All posts tagged: Alberta Canola

Recipe: Chicken Liver Pâté

Published by theporkgirl

COVID-19 is impacting how people are grocery shopping, which is having a direct impact on what ingredients are available to make meals at home. A few weeks ago we stopped in at our local Oliver/downtown Save-On Foods on a Sunday to find not only the toilet paper aisle empty, but also some extremely slim pickings in the fresh meat section. The only meat left in the fresh chicken section were three packages of chicken livers. The fact that so many people had overlooked this iron-packed ingredient made me feel sad for this tasty yet less-than-glamorous cut of meat. Staring at those lonely packages got me thinking – it had been some time since I had whipped up some homemade liver pâté. I suggested the idea to The Spanadian which he immediately supported, so I picked up one of the packages for just a few dollars. I have always loved pate. As a kid I absolutely loved spreading it on warm toast for breakfast. While other children were coming to school with peanut butter and jelly …

Recap: Taste Alberta Prairie on the Plate at Cafe Linnea

Published by theporkgirl

Earlier this month, Cafe Linnea played host to Taste Alberta‘s most recent Prairie on the Plate dinner. Many are surprised to learn that Cafe Linnea is open for dinners, as the restaurant first became known as a all day breakfast and brunch spot when in opened in 2016. Well, I am eager to help spread the word that chef Kelsey Johnson and her culinary team are serving up a fantastic dinner menu at Cafe Linnea. In addition to the regular dinner menu available Wednesday to Saturday nights, guests can experience a two or three course chef’s choice menu for $35 and $45 respectively. Including an amuse bouche to start the meal, I think it is one of the best dinner deals going in Edmonton. Since the restaurant opened, chef Kelsey has used local ingredients in ways inspired by her French and Scandinavian heritage to create a menu that is unique to Cafe Linnea. Her focus on Alberta grown, Alberta raised, and Alberta produced products made Cafe Linnea a perfect fit for a Prairie on the Plate …

Recap: Prairie on the Plate at Under the High Wheel

Published by theporkgirl

Well, the 2019 Taste Alberta Prairie on the Plate kicked off at Under the High Wheel with a flavour-packed Asian infusion on Thursday night. In advance of Lunar New Year, Chef Doreen Prei shared a four-course Asian-inspired menu featuring feature ingredients from Taste Alberta‘s commodity partners: Alberta Turkey, Alberta Chicken, Alberta Canola, Egg Farmers of Alberta, Alberta Milk, Alberta Pulse Growers Commission, and Alberta Pork. A new addition to the Under the High Wheel culinary team, chef Prei has been tasked with shaking up the dinner menu. She was eager to create a Prairie on the Plate menu to help spread the word that the brunch/lunch favourite in Old Strathcona is also open for dinner, but also because Under the High Wheel has always been a local-ingredient focused restaurant; hosting a Taste Alberta dinner was a natural fit. Our evening started with a welcome cocktail – made with ginger and basil syrup, gin, and topped with sparkling wine – followed by a welcome from Chef Prei and an explanation of our first dish of the …

Recap: Taste Alberta Prairie on the Plate at the Harvest Room

Published by theporkgirl

Chef Mridul Bhatt, the executive chef at the Fairmont Hotel Macdonald, has lived in Alberta for just over one year, but already has a knowledge and deep appreciation for ingredients grown, raised and produced from across the province. On Friday night, Chef Mridul and his culinary team presented a six-course menu Prairie on the Plate menu highlighting ingredients from Taste Alberta‘s commodity partners: Alberta Canola Producers, Egg Farmers of Alberta, Alberta Milk, Alberta Pulse Growers Commission, and Alberta Pork. After welcoming us to the Taste Alberta dinner, Chef Mridul shared his passion for using local ingredients and introduced our upcoming dishes. Our first course – ‘Rebel Within’, was a 63 degree Alberta egg, was nestled inside an applewood cheddar & jalapeño muffin and served alongside a chorizo tomato sauce. A quick slice with the knife revealed a perfectly runny egg.   View this post on Instagram   A post shared by Sharman Hnatiuk (@theporkgirl) on Sep 7, 2018 at 6:21pm PDT Chef Mridul explained that he was inspired by the strength of the egg, and complimented the Egg Farmers of Alberta for what …

Recap: Taste Alberta Prairie on the Plate at Chartier

Published by theporkgirl

Chartier is a rustic, Quebec French style restaurant in the heart of Beaumont, Alberta. For those who have dined at Chartier, named one of the top 30 new restaurants in Canada by EnRoute Magazine last year, you can feel the warmth and love in every dish that chef Steve Brochu and his culinary team plate on the restaurant’s collection of vintage plates. Last week, Chartier played host to the latest Taste Alberta dinner in the Prairie on the Plate dining series. Chef Brochu’s four-course meal for $75 highlighting some of Taste Alberta’s commodity partners: Alberta Canola, Egg Farmers of Alberta, Alberta Milk, Alberta Pulse Growers, Alberta Turkey Producers, and Alberta Pork. Guests were greeted by the Chartier team with welcome drink – an Alberta Premium Rye Saskatoon berry shrub lavender syrup and soda. With the clanging of a pot to grab our attention, chef Brochu welcomed us all and explained our first dish of the night. In advance of the event, Debra with Alberta Pulse Producers had dropped off some products from Alberta farmers to inspire chef Brochu.  With a black box …

