On my sandwich board today, I have a lovely gourmet Turkey, Pear, Brie, and Cranberry Sandwich and this one comes fully dressed! Note this sandwich can also be made with chicken as a substitute for turkey. Continue reading On The Sandwich Board: Turkey, Pear, Brie, and Cranberry Sandwich
Undisputedly, a big roasted turkey is the traditional star of the Thanksgiving dinner in many North American homes. Playing the supporting roles, of course, are all the fixins’, including the variety of vegetables and gravy. This year, however, I am deviating from the norm and putting a new twist on Thanksgiving dinner, lightening it up and sizing it down for smaller households, while still staying true to some of the elements of what one would expect to be on the Thanksgiving dinner table. Here’s why I’ve shaken up the norm a bit.
I sometimes hear people say they don’t want to cook a big turkey, or even a whole chicken, because perhaps they have a small household of only one, two, or three people and it’s just too much meat for them. And, then there is the large carcass to deal with – though I am a big proponent of using it to make great homemade stock (click here for my stock recipe). Others have indicated they don’t have a big roaster in which to roast a turkey and still some others say they don’t know how to roast a turkey to get it cooked properly. I have heard some say that, while they like a roast turkey dinner, it can be a heavy meal with rich gravy, heavily spiced stuffing, and so forth. Others may be on a restricted diet making it a challenge to, alternatively, dine out for Thanksgiving dinner. Whatever the reason, I have decided to create a Thanksgiving dinner menu suitable for the smaller household and those looking for lighter fare.
Now, it can be challenging to size everything down precisely to one or two servings and, to be frank, it’s not the most cost-effective or efficient approach to meal preparation for the smaller household. I learned that many years ago and that’s when I moved to batch cooking for the freezer which allows me to have much greater meal variety than would be the case if I was to spend time in the kitchen preparing unique daily meals for one or two. This menu, by the way, is also suitable for any autumnal dinner party and the recipes referenced are scalable to the number of servings required.
The inspiration for the menu was drawn primarily from seasonal foods, those that would be considered to be fall flavors. While varied from the traditional Thanksgiving dinner style, I aimed to still maintain elements of a typical Thanksgiving dinner. From the gourd family comes the butternut squash for the soup. From the garden come the fresh greens, vine-ripened tomatoes, beets, and carrots. From the fields of a local farmer, come the potatoes. From the cranberry bogs and high bush blueberry field come the cranberries and blueberries. And, from a local orchard and distillery come the apples and liqueur for the dessert. In lieu of turkey, I have opted to go with chicken breasts though turkey breasts could certainly be used. The chicken breasts are smaller to roast and plate quite attractively. The steamed mussels for an appetizer have been included because, well, it’s PEI and we love our mussels any time of the year!
The table is set – it’s time to enjoy Thanksgiving dinner!
Food is meant to be enjoyed and savored, not hurriedly consumed. This menu and its serving style aim for that objective.
Island Blue Mussels steamed in Upstreet’s “Rhuby Social” beer
Savory Mushroom and Quinoa Crostini
Roasted Butternut Squash Soup
Served with a toasted baguette slice topped with cheese, bacon, and chives
Mix of Garden Greens with Vine-ripened Mini Tomatoes and Button Mushrooms
Dressed with Raspberry Vinaigrette and served from the salad urn, tableside
Roasted Chicken Breast with a dry rub of spices
Served over Sausage Bread Dressing
Petite Roasted Potato Stacks
Thinly sliced potato tossed with melted butter, herbs, and cheese then roasted
Roasted Beets and Carrots
Cranberry Blueberry Sauce
Apple-Maple Bread Pudding with Maple Sauce
Clean Slate 2016 Riesling (Germany)
It’s almost bordering on the sacrilegious if either (or both) steamed mussels and oysters are not on the menu for a gathering here in PEI! Yes, we love our seafood! I’ve chosen Island Blue Mussels steamed in Upstreet’s “Rhuby Social” beer (recipe here). Steaming mussels in beer lends a wonderful flavor to the mussels. Easy and quick to prepare, these mussels are a great start to a wonderful meal.
The second appetizer I’ve chosen is the Savory Mushroom and Quinoa Crostini (recipe here). These little morsels are ever-so-tasty. This recipe is easy to reduce or increase in size, depending on the number of guests and either wheat-based or gluten-free baguettes can be used.
Our Thanksgiving dinner this year starts with Roasted Butternut Squash Soup, a stunning golden yellow soup that is smooth and luxurious and filled with the warm flavors of fall (click here for recipe). This soup is a great way to kick off an autumnal dinner. My recipe for this soup makes 8-10 servings so, if making the soup specifically for Thanksgiving dinner in a small household, the remainder can be frozen for later enjoyment. Alternatively, the soup can be made in advance of Thanksgiving, frozen, and then the number of servings needed thawed and reheated for the dinner. I love when I can do prep work for dinners days ahead as it relieves some of the work and stress on the day of the dinner.
Serving the soup at the table from a soup tureen adds a lovely touch to a special meal or dinner party.
The soup tureen can also serve as a table centerpiece for the soup course.
Our garden did fabulously this year. We grow a grand selection of lettuce that usually takes us well into the fall, sometimes until late October. Our one tomato plant with mini tomatoes has literally produced hundreds of tiny orange tomatoes this year. It was a very prolific producer and we have been blessed to have its produce right through to Thanksgiving, even if it meant blanketing it down on frost nights in order to keep it producing.
My salad bowl is a small ceramic urn-shaped planter which also serves as the table centerpiece for the salad course. It’s a great conversation piece and it elevates the status of the salad! When using a unique vessel, like this urn, for the salad ingredients to be assembled at the table, opt for few ingredients that can easily be divided between plates. It’s not always necessary to have a multitude of ingredients in a salad, particularly if it is a starter to a meal. In this salad, all I’ve used is a selection of lettuce, tiny tomatoes, and button mushrooms served with a simple raspberry vinaigrette. I like vinaigrettes because they allow the flavour of the vegetables to shine through as they are not masked by a heavy cream dressing.
Chicken breasts sometimes get a bad rap for being dry. I think this is because they have not been properly prepared and cooked. I always brine my chicken breasts – it makes such a huge difference in both flavor and texture and no more dried out, stringy chicken. All I do is place the chicken breasts in a salt brine for 1½ – 2 hours, rinse them off, then pat them dry with paper towel followed by a light brushing of some olive oil and a sprinkle of selected dry spices. Then, into my convection oven set at 400°F they go just until they test done on my trusty meat thermometer. The high heat locks in the juices and cooks the chicken fast so it does not get a chance to dry out. The result is perfectly cooked and juicy chicken …. every time. The great thing about boneless skinless chicken breasts is it’s all meat and no waste and they slice beautifully for plating, sandwiches, etc.
