Holiday Cooking ... And Eating.

I am stuffed, still. The sad part about having friends and family that are awesome cooks is that they make great food. And during the holidays these amazing dishes are at their peak. Who am I to turn down good eats?

Over the past two weeks my husband and I have crammed our faces full of great stuff at brunches, dinners and cocktail parties. Here are the menus:

Brunch for 6

Frothy Spiced Cocoa

Grapefruit Compote

Turkey Sausage Patties

Smoked Salmon Pizza

Wild Mushroom Frittata

Dinner for 15

Green Salad

Spanakopita

- we used a femily recipe but this one is not bad either

Bacon Roasted Brussels Sprouts

- I didn't use walnuts and I added a splash of red wine vinegar at the end

Cynthia's Corn Pie

- one of my favourite comfort foods

Honey Glazed Ham

A New Year's Cocktail Party for 15

Iceland- Icelandic Lemonade

Fish Balls with Dipping Sauce

- yummy, with crunchy panko crust

Brazil - Pineapple Capirhania

- will knock your socks off, but is gooood!

Pao de Queijo (Cheese Bread)

-best served warm and wrapped around the beef

Grilled Beef with Chimichurri

-I used flank steak and sliced it instead

Newfoundland - Screech

- will clean out your pipes!

Nova Scotian Sausage

Chile - Pisco Eggnog

Empanadas

-loved all the layers of flavour

Ontario - Walkerville Beer

Sliders with Cheese

- great way to cap off the evening

Help for the Holidays

Hannukah, Christmas, Yule, Kwanzaa, Winter Solstice and the coming of the New Year - December is filled with reasons to celebrate! Here are some helpful articles for entertaining.

Now there is Festivus (for the rest of us) - CHOW

What food can one make with the givings of a food bank? - CBC

Snowmen treats for all - Hostess with the Mostest

Sweet Potato Kugel Recipe - National Post

Maple Eggnog - this one's for you Nicole! - Seasonal Ontario Food

Food in the News

Because I am obsessed with making ice cream...

A Toronto Indie Ice Cream Maker - Toronto Star

How to make Spicy Chocolate Ice Cream - Jumbo Empanadas

Because I am not a Valentines Day lover...

A Cocktail Party for Haters - Chow

Bleeding Heart Cupcakes - YumSugar

Because a good Port kicks ass...

What is LBV? - Chow

Marks & Sparks make Pink Port - yeeuk! - The Telegraph

50 Ways to Keep Your Lover this Valentine’s Day

An article from Natalie MacLean...



Ottawa (January 9, 2008) – “Want to seduce someone this Valentine’s Day?” asks Natalie MacLean, author of Red, White and Drunk All Over: A Wine-Soaked Journey from Grape to Glass. “Just share a glass of wine (or three) with your sweetheart.”

“Wine is liquid sensuality: Its heady bouquet stimulates the appetite and its velvet caress soothes that desire,” she observes. “What other drink is described as both ‘voluptuous’ and ‘muscular’? And when you pair wine with the mouth-coating luxury of chocolate, the combination is impossible to resist.”

The creamy flavors of chocolate go best with sweet, full-bodied, high-alcohol wines, MacLean notes. She suggests wines to complement 50 chocolate dishes in her online matching tool . Just click on “desserts” to find pairings for chocolate mud pie to chocolate cheesecake.

Natalie’s top 10 wine and chocolate matches:

1. Dark Chocolate and Banyuls, France
2. Chocolate-Covered Biscotti and Recioto Della Valpolicella, Italy
3. Chocolate-Orange Cake and Liqueur Muscat, Australia
4. Chocolate with Nuts and Tawny Port, Portugal
5. Milk Chocolate and Tokaji, Hungary
6. Bittersweet Chocolate and Amarone, Italy
7. Chocolate-Dipped Fruit and Icewine, Canada
8. Chocolate Ganache Truffles and Sauternes, France
9. Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake and Framboise, California
10. Chocolate Hearts with Cream Filling and Cream Sherry, Spain


In Red, White and Drunk All Over, Natalie discusses how to match food and wine in greater depth, including wines for a multi-course dinner. There’s also a chapter with advice on pairing wine with five challenging foods: chocolate, cheese, spicy dishes, vegetables and fast food. Got a dish or a wine to stump Natalie? Just e-mail her via her web site and she’ll suggest a match for you.

Christmas Eve Brunch

By Dec. 24 I was starting to get my ability to taste and smell back - thank goodness. It was on this date that my husband and I hosted a brunch for our families. The Frittata Stuffed Mushrooms seemed to be the most loved of all the dishes served.

The menu included:

Prosecco with Pomegranate Molasses

Jillian's Mulled Cider

Minted Fruit Salad

Frittata Stuffed Mushrooms (see below)

Miniature Lobster Crepes with Bearnaise Sauce *

Port Basted Peameal Bacon (see below)

Pecan Sticky Buns *

* recipes available in Food & Drink Holiday 2007 edition, which should be available online by the end of January 2008.

Frittata Stuffed Mushrooms

24 large white mushrooms, stems removed and partially scooped out

3 green onions, finely diced

2 t dried dill

salt & pepper, to taste

1/2 c crumbled feta cheese

2 eggs, beaten lightly

Preheat oven to 325 F. Place mushroom caps on a baking sheet and bake in the oven for about 10 minutes or until caps are filled with liquid. Remove from oven and drain off liquid and pat caps dry with a paper towel.

