Category Archive of Recipes

My friends and I have gathered together for Christmas brunch every single year since record albums were the coolest Christmas gifts.  This year, I decided to treat them to Christmas in Paris – one of my friends opened up her lovely Georgetown home and I threw together an easy, chic brunch with a French twist. I gathered ready-made gourmet treats from local artisans, made a couple of recipes ahead of time (inspired by a famous Parisian pastry chef and a French cookbook writer), and prepared two showstopper, easy-assemble salads. Throw on a scratchy recording of Edith Piaf’s La Vie en Rose et voilà, it’s Christmas in Paris through rose-coloured glasses.

Wild Hibiscus Flowers in Rose Syrup served in Champagne:

When you combine Christmas and cherished friends at the same table, it’s time to pull out all the stops. I served some extra special treats to nibble and sip on as hors d’oeuvres. Rose syrup is the flavour du jour in Paris and this jar of Wild Hibiscus Flowers in Rose Syrup contains 15 handpicked wild hibiscus flowers packed in syrup made from the natural essence of two dozen Bulgarian roses. Place one flower in the bottom of a champagne flute, add some rose syrup, pour in the champagne and watch the bubbles unfurl the flower – it reminds me of the skirts flying at Le Moulin Rouge. Available as a limited edition production from Crafted Décor in Streetsville and Florence Meats in Oakville.

Pierre Hermé’s Olive Sablés served with White Wine or Champagne:

These aren’t just any savoury cookie – they are an utterly surprising savoury French shortbread that will have your guests shocked by the initial sweetness (from the icing sugar), enamoured by the incredible tenderness (from the potato starch and grated egg yolk) and then, when the salty and fruity notes (from the oil-cured black olives and olive oil) hit the stage, you just may hear gasps followed by utterances of ooh la la…as if you were watching the latest Parisian haute couture creation walk down the runway in the city’s top fashion house. In fact, the recipe comes from famous French Pastry Chef Pierre Hermé, who is widely acclaimed as the “Couturier of Haute Pâtisserie”.

I made the dough well in advance and rolled it into logs, then froze them. When ready to bake, I took one log out at a time a few moments before baking, then sliced from frozen and baked. The recipe turned out beautifully – you simply must have it in your repertoire. How does a local gal comme moi get her hands on Pierre Hermé’s recipe? I found it in Dorie Greenspan’s charmingly chic cookbook, Around My French Table, which is available to borrow from the Mississauga Library or to buy from www.chapters.indigo.ca  It’s on my Christmas wish list – I hope my husband is reading my blog posts!

Spirit Tree Estate Cidery Pâté with Ice Cider & Shallots and Evelyn’s Currant in the Rye Crackers served with Sparkling Pear Cider:

Spirit Tree Estate Cidery Pâté with Ice Cider & Shallots is a superb pâté. Luxuriously smooth and creamy, it’s packed with the flavour of all natural ingredients: chicken livers, clarified butter, shallots, port, brandy, ice cider, Calvados, apple syrup, eggs, and spices. It’s frozen in adorable little 165g ceramic pots. I picked it up from Spirit Tree Estate Cidery a while back and stored it in my freezer, ready for Christmas entertaining. Just defrost overnight in your fridge.

Evelyn’s Currant in the Rye Crackers are the perfect match for this pâté: a hearty yet delicate cracker made with preservative-free, all natural ingredients including dried currants, fennel, anise, and caraway seeds and best of all, 100% heritage organic rye grown and milled by Ontario farmers. Evelyn’s Crackers are made by “cracker heroes” Dawn and Ed – find out what makes them heroes here: www.fiestafarms.ca/heroes.  Available at Whole Foods. For other locations throughout Ontario, click here: http://evelynscrackers.wordpress.com/wheretobuy/.

Spirit Tree Estate Cidery Sparkling Pear Cider is a refreshing choice for those who are looking for something non-alcoholic: fresh pear, just a hint of sweetness, bubbly, and light.  It’s perfect for special celebrations.  Also available in Sparkling Sweet Apple Cider. Spirit Tree’s Mulled Apple Cider containing chopped fruit and spices would be another great choice and very festive. If you would like to learn a little bit more about Spirit Tree, read my full post here: Spirit Tree Estate Cidery: Savour the Quality.

For the main meal, I laid out an impressive line-up of store-bought gourmet goodies and two easily prepared dishes I made myself that just needed just some minor last minute preparations.

Prosciutto Wrapped Fresh Figs Stuffed with Cheese on Arugula

Serves 6

This showstopper, palate-pleasing salad is a cinch to assemble à la minute. The sweetness of the figs and vinegar plays against the salty prosciutto, creamy tang of the blue cheese, and peppery punch of the arugula. If you don’t like blue cheese, feel free to use brie or chèvre instead. I used a beautiful combination of Date Crème Vinegar and Hazelnut Oil that I picked up at Crescendo World of Oils Vinegars and Spices in Toronto’s Distillery district – but extra virgin olive oil and balsamic glaze are also terrific.

