MoCupcakes, No Problem!

The manliest cupcake. Does that sound like a contradiction? I wasn’t sure what to expect when asked to be a judge in the MoCupcakes event that took place at Transcend Garneau last Monday, but it sure sounded like it would be a tasty task.

Cupcakes galore!

MoCupcakes is one event in the Movember arsenal to help raise awareness of and funds to fight prostate cancer, a disease that 1 in 6 men will be diagnosed with in their lifetime. Although the campaign has been around for a few years (yes, it is the reason for the unsightly moustaches seen in November), 2010 has been the most successful year by far, having raised over $800,000, contributing to the over $20 million raised in Canada.

Demistache

So, why cupcakes? Well, why not? From the MoCupcakes website:

Why not combine an iconic feminine baked delight “cupcakes” and mash it up with a historically masculine cause that is changing the face of men’s health?

Jas Darrah was the mastermind behind Edmonton MoCupcakes, soliciting six bakers and five judges to determine the city’s manliest cupcake. The team at Transcend (who were also growing ‘staches for the cause), were generous enough to donate the venue, with staff agreeing to work on their own time when the shop closed for the night. Bravo.

Jas explains the rules

Each of the six competitors were given an opportunity to describe their creation to the crowd, knowing that the name and explanation of their cupcake would be worth 10 out of the possible 30 points (10 additional points were awarded for the look, and the last 10 for taste).

Jerry introduces his cupcake

Bacon enthusiast Jerry Aulenbach did not disappoint – his Cheddar Bacon Mo-fin with a chocolate ganache was a play on sweet and savoury flavours. But he even had bacon-less versions for those needing a kosher cupcake!

Cheddar Bacon Mo-Fin

Although Ailynn Santos of Whimsical Cupcakes wasn’t on hand for the presentations, her box of “Big Poppa” cupcakes were accompanied with an explanation that the moustachioed cupcake featured a spice base and root beer frosting. The straw cigarette was a nice touch.

Big Poppa

The cupcakes from Upper Crust were about twice the size of the others, and gorgeously showcased Edmonton’s most popular professional sports teams – right down to an Oilers decal made of icing and a football constructed from a chocolate-covered almond.

Sports-themed cupcakes

Transcend’s own Chad Moss offered a Chocolate Beet-down Mo-cake, using his wife Thea’s recipe. Though he would not divulge whether or not bacon fat was added to the batter, his cupcake was made using local ingredients where possible.

Chocolate Beet-down Mo-cake

Food blogger Chris Falconer offered his own interpretation of a cupcake with his Sunday Dinner Mancake, featuring a toasted bread crisp surrounding the ground beef, bacon and parmesan centre, then topped with a goat cheese mashed potato fondant and a maple sugar crisp. Talk about a dinner in cupcake form!

Sunday Dinner Mancake

Last but certainly not least, Jas’s wife Linda Affolder presented her tool-belt wearing Stud Muffins – an encapsulation of men with their “strong chocolate exterior”, a shot of Guinness in the frosting, and a soft caramel centre. The fleur de sel sprinkling was icing on the cake.

Stud Muffins

Alongside Kerry Powell, Ryan Jespersen, Seth Glick, and Nathan Box, we had the arduous task of assigning scores to each of the cupcakes. I know I was glad to have a rubric to fall back on.

Cheers!

Who has the best milk moustache?

Nate means business!

The judging

That said, Linda’s salty-sweet Stud Muffin was my personal favourite – the combination of the dark chocolate, caramel centre, and fleur de sel was just perfect, and made me wonder why the local cupcakeries aren’t already capitalizing on those flavours (Linda’s recipe can be found here).

It’s a hard job, but somebody’s got to do it!

The judging remnants (all taken home and finished later)

The winners, you ask? Chris’ savoury cupcake earned 125 out of a possible 150 points for third place.

Chris and Sarah toy with their prize

Second place was awarded to Chad for his beet cupcake, who earned 132.5 points.

Chad accepts his prize from Jas

And Linda, with 140.5 points, won first. She was unfailingly humble even then!