For my Thanksgiving dinner, I have plated the sliced chicken over sausage bread dressing – recipe here. This is not a heavily spiced dressing so it is in keeping with my “lighter” Thanksgiving dinner theme yet it still bows to the tradition of having stuffing/dressing as a side dish at dinner. In fact, I will often make this recipe and freeze it for later use when I am having some kind of chicken dish for a meal. So, this is also something that can be made ahead for this dinner and the dressing can be heated for just a few seconds in the microwave.
Because this meal is meant to be light, the traditional gravy is absent. This meant I needed to come up with a potato side dish that did not need gravy. These Roasted Potato Stacks (recipe here), are the perfect potato side dish. These are not difficult to make and, with the butter, garlic, herbs, and cheeses, these tasty morsels are simply divine. They bake perfectly in muffin cups and plate beautifully. They are best served fresh from the oven. However, they can be pre-made, roasted, and refrigerated for up to 24 hours then reheated for a few minutes in the oven. So, again, this is a menu item that can be made in advance of the dinner. While my published recipe makes eight potato stacks (serves four), the recipe is easily halved (or, alternatively, make the whole recipe and enjoy leftovers the following day).
For my vegetable side dishes, I decided to go really local — all the way to our backyard garden! Beets and freshly dug carrots were roasted with herbs in the oven. I love roasted vegetables because their true flavors are evident and no nutrients or flavor are washed down the drain as can be the case with boiled vegetables. The beets were tossed with a spritz or two of raspberry balsamic vinegar and the same of orange juice. The key is not to add too much liquid to the roasted vegetables that would make them soupy or lose their roasted flavor. Both the vinegar and orange juice are just meant to be flavor enhancers so very little is needed.
For the condiment, I’m serving my Cranberry Blueberry Sauce. This sauce is a beautiful deep burgundy-plum color and combines two complementary flavors. The tartness of the cranberries is enhanced by the sweetness of the high bush blueberries. Click here for my recipe.
To bring one of the quintessential fall flavors into the menu, I am serving Apple-Maple Bread Pudding with Maple Sauce (recipe here). Both the pudding and the sauce freeze well for later use and both can be made ahead of the dinner, thawed, and reheated for dessert.
The wine I’ve paired with this meal is Clean Slate, a 2016 Riesling from Mosel, Germany, an affordable wine that appeals to a variety of tastes. When selecting the wine for this meal, I considered the menu items, both individually and collectively. Thanksgiving dinner plates tend to have a variety of foods with flavors that span the spectrum from sweet (Cranberry-Blueberry Sauce) to the moist and gently spiced (Sausage Bread Dressing) to the herbed and roasted (the vegetables) to the slight saltiness (brined chicken breast). With that variety, it can be a challenge to select one wine that will temper and balance all the flavors and cleanse and refresh the palate between bites so that the true flavors of each of the foods can be enjoyed.
A Riesling wine is a great choice because it has low alcohol content with lots of palate-refreshing acidity along with a slight touch of sweetness to balance and complement the variety of flavors.
So, whether you’re looking for inspiration for a Thanksgiving dinner with a lighter fare, one that is suitable for smaller households, or for an autumnal-themed dinner party, this menu is scalable to virtually any number, big or small. All recipes referenced can be found on My Island Bistro Kitchen’s website, a one-stop destination for recipes for a tasty fall dinner.
Living in a province known for its potato production, it’s almost inevitable that potatoes are served at many meals on PEI dinner tables. There are any number of ways this versatile veggie can be served and, later in this posting, you’ll find links to some of my favorite potato recipes.
Roasted Potato Stacks are my latest creation involving potatoes. They are very tasty and do plate quite attractively. They are also suitable for serving at buffets.
Because these potato stacks are free-standing when cooked and removed from the muffin cups, they need to be able to stand on their own when plated. The goal is also to see the individual slices of the potato. I recommend choosing potatoes that have a medium starch content, are semi-waxy, and have somewhat firm flesh such as Yukon Gold, or an all-purpose round white potato variety. These are the types of potatoes that will hold their shape after cooking and when plated and they can take the higher heat at which the stacks are roasted without falling apart or becoming mushy. Choosing potatoes that have good moisture content also helps to keep the roasted potato stacks moist. Potatoes high in starch and low in moisture don’t hold their shape as well and tend to break down easier than less starchy or waxy potatoes. For this reason, they are not as suitable for these Roasted Potato Stacks as are their semi-waxy cousins. Select potatoes, about 2” around, so that, when sliced very thinly, they will easily fit flatly in muffin tin cups.
The key to making these Roasted Potato Stacks is to have the potato slices very thin and uniformly sized. I have tested my recipe with three different thicknesses of potatoes – 1/16”, 3/16”, and 1/8” and my preference is 3/16” as the layers of individual potato slices in each stack are still intact and identifiable when fully roasted but they are not so thick as to cause issues getting them cooked.
I recommend using a mandolin for quick and uniform slicing. I have a dandy hand-held mandolin that is slick and easy for this kind of work and it saves the set up of my larger mandolin or the trials, tribulations, and time to thinly slice the potatoes by hand.
Made with seasoned butter and a blend of cheeses, these delectable easy-to-make roasted potato stacks are a great side dish or appetizer.
[Printable recipe follows at end of posting]
Ingredients:
2¼ lb potatoes, peeled, washed, and dried (e.g., Yukon Gold or all-purpose round white variety)
3 tbsp melted butter
1 tsp olive oil
1 tsp liquid chicken bouillon
1 tsp garlic salt
¾ tsp onion powder
2 tsp fresh lemon thyme, chopped
2 tsp fresh parsley, minced
Pinch nutmeg (optional)
½ – ¾ tsp fine sea salt
Freshly ground pepper
½ cup Parmesan cheese, finely grated
3 tbsp Cheddar Cheese, finely grated
1 tbsp whole milk or cream
3 – 4 tbsp finely grated Parmesan cheese
Paprika (for sprinkling tops of stacks)
Fresh thyme sprigs for garnish
Method:
Position oven rack in center of oven. Preheat oven to 375°F.
Butter eight (8) regular-sized non-stick muffin cups with butter. Set aside.
In small, microwave-safe bowl, melt the butter. Add the olive oil, liquid chicken bouillon, garlic salt, onion powder, thyme, parsley, nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Stir well to mix. Stir in the Parmesan and Cheddar cheeses along with the milk or cream.
Choose potatoes that are not overly starchy and that will hold their shape after cooking – e.g., Yukon Gold or an all-purpose round white variety. Select potatoes the size that, when sliced horizontally, the slices will easily fit flat into the muffin cups. Using a mandolin, slice potatoes horizontally into slices 3/16” thick. Place half the potato slices in large bowl. Add half the mixed butter, seasonings, and cheese ingredients. Using hands, toss the potatoes in the mixture until the slices are well coated. Add the remaining potato slices and butter mixture and continue mixing until the potato slices are coated with the mixture. Either create the stacks of potatoes in hands and place in buttered muffin cups or individually stack the potato slices directly in the muffin tin cups, stacking the slices as evenly as possible until they are about ¾ – 1” above the muffin cup rims. The stacks will shrink a bit during the roasting but building them a little higher than the muffin cup rim will ensure a good sized potato stack when cooked.
