We’re thrilled to have a vintage Hole Slab Long board featured on the cover of the June Food & Wine, and we’re re-issuing the Hole Slab in Canadian maple to celebrate. Before we made the boards in walnut, we made them in maple. They can now be found here.

Photo: John Kernick / Food & Wine

1)Joyce Chen carbon steel flat-bottomed wok
2) rolling pin, circa 1930
3) 270mm Sujihiki (slicer) by Takeda san
4) 210mm gyuto (chef’s knife) from Masakage Knives (www.masakageknives.com)
5) 75mm petty (paring) knife made by Asai san
6) little green jam pot
7) “Smiley Guy” stirring  spoon by Robert Lavoie
8) pewter fish spoon rest
9) old blue flour bin cup
10) Williams Sonoma’s cranberry jelly mold with pineapple
11) ceramic salt pig from Sicily

On my table
By Karen Anderson

Forget about what’s on my table for a minute.  I’ll bet your asking what it’s like to have a  designer and chef as friends. Well, if it’s Geoff Lilge and Cindy Lazarenko of On Our Table, it’s always fun.

Lazarenko and I are two peas in a pod with the same wacky sense of humour. Time spent in each other’s company usually results in frequent laughter, lots of chuckles, occasional giggle fits and once and awhile a full on laughter-induced snort accompanied by tears streaming down our cheeks and the inability to speak (I believe Lazarenko has video footage of me in this state, so I am always nice to her – lest she share it with the world). We also share observations about life, explore Alberta and B.C.’s great food and wine producers and purveyors, do food and wine tasting sessions, and we talk about writing, cookbooks and cooking. Lazarenko will likely write a cookbook one day and I’ll write about her writing a cookbook. We habitually photograph what we eat and pretend to be stealth food paparazzi jostling for position “A” while trying to get that million dollar food photo. This usually leads to more laughter at how ridiculous we are.

Until recently I hadn’t spent much time with Lilge. He is a very nice balance to his wife just as my dear husband is for me. That’s always nice to see. It was fun to watch his designer’s eye peruse my kitchen. I liked seeing what he appreciated and what he noticed; what his eyes were naturally drawn to because of who he is by nature and what he does for his living.

He asked me what my favourite thing in my kitchen was. I brought out my Joyce Chen designed, carbon steel, flat-bottomed wok. I bought it about 8 years ago online from www.ashtongreen.com for about $45.00. I know this wok will “see me out”. I got it after I had read The Breath of a Wok: Unlocking the Spirit of Chinese Wok Cooking through Recipes and Lore by Grace Young and Alan Richardson (Simon & Schuster, 2004). I read each and every page of this beautiful ode to the wok and learned a tremendous amount about proper wok cooking and care. Wok’s have incredible history and importance in Chinese cuisine. I’ve travelled through a few provinces in China and woks rock the street food and stand up to the punishing rigor of cranking out dish after dish in the restaurants. When I toured the hutongs (traditional compound homes in narrow alleys near the Forbidden City in Beijing) even the poorest people had a wok and a burner.

A wok and a burner – this was the shared cooking facility for several migrant worker families in one hutong compound in Beijing, 2007 photo by Karen Anderson

I’m very proud of my wok’s patina of dark brown to black on a silky smooth surface made lustrous and non-stick by years of seasoning. The patina is achieved with frequent cooking, gentle hand washing and immediate drying by yours truly ONLY. I’m really the only person I trust to care for this beauty properly.  This wok is so tough it could endure heat of 100,000 BTU’s. That is the kind of heat great Chinese restaurants use to achieve Wok Hay – a Cantonese term referring to the taste sealed in by that initial breath of the wok or searing noise you hear when ingredients hit the pan.  If I ever write a book on a single subject, I would like it to be as elegant and complete as Young and Richardson’s. If I ever design another kitchen I will have a special “hotter than Hades” burner for my wok.

Let’s move on to the rolling pin. Lilge first spied a sleek olive wood rolling pin that I had hauled home from a trip to Tuscany in the big Medalta stoneware utensil holding vessel that sits on my counter top. He liked the sleekness of the design and the pretty designs in the olive wood but then his eyes landed on my paternal grandmother’s rolling pin and his eyes lit up. I think it must by circa 1930’s as that is when she became a bride and “set up housekeeping”. You can see how the paint on the handles has slowly worn away with 80 years of use. I love it. It works like a charm and could be used as a lethal weapon if needed.

