It sure gets cold in the winter. But that shouldn’t stop you from going on a romantic picnic. Instead of cold potato salad, pack this German-style potato salad with yummy bacon, potatoes, celeriac, and dill pickles served warm to keep you snug and satisfied. Cuddle on—or under—a warm fuzzy blanket with a snuggle buddy . . . and don’t be surprised if your next picnic is a family picnic.1 large celeriac

4 large waxy potatoes

3 large dill pickles

1 bunch fresh dill, chopped

1 lemon

1 shallot

1 clove garlic

6 slices thick-cut bacon

1 Tbsp vegetable oil

2 Tbsp butter

salt and pepper

2 Tbsp sour cream

1 Tbsp grainy mustard

Peel the celeriac by cutting off the top and bottom. Lay it on a flat side, and use your big knife to trim the gnarly skin off the sides. Peel your potatoes. Cut the potatoes and celeriac into approximately 1 1/2- to 2- inch cubes. Place them in a large pot and fill it up with cold water. (Do not salt the water.)

Get the pot on high heat, and while it comes to a boil prep the rest of the salad. The celeriac will float to the top, but that’s cool.

Cut the pickles into large rounds the size of the potato chunks. Chop the dill. Zest and juice the lemon into the same bowl. Mince the shallots and garlic.

When the water just starts to boil, you can start the bacon. Lay out your 6 slices of bacon in a very large cold pan and place the pan onto medium heat. Drizzle in the oil and let the fat render out of the bacon.

Back to the potatoes. Check for doneness by taking out a big piece of potato from the bottom of the pot and cutting it or biting into it. You’ll know it needs more cooking if it’s raw and crunchy. Don’t worry about checking the celeriac, as celeriac a little undercooked is fine, and you can’t really overcook it either.

When the potatoes and celeriac are ready, drain them into a colander and let them sit for 10 minutes until they have released a lot of their excess moisture.

When the bacon is crispy, transfer to a paper towel–lined plate.

In the bacon fat add the shallots, garlic, and butter. When the shallots are soft, add the potatoes and celeriac. Toss to coat, and then sprinkle in the lemon juice and zest. Salt and pepper generously. Transfer to a bowl and gently mix in the pickles, dill, sour cream, and mustard. Crumble the bacon and sprinkle it on top.

Serves yourself and 7 hungry friends.

Remembrance cake with lemon curd

Lemon Loaf

1½ sticks of butter, room temperature

½ stick of butter for greasing

zest 4 lemons

1 cup of sugar

1 whole egg

3 egg whites

2 cups of all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

¼ tsp of salt

½ cup milk

1 Tbsp poppyseeds

1 Tbsp Fresh rosemary leaves, finely minced

Lemon curd

3 eggs yolks

juice of 4 lemons

½ pound (2 sticks) cold butter, cubed

½ cup sugar

PROCEDURE

Preheat oven to 350˚F.

Grease up a loaf pan with lots of butter. Lay a long strip of parchment paper the width of the pan so there are flaps hanging over sides. Grease up the parchment too.

In a stand up mixer using the whisk attachment or using a hand-held electric mixer combine softened butter, sugar, whole egg and egg whites into a fluffy batter.

In another bowl combine the flour, baking powder, poppyseeds, lemon zest, rosemary and salt.

Add the dry mixture to the wet ingredients and stop mixing as soon as they are smoothly incorporated, about 30 seconds of fast mixing. Then add the milk to the mix and beat until smooth.

Scoop into the buttered loaf pan and bake until a tooth pick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 45 minutes.

Let the loaf cool in the pan, then use the parchment flap to liberate it.

Cut into slices and smear on lots of lemon curd. Serve with a cuppa.

For the curd

Put the yolks, lemon juice, sugar, and butter into a cold medium-sized pot. Get out your whisk and put the pot over medium heat. Stir—you don’t have to stir quickly, you just have to stir constantly. Don’t think you can walk away for a second. Keep going until the butter melts. You’ll notice the sauce starting to get smooth and creamy, but not as thick as curd should be. Just be patient and keep stirring. It will start to thicken up.

When it is the nice, rich, and velvety consistency of hollandaise, remove it (and keep it away) from the heat source. Pour the curd into a bowl or jar. Allow it to cool at room temperature before covering and refrigerating.

It’s close to midnight and something evil’s lurking in the dark… Evil Pumpkin Zombies!

EPZ are brought to life when an evil Halloween spirit enters a carved pumpkin and awakens an unnaturally evil appetite for candy. The pumpkins will roll around attacking anyone for their candy!

If you are threatened by an EPZ, you will need to destroy it or it will not stop until all your candy is eaten.

To ensure an EPZ is thoroughly destroyed or to prevent your pumpkin from becoming possessed here is a great soup recipe that will exorcize the evil spirits and give you something yummy to eat other than candy.

