Qualifirst Holiday Cookbook

Christmas

Book

‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house, Not a vegetable was peeled, not even a sprout. The stuffing was done by the bird with care, In hopes that guests would soon be there.

Then what to my wondering eyes should appear, But an elf with an apron, all ready to stir. With a little seasoning, so aromatic and pure, I knew in a moment it would for sure allure.

More flavor with umami then classic more heat with el diablo and golden canèt be beat, They will shouted, “a dash here” and a dash there

With the turkey flavored with brine and stuffed with apples and thyme, Into the oven, for a long length of time.

Carrots dressed with lemon and potatoes mashed with duck, We have all the vegetables all set to be cut. He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work, And got the eggnog all ready to slurp.

And laying the dishes on the table with care, All work is done, we have nothing else to prepare.

And I heard him exclaim, ere he vanished out of sight, Happy Christmas To All, And To All A Good-night!

Cranport Cheeseball

Ingredients:

8 oz cream cheese, softened

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

½ cup Dried Cranberries

½ cup Pecans, chopped

¼ cup Maple Syrup

2 tbsp Port Wine Extract

Instructions:

Mix cream cheese, cheddar cheese, dried cranberries, maple syrup and port wine until blended.

Shape to a ball or desired shape. Roll the cheeseball into the pecans until coated.

Refrigerate for at least 1 hour or overnight.

Serve with chips, crackers or veggies and enjoy!

Crancherry Sauce

Crancherry Cheese Dip

Ingredients:

325 g fresh cranberries

½ cup Sour Cherries

½ cup Sugar

2 tbsp orange juice

Pinch of salt

Instructions:

In a medium saucepan on high heat, add cranberries, sour cherries, sugar, salt and orange juice and stir.

Cook until the cranberries burst for 10 minutes and lower the heat.

Let it simmer until sauce thickens.

Remove from heat and let it cool.

Enjoy!

Ingredients:

325 g fresh cranberries

½ cup Sour Cherries

½ cup sugar

2 tbsp orange juice

8 oz cream cheese

¼ cup sour cream

Pinch of salt

Instructions:

In a medium saucepan on high heat, add cranberries, sour cherries, sugar, salt and orange juice and stir.

Cook until the cranberries burst for 10 minutes and lower the heat. Let it simmer until sauce thickens.

Remove from heat and set aside and let it cool

In a separate bowl, combine cream cheese and sour cream. Mix until smooth.

Pour cream cheese in an even layer on a serving plate or bowl. Top with Crancherry sauce.

Refrigerate for up to an hour before serving,

Serve with crackers, pita or veggies.

Lemon &Dill Roasted Sweet Potatoes

Ingredients:

3 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into cubes

2 tbsp Lemon & Dill Dip Mix

⅓ cup Arbequina Extra

Virgin Olive Oil

1 tsp White Wine Vinegar

½ tsp Sea Salt

½ tsp Ground Black Pepper

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 425°F.

Whisk together lemon and dill dip mix, olive oil and white wine vinegar in a small bowl until combined. Set aside half of the vinaigrette aside.

In a large bowl, toss the sweet potatoes and the other half of the vinaigrette until well coated.

Put the sweet potatoes on a prepared baking sheet and roast the sweet potatoes for 30-35 minutes, turning once halfway through cooking, until the fork tender.

Remove roasted sweet potatoes from the oven and toss them with the remaining vinaigrette gently to coat.

Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve sweet potatoes warm and enjoy!

Umami Mashed Sweet Potatoes

Ingredients:

3 large sweet potatoes, peeled

½ cup whipping cream

1 tbsp butter

1 tbsp Umami Seasoning

Instructions:

Place sweet potatoes into a medium pot with enough water to cover them and bring to a boil. Cook until fork tender for 15-20mins.

Meanwhile in a separate bowl using a handheld mixer whip the cream until light and fluffy. Set aside.

Drain Sweet Potatoes and return them to the pot.

Using a potato masher, mash the sweet potatoes and add butter until smooth.

In portions, fold whipping cream into mashed potatoes until it reaches a smooth thick texture.

Add umami seasoning and salt, gently fold.

Enjoy!

DASHER

Duckfat Mashed Potatoes

Truffle Mashed Potatoes

Ingredients:

3 large russet potatoes, peeled

½ cup whipping cream

1 tbsp butter

Sea Salt

50 g Duck Fat

Instructions:

Place potatoes into a medium pot with enough water to cover potatoes and bring to a boil. Cook until fork tender for 15-20mins.

Meanwhile in a separate bowl using a handheld mixer whip the cream until light and fluffy. Set aside.

Drain Potatoes and return them to the pot.

Add butter, using a potato masher, mash the potatoes until smooth.

