authorsbooking (![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} authorsbooking) wrote,@ 2007-12-18 11:04:00 |
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Holiday newsletter -- with recipes!
Dear librarians and educators,
Please feel free to pass these recipes on to whomever you think would enjoy them. Eat hearty and be well.
Sincerely,
Marsha Skrypuch and Valerie Sherrard
________________________________________
First things:
For the dog
Sheryl McFarlane's Dog Biscuits
Here is the perfect holiday present for dog lovers of all ages. Make a batch of these scrumptious dog biscuits. Gift wrap them along with a copy of Sheryl McFarlane’s picture book, This is the Dog. Your friends and their canines will love you forever.
Dog Biscuits + This is the Dog = a perfect present
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 ° F (180 ° C).
In a bowl, add 2 tsp. of dry yeast to 1/2 cup lukewarm water. Let rise.
Add the following and mix in with the above
1 1/2 cups cooled chicken broth (can be purchased, home-made, or made by dissolving 2 bouillon cubes in boiling water)
2 tablespoons dry parsley
3 tablespoons honey
1 egg.
Gradually mix in 5-6 cups whole wheat flour until a stiff dough is formed.
Transfer to a floured surface and knead until smooth (about 3-5 minutes). Shape the dough into a ball, and roll to 1/4-inch (6 mm) thick. Using small bone-shaped cookie cutters, make biscuits!
Transfer to ungreased baking sheets, spacing them about 1/4 inch (6 mm) apart. Gather up the scraps, roll out again, and cut additional biscuits.
Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and turn over. Bake for an additional 15 minutes, or until lightly browned on both sides. Let cool overnight.
Makes several dozen small bones that keep and freeze well.
Note: if you want to hang some on your Xmas tree, poke a hole in one end of each biscuit before baking. (hole will shrink while baking). Let it cool, and then thread it with a narrow ribbon.
Happy Holidays. Sheryl McFarlane
________________________________________
Next:
For the kids (to play with, not to eat!)
Helaine Becker's Whey Cool
Here's a recipe from my upcoming book, Science on the Loose (Mapletree Press). It's for making plastic out of milk. You can use the resulting glob of moldable matter to make holiday ornaments!
Mooove over, petroleum by-products! Did you know you can make your own plastic – from milk?
You will need
1 cup/250 ml milk (full fat milk works best)
1 tablespoons/15 ml white vinegar
Eye dropper or small spoon
Saucepan
Measuring cup
Mixing spoon
Measuring spoon
Ø Pour the milk into the saucepan.
Ø Have an adult help you with this step. Gently warm up the milk, without letting it boil.
Ø When steam is rising from the milk (about 5 minutes) add a few drops of vinegar. Stir.
Ø Keep adding vinegar, a few drops at a time, while you stir.
Ø When you have added about 2 teaspoons of vinegar/10 ml, you should start to see lumps forming in the milk. These are called curds.
Ø Keep adding vinegar drop by drop until the liquid turns clear (this is called whey) and the curds form a lump on the bottom of the pot.
Ø Have an adult carefully pour off the liquid, leaving only the blob of curds behind.
Ø Allow the blob to cool so that you can handle it. When it is just warm to the touch, not hot, remove it from the pot and wash it off with cool water. Knead the blob until it has the consistency of dough.
Ø Mold or model the plastic dough into any shape you like. You can poke a hole in it and use it as a pendant. Let it dry and harden overnight or for a few days. Then you can decorate it any way you like.
________________________________________
And now......FOOD!
Holiday morning breakfast:
Marina Cohen's Crème Caramel French Toast
Ingredients:
2 Tbls. Corn syrup
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup butter
1 1/2 lbs. cinnamon raisin bread
6 eggs
2 cups milk
2 cups light cream (or more milk)
1/3 cup sugar
1 Tbls. Vanilla
sour cream
Preparation:
In a saucepan combine corn syrup, brown sugar and butter, melt until
smooth and bubbly. Spread on 11 x 17 glass baking dish. Overlap bread
like dominoes on the syrup. In large bowl combine eggs, milk, cream,
sugar, vanilla. Pour over bread. Cover with foil.
Refrigerate overnight. Bake at 350 degrees, covered, 50-55 minutes
uncovering last 10 minutes. Toast should be puffy and golden. Cut into
8 or 10 pieces and invert to serve. Top with sour cream and fresh
fruit!
Enjoy!
