Sweet Tidings!

 

With just a couple of sleeps left before Santa makes his big appearance, I'd like to wish everyone a very Merry (and Bright!) Christmas and an absolutely lovely Holiday.  I hope you get to enjoy plenty of time with your loved ones, soaking in the JOY and WONDER that is all around.  Be gentle and excellent to each other.  xoxo Renee

And now, a few photos of what Christmas looks like around my house...

Vintage porcelaine tree...it even plays Silver Bells.  Got it for a steal a few years ago.

I love the mix of vintage and new ornaments.  And I sort of have a thing for birds/feathers!

Dragonfly!

A sweet Grandma knit those skates. 

I love my snow globe!  

Vintage Angel

Milk Glass collection, all glammed up.


May your hearts be light!

For the Movies: Caramel Popcorn with Roasted Nuts

I see it.  The light at the end of the tunnel.  Just two days left of work then I'm home free.  I cannot tell you how much I'm looking forward to my holiday vacay.  The past few months have roared on by and I need me some down time.  Big time.  Not that I'm planning anything wild and crazy.  No tropical vacations or skiing holidays (I've only been downhill skiing once and nearly died, so I've vowed never to do that again.  Okay, I didn't nearly die, but when you are 13 and roaring down a bunny hill mountain and can't stop and end up crashing into a snow bank while your cute instructor stands by, it does feel like you are dying.)  Given my lack of coordination at any sporty, and fear of sharp things on my feet propelling me forward - you should see me skate - the only calorie burning activity I'll be up to is a long hike through the beautiful river valley here in Saskatoon.  But lookout!  I may strap on a snow shoe or two and really do it up.  Lord knows after eating this ridiculously delicious caramel popcorn, something will have to be done.

No, I'm not going too far at all over the holidays.  And I like it like that.  For so many years I'd pack up the car and the evil fur beasts cats (if you've ever traveled a great distance with 2 cats in a car, you know of which sweet hell I speak) and drive the 600km to come home for Christmas, then leave after a few days and make the long drive back to Edmonton.  It was what it was, but I'm so happy that these days I just have to go a few blocks to my Mom's house and everyone is there.  My brothers and sisters and all of the little ones running around with rosy cheeks and runny noses.  We eat until it's slightly uncomfortable, because everything is just so. good.  This year the main attraction will be Prime Rib with Yorkshire Pudding - because after cooking roughly 350 pounds of turkey in December, it's pretty much the last thing I want to eat right now.  So we are switching up the menu and I'm super stoked; if only because I'm already envisioning the gravy soaking into the Yorkshires.  Can't wait.

 

When I'm not hiking, or eating too much or colouring with the kiddies, I will be watching movies.  You know how much I love movies right? The is the prime season for all of the great ones.  Oscar contenders are being released weekly, and I'm super excited to plant my behind in a comfy seat and watch The Descendants, and Young Adult and The Iron Lady, and My Week With Marilyn.  How fabulous does Michelle Williams look as Marilyn?  Oh yes.  There will be movie watching.  On the small screen too, because what is Christmas without watching my boyfriend Colin Firth in Love Actually?  Or watching the March sisters in Little Women?  Or Mr. Bean stick his head up the turkey? All classics, which require curling up on the couch with a blankie and a hot beverage and a bowl of popcorn.  But just not any popcorn.  And now I get to the really good part.

For years and years my Mom would make this caramel popcorn.  Package it up in pretty tins for her kids, she did.  Hell, it was worth the car ride of wailing of cats, it was.  And then she stopped.  Not sure why.  We kind of don't talk about it in my family.  So this year I was like "Mom do you still have that recipe for that caramel popcorn you USED to make and we all loved and then stopped making it for some reason?"  And she said yes, I still have it.  Hooray!  This is the best popcorn to munch on while Colin Firth dives into the water to fetch his manuscript.  It's buttery, oh god, it is buttery and caramely and laden with roasted nuts.  But so. damn. good.