Kerry bestows the feather boa to the MoCupcake champion

Thanks to Jas for organizing the event – it was great fun to be a part of! And a big thanks to the bakers for contributing their time and efforts to the cause.

Mack did an awesome job with the photos! You can see his entire photo set here.

City Market in the Winter: Parkade or Bust?

Though I am not a fan of the heated tents on Churchill Square as a temporary bridge to a permanent, indoor City Market venue, when I heard the market would be shifting to the first level of the City Hall parkade, the tents didn’t seem to be such a bad idea after all.

Market Day!

Well – more than anything, it was just far enough outside what we were used to that we didn’t know what to expect. Walking in, this was the scene:

Parkade market

In place of vehicles were 50 or so vendors, a gift wrapping station and a children’s craft table. Though the grey surroundings and lack of natural light were difficult to overcome, the market organizers did their best, with balloon decorations and carollers to lighten the atmosphere.

Carollers (love the balloon reindeer!)

Vendors made the best of their space, using whatever was available to them to hang their signage.

Medicine Man Bison’s creative use of overhead pipes

In contrast to the individual tents, the best thing about this venue was that it allowed all of the vendors to be in the same room together.

Good turnout

Santa was walking around, scaring some children, and keeping in touch with the North Pole via his Blackberry. There was also another mascot, who we thought was a little more frightening, his blue, blue eyes bright under the fluorescent lights. It didn’t stop Mack from taking a photo with him though.

Nipper and Mack

Not knowing which vendors will be at each of the market dates makes it a little difficult to depend on these winter markets (as much as say, the Old Strathcona Farmers’ Market, or even Alberta Avenue), but I still enjoy the convenience of walking down the street for local products. I’m not sure the parkade is the best place for the market either, but I suppose until a permanent venue is found, whatever is central will have to do – I know I appreciate the City Market organizers doing what they can in the meantime.

Wide aisles

It was good to see Bamir of Eva Sweet, though I have to say I almost always expect to see him in the confines of his waffle truck. In addition to waffles, he was selling vanilla waffle dough, which is a great idea for the holidays – a guaranteed crowd-pleaser, and an easy breakfast for those with a waffle iron at home.

Eva Sweet dough

We also met Darcy Goodrich of Pure Country Food, who offers free-range pork, chicken, turkey, eggs, and grass fed and finished beef. We missed him at the last winter market in November, but look forward to seeing him again at the next two winter markets – if not only for their beef jerky, which I had to hide from Mack after he consumed half the package in one sitting.

Darcy from Pure Country Food

After picking up what we needed, we headed back to ground level to take advantage of some of the other market activities.

Marshmallow, anyone?

The lines were quite long for the sleigh ride during the Holiday Light-Up, so we were in luck today – crowds were thin, and meant we didn’t have to wait at all for our turn.

Giddy-up!

Art Gallery drive-by

Mack

Overheard during the ride – a 10 year old girl behind us said, “There’s always something fun going on downtown.” Agreed!

There are still two more City Market winter dates remaining this year – December 11 and 18, 2010, from 11am-3pm on Churchill Square (yes, back to the tents). See you there!

The Cooking Chronicles: Hurrah for Leftovers!

Most of the time, I’m just hoping our weeknight dinners yield enough food to provide us both with a hot lunch the next day, but sometimes, the recipes that are meant to feed a large family are wondrous for the two of us – eliminating a night’s worth of work, without sacrificing a home-cooked meal. What’s not to love?

Mark Bittman’s Paella

Mark Bittman’s recipe for paella in Food Matters is very similar to Michael Smith’s that we tried last year. But somehow, it worked out better. It could have had to do with the fact that we had superior ingredients this time around (sausages from Irvings, tomatoes from Kuhlmann’s), or because we had a more heat efficient vessel (a Le Cruset Dutch oven), but the resulting paella was so tasty! I loved how the tomatoes just fell apart, and infused their sweetness throughout the dish.

Paella (a photo of the leftovers…I had forgotten to take a photo of the meal before that)

And all the better – we were able to milk two additional meals from the pot. Score!

