Two sleeps and we will be off on our winter vacation and so I am trying to use up groceries in the house AND bake up some healthy snacks for the car ride to Minneapolis where we will catch our flights. I had a bag of frozen peach slices in the freezer and this whipped together in no time. I poured the half thawed peach slices right into the batter without chopping them first and I was pleased with the hearty look of the finished product as well as the delicious taste of a meaty peach.
The folks at the RBC Convention Centre are once again helping Winnipeggers get through the long stretch of winter by presenting the 2014 version of Mardi Gras on February 14th &15th.
At the Mardi Gras preview held recently, D immediately tucked into a Fried Oyster and Provolone Po’ Boy Sandwich. These are served on every corner in the French Quarter of New Orleans and start with a classic French baguette. The softness and freshness of the baguette is key and he indicated that this one was perfection. His was adorned with shredded lettuce, tomatoes and pickles. A huge fried oyster in a crunchy batter is the prize at the centre of the sandwich.
We sampled Peel and Eat Shrimp, fabulously Freshly Shucked Oysters and Louisiana Gumbo Soup-all terrific. There are three new fantastic menu items this year.
The Rose Farfalla Pasta is an assembly of cubed chicken breasts and spicy sausage pan-fried with capicola, red peppers, onions, mushrooms and a charred tomato sauce. The result is hearty and complex.
I enjoyed the Jambalaya which is also new. In spite of the fact that I had just made jambalaya for our dinner at home the previous evening, I was willing to dive right in. Their version of a classic Creole stew was chock full of shrimp, Cajun sausage, grilled chicken, tomatoes, bell peppers, rice and okra.
My favourite of the evening was yet to come. The Bourban Flamed Garlic Pepper Shrimp were expertly prepared before my eyes and pulled off the heat just as they changed colour and texture, which ensures a firm and crunchy shrimp.
These had been marinated in smoked paprika, hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and old bay spice and then pan-fried in butter, garlic, coarse black pepper and cayenne pepper before the Bourban is added and tipped towards the flame to sear and finish the dish.
Tickets for Mardi Gras 2014 are available at Ticketmaster.ca. Besides the authentic cuisine, entertainment is provided all night long by Dwayne Dopsie and the Zydeco Hellraisers.
Kath’s quote: “The great dish of New Orleans, and which it claims having the honor of invented, is the GUMBO. There is no dish which at the same time so tickles the palate, satisfies the appetite, furnished the body with nutriment sufficient to carry on the physical requirements, and costs so little as a Creole Gumbo. It is a dinner in itself, being soup, piece de résistance, entremet and vegetable in one. Healthy, and not heating to the stomach and easy of digestion, it should grace every table.”-William H. Coleman
Many of my media friends are members of Canadian Women in Communications and they recently staged a very special event. Raw Almond is the world famous* pop up restaurant on the frozen Assiniboine River near the famous junction of the Red. *I say world famous because originator Mandel Hitzer announced when we were there, that a Swiss media outlet declared Raw Almond one of the top ten things to do in the world!
Somehow organizers Morgan and Sara Comrie were able to convince Mandel to open the tented venue for a special lunch. Mandel has not only been working tirelessly to operate the unique temporary restaurant for 21 days in total (the last evening is this coming Thursday evening) but he is also sleeping in a tent on the river to raise funds for three charities near and dear to his heart. And what a huge heart he has-passionate about the local culinary scene, passionate about Winnipeg and Manitoba and passionate about its hardy citizens especially those with disabilities and others facing social hurdles.
As we found our fur covered stools fashioned from tree stumps, freshly baked bread arrived at our tables, tipped out of brown paper bags. I sampled both the whole wheat baguette and the rustic raisin loaf. The parade of dishes arrived family style and first up was one that I had enjoyed previously at Deer + Almond.
Mandel has deconstructed and then reconstructed a traditional Caesar salad, and the result is a sparkling platter of lacy kale with slices of green apple, shards of parmesan cheese and a dressing with heady tastes of caper and anchovy.
While we were munching away, and feeling so healthy doing so, pork and apple sausages with pungent mustard arrived. They were lean and clean tasting with a minimum of salt.
I would love to nab a kilo of them for my freezer.
Shimmering beets and huge scoops of sheep milk cheese as white as the glistening snow which surrounded us, were perched upon a bed of grilled rapini which came along as a prelude to the main event: Whole chickens that had been stuffed with rosemary and sage leaves under the skin.
