The Tomato: The Wine Issue

The flavour of Edmonton’s food scene | May June 2013 | thetomato.ca

Form

erly

City

Pal

ate

The wine issue

Kiss “same old same old” goodbye!

Greek Salad with Oregano Grilled Pork Give classic Greek salad a boost with succulent grilled pork and a tasty creamy dressing- and marinade-in-one. Chop the vegetables while the pork marinates for a quick meal on a hot summer’s evening. Leftovers are terrifi c for lunch!

1. In a measuring cup or bowl, whisk together 1 clove minced garlic, 1-1/2 tsp (7 mL) dried oregano, 1/4 tsp (1 mL) each, salt and pepper and 1 cup (250 mL) 18% Table Cream. Gradually whisk in 2 tbsp (30 mL) freshly squeezed lemon juice (mixture will thicken). 2. Cut 1 lb (500 g) pork tenderloin crosswise into 1/2-inch (1 cm) thick slices or use boneless pork loin chops. Place pork in a resealable plastic bag or shallow dish. Add 1/3 cup (75 mL) of the cream mixture; turn to coat pork well. Seal bag or cover dish and refrigerate for at least 15 min or up to 1 day. Cover remaining cream mixture separately and refrigerate until serving.3. Preheat barbecue grill to medium heat. Remove pork from marinade; discard marinade. Place pork on greased grill, cover and grill, turning once, for 3 to 4 min per side or until just a hint of pink remains in pork. Let rest for 5 min then cut into strips.

4. Whisk 1/4 cup (60 mL) plain Greek yogurt or drained yogurt into reserved cream mixture for dressing. Chop 2 stalks celery, 1 sweet red pepper, 1/2 English cucumber and 1/4 red onion; combine in a large bowl. Pour in half of dressing and toss to coat.5. Divide 6 cups (1.5 L) torn Romaine lettuce equally among serving plates; top with vegetable mixture, then pork. Drizzle with remaining dressing; sprinkle with 1/4 cup (60 mL) crumbled Canadian Feta cheese, 12 black olives and chopped fresh mint, if desired.

Preparation time: 15 minutesMarinating time: 15 minutes to 1 dayCooking time: 6 to 8 minutesYield: 4 servings

Visit anydaymagic.ca for fantastic tips on this recipe. You’ll also fi nd The Great Cream Challenge, cream recipes and cooking tips.

Monday’s Mediterranean Makeover

Transform your everyday favourites easily with the magic of Real Cream. Enjoy Greek salad like you’ve never tasted it before.

Ad # DF11/12-065EDO9990_Cream_GrilledPork-Salad_CityPalate.indd 1 2013-03-01 1:59 PM

The Tomato | May June 2013 3

editorMary Bailey

[email protected]

publisherBGP Publishing

copy editorAmanda LeNeve

Don Retson

designerBossanova Communications Inc.

contributing writersPeter Bailey

Richard Harvey Omar Mouallem

Judy Schultz

illustration/photographyMelissa Barnes

CJ Katz Curtis Comeau Photography

Spatula Media To Be In Pictures

design and prepressBossanova Communications Inc.

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Contents

Road sign, Bannockburn, Central Otago, NZ. Photo by Mary Bailey.

Features

Pinot Noir, Rabbits and Making Wine in Central OtagoA visit to New Zealand wineries Felton Road and Quartz Reef | Mary Bailey

Wine Country CookingWhat grows together goes together | Mary Bailey

Southwest Texas Three WaysWine, vodka and barbecue deep in the heart of Texas | Omar Mouallem

Rhubarb SeasonHow to use the Springiest of fruits

A (not so) Innocent in OzDiscover what’s new in Australian wine | Richard Harvey

Departments

DishGastronomic happenings around town

In SeasonRadishes

The Proust Culinary QuestionnaireChris Cosentino, NAIT Hokanson Chef in Residence

Beer GuyA green and pleasant land | Peter Bailey

Wine MavenMary Bailey

Kitchen SinkWhat’s new and notable

DrinkRhubarb in cocktails?

According to JudyHave cookbooks, will travel | Judy Schultz

Kiss “same old same old” goodbye!

Greek Salad with Oregano Grilled Pork Give classic Greek salad a boost with succulent grilled pork and a tasty creamy dressing- and marinade-in-one. Chop the vegetables while the pork marinates for a quick meal on a hot summer’s evening. Leftovers are terrifi c for lunch!

1. In a measuring cup or bowl, whisk together 1 clove minced garlic, 1-1/2 tsp (7 mL) dried oregano, 1/4 tsp (1 mL) each, salt and pepper and 1 cup (250 mL) 18% Table Cream. Gradually whisk in 2 tbsp (30 mL) freshly squeezed lemon juice (mixture will thicken). 2. Cut 1 lb (500 g) pork tenderloin crosswise into 1/2-inch (1 cm) thick slices or use boneless pork loin chops. Place pork in a resealable plastic bag or shallow dish. Add 1/3 cup (75 mL) of the cream mixture; turn to coat pork well. Seal bag or cover dish and refrigerate for at least 15 min or up to 1 day. Cover remaining cream mixture separately and refrigerate until serving.3. Preheat barbecue grill to medium heat. Remove pork from marinade; discard marinade. Place pork on greased grill, cover and grill, turning once, for 3 to 4 min per side or until just a hint of pink remains in pork. Let rest for 5 min then cut into strips.

4. Whisk 1/4 cup (60 mL) plain Greek yogurt or drained yogurt into reserved cream mixture for dressing. Chop 2 stalks celery, 1 sweet red pepper, 1/2 English cucumber and 1/4 red onion; combine in a large bowl. Pour in half of dressing and toss to coat.5. Divide 6 cups (1.5 L) torn Romaine lettuce equally among serving plates; top with vegetable mixture, then pork. Drizzle with remaining dressing; sprinkle with 1/4 cup (60 mL) crumbled Canadian Feta cheese, 12 black olives and chopped fresh mint, if desired.

Preparation time: 15 minutesMarinating time: 15 minutes to 1 dayCooking time: 6 to 8 minutesYield: 4 servings

Visit anydaymagic.ca for fantastic tips on this recipe. You’ll also fi nd The Great Cream Challenge, cream recipes and cooking tips.

Monday’s Mediterranean Makeover

Transform your everyday favourites easily with the magic of Real Cream. Enjoy Greek salad like you’ve never tasted it before.

Ad # DF11/12-065EDO9990_Cream_GrilledPork-Salad_CityPalate.indd 1 2013-03-01 1:59 PM

ItalianCentre_3_4Vert.pdf 1 4/14/13 11:43 AM


gastronomic happenings around town | dish

Second from top: RGE RD’s Blair Lebsack, middle: Shane Chartrand of Von’s; above: Michael Seiffert, Ousia Restaurant. At right: the storefront sign at Urban Homesteading.

brunch lovers delight

The Edmonton Petroleum Club offers a new brunch for members and non-members

alike featuring their new kitchen crew on June 9, July 7, August 11 and September

8. Enjoy three courses or a buffet featuring foodstuffs

from the Artisan Market held on those Sundays at the

club. Have brunch, then browse the market for tasty baked goods from Boulangerie Treestone and Bon

Ton Bakery, Steve and Dan’s BC fruit and charcuterie from K&K Foodliner, along with coffee, live

entertainment and free parking. As well, the club will stock a booth with signature prepared foods to go.

cooking at a castle“We’re waiting on our wood oven,” says

chef Blair Lebsack. The question was: when are you opening? Blair was on his way to cook for a week in Scotland while enduring the inevitable

delays in starting a new restaurant. When RGE RD (10643 123 Street) does open this summer, expect

Blair’s seasonally expressive cooking, what he calls untamed cuisine in a warm ambiance with tables

made by the Prairie Barn Wood Company. Along with the new resto, Blair and Caitlin Fulton will continue

their marvellous on-farm dinners including four with Prairie Gardens, beginning Sunday, July 14.

Menu? What’s ripe, fresh and seasonal. Visit prairiegardensadventurefarm.com for tickets.

learning the ropes Michael Seiffert has been running the kitchen in

the Whyte Avenue restaurant Ousia for about five months. “I’m new to cooking in general.

This was my first restaurant job; I just graduated from culinary arts. I’m learning every day.”

How was the transition from school to behind the stoves? “In culinary arts you don’t feel rushed. You are learning to cook, but not the actual restaurant

experience. There’s a lot of pressure working in a restaurant. I’m getting used to working

six days a week, 10-12 hours a day.”What’s up at Ousia? “We will be doing more tasting

menus — nose to tail dinners were our first move in that direction. We are bringing in more whole

animals from Irvings and Four Whistle Farms. Before I took culinary arts, I took retail meat cutting so I’m comfortable with that. I recommend people do that

first before culinary arts — learned to butcher in retail meat cutting. We just took some lamb neck

out of the oven — it’s been braising in red wine and tomato. All the dishes on our new spring menu have

proven to be very popular.” Ousia Restaurant, 10846 82 Avenue, 780-761-1910, ousiarestaurant.com

bringing back the country supperCarol Neumann started the company 10 Mile Meal to celebrate the culinary and cultural traditions of local farming communities. Carol wanted to highlight not only the foods grown,

but also the German foodways that she had grown up with such as smoked fish, sauerkraut and cider made from winter apples. Highlands Kitchen alum Annand Oliviere cooked from family recipes and created a few new traditions of his own at the inaugural 10 Mile Meal held in the historic Glen Park Hall near Thorsby in March. The next 10 Mile Meal is on July 14. Expect a summer fair atmosphere with farm tours, craft and farmers market, and live music. For more info, tickets and directions 10milemeal.com

shane chartrand’s new adventure“The thing was, I was thinking about opening something next year,” said Shane Chartrand, the new exec chef at Von’s. “One of my purveyors said: ‘Go talk to Von’s. They need someone who understands local ingredients.’”Fast forward to late April: “We’ve gutted the whole kitchen. I have brought in new folks, we’re painting, installing new equipment, designing new menus. It’ll be a chop house-style. Dishes like steak tartare that’s torched, when mixed in you get a roasted flavour. We’ll roast marrow, Irvings Farms pork chop, and in the fall we’ll do a stuffed popover made with pork shoulder. “Some things are really progressive, but we don’t want it to be too much, too soon, because there are good things on the menu now — prime rib or the Spring Creek Ranch ribeye. We don’t want to scare people. “Yes, we’re doing Indulgence, and I’ll be heading up Aboriginal Day at Taste of Edmonton, called Sip and Savour. I’m trying to make indigenous food in a progressive way.”

help for the urban homesteader Gastronomic do-it-yourselfers now have a clubhouse. The new Urban Homesteading Store (4917 51 Avenue, Stony Plain, 780-591-4566) offers not only the various equipment you need to do cool gastronomic stuff at home, but also the know how, offering classes in fermenting, cheese-making, canning.

Aspiring gardeners can learn about sustainable landscaping, composting, sheep mulching and harvesting

rainwater, and how to make vegetable gardens out of unproductive side yards. Jody McKee and Eric Fontenot were in

oil and gas and realized this was what they wanted to do, so they opened the store to help others do it too. Urban Homesteading stocks grain grinders, non-gmo grains, fermenting supplies, seeds and plants. Visit urbanhomesteadingstore.com for hours and class schedule.

The new crew at EPC, left to right are Boonie Inthavong, prep cook; Bonnie Kang, pastry chef; David Coyle, line cook; Mary Saydi, prep cook; Shane Loiselle, executive sous chef; Patrick Chaudet, executive chef; Doreen Prei, head of culinary development and chef de cuisine; Karen Kwong, chef de partie; John Lau, junior sous chef.

Phot

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Photo by To Be In Pictures

6 May June 2013 | The Tomato

In a little more than two decades New Zealand’s Central Otago regionhas rocketed into winelovers’ consciousness. It couldn’t look more

different from most wine regions, especially in the sub-regions near

Cromwell. Vineyards do not stretch as far as the eye can see. They nestle

on curvy north-facing sites or run down sloping ridges to catch the sun.

Total production is small, and high quality. New Zealand’s signature

grape variety Sauvignon Blanc is not king here. The crown belongs to

Pinot — Noir and Gris, and their cool-climate friends Chardonnay and

Riesling. For lovers of these grape varieties, it is heaven on earth.

Background: the view from Rippon Estate Winery. Left: Quartz Reef cellar crewmember Heike Reintjes holds a hand tool used to disgorge sparkling wine. Right: Rudy Bauer, Quartz Reef, and Grant Rolston, Vinewise Viticulture.

Mary Bailey

WinePinot Noir,rabbits and making

in Central Otago


Rudy claps his hands. Above us on the ridgeline a dozen floppy-eared heads pop up and hop away. He claps again and another dozen heads pop up. It’s as if we’re playing some sort of clap-a-mole. “Rabbits dig holes and eat trunks,” Rudy says. “The whole property is rabbit-fenced.” We look down the slope towards Lake Dunstan. Nothing but vines, wind-scuffed hills, rabbits, and vivid blue sky everywhere you look; a magnificent landscape golden in the autumn light.

We’re standing near the bottom of Rudy Bauer’s Bendigo vineyard, Central Otago, New Zealand’s south island region carving out a stellar wine reputation for, in particular, amazing pinot noir.

Rudy has played an immense part in creating that rep, first at Rippon, the Wanaka estate that brought this remote area to the attention of pinophiles, and now here. He established Quartz Reef in 1996.

“When I first saw this land in Bendigo in 1991 nothing was planted. I had a vision that it could be a beautiful vineyard.”

The slope’s incline was similar to vineyards he was familiar with in Burgundy and the soil, clay and fine gravel over a seam of quartz, ideal for wine growing.

Rudy farms the land biodynamically*, in his experience the best way to bring out the soil’s characteristics in the wine.

We walk through the vines, Rudy pointing out where this season’s bad weather at flowering had caused uneven ripening. Snip snip, and the not-quite-ready bunches fall to the ground. Picking for sparkling wine starts in a week or so and anything malformed or not ripe has to go. The rows are covered in soft netting, so we duck under to move around. It’s bird protection, as thirsty wine drinkers are not the only ones that want to get their beaks into the pristine fruit.

Other than these few unripe bunches the vines that march up this seam of quartz stone from lake to ridgeline look superb, with just the right amount of leaves and healthy fruit.

About 60 per cent of production is still wine, Pinot Gris and Pinot Noir. The rest is devoted to traditional method sparkling wines, a brut and a rosé, from Pinot Noir. (The brut has some Chardonnay for balance).

The intention wasn’t to make sparkling wine, or perhaps not to become so well-known for the bubble that people forget his heart is in Pinot Noir first and foremost.

If that is Rudy’s burden we’re happy to share it.

“Everything about this place, the soil, the climate, how the grapes ripen, lends itself to sparkling wine. But as the vines age we’ll get to know what Pinot can really do here.”

Upper Left: Nigel Greening, entrepreneur, winery owner and chef with Jancis the winery cat. Nigel’s Friday lunches have become a cookbook, Felton Road Vintage Food; Recipes from Panini Noir. Upper Right: Mike Wolfenden with two of his favourite things. Above: Felton Road viticulturalist Gareth King (right) with friends. All photos Mary Bailey.

Rudy’s other project is Gruner Veltliner, though so far he hasn’t been happy with the results. “Maybe next year,” he says.

