Canadian Women's Foundation Event

This month The Cookbook Co. Cooks was proud to host a fund raising event for the Canadian Women’s Foundation. This incredible group of women have been raising money for years to help women in need achieve their goals and gain careers and financial independence, and so for all their amazing and selfless efforts we wanted to do something really special!
The theme of the evening was pink- pink food- pink martinis- pink wine (well, rose of course! Sommelier Al Drinkle of Metrovino put together a lovely selection for our guests.) … and even pink lighting! Our friends at Calgary Sound Rentals were kind enough to set up an amazing light display so that even our walls had a soft pink glow. We can’t thank them enough for really adding that extra special finishing touch.
Among other items, we served the beautiful marinated beet crostinis shown below, with our house made goat milk ricotta, with fine herbs, and Hotchkiss microgreens. Guests also enjoyed lobster gougeres, house made flax seed crackers with a smoked trout pate, lamb flat bread with mint and pomegranate, and last but certainly not least, rose scented macarons. Delicious!
We thoroughly enjoyed hosting this event, and we were thrilled to treat these amazing women to a pink feast and support an outstanding cause.

All-Day BBQ Workshop

This past weekend The Cookbook Co. Cooks was proud to present our annual All-Day BBQ Workshop with Chef Rockin' Ronnie Shewchuk at The Big Rock Brewery. What a great day! Guests enjoyed learning anything and everything about grilling and smoking- from creating a signature rub, to preparing a beef brisket- we did it all!

Rockin' Ronnie is a veritable BBQ whisperer, and even has his own line of cookbooks as well as sauces and rubs. (*Special note: The Bone Sucking Sauce is gluten free*)

Since the workshop has become so popular, The Cookbook Co. Cooks is going to be putting on another one June 12th 2011. Guests will be working with chicken, St.Loui ribs, pork butts, beef briskets, planked salmon, and more. This is a full day of fun, and makes a great Father's Day gift! Space is limited so register quickly!

Italian with Allan!

Last week at The Cookbook Co. Cooks we hosted “Italian with Allan”. Allan Shewchuk is a chef who has been working with us for years, and his recipes are simply amazing (which explains why his classes fill up so quickly!). So for those of you who were not able to attend his last class, Allan has been kind enough to share a recipe from that evening… We hope you love it as much as we do!

ASPARAGUS SOUP WITH TRUFFLE ESSENCE

The Italians love asparagus, especially in the North where they make risotto
with it. But, I like this soup because of the mix of flavours, particularly
the tarragon. In fact, with the addition of the tarragon, this dish is so
far “North” that you can see France. You can make this as thick or thin as
you like, but I prefer it thicker so that the asparagus tips can float on
top. I also like to add ciabatta croutons just crisped with a bit of
butter, and a sprinkle of Parmigiano Reggiano. Very pretty! It cries out
“Primavera!” in Italiano (that is Spring to you!).

Serves 4

Note: Cut off the asparagus tips, saving them for the truffle infused
garnish. Use the stems for the soup. You can do the tips in advance if you
like.

2 T. butter
½ c. chopped shallots or sweet onion
1 t. Chopped garlic
2 medium yellow fleshed potatoes peeled and diced
1 lb. Asparagus trimmed and chopped into 2" lengths (remember to save the
tips!)
1 t. fresh tarragon or ½ tsp dried (or to taste)
5 c. chicken stock (you can make this vegetarian with veggie stock)

Topping:

Asparagus tips from the stalks for the soup, blanched so as to be al dente
2 T. truffle oil

Note: if making croutons, cube into small squares some ciabatta bread and
then toast in a sauté pan in a little salted butter. If you want to use the
parmigiano on the croutons, as opposed to a sprinkle over the top, do so
right as you finish toasting them.

Heat the butter in the soup pot on medium heat. All the shallots and garlic
and sauté one minute. Add the potatoes and sauté two minutes or until
covered in butter. Stir in the asparagus stems and the tarragon. Pour in
the stock and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer for
12-15 minutes or until the potatoes and asparagus are tender. Using a hand
mixer or putting the soup in batches in a food processor, puree until
smooth. Season with salt and pepper. Reheat the soup and place in bowls.
Toss the asparagus tips with truffle oil and use them to garnish the soup.
If using croutons, place around the tips and dust with parmigiano.



Note: It is a big trend these days to make a little “stack” of garnish, like
the tips or the croutons, in the middle of the bowl, and then pour the soup
around the stack so it protrudes above the soup. This can also be done with
great fanfare at the table if you want to place the bowl with the stack of
your garnish in front of your guest, and then decant the soup from a pitcher
into the bowl. I love drama....

A little hot and cold...

Not quite sure what to make of this crazy Calgary weather? Neither are we. So we decided to make a soup that would be perfect for those lingering chilly days of snow and wind, and just as great for a hot sunny day on your patio with friends. This Roasted Tomato and Red Pepper Soup is just as delicious chilled as when it is served piping hot. Today we had some for our lunch meeting, and decided to go with the chilled version. We topped it off with some fresh corn shaved straight from the cob, a dollop of chevre, a few seared scallops, and a garnish of finely chopped chives. Amazing! Serve hot with a nice crunchy crostini on its own, or if you are feeling adventurous add some halibut or prawn as well. Which ever way you decide to enjoy this soup, just be sure to share with a lucky someone! Available here at the Cookbook Co. Cooks as of today, so hurry down for a visit.