Dinner Springs Forward

Old Man Winter has split the scene, replaced by a kinder, greener season. It’s reason enough to celebrate.

Story by Lindsey Norris

Memories of winter holidays are receding as fast as the snow cover. As your crocuses and tulips emerge and your thoughts turn to spring, is there any better way to celebrate the return of life to your corner of Alberta than with a welcoming spring feast? If you are looking for an alternative to ham or turkey for this year’s seasonal holiday meal, or if you just need some inspiration for a family dinner, try putting a gourmet spin on some old favourites: lamb, pork ribs and steak. With a little panache, your guests will think you toiled all day. It’s easier than they think.

Lamb Lift

Nothing says “spring” like lamb. And when you cook with it, it’s really possible to come off looking like a gourmet cook without working like one. Your guests are sure to be impressed.

Darren Nixon, owner and chef at Divine Restaurant in Okotoks, Alberta, says lamb can be a great way to showcase your cooking skills. This versatile meat can be barbequed, broiled, grilled, braised and roasted, and its inherent juiciness and mild flavour makes it a great choice for the novice and the gourmet.

“I find so often that we’re limited - if everyone sticks with the usual, it’s really hard to come up with new things,” Nixon says. “Lamb is very mild, it’s easy to cook and it always ends up exceeding my expectations and my customers’ expectations. It’s one of those ingredients that makes you look as good as a professional chef.”

In addition, Nixon, an advocate for Alberta’s food producers, says local lamb - which is fed on grain, not grass - has a milder flavour than lamb from other locales, meaning Albertans can enjoy a superior product while supporting local farmers.

Nixon’s recipe for Alberta lamb shanks with a red wine, tomato and garlic ragout is a top seller at Divine - even among people who don’t ordinarily enjoy lamb. “It’s one of those items that has converted a lot of people who were afraid of lamb or had a bad experience with lamb in the past,” Nixon says.

Nixon also tries to encourage people to get out of their comfort zones and experiment with seasoning and ingredients. “People often say, ‘I don’t know what goes with what,’ and I say you have to erase the idea that there’s a whole bunch of wrong things you can do. If it sounds good to you, it will probably work fine.”

The key with lamb is to avoid overcooking it. When cooking a lamb steak or a leg of lamb, Nixon likes to cook it medium rare, cover it with foil and let it rest for about 10 minutes.

When Nixon is preparing a menu, he starts by considering the number of people he’ll be cooking for. If he’s cooking for a large group, he may consider a less expensive cut of meat (this doesn’t necessarily mean a lower quality piece of meat). Then he searches out local ingredients to add, such as local honey, saskatoons or raspberries.

Nixon thinks that supporting the local producers makes all the difference in the world. “If we buy product shipped from Mexico, it was transported up here, consuming fuel and extra packaging. By buying local, we eliminate a lot of stuff we don’t even think about,” he says. “People might think buying locally is more expensive, but when you factor in impact to the environment and the higher quality product, you’re actually not paying more.”

How to buy lamb

When buying lamb, Nixon suggests looking for a cut of meat that has a good marbling of fat and meat. He says the fat will protect it during the cooking process. Also, as with all meats, choose products that are fresh.

Guidelines for cooking lamb: Roast lamb between 325-350˚F (180˚C) unless otherwise specified. For the best results use a meat thermometer; for rare lamb, cook to 140˚F (60˚C), 150˚F (65˚C) for medium and 160˚F (70˚C) for medium-well done.

Click here for the Alberta Lamb Shanks with a Red Wine, Tomato and Garlic Ragout.

Starry-eyed for Steak

Choosing a new recipe for a special occasion - whether it’s something different for an Easter feast or just a pepped-up Sunday dinner - can be a daunting task. With all the options available in cookbooks and on the internet, it might seem easier to reach for your old standbys than to risk disappointment.

But there’s no guesswork involved with this recipe for rib-eye steak with gorgonzola butter and crispy sweet onion rings; it was hand-picked and specially tailored by Chef Rob Sonnenberg and his culinary arts students at Lethbridge Community College to be a crowd-pleasing favourite.