Roast the potato stacks for about 25 minutes, then sprinkle each stack with additional grated Parmesan cheese and a light sprinkle of paprika. Roast for 20 minutes longer, or until the tops of the potato stacks are golden and crispy, and a skewer or thin knife inserted in center of a stack indicates potatoes are tender and cooked through. Remove from oven and let rest for 5 minutes then carefully run the tip of a knife around the perimeter of each muffin cup to ensure the potato stacks are loose for easy removal. With the aid of a fork, or soup spoon, and the tip of the knife, carefully remove each potato stack and serve immediately sprinkled with additional finely-grated Parmesan cheese and fresh parsley.
Yield: 8 potato stacks (Suggested serving size – 2 stacks per person)
Decadent Duchess Potatoes
Twice Baked Potatoes
Best Creamy Scalloped Potatoes
Bistro Style Potato Patties
Potato Salad
Yield: 8 potato stacks (Suggested serving size – 2 stacks per person)
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Quite some time ago, I shared my standard “go-to” recipe for basic poultry stuffing/dressing. At the bottom of this posting, you will find the link to that recipe and an explanation for the difference (if you don’t already know) between stuffing and dressing.
In this Sweet and Savory Sausage Bread Stuffing recipe, I have jazzed up the stuffing by adding sausage meat to it. Dried cranberries can also be added so long as they have first been plumped in some warm rum (or warm chicken stock) for 10-15 minutes. Otherwise, the cranberries can be a bit hard and chewy in this stuffing. The cranberries are an optional ingredient but they do lend a pop of color and texture to the finished product. I sometimes, though not always, add them in. The sweetness in this stuffing comes from both the chopped apple and a bit of maple syrup which also adds to the moistness of the stuffing.
What gives this stuffing its unique flavour is the kind of sausage used. My local butcher shop (KJL Meats in Charlottetown) is known for its creativity in making sausages. To get the best choice, it means an early visit on Saturday mornings when they have their best selection available. I have a couple of favorites I gravitate to for bread stuffing/dressing and they are sundried tomato or honey garlic sausages. Other flavours may, of course, also be used, according to personal taste preferences. I remove the sausage casing and break up the meat then lightly scramble fry it with the aromatics (onion and celery) for 3-4 minutes, or until the meat is no longer pink.
Here, in PEI, the seasoning of choice for many folks when it comes to poultry stuffing/dressing is the herb called summer savory and that’s what I use in my stuffing/dressing recipes. In my household, it would not be considered to be stuffing/dressing unless it is made with summer savory! Old traditions prevail!
This recipe should yield approximately 4-5 cups of stuffing/dressing, depending on how dry/wet the potatoes are when cooked and the texture of the bread crumbs used. The recipe, however, is easily scalable so it can be doubled, tripled, halved, and so forth to meet the size of the chicken or turkey.
To make this recipe gluten free, simply substitute gluten-free bread crumbs in the same amount called for in this recipe and ensure that all other ingredients called for are also gluten free, including the sausage and liquid chicken bouillon. Some butchers, like KJL Meats, do make gluten-free sausages. I save all the crusts from gluten-free bread and then use my food processor to crumb them coarsely for use in stuffing and then freeze the crumbs in airtight freezer bags for use as needed.
[Printable recipe follows at end of posting]
Ingredients:
2-3 tbsp butter
2 tbsp finely chopped onion
2 tbsp finely chopped celery
4 oz honey garlic or sundried tomato sausage, casing removed
2 cups warm mashed potatoes (apx. 1 1/8 lb, uncooked)
1½ tsp summer savory
2 tsp liquid chicken bouillon
¼ cup dried cranberries, plumped in 2 tbsp warm rum or warm chicken stock (optional)
2 tbsp finely chopped apple
1 cup soft, coarse bread crumbs (apx. – see note below)
¼ cup melted butter
1 tbsp water
1 tbsp pure maple syrup
1 tbsp fresh parsley
1 tbsp chopped fresh chives
Salt and pepper, to taste
Method:
Melt butter in small frypan over medium heat. Add the onion and celery. Briskly stir the vegetables for 2-3 minutes. Break apart the sausage meat and add to the onion and celery. Scramble fry the sausage meat until no longer pink, about 3-4 minutes.
Place the warm mashed potatoes in a large bowl. Sprinkle with summer savory. Add the onion, celery, sausage, and chicken bouillon. Mix. Add the dried cranberries and chopped apple.
Mix in the bread crumbs along with the melted butter, water, maple syrup, parsley, and chives. Stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Loosely fill the body cavity of turkey or chicken with the stuffing. Roast turkey/chicken according to package directions for stuffed poultry and use a food thermometer to ensure that both the poultry and the stuffing have reached the safe minimum temperature.
Alternatively, make the stuffing into dressing by lightly pressing the mixture into one or two greased tinfoil-lined loaf pan(s). Cover with tin foil and bake in 350°F oven for apx. 15-20 minutes then remove tin foil and bake for 10-15 minutes longer, or until lightly browned on top. Let cool in pan(s) for at least 15 minutes then lift the tinfoil out of the loaf pan(s) and slice the dressing.
NOTE: Depending on how wet the variety of potatoes may be when cooked, additional bread crumbs may be needed to achieve the desired texture of the stuffing.
Yield: Approximately 4-5 cups
Yield: Approximately 4-5 cups
NOTE 1: Depending on how wet the variety of potatoes may be when cooked, additional bread crumbs may be needed to achieve the desired texture of the stuffing.
NOTE 2: To make this recipe gluten free, simply substitute gluten-free bread crumbs in the same amount called for in this recipe and ensure that all other ingredients called for are also gluten free, including the sausage and liquid chicken bouillon.
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When days are cooler, or downright cold, there is nothing better to warm the tummy than a bowl of comfort soup. One of the soups I place in that category is homemade Roasted Butternut Squash Soup. Full of flavour with a lovely velvety texture, Roasted Butternut Squash Soup has a rich natural golden-yellow color that can’t be beat! This is a showstopper soup on both the taste and appetizing color fronts, the latter of which is drawn from the orange, fleshy pulp of the squash. Continue reading Classic Roasted Butternut Squash Soup
Combining the sweet and tart flavors of blueberries and cranberries makes for a delectable Cranberry Blueberry Sauce. Their flavors play well off of each other. Most will be familiar with the traditional cranberry sauce that, for many, has to be part of a roasted turkey or chicken dinner. Click here for my recipe for classic cranberry sauce. Continue reading Cranberry Blueberry Sauce
Green Tomato Marmalade is not an altogether common variety of marmalade. It’s not a typical marmalade likely to be found on many, if any, supermarket shelves. That, in my view, makes Green Tomato Marmalade all the more special because it’s more unique and exclusive! That, plus the fact it can be used as either a sweet or savory spread, makes this marmalade a worthwhile addition to your preserve inventory. Continue reading Green Tomato Marmalade Recipe
When we think of picnics, we most often think of lunch time or dinner events. Rarely, do we think of a breakfast picnic and yet it’s probably one of the easiest picnic meals to pack!
