We LOVE the creative kitchen team at Central City Brewing Co. in Surrey headed up by Executive Chef Carl Sawatzky.  For the whole month of September Chef Carl will be dishing up his Beer Cured Bacon Tasting Menu and we are pretty excited to get our butts over there to give it a whirl.

Central City Brewing Company has been brewing handcrafted ales & lagers in Surrey for more than 10 years!  Located just steps from the Surrey Central Sky Train station, all of the beer at Central City are made with only the finest ingredients available worldwide; two-row malted barley from Belgium and the freshest hops from Europe and the Pacific Northwest.  The lagers and ales are made fresh, with no artificial preservatives or flavour deteriorating pasteurization, which insures that customers enjoy them at their peak.

Brewmaster, Gary Lohin has a very obvious passion and knowledge for the art of craft beer.   Central City Brewing Co was recognized as the makers of the “Best Beer in BC” by CamraBC at the Best of the Best, Vancouver Beer Awards in 2009.

In the spacious open kitchen you will find Chef Carl Swatsky lovingly curing his own bacon and incorporating the tasty beer Gary makes into many of the dishes on his menu.  Chef pairs the beer with a devotion for using local, fresh, seasonal ingredients. In the heart of Surrey’s Central City, this is The Place to have a beer, watch the game and enjoy some dinner with friends in an inviting atmosphere!

Central City Brewing Co.
13450 – 102nd Avenue
Surrey, B.C. V3T 5X3   (tons of parking on site)

www.centralcitybrewing.com
Pubs and Restaurant – 604.582.6620

Chef Carl’s Tasting menu is exceptional value 3 courses paired with 3 beer  for just $35.00

1^st course

Bacon & Corn Cakes with Red Racer Lager

2^nd course

Country Bacon Terrine, served with fresh house baked Bread, small batch fresh Pickled Vegetables & Condiments served with Red Racer ESB

3^rd course

Maple Chocolate Bacon Cheese Cake with red Racer Stout

Get your bacon down there !!  Noon – 8pm every day until September 31^st, 2010

I don’t think they are the least bit strange and look forward to my weekly fix.  Tomatillos are closely related to tomatoes.  The fruit itself is bright green, they are a bit larger than a cherry tomato and the flesh is slightly meatier.  They grow inside a light brown paper like husk that peels away easily from the tomatillo and should not be eaten.  When you are picking out your tomatillos you want to look for smallish ones…they are a little bit sweeter than the larger ones, with blemish free skins much the way you would choose a nice tomato.

Before you use them, you will want to remove the husk and give them a wash. Tomatillos don’t need to be peeled or seeded, if you are eating them raw you might find them a little tart, almost citrusy so that tartness will need to be balanced in your recipe with a little honey or sugar.  To sweeten them up a little, I love roasting them on the BBQ or under my broiler at about 500 degrees.  I cut them in half or quarters depending on the size and cook them just until the skin is charred, let them cool and add them to salsas or salads for a smoky kick.

If you get to the market but can’t eat your fresh tomatillos right away and you need to store them, remove the husks, wash them and keep them in a sealed plastic bag in the refrigerator.  If you have a bit of spare time and want to stock up on these tasty treasures, you can remove the husk and freeze them sliced or whole – raw or roasted.  You’ll be rewarded for your effort in February when your homemade salsa has the crunchy, tart addition of a Langley grown tomatillo.  Give ‘em a go…I think you are going to love them !

Fresh Tomatillo Salsa – Salsa Verde    Makes 3 cups.

1 ½ lbs of fresh tomatillos

½ cup finely chopped sweet onion

½ cup fresh cilantro leaves

½ cup fresh parsley leaves

2 Tbsp fresh squeezed lime juice

2 teaspoons honey

2 fresh Jalapeño peppers stemmed, seeded and chopped

Salt & pepper to taste

Start by removing the papery husks from tomatillos and rinse well. Cut them in half and place cut side down baking sheet. Place under a 500 degree broiler for 5-7 minutes to lightly blacken or char the skin. Keep a close eye, they are small and it will happen quickly.

Place the charred tomatillos, lime juice, onions, cilantro, jalapeno peppers and honey in a food processor and pulse until all ingredients are finely chopped and mixed. Season to taste with salt & pepper.

Serve with chips as a salsa or as an accompaniment to Mexican dishes.

This time of year finding beautiful fresh herbs is not a chore…most of us likely just have to walk out our back door or patio window.  You can make the season last a whole lot longer by preserving your fresh herbs in the form of a pesto or paste.