Ingredients:

6 fresh figs, sliced in half from stem end to blossom end, keeping stem halves intact
1/3 cup your favourite creamy mild blue such as St. Agur or Devil’s Rock (or chèvre)
6 slices prosciutto, cut in half lengthwise
6 handfuls of baby arugula (or your favourite greens)
Hazelnut oil or extra virgin olive oil
Date Crème Vinegar or balsamic glaze
Sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425°F. Smear cheese on cut side of each fig half. Wrap each half with prosciutto. Store in an air-tight container in the refrigerator up to 4 hours before serving or bake immediately, according to the following instructions.
2. Arrange cheese side up on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake in 425°F oven until prosciutto is crisp and cheese has melted, about 5 minutes.
3. In a large bowl, toss the greens with some salt, pepper, and oil; spread greens out on a pretty platter; place figs on top and drizzle figs and salad with vinegar. Serve warm.

Spirit Tree Estate Cidery Quiche:

Make sure you search out the very best handcrafted quiche you can find. Spirit Tree Estate Cidery makes delicious quiche. The Quiche Lorraine is full of hearty flavour from bacon, potato, thyme, and swiss cheese. The Tomato & Spinach quiche has intensely flavoured wood-oven-dried tomatoes, sautéed spinach, thyme, and clumps of soft chèvre, all suspended in a lovely egg custard. I purchased both quiches frozen, stored them in my freezer, and baked them from frozen on the day of the brunch. I haven’t tried their Mushroom & Potato or Cauliflower quiche yet but they sound tempting.

If you can’t make it out to Spirit Tree, good quality quiche can also be found at The Hot Oven in Etobicoke, Cousin’s Gourmet Market in Port Credit, Black Forest Pastry Shop in Oakville, and Kate’s Town Talk Bakery in Streetsville (Kate also sells a really tasty Spinach & Cheese pie – another one of my favourites). Wherever you choose to purchase your quiche, be sure to call ahead to place an order in advance.

Vodka Infused Smoked Salmon:

Drape some luxurious smoked salmon on a pretty platter and garnish with lemon wedges and perhaps, capers, sliced onion, and a drizzle of olive oil. My absolute favourite is a locally produced Vodka Infused Smoked Salmon that I buy from Cousin’s Gourmet Market in Port Credit and have also found it at Domenic’s in the St. Lawrence Market. It is so tender, that it almost melts in your mouth.

Artisanal Croissants:

What would Christmas in Paris be like without really good croissants? I picked up frozen chocolate and butter croissants handcrafted at Patisserie D’Or in Oakville, stashed them in my freezer, took them out to rise overnight, then baked fresh the morning of the brunch –you can’t get easier or more delicious than that. Boy did my kitchen smell heavenly! These croissants have a buttery flavour and a nice mouthfeel.

And now for the grande finale…

French Macarons:

Buy a colourful assortment of the very best French macarons you can find. I picked up these little beauties from Whole Foods, made by La Fournette Bakery: mango, passion fruit, vanilla, raspberry, pumpkin, chocolate, pistachio, and my favourite – hazelnut.

Ispahan Parfait

Serves 6

This showstopper fruit salad was inspired by the beautiful flavour combination of raspberries, lychee and rose, created by famous French Pastry Chef, Pierre Hermé, as a macaron flavour, and now all the rage in Paris. You won’t really notice the rose syrup in this gorgeous and healthy parfait – just a hint of je ne sais quois. Make both the rose syrup and the pistachio dust in advance (you can even freeze them if you need to). Combine the raspberries and lychees with the syrup at the last minute, or earlier on the day of serving, if necessary. Spoon into pretty glasses and top with yogurt, almonds, and pistachio dust just before serving. Feminine, festive, and fusion-French, it’s perfect for my girlfriends’ Christmas brunch.

If you don’t want to make your own rose syrup, you can order an exquisite Wild Rose Petal Syrup from Forbes Wild Foods, a Canadian company that supplies sustainably-harvested wild foods from the Canadian wilderness to restaurants, hotels, stores, and on-line customers. To order on-line click here:  http://store.wildfoods.ca/syrups/.

Oh to be in Pierre Hermé Paris at Christmas time.

Ingredients:

1 can (560mL) whole lychees in light syrup
1 package (6 oz/170g) fresh raspberries
¼ cup reserved lychee syrup from above can
5 teaspoons Rose Syrup (see recipe below)
½ cup vanilla yogurt – such as Sheldon Creek Dairy’s Greek-style Yogurt (see note below)
6 teaspoons raw slivered almonds
3 tablespoons Pistachio Dust (see recipe below)

Directions:

1. Drain lychees into strainer set over a medium bowl to reserve lychees and lychee syrup; slice lychees in half. Place lychees in a second medium size bowl. Add raspberries to lychee fruit.
2. In a small bowl, combine ¼ cup lychee syrup and 5 teaspoons rose syrup; add to lychees and raspberries and toss gently. Divide fruit evenly amongst 6 small pretty cups; spoon in a little syrup.
3. Place 1 spoonful of yogurt on top of each cup. Top each with 1 teaspoon of slivered almonds and then 1/2 tablespoon pistachio dust. Serve immediately.

