Month: March 2009

Sunday Brunch

There are no rules when it comes to brunch. The in-between nature of the gathering essentially gives me license to serve anything I want to my guests. The very melding of the words breakfast and lunch suggests the meal can and should be a combination of cold and hot dishes both heavy and light in nature. I love hosting brunch because it really allows me the freedom to get creative in the kitchen. I like to take my inspiration from Barefoot Contessa, Ina Garten. In the past I have hosted brunches, both elaborate and simple in menus, for birthdays and showers or just as an excuse to get family and friends together. The latter was the reason for today’s brunch and the menu was relatively simple: fresh Gryfe’s bagels, cream cheese, lox, an assortment of hard cheeses, my favourite Beit Yitzak wild blueberry jam, spinach salad with cucumber, avocado and blood orange in a vinegrette, freshly baked peach raspberry crisp and fresh strawberries and blueberries.

Our guests included Dave’s parents, his uncle Ted and Aunt Dru in for a visit from New Jersey, as well as my parents who decided to crash the party for a short time. Oh yes, and the kidlets. Who can forget the kidlets???

There will be many more brunches to write about in the future. And I do hope people share their favourite brunch menus with me.

bagels
Fresh Gryfe's bagels
lox-cream-cheese
Lox & Cream Cheese
spinach-salad
Spinach salad with avocado, cucumber & blood orange
peach-crisp-fruit
Peach raspberry crisp & fresh fruit


RECIPE: Peanut Butterscotch Chocolate Squares

I admit, I have not “made” anything since my last entry. However, I am making the time to make an account of the items I have made in recent days. I got all nostalgic on the weekend and made a number of childhood favourites for my two boys, like chocolate pudding in individual cups, raspberry Jell-O and my grandmother’s peanut butterscotch chocolate squares. Super simple. Super delicious. It would fall into that “half-made homemade” category of baking that always wows a crowd. AND it’s ridiculously easy to make. It’s especially pleasing to those who enjoy the chocolate peanut butter combo. So here’s the recipe:

DORIN’S PEANUT BUTTERSCOTH CHOCOLATE SQUARES

Melt 1 cup of peanut butter (must be like Skippy–not all natural) with a heaping cup of butterscotch chips. This takes time, as the chipits have a stabilizer in them that makes them finicky to melt.

Once melted, mix with 4 cups of crushed Rice Crispies (or another kind of crispy cereal that crushes easily)

Pour into a 8 inch x 8 inch baking pan

Melt a heaping cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips and spread evenly on top of peanut butterscotch mixture and refrigerate.

After cooling completely, take it out of the fridge and allow to come up to close to room temperature and cut into squares (this will prevent the chocolate from shattering into jagged pieces).

ENJOY!

Peanut Butterscotch Chocolate Squares
Peanut Butterscotch Chocolate Squares

Welcome to home-made.ca, a place for all things homemade

Welcome to home-made.ca! A place for all things homemade. This is my first (albeit brief) post on this page. I have big dreams for this page, not the least of which is to show you all the great things that I like to make at home. That’s a catch-all for cooking, crafting, gardening, writing, my husband’s woodworking (my only contributions being the designs), and much, much more.

Ironically, I now hdorin_5ave to go and make dinner for the children. So I’ll be back soon. –dorin