I Confess.......I love schmaltzy Christmas movies

Hi all:

It has been a long time since my last post, but that is because I have been so busy with school, gift shopping, grocery shopping, baking etc.  One would think I would have a system by now and that all would run like clockwork - well, not so. I just finished baking yesterday (7 different holiday cookies) and still need to wrap most of the presents.

To keep me sane through this busy time of year, I indulge myself in the most guilty of pleasures; I watch all the Women's Network/ Life Network (just about any network!) Christmas movies.  I have become so obsessed with them, that I have kept my favourite ones recorded from last year and refuse to let my husband delete them.  Does it matter that they take up about 50% of the space on our PVR? I don't think that is a big issue.  Besides, how can I be certain they will air again the following year?  How would I live if I couldn't watch my all-time favourite holiday movie, all year long? Yes, I confess; I watch Christmas movies ALL YEAR LONG!!  They make me smile - DON'T JUDGE ME.

This year, I was ecstatic to find several movies which I had never heard of, nor seen previously.  Sadly, I watched many and then deleted them.  They just didn't meet my high standards: romance, perky girl, handsome guy, mix-ups, little lies, and ultimately falling into each other's arms - now that is a tried and true storyline.  Many of the ones I deleted just didn't have likeable characters or the acting was bad or the story was just plain dumb.  I consider myself quite a Christmas movie aficionado, so I know of what I speak.

I won't go into details about which movies disappointed me, but I will give you my top 20 Christmas movie favourites. ( note: I just checked my PVR and found I have 58 Christmas movies saved to watch. I have seen most, but there are still lots to watch for the first time - there REALLY IS such a thing as Christmas Magic!!)

Here they are: (I can't possibly rate them in order; they are all good, but I will save my all-time favourite for #20)

1)  His and Her Christmas - two rival journalists write columns and fall in love - magic!

2)  Holly's Holiday - a mannequin comes to life - Does Holly find love with him?

3). Love at the Parade - a quirky girl that loves everything vintage, finds love.

4). Mistletoe Over Manhattan - Mrs. Claus travels to New York to help a couple rekindle their love.

5). Most Wonderful Time of the Year - a handsome stranger gets stranded at the airport during the holidays - Henry Winkler brings him home to meet his niece. I love this one! It is funny and the stranger is very cute.

6). My Fake Fiancé - Melissa Joan Hart (I love her because she is quirky) and Joey Lawrence fake an engagement to collect gifts. This may not be a Christmas movie, but I love it anyways.

7). Naughty or Nice - a woman finds Santa's naughty/nice book and trouble ensues - Love it!!

8). A Road to Christmas - a woman (Jennifer Grey) tries to get to her fiancé in Aspen. She has trouble along the way and finds something special. - Love it!

9). Eve's Christmas - this one involves time travel - a common theme among Christmas movies - love it!

10) Let it Snow - a big resort company buys a rustic lodge in order to convert it to a resort. The company owner sends his daughter to inspect the lodge and she finds much more than she bargains for.

11) Battle of the Bulbs - one of the first schmaltzy Christmas movies I saw, therefore it holds a special place in my heart. Daniel Stern is great as the maniac neighbour who goes overboard with the Christmas decorations.

12) Call Me Mrs. Miracle - a magical woman finds employment in a department store (hmmm... Time travel and department stores are very common themes in these movies) and all sorts of wonderful things happen.

13) Christmas Lodge - a woman wants to help refurbish the old lodge that her family used to go to at Christmas - love ensues.

14) Christmas Mail - a postal worker who answers letters to Santa, finds love.

15) Christmas on Chestnut Street - a competition for best Christmas lights display ensues - another common theme.

16) Under the Mistletoe - a woman enters a radio dating contest and finds love.

17) Window Wonderland - (I loved this one!) - 2 competing window dressers try to come up with the best windows to land a promotion. The guy is cute and quirky - loved him!

18) Signed, Sealed, Delivered for Christmas - some quirky postal workers do their best to answer every letter to Santa.  I loved this one too as the story was very unique and the characters were quirky. (Have I said that I love quirky?)

19) A Bride for Christmas - this just might tie with my all-time favourite movie (#20). A man bets his friends that he can get engaged by Christmas. This was shot locally in Fort Langley (I love seeing shops and streets that I recognize). Let me say this: Andrew Walker is one cute guy and I personally feel he should be in all Christmas movies from now on!!!

And I saved the best for last.