Rose Syrup:

Makes just over 1/3 cup.

You’ll need rosewater, which you can find in Middle Eastern grocery stores such as Adonis. Store your rosewater and rose syrup in the fridge.

Ingredients:

1 cup water
½ cup granulated white sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon rosewater

Directions:

1. Combine water and sugar in a small saucepan; bring to a boil, simmer rapidly, stirring occasionally, until mixture has reduced and become syrupy, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in lemon juice and rosewater. Let cool completely.
2. Store in a covered container in refrigerator for a few days or freeze in an airtight container for longer storage. Defrost in fridge before using.

Pistachio Dust:

So pretty sprinkled on fruit salad, especially on raspberries or strawberries at Christmas time.

Ingredients:

1 cup shelled raw pistachios

Directions:

1. Using a mini processor, grind pistachios into a fine dust. Store in an airtight container in freezer until ready to use.

A little decadence is called for here, so look for the richest yogurt you can find. Spirit Tree Estate Cidery sells a luxuriously creamy Greek Style Vanilla Yogurt from Sheldon Creek Dairy, made with pasteurized whole milk, light brown cane sugar, vanilla extract, and bacterial culture – and nothing else! Sheldon Creek Dairy’s pasteurized Cream Top Whole Non-Homogenized Milk is nutrient-rich, all natural, and has cream that rises to the top of the bottle and separates (how milk was made before we homogenized it): shake it in the bottle for creamier milk or spoon out to add to your coffee.  Sheldon Creek Dairy is owned and operated by the den Haan family whose herd of cows graze the pastures of the Sheldon Valley, in Loretto, Ontario. Click here for other retail locations: http://sheldoncreekdairy.ca/about.php.

For further details and locations of suppliers featured in this post, check my Grocery Store Directory or Farmers’ Market Directory.

To further enhance the mood, you may wish to play the following music suggestions:

White Christmas Michael Buble & Shy’m https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/white-christmas-duet-shym/id472520445

Noel Blanc Coeur de Pirate https://itunes.apple.com/ca/artist/c-ur-de-pirate/id290621195

Dazzle your dinner guests with my delicious, and definitely festive, Chestnut Stuffed Veal Marsala. The sweet vanilla notes from the chestnuts in the stuffing marry beautifully with the added hint of vanilla in the Marsala wine sauce (which is a breeze to make).

Chestnut Stuffed Veal Marsala with Crisp Sage Leaves

Serves 4 (6 veal rolls – 1 ½ rolls per person)

The stuffing can be made ahead and freezes well. However, if you are making the stuffing on the same day you are serving the veal, treat your guests to crisp sage leaves – a great way to use up the rest of the sage.

Crisp Sage Leaves (optional garnish)

Be sure to set aside 8 sage leaves to use in the stuffing, before you fry up the remaining leaves. Fry just before you prepare the veal, then set aside at room temperature.

Ingredients:

¼ cup olive oil
1 bunch fresh sage, large stems discarded, leaves dried thoroughly (save 8 sage leaves to use in stuffing)
Sea salt to taste

Directions:

1. In a small sauté pan over medium heat, heat oil until hot but not smoking. Carefully add leaves to pan, one at a time to make a single layer (you will have to fry leaves in at least two batches); fry for 5 to 7 seconds – leaves will crisp up as they cool; immediately remove leaves from pan with a slotted metal spatula to a paper towel-lined plate.
2. Repeat with remaining leaves. Season with sea salt. Serve at room temperature.

Chestnut Stuffing

This stuffing can be made a day ahead or even frozen for up to 2 weeks; defrost completely, in the refrigerator overnight, before stuffing veal. Look for peeled, ready-to-eat chestnuts in packages in the produce or international section of your local grocery store. Here is a link to the brand I’ve been using, which is available at Loblaws and Longo’s: www.dan-d-pak.com/products/chestnuts-2/

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons unsalted butter
½ small yellow onion, finely chopped
1 celery stalk, finely chopped
8 sage leaves, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 package (100g) peeled, ready to eat chestnuts
⅓ cup panko bread crumbs – whole wheat or white
½ teaspoon coarse salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

1. Melt butter in a large non-stick skillet over medium heat; add onion and celery and sauté, stirring frequently, until soft, about 5 minutes. Add sage and garlic; sauté, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Remove pan from heat.
2. Finely chop chestnuts in small food processor; add to onion mixture in pan. Add bread crumbs, salt, and pepper. Stir well then remove to medium-sized bowl.
3. Let cool before stuffing veal. Stuffing can be made ahead and stored in an airtight container, in the refrigerator overnight or frozen up to 2 weeks. Defrost thoroughly in refrigerator overnight and bring to room temperature before stuffing veal.

