Roasted Maple Chilli Squash with Pumpkin Seeds

Every year time seems to fly a little faster, which means that Christmas always arrives at lighting, speed, prompting me to often ask aloud "wasn't it JUST Christmas?!" Don't get me wrong, I love Christmas dinner (adore it, even!), but with the hands of time spinning faster than a ballerina in the Nutcracker, it doesn't feel like Christmas dinner was all that long ago!

My family always does a big potluck for our Christmas dinner, which puts the opportunity for change in each of our hands. This year I decided to shake things up and make a Christmas side dish that's grounded in a classic Christmas flavour (roast squash), but given an exciting twist! While roast squash is a common vegetables found on the Christmas table, I roasted mine in a maple chilli glaze to give it a bit of a kick, and garnished it with roasted pumpkin seeds for a salty crunch; dried cranberries for their balance of sweet and tart, as well as chewiness; and finished the dish off with a light, cooling drizzle of a cumin-spiced yogurt.

I love the way this dish activates every taste bud, and think it will make a really exciting and delicious addition to my family Christmas table!

*You may roast the squash in advance, and reheat when ready to serve. Garnish just before serving.

Serves 4-6 as a side dish

Ingredients:

1 acorn squash 

2 Tbsp Metro Irresistibles Amber Maple Syrup

2 Tbsp melted butter

2 thai red chillies, sliced thin on a bias

1/4 cup roasted salted pumpkin seeds

1/4 cup dried cranberries

1/2 cup Metro Irresistibles 2% Plain Yogurt

1/4 tsp ground cumin (fresh ground is best!)

1 Tbsp lemon juice

salt and pepper to season

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325ºF.
2. Cut squash in half and scoop out seeds with a spoon. Cut squash into quarters and slice into 1-inch to 1 1/2-inch slices.
3. In a small bowl, stir together maple syrup, butter, and chillies. In a large bowl toss together squash slices with maple syrup mixture and season well with salt and pepper.
4. Lay squash in a single layer on a large parchment-lined baking sheet. Roast for 40-50 minutes or until tender when inserted with a fork.
5. While squash is roasting, prepare the spiced yogurt. In a small bowl stir together yogurt with cumin and lemon juice. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed. Store in fridge until ready to use. 
6. Place squash directly into a serving dish and garnish with pumpkin seeds, dried cranberries, and a drizzle of spiced yogurt. Serve Immediately.*

This post was created in partnership with Metro Ontario.

Listening To:

Christmas Time Is Here - Vince Guaraldi

Cranberry Orange Scones with Orange Honey Butter

Holiday baking isn't just about cookies over the holidays! I'm the kind of person who likes to find any excuse to eat treats all day long, so while I love dipping a cookie in some coffee, there's nothing like having dessert for breakfast! With that in mind, I took the classic flavour combination of orange and cranberry that I so often put in my holiday biscotti, and infused them into one of my favourite go-to scone recipes! I love this recipe because it's super easy to whip together, plus it's just as lovely to gift to a special someone as are cookies!

To take this recipe to the next level, I like to serve it with an Orange and Honey butter, to kick up that citrus flavour just a touch, while also adding another hint of sweetness, to otherwise not overly sweet scones.

Adapted slightly from Bon Appetit
Ingredients:
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp kosher salt
3 cups all-purpose flour (plus more for dusting surface)
1/2 cup unsalted butter, cold, cut into cubes
1 large egg, beaten
1 1/4 cups heavy cream
2 heaping tsp orange zest
1 tsp Metro Irresistibles Pure Vanilla Extract
1 cup fresh cranberries
Egg Wash
1 egg
2 Tbsp water
Orange Honey Butter
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1-2 heaping Tbsp orange zest (use more or less depending on how punchy you want it)
2 Tbsp Metro Irresistibles Organics Pure Honey

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375ºF.
2. In a large bowl, whisk sugar baking powder, baking soda, salt, and flour to combine.
3. Add the cubes of butter to the dry mixture and toss to coat.
4. Using your fingers or pastry blender, work the butter into the flour, breaking it down until only pea-sized pieces of butter remain.
5. Make a well in the centre of the mixture, and add the beaten egg, cream, orange zest, and vanilla extract. Mix the wet ingredients with a fork, incorporating dry ingredients a little at a time, until a shaggy dough is formed. Gently fold in the cranberries. Lightly knead until dough comes together. Don't over-mix the dough! Don't worry if it looks a little dry. 
6. Flour your table and turn dough onto surface. Pat into a 1-inch thick round, and cut into 8 even wedges. Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet.
7. In a small bowl, make the egg wash by whisking together 1 egg and 2 Tbsp water.
8. Using a pastry brush, brush tops of scones with egg wash mixture.
9. Bake scones until golden-brown, 25-30 minutes.

Honey Butter

1. In a medium bowl, or bowl of an electric mixer, whisk together softened butter with orange zest and honey until light and fluffy. Serve at room temperature with Cranberry Orange Scones. 

This post was created in partnership with Metro Ontario.

Listening To:

Earl Sweatshirt - Cold Summers

Holiday Decorations for the Food Obsessed

The first snowfall has arrived in Toronto, and with the Santa Clause Parade this weekend and the Distillery Christmas Market all set up for the masses, there's no better time to start planning your holiday decor! In my humble opinion, I think the best holiday decorations are the ones that have a personal touch to them. Whether your decorations evoke a memory or are homemade, there's something so much more charming about creating a holiday environment that really means something to YOU! Being the food obsessed person that I am, I like to find inspiration for my own holiday decor in my kitchen, creating centrepieces that incorporate some unexpected pantry items! 

