On a wet, snowy Thursday evening, over 70 wine and seafood enthusiasts crowded into the tiny 1 Fish 2 Fish Fresh Seafood Market on Fraser Highway in downtown Langley for the 2nd Annual Sip & Slurp food event. The Sip & Slurp showcased Ocean Wise® seafood from 1 Fish 2 Fish, transformed into delectable nibbles by Rebecca Troelstra from Mizuna Culinary  and perfect wine pairings poured by Township 7 Vineyards & Winery.

The winter weather was forgotten as we were welcomed to the event by Kristine Carrick from Urban Life Media, who invited us to begin helping ourselves to the tempting hors d'oeuvres. The first bite we tried was a tender slice of smoked salmon lox, topped with dollop of Boursin creme and a tiny snip of dill on a crisp rosemary wafer. This salmon nibble was paired with the 2009 Un-oaked Chardonnay from Township 7. The fresh, fruit-forward palate of this delightful white wine, with notes of melon and green apple, balanced beautifully with the rich salmon.

Cheerful servers mingled through the crowd, bearing a heaping bowl of tiny mussels and clams, poached in a court bouillon of lemon, onion and bay leaf, and served room temperature tossed with minced shallots, raspberry vinegar and minced parsley. The mussels and clams were sweet and tender and were paired with Township 7's 2010 Sauvignon Blanc, with its bright acidity and citrus notes. You could also pair the mussels with the 2009 7 Blanc; a spicy blend of different varietals combined to create a mouth-watering white wine; slightly off-dry, with hints of tropical fruit and pear.

A raw oyster station saw plenty of action as oyster-lovers crowded up to the freshly shucked oyster selection; ready to be slurped down topped with a drop of hot sauce or sherry mignonette. Celebrity guest oyster-expert Rob Tryon from Effingham Inlet Oysters (Twitter: @effingoyster) gave us an oyster shucking demonstration — he made it look easy but I would probably slice my fingers off! Wine pairing: 2010 Sauvignon Blanc.

The next canapé to try was the seared albacore tuna with sweet paprika and citrus on crostini. The tender tuna and the fresh citrus burst with incredible flavour. The seared tuna was also paired with the 2010 Sauvignon Blanc.

Following the tuna was a pistachio- and parmesan-crusted poached sablefish bite that melted in your mouth. This buttery fish was paired with the 2009 Syrah — proving that you can pair red wine with fish! The Syrah was all soft tannins with hints of pepper and cherries.  My favourite of the evening was the seared scallop (see recipe below). Creamy on the inside, slightly caramelized on the outside, and topped with a salad of kale, bacon and sherry vinegar.  The scallops were sweet and tender; the bacon salad smoky with a tiny tang of kale. I hovered near this dish for quite some time. Wine pairing: 2010 Sauvignon Blanc.

Two magnificent bowls of creamy dips invited one to dip tender bread cubes and parmesan crisps. One dip was double-smoked wild BC salmon with cream cheese, the other was fresh Dungeness crab, blended with 1 Fish 2 Fish's signature artichoke parmesan dip. The artichoke parmesan dip is available all through December in the store, and you can pick up fresh, cooked Dungeness crab there as well. Both dips were very popular and well received. Wine pairing for the dips was Township 7's 2009 Rosé, fresh and clean on the palate with hints of strawberries and caramel.

The quality of the food and wine was amazing and I left with a renewed appreciation for ocean-friendly and sustainable seafood. I would encourage everyone who loves seafood to give it a try — paired with a wine selected from Township 7!

Seared Scallops with Kale & Bacon Slaw

Serves 4 for an appetizer



• 4 Digby or Qualicum scallops — mussel removed and dried on a paper towel
• 2 tbsp butter
Salt
Pepper
2 rashers bacon
• diced small
1 leaf kale, spine removed, cut into thin strips

• 1/2 tsp sherry vinegar



Method:

1. Heat your pan to medium heat.
2. Add the bacon and render all of the fat off. Remove the bacon
3. Add the butter and increase the heat to medium-high.
4. Add your scallops (season with salt and pepper right before putting them in the pan) and sear so that they get nice and browned on both sides (about 2 minutes per side).
5. Remove the scallops from the pan and quickly add the kale into the pan and the cooked bacon.
6. Toss the kale so that it is coated in the juices. Season with salt and pepper and deglaze with the sherry vinegar. 