The students are responsible for the college dining room as the last segment of the full-time, two-year culinary careers diploma program. It allows them to develop hands-on experience, from ordering food to preparing it. Three days a week, members of the public are able to enjoy the fruits of their labour in the school restaurant.

When Sonnenberg’s students develop the menu for the dining room, they look for ideas in books, magazines and the internet before choosing their favourites and deciding as a class which ones will be included on the dining room’s buffet, lunch or dinner menu.

“I tell them that what we did last year were the basics, and now I want them to look for more unique and interesting combinations,” Sonnenberg says. “We get together as a class and build different menus. On the internet you have to be careful, because there may be products you can only get in lower Lithuania, not southern Alberta. We really emphasize what is seasonal, because that’s what usually tastes the best.”

This recipe, which comes from www.epicurious.com, met the criteria. The gorgonzola butter adds a gourmet element that fancies up the steak and makes it fit for the Easter dinner table. At Lethbridge Community College, the students garnished the meat with the onion rings and served it with du chef potatoes, which are mashed with roasted red pepper purée, rendering them a pretty pink. The meal was completed with colourful baby vegetables.

“if you can find baby vegetables, they’re really nice because they have a higher sugar content,” Sonnenberg says. “We cooked them first in boiling water, then sautéed them in a little bit of butter with fresh tarragon and a little bit of garlic.”

Gorgonzola butter is made from gorgonzola cheese, which is similar to blue cheese, although softer. You can also use a readily-available locally-produced blue cheese, such as Danish Blue, made by Rocky Mountain Cheese. After making the butter and refrigerating it, the students put it into a piping bag and squeezed the cheese into a rosette onto the steak.

Sonnenberg used a chateau rib-eye cut for this recipe, which is thicker than other types of rib-eye and has good marbling. “A lot of consumers look at the meat in grocery stores and want the most bang for their buck, so they buy the piece that’s reddest with the least amount of fat,” Sonnenberg says. Instead, he advises consumers look for marbled meat. Marbling is when layers of fat are visible amidst the red muscle tissue. Resembling real marble, it’s evenly distributed through the meat. “Little spots of fat streaked throughout is what we’re looking for,” says Sonnenberg, “and Alberta beef has an abundance of marbling in it.”

Steak Tips

“When you cook a steak, you need high heat to sear the outside and get the caramalization of the natural fats,” Sonnenberg says. “A lot of times the temperature is so low that it steams the meat, but you need a higher heat for a rarer steak - you want the same amount of browning without having it cooked all the way through.”

Click here for the Rib-Eye Steaks with Gorganzola Butter and Crispy Sweet Onion Rings recipes.

Pork Pleaser

One of the first signs of spring in Alberta is the smell of meat roasting on backyard barbeques. Nancy and Dave Foreman, two foodies who live in Edmonton, actually never put theirs away in the off season, but Dave admits it’s nice to grill in shirtsleeves. And their pork baby back ribs are proof that great tasting food doesn’t always require a lot of exotic ingredients.

The recipe, which has evolved over several years, delivers a lot of taste, and doesn’t require a single measuring cup or tablespoon (though we’ve provided a couple of measurements for the novice cook). All you need is seasoning, lemon juice and barbeque sauce.

“We’ve been using this recipe for quite a few years,” Nancy says. “It’s a combination of a recipe from the Best of Bridge cookbook and our own imagination.”

The Foremans say this recipe is quick to prepare and relatively foolproof. Depending on how dry you like your ribs, you don’t have to worry too much about overcooking this dish. It can be cooked in the oven, on the barbeque, or with a combination of the two. Look for lean ribs without a lot of fat on them.

“You don’t have to worry about them drying out much because you’re cooking on low heat, and ribs usually have quite a bit of fat on them,” Nancy says. “Also, before we put them on the barbeque we add fresh lemon juice, and I think that helps seal them.”

Nancy’s cooking philosophy is to improvise, experiment and constantly try new things. She particularly likes trying new recipes when she has company for dinner. “That’s when I have lots of guinea pigs,” she says with a laugh. “I love to cook and I love to share.”

