Christmas Turkey Cocktail Party Style

This year, it's my turn to host family on Christmas Day - we usually get together to open presents and have a nice turkey dinner.  I want the day to be like my childhood Christmases filled with lots of delicious food and no shortage of family fun.  My mom had a way of making Christmas feel so cozy and nice; I have no memory of her being stressed out or overwhelmed - if she was, it never showed. Now that I'm an adult and my Mom is no longer with us, I want this Christmas to be like it was when I was a kid, where spending time with people you love was more important than everything being perfect.

When I say I don't want things to be perfect, that isn't to say I'm going to haphazardly slop some food together without caring. What I mean is, I don't want to become obsessed with everything being so perfect I end up in a corner crying in the fetal position because something didn't work out exactly the way I wanted.  I've been to dinners or parties where the host is wound up so tightly from going all Martha Stewart, no one really has a good time.  Instead, I'm going to make my life easier by creating a meal that is as equally delicious as it is easy to put together.  Hopefully if I'm relaxed about things and enjoying myself, my guests and family will feel that way too.   Besides, I don't want anything to get in the way of having a good time at Christmas, I wait all year for this!

Let's get down to brass tacks - the food...  When I first started thinking about exactly what to make, my mind was already made up on Turkey dinner, it was just a matter of figuring out the sides etc. However, there are going to be 13 of us for dinner, and I just don't have a big enough table to comfortably seat that many people.  My natural instinct is to do what my Mom did when we had more people than spots at the table, which was to have open seating around the house. Everyone just found a spot to sit and eat - be it the dining room table, or the couch.  However, the more I thought about it, the more I wasn't keen since it might be difficult for people to balance plates on their laps and eat a full turkey dinner.  I started thinking about the idea of doing a meal cocktail style which everyone could help themselves and the food would be easy to eat standing up.  The only problem I saw with this idea was having to give up turkey for some other easy to eat menu.  However, in my opinion, it's just not Christmas without turkey.

Well, I've come up with a way to have the best of both worlds by doing turkey and stuffing pinwheels, fried mash potato balls that will change your life, gravy (which is incredibly delicious, I make in advance, and is a Jamie Oliver recipe) all balanced with a nice green veg of asparagus.  This way, everything can be eaten very easily while either standing up or sitting with a plate on your lap.

As well, a lot of this menu can be done a day or two in advance making the work on Christmas day super easy and stress free.  The turkey and stuffing pinwheels can be assembled in advance and then popped in the oven later.  Same goes for the potato balls - assembled in advance and then fried right before dinner is served.  Lastly, the asparagus can be prepped ahead of time and then be stored in the fridge until roasted in the oven.

The only complicated part of this menu is that I butcher a whole turkey and take off the turkey breasts to make the pinwheels.  The reason I'm doing it this way, is because I already have a whole turkey in the freezer ready and waiting to go.  However, you could just as easily buy two turkey breasts from a butcher or the grocery store instead.  Oh and don't worry, I don't waste the remaining parts of the butchered turkey - I use it to make stock for the next time I have turkey.

Here's my recipe:

2 turkey breasts (either butchered from a whole turkey or bought already removed)
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1 tablespoon of butter
1 medium onion finely chopped
1 clove of garlic minced
Fresh thyme, rosemary and sage finely chopped to taste
2 cups of cubed stale bread (store bought is just fine)
Salt and pepper to taste
Handful of dried cranberries (optional)
3/4's cup of chicken or turkey stock  

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

If you want to try sectioning the turkey, I highly recommend checking out the BC Turkey site as it has easy step by step directions for doing so.

Cut each turkey breast in half across the grain (not down the middle of the breast, see the BC turkey site above), so you have four pieces of breast.  Place one of the breast pieces between two large sheets of plastic wrap or parchment paper large enough to cover the breasts and allow enough extra room for them to expand once flattened. Using a meat mallet or a heavy rolling pin, bash the meat all over until it's flattened out to about a 1/4 inch thickness.  It's great if you do this rather evenly, but don't fuss if you have some thicker and thinner parts, it will still work out fine. Alternatively, you could purchase 4 large turkey scallopini's from a butcher, though it's a little pricey.

