I read in the Journal yesterday that energy consumption in Edmonton actually increased during Earth Hour on Saturday. I’m happy to say we had nothing to do with it! No sir, our dinner guests that arrived for our Yak Fest were kept completely in the dark for the entire hour. The proof is in the picture.
I’ve been chomping at the bit for an opportunity to share the delicious Tibetan Yak/Angus beef-cross meat since we discovered it at Horizon Meats in Calgary a year ago. On Saturday we sat down with a group of friends who dug into the tenderloin roast, some rib-eyes and accompanying dishes–all made with Canadian (and lots of local) ingredients.
The menu:
Caesar Salad with Crouton Collars (using Garlic’s Purity Plus Caesar Salad Dressing)
Musk Ox Carpaccio (from Victoria Island, Nunavut)
Smoked Oyster Tartar (Brad Lazarenko’s recipe using Oysterman oysters of Cortes Island, BC)
Black Garlic Bruschetta (Edmonton’s Garlic’s Purity Plus – available at The Butcher Block in Sherwood Park)
Fennel Crusted Yak Tenderloin (from Springridge Ranch near Pincher Creek, available at Horizon Meats in Calgary)
Grilled Yak Rib Eye
Crispy Smashed Potatoes (Riverbend Farms, recipe from Fine Cooking. These are KILLER!)
Kale Chips (Planet Organic)
Marinated Mushrooms (Mo-Na Foods)
Yellow Beets with Smoky Valley Goat Cheese (amazing goat cheese from Alberta)
Cheese Cake with Dulce de Leche (Thank you, Gail Hall!)
So here’s the thing: I didn’t take any pictures the night of the event. Thankfully my kid took a few random shots when we were sitting there in the dark but the food pictured on these plates? Recreated the next day. Next time, I’ll designate one of the kids to be event photographer because my hands were too busy preparing the dishes. BUT…the most important thing is that I think (?) all the guests enjoyed the meal.
And I enjoyed the wine; Lord knows there was plenty of it and it sure tasted good after days of prepping.
So, what wine does one pair with yak? Foodgirl, Jennifer Cockrall-King tweeted that very question before she arrived at our house. I see one person replied by saying “vodka or fermented mare’s milk”. For some reason, I didn’t think of those two refreshments. What I did, though, was talk to Ian Searle (a.k.a Wine Wizard) of Sherwood Park’s new Sublime Wines for his opinion and he recommended the 2005 Gê from Emiliana, a beautiful blend of biodynamic grapes (Syrah, Carmenere, Cab Sauv., and Merlot). What a whopper of a wine! Big, bold and beautiful, and perfect with the protein.
Being that some of our guests were Okanagan residents/frequenters and wine lovers, they showed up with some of BC’s best including a lovely Gamay Noir from Blue Mountain (silky, rich and well-structured) and a big daddy Cab/Merlot from Township 7. Go, BC go!
But back to the yak: the meat is a tender, fine grained, dense product, with a delicate beefy flavour. It is low in fat, cholesterol and triglycerides, high in protein, omega 3 fatty acids (the good stuff) and this product from Pincher Creek is pasture-raised with no growth hormones.
I’m really hoping that a butcher shop in Edmonton will start to carry it because my courier bills from Calgary are getting pretty costly. Hint, hint…
If anyone’s interested in trying the yak, let me know. Maybe we’ll throw a yak-cue when this blasted snow melts. If it ever melts.
When I saw Liane tweet about your dinner, I admit – and you know it – I was green with envy. It sounds like you had many of the who’s who in the Edmonton Food community there – what a celebration that would have been! You know I am still waiting for my invitation. I have no pride. Last year when you made that incredible meal – I had to ask, and again now. All you can do is what you did. Not ask me. 🙂 I can handle it.
And, hey – with the chairs and plates and tables you had set, clearly there was not room for any one else… but, when there is this kind of a food event in the city, I long to be a fly on the wall.
Well done. You clearly know how to throw a party, and I just love hearing about it.
Hope they had a photographer there so that there will be some pics in the paper tomorrow and it will help to advertise your wonderful up coming Northern Food dinner.
Twyla – you are definitely a multi-tasker, and my hat is off to you with a bow to the floor! I could never do all you do.
Was there any Thermomixing involved at this affair?
🙂
valerie
Valerie…okay okay…you’re on the list 🙂 We’ve got some kangaroo coming, so I’ll let you know the details when that happens! The thermomix: I used it to prepare the smoked oyster tartar. It did a whiz bang job – in 3 seconds.
Looks awesome. I am quite keen to try out those potatoes, they look ace. Still not quite sure about the yak though, seeing as I spent most of a university summer taming one in Shimla 😉
Michelle,
Thanks for the comment, and welcome to Edmonton! Your blog is great and I think I have just found my Indian Food-go-to-person.
The potatoes I made for the Yak dinner were awesome, but I can’t take the credit really because the recipe from Fine Cooking is fail-proof. The yak meat is really delicious, very “beefy”. Your yak-taming story sound intriguing! Sounds like you’ve had a few adventures there, girl! Thx again for stopping by.
Hi Twyla, I recently had a very interesting chat with Steven about Yaks and yak Meat. I raise pure yaks and market the meat from the farm near Airdrie AB.We will never replace the beef industry in Alberta but for someone wanting something different pure Yak is sure it. We have great responce from the public over the last 3 years, some people with health issues, some with environmental concerns, some ethnic communities but mostly the cuious. We encourage people to come to the farm, see the unique animals and pick their chioce of products to try.
Ken McCarron
http://www.rafterk2farms.com
Hi Ken…yes, I remember Steve telling me of your conversation. Thanks for letting us know that you welcome people to come to your ranch. I, for one, would love to do that. Next time I’m heading down towards Calgary, I’ll call first and see if I can stop by. I’d love it! And I am thrilled to have people like you raising these wonderful beasts. Keep up the hard work, we really appreciate it.
T.