You think popping popcorn is fool proof, right?  But clearly not Renee proof.  I don't have a popcorn maker, so I just made it on the stove top.  But my favourite pot for doing so is without a lid because I threw it over the small fire back when there was that kitchen incident.  So I had to use this other crappy pot and burnt the popcorn.  So then I had to use a smaller pot, and make two batches of popcorn.  All in all it took much longer than it should have.  My dear friend Stacy says I need the STIR CRAZY by West Bend, which apparently makes the best popcorn in the world.  If Santa hasn't packed his sleigh yet, Renee would like very much.   Making the caramel goo is a bit of a science project, hence no photos of that because I was quite transfixed with all of the bubbling sugar action, and I've never been that great at science so this required all of my attention.  It's crazy, all of that bubbling, but I let it go for about 5 minutes, like Ma said, and it was fine.  Even dropped a little of the caramel in a glass of water to see if it formed a ball.  It did and it was done.  Adding the baking soda and booze in the end makes it go wild again, but don't be afraid.  Just carefully pour it over the roasted nuts and popcorn and stir stir stir.  Press it into a greased bake sheet, let it cool, then break it off into pieces to eat right away or package it up in airtight containers and freeze for later.  Just let it thaw for an hour before breaking it apart and munching.  Don't want any of you to lose a tooth over the holidays! Whether you are sneaking this contraband popcorn into the theatre like me (shhhhhh! don't tell!) or munching on it while you are all curled up with your favourite peeps and furry friends, this popcorn will make your movie watching all that more enjoyable.  Just go on a little hike afterwards okay?  Or if you dare, don the skates.  You just won't see me at a rink near you anytime soon.

Caramel Popcorn with Roasted Nuts

3 cups nuts (I used whole pecans and almonds)
2 cups of butter (I used salted)
18 cups popped popcorn
2 2/3 cups brown sugar, lightly packed
1 cup of Rogers Golden Syrup or corn syrup if you can't find Rogers
1 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp baking soda
1 tbsp rum

Heat oven to 300*F.  Spread nuts on cookie sheet and roast for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally and keeping an eyeball on them.  Let them cool and mix with your popped corn in a VERY large bowl, or two not so large bowls.

Combine sugar, butter, syrup and cream of tartar in a sauce pan.  Cook until it forms a ball when dropped into a glass of water, or for about 5 minutes.  It's tricky, I know, but trust me, it will be okay.  Just stir, stir, stir.  Remove from heat, stir in the baking soda and rum.  Bubbles!  Then pour over the nuts and popcorn.  Stir really well, and divide it amongst two greased cookie sheets (I used butter, of course) and press it into the pans.  Let it cool, then tear it into pieces to devour immediately, or pack it into airtight containers.  If you want to freeze it, go ahead, just let it thaw for an hour before digging in.  Makes a rather large batch.

Merry & Bright: Rosemary Oatmeal Shortbread

 

Baking (and eating!) shortbread at Christmastime is absolutely mandatory.  As is watching A Charlie Brown Christmas, enjoying Baileys in hot chocolate, and singing along to Christmas Elvis.  Is it me or is he damn hot especially handsome in this video?  I was never a super huge Elvis fan, but out of all the Elvises I like Christmas Elvis the best.  He's way smokin'.  Fun Fact:  Blue Christmas was a cover...someone else (Doye O'Dell) recorded it first in 1948, but Elvis' version in 1957 made it internationally famoso. It's listed #7 on a Rolling Stone Reader's Poll of the Best Christmas songs, and it ranks right up there with me, too.  I'm a little bit drawn to the sadder Christmas songs, not that I'm a particulary sad person, quite the opposite, really.  I just like mixing a little maudlin with my merry - just a touch seems to make the merry shine that much brighter. 

Don't be freaking that there is rosemary in my shortbread, okay?  You'll be down with the woodsy/savory/ sweet/buttery concoction of goodness after one bite, promise.
These cookies taste like Christmas.

My first taste was well over 10 years ago, when a pastry chef I was working with made a batch.  This is her Grandma's recipe and she was gracious enough to share with me back then.  'Tis the season of sharing after all, so think of this as my little prezzie to you.  These cookies will flatter any dessert platter and will gather rave reviews and recipe requests, even from people who were at first scared of the rosemary.  Trust me.  Don't be freaking about the 2 cups of butter either...this makes a massive batch of about 75 cookies.  And because there's oatmeal in them they are practically health food.  No bubble bursting, please!