Veal:

If you’ve made the stuffing ahead, all that is left to do is to stuff, roll, and cook the veal and sauce –which should be done just before serving. Give yourself enough time to roll the veal. It’s easy to do if you are not panicked. I don’t fuss with string (but feel free if you like); and toothpicks would prevent the rolls from being properly seared. To keep the rolls from opening, roll the veal up tightly, tucking the sides in while rolling and pulling the end snug around the roll; then be sure to sear seam side down first and handle gently with tongs. If your veal is long and narrow and you cannot tuck the sides in as you roll, don’t fret; if you handle the veal rolls gently, an insignificant amount of stuffing may fall out into the pan while searing – just be sure to scrape it out when you drain the fat out of the pan.

This recipe calls for dry (not sweet) Marsala, which is a fortified wine. Sperone Fine I.P. Dry Marsala from Italy (available at LCBO) works well in this recipe and is nice to sip on. Campbell’s has added a No Salt Added broth to their line of ready-made, tetra pack chicken and beef broths. Be sure to use it or homemade chicken stock for this recipe; reducing the sauce intensifies its saltiness; low sodium and regular ready-made broths are too salty. The amount of Marsala and broth will seem like a lot but the sauce reduces down to ⅔ cup, which is just enough.

Ingredients:

6 veal scaloppini, ¼” thick and ideally wider rather than long and narrow
Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon olive oil (you can use the same oil you cooked the sage in)
1 tablespoon butter

Sauce:
2 cups dry Marsala wine (not sweet)
1 cup no salt added chicken broth or homemade broth
½ teaspoon vanilla

Final Touches:
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon butter, optional

Directions:

1. Season one side of veal with salt and pepper. Place about 3 tablespoons of stuffing in the centre of the one scaloppini; spread out evenly to within ¼” of edges; roll up tightly, tucking sides in as you roll if you can, and pulling end snugly around roll. Repeat with remaining rolls. Dredge rolls lightly in flour.
2. Heat oil and butter in a large non-stick skillet over medium heat. When the foaming butter begins to settle down, shake off excess flour and place veal rolls in skillet seam side down and sear just until golden brown, about 30 seconds; using tongs carefully flip to the other side and sear until golden about 30 seconds more; repeat with remaining 2 sides. Remove veal to a plate; cover with foil to keep warm.
3. Carefully drain fat from pan. Return pan to medium heat; add sauce ingredients; adjust heat to a low simmer. Return veal to pan; cover and simmer gently until cooked through, about 6 minutes, turning gently with tongs every 2 minutes. Leave sauce in pan but remove veal to a plate and cover with foil to keep warm.
4. Increase heat to medium high, bring sauce to a boil; boil rapidly, stirring frequently, until reduced and thickened, about 15 minutes; skim out any bits with skimmer. Remove from heat and stir in final touches. Return veal to pan briefly, just to roll in sauce to evenly coat and to warm through.
5. Place 1 veal roll on each dinner plate; carefully slice the remaining two rolls diagonally in half; place ½ roll on each dinner plate. Strain sauce and pour into a small (1 cup) pitcher to serve on the side. Serve immediately with Crisp Sage Leaf garnish and instruct guests to drizzle sauce over veal.

Here is my holiday line-up of make-ahead, easy-assemble, or store-bought hors d’oeuvres, ranging from comforting to exotic, that are so delicious they will make you the talk of the town.

Paneer Tikka Stuffed Mini Potatoes

Makes 32 halves

My Paneer Tikka Mini Potatoes are stuffed with an exotic combination of Indian spices tamed by rich coconut milk, tomato paste, and soft paneer cheese. Mmm…cheese, potatoes, and a touch of the exotic in a make-ahead, freezer-friendly recipe – everything I am looking for in a special occasion hors d’oeuvres.

It’s well worth seeking out Arvinda’s Tikka Masala spice blend for this recipe. Based in Oakville, Ontario, Arvinda’s makes artisanal, premium Indian spice blends, using Canadian grown spices whenever possible, like mustard seed and coriander. Their Tikka Masala is a lively blend of all natural ingredients, including fresh organic garlic from Stratford, Ontario and fresh ginger.   It’s hot but the tiny amount in this recipe will blanket you in a pleasant (not painful) warmth with layers of flavour. You can find Arvinda’s finely crafted range of Indian spice blends in fine food stores throughout Ontario. Check their website for a store near you.

Paneer cheese is a mild, fresh, farmer white cheese. It is now widely available in many supermarkets or Indian grocery stores.

Ingredients:

Potatoes:
16 mini Yukon Gold potatoes, uniformly medium-sized
1 tablespoon olive oil
¼ teaspoon coarse salt

Stuffing:
1 cup (scant) finely diced paneer cheese
½ teaspoon Arvinda’s Tikka Masala spice mix
½ teaspoon salt
1½ teaspoons tomato paste
½ cup canned coconut milk, well-shaken

Garnish:
Finely chopped chives, green onion, or cilantro

Directions:

Potatoes:

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Cut potatoes in half so that each half will sit upright. Dump on parchment-lined baking sheet. Add oil and salt; toss to coat potatoes evenly. Arrange on baking sheet cut side up and evenly spaced so potatoes aren’t touching each other. Roast in a 375°F oven until just tender, 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool on baking sheet.

