Holiday Goodies

Probably one of the best ways to sample Italian wines is in a pairing with Italian cucina especially when chefs of note are involved in the preparation and choices, and so it was one evening. To celebrate the Holiday season this very special event took place at Market City Café in Burbank, California. Together the Executive Chefs from the MCC Hospitality Group joined forces to produce a superb repast – seven courses of fabulous Italian food paired with Italian wines from Tuscany, Umbria, Asti and Friuli Venezia Guilia near the Slovenian Border. The bustling restaurant on the edge of the Burbank Mall was bright and shiny with Christmas decorations and sparkling lights, and a lot of excited and happy people, all looking forward to a very eventful evening and willing to forget all their dietary conditions and the no-nos that many nutritionists and doctors want to place on food loving folks!

The opening course was a delightful array of three cheeses, a pressed goat’s milk Garroxta produced in the Catalonia region of northern Spain, a creamy white New York Camembert and a lovely Fourme d’Ambert which is one of France's oldest cheeses dating as far back as Roman times. Slices of bread, grapes and the slightly sweet pochettes of date preserve and onion marmalade offset the cheeses perfectly. Servers came round pouring a subtle Santa Marina Pinot Noir from Venezia and if I had not known there were many more different wines to be poured, I would have spent the evening with this!

Are you looking for that perfect cookie to round out your holiday cookie platter? The one that will please the chocolate lovers, the coffee lovers and nut lovers alike? This is it!

It is complex and full of goodness. I suggest tripling the recipe because it is crazily addictive. But, here is why I like it for a cookie platter. You need variety in your assortment of holiday cookies, but every cookie can't be a labor intensive nightmare. You'll never get it done. Listen to me, I'm so cynical?  But really, it's experience talking. You know what I mean. We all want these gorgeous plates of holiday cookie beauty, but it is so hard to do.

You have to have a few cookies that knock it out of the park on taste and are easy-schmeazy to make. This one doesn't need eggs and all that other fancy stuff. It's so easy to throw together between all the sugar cut out cookies.

Crunchy. Flaky. Gooey. Sweet. Tart. Salty. Delicious. And, as if that weren’t enough to get you completely hooked, I must add one more thing. Super easy.

When I spotted frozen mini fillo shells in the freezer case at the grocery store last week, visions of melted Brie studded with sweet and tart apple chunks topped with spicy pecans all in a light, flaky cup ran through my head.

Baked Stuffed Brie was still fresh in my mind, all  creamy and gooey and chewy with apples and spice and dried fruit. That recipe came from the new cookbook written by Carmela Hobbins, Celebrations with Carmela's Cucina

Having a few ingredients on hand during the holidays that allow you to create a delicious snack or appetizer to serve with cocktails, wine or holiday punch helps a busy cook remain joyful amidst all the hustle and bustle and stress of the season.