The fact we can still buy fresh berries at the stores is a wonderful way to carry ‘summer’ through the Fall season as well. This is really yummy. You can also change the berry to any one that is your favourite.
- 1 cup ground almonds
- 1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
- 2 cups flour, sifted
- 3/4 cup sugar
- pinch of salt
- 1 cup butter, melted
- 10-12 ounces of berries
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8 inch baking dish with parchment paper leaving at least 1 inch overhang on two sides.
In a large bowl, whisk together the ground almonds, cornmeal, flour, sugar and salt. Add the butter and stir together until evenly moistened. Press 2/3 of the dough into the baking dish and sprinkle the berries over the top.
Crumble the remaining dough over the top and bake 38-40 minutes until golden.
Serve warm with sweetened almond flavoured whipping cream.
Yummy…
Chai Spice Biscotti
This would be for two girls in my family for sure. They love the Chai Tea drinks. So along with them, if you like it as well, make some awesome flavoured biscotti.
- 2 1/4 cups flour
- 3/4 tsp. baking powder
- generous pinch of salt
- 1/3 cup butter, room temperature
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 tsp. ground ginger
- 1 tsp. black peppercorns
- 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp. ground cardamom
- 1/2 tsp. coriander seeds
- 1/8 tsp. grated nutmeg
- 2 whole cloves
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.
Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium size bowl. In your electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar on high until pale and fluffy, adding the eggs, one at a time.
Combine in a spice grinder the ginger, black peppercorns, cinnamon, cardamom, coriander seeds, grated nutmeg and 2 whole cloves. Grind really well. Now add 2 tbsp of the ground chair spice to the flour.
Combine until the dough is well combined. Divide the dough in half making each portion into logs 2 inches wide and 3/4 inch high. Place about 3 inches apart because they will spread out.
Bake for about 30-35 minutes until golden. Remove from the oven and let stand for 10 minutes. Cut each one into 1/2 inch slices. Place on a baking sheet, arranging the biscotti cut side down. Bake another 20 minutes or so until firm and a light golden brown.
Now sift 3/4 cup icing sugar with 2 tsp. of the chai spice in enough water to make a smooth consistency so you can drizzle it over the tops of the cooled biscotti. Simply let stand until the icing has set.
Store in an airtight container for about 1 week or simply freeze up to a month.
You are so welcome!
Thanksgiving Dinner With Friends
We are having a Thanksgiving celebration dinner with friends tonight and thought I would share our menu with you. Tomorrow, hopefully, we will have pictures for you from the table to the food. I have started already with the table and the dessert.
We are starting off with:
Hors d’Oeurves
- homemade tapenade and homemade rosemary flatbread
- Parmesan asparagus on puff pastry
- Pinot Gris Wine
Appetizer
Lobster Shrimp Cakes with red pepper aioli
Watermelon Triangles
Entree
- Garlic mashed potatoes
- Butternut Squash baked in butter and brown sugar
- Crown Roast of Pork with Apple Stuffing
- Tin Horn Creek Character 2013 Wine
Dessert
- Apple Cobbler With Cheddar Crust Topping and Vanilla Ice Cream
- Tea/Coffee
One of our friends is moving away at month’s end, so we will have a little surprise for her to take to her new home.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone. Hopefully you, as well as us, are so very thanksful for all we have.
Being Truly Thankful Stew
When it comes to being thankful, do we EVER say it out loud? To anyone else? Most of all, to ourselves? Well, life gives and takes and I know, now, that I am thankful for each step and misstep taken in my life.
Let me see if I can make any sense of this. I am long-in-the-tooth, age-wise and I have certainly made my mistakes but, at the same time, each one brought something I can be truly thankful for.
My parents did not have a life that was rich in financial things but they were far richer than most with the love they shared with each other. They struggled, like most people, but never faltered. For this, I am thankful as it taught me how to finally love with an everlasting love.
I am thankful for what we had growing up and for what they taught me. From that beginning I have learned how to keep house, laundry including ironing. (This really came to be when we operated a Bed and Breakfast for so many years). How to entertain and make everyone who enters our home feel like royalty from our children to the neighbors down the street. I am truly thankful for this quality.
I am thankful for my daughter. Words really fail me here as she turned out far smarter, and with qualities that put her in a category all by herself. Hard worker, loyal, honorable, honest, true friend extraordinaire.
