EW30  The VancouVer courier  wednesday, december 8, 2010 wednesday, december 8, 2010 The VancouVer courier  EW31

Food, Glorious Food

TURKEY HOTLINE!No stress, no fuss. Free range or organic birds brined, stuffed and oven-ready. Order today!

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compiled by Helen Peterson

Home entertaining is one of the highlights of the holiday season, a time to enjoy food and flavours with friends and family, says Heather O’Leary, a promoter of locally made, gourmet food offerings.

“Increasingly, trends are moving towards elegant flavours and simple, artful food presentation that doesn’t leave the host in the kitchen miss-ing that quality time to connect with guests,” Leary says.

What works best? “Cheese plates have long been a home entertaining staple,” she says, “whether it’s a Christ-mas open house or a cocktail party. And pairings of flavourful local ingredients add sophistication to the table without adding any stress for the host.”

For example, Artisan Edibles teamed up with Salt Spring Island Cheese to combine flavours that are a sophisti-cated showcase of local flavours.

“More and more people are entertain-ing at home but rather than extrava-gant dinner parties, people are tending towards more simple entertaining so hosts can enjoy quality time with their guests,” says Maureen Drew, co-owner, Artisan Edibles. “These pairings are a stress-free way to add sophistication to your favourite local cheeses. And it sup-ports local producers.”

In most cases, Drew recommends plain crackers, to avoid overpowering the subtle flavours of the pairings. The Undressed Cracker from Gone Crackers is a locally-made option, or try thinly sliced baguette or crostini.

Salt Spring’s Romelia steps right up in the “baked brie” department. Float a shallow puddle of the Raspberry Carda-mom Jelly on top before it goes in the oven. Bake it for ten minutes at 375° and serve with sliced baguette or plain crackers.

Pomegranate is a popular holiday fla-vour and Artisan Edibles Pomegranate

Hot Pepper Jelly is a striking comple-ment to the Natural Chevre from Salt Spring Island Cheese Company.

Artisan Edibles products are found at fine food vendors. For more information, visit www.artisanedibles.com.

sensual PerceptionVancouver artisan perfume house Ayala Moriel Parfums has joined forces with CocoaNymph chocolatier Rachel Sawatzky to create the ultimate indulgence - scented chocolate bars.

Choose from Espionage, with smoked salt, jasmine and juniper; Guilt, a combi-nation of orange blossom, blood orange and wild oranges; and Roses et Choco-lat, a fiery rose, saffron and chilli.

They make welcoming dessert items for guests (refrigerate, then break into pieces and serve on an elegant platter with dabs of vanilla ice-cream). Magnifi-cent! www.cocoanymph.ca

6804 SW Marine Drive (at 16th Ave)

Shopin the Garden

604-822-4529 friendsofthegarden.ca

Christmas cards, unique gifts, handmade wreaths

KJM christmastree sale & toy drive

Receive 10% off your christmas tree when you come enjoy the holiday spirit

with KJM country gardens andDONATE A TOY.

Festivities include visit with santa + his ‘reindeer’ • country christmas

gift store • hot chocolate • toy drive • goodiesBy coming out, you are donating to the Lower Mainland christmas

bureau (LCMB)* as well as helping to support local tree growers. Also shop our retail nursery for a broad selection of unique gifts for home and garden.

7226 Blenheim Street ( at 55th ave)www.kjmcountrygardens.com

saturday + sunday 10 - 6pmdecember 11 - 12 2010

*The LMCB has a greatest need for donations for teens and preteens such as electronics, gift cards (suitable for both genders), hair driers/curling irons.

Born and raised in Vancouver, author Lisa Smedman has been writing about this city’s past, present and future since 1984. She’s received numerous awards for her historical writing over the years, and is the author of the Vancouver Courier’s “History’s Lens” column, which tells the story behind a different historic photo each week.

Looking for the perfectCHRISTMAS GIFT?

Contact June Stafford at 604.738.1411 or email book@vancourier.com to order.HST and shipping, if required, are in addition.

“IMMIGRANTS stories of Vancouver’s People” explores the many immigrant groups who came to Vancouver over the past century and a half. From the Americans who fl ocked north during the great gold rushes of the 1850s and ‘60s to the Vietnamese who fl ed a war-ravaged homeland by boat in the 1970s, and everything in between, IMMIGRANTS tells the stories of our parents, grandparents, great-grandparents and beyond. It explores the rea-sons why they left their homelands, be it war, famine, economic downturn or wanderlust, and why they wound up choosing Canada.

This hard cover book is fi lled with more than 280 glossy pages. It’s packed with wonderful heartwarming stories as well as photos that will be treasured for years to come.

Special offer

$19.95regular price $39.95

by Coral Nafie

Christmas means happy times with family and friends and Christmas guests are the best part of celebrating the holiday. Your home is decorated for the occasion, food is cooking, children are excited, and adults are rushing around trying to get everything ready for the big day!

Be sure that you decorate your home and tree for the people who will enjoy it. Don’t put out heirloom Christmas deco-rations that can’t be touched if children will be touching everything. Don’t set your table with the finest linens if food will be messy. Don’t use your favourite

holiday china for little children who might break them.

When preparing for Christmas, keep in mind that the most important part of the holiday is family and friends gathering together to celebrate this spe-cial season. Do what you can to help make everyone feel comfortable and welcome.

If you love having family and friends stay at your home, you might have won-derful ideas of your own about how to spend the time together. The commo-tion is augmented by already-full days of work, kids’ activities, cooking, and run-ning errands. If your schedule includes a visit from family members or special friends, a bit of planning and organiza-

tion ahead of time will help the time fly and both you and your guests will be looking forward to the next visit.

offer A small Welcome GiftLet your guests know that you’re happy they’re with you by leaving a small “welcome gift” in their bedroom. And I mean small! A sachet, paperback book, flyers of local attractions at museums or a clipping with movie listings at the movie theatre. And a pretty vase with fresh flowers is always a welcome gift. Don’t forget a short note to greet them.

don’t Try to do it AllThere’s no better way to make a house guest feel uncomfortable than to be

working, cleaning and cooking the whole time your guests are with you. Give you and your guests a chance to relax and really enjoy each other. No one will care if the kitchen is sparkling or the sheets are ironed. And when there is work to do, accept every offer wash the dishes or set the table. Be a team and let everyone enjoy.

do... Have a PlanMake a written list of things to do and try to have a loose schedule for each day of the visit. Don’t waste time plan-ning at the last minute or the time will fly by. Once you’ve all decided what you’ll do, make sure everyone is ready to go as scheduled. And have fun!

GeArinG uP For HolidAy GuesTsHow to Make tHeM Feel at HoMe

Company’s Coming...

Pictured: roMelia is a FlavourFul, sHarP cHeese tHat coMPleMents tHe sPicy sweetness oF rasP-berry cardaMoM Jelly.

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we wish you Happy Entertainingthis holiday season!