Browsing: Appetizers

Happy Birthday to Me!

June3

In our family birthdays are a big deal and it is not because of the lavish gifts that we bestow upon each other.  I think that it is because of the care that goes into the celebration.  Take this weekend for example.  My birthday fell on a Friday which typically means that I have a longer break from my computer on some sunny patio with friends.  This year though we spent 2/3rds of the day on the road.  First driving in from Regina and then after a quick turn around right out to our beach house for the weekend.  Besides a salad that I ate in the car and a bowl of chicken soup that we shared with our grandbaby, there was not a lot of focus on food or merry-making.  But on Sunday afternoon, D scooted into the city early so he could start with supper preparations.

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He didn’t have any trouble knowing what meat would be the main, just how to prepare the pork chops that he knows that I love.

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In addition there were savoury grilled potatoes;

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my favourite grilled eggplant

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and also grilled zucchini and onions.

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Sister #3 contributed the salad and everyone loved it so much, that I am sharing the recipe here.

Birthday Salad
Author: 
Recipe type: Appetizer
Prep time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 8
 
Originally titled Winter Salad.
Ingredients
  • Dressing:
  • ½ c sugar
  • ⅓ c lemon juice
  • 2 t grated onion
  • 1 Dijon mustard
  • ½ t salt
  • ⅔ c canola oil
  • 1 T poppy seeds
  • Salad:
  • 1-2 heads romaine lettuce, torn
  • 4 oz. cubed Swiss cheese or other
  • 1 c cashews
  • ¼ c cranberries
  • 1 apple, cubed
  • 1 unpeeled pear, cubed
Instructions
  1. Mix dressing with a whisk. Makes lots. Use about half.
  2. Combine salad ingredients and toss with dressing.

All the food was lovingly prepared and The Frenchman picked up a banana log Jeanne’s cake which is my absolute favourite.  But the highlights of the weekend were the following:

  • Last year I was in Philadelphia for my birthday and although I love to travel to and dine out in various cities, my favourite spot at the end of May is the lake.  The smells of the forest, the surprising warmth of the beach, the new growth everywhere-I can’t get enough.  We live very simply at the beach house and it was only a year ago that we got an indoor biffy.  What a lovely treat when you are all sleepy and cozy from watching movies and drinking wine, to know that you don’t have to make the trek outside one last time before bed.
  • We got to take the Wee One as both J1 and J2 had commitments.  We were thrilled with how easily she just slipped into “lake” mode with us.  In the mornings when D an J1 are off playing tennis and J2 is catching up on some sleep, I walk with the Wee One for her hour nap.  She has this lovely chariot stroller that can be pushed on wet sand and so both mornings, we spent the time on the beach; she singing to herself and watching the birds and the water until she fell asleep and me just basking in the warmth and so happy that spring and the promise of summer had come again to the Canadian prairies.

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  • As is our tradition at a birthday dinner, everyone took a turn sharing what they loved about the birthday girl (me).  This is the most precious gift of all, not only because it is lovely to be in the spotlight every once in a while but because of the beautiful words that my family blessed me with.  Not only was our Mom and Sister #3 there to celebrate with us but Daughter #2 skyped in from Colombia where she is away studying.  Although we felt funny eating in front of her, she visited with us throughout our entire dinner!  I love technology when it brings people together.

In our home, we find something to celebrate most days or at the very least most weekends BUT birthdays are a special opportunity to give and receive love.  Make the most of every opportunity as birthdays also remind us that our days are finite.

Kath’s quote: “That outdoor grilling is a manly pursuit has long been beyond question. If this wasn’t firmly understood, you’d never get grown men to put on those aprons with pictures of dancing wienies and things on the front and messages like ‘Come ‘n’ Get It'”.-William Geist

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Love-that is all.

 

 

Contented Christmas

December27

At Christmas time I try to be helpful and take the stress off my family by offereing up suggestions of things that they could give me at our gift exchange (still to come).  But the truth is, I was once given the most incredible gift of all and now I am very difficult to buy for.  I do not know if this gift was inheriterd from my Mom and Dad, or given to me as a reward for going through some really tough times in my life or for some supernatural reason that I will never understand.  The gift that I was given, is the gift of contentment.  I am so satisfied with my life, that I cannot think of another thing that could/would improve it. The only thing that occurred to me was that I would love a mechanical pencil with a good eraser to do my sudukoes in the morning.  I kid you not, I really had a hard time coming up with more than this.  Here are the reasons why:

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Cousin time

  • Our youngest has just announced that she has accepted the proposal of her long-time beau (referred to as the Frenchman in this space) so we have a wedding celebration to plan and look forward to.
  • We are absolutely thrilled to be first time grandparents.  We could not imagine loving anyone more than how much we love the “wee one”.  Every time she smiles, perches an eyebrow, or cries out with her husky voice, we are captivated all over again.
  • Our son has finished his formal post-secondary education and our daughters are still enrolled: one in honours and the other, her masters.  We are not only thrilled that our children value their education but are grateful that we have the where-with-all to support them financially in their pursuits.
  • There are some health issues in my extended family but my Mom who is in her late 80’s feels blessed to receive such good care in a sparkling clean, spacious and safe environment.  She was well enough to join us on both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day!