________________________________________
Holiday Tea Time!
Robin Baird Lewis' Singing Hinnies *
The Singing Hinnies scone recipe has stood our family in excellent stead over the years. It was a staple of my popular Devon Cream Teas here in Guelph when I could boast a dining room table. My brother Christopher swore it helped him when he shamelessly laid on a Scottish High Tea for his Doctoral Defense. They were as putty in his hands once they had sunk their teeth into the Singing Hinnies, he always claimed.
Today at the outrageous price of $2.50 A SCONE!!!! at the local eco-bakers I am returning to this recipe with alacrity and delight...it's the sour cream that cinches it. Enjoy!
2 ½ cup sifted flour
½ tsp salt
½ cup sugar (short)
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/3 cup butter
1 egg beaten
1cup sour cream
optional
½ cup currants
rind of ½ lemon/orange
water
Dredge currants in about 2 tbs of flour.
Re-sift the remaining flour with dry ingredients.
Cut in butter until mixture resemble a coarse meal.
Mix egg with 1 tbs water and add to flour along with the sour cream, currants and rind.
After blended well, divide dough into 10-12 portions and flatten into ½” thick scones, although you can make them virtually any size you desire but watch the baking time.
(I always prefer to shape them into triangles for some reason.)
Bake on greased cookie sheet in a preheated 400 to 425 F degree oven for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown.
Yield: about 12 (3”) scones.
a “Hin” (sometimes heard as “Hen” and still used today in friendly conversation) is a lowlands Scots term of endearment for a girl or young woman. One can only imagine that the singing idea came from scones baked old-style on an open griddle.
________________________________________
Jennifer Lanthier's Martello Tower Tea Biscuits
Ingredients:
two cups of unbleached all-purpose flour
one stick of butter
four teaspoons baking powder
pinch of salt
some milk - perhaps a half-cup or so
Cut the butter into the flour/baking powder/salt mixture;
Work it into tiny bits with your fingers;
Stirring with a fork (never a spoon!) add milk until the dough can be formed into a ball.
When it is a good working texture - not too sticky, not too dry - break off pieces and form into biscuit shapes
Bake at 450 degree oven about ten minutes - until tops are golden or tinged or with brown and
Serve warm, with jam and butter, or fresh fruit and lightly whipped cream.
N.B. These biscuits are so easy to make and foolproof that you will soon discard the recipe and prepare from memory. You will do other things while baking - like read - because they are so very easy.
This ensures that one day, when distracted by a great book, you will inadvertently substitute baking SODA for powder. The biscuits will look stunning - smooth and golden brown. One bite and the memory will linger forever. Do not feed to the dog. Discard and make a new batch properly. Soda-based biscuits appear every couple of years in our house, often coinciding with a new Ian Rankin or Jonathon Coe novel. We call them: Librarian's Laments.
________________________________________
Holiday Dinner!
Gail Sobat's Brandied Cranberry Sauce:
1 lb fresh cranberries
2 c sugar
1 T grated orange rind (optional)
1 handful of candied ginger (optional)
dried apricots (soften in orange juice in microwave and slice) (optional)
1/2 c Triple Sec/Cointreau or Grand Marnier
Combine all ingredients in a large flat ovenproof dish. Set aside for 20-30
minutes. Cover dish with foil and bake ina preheated 350 degree oven for 40
minutes. Cool slightly and pour into glass containers. Refrigerate.
Can be made with orange juice instead of brandy. Add some or all of the
optional ingredients. The candied ginger is particularly good in this!
________________________________________
Rachna Gilmore’s One-Pot Bhaji
FROM: A Group of One, by Rachna Gilmore
All measurements are approximate. To enjoy cooking something like this it is best to be flexible about the quantities and to be willing to experiment.
Pour small amount of cooking oil in a large pot. Non-stick is best as it can minimize the oil needed.
When the oil is heated (medium heat) add approximately: 1 tablespoon grated ginger, 1 tablespoon minced or pressed garlic, 1 hot green chili finely diced. (The ginger and garlic and chili can be whizzed together in a food processor).
Stir a minute or so, and add 1 ½ teaspoons whole cumin seed, 2-3 whole cloves, 2-3 cardamoms, about ½ inch whole cinnamon. Stir about half a minute or until the cumin seeds brown slightly.
