Foodland Ontario Calendar - December (Apple and Pear Bundt Cake with Caramel Sauce)

Guess what time it is!? It's time for the December (and last) recipe from the 2011 Foodland Ontario Calendar.

I waited until Christmas before making this particular recipe because it was a perfect dessert to serve for the holidays. I made it last night for Christmas Eve and everybody really enjoyed it. In fact, most of us were scraping some extra caramel from the serving dish to spread onto our slices of cake.

Apple and Pear Bundt Cake with Caramel Glaze

• 2 cups sugar
• 1 1/2 cups vegetable oil (I used homemade Ontario applesauce)
• 3 Ontario eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 cups flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 each Ontario apple and pear, cored and chopped

Caramel Glaze

• 1/2 cup Ontario butter
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 tsp Ontario milk

In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat sugar, oil, eggs and vanilla until creamy. Using a wooden spoon stir in flour, baking soda and salt until well blended. Stir in apple and pear. Spoon batter into greased and floured 3L bundt pan. Bake at 350F for 1 to 1 1/4 hours or until cake tester inserted in centre comes out clean. Cool on rack for 20 minutes.

Caramel Glaze: In a medium saucepan, combine butter, brown sugar and milk; bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Boil for 2 minutes while stirring. Remove cake from pan; spoon warm glaze over warm cake. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Well, that's it... This year I blogged my way through all 12 months of the 2011 Foodland Ontario Calendar recipes. At first I thought that I would end it here but then once I saw the new 2012 calendar I knew that I'd have to blog the next one too. Have you seen the new calendar? It looks GREAT!! (check out the online version here: http://www.foodland.gov.on.ca/english/calendar/2012/index.html) Note: getting your hands on a hard copy is well worth it though--the pictures are beautiful.

The first recipe for January 2012 will be Turkey Pasta Soup - I'll have to remember to freeze some of my turkey so that I'll still have some available in the first week of January.

For an electronic version of Foodland Ontario's 2011 calendar see: http://www.foodland.gov.on.ca/english/calendar/2011/index.html

If you'd like to view the previous Foodland Ontario Calendar recipes I've made this year click on the 'foodland ontario' label on the left side-bar.

January - veggie chips
February - parsnip, apple and brie soup
March - breakfast ham 'n' cheese egg wrap
April - potato toppers
May - grilled proscuitto and asparagus bundles
June - strawberry cheesecake shake
July - spicy garlic bok choy stir-fry
August - grilled chicken salad
September - Grilled Trout with Tomato Salsa
October - Pumpkin Ravioli
November - Savoury Onion Scones

Homemade (Vanilla) Coffee Creamer

I've been a cooking/baking machine the last couple of weeks getting things ready for the company coming over for the holidays. It's not just about the snacks and treats though; it's also about me trying to make everything I serve to be completely local/seasonal and homemade (from scratch).

One of those things that I wanted to make was a coffee creamer. My parents 'must' have their morning coffee and my mom usually ends up buying some sort of coffee creamer at the grocery store to keep in my fridge while she's here. Have you seen the ingredients on one of those bottles? Here's an example of one:

"water, sugar, corn syrup, palm oil, carrageenan, cellulose gel, cellulose gum, mono and diglycerides, sodium stearoyl lactylate, salt, dipottasium phosphate, polysorbate 60, sodium caseinate, natural and artificial flavours, artificial color"

Hmmm...for one, yuck!, and two, why isn't dairy the first ingredient? The ingredients are really concerning actually.

My friend Stephanie (Twitter: @cafeaulait) made a couple of different coffee creamers this month so I thought it would be a great idea to make my own. To make a Vanilla Coffee Creamer you only need 4 ingredients; and they're ingredients that are actually familiar and that you can pronounce even!

• 1 cup cream
• 1 cup milk
• 4 tbsp maple syrup
• 1 vanilla bean

Heat the milk, cream and maple syrup on medium heat until it begins to steam and add the vanilla bean (halved and seeded). Remove from heat, cover, and steep for 30 minutes. Put the mixture through a fine sieve and transfer to a bottle or container. Keep refrigerated and use within 2 weeks.

The opportunities are endless with this kind of recipe. To change up the flavour, rather than using a vanilla bean, use almond extract or peppermint extract instead. Add some cacoa powder for a chocolate kick.

I feel better serving this homemade creamer rather than letting my mom buy her store-bought one instead. This morning we made a pot of coffee using some beans that I picked up at the Western Fair Farmers' Market last weekend from the Fire Roasted Coffee Company and tried out our new creamer.

