Christmas Perfection » food

Christmas Party Food

admin — Thu, 06 May 2010 20:25:22 +0000

If you’ve ever organised a Christmas party before, you’ll know that one of the most important elements to consider is the food that you serve. As with any other party at any other time of year, parties are all about the people, the food, the booze and the music.

There is nothing worse than a hungry guest.

This is particularly true at Christmas, traditionally a season of celebration and over-indulgence; after all, how else would we motivate ourselves into austerity come January? With that in mind, the food for your Christmas party deserves careful planning.

As with all parties, there are two broad approaches: finger-food and sit-down meal. There is no reason these can’t be combined, and if you are going for a sit-down meal then it would be advisable to provide some finger food beforehand to keep your guests happy while you (or the caterers) slave away in the kitchen.

Of course, if your party is going to be substantially well attended, or if it’s a work do, you may want to avoid a sit-down meal. It fixes guests into certain positions and reduces mingling as well conveying a bit more of a formal atmosphere. This may of course be what you want, but most people are probably happiest milling about with a glass of wine and a mini sausage roll.

If you’re throwing the party yourself, ideally you don’t want to be stuck in the kitchen all night, so choose foods that are either quick to prepare or can be served cold so that you can prefer everything beforehand and not worry about it for the rest of the night. Alternatively, hire some professional party organisers to do it all for you. Stay within your budget, but make sure you’ve carefully thought through how much each guest is likely to have, and then bought some more. Anything left over can be your meals for the next few days, but hungry guests will ruin your party.

Think about the kind of people coming to your party and what their expectations will be. Most people will be happy with cheap supermarket produce, but if your party is more of a black-tie, formal event; perhaps you should be thinking about salmon canapés and the like.

The most important thing for your party is that everyone has fun, and the food is a large part of that. If you want your Christmas party to be the one everyone’s talking about in March, make sure you get it right.

Cherry Vanilla Fudge

admin — Thu, 06 May 2010 00:14:30 +0000

Cherry Vanilla Fudge

Source: Family Circle – December 1974 – Old-Fashioned Christmas Goodies

3 cups granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup light cream
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup light corn syrup
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup candied cherries, quartered

Combine sugar, salt, cream, milk, corn syrup and butter in a large heavy saucepan.

Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to boiling. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until candy thermometer reaches 238 degrees F (soft-ball stage).

Remove from heat, leaving thermometer in the saucepan. Cool to 100 degrees F.

Add vanilla extract. Beat briskly until fudge thickens and begins to lose its gloss. Stir in cherries.

Pour into buttered 8-inch square pan. Cool. Cut into squares when firm.

Yield: 16 servings

Best Christmas Recipes book

admin — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 08:02:29 +0000

Best Christmas Recipes book includes the best christmas recipes from all over the world. This is a selection of recipes from the best chefs in Paris, London, New York and Milan. You will be able to prepare for your family an amazing Christmas meal!

Christmas Biscotti

admin — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 05:21:23 +0000

It’s always fun to prepare nice recipes for Christmas and even better if you can prepare Christmas Biscotti…

Christmas Biscotti

You will need the following ingredients:
3/4 cup dried cranberries or dried cherries
3/4 cup chopped shelled green pistachios
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
2 teaspoons baking powder
2/3 cup Vanilla Sugar (recipe follows)

Layer the ingredients in a 1-quart canning jar. Tap jar gently on the counter to settle each layer before adding the next one. Add additional dried fruits or pistachios to fill small gaps, if necessary.

Makes 1 jar.

Attach the following instructions on a gift tag:

Christmas Biscotti

Beat 1/3 cup butter (no substitutes) in a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed for 30 seconds. Beat in 2 eggs. Stir in jar contents just till combined using a wooden spoon. Divide dough in half. Cover and chill until easy to handle, if necessary. Shape each portion of dough into a 9-inch loaf. Place loaves 4 inches apart on a lightly greased cookie sheet, flattening slightly until 2 inches wide. Bake at 375 degrees F for 25 to 30 minutes or till a wooden pick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool loaves on the cookie sheet for 1 hour.

Cut each loaf diagonally into 1/2 inch thick slices using a serrated knife. Place slices, cut sides down on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 325 degrees F for 8 minutes. Turn slices over; bake 8 to 10 minutes more or until dry and crisp. Cool on wire rack.

Makes 16.

Vanilla Sugar

Fill a quart jar with 4 cups granulated sugar. Cut a vanilla bean in half lengthwise and insert both halves into sugar. Secure lid and store in a cool dry place for several weeks before using. Will keep indefinitely.

Bon appetit!

White Christmas Fudge

admin — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 05:13:07 +0000

White Christmas Fudge

Makes 36 squares.

2 1/2 cups Domino Confectioners’ Sugar
2/3 cup milk
1/4 cup butter or margarine
12 ounces white chocolate coarsely chopped
1/2 teaspoon almond extract (optional)
3/4 cup dried cherries cranberries or apricots or apricots coarsely chopped
3/4 cup toasted almond slices

1/ Line an 8-inch square pan with foil; grease foil.

2/ Mix confectioners’ sugar and milk in a heavy 3-quart saucepan. Over medium heat add butter and, bring to boil. Without stirring, boil constantly for 5 minutes.

3/ Over low heat, add chocolate and almond extract but be careful on the amount of chocolate! Stir, then whisk until chocolate melts and mixture is smooth. Stir in dried cherries and toasted almonds. Pour mixture into prepared pan.

Refrigerate 2 hours until firm. Invert pan, peel off foil and cut into 1-inch squares. Garnish as desired.

A few more tips:

Look for dried cherries in the bulk foods or produce section of your supermarket.

To toast almonds, spread in a single layer on baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees F for 5 to 10 minutes, shaking pan occasionally, until they begin to brown.

Bon appetit!

Christmas Smoothie

admin — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 03:25:31 +0000

Even during Christmas, you can get a healthy smoothie and enjoy your holidays! The whole family will enjoy such a tasty smoothie…

What you need:
- Blender
- 1x medium Chocolate Chip Cookie
- 1 Cup of milk
- 1x Tablespoon of Baileys
- 1x handful of Raspberries (preferably fresh)

1/ Crumble the cookie into the Blender and add the cup of milk. Blend for 10 seconds to get a bitty texture.

2/ Add Raspberries and Baileys. Blend for 15 seconds. The, depending on either you prefer it light or thick, you can add some raspberries or natural yoghurt. It’s up to you!

Enjoy your smoothie and have a great Christmas

Christmas Wedding Tips

admin — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 21:28:03 +0000

Are you going to have your wedding this Christmas? You have stopped at the right place! We are going to discuss some great ideas and tips here to make your wedding memorable and successful.

Do keep in mind that at Christmas many people want to leave their homes for an end-of-the-year vacation. Consider all your guests and see if they are available during those holidays. If they have other plans, you may want them to cancel their plans. Second thing to consider is an appropriate location. Make reservations in advance. Since Christmas has a lot of parties going on in practically every popular location, you may want to consider a few options before you finalize one of them.

Christmas is a magical season. There are so many ideas for wedding decoration and other things that you will be surprised. To have a wedding on a complete Christmas theme sounds romantic and thrilling. The decorations will mainly be in white, silver, gold, cream, burgundy and forest green. Choose the bride’s dress the way you want. There’s not any special winter bridal dress. Buy flowers but don’t spend too much, as flowers are very expensive this time of the year. Instead, plan to have candles and baskets of ornaments on tables. Place limited flowers as well. Make sure you select all kinds of colorful and beautiful ornaments.

The wedding cake can be a chocolate cake, either tiered or simple, with a holly cascading down the side. Just make a list of all these things and plan a wedding people will remember for years to come!

How to prepare the perfect holiday meal

admin — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 21:35:53 +0000

You should always follow Santa approach for cooking during these times that is you should plan things well in advance. You should first prepare a list of the food items that you will like to prepare. The initial list may be long but it will eventually become shorter as it may not be possible to prepare all the items in the list. In fact people are who expert in this field like expert chefs start with the food preparation two months before Thanksgiving and Christmas. Thus time management is an extremely important thing when it comes to food. So plan and implement things nicely.

You should make your list small in order to cut down on the budget and stress. You can share the responsibility with your family members, for example give the responsibility of the dessert bar to some. Desserts are always a part of the event and thus they require special attention. Make your favorite dessert for the occasion. You can also ask other people to contribute cake, candy or special cake for the event. You should never forget to have the standard desserts in your list. They are extremely popular and liked by one and all. These are pumpkin pie, butter nut delight or red velvet cakes.

You can also have some special arrangements for diabetics and for those who are allergic to some things like eggs or nuts. For this, you can log on to the internet. You will find quite many recipes which will make the event special for such people also. You can also order from the bakery. However be sure to check out the ingredients. Some desserts are less on sweetness like fresh fruit, such as fresh apples, strawberries or cantaloupe. You can serve them with sugar free and low fat toppings such as whip cream.

You meal is not complete unless it has nutritious and healthy vegetable in it. You can cook them in the oven or on the stove. To make your table look colorful, put a tray of fresh vegetables on it. You can get the vegetables from a mart or local deli. In case you get raw vegetables, use them within 24 hours. You can also store the vegetables in case you want to have them fresh for the stove preparation. Sweet potatoes can be stored in the refrigerator for 24 hours after they are cleaned as well as skinned. You can then put it up in the oven (after you have mashed it), and add brown sugar and marshmallows. Dressing and stuffing should be prepared well in advance. There are several ways to present the vegetables.

You have to take extra care of the meat since it’s the most important part of the meal. A number of people love the traditional turkey for Thanksgiving. However, several options are available in case you want to do something different. You can go for Italian spaghetti, fresh garlic bread and sweet wine. You can get a nice big turkey for your meals especially if you are in agrarian south. The hunter will hunt it down; clean it and then you are the turkey is thus ready to eat. Everything about the meat should be sorted out well in advance. You can buy it before the D day and then refrigerate it or you can get it from some local store. You can also get pre baked quick fix meats from the local stores. You just need to warm it in an oven and it is ready to eat. Several varieties of meat like hens and baked hams should be fixed in advance. They need to be refrigerated; to keep them juicy put them in a light colored or brown chicken broth.

So there are several options for preparing the perfect holiday meal. All you need to do is to plan well in advance. This will save you from the last minute stress. You can also test certain preparations in case you need to fix them. This will make sure that the dinner is prepared in the perfect way, the way you wanted it to be. So put in all your efforts and make the occasion an affair to remember.

The Perfect Christmas Candies

admin — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 21:29:36 +0000

What is a holiday without good treats? Whether on the table top, by your fireplace, or on your Christmas tree, candies are a delight fit for the holidays.

Candy making is an big art, and a science. Not only requiring you to balance creativity with skill, you also need to incorporate knowledge so exquisite it’s almost hard to comprehend. Here’s where we step in. The trick to perfection is knowledge, so what do you need to know this holiday season to keep your sweets just as delightful as the occasion? Simple, you just need to know a little bit about the basics on how candy is made, starting with the basic ingredient, sugar. What’s so special about sugar? Sugar has special properties that make it the perfect choice for candy recipes. Now, what are these properties?

Sugar crystals are solid at room temperature, but once you put these sugar crystals in water, they dissolve, this is the very first step to candy-making, this in effect, forms a clear solution. Heat is then applied and held at specific temperatures and then the solution is allowed to boil at very at these specific temperatures. In doing this we are inducing chemical changes or reactions to occur in the sugar; this is because heat will break the crystals apart into molecules, then at some point, the molecules will get back together forming sugar crystals again as the sugar syrup cools. The most crucial and important aspect of candy making, is banking on the knowledge that the syrup solution solidifies into crystals after heating.

You will need to know the types of candy you intend to share with your family, friends or guests ahead of time. This is because you’ll need to understand the care required for the candy before you can ensure that they’re served in its optimal state. This is the first step you need to do so you can give your sweets the proper care and storage they need. Here’s what you’ll need to know:

Although hundreds of different varieties exist, there are only three main types of candy. They can usually be classified as one of the following, or a combination of the following:

First, we have the hard candy. Hard candy is made with the highest sugar content. Characteristically, they include various flavors and colors. Some of the most classic hard candies include peppermint sticks and a variety of different mints. Hard candy should be stored at temperatures ranging from 10-21°C for best results, and a relative humidity of 40%.