Stuffing:

1. Using the pointed end of a vegetable peeler or a small spoon, carefully scoop flesh out of potato into a medium bowl, leaving a thin wall of flesh lining the potato skin. Roughly mash the flesh with a potato masher or fork.
2. Add stuffing ingredients to mashed potato; mix well. Mound stuffing in potatoes halves.
3. If serving immediately, arrange on parchment-lined baking sheet; bake at 375°F until hot throughout and cheese is soft, 7 to 10 minutes. Sprinkle garnish of your choice over top of each potato. Serve warm.
4. Or place in an airtight container, separating layers with parchment paper, cover and store in the refrigerator overnight. Bring to room temperature while preheating oven to 375°F degrees. Arrange on parchment lined-baking sheet and bake until hot throughout and cheese is soft, 7 to 10 minutes. Sprinkle garnish of your choice over top of each potato. Serve warm.
5. Or place in an airtight container, separating layers with parchment paper, cover and freeze up to 2 weeks. Bake from frozen in a 375°F oven, arranged on a parchment-lined baking sheet, until hot throughout and cheese is soft, about 15 minutes. Sprinkle garnish of your choice over top of each potato. Serve warm.

Muhammara: A Seductive Syrian Dip

You’ll find my recipe for a seductively delicious dip, that is festively colourful and healthy. in my post Mississauga Meet Muhammara: A Seductive Syrian Dip. This intriguing little number has layers of flavour and texture: roasted sweet red peppers, crunchy walnuts, acidic tomato paste and lemon juice balanced by sweet and tangy pomegranate molasses, and a warm spicy heat that slowly unveils itself. It’s a breeze to make at the last minute with most items stocked in the pantry, or it can be made ahead and refrigerated for a couple of days. or even frozen for up to 2 weeks. If you would rather purchase ready-made Muhammara, my post tells you where to buy a good one.

Cheddar Cayenne Cookies

Makes 4 logs (about 24 cookies in each log)

Adapted from www.chatelaine.com Cheddar Crisp Appetizers

These savory cookies have a rich, cheddar flavour with a bit of a spicy kick. They are delicious on their own but spoon on Rootham’s Tangy Red Pepper Jelly or Yummies in a Jar Apple Sage Jelly and they become extra special. Make the dough ahead, roll it into logs, and freeze for up to 1 month; then simply take the dough out a few minutes before slicing and baking to serve your guests freshly baked cheddar cookies with pizzazz.

I’ve adapted a Chatelaine recipe by adding a touch of cream for moistness and a cup of grated old cheddar cheese for even more cheddar flavour. I use Stirling Creamery European-Style Churn 84 Salted Butter which has a rich butter flavour from 84% butterfat. Stirling also makes an unsalted version of Churn 84 but it’s hard to find in our region – you might find it in Sobey’s. If you would prefer to use unsalted butter, increase the salt in the recipe to 1 teaspoon.

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour
½ tsp table salt
½ tsp ground cayenne pepper (optional)
1 (250 g) container MacLaren’s Imperial Cold Pack Sharp Cheddar Cheese
1 cup Stirling Creamery European-Style Churn 84 salted butter, cut into small cubes
2 tsp Dijon mustard
4 tablespoons 35% cream
1 cup grated old cheddar cheese

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, combine flour, salt, and cayenne; stir with a wire whisk until evenly distributed.
2. Break up MacLaren’s Imperial Sharp Cold Pack Cheddar Cheese with a fork before dumping it into the large bowl of a food processer; pulse a few times to break down to large crumbs. Add butter, mustard, and cream; process until smooth, stopping machine to scrape down sides with a rubber spatula as necessary. Add grated cheese and flour mixture; pulse, occasionally stopping machine to scrape down sides with a rubber spatula, just until mixture comes together.
3. Scrape dough on to a large piece of parchment paper. Gently form into a ball by kneading gently once or twice. Divide dough into 4 equal sections. Place 1 section on another large piece of parchment paper. Roll dough section gently to form an evenly shaped log, about 1-1/2 inches wide by 6 inches long. Wrap in parchment paper then twist ends to seal. Repeat with remaining dough. Refrigerate until firm, at least 3 hours or overnight. Or wrap logs in aluminum foil and seal in a resealable freezer bag, label with baking instructions, and freeze up to 1 month; remove from freezer for a few moments before slicing and baking.
4. When ready to bake, place oven rack on bottom shelf; preheat oven to 400°F. Slice one well-chilled log into 1/4-inch thick rounds; arrange (evenly spaced) on a parchment-lined cookie sheet. Bake one sheet at a time, on the bottom rack, just until edges are slightly golden brown, about 8 minutes; immediately remove cookies from cookie sheet and place on rack to cool. Repeat with remaining logs, removing 1 log at a time from the fridge.
5. Best eaten the day you bake them but still good within a few days after baking, if placed in a sealed container and refrigerated. Serve at room temperature with apple sage or red pepper jelly. Look for Rootham’s Tangy Red Pepper Jelly or Yummies in a Jar Apple Sage Jelly at gourmet food shops such as The Shop For All Reasons in Streetsville, gourmet grocery stores such as Cousin’s Market in Port Credit, or fine cheese shops such as Mill Street Cheese Market in Georgetown (see my Grocery Store Directory). Or click on the product link to go directly to the product website for store locations.

