Silver Screen Food Movies with the Assiniboine Park Conservatory and the MLCC

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 Silver Screen – January 29, 2013

 Last night I had fun at this event showing one of my favourite subjects, food movies and inspired food. Bonnie Tulloch, of Assiniboine Park Conservatory, led the evening with movie clips and information on food.  Scott Strizic of the MLCC prepared excellent beverage pairings and I got to make some yummy dishes to share.

1. Spanglish – Fried Egg and bacon sandwich

To be presented in demo.  Ingredients include local Berkshire bacon,Dijon mustard, Rustic bread, Nature’s Farm eggs and tomato chutney.  

I used Tomato Chutney as fresh tomatoes in January are dreadful.  Mainly, the idea is to make the sandwich your own in the flavours that you will enjoy.

2. Babette’s Feast – Gästebude –  Tarts with Wild Mushrooms, Garlic, Dried Okanagan Cherries & Port

·       Tart shells

·       2 shallots, sliced

·       1 cup sliced wild mushrooms

·       1 head roasted garlic

·       ½ cup dried Okanagan cherries

·       1 cup port

·       1 tbs butter

·       1 tbs olive oil

Sauté shallots in butter and olive oil until soft.  Add mushrooms.  When cooked through, add garlic, cherries soaked in port and deglaze with port.  Cook down and spoon into tart shells and bake according to directions for about 10 – 15 min.  Enjoy!

I love this movie.  I love getting inspired by it and try out new ideas generating from it.

3. Big Night – Risotto

 

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp butter
• 2 cups flavorful mushrooms such as shiitake, chanterelle, or oyster mushrooms, cleaned, trimmed, and cut into half inch to inch pieces
• 2/3 cup brandy, vermouth, or dry white wine
• 5-6 cups chicken stock (use vegetable stock for vegetarian option)
• 1/3 cup of peeled and minced shallots (OR 1/3 cup of yellow or white onion, finely chopped)
• 1 3/4 cups arborio rice or other risotto rice
• 1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley or chives

*

Method

1 Bring stock to a simmer in a saucepan.

2 Melt the butter in a deep, heavy, medium sized saucepan over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms and shallots and sauté about 5 minutes (if using chanterelles, dry sauté first for a minute or two and let the mushrooms cook in their own juices before adding the butter). Add the rice and stir to combine.

3 Add brandy, bring to a boil, and reduce liquid by half, about 3-4 minutes. Add simmering stock, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring enough to keep the rice from sticking to the edges of the pan. Stir the rice almost constantly — stirring sloughs off the starch from the rice, making the creamy sauce you're looking for in a risotto. Wait until the stock is almost completely absorbed before adding the next 1/2 cup. This process will take about 25 minutes. The rice should be just cooked and slightly chewy.

4 Stir in the Parmesan cheese and season to taste with salt and pepper. Garnish with chopped fresh parsley or chives.

4. Like Water for Chocolate – Hot chocolate

1 bar Luker Chocolate*
1 litre milk
pinch ground cinnamon or cinnamon stick
pinch dried chipotle chilies
1/3 cup sugar
pinch Hawaiian Red Clay Sea Salt**

*Available in Winnipeg at Dino's Grocery Mart at 460 Notre Dame.


Slowly cook all ingredients except for the Sea Salt. Serve when well incorporated with Red Clay Seal Salt served on the side to bring out the full chocolate flavour.

Enjoy!

Foods of Italy for the Assiniboine Park Conservancy and the MLCC

Last night I had the great pleasure of presenting the following recipes for a cooking demonstration for the Assiniboine Park Conservancy at the Madison Square  MLCC.  Beverage pairings to follow soon.  APC Education Coordinator Bonnie Tulloch presented on the great plants used in cooking in Italian food and Cindy, Product Consultant of the MLCC provided excellent beverage pairings.  

Photos coming today!

Come in to Arkadash Bistro and Lounge to try these items or many others. 

