So finally a formal recap of a Zesty food presentation which took place last Saturday.  Before I begin, I just want to say it was a lot of fun.  It was a bit nerve racking preparing under a time crunch to get ready for a live act but I would do it again in an instant.

I was not really sure what I was getting into as I just took the request and said “YES” without asking to many questions…. that is normally how I live!  Terrible I know but fun.  So I stopped in Friday evening to check out the venue and was totally impressed.  Nice big kitchen to work in, labeled cabinets and drawers for supplies.  There was even a chef from the culinary institute there prepping for the lunch.

On the video side of things – they had wireless mics, huge video screen displays – great sound system.  Overall this was a great event.  The topic of the whole event revolved around tips for having a less hectic Christmas Season.  So of course I tried to adhere to that and make a super simple treat.

On to the Food

I know I know – the title made you drool.  I can tell!  This little treats are super easy to make and actually quite cheap to gather the ingredients.  It consists of three simple ingredients and a total of 4 minutes of cooking time.  Can you really beat that?  I think not.  Here is the scoop on how to prepare this little single bites of heaven.

Ingredients

• Flat waffle pretzels
• Chocolate caramel balls
• Pecan halves (roasted)

Method

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F
2. Line baking sheet with parchment paper



3. Spread out waffle pretzels on the parchment paper
4. Add a chocolate caramel balls on top and bake for 4 minutes





5. Remove from oven and press a roasted pecan halve on top until the chocolate and caramel begin to ooze
6. ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: If you want to use Jumbo Rolo candies instead – they work great as well but my only concern is the cost if you are making them in large batches.

In addition to the treat I thought I would share a couple of not so boring vegetable dishes for the crowd.  With that I had to share the dazzled carrots with pear and balsamic – which is literally just as easy as boiling carrots.  I also presented the simple brussel sprout recipe with figs and maple.

Some more food shots

Some kitchen Mayhem shots

I had a great time on Saturday and realized that I love food and everything about it.

I hope you have a great day and keep smiling.

Take care

zesty

Happy Friday!  With Thanksgiving fast approaching in the US (I forgot to do this post for the Canadian Thanksgiving), I thought this would be a great time to quickly go through my favorite eats at Thanksgiving.

First off I will start with saying that it was really hard to limit this post to 5 items because I truly love everything about thanksgiving.  But here goes:

1. Turkey

This really does have to be one of my favorite meats to eat. I love turkey with all the fixings and even in sandwiches, soups and casseroles.

2.  Fig and Maple Brussel Sprouts

Recently introduced to me this year, this dish was a knockout! I mean the combination of flavors and textures were over the moon.

3. Homemade Cranberry Sauce

A classic yet one of my favorite side dishes with turkey. You can find out how to make this easy delicious dish.

4. Turkey Dressing/Stuffing

A true family favorite for sure.  You have to be quick to this bowl to ensure you get some.  A little turkey, a little dressing and a touch of cranberry.  What a bite!  This is also great on a turkey sandwich.  Not the most healthy of choices but… can you really worry about that around this time of year?

5. Sticky Date Pudding

I great dessert after a big dinner. I love the combination of warm caramel sauce coupled with the cool ice cream sitting a top a super moist cake. I sometimes classify this as heaven! This sticky date pudding is delicious.

Now Tell Me Yours!

This is where I want everyone that reads this post to come out of the wood work and mention at least one of your favorite foods around Thanksgiving. I think it will be fun and I just realized that I left my favorite sweet potato dish out of the top 5. Very shocking but that just goes to show how much I like food! Ok I better run to the flooring store and pick out grout. I will talk to you on Monday. Have a great weekend.

I am doing a big food demonstration tomorrow morning for a large group of people so I will be sure to let you know how it goes. The topic I am focusing on is – Not so traditional Christmas foods and ways to prepare them.

Talk to you Monday.

Take care

zesty