Taking her inspiration from cookbooks and adding her imagination - and whatever ingredients she happens to have on hand - means dinner at the Foreman’s house is often unique.

“We’ve done these ribs a little bit differently over the years,” Nancy says. “Dave cooks them completely on the barbeque, and at one time I started them in the oven and then put them on the barbeque. If you like, you can also cook them entirely in the oven.”

Nancy advises that if you haven’t had much experience cooking ribs, it’s better to follow a recipe the first time and see if you can spot a place where you’d like to make alterations.

At first, cooking the ribs in the oven may be easier, especially for nervous types. Because every barbeque is different, the heat and cooking time will vary more than in an oven. And while the cooking time might seem considerable, it’s well worth the wait: the low heat is key to retaining the flavour. If you want to speed up the process, Nancy recommends cutting between the bones to allow the heat to penetrate the meat.

To accompany the ribs, Nancy suggests serving something sweet, such as wild rice with fresh chopped mango or a salad with fresh fruit. She often combines a cabbage salad with chopped apple and onion, topped with poppy seed dressing. Reach for a full-bodied red Zinfandel, and Dave says your dinner is complete.

Click here for The Foremans' Fancy pork ribs recipe.



	Food for Thought Magazine > Current Issue > Past Issues > Food for Thought on CTV > Food for Thought Gift Pack > Photo contest > Subscribe today! > Contest Rules and Regulations > About Food for Thought > Advertising Information Special Content for: > Parents and Teachers > Media > Industry and Producers The GROWING ALBERTA LEADERSHIP AWARDS were presented at the 11th Annual Harvest Gala on October 17th in Calgary. Find out more about the 2008 recipients. Click here. Take your fork on the road - visit Chomp Around Alberta to enjoy Alberta's marvellous food secrets! Visit our Market Place Craving quality Alberta food or innovative services? See what's new in Growing Alberta's Market Place.	Dinner Springs Forward Old Man Winter has split the scene, replaced by a kinder, greener season. It’s reason enough to celebrate. Story by Lindsey Norris Memories of winter holidays are receding as fast as the snow cover. As your crocuses and tulips emerge and your thoughts turn to spring, is there any better way to celebrate the return of life to your corner of Alberta than with a welcoming spring feast? If you are looking for an alternative to ham or turkey for this year’s seasonal holiday meal, or if you just need some inspiration for a family dinner, try putting a gourmet spin on some old favourites: lamb, pork ribs and steak. With a little panache, your guests will think you toiled all day. It’s easier than they think. Lamb Lift Nothing says “spring” like lamb. And when you cook with it, it’s really possible to come off looking like a gourmet cook without working like one. Your guests are sure to be impressed. Darren Nixon, owner and chef at Divine Restaurant in Okotoks, Alberta, says lamb can be a great way to showcase your cooking skills. This versatile meat can be barbequed, broiled, grilled, braised and roasted, and its inherent juiciness and mild flavour makes it a great choice for the novice and the gourmet. “I find so often that we’re limited - if everyone sticks with the usual, it’s really hard to come up with new things,” Nixon says. “Lamb is very mild, it’s easy to cook and it always ends up exceeding my expectations and my customers’ expectations. It’s one of those ingredients that makes you look as good as a professional chef.” In addition, Nixon, an advocate for Alberta’s food producers, says local lamb - which is fed on grain, not grass - has a milder flavour than lamb from other locales, meaning Albertans can enjoy a superior product while supporting local farmers. Nixon’s recipe for Alberta lamb shanks with a red wine, tomato and garlic ragout is a top seller at Divine - even among people who don’t ordinarily enjoy lamb. “It’s one of those items that has converted a lot of people who were afraid of lamb or had a bad experience with lamb in the past,” Nixon says. Nixon also tries to encourage people to get out of their comfort zones and experiment with seasoning and ingredients. “People often say, ‘I don’t know what goes with what,’ and I say you have to erase the idea that there’s a whole bunch of wrong things you can do. If it sounds good to you, it will probably work fine.” The key with lamb is to avoid overcooking it. When