Cooking class – a new first for Urban Deli

cookingclass_201003_03_1A group of twenty or so people convened at the Urban Deli on a sunny Sunday afternoon on March 14th to participate in the first cooking class hosted by UD. The restaurant is normally closed on Sundays, but Liz decided to open up for a few hours to host this reservation-only event. Bob McVicar was the instructing chef and the subject of the day was Italian-style cabbage rolls.

The afternoon began with some informal introductions and delicious snacks (check out this sautéed red pepper recipe), and then we all found seats at the communal table in groups of four. To ensure that the objective of the class was clear, Bob served us each a sample of his Italian cabbage rolls that he had put together a couple of days prior – Bob swears that they are better a few days after making them. We also sampled some homemade Italian sausage that UD has recently started making in-house.

Next, we worked in our groups of four to create some of Bob’s Italian cabbage rolls. We made half of the recipe below, which resulted in a roasting pan full of cabbage rolls. Bob did some of the prep work before we arrived and had already softened and peeled the cabbage leaves off of the head for us as well as having prepared the tomato sauce. Our main tasks were to create the filling and put the rolls together.

Cooking class - be willing to get your hands dirty.Bob’s recipe for the filling is simple to put together and rolling it in the leaves is pretty easy once you get used to it. You’ll need to be willing to get your hands dirty for this dish, so dig in and have some fun. Just follow the recipe and preparation instructions below and you’ll have no problems.

After assembling all of our rolls, we packed them up and topped them with some delicious tomato sauce. Each participant received a portion to take home, at which point they simply had to be baked and served fresh, saved for a few days before eating, or placed in the freezer to consume at a later date.

cookingclass_201003_05_1The cooking class was an enjoyable afternoon and a great value at only $12 per person, which was to help cover some of the costs. Beverages were also available to purchase and the snacks continued to flow throughout the afternoon. This cooking class was a successful first for UD and I suspect that there will be many more to come. Stay tuned to urbandeli.ca for info about future cooking classes that Liz has in the works.

Italian Cabbage Rolls – download recipe by Bob McVicar:

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This article was written by our guest author, Trisha Gallant, who is also an Urban Deli regular.

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Pork fried rice with veggies

Pork fried rice with veggies (photo - Dan Jones)I thought I was going to make chicken fried rice, but I guess that bag in the fridge that my girlfriend took out of the freezer was actually pork.

I wouldn’t really call this a recipe because one could put anything they want in this dish and really, the only thing required is to cook the rice early and then cool it in the fridge. All Chinese restaurants use this technique for fried rice, or at least they should. Using freshly cooked rice will result in a huge lump of goo.

Mixing the other ingredients with the rice in a bowl and then serving isn’t fried rice, although it may also be tasty.

To start off, I seasoned some vegetable oil by combining it in a small pot with fresh ginger, garlic, lemongrass, a chili pepper, star anise, and white peppercorns. I let this simmer for about an hour, before straining and setting it aside until it was time to start cooking.

I used a couple hundred grams of pork, an egg, half a yellow bell pepper, a small handful of green beans, five small mushrooms, one stalk of celery, a small carrot, and 1/3 cup of frozen peas and corn (thawed in microwave, water drained).

I stir-fried the meat, veggies, and egg on medium high heat, and then added the cooled rice, along with several shakes of soy sauce, a few drops of fish sauce and sesame oil, and a small splash of rice wine vinegar.

I also toasted some sesame seeds and sliced a couple of green onions for garnishing the dish when serving.

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Bio: Dan Jones is a food, drink, and travel writer from Saint John. Follow him on Twitter: @danjjj

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Uptown Saint John, opportunities and the future

If you were listening to CBC Radio One (91.3 FM) yesterday – Information Morning Saint John – you might have caught Liz, owner of the Urban Deli. She was in to talk about the Uptown, restaurants and what the future might hold. The CBC site puts it this way: “Owner and operator of the Urban Deli, Elizabeth Rowe, tells us about the development opportunites in the uptown.”

