potluck dinner

Potluck Stressed? Try Wraps and Skewers

The holidays are filled with fun, family and friends and often sprinkled with a showering of stress for many of us.  And yes potlucks are a great way to take the load off hosts but they can pose a bit of a challenge for those who are contributing.  How much is enough? Vegetarian or meat eaters?  I don’t want my dish to be the only not touched!  Stressful am I right?

So the goal is to present an appetizing dish to the majority (because let’s face it, you won’t please everyone) while not spending the day in the kitchen AND to gently stroke your ego by coming home with an empty tray.

So why not wraps and skewers?  And especially if there will be kids at your function.  They can cover the vegetarian crowd, the meat-eating crowd, the gluten-free crowd and if you really want to impress, you can even satisfy the vegan crowd.

The sky is the limit  for your creative juices when it comes to what will actually go in to your wraps and on to your skewers.  But I’ll share with you what I did this week.

Here is how I put my tray together.

For the wraps I combined tzatziki with feta cheese for the sauce.  The vegetarian wraps were filled with quinoa,  spiralized carrots, and julienne of red pepper, cucumber and red onion. Then topped with pea sprouts.  For the protein in the meat wraps, I replaced the quinoa with chicken.

My skewers were simply pineapple and marinade shrimp, grilled and topped with coconut.  The recipe is below or you can get it here.

Of course presentation is important so I cut my wraps on an angle to show the festive colours and then I simply garnished the tray with arugula.

And there you go.  Your Potluck meal is done.  Time to enjoy the party!

 

wraps and skewers

Pineapple Shrimp Skewers

 

It’s that Chestnut time of year!

Ah the smell of roasted chestnuts! It’s a tradition that awakens the Christmas senses. Chestnuts are not like most of their tree nut counterparts. Most nuts are low in carbohydrates and higher in protein and fats. These little morsel packets however are higher in complex carbohydrates then their tree nut relatives. They contain approximately 45 grams per 3-ounce serving, which equates to about 3 chestnuts.

Chestnuts contain both soluble and insoluble fiber making them a nice addition for gut health. They contain the minerals manganese, potassium, copper, phosphorus, magnesium and iron. Looking at their vitamin content, it’s mainly vitamin C, but they also contain vitamin B6, thiamin, folate, and riboflavin.

The process of roasting the chestnut is to release the sugar content thereby sweetening its flavour.

Roasted Chestnuts

  • Preheat your oven to 425F/220C.
  • Start by wiping the chestnuts off with a damp towel. Then on a cutting board, with the flat side of the nut down, cut an X in to the chestnut. This will allow the steam to escape.
  • Place the cut chestnuts in the oven on a baking tray and allow to cook for approximately 30 minutes.
  • You will be able to tell that they are done when the shell pops open and the chestnut is a nice golden brown colour.

Put a bowlful in the middle of your table allowing everyone to smack and peel their own. It’s a big part of the pleasure of eating them!