'Twas the Night Before Cheesemas - Canadian Chefs Create Festive Cheese Dishes Inspired by the Classic Poem

'Twas the month before Christmas, and all through the land
All the home cooks were stirring, wooden spoon in hand.
Dishes were set, on the buffet with care.
For ravenous guests, soon would be there…

TORONTO, Dec. 3, 2019 /CNW/ - Holiday menus are always more enjoyable with a theme, so four cheese-loving Canadian chefs, from Vancouver to Montreal, found inspiration in their favourite Christmastime story, The Night Before Christmas.

Each chef created an appetizer, entrée and dessert that was inspired by select excerpts from Clement Clark Moore's beloved poem, which was first published in 1823 and remains the most popular Christmas story of all time.

One of twelve chef-recipes inspired by by Clement Clarke Moore’s 1832 poem, The Night Before Christmas: A seasonally colourful salad finished with a snowy layer of crumbled feta (CNW Group/Tre Stelle)

They prepared each dish using one of their favourite cheeses from Canada's own Tre Stelle, demonstrating how easy and delicious it is to cook with cheese. 

From Montreal, fourteen-year-old (and twice-published cookbook author) Inès Gauthier drizzled a tartly sweet cranberry coulis over her mascarpone graham cracker "trees" as a French Canadian nod to Père Noel inspired by the line, "As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly, when they met with an obstacle, mount to the sky."

Kendall Collingridge, executive chef of Founder in Toronto created a sweetly-inspired Sugarplum Ricotta Cheesecake based on one of the most famous lines from the poem "The children were nestled all snug in their beds, while visions of sugarplums danced through their heads."

From Vancouver's Homer Street Café & Bar, chef Tristen Katcher, took his cue from the stanza "The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow, gave the lustre of mid-day to objects below" and created a bitter greens beet salad with a snowy layer of crumbled feta.

And Garrett Martin from Bridgette Bar in Calgary created an appetizer inspired by the infamous description of Santa: "His eyes how they twinkled, his dimples how merry, his cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry" – creating a caramelized crostini with mozzarella for his beard and black pepper cherry jam, for his nose. 

"The Night Before Christmas provides endless inspiration for holiday recipe ideas," says Nancy Strauss, Vice-President for Tre Stelle Canada. "Offering themes of warmth, food and celebration, it's our holiday wish that home cooks across the country are inspired to use cheese to cook fearlessly and festively this holiday season, just like these talented chefs."

SELECT CHEF RECIPES <link to full recipes and high-res images of each dish>

Cranberry Mascarpone "Trees" by Inès Gauthier (Montreal, QC)
As inspired by "As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly, when they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky…"

3	Egg yolks
1 cup	Icing sugar, divided
2/3 cup	Whipping cream (35%)
1 (225 g tub)	Tre Stelle ® Mascarpone
16	Grahams crackers
1 cup	Frozen cranberries
¾ cup	Water

In a bowl, using a whisk or electric handheld mixer, beat the egg yolks with ¾ cup of the icing sugar. Add mascarpone and continue to whisk in until incorporated. In a separate bowl, whip the heavy cream (again, using a whisk or handheld mixer) until you have a thick cream with soft peaks. Fold the whipped cream into the mascarpone mixture until fully combined and transfer into a pastry bag (or ziplock bag, with a corner snipped off).
In a blender, add the frozen cranberries, water, and remaining icing sugar and blend of medium-high speed until you have a smooth coulis.

To serve, pipe a small dot of mascarpone cream on to the plate to act as a foundation for the first graham cracker. Then firmly place a graham cracker on top of the mascarpone cream and gently press. Alternate sandwich layers of mascarpone cream and graham crackers until you have a stack of four graham crackers. Finish with more mascarpone cream, drizzle with coulis and finish with a dusting of icing sugar.

Caramelized Mozzarella Crostinis W/Cherry Black Pepper Jam by Garrett Martin (Bridgette Bar, Calgary)

For the Cherry Black Pepper Jam
½ cup	Dried cherries (or substitute for raisins)
½ teaspoon	Ground black pepper
½ cup	Sugar
½ cup	Red wine vinegar
½ teaspoon	Kosher salt

Add ingredients to small pot and reduce over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally. Once thickened and almost no liquid remains, remove from heat and place in a new container and chill in refrigerator.

For the assembly
2 slices	Prosciutto, cut into 4 slices each
1	Small loaf of Focaccia
2 slices	Tre Stelle^® Deluxe Mozzarella, ¾'' Thick
	Kosher salt
	Canola oil

Slice focaccia through the middle of the loaf, along the equator, and cut top and bottom halves into eight 1''x 3'' pieces.  Add a small amount of canola oil to a non-stick pan, and heat the pan over medium heat. Toast the focaccia pieces face down in the hot oil until crispy. Remove from the pan and wipe pan clean. Add a drizzle more canola oil and turn heat to high. Season the mozzarella slices with a small amount of kosher salt. When the pan is very hot and the oil begins to shimmer, carefully add the mozzarella to the hot pan and cover immediately with a lid. The mozzarella will sizzle and look like it's melting out the sides. Griddle for 10 seconds and then use a spatula to flip the mozzarella. Add the lid back on and cook for a further 10 seconds. Do not overcook or the mozzarella will melt.

