The Life Of The Party

As we enter this holiday season, it’s important to remember what matters most: Gathering with the people we love. But sometimes, the people we love can, well, kind of get on our nerves, which brings us to the second most important thing to remember: delicious food and drinks that help you get along with even the craziest uncle who constantly talks about Fox News even though he lives in Red Deer and maybe goes to Arizona or Vegas once every couple of years. Instead of going crazy with gifts, let’s entertain like there’s no tomorrow. Mixologists and chefs from May, Fu’s Repair Shop and XIX have provided some inspiration for the season. Now, let’s get out of those track pants and get ready to get out again.

Salted Egg Yolk Nog Recipe, from Fu’s Repair Shop

Ingredients

• 3½ oz. soy milk
• 1¾ oz. cognac
• ½ oz. Torani salted egg yolk syrup
• star anise
• cloves
• cinnamon stick
• sichuan peppercorn white peppercorn
• 1 egg yolk
• sea salt

Instructions

1. Combine soy milk infused with toasted spices (star anise, clove, cinnamon stick, Sichuan peppercorn, white peppercorn), egg yolk and a pinch of salt with cognac and Torani salted egg yolk syrup.
2. Serve warm or over ice.

Ginger, Salt and Pepper Crab Siu Mai Recipe, from Fu’s Repair Shop

Ingredients for Dumpling Dough

• 160g flour
• 1 tsp red koji rice
• 5g salt
• 3 0z. hot water
• cornstarch for flouring

Dumpling Dough Instructions

1. In a mixer with a dough hook attachment, stir together all dry dumpling dough ingredients, then slowly add hot water.
2. Mix at low-med speed until a ball of dough forms and releases from the wall of the bowl. Lightly adjust water or flour levels if needed.
3. Work the dough ball in the mixer for another eight minutes.
4. Seal the dough in an airtight container and let rest at room temperature for at least 30 minutes.
5. After resting, divide the dough into manageable pieces.
6. Flatten and use a pasta machine to laminate the dough five-six times on the widest setting then begin rolling out the dough until it is at its thinnest setting. Regularly use cornstarch to dust the pasta machine and dough so it does not get sticky.
7. Using a cookie cutter, or other round shaped object, begin cutting out rounds. Alternatively, squares are OK too for a more rustic looking siu mai. Repeat for the remainder of the dough.

Siu Mai Filling Ingredients

• 454g container crab claw meat
• 1½ tbsp cornstarch
• 3 tbsp cold water to create slurry
• 2 green onions — greens sliced thin, whites sliced into two-inch pieces and crushed
• 1 tbsp black peppercorns, fresh, cracked
• 2 tbsp sichuan peppercorns, fine ground
• ½ tbsp sugar
• salt to taste
• 2 tbsp minced ginger
• 1 tsp chinese chili flakes
• 1 tsp chicken bouillon powder
• 3 cloves minced garlic
• 2 tbsp chopped cilantro, plus garnish
• Optional garnishes: caviar, flavoured oils

Siu Mai Filling Instructions

1. In a heated wok, ladle in oil.
2. Add in ginger, scallion whites, chili flakes, coarse ground black pepper and sichuan pepper and saute until fragrant.
3. Lower heat to medium and add salt, chicken bouillon powder, sugar, minced garlic, sliced green onions (reserve a tablespoon worth for garnish) and cilantro (reserve a tablespoon worth for garnish).
4. Let flavours infuse into oil and turn off heat.
5. In a separate bowl, lightly break up crab meat and fold in cornstarch slurry.
6. Then fold crab mix into wok and thoroughly incorporate into infused oil.
7. Transfer crab into a bowl and set aside until cool to the touch.

Assembly Instructions

1. Take one wrapper, and with a finger, lightly wet the perimeter of the wrapper with water.
2. Spoon a small amount of filling into the centre of the wrapper and begin to raise the sides of the wrapper around the filling while flattening the bottom of the dumpling.
3. As you raise the walls of the wrapper upright to surround the filling, pinch the edges of the wrapper and allow it to create small folds like an accordion. The watered perimeter of the wrapper will cause it to stick and hold the cylindrical shape you create.
4. Lastly, with your hands and fingers, put light pressure around the dumpling to create a cylindrical shape.

Cooking Instructions

1. On a stovetop steamer, bring water to a rolling boil on high, then reduce to medium.
2. Place dumplings, ideally in a bamboo steamer, and allow to cook for five-six minutes or until dumpling wrappers are dark red and cooked through — and filling is hot.
3. Remove, garnish and serve hot.