In portions, fold whipping cream into mashed potatoes until it reaches a smooth thick texture.

Add duck fat and salt, gently fold.

Enjoy!

Ingredients:

3 large Russet Potatoes, peeled

½ cup heavy cream

1 tbsp butter

2 tbsp Black Truffle Paste

1 tbsp parsley, chopped Sea Salt Pepper

Instructions:

Place potatoes into a medium pot with enough water to cover potatoes and bring to a boil. Cook until fork tender for 15-20mins.

Meanwhile in a handheld mixer whip the cream until light and fluffy. Set aside.

Drain Potatoes and return them to the pot. Add butter, using a potato masher, mash the potatoes until smooth.

In portions, fold whipping cream into mashed potatoes until it reaches a smooth thick texture.

Add black truffle paste and salt, gently fold. Serve and enjoy!

Honey Mustard Brussel Sprouts

Ingredients:

1 lbs brussel sprouts trimmed and halved

1 tbsp Arbequina Extra Virgin Olive Oil

2 tsp Thyme

1 tbsp Lemon Juice

2 tbsp Honey Mustard Powder

½ tsp Ground Black Pepper

Everything Bagel Brussel Sprouts

Ingredients:

1 lbs brussel sprouts trimmed and halved

1 tbsp Arbequina Extra Virgin Olive Oil

2 tbsp Everything Bagel Seasoning

½ tsp Ground Black Pepper

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 400°F.

In a bowl, toss and combine the brussel sprouts, thyme, lemon, pepper and honey dijon seasoning until evenly coated.

Transfer and spread out the brussel sprouts onto a baking sheet.

Roast until tender and nicely caramelized for about 30-45 minutes.

Once cooked, drizzle with lemon juice and toss.

Transfer to a serving dish.

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 400°F.

In a bowl, toss and combine the brussel sprouts, thyme, lemon, pepper and everything bagel until evenly coated.

Transfer and spread out the brussel sprouts onto a baking sheet.

Roast until tender and nicely caramelized for about 30-45 minutes.

Once cooked, drizzle with lemon juice and toss.

Transfer to a serving dish.

Brussel Sprouts in Duckfat

Lemon Pistachio Brussel Sprouts

Ingredients:

1 lbs brussel sprouts

trimmed and halved

50 g Duck Fat Rougie

2 sprigs of thyme

½ juice of lemon

50 g parmesan cheese

Sea Salt Pepper

Ingredients:

1 lb brussel sprouts, trimmed

4 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

¼ cup sicilian-style pistachios, coarsely chopped

1 lemon, zested

Sea Salt

Pepper

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 400°F. In a bowl, toss and combine the brussel sprouts, thyme, lemon and duck fat until evenly coated.

Transfer and spread out the brussel sprouts onto a baking sheet.

Roast until tender and nicely caramelized for about 30-45 minutes.

Once cooked, squeeze a half of a lemon and toss. Then transfer to a serving dish.

Optional: Garnish with parmesan cheese.

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Put a large pot of salted water on to boil. When ready, cook the brussel sprouts until they can be pierced with a knife.

Drain and refresh under cold water. Lay out on a towel to absorb excess moisture. The sprouts can be done to this stage several hours in advance.

Place the sprouts on a baking sheet large enough to hold them in one layer without crowding. Toss with 2 tbsp of oil, pistachios, and season.

Roast in the preheated oven for 20 minutes, stirring once during cooking. The sprouts are ready when the edges have begun to caramelize.

Remove from the oven. To serve, drizzle with the remaining olive oil and garnish with lemon zest. Enjoy!

Honey & Miso Brussel Sprouts

Ingredients:

1 lbs brussel sprouts

trimmed and halved

2 tbsp honey

1 tbsp Nakimura Red Miso Paste

1 tsp Sea Salt

1 lemon halved

¼ cup Slivered Almonds, toasted Pepper

Parsnips Brown Butter Hazelnut

Ingredients:

8 parsnips, trimmed, peeled, cut lengthwise

3 tbsp Arbequina Extra Virgin Olive Oil

2 tbsp Agave syrup

3 garlic cloves, minced

6 sprigs of thyme

70 g Hazelnuts, chopped 1 stick of butter

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 400°F.

In a bowl, whisk together the honey, miso and salt until smooth.

Add the brussel sprouts and toss until evenly coated.

Transfer and spread out the brussel sprouts onto a baking sheet.

Roast until tender and nicely caramelized for about 30-45 minutes.

Once cooked, squeeze a half of a lemon and toss. Then transfer to a serving dish.

Optional: Garnish with almonds.

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350°F

Whisk together olive oil, agave syrup and garlic in a small bowl until combined..

In a large bowl, toss the parsnips and olive oil mixture until well coated.