Store the turkey scallopini in the fridge while you prepare the stuffing.  Heat a medium skillet over low to medium heat and add the olive oil and butter.  Add the onion, garlic and herbs and cook until the softened.  Add the bread, stirring well to combined with the onion mixture.  Once the bread is broken up and toasted a little, add the cranberries (if using) and season with salt and pepper to taste. Add the stock and allow the mixture to continue cooking un-covered until the bread has mostly absorbed the stock.  Set aside to cool slightly before assembling the pinwheels.

Lay out a sheet of aluminium foil and then some parchment paper (on top of the aluminium foil) both slightly larger than the flattened turkey scallopini.  Drizzle a little olive oil on the foil/parchment, then lay one of the scallopini pieces down, and scoop some stuffing on the turkey. Spread the stuffing out in an even and and fairly thin layer; too much and the stuffing with get squished out of the pinwheel.  Roll up the turkey into a log and then wrap in the paper and foil so that the turkey log is fully encased.  Twist up each end of the aluminium foil to seal the whole thing and place on a baking tray.  Repeat with the remaining turkey scallopini pieces. Bake in a 350 F oven for 40 minutes by which time the turkey will be cooked through.  As well, you could puncture through the aluminium/parchment paper to test the turkey with a meat thermometer if you wanted to double check, it should be 180 degrees F. Allow to rest in the foil packages for at least 20 minutes before serving.  Un-wrap and slice into 1/4 inch thick pinwheel slices and serve.

One additional thing I like to do is sear the cooked, un-wrapped and un-sliced logs in a hot skillet for a few minutes on each side and then slice.  I prefer the look of the nicely browned outside as opposed to the plain pinwheel.  You could absolutely leave this step out if you prefer or don't have time. Lastly, since I originally posted this recipe, I've made it again and made one slight addition...  I grated some mandarin zest over the turkey before wrapping in aluminium foil and baking in the oven.  I had some on hand and it added a nice brightness to the meal.  However, you could certainly leave this out, if you don't have an orange around.

Fried Mashed Potato Balls:
(This is a fantastic way to use up left over mashed potatoes)

2 pounds of potatoes cooked, mashed, buttered, seasoned and cooled completely in the fridge.
4 cups of Panko bread crumbs
3 eggs
Salt and pepper to taste
Canola or vegetable oil for frying

Set out two medium sized (preferably shallow) bowls and add the Panko bread crumbs to one and whisk the eggs in the other. Season both bowls with a generous amount of salt and pepper.  Take a small handful of cold mashed potatoes and roll between your hands into small ball (about the size of a chocolate truffle).  Then dip and coat the ball in egg, and then dip and coat the ball in Panko bread crumbs.  Place on a baking tray while you get on with the remaining mashed potatoes until done.

Add oil to large sized dutch oven or pot, enough oil to fill the pot at least 1/4 full but no more than 1/2 full.  Heat the oil to 350 degrees F (if you have a thermometer) or hot enough that when you drop a couple bread crumbs they sizzle and start to brown within 30 seconds (they shouldn't burn within that time or the oil is too hot).

Fry the balls in batches, to prevent crowding of the pan, until nicely browned.  Place the fried balls to drain on a baking sheet lined with some paper towel.  You can store in a low oven (about 225 degrees F) to keep warm until ready to serve dinner.

Roasted Asparagus:

2 bunches of asparagus, woody ends trimmed off.
1/4 cup olive oil
Clove of garlic, finely grated or chopped
1 teaspoon of red pepper flakes
Lemon juice to taste
Salt and pepper to taste
Prosciutto (optional)

Preheat oven to 425 degree F.  Line two baking trays with aluminium foil (for easy clean up).

Clean and trim asparagus, then toss in the olive oil, garlic, red pepper flakes, and lemon juice.  Then sprinkle over some salt and pepper.  Wrap Prosciutto around each asparagus spear (optional) and lay out evenly between the two baking trays and bake in the oven for 5 to 8 minutes until the ends start to slightly brown but they're still mostly vibrant green and the prosciutto is nicely crisp.

     

Neapolitan Christmas Cookies

I first saw these cookies in a magazine article and was immediately drawn in by how festive and pretty they are.  At the same time, I was puzzled as to why they were referred to as "cookies" since they really look more like cake squares to me.  However, once I actually tasted them, I could understand a little more why they're referred to as cookies.  While the texture does have some cake qualities, they have more of a crumbly consistency like that of an almond shortbread cookie.  Not only are these cookies impressive to look at and are surprisingly easy to make, they also live up to their appearance in flavour too.  One of my biggest pet peeves is when food looks absolutely gorgeous, but the flavour falls flat.