I am thankful for my “step children”. I know they probably dislike that category but I sure am thankful for them being in my life. Four wonderful, bright, loving children (all adults approaching that magic mid-life birthday) and they have alllowed me to be their friend.
More than that, I am thankful for my grandchildren. Three beautiful and super girls and one truly handsome grandson. Now…as I mentioned before about my age…they are now adults who have a life of wonder and exploration ahead of them.
I am thankful beyond words for the gift given me in my husband. He is honest, hardworking, always making sure we have a beautiful roof over our heads and food on the table. He has put up with me for going on 27 years. He is the absolute love of my life.
I am so thankful for my faith. I was the youngest, back then, to be allowed into the Senior Choir at Church. I was 8 years old. From then to now, I have been blessed beyond words for health issues with all my family (we have had our fair share, for sure) and we have always come out like shiny new pennies. My faith, like now, never has been taken for granted.
I am thankful for all my mistakes…some small in the scheme of things and others……monumental and, again, I learned from them. Sometimes it look longer than it should have. I think God must say this one is a slow learner.
I am thankful for the people I have met, became friends with, became un-friends with and for those not yet met.
I am very thankful to be able to give to those who are without. I am a very strong believer and doer in ‘paying it forward’. As my husband said just recently….”we have never gone without or been short because we gave to those less fortunate.”
This, my friends, if my special recipe for Thankful Stew. May yours be blessed as well when you take a good hard look within. Happy Thanksgiving Day. May we all be thankful everyday for all blessings given.
Icewine Vinaigrette
It is mighty awesome and makes a ton. Great one to have on hand at any celebration and Christmas sounds like a great time or, to our American family and readers, American Thanksgiving coming up quite soon.
This really works well with any salad using kale or even a Waldorf salad.
- Zest of 1 lime
- juice from 3 freshly squeezed limes
- 1 tbsp. Dijon mustard
- 3 tsp. honey
- 1 oz. apple cider vinegar
- 1 oz. icewine vinegar
- 1 tsp. flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
- pinch of pepper
- pinch of salt
- 2 cups canola oil
Combine all except the oil, in a food processor for 15 seconds. Now in a slow stream, add the oil until emulsified.
Store in a sealable jar.
Yummy!
Smashed Potato Hors d’Oeuvres
Getting ready for the season of entertaining. Put this one to the side and become the great Hostess of the season.
- 20 baby potatoes, scrubbed
- Sour cream
- salsa (store bought or homemade – your choice)
- salt and pepper
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Prick the potatoes in several places and place on a baking sheet.
Bake for about 20-25 minutes and pierce with a knife to ensure they are cooked through. If not, keep baking until they are.
Put on a rack to cool slightly then, on parchment paper, take a masher and press down with enough pressure to open the potato, but still keeping most of their shape. Season with a tiny amount of salt and pepper. Add a spoonful of salsa, then top with a generous dollop of sour cream.
Arrange on a pretty plate and serve. These can be room temperature or barely warm. Yumm………………
Rice Pudding, Thanksgiving Style
This is real comfort food at its best. My grandmother made the very best rice pudding in all the world (’tis true) and this just ups it a little, changing the outcome. Give it a whirl, you will absolutely love it.
- 1 x 2 lb. butternut squash, halved, seeded
- 1 tbsp. butter
- 2/3 cup, plus 2 tsp. brown sugar
- 2/3 cup long grain white rice
- pinch of salt
- 4 cups whole milk
- 1 cup half and half
- 8 large egg yolks
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 1/4 cup finely chopped crystallized ginger
- 2 tbsp. turbinado sugar
- 1 culinary blowtorch
Turn oven on to 450 degrees. Place each piece of the squash on a sheet of tin foil, add 1/2 tbsp. butter and 1 tsp. sugar. Wrap each one separately, cut side up, and bake for 1 hour.
Remove from the oven, carefully open and cool slightly, then scoop all the flesh out into a food processor and puree until completely smooth.
While the squash is baking, prepare the next step by heating rice, salt, 4 cups of milk and remaining sugar in a 3 quart saucepan until very hot. Stir this constantly. Transfer to a large metal bowl set over a large pot of simmering water and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally until the rice is tender. (To get to this point, pour a coffee, turn off the phone, pull up a stool). This step takes 1 hour or a little more.