 

I rather like rolling the dough out and cutting it into various shapes.  Stars are always good.  I don't see why you couldn't roll the dough into logs, chill, then slice and bake too.  That would probably save time, if you are lacking in that department (who isn't, really?).  One of the best things is the smell emanating from the oven while you bake these babies off...rosemary...butter...sugar. Keep an eyeball on them so they don't burn - once they start to brown around the edges I take them out, because over-browned shortbread does nothing for me.  A light dusting of icing sugar and you'll have the prettiest cookies in town.  Elvis would definitely approve.

Rosemary Oatmeal Shortbread 

2 cups of salted butter (if using unsalted, add about 1/2 tsp salt to batter)
1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
2 tbsp finely chopped fresh rosemary
2 3/4 cups all purpose flour, plus more for dusting
2 1/2 cups large flake oatmeal (not the small instant stuff, please)
icing sugar

In a mixer, cream the butter an sugar until fluffy.  Beat in the fresh rosemary.  On low, add the flour and oatmeal.  Mix until all is incorporated.
On a lightly floured surface, fold the dough into a ball, flatten and roll out dough to 1/4 inch thick.  Having a little flour on your rolling pin helps too. Cut into shapes and place cookies on parchment lined bake sheets.  In a preheated 350* oven, bake for about 11 minutes, or until edges start to turn brown.  Remove from oven and cool.  Repeat with  remaining dough.  Once all cookies are baked and have cooled down, dust with icing sugar.  Makes about 75 cookies.  They freeze rather well, too.  

 

And how cute do these look all packed up in a pretty tin?  Your loved ones will be overJOYed!

Sausage & Asiago Stuffed Mushrooms with Balsamic Glaze

 

It's party time!  Excellent!
I know that's so 1989, but now that there are 200,000 channels on my television there's no getting away from Saturday Night Live.  But I love the SNL of yesteryear.  All of the sprockets and lunch ladies and Wayne & Garths.  When I run into one of those episodes, I feel all warm and fuzzy inside, or maybe it's just the wine or maybe I'm just feeling nostalgic; 'tis nostalgia's prime time though, no?  It seeps in from all sorts of crevices - like when you unpack your boxes of ornaments, and there's a Christmas card from 1999 tucked in, from an old friend you haven't seen in as long.  Or when you hear "River" and have to sit down because it gets you every time.  It doesn't take much these days to momentarily transport you back to another Christmas; another life.     

Stuffed mushrooms are pretty classic, and no doubt conjure up culinary nostalgia.  And after one bite of these babies, you won't forget them, that is for sure.  If you are running to and fro various parties this season, or hosting one of your own, I bring you another appetizer that will get rave reviews from other party people.  They will disappear in a flash, so bring lots!  I daresay this could be the best stuffed mushroom I've ever eaten.  There.  I just put that out there.  Let it sink in.  Good.  Now let me tell you how I made them.

Take some lovely, fresh super large white button mushrooms. Wipe them clean with a damp paper towel.  Mushrooms.  So photogenic.  We like!

Take the stems off the mushrooms and save for another use.  Toss the mushroom caps in balsamic vinegar and olive oil.  Salt and pepper too, please

Roast them for 30 minutes.  The best part?  Most of the liquid will be released during the first roasting, so you won't end up with soggy mushrooms.  Ick.  Who wants those?

Meanwhile, make your sausage filling.  Cook off Italian sausage with onions, garlic, rosemary and fennel.  Add cream cheese and Asiago. This is good stuff.  (I had extra filling leftover from this recipe, so I just put some on Naan bread and it made lovely pizza.  Just so you know.)  When mushrooms are done roasting flip them over to drain the juices, then flip again to stuff the cap.  I filled them so they were heaping. 

Then I topped them with more Asiago.  God, I love cheese. 