Sorry about the cheesy photo. I got a little carried away with the deer.

Hot Cheddar Dip

Enough to feed a crowd.

Adapted from Hot Cheese Spread from Best of Bridge

I’ve amped up the Hot Cheese Spread recipe from Best of Bridge to replicate the flavours of a dip I served in the ‘80s and loved, but lost the recipe. Artery-clogging but so delicious, I only serve this decadent dip at Christmas.

Make it ahead and store in the fridge for a few days. It makes enough to feed a crowd, so sometimes I split one batch into two if I have two smaller gatherings to attend. I have even frozen it, which isn’t ideal because the oil separates while baking, but once you have drained off the oil, you are still left with a ton of flavour, a lot less fat, and a bit of a stringier dip.

Ingredients:

1 cup slivered almonds
3 cups grated old cheddar cheese
2/3 cup finely chopped green onions (5 or 6 green onions)
1 garlic clove, finely minced
½ teaspoon curry powder
Dash cayenne powder
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon soy sauce
½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 cup mayonnaise

Accompaniment:

Baguette crisps such as Ace Bakery Olive Oil & Sea Salt Mini Crisps

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325°F. Spread almonds out in a single layer on baking sheet and toast lightly, just until golden, 3 to 5 minutes. Immediately remove from baking sheet to cool.
2. In a medium bowl, mix cheese, onion and garlic together. In a separate bowl, combine curry powder, cayenne powder, and salt. Add soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and mayonnaise; blend thoroughly with a whisk. Fold into cheese. Add almonds. Stir until thoroughly mixed.
3. Pack into an oven-proof serving dish. Bake immediately, or cover tightly and store in the refrigerator for a few days. Bring to room temperature before placing in a 350°F preheated oven. Bake just until hot throughout, about 15 minutes. Wonderful served with Ace Bakery Olive Oil & Sea Salt Mini Crisps.

Tomato Bocconcini Basil Skewers

If you can get your hands on some really good cherry tomatoes and real buffalo mozzarella mini cheese balls, this festively-coloured hors d’oeuvres is easy-assemble and healthy. Click on my post Easy Breezy Summer Apps and scroll down for the recipe and details.

Keep calm and carry on. Love, Olive.

I love to do Christmas to the nines, with silver bells and all the trimmings. My best friend shares my Martha Stewart-ish passion for Christmas. We start every season with big dreams but as Christmas Day approaches, find ourselves more stressed with less and less time, until we are gritting our teeth while peeling potatoes to It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year and feeling like pulling our hair out while fiddling with fancy last minute fixings.

As a solution, we started a tradition of gently nudging each other to get an early start on Christmas, so when it is time to celebrate we can step out of our kitchens and enjoy it with our families. Beginning in November, we send each other a flutter of quick emails like: Christmas cards ordered CHECK, outdoor lights up CHECK, cookie dough frozen CHECK. What starts off as encouragement to prepare as much as possible in advance, often ends up in a hilarious race of merrily checking off our own list while sending out cheeky CHECKS if the other has fallen behind.

From now until Christmas, I’d like to share some of my Christmas survival tips with you: suggestions to make your holiday entertaining well-planned, stress-free, and delicious with make-ahead, easy-assemble, or store-bought ideas. Think of them as little gifts from your freezer or pantry to you, with love from Olive.

Let’s get a head start on Christmas dinner this week with a freezer-friendly mashed potato casserole and sweet-and-sour cabbage that you can make now and freeze. All you will need to prepare on the day of your feast is turkey, stuffing (I love My Mom’s Sage & Onion Bread Stuffing), perhaps another family-favourite vegetable dish, and gravy.

Because we have such a big clan, my family keeps our feasts as simple as possible. Here is my tip for the gravy (but don’t tell anybody): homemade gravy from Longo’s turkey kits. The gravy is sold separately and tastes homemade. I don’t have to fuss at the last minute and I know it’s going to be good. As soon as the kits come out, I buy the gravy individually and freeze it. I just defrost the night before serving and reheat gently the next day. Sometimes I add a little white wine, just to make it extra special. After December 19th, the individual side dishes (including the gravy) and complete turkey kits will be available in all Longo’s stores. If you want to pre-order the entire turkey kit (includes pre-cooked turkey, butternut squash, herbed mash potatoes, multigrain rice stuffing, cranberry sauce, and gravy – all just requiring reheating) for you feast, you need to place your order by 5 p.m. December 18, 2013.

