The Cuisine of Memory: Chefs’ memories of holiday foods

Memories of holidays, happy, sad and bittersweet, come to us through a warm steamy haze, with visions of bundling up and shuttling from house to house, eating things we only get to eat once a year. It’s the time to look forward to a grandmother’s ham or a special dish, or not.

We didn’t do the traditional Ukrainian Christmas Eve,” says Brad Smoliak, Kitchen by Brad Smoliak. “But we would have cabbage rolls, pyrohy, nachynka, somebody always made a salad, nobody ever ate it, and pickled beets. My wife and I are resurrecting the traditional January Ukrainian Christmas meal with good friends and family before the dieting starts.”

“Christmas to me was all the granny baking, and a very steamy house,” says Frank Olson, of the Red Ox Inn and Canteen. “We’d drive to Camrose and there would be 60 people in my grandma’s house. Eventually, Christmas was moved to the community hall. We’re Norwegion, so there’s the stinky fish thing packed in lye. We compensate by putting butter and sugar on everything else. My sister still makes lefse every season.”

Shaun Hicks of Glasshouse Bistro remembers Christmas as squash and turkey. “Brown sugar squash: squash roasted with brown sugar, salt and butter — it’s a staple, perfect the way it is.”

“I can remember counting the days to Christmas with my mom’s family, vibrating, waiting for grandma’s glazed ham. You can’t mess around with that kind of stuff!” says Brayden Kozak of Three Boars. “Sometimes they were monstrous, huge bone-in hams glazed with honey. It would have these sticky pineapple rings and crispy, sweet and sticky burnt ends. That’s Christmas. The other thing that tastes like Christmas to me is nalysnyky, cottage cheese crepes baked in a pan with heavy cream. My family does one pan of nutmeg and one pan of dill. Growing up I loved the dill. I realize now I spent a large portion of my life snubbing the nutmeg, and it’s amazing.”

“For the last 20 years or so we’ve entertained my wife Melinda’s family as mine is far away,” says Larry Stewart, Hardware Grill.

“We always have turkey. I bone-out and roll it, so it cooks more evenly and it’s easier to carve and serve. And smashed potatoes, of course, skin on, butter, cream, sour cream, lots of butter. Smashed potatoes are as solid in the repertoire as gingerbread, a Christmas staple at our house.”

What about the stuffing? Lindsay Porter, Mercer’s Catering, is a fan of her mother’s stuffing. “She puts sausage in it, minced sausage, just plain pork sausage, with lots of sage, and almond and walnuts. She cooks some in the turkey and some as a side dish so it gets a nice crust on top.”

Andrew Fung, XIX Nineteen, is a fan of the soup after. “In my family, it’s always turkey. Then my mom makes a really good congee using the stock she makes from the bones. It has a subtle, clean flavour. Congee is kind of a Hong Kong street food staple. Back in the old days people needed a small amount of rice to go a long way.”

Lynn Heard, Unheardof, believes people are biased about the cabbage family. “I think brassicas deserve more respect. I love sweet and sour cabbage, I don’t know why people don’t like Brussels sprouts. Who wouldn’t love them, steamed until al dente, glazed with maple syrup and a little balsamic, then tossed with some pecans which have been sitting in the maple syrup? I was dumbfounded the first time I saw Brussels sprouts growing in the ground — I had no idea they grew on sticks like that. But, then again, when I was a kid I thought people braided the tips of asparagus.”