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Four generations

After we open our gifts in the morning, we will sit down to a family brunch.  I will serve “Domestic Partner Saver” (the politically correct version of wife-saver), grilled sausages including venison garlic sausage that my brother-in-law provided, smoked gouda direct from Holland gifted by another brother-in-law, Land of Nod Cinnamon Buns, banana loaf that was given to us, a fresh fruit tray and a double crusted oatmeal apple crisp.

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First Canadian Christmas for the Aussie-he says he always wears shorts on Christmas!

I am glad that we have a couple of days between the feasting that we’ve done with both sides of the family, to have some time with our very own.  Last weekend we celebrated our first Christmas with D’s family and amidst the turkey and ham, I discovered a fabulous new salad that was contributed by one of my talented sister-in-laws.  It was so good, that I produced my own spin on it and served it on Christmas Eve with my extended family.

Beet & Feta Salad with Basamic Fig Vinegarette
Author: 
Recipe type: Salad
Cuisine: Fusion
Prep time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 24
 
Includes sweet and salty tones which I love but also crunch from figs and nuts, all balanced by the pleasant acidity of the balsamic vinegar.
Ingredients
  • Cello box of mixed greens
  • ½ cello box of fresh spinach
  • 1 quart of homemade pickled beets (my mother-in-law's are pickled with lots of whole cloves), drained
  • 200 grams feta cheese (I used a "light" variety)
  • Sugared or smoked nuts (quantity to taste), such as toffee covered cashews
  • 1 bottle of PC Memories of Tuscany: Balsamic Vinegar & Fig Marinade & Sauce
  • ⅓ bottle balsamic dressing
Instructions
  1. Toss cleaned greens and spinach in a very large mixing bowl
  2. Add drained pickled beets (chop or slice into smaller pieces if desired)
  3. Run feta cheese through a food chopper or processor so that it is a fine crumb consistency, and add to bowl.
  4. Mix together the fig sauce with the balsamic dressing.
  5. Pour onto salad and toss.
  6. Garnish with candied or smoked nuts.

Kath’s quote:“Hallo! Whoop! How are you! Merry Christmas!” Ebenezer Scrooge in Charles Dickens’ ‘A Christmas Carol’

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Love-that is all.

The Last Christmas in our Family House

December9

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The Three Sistas and our Mom

Our family is all about tradition.  My almost 87 year old Mom is the matriarch of our family and the instigator of most of our traditions.  This year she will not be counting the heads of her enormous brood and sending her eldest to the bank to withdraw a sizable amount that she tucks into envelopes so that we can treat ourselves in which ever way we wish, she will not be setting up her little Christmas tree that simply gets brought upstairs from the basement and plugged in and she will not be ordering perogies, kielbasa and prime rib roasts and making lists of all the other dishes that will be assigned out.  The good news is that Mom survived a devastating illness this past fall and will be here to celebrate with us, arriving by taxi cab to her own home.  The bitter sweetness is that Mom will no longer live in our family home as she will soon be paneled for a nursing home and our family house of almost 60 years will be sold.  So this will be our last Christmas together on Linden Avenue.

Our tradition begins with a Christmas Eve dinner of Prime Rib roast.  The time spent together is not long as we have many family members who work in health care,  not for profit organizations and in retail, so Christmas eve is often a full working day.  As soon as dinner and dessert is served, the left overs packaged up and everything is tidied up, families start to depart for their various churches for Christmas eve services.

The church which we attend is right in our neighbourhood and so many years ago, we commenced another tradition, where the clergy of the church come over to our home to spend the time between this second service of the evening and the last, which is a midnight candle light one.  We share an egg nog, craft beer or glass of wine and have a nibble of something before they head back to church and my husband and I start filling Christmas stockings and placing the “Santa” gifts under the tree.

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Is it present time yet?

On Christmas morning we are typically up by 7 am and my husband makes coffee with Bailey’s and Kahlua that we use to warm up, before we tackle our gift giving.  Before we start, we always say an individual prayer of thanksgiving for our health and love and the gifts that we are about to receive.   Gift giving goes in order from youngest to eldest and we draw out the process by hugging and kissing the giver before the next gift is given out.

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Someone always gets the gift of music, so we put on our new cds while we tidy up the wrapping and try on a Christmas sweater and then we are off to be with my siblings and their families again.  We gather for Christmas brunch at my Mom’s house and have enjoyed the exact same menu for many, many years: six quiche- sausage, seafood and Lorraine, cinnamon loaf, banana muffins, sausage rolls, fruit salad, hash brown potato casserole, chocolate milk, juices, and left overs from the night before.

