Marking 10 years of sharing family favourites

 In Opinion

I had just started thinking about dreaming up my annual Christmas recipe, when I had to stop myself.

As I was rummaging through past recipes and stories, something popped out of the computer screen and hit me right between the eyes. I have now been writing my beloved Creemore Dish for 10 years!

My first column appeared in November, 2006 entitled “The Soup’s On,” giving readers one of my cold weather favourites Curried Corn Chowder as well as promoting St. Luke’s Toonie Lunch. The response was good so I kept on going.

This was followed closely by my first Christmas article, “For Every Cookie There’s a Story.” Reading back through the Christmas cookie antics of my Auntie Willetta brought back many fond memories. As my uncle used to say, my aunt was never one for cooking. She was good at reheating and her favourite dish was making reservations. So many good memories can be found in my columns over the years, all of which involved good food and even better company and community spirit. And before I sign off, I have to give a special thank you to Craig Simpson and Brad Holden for giving me the chance way back when to share my recipes (la bonne cuisine) and my stories (mes bons mots) with everyone in Creemore. I’m looking forward to 2017 and hope that many more culinary adventures await all of us.

This year’s Christmas treat is one I found buried in my recipe journal with the word “Yummy!’ beside it. In amongst the Christmas cookies, bars and candies laid out when you entertain, there is always room for a good sweet loaf or bread. For me it is Eggnog Loaf, topped with a delicious sweet and sour glaze and just a kick of brandy to celebrate the festive season. It is also an easy loaf to make when you end up with a bunch of leftover eggnog staring back at you from the fridge shelf, and you aren’t quite sure what to do with it besides drink it. Get baking!

In this special Christmas edition of The Echo, Stephen and myself, Claire and Zerrin our B&B golden ambassadors would like to wish all of you faithful readers a very happy and healthy holiday season. Don’t forget to eat well, live well… Merry Christmas and I’ll see you in the New Year!

Elaine’s Eggnog Loaf

½ cup unsalted butter, softened

1 cup white sugar

2 large eggs, slightly beaten

2 ¼ cups all purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon sea salt

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon ground nutmeg

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 cup good eggnog

1 tablespoon brandy

Glaze:

¼ cup powdered sugar

4 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

4 teaspoons brandy

¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350ᵒF. In a large mixing bowl beat softened butter and sugar until smooth and creamy. Add eggs, vanilla, eggnog and brandy; mix with a wooden spoon until well blended. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Add flour mixture to wet ingredients in two batches, and mix until moistened. Pour into a well buttered loaf pan and bake in the oven for approximately 50 minutes or until done. While loaf is baking, prepare the glaze by whisking the powdered sugar, lemon juice, brandy and nutmeg in a small bowl. When the loaf is done and removed from the oven, let it sit for 10 minutes before turning it out onto a wire rack (remember to turn right side up again). Drizzle the glaze over the eggnog loaf, using a pastry brush to glaze the sides. Slice and eat immediately – it won’t last long!

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