Holiday meals come wrapped in intense family memories, some good, some not so good. Ryan O’Flynn of Bistro La Persaud recalls growing up in a family that cooked for a living. “A chef never gets to experience Christmastime. I’d get picked up after school and taken to wherever they were working. We grew up with roast beef; with over the top mashed potatoes dripping with sour cream and those awful dried chives, and I don’t want to be there. When people make that little volcano and put the gravy that came out of a package, what is it called, Bistro? In the volcano — I’m just not there. How about I show up after dinner for some nice scotch instead? “

For Doreen Prei, chef de cuisine at Zinc, the holidays take her back to being a little girl in the forest. “My grandfather and I always went to the Thuringian forest in the fall. We would go for a week and look for mushrooms every day. When Opa found some, he would fall onto the ground and embrace them. I was a very competitive 10 year old; I wanted to find more than him. Then we would sit on his balcony cleaning the mushrooms; chanterelles, cepes, porcini, then we’d dry them on East German communist newspapers. My grandfather knew a hunter. He would get venison, marinate it in buttermilk to give it a bit of a tangy flavour, then put bits of speck into the flesh, then marinate some more with red wine. He would slow cook the roast and make a sauce of the roasted bones, red wine, some herbs, the dried mushrooms and some tomato paste. The mushrooms we had picked added such a delicious woodsiness to the dish. There was some juniper in the sauce too. We would have it with the dumplings from our region, (Thueringer kartoffelkloesse) and cabbage and apples braised with red wine and bacon. My Opa Karl-Heinz Bruessler is a fabulous cook. I was always with him in the kitchen.”

Recipes

Retro-style honey pineapple glazed ham

  • 1 can (8 ounces) sliced pineapple
  • 1 boneless fully cooked ham, approx 5-8 pounds
  • 1/3 c honey
  • 1 t ground mustard
  • ¼ t ground cloves
  • 1 T cider vinegar
  • maraschino cherries

Bake ham at 350°F for 30 minutes.

Drain the pineapple into a small saucepan and set aside the pineapple rings.

Add honey, mustard, cloves and vinegar to the juice and cook until reduced to a syrup, about half the volume. Score ham; place pineapple slices and cherries over ham, securing with toothpicks. Spoon glaze over top. Bake for about another 30 minutes or so or until a meat thermometer reads 140°F, basting occasionally. Serves 8-12.

Smashed potatoes

Larry Stewart, the Hardware Grill

  • 5 med red or white unpeeled new potatoes
  • 3 fl oz melted butter
  • 3 fl oz sour cream
  • 1 ½ t salt
  • ½ t pepper
  • ¼ c milk

Boil potatoes until fully cooked, drain well. Smash potatoes with skin on, add all other ingredients and mix well. Potatoes should be a little bit chunky. Hold warm in oven.

Turkey congee

Chef Andrew Fung, Nineteen

  • ¾ c long grain rice
  • 9 c turkey stock (recipe follows)
  • salt to taste

In a large pot, bring the water and rice to a boil. When the rice is boiling, turn the heat down to medium low. Place the lid on the pot, tilting it to allow steam to escape (the same as you would do when making cooked rice). Cook on medium-low to low heat, stirring occasionally, until the rice has the thick, creamy texture of porridge (1 to 1¼ hours). Add the salt, taste and add seasonings if desired. Serve with any kind of fish, pulled turkey meat, chicken, ground beef or pork.

Turkey stock

  • 4 kg turkey bones
  • 8 L cold water
  • 1 t kosher salt
  • 1 t mignonette pepper
  • 1 sml carrot
  • 1 sml leek (white part)
  • 2 stalks celery
  • 1 onion
  • 1 bouquet garni
  • 2 cloves garlic

Remove excess turkey fat, place turkey and cold water in large saucepan and bring to boil. Reduce to a simmer and continually skim off surface foam. Chop vegetables to a mirepoix (fine dice) and add to stock. Season with salt, pepper, bouquet garni and garlic. Simmer 1 to 1½ hours. Degrease if necessary. Strain stock by a fine strainer. Cool and refrigerate.

