Richard's Whipped Feta & Cranberry Dip

 

Our good friend Richard made this sensational cranberry-topped whipped feta dip as a festive appetizer while we were visiting before Christmas. A joyous appetizer with the colours of Christmas, this gorgeous dip made with fresh feta cheese is combined with herbs, garlic, and cream cheese, and whipped until super-smooth, then topped with tart homemade cranberry sauce, toasted pistachios, and honey. The result is a salty, creamy, sweet, tart, and absolutely irresistible — the perfect appetizer for wowing at your holiday dinner or New Year's Eve celebration. 

Fresh cranberries stewing in orange juice and sprig of thyme

After about 25 minutes, the cranberries become saucy and jam-like

Cranberry Whipped Feta Dip with Pistachios

Serves 6-8

Recipe courtesy of Delish

1/3 cup fresh orange juice, plus finely grated zest of 1 orange

4 tbsp honey, divided

1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries

1 sprig thyme, plus 2 tsp chopped thyme leaves

6 oz feta in brine, cut into small cubes 

1 clove garlic, minced

1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

6 oz cream cheese, at room temperature

2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

2 tbsp toasted chopped pistachios

Crackers or crostini, for serving

In a small saucepan over medium heat, whisk the orange juice and 1 tablespoon honey until combined, then bring to a boil. Add the cranberries and thyme sprig and return to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook, stirring occasionally, until cranberries burst and become saucy, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove thyme and stir in orange zest and allow to cool. 

Meanwhile, drain brine from the feta. In a food processor, pulse the feta, garlic, red pepper flakes, and chopped thyme until the feta is broken up into small crumbs. Add the cream cheese and pulse until combined. With the motor running, drizzle in oil and blend until mixture is smooth and fluffy. 

 

Transfer the whipped feta mixture to a decorative serving bowl and drizzle with about 3 tablespoons of honey. Top with the cooled cranberry sauce and sprinkle with pistachios. Serve with crackers or homemade crostini alongside.

Richard's Crostini

Richard extends the life of fresh baguette by slicing in 3 and storing it in a large freezer bag. If using the next day, leave on the counter in the bag. For later use, put the bag in the freezer. Allow to thaw before use, then make Richard's crostini.

Frozen baguette, thawed

2 tbsp olive oil

Maldon salt for garnish

Preheat oven to 375°F. Slice thawed baguette into crostini and place on a parchment lined baking sheet. Brush with olive oil and sprinkle with malden salt. Bake for 10 minutes, and let cool before serving with cheese or this delicious Cranberry Whipped Feta Dip. 

Salame al Cioccolato: An Italian Christmas Treat

 

An Italian and Portuguese dessert made from cocoa, broken biscuits, butter and sometimes alcohol such as port wine or rum, this delectable chocolate dessert is made with melted chocolate, vanilla tea or digestive biscuits, pistachios, and of course butter and heavy cream to hold it together. Like salami, chocolate salami is formed as a long cylinder and is sliced across into discs for serving. These discs are a brown, chocolaty matrix, like the red meat of salami, peppered with bright bits of biscuit much like the white flecks of fat in salami, and also chopped nuts, such as pistachios and almonds or hazelnuts. In Italy, it is called Salame al Cioccolato (chocolate salami) or, especially in Sicily, Salami Turcu (Turkish salami). Any way you slice it, it's a sweet ending to any festive meal.

Wrapped with twine, the chocolate salami resemble the meaty cousin

Chocolate Salami
Makes 2 logs

Recipe courtesy of Yummy Addiction

3 1/2 oz dark chocolate

5 oz unsalted butter

5 tbsp cocoa

2 tbsp white sugar

14 oz or 400g can sweetened condensed milk

7 oz pistachios and blanched almonds, hand chopped

13 oz digestive biscuits or tea biscuits, broken into small pieces

1/2 cup powdered sugar, for rolling

Melt the chocolate and butter in a double boiler until smooth. Add the sugar and cocoa and mix well. Add the condensed milk and mix once again until smooth.

Combine the cookies and nuts in a bowl and pour the chocolate mixture over them. Mix until everything is covered in chocolate. Divide the mixture between two sheets of parchment paper and roll it up, twisting the ends. Refrigerate for at least 3-4 hours for the logs to harden, the more time the better. Before serving, cover the logs with powdered sugar. 

Homemade Salmon Gavlax on Blini with Caviar

 

One of the most elegant Christmas appetizers, the Swedes have celebrated the tradition of making Gravlax for the Christmas season for generations — on Christmas Eve in particular — a feast they call Julbord. Traditionally, the meal begins with fish; the most popular being Gravlax — salmon cured in sugar, salt and dill. Curing with salt is one of the oldest means of food preservation, and today, the time-honoured practice of curing foods with salt and spices has given us many delicacies we see in gourmet shops around the world. With just a few ingredients and very little work, Gravlax can be made easily at home, and at a fraction of the cost of what it sells for in the shops. 