Result? Yum!

Mom's Raisin Pie

So a couple of weeks ago I blogged about my mom's traditional Christmas tourtiere ... Today's post is also another one of her recipes. This one is for her Raisin Pie. As odd as it sounds it's delicious and one of my favorite pies. We had it often growing up and it tastes like home.

I made one the other day and put it in the freezer to have for dessert on Boxing Day.

Mom's Raisin Pie

• 2 cups boiling water
• 2 1/4 cups raisins
• 2 tsp grated lemon rind
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 tbsp flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 egg, beaten

Combine boiling water, raisins and lemon rind in saucepan. Simmer 10 minutes. Combine sugar, flour and salt. Add gradually to hot mixture, stirring constantly. Cook until mixture thickens. Remove from heat. Add a small amount of the cooked mixture to the beaten egg. Add to remaining mixture in saucepan. Return to heat and cook 1 minute. Remove from heat and cool. Prepare pastry for a double crust pie. Fill pastry-lined pie pan with the cooled raisin filling. Place top pastry over filling.

Bake at 425F for 35-40 minutes or until pastry is golden. Cool before serving.

I'm not sure about the egg part of it. Some of it scrambled so I picked the bits out of it. Other recipes that I've seen online add 2 tbsp butter at the end instead of the egg. I would probably make this change next time I make this pie.

I will have to say, however, that I've been able to make pie dough (successfully) twice in the last couple of weeks. I owe my success to Anna Olson. I've tried other recipes for pie dough in the past and none of them worked quite as well as hers.

Anna Olson's Double-Crust Pie Dough

(from Anna Olson's Back to Baking)

• 1 cup cold unsalted butter
• 2 1/3 cups flour
• 4 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 egg
• 2 tbsp cold water
• 2 tsp white vinegar or lemon juice

While it's cold, cut the butter into small pieces and then leave it out of the fridge for 30 minutes. Combine the flour, sugar, and salt. Add the butter to the flour, mixing it until the dough is a rough, crumbly texture.

In a separate bowl, whisk the egg, water and vinegar or lemon juice, and add it to the dough all at once, mixing until the dough comes together. Shape the dough into 2 discs, wrap them each in plastic wrap, and chill them for at least 1 hour before rolling.

French Macarons - Easier than you may think!

I don't know when the macaron craze came about but it would seem that just about everyone is making them, or at the very least, talking about them. There are a few places in town that sell them and they are sooooo expensive, like $2.50 or more per cookie.

My goal this Christmas was to make an attempt at making them myself. I really didn't think that I would be successful. I had done some reading online and other bloggers were very specific about the technique to be followed and the instructions were quite lengthy. Well, to my surprise I actually managed to make these and it wasn't a day-long saga.

Here's how you make them (recipes with quantities to follow):

Place the ground almonds and confectioners' sugar in a food processor and process until the mixture is fine and powdery. Sift the mixture into a bowl through a large strainer.

Using a stand mixer whip the egg whites until you have soft peaks. Gradually beat in the superfine sugar a little at a time. Beat until the mixture becomes a firm and glossy meringue and it looks like shaving cream. This would also be the point when any additional flavors or colorings would be added and mixed in.

Add one-third of the almond mixture to the meringue. Using a spatula, fold the dry mixture into the meringue until combined. Add the next third and repeat the process. Finish off with the remaining third and repeat the folding motion once more. Continue mixing until the batter is smooth and glossy. Don't undermix or overmix - overmixing leads to a runny batter and undermixing leads to a tough one. Once combined, you're pretty well good to go.

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Pour the batter into a large pastry bag fitted with a round tip. Pipe circles onto the prepared baking sheets.

Tap the underside of the baking sheet firmly with the palm of your hand to remove any air bubbles and settle any small peaks and bumps. This action also helps the frilly foot (or pied) to form during baking.

Let the macarons stand at room temperature for 30 minutes to let the surface of each macaron dry and form a slight crust.

Bake the macarons at 325F, 1 baking sheet at a time for 10-15 minutes. The macarons are ready when they have a crisp shell. Carefully peel them away from the parchment paper and let the macarons cool completely on a wire rack.

The next, and final, step is to spread a filling of your choice between the wafers.

