Savour Food and Wine Show 2014

I spent three years as the principal photographer of the Savour Food and Wine show, hosted by the Restaurant Association of Nova Scotia, which takes place this time each year in Halifax. I was invited to attend last night's Savour 2014 on a media pass and I had an absolute BLAST!! Everything was fantastic - the company, the selection of food and liquor, the venue - I had SUCH A GREAT TIME!! 

Everyone with a media pass was invited to arrive at 6pm - an hour ahead of the general public - for a guided tour. Here's Joe McGuinness, Chair of the Savour Food and Wine Show, giving us a welcome speech with one of my favourite people, the lovely Beatrice Stutz of Grand Pré Winery and Le Caveau restaurant, in the background.

My group was led by Beatrice and our first stop was to see Simon Rafuse, winemaker at Blomidon Estate Winery. 

We tasted the Blomidon BMD (Blow Me Down) a complex, sparkling red that kind of reminded me of a Italian Recioto but not as sweet. I found myself really really wanting a chunk of Parmigiano with some Balsamic syrup drizzled on top to pair with the BMD.

Luckily, Estia Restaurant was next door and they were our second stop. They made these incredible little Feta and Leek Croquettes that were a perfect match for Blomidon's BMD. I only ate one, but I could have eaten ten. They were one of my favourite things of the whole night!

Estia also had other items on offer including these pretty little custard cups. I didn't eat one (at Savour you have to be careful - you want to try everything but you will up so fast if you do!) but I told Sean this morning we are making it a POINT to visit Estia SOON!

Here's a shot of me and my homegirl Gabby aka The Food Girl In Town. We landed in the same media group and Beatrice suggested we have a photo together. 

Mark Gabrieau from Gabrieau's Bistro in Antigonish made Chocolate Salted Caramel Cashew Clusters which were terrific, but I was more impressed that he was baking Chocolate Soufflés ON SITE and they were pretty much perfect. Here's my girl Jill Chappell looking damn excited about her Chocolate Soufflé.

Chef Jason Lynch was at my house this past Tuesday making his dish for the Taste of Nova Scotia 2014 Culinary Guide (which I am shooting) so after our tour was over, I suggested Le Caveau's booth as the place to start the rest of our evening. Here's Kayla from Short Presents and Gabby doing the whole blogger thing.

Jason made Scallop Hot Dogs with Charred Tomato Ketchup and House-made Kraut. Sadly, I have a severe intolerance to scallops so I had to stand by and watch as Gabby and Kayla ate theirs and then proceeded to tell me how amazeballs it was.

Oh Scallop Dog, I wish we could be friends.

Holy freakin' shit. Morris East's Wild Mushroom and Herb Spaetzle drizzled with White Truffle Oil was UN-BEE-LEIVABLE. Getting to chat with my old pal Amber MacLean, who is currently the manager of Morris East's Larry Uteck location, and also Tim Andresen, the best bread baker I ever worked with, was such an awesome treat!

While Gabby went to find her friend Janet, Kayla and I paid a visit to Resto Urban Dining for some tasty mussels.

Chef Jeff McInnis, of The Five Fishermen, served another of my favourite dishes of the whole night - Vanilla-poached Lobster Tail on Beef Tenderloin with Asparagus Purée. I never would have thought of vanilla with lobster but I'm telling you - it was heavenly.

Gabby, Kayla, Jill, Janet, Vicki and I all agreed - Onyx's Kobe Corn Dog knocked our socks off. Crispy, spicy and perfectly seasoned - we all loved it.

Don't be afraid.

It's just Habaneros' Gecko Bus! Pulled right inside the building. Amazing!

We got to go in through the bus...

and then out through the back for a delicious Mini Pulled Pork Taco. SO GOOD.

Here's @Cheffwallis from Canvas Resto from doing his thing. He made (I think) a Pork Pâté topped with Scallop Mousse that the girls said was incredible (again with the scallops).

SO happy to see that MY FAVOURITE DISH OF THE NIGHT, Chef Live!'s Crispy Cider-braised Pork Belly with Smoked Parsnip Mash and Brussels Sprouts was in part supplied by the most awesome Getaway Butcher Shop! 

