New Years Eve Recipes: Inspiration for a Romantic Dinner

Happy New Years!

Hope you have a wonderful New Years Eve and ring in the new year with friends and those you love most. As with every good celebration, good food is a must. While this is the last day of the year, I'm looking ahead to 2011 where there will be many more recipes, tips, cooking and... romantic dinners. For a little last minute inspiration, here's what I'm making for a romantic dinner this New Years Eve.

To start the night, I'm making a warm mushroom salad with hazelnuts from Smitten Kitchen. Last year I made these goat cheese mushroom caps.

As an accompaniment, a bottle of bubbly, Veuve du Vernay from France. My friend from Your Restaurant Sucks suggested this wine recently and tonight, I'm trying it out. A sommelier at a local wine shop recommended this one to my friend a couple years ago and he has been drinking it ever since.

And the main course? A timeless dish of mussels steamed in a chipotle cream sauce from Santiago's Cafe Cookbook. This is the best recipe I've ever had for mussels, I promise you'll want to bathe in the sauce. Two years ago, I made this smoked salmon quiche with a crispy potato crust, an Emeril Lagasse favorite.

Chipotle Cream Mussels

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 red onion, chopped

2 tablespoons of garlic, minced

1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes, chopped

1 tablespoon chipotle peppers in adobo sauce

just under 1/2 cup white wine vinegar

2 cups whipping cream

1/4 cup white wine

Directions

First off, take one can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce and puree in a food processor. This will keep for 3 weeks in the fridge and is great to add to salad dressings, tomato sauce, soups and is used in this recipe.

In a skillet, heat olive oil and sauté onions, garlic, sun dried tomatoes and chipotle peppers in adobo sauce for about 10 minutes. Add vinegar and continue to simmer on a low heat. Reduce by half, add whipping cream and reduce until thick.

Meanwhile, prepare the mussel pot, add 1/2 cup per serving of the chipotle sauce, a splash or two of white wine, put the lid on and steam the mussels for 5-8 minutes until the mussels have opened up. Pour into a big serving bowl and enjoy.

Any extra sauce can be frozen or will keep up to a week in the fridge.

Holiday Baking: Chocolate Earth Balls

Guest blogger: Lorelei Wey

Whenever I go home for Christmas, my family always lays out platters of butter tarts, mince tarts, shortbread cookies and chocolates. It's wonderful of course, don't get me wrong. But since I'm desperately trying to shed my pregnancy pounds this year, I decided to make a holiday treat that I can feel somewhat good about eating. And as a bonus, the added protein from the nut butter and seeds will help keep the ol’ blood sugar levels even- which I’m sure my family will greatly appreciate!


These Chocolate Earth balls are tasty as can be and there is no baking required. What could be easier! Feel free to substitute in any other dried fruit, seeds or nuts that you have on hand, just as I did.


Chocolate Earth balls
Source: Whole Foods Market

Ingredients
1 cup peanut butter (I used a 3/4 cup peanut butter and 1/4 cup almond butter)
1/3 cup honey
2 teaspoons cocoa powder
1/2 cup raisins (I used chopped apricots which worked well)
3/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup sesame seeds
1/4 cup finely chopped walnuts

Directions
Mix the nut butter, honey and cocoa powder until well combined. Next, add the raisins, chocolate chips and 2 tablespoons of the shredded coconut. Refrigerate for 1-2 hours.

Place the sesame seeds, chopped walnuts and the rest of the coconut into 3 separate bowls. You can now roll the dough into bite-sized balls and roll each ball into one of the three bowls of coatings.

Arrange balls on a plate and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. Enjoy!

A Christmas Tradition: Santa Whirl Cookies

Like most people, Christmas in my family is full of traditions. We keep to the rituals we know and love. Getting together on Christmas day for a big turkey dinner with stuffing and gravy, sweet potatoes and glazed carrots. From my Dad's side of the family, we always have a classic British dessert of plum pudding soaked in rum and lit on fire.

