Quaintrelle Weekender

A Christmas story, homemade truffle chips, my fave NA cocktails, and what to do when someone wears shoes in your house. Four ways to a better weekend.

Welcome to Quaintrelle Weekender.

This is a short list of things I am currently loving to make eating, drinking, and hosting easier and a lot more interesting.

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“We don’t put shit on the air!”

Turtles were on sale today ($2 off plus 2,000 Optimum points at Loblaws). I’ve now had three with my afternoon espresso and I’m slightly worried where this decision will lead me.

That tidbit of information wasn’t going to be my lede, but looking at the orange and white striped wrappers slowly littering my desk like the new fallen snow, I guess you could say inspiration struck. And… riiiight about …now so is my sugar high.

I feel like Hunter S Thompson as I peck away at my keyboard. I’m out of smokes, so another Turtle will have to suffice.

Ironically, I never learned to type very well. I hit the keys hard; my sister says it sounds like Bojangles shimmying out of my computer.

The reason why I never learned to type very well is because when it was offered in high school, I didn’t take the course. I assumed I would never have a job requiring me to type (the fact that I became a journalist, and my high school logic, is a story for another day). Besides, computers weren’t really “a thing” back then, though my school did finally get some behemoths for the Grade 12 Creative Writing course.

In University I had a class that introduced us to the concept of email. Not that any of us actually had email, but it had been invented and we were being taught about the future.

By the time I got to journalism school, I still didn’t have email, but the future had arrived, as it tends to do, at alarming speed. My journalism and technology instructor, who was also a producer at CTV, a national television network in Canada, taught us about this neat thing on the World Wide Web that was really helping reporters research stories quickly and reasonably accurately. A real boon for the introduction of the 24 hour news cycle that was just starting to take shape. It was something called Google.

“So all you have to do is type in: w-w-w dot g-o-o-g-l-e dot com and then type in what you want to know about. But if your topic is too out there, try hitting the, ‘I’m feeling lucky’ button.”

I typed in “I’m feeling lucky” on Google this morning. I don’t think my results were what Professor Jim was talking about.

Anyway, by the time I got to working in newsrooms, computers were definitely a thing (as were smokes. Actually, as was heavy drinking and speaking lewdly about co-workers body parts over the clacking din of keyboards perpetually in motion. Hunter would have been so happy. )

Because I was a cub reporter (I got a job as a “Summer Beat Reporter” at CFRB NewsTalk 1010 the summer after my first year of J-School, and stayed at the station working part time until I graduated), I got the real plum shifts like holiday weekends and overnights.

I worked all Christmas vacation when I was about 21, and was rewarded with a breaking story out of Queen’s Park (Ontario’s legislative building where the provincial government gathers.) It had something to do with budget shortfalls and spending riffs between the province and Toronto. So, same old, same old, but nothing much else was happening, so what the hell.

Anyway, among the scrum was a “famous” (and condescendingly snide) political reporter. He was a total ass, but famous due to being the nepo baby of a legendary political reporter, so I guess he had something to prove. Anyway, he kept shouting to the Finance Minister, “ We’re going to take this to City Hall! We’re going to take this to Wanda!” I had no idea who Wanda was, but I wasn’t about to speak up.

I called the newsroom to tell them, we, the media mob, were taking our pitch forks and microphones and going to City Hall. David Bent, the baritone senior news anchor, and a legitimately nice guy who was generous with his experience to a newbie like me, answered the phone.

“David, there’s nothing here. We’re going to City Hall to talk to Wanda,” I bolstered proudly for getting the inside scoop.

“Who the fuck is Wanda?” he boomed back (he wasn’t mad, he just boomed naturally, hence he was one of Canada’s leading radio news anchors.)

“Ummmm… she’s someone at …City Hall…?” My voice weakened.

“Well, find out fast,” David advised. “We don’t put shit on the air!” (This also was not said in anger. More like a statement of fact. A booming, thunderous fact.)

David’s simple lesson that day has stayed with me ever since: if you don’t know, find out. And if you don’t know what you’re talking about, then don’t broadcast it.

I’m not sure Hunter would agree.

