February 2019
January 2019
December 2018
August 2015
Cauliflower and Blue Cheese Soup with Blue Cheese Crostini
- Each week this summer, Meat and Tater Man has been bringing home a basket or two of fresh locally grown vegetables from various farm stands where he works. So, every Friday, I’m greeted with a big kiss, a hug and a surprise allotment of fresh produce to cook from. What I love about this […]
Classic Brownies
- If you bake, brownies are the one recipe that you will likely make again over time unless you don’t love chocolate. If that’s the case, then we can’t be friends. But, if you’re like me, or my daughter, a dose of chocolate in any baked form provides the often necessary relief after a hard […]
March 2015
Cocoa Butterscotch Banana Muffins
- A never-ending stream of overripe bananas that make their way to my freezer each week, from leftovers of the large claw of yellow green fruit I buy regularly that doesn’t make it to our lunch boxes. I love bananas, and I always have some on my kitchen counter, but I always overbuy them, so […]
Speedy Seafood Supper
- There are so many things to love about this recipe. First, as the title gives away, it is quick to make. This is simple, and comes together almost like a stir fry does…you just keep adding ingredients to a pan, while stirring, and in moments, you’re rewarded with a glamorous feast. Secondly, this tastes amazing! […]
Aperol Spritz
- Aperol’s website dedicates its own page to this classic cocktail recipe, and with a flashy 3-2-1 set of instructions, this is as easy to make as it is to drink. They’ve even got a video on how to make the cocktail, with some wickedly groovy music in the background. A cousin to Campari, Aperol has […]
Butter Tart Muffins
- Since I make muffins on a regular basis, I’m usually on the lookout for a good muffin recipe. I’ve got tons of baking books, so I know I’ve got many muffin recipes, but sometimes I don’t feel like looking through all of my books to find a new recipe for my weekend breakfast staple. […]
Quick Calabrian Lasagna
- One of Meat and Tater Man’s favourite meals is lasagna. My daughter also loves this, and has the capacity to gobble up multiple servings of it, unlike other foods (like certain vegetables), which she nearly never seems to have any room for come supper time. When I ask what they want for supper, they […]
Skillet Cherry Cobbler
- I’ve hardly done any cooking or baking this year. Having recently returned from a fabulous 11 day cruise in the east Caribbean, most of the first week of January was spent eating holiday leftovers and cleaning out the fridge and pantry. By the time we got back, it was already the end of January, and […]
February 2015
Violet Fizz
- Impulse purchases. I think we’re all guilty of them, and I’m especially a repeat offender when I’m in my local liquor store in the fancy liqueur section. There is something absolutely mesmerizing about seeing all of the liqueur bottles lined row upon row, each one containing a different elixir, with promises of wild cocktails to […]
An Italian Feast – Part Two (Pipettes with Sweet Potatoes, Parsley and Capers)
- As promised, here is part two to our blog post from yesterday. This is Lidia Bastianich’s recipe for Pipettes with Sweet Potatoes, Parsley and Capers. The first weekend we were back from vacation, I caught the recipe on her cooking show on our local PBS station, and while trying to memorize the ingredient list from […]- An Italian Feast – Part One (Meatzza)
- I love vacations, especially when they take you away from the depths of winter to hot sunny climates of the Caribbean. Having just returned from a cruise, I feel relaxed, energized and glowing from the sun’s rays I was able to catch for the week and a half I was at sea in the Atlantic […] 
Baked Toast Sandwiches
- You would think that having over 500 cookbooks in my home library would be enough to keep me stimulated and interested, but alas, dear reader, I regret to tell you that I still find the time and the inclination to peruse other volumes all the time. Whether it’s at my local library, book store, […]
Bittersweet Decadence Cookies
- When you find a cookbook that works for you every time, you naturally go back to it whenever a craving strikes. This weekend, my daughter wanted me to bake her some cookies for her after school snacks this week. So, I headed straight for Alice Medrich’s Chewy Gooey Crispy Crunchy Melt in Your Mouth Cookies book. The […]
Duck Confit Parmentier
- Over the Christmas break I had the good fortune of relaxing by the fireplace and catching up on my cookbook reading. I had a whole stack of books, each one as good as the other. So many recipes to try, so little time it seems. While reading Mimi Thorisson’s A Kitchen in France, I knew […]
December 2014
Cardamom Cake with Whole Pears and White Chocolate
- Sometimes, food is all about where we’re from, and sometimes, it’s all about where we want to go. My French Canadian recipes are meaningful to me, because they’re a part of the fabric of my life; they’re my history, my culture, and my memories. And I wouldn’t give them up for the world. In […]
November 2014
Seared Scallops with Pear and Celeriac Puree
