Family Bites

How to Make Homemade Fruit and Nut Crisps

When Julie and I set out to write our book, we never once discussed including a recipe for homemade fruit and nut crisps (brand name Raincoast/Lesley Stowe Crackers). Seems sort of silly since she’s the one who cracked the code on how to make them at home in the first place.

Since she did so all those years ago, variations on the recipe have appeared on popular blogs, cooking websites, and even in books. For good reason too, because it’s really something worth knowing how to make, especially as we enter the holiday season.

I used to snatch up boxes of those popular store-bought crackers to add a little something extra special to my cheese platter, but at almost $9 per package, it was a high price to pay for not a lot of servings. This homemade version yields nearly 8 dozen crackers (less, if you don’t cut them as thinly as instructed) and is made from things you likely already have hanging around in the cupboard, maybe with the exception of the dried fruit and/or nuts and seeds.

So, how do you serve these twice-baked beauties? Anyway you like, really! They pair perfectly with a creamy brie, work well with something strong and pungent like a favourite blue, and are the ideal vehicle for a smearable cheese, like Boursin or goat. They’re sturdy enough to use as the base of any hors d’oeuvres and pack enough of a flavour punch that they can be munched on their own.

As usual, my very favourite thing about making these homemade crackers is that most of the work can be done in advance. You mix and bake the loaves, then freeze them until you need the crackers. In fact, you can make them now and tuck a few different variations in your freezer until the holidays, when you’ll simple need to remove the frozen loaves, slice the crackers and bake them just before serving. That’s my preferred way of preparing them, but you can also bake them off a few days in advance, if you like. 

How do you feel about homemade crackers? Is it something you’d make? Do you love them for entertaining as much as I do?

Looking for more holiday how-tos? Check out the series here:

How to Fill a Bread Basket

 

Homemade Fruit and Nut Crisps

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup whole-wheat flour
• 2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2 cups buttermilk
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup honey, warmed
• 1/2 cup pumpkin or sunflower seeds
• 1/4 cup sesame seeds
• 1/4 cup ground flax seed
• 1 Tbsp. chopped fresh rosemary

Add-In Option 1:

• 1 cup raisins or dried cranberries
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans

Add-In Option 2:

• 1 cup dried cherries
• 1/2 cup chopped pistachios

Add-In Option 3:

• 1 cup chopped dried apricots
• 1/2 cup chopped hazelnuts

Preheat oven to 350° F and grease two 8" x 4" loaf pans with non-stick cooking spray.

In a large bowl, stir together the flours, baking soda and salt. Add the buttermilk, brown sugar and honey and stir a few strokes. Add the pumpkin/sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, flax seed, rosemary, and desired add-ins (choose from one of the options) and stir just until blended.

Pour the batter into the prepared pans and bake for 35-40 minutes, or until golden brown in colour and springy to the touch. Remove from the pans and cool on a wire rack.

The bread is easiest to slice when it's had the chance to cool completely. Transfer cooled loaves to a freezer-safe container and freeze solid, several hours or over night. If you're planning to freeze the loaves for longer than a day - they can be stored for up to 3 months - wrap them in foil before freezing. 

When ready to bake the crisps, preheat the oven to 300°F.

Using a serrated knife, slice the loaves as thin as possible - 1/8" if possible - and place the slices in a single layer on a parchment-lined cookie sheet. Bake them for about 15 minutes, flip them over, and bake for another 10-15 minutes, or until crisp and deep golden brown. The edges should be curled slightly, and don't fret if they're still soft in the centre as the crackers will crisp significantly as they cool. Store in an airtight container or serve immediately. 

Makes about 8 dozen crackers.