Simply remove the large bones from a 3 to 4 pound salmon fillet. Prepare the cure by combining the salt and sugar, and apply it evenly on the fillet. Add fresh dill, place in a glass dish, wrap in cling film, place a weight overtop, and simply refrigerate for 24-36 hours. After removing the fillet from the refrigerator, the salt cure is wiped off, and using a long thin knife, paper-thin slices are carved and laid out on parchment paper. Gravlax is a perfect hors d'oeuvre for the holidays, especially when served over blini and topped with crème fraîche, caviar and a sprig of dill. A festive culinary tradition, we make Gravlax every Christmas for our loved ones — family and very special friends.

Two pieces of fresh salmon are laid on top of one another sandwiched tother 

with white sugar, Kosher salt and fresh dill

Once the salmon gas cured for 24 hours, the brine is removed and using a fish knife,

the gravlax is finely shaved 

Homemade blini are made an hour or so before guests arrive,

in prepararation of making the gravlax canapés

Shaved Gavlax is laid on top of the blini and garnished with a dollop of crème fraîche, 

a dab of caviar and finished with a sprig of dill

Salmon Gravlax

Makes 20-30 appetizer portions

1 3-4 lb salmon filet, deboned with skin on

1/2 cup salt

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 bunch fresh dill

On a work surface, cut the salmon into 2 filets and place them skin side down. Mix the salt and sugar together and spread half of the cure mix over the surface of one filet. Lay the dill on top, then spread the rest of the cure mix over the dill and lay the second side of salmon, skin side up, over the first — thick part of one filet over the thin part of the other — so together they make a flat 'sandwich'. 

Place the salmon in a rimmed glass dish large enough to hold the fish, and cover firmly with cling film. Place a dish on top and weigh it down with some heavy cans or weights. Refrigerate for 24-36 hours, during which time, juices will accumulate in the bottom of the dish and the salmon with cure.

Remove the salmon from the wrapping, remove the dill and scrape off any excess mix. With a long sharp knife, carefully slice thin slivers of the pink salmon on the bias, and serve with blini or as part of a festive yuletide platter.

Blini

Makes 30-40 

1 cup all-purpose flour 

3/4 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 cup 10% cream

1/4 cup + 2 tbsp milk

1 large egg

1 stick butter, divided

Combine the flour, salt and baking powder in a bowl and stir to combine. Whisk the cream, milk, egg and 1 tablespoon of melted butter in a separate bowl. Mix into the flour until the batter is fully combined.

Heat 1 tablespoon of butter in a small 6-inch frying pan over medium low heat. Cooking several blini at a time, drop batter one teaspoon at a time, into the heated pan.  Cook until bubble form and the edges start to slightly brown, about 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. Flip and continue cooking for about 1 minute more than remove to a wire rack. Repeat with the remaining batter, adding a tablespoon of butter to the pan for each batch. If the butter begins to brown, wipe the pan out with paper towel, and add a fresh tablespoon of butter. Blini can be made an hour or so before serving.

Gravalx on Blini with Crème Fraîche, Caviar and Dill

Makes 30-40, or as desired

Thinly-sliced Gavlax

Blini

250 ml crème fraîche

50 g Beluga or Lumpfish Caviar

Fresh Dill

Lay the blini on a serving platter and top each with a small slice of gravlax, folded over twice or 3 times for a generous serving, or as desired. Top with a small dollop of crème fraîche, then carefully add a dab of beluga or lumpfish caviar on top. Finish with a small frond of dill, and serve with a glass or two of champagne — it is the Christmas season after all!

Cory's Classic French Canadian Tourtière

 

Hearty and satisfying, Cory's homemade Tourtière is the ultimate winter treat. A traditional French Canadian meat pie with flaky crust and hearty spiced filling, this iconic dish is traditionally served on Christmas Eve in Québec. Served with one of Corey's cornucopia of sensational homemade chutneys that he made earlier in the month, I hope that this becomes one of his festive culinary classics for us all to enjoy year after year. However being a sweetie pie, he gave us his secret recipe, so we can all make it at home!