Add approximately 3-4 baby turnips peeled and cubed, 3-4 new potatoes cubed, 1-2 onions cut in chunks. Stir for several minutes and then add: 1-3 teaspoons ground coriander, 1-2 teaspoons ground cumin, ½ teaspoon turmeric, crushed red chilies to taste, 1-2 bay leaves, salt and pepper to taste. (At this point you can add some more ginger/garlic puree if you like).
Stir for a minute or so until the spices darken slightly and are fragrant.
Add 5-8 chopped or pureed tomatoes, and 1-2 cans rinsed chick peas.
Cover and simmer on low until the potatoes and turnips are nearly cooked, stirring occasionally.
Add in order of time taken to cook: ½ - 1 cauliflower, broken into florets, 1-2 cups okra (tops cut off and cut into half or quarter). Cook until the vegetables are all tender. Add, if you like, a handful of fresh green coriander leaves, chopped. Adjust salt and pepper as needed.
Note: if you don’t like okra, you can replace it with something like spinach or rapini or green beans. Any of the vegetables can be changed around to taste. Add more tomatoes or hot water if the bhaji seems too dry.
Serve with whole wheat pita and mango pickle and plain yoghurt.
ENJOY!
________________________________________
Don Aker's wife's Make-Ahead Potatoes
(Serves 12)
This dish may not be holiday-related, but it’s perfect for any large gathering because it can be made a day ahead (hence the name). The real attraction for me, though, is the taste—eating Make-Ahead Potatoes is like having dessert with your main course. And don’t worry about cooking a dish intended for 12—the leftovers taste even better!
- Don Aker
Ingredients:
9 large potatoes
1 large pkg. cream cheese (softened)
1 cup sour cream
2 tsp. onion salt
1 tsp. salt
1 dash pepper
2 Tsp. butter
1 egg (beaten)
Directions:
Cook potatoes.
Mash well.
Add remainder of ingredients.
Beat (with beater) until fluffy.
Put into a large greased casserole dish.
Put into fridge until an hour before meal.
Daub with butter.
Bake at 350º for one hour (until heated through).
Serve.
________________________________________
Gail Nyoka's Decadent Sweet Potato Pudding
For the pudding:
Sweet potatoes (5-7 med size)
1 cup dried, unsweetened coconut (or fresh coconut)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup butter
2 eggs beaten
1/3 cup milk
1/3 cup orange juice
1 tsp vanilla
For the topping:
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/3 cup butter
1 cup pecans, chopped
Boil sweet potatoes until tender. Then peel and whip the sweet potatoes with a mixer or food processor.
Add cinnamon, brown sugar, butter, eggs, milk and vanilla.
Whip all ingredients together and spoon our pour into a casserole dish.
Mix the topping ingredients together so it's all crumbly and sprinkle it over the top of the casserole.
Bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes.
________________________________________
Marsha Skrypuch's cheddar cheese pyrohy (perogies)
This recipe is such a favourite that it has been served in three of my books: Silver Threads, Hope's War and Prisoners in the Promised Land (Dear Canada). Pyrohy are a meal all by themselves or you can have them instead of potatoes. Pyrohy are traditionally served as one of the twelve meatless courses for Ukrainian Christmas Eve (January 6th).
The dough:
2 ½ to 3 cups of unbleached all purpose flour
1 egg
a tablespoon or so of vegetable oil
a teaspoon or so of salt
water
The filling:
three medium potatoes (Yukon Gold are the best but any will do)
a cup or so of sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
parmesan cheese
salt
pepper
garlic
Making the dough:
In a medium sized bowl, mix the flour and salt, then crack in the egg and dump in some oil. Mix that up and then add about half a cup of water. Keep adding water until you have a soft firm dough. It shouldn't be too sticky but should be firm enough to pull away from the sides of the bowl and you should be able to knead it gently right in the bowl without getting your hands too gunked up. Add more flour if it's too gunky.
Knead it just a bit and then let cover it with a plate or waxed paper and let it rest for an hour. It is important to let the dough rest before rolling it out because otherwise it gets a funny texture.
Making the stuffing:
Boil the potatoes and then drain and mash them. While they're still hot, add a cup or so of shredded sharp cheddar cheese and then season with salt, pepper and garlic. You can add some parmesan cheese as well to zing it up. The texture of the filling should be like whipped potatoes. Don't put in so much cheese that it's gooey. Use the best cheddar that you can find, like extra old from the farmers' market. If you must get grocery store cheese, Balderson's Extra Old isn't bad.
