Easy BBQ Feast for Father's Day! On CBC's Weekend Morning Show

Yesterday I had the joy of presenting some new ideas that I'm developing for the market, in time to enjoy for Father's Day, on CBC's Weekend Morning Show with host Nadia Kidwai.

The lovely beef striploin came from Wildfire Farms and the pizza dough is available on market days at Old Church Bakery.  Easy and delicious!  The rub is a Baharat (spice blend) that I've added ground pumpkin seeds and smoked paprika to to make a Manitoba version of Duq'qah, an Egyptian spice and ground nut blend for meats and flatbreads.  I'll be bringing this to market very soon.

For the flatbread, 1 bag pizza dough from Old Church Bakery, divide into 2-4 pieces and, with a bowl of water to wet the fingers, pull and spread onto a silpat or parchment papers.  Spread a spoonful of the Duq'qah onto each flatbread, sprinkle with a pinch of salt, and drizzle with olive oil.  Bake in a 450ºF oven or on a hot grill until done, 4-7 minutes, depending on oven or grill. 

For the steaks, in order to get a crust, lightly coat each steak with Dijon mustard and then coat with the Duq'qah.  Season with a slight amount of salt.  Prior to grilling, drizzle olive oil on each steak.  Grill to preferred doneness, I recommend rare, but...  Let the meat rest for about 5 minutes before slicing. 

I topped these flat breads and steak slices with a bit of onion jam, but garnish as you like.

Sunday's Event

Escargot, Ahi Tuna, Oysters and Calimari all available at Gimli Fish on Dufferin in Winnipeg.

Sunday's Menu
Surf, Turf and more of the Earth

Surf
Ahi Tuna Udon Spoons
Oysters Rockefeller
Calimari with Chipotle Aioli
Escargot with Pesto Butter

Earthy
Porcini Mushroom Consommé

Light on the Earth
Avocado, Grape Tomatoes, Balsamic Reduction

Turf and More Earth
Bison tenderloin with Ras el Hanout and Blood Orange Reduction
Roasted Yams
Turkish Eggplant with Yoghurt

Heavenly Delights
Pavlova with Meyers Lemon curd

Within Earth's Orbit
Assorted Cheeses with Montreal Baguettes and Fresh Dates

MLCC Assiniboine Conservatory Fundraiser

(Google Images)

Last week I had the pleasure of preparing Nibbles and Noshes for a fundraising event for the Assiniboine Park Conservatory held at the MLCC. It is truly delightful to share recipes and food ideas with an interested group of people and to learn about plants from around the world. The following is what I prepared for that event. I will be involved in other events for the Assiniboine Park Conservatory and will post them here.

Enjoy!

Nibbles and Noshes

1) Mushroom Toasts

2 cups sliced fresh mixed mushrooms
1 head roasted garlic
4-5 Shallots, diced
2 tbs. olive oil
2 tbs. Butter
1/3 cup cream
1/4 tsp. smoked paprika
1/2 cup dry white wine
salt and pepper
Crostini (sliced baguettes) or bouchés

Sauté shallots in olive oil until translucent. Add sliced Shitake Mushroooms and sauté on medium high heat until they begin to brown in the butter. Add roasted garlic, smoked paprika and white wine. Let cook down a little. Add cream and season to taste. Spoon onto crostini and toast in oven or into bouchés and serve while hot.

Enjoy!

2) Soba Spoons

1 pkg Buckwheat Soba Noodles
2 tsp good Dijon Mustard
1 tsp grainy mustard
1-2 tsp good soy sauce
1 inch grated fresh ginger
2-3 tbs white vinegar
1/2 tsp white sugar
2 green onions, finely chopped
drizzle sesame oil

Cook Soba noodles in unsalted boiling water for 5 minutes. Drain in cold water immediately. Drain completely. Drizzle with sesame oil to prevent sticking and set aside to chill.

In a larger bowl, mix grated ginger, vinegar, mustards, soy sauce, sugar, finely chopped green onions and a drizzle of sesame oil. When ready to serve, gently mix noodles with sauce. With a fork, twirl a bite-sized amount of dressed noodles and place on a Chinese soup spoon. Place spoons on a platter and serve.
Enjoy!

3) Ski Queen medley

Gjetost Goat Cheese
Roasted garlic
Toasted Pine nuts
Chopped cilantro
Baguette slices into crostini size slices or sourdough bread

Roast heads of garlic until fully caramelized. On a platter, place garlic heads or cloves, toasted pine nuts, chopped cilantro and brick or slices of Ski Queen Gjetost goat cheese.

To assemble, spread roasted garlic on bread topped with cheese, pine nuts and cilantro.
Enjoy!



4) Bison Carpaccio
Recipe By: Karen
Serving Size: 10
Preparation Time: 0:20

8 ozs tenderloin frozen
2 cloves garlic minced
1/3 c pomegranate molasses
1/3 c vinegar (shallot, raspberry, etc)
2/3 c extra virgin olive oil
1/4 tsp truffle oil optional
1/4 tsp truffle salt optional
1 tbsp fig preserve (or pear)

Mix last 7 ingredients together and set aside. Thinly slice tenderloin piece.
You can use bison, elk or beef tenderloin. Arrange slices on a platter and
drizzle vinaigrette over meat. Garnish with fresh berries or green onions.
Serve with baguette slices or water crackers.
Enjoy!
—————
Per serving: 128 Calories; 14g Fat (99% calories from fat); 0g Protein; 0g
Carbohydrate; 0mg Cholesterol; 0mg Sodium




5) Spanikopita Triangles
Recipe By: Karen
Serving Size: 48
Preparation Time: 2:00