The classic Italian Genovese pesto is made with fresh basil, parsley, garlic, parmesan cheese, pine nuts and good quality olive oil – blended together to form a paste.  While the classic is incredibly delicious and remains close to my heart as a staple in my freezer I do love to mix things up a little.  Now the Italians might not approve of my combinations but I like to take a little liberty!

Traditionally a mortar and pestle is employed for the job of blending the ingredients and please, have it if you are only making a small batch but if you are going for full pesto glory you are going to need to plug in! The best tool for the job is the food processor – good heavy duty one will make light work of it.  First up – Mint Pesto: bunches of fresh mint, but not peppermint – that would just be toothpaste like and weird.  Blend that with lemon zest, salt & black pepper, toasted almonds and olive oil.  In this one, I would forgo the cheese and serve it over grilled fish, steamed fresh new potatoes or grilled zucchini.

Next is Cilantro Pesto, this will be the perfect addition to your Mexican food this winter.  Bunches of fresh cilantro and flat leaf parsley blended with raw garlic, salt & black pepper, toasted pumpkin seeds & olive oil.  Turn your cilantro pesto into a quick cream sauce and serve it with roasted chicken and capellini pasta.

Mixed herb pesto is perfect stirred into a tomato sauce, a salad dressing, homemade soup or stew as you see fit…rosemary, tarragon, parsley, mint, basil and a bunch of baby spinach blended with lemon zest, salt & pepper, toasted cashews, almonds or walnuts, parmesan cheese and your best quality olive oil.   Try mixing your pesto into soft butter and spreading it on fresh bread, throw a small scoop into your sour cream to dress up a baked potato, melt it into the butter for your popcorn, scoop some onto grilled chicken or steak and let it melt into the meat as it rests or use it as it was traditionally intended a pasta sauce.

Pesto can be frozen into ice cube trays and then transferred as cubes into Ziploc bags or freeze it in all those yogurt containers you’ve been saving.  Fill them up and stack ‘em in the deep freeze.  Make sure you mark the bag so you know what you’ve got when you go to use it.

Happy Blending !

Sometimes, playing with your food is a really good idea. Just for kicks, give these ideas a try.

What the heck is an ABT?

It’s a tasty barbecue treat known as an Atomic Buffalo Turd. I know the name is unfortunate, but I can promise you, once you have experienced an ABT you won’t give any thought to what they are called, you’ll just want another one.

Atomic Buffalo Turds are simply hollowed out jalapeno peppers — cut in half and stuffed with a seasoned cream cheese mixture.

Sometimes cooked bacon or sausage meat is even added to the cream cheese mixture.

The cheese-stuffed pepper is then wrapped in bacon and grilled on low heat, about 250 degrees, cut-side up until the cheese is all bubby and the bacon is thoroughly cooked.

In spite of the “atomic” part of the name these little morsels aren’t usually that spicy. Seeding and removing the membrane from the jalapeno pepper before you stuff it removes most of the heat.

The balance of the cheese and the pepper with the bacon perfectly mellows the spiciness of the peppers.

You could, of course, add some heat to your cream cheese mixture. We like to add some shredded Monterey jack, a healthy sprinkling of finely grated parmesan, Mexican chilli powder, chipotle powder and a sprinkling of smoked paprika.

No buffalo were harmed in the making of these tasty turds. A friend recently advised me that if you substitute a habanero pepper for the jalapeno pepper you will have a Nuclear Turd.

I’m just going to have to take his word for it.

Since your barbecue is on and at the right temperature, you might as well make a Moink Ball!

What the heck is a Moink Ball?

Well…very simply, it is where the moo meets the oink. Created in California by Larry Gian at http://thebbqgrail.com

Moink Balls are homemade or store-bought beef meat balls, generously dusted with your favorite barbecue spice rub, wrapped in bacon and cooked on the grill or your smoker and served with a side dish of your favorite barbecue sauce for dipping.

We like to make our meatballs from scratch, using fresh ground beef, an egg, salt, pepper, granulated garlic and onion, dried parsley and a little smoked paprika.

Roll them into bite-sized balls and dust them with your prepared barbecue rub.

Wrap the Moink Ball in a half slice of bacon and secure it with a toothpick or small skewer.

Prepare your barbecue so that you are cooking with indirect heat, and cook for about two hours at 250 degrees until the meat is thoroughly cooked (160 degrees) and the bacon is crisp.

Serve these little guys fresh off the grill with a couple of sauces for dipping and prepare to receive the applause. Your friends and family are going to love ’em.