Recently, I suggested we pack up a continental breakfast and head to the beach for a morning picnic. We had just been to a nearby blueberry U-pick so, naturally, blueberries were included in the picnic.
The menu was simple. Orange juice, Greek yogurt topped with homemade granola and fresh blueberries, homemade muffins, peaches, and coffee.
I love these little multi-purpose jelly jars. They are perfect for yogurt parfaits!
A breadboard makes an easily transportable platform upon which to set the food. I find, with beach picnics and an uneven sand base, it can be a bit of a challenge to keep the food from tipping over and spilling. However, the breadboard provides a stable, level surface eliminating the problem.
All that needs to be added is the quintessential coffee! I have a small thermos/coffee butler that holds exactly two cups of coffee and is great for these types of events.
I love my wicker picnic baskets and this one came equipped with the plates, mugs, and cutlery.
Let’s take a peek inside the picnic basket!
A good book for one and the morning newspaper for the other found their way to the picnic, too! No need to take along lawn chairs – an old blanket and a couple of comfy pillows will suffice.
Our summers are short here in Prince Edward Island so we make the most of the lovely fine days and our close proximity to the beach. What better way to savour the last days of summer than to pack a breakfast picnic and head to the beach to enjoy breakfast with a view like this! Self-imposed time-outs can be a good thing!
It’s hard to think of summer without thinking of ice cream. Those hot, sultry summer days just seem to beg for an ice cream fix.
Here, on PEI, we have no shortage of ice cream venues to choose from. Whether you are a soft-serve ice cream fan or a hard ice cream aficionado, you’ll find lots to choose from. After a summer of research (full disclosure – the waistline may have been harmed by this initiative!), here’s the scoop on my favorite places on the Island for hard ice cream and for soft-serve ice cream. Readers will note that opinions expressed are my own based on personal experience at all venues mentioned below. None of the establishments knew I was sampling their products for this review. This is not a sponsored post and I received no compensation in any form for my reviews.
My review is broken down into two parts – hard ice cream and soft-serve ice cream. Readers will note that I was not reviewing every product sold by dairy bars and ice cream parlours. Rather I was reviewing two very specific products – hard ice cream and soft-serve ice cream. This to say that, for example, a dairy bar that specializes in, or is most known for, its soft-serve ice cream, may also serve other frozen products such as hard ice cream, too. In that example, if I was reviewing their soft-serve product, that’s all I was reviewing from that particular dairy bar. Likewise, if a business is known primarily for its hard ice cream but also sells, for example, frozen yogurt or sherbet, I only reviewed their hard ice cream product(s). Of those I sampled in 2018, what follows were my top favorites.
Two locations that specialize in the production of the traditional hard ice cream stood out for me:
Creamery Location: 12 Milky Way (397 Capital Drive), Charlottetown, PEI
(11 Canadian locations + 1 in Beijing, China)
Churning out delectable flavours since 1983, the flagship creamery is located on the aptly-named “Milky Way” just off of one of the famous roundabouts outside Charlottetown. This venue is open year-round so locals do not have to go through withdrawal due to seasonal closures (phew!). Other COWS locations, however, may be seasonal.
Apart from the high-quality ice cream (yup, 16% butter fat), COWS is legendary for its creative and unique ice cream flavour names often involving a play on words related to anything “cow” – like Cownadian Maple, Fluff ‘n Udder, Messie Bessie, and Moo Crunch, for example.
When I visit a COWS location, I go in with the best intentions to try a new flavour but, once I’m standing in front of the display case, I inevitably choose “Wowie Cowie”, a delectable concoction of vanilla ice cream, English toffee marble, chocolate flakes, and Moo Crunch. Ice cream is available in dishes or cones but their handmade waffle cones are hard to pass up! In my view, the cones are part of the “udderly” wonderful COWS ice cream experience!
There is no indoor seating at this COWS location though there are some nearby picnic tables outside. Some COWS locations may have indoor seating available. Tours of the creamery at this location are also available.
One of the things that makes COWS ice cream extra special is that it is available exclusively at COWS stores so heading to a COWS outlet just makes the experience that much extra special because you know you can’t buy it at the local supermarket. You can check out the story I earlier wrote on COWS here.
286 Fitzroy Street, Summerside, PEI
The newbies on the Island ice cream scene, this family-owned and operated ice cream parlour opened its doors in 2016 and is quickly earning a reputation for high quality homemade ice cream.
Located in a heritage home, known as the Holman Homestead, in Summerside, this ice cream parlour has fast become a favorite stop for ice cream aficionados. Much of the charm of the historical property has been maintained and gives an air of stepping back in time to a vintage ice cream parlour.
The premium homemade hard ice cream, manufactured on the premises, is made with all-natural ingredients. Several flavours of ice cream are available – my favorite is the Salted Caramel though I have heard rave reviews of their Cookies and Cream variety.
Ice cream is available in cones or dishes but, as you walk up the sidewalk toward the house, you can catch the tantalizing waft of the waffle cones being made – it’s hard not have one of those cones and they don’t disappoint!
The parlour also offers sundaes, banana splits, and soda fountain floats made with their homemade ice cream.
They also make sherbets and have at least one variety of ice cream made with sheep’s milk. Service is provided by friendly staff. Eat inside or, on lovely weather days, enjoy the ice cream in the garden. The ice cream from Holman’s is made all the more special because it is only available at their Ice Cream Parlour and you won’t find it in the frozen dairy section of any supermarket. Open seasonally. (Hint – In my view, it’s worth the drive to Summerside just to have an ice cream at Holman’s! Just sayin’, this might have happened on more than one occasion….for research purposes, of course, you know….just sayin’…..)
Two locations that are known primarily for their soft-serve ice cream particularly caught my attention.
559 Water Street, Summerside, PEI
This dairy bar came recommended to me by a couple of folks who thought I should check it out. Can soft-serve ice cream really be all that different from one place to another? Yes, it can and Sunny’s proves it!
Opened in 2011, in the west end of Summerside, this is a traditional style dairy bar in that you place your order at the window and take your ice cream back to your vehicle or to the Green Shore Park across the street. There is no indoor seating.
This dairy bar was a new discovery for me this year and I will be back! I opted for a Hot Fudge Sundae, my all-time favorite. The ice cream was the creamiest and richest I have ever had and the hot fudge topping was, well …. sublime!
Sunny’s has a long list of ice cream treats on its menu, too numerous to mention here. Portion sizes are very generous. I ordered a small sundae and, as can be seen in the photo, it is a very generous helping! Open seasonally, this is definitely a place to check out for ice cream in Summerside!
Two (2) locations – Original at 109 Victoria Street West and new one in 2018 at 25010 Veteran’s Memorial Highway, both in Kensington, PEI
A long-time favorite with Islanders, this traditional-style dairy bar is well known for its catchy TV ads “Don’t Drive By! Drive In!” For many Islanders, it will come as no surprise as to why Frosty Treat made my list of “go-to” places for yummy ice cream in PEI. Frosty Treat has been synonymous with great soft-serve ice cream for many years and the frequent line-ups at the dairy bar window on hot summer days and evenings attest to this.
