Date, cheese and proscuitto bites

Visit beFOODled on Flickr.

This appetizer is full of contrasts — you get heat from the jalapeno cheddar, salty goodness from the prosciutto and an incredible sweet hit from the dates! My friend Ella made this for me in October. It's her own creation and shows just how talented she is at cooking without a recipe.

I made this for two Christmas parties. Most people loved it. It's similar to a popular recipe that wraps bacon around dates. I wouldn't serve too many before a big meal, but it's a perfect Christmas season appetizer when everyone has given themselves over to the idea of overeating anyways ;) One of my tasters this holiday didn't like prosciutto, so I made a few without that part and they still tasted good.

They key to this recipe is good dates — not the ones squashed together in a big brick. Look for honey pitted dates that have kept their round shape and have a hole down the centre that you can peer through.

Date, cheese and proscuitto bites

1 package of dates
1 small package of jalapeno havarti
1 package of prosciutto
toothpicks

Cut a slit down one side of the dates to open up the hole a bit so that you can stuff in some cheese. Cut the cheese into little pieces and insert a piece into each date.

Cut each prosciutto slice into three strips (or two, depending on the size) lengthwise.

Then wrap the cheese-stuffed dates in the proscuitto strips — try to go around a couple of times and wrap the sides up too so the cheese doesn't ooze out — and skewer them with a toothpick to hold them into place.

Bake them at about 400 for eight minutes or so until the cheese melts a bit. They are good cold, too.

If you can only find a brick of dates, don't worry, you can still make this. Just separate the dates as best you can and place the cheese and date side by side and do everything else the same way.

Sausage and apple stuffing

Visit beFOODled on Flickr.

Usually my Dad likes to cook everything from scratch himself during holiday feasts like Christmas and my job is simply to make Stovetop stuffing. One year some time ago he didn't like the way his Stovetop turned out so then it became "my job." This year, we split the cooking. He still did the turkey, gravy and sauteed mushrooms with herbs, and I did the stuffing (but homemade this time), mashed potatoes, the appetizer and a salad.

This homemade stuffing recipe is adapted from one we found in Canadian Living magazine of a sausage walnut stuffing loaf. My changes were basically to add apple, fennel and green onion, and also substitute turkey stock for chicken. Lastly, since I prefer loose stuffing, I didn't form it into a loaf.

Sausage and apple stuffing
Serves about 12 people

olive oil
1 Tbsp butter
3 hot Italian sausages, casings removed
one onion, finely diced
two stalks of celery, diced
quarter of a fennel bulb, diced
1 diced apple (skin left on)
handful of chopped walnuts
chopped fresh sage
chopped fresh parsley
chopped fresh green onion
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1 cup turkey stock
9 cups cubed day-old bread
2 beaten eggs
salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Add some olive oil to a hot wok or high-sided frying pan. Remove sausage from casings and drop in little chunks of the sausage meat, breaking them up while cooking. When the sausage is just cooked, remove it with a slotted spoon and set aside on a plate lined with paper towel to let it drain.

Drain most of the sausage fat from the hot pan, too, and add more olive oil. Cook the diced onion, celery, fennel and apple for a few minutes until all vegetables are coated and the onion is glassy. Season. Add the sausages, herbs and stock. Cook a few more minutes, remove from heat and set aside to cool.

(I made this preceding part of the recipe one day in advance and kept it in the fridge overnight.)


Visit beFOODled on Flickr.

Beat two eggs in a separate bowl.

Combine the cooled sausage mixture, eggs and bread in a large mixing bowl. Scrape into a large rectangular baking dish that's buttered or better yet, lined with parchment-paper. Bake covered at 375 for 40 minutes and uncovered for another 20 to get a crispy golden top. Garnish with chopped green onion tops.

My only complaint with this recipe is that it turned out a bit too dry after the baking time. Next time I will try adding more liquid, say 1.5 — 2 cups of stock instead of 1 cup.

Mashed potatoes with ricotta cheese

Visit beFOODled on Flickr.

Happy New Year everyone!!

This year I tried something different with the mashed potatoes for Christmas dinner. I boiled them in the usual way and added just a wee bit of melted butter, but also mixed in a whole tub of ricotta cheese and some finely chopped green onions (white parts only). I then broiled the mashed potatoes in the oven for a few minutes and sprinkled them with some chopped green onion rings to give them colour.

These mashed potatoes were very tasty and creamy and didn't dry out at all the next day, which is an important bonus when eating a plate of leftovers!

Another healthier option that my Mom often chooses is to mash some boiled cauliflower into the potatoes — it also makes them soft and creamy AND you get the nutritional benefits of cauliflower.

In the photo, the mashed potatoes are sitting with some homemade sausage and apple stuffing. I'll post that recipe tomorrow.

Christmas turkey

Visit beFOODled on Flickr.

It's only six days post-Christmas and you are undoubtedly maxed out on turkey leftovers. You probably have mixed feelings about this gorgeous plate of carved turkey above. That said, my Dad makes a great turkey and this year I took some serious notes that I will now share with you, reluctant and turkey-tired though you may be.

So here we go. For a seven-kilogram bird, allow four days for thawing in the fridge. You can put it in water in the sink to help it along on the last day. When thawed, rinse it, take the neck and giblets out of the cavity and rinse the cavity, too. Pat dry with paper towels. Apply a dry rub of Italian seasoning, thyme and cumin and any other herbs and spices that you like all over the turkey. Also rub it with olive oil and a cube of butter.


Visit beFOODled on Flickr.

Stuff the cavity with an unpeeled lime, half a lemon, cut up fennel tops, green onions, celery, a two-inch piece of ginger, garlic cloves and a whole onion. (We always do the breaded stuffing separately.)


Visit beFOODled on Flickr.

Close the cavity somehow — Dad uses wooden skewers and string to do this. Put on the turkey "lifter" string and put it in the pan you will roast it in if you haven't already. Cover the wing and leg tips with bits of foil to prevent them from burning. Oil the giblets and tuck near the sides of the turkey.

Put in the thermometer and cook for 20 minutes at 415, then turn the heat down to 350 for one hour, and then down to 325 for the rest of the cooking time. Baste every half hour or so.

Carve up and dig in. (Tell you what: Just bookmark this page for Easter or whenever you next cook a turkey and then let me know what you think!)


Visit beFOODled on Flickr.