Mashed Potato-Topped Mini Tourtières

A recipe for mashed potato-topped mini tourtières in the Winter 2010 issue of Inspired appealed to me because of its likeness to shepherd’s pie, and its incorporation of seasonings more in line with tourtières. The recipe made it easy to incorporate many locally-sourced products, including onions from Kuhlmann’s, potatoes from Greens, Eggs and Ham, ground pork from Irvings, and ground beef from our cow share (it keeps going and going…). I decided to omit the cream cheese (knowing that we wouldn’t be freezing the pies) to keep the fat content down also.

Though the steps themselves weren’t difficult (sautéing the meat with the vegetables and reducing down a sauce, boiling and mashing potatoes), it took about an hour to finish cooking (given the pies had to bake for 30 minutes after assembly).

Mini Tourtières

Mack said it was missing a kick (perhaps some cayenne or chili powder would have helped), and I knew I should have added carrots for the texture and the sweetness, but as a whole, I enjoyed them.

And how many pies did we end up with you ask? Seven! They were easy to reheat, and made a great lunch the next day too. Hurrah for leftovers!

Food Notes for November 29, 2010

If you haven’t yet entered the contest to win $750 worth of prizes to the Thompson Okanagan Region, make sure you do so by Friday, December 3! On to this week’s food notes:

Vinomania is hosting free wine tastings every Saturday from noon-5pm until December 18, 2010.
Foodie McPoon has uncovered some newish and soon-to-be restaurants in Edmonton: Sanpachi, a Japanese noodle house, and a dim sum joint in a Howard Johnson hotel, called Delicious, Delicious.
I came across a new French bistro called La Persaud on the Campus Saint Jean.
Kerstin’s is a great place if you’re looking to satisfy someone’s sweet tooth. And even better, besides knowing you are supporting a local business, you can also feel good that your purchases are benefiting those in developing countries too. As of December 1, 2010, Kerstin’s will be donating 10% of their profits to Change for Children, as the organization supports work in countries where cacao is grown.
Similar to how Allan broke down his veggie cost from his CSA share this summer, Kevin calculated the cost of his whole cow from Nature’s Green Acres, or, as he calls it: Nouveau Beef-onomics.
I almost missed Jennifer Cockrall-King’s post about “Gordonspotting” Gordon Ramsay at Hardware Grill on his recent stop in Edmonton.
A new Loblaws store, No Frills, opened in Edmonton last week.
Another group-based deals service launched, called Swarm Jam, courtesy of the Edmonton Journal.
Paula Simons posted a recipe for the cookie heard ‘round the world, and Chris tried out the recipe himself.
I can’t remember when I first saw these, but these collapsible bottles would be a great gift idea for a traveler, or really, anyone environmentally conscious.
SF bans Happy Meals (well, at least the marketing ploy of a toy for meals over a certain calorie count.
Sure, the Thanksgiving ramekin from The Dish was great – but how about most of a Thanksgiving meal stuffed into a croissant?
Frank Bruni asks: have we gone too far with our quest for the perfect cup of coffee at home?
There was a good piece in the NYT about one-note restaurants, with a particularly en-pointe statement: “‘Certain movie stars can carry a movie; certain foods can carry a restaurant.’”
First Julie Powell (of Julie & Julia fame), now Sarah Bigelow – are female butchers the new “it” thing?
Ruby Dragon, which has replaced Kai (10909 Jasper Avenue), is now open.

Ruby Dragon

Look out for new establishments in the 124 Street area, including Somerville Wine & Cheese.

Somerville Wine & Cheese

Also on tap, two doors down from Duchess, is Food Dish Wishes, a pet bakery.

Food Dish Wishes

The board I volunteer for was treated to a lovely dinner at the Royal Glenora on Monday. The food was great – my favourite dishes included the cedar-planked, panko-coated salmon, and the creamy mashed potatoes (it really is difficult to get attractive photos of a buffet spread).

I had to take a photo with Vicki, who is my partner-in-crime on the board!

Have a great week!

