Olympics

Bob Blumer / David Bowes / Ken Nakano / Olympics — View Comments
24
Feb 10

A Taste of Vancouver Island and the Sunshine Coast

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Seafood Table
A day before the Opening Ceremonies, I was invited to attend a Taste of Vancouver Island and the Sunshine Coast hosted by Bob Blumer (of the Surreal Chef – yeah the guy who lives in the toaster!)

When I walked into Showcase BC at Robson Square, it was instantly one of the best two hours I have always dreamed about.
Robson Square

1. Free flowing wines and ciders from Vancouver Island
Wine
2. A giant display of Pacific Kissed Oysters and Seafood
Pacific Kissed
3. Cooking demonstrations with awesome chefs
Oyster Demo
4. A chance to talk to Bob Blumer
Bob Blumer
5. Seafood tastings
Hollaindaise

6. All the Kusshi oysters I could eat.
Geoduck
How did the Vancouver Island Tourism and the Sunshine Coast Tourism board read my mind? (Thank you soo much Deirdre, this night reassured me that YouCook’s decision to be based in Vancouver was a great idea!)

The Pacific Kiss stamp authenticates this is a World Class, top quality BC oyster, mussel, clam or scallop that is a delicious and nutritious option that has been grown at an environmentally sustainable farm by a registered member of The British Columbia Shellfish Association. It is recognized by the Vancouver Aquarium’s Ocean Wise program and SeaChoice for adhering to responsible environmental codes of practice and providing consumers with a best option for seafood selection.

Pacific Kiss has a good page that describes each kind of oysters and when they are available. They also have a special platter of 12 of BC’s special oysters from each growing region. This is being served at Monk McQueen’s or Joe Fortes in Vancouver.

How to Shuck an Oyster

I have a confession to make. If I were to pick only ONE favourite food, it would have to be oysters. I’ve eaten Oysters of all shapes and sizes all over the world. Most recently in PEI, in Point Reyes, and of course, Vancouver. I was delighted that Stafford Lumley would be personally shucking all the oysters for the night! He’s the former owner of Rodney’s Oyster House and now spends his time at Gibson’s at Smitty’s Oyster House. Stafford demonstrated how to properly shuck an oyster.



Then Chef David Bowes, from Laughing Oyster in Lund, demonstrates how to pair them with Hollandaise sauce. I’m guilty of having at least 10 Kusshi oysters that night.

How to Prepare Geoduck

Geoduck
Geoduck, pronounced Gooeyduck, quite frankly looks like a male reproductive organ. It’s a much sought after Chinese delicacy costing about $30 per pound or upwards. It’s essentially a gigantic clam and has a life expectancy of 146 years.



Here you can see what it starts out as, and what it turns out to be.
Geoduck
The texture is chewy and crunchy and slimy which makes it not a taste accepted by everyone. It’s typically in Chinese hotpot or served as sashimi. The high price has made this a an $80 million industry, with harvesting occurring in both Washington state and the province of British Columbia. This is probably the most expensive aphrodisiac in the shell fish family, and oh my was I in love when Chef Ken Nakano demonstrated how to prepare one a geoduck.
Geoduck
It tasted delicious! Actually, having tastings of Geoduck prepared by someone as skilled as Chef Ken Nakano might kickstart the demand for Geoduck. I heard a lot of hesitation around the room as the skewers came around but heard very good feedback after people tried it. As for me, I’d have it again at an affordable price.
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Dessert / Matthias Groschupf / Olympics — View Comments
23
Feb 10

Saxony House – Potato Patties with Wild Berry and Apple Puree

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Potato Patties
I had the pleasure of talking to Chef Matthias Groschupf at the German Saxony House in Stanley Park. The Saxony House is located at the Vancouver Rowing Club in Stanley Park. The location itself is beautiful, with an amazing view of coal harbour.
Saxle
Saxony is a region in Germany where many of the athletes are from, hence they have their own house to promote the Saxony region, as well as supporting their athletes. At the time of my visit, Tatjana Hüfner from Saxony had just won gold in the Luge event.

After tasting Thuringian bratwurst, I had to try the Saxony bratwurst too. Sure enough, the chef informed me that it was a SECRET recipe of local herbs and spices that is not known and cannot be revealed. I find it intriguing how closely guarded this formula to marinating sausages is.
Saxony Bratwurst
The taste of the Saxony Bratwurst was distinct and different from the Thuringian bratwurst. It was spicier and had no garlic. But more importantly it was very delicious. I am now very tempted to go get some bratwurst and experiment with the spices. I asked if there was a competition of who has the best bratwurst in Germany. To this, the chef answered no – Saxony and Thuringia already both have one of the best tasting sausages of the country.