Corey's homemade Cranberry Chutney

Traditional French Canadian Tourtière

Serves 8

Recipe courtesy of All Recipes

Cory quadrupled this recipe and simply froze the extra Tourtière for future meals

Crust:

3 cups all-purpose flour

2 sticks unsalted butter, sliced, frozen

1 tsp kosher salt

7 tbsp ice-cold water, or as needed

2 tsp distilled white vinegar

Spice Blend:

2 tsp kosher salt

1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1 tsp dried thyme

1/2 tsp dried sage

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg

1/4 tsp ground allspice

1/4 tsp ground mustard

1/8 tsp ground cloves

1 pinch cayenne pepper

Filling:

1 large russet potato, peeled, quartered

1 tsp kosher salt

1 tbsp butter

1 large onion, finely chopped

1 pinch salt

1/2 cup finely diced celery

4 cloves garlic, crushed

1 lb ground pork

1 lb ground beef

1 cup potato cooking water, plus more as needed

Egg Wash:

1 large egg

1 tbsp water

To make the crust, place flour, frozen butter, and salt into the bowl of a food processor. Pulse on and off until butter breaks down to pea size, about 30 seconds. Stir together cold water and vinegar; drizzle over flour mixture. Pulse on and off until mixture is crumbly and holds together when pinched, about 10 seconds. Drizzle in more cold water if mixture is too dry. Transfer mixture to a work surface. Press together until it forms a ball. Flatten to a disc, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate until chilled, about 1 hour.

To make the spice blend, mix together salt, black pepper, thyme, sage, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice, mustard, clove, and cayenne in a small bowl then set aside. To make the filling, place potatoes and 1 teaspoon kosher salt in a saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer until tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to transfer potatoes to a bowl, reserving potato cooking water in the saucepan. Mash potatoes with a potato masher until smooth, then set aside.

Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add chopped onion and a pinch of salt. Cook and stir until onions turn golden, 10 to 15 minutes. Stir celery, garlic, and spice blend into the skillet with onions. Stir until onion mixture is evenly coated with spices, about 30 seconds.

Add ground pork, ground beef, and about 3/4 cup potato cooking water to the skillet. Cook, stirring occasionally, until meat is brown and tender and most of the liquid has evaporated, about 45 minutes. Stir in mashed potatoes, turn off heat, and let cool to room temperature. Preheat the oven to 375°F.

Divide chilled dough into 2 pieces, one just slightly larger than the other. Roll the larger piece out on a lightly floured work surface into a 12-inch circle. Place in a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate. Roll top crust out into an 11-inch circle and set aside.

Fill bottom crust with meat mixture; smooth out the surface. Whisk together egg and water in a small bowl to make an egg wash. Brush egg wash over the edges of the bottom crust. Cover with top crust; press lightly around the edges to seal. Trim excess dough and crimp the edges. Cut small slits in the top crust to allow steam to escape. Brush the entire surface of the pie with egg wash. Using leftover pastry, decorative leaves and berries can be added to the top for extra panache — brush them with egg wash too. Bake in the preheated oven until crust is well browned, about 1 hour. Let cool to almost room temperature before serving.

Cory's Golden Fried Crab and Basil Spaghetti

 

Lovely and light, the flavours of crab, wine and cream intermingle beautifully in this luscious pasta, lifted by the lemon and basil. A delicious dinner for our first evening visiting our dear friends Cory and Richard, it was the perfect dinner after a long snowy drive and a cocktail or two in front of the roaring fire.

Golden Fried Crab and Basil Spaghetti

Serves 6

Recipe courtesy of Mary Berry

12oz dried spaghetti

2 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped

1 garlic clove, crushed

3 1/2 fl oz white wine

5 fl oz whipping cream

4 1/2 oz dressed crab, removed from shell

1 lemon, juiced and finely zested

1 large bunch of fresh basil, chopped, plus extra whole leaves to garnish

4 oz fresh white crabmeat

3 oz fresh white breadcrumbs

salt and freshly ground black pepper

Cook the spaghetti in a saucepan of boiling salted water according to the package instructions. While the spaghetti is cooking, heat half the oil in a large, deep frying pan large enough to toss the spaghetti into the sauce. Add the onion and cook over a high heat for 3-4 minutes. Lower the heat, cover with a lid and cook for a further 10 minutes or until tender. Then add the garlic and fry over high heat for a minute. 

Pour in the wine and boil until it has reduced by just under half, about 2 minutes. Add the cream with the crabmeat, lemon juice and half the lemon zest. Sprinkle in the chopped basil, reserving the whole leaves to garnish, and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring continuously, for a few minutes until combined. Drain the spaghetti and add to the wine and crab sauce, stirring it in to coat well in the sauce. 

In a separate pan, heat the remaining oil until hot, then add the fresh white crabmeat with the breadcrumbs and the remaining lemon zest and fry for a couple of minutes until golden. Divide the spaghetti among bowls and serve scattered with the fried crabmeat and reserved basil.