7. Serve the scallop in a miso spoon with the kale and bacon slaw over it. Enjoy!



Recipe courtsey of:

Rebecca Troelstra
Executive Chef, Mizuna Culinary
mizuna.ca
778-888-4067

by Linda Horn
Blogger at Let Them Eat Cake & Ice Cream and Stimuli Magazine Contributor

All photos by Robin Horn

I am a coffee girl.

In the morning, it usually takes at least two cups of coffee before my eyes can focus and I can form complete sentences. I also love chocolate — so, coffee and chocolate together? Pure heaven. These shiny, chewy chocolate cookies pack a huge chocolate whollop, with a sweet kick of coffee. Getting the right grind on your beans will be the key to your success — the finer the grind, the better.


Chocolate Espresso Cookies
Makes about 2 dozen cookies

Adapted from Amandeleine

Equipment required: mixer, baking sheets, parchment paper.

Ingredients

• 3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
• 4 oz semi sweet chocolate, chopped
• 1 cup semi-sweet mini chocolate chips, or whatever chips you have
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon finely ground espresso coffee beans (I used Sweet Espresso from Ethical Beans)
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon (heaping) baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Method

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
• In a large mixing bowl set over a saucepan of barely simmering water, melt the chopped chocolate and the butter; mix until smooth. Remove from heat.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat ground espresso, sugar and eggs on high speed for about 3 minutes, or until mixture becomes thick and light-colored and forms a ribbon when beater is lifted. Mix in melted chocolate mixture.
• Sift flour, salt and baking powder into the mixer and stir until it just comes together. Stir in chocolate chips. Chill dough in refrigerator for about 15 minutes.
• Spoon heaping tablespoonful of batter onto parchment-lined baking sheets about 2 inches apart.
• Bake for 10-12 minutes, until tops of cookies are puffed, shiny and cracked. Cool slightly on the baking sheet, then transfer to wire cooling racks to cool completely.

by Linda HornStimuli Magazine Contributor and blogger at
Let Them Eat Cake & Ice Cream

Absolutely adorable marshmallow ghosts float spookily above dark but divine devil's food cupcakes! A cute but scary treat for your Halloween bash. The sweet, glossy marshmallow frosting sounds complicated but it's pretty easy. For best results, make the frosting the same day you will serve them. Enjoy!

Devil's Food Cupcakes, based on a recipe from More From Magnolia by Allysa Torey

Equipment required: Mixer, muffin or cupcake pans, cupcake papers, pot, whisk.

Ingredients

2 cups cake & pastry flour
1 cup cocoa
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups brown sugar, firmly packed
1/2 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Method

Preheat oven to 350° F. In a bowl, sift together flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt and set aside. In the bowl of a mixer, cream together butter and both sugars until fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time and mix well after each egg.
Mix the buttermilk and vanilla together. Add the flour mixture to the mixer, a little at a time, alternating with the buttermilk mixture. Mix only until ingredients are combined.
Spoon into cupcake papers placed in a muffin or cupcake pan. Bake for 10-20 minutes or when a tester inserted in the centre of the cupcake comes out clean. Start testing at 10 minutes so you don't over bake them!

Marshmallow Frosting

Ingredients

8 egg whites
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Cupcake Decorations: Mini chocolate chips

Method

Use the bowl of your mixer for both steps.

Over a pot of about 2" of barely simmering water, place your mixer bowl. Add egg whites, cream of tartar and sugar. Whisk gently until egg whites are warm and the sugar is completely dissolved. A good trick to test this is to rub a little of the egg whites between your fingers. If you feel sugar grains, keep whisking.

Move the bowl of egg whites to your mixer. Using the whisk attachment, mix on medium high speed until mixture is stiff and glossy, usually about 8 minutes. You will know it's done when you take a spoonful and hold it upside down and it doesn't move.

Decorate the cupcakes

For the ghosts, I used a large round frosting tip (Wilton #1A). Pipe circles onto the cupcake, getting smaller as you build up the ghost. Use 2 mini chocolate chips for eyes.

by Linda Horn
Stimuli Magazine Contributor and blogger at
Let Them Eat Cake & Ice Cream

When I was a teenager, my family was transplanted from western Canada to rural Mississippi for a short time. That year brought daily lessons of culture shock, the main one, of course, was the food. I have many memories of shiver-inducing food, however, I did fall in love with one dessert: Red Velvet Cake. This moist, sweet, beautifully red cake with its tangy white frosting was a wonderful treat; not quite birthday cake, not quite chocolate cake, but something unique and new to me.