If you missed it, you catch the podcast here: The Future Of Development In Uptown Saint John.

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Pics from our Valentine’s Day dinner

On Saturday evening we had a reserved seating Valentine’s Day dinner and had a fine old time both in the kitchen …

Valentine's Day dinner in the kitchen.

… and in the restaurant.

Guests at our Valentine's Day dinner.

Thanks to our all our guests and our staff! Together you made it a night to remember! Bonus shot:

More guests at our Valentine's Day dinner.

We hope to do it again next year. 🙂 (btw … you can also find us on Flickr.)

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Stephanie’s torch and our new system

Stephanie from the Urban Deli with her Olympic torch.We mentioned that our own Stephanie was one of the torch bearers when the Olympic flame came through Saint John on Tuesday. Well, this is her!

She came by the next day to show us her torch so we made her dress up in her torch carrier outfit and pose outside for a picture or two. From the way she talks, it was a thrilling experience!

On another topic, you may be interested in some of what we’ve been up to behind the scenes. We’ve put in place a new ordering system to help us be a bit quicker and more efficient. So a big thank you to John and the guys from Atlantic Hospitality & Technologies. They came down to help set it up and show us how the darned thing works. As it turns out, it’s pretty easy to use.

Even more interesting is the online ordering system they’re helping us get in place. (It’s part of the whole system.) We don’t have date yet for when it will be in place but it will be soon. Basically, we’ve got to do a little grunt work to put all our menu information into the system. But once done, you’ll be able to order here, at the Urban Deli site. And what will that mean?

For one thing, if you’re thinking take-out, you can just place your order then come in when it’s ready. If you’re having a meeting over lunch and want food to feed everyone, order then just pop in and pick it up or have us deliver it. If you want the Urban Deli to cater an event, party or something else, you can set it all up online. Of course, you’ll still be able to phone us but we think the ease of the online system will appeal to busy people.

So that is one of the things we have in the works. One last thing, if you’re in Uptown Saint John on Saturday night, we have Marvin Rathburn performing here at the Deli starting at 8:00 pm. If you get a chance, pop by!

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A new page for our catering

We should have created a page for the catering side of the Urban Deli a while ago. We’ve actually been doing catering from when we opened, and Liz was even doing it before that. Now, finally, we have a page for it. (You’ll see a catering tab in the navigation up at the top.)

It seemed something we needed to do given the time of year and the various parties, office gatherings and other events and occasions that will be coming up. If you’re the poor soul given the task of setting something up for your office or friends and you’re scratching your head, you can give us a call and we may be able to help you with ideas (506.652.3354).

We also have a few other things in the works to help us be quicker and more efficient but we won’t speak of that until it’s in place. But we’re pretty sure you’ll like it.

Oh, and getting back to catering … as our page mentions, it’s based on our menu but we also go “off menu” depending on what you’re looking for. We’re always up for trying new things!

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Catering

If you have wondered whether the Urban Deli does catering, the answer is a definite, “Yes!” We’ve been doing it since we opened. Call us at 506.652.3354.

What we offer is based on our menus (Urban Deli and Italian by Night), but we also go “off menu,” depending on what you are looking for. If you’re not certain what you might like, tell us what kind of an event or occasion you have in mind and we can make suggestions.

We’re also pretty wide open as to what we can cater. Here are a few ideas or examples:

  • Boardroom meetings
  • Event(s)
  • Birthdays
  • Weddings
  • Anniversaries
  • Grand Openings
  • Special personal occasions
  • Corporate occasions
  • House Parties
  • Good old-fashioned kitchen parties

In other words, if you ask us, “What sorts of things do you cater?” our answer is, “What cha got?” We’re pretty flexible.

It can never hurt to talk so if you have something in mind, give us a call at 506.652.3354 or send us an email or even just drop in for a chat. We’d love to work with you and even provide some ideas, if you would like that.

(You can also contact us for take-out orders at the same number, 506.652.3354.)

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