I still have a few desserts to write about from the holiday season, but just like everyone else in the food blogosphere, it seems I’ve been craving foods with a few less calories and a bit more nutritional value. So Everybody Likes Sandwiches’ idea of a crunchy, fresh broccoli slaw seemed like a perfect one! One of my favourite lunches when I was in university was a couscous salad with chicken-broth soaked couscous, raisins, raw red onions, parsley and lemon, so I knew I would love the tastes in this, and I knew my body would love all the healthy stuff.

I altered the recipe a little. I doubled everything, since I decided to make this a cauliflower and broccoli slaw. I toasted the almonds, and used raisins (which I had soaked in some hot water) instead of dried cranberries. I used sour cream, but you could also use Greek yogurt. There really aren’t steadfast measurements for the dressing – it’s really all about personal taste. I put down a general idea of the measurements I used for the dressing, but you can consider it just a starting point. What a little more tang? Add some lemon! Need something a bit sweeter – up the mayo or the honey. I just kept adding ingredients and shaking it up until I was happy with the end result.

I really loved this salad, and I felt virtuous eating it too! The crunch is satisfying, the almonds add great texture, the raisins are little bursts of sweetness, the hot sauce adds a subtle kick, and the dressing it tangy and sweet, so I really never got bored eating up a whole bowlful. Plus, it’s so fast to put together, it makes for an easy dinner side dish or a really healthy and quick lunch for days to come.
The important thing to remember about this dish is that it’s not a salad, with big pieces of broccoli and cauliflower, but really like a slaw, with little pikes – it should be easier to eat with a spoon than with a fork.

Sweet & Tangy Broccoli Cauliflower Salad
adapted from Everybody Likes Sandwiches
Printable Recipe

1 large head of broccoli
1 large head of cauliflower
1/2 red onion, diced
1/2 c roasted (or simply toasted) almonds, coarsely chopped
1/2 c raisins (or dried cranberries)
4 tablespoons sour cream
4 tablespoons mayonnaise
juice of 1 lemon
couple of dashes of hot sauce
1 tablespoon honey
salt & pepper to taste

1. Chop the cauliflower and broccoli into a rough slaw. Dump into a medium sized bowl along with the red onion, almonds, and raisins.

2. Put the remaining ingredients into a small jar with a lid and shake. Taste & adjust seasoning if necessary.

3. Pour onto salad and toss until everything is coated.

When I first saw this dish on Smitten Kitchen, I fell in infatuation. When I made it the first time, I fell in love. This dish is heaven to me…not only is it bursting with the rich flavour of roasted tomatoes and basil, it has an this amazing mixed texture of juicy tomatoes and soft bread, along with a crisp crust of parmesan cheese. Add to this the fact that this recipe calls for very few ingredients and takes hardly any time or effort to put together, and you have a winning dish!

The first time I made this was at the peak of tomato season. We had bought a bucket filled with later-summer plum tomatoes, along with a massive bouquet of basil, so what better dish to make? We ate it all in one night and consequently took no photos, which is why I’m only writing about it now.

Of course, this is best made with in-season tomatoes. However, I gave it a try again this Christmas, with a mix of those terrible winter tomatoes, a few expensive Italian tomatoes, and a can of crushed tomatoes. It wasn’t quite the same – but it was still excellent. Roasting the tomatoes brings out flavour, so even those watery wintery ones can still exude a bit of flavour. I used about half a can of crushed tomatoes (so 14 oz), and it was perfect.

I definitely recommend using ripe, sweet, flavourful tomatoes. However, this dish is still excellent with mediocre tomatoes. The sugar adds this fascinating sweetness, the toasted bread gives the dish substance and texture, and the basil brings it all together.

This is one of my favourite side dishes ever, and I think everyone should put it in their regular recipe rotation! My apologies about the photos – it tastes far better than it looks, and really, it looks way better than I photographed.

