Foodbuzz 24, 24, 24: A Little Feast on the Prairies

very month Foodbuzz holds a contest for its Featured Publishers called 24, 24, 24. In order to enter the contest a Featured Publisher needs to create a proposal for a unique dinner that they will create, capture and post about. The winners are given $250 to help make the proposal happen. I entered a proposal called "A Little Feast on the Prairies" that would showcase food grown or made on the Saskatchewan prairies. I was so excited to find out, the day after submitting my proposal, that I had won!!

I immediately called up some friends that had helped me to come up with the idea and let them know the great news, inviting them to share in the event. The lucky guests were our good friends, Jeff, Alaina, Chris and Cori.

A lot of my readers may not be familiar with Saskatchewan, so I would like to share a few facts about my lovely province.


(Source: Wikipedia)

- Saskatchewan is one of the 3 prairie provinces in Canada (the others are Alberta to the west, and Manitoba to the East)
- Saskatchewan has an area of 588,276.09 square kilometres.
- The population is just over 1 million people (in the entire province).
- I live in the capital city, Regina.
- The largest city in Saskatchewan is Saskatoon.
- The hottest temperature ever recorded in Canada happened in Saskatchewan
(45 degrees C).
- The coldest temperature ever recorded in Canada was also in Saskatchewan
(-56.7 degrees C).
- We have the best Football team around - The Saskatchewan Roughriders!!

My 24, 24, 24 dinner took place last night.

I woke up early yesterday morning, ate a quick breakfast (oatmeal with 1 T graham crumbs, 1 square chocolate, 1 t white choc. PB, maple flakes), and then got cooking!!!:



A Little Feast on the Prairies

The Place Setting:





The Menu:





The Ambiance:





The Music:



The Appetizers:

1) Goat cheese with wheat crackers, Saskatoon Berry Chutney, and Bison Sausage







2) Cheddar and Potato Perogies with Herb Creme Fraiche





Herb Creme Fraiche

- 1 cup sour cream
- 1/2 cup whipping cream (whipped)
- 1 T chopped fresh chives
- 1 T chopped fresh parsley

Mix all together, and let sit at room temperature for 2 hours. Refrigerate until ready to use.

3) Venison Meatballs with Homemade Mustard





Venison Meatballs

- 1 lb. ground Elk or Deer meat
- 1/2 cup quick oats
- 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1/4 cup finely diced onion

Mix all ingredients together. Form meatballs. Brown in a sprayed pan on all sides. Bake in oven at 350 for approx. 25 minutes.

Homemade Mustard

- 1/2 cup mustard seeds
- 1/2 cup beer
- 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 1/8 tsp cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp ground cloves
- 1/8 tsp nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp brown sugar
- 1 T maple syrup or maple flakes

Combine all ingredients and let sit at room temperature for a couple days. Food process (or use Bamix) to break up seeds.

The Salad:

Mixed Greens with Saskatoon Berry Vinaigrette





Saskatoon Berry Vinaigrette

- 1/2 cup Saskatoon berries
- 1/2 cup Red Wine Vinegar
- 1 heaping T honey
- 3/4 cup Canola oil
- Sprinkle and salt and pepper to taste

The Soup:

Palliser Porter and Cheddar Soup





The Main Course:

Bison and Saskatoon Berry Ragout with Wild Rice, Asparagus, and Fried Bannock







The Dessert:

Chocolate Pie, Cheesecake with Field Berry Sauce, and Saskatoon Berry Perogies





Field Berry Sauce

- 2 cups frozen berries
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 T cornstarch
- 1 T Orange Juice

Bring to a boil, and then simmer for 5 minutes.

The Drinks:

Bushwakker Beer (Brewed in Regina)



Canadian Maple Coffee



The Favours:







The Guests:

Jeff and Alaina



Cori and Chris



Our lovely friends Jeff and Alaina brought us this beautiful piece of pottery by Saskatchewan artist Zach Dietrich.



It was filled with Red Lentils from Alaina's family farm near Elrose, SK.



Thank-you again Jeff and Alaina! How thoughtful!!

Our "Little Feast on the Prairies" was a BIG success!

Thanks to Foodbuzz for helping to make it possible, and to our dear friends for sharing in the fun.