I asked about the Saxony menu and they do reflect typical Saxony Winter cuisine – lots of sauerkraut and potatoes. He mentioned that roast pork is a favourite home cooked meal. Pork, in general, is the most popular meat. As a side dish to the meat, families usually make jelly or jam out of the various wildberries found in the country – blueberries, cranberries, raspberries, and blackberries. While looking through the menu, I saw Potato Patties listed as a dessert. I was intrigued since I’m not used to savoury desserts and imagined that I’d like it!

Chef Groschupf went into the kitchen and returned with dessert!
Potato Patties
He has also given us the recipe which we’re sharing with you in this post. As the Chef went through the ingredients and steps, I just imagined a hashbrown and wondered how well it’d go with the sweet jelly. It wasn’t as salty, oily or deep fried as I had imagined and actually did work well as a dessert.

When asked on what advice Chef Matthias Groschupf would give our readers who are just starting out their culinary adventures at home, he responded, Cook with love. If you’re passionate about what you’re doing and love it, you have fun in the process and want to keep cooking. Thank you Chef Groschupf! Check out the Saxony House this week if you are in Vancouver – the food is delicious and made with love.

Summary

Preparation Time: 15 min prep
Cook Time: 10 min
Servings: 4
Meal type: Dessert

Recipe Rating: ★★★★☆ 

Ingredients

  • 400g Grated potatoes
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 50g onion
  • salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Wash and grate potatoes.
2. Cut and grate onion.
3. Mix egg yolk with the potatoes and onions.
4. Add in salt and pepper to taste. (We’re aiming for a sweet dish, so very little salt, just a pinch)
5. Make patties that are about 10cm in diameter and 1cm thick.
6. Fry the patties on a pan.
7. Serve with an apple puree or wildberry jelly.

Results

This is a quick and easy savoury dessert. I didn’t notice the onion at all. I noticed that it was seasoned very very lightly. It complimented the sweet apple and wild berries very well. Try it at Saxony House or at home!
Final

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18
Feb 10

German Fan Fest: Recipe for Thüringer Rostbrätl

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cooking
We got a taste of Thuringian cuisine at the German Fan Fest Tent. You can visit the venue located by Steamworks and Waterfront Station during the Olympics. They do charge cover at night and of course, expect a long long lineup. Inside the tent, you’ll find a nice big screen and plenty of beer to drink.
venue
You can also find an autographed car with a beer tap in the trunk to be auctioned off at the end of the olympics!
venue
Here at the German Fan Fest, I tasted the BEST bratwurst I’ve had in my life. Thurignian bratwurst is one of the best in the world and very famous in Germany and I fully understand why.
Bratwurst
I learned that each region in Germany has their own set of spices for sausages and it’s a SECRET. The friendly people at the German Fan Fest as well as the Saxony house refuse to reveal the secret because even they themselves don’t know what the spices are. The sausages for the German Fan Fest are made at local German butcher shops but the spices are sent over from Thuringer so nobody actually knows what the combination is. I did get it out of them that there is salt, pepper, marjoram, mustard seed, cumin and garlic. At least 51% of the ingredients must come from the state of Thuringia. Also there are high standards in cooking the sausages – the fire shouldn’t be so hot such that the skin will break. German Minced Meat Law states that raw sausages must be sold the day of creation or until the closing time of a late night establishment. How cool is that, you always know how fresh your sausage is.

The texture of the sausage is so very smooth and tender. The spices are nicely scattered throughout making it the best $7 sausage I’ve ever eaten in my life (well..until I went to Saxony house…but more on that later). I was told by the chef that it’s a major faux-pas to eat the bratwurst with sauerkraut AND mustard and ketchup. You have to choose – eat it with sauerkraut and potatoes, or eat it with mustard (and ketchup). Don’t mix it like in my picture:
Bratwurst

The chefs at the Fan Fest were so nice!!! Thank you so much! Here’s us enjoying some Bratwurst!
Sausage

Alright so I wasn’t getting anywhere in learning how to make Thüringer Bratwurst for YouCook readers so I moved onto the next menu item: Thüringer Rostbrätl. This is a mustard pork chop which is so tender and delicious. This one was less complicated and not a closely guarded secret in the region of Thuringia so here it is:

Pork Chop

Summary

Preparation Time: 15 min prep (2-24 hour marinade)
Cook Time: 15 min
Servings: Not sure
Meal type: Main

Recipe Rating: ★★★☆☆ 

Ingredients

Unfortunately I didn’t get the proper proportions for this marinade. Should be equal portions mustard and beer.

