New Year's Baking + an Attempt at Resolution Keeping

Friday is January, officially done with December, the month of holiday spirit. But before I can pack away my holiday mindset for next year, I needed to do some baking with my new pans. I'm headed up to a cottage tomorrow to usher in the new year so I thought it'd be nice to make some baked goods to take up with me. On my summer venture into Algonquin park I made "rice krispy" squares using Chocolate Lucky Charms. Not having those on hand but having regular, tried and true Lucky Charms, I melted some marshmallows and butter and made some Lucky Charm squares. The marshmallows in the cereal makes it soooo good.

I was fortunate enough to receive not one, not two, but FOUR new baking pans this Christmas. My friends Kristian and Marion bought me a 12-muffin muffin pan - this is very fitting and I got quite excited because in June Marion and I spent a good half day baking cupcakes for her engagement party and we had to use her muffin pans because I only had one that made 6. So now I can make a full dozen in one go! I also got the Oreo Cookie cake pan (love love love) which I plan on making this weekend. I received a mini-bundt cake pan from my Secret Santa in the cousin exchange (Jennieeee!!!) and John's mom got me another pan similar to the mini-bundt one but with Christmas shaped moulds. I used those two pans and whipped up a Martha recipe (from her Christmas cookbook) with some substitutions....it calls for over 2 cups of applesauce which I SAW in the fridge only to realize upon reaching for it that it was infact chicken broth. Rats. Anyway, improvising, I pureed a banana and some strawberries and dumped them in in lieu of the applesauce. It still tastes pretty good.

Here are my pans: Bundt on the top and the Christmas moulds on the bottom.
Mmmmmmmm.

I sort of over-filled the christmas moulds so the bottoms of them ballooned a bit. I had to do some trimming - which explains that pile of chocolate cake bits in the bottom right hand corner.

SO - New Years is all about resolutions. Mostly resolutions that we really do intend to keep, maintain for roughly 2 weeks, and then lapse back into reality. This year I'm not kidding myself. BUT I am challenging myself.

Here are my 3 resolutions:

1. Eat better - cut down on pop, less sugar, less junk, more fruits, veggies, and lean protein.
2. Get super fit by July 1st - I'm talking buns of steel, a stomach so flat a level would show that bubble dead center, etc, etc.
3. Learn to like fish and/or other seafood and eat it once every 2 weeks minimum - I really don't like seafood but it's so good for you so I'm hoping that I can learn to love it. My plan here is to try cooking it a new way everytime until I find a method that makes it taste good. Or until my tastebuds finally admit defeat and surrender.

In an attempt to kick start resolution #3, I bought cod (Jamie Oliver told me is was a meatier fish therefore not slimy and fishy), and roasted it in white wine, olive oil, salt, pepper, and lemon juice. It wasn't terrible but I didn't finish. And I had a teeny piece. That's okay though, I've got a full 365 to become fond of les fruits de mer.
I also made lemon basmati rice and a braised raddichio sidedish to accompy it slash give me something to actually eat.

The recipe for the raddichio is in the January issue of Martha Stewart but I would make some changes. I found it too vinegar-y and too strong a taste. I'd for sure reduce some of the liquids or add more chicken broth.

For the Braised Cabbage:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Add 1-3 tbsp of olive oil to a large saucepan and sautee a diced onion until the edges of the onion begin to brown. Add 1 tbsp of brown sugar and stir.
• Add in 1/2 cup of apple cider, 1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar (not having this I used red wine vinegar), 1 cup of chicken broth, a cinnamon stick, and 1 bay leaf.
• Cut the cabbage into eights and place into the saucepan.
• Place a lid on the saucepan and put into the oven and braise for about 40 minutes.
• Remove the cabbage using a slotted spoon, then simmer the remaining liquid for about 10 minutes until reduced, then use as a sauce.
  
  Well party people, I will keep you updated on my journey to greatness (ha-ha) for the next 6 months!

A Lovely Holiday in Ottawa

I'm home from Ottawa and I had a lovely time! It was a fun two nights of family dinners, games, and catching up. Plus a lot of oogling over the newest edition to the family: baby Leah.

The weather was also pretty good while we were there and it made it perfect for a walk into the "downtown" area to give John the tour, as he'd never been there before. There had been freezing rain on our drive there and it made the trees look beautiful:

Also during our walk about town we came across this cool looking old car. Couldn't resist taking a picture of it.

We had dinner both nights at my Aunt Wendy (hi Wendy!)'s place and it was delicious. She has really nice decorative taste too. I'm hoping to see a message on facebook with the details as to where she bought those snowflake napkin rings.

It was wonderful evening after wonderful evening and I cannot wait to do it again next year! The country Christmas gift exchange was so much fun. Some people got some great gifts and others (my poor sister) ended up with gifts they weren't too keen on. I snatched up a Slap-Chop as fast as I could but it was mercilessly stolen from me. Thankfully John got one. I walked away with a lemon saver, a hand-held zester and two books of drinking games. Very appropriate. Our cousin gift exchange worked out quite well in my favour also! I got a beautiful Coach makeup bag, an adorable ornament of a sweater on a hanger AND (drumroll please).....