Happy grilling.

A few years ago my friend Joanne Saunders created this delicious recipe for the folks at JD Farms www.jdfarms.ca and it’s a real winner. If you haven’t been to JD Farms go, pick up the turkey you will need for the cheese ball along with some of the best turkey smokies, turkey pepperoni and turkey burgers you will ever eat. Plan to visit them at lunchtime so you can grab a fresh turkey sandwich on cranberry bread and a bowl of turkey noodle soup to enjoy on the patio at the bistro.

JD Farms is a little piece of foodie heaven and take my word on the cheeseball…it’s great!

Turkey Cheese Balls

INGREDIENTS:

• 375 ml (1.5 cups) finely chopped cooked JD Farms turkey
• 50 ml (1/4 cups) chopped walnuts
• 50 ml (1/4 cups) dry onion soup mix
• 2 ml (1/2 tsp) garlic powder
• 2 ml (1/2 tsp) dried tarragon
• 2 ml (1/2 tsp) dried thyme
• 1 ml (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
• 50 ml (1/4 cups) mayonnaise
• 75 ml (1/3 cup) chopped fresh parsley• 1 ml (8 oz) Tabasco sauce (optional)

Use a food processor if available

DIRECTIONS:
Blend JD Farms turkey with nuts and seasonings. Add cream cheese and remaining ingredients. Combine mixture well. Place on waxed paper And refrigerate 1-2 hours

When firm, shape into a ball and roll in additional chopped parsley and nuts if desired. Serve with crackers and apple wedges.

Old school cocktails really are all the rage…”back in the day” the people who expertly served behind the bar mixing our drinks were called bartenders or even more recently, mixologists…now, they are actually referred to as “liquid chef’s”. Apparently, taking the same level of experimentation, creativity, expertise & finesse out of the kitchen and transferring it behind the bar. Now with the complete line of Fees Bitters & Cordials available in Canada you can have almost as much fun practicing your “liquid cheffing” skills at home as the do in the fancy bars downtown.

One of our faves is the Fee Brothers Orange Bitters; Orange bitters are called for in old fashioned cocktail recipes and depending on the brand can range from aromatic to fruity. Fee Brothers was founded in New York 1864 and since then, the taste of Fee Brothers Orange Bitters has come principally from the skins of oranges grown in the West Indies. The original purpose of bitters was medicinal and prior to 1900 a cocktail couldn’t actually be called a cocktail without the use of bitters. This old cocktail ingredient went virtually unnoticed for years, until recently. A new interest in classic cocktails has brought it out of retirement.

There are many recipes that call for Orange Bitters, but the most popular is the “Classic” Martini. Try a dash in your next Martini and you will never want one without Orange Bitters again.

Visit www.feebrothers.com for a ton of inspired cocktail recipes and visit Well Seasoned www.wellseasoned.ca to purchase the full line of Fee Brothers Products.

Cheers!

London Cocktail
Ingredients:
2 Dashes Maraschino Liqueur
2 Dashes Fee’s Orange Bitters
1 ½ oz Gin
Directions: Stir with ice. Strain into a cocktail glass

From their small factory on Salt Spring Island, Andrea and her team create some of the most fragrant spice blends available anywhere.  There is something for everyone but one of our faves is the incredibly versatile Moghul Curry.  Inspired by the cuisine of Southern India the aromatic accents of cloves and cinnamon rise above the robust curry flavours creating an exotic culinary delight for all lovers of fine Indian cuisine. Moghul Curry can be used in many of your favourite recipes but we think you should make a batch of Curried Cashew Spread to enjoy this weekend.  It’s perfect for picnics or great as a dip with raw veggies right from the garden.

All of the Monsoon Coast products are available at Well Seasoned in Langley www.wellseasoned.ca or by visiting their website www.monsooncoast.com

Curried Cashew Spread by Monsoon Coast

In a dry frying pan, roast:

1/3 cup unsalted cashews
1/3 cup sesame seeds.

Roast until golden & toasty.  Cool and transfer to a food processor, process until fairly fine but not a paste.

Add:

1 – 19 ounce can of chick peas rinsed and drained
¼ cup olive oil (or more as needed)
1 small bunch of fresh cilantro, washed and most of the stems removed
2 cloves garlic
salt to taste
1 ½  tbsp Monsoon Coast Moghul Curry
3 – 4 tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice

Place all ingredients in food processor and blend until a nice smooth consistency. Taste for seasoning and serve at room temperature.