Neapolitan cookies (also known as Venetian Cookies, Italian Christmas Cookies, or Rainbow Cookies) are an Italian American creation quite popular in the 70's.  Traditionally. these cookies consist of six layers; chocolate on the top, then a red cookie layer, apricot jam, a plain (or blonde) cookie layer, raspberry jam, and finally a green cookie layer.  As well, the cookie batter always contains Marzipan, which is creamed with the butter.

I decided to create my own recipe and put a modern twist on a classic.  While I like the idea of jam in the layers (and I'm sure a purist would say it's a must), I didn't want to go out and buy two different jars of jam or have to make my own just for this recipe.  So, I decided instead to replace the apricot layer with milk chocolate Ganache and the raspberry layer with white chocolate Ganache (though raspberry white chocolate would be really good).  As well, I'm not a big fan of Marzipan, I find the texture to be kind of strange and the combination of rose water with almonds is a little too strong for my palate.  I think part of the reason I don't like it, is most of the time the Marzipan you can buy from the store (or at least where I live), has been sitting in the package for a long time.  If it was freshly made, perhaps I would feel differently.

When coming up with my recipe, I toyed with the idea of making Marzipan from scratch, or to be more exact; almond paste which is exactly the same thing only minus the rose water,  From what I had read, it seemed pretty easy - just blitz almonds, egg whites, almond extract and powdered sugar in a food processor until it forms a paste.  However, I realized I could essentially create the same effect by mixing ground almonds, with some of the meringue which the cookie recipe calls for and kill two birds with one culinary stone.  The results were exactly what I was looking for, the cookies have that half cake, half crumbly cookie texture just like the traditional recipe and the chocolate is perfect with the delicate almond flavour of the cookie.  Not to mention, I love when a recipe uses three types of chocolate, in this case dark chocolate for the top of the cookies, then milk and white chocolate in the layers.  It's a really nice mixture of chocolate goodness.

My mom always made the same baked goods every Christmas, which was really comforting and nice. I loved to hear her puttering away in the kitchen baking.  I lost my mom when I was 24 years old, I wish I could go back and learn her recipes she could instinctively make from memory.  Instead, I'm starting my own traditions and compiling recipes from year to year that will hopefully become a part of my children's treasured memories one day.  I think these Neapolitan Cookies might be on my list of baking to make every year.

Neapolitan Cookie Recipe:

4 eggs (whites separated from the yolks)
1 cup of sugar
1 1/4 cups ground almonds
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon of almond extract
1 cup of butter at room temperature
2 cups of cake and pastry flour
20 drops of red food colouring
12 drops of green food colouring
100 gram bar of milk chocolate (I used Cadbury)
100 gram bar of white chocolate (I used Lindt)
175ml of heavy cream
8 ounces of semi sweet chocolate

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease and line with parchment paper three jelly roll sized cookie sheets, making sure to have some excess parchment hanging over the two shortest ends of the pan which will make it much easier to life each layer out of the pan later. Set aside.

In a stand mixer (or a large mixing bowl using electric beaters), whip the egg whites and a 1/4 cup of the sugar (reserving the 3/4's of a cup for later) until stiff peaks are formed.  Transfer all but a large dollop (about 1/2 cup) of the egg whites to another bowl and set aside.  Add the ground almonds to the remaining dollop of the meringue you left in the mixing bowl, then the egg yolks, and mix on medium for a couple of minutes until well combined.  As mentioned above, this step is my way of making almond paste, negating the need for Marzipan.  Then add the butter, vanilla and almond extract to the almond mixture and beat on high for 2 minutes.  Remove mixing bowl from stand mixer, sift in the pastry flour and mix by hand (the batter will be stiff at this point). Then fold in the remaining meringue that you have set aside.  Divide the batter evenly into three separate bowls and add red food colouring to one bowl of batter, green food colouring to the second bowl and leave the third bowl plain.

