Homemade Port/Orange Cranberry Sauce

Most people don't think about making their own cranberry sauce, but it is quite easy and tastes fantastic, and the aroma of the orange and port will give your home that cosy warm holiday feeling.

1 Orange
12 oz Sugar
150 ml Port (I use a late bottled vintage port)
24 oz Cranberries Fresh Picked Dry or Frozen


Finely grate the zest from the orange and squeeze the juice.
Dissolve the sugar in a medium pan with the port and orange juice.
Stir in the cranberries and orange rind and cook for 30-40 minutes until fruit is soft and the juices are slightly thickened.  The cranberries will start to pop.

If you like chunks of cranberry in your sauce be gentle when stirring. If you like it smooth, beat the berries up or pulse it with a wand.  It took me a few times, and a few port tastings, to get the flavors right.

 

Holiday Bar Entertaining

If you're planning a cocktail party, prep your home with must-have spirits, cocktail ingredients and garnishes to make sure you have everything you need to keep drinks flowing and guests entertained.
When throwing a cocktail party, it's essential to prepare you home bar. Here's advice on how to make sure your bar is well stocked and ready to serve:

• Shop for your Cocktail Party a few days before your event date.
• Follow your taste buds to the produce section of your local grocery store or farmers' market, and experiment with new fruits and vegetables in your favorite classic cocktails
• Find a signature drink to serve at your party and find out the history of that cocktail and share it with your friends. All bartenders are story tellers.
• Make cocktails in batches. To serve a crowd, break the drink recipe into cups for a pitcher. A pitcher typically serves 20 drinks that are 4 ounces each. Multiply your ounces by two and turn into cups. Always make sure to taste as you batch for quality control.
• Buy enough beer and wine. While special cocktails can be a hit, beer and wine are often what people reach for at a cocktail party. A few tips to keep in mind when shopping for wine and beer:

Each guest drinking beer with likely consume one 12oz bottle per hour for the duration of the party. Try buying a mix of domestic brews and local micro brews. Each guest drinking wine will consume one 5 oz glass of wine per hour for the duration of the party. There are approximately five glasses of wine per bottle.

Have fun with your home bar. Cocktails are meant for celebrations to create good memories with your friends and family.Know you guests and ensure your bar is stocked with what they like to drink. Make them special and taken care of.

Buy enough ice, Have you ever tried to drink a cocktail and it's only got two half melted ice floating on the top and is barely cold. It tends to ruin a great thing. You should have 2.5 pounds of ice for every person at your party. If you plan to have an ice bucket or nice stainless buckets filled for your white wines and beers to keep chilled buy enough extra ice to fill those as well. Remember your ice bucket and displays will sit out and melt don't forget to account for that.

Try this drink recipe for a signature cocktail for the night:

Orange juice and cranberries lend a bit of Festive Flair to this classic Gin & Tonic(or if you like Vodka & Soda) making it a perfect holiday cocktail.

Orange - Cranberry Gin & Tonic

5oz ice

1oz Gin

1.5oz OJ
3.5oz Tonic
Garnish with a few frozen cranberries and a twist of orange rind.

Holiday Dinner Planning

With Christmas just around (that's right I said it), I'd like to share a few tips and tricks that will help you pull off a great Christmas dinner. Organization and planning are the keys. If you spread the work over a few days you will be able to enjoy yourself.

1. Take the time to plan now before the hustle and bustle of the season is upon you.

2. Make a list and check it twice: food, beverages, seating. Review a week before the big day.

3. Grocery shop a few days before. If you can't find an ingredient this gives you time to look around for it. Don't forget a frozen turkey takes a few days to thaw.

4. Ask for help if you are cooking for a lot of people. Or hire a caterer, (like Design by Desire).

5. Make whatever food you can the day before. Dressing does not need to be cooked in the bird and is always better the next day.

6. The day of the dinner, do as much early morning prep as you can, when it's time to cook later, you can keep an eye on the time, not your cutting board.

7. Let your turkey rest before you carve it, about 20 minutes. By doing this, the juices, which have been driven to the centre of the meat can redistribute and be reabsorbed. The meat will lose less juice when you cut it and be far more tender. This also gives you a chance to make sure everything will be ready at the same time and pour yourself a wine (if you don't have one going already).

A little planning and forethought goes a long way, and will take a bit of the stress of the holidays away, unless you are the Griswold's, then all bets are off.

Hot Chocolate 101

When the weather starts to get that crisp cold feeling in the air and your looking for something to warm you up after you have raked all your leaves off the lawn, nothing is more satisfying then Hot Chocolate.  So get some good-quality chocolate and make the real deal—you’ll thank me.

For this recipe, use high-end chocolate, I use Callebaut milk and dark  61% chocolate so that you get a rich chocolate flavor with no bitterness. I actually found these 8 oz blocks of chocolate at IGA Market Place.

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 1/4 cup whipping cream
• 5 ounces good-quality milk chocolate, coarsely chopped
• 1 T of Cocoa powder

1. Combine milk and cream in a small saucepan over medium heat and cook until simmering, about 4 minutes.
2. Add chocolate and whisk until completely melted and well incorporated, about 2 minutes. Add the cocoa powder and serve immediately. This serves 2 cups. 

My wife usually makes this a day ahead of time and serves it for dessert on occasion. She just triples the recipe and likes to serve it in a china teapot with tea cups which is the perfect size for this delicious decadent treat. Serve it with shaved chocolate pieces, mini marshmallows or chocolate cups filled with liquors. The possibilities are endless.

Tequila Prawns

This week I've paired a great BC Wine, Stoneboat Pinot Gris, with a favorite of mine, Tequila Prawns.

Stoneboat Winery is located just down the road from Burrowing Owl in Oliver on the Black Sage bench.










The crisp acidity of the Pinot Gris matches well with the lime and Tequila sauce.

 

 

 

 

Tequila Prawns

15 ml Butter

3 cloves of Garlic

1/2 pound Prawns, deveined and tailed

1/2 cup snow peas

1/2 cup red pepper

30 ml chopped fresh basil

15 ml of fresh parsley

90 ml of Tequila

Zest and juice of one lime

Heat the butter in a medium fry pan and sauté the garlic for one minute

Add the prawns, snow peas, peppers, basil and parsley
Stir fry for five minutes until the prawns are pink and the vegetables are soft
Add the tequila, lime zest and juice and simmer for one minute
Serve over rice