...Confit Beef Short Ribs

Beef short ribs are one of our favourite cuts of meat to braise. While making some duck confit a while ago, the idea of cooking beef short ribs in the same fashion came to mind. The result was some of the most tender and moist short ribs we have ever had either at home or in a restaurant. This is a must try recipe for any short rib lover.

Ingredients:
- Beef short ribs
- Vegetable oil
- Olive oil
- 1 head of peeled garlic cloves
- Dried rosemary (fresh if you have it)
- Salt, pepper and sugar

Method:
1. Generously sprinkle salt, sugar and pepper over each surface of the short rib and let sit in the refridgerator overnight

2. Rinse the short ribs in cold water, pat dry and place into a large oven proof pot in a single layer

3. Pour the vegetable and olive oil in a 1:1 ratio over the meat until the surface of the meat is submerged by at least 1 inch of oil. Sprinkle over 1 tbsp of dried rosemary and add the garlic cloves

4. Bake in an oven set to 220 degrees f for 7-8 hours or until the meat is tender

5. Remove the meat and garlic from the oil and place into an oven proof dish. Turn the oven temperature up to 375 degrees F and back for an additional 15-20 minutes until the meat is brown.

Serve and enjoy!

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...Duck Confit, Foie Gras and Morel Mushroom Pizza

This pizza was created for the YYC Pizza Week 2015 Blogger Challenge and it's a fantastic one at that.  It is our opinion that you can never have enough duck; enter the 'Duck Duck Deuce' pizza. This doubly decadent duck creation is the perfect way to herald in the cooler months.  It features earthy morel mushrooms, ricotta, tender duck confit and duck rillete-foie gras quenelles atop a foie gras spread.  The sweet and tangy fig-balsamic reduction and fresh pea shoots balance out the richness.  This luxurious pizza is surprisingly easy to re-create as we document below.

YYC Pizza Week is an annual fundraiser for Calgary Meals on Wheels where restaurants across the city enter into a friendly competition for best pizza in several categories.  We have submitted our "lucky" duck pizza in hopes of victory. Please visit the YYC Pizza Week website for full details and vote for us!

Ingredients (Yields approximately two 10" pizzas)
-Duck confit (see our recipe here)
-1 package duck foie gras or foie gras/rillette
-1 package duck liver pate or foie gras pate
-200 g of dried morel mushrooms
-1/2 cup ricotta cheese
-1/2 cup pea shoots
-3 tsp fig jam
-1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
-Pizza dough (see our thin crust pizza recipe)
-3 tbsp melted butter
-Salt and pepper to taste

Method:
1. Rehydrate the morels by placing them in 1 cup of lukewarm water for 45 minutes.  Once rehydrated, slice the larger mushrooms in half.  Fry the morels in 1 tbsp of butter until tender (you can add 2-3 tbsp of the liquid from rehydrating them to ease the cooking process).

2.  In a small saucepan, combine the balsamic vinegar and fig jam and simmer over medium-low heat until the mixture reaches a consistency of syrup (approximately 20 minutes).  Set aside and cool to room temperature.

3. Preheat oven and pizza stone to 425 F.

4. Roll out pizza dough on pizza peel to approximately to 10".  Dock the dough with a fork, leaving a one inch border for the crust to rise.  Brush it with melted butter and sprinkle salt and pepper to taste.

5.  Bake the dough until the edges are a light golden brown.  Cool the crust for 5-10 minutes.

6.  Spread the foie gras/duck live pate on the crust.  Add pieces of duck confit, ricotta cheese and morel mushrooms.  Bake in the oven for 5 minutes to melt the cheese and warm the toppings.

7.  Remove the pizza from the oven and using two teaspoons make one quenelle for each slice of pizza (we made six).  Scatter on top the pea shoots and generously drizzle the fig-balsamic reduction over the entire pizza.

8.  Serve immediately and enjoy!

Let us know in the comments if you try this pizza out.  What is your favourite pizza?  Also, don't forget to vote for us on the YYC Pizza Week website and check out which restaurants are participating!

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...Duck Confit

Duck confit is a favourite of ours- the rich, moist and tender meat makes this way of preparing duck ultra luxurious.  If you have enough time on your hands, it's also surprisingly easy to make.  Duck confit is wonderful on its own but can be used in salads, ravioli and even pizza.

Ingredients:
-2 duck legs
-2-3 cups of olive oil
-1 tbsp dried herbs (thyme and/or rosemary)
-Salt and pepper

Method:
1. Generously salt and pepper the duck legs and leave to cure overnight in the fridge

2. Rinse the duck legs and dry thoroughly with paper towel. Place into an oven proof dish with the dry herbs and cover with the olive oil. Bake in a preheated oven at 200 F for 8-9 hours or until the meat is easily pierced by a knife.

3. Remove the duck legs from the oil and refrigerate the legs and oil in separate containers. Once cooled the oil will separate from the duck drippings.  The oil will be the top layer, you can keep the duck drippings for gravy making purposes.  Scoop off the oil into a sauce pan and heat over gentle heat. Strain the warmed oil over the duck pieces and they can be stored like this for months.

