The Cooking Chronicles: O Sol’ Meatos Hot Dogs

Otto Van Bismarck is credited with the famous quote, “Laws are like sausages. It’s better not to see them being made.” With the trend towards preservative- and filler-free sausages made using natural ingredients and transparent methods, however, some processed meats don’t necessarily have that same negative connotation any longer.

With the number of small producers that are thriving because of the demand for tasty, artisan sausages (Irvings Farm Fresh comes to mind), it was only a matter of time before hot dogs – the other near blasphemous processed meat, were treated with the same respect.

Spring Creek Ranch does make artisan ‘dogs with natural casings, though at this point, they are only sold at the Monster Burger outlet at the Northlands Expo Centre (Kirstin Kotelko said that a wider commercial release may be in the cards). O Sol’ Meatos, a small producer out of Kitscoty, Alberta, on the other hand, does offer artisan hot dogs for at-home consumption. We bought a package of four through the Good Food Box recently to give them a try.

O Sol’ Meatos hot dogs

There weren’t any cooking instructions on the package, and being without a barbecue (which would have been our preferred preparation method), we decided steaming them in a sauté pan with some water would be our best bet.

Even during cooking, we could tell these weren’t regular hot dogs. They were pungent in the best way possible – we couldn’t think of a better word to describe it than “beefy”. We steamed them for just over five minutes, but in hindsight, should have inserted a meat thermometer to keep a close eye on the temperature, as they didn’t need to be cooked that long. Talking to Brian and Rhonda at the Culina Muttart launch, they said our suggestion of including instructions was a reasonable one – given the lean meat encased in the hot dog, overcooking them would be an easy mistake to make.

We ate the hot dogs in German buns from Bee Bell Bakery (they worked well enough, but if anyone has any suggestions of good hot dog buns, please do share!). The casings were crisp, like those normally associated with breakfast sausage, and the meat directly around the casing was pink, as one would normally expect. The centre, however, was brown, and had the consistency of sausage meat, dense and unyielding, with a deep, smoky flavour.

Brian and Rhonda explained that nitrates (added as a preservative) lend the pink hue to commercial hot dogs. Their product is nitrate-free, except for the naturally occurring nitrates in smoke, which clarified why only the circumference of the hot dog was pink.

Hot dog!

On the side we served a very simple red cabbage salad with lemon and black pepper, a Molly Wizenberg recipe. We loved the crunch, and it was a great seasonal replacement for the more common green salad (the small cabbage we bought from August Organics made six generous servings of this salad).

Red cabbage slaw

We just bought another package of the O Sol’ Meatos hot dogs this week. I’m sure when cooked right, they will be even better!

Culina at the Muttart Conservatory

When the Muttart Conservatory finally reopened after over a year of renovations in June 2009, there were high hopes the revamped Ela Euro Cafe, located at the front of the facility (and thus could be accessed without paying an entrance fee), would help draw residents and others to the evergreen oasis. Given its prime Cloverdale location, and really, the fact that it is the only food establishment in the immediate area, Ela Euro should have been a slam dunk.

While the space was bright and functional – a bank of windows and a large enclosed patio – the food couldn’t have been much of a draw. I can’t say we stopped by all that often, but on two instances we were at the Muttart, the cafe was empty.

Before: Ela Euro

As a result, the City’s new partnership with one of Edmonton’s most recognized and upstanding local chains was probably a most welcome one. Culina Muttart, the restaurant’s third outpost, opened on December 2, 2010 in the Ela Euro space. In addition to offering their comforting fare (that highlights some of the area’s best producers), the staff will also be utilizing the Muttart’s greenhouse space to grow herbs and greens for the restaurant.

After: Culina Muttart

On Monday night, Mack and I attended the launch of Culina Muttart. After the full-on tasting at ZINC’s fall menu launch, we weren’t quite sure what to expect. It turned out instead of a sit-down event, the evening was an informal one, set up reception style, which suited the casual cafe space perfectly.

Culina Muttart

It reminded me very much of the Meet the Locals Festival at Planet Organic – producers set up at tables along the periphery of the room, offering samples of their wares. Brad Lazarenko, Director and Executive Chef of Culina, said that the producers represented a range of relationship lengths – from Spring Creek Ranch, who they have sourced from for over five years, to EnSante, a brand new supplier.

