One of our BT team members, Tammy Dubetz, said it best – “If you have to work on Christmas Eve, there’s no better place to be than here at Breakfast Television with all of our family and friends.”
We decided to make our Christmas Eve show unlike any other – aside from our regular news/traffic/weather updates throughout the morning, we threw format out the window. With Wendy Sandwith and Michele McDougall enjoying well-deserved family time, Bridget Ryan joined me in studio for the entire morning. We welcomed (BT fitness guru) Marjorie O’Connor and her son Keenan into the kitchen…Marjorie’s take on “Christmas bacon and eggs” was the best diet food I’ve ever seen (hint: it contains neither bacon nor eggs, and is made of nothing more than pretzel sticks, white chocolate and smarties.)
Gene Principe from Rogers Sportsnet sat around the BT Christmas tree with me to share his Oilers’ Christmas wish (consistency), and our very own Reid Wilkins shared his story on a real-live reindeer ranch in Leduc. Viewers shared Christmas thoughts, greetings and messages (via our new website www.btedmonton.com – click “Connect with BT”). We were overwhelmed by the number of emails, and the varying circumstances they represented. We are blessed to have such loyal viewers.
Through the morning, I embarked on my first attempt at baking a traditional Jespersen family Christmas morning treat – Blintz Souffle. While it took me the full four hours of the show to get it all together, the end result was…passable. An “A” for effort, I was told. That said, at least half the pan was gone by the time we finished shooting our BT promotional spots to run through the weekend, so I’ll let that speak for itself!
If you happened to watch the Blintz Souffle segments and would like to try it at home, I’m attaching the recipe below. Have a very Merry Christmas, and we’ll see you again Monday morning at 6am!
rpj.
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BLINTZ SOUFFLE
Filling:
1 250 g. package Philadelphia Cream Cheese
500 g. cottage cheese
2 egg yolks, beaten
1 Tbsp. white sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
Beat cream cheese [softened in micro on High for 15 secs.] until smooth. Stir in cottage cheese, egg yolks, sugar and vanilla. Set aside.
Batter:
1/2 cup softened butter
1/3 cup white sugar
6 eggs
1 cup flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 cups sour cream
1/2 cup orange juice
Cream butter, sugar and eggs. [add eggs one at a time] Beat well. Measure flour and baking powder [combine in small bowl] and add alternately with sour cream and orange juice to butter mixture.
Pour 1/2 of batter into buttered 9×13 inch pan. Pour filling over batter [smooth batter over entire surface with fork] and top with remaining batter. Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes. Edges will be a bit golden and sort of pulled away from the edges of the pan. Serve with sour cream, yogurt, syrup, strawberry sauce or jam.
Strawberry sauce:
1 425 g. pkg. frozen sliced strawberries in light syrup
1 Tbsp. Corn starch
1 Tbsp. orange juice
Thaw strawberries. Heat in saucepan until hot – do not boil. In small bowl, whisk together cornstarch and orange juice until smooth. Remove strawberries from heat and quickly stir in cornstarch mixture. Put mixture on burner and bring to a gentle simmer. Stir one minute, turn heat off and let mixture gently bubble. Serve warm and ENJOY!