Most of my favourite childhood holiday memories involve either holiday arts and crafts or holiday baking. Long before the days of Pinterest, my mom somehow managed to always have a craft or recipe up her sleeve to get my sister and I into the festive spirit. I have so many fond memories of us making ornaments out of dough, painting and stamping our own homemade wrapping paper, making pipe cleaner angels, and making Christmas cookies with my grandparents, that fill me with the warm and fuzzies, and bring a fond tear to my eye! I love the idea of incorporating both a DIY element as well as food into my holiday decor, as a nostalgic nod to my favourite holiday memories growing up. Take a peek at my three favourite ways of utilizing your kitchen pantry to create holiday candleholders that make for a striking centrepiece! 

Himalayan salt is known for its positive effects on the environment (it detoxifies the air, and releases positive ions into the environment), but also for its beautiful colour! I saved some leftover glass yogurt jars (I use the Maison Riviera Petit Pot jars) to act as a vessel for little tea lights. Pop the tea lights into the cleaned jars, and carefully spoon Himalayan salt around the candle to hold it in place. The light of the candle emits the most beautiful and romantic pink glow that looks stunning next to silver elements! This is also a cute idea to make DIY holiday gifts for those on a budget. Have someone on your gifting list looking for a Himalayan salt lamp? Why not make them their own Himalayan salt candles!

When looking for inspiration for this post, I wandered through literally every single aisle of my local Metro grocery store, looking for innovative ideas that I may not have thought of for holiday decor. In the bulk aisle I came across some wasabi peas that, to me, looked like they were dusted in freshly-fallen snow! It was too cute not to try out! I used the same glass yogurt jars and simply popped the tea lights inside. I nestled the jars into a decorative tray and spooned the snowy-looking peas around the jars to hold them in place. 

My final idea for you is one that I came up with a few years ago. Struck by the beauty of vibrant pink peppercorns (that actually appear more red than pink!) I yet another foodie candleholder, this time incorporating those beautiful dried berries! I took a small white serving platter and arranged some tea lights on it and then spooned in my pink peppercorns. Et voila! So simple and lovely! 

Do you have a clever holiday decor idea involving food? I want to know ALL about it! Tell me about it in the comments below! 

This post was created in partnership with Metro Ontario. 

Listening To:

Your Dog - Soccer Mommy

Mulled Cranberry Baked Brie with Spicy Candied Pecans

Holiday entertaining is all about ease of preparation, allowing you to spend less time in the kitchen, and more time with your friends and family. My Mulled Cranberry Brie with Spicy Pecans is as easy as can be and is a total showstopper, featuring the festive flavours of the holiday season. Sweet, spicy, warm, and comforting, you may want to prepare two of these, because your guests are sure to gobble it all up! Prepare the nuts and sauce in advance to have everything ready to go when your guests arrive.

Ingredients:

For The Pecans

3 Tbsp. golden corn syrup

1 1/2 Tbsp white sugar

3/4 tsp kosher salt

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1/4 tsp (heaping) ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground ginger

1 1/2 cups whole pecans

cooking spray

For The Mulled Cranberry Sauce

2 cups fresh or frozen whole cranberries

1/4 cup + 1 Tbsp. brown sugar

2 Tbsp. orange juice

2 Tbsp. red wine

1/4 tsp orange zest

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/8 tsp allspice 

1 whole star anise

2 thin slices fresh ginger

1 wheel of brie (200g)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325ºF.
2. In a medium bowl, stir together corn syrup, white sugar, salt, cayenne pepper, cinnamon, and ginger. Stir in pecans.
3. Spray medium baking sheet with cooking spray. Spread out coated pecans in one even layer and bake for 5-minutes. Stir to combine, and place back in the oven for an additional 10-minutes.
4. While pecans are baking, prepare a medium baking sheet lined with aluminum foil. Right as the pecans come out of the oven, use two forks to begin transferring, separating, and spreading the pecans on the prepared baking sheet to cool. Store in an airtight container for about 1-month. 

Listening To:

Jingle Bell Rock - Bobby Helms

Egg Nog Punch for Fredi Magazine

How is Christmas already next week?!?!?! Insanity! Get yourself into the Christmas spirit quickly and easily by making this fantastic egg nog alternative! Though this was one of the craziest recipes I have ever heard of, the results were delicious and perfect for your next holiday party! I love the wild mix of ingredients that go into this festive cocktail, which somehow end up tasting like an expertly made egg nog, minus all of those raw egg yolks! Check out the recipe in the latest issue of Fredi magazine and on their website! 

Pro Tip:
Make a festive cocktail stirrer by stringing fresh cranberries through rosemary sprigs! The rosemary looks just like Christmas tree trimmings and will add an aromatic note to your bevvie. The stunning contrast of colour between the vibrant green from the rosemary and the deep ruby red from the cranberries add a striking detail set against the off-white drink.  

Listening To:

Vince Guaraldi Trio - Linus & Lucy

Lemon Cranberry Crumb Cake

There are two types of people in this world, sweet and salty. Me, I've always been more of a salty kinda gal, choosing eggs and bacon over french toast and pancakes and french fries over...well, let's be honest french fries trump everything! My attraction towards all things salty runs strong from Spring through to Fall, but as soon as that first evening of frost sets in at the end of Fall or the beginning of Winter, my sweet tooth starts to emerge! 