Remove from the pan and set aside on a cutting board. Cut the mozzarella slices into four pieces each. Add one piece to each slice of toasted focaccia. Add a small spoonful of the cherry jam on top of each slice of cheese, and then nicely ruffle up the slices of prosciutto. Add one slice to each piece of toast to garnish and serve immediately.

Sugarplum Ricotta Cheesecake by Kendall Collingridge (Founder, Toronto)
As inspired by, "The children were nestled all snug in their beds, while visions of sugarplums danced in their heads"

For the cheesecake
1 cup	gingerbread cookie crumbs
3 tbsp	melted butter
475g	Tre Stelle® Extra Smooth Ricotta Cheese
½ cup	Sour cream
1/2 cup	Sugar
3	eggs, separated
2 tbsp	Flour
1.5 tsp.	grated lemon zest

in bowl, combine crumbs and butter. Press into bottom of 9-inch (23 cm) springform pan; chill.
Place ricotta, sour cream, sugar, egg yolks, flour and lemon zest in processor bowl.
Process 15 seconds; scrape down sides of bowl with spatula, then process until smooth, about 60 seconds.
In large bowl, beat egg whites until stiff. With spatula push to one side, then pour cheese mixture down inside edge of bowl and fold in beaten whites. Do not overmix, fold just until blended .Pour into prepared pan and bake at 325°F (160°C) for 50 to 60 minutes. Until a tester inserted between edge and middle comes out clean. (The middle should still quiver). Remove from oven and immediately run a long sharp knife all around the inside edge of pan. Let cool on rack. Cover and refrigerate 6 hours or overnight.

For the poached plums
500 g	Plums, halved or quartered with stone removed
4	Cloves
1 tsp	Whole black peppercorns
1 stick	Cinnamon
1 cup	Red wine
1/3 cup	Sugar

Wrap the cloves and peppercorns in a muslin bag or cheesecloth.
In a medium saucepan combine the muslin bag, cinnamon stick, red wine and sugar and bring to a simmer until sugar is dissolved, about 2-3 minutes. Add the plums and cook on low heat until the plums are tender, about 5-10 minutes.
Remove the plums, and discard the cinnamon stick and muslin bag. Reheat the red wine syrup until reduced by half then add in the plums and keep warm until ready to serve.

To finish
When ready to serve, spoon over poached plums. Just before serving (or up to 2 hours before serving), sprinkle sugar evenly over surface of cheesecake. Using a mini torch, heat until sugar melts and caramelizes. Serve immediately with spiced plum syrup on plate.

Bitter Greens with Beets, Apple & Feta by Tristen Katcher (Homer Street Café & Bar, Vancouver)
As inspired by, "The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow, Gave the lustre of mid-day to objects below…"

For the beets

4 medium red beets

Olive oil

Salt

Apple Cider Vinegar

Water

Preheat oven to 375F. Clean the beets, and put into a small oven-safe dish(a loaf pan works well), stem side down. Drizzle with some olive oil and salt, and a splash of apple cider vinegar. Add just enough water to touch the bottom of the beets (1 inch or so). Cover with foil or a tight fitting lid, and bake in the oven at until tender when poked with a toothpick (30-90 minutes, depending on the beets). While still warm, use a towel to rub the skin off the beet.  Slice the beets into nice rounds, season with red wine vinaigrette and reserve.

For the vinaigrette
½ cup	Red wine vinegar
1 cup	Olive oil
2 tablespoons	Grainy Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons	Honey
	Salt & Pepper to taste

Whisk Vinegar, Dijon, Honey, salt & pepper together.
Slowly drizzle olive oil, whisking vigorously into the vinegar to emulsify. Reserve until needed.

For the assembly

Mixed Bitter Greens (radicchio, frisee, endive, mustard greens, etc)

Green apple, sliced thin

Marinated Red Beets

Red Wine Vinaigrette

Feta Cheese, crumbled

Assemble a nice mix of bitter greens, slice up radicchio, tear some frisee, pull apart a bit of endive, and add some mustard greens for a bit of heat. Use whatever your favourites are, and play around with different ratios of each. Go for lots of color, and lots of flavor! Season your greens with a bit of salt, and then add red wine vinaigrette to lightly coat the leaves.
Place a nice layer of the marinated beets on the bottom of your plate, and top with a big pile of the dressed bitter greens.
Top with a generous portion of sliced apple, and a nice sprinkle of feta cheese.

SOURCE Tre Stelle

Media Contact: Simon Hancock | Evangeline PR, [email protected], 416-889-4962