Turkey is generally not as juicy as chicken, but it makes for a grander centrepiece for festive occasions and can feed a crowd. The challenge? To make it as juicy as possible and salted right through to the centre. The technique used here has been passed down to me from my father in law who makes a mean turkey every Christmas and Thanksgiving. Try it out! I made this Oven Roasted Turkey for a Christmas Eve order and have promised my husband I will make a turkey just for him hah! Adjust ingredients based on the size of your turkey of course. W.P

Merry Christmas Folks and a happy recovery to you! We are still trying to finish up leftovers! Here are some pictures of Christmas at our family's.  I wanted to share a theory with you guys on how at Thanksgiving, Eid, Christmas, or any celebration that centres around family and food, we seem to develop a special stomach! I swear we do! You can eat, eat and eat some more. It's wonderful and terrible all at the same time. It's a good thing that doesn't happen to us the rest of the year! This is the reason we keep it very casual, comfortable, and simple at our Christmas do's as you can see- because we're passed out after. We usually have 3 to 4 tables set up but this year we didn't do proper settings and kept it really simple due to the last minute rushing after the ice storm blackout here in Toronto. Here is the menu- How are we alive do you ask? Barely! A detox is needed.. badly. 

• A 30 pound Stuffed Turkey!
• Gravy 
• Cranberry Sauce
• Mixed Bean Salad
• Regular Salad
• Kale Salad
• Veal, Spinach & White Bean Stew (that was ALL I made haha) 
• Macaroni Pie
• Sautéed Shrimp
• Corn Bread with Butter
• Ackee & Salt Fish
• Oxtail & Kidney Beans 
• And so much more!!

Now! As if that wasn't enough food, guess what was for dessert!??

• Red Velvet Cake
• Banana Bread
• Chocolate Cake
• Christmas Fruit Cake
• Vanilla Cake
• Bundt Cake
• Jamaican Fruit Cake 
• Black Cake 
• Marble Coffee Cake
• Danish
• Coconut Drops 
• Fruit & Whipped Cream 

W.P

My little cousin requested a recipe for a vegetarian roulade, which I had never tried to make, so I promised her I would try to make 1. For inspiration, I looked up various roulade recipes online. Do you know how hard it is to find a vegetarian roulade!? I completely understood her plight.

Since a roulade is essentially flattened meat wrapped around veggies or other ingredients, a vegetarian version isn’t always easy to think up. I saw variations using omelettes and flavoured dough to stuff with veggies, but I wanted a cop out so here is my easy  Chickpea, Spinach, & Wild Mushroom Roulade! It was absolutely delicious if I must say so myself. I ate at least a cup of the filling on its own while it was cooling down before I stuffed the pastry! (whhoopps!). I am definitely going to make this veggie mix on its own without the cream cheese to eat just like that. So good!

This is a great appetizer if you cut it up and serve it to your guests or as a great vegetarian centrepiece on your Christmas table if you dress it up. I served it alongside a yoghurt and mint dip. Tasted great with and without it though. If you are serving this as the main, serve it alongside soup, salad, some roasted eggplant perhaps? A delicious veggie meal. Next time, I will make the roll from scratch, but for now, here’s the easy version. 

W.P

Carrots, being my husband’s favourite vegetable/ingredient, get used a lot in our home. I make variations of carrot soups quite often. My favourite Potage de Crecy by far is still the nutty Jerusalem Artichoke & Carrot combo. This simple carrot and celery soup; however, is a great light tasting no fuss easy soup to make and serve up on a cold winter night any time!

Slow cooker pulled jerk chicken with mashed cauliflower? Say whattt!!?? I know... Most of you just made a face. I love jerk chicken as you all know. It helps that my father in law makes THE tastiest, juiciest jerk chicken of course. Mmm- goodness! So when I wanted to make pulled chicken, I thought about adding jerk seasoning to it to try something different. Though jerk seasoning tastes best on browned chicken, this was pretty darn good too- and the pulled chicken tasted delicious with the mashed cauliflower and in sandwiches the next day with some green chutney! Mashed Cauliflower is so easy to make and you really do feel like you’re having mashed potatoes and it is so much healthier of course. Try out the chicken in this recipe for a great sandwich or just the mashed cauliflower as an accompaniment to your next meal. It is a heart healthy recipe if you use skim milk over the cream or none at all along with chicken breasts as noted in the recipe! No oil needed!

W.P