Saturday in Edmonton

It was a great day to be in Edmonton this weekend – I’m not really a football fan, but the excitement in the city for Grey Cup weekend was palpable. It helps that where we live is right in the thick of things, but based on the numbers of people on the streets – tourists and residents alike were out in full force taking in one of our biggest events this year.

We started our Saturday at the Old Strathcona Farmers’ Market (which seemed to be emptier than usual, no doubt because of the festivities downtown), then wandered over to the Cosmopolitan Music Society, which was hosting the 9th Royal Bison Craft & Art Fair.

Inside the Royal Bison

There was some uncertainty earlier this year whether or not Royal Bison would continue, as founder Raymond Biesinger moved to Montreal, but thankfully, three of the artists/vendors saved the fair from demise. It’s such a great event – I love the unique products, but also the variety available.

Fun vinyl accessories by Majesty Inc.

Suitcase amps!

Beautiful jewellery by Saraswati

Omar Mouallem is multitalented – associate editor at Avenue Edmonton, he is also a writer and rapper

Sarah Jackson of A Jam Story was nice enough to tell us our love fortune (something we missed out on at the last ArtsScene event)

We picked up a few gifts, then zoomed back home, just in time to catch the Grey Cup parade just outside our building.

There were snowbirds

And cheerleaders

Mascots

And smile-inducing floats

Horses

And those that clean up after them

Our armed forces

And of course…a sea of green

I knew from attending an Eskimos game against Saskatchewan that Roughriders fans are rabid supporters of their team, but I really didn’t know how much until this weekend. It really was amazing to be a part of, if only for a few days. (You can check out Mack’s post on the parade here, and see the rest of his photos here.)

After ducking inside to warm up (funny how staying stationary in even mildly cold temperatures can be chilly), we wandered over to Huddle Town, centering on Churchill Square, to check out the festivities.

A football game in front of City Hall

It was really amazing to us how many people were outside wandering around, enjoying themselves, not minding the cold. We hear so often that being a winter city prevents more programming of events outdoors – and though I recognize that the weather was actually not too bad, to some extent, the “build it, and they will come” mantra seems to hold true.

The crowds

The Gridiron Zone, for example, held in the square just south of the Stanley Milner Library, is empty most of the year. One reason provided was that the concrete isn’t sound due to the parkade structure just underneath. Well, everything seemed fine this weekend – as the space hosted sponsor booths, and, what else – a bar.

Inside the Zone

Lines seemed to be the word of the day, however – besides the massive wait for the Zipline (please, please bring it back in the future!), there were lines to get into the Spirit of Edmonton, the Huddle Dome and even the tented sports bar by City Hall!

Lines everywhere

In spite of the waits, everyone was in such a good mood. We even got a random hug from a woman walking around with a huge “Rider Nation” flag!

Spread the love

There really was something for everyone though, and enough activities to keep crowds busy. The music at the outdoor stage kept things lively, and of course, food is never a bad thing. It was great to see Eva Sweet out so we could warm up with some hot waffles!

Fozzy with Chris Jericho

Eva Sweet (without a truck!)

Though I’m sure people didn’t come out for the free stuff, there was quite a bit of swag to be had, some more random than others (we took the can of baked beans, but we live nearby; who would want to carry it around with them?). My favourites were the Mardi Gras-inspired beads from the organizers of TigerTown and the Grey Cup bandana.

Mack with his swag!

For non-sports fans, Alberta House could have been a bit of a sanctuary, with a good variety of arts and culture programming. We finished off our tour of Huddle Town with a quick demo by Brad Smoliak, who used quick-cook barley from Progressive Foods to make a risotto (which also featured pecorino from The Cheesiry, and wild boar bacon from Hog Wild).

Brad Smoliak at work

The finished product (I’ve made it before, but never with bacon – it tastes so much better with bacon!)

Kudos to the organizers for such a great weekend! Hopefully it leads to even more events downtown in the winter.

Alberta Avenue Farmers’ Market: Update

I had some time after work on Thursday, so hopped on the train and headed to the Alberta Avenue Farmers’ Market. After a quick connection to a bus at Coliseum station, I was there – fifteen minutes after leaving downtown.

