While recently working with CJ Katz on the promotional tour of her gorgeous cookbook “Taste: Seasonal Dishes from a Prairie Table”, I made strudel for my very first time.  The phyllo dough that can be purchased from the freezer section of your favourite grocer, is very close to the “stretch dough” used in authentic strudel AND so much easier than attempting this art form from scratch.

Also reminiscent of Viennese Apple Strudel is the inclusion of bread crumbs.  These help absorb some of the extra juices, released from the cooking fruit.  This version includes both cranberries and apples which creates a gorgeous Christmas themed dessert.  And you can make it ahead and freeze it if you wish. 

I did so and then reheated it and served it with ice cream.  Doing so also offsets that tangyness of the cranberries (and in my case the apples, which I had left soaking in lemon juice for too long).

A really helpful tip included in this recipe is to make diagonal cuts (to allow the steam from the fruit to escapes while baking) to represent a portion size.  This way the strudel will be far easier to serve without decimating the flaky crust.

 

 

We are often too full for pie and Christmas pudding after dinner but this dessert is light enough to tuck into later in the evening.

Kath’s quote: “Oh!  All that steam!  The pudding had just been taken out of the cauldron.  Oh!  That smell!  The same as the one which prevailed on washing day!  It is that of the cloth which wraps the pudding.  Now, one would imagine oneself in a restaurant and in a confectioner’s at the same time, with a laundry nest door.  Thirty seconds later, Mrs.  Cratchit entered, her face crimson, but smiling proudly, with the pudding resembling a cannon ball, all speckled, very firm, sprinkled with brandy in flames, and decorated with a sprig of holly stuck in the centre.  Oh!  The marvelous pudding!”-Charles Dickens

Love-that is all.

I love to entertain, but there are occaisions when time is at a premium and I want to look like I went to all kinds of trouble, even when I didn’t.  On this particular evening, I had invited three young families over so that they could enjoy some quiet adult only time, before the busy Christmas season.  D and I took the little ones downstairs for chicken fingers and fries while watching animated seasonal specials on the big screen.  Shopping at Sobey’s for an event like this is an absolute pleasure.  From the moment that I got out of the car, without having to fish for a coin for a cart, I know that I have come to the right place.

I went right to the deli section and was out of there in 20 minutes including the check out,  where there were enough staff on that I was in a line with only one person in front of me and they were just finishing up.  I could stand and chat with the cashier, instead of heading to the end of the conveyor belt to bag my own groceries.  In addition, she was free to visit with me as there was another person in charge of bagging  up my  purchases.   And the best part was that even though I had brought my own groceries bags, there is no charge for Sobey’s bags so if I had forgotten, I  would not have had to run back through a busy parking lot to retrieve them from the car.

Previously, in the deli, the helpful staff made suggestions of taste combinations and allowed me to sample items that I was considering purchasing.

As a result, I bought all kinds of goodies that I had never purchased before including this savoury sausage encrusted in Parmesan cheese.  So  everybody wins: my guests, the store but especially me!

I had the choice of a number of raw mozzarella brands and styles and in the end, selected the discs which means that the assembly of the caprese salad was virtually instantaneous.

Feta is one of my favourite nibbles and Sobey’s offers a number of light varieties.  This way a bevvy of olives can be indulged upon.  So too, they carry a light artichoke and asiago dip which I served up with veggie sticks and a gorgeous variety of crackers.

Bothwell cheese is a local brand that our family is crazy about.  My personal fav is  black truffle which is so deep and rich tasting that I simply put it out in little, pea size bites.  I also made a baked brie topped with apples, cranberries, pecans and lots of brown sugar and butter and then wrapped in phyllo.  That was the most timing consuming dish to make it took all of 4 minutes.

I know that the adults enjoyed themselves but not more so than D and I who were got to snuggle up with three adorable little guys and kick off the Christmas season.

Kath’s quote: “The art of keeping a good table, consists, not in loading on a variety at each meal, but rather in securing a successive variety, a table neatly and tastefully set, and everything that is on it, cooked in the best manner.” –Catharine E. Beecher

Love-that is all.

Many of my readers know that I have many long-lasting relationships with The Keg Steakhouse and Bar: D and I met there, at one time, pretty much his entire family worked there, etc. etc.  As a result I try to be very “fair” by not shining a spotlight on them too often in spite of the fact that it is our favourite place for date night and the place where I choose for the majority of my business lunch meetings.  And so it occurred to me that in my efforts to be fair, I have actually been unfair to The Keg.