Rolling out dough:
After the dough has rested for at least an hour, divide it in half and roll out the first half on a floured board until it is about eighteen inches round and relatively thin. You can liberally dust the top of the dough with flour as you're rolling and flip it over frequently so it doesn't stick. You'll notice that it snaps back to the size that it wants to be, so keep on working in the flour and rolling it until it gets to be about eighteen inches round without snapping.
Stuffing:
Once the dough is rolled out, use a 2 ½ to 3 inch diameter round cookie cutter to press out circles of dough. A mayonaise lid works well if you don't have a cookie cutter. Some peanut butter jar lids are the right size as well.
The circles should be easy to pick up because they've got flour on both sides. Once you've cut all the circles, put a big pot of salted water on to boil. As you're waiting for it to boil, you can stuff your dough.
Take a dough round and shake off any excess flour, then place it on the counter. Take a rounded teaspoon of potato-cheese mixture and place it in the centre of the dough round. Fold the dough over top of it so that it looks like a half circle and press the edges firmly to seal them. If it doesn't stick, you can use a bit of water on the edges, but the edges should stick without having to resort to extraordinary measures. Repeat this process for all of the dough rounds, then roll out the second portion of dough and do it all over again.
A good place to put the raw pyrohy is on a greased cookie sheet. Don't let them touch each other though, because they'll stick.
Boiling:
Once the pyrohy are all formed and your water is at a rolling boil, drop all of them into the water four or five at a time. Gently stir with a wooden spoon so they don't stick. Depending on the size of your pot, you may have to do them in more than one batch.
They are almost ready when they begin to bob up and float on top of the boiling water. Once most of them are doing this, wait another minute and then strain them.
Serving:
Pyrohy are delicious drizzled with melted butter. You can serve sour cream on the side. If you want to be really decadent, garnish with minced fried bacon or onions.
________________________________________
And now (drum roll....) your just DESSERTS!!!!!!!!!!!!
Jo Ellen Bogart's Buttermilk Coconut Pie
1 1/4 c sugar
2 tbsp flour
1/2 cup butter melted
3 eggs beaten
1/2 C buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla
1 can (3 1/2 ounces) flaked coconut, divided
1 9 inch pie crust, unbaked
Combine sugar and flour. Add butter, eggs, buttermilk, vanilla and 2/3 of the coconut. Mix well and pour into crust. Sprinkle with the rest of the coconut. Bake for an hour at 325 degrees, or until set. Keep refrigerated. Note: I cut the butter by 2 tablespoons and the sugar down to a cup and it was still delicious.
Valerie Sherrard's Super Easy Christmas Balls
Combine:
1 regular package mini marshmallows (either white or coloured)
2 cups graham crumbs
1 cup chopped maraschino cherries (red or green or both)
1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)
1 can sweetened condensed milk
Mix well, then chill overnight.
Form into small balls and roll in coconut.
Store in the fridge or freezer.
________________________________________
Laura Langston's Tiger Butter
Cupid, from Laura Langston's upcoming release The Trouble with Cupid is a bulldog who prefers people food over dog food. He favors doughnuts and chow mein, pizza and croissants. And, of course, chocolate with peanut butter. . . which, as a dog, he absolutely should not have. Fortunately, most humans don't have that problem. And it's a good thing, because once a person starts eating tiger butter, they cannot stop. Lock up the dogs.
1/2 lb white chocolate, chopped 250 g
1/2 lb semisweet chocolate, chopped 250 g
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter 125 mL *
Line the bottom of a 9-inch (1.5 L) round or a 10 inch (3 L) square cake pan with wax paper. In a double boiler over hot but not boiling water, melt white chocolate. (or use a glass measuring cup and melt in the microwave) Scrape melted chocolate into a bowl, and stir in peanut butter. Clean and thoroughly dry the top of the double boiler, then melt semi-sweet chocolate over hot water. Pour the white chocolate/peanut butter mixture into the prepared pan, and spread evenly. Pour semi-sweet chocolate over top, and spread evenly. Draw a table knife through the chocolate to create a marbled effect. Place in the freezer for 30 minutes or until solid. Cut into wedges or squares. Makes about 16 candies.
* processed (not natural) peanut butter is best for this recipe
Dear librarians and educators,
We wish all of you a happy and healthy holiday season. Whether you celebrate Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa, Winter Solistice or something else, we hope that you have a relaxing and rejuvenating holiday.