Kirstin Kotelko of Spring Creek Ranch slices up some beef

Meeting and chatting with the producers was a great way to really get a sense of the philosophy behind Culina’s food (which was probably the purpose of the evening), but it probably wasn’t the best way to find out what to expect at Culina Muttart, in terms of the menu and plating of dishes.

Leon Hunter of Yellowhead Brewery

That said, there was one dish served, a salad featuring quinoa, Sylvan Star gouda and a Mighty Trio Organics dressing (made specifically for Culina) that is actually on the menu. The salad had great texture, and at the very least, made me feel less guilty for the meat and cheese consumption to follow.

Salad with Mighty Trio Organics dressing

Shayne and Vicky Horn of Tangled Ridge Ranch, a lamb producer, were new to us (we loved the title on Shayne’s business card that read, “Flock Master”). The slices of lamb they served us were incredibly tender and moist – I hope that same preparation ends up on the Culina menu (Tangled Ridge currently only sells whole carcasses).

Shayne and Vicky of Tangled Ridge Ranch

Speaking of sheep, we also had our fill of sheep’s cheese (and air dried charcuterie) from Brian and Rhonda Headon, of The Cheesiry and O Sol’Meatos. Mack especially liked the cardamom salami.

Samples from The Cheesiry

Brian and Rhonda of The Cheesiry and O Sol’Meatos

Shame on us that this event was the first time we ever tried any of The Jam Lady’s products. Though we know they are a veritable City Market favourite, we always passed Donna by because we do really like the August Organics jam we always have on hand. After trying a few of her preserves and mustards however (the curried mustard is like nothing I’ve ever tasted), I know we will be loading up on a few jars very soon (her products are also available at Culina Muttart).

Bohdan and Donna Borody, aka “The Jam Man” and The Jam Lady

Guests were also invited to tour the pyramids, with interpreters pointing out the edible plants in each biome. We chose to tour the temperate pyramid, and while we learned a few things (Mack and I had no idea that seasons were induced in each biome – hence, spring in the temperate world), we were really hoping for a peek inside the greenhouse space to be used by Culina.

The feature pyramid – all decked out for Valentine’s Day

Though the restaurant is currently only open for lunch on weekdays and brunch on weekends (during the Muttart’s operating hours), staff are working to possibly extend the restaurant’s hours into the evening, which would be particularly handy once the days are longer. Stay tuned!

Thanks again to Kiri and the rest of the Muttart staff for organizing this event – it was great opportunity to meet with some of the producers and taste some of the products that will be featured by Culina Muttart (a few other food bloggers have written about the event also: check out recaps by Liane, Twyla, Chris and Brittany).

Culina Muttart Conservatory Cafe
9626 – 96A Street
(780) 466-1181
Weekdays 10am-5pm; weekends & holidays 11am-5pm

Shadow Theatre & Northern Light Theatre: “Meat Puppet”

On Saturday, Mack and I took in a matinee performance of Meat Puppet at the Varscona Theatre, a show put on jointly by Shadow Theatre and Northern Light Theatre (speaking of which, NLT has such striking poster designs this year – the use of dolls is eye-catching and inspired, though I suppose the poster for Pervert may not be embraced by all).

This show will be the introductory production for many to the work of Leif Oleson-Cormack, though he has also written shows for the New Works and Fringe Festivals. That said, Meat Puppet’s dark nature, exploring the motivations behind a fictional television program similar to NBC’s much-maligned series To Catch a Predator, is a departure from his previous two Edmonton shows. Meat Puppet is billed as a comedy, however, so I still expected it to highlight Leif’s wit and penchant for snappy dialogue.

The banter was enjoyable, particularly between the show’s host, Chuck Dalmer (John Hudson) and his plucky producer Deb (April Banigan). On the other hand, the tone of the play was perplexing – it tried to straddle the line between comedy and drama, but probably would have been more successful if it had chosen one or the other. I suppose for me, anyway, shows like To Catch a Predator always seemed to lure viewers with a morbid curiosity, rather than those looking for a cheap laugh – so the downfall of the “predators” always seemed more tragic than funny.

I did like the connection of this kind of train wreck journalism with the internet sensationalism that continues to gain momentum today, however – it might be even more dangerous than television because of its instantaneity and ease to be shared.