The batter gets its neon red hue from food colouring, so don't use any plastic bowls when making this recipe or they may get stained.

Ingredients

Cake based on a recipe by Bakerella

2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1-1/2 cups vegetable oil, such as canola oil
1 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp red food colouring gel
    (I used Super Red from Americolor, you can buy it here:
     http://www.scoop-n-save.com/product.php?xProd=3372&xSec=492)
    - or - 2 oz. liquid food colouring
2-1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tbsp cocoa

Cream Cheese Frosting

4 - 8-oz packages cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cup butter, at room temperature
2 tsp vanilla
4 cups icing sugar

Method for Cake

• Preheat oven to 350° F. Spray two 8-inch cake pans with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.
• In a large bowl, gently whisk together eggs, buttermilk, oil, vinegar, vanilla and food colouring until combined.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer, mix together flour, sugar, baking soda, salt and baking powder until combined. Add wet ingredients and mix on medium speed for one minute. Pour batter into prepared pans, and thump on the counter a couple of times to release air pockets.
• Bake at 350°F for about 30 minutes, or until a tester inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.
• Cool completely before frosting.

Method for Frosting

• Cream butter and cream cheese together until fluffy. Add vanilla and icing sugar, and mix until smooth and totally combined.
• Frost cake using whatever method makes you smile; this is how I did mine. No real technique here, I just made spirals with a large open star shaped tip (such as Wilton 1M).

Looks pretty, doesn't it?

by Linda Horn
Stimuli Magazine Contributor and blogger at
Let Them Eat Cake & Ice Cream

For your Thanksgiving feast this year, why not try an elegant alternative to the same old boring pumpkin pie — creamy pumpkin cheesecake! This smooth and spicy cheesecake is drizzled with warm, maple caramel sauce and chopped pecans, atop a gingersnap and pecan crust.


Equipment required:

• 9" springform pan
• mixer
• food processor or coffee grinder
• baking sheet with sides (i.e. jelly roll pan)

Ingredients:

Crust:

• 1 cup crushed gingersnap cookies
• 1/2 cup pecans, ground fine in a food processor or coffee grinder
• 5 tbsp butter, very soft or melted.

Cheesecake:

• 2 - 250 g package cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 3/4 cup canned pure pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
• 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger

Sauce:

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt or kosher salt
• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 cup pecans, roughly chopped

Method:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter the bottom of a 9" springform pan, then wrap the pan with a double layer of aluminum foil.
• Mix crust ingredients in a bowl, and press into the bottom of the springform pan. Use a spatula to make it nice and flat and neaten the edges. Bake crust in the oven for 8-10 minutes, then remove from oven and set aside to cool. Turn the oven temperature down to 275°F.
• For the filling, beat the cream cheese and brown sugar together until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing after each addition; then beat for 2 minutes (use a timer).
• Add pumpkin, spices and vanilla and beat for another 2 minutes.
• Pour filling into cooled crust. Place foil-wrapped pan on a baking sheet and fill with 1/2 inch of water. Bake for 1 hour 15 minutes. Sides of filling should look puffy and centre should still jiggle and look slightly wet. Turn off the oven, leave the door open a crack and leave the cheesecake in the oven to cool for another hour.
• Remove cheesecake from oven, lift out of water bath and chill cheesecake overnight.

To prepare sauce:

• In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, melt butter and sugar, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Reduce heat to medium and keep stirring for another 2 minutes.
• Add maple syrup & salt and stir for another 2 minutes or until sauce is thickened.
• Remove from heat and add vanilla. Mixture will bubble up a bit so keep stirring!
• Drizzle a little slightly cooled sauce over cheesecake. Sprinkle with chopped pecans, and drizzle more sauce over the top, saving some sauce to serve with the cheesecake. The sauce can be made ahead of time; simply re-heat over low heat or in the microwave and stir until smooth.

by Linda Horn
Contributor

Visit her blog Let Them Eat Cake