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Entertaining appies
It’s time to entertain as we celebrate the arrival of the longest night of the year and then the gradual lengthening of daylight each day until the
Jude’s Kitchen JUDIE STEEVES
March equinox. December 21 marks the winter solstice this year and the beginning, officially, of winter.
It’s the time of year I like to light the candles and invite friends and family to join me for lively conversation, laughter, and good food and drink.
Many will celebrate
Christmas December 25 while others will welcome the start of Hannukah, December 24, also known as the Jewish Festival of Lights, and we will all welcome in a new year at the end of December. All are great opportunities to push back the long dark days by lighting a fire and enjoying a bite of some of the fresh foods available to us despite the snow and rain that makes the outdoors
inhospitable at this time of year.
Pop open that jar of salsa or antipasto; thaw the basil pesto and dig some potatoes out of the root cellar or the bottom of the fridge. Focus on what’s local and still seasonal, despite the weather outside.
To my mind, there’s
nothing like a glass of sparkling wine to celebrate and champagne-like bubblies are amazingly versatile in the foods you can pair with them. BC grape growers and winemakers produce some world-class bubblies, among them the award-winning products from Summerhill Pyramid Winery, such as the popular Cipes Brut.
For dessert, try some of the many award-winning ice wines produced by our cold weather in local vineyards, including those from CedarCreek and Quails’ Gate Estate Wineries.
Have a wonderful month of baking and serving your favourite recipes, made with love for the friends and family you’ll entertain in the coming weeks.
Tim Armstrong Memorial Bursary in Agriculture and Journalism
We are pleased to congratulate Kasha Foster of North Vancouver on being awarded the Tim Armstrong Memorial Bursary for 2015. At the time of receiving the award Kasha was enrolled in third year in the Global Resource Systems program at the University of British Columbia in the Faculty of Land and Food Systems.
In memory of JR (Tim) Armstrong's outstanding contribution to British Columbia journalism and the agricultural industry, a bursary in the minimum amount of $1,000 is awarded each year from the proceeds of the JR (Tim) Armstrong Memorial Fund. The fund is raised by public subscription and administered by the BC Farm Writers' Association.
Applications are now being accepted Contact Bob Mitchell
604-951-8223 .
robert_mitchell@telus.net.
www.bcfwa.ca
COUNTRY LIFE IN BC • DECEMBER 2016
Cheese stuffed tomatoes: easy-peasy JUDIE STEEVES PHOTO CHEESE-STUFFED TOMATOES
These make tasty, refreshing bites for the appie tray and they come in seasonal colours, which is a bonus. If fresh chives are unavailable, substitute a fresh green onion.
24 cherry tomatoes 1 tbsp. (15 ml) fresh parsley
1/3 c. (75 ml) cream cheese 1 tbsp. (15 ml) fresh chives 1 tbsp. (15 ml) fresh basil
salt and pepper, to taste fresh basil leaves, to garnish cocktail skewers
• Using a small, sharp knife, cut out the top of each cherry tomato, or make a cross in the top and open it up to receive the cheese filling.
• Bring the soft cream cheese to room temperature and chop all the herbs finely. Combine the • herbs and cream cheese with sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper, seasoning to taste.
• Put a dollop of the cream cheese filling in each little tomato. • Using small bamboo cocktail skewers or plastic ones, skewer a tomato or two on each and arrange on a serving dish.
• Garnish with fresh basil leaves. Makes two dozen appies. BASIL PESTO CRISPS WITH TOMATO
These also look very seasonal with the green pesto and red tomato and they’re crisp and light and tasty. Luckily, BC’s greenhouse growers keep us supplied in winter with lovely fresh little tomatoes.
thin toasts cherry tomatoes cream cheese parmesan cheese
• I made my own toast crisps by thinly slicing a whole grain baguette and toasting the slices in a 250 F oven for about 25 minutes but you could use store-bought Melba toasts instead.
• Cool and smear each with cream cheese, then a thin layer of basil pesto. I used the pesto I’d made at the end of summer when the garden was full of lush basil. I froze it in dabs for winter use.
• Top with a slice of cherry tomato and sprinkle with dried parmesan cheese. • Arrange on a serving plate and serve immediately before the toast softens up. • If you must make them ahead of time, try arranging a tender baby spinach leaf between the toast and cream cheese, but ensure it’s very dry first.
MINI POTATO LATKES
These make delightful appies and who doesn’t love potatoes? Latkes are a traditional food that is served to celebrate Hannukah, the Festival of Light, which begins at sundown December 24. You could also make these larger to serve with a meal, or for breakfast or a snack.
2 potatoes
2 tbsp. (30 ml) flour oil, for frying
1 small onion salt
butter, for flavour
• Grate Russet potatoes (1 1/2 to 2 lbs.) and mince onion into a medium-sized bowl. Add eggs and beat, then add the remaining ingredients and mix well.
• Heat a generous drizzle of oil in a large fry pan over medium-high heat and dab small spoonfuls of the mixture onto the pan, pressing down to make a bite-sized, flat cake. I add a tiny dab of butter to the top of each before flipping, for flavour.
• Turn when the bottoms are nice and brown and crisp. Remove when the other side is brown too, about 10-15 minutes in total. Serve hot. Makes about three dozen appies.
2 eggs freshly-ground black pepper basil pesto
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