Valerie and Marsha and all of our presenters extend sincere thanks to you. Authors' Booking Service has grown in leaps and bounds. We couldn't have done it without you. Thank you for supporting Canadian authors and illustrators and for your book and reading enthusiasm.
This is our last newsletter of 2007. The first newsletter of 2008 will be emailed during the week of January 7. We will be checking our mail from time to time over the holidays, but not nearly as compulsively as usual.
Please feel free to pass these recipes on to whomever you think would enjoy them. Eat hearty and be well.
Sincerely,
Marsha Skrypuch and Valerie Sherrard
________________________________________
First things:
For the dog
Sheryl McFarlane's Dog Biscuits
Here is the perfect holiday present for dog lovers of all ages. Make a batch of these scrumptious dog biscuits. Gift wrap them along with a copy of Sheryl McFarlane’s picture book, This is the Dog. Your friends and their canines will love you forever.
Dog Biscuits + This is the Dog = a perfect present
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 ° F (180 ° C).
In a bowl, add 2 tsp. of dry yeast to 1/2 cup lukewarm water. Let rise.
Add the following and mix in with the above
1 1/2 cups cooled chicken broth (can be purchased, home-made, or made by dissolving 2 bouillon cubes in boiling water)
2 tablespoons dry parsley
3 tablespoons honey
1 egg.
Gradually mix in 5-6 cups whole wheat flour until a stiff dough is formed.
Transfer to a floured surface and knead until smooth (about 3-5 minutes). Shape the dough into a ball, and roll to 1/4-inch (6 mm) thick. Using small bone-shaped cookie cutters, make biscuits!
Transfer to ungreased baking sheets, spacing them about 1/4 inch (6 mm) apart. Gather up the scraps, roll out again, and cut additional biscuits.
Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and turn over. Bake for an additional 15 minutes, or until lightly browned on both sides. Let cool overnight.
Makes several dozen small bones that keep and freeze well.
Note: if you want to hang some on your Xmas tree, poke a hole in one end of each biscuit before baking. (hole will shrink while baking). Let it cool, and then thread it with a narrow ribbon.
Happy Holidays. Sheryl McFarlane
________________________________________
Next:
For the kids (to play with, not to eat!)
Helaine Becker's Whey Cool
Here's a recipe from my upcoming book, Science on the Loose (Mapletree Press). It's for making plastic out of milk. You can use the resulting glob of moldable matter to make holiday ornaments!
Mooove over, petroleum by-products! Did you know you can make your own plastic – from milk?
You will need
1 cup/250 ml milk (full fat milk works best)
1 tablespoons/15 ml white vinegar
Eye dropper or small spoon
Saucepan
Measuring cup
Mixing spoon
Measuring spoon
Ø Pour the milk into the saucepan.
Ø Have an adult help you with this step. Gently warm up the milk, without letting it boil.
Ø When steam is rising from the milk (about 5 minutes) add a few drops of vinegar. Stir.
Ø Keep adding vinegar, a few drops at a time, while you stir.
Ø When you have added about 2 teaspoons of vinegar/10 ml, you should start to see lumps forming in the milk. These are called curds.
Ø Keep adding vinegar drop by drop until the liquid turns clear (this is called whey) and the curds form a lump on the bottom of the pot.
Ø Have an adult carefully pour off the liquid, leaving only the blob of curds behind.
Ø Allow the blob to cool so that you can handle it. When it is just warm to the touch, not hot, remove it from the pot and wash it off with cool water. Knead the blob until it has the consistency of dough.
Ø Mold or model the plastic dough into any shape you like. You can poke a hole in it and use it as a pendant. Let it dry and harden overnight or for a few days. Then you can decorate it any way you like.
________________________________________
And now......FOOD!
Holiday morning breakfast:
Marina Cohen's Crème Caramel French Toast
Ingredients:
2 Tbls. Corn syrup
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup butter
1 1/2 lbs. cinnamon raisin bread
6 eggs
2 cups milk
2 cups light cream (or more milk)
1/3 cup sugar
1 Tbls. Vanilla
sour cream
Preparation:
In a saucepan combine corn syrup, brown sugar and butter, melt until
smooth and bubbly. Spread on 11 x 17 glass baking dish. Overlap bread
like dominoes on the syrup. In large bowl combine eggs, milk, cream,
sugar, vanilla. Pour over bread. Cover with foil.