Once lunch is consumed and the coffee pot is poured out, we find a spot for our gift exchange.  We start with the youngest again and go around in our enormous circle until each family member has a gift chosen especially for them.  We always draw these names after Thanksgiving dinner and sometimes there is a gap in clarity because the names were drawn so long ago.  So when it is someones turn to receive a gift, there is sometimes a hesitation before the giver recalls that it is their responsibility.  The heightened tension increases the air of anticipation and hilarious results often occur.  In fact on more than one occasion I have remarked on my way home that my face and tummy hurt from laughing.  Imagine, being a part of a family of 35+ who get along fabulously, rarely quarrel and love to assemble together to bless each other with gifts and laugh until it hurts.

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Some years we gather again later that day at someone elses home.  Last year my son and his wife hosted and this is only a portion of the gang that were seated in their dining room.

Here are my famous sausage rolls that I contribute each year.  They are such a hit with certain family members that my niece requested that they be served for her wedding breakfast.  I have modified the recipe over the years but it originally came from a seasonal cookbook entitled  “Company is Coming for Christmas”, a Canadian cookbook, published in 1996 and written by Jean Pare.  I get such a chuckle over remembering some of her recipes like the one for Caesar Salad: rip up a head of romaine lettuce and toss with Caesar salad dressing and croutons, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese!  I kid you not….

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Lazy Sausage Rolls
Author: 
Recipe type: Appetizer, Brunch
Cuisine: Canadian
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 36
 
Ingredients
  • 2 c biscuit mix
  • 1 t. onion powder
  • ½ c water
  • 1 lb. pork sausage meat, mild or hot
  • ½ t. cayenne pepper
Instructions
  1. Stir biscuit mix and onion powder together.
  2. Add water.
  3. Mix until it forms a ball.
  4. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface.
  5. Knead 6 to 8 times.
  6. Roll out into a rectangle about 15 x 18 inches.
  7. Mash sausage meat with a fork to make it pliable.
  8. Spread over dough.
  9. Roll up dough like a jelly roll, beginning at long end.
  10. Slice ⅜ths inch thick.
  11. Arrange on greased baking sheet, cut side down, about 1 inch apart.
  12. Bake in 450 degree oven for about 15 minutes (checking after 11 minutes)
  13. Makes about 3 dozen appetizers.
  14. Variation: Brush tops with beaten egg.and sprinkle with poppy seeds. sesame seeds or parsley flakes.Bake as above.

Kath’s quote: “No language can express the power, and beauty, and heroism, and majesty of a mother’s love. It shrinks not where man cowers, and grows stronger where man faints, and over wastes of worldly fortunes sends the radiance of its quenchless fidelity like a star. “— Edwin Hubbell Chapin

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Love never fails.

 

Bacon Wrapped Queso Fresca Stuffed Figs

August29

I was reading through a blog post from last week and realized that I had not posted a recipe which I had promised.  This turned out to be one of the hits at the recent baby shower that Daughter #2 hosted for the Wee One.

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I find it mighty hard to leave all this behind.

Truth is, the appetizer was a bit of a fluke.  I wanted to do some of my prep while out at the beach house to lessen my responsibilities once I got into town.  So I  snooped around the freezer and found a pound of bacon.  I discovered that I still had some California figs left when the producers graciously sent them to me.  I tried a ricotta at first with no success-too mild and impossible to stuff without a pastry bag so I rattled around a little more in the fridge and found this deliciously salty cheese that I was going to brown in a fry pan and serve with taco chips.  Best of all, it was firm enough to be cut into little sticks and then pressed into the fig with ease.

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Bacon Wrapped Queso Fesca Stuffed Figs
Author: 
Recipe type: Appetizer
Cuisine: Fusion
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
 
Ingredients
  • 1 package of bacon, cut each strip in half
  • count the number above
  • match that number with the same number of figs
  • match that number with the same number of cheese sticks
Instructions
  1. cut off the stem end of the fig
  2. use your paring knife to gently make a tunnel into the fig, making sure that you do not break through the other end
  3. gently ease the cheese stick into the fig
  4. wrap with one half strip of bacon and secure with a toothpick
  5. line a 8 x 8 square cake pan with parchment paper
  6. place the figs close together in the pan so that they will support each other making sure that the closed end is next to the pan
  7. Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes or until the bacon has crisped up to your desired likeness

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So quick, easy and SO delicious.

Kath’s quote: “Life expectancy would grow by leaps and bounds if green vegetables smelled as good as bacon.”-Doug Larson

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Love-that is all.