Lightly whisk the egg yolks in a bowl, until well blended. Add the vanilla, ginger, 1 1/3 cups of the squash puree and the half and half. Gradually this to the warm rice, stirring to combine. (Save the balance of the squash for another dish).
Pour this into a buttered 2 qt. oven proof bowl, inside a roasting pan. Take to the oven, then fill with hot water halfway up the sides of the baking dish. Bake until set 55-60 minutes.
To caramelize the pudding, sprinkle the turbinado sugar over the top and use your little blowtorch to melt the sugar. Use a back and forth motion and be careful not to burn. The torch does a much better job than trying to set under the broiler.
Serve to loving family and friends and, once more, be thankful for all you have.
Old Fashioned Cheesecake With Ginger
Thanksgiving is fast arriving and this would be a great way to show your family just how thankful you all are. It is truly delightful. If you are having a ‘heavy’ meal, then simply sit around the table, talking and enjoying each other for a short while THEN have it.
- 1 1/2 cups crushed ginger snaps
- 4 tbsp. melted butter
- 1 tbsp. sugar
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- 3 pkg. cream cheese (not light), softened
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 tbsp. flour
- 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
- 3 large eggs
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1 1/2 cup whipping cream
- 2 tbsp. finely chopped crystallized ginger.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a 9 inch springform pan, mix the crumbs, butter, sugar and cinnamon. With a closed fist, firmly press the crumbs up the sides and bottom. Save 1/4 cup for later. Bake for 10 minutes and cool on a rack.
Turn temperature down to 300 degrees. In mixing bowl, with a medium speed, beat the cream cheese and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the flour and vanilla until well combined.
Reduce speed to low and add the eggs, one at a time, mixing each one well. Add the milk until JUST blended.
Pour into the prepared crust. Bake for 50-60 minutes until set but just slightly wiggly in the center. It should be a pale gold at the edge.
Cool completely and sprinkle the remaining crumbs on top.
Serve with a large dollop of whipped cream with added finely chopped crystallized ginger.
All you need here is a glass of ice wine, properly chilled.
Voila! Damn you did it again.
Pulled Chicken Tacos With Yummy Salsa
- I’m on a kick with the tacos and before we run off to volunteer at one of the Winery Festivals today, here is another one to make you happy.
Pickled Onions
You will really love the vibrant bite to these and will want to use them on everything.
- 1/2 cup white vinegar
- 1/4 cup Pinot Noir wine
- 3 tbsp. sugar
- pinch of kosher salt
- 2 drops hot sauce
- 1 1/2 cups sliced red onion, packed down
Put all the ingredients (except onion) in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the onion and cook only for 30 seconds. Transfer to a clean 500 ml glass jar. Set aside to cool completely then cover and refrigerate. Before using, be sure to drain off the brine.
Salsa Made With Fresh Pineapple
- 2 cups fresh pineapple, diced
- 1 jalapeno chile, seeded, finely chopped
- 2 tbsp. chopped cilantro
- 1 tbsp. freshly squeezed lime juice
- pinch of salt and pepper
Mix all together in a bowl, cover with saran wrap and keep in the refrigerator. Just before using, bring to room temperature for best flavour.
- Pulled Chicken
- 6 chicken legs
- 1/2 cup your best barbecue sauce
- 12 x 6″ corn tortillas (flour ones get too mushy)
Place the legs (the chicken, not yours) in a roasting pan and roast for about 50-55 minutes until cooked completely. Cool down enough to handle and remove the meat, throwing out the bones, fat and skin.
Pull the meat in thick threads and place in the barbecue sauce in a saucepot and stir until hot. (5-6 minutes).
Warm the tortillas by grilling for 5 seconds on each side. Lay them out and divide the chicken equally. Top with the salsa and the pickled onion.
What a great way to start the evening with friends/family. Make it a regular dish to make. Add a glass of wine, throw a steak on the barbecue and such fun ahead.
Grilled Tuna Tacos With Guacamole
This recipe can be made with any fish, but this calls for Ahi tuna steaks. By the way, it IS fabulous with any fish you really like.