Speaking of lethal weapons, Lilge loved my Japanese knife collection. I frequently visit a store called Knifewear here in Calgary (they also have a location in Kelowna, B.C.) on the food tours I lead with my company Calgary Food Tours. It is fun to expose my guests to the art and craftsmanship of the Japanese blacksmith families who have for generations been Samurai sword-makers and knife-makers. The long one you see is a 270mm Sujihiki (slicer). It is my carving knife and it’s made of Aogami Super Steel which allows it to be both delicate and highly resilient. It was hand forged by the great Takeda san. The middle knife is my day-in, day-out, 210mm gyuto (chef’s knife) from Masakage Knives handmade by Kato san and designed by my friend Kevin Kent, the owner of Knifewear. I love it that he designed his line of knives at a very affordable price point. The 75mm petty (paring) knife made by Asai san is my favourite. My friend Rob Stillborn, a former chef who now helps Kent out at Knifewea, has this knife in his collection (see below) and it’s his favourite too. Rob put me onto it and I’ll be forever grateful. Thanks Robbie! The most important thing I’ve learned from Kent is that a well-designed and hand forged knife makes a cooks job unbelievably easier and more joyful.

The little green jam pot with blue and yellow flowers on top always sat beside my grandmother’s little one person tea pot. She kept sugar in it for her tea. Isn’t it funny the things we remember? Anyway, I use it for jam and marmalade because the one thing I learned from Grammy is that you should never put something on the table in the jar it came in. Only pretty things should go on your table. She used to set the most elegant table and loved to wait on her grandchildren like we were the royal family popping in for a spot of tea. I loved that about her. She treasured us. That little jam pot reminds me to make an extra effort when serving my own family and guests.

The “Smiley Guy” stirring spoon is something made by a friend in Quebec. Robert Lavoie owns a packaging plant and loves to design and create wood furniture from the maple trees that grow on his land in his spare time. One year he made these whimsical little pieces for his family and when I saw them I asked if he would make me 50 to give as gifts to clients and vendors on the Stocking Stuffers for Food Lovers tours I used to do.  Those cheerful little guys were a huge hit. I’d order more but I think Robert had a frowny after hand carving all those smileys! Although…it would be fun to take them with me on my annual trip to India and give them as gifts to the cooks I meet there. That would be a truly Canadian gift wouldn’t it? (Note to self) Anyway, I love Lavoie’s design because you can never have too many things that make you smile and feel a bit whimsical. Even the word – whimsical – is fun to say.

The pewter fish spoon rest was a parting gift from when I left Boston (I lived there from 1991 – 1994). It was given to me by my best friend from Graduate School, Joan. She knew how much I loved to cook and how much I had loved living on the ocean and being able to get the freshest possible fish at Boston’s famous Legal Seafood Market. I adopted Joan as a Right Honourable Canadian because she is one of the few Americans I’ve ever met who shares our particularly quirky Canadian sense of humour. We still write to each other every Christmas even though we haven’t seen each other now since 1996. Isn’t it amazing how one little item on your counter can take you back to a friend you miss each and every day? It somehow comforts me to have that little fish to remember Joan and Boston by. By now, you must think I’m the most sentimental sap going.

The next thing is the light blue tea cup with flour in it. My grandmother had this in her flour bin and I keep it in mine. She never used a proper measurement tool. This likely explains a lot about the texture of her pie crust. My mother’s side of the family was the expert pie making side. This grandma struggled with baking. She was the one who excelled at presentation. That seems a bit ironic to me now. Her food was not as good, but she wowed you with how she presented it tableside. The other grandmother’s food tasted like heaven but she threw it on the table or served it from the stove. Now, that I think of it, I’m guilty of that a lot of the time. Better keep that little jam pot in sight more often. Admittedly, I rarely use the little blue cup that is always peaking out at me from my flour bin but I leave it there anyway. I can’t seem to part with it. The Buddha said attachment causes suffering. I think you only suffer if you have to let go. Certain things, can actually be quite comforting while you are holding onto them; In my linen closet I still have the little pink blanket with lambs on it that was my baby blanket and of course, I hold on to Exhibit A- this blue cup!