All decked out for the holidays

The market has undergone some changes in the past two weeks since my last visit. A new market manager has been installed, and from the sounds of it, was a necessary step, and a positive one. Kerry is working on bringing in new vendors, and though the market will be closed December 23, 2010 and January 2 and 9, 2011, she’s already planning to partner with Deep Freeze, Arts on the Avenue’s winter festival, to offer a special market in conjunction with the festivities.

Mary Ellen and Andreas of Greens, Eggs and Ham have also been tirelessly drumming up more vendor support for the market, and helped bring on both Shooting Star Ranch and Smoky Valley Goat Cheese. They really are amazing – between farming, deliveries, and family, they’ve also managed to squeeze one more market into their roster – the Kingsland Market in Calgary on Saturdays.

Andreas and Mary Ellen Grueneberg

Elk farmer Christine Harrison of Shooting Star Ranch has an amazing memory – she had to prompt me that we had already met – briefly at Planet Organics’ Meet the Locals festival over a year ago (where they also carry their products). This was her second market day (and the only farmers’ market that she does), and though it had been slow so far, she was confident that sales would improve. I picked up some ground elk, which will be perfect for a warming batch of chili later in the week.

Christine Harrison of Shooting Star Ranch

It was the first Alberta Avenue market day for Holly Gale of Smoky Valley Goat Cheese. It’s so fantastic for this small market to have such a wonderful cheese producer. I really hope customers give her cheeses a try – they won’t look back!

Holly Gale of Smoky Valley Goat Cheese

Arie Jol of Ma-Be Farms is a veteran at this market, having joined in the fall of 2009. He sells grass-fed beef and bison, naturally-raised pork, and free-run chickens and eggs. He has his share of regular customers, such as one woman who asks, “Are you treating your chickens well?” before buying her eggs. Every week, he responds, with assurance, “Yes.”

Arie Jol of Ma-Be Farms

Though the selection of vendors is small (which will hopefully change soon, along with the hours), I love the vibe of this market. Sure, it is so different in many ways from the City Market, but they do both have an intimacy not seen at the Old Strathcona Farmers’ Market – space and time to be able to individually connect with the vendors. This market also has such potential to become a community gathering venue like The Carrot down the street, vitally important “bumping places” for burgeoning neighbourhoods like Alberta Avenue.

Check out the Alberta Avenue Farmers’ Market when you have the chance!

Alberta Avenue Farmers’ Market
118 Avenue & 93 Street
Open Thursdays, 2-7 p.m.

Downtown East Diner: Early Bird Cafe

A colleague and I attended an all-day training session at Canada Place today, which, besides being a nice change of pace, also meant we were able to try out a new restaurant! I had been eying the Early Bird Cafe for some time, tucked away in the soon-to-be-revitalized Quarters on 97 Street and 102 Avenue. Though it is getting better, it is still not the best area after dark, which may also explain why the restaurant is only open for breakfast and lunch.

Our instructor cut our lunch hour in half, hoping to get a jump on the afternoon material, so I crossed my fingers that it wouldn’t be a mistake for us to opt for a non-food cafeteria meal. It wasn’t.

The restaurant is narrow, with a welcoming long wooden bar at the front, where customers could watch the kitchen in action. Unfortunately, the walkway between the door and the bar isn’t particularly wide, so customers all inevitably drifted to the rear of the space. The room is functional, with a nice refurbished wooden floor, but what passes as decor gave us a bit of a laugh because of its randomness – a poster of mushroom varieties displayed next to a glossy of Marilyn Monroe, for example.

The no-frills menu is filled with comforting diner favourites – baked pastas, burgers and donairs. Due to the time constraints, my coworkers and I both decided on a sandwich with the day’s soup on the side.

My colleague enjoyed her Denver sandwich, with ham, green pepper, onion and egg ($6.95). We both agreed the cream of spinach soup was pretty good – nice flavour, and fresh spinach that had been added just before serving.