Guacamole
- 1/4 cup chopped red onion
- 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
- 2 ripe avocados
- 3 tbsp. diced tomato, seeds removed
- 2 tsp. Sriracha chile sauce
- 4 tsp. chopped cilantro
- 2 tbsp. chopped flat leaf parsley
- salt and pepper to taste
Combine the onion and lime juice in a bowl and let stand for 15 minutes. Halve and scoop out the flesh of the avocados in a bowl and mash with a potato masher. Stir in the remaining ingredients. Press plastic wrap on the surface and set aside.
Grilling the Tuna
- 2 cups red cabbage, sliced thin (slivered)
- 2 tsp. vegetable oil
- 1 tsp. cider vinegar
- 2 lbs. tuna steaks, sliced 1 inch thick
- 12 x 6 inch corn tortillas
Place the slivered cabbage, oil and vinegar in a bowl. Season with a touch of salt and pepper. Stir to mix. Cover tightly and set aside.
Preheat the barbecue and wipe the grills with oil. Season the tuna on both sides with the salt and pepper and grill, only until rare….2 minutes each side tops.
Transfer to a cutting board and slice AGAINST the grain with a very sharp knife.
Warm the tortillas by placing on the grill for about 4-5 seconds per side. Lay them out on the counter, place a large dollop of the guacamole down the center and spread out. Split the tuna slices evenly among the tortillas and add a large topping of the cabbage slaw. Roll up and enjoy. I know….have a cold brew handy.
Hint: Use any fish you like and cook it as you like it. This is for those who really enjoy the tuna.
Rocky Road Bars
This is a wonderful and easy recipe to make. This is especially for the chocolate lovers club members…..and we have several in our family.
If you wish to make more than 18 squares, just double the ingrediednts. Make sure you wrap them tightly in saran wrap for up to 2 days (if they even last that long).
- 8 graham crackers
- 1 1/2 cups chopped pistachio nuts, toasted
- 1 1/2 cups marshmallow topping
- 12 oz. chocolate melting wafers
- 14 oz. can condensed milk
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch baking dish with the crackers. Break them up if you have to to make them fit. Bake for about 6-7 minutes until they become fragrant and lightly toasted.
Sprinkle with the nuts and dollop the surface with the marshmallow topping.
In a bowl over simmering water, combine the chocolate wafers and condensed milk, stirring until the chocolate has melted and it is very smooth.
Now, you have to work quickly here…..pour the condensed milk over the entire surface, and with a knife, swirl it all together, to combine the marshmallow topping.
Place in the refrigerator until completely set, which will take about 1 hour. Cut in 18 squares. Now, how long did you make these last? The truth now….I thought so.
Fall Boil With Shrimp And Stuff
October has arrived and while the weather is still super nice, this would be a fun thing to do for a last hurrah, if you will. No real fussing, no real cleanup. It is messy, delicious and pure fun!
This will serve 8
- 1 cup unsalted butter
- 4 cloves garlic, crushed
- 3 tbsp. seasoning salt, like “Joe’s Stuff” or Cajun-type seasoning
- coarse salt
- 3 lemons, 1 halved, 2 cut in thick wedges
- 2 1/2 lbs. new baby potatoes
- 5 ears of corn, cut in 1 inch pieces
- butter for brushing
- 3 lbs. jumbo shrimp, shells on, deveined
- Sheets of packing paper (clean and by the roll, if possible)
Heat the butter in a saucepan over medium heat, until melted. Add the garlic and simmer for only 1 minute. Stir in the seasoning and salt. Squeeze the juice from the halved lemon (reserve the halves) and add to the butter. Remove from the heat but covered to keep warm.
In a large saucepan with water, boil the potatoes for about 12-15 minutes until tender when poked with a knife. Add the corn and the lemon halves. Return to the boil, then drain.
Preheat the barbecue and brush the grates with oil. Take 2 tbsp. of butter mixture and toss the potatoes, corn, shrimp and sliced lemons until coated.
Put it all on the grill, cooking only until the shrimp have turned pink and there are grill marks on the corn and potatoes.
You can add mussels and clams as well, making sure they all open.
Throw out the paper to cover the table, have a pile of paper napkins handy and toss it all on the table. The trick here is to help yourself and eat away. Serve the remaining butter in a couple of bowls and just have fun.
Cold beer in a bucket or a bottle or two of chilled wine is all you need.