French Fling

It's nearly Spring, right? While it may not quite feel like it here in Calgary, one of the surefire ways to make our greyish brown days a little more interesting is with wine! I was lucky enough through the generosity of fabulous friends to score a ticket to the French Fling at Willow Park. We celebrated several French wines, alongside delicious cheese, pâté and baguette. 

Some of the Goodies that I picked up

The distributors and reps were all very knowledgable, and some had fantastic stories about the old family vineyards where they produce their wines. If you don't know a lot about wine, or even if you do, I would highly recommend that you attend one of these events. So much better than a larger scale event held at a cold conference centre because these people are actually interested in teaching, and telling stories. Stories that bring you closer to your bottle while sharing it with your friends. Wine speaks to a tradition of patience, of caring for vines, earth and grapes, of aging and waiting. I love that wines are nurtured into something brought to tables all over the world, shared over meals, between friends and family. And, in this age of instant gratification, there is certainly something to be said for that. 

Fantastically French!

Among several others, one of the goodies that I was lucky enough to pick up was from a small family vineyard in southwest France...100% Malbec (Malbec from France!?) that is a gem; Domaine La Berangeraie Cuvée Maurin Cahors 2007. For $12.49 a bottle a Willow Park, this wine is a steal of a deal, and such a surprise. If you are interested, here is some their story, awards and information. The wine is organic and low sulphite too! 

We tried wines from $10 to over $100, some great, some not. We had a great time, and learned a lot. My generous friends are soon headed to the Rhone valley of France, and may just have a chance to speak directly to some of these vintners, and maybe to see, smell and feel all of the aspects that make these wines delicious. I wonder if they would be generous enough to take me with them? 

Pass the Bearnaise! Recipe Share

Recently, we were invited to a cook-off dinner party. Before you start imagining Kitchen Stadium or Top Chef style blow-outs, this was a good-natured, friendly competition between friends, about culinary training, and the general enjoyment of cooking beautiful meals. We were all winners for being involved.

The party started with Prosecco (something all parties should start with, in my opinion), and we enjoyed a feast highlighted by Saganaki, private reserve olive tapenade, Spanakopita done with HAND-MADE (!?!) phyllo pastry, secret recipe chicken curry, perfectly done beef tenderloin, and what might possibly be the world's best béarnaise sauce. This meal was the definition of decadence. We even had the luxury of a sommelier in our midst! 

Besides these culinary masterpieces, we were also treated to great conversation with new friends, and old. While it can sometimes be difficult to schedule time for socialization, dinner parties are a perfect excuse. You have to eat! If your evening is topped off by an animated discussion about wine that smelled like garlic sausage (you could have served it with sauerkraut and mustard!), then a good time is sure to be had. Gratitude to all involved. 

I'd like to share with you the Best Simple Béarnaise sauce recipe, brought to you by one of our fantastic chef's, that would like to remain anonymous. His wife says he will usually do the "Béarnaise Walk" around the table about half way through the meal, just to be sure you have had enough. Is there such thing as enough?

Best Simple Béarnaise

• 4 tbsp fresh tarragon
• 3 egg fresh yolks
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 1 lb unsalted butter
• salt & pepper to taste
• cold water, if necessary

1. Roughly chop fresh tarragon, and crush it gently with a mortar & pestle.

2. Combine tarragon, egg yolks, chicken stock in saucepan over very low heat, whisking vigorously and constantly until thickened and warm.

3. Slowly add butter by spoonfuls, still whisking constantly.

4. Add salt & pepper to taste.

4. If sauce is too thick for your liking, remove from heat and thin with small amounts of very cold water. Serves 4 people very generously, and is good on almost everything. 

It really IS good to be close!

Kendall-Jackson Pinot Noir

I'd like to take a moment to write about the importance of good, neighborhood restaurants. The kind that you can go to on a Tuesday or a date-night Friday, and you are always satisfied with the outcome. Near my house, that restaurant is now Stonehill Restaurant & Tavern. We have several choices around; standard Italian, good Vietnamese, dim sum, chains and fast food. But, when Stonehill finally opened, for me, there was a warm glow and choir music surrounding the place. It meant that I no longer had to compromise on experience for food, or wine for price or any of the other concessions that I make when I want to stay close to home. Here is my review of our most recent experience...