This popular ice cream bar serves up creamy soft-serve ice cream that will satisfy any craving for soft swirly ice cream. Other ice cream treats are also available on Frosty’s menu.
Frosty Treat has been a summer tradition for us for many years. Their Hot Fudge Sundae, in particular, is a perennial favorite. Open seasonally.
If you are in the Kensington area, “don’t drive by, drive in” to one of the Frosty Treat locations for a cool ice cream treat.
2 Somerset Street, Kinkora, PEI
Located in the small rural village of Kinkora, midway between Charlottetown and Summerside, the Somerset Ice Cream Bar opened for business in summer 2018. What makes this ice cream bar unique, and what earned it a special mention in this article, is that its owner and operator is a young entrepreneur, still in high school (yes, you read that right)!
Many cones of generous-sized portions of creamy swirled soft-serve ice cream were served out of this new dairy bar this past summer. In traditional dairy bar style, orders are placed at the window. There is no indoor seating but there are benches on the deck around the dairy bar and limited picnic table seating. Open seasonally.
If you are traveling Rte 225 between Summerside and Charlottetown, make it a plan to stop for a tasty treat at this ice cream bar.
So, this is what the waistline could handle this summer! Again readers will note that some of these establishments also serve other types of ice cream and ice cream related treats. However, the purpose of my exercise this summer was to simply find great establishments that specialized in, or were best known for, either hard ice cream or soft-serve ice cream. Others may have differing opinions on my choices but, based on my personal experience on the days I visited the venues, I had great ice cream and service at each of these five (5) venues this year. In my view, you can’t go wrong with an ice cream treat from any of these five (5) venues. All establishments have active social media accounts (and some have websites) that you can check out for more information and hours and season of operation.
There are so many options for summertime desserts. I try to use fresh fruits in desserts throughout the summer season and often look for combinations that will work well together. Some fruits just naturally complement each other, like blueberries and peaches, for example. Together, they make a fabulous Peach Blueberry Crisp! Continue reading Perfect Peach Blueberry Crisp Recipe
We thoroughly enjoy our home province of Prince Edward Island! Our special Island is small enough that we can get to know all parts of it quite well. In summer, especially, we do a lot of day trips all around the Island. Most times, for our day excursions, I pack a picnic lunch and we head off for the day. Sometimes, I have a particular picnic destination in mind and have a good idea if there will be a park nearby that would be suitable for a picnic and, other times, it’s totally by chance where we land at picnic time. Apart from the opportunity to dine outdoors in our all-too-short summer season here on Canada’s Atlantic Coast, transporting our own meal means we can eat wherever we are whenever we are hungry without having to try and be at a certain location where there is a restaurant which may, or may not, be able to accommodate dietary needs.
Our recent day trip took us to the north shore area of the eastern part of the Island. I love PEI lighthouses – the iconic red and white structures are dotted here and there all around the coast of the Island. I had been searching to find the St. Peter’s Bay Lighthouse for some time and was determined to find it this year. So, this was our primary destination on this particular day trip.
It wasn’t particularly easy to find this elusive lighthouse but, with assistance of an acquaintance who provided directions, I was able to locate it. Access is via a single lane red clay road with a canopy of trees. The adventure was indeed worth it!
After we enjoyed the vista surrounding the lighthouse, not to mention the beautiful beach, we decided it was time to find a place to set out our picnic.
I knew of the small park by the water in nearby St. Peter’s Bay where I had had a picnic before (click here to view those photos). What I didn’t recall was the lovely gazebo at this site. This find was a blessing since the temperature had soared to 28C by this time and it was way too hot to eat out in the open with no shelter!
When we arrived, we found the large gazebo unoccupied so immediately went about setting out our picnic lunch. Someone had planted beautiful flowers in boxes around the gazebo and that formed a ready backdrop that I could not have planned or hoped for. Bonus! See how gorgeous the flowers look in the photo below and how they fortuitously match my color scheme and complement the color of the lemonade!
The color theme of my picnic was turquoise, always a summery color. The burst of hot pink in the drink certainly adds a punch of color!
I found the bowls, matching small salad dressing containers, and rectangular dishes at Walmart. Not only are they all color-coordinated in turquoise blue but the dishes come with the needed cutlery built in, a real bonus because there is no need to remember to bring cutlery separately.
The bowls match my insulated picnic basket. A blue-checked tablecloth and checkered napkins, already part of my picnic arsenal, were found to match as well.
A small model sailboat in matching colors and a collection of shells formed the centerpiece for my tablescape. I figure if I am going to dine outside, I might as well go all the way and set the table attractively! It makes for a more fun and memorable picnic.
For lunch, I prepared my version of a picnic buddha bowl, ensuring it contained contents that would travel. There is no one right way to make a buddha bowl but, typically, they contain some kind of grain (preferably high fibre), veggies and fruit, a protein source, and greens. I began by layering the bowl with lettuce from our garden. Our garden has been a good producer this year so the cherry tomatoes, celery (it’s there but it’s hiding in the photo), and carrots are garden-fresh. The grain I chose to use was a tri-colored quinoa. To make the meal more substantial and to add some protein, I included a half hard boiled egg in each bowl. The addition of the red onion gives a flavor and color boost. I love how colorful and healthy this salad is!
I often brine and roast boneless skinless chicken breasts for various uses and they are perfect sliced for a main meal salad or as added protein in a buddah bowl.
Some freshly picked blueberries from the Tryon Blueberries U-pick added a bit of color, texture, and sweetness to the salad. A simple balsamic dressing was all that was needed to finish the salad. This type of meal is great for a picnic. The meal is completely prepped at home and contained in a bowl with the dressing added at the time of serving. The meal travels well – I use several ice packs in my insulated picnic basket to keep the food good and cold. At meal time, it is simply a matter of removing the cover from each diner’s bowl and the meal is ready to go. Clean-up is super easy because the covers pop back on to the bowls and the utensils fit inside the bowls so there are no messy plates and utensils.
These high bush blueberries are great snacking berries and I often pack them in my picnic basket when the berries are in season. Today, their blue color matches my color scheme, too!
Peanut butter cookies are always a great stand-by picnic treat. They are easy to make, easy to transport, and satisfy the sweet tooth. For my recipe, click here.
Peaches are also a great fruit to take along on picnics. I love to incorporate the flavors of summer into my picnic menus.
I love the little bottles in the photo below. When I made the rhubarb lemonade earlier in the summer, I froze some in these bottles to have it ready for picnics. The bottles help to keep the food cool as we travel and they quickly finish thawing completely when removed from the cooler as the picnic is being laid out. This is a super tasty (and colorful) summer drink – you can access my recipe by clicking here.
I hope you have enjoyed a peek into my picnic in the gazebo in St. Peter’s Bay, PEI! The Island has many picturesque places suitable for picnics and each comes with its own unique view.
