Food trucks are the new way to eat.
They've been building in popularity thanks to food shows and rallies like Sew Hungry, taking place on Friday at the Ottawa Street Farmers' Market in Hamilton, Ont., and considered one of the biggest food truck festivals in Canada.
It's serving amazing food from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., and will be offering such cross-Canada favourites as poutine, tacos, pizzas, pulled pork, schnitzels, souvlaki and grilled cheese from trucks that go by frisky names like Gorilla Cheese, Dobro Jesti, Bonfire Catering, Smoke's Poutinerie, Blue Donkey Streatery and Hank Daddy's Barbecue.
Already the rally sounds like a party. The fun starts with bright yellow, red, blue and purple trucks parked bumper-to-bumper along the street. At Sew Hungry local restaurants and a farmers' market just add to the choices for hungry customers.
So, what's a food truck? Some may call this foodie phenomenon mobile catering or canteen, but I'm going with "chip wagon gone gourmet" -- multicultural with heaping spoonfuls of zany passion stirred in. Food trucks are trending. You can find them at street festivals, fairs or farmers' markets, rock concerts or sporting event. On a regular day, they can be seen occasionally clustered around office buildings -- where there are workers or revellers, there are food trucks.
The Internet is the best source of information for up-to-date information about food trucks in your hometown. For a taste you can make at home, here are two amazing recipes from the trucks at Sew Hungry.
Bonfire Catering's Bacon Jam Pizzas
An ingenious blend of creamy, salty, chewy, crunchy and oozy with a touch of sweet and sour. No wonder this pizza is one of Yvonne Deveau's best sellers from Bonfire Catering, a wood-burning pizza oven on wheels.
Ingredients:
- 2 Tbsp. (30 ml) olive oil
- 1 large clove garlic, smashed
- 3-Hour Pizza Dough (recipe below)
- 2 pkg. (250 g each) Fior di latte mozzarella, or 6 cups (1.5 L) shredded regular mozzarella
- 3/4 small red onion, thinly sliced
- Bacon Jam (recipe below)
Directions:
Combine olive oil and garlic. For each pizza, roll 1 of the balls of dough to 10 inches (25 cm) round. Place on an oiled pizza pan; press edges to raise a rim around the outside. Brush dough with garlicky oil.
Drain Fior di latte; pat dry. Pull each ball into coarse shreds. Spread a quarter of shreds over pizza base avoiding centre and rim. Scatter a quarter of onion overtop. Drop a quarter of Bacon Jam over cheese by spoonfuls avoiding centre. Repeat with remaining dough, garlic oil, cheese, onion and jam to make 4 pizzas.
Bake in bottom third of 450F. (230C.) oven until crust is golden and cheese and bacon jam form lovely swirls all creamy and colourful.
Makes 4 pizzas, 4 to 5 servings.
Bacon Jam
When Yvonne Deveau heard about bacon jam, she did what everybody she knows does: " I googled it." The recipe, halved for four personal-sized pizzas, and slightly adjusted, is from Martha Stewart.
Ingredients:
- 3/4 lb (375 g) sliced bacon
- 1 onion, diced
- 2 garlic cloves, diced
- 1/2 cup (125 ml) brewed coffee
- 1/4 cup (60 ml) cider vinegar
- 1/4 cup (60 ml) packed dark-brown sugar
- 2 Tbsp. (30 ml) medium maple syrup
Directions:
Cut bacon crosswise into 1-inch (2.5 cm) pieces. In large skillet, fry bacon over medium heat, stirring often until bacon is lightly browned, 20 minutes. Transfer to paper towels to drain. Pour off all but 1 Tbsp. (15 ml) fat from skillet; add onion and garlic. Fry over medium-low heat until translucent, 5 minutes. Add coffee, vinegar, brown sugar and maple syrup. Bring to boil, scraping up browned bits from skillet.
Scrape into small heavy saucepan; stir in bacon. Cover; bring to a simmer over low heat. Barely simmer, stirring occasionally, until liquid is syrupy and bacon is tender, about 1 1/2 hours. In food processor, pulse until coarsely chopped. Let cool; refrigerate in airtight container, up to 1 week.
Makes enough for 4 personal pizzas.
19 Sep, 2012
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Source: http://www.lfpress.com/2012/09/18/food-trucks-roll-out-with-good-food-and-unique-recipes
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