As I find myself pulling out my wool and cashmere sweaters and scarves, a hankering for all things sweet has begun to follow me around all day long! From the moment I wake up and choose a bowl of brown sugar and maple oatmeal over my usual scrambled eggs and toast, to just before I go to sleep as I eat a handful of Cap'n Crunch in bed, it's clear my sweet tooth has officially bubbled to the surface for the season. 

With sweets on the brain 24/7, I wanted to make a simple and not-too-sweet cake to have around my home that could satisfy my cravings whenever they should strike. With a fridge drawer full of fresh cranberries and lemons, my brain went straight to recreating my favourite crumb cake recipe with a lemon cranberry twist. This crumb cake recipe has been a family favourite for years thanks to its ease of preparation and moist and delicious results! I love that I can throw this cake together in next to no time and sub in whatever fruit I happen to have available. This recipe is so forgiving that in the past I've even subbed in non-fat yogurt for the suggested sour cream when the latter was unavailable. 

With the holiday season in full swing, this is a fantastic recipe for serving to guests or bringing to a party! It holds up well for a few days and travels very easily, making it the perfect addition to your holiday table! Give it a try and let me know how it went on Twitter: @thisgingerrose.

Notes:

• This is one of those recipes where fresh lemon juice is essential! None of that bottled business!

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/4 cup white sugar

3/4 cup cold butter, cubed

1 tsp baking soda

1 cup sour cream (you may use full or reduced fat)

1 tsp baking powder

2 eggs

zest of 2 lemons

2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice

1 1/2 - 2 cups fresh cranberries

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375ºF.
2. In the bowl of a food processor add flour, sugar, and butter and pulse until crumbs form. Remove 1-cup of the mixture and set aside.
3. Place sour cream in a small bowl and stir in baking soda until dissolved.
4. Add sour cream mixture to the processor bowl. Add baking powder, eggs, lemon zest, and lemon juice and process until just combined. Do not over-mix!
5. Gently stir in cranberries by hand.
6. Pour batter into a lightly greased and floured 9x9-inch square baking pan. Top evenly with the reserved crumb mixture.
7. Bake for 40-45-minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. (I start to check the cake around the 36/37-minute mark, and allow the toothpick to have just a little batter on it to ensure the moistest cake).

Listening To:

Do Make Say Think - It's Gonna Rain

Hack the Holidays

Festive Ice Cubes

The tree is up, the gifts are purchased, and there is a blanket of snow collecting on my balcony (not to mention a canopy of white continuing to sail down from above. There's no doubt about it, the holidays are fast approaching! 

Peanut Butter Holiday Pancakes

With Christmas only two weeks away (where did the time go?!) it's right about now that everyone begins to freak out over everything that must be checked off their 'to do' list in the coming weeks, in the midst of what is absolutely the busiest and most stressful time of year. With so much to accomplish, and so little time, I am surprisingly far calmer than I've been in previous years. No, I haven't just discovered online shopping (but yes, that is probably the #1 stress reducer to take advantage of during the holidays), but I have discovered a not-so-secret secret to calmly and happily getting through the holidays. The secret, my friends is none other than the oh so wonderful world of food and life hacks! 

Fruity Holiday Ice-n-Pipe

Working on the Kraft Food Hacks campaign has given me the opportunity to search high and low through the dense interweb to find all of the very best hacks to get myself through the holidays. Through my research and testing in the kitchen, I've been able to locate the most successful and helpful of hacks, as well as debunk those that unfortunately result in disappointing failures. I've come up with some really fun and clever ones that have stretched my imagination and am really excited to share with you. My first holiday food hack entry is up on the Kraft Food Hacks blog and is one that I absolutely adore! Head on over to the Food Hacks blog to check out my latest entry on creating Festive Ice Cubes, and be sure to come back over the coming weeks to see what other holiday hacks I have in store for you! Also be sure to follow me along on the Food Hacks Twitter page (@FoodHacks) for even more holiday hacks to make your life a little easier!

Do you have a great holiday hack you want to share? Tweet me: @FoodHacks and let's get hacking! 

Listening To:

Paul McCartney - Simply Having A Wonderful Christmas Time

Leftover Lovin': Turkey Pot Pie

I am the queen of procrastination, as I'm sure you all know by now. I can turn any simple task into a trek up Mount Everest, making myself believe that something is much more difficult and grueling than it truly is. The mind is a funny thing, tricking me into believing that writing a blog post on how I used up my Christmas leftovers is a far more intimidating task than cleaning my bathroom, or in some cases even cutting my own hair.

"Nope, I can't write that blog post right now, I have to clean the bathroom! And what better time to see if I can give myself a haircut! And hey, while we're at it, why not walk all the way to the drugstore and buy an at home waxing kit!"

Some would call my justification and excuses for procrastination absolute insanity! The problem with procrastinating is that the longer you leave a task, the worse it gets, giving you more and more reasons to put it off even further. Which brings me to this very entry, my recipe for Turkey Pot Pie, or how I used up my Christmas leftovers...yup, you heard me! Christmas leftovers! UGH! What the heck is wrong with me?! In case you've been hibernating these past few months, we are now three days into March! March! Christmas has been over for more than two months! What the heck is wrong with me?! As ashamed as I am that I left a Christmas leftover recipe until March, I can see the bright side of this sad little situation I've gotten myself into. I'm hoping that this entry will become a reminder for me about why I should kick my procrastination habit in the bud, and in the future just suck it up and DO THE WORK!

