Haley: Recipe Homework…It’s Edible!

Dan    Ask Dan     calgary, cooking, Haley, Kick The KD, learning, thoughts

Every week, recipe ‘homework’ is assigned to the class. Here are some of things I’ve been cooking up at home…

Biscuits

For the first time in history, I have made perfect biscuits from scratch without aid from my mother. Not only is that amazing because biscuits seem to always get the better of me, but it’s also amazing because they were so perfect.

It took me two tries to finally get them right; the first time I put WAY too many raspberries in and I couldn’t tell if they actually turned out properly or not but they were delicious all the same, and the second time I didn’t mix them enough (out of fear of over mixing) so they were weird.

I used ¾ cup of whole wheat flour instead of all white flour to make them a bit healthier, albeit my roommate wasn’t too keen on the whole wheat flavour whole wheat flour tends to have. I, on the other hand, thought they were great. I didn’t put anything on them this time but now that I am a biscuit master (ish) I may give it a go next time round.

Beer Nut Cake

I saved this one for an end-of-school celebration type picnic with friends which I thought was a good idea. I took some for my friends and I ended up with one slightly mangled slice left after about an hour. Note: people REALLY like beer nut cake, so if you’re looking to make friends this is an excellent way of attracting friends, or my friends at any rate…

I halved the recipe because I didn’t want to bring, or make, quite that much cake. I also put in apricots like we did in class (I prefer them to dates in general) and used whole wheat flour in lieu of white flour. The only thing that may have gone slightly wrong is that the cake is a bit dry so if you’re using whole wheat flour add a few extra tablespoons of beer or maybe some extra butter. Oh, I sprinkled coconut on top instead of mixing it in too.

I would definitely make this again and I’m tempted to try making some other things with Steamwhistle, maybe not a beer and chocolate mix but blueberry beer muffins perhaps?

I can’t remember what week we made hummus (Dan says: Week 7), but my love for hummus is strong and lovely. Since I don’t have a food processor, I used a blender. Last time I tried to blend something other than soup or a smoothie I ended up with really liquid-y Moroccan date bites that turned into date squares. Albeit they were good, it was mildly distressing to sit there for half an hour and blend up dried fruit that clearly isn’t blending. Disasters behind me, I conquered hummus in a blender! It turned out really well and I’ve discovered the trick is to put it on ‘mix’ or ‘puree’ (or another low setting) for ages until it gets smooth enough to eat.

I added a roasted red pepper to mine and used my mum’s recipe which had garlic and oregano in it (I don’t remember what the one in class had), and it turned out deliciously.

–Haley

Stacey: Scrapin’ it out in Week Eight

Dan    Ask Dan     calgary, cooking, Kick The KD, learning, Stacey, thoughts

The past week’s lesson was a great segue into our week eight class with special guest Pierre Lamielle of Kitchen Scraps fame.  Pierre is a worldly gentleman who is quite the story teller; I highly recommend his Kitchen Scraps cookbook, I have read it cover to cover and thoroughly enjoy the illustrations and hilarious stories that accompany each recipe.  Pierre regaled us with the history of Roman feasts (accompanying the Roman chicken we made) and he even taught us the most efficient way to make whipped cream!… Additionally, in class we learned how to properly dress a salad (including the proper slicing of celery) and how to ‘pickle’ different toppings (i.e. Craisins, onions, garlic) using a brine solution which added a delightful salty (or sweet, depending on your preferences) taste.  Finally we made a “brownie served out of a pot”…yum!

Inspired by our Kitchen Scraps class, Dan’s assignment for us was to recreate one of Pierre’s recipes that has a story along with it.  The purpose is to determine if ‘food is more fun when it has a story’.

Keeping this in mind, I chose to make the Bolognese runs thick meat sauce for pasta (whilst watching Top Chef Canada of course!).  I was a little perturbed that my favourite pasta sauce stems from its resemblance to the aftermath of a sword fight, but found the history lesson interesting none the less.

Additionally, I made the half-baked pot brownie (from class) using my personally autographed Kitchen Scraps cookbook!  Based on my results, is cooking/food more fun when it has a story? Definitely! Though I struggled with an appropriate time to share the story with my dinner guests Perhaps I will choose a more appetizing story next time!

I think the real question will be … can food still be fun without Dan and KTKD? T-minus two classes… why do the fun classes have to pass so quickly? Why can’t my Chemical Process Equations go so fast? Million dollar questions.  For now, I’ll stick to Kicking the KD!