From Dinner with Julie

Seven-Layer Greek Dip

Our summer plans are a still a little up in the air and it’s making me a tiny bit jumpy. In a week’s time, the boys will be home for 56 days (yes, I’m counting) and everything I thought we were doing this summer may actually no longer be so. It’s almost exclusively related to work issues, and the recent realization that I have to spend a solid two weeks reviewing the first page proofs of my book, and while there will most definitely be vacations (note the plural!) I’m not exactly sure if it’ll be the one we’ve planned, or a new adventure altogether, which makes me twitchy and not unlike how I feel when my stash of butter dwindles to three pounds or my freezer feels empty.

We’re keeping most of this weekend clear to work on solidifying some sort of schedule for at least a portion of the summer. I’ve filled the fridge with food, the charcoal bin is loaded with hardwood lumps, the fire pit’s been scrubbed, marshmallows have been procured, and I’ve made a dip for happy hour snacking tonight after work. Clearly, I’ve armed us with everything we need to hunker down and make some plans. 

If a traditional seven-layer Mexican dip is for Super Bowl parties and Cinco de Mayo celebrations, this Greek-inspired version is definitely designed for summer dinners and casual warm-weather entertaining. This fresh makeover of the popular appetizer is apropos for the season, and most of the ingredients are likely things you already have on hand. My seven layers consist of a garlic and herb-infused cream cheese, plain hummus (store-bought is fine), sliced cucumbers, chopped tomatoes, kalamata olives, salty crumbled feta, and smattering of vibrant green onions. You can certainly swap a few things around if you prefer, replacing one of the layers with sliced peppers, or even seasoned ground lamb, if you want to make a meal out of the recipe.

A few notes about layer dips: they hold up best when they’ve had the chance to firm up in the fridge so I encourage you to make this at least two hours in advance but even further ahead - like up to 8 hours - is ideal. These types of dips tend to take on a mangled appearance after the first ten to twelve bites, which is why it’s best to keep the serving container relatively small. This recipe fills a 6-cup serving dish, but if you need more, I would double the recipe and make two separate dishes instead of one large one. When the first batch looks a little battered, replace it with the second one…trust me, your tablemates will thank you.

Seven-Layer Greek Dip

Serves 4-6

• 8 oz. cream cheese, softened
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• ½ teaspoon dill weed
• ½ teaspoon onion powder or 1 tablespoon minced onion
• ½ teaspoon oregano
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• Fresh ground pepper
• 1 cup hummus
• 1 cup diced, seeded English cucumber
• 1 cup chopped, seeded tomatoes
• ½ cup sliced or chopped kalamata olives
• ½ cup crumbled feta
• 2-3 green onions, thinly sliced (white and light green parts only)

Using an electric or hand-held mixer beat the cream cheese, lemon juice, dill weed, onion powder, oregano, garlic, and a few grinds of pepper until light and fluffy. Smear in the bottom of a baking dish, serving platter or pie plate.

Cover with the hummus, and then create the layers by scattering the cucumbers on top, followed by the tomatoes, olives, feta, and green onions.

Cover and chill for a minimum of 2 hours. Serve with pita chips, nacho chips, flatbread or fresh baguette. 

*Inspired by a recipe from Better Homes and Gardens

Flatbread Five Ways

Everyday after school the boys bolt through the house to the kitchen in search of food. Their shoes are still on, the backpacks haphazardly tossed into the middle of the hallway, and they arrive with toques in hand and jackets only slightly undone. And everyday I ask them to at least remove their shoes and wash their hands before they stuff their face with food. The roll their eyes, retreat to the hallway, and begrudgingly strip themselves of their outside clothing before they devour whatever they can find in the fridge.

Not surprisingly, they often default to something sweet. We’ve all experienced the 3pm snack attack that hits hard in the middle of the afternoon, but when you pair those hunger pains with the ferocious appetites of tween/teen boys you’re left with a meal-sized snack that’s mostly made of empty calories and sugar.

Which is why I’m making flatbread. 