Café Boulud in Yorkville: Classic Sunday Lunch

 

Michelin-star chef Daniel Boulud’s French Brasserie in Toronto's Four Seasons Hotel in Yorkville, Café Boulud, serves a seasonally changing menu rooted in French tradition, highlighting both bistro classics and contemporary dishes inspired by Chef Daniel’s family meals in Lyon, executed with finesse by chef de cuisine and new Executive Chef William Kresky. The snazzy dining room by London-based designer Martin Brudnizki — acclaimed as one of the world’s top restaurant designers known for bringing a lived-in luxury to his projects such as Le Caprice, J Sheekey, and The Ivy in London — is comfortable and sophisticated with luxurious yet understated details like Hermès wallpaper, Ralph Lauren sconces, retro walnut panelling, mod Jaguar green and tan leather banquets and rich oxblood red 1950s-style chairs, which evoke a playfulness as well as elegance to the space, inviting guests to sit back and surrender to Daniel and William's rustic yet meticulously executed bistro classics.

Executive Chef William Kreskey

Café Boulud Sunday Lunch Menu

Baby Gem Salad with baby gem lettuce, puttanesca, bagna cauda, 

parmigiano reggiano and guanciale with Mimosas for the table 

Classic Beef Tartare with egg yolk purée, pickled accompaniments, sorrel, 

baby gem and toasted baguette

Huevos Rancheros with crispy tortilla, re-fried beans, Canadian bacon, 

sunny side eggs and ranchero sauce

Prime Rib Brunch with Potato Rösti, Blistered Cherry Tomatoes, 

Cremini Mushrooms and Béarnaise Sauce

Three Cheese Quiche with Compté, Beaufort, Gruyère, roasted figs, 

spicy greens salad and lemon-truffle vinaigrette

www.cafeboulud.com/toronto

Daniel's Gargantuan Gougères

Yields 30

Recipe courtesy of Chef Daniel Boulud 

1 cup milk

1 cup water

6 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons

3/4 tsp salt

1 1/2 cups plus 1 tbsp all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp Piment d'Espelette

4 large eggs

2 cups shredded Gruyère cheese

Fleur de sel and cracked black pepper

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. In a large saucepan, combine the milk with the water, butter and salt, and bring to a boil over moderately high heat. Add the flour all at once with the Piment d'Espelette and beat vigorously with a wooden spoon until the flour is thoroughly incorporated. Reduce the heat to low, return the saucepan to the burner and cook the gougère dough, stirring constantly, until the dough pulls away from the side of the pan, about 3 minutes.

Remove the saucepan from the heat and let stand at room temperature, stirring occasionally, until the dough cools slightly, about 5 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, stirring briskly between additions to thoroughly incorporate each egg.

Drop 3-tablespoon mounds of dough onto the baking sheets, 2 inches apart. Top each round with 1 tablespoon of cheese; sprinkle with fleur de sel and pepper.

Bake the gougères for 15 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 350°F and bake for 30 minutes longer, switching the baking sheets halfway through, until the gougères are puffed and browned. Turn off the oven, propping the door ajar with a wooden spoon, and let the gougères rest in the oven for about 30 minutes longer, until crisp on the outside but still steamy within. Serve warm or at room temperature.

King's College Cambridge & Fitzwilliam Museum

 

With a world famous Chapel and Choir, King's College Cambridge was founded by King Henry VI in 1441, but finished in 1544 during the reign of King Henry VIII. Regarded as one of the finest examples of late English Gothic architecture, King's College Chapel has the world's largest fan vaulted ceiling, and its stained-glass windows and wooden chancel screen are considered some of the finest from their era. Every year on Christmas Eve, King's College Choir's Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols is broadcast from the chapel to millions of listeners worldwide. Taking a 2-hour tour with Max, an accredited Cambridge City Blue Badge Guide, we were given an in-depth history of Cambridge then escorted through King' College Chapel and Choir, before departing for lunch at The Garden House Restaurant on the banks of the River Cam. 

After lunch we visited the Fitzwilliam Museum, and spent the afternoon exploring the more than 4,000 years of art and antiquities in the grand setting of its monumental 19th-century building. Fondly dubbed 'the Fitz' by locals, this colossal neoclassical pile was one of the first public art museums in Britain, built to house the fabulous treasures that the seventh Viscount Fitzwilliam bequeathed to his old university, with its world-renowned collection of over half a million beautiful works of art, paintings and historical artefacts spanning from antiquity to the present day. Two special exhibitions caught our eye — 'Women in Japanese Prints' and 'Paris 1924: Sport, Art and the Body', highlights the extraordinary achievements of the Cambridge University students who won no fewer than 11 Olympic medals for Great Britain that year, including the sprinter Harold Abrahams whose story inspired the award-winning film ‘Chariots of Fire’.