Refrigerate overnight. Bake at 350 degrees, covered, 50-55 minutes
uncovering last 10 minutes. Toast should be puffy and golden. Cut into
8 or 10 pieces and invert to serve. Top with sour cream and fresh
fruit!
Enjoy!
________________________________________
Holiday Tea Time!
Robin Baird Lewis' Singing Hinnies *
The Singing Hinnies scone recipe has stood our family in excellent stead over the years. It was a staple of my popular Devon Cream Teas here in Guelph when I could boast a dining room table. My brother Christopher swore it helped him when he shamelessly laid on a Scottish High Tea for his Doctoral Defense. They were as putty in his hands once they had sunk their teeth into the Singing Hinnies, he always claimed.
Today at the outrageous price of $2.50 A SCONE!!!! at the local eco-bakers I am returning to this recipe with alacrity and delight...it's the sour cream that cinches it. Enjoy!
2 ½ cup sifted flour
½ tsp salt
½ cup sugar (short)
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/3 cup butter
1 egg beaten
1cup sour cream
optional
½ cup currants
rind of ½ lemon/orange
water
Dredge currants in about 2 tbs of flour.
Re-sift the remaining flour with dry ingredients.
Cut in butter until mixture resemble a coarse meal.
Mix egg with 1 tbs water and add to flour along with the sour cream, currants and rind.
After blended well, divide dough into 10-12 portions and flatten into ½” thick scones, although you can make them virtually any size you desire but watch the baking time.
(I always prefer to shape them into triangles for some reason.)
Bake on greased cookie sheet in a preheated 400 to 425 F degree oven for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown.
Yield: about 12 (3”) scones.
a “Hin” (sometimes heard as “Hen” and still used today in friendly conversation) is a lowlands Scots term of endearment for a girl or young woman. One can only imagine that the singing idea came from scones baked old-style on an open griddle.
________________________________________
Jennifer Lanthier's Martello Tower Tea Biscuits
Ingredients:
two cups of unbleached all-purpose flour
one stick of butter
four teaspoons baking powder
pinch of salt
some milk - perhaps a half-cup or so
Cut the butter into the flour/baking powder/salt mixture;
Work it into tiny bits with your fingers;
Stirring with a fork (never a spoon!) add milk until the dough can be formed into a ball.
When it is a good working texture - not too sticky, not too dry - break off pieces and form into biscuit shapes
Bake at 450 degree oven about ten minutes - until tops are golden or tinged or with brown and
Serve warm, with jam and butter, or fresh fruit and lightly whipped cream.
N.B. These biscuits are so easy to make and foolproof that you will soon discard the recipe and prepare from memory. You will do other things while baking - like read - because they are so very easy.
This ensures that one day, when distracted by a great book, you will inadvertently substitute baking SODA for powder. The biscuits will look stunning - smooth and golden brown. One bite and the memory will linger forever. Do not feed to the dog. Discard and make a new batch properly. Soda-based biscuits appear every couple of years in our house, often coinciding with a new Ian Rankin or Jonathon Coe novel. We call them: Librarian's Laments.
________________________________________
Holiday Dinner!
Gail Sobat's Brandied Cranberry Sauce:
1 lb fresh cranberries
2 c sugar
1 T grated orange rind (optional)
1 handful of candied ginger (optional)
dried apricots (soften in orange juice in microwave and slice) (optional)
1/2 c Triple Sec/Cointreau or Grand Marnier
Combine all ingredients in a large flat ovenproof dish. Set aside for 20-30
minutes. Cover dish with foil and bake ina preheated 350 degree oven for 40
minutes. Cool slightly and pour into glass containers. Refrigerate.
Can be made with orange juice instead of brandy. Add some or all of the
optional ingredients. The candied ginger is particularly good in this!
________________________________________
Rachna Gilmore’s One-Pot Bhaji
FROM: A Group of One, by Rachna Gilmore
All measurements are approximate. To enjoy cooking something like this it is best to be flexible about the quantities and to be willing to experiment.
Pour small amount of cooking oil in a large pot. Non-stick is best as it can minimize the oil needed.
When the oil is heated (medium heat) add approximately: 1 tablespoon grated ginger, 1 tablespoon minced or pressed garlic, 1 hot green chili finely diced. (The ginger and garlic and chili can be whizzed together in a food processor).
Stir a minute or so, and add 1 ½ teaspoons whole cumin seed, 2-3 whole cloves, 2-3 cardamoms, about ½ inch whole cinnamon. Stir about half a minute or until the cumin seeds brown slightly.
