it's been a blur

the title of this post is twofold... 

this week has been an absolute blur, filled with endless checklists and hours in the kitchen. and the past four years have been a blur - tomorrow marks the four year anniversary of little red kitsch'n & i can't even believe it!

anyway i'm exhausted so this will be short & sweet. i'm catering a christmas party for 40 after the market tomorrow. for some reason i'm a glutton for punishment & design really elaborate cocktail party menus. on top of all my regular market prep, here's what's on the menu tomorrow night:

pear, brie & walnut puff pastry

crab & corn cakes with spicy mayo

mushroom & goat cheese phyllo bundles

fried chicken biscuits with cranberry & blue cheese

roasted tomato, bacon & kale strata

red wine braised brisket tarts

prosciutto wrapped scallops with maple glaze

chipotle lime pulled pork sliders with southern slaw

charcuterie board

cheese board

olives, chutneys

crudites with curried hummus & white bean dip

mini cupcakes

chocolate peppermint bars

maple walnut bars

lemon squares

it's a little silly but it'll sure be tasty. i remarked today that i'd like to be a guest at this party because i think the food will be pretty great ;)

for the market i made:

tourtiere

beef & pork combo from getaway farm, caramelized onions, warm spices.

$25 for a 9 inch pie

creamy british fish pie:

haddock, organic salmon & tilapia in a white sauce with peas, celery, carrots and a touch of lemon, topped with sour cream & dill mashed potatoes. i swear my brother has been asking me to make this for about 2 years & i just finally got around to it!

small $10  large $20

there's also a new batch of seafood chowder with smoked haddock, regular haddock, mussels, clam broth & tilapia.

$7/500ml

the salads this week are broccoli & asian slaw.

they're both gluten free, dairy free & paleo. the slaw is even vegan!

thanks to everyone who came to visit me at the crafters market - i had a super successful weekend & it's always a nice change from the seaport.

also, don't forget to place your holiday orders. just check out my previous blog post for all the details. i'll be doing up sweet sampler boxes on sunday at the market if you'd like one but not tomorrow.

for tomorrow only, to celebrate my 4th birthday, baker's 1/2 dozens of minis will be $5 & big cupcakes will be 3 for the price of 2.

ok sleep time!

holiday orders

i can't even believe how fast december is flying by - i'm not ready!!!

i'm just trying to get a handle on holiday orders so i don't get overwhelmed at the last second.

i'm already all booked up with cakes so i won't be taking any cake orders until the new year.

i will be doing lots of holiday sweet samplers though!

they're $30 each for a 9-inch pastry box loaded with festive goodies. there is an assortment of:

mini cupcakes

maple walnut bars

snickers brownies

choco-peppermint bars

lemon squares

eggnog cheesecake bars

they all need to be preordered...they take forever to put together on the fly. orders can be picked up on sunday the 14th, saturday the 20th or sunday the 21st from my table at the market. 

i'm also setting up holiday 'office hours' at my kitchen in prospect. if you'd like to take a nice drive you can pick up sweets & raid the freezers on december 22nd, 23rd & 24th from 10-4. there will be complimentary hot cocoa & a mini cupcake for making the trek. the address is:

1663 prospect bay road

prospect, b3t 2b3

i will also be making pumpkin-chai pies. these are always a massive hit! they are $15 each & i'll have them starting december 20th. it's best to reserve.

this week i'll also be making tourtieres. they will be a pork & beef combo with lots of warm spices & caramelized onions in an herby crust.

$20 each

seafood is also really popular this time of year so i'll be making batches of seafood chowder & british fish pie this week & next week lobster mac & cheese will finally return to the menu!

if you'd like to place any orders, email me at jenna@littleredkitschn.com or direct message me through my little red kitsch'n facebook page.

i almost forgot to mention gift certificates! any denomination, no expiry date, always available at the market.

thanks so much & i hope everyone's holiday preparations are coming together nicely!

big weekend

it's the halifax crafters winter market this weekend at the olympic centre. i actually just got home - it was open from 5-9 tonight & will be open from 10-5 tomorrow & sunday. for those of you who don't know where the olympic centre is, the entrance is on hunter street & the building is on the corner of windsor & cunard. it's free admission, there's great tunes & it's the best holiday market around, it's definitely worth a visit. my table is located upstairs, right at the top of the stairs up from laughing whale coffee.

leslie will be running the show for me at the seaport tomorrow (i'm skipping the seaport on sunday). there are a ton of frozen meals at the moment. this week i made a batch of mediterranean vegetable ragu which is a vegetarian & gluten free option. there's roasted red peppers, zucchini, red onion, kalamata olives, swiss chard, feta, parm & goat cheese in a super flavourful marinara sauce. it's served with a side of quinoa dressed lightly with olive oil, garlic & basil.

small $9  large $18

the other frozen options at the moment are:

beef shepherd's pie

paleo beef shepherd's pie

 chicken parmesan

turkey & dressing pie

moroccan meatballs

sweet & sour pork meatballs

smokey mac & cheese

pasta primavera

there are a couple small chile pork & cornbreads left and i think 1 small brisket & blue.

there are a ton of salads this week - FIVE varieties in fact!

quinoa: gluten free, vegan, fennel, olive, grapefruit, pomegranate, parsley, honey

potato: gluten free, vegan, cucumber, green bean, celery, radishes, dill, parsley, kale, dijon

beet: pears, wheatberries, kale, goat cheese, red wine vinegar, maple syrup

asian slaw: gluten free, vegan, paleo, red & green cabbage, red peppers, carrots, cucumbers, ginger, lime, cilantro, peanuts, coconut milk, chillies

broccoli: gluten free, paleo, almonds, cranberries, peppers, red onion, sunflower seeds, double smoked bacon (vegetarian option)

there are tons of sweets at both locations as well.

leslie & i will be set up to accept credit cards & to sell gift certificates at both locations.

ok time to sleep.