Hosting Q of the Week

“Hi Erin, I’m throwing a holiday party in a few weeks and I don’t want people to wear their shoes in my house. My husband says I should let it go, but I don’t want to. What do you do to get people to take off their shoes without sounding bossy?” – Amy

Luckily, it’s winter here so this is less of a problem for most of us living in colder climes, then in summer when visitors feel like their flip flops somehow magically repel the biological detritus of the outdoor sidewalk and dog park.

You must be living somewhere warm and dry, because I can’t imagine anyone being so bold as to wear their wet, dirty, and salt-stained winter boots in your home. If, by chance, someone is actually trying to do this, show them to the stables where the animals are corralled.

(Seriously - according to this video from @fastingmd 97% of shoes have traces of poop – 400 THOUSAND units, to be exact, including toxins and pollutants that are now embedded in your rug fibres – and 40% of indoor shoe-wearers have the highly revolting C Difficile bacteria.)

I have no problem telling people to bring their slippers in the invites to my parties, which should deliver the hint. If it doesn’t, and I talked about this in a July edition of Quaintrelle, then invest a few dollars in disposable spa/hotel slippers to offer people when they enter your home. They can also take them home as a little memento of the event.

Beyond that, consider having the above IG reel playing on a loop at your front door.

This is getting really fun, you guys! Keep the Q’s coming!

Do You Hear What I Hear?

Nigel Slater A Cook’s Chronicles: A Podcast

This will be my third year tuning into this podcast.

In this 10-episode series, Nigel walks you through the cold, bright, and crisp winter wonderland that is the festive season. Recounting his tales from visits to Germany’s famed Nuremberg Christmas market, the art of selecting the right tree, and his sincere joy of mulled wine (of which I respectfully hold my tongue).

Nigel Slater’s soothing voice, charming stories, inviting recipes, and calming, evocative prose has turned this into a yearly tradition for me. I’m sure it will for you, as well.

NA Cocktail for the Tart Lovers

Soda Water + Apple Cider Vinegar

Seriously.

Now, admittedly I come from no-nonsense German and British/Scottish stock. And we do love a pickle as much as we love being pickled. If you don’t love a good tart… drink, then this may not be the one for you.

However for those of us happily skewing to the sour, try a soda or sparkling water with a teaspoon or two of apple cider vinegar. Ideally the good stuff that has the “mother” – you know, the glob at the bottom that looks like someone hocked a loogie in it.

Anyway, for health reasons that are so boring they verge on annoying, I am trying to increase my fermented food intake, and a splash of ACV to my fizzy water is an easy way to do it. Plus I think it tastes great. Sort of like apple cider lemonade, though someone recently suggested it has a vague natural wine vibe. Is that a good thing?

Anyway, I sip these during my alcohol-free cocktail hours and as a balance to my alcohol full ones too.

Don’t yuck my yum.

Stylish and Simple Snack of the Week

Homemade Truffle Potato Chips

Fancy up your regular potato chips with a simple hack that truly makes them taste better and saves a few pennies in the process. Yes, truffle salt is an investment, but you only use a teaspoon on the chips and the rest can be used anywhere else – risotto, seafood, pasta…

Ingredients:

• 1 large bag plain kettle chips

• 1 teaspoon truffle salt

• 1 oz, or to taste, parmesan

How to Make It:

1. Heat your oven to 300°F

2. Spread the potato chips in an even layer on a baking tray and warm in the oven until you can just start to smell them and they take on the faintest bit of colour, about 6-10 minutes.

3. Take them out of the oven and while they are still warm sprinkle with the truffle salt (don’t go too crazy, truffle salt is potent, and the chips will already be salted. It’s better to need more than have too much.)

4. Grate parmesan either on a microplane or the fine side of a box grater and sprinkle over the chips.

5. Pour the chips into a serving bowl and voilà!

This newsletter is written by me, Erin Henderson, journalist-turned-sommelier-turned-entrepreneur. I literally drink and throw parties for a living, and every Saturday, I share some of my favourite finds for better weekends.

On Wednesdays, a post with recipes, cocktail inspiration, and wine recommendations goes out to the premium membership. If you would like to upgrade, you can click below.

Regardless of your membership level, I am so grateful you are part of this community. If you enjoyed reading this post, please click that heart, and consider sharing Quaintrelle with all the party hosts, wine lovers, and cooks you know.