Brussels sprout salad with warm bacon and pecan dressing

Adapted from the Atco Blue Flame Kitchen 2012 Holiday Collection Cookbook

  • ½ lb Brussels sprouts
  • 6 c torn romaine lettuce
  • ½ c sliced green onions
  • 1½ c chopped bacon
  • ½ c coarsely chopped pecans
  • ¼ c canola oil
  • 3 T white wine vinegar
  • ½ t whole grain mustard
  • 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
  • ¼ t salt
  • ¼ t freshly ground pepper

Trim the ends of the Brussels sprouts and discard. Cut Brussels sprouts in half lengthwise and then thinly slice crosswise. There should be about 2 c. Combine Brussels sprouts, lettuce and green onions in a bowl. Set aside.

Cook bacon and pecans in a medium sauté pan over medium heat until bacon is crispy. Remove from heat. Drain bacon and pecans on paper towels. Drain off all fat from the pan and return to low heat. Add oil, vinegar, mustard and garlic; cook, scraping to loosen browned bits, for 30 seconds. Return bacon and pecans to the pan. Season. Pour dressing over sprouts mixture and toss to coat. Serve immediately. Serves 8.

Nalysnyky (cottage cheese filled crêpes)

There are probably as many recipes for nalysnyky as there are good cooks who make it. We’re using Olga Drozd’s recipe from the Ukrainian Classic Kitchen.

Crêpes

  • 2 eggs, well beaten
  • 1½ c milk
  • 1 T sugar
  • ¼ t vanilla
  • 1¼ c all-purpose white flour
  • 1½ t baking powder
  • ¼ t salt
  • 1 t oil

Mix eggs, milk and 1 T sugar together. Add vanilla and oil. Sift flour, baking powder and salt together and add to milk mixture, stirring until smooth. Using a greased frying pan, fry the batter into thin pancakes using ¼ c of batter per crêpe. Use a 7-inch non-stick crepe pan or any non-stick pan of that size. Swirl the batter around to cover. I use a brush to lightly brush pan each time with oil or butter. Set aside.

Cheese filling

  • 2 c creamed cottage cheese
  • 2 eggs, well beaten
  • ¼ t salt
  • 1 T sugar
  • 1 T chopped dill
  • sweet cream to pour over pancakes (just to cover in one layer)

Mix cottage cheese, eggs, salt, 1 T sugar and dill.

Spread over each pancake with filling and roll up like a jelly-roll. Arrange in a well-buttered casserole, and pour sweet cream over.

Bake at 300°F for 35 minutes. Uncover toward the end so that they will brown a little.

Serve with sour cream. Makes about 12 nalysnyky.

For dessert nalysnyky, leave out the dill and add nutmeg and add a little more sugar if you like it a bit sweeter.

Lynn Heard’s sweet and sour red cabbage

“We use olive oil so the vegans can enjoy it too. Add white vinegar near the end to hold the colour, and check before you take off the heat that the mixture is the right combination of juiciness, sweetness, sourness and saltiness.”
– Lynn Heard, Unheardof Restaurant

  • 4 T olive oil
  • 1 head red cabbage, shredded into ¼ inch strips
  • ¼ c brown sugar (depending on size of cabbage)
  • 2 t salt
  • 2/3 c white wine vinegar (depending on the acidity of the vinegar, you might add 1/3 c first and then more if needed)

Pour oil into a heavy large pot over medium-low heat. Add chopped cabbage, then add salt and sugar. Cook until cabbage begins to wilt, stirring often, about 5 minutes. Cover and cook until the cabbage is good and juicy and add the vinegar about ten minutes before the end of cooking.

Drain in colander immediately, check seasoning. The cabbage freezes really well this way.

Cabbage this way is great with duck, turkey, goose or even some lamb dishes or the traditional pork — any rich flavoured meats (i.e. meats with more fat). Serves 6-8 as a side dish.

What is my cuisine of memory, besides my mother’s incomparable pressure cooker turkey soup? I spent a good decade of holiday meals at the kid’s table. Being the youngest, I was expected to run herd on all the nieces and nephews. When I finally got to sit at the grown-ups‘ table, I realized what I was missing — Christmas dinner was way more fun with the kids.

Mary Bailey