INGREDIENTS

Pumpkin (any size)

drizzle of oil

sprinkle of salt

1 onion, diced

salt to taste

pesto

2 cloves of garlic

10 sage leaves

1 bunch of parsley

½ cup of olive oil (or pumpkin seed oil if you can find some)

2 cups of toasted pumpkin seeds (store-bought or homemade)

zest and juice of 1 lemon

salt to taste

PROCEDURE

SMASH your pumpkin into large chunks and place them in a large roasting pan. Use a baseball bat as needed or simply use your hands to feverishly tear it apart.

ROAST the pumpkin parts at 350˚F for an hour or until they are soft and golden around the edges. Put a cup of water in the pan to help things cook better.

PULVERIZE the pesto ingredients in a blender or food processor until smooth. Scrape down the sides if needed. Add more oil if it is too chunky. This pesto will keep in the fridge for a couple weeks and is really good in pasta, mashed potatoes and on roasted squash of any kind.

SCRAPE the roasted pumpkin meat away from the skin and place into a bowl.  Discard the skin.

FIRE up a large pot on the stove and sweat your onion in a little cooking oil. Cook until tender and translucent.

PLOP the pumpkin into the pot with the onions.

DROWN the ingredients with enough water to cover.  Bring to violent boil.

BLITZ the heck out of the soup with a hand blender until totally smooth. Taste it and add more salt to taste.

GOBBLE down a big bowl full topped with a scoop of pesto smack dab in the middle.

Open your mind to a meal where Brussel Sprouts are not just a holiday obligation. Break through the tightly packed layers of negative feelings wrapped around a deep-rooted core of sulfurous mental anguish. Cut to the core of the problem and breakdown your sprout into leaves for faster cooking, which results in bright green colour and no sulfurous compound flavour development. It will blow your mind wide open to a whole new level of Brussel Sprout consciousness.

PS… maybe you saw this Brussels Sprout video on Breakfast TV on Thanksgiving.

Green ‘Curry’ Brussels sprouts

Serves 4 for dinner

10 brussel sprouts

600g of ground pork or turkey

1/2 can of canned coconut milk

2 big scoops of green curry paste*, or more to taste

3 green onions sliced

1 cup of short grain or Sushi rice

2 ½ cups water

pinch of salt 

* Curry Paste

2 Jalapeno peppers or 1 habanero (very spicy), stem and seeds removed

1 big chunk of ginger

1 bunch of mint, leaves only

1 bunch of cilantro, leaves and soft stems

1 bunch of basil, leaves and soft stems

½ cup vegetable oil

½ cup rice wine vinegar

juice & zest of 2 limes

pinch of salt

Get the rice on. Pour the water into a small pot, add rice and salt and place over high heat, as soon as it comes to a bubble, reduce the heat to low and place a lid on top, cook for 15 minutes remove from the heat and let the rice rest for 10 minutes before serving.

This is not a traditional green curry recipe, but it’s super delicious and it will last in the fridge for 1 week. This makes a big batch, so you can use the leftovers to scoop into soup, mix into scrambled eggs or mixed with mayo and spread on a sandwich.

To make the curry you’ll probably want to use a food processor, if you use a blender you may have to add more oil to get the flow going. In the food processor start by blitzing together the zest & juice of the lime with the ginger, jalapeno, oil and vinegar. Blend until the ginger is nicely pureed. Add the mint, basil and cilantro. Blitz the mix, scraping down the sides as needed until the mixture is consistent but not totally smooth.

Get the rice on. Pour the water into a small pot, add rice and salt and place over high heat, as soon as it comes to a bubble, reduce the heat to low and place a lid on top, cook for 15 minutes remove from the heat and let the rice rest for 10 minutes before serving.

Use a pairing knife to prep your Brussels sprouts. Point the tip of your knife at an angle into the base of the sprout to cut out the cone shaped core. Check out the photo on the side. Once you’ve got the solid core removed you can pull the sprout apart and into individual leaves. Pile those leaves into a bowl and discard the cores. It takes a couple tries to get the whole core so you can pull it all apart, but finding spiritual enlightenment takes practice.

Get a very large pan or pot on medium high heat and leave it for 5 minutes to warm up.

When the pan is hot add the oil and immediately start putting in little quarter sized bits of ground meat. Space them out so they get a chance to brown, When the pork or turkey is brown on one side, stir it all up and add the Brussel Sprouts. Cook for 3-4 minutes, tossing everything occasionally. Aren’t they turning a lovely green colour?

Add the coconut milk and cook for 1 minute. Remove from the heat and add the curry, stir to distribute the curry. Taste it. Does it need salt or more curry paste? Add some until it tastes perfect.

