BOXING WEEK SALE AT EBC!!
We hope you all had a safe and happy Christmas with your family and friends.
And now that the gifts are opened and dinner is done, it’s time to shop!
BOXING WEEK SALE AT EBC!
RETAIL STORE
All Christmas products in our Granville Island Retail Store are on sale now – 30% to 50% regular price! We’ve also put our popular EBC branded small and large cedar boxes on sale (great for making your own gift boxes for people) plus 25% off all cookbooks in the store. Don’t forget to check our Clearance Barrel – where bin ends and end of stock items are waiting for you!
CHEF FOR A DAY CLASSES
Come and join EBC’s newest member – Chef Cari Reid – who will be teaching our 2009 Chef for a Day program. We’ve opened up 30 spaces until the end of March 2009, and if you call us before December 31st, you can book your space for 10% off! Every class in 2008 sold out weeks in advance. Call us at 604-812-9660 to reserve your spot now.
WINESPEAK: QUAILS’ GATE TAWNY NV
Who – Quails’ Gate
What – Tawny NV
Where – Okanagan Valley
Why – ‘Tis the night before Christmas and all through BC, thoughts turn to sugar plums and fruitcake and roasted nuts and – port. Intrinsically linked to the holidays, there’s no better match for a snowy eve and a fireplace than port. Since we speak on BC products here in WINESPEAK exclusively, I’m not going to tell you about real Port (see Winespeak of the Week below). Instead, I chose this special beauty from Quails’ Gate – a fortified wine made in the traditional tawny port style, and a brand new release for the Stewart family this year. Started in 2000, this 100% Gamay Noir was fortified with spirit and carefully cellar aged in French oak for 60-84 months. Rich aromas of caramel and coffee on the nose lead to a dense palate of chocolate, dried fruit and blackberries. This wine will continue to gain complexity over the next 10 years.
When – After / before / in lieu of turkey dinner, with sharp local cheese, nuts and dried Okanagan fruit.
How (much) – $30.00 for 375ml, specialty wine stores or winery.
Winespeak of the Week – True port comes only from Portugal’s Douro Valley – the name Port is protected by law in the EU. Tawny ports are a blend of grapes from several different vintages and aged in wood for as long as 40 years.
SNAP CRACKLE POP
Deck the table with glee and encourage guests to play during dinner. Christmas crackers are an integral part of British Christmas celebrations. Essentially a cardboard tube wrapped in brightly decorated paper, crackers effectively resemble an oversized wrapped candy. Traditionally, two people pull the cracker – the person left holding the larger end keeps the gift (akin to wishing on a wishbone). A coated carbon strip inside creates the characteristic ‘crack’. Although crackers range greatly in value from the bare bones to the ultra-deluxe, the majority contain a colourful paper crown, a joke or motto and a small trinket.
Crackers are traced back to 1847 and to London confectioner Tom Smith. They were a development of his ‘bon bon sweets’, which he sold in a twist of paper (the origins of the traditional hard candy wrapper). As sales of bon bons slumped, Smith began to come up with new promotional ideas. His first tactic was to insert mottos into the wrappers of the sweets, but this had only limited success, as not all of his buyers were literate.
He was inspired to add the ‘crack’ element after hearing the crackle of a log he’d just put on the fire. The size of the bon bon had to be increased to incorporate the banger mechanism, and eventually, the sweet itself was swapped for a small gift. Hard pressed to find a name for his creation, he finally decided on the onomatopoeic ‘cracker’, and it quickly became the commonly used label for all such festive treats.
You can purchase all the components to make professional looking crackers over the net (www.oldenglishcrackers.com) or you can wing it on your own with some toilet paper rolls and tissue paper. Either way, the gifts are key – sugared almonds or chocolates make for a nice after-dinner treat if you know they’re going to be opened right away. For long term and/or kiddies, pick up trinkets in Chinatown or at the local dollar store. Gourmands may want to hit local kitchen stores for teeny cooking utensils like pastry tips, olive pics or wine stoppers.
MERRIDALE BRANDIWORKS
Our friends Rick Pipes and Janet Docherty of Cowichan Valley’s Merridale Ciderworks launched their newest operation recently – Merridale Brandiworks.
After a year of patient distilling, Merridale Brandiworks has released two eaux de vie, one from blackberries and the other from Merridale’s own cider apples. They’ve also crafted two fortified dessert style beverages made with Merridale’s own brandies. The Pomme Oh is made in the tradition of the finest pommeaux from Normandy. Freshly picked French cider apples are picked and pressed into juice. The juice begins to ferment in French oak barrels, and then at the perfect balance of sweetness, the fermentation is stopped by the addition of previously made Apple Oh de Vie. The Mure Oh is made using a similar process with blackberries, but done in stainless steel vats to preserve the delicate fruit aroma of the blackberry.
“We are very excited to be the first winery on the Island to be using our own brandy in our sweet fortified wines. It allows us to truly express the flavour of the Cowichan Valley fruit” says Rick, the distiller and cidermaker at Merridale. Most other fortified products in British Columbia are made with neutral grain alcohol because it is cheaper and readily available. “It takes more time and is more costly to use brandy from local fruit, but we believe it is a better tasting product” adds Pipes.
We applaud – cheers!
THE BC SEASONAL COOKBOOK: APPLE-ROASTED PHEASANT
Every Sunday we share a recipe from EBC president Eric Pateman’s cookbook – The British Columbia Seasonal Cookbook. In case you were still looking for inspiration for Christmas dinner…
Apple Roasted Pheasant
Apples and pheasant paired together make the perfect cold weather dish. The flavours of the apple and herbs will penetrate the meat of the pheasant and leand an almost sweet taste to the bird. For extra flavour, you could also roast the pheasant on your barbeque and use some apple wood chips under the grate to add some smoky apple notes to the dish. This recipe can also be made with other poultry such as quail, chicken or turkey, and you could even experiment with other local winter fruits such as quince or pears.
Serves 4
Ingredients:
- 4 pheasant breasts, shik on, wing attached
- sea salt & freshly cracked black pepper
- 1 Tbsp butter
- 1 Tbsp grape seed oil or olive oil
- 4 cups Pink Lady apples, peeled and sliced
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1 Tbsp garlic, minced
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp cloves
- juice of half a lemon
Method:
Preheat oven to 425F. Season pheasant with salt and pepper. Heat butter and oil in an ovenproof saute pan that is large enough to the comfortably fit all the meat. On medium-high heat, sear pheasant breasts, skin side down, for 3-4 minutes, until golden brown. Set aside.
Combine all the remaining ingredients in a mixing bowl and saute in the same pan as the pheasant. When the apples are nicely caramelized, about 5 minutes, place the pheasant on top, skin sides up, and roast in the oven for 10-12 minutes, until the meat is cooked through.
Serve the breasts atop a spoonful of the caramelized apples.
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