Did you know the pineapple is the international symbol for hospitality? If we are supposed to treat others as we would like to be treated then does it not make sense that we should treat them to some über hospitality? Little pineapple designs around my home speak to this. The chairs in my dining room all have pineapples etched into their backs. I regard them as works of art. They were designed at Ethan Allan and produced in their factories in the lowland states of North and South Carolina.  I love to put out cocktail napkins with pineapples on them. If I see house wares with a pineapple on them, I usually buy them. Sometimes I use an actual pineapple as a centerpiece. They are beautiful to me. This amber coloured mould with the pineapple at its center is something I bought at Williams Sonoma and it’s what I serve my cranberry jelly in at the holidays.  I care for that.

Finally we come to the pretty hand painted blue, yellow and green ceramic salt pig that came from Sicily. My friend’s Cathy and Victor Carraciolo imported it many years ago and had several of them for sale at their Italian Market in the Bridgeland former “Little Italy” neighbourhood of Calgary. I used to love to go there and squeeze my way down the narrow aisles. I’d breathe in the aromas coming from the deli, chat with Cathy or Victor at the counter and I always lingered when I came to the last aisle where all the ceramic platters and these salt pigs lined the wall. Blue is my favourite colour. I was drawn to this particular salt pig time and time again. It was expensive. I kept asking, myself, who spends $150.00 on a salt pig? I probably thought about it for a few years before I bought it but one day I just smacked myself upside my head and got it. Who spends $150.00 on a salt pig? I do! Then my Mother got one for herself and my two sisters and there were none left. There have never been any again.  Victor and Cathy have never made it back to the little town in Sicily where they found them, their old market is a condo showcase room now because their son took over and moved the business to a different part of town. Chances are, if I hadn’t bought it when I did, I would never have gotten this beautifully designed piece of pottery and would have always wished I did. I keep it full of kosher salt and it is front and center by my stove. I dream of going to Sicily myself someday, but even if I never do, I have a gorgeous bit of Sicily sitting right on my counter.

Maybe that’s part of the power of great design. I know that famous design axiom that form follows function. That is certainly true of each of these pieces. They contain that essential component but they contain more. They are beautiful to me and beyond that they also hold my memories, my touchstones and anchors, my friendships and my humour. They speak of my talents, wishes and hopes as a cook and as a person. All the things you’ll find on my table have the ability not only to serve me with their forms and functions but it seems most importantly they transport me to places, times and people I care about. I’ll probably never achieve minimalism for this and many other reasons.

One of my more recent acquisitions (that Lilge was too humble to include in the photo he took for “What’s on Your Table”) is an On Our Table charcuterie board. They make a lot of warm brown walnut boards but I wanted real Canadian maple.  I’ll cut things on it and smear it with pâté and chutney, sprinkle it with nuts and dried fruit and it will be well-loved and well-used. My hope is that like my grandmother’s rolling pin, it will be something that my grandchildren will be using 80 years from now. That surely, speaks of something well-designed.

www.tomnuk.com

It would be great on roasted potatoes, other root vegetables or cauliflower. Think marinade or condiment for flank steak or chicken, and it’s a great addition to soups, tagines or beans and rice. Earlier this week, I served it with roasted spaghetti squash and pan fried Alberta pickerel. It was the perfect way to add some extra flavour elements to the meal.

Today, as an appetizer for an impromptu get together, I simply pan seared some tiger prawns for a few minutes on each side with a bit of butter and seasoned them with salt and pepper. I tossed a few spoonfuls of chermoula until well coated. Serve hot or cold with a chilled glass of fruit forward, medium bodied white wine .

Cheers!
Cindy Lazarenko

Chermoula:         

1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/2 cup coriander
2 green onions, finely chopped
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
3 tbsp lemon juice
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

In a food processor, mix together parsley, coriander, green onions, oil, lemon juice, garlic, cumin, paprika, cayenne pepper, salt and pepper. Pulse until blended (not pureed) but still slightly chunky. Store in refrigerator for up to 1 week.