  • Pork neck cutlets (with or without the bone)
  • White Onion
  • Mustard – preferably Thuringer Mustard, spicy mustard
  • German Pilsner beer
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • Marjoram

Instructions

1. Tenderize the pork and put salt and pepper and spices to taste.
2. Fill a container with the pork cutlet, a layer of chopped onions, a layer of mustard.
Mixture
3. Pour in beer to fill the rest of the container.
4. Let this marinade sit for at least 2 hours.
5. Make sure the charcoal grill is not heated too strongly.
Pork Chop
6. Cook over light to medium heat, spraying in beer to regulate the temperature.
7. Grill until cooked.

Results

The recipe is so simple if you have the right German mustard and German Beer! They served it in a bun and it was deeeelicious. The pork is so tender and the marinade soaked through evenly making every bite tender and tasty. It’s a steep $9 at the German Fan Fest but you will NOT be disappointed. I’m set on having a YouCook German BBQ this summer!!
Pork Chop

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Olympics — View Comments
18
Feb 10

Atlantic Canada House Free Tastings

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Bread
I get so excited when I hear about free food. When I hear that there’s two tastings a day full of fresh seafood from the Atlantic Canada House it gets me even more excited. Then to top it all off, there are 4 culinary chef instructors from each province (Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland) with their team of student chefs preparing all this food everyday!

The tastings of the day included:
1. Smoked Salmon Spheres with Cream Cheese and Carmelized Apples. (NS)
Salmon
2. Mussel Toast Point with Smoked Tomato Cream (PEI)
Mussel
3. Yellow Split Pea Cake with Salted Beef and Pickled Root Vegetables (NF)
Split Pea
4. Halibut Ceviche (NB)
Ceviche

The venue is popular so come early to lineup for the tastings. The chefs also have these great mobile kitchens set up to prepare all the food:
mobile

Along with sampling some great food, I was able to talk to some chefs from Atlantic Canada.

Kevin Boyce
I have family in PEI and have been there on a few occasions so I know how fresh and abundant and fresh (and delicious) the lobster, oysters, and fish are there. Chef Kevin Boyce mentioned that PEI residents love to eat seafood in a social setting. You can find lobster dinners in Churches with plenty of famous PEI potatoes. You can find plenty of oyster bars with large group tables to sit at and enjoy food together. The small size of PEI does offer a stronger sense of community where you might know the entire food chain from the fishers and farmers, to the markets, to the restaurants and homes.

The growing season is shorter, as PEI gets very cold very quick in the winter. However, in the short summer, there is an abundance of fresh vegetables and farmer markets in town. Most vegetables and fruits have to be brought in the other times of the year. Chef Kevin Boyce teaches at the Holland College in PEI and was offering a tasting of Mussel Toast Point with a Smoked Tomato Cream. He also sent a recipe for Lobster which we still want to cook before posting!

Chef Dave Irving from New Brunswick spent some time telling me about some special foods that is only found in Atlantic Canada. He told me about Fiddleheads.
Fiddleheads
I have NEVER heard or seen Fiddleheads in my life. Fiddleheads are the start of young Fern. They can only be harvested for a few weeks in the spring time and taste like asparagus. They look, indeed, like the head of a violin. I am so curious about these and would love to try them when they are in season!

He also talked about a popular New Brunswick tradition of cooking called hodgepodge. A hodgepodge is a stew of seasonal vegetables. Whatever you can pick off your garden, you can combine it in a slow cooker with butter, flour, milk and water and you’ll get delicious hodgepodge! It’ll vary for each house and each season. We’ll be posting a recipe about this shortly!

Dave Irving
As for his advice for people at home who are just starting out learning how to cook, Chef Dave says, Keep It Simple. I’m a big dork and have heard this advice as it relates to programming (KISS) but it’s great to hear it being applied to the cooking world as well. I fully agree, it’s more enjoyable when there are very few ingredients and the cooking techniques are simple and the whole process is quick. Less time in the kitchen means more time eating and enjoying it with your loved ones. You don’t need to reproduce some of the restaurant recipes right off the bat and get intimidated. Cooking should be fun and keeping it simple will make the introduction to cooking fun.