I made three varieties of macarons - vanilla macarons, hazelnut chocolate macarons and peppermint chocolate macarons. The recipes were from the book 'Macaroons: 30 recipes for perfect bite-size treats' that I picked up at Winners for a mere $5.99. (note that the book calls them macaroons... Yes, these cookies suffer the same fate as yams/sweet potatoes. Some people call them macaroons and others call them macarons)

Vanilla Macarons

• 3/4 cup ground almonds
• 1 cup confectioners' sugar
• 2 extra large egg whites
• 1/4 cup superfine sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• Filling:
• 4 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup confectioners' sugar

Hazelnut Chocolate Macarons

• 1/2 cup ground almonds
• 1/4 cup ground hazelnuts
• 1 cup confectioners' sugar
• 2 extra large egg whites
• 1/4 cup superfine sugar
• Filling:
• 1/4 cup hazelnut spread (I used my homemade Nutella)

Mint Chocolate Macarons

• 3/4 cup ground almonds
• 1 cup confectioners' sugar
• 2 extra large egg whites
• 1/4 cup superfine sugar
• 1 tsp peppermint extract
• green food coloring paste
• Filling:
• 4 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
• 2 oz chocolate, melted and cooled.

I'd say that for my first try at these I did a pretty good job. By the third batch I felt like I could really whip these up quickly if I needed to.

Homemade Vanilla Extract

I've been working on a little project for the last few months...

In August I mixed together some rum and vanilla beans/pods in a jar and 8 weeks later I had my very own homemade vanilla extract.

Do you know what's in your vanilla extract? Is it genuine? Or is it imitation? If it's imitation it may have been flavored with vanillin and not actual vanilla beans. It may also include corn syrup or caramel color. Hmmm..not for me - I'd rather have the real thing. If you've ever had a custard, ice cream, or whipped cream flavored with actual vanilla beans you know what I'm talking about. I figured that if the vanilla beans tasted so good then homemade vanilla extract would be fantastic. And it is. It was so easy to make too.

Using a sharp knife, slice the vanilla bean lengthwise. Spread the two halves apart to reveal the vanilla seeds. Scrape the seeds from the pod and put them into a jar (along with the remaining pods). Put 3 or 4 vanilla beans into a medium-sized mason jar and fill the jar with rum or vodka.

Place the jar in a cool dark place. Every week give the jar a gentle shake. In eight weeks you'll have your very own vanilla extract.

Once you begin using the extract add any used pods that you may have into the mix to concentrate the flavour even further. The best part is that you'll never run out - just keep filling the jar with more rum or vodka.

Hmm...looks like I've got a few more jars made to be given out as Christmas gifts. I wonder who will be the lucky recipients? Any guesses?

Mom's Traditional Christmas Tourtiere

In my family it's not Christmas dinner unless there's meat pie on the table. I grew up in Northern Ontario so there was a lot of French-Canadian influence from Quebec and New Brunswick in our meals. Meat pie was definitely one of them.

This year I'm hosting Christmas for the first time EVER! We've always made the trip up to Sudbury every year but this time we asked to stay home and have people come to us instead. We also wanted our daughter to know what it's like to have Christmas at home and to wake up in her own bed. Plus, I'm kind of curious to see what London is like at Christmas.

So knowing that I'm doing Christmas I'm starting to really pin down what it is I'm going to be serving over the few days that I'll have guests staying over. Obviously, there WILL be meat pie. Thankfully it's something that can be made ahead of time and frozen to save time later.

My mom makes the best meat pie. I don't know why but everyone else's just doesn't taste right. I knew that I'd have to give her a call before I attempted to make mine. I was really disappointed though when she told me that it was nothing but pork, beef, onion and spices. That's it? Really?

Yes, that's it. But when I asked her which spices she just said 'you know,...whatever I feel like putting into it. Usually the same as what I use for my marinara sauce'. Sheesh..that wasn't really much help; typical of family recipes I suppose. I guess I was going to be winging it...

Here is what I ended up with:

• 1 lb ground pork
• 1 lb lean ground beef
• 2 medium onions, diced
• 1/4 cup beef broth
• 1 tbsp worcestershire sauce
• 2 tbsp Epicure Herb & Garlic Dip Mix (dried garlic, herbs, spices, salt, sugar, chives)
• salt and pepper

Directions:

In a large pan saute the meat until browned. Drain off the excess fat and add the onions. Once the onions have softened add the remaining ingredients and simmer for a few minutes until the liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat and let cool. Spoon the filling into a prepared pie shell and cover with the remaining rolled dough. Pinch the edges of the crust together and poke holes onto the top with a fork. Bake in a 375F oven for 45 minutes or until the crust is a golden brown.

To serve: Top with a good drizzle of ketchup. Yes, ketchup. Like spaghetti, shepherd's pie and eggs, us French-Canadians love our ketchup! It's delicious and meat pie demands ketchup!

