Christmas Fruit and Nut Cake with Caramelized Pineapple

Fruitcake is our favorite small bite treat with a cup of coffee during the Christmas season.  Be sure that you use ingredients that are fresh.  Nuts and dried fruits that are even a bit stale will taint the fruitcake and will ruin all the work.   Fruitcake lovers will all enjoy this delicious Christmas treat.
Fruitcake improves in flavour and texture over time, so make it now to enjoy at Christmas.

• 1 cup slivered blanched almonds
• 1 cup whole blanched almonds
• 1/2 cup whole walnut halves
• 1 1/2 cups seedless raisins
• 1 1/2 cups dried cranberries
• 1 cup / 225 grams glace cut mixed peel
• 1 cup / 225 grams glace fruit cake mix
• 2 cups 500 grams glace whole cherries
• 1 cup finely chopped dates
• 1/2 cup apricot brandy

1. Stir together all the fruit and nuts in a large glass bowl.  Stir in brandy and cover with lid or tightly with plastic wrap.  Stir occasionally and leave at room temperature until the next day.

Caramelized Pineapple

• 1 14 ounce / 398 ml can crushed pineapple with the juice
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup apricot jam
• 1/4 cup apricot brandy

1. Combine pineapple, juice and sugar in a medium saucepan over medium heat.  Stir  occasionally to prevent scorching and simmer to reduce liquids, 30 - 40 minutes.  Once the liquid has mostly evaporated and the pineapple has started to caramelize, remove from heat, add jam and brandy.  Refrigerate overnight in sealed container. 

Fruitcake Batter

• 2 1/3 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 cup room temperature unsalted butter
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 7 eggs (should measure 1 1/2 cups)

1. Prepare 2 - 3 loaf pans by cutting brown paper bags to fit first lengthwise and then across the width, allowing the paper to come just over the edge of the pan.  Grease paper well. Alternately, for gift giving, use disposable paper bakeware.  
2. Preheat oven to 275 F. 
3. Stir together dry ingredients in a large bowl.  Mix 1 cup of the flour mixture with the fruit and nuts and set aside. 
4. In a large bowl, beat butter, then gradually add sugar and eggs with mixer. Add remaining flour mixture and beat to combine. 
5. Use a large wooden spoon to stir in fruit and nut mixture along with the pineapple mixture. Stir well to combine.
6. Divide into loaf pans and bake.  Baking times will vary depending on size of the pan. You can bake the fruitcake in small individual loaves or square pans.  Whatever you decide to use, check every 30 minutes to start if you use small pans.  The loaves will feel firm in the center when done. Test with a toothpick once you think the top feels firm.  Regular bread pan loaf pans will be up to 3 1/2 hours. Check several times to make sure the top of the cakes are not getting too brown.  If that happens, cover loosely with foil.   The bakeware shown in the photo held 3 cups of batter, measured 1 1/4 inch X 6 inch diameter and took just over an hour to bake. 
7.  Remove from oven, remove from pan, allow to cool for half an hour and then carefully remove brown paper.  Brush with additional apricot brandy before storing. Leave cakes in the disposable bakeware pans for easy gift giving.   Seal well in plastic bags and store in the refrigerator for several months or freeze.

Blueberry Lemon Loaf

This bread will have you thinking of coffee time, but not only that.  Serve it warm with ice cream for dessert or leave it out for breakfast. It's not very sweet, yet filled with lots of lemon and blueberry flavor. Switch it up with orange rind, if you like.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups flour
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• rind (grated) from one large lemon
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup sour cream (I use 7% fat)
• 1/4 cups oil
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 cups blueberries. (fresh or frozen)

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 375 F. Grease or line with parchment paper, one 5x9 inch loaf pan.
2. Mix dry ingredients along with rind. 
3. In separate small bowl, mix wet ingredients and add to dry along with blueberries.
4. Stir until just combined and spread into loaf pan.
5. Bake for 60 - 70 minutes, until cake tests done with pick. Leave in pan for 10 minutes before removing.
6. If desired, drizzle with a mix of 3/4 cup icing (confectioners) sugar and juice of about 1/2 lemon. 