For other picnic inspiration from My Island Bistro Kitchen, check out these:
Picnic by the Confederation Bridge in PEI
Sliders and Salad Sunday Picnic
A PEI Picnic in the Park
Casual Summer Picnic
A Canada Day Picnic in St. Peter’s Bay, PEI
A Casual Summer Afternoon Picnic
A Beach-Themed Picnic
A Pretty Pink Picnic
Canada Day Picnic
Oh Canada! A Picnic to Celebrate Canada Day
Labour Day Picnic by the PEI Seaside with Lobster Croissants on the Menu
A Plaid Picnic on the Verandah
Locovore’s Picnic – Food Day Canada 2016
Late Summer Charcuterie Picnic
Sunday Afternoon Wine and Cheese Picnic
Old Country Rose Afternoon Tea Picnic
Tucked away on the Graham’s Road (Route 8), in the picturesque rural community of New London, Prince Edward Island, you will find The Table Culinary Studio that offers short (between 3.5 and 4.5 hours) cooking classes that focus primarily on cooking with fresh, local Island foods. This experience is a great way to learn about the Island food culture.
The rural setting is quintessential PEI. Fields in shades of green contrasted with the Island’s iconic red soil take visitors to the heart of some of the Island’s most fertile farm land.
Just down the road is New London Harbour, home to a small lobster fishing fleet and the grounds for other seafood like oysters, quahogs, and mussels. Not far away, quality food can be sourced from dairy and beef farms, organic farmers, beekeepers, cheesemakers, and garlic growers. Could there be a more authentic location for a PEI culinary studio!
While it is no secret that PEI has lovely scenery to enjoy, spectacular beaches and golf courses, and many attractions to keep visitors busy exploring our Island, many come to the Island knowing that PEI offers great food from the land and sea.
Our potatoes, oysters, mussels, and lobster, in particular, are shipped all over the world and these Island products are well known, respected, and sought after for their high quality.
So, what better way to experience the Island foods first hand than to take a short cooking class to learn more about them and how they can be prepared.
The Table Culinary Studio (formerly Annie’s Table) has been in operation since 2012, offering an array of short cooking classes on a myriad of topics. Under new ownership in 2016, The Table, with owner/chef Derrick Hoare at the helm, continues with the tradition of engaging culinary aficionados in ways to prepare local Island foods such as lobster, oysters, mussels, scallops, beef, cheese, and so forth. The focus is very much on using fresh local ingredients that are in season and, by extension, acquainting participants with the rich Island food culture.
The Table offers a number of hands-on cooking classes that include (at the time of writing) Bounty of the Sea, Black Gold (cured garlic), Farm to Table, Marilla’s Table, Hive to Table, Let Them Eat Beef, Oyster Obsession, Say Cheese, Vivacious Vegan, Applelicious, Artisan Bread, Gluten Free Gourmet, and Helping Hands. The Table operates seasonally from May to October to coincide with the Island’s tourism season. Several of the cooking classes involve field trips to farms and other local food producers to see, first-hand, how food is grown or produced and to pick up some local ingredients to bring back to The Table to be used in the class that follows. This form of experiential tourism provides the opportunity for the learners to create wonderful memories of their vacation time in PEI, connect directly with PEI food producers, and to learn more about the Island’s food culture and the role that farming, fishing, and other food production play in the Island’s economy and way of life.
I recently participated in the “Bounty of the Sea” cooking class at The Table which is located within walking distance to the house in which famed Island authoress Lucy Maud Montgomery was born and not far by vehicle to the resort municipality of Cavendish.
But, before I take you on the adventure with me, here is a brief description of the venue and what a cooking class is like at The Table.
What makes this culinary studio unique is its venue. It is located in a small white repurposed country church, very typical of so many seen in several Island communities. Inside the church, the pews have been removed and, in their place, is a large harvest table where, in a few hours time, class participants will gather to enjoy the lavish spread of the morning’s cooking. The church’s altar has been elevated to a loft setting and the building is tastefully furnished.
The original altar and choir loft locations have been transformed into an open teaching kitchen.
Class size is small and intimate – only a maximum of 10 participants per cooking class. This ensures that each person has a front row view as the culinary team teaches the cooking or baking techniques in the open-style kitchen. It also allows for participants to be actively engaged and participating in the cooking or baking activities.
The culinary team consists of owner/chef Derrick Hoare, Executive Chef Michael Bradley, and Events Coordinator Christine Morgan. The atmosphere is unhurried and very sociable. Strangers become friends over the commonality of food. With a growing hunger for knowledge about where one’s food comes from and how it is grown, produced, or harvested, cooking classes appeal to most age demographics and skill levels. No need to worry if you are not an experienced or accomplished cook – the classes offer something for everyone, including a scrumptious meal after the class in the beautifully appointed old country church.
So, now on to my adventure as a participant in The Table’s “Bounty of the Sea” cooking class. After morning coffee upon arrival, everyone got suited up with their aprons and side towels.
The class began with Chef Derrick giving a brief talk on lobster fishing on PEI, recounting his own experiences going out on a fishing boat to learn, first-hand, about lobster fishing on the Island. Chef Michael then gave a short biology lesson on how to identify the gender of a lobster.
It’s a good thing those lobsters were banded because, if you find yourself in the unfortunate situation of having a finger caught in the claws of one, you are likely to end up with a broken finger – they’re strong!
Everyone was given a lobster and instructed on how to carefully de-band them before placing them in hot water to be cooked.
Chef Derrick kept a watchful eye on the lobsters so they were removed from the pot at just the right time.
Next came the lesson on how to crack open a lobster.
Chef Michael capably gave instructions as each student cracked open a lobster to reveal the succulent meat inside.
Yes, a basic table knife will do the trick!
Having never made homemade pasta before, I was particularly interested in the procedure.
The Table is very accommodating to class participants who have dietary restrictions. On this day, there were two participants who were gluten-intolerant so a separate station on an adjacent workspace was set up for them to make the gluten-free pasta and Chef Michael alternated between the two groups giving information and instruction on pasta making.
Black garlic from nearby Eureka Garlic, not far from Kensington, was used in the pasta to give a unique flavour. If you have never tasted black garlic, it’s not nearly as garlicky as you might think – I personally think it tastes like a cross between a fig and a prune. You can check out my story here on Eureka Garlic. The chopped black garlic was kneaded into the pasta dough.
The pasta dough was cut and gathered into circles ready to be dropped into the cooking pot.
With the pasta made, we took a brief break from the food prep to listen to Christine explain how mussels are grown and harvested on PEI.
PEI mussels are world famous and they are shipped all over the world. Mussels are a common food to serve at many events, year-round, on PEI. They are easy to prepare and ever-so-tasty dipped in melted butter!
Chef Michael then guided the group in making Lobster Bisque. Once the Mirepoix started cooking, you can only imagine how tantalizing the scent was as it wafted through the old church building.
Ohhhh, that lobster is going to make a dandy lunch – can’t you just taste it!
The third seafood that we learned to cook was scallops, those tasty little morsels!
