Merry Christmas!

Bake and Booze Christmas Treats

Pluto, Pepper and Briar are dressed and ready for Christmas!

Once again our team of "walkers" assembled for cocktails and nibbles and spent an evening baking Christmas cookies to exchange with each other, and to give to a local organization.  This year we delivered our goodies to Anselma House, a women's shelter in Kitchener.  

Bake and booze is very informal and a lot of fun. Everyone brings dough from one of their favorite cookbooks, or their mothers secret recipe. SSSHhhhh - don't tell Terry's mom, but the secret is out. And Lynns uncles 100 year old recipe must be 110 years old by now!

Bev’s Whoopie Machine Sangria

Bev’s wicked Sangria is whipped up in an amazing kitchen appliance called a Thermomix, but could probably be replicated in a food processor.

 

1 orange

1 lemon

½ cup sugar

1 bottle red wine

1 can carbonated lemonade

¼ cup vermouth

¼ cup cognac

¼ cup gin

½ tsp ground cinnamon

Cut off the peel from the orange and lemon. Toss the entire lemon and orange in the bowl of the whoopee machine. Add sugar. Mix 1 minute/speed 10 to pulverize the fruit (seeds and all)

add remaining ingredients and mix 1 minute/speed 2

pour over ice.

Soy glazed turkey and pineapple kebobs

With Christmas appraoching, we were thinking healthy when we put this recipe together. , we were also thinking: TURKEY - SIMPLE - QUICK - FRESH

1½ lb boneless turkey breast

1 fresh pineapple, cored

1 green pepper

1 red onion

1 cup cherry tomatoes

Marinade:

1 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp honey

1 tbsp lime juice

1½ tsp asian chili sauce

1½ tsp sesame oil

1 tsp Thai Seasoning

Glaze:

1 cup soy sauce

4 tbsp honey

1 tbsp lime juice

½ tsp Thai Seasoning

30 Bamboo skewers

Cut turkey breast and pineapple into 1X 1 X 2 inch pieces. Cut green pepper and red onion into ¾ inch square pieces.  Combine marinade ingredients in a large glass bowl. Toss turkey pieces in the marinade and add pineapple, green peppers, onion and tomatoes. Cover and refrigerate for 2-4 hours.   Meanwhile, soak bamboo skewers in a tray of water for at least 30 minutes to prevent charring. Prepare glaze by combining soy sauce, honey, lime juice and Thai seasoning in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and cook over medium until reduced by half.

Preheat barbecue on HIGH for 5 minutes, then reduce to MEDIUM. Meanwhile, thread pineapple, vegetables and turkey pieces on skewers. Place diagonally on the grids and grill for 4 minutes per side. Brush with glaze while they are cooking

Andrea’s Honey Garlic Ribs

2 racks pork ribs

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

garlic powder

1/2 cup honey

3 tablespoons cider vinegar

1/4 cup soy sauce

3 cloves garlic, finely minced

1 teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder

Peel the membrane from the back of the ribs and cut them into single rib portions.  Sprinkle with salt, pepper and garlic powder, and wrap tightly in 2 foil packages.  Place on the top rack of a barbecue on very low heat, turning off the centre burners if necessary, to keep the temperature at about 300°F, for 2 hours. 

Meanwhile, prepare the sauce by combining the honey, cider vinegar, soy sauce, garlic and five-spice powder in a small saucepan.  Heat on medium low until slightly thickened, about 15 minutes.

Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil.  Unwrap the ribs and lay them out on the baking sheet.  Pour the sauce over top of the ribs, and place on the top rack of the barbecue for about 15 minutes or until glazed and hot.

Nancy’s Ginger Snaps     

Bake at 375⁰ for 12 min

 

Mix  (wet):

¾ cup butter softened

½ cup molasses

2 eggs

2 cups sugar

Mix (dry):

3 cups flour

2 tsp baking soda

2 tsp cinnamon

2 tsp ground ginger

½ tsp ground cloves

½ tsp nutmeg

Mix dry ingredients into wet.  Drop by tablespoon 2” apart on greased cookie sheet.  (take out as soon as they fall flat)

Sandy Morrice’s 100 year-old recipe for Oatmeal Cookies

1 lb of butter

1 ½ c white sugar

1 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp baking soda

½ c boiling water

5 ½ c oatmeal (5 min)

2 ½ c flour

Cream butter.  Add sugar and cream.  Combine and mix all dry ingredients and add to above.  When thoroughly mixed add boiling water.  Knead into a dough.  Divide dough into four or take a handful.  Make a ball.  Roll thin on a floured surface.  Cut and place on cookie sheet.  Bake 10-12 minutes at 350 F.