Sheet Pan Chicken Fajitas

I recently discovered this quick and easy method for preparing chicken fajitas.  The seasoned chicken and veggies are roasted in one pan in the oven.  While they are cooking, there is time to prepare the guacamole and other fixin's.

• 4 chicken breasts (about 1 pound), thinly sliced
• 1 red pepper, sliced
• 1 green pepper, sliced
• 1 yellow pepper, sliced
• 1 medium onion,  halved and then cut in slices
• 1-2 Tablespoons olive or vegetable oil
• fajita seasoning (recipe below) or 2 tablespoons of packaged taco seasoning mix
• 6 - 8" tortillas 
• Avocado, salsa, sour cream, cheese for toppings.

 Fajita Seasoning:

• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder  
• dash of red pepper flakes
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper  

1. Preheat oven to 425°F.
2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper for easy clean-up.
3. Combine seasoning ingredients in a small bowl.
4. Distribute the veggies and chicken pieces evenly over the bottom of the pan.  Drizzle with oil and sprinkle with seasonings. Toss to coat.
5. Bake for 15 minutes.  
6. Stir and return to oven for another 10 minutes or until chicken is fully cooked and veggies are tender.
7. Serve hot from the oven on warm tortillas with optional toppings, as desired.

Hawaiin Style Farmer Sausage

Since I saw this recipe featured on Winkler Meats Instagram page this week, it seemed like a good time to dust it off and re-publish it.

We rather like farmer sausage around here and always have some on hand.  Farmer sausage is a smoked pork sausage; the smoky flavour is a great addition to soups and casseroles.  But if you aren't familiar with this particular sausage, I'm sure your favorite sausage would work with this dish as well.

• 1 ring farmer sausage (about 1 1/2 pounds), sliced in 1/2 inch pieces
• 2 stalks celery, sliced
• 1 large onion, sliced
• 1 green pepper, cut in chunks
• 1 red pepper, cut in chunks
• 1 large can diced tomatoes (796 ml / 28 oz)
• 1 can pineapple chunks or tidbits (398 ml / 14 oz), drain and reserve juice
• 1 teaspoon garlic salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch

1.  Stir fry farmer sausage for several minutes.
2.  Add celery, onions, and peppers and cook until tendercrisp.
3. Add tomatoes, pineapple, seasonings, sugar and soy sauce.  Simmer 5 minutes.
4. Blend cornstarch with reserved pineapple juice. Add to simmering sausage dish and cook for 2 minutes.
5. Serve on a bed of rice.

Serves 6.

Cast Iron Pizza

Who doesn't like pizza! This pizza can be bakes on a very hot BBQ or in the oven. We have a Big Green Egg grill which really bakes up a pizza like a wood oven, but I've tried this in my kitchen oven and it turns out nicely. This is a deep dish thicker crust pizza. Baking it in a cast skillet gives the pizza a perfectly crispy crust. Because it's a deep dish crust it's important to follow the method below to insure it cooks through.

Crust:

• 3 cups flour
• 2 tsp instant yeast
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 1/4 cup warm water
• 1 1/2 tbsp olive oil

1. In bowl, combine 2 1/2 cups flour, yeast, salt, water and oil. Stir to combine. Gradually add more flour kneading with your hands until you have a smooth and elastic dough.
2. Form dough into a ball. Rub lightly with a bit more olive oil and place in a bowl and cover with lid or plastic wrap. Allow to rise on counter for at least an hour. I find that pizza dough is best made a day or two before hand. Once mixed place in refrigerator covered. Take out and let rise on counter one hour before using. 

Topping: ( personalize your pizza by omitting or adding your own favourite toppings.