Christmas potatoes done CHECK. Christmas cabbage done CHECK.

Please visit my Grocery Store Directory for Longo’s locations.

Aunt Connie’s Swedish Potatoes

A long-time family favourite (just like my Aunt Connie), we serve these make-ahead potatoes at every Thanksgiving or Christmas family feast. This time-tested recipe has been around for ages but did you know you can freeze it for up to 3 months? Don’t tell my family, but I make a double batch of these just before Thanksgiving and freeze a batch in throwaway aluminum foil pans to have ready for Christmas dinner. You’ll be so happy to pop these out of the freezer and then pop the tray in recycling after the feast is over. Take the potatoes out of the freezer two days before serving and defrost in the refrigerator. Bake them while the turkey has a good long rest and then gets carved up.

My Aunt Connie’s version calls for a crumb topping made with fine bread crumbs and melted butter, but I omit the crumb topping so I can stir the potatoes as they are warming up in the oven.

Ingredients:

6 medium-sized russet (baking) potatoes, peeled and cut into sixteenths
2 tablespoons butter, cubed
¾ cup dairy sour cream
1 package (125g) cream cheese, cubed, softened to room temperature
1 ½ teaspoons onion salt
¼ teaspoon ground white pepper or freshly ground black pepper
½ teaspoon salt

Directions:

1. Place potatoes in a large pot; cover with cold, salted water; bring to a boil, then adjust heat to medium to maintain a gentle boil; cook uncovered, until potatoes are very tender, about 15 minutes. Immediately drain into a colander placed in the sink. Return potatoes to pot and place pot back over very low heat for a few moments, shaking constantly, until all water evaporates. Remove pot from heat.
2. Add butter to potatoes; mash with a potato masher, until potatoes are smooth and lump-free. Fold in remaining ingredients; beat gently with a mixer, just until all ingredients are thoroughly incorporated.
3. If freezing, turn potatoes into a large, well-buttered, disposable aluminum-foil baking dish. Let cool completely in the fridge; then place a sheet of parchment paper over top of potatoes; double wrap with aluminum foil, sealing securely; label with baking instructions; freeze up to 3 months. Remove wrapping and parchment prior to baking. Defrost in refrigerator for two days before serving. Bake uncovered, in the centre of a preheated 350°F oven, just until hot throughout, about 30 minutes or longer (stir once halfway through baking). Watch carefully after 30 minutes.
4. If baking immediately after preparing, turn potatoes into a large, well-buttered casserole. Bake uncovered, in the centre of a preheated 350°F oven, just until hot throughout, about 30 minutes or longer (stir once halfway through baking). Watch carefully after 30 minutes. Note: prepared potatoes can be stored, covered in the fridge, for up to two days prior to baking. When ready to bake, bring casserole to room temperature before placing in a hot oven.

Jeff’s Sweet-Sour Purple Cabbage with Apples

Adapted from Sweet-and-Sour Red Cabbage with Apples by Johanna Burkhard (The Best Freezer Cookbook by Jan Main).

This sweet and sour cabbage recipe has always been a favourite of both my brother and my son. I just gave a bowl to my son and he said “Yo, cabbage for breakfast is awesome”. I love it because it’s a healthy and delicious way to easily add a pop of colour to a holiday plate – the purple looks so pretty beside green beans, broccoli, carrots, or squash.

It takes some work to finely shred the cabbage and prepare the apples and onions but it freezes really well for 3 months, so I make a double batch of this recipe at Thanksgiving and freeze the second batch for our Christmas feast. Or I freeze in smaller containers to use throughout the winter. Defrost in the fridge overnight and reheat gently on the stove. The flavours meld together with the second simmer.

If you are able to finely shred the cabbage in a food processor, cook this in one large pot. It will almost fill the pot but will cook down. Before I used a food-processor to shred my cabbage, I shredded it by hand; the cabbage wasn’t as fine and took longer to cook, so I had to divide one recipe between two large pots to speed the cooking – the end result was still delicious.

The recipe is from a cookbook called The Best Freezer Cookbook by Jan Main. It is the best freezer cookbook I have ever had my hands on – full of good freezing advice and comforting recipes, including a good Veggie, Beef & Pasta Bake, a yummy Chicken Tetrazzini, as well as some tempting soups and special occasion desserts I haven’t tried yet. I have changed the Sweet-and-Sour Red Cabbage with Apples recipe slightly, adding more apples, a touch more sugar, and using white wine and apple cider vinegar instead of red wine and red wine vinegar. It’s lovely with the red wine and the colour is a bit deeper, but I don’t drink red wine and hate wasting the rest of the bottle. I’ve also arranged the steps in a way that will keep your apples from browning before they hit the pot.