- Stacey

Cranberry Walnut Pesto

Dan    Appetizers & Co., Recipes, Vegan     cranberries, pesto, preserve, quick and easy, sauce, spring, vegan, vegetarian

What you’ll need…

1 1/2 cups dried cranberries

1/2 cup walnuts

1 cup fresh basil (firmly packed)

3 cloves garlic

1 TBSP red wine vinegar

salt and pepper

olive oil (2/3 cup approx.)

Finally! I’ve had some time to post a recipe, even if it’s just a super simple one. These past couple months have been ridiculously busy, having a lot of different things going on, especially with Kick The KD, but I see more free time (and sanity!) on the horizon. I made this pesto to go as a garnish for a vegan caprese salad I made a couple weeks back. Just something to spice things up a bit. I definitely would not put this on a hot pasta dish, but it is great on crackers, in a pasta salad, or with a cheese like brie. Definitely a nice addition an at-home charcuterie board, if you’re planning a get-together any time soon! Send me an invite!

Place the first five ingredients in a food processor. Add a pinch of salt, and a good helping of ground black pepper. Slowly pour the olive oil into the food processor while pureeing. Stop once the mixture turns to a paste. Have a taste, add a bit more salt and pepper if needed. Then process a final time.

Remove from processor and store in the refrigerator in a covered container.

Yields 2 cups pesto

Total prep time…10 min

Stacey: Home Tasting Room & Week Seven

Dan    Ask Dan     calgary, cooking, Kick The KD, learning, Stacey, thoughts

A couple of weekends ago we had a privileged behind the scenes look at Home Tasting Room with Chef Rogers, as well as a wine pairing lesson by sommelier Andrew Macleod from Red Water Grille.  Sadly I couldn’t stay for the majority of the lesson due to a prior commitment (little girls only turn 1 once!), but while I was there I learned some very interesting things.

For example, that sommelier’s began as a way to ensure the wine of nobility was not poisoned! I am glad the profession has come a long way!  Andrew wanted to impart upon us how to describe the different tastes of wine, food that pairs well with wine as well as to take the stigma out of drinking wine and encouraged us to take advantage of a restaurant’s sommelier (no longer just for the high brows!).

Chef Rogers prepared beautiful plates to match the lovely wine and I would highly recommend him and his restaurant (Home Tasting Room) to people looking for an intimate ambiance and the highest quality of local food.  The kitchen is in the middle of the restaurant allowing diners to observe the whole creative process! (Below is a picture of one of the courses we had there, a grilled tomato salad with home-made yogurt! Yum!)

After our week seven class, no homework was assigned (which I was secretly happy about since finals are quickly approaching us), but in class we learned how to make an easy and delicious hummus, lentil soup (dahl) and dolmades.

The best thing I learned from this class was that dolmades are not as exotic as I first perceived – they are in fact a lot like cabbage rolls.  I find it interesting how ideas (about food in this case) travelled around the world in a time before the Google, Twitter or even the radio existed.  From the north to the south of Europe the idea of rice, meat and other choice ingredients wrapped in a leaf was shared and interpreted.

- Stacey

Kick The KD: Farmers’ Market Tour with Charcut’s Connie & John

Dan    Ask Dan     awesome, calgary, CHARCUT, farmers' market, Kick The KD, local, lucky, Restaurants

Inspiration comes in many different forms. It can come as a friend you admire, a famous quote, or even an American Idol favourite singing the 4000th version of  ’I Will Always Love You’…(hey, to each their own right?) In this particular case, the Kick The KD group was lucky enough to be inspired by Connie Desousa and John Jackson, co-chefs, and co-owners, of Charcut; one of the top restaurants in Calgary.

You may of heard of Charcut’s infamous ‘alley burgers’, or perhaps the recent announcement of Connie taking part in Top Chef Canada, but today, you’re going to hear about how two amazing, passionate people took the time out of their very busy schedules to share a love of food with a group of individuals just starting out on their own culinary paths.

Seeing as we live in Calgary, Alberta, and our weather is predictably unpredictable, of course a massive snow storm (in April…) had to take place the day of our little field trip. Nonetheless, the Kick The KD class trekked through many a snow drift to meet John and Connie for our 12p.m. date at the Kingsland Farmers’ Market. Once we shook off the snowflakes, we were ready to roll.

Several of Charcut’s suppliers have set-up in this farmers’ market, so we stopped by each of their booths to talk about their product, why they chose that particular vendor, and all things food along the way. Here were some of their suppliers that we went by…

First up, Sylvan Star Cheese Ltd, a business based out of Red Deer, Alberta which primarily produces gouda cheese. Everyone was able to sample some of the tasty flavours like cumin and green peppercorn. Yum! You can almost always find a Sylvan Star cheese on Charcut’s menu, so give ‘er a taste next time you’re in there for lunch or dinner!

