All posts tagged with: make

This weekend it’s Canadian Thanksgiving weekend. Large turkey dinner’s will be served throughout the weekend, followed by the traditional pumpkin and apple pies. This week’s Cocktail of the Week selection plays on the dessert pie theme, but mixes it up with some other favourites.

The Banana Cream Pie Martini really is like pie in a martini glass. It’s thick, custard like texture, bursts with banana and whipped cream flavour. It’ll become one of your after-dinner favourites, and one you’re guests will love!

• 2 oz Whipped Vodka
• 1 oz Banana Liquor
• 1 oz Fresh Cream

Fill a large martini shaker full of ice. Pour in all ingredients. Shake hard, until the shaker is completely frosted. Pour into a chilled martini glass.

Fresh Okanagan raspberries in vodka.

Making homemade fruit flavoured vodka is pretty simple. It’s a great way to capture the essence of the summer season, when fruit is fresh and full of flavor.

Start by washing fresh, whole fruit. Use fruit that is not bruised, molding or under-ripe. Raspberries just need to be rinsed. Strawberries cut in half. Cherries need to be cut and half and pitted. Blueberries need to be blanched for 20 seconds. Pineapple can be sliced with the rind removed. Peaches, pears and nectarines need to be skinned and sliced with the pit / cores removed.

Fill a sterilized canning jar half full of prepared fruit. Fill the remainder of the jar with vodka. Seal with a sterilized lid. Place in the fridge for 3 days, up to 2 weeks.

Use flavoured vodka in your favourite cocktail or martini recipes, or create your own!

The vodka can be strained through a filter into a fresh sterilized jar and stored in the fridge for another 4-6 weeks. The fruit, which will be soaked in vodka-goodness, can be eaten – but beware, it will be potent.

Okanagan cherries in vodka

A modern and fun twist on serving Jell-O shots at your next party. Not only do they look impressive, but they are also easier to consume.

•  4 Naval Oranges
• 2 Packages Jell-O
• 2 Cups Vodka

Cut Naval oranges in half. Using a spoon, carefully hollow out the inside of the orange like a Jack-O-Lantern pumpkin so only the peel remains. It’s important not to make any holes in the orange peel when hollowing it out. Once the orange halves are hollowed, place open-side up into a muffin tray. Set aside.

Boil kettle with water. Mix two single packages of Jell-O with two cups of hot water. Stir well. Add two cups of vodka. Mix well.

Pour Jell-O mix into orange halves. Carefully transfer to refrigerator. Refrigerate for six hours.

When ready to serve, use a serrated knife and carefully cut orange halves into three wedges. Place on plate and serve.

In the winter there’s nothing like homemade soup to warm you up from the inside. Soup from scratch doesn’t have to take a long time to make either – it can be as fast as 20-30 minutes. Here’s a quick and easy recipe for making cream of broccoli soup from scratch.

• 4 cups broccoli florets and stems, chopped
• 2 cups low-sodium chicken stock
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 cup shredded carrots
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 2 cups skim milk
• 1/4 cup grated cheddar cheese

Cook broccoli in chicen stock until tender. Do not drain. Let cool for a bit and then puree in a blender or food processor. Set aside.

In a large sauce pan, melt butter. Add onion and carrots and saute lightly. Do not brown. Add flour, salt, pepper and milk. Stir until mixture boils and thickens. Add broccoli mixture. Stir until hot again.

Carefully ladle into bowls and top with cheddar cheese.

This recipe should make 5 individual servings.

This cocktail is like a Georgia peach that has been beaten by a tropical storm! Think of it as an adult version of a Five-Alive.

• 1/2 oz vodka
• 1 1/2 oz peach liqueur
• 1/2 oz Grand Marnier
• 2 – 4 oz pineapple juice

Add ingredients to a cocktail shaker half-filled with ice cubes. Shake and strain into a cocktail glass. Fill with pineapple juice, and serve.

Celebrate autumn with a batch of homemade gingerbread cookies. Not only do they taste good; your home will smell wonderful!

Ingredients:

• 6 cups sifted all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp baking powder
• 1 cup unsalted butter
• 1 cup brown sugar, packed
• 4 tsp ground ginger
• 4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 ½ tsp ground cloves
• 1 tsp ground black pepper
•  1 ½ tsp salt
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup unsulfured molasses

In a large bowl, sift flour, baking soda and baking powder. Set aside.

In a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Mix in spices and salt, then the eggs and molasses. Add the flower mixture, combining on low speed. Divide the dough into thirds, wrap in plastic and chill in the refrigerator for at least one hour.

Heat over to 350’c. On a floured surface, rol out the dough to 1/8” thick. Use cookie cutters to cut into shapes. Transfer to ungreased baking sheet and refrigerate until firm. Bake until crisp; approximately 8-10 minutes. Let cookies cool on wire racks. Decorate with sugar, sprinkles, icing, etc.