20) Holiday in Handcuffs - My absolute favourite Christmas movie of all time!  It stars Melissa Joan Hart  (she is so quirky in this and I love her) and Mario Lopez (he is cute too). Melissa Joan Hart plays Trudy, a girl who can't do anything right, especially where her parents are concerned. She tells them she is bringing her boyfriend to Christmas, but he breaks up with her just before they are set to leave. She is desperate and resorts to desperate measures by kidnapping a customer to pose as her boyfriend. Hilarity ensues as Trudy tries to impress her parents, but they seem to ignore her and give her "boyfriend" more attention. Markie Post (she has been in a few holiday movies too) is really good as Trudy's mom and is funny when she chides her by saying "Gertrude Marie". I laugh at that every time. Poor Trudy can't win in her parents' eyes, however her captive starts to see her in a different light.  Does poor Trudy ever find love and acceptance by her parents?  You will have to watch this one to find out.  It is well worth it and remains my all-time favourite. 

Well, that is the gospel according to me, Rosie.

I hope you watch some of these movies over the holidays. They are worth it. Yes, they are schmaltzy and follow standard formulas, but the goods ones will make you laugh and maybe even cry a little and at the very end, hopefully will make you smile.

Merry Christmas everyone.

Rosie

Rosie's Fish Tacos

I made another great meal last night using my Blackened Fish/Chicken rub recipe you will find under my "Summer Salad" blog. It is so simple to make this rub and use it on fish (or chicken).

Here is the rub recipe again.

Blackened Fish/Chicken Rub

=====================

1 1/2 tsp. paprika

1 tsp. dried oregano

3/4 tsp. garlic powder (not garlic salt)

1/8 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper (I use about 1/8 tsp.)

1/4 to 1/2 tsp. freshly cracked pepper

Combine all and rub onto fish or chicken. Brown in olive oil in a hot skillet. Use in your favourite recipe.

To make the fish tacos I made last night, I tripled the recipe as I had a lot of different fish in my freezer. (Yes, I am still cleaning out my freezer and using up what is in there.)

Rosie's Fish Tacos

***********************

8 small pieces of fish (I had Tilapia, Mahi Mahi and Sole in my freezer) - thawed

Tortilla shells

Coleslaw mix

Coleslaw dressing

Pumpkin seeds

Lime wedges

Make the rub above and rub onto the thawed fish fillets. Brown the fish in a skillet on med-high heat until cooked. This shouldn't take longer than 10 minutes or so, depending on how thick your fish is. Just make sure it is flaky and cooked all the way through.

While the fish is cooking, make the coleslaw. I used Kraft Coleslaw dressing and packaged coleslaw cabbage mix. Just add some dressing to the coleslaw mix and throw in some shelled pumpkin seeds (or any other seed like sunflower), and toss.

Now it is time to assemble the tacos.

Plate.

Taco shell.

Add fish.

Squeeze a lot of lime juice onto fish.

Add coleslaw.

Voila!  It is equally as good with soft tortilla shells as well. I bought the Old El Paso package that has both kinds in it and saved the seasonings for another time.

Simple n'est pas? You could add a salad but we weren't that hungry. This is perfect for a light midweek meal.

Enjoy,

Rosie

Kartoffel Goulash (Potato Goulash)

Last night, I made a wonderful dish that my mom often made when I was growing up. It is called "Kartoffel Goulash" and is fast and very good. My family is from Austria, where this type of food is common - a little like our chili in North America. It is a one-pot dish and when served over plain rice, is warming and very hearty on cold Autumn nights.

This type of meal is, I am sure, a type of "peasant meal" - no costly ingredients or high-fallutin' techniques required, but as I need to clean out my freezer, I have been pulling out everything and making meals from what I have.  The magic ingredient in this is: wait for it..... wieners!  Yes, the unassuming wiener. I will bet you could never imagine a great meal being made from the humble wiener.

Well, here is my mom's recipe in all its "knack wurst" glory:

Kartoffel Goulash

*********************

2 medium onions - finely chopped (I used 1 1/2 onions)

Approx. 1 1/2 T. Paprika

Approx. 5-6 potatoes - uncooked, peeled and cubed

Approx. 5-6 c. Water

1 beef cube or buillion package

1-2 red peppers - chopped

5-6 wieners - chopped

Salt and pepper

2-3 slices bacon - optional (I didn't use this)

Garlic - minced (I didn't use this)

Caraway seeds (I didn't use this)

Olive oil

Approx. 1 T. Cornstarch

In a  large Dutch oven, sauté the onions in a little olive oil until browned. I always use red onions for my cooking: they aren't as harsh as white ones. The secret to a good goulash according to my mom, is that you use as much onion as you have meat. I probably didn't use quite that much, but the idea is to not be shy; use a lot of onion.

