New Year's Eve tasting menu options on CBC's Weekend Morning Show

Tomorrow I will be presenting the following dishes for New Year's Eve treats, on CBC's Weekend Morning Show, with guest host, Laurie Hoogstraten.  I'll be on at 8:20AM as there will be a year end quiz after the 8:30 news.

This gorgeous beef tenderloin is available on Saturday morning at St. Norbert's Farmer's Market from 10-1PM at the Eagle's Club. One can use tenderloin, rib eye or strip loin for this dish from beef, bison, elk or veal.  Everything is locally produced from sustainable farms.  The micro greens are from Fresh Forage Farms where they grow amazing greens year round.

Beef Tenderloin Carpaccio (Beef from Manitoba Beef by Jim Lintott, available at St. Norbert's Farmer's Market)

Recipe By: Karen
Serving Size: 10
Preparation Time: 0:20

8 ozs tenderloin frozen (or rib eye)
2 cloves garlic minced
1/4 c preserves (I use Mostarda, fig jam, or raspberry)
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


Mix last 7 ingredients together and set aside. Thinly slice semi-frozen meat.
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. 

I used Fresh Forage Mustard Micro greens and Parmesan  Reggiano curls.

Serve with baguette slices or water crackers.
Enjoy!


Seared Foie Gras with fig or pear compote

The Foie Gras comes from Brome Lake, Quebec.  It is a free range duck.  They are not penned and walk around freely.  They come to be fed.  The whole duck is used in different products.  They provide an excellent foie gras and is available at DeLuca's on Portage Ave. 

Prepare crostini or toasts and top with warm compote as recipe follows;

1/2 - 1 whole sliced pear or 2-3 sliced fresh figs Or Mostarda with figs
1/2 tsp butter
ground hazelnuts (optional)
deglaze with Frangelico or Disorrono

Cook pear or figs in pan and cook down with liquor.

Prepare foie gras slices by slightly seasoning with sea salt.  In a hot pan, sear foie gras on both sides until brown and deglaze with liquor.  Place on prepared toasts, top with a few grains of Fleur d’sel or good sea salt and serve immediately.
Enjoy!

Celebrating CBC's Host Terry MacLeod, and Change

This morning, I'll be presenting the following recipes for CBC's Weekend Morning Show with host Terry MacLeod.  As this is Terry's final weekend with CBC Radio, we are celebrating him as well as changes throughout the 24 years that he has been with us in Manitoba.  The beef dish represents the changes in attitudes toward food in that we are so passionate about global flavours and yet are more conscientious than ever as to where our food comes from and how it its produced.  The beef comes from Wildfire Farms.  The chocolate dish is a dish for Terry that I made because I heard that he enjoys Grand Marnier.  I wanted to find something very easy to prepare with it and this is a great season to represent this treat.

I'm at D. A. Niels today giving a tajine cooking demonstration and the beef dish will be one of the tajines, based on a Paula Wolfert recipe.

Grand Marnier Balls (Kugel)

3⁄4 cup whipping cream
1⁄4 cup butter
3 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons Grand Marnier
7 semi-sweet chocolate baking squares, melted
3 cups chocolate graham cracker crumbs
chocolate sprinkles
Put cream, butter and sugar into saucepan over medium heat. Bring to boil, stirring often. Remove from heat.
Add Grand Marnier, chocolate and crumbs. Mix well. Shape into 42 balls. Roll in chocolate sprinkles. Chill or freeze.

Moroccan Beef Tajine(can use lamb)

1 lb beef roast, cut into bite-sized pieces
2 onions, thinly sliced
2 tbs ras el hanout
1-2 tbs olive oil
1-2 tbs butter
good pinch saffron
2 large tomatoes, chopped
3 carrots, peeled and diced
2 green peppers, seeded and diced
1/2 - 1 cup prunes (I used apricots today)
2-3 tbs honey
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup red wine
salt, to taste

Slowly sauté onions on medium-low heat with olive oil until they begin to caramelize. Stir in Ras el Hanout spice blend. Turn up heat to medium-high and add butter and saffron. Brown meat well on all sides and add tomatoes and other vegetables. Add broth, prunes and honey. Add red wine and salt and let simmer for 1-2 hours, depending on using the tajine and toughness of the meat. Meat should melt in your mouth when done.