Pour each bowl of batter into one of the prepared jelly roll pans and spread the batter out evenly with an offset spatula.  You should have a tray with green batter, red batter and one plain.  Bake all three trays in the oven for 8 to 10 minutes, you may need to shift the trays in the oven half way through baking to ensure they all bake evenly and are done at the same time.  Let cool while you make the Ganache.

Break up each bar of chocolate and place the milk chocolate in a small bowl and the white chocolate in another bowl.  Heat up the cream on the stove in a small saucepan and pour 100ml's of the cream over the milk chocolate and 75ml's over the white chocolate. Let each bowl sit for a couple of minutes, then using a rubber spatula stir until the chocolate has melted together with the cream forming a Ganache.  Set aside each bowl of Ganache to cool and thicken slightly.

Once everything has cooled to room temperature, start assembling the cookies.  Remove the green layer from the pan, by lifting up on the parchment paper that is hanging over two ends of the pan (as mentioned above).  Place the layer on a cutting board to make for easier slicing later (in a pinch an inverted jelly roll pan works too). Pour the white chocolate Ganache onto the green layer and spread it around leaving about a 2 cm border around the edges.  Then remove the plain layer from it's pan and place on top of the green layer.  Then pour the milk chocolate Ganache over spread out in the same way, leaving a 2 cm border around the edges. Place the final red layer on top of everything and then cover the entire thing with a plastic wrap ensuring to make air tight (you'll probably need a couple layers of plastic wrap).  Put a baking tray on top of the whole thing and place in the fridge for at least 2 hours, or over night.  The baking tray on top adds some pressure which will help the layers to fuse together really well.

Once the whole tray has been chilled for at least 2 hours or more, remove from the fridge take off the baking tray placed on top.  Let sit still covered in the plastic wrap while you get on with melting the chocolate for the top of the cake.

In a heat proof bowl, add the semi sweet chocolate and melt over a double boiler (or in the microwave at 30 second intervals).  Remove the plastic wrap from the cake, and pour the melted chocolate over the top of the cake.  Using a small offset spatula, spread and swirl the chocolate over the entire top of the cake and spread right out the edges, don't worry if some spills over.  Put back in the fridge uncovered for 20 to 30 minutes to set.  Remove from the fridge and (using a sharp preferably long knife), trim off a thin slice from each of the four sides.  This will make all the squares look neat and tidy when cut into squares leaving no pieces with rough edges.  Not to mention, the pieces you remove can be the cooks snack!  Then slice the remaining slab into squares.

Pretzel Turtles

Where do I start...  These are one of the most addictively wonderful sweet treats I've ever made. They are exactly how they sound, a pretzel Turtle.  Much like the commercial chocolate treats, only with a kick of salt from the pretzel component.  You may be thinking why make these, when you can buy a box of perfectly good Turtles from the store.  I can't disagree, you can buy perfectly delicious chocolates and many other delicious goodies from the store.  However, I have something of an obsession for sweet and salty mixed together and for me, this is the differentiating component between the homemade variety and store bought Turtles.

These are so easy to make, don't require special ingredients or complicated processes, so it's not much of a hardship to make. As well, when I put them together I sit at my kitchen table pouring chocolate and placing the pretzel/caramel/pecan piece on top.  So, not only are these extremely delicious to eat, they are as equally relaxing to make.

I could go on and on about how good these are but...  A picture speaks a thousand words...  Scroll down for recipe below:

52 mini pretzels
52 chewy soft caramels
52 pecan halves
16 ounces milk chocolate melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F, line two baking trays with parchment paper.  On one of the trays, spread out the pecan halves and toast for about 5 to 7 minutes until the nuts are fragrant, set the nuts aside in a dish to cool until needed later. Then space the pretzels out between the two trays and place a piece of caramel on top of each one.  Bake in the oven for 5 minutes or until the caramel has softened and is starting to slump down into the pretzel.  Remove from the oven and press one of the pecans on top of the caramel.

Next step is to melt the milk chocolate over a double boiler also knows as a bain marie.

