joannaf's Profile
A cake that will get you drunk
+1 for the rum cake!
Our family makes a very boozy sauce to go on top of Christmas pudding, but I've successfully adapted it for saucing other cakes and things. Most recently, made a chocolate volcano cake with a working volcano, using a rum chocolate version of the sauce that "erupted" from the cake mountain. Here's the basic recipe, feel free to change up the booze/pudding flavour:
Make 1 large box (6 serving size) of cooked Jello pudding (never instant) using 1/2 the milk necessary. Chill with a piece of wax paper over the top to prevent a skin from forming. Once chilled, whip till smooth using forks, hand beater, etc... then fold in 1 cup of whipped cream. Now add as much liquor as you want - I chose chocolate pudding with rum, but grande manier would be good, as well as a mint liqueur....it's really up to you!
Serve chilled, pour over everything.
Made pomegranate molasses now what do I do with it?
Last year, Food52 ran a "best ham" contest on their site, and the winning ham is glazed in pomengranate molasses, among other things. It's pretty much divine and it's the only ham I make these days. Here's the link: http://www.food52.com/recipes/2262_smoked_ham_with_pomegranate_molasses_black_pepper_and_mustard_glaze
cream of wheat - non-cereal uses?
I know a lot of surfers (in Barbados) drink a thickened, warm milkshake composed primarily of Cream of Wheat with coconut milk, sweetened with sugar or honey, and spices (like cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice....). It's a real energy boost after a few hours of hitting the waves.
dehydrator recipes - what to make?
The most fun thing I've ever made is dehydrated watermelon. It's like fruit taffy. Slice the watermelon into thin wedges, remove the rind, and dehydrate it until it's thin and dry, but still flimsy.
I use my dehydrator to make meals for backcountry camping, mostly. I'll make chickpea curries (like a chana masala) and spread it onto sheets of parchment paper in the dehydrator to dry. I've had a lot of success dehydrating chili and spaghetti sauces the same way. Just be careful with meat - if you plan on dehydrating any, make sure it's a) in small bits, and b) void of fats, which can spoil. If I'm cooking meats to add to a dehydrator meal, I'll drain off all the fats before procceding with the recipe. I will also cook rice or pasta, and dehydrate that so it's a snap to cook at the campsite - which saves fuel.
I'll store all my dehydrated meals in the freezer, until I'm ready to take them camping. It's just an insurance policy to reduce the chances of spoilage.
Wurst - Calgary German Beer Haus
Does anyone know what's happening next door (the old Tech Shop location)? I thought it was going to be incorporated into Wurst, like a big indoor/outdoor patio, which has proven to be untrue.
Originally, I had heard that Mercato people had bought it, to make another pizzeria, but that was two years ago and I haven't heard anything since.
Wurst - Calgary German Beer Haus
Went Saturday night and ate in the dining room. I really liked the decor, loved their chairs, but was a little sad that the trees they promote on the website were fake. It does reduce the upkeep, but it's a little mall-like. They have the "in-house water filtration system" that's so popular at Una and Boxwood, which is nice. There are (housemade?) quick pickled vegetables on the table when you sit down - light and refreshing.
We had very quick service, and only a few bumps due to the newness of the place. Like, our meals came out before we had been served our drinks, and the bread was served halfway through our meal. The bf chose the Jager schnitzle (with mushrooms, veggies and spatzle) and I had the beer braised mussels. The schnitzle was tender, with a deeply flavoured sauce and generous amounts of mushrooms. The mussels were swimming in large chunks of bacon, fennel and pearl onions in a delightful beer-y broth. Thank god they brought out the bread to sop it all up!
We finished with the apple strudel with homemade vanilla ice cream. Not bad! The pastry was very crisp, with warm, well-cooked apples inside. Full disclosure - we only ordered dessert because we wanted to try out more beers, and didn't want to venture downstairs (to the beerhall) quite yet.
Once we had finished dessert, and cleared the bill we went downstairs. They've done a good job of keeping the two spaces separate - the noise downstairs was not very audible upstairs, etc. The hall was completely packed, so we only did the tour and went on our way. The kitchen is open to the beerhall, so it might be fun next time to eat downstairs and see the chefs go at it.