I think the best way to start is of course with really great bread and I happen to be partial to the Ciabatta from A Bread Affair right here in Langley http://www.abreadaffair.com/our_bread.html I like to heat up a generous mixture of butter and good quality olive oil in a large frying pan. Cut most of the crust off the bread and cut it into very small squares.  Once the butter is melted and the oil is hot – add 1 clove of finely minced fresh garlic and sauté for 1 minute.  Turn off the heat.  Add the bread cubes and toss them well in the garlic butter.  Toss in ¼ cup of finely grated parmesan cheese, ½ tablespoon of finely chopped oregano, ½ tablespoon of finely chopped flat leaf parsley, a few grinds of freshly cracked black pepper and a generous sprinkling of good salt.  Toss the croutons so that the herbs and cheese are well distributed.  Transfer your seasoned croutons to a sheet pan and spread them out evenly.  Bake them in a 350 degree oven for about 15 minutes stirring them occasionally until they are nice and toasty…keep an eye, these little gems go from toasty to toast in no time flat!  Cool the croutons and store them in a freezer bag or freeze the leftovers.  You will be looking for excuses to add these tasty little morsels to just about everything!

I LOVE IT.

Well, they are back – what’s old is new again and a well made devilled egg can surely be a thing of beauty.  Here are some devilish variations on the classic…mixed with the yolk, real mayo and a healthy pinch of salt & freshly cracked pepper.

Bacony Eggs…

Finely chopped crispy bacon, Dijon mustard and finely shredded cheddar

Devils on “Horse”back

Add horseradish to the mayo, finely chopped dill, dry mustard and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice

Ole

Pickled jalapenos, your favourite hot sauce and fresh cilantro for a surprising bite

The Classic

Add chopped capers, finely chopped chives and a generous pinch of dry mustard

Curried Shrimp

Finely chopped salad shrimp, yoghurt, minced cilantro and curry powder

Down on the Ranch

Ranch Dressing, finely chopped dill pickles, freshly minced parsley and softened cream cheese

Mexican Devils

Finely chopped jalapeno, Mexican chilli powder, fresh lime juice, cream cheese & fresh cilantro

For the perfect boiled egg;

Place eggs in a large saucepan and cover with cold tap water. Bring the water to a boil and immediately remove the pan from heat. Cover, and let eggs stand in hot water for 12 minutes.

Remove the eggs from the hot water and cool them under cold running water. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Peel the hard-cooked eggs, and cut in half lengthwise. Remove yolks to a small bowl. Mash egg yolks with mayonnaise and your other accoutrement. Fill egg white halves with the yolk mixture and refrigerate until service.

Enjoy these tasty treat with a cold beer or a glass of wine before dinner…your guests will thank you !

They don’t usually make any farther than from the bag to the mouth in the car on the way home but my husband wasn’t with me so I was able to get them home, peeled and into dinner before he was any the wiser!

Barely cooked these sweet little guys make the perfect addition to a rich creamy risotto.  Dinner is made only slightly better by serving it with a chilled glass of Township 7 Sauvignon Blanc.  The crisp acidity in the wine cuts through the creaminess of the butter & cheese only to highlight the sweetness of the peas.

For me – it’s a perfect Friday night supper.  Don’t bother inviting anyone over, you are going to want to enjoy this as a dinner for 2.

Summer Sweet Pea Risotto

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 small clove of garlic, minced

½ cup sweet onion, finely chopped

2 cups Arborio rice  (imported rice from Italy – important in a perfect risotto available at www.wellseasoned.ca )

1 cup of Township 7 Sauvignon Blanc

4 cups of best quality chicken broth

1 cup freshly grated Parmesan

2 ½ cups freshly shucked peas

Kosher salt & freshly cracked black pepper to taste

Heat 1 tablespoon of the butter and the olive oil together in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic, sauté until translucent & fragrant – about 3 minutes. Add the rice and stir to coat in the oil & butter. Pour in the wine to deglaze the pan and then stir in the stock ½ cup at a time until all the liquid has been absorbed and the rice is cooked al dente, about 40 minutes. Meanwhile, in a small processer or blender puree 2 cups of the fresh peas with a splash of the chicken stock.  Near the end of the cooking time, stir the pea puree into the risotto until fully incorporated and then fold in the remaining whole peas. Stir in the last tablespoon of butter, the parmesan and season with salt, and pepper to taste.  Serve immediately with a cold glass of Township 7 Sauvignon Blanc.    www.township7.com