A house full to capacity and 18 restaurant, winery, and food producer pairings made Indulgence ‘12 the place to be June 11. Each year, Indulgence showcases regional farmers and ranchers, pairing them up with a restaurant and a Canadian estate winery to make gastronomic magic. Guests nibbled on seasonal dishes, from pickled radishes to wild boar cheek, and tasted some of Canada’s best wines, as well as offerings from Bles-Wold Yogurt, Prairie Mill Bread, The Jam Lady, Newget, Birds & Bees and Barr Estate fruit wineries. For over a decade the Slow Food event has helped introduce local food producers to Edmonton chefs, who showcase their dishes with estate wines from BC and Ontario. “It’s 8:30 — a half hour before this year’s Indulgence officially ends. I look over the room; at cooks in white jackets pouring themselves a taste of wine, chatting with their neighbours, handing out the last of the plates, slowly packing up — no one in a rush to leave. “I’m elated. The work is done and what we’re seeing now are the results — chefs talking to winemakers, and farmers to chefs — of what we’ve all worked so hard for — a food community that grows bigger and closer with every year.”
Amanda LeNeve, communications, Indulgence ’12 committee
The faces of Indulgence
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
berry ridge orchard saskatoon berry relish
Corey McGuire, Tzin Wine & Tapas
Chef Corey McGuire made a delicious Saskatoon berry relish to partner with beef brisket.
| 1 c | Berry Ridge Orchard Saskatoon berries |
| 1 | shallot |
| 1 t | olive oil |
| ½ | lemon, juice and zest |
| ½ c | red wine |
| 1 sprig | finely chopped fresh thyme |
| salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste |
Peel and chop shallot in a small dice. Toss diced shallot in olive oil and roast in a 350°F oven for 20
minutes, or until golden.
Add roasted shallot and Saskatoons to a small pot and bring to a simmer with the red wine. Simmer on low heat for 15 minutes, or until slightly thickened.
Remove from heat. Add lemon juice, lemon zest and fresh thyme
Season with salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.
Let cool and serve. Makes about 1 cup.
mona mushroom bread pudding with pickled beech brown & maitake mushrooms & red currant reduction
Chef Lindsay Porter, 4th & Vine Wine Bar and Bistro
Chef Lindsay Porter created one of the one of the most popular dishes of the night.
| 1½ c | cremini mushrooms |
| ½ c | porcini powder (Mona Foods) |
| 1 T | truffle oil |
| ½ | loaf bread loaf or 1 baguette |
| 1 c | cream |
| 4 | egg yolks |
| ½ c | butter |
| ½ | onion diced small |
| 3 bulbs | garlic, minced |
| salt and pepper, to taste |
Cut or tear the bread into small pieces. In a food processor, or by hand, chop the cremini mushrooms very fine — almost a paste — and saut. with onion, garlic and half the butter. Add porcini powder and let cool for a few minutes. Combine cream, egg yolk and truffle oil together in a bowl. Add saut.ed mushroom mixture.
Place bread pieces in a loaf pan and pour the mushroom and cream mixture over the bread. Combine until the bread is very moist, but not swimming in the mixture. Add pieces of the rest of the butter throughout to melt as it cooks.
Bake at 300°F for about 45 minutes. Let cool for about 15 minutes before serving or completely chill and cut into individual pieces. Reheat in oven, or saut. in a pan.
pickled mushroom
| ½ c | rice wine vinegar or white wine vinegar |
| 1 T | sugar |
| 1 t | salt |
| 1 | bay leaf |
| 5 | peppercorns |
| 1 bulb | garlic, cut in a small dice |
| 1 sml bunch | maitake mushrooms |
| 1 sml bunch | beech brown mushrooms |
| ½ bunch | garlic tops or chives, chopped |
In a small pot or pan warm the vinegar with all the spices, until the salt and sugar are dissolved. Take off heat. Let cool. Separate the mushrooms and in a bowl, mix together pickling mixture and mushrooms. Let the mushrooms absorb liquid. Add garlic and chives and mix. Place the mushroom mixture on top of the bread pudding.
red currant reduction
| 1 c | fresh red currants |
| 1 c | white wine |
| ½ | onion, sliced fine |
| ½ c | sugar |
| salt and pepper to taste |
In a pot, add all ingredients together and let reduce by about half or until it can coat the back of a spoon. Let cool and serve with the bread pudding. Makes 8-12 servings.
pear and pancetta hazelnut tartlette with pecorino crisp
Tracy Zizek, Café de Ville
Tracy Zizek’s slightly sweet savoury tartlette was not only tasty, the pairing with Quails’ Gate’s gewurztraminer was sublime. We’ve left the measurement by weight to satisfy precise bakers.
hazelnut short dough
| 3 oz | granulated sugar |
| 1 c | unsalted butter, room temperature |
| 1 | egg |
| 9 oz | all purpose flour |
| 2 oz | roasted hazelnuts, finely ground |
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Place butter, sugar and egg in mixing bowl. Mix at low speed with paddle attachment until just combined. Add flour and hazelnuts and mix on low just until dough is smooth.
Press out dough into a large disk. Cover tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before use.
Take short dough out of the fridge 15 minutes prior to use. Lightly flour work surface and rolling pin. Roll out dough to ½ inch thick.