Once chocolate is melted, use a tablespoon measure and scoop out some chocolate (like I mentioned, I do this sitting at the kitchen table) and pour the chocolate into round little patties onto the same parchment lined trays used before.  The chocolate patties should be big enough for the pretzel to sit nicely on it with a border of chocolate all around the pretzel.  Do this until you've used up all your chocolate and each caramel pretzel.  Put the trays in the fridge to allow the chocolate to firm up (can be frozen for up to 1 month)

That's it!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

How to roast a turkey

When it comes to roasting a turkey, I find most people fall into one of two categories: those who have a tried and true method, or those who have no idea what to do and are a little frightened with the prospect of even attempting roasting a turkey.  One of my good friends has had a few turkey dinners go sideways, and finds the whole process very stressful.  One time, she forgot to take her turkey out of the freezer to properly defrost, and in a moment of panic, decided to throw it in the oven still frozen and just cook it longer hoping for the best.  After a few hours in the oven, the turkey looked beautifully bronzed like something out of a Courier and Ives Christmas card. However, when it came time to carve the bird, to her horror it was still raw inside.  I think this is the type of situation that scares people off making turkey dinner - the pressure of having something go wrong when you're cooking for a crowd. No one wants the culinary equivalent of having your pants pulled down in public.

The first time I cooked a turkey dinner, I took to the internet for help and advice only to be left with my head spinning from the sheer amount of information (much of which was contradictory from one site to another).  I remember wishing that all the information I needed to know could be found in one helpful guide.  Therefore, I've come up an easy, three step method I'm happy to share with you.

Step 1:
I brine my turkey (as I've outlined in my turkey brine post) to ensure a super moist and juicy bird. Many people think this is just too difficult or time consuming to bother with, and if you choose not to brine your turkey, it wouldn't be the end of the world. However, it's really not that troublesome because the brine is done two or three days ahead of when you actually roast the turkey. This way, you're not rushing around on turkey day stressed and feeling like the whole thing is just too overwhelming.

Step 2:
I think one of the keys to a delicious turkey, is to smother the turkey butter and to make sure it's well seasoned with salt and pepper before going in the oven. I like to make a herb butter mixture, which is essentially butter mixed with some herbs, garlic and a little olive oil (which helps to aid in a rich bronze finish, while at the same time preventing it from burning).  See the recipe below.

Step 3:
The final and most important part of the process; roasting the turkey for the correct amount of time, letting the bird rest (tented in aluminum foil) and testing for doneness.  If you dispense with every other recommendation I've made thus far- this is the portion of information that really counts.
Start by having a rough idea of how long the turkey will be in the oven to fully cook.  Generally speaking, 20 minutes of cooking time per pound at 350 degrees F will yield a very good result. While it's roasting, I like to baste only once or twice, I don't fuss about doing it every 30 minutes as some recommend because the butter ensures a nice golden finish.  To test for doneness, I have four ways of ensuring my turkey is fully cooked and juicy.

First:  I remove the turkey from the oven to get a good look at the it and see if the skin is nicely bronzed, this may seem obvious but you'd be surprised how many people overlook the appearance of their bird.

Second:  I press down on the breast meat with my fingers to feel how firm it is (don't worry, if you only touch down for a second you won't burn yourself).  If the breast meat feels squishy it'll need to go back into the oven for a while.  

Third:  I move the legs back and forth a little - if they move quite freely and without of a lot of resistance, the turkey is sufficiently cooked.

Fourth:  I take a paring knife and make a little cut in the space between the thigh and the breast to take a look at the joint area under the skin (I do this on both sides of the turkey).  If the juices are nice and golden the turkey is cooked.  Contrary to popular opinion, the juices will never really end up "clear" because turkey juices always have some tint of colour even when fully cooked, such as a yellow gold colour. The key is you don't want the juices to be red or very pink, since that will indicate the meat is not cooked enough and need to spend more time in the oven.

Once you've determined your turkey is cooked, let the turkey rest out of the oven at room temperature for at least 20 to 30 minutes; 45 is optimal.  This allows the meat to settle after being in the high temperature of the oven and allows some of the juices to re-distribute and get absorbed back into the meat and makes for better texture and moistness.  Tent the turkey in aluminium foil and the residual heat will keep the turkey cozily warm for quite some time.

Herb Butter

2 cups or 1 pound of unsalted butter and room temperature
Small bunch of herbs - I use rosemary, thyme, sage and parsley
One stalk of green onion torn apart or chopped in half
1 shallot, rougly chopped
1 clove of garlic, peeled 
1 teaspoon of olive oil

Start with preparing the herbs by removing the rosemary needles and thyme leaves from the stalks and roughly tearing apart the sage and parsley. Then put the prepared herbs with all the other ingredients in a food processor and pulse until everything has combined together and is still a little chunky.  Alternatively, you could finely chop the herbs, green onion, shallot, garlic and combine with the room temperature butter and the olive oil in a mixing bowl.  Any left over butter can be frozen for up to 6 months.  

