Holiday recipe roundup

holiday drinks and treats
Eat, drink and be merry with recipes from SAIT instructors

Warm hearts and bellies at your next winter gathering with seasonal nourishment courtesy of SAIT Hospitality and Tourism instructors.

We’ve curated the ultimate recipe trifecta: something you spread, something you sip and something you scarf down as quickly as possible. Let’s get cookin’.

 

Close up of cranberries, star anise and cinnamon sticks over oranges

 

Cranberry chutney

Think of this seasonal spread from Chef Instructor Michael Mandato as an elevated cranberry sauce, beautifully spiced to complement any winter feast.

🎨 Have some fun with the recipe — add flavours you love to create your own signature batch.

 

Ingredients

  • 1 Granny Smith apple, peeled and diced small
  • 700 g cranberries
  • 125 g red onion, diced small
  • 250 ml orange juice
  • 250 ml cider vinegar
  • 400 g sugar
  • 2 star anise pods
  • 2 cinnamon sticks
  • 4 Tbsp ginger, grated
  • 125 g dried cranberries

Directions

  1. In a sauce pot, sweat onions in a touch of olive oil.
  2. Add ginger and cook for 1 minute, then add apples, sugar, vinegar, cinnamon, star anise and juice.
  3. Bring to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes, then add dried and regular cranberries.
  4. Cook until cranberries “pop” and liquid has reduced to a syrup.
  5. Transfer into jars and allow to cool.

Chef Michael Mandato headshot

 

Chef’s note: Level up your leftovers.

🥪 Mix the chutney with mayonnaise and use as a sandwich spread.

🧀 Serve with brie in a puff pastry for a tasty appetizer.

❄ Freeze and enjoy at your next occasion.

 

Orange Jingle Bell Swing mocktail in a champagne flute, garnished with a rosemary sprig

SAIT Food and Beverage Instructor Madeleine MacDonald

Jingle Bell Swing

SAIT Food and Beverage Instructor Madeleine MacDonald is making spirits bright with a mocktail packed with seasonal flavours. A quick run to the grocery store is all you’ll need to wow guests (and treat yourself) to an oh-so-festive bevvy.

🍸 Pro tip: Swap out the soda for sparkling wine to turn this into a cocktail.

 

Did you know?

SAIT was named Canada's top hospitality and top culinary school.

Two chef students standing side by side, wearing masks in the SAIT kitchen.

Ingredients

  • 1 ½ ounces fresh mandarin orange juice
  • 1 ½ ounces cranberry juice
  • ½ ounce Rosemary Syrup (see recipe below)
  • ½ ounce fresh lemon juice
  • soda water
  • rosemary sprig, to garnish

Directions

  1. Combine all ingredients except soda and rosemary sprig in a mixing glass.
  2. Add ice and stir until chilled.
  3. Strain into a champagne flute.
  4. Top with soda and garnish with rosemary sprig.

Rosemary Syrup

  • 1 cup sugar
  • ½ cup water
  • 2 sprigs rosemary

Combine all ingredients in a pot. Bring to a simmer, stirring often. Remove from heat and strain. Cool and store in a food safe container for up to two weeks.

 

Short dough cookies spread on a white counter, filled with raspberry jam in heart and flower shaped cutouts. There's a jar of jelly and a sifter for icing sugar next to the cookies.
📷: @b.uttermoon

Jam-filled short dough cookies

If you watched Food Network Canada’s The Big Bake: Halloween, no doubt you spotted Baking and Pastry Arts Instructor Victoria German in her element baking something beautiful.

Chef Victoria German headshot

Try out German’s favourite short dough cookie recipe — a holiday favourite her students recently whipped up. The dough is rich in egg yolks, resulting in a chewier cookie. Want to kick them up a notch? Try adding citrus zest or spices.

Chef’s note: Baking is all about precision and accuracy, so measuring your ingredients out by weight using a digital scale is best. Don’t have one? Weight to volume converters are available online.

📷courtesy of Food Network Canada's The Big Bake: Halloween

Ingredients

  • 190 g unsalted butter, softened
  • 190 g icing sugar
  • 127 g egg yolks
  • 383 g cake flour, sifted
  • 10 g vanilla extract
  • 150 g seedless raspberry jam
  • additional decorative icing sugar (optional)

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
  2. Cream the butter and icing sugar with a hand mixer or in a stand mixer using the paddle attachment until smooth.
  3. Slowly add the eggs yolks one at a time with the vanilla until fully incorporated, making sure to scrape the side of the bowl.
  4. Add half of the sifted flour and mix until combined. Scrape the side of the bowl, add the remaining flour and mix until combined and the dough comes together. Do not overmix.


  1. Form the dough into a flat block shape and wrap with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
  2. Once firm, roll the dough out to a thickness of 2.5 mm, then cut out 32 circles using a 3 ½ inch cookie cutter. (Use a cutter with a scalloped edge for a more decorative cookie.) Dust off any excess flour.
  3. Use a 2-inch cookie cutter in a shape of your choice to remove the center from 16 of your circles. These will be the top layers.
  4. Arrange the remaining 16 circles on a flat tray lined with parchment paper, leaving some space in between. These will be the bottom layers.
  5. Place top layers on top of the bottom layers and fill the centers with raspberry jam using a piping bag.
  6. Rest in the fridge for 10 to 15 minutes before baking, then bake for 12 to 15 minutes.
  7. Once cooled, dust them with icing sugar using a fine mesh strainer for an added decorative touch (optional).

Original recipe from The Advanced Art of Baking and Pastry by Andrew Chlebana.


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