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ADVERTISE WITH WESTERN HORSE REVIEW
ADVERTISE WITH WESTERN HORSE REVIEW

Tag: Western Foodie

Cowboy Pasta Salad

Posted on by Jenn Webster

This is a salad even the “All Carnivores” in your life will love!

This recipe can be made as a side dish, or as a complete meal. It fits perfectly into a summer theme, is hearty and can be comprised ahead of time. With meat, carbs and vegetables, this plat du jour is excellent for a tailgate gathering, a quick living-quarters dinner or any kind of potluck offering. Best served immediately after being assembled.

Mix all the dressing ingredients together and store in the fridge until ready to use. Just remember, this recipe contains mayonnaise which means it will only keep a short while!

DRESSING

  • 1 Cup Mayonnaise 
  • 1/4 Cup Barbecue Sauce 
  • 2 Tbsp. Dijon Mustard
  • 2 Tbsp. Worcestershire or Soya Sauce
  • 1 Tsp. Cumin
  • 1 Tbsp. Lemon Juice
  • Salt & Pepper to Taste

Mix all together in a separate bowl and set aside in the fridge.

Dice up the chives as thinly as possible.

Cutting the kernels of corn off the cob with a Pampered Chef Kernel Cutter.

Chopping up cooked bacon pieces.

Dicing up the tomatoes.

PASTA SALAD

  • 350 g Corkscrew Pasta, Cooked and Drained1/2 Package of Cooked Bacon (Based on 375 g Package), Chopped
  • 350 g Lean Ground Beef, Browned
  • 2 Fresh Roma Tomatoes, Diced 
  • 1 Cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese
  • 5 Chive Stalks (Approximately)
  • 2 Cooked Cobs of Corn, Husked

METHOD

Take your cooked, prepared pasta and line the bottom of a salad bowl with it, as the dish’s foundation. 

In almost triangular segments (think of a Trivial Pursuit “cheese triangle,”) drop in the salad ingredients. You want the overall appearance to represent a “wagon wheel.” This includes ground beef, bacon, tomatoes, chives, shredded cheese and kernels of corn husked from the cobs.

To save time, use pre-cooked bacon bits or canned corn (cooked, prior to use). For this recipe, we husked the kernels of corn off of freshly cooked cobs, with a Pampered Chef Kernel Cutter product.

Add a dollop of dressing to the salad and mix ingredients together completely. Add more dressing if desired, but be careful not to add too much! It is possible to have dressing left over and the amount used in the salad truly depends on an individual’s tastes. Store in the fridge until ready to eat. This salad can be consumed the next day too, however, the tomatoes may not be as crisp. Do not keep beyond a day after preparation! 

Outdoor Oven Pizzas

Posted on by Talie

With all these plus temperatures we’ve been having lately, Canadians are itching to get out on the patio. Here is a drool-worthy homemade pizza, to enjoy with friends.

Dough:

3 and ¼ cups All Purpose Flour

2 tsp. Active Dry Yeast

1 tbsp. Salt

2 tbsp. Honey

1 cup warm Water

¼ cup dry, White Wine at room temperature

2 tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Method – In a large bowl, combine flour, yeast and salt and mix well. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the warm water, wine and oil. Using a wooden spoon mix the wet ingredients into the dry until the mixture is stiff to stir. Then mix with your hands in the bowl until the dough comes together and pulls away from the bowl. Lightly dust a work surface with flour. Remove dough from the bowl and knead for five minutes. Oil a large clean bowl and place the dough ball inside. Cover with a damp towel and allow to proof in a warm place. Let it double in size.

Sauce:

100 oz can of Diced Tomatoes

1 Onion, thinly sliced

5 cloves Garlic, chopped

1/2 cup Dry Oregano

1 tbsp. Salt

1 tbsp. Pepper

1 cup Olive Oil

Method – Heat olive oil in sauce pot. Sauté onions, garlic, salt , pepper and oregano for about three minutes. Add the tomatoes and cook for two hours at a low simmer. Stir occasionally with a twist to help break up the ingredients as they cook.

Roasted Fennel:

1 Fennel bulb

1 tbsp. Olive Oil

Method – Thinly slice the fennel. Sauté in frying pan until tender. Then place in a 400-degree oven for about 10 minutes.

Cheese:

Fresh buffalo mozzarella and fresh goat cheese (chevre). Bocconcini cheese made with cows milk will also work.

Sausage Meat:

3 lbs. Ground Pork

3 tbsp. Red Wine Vinegar

1 tbsp. Salt

1 tbsp. Black Pepper

1 tbsp. Garlic Powder

1 tbsp. Onion Powder

1 tbsp. Whole Fennel Seed

2 tsp. Sweet Smoked Paprika

2 tsp. Chili Flakes

1 tsp. Brown Sugar

1 tsp. Dry Oregano

Method – Mix all ingredients together. Mince for 10 minutes to ensure all spices are evenly mixed.

