Christmas Dinner

Phillip and I spent all of Christmas day cooking food, mixing drinks and watching movies. Then around 6:30 we headed over to the Saunders for Christmas dinner... we brought the appetizer and dessert and here is what we(I) made!

Tomato Bruschetta (recipe from The Old Post Office) (we cut this recipe by about 3/4ths)

-about 20 Tomatoes (4lbs) diced and drained
-1/3 cup minced garlic
-12 oz diced red onion (about 1 1/2 large onions) diced very small
-1 1/2 cups basil leaves, chopped
-1/2 cup chopped parsley
-1 tsp salt
-1 tsp pepper
-1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
-1/4 cup red wine vinegar
-1/4 cup olive oil

combine ingredients and serve with a sliced baguette or serve on crostini and top with grated Parmesan cheese and drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

Yum Yum! This recipe is very light and refreshing - and not to filling!


For dessert I made a recipe that the Co-op is considering making. It was very fast and easy to make, and oh so tasty!

Chocolate Fruit Purses - Preheat oven to 400

-1 cup fresh or frozen raspberries (or any other berry/ fruit that goes well with chocolate)
-2 Tblsp sugar
-1Tblsp cornstarch
-1/2 cup semi-sweet choc. chips
-1 sheet puff pastry, defrosted

Combine fruit, sugar and cornstarch in saucepan. Cook on low heat, stirring often - until it thickens (5 min). Remove from heat and stir in chocolate chips.

On a lightly floured surface, unfold the puff pastry. Stretch lightly (or roll with a rolling pin) to form a larger square. Cut into quarters to form four squares. Mound 1/4 of filling in the center of each square. Lift the four corners up and over filling and twist together to form a small topknot. Pinch each side seam to seal pastries.

(I actually turned this into a more personal pastry by cutting each sheet of puff pastry into nine smaller squares and putting a spoonful of the filling in each one. If you go with this method you can actually begin before the pastry is totally thawed out, although it is very helpful to roll the pastry out so you have more dough to work with.)

Place on a baking sheet and bake until puffed and golden - about 20 min.