Martha is Just Going to Have to Wait

I am sure that Martha is never ever kept waiting, but in this case she is just going to have to cool her heels!  Anyone know where that expressions comes from?  It's so odd...


So Martha is on the back burner (that's a more appropriate cliché) until the holidays are over.   Yesterday I had my family over for a little brunch.  Kind of a pre-Hanukkah  brunch because I made potato latkes.   I only make these once a year because they are such a mess to prepare and I don't like to fry my food.  That said, it is well worth the fuss and fried potatoes are delicious!  


I  had brought back Montreal bagels from my trip to Montreal last weekend, so I served those with cream cheese and lox.  The catch is that my brother-in-law, who was born in Toronto, has never acquired a taste for them which frankly confounds me....so I also bought some Toronto buns with a hole.  My daughter Lilyan printed little flags from each province that I put on top of the respective baked goods so that we can tell  just what side you are on.


When planning the menu, I wanted to show off my newly found baking skills, so I made a Quiche Lorraine (retro is the new black).  I made my own pastry and was very pleased with the results.  I also used green onion instead of white and half and half instead of heavy cream.  The result was a much lighter egg filling.  With of course a lot of bacon! Please don't ask about the calorie or fat content. Please.


What is a brunch without fresh from the oven cinnamon buns?  So I made those too.  My daughter and it turns out my brother-in-law both don't like raisins, so I substituted chocolate chips.  With almost every  bite you found a  little pocket of brown nuggets in the buns.  


Lastly, I made these awesome and I mean AWESOME  Caramel Filled Chocolate Cookies.  They are so easy and quick to make and one of the most delicious cookies ever.  You make a stiff chocolate dough with rich cocoa powder that you chill in the fridge or freezer.  Once chilled, you wrap about a tablespoon of dough around a Rolo candy and then roll in sugar (I used a large crystal sugar for a festive holiday look).  They only need 8 minutes to bake and voilà a cookie that is crisp and crunchy when you first bit into it, which then becomes softer and gooier
as you get towards the centre.  






























I was proud that it was a nice brunch and that everything turned out well.  Next week is Jewish Christmas where we celebrate with Jim's side of the family and eat Chinese Food.  It is good to be a multi-cultural family!


Happy Holidays to each of you and I look forward to a healthy, happy and sweet New Year.


Susan