Pictured Above: Roseanne Longo offers holiday tips for great entertaining

Ho, Ho, Ho and Merry Christmas everyone! This week our annual Christmas radio show was filled with holiday music, great spirits and laughter, lots of snow outside and of course Christmas presents for all of out listeners out there in radio land.

Joining us in studio was Roseanne Longo, Longo spokesperson and Family Chair and daughter of one of the founders of the Longo Brothers Fruit Market. This well renowned grocery store http://www.longos.com established over 50 years ago, currently has 16 locations in Ontario and employs over 3000 people and is truly a family entrepreneurial success story.

Roseanne came in to share some easy and entertaining holiday tips with us to make sure we all have a stress free holiday season. She also generously donated $100 gift certificates or a turkey kit for all callers that got through to speak with Roseanne, Georgia or myself. Thank-you Roseanne from The Wine Ladies and the winners!

The first big holiday tip is the Longo Turkey Kit. Now believe me, this is one fantastic invention! This kit comes complete with all the trimmimgs and a pre cooked turkey. It serves from 4-6 people and can be purchased for just $69.99. All it takes is an hour to reheat and you are set to go! Talk about stress free! Roseanne gave one to me and my goodness it was easy to do and delicious. On top of that NO MESS! The turkey kits can be ordered through or 1-800-9-LONGOS up to Dec 22. The turkey kits are available 2 times a year - Christmas and Thanksgiving.

We had a caller ask us how to make the best stuffing for your turkey and if Rosanne had any tips. Rosanne smiled and laughed, “the secret to great stuffing is to have your Mom make it”! So she promised to send it for all of our listener’s and readers.

Roseanne further added that, “the real “secret” is in the seasoning”. Your own creativity and added touches with favourite ingredients are what will make it your own recipe to pass on from generation to generation. Some people prefer a traditional bread stuffing, some add fruit like cranberries, and in some cultures (I have aunts who do this...the Italian way) is to make stuffing with a blend of ground pork and beef and even mushrooms, creating a more meatier stuffing with less breadcrumbs.

Most traditional stuffings, or dressings, start with sautéed vegetables like onion and celery (my grandmother insisted that the secret with celery is to included the leaves). Added to the sauteed vegetables is crumbled bread. Again, my grandmother would take a loaf (or loaves) of day-old bread as this works best and she would break it up by hand into cubes. My mother has found the faster way is to buy the big bag of cubed bread especially for making stuffing available at Longo’s! This is the part where you add your own creations. You can add rice or meat if you like or fruit or nuts.

Now for texture...moist or dry stuffing? That is the question. It’s all a matter of preference. For moister stuffing, add chicken broth and/or butter. For drier, crispier stuffing, it’s best to use toasted breads.

Mom Longo’s turkey stuffing recipe (passed on from Roseanne’s Mom

In a large bowl, combine: 1 1/4 cup of soft butter, 20 cups of soft bread crumbs (using sliced bread or buns) - moisten with a bit of olive oil and 1 cup of water and 1 tsp each of sage, savoury and oregano. Saute 1 chopped onion and 1 cup of chopped celery (including leaves). Add to the bread mixture.

Add: chopped fennel (or anise) - how much I’m not sure...they never tell you exact quantities, do they? It’s all by touch and feel.
salt and pepper to taste
fresh parsley

Stuff the stuffing mixture into your turkey. In our family, we stuff the turkey, but we also cook half of the stuffing mixture in a separate casserole baked in the oven. We like our stuffing!

Longo’s Holiday Entertaining Tips

1. Provide guests with non-alcoholic drinks such as mineral water and sparkling fruit beverages, count on 3 drinks per guest.

2. Assume some of your guests will be vegetarians. Make sure to have a fresh cut vegetable and fruit tray with a variety of dips prepared and ready to serve

3. Count on 4-6 hors d’oeuvres per person if you’re serving a meal. If you’re just serving hors d’oeuvres with cocktails, allow 12 per person.

4. Mirrors can be used for serving hors d’oeuvres. If you are using butler service, select light weight mirrors that can be carried easily. Fill a straight-edged plate or tray with rock salt, sesame seeds or dried beans to use as a bed for hors d’oeuvres.

5. Always prepare a selection of items that can be served at room temperature, That way you won’t have to worry that your hot entrée will be getting cold, or your cold dessert will be melting. Deli meat and cheese trays will do just the trick. Serve with a variety of gourmet mustards, pickles and artisan breads.

6. For a quick and impressive holiday appetizer pour your favorite sweet or savoury compote over a baked brie and serve along side a selection of artisan breads or crisps.