• 1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese
• 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup pizza sauce ( I like to add a bit of oregano, garlic and onion powder, Italian spice...any of these or a mixture to spice up the sauce)
• 4 strips bacon, fried to lightly crisp, crumble
• 1/2 cup finely chopped deli ham
• 1/2 cup finely chopped pepperoni
• 1/4 cup thinly sliced red onion, raw
• 1/4 cup thinly sliced black olives
• 1/3 cup pineapple tidbits, or fresh pineapple

Making and baking the pizza:

You can heat your cast iron in the oven or on your BBQ. Place cold cast iron pan in a cold oven or BBQ. You want to preheat your cooking method along with the pan to a temperature of 450-500º.

Remember that cast iron gets very hot, you will need a good oven mitt to handle your pan and a good surface to remove it to....don't set a hot cast on your counter top!

1. Once pan and oven/BBQ are up to temperature, working quickly, remove cast and quickly spray it with cooking spray and give it a sprinkle of corn meal. (this will add a nice crunch to your crust)
2. Take your risen pizza dough, and working quickly pull or roll your dough to the size of your pan and without touching the hot cast lay the dough in the pan carefully working the crust into the pan and up it's sides. The dough should be about 1/2" thick.
3. Place the cast with just the dough back into the oven or BBQ. Allow to bake (this is called blind baking) for 5 minutes.
4. Remove pan, spread sauce over partially baked dough, add 1/3 of the cheese, all of the meats, onions, olives and pineapple. Top with remaining cheeses and bake for another 15-20 minutes until done. 
5. Allow pizza to rest in cast for 2-3 minutes, then slide it onto a cutting board. Pizza will slide out of the pan really easily...just don't burn your hands on the cast. 

Hot 'N Spicy Nuts 'N Bolts

A favorite holiday staple at our place is this tasty snack mix, which we call nuts 'n bolts, but which is known by many other names. Here's a somewhat zippy version. Feel free to use the cereals and munchies of your choice. We love adding Old Dutch popcorn twists but if you aren't Canadian, you won't be finding those on your grocery store shelves. I often add bugles and hickory stix as well. Suit yourself.

• 4 cups cheerios
• 4 cups pretzel stix
• 4 cups crispex cereal
• 4 cups popcorn twists
• 1 cup peanuts
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1-2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 1½ tsp. garlic salt
• 1 ½ tsp. dry mustard
• 1 ½ c tsp. cayenne pepper

1. Mix together the cereal, popcorn and nuts in a large roasting pan.
2. Melt butter and add seasonings and Worcestershire sauce. Drizzle over cereal mixture and stir well to coat.
3. Bake at 200° F for 2 hours, stirring every ½ hour.
4. Store in airtight container.

*While I'm at it, I always do a double batch.

Enjoy!

Molasses Kissed Pumpkin Pie

There is no need to buy pumpkin pies from a bakery when they are really so simple to make.

If you don't have time to make your own pastry, purchase a package with two frozen deep dish shells and use one of the shells to cut out little leaves with the thawed pastry for garnish.

If you prefer to make your own pastry...

I've included a link to my favourite pastry which I mix up and then freeze the discs I don't need.

This pumpkin pie filling is delicious, has a smooth texture, slices beautifully and leftovers keep well in refrigerator. 

• 1 9 inch deep dish pie shell
• 1 3/4 cups pure pumpkin puree (about 1 -  15 ounce /398 ml can)
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/4 cups sweetened condensed milk  (can sizes vary between US and Canada)
• 1 tablespoon molasses
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon cloves
• dash nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

1. Preheat oven to 425 F. Adjust oven rack to second lowest level. Line a 9 inch deep pie plate with pastry. Decorate edge with leaf cutouts or crimp with your fingers or 
2. Whisk together the pumpkin with the remaining ingredients until smooth. If you have a blender, put all the filling ingredients in there and process until smooth.
3. Pour carefully into the pastry crust.  To prevent the crust edges from becoming too dark, use kitchen shears to cut out the inside of an aluminum pie plate and cover the pie as shown in the photo.  
4. Bake at 425 F. for 15 minutes and then reduce heat to 350 F and bake an additional 35 minutes.  Test by putting a sharp knife an inch from the edge. It should be clean.
5. Cool on rack. 