Mix together green onions, dill, S&P, and feta cheese in a small bowl. Scoop a small amount of the mixture and place into each mushroom cap. Spoon beaten eggs on top of cheese mixture until the caps are brimming over.

Bake mushrooms at 325 F for about 10-12 minutes or until egg mixture is set. Serve warm.

Port Basted Peameal Bacon

(adapted from a Canadian House & Home recipe)

2 lb piece of peameal bacon

3/4 c ruby port

1/2 c brown sugar

1 T brown mustard

Preheat oven to 325 F.

Place the bacon in a baking dish and bake, uncovered for 1 hour. Basting every 15 minutes with the port. While bacon is in the oven, combine the mustard and brown sugar. 15 minutes before the bacon is finished, spread the sugar mixture over the meat and finish baking. Let the meat sit for about 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

Work Party

At the beginning of my two week break I came down with the flu. I never get sick so I was really annoyed, especially since I was supposed to hold a party for my colleagues at my place. Luckily my boss decided to move it to her house and I sent the food over there. I'm glad everyone was able to enjoy it.

The menu included:

Spiced Nuts

Lemon Baked Olives

Sweet Potato Fries

Spanakopita Pizza (see recipe below)

Spicy Mango Chicken Slaw

Cheesy Pasta Bake

(this is a similar recipe, though I used one from Lesley Stowe)

Spanakopita Pizza

1 pizza crust (prepared or fresh dough), brushed with olive oil and baked until lightly golden

2 c spinach - cooked, drained and lightly chopped

1 c caramelised onions

1 c good feta cheese, crumbled

1 c shredded mozzarella

Brush crust again with olive oil. Spread spinach on the crust, followed by onions and salt & pepper to taste. Sprinkle cheeses on top of other ingredients. Bake in a 375 F oven until cheese is bubbling (about 12 minutes).

Happy New Year!

Happy 2008!

The holidays flew by and I am now on my last few days of vacation - boo hoo. I did massive amounts of cooking over the break and in the next few posts I will share some of my menus and recipes. Each year I like to give away one gift that I craft up as well as one that I cook up. This year it was decorated straw slippers and jars of homemade granola. The granola kicked ass if I do say so myself. I think it is a keeper.

Danielle's Fruit and Berry Granola

5 c rolled oats

2 c shredded coconut

2 c sliced almonds

1 c shelled pumpkin seeds

1/2 c sesame seeds

3/4 c melted butter

2/3 c honey

3 t cinnamon

1 t nutmeg

1 c sliced, dried figs

1 c dried cherries

1c dried cranberries

1/2 c sliced, dried apricots

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

Toss the oats, coconut, almonds and seeds together in a large bowl. Whisk together butter, honey and spices in another bowl. Pour over the oat mixture and stir until everything is coated. Add dried berries and fruit and stir again until fully incorporated. Pour mixture onto a baking sheet (you may need to divide between two sheets).

Bake, stirring every 5-10 minutes until the mixture turns golden brown (about 25 minutes). Remove from oven and allow to cool.

Halloween Party!

On October 27, my husband and I threw a spooky Halloween bash. It turned out to be quite the collaborative effort as our friends and family contributed with either food or decorations. The evening was enjoyed by all that attended.

Our menu included:

Magnolia Vanilla Cupcakes (with the cutest Halloween decorations ever - supplied by my in-laws!)

Potato Skins with Bacon, Cheddar Cheese and Chives - see below

Black Bean Dip in an Eggplant O'Lantern

Balsamic Soy Glazed Chicken Wings

Brie with Tapenade

Electric Jello Brains

Potato Skins with Cheddar, Bacon and Chives

6 potatoes, washed and cut in half lengthwise

2 c shredded old cheddar cheese

1c crumbled, freshly cooked bacon

Salt & Pepper

1/3 c chives, snipped into 2 cm pieces

sour cream (optional)

Set your oven for 375 F. Place the halved potatoes on a baking sheet, skin side down. Sprinkle with S&P and prick the flesh a few times with a fork. Bake in the oven for about an hour or until the flesh is fully cooked.

When finished, remove from oven and allow to cool. Once the potatoes are at room temp, use a spoon to scoop out most of the flesh; leaving it about 1 cm thick around the potato skin. Put the scooped out part to the side and use later for gnocchi or perogies.

If serving large portions, leave the skins whole. If serving as an appetizer, cut the skins in halves or quarters and place on a baking sheet. Sprinkle a generous amount of cheese and bacon on each potato skin. Place in the oven at 375 for about 10 min. or until the cheese melts.

Once they are out of the oven finish them will a dollop of sour cream and a sprinkle of chives.

Makes about 24 appetizer sized pieces.

Better Late Than Never...

After downloading a few pics today I realised that I never did do a post related to my Thanksgiving feast. This year was our year to host, though our families were extremely helpful in providing some lovely additions .

Our menu consisted of:

Oven Roasted Curried Pumpkin Soup with Maple Pumpkin Seeds

Cranberry Sauce with Port and Dried Figs

Carrot Casserole

Sweet Potato Casserole

Cranberry Cornbread Dressing

Smoked Turkey Breast with Maple Mustard Glaze

Autumn Trifle with Roasted Apples, Pears and Pumpkin Caramel Sauce (to die for!)