We are a hardy crew in Winnipeg and this is one way that we cope. About the middle of January, we head away for sunny beaches and if we cannot, we at least dream about them. Another way is to ditch the winter stews and prepare food that is typically enjoyed in the summer time.  I have a gorgeous cookbook entitled “flavours of PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND a culinary journey” by Jeff McCourt, Allan Williams and Austin Clement. The over sized photos are expertly taken and breath-taking. To really sweep you away, imagine this scenario as described in the cookbook, taking place on one of those sandy beaches…..

Assemble a small charcoal barbeque  and start the coals burning. Let them burn for about 15 minutes then rake them to distribute them evenly. Cover the bottom of a large roasting pan with seaweed, making a layer about 2 inches thick. On top of this arrange the clams and mussels. Put in the onions, garlic and ginger and then cover them with a 2 inch layer of seaweed. Load on the potatoes, corn and hotdogs or sausages. Pour half of the beer over everything and cover with a clean, damp potato sack (or lid). Place this on the barbeque and begin steaming.

Once the steam starts, let everything cook for 1 hour. Add some beer if steam is escaping and add more charcoal if the fire degrades.

Serve family-style (that is, letting everyone help themselves) with melted butter and lemon.

Can’t you just feel the heat from the fire, smell the yeasty steam escaping the roaster, hear the fire snapping and taste an ice cold beer while you await your feast to cook?  Of course, the seaweed would have to be replaced with tinfoil on the prairies but other than that, there is nothing stopping you from enjoying fresh P.E.I. seafood next summer on the beaches of Lake Winnipeg. If you don’t care to wait, you could place your roster in the oven or dig out the barbeque and place the roster in there.

Our extended family celebrate each Labour Day weekend with a dinner on the beach. The menu is typically comprised of local delicacies like chicken, veggie kabobs and the like. The fun is in the cooking process itself and the time spent together in anticipation of our upcoming meal. When the sunsets, we sometimes wash our dishes in the lake and then head back to our beach house for a round of crib or a televised football game.

But we also dream of eating authentic clambake again, having done so years ago on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. With the current state of the Canadian dollar a more realistic alternate to the Cape would be the shores of PEI- a journey that we would love to make as we have only ventured to Nova Scotia and never set eyes on the other maritime provinces.

The good folks at WOW Hospitality must be dreaming of summer too, because they have decided to host the first PEI Seafood Festival right smack in the middle of winter. See here for everything you need to know:

Members of the Prince Edward Island seafood Community will be descending on Winnipeg January 16th, 17th and 18th with their products for the first ever PEI Seafood Festival. Take in one event, two events or all the events and enjoy the feel of PEI.

Friday, January 16th
Gala Dinner – 6pm at the Pavilion Centre in the Pavilion in Assiniboine Park
Tickets are $250.00 with net proceeds going to SOS (Share our Strength), a charity that works to alleviate and prevent hunger and poverty in our city including a program near and dear to my heart: St. Aidan’s Christian School in Winnipeg’s North End.
Tickets available by calling 204-942-1090 ext 230

Saturday, January 17th
9am Black Box Competition
Come out an watch top Winnipeg Chefs compete in the Black Box Competition. What will they creative with the products they are given in their box?
Yours truly is a judge.
Tickets: $25.00 Available by calling 204-942-1090 ext 230

1pm Oyster Schucking Championship – The Forks Centre Court
A competition to find the best Oyster Schucker in Manitoba.
Winner will represent Manitoba at the Canadian championship.

6pm East Coast Kitchen Party – 295 York
A Kitchen Party in East Coast style.
Enjoy sampling the best of PEI at different food stations while listening to East Coast Entertainment, Watch the Best Caesar Competition and meet members of the PEI shellfish Industry.
Tickets $40.00 and are available at any WOW Restaurant or by calling 204-942-1090 ext 230

Sunday, January 18th
1pm Best Mussel Competition – 295 York
Come Out and Watch Top Manitoba Chefs compete in the Manitoba Best Mussel Dish
No charge

3PM Best Seafood Chowder Competition – 295 York
No Charge

6pm Champagne & Oyster Tasting – 529 Wellington
Tickets are $100.00 and are available by calling 204-949-1090 ext 230

Kath’s quote: “We found some large clams…which the storm had torn up from the bottom, and cast ashore. I selected one of the largest, about six inches in length, and carried it. along…..We took our nooning under a sand-hill, covered with beach grass…I kindled a fire with a match and some paper, and cooked my clam on the embers for my dinner…..Though it was very tough, I found it sweet and savory, and ate the whole with a relish. Indeed, with the addition of a cracker or two, it would have been a bountiful dinner.”-‘Cape Cod’ Henry David Thoreau

Live simply, laugh often, love deeply.

