Highlands Platter - Highlands Kitchen

Coffee - $2.50 (CAD)
Highlands Platter - 2 cheesy scrambled eggs, ham, sauerkraut, buttermilk biscuit, preserves, choice of salad or potato hash - $15.00 (CAD)

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Realistically, they should have had a nice big "гарне харчування" sign. It wasn't GREAT food, but it was pretty good. And you could soon see the Ukrainian influence soon after you walk in the front door...

The setting was small, wooden floors,drafty as we were near the front door, a little cramped, and busy (it was a Saturday morning). Menu was very simple, white paper with black/grey lettering with a simple description for each dish. Yes, yes! Pyrogy and cabbage rolls did make an appearance! It was like a Fall Supper (Breakfast?) dream come true!

But, CJ didn't go to fill his belly with comfort food from the motherland. Nay. It was breakfast food to induce winning picks in the weekly NFL Proline Syndicate (Fuck you, Aaron Rogers for losing to the Colts! Where's your championship belt now???...CJ has always disliked the Packers, ever since they stole Reggie White...) So eggs it must be!

The presentation of the dish was good. It wasn't a lot of food, and for $15.00 (CAD), it was a little less than I was expecting. Regardless, the dishes came out in a timely fashion.

CJ ate the eggs and ham first. They were pretty good, although the eggs were just a tad runny. Maybe they could have set for another minute or two on the stove. The potatoes, on the other hand, were very tasty, and cooked to perfection. Honestly, a grade of 8.7 for the potatoes (or should CJ say "potatoes and sweet potatoes"?). Yummy. And the preserves and biscuit finished it off. The jam seemed fresh and full of flavour, while the biscuit had that soft, warm, recently baked feeling to it. Pleasant to the palate.

Supposedly there's been some good reviews for the restaurant in the past... "Top 10 Best New Restaurants in Canada 2009"? Really? Finally, we can say that Air Canada got something right...

The photographic evidence:

Overall grade: and 8.1 out of 10.0. It would have been a little higher had it not been an expensive breakfast.

Spanish Ham and Cheese Monte Cristo Sandwiches

8 1/2-inch-thick slices sourdough or country-style French bread (each about 5 x 3 inches)
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
6 ounces Manchego cheese, *thinly sliced
2 ounces thinly sliced Serrano ham or prosciutto
4 tablespoons membrillo (quince paste) or quince preserves
4 large eggs
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter

Chef's Note: I halved the recipe for dinner last night

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What better way for the Chef to celebrate Cinco de Mayo than to write about a Spanish-style sandwich he ate last night? Well, to write about it while drinking a delicious "Sol". Imagine, a holiday to celebrate a military victory over the French. Hmmm....

Anyway, I have only had one or two Monte Cristo's in my life to date. I always thought they were decent. Then I saw this recipe in a "15 meals in 15 minutes" article, so I thought it was a perfect time to get some quick meals down pat, as my CASB module 2 begins tomorrow. <sigh>.

Some of the ingredients took some time (and traveling) to find. The Manchego cheese, the Serrano ham, the quince preserves (just a jam, really) along with the country-style French bread were all purchased at the Italian Market in Edmonton. Good stuff.

In terms of preparation, it was all pretty quick. I spent more time waiting for the butter to melt. And speaking of butter, I think next time I'd go a little easier on butter. Maybe halve it or cut 25% off.

The recipe calls for cooking the sandwich on a skillet, but I used my panini-press/griddle. 8 minutes is all the recipe calls for, and I gave it about 9 minutes. I might suggest maybe 10 or 11 minutes should be the maximum, depending how you like your cheese.

All in all, it worked out alright. I remembered that I'm not a huge fan of egg-dipped sandwiches after trying it out. I automatically just compare it to French Toast, and it just doesn't measure up. The ham was more than a little salty (no surprise there) and the cheese was forgettable. I might try a cheddar and granny smith apple mix next time. Without the egg.

Monte Cristo? Related to Marquis de Sade? Unlikely.

The photographic evidence (notice the Yum-Yum pickles? CJ's momma says it's not a grilled-cheese sandwich without the pickled sidekicks):

The grade: A solid, if unremarkable 7.2 out of 10.

Baked Pasta with Ricotta and Ham

Yes, my little Sous-chefs, I won't be posting the recipe this evening. No sense when I took it from here.

The Chef's inspiration for the dish comes from a foodie within the Capital City.I've never met her, but here's her blog. Thank you, Ms. Yeo!

I have to admit, that for the recipe I did use dried thyme, and that after reading "Only here for the Food" I doubled the amount of sauce (a wise girlfriend once told me that it's all in the sauce. I don't think she reads this blog...). No italian ham was used either - I don't think I can find any in Camrose. The recipe really should have been halved, unless I was going to feed this damned city of Vikings I live in.

The sauce portion took the majority of my Sunday morning. What else can I do? And when the ham was browning with the vegetables and the Chianti was added, I really should have recorded that smell. It was de-LISH!

In the end, it was a fancy Mac & Cheese with ham and bits o' onion in it, that's how I would describe it. It was pretty cheesy, and with every bite, you could catch a hint of Chianti in it. Beats Kraft Dinner, that's for sure.

I'm not sure your kids would like it. But it's worth a shot. Final Outcome: 7.1 out of 10.