cooking a lamb steak or a leg of lamb, Nixon likes to cook it medium rare, cover it with foil and let it rest for about 10 minutes. When Nixon is preparing a menu, he starts by considering the number of people he’ll be cooking for. If he’s cooking for a large group, he may consider a less expensive cut of meat (this doesn’t necessarily mean a lower quality piece of meat). Then he searches out local ingredients to add, such as local honey, saskatoons or raspberries. Nixon thinks that supporting the local producers makes all the difference in the world. “If we buy product shipped from Mexico, it was transported up here, consuming fuel and extra packaging. By buying local, we eliminate a lot of stuff we don’t even think about,” he says. “People might think buying locally is more expensive, but when you factor in impact to the environment and the higher quality product, you’re actually not paying more.” How to buy lamb When buying lamb, Nixon suggests looking for a cut of meat that has a good marbling of fat and meat. He says the fat will protect it during the cooking process. Also, as with all meats, choose products that are fresh. Guidelines for cooking lamb: Roast lamb between 325-350˚F (180˚C) unless otherwise specified. For the best results use a meat thermometer; for rare lamb, cook to 140˚F (60˚C), 150˚F (65˚C) for medium and 160˚F (70˚C) for medium-well done. Click here for the Alberta Lamb Shanks with a Red Wine, Tomato and Garlic Ragout. Starry-eyed for Steak Choosing a new recipe for a special occasion - whether it’s something different for an Easter feast or just a pepped-up Sunday dinner - can be a daunting task. With all the options available in cookbooks and on the internet, it might seem easier to reach for your old standbys than to risk disappointment. But there’s no guesswork involved with this recipe for rib-eye steak with gorgonzola butter and crispy sweet onion rings; it was hand-picked and specially tailored by Chef Rob Sonnenberg and his culinary arts students at Lethbridge Community College to be a crowd-pleasing favourite. The students are responsible for the college dining room as the last segment of the full-time, two-year culinary careers diploma program. It allows them to develop hands-on experience, from ordering food to preparing it. Three days a week, members of the public are able to enjoy the fruits of their labour in the school restaurant. When Sonnenberg’s students develop the menu for the dining room, they look for ideas in books, magazines and the internet before choosing their favourites and deciding as a class which ones will be included on the dining room’s buffet, lunch or dinner menu. “I tell them that what we did last year were the basics, and now I want them to look for more unique and interesting combinations,” Sonnenberg says. “We get together as a class and build different menus. On the internet you have to be careful, because there may be products you can only get in lower Lithuania, not southern Alberta. We really emphasize what is seasonal, because that’s what usually tastes the best.” This recipe, which comes from www.epicurious.com, met the criteria. The gorgonzola butter adds a gourmet element that fancies up the steak and makes it fit for the Easter dinner table. At Lethbridge Community College, the students garnished the meat with the onion rings and served it with du chef potatoes, which are mashed with roasted red pepper purée, rendering them a pretty pink. The meal was completed with colourful baby vegetables. “if you can find baby vegetables, they’re really nice because they have a higher sugar content,” Sonnenberg says. “We cooked them first in boiling water, then sautéed them in a little bit of butter with fresh tarragon and a little bit of garlic.” Gorgonzola butter is made from gorgonzola cheese, which is similar to blue cheese, although softer. You can also use a readily-available locally-produced blue cheese, such as Danish Blue, made by Rocky Mountain Cheese. After making the butter and refrigerating it, the students put it into a piping bag and squeezed the cheese into a rosette onto the steak. Sonnenberg used a chateau rib-eye cut for this recipe, which is thicker than other types of rib-eye and has good marbling. “A lot of consumers look at the meat in grocery stores and want the most bang for their buck, so they buy the piece that’s reddest with the least amount of fat,” Sonnenberg says. Instead, he advises consumers look for marbled meat. Marbling is when layers of fat are visible amidst the red muscle tissue. Resembling real marble, it’s evenly