Denver sandwich

My Monte Cristo with ham, turkey and Swiss ($8.95) was a bit unusual – where I was expecting crisp egg-dipped bread, I was presented with the equivalent of a sandwich made with French toast. I found out later that this simply is another version, and ultimately, would make a great brunch dish – savoury with hints of sweetness.

Monte Cristo

Staff were great – friendly and attentive; if we didn’t have to promptly return, it would have been a great place to linger a while. It’s really great to see another small business open up in downtown east – give it a try if you’re in the area!

Early Bird Cafe
10221 97 Street
(780) 420-6826
Monday-Friday 10am-3pm

Food Notes for November 22, 2010

On cold nights like this, walking home, it’s hard not to think about those who don’t have a place of their own. Even though this year’s homeless count estimates that the numbers have decreased since 2008, there is still a long way to go. As we approach Christmas – remember your local charities this holiday season! On to this week’s food notes:

Billingsgate (7331 104 Street) is hosting an open house on Saturday, November 27 @ 10am-2pm, celebrating their 103 year in business. Lobster bisque will be sampled.
Need some help deciding on a gift? Sherbrooke Liquor Store will be holding a Christmas Spirit”s” show at the Capilano Community League (10819 54 Street) on November 27 from 5-9pm, with sampling tickets available at the door.
Transcend’s upcoming Barista Jam on December 4 at the Argyll location sounds like a lot of fun. Look forward to an espresso throwdown, taste Alberta-roasted espressos, and test your ability to identify the odd-espresso out.
To celebrate Terra Madre Day on December 10, Slow Food Edmonton is screening the episode of The Endless Feast that was shot in Edmonton last year, as well as a documentary about a Prairie farming family. To sweeten the deal, there will be local meat and cheese to snack on, and Amber’s beer and EnSante wine to drink!
For more food and drink events, check out City and Dale’s Holiday Eats & Drinks Guide.
I had heard rumblings about this, but it’s nice to finally have it confirmed – Culina will be moving into the cafe space in the Muttart Conservatory! I have no doubt the recognizable name will help draw many more people into our beautiful river valley, and I am glad to hear they will be taking advantage of the greenhouses to grow their own food. They hope to be open by Christmas.
New bakery alert: La Manarca, at 4119 106 Street, will be hosting its grand opening on December 1.
On the topic of bakeries – Duchess has a brand-spankin’ new website. It looks great!
Passing by what used to be Kai on 109 Street and Jasper Avenue, it looks like it is Kai no longer – a sign posted said they are hiring for Ruby Dragon. Though this ad says they will be opening on November 18, it still looked like it was under construction. Any updates?
Chris reviewed Bubba’s BBQ & Smoke House last week. Sounds delish!
Mack pointed me to a great little blog by Lightside Photo – they are currently doing a feature called “30 Days of Edmonton”, and alongside beautiful photos, they posted an interview with the owner of Cha Island Tea today.
More on GMO salmon – and it isn’t good.
Mack and I were in the area of Everything Cheese on the weekend, so decided to stop by. While the selection may not be as deep as Paddy’s (though they will be getting in shipments from Neal’s Yard Dairy soon), there is no doubt it is a stunning space. I also much appreciated the labels – both next to the cheeses inside the case, and printed onto labels for customers to easily reference. While it’s a little out of the way for us, I can imagine those in the area are floored with this new neighbourhood addition!

Everything Cheese

Hurrah for labels!

A fun stocking stuffer – bags that allow one to make a grilled cheese right inside the toaster

Next door to Everything Cheese is Secret Sweets (14910 45 Avenue, 780-479-3387), whose tagline is “because you don’t always have time to bake!” The baked good sold leaned more towards nostalgic than gourmet (snickerdoodles, Rice Krispie balls, cupcakes and shortbread), but from what we sampled, it’s a solid local option to satisfy the sweet tooth. They’re also looking into offering bread some time in the future as well.

Secret Sweets

We finally got our lights up outside (of course we waited until it was –30 to do so). Only 33 days until Christmas!

