember where this was from), and an unbelievable lamb lollipop (from Broken Plate).

Some honorable mentions need to go out to:
1. Quincy's for the Kim Chi Burger (although IMHO, it needed more Kim Chi)
2. Springbank Cheese for their amazing cheeses (I waited 20 minutes for a little taste of cheese heaven)
3. Kefi for tasty cheeses and olives