Anyway, head down to Atlantic Canada House before the Olympics end for their tastings and nightly concerts! I’m going to go back on February 27 for Sturgeon Caviar for sure!

Stay tuned for recipes from the Atlantic Canada House on our blog.

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Karel van Tiel / Olympics — View Comments
17
Feb 10

Exclusive Dutch Recipe from Holland House: Bitterballen

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Bitterballen
Executive Chef Karel van Tiel from the Holland Heineken House spent some time talking to YouCook about food and how to make authentic Dutch food. He was very interested to meet a group of girls that are genuinely passionate about learning how food is made and want to learn more and share it with everyone. He said that generally he has met a lot of people that eat just because they are hungry. Hopefully by following YouCook, you will see how easy and delicious home cooking can be, as you try to replicate some of the best restaurant recipes in Canada and in the world.

Bitterballen can be found in Holland on every pub menu and at Febo, a fast food chain in Holland where they deliver food through vending machines. Bitterballen are deep fried meatballs containing a mixture of roux and beef broth.

Summary

Preparation Time: 30 min (+ refrigerate for 2 days)
Cook Time: 15 min
Servings: 4 servings
Meal type: Main/Snack

Recipe Rating: ★★★☆☆ 

Ingredients

  • 250g ground beef
  • 75g butter
  • 100g flour
  • 2 egg white
  • 500ml beef broth
    Choose your own way to make beef broth. Start from scratch with some beef bones, leeks, onions and cloves or buy some broth if time is an issue.
  • breadcrumbs
  • Canola oil for deep frying

Instructions

1. Make a Roux: Melt butter in a pan then add flour (equal butter, equal flour)
2. Cool down the roux.
3. Heat up beef broth and add in ground beef to cook.
4. When roux is cooled, mix in the hot beef broth. (Remember to filter out the vegetables and just use the broth and beef)
5. Mix evenly then cool mixture in fridge for 2 days. This will ensure that it is solid enough to be rolled into balls.
6. Roll out balls or longer hot dog shapes.
7. Dip ball in egg white, then bread crumbs. Then repeat, dip into egg white again then bread crumbs again.
8. Heat up a pot with canola oil and deep fry at 180 degrees.

Variations

Different beef broths and cuts of beef used in this ball will make a difference. I wouldn’t stray too far from this recipe or else the Bitterballen won’t remind you of Holland!

Results

I had both the ball of bitterballen and the sandwich at the Heineken House and yes both were delicious. I’ve never tasted anything like it – a deep fried swedish meatball is how I can describe it as. If you are from Holland and dearly miss this snack, do let us know if this recipe reminds you of home.

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Karel van Tiel / Olympics — View Comments
17
Feb 10

Holland Heineken House

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Heineken Entrance
By far, the HHH is the BEST hospitality house for the Vancouver 2010 Olympics. It is located in the Richmond O Zone where it took over Minoru Ice Rinks. The venue is large and very well laid out.
Heineken Bar
The lineups are long, the music is great, and the people decked out in orange gear makes the place a sure spot to check out for a good time during the Olympics.
People at Heineken House
It’s by far the most talked about venue in the past week and very well deserved. Their target was 50,000 people during the 2 weeks of the Olympics, but they have already surpassed that number in less than one week. And best of all, what you should come to the Holland Heineken House for is…THE FOOD!

Albron is the caterer for the Holland Heineken House; they are the second largest caterer in Holland and have brought with them mobile crate kitchens directly from Holland. Under the expertise of Chef Karel van Tiel, the 30 person team takes care of the fast food in The Plaza, the brasserie fare in The Lodge, as well as the exclusive Olympic Club for VIPs only. Each restaurant offers a different taste of the Netherlands.

I was fortunate enough to dine at the brasserie on Saturday when Holland won their first gold medal.
Sven Kramer
Congrats to Sven Kramer for the gold medal finish for the 5000m speed skating event. The place was packed with Dutch orange gear and ever flowing ice cold Heineken beer. The menu at the brasserie is Dutch food with a twist, using local Canadian meats such as salmon and game meats.
Salmon Risotto
I had the Salmon Risotto balls which was delicious and very creative.
Dancing
After dinner and several rounds of Heineken, we had the times of our lives partying until closing time.