- After having spent a week nursing a very sick little patient and surviving on noodle soup, crackers and lots of coffee, I desperately needed a break from grab and go meals taken on the fly in between monitoring for fevers, massaging sore joints, and mopping up little accidents in the bathroom. On the weekend, when […]
Pan Roasted Cauliflower with Pancetta and Capers
- This recipe comes from Amy Thielen’s most wonderful first cookbook, The New Midwestern Table. I cannot praise the merits of this book enough, and it is easily my favourite cookbook of the year. I have cooked so often from Amy’s recipes in the past year, that I’ve lost count of how many wonderful things I’ve […]
Vermouth Roasted Peaches
- Sometimes, simple really is best. This summer, in an attempt to shed a few pounds, I picked up Mireille Guiliano’s French Women Don’t Get Fat and French Women For All Seasons at my local used book store. I’ve long given up on picking up a book hoping to find the miracle weight loss cure, and […]
Ginger Spice Muffins
- These started out life as Nigella Lawson’s Christmas Muffins, from her illustrious Nigella Christmas cookbook. All of the wonderful flavours we naturally associate with Christmas are here – clementines, ginger, cranberry. The recipe itself is easy enough to whip up on Christmas morning, and after eating a few with my morning coffee, I’ve decided these […]
October 2014
Potato, Parsnip and Porcini Gratin
- I had a wow moment at the dinner table after my first bite of this lovely root vegetable gratin. Normally, I serve really simple side dishes (think steamed vegetables, baked potatoes, plain buttered rice). But, last night, I was making a plain roast chicken and wanted something a bit more elaborate to go alongside it […]
Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Howdy, reader! Where has life taken you these days? I’ve been busy wrapping up year end activities at my day job, and in between, have been keeping myself occupied with day trips and weekender travel otherwise. It’s been a fun way to kiss off summer and welcome the fall. I have been cooking […]
August 2014
Italian Tomato and Pasta Soup
- We’re down to the last few weeks of summer, and it’s going by way too quickly! Plus, the sunny weather not having really made an honest appearance this year has had me craving cold weather food. Not a weekend day goes by without me wondering what to whip up for lunch in between loads of […]
Waffle Grilled Cheese Sandwich
- I’ve had a waffle iron for five years, and every year, faithfully, on Christmas morning, I’ve taken it out to make some light, crisp buttermilk waffles to serve alongside a mixed berry salad, warm maple syrup, and some Champagne mimosas. It’s one of my favourite breakfasts of the year, because it tastes so good, […]
Bistro Duck Legs with Cherry Sauce
- Best meal ever. Heard that before? I’ve said it many times, and truth be told, every time I say it, it feels like it’s the first time I’ve ever said it. But, I know I’m not the only one who’s fallen prey to this conundrum. If you’ve ever watched Guy Fieri’s Diners, Drive Ins and […]
July 2014
Airport Potatoes
- I came across this interestingly titled recipe in a book called Good Cooking: The New Essentials by Jill Dupleix, an Australian born, London based cookery writer. I love Jill’s recipes and writing – they are simple, to the point, and are damn good. The benefit of being a well traveled writer is that you get […]
Coriander Almond Financiers
- I love summer. As you can see by my noticeably absent presence on the web, I’ve been enjoying every minute of it. While I’ve taken a break from work (and from blogging), I haven’t taken a break from cooking and eating! Yesterday involved a trip to our local book store, where I devoured every new […]
June 2014
Shrimp on the Grill with an Asian Dipping Sauce
- Now that I don’t actually need to wear a parka to be outside, my outdoor grill beckons me to cook with it more often. I love grilling all kinds of foods – it’s quick, the clean up is minimal, and best of all, you get that smoky grilled flavour that you just can’t replicate with […]
Chocolate Zucchini Cake with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting
- I always buy too much produce at the market every week. I have all of these positive intentions about having a few extra slimming meals during the week, because I had a few too many glasses of wine or pieces of cake, and more often than not, I end up tossing the leftover veggies in […]
May 2014
When Classics Meet Pop Culture: My Rogan Josh
- I’ve long been fascinated by the cuisines of the Middle East and India, and have had the pleasure of sampling some very good dishes over the years through pot luck lunches at the office, and in trying good restaurant recommendations from friends. I, however, have very little experience cooking ethnic dishes, and much less in […]
Baked Eggs with Tomatoes
- I love eggs. Could eat them every day, even twice a day. They’re so easy to prepare, marry well with all kinds of ingredients, and give you a quick shot of protein that carries you through the day effortlessly. They’re inexpensive, too. What’s not to love about the egg? I’ve seen many recipes […]
Lemon Drop
- It’s Mother’s Day today, and I’ve had a wonderfully busy day. I started out the day with a cup of really good coffee, and got the laundry going. While cleaning the bathrooms, my daughter asked if we could bake brownies today, and I thought that would be a perfect mother-daughter activity. So, I had her […]
