Mariam – Page 65 – Yogurtsoda

Calgary (and Banff), Day Three

October 9, 2013

By my third day in Calgary, I still hadn’t acclimated to the cold and settled on wearing nearly all my layers of clothing before heading out with Nishan for a day at Banff National Park in the Rocky Mountains. But first we stopped at Tim Hortons for a coffee, because Canada.

The highway to Banff is fraught with elk crossing signs, a novelty for this California girl. It was beautiful here and well, California “mountains” basically look like hills to me now.

We headed to Sulphur Mountain, where a gondola took us to the Summit Upper Terminal at over 7,000 feet. I’d never seen so much snow…or mysterious animal paw prints at that. I’m not sure these were exactly Fido’s steps, if you know what I mean.

Once at the top, Nishan and I set to hiking the impeccably well-kept pathways to the historic Sansonâ€™s Peak Meteorological Station, named after Norman Bethune Sanson. Sanson first climbed the mountain on snowshoes in 1896 in order to record weather observations for the Banff area. Kind of like broadcast television meteorologists, amirite?

It was around this time that I started to feel woozy and light-headed (think of it as a wimp’s version of high altitude sickness combined with possible hypothermia), so we took the gondola back down and headed into the super idyllic Banff town. After stopping at a cafe to warm ourselves up, we got back on the road towards Calgary, where we gorged ourselves on sushi for dinner, Alberta style. (Hint: everything is deep-fried and covered in sauce, yet strangely satisfying.)

Oh, Canada.

Calgary (and Canmore), Days One and Two

September 30, 2013

If you told me a couple years ago that I’d be dog sledding and rodeo-ing and poutine-ing in Canada, I wouldn’t have believed it. Sure, Canada is beautiful, but dog sledding? I’d never even experienced snowfall outside of a couple trips to Lake Tahoe.

But lo and behold, I found myself in Calgary this past February, and I was smitten. Nishan picked me up at the airport and whisked us off to the downtown core, where we had dinner reservations at Calgary Tower.

Replete with a 360-degree view of the city, we watched the sun set over the Rocky Mountains over a flight of Canadian wine, wild mushroom soup, and orecchiette with beef short rib.

We woke up bright and early the next morning and headed to Canmore, about an hour west of Calgary, to Snowy Owl Dog Tours to get fitted in our Gore-Tex outfits and help us brave the cold. I’m not sure there’s any amount of Gore-Tex or winter gear that would have prepared me for an Albertan winter, though. Despite two pairs of layered pants, North Face boots, two layers of wool sweater and a jacket, toque, and gloves, I was freezing. But hey, we were already there and there were beautiful, majestic huskies to meet.

After our orientation, we departed from the trail head in Spray Lakes and began our two-hour expedition through the mountains, stopping at a mid-point on a frozen lake to catch our breath. Now, I’m not sure about you, but as a born-and-bred Californian, I was positively freaked out by the idea that we were standing over a frozen lake. Water! Frozen water! You crazy for this one, Canada.

By the time we were done and back and the trail head, my fingers felt numb and my nose frozen from the biting wind. But there were warm cookies and hot cider to be had, and the best part of all: meeting a husky puppy-in-training.

I still can’t believe I went dog sledding, but I do know it ranks as one of the most incredible experiences I’ve ever had. I’d go again in a heartbeat.

Afterwards, we stopped at the beautiful ski resort town of Banff (seriously, this place gives Switzerland a run for its money) for a buffalo burger before getting on the road to Calgary. Back in Calgary, we warmed up over drinks and poutine from the Big Cheese because hey, all that dog sledding makes a girl hungry.

Linguine with Clams and Bagna Cauda Butter

September 24, 2013February 7, 2019

What’s better than linguine with clams? Why, linguine with clams doused in a buttery, garlicy sauce, of course. Adapted from a Michael Chiarello recipe, this dish is a little bit Italian country and a little bit wine country. Most importantly, it’s entirely delicious.

Ingredients:

1 pound dried linguine
6 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons garlic
2 tablespoons chopped anchovies
3/4 stick butter
sea salt
4 pounds clams, scrubbed
1 1/2 cups dry white wine
3/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh Italian parsley

1. Heat 4 tablespoons olive oil in a small saucepan over low heat. When the oil just begins to warm, add the garlic and anchovies and cook slowly, stirring, until the garlic becomes light brown and the anchovies dissolve, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool completely.

2. Process the butter in a food processor until smooth and creamy. Add the cooled garlic-anchovy mixture and a pinch of salt. Process until well blended. Transfer to a bowl and stir in 2 tablespoons of the parsley, reserving the rest. Set bagna cauda butter mixture aside.

3. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta.

4. While the pasta cooks, prepare the clams. Heat a large pot over high heat. When very hot, add the olive oil, then add the clams. When the clams first begin to open, add the wine and bring to a boil. Boil for a couple of minutes to drive off the alcohol, then cover and cook until the clams open, about 5 minutes. Discard any clams that do not open.

5. Drain the pasta when it is al dente and transfer it to the pot with the clams. Cook over moderate heat for about 1 minute so the pasta absorbs some of the sauce. Turn off the heat, add the butter and reserved parsley and toss until the butter melts. Serve immediately.

Beretta

September 9, 2013

Beretta, where have you been all my life? There’s a new restaurant opening up in the Mission District every five minutes so it was easy for Beretta to get lost in the mix. I ignored the rave reviews and kept telling myself I’d visit eventually. Well, eventually happened and I’m hooked.

Beretta is famous for its cocktails — some of the best in the city, in fact. I think it should also be famous for its bruschetta. I sampled their burrata bruschetta walnut bread and mushroom truffle honey, and oh my goodness, Internet. This stuff is amazing. Creamy, nutty, earthy, sweet, savory, this dish has it all. I’m scrambling to replicate it at home.

I never tire of mushrooms, so I also tried Beretta’s mushroom, tomato, fontina, and thyme pizza. You guys, we have another winner. You know that nice sort-of-papery and sort-of-soft thing that happens to mushrooms when they’re sliced super thinly atop pizza? This pizza is perfect at that. What it’s even better at is the crust. Thin, crispy, chewy crust. Heaven in cheese and carb form.

Is there anything that Beretta doesn’t make well? I guess I’ll have to keep visiting to find out.

The Girl and the Fig

August 28, 2013

The sleepy little town of Sonoma doesn’t have a ton of restaurants but what it lacks in quantity it makes up in quality. At the top of the list lies the The Girl and the Fig: French cuisine in a wine country setting. Located in Sonoma’s charming downtown, Nishan and I visited after a long day of wine tasting. We were famished (and hey, wine tasting is serious business).

We started with the steak tartare — my first steak tartare, mind you. Served with caperberries and sprinkled with lavender sea salt, this was far tastier than I imagined it would be. Who knew steak could be light and yet decadent? The caperberries provided a hit of piquantness while crusty bread served as a perfect canvas with which to eat our tartare.

For my entree, I had a plate of butternut squash arancini served with oyster mushroom and frisee salad. This was delicious but the plate was quite small as a main dish. Better suited as an appetizer, I polished off my entire plate. Warm, gooey arancini, velvety mushrooms, and peppery greens — more please.

The Girl and the Fig is among Sonoma’s most popular restaurants, so make reservations ahead of time. Despite being nearly always busy, service is good and the dishes are presented with detail. It’s a little bit country, a little bit California, and a little bit French. In other words, entirely wine country.