Dessert By Candy

Kuri Squash Meringue Pie

This week my American friends will celebrate Thanksgiving. For me, it is but a distant memory. My family feasted on a turkey-less supper and the menu was packed with pumpkin, squash, and sweet potato. It was low-key and light on meat, just the way I like to eat. For dessert, I gussied up our family favourite kuri squash pie with toasted meringue topping for a festive look.

The pie was made with a gingersnap crumb crust. I roasted a kuri squash and made a thick puree from the flesh and skin. Part of the appeal of this squash is that the skin is so thin it is edible! The other reason is of course its incomparable taste. That hint of nutty chestnut flavour is my favourite. You can find out more about how to make this pie when I first started this family tradition years ago.

Gingerbread Village

It began innocently enough with a $4 cookie cutter that I bought last year. My local grocery store carries seasonal house brand products and I love to discover hidden gems. The 3D mini gingerbread house cutter is a perfect example. When I saw it at the store, I doubted if I would ever use it. As adorable as the photo looked on the packaging, I detest making rolled cookies. But for merely $4? I bought it without hesitation because I knew I would need it some day.

“Some day” came sooner than I expected. My friends and I share annual tradition of holiday cookie swap every November. Like most of our themed cooking parties, everyone pulled out all the stops to bring our best cookies to share. I decided nothing quite say over the top than mini gingerbread houses, each uniquely decorated. It was time to put my cookie cutter, piping bag, and tweezers to work.

Southern Party For 40

Last Friday I catered my skating club’s end of year party at a friend’s home. I had an idea of the menu weeks in advance but did not flesh out the details until pretty late in the game. Luckily experience with cooking for large group came in handy and I drew on all the lessons I learned in previous years. So what makes for a good menu?

I prefer to have a theme instead of just a mish-mash of dishes. I went with a southern theme including many traditional dishes from American south. So when a plate is piled high with bites of everything, there is some sort of continuity instead of many clashing flavours. Also, employing a variety of cooking methods is key. In a home kitchen, I do not have infinite oven space or stove tops. A menu that uses oven, stove top, slow cooker, and made-head dishes can optimize on cooking time so every dish will be ready at approximately the same time. I reduce any last minute assembly to minimum because the logistics of transferring all the food from my home to the party location is already a big challenge. No need to make things more complicated than it already is. This is the menu I served:

Southern Party For Forty Skaters

Devilled Eggs with Chives & Tarragon

Cream Cheese & Red Pepper Jelly on Melba Toast

Buttermilk Biscuits with Pimento Cheese & Bourbon Pickled Jalapenos

Tangy Apple Cabbage Slaw

Broccoli Slaw in Buttermilk Dressing

Potato Fennel Salad

Macaroni and Cheese

Mini Cornbread

Barbecue Baked Beans

Chicken Drumsticks with Alabama White Barbecue Sauce

Sweet and Smoky Oven Spareribs

Banana Butterscotch Pudding

Apple Slab Pie

Peach Cherry Almond Cobbler

Bourbon Bread Pudding

The Fanciest Bait: Chocolate Babka

I believe in eating chocolate for breakfast if the opportunity presents itself. Last time I made smitten kitchen’s Chocolate Swirl Buns it was a temporary farewell to gluten as I experimented with anti-inflammatory diet. It was a haunting reminder during those few weeks of what I missed out in the name of healthy eating. The diet experiment didn’t make me feel better or worse so I saw no reason to continue. However, the sweet memory of those chocolate swirl buns, a twist on the more decadent chocolate babka, remains and I have to fight the urge to make them again.

A couple weekends ago my friends and I had a girls weekend sleepover and I decided it would be the perfect excuse to revisit chocolate babka. This is the kind of decadence that is best to share among good friends. Coincidentally, smitten kitchen also revisited this classic and declared Yotam Ottolenghi’s supremacy over Martha Stewart’s version. Obviously I could not just take her words and had to decide for myself.

And The Winner Is…

Thank you everyone for entering the Trick or Treat giveaway. Congratulations to Yvonne T., the winner of Candy By Candy prize pack! I hope you will enjoy the assortment of Mocha Mallomars Surprise, Trillian Bar, Curry Coconut Brittle, Apple Cider Caramel, and Peanut Butter Nougat Bar.