New Year Menu & Specials

Dear foodie friends,

We will be offering a selection of gourmet comfort foods for New Years Eve. These items will be available in our fresh fridge on Friday, Dec 30th (we're open from 9:30 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.) and Saturday, Dec 31st (we're open from 9:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.) We will be closed on Sunday, January 1st and Monday, January 2nd.

$9.98/L - winter squash soup with fresh sage
$11.98/L - potato, asiago and white truffle soup
$22.98/dz - coconut shrimp with thai dipping sauce
$9.98 sm; $24.98 lrg - "hogtails" beef brisket shepherd's pie
$29.98 lrg - seafood pot pie with lobster, shrimp, scallops, salmon & halibut in a white-wine cream sauce with yukon gold-celeraic topping

We also have a ton of ready-to-bake appetizers (which we will be sampling this week), cheese tortes and quesadilla's for New Years Eve. Or pick up some of our ready-to-bake scones, best-ever granola and/or quiche for New Years Day brunch.
Lastly, our January special (all month long) is any 3 L of our soup for $25 including tax!

Have a happy and healthy new year,
Dana and the dsg gang

recipe: turkey quesadilla

It’s hard to believe that Christmas is just around the corner!  This is my favourite time of the year, filled with family, wonderful traditions and of course, delicious food.  In our family, Christmas Eve is usually a stand-up style dinner – easy-to-eat hors d’oeuvres that we enjoy over several hours.  Breakfast on the 25^th always includes good coffee, juice, a special fruit salad and scones.  And we’re all about tradition for dinner – turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, rutabaga, squash, broccoli… and lots of it, because we love leftovers around here!

If you’re getting bored of the standard hot-turkey sandwiches, here are FOUR delicious ways to use up your leftovers:

·        Turkey, cranberry and asiago quesadilla’s (spread cranberry sauce onto one flour tortilla, top with sliced turkey, asiago cheese and chopped, leftover vegetables.  Top with second tortilla.  Grill in lightly oiled pan set over medium heat, turning once, until brown on both sides)

·        Turkey dinner casserole – make a simple béchamel (white sauce) and thin it out with a bit of chicken stock or white wine.  Add leftover chopped turkey and vegetables, stir to combine.  Spread leftover mashed potatoes or squash onto the bottom of a casserole pan, top with turkey mixture, then top with leftover stuffing.  Sprinkle with a handful of dried cranberries, then dot with butter and bake until warm.  

·        Turkey grilled cheese – stuff your favourite bread with turkey, grilled squash, brie cheese and cranberry sauce.  Spread with butter and grill on both sides until golden brown.

·        Zesty turkey & peanut soup (recipe can be found on my website at:  http://www.danashortt.ca/recipes.htm)

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Holidays, and Happy New Year to you, your family and friends.

recipe: rosemary shorttbread with pears & camboloza cheese

I have a confession (a dirty-little secret if you would) to share with you:  my husband and I don’t entertain in December.  December is by far the busiest month of the year at my store, and all of my time and energy needs to be focused on the shop.  Working in retail in December is loads of fun though, as there is an indescribable energy all around, and (almost) everyone is in a fabulous mood!

That being said, I sometimes daydream about the kind of parties I would host if I weren’t so busy.  What repeatedly comes to mind is a “brunch-by-the-bite” hors d’oeuvres party.  

Friends and family would arrive late morning on a Saturday.  Everyone would most definitely be greeted at the door with a mimosa.  After most of the guests had arrived, I’d start passing mini-sized versions of classic, comfort breakfast and brunch foods, such as:  tiny BLT sandwiches, mini quiches and frittata’s, small skewers of roasted potatoes with aioli, teeny-tiny pastries (think muffins, Danishes, scones, shortbread), fresh fruit skewers, shot glasses of fruit smoothies, and more.

Who doesn’t love breakfast food?  And let’s face it, December is a crazy busy time for everyone, so a late-morning to early-afternoon party means that you still have a good chunk of the afternoon and evening to get other things accomplished.

Below is one of the recipes from my “mock menu” for this fantasy party!

rosemary shorttbread with pears & camboloza cheese

ingredients

2 (two) cups all-purpose flour

1½ (one-and-one-half) tbsp. finely chopped fresh rosemary leaves

1 (one) cup unsalted butter, softened

½ (one-half) cup packed brown sugar

1 (one) cup camboloza cheese (or goat cheese), softened

½ (one-half) cup spiced pear chutney, jam or confit

1 (one) pear, sliced (skin on) into 1 inch pieces, to garnish

method

1.      Preheat oven to 300°F.

2.      In a bowl whisk together flour and rosemary.  In another bowl with an electric mixer beat together butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Add flour mixture gradually, beating until just combined. 

3.      Press dough evenly into an 11 x 7-inch or 9-inch square baking pan and with a sharp knife score about ¼-inch deep in top 1 ½ inch squares or rectangles. 