Then they baked for another 30-40 minutes until all golden and simply gorgeous.  Let them cool for a bit before tasting or you'll burn your tongue like I did.

I really loved the textures here:  the crunchy cheesy topping, into the creamy, spicy filling and meatiness of the mushroom.  Super fun to eat, and bursting with flavour.  The fennel and rosemary are perfect compliments to the spicy sausage - use the best quality you can find, it makes a difference.   Roasting mushrooms in balsamic vinegar first really adds a tart/sweet factor, and rids the mushroom of extra juices.  Brilliant, that.  This appetizer will no doubt rock your party of 1 or 21.  Nothing more to add except Party On, Dudes!  

 

Sausage & Asiago Stuffed Mushrooms with Balsamic Glaze

20 large mushrooms, cleaned with damp paper towel, stem removed and saved for later use
2 links Italian sausage
1 tsp dried rosemary OR 2 tsp fresh, finely chopped
1 tsp dried fennel seed
1 onion, diced small
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 ounces (120grams) cream cheese
3 ounces (90grams) Asiago cheese, grated
3 tbsp olive oil
3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper

In a large bowl, toss the mushrooms with the balsamic vinegar and 3 tbsp olive oil, salt and pepper.  Place onto a parchment lined cookie sheet and place in a preheated 350* oven for about 30 min.  Stir once or twice.  Remove from oven.  Meanwhile, in a large skillet, over medium high heat, squeeze the sausage meat out of the casing  and cook until no longer pink, breaking it apart with the back of a spoon.  You want it fairly crumbly and in small pieces.  Stir in onions and garlic and spices, and cook a few minutes longer, until onion is softened.  (If you find that your sausage filling is too greasy, drain it on paper towel first before adding the cheese.) Remove from heat and place into a bowl, along with the cheeses (save some of the Asiago for topping).  Stir well to combine.   Take a teaspoon and fill each mushroom cap.  Sprinkle with  remaining Asiago.  Bake at 375* for about 30-40 minutes, until golden.  Can easily be doubled if feeding a large crowd.  Recipe adapted from Food 52.

Play: Gingerbread Trees with Lemon Icing

 

Our hearts grow tender with childhood memories and love of kindred, and we are better throughout the year for having, in spirit, become a child again at Christmastime.  

Laura Ingalls Wilder

Nothing like a little Little House to get you in the Christmas mood, hey?  My love of reading stems from pouring over those books when I was a kid.  I especially loved the Christmas chapters; when the Ingalls are housebound by raging blizzards and old Mr. Edwards saves they day by bringing Laura, Mary and Carrie candy and oranges.  Love. It. So. Much.  Laura was right though.  Everyone becomes a kid again at Christmas.

I'm in full blown catering crazies, but happy to report no meltdowns and anxiety has been averted.  Touch wood!  Thanks, in part, to another set of hands peeling a million pounds of potatoes and dicing equal amounts of onion.  Poor guy will never want to touch either when he leaves our kitchen.  But just having those basic tasks done for me has meant the world.  And saved my sanity.  Give it up for Victor!  I've also decided I'm not going to let the stresses of the season bum me out.  My cortisol levels are staying relatively normal and I'm even having fun.  I keep getting invited to parties and I keep saying yes.  Good Lord, I'm tired, but this is the season to play, after all.

People think it's weird that after I cook all day at my real job, I would want to do anything in my own kitchen.  But honestly, it's not really mental to anyone who loves food like I do.  Rolling out gingerbread dough and cutting it into perfect tree shapes is playing.  And a reminder of a little girl with a blond head and a sweet tooth, by her Mom's side, eating the gingery dough behind her back and peeking through the glass door of the oven, watching the cookies rise into stars and trees and pigs.  I lived for those days before Christmas when the house smelled of butter and ginger and we got to decorate our cookies as we liked.  Icing! Sprinkles! Sugar!  The best part: biting off the limbs of the gingerbread man and saving head for last.  