Spray mini muffin tins well with nonstick spray. Use a round cutter, slightly larger then the size of the mini muffin tin, and cut out a round and then gently mold into muffin tins. Run a pairing knife, in one quick motion, along the top of the tin to create a clean level edge for the tart. Place in oven until golden brown.
When cooled, flip pan over to let shells fall out.
conference pear chip simple syrup
| 1 c | granulated sugar |
| 1 c | water |
| 1 | Conference pear (makes plenty of chips) |
Combine sugar and water in a saucepan and bring to a rolling boil. Set aside to cool.
Using a mandolin, thinly slice pears into rounds starting from the top of the pear. Place pear slices in preprepared simple syrup for 12 hours.
Remove pear slices from syrup and pat dry. Arrange slices on dehydrating racks — make sure that the pear slices are not touching. Dehydrate for 20 hours at 45.C, or until desired crispness.
pecorino crisp
Grate 1 c pecorino cheese and sprinkle onto a parchment-lined sheet pan. Place in 350°F oven and cook until lightly golden. The cheese will get bubbly. Take out of oven and allow to cool. Break into small pieces.
conference pear and pancetta sauté
| ½ c | pancetta, small dice |
| 2 | large Conference pears, small dice |
| 1 T | brandy |
| butter for sautéing | |
| 1/8 t | cinnamon |
| dash | fresh grated nutmeg |
| dash | cloves |
| 1 t | basil, cut in a chiffonade |
Sauté pancetta and pears with a little butter. De-glaze with brandy. Remove from heat and add spices. Taste for seasoning. If desired, you can add a little salt, if you’d like, but the pancetta usually lends enough salt flavour to the dish.
assembly
Fill empty tart shell with warm pear/pancetta mixture. Top with pear chip, pecorino crisp and chiffonade basil.
Makes approximately 12 tarlettes or one 10-inch tart.
spring creek ranch premium beef carpaccio with coffee crumb & miso vinaigrette
Chef Ryan Hotchkiss, Jack’s Grill
The surprise was the coffee, providing a slightly bitter contrast to the rich beef.
coffee crumb
| ½ c | milk powder |
| ½ c | flour |
| 2 T | cornstarch |
| 1 T | sugar |
| ½ t | salt |
| 4 T | butter |
| ½ c | milk powder |
| ½ c | coffee |
| ½ c | white chocolate |
Preheat oven to 250°F.
Combine the first ½ cup milk powder, flour, cornstarch, sugar and salt in a bowl. Melt the butter and add it to the dry mix. Mix together until the dough forms small clusters.
Spread on a bake sheet and bake for 20 minutes then cool completely.
Put the cooled crumbs in a bowl and add the second batch of milk powder and the coffee and toss until combined. Melt the white chocolate and pour into the mix. Mix until combined. Store in an airtight container until ready to use.
miso vinaigrette
| 1 T | red miso |
| 1 c | anola oil |
| 1 t | Dijon mustard |
| 2 t | white soy |
| 1 t | Sriracha |
| 2 T | fresh lime juice |
| 1 t | sesame oil |
Create an emulsion with the miso and mustard by slowly whisking in the oil. If it splits, add some of the lime juice, it should come back together. Add remaining ingredients, taste and adjust seasoning.
carpaccio
Start with a lean cut of beef — tenderloin or eye of round would be ideal — cleaned of all surface fat. Cut the beef very thinly against the grain — A meat slicer is ideal for this, if you don’t have one, don’t fret — then place slices between two sheets of parchment, or plastic wrap. Start in the center of the meat and begin to pound it, working toward the outside. Your goal is to get the meat as thin as possible, but not to turn it into a mushy mess.
to serve:
Place a layer on the plate. Dry the meat of any excess water that has come out from the flattening process — three or four slices is a nice portion. Season the with the nicest salt you can find. Place a generous amount of vinaigrette on the meat and top with the coffee crumb. Add your choice of greenery on top, such as arugula or pea shoots, to add some freshness.
Makes 4 servings.
pickled sundog radishes
Chef Vincent Horvath, 4404 Delta Edmonton South
Chef Horvath lightly pickled early season radishes from Sundog Farms and served them in a cone with sesame dressing, fresh greens and five-spice shrimp. Use the pickled radish and sesame dressing with rice noodles, in a salad roll or with shrimp or chicken.
pickled radish
| 1 bunch | fresh red radish, washed and trimmed |
| ½ c | saki |
| ½ c | rice wine vinegar |
| ½ c | water |
| ½ c | sugar |
| 4 cloves | garlic |
| sliced fresh ginger | |
| 12 | black peppercorns |
Julienne radishes by hand or with a mandolin.
Combine sake, vinegar, water, sugar, garlic, ginger and peppercorns in a sauce pan and bring to boil. Strain out garlic, ginger and peppercorns and pour the hot liquid over the julienned radishes. Allow to cool in refrigerator overnight.
sesame dressing
| ½ c | rice wine vinegar |
| 1/8 c | hite toasted sesame seeds |
| 1/8 c | lack toasted sesame seeds |
| 3 cloves | garlic |
| 1 T | fresh ginger |
| ½ c | white onion |
| 1 c | canola oil |
| salt and pepper |
In a blender, add vinegar, sesame seeds, garlic, ginger and onion. Blend until smooth. Slowly add oil to emulsify. Add salt and pepper to taste.