If anything, Meat Puppet was a thought-provoking play, especially in this age of reality programming, where producers and editors can manipulate – and sometimes create – the “truth”.

Meat Puppet runs at the Varscona Theatre until February 6, 2011.

The Cooking Chronicles: Stew-pendous

Eye-rolling title aside, since launching into the world of meat stew a few weeks ago, we’ve continued to crave it, and have been experimenting with different recipes to satisfy that craving.

Mushroom Stew with Beef Chunks

Mark Bittman says that his recipe for mushroom stew with beef chunks can be easily adapted into a vegetarian dish by simply using more mushrooms, but since we had a package of beef stew meat left (our dwindling cow share stash), I thought it would be a good recipe to make and compare with our previous slow-roasted version.

This stew cooks up on the stovetop, for around an hour and a half. What sets it apart is the inclusion of dried mushrooms (we used porcini), and the soaking liquid. Our entire condo was perfumed with the scent of the mushrooms, which also had the effect of lightening the dish as well, as the broth was more liquid than paste).

The beef, as expected, wasn’t as tender as when cooked in the oven for a longer period of time, but it was still pretty tasty. Both of us agreed, though, that the best thing about the dish really was the broth. No stock/wine combination could outshine the aromatic porcini liquid, especially to have been made in that amount of time.

Mushroom stew with beef chunks

Elk Stew

Stew is great not only for its comforting aspects, but is the perfect winter meal – nearly all the ingredients for a typical stew can be found at your local farmers’ market right now. For us, this means potatoes from Greens, Eggs and Ham, carrots from Riverbend Gardens, mushrooms from MoNa…and elk from Shooting Star Ranch.

I decided to give elk stew a try after talking to Christine from Shooting Star at the Alberta Avenue Farmers’ Market. She convinced me to try using sirloin meat, and had advised me on cooking it “low and slow” (low meaning 250F) for several hours.

Of course, being the overreaching cook that I am, I thought I would be able to make this stew on a weeknight. To compensate for the time, I jacked up the temperature somewhat (about 315 for the first hour, and 275 for the second).

I realized in hindsight that a high temperature wasn’t necessary – the elk was super lean, but more than that, the consistency of the meat reminded me of liver – supple and maroon in colour (interestingly enough, it tasted slightly of liver too – some pieces that I bit in to had a faint metallic tang). Needless to say, I think I cooked the living daylights out of the sirloin, so I definitely learned my lesson: follow the instructions!

Elk stew

Food Notes for January 31, 2011

It’s always bittersweet when a friend leaves your workplace for another opportunity, but at least in Jill’s case, she’s only a few blocks away! Still, I’m going to miss you and our coffee breaks, fellow grapefruit club member! On to this week’s food notes:

Probably the biggest food news in the city this week was the announcement that Transcend is opening up downtown, in the space formerly occupied by Axis Cafe (10349 Jasper Avenue). Look for the T3 to open up in March, with a full food menu to boot.
Another Japanese Village is set to open in south Edmonton at 2940 Calgary Trail (which most recently housed Blush, among other things) – thanks for the tip!
Congrats to Liane and Kevin, two Edmonton winners of the first instalment of the Canadian Food Blog Awards!
Save the date! Slow Food Edmonton is planning its first annual Eat Alberta Food Conference April 29-30, 2011, to be held at the Yellowhead Brewery. The day will feature lots of hands on sessions like sausage and bread making, as well as various tastings. More details to come!
Perhaps this is the way to engage the next gen set at the community league level: host a wine and cheese for Valentine’s Day (Oliver is doing it on February 12, 2011).
Joel Salatin (of Polyface Farms/Omnivore’s Dilemma fame) is coming to town at the end of June.
The Journal wrote about how social media helps bring diners into local restaurants, like Elm Cafe.
Also from the Journal – looks like Alberta lamb is on the upswing (it does seem to be more readily available as of late, but then again, I’m probably just looking for it more).
The City of Edmonton invites you to complete a survey regarding their Corner Store Revitalization Project (trying to help reverse the immense tide away from neighbourhood-based shops). I’m not that optimistic, but I do support it – anything to make the city more walkable.
I love Councillor Henderson’s idea of closing off 104 Street in the summer and turning it into a “big patio”. C’mon Council, make it happen!
How could you not love CHARCUT’s alley burgers (aka, gourmet burgers, served out of their back alley)? I know what I’m lining up for the next time I’m in Calgary. Both Andree and Julie wrote about their recent back alley foray.
Watch for a new farmers’ market in southeast southwest Edmonton, at the Lillian Osborne High School (2010 Leger Road), to be launched some time this spring or summer.
Check out the hydroponic tomatoes that came out of Maki’s basement. Gorgeous.
700 columns later, The Minimalist is over! Mark Bittman will still be writing for the NYT, but ended his weekly recipe column last week.
I’ve been reading a lot about “pop-up” restaurants lately – establishments that open up temporarily for a few days or a few months. How’s that for finicky diners – here today, gone tomorrow…

