I am so proud and pleased to welcome so many new fantastic team members to the dsg team!

1. Lezlie Cunningham, a true foodie who loves to cook and bake and be around people!

2. Linda Innocente, former owner of "Creative Basket" on Park Street. Linda sold her business several years ago but her passion and flair for baskets remains strong. So many of you have come into the shop over the past several weeks, thrilled and surprised to re-connect with Linda!

3. Cheryl Boyd, a former employee of the Goodie Basket. Cheryl is doing an outstanding job and we hope that she will return to work here next December as well!

4. Julie Weigel, also a RMT in the area. Julie always has a smile on her face and it is a pleasure to be in her company.

mixed greens with pistachios, dried cranberries and bacon salad

So many of you have raved about my good friend Tina Roberts award winning blueberry drizzle salad!

Well, now it's time to try her famous mixed greens with pistachios, dried cranberries and bacon salad, which Tina says is "awesome to serve at Christmas time".

serves: 8 - 10

ingredients for salad

• 10 cups mixed greens, washed and dried and torn into bite-size pieces
• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped salted pistachio nuts
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 4 oz bacon, cooked until crisp and crumbled
  

ingredients for dressing

• 1/4 cup cranberry cocktail
• 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon dijon mustard (I prefer the Maille brand)
• 1 teaspoon pure maple syrup
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• salt and pepper, to taste

method

1. Mix greens, nuts, cranberries and bacon in a large salad bowl.
2. Whisk dressing ingredients together, except oil, until salt dissolves. Whisk in oil.
3. Add dressing to salad and gently toss.

My friend and colleague, Wendi Yates, has just opened a charming (and delicious!) new cheese boutique in Cambridge called, C'est Cheese Please!

Wendi's store is packed with culinary delights - we visited her last Saturday and purchased freshly baked croissants (amazing), Montreal style bagels (amazing too!), my hands-down favourite blue cheese (St. Agur) and some fabulous ginger, lime and cilantro jelly.

In addition to freshly baked goods, cheeses, jellies and crackers, Wendi carries a few of our products - soups, chili, quesadilla's, shorttbread, salad dressings and more. She also offers beautiful cheese boards and pick-up catering.

Check out C'est Cheese Please at
12 Water Street South in Cambridge (downtown Galt)

Wendi can be reached at cestcheeseplease@gmail.com
519-624-9642.

for the month of December, 20% off all Roothams products! (think Irish caramel sauce, decadent chocolate fudge sauce, award winning salad dressings, savoury sauces, mint jelly, red pepper jelly, jams, chutneys are more....

While supplies last!

Here are a few of my favourite holiday traditions, food related and otherwise!

1. new pj's on x-mas eve. We've continued this tradition with our son John, too!

2. champagne on x-mas eve. For many years, we spent x-mas eve with our good family friends, the Brickers (memories I'll NEVER forget). Now we celebrate with my brother Adam's in-laws, the Johnston family, and we have SO much fun! (and we always eat well). The Brickers now spend the holidays "down-under", complete with shrimp on the barbie!

3. christmas morning goodies - I'm not sure what's better: freshly baked scones, quiche, fruit and bacon OR, eating stocking goodies (Rheo Thompson Candies chocolates and gum drops) guilt-free, even if it is only 10 a.m.!

4. there is NOTHING better than my Mom's traditional turkey dinner - turkey, gravy, cranberry sauce, silky pureed rutabaga (my personal fav), mashed potatoes (my bro's fav), stuffing, braised red cabbage with bacon (David's fav) and pumpkin pie with a cream cheese crust for dessert (also David's fav, he can have two favs because he eats so much).

5. leftovers - my Mom's turkey divan with broccoli or my Dad's top pic, hot turkey sandwiches with gravy.

6. boxing day - one of the few days (including Christmas) that I don't check email and I don't feel even remotely guilty about it!

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Holidays to all of you!

Thank you so much for your support, your business, your friendship, and for reading my newsletters and Waterloo Chronicle columns!

We are offering a fabulous 4-course, pick-up dinner on New Years Eve!
(see full details below).

This is the perfect solution if you want to do something special but don't feel like going out to a restaurant (the best part is that you can eat in your comfies!)

1st - a selection of gourmet ready-to-bake hors d'oeuvres (6 pieces per person or 1 dozen per couple)

2nd - roasted winter root vegetable soup

3rd - your choice of entree:

braised shorttribs with zinfandel (red wine) sauce, served with a potato chive cake

OR

chicken wellington - chicken with caramelized apples, onion and brie in puff pastry, also served with a potato chive cake

4th - double chocolate pecan brownie tart

details

• only $36.98 per person
• we provide complete reheating instructions
• pick-up on Thursday, December 31st from 12 p.m. - 3 p.m.

For December, we are open:

Mon - Fri from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Saturday from 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Sundays leading up to x-mas day
Sunday from 11 a.m. - 4 p.m. on the Sunday, December 6th (11 am - 4 pm)
Sunday, December 13th (11 am - 4 pm)
Sunday, December 20th (11 am - 4 pm)

We are open on Dec 24th (x-mas eve) from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.

We are closed on December 25th, 26th and 27th.

We are open on Mon, Dec 28th, Tues, Dec 29th, Wed, Dec 30th and Thur, Dec 31st.

Closed on Friday, January 1st for New Years Day.

Regular hours resume on Saturday, January 2nd.

Happy holidays from all of us at DSG!

On the first day of Christmas, my foodie friend gave to me....

1. Sun, Dec 6th – save 20% off all dsg cheese tortes! (they freeze great)

2. Mon, Dec 7th – save 10% off all sweet and savoury scones (they freeze great too)

3. Tues, Dec 8th – save 15% off lemon, pecan or date squares (they also freeze well)

4. Wed, Dec 9th – save 10% off all Summerhill Market pot pies, including tourtiere!

5. Thurs, Dec 10th – save 10% off any Village Kitchen entree

6. Fri, Dec 11th – save 15% off any Gourmet du Village dip packet

7. Sat, Dec 12th – save 15% off any Tracy’s wine jelly products (jellies, sauces, etc)

8. Sun, Dec 13th – save 20% off all frozen dsg ready-to-bake hors d’oeuvres!

9. Mon, Dec 14th – save 10% off any fresh or frozen dsg soup

10. Tues, Dec 15th – save 20% off all Rootham products (jams, sauces, salad dressings)

11. Wed, Dec 16th – save 10% off dsg salad dressings

12. Thurs, Dec 17th – save 25% off cheese spreaders

If you read Oprah's "O" magazine, you'll know that each month she has a column devoted to her current "favourite things".

Most often to appear on her "O" list are shoes, bags and luxury gift items for both people and pets!

Well, I want to tell you about MY favourite thing this month!! It involves food (of course) - and it is my favourite new snack food that I am addicted to (I just wolfed some down while my lunch was in the microwave!)

Anyway, my new fav thing is... crisp pita chips with hummus and fresh tabouleh!

Tabouleh is a middle eastern salad consisting mainly of tomatoes, cucumbers, bulgur and parsley.

To be quite honest, I thought that I hated tabouleh until I tried it again this way. Embarrassing to admit, but the last time I tried tabouleh was in high school - and all I remember tasting was parsley.

Please come into the store for a free sample - it might become your favourite new thing, too!

One last thing – we’re hoping that all of you receiving this newsletter want to be on our distribution list.

If you would like to be removed from this list, please let me know and we will fulfill your request asap.