I returned to the Holland Heineken House last night to see the exclusive Olympic Club before they set up for dinner. It’s amazing what they have done with the venue – you really forget that you’re in an ice rink! Here are some exclusive pictures of the Olympic Club (not open to the public):

Club HouseClub House

Chef Karel talked about various Dutch dishes and how he likes to put a healthy or creative twist on local ingredients. He is very focused on healthy food and this attitude is shared by many in Holland.

Sauerkraut, potatoes and bread are a staple in the Netherlands. The cities by the coast have access to plenty of seafood and fish such as Kibling, which is similar to cod, so they make fish and chips out of Kibling along the north coast. Interestingly enough, the food in Amsterdam is centered around vegetables with meats used as an occasional treat. Because of a big Muslim population, pork is avoided. The Dutch love their cheese too…and bread. Bread is popular as a filler after a night of drinking – perhaps that’s why Amsterdam’s breakfasts are so good – as a cure to hangovers.

Onwards to the tasting, which included:
Tasting
1. Erwtensoep – Split Pea Soup aka Snert
2. Bitterballen – A meat croquette (Kroket)
3. Hodgepodge – A vegetable croquette
4. Egg salad sandwich
5. Mash potatoes and saukraut wrapped in bacon.

YouCook will be providing recipes for Erwtensoep and Bitterballen: one healthy dish and one unhealthy but popular dish that everyone I spoke to misses dearly about Holland.

Bitterballen, currently the top seller at the Plaza at the Holland Heineken House, is served in a bun like a deep fried hot dog. It was originally made famous by Febo, a fast food chain in Holland where they deliver food through vending machines. Bitterballen are deep fried meatballs containing a mixture of roux and beef broth, and appear on all pub menus. I suggested that the next Holland Heineken House should also dispense Bitterballen through a machine similar to Febo.
Bitterballen
Get some Bitterballen while you can – it goes perfectly with the $4.50 Heineken!

Since bitterballen is not very healthy, to balance it out, YouCook is also going to provide the Split Pea Soup recipe.

Thank you very much to Chef Karel van Tiel and the entire Albron staff for taking the time to talk to YouCook and for hosting the best hospitality house party during Vancouver 2010!
Chefs

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Main / Olympics / Taryn Wu — View Comments
16
Feb 10

Northern House – Bison Sliders Recipe from Northwest Territories

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I had the pleasure of going to the The Northern House to learn more about the Northwest Territories showcase that was happening that night, and of course the food. Just a note, the Northern house does not offer a food menu on a regular basis and just for special events (in case you go wandering in there looking for this delicious bison burger I’m about to write about). Savoury Chef were the caterers for it and they have definitely done their research to make dishes that represent the food from Northwest Territories. Kyle and his team were also nice enough to let me sample all the food and answer all the questions I had. Chef Taryn has been very helpful too with all my questions afterwards. I can’t wait to go to any more events catered by Savoury Chef! It was indeed a great night.


I’ve got to say, this is one of the most beautiful tourism venues I’ve seen here at the olympics. I ended the night making a mental note that I need to visit Canada’s North (Northwest Territories, Yukon and Nunavut) one of these days. The northern lights look beautiful and some of mountain, ice, lake landscapes look breath taking. If you get a chance, do visit the Northern House during the olympics, its just a block away from Waterfront station.
Mikey Ice Pilot
I also met Mikey McBryan from Ice Pilots who informed me that Ice Pilots in Northwest Territories LOVE chicken wings.

Now onwards to the food. On the menu was bison burgers with lotus chips, arctic char graviax, seared cariboo, braised buffalo, and duck terrine. Smoked meats included bison bresaola, muskoxen mipkuzola, venison salami, and house smoked muscovy duck breast. I’m not sure if I was the only one who thought that Northern food meant Bannock over fire but I never did imagine that I’d try all these animals and how good it looked and tasted.

Savoury Chef was kind enough to provide some recipes for us! Here was my favourite dish of the night, Bison Burger with Lotus root chips. I was pleasantly surprised at how good Lotus root makes as chips!