Foods of Italy – January 22, 2013

1. Tuscan Squash Salad

1 lb squash (butternut, hubbard, or any small firm variety except spaghetti), peeled, seeded and cut in 5-inch slices
2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
3 tbs honey, warm and divided into two parts
½ cup chopped walnuts
2 tbs lemon juice
2 tbs walnut oil
½ tsp kosher or sea salt
¼ tsp ground black pepper
~ 6 cups mixed baby greens, lightly packed
½ cup crumbled feta

Preheat oven to 400ºF. Toss the squash and olive oil in a large bowl. Spread on a parchment-lined baking sheet and lightly brush with half of the honey. Bake for 15 minutes. Turn and brush with the remaining honey. Bake for another 15 minutes or until the squash is cooked through. Some varieties take longer to cook.

While the squash is baking, toast the walnuts lightly. Whisk together the lemon juice, walnut oil, salt and pepper in a small bowl.

Toss the greens with the vinaigrette in a large bowl and place on serving plates. Top with 3-5 slices of squash. Sprinkle with the walnuts and feta, season and serve while the squash is still warm.

2. Sage Butter pasta (Burro e salvia)

1/3 cup butter.
Bunch of fresh sage leaves
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
Black pepper.

Wash and dry the sage leaves. Melt the butter in a saucepan and add the sage. Cook very gently over a low flame taking care not to let the butter burn. Pour over cooked pasta and stir through well together with freshly grated parmesan. This super-quick sauce is ideal with 'naked ravioli' (ravioli filling without the pasta) but is also suitable with any short pasta. In this case, drain the cooked pasta keeping back a little of the water. Return the pasta to the saucepan, add the sage and butter and stir over a low heat for a minute.

Remove from the heat and stir in a good helping of grated Parmesan.

The sauce should look smooth and creamy; if it has dried out too much, add a few drops of milk or fresh cream. Grind a little black pepper over when serving.

Enjoy!

3. Osso Bucco

This is the adaptation of Tyler Florence’s recipe for Osso Bucco. The wine that he recommended using was Amarone. Personally, I'd really rather enjoy drinking the Amarone  but have used it today especially for your pleasure.
It makes an elegant winter comfort meal.

Osso Bucco:
 1 cup all-purpose flour
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 pieces Beef, Bison or Elk shank

Extra-Virgin Olive Oil

1-3 tbs butter

1 onion, diced
1 celery stalk, diced
2 carrots, diced
1 lemon, zest peeled off in wide strips with a vegetable peeler
1 head garlic, cut horizontally through the middle
2 bay leaves
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 sprig fresh thyme
1 bottle dry red wine
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can low-sodium beef broth (I had homemade chicken broth on hand instead)
1 (28-ounce) can whole San Marzano tomatoes, hand-crushed

Put the flour in a large shallow platter and season it with a fair amount of salt and pepper. Dredge the meat in the seasoned flour and then tap off the excess (extra flour will burn and make the dish off-tasting).

Heat a large Dutch oven over medium heat and hit it with a 3-count drizzle of oil. Add the butter and swirl it around the pan to melt. Sear the meat, turning carefully with tongs, until all sides are a rich brown caramel color. Drizzle with a little more oil, if needed. (Do this in batches if the shanks are big and look crowded in the pot.) Remove the browned meat to a side plate. There will be a lot of flavor left over in the bottom of the pot. You're going to use that to create your sauce.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Using the same pot, sauté the onion, celery, carrots, lemon zest, garlic, bay leaves, and parsley over medium heat. Cook the vegetables down until they start to get some color and develop a deep, rich aroma. Season with salt and pepper; add a little oil if needed. Nestle the meat back in the pot. Pour in the wine and let it simmer down for 20 minutes, until the wine has reduced by half. Reducing is key for intense flavor. Add the beef broth and tomatoes and stir everything together. Cover the pot and put it in the oven. Braise for 1 and a 1/2 hours. Then remove the cover and continue to cook for another 30 minutes. The sauce should be thick and the meat tender and nearly falling off the bone.
Remove bay leaves.

Enjoy!