Once the onions are brown, add the paprika and stir into the onions. Next, add the red pepper and cubed potatoes.

These were all the potatoes I had. I would use about 6 larger potatoes for this recipe.

Next, add enough water to cover everything and add the beef buillion package. Stir and simmer covered, at med-low until the potatoes are cooked.

Once the potatoes are cooked, add the wieners. In my picture at the beginning of the recipe, you can see the variety of frozen wieners I had in my freezer. I used 3 regular beef wieners, 1 European wiener and 2 knack wurst.  Any combination will do.  It would even be alright to use all regular wieners, but the smokiness of a smokie or knack wurst really adds a lot of flavour.  Simmer for a few more minutes to warm the wieners.

To thicken the sauce, scoop about 4-5 T. of the goulash broth into a separate cup or mug. Add 1 T. of cornstarch into the broth and stir with a fork until all of the cornstarch is dissolved. Add back this broth into the goulash while it is still simmering and use the fork to stir it in and incorporate it into the goulash mixture. Stir quickly as you do not want lumps.  My mom always uses milk (instead of the goulash broth) with the cornstarch, but I use the goulash broth itself.

Haha!!!! Don't do this!!!! I wasn't thinking and added baking powder instead of cornstarch the first time. It was like a science experiment, bubbling all over the counter!

Broth with the cornstarch. No bubbling!

Spoon the goulash onto plain rice and you have a meal that is both satisfying and very hearty. I think you will love it.

Bon appetit!

Rosie

Roast Chicken Dinner tonight

Hi all:

Tonight (Monday night), I am making one of my all-time favourite meals - roast chicken. I used to only make it for Sunday dinner or special occasions- I just love how it smells and how good it tastes, but I saw a quicker version on TV a few years ago and I have now adopted this as my "go-to" roast chicken recipe.

I saw this recipe on TV's "Buddy - Kitchen Boss"; you know, the same Buddy that is the world-famous "Cake Boss". I don't know if his cooking show is on TV anymore; I just know that I am darned pleased that I saw this episode and wrote down his recipe. It is so flavourful, my mouth is watering now as I anticipate it coming out of the oven.

Here is his recipe:

Buddy's Roast Chicken

---------------------------

1 large roasting chicken (get as large as you can - you are going to want as many leftovers as possible!!)

1 onion (I used some red and some sweet Walla Walla onions)

1 lemon

1 whole garlic head

Fresh rosemary

Salt and pepper

Butter (I used olive oil to make it healthier)

Approx. 1/2 c. Chicken broth

Paprika (Buddy didn't use this; I added it)

Approx. 8-10 small potatoes

Approx. 6-7 carrots (I can't remember if Buddy actually used carrots and potatoes in his recipe, but I put the chicken on top of them and they turn out fabulous!)

Cast iron skillet

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Wash and liberally salt and pepper, the inside and outside of the entire chicken - "even under the armpits", as Buddy said, and set chicken aside.  Wash and quarter the potatoes, removing any dirt or blemishes. Place into cast iron skillet. 

Wash and peel the carrots and place in the skillet with the potatoes. Quarter the onion and place 3/4 of the onion in the skillet and the other quarter inside the chicken cavity. I make sure I spread the onion around in the pan.

Cut the lemon into quarters and place 3/4 in the skillet and 1/4 in the chicken cavity. (I place the 1/4 lemon in the cavity, but squeeze the lemon juice from the 3/4 of lemon onto the chicken and the vegetables. I find the lemon rinds tend to make the pan juices bitter if left to cook with the vegetables).

Next, place 1 whole sprig of rosemary in the cavity and 2-3 whole sprigs in the skillet with the vegetables. (I ran out, or you would see more in my pictures).

Cut off the tips of the whole garlic head and place entire head into cavity.( I didn't use that much garlic. I just put 2-3 crushed cloves into the cavity and spread another 1-2 crushed cloves onto the top of the bird).

Next, liberally butter the entire outside of the chicken. I opted to use olive oil and first sprinkled the entire top of bird with paprika and some crushed garlic cloves and then drizzled olive oil onto the bird.