Summary

Preparation Time: 15 min
Cook Time: 15 min
Servings: 25 mini burgers
Meal type: Main

Recipe Rating: ★★★★★ 

Ingredients For Bison Burgers

  • 625g Ground Bison
  • 1 egg
  • 5g chopped parsley
  • 1g chopped thyme
  • 75g chopped onion
  • 5g chopped garlic
  • salt and pepper to taste

Ingredients For Lotus Root Chips

  • 1lb of lotus roots
  • pinch of five spice powder
  • salt
  • Canola oil for deep frying

Instructions for Bison Burgers

1. Mix all ingredients for bison burger together.
2. Form 25 balls to make bite sized burgers.
3. Flatten to make patties.
4. Grill until cooked through.

Toppings for Bison Burgers

1. Mix caramelized onions and Lemon tomato Brio together.
2. Top burgers with cheese and heat in the oven until cheese is melted through.
3. Put a dollop of the onion and tomato jam on top.
4. Put patties inside mini burger buns.

Instructions for Lotus root chips

1. Heat oil in a pot to 325 degrees F
2. Slice lotus root into 1mm slices using a mandoline.
3. Fry lotus root just until golden
4. Drain on paper towel and season with salt and five spice powder while chips are still hot.

Variations

Any toppings that go well on a beef burger goes just as well with bison. For those of you that have not tried bison burgers, you won’t get a chance at the Northern House but the Saskatchewan Pavilion has $8 Bison burgers for the olympics. It’s leaner than beef and not game-meat tasting at all. It is my new favourite red meat!

This recipe will work just as well with beef if you can’t find bison.

Results

The bison burgers were a hit during the reception at the Northern House. Empty plates came back to the kitchen within a few minutes of serving. I really really enjoyed the pairing with the lotus root chips and would recommend this over fries or anything else. If you are able to get Chef Taryn’s Lemon Tomato Brio (Jam), you won’t regret it. Let us know when you cook this!! I’m sure this is going to be on my summer BBQ menu!! Considering how nice and sunny it has been in Vancouver, a summer BBQ might happen very soon!

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15
Feb 10

La Maison Du Quebec: Ragoût de boulette de Grand-Mère Recipe

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I had the pleasure of going to the La Maison Du Quebec along the seawall close by Science World.

Chef Heinrich Meesen was kind enough to take the time to show YouCook how to make a hearty delicious meatballs dish which is very typical to eat in the winter in Quebec. He actually got the recipe for these meatballs from his wife’s mom 10 years ago and has been making this dish ever since. We even got to taste it at La Maison Du Quebec and it was very delicious. The dish is served with some pickled beets which packs even more energy and really compliments the meatballs. It is also a very simple dish to prepare at home – after the Olympics are over, this is definitely going to be the first dish I’m going to make!

Summary

Preparation Time: 15 min
Cook Time: 60 min
Servings: 4 servings of meatballs
Meal type: Main

Recipe Rating: ★★★★★ 

Ingredients

  • 500mL Turkey Stock
    You can use pork stock, turkey stock or even chicken broth.
  • 700g Minced pork
  • 4Tbsp bread crumbs
  • 1 finely chopped small onion
  • 2 cups of Grilled brown flour
    I’ve never heard of brown flour. You can find it in Quebec grocery stores or you can do it at home: Take all purpose flour and put into a baking pan. Bake in oven at 300 degrees until it browns. Make 2 cups but might not use it all in the sauce.
  • Salt, pepper to taste
  • Pinch of nutmeg
  • Pinch of cloves
  • Pinch of cinnamon
  • Pinch of all spice

Instructions

1. Mix together the pork, all the spices and the onion.
2. Roll together your meatballs. They will shrink down after cooking, so roll them bigger than you expect.
3. Coat each ball with a thin layer of brown flour.
4. Wait until the turkey/pork stock is boiling.
5. Put the meatballs into the stock pot and simmer for 25-30 min.
6. Remove the cooked meatballs.
7. Put some more brown flour into the stock pot to make the ragout sauce thicker. If you used pork hocks to make the stock, add the pork hocks into the sauce too. Add enough flour to thicken the sauce but the sauce I had at Quebec house was not too thick.
8. Serve meatballs with a side of pickled beets and mash potatoes.

Variations

Turkey broth give a little more flavour than chicken broth but if you need to, use chicken broth. Pork broth will work out very well too.
As for the pork meatballs, you can feel free to use other ground meats as well.
The spices can also be experimented with to find a taste that you like. I really enjoyed the nutmeg/cinnamon/clove taste of these meatballs though.