Felton Road is at the other end of the Cromwell growing area in Bannockburn. The wide-open terrain of Bendigo is no longer. Here, badlands dotted in wild thyme blanket the scars left behind by 19th century sluice mining. Now, vineyards growing cool-climate varietals cover hillsides.

“Stewart Elms picked a good site,” says Mike Wolfenden, assistant winemaker at Felton Road. We’re standing in the home vineyard near the winery. Stewart Elms had identified these north-facing slopes

in Bannockburn as the warmest suitable for premium grapes in 1991.

Felton Road farms three sites; Elms, near the winery, Calvert, two blocks just across the road (leased) and Cornish Point on a tip of land that juts out into Lake Dunstan near Cromwell.

It’s holy ground. Some might say that Felton Road is the Romanée Conti of New Zealand (being one of two vineyards designated Tipuranga Teitei o Aotearoa, New Zealand Grand Cru status.)

But that’s not what they talk about at the winery. There are no t-shirts, nor promo campaigns promoting the status. They talk about grapes, what’s happening down each row. They make coffee. They act normally, another reminder that great wine is generally made by good people.

I join a group of wine aficionados from Sweden as Mike guides a tasting of wines in barrel and tank. I listen along to Mike and the translator thinking how many wine words remain untranslated — cuvee is cuvee and pinot noir is pinot noir, loess becomes glacial till, still understandable to a Canadian. I am feeling pretty cocky about my linguistic ability until I poke my nose into the barrel sample. All words fail. It’s sensory overload as the wine tells me who it is and where its from in a language all its own.

* Both Felton Road and Quartz Reef farm biodynamically, a philosophical agricultural concept created by Rudolph Steiner in the 1930s. One of the requirements of the practice is a voodoo lounge (actually just a shed, just an ordinary open-walled shed) where soil preparations are made from plants, minerals and compost. The practices are intriguing, to say the least. Most of the biodynamic wines I’ve tasted are different — they have a certain something-something — more communicative, more layered, more interesting. Not always, not every wine. Hard to quantify, but it’s there.

Mary Bailey wrote this article over two root days, one leaf day and three flower days.


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Radishes

in season | mary bailey

The peppery zip of a radish is a zesty taste of spring. Yet, when I spoke with two Edmonton area growers, Jenny Birkenbosch, Sundog Organics, and Janelle Herbert, Riverbend Gardens in late April, both gazed onto fields still covered in white.

We have three feet of snow right now, said Jenny. “We’ll be planting in cold frames as soon as we can.

“We’ll plant Pink Beauty; Cherry Belle which are the beautiful radish-red colour; French Breakfast with the elongated white tips; and a mixed colour variety called Easter egg. Those are my favourite to harvest — they look like beautiful multi-coloured bouquets. We have tried the watermelon radish, it’s red inside with a green rind. It’s so pretty, we’ll try it again this year.

“I’m not super-passionate about growing radishes,” says Jenny. “They’re finicky and highly susceptible to insects. Radishes, arugula and other members of the mustard family are attractive to flea beetles, which eat the leaves, and root maggots. That’s a big problem when you grow organically as we do.

“I love to eat radishes in the field — pick, brush off, and pop in your mouth, super refreshing. My son’s favourite way to eat radishes? A grandma sandwich: sliced bread, butter, radishes and salt.

“We plant about a half acre which gives us a couple of thousand bunches for the farmers’ market,” says Janelle. “Red Jewel is our main variety this year — it’s a medium sized round radish with a snowy-white interior. We’ll plant

Sparkler, round red with white tips,

typically spicier, French Breakfast

and Champion. They grow in 22-25

days, or so it says in the catalogue.

In 2010 we seeded on April 8, and

we harvested May 18,” says Janelle.

“People either love or hate radishes.

Some people are so excited to see

them, they buy four bunches. I

think, ‘ok what are you going to do

with those?’

“I’m not really a radish person,”

says Janelle, “but every

year I eat a fresh radish

to remind me how

to describe the

juicy taste. My

five-year-old

daughter loves

radishes.”

Radishes are

high in calcium

and come in a

range of colours

and sizes. Buy

radishes that

look juicy, without

cracks. The leaves are

quite edible, but can be

sandy — rinse thoroughly.

Use in a salad like you would

mizumi or other leaves from the

mustard family.

Five easy things to do with fresh

radishes:

Make radish butter: add chopped

or grated radishes to softened

butter, season to taste and spread

on a cold roast beef sandwich. Or

drizzle over steamed green beans

or asparagus.

Slice on a sandwich with avocado

or puréed, jarred artichokes to

lighten and brighten.

Make a slaw.

Add to feta for a crunchy dip.

Add to a salad roll.

A mandoline is a handy thing to

have for slicing radishes thinly and

evenly, or use the Japanese version

— a Benriner. Really don’t want

to slice with a knife? Use the large

holes on a grater.


in season | mary bailey

radishes with soft butter and cumin, fennel and smoky paprika salts The French love to eat radishes dipped in sweet butter and salt.

3 t cumin seeds

2 t fennel seeds

2 c sea salt or kosher salt (large crystal), divided into ½ c portions

2 t fine-ground smoked paprika

1½ t cayenne pepper

24 medium radishes, trimmed (leaving a bit of stalk as a handle)

½ c (8 T or 1 stick) unsalted butter softened, in a serving bowl

Toast cumin seeds in a dry skillet over medium heat, shaking pan continuously until aromatic, about 4 minutes. Do not over-toast. Grind in a mortar and pestle or spice grinder until broken up but slightly chunky still, not a fine powder. Repeat with fennel seeds. Mix the smoked paprika and cayenne powder together and pour into a small serving bowl.

In a small mixing bowl, stir ground fennel into half of the salt; then place in a small serving bowl. Repeat with cumin and the paprika/cayenne powder mixture, wiping out the mixing bowl between each batch. Pour the remaining salt into another serving bowl.

To serve: arrange radishes on a platter and surround with the four bowls of fennel, cumin, smoked pepper and plain salt, along with the soft butter. Dip radish into the butter, then into one of the salts.

Serves 6-12 as a pass-around appetizer.

fresh pea and radish salad

1-2 c freshly picked peas

4 radishes, sliced paper-thin

1 t fine lemon zest

squeeze ½ small lemon (about 2 T fresh lemon juice)

1-2 T extra virgin olive oil

sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste

Whisk oil, zest and lemon juice in a bowl until emulsified. Season. Add radishes and peas. Toss until combined, check for seasoning and serve.

Serves 4.

Note: you could also add ricotta cheese and serve over pasta. Mix the lemon zest and juice with ricotta, add a scant teaspoon of oil. Toss with radishes, peas and hot pasta (preferably gemelli or similar shape). Season.

roasted radishes This can be done on the barbecue while the steaks, fish or chicken are grilling. A vegetable grill pan is handy, or use a piece of heavy foil. French radishes with their long white tails look especially good grilled.

2 bunches radishes (about 20)

1½ T canola oil

2-3 sprigs thyme

coarse salt and fresh-cracked black pepper

squeeze fresh lemon (about 1 t)

Preheat oven or grill to 450°F.

Cut off all but ½ inch of green radish tops. If the greens are in good shape, clean well and reserve. Toss radishes with oil and thyme. Season. Roast, stirring occasionally, until tender, slightly wrinkled and charred, about 15 minutes. Discard any burnt thyme bits. Toss chopped radish tops over if using. Sprinkle with salt, drizzle with lemon juice and serve.

warm potato radish salad with parma hamAged sherry vinegar adds terrific flavour to this salad — it’s a good vinegar to have in your repertoire. Find small bottles at the Italian Centre Shops, Zenari’s and Paddy’s Cheese.

6-12 small new potatoes

1-2 green onion, or garden chives, chopped fine (optional)

2 T extra-virgin olive oil

1-2 t sherry vinegar (or lemon juice if don’t have, but it won’t be the same)

2 bunches radishes, trimmed (about 20)

6 slices Parma or ibérico ham (thinly sliced)

Simmer potatoes in salted water gently until just tender, about 10 to 15 minutes. When cool enough to work with (but still warm), drain, add onion (if using), then dress in the oil and a splash of vinegar to taste. Split the radishes in half lengthwise, toss gently with the warm potatoes and place in a large bowl or platter. Arrange ham over and serve.

grandma sandwichLet’s all channel our inner four-year old with this simple fresh taste of childhood.

good bread, sliced

butter

salt

sliced radishes

Butter bread. Layer on sliced radishes. Season. Place second piece of bread on top. Cut to suit.

another radishy potato salad The bright flavours of radishes, mint and sorrel grace this riff on the German potato salad. Delicious with roast chicken. Sorrel’s fresh citrus flavour is best when the leaves are young and small, before they age to become leathery and bitter tasting. It’s one of the first things to come up, alongside the chives in many back yards, and several farmers’ market stands sell it. You could substitute with young dandelion leaves.

8-12 small new potatoes

2-3 sprigs mint

4 bay leaves

2 bunches radishes (the long French ones look especially good), trimmed and cut in half, if desired

1 bunch fresh sorrel leaves

Bring potatoes, mint and bay leaves

Please see “Radishes” on page 30


The million-dollar view from Gray Monk Estate’s Grapevine Bistro. Photo by Amanda LeNeve.

Facing page, upper right: Roger Sleiman, Old Vines, Quails’ Gate.

Lower right: Rod Butters of RauDZ. Photo by Alison Love, Spatula Media.

Wine Country CookingMary Bailey

Talented chefs and cooks, dedicated growers and foragers, vineyardists and winemakers have begun to define a home grown wine country gastronomy in the Okanagan valley, cooking by the mantra that good cooks in Italy and France have always understood: what grows together goes together.

What is wine counrty cooking? You need great wine and people who understand how to make it sing with food. You require a profound understanding of flavours that suit the up-front aromatics and vibrant fruit of Okanagan wine. A view is nice — of vines, or lakes and mountains from a serene terrace, but a well-designed urban space can be just as rewarding. Throw in some local brew and hand made-ciders because it takes a lot of beer to make good wine and good food.

Most of all, you need cooks who want to use the food grown next door, or from across the vines; and growers ready to work with them.

It’s clear that these chefs have close, long-term business relationships with their suppliers, they know them well. Some have their own hands in the dirt as much as they are behind the stoves, and no one is averse to opening the kitchen door to the mushroom man.

Kelowna and Lake Country

Willi Franz, Chef/Owner, Grapevine Bistro at

Gray Monk Estate Winery

grapevinerestaurant.ca

The Grapevine restaurant serves about 30,000 meals per season, opening for lunch and dinner with wine and cheese available in the afternoon. The terrace is one of the more spectacular places to dine in the valley with amazing views and sunsets over Lake Okanagan.


got away from that. The more exotic, the further away something came from, the better. We’ve come full circle.

“Every year we have some new staff. I learn a lot from them. That keeps me excited about cooking — different techniques, new equipment, new kinds of cooking such as sous vide, and I can teach them some of the old tricks.”

pan-seared sterling springs chicken scallopini and okanagan berry salsa served with roasted

fingerling potatoes

Willi Franz, Grapevine Bistro Gray Monk Estate Winery

8 thin slices (3 oz each) of boneless skinless chicken breast

8-12 fingerling potatoes

chopped rosemary

grape seed oil for roasting potatoes

roasted fingerling potatoesCut potatoes in half and toss chopped rosemary and oil in a bowl. Place on cookie sheet and roast in the oven at 380ºF for approximately 12 minutes.

chicken scaloppiniSear the chicken scaloppini in a medium-hot pan with 2 tablespoons grape seed oil for approximately 3 minutes on each side until done. Set aside.

fresh berry salsa 1 c each fresh blueberries, strawberries and

raspberries

½ c fine-dice red onions

2 gloves garlic, crushed

½ oz cilantro, chopped

1 T honey

½ c Calamondin Balsamic vinegar*

salt and pepper

Toss berries with red onion, cilantro, garlic, honey and vinegar. Season to taste.

Willi Franz has been cooking in the Okanagan for over 30 years.

“You have to know that 30 years ago tourism was different here. It was families camping, water slides, Flinstones and always about the beach.

“When the Mission Hill Chardonnay won overseas, all of a sudden people started to pay attention.” (John Simes’ 1992 vintage won the trophy for Best Chardonnay at the 1994 International Wine and Spirit Competition.)

“With that, the valley became more of a culinary destination — especially at a winery. People want not just dinner, they want an experience.

“While learning to work so closely with Gray Monk wine, I had to change how I approach a dish. I had to learn no mint, I’m conscious of acidity in the dressing and that red wine and asparagus don’t go together, so you don’t use asparagus as a vegetable with a steak, for example.

“We have a grower just a few miles away from the winery; Tom Thompson at Lake Country Culinary Garden. He worked for a large distribution company, then he decided to do his own thing. We’ll use whatever grows at that time on our menus. The season starts with green spinach, bok choy, asparagus, then carrots. We didn’t do this 20-30 years ago. Now we get together in the fall, what are we going to grow? Which lettuces did well, which didn’t? What colour is it going to be? Is this going to look good on the plate? It’s a lot more flexible and exciting.”

“Usually the first greens happen during spring wine festival. But for now, we’ll buy lower mainland hot-house product. I think of that as local, it is BC. To me local also means, do I know the person I’m buying from? Our chicken may not be certified organic, but it’s free range — I saw them with feathers. I know the family, I’ve been to the farm and visited their facility.

“I was born on a farm. How we work now is a lot like when I was growing up. In the 1960s and ’70s chefs


To serve: place roasted fingerling potatoes on a plate. Add two seared chicken scaloppini and top with berry salsa.

Serves 4.

Chef ’s wine suggestion: Gray Monk Odyssey Rosé Brut.

* Calamondin Balsamic vinegar is available from crescendo.com, alternatively use a citrus-infused vinegar or white wine vinegar and a squeeze of fresh lime and orange to taste.

Rod Butters, Chef/Owner RauDZ Regional Table

raudz.com

“I’m at Mario’s,” says Rod Butters. “It’s the best coffee in Vancouver.” Rod is in Vancouver helping to organize the BC Junior Chef’s competition. (He’ll be in Edmonton for the national conference at the end of May.) Passing along his craft is vital. “I’ve graduated 48 apprentices, it’s a race to 50,” he says, referring to the apprenticeship system which turns cooks into chefs. “My life, even more than being a restaurateur or a chef is bringing cooks along. We have to give back to our community — if we can’t pass it on there’s no point really. Our chefs’ association in the Okanagan was 22 members, now we’re at 170.”

The contribution Rod Butters has made to the Canadian culinary scene is enormous. We’ll pick up Rod’s story after Wickaninnish (Rod was opening chef de cuisine at the Wickaninnish Inn in 1996, his food and service standards propelling the property to its now legendary status as a top table) when Rod moved to Kelowna to open Fresco.

“That was 2001 and within a year we had Four Diamond status. It was important to me at the time, especially as an independent restaurant, but it became less important. So, we made the change to RauDZ and now we’re doing what we really wanted

to do all along. It’s been a great eight years. We’re working with the same suppliers I started with back then, even more so. ”

Why Kelowna? “After the Wik I took a year off to look for the magic answer. I’ve got a book full of ideas. But it was the wineries — they are making world-class wine and they are doing all the marketing to get the people here. And we’ve shown you can be successful as an independent.