On my Mom's side, our Granny Harper, made delicious Santa Whirl Cookies every year. Shortbread cookies that have a nice crunch because she added oats to the dough and rolled them in sugar sprinkles. After making the dough, Annett or Granny to us grandchildren, rolled it into a log, wrapped it in wax paper and kept it in the fridge until guests came over. And she could count on family and friends stopping by.


While she passed away two years now, she's always on our minds during the holidays just as all family who are no longer with us are. So, to keep family traditions alive, here is my grandmother's favorite Christmas cookie recipe. Perfect with milk, tea or coffee and perfect to leave out for Santa Claus on Christmas eve.


Santa Whirl Cookies (makes 3 dozen)

Ingredients
1 cup butter
1 cup icing sugar, sifted
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups white flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup quick rolled oats
colored sugar, red and green

Directions
Blend together the butter and sifted icing sugar. Next, add flour, oats, salt and vanilla and combine until it makes a nicely formed dough.

On the counter top, roll the dough into a log about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Sprinkle colored sugar onto the counter and roll the log in the sugar to coat the outside.

Wrap the dough in wax paper and chill in the fridge for about an hour (or until ready to bake). Bake on the middle rack at 300-325 degrees for about 20 minutes. Keep an eye on the oven, taking care not to brown.

Holiday Reading, Gift Ideas and Party Tips

I confess, I haven't been cooking much this past week. But I have a good reason. I had leg surgery last Thursday to remove some of the hardware in my leg, from when I broke it two years ago, a depressing five days before Christmas.

But after a few painful days on the couch, I'm happy to say I'm back up and walking around. And soon, I won't need a cane to help me along and I'll be back in the kitchen cooking up a storm. In the meantime, please scroll down and enjoy some holiday reading, gift ideas and party tips. Have a great weekend!



Pam Grant: City's best fast (good) food
Christmas shopping can be hungry work, but fast food doesn't have to mean something you would be embarrassed to tell your jogging buddies you ate.

Island Vittle's Five of the Best Preserves I Made This Year
Here are some great ideas for homemade food gifts for the holidays.

Dollop of Cream and Mrs. Doucet's Apple Chutney
And speaking of homemade gift ideas, this deliciously rich apple chutney recipe is top of my list.

How To Throw A Cocktail Party Like A Pro
This is one list I'm checking twice (at least). Lots of great tips to hosting the best holiday cocktail party.

Food 52 Classic Hanukkah Latkes
While pouring over all the variations for latkes people have submitted to Food 52, I've come to realize that some classic recipes don't need reworking. My go to recipe is Smitten Kitchen's potato pancakes.

A Spoon and an Onion

A new local food blog has appeared on the scene, A Spoon and an Onion. My lovely friend Eva Cherneff launched the site earlier this month. And while I don't know the story behind the name yet, I do know that Eva has brought lots of great writers together to contribute. And not just about food, but photography, gardening technology, the home and more.

Check out my guest post on a trio of dips for the holidays, with recipes for roasted red pepper and feta dip, warm artichoke and olive dip and caramelized onion dip. Each of these spreads are delicious in its own way.

The warm artichoke and olive spread is pretty much the same recipe as the one in this month's Bon Appetit, I just played around with the quantities. I love this dip because it tastes so decadent yet healthy compared with the usual mayonnaise and cheese filled versions. Here's one of the tree recipes that you can find if you click on over.


Warm Artichoke and Olive Dip (makes about 1 1/2 cups)
Adapted from Bon Appetit

Ingredients
1 398ml can of artichoke hearts
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves
1 cup Parmesan cheese, finely grated
1/2 cup green olive tapenade
1 box (150g) of Boursin soft cheese (shallot & chive flavour)

Directions
Preheat oven to 375 F.

Place artichoke hearts and basil in a food processor and pulse until well chopped.

Transfer to a medium baking dish and mix in Parmesan cheese, olive tapenade and herb cheese.

Bake until hot, about 30 minutes.

Giving Thanks: Thanksgving Dinner Ideas

Thanksgiving is always a special occasion. A little time out with friends and family and a chance to give thanks for all we have. But more than this, it's also a day to have one of the best meals of the year. Turkey, gravy, all those amazing side dishes and pumpkin pie. Mmmm.

