Dish

everyday delicious
The newest ATCO Blue Flame Kitchen cookbook Everyday Delicious is packed with variety. Consider lively vegetable dishes such as spaghetti squash with kale pesto or family mains like the easy pressure cooker beef brisket, along with snacks and desserts. It’s a terrific family cookbook with 90 on-trend recipes in a handy coil-bound edition, complete with luscious, mouth-watering photography, nutritional analysis, safety tips and loads of helpful hints. And you know the recipes are going to work; the ATCO Blue Flame Kitchen trademark is your guarantee that each recipe has been exhaustively tested in their professional kitchens. These cookbooks really are an Alberta treasure. Available at atcoblueflamekitchen.com, Chapters, some Save-on and Safeway stores, $15.

italian with a twist by sonny sung
Sonny Sung, the corporate chef for the Sorrentino’s restaurant chain and the exec chef and partner at Bistecca Italian Steakhouse, knows how to keep diners coming back for more. Now we can create those favourite dishes at home. Sonny’s flavours are subtle and always in balance, yet what we love most about Sonny is his approachability. The recipes range from the simplest classics to those demonstrating his French/Italian influence—from minestrone soup to deep-fried buffala mozzarella with black garlic chutney; from baked meatballs to osso bucco with chestnut gremolata and creamy orzo risotto. Fans will be happy to find recipes for Sorrentino’s and Bistecca dishes, such as linguine frutti di mare and braised short ribs with sour cherry risotto cakes, along with wine suggestions from Vinomania’s Gurvinder Bhatia. The cook book is available at Bistecca, Chapters and better book stores. Company’s Coming Publishing, 75 recipes, $26.

grilling with the house of q
Brian Misko is co-owner of House of Q, a competition BBQ team from Surrey, British Columbia, who has spent more than a decade in competition smoking and grilling foods. His new cookbook is filled with tips and stories on both backyard and competition cooking. Find recipes for rubs, brines, and sauces, bacon baklava, how to make award-winning ribs, and the world’s best bacon-wrapped cheese dog. We fell in love with Brian and Corrine Misko last year at Porkapalooza, fun people and awesome cooks. This grilling book deserves a spot on your shelf. Figure1Publishing, $24.95.

waste not, want not
Did your grandmother ask you to finish what’s on your plate because of all the starving children in Africa? Turns out she was sort of right. Our wasteful food habits are having a global impact. We don’t have a food supply problem, we have a food waste problem. Cinda Chavich addresses this in The Waste Not, Want Not Cookbook: Save Food, Save Money, and Save the Planet. Cinda talks about what we do now—did you know that 40 per cent of food is thrown away? There are movements afoot: French supermarket Intermarché launched the Inglorious Fruits and Vegetables campaign to bring attention to the ugly vegetables, usually left in the field, and offers them at a 30 per cent discount. Cinda’s book brings the food waste issue home and guides the reader in how to shop, cook and eat with zero waste. If this all sounds a bit like your old uncle saving string, why not bring back a bit of depression-era thinking around food? The book offers tips on purchasing, storage, how to turn leftovers and bits in the refrigerator into something irresistibly delicious and 140 recipes. Touchwood Editions, $29.95.

chefs collaborate for #aldereats
On Friday June 5, join chefs Ben Staley, Brayden Kozak (Three Boars) Christine Sandford (Acme Meat Market), Alex Sneazwell (Sandwich and Sons) and Spencer Thompson (Toast Fine Catering) for a fundraiser for the Alder Food Security Society. The non-profit, whose goal is to make local food available to all no matter what the income level, is part of the concept of The Alder Room, a fledging downtown restaurant by chef Staley. Expect appetizers followed by six courses by these talented cooks using ingredients donated by August Organics, Mona Foods, Acme Meat Market as well as wines by Tyler Harlton, Benjamin Bridge and Charles Baker from Crush Imports. Tickets: eventbrite.com.

15 years of indulgence
The 15th anniversary edition of Indulgence, a Canadian epic of food and wine is June 8 at the Delta Edmonton South. Indulgence introduces local farmers to local chefs to create long-term business relationships as well as introducing both to fine VQA wine and regional craft beers. In addition to its key role in fostering our unique prairie gastronomy, Indulgence raises funds for children’s programs by The Junior League of Edmonton (over $100,000 to date) and the Slow Food Indulgence Bursary for NAIT Culinary students. Tickets: jledmonton.com.

form, function and lasting beauty
Fans of modern design will lust after this limited edition
Le Creuset Coquelle casserole, a 1958 design by Raymond Loewy. Loewy, considered the father of industrial design, leaves a legacy of brilliant product design (space craft, cars, logos, the Coke bottle) and thoughtful statements about design in the world; “the main goal is not to complicate the already difficult life of the consumer.” We think of Loewy every time we attempt to open a plastic blister pack, and cry a little. Only 80 Coquelle are available in Canada in volcanic and teal (shown), $500.