Add approximately 3-4 baby turnips peeled and cubed, 3-4 new potatoes cubed, 1-2 onions cut in chunks. Stir for several minutes and then add: 1-3 teaspoons ground coriander, 1-2 teaspoons ground cumin, ½ teaspoon turmeric, crushed red chilies to taste, 1-2 bay leaves, salt and pepper to taste. (At this point you can add some more ginger/garlic puree if you like).
Stir for a minute or so until the spices darken slightly and are fragrant.
Add 5-8 chopped or pureed tomatoes, and 1-2 cans rinsed chick peas.
Cover and simmer on low until the potatoes and turnips are nearly cooked, stirring occasionally.
Add in order of time taken to cook: ½ - 1 cauliflower, broken into florets, 1-2 cups okra (tops cut off and cut into half or quarter). Cook until the vegetables are all tender. Add, if you like, a handful of fresh green coriander leaves, chopped. Adjust salt and pepper as needed.
Note: if you don’t like okra, you can replace it with something like spinach or rapini or green beans. Any of the vegetables can be changed around to taste. Add more tomatoes or hot water if the bhaji seems too dry.
Serve with whole wheat pita and mango pickle and plain yoghurt.
ENJOY!
________________________________________
Don Aker's wife's Make-Ahead Potatoes
(Serves 12)
This dish may not be holiday-related, but it’s perfect for any large gathering because it can be made a day ahead (hence the name). The real attraction for me, though, is the taste—eating Make-Ahead Potatoes is like having dessert with your main course. And don’t worry about cooking a dish intended for 12—the leftovers taste even better!
- Don Aker
Ingredients:
9 large potatoes
1 large pkg. cream cheese (softened)
1 cup sour cream
2 tsp. onion salt
1 tsp. salt
1 dash pepper
2 Tsp. butter
1 egg (beaten)
Directions:
Cook potatoes.
Mash well.
Add remainder of ingredients.
Beat (with beater) until fluffy.
Put into a large greased casserole dish.
Put into fridge until an hour before meal.
Daub with butter.
Bake at 350º for one hour (until heated through).
Serve.
________________________________________
Gail Nyoka's Decadent Sweet Potato Pudding
For the pudding:
Sweet potatoes (5-7 med size)
1 cup dried, unsweetened coconut (or fresh coconut)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup butter
2 eggs beaten
1/3 cup milk
1/3 cup orange juice
1 tsp vanilla
For the topping:
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/3 cup butter
1 cup pecans, chopped
Boil sweet potatoes until tender. Then peel and whip the sweet potatoes with a mixer or food processor.
Add cinnamon, brown sugar, butter, eggs, milk and vanilla.
Whip all ingredients together and spoon our pour into a casserole dish.
Mix the topping ingredients together so it's all crumbly and sprinkle it over the top of the casserole.
Bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes.
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Marsha Skrypuch's cheddar cheese pyrohy (perogies)
This recipe is such a favourite that it has been served in three of my books: Silver Threads, Hope's War and Prisoners in the Promised Land (Dear Canada). Pyrohy are a meal all by themselves or you can have them instead of potatoes. Pyrohy are traditionally served as one of the twelve meatless courses for Ukrainian Christmas Eve (January 6th).
The dough:
2 ½ to 3 cups of unbleached all purpose flour
1 egg
a tablespoon or so of vegetable oil
a teaspoon or so of salt
water
The filling:
three medium potatoes (Yukon Gold are the best but any will do)
a cup or so of sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
parmesan cheese
salt
pepper
garlic
Making the dough:
In a medium sized bowl, mix the flour and salt, then crack in the egg and dump in some oil. Mix that up and then add about half a cup of water. Keep adding water until you have a soft firm dough. It shouldn't be too sticky but should be firm enough to pull away from the sides of the bowl and you should be able to knead it gently right in the bowl without getting your hands too gunked up. Add more flour if it's too gunky.
Knead it just a bit and then let cover it with a plate or waxed paper and let it rest for an hour. It is important to let the dough rest before rolling it out because otherwise it gets a funny texture.
Making the stuffing:
Boil the potatoes and then drain and mash them. While they're still hot, add a cup or so of shredded sharp cheddar cheese and then season with salt, pepper and garlic. You can add some parmesan cheese as well to zing it up. The texture of the filling should be like whipped potatoes. Don't put in so much cheese that it's gooey. Use the best cheddar that you can find, like extra old from the farmers' market. If you must get grocery store cheese, Balderson's Extra Old isn't bad.