Savoury notes were guaranteed by lemons, whole bulbs of garlic and huge cuts of onion that were wedged in the cavity of the birds. Each roasted fowl was surrounded by purple, white and yellow potatoes, roasted whole with their skins on. In spite of our robust outdoor appetites, we could not manage to eat all the offerings that had been laden upon the table.
As delightful as our meal had been, the best part of the day was still to come as the guest speaker rose from his place at our table to share in his famous adventure. I am referring to Tim Sr., half of the father and son duo who won Canada’s first Amazing Race in the summer of 2013. I took away two key messages from Tim’s eloquent tale: “Cease striving” is a moto familiar and comfortable with me from Psalm 46. The message is tattooed across Tim Jr.’s back and was their wake up call about half way through the race. Secondly, was the importance of perseverance as it related to the race last summer and to Tim’s battle with Parkinson’s disease. It was this message that spoke to me the loudest and made me so very proud. I am not surprized that Tim and his son won this coveted honour and that is because he is from Winnipeg and when you are from the frozen prairies, you know what adversity is all about. But Tim Sr. and everyone who calls themselves a Winnipegger is triumphant. We not only survive in a climate that on some days is colder than Mars; we thrive and laugh at winter by dining on a frozen river!
Kath’s quote: When the world says, “Give up,” Hope whispers, “Try it one more time.”~Author Unknown
What started as a “ministry” (defined as a term of service to others) for D and I has turned out to be anything but. I’ll explain. A number of years ago a young family came to our house to learn a little bit more about our community. I had put out refreshments and a couple of things to nibble on. They asked in advance if they could bring their newborn baby along. When they arrived, our youngest daughter whisked the baby away and kept him entertained while the adults enjoyed some one on one time together. This was our version of hospitality, nothing out of the ordinary, just how you take care of people when you invite them to your home. Well, the husband and wife went on and on about how our evening together was an absolute delight and the most pleasurable evening that they had enjoyed in a very long time. Even though our family is all grown up, it doesn’t mean that D and I do not remember those years, when everything was focused on the caring of our children with little time alone with other adults. Well this got me thinking-maybe D and I should host one of these evenings once a month!
We start as soon as most parents are getting home from work so all that they have to do is gather up the family and arrive at our place in time for dinner. D and I (and Sister #3 who had to be recruited when the gang grew too large for us to manage on our own), eat with the kids in the dining room and the parents help themselves in the kitchen and find a spot in the living room. As soon as we have completed supper we head downstairs to our family room that we have set up for play. The evening commences when the young families head home in time for their kids to have a regular bedtime.
Fast forward a number of years (I truly do not know how many), and our little time “of service” is rolling along. Except that it does not feel anything like a favour to others but an absolute joy for us. In fact, D is like a little child himself, watching out the window in anticipation of the families’ arrival. I have had to become more and more imaginative with my cooking as the group has grown quite large and I want to ensure that the meals are quick, not messy, nutritious and affordable. We plan in advance. We have a gathering this week and found a great buy on whole wheat tortellini that I will serve with a tomato veggie sauce.
In addition to the joy that we experience when being with the families and all of the hugs and kisses from the toddlers upon their departure, the families take the time to reciprocate whenever they can with pictures for the fridge (both from the portrait studio and crayon renditions by the children), other much appreciate gifts and often times, dinners at their home. I know that cooking for us is stressful. Not because we are picking eaters, in fact, we are quite the contrary, but because people seem to think that we consume culinary masterpieces on a regular basis, when this is absolutely not the case.
Recently, one of “our” families asked us to dine with them. As we were heaping accolades upon Theresa and the meal, she quietly said :”Oh, I am so glad. We wanted this meal to be special, because we wanted to show you how much we appreciate what you do for us.” There it is again: Food=love. We knew we were loved because of the care that went on in kitchen, in fact we knew we were loved, from the very time of the invite.
I didn’t want to put any extra pressure on T and J, so I didn’t take my camera that evening. Instead, J texted me the main course recipe with his I Phone and I recreated it at home. I altered the recipe quite substantially, not because it wasn’t perfect, but because I didn’t have the exact same ingredients as Theresa in the house. Her version is from The Joy of Cooking which she indicates is her go-to recipe book. It was mine too when I was a young Mom, but when the spine broke and my favourite recipes kept slipping out to be forever lost in the untidiness of new parenthood, I had to lay it to rest.
I assembled the dish last evening, but then when no one came home for dinner (I indulged in Superbowl leftovers in front of the Jets game) I baked it up this morning. I have a dinner date tonight so that our house will enjoy this scrumptious dish without me. In the mean time the taste is just as delectable as Theresa’s version.