...A Santa toilet seat cover. Amazing. Thank you so so so much Jennie, that picture is for you!

I'm kind of sad that Christmas is over for another year but New Years is fast approaching and I've decided that my New Years resolution is to get incredibly fit by July for my friends' wedding. I'm going to try and cut down on the cookies, candies, and baked goods that have been waaaayyy to big a part of my diet during the holidays, and I'm going to up my cardio, squats, lunges, etc. I've got 6ish months so I'm feeling very positive about this resolution.

I'm working literally all day tomorrow in a desperate attempt to make any money I can asap soooo probably no post tomorrow. But I will on Wednesday!

Merry Christmas and Happy Boxing Day!

I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas yesterday! I sure did. I had three Christmases all rolled up into one day. In the morning I headed over to my parent's house and we opened gifts together. I got a lovely new sleeping bag, a Longchamps bag, PJs, socks (a stocking staple), jewelery, the new Audrey Niffenegger book, a jacket, a snuggie, a beauty of a sweater.... all in all it was a good haul. THEN we went to John's grandfather's house for dinner and another gift exchange. I got some really great kitchen stuff (they know me very well, obviously), including a Williams-Sonoma cookie cake pan (the one that looks like an oreo) and the cake mix to go with it from John's brother and sister. I got Lulu Lemon pants, a shirt, cozy PJs, and we also got a new laser printer from John's parents! After a delicious meal, we came back home and opened our gifts before settling in to watch Inglourious Basterds. John got me a breadmaker! Now I can delay the need to get married just to register for one. Maybe that was all a part of his plan....hmmm.... He also got me a vaccuum (not at all offensive, I asked for one and was really excited to see it!) that looks like a shark! And a Jamie Oliver recipe magazine. Woooweee. I done good this year.

Here are a few pictures from Christmas Eve at Nathan Phillips Square

We used to actually go skating before getting Chinese food but now we all just tend to watch.

Some of my gifts: My snuggie (jealous? I picked it out like back in October), my bag, my cupcake calendar, and my cake pan!

A kettle from my Nanny, my shark vaccuum cleaner, who I will call Sharkimedes, and the breadmaker!!!! I'm definitely tearing that box open when I'm home from Ottawa.

My sleeping bag: good to -12 degrees! And soft as as anything.

Well I hope everyone did as well as I did this year. I hope it was spent with friends, family, and loved ones. I'm off to Ottawa in a few hours to spend a few days with more family so I won't be posting for a few days.

Back on Monday -

Merry Christmas :)

1 Day 'Til Christmas! (Day 24)

It's Christmas Eve!!!

Potentially my favourite day of the entire year. Even more preferable than my birthday. The anticipation of waiting for Santa, the tradition of skating (or looking at the skaters and huddling to keep warm in recent years) and chinese food downtown, being with my family and feeling so at peace...I love everything about it.

For today's recipe, I was reminded of this by episode 9 of Dexter (season 4) where they're preparing their Thanksgiving dinner. Rita's looking for oven space and she's holding a dish of candied yams.

Now, I don't know how popular a dish this is but I had it last year for the first time and oh. my. gosh. were they amazing. John's aunt made them for Christmas dinner last year and being afflicted with a sweet tooth these were right up my alley. At first glance they make look like a weird, gross combination of flavours but please, give it a try. On searching for a recipe I found them listed also as White Trash Yams but that is mean and demeans their deliciousness.

So, ladies and gentlemen, may I present to you....(drumroll)....

Candied Yams

To make this masterpiece you will need:

• Sweet potatoes
• 1/4 cup od butter, cut into pieces
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1 1/2 cups miniature marshmallows

1. Preheat oven the 400 degrees and bake the sweet potatoes for about 45 mins.
2. Let the sweet potatoes cool and then mash them with the brown sugar and maple syrup.
3. Place the mashed sweet potatoes into a medium sized baking dish. Distribute the butter pieces evenly over the potatoes, then top with the marshmallows.
4. Bake uncovered for about 10-15 mins, the enjoy!

Ok Christmas people, have an AMAZING Christmas Eve however you spend it. I will attempt to post tomorrow but goodness knows I'll be a busy girl opening presents and what not.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!

and because it's fun....click here :)

2 Days 'Til Christmas! (Day 23)

Jersey Boys last night was amazing! I highly recommend it to anyone looking to go hear some good music and be entertained. Our dinner also went off with only a few glitches. We overestimated how much time we would have so we had to cut back on the fancy presentation of the salad, my cookie name place holders didn't quite work out as expected as the dough wouldn't get hard enough in time....and my bouche looked less like a log of wood and more like a log of....well...

Anyway here is what our beautiful holiday table looked like:

And the name place holders.... my mom's ('Patti') was the only one that was remotely legible. The cookies tasted great though!