4.      Bake shortbread in middle of oven 45 to 55 minutes, or until pale golden.

5.      Cool shortbread in pan on a rack and cut completely through score marks.

6.      Top cooled shortbread with about a teaspoon of softened cheese, a dollop of jam and a piece of sliced pear.

December 2011 Newsletter

December 2011

www.danashortt.ca

::: gifts for cooks...and hostess gifts! -$12.98 each - any of our 41 varieties of extra-virgin olive oil or aged balsamic vinegar (200 ml) -15.98 and up - dsg wrapped hostess gifts & gourmet gift baskets $18.98 - 60 ml. bottle of our white truffle oil & 60 ml. bottle of our black truffle salt, all wrapped up -$13.98 - $14.98 coach house shortbread, 10 flavours, wrapped package of 18 pieces -rheo thompson candies chocolate, reid chocolate, eve chocolate....need I say more? -$10.00 and up - dana shortt gourmet gift certificates $149.98 - 2 L italian, stainless steel "fusti" container filled with 2 L of your choice of extra virgin olive oil or balsamic vinegar ::: what's in our fresh fridge today? -brownies $6.98/slab -tons of fresh scones $8.98/8 -quesadillas $10.98 each -wild mushroom soup with sherry $9.98/L -best ever meatloaf $9.98 small, $19.98 large -white chicken chili $14.98 -lamb shepherd's pie with sweet potato topping $9.98 small, $19.98 large ::: recipe-of-the-month I am thrilled to announce that my friend Tina Roberts has finished her cookbook and it is now available for sale at the shop! Many of you will recognize Tina's name because she's contributed so many wonderful recipes to my newsletters and Chronicle columns over the years - including her famous "blueberry drizzle salad" and her award-winning "marinated brie". Her cookbook is titled "The Two Sisters cookbook". Tina originally planned on only making 3 copies - one for herself, one for her sister Audrey and one for her mom. However, the cookbook was such a huge hit with friends and family that she ended up giving away over 100 copies! Long story short, Tina decided to adapt the original version and create 20 new menus, each inspired by a family memory. Tina has generously shared a new recipe from the book - her Caesar Crisps (from the "Marry Me" menu). Also - Tina is holding her cookbook launch at our shop on Sunday, December 11th from 11 a.m. - 4 p.m. Please stop by to meet Tina and enjoy some sample recipes from her book! Tina's Caesar Crisps Tina says “I love Caesar Salad, so I thought I’d put my creativity to work and invent an appetizer that has the same delicious flavours. This appetizer is also pretty to serve during the holiday season – the red and green are perfect at Christmas”. Ingredients: EGG MIXTURE 1 large egg yolk 4 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese 2 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice ½ tsp grated lemon zest 1 clove garlic, pressed ½ tsp Dijon mustard ¼ tsp Worcestershire sauce red hot cayenne pepper sauce freshly ground black pepper 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 4 large flour tortillas TOPPING 1 cup peeled, seeded, and finely chopped tomatoes (about 1 pound) kosher salt ½ cup grated Asiago cheese 2/3 cup grated mozzarella cheese 4 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese ADD THE LOVE ½ cup finely chopped romaine lettuce hearts Method: Preheat oven to 400°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Whisk together yolk, cheese, juice, zest, garlic, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, pepper sauce, and pepper in a small bowl until smooth. Slowly whisk in oil. Divide egg mixture evenly over tortillas. Place tortillas on baking sheets. Sprinkle tomatoes with salt and let stand for 5 minutes. Drain excess liquid from tomatoes. Sprinkle tomatoes, Asiago, mozzarella, and Parmesan cheeses evenly over tortillas. Bake tortillas for 12 to 14 minutes or until tortillas are golden and cheese is bubbling. Remove from oven. Add the love: Slice tortillas into wedges, sprinkle with lettuce, and serve immediately. Tip:To peel tomatoes, wash tomatoes thoroughly and bring a pot of water to a boil. Cut a shallow ‘x’ into the bottom of each tomato. Place tomatoes into boiling water and remove after 30 seconds. Run Under cold water to remove skins.

::: 12 days of christmas sales (thursday, dec 1 - monday, dec 12) We are offering the following specials: -two, wood-fired 9" pizza's for $13.98 including tax (7 varieties to choose from) -large, 10" leek & sausage pot pie for $13.98 including tax -15 pack spring rolls for $10 including tax -mulligatawny & spinach-tomato thakali soups for $8/L including tax PLUS - our cheese tortes are on sale! Sun, Dec 4 - maple pecan ice wine torte for $13 including tax (save $4) Sun, Dec 11 - pesto tomato torte for $12 including tax (save $4) ::: extended holiday hours Holiday Hours starting Dec 1: Monday - Friday - 9:30 a.m. - 7:00 p.m. Saturday - 9:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Sunday - 11 a.m. - 4 p.m. (Dec 4, 11 and 18th only) note: we are open all days in December with the exception of Christmas Day and Boxing Day ::: one of my favourite blogs One of my favourite blogs (and it's local!) is called Eat, Spin, Run, Repeat. It's an amazing resource filled with fitness advice, diet & nutrition tips, food and product reviews and tons of delicious, healthy recipes. I recently got in touch with Angela to tell her about our new olive oil & balsamic vinegar tasting bar, as I knew from reading her blog that she loved cooking with balsamic vinegars. Angela recently stopped by the shop to check out our "bar" and wrote a comprehensive review of her experience, complete with photos. Please check out her review and blog by clicking the link below: http://eat-spin-run-repeat.com/2011/11/29/the-most-amazing-bar-ive-ever-been-to/ ::: gift baskets! We would love to help you with your corporate and/or personal gourmet gift baskets this holiday season. Baskets start at $40.00 and up and are filled with our made in-house items as well as customer favourites like Rheo Thompson Candies & Reid Chocolates. Click on the link to view our 2011 holiday basket info: http://www.danashortt.ca/gifts.htm#basket ::: coach house shortbread! Did you know that we are one of only 14 retailers in Canada selling "Coach House Shortbread"? We carry 10 flavours - 5 sweet and 5 savoury. The shortbreads are featured in the current holiday issue of the LCBO's Food & Drink magazine (last page of the magazine) and Vicky Sanderson of the Toronto Star recently wrote that they are "the best shortbread I've ever had in my life (sorry, mom)" Click here for their website with more info: www.shortbread.ca ::: merry christmas! Happy holidays, Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa to all of you from all of us at DSG! Thank you for your loyal patronage and support in 2011 - we look forward to serving you in 2012. ::: www.danashortt.ca