HoneyBears & SydneyBeans: 2013

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There is only one boss. The customer. And he can fire everybody in the company from the chairman on down, simply by spending his money somewhere else.

Sam Walton

If Christmas was better than I thought… the days after are JUST like I thought they would be. Without the flurry of activity and the constant buzz of Christmas excitement… I have time to be sad. It probably has something to do with the fact that this damn cold finally caught up to me :( My head is stuffed and I am soooo tired. Today is my first day up and going.

Well, I cleaned the bathrooms yesterday… and I took Christmas down… and I vacuumed… but you get the point, I have been sick!

My in-laws left this morning because we are welcoming a new baby into the family very soon!!! My S-I-L is due tomorrow!!!!! Exciting! So that is definitely something to be happy about :)

So today we went grocery shopping. I have a confession/cringe worthy exciting story. Today at Walmart *big pause for effect*

Grain fed turkeys were on for 98 cents/lb. Is that gross? Is it bad? Have I turned into my biggest fear, a consumer that will buy meat at WALMART, just to save a buck?????

The answer to all of those is yes!

Do I care?

HELL NO!

Not when I buy 2 15lb turkeys for $30!!!!! Yeah baby! We can have so many meals out of those birds!!! PLUS, my freezer is completely depleted of soups so it is that time again and I need bones :)

YEAH Walmart!

I am disgusted in myself believe me. I may even have bad dreams about what I am teaching my children… and then I will think of their full bellies and I will once again sleep easy. I am so excited about my purchase that I am going to call my S-I-L and suggest the name Sam or Walt in case she needs a good strong name LOL.

Ok I won’t go thaaaat far lol.

I actually wrote a report about Walmart for a class I was in during my last year of University. The class was consumerism in the 20^th century. It was a fascinating class. So, I did my report on Walmart. Believe me I was going straight for Sam Walton’s balls!

And then the strangest thing happened.

I began to think, “Wow, this guy was smart” He gave such low prices Americans and subsequently Canadians couldn’t go anywhere else. Well, they could but you know the whole saying about spiting your own nose right? There were many things I began to see as just plain old good business. The temperature control, the scanning system, using your own trucks to transport, taking out all middle men and well, there was that pesky thing about poor working conditions and lack of unions, but for the most part just plain old good business.

My prof. freaked out on me. Apparently mass department stores, no matter how well run are bad things. I agree. I try to shop locally first. I try shopping at small non-franchised stores first. I always try the fresh local market first. I stick to the Mom and Pop store for a lot of my needs.

BUT, I am not rich by any means. I cannot pay 3.99/lb for mushrooms when I know they are 1.99 somewhere else. It makes me sick to my stomach when I know I am over spending. So yes, I will drive to that big box store and buy the cheaper mushrooms. Yes, I will go to Costco to save money by buying in bulk. And finally, YES, I will buy turkeys from Walmart! LOL

So today we are looking at Christmas morning and the delicious breakfast that we had. I am also sharing our main dish from Christmas Eve dinner… Beef Wellington. OMG this is the BEST recipe ever! This is our second time doing it and it was just as good as I remembered. Dad puts it up in the top beef dishes of his LIFE! Yeah, it is that good! It takes a bit of work I am not going to lie, but it sooooo worth it! BTW I bought the beef tenderloin at Costco, just saying :)

Mom’s Awesome Christmas Breakfast

8 pieces of bread

12 eggs

½ cup milk

1 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon nutmeg

Salt and pepper

1 package Canadian bacon

1 pepper, diced

1 onion, diced

1 ½ cups mushrooms, diced

2 cups cheese, shredded

¼ cup parsley, chopped

3 green onions

In a Pam’ed pan layer the bread so there is no holes.

Layer your bacon, veggies then cheese.

Top with parsley.

In a bowl beat together eggs, milk, paprika, nutmeg, salt and pepper.

Pour over your casserole.

Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Bring to room temperature and preheat oven to 350.

Uncover and cook for about 1 hour.

We serve it with Mimosas, cinnamon buns and a variety of delicious scones from Cobs… YUMMY!

Someone likes it!!!!

The Ultimate Beef Wellington
Adapted from Tyler Florence

For the Duxelles:
1 1/2 lbs white button mushrooms
2 shallots, peeled and roughly chopped
4 cloves garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
2 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves only
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the Beef:
1 (3-pound) center cut beef tenderloin (filet mignon), trimmed
Extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
12 thin slices prosciutto
6 sprigs of fresh thyme, leaves only
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
Flour, for rolling out puff pastry
1 pound puff pastry, thawed if using frozen
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt
2 tablespoons parsley, chopped (for garnish)
Green Peppercorn Sauce, recipe follows

To make the Duxelles: Add mushrooms, shallots, garlic, and thyme to a food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Add butter and olive oil to a large saute pan and set over medium heat. Add the shallot and mushroom mixture and saute for 8 to 10 minutes until most of the liquid has evaporated. Season with salt and pepper and set aside to cool.

To prepare the beef: Tie the tenderloin in 4 places so it holds its cylindrical shape while cooking.

Drizzle with olive oil, then season with salt and pepper and sear all over, including the ends, in a hot, heavy-based skillet lightly coated with olive oil - about 2 to 3 minutes.

Meanwhile set out your prosciutto on a sheet of plastic wrap (plastic needs to be about a foot and a half in length so you can wrap and tie the roast up in it) on top of your cutting board. Shingle the prosciutto so it forms a rectangle that is big enough to encompass the entire filet of beef. Using a rubber spatula cover evenly with a thin layer of duxelles. Season the surface of the duxelles with salt and pepper and sprinkle with fresh thyme leaves.

When the beef is seared, remove from heat, cut off twine and smear lightly all over with Dijon mustard.

Allow to cool slightly, then roll up in the duxelles covered prosciutto using the plastic wrap to tie it up nice and tight. Tuck in the ends of the prosciutto as you roll to completely encompass the beef. Roll it up tightly in plastic wrap and twist the ends to seal it completely and hold it in a nice log shape. Set in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to ensure it maintains its shape.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

On a lightly floured surface, roll the puff pastry out to about a 1/4-inch thickness. Depending on the size of your sheets you may have to overlap 2 sheets and press them together. Remove beef from refrigerator and cut off plastic. Set the beef in the center of the pastry and fold over the longer sides, brushing with egg wash to seal. Trim ends if necessary then brush with egg wash and fold over to completely seal the beef - saving ends to use as a decoration on top if desired. Top with coarse sea salt. Place the beef seam side down on a baking sheet.

Brush the top of the pastry with egg wash then make a couple of slits in the top of the pastry using the tip of a paring knife - this creates vents that will allow the steam to escape when cooking.

Bake for 40 to 45 minutes until pastry is golden brown and beef registers 125 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer. Remove from oven and rest before cutting into thick slices. Garnish with fresh parsley and serve with Green Peppercorn Sauce.

Green Peppercorn Sauce:
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 shallots, sliced
2 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
3 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves only
1 cup brandy
1 box beef stock
2 cups cream
2 tablespoons grainy mustard
1/2 cup green peppercorns in brine, drained

Add olive oil to pan after removing beef. Add shallots, garlic, and thyme; saute for 1 to 2 minutes,

then, off heat, add brandy and flambe using a BBQ lighter.

After flame dies down and you stop laughing and freaking out, return to the heat, add stock and reduce by about half. Strain out solids, then add 2 cups cream and mustard.