4. When you want to serve the duck, remove from the oil and scrape off any excess. In a non stick and oven proof pan start frying the duck skin-side down until golden grown. Flip over the pieces and bake in a 350 F oven for 15 minutes.

5. Shred the duck or serve whole.

Enjoy!

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...Parc Brasserie (Calgary)

Overall - 8.5/10
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Food - 8.5/10
Service - 8.5/10
Ambiance - 9/10

Ten years ago if you wanted a good French meal, your only choices were La Chaumiere on 18th Ave or flying to France. Nowadays we are spoiled for choice with a number of restaurants that proudly serve classic French fare (check out our article for Food Trekkers). Parc Brasserie is another new option which has recently opened and is challenging for our favourite French spot in town. For those who don't know, a brasserie is a more upscale type of eatery that slots in somewhere between the laid back bistro and the high end French fine dining options.

Kir royale

Their menu includes an 'apertif' section of small bites that go great with a cocktail. They are reasonably priced and great for a snack or as a way to kick start your appetite for the delicious dishes to come. We chose the croquettes filled with emmenthal cheese and ham and the rillette de lapin (rabbit terrine - note that a lot of the menu was in French without English translation so review your old high school French notes or ask the friendly wait staff). The croquettes were expertly fried and lusciously cheesy on the inside while the rabbit terrine was the perfect meaty spread for the toasted crostini that accompanied.

Croquettes

Rillette de lapin

The hor d'ouevres section of the menu include your traditional appetizer type dishes and this evening we went with the escargot and squid. The snails were served in a non traditional portobello mushroom tart as opposed to swimming in small pools of butter.   The escargot was chopped up along with the mushrooms and hidden below salad greens on a tart.  I did not care for the tart which had a hard and dry texture and wished the escargot was highlighted rather than mixed with chopped mushrooms.  The squid was quite tender cooked in its own ink and served alongside a delicious olive tapenade, reminiscent of the dishes we had in Southern France.  The Merguez (spiced Moroccan beef sausage) was not served in 'chip' form as advertised and we felt this dish could have benefited from a crispy element to contrast and balance the soft textures of the squid.

Squid

Escargot tart

The 'Plats principal' are your main dishes. The canard was a perfectly seared breast of duck served with a savoury orange sauce on a generous bed of Puy lentils.  The veau was a tender veal striploin with wild mushrooms, pearl onions and wild rice was expertly done in a cream sauce and very satisfying.

Duck

Veal

 Then came the desserts, from which we chose the profiteroles and the baba au rhum.  The profiteroles looked stunning on the wooden board and tasted as profiteroles should- creamy and smothered with an expresso chocolate sauce.  The baba au rhum, a typical French dessert was a bit of a disappointment.  We had no complaints about the cake and chantilly cream which was pretty standard, but the rum was barely detectable and did not saturate the cake.  This is unlike the rum babas served in France where often times a shot of straight rum is poured table side onto your cake for a liquor infused aroma and taste.  Upon talking to the server, she informed us their rum baba indeed gets mixed reviews.

Profiteroles 

Rum Baba

Overall, we enjoyed our experience at Parc, especially the ambiance of the decor which took us back to our days in France.  We wouldn't hesitate to go back again and experience other offerings on the extensive menu.

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...Ohh La La Patisserie (Calgary)

Overall - 9.5/10
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Food - 9.5/10
Service - 9.5/10

There is something about the rainbow of colours in a display of macarons that just speaks to my five year old self who would wonder if crayons tasted as delicious as they looked.  The perfect macaron to me is light, airy, not too sweet or chewy and tastes intensely of the flavour as advertised by its name.  We've had the pleasure of sampling many a macaron over the years in France as well as here in Calgary.  The best ones we've encountered in Calgary thus far are found at Ohh La La Patisserie.  We loved their macarons so much we had them as party favours for our daughter's full moon celebration, which our guests loved and still talk about.

Our favourite macaron flavours at Ohh La La are the pistachio, matcha and lemon velvet.  These encompassed the perfect macaron for us.  Our least favourite was the lychee and raspberry which was still wonderful but the lychee flavour was too subtle to detect.  The list of current flavours can be found on their website.  For our daughters full moon, we spoke with the very friendly owner and pastry chef, Sebastian Judkovski, who was able to fulfill our requests even on short notice.

Also unique to Ohh La La are their macaron cakes.  We tried the mini macaron cakes in matcha and raspberry flavours.  Again, they were just the right texture and not too sweet, topped with fresh fruit.

Our daughter trying to grab at the cake- she already has good taste!

Other than macaron cakes, Ohh La La also makes other impressive cakes and this cute hazelnut dome shaped cake was a taster of what we believe to be their larger "Rocher" cake.  Rich and decadent, it tastes as amazing as it looks!

Not to be missed are their croissants which are flaky and delicious, our favourite is the almond croissant.

On the more savoury side are their caprese rolls which strike the perfect balance of savoury flavour.

Finally we also had their raspberry scones which currently may not be available since they are seasonal but if their other scones taste anything like these, you can't go wrong.