As much as this recipe seems irrelevant at this point in time, it is absolutely a recipe that you can make all year round. No, most of us don't exactly have turkey leftovers kicking around our fridge very often, but luckily you can easily substitute cooked chicken into this recipe, making it the perfect weeknight fix all year! What I love about this recipe is that you are totally transforming your leftovers so that you don't feel like you've been eating the same thing all week long (really, how many turkey sandwiches can one have in a week?), while still achieving that same comfort factor that you originally had with a roasted turkey (or chicken) dinner. Because I was short on time, I wanted to simplify the pot pie even further. I thought back on some of the best pot pies I've had in my life and the one that stood out the most was made by my good friend Rita, who made Ina Garten's Individual Chicken Pot Pies at a dinner party once. The individual pot pies did not have a crust inside, only a thick, flaky crust on top. I initially thought that I would miss the crust on the bottom, but the filling was so delicious, and there was so much pastry on top that I didn't notice the missing pastry inside! Although I wasn't making individual pot pies as Rita had, I still only wanted to put the pastry on the top to save myself some time on a busy weeknight. I was a little concerned that the final dish wouldn't be successful because I was also not making my pastry from scratch, as Rita had also done (she's putting me to shame right now!). Thankfully the puff pastry topping turned out great! I still achieved that delicious flaky crust that I was craving, and had enough so that I could get a little bit of that yummy pastry in each bite, a great contrast in texture and flavour with the hot and bubbling savory filling. Turkey is a holiday menu staple for my family, and I have a feeling this Turkey Pot Pie will make its way onto our table as our holiday leftover staple after each and every one of those holidays!

Ingredients:

2 tbsp butter

1 onion, chopped

2 cups carrots, chopped

2 stalks celery, chopped

1 tsp dried oregano

1 bay leaf

2 cups chicken stock

1/3 cup butter

1/3 cup flour

1/3 cup cream, heat to hot

1 1/2 cups cooked turkey, shredded (may substitute with chicken)

1 1/2 cups frozen peas

2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400º. Grease an 8-inch casserole dish with butter, set aside.

2. In a large skillet, melt the 2 tbsp butter over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots, celery, oregano and cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are soft. Add the chicken stock and bay leaf and continue cooking over medium-low heat, until stock is hot.

3. In a medium saucepan, melt the 1/3 cup butter over medium-low heat. Add the flour and continue cooking, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes. Add the hot cream and continue cooking f while stirring until mixture thickens. Slowly begin adding in the chicken stock mixture a little at a time, while stirring. Remove the bay leaf. Add the shredded turkey, frozen peas, salt, and pepper.

4. Pour the mixture into the greased casserole dish. Roll out the puff pastry to cover the top of the casserole dish. Place puff pastry over dish trimming excess pastry. Bake for about 30 minutes, or until puff pastry is puffed up and golden. Remove from oven and let stand for 5 minutes. Serve in shallow bowls.

Listening To:

DoYaThing - Gorillaz ft. Andre 3000 and James Murphy

Mixed Greens with Pomegranate Seeds, Brie & Balsamic Candied Pecans

As I mentioned in my previous post, for the past few holidays, my family has been making a conscious effort to shake up our usual holiday menu, which we had come to expect to be the exact same at every single major holiday. With Christmas hosted at my house every year, my mom has a lot on her plate, setting everything up and doing double duty...er make that at least triple duty, making several dishes to contribute to the massive pot luck holiday feast. Because she already has so much to worry about on Christmas, she kept some of her dishes the same (mmm no problem there, we would all miss her scalloped potatoes if they got switched up!) and had me help out a little with her switched up dish. My mom loves brainstorming new recipes, playing around with different flavours and textures in her mind to come up with the perfect balance. She always begins her brainstorming with one or two ingredients as her inspiration, and then lets her imagination and taste buds take over from there. Weeks and weeks ago, as my mom and I sat on the couch popping pomegranate seeds into our mouth like they were going out of style, inspiration struck as she pointed out the stunning ruby red colour of the seeds. Immediately she knew she wanted to create the perfect Christmas salad starring the beautiful pomegranate seed. She started listing the other ingredients as it came into her head; brie, candied pecans, balsamic, etc. and a star...I mean a salad was born!

To save time come Christmas eve, the day before I removed all of the pomegranate seeds and stored them in a tupperware container in the fridge so my mom could just sprinkle them into the salad when it came time for serving. The day before I also took care of candying the pecans using an awesome and easy recipe that my mom showed me from Bon Appétit on Epicurious. She was drawn to this recipe as it mimicked one of the major flavours she had planned on putting in the dressing, balsamic vinegar. The pecans are coated and lightly toasted in a sticky and sweet balsamic vinegar mixture that leaves your pecans so tasty, you may have to lock them up until serving time to make sure you don't eat them all on their own! I was happy I didn't eat them all (of course I had to sneak a few!) when I finally tasted the completed salad, as the pecans were one of my favourite parts of the salad, adding texture and a great rich flavour to each bite. The pecans were contrasted by the smooth and creamy double cream brie, zesty red onions, and the juicy pomegranate seeds bursting as your teeth break the surface, adding a tangy sweetness to the balsamic dressing. Christmas dinner was amazing, and there were so many fantastic dishes, but I've gotta say, my hands-down favourites for the evening were my Wild Mushroom Baked Brie and my moms Mixed Greens with Pomegranate Seeds, Brie and Balsamic Candied Pecans! After going up for seconds, and maybe even thirds of the salad on Christmas, I was still so excited to see that there were leftovers the next day. Can you believe, even hours later, after the dressing had slightly wilted the mixed greens, the salad was still so freaking delicious my mom and I devoured it in a matter of moments, only stopping to comment on how delicious it was and...ummm...remind me to write about it on my blog...haha no need for a reminder mummy, I still can't get your amazing salad out of my mind! You did good!