Chef Andrew Farrell from Two Doors Down werkin' it. Crispy Haddock Taco. Yum.

JVH's reputation as a master cocktail crafter is ACCURATE. He made a Disaronno Amaretto Mule with fresh lemon juice, ginger beer and bitters. I've never tasted anything like it - it was ridiculously good.

Chef Geir Simensen with a St. Paddy's Day tricked-out goat lurking in the background. The Stubborn Goat made what was probably my second favourite dish of the night - SMOKED MEATLOAF. Are you friggin' kidding me?!? It's on their menu - GO. GO NOW.

It was pretty cool to see some of the shots I did for The Stubborn Goat a couple of weeks ago on their Savour signage.

Savour 2014 was a WICKED TIME!!! Well organized, lovely people, amazing food, fantastic wines and spirits on offer and The Cunard Centre was the perfect location. RANS hit it out of the park last night and I cannot WAIT for next year!!!!

Overnight Oats : what the hell is that?

Is exactly what I asked my friend Gabe after he told me he makes five jars of the stuff every Sunday night for the work week ahead.

He tried to explain it to me - even drew me a little diagram - but I still didn't really get it.

Finally, one night I just chucked a bunch of stuff in a Mason jar and hoped for the best.

The next morning, I cracked open the jar, took a bite and, well, it was kind of gross. I mean, it TASTED good but I found the end result way too thick for my liking. On the flip side, I could really see the potential of overnight oats and I LOVED the 'grab and go' factor. No more mornings sacrificing breakfast for sleep.

Over the last week I've created my own little 'recipe' that I'm pretty happy with but feel free to play - that's the fun of it!

Overnight Oats

Use any container with a lid. Once you've added the honey to the top, screw/snap on the lid and stick the container in the fridge overnight. In the morning, just stir and eat!

Other variations I've been playing with:

- Sometimes I use 2-3 pinches of my homemade Chai spice instead of cinnamon

- I like to play with my seeds combinations - toasted sesame seeds are fantastic

- Add some nuts - I really like the texture and flavour walnuts with the oats - almonds are good too - next I might try toasted hazelnuts

- Stir in some yogurt - Gabe swears by Greek yogurt but I found it too thick - I prefer my oats a little milky

- Add some peanut butter (or any nut butter you like), or jam, or both!

- Add a Tbsp of unsweetened shredded coconut

- Add some shaved chocolate

- Use any natural sweetener on top - maple syrup is really beautiful in overnight oats but I think agave nectar would be great too

To be honest I don't usually measure - I kind of just eyeball the oats, add everything in pinches and then top with milk until it's about 1/2 inch above the oat mixture.

How do you like your overnight oats?

Arborio Carbonara

I'm a big fan of using Arborio Rice in place of pasta. You literally cook it the same way you would cook any dry pasta, in a pot a well-salted boiling water, for about 11 minutes until al dente, and then drain.

Feel free to double the recipe (when I double the recipe I use three eggs), which will make enough for two people, plus leave you with leftovers for lunch the next day.

Arborio Carbonara

1 C Arborio Rice

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

pinch chili flakes

4 strips of bacon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

1 egg

salt and pepper, to taste

Parmigiano, grated, to taste

- bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil - add Arborio Rice and cook 11 minutes, or until al dente

- while rice is cooking, heat olive oil in a pan - add garlic, chili flakes and bacon - cook until bacon is almost crispy

- while bacon is cooking, whisk egg, salt and pepper in a bowl

- drain rice and add it to the pan with the bacon - *DO NOT DRAIN FAT* - mix well - you want to coat all of the rice with bacon fat - add the bacon/rice mix to the bowl with the whisked egg - stir well to coat evenly with egg - add a couple of handfuls of grated Parm and mix well - serve hot with more grated cheese on top

* It may sound kind of gross to leave the bacon fat in this dish but, I'm sorry to say, it's a key ingredient (I'm not really sorry to say that). The hot bacon fat emulsifies with the raw egg, turning it into a glorious, silky, delicious sauce. Just go to the gym one extra time and you'll be fine.