Love that LED glow

The Cooking Chronicles: Marvellous Marinades

Until recently, I hadn’t experimented much with marinades. No reason for it, save perhaps that no recipes had really caught my eye. While I know marinades can help with breaking down tougher cuts of meat, the two dishes I made in the last two weeks helped demonstrate two other fantastic uses for marinades – for adding flavour and boosting moisture.

Soy Baked Fish

One of the objectives of Donna Hay’s recipes in No Time To Cook is to offer flavourful dishes that can be made in a relatively short amount of time. The soy baked fish is a great example – a meal in half an hour, with less than ten ingredients.

Ocean Odyssey was unfortunately closed that Sunday, so we used whitefish from the Sobeys down the street. The fish was marinated in soy, sesame oil, brown sugar, leeks, and garlic for five minutes on each side, then placed on top of Peas on Earth gai lan, marinade and all, and baked for about twenty minutes. Served with rice, it made a quick but tasty supper, and given the results with such minimal effort, it is something I’d definitely make again.

Soy baked fish

Balsamic Pesto Chicken

Dish Entertains is one of those cookbooks I return to again and again – for dinner parties, for desserts, for weeknight meals. The balsamic pesto chicken was a recipe that I passed over the first time, but came back to this week, knowing that I had a fresh batch of pesto in the fridge to use, made with leftover basil from Morinville Greenhouses.

The marinade is a combination of a 1/4 cup pesto, 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar, 1/4 cup olive oil and salt and pepper. 3 boneless chicken breasts are then marinated anywhere from 2 hours to overnight (I left it for about 5 hours), then baked off with the marinade in a 400F oven for 25 minutes.

The marinade helped the chicken retain its moisture, though I would have wished for more basil flavour – the balsamic was undoubtedly dominant. We served the chicken with some roasted root vegetables and leftover rice.

Balsamic Pesto Chicken

Balsamic pesto chicken (not the most visually appealing dish, but tasty!)

Thanks to Trish Magwood for another solid recipe!

One-Note Wonder: Battista’s Calzones

About two years ago, I wrote that more one-note restaurants in Edmonton would be a welcome sight – Battista’s Calzones is one such place, and is a wonderful addition to the local food scene.

Battista’s Calzones

Situated in a small building on 118 Avenue, Battista’s unavoidable purple hue is both eye-catching and a pleasing pop of colour on the sometimes dreary stretch of road. Stepping inside, it’s almost hard to believe it used to house an autobody shop – though nothing fancy, between the smell of baking bread and the friendly purveyor, the space felt warm and inviting.

Interior

Owner Battista Vecchio is clearly passionate about his new endeavour. When asked why he chose to focus on calzones, he said it was something he grew up with – his mother would make the portable pizzas for him so he would have something to eat after soccer games. Even now, his family is involved in the business – his mother makes the meatballs for one of the calzones, and his father was there assisting with a large catering order.

Battista Vecchio presents one of his calzone creations

Battista makes the dough from scratch, and sources the rest of his ingredients through The Italian Centre, including spicy Italian sausage made by Edmonton-based company Little Italy Foods. Though at the moment he offers only four varieties, Battista knows that the possibilities are endless – chili calzones, BBQ chicken calzones, Nutella dessert calzones, or turkey calzones for Christmas. I remarked that because of its compact nature, it is the ideal street food – calzone food truck, anyone?

Based on the meatball calzone I had (already baked earlier, and kept warm, meaning it was served to me almost immediately), I am glad Battista has chosen to keep his focus, in spite of many people prodding him towards pizza or other menu additions. The meatball was perfectly seasoned, and had just the right texture to be eaten between the folds of the soft and chewy dough. It was the most satisfying lunch I’ve had in a long time.

Meatball calzone

Battista said he’s slowly building up the business – from word of mouth, and those that live in the neighbourhood. But perhaps after the release of Avenue Edmonton’s next food issue – where his calzones will are in the running to be included as one of Gail Hall’s 25 Best Things to Eat, this gem of a restaurant will be a secret no longer. Try one before the crowds gather!

Battista’s Calzones (Twitter: @BattistaCalzone)
118 Avenue & 84 Street
(780) 758-1808
Monday-Saturday 11am-3pm

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