Put the parsnips on a prepared baking sheet and roast for 30-45 minutes, turning once halfway through cooking, until fork tender.

Meanwhile, dry roast the hazelnuts in a small frying pan and set aside.

In the same pan over medium heat, brown the butter for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add thyme and hazelnuts into the browned butter and stir.

Remove roasted parsnips from the oven and toss the parsnips with the brown butter hazelnut mixture until well coated.

Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Serve and enjoy!

Carrots in Tahini Sauce

Lemon & Dill Carrots

Ingredients:

Carrots:

1 ½ lbs carrots, trimmed, peeled

2 tbsp Arbequina Extra Virgin Olive Oil

½ tsp Sea Salt

½ tsp Ground Cumin

Tahini glaze:

⅓ cup Arbequina Extra Virgin Olive Oil

¼ cup Tahini Paste

¼ cup Lemon Juice

2 tbsp Date Syrup

½ tsp Sea Salt

¼ tsp Cayenne Pepper

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 425°F.

Arrange the carrots on a baking sheet, drizzle with 2 tbsp olive oil and sprinkle with 1/2 tsp kosher salt and 1/2 tsp cumin.

Toss the carrots to coat evenly with the salt and spices.

Roast the carrots for 20-30 minutes, turning once halfway through cooking, until the largest pieces have softened and the edges are darkening.

While carrots are roasting, create the Tahini glaze. Whisk together 1/3 cup olive oil, 1/4 cup tahini paste, 1/4 cup lemon juice, 3 tbsp silan, 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp cayenne in a medium bowl. Add water if needed until the glaze is smooth.

Remove roasted carrots from the oven and drizzle with the tahini glaze. Toss gently to coat.

Serve carrots warm and enjoy!

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 425°F.

Whisk together lemon and dill dip mix, olive oil and white wine vinegar in a small bowl until combined. Set aside half of the vinaigrette aside. In a large bowl, toss the carrots and the other half of the vinaigrette until well coated.

Put the carrots on a prepared baking sheet and roast the carrots for 20-30 minutes, turning once halfway through cooking, until the largest pieces have softened and the edges are darkening.

Remove roasted carrots from the oven and toss the carrots with the remaining vinaigrette gently to coat.

Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve carrots warm and enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 ½ lbs carrots, trimmed and peeled

2 tbsp Lemon & Dill Dip Mix

⅓ cup Arbequina Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 tsp White Wine Vinegar

½ tsp Sea Salt

½ tsp Ground Black Pepper

Ultimate Turkey

Ingredients:

1 whole turkey, unsalted (7 kg turkey used in recipe)

1 cup David’s Turkey

Brining

7 liters water

1 liter warm water

Instructions:

Add 1 cup brine to 1 liter warm water.

Let brine mixture steep for 10 minutes to bring out the flavors of the seasoning.

Place turkey in a pot (or brining bag) at room temperature water and top off with brine mixture.

Cover and place in fridge to let turkey sit to soak in all the flavors for 8-24 hours.

Remove Turkey from brining Solution, rinse and pat dry.

Place turkey in roasting pan and thoroughly cook the turkey according to instructions for the weight of your turkey.

Check on your turkey regularly and baste.

Enjoy!

Snowball Coconut Cookies

Pfeffernüsse German Cookies

Ingredients:

2 cups All Purpose Flour

3 tbsp Cornstarch

1 cup Finely Shredded Coconut

¼ tsp Salt

1 cup butter, softened

⅓ cup icing sugar

2 tsp Vanilla Extract

2 cups icing sugar for coating

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350°F

In a bowl using a hand mixer or stand mixer, beat the butter and icing sugar until fluffy.

Add salt, vanilla, cornstarch and coconut.

On low speed, gradually add the flour until combined.

Scoop a teaspoon of the dough and roll into a ball and place it on a prepared baking sheet.

Bake cookies for 15-20 minutes until bottoms are golden brown.

Transfer cookies to a cooling rack for a few minutes.

Roll cookies in icing sugar while cookies are still warm and transfer cookies again to the cooling rack to cool completely.

Enjoy!

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, holiday spice mix, and salt. Mix and set aside.

In a separate bowl, using a hand mixer or stand mixer, beat the butter, brown sugar and molasses until fluffy.

Add egg and vanilla until smooth.

On low speed, add flour mixture and mix until blended.

Scoop a teaspoon of the dough and roll into a ball and place it on a prepared baking sheet.

Bake cookies for 10-15 minutes.

Transfer cookies to a cooling rack and let it cool completely.

Meanwhile, create the glaze by whisking together the icing sugar and milk.

Dip the cooled cookie in the glaze to coat and place on a wire cooling rack to dry. Serve and enjoy!

