It feels like only yesterday I was getting excited about the second season of Top Chef Canada and was eager to start attempting to reinterpret dishes from each week’s episode. Apparently time really flies when you’re having fun (and getting relatively stressed out!) in the kitchen. With the second season coming to a close last Monday and Carl taking home the title of Canada’s newest Top Chef, it is now time for me to wrap things up as well. Please, no tears…
Instead of having an online poll to choose the final dish I would have to tackle, we (i.e. the FoodNetwork.ca powers that be) decided it would only be fair that after twelve weeks of being subject to public opinion, I could pick a dish of my own -- my favourite creation of the entire season.
It was hard to narrow it down because there were so many interesting plates throughout the series. But I eventually decided to do my own take on Trista’s winning dish from episode nine -- her Seared Squab Breast with Confit Legs, Lyonnaise Potatoes, Wild Berry Jus, Pain Perdu, Crispy Bacon and Herb Salad. (Whew! That’s quite the mouthful.)
My rendition would have a few less words in its title. I remember watching that episode for the first time and seeing her dish. It was beautiful, and the squab claw garnish was right in line with the sense of playfulness I have with my own food.
I searched high and low in Calgary for some squab, but could not locate any. OK, truth be told, I may have only tried two grocery stores and one butcher shop, but I didn’t have all day!
On a quick side note, squabs are technically pigeons, and there are a lot of those hovering around town, but I didn’t think catching one and cooking it would be very healthy (or safe). I ended up settling on a Cornish game hen from the butcher shop.
Back in the kitchen, I got to work by tossing the hen in a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper, then seared it off and popped it into the oven to crisp up the skin. I made my jus out of blackberries, chicken stock, dried blueberries and a bit of fresh ginger. After some quick research, I realized ‘Pain Perdu’ is actually french toast. I had a day old baguette on my counter, which soaked up its rosemary, thyme and egg coating perfectly. In the end, everything came together quite well. Between the hen, jus, and pain perdu, there were some rich, rustic flavours on the plate. I’d like to think that Trista would be fairly happy with this home cook’s version!
In closing, I’d just like to say that it’s been a great run. Although I had deemed myself fairly adept in the kitchen prior to taking this challenge on, I’ve definitely learned a lot since then. For instance, I've learned that baking requires a lot of attention to detail. I also learned that you shouldn’t leave friends alone in the kitchen with your dish in the process of being created. But perhaps most notably, I learned that I am certainly not a chef.
I think it’s very easy for all of us to watch a culinary competition on television, from the comfort of our own couches, and criticize. Watching cooking challenges on screen, for whatever reason, makes the goal look much easier to accomplish than it actually is (trust me). I have a massive amount of respect for the 16 chef-testants who put their chops to the test on this second season of Top Chef Canada. Whether a chef was the second person to be sent home or made it all the way to the finale, it takes a lot of skill to even get there in the first place.
See you when season three rolls around. Until then, you can catch me in my kitchen, practicing my macaron-making. In the meanwhile check out the photo gallery below to relive my 13 stressful weeks of Top Chef Canada dish recreations!
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Seared Cornish Hen with Blackberry Jus, Pain Perdu and Fennel Mint Salad
Serves 3-4
Total cook time…35 min
What you’ll need…
Seared Cornish Hen:
• 1 cornish game hen (halved, flattened)
• salt and pepper
• olive oil
Blackberry Jus:
• 1 yellow onion (finely chopped)
• 1 clove garlic (minced)
• 1 cup blackberries
• 1 cup chicken stock
• ¼ cup dried blueberries
• 1 TBSP fresh ginger (grated)
• 2 TSP white wine vinegar
• salt and pepper
• olive oil
Pain Perdu:
• 2 eggs
• ½ cup half and half
• 2 TSP dried rosemary
• 2 TSP dried thyme
• salt and pepper
• 1 baguette (1” sliced)
Fennel Mint Salad:
• ½ cup fennel (thinly sliced)
• ¼ cup red onion (thinly sliced)
• ¼ cup fresh sage (loosely chopped)
• ¼ cup chives (loosely chopped)
• ¼ cup mint (loosely chopped)
• 1 TBSP white wine vinegar
• 2 TSP lemon juice
• 1 TSP white sugar
• salt and pepper
• olive oil
Seared Cornish Game Hen:
Preheat oven to high broil. Drizzle some olive oil on the hen halves and season liberally with salt and pepper on both sides. Sear hen for 5 minutes on each side. Place seared hen into preheated oven for 20 minutes, or until meat is cooked through and skin is brown and crispy. Segment the hen into desired portions and keep warm until ready to serve.
Blackberry Jus:
In a small pot, cook off the chopped onion and garlic on medium-high heat with some olive oil for 5 minutes. Add in the next 5 ingredients and let mixture simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season with salt and pepper and keep hot on stove.
Pain Perdu:
Whisk together the first 4 ingredients in a medium-sized mixing bowl. Season with a bit of salt and pepper and soak baguette slices in the egg mixture for a few seconds. Place into a large hot pan on stove and cook until golden brown on both sides.
Fennel Mint Salad:
Place all salad ingredients in a medium-sized bowl and toss to combine. Add a drizzle of olive oil and season with some salt and pepper. Keep in the refrigerator to stay cool until ready to plate.
Assembly:
Place two pieces of hen onto each plate with a small side of the fennel salad and 3 slices of the pain perdu. Spoon some blackberry jus onto the seared hen and perdu. Finish place with a drizzle of olive oil and serve.
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Dan Clapson is a food writer and culinary instructor based out of Calgary. He is constantly creating new recipes and striving to expand his culinary horizons. He thinks yam fries are overrated.
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Dan Clapson