The morning went super fast and, before we knew it, it was time for lunch to be served by the culinary team.
The table was beautifully set (those of you who follow my food blog regularly know how I love well-set tables). The napkin at each place setting had either a small lobster trap or lobster napkin ring.
These napkin rings tied in well with the theme of the morning’s class – “Bounty of the Sea”.
How inviting does this look! Wouldn’t you love to sit in at this table!
Fresh homemade sourdough bread was on the table.
The landing at the top of the spiral staircase in the church provided a great vantage point for photography.
The group assembled at the big harvest table which is the focal point in the middle of the studio. This 12’ table was hand-crafted from old attic boards extracted from the house which The Table’s former owner restored just up the road at New London corner.
How great does this lobster bisque look with that succulent lobster claw! It tasted even better!
We were very anxious to taste the homemade pasta and it did not disappoint! The pasta in the photo below is gluten-free.
This was accompanied by big bowls of PEI mussels with squeaky cheese topping melting down through the mussels. If you are a mussel lover, these are hard to resist!
And as if we weren’t stuffed enough, out came dessert. The dessert in the photo below is a chocolate beet cake.
And, for the gluten-free dessert, it was a deconstructed blueberry pie which I can attest was simply yummy!
The Table is set with the right ingredients – small class size, fresh local Island foods, quality instruction, hands-on cooking, a shared meal, and a charming venue with a history of its own. If you are looking for an authentic and affordable cooking experience to allow you to more deeply engage with the local food scene and pick up some cooking tips and skills, check out course offerings at The Table. With the short half-day classes, visitors can have the best of both worlds – a cooking experience to learn more about local PEI foods in the morning followed by a delicious lunch and then the rest of the day free to explore other Island adventures and sights. For more information on cooking classes and prices, visit The Table Culinary Studio website at: http://www.thetablepei.ca/classes
The Table also offers fine dining in the evening (reservations required). Click here to read my recent story on The Table’s North Shore Surf and Turf Dinner.
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My thanks to The Table Culinary Studio for the opportunity to experience their “Bounty of the Sea” cooking class and for the fine hospitality. My participation in the class was complimentary for the purpose of conducting a review of the “Bounty of the Sea” cooking class. However, this in no way influenced my opinions of the class experience. All opinions expressed in this review are purely my own.
One of the things I most look forward to in summer is all the fresh produce. I especially love all the seasonal fruits and berries because they make grand pies and pastry making is one of my favorite baking activities. In August, we eagerly await the wonderful peaches that come from the Niagara region – the baskets of large yellow/orange plump, juicy peaches. One of the first things I make with the fresh peaches is a Classic Peach Pie. Continue reading Classic Peach Pie Recipe
Dill pickles are one of the easiest pickles to make. Cold-packed into hot sterilized jars, this recipe transforms tiny 3” – 4” cucumbers into tangy pickles that, for any dill lover, are the quintessential pickles to accompany many sandwiches and burgers. Continue reading How to Make Dill Pickles
One of the wonderful things about lemonade is that it can be served simply as is or it can be flavoured with fruits in season such as I am doing today by making Strawberry Lemonade. How fabulous is that natural red color in the lemonade! Continue reading Sensational Strawberry Lemonade Recipe
At The Table Culinary Studio in New London, PEI
One of the things most of us enjoy about travel is the opportunity to sample foods local to a region. It’s part of the charm of a place and makes for great vacation memories. At one time, vacationers went to a destination, did some sightseeing, took in some typical tourist attractions (amusement parks, museums, beaches, etc.), and ate at whatever restaurant they happened upon at meal time. Today’s travelers, generally speaking, are more interested in diversified travel experiences than they are simply going to a place so they can check it off their bucket list of places they have been. Many seek out adventures that allow them to participate in activities, experience the uniqueness and authenticity of a place, mingle with the locals, and learn more about local foods and ways to prepare them.
One of the best ways to learn about a place and its culture is through its local food. In fact, many travelers choose destinations based on the local food scene, food festivals and events, unique dining experiences, and opportunities to participate in culinary classes. Many, therefore, seek out experiences that allow them to connect more fully with a region and what better way to do that than through food, especially if it is experiential cuisine where you learn something about the foods you are eating.
I was recently a guest at the North Shore Surf and Turf Dinner at The Table Culinary Studio which hosts themed communal-style dinners featuring Prince Edward Island foods throughout the summer months. Today, I am going to share my dining experience at The Table with you.
The Table Culinary Studio is the successor of Annie’s Table Culinary Studio which was started by Annie Leroux in 2012. You can click here for my story on Annie’s Table Culinary Studio. Current owner, Derrick Hoare (himself a trained chef), had been a long-time summer resident on PEI for many years, was retiring from his career in the health care profession, and was looking for his next adventure. He contemplated buying a traditional restaurant in PEI but decided that was not his style. When Annie’s Table became available for sale, Derrick liked the concept Annie had begun so he bought the business which he began operating in 2016. In addition to keeping the tradition of offering short culinary courses, he added themed evening dining to the menu and renamed the business to The Table Culinary Studio.
Set in the small rural community of New London, not far from the resort municipality of Cavendish (the hometown of the fictional Anne of Green Gables – you may have heard of her!), you will find The Table on Route 8 or, as the locals would simply say, the Grahams Road.
With a backdrop of green fertile rolling countryside, The Table is located in a repurposed former United Church that is tastefully furnished with quality antiques. Several of the elements of the decommissioned church have been incorporated into the décor, including the pulpit that now occupies a prominent position overlooking the dining hall.
The entire venue is open concept so diners can watch the culinary team prepare the meal. This unique dining experience will make you feel like you are more at an intimate dinner party with a private chef catering than at a restaurant.
Open seasonally, seven nights a week, for themed dinners that feature local Island foods that come from the land and the sea, The Table can accommodate up to 18 guests an evening, one seating only. Tickets for the dinner must be reserved in advance (by phone or email) and the menu for each evening is a set menu – you eat whatever is being prepared that night which takes the pressure off of studying a menu and trying to decide what to have. Drinks are at extra cost and are payable at the end of the evening along with the dinner.
The themed dinners range from the Traditional Island Feast to the Island Dinner Party to Isle and Fire to the North Shore Surf and Turf and all focus on fresh local foods harvested or fished nearby. Seating is at one long harvest table in the middle of the old church and food is served family style which is to say that the main meal, on large platters, arrives at the table and guests pass the platters around, serving themselves. There are no individual tables.
It seems only fitting that communal dining would be the style of dining at The Table given that it is in a decommissioned church. Communal dining dates back to biblical times – you know, the breaking of bread together. The concept of individual tables for dining did not start until a long time after these origins. Some may find it requires some stepping out of the comfort zone to attend a dinner with strangers all seated at the same table but, when you think about it, church and community potluck dinners have been around for ages and they are traditionally served at long communal tables where you don’t necessarily know the people seated around you. We do a lot of cruising and have never requested a table for two in the ship’s dining room simply because we like to meet new people and inject some new conversation into meal times when traveling. So, sitting down to a meal alongside people I have not met before is quite comfortable and familiar for me. After all, the chances are that they are all food enthusiasts, too!