“We’re still with our first suppliers — Irene Bevendick, Second Wind Farms for peas, carrots, incredible red-veined spinach with tiny little leaves, and last year, over 1000 pounds of raspberries, and Jon and Sher Alcock at Sunshine Farm. They’re southeast of Kelowna, they run a program at their farm for mentally challenged adults. We get to work with people like North Okanagan Game Meats and Takoff Farms, Two Rivers Meats.

“It’s fantastic here — the amount of money we spent on couriers to try to bring these vegetables to Tofino. What we really need now is a Relais & Chateau, a Sooke Harbour House kind of place. Not me, but I hope someone does that.

“If I could do it all over again? I’d be coaching in major league baseball. Maybe the Jays? They could use some help.”

root vegetable torte

Rod Butters, RauDZ Regional Table

3 cloves garlic, minced

3 large shallots, sliced thin

½ c shredded parmesan

1 c heavy cream

¼ c fresh herbs (any) chopped

sea salt and cracked black pepper

Mix together and reserve for layering between the vegetables. If you don’t want to use cream, substitute unsalted vegetable stock in place of the cream. Cheese can be omitted.

2 large carrots

2 large beets, red or gold

1 medium rutabaga

2 medium white turnips

6 pc sunchokes (if available)

1 small celery root

2 medium parsnips

2 russet potatoes

3 oz mild goat cheese

Peel and slice all the vegetables as thin as possible, using a mandolin or knife.

Pre-heat oven to 400ºF

Spray casserole dish with non-stick spray or line entire dish with parchment paper. Layer one variety of vegetable at a time in dish. Between each layer, sprinkle with garlic parmesan cream mixture. Continued on next page

Continue to alternate vegetables until casserole dish is full. Try alternating different colours of vegetables for the greatest effect. Sprinkle goat cheese on top layer. Cover very loosely with tinfoil or parchment paper.

Bake at 400ºF for approximately 50-60 minutes or until centre of casserole feels tender by inserting fork. A baking sheet can be placed under casserole dish, just in case liquid escapes while baking. Remove from oven and let stand.

This can be served directly from the pan, or cooked the day before and chilled. The root vegetable torte can then be removed from dish, sliced and reheated. Garnish with fresh seasonal greens.

Serves 4-6.

Roger Sleiman, Executive Chef Old Vines Restaurant at Quails’ Gate

quailsgate.com/old-vines-restaurant

“A few years ago, most growers couldn’t supply in fall and winter. Now many are trying to fill in those off-season gaps.

“Curtis Stone of Green City Acres has been growing spinach all winter, his beets are ready at the end of April. Curtis is young and coming on bigtime — he’s partnered with another young farmer and they’ve doubled production — he’s got plots everywhere. ‘I’ve changed my number,’ he said the other day, ‘as everybody wants their backyard farmed.’

“Our biggest supplier is certified organic Suncatcher Farm; lots of tomatoes, zucchini, cabbage, celery, fennel, fava beans. While some are growing lots of funky veg, I need the basics too. Onion, carrots, celery, fennel and Tony does that.

“In the summer, anything goes. I’ve never seen produce like it, bins and bins of fresh peas picked that morning — I have to line up people to shell them right away, to get them in the freezer to hold the sugars.


“It’s not just produce. I’m going to Cache Creek Beef this week to see their operation.

“I loved living in Whistler, but the Okanagan is a great place for a family and a cook.”

fennel, celery and apple slaw

Roger Sleiman, Old Vines Restaurant at Quails’ Gate

slaw1 head fennel, finely shaved on a mandoline

¼ red onion, remove root and finely slice

4 stalks celery, peeled and thinly sliced on the diagonal

1 large Granny Smith apple, unpeeled, cored, thinly sliced then julienned)

Apple Cider Vinaigrette (makes extra dressing that can be used later)

¼ c apple cider vinegar

¼ t mustard powder

2 T honey

½ c canola oil

Whisk together vinegar, mustard and honey until combined. Slowly add all canola oil in a light drizzle while whisking. Season with salt.

To serve, dress slaw and check seasoning.

Serves 2-4.

Chef ’s wine suggestion: Quails’ Gate Chenin Blanc.

Matthew Batey, Executive Winery Chef, Mission Hill Winery

missionhillwinery.com

“Cooking at Mission Hill is about being a champion of this place — the Okanagan Valley and the opportunity to be the head chef at one of the top places in the country.

“In most restaurants, you start with the food and find the wine to suit. Here it’s a 180 degree shift, we start with the wines. Our alfresco and private catering is all based around the wine program.

“We have two kitchens. One is the Terrace (led by Chris Stewart) for seasonal alfresco dining lunch and dinner, from Mother’s Day to Thanksgiving.

“I was the Terrace chef for 18 months,” says Matthew. “I was really lucky to work with Michael Allemier.

“The year-round kitchen is for winery dinners, special events, corporate dinners and every dinner is custom. I’m phoning farmers to find what’s available. About 95 per cent of our produce is from the valley, and last year we cooked for over 23,000. We work with Green Croft Gardens; Pilgrims’ Produce in Armstrong and Suncatcher Farm, Tony is a very big deal. Also the spin garden guy, Curtis Stone, at Green City Acres, Brian at Willowdale farm in Oliver for asparagus. The cherries for the Oculus cherries come from the Cross Orchards function junction.

“I am so impressed with the diversity of the region — full-bodied red such as Oculus to ice wines, so incredibly diverse, and the array of fruits and veg, from stone fruits, darlings of the summer, to beautiful root vegetables.

organic beet salad with lady jane cheese, mint,

blackberry and beet sorbet

Matthew Batey, Mission Hill Winery

16 small spring beets or equivalent

water for boiling

½ c (or so) balsamic vinegar

star anise

cinnamon stick

fresh thyme

1 pc Farm House Lady Jane Cheese

12 mint leaves

1 c blackberries

good quality extra virgin olive oil

sea salt

Place beets, vinegar, star anise, cinnamon stick and thyme in water. Gently boil. Once cooked, remove from the liquid, and peel the beets while hot. Cut as desired, season with oil and salt as needed. Let stand.

beet sorbet

Chef’s note: in percentages as the desired volume of finished product dictates how much of the ingredients are required.

50 % beet puree — beets cooked as above, peeled and then puréed

20 % sugar

20 % water

10 % sherry vinegar

Bring the water and sugar to a boil to dissolve the sugar, remove from the stove. Add the beet puree and vinegar. Taste, season as needed. Chill the base, then spin in an ice cream machine.

To serve: tear the mint leaves, and add with blackberries to the beets. Portion the cheese as desired and serve with the salad. Add the sorbet to the top.

Serves 4.

Chef ’s wine suggestion: Mission Hill Martin's Lane Pinot Noir.

Below: Matthew Batey, Mission Hill Winery. Right: Bernard Casavant, Manteo Resort. Facing page: Darin Paterson, Bogner’s of Penticton and The Pecking Room, Red Rooster Winery. Photo by Melisssa Barnes.


“I grew up in a household that gardened, and ultimately it’s so easy here. It’s all about synergy. Our staff work outside during slow times in the kitchen. Our costs are higher, but what we provide is a product we can be proud of.

“At the farm we grow Yukons, russets, reds. Purple potatoes make great chips. We are pretty much self-sufficient in potatoes, also carrots and beets, swiss chard; we had 120 eggplants. Last year we had over 2,800 lbs of tomatoes.”

That’s a lot of potatoes. Bogner’s is open year round and seats 70 inside and 40 outside on the patio overlooking the gardens.

“Our front lawn at Bogner’s is an edible garden. We’re already pulling spinach, mustard greens, parsley. In a week there will be rhubarb a good foot long, in another week, herbs.

“We’re organic, we buy ladybugs, we don’t spray. We have 60 wine barrels for square foot gardening with Jerusalem artichokes, way too many chives, sorrel, strawberries and lots of basil by the kitchen door.

“Upstairs we have 40 feet of grow lights where we grow micro greens and salad mix pretty much all year round though we have to buy romaine.

“My mum is an amazing horticulturalist and she’s keen on what we’re doing.

Bernard Casavant Executive Chef, Manteo Resort

manteo.com

I first met Bernie Casavant when I fell in love with not just his food and sensibility, but his massive hand-packed jars of preserves displayed in the dining room at Burrowing Owl Winery. I came home with as many jars of tarragon-scented carrots and wildberry jams as wine that trip. His list of culinary accolades is long: chef Expo 86; Bocuse d’Or 1992; opening chef Fairmont Chateau Whistler; founding member Farm Folk/City Folk; Whistler’s first farmers’ market. He chose the Okanagan in 2006.

Why the Okanagan?

“I remember the moment: I was with my wife and Rod and Audrey. Pulling out of Inniskillin sometime in the mid 90’s. We pulled over to the side of the road to look at a pear. We took a bite, juice running down our arms — wouldn’t it be cool to live here and have this? Then Rod and Audrey opened Fresco, then morphed into RauDZ Regional Table.

“My new project is called Smack Dab in Manteo Resort. It’s about craft beer and hand-produced artisan cider. We have 12 taps, 24 bottles — Fernie Red Caboose ale, Blue Buck Brewery out of Victoria is a new style beer — nice hoppy forward beer with exotic fruit flavours, Ward Cider is a family producer near east Kelowna, and we carry Summerland Cidery.

We moved to the Okanagan in 2006, now there’s so much movement in the valley — more and more reasons for people to stay in the valley producing.

“We’ve been using Curtis for a few years now and I’ve been a big fan of Harker’s for most of our ground crops, especially heirloom tomatoes. They are a six generation family farm in the Similkanmeen.

“We just had our first forager come by with wild violets. This guy, Scott the forager, did a stage in England and Spain to learn to be a professional forager. He started with wild mushrooms. This is the stuff that gets us chefs excited — fat hen greens, wild milk thistle.

“You know who really is the pioneer in this? Rod Butters, my best friend.

“He went in a big way, and has inspired so many young chefs to get on board with local. He forced me to join the association and now it’s such a thrill to be involved. It’s progressive. The junior membership is huge — they are the chefs of tomorrow.”

Continued on next page

wild bc spot prawn risotto

Bernard Casavant, Smack Dab, Manteo Resort

1 L vegetable stock

1 T butter

1 T olive oil

1 T onion, peeled, diced fine

1 c arborio rice

½ c Okanagan Valley white wine

30 pcs* wild BC opot prawns peeled (reserve shells for another use) *Depending on the size of the prawns, and how much you like them!

1 T butter

1½ c fresh chèvre (goats cheese)

sea salt milled pepper to taste

2 T finely minced chives

Bring stock to a rolling boil, reduce to a simmer. In a pot large enough to hold all ingredients, over medium heat, heat the oil and butter, add the onion. Sauté briefly until soft. Do not allow it to brown. Add the arborio, sauté until well coated, and the rice changes to a light white color. Add white wine, stir and reduce.

Using a 4 oz ladle, carefully add the stock one ladle at a time, stirring until the liquid is almost evaporated. Repeat procedure, adding the stock until the stock is almost finished.

When the rice is fully cooked, and still a little crunchy in the centre — al dente — stop adding stock, fold in the spot prawns, and mix thoroughly. Do not over-mix as the risotto will become mushy. Add in the butter, chèvre, salt, milled pepper. Mix again, taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary.

Add in a half ladle of stock and chives, mix very lightly.

Serve immediately and enjoy with a bottle of Sandhill Small Lots Viognier.

Central Okanagan/Penticton

Darin Paterson, Chef/Owner Bogner’s of Penticton and The

Pecking Room, Red Rooster Winery

bogners.ca

When Darin Paterson bought Bogner’s of Penticton in 2006, he wasn’t really planning on tearing up the front lawn to grow vegetables or making a farm on the Naramata Bench. By 2009, he had done both.

“When we bought the restaurant we didn’t think about the farm and garden, but we could see the possibilities. It’s been a constant evolution.”

Why grow your own?



“We have two three course menus $25 or $35 which change at will, and run for about 10 days or until whatever is featured runs out. We have a lot of chive dressing around right now because we have a lot of chives.

“The Pecking Room at Red Rooster is a casual lunch place. I lived in Saudi Arabia for a time and we’re exploring those Arabic flavours — baba ganoush, tahini. Tahini sauce on fish with Riesling is delicious.”

chive dressing

Darin Peterson, Bogner’s

4 T chive vinegar

½ c yogurt

½ c sour cream

½ c mayonnaise

1½ t salt (to taste)

1½ t fresh ground black pepper

pinch of cayenne pepper

¼ c fresh chives, chopped fine

In a bowl, whisk together chive vinegar, yogurt, sour cream, mayonnaise, salt, pepper and cayenne until smooth and stir in chives.

Dana Ewart and Cameron Smith, Chef/Owners, Joy Road Catering

joyroadcatering.com

“We first came to the Okanagan to help Heidi at Joie Farm,” says Dana. “We had met in chef school, and then Cam and I fell in love with living here.

“The close proximity to farmers, vineyards, ranchland — it’s such a good place to work with local purveyors.”

What are you cooking with right now?

“Root veg, jarred heirloom tomatoes, we hoard garlic and onions, black walnuts and hazelnuts, and we are pillaging our freezer for things we vacuum-packed last fall. Seasonal cooking and seasonal menus are challenging. Right now we’re putting together the food for the Slow Food Canada meeting in Osoyoos, and we’re asking the other chefs ‘how many menus are using parsnips, beets and apples?‘

”We worked for a time with a wild mushroom forager in Napa who taught us a lot. We’re finding tender young shoots of fireweed near Bear Creek. We have a lot of nettles; we start the season off with wild nettle pesto, arancini with nettles. Then comes the wild asparagus which grows up on the clay bluffs, bright green and dark purple, pretty cool. We pick wild watercress on the way up to Apex Mountain.

“Heidi insisted we start doing the vineyard dinners. Then we started selling gallette at the farmer market, and cooking in homes which grew into the God’s Mountain and winery dinners.

”This summer we’ll have six in the kitchen plus us. Two from Alberta including Sarah Mortenson, from the Red Ox Inn. She’s a rock star!

“We’re so blessed, living here is a cook’s dream.”

wild nettle and ricotta gnudi

Dana Ewart and Cameron Smith, Joy Road Catering

2 c ricotta cheese

½ c purpose flour

1 c grated parmigiano

2 egg yolks

pinch grated nutmeg

½ t kosher salt (or to taste), cracked black pepper

2 c fine semolina flour

wild nettles

Drain the ricotta in cheesecloth in a strainer over a bowl to remove excess whey. Blanch the nettles in salted boiling water, chill in ice water, and squeeze out excess liquid. Chop nettles, then squeeze out any remaining excess liquid.Mix together the ricotta, cheese, egg yolks, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Fold in chopped nettles.Add 2/3 of the flour, and gently fold in until incorporated. Add remaining if too sticky.

Dust a table with a little flour and roll dough into a 1" cylinder, cutting the dough into 1/2 inch pieces. Another method for shaping, if the dough is a touch more wet, is to use a wine glass, lightly dusted with semolina. Drop dollops of dough into the glass and

swirl as you would with wine until a ball is formed.