We came to Spragg’s Meat Shoppe and were given a great presentation by their butcher! Spragg’s is all about naturally fed, free range pork! The sausage samples we tasted were delicious, but I think the most important thing we all took away from the presentation was the fact that Spragg believes a pig only has ‘one bad day in it’s life‘ (don’t make me explain what the bad day is, ok?). The top-notch and extremely humane approach they take towards these animals at their farm in Rosemary, Alberta is truly exemplary!

Another great stop was the Vital Green Farms booth. Their back-to-basics approach to dairy production is awesome. None of their products are homogenized, giving it (as say they) that ‘good old-fashioned’ taste.

In particular, John made a point of talking about their heavy cream. At 52%, yes…that is not a typo, this cream apparently makes some bad-ass ice-cream! You better believe it! I bought a bottle and shall be ice-creaming it shortly. Unfortunately, they do not have a website, but you must go check out their offerings the next time you’re planning a trip to the Kingsland market!

Once the tour came to an end, after a final pit stop at Broxburn Vegetables, we finished up with some general questions for John and Connie from the group. Personally, for me, it was really great to see that everyone had soaked up this experience. It’s always amazing to hear people that about something that they are extremely passionate about, and I think this rubbed off on all of the Kick The KD-ers that were in attendance. Most definitely inspiring.

Before heading back to their restaurant to prepare for a busy Saturday evening, Connie and John left each person with a mini-Charcut surprise…a couple of their restaurant’s spice mixes!

Half of the group received Charcut’s porchetta spice blend, while the other half (myself included) received their alley burger spice blend! I don’t know what everyone else is going to do with theirs, but I am going to keep mine under lock and key until a very special occasion!

So, that was our experience in a nut shell! It was an amazing experience, and I can’t wait to see all of the participants enthusiasm when we whip up some local ingredient-based dishes in Kick The KD class next week!

Kick The KD: Veggies and Gnocchi with Chef Geoff Rogers

Dan    Thoughts     calgary, cooking, Home Tasting Room, Kick The KD, learning, thoughts

As an introduction into the world of vegetarian/vegan cuisine, I thought I would prep some bite-size caprese salads for the class. Typically made with bocconncini cheese (a really mild mozzarella), tomato, fresh basil, and some good quality olive oil, I subbed half of the servings with a firm tofu. Tricky, I know…What was the result? Well, most of the class enjoyed their two bite ‘salads’ and only one girl figured out that she was eating tofu. Moral of the story? Tofu isn’t as odd and unappetizing as you think it is. Needless to say, this definitely set a great tone for our vegetarian/vegan-focused class.

While delving into this unfamiliar area of cooking, we sampled some tempeh (fermented soy bean cakes) and nutritional yeast (vegan equivalent to parmesan cheese, give or take…) as well as prepared a vegan ceasar salad, surprisingly tasty if I do say so myself…We used the nutritional yeast in a recipe for a vegan sun-dried tomato alfredo sauce to top some home-made gnocchi that our special guest was going to teach us how to make…

The special guest in question? None other than Geoff Rogers, executive chef of Home Tasting Room. I have to mention, I was really excited when Geoff wanted to come down to one of our Kick The KD classes, if you haven’t been to Home Tasting Room yet, I would definitely recommend checking it out…immediately. His bison tartar is amazing, as is his gnocchi and most dishes on the menu. Seeing as this was a veggie-themed class, we, unfortunately, could not make tartar with him, but he was more than happy to share his gnocchi recipe with the class.

Being a man of honour (of course), I will not divulge the recipe Chef Rogers uses at his restaurant, but I will reaffirm to you that it is a delicious one. As well, I made every participant in attendance take a blood oath of secrecy, so don’t even think about trying to pry them for any information!

After everyone had a hand at mixing, rolling, and cutting, we cooked up the pasta a couple different ways: boiling and pan-frying. If you’re anything like me, you probably love a good plate of gnocchi. Hopefully you’re feeling a bit jealous while reading this because we had multiple plates of amazing gnocchi.

Yes, jealous…you should be…

Admittedly, we did spend a decent portion of time in class talking to Geoff about how to butcher an animal (obviously some what of a tangent, but I enjoy the irony considering the class theme), but hey, inquiring minds want to know these types of things!

All-in-all, it was a fantastic class. With the hands-on cooking approach we take in this program, it’s always great to see everyone get involved, but it’s just that much more exciting when there’s a chef cooking alongside you. Geoff was great with all of the participants. Kick The KD is all about inspiration and creating a love of cooking; he both inspired and displayed that passion, which was soaked up by everyone!

Thank you Chef Rogers!