distributed through the meat. “Little spots of fat streaked throughout is what we’re looking for,” says Sonnenberg, “and Alberta beef has an abundance of marbling in it.” Steak Tips “When you cook a steak, you need high heat to sear the outside and get the caramalization of the natural fats,” Sonnenberg says. “A lot of times the temperature is so low that it steams the meat, but you need a higher heat for a rarer steak - you want the same amount of browning without having it cooked all the way through.” Click here for the Rib-Eye Steaks with Gorganzola Butter and Crispy Sweet Onion Rings recipes. Pork Pleaser One of the first signs of spring in Alberta is the smell of meat roasting on backyard barbeques. Nancy and Dave Foreman, two foodies who live in Edmonton, actually never put theirs away in the off season, but Dave admits it’s nice to grill in shirtsleeves. And their pork baby back ribs are proof that great tasting food doesn’t always require a lot of exotic ingredients. The recipe, which has evolved over several years, delivers a lot of taste, and doesn’t require a single measuring cup or tablespoon (though we’ve provided a couple of measurements for the novice cook). All you need is seasoning, lemon juice and barbeque sauce. “We’ve been using this recipe for quite a few years,” Nancy says. “It’s a combination of a recipe from the Best of Bridge cookbook and our own imagination.” The Foremans say this recipe is quick to prepare and relatively foolproof. Depending on how dry you like your ribs, you don’t have to worry too much about overcooking this dish. It can be cooked in the oven, on the barbeque, or with a combination of the two. Look for lean ribs without a lot of fat on them. “You don’t have to worry about them drying out much because you’re cooking on low heat, and ribs usually have quite a bit of fat on them,” Nancy says. “Also, before we put them on the barbeque we add fresh lemon juice, and I think that helps seal them.” Nancy’s cooking philosophy is to improvise, experiment and constantly try new things. She particularly likes trying new recipes when she has company for dinner. “That’s when I have lots of guinea pigs,” she says with a laugh. “I love to cook and I love to share.” Taking her inspiration from cookbooks and adding her imagination - and whatever ingredients she happens to have on hand - means dinner at the Foreman’s house is often unique. “We’ve done these ribs a little bit differently over the years,” Nancy says. “Dave cooks them completely on the barbeque, and at one time I started them in the oven and then put them on the barbeque. If you like, you can also cook them entirely in the oven.” Nancy advises that if you haven’t had much experience cooking ribs, it’s better to follow a recipe the first time and see if you can spot a place where you’d like to make alterations. At first, cooking the ribs in the oven may be easier, especially for nervous types. Because every barbeque is different, the heat and cooking time will vary more than in an oven. And while the cooking time might seem considerable, it’s well worth the wait: the low heat is key to retaining the flavour. If you want to speed up the process, Nancy recommends cutting between the bones to allow the heat to penetrate the meat. To accompany the ribs, Nancy suggests serving something sweet, such as wild rice with fresh chopped mango or a salad with fresh fruit. She often combines a cabbage salad with chopped apple and onion, topped with poppy seed dressing. Reach for a full-bodied red Zinfandel, and Dave says your dinner is complete. Click here for The Foremans' Fancy pork ribs recipe.	Subscribe Today! Subscribe to Food for Thought magazine and never miss another issue again. Food for Thought on CTV Get the recipes of Alberta chefs featured on CTV. Enter to Win! Complete the Food for Thought reader response card and you will be entered to win some great prizes! Where to Find Food for Thought Copies of Food for Thought are available at the following grocery stores & outlets during March, June, September and December: Bigway Calgary Co-op Canada Safeway Save-On-Foods Sunterra Markets Super A the real Canadian Superstore Extra Foods Calgary Farmers' Market Receive Food for Thought Online! Sign up now! Ask the Editor Submit your question or comments. Enjoy delicious recipes every week from the bestselling Company's Coming cookbooks. To view PDFs of the magazine you'll need Adobe Acrobat Reader. If you don't have Acrobat Reader or aren't sure click here to get your free copy.

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