Friday, November 25, 2011

A Holiday Meal

So, I've been saving up this post since October when we here in Canada celebrated "real Thanksgiving"(no insult intended my American friends..I jest, I jest) and I think now, with my neighbours to the south celebrating their turkey day and with Christmas right around the corner, it's the perfect time to share it.

I haven't had many opportunities to cook a whole Thanksgiving dinner. I've attended many gatherings of family and friends where I gladly contribute my one holiday dish, but I had never hunkered down and done a full-on Thanksgiving cook-a-thon. Until this year that is.

We hadn't even invited anyone and I was already convinced I was going to do this thing. I didn't care if we had to live off turkey and apple pie for weeks afterwards (would that have been so bad?), I was going to make traditional Thanksgiving dinner with all the trimmings.

It's not even like I'm sentimental about the holiday. I just wanted to cook. I'm often looking for excuses to make big meals and go to a lot of effort. Those chances are scarce when there is only two of you!

Like I said, I went fairly traditional, so you wont find any truffle infused whipped potatoes with cranberry paté in this post. But, I did attempt to throw in the occasional creative twist.

The great thing about our North American traditions is that they have so much food overlap. In reality, this is probably what leads to wide-spread and unnecessarily negative feeling towards turkey.  But hey, if you aren't afflicted by same-old-turkey-and-potatoes-blues and like me, you like the tradition of it all, try some of these on for the holidays.

The Menu
roast turkey
apple and bacon stuffing
baked broccoli and cauliflower with blue cheese and candied walnuts
roasted carrot and parsnip
garlic mashed potatoes
cranberry sauce
plum chutney
apple blackberry pie

I have already rambled enough in this post and will not subject you to a ridiculously long list of ingredients and instructions for all of these dishes, but here are some of my favourites from the meal.

Apple Bacon Stuffing
Ingredients
1/2 lb (8 slices or so) bacon
Depending on the size of your turkey, 1/2 - 1 loaf of bread (or the "stuffing" bread bits they sell at the store)
1-2 apples
1 onion
2-3 stalks fresh rosemary
2-3 stalks fresh tarragon     
2-3 stalks fresh sage
1 small bunch fresh parsley
2-3 stalks celery
salt and pepper

If you've bought fresh bread, cut it into small chunks, spread on a cookie sheet and bake 250 degrees (F) for about 10-15 minutes, or until it feels dry (not toasted). If this seems like too much effort, I recomend going with the bag of stale bread bits, which is much easier, but doesn't sound nearly as nice.

While your bread is drying, cook your bacon on medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon from pan, but conserve the fat (fat is flavour, ya know!) Coarsely chop bacon and set aside.

Next, core apples and chop into small chunks. No need to peel if you don't want to. Do the same with onion (peel that one though). Dice the celery and herbs, removing the leafs from the stalks before doing so.

Combine all ingredients, including bacon grease in a bowl and mix well. Then grab that turkey and let'em have it. Make sure the turkey's cavity is empty, then stuff that stuffing like you've never stuffed before.


Candied Walnuts
Ingredients
two cups walnuts (in large pieces)
1/4 cp brown sugar (plus a little more)
1/4 cp water
1/2 ts salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger

To make walnuts: Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F).Bring water to a simmer on medium heat in a pan. Add sugar. Simmer gently stirring regularly until mixture becomes thick (about 7 minutes). Once sugar mixture is thick, add walnuts and stir until covered. Toss walnuts with salt, spices and a handful more brown sugar.
Spread on baking sheet and bake for 5-10 minutes or until coating is firm and shiny. 
Once cooled, break apart, set aside and try not to eat them all before dinner!



Sunday, November 20, 2011

Here's to Cheers

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I watched a lot of TV as a kid. When I think back on how many hours of my young life were spent in front of the squawk box, I am baffled. Now, like so many others, I don't even own a TV. Perhaps it is due to the unbearable nature of commercials, but maybe it is because there just isn't the same kind of programming like we had back in "the good 'ol days". If Cheers was still on today, I may just buy myself a bigscreen.

