Plan A Holiday Gourmet Supper

Every cook loves the idea of pulling off a gourmet dinner, especially to celebrate a special holiday or event. But good intentions aren’t enough to pull off a really great holiday dinner. Doing this takes planning and of course, a little creativity.

When you’re planning your gourmet meal you have to first take into account who will be there. Are there allergies? What is the proportion of children and adults? Are there any picky eaters in the group – children or adults? Even the best meal prepared by the world’s top chef will be ruined if you serve it to people who don’t appreciate it.

It’s great to serve a gourmet meal filled with exotic and interesting dishes if you know people are going to eat it. If you’re not sure, prepare a base of basic dishes that people can choose from, and then add a few unique and creative dishes. That way if people want to try something new they can and if not, they’re still enjoying a full meal. Desserts and appetizers can be a great place to be really creative because they don’t impact the rest of the meal if people are leery of trying something new.

When you’re planning your meal divide it into segments so it’s easier to look at what you have and what you need to round things out. Many gourmet meals will contain an appetizer or starter; the main dish – often a meat or casserole; vegetables – and this can include salads; starches if you’re a stickler for these; and a dessert. They may also include a side dish of some kind that could include pickles, cheese or an antipasto platter, or even a little something between courses to give people something to sample while the next dish is being prepared.

When you’re looking at your segments remember one dish with a sauce is likely enough. Besides being too rich and heavy, you will have too many extra flavors competing. You also want to make sure you’re not using any one ingredient too heavily. Apples can be a great addition to many dishes but apple glazed ham with a side of applesauce, apple coleslaw and cabbage sautéed with apples is a little heavy on the apples.

Consider your preparation time. Do you want to create a gourmet meal that will mean you have to be in the kitchen the entire time your guests are there, sautéing this and fussing with that? Or is it possible to choose dishes easily prepped ahead?

It is important to consider what constitutes a gourmet meal for you. I know some people who find that if food is presented in a really interesting way they feel they’re eating gourmet food. Perhaps there is something creative you can do with your food to make it look more festive and elegant. Instead of having people prep their plates on their own if you prepare them in the kitchen you can place an ice cream scoop of mashed potatoes on top of a slice of turkey and garnish it with some baby carrots, spinach leaves and a dollop of cranberry sauce and turn a traditional Christmas meal into something quite wonderful. Or, let them help themselves but have a scoop of fresh cranberries and a sprig of fresh spice on their plates when they’re seated to get them started.

There is no real pattern for creating a gourmet meal. In fact what defines “gourmet” may vary a great deal from my family to yours, but if you plan, give it some thought, and throw in a dash of imagination, you can create a meal for your friends and family that they will think is wonderfully gourmet.

Text by Heather Seftel-Kirk

Create a Yard Card

Text by P. Gerbrandt

Decorating one’s house and yard for Christmas is a little like gift-wrapping – if it’s left till the last minute, it becomes a chore rather than an enjoyable part of your preparation. Worse, you can blow your budget and the resulting look might give away your lack of foresight.

Planning your outdoor, seasonal decorating project can ensure that it serves as the Christmas greeting you want to send.

First, establish your budget. There’s no point in buying more than you can afford and then having guilt diminish your enjoyment of the decorations. Factor in the costs of electricity if you are dreaming of a million-light bulb display with motorized components. Any investment requires some maintenance and inevitable replacements so be realistic.

Once you have set the financial framework, you can move ahead. Do you prefer an elegant or a rustic look? Remember that you already have some indication of that choice in your house style and interior decorating, so continue that motif in your Christmas yard décor.

You might want to establish a theme. If rustic is your choice, you may wish to focus on gardening, or birds (including amply stocked feeders to invite the most beautiful, i.e. live birds), or gingerbread figures. A more sophisticated scheme could incorporate musical instruments such as harps or trumpets, and angels. Colour and texture are also significant. More muted tones are usually used in country décor, while gold and silver, or a lot of white, tend to be associated with classic or sophisticated looks.

Take a walk outside to evaluate the street appeal of your decorations. Will snow-covered shrubbery obscure the view of half of your lighting or other display? Can the focal point of your work be enjoyed from indoors as well as from the street? Try to plan so that at least some of the outdoor decorations are visible from the main living area to maximize enjoyment.

Have you considered your neighbourhood? If all the other residences are modestly adorned, your extravagant use of large floodlights and an abundance of decorations might send a message other than cheer and goodwill to the folks closest to you. Tasteful decorations do not have to be expensive, nor do inexpensive plans have to look shabby. Be creative! Do be careful, though, to invest in quality decorations if you plan to use them year after year. Safety should be a priority when buying electric lights.

