canadian thanksgiving

for our Canadian thanksgiving celebration, I made nanaimo bars and sucre a la creme

the nanaimo bar recipe I tried came from the city of Nanaimo website (BC)

they claim it's the ultimate nanaimo bar recipe

first layer

second layer

this is poured over the bar to make the third and final layer

the one difficult thing about these bars is removing them from the pan after refrigerating

they turned out very decadent and everyone enjoyed them

I will definitely make these again

the sucre a la creme is a Canadian fudge-like sweet

it's quick and easy to make, you even do it in the microwave

Quebec's sucre a la creme

1c. white sugar

1c. brown sugar

1c. heavy cream

mix together & cook in the microwave for 10min, then let stand for 5min

mix w/electric beater for 4min

pour into cube shapes and refrigerate 1-2hrs

I didn't have anything cube-shaped, so I used a mini muffin tin

and swirled the top of each with a toothpick to even them all out

the best part about these is it makes your kitchen smell like one of those

candy stores at the mall that makes caramel corn in the window

and it tastes like a delicious fudgy caramel treat as well

Chad made poutine using the fryer the kleins left behind

adding the mozzarella cubes to the fries

and the brown gravy to finish it off

poutine, maple-glazed ham and veggies

Canadian (and Scottish) dessert plate

topped off the evening with some CC

hooray for Canada

international dinner

 there were a lot of contributors to this year's international dinner

I tried getting everyone to explain the dishes they brought

but no one seemed to care once the food coma set in

so pictures will have to do this time

I displayed the Scottish treats on my new cupcake stand

some light appetizers

marble bread and Norwegian snacks (including brown cheese)

Greek eggplant dip and cardamom squares (Indian maybe?)

homemade pretzels with spicy mustards

Korean short ribs, shepard's pie, and two kinds of enchiladas 

(one with delicious homemade mole sauce)

dig in

didn't get a close up, but on the right side of the table in this picture

there is Russian soup (w/noodles & veggies) and a Thai rice dish (w/pineapple, cashews, spices)

making Mexican flag shots

Mexican Flag Shot

1oz grenadine

1oz green creme de menthe

1oz tequila

for dessert we had apple cakes

and deep fried ice cream! (thanks to the kleins)

they were made up of vanilla ice cream balls brushed with egg and coated w/corn flakes

dipping them (for only about 8 sec) in the fry daddy

and they're done

but what to do with the rest of the fryer oil?

mix up some quick pancake batter and fry anything within arms reach

hooray!

string cheese, oreos, marshmallows

small pickles

this mallow was left in too long and it shot out from the batter

cardamom bar

chocolate chip cookie

great success!

scottish shortbread and oatcakes

 

for this years international dinner, I made shortbread and oatcakes to represent Scotland

scottish shortbread

2c. butter

1c. brown sugar

4 1/2c. flour

preheat oven to 325 degrees and cream together butter and brown sugar

add 3 3/4c. flour and mix well

sprinkle surface w/remaining flour and knead for 5 min.

roll out into 1/2in. thickness

cut into 3x1in strips

prick w/fork and place on ungreased baking sheet

bake for 20-25min

I failed to consider that they would spread out like they did

so while the shortbread was still warm, I cut along the lines to be sure they separated cleanly

my mother suggested that I refrigerate them before baking, I will try that next time

the end result was a very rich & buttery shortbread

scottish oatcakes

1/2c. shortening

1c. oats

1c. flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

2-3 tbsp cold water

cut shortening into dry mixture until crumbly

add water, 1 tbsp at a time, until the dough is stiff

roll dough out to 1/8in. thickness and cut into 2 1/2in. rounds

place rounds on ungreased sheet and bake at 375 degrees for 15-20min until golden

commonly eaten for breakfast, as a snack or a side with honey, butter, jam or cheese

wedding cakepops

 wedding cakepops for Angela's bridal shower

the idea and instruction came from bakerella...I love her

I baked a devils food box mix and used canned vanilla frosting

crumbled up the cake and mixed in 3-4 generous spoonfuls of frosting

formed them into balls using the cookie scoop

put the balls in the fridge for a while to firm up

I used a 1.5in circle cutter for the bottom layer

and a 1.25in crinkle cut circle for the top layer

you only need about 3/4 of the ball to fill the crinkle cutter

spread coating on the bottom of the crinkle layer to glue the two together

left the middle uncovered and inserted sticks half way through

put the cakepops in the fridge until ready to coat

used guittard chips and mixed in some paramount crystals for a thinner consistency

dipped each cakepop and rotated in/out of coating for even coverage

stuck quins on the top before the coating dried

 quality control

pipped a line of vanilla frosting at the bottom of each layer

and attached the sugar pearls to the frosting one by one

had to watch our for drooping sugar pearls until the frosting dried

finished product

the inside actually looked like a layered cake...amazing

tied some ribbon, cut out a heart, and Angela's wedding cakepop bouquet is complete

I used a clay pot filled with styrofoam and covered it w/ a 12x12in paper