Final thoughts - food was good, service needs to work the kinks out, and next time we'll be trying out the beerhall.
Fuze on Fourth - Calgary
Finally went! The short review is nice - but expensive!
The bf and I went for appetizers and drinks on a Friday afternoon. We sat in the lounge; it was full but not loud, and we had good service from the wait staff. We had two beers each, and two appetizers to share. The beer list (not draught) was small, but interesting - like the kinds you'd see in the international section of the Co-op liquor store. (Actually, went there after to get one of the varieties we'd liked at Fuze....!)
The appetizers were delicious - we shared the KFC (korean fried chicken) Wings and the Indian Chili Prawns. Both disheswere really nicely spiced, and had great presentation. The wings are breaded, fried, then tossed with a spicy deeply red marinade - careful for your shirt! Our waitress said the prawns were so delicious because of how much butter they'd been cooked in. And really, what's not better with more butter? The only thing was the price - $15 for 7 chicken wings, and $14 for 5 prawns in a poppodam basket. Thank god for the beer to soften that blow...
I'll go again, because it's tasty - and the main courses looked great. But I'm not going to come here for after-work drinks, unless it's on someone else's account....
Fuze on Fourth - Calgary
Oh, yep, took a look at the bio's on Facebook and the Executive Chef and Manager both came from Fuze in Banff.
Fuze on Fourth - Calgary
Hey - walked by the newly opened Fuze on Fourth, down in Mission, last night. The maitre d was outside, and said they'd only been open for 3 days. Anyone know anything about it? Is it related to the Fuze that was in Banff?
Nutmegs in the shell, Calgary
Gosh, no! I'm looking for this:
http://bp2.blogger.com/_Ldah__-frBM/SGnq0I_rO_I/AAAAAAAAAeQ/Dqf2CW74uj0/s1600-h/Nutmeg+Logo.bmp
Nutmegs in the shell, Calgary
Unfortunately they don't. I went in, and they only had whole nutmegs. No shells. The salesperson didn't think they ever had nutmegs in shells.
Nutmegs in the shell, Calgary
Actually yes, I do mean nutmeg in the shell. The mace is a red membrane that is stripped off the shell, and the nutmeg is within that shell. Still in the shell is a very good indication of freshness of the 'meg, as it protect it from all the usual wear and tear on spices - atmosphere, heat and direct sunlight. I was fortunate enough to get nutmegs in the shell from the Caribbean island of Grenada, but finding them anywhere else is seemingly fruitless...
Nutmegs in the shell, Calgary
Would anyone know where I could find nutmegs still in the shell in Calgary? I've about finished my stash from Grenada, and I'd prefer not to go back to the pre-grated sawdust or the tasteless dry nutmegs that are all I see in the larger stores (Superstore, Co-Op, Safeway). Any suggestions?
Tartaric acid in Calgary?
Do you maybe mean cream of tartar? If the recipe is not from North America, it could be that the naming is different. Cream of tartar is used to stabilized egg whites, etc, so it would be up your alley. You can find it in the spice aisle at major grocery stores, I imagine.
Boxwood (Calgary)
Went to Boxwood last night for dinner - as it was a Wednesday, there were only a couple of other tables occupied. My date and I had the pleasure of two waiters (!) for most of the meal - maybe a mix up on their part, but we couldn't fault the service. We sat at the bar, which allowed us to view the chefs finishing the dishes.
We both had a pint of the Brew Brothers Brewery beers - so local, they're only a few blocks away from the restaurant. I believe they're near District. The brewery itself doesn't have a storefront, so you have to find it at different bars or restaurants. Nice, easy drinking beers - comparable to Wild Rose, I'd hazard. But I'm not much of a beer connoisseur, so take it with a grain of salt.
The bf had the lamb with mint sauce, and a side of sesame-sauced green beans. The lamb was cooked well, and the green beans were phenomenal - I practically licked the plate to get more of the nutty, sesame sauce when we finished the beans. I had one of the specials of the night - a corn, kale and ricotta quiche - delicious, with a tender-crisp crust and side salad composed of mixed greens with zucchini. Kale came from their gardens, nice touch.
Both meals came lickety-split. No need to moan and groan about slow service here!