Bury the gnudi balls in some fine semolina flour and rest them for about 20 minutes. This will allow the balls to hydrate the semolina and form an outer shell. They can be kept in the fridge overnight.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Blanch the gnudi until they float, then cool them on a lightly oiled tray. To finish the gnudi, once they have all been blanched,

Left: Dana Ewart and Cameron Smith ( Joy Road Catering) with Tim Skrypiczajko from Sweet Pit Commune. Above: Chris Remington, Penticton Lakeside Resort. Facing page: Jeff Van Geest of Mirador.

brown a bit of butter, drop in a few fresh sage leaves, and add the gnudi to warm them up. These are also great cooked and served with a little simple tomato sauce.

Chef ’s wine suggestion: Joie Farm Reserve Chardonnay.

Chris Remington, Executive Chef Hooded Merganser, Penticton

Lakeside Resort

hoodedmerganser.ca

Chris Remington’s resume ranges from cooking in Scotland, New Zealand, Southeast Asia and Europe to product development at Earls. He moved to Penticton in 2005, to the Pentiction Resort and its brand new flagship restaurant the Hooded Merganser.

“We have a farm called Valleyview overlooking Skaha Lake on the west side. It’s on the owner’s property, and Michelle Younie is our chef horticulturalist. We have three beehives, primarily for pollination but we hope to have more and eventually supply honey to the restaurant.

“The goal was never for the farm to supply all of the hotel’s needs, but to feature different things. We just harvested bok choy mid-April. By end of April we’ll take mixed greens, spring onions too. We have had herb gardens on the hotel property for several years but last year was our first full year with the farm.

“Guests have to want it. Early this season we served salads with only lettuce, carrots, cucumbers, all from the farm. The response was huge, and the taste and textures were amazing. We expect to be able to supply about 30-35 per cent from the farm in the summer and we can go right until November with greenhouse and tented spinach and lettuce.

“We have a big chalk board in the kitchen as to what’s going to be ready from our suppliers: Festers Peppers from Doug Haggerty, Green Man Farm lavender, and tomatoes, plums, garlic. Other farmers turn up saying ‘this is ready.’

“It’s about understanding where the food comes from. I have a garden at home, my kids help. We



wanted to have chickens, so we started with a couple of illegal ones in the back yard. This sparked a city wide pilot project. If it goes well, Penticton will be allowed to have backyard chickens.”

valleyview farm bok choy salad

with pacific halibut

Chef Chris Remington Hooded Merganser

4 pieces baby bok choy, rinsed and dried

1 carrot, julienned

2 stalks celery, thinly sliced on a bias

thumb-sized piece of ginger, thinly sliced

1 shallot, thinly sliced

toasted cashews (optional)

sauce2 T oyster sauce

2 T low sodium soy sauce

2 T sweet soy sauce

3 T rice wine vinegar

2 T sesame oil

2 pieces skin-on fresh halibut

Break off outer leaves of bok choy, then slice into bite-sized pieces keeping hearts separate.

Please see “Wine Country” on page 20.

Add all vegetables together and toss with enough dressing just to coat. Do not over-dress as salad will be salty.

Pan sear fish flesh side down until lightly browned, flip over and finish cooking on skin side.

When fish is cooked, let it rest for 5 minutes before serving.

Place salad slightly off centre on a room temperature plate and place halibut skin side down half to the side of the salad. Garnish with a lemon wedge.

Chef ’s wine suggestion: Lake Breeze Pinot Gris.

South Okanagan

Jeff Van Geest, Executive Chef

Miradoro at Tinhorn Creek Vineyards

tinhorn.com

“We have such great proximity to produce. I look out the window and see the farms where our produce comes from. Mostly Covert Farms. Sesen Farms has really nice strawberries and melon. We can even buy local fish — the habitat restoration project up the Columbia River system is now at the point where there is a short commercial salmon season in Osoyoos Lake.

“We have early morels.” Where? “That’s a secret,” he says. “In the fall we’ll see porcini. We don’t have the range they do on the coast, but what we have is very nice.”

“Miradoro is about both food and wine; ultimately our purpose is to broaden exposure of Tinhorn Wines. Certain dishes that are designed food first, such as the Japanese-style halibut on our menu now, we had to rethink. Especially the pickled cabbage in order to make it as wine-friendly as possible. It’s all about terroir.

“It’s important for a chef to have outside influences. It fuels my fire. I like to stay creative and have a lot of ideas floating around in my head. This is the our third season, we’re closed January and February. This year I went

The Pairings EditionIn support of: Ronald McDonald House® Northern Alberta

Edmonton Petroleum Club

17MAY 2013

6:00 PM Tickets: $50Attire: Business Casual

For tickets and more information visitwww.cookiesandbeer.kintera.org

Edmonton Petroleum Club’s Outdoor Market

& Brunch

Join us at the Edmonton Petroleum Club on select Sundays to browse the stalls of local artisans, growers and producers.

Then stroll inside for a delicious brunch prepared with fresh market food by the Petroleum Club’s chef Doreen Prei and Shane Loiselle.

10am - 2pm, 11110 - 108 Street Jun. 9, Jul. 7, Aug. 11 and Sep. 8If you would like to be a market vendor, please call 780.474.3411.

11110 - 108 Street 780.474.3411 www.edpetroleumclub.com

Brunch&Browse


the proust culinary questionnaire

In the late nineteenth century, French novelist Marcel Proust participated in an exercise which could be thought of as the Facebook of its era — he answered a questionnaire about himself in a friend’s Confession Album.

Proust’s answers have been published, in one form or another, for more than a century. Many have used the questionnaire for their own devices, the most notable being Vanity Fair’s Proust Questionnaire featuring celebrities. The Tomato now gives it a culinary twist.

Chris Cosentino is known for his love of pig, whole animal cooking, offal and single speed mountain bike racing.

His San Francisco restaurant Incanto holds pig dinners several times a year. Boccalone, in SF’s Ferry Building, specializes in Italian-style artisan salumeria, but it’s vegetables that chef Cosentino chose to feature in his first cookbook. Beginnings: My Way to Start a Meal is filled with sketches and stories, a section on how to buy cheese and 59 recipes ranging from rustic to contemporary, always with a seasonal focus.

Chef Cosentino spent a week with NAIT’s culinary students, sharing his well-honed, busy kitchen-tested techniques, extensive knowledge and the philosophy of nothing left behind — or rooter to tooter cooking as he calls it.

The Hokanson Chef in Residence program is made possible through a generous donation from John and Susan Hokanson. Previous chefs in residence include Rob Feenie, Susur Lee and Massimo Capra.

Hometown?

Portsmouth, Rhode Island.

Years cooking?

I started dishwashing at 15, does that count?

Where would you like to live?

I love where I’m living now, but there are a lot of beautiful places: Japan, because of their attention to culinary detail; food is a way of life there. Spain is all about food; Barcelona is amazing.

Chris Cosentino, NAIT 2013 Hokanson Chef in Residence


780.458.4777 • [email protected] • 2, 512 St. Albert Trail

the proust culinary questionnaireYour favourite food and drink?

I love oysters and radishes. I really like crisp and refreshing dry white wines. And I drink pink — mostly Italian — and beer, Anchor Steam.

What would you be doing if you weren’t cooking?

I would have been a professional cyclist.

What do you most appreciate in your friends?

Honesty.

Your favourite qualities in a dish?

Balance — that is, has freshness and acidity.

A cook?

Eager, passionate and dedicated.

A wine?

Food-friendly wines that enhance the food.

Who would be at your dream dinner table (dead or alive)?

Bill Murray, Escoffier.

Who would cook?

Me.

Which words or phrases do you most overuse?

You probably don’t want to know those. I’m trying to learn the power of no, as I say yes to too many things.

Current culinary obsession/exploration?

At Incanto? Always obsessed with trying to make ourselves better and focusing on conviviality and fun. If it’s not fun, it shows in the food. It’s not hospitality.

Meaningful/crazy cooking experience?

I’ve had a lot of experiences. I’ve staged at different restaurants; had a door slammed in my face by Marco Pierre White; cooked in the dark with no hood; made a dinner for Ben Harper in Napa where he sang acoustic.

But the opportunity to compete on Top Chef Masters and win for the Michael J. Fox Foundation — to be able to hand a cheque to a charity where 93 cents of every dollar goes to research — that is the most meaningful.

Best (cooking) thing that ever happened to you?

Jean Louis Palladin was a very important man to me. The hardest thing I have ever done was say no to a sous chef position at his restaurant in Las Vegas. I had just moved to California and didn’t want to move there. He died the next year. Sometimes it’s the worst things that have the biggest effect.

Mentors?

Mark Miller taught me to cook from history; Tracy Des Jardin taught me to appreciate California; Fergus Henderson, the importance of simplicity and offal; and Jean Louis Paladin taught me to cook for what I believe in.

Favourite casual, cheap and cheerful after work food?

I get home at two in the morning — I don’t have that.

Philosophy?

I cook because I want to make people happy. I want people to be able to cook, to not be afraid to cook; it’s just food. I want to cook with products that are raised and handled properly, so when I get home I can look myself in the mirror. That’s why using the whole animal matters.

What’s next?

I have a Marvel comic book coming out in July, Wolverine. The Shun Blue Steel Japanese knives (four knives: menkiri, chefs, poultry and general butchery) just launched with Williams-Sonoma.


Southwest TexasOmar Mouallem

Somewhere in the American south, I saw a man in a camouflage jacket and buzz-cut sit at a bar, lean toward a bearded bartender in a bent ball-cap, and order… a Cabernet?

This is a scene from Messina Hof Winery’s tasting room in Fredericksburg, Texas, a tourist town that used to be famous for its German heritage and architecture but is now the centre of the Hill Country Trail — America’s fastest growing wine region after Napa Valley. And lawmakers are taking notice; nobody in Fredericksburg stopped me from window shopping with a glass of Messina Hof’s Paulo Port, a smooth and oaky vintage made with the Lenoir — otherwise known as the Texas black Spanish grape — from winemaker Paul Bonarrigo’s estate in Bryan, Texas.

Hotel Havana 1015 Navarro St, San Antonio, TX 210-222-2008 Havvanasanantonio.com

Messina Hof Winery and Resort 9996 US Hwy 290 East Fredericksburg, TX 830-990-4653 MessinaHof.com

Sandstone Cellars 211 San Antonio St, Mason, TX 325-347-9463 Sandstonecellarswinery.com

Garcia’s Mexican Food 842 Fredericksburg Rd San Antonio, TX (210) 735-4525

Jones Sausage & BBQ House 2827 Martin Luther King Dr San Antonio, TX 210-224-6999

Please see “Texas” on page 30.

Ninety minutes from my San Antonio hotel, I’d come to experience the incredible range of southwest Texas, which also includes Austin. Though Austin is a hotbed of fine dining, claiming countless celebrity chefs like Tyson Cole, I’m hunting for boutique wine and true Texan barbecue. Messina Hof happens to be the third largest and oldest winery in the state, claiming over 100 labels with the assistance of California grapes (though the vast majority come from across the 700,000-square-kilometre state). But for a bottle of wine where grapes speak to winemaker, and not the other way around, I drive an extra 45 minutes to Mason County.

Here, Sandstone Cellars makes complex blends with Mason-grown grapes only, including one of Syrah, Mourvedre, Touriga and Viognier, a well-structured and balanced fusion with some spice. While Texan wines struggle to make it on wine lists, Sandstone recently landed on celebrity chef

Dean Fearing’s menu at the Ritz in Dallas.

“Fredericksburg is extremely tourist driven — the Disneyland of the Hill Country — and this is a little more authentic,” said co-founder Scott Haupert, once a studio violist who contributed to the scores of a few small movies like, um, Jurassic Park and Titanic.

Shortly after Haupert and his partner of 25 years, Manny Silerio, moved from L.A. to the town of 2,500, amateur winemaker Don Pullum moved in next door. Now the three amigos run a three-building compound: wine bar, tasting room and taqueria featuring Silerio’s mother’s handmade tortillas.

“We’re little, but what makes us stand out is the uniqueness of our blends,” Pullum, a former venture capitalist, told me, “and because we’re in an emerging wine industry, we can make our own traditions.”

Three Ways

Above left: Sandstone Cellars co-founders Scott Haupert and Don Pullum. Above right: the real thing; traditional Texas barbecue. Far right: Tito Beveridge of Tito’s Handmade Vodka. Photos Omar Mouallem.


It’s clean, smooth, easy on the nose and it’s vodka. Yes, vodka. And Texan, no less.

While some high-class bartenders snub or disparage the spirit, Tito’s Handmade Vodka challenges the assumption that vodka’s best only as a bee-line to blind drunkenness.

“Granted,” says creator and president Tito Beveridge, “95 per cent of vodka out there is gasoline or lighter fluid. It’s made as the last process in making something else. That’s not what I’m into. I’m into a connoisseur’s, hot-out-of-the-bottle, put-it-up-against-any-vodka-in-the-world kind of vodka.”

Indeed, that’s what he’s making. In 2001 his homemade corn-based craft won two gold medals at the World’s Spirits Competition in San Francisco, an achievement that’s echoed today with 200,000 bottles a year, including a shipment that arrived at Crestwood Fine Wines & Spirits in January.

Tito says his secret is appreciating that an agricultural

product like corn changes from harvest to harvest and requires careful attention. “We’re just making it batch by batch until it tastes right. It’s like your grandmother’s kitchen. Whatever comes in through the back door — by the time it hits the dining room table — it all tastes pretty good.”

Just as he did with the first commercial bottle in 1997, his team distills each batch six times in a self-assembled pot still. “Stills are kind of weird,” he says. “You can build 10 of them exactly the same way but you’ll always have one that’s a favourite. Maybe that’s why they call it the ‘spirits’ business.”

Like the vodka that emits vanilla and caramel notes with a drop of ice cube, Beveridge too is a rounded figure. A former geologist, engineer and oil and gas entrepreneur, he’s also a musician and painter — and as the creator of the first legal distillery in Texas, you can add trailblazer, too. But Tito’s Vodka, he says, lets him use both sides of his brain. “It’s logic, logic, logic — then, some stardust.”

Tito’s Handmade Vodka


to New York to 11 Madison Park, Spotted Pig, Katz’s Deli, and Roberta’s in Brooklyn.

“Sure, there are challenges with a seasonal business. It’s important to create a culture in the kitchen — the cooks here feel they are part of something special.”

sockeye salmon, zucchini fritters, grilled scallion,

romesco sauce

Jeff Van Geest, Miradoro Restaurant at Tinhorn Creek

romesco sauce¼ c blanched almonds

¼ peeled hazelnuts

1 head garlic

1 slice stale white bread

2 medium ripe tomatoes

2 large red peppers, roasted, peeled and seeded

1 c good quality extra virgin olive oil

½ c good quality sherry vinegar

¼ t chili flakes

Puree all ingredients in a food processor. Season as needed

zucchini fritters2-4 zucchini (about 2 lbs)

3 T salt

1 c all purpose flour

Zest and juice of one lemon

2 T chopped chives

2 T chopped mint

2 eggs, beaten

Grate zucchini. Add salt and mix. Place in a colander in a sink and let the zucchini sit for about 20 minutes then squeeze out excess moisture.

Mix in remaining ingredients.

