Christmas Cake Pops: my first encounter with Bakerella’s one bite wonders

December 24, 2010December 31, 2011 ~ Hilary ~ 5 Comments

Everyone – my life has been changed!!! How you ask? Well, quite simply put, it is through the purchase of this fantastic new cookbook:

I saw this book yesterday while I was in Chapters with my family. Bakerella has been a favourite blogger of mine for sometime now, and I often peruse her site endlessly in my delusional dessert daydreams. Bakerella is famous for these special little cake pops/bites. She is so famous for these heavenly morsels that she even has a BOOK TOUR. Cool, right? Basically, these cake pops are cake crumbs mixed with icing and covered in a candy coating. Not for the light of heart, hyper five-year-old or cavity fearer, but perfect for those suffering from low blood sugar! Once I saw this book, I knew I had to have it. I had resisted purchasing it once (as a partial Christmas gift for best friend Britt), but I could resist no longer. Nope, I was 100 per cent committed to making seasonal cake pops.

And make them I did. My favourite part of Bakerella’s cake pop recipe is that it calls for boxed cake mix and icing from the can. Endless hours of baking from scratch were saved!

Also, the funniest thing happened to me when I was at the grocery store shopping for supplies. Here I was in an unfamiliar baking aisle, frantically flipping through my glossy new cookbook to decide what to buy. I must have been looking completely disoriented and confused when a woman came up to me and said something along the lines of “hey, I made cake pops last week!” This introductory statement led to a 15 minute conversation about cake pops and how much we love Bakerella. Turns out she had made reindeer, turkey and snowmen cake pops earlier in the year, a task which I have yet to conquer. Want to hear something even more weird? The woman, whose name is actually Karina, turned out to be a teacher at a high school in Ottawa where I had gone to write a journalism story last year. SMALL WORLD, right? Anyways, she gave me some great tips for making these (only use 3/4 of the frosting, melt shortening in with the chocolate to keep it from hardening), and it was a neat little conversation that sparked only out of me holding my new Cake Pops cookbook in the store.

After the grocery store I trekked off to the Bulk Barn where I spent a small fortune on chocolate candy coating (those cool little coloured disks of moulding chocolate that don’t look like food), lollipop sticks and sprinkles. My meagre student budget is going to start suffering thanks to the purchase of this book… Also, I partially over-purchased on the chocolate for this one, so I’m going to need to think of something creative to do with 2 pounds of coloured chocolate over the next week… I’m open to suggestions…

The thing with Bakerella’s cake pops recipes is that it’s kind of complicated to let the chocolate set on the cake. Since I decided to make these kind of at the last minute, I didn’t have time to find the styrofoam block that Bakerella requires. This is normally the thing that you stab all your lollipop sticks into so that your cake pops stand up straight. With a little ingenuity and a lengthy trip to the Dollar Store, I created a cake pop standing device out of foam cups and masking tape. Baking challenges, bring it on!

Since it is CHRISTMAS EVE (can you believe it?!) I spent my entire day…I mean HOURS, coating and hand decorating a dozen and a half little Christmas trees. The end result was totally worth it – I mean, come on, you need to admit that they’re cute! If you plan on making any of these, make sure you follow Bakerella’s recipe to the tee, since she has everything perfected. On top of the Christmas trees, I made little tuxedo (as my mom calls them) cake bites, with half white chocolate and half semi-sweet chocolate. A little less extravagant than the trees, but fun and tasty nonetheless. Pour yourself a big glass of milk to go along with these and you’re all set!

To end off this post, I am happy to announce that we delivered some cake pops to our neighbours across the street, and in return they gave us a freshly baked apple pie! What a trade off!

Merry Christmas!!
Love, Hilary

Happy Birthday Ariel!

December 22, 2010December 22, 2010 ~ Hilary ~ 2 Comments

To one of my best friends Ariel (whose birthday is actually today so I’m not even late on this post) I give…

– A shopping trip filled with all the shoe and boot purchases she desires. I promise not to give her a hard time and make her take inventory of the shoes she already has;
– A magical device (maybe they’re called brakes?) that can be installed in your car to prevent you from (a) driving off cliffs on the Sea to Sky and (b) warns you of oncoming speed bumps; :)
– Nail polish in every colour of the spectrum;
– A new red lipstick to replace the one I wrecked at our Christmas party, and;
– A magical evening with Andersoon Cooper who just happens to be feeling straight and frisky for the night.

But MOST IMPORTANTLY, I give her this card!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MERFACE! I hope you’re having a lovely time at home and that you have a fabulous time at your fancy birthday party!

PS: I hope your Ottawa birthday celebrations assist in creating many more of these Kodak moments:

Cheesy Shepherd’s Pie

December 21, 2010December 31, 2011 ~ Hilary ~ 3 Comments

I AM DONE EXAMS WAHOOOOOOO! Other than half of a take home exam that I need to finish for tomorrow night, I am now officially on Christmas break. This means that I finally have time to do things other than sitting in my bed/library studying and eating Costco-sized Toblerone bars. For the next two weeks, I will have all the time in the world to blog, relax, play Super Mario with my little brother, cook and spend endless amounts of my day watching my new favourite tv show, How I Met Your Mother.