This pie freezes very well. We baked the smaller one right away to make sure it tasted just right (wink, wink) and placed the larger pie in a ziploc bag and tucked it away in the freezer. For Christmas I'll take it out and let it defrost a little in the fridge and then bake it in the oven. Easy, peasy!

You know what made me real proud though? I made the crust myself using Anna Olsen's recipe for pie crust in the "Back to Baking" book. Finally!! A pie crust that worked out for me! Usually I end up with chunks of butter here and there or it shrinks on me or doesn't roll out well... This one was perfect.

And you know what? I actually think my pie is better than my mom's. Can't wait to see what she thinks of it!

Anna Olson's Back To Baking

Last night I had a chance to attend Anna Olson's book signing at Springridge Farm in Milton.

Anna's newest cookbook 'Back To Baking' consists of 200 recipes and has chapters on cookies, custards, cakes, holiday desserts, dairy-free desserts, egg-free desserts, gluten-free desserts, low-fat/low-sugar desserts, etc..

The book also contains many tips and FAQ's about baking, like how to melt chocolate, why use salt in baking, which cookies can be frozen, how to make a perfect crust, whipping egg basics, etc..

At the farm, Anna spoke about her journey - about her shows on the Food Network, 'Sugar' and 'Fresh', and also about her other books and her time as the pastry chef at The Inn on the Twenty in Jordan. She also explained the process of writing a cookbook; about testing recipes over and over, about the editing process, the photography, etc..

Did you know that she donates the foods that she makes to the local shelter? Yup! The cakes and pies may be missing a slice every now and then (for the pictures) but they're always very appreciative for the sweets that she provides them. 

And how does she stay so thin even while doing all of this baking? To avoid eating all of the product she snacks on salty olives or on crackers and hummus.

Anna is a great speaker. She is professional and very personable. You could tell that the audience was just smitten by her. I know that she inspired me to get 'back to baking' again. I think my list of baked goods I was planning on making for Christmas has just grown (again). I really hope that my guests are going to be ready to eat while they're here. Anybody want to come over for a visit over the holidays?

Here's a list of just 'some' of the recipes that I'm hoping to try out (not right away but hopefully in the next little while!).

-Salted Orange Toffee Slices
-Tuile Cookies
-Maple Gingerbread Cutout Cookies
-Peanut Butter Nanaimo Bars
-Gingerbread Cream Pie
-Pumpkin Cheesecake and Chocolate Tart
-Caramel Soufflés
-Hazelnut Latte Yule Log
-Chocolate Pavlovas
-Honey Spice Rice Pudding

Everything just sounds so delicious - I'd better get 'Back to Baking'!



Homemade Peppermint Patties

You know when you go to a restaurant and next to the cash register they'll have a container with peppermint patties that you can get for $0.25 each or 3/$1.00? I love those things. And you know what I do with things that I love? I make my own homemade version (of course).

I did a bit of looking around online and found a few recipes that either called for an icing sugar filling with peppermint extract or others that called for coconut oil, honey and actual peppermint leaves. Unfortunately the ones using the oil and leaves were a complete failure. The filling ended up an oily mess with no flavour whatsoever.

I liked the recipe with the icing sugar instead.

Homemade Peppermint Patties

• 2 1/2 cups icing sugar
• 1 1/2 tbsp corn syrup
• 2 tbsp water
• 1 tsp peppermint extract
• 1 tbsp vegetable shortening
• 8 oz dark chocolate, chopped

Beat 2 1/4 cups of the icing sugar with the corn syrup, water, peppermint extract and shortening. It'll be crumbly. Dust the counter with the remaining sugar and knead the mixture until it comes together. Shape it into a log (roughly 2 inches wide and 8 inches long). Wrap in in wax paper and freeze it until firm (half an hour or so).

Using a sharp knife slice the log into rounds. Place them onto a cookie sheet covered in parchment paper and freeze once more for another 15 minutes.

In the meantime melt the chocolate in a double boiler. Let it cool completely.

Dipping the peppermint rounds into the chocolate is a bit of an art form I think. Initially I tried to use my fingers but quickly realized that there was more chocolate on my hands than the patty itself. Good thing my husband is always full of good ideas because he suggested using tongs instead. It was still a bit sloppy but was definitely less messy.

Once the patties are covered in chocolate let them sit out to dry/firm up and then store in the fridge in a sealed container. To serve, let them come to room temperature.

Mmmmmm.....so good......and so minty..... And you know what, the homemade version tastes much better than the ones next to the cash register. No surprise though; the other ones are usually stale and taste like chalk.