I have to say, I seriously, unabashedly LOVE Cheers. Perhaps I seem a bit overemotional about a TV show, but I think I have a good deal of sentimental attachment to the thing, considering it practically raised me. My brother and I would watch Cheers so often that we invented  a game called "Cheers Trivia" in which we would quiz each other on obscure facts from the show. Yea, we watched it a lot.

But, I'm not here to tout the never-ending list of reasons why one should deem Cheers one of the best shows of the 1980s. I am here to talk about the fashionable side of the little bar in Boston.

The style of the Cheers cast was relatively simple. After all, Sam, Diane, Carla and Woody were just regular people, working in a regular bar, living out the hilarity of everyday life. I wouldn't call any of these characters a "style icon", but they all had their charm nonetheless.

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Let's start with Sam. The ladies man. The secretly sensitive tough guy. The heart of Cheers,  if you will. Sam Malone (Ted Danson) is supposed to be cool and suave, therefore he must be stylish. He has a certain sportiness to his style (being a retired pitcher), but often goes beyond the baseball jackets and plaid shirts into the realm of the 80s sweater.
I highly recommend checking out this amazing collection of Sam Malone sweaters that give Bill Cosby a run for his money.

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Then there's Diane (Shelley Long), the first of the female "love interest" characters. Her style is mostly prim and stuffy with a lot of carry-over from the 70s. High collars and pastels often rule Diane's wardrobe.

Rebecca Howe (Kirstie Alley) on the other hand, comes later in the series and as a driven career woman is clearly more of a fashion-forward female. She is all about the broad-shouldered blazers with a big brunette mane to top it off.

My favourite, though, has to be Carla (Rea Pearlman). She is spunky and sporty and just plain great. Carla's style is casual. She works too hard to get all fancy. But, her tapered jeans, plaid shirts and mass of curls would probably be coveted by some of the most fashionable young-uns today.
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I admit that I never really thought about the stylish side of Cheers while watching it. I was too distracted by the impeccable acting, the endearing characters and the sometimes heart-warming, always entertaining story lines that still keep me laughing all these 20 years later.

So, here's to Cheers for it's fashion, it's funny and for keeping me company during all those 80s afternoons.

Sunday, November 13, 2011

Kale Chips

Kale! Deep and leafy green. Hearty and healthful.
I used to be intimidated by this beautiful, yet elusive veggie. Frankly, I just did not know what to do with it. Though I knew that  kale is an excellent source of vitamins, anti-oxidants and all that other super-food stuff, I just didn't know how to incorporate it into my diet.
Enter the kale chip. 

If you suffer from the same bewilderment I once did, then give these babies a try. A guaranteed easy remedy to kale-o-phobia and the beginning of a beautiful veggie friendship (I promise).

Ingredients:
1 bunch of kale, rinsed
2-3 tbsp. olive oil
sea salt to taste*

*A note on SALT: I used Maldon salt on my chips as it has light flaky crystals and a nice taste. You don't have to use fancy salt like this, but if you have it (or fleur de sel) why not put it to good use?
And if you're feeling brave, why not experiment and throw some other spices in there? I recommend fresh ground pepper, garlic powder and cayenne.

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 300 degrees (Fahrenheit).
Remove kale leaves from thick center stalks. You want to keep the leaves in large pieces, so a knife works better than hands for this job.
Toss leaves in olive oil and spread on a baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt (and any other desired spices).
Bake for 15-20 minutes or until chips are crisp.

Pile into a bowl and make sure you get some before they disappear into the mouths of  the supposed meat and potatoes crowd.

For more on the benefits of kale visit here.

Friday, November 4, 2011

Vintage in the Fall Part 2: Crimson and Grey

Now that November is here, the leaves have fallen from the trees and the days are getting colder. Embrace deep crimsons and cool greys and they'll gently lead you into winter.

in the shop


some other favourites