We split dessert - a saskatoon berry bread pudding with sea salt caramel and saskatoon ice cream. The caramel and bread pudding were right on the money, the ice cream was a little too sweet for my taste.
Overall, a great meal. I was very happy with the portion sizes - nope, this isn't the olive garden, and you probably won't exit with a doggy bag. But that's okay.
quebec trip ,what an albertian should bring back?
I've got to disagree. Like Anonymoose said, it's best substitute we have. Yes, the baker's from Montreal. But unless they've started importing Montreal water and Quebec flour it'll never be the same.
Growing up in Montreal and then coming to this barren wasteland of Safeway "bagels" I was incredibly delighted to find Montreal Bagels. But I always look forward to the first fresh bagel from Fairmount's ovens when I return to Quebec.
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Montreal Bagels
8408 Elbow Dr SW #103, Calgary, AB T2V 1K7, CA
CHARCUT (CALGARY)
There's already been some reviews of this restaurant on the "Opening in Calgary" string.
I went last night, with the bf. I was surprised at how masculine the space was - black walls, leather banquettes, dark tables. For a local-centric resto, it was definitely giving off a more slick lounge vibe. But! That says nothing about the food!
They do a daily menu - and as far as I could piece together, a separate lunch and dinner menu. The bottle service is almost all organized, they were missing one of the draught beers. They offered house-filtered flat and sparkling water, much like Una has.
We started off with two appetizers: the racelette cheese with brioche, and the marrow bones. As I have owned a racelette maker in the past, I was a bit disappointed with how they served the cheese in a deep cast iron pot. It made it difficult to scrape the cheese out without burning your fingers on the pan. The brioche was fantastic. The marrow bones were definitely the best choice - two arrived, with buttered, toasted crumbs crowing in the bones, a lemon-y parsley salad, sea salt for sprinkling and toast points. I would go back for a serving of that alone.
For the main course we noshed on the Charcut board - a selection of cured meats. There was a thin-sliced salami, a pig's head mortadella, duck "ham" with shaved percino, and liverwurst croquettes. It was served with a lemon-y sauce for the croquettes, whole grain mustard with the mortadella, and the cheese. The serving was an excellent size for the two of us. I thought the mortadella was the best on the board, followed by the duck.
For dessert we shared a saskatoon berry cheesecake and americanos. The staff, we were told, had picked and preserved the berries from the summer. It wasn't a cooked cheesecake, rather layers of lightly sweetened cream cheese mixture interspersed with crumbled graham crackers and saskatoon berries. It was presently in a quaint canning jar. I'll admit I made the date polish off most of it, as the mortadella captured most of my attention during the meal.
The staff were really pleasant, and I'll definitely be back to sample other items. They have a lettuce and crispy chicken skin salad. I might die right after eating that, but at least I'll know what it tastes like!
Green Chili open now at Crowfoot
I went for lunch at Green Chili in Crowfoot today, and they had it all running really smoothly. Talking to one of the two men manning the front of the restaurant, he said they've only been open a week at this location. There isn't many tables, probably room for about 26 - 30 people seated, with the buffet on the side.
We were in a rush, so my companion and I both had the lunch buffet. They serve naan at the table, and had all the prerequisite dishes for an Indian buffet - various pickles and sauces, surprisingly good onion bahjies, 3 veggie curries, a ground lamb dish, a beef dish, tandoori and butter chicken.
Nothing was too spicy, but that's to be expected with a buffet - the veggie dishes were the most spicy, and I would classify that as being only maximum medium-hot.
They gave us chai on the house, and came around to offer fresh papadums that were missing from the buffet when we first went through. The buffet was $15.50 per person.
I'm not usually a fan of a buffet, because it's the watered down version of what a restaurant can usually do - but as everything was tasty, I'll be going back to order off the real menu for dinner some time.
Cooking classes? (Calgary)
Sakana grill also does sushi making classes. I participated in one last fall, at the downtown Sakana location. You can call the restaurant ((403) 290-1118) to inquire when they're having the next course, and what it costs. You make enough sushi to feed 4 or 5 people, and they serve refreshments. There isn't much one-on-one instruction as there was about 20 people in my class. The chef demonstrates how to make a certain roll, and then you try it yourself. All supplies are included, and you take home your rolling mat.