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F put your defrosted or fresh turkey on a roasting rack placed inside the roasting pan.  If you don't have a rack that sits inside your tin or are using a throw away aluminum tin, then simply cut up some carrots and onions and place your raw turkey on top of them so the turkey isn't sitting directly on the bottom of the pan.  The turkey will cook more evenly if slightly elevated from the bottom of the roaster.  Then pat the un-cooked turkey with paper towel to make sure the skin is dry before slathering your turkey with the butter.  If you attempt to smooth the butter on the turkey without patting it dry first, the butter won't spread out nice and evenly making the process much more difficult.  If you end up not drying the turkey well enough, and easy fix is to melt the butter mixture and pour it over the turkey and then use your hands to disperse evenly.  I also try to get some of the butter under the skin of the breast to help keep the breast meat extra moist and seasoned.  

Now sprinkle a generous amount of salt and pepper over the buttered turkey and place in the oven to cook for 20 minutes per pound at 350 degrees F and then use the techniques outlined above to test for doneness.  Let the cooked turkey rest for 45 minutes before carving and eating.

While I know this has been a long post, I do want to leave you with a couple of last thoughts and tips on turkey roasting.  Don't bother with a meat thermometer - it will do nothing but induce stress and fear that the damned turkey never reaches the correct temperature in the 8 million spots you end up testing in an effort to get an accurate reading (though a digital meat thermometer is not too bad at this, but a bit more of an investment).  My first day of culinary school was spent listening to the chef explain how much he hates meat thermometers and I must say I agree with him.
I feel it is okay to stuff a turkey - often times you will hear people advising not to do this as the turkey cavity is "toxic" - their words not mine. While it is true that you will need to cook your turkey longer in order to fully cook the stuffing inside, there is a way to do this without over-cooking the turkey itself.  I recommend cooking your stuffed turkey in the same fashion noted above then spoon the stuffing into an heat proof serving dish that you put into the oven to continue cooking while the turkey rests, problem solved.  Lastly, there is a lot of information about turkey cooking that is from a food safety perspective.  While I value the need for food safety, I do think that much of what these experts say causes more anxiety than it actually helps.  I'm left feeling I never want to cook anything let along a turkey for fear of ending up sick on the bathroom floor.  I feel that you have to trust your gut and use common sense in the kitchen and most of all not get into a panic over a turkey, it's just not worth it.

Chocolate Toffee crunch, a play on Almond Rocca

Every year when summer turns into fall, and most people are wistfully saying good bye to warm weather, I start thinking about Christmas.  I know that sounds crazy, but I make no apologies for my love of the holidays with all the glittering lights and festivities.  I love the food (no surprise there), the coziness, and connecting with loved ones - for me there isn't much not to like with exception of braving the mall. As well, even though I'm not really a crafty person I like to make homemade Christmas presents. I'm always touched if someone goes to the effort of making me a gift, so why not pass that sentiment along.  For the last few years, I've tried my hand at a few different homemade gifts like making fleece tie blankets, drying herbs, making balsamic reduction, canning that I made during the summer fruit season, and just some good old Christmas baking.  This year I was having trouble coming up with something I could get excited about making. I started to think perhaps it would be better to buy a nice box of chocolates instead and call it a day (hence why I start thinking about all of this in September). However, one day I was scrolling through my Facebook feed and came across a David Lebovitz recipe for Chocolate Almond Buttercrunch Toffee, and thought why not give it a try!

I love David`s blog and while I don`t have time to read it religiously (since I have a toddler running around), I've made a few of his recipes and am always happy with the result.  When I saw this toffee candy recipe, I immediately went out and bought almonds (the only ingredient I didn't already have on hand) to make later that day.

