Oliver's Chili Peppers

Oliver's Chili Peppers

Monday, May 30, 2011

Recipe Share: Carbonara

I have a confession to make; I love Fettucine Carbonara. I love it when it is made right, with eggs and cheese. I find that a lot of restaurants claim to serve carbonara, but you often end up with a dry version of Alfredo. Not the same! The best Carbonara that I have had in Calgary is at Rea's Italian Cucina. This little, family owned joint in an industrial area of Calgary served this pasta at its most prime. That is, until, last Friday. 


Carbonara has always been a dish that frightened me to make myself. What if I ended up with scrambled egg pasta? Well, that didn't happen. Carbonara a la Cheryl was spectacular. We savoured the dish with a crisp Viognier from Santa Rita 120. Talk about a fantastic Friday night!


Carbonara A La Cheryl


1 pkg fresh fettucine, cooked according to package (or make your own, about 250 g)
150 g chopped pancetta
1/2 chopped small white onion
1 tsp minced garlic
1/2 cup white wine (I used the Viognier that we later drank)
4 eggs
splash of half & half cream
1/2 cup fresh grated parmigiano reggiano cheese
1/2 cup frozen peas
1/2 cup chopped italian flat leaf parsley
1/2 cup chopped, toasted walnuts
olive oil
salt & pepper, plus more cheese to taste
Toasting Walnuts


1) In a large, heavy bottomed pan cook the pancetta until all of the fat is rendered out, and the meat is very crisp. Transfer meat to a paper towel lined plate and set aside. 
2) If there is about 2 tbsp of pancetta fat left in your pan, use this to sautée your onion and garlic. If not, add enough olive oil and sautée.
3) Cook pasta according to directions. When done, drain, coat with olive oil and set aside. 
Finished Product
4) When onion and garlic are translucent, add white wine. Reduce by half.
5) Beat eggs with the half & half and salt & pepper.
6) Add pasta, peas and pancetta to the pan. Stir with tongs until everything is warmed through.
7) Removed from heat, and very slowly add in the egg and cream mixture, tossing constantly (an extra set of hands helps here!).

8) Put back on gentle heat, tossing until the egg coating thickens slightly. Toss in cheese, walnuts and parsley just before serving. 


This recipe served the two of us generously, with leftovers. 

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Dining Out- of Town

I love to eat. I love to travel. Put the two things together and there can be bliss. Not only do I research restaurants, cafes and hole-in-the-wall eateries ad nauseam, but I love to ask people about their favourite restaurants while I am away from home. Even if people are not foodies, watching them explain why they love a place is always exciting. 

I have been fortunate enough to do a little travel in my life, and most recently have visited the cities of Vancouver, Chicago and Phoenix. Each offered its own particular culinary adventure. 

Granville Island Cappuccinos 
In Vancouver, a health conscious mindset prevails, with people walking, hiking and biking all over the place. It was nice to find that in a lot of the more urban neighbourhoods, the value of a specialty provider was not lost; bakers, butchers, and wine shops abound. These were alongside large and smaller grocery stores, florists and clothing stores. It seems that more culinary respect is garnered by one-off restaurants that have the opportunity to create for a smaller, but keenly interested guest. 

Chicago Skating
In Chicago, we found the choices to be overwhelming. There are new concepts, world renowned chefs, vintage rooms, fixtures of American cuisine and more. I love every moment of it. We ended up eating in the park, with a skating rink out front. The most perfect moment with cityscape, snow falling and pinot noir...

Giant Salad in Phoenix
In Phoenix, it was go big, or go home! Out in the suburbs, I didn't have the opportunity to try some of the places that I've read or heard about. But there were Burgerthon worthy burger joints, giant portion sizes, and more selection than you could shake a cactus at. With a strong Mexican influence, there were many fresh flavours to choose from.

I am planning a surprise food feature in a few months to an exotic destination. I hope to bring you all of the culinary delights, secrets and specialties of that special place, on location!

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Creating for Those we Love

Brunch on Mother's Day. Sounds cliché right? It is. In spite of that, I like to host a brunch every couple of years. It beats making reservations, eating buffet food, and dealing with the throngs of people. Plus, for our family, that seems to get larger by the moment, an intimate brunch was the perfect way to celebrate all that is MOM.


My challenge this year was to create a menu that was entirely gluten-free, but that all of my guests would enjoy. I had to present it in a way that would make our mothers feel honoured, and feed the dads well. Luckily, I picked up a few grocery items, and inspiration from a new store that opened recently called the Gluten-Free Marketplace. This store provided me some brunch favourites in GF form like English muffins and graham cracker crumbs. They even have perogies! (I understand that this is not a brunch food unless it is Christmas morning at my parents house, but hooray for GF perogies nonetheless!). 


Our menu consisted of favourites with a twist. Like the Roasted Red Pepper Eggs Benedict with Pesto and Shrimp, or Proscuitto Wrapped Asparagus with Smoky Mustard sauce. But, the knock-out favourite dish of the morning was the Strawberry Melon Gazpacho that I served as a starter course. Check out the recipe from Whole Foods. I added fresh mint leaves and S&P to create this remarkably refreshing cold soup. 


Surrounded by beautiful food we created a small moment in our sometimes chaotic world. And, while that day we celebrated how grateful we are for Mothers, we understood that we were in essence celebrating the great importance of sharing our time with the people we love.