The pandemic put a wrench on entertaining through the holiday season, with the last couple of years all about hunkering down with the immediate family: no office parties, no new year’s celebrations, no huge family get-togethers. Nada. But that’s all in the rear-view mirror (here’s hoping), and everywhere you look, restaurants, caterers and food retailers are kicking holiday plans into high gear.
Bring on the butter boards
At-home holiday entertaining often means platters of finger foods, drinks and stand-up visiting in the kitchen. Charcuterie boards are a natural go-to, where guests can grab a cracker and cheese, pickle, deli meat etc. Throw a few olives, nuts and dried fruit onto the tray and bingo—you have a party.
But it’s easy to elevate things a notch, too. Italian Centre Shop general manager Gino Marghella says the holidays can be the best mix of old and new; Nonna's lasagna alongside something trendy like the butter board—the latest food craze on Tik-Tok and Instagram.
“Butter boards are meant to be fun and communal—to show off a host’s creativity,” says Marghella, noting the appetizer can be savoury—think slathered hummus or butter on a wood block, dotted with chili flakes, olive oil, radishes and microgreens surrounded by sliced marble rye bread or baguette for scooping and sharing. A board can be a dessert or brunch item too—a spread of Nutella or mascarpone cheese on a marble board, with bread, fresh berries, cinnamon and honey alongside.
“It’s Christmas when the panettone (like a fruit cake) and pandoro (more of a sponge cake) hit the shelves. But a butter board, achieves the same goal: simply coming together and breaking bread with family and friends.”
Restaurant renaissance
Reservations are stacking up at favourite spots around town, and that includes Sabor Restaurant. The seafood-forward downtown space is hugely popular with office functions at this time of year, partly because it has rooms that sit 80, 30 or 15—get-togethers here can even include a bar for seasonal cocktails or a signature sangria.
While the upscale eatery offering Portuguese and Spanish cuisine is usually focused on traditional tapas and wine, Christmas parties are more about family-style, comfort food offerings, according to Sabor executive chef Lino Oliveira.
“We cover the bases with family-style seafood or grilled meat platters. It is a good variety of what most people enjoy at holiday get-togethers, and the less formal way of dining encourages sharing and conversation,” Oliveira says.
At the farm-to-table RGE RD., dine-in corporate gatherings and private family functions are as popular as the take-home dishes from its adjacent space, The Butchery, in Edmonton’s 124 St. area.
“We’re hosting groups of 10 to 24 in semi-private spaces in the restaurant, and up to 48 in The Larder,” says RGE RD co-owner Caitlin Fulton, pointing to even larger stand-up cocktail gatherings, an elevated tasting menu with wine pairings and family-style platters as popular holiday options. “The seasonal accompaniments and even the pork, bison or poultry on the menu work around whatever the farmers have in season.”
RGE RD. Chef Blair Lebsack says the focus now is on having enough turkey, stuffing and huge quantities of gravy that will sell out for the take-out crowd.
“I made 180 litres of egg nog last year too, and we could’ve sold 180 more,” says Lebsack.
RGE RD. Is big on collaborations for the holidays, offering Jacek Chocolates take-home treats for its corporate parties and partnering with Duchess Bake Shop to sell Tourtiere—a traditional meat pie—as a take and bake Christmas Eve staple at both locations.
“We provide the pork filling and Duchess does the pastry; we both sell it frozen: a total collaboration that sells out early each year,” adds Fulton.
The real takeaway here? Order early.
Let someone else do the cooking
How about a fully catered feast? Edmonton’s A Cappella Catering has been doing a Holiday Take and Bake meal that became popular through the pandemic, according to company partner Kim Mahoney.
“Families can enjoy the comfort foods moms and grandmas make, but without the hard work. Our customers are often busy families, but we find many people who live outside the Edmonton area have them delivered to people on their behalf,” Mahoney says, pointing to the traditional turkey dinner that includes salad, buns, potatoes, veggies, turkey, stuffing, and gravy. But Edmonton’s cultural communities bring their own twist to the holidays too, often adding on cabbage rolls, perogies and pineapple glazed ham to their orders.
And for those that want to make a turkey or ham themselves, A Cappella has a separate menu offering an a la carte menu of sides and desserts. “During the busy holiday season, people really value a ‘one-stop shop’. It’s about the gift of time and ease,” she says. “It’s heartwarming for our team to be part of gatherings again, and see our food being the centre of attention.”
Be a guest in your own home
For something completely different, you can hire a private chef for your special at-home holiday party. Edmonton-area's Levi Biddlecombe, a Gold Medal Plates NAIT-trained chef and co-owner of the city’s Backstairs Burger, is being hired for private chef events more often than ever.
“We’re doing up to three private dinners a month, just by word-of-mouth and sometimes with an insane budget,” says Biddlecombe, who’s known for his Asian fusion cuisine and signature items like Duck Tots (braised duck over tater tots). “We push the envelope, but people are also more willing to try unusual things today.”
Other than budget and allergy considerations, Biddlecombe says clients are often willing to give him free reign on what he creates for private in-home dinners (from 4-20 people).
Holiday Rack of Lamb
Edmonton Chef Levi Biddlecombe’s showstopper rack of lamb—a perfect focal point for your holiday table.
Lamb:
1 rack of lamb
1 large onion, cut julienne
Lamb Crust-
-60g Panko breadcrumbs
-zest of 1 lemon
-10g cilantro, chopped
-5g Rosemary, chopped
-15g Italian parsley, chopped
-10g Salt
-50g Dijon mustard as a binder
Pan Sauce
2tbsp butter
2tbsp flour
1/4 cup red wine
2 cups beef or lamb stock
6g salt
Procedure:
-Lightly salt the outside of the rack of lamb and sear all sides in a very hot cast iron pan with a light coating of canola oil.
-take the pan off the heat and cover the bottom of the pan with onions
-rub the top side of the rack with Dijon mustard
-combine the crust ingredients and press the crust onto the top side of the rack
-place the lamb on top of the onions and roast in the oven at 375 degrees until the internal temperature of the lamb reaches 130 degrees
-set the lamb aside on a cooling rack to rest
-melt butter in the pan with the onions and add flour
-mix to make a roux and cook on low heat for 2 min
-add red wine and cook out for 2 min
-add stock and simmer until it has reached your desired consistency, then add salt
-slice the rested lamb rack into chops, serve over mashed potatoes
-spoon the pan sauce including the onions over the top and enjoy