Above all, determine what you wish to convey with your decorations. Do you want to focus on whimsical figures to tell your neighbourhood you believe Christmas is a fairy-tale, or does your choice of a nativity scene announce the coming of the Prince of Peace? Trying to incorporate every possible symbol of Christmas can result in an almost overwhelming sense of clutter and busyness. Good design does not have to be elaborate. On the other hand, even large-scale decorations can be beautiful if they are well planned.

Your outdoor decorations can bring cheer to all who pass by. So, plan to share the beauty and joy of Christmas in a way that best reflects its meaning as you adorn your house and yard to serve as a huge Christmas card.

Christmas Candle

Text by Nancy Goertzen

Materials

-plastic flower pot with a stand
-dry floral sponge (for silk arrangements)
-floral wire
-ribbon (different sizes, color that goes with the rest of your choices, the larger ribbons need to have the wire in it, this way you can form the bow better)
-Christmas picks (color of your choice)
green pine Garland (for filler)
-1 piece of oak or any tree log, 3 inches wide (length depends on the pot you have chosen) The log needs to be at least 6 inches out of the pot.
-drill and 11/2 chisel bit
-wire cutters
-tube of silicone (for log and a little around the inside of the pot to hold the sponge in place)
-hot glue gun (for some flowers)
-tea light
-ornament, making sure that it’s flat on one side (optional)
-can of snow (optional)

Step One
Drill hole in center of log for the Tea Light (deep enough for the tea light.

Step Two
Put some silicone at the bottom of the pot where the log will sit then add a little bit around the pot for the sponge. (Glue from the hot glue gun will melt the sponge.)

Step Three
Stuff the sides with pieces of floral sponge making it a tight fit.

These next few steps you need to make sure you stay away from the top where the candle will be.

Step Four
Use your wire cutters and cut different lengths of garland, and poke the tips into the sponge, making long pieces on the two sides. You can either have one or both sides long. Fill up around log. If you have an ornament that you wish to add, this is the time to use the hot glue gun and glue it to the log.

Step Five
Now add some of your Christmas pick. If you would like to add some flowers towards the ends of the garland…then pop the flowers off the picks and hot glue them on.

Step Six
Ribbon….cut in different lengths and fold over and use the floral wire like a twist tie then poke it into the arrangement.

Step Seven
You can spray some snow over the arrangement if you like.

Making Small Bow
Cut small ribbon about 10” and make a small bow, just keep doubling it up, then use a small piece of wire in the center of the ribbon and twist tie it, making sure you have enough wire to poke into the arrangement.

The reason why I like to use logs in this way is that you can easily take the candle out and replace it with a new one, and there’s no mess from the wax leaking all over your arrangements.

Boxing Day Fun – Is it really worth the rush to get to the store?

Text by Sheila Kolesar

The ads all state “Doors open at 9 AM sharp… Once a year clearance is on now…” Welcome to Boxing Day, the day of sales ‘you just can’t miss’ as stores try to clear out some of their excess wares that are still around after the Christmas rush. There are great deals on electronics, sporting goods, and perfume gift baskets that were made up for sale for Christmas gifts.

Boxing day is celebrated in Australia, Britain, Canada and New Zealand. In other countries there is a holiday celebrated the day after Christmas, but it is not necessarily called by the same name.

Boxing Day was started in the 18th century in Britain. Employers would give their employees unsold merchandise boxed up to look like presents. These employees would often have to work on Christmas Day.

In another interpretation, Boxing Day “…raps at the door and pulls at the bells,” reported an English newspaper in 1841, “averaging one shilling per knock and ring.” On the day after Christmas, bellmen, street sweepers and postmen went door-to-door to call on their customers. Reciting a poem or offering a printed verse on fancy paper, they collected tips in a box. The money was used to supplement the year’s slender wages.

We in Canada, use Boxing Day sales to sometimes “supplement our incomes” on some of the things we want, but don’t necessarily need. We also use Boxing Day to spend some of the money (or gift cards, which is now in vogue) we have received as Christmas presents. A lot of times we see friends as we are shopping and make plans to go out for supper when we are done.

All in all, if you view Boxing Day as a fun “deal day”, without much expectation, it can truly be worth the rush as you hunt around. You may receive some amazing deals that truly only come once a year, but remember to be careful and know your prices ahead of time.