Our overall impression is that Ohh La La takes careful measures to ensure the quality of each pastry.  There has never been a time when we thought their pastries were less than fresh or their seasonings too sweet (or salty).  Everything from the beautiful presentation of the cakes to the personable service reflects chef Sebastian's worthy sense of pride in his craft.  Needless to say, we already have plans to go back and try what we missed!

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...Bistro Suzette (Calgary)

Overall - 9/10
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Food - 9/10
Service - 9/10
Ambiance - 9/10

Until recently, the rising profile of other cuisines from around the world captured the appetites of many, from Spanish tapas to the now ubiquitous presence of Asian flavours everywhere you look.  French food is making a steady comeback since chefs have reimagined traditional French cooking.  A while back we compiled a list of our favourite French Bistros in Calgary for Taste Trekkers and if only Bistro Suzette were open then, it certainly would have a place on that list.

Bistro Suzette opened just over a week in the former location of one of our previous favourites, Bistro 2210.  Suzette serves dishes from the Normandy and Brittany regions of northern France. There is an emphasis on rich and earthy flavours cooked up without pretense. Attention to little details from the French speaking wait staff to the Opinel pocket knives repurposed to steak knives all serve to transport you straight to France.  Darrin had the recommended semi dry apple cider in a latte cup (as its traditionally done according to our friendly server) and I had the Kir Breton which was sparkling wine with cider.

Their specialties are the galettes and crepes. The Breton style galettes are crispy and thin buckwheat pancakes that are stuffed with various savoury ingredients. We chose the Forestière at the recommendations of our waiter which was filled with cremini mushrooms, oyster mushrooms, potatoes and topped with a light salad. Earthy and satisfying are the two words that come to mind when eating this dish.  What we appreciated the most was the delicate balance of flavours; each ingredient was enhanced by the other and perfectly seasoned.

Our mains included the steak frites and the fish of the day, trout en papillote. The pre-sliced steak was tender and perfectly rested while the frites were thin and crispy just the way we like them.

To our surprise the steamed trout stole the show with how fresh and moist it was. Trout doesn't have the same fat content as salmon and has tendency to dry out which is why we typically steer clear; however Suzette utilized the method of steaming the fish in its own parchment pouch rendering it perfectly cooked. The lemon beurre blanc added a wonderful dimension of flavour and richness to this delicate dish.

For dessert, we chose the Suzette and Normand crepe.  The Suzette was topped with orange juice, zest and Grand Marnier which was flambéed table side.  Eating this crepe is almost like eating an orange itself; sweet and refreshing.  The slight bitterness of the zest and the Grand Marnier kept it from being overly sweet.

The Normande is topped with caramelized apples, flambéed Calvados and vanilla ice cream.  This was like eating a delicious apple pie in crepe form.

Bistro Suzette's focus on Northern French cooking is unique in Calgary, and we hope to return in the near future.

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...Top 5 French Bistros in Calgary

Recently we were invited to write a guest blogger article on Calgary's "Top 5 "for Taste Trekkers.  Our love for French food inspired us to write "The Top 5 French Bistros in Calgary", highlighting our favourite bistros to date.  What is your favourite French restaurant?  Do you have a Top 5 list of food experiences for Calgary or your city?

(The fresh produce of sun dappled Aix-en-Provence)

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...Coq au Vin (Red Wine Braised Chicken)

Chicken is a meat that can be bland and dry if not cooked right.  This recipe ensures that the chicken is moist and flavourful.  Coq au Vin is a traditional slow-cooking French dish that has the chicken braise in typically red wine (can vary depending on the region of France you're in), bacon, mushrooms, onions and herbs (in our case, thyme and sage).

Ingredients:

-1 whole chicken, cut into 8 pieces (free range/organic if possible)
-Half bottle of red wine (burgundy or another red of your choice-the better the quality of wine the better it will taste)
-2 cups chicken stock
-1 onion, roughly chopped or use 1 cup of pearl onions
-2 large carrots, roughly chopped
-3 stalks celery, roughly chopped
-5 slices of bacon
-2 cups button mushrooms
-2 tbsp thyme
-2 tbsp sage 
-3 tbsp flour
-2 tbsp flat-leaf parsley, chopped for garnish
-Salt and pepper

Method:

1. Pre-heat your oven to 350 F.  Heat a heavy-bottom oven proof pot over medium-high heat and fry bacon until crisp.  Set aside.

2. Season chicken pieces with salt and pepper.  In the same pot, fry the chicken until golden brown on all sides.  Set aside.

3. Add the onions, celery, carrots and mushrooms, thyme, sage and fry for approximately 10 minutes or until the vegetables are soft. 

4. Add the flour to the vegetables and fry to cook out the raw flour taste for approximately 3-4 minutes.

5. Add the red wine and chicken stock, stir over medium heat until the sauce thickens.

6. Add the chicken and half the parsley into the pot and braise in the oven for approximately one hour.  

7.  Remove the chicken pieces and reduce the sauce/vegetable mix over a medium heat to your desired consistency.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Replace the chicken in the pot and serve with a sprinkling of fresh parsley.

Enjoy!

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