Spooning and Forking

For most of the inaugural season of Top Chef Canada I was out of the country, so I am making an attempt to redeem myself by going to Muse Restaurant every Monday, to cheer on Executive Chef Xavier Lacaze. In addition, I have decided to write up a Xavier-focused recap of the show.  We might have 1 entry or 13, so tune into the Food Network on Monday nights at 10 EST/PST to watch and then check back to the site to read my Xavier recap. I will also speak about the experience at Muse Restaurant, one of the city’s best establishments by far. Then the next week Chef Xavier is going to put the dish he created on the show on offer at Muse, which is what I will be eating.

As the season progresses, I will be offering a few seats at my table to lucky listeners, readers and followers of Spooning & Forking, so keep your ear to the ground. The Muse team have given us a really great table for viewing and you never know who will show up … for the premiere we had local luminaries such as Dan Clapson of Dan’s Good Side, Start from Scratch, and Avenue Magazine; Wendy Peters of Yelp Calgary; Gwendolyn Richards, Food Writer for the Calgary Herald; Heather Wighton – Calgary’s Culture Ambassador, local food enthusiast and Supervisor at Rouge; Chelsea Klukacs graphic designer extraordinaire (she designed the Spooning & Forking logo – thanks again Chelsea); and Geoff Rogers, Executive Chef at Home Tasting Room. Also joining us were some local bloggers: Diane Ng, from Food Salon; Lori Andrews of The 10 Cent Designer; Sarah Ward blogger from Freckles & Ash; and Jacinthe Koddo, of Food with Presence, and Start from Scratch. All their twitter handles are listed at the bottom of this post.

Without further adieu let’s talk about Chef Xavier Lacaze and Top Chef Canada Season 2.

Chef Xavier is the only chef representing the prairies in the second season of Top Chef Canada. I can’t think of anyone better to represent the booming culinary scene of Calgary. For my radio program, Spooning & Forking, I speak with a lot of chefs in the city, and almost always Chef Xavier comes up in conversation. Lacaze is highly respected by his peers, colleagues and clients alike. Why? Because, he is that good.  He has an enormous vault of experience from which to draw when dealing with the pressure and challenges issued on the show. I’m not going to call him a ‘Dark Horse’, because I don’t think he is and he isn’t exactly in hiding, but he is definitely the crown jewel in our culinary scene.

So what happened at Muse? Well before the show got started you could feel the anticipation. There was chatter, twitching, feet tapping, and eyes darting around the room – just waiting. And then it all began: Season 2 of Top Chef Canada with a new host, Canadian actress Lisa Ray. As the 16 chefs flashed across the screen, the entire packed-to-capacity restaurant erupted in a cheer when Xavier was introduced. The episode started with all the Chef’s arriving to the patio of the Bymark restaurant in Toronto. Soon after their arrival the Chef’s were issued the first Quickfire Challenge: to re-purpose the hors d’oevres on offer with a time limit of 15 minutes. We didn’t get to see what everyone put together as there are 16 chefs and only 1 hour per episode. But, we saw a few.  Unfortunately, judge Mark Macewan said that Chef Xavier’s Quickfire Challenge dish of brie cheese & wrapped corinth grape crostini with rosemary honey had “poor presentation”. Hmpf. I’d still love to try it – can you go wrong with brie, rosemary and honey? Not in my world. The winner of the challenge was 30-year-old Sarah Tsai of Toronto. She wowed the judges with her take on oysters and pearls, which gave her immunity going into the first elimination challenge.

In the Elimination Challenge, the judges issued the task to create a dish that is representative of the beginnings of each Chef’s culinary journey. So, in Xavier’s case, although he is representing Calgary, he is originally from France. What does that mean? He put together a classic French dish of organ meats: cornmeal sweet breads, foie gras, mushroom, celeriac purée & veal jus. The judges liked it and placed him firmly in the middle of the pack. So, for my meal next Monday, sweetbreads and foie gras here I come. It’s rumored that Lacaze is a magician with sweetbreads, so I am super excited.

Unfortunately, as with these competitions, someone has to go and 30-year-old William Thompson of Caledonia, Ontario was the first casualty of Top Chef Canada Season 2.