Have a good week!

Winter Light 2011: Illuminations

Mack in particular has been harsh on the Winter Light Festival in the past, but necessarily so, because we know how much potential it has to make the cold months in our city more bearable. Tonight, though, we were absolutely buzzing after attending Illuminations, a spectacular show that can and should legitimately become the jewel in the crown of winter festivals in Edmonton.

Illuminations

We didn’t make it out to Illuminations last year, but we did in 2009, and found the event to be underwhelming. There were decorations, bonfires, and a few roving performers, but it wasn’t anything that would draw us back again. I’m happy to say that this year’s edition was quite the opposite.

It was chilly out, nearly –30 with wind chill (easily twenty degrees colder than when we visited Ice on Whyte last weekend), but Churchill Square still held a sizable crowd.

Gathering around the fire

We arrived just before the finale performance, and had time to take in some of the visual installations, the bonfires, and marvel at the “winter people”, actors dressed in white and trailed throughout the Square by targeted spotlights.

The promenade

Circus Orange is a Toronto-based pyrotechnic circus performance troupe – but really, all you need to know is that they were amazing.

The show begins

Their show combined dance, stunts, pyrotechnics, and a good old fashioned clown, and was mesmerizing for both children and adults alike.

The clown tames the monsters with…marshmallows!

The show began in front of the Art Gallery of Alberta, luring the crowd with a striking, monstrous steel tricycle outfitted with flares. The tricycle eventually moved into Churchill Square towards City Hall, and everyone followed like the obedient ducklings we were, frozen, but eager to see what would come next.

Follow that trike!

The finale was unexpected and extravagant. We thought the climax had arrived when a female performer was lifted into the air by a massive crane, waving sparklers, but in actuality, that was just a teaser.

When sparks fly

The actual conclusion involved the same performer, again lifted in the air, but harnessed into the large tricycle wheel, spinning fifty feet above the crowd, sparks flying, and City Hall aglow behind the spectacle. Fireworks were icing on the cake.

Up in the air

More sparks

Fireworks

Congratulations to the organizers of Winter Light for a fabulous event. As Mack said in his post, we hope this calibre of a performance is something we can look forward to every year – once word gets out, we can only imagine it will become a must-see affair for those in Edmonton and beyond, regardless of the weather!

Good News for Local Charities!

Given how ubiquitous daily deal sites like Groupon and Living Social have become – there are nearly a dozen in Edmonton alone – it is difficult to keep track of them, let alone distinguish between them. The most recent site to be launched here, however, is distinct in one very significant way: it gives back to the community.

GoodNews.com works the same way as other deal sites – e-mails featuring discounts of 50-90% for local businesses are sent out to subscribers, and when the minimum number of people have agreed to the deal, it is activated for a limited period of time.

That said, Good News is different because they donate a portion of the profits from each deal sold to a local charity. The site started in Vancouver in July 2010, and since then, has raised over $30,000 for area charities; they are hoping for similar success here. The Edmonton Food Bank is their first partner cause in our city, and will receive 5% of all sales generated between January 25 to February 27, 2011.

To get you started, Good News is offering $5 worth of free credit that can be redeemed right away. Also, to help celebrate their launch, they have partnered with the Whyte Avenue location of Crepeworks to offer a $1 deal – not only will your purchased coupon nab you a crepe that would normally cost you $7, but the entire dollar will be going to the Food Bank (the current deal is a pretty good one too – $16 for $40 worth of food at Zaika – I already have my coupon!).