My somewhat gross looking bouche de noel:

The ganache icing hardened in the fridge and I forgot to wipe the plate before that. Looks like poop (literally) but tastes like heaven. Oh man, not to toot my own horn but the chocolate mouse rolled up in it is so good. Mmmmm. And I put little marshmallows on the top and burned them with my brulee torch.

Right now I'm baking the panettone bread pudding for a christmas party! It smells really good.

Ok, I gotta try and squeeze in one more episode of Dexter before I leave. :)

3 Days "Til Christmas! (Day 22)

Big day today, and tomorrow, and Thursday, and Friday, and Saturday through to Monday! I am so ready for this holiday blitz!

Tonight, as I mentioned yesterday, John and I are joining my family to see Jersey Boys! We're having them over for dinner first and operations in the kitchen are underway. Instead of printing those Cardinal name place holders (from a few days ago), I'm baking cookies and using the new cutters that I got to put every person's name into the cookie. I'm using those as place holders. I think it's a cute idea.

Tomorrow we're heading over to the ROM to check out the dead sea scrolls before they leave Toronto. I'm excited and I also really want to go see the Tut exhibit at the AGO. But that can wait for another day. Also tomorrow night John's good friend is hosting her annual "Questmas" party so we're heading over to that. I might make more cookies....I don't know. I'll have to get a good hostess gift.

Today I thought I'd give you another recipe to try as I don't have pictures of my desert or place holders just yet...because they're not even nearly done.

My Nanny makes this delicious Fudge and I've tried and tried and tried to make it but have only done so once successfully. I do have a candy thermometer now and I think that was the thing that was holding me back from greatness. I could never quite make it to the hard ball stage either because I had the heat on too high or I was too impatient. The result was fudge juice. It really only ever set once and even then I think it was more because it froze rather than set....

But regardless.

This fudge makes for a nice gift and if you have a candy thermometer you will be just fine!

(I tried to make this exact recipe once before as well but ended up burning the pot so keep an eye on your candy)

Irish Cream Fudge

You will need:

• 1/2 cup evaporated milk
• 1 cup light brown sugar, packed
• 1 cup white sugar
  3/4 cup unsalted butter
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup Irish Cream liqueur
• 2 1/4 cups icing sugar, sifted
  

1. Grease an 8-inch square pan and line with parchment paper so that it hangs over the sides.
2. Stir evaporated milk, brown sugar, white sugar, butter and salt in a heavy-bottomed saucepot. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring often, and cook until 238 °F (use a candy thermometer to gauge).
3. Remove from heat, stir in vanilla and Irish Cream and scrape into a bowl or mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. With the mixer on low speed or electric beaters, add in the icing sugar in three additions, mixing well after each addition.
4. Scrape fudge into prepared pan and let cool completely before slicing.

Thank you, Anna Olson.

I'll post tomorrow with pictures from the dinner party.

AND since we're getting close............click here

4 Days 'Til Christmas! (Day 21)

Oh my, I almost forgot to blog again today! I've watched 3 episodes back to back to back of season 4 of Dexter. That show is so good. I finally got up to do the dishes and clean up a little. John and I are off tomorrow night to see Jersey Boys with my family and we're hosting a small dinner party for them before hand. John's taking care of pretty much the entire meal and I'm going to do desert. I did attempt to make a bouche de noel but it's not iced yet so I may do that tomorrow. It didn't roll properly but it does taste delicious. I also bought a panettone so I might make a panettone bread pudding too....decisions, decisions!

Here's my table setting so far. It's very preliminary as I have all day tomorrow to tidy and set up. Please note my napkin rings. Bought them in October. Waaaaaay before Halloween at the William Ashley sale. Thanks Marion for taking me along! I mean they're not the nicest napkin rings but when you get 12 of them for $3.50...

The table cloth is from dollarama and is covering our nicer table cloth that matches the napkins. Thank you John's mom.

Now, John has a good friend named Adam. If you ever have a party, invite this guy. He is polite, good fun, and he brings host/hostess gifts. The picture above is what he brought for me. This guy obviously knows me. I was all set to make some of these cookies but I have about 1/4 cup of flour left so they will have to wait until tomorrow. I'm pretty sure these cookie cutters are Williams Sonoma. Gosh I love that store.

In other news, I am more or less completely finished my christmas shopping! My sister (who is now determined to learn fluent french) and I went and bought our dad's gift today and I also picked up my gift for my secret santa in our family's cousin-gift-exchange. I want to supplement it a bit more though. Maybe something from the LCBO.

AND because I feel compelled to provide you with a recipe or a craft or anything other than my ramblings, here are some ideas for host/hostess gifts if you should find yourself hitting up a Christmas or Holiday party sometime this week!

*All of these are available for under $25:

Williams Sonoma Peppermint Bark

The rest are from Kitchen Stuff Plus:

This bar set is awesome. We have one.

Cookie cutters. Basic and great if your host is a baker.

Complete wine tool kit.

Til tomorrow! I'll let you know what desert I decide on.