Results

Gosh, these meatballs are so good. The great part is that you can make and freeze these meatballs until you’re ready to eat them. At La Maison Du Quebec, these meatballs were air-sealed in Quebec and cooked here in Vancouver. They’re absolutely delicious. The boiling of the meatballs in the broth is quick and easy and ensures that the balls stay moist. I completely recommend making these at home or trying it while you have the chance during the Olympics!

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15
Feb 10

La Maison Du Quebec: Quebec Food Talk with Chef Heinrich Meesen about Poutine!

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Chef Heinrich Meesen
I had the pleasure of talking to Executive Chef Heinrich Meesen from the Hôtel Château Laurier Québec this past Thursday. He is responsible for the food at La Maison Du Quebec pavilion, here in Vancouver for the Olympics. It was a very insightful talk to help YouCook and our readers understand a little more about Quebec culture and Quebec food.

Luckily for us, the base of Quebec cooking is, of course, French cooking. The care and art of raising animals, vegetables, producing cheese, breads and preparing food all came from France, which is the first step to delicious cooking. As Chef Meesen describes it, Quebec cuisine is French cuisine with a twist. The twist is uusing local meats and produce such as local wild meats: deer, wild boar and caribou. Actually, Green Ketchup was invented in Quebec. It’s made from green unripe tomatoes. Green tomatoes are plentiful in Quebec because of the harsh winters and shorter growing seasons, so what better way to make use of these tomatoes but to add vinegar and sugar and make Ketchup Vert.

Another Quebec twist to French food is the pairing of Cloudberry (Chicotai) with Foie Gras. Cloudberry is a fruit that is very similar to the yellow raspberry found in the north coast of Quebec. Its taste is similar to honey or apples and they grow in swamps ready for picking in mid July to August. Sailors and the Natives picked these to prevent scurvy since they are rich in vitamin C. Cloudberries can be made into a jam and perfectly compliments Foie Gras.

Nothing is more symbolic of Canada than Maple Syrup and there is plenty of this in Quebec.
Cotton maple Candy
I was able to taste Fudge maple cupcake, maple syrup snow taffy, and maple cotton candy, which were all delicious. Another tree that is getting popular to eat is Cedar (or spruce) jelly.

One of our few national dishes that is being spread around the world is Poutine, and of course, this also comes from Quebec! I’ve been around the world and have had poutine in different provinces and cities but they’re never as good as the poutine in Montreal so I asked Chef Meesen about what the secret is. There are so many factors that go into the perfect poutine.
Poutine

  • “The cheese has to go Squeak Squeak”
    Huh? Yes, that was our reaction as well! What the Chef means is that the cheese curds have to be very fresh. The cheese curds never be refrigerated or frozen. When you chew it, the sound that the cheese makes in your mouth while you’re chewing should be “Squeak squeak” – the opposite of mushy/soft cheese. Well, this requirement cuts out making authentic poutine everywhere else around the world where anybody buys packaged cheese. La Maison Du Quebec will be getting a fresh cheese curd shipment on TUESDAY (Tomorrow), so be sure to drop by for some authentic poutine!!
  • The Gravy
    Unfortunately after he told us what is in the gravy, I will reserve poutine as a once in a year culinary treat. Skip this point if you are trying to be healthy and want to be oblivious to what goes into the best poutine. Alright, well, the gravy is a meat gravy. However it has to be thick! It has to be thick enough to not soak the fries but serve as a coat around fries. So how do you get this thickness? Well, honestly it is half sauce and half fat. Yup…FAT. Now you know that when in search for the perfect poutine, if the gravy is soaking the fries, it does not have enough fat in it!
  • The Fries
    The perfect fries for poutine are fresh thick large white potatoes. When potatoes are freshly picked, they have a high starch content and are good for mashed potatoes or stringy potatoes – you don’t want these potatoes. When potatoes sit too long, they have very little starch content and become very hard. Quebec poutine uses 1-2 week old white potatoes (perfect to get at the supermarkets) which has a middle balanced starch content. The fries must be thick cut to absorb the deep fried oil and not break down when the sauce is put on.

There you have it, the secret to Canada’s signature dish, Poutine!

The heavy starch dishes in Quebec represent how the people deal with the cold weather in Quebec. One dish that is very common in Quebec is a ragout of pork meatballs. Luckily for us, Chef Heinrich Meesen is sharing the recipe for his Grandma’s meat balls with us!!