So – if you needed a reason to get shopping, here it is!

Canoe Theatre Festival: “Operation EVAsion”

Workshop West’s Canoe Theatre Festival promised “some of the season’s most interesting artists and challenging performances.” Based on the promo for Operation EVAsion, by local company Firefly Theatre, it wasn’t difficult to see why this particular play was included in the roster:

Operation EVAsion is based on the bizarre but factual account of the multiple disappearances of the corpse of Eva Perón. Upon her untimely death at age 33, her body was embalmed to the point of immortalization. Additionally, there were several duplicates made of her corpse, and in the ensuing Argentinean political turmoil, they all disappeared. Their journey lasted for 24 years and involved espionage, kidnapping, murder and astrology.

Mack and I took in the last performance on Sunday at the Timms Centre.

With such rich material to start with, I was curious to see how the company would present the story, particularly as a one-woman show (to be fair, musician Jason Kodie was also on stage, providing a auditory accompaniment in the form of an accordion). The set was black, save for a multimedia screen, ensuring the audience was transfixed on the sole performer. Annie Dugan recounted the body’s journey – through Argentina, Europe, and back – interspersing the narrative with Evita’s own words (in Spanish, with an English translation projected behind her). Evita’s corpse was wielded as a political weapon, used to maintain or regain power, or perhaps even more compelling, was the fact that after her death, she was able to affect her country’s politics (particularly among the poor, her image is still common in Argentina, often hung right next to the Virgin Mary). I did learn a lot (prior to this, the extent of my knowledge of Evita was the song “Don’t Cry for Me Argentina”, popularized by Madonna), but I was hoping for more interpretation, and less historical fact.

Of course, as Firefly Theatre is synonymous with aerial performances, we were looking forward to seeing how they would use movement and height. Because our only previous encounter with Firefly was their stunning, explosive display at the RISE Awards, we were unfairly expecting something similar. That said, Dugan’s restrained perimeter better matched the tone of the play, and garnered much respect – it can’t be easy delivering an hour long performance suspended several feet in the air – something she did with poise and grace. It was an ideal visual – representing the limbo status of the corpse and Evita’s elevated stature. The white fabric that suspended her was also particularly effective in parts – when used as a screen for Evita’s visage, projected next to Dugan’s own face, and as a cocoon with eerie resemblance to mummified remains.

We left the theatre with a desire to learn more about Evita (the starting place: Wikipedia, heh), and an interest to see what else Firefly Theatre might have to offer. As promised by the Canoe Festival, it was indeed an interesting performance.

The Sandwich of No Return: Press’d

Mack loves sandwiches. A grilled cheese is his go-to snack, and while Quizno’s and Subway are his default quick-serve choices, he is partial to the hot sandwiches at MRKT. So of course, when he heard Press’d, Edmonton’s newest sandwich purveyor opened up in Edmonton City Centre, he was excited to see where they would fall in his personal demarcation.

I had wanted to slip a Press’d gift card into Mack’s Christmas stocking, but they didn’t (and still don’t) offer gift cards. I resorted to making him a coupon similar to the ones produced by grade school children.

Who doesn’t love coupons?

At any rate, Mack “redeemed” his coupon last Monday, when we met up at Press’d for lunch.

The sleek interior makes it hard to miss – they did a great job of transforming the formerly drab cafe into an inviting space – clean white and green, accented with stained wood.

Interior

The menu features 19 different sandwiches, many more likely to be found in a bistro than a food court (the Hot Tamale is particularly creative, featuring black forest ham, jalapeno jack cheese, scrambled egg, banana peppers, green peppers and hot wing sauce). Prices range from $3.79-$5.79 for a small and $6.79-$8.79 for a full sandwich. Mack opted for the Yahoo ($7.79) with roast beef, swiss cheese, mushrooms, red onion and mayo, while I chose the Golden Bear ($8.79), with smoked chicken, baked brie, roasted apples, spinach and sweet fig jam.

Yahoo

Press’d prides itself on its made-to-order philosophy, including slicing their meats and vegetables daily, and emphasizes the fact that they bake their own bread (it’s hard to miss, given the racks of flour stacked front and centre). The focaccia was noticeably fresh – great crumb, and having only been gently “pressed” (instead of flatted, Panini-style), its texture was retained.