Last weekend, I was invited to a lunch hosted by KitchenAid. Each invitee brought a guest, and as a group we cooked a feast with Canadian chef Lynn Crawford. While the entire meal was memorable, it was the flatbread that left a mark on me. I immediately thought of all the ways I could put my own twist on this delicious dish, when my friend Tess, who was my plus one, told me she made it for her boys for an after school nibble. I knew this was another stroke of brilliance in a long line of good ideas she has and committed to try it myself. 

The next day I prepped the dough, which took five minutes, gave it less than an hour to rise, and slathered the rolled out pieces with pesto, prosciutto, and fresh mozzarella. It was baked and bubbling when the kids walked in the door and to say they were pleased would be a gross understatement.

I made the dough again and served it as an appetizer for a dinner with friends. And then again, only this time I brushed it with garlic oil and paired it with warm pizza sauce for dipping. And finally, the golden grilled pieces were given a spring makeover with mashed peas, salty Parmesan, crisp radish, and crumbled bacon. When it works well for the kids, I’m thrilled. But if I can distort the details just a little, and make something that’s dinner party worthy too, well, that’s even better. Friends, I think I may have just found your go-to appetizer for spring. 

Flatbread Five Ways

Bread recipe adapted from Lynn Crawford

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 cup warm water
• 1 tablespoon yeast
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1/4 cup olive oil

Combine the flour and salt in a medium mixing bowl and set aside. In a glass measuring cup, stir together the water, yeast and honey and let sit for 10 minutes, or until mixture is frothy. 

Pour the yeast mixture into the flour; add the olive oil, and stir to combine. You should be left with a soft and smooth dough that's slightly sticky to the touch. If it seems a little dry, add a few more drops of water to achieve the desired texture. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a tea towel and let rise for 1 hour, or until doubled in bulk. 

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees (alternatively, you can oil your grill pan and place it over medium heat). 

Divide the dough into four equal portions. On a lightly floured surface roll the dough into long teardrop shapes, about 4-inches wide by 12-14-inches long and 1/4-inch thick. Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet and let rest for 10-15 minutes. 

Cover the dough with desired toppings (see below for ideas) and bake for 10 minutes (grill for 2 minutes per side) or until the dough is puffed and the edges are golden brown. 

Serves 4 - 6

Topping Suggestions:

• Cover dough with pesto, thinly sliced prosciutto, fresh mozzarella, and red pepper flakes and bake as per recipe instructions.
• Brush garlic oil (warm 2/3 cup olive oil, 1 minced shallot, 1 minced garlic clove, and 1 sprig fresh thyme in a pot set over medium-low heat for 10 minutes) over baked flatbread and top with goat cheese, baby kale, and heirloom baby tomatoes that have been tossed with a teaspoon of the garlic oil.
• Brush garlic oil over dough, bake as per recipe instructions, brush another layer of oil over top of the baked dough and serve with extra oil or warm marinara/pizza sauce for dipping.
• Cover dough with grated aged cheddar, cooked bacon or pancetta and caramelized onions; bake as per recipe instructions. Garnish with fresh arugula or baby kale. 
• Bake dough as per recipe instructions. Smear sweet pea spread (pulverize fresh peas, parmesan, olive oil, salt, pepper and mint in food processor until smooth) over the dough; top with thinly sliced radishes, crumbled bacon, and feta cheese.  

Sparkling Sugared Cranberries

Sweet and tangy, sugared cranberries have rolled their way to the top of my must-make list for the upcoming holiday season. They’re ideal for topping festive desserts, look pretty sitting in a bowl beside a bottle of your favourite bubbly, and are a tasty little pop-in-your-mouth treat that’s bursting, quite literally, with flavour.

Made using only three ingredients – water, sugar, and cranberries – these ruby red orbs are easily jazzed up with the addition of orange peel, vanilla bean, or ground spices. Feel free to infuse the simple syrup mixture made at the beginning of the recipe, or season the sugar with a little spice for an added layer of taste.

Additional uses for this festive garnish include: sliding a few frosted cranberries onto small cocktail skewers and serving them alongside a drink, adding them to a cheese board for a dose of much needed colour, garnishing a fruit platter to be served at a holiday brunch, or simply filling small bowls and distributing them around your space for a pretty, edible holiday table decoration.