Scalloped Tomatoes
adapted from Ina Garten

5, tablespoons olive oil (separated in 3 tbsp and 2 tbsp)
2 cups (1/2-inch diced) bread from a French boule, crusts removed (any bread will do though – I’ve used baguette and just plain white bread. I also left the crust intact – no reason to waste good bread!)
16 plum tomatoes, cut 1/2-inch dice (about 2 1/2 pounds) (really, any tomato will do. Read above for my variations!)
1 tablespoon minced garlic (3 cloves)
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup julienned basil leaves, lightly packed
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (I only used about 1/2 cup and that was perfect for me)

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a large (12 inch) saute pan over medium heat. Add the bread cubes and stir to coat with the oil. Cook over medium to medium-high heat for 5 minutes, stirring often, until the cubes are evenly browned.

3. Meanwhile, combine the tomatoes, garlic, sugar, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. When the bread cubes are done, add the tomato mixture and continue to cook, stirring often, for 5 minutes. Off the heat, stir in the basil.

4. Pour the tomato mixture into a shallow (6 to 8 cup) baking dish. (I used a deep dish, and it was great. Feel free to use any 8-cup vessel you have!) Sprinkle evenly with the Parmesan cheese and drizzle with 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes until the top is browned and the tomatoes are bubbly. Serve hot.

I only recently found the food blog, La cuisine d’Helene, but it quickly became one of my favourites. Not only do I especially enjoy reading blogs from people around me, but her photos are great and the foods she’s making are always pretty much exactly the type of things I would love to eat.

I can’t imagine someone not wanting to eat a big chunk of this death-by-sugar Caramilk Fudge. I think I gasped aloud when I first saw it on her blog, and I knew instantly that I was going to have to make it. Now, a whole pan of this fudge would be a very dangerous thing for me to have at home, so I decided to make it as a Christmas gift for my dad (of course, keeping a few pieces of it all for myself as well!)

If you do not have a sweet tooth (or two or three or four of them), then do not attempt this fudge. With three cups of sugar and almost one cup of butter, not to mention four whole Caramilk bars, this concoction is sweet and deadly, but in the best possible way!

The only problem I had was that the bottom layer of fudge didn’t always stick to the Caramilk bars, so it made for some tricky cutting. Just be sure to let the fudge warm up a little before cutting (this also helps get all the Caramilk caramel flowing a little). I added some dollops of the chocolate glaze I made for my coconut macaroons to the top, which I enjoyed, but of course, is completely optional.

Caramilk Sugar Fudge
adapted from La cuisine d’Helene
Printable Recipe

2 cups brown sugar
1 can condensed milk
3/4 cups butter
1 cup icing sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
4 Caramilk bars
3-4 oz semi-sweet chocolate (optional)
1 tbsp heavy cream (optional)

1. Microwave brown sugar, condensed milk, and butter for 8-9 min. STIR every 2 minutes.

2. Add icing sugar and vanilla. Mix with handmixer for 4 minutes.

3. Pour half the mixture into a well-greased 8×8 pan.

4. Lay the caramilk bars and pour the rest of the mixture on top and smooth!

5. Heat semi-sweet chocolate until melted. Add heavy cream and stir. Drizzle over fudge, and cool.

One of the dishes I made for our Christmas dinner was a jalapeno pepper pie. It’s a nice, crustless quiche-like frittata dish that packs a little spicy punch and has the flavours of Mexican cuisine thanks to all the fresh cilantro. Roasting the jalapeno peppers first brings out their sweetness, though they still have a great hint of spiciness.

It’s not a complex dish (taste or preparation wise) and takes no time to make it. If you like frittatas, you’ll probably like this; after all, what’s not to love about cheese and jalapeno and eggs? I think this would make a great breakfast dish, though I don’t recommend making it beforehand hand then reheating…I think it would be much better fresh out of the oven!

Jalapeno Pepper Pie
adapted from She Wears Many Hats
Printable Recipe

8 jalapenos
1-2 teaspoons olive oil
4 oz. sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
4 oz. Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
1/4 – 1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves (depending on your love for cilantro)
5 eggs
2 tablespoons heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

1. Begin by preheating the oven to 400°F.

2. Chop the ends off the jalapenos, cut length wise, de-seed and toss with a little olive oil, place on a baking sheet, cut side down and bake in a 400°F oven for about 15 minutes.