I was very impressed with how easily this recipe comes together as well as not requiring a bunch of hard to find ingredients.  However, I would be remiss not to mention making this without a candy thermometer might be a little dodgy, as the recipe calls for cooking the toffee component to 300 degrees F in order to get a nice crunchy consistency.  If you don't have a candy thermometer, keep a glass of water next to the stove and cook the toffee for 10 to 12 minutes (as directed below) at which point all the ingredients will have come together, thickened and hopefully reached the requisite temperature. To test if the mixture has cooked enough, drop a little of the caramel from a spoon into the glass of water.  If it forms into threads that can be cracked apart or spontaneously crack apart when it hits the water, then the toffee has reached the correct temperature.  As mentioned earlier, this process is made much easier if you have a candy thermometer, by eliminating any guess work and the margin for error.  However, if you want to make this and really don't want to buy a piece of specialized equipment to do so, the water test is the best alternative.

I've slightly adapted the recipe found on David's blog; I found the volume of almonds in the original recipe a little too much once chopped.  The excess almonds just fell off and ended up in the bottom of the tin, which isn't bad, I just prefer to have the almonds all stick to the candy.  Although, if this doesn't bother or you like the idea of finding extra almonds as a treat, then by all means, stick to the original recipe.  As well, I use a mixture of dark and milk chocolate for the topping, I personally like the combination of the two as the result is kind of like a semi-sweet chocolate which my family prefers (my husband is morally opposed to dark chocolate). However, feel free to use all dark chocolate, all milk, or as I did a combination of both. Also, David recommends a sprinkling of fleur de sel over the finished candy as optional.  I feel this is a necessary component which brings all the flavours together and balances out the sweetness.  I recommend using a nice flaked sea salt like Maldon, but any salt that isn't fine table salt is great.

One last recommendation - it's a good idea to have your ingredients ready prior to starting, in addition to reading the recipe through so you're familiar with the steps.  Once you get started with the toffee making, there's no way to pause the cooking process to read an entire recipe.  As well, taking care of your mise en place (french for "putting in place" and essentially getting organized) makes things much simpler, rather than hurriedly trying to get ingredients ready at the last minute.

Almond Toffee Crunch
Ingredients:

1 cup of whole almonds (chopped finely)
2 tablespoons of water
1/2 cup of unsalted butter (1 stick)
Big pinch of salt
1 cup granulated white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon of baking soda
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
5 ounces or a generous 1/2 cup of chocolate chopped finely (or use chocolate chips)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Line a small pan or baking sheet with parchment paper (I use a 9 x 9 inch metal pan).

Chop the almonds to a fine consistency (it's alright if they're not completely uniform with some larger and smaller pieces).  Scatter all the almonds on the lined baking tray and bake in the oven for 5 to 8 minutes or until fragrant and lightly toasted - you may need to stir or toss the nuts half way through for even toasting.  Set aside to cool slightly and then remove a little over half of the almonds from the pan to a small bowl; so there's a sparse layer left in the pan.

In a small to medium sized sauce pan, combine the water, butter, salt, and both sugars.  Bring to a boil over relatively high heat and cook until a candy thermometer reads 300 degrees F, stirring regularly.  You often hear that when making toffee or caramel, it's advisable not to stir, however I've found when making candy you actually need to stir frequently to obtain the correct consistency for the hard crack stage of candy cooking.  If you don't have a candy thermometer, then (as noted above) cook for 10 to 12 minutes and test by drizzling some toffee into a glass of water from a spoon.  If the toffee forms threads that crack apart, then it's cooked enough.

Once the toffee is at the correct temperature, add the baking soda and vanilla stirring vigorously but also mindful of spillage (as the mixture is very hot).  Then pour into the prepared baking tray, onto the nuts and spread into an even layer.  Then sprinkle the chocolate evenly over the toffee.  Let sit for a minute or two for the chocolate to start melting, and then use a small offset spatula to spread the chocolate around and into the corners. Sprinkle the remaining almonds (that you removed from the pan earlier) over the chocolate and then a little bit of salt, I like to use Maldon Flaked Sea salt for a little added crunch.

Let sit out a room temperature to cool and harden, for about 2 hours.  If you're really in a hurry, you could put the tray in the fridge to speed up the cooling process.  However, I wouldn't leave it in there too long as this candy is really meant to sit out at room temperature.

Happy holiday baking!

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Bacon and Balsamic Chicken with Tangy Sweet Potatoes, inspired by Nigella Lawson

After being away for the better part of a week visiting my sister on Vancouver Island, I returned home having no idea what to cook for dinner let alone what I even had in the fridge.  After foraging around a little, I came across some chicken, bacon, sweet potato and lime.  Immediately, I started thinking of my most recent cook book purchase, "Simply Nigella".  I've been reading and cooking from the book which is full of recipes that are fresh and light.  In the spirit of the book, I wanted to make something that had a nice balance between rich decadence and bright freshness.  As well, I recently got to meet Nigella and have been really inspired by her food and life philosophies.

One of the things that I love about Nigella is her dislike of waste and how she loves to use up ingredients already on hand.  After driving all day, I wasn't about to go to the store and buy a whole grocery list of ingredients for dinner, so using what I had on hand was necessary and easy.  I was craving time in my kitchen cooking on my own stove, using familiar tools after being away.  As well, there's something about bright, sharp flavours that really appeals to me when I'm tired or feeling run down - in this case my travel weary palate was in need of a pick me up.  The combination of sweet potatoes, with lime and spicy heat is so delicious - you wouldn't think they would necessarily work well together, but the lime juice cuts through the sweetness of the sweet potato.  Exactly what I was in the mood for.

With regard to the protein component of this dish, obviously I'm not re-inventing the wheel here with the idea of wrapping chicken in bacon. However, there's a reason why some things are reduntantly popular;  because it tastes good.  I feel no sheepishness in re-producing and old concept and making it my own.  A chef by the name of Marco Pierre White once said "There will be new recipes when there are new ingredients". I absolutely agree...

In my case, I decided to marinade the chicken prior to wrapping bacon around it, too amp up the complexity of flavour and avoid being a one note bacon dish.  I also find whenever I wrap any kind of protein in bacon and roast in the oven, it's imperative to use a wire rack placed over a baking tray. This way, the majority of bacon grease falls off the chicken and into the pan allowing the bacon to crisp up.  Otherwise, what ends up happening is the side of the chicken touching the pan becomes flabby and chewy, not very appetizing.

It may seem pointless to add balsamic vinegar (reduction) when I already have an acidic component with the lime juice, however since I'm using what is essentially sweetened condensed balsamic, it softens the tang of the lime just slightly, rounding out the flavour. I used a store bought balsamic reduction, as it's easy and there's lots of good quality brands out there.  However, it's very simple to make from scratch - simply put some balsamic vinegar is a pan, add a good amount of honey (I would say about a 4 or 5 to 1 ratio of balsamic to honey), bring to a boil and then turn down the heat allowing the mixture to reduce by about half.  Cool and store at room temperature for months.  Not only is this incredibly easy to make, it's also a great gift for any occasion.  Last year, I made a big pot of the stuff along with dried herbs to give out as Christmas presents.

On to the recipe...

Quick Chicken Marinade Ingredients:

2 chicken breasts or thighs
Olive oil to coat (about 1/4 cup)
Zest and juice of 1 lime
1 clove of garlic, grated
Drizzle of balsamic vinegar reduction (see instructions above)
Red pepper flakes (to taste, I used about 1 teaspoon)
Salt and pepper to taste
2 slices of bacon to wrap around chicken after it's marinated.

Method:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Place all the ingredients in a plastic food storage bag and smoosh (very technical term) everything together with your hands (on the outside of the plastic bag) ensuring the chicken is coated well.  Let sit at room temperature for 10 minutes, remove the chicken from the bag and wrap one strip of bacon around each breast and then place on a wire rack set over a baking tray (see pic above). Roast in the oven for about 35 to 45 minutes or until the chicken is firm when pressed down on (or pierce through the bacon and chicken with a knife and look to see if the juices are still red inside).  Let chicken rest for 5 minutes before serving.

On to the sweet potatoes...

Sweet Potato Ingredients:

1 sweet potato, peeled and cut into large chunks
Olive oil (to coat the potatoes)
Red pepper flakes (to taste, again I use about 1 teaspoon)
Drizzle of balsamic vinegar
Parsley roughly chopped
Zest and juice of 1 lime
Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Toss all the ingredients together on a sheet pan (I don't use any lining such as parchment paper or aluminium foil as I find the potatoes brown better without), sprinkle with salt and pepper and roast in the oven for 35 - 45 minutes or until well browned on the outside and soft on the inside.  Serve alongside the chicken and add another drizzle of balsamic reduction and a spritz of fresh lime juice before eating.