Trying to get ready for the holiday season ahead? This is a nice light dessert to make. It serves 6, so you may have enough for a couple of meals (if only 2 of you). okay, make them larger servings…
- 1 3 0z. package of lime jello
- 1 cup boiling water
- 1 pkg. light Philadelphia cream cheese, softened
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup orange juice
- 1/2 tsp. grated lime zest
- 1/4 cup lime cordial **
- 1/2 pint whipping cream (if I said ‘light’, would you believe me? No? oh!)
- 1 pint blackberries (any berry really)
Completely dissolve the jello with the boiling water. Beat together the cream cheese and sugar until light and very smooth.
Gradually beat in the jelly solution, orange juice, lime zest and lime cordial until the mixture is smooth.
Chill until slightly thickened. In your prettiest bowls, alternate the mixture with the berries. Chill in the refrigerator until completely set.
When serving company, garnish with a dollop of whipping cream (or, if dieting, light whipped topping) and add a few bits of lime zest.
Yum
** lime cordial can even be purchased in Walmart or your favourite grocery store.
Sweet Potato Rounds
‘Tis the season for many parties and evenings out. If you are planning such an evening or are going to a home where you are all taking something to add to the menu, try these appetizers.
Slice unpeeled sweet potatoes (white ones, not yams -orange ones) in 1/2 inch circles and place in a single layer on parchment lined cookie sheets. Spray a little pam on the parchment and roast until the bottoms are lightly browned in a 400 degree oven. This should take about 23-27 minutes.
You can top these with spicy black beans, crumbled feta cheese and cilantro leaves. You also can try sour cream and a tsp. of salsa or pesto, and any cheese of your choice.
The idea is to make them your own. They are gluten-free and not hard on anyone’s diet. Just place them out on the table, have napkins, plates, serving spoons and let your guests help themselves.
Enjoy!
Colourful Holiday Shortbread
This will make a terrific addition to your holiday baking. Honest it will. When you go through all the recipes for holiday baking, this is another of the devil’s hands to add more to the hips….if you eat equal amounts of each, it will sit there equally….I’m joking, of course. These are truly yummy.
- 1/2 lb. or 2 sticks of butter, never margarine
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- 1 large egg yolk
- 2 cups sifted flour
- 2/3 cup glace cherries- buy already chopped to save time
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans
- sanding sugar (buy in colours-red ,green, yellow etc.)
Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the yolk and flour. Stir in the fruit and pecans.
Divide the dough into two and roll into logs about 2″ thick. Wrap in plastic and place in the refrigerator over night.
When ready to bake, preheat oven to 375 degrees. Remove the plastic wrap and roll in the sanding sugar to coat the outside.
Cut in thin slices and bake for about 10 minutes. The edges will have slightly brown edges. When removing from the cookie sheet, twist them off. This will give a slightly ‘bent’ look. (Don’t be alarmed if it doesn’t work. Mine didn’t this time but they are still super tasty.)
Yummy good …..try it….. have to go to a bake sale now with all my baked goodies and jams.
Orange Tarragon Butter
This flavoured butter is so versatile…is also delicious with grilled fish, chicken or steamed vegetables BUT is especially wonderful with lobster.
- 1/3 cup softened butter
- 1 clove grated garlic
- 1 tsp fresh tarragon and 1 tsp fresh parsley
- 1/2 tsp. grated orange zest
- light pinch of salt
Mash these all together. Cover and refrigerate up to 3 days or freeze up to 2 months. When ready to serve, melt over low heat and serve with that wonderful lobster you saved for. YUMMY!
Crab/Cranberry Panini
The other day, while getting ready for our company, we messed up two (yes, we actually did) recipes of the nests for this recipe. The next day, with a bowl full of this filling, the lightbulb went off and this is what we did…..
The cranberries were chopped fine and added to the mixture. Add enough mayonnaise (not salad dressing) to hold together and take two slices of bread (we used weight watchers multigrain) and make a sandwich….Add a slice of cheese, top with the second slice of bread and put in the hot panini pan.
OMG! This is a new sandwich for us and ever so good.
The recipe for the filling is: Gingered Crab In Potato Nests
Day Before Dinner
Okay, okay, I know I have said many, many times to plan ahead and I did, sort of….
Today, while Don is baking his duck terrine (started prepping last night), I went for a pedicure. Why? I needed it…
I came home, vacuumed the kitchen floor and washed it, washed the floors in the two bathrooms on the upper floor, waiting for Don to be finished with the oven. When he is done I shall peel, core and season my fruit to be baked and ready for tomorrow. I have to crush the gingersnaps, and prepare the topping for the dessert.