I have been assigned the task of declaring the most romantic restaurant in Winnipeg in anticipation of Valentine’s Day.  So let me start by sharing with you the most romantic thing that has ever happened to me: 

In celebration of our 25th wedding anniversary, D and I traveled to the Mediterranean.  We started in a village in Sicily and sojourned by train up the west coast of Italy and stayed in Prariano on the Amalfi Coast, Cinque Terre, Nice and then Paris.  D arranged that with every hotel stay, there were bouquets of my favourite flowers waiting for us in our room; we shared bites of perfect food and sips of amazing wines and saw the most breath-taking scenery.  And yet, travel can be stressful as was the case for one leg of our journey.

We had to catch a 6 am bus to Sorrento but were anxious that we would not get our wake up call as it had been the first time on vacation that we had to rely on one, so we had both been awake since 4:17 am.  It was a good thing, because we never did get the call.  In addition, the espresso machine had not been fired up for the day at our hotel, so we were caffeineless.  Our bus was jammed with school-aged kids who created a deafening din so we were relieved to transfer to a train for our next connection in Naples.  Both D and I had been to Naples before but for D it had not been a positive experience and train stations are not necessarily in the best part of town.  The Naples station was huge and confusing.  We were very stressed and this was made worse by a very angry Italian “gentleman” who claimed that we were sitting in his train seats.  After that was resolved the time to Rome passed uneventfully.  But then when we switched trains again to take us to Spezia someone else claimed that we were in their seats.  This man was more handsome and less angry than the first, but it was disconcerting, none the less.  We had an hour wait in Spezia and decided to perch ourselves and our luggage on an outside platform to get from fresh air. We took turns sitting with the luggage and freshening up in the washroom and stretching our legs.  When we boarded for the last train ride of the day, we realised that the piece of luggage that contained all of our souvenir shopping from the trip had been snatched from the platform!  I was devastated, not only because we had spent precious money selecting particular gifts for our family but because both D and I had splurged and purchased Italian linens to wear at an anniversary party that was being thrown for us upon on return.  Once we arrived in Riomaggiore, I had no idea that our apartment would be an almost vertical climb up the side of a mountain.  By this time, we were exhausted and hungry and I for one was in no mood to have my heart stopped by a cardio work out, so we waited for a shuttle.  Twenty minutes later we were being shown around our home for the next few days only to find that there was no AC and because the breeze was blocked by the mountain, absolutely no movement of air.  I had had it!  I was a mess.  I sobbed and threw myself such a pity party, I am embarrassed to admit it, even now.  And then this amazing thing happened.  Doug eye-balled the size of our terrace, went inside and pulled the mattress off the bed, bedding and all.  He dragged it outside and after an amazing dinner in town, we slept under the stars that night.  I not only cooled off sufficiently but heard the most amazing sounds of birds singing in the morning, bells chiming and the village below us, coming alive.  It was so romantic to watch the sun come up over the mountain and see the sparkling sea below us. 

So when the romance bar is being set, mine is very high indeed which makes selecting a place for  Valentine’s Day dinner a difficult task.  Terrace in the Park is located in a glass atrium which has been built onto the side of the historic Pavillion of Assiniboine Park.  D and I had the pleasure of being invited to their opening but have not yet enjoyed dinner. 

The samplings on that preview night were a delight, starting with San Francisco Cioppino,

Albacore Tuna Tacos,

Steamed Pacific Snow Crab Legs,

Flights of Oysters,

Scallop Ceviche,

and what turned out to be be favourite of the evening: Smoked Pike Rillettes.

We were not surprised that the seafood that preview evening was stellar as we have heard only great things about Chef Simon Resch.  He studied at the Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts and then under the tutelage of Chefs Julian Bond and Rob Clark before returning to Winnipeg and the Beaujolais and Amici Restaurants.  Old Montreal lured him away and then an opportunity to work on the French Rivera (we must have travelled through his community on our Mediteranean train ride).  But Winnipeg was able to attract him back with positions at the Inn at the Forks and the Niakwa Golf and Country Club.  He joined WOW! Hospitality to work alongside Chef Mike Dacquisto before his final move to Terrace in the Park.

And so Valentine’s Day awaits and I will celebrate with the love of my life in the best way we know how-in a beautiful place, supping on exquisitely prepared food with perhaps a glass or two of a fine beverage.

Kath’s quote:  “Most seafoods…should be simply threatened with heat and then celebrated with joy.” –Jeff Smith 

 Love-that is all.