Date filling

2 c dates (best quality)

¾ c corn syrup

½ tsp vanilla

2 tsp lemon juice

½ c water

Heat until dates melt.  When slightly cooled, spread a thin layer of filling on bottom of one cookie and place another cookie on top. 

Deb’s Nut Crescents

1 cup margarine
2 tsp vanilla

1/3 cup icing sugar

1Tbsp water

2 cups flour

1 cup ground almonds or walnuts

 

      

                                                                                                 Cream margarine with vanilla, sugar and water. Add flour. You may need to add a bit more flour to make the dough easier to handle. Mix thoroughly. I let sit in the fridge for about an hour. Form crescents two inches long. Bake on parchment lined cookie sheet at 300 degrees for 20 to 30 minutes or until delicately browned. While hot, roll in icing sugar. Makes about 5 dozen cookies.

Barb’s Double Chocolate Cranberry Cookies

Barb's cookies disappeared so fast this was the last remaining one!

Ingredients

10 Tbsp. butter, softened

¾ cup brown sugar, packed

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 egg

½ tsp. baking soda

1¼ cups all-purpose flour

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

¾ cup sweetened dried cranberries

¾ cup white chocolate chips

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, beat butter and brown sugar together with an electric mixer until creamy. Add vanilla and egg, and beat until well-combined.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together baking soda, flour, and cocoa powder. Add to butter mixture, beating with electric mixer.
4. Stir in cranberries and white chocolate chips.
5. Drop by rounded teaspoons onto ungreased cookie sheets approx. 2 inches apart. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned.

Bev’s Shortbread Cookies

1 cup butter, at room temperature

½ cup corn starch

½ cup icing sugar

1 cup unbleached white flour

Pinch salt

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients.   Mix with a pastry blender to combine, adding more flour by the spoonful if necessary.  Do not overwork the dough. 

Roll a spoonful of dough in the palms of your hands to form a ball.  Slightly flatten the balls on an ungreased cookie sheet.  Decorate with candied cherries or sprinkles if desired. 

Bake at 300°F for 25 minutes, or until slightly browned on the edges.

Date Balls (Traditional Milne Christmas dessert)

 

1 lb pitted dates cut fine (you can buy them this way at Bulk barn) – 1 – 1 ¾ cup

1 cup Granulated Sugar

2 tablespoon Butter

2 Eggs beaten

Vanilla and salt

3 cups Rice Krispies

Optional – chopped nuts

Coconut

Mix all these together in a heavy fry pan or Dutch over.  Stir constantly over LOW heat until the mixture leaves the pan (5 to 8 minutes).

 

Remove from heat and cool slightly.

Stir in:

3 cups Rice Krispies

If desired – chopped nuts

Mix well

Form into balls from teaspoon on wax paper that has coconut scattered on it.

Aunt Maggies Jam Thumbprint Cookies

After a failed attempt using a different recipe, this Martha Stewart recipe filled the bill for easy, delicious jam thumbprint cookies

Ingredients

• • 24 tablespoons (3 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
  • 3/4 cup jam (any type)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until smooth. Add egg, and beat until completely combined. With mixer on low, add flour, and mix just until incorporated.
2. Shape dough into 1-inch balls (about 2 tablespoons each). Place on baking sheets, at least 3 inches apart.
3. Moisten thumb with water, and gently press the center of each ball, making an indentation about 1/2 inch wide and inch deep. In microwave or on stove, heat jam until liquefied; spoon about 1/2 teaspoon into each indentation. Bake until cookies are golden brown around edges, 18 to 20 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack, and let cool completely. If storing, place in an airtight container at room temperature, up to 2 days.

 

Grilled Korean Beef Short Ribs A great plan ahead dinner.

Kris' mother Jackie(is she really 80 years old?) and niece, Abby, loading the tree.

There is no doubt about it. This is a busy time of year!! We have been working hard to fit our last minute baking (and knitting –sshh, we don’t want to spoil any Christmas surprises), into the little free time that we find ourselves with. 

One of the highlights of the weekend was the much anticipated Christmas tree cutting excursion that is an important Mattson/Schumacher tradition.  Mark, Grandma and one or two grandchildren have been doing it for the past 25 years.  This year, Abby took a break from studying and Hanukkah present shopping  to supervise – of course Pepper enjoyed the outing more than anyone.