Building the Pizza

Portion the dough into 10 oz. portions and form onto balls. Let proof for another hour. Dust work surface with corn meal or flour to aid the rolling process. Roll your dough out into a circle. A 10 oz. dough should make a 10-inch pizza.

Sauce your dough. Add fennel and sausage. Tear the cheese into smaller pieces and place randomly on the pizza.

Use a pizza stone to cook your pizza. Allow the stone 10 minutes to heat up in the BBQ or oven before placing the pizza on it to cook. Slide your pizza paddle under the dough and transfer it to the hot pizza stone. If your use a BBQ, it should be set to 500 degrees. Your pizza will take between five and ten minutes to cook properly. It is ready when the crust is brown.

Once the pizza is cooked, top it throughout with fresh basil leaves. Drizzle with olive oil.

Enjoy!

* Thank-you to Tudor Stables and Connie and Andy Cicoria for allowing us to shoot this recipe on their beautiful outdoor patio!

Pan Roasted Venison

Posted on by Talie

Served with crispy potato pavé, roasted pearl onions, and Saskatoon berry chimichurri – this melt-in-your-mouth dish is hearty and will allow you to savour the hunt, long after the season has ended.

Venison is one of the leanest, high in protein and most economical meats available – especially if you live with an avid hunter. This exquisite dish takes venison tenderloin to a new level and plated atop the most elegant scalloped potatoes (although not exactly, we’ll get into that later…) this meal will leave everyone satisfied and asking for more. 

Potato Pavé

Pavé, is a French word for “paving stones” and as the potatoes are prepared for this dish and sliced into rectangular portions, thus the recipe name Potato Pavé. This side dish is similar to a refined version of scalloped potatoes and requires two days to complete. As such, this part of the meal is the first component to make.

Ingredients:

3 lbs. Yukon Gold Potatoes

2 Tsp Kosher Salt

2 Tsp Ground Black Pepper

4 oz. Fat of Your Choosing (Duck, Goose, Beef, Olive Oil, or Butter) and Melted

Canola Oil for Frying

Once the potatoes are layered, bake them for three hours.

METHOD 

1) Wash and peel potatoes.

2) Using a mandolin, slice the potatoes lengthwise to about 1/16th of an inch.

3) Place the potatoes in a bowl. Toss with fat, salt, and pepper.

4) In a loaf pan, lay down the potato piece by piece. Evenly layer until all the potatoes are used.

5) Preheat oven to 250-degrees Fahrenheit.

6) Bake the potatoes for three hours.

7) Remove from oven, cover with parchment paper, place another loaf pan on top and place weight onto the top of the loaf pan. The weight can be anything – canned vegetables, actual weights, or even rocks.

8) Place the weighted potato dish in the fridge overnight.

9) The next day, cut the potato side dish into desired portions. For this recipe, we did a two-inch length with a 1-inch width slice of potatoes. 

10) Heat oil to 350-degrees Fahrenheit. Fry the potato slices for three to five minutes each.

11) Remove from oil and season with a pinch of salt.


After they are prepared, cut your Potato Pavé into slices.

Pearl onions, cooking on a wood stovetop.

Pearl Onions

Ingredients:

8 oz. Pearl Onions, Peeled

1 Tbsp Olive Oil

1 Tsp Fresh Thyme Leaves

1 Pinch of Salt

1 Pinch of Ground Black Pepper

METHOD

1) Toss onions with oil, thyme, salt, pepper.

2) Pre heat oven to 400-degrees Fahrenheit.

3) Place onions in oven and roast for 15 minutes or until soft and golden, or fry until soft and golden.

Saskatoon Berry Chimichurri:

Ingredients:

1 Bunch Chopped Parsley

1 Bunch Chopped Cilantro

1 Cup Chopped Chives

1 Cup Chopped Oregano

1 Cup Chopped Saskatoon Berries

4 Cloves of Garlic Minced

Juice of 3 Lemons

3 Tbsp Raspberry Vinegar

1/2 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 Tbsp Kosher Salt

1 Tbsp Crushed Pink Peppercorns

1 Tsp Crushed Chilli Flakes

Crushing up the pink peppercorns.

METHOD

Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl. Cover and let it sit for at least 30 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed.

Cook the venison to your preferred doneness.

Plating:

Cook the venison via your preferred method and to your preferred doneness. For this dish we used the tenderloin and seared it at high heat to an internal temperature of 125-degrees Fahrenheit (rare). Then we allowed the meat to rest, covered for 15 minutes. 

In the middle of the plate, place your crispy potato pavé, slice your meat to expose its beautiful color and arrange around the potato. Carefully place the roasted onions wherever you feel they should go. Top with a huge spoonful of the chimichurri and enjoy!