My journalism school classmate Mary has created these adorable Canadian election cupcake toppers. They’re for sale on Etsy, if you want to grab a few to show your colours.

PS. Also check out Mary’s decadent food blog, Caramels, Bonbons et Chocolats.

A few of the sweets that were served over the weekend at get-togethers with friends. Sugar cookies (top), my ugly-looking but OK tasting cranberry, almond and caramel pie (middle), and finally, banana bread and gumdrop cake!

On Saturday we had a big potluck at Lisa and Alain’s. There was Cornish hen, guinea fowl AND quail, served with a pear & pecan salad, roasted squash, broccoli and hazelnuts, garlic mashed potatoes and topped off with my aforementioned ugly pie.

On Sunday I drove out with Lisa and Nadine to Ottawa to visit Emilie and her kids, who are ridiculously ADORBS. Emilie had a bunch of holiday sweets for us, recipes she recently copied down from her grandmother. So great!

Don’t you just love getting together with friends for the holidays?

I like to try out recipes before I serve them to company, especially people for whom I’ve never cooked before. Next weekend the Boo and I have invited his group of friends over for a Christmas dinner and I’m excited to make the perfect meal. Thus this weekend my parents served as guinea pigs for the recipes. The kitchen at our country home is the perfect laboratory: it’s got a huge working space PLUS there are two ovens! I made a roast chicken with five spice sauce: ingredients included fennel, star anise, cinnamon, apricots, red wine and tons of fresh thyme. It was tasty! To accompany the chicken I made roasted winter vegetables (turnip, beets, carrots, onions & fennel topped with fresh thyme) and a delish quinoa dish with dried cherries and pistachios.  To finish it off, I made a rustic apple tart. The apples were overcooked so it wasn’t the prettiest version but it still tasted great!

Are you doing any holiday entertaining this year? What are your favourite recipes?

In Richy’s family, fruit is king. For dessert, the table is always decked out with several kinds of the most amazing fruit. The freshest, best fruit that you cannot get at your local chain supermarket. Mangos like I’d never tasted them. Things I’d never tried, like cactus fruit.  Fresh figs & lychees. Piles and piles of fruit. Completely decadent.

Sunday night’s spread:

This weekend at the Saads, I tasted FRESH dates for the first time. I didn’t even know what they were when they were put down in front of me (see photo below). Fresh dates had never even occurred to me!

Well, I cannot go on enough about how amazing they are. Crunchy and super sweet on the outside. Flesh that is milder and almost nutty. I would eat these by the dozen!

Have you ever tried fresh dates?