7. Combine a variety of temperatures, flavours, colours and textures to keep the meal interesting.

8. Use natural non-toxic materials such as flowers, herbs, banana leaves or bamboo stalks to dress up plain trays.

9. Sturdy photo frames can be repurposed as serving trays: Place fabric or decorative paper inside the frames where the photograph would go. Nothing looks better than bite-sized tarts and cookies arranged inside a sparkling frame.

Enjoy and Happy Holidays Everyone!

Georgia and I hired a personal trainer a few weeks ago who has been whipping us both into shape for our special TV debut scheduled for Jan 2009. Anthony, our new trainer says “it’s not only about the exercise but the food too”. So for the time being in anticipation of us being camera ready we are off the carbohydrates, cheese, wine and chocolate “I’m ready for my close up Mr. Demille!”

Sheesh! Chocolate and wine, two of life’s greatest pleasures are off limits despite the fact that both are loaded with antioxidants and are actually good for you in moderation and should be part of your daily diet. We are going to have to have a word with our trainer.

Joining us this past weekend on the radio show (November 29th, 2008) was Chocolate Connoisseur Peter Blanchet, of the fabulous Canadian company Purdy’s Chocolates. With the holidays around the corner we thought that we would explore one of the latest trends, the pairing of wine and chocolate. We also had a look at some of the similarities between the grape vine and the cocoa bean, the health benefits and had a look at some of the wonderful Purdy’s Chocolate gift ideas for the upcoming holidays.

Below: Chocolate Connoisseur Peter Blanchet

Peter explained that, “we shouldn’t feel guilty about indulging in chocolate as there are definite health benefits.” A Cornel University study indicated that chocolate can help prevent cancer and heart disease and that cocoa has nearly twice the antioxidants of red wine and three times of that found in green tea. A perfect trio- a cup of green tea in the morning, an afternoon chocolate delight and a glass of red wine for the evening. Just what the Doctor ordered.

After a big holiday meal who needs Cheesecake or Apple pie? How about a beautiful piece of chocolate and a glass of wine…. A winning combination. More and more people are starting to enjoy these two sensational things together.

Here are a couple of suggestions and rules to maximizing the experience. Firstly, the objective is to create harmony with the two and not have one or the other lost in the combination. Many people believe that one should select a wine that is sweeter or just as sweet as the chocolate for the best chance of a wonderful partnership, but not everyone. Perhaps a Zinfandel or a Shiraz or even a Cabernet Sauvignon is the ultimate with dark chocolate? A Tawny Port with flavours of caramel, anise/licorice, fennel and raisin would be beautiful with milk chocolate, bittersweet and chocolate with nuts. Let your taste buds provide the road map to your ultimate experience. It’s a matter of personal taste.

What better hostess gift for the Holiday parties than a beautifully wrapped box of Purdy’s Chocolates and a bottle or two of VQA wine outfitted in a limited edition Canadian Maple Holiday Gift Box. The Gift Box is available as part of a holiday gift pack for just $3.95 with the purchase of any two VQA wines at select LCBO stores.

Below: Canadian Maple Holiday Gift Box

Hillary Dawson of The Wine Council of Ontario called into the show and offered this great gift idea. Instead of searching for hours in busy malls for the perfect gift, save yourself time and stress by heading down to your neighbourhood LCBO store; they offer over 200 VQA wines to mix and match for the holiday season. Choosing only two wines becomes the hardest part. Rich and hearty Niagara Region reds perfect for the steak lover in your life or pair crisp Pelee Island or Prince Edward County for a seafood inspired holiday party menu - especially those from the extraordinary 2007 vintage or go all out with a combination of Icewines or sparking wines to impress.

Every bottle of Ontario wine purchased by Ontario residents supports economic growth and jobs for Ontarians. It has never been so easy to do your part this holiday season to promote VQA wines; and know that you are supporting local economies in our province at the same time. A recent study conducted by KPMG confirmed that for every litre of Ontario wine sold, there was a net benefit to the economy of $8.48 compared to an impact of 67 cents for imports.

About The Wine Council of Ontario
The Wine Council of Ontario (WCO) is a non-profit trade association with a leadership role in marketing and establishing policy and future directions for the wine industry in Ontario. It acts as a liaison and coordinating body between Ontario wineries, grape growers, and government groups.

Membership in the WCO is open to all commercial producers of wine in Ontario, with the criteria that a member must be an Ontario resident and the winery must be located in the province. The Wine Council represents 84 winery properties in Ontario. To learn more about the Canadian Maple Holiday Gift Box, log on to The Wine Council’s website.