Yesterday, as the snow was blowing outside, the fireplaces and cozy booths were  a welcome treat.  I ordered as soon as the special was recited by our server.  A lunch-sized Mediterranean steak on a toasted panini was cooked to a perfect medium rare.  I often select the baked goat cheese as an appetizer because I am ga ga for Keg salsa. It is not a Mexican blend but one that is reminiscent of our time in Italy when tomatoes are coaxed into full flavour by basil and a bit of balsamic vinegar.   I do often enjoy bare-naked steaks (the meat, not me) but “topped” steaks are a special treat.  This particular combination brings out deep, rich tones and when coupled with a house salad is a more than a satisfying lunch.  Actually it is more like a supper at lunch time, so last evening I did the inverse, and had a peanut-butter sandwich for supper.

My lunch mate chose the salmon burger, which he heartily enjoyed but I noticed that he left a 1/3 of his lunch un-eaten so that he would have room for dessert.

The Keg’s mini dessert options are so tasty and such good value-$7.95 for all three of these offerings: a mini creme brulee, chocolate cake and a butter tart.  I can imagine my entire gang ordering these to satisfy all of their sweet tooths (or should I say?- sweet teeth).

Kath’s quote: “The dessert crowns the dinner. To create a fine dessert, one has to combine the skills of a confectioner, a decorator, a painter, an architect, an ice-cream manufacturer, a sculptor, and a florist. The splendour of such creations appeals above all to the eye – the real gourmand admires them without touching them! The magnificence of the dessert should not allow one to forget the cheese. “-Eugene Briffault

Love-that is all.

Resto Gare, the reinvention of long loved La Vieille Gare in Winnipeg’s French Quarter, has been on my hit list since its refreshed unveiling in 2008.  I am pleased to say that I finally got a chance to try their fare at a recent Christmas party.

I am always thrilled to be included in the staff celebrations of a diagnostic centre that I work with in my role with CancerCare Manitoba.  I really appreciate that this group is always up to try something different and they have introduced me to a couple of venues I may not have otherwise discovered.

Resto Gare Bistro is located at 630 Des Meurons Rue in a Canadian Northern Station Building that will celebrate its 100^th birthday next year.  The attached train car is only one year younger, being built in 1914.

The lovely interior is the perfect setting for a Christmas celebration with its colour pallet of gold and poppy red. Warm wood, rustic open beam ceiling and plush furnishings keep you cozy as you gaze out the window at the falling snow.

Being a large party. we had a limited menu, but the choices where all exemplary.  I started with the creamy potato and leek soup.  I think perfecting this simple dish shows a chef’s finesse. This one was the right consistency; you could taste both the leek and potato and it was seasoned perfectly.  This got me excited for my entrée and I was not disappointed.  For my main, I enjoyed Manitoba pickerel, pan seared in herb butter and topped with crispy pancetta, corn and a micro shoot salad and served with rice pilaf and perfectly cooked beets and Brussel sprouts.

My colleges raved about the rosemary and mustard rubbed Prime Rib; the half roast chicken served on preserved lemon smashed potatoes; and the wild mushroom and leek risotto with pecorino cheese.

The dessert cart selection was extensive.  I abstained, but heard the moans of my coworkers who indulged in the lemon tart, traditional maple sugar pie and the candy cane crème brûlée.

I look forward to revisiting Resto Gare, perhaps for a more intimate dinner in the train car.

Kath’s quote: “Light, refined, learned and noble, harmonious and orderly, clear and logical, the cooking of France is, in some strange manner, intimately linked to the genius of her greatest men.”-Rouff

Love-that is all.

I recently had the opportunity to work with CJ Katz who was on a media tour promoting her award winning cookbook Taste -Seasonal Dishes from a Prairie Table.  CJ is a food writer, photographer and culinary judge but best of all she is a prairie-girl, residing in Regina.  If you still need items to put on your Christmas list or to purchase for other foodie loved-ones, this cookbook is exquisite.  As the back cover states: “a feast for the eyes and food for the soul”.  Throughout the recipes themselves, CJ weaves the story of the seasons of the priaires, the land itself and the local growers and producers.  All the mouth-watering photography is her own!

D loves Christmas and turkey is one of the primary reasons why.  He enjoys Christmas dinner (duh) but LOVES turkey left overs. 

While he was still roasting turkeys for a recent dinner, I came home to this gorgeous pot of turkey soup and basil dumplings, bubbly on the stove.

I, on the other hand, would just as soon get the left overs all used up and move towards some lighter fare.  Here is a recipe that will satisfy us both.  It would be perfect for a Boxing Day Brunch but is so festive, it could be featured on any holiday table.

I apologise that I do not have any photos of this one.  Food styling is a hectic business and I was so focused on making the food look good, that I plum forgot!  Trust me, with the contrast and vibrant colours in this dish-it is gorgeous.

Kath’s quote: “Rational habits permit of discarding nothing left over, and the use to which leftovers (and their economic allies, the wild things of nature) are put is often at the heart of a cooking’s character.”-Richard Olney

Love-that is all.