Yes, me and cookie dough go waaaaay back - to days before everything was digital and my biggest worry was if my blue Club Monaco sweatshirt was washed so I could wear it to school the next day;  to days when my favourite song was "Eye of the Tiger" and I wanted to be Olivia Newton John when I grew up. Yeah, me and cookie making go way back.  If only my biggest "issue" these days could be whether or not I have clean laundry. Baking has always been a little therapy for this girl, and on more than one occasion it's saved me from holiday hell.  Sometimes the process of distraction is a magical thing.

This gingerbread is exactly what you want your house to smell like as you put that last star on the tree and as you finish addressing envelopes with the names of loved ones. The batter can be made the night before, so the next morning you just roll it out and cut into your favourite shapes.  They only need to bake for about 8 minutes if you like a softer cookie, or around 10 if you want your gingerbread to snap. The drizzle of lemon is a lovely compliment to the smooth bite of ginger.  Ginger + Lemon = Yummers.  Can't think of a better cookie to eat while I curl up on the couch to watch this, yet again.  It never gets old.

Gingerbread Tree with Lemon Icing

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour (spooned and leveled) plus a bit more for rolling
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp coarse salt
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temp
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1/4 cup molasses

2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 1/3 cup icing sugar
coarse sugar, optional

In a medium bowl, whisk flour with rest of dry ingredients.  In a large bowl of a mixer, cream the butter and granulated sugar on medium high until creamy, about 3 minutes.  Add egg and molasses and beat to combine, scraping down bowl as you need to. With  mixer on low, gradually add flour mixture and beat until combined.  Wrap dough in plastic and refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour or up to 3 days.
Preheat oven to 350*F, with racks in upper and lower thirds.
On a lightly floured work surface, roll out dough to a 1/4 inch thickness, and with cookie cutters, cut into your favourite shapes.  My Mom still uses the cutters from when we were kids and I love the pig!  Or you can use a sharp knife and cut into triangles.  Arrange cookies on parchment lined baking sheets, and bake until firm and golden, around 8 min for chewy, 10 min for snappy.  Let cool completely on sheets on wire racks.  Store in airtight containers for up to one week, or freeze.
To make the lemon icing, combine lemon juice, icing sugar with a small whisk.  It takes a little while for it to come together.  Add more lemon if too thick.  I just put the icing in a small Ziploc bag and cut one corner to make a tip.  Drizzle onto cooled cookies and sprinkle with sugar.  The cookies freeze well for up to one month.  Makes about 50-60 cookies.  

Easy Appie: Red Curry Shrimp Dumplings

 

This post is short on words, long on photos - please forgive.  I'm having a bit of a Sophie's Choice moment as far as editing goes, so they all stay!  I've just come off a 50 hour work week, and I'm back at it bright and early tomorrow morning, so please forgive any grammatical misdoings, okay?  And you're probably thinking to yourselves, so what's her excuse the other times she puts the apostrophe in the wrong place?  Good question friends, good question.

So it's rather late on a Sunday night, and while I should be getting my beauty sleep, gearing up for a week of being up to my eyeballs in turkey and stuffing and all things gravy, I knew I couldn't rest until I told you about these dumplings.  I made them last Sunday (yes I've been holding out on you!) and I've been thinking about them all week.  Dumplings are one of my favourite go-out-and-eat foods, especially at Dim Sum.  Yes, I love me a good dumpling times a million.  This recipe in Everyday Food caught my eye a couple of months back and I thought hey, how awesome would these be as appetizers around the holidays?  Super awesome, that's what.

I know, you're busy, and probably thinking who has time to make dumplings?  But for serious, these aren't too difficult at all.  Heck I'd consumed a few Earl Grey martinis the night before, thus not functioning at full culinary capacity and I pulled the wontons off within 40 minutes.  Non-martini imbibing, I'm guessing 30 min.  There are still wonton wrappers in the fridge, so I'll test that theory later this month, when I have, you know, time.

 

And I know, it's super easy to pop into some places that specialize in frozen food and get yourselves some dumplings.  Not to name any names, but it sounds like N&N.  Or you could dive into the freezer section of any large supermarket and get your dumplings there.  It's easy, I get that, and right now you have to choose your battles when it comes to Christmas prep.  (In my house the war is being lost on housework.  If you come over, promise not to look too closely at the levels of dust, okay?  And really, isn't that what January is for?)  But do me a favour, if you pick up anything that comes in a box, look at the list of ingredients.  Sometimes it takes a chemistry degree to figure out what the hell some of the ingredients are.  And I don't know about you, but that scares the crap out of me.