Ingredients:

about 10 ounces mixed greens, washed and dried

about 100 g double cream brie, cut into medium-sized chunks

1/4 small red onion, sliced

1 pomegranate, seeds removed

Balsamic Candied Pecans (see recipe below)

Your favourite balsamic vinaigrette, to dress

Directions:

1. In a large salad bowl, toss the mixed greens with the brie, red onion, pomegranate seeds, and Balsamic Candied Pecans. Drizzle in just enough balsamic vinaigrette to coat greens. Serve immediately.

Balsamic Candied Pecans

Recipe by Bon Appétit

Ingredients:

Nonstick vegetable oil spray

1/4 cup (packed) brown sugar

6 tbsp olive oil

3 tbsp

balsamic vinegar

1 cup pecan halves, coarsely chopped

Directions:

1. Spray sheet of foil with nonstick spray. Stir sugar, olive oil and 1 tablespoon vinegar in heavy medium skillet over medium heat until sugar melts and syrup bubbles, about 3 minutes. Mix in Pecans. Stir until nuts are toasted and syrup coats nuts evenly, about 7 minutes. Turn nuts out onto prepared foil. Using fork, separate nuts and cool completely. Sprinkle into salad.

Listening To:

Fiona Apple - Criminal

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Wild Mushroom Baked Brie

The holidays: a time for love, giving, family...and...repetition. I'm not quite sure how many years it's been going on for, but for as long as I can remember my family has been serving up the exact same meal at Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. For years I loved that tradition, knowing that I only had a few months to wait before I could enjoy that same delicious meal again, but as more and more years have passed, and at a much more alarming pace, both myself and some other family members have grown a little tired with our staple holiday meal. The first time my sister and I suggested switching up our holiday meal, we were returned with either a grimace or a confused deer-in-headlights expression. No one was the slightest bit interested in shaking up the familiar meal. I understood where everyone was coming from, seeing as the meal...actually, make that feast is so damn delicious, but at the same time, I felt it would be more special if we had it less frequently. Another year of the same meal passed and we began to see family members taking our side one at a time. Slowly people began switching up their signature dish (our meal is always a pot luck so that everyone is contributing), either making a variation on their old standby, or sticking to their same theme of either vegetable, starch, protein, salad, dessert etc. but turn it into a completely new dish. By slowly introducing new flavours and menu items, both the family members that were itching for something new and the ones who loved the old meal would walk away with a full belly and a smiling face.

For about three years now, I have been on appetizer duty for our Christmas dinner, a role that I absolutely love to take on! Despite the incredible wide range of delicious appetizer options there are, especially for the holidays, I always crave a good baked brie come Christmas time. Baked brie can be as easy as wrapping a wheel of brie in tin foil and popping it in the oven, but I enjoy playing with different flavours, both savory and sweet, when it comes to my homemade baked brie. In the past I've made everything from caramelized onion brie, cranberry brie, pecan brie, the list goes on, so that no matter if I am making baked brie again, I can still surprise people by turning it into something new and interesting. This year I wanted to use an ingredient I have never cooked with before, dried mushrooms. When it comes to wild mushrooms, many people choose dried as opposed to fresh for the wonderful convenience and concentrated mushroom flavour, so I was curious to finally give them a try myself and see how the flavour measured up. Using a bag of mixed wild mushrooms including shiitake, oyster, and porcini, as well as some caramelized onions, fresh thyme, and balsamic vinegar, I made an insanely quick and easy brie topper and had my yummy appetizer ready to go into the oven before I knew it. Because there is so much cooking and baking being done last minute on Christmas, I made my brie and wild mushroom topper ahead of time so that 20 minutes before our guests arrived all I had to do was simply pop my little brie baker in the oven! Bubbling, oozing, and perfectly melted through, the creamy brie arrived at the table hugging the mushroom mixture layered on top, a dangerously tempting sight! There's no question that I have a tendency to toot my own horn when I'm really happy with how a dish turned out, but there was simply no need to when I served my Wild Mushroom Baked Brie, because the brie baker, which was empty within a matter of minutes, spoke for itself. Easy, convenient, attractive, and incredibly delicious, my Wild Mushroom Brie may have to make another appearance at our next Christmas dinner...or is Easter too soon?

Tip: Make your wild mushroom mixture brie topper ahead of time to save time before your guests arrive. Simply top your brie and bake 20 minutes before guests arrive.

Ingredients:

1/2 medium-large onion, sliced

2 tbsp butter

1 small package dried mixed wild mushrooms (equalling about 1/2 cup dried)

4 tbsp balsamic vinegar

2 tsp fresh thyme leaves

salt and pepper

1 wheel of brie, about 5 inches in diameter

Directions:

1. Rehydrate the dried mushrooms following the package instructions, or place dried mushrooms in a bowl and add just enough boiling water to cover the mushrooms, let soak for about 20 minutes or until mushrooms have softened.

2. In the meantime, heat butter in a medium skillet at medium heat. When butter is hot, add the onions and stir. Place a lid over the onions in the skillet to allow them to steam, stir occasionally. Continue to cook onions in the lid, stirring occasionally, until they are softened and beginning to colour.