With all of this busyness, it’s hard to find time for meal planning and prep., but we were inspired by some delicious looking beef short ribs to create this recipe for Grilled Korean Beef Ribs. Prepare the marinade and let the ribs sit in the marinade in the refrigerator overnight. The next day, when dinner time rolls around, prepare a simple green salad and some mashed potatoes and you have a delicious winter dinner that the whole family will love.

Grilled Korean Beef Short Ribs

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup soy sauce
• 3/4 pineapple juice
• 3 tablespoons white vinegar
• 1/4 cup dark brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• 1 tablespoon black pepper
• 2 tablespoons sesame oil
• 1/4 cup garlic, minced
• 1/2 large onion, minced
• 3 pounds beef short ribs (cut 1/3 to 1/2 inch thick across  the bones)

Directions

1. Pour soy sauce, pineapple juice, and vinegar into a large, non-metallic bowl. Whisk in brown sugar, white sugar, pepper, sesame oil, garlic, and onion until the sugars have dissolved. Submerge the ribs in this marinade, and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate 7 to 12 hours; the longer, the better.
2. Preheat the grill on MEDIUM-HIGH for 5 minutes.
3. Remove ribs from the marinade, shake off excess, and set the marinade in a small saucepan on the side burner. Reduce the heat to MEDIUM and grill the ribs for 5 to 7 minutes per side. Meanwhile, reduce marinade by boiling for 5-10 minutes and serve as a sauce for ribs and mashed potatoes.

  

Another little bit of fun that we had this weekend was that we dropped by our friends’, Chris and Cathy Corrigans new restaurant, The Lancaster Smokehouse    They just opened this new spot  and it is sure to be a hit! We had a sample platter, piled high with pork ribs, beef brisket, pulled pork and smoked chicken wings. Along with the corn bread, we also sampled baked beans, onion rings, French fries and mac & cheese.  Nothing green on our plates!!  We did see fresh vegetables at the next table, if anyone is interested.  Great for families, dates, and generally hungry people like us who don’t want to cook on Friday night. There was a line-up, but we were able to relax at the bar with a beer and listen to the live blues music.

Smoked Lamb Shanks and Polenta with Grilled Vegetable Ragout

It’s hard to change gears from cooking for eight to cooking for two.....so with a kitchen full of food on Saturday we found ourselves looking out the window to see if any neighbour’s lights were on so we could invite them to join us!  Fortunately, after a full day of hiking in the hills and forest with Pluto we had worked up an appetite. 

It’s hunting season in Ellicottville, so we had to protect our dog with his orange super-hero cape to make him look less like a deer.

Blue Cheese Crackers with Walnuts

These savoury biscuits are delicious served simply as a nibbly, or arranged on a platter with apple or pear slices, soft cheeses, nuts and fruit chutneys or antipasto.

½ cup unsalted butter

½ cup (8oz) gorgonzola cheese

1 cup flour

½ tsp salt

5 ml black pepper, freshly ground

5 ml dry mustard

¼  tsp cayenne pepper

1 egg, beaten with 1 tsp water for egg wash

¼ cup walnuts, chopped finely

1. Cream the butter and gorgonzola cheese together for 1 minute in a large bowl. Add flour, salt, pepper, dry mustard and cayenne pepper and mix on low until the dough comes together in large pieces.  Add 1 tbsp water and mix until combined.

2. Dump the dough onto a floured board and knead lightly. Divide into 2 balls and roll into logs. Brush logs with egg wash and roll in finely chopped walnuts. Wrap in plastic or waxed paper and refrigerate for at least an hour or overnight.

3. Preheat oven to 375⁰F(190⁰C). Meanwhile, carefully slice logs into thin coins and place on a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes, then turn and bake for another 8 minutes. Cool and store in an airtight container.

Smoked Lamb Shanks

4 lamb shanks

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

4 teaspoons Italian seasoning

1 teaspoon each salt and freshly ground pepper

Red wine

2 sprigs fresh rosemary

Brush the shanks with the mustard, and sprinkle with the seasoning and salt and pepper.

Prepare the smoker as outlined in Techniques.  Fill the drip pan with red wine, water and 2 sprigs of rosemary.

Keeping the temperature at 250°, smoke the lamb for about 5 hours, or until very tender.  Be sure to top up the water pan with hot water when necessary. 

Polenta with Gorgonzola

(click on the link for our recipe from April 18, 2011)

When mixing polenta, you know it is ready to turn out when a wooden spoon stands up straight.