Amazing Appetizers Culinary Challenge-My Secret Ingredient: Califoria Raisins

May7

Hello readers!  Ready to root me on in a cooking contest?  Part of the fun for the upcoming “Eat, Write, Retreat” conference that I will be attending in Philadelphia later this month, is a Culinary Challenge.

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When my contest package was delivered, I was thrilled with all of the OXO gadgets that it contained and quite frankly stumped, when I saw that my secret ingredient was …RAISINS! For an original appetizer challenge, good grief, what was I going to come up with?

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I had already imagined that I would be preparing an olive tapenade or figs wrapped in a smoky bacon or something with potatoes.  Why didn’t I get potatoes?  I’ve not been dubbed the “Queen of Carbs” for nothing!

Don’t get me wrong, I love raisins.  In my cereal, cookies, rice pudding and even salads they are an integral addition, but an appetizer?  Up until that moment, the only appetizer dish with raisins as an ingredient that I have had the pleasure to enjoy, married them with baked brie, pecans and brown sugar.  I still make this dish each Christmas, much to my family’s delight.  The sole experience I have had with raisins at dinner time, though, was in a regional dish served to us when visiting friends in Sicily.  While Concetta (Connie) was in the kitchen putting the finishing touches on our supper, her cousin called to inquire what was being made for the Canadian visitors.  When Connie explained, her cousin responded with “What, you are making them eat peasant food?”  Connie defended herself by saying:  “They requested Sicilian recipes, what was I to do?”

When you hear a recounting of Sicilian history and make note of exactly where the island dwells in the Mediterranean, it is not surprising that there are many Arab influences on the cuisine.  I think that both Connie’s recipe and my adaption of it hold true to this notion.

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Cauliflower & Raisin Strudel
Author: 
Recipe type: Appetizer
Cuisine: Sicilian
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 24
 
Ingredients
  • 1 head of cauliflower, broken into large florets
  • ¼ c canola oil
  • 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
  • ½ t red pepper flakes
  • zest and juice of an orange
  • 1 T lemon juice
  • ½ c golden raisins, plumped in hot water and drained
  • ¼ c natural raisins, plumped in hot water and drained
  • ⅔ c pine nuts
  • freshly ground salt
  • freshly ground pepper
  • 12 sheets phyllo dough, thawed in refrigerator overnight
  • ½ c canola oil
  • 1 c dry breadcrumbs
Instructions
  1. In a large pot of salted water, par-boil the cauliflower for 5 minutes.
  2. Drain and let sit in colander for a couple of minutes.
  3. Place a large skillet on high heat.
  4. Add the canola, garlic and red pepper flakes.
  5. Add the drained cauliflower and heat until well browned in spots.
  6. Don't be tempted to turn the cauliflower too often.
  7. Add the orange and lemon juices, orange zest and raisins and then turn off the heat.
  8. Adjust with salt and pepper.
  9. On a clean counter, lay out the phyllo dough and cover it with a barely damp tea towel.
  10. Peel off one sheet and lay it on the counter surface.
  11. Replace the damp tea towel on the stack of phyllo.
  12. Brush the sheet with canola oil.
  13. Lightly sprinkle bread crumbs over oil.
  14. Continue with another five sheets, brushing each sheet with oil and sprinkling bread crumbs.
  15. End with a sixth sheet of phyllo.
  16. Arrange half the cauliflower mixture along the long side of the phyllo about 2 inches from the edge and the bottom and sides of the dough.
  17. Starting at the edge nearest the filling, carefully begin to roll the phyllo over the filling.
  18. Poke in the edges of the dough while rolling.
  19. Continue to roll so the dough completely encases the filling.
  20. Place the strudel, seam down on a parchment paper-lined cookie sheet.
  21. Cut 12 diagonal slits along the top to allow steam to escape and for easy cutting when you serve.
  22. Brush the top with remaining canola.
  23. Repeat the procedure with for the second strudel.
  24. Bake for 40 minutes or until crisp and brown.
  25. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

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I didn’t actually know the difference between natural and golden raisins (natural are brown and golden are well, just that) until I was putting together the ingredients for this appetizer.  This recipe, along with a healthy dose of your day’s veggies, contains 3 portions of fruit because it takes just 1/4 of a cup to provide a fruit serving.  This was new to me too!

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My readers know how important family is to me.  Many of the farms that produce most of the world’s supply of raisins are century old family farms where raisin knowledge is passed from generation to generation.  I would love to wander the rows and rows of grapevines and meet the growers of the San Joaquin Valley in California.  San Francisco has long been on our bucket list and is only a three hour drive away.  Now, I’m California dreaming……

Kath’s quote:  “Then Abigail hurried and took two hundred loaves of bread and two jugs of wine and five sheep already prepared and five measures of roasted grain and a hundred clusters of raisins and two hundred cakes of figs, and loaded them on donkeys.” 1 Samuel 25:18

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Love-that is all.

 

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