Cooking
Tourtiere Bites: On Saturday I tested out a few new holiday appetizer recipes that I’m going to work to get up onto the site in time for the holiday season. These are a must-make! If you love tourtiere this is a less labour-intensive version in a two-bite size. Recipe at the bottom of the newsletter.
Other things I cooked:
Ottolenghi Chicken Marbella: I’ve been wanting to make this dish forever but most people I cook for don’t like olives. I finally made it sans olives and it was delicious! A perfect weeknight meal if you prep the chicken in the marinade the night before.
Hetty MacKinnon’s roast honeynut squash salad: I saw this posted on her IG (recipe in the caption), so I did a twist on it with orange segments instead of persimmons and added a touch of maple syrup to the dressing. I also dressed my lettuce with lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pep before layering on the rest of the salad.
Leek & Cauliflower Puree: an oldie but goodie from my site! The perfect light side that has all the flavour of mashed potatoes (if not more!).
Other holiday appetizers:
Spicy Feta Dip: another oldie from my site - so flavourful, I served mine with naan cut into triangles and heated in the oven while the dip baked.
Mushroom Crostinis with Spicy Honey, Tortilla Roll-Ups, Bean Dip: working on typing these up for the site!
Buttered shrimp rice: this is one of my favourite comfort foods to make when I’m tired. My mom used to make it for me all the time growing up - in my memory, it was something just her and I ate together. You cook some white rice (I did basmati in the microwave), meanwhile you sautee diced shallot or white onion in olive oil. Add in thawed, frozen shrimp cut into bite-sized pieces (3-4 pieces per shrimp). Once cooked through, add in the rice, a good pat of butter, and season with salt and pepper. Delicious.
Brussel sprout quinoa: I shared a reel of this on IG, but another super easy meal. I roasted brussels sprouts in the oven (400F, avocado oil, salt and pep for 30ish mins), then tossed these with cooked quinoa, diced red onion and cherry tomatoes (raw, the final product is more like a warm salad), some diced sundried tomatoes, feta, and then a squeeze of lemon juice.
Drinking
A lot of California Cab Sauv. I did a “blind tasting” night with some girlfriends on Saturday night where we tasted 8 differed California Cab Sauvs and ranked them - our old standby Josh rose to the top! The most surprising for me was Bar Dog which I hadn’t had before but I had rated 10/10!
Following
@smittenkitchen is my go-to for the basics. If I don’t have a recipe for something I want to make I always check her site first.
Listening
Driving Alone in the City at Night by Joshua Burnside.
Using
Earth’s Own Oat Nog. I love egg nog but it does not love me. This oat beverage alternative is sooo good, I’ve been having it in my morning coffee and afternoon tea. It is unreal with Earl Grey tea.
Thinking
About Copenhagen. We had our first snowfall in Toronto today (Sunday) and it was so picturesque and cozy. I had major flashbacks to the semester I spent in Copenhagen and how warm and comforting Danes make the Christmas season. Makes me want to recreate some of my favourite foods from there, like cinnamon swirl pastries, pork with cracklings, and glogg (mulled wine).
Laughing
Have a great week!
Kaleigh
Tourtiere Bites
This yields 16 bites, you could easily double if you have a larger crowd.
1-1.5 hour (30 min prep, 30-40 min cooking)
Tools needed: mini-muffin tray
Ingredients:
1 tsp olive oil
1 small white onion, diced (~½ cup)
1 clove of garlic, minced
½ lb ground pork
⅛ tsp ground nutmeg
⅛ tsp ground cinnamon
1/16 tsp ground clove (I just eyeballed a half of a ⅛ measuring spoon)
Salt and pepper
1 small potato grated (~ 1 cup)
1 sheet puff pastry, thawed (½ a package)
2 tbsp maple syrup
Method:
Preheat oven to 375F.
Heat a pan to medium-high heat, add the oil and the diced onion and minced garlic. Sautee until softened, about 5-7 minutes.
Add in the ground pork and spices, allowing the pork to brown and cook through (you don’t need to disturb it too much). About 5 minutes.
Once the pork is cooked, add in the grated potato. There should be enough pork fat in the pan but if needed you can add more olive oil. If it dries out while cooking add in a tbsp of water. Continue to cook until the potato is tender, about 10 minutes. Season well with salt and pepper (it should taste good when you taste it!).
Roll out 1 sheet of puff pastry and cut into 16 squares. Place the squares into mini muffin tin and press into the tin leaving the corners hanging. Scoop the filling into the pastry (about 1 tbsp per) until evenly divided. Fold the corners on top of the filling to almost close each mini-pie bite.
Bake for 30-40 minutes until the puff pastry is golden brown. Immediately after removing from the oven pour a little maple syrup over each bite - it will sizzle in the pan and soak into the filling/pastry without getting too sticky.
Serve warm!