3. Strain out the soaked dried mushrooms (you may reserve the soaking liquid for a soup, stew, or sauce!), and squeeze them to remove any remaining water. Roughly chop the mushrooms and stir them into the softened onions on the stove. Cook for about 3 minutes.

4. Turn up heat to medium-high and add the balsamic vinegar, stirring to combine. Continue cooking until mushrooms are almost dry. Turn off the heat and stir in thyme. Season with salt and pepper.

5. Using a serrated knife, cut off the top rind of the brie wheel and place inside a brie baker (or on a large piece of tin foil). Mound the wild mushroom mixture on top of the brie and close the lid of the baker (if using tin foil, wrap the foil around the brie and mushrooms securely). Bake in a 350º oven for about 20 minutes. Serve immediately with fresh baguette and crackers.

Listening To:

TV on the Radio - Ambulance

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CBC Daytime Holiday Set Tour

Time never flies like it does in December. I can't believe today is already December 31st and in just a few short hours I will be ringing in 2012 with my friends! With so many fun activities taking place in December, it's no wonder time can slip through your fingers so easily and leave you scrambling at months end to catch up on your responsibilities. This is where I'm at now, with a list of 10 blog posts yet to be written in front of me, I seem to be in catch-up mode, scrambling to recount all of the great experiences and recipes I have come across this month! One of those great experiences that I have wanted to share with you, was being invited to CBC Daytime's Holiday Set Tour and Lunch.

A few weeks ago I was lucky enough to be able to head downtown to the CBC to partake in their Holiday-themed tour, which not only allowed guests to view the sets of three CBC Daytime shows, Best Recipes Ever, In The Kitchen With Stefano Faita, and Steven and Chris, but actually meet the hosts and producers of the shows, and have an opportunity to learn about how each episode gets put together. I knew it would be an enjoyable day, but I had no idea how eye-opening and inspiring the experience would be, this was largely due to the amazing people I got to meet that day, from the other writers taking part in the tour with me who were so friendly and eager to learn about each others work, to the hosts and producers who so kindly and thoughtfully answered our questions and welcomed us into their sets, to every single other person who made the day possible (with an extra special thank you to Erin Richards for making the day such a smooth success). I had a wonderful time that day and on top of all the fun and laughter I got to walk away with some great recipes, tips, and DIY's that I can now share with you!

The first set we visited was the Best Recipes Ever Set, where we got to meet our first host of the day, Kary Osmond, as well as the shows producers. After watching a few episodes of the show at home, my first thought was how incredibly expansive the set was, in fact I might even say massive. The perfect kitchen in my opinion, allowing the chef a kitchen space and a dance floor all in one! The lunch we were promised was set out in a number of courses, presented in parts to us at each set. I almost felt like I was walking into Kary's very own kitchen as she served us the vibrant Sparkling Tangerine Punch that left me wanting more and more, and the cute and petit appetizers Walnut, Brie and Grape Salsa Tartlets. I have to admit, I was a bit in awe of Kary as she told us all about what led to her be in the position she is today hosting Best Recipes Ever. I saw so much of myself in her as she told us about her passion for cooking and how she had dreamt of hosting a cooking show, putting aside her other job to try and concentrate on making her dream a reality. I was riveted by her every word, and felt my own drive and passion coming to the surface again (where I want it to stay!) bringing that crystal clear image of my own goals firmly back into my head and heart.

Sparkling Tangerine Punch

By The Canadian Living Test Kitchen

As questions were answered, we learned that Best Recipes Ever is in partnership with the incredibly well respected Canadian Living, meaning that all of the Best Recipes Ever recipes come straight from Canadian Living's massive database of recipes, that have been tested to perfection by The Canadian Living Test Kitchen. This allows Kary the luxury of pulling from Canadian Living's repertoire as she pleases to come up with each episode. Hearing this, I couldn't help but think that Kary's got it pretty easy, simply pulling from Canadian Living's recipes...that is until I heard that they film three episodes each day, with three recipes in each episode, equaling nine recipes that Kary must memorize and be 100% comfortable with each day! Woah, now that's pressure! And the woman pulls it all off looking adorable with that fantastic welcoming and warm smile! Click the link above to get the recipe for the delicious Sparkling Tangerine Punch By The Canadian Living Test Kitchen that I will definitely be making soon!

Next up was In The Kitchen With Stefano Faita, a live audience show hosted by Montreal-based cookbook author and cooking show host Stefano Faita. I loved the rustic look this set had with exposed brick, chalkboard walls, old family photos and unfinished wood, totally up my alley! The set reflects Stefano and the show itself, allowing his own personal life to shine through, with the family photos coming straight from Stefano himself, and his family members names scribbled across the chalkboard. Once again, I felt as though I was stepping into Stefano's actual home kitchen as he eagerly served us sparkling beverages, appetizers, and a knockout dessert, his Layered Blueberry Pie (see recipe below). He told us all about how personal the show really is to him, featuring his own family recipes, some of which have been brought down through many generations, and all of which he serves up to his wife and daughter. With wild energy and a dangerously charming smile, Stefano reflected back on his life in Montreal, his family's kitchenware shop, and his grandmothers cooking. Being a live audience show, Stefano also emphasized the important role the audience plays in his show, encouraging audience members to come right up on stage with him to actually take part in the cooking themselves as well as helping to build on his fantastic energy. To get tickets to In The Kitchen With Stefano Faita and become an audience member yourself, click here!