Ingredients:

2 cups All Purpose Flour

¼ tsp Baking Soda

2 tbsp Holiday Spice Mix

½ cup butter, softened ¾ cup Brown Sugar

¼ cup Molasses

½ tsp Vanilla Extract

¼ tsp Salt

1 egg

Glaze: 3 ½ cup icing sugar ⅓ cup milk, plus more if needed

Sweet Potato Pie Bars

Reindeer & Christmas Tree Brownies

Ingredients:

½ cup Michel Cluziel

63% Dark Chocolate Mini Grams

Ingredients:

Crust:

1 ½ cups Graham Flour

⅓ cup Sugar

6 tbsp butter, melted

Filling:

2 cups sweet potato puree

¼ cup White Sugar

¼ cup Brown Sugar

3 eggs

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

1 tsp Salt

2 tbsp Holiday Spice Mix

1 ½ cup milk

½ cup heavy cream

1 ½ cup mini marshmallows

½ cup butter

½ cup White Sugar

½ cup Brown Sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

¾ cup all purpose flour

½ cup Cocoa Powder

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

½ tsp baking powder

½ tsp Salt

Rainbow Sprinkles

Silver Round Dragees

Mini M&Ms Chocolate

Green Liquid Food Color

Red Liquid Food Color

Piping Nozzles and Bag mini pretzels

Put the chocolate chips and butter into a large heatproof bowl set over a pot of gently simmering water. Stir until chocolate is melted. Note: Don’t let the bottom of the bowl touch the water underneath.

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350°F

Create the crust by mixing graham flour, melted butter and sugar together and press into a prepared 8x8 baking pan. Bake for 10 minutes and remove from oven to let it cool completely.

In a separate bowl, combine, sweet potato puree, sugars, eggs, vanilla, salt, milk, heavy cream and Holiday Spice and mix until well combined.

Pour mixture over cooled crust and bake for 40 minutes or until the middle is set.

Pour mini marshmallows over the cooked pie bar and place it back in the oven on Broil for 1-2 minutes or until the marshmallows are golden brown.

Remove from the oven and let cool. Cut into bars and serve.

Remove bowl from heat, add white and brown sugar and whisk. Add eggs and vanilla and stir until fully combined. Set aside. In a separate bowl, add flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt.

Combine wet ingredients with dry ingredients, stir and mix. Transfer batter to prepared 8x8 baking pan, smoothing the top.

Bake for 35-45 minutes until toothpick is not wet when inserted. Let brownie cool. Remove brownies from pan and cut into triangles.

Prepare your choice of frosting and your chosen colors. Fill the piping bag with frosting and chosen icing nozzle.

For assembly: for the Reindeer Brownies, pipe 2 dots on 2 corners and stick the pretzel to make the ears. Pipe 2 dots for eyes and another for nose and stick an M&M candy. For the Christmas trees, using a zig-zag motion, pipe the frosting onto the brownie and decorate with sprinkles.

Hot Chocolate Bombs

Make your own chocolate bombs for the holidays!

Ingredients:

La Rose Noire Chocolate

Globe Shell

Davids Hot Chocolate Mix

Davids Marshmallows

Epicureal’s Sprinkles

Instructions:

Place flat pan on low heat.

While the pan is heating, fill half of the chocolate globe shell with hot cocoa powder mix, sprinkles and marshmallows. Set aside.

Using the heated pan, rub the rim of the other empty half of the chocolate globe shell just enough for the chocolate to melt.

Stick the 2 halves together, the one with filling and the empty half.

You can decorate your sphere with some chocolate and sprinkles of your choice.

Wrap chocolate in decorative plastic or boxes, great for gifts!

To Use the Chocolate Bombs:

Place the hot chocolate bomb in a mug

Heat the milk until it steams

Pour the hot steaming milk over the top of the chocolate bomb and watch as the sphere melts and the fillings come to the surface

Stir with a spoon.

Enjoy!

Mulled Apple Cider & Wine

Ingredients:

Apple Cider: 4 cups apple juice

50 g Mulling Spice Blend

1 orange, cut into rounds

1 apple, cut into rounds

Wine: 1 bottle of dry red wine

1 orange, cut into rounds

50 g Mulling Spice Blend

Holiday Spice Eggnog

Ingredients:

1 tsp Holiday Spice Latte Mix

1 cup Eggnog

Instructions:

On medium heat, place all ingredients in a pot until it begins to simmer.

Reduce heat to low and let it simmer for at least 30 minutes. The longer it simmers the stronger the flavor.

Remove spices using a slotted spoon. Serve hot.

Instructions:

Heat 1 cup of eggnog. Add 1 tsp of Latte mix to heated eggnog and stir.

Top it off with foam if desired. Enjoy!