So ANYWAYS…

I realized the other day that I haven’t been testing out many of the recipes that have been in the recent issues of Canadian Living. For a few months I was on a real roll, and had been trying out nearly half of their recipes from each issue. Since I am now regularly getting their monthly magazine sent to me at home (thank you cheap student subscription rates!), it should be easier for me to try out their stuff, right? Well regardless of the answer to that question, I am just going to have to make a conscious effort to review more of their recipes, starting now.

Making this recipe was actually what saved me from complete unhealthiness last week. With leftover tourtiere in my freezer and this, I was eating somewhat decently for at least one meal a day, something which I am sure my stomach appreciated.

This shepherd’s pie recipe is found in the December issue of the magazine. For some reason that boggles my mind, the recipe is actually called “cheddar cottage pie.” The only reason I didn’t call it this in the title was because I really had no idea what a cottage pie was. After several debates with Britt and our other friend Freya, we came to the conclusion that this name was because the pie was a “warm winter cottage-like food.” Apparently we were wrong. Here is what the ever helpful Wikipedia says:

The term cottage pie is known to have been in use in 1791, when potato was being introduced as an edible crop affordable for the poor (“cottage” meaning a modest dwelling for rural workers).

Alright, so we were completely off there. But we ARE students after all, and “affordable crops” are always a plus. Thank you again to Wikipedia for the endless bank of wisdom.

So this one was pretty good, but unlike many other Canadian Living recipes, I found this one to actually be a bit bland. Ever since I started cooking in the summer, my taste buds have somehow gotten super sensitive, meaning I’m always craving some sort of spicy kick. I think it’s probably just me and my neuroses, but I’d add a little extra thyme, salt and pepper to this one just for safe keeping.

Also, happy first day of winter! To celebrate, here is a picture of the circumstances that I’m going to have to photograph under until the day I decide to make myself a light box. I get even more weird looks from the neighbours now that I’m dragging a chair out to the front steps…

The final product. I think my potato level was a little dominating in a “I’m going to crush the life out of your meat layer so it’s not photogenic” sort of way, but so such is life. The half Irish in me screams that you can never have too much of our little spud friend.

A French Canadian Feast: Tourtiere and an Apple Brie Tartlet

December 11, 2010December 31, 2011 ~ Hilary ~ 1 Comment

As the weather gets more and more cold, I begin to crave the warm heartiness that only homemade meals can bring. To celebrate the (partial) success of vegetarian week, I decided to make an appropriate follow up meal: tourtiere, the traditional French Canadian meat pie (or as I know it, the delicious meal that my mom always used to make in the depth of winter). Last year my mom sent me home with a meat pie after Thanksgiving and that baby miraculously got consumed within half a week.

This is the perfect thing for students to make during exams/when they don’t have much time on their hands, since any leftovers (of which there are usually loads) can be smushed into a tupperware container and tossed in the freezer for a later day. Also, I feel like meat pies are rather impressive, so if there is anyone special you’re serving this to then they’re sure to compliment your cooking skills.

Although my mom does have an actual recipe for this one, I decided to go out on an adventurous tangent and sort of improvise a recipe. A few things I would have improved: add SALT! I know, I know, everyone has a major issue with sodium these days, but lets face it, everything is better with a bit of salt. Also, I forgot to add it completely, so even just a 1/2 tsp. added to the meat mixture would be awesome. One more thing: Somehow find a way to mash up the ground pork. Maybe this is just a neurotic Hilary thing, but I don’t like how ground meat retains its worm-like tube shape when cooking. So maybe squish it around in a bowl with some spices? I really don’t know…

Here is the recipe for the Hilary-style Tourtiere:

Pie crust (recipe adapted from my Better Homes and Garden cookbook)
*Note: this recipe makes enough pie pastry for a double-crust pie, which is what is required for my tourtiere.
– 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
– 1 teaspoon salt
– 1/2 cup shortening
– 1/4 cup butter, cut up
– 2/3 cup ice water
In a large bowl whisk together flour and salt. Using two steak knives (or a pastry blender if you’re grown up and have one of those), cut in the shortening and butter until pieces are pea sized. Gradually add water to the mixture, tossing the dough around with a fork with each addition. Once flour mixture is moistened, gather dough with hands and knead it on a floured surface. Divide pastry in half, forming halves into balls. Roll the pastry balls into circles with a 12-inch diameter and carefully transfer pastry into a nine inch pie pan. Add filling (see recipe below) and place the other half of the dough over top, sealing the edges by pressing them closed with a fork. Cut any desired slits into the top of the pie with a knife.

