Lianne Faulder’s Food Notes
Italian cake can be eaten in variety of ways
Kitchens across the city are moving into high gear for the holiday season. Here’s a couple of things to keep in mind as your plan your holiday food fare: Kris and Carla Owczarek of DeFazio Gourmet (12853 52nd St., Kennedale Plaza; 780452-8960) have developed a homegrown panettone just in time for the holiday season. After a year of experimentation, it’s ready for sale at the east-end gourmet wholesaler, which also has a small, retail storefront.
Panettone is a traditional Italian cake, but most people associate it with something in a cardboard box that costs $5. Nothing very special, that.
But the Owczareks have created their own take on the traditional holiday food, crafting a yeast starter from scratch from fermented raisins. The resulting sweet mother dough, which the couple lovingly refers to as the “babyttone,” must be carefully nourished, as it feeds the panettone forevermore.
Karla says the $28 cake, infused with natural citrus flavouring imported from Italy, features a “light and fluffy texture, very airy, almost like a croissant.” The cakes are being made weekly at DaFazio and will keep for three months in a special plastic bag that comes with the cake.
“There is a lot of butter in it,” says Karla of the cake’s startling longevity.
The gourmet panettone at DeFazio could make a lovely hostess gift, and also can be used in a variety of applications. You can slice it and eat it like cake, or make bready delicacies such as french toast or bread pudding. As it lasts for a long time and is quite large, it’s also a great product to eat one way now, and again later in a different form. Details are at defaziogourmet.com. Don’t forget the Highlevel Diner’s tourtières, on sale for Christmas for $28. Order the frozen pies ahead and pick up by Dec. 23. Call 780-433-1317. For details, go to highleveldiner.com. Barb Lockert of Barb’s Kitchen Centre has a class on making appetizers running Dec. 10 and 11 at 6:30 p.m. The class is $10. Register by calling 780-437-3134. 976651 Ave. Details are at barbskitchen.com. Sgambaro’s Signature Seafood at Mother’s Market is taking pre-orders for wild Icelandic scampi tails. Find out more at 780-457-8227 or sgambaros.com. Mandy of Meadow Creek Farms near Waskatenau is selling frozen, free-range turkeys. She delivers them to a drop-off point on Edmonton’s south side weekly until Dec. 20. They are $5 a pound and the average size is 20 pounds, although you can request a smaller one. Place your order at 780-650-2047 or email mandy@meadowcreekfarms.ca.
I had a note from James Chatto, head judge for the annual Gold Medal Plates competition held nationwide as a fundraiser for the Canadian Olympic and Paralympic team. He notes that as of the close of the 2014 competition, total contributions from this 10-year long, nationwide campaign have increased from $8.2 million to more than $9.5 million. That’s in addition to a $2 million investment in the Future Olympian Fund.
Congratulations to the 10 Edmonton chefs who took part this year, including Ryan O’Flynn of the Westin, who captured gold, as well as silver medal winner Blair Lebsack of RGE RD and bronze medallist Lindsay Porter of Mercer’s Catering.
More information at goldmedalplates.com.
And speaking of Lindsay Porter, the chef has resigned her position at Mercer’s Catering and is moving to run the kitchen at the Mexican eatery, El Cortez Tequila Bar and Kitchen. Expect a revamped menu early in the new year.
“I’m excited about it,” says Porter, a NAIT grad whose culinary CV includes stops at the now defunct 4th and Vine as well as L2 Grill in the Fantasyland Hotel. “I’ve been doing catering for the last two years and it’s fun to take over something new ... It’s a great spot and I love the look of the place,” she says.
El Cortez is at 8230 Gateway Blvd. Call 780-7600200.
Brad and Cindy Lazarenko hosted a great party last weekend for 240 people at their Culina Highlands pop-up at the Bellevue Hall at 7308 112th Ave. The brother and sister chef team put on a $40 Ukrainian feast with perogies, keibasa (handmade by chef Steve Furgiuele of Culina Mill Creek), as well as a traditional pickle and slaw plate — all finished off with a deep-fried, traditional Ukrainian cookie known as a khrustyky. Another one is planned for March.
Pop-up evenings, which began trending a couple of years back, have showed surprising resilience, and are still going strong across the city. Witness the recent pop-ups by ramen maker Prairie Noodle, held at Get Cooking, and by Nevin and Kara Fenske of Drift food truck, who have opened a new catering and pop-up space at 10721 124th St. (The Drift space will become a full-time restaurant come spring, 2015.)
Pop-ups tend to be really well-priced, offering quality fare by good chefs and a buzz of excitement because they don’t happen all the time. Which reminds me, the gourmet dumpling producer, Honest Dumplings, is having a pop-up at the Drift space from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 12, facebook.com/ honestdumplingsyeg.
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