Poutine and Alberta beef served at all-Canadian dinner

BY VICKI GILHULA

Meals on Wheels held a successful gala dinner and auction recently which highlighted Canadian food and wine.

Notes in the International Passport Wine Event program say that Canadian food is as diverse as its people.
Traditional dishes are closely related to British and American and French Canadian cuisine. Food from Western Canada is influenced by original settlers from Germany, Eastern Europe and Scandinavia.

Special guest for the evening was wine expert Konrad Ejbich, who appears regularly on the CBC Radio One noon show.

This year, the dinner was held at the Great Hall at Laurentian University. Food was prepared by Chef Mika Koskela.

Although final figures are not available, Meals on Wheels organizers say at least $15,000 was raised for the agency which delivers meals to seniors in Greater Sudbury.

The evening started with appetizers: tourtiere tartlets, and smoke trout mousse on cucumber canapes. Wines served with this course were Cave Springs Cellars Riesling Estate and Colio Estates Cabernet Franc.

The first course of the dinner was bacon, corn and scallop chowder, which was paired with Inox Chardonnay from Peninsula Ridge Estates in Beamsville, an 80-acre property on the Niagara Escarpment  designated by UNESCO as a World Biosphere Reserve. Inox takes its name from the abbreviation of the French word for stainless steel, "inoxidable." The wine is not oaked.

The second course was Atlantic salmon with wild rice and blueberry infused maple sabayon. It was paired with a 2006 Pinot Noir from Flat Rock Cellars, another Niagara area winery.

A fun third course was poutine: fries with aged white cheddar and a herb and wine gravy. It was elegantly served in a martini glass.  It was matched with a 2005 Cabernet Franc from Henry of Pelham. It was followed by a refreshing ice wine sorbet made with 2006 Hillebrand Late Harvest Vidal.

The main course was Alberta beef  striploin roast au jus with rustic garlic mashed potatoes and maple glazed root vegetables. The wine served was a 2002 Cabernet Merlot from Marynissen Estates.

Dessert was a taste of butter tart, Nanaimo bars and a baked apple stuffed with cranberries.

The Nanaimo bar takes its name from the city of Nanaimo, British Columbia, and it first became popular in the 1950s. It consists of a crumb-based layer, topped by a layer of light custard or vanilla butter icing, which is covered in soft chocolate.

Dessert was paired with Indian Summer Riesling 2006 from Cave Spring Cellars.

The date for next year's international dinner is tentatively set for Nov. 8.