Pour a tablespoon or so of olive oil into a nonstick pan that has been heated to medium. Spoon about a half-cup of mix into the pan and flatten into a pancake about a centimetre thick. Fry until both sides are golden and crisp and the interior is cooked,

about 5 minutes. Repeat until all the mix is made into pancakes and reserve.

salmon6 5 oz portions of fresh sockeye

salmon, scaled with skin on

sea salt and fresh-cracked black pepper

olive oil

Preheat oven to 425ºF. Heat 2 nonstick sauté pans on the stove to medium high heat.

Season the skin side of the salmon lightly. Place the salmon into the pans and cook on the stovetop until the skin starts to crisp and get golden. Finish in the oven until the flesh is medium rare.

To serve: Spread a dollop of romesco on 6 plates. Place a zucchini fritter on each plate and the salmon on top of that, skin side up to show off that beautiful crispy skin. Serve with a platter of roasted summer vegetables drizzled in good quality olive oil.

Chef ’s wine suggestion: Tinhorn 2 Bench White

Natasha Schooten, Chef Terrafina at

Hester Creek Winery

terrafinarestaurant.com

“The eye opener for me was working at Mission Hill — the cuisine Michael Allemeir was creating at the Terrace by getting in touch with farmers and sourcing out local ingredients. That was a big deal for me. I had come from a large property, corporate-type hotel setting. The relationships he had with the cheese guys, the mushroom guy, the farmers — that changed my head and opened me up to a new passion for food.

“I came to Terrafina because the people who opened the restaurant (exec chef Jeremy Luypen and April Goldade) have a clear vision — they live and breathe it everyday. That is, fresh Tuscan-inspired rustic food, made using local ingredients and sourcing authentic Italian regional foods such as olive oils and pecorino cheese.

“We use Covert Farms outside of Oliver, and Harker’s Organics in Similkameen. On our spring menu is a fennel and beet enchilada from Covert Farms. We should have rutabaga

wine countryContinued from page 15

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make every day

greens in the next couple of weeks and asparagus may come early this year.

“We’re fortunate we have core staff who love the restaurant and the owner. It had been a challenge. But now apprentices and chefs are seeking out the Okanagan. What’s happening here, the calibre of chefs, the way they are presenting their menus, the philosophy a lot of us have is attractive to young cooks.

“There are a lot of young women cooks and aspiring chefs in the Okanagan coming up who are going to be stellar, like Jenna Engle (Local Lounge) and Evelyn Takoff (sous chef at RauDZ) in the next five years.”

local asparagus and fennel insalata

with preserved meyer lemon and wild nettle

vinaigrette

Natasha Schooten, Terrafina Restaurant at Hester Creek

preserved meyer lemon and wild nettle vinaigrette2 T fresh Meyer lemon juice

½ t preserved Meyer lemon rind, finely chopped

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

¼ t Dijon mustard

2 T grated parmesan cheese

½ c steamed wild nettle leaves

½ c white wine vinegar

1 t local honey

2 c olive oil

salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

In a blender, add in the first four ingredients and blend. Add steamed nettle and parmesan cheese. Blend. Add white wine vinegar and honey. Slowly add oil until the vinaigrette just comes together. (Don’t want it to emulsify completely as we want some chunky parts to adhere to the salad.)

Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.

salad 1 bunch (about 1 pound) of large

local asparagus spears, woody ends snapped off, washed and dried.

½ head fennel

1 t fresh tarragon, roughly chopped

¼ c pine nuts, toasted

3 oranges

shaved parmesan cheese

salt and freshly ground pepper

6-8 soft poached eggs

Peel asparagus in long strokes to make ribbons. Set aside. Shave fennel thinly discarding woody core. This is best done on a mandoline.

Peel the orange and cut segments removing bitter white pith as you go. Toss asparagus, fennel, tarragon and pine nuts together with a spoonful of the dressing.

To serve: divide the asparagus mixture on six plates, arrange orange pieces evenly, drizzle with a bit more vinaigrette. Place the poached egg on top, scatter shaved parmesan over and season.

Serves 6-8

Chef ’s wine suggestion: Hester Creek Trebbiano.

Mary Bailey teaches Wine Spirit Education Trust courses in Edmonton.

Tony Cetinski of Suncatcher Organic Farm. CJ Katz photo


beer guy | peter bailey

BBQ

We would like to thank everyone for their support as we rebuild after the fire.

Watch for our re-launch in late March 2013.

In the meantime, visit our Leduc location for your BBQ fix.

We bring smoking to a whole new level.

10810 124 Street, Edmonton & 5401 Discovery Way, Leduc 780-986-2010

A unique

selection of

over 800 wines,

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tastings, and

quality customer

service.

Fine Wines, Spirits, Ales and Accessories

3845 - 99 Street 780.461.0191 www.kegncork.com

“Mooshiepeash” said the grimy old workman to me in a northern England pub in 1986. After a pint of bitter, I understood him: he was suggesting the local delicacy of black sausage and mushy peas.

I was in England on a post-

university European tour. I was on

a quest for good beer. I didn’t know

much about British beer but, by

God, I was eager to learn. The little

I did know was thanks to Patrick

Devaney and his English pubs in

Edmonton.

In 1978, the Rose & Crown Pub

opened downtown in the Four

Seasons Hotel (now Sutton Place).

A recent Irish émigré, Devaney

was appointed manager. Later he

created the Sherlock Holmes pubs,

Devaney’s Irish Pub and Moriarty’s

Wine Bar. In 2004, he came full

circle, buying the Rose & Crown

and restoring it to its former glory.

In March 2013, Devaney sold all

his pubs after almost 40 years of

serving pints.

The Rose & Crown was the first

place in Edmonton to have a stand-

up bar and one of the few places

to try an English beer like Double

Diamond pale ale. In the early 80s,

bored with beer barns like the

Strathcona, my pals and I would

head there for something different.

We were the youngest people there,

so sometimes a friendly oldster

would buy a round for the college

kids.

When I went to Europe in 1986,

I understood from my Rose &

Crown education that Great Britain

was one of the world’s great beer

nations, the home of ales — pale

ale, bitter, porter and stout. But I

had much to learn when I stumbled

off the train and into an Earls

Court pub one afternoon. Decades

later, I can remember the sun

glancing through the smoky haze

as I took a sip of my first pint of

real English bitter.

A life-changing moment.

As I travelled north from London,

I learned how traditional English

ale had been losing the war against

modernity. Cask-conditioned ale

is fragile and requires care in

shipping, storage and serving.

In the 1950s and 60s, the UK

beer industry consolidated into

just a few major brewers and

they looked for efficiencies. They

substituted filtered, carbonated

and pasteurized keg beer, like

Double Diamond, for traditional

cask ale. As well, while older Brits

held on to their beloved bitter,

believing British Is Best, the post-

war generation turned increasingly

to continental European lagers.

Indeed, in Preston, Lancashire, a

cousin my age was amused by my

love of English bitter, calling it

“old man beer.” He and his friends

drank lager.

British cask ale lovers fought back,

forming CAMRA, the Campaign for

Real Ale in 1971. CAMRA sparked

a revival of independent breweries,

pubs and cask ale. By the time I

visited in 1986, I did, indeed, find

cask ale around the UK. However,

CAMRA stalwarts mainly looked

backwards, valuing tradition

over innovation at all times and

British beer stagnated as the North

American craft beer revolution

erupted overseas. Eventually even

the old sod changes — it just takes

longer.

In 2002, the UK tax on beer was

restructured to encourage small

breweries, with dramatic results.

Today, there are almost 900 British

breweries, many combining a

respect for tradition with an

enthusiasm for new ideas.

I wonder what my late great-uncle

would think of the changes to

British beer. He was in his late 70s

when I told him I was travelling to

Scotland the next day. “Scotland?”

he replied wistfully, “I’ve always

wanted to travel there.” Scotland

is less than a two hour drive

from Preston. My great uncle was

thinking local and living slow years

before it was cool.

A green and pleasant land


beer guy | peter bailey

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Recently we have seen more English beer making the trek across the Atlantic to Alberta shelves, including unique beer from independent English craft brewers. Many of these beers are bottle-conditioned, as

with cask ale, meaning after bottling they retain a little yeast which continues to develop or ‘condition’ the beer.

St. Austell Admiral’s Ale, Cornwall, EnglandSt. Austell Brewery was founded in 1851 but really turned a corner in 1999 with the arrival of Roger Ryman as head brewer. Ryman is a master at melding tradition with innovation. Here Cornish barley is

blended with European and American hops for a unique take on English pale ale. 2010 CAMRA Best Bottle-Conditioned Beer.

Skinner’s Betty Stogs Bitter, Cornwall, EnglandFounded in 1997, Skinner’s is an independent, family-owned brewery just down the road from St. Austell Brewery. Betty Stogs bitter, the Queen of Cornish Ale, is a great traditional

English bitter with a malty nose and a touch of New World citrus tart. 2008 CAMRA Best Bitter.

Moor Merlin’s Magic, Somerset, EnglandMoor Beer began life in 1996 on a dairy farm near Glastonbury. It was purchased in 2007 by a Californian, Justin Hawke, who marries traditional English ales with a touch of the robust flavour of California craft beer. This bottle-conditioned best bitter is smooth with a touch of biscuit and hoppy spice.

Meantime London Porter, London, EnglandFounded in Greenwich in 1999, Meantime is helping to re-

establish London as a great brewing city. Brewer Alastair Hook is revered for his dedication to researching and recreating beers

from the past, like this fabulous rendition of a classic London porter from a 1750s recipe. Rich, dark, complex and delicious.

Thornbridge Kipling South Pacific Ale Bakewell, EnglandThe philosophy of ‘never ordinary’ has helped Thornbridge rocket to success from its founding in 2005. Owner Jim Harrison hired an Italian head brewer and an international team with diverse brewing backgrounds. Innovation is shown with their use of the fruity Nelson Sauvin hops from New Zealand, giving this English pale ale an exotic citrus twist.

Durham St. Cuthbert Special India Pale Ale Durham, EnglandA home-brewing hobby became an occupation in 1994 when husband and wife teachers Christine and Steve Gibbs were laid off. Assured on the label that this beer is “suitable for vegans,” this bottle-conditioned IPA is thoroughly English but with a modern touch from American and Czech hops.

Peter Bailey learned all the words to The Black Velvet Band at the Rose & Crown and will sing them for the price of a pint of pale ale. He tweets as @Libarbarian.

New English six-pack


Rhubarb SeasonThe tangy, wake-me-up taste of rhubarb is the harbinger of spring. It’s one of the first vegetables to come up in our northern gardens.

Enjoy rhubarb in both sweet and savoury dishes.

SaVOuRy

rhubarb sauceThis is similar to the classic British Cumberland sauce. Serve with grilled beef, or pork, roast duck. Adapted from BBC/Curtis Stone.

1-2 T sugar

3 stalks rhubarb, roughly chopped

¾ c port

¾ c chicken stock

Cook rhubarb and sugar over medium-low heat for five minutes to break down the rhubarb. For a very smooth texture, purée with an immersion blender. Add port and bring to a boil for two minutes. Add chicken stock and cook on medium-low until reduced by about ½, about 10 minutes. For added richness, take off the heat and swirl in a knob of cold butter.

fresh rhubarb salsa The key to good salsa is to chop the fruit and vegetables into pieces that are about the same size — smallish ¼ inch cubes. Excellent with grilled pork or roast chicken.

2 stalks rhubarb, trimmed and cut into small cubes

2 stalks celery, trimmed and cubed

½ c cubed cucumber (if desired)

1-2 green onions or fresh chives, chopped fine

1 handful parsley, chopped fine

1-2 leaves fresh thyme, chopped fine

1-2 leaves fresh basil chopped fine

1 T fruity extra virgin olive oil

squeeze lemon juice (approx 1 t)

squeeze fresh orange juice (approx 1 t)

sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper

Toss the rhubarb, celery, green onion, cucumber (if using), parsley, onion and fresh herbs together with the oil in a medium bowl. Squeeze citrus over, tasting as you go for balance. Season to taste. Let sit at room temperature for at least ½ hour to blend flavours.

lamb and rhubarb khoreshI tasted a rhubarb and lamb dish in New Zealand, which the cook said was adapted from NZ chef Julie Le Clerc. The dish has Persian roots — the sweet/sour pomegranate and rhubarb flavours complement the sweet earthiness of fresh lamb.

1 T olive oil

1 T butter

1kg diced leg lamb

1 large onion, coarsely chopped

2 c hot chicken stock

1 T pomegranate molasses

1-2 thyme leaves, chopped fine

1 bunch fresh parsley, trimmed and coarsely chopped

1 handful (or package) fresh mint leaves, trimmed and coarsely chopped

3-4 stalks rhubarb, cut into 1-inch pieces (approx 1 c cut-up rhubarb)

honey for drizzling (optional)

Heat the butter and olive oil in a large pan, and brown the lamb, in batches, on all sides. Remove each batch once it has browned, drain, reserve and keep warm.

Add onion to the pan and cook until golden. Return the lamb to the casserole, season, add the stock. Bring to a boil, then immediately turn the heat to low, cover and simmer for about 30 minutes.

Stir in about half the herbs. Cover and cook for another 30 minutes. Add the rhubarb, stir and cook for 10-15 minutes without the lid. The rhubarb should be tender, but not mushy. Check the seasoning, add a squeeze of fresh lemon if necessary to balance sweet /sour, then stir in the rest of the herbs. Serve with rice or pita bread and yogurt, drizzled with honey, if desired.

Serves 6-8.

rhubarb and red cabbage Rhubarb adds a touch of tangy sweetness to classic simmered red cabbage. Serve with roast salmon, chicken or pork.

4 t yellow mustard seeds

1¼ c fresh orange juice

1 c sugar1/3 c water

2 T finely grated orange peel

4 t coriander seeds

1 T caraway seeds

1 T peeled and minced fresh ginger

3 c 2-inch-long ¼-inch-thick matchstick-size strips rhubarb (from about 2-4 stalks rhubarb)

8 c thinly sliced red cabbage (from about ½ medium head)

½ c sherry or red wine vinegar

½ c dry red wine

½ lemon for juice

Stir mustard seeds in small dry skillet over medium heat until they begin to pop, about 3 minutes. Transfer to small bowl; reserve. Do the same with the coriander and caraway seeds. Toast until just starting to become aromatic; be sure not to burn.

Bring orange juice, sugar, water and orange peel to boil in large skillet, stirring until sugar dissolves. Reduce heat to medium; add toasted seeds, and ginger. Simmer until syrupy, 10 minutes. Add rhubarb; reduce heat

to medium-low. Cover and simmer until rhubarb is crisp but tender, about 2 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer rhubarb to bowl. Reserve.

Bring syrup in skillet to simmer. Add cabbage, vinegar and wine and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium, partially cover and simmer until cabbage is soft and most of the liquid is absorbed, stirring frequently, about 45 minutes. Add rhubarb back to pan and cook until warmed through. Add squeeze of lemon juice if needed to balance flavours, season to taste. Remove from heat. Serve the cabbage with roasted salmon, chicken or pork.

Serves 6-8.

SWEET

rhubarb tarte tatin

4-6 stalks rhubarb, trimmed, then cut on an angle into largish, even pieces (about 1.5 inch)

1 c sugar

2 T butter

1 T fresh orange juice or Grande Marnier

1 t pure vanilla extract

¼ t salt

1 roll puff pastry

Pre-heat oven to 375°F.

