I have a little confession to make. 

After growing up with Mom’s turkey dinner – complete with her homemade breadcrumb stuffing, gravy and green bean casserole – I’ve come to accept there’s just no way anything else will ever compare. But that didn’t stop me from mowing down on the delicious (and I do mean delicious) #TwistOnTradition meal presented by the amazingly talented Chef Kathy Jollimore and the President Choice/Loblaws team here in Halifax.

A huge Christmas fan, I’ve been counting the days until I could acceptably turn on the holiday classics and bust out the ornaments since I took my Hallowe’en costume off almost a month ago (RomCom says December 1, I say right this second ZOMG). I dug out the box of decorations on the weekend but it wasn’t until I walked into the #PCInsiders Holiday preview on Monday night that I realized I am officially overflowing with Christmas spirit. 

We kicked the night off with beautiful appetizers ranging from roasted cauliflower ravioli (amazing!) to avocado fritters, a “Seacuterie” board (heavenly!), cheese tray and some of the prettiest drinks you’ve ever seen before sitting down to our beautifully decorated table.

As we sipped our sparkling water, I was super excited to hear Janette Ewen‘s ideas for holiday decorating – especially as I’ve got my box of decorations sitting in my messy, mid-furniture-flip dining room.

 

 

I loved her suggestion of putting pretty wrapping paper over your white table cloth as a runner, and her suggestions for mixing new trends with age-old traditions were beautiful… and I actually think I *might* be able to pull some of them off!

The PC® Butter-infused, Double-stuffed Turkey was ahhhhhhmazing (sausage dressing and cranberry dressing! SWOON!) but I all but died over the cauliflower steak (I can’t wait to try this at home soon!) and the orange-cranberry sauce.

I’ve never actually made a turkey or hosted a big dinner party, but with my soon-to-be newly decorated dining room and the PC® products presented on Monday night, I think I might have to start!

 

 

As much as I wanted to, I wasn’t able to finish it all…mostly because I’d caught a glimpse of what the dessert table had in store for me.

I have a huge sweet tooth and I love, love, LOVE finding new recipes to share with my friends and family. The dessert table boasted so many great flavours from the Pistachio Pudding (a big favourite for me) to Chef Kathy’s take on the traditional Christmas cake, complete with spiced rum buttercream. (I swear, I gained 10 pounds overnight.) I’m already plotting my baked good gifts for friends and loved ones so they can join me at the gym after the holidays are over…

If you’re not a fan of baking yourself but want to give your favourite chocoholic a sweet treat, the PC® Italian Chocolate Truffle Trio  would be a beautiful gift, especially if you tuck them into a little tin! There were so many beautiful things to choose from. I tasted Chef Kathy’s Ginger Cake with Chocolate Ganache, Dulche de Leche and Spiced Rum Buttercream; Avocado-Lime no-bake cheesecake; a bowl of pistachio pudding; and a shortbread cookie.

And then I thought seriously about unbuttoning my pants.

I left the event full of great food and the warm fuzzies that only great company can give you. On the drive home, I tried to pinpoint exactly what the tastiest thing was all night but I was stumped. How can one possibly choose?

I eventually decided my favourite item in the PC Insiders Holiday Collection, though, is the new frozen avocado chunks. Sure, they’re not the most fancy item in the collection but they’re perfect for whipping up guacamole, throwing in smoothies and they were the secret sauce in the delightful no-bake avocado-lime cheesecake. It was so pretty, I almost didn’t want to eat it. (Almost. I totally still did.)  I’m currently on my third bag since they were launched – they’re seriously that good and the price point actually can’t be beat. Plus, they’re versatile as all get out!

When President’s Choice announced its fall PC Insiders Collection, I was certain I couldn’t love them any more… but I was so, so wrong. I can’t urge you enough to check out the treats and the recipes by visiting PC.ca.

I was invited to the #PCInsidersCollection Holiday event after working with President’s Choice on the Fall collection. I received samples of the Holiday collection as a gift of thanks for my time and partnership over the past months, however the opinions in this post are my own.