Dinner, Santa,

So the menu for last night was English style Shrimp cocktail, oven barbecued pork chops with runner beans and goat cheese potato purée followed by mincemeat tart and a dollop of cream. I have previously posted the recipes for all of these except the dessert and the beans which were just plain. I gave my new pant suit a trial run too. It is now a dirty pant suit, well the top anyway. The food went down well and our guests apparently enjoyed everything. I ate too much potato. Oh well, tomorrow is another day. The picture shows the shrimp with a North American style sauce which is predominantly tomato ketchup and horseradish. Our sauce is not the same but of course I forgot to take pictures. It’s made with ketchup, mayonnaise, Worcester sauce, lemon juice, onion and celery. We also add lettuce to the bottom of the dish.

I just discovered Santa is a Canadian. We all know he lives at the North Pole and at the current time the North Pole is in the northern reaches of Canada. Canadian air forces currently have the job of escorting his sleigh on Christmas Eve having had the responsibility passed on to them by Norad. The Department of Immigration apparently awarded Santa full Canadian citizenship although, as stated, he is really a citizen of the world.

Here’s a nice goodie of a recipe from Cooking.com, just right for a chocoholic.

Pecan-Chocolate Chip Pie

Source: Cooking at a Glance - Pies and Pastries


Makes 10 servings
There's only one way to improve on a pecan pie: Add chocolate! The resulting pie is rich and filling, so cut the pieces small.

INGREDIENTS
For the Pie:
3 eggs
1 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup margarine or butter, melted
one 6-ounce package semisweet chocolate pieces (1 cup) or 1 cup chopped semisweet chocolate
1 cup pecan halves
Pastry for Single-Crust Pie
For the Topping:
10 pecan halves
1 cup whipping cream, whipped

DIRECTIONS
FOR THE PIE:
In a medium mixing bowl use a rotary beater or wire whisk to lightly beat eggs just till mixed. Stir in corn syrup, sugar, and melted margarine or butter. Mix well. Reserve 2 tablespoons of the chocolate pieces; stir remaining chocolate pieces and 1 cup pecan halves into filling. Set filling aside.
Prepare and roll out pastry as directed. Line a 9-inch pie plate with pastry. Trim and crimp edge of pastry. Pour filling into pastry shell. To prevent overbrowning, cover the edge of the pie with foil. Bake in a preheated 350 degrees F oven for 25 minutes. Remove foil and bake for 20-25 minutes more, or till center appears nearly set when shaken. Cool on a rack.
FOR THE TOPPING:
Meanwhile, in a small saucepan melt reserved chocolate pieces over low heat. Dip one end of each of the 10 pecan halves into melted chocolate. Place on a waxed paper-lined baking sheet and refrigerate about 15 minutes, or till chocolate is firm.
TO SERVE:
Dollop whipped cream on each slice. Insert a chocolate-dipped pecan half in each dollop of whipped cream. Store in the refrigerator.

Have a great day