Rolling out dough:
After the dough has rested for at least an hour, divide it in half and roll out the first half on a floured board until it is about eighteen inches round and relatively thin. You can liberally dust the top of the dough with flour as you're rolling and flip it over frequently so it doesn't stick. You'll notice that it snaps back to the size that it wants to be, so keep on working in the flour and rolling it until it gets to be about eighteen inches round without snapping.
Stuffing:
Once the dough is rolled out, use a 2 ½ to 3 inch diameter round cookie cutter to press out circles of dough. A mayonaise lid works well if you don't have a cookie cutter. Some peanut butter jar lids are the right size as well.
The circles should be easy to pick up because they've got flour on both sides. Once you've cut all the circles, put a big pot of salted water on to boil. As you're waiting for it to boil, you can stuff your dough.
Take a dough round and shake off any excess flour, then place it on the counter. Take a rounded teaspoon of potato-cheese mixture and place it in the centre of the dough round. Fold the dough over top of it so that it looks like a half circle and press the edges firmly to seal them. If it doesn't stick, you can use a bit of water on the edges, but the edges should stick without having to resort to extraordinary measures. Repeat this process for all of the dough rounds, then roll out the second portion of dough and do it all over again.
A good place to put the raw pyrohy is on a greased cookie sheet. Don't let them touch each other though, because they'll stick.
Boiling:
Once the pyrohy are all formed and your water is at a rolling boil, drop all of them into the water four or five at a time. Gently stir with a wooden spoon so they don't stick. Depending on the size of your pot, you may have to do them in more than one batch.
They are almost ready when they begin to bob up and float on top of the boiling water. Once most of them are doing this, wait another minute and then strain them.
Serving:
Pyrohy are delicious drizzled with melted butter. You can serve sour cream on the side. If you want to be really decadent, garnish with minced fried bacon or onions.
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And now (drum roll....) your just DESSERTS!!!!!!!!!!!!
Jo Ellen Bogart's Buttermilk Coconut Pie
1 1/4 c sugar
2 tbsp flour
1/2 cup butter melted
3 eggs beaten
1/2 C buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla
1 can (3 1/2 ounces) flaked coconut, divided
1 9 inch pie crust, unbaked
Combine sugar and flour. Add butter, eggs, buttermilk, vanilla and 2/3 of the coconut. Mix well and pour into crust. Sprinkle with the rest of the coconut. Bake for an hour at 325 degrees, or until set. Keep refrigerated. Note: I cut the butter by 2 tablespoons and the sugar down to a cup and it was still delicious.
Valerie Sherrard's Super Easy Christmas Balls
Combine:
1 regular package mini marshmallows (either white or coloured)
2 cups graham crumbs
1 cup chopped maraschino cherries (red or green or both)
1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)
1 can sweetened condensed milk
Mix well, then chill overnight.
Form into small balls and roll in coconut.
Store in the fridge or freezer.
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Laura Langston's Tiger Butter
Cupid, from Laura Langston's upcoming release The Trouble with Cupid is a bulldog who prefers people food over dog food. He favors doughnuts and chow mein, pizza and croissants. And, of course, chocolate with peanut butter. . . which, as a dog, he absolutely should not have. Fortunately, most humans don't have that problem. And it's a good thing, because once a person starts eating tiger butter, they cannot stop. Lock up the dogs.
1/2 lb white chocolate, chopped 250 g
1/2 lb semisweet chocolate, chopped 250 g
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter 125 mL *
Line the bottom of a 9-inch (1.5 L) round or a 10 inch (3 L) square cake pan with wax paper. In a double boiler over hot but not boiling water, melt white chocolate. (or use a glass measuring cup and melt in the microwave) Scrape melted chocolate into a bowl, and stir in peanut butter. Clean and thoroughly dry the top of the double boiler, then melt semi-sweet chocolate over hot water. Pour the white chocolate/peanut butter mixture into the prepared pan, and spread evenly. Pour semi-sweet chocolate over top, and spread evenly. Draw a table knife through the chocolate to create a marbled effect. Place in the freezer for 30 minutes or until solid. Cut into wedges or squares. Makes about 16 candies.
* processed (not natural) peanut butter is best for this recipe