Serve with flat breads, rice, couscous or bulgur.

 Today at D. A. Niels:
  

Marak (Tajine) of Eggplant, peppers and peas with preserved lemon
¼ cup olive oil

1 medium globe eggplant

1 onion, thinly sliced

2 tsp sugar

2 ripe or canned tomatoes, chopped (I’m using 2 tbs good tomato paste with tomatoes)

1 tbs Ras el Hanout

1 tsp sea salt

½ tsp turmeric

2 tbs chopped flat leaf parsley

 ½ preserved lemon (see chef for details)

1. Heat oil in tajine over low heat.  Add vegetables and sugar and cover with lid or with parchment paper and the lid and cook gently for 10 minutes.  Raise heat slightly and add a splash of water. 

2. Add tomatoes and continue to cook, covered for a few minutes.

3. Add the parsley and lemon juice.  Garnish with the slivered lemon and olives (or cook in with tajine).  Serve warm or at room temperature.

Fair Trade Gift and entertaining on CBC's Weekend Morning Show

 This morning on CBC's Weekend Morning Show with host Terry MacLeod, I presented some easy to prepare dishes that are also cruelty-free.  Now that the holidays are approaching, people love to serve shrimp.  If you buy certain wild caught shrimp from Argentina, Mexico, Texas, New Brunswick and Alaska, for example, you can be certain that slavery ships were not used to get the shrimp to your table.  The chocolate as well, is certified Fair Trade, which also means, for example, that child labour was not used to produce the chocolate.  Fair Trade Chocolate and other Fair Trade ingredients can be purchased at Ten Thousand Villages and through Fair Trade Manitoba.

Shrimp and other seafood are available at Gimli Fish.

Shrimp with dips (Korean)

1 bag wild caught peeled shrimp (now available at Gimli Fish) (or buy pre-cooked)

Blanch shrimp in boiling water until fully cooked and then cool immediately in an ice bath. Drain completely.

OR

Sauté shrimp in a drizzle of sesame oil until pink. Season with salt and white pepper. Chill until ready to serve. Serve with the following dipping sauces:

Korean dipping sauce
1 tablespoon kochu jiang (Korean hot pepper paste)
1 tbs white vinegar
drizzle sesame oil
1 tsp brown sugar
1/4 cup cold water
1/4 cup orange juice
1/2 scallion, finely chopped

Combine all ingredients until smooth. Enjoy with fried tofu, on salads, seafood, etc.

Wasabi Sour Cream Dipping Sauce
Sour cream
wasabi paste, to taste
pinch sugar

Mix all ingredients and increase wasabi for desired results. 
Fantastic with shrimp and other seafood but also wonderful with roast beef.

Ooey Gooey Brownies
1/2 cup butter
3 oz dark Fair trade Chocolate*
1 cup lightly packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1/2 cup unbleached white flour

*Callebaut Chocolate available at DeLuca's Grocery Store in Winnipeg or look for the Fair Trade label.  www.fairtrademanitoba.ca  Camino Chocolate can be found at Ten Thousand Villages.

Preheat oven to 350ºF
Butter an 8-9 inch square baking pan or bread pan.
In a heavy large pot, melt the butter and chocolate together, stirring occasionally. Prepare remaining ingredients separately. Beat eggs in a separate bowl. When the butter and chocolate have melted, remove from heat. Add the brown sugar and vanilla and stir until well incorporated. Add the beaten eggs and stir quickly to prevent the eggs from cooking. Stir in flour and mix until smooth.

Pour into pan and bake for up to 20 minutes. Enjoy hot or cold. Optional to add up to 1/4 cup of your favourite chopped nuts.