Lastly, a note about the recipe: simple syrup is usually made on the stove top in a pot, but I’ve opted to make it by boiling water in an electric kettle. You don’t want the syrup overly hot when you pour it over the cranberries, otherwise they’ll burst, and this method keeps the berries in tact, while properly dissolving the sugar.

Have you made sugared cranberries before? How do you like to serve them?

 

Sparking Sugared Cranberries

Despite what I have read online, I find these berries really don’t hold well for more than a day, so make them just before you need them, although they can be soaked in the syrup overnight if you like. Speaking of the sweet liquid, reserve any extra for another batch of cranberries or use to flavour cocktails and/or sparkling water.

• 1 package (3 ½ cups) fresh cranberries
• 1 cup water
• 2 – 2 ½  cups sugar, divided
• Optional: orange peel, vanilla bean, assorted spices

Place the cranberries in a shallow baking dish. Fill an electric kettle with water and bring to a boil. Place one cup of the sugar in a small bowl and add 1 cup of the hot water, whisking until the sugar has completely dissolved. Pour the syrupy water over the cranberries and stir to combine. Refrigerate for a minimum of 30 minutes and up to 8 hours (overnight). 

Drain the cranberries, reserving the syrup for another use (see headnote) and place a small amount of the remaining sugar into a medium bowl. Add 5-7 cranberries and toss around, completely coating the fruit with the sugar. Don't use more fruit than this as the sugar will get clumpy from the dampness of the berries.

Place the cranberries on a baking sheet and repeat with the remaining ingredients; let dry for 1-2 hours. Do a second toss in the sugar to coat any sticky spots that remain on the fruit, and allow fruit to dry for another hour. Serve as per the suggestions above.

The Whirley Pop

If you happen to be hanging out around our house after school, or on the weekend when we’re watching a movie, then you’ve definitely witnessed the plentiful amounts of popcorn that get popped around this place.

I’m smitten (obsessed might be the better word here) with serving popcorn when there are a lot of hungry kids nearby. It’s inexpensive, reasonably good for you, feeds a crowd well, and keeps hunger pains at bay, especially for the growing boys who spend a lot of time in our home.

I haven’t been acquainted with the regular use of a microwave for fifteen years, and while I'm no stranger to popping my popcorn using the old-fashioned method of a hot pot on the stovetop, last summer I wised up to my time consuming ways and purchased a Whirley Pop Popcorn Popper, which is now one of the hardest working tools in my kitchen.

Are you familiar with this quick-cooking gadget? Without getting too technical, it’s a hand-cranked stovetop popcorn maker that cooks up twice the amount of popcorn that's in a microwaveable bag of kernels, in about 3 minutes. No joke. You only need a minimal amount of oil in your pot, which makes it so much healthier for you than the store-bought or microwave varieties. You can customize the flavour by adding spices to the oil before cooking the popcorn (I’m a fan of chili powder), or tossing around add-ins like nuts, seeds, coconut, chocolate chips, Parmesan cheese, etc. when the kernels have finished popping.

My standard recipe for a batch of plain popcorn is: 1 ½ tablespoons coconut oil + ½ cup popcorn kernels + ½ - 1 teaspoon kosher salt. Once popped, I usually add something else to the bowl, even it’s just a drizzle of warm, melted butter. 

Do you like popcorn as much as we do? Do you have a Whirley Pop? How do you make your popcorn at home?

 

The Summer Cheese Platter

Man may not be able to live on bread alone, but this woman could likely live on cheese if given the chance. I can’t think of a single food I enjoy more, and I’ve been known to consider cheese and crackers a proper meal from time to time.

Not just ordinary cheese and crackers, though. That’s fine in a pinch, but I love to jazz up my cheese plates with pickles, cured meats, jams, chutneys, and certain seasonal produce, like grapes, apples and pears, and corn.

