Holiday season food offerings often tend to be meat-forward, calorie-laden and time-consuming to prepare. This morning on Edmonton A.M., I served up four delicious vegetarian-friendly, easy-to-assemble dishes.
1. Dot’s Nuts & Bolts – I love this snack mix because the name and the recipe are so old-school. I’ve used it for 40 years, and I got it from my friend, Dot. No big preamble or longwinded explanation. Just that. The recipe will make about 24 1-cup servings.
Dot's Nuts & Bolts
Equipment
- 2 roasting pans large, the kind you can put a turkey in
Ingredients
- 1 350 g box Crispix cereal
- 1/2 350 g box plain Cheerios
- 1/2 710 g box honey or plain Shreddies cereal
- 5 cups mixed nuts (roasted and salted or plain)
- 1/2 370 g bag pretzel sticks
- 3/4 lb unsalted butter
- 1.5 tbsp seasoning salt I use Hy's
- 1.5 tbsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tbsp onion powder
- 1/2 tbsp celery salt
- 1 tsp thyme, ground
- 2.5 tbsp Worcestershire
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F
- In an extra large bowl or roasting pan, combine cereals, nuts, and pretzel sticks.
- Melt butter in a small saucepan over med-low heat. Add spices and Worcestershire and combine to mix. Pour mixture over cereals and stir to combine well. It's easier to divide the mixture into two (or three) roasting pans and mix it like that.
- Place roasting pans in oven and set timer for 40 minutes total baking time, and a second timer for every 8 minutes to stir so that ingredients aren't burning.
- Remove after 40 minutes, stir, and let cool. The mix can keep for 5 days on the counter, or a few weeks in the fridge, but its best enjoyed within a few days of making.
Notes
2. White Bean Dip with Roasted Shallots and Garlic – High in fibre and tasty but not over-garlicky despite containing a 3/4 cup of the shallot/garlic mix. The shallot/garlic mix is from page 257 of my cookbook, Prairie, and it’s something you should always have on hand because it can be used for so many things! So, if you have made it already, you’re one step ahead. If you’re making it now (a photo of the recipe is below), it takes little time to prep, but about 1.5 hours to slow roast in the oven, so make sure you take that amount of time into consideration. (You could also just add a medium head of roasted garlic, if you have that on hand.) The recipe below is a big batch, good for parties. It’s easy to cut in half if you have a smaller gathering.
White Bean Dip with Roasted Shallots and Garlic
Equipment
- Food processor
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup roasted shallots & garlic From PRAIRIE cookbook
- 4 tbsp oil from the roasted shallot & garlic mix
- 2 cans (19 ounce) of white beans (I used navy), drained and rinsed
- 3 tbsp lemon juice (about 1 lemon's worth)
- 1 tbsp fresh rosemary, finely chopped
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1.5 tsp kosher salt
- 1.5 tbsp hot water (or more if you like a thinner dip)
- 1 tbsp cold-pressed canola oil, for garnish
- 1 pinch sweet paprika, for garnish
Instructions
- Add all ingredients to a food processor and blend until smooth. A good idea is to hold back half of the lemon juice and most of the salt then add it at the end, after you've blended and once you've tasted.
- Scoop into a serving bowl, drizzle with cold-pressed canola oil, top with paprika and add a fresh sprig of rosemary as extra garnish, if you like. Serve with crusty bread or crackers.
Notes
3. Endive Boats – These are super easy to assemble. If you don’t like blue cheese, use crumbled goat cheese. Use a citrus dressing like the one on Bon Appetit. It takes five minutes. I’ve used it for years, and its a beauty.
Endive Boats with Blue Cheese and Walnuts
Ingredients
- 3 heads endive, separated into single leaves
- 2 pears skin on, diced into small cubes
- 1 cup blue cheese, crumbled (or goat cheese)
- 1 cup plain or candied walnuts
- 1/2 cup citrus vinaigrette
- 2 tbsp chives, finely chopped
Instructions
- Separate leaves and arrange on a platter. Fill each leaf with a bit of cheese, nuts and pears. Drizzle a bit of vinaigrette over top and garnish with chives.
Notes
4. Asiago and Grana Padano Cheese with Honey and Coffee Beans – Drizzling honey over hard cheese is nothing new, but recently, I saw a post from Jaime Oliver suggesting to add crushed coffee beans on top. That intrigued me. I tried it. It’s good.
Hard Cheese with Honey and Coffee Beans
Equipment
- 1 wedge of hard Italian cheese like Asiago, Grana Padano, or Parmigiano-Reggiano
- liquid honey
- 1 tbsp coffee beans, medium ground
Instructions
- Super easy: place cheese on a plate, drizzle with honey and sprinkle coffee grounds over top. Let guests cut off their own pieces of cheese.
Notes
