Fast and easy eats for the holiday season

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Can you believe Christmas is just a few more sleeps away? Who knew it would sneak up on us so quickly – it seems like it was just a few days ago that we were putting away the Halloween pumpkins and thinking of stringing up the lights if the weather was good.

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And now we’re in the midst of wrapping and baking and getting ready for another year of pandemic-safe get-togethers. To make things easier, here’s a selection of food ideas that are bright, breezy, don’t take up too much time and incredibly delicious – and guaranteed to carry you well into new year celebrations!

Feliz Navi-Crab Cheesy and Spicy Crab Dip

Food Network Canada’s star Anna Olson is getting into the festive spirit with fabulous holiday ideas. Here she has partnered with Tre Stelle cheese (trestelle.ca) to create this special dip guaranteed to become a family fave.

1 cup (100g) mozzarella

1 Tbsp. cornstarch

1/2 cup mascarpone

1/4 cup mayonnaise

3 Tbsp. chopped Italian parsley

2 Tbsp. chopped pickled jalapeno peppers

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1 Tbsp. lime juice or jalapeno pickle juice (from jar)

1 tsp. celery salt

1/2 tsp. chili powder

1/4 tsp. garlic powder

Dash Worcestershire sauce

Dash hot sauce (optional)

4 oz. tinned crab meat, drained

Crostini, tortilla chips or crackers, for serving

Preheat oven to 350°F. Shred mozzarella and toss with cornstarch in a large mixing bowl. Stir in mascarpone and mayonnaise followed by remainder of ingredients, stirring in crab meat last. Spoon dip into a 4-cup shallow ovenproof dish, spread and bake for about 20 minutes until golden on top and bubbling at edges. Serve immediately with crostini,  tortilla chips or crackers.

NOTE: Dip can be made up to a day ahead and stored, well-wrapped, in fridge. Let the dip sit on the counter for 20  minutes before baking.

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Gingerbread Dip

Speaking of holiday dips, this delicious treat was created by Lena Almeida (@Listen2Lena) who used Arla Lactose-Free cream cheese (arlafoods.ca) for this festive recipe. It’s like Christmas in a bowl!

1 pkg. lactose-free (or regular) cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup EACH powdered sugar and brown sugar

2 Tbsp. fancy molasses

1/2 tsp EACH ground ginger, ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg

1/2 cup whipped topping

Cookies, wafers, nuts and fresh fruit, for serving

With a hand mixer, beat cream cheese until smooth, about one minute. Add remainder of ingredients except whipped topping until well combined. Fold in whipped topping. Transfer dip to a serving bowl (festive bowl suggested) and keep refrigerated until ready to serve.

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Herby Shrimp Toasts with Dill and Chives

Beyond tasty, and easy to create, recipe courtesy HelloFresh.ca.

1-1/2 lbs. fresh shrimp, shelled and deveined

1/2 tsp. garlic salt

1/4 tsp. pepper, divided

1/2 Tbsp. oil

1 lemon

2 Tbsp. fresh snipped chives

1 Tbsp. fresh dill

1/4 cup mayonnaise

Fresh dill fronds, for garnish

Pat shrimp dry with paper towels. Season with 1/2 tsp. garlic salt and half of pepper. Heat a large non-stick pan over medium-high heat and add oil. When hot, toss in shrimp and cook until shrimp just turn pink, 2-3 minutes. Transfer shrimp to a plate using a slotted spoon. Let cool to room temperature, about 10 minutes.

While shrimp cool, zest, then juice whole lemon. Transfer cooled shrimp to a medium bowl using a slotted spoon. Blend mayo with herbs, remaining pepper and half of lemon juice and zest. Stir to combine, cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. (reserve remaining mayo, lemon zest and lemon juice for Creamy Dill Sauce.) Season with pepper, then stir to combine. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

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Toss bread in a preheated 375F oven on an unlined baking sheet until light-golden, flipping halfway through. Transfer to a platter and, when ready to serve, fill bun with shrimp salad. Garnish with reserved dill, cut buns in half and serve with reserved dill garnish.

Salted Caramel & Cardamom Ice Cream with Caramel Sauce

Ice cream for the holidays? You’d be surprised how popular a cold treat is when the cold winds blow! In this recipe,  the famous Nadege Patisserie company partnered with Ninja Canada/Ninja Creami (.ninjakitchen.ca) to create this  refreshing dessert that tastes like a bowlful of festive flavours.

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup salted butter

1 2/3 cup cream

1 1/4 cup milk

1 Tbsp. cardamom powder

1/2 cup good quality milk chocolate chips

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1 store-bought macaron

Caramel: Place some sugar in a pan on medium heat. Add sugar bit by bit while stirring with a wooden spoon. When sugar is all added cook until it turns caramel colour. DO NOT allow caramel to smoke or it will become bitter. Carefully add in butter and stir. Add cream bit by bit and keep heat on until caramel is completely smooth. Once smooth, reserve half of sauce in a container; this will be your caramel sauce.

Ice Cream: With other half of your salted caramel, add milk and cardamom then mix well. Once mixed, pour into freezer bowl of ice cream maker. (If you don’t have an ice cream maker, pore into freezer-safe bowl, cover tightly and freeze  solid.) Store mixture for 24 hours in freezer. When using, remove from freezer and, if using an ice cream maker, churn until cream is ready to scoop. Scoop, drizzle with reserved salted caramel sauce, sprinkle with milk chocolate chips  and top with macaron.

If not using an ice cream maker, soften slightly, whip ice cream with a mixer. Return to freezer until hard yet easy to scoop; follow with remaining steps.

Note: Add sugar-coated pecans for extra wow-factor.