Mix all ingredients but the rhubarb and pastry in a small (8-10 inch) cast-iron skillet. Cook for about five minutes over medium heat until the sugar is fully melted and the mixture is beginning to colour. Add the rhubarb and cook until the rhubarb is tender and caramelized, about 10-15 minutes.

Meanwhile, roll out prepared puff pastry to about ¼ inch thick. Remove rhubarb mixture from the heat and place the skillet on a cookie sheet. Carefully place pastry over the hot mixture, using a wooden spoon to tuck the pastry in around the edge of the pan.


Place in hot oven and bake for about 25-30 minutes or until the pastry is bubbly and golden.

Let sit for a few minutes, loosening the pastry from anywhere it has adhered to the edges of the skillet pan to make it easier to serve. When ready to serve, place a large plate or platter over top and flip so the pastry is on the bottom. This is best done smoothly, in one motion while wearing long oven mitts.

Tarte tatin is at its delicious best served warm with plain yogurt, ice cream or whipped cream.

rhubarb curd This is what you do with the yolks leftover from making pavlova. The thick, creamy, custard with the odd name is usually made with lemon or lime. Try this in-season rhubarb version.

rhubarb purée6-8 stalks rhubarb, trimmed, cleaned

and cut into chunks

¼ c sugar

2 t lemon juice

½ c water

Cook rhubarb, sugar, lemon juice and water over medium heat until rhubarb falls apart and there are no whole pieces left, about 10-15 minutes. Add more water if rhubarb sticks to the bottom of the pan. When it looks quite broken down, purée or strain through a food mill. Reserve.

custard4 egg yolks

1/3 c sugar

3 T butter, in chunks

1 t lemon zest

Add two cups water to the bottom of a double boiler or a saucepan on medium heat. Whisk egg yolks, sugar, butter and lemon zest in the bowl of the double boiler, or a large bowl you can place on the saucepan. When the sugar has dissolved and the egg/sugar emulsion no longer looks grainy, add a few tablespoons of the rhubarb purée, stirring lightly after each addition. This conditions the egg mixture, preventing curdling. Keep adding the purée, incorporating after every addition until all the purée has been added. When all rhubarb has been added, place the bowl over the water and cook, stirring

Please see “Rhubarb” on page 31

We have spritzer salad

dressings using

Check them out atwww.learncanola.com

that will make those fresh

veggies even more enjoyable!

come.willSummer

constantly until the mixture is warm, thickens and becomes a bit glossy, about 5-10 minutes. Be careful not to let it boil. Remove from heat and press through a chinois or strainer for a super-smooth texture, or use as is.

Serve with plain yogurt and mint leaves, on scones, shortbread or make a tart. Makes about 2 cups.

rhubarb shortcakeTart and tangy, tastes like spring. Adapted from a recipe in Gourmet Magazine.

1 c flour

1½ t baking powder

¼ t salt

2/3 c heavy cream plus additional for brushing

1 t large crystal brown sugar such as turbinado or Sugar in the Raw

6-8 stalks rhubarb, cut into ½-inch pieces

½ c white sugar

2 T unsalted butter

1 T sweet sherry (Lustau East

Indian Solera is a good choice, and comes in a half bottle), or Sambuca if you like a hint of liquorice

1 t cornstarch

crème fraîche, unflavoured Greek yogurt or whipped cream

Preheat oven to 425°F with rack in middle.

Lightly butter a baking sheet.

biscuits

Use your favourite biscuit dough recipe, or:

Whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. Stir in cream just until a dough forms. Gather into a ball and gently knead together once or twice on a lightly floured surface. Do not overwork.

Pat out dough into a 6-inch square (about ½ inch thick). Trim edges with a floured knife and cut into 4 squares. Brush tops with cream and sprinkle with turbinado sugar. Bake on baking sheet until golden, 15 to 20 minutes, then transfer biscuits to a rack to cool.


wine maven

Phot

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Baile

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.

if the last time you drank riesling was out of a bottle shaped like a cat, it’s time to take another look — there is a world of flavour to explore.

At a recent (and sold-out) all-Riesling dinner held at the Marc Restaurant, Tom Pennachetti of Niagara’s Cave Spring poured several back vintages, and talked about how best to grow, make, age and drink Germany’s signature variety. Noted: Cave Spring’s Indian Summer Riesling pleasingly unctuous texture and lime marmalade flavours well-served by fois gras first course. Highlight? Tasting the 2007, 2008 and the exciting 2009 with seared duck breast on beet puree, a delicious study in balance, texture and flavour.

washington state is another new world home to riesling particularly at Chateau Ste. Michelle, whose original Riesling vineyards were planted over 40 years ago. The winery now produces up to seven different wines depending on vintage. The most intriguing (to our palate at least) is Eroica, the joint venture with the Mosel’s Dr Loosen. In a word, gorgeous. Citrusy mandarin orange flavours and steely minerality in precise, yet voluptuous balance, in tune with such vibrant acidity that the question of how sweet or not becomes moot. Now, that’s a package. Drink now or cellar for several years.

Find both at Riesling Rendezous, a

gathering of important Riesling producers (including the Okanagan’s mind-blowing Tantalus) in Seattle this July, rieslingrendezvous.com.

tinhorn creek vineyards 2012 whites have just been released. The south Okanagan’s 2012 warm growing season finished with a cool fall, super-

beneficial for aromatic whites. The young Gewurztraminer vines up the hill at Tinhorn are now producing some of the grapes that were used in the 2012 — zesty, sassy, ideal with chicken satay and patios. The Pinot Gris owes its luscious texture to a bit of lees stirring and malolactic fermentation. The textured and flavourful Oldfield Series 2Bench White is primarily Chardonnay with 21 per cent Sauvignon Blanc, 17 per cent Semillon, with the small but mighty proportion of Viognier and Muscat contributing the opulent floral aromas. The 2Bench Rose (Cabernet Franc and Syrah) had about four hours skin contact creating a ruddy pink colour and more robust flavours. Drink the Rose

and Gewurz right now, while the Pinot Gris and 2Bench White benefit from a bit of time in the cellar (or closet).

a new fave bubble for spring: gremillet brut, made by a small house (by Champagne standards, about 30,000 cases) based near Ricey in the south end of the region. Made primarily

from Pinot Noir, in a full-bodied, muscular style — Krug-ish you might say. Delicious you will say. From its tiny perfect mousse to the long and rich aftertaste, Gremillet Brut delivers. Try the Gremillet Rose with its fresh strawberry shortcake flavours, ideal for sipping (glug glug) at long and lazy summer brunches.

big win for quails’ gate: The 2010 Stewart Family Reserve Chardonnay bagged a gold, and the 2011 Quails’ Gate Chardonnay a silver medal at France’s prestigious Chardonnay du Monde competition in March. After

four days of judging close to 900 wines from 42 countries, medals were awarded to about one third of the wines entered. Chardonnay du Monde was established in 1997 to identify and celebrate the best chardonnays in the world. For the complete list of winners, visit chardonnay-du-monde.com.

Crestwood’s Juanita Roos with Taittinger’s

Mikael Falkman at the Pacific Wine and Spirits

road show. Inset: Maria Alvear of Bodegas Alvear.

pacific wine & spirits held their annual producer road show recently. The lines of eager tasters at Glenfarclas and the Port table (Croft, Taylor and Fonseca) were too long to contemplate, so refreshed with delicious Cuvee Catherine Rose from Henry of Pelham. Loved the reds from Spain: Palacio Quemado (Bodegas Alvear) and Jean Leon (Torres); could not resist the opportunity to taste Taittinger Comtes de Champagne 2002. If this wine were human, it would be Audrey Hepburn, ineffably elegant, yet with soul.

friendly and laid-back black hills winemaker grahamPierce was in Edmonton to introduce the new releases of Black Hills and the second label Cellar Hand. It’s the first vintage of Cellar Hand Free Run white, a blend of Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, Viognier and Chardonnay, with fresh bright


wine maven

event calendarthursday, may 2Stoneleigh Event, Wine and Beyond Emerald Hills, wineandbeyond.ca

friday, may 3Wine and Beyond Windermere wineandbeyond.ca

wednesday, may 8Wine and Beyond Emerald Hills wineandbeyond.ca

thursday, may 9

Exploring Grapes with Sasha McCauley, Wine and Beyond Windermere, wineandbeyond.ca

thursday, may 9The Accidental Sommelier Unwined, 780-458-4777

saturday may 11

The Scotch Malt Whisky Society Tasting Fundraiser, Happy Harbor Comics, 780-452-8211

tuesday, may 14

Pinks & Whites, Aligra Wine & Spirits, aligrawineandspirits.com

tuesday, may 14

Taste of France: Loire, Crestwood Fine Wines, 780-488-7800

thursday, may 16

A Taste of Argentina tixonthesquare.ca

friday, may 17

Cookies and Beer: The Pairings Edition, cookiesandbeer.kinterra.org

tuesday, may 21

Perfect Pacific Pinot Party, Crestwood Fine Wines, 780-488-7800

thursday, may 23

Robert Mondavi with Robert Ghezza

Wine and Beyond Emerald Hills,

wineandbeyond.ca

friday, may 24 Robert Mondavi with Robert Ghezza

Wine and Beyond Windermere,

wineandbeyond.ca

saturday, may 25

Spring Fling Fine Wines by Liquor

Select, 780-481-6868

wednesday, may 29

Taste of Spain Wine and Beyond

Emerald Hills, wineandbeyond.ca

thursday, may 30

Taste of Spain, Wine and Beyond

Windermere, wineandbeyond.ca

saturday, june 8Concordia Lobster Fest,

onlineservices.concordia.ab.ca/

ops_new/lobsterfest/form.php

monday, june 10

Indulgence, a Canadian epic of

food and wine, Junior League of

Edmonton, indulgenceedmonton.ca

tuesday, june 11

Taste of France: The South of

France, Crestwood Fine Wines, 780-

488-7800

tuesday, june 18

Gin Yummy, Aligra Wine & Spirits,

aligrawineandspirits.com

aromatics and a fairly lean character. The Punch Down Red is a happy blend of predominantly Syrah with Merlot and Cab Sauv — lots of juicy, clovey, red berry, black pepper action with soft tannins providing some structure —ready for duty by the barbecue. Alibi, as usual, doesn’t disappoint. The Sauv Blanc/Semillon blend possesses a fragrant grapefruity/lime/passion fruit nose with flavours to suit. Ageable, if there’s any left after guzzling all summer long.

bodied with a buttered potato character; perfect with beer-can chicken according to Duckhorn rep and sommelier Stacey Jo Strombecky.

What about the ducks on every

label? All native to the Pacific flyway.

Find these wines at Crestwood, Liquor Select, Unwined, The Wine Cellar, Keg & Cork, Wine and Beyond and other better wine shops. Not all wine at all stores.

Graham Pierce, Black Hills

duckhorn vineyards is the iconic napa merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon house

— but it’s not only that. Their Golden Eye Winery produces premium elegant and long-lived Pinot Noir from the Anderson Valley near the Pacific Ocean. They also make a series of good everyday wines called Decoy

from Sonoma, Chardonny, Sauvignon Blanc, Zinfandel and Merlot plus a Napa Cab, under screw cap no less. The Sauv Blanc tasted at lunch was suitably grassy and crisp with Canteen’s polenta fries. The newish Migration label is a departure for Duckhorn, whose wines are very much about a specific region or vineyard expression. Migration explores cool-climate Pinot and Chard from several different California regions. The current vintage of Chardonnay exhibits

creamy peach and subtle tropical aromas, and is medium-


A (not so) Innocent in OzRichard Harvey

I had come to Australia with a group of Masters of Wine, Master

Sommeliers and other illuminati of the wine world, organized by

Tim Wildman MW.

We had just finished a bang-up meal at Langmeil Winery, with

lashings of roast meat to cozy up to the succulent Barossa reds in

our glasses when this idea was first proposed. I must have looked

confused until someone informed me that I was going to learn a

traditional form of Barossa Valley nine-pin bowling, rather than

work on a unique form of muscle control.

Freedom 1843 Vineyard possibly the world’s oldest Shiraz.Photo courtesy Langmeil Winery.

It was when someone suggested we were on our way to learn kegeling that things started to get weird.


Perfec tly placedin the

South Okanagan

www.tinhorn.com

Perfectly placed on rich South Okanagan farmland, Tinhorn Creek overlooks the old gold mining creek that is the winery’s namesake. We are environmental stewards of 150 acres of vineyards: “Diamondback” on the Black Sage Bench, and “Tinhorn Creek” on the Golden Mile Bench. Both provide us with the fruit to craft the superb, terroir driven wine that we’re known for. Our top tier Oldfield Series represents the finest of each vintage.

Australia was all new to me. No, not the accents nor the wines, both of which have been part of my decades-long wine career. But, to truly know this country’s wine culture, I needed to get my boots into an Aussie vineyard or two, so here I was to get my Blunnies dusty. In addition to rummaging around in the dirt, and like the need to smell the lavender of Provence, and the cypress trees of Tuscany, now was the moment to wake up and smell the eucalyptus. Like my discoveries of the rich and broad range of European wines by virtue of much time spent there, I knew that there were many discoveries to be made while in the country. Here are a few lessons learned.

As far as grape varieties go, Shiraz is of course the well-known and respected ambassador of Australia. But what of the diversity of lesser-seen grape varieties, like Grenache? What about grapes that have flourished here for centuries but are rarely seen on a label, such as Touriga and Tempranillo, Mataro and Meunier? Some of these vine plants are now well over a century old, and their production would often disappear into a blend rather than be featured in a single varietal wine — shame.

Remember, all of our favourite wine grapes come from European plant stock (some with the great Sir James Busby who brought a wealth of vine cuttings to Australia in 1832) — the grapevine species known as vitis vinifera is not native to Australia.

There are mystery grapes such as those found in the Best’s Winery’s Nursery Block vineyard. Some of these unidentified vine varieties may well have become extinct in their European homelands, so the only surviving stock is in Australia. No one is sure. Simply, the wealth of classic and heirloom grape varieties to be found here is immense.

Another observation: a shift in wine styles. Yes, there are still many in the rock’em, sock’em sledgehammer style, hyper-concentrated, oaky, jammy, over-the-top rich, alcoholic and low-acid wines that beg to be

consumed by the spoonful rather than the mouthful. These sunshine-in-a-glass wines have their place, but are not the only expression of Australian grapes.

A younger generation of winemakers is pushing the envelope with fresh, flavourful, even delicate, abundantly characterful wines that don’t make you feel as if you’ve been clubbed over the head by a cricket bat. Some of the men and women who are changing the face of Shiraz and Chardonnay are working in small, cramped workshop-sized wineries, with old equipment and techniques — so different compared to the technically perfect, modern, well-equipped big-scale wineries that dominate the export market.

There seems to be a great move to “lighten up, Australia!” and better expression of regional differences due to different climates.

An extreme example of lightening up; low-alcohol, fizzy, sweet Moscato wines. This style is all the rage in Oz. Though I did not observe a raft of hulking Aussie rugbymen quaffing pints of this style of wine, it is possible to find some examples on tap in restaurants and bars, where you can watch the Melbourne happy hour hipsters tippling contentedly.