Layered Blueberry Pie

By Stefano Faita

Ingredients:

Pastry

2 cups flour

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp salt

2/4 cup butter, room temperature cut into small cubes

1/4 cup milk, room temperature

1 egg yolk

Layered Filling

8 cups fresh blueberries

2 1/2 cup sugar

1 cup cream cheese

2 cups whipping cream

1 tsp vanilla

lemon zest, for garnish (optional)

Directions:

Pastry

1. In a large mixing bowl, mix the flour, sugar, and salt. Cut the butter into the flour mixture with your finger tips or a pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse meal.

2. Combine the milk and egg yolk. Stir it into the flour and butter mixture until pastry dough comes together. Form dough into a ball and flatten into a round disc. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least one hour

3. Preheat oven to 375º. Lightly flour your work surface. Roll the dough 1/4-inch thick. Transfer the pastry to a 9-inch tart pan and trim off the excess around the edges. Dock the bottom of the pastry all over with a fork. Line with parchment paper or foil. Fill pie with pie weights or dried beans. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove weights and parchment and continue to bake until pastry is cooked through, lightly golden and crisp, about 5-10 minutes.

Layered Filling

1. Add 7 cups blueberries and 2 cups sugar to a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until mixture reaches a jam-like consistency, stirring occasionally, about 20-25 minutes. Set aside to cool. Once the blueberry mixture has cooled, combine the remaining 1 cup of fresh blueberries. Set aside.

2. Soften the cream cheese at room temperature or heat in microwave until soft peaks form.

3. To later the filling into the pie: Spread cream cheese over the pastry. Then spread blueberry filling mixture on top of the cream cheese later. Finish pie with whipped cream. Let set in refrigerator for at least 1 hour before serving. Garnish with lemon zest, if desired.

Yield: 6-8 servings

Last but certainly not least was the Steven and Chris Set, all decked out in different shades of purple and silver for their big holiday special. The entire set sparkled and looked absolutely magical covered in garlands, presents, ornaments, trees, and, of course, lots of spectacular food! Right as you walked in there was a large table set up with Steven and Chris' own brand of wine, as well as lots of liquor and mixers to make your own cocktails. As you continued into the space, your eye is immediately drawn to the stunning centerpiece of the whole room, the dining room and buffet tables, which featured many of the DIY holiday projects that Steven and Chris had put together for the show. They had so many wonderful ideas that they were so excited to share with us about how they made this extraordinary holiday set come together, such as putting the centerpiece, which was numerous gifts wrapped up beautifully, on a tray so you can easily remove it to place the turkey, and putting guests name tags on their chairs as opposed to the table to allow for more space. I almost hurt my neck from looking around everywhere to see all of the many DIY projects that they had created, which was literally everywhere you looked! My favourite of all of the DIY's was the

DIY Charcuterie and Cheese Platter that looked so amazingly striking on the long buffet table. Playing with different levels, colours, and textures all along the table, the spread looked positively seductive, leaving me super excited to recreate for myself at home! See below to learn how to make your own successful Charcuterie and Cheese platter using Steven and Chris' easy guide.

An extra special treat for myself and some of the other ladies I was chatting with at the set, was talking with Joanne Lusted, Steven and Chris' Food Producer, who I can happily say I have had the pleasure of meeting before. Joanne is one of those people that leaves you with your cheeks hurting from smiling so much. As I stated before, her energy is infectious, making you feel immediately welcome like you've been best friends for years, and making you say to yourself "now there's a woman who is doing what she loves!". Joanne heartily told us all about the food that was prepared that day such as a super easy, tender and delicious Beef Wellington and Coconut Shortbread and

Sugar Plums (email me if you'd like all of the recipes from the tour!), and when we began asking about the process in which the recipes are created, she lit up and led us straight into their exclusive test kitchen, an absolute privilege! It was so cool to be right in the midst of the action, as they worked on creating their next recipe a savory lobster mashed potato dish!

DIY Charcuterie and Cheese Platter

This is the perfect appetizer when you're pressed for time! No cooking allows you to relax while your guests arrive at their leisure. Let them graze and nibble happily while you sip a festive beverage and mingle.

The more kinds of meat and cheese you have, the more people will eat. So, for a cocktail party, if you set out only one choice of meat, an ounce per person will suffice. With two or three different meats, two ounces total per person. More than three, three ounces. For a party that goes on longer than a couple of hours, or for a dinner party, double these amounts.

Pick 3 Cheeses:

A Soft Cheese

A Blue Cheese

A Hard/Sharp Cheese

Pick 3 Meats:

A Dry-Cured Meat

A Cooked Sausage

A Dry-Cured Sausage

Add Complimentary Items

When laying out your meat and cheese selection, you can intermingle the meat and cheese, or arrange them on two separate platters...It's up to you!

When adding garnishes, try and place sweet items such as dried pineapple, apricots, and honey next to the salty cheeses. Acidic items such as pickles, cornichons, or olives should be placed next to the meats. Nuts are especially good with the cheeses as well, and can be drizzled with honey to make them a perfect pairing to salty cheeses especially.

Garnish Ideas

Fresh or dried figs, dried apricots, almonds or pecans candied or original, dried cranberries, honey, fig jam, aged balsamic, grapes, cornichons, olives, walnuts, honeycomb, dried pineapple.

For all the recipes from the tour, email me at thisisgingerrose@hotmail.com!