Fu’s Repair Shop
Downtown | 9902 109 St NW Edmonton | fusrepairshop.ca

Celeriac and Leek Vichyssoise with Dungeness Crab Recipe, from XIX Nineteen

Soup Ingredients

• 1 small shallot, sliced
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 head of celeriac peeled and rough diced
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 sprig of thyme
• 300ml 10% cream
• 250ml chicken stock
• ¼ tsp grate of nutmeg
• salt to taste

Soup Instructions

1. Sweat the shallots and garlic in the butter until soft, add the diced celeriac, cream, chicken stock, bay leaf and thyme.
2. Bring to a boil, turn down to a simmer until celeriac is cooked through.
3. Add all ingredients to a high-speed blender and puree until smooth, season with salt to taste.
4. May need to adjust consistency with more cream and stock — the soup should be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, but not too thick.

Braised Leeks Ingredients

• 2 leeks, halved, washed and large diced
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter
• salt to taste

Braised Leeks Instructions

1. In a small pot, melt the butter and add the cut leeks.
2. Add salt, cover and let braise until leeks are soft.

Dungeness Crab Ingredients

• 1 lb Dungeness crab, live
• 10 L water
• ½ cup salt
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 wedge of lemon
• salt and pepper to taste

Dungeness Crab Instructions

1. Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil, add the Dungeness crab and cook for 8-12 minutes depending on the size.
2. Remove the crab and place in ice water.
3. Once chilled, remove the crab meat from the shells.
4. Once separated, season the crab meat with the olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper.
5. Serve this dish with your favourite bread to make sure you don’t leave any of the soup behind.

XIX Old Fashioned Recipe, from XIX Nineteen

Ingredients

• 2 oz. Spicebox whiskey
• old fashioned bitters
• house-made brandy cherries
• orange
• sugar stick

Instructions

1. Use a dash of bitters, add the whiskey and blend.
2. Add a large ice cube with cherries that have been marinated in brandy.
3. Serve with a slice of orange and a sugar stick.

XIX Nineteen
Mactaggart | 5940 Mullen Way, Edmonton | 780.395.1119
Oakmont | #104 150 Bellerose Drive, St. Albert | 780.569.1819
dinenineteen.com

Roasted Eggplant with Vegan Garlic Cream Recipe, from May

Roasted Eggplant Ingredients

• 1 eggplant
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• salt and pepper

Roasted Eggplant Instructions

1. Heat oven to 350 F.
2. Cut eggplant in half, then starting about half an inch from the top, slice the eggplant into five strips, leaving the top intact to hold it all together.
3. Rub with vegetable oil, salt and pepper, then place on a baking tray in the pre-heated oven.
4. Roast the eggplant until the skin starts to feel soft and the flesh has a nice roasted colour — about 45 minutes.

Vegan Garlic Cream Ingredients

• 65g fresh garlic cloves
• 1 scallion, chopped
• 750ml vegan mayonnaise
• 1 lime, juiced
• ½ lemon, juiced
• 2 tsp kosher salt

Garnish Ingredients

• pomegranate seeds, fresh
• mint, torn
• chili crisp oil

Vegan Garlic Cream Instructions

1. While the eggplant is roasting, place your fresh garlic cloves on a high-heat grill. Leave the garlic on the grill or high heat pan until one side starts to become dark brown, almost black.
2. Once the garlic is charred on one side, add it to a food processor, along with your chopped scallion, lime juice and lemon juice.
3. Purée until smooth, then add in vegan mayonnaise, blend until incorporated.
4. Once mayo is done blending, place into a medium bowl and season with salt. Store in an airtight container and this sauce will be good for two weeks (if you don’t eat it all first).
5. Take your hot roasted eggplant out of the oven and place onto a serving plate, dollop the garlic cream you just made all over the top of the eggplant and around the plate, garnish with fresh pomegranate seeds, torn mint, your favorite chili crisp oil and some toasted sourdough for dipping.

The Man With The Southern Drawl Recipe, from May

Ingredients

• 1½ oz. House Bourbon mix (½ oz. Jim Beam White, ½ oz. Maker’s Mark Bourbon, ½ oz. Buffalo Trace)
• ¼ oz. Martini & Rossi Riserva Speciale Bitter
• 1 oz. Don’s Mix (cinnamon grapefruit syrup)
• ¾ lemon, juiced
• orange twist

Instructions

1. Combine ingredients and serve in your most festive coupe glass.

Don’s Mix Ingredients

• ¼ oz. hot water
• ¼ oz. white sugar
• ½ oz. fresh squeezed grapefruit juice
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon

Don’s Mix Instructions

Blend ingredients until sugar and cinnamon are dissolved.

May
Downtown | 2 Sir Winston Churchill Sq, Edmonton, AB | 780.392.2501 | restaurantmay.ca

This article appears in the December 2022 issue of Edify