Recap: Prairie Noodle Shop Taste Alberta Dinner

Published by theporkgirl

On Sunday, January 21, Chef Eric Hanson and his culinary team at Prairie Noodle Shop broke away from their ramen mould and plated a noodle-free Taste Alberta family-style meal inspired by flavours, ingredients, and products from across the province. The challenge to the kitchen with every Taste Alberta Prairie on the Plate dinner is to showcase the seven commodities groups within Taste Alberta: Alberta Canola, Egg Farmers of Alberta, Alberta Milk, Alberta Pulse Growers, Alberta Chicken Producers, Alberta Turkey Producers, and Alberta Pork. Well, chef Hanson and his team started off the 2018 Taste Alberta dining series with a bang! The menu represented the many unique voices from the kitchen, with the team sharing a flurry of bites which incorporated each of the commodities groups, and a whole lot more from the bounty of Alberta. Upon arrival, guests were welcomed with a mint raspberry cocktail featuring spirits from two Alberta distilleries:  Strathcona Spirits Gin and Eau Claire Distillery Prickly Pear Equinox. I had a chance to savour my drink along with the first bite of …

Recap: A Taste Alberta Autumn Feast at Canteen

Published by theporkgirl

Autumn is a lovely time in Alberta; the leaves are changing and the harvest season presents a bounty from farms and greenhouses across the province. Last week, 124th street’s Canteen hosted the latest in the Taste Alberta – Prairie on the Plate dining series with a $55 four-course autumn feast designed by chef Ryan O’Connor. When we arrived, our table was excited to learn that Canteen had their happy hour prices on for the event which included three Alberta craft beers on for $5: Bench Creek Brewing Cloudbreak Hopfenweizen, Yellowhead Brewing Company Lager, and Alley Kat Brewing Company Buena Vista Brown Ale. Canteen also had three glasses of white and red wine on for $5, but the drink that I found most enticing, as did my table, was the Eau Claire Distillery (from Turner Valley, Alberta) Gin with Porter’s Grapefruit Tonic for $5. For our introductory course, chef Ryan O’Connor explained that Alberta Pulse Growers had donated the pulses for his yellow pea falafel.  Cooked in canola oil and served with a side of herbed creme fraiche, …

Recap: Prairie on the Plate dinner at Northern Chicken

Published by theporkgirl

On Tuesday night, Northern Chicken played host to the latest Taste Alberta Prairie on the Plate dinner series.  This time, the event highlighted one of Taste Albert’s commodity partners, Alberta Chicken Producers, to help celebrate that September is National Chicken Month. One could argue that every day at Northern Chicken is a celebration of Alberta Chicken Farmers, but chefs/owners Matt Phillips and Andrew Cowan were happy to close their restaurant for a one-night, set menu designed to celebrate farmers and their hard work and dedication to farming and to Albertan/Canadian consumers. Once the $50, five-course menu was released the event quickly sold out. My table scored the back room, which has a retro basement vibe, along with access to a custom Steam Whistle beer Crokinole board. Even though Andrew had a restaurant full of guests, he found a few minutes to explain the Canadian invited game and school The Spaniard before heading back to the kitchen. Back to the Prairie on the Plate menu. First up, we were served a chicken liver pate on a house …

Prairie on the Plate at the Yellow Door Bistro

Published by theporkgirl

Last week, Chef Jan Hansen hosted the first Taste Alberta – Prairie on a Plate dinner in Calgary. Following three successful Prairie on a Plate events in Edmonton in 2016, the dining series travelled down the QEII where chef Hansen treated diners at the Hotel Arts‘ Yellow Door Bistro to four-course meal highlighting the best of what is grown, raised, and produced in Alberta. The whimsical decor of Yellow Door Bistro was the perfect background for a creative menu from executive chef Jan Hansen, chef de cuisine Quinn Staple, and the rest of the Yellow Door Bistro culinary team. The challenge put to chef Hansen was to highlight Taste Alberta partners including Alberta Milk, Alberta Pulse Growers, Alberta Chicken Producers, Alberta Turkey Producers, Egg Farmers of Alberta, Alberta Pork, and Alberta Canola Producers Commission.   Chef Hansen started things off with a melt in your mouth amuse bouche –  Sunworks Farm chicken liver parfait, seabuckthorn berry, and a Highwood Crossing rye cracker. My date for the evening – fellow Passion for Pork contributor Dan Clapson – captured …

Taste Alberta’s Prairie on a Plate at The Harvest Room

Published by theporkgirl

Last week, chef Serge Jost hosted Taste Alberta‘s second Prairie on a Plate dinner in The Harvest Room at the Fairmont Hotel Macdonald. For the event, Chef Jost created a four-course meal highlighting the best of what is produced, raised, and grown by Alberta farmers, including Brix ‘N Berries, Sunworks Farm, Highwood Crossing, Signature mushrooms, Mountainview Farming, and loads Alberta-grown pulses. First up was the an Alberta “Power Grain” & chorizo Aranccini. The amuse bouche – a treat from the kitchen – was a delightful start to the evening. The first course for the evening was a beef consommé poured over a boar bacon and white bean ravioli & yellow pea and vegetable succotash. While this gluten-free girl couldn’t take advantage of the ravioli, Chef Jost and his team made a gluten-free version of the dish for me to enjoy. I just love when soups are poured table side. Our second Prairie on a Plate dish had the table questioning how chef Jost made the dish. ‘Egg in egg with cremini mushrooms’ involved a 64 degree sous vide …