3. While the peppers are roasting, shred your cheeses.

4. Prep the cilantro, by rinsing and giving it a quick rough chop.

5. Next beat the eggs together along with the cream, salt and pepper.

6. When the jalapenos are finished roasting, reduce oven to 325°F, and let the jalapenos cool slightly. When cool enough to handle, peel the skins off of the jalapenos. They should easily peel off, if not cover with a kitchen towel, bowl or aluminum foil and let steam for another few minutes. Once the jalapenos are peeled, chop them up.

7. Place the chopped jalapenos in a single layer in the bottom of a greased pie plate, followed by the shredded cheeses, then the cilantro, and finally the beaten eggs with salt and pepper.

8. Bake in 325°F for about 40 minutes. Serve warm.

Happy New Year! I can’t say I had the best holidays this time around, but that only means that I can try to make things better for next year. I hope everyone else had a great time and that people are looking forward to 2011 and excited for everything the year has to bring.

Before stepping into the new year, here’s a quick look back at some of the dishes we made in 2010 that I loved. Here’s my top 10 list, in no particular order:

1. Breakfast Tart with Fiddleheads, Mushrooms and Bacon

2. Salsa Verde or Tomatillo Salsa

3. Roasted Banana and Rum Raisin Ice Cream

4. Chili Cheese Bread

5. Buttermilk Vanilla Cupcakes with Chocolate Sour Cream Frosting

6. Berry Lemon Cake with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

7. Chewy Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies

8. Spinach and Sweet Potato Gratin

9. Cinnamon Apple Butter with Raisins

10. Maple Pecan Banana Bread

I’m also going to tack this next list on to this post…it’s not food-related, but here it is anyway! I attempted to complete the 50-Book-Challenge last year. I failed miserably, having completed only 35 books, but I blame a lot of that on summer. I do two hours of public transport commuting a day in the winter, which gives me ample time to read, but in the spring, summer and fall, I ride my bicycle, thus taking away a lot of my reading time. I suppose I could make up the time elsewhere…maybe this year, as I am going to be attempting it again in 2011.

Below, the list of the books I got through last year. The ones in bold are the ones I really, really enjoyed and would recommend.

1. What is the What – David Eggers
2. I Know This Much is True – Wally Lamb
3. Illusions – Richard Bach
4. The Husband – Dean Koontz
5. Of Love and Other Demons – Gabriel Garcia Marquez
6. The Coma – Alex Garland
7. The Underground Man – Mick Jackson
8. Write Great Fiction: Dialogue – Gloria Kempton
9. Oryx and Crake – Margaret Atwood
10. Fugitive Pieces – Anne Michaels
11. Old Friend from Far Away; The Practice of Writing Memoir – Natalie Goldberg
12. Headhunter – Timothy Findley
13. Memoirs of a Geisha – Arthur Golden
14. Fearless Confessions: A Writer’s Guide to Memoir – Sue William Silverman
15. Writing Down the Bones – Natalie Goldberg
16. Too Much Happiness – Alice Munro
17. The Cheese Monkeys – Chip Kidd
18. Rose Madder – Stephen King
19. Bel Canto – Ann Patchett
20. Kit’s Law – Donna Morrisey
21. Child of God – Cormac McCarthy
22. Bloodletting and Miraculous Cures – Vincent Lam
23. The Lovely Bones – Alice Sebold
24. The Human Stain – Philip Roth
25. Stories from the Vinyl Cafe – Stuart McLean
26. A Star Called Henry – Roddy Doyle
27. Black Bird – Michel Basilieres
28. Oxygen – Annabel Lyon
29. Generation X: Douglas Coupland
30. The Year of the Flood – Maragaret Atwood
31. Cell – Stephen King
32. The Golden Mean – Annabel Lyon
33. Red Plaid Shirt – Diane Schoemperlen
34. Angela’s Ashes – Frank McCourt
35. The World According to Garp – John Irving ( a much needed reread)