Grandma’s always make the best hot cocoa. Why? Because it was made from scratch. Believe it or not, it is pretty easy to make hot cocoa. With the cool rainy Autumn days upon us and long, cold winter nights just around the corner, here’s the recipe so you can stay warm and cozy:

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup cocoa
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 12 cups milk

In a large saucepan add cocoa, sugar and salt. Gradually stir in 4 cups of warm milk. Set over low heat at stir occasionally for 8-10 minutes. Add remaining 8 cups of milk and heat until scalding. Do not boil. Serve in mugs. Sprinkle with cinnamon, nutmeg or top with marshmallows. Makes 12 servings.

To make a single serving, use 1 tbsp cocoa, 1 tbsp sugar, pinch of salt, 1/3 cup water and 2/3 cup milk. Pour all ingredients into a sauce pant and heat slowly  until scalding.

Make it adult style by pouring cocoa into a mug and adding 1/2 oz Bailey’s and 1/2 oz Frangelico.

Close your eyes and imagine that you are enjoying the taste of the moist yellow cake, caramalized pineapple, and sweet cherry dessert. Yes, this is pineapple upside down cake dessert, martini style!

Ingredients

• 1 oz vanilla vodka
• 2 oz pineapple juice
• genadine
• pineapple wedge
• marashchino cherry

Directions

Pour pineapple juice and vodka into a shaker filled with ice. Shake, then strain into a martini glasses. Carefully pour a dash of genadine syrup down the inside of the martini glass. Garnish with a wedge of pineapple and a cherry on a skewer.

Making cranberry sauce from scratch is just as easy as using a can opener, but the results of making it yourself are far superior. Plus, using  fresh cranberries (or freshly frozen), means you know that there are no preservatives and you can control the sugar!

• 1 cup water
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 cups fresh cranberries

In a medium pot, bring water to full boil. Add sugar and stir until it is dissolved. Add cranberries. Bring to boil, stirring constantly for 3 minutes. Remove from heat. Cranberries will pop during the cooking process.

Stuffing is an essential part of any traditional roasted turkey or chicken dinner.

Make your own dry bread cubes by cutting 12- 14 slices fresh bread into ½ cubes (makes about 8 cups). Spread the cubes on a baking sheet and bake in an oven at 300’c for 10-15 minutes, or let them air dry for 8-10 hours.

• 1 ½ cups celery
• 1 cup chopped onion
• ½ cup butter
• 1 tablespoon of fresh sage
• ½ tsp poultry seasoning
• ¼ tsp pepper
• 12 cups dried bread cubes
• 1 cup chicken broth

In a large pan, cook celery and onion in butter until soft and tender. When it’s done, add in fresh snipped sage, poultry seasoning and pepper.

In a large bowl, mix bread cubes with celery / onion mix. Mix well. Drizzle chicken broth to moisten, tossing lightly until it is all combined.

Place the stuffing into a casserole dish and bake covered at 325’c for 30-45 minutes.

Tips:

• Do no stuff the poultry in advance; stuff it just before you put it into the oven.
• It takes about ¾ of a cup of stuffing for each pound of turkey / chicken
• Don’t pack in the stuffing, keep it loose; otherwise it will not reach a safe temperature by the time the poultry is done cooking. It needs to reach at least 165’c (use a meat thermometer).

Traditional English tea scones are simple to make and are delicious for breakfast with some homemade preserves and a cup of hot English Breakfast or Earl Grey tea.

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 4 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/3 cup butter, cut into pieces
• 2 beaten eggs
• 3/4 cup whipping cream
• 1/2 cup dried currants

In a medium bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Cut in butter until it resembles coarse crumbs.

In a different medium bowl, combine eggs, whipping cream and currants. Add egg mixture all at once to the dry ingredients. Stir until just moistened.

Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface and kneed dough 10 – 12 times. Pat or roll the dough into a 8-inch circle. Cut into 8 wedges. Brush wedges with milk and then sprinkle with additional sugar.

Place wedges 1 inch apart on un-greased baking sheet.

Bake at 400′ for 14 – 17 minutes or until golden. Remove from baking sheet and place on wire rack. Serve warm.

A wonderful and easy to make roast beef that can be made in a slow cooker. Ideal for a fall or winer evening. Add some garlic mashed potatoes and a side of steamed carrots to make it a complete meal.

For this recipe you will need:

• 1 tbsp Olive Oil
• 2 lb Roast
• 1 Cup Red Wine
• Fresh Rosemary
• 1 Bay Leaf
• Medium White Onion
• 1/2 teaspoon peppercorns
• 2 – 3 Cloves Garlic
• Pepper

Directions:

• Slice onion and place into bottom of slow cooker. Add in fresh rosemary, Bay Leaf and peppercorns.
• On med-high head, in a large, heavy frying pan, add 1 tbsp of olive oil. Sear roast on all sides, including the ends. Remove roast from frying pan.
• While the pan is still hot, deglaze the pan with 1 cup of red wine. Any red wine will do. Scrape up all the “brown bits”. Pour into slow cooker.
• Slice each clove of garlic into 3 – 4 pieces. With a sharp knife, cut deep into the roast and then insert garlic. Be sure to insert the garlic all over the roast.
• Place the roast into the slow cooker and sprinkle with pepper.
• Cover and turn on the slow cooker to low. Cook for 6 – 8 hours.

Remove the roast from the slow cooker and let it rest on the counter for 15 – 20 minutes. Remove the butchers twice, slice, and serve hot.