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win! rocky mountain wine and food festival in calgary

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It’s that time of year again! The Rocky Mountain Wine & Food Festival Calgary
is back for two days of indulgence on October 17 and 18, offering a little something for everyone. The Festival will feature a wide array of world-class wine, premium
spirits, import and micro-brewed beer, and an assortment of local
culinary creations in a fun, social, and relaxed atmosphere. 

Here are the details for this fun event. See below on how you can win tickets to check it out!

2014 GRAND TASTING HALL DETAILS

Location

Stampede Park BMO Centre, Halls D & E

Dates & Times

Friday, October 17 5-10pm
Saturday, October 18 12-4pm
Saturday, October 18 6-10pm


2014 TICKET DETAILS

Tickets are day specific and only
valid for one session. An entrance ticket brings you into the Grand
Tasting Hall where you can purchase Festival sampling coupons (with cash
only), allowing you to customize what you try and how much you spend.
Want to win tickets and check out this event? I have two tickets to the tasting session on Saturday, October 18 afternoon which runs from 12 – 4 p.m. Just leave a comment below, send me a tweet (@fareenjj) or leave me a note on Facebook (FoodMammaCOM) – do you go for the wine or the food? A winner will be chosen at random on Thursday, October 9th at 6pm.  Good luck!

vij’s lamb with fenugreek sauce

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Today we celebrated Eid Al Adha, also known as the Festival of Sacrifice. It seemed appropriate to have lamb and a great excuse to try out a recipe I had been eying.

Most people who know of Vikram Vij know that the dish he seems to be most associated with is his lamb popsicles in a fenugreek cream curry. I had been meaning to make it for a while and luckily remembered this recipe the last time I was at the grocery store. I was unable to find a whole rack of lamb but was lucky to find some individual chops.

The recipe seemed easy and even with a couple of sides, dinner came together really quickly. The highlight of the meal was the vibrant yellow fenugreek sauce. It paired perfectly with the lamb chops and even worked with the mashed potatoes and green beans. 

It was a really tasty meal and definitely a special one to celebrate Eid. I’m also very happy to have a jar left of the creamy sauce.

Vikram Vij’s Lamb Popsicles in Fenugreek Cream Curry
From FoodNetwork.ca

Lamb:
¼ cup sweet white wine
¾ cup grainy yellow mustard
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
4 lb. French-cut racks of lamb, in chops

Curry Sauce:
4 cup whipping cream
1 Tbsp salt
1 tsp paprika
½ tsp ground cayenne pepper
1 Tbsp dried green fenugreek leaves
¼ cup lemon juice
¼ cup canola oil
3 Tbsp garlic, finely chopped
1 tsp turmeric

Lamb
Combine wine, mustard, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Add lamb and coat well with the marinade. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 to 4 hours.

Finish lamb: Preheat a stove-top cast iron grill or barbeque to high heat. Place lamb on the grill and cook for 2 to 3 minutes per side.

Curry Sauce
In a large bowl, combine cream, salt, paprika, cayenne, fenugreek leaves and lemon juice. Heat 3 to 4 Tbsp of the oil in a medium pot on medium heat and sauté garlic until golden. Stir in turmeric and cook for 1 minute. Stir in the cream mixture and cook on low to medium heat for about 5 minutes, or until it is gently boiling.

To serve: Serve popsicles piping hot off the grill. Place four to five lamb chops on each plate. Pour the cream curry over the meat or ladle it into a small bowl and use it as a dipping sauce for the popsicles.

oktoberfest in calgary – win tickets!

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The end of September – time for Oktoberfest! Oktoberfest is a very popular festival in Munich Germany which runs from the end of September to the first weekend in October. Over 200 years since it’s inception, over 5 million people attend the event every year celebrating with beer and music and food.

Can’t make it to Munich? No problem! Steam Whistle is bringing an authentic Oktoberfest to Calgary. For the 2nd year, Steam Whistle is hosting its Oktoberfest party complete with oom-pah-pah music, clanking steins of delicious Pilsner and bonafide German food. The party will be held on October 4th at Wurst. You can get tickets in advance or at the door and includes admission to the party, a souvenir ceramic Stein and food! Click here for more information on this fun celebration and get ready to unleash your inner Wunderbar!

Want to win tickets? It’s easy! Just leave a comment here, on Facebook or on Twitter and you’re entered to win! Deadline to enter is Friday, October 3rd at noon.

pulo lemongrass chicken salad rolls

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I was so excited to receive to receive a package of  Pulo Cuisine sauces and marinades to participate in the Pulo Recipe Challenge. Pulo is an authentic collection of sauces and marinades inspired by the 7000 Islands of the Philippines. With three marinades and two cooking sauces, each loaded with amazing flavours, the possibilities on how to use them were endless.

For dinner tonight, Q and I decided to make Lemongrass Chicken Salad Rolls using the Pulo Lemongrass Marinade. The sauce itself is packed with so many complex notes that nothing else needed to be added to marinate the chicken.