Grilled Vegetable Ragout

2 tablespoons olive oil, or more

1 Vidalia onion, coarsely chopped

1 large clove garlic, minced

6 plum tomatoes, halved

1 each yellow and green zucchini, sliced lengthwise

1 each orange and red pepper, cut in large chunks

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

1 bunch fresh basil, cut into chiffonade

Preheat barbecue and set to LOW.  Meanwhile, sauté onion in 1 tablespoon olive oil in a medium saucepan until caramelized, about 30 minutes.  Add the garlic, and stir until fragrant, then remove from heat.

Drizzle the tomatoes with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Place them, cut side down, on the upper rack for 15 minutes, then turn and continue to cook until very tender, about another 15 minutes.  Let cool slightly, then slip off the skins and chop roughly.

Grill the zuchinni and peppers and let cool slightly before chopping roughly.

Add all the grilled vegetables to the sauté pan with the onions and heat through.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.

To serve, place a handful of basil chiffonade on the plate.  Top with the polenta and then the grilled vegetable ragout. 

 Events this busy weekend ranged from a family birthday party, to a Christmas Tea to a Grey Cup Party. 

Samantha had not been home for her birthday for the past five years, so it was a real pleasure to be able to put together a home-cooked celebration in her honour.   We were also happy to have Teddy and Brian, Granny and our neighbours come to join us.  On the menu:

Wild Rice Pancakes with Duck Confit and Plum Sauce (recipe follows)

Grilled Scallops over Orange and Fennel Salsa (Inspired by LCBO Food & Drink Holiday 2011)

Beef Tenderloin

Braised Kale

Green Beans

Butternut Squash Risotto

Gluten Free Lemon Coconut Layer Cake

Wild Rice Pancakes with Duck Confit and Plum Sauce

1 tablespoon olive oil

½ cup minced onion

1 large clove garlic, minced

1 cup cooked jasmine rice (do not rinse before cooking)

1 ½ cups cooked wild rice

Vegetable stock

1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage

Salt and pepper to taste

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 cooked duck legs, either smoked or as prepared duck confit from the butcher

¼ cup plum sauce

Micro greens for garnish

Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a small pan.  Add the onion, and sauté until softened and translucent.  Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds more until very fragrant.

In the bowl of a food processor, pulse the 2 kinds of rice for about 30 seconds.  Add the cooked onion and garlic and a few tablespoons of vegetable stock.  Continue to pulse until it begins to come together in a ball, adding more stock as necessary.  Add the sage, salt and pepper and pulse to just combine.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  Scoop out small spoonfuls (about 1 teaspoon each) of the rice mixture, and with damp hands, form into small pancakes.  Chill for ½ an hour until set.

In a large non-stick frying pan, heat the remaining olive oil on medium-high.  Add the pancakes and cook until golden brown on both sides.  Place them back on the lined baking sheet and preheat the oven (or barbecue) to 350°.

This recipe works well with the leftover smoked duck legs but if you don’t have this on hand, prepared duck confit is a simple shortcut.  The duck confit can be heated and crisped on the barbecue for 5 minutes per side.  Meanwhile, reheat the pancakes for 5 minutes.  Slice or shred the duck and place on the pancakes.   Top with a dollop of plum sauce and garnish with a few sprigs of micro greens. 

Grilled Scallops over Orange and Fennel Salsa

The Food & Drink version calls for pan-searing the scallops, but for us, Ted grilled them to perfection.  We substituted chicken for our guests who did not eat seafood.

Enough large scallops for 2 per guest

For the Salsa:

1 cup chopped fennel

1 cup chopped orange segments

1/2  cup finely chopped red onion

2 teaspoons seeded and chopped jalapeno pepper

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons orange juice

2 tablespoons lemon juice

3 tablespoons snipped chives

3 tablespoons chopped cilantro

Salt and pepper, to taste

For the Rub:

2 teaspoons fennel seeds, cracked

2 teaspoons coriander seeds, cracked

2 teaspoons cracked peppercorns

1 teaspoon kosher salt

Olive oil for grilling

Combine all the ingredients for the salsa and set aside at room temperature.  If preparing more than one hour in advance place in the refrigerator until an hour before.

Combine the rub ingredients and sprinkle over the scallops. 

Preheat barbecue on Medium High.  Reduce heat to Medium.  Brush scallops lightly with olive oil, and place on the grill.  Sear 2 ½ minutes per side. 

Spoon salsa on each small plate, and top with scallops.

Happy Birthday Samantha!

It all adds up to 23!

Mark + football = party

Since the Grey Cup was scheduled to begin Sunday night at 6pm, Mark was busy Saturday at midnight, loading up the smoker with charcoal, gathering the pork butts and apple juice spray bottle, and organizing his coleslaw ingredients for the morning.  In quick time, he had the smoker lit and the temperature set at a constant 200⁰F. On went 3 pork shoulders and off we went to bed!   