Equipment Notes:

Requires food processor and 1 large pot or two large pots

Ingredients:

1 medium purple cabbage
2 small yellow cooking onions
6 apples

2 tablespoons butter
1 cup chicken stock
½ cup white wine (or red wine)
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar (or red wine vinegar)
1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon packed brown sugar
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Tiny pinch ground cloves

1 ½ teaspoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon cold water

Directions:

1. Finely shred cabbage and measure out exactly 10 cups to use for this recipe; set aside (use remainder in a salad). Finely chop onions; set aside. Peel, core, and dice apples.
2. In a large pot, melt butter over medium heat. Add onions and apples; sauté, stirring frequently, until softened, about 10 minutes.
3. Add stock, wine, vinegar, sugar, bay leaf, salt, cinnamon, pepper, and cloves. Bring to a boil, and then stir in cabbage. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until cabbage is very tender, about 1 hour. Taste and adjust seasonings, if desired.
4. In a small bowl, combine cornstarch with cold water; blend well, then stir into cabbage. Cook until sauce has thickened slightly, about 3 minutes. Remove and discard bay leaf. Serve hot.
5. If freezing, let cool then divide into airtight freezer containers or resealable freezer bags, label, and freeze up to 3 months. Defrost overnight in refrigerator. Reheat gently on stove.

My Apple Fennel Salad is a tribute to a Baby Spinach & Arugula Salad I enjoyed at Pure Spirits Oyster House & Grill, while lunching with friends in Toronto’s Distillery District this summer. Pure Spirits’ Baby Spinach & Arugula Salad (on their summer menu) was an elegant composition of compressed watermelon, shaved fennel, salted honey ricotta, and puffed wheat berry on fresh greens, in a well-balanced vinaigrette. I savoured every healthy morsel. Here’s my take on it, replacing the compressed watermelon for seasonal apples.

Pure Spirits Oyster House & Grill has switched up the ingredients in their Baby Spinach & Arugula Salad on their fall menu: it now has organic red quinoa, roasted root vegetables, pomegranate, and Roaring Forties Blue – a cheese from Australia’s King Island Dairy that has been well-praised in the press. Mmmm, I think a trip to The Distillery District is in order: lunch at Pure Spirits, a hot chocolate at Soma, and getting into the spirit of the season at the Toronto Christmas Market (details can be found on my Farmers’ Market Directory or on the Toronto Christmas Market website).

A note on the oil: I wandered into the Wandering Locavore, Leslie Edwards, at Centro Farmers’ Market in Burlington this summer, and bought Fennel Infused Olive Oil (made by The Village Press, Hawke’s Bay, New Zeeland), which I have been swooning over since. This luxurious, aniseed-flavoured olive oil is perfect for my Apple Fennel Salad or as a last minute drizzle over roasted fish (see my Grilled Trout with Tahina Sauce recipe and switch out the tahina sauce for fennel infused olive oil). Leslie delivers to Mississauga, with a minimum $25 order. To find out if Leslie will deliver to you, contact her on The Wandering Locavore website. Check out what other goodies the Wandering Locavore has to offer and what events Leslie will be selling her products at this season.

If you can’t get your hands on fennel infused olive oil, you could always try making your own. Click here for a link to a Garlic and Fennel Infused Oil recipe on the Food Network that looks good. If you try it, let me know how it turns out. Or just use your best extra virgin olive oil.

A note on the cheese: Ricotta salata is an Italian firm white cheese made from sheep’s milk that is pressed, salted, and aged, unlike fresh ricotta. You can find it in Italian supermarkets such as Longo’s and also in Whole Foods. It is drier than brined feta but if you can’t find ricotta salata, feta would be a fairly reasonable substitute. Or switch it up and use crumbled chèvre instead.

Apple Fennel Salad

What a wonderful way to celebrate fall: a healthy salad featuring fennel and apples.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

Dressing:
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon honey, or more to taste
Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
3 tablespoons The Village Press Fennel Infused Olive Oil or plain extra virgin olive oil

Honeyed Cheese:
½ cup ricotta salata, crumbled
Honey

Salad:
4 – 5 large handfuls baby arugula
½ small sweet onion, shaved into thin slices
½ bulb fennel, shaved into thin slices
1 apple
1 small handful natural, shelled walnut pieces
1 small handful natural, shelled pumpkin seeds
Honey for drizzling

Directions:

Dressing:

1. In a small bowl, whisk first 4 ingredients to blend well; slowly pour in oil, whisking constantly until well-blended. Taste and adjust seasonings, if required; set aside.

Honeyed Cheese:

1. Drizzle just enough honey on crumbled cheese to coat lightly; toss to coat evenly; set aside.

Salad:

1. Spread arugula out on a large platter. Layer on shaved onion, and then fennel.
2. Just before serving, core but do not peel the apple; shave into thinly sliced rings; arrange on top of fennel. Top with honeyed cheese. Sprinkle with walnut pieces and pumpkin seeds. Pour dressing evenly over salad. Drizzle with a little more honey, to taste. Serve immediately.

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