Red curry paste is a must in my kitchen.  A smooth, moist blend of lemongrass, red chiles, garlic, shallots, kaffir lime leaves and the gingerlike galangal, red curry paste goes fantastically well with shrimp, chicken, fish and beef.  Don't forget to combine it with coconut milk for an out-of-this-world curry.  A little goes a long way, and some brands will be spicier than others.  The original recipe called for 4 tsp of red curry paste, and I'm not sure if the recipe testers had stomachs lined with iron, but holy moly, 1 tsp is plenty hot.  Not burn your face off hot, but oooh, this has a nice heat hot.  Find red curry paste in the Asian section of the supermarket, or head to your Chinatown and do some exploring.
 

The best thing about making your own dumplings is that you know what is going in them.  Use good-looking shrimp.  I found some large 21-24 size organic white, and they were amazing.  (The number on the package means the amount of shrimp per pound.)  Using a food processor, grind up the shrimp into a paste, add the red curry, some fish sauce (found in the Asian section of your supermarket), green onion and ginger.  Easy filling, right?  While it may take a bit of hunt to find wonton wrappers, any Asian supermarket will have them, and check the refrigeration section in the produce department of the local Safeway/Superstore too.  A little filling in the middle, then fold the corners together, pinch to close tightly and that's it.  I pan-fried mine for a minute, then poured in a little water to steam, cover with a lid and in 3 minutes your dumplings are cooked!  Served with a side dipping sauce, these make an awesome little snack.  I made a batch of about 28.  Froze half of them, and later in the week, when I came home from work ravenous, I heated some chicken broth in a pot, added the frozen dumplings, and some veg and all of a sudden there was wonton soup on my stove.

Looks like I've written more than I ever intended to tonight.  I blame the dumplings.  Once you make them, you'll know what I mean.  Now I better hit the Sealy and try to get a solid 7 hours of slumber.  It's another long work-week, friends.  Good thing I've got more dumplings in the freezer.  

 

Red Curry Shrimp Dumplings

2-3 tsp vegetable oil
3 tbsp minced peeled ginger (from a 2 inch piece)
2 green onions, thinly sliced
3/4 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined.  I used about 20 large shrimp.
1 tsp red curry paste
1 tsp fish sauce
24 wonton wrappers (you may use more if you have extra filling)
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp sriracha (or other chili/garlic sauce you like)
2 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tsp sugar

In a small skillet, heat 1 tbsp oil and over med high heat, cook the ginger and green onion just 2 minutes until fragrant.  Remove from heat.  In a food processor, grind up the shrimp until finely chopped.  Transfer to bowl and add the ginger mixture, as well as the fish sauce and curry paste. Stir to combine.
Working with one wonton wrapper at a time, place 1 heaping tsp of shrimp mixture in the middle.  With a wet finger (I keep a bowl of water handy) moisten the edges of the wrapper, then bring the 4 corners together, pinching to seal.  Cover filled dumplings with a clean towel as you work, so they don't dry out.
In a large nonstick skillet, heat 1 or more tsp of vegetable oil over med high heat.  Add the dumplings seam side up and cook until golden on the bottom, about 1 min.  Carefully add 1/2 cup water to skillet and cover, cook until water almost evaporated, about 3 minutes.  Uncover and cook until all water evaporates, another minute.  Reduce heat to medium if they overbrown.  You may have to cook in batches, depending on the size of your pan. 
If planning on making these ahead, freeze them raw, then thaw before cooking.  If you want to put them in soup, throw them in while frozen, and they cook up in no time.  Just look for the pink!
Combine the soy sauce, sriracha, sugar, rice vinegar in a small bowl. Adjust seasonings.  Makes an excellent dipping sauce for the dumplings!  Adapted from Everyday Food, October 2011.