Serve a steamy scoop of rice in a bowl with a big scoop of saucy sprouts on top. Make sure you get enough of the creamy tangy sauce.

Potato French fries are too old school to be cool. Sweet potato fries are selling out like a Britney Spears concert.

If you’re looking for the next Bohemian, fry craze it’s right here.

Bohemian Squash, (aka Delicata Squash) is a Harlequin printed winter squash with a thin skin that does not require peeling. It has some of the sweet jammy notes of a sweet potato and a really lovely speckled skin.

Cut the squash into long strips or crescents and toss in any combination of spices before baking them to golden perfection. This is where you get to showcase your Bohemian uniqueness by creating spice rubs to flavour your fries.

A stop at the trés bohéme Silk Road Spice Merchant in Inglewood will give you plenty of inspiration for spice blends.

CLICK HERE for another post on Squash including a video.

DELICATA FRIES

Ingredients

1 Delicata (Bohemian) Squash

1 Tbsp sugar

2 Tbsp oil

1/2 tsp smoked paprika

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

The Charcut ad design is simply evolving.The original ads for Charcut Roast House were quite simple, photo + copy. But as the restaurant evolved they decide to evolve their design along with it. They asked me to come on as a designer/illustrator and come something to work with their existing branding.

Keeping with the mantra of evolving simple ingredients we worked with some of their favourite features and prized posessions: The Pig, their vintage red hand-crank meat slicer and their always changing hanging meat display window (or Meat Curtains, as they prefer me not to call it).

John Jackson, co-chef at Charcut Roast House and I have been working on a new ad design for the fall. Continuing with the Charcut mantra of Evolving Simple Ingredients, we have come up with a clever new design inspired by Connie’s end-of-summer tomato canning adventures. Look for it in Avenue Magazine and City Palate.

Did you just watch Breakfast TV Calgary? Thanks for checking out the recipe…

Click the pic to go watch the video at Breakfast TV Calgary…

If you have more mouths to feed, check out the Lazy Loafer’s Meatloaf.

TURKEY PATTIES

300g ground turkey

1 egg

¼ cup  crumbled crackers, raincoast crisps rosemary, raisin, pecan

½ tsp poultry seasoning or assorted fresh minced herbs (parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme)

salt and pepper

vegetable oil or duck fat for frying

Get a large frying pan on the stove over medium heat to warm up.

In a medium bowl combine ground turkey with crackers, poultry seasoning and egg. Mush it up really well with your hands. If you want to check it for flavour and seasoning, just pick a little bit out and fry it til it’s cooked and taste it. Add more salt, pepper or seasoning if required.

Divide the mess into 2 large patties or 4 small patties.

Pour some oil in the hot pan and place the patties in gently. Fry until it gets a crispy brown bottom, then flip it over and cook until it’s done. Set it aside to rest while you whip up the Brussels sprouts.

BRUSSEL SPROUTS

4 slices of bacon, chunked

10 brussel sprouts

1 clove of garlic, grated

zest and juice of 1 orange

a few craisins or dried cherries

nob of butter

salt and pepper to taste

Get a large frying pan over medium high heat and pile in 4 slices of bacon cut into small chunks. Fry the bacon until crispy, then remove, but leave as much of the fat in the pan as possible. Crank up the heat and toss in 10 Brussel Sprouts that have been pulled apart into just the leaves and one whole clove of garlic. Add the zest and the juice of 1 orange (or ¼ cup of OJ), a few craisins, a nob of butter and swirl until it makes a nice creamy sauce. Season with salt and pepper and serve with crispy bacon on top.

CARROT COINS

2 carrots, cut into coins

2 Tbsp butter

1 large nob of ginger, grated

1 tsp honey, optional

salt to taste

Place a small pot over low heat. Pile in the carrots, butter and ginger. Place a lid on top and cook for 15-20 minutes until the carrots are tender and the butter creates a lovely orange sauce. Season with salt and serve.

Recap from the French Twist collaborative cooking class with Jessie Willis of  VineArts.

Jessie was absolutely fantastic to work with. He is passionate and full of energy and knowledge without the slightest hint of winey pretention.  Look for Jessie to dominate the Cookbook Company calendar this fall with classes about beer, wine and other spirits.

Also keep your eye on this young guy as he climbs the wine ranks in Calgary with his own wine shop opening (hopefully) later this year.

Photos are courtesy of a class volunteer (thank you) who very graciously helped serve while simultaneously taking snaps of the food. They may be a little grainy but you’ll get the idea…

Petite Tarte Flambée

with fresh apple, crème fraiche and bacon hollandaise, chives and bacon bits

Clam Chowdére

Potato velouté with sautéed chowder accoutrements: chorizo, mirepoix, tomato concasser, clams, parsley, etc.