I still have to finish the table and oh, crap, as I was typing this, I just remembered I have dinner rolls to do.
We have the horsie durves (deliberately spelled this way) to start and then go down to the “Gathering Room” and vacuum, dust, and set up for our guests. Then I have that bathroom to clean.
After collapsing tonight with a drinkie-poo, tomorrow it is just the last minute touches. I have flowers (fresh) at the front entrance and fresh flowers at each setting on the table. There is a fresh bouquet on the table in the livingroom.
Candles are out and ready to be lit (non scented, due to allergies) and there we go. Another dinner done.
Fun? Absolutely…..pictures to come
Harvest Trifle
It is called “Harvest” due to the fact that pumpkin is used. I would also be tempted to use it a Christmas. It looks lengthy but is more than delicious. I have been tasting as we go. On Saturday, we will take pictures of the finished product to add to this site.
Pour yourself a coffee, sit down and read this through. Take a deep breath and say “damn I can do this” and go for it. Not hard to do.
Vanilla Rum Custard
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1 cup whipping cream
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 6 large egg yolks
- pinch of salt
- 2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp. rum, or to taste
Whisk the cornstarch and 1/2 cup of the milk together in a medium bowl. Add the sugar, egg yolks and salt. Whisk until the sugar dissolves.
In a saucepan bring the remaining milk and cream to a simmer. Remove 1/2 cup of the hot milk mixture, whisking it vigorously into the yolk mixture until well blended. Gradually whisk the yolk mixture back into the saucepan. Cook, stirring for about 2 minutes (to a boil) and then another 30 seconds more. Pour into a clean bowl and add the vanilla and rum, stirring to incorporate well. Cover the surface with plastic to avoid a skin forming. Let cool to room temperature and place in the refrigerator. (can be made 2 days ahead). You are not done yet….
Pumpkin Caramel Sauce
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 cup whipping cream
- 1/2 cup pure canned pumpkin
Melt the butter in a heavy small saucepan over medium heat. Add the sugar and cook until mixture become a deep amber colour, stirring constantly – about 8 minutes. Now don’t get scared here. SLOWLY AND CAREFULLY, add the cream, whisking as you pour. It will seize up like a newly washed girdle that got stuck in the drye,r but keep whisking. (I kid you not). It will take up to 5 minutes for the caramel to dissolve and become smooth again. Add the pumpkin and salt and stir until completely blended.
Cover with plastic and when room temperature, place in the refrigerator. Nope..still not done. (Can be done 2 days in advance as well)
Roasted Fruit
- 4 large Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
- 4 large firm Bosc pears, peeled, cored and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 4 tbsp. fresh lime juice
- 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp. grated lime zest
- 1/4 tsp. ground cloves
- 1/4 tsp. ground mace
- 2 tbsp. cold butter, cut into small pieces
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Toss the fruit in a large bowl with all the juice, sugar and spices to cover all the pieces. On a parchment lined cookie sheet, spread out the fruit in a single layer. Dot with butter and place in the oven. Every 15 minutes turn the fruit with a spatula for a total of 45 minutes. Really watch the last 15 minutes so the fruit doesn’t burn. Cool the fruit on the pan.
Pound Cake and Gingerbread Cookies
Bake your own, but it can be already made and packaged – either one is okay
- 20 gingerbread cookies are needed
- 6 tbsp. a favourite liqueur (almost anything will do)
Wait until you read the full assembly instructions before doing anything here. This is just a heads up.
You have a choice here. Either make one large trifle or individual servings. In the case of the latter, just divide the ingredients equally in your prettiest dishes.
Line each dessert dish with cake cubes. Crumble the gingersnaps and use half to layer the cake pieces. Drizzle half of the liqueur over this. Drizzle enough of the caramel sauce to cover the cake. Spoon some of the roasted fuit into the dishes
Cover this layer with more cake and cookies, drizzle the remainder of the liqueur over, layer with sauce and add more fruit. You will not use up all the cake and cookies so just set it aside for the moment.
Now, cover all the dishes with plastic and place in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
Topping
- 2 cups whipping cream
- 3 tbsp. sugar
- 1 tsp. pure vanilla
- 1 tbsp. rum
- sprinkling of gingersnaps
When ready to serve, place a large dollop of whipping cream on top of each dish, add a drizzle more of the caramel sauce and add a sprinkle of gingersnaps. Whew!
There, I told you you to do it. Now, I need a martini…….