Spicy Pork Tacos

We were there to celebrate and without a reservation, and still were welcomed with excellent service, and beautiful cozy booth, and the well-thought-out wine list. A note about wine lists from someone like me, that thinks a $6 house wine cannot possibly be good; I like it when places list their glasses separately from their bottles, I like glass choices besides merlot and cabernet sauvignon, and I REALLY like the Kendall-Jackson Vintner's Reserve Pinot Noir. A good wines-by-the-glass list to me says, "Hey, try a few different things!" and "It's ok that your husband doesn't like wine enough to drink a whole bottle with you!" (Yes, I am personifying the wine list, it only really speaks to me after a bottle or two. I digress...). We shared the Spicy Pork Tacos for an appetizer. These are a treat of spicy pulled pork, cilantro and pineapple salsa in tiny little taco shells. For dinner, my Fettuccine with Lamb Ragout and Wild Mushrooms was, simply put, amazing. It was earthy, rich, and even decadent, if you can say that about meat. My husband's Forno Roasted Chicken was a spectacular feast, plated high and served with a well-made, flavourful reduction, and beautiful unique vegetables. Service was great, music was fun, and there was a happy hum to the whole room that said the other guests were having a similar experience to ours. Have I mentioned the wine tower in the middle of the place? Pretty cool, since there is an elevator running up the middle of it. All of this within walking distance to my house. 

Forno Roasted Chicken

I know that some of you live in places where a good meal, I mean a really good meal, is always close at hand. But, for those of you living in the 'burbs like me, where greasy, theme based restaurants abound, it is certainly a pleasant surprise to indulge in something so good, so close to home.

First Coffee, Then Life

This morning, on my way to my day, I sat holding my freshly brewed, deliciously sweet, satisfying and completely blissful cup of coffee. I lovingly looked down on it wondering how anyone could live without this promise that anything could happen... Ok, ok, I understand that I might be placing a little too much emphasis on a cup of coffee. But it did get me thinking about rituals, and how we use these daily, or weekly or seasonal rituals to create positive bubbles in our life, and how often these bubbles are centered on food & drink.

Besides my necessary daily coffee (or NDC, just ask my husband how necessary that coffee actually is),  I often look to create ritual bubbles in a Sunday dinner, or a celebration or habitual seasonal gathering (read: Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas). I must always have some delicious, comforting culinary element to bring it all together. Skating parties must have hot chocolate and cookies. Dinner parties must have appetizers, wine and dessert. Christmas must have an endless array of homemade and purchased (sacrilege!) baking. I think that it gives us something to fawn over, to talk about, a start to a conversation or an end to a long day on your feet. Even if a guest cannot grasp the delicious intricacies of a well-made potato and onion tart with tarragon créme fraiche, or revel in the joy of cracking through the crisp sugar on a créme brûlée, there is still, inevitably, a kind of warmth in the moment; a sense of togetherness in the ritual bubble. And, regardless of what else may be permeating life in general (family feud or fallen soufflé), at least we can sit down to something satiating. 


I would like to know where you find inspiration for your ritual bubble. Do you have favorite traditions, recipes or other comments? What is your NDC? 


Just think, all of this commentary stemmed from just one little, perfect, steaming cup of coffee :) 

What's for Dinner?

So, I have decided to start this blog. I decided that I should write about something that I think I know about... my passion, FOOD! And all things associated with where to get it, how to enjoy it, what my thoughts are when it comes to our social commentary on the topic... 


My posts and point of view are coming from the city I live in, Calgary. So let's get to it...


My husband came home tonight with the perennial, mundane, vagueness that is the question, "What should we have for supper?" If you are like me, you are not a person that plans meals in advance, that has recipes and grocery lists set out for each weekday. I choose my meals like I choose most things, totally arbitrarily! I have to have lightening strike me with a delicious idea. I want everything to be as amazing and simple as tomato and garlic bruschetta on artisan bread with a great chianti. Alas, this didn't happen on this freezing cold, Monday evening. What to do?


We did something that we do about once a month, ordered Swiss Chalet! Ok, so I know what you are thinking... how can a self-proclaimed foodie possibly stoop to the level of pre-roasted, unimaginative chicken and sauce? I will say that there is a little bit of perfection in food that arrives to your door in less than 20 minutes, piping hot, in a throwback to TV dinner tray. In addition, there are no dishes to clean up, a real plus in my books! 


My first blog entry is a short ode to idealism and compromise in the empty fridge that is a brisk Monday night. What is your compromise when you are not struck by a Jamie Oliver-esque flash of brilliance?