The chicken was soaked in the marinade for half an hour, quickly stir fried and then added to rice paper with mint, carrots, spinach and vermicelli noodles. Q loved the process of dipping the rice paper in water until it was pliable and assembling the rolls. My picky little boy loved the flavours of the chicken; I was ecstatic that he was nibbling on the chicken without any prompting – that speaks volumes!

This was a hit with everyone and is definitely something I will be making again and again. I have so many ideas for the other sauces!

Pulo Lemongrass Chicken Salad Rolls

8 chicken thighs, cut into strips
1/2 cup Pulo Lemongrass Marinade

Mint
Carrots
Spinach
Vermicelli Noodles
Rice Paper

Cut the chicken into strips and cover with Pulo Lemongrass Marinade for at least half an hour. Stir fry until the chicken is thoroughly cooked.

Dip the rice paper into hot water until pliable. Lay on a flat surface and fill with the cooked chicken, mint, carrots, spinach and noodles. Roll and enjoy!

yyc pizza week and donair pizza

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Today marks the start of YYC Pizza Week! The team behind YYC Burger Week have partnered up with some great restaurants in the city to raise money for Calgary Meals on Wheels.  From September 26 to October 5th, 40 restaurants will compete in a pizza battle, with a portion of all sales going to Calgary Meals on Wheels. What a delicious idea!

There is also a Blogger Challenge which I am participating in along with 8 other local bloggers. We were given a list of three secret ingredients which we needed to incorporate in our pizza. You had an option to choose one or all three: chestnut puree, anchovies or fire roasted tomatoes.

I would love your votes for my Donair Pizza! The base of the pizza is a creamy white sauce loaded with garlic and sweetened with chestnut puree. This was topped with homemade donair meat, crisp onions, fire roasted tomatoes and loaded with cheese. My pizza is up against some tasty creations so your vote would be most appreciated. Thank you!!

vinay virmani from dr cabbie talks food

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Opening in theatres today is a movie which I can’t wait to see – Dr. Cabbie. It’s a plot that may ring true for so many immigrant professionals who end up unable to practice what they were trained to do in their homelands. Vinay Virmani plays Deepak, an Indian doctor who emigrates to Canada with big dreams. Unfortunately his training is not recognized, he is forced into life as a taxi driver.

The movie has some great actors such as Kunnal Nayar from Big Bang Theory, Adrianne Palicki and Rizwan Manji.

Vinay was kind enough to talk about everyone’s favourite subject – food!

Coffee or Tea?
I love my coffee, especially in the morning. I need my Nespresso to get
me started. There’s a Roma flavor that is very woody and roasted. 

What is your signature dish?
I’m not much of a cook, but I enjoy making simple dishes like grilled
chicken marinated in lemon and spices, with a green salad. 

What kind of food do you go out for the most?
I’m a big sushi guy. I could eat it everyday. Love spicy tuna rolls! 

What would your last meal include?

It would have to be my mother’s home-cooked Indian food. Butter chicken, Indian-spiced potatoes and fresh crispy roti. 
 
Check out Vinay and the awesome cast of Dr. Cabbie, in theatres today!
 
 

  

2014 home + design show

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The 2014 Home + Design Show is happening this weekend in Calgary.  This fun event runs from September 18 to 21 at the BMO Centre and features some great food-related and
family-friendly features this year including kid-centric interactive
cooking presentations and a dog show benefiting the Alberta Animal
Rescue Crew Society (AARCS).

We always have fun at the event but will be taking an even closer look this year since we’re building a new house. With big names like Colin McAllister & Justin Ryan, stars of Cottage Life TV’s Colin & Justin’s Cabin Pressure, Bryan Baeumler, host of HGTV’s Leave it to Bryan, and celebrity Chef
Corbin Tomaszeski, plus more than 350 exhibitors and a slew of sensational
new features, the possibilities are endless!

Want to win tickets to the event? Leave a comment here, on Facebook or send me a tweet. Contest closes on Wednesday at 8:30am. 

pc spice of the prairies burger

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It’s hard to believe that summer is almost over. We had a great few months, and the heat that we enjoyed was so welcomed. The summer has definitely been one where we got out of the kitchen and used the grill as much as we could.

Earlier this year, PC challenged chefs throughout Canada to create the Ultimate Burger for their region using PC products. Food writer Dan Clapson created the Spice of the Prairies Burger made with PC Free Bison Burgers.

The folks at President’s Choice sent me some ingredients to try out Dan’s creation for myself. Dan’s creative take using the bison burger and a spicy blueberry aioli was made even better with the crunch of PC Regular Potato Chips. The heat from the aioli is mellowed out by the coolness of the lettuce with PC Sweet Vidalia Onion Salad Dressing.  Add some provolone and put it all in a pretzel bun and you’ve got yourself a winner. Click here for the recipe – it’s definitely a must try!