I discovered so many other things as well. That if you pooch (sort of a gutter-ball) in kegeling, you have to shoot a small glass of tawny. That the rotund wombat poos in little dice-shaped units. That I love Farmer’s Union Strong Iced Coffee because it outsells Coca-Cola in South Australia (and it tastes better than the Nescafe in the rural motels I stayed in). That Australia has a beautiful, complex, individual human-scale wine industry that defies the bouncy kangaroo/koala/platypus huckster pitch of wine as a brand.

What did I learn in Australia? Keep learning, keep travelling, keep it real.

Wine merchant Richard Harvey (a miserable kegel player, although he only pooched once) has a new appreciation of the folk who feel that the French hate them. (They don't).


That said, the most popular Sandstone bottle is a 100 per cent Touriga, the “VII.” Each is numbered because they don’t intend on duplicating their labels, but this one’s worth repeating. From sip to swallow it changes character, from spicy and tannic to earthy.

Pullum said he wants to make wines that challenge you with elements that show up and disappear; “a wine you spend time with.” But, the fact remains that Texans have a taste for sweet wines. As one Messina Hof bartender told me, “they go good with barbecue and Mexican food — so they go with our diet.”

Back in San Antonio, home of the Alamo, I find both dietary staples in one spot at Garcia’s Mexican Food “home of the barbecue brisket taco.” Since 2005, when third generation co-owner Andy Garcia started practising for barbecue competitions at the 50-year-old diner, Garcia’s started sparking up the live oak-burning smoker on weekends. The light guacamole pairs beautifully with his lemony and juicy dry-rubbed brisket, but the real magic is the ribs. Subtly sweet from the apple juice spray that cools, it’s smoked for half-a-day until it develops a chewy bark that’s even more delicious than the moist centre.

For the traditional Texas barbecue — the one on Wonderbread and where a request for condiments earns you furrowed brows — I went to a little red shack on the city’s south side where the first thing I see is a handwritten cardboard sign: Kool-aid Cups 50 Cents. But the locals swear by Jones BBQ House and the late Floyd Jones 30-year-old recipes. It made sense once I chomped into the signature beef sausage, with its gentle spices and heavier smoke from the more prominent mesquite wood. At $3.50, it’s a steal. So I dropped a few extra bills in the jar labelled “Tiara’s College Fund.”

After that, it was off to the Hotel Havana for a Latin-inspired cocktail in its glass-enclosed Cuban restaurant overlooking

texasContinued from page 18

radishesContinued from page 9

to a boil in salted water. Turn the heat down to simmer and cook until potatoes are just tender. Remove from heat and reserve. Halve just before you assemble the salad.

While the potatoes are boiling, wash and dry the sorrel. Place in the refrigerator in a clean towel to keep crisp, and make the dressing:

mustard butter dressing

1 piece blade mace (or ¼ t nutmeg)

½ clove garlic

3-4 black peppercorns

1½ T white wine

½ T white wine vinegar

½ c unsalted butter

1 t Dijon mustard

Put all the ingredients but the butter in a small pan and reduce by about half over low-medium heat. Fish out garlic clove and mace piece if using. Whisk in about ½ the butter, keeping the pan warm. When all the butter has been incorporated, whisk in the remaining. Stir in the mustard, taste and season.

Drain the potatoes and when cool enough to handle (but still warm), cut in half and arrange on a platter with the radishes and radish leaves, if using. Shred sorrel leaves and scatter on the potatoes. Spoon the warm mustard butter over. Serve immediately.

the San Antonio Riverwalk. The urbane trail leading to restaurants, malls and Spanish missions would probably make Edmonton’s river valley appear as the New World did to Columbus, but more importantly it revealed yet another flavour in this small pocket of Texas. In just a day it has changed characters three times like a complex wine. I heard Pullum’s words come back to me — this is a place you spend time with.

Edmonton Public Library writer-in-residence Omar Mouallem will never mispronounce “pecan” after his Texas travels. It is, for the record, pronounced "pi-kahn."

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A beautiful room that has an old Italian

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rhubarb fillingWhile biscuits bake, cook rhubarb with sugar and butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until fruit is very tender and falling apart, about 10 minutes.

Whisk together sherry and cornstarch, then add to rhubarb mixture. Simmer, stirring, until mixture is slightly thickened, 1 to 2 minutes.

Split biscuits, top the bottom half with rhubarb mixture and a dollop of whipped cream, then place other half on top.

Makes 6 shortcakes.

indian-spiced rhubarb pavlova The exotic flavours of cardamom and star anise partner beautifully with rhubarb.

6-8 stalks rhubarb, trimmed and cut into 2 inch pieces on an angle

juice of one large orange (approx. 1 c)

¼ c honey

½ t salt

8 pods green cardamom

2 star anise

1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise, seeds scraped and reserved

1 knob (about 1½ inch) ginger, peeled and thickly sliced crosswise

Heat oven to 400°F.

Mix all ingredients together in 9x13 inch baking dish. Bake, stirring occasionally, until rhubarb is tender, 14-16 minutes. Reserve.

meringue2 large egg whites, room temperature

8 T sugar, divided

¾ t cornstarch

¼ t white balsamic vinegar

1/8 t orange-flower water* (if you have)

Position rack in centre of oven and preheat to 275°F. Line large baking sheet with parchment paper. Using cookie cutter or glass as aid, trace six 2½-inch circles on parchment, spacing 2 to 3 inches apart; turn parchment over.

rhubarbContinued from page 25

The BuTler DiD iT

780.455.5228 | [email protected]

Beautiful Partiesc a T e r e D h e r e .

Using electric mixer, beat egg whites in large bowl until soft peaks begin to form. With mixer running, gradually add 6 tablespoons sugar. Whisk 2 tablespoons sugar and cornstarch in small bowl. With mixer running, gradually beat sugar-cornstarch mixture into meringue. Continue beating meringue until stiff glossy peaks form. Beat in vinegar and orange-flower water. Divide meringue among parchment paper circles, spreading to fill completely (meringues will be about 1½ inches high). Using back of spoon, form slight depression in the centre of each.

Bake meringues until beige and dry to touch, about 20 minutes. Turn off oven and prop door open slightly with wooden spoon. Let meringues cool in oven until completely dry, about 1 hour. Transfer to rack to cool completely. Can be made the day ahead. Store airtight at room temperature.

To serve pavlova: place one meringue on each of six plates. Top with rhubarb mixture and serve with whipped cream if desired.

Serves 6-8.

* Orange-flower water can be found at the Italian Centre Shops amd Middle Eastern markets.

rhubarb syrup

10-12 stalks rhubarb (about 3 to 4 pounds) trimmed and cut into ½-inch pieces

1 pod vanilla, split lengthwise

8-10 c water

Place rhubarb in a large (6- to 8-quart) pot and add cold water to cover. Bring to a boil, immediately reduce the heat to a low simmer and cover, stirring occasionally. When all the chunks have broken down into a uniform mush, about 20 minutes, remove from heat. Cool. When cool enough to handle, ladle into a fine-mesh strainer positioned over a sturdy bowl. Stir while draining, pressing down on the solids to get most of the liquid out. Once drained, put the pulp and the syrup into separate containers. If not using right away the pulp can be frozen in 1 cup containers and used for muffins and cobblers. Syrup will keep for a week refrigerated.

Makes 2 liters of syrup and approximately 1 kg pulp.


kitchen sink | what’s new and notable

restaurant buzz Get yourself down to The Cavern (10169 104 Street, 780-455-1336, thecavern.ca) pronto. The focus is cheese, really good cheese, including the local trio Sylvan Star, The Cheesiry, and Smoky Valley Chevre, along with pastry, sandwiches, espresso and wine (glass pours from a 16 bottle Enovin — how civilized). It’s also our newest fave spot for breakfast, opening at 7am Monday to Saturday; and closing at 8pm Monday to Thursday, and 11pm on Friday and Saturday nights. Cinq a Sept (the cocktail hour) from 5-7pm Monday - Friday. Closed Sundays.

More 104 street news: expect The Burg, a burger joint in the former home of Ric’s Grill opening sometime in June. Let’s hope burgers is the secret to longevity at that location.

Enjoy a four-course Mother’s Day Brunch at Madison’s (10053 Jasper Avenue, 780-401-2222, unionbankinn.com) with seatings available at 10:30am and 12:30pm Sunday, May 12. Cost is $39/person. Call 780-401-2222 to reserve.

It’s Mother’s Day Italian-style at Sorrentino’s Festa della Mamma, Sunday, May 12. Book Mother’s Day dinner at any location, and Sunday brunch at both the Downtown Sorrentino’s and St. Albert restaurants and Bistecca Italian Steakhouse. Visit sorrentinos.com for all the details.

Smokehouse BBQ (10810 124 Street, 587-521-6328, smokehousebbq.ca) has come roaring back after the devastating fire late last year with a new chef, Steven Koch, and a new menu. Highlights: buttermilk-brined smoked chicken wings, hand-cut rib tips, pig balls (risotto balls with pulled pork — essentially barbecue shack-style arancini), along with a selection of craft beers and southern-style cocktails. Can’t wait to dive in!

Where to eat on Thursday nights? Culina Muttart’s Thursday Night Prix-Fixe regionally inspired dinners are delicious and a good deal to boot. Check out the weekly menus at culinafamily.com and get ready for a delish treat.

Enjoy a special childrens’ menu at Cally’s Teas (10151 82 Avenue, 780-757-8944) during Alice the Camel Afternoon Tea,

Thursdays from 1pm - 5pm. Choose from mini scones with jam and cream, finger sandwiches with strawberry cream or cucumber mint filling; fruit tea or lemonade; special cookies, fruit, and in the summer, Laurel's homemade ice cream. Prices range from $6-$15/child. Reservations required. Talk to the staff if you desire a custom theme such as dinosaurs, or Alice in Wonderland.

Expressionz Café, Market & Meeting Place (9938 70 Avenue, 780-437-3667, expressionzcafe.com) has over 6,000 square feet available for performances, workshops and meetings. The café offers a wide variety of made from-scratch soups, salads, sandwiches and desserts including gluten-free and vegetarian selections. Café hours are Tuesday to Friday 9am-5pm, Saturday 11am-5pm and Thursday night dinner until 9pm. Check it out!

May 8 is the night to enjoy garlic festival dishes at all Sorrentino’s locations and Bistecca Italian Steakhouse and Wine Bar. It’s a big garlic night and five per cent of the evening's total food sales are donated to Sorrentino’s Compassion House. Enjoy music, food, fun, and chances to win a $1000 gift basket. Don't miss out! Make your reservation today; visit sorrentinos.com

Culina Mill Creek (9914 89 Avenue, 780-437-5588, culinafamily.ca) is open for lunch. YAY! It’s hard to beat a lovely lunch indoors or on their shady patio in quiet Mill Creek. Along with several new offerings from chef de cuisine Christine Sandford, the ever-popular grilled ham‘n’cheese on raisin bread, the steak sandwich, wild salmon with goats cheese and almond sauce, the veggie sandwich, and the popular orange-ginger dressed house salad will be back to enjoy. Lunch, Tuesday thru Friday,11am-2pm, dinner Tuesday to Saturday 5pm-10pm, and Saturday/Sunday brunch 10am-2pm.

wine tastings happenings and events Wine and Beyond (wineandbeyond.ca) Tastings: Stoneleigh Event, May 2 Emerald Hills, May 3 Windermere; Exploring Grapes with Sasha McCauley, May 8 Emerald Hills, May 9 Windermere;

Robert Mondavi with Robert Ghezza May 23 Emerald Hills, May 24 Windermere; Taste of Spain, May 29 Emerald Hills May 30 Windermere.

Tastings at Unwined (#2 512 St. Albert Trail St. Albert, 780-458-4777, unwined.biz): Accidental Sommelier, May 9; Days of Wine and Proses Book Club with Laurie Greenwood will meet in May and June. Check with the store for confirmed dates. Unwined has started a wedding/gift registry — call Bill to register, 780-458-4777.

Don’t miss the third annual Concordia Lobster Fest, on June 8, from 4-8pm — steak and lobster served under a big tent on the Concordia grounds. It’s a fun, casual event featuring the modern Celtic sounds of Cod Gone Wild. Purchase of an additional activity pass allows the holder to take part in the reverse draw for cool stuff, and spin to win prizes such as a $4000 BMW mountain bike. All funds raised support student awards and bursaries. Tickets: onlineservices.concordia.ab.ca/ops_new/lobsterfest

Enjoy Fine Wines by Liquor Select (8924 149 Street, 780-481-6868) annual Spring Fling, Saturday, May 25 from 2-5pm. Sample over 50 wines, beers and spirits, absolutely free!

Crestwood Fine Wines & Spirits (9658 142 Street, 780-488-7800 crestwoodfinewines.com) tasting lineup: May 14, Taste of France: Loire; May 21, Perfect Pacific Pinot Party, hosted by certified sommelier, Stacey-Jo Strombecky; June 11, Taste of France: The South of France. Tastings start at 7pm, $30/person prepaid. Tickets: 780-488-7800.

Spring tastings at Aligra Wine & Spirits, May 14, Pinks & Whites, $25/ person; June 18, Gin Yummy, $42/person. Visit aligrawineandspirits.com to register.

Don’t miss Cookies and Beer; the pairings edition, 6pm, Friday, May 17 at the Edmonton Petroleum Club, featuring Cookie Love cookies, Alley Kat Beer, Pinocchio Ice Cream, Rock Ridge Milk, local music and décor by Elegant Touches, with proceeds to the Ronald McDonald House. Enjoy savoury dishes by the Edmonton Petroleum Club kitchen team, cookies and beer pairings, beer floats, mini ice-cream sandwiches made with beer ice


kitchen sink | what’s new and notable

cream, beer pong, milk shots and prizes. Only 200 tickets available, $50, visit cookiesandbeer.kintera.org to purchase.

product news The Pan Tree (220 Lakeland Drive, Sherwood Park, 780-464-4631, thepantree.ca.) now stocks excellent products from Gold Forest Grains such as golden flax, spelt flour, steel-cut oats, pancake mix, and Sturgeon River cereal. Prices range from $8-$10. Also new: On Our Table charcuterie and butcher boards, made from solid walnut, ranging in size and price from $150-$280. The wonderful Savon de Marseille liquid hand soap (300mL with pump and one litre refills) is available in unscented and grapefruit aromas, $20-$30. Check out the vintage door knob wine stoppers called, naturally, Knob Stoppers, from $21-$33, and the useful Charles Viancin silicone lids which create an air- and water- tight seal around any smooth-rimmed container, in five sizes, from $12-$27.

The Downtown City Market moves back to 104 Street on May 18. Expect a slightly different configuration due to the construction of Fox Towers. Visit city-market.ca or the market’s facebook page for the latest vendor info.

Shopping the Downtown City Market on 104 Street? Stop by Kitchen by Brad Smoliak (#101, 10130 105 Street, kitchenbybrad.ca), 10am - 4pm every Saturday from opening day May 18 until October. Pick up Brad’s delicious Bacon Jam, his signature BBQ Rub (perfect for your Irving’s Pork or Medicine Man Bison) and vinaigrettes for tossing with your market veggies. The selection includes several products from other good cooks and purveyors. And, if you’re lucky, there’ll be a cooking demo or tasting happening the day you stop in.