Golden Bear

Other than the bread, however, we were a bit underwhelmed – the sandwiches were okay, but nothing special. While both the portion size and prices were comparable to other restaurants offering “upscale” sandwiches, both of us knew we would be heading to Elm Cafe or MRKT next time. There was something about our experience that lacked the premium price tag they were commanding – though the contained interior is chic, the bustle of mall foot traffic firmly reminded us that we were in food court territory. And the presentation of the sandwiches reminded Mack of the types of food picked up at an airport – bare bones presentation on paper-covered plastic baskets. We didn’t feel like we really received value for our dollar, and at the end of the day, nothing about our meal – food or service – that really stood out.

So while there are lots of reasons to respect Press’d – their commitment to environmental practices (using eco-friendly take-out containers), and using gluten-free meats when possible – there really aren’t any compelling reasons for us to return.

Press’d
Unit #29, 10200 102 Avenue (Edmonton City Centre West)
780-758-0919

Food Notes for January 24, 2011

There’s some good news coming– watch for an announcement about the venue for the year-round City Market in two weeks. I can’t wait until it’s official!

NAIT’s next Chef in Residence will be Susur Lee – it’ll be interesting to see what else he has to say about Shang.
Thanks to this tip, I found out that the Edmonton area will be getting its first Five Guys Burgers and Fries – in Sherwood Park.
Look for GAMA (10418 82 Avenue), a new store that will serve up Taiwanese drinks and cookies. They had their soft opening over the weekend.
Axis Cafe is closing its doors. They are hosting a closing party on January 27, 2011 at 7pm.
If you love Blue Plate Diner’s vegetarian burgers, you’ll be happy to know you can now take them home to make! Pick them up at the restaurant ($12 for 4 patties), or order them through the Good Food Box.
Curious about how the revamp of The Next Act Pub came to be? Vue Weekly published an interview with one of the men behind its “second act”.
Valerie sent me a link about Food Network’s reality show-style search for The Next Great Chocolatier.
The Journal had a great write-up of the Breaducation event at Luzzara two weeks ago, including a recipe for no-knead bread. Local blogger Andrea already tried it out, with fantastic results!
Isabelle wrote a very thoughtful post about the realities of tight purse strings unfortunately preventing her from supporting local producers.
This is pretty cool – a musician staged a flash mob at New York’s Eataly, to the tune of “Smooth Criminal”.
The NYT had an article about the rise of restaurants using social media sites like Scvngr and Foursquare to engage customers.
I’m not sure what I was expecting from the facade reno of Chinatown’s Taipan Cafe, but it wasn’t this. Even though it’s a bit far out, I kind of like how bold it is.

Taipan Cafe

Mack was nice enough to stop by Bistro Praha to check on its status – turns out, it will actually be opening this coming Friday, January 28. The interior, even though it is in a new building, actually reminds me very much of the old space.

Bistro Praha interior

There’s a new Mucho Burrito downtown, in the HSBC Building (10250 101 Street).

Mucho Burrito

Before Ice on Whyte, I had a bite to eat at the newest location of Nhon Hoa (10154 82 Avenue). My usual order at the Chinatown location is a sub with shredded pork, but they didn’t even have it on the menu here (I ended up with a sausage and shredded pork sub). The bread was too toasted for my liking, but it hit the spot.

Sausage and shredded pork sub

Mack and I ended up at our neighbourhood Blue Plate Diner on Sunday night for a pre-show dinner. I ordered the $45 Fork Fest special, which included an appetizer, entree, and glass of wine. The tomato & parmesan tart was delicious – the pesto beurre blanc that made the dish. I was expecting a little more from the braised plum lamb shank though – the meat was nearly fall-off-the-bone tender, but more than anything, I was left wanting an accompanying jus or sauce of some kind. Also of note – it was the third time, in trying to have points added to our Original Fare VIP card, that the machine did not work – the program has been in place for a few years now, so we wondered why glitches haven’t yet been remedied.

Tomato & parmesan tart

Braised plum lamb shank

To help celebrate Annie’s birthday, her parents cooked us a grand meal, and finished with fondue made from a Kerstin’s Chocolates kit. Happy birthday, Annie!

Chocolate fondue

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