1 pkg filo dough
2 pkgs frozen spinach
1 white onions chopped
3 cloves garlic minced
1/2 c mushroom sliced
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp paprika
3 1/2 tbspsolive oil
1 1/2 c feta cheese crumbled
1 egg
pepper to taste
1/3 c butter
Thaw pastry in package. In advance, prepare filling. Sauté onion and garlic
until translucent. Add mushrooms and sauté. Add thawed spinach and
spices. Cook on medium-high heat until some of the water has cooked off.
Add grated feta. Mix in one beaten egg. Remove from heat and cool.
To prepare pastries: Heat oven to 350F. Dampen tea towel. Cut rolled
pastry into four equal parts and lay out on cutting board. Cover with
dampened towel. Melt butter and set aside with pastry brush. Fill pastries in
desired shapes (triangles, pockets, in muffin or cupcake tins, etc). Brush
pastries with melted butter before filo turns papery. Bake until golden, about
15 minutes.
—————
Per serving: 36 Calories; 3g Fat (77% calories from fat); 1g Protein; 1g
Carbohydrate; 10mg Cholesterol; 76mg Sodium

Building burgers with Turkish Baharat

(photo by Desmond)
Featured in photo: Elk burger with Turkish Baharat and Fennel Sausage on Naan Bread from Halal Meats and Specialty Foods with Caramelized onions with new spice blend: Mitmita.

I took 2 pounds ground elk (you can use beef or bison as well)
2 Fennel Sausages from De Luca's
2 heaping tablespoons Turkish Baharat
1 tsp. Sea Salt
2 tablespoons pomegranate molasses.

Mix all ingredients by hand and form into 1/4 lb patties. The spice blend gives it a flavour of Turkish kofta, the pomegranate adds a lovely tang and the fennel sausage has a wonderful flavour and aroma that when served in naan or pide with the yoghurt tahini sauce, you are transported to the Mediterranean.

Nice Summer enjoyment!

Bison Filet with Saskatoon pan sauce

(Photo by Desmond)

Saskatoons are beautifully in season right now in the Prairies. They also freeze well to make this sauce at any time of the year. Also featured in the photo are oven baked yam "fries".

4 small Bison filets (medallions or small steaks)
olive oil

When sauce is prepared, grill tenderloin pieces for less than 3 minutes a side, depending on size, turning for grill marks. Allow meat to rest before cutting.

Saskatoon sauce
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
1 1/2 cups Saskatoons, fresh or frozen
1 tbs Dijon mustard
1 tsp thyme
3-5 juniper berries, crushed
1-2 tbs olive oil
1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
couple pinches salt (I used red clay Hawaiian for this recipe but try different kinds)
1 tbs butter
1/2 cup scotch whiskey*

Sauté onion in olive oil until translucent. Add thyme and crushed juniper berries. Stir in Saskatoon berries and mustard, salt and pepper and let cook down. Add scotch and butter and cook until simmering and Saskatoon berries are soft. Remove from heat. When cooled a bit, use an immersion blender or other food processor and blend until smooth. Bring up to temperature when meat is ready to rest. Place bison pieces on plate and spoon Saskatoon sauce over meat.

Enjoy!

*the Scotch and the juniper berries add to the wild flavour of the bison. Elk or beef can also be used. Cognac or port could be substituted but they have more sugars.

Coming Soon to Shaw - Bison Burgers on Naan

Its been a while since my last posting. A very busy summer indeed. Starting next week on Shaw cable we'll be showing a BBQ event for which I am supplying the recipes. Here is the Bison Burgers served on Naan with caramelized onions. Makes 5 burgers.

Bison Burgers
1 lb Ground Bison*
1 Hot Italian Sausage**
1/2 pkg. Onion Soup mix

Mix burger ingredients well together by hand. Divide into 1/4 lb burgers and keep chilled. Cook on hot BBQ at 4 minutes a side, turning at 2 minutes to get the important grill marks.

*Ground Bison available through Oak Island Goat Dairy and the Forks Meat Market in Winnipeg.

**Hot Italian Sausage available at DeLuca's Specialty Foods - Cooking School & Restaurant at 950 Portage Ave. in Winnipeg (204)774-7617.
** More sources - Oak Island Goat Dairy - oakisland@skyweb.ca to order a variety of meats.

Caramelized Onions
1-2 large onions, thinly sliced
1 tbs olive oil
1 bottle Sleeman Original Draught beer
pinch salt and pepper
1/4 tsp dried chipotle chilies, optional

Slowly sauté onions in olive oil over medium low heat until golden, up to 30 minutes.
When dark golden in colour, turn up the heat to medium high and add about 1/4 to 1/3 of bottle of beer, stirring to incorporate the sugars. Continue to add the beer to the onions until most of the liquid has cooked off. Keep caramelized onions aside to top the grilled naan bread for the burger.

Grilled Naan Bread***

1 Naan Bread per burger***

Just prior to eating, place naan bread directly onto hot grill for 1-2 minutes per side. Top with caramelized onions and burger that has rested for a few minutes. Try with different cheeses and mustards as well.

Enjoy!

***Many varieties of Naan bread are available in the freezer section of Dino's Grocery Mart at 460 Notre Dame in Winnipeg and at Halal Meat Centre & Specialty Foods at 206 Maryland.

Manitoba Bison Chili

This winter comfort food is made with locally produced free-range bison and local micro-brewed beer, Fort Gary Dark. After browning the ground bison, the chili is prepared in a slow-cooker with black or pinto beans, chipotle peppers, dark beer, dark chocolate, molasses, cumin, chillies, onions, whole garlic cloves, sweet red pepper, and tomatoes. Season to taste. Here served with Tall Grass Prairie Bread Company organic baguettes.