The Callingwood Farmers’ Market (The Marketplace at Callingwood, 6655 178 Street) opens Sunday, May 5 from 10am-3pm with over 100 vendors featuring homegrown, homemade and handcrafted products. Opening day has live music and a petting zoo, bouncy castle, face painting and balloon artist for the kids.

Love your mama but have no time to cook? Sunterra Market offers a four-course Mother’s Day feast featuring either chicken with morel mushrooms and thyme, or roasted halibut with chimichurri and jasmine rice pilaf. May 11, 12, $22/person. Visit sunterramarket.com to book.

We are loving Culina Emporium fine food sundries such as spicy tomato chutney, Stephanie’s granola, pecan pralines, coconut peanut sauce, and the Mighty Trio House Dressing, along with Jam Lady preserves, locally roasted Iconoclast coffee, and Peter Johner’s Swiss chocolates and truffles. Available at the Muttart Café (9626 96A Street, 780-466-1181). Monday to Friday, 11am-2pm; Saturday and Sunday brunch, 10:30am-2:30pm; and dinner Thursday nights, 5-8:30pm.

Cococo’s (cococochocolatiers.com) new award-winning Rosemary Fusion bar is a trip, intense rosemary and thyme flavours coupled with habanero’s heat and a surprising hit of crunchy sea salt, gentled by dreamy-rich, high-quality milk chocolate. Pairing with savoury flavours — charcuterie, parma ham, aged cheeses, even olives. Or, nibble away, square by square — this is a bar for chocolate lovers.

Bella Casa (9646 142 Street, 780-437-4190, bellacasadcl.com) stocks the new Le Creuset Heritage Collection in fennel, soleil, cherry and Marseille colours. Prices range from $85-$150 for pieces that last a lifetime and look good just as long. Le Creuset’s impermeable enamel finish is fired at temps as high as 1200ºc making

Please see “Kitchen Sink” next page.

it impervious to daily use and virtually non-stick. It’s safe for temperatures from -53ºc to 260ºc, making it truly freezer-to-oven-to-table and is microwave and dishwasher friendly.

Amaranth Whole Foods Market (Enjoy Centre, 101 Riel Drive, St. Albert, 780-651-7367) stocks many delicious locally produced, gluten free, organic and vegetarian goodies: Rock Ridge Dairy organic milk from the Bos family in Ponoka County, two L size, $6.39-$6.69; Pukka Teas, ayurvedic herbal teas from the UK in assorted flavours,

$7; the tasty (and highly addictive) Hippie Coconut Chips, all-natural, toasted and lightly-seasoned coconut chips, 56 g bag/$5.49; and, from St Albert, La Crema Cafe gluten-free, ready-to-eat savouries and desserts as well as a gluten-free flour mix and granola. To drink with the chips: Dry Soda refreshingly sweet and gently carbonated, in lavender, vanilla bean, cucumber, rhubarb, 355 mL, $2.19.


gastronomic adventures, wine tours and cooking classes Always wanted to take a river cruise? We do, every time we see the TV ad for Viking River Cruises right before an episode of Downton Abbey. There is an early-booking promotion available until May 5 for the Aligra Wine & Spirits Bordeaux cruise (October 2014 departure). With a $500 deposit, airfare credits and two for one prices starting at $2330/person are available. Early bird gets to drink more Bordeaux. Call Uniglobe Geo Travel 780-424-8310. Visit aligrawineandspirits.com for details.

Enjoy the flavours of Chicago, both edible and cultural, during A Taste of Chicago. Discover the culinary delights of the Gold Coast and Old Town on a three-hour walking tour and celebrate a night out with a sunset dinner cruise. From $909 per person, based on two people sharing. Call AMA Travel, 1-866-667-4777 or AMATravel.ca.

Seasoned Solution’s Smoky Lake Culinary Tour (June 15-16) includes dinner, wine tastings and a visit to Smoky Valley Goat Cheese and Serben Farms. Visit seasonedsolutions.ca to book.

Pete Blattman’s Culinary & Wine Tour of Alsace-Germany-Austria leaves October 5 for Roman monuments in Trier, Germany's oldest city; cooking classes in historic restaurants; and wine tastings at Hugel in Alsace, Germany’s Prum, and Gobelsburg in Austria. Indulge in the pastries, concerts and operas of Vienna. Visit gourmet-experience.com for all the details.

Enjoy a Seasoned Solutions Market Fresh Loft Cooking Class May 25, June 8 and June 22. Visit seasonedsolutions.ca to book. Gail Hall has added a second Seasoned Solutions Culinary Tour of Portugal, October 18 to 29. Call 780-437-0761 for more information.

Become a grill-master at the Outdoor Kitchen: Patio Entertaining class, Sunterra Market (Commerce Place, 201 10150 Jasper Avenue), June 25, 6:30pm, $50/person Each class includes cocktails, take home recipes, tastings and a buffet-style meal. For the full Sunterra cooking class calendar, visit sunterramarket.com.

Upcoming cooking classes at The Pan Tree (220 Lakeland Drive, Sherwood Park, 780-464-4631) Nutrition for New Moms with Bianca Osbourne, Thursday, May 9, from 6-8pm, and Pasta-making with Richard Toll, Thursday, May 23, from 6-8pm. Register at thepantree.ca.

Send new and/or interesting food and drink related news for The Kitchen Sink to thetomato.ca.

kitchen sinkContinued from page 33

Fine Wines by Liquor SelectFine Wines | Exceptional Staff | Private Tasting Room

Join us for weekly tastings, private events and corporate functions in our private tasting room — equipped with LCD projector and screen.

8924 149 Street | 780.481.6868 | liquorselect.com | [email protected]

Southside • 5482 Calgary Trail • 780.761.17612ND LOCATION DOWNTOWN! 10124 – 124 Street • 780.760.8060

www.thebothy.ca

• Edmonton’s best selection of whisky • Unique Cheeses & Charcuterie• Full lunch and dinner menu • Private functions

A quick leaf through the new ATCO Blue Flame Kitchen Everyday Delicious cookbook cures the what-shall I-make-for-dinner-tonight blues with its emphasis on tasty yet not wildly ambitious recipes, such as panko-topped mac and cheese or pork lettuce wraps. The ATCO Blue Flame cookbooks have got to be the best deal on the planet, $15 each, in a large, easy to use coil-bound format with good-looking photography.

Available toll-free at the cookbook order line: 1-800-840-3393, online atcoblueflamekitchen.com, as well as Chapters, Safeway and Save-on-Foods.

The EntertainerUsing a time-honoured recipe, we handcraft our Turkish Bread from scratch every day. It ’s a labour of love taking up to 24 hours to develop and resulting in a full-flavoured rustic loaf with a golden crust and a light and airy texture. Our Turkish Bread is perfect for entertaining, simply cut or tear and serve with your favourite dip.

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10030 Jasper Avenue | 587-520-8841

Why not? I was thinking about how rhubarb could bring new dimension to a cocktail — how its refreshingly sour lemon/lime/red currant flavour complements so many others — tamarind, mint, orange, cardamom, star anise.

Yet, how to tame the pucker factor without loading up on the sugar? What would a professional cocktailissimo do with this quirky stalk? A lot, evidently. Andrew Borley of the Volstead Act and the soon-to-be-opened Woodwork fashioned a sultry coupe by partnering rhubarb with tequila, Lillet, and amaro. Head convivialist Tarquin Melnyk (now practising his unique joie de cocktail in Calgary) takes the classic Dark’n’Stormy as his inspiration; Jordan Watson, barman at the Mac’s Confederation Lounge remodels the Pimm’s Cup; and, we couldn’t say cocktail without including something from the NYTimes’ Rosie Schapp. Enjoy the tartest, tangiest flavour of the season.

garden ruinAndrew Borley, bar director, co-owner, Woodwork

1.5 oz Blanco Tequila

.75 oz Rhubarb infused Lillet Blanc*

.25 oz Zucca Italian Rabarbaro Amaro**

garnish lemon zest

Combine ingredients and stir over ice, strain into a chilled cocktail coupe. Garnish with a lemon twist.

* Rhubarb Infused Lillet Blanc: combine 750ml Lillet Blanc with 1 cup chopped rhubarb for 24 hours. Strain and discard rhubarb.

** Zucca is a rhubarb-infused bitter liqueur. An Italian amaro such as Ramazotti may be substituted if you are unable to find Zucca.

rhubarb pimm’s cup “Pimm’s Cup a very popular drink among the English, made with Pimm's Cup No. 1 — a gin-based infusion of herbs and quinine. Pimm's cups, in my opinion, are a lot like a Bloody Mary, you can dress them up or down as much as you like and they are always pretty tasty, almost like a cocktail salad.” — Jordan Watson, Confederation Lounge, Hotel Macdonald

2 oz Pimm's Cup No. 1

1 oz rhubarb ginger syrup

In a tall glass, add all ingredients over ice. Stir, then top with ginger ale, soda, lemonade or sparkling wine.

rhubarb ginger syrupAdapted from Scarborough Food Fair blog.

6-8 stalks rhubarb (about 1 lb) cut into ½ inch pieces

2 t grated fresh ginger

½ c water

¼ c sugar

1 vanilla bean (or 2 t vanilla extract)

honey (optional)

Bring rhubarb, ginger and water to a boil. Add sugar and vanilla bean seeds and cook for 5-7 minutes until thickened and somewhat stringy. Taste. If too tart, add honey.

Remove from heat and push mixture through a fine mesh strainer to separate solids from the syrup. Makes about 1 cup syrup. Use the pulp for muffins or discard.

drink | mary bailey

Rhubarb in cocktails?


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the prairie shipwreck “The drink can either be served as a mulled punch (taken from the Hindi word paunch, meaning five, represented by the five ingredients in a classic punch-style cocktail) in a fancy tea-cup, or shaken in a cocktail shaker and served up (no ice) in a chilled coupe.” — Tarquin Melnyk, dedicated convivialist and winner of the 2013 Alberta CPBA cocktail challenge

2 parts Goslings Black Seal Rum

1 part fresh-pressed rhubarb juice (rhubarb needs to be lightly steamed and diced before juicing, as it is extremely fibrous)

1 part fresh-pressed lime juice (juice, then fine strain with a tea strainer)

1 part cinnamon demerara syrup (boil 1:1 measure of demerara sugar and water, add 1 stick of cinnamon per cup to extract oils and flavour. When the sugar is diluted, bring to room temperature and store in the fridge)

Add 8 heavy dashes of Angostura bitters per serving. (Fear not, Angostura is not too bitter. This will add the Caribbean spice flavours to finish the seasoning of this cocktail. Angostura is easily obtained from Safeway.)

Garnish: mist of lemon oil from zest, as a top note, over finished drink and then add a whole star anise to float on top.

the dory greenRosie Schapp, New York Times.

2.5 oz. Canadian Club or Crown Royal whiskey

.5 oz. dry vermouth

scant t Canadian Grade B maple syrup

2 dashes Brooklyn Hemispherical Rhubarb Bitters*

seltzer (soda water)

drink | mary bailey

To a mixing glass, add ice and all ingredients except seltzer. Shake like mad and pour into srocks glass or small tumbler, leaving room for a good shpritz of seltzer to top it up.

* Fee Brothers rhubarb bitters are available at Wild Earth Grocery and the south side Italian Centre Shop.

st. tropez rhubarb cocktailFood & Wine, Romee de Goriainoff

1 small rhubarb stalk, smashed, plus 1 or 2 strips of rhubarb stalk for garnish

Ice

11/3 oz. Cognac2/3 oz. Nardini Amaro

2 oz. chilled Champagne

Gently rub the inside of a chilled red wine glass with the smashed rhubarb stalk and discard. Add ice, Cognac and amaro, then gently stir in the Champagne. Garnish with the strips of rhubarb stalk.

strawberry rhubarb smashLittle Giant Restaurant, NYC

1 strawberry, washed and hulled

1 oz. rhubarb syrup (see Rhubarb Season recipes)

1½ oz. bourbon

3 wedges lemon

3-4 leaves mint

sprig of mint for garnish

1 strawberry for garnish

Muddle lemon, mint, strawberries and rhubarb syrup in the bottom of a mixing glass. Add ice and bourbon. Shake and strain into a highball glass filled with ice. Garnish with a sprig of mint and a strawberry. Shake and strain into a highball glass filled with ice. Garnish with a sprig of mint and a strawberry.


according to judy | judy schultz

Some travellers bring back cuckoo clocks or big Mexican sombreros. For me, it’s cookbooks.

The trouble is, books weigh a lot. And these days, the friendly skies aren’t so friendly about overweight bags.

Every fall, we pack up and move to a sandbar in the Tasman Sea, taking along cookbooks I can’t live without. In the spring, we come back to Alberta lugging a fresh pile of cookbooks.

I’m haunted by the perils of overweight luggage.

I’ve tried mailing. Postage from Auckland to Edmonton, for two featherweight paperbacks, was $26. Mailed in December, they arrived in March.

Still, food books are my souvenir of choice. Some of my favourites were run off on backstreet presses in Shanghai or Hanoi. Who could resist a book that explains in fractured English how eating a certain melon will cure warts, opium addiction and hair loss, tame rebellious chi (vital life force), and also make delicious soup?

In New Zealand and Australia, where food is the new religion, publishers turn out cookbooks at approximately the speed of light. Temptation is everywhere. I have zero resistance.

My current interest is Middle Eastern food. Except for dishes that involve stewing whole heads of sheep, I love the recipes and the stories surrounding them.

Three years ago, I invested heavily in three Middle Eastern cookbooks by Greg and Lucy Malouf: Saha: A Chef’s Journey through Lebanon and Syria; Turquoise, A Chef’s Travels in Turkey; and Saraban:

Have cookbooks, will travelA Chef’s Journey Through

Persia. These aren’t available in

North America, said the clerk at

Whitcoull’s. So I packed them

back, along with other weighty

tomes, only to find them in

Audrey’s Books, at lower prices.

My new cookbook hero is Annabel

Langbein, who writes and

publishes her own books in New

Zealand. At Cook the Books, my

favourite indie shop in Auckland,

they sell for around $60 each.

Langbein’s Simple Pleasures and

The Free Range Cookbook both

went into my suitcase. So did Go

Fish, Al Brown’s weighty-but-

wonderful tribute to fishing in

New Zealand, along with three

essential books on

olives. I’ll buy anything

on the culinary history

of anywhere, so A

Distant Feast, the

complete history

of food in New

Zealand, topped

off the bag.

Then I found Lunch

in Provence, by Jean-

Andre Charial. One recipe told

me to soft-cook two eggs for 30

minutes in my steam oven. True,

I don’t own a steam oven, and I

can soft-cook two eggs in three

minutes in a saucepan on a single

burner, but it’s such a beautiful

book. Also, I once ate a delicious

lunch in Charial’s south-of-France

restaurant. Then I stole the menu,

so I owe him. The book set me

back $65.

Never mind the overweight charge,

I could not leave this gorgeous

cookbook behind.

When I got home, I happened

to check Amazon.com and

guess what?

Lunch in Provence is available.

Right here. Right now. The

price is $29.

Judy’s work-in-progress, A Year in Two Kitchens, is a food diary of New Zealand and Canada, with recipes.

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The Tomato: The Wine Issue