Send us your ‘Get out of my kitchen’ shots to mail (at) onourtable.ca

Despite my scorn, I’m a hopeless romantic and wholeheartedly subscribe to the 18th-century gastronome Jean Brillat-Savarin’s notion that the simple act of eating together is the key to a couple’s happiness, and is perhaps the most ancient and powerful form of bonding.

In that vein, I can appreciate at least one redeeming feature of Valentine’s Day: its emphasis on eating chocolate. My chocolate of choice? The decadently dark chocolate torta topped with salty, candied hazelnuts at Edmonton’s famed Corso 32 restaurant.

It’s the grown-up incarnation of chef and co-owner Daniel Costa’s beloved and quintessentially Italian childhood snack, Nutella. “I’ve always loved taking Nutella (a hazelnut chocolate spread), heating it up, putting a little bit of salt on it and eating it right out of the jar,” he says.

Costa’s eight-ingredient wonder is intensely dark, not too sweet and surprisingly light and silky for a flourless dessert. “It’s essentially a very good ganache, that’s why it gets that beautiful sheen to it,” he says. “I love the idea of the sweet with the salty hazelnuts — they have to be roasted hazelnuts — and you get that crunch.”

It’s a delicious combination that Costa and sous chef Ben Chalmers spent months perfecting, using local or Alberta ingredients whenever possible, and it’s no surprise it’s been on the menu since day one.

When Costa opened the 34-seat, cool-yet-cosy Italian eatery just over two years ago — with requisite brick wall, communal wood table and understated signage — his vision was modest. He even questioned taking reservations.

“I was thinking of just a walk-in place. We’d play the music loud, have fun and make really good food.” The Devon native was 26 then, and didn’t expect people would wait two months for a table on a Saturday night.

Dozens of accolades later — most recently named one of Canada’s 50 best restaurants by Maclean’s magazine — he feels the weight of the city’s expectations. “It makes me feels great,” says Costa, “but when I tell someone they have to wait a month for their reservation on Friday, there’s a lot of pressure that comes with that, because you want to make sure they are leaving happy. That it was worth the wait.”

Costa’s style of Italian cooking is unforgiving, which is also why he loves it so much. “Italian food, in my opinion, is the most honest cooking there is,” he says, explaining with his death-row meal as an example — a game chefs play often, discussing their last supper. Without hesitation, his is Agli Olio, made with spaghetti, olive oil, garlic, chili and pecorino cheese.

“If you only have those five ingredients, you can’t hide one of them. You can’t just burn the garlic,” he says matter of factly. “Whereas when you look at French cuisine or Thai food, there are so many different elements going on in the dish that are brilliant, but it doesn’t excite me.”

“It excites me when it’s quality-driven, very honest and very simple. And that makes creativity more difficult — because you can’t (mess) with things. You have to use those ingredients and you have to use them in a creative way and you have to make sure they work together.”

Costa knows his food is only as good as the quality of ingredients he uses. And that means he sources local as much as possible. “The closer something is, the higher the quality, and it’s travelled the least amount of time.”

Corso 32’s beef comes from Spring Creek Ranch and Wagyu beef from Brant Lake near Calgary. The bread is from Tree Stone Bakery in Edmonton, and rainbow trout from southern Alberta. Edmonton’s Mo-Na Foods supplies their mushrooms and summer vegetables come from Sparrow’s Nest Organics in Gibbons. Organic goat’s milk is from Fairwind Farms in Fort Macleod.

Where does this obsession to perfect simple food come from?

“My whole life I’ve always wanted to cook,” says Costa. “It’s kind of strange, actually. Ever since I was eight or nine … I fell in love with food.”

Family trips to Italy taught Costa the rhythm of Italian cooking, from planting the garden in the spring, harvesting, canning and winemaking in the fall, and cooking with preserves throughout the winter.

At an early age, he also knew who he wanted to marry. He’s engaged to his high school sweetheart, Megan. “After 12 years, I’m still just content to sit next to her on the couch. Just to see her, I still get excited,” he says. “She’s just the one.”

How will they spend Valentine’s Day? Like any other — cooking together and drinking Barolo wine. Who can argue with that?

Whether you’re a Valentine’s Day devotee or not, sharing a meal with someone you love is a touching way to show your affection.