Interior stonework of the chapel's west end with the coat of arms of King Henry VII

King's College Chapel has the world's largest fan vaulted ceiling 

Kings' College Chapel is a showcase for some of Britain's finest stained glass windows

Built and erected in 1532-36, the exquisite wooden rood screen was built in honour of 

King Henry VIII's marriage to Anne Boleyn

King's College Chapel magnificent organ was first built by Henry Willis in 1866, and subsequently rebuilt by the Willis firm in 1932, and then by Bishop & Son in 1977 and 1992

Peter Paul Rubens's Adoration of the Magi behind the chapel altar was a gift of property millionaire 

Alfred Ernest Allnatt to King's College Chapel which he purchased in 1959 for a world-record price

16th Century bronze lectern with statue of King Henry VI in the Chapel

16th century thickly carved dark-wood choir stalls in King's College Chapel are the most exquisite pieces of Italian decoration surviving in England

Every year on Christmas Eve, King's College Choir sings the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols 

which is broadcast from the chapel to millions of listeners worldwide

Dating from the mid 15th century, the imposing English Gothic exterior of King's College Chapel 

is one of the finest examples of medieval architecture

King's College Bridge crosses the River Cam in front of King's College Chapel and connects it to the Backs, a green lawn area on either side of the river in Cambridge

Founder's Fountain located in the Front Court was built in 1879 by H. H. Armstead, 

and features founder of the College Henry VI

Novelist E M Forster came up to King’s in 1897, and lived on the second floor 

in the Wilkins' Building for thirty years

The beautiful Clock Tower over the front gate of King's College also houses the Porter's Lodge

The Garden House Restaurant 

The Green Restaurant Bar features special cocktails, champagnes and 

a very nice wine list

The outdoor garden overlooking the River Cam offers lighter fare

Glass of Moët & Chandon Impérial Brut Champagne

Special Robata Grill Menu

Sourdough Bread and Salted Butter

Gavi di Gavi

The kitchen is focussed on open flame cooking and seasonal East Anglian produce

Robata Grilled Herb Fed Chicken with lemon, mustard and garlic, mixed salad and frites

"

Beer Battered Haddock with hand cut chips, crushed minted peas and tartare sauce 

The Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge

The Mosaic at the Fitzwilliam once decorated a Roman villa in Baiae, 

near Naples in Italy and dates back to between AD50-70

Jamie Coreth’s painting of Prince William and Catherine Duchess of Cambridge

at the Fitzwilliam Museum

The magnificent interior of the Fitzwilliam

'Uncle Dominique' by Paul Cézanne 1866

'The Braddyll Family' by Sir Joshua Reynolds 1879

'Cordelia's Potion' by Ford Maddox Brown 1867

'Joan of Arc' by Dante Gabriel Rossetti 1882

'Danse Espagnol' Bronze by Edgar Degas, modelled in 1880s

'Apples and Walnuts' by Pierre Auguste Renoir 1865

'The Gust of Wind' by Jean Auguste Renoir 1872

'Virgin and Child' by Pietro Perugino, c. 1450-1523

Fitzwilliam Museum second floor with special Japanese Print Exhibition

from August -September 2024

'Shopping at Ebisu-ya' by Utagawa Kunisada 1842

Twelve Double Page woodblock prints in each volume by Utagawa Toyokuni, in Edo 1802

'Elegant Music for a Cherry Blossom Festival' by Yashima Gakutei 1820s

From the series 'Star Actors of Edo' by Toyhara Kunichika 1864

Program cover of the 1924 Paris Olympics, by Italo Orsi

Poster for the Eighth Olympiad, colour litho on paper 1924

Scottish Athlete Eric Lidell paraded by students around Edinburgh University

after returning victorious after 1924 Summer Olympics

French Tennis Champion Suzanne Lenglen highjacking during doubles match

at Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships, 1924

'The Runners' by Robert Delaunay, which he painted after watching runners 

at the 1924 Olympic Games

'Helen Wills' by Alexander Calder, wire and wood, after her olympic victory in 1924

Zinc sculpture of Paavo Nurmi by Waino Aaltonen, 1950

Photo of Johnny Weissmuller and Duke Kahanamoku at Paris 1024 Olympic Games

Tarzan Poster featuring Johnny Weissmuller, who following his retirement from swimming, 

played Edgar Rice Burroughs' Tarzan in twelve feature films from 1932 to 1948

fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk