*Sin*cere Season’s Greetings!

December 23rd, 2011 - Author: Carla Johnson

Wishing You and Yours a Peace-Filled Holiday.

May Goodwill and Blessings Fill Each of Your Days!

~ Carla

 

To help you celebrate, here is a collection of links to several great recipes I hope you and your loved ones will enjoy.

Instead of store-bought egg nog, try one of these:

Pretending to be Tipsy” German Eierlikor
Wedding Pudding” Dutch Advokaat
Hand Made” Egg Nog

Easy Apps:

We Are Family” Rye Bread ‘n Brie & Fondue
Goddess Supper” Potted Cheese

Saucy Sauces:

Comfort & Joy” Cranberry Sauce
Father & Son” Bourbon Sautéed Mushrooms
“A Little Leftover” Wine Jelly

One-of-a-Kind Salads:

Pork Ninjas” Salad Dressing
Poverty Line” Potato Salad
Stuck on Reduction” Watermelon Salad

*Sin*-ful Side Dishes:

Comfort of Home” Sherry Potatoes
Proud Mary” Fried Green Tomatoes

Distinctive Desserts:

Pumpkin Pie in the Great Outdoors
Thank You” Chocolate Cupcake Bombs
Fight Night” Kahlua Cookie Cake
Milk & Cookies for the “Real” Santa

The-Morning-After Breakfasts:

Sisterhood” Maple Rum Crepes
Working Past Midnight” French Toast

“Blessed is the season which engages the whole world in a conspiracy of love.”
- Hamilton W. Mabie

 

 

“Pork Ninjas” Salad Dressing

December 22nd, 2011 - Author: Carla Johnson
Here’s a toast to the roast that good fellowship lends,
With the sparkle of beer and wine;
May its sentiment always be deeper, my friends,
Than the foam at the top of the stein”
~ Anonymous

Take a chef who loves pork, make him a die hard fan of the TV show Iron Chef, then give him a BBQ team with off-beat humour and an unmatched flare for the grill. What could you possibly name that BBQ team? …“Pork Ninjas!”

Jason Rees is loved by his fans for his extraordinary panache for all things culinary. His BBQ team “Pork Ninjas” competes all over the country and wows every crowd with their smokin’ grillin’ expertise. When Jason turned 30 he commemorated it with a very fine flying pig tattoo.


http://www.bbqblog.ca/2006/12/my-love-of-bbq.html

Pork Ninjas’ Salad Dressing


1/4 lb. bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 cup blue cheese, crumbled
1/2 raw red onion, sliced thin
1/2 cup cream ale
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 teaspoon granulated garlic
1/2 teaspoon mustard powder
pinch salt
ground white pepper to taste
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
splash of hot sauce

1. Loosely toss the bacon, blue cheese and onions.

2. In a separate bowl make the beer dressing by combining the rest of the ingredients, and whisk briskly until the beers flattens out.

3. Crumble the cheese-bacon-onion mixture over your favorite potato salad or cobb salad, then drizzle the beer dressing over top of the entire thing.

4. This dressing is truly rocking when served super fresh, so you don’t want to store it to use later.

*G-F Tip! Make this dressing with gluten-free beer and voila!


 

“Viking Blood” Beer Porridge

December 18th, 2011 - Author: Carla Johnson
“This is grain, which any fool can eat, but for which the Lord intended a more divine means of consumption… Beer!”
- Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves, Friar Tuck

Recently I was at a trade show and a woman walked up to me startled by my height. I’m 6’2” and I love it. She had a really good sense of humour and made me laugh when she said, “You don’t look so tall on your blog!”

My blood line is a mix of Dutch and Norwegian. As you may know from my first post, the maternal line of my family is Mennonite (100% Dutch descent). The paternal side – the Johnson side of my family – is Norwegian, so I decided there has to be some Viking blood in me.

Vikings were not the barbarians that legend has implied. By the 9th century, Vikings had started settling into England and it has been said that English women preferred Norse husbands because they were very well read, plus they bathed and used combs.

Porridge comes with many different names from different parts of the world, but the recipe remains really simple. Porridge is a dish made from boiling a grain in water or milk.


In 1854, Hanna Winsnes (1789-1872) published the first Norwegian cookbook. “Lærebog i de forskjellige Grene af Husholdningen” which basically translates to “Teaching book in the different sections of the household”.

One of Hanna’s recipes is “Beer Porridge.” The instructions she wrote were awkward to intrepret, so I did some searching and reworked it in 21st century English. My version is different, but more workable, I believe.


On page 155 of Hanna Winsnes’ cook book:

The beer is mixed with water according to taste; normal home-brew beer can be used undiluted. For each pot of mix take two egg yokes and one half pægel (1.2dl) of full fat cream, or three egg yokes without cream. Beat well. When the beer is boiling and has been mixed cooked with sugar (to taste), take the pot off the heat, and pour in the eggs while beating vigorously, to form a froth.

The dish does not keep but must be eaten immediately.

Dice fine rye bread and brown it in butter; when it has been well mixed with the butter sprinkle a little powdered sugar (icing sugar) over, keep stirring, like when you are roasting coffee. This is eaten with the beer porridge, and can be made before the beer is started.

http://mylittlenorway.com/2011/12/old-norwegian-beer-porridge/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+MyLittleNorway+%28My+Little+Norway%29&utm_content=Google+Reader

Norwegian Beer Porridge

2 cups rye bread, dried and finely crumbled
4 cups beer
1 egg, well beaten
1/2 cup brown sugar
Cold skimmed milk

1. Mix the rye bread, beer, egg and sugar in a pot.

2. Bring to a boil then reduce and simmer, stirring constantly, until it thickens.

3. Serve warm with cold skimmed milk.

*Tips
Can be served as a dessert with whipped cream.
For a sweeter porridge, substitute dried spice cake crumbs for the rye bread and spice with cinnamon and nutmeg

 

Let me take this opportunity to introduce you to Mads Refslund, a brilliant Danish chef. Here is a description of his beer porridge.


Old rye bread softened with beer and then submerged under white chocolate foam and salted milk ice cream. This must be the breakfast that fuels grizzled fishermen as they hunker down against wild North Sea winds. It was out of this world and completely unique to my palate.

http://readysetdc.com/2011/07/does-the-new-nordic-kitchen-live-up-to-the-hype/

Have some fun! Here’s a site where you can write your own motto in Old Norse:

http://www.vikingrune.com/old-norse-motto-generator/

Join us on Facebook! Here is the link to the “Like” page.

You are invited to join the group too!

https://www.facebook.com/groups/CookingWithSin/

 

Gourmand International Winner!!

December 8th, 2011 - Author: Carla Johnson

Carla Johnson’s first cookbook “Cooking With Sin” has just won the award for Best Wine Book for Canada, in the prestigious Gourmand International’s “World Cookbook Awards.”

Next is the world judging at the “Gourmand Best in the World” where “Cooking With Sin” will represent Canada in the international competition at the Paris Cookbook Fair in March!

Gourmand World Cookbook Awards

Founded by Edouard Cointreau in 1995, the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards are presented every year to the best cooking and wine books. They are regarded as the Oscars of the culinary book world. The prizes are awarded in 36 categories for cooking and 14 for wine. Every year, Gourmand presents the awards in a gourmet food capital, this time in Paris. The ceremony is a unique opportunity for meeting personalities from the food and drink literary world, as publishers, authors, chefs, vineyard owners and journalists from all over the world attend the event.

http://www.cookbookfair.com/index.php

More Awards for “Cooking With Sin”!

Best Books USA Awards Finalist!

http://cookingwithsin.com/2011/11/02/best-books-2011-usa-award/

Cuisine Canada Nominee!

http://cookingwithsin.com/2011/05/06/cuisine-canada-nomination/

See what the Ben Franklin Awards had to say about it!

http://cookingwithsin.com/2011/07/18/cookbook-awards-events-feedback/

 

Much Appreciation to Everyone for your support!

Join me on Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Cooking-With-Sin/180946528621424

& Twitter

@Carla_Johnson


“Hand Made” Egg Nog

December 7th, 2011 - Author: Carla Johnson
If you see a fat man who is jolly and cute,
Wearing a beard and a red flannel suit,
And if he is chuckling and laughing away,
While flying around in a miniature sleigh
With eight tiny reindeer to pull him along,
then lets face it… your eggnog’s too strong!!

Just in time for the Holiday Season! Two wonderful drinks you can serve your guests.

When my husband’s Aunt Susan was a young child, she emigrated with her family – and her 9 siblings! – from the Netherlands, more specifically, Friesland.

By her early 20′s, Susan was well-settled into Canadian life when she met Robert Hogeboom. They fell in love, married and had two beautiful children. Sadly, while the children were still young and Bob was only in his 40′s, he succumbed to cancer. He passed away too quickly and too young.

Susan was energetic and creative and watched her children grow up to marry and have grandchildren, but in her late 50′s, she too succumbed to cancer.

It is an honour to remember Bob and Susan here on the blog. There were very special people who left us wanting so much more of them.

Bob and Susan loved to entertain and Bob always made his own eggnog at Christmas time. Interestingly, he always made it by hand. He said the key was to mix it all with your bare fingers. I think it was his way of adding love. All great cooks know good food needs love. So, roll up your sleeves, scrub your hands really well and let’s get to work.

 

Uncle Bob’s “Hand Made” Egg Nog

 

6 egg yolks
1 cup granular sugar
2 cups cognac
1 cup white rum
8 cups (2 quarts) 15% cream
1/2 cup confectioner’s sugar
6 egg whites

1. Beat egg yolks until thick.

2. Gradually add granular sugar until it becomes light in colour.

3. Slowly stir in the alcohol, cognac and rum.

4. Add add the cream and 3 of the egg whites. Stir until mixed thoroughly.

5. In a separate bowl, beat remaining egg whites until thick, then gradually add the confectioner’s sugar.

6. Beat the egg whites and sugar until soft peaks form.

7. Gently stir the egg whites and sugar mixture into the egg yolk mixture.

8. Serve in glasses and garnish.

*By the way, Bob’s egg nog recipe remains popular with many of their relatives & friends. They have all made his egg nog over the years, but none of them make it by hand. ;-)

Raise a glass of Christmas Cheer!

Susan was very musical and she often sang with her sisters. They all have great sense of humour and call themselves “The Sour Lemon Sisters.” One of her sisters, Maaike, whips up a very “sin”ful drink she calls Northern Slush. She once served it at a company gathering where it was a hit. One of the people at the party asked for the recipe and as Maaike was writing out the recipe, she realized she had accidentally doubled the liquor in the party batch. That night, a good time was had by all! :-)

 

“The Sour Lemon Sisters” Northern Slush

 

1 – 48 ounce can pineapple juice
1 – 12 ounce can frozen orange juice thawed
1 – 6.5 ounce can frozen lemonade thawed
26 ounces of gin or liquor of choice. Maaike recommends Peach Schnapps.
1 cup strong tea, cooled to room temperature

1. Mix all the ingredients together and freeze for 48 hours. It will become a slush.

2. To serve, scoop the slush into glasses and top with clear soda like 7-Up or Sprite.

 

Wassail! Wassail all over the town!
Our toast it is white and our ale it is brown;
Our bowl it is made of the white maple tree;
With the wassailing-bowl, we’ll drink to thee!
~ Traditional
 

Happy Holidays!

 

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