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It was a fun ten days in Calgary celebrating 100 years of the Stampede.  Everyone knows that when you go to the grounds, you have to try some of the delicious fatty foods that are everywhere you look!  Here are some snapshots of what my friends and I sampled.  I was so excited to find a place that did corn dogs made without pork.  Yahoo!!

It was another crazy weekend but hubby and I managed to squeeze in some time to do some shopping for some work boots for me, for my day job (one of them anyway).  These were the girliest ones I could find without actually buying pink!  I never guessed I would ever need these!

We were both hungry and decided to go for a quick bite. I was wanting some really good salmon and hubby knew just the place – Towa Sushi.

I had been to Towa a couple of times but not for years.  After our experience, I am kicking myself for not going back sooner.  It was so good!

We arrived around 6pm on a Sunday night and it was packed!  
We waited a few minutes before we got seated and ended up at a counter at the window.

Because all I really wanted was salmon, we ordered 3 rolls packed with it.  The first was the Tempura Spicy Salmon Roll.  I loved this roll, in fact, I think it was my favourite of the night.  The salmon was so fresh and there was lots stuffed into the roll.  I liked that the outside had the tempura coating, providing that perfect crunchy texture in contrast to that of the salmon. So good!

We also had just the plain old Spicy Salmon roll and that was delicious as well.  Although the prices for the sushi were on the higher end, you could taste why with every bite.

Our last roll was the Towa Special Roll.  This consisted of salmon, red tuna and white tuna.  This was also stuffed generously with the fish.  The quality of the salmon and tuna was exceptional.

I thoroughly enjoyed my meal at Towa, so satisfying.  I will definitely be back for more.

This is another recipe that I will be submitting for the Hidden Valley Ranch Recipe Challenge.  With it being bbq season, I had to do something that I could just throw on the grill.  My first attempt with these were with regular Ranch dressing but hubby thought the spice of the Spicy Ranch would be the perfect kick.  He was right!  The heat was just enough, not overpowering at all, and even Q was able to eat it.  Out of all the recipes that I had come up with, this was unanimously the favourite amongst my family and friends.  Hope it’s a winner!

Spicy Ranch Shrimp Kebabs

1 pound shrimp, chopped
1/4 cup spicy ranch dressing
1 TB garlic
1/2 red pepper, diced
1/2 onion, diced OR 2 green onions, chopped
1 1/2 cups panko

Mix together shrimp with all the ingredients.  Shape into kebabs using the end of a wooden spoon.  Place on a grill until the shrimp are cooked.

Here is one of the recipes that I will be submitting for the Hidden Valley Ranch Recipe Challenge.  I had loads of cherry tomatoes in the fridge and wanted to incorporate them somehow with ground turkey.   I love the idea of stuffed anything, it’s just such a great surprise for the person enjoying the food.  I added the regular ranch dressing to the meatballs and it added a creaminess to the meat that you can’t get with soaked bread or milk.  This was a favourite amongst most of my taste testers.  I would love to know what you think!

Cherry Tomato Ranch Meatballs

1 pound ground turkey
1 tsp garlic
1 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp cumin powder
1/4 cup ranch dressing
bunch cilantro, chopped
salt
pepper
12 cherry tomatoes

Mix together the turkey and spices until well combined.  Divide the meat into 12 balls and shape them around the tomatoes.  Place on a greased pan and bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.

Earlier this month, I was contacted to participate in the Hidden Valley Ranch Recipe Challenge.   This involves creating a recipe using the signature ranch dressing or the two new flavours, cheesy and spicy.  This contest is against 15 Canadian food bloggers and besides a prize of a Kitchen Aid mixer or gift certificates to Williams Sonoma, the winning recipe will be demoed live by Chef Ned Bell at the Calgary Stampede.  The Stampede is one of my favourite events so to win would be pretty awesome.

Over the next few days, I will be blogging about a few of my creations.  I would love to know what you think!

The first is fried pickles, completely inspired by my visit to Calgary’s second Smashburger location.  I loved them the first time I went there, and when I took Q to the newest location, he loved them more than I did.

Instead of dipping the pickles in eggs, I used the Cheesy Ranch dressing as the binder for the panko breading.  This added a great flavour and the dressing doubled as a dip for the crispy bites.

Cheesy Ranch Fried Pickles

4 large pickles, sliced
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup Hidden Valley Ranch, cheddar flavour
1 cup panko

Place the sliced pickles between two pieces of paper towel and pat them dry.  Place the flour, dressing and panko in three separate bowls.  Dredge the pickles in flour, then the dressing and then panko.  Fry until golden brown. 

Culinary icon Julia Child would have turned 100 years old this year in August.  To honour her, a national campaign, JC100 was launched with bloggers, chefs and many others participating as part of a community and paying tribute to Julia.

Every week, a new recipe from Julia’s collection is released and redone by the JC100 community.  I have been meaning to participate but haven’t been able to until this week, with Sole Meuniere. 

Sole Meuniere was Julia’s first meal in Paris and inspired her love affair with food.  This is the perfect recipe outlining the French cooking philosophy of simplicity.  This dish was a hit in our house, especially with hubby.  It didn’t take long to make, was easy and tasted delicious!

 

Fillets of Sole Meuniere
(Fillets of sole sauteed in butter)
Excerpted from The Way to Cook by Julia Child. Copyright © 1989 by Julia Child. Reprinted with permission from the publisher Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Random House, Inc.

For 6 servings

6 skinless and boneless sole, 4 to 6 ounces each and 3/8″ thick
salt and pepper
1/2 cup or so flour in a plate
4 TB clarified butter
2 TB minced fresh parsley
4 to 6 TB unsalted butter
1 lemon, cut into wedges

Dust the fillets lightly on each side with salt and pepper.  The moment before sauteeing, rapidly drop each into the flour to coat both sides, and shake off the excess.  Set the frying pan over high heat and film with 1/16 inch of clarified butter.  When the butter is very hot but not browning, rapidly lay in as many fillets as will fit easitly, leaving a little space between each.  Saute a minute or two on each side.  The fish is done when just springy rather than squashy to the touch of your finger.  Immediately remove from the pan to warm plates or a platter.

Sprinkle each fillet with parsley.  Wipe the frying pan clean, set over high heath, and add the fresh butter; heat until bubbling and pour over the fillets – the parsley will bubble up nicely.  Decorate with lemon wedges, and serve at once.

With most of my cousins in town last week following my sister’s wedding in Vancouver, we decided to do a quick get together, sans kids.

Someone suggested Gravity Espresso and Wine Bar and after hearing all the great things on twitter and food blogs, I was happy to go check it out.

Located in Inglewood, this is a cute little place.  We went on a Thursday and found it quiet, perfect for the eleven of us to be a little rowdy.  The art on the wall was great, and inspired conversation.

Not really in the mood for coffee, I tried out the hot chocolate, made with chocolate from Papa Chocolat.  It was a good hot chocolate, not too sweet and decorated beautifully.

The best part of the night was the flourless chocolate cake.  Decadent, rich and so satisfying, I would go back just for that!

Other desserts that they had were the carrot cake and cheesecake in jars.  I was really hoping to try the coconut cake but they didn’t have any that day.

I loved that the owner, Andy, came over to make sure we were doing okay.  That personal touch is always appreciated.  His attention to detail in creating ambiance for the restaurant was noted when the quiet place that we had walked into filled with music after he arrived.

That chocolate cake?  I think it will be calling me back!