Golden Mashed Potatoes

I got a variation of this recipe for make-ahead mashed potatoes from my friend Jean some years ago and have made it many times over the years. It's nice to have the potatoes mashed ahead of time and ready for the table piping hot at dinner time.



Ingredients:

• 10 Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup herbed cream cheese (we like herb and garlic)
• 1/4 cup milk
• salt and pepper to taste
• crumbled bacon bits and chopped green onions for topping

Method:

1. Cook potatoes in a large saucepan of boiling salted water until tender. Drain.
2. Mash potatoes...adding cream cheese, sour cream, butter, milk, chives and salt & pepper.
3. Mash until creamy.
4. Spoon into lightly greased casserole...and allow to cool for 30 minutes.
5. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to two days...discard plastic wrap before baking.
6. Bake at 350°F for one hour or until heated through.
7. Sprinkle with bacon bits and green onions.
   
   Optional topping ~ Sprinkle with 1/2 cup grated cheese before baking and omit bacon bits.

Harvest Loaf - Flash Back

For this flashback I'd like to re-share a spiced pumpkin/chocolate loaf posted in 2008.  I can't believe that's nine years ago! I switched up the photo on the original one as well and clarified the sizes of pans to use, so that it is easier to decide on the size of the recipe you wish to make. You can easily cut it in half to make only one loaf. This loaf is still as good as ever! 

 Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup butter (soft/room temp)
• 1 1/2 cups sugar 
• 4 eggs 
• 2 cups cooked pureed pumpkin 
• 3 cups flour 
• 2 teaspoons baking powder 
• 1/2 teaspoon soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon nutmeg
• ½ teaspoon ginger
• 1 cup chocolate chips
• ¾ cup chopped nuts (optional)

1. Prepare two 9 x 4 inch loaf pans by greasing with shortening or cooking spray, and dusting with flour.
2. Beat butter and sugar well. Beat in eggs until light and fluffy. Add pumpkin. 
3. Mix dry ingredients with spices and chocolate chips. Stir into wet mixture until combined.
4. Bake for 50 minutes at 350 F, until toothpick tests done. 
5. Cool 10 minutes in pans and then remove to cooling rack.

Before baking, I sprinkled some chocolate chips in a row on top. You can combine nuts and chocolate chips if you like. Once cooled, a drizzle of about 1/4 - 1/2 cup icing sugar with maybe a teaspoon of water and a drop of maple flavoring is optional. Plain is great too.

Fresh Tomato and Mozza Salad

The first time I had an Italian Caprese Salad, I wanted to make it at home.
At that time I was unfamiliar with the fresh mozzarella used in the original
so I came up with this version.

It's quick to make and is a popular salad at our house especially with

summer's fresh lettuce, tomatoes and basil.

For the Dressing:

• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 2 - 3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil (use 1/4 cup fresh if you have it - chopped fine)
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• salt and freshly ground pepper

For the Salad:

• green leaf lettuce
• a handful of fresh basil leaves (optional)
• 1 or 2 fresh vine ripened tomatoes (Romas are also nice)
• coarsely grated good quality mozzarella
• Chopped fresh chives or green onions

1. Mix dressing ingredients together, blending well. Set aside.
2. Tear washed and dried lettuce into bite sized pieces and arrange on a large platter.
3. Slice tomatoes, pat dry and arrange in a circular pattern over the lettuce.
4. Cut basil leaves into a chiffonade (thin slices) and sprinkle over tomatoes. (you can leave this step out if you can't get any fresh basil)
5. Sprinkle with grated cheese.
6. Sprinkle with chopped chives.
7. Pour dressing over salad and serve.