Listening To:

The Weeknd - Echoes Of Silence by The_Weeknd

Panettone French Toast

The Italian sweet bread Panettone, traditionally served seasonally at Christmas time, is something I am not too familiar with. Although I have a vague and unpleasant memory of an ex-boyfriend spitting out Panettone at people during a school trip in Junior High (wish I could say my taste in men has changed), before it made its way into my kitchen, I had actually never tasted Panettone myself. Panettone is one of those foods that comes with a bit of a love-it-or-hate-it reputation, so just as I was, you may be a bit timid to try it. Although Panettone does have a very distinct flavour, it's not one that overwhelms your taste buds (as opposed to black licorice, which has a very distinct flavour that can overwhelm your taste buds) so put aside your preconceived ideas about the treat and give it a try!

I was pleasantly surprised that I actually liked Panettone. From what I had heard about it, I thought I would absolutely hate it, so I was pleased to find a new treat that I could experiment with. Panettone is something that truly begs to be used for experimentation. Sure it tastes great on it's own with it's abundance of dried fruit, but it can be made even better when transformed as a special breakfast treat! Panettone's dense texture and sweet flavour makes it the perfect bread to use for french toast. Golden and crispy on the outside, moist and spongy inside, and flecked with colourful and tart dried fruit, this is one special breakfast that can be served all year long!

Ingredients:

2 slices of Panettone

1 egg

splash of milk

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp cinnamon

butter for frying

100% real maple syrup for serving

Directions:

1. In a small bowl, beat the egg until it is well mixed and uniform in colour. Add the milk, vanilla, and cinnamon and beat until combined. Pour into a shallow dish.

2. Dip the Panettone slices into the egg mixture so that both sides are coated in egg and the bread soaks up the egg.

3. In a frying pan or griddle set to medium heat, melt the butter. When butter is hot and frothing, add the egg-soaked slices of Panettone. Pour any remaining egg mixture over the Panettone slices. Fry until golden, then flip and fry the other side until golden. The slices should be golden and slightly crisp on the outside, and soft and spongy on the inside. Serve with 100% real maple syrup (sorry Aunt Jemima, only the real stuff at my table).

Listening To:

Two Door Cinema Club - What You Know

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Cranberry Lemon Squares

Another holiday season come and gone. Who can believe that tomorrow is the last day of 2010? I certainly cannot! This year has flown by at a frightening pace, leaving all of my many crazy nights, hazy mornings, thrilling adventures, laughter, tears, mistakes, inside jokes, unexpected turns of events, and so on in a blur in my mind. It amazes me how much my life has changed over the past year and, more significantly, how I have changed as a result of it. Come to think of it, it wasn't so much me changing as a result of life changes, but my life changing as a result of my own personal growth. This year I learned that life can throw you some pretty big curve balls that can throw your mind out of whack for whatever reason. Just when you think you have it all figured out, something new and unknown, or even ghosts from your past that you thought you had shaken, are sure to enter your life again. But hey, you live and you learn, and some of those scary curve balls can turn into a home run. It's all about rolling with the punches, embracing all of those mistakes, and learning from them in the future.

A few months ago a sniffly cold and lack of focus left me making a big mistake when making Cranberry Coconut Lemon Squares. I accidentally made the squares in a pan much smaller than the recipe had called for. At first I was really mad at myself for being so careless, thinking that I had wasted all of those ingredients and my time. I kept telling myself how stupid I was, and I thought it was just so typical for me to do something so silly. Low and behold the squares turned out incredible! Because I baked them in a small pan, they were extra ooey gooey and each bite gave you an almost overwhelming burst of extra tangy lemon flavour. Who would have thought that my mistake would turn into such a hit. Despite how delicious my Ooey Gooey Cranberry Coconut Lemon Squares were, I couldn't help but want to try my hand at them again, but this time with a clear mind, remembering my past mistake. I decided to try out a new recipe this time to switch things up a bit, so I used a recipe for Cranberry Lemon Squares with coconut from Canadian Living, changing a few things here and there to suit my taste. I secretly thought that they really would taste better making the squares in a larger, correct pan (I apologize for my past dishonesty), but in the end they were both just as tasty. I couldn't even pick which ones I preferred. Despite how much control I had over the recipe this time and how careful I was, it turns out that mistakes can end with just as positive of a result. So let go, embrace your mistakes, and look at how much more you have gained in the end...even if that may be weight from eating so many of your delicious mistakes. Cheers to more mind blowing mistakes in 2011!

Tip: To add just a touch of extra sweetness, dust the baked squares with icing sugar.

Ingredients:

Crust:

2 cups flour

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/4 tsp salt

3/4 cup butter, cubed and softened

Filling:

2 tbsp flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

3 eggs

1 3/4 cups sugar

1/3 cup lemon juice

zest from half of a lemon

2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries, cut in half

1 cup shredded unsweetened coconut

Directions:

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer, mix together the dry ingredients for the crust: flour, sugar, and salt. Add in the butter and mix until butter is well incorporated, crumbly, and holds together when pinched.

2. Evenly, pat mixture into the bottom of a greased 13 x 9-inch cake pan. Bake in a 350º oven for 20 min, or until golden.

3. In a small bowl, mix together the dry ingredients for the filling: flour, baking powder, and salt, set aside.

4. In the bowl of an electric mixer, whisk together eggs, sugar, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Mix in the flour mixture. Stir in cranberries and coconut.

5. Reduce heat to 325º, and bake until filling is firm in the centre, 45-50 minutes. Let cool, then cut into squares.

Listening To:

La Roux - Quicksand (Alex Metric Remix)

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