Say what? Corn on a cheese platter? Yes, please!

I know it’s not conventional, but it totally works in the right situation. In fact, it’s more than okay when you pair the golden grilled kernels with pickled jalapeños, Monterrey Jack cheese, and crisp crackers.  And in keeping with the summer theme, how about including some peaches, tomatoes, basil, and homemade jam in the mix, too? 

 

Not only do these ingredients add an element of surprise and pop of pretty colour to your platter, but they also happen to be available in abundance in the late summer ensuring you’re likely to have them on hand. I say feel free to leave all of the ingredients on a long board and let your friends put together their own favourite combination, or prepare a few dozen crackers with the fusions you’re fond for an easy, seasonal appetizer.

Here are a few of the summer flavours I’m kind of crazy about:

• Water cracker, blue cheese, peach slice, honey, and chopped hazelnuts

• Paris toasts, goat cheese, basil, grape tomato, and fresh ground black pepper

• Crisp cracker, Monterrey Jack cheese, pickled jalapeño, and grilled corn kernels

• Light cracker, aged cheddar cheese, spinach or arugula, berry jam

If you’ve been reading the blog long enough you know that Rob and I have a weekly date night at home every Wednesday. More often than not cheese makes it way into our meal, and I tested a few of these combinations on him last week. He was a huge fan of all of them except the one with the jam, which just happened to be my personal favourite. I guess opposites really do attract, even when it comes to cheese.

Radish Tartines

How do you feel about radishes? These days I’m pretty obsessed. I’ve been adding them to my stellar buttermilk potato salad (recipe coming next week!), tossing them with greens, feta, cucumber, and a creamy herb dressing, and layering them over buttered bread, then dressing them up just a little with a smattering of sea salt and chopped garlic chives for an easy three-minute workday lunch. In essence, I adore them.

I can’t say that’s always been the case, though. I didn’t grow up eating a lot of radishes. They weren’t found in a package with printed directions so I don’t think anyone knew what to do with them. I’m kidding; sort of. I do remember noticing them in a basic garden salad when we went to friend’s homes for dinner, and I think at some point someone in my household planted a vegetable garden and grew a bunch, maybe two. But, what sticks in my mind the most, is that no one knew what to do with the ruby orbs, despite the fact that they were always around.

I’ve told you this story because I’m participating in The Canadian Food Experience Project, along with 50 other Canadian food bloggers. For the next year we’ll be sharing stories of Canadian culture and cuisine, and in June we’re all offering a Canadian food memory. Because more than 13,000 tonnes (or 28,652,000 pounds!) of radishes are grown in this fine country each month, I thought this pretty root vegetable was deserved its due.

Also, the colours couldn’t be more Canadian, don’t you think?

Radish Tartines

There is no real recipe for this. Slather hunks of bread with creamy unsalted butter and layer thin slices of radish over top. Garnish with a coarse sea salt and chopped garlic chives. In addition to a simple lunch, these also make for an easy, seasonal appetizer for any summer party you might be hosting.   

P.S. The other tartines you see above are made with goat cheese, chopped strawberries, basil, and fresh ground black pepper.

Beefing Up Scotch Eggs

A good friend recently asked me if I could put together a few ideas for finger foods that she could easily serve up to guests, but men in particular, as she lives with a few hockey/football loving males who spend a lot of time glued to their TV sets in the early fall watching Sunday sports. Boy, can I relate. Fortunately, around the same time, Canadian Beef asked me to put together a blog post, as part of their blogger program, and my challenge was to create a dish that combined beef and eggs.

Fortunately, I had feeding boys on the brain, and I don't know many who would turn their noses up to beef or eggs, but what about the two combined? It seemed almost too easy to make a burger topped with a fried egg, or a stir-fry that made use of a steak and egg combination, but Scotch eggs fit the bill on all fronts. I could swap the traditional sausage meat for Canadian ground beef, and my girlfriend would get her meaty man-food.