The holidays are coming fast, and no matter what you celebrate and who you celebrate with, it's time to start getting festive!
To help get you going, Caren has teamed up with us for a holiday edition round of 5 Quick Questions, shared a recipe we can't wait to try - and she's helping us give away 2 tickets to the Holiday Bash at The Horseshoe Tavern in Toronto on Tuesday, December 19, 2017!
The Holiday Bash is going to be a whole lot of fun with Jane's Party, The Kents, The Almighty Rhombus, and Caren rocking on one of the city's most legendary stages in their 70th birthday year!
Now, get into the holiday spirit with Caren and use the widget in this post to enter for your chance to be at the party!
5 Quick Holiday Questions with Caren
Q) Did you have a favourite Christmas songs when you were a kid?
Caren) Mariah Carey's All I Want for Christmas all the way. There was something about the build up in the beginning of the song and then all of a sudden how fast paced and up beat the song gets that would get me really excited for Christmas while simultaneously making me super jealous that all I got as a Jewish kid was Adam Sandler's Hanukkah Song. Growing up I always was amazed and confused by the idea of decorating your house with lights and huge snowmen and Santa, and when I heard that song it just made everything seem really magical and special.
Q) Do you have a favourite Christmas song to play live?
Caren) I actually have a new favourite, Jane's Party just wrote a really cool Christmas song called Last Train Home This Christmas, and we'll all be playing it live at our upcoming show at the Horseshoe on December 19! I started listening to it on repeat so I could learn it, but now I'm just addicted so I've been listening to it on repeat for fun. It's coming out soon so everyone can be as obsessed as I am!
Q) If you could partner up with any artist for a collaboration on a Christmas song, who would you choose?
Caren) Mariah 100% She's the queen of Christmas in my opinion. I'd love to write a song about being the Jewish kid wanting to celebrate Christmas, or feeling left out or lonely on the holidays. I was always lucky as a kid to have friends who would invite me to Christmas dinners, but it does get lonely as an adult on Christmas day when everything is closed and you're home alone watching Home Alone and eating leftover dessert on the couch in your pjs.
Q) What is your favourite beverage for a holiday party?
Caren) Gin and Tonics with a sprig of rosemary. This is my go to winter drink, and the rosemary makes it look festive in my opinion, plus adds great flavour.
Q) If you could only have 1 dessert after Christmas dinner, what would you choose?
Caren) When I was younger, I'd always have Christmas dinner at my friend's place, and as two tweens it was our job to make the dessert. Every year we'd make one, ginormous, killer Baked Alaska, because it was 90% ice cream and 10% marshmallow and 100% delicious. That's what I think of when I think of Christmas dessert, which I realize is weird since it involves eating copious amounts of ice cream in the middle of the Canadian winter.
We also asked Caren if she had a recipe that she wanted to share... and she came through!!!
"I have this baked brie recipe that is a party pleaser, and I get asked to make it for every event or dinner I go to (and it's super easy to make and very impressive.)"
Caren's Baked Brie
Ingredients:1 Brie Wheel
Puff Pastry (I usually go for frozen and defrost it)
2 tbsp Brown sugar
1/3 cup Dried Cranberries
1 Egg
A handful of Sliced Almonds
1. Roll out puff pastry and place brie wheel in the centre. Place brown sugar and dried cranberries on top of brie and fold the puff pastry over to completely engulf the sugary cheesy goodness.
2. With a knife, make small holes on the top of the masterpiece. Beat 1 egg and brush on top, and sprinkle sliced almonds on top.
3. Bake in the oven at 350 for 20-25 min. Take it out and let it sit for about an hour (Very Important!!!)
4. Slice and serve, and revel in the never-ending compliments, but never tell anyone how easy it was to make.