So go ahead, open a bottle of Barolo, make dinner and cap it off with this torta to celebrate the special people in your life — on Valentine’s or any other day of the year.

Tina Faiz (@Tina_Faiz) can be heard regularly on CBC’s Alberta at Noon

Originally published in The Edmonton Journal and Calgary Herald

Corso 32 Chocolate Torta with Salty Hazelnuts

You can make this two days ahead of time and it keeps well in the fridge, says Corso 32 chef and co-owner, Daniel Costa. He suggests pairing it with a glass of Moscato d’asti. In case of hazelnut allergies, substitute almonds.

Torta:

2-1/2 cups (625 mL) whipping cream (Corso 32 uses Avalon organic cream)
1 lb., 4 oz. (570 g) Bernard Callebaut semi-sweet chocolate
1 egg yolk

Place chocolate and half the cream in a heat-proof bowl. Melt over a double boiler until completely melted. Remove from heat and allow to cool to body temperature.

Whip the remaining cream until stiff. Fold the whipped cream and egg yolk into the melted chocolate. Pour into parchment lined, 12-inch square cake tin. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Salty, candied hazelnuts:

1/2 cup (125 mL) white sugar
1/4 cup (50 mL) water
1/2 tablespoon (7 mL) corn syrup
1 tablespoon (15 mL) kosher salt
1-3/4 cups (425 mL) hazelnuts, roasted

Place the sugar, water and corn syrup in a medium-sized frying pan. Heat over medium heat until dark amber. Remove from heat and add the salt; stir carefully. Immediate add the roasted hazelnuts. Using a wooden spoon, mix the nuts until completely coated. Spread out on a parchment-lined cookie sheet to cool.

To finish:

Cut the torta in desired sized pieces.

Crush the hazelnuts and sprinkle on top of torta.

There are many different recipes available, some calling for buttermilk, butter and even baking soda, but I’ve used this one many times and find it to be quite forgiving. I sometimes forget the quantities and have been known to add more salt than vinegar or half the amount of yogurt, but it always works out more or less the same.

Homemade Ricotta Cheese Recipe

Makes 2 cups

2 quarts whole milk
1 cup plain whole-milk yogurt
1/2 cup heavy cream (optional: I don’t add if I’m using goat milk)
2 teaspoons white vinegar
1 teaspoon salt

In a large pot, bring the milk, yogurt, heavy cream (if using), vinegar, and salt to a boil, stirring occasionally. Very gently boil for one to two minutes, until the milk is curdled.

Meanwhile, line a strainer with a few layers of cheesecloth and set it over a deep bowl.

Pour the milk mixture into the strainer. You can at this point control the consistency of the ricotta by the amount of time you let it strain. For a dryer ricotta, strain for 15 minutes or more. I prefer it soft and creamy if I’m going to serve it on crostini so I usually just let it strain for a few minutes.

 A few tips:

• Stir occasionally but do keep a close eye on it as it comes to a boil.
• Be sure to use a very large pot so the milk does not bubble over.
• Use the best and freshest milk and yogurt you can get your hands on for the tastiest results.
• Often I substitute goat milk for the cow’s milk and find it gives the ricotta a somewhat creamier texture.

How to serve it?

You can use ricotta to make gnocchi or in your favourite pasta dishes, in salads and desserts, or serve it with fresh fruit such as raspberries. It is the perfect accompaniment to stewed winter fruits. I also love to serve it on crostini. Here are three delicious ways:

Lemon zest and chilies - Mix ricotta with lemon zest, chilies, Maldon sea salt and fresh pepper. Pile onto crostini and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil.

Pesto and pine nuts - Place your favourite homemade or store bought pesto on top of ricotta and garnish with toasted pinenuts if desired.

Pomegranate and walnuts – Drizzle pomegranate molasses and top with whole or chopped toasted walnuts.

Installation by Mason Studio in Toronto during IDS.

Nendo’s installation at IDS was my personal favorite.

Custom walnut boxes we produced for chef Dan Barber at Blue Hill at Stone Barns.

Our Box : Tray is on the site now, here.

My favorite piece from James Irvine, his chair for Alias.

Rest in Peace James, 1958-2013