One of my holiday favorites is Brussels sprouts. I think it's because they're often only made at Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners, that they are so good. They're best kept simple, steamed with a little butter, salt and pepper. I love slicing them in half and using them the to soak up the extra gravy on my plate. Oh I can hardly wait.

Here's a few recipe ideas for a delicious and stress-free dinner:

For side dishes, try apricot and almond couscous for the vegetarian in the family or roasted squash with apples and orange pumpkin seed dressing. Or how about sauteed Brussels sprouts with carrots and raisins or maple thyme roasted squash.

My ultimate thanksgiving pick is this recipe for cranberry sauce with cassis. Fresh cranberries and a little black current liquor makes a huge difference to the flavour.

For the days after Thanksgiving when there's lots of leftover turkey, here's a perfect solution- turkey vegetable soup or a turkey, blue cheese and red onions sandwich.

More Recipe Help...

There's lots of help out there if you're looking for a new recipe, a little inspiration or how-to tips. To help save you a little searching, here's a few sites offering all the help you may need to make Thanksgiving dinner this year:

* Food Network's Thanksgiving Dinners including a recipe for pumpkin creme brulee.

* An index of all Simply Recipes' Thanksgiving suggestions including chiffon pumpkin pie.
* How to make perfect gravy from UK's Guardian
* The Globe and Mail's Lucy Waverman shares secrets to a juicer, quicker turkey.
* Cascadia Kitchen's pumpkin pie garnished with mixed nut brittle.

* Delish lists 12 ultimate Thanksgiving recipes.

A little too good: caramelized onion dip

I made a mistake today. I made a caramelized onion dip earlier this afternoon around lunch time. The dip turned out well but perhaps a little too good for me to resist. I ended up eating two thirds of it for lunch... all on its own with just a little pita bread. In other words, I ate nearly an entire container of creme fraiche for lunch. Something this good needs to be shared with a group of people like as an appetizer at a cocktail or dinner party with veggies and pita bread.

I'm been on a bit of a kick with dips lately, Baba ghanoush is another good one. The great thing about dips is they're cheap, easy to make and usually last a few days as a snack. Not this one, not today. Do you have any favorites?


Caramelized Onion Dip (serves 6)
Adapted from Bon Appetit

Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 onions, chopped
1 cup (250 ml) creme fraiche
1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 small garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon cilantro, chopped
salt and pepper to taste

Directions
Heat oil in a frying pan over a medium heat. Add onions and saute until slightly softened, about five minutes. Turn down the heat to a medium low and cook until onions are a deep brown and begin to crisp slightly, about 40 minutes. Transfer the onions to a bowl and let them cool completely.

Add creme fraiche, curry powder, cumin, garlic, salt and pepper. Stir to combine and taste. Adjust spices to your liking, add cilantro and mix again.

Serve with veggies or pita bread.

Thinking Ahead: Thanksgiving Recipes and Inspiration

Gobble, gobble. The autumn leaves and chestnuts are starting to fall from the trees and October is just around the corner. And you know what that means... Thanksgiving. Family gatherings, big dinners and that inevitable feeling of sleepiness from too much wine and turkey. Whether you're just starting to think about hosting a dinner or you've already set the date and sent out the invitations, here's a few recipe ideas and inspirations.

You can also hear me live on the CBC's On the Island tomorrow (Wednesday) morning chatting about this very subject from 7:50 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. If you miss the show, you can also download the podcast anytime. The interview with me is six minutes in.

So, when it comes to food, Thanksgiving is all about the sides. I mean the turkey is there but what I really get excited about is all the fixings. The stuffing and gravy, potatoes and Brussels sprouts and the cranberry sauce. Especially the cranberry sauce. For a twist this year, try a new recipe or simply make a little change to an old family classic. By changing or adding even one ingredient, you can add a flair to this year's dinner and really wow your family and friends.

Ideas for Thanksgiving Sides:
*Gravy: try adding freshly chopped sage or rosemary, a splash of red or white wine or a little Dijon mustard.

*Potatoes: add some caramelized onions, finely grated Parmesan cheese, garlic or chopped sauteed kale. You could also try mashing half potatoes with half sweet potatoes, parsnips or even cauliflower.

*Stuffing: try wild rice instead of bread. Or, you could try adding sausage, apples, apricots, fennel, dates, currents or golden raisins. You could also try using a different kind of bread then you usually do, like cornbread or sourdough.

One of my favorite thanksgiving traditions is making homemade cranberry sauce with orange juice, a little orange zest and Cassis black current liquor. I’ll stand in the kitchen and eat it by the spoonful if no one is watching.


Cranberry Sauce with Cassis
Inspired and adapted only slightly from Rouxbe's Cassis Cranberry Sauce
If you like a sweeter cranberry sauce, add one full cup of sugar.

Ingredients
1 cup cold water
3/4 cup sugar
1 bag fresh cranberries (14 ounces)
1/2 large orange, juiced
1/2 teaspoon orange zest
1/4 cup Crème de cassis (black current liqueur)

Directions
In a medium sauce pan, add water and sugar and bring to a boil. Once the sugar dissolves, add cranberries, orange zest and juice and bring back to a boil.

Once it's boiling, turn down the heat and let simmer for about 20-25 minutes. This depends on how thick you want your sauce. Add the cassis and stir everything together. Once you reach the consistency you want, turn off the heat.

Keep in mind the sauce will thicken as it cools. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Chocolate Covered Orange Peels

On more then one occasion, I had amazing little candied citrus peels when I was in Italy. The sorbets I could take or leave but the memory of these chocolate covered lemon and orange peels has hardly left my mind. Tender and almost juicy on the inside and delicious, dark chocolate on the outside.



With the holidays just around the corner, these treats will make great Christmas gifts or addition to an open house or party. Last year, I gave homemade Fairholme Granola as Christmas gifts, packaging each gift in pretty, festive bags from Creating Occasions.

If you're looking for a gift idea that has a touch of decadence, these chocolate covered orange peels are for you. They're easy (and actually kind of fun) to make. And while these aren't as good as the ones I had in Verona, I have a feeling nothing will quite compare to my memory.




Chocolate Covered Orange Peels
recipe is a direct copy of Smitten Kitchen's orangettes

Ingredients
4 oranges
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
1 cup dark chocolate wafers

Directions
Slice ends off four oranges, score the peel from one end to the other, and remove the peels from the oranges. Slice the peels into thin strips and trim the edges.

Using a medium size pot, place the peels in boiling water and blanch them for a few minutes. Rinse the peels, and repeat this process a second time. This is done to remove the bitterness of the peels.

Prepare the simple syrup by combining 1 cup water with 1 cup sugar in a saucepan. Bring the syrup to a simmer, place the peels in the pot, and simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Once the peels have cooked, remove them from the pot, and place on a rack to drain and cool.

Melt 16 ounces dark chocolate over a double boiler. Dip the candied orange peels in the chocolate, remove them quickly, and let them cool on a piece of parchment paper. Store the orange peels in a zip lock bag in the fridge.

Roasted Squash and Apples with Pumpkin Seed Dressing

I always like to have pumpkins seeds in the pantry. They are one of nature's almost perfect foods, they are good for you and taste good. They are great to have on hand to toss into salads, granola or with vegetables such as squash or broccoli. They are high in iron, zinc and magnesium and contain most of the B vitamins, along with C, D, E, and K. And, after a little reading I've discovered that these little seeds are a natural protector against osteoporosis.

Here's a recipe that I created, using roasted squash, apples and a healthy handful of pumpkin seeds. The dressing is slightly adapted from Artsy Foodie.