By kick off time, the juicy pulled pork was ready to go, tossed with a spicy barbecue sauce.  Ever the traditionalist, he had a big bowl of coleslaw and a bubbling pot of baked beans ready on the sidelines.  As an added  bonus,  he was able to offer his buddies  a heaping platter of perogies, fried in butter, bacon and onions – these were acquired in a trade with Darryl.   Mark smoked an extra pork shoulder for Darryl, who prepared an extra couple of dozen homemade perogies  in exchange. What a talented, not to mention resourceful pair!

PULLED PORK  SMOKED ON THE BROIL KING KEG

IMPORTANT TIPS:

·         Low and slow is the name of the game here! We like to start the smoking before we go to bed, around midnight.  Usually, a 6-7 pound pork shoulder will take 12 to 14 hours – allow 2 hours per pound of meat. Whenever the pork shoulder is finished, remove it from the smoker, wrap it in foil and set it aside until you are ready to serve it.

·         Being organized means that most of the work happens the night before your gathering, which is great when you are expecting a big crowd. This frees your time up so that you can enjoy your family and friends.

·         Purchase a pork shoulder and be sure that there is a nice fat cap. There is a lot of flavor and moisture there, so leave it on.

·         Coat the whole pork shoulder with yellow mustard and your favourite rub, letting it sit for half an hour before placing in the smoker.

·         The cooking temperature of the smoker should be constant at approx. 225°F. The waterpan should be kept filled with water throughout the cooking time. The Broil King Keg is very efficient and reliable, so if you set it up properly with lots of charcoal, and adjust the vents correctly the temperature will remain constant all night long.

·         Start basting with a mop when you get up in the morning. Mop every hour or so until finished.

·         Cook to an endpoint temperature of 175°F.

·         Wrap the pork shoulder in foil and let rest for at least an hour before pulling it. Do not skip this step, as it is the final step in allowing the connective tissue to completely break down, resulting in tender, moist pork!

 

Getting started: 

1.   Pour a 6” deep layer of True’Cue lump charcoal on the bottom of the smoker.

2.       Use 2 True’Cue match-light charcoal starters to ignite the charcoal. Alternately, use a chimney starter.  Crumple up 1 or 2 sheets of newspaper in the bottom chamber, and place a cup of lump charcoal in the top chamber. Placing the starter on the pavement, a flat rock or non-ignitable surface, light the newspaper. Within 8-10 minutes, you will have glowing red coals. Carefully lift the chimney starter and dump the coals into the lump charcoal already in the Broil King Keg.

3.       Open the top and bottom vents to the widest position (#5).

4.       Let the coals burn for 10 minutes until the smoker reaches 225°F

5.       Dial down the top and bottom vents to the #2 position

6.       This should maintain a smoker temperature of 225°F for up to 12 hours. Add more charcoal as needed.

  

Kris "helped a bit" with the party

1  6-7 pound pork shoulder

3 tbsp yellow mustard

Rub:

1 cup brown sugar

½ cup chili powder

1/3  cup paprika

¼ cup celery salt

¼ cup garlic powder

¼ cup onion salt

¼ cup black pepper

¼ cup white pepper

1 tbsp dry mustard

1 tbsp 5-spice powder

1 tbsp dry ginger

Mop:

Apple juice in a spray bottle

2 cups Spicy barbecue sauce

Prepare rub and sauce the night before. Rub pork shoulder with yellow mustard, then cover with rub. Let rest for half an hour before placing on smoker, which has been set up according to the instructions above. Once the temperature has reached 225⁰F:

·         place a handful of soaked wood chips on the surface of the charcoal,

·         check to make sure the drip pan is full,

·         place the pork shoulder on the smoker,

·         close the lid and allow to cook for at least 6 hours.

·         Begin spraying with apple juice every half hour.

·         This is also the time to begin to monitor the internal temperature of the pork, using a meat thermometer. Once it has reached a temperature of 175⁰F, remove it from the smoker, wrap it tightly in foil and allow it to rest for at least an hour before pulling.

Kidsability Sugarplum Tea

Our friend, Eleanor Yach was part of the committee that organized this wonderful event at Langdon Hall on Sunday afternoon to raise funds for KidsAbility, a local organization which empowers children and youth with special needs to realize their full potential.   We were greeted with a glass of prosecco and led into a beautiful room all decked out for Christmas where we were served a full Afternoon Tea.

Honey Butter, Strawberry Jam and Devon Cream to accompany the scones

Assorted Finger Sandwiches

Dainty Desserts