Team Xavier is still in the running for another week!! So join the party to cheer on Chef Xavier Lacaze at Muse Restaurant & Lounge, or their other establishments: AKA Wine Bar, Wine Bar Kensington and The Brasserie.

Twitter handles: @xavierlacaze, @muserestaurant, @the_brasskens, @WinebarKensi, @ChefCamD, @TopChefCanada, @SpooningForking, @DansGoodSide, @WightonSpecial, @GwendolynMR, @YelpCalgary, @Chef_Rogers, @Chelscore, @FoodSalon, @DesignerTweets, @mssarahward, @jacinthekoddo

Hashtags: #yyctopchef #topchefcanada #goXavgo

Seedy Saturday happens this weekend at the Sunnyside-Hillhurst Community Center.

What an exciting way to get things going for Spring. I spoke with Janet Melrose of the Calgary Horticultural Society about Seedy Saturday. We also spoke extensively about heritage seeds and why it is important to preserve and propagate open-pollinated seeds.

Go to http://seedysaturdaycalgary.shawwebspace.ca/ to check out all the vendors and presenters who will be in attendance this weekend, March 17, 2012.

Tea is the biggest topic I’ve yet to tackle on Spooning and Forking.  Learning about tea is akin to learning about bread, or milk, such is its vast and enormous scope and influence and range.  You sit down to a nice cuppa in the afternoon, maybe you have a cookie with it, and you have no idea that inside that one china cup is contained the history of modern man.  Who would have thought the delicate drink was so important!

Really, the only way I could calm myself was to put the kettle on and call up Jonathan Kane, owner of The Naked Leaf tea shop in Kensington.  Jonathon is everything you want out of a tea yogi – he’s friendly, approachable and has the best laugh I’ve ever heard.  If he were to write “LOL” in a text, you would know he meant it.  He also helped break down the world of tea into small sips so I could stop being so overwhelmed and just enjoy it.

If you missed this week’s episode, download the podcast to learn many wonderful things about this wonderful drink.

As with most people this month, I’ve been bed ridden with colds that catch other colds, so I decided that maybe I should exchange coffee for tea.  Mostly because my energy levels better facilitated dropping tea leaves into a mug than measuring and grinding and pressing coffee beans.  Although I will never fully give up coffee, it was really nice sitting in bed sipping on tea.  Whether because of its unique release of caffeine (something Jonathon talks about during the episode) or just the delicate flavours, tea is definitely something to make you slow down and enjoy. I don’t know if it healed my sickness, but it certainly helped me to endure it.

For this week’s recipe, I wanted to try baking with tea leaves!  The bergamot in Earl Grey is the defining flavour in the classic tea and I thought it would taste amazing in cookies.  Martha Stewart seemed to agree.

Earl Grey Tea Cookies – adapted from Martha Stewart

(This recipe makes about 8 dozen, so I would recommend halving it unless you want Earl Grey Tea Cookies to see you through the winter, which you may)

Ingredients

A dintiguishing characteristic of being a post graduate is the ability to see alcohol as more than a means to an end.  Don’t get me wrong, many occasions and drinks still live in that category, but I think sake definitely is not one of them.  Which is interesting, because anytime I mentioned that I was working on this episode people would ineveibtaly bring up sake bombs, or reminisce about a chinese restaurant where someone would drink as a teenager thanks to liberal notions of IDing.

I’m here to set the record straight, and I think this is the perfect time to do so!  There is almost nothing quite so comforting on a very cold winters day as entering a warm house to be greeted by a hot flask of sake.  The flavour, the scent, well the warmth, all conspire to chase away the cold and get you tipsy enough to keep it at bay.  There is something so comforting about the drink you just want to savour it slowly, and the more you do so, the more you realize it’s really delicious.

On a trip to Hong Kong last summer I learned the amazing powers of refreshment the drinks offers on a hot muggy day when served over ice, but I don’t think anyone wants to hear about that right now.

So instead of a recipe this week, I’ll leave you with the suggestion to bundle up and run to your nearest liquor store, and I mean nearest I hear it’s very cold out, grab a bottle and if you don’t have anything else to use, warm it up in a little tea kettle.  Invite over anyone brave enough to leave their houses, because part of sake’s warmth is the tradition of sharing it with others.  Be warmed and happy and hopefully a convert to this lovely beverage.