Q cube
If you are in Vancouver right now, be sure to check out La Maison Du Quebec for the culinary offerings (as well as all the live music performances!) You are in good hands to appreciate Quebec food here! The house is hard to miss, especially at night when it glows along the seawall beside BC Place. The venue is beautiful and the live shows of acrobatics and music have been spectacular.
Q cube

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Dessert / Olympics — View Comments
13
Feb 10

Switzerland House and YouCook present Exclusive Valentines Lindt Chocolate Recipes

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Lindt Chocolate from Switzerland House

The girls of YouCook are sooooooo excited that Switzerland House has provided the recipe to their Lindt Chocolate Variations dessert they are serving at the Switzerland House on Granville Island right now!!! How romantic is it if you make …not only one chocolate recipe for Valentines, butt two rich delicious Lindt chocolate desserts for your loved ones.

So, we will show you how to to make:
1. Chocolate Cake with Passion fruit
2. Frozen Chocolate Parfait

Chocolate Cake with Passion Fruit

Preparation Time: 20 min (filling the ganache truffles will take time)
Cook Time: 20 min.
Servings: 12 bite sized cakes
Meal type: Dessert

Recipe Rating: ★★★☆☆ 

Ingredients For Chocolate Cake

  • 270g Butter
  • 270g Dark Lindt chocolate
  • 270g Egg
  • 216g Sugar
  • 108g Flour

Truffle ganache for the filling

  • 20ml Heavy cream
  • 3g Glucose
    liquid glucose can be replaced by liquid corn syrup (equal amounts). You can find liquid glucose in the baking aisle of some grocery stores.
  • 50g White Lindt chocolate
  • 10ml Passion fruit pulp
  • 5ml Passion fruit alcohol
  • 0.5 leaves of Gelatine
  • 12 pieces of empty truffle shell
    Lindt sells these empty truffle shells in bulk. If you know where, let us know!

Instructions For Chocolate Cake

To make the Truffle ganache,
1. Heat the heavy cream and glucose.
2. Add in the white chocolate until melted.
3. Add in passion fruit pulp and passion fruit alcohol.
4. Cool mixture under 25 degrees Celsius.
5. Fill the mixture into each empty truffle shell.

To make the chocolate cake,
1. Melt the butter in a pot under low heat
2. Melt chocolate in the butter.
Note that you can also do it in a double broiler where you put butter/chocolate in heatproof bowl and place it over a pot of simmering hot water.
You can event melt them in the microwave but be careful and do it only a few seconds at a time.

3. Mix the egg and sugar together.
4. Add the chocolate mixture and the egg mixture together.
5. Add flour to the mix.
6. Half fill your muffin tin with chocolate cake batter. The Switzerland house uses metal cornets to make the cone shaped cakes but you can also use a muffin tin.
7. Add the truffle shells in the half filled muffin tin with the hole facing upwards.
8. Cover the truffle with cake mixture.
9. Bake approximately 11 minutes at 180 degrees Celsius.
10. Once baked, put into freezer until half frozen to serve.

Frozen Chocolate Parfait

Preparation Time: 5 min
Cook Time: 15 min (+ freeze time)
Servings: 32 shot glasses
Meal type: Dessert

Recipe Rating: ★★★★☆ 

Ingredients for Frozen Chocolate Parfait

  • 35g Egg Yolk
    1 large egg yolk is approximately 17g yolk, 2 eggs
  • 87g Egg
  • 175g White Chocolate
  • 375ml Heavy cream
  • 30ml Cream de cacao white
  • 100g Chocolate splitters
    Chocolate splitters are fine chocolate flakes for decoration

Instructions for Frozen Chocolate Parfait

1. Whip egg yolks and eggs until fluffy and pale. This usually takes 3 to 4 minutes on your stand mixer on medium (using your whisk attachment).
2. Melt the white chocolate (not too hot) and mix with the egg
3. Mix in the whipped heavy cream, cream de cacao and chocolate splitters.
Use cold, clean mixing bowl & whisk attachment. The cream should also be cold. Fold in the cream de cacao and chocolate splitters. You want to gently mix the ingredients together until it is homogeneous, but without overworking it.
4. Cool mixture and fill shot glasses.
5. Freeze shot glasses and serve frozen.

Results

I really enjoyed both the chocolate cake and the frozen parfait at the Switzerland house. In terms of ease, I can see myself making the frozen chocolate parfait instead of making my own chocolate truffle ganache. These two recipe will definitely impress your significant other!! Happy Valentines Day from Vancouver and Switzerland!!!
Lindt Chocolate from Switzerland House

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