Roasted Squash and Apples with Orange Pumpkin Seed Dressing (Serves 4)

Ingredients
1 butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cubed
2 apples
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds (unsalted)
2 tablespoons grape seed oil
1 orange

For the dressing
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 cup light sour cream
3 tablespoons pumpkin seed oil
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 1/2 teaspoon orange zest
1 tablespoon fresh orange juice

Directions
Preheat oven to 350

Peel, seed and cut the squash into small cubes or bite size pieces. In a bowl, toss the squash with one tablespoon of grape seed oil. Spread onto a baking sheet and roast for 20-30 minutes or until golden. Be sure to stir every 10 minutes to bake evenly and prevent from burning.

Chop the apple into the same size cubes or pieces. Like you did for the squash, toss with one tablespoon of grape seed oil. Spread onto a baking sheet and roast for 20 minutes or until golden. Be sure to stir every 5-8 minutes to bake evenly and prevent from burning.

Once done roasting, let the squash and apples cool for 10 minutes. Mix squash, apples and pumpkin seeds into a bowl and set aside.

Meanwhile, to make the dressing, whisk together the sour cream, lemon and orange juice, orange zest, salt and pumpkin seed oil. Just before serving, drizzle dressing on top of the roasted vegetables.

In Season: Brussels Sprouts

With Brussels sprouts now in season, it's time to start thinking about your favorite way to prepare them. There's no reason why people only have this colourful vegetable once or twice a year. They're high in vitamins, iron and fiber. So, break away from your usual choice of side veggies and try these little bundles of green joy a try.

The best way to prepare Brussels sprouts is to keep it simply. Overcooking them in heavy gratins with too much cream and butter seems like a waste and doesn't make them taste any better.


Preparing Brussels Sprouts
Wash each Brussels sprout and pat dry, removing any loose leaves. Then, trim the stem ends and make a shallow "X" in the sprouts; this allows the heat to penetrate more effectively and cook the veggies more evenly.

Here's a great recipe to try making this Thanksgiving, Christmas or just the next time you're in the mood for Brussels sprouts.

Sauteed Brussels Sprouts with Carrots and Raisins (serves 4)

Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 1/2 cups Brussels sprouts, halved
2 carrots, peeled and cut into small cubes
1/4 cup golden raisins
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts or almonds (slice if using almonds)
1 cup chicken broth (Pacific Foods organic is a good brand)
salt and pepper to taste

Directions
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add Brussels sprouts and carrots and saute until sprouts start to turn golden, about three minutes. add raisins and chicken broth and continue cooking until the sprouts are tender, about 10 minutes. If the pan becomes too dry, add a little water to continue cooking.

Meanwhile, toast the pine nuts or almonds in a small pan until fragrant. Chop and set aside. When Brussels sprouts are done, season with salt and pepper, top with nuts and serve hot.

Veuve Clicquot Champagne

This was the weekend of visiting friends. Dave Barclay was in town visiting from the beautiful surf city of San Diego and Katie was visiting, as she often does, from Vancouver. Jeremy and I had them over for dinner to enjoy a meal and a bottle of Veuve Clicquot champagne. Popping open the bottle was a long time coming, we've had for a few years now, waiting for just the right occasion.

I made this recipe for Roasted Butternut Squash with Maple-Thyme Butter from John Bishop's cookbook Simply Bishop's: Easy Seasonal Recipes. This is one of those cookbooks where every recipe turns out perfectly, this recipe included. For this recipe, you can either cut the squash in half or quarters and drizzle the melted butter, maple syrup and thyme on the top- or chop the squash into bite size pieces and roast the squash and sauce together. Either way, this is a winning combination of flavours.


Roasted Butternut Squash with Maple-Thyme Butter (serves 4)

Ingredients
1 pound butternut squash
2 tablespoons butter, melted
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 tablespoon chopped thyme
1/2 cup stock or water
salt and pepper to taste

Directions
Preheat oven at 400 degrees.

Peel squash and cut in half lengthwise. Scoop out and discard seeds, cutting the squash into bite sized squares.

In a ovenproof dish, melt the butter, maple syrup and thyme.

Add squash, salt and pepper, the stock or water and bring to a simmer. Cover and bake in the oven until soft, 15 to 20 minutes. Serve hot out of the oven.