One of the lovely parts of this type of experiential dining is that you get to interact with those preparing the meal. In contrast, if you go into a traditional style restaurant, you are seated, have limited contact with the wait staff, and most likely never see the chefs let alone have any direct contact with them. At The Table, there are lots of opportunities to communicate directly with the owner/chef Derrick, executive chef Michael Bradley, oyster shucker George Dowdle, and The Table’s event planner, Christine Morgan. Together, this is the culinary team at The Table.
The Table benefits from having a talented and enthusiastic young chef. With over ten years of experience in professional kitchens, Chef Michael Bradley is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of Canada in Charlottetown. Chef Michael has been at The Table from the beginning, starting as an intern and working his way up to become the executive chef.
I truly felt like I was at someone’s private dinner party. It was a perfect sunny summer evening as guests arrived for the event which started on the side lawn of the church. When I arrived, local aquaculturalist, George Dowdle, was busy shucking oysters that he had fished from the nearby Southwest River only hours before the dinner.
Guests soon became preoccupied with consuming the fresh raw oysters which were served with a choice of three sauces: Asian Thai, Lemon Herb, and Pomegranate Herb. It wasn’t long before everyone felt comfortable and at home with each other as the conversations quickly turned to discussions about the food.
Not quite into slurping raw oysters? Chef Michael also has a unique way of serving grilled oysters. He first puts the oysters on the open fire grill to warm them up, then shucks them and tops them with a black garlic cream sauce and bacon jam, then puts them back on the grill to re-heat them. Simply sublime!
While clams sometimes take a back seat in popularity to mussels and oysters, The Table includes them as part of the meal.
When we had our fill of oysters, out came the cheese and charcuterie trays.
On this evening, The Table served their own homemade black garlic crackers alongside an assortment of cheeses from Ferme Isle St Jean in Rustico and Glasgow Glen Farm in New Glasgow. This was rounded out by pickled beets, pickled carrots, pickled spruce tips, and rhubarb chutney (all made in-house at The Table).
While guests were busy noshing on the appetizers, Chef Michael was preparing the sirloin tip roast with a black garlic espresso rub. Cooked over an open fire, you can only imagine how tantalizing the scent was!
Then, Chef Michael demonstrated how they cook the mussels in a fire pit with seaweed and smoke. The mussels are placed in wet pillowcases which give the moisture the mussels need to open.
Guests leisurely made their way inside the church where the meal was served. The big 12-foot long handmade harvest table occupies much of the space that once would have been filled with church pews.
By this time, guests were very comfortable in the company of each other and, since there were three Islanders present, the conversation soon turned to various aspects of how local foods are produced and farming and fishing, in general. Food is such a commonality and ice breaker!
The meal began with a plated salad highlighted by the skirt steak from Atlantic Beef Products in Albany. The steak had been marinated in an onion garlic marinade.
The boards of housemade sourdough bread were served with a black garlic spread as well as honey butter.
Before each course was presented, Chef Michael came tableside to explain what the course consisted of and how it was prepared.
Next came huge platters of bountiful mixed seasonal vegetables with the fire-grilled sirloin tip roast.
The veggies (along with the salad greens) came from nearby Alexander Fresh Vegetables in Hope River. These were very attractively presented platters.
Then, the seafood platters arrived. All those mussels that had been cooking in the fire pit emerged from the pillowcases and formed the base for lobster claws and tails.
The lobster, fished from boats out of nearby French River Harbour, had been par-cooked with a garlic butter and then was finished on the grill outside.
The green sauce accompanying the mussels was a garden pesto cream sauce.
By this time, I was stuffed and thought I would just roll home but, wait, dessert was to come! Dessert was a blood orange infused carrot cake with orange cream cheese icing. I didn’t get a photo of it because I was too busy enjoying the gluten-free option that was a deconstructed strawberry pie made with a strawberry balsamic reduction and gluten-free pastry lattice, all topped with lactose-free ice cream.
The Table prides itself on using the best of what is fresh and local. Most foods for their themed dinners come from under 10 km away and are farmed and fished by friends and neighbours. So, you know that when you dine at The Table, food will not have traveled thousands of miles before it has reached your plate. In fact, you can seek out the same food suppliers to purchase high quality local PEI products.
I asked Christine if they ever get families for their dinners. She tells me, although 90% of their clientele are adults, parents are welcome to bring their children and they do often have families in attendance. Patrons should note, however, that there is no children’s menu offered so the wee folk eat the same food as the adults.
What I have described above is the meal for the Surf and Turf dinner. I inquired if the meal ingredients are identical for this particular dinner every night. Christine informs me that the appetizers, vegetables, and dessert do vary by what is seasonally available. So, if you are having the Surf and Turf dinner at The Table after having read this post, you’ll be aware that the meal ingredients may not be 100% identical to what I enjoyed in early July.
So, if you want to really immerse yourself in local PEI foods and have a totally relaxing evening in the beautiful countryside of Prince Edward Island while feasting on carefully prepared dishes in a unique setting, you should check out The Table Culinary Studio. If you have dietary restrictions, be sure to advise of that when making your reservation and, to the extent possible, the culinary team at The Table will do all they can to accommodate special dietary needs.
For more information on dining options at The Table, and to make reservations, check out their website at http://www.thetablepei.ca/dining .
My thanks to The Table Culinary Studio for the opportunity to experience their North Shore Surf and Turf Dinner and for the fine hospitality. My dinner at the The Table Culinary Studio was complimentary for the purpose of conducting a review of the North Shore Surf and Turf dinner. However, this in no way influenced my opinions of the dinner experience. All opinions expressed in this review are purely my own.
Lemonade is one of the most common of summer drinks. Served cold, it’s very refreshing on a hot summer’s day. Sometimes, I like to flavour my lemonades as I am doing today with rhubarb in the form of Rhubarb Lemonade. Continue reading Rhubarb Lemonade
Today, I am sharing my recipe for a real old-fashioned type of dessert – Rhubarb Pudding Cake. The cake is “self-saucing” which means that the delectable sauce forms underneath the simple cake batter as the cake bakes. It’s an “all-in-one” pudding and cake! It may not be the most extravagant looking dessert but it sure is mighty tasty! If you are a rhubarb lover, you will love this dessert. Continue reading Old-fashioned Rhubarb Pudding Cake
I love the produce our garden generates and its earliest treat is rhubarb. It is so versatile and I make lots of recipes using rhubarb. Today, a treat for my gluten-free diet followers — a new recipe for Deli-style Gluten-free Rhubarb Granola Muffins. Continue reading Deli-style Gluten-Free Rhubarb Granola Muffins
There is nothing better than lobster fresh from the sea and, living on Prince Edward Island, we are so fortunate to have ready access to this treat! The lobster fishery is one of PEI’s main fisheries. Continue reading On The Sandwich Board: Lobster Club Sandwich with a Twist