This shows the crushed garlic on top. I keep forgetting it burns in the oven, so you might want to omit this and just put the garlic in the cavity and/or in with the vegetables.

Add about 1/2- 3/4 cup chicken broth to the skillet and put chicken uncovered in the oven for about 45 min. - 1 hour. I usually find my oven takes a lot longer - about 1 - 1/2 hours to cook the chicken entirely.  Just keep watching it, take it out occasionally to baste it with the pan juices and add more chicken broth if needed.  Buddy also suggested you truss the bird, but I never do.  Remove when chicken shows it is done on a meat thermometer.

Enjoy.  I am sure you will be making this frequently from now on. It doesn't get any better than a "one pan roast chicken dinner with all the fixin's".

Cluck, cluck!

Rosie

Rosie's Stuffed Peppers

Hi all:

I was doing some grocery shopping Friday night (exciting eh?) and saw this beautiful bag of peppers which immediately inspired me to get the ingredients for making stuffed peppers. I love stuffed peppers and have my mother to thank for that.  She is a wonderful cook and made this often when I was growing up. It can be a little fussy if you want to make it correctly, but it is so worth it and very healthy.

This recipe is my simple take on my mom's classic recipe. It has simple, healthy ingredients and tastes wonderful. I made this tonight and it was a hit. Here it is in all its red, orange and yellow glory.

Rosie's Stuffed Peppers

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

1 bag of mixed sweet peppers - I used 7 (I should have made more!) - washed and patted dry

Approx. 1 1/2 lbs. of lean ground beef

1 large can (28 oz.) of whole tomatoes (could use more if making more peppers)

Approx. 3/4 c. Basmati rice (any rice will do)

Salt

Pepper

Garlic powder

Onion powder

2-3 tsp. olive oil

1 - 1 1/2 c. Water

1 - 2 tsp. white sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Cut the tops off the peppers, just below the stems and remove all seeds.

Do not throw the tops away! They are the best part, in my humble opinion. I often scavenge the tops from everybody else at the table because once cooked, the underside below the stem is very soft and tasty, especially if charred.

Pour 2-3 tsp. of olive oil into a med-high hot skillet and place the peppers and pepper tops into the skillet to char all sides. Use a splatter screen to protect yourself from the  hot oil that will invariably splash up and onto you if you are not careful. Once the water from the peppers seeps out into the hot oil,  it will make the oil splash out, so be very careful. (An apron is a must here). This is the fussy part of this recipe but makes all the difference, as charred pepper tastes better than uncharred and will also soften up the outside skins.

Once charred, place the pepper bottoms in a large casserole dish that has a lid. Remove the pepper tops to another plate and set aside.

In the same skillet (no need to remove the oil as not much was used and the beef is lean) brown the ground beef at a medium temperature. Once browned, add 3-4 pinches of garlic powder, 3-4 pinches of onion powder, 3-4 pinches of salt and pepper to taste. Mix the seasonings in. Add about 4 handfuls of uncooked basmati rice. You can use any type of rice, but this is what I like to use. Mix all with the ground beef.

The rice will probably not cook through entirely if you stuff the peppers at this stage, so I add about 1 to 1 1/2 cups of water to the pan and slowly simmer the rice for about 10 minutes to cook it before stuffing the peppers. The rice will finish cooking once covered in the oven with the tomato sauce. There is nothing worse than doing all this hard work and having your tasty peppers end up with bits of hard, uncooked rice mixed in with the meat. Trust me. I've done it.

Once the rice is mostly cooked, stuff each pepper with the meat mixture and add the tops back on.

Before adding the can of tomatoes, you must purée them with a hand blender or immersion blender.  I heard about this from Michael Smith, a very well known chef here in Canada. He suggested that using whole canned tomatoes for your tomato sauce was the best way to go because those tomatoes are picked when they are ripe and taste their best and they will taste very fresh in your sauce. He simply put the hand blender right into the can and blended away. So clever, right?

Here is my Wolfgang Puck immersion blender. I love Wolfgang's appliances.

Add the tomato sauce to the peppers. At this point, you can add about 1-2 tsp. of white sugar to the tomato sauce to take away some of the acidity. It really does help. Cover the peppers with a lid and bake in the oven at 350 degrees for about 45 - 60 minutes, or until the peppers seem quite soft and the rice seems cooked.

That's it.

Spoon some tomato sauce onto the meat mixture, serve with a fresh salad of Spring greens and you are done.  Now go have a great time stuffing some peppers!

Rosie