4. Chocolate Almond Biscotti

Recipe By: Karen
Serving Size: 36

1/2 c butter softened
3/4 c sugar
2 eggs
4 tsps  Frangelico
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 c +2tsp white flour unbleached
1 1/2 tsps baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 c Sliced Almonds

¾ cup chocolate chips


Preheat oven to 325ºF. Cream butter until fluffy and add sugar. Cream again until fluffy and add the eggs, beating well until mixture is smooth. Mix in Frangelico and vanilla. Combine flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Beat into butter mixture until just incorporated. Stir in almonds and chocolate.
Divide the dough into 3 equal pieces on a lightly floured board. Roll pieces into long cylinders about 1 - 1 1/2inches in diameter. Place on a baking sheet and flatten to rectangles. Bake until light brown, about 25 minutes.
Cool the rolls and slice diagonally to make 1/2 inch biscotti. Lower oven temperature to 300ºF, lay the slices on the baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes. Turn the slices over and bake until dry, about 5-10 minutes. Cool and store in an airtight container.

Enjoy!

Ribs on CBC's Weekend Morning Show!

On Saturday I had a distinct pleasure of presenting the following recipe for CBC's Weekend Morning Show with host Ismaila Alfa.  Ribs are so easy to prepare and come in quite a variety of forms.  Try these with our wonderful Berkshire Pork, great beef, lamb or goat from Manitoba! Come in to Arkadash Bistro and Lounge for a taste.

Spanish Smoky Ribs

1 rack ribs (pork baby back, lamb, goat, beef short, etc)
3 tbs Dijon mustard
3 tbs honey
1 tsp hot smoked paprika
3 tbs butter
3 tbs olive oil
3 tbs Bourbon or Whiskey (optional, but a good option)
pinch salt

Place ribs in baking dish and set oven to 350ºF.  Cook remaining ingredients in a saucepan.  Cover ribs with sauce.  Cover baking dish with lid or foil.  Bake for a few hours, basting occasionally, until meat is tender and ready to fall off of the bone.  Serve and enjoy!



There are many variations on ribs possible.  Try with your favourite spice blend, marmalade and seasonings.  Ras el Hanout, a Moroccan spice blend, will soon be available at Arkadash Bistro and Lounge.  Cooking lessons now available at Arkadash Bistro and Lounge starting Monday, January 28th.  Book now to reserve your space.

Rabbit with Squash

Rabbit with Squash

Local and naturally raised rabbits can be purchased in the Winnipeg area from Zinn Farms at ZinnFarms.com. 
Rabbit is also available from local natural sources from DeLuca's on Portage Ave. in Winnipeg.
How to cut a Rabbit?

This morning I had the pleasure of presenting the following rabbit dish on CBC's Weekend Morning Show with host Ismaila Alfa.  Enjoy!

This is an old recipe -- the combination of sweet and savoury is relatively rare in modern Italian cooking -- but will be very nice in the winter months, especially if it is cold out. Although the recipe calls for rabbit, but you could use -- if you had to -- chicken.
Prep Time: 0 hour, 30 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes
Ingredients:
• 1 rabbit skinned and chopped into pieces
• 3/4 pound (350 g) squash pulp (a squash along the lines of zucca gialla, or butternut squash)
• 1/2 cup almonds
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1 quart (1 liter) dry red wine
• A sprig of rosemary
• 2 bay leaves, crumbled
• A sprig of sage
• 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and sliced
• 2 cloves
• A bunch of parsley
• 3/4 cup (180 ml) dry white wine
• 2/3 cup (120 g) unsalted butter
• A pinch each sugar and powdered cinnamon
• Salt and pepper to taste
Preparation:
Wash and pat the rabbit pieces dry and return them to the bowl. Pour the red wine over the rabbit, and add the bay leaves, the garlic, the sage, the rosemary, the cloves, a few peppercorns, and a few leaves of parsley. Cover the bowl and let it stand in the refrigerator over night.

The next day, when you're ready to cook the rabbit, which will be much more tender thanks to the marinade, plump the raisins in the white wine for 20 minutes, and drain them well. Coarsely chop the almonds, and put them in a bowl with a pinch each of sugar and cinnamon, a goodly dash of pepper, and the drained raisins.

Melt the butter in a Dutch oven or earthenware pot, and brown the rabbit, turning the pieces so they color on all sides. Meanwhile, filter the marinade. Once the meat has browned, sprinkle it with a ladle of marinade. Cook until about half the liquid has evaporated, then stir in the almond mixture, cover, and simmer for an hour.

Dice the squash, stir the pieces into the rabbit, and continue cooking for 20 minutes more. This dish is very good over polenta.