Crunchy mild raw beets sliced paper thin, savory fennel seeds & rich earthy morels on top of creme fraiche…what’s not to love? Drink Pairings: Gruner Veltliner from Austria or an Oregon Pinot Noir Ingredients:                           (Makes 4 Servings) 1 Red Beet 1 Golden Beet Fronds from one Fennel Bulb 2 cups Fresh Morel Mushrooms 2 tsp Fennel Seed 1 cup …

Parsnip & Vanilla Soup with Beet Oil & Fried Capers Drink Pairing: Champagne or California Sauvignon Blanc This is a rich, sweet, creamy soup with vanilla bean smoothing all the flavors together.  The earthiness of the beet oil and zing of the capers help rein in the cream and sweetness before they become cloying or …

(Serves 6) Tired of mashed potatoes?  Try parsnip puree!  In addition to offering a different taste and texture, parsnips are a great source of vitamins. Ingredients: 3 parsnips 3/4ths of a cup heavy cream 4.5oz unsalted butter salt to taste Directions: 1. Peel and remove the ends from the parsnips. 2. Rough dice the parsnips.  The smaller …

Jerusalem Artichoke (aka Sunchoke) Soup with Kobe Beef Dumplings This is a creamy soup that allows the sweet flavor of sunchokes to take center stage.  However, before the cream gets too rich it’s cut with the sweet-beefy flavor of the Kobe beef dumplings and an acidic zing from the pickled radishes.  The crunch of the fried dumplings provides …

(Serves 4) These wasabi smashed potatoes are a more rustic version of mashed potatoes with a mild wasabi flavor, but you could easily add more wasabi root to turn up the volume. Ingredients: 1 ¼ lbs heirloom potatoes 1+ Tbsp heavy cream 2-3 Tbsp unsalted butter 2-3 Tbsp fresh wasabi rhizome Sea Salt to taste …

Melody of GourmetFury.com is a food and travel writer by day, wine and cocktail ninja by night.  She is the fire behind Vancouver Food Tour, can be found on Twitter, and will hopefully be back here again some day. ———- Sweet Potato Dessert Dumplings with Fennel Pollen and Ginger I dedicate this dessert to my mom. Sweet potato holds …

Use this sauce to bring tart and tangy Thai flavors to your next pasta dish. Lime and Galangal Butter Pasta Sauce (serves 2) Ingredients: 1 small (or ½ medium) clove Garlic, minced or pressed 1 Shallot, finely chopped 1 tablespoon Fresh Galangal (Thai ginger), finely grated* ½ cup Dry White Wine 4 tablespoons Butter, cut into …

This is a more conventional (but finely tuned) take on the classic bloody mary than our spicy wasabi bloody mary recipe or this Szechuan Button Bloody Mary, but it calls for freshly grated horseradish root rather than jarred (and significantly toned down) horseradish. Layers of aquavit, pepper, tomato juice, Worcestershire and horseradish are blended together into a …

  (note: our red curry didn’t turn out red, probably because we didn’t use enough chilies) Once you’ve got this flavorful paste in your fridge waiting to go (it’ll last for a month!), making delicious Thai red curry for dinner will be quick, easy, and just a few more ingredients away. Ingredients 2 tbsp coriander seeds 2 tsp …

A close relative to ginger with less spicy bite and additional hints of pepper and citrus in its flavor, galangal becomes very mild when candied, a great substitute for people who think candied ginger’s too strong.  Candied galangal makes a great snack, but can also be used (as disks, cut into strips, or finely diced) as a dessert ingredient or …