Holiday Entertaining Made Easy…shhhh! We won’t tell!

c) baking for office, school, neighbourhood parties

d) those darn cookie exchanges

Right? But some of us LOVE it. Yes, me included. I love the holidays and the entertaining. I just HATE spending the entire time in the kitchen and then cleaning the aftermath. My mother-in-law Joan taught me to simplify and prepare things ahead of time so as a host, you want to do just that, host!

President’s Choice recently hosted media for a sneak peek inside their Holiday Kitchen  and to meet with the people who’s mission is to make entertaining tastier and easier for you and me! My head was spinning on how to write about this “feast for all senses” experience. What I do want to tell you is that you don’t have to be a gourmet chef or expert baker to impress your guests with these great ideas!!!! And even if you are….shhh…I won’t tell! 

Whether your hosting a casual cocktail party to a full sit down meal to having a kids get together, there are tons of ideas and tips that will give you more time to be with your guests instead of the kitchen! 

PC Black Label Cocktail Mixers – no need to guess at what’s needed in drinks like Cosmos, Peach Bellinis, Spiced Apples, and Sangrias. The mixers take all the work out for you not to mention the cost savings of not having to buy every individual ingredient necessary. Just add your alcohol of choice with garnish and ta-da, drinks made easy! The new PC Spiced Apple Cocktail is a real festive drink with warm cinnamon and clove. It’s great on it’s own if you can add a little “something” to create an apple martini!

Cheese Trays – always a favourite at any cocktail party! Love those warm Brie with toppings? You’ll love the ready to pop into the oven brie already finished with toppings! Also, did you know that you should let your cheeses sit out of the fridge for a bit before serving to your guests? The experts at the PC Holiday Kitchen tell us that this let’s the creamy rich flavours come through! 

Savoury Lollipops– all the rage at the stylish events that I’ve been attending lately. Now, you can do this at home with PC’s Crispy Shrimp and Jalapeno Beef Lollipops! Not only are they tasty but an attractive way to serve appetizers!

Whether your hosting a sit down meal or a buffet style meal there are two new entries to the mains. The Easy Carve Ham is impressive with the bone in making an attractive and delicious way to feed family and friends. Turkey intimidate you? No worries now with the pre-stuffed boneless turkey roast! Just pick up the ready to go gravy and my favourite PC Cranberry Orange Sauce and the holidays have become almost fuss-free!

I was really excited to see a new line of fresh DIY soups and side veg dishes that are now in the produce section of my local Loblaw. The fresh veggies are all pre-washed and prepared ready for you to take home. I loved the PC Butternut Squash Soup portioned for 4 people and you simply follow the instructions on the kit for a delicious home-made soup! Cook the veg in stock and quickly whizz it through your blender or food processor. Easy and fresh! And it’s no secret that prepping root vegetables is a tedious chore. The PC kit has it a super blend of red potatoes, sweet potato, rutabaga, carrots and onions in easy kit. Just place them in a roasting pan with some olive oil and an little salt and pepper and pop them in the oven!

Tandoori Roti: I’m always excited when President’s Choice introduces more world-influenced foods. If you’ve had the warmed Naan you’re going to love the new Roti! It’s a soft, tender, unleavened Indian flatbread that is traditionally stuffed with curry. Now I don’t have to make the trek the caribbean grocer to grab this family favourite. I usually spoon heaping portions of chicken and potato curry and wrap in rotis for a super lunch or dinner that my family LOVES! Appetizer sized rotis are great for cocktail parties!

Baking gingerbreads men and decorating houses are a time honoured tradition in many households. Take the guessing out baking with PC’s Gingerbread Cookie Kits with all the dry ingredients pre-measured and easy to follow instructions. It even comes with it’s own cookie cutter. This is a wonderful hostess gift idea too if you’re heading to someone’s house who has kids! PC has created several delightful desserty kits that will impress non-bakers and bakers alike. The PC Red Velvet Cupcake kit is flying off the shelves at my local Loblaw.

The Treat:

From all the amazing treats shown at this preview event one really stood out for me as the “must try” dessert item of the season – the New PC black label Salted Caramel Ice Cream. According to the research team at PC, the inspiration behind this ice cream happened during a visit to Glacier Berthillon – an ice cream house that first opened on Paris’s Ile St-Louis in 1954. Staying true to artisanal methods, they use simple ingredients like 100% Canadian cream, sugar and egg yolks to achieve a velvety ice cream base enhanced with natural, salted, buttery caramel flavours. The finishing touch is little pieces of hard salted caramel for a subtle crunch texture. It’s a pretty elegant ice cream that doesn’t require much more than a beautiful presentation. There are dark chocolate shaped dessert cups that I could see using for this over the holidays. You’ll also want to check out the PC Salted Toffee Cheesecake Pops – a much better texture than the regular cake pops!

There were many, many, many more shown (and tast
ed!) at this sneak preview for the holidays. But now I’m hungry…so here is a visual sample to whet your appetite!

So, take some of the stress off your holiday entertaining…and spend more time with your guests and OUT OF THE KITCHEN! 

Happy Entertaining!