A Day In The Week Of….
Well, with company coming Saturday, there is a lot to get done before then. Also, on November 11, we do our Christmas baking for our give-away trays.
So, here it goes….Monday I made my lemon shortbread, pecan shortbread and cheese shortbread. I did this because once you make the dough, it must be refrigerated for one to three hours to get stiff and ready for baking. With the two of us working and baking all day, I thought it would ease the space just a little.
We have two trips to make to Penticton this week (one just to go and pick up the duck we were able to purchase from our friendly Chef Paul), the other to finish our grocery shopping. Then I have the dessert to start, table to set, house to clean and, on the last day, floors to clean.
Don has the duck terrine to make, salmon to prepare, and a potato dish to work out (so far unknown).
Sunday morning we start. Don makes his tourtiere and, hopefully, his antipasta, which is to die for.
Oh, did I tell you before….last week when we were getting our flu shots, he noticed there was a bake sale coming next week at the Seniors Centre and, oh gosh, his wife would be happy to participate. Right…so yesterday I scoured the cookbooks and my site to come up with something new and different. I found about 6 different items to tackle so next Monday I, again, go on another bake-a-thon.
The good thing is….I love it and the bad thing (or good) is neither of us can eat any of it….haha jokes on us. We are trying to lose weight.
Heck, I need a martini just thinking about all this.
Orange Pound Cake
Pound cake is a wonderful “just in case” cake to have in the freezer. Bake two…one for now and one for “just in case my mother-in-law should appear”.
- 8 ounces butter
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 3 large egg yolks
- 3 large Blood Oranges, zested
- 1 tsp. orange extract
- 1 1/2 cups flour
- pinch of salt
Allow the ingredients above to be at room temperature for better results.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease 2 loaf pans and set aside.
In your mixer combine the butter and sugar and beat until very light and fluffy. Add the eggs and yolks, 1 at a time and beatinmg until well combined. Add the zest and extract with the flour and salt, 1/2 cup at a time until batter is eally smooth.
Spoon the batter evenly into the prepared pans and bake until the tops dome and are slightly golden. 40-50 minutes. Cool slightly and unmold on wire racks.
Glaze
- 2 cups icing sugar
- 1/4 cup fresh Blood orange juice
With your mixer combine the sugar and juice together then whisk on high until really smooth. After removing cakes from pans, drizzle over each cake. You can add toasted pecans, chopped fine as a garnish on top.
Enjoy, this is a real winner! Just add fresh coffee/tea……hmmmm
Add the orange zest
Family Dinner Menu
We moved here in the Okanagan more than a year ago to retire and, as a bonus to me, be in the ‘neighborhood’ of my cousins. Well, next week we are having my cousin and family here for dinner.
This is our menu for the day….as I have always said, treat family, friends and guests who enter into your home the same. Always.
- Victor’s Bruschetta
- Potato Nests with Gingered Crab
- Duck Terrine….OMG this is fantastic
- Salmon baked in a salt blanket
- Roasted Corn Succotash…..another new favourite dish
- Homemade Dinner Rolls
- and if we remember to save room for dessert…
- Harvest Trifle
Whew!
These dinners are fun for Don and myself. Fun to plan, fun to prepare for and certainly fun when we are all gathered around the table and enjoying one another’s company.
Roasted Corn and Butter Bean Succotash
A few weeks back, I mentioned the dinner-cooking classes we attended at Hester Creek Estate Winery https://hestercreek.com/. The Chef, Roger, is an outstanding Chef and gave me permission to pass this recipe along to you.
This will serve 8-10 people, I think. He served 11 and it was enough. Mind you, if offered, I think 22 hands would have risen to get more on their plate. THIS is outstanding.
- 2 t sp. olive oil
- 4 cloves of garlic
- 1 medium yellow onion
- 1 cup white wine
- 2 cans good quality cherry tomatoes or 3 cups fresh heirloom tomatoes
- 1 1/2 cup fresh roasted corn from the cob or frozen, if out of season
- 2 cans Greek butter beans
- 2 cups fresh heirloom tomatoes
- fresh basil
- salt and pepper to taste
Lightly saute onions and garlic in olive oil for 3 – 4 minutes or until slightly translucent and add a cup of wine. Reduce by half and add cans of tomatoes and fresh tomatoes, simmering for half an hour.
Add the corn and simmer for another half hour.
Add the butter beans and basil and simmer for another 10 minutes. Season to taste.
This takes a little while to finished product, but, let me assure you…..you will be wowed. We were….