Second, we have the soft candies. In this category we have marshmallows, jellies, and nougats. These sweets contain sugar, as well as a low percentage of other ingredients that would be added in. For optimum results, soft candies should be stored at temperatures ranging from 24-27°C, with a relative humidity of 45-40%.

Third, we look at candies that contain a majority of other ingredients rather than being heavily concentrated on sugars. In this group, we’ll find fudge, chocolates, sugar- or chocolate-covered raisins or nuts, my personal favorite, caramels, and much, much more.

In terms of storage, this group is the trickiest. Caramels are optimum at temperatures ranging from 21-27°C, while chocolates are best at the temperature range of 16-18°C, with a 50% relative humidity. It’s a juggling act that is definitely worth paying attention to if you value the exquisite delicacy of candy.

Please note that the amount of moisture that the candy gains will affect the storage and shelf life of most candies.

Storing the Goods

Once again, there are three factors to consider:

First, the candy’s stability, second, the storage temperature, and third, the humidity conditions where the candy will be placed are all factors that will influence its quality and shelf-life. Careful adherence to these conditions will enable your bonbons to be the best nature intended it to be, remaining firm but not hard, soft but not sticky. It will reduce flavor, color, and aroma loss; reduce the tendency to become stale or rancid.

No matter what age you are, you can value and appreciate the taste of good quality candy.

Christmas ringtones

admin — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 21:32:43 +0000

Christmas is the season to buy gifts for your family and try to smell the holly and evergreen, and eat lots of seasonal goodies. If you’re in the mood for Christmas, why shouldn’t your cell phone be in the mood too? You can get some great Christmas ring tones for your cell phone. Try to get touch with your ring tones yourself as well as friend s around in this season. However there are huge amount of the new ring tones are available in the market and be fascinated toward the realistic true tones particularly polyphonic ring tones for your mobile.

What’s more than this, if there’s a Scrooge on your Christmas list, you can help get him or her in the mood for the season by sending a ring tone to their cell phone. It’s one of the latest and greatest way of letting someone know you care about them.

You can get the Fun songs as Christmas ring tones for your cell phone. You can find the funny song like “Mr. Hanky the Christmas Poo” from South Park? If you want something unique then think about a techno remix of “The Little Drummer Boy”. You can find a perfect Christmas ring tone as to your preference to express your joy in the Christmas season.

Get a traditional ringtone which may be your favorite Christmas song like “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas”. If you are lucky you can get that. Even there are dozens of other traditional Christmas songs which can be downloaded to your cell phone as ring tones.

If you love to your religion then you can go for your religious favorite ringtones it may be “What Child Is This”. You prefer the songs you sang in church as a child to the modern ones that seem to negate the true meaning of Christmas? You can find the songs you remember and love today as ringtones you can put on your cell phone.

Although there are limitations, still inherent you can get best instrumental song ring tones in this Christmas. These instrumental ringtones sound the best to hear. You can find a fantastic version of “Ave Maria” for your cell phone, or you can find “Ring Christmas Bells” and other old favorites.

If you want International Christmas Music, then these ringtones are something really different that translates well to a polyphonic ringtone format. After listining the instrumental song which are translated in a Christmas favorite into an Oriental sound, get with that ringtone with your mobile soon. So that the background noises of your selective instrumental song can make your ringtone the coolest atmosphere. Even you can choose the song like “Christmas in Palestine”, or “Russian Christmas”, depending on what you really like.

If you want to get something else along with your ringtones, you can find great wallpapers and screensavers with Christmas themes also. Whether you want St. Nick on your phone, Garfield in Christmas attire, or the soft beauty of a Thomas-Kinkaid-style Christmas landscape, you can find it. Put together the perfect theme, with wallpaper, screensaver, and ringtone, and send it to the ones you love in lieu of a Christmas card.

However you want to use your Christmas ringtones, they’re there for you. Celebrate Christmas in style with the best ringtones on your phone.

Christmas Perfection » food

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