If you’re interested in learning more about sake, visit Elise Gee’s website, who was our wonderful and informative guest this week.

We also spoke to Helen Wong on this week’s episode.  If you’re not inclined to prepare your own sake flask, nip into her restaurant Blowfish Sushi Lounge and you can enjoy a flask along with some miso soup!

If you missed the episode, check it out here on iTunes.

So for our Holiday Meal challenge we decided to see if we could build a traditional holiday meal, using ingredients sourced only from within a 100-mile radius of Calgary. Initially we thought, “Gosh, this could never happen in Calgary. What about cranberries? What about sage, parsley, thyme? What about cinnamon and nutmeg?”

Well, we were correct in our assumptions about the herbs and spices, however, sourcing a traditional meal using local ingredients is not as hard as we thought.

So first we need to define our “Traditional Holiday” meal. There is the classic roast turkey with stuffing, a baked ham, vegetables (carrots, potatoes, Brussels sprouts), cranberries and gingerbread. Personally, I like pie and I tried to get the recipe of the best sweet potato pie I have ever had in my life, but it is Christmas after all, and people get busy. I digress.

We pulled the recipes from Mark Bittman’s How to Cook Everything, which can be found online and at the library. And you will note that I put in the recipe for sugar cookies, because, of course, “local” ginger is hard to come by in North America.

Following the recipes are links to Community Natural Foods, Sunnyside Natural Market and Calgary Farmer’s Market. We found all of our ingredients at these three stores. If you would like to make allowances, and perhaps substitute, or incorporate, rutabagas or parsnips into your holiday meal, you can get locally produced parsnips and rutabagas from Blue Mountain in Carstairs, AB.

Here is a list of what you can get at Sunnyside Natural Market and the corresponding prices:

• Turkey – Winter’s Turkey from Dalmead, Alberta. Free Range – $3.64lb; Organic – $5.47lb.
• Butter – Vital Greens, Picture Butte, Alberta – $6.99
• Carrot – Lunds Organic Farm, Innisfail, Alberta. 2lb bag  $5.99; 5lb bag $9.99
• Bread Crumbs, Lakeview Bakery, Calgary
• Potatoes Poplar Bluff, Strathmore, Alberta. $3.95 kilo/$1.79lb
• Milk -Vital Greens, Picture Butte, Alberta. 2litre 1%, 2%, whole  $6.49 and 1 litre buttermilk $4.49; Heavy Cream from Vital Greens, $4.79 and Creme Fraiche $6.79
• Flour – Variety of flour from Highwood Crossing, Okotoks Alberta. Unbleached White, Pastry, Rye, Stoneground, packages or in bulk.
• Alberta beets, rutabaga and parsnips from Blue Mountain, Carstairs.
• Giant locally made candy canes for $2.99 from Olivier’s in Inglewood.

Ingredients from Community Natural Foods are largely the same and very similar in price.

• Turkey – Dalemead, AB, Winters Turkey Whole Organic Turkey $11.64/kg Whole Free; Range Turkey $7.68/kg
• Butter – Edmonton, AB (about 180 miles) Saxby Creamery Organic Salted $8.49/450g
• Carrot – Innisfail, AB    , Lund’s Organic Farm Organic Bulk Carrots $4.38/kg
• Potatoes – Strathmore, AB      Poplar Bluff Farms Organic Red Potatoes $3.94/kg; Organic Yellow Potatoes $4.38/kg
• Milk – Edmonton, AB (about 180 miles) Saxby Creamery Varies $2.89 – $6.39
• Milk – Picture Butte, AB (about 125 miles), Vital Green Farm Varies $5.99 – $6.39 (Organic Sheep 2% also available, 2L $6.39)
• Flour – Okotoks, AB, Highwood Crossing Varies $7.19 – $10.29

Most of all the rest of the ingredients you need for a Traditional Holiday Meal can be found at several kiosks at the Calgary Farmer’s Market. Innisfail Growers Association stocks seasonal produce, many preserves, and other tasty treats such as flavored honey (we should all know by now how much I love honey).

Then of course, if you want to substitute cranberries with a regional favorite, which also happens to be native to our parts, the Saskatoon can be delicious with turkey, ham, and in pies!

So, friends, happy eating and Merry Christmas!!

Classic Roast Turkey

Servings: Serves at least 15, plus leftovers

Ingredients

• 1 12-pound turkey
• Bacon-nut stuffing, may be cooked separately (or the classic stuffing below)
• 8 Tbsp. (1 stick) butter at room temperature (extra-virgin olive oil may be substituted)
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup coarsely chopped onion
• 1 cup coarsely chopped carrot
• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped celery
• Stems from 1 bunch parsley tied together (optional)
• Turkey gravy (made from drippings)

Directions

Preheat oven to 500°. Rinse turkey; remove and set aside giblets. If cooking stuffing inside turkey, loosely pack the turkey cavity with stuffing, then tie legs together to enclose the vent. Coat bird all over with butter (or brush it with oil), then sprinkle well with salt and pepper.

Put turkey on a rack in a large roasting pan. Add 1/2 cup water to bottom of pan along with turkey neck, gizzard, any other giblets, onion, carrot, celery, and parsley. Put in oven, legs first if possible.

Roast for 20 to 30 minutes, or until the top begins to brown, then turn heat down to 350°. Continue to roast, checking and basting with pan juices every 30 minutes or so; if the top threatens to brown too much, lay a piece of aluminum foil directly onto it. (If the bottom dries out, add water, about 1/2 cup at a time; keep at least a little liquid at the bottom of the pan at all times.) Turkey is done when an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh measures 155° to 165°. If, when the turkey is nearly done, the top is not browned enough, turn heat back up to 425° for the last 20 to 30 minutes of cooking.

Remove turkey from oven. Take bird off rack and make gravy while bird rests; let it sit for about 20 minutes before carving. Serve on a platter garnished with sliced figs and mostarda di frutta and with gravy on the side.

Classic Stuffing

Makes: About 6 cups (enough for a 12-pound bird) -

Time: 20 minutes, plus time to bake

This classic dressing is based on a wonderful recipe by James Beard; it’s amazing with butter, but check out the variations if you prefer olive oil. Also, feel free to use whole grain bread for more flavor.

Ingredients

• 1/2 pound (2 sticks) butter
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 cup pine nuts or chopped walnuts
• 6 to 8 cups fresh bread crumbs
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh tarragon or sage leaves or 1 teaspoon dried crumbled tarragon or sage
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup chopped scallion
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves

Procedures

1. Put the butter in a large, deep skillet or Dutch oven over medium heat. When melted, add the onion and cook, stirring, until it softens, about 5 minutes. Add the nuts and cook, stirring almost constantly, until they begin to brown, about 3 minutes.
2. Add the breadcrumbs and the herb and toss to mix. Turn the heat down to low. Add the salt, pepper, and scallion. Toss again; taste and adjust the seasoning. Add the parsley and stir. Turn off the heat. (At this point, you may refrigerate the stuffing, well wrapped or in a covered container, for up to a day before proceeding.)
3. Pack into chicken or turkey if you like before roasting or just bake in an ovenproof glass or enameled baking dish for about 45 minutes at 350-400°F. (Or you can cook it up to 3 days in advance and just warm it up right before dinner.)

Sugar Cookies (from “How to Cook Everything” by Mark Bittman)

• ½  pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened, plus some for greasing the baking sheets
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 3 cups (about 14 ounces) all purpose flour, plus some for dusting the work surface
• pinch salt
• 1 teaspoon baking power
• 1 tablespoon milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Use an electric mixer to cream the butter and sugar together until light; beat in egg.

Combine the flour, salt and baking powder in a bowl.  Mix the dry ingredients into the butter-sugar mixture, adding a little milk at a time as necessary.  Stir in the vanilla.

Shape the dough into a disk (for rolled cookies) or a log (for sliced cookies) and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or as long as 2 days (or wrap very well and freeze indefinitely).

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Cut the dough disk in half.  Lightly flour a work surface and a rolling pin and roll gently until about 1/8 inch thick, adding flour as necessary and turning the dough to prevent sticking.  Cut with a cookie cutter.

Bake on lightly greased baking sheets until the edges are lightly brown and the center set, 6-10 minutes.  Let rest on sheets for a minute before removing with a spatula and cooling on a rack.   Decorate with icing.  Store in a covered container at room temperature for no more than a day or two.

The Basic Dough

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

3/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 egg

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Pinch salt

1/4 cup milk, plus more if needed.

1. Heat the oven to 375. Use an electric mixer to cream together the butter and sugar; add the vanilla and egg and beat until well blended.

2. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Add half the dry ingredients to the dough, beat for a moment, then add the milk. Beat for about 10 seconds, then add the remaining dry ingredients and a little more milk, if necessary, to make a soft dough.

3. Bake until the edges are brown, about 10 minutes.

Yield: 2 to 3 dozen.

To all the people we spoke with for this episode (Darrell Winter, Bonnie Spragg, Leona at Jungle Farm, Kevin at Saskatoon Farm, Chandra at Community, Patty at Sunnyside, and everyone else who helped and guided us to resources): We wish you a very Merry Christmas and all the best in the new year to you and yours.

xo

Normally when I’m building an episode for the show it’s because I want to learn about something myself (think the two-part series on beer and coffee).  I long knew knives would be an interesting topic and we had great resources between our chefs and Knifewear, but I was afraid.  Like, I was literally afraid of knives because I am notorious for cutting myself and furthermore I didn’t really want to be scolded by experts on how irresponsible I was.

But, one too many visits to Knifewear had enticed me to the point that I went for it.  If you haven’t been to the store yet it is amazing.  Although I’ve only ever been there to browse the selection of esoteric magazines and local cookbooks, or gawk at knives, the staff patiently answer all my questions every time, and even invited me to use one of the knives to try cutting a tomato, which let’s just say, was magical.

However, I was still nervous to meet Kevin, the store’s owner.  Besides working as a sous chef at St. John’s in England, Kevin is incredibly well informed about knives and food in Calgary and Japan.  Without gushing too much, I will say I had nothing to worry about.  Kevin is just as accommodating and informed as his staff.  Our interview quickly became a conversation and I stayed chatting with him long after, discussing an interesting mix of food topics including the flavour of horse sashimi (I’ll leave that one for him to answer).

As for my actual fear of knives, I’ve made plans for one of his Cut Like  a Chef classes to educate myself!

Besides the knowledge imparted by Kevin, for our Ask the Expert we spoke to Ken Keller of Bon Ton Meat Market  to gain a butcher’s perspective.  Another great Calgary institution, Bon Ton is a traditional meat shop that sells a great range of meat, including rabbit as I discovered on a recent trip.  I saw this after watching bunnies hopping around on the U of C campus, so that meal may be a while coming for me.

Finally, Naddine, interviewed Justin LeBoe of the recently opened Model Milk to learn about what he and his staff use (okay, that reminds me, I definitely ate rabbit at Model Milk recently.  Ooops.).

Check out the episode on iTunes to hear all about what we learned and the zen of cutting.

Thanks for stopping by, and as always, send us your Ask the Expert questions!  Nothing is too small or strange for our food sleuths.

While I was interviewing Kevin about knives, he told me the store supplies a french onion soup recipe with every usuba purchase.  After cutting so many onions the costumer should understand the advantage of this vegetable knife.  Coincidentally, Chatellaine posted a “French Onion Grilled Cheese” right before I sat down to write this post and I couldn’t resist the adaptation.

French Onion Grilled Cheese

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 3 medium onions, sliced thinly (about 3 1/2 cups)
• 1/2 900 mL carton low-sodium beef broth
• 1 thyme sprig
• 1/4 cup dry sherry (optional)
• 4 tsp Dijon mustard
• 8 slices rye bread
• 4 slices gruyére or swiss cheese, about 120 g

1. Heat a large non-stick frying pan over high. Add 1 tsp oil, then onions, broth and thyme. Cook, uncovered, stirring often, until liquid is reduced, about 15 min. Add sherry and continue cooking until absorbed, about 5 more min. Remove thyme.
2. Spread Dijon on 4 slices of bread. Top each slice with about 1/3 cup onion mixture and 1 cheese slice. Top with remaining bread.
3. Wipe pan clean. Heat over medium. Brush pan with 1 tsp oil. Cook 2 sandwiches at a time, about 2 min per side. Repeat with remaining oil and sandwiches.

• Prep Tip:

  Keep grilled sandwiches warm on a foil-lined baking sheet in a 200F oven.