Quail au vin

red wine reduction, bouquet grandmere, pistou

Pommes Frites (apple fritters)

Grand Marnier chocolat chaud with Cloven whipped cream

Jessie appears to have had his way with this one already…

Check out the menu for this Fall’s Hands-on Couple’s Cooking Classes at the Cookbook Company.

• Twisted carrot and parsnip latkes with ginger cream and bright parsley salad

• Nutty quinoa citrus supreme salad with bright basil mint

• Meaty halibut baked with zesty peperonata with herby butter homemade gnocchi

• Juicy fresh grape streudel with bright basil and coriander+orange chocolate sauce

Here’s an action video from a class…

Classes are hands-on, 6:30-9:30, $90 per person. Call to 403-265-6066 register.

These hands-on Bistro classes are great for learning about food in a fun social environment.They offer an opportunity to cook all 4-courses instead of other classes where you are restricted to just one of 5 courses.

Here are the dates for this menu.

Friday, October 14

Friday, October 28

New Menu to starts on…

Saturday, November 5

Saturday, November 12

Saturday, November 26

Looks like Canadian Beef is having a little contest to see who can come up with the best recipe using Canadian beef. The winner gets to head south to the Eat,Write, Retreat.

Here is a truly Kitchen Scraps inspired recipe with animated story…

The Bird and the Turd: A Cautionary Tale

Once upon a time in the great white northern Canada, there was a little bird who was a big jerk. Not only did he call the other birds fowl names, he told them that flying south was a stupid idea. They were more than happy to leave without him.

The little bird was overjoyed to be on his own. But he had never been in the north for the winter, so he was unprepared when a snowstorm hit, blew him from his nest, and deposited him into a snowbank two miles down the road.

All he could do was shiver and wait to die.

When a thoughtful cow spotted the shivering bird, she wanted to help the poor thing. She turned around, lifted her tail, and dropped a hot steamy pile of relief right on top of the bird’s head. Wasn’t that a nice cow?

The moment it dawned on the bird that he was covered in cow plop, he jumped up and let out a torrent of sailor-calibre slurs. The poor cow, who was only trying to help, decided to walk away, but the bird kept on fiercely cussing.

A curious cat came along to see what all the flapping was about.

The turd-head bird told the cat his sad story. The cat seemed sympathetic and offered to help. He took the little yapper back to the farmhouse and rinsed him clean in a warm soapy bird bath . . . before promptly gobbling him down.

Morals of the Story

1. Someone who craps on you doesn’t necessarily mean you any harm.

2. Someone who hauls you out of crap isn’t necessarily looking out for your best interests.

3. Just because someone gives you a recipe that looks like a pile of crap on a plate, it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s going to taste like crap.

AND FINALLY, THE RECIPE…

Steak and Mushroom Cowpie

30 brown button mushrooms (cremini), quartered

2 Tbsp kosher or sea salt

2 lb stewing beef or chuck steak, cut into 1-inch cubes

vegetable oil for the pan, up to 2 Tbsp for onions

3 Tbsp flour

1 onion, chopped

2 cups beef broth

1 cup Guinness

1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

pinch of nutmeg

salt and pepper

1 package frozen puff pastry, defrosted (read the instructions—some take about 2 hours to defrost)

PROCEDURE

In a big pot over medium-high heat, heat some oil and start to brown the cubed beef in small batches, removing the beef when it is browned onto a large plate or casserole dish. The meat doesn’t need to be cooked through, just browned on the outside for flavour. After you have browned all the beef, brown little batches of the mushrooms, and then transfer to the same dish as the beef.

Reduce the heat to medium, pour in some oil if the drippings don’t amount to about 2 Tbsp, and cook the onion until it is translucent, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle in the flour evenly and mix it up a bit with a wooden spoon. Crank the heat to full blast and throw in the beef broth and the Guinness. Scrape the sticky bits off the bottom of the pan. Now add all the previously browned beef along with their juices, and the mushrooms, Worcestershire sauce, nutmeg, and salt and pepper. Drop the heat to low, cover and simmer for at least 2 hours.

In the meantime roll out the puff pastry to 1/2 inch thick. Using a round cookie cutter cut out at least 6 rounds of dough, and bake them according to the package’s instructions, timing it until you are ready to serve.

To serve, ladle out the pie “pie” into shallow bowls and top with a piece of flaky fresh-from-the-oven puff pastry.

It’s as easy as pie . . . actually, it’s easier.

Serves 6 close friends.

Crusty Topper

It may be crustless on the bottom, but you can still call it a pie. Making puff pastry from scratch is a lot of work and it takes some practice . . . so I like to skip all that and just get the frozen stuff. Nothing to feel guilty about. It bakes up nicely and makes a great topper for this pie.