Tourtiere filling
– 600 grams ground pork
– 1 potato, grated
– 1 onion, chopped
– 3 cloves of garlic, chopped
– 3/4 teaspoon nutmeg
– 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
– 1/2 teaspoon salt
– 1/2 teaspoon pepper

In a non stick pan, fry ground pork until no longer pink. Transfer to plate and keep warm. In the same pan, fry onion, garlic, nutmeg, rosemary, salt and pepper. Once onion is softened, add pork back into pan, combining the ingredients and cooking until warm (about four minutes). Scoop filling into prepared pie pan and place other half of dough over top of filling. Cook at 375° for about 45 minutes or until pie crust is golden brown. Optional: five minutes before the pie is finished, take it out of the oven and brush top with egg white to add a glossy shine.

Note: the cooking temperature and time really depends on your oven. Since our oven is possessed by the devil, I only had to cook my meat pie at 275° for 30 minutes. Just keep an eye on it!

ALSO: this may be the best part of this entire post. Because I had a bit of pie crust left over, I decided to make an apple brie tartlet! I bought a huge chunk of brie earlier in the week, and quickly inhaled half of it while my meat pie was in the oven. Since I was fully committed to eating this entire wheel of cheese in one day, I decided to chop up the remaining half and toss it in my pie crust with a diced apple. Bake until brie is melted at about 200°. ENJOY! The two pictures below are literally the only things you need to do to make this AMAZING snack. God I love brie.

And the finished product…

In the end, this turned out to be my biggest fat day ever (not that I mind). Throughout the day, I ate an entire block of brie, two pieces of meat pie, part of my roommate Natalie’s lunch, a super chocolate-y hot chocolate and WAY more. Needless to say I did yoga that night to calm my inner mind (and stomach).

Family Christmas Party aka Holiday Potluck II

December 9, 2010December 31, 2011 ~ Hilary ~ Leave a comment

Since it’s been awhile since I posted about my last potluck, I figured a new cheerful holiday post was in order. Just as an update on my life for anyone who teensy bit cares: classes have now officially ended and I am half terrified, half excited that my second last year of university is halfway over. Seriously! My actual life starts so soon, I can’t wait. Also, my first exam isn’t until the 17th, so I have spent the last couple of days doing the following: drinking beer, eating chicken wings, playing Mario Kart, eating (inhaling) sushi, and watching Mean Girls. As you can see, my life involved quite a bit of eating and not much studying. As of tomorrow morning at 7:30 a.m. that will most certainly change. Exams, you are going down.

Willard — The charming Christmas ornament my mom sent us last year. The blacked out section is our address, which I feel should not be mentioned over the realms of the Internet.

Okay, so ever since we moved into our house, it has become a tradition to have a “Christmas family potluck.” And by tradition, I mean we had a dinner last year and decided that we needed another excuse to decorate the house for the 2010 festivities. Since there are six of us in the house plus two boyfriends and a boyfriend roommate, we ended up with quite a bit of food. There was chicken, ham, potatoes (sweet and normal ones!), stuffing, brussel sprouts (which I wasn’t brave enough to try, I blame my dad for not liking them!) and MORE (if you can believe it). Finally, there was dessert, which I was obviously responsible for making. On the menu this year was a double-layered chocolate cake with peppermint white chocolate buttercream icing. I seriously ate so much for dinner that by the time people came over for our actual party, I just wanted to go down to my room and put on my stretchy pants. Thank god I resisted.

Regretfully, I did not get a nice picture of my cake since I didn’t finish icing it until well into the depths of 6 p.m. light. The picture you see below was taken under the lamp Ariel bought at a yard sale. ‘Nuff said. I’ll tell you this, however… It was yummy! I finally managed to use some of the ridiculous amount of white chocolate that I have and used the rest of my homemade Christmas tree chocolates to decorate the sides. IT WAS Christmas in a cake.

This year’s family get-together also involved a “fancy” holiday party afterwards, at which time we proceeded to drink spiked egg nog and revel in the glow of our sparkling Christmas tree.

We also had our Secret Santa gift exchange. There are six of us in our house and this year we PROMISED not to try and sneakily match the gift givers with their recipients. This, however, failed greatly, and after two revealing bus conversations with Ariel and Amanda, I had the entire web of gifting deciphered. Amanda was my Secret Santa and she got me…wait for it…A COOKIE PRESS! That’s right, I can now make spritz cookies and pipe icing to my heart’s content. Best. gift. ever. I was Ariel’s Secret Santa, and got her the cute polar bear sweater you see below, Christmas tea and a cookie like the one we had from Le Moulin de Provence in first year. Cute, right?

ALSO, one more thing. I wore this wicked dress I bought at the Ottawa Vintage Sale a few weeks ago and was DEVASTATED when I got some sort of water stain on the front of it. Seriously, you can’t take me anywhere! Hillary’s Cleaners will be having a visit from me very shortly…

The pictures below are just a few more images from my fun night…