Dining Out at Home: Calgary

Patricia A. Myers is a historian at the Historic Sites and Archives
Service, Alberta Community Development. She is the author of Sky Riders:
An Illustrated History of Aviation in Alberta, 1906–1945 and
Preserving Women’s History.

Dining Out at Home is based on a great idea: that you might want to try
making dishes at home that you enjoy when you eat out. It brings
together 92 recipes from 27 Calgary restaurants.

The collection begins with a short breakfast section that features
recipes for Crustless Chorizo and Cheddar Quiche, Organic Granola, and
Butternut Squash Pancakes. Next up are appetizers, sauces, and side
dishes. There are some terrific entries here, including Dried Cherry
Walnut Bread and Roasted Summer Vegetable Terrine. Sections covering
soups and salads, entrees, and desserts and special drinks follow. Many
of the recipes come with serving suggestions.

The chef and restaurant responsible for each recipe are of course
identified, making it easy to find your favourites. The accompaniments
served with the main dishes are also included (if you like the Warm
Artichoke Dip at Village Cantina, for example, the recipe for the fresh
salsa served with it is given). There’s a good mixture of simple and
more-complicated offerings. The Green Curry Chicken, for example, cooks
up quickly, while the Wild Rice Smoked Scallop Cakes with Caramelized
Shallot and Marmalade will take more time. The desserts you secretly
hope your dining companions order so you can steal forkfuls are here,
too (White Chocolate and Huckleberry Crиme Brыlée, Sticky Gingerbread
Pudding, and Maple Poached Pear Strudel, for example). And there are the
sort of recipes that are fun to make and serve, such as Bernard
Callebaut’s Chocolate Martini.

Colour photographs of Calgary landmarks start off the book, and
descriptions and information about the various restaurants conclude it.
Even if you’re not familiar with the dining scene in Calgary, this
collection is filled with tried-and-true favourites.