Sea Smelt Feast
- Having grown up in Northern Ontario, each spring brought forth the melt of winter’s last few snow storms, sunnier days, green buds everywhere, and smelt fishing. Smelts spawn every year at the same time of year, and only for a very short period of time. Fortunately, my parents knew all of these details, and would […]
Meatballs and Marinara in Times of Crisis
- In times of crisis, I find great comfort in retreating to the kitchen, busying myself with time consuming yet simple tasks. There is something to be said about focusing all of your attention to the task at hand, and sinking your concentrated efforts on something as simple as making meatballs. A most uncomplicated task, but […]
April 2014
Making Pizza at Home
- The fast pace of life has left me resorting to short cuts, especially in the kitchen. Right or wrong, using short cuts to get a home made supper on the table still feels like an accomplishment, if only because you can take pride in not having resorted to the drive through window yet again. I […]
Fresh Pineapple Crumble Cake
- Here is a lovely cake you can make over the weekend, with fresh pineapple. I’ve long been a fan of pineapple upside down cakes, but I find the cake part often ends up being very dense, instead of having a nice light crumb you would expect from a basic vanilla cake. This recipe works – […]
Big Easy Gin Fizz
- The intro to this cocktail recipe from Gideon Bosker’s Atomic Cocktails book reads: “Gin fizzes are usually served in the late morning, when offshore Louisiana breezes are flavoured with musky brine from the bayou and the languor-inducing heat requires every molecule of energy just to breathe. A traditional fizz uses lemon and lime juice; ours […]
Barbecued Clamato Chicken and Potatoes A La Ketchup
- If the title of this entry sounds a bit trashy, that’s ok. Everyone needs a little trash in their life once in a while, and this is the sort of trash that fits right in alongside a cold beer (or two) while daydreaming about summer days ahead. There are really two recipes in today’s blog entry, […]
Mocha Espresso Biscotti
- Following the success of my Star Anise Biscotti, I was asked to make another batch of these crunchy cookies by one of Meat and Tater Man’s co-workers at the construction site. The request was punctuated with a desire for “something similar with chocolate”, which I thought was a great idea. I came across this recipe […]
Sour Cream Breakfast Pancakes with Caramelized Pineapple Topping
- Catchy recipe title, huh? I don’t often crave pancakes, but when I do, nothing else will suffice. This past weekend had me nearly racing to the stove to whip up a batch of pancakes, especially after my daughter suggested them for breakfast. I’ve been eating a lot of eggs for breakfast lately in an […]
March 2014
Any Day All-Occasion Snack Cake
- I’m not going to tap dance around the subject of photography today. Let’s get straight to the issue, shall we? This blog post suffers from lack of good photography. My usual process is to snap pictures while prepping, cooking or baking, and I then snap a few more of the finished dish, after being portioned […]
Steak with Peppercorn Sauce
- The weather has got the best of me. Normally, I don’t complain about the temperature, regardless of season, because I really try to appreciate the best of each seasonal offering any time of year. But this year has been particularly cold, with snow and extra snow. Then, there was more snow. Sometimes, too much of […]
Baked Calvados Caramel Apples
- Forgive me if you’re a stranger to Calvados. Most people to whom I introduce this apple-based brandy from the French region of Lower Normandy are unfamiliar with it. It’s made with cider, and aged in oak casks before being bottled, and its maturation period varies. The longer it ages, the more it resembles a fine […]
The Sidecar Revisited
- There’s something about the end of the week that gets me craving a cocktail. Friday after work is definitely my favourite time to enjoy something on the rocks. It’s almost celebratory – the cocktail has this way of conveying the message that it’s time to relax, kick back, and enjoy the remainder of the day. […]
Classic Peanut Butter Cookies
- The week goes by way too quickly for me, so when Sunday rolled around (yet again), I needed a baked good that was really quick to make for Meat and Tater Man to take along with him on assignment out of town for yet another week. In between loads of laundry, I reached for one of Elinor Klivans’ baking books. […]
Tuna’s New Story…or The Casserole Reinvented
- I am a fan of the “meal in one pot” brigade for busy weeknights, and judging by the number of cookbooks dedicated to casserole cooking, I’m in good company. In a recent call out to friends asking them what they’d like to see on my blog, I got a few requests for “one dish meals” […]
Banana Bread Brownies from the Fat Witch Bakery
- When I saw this little book called Fat Witch Brownies, I just had to pick it up – who can resist a book dedicated solely to the almighty culinary achievement, the brownie? I knew I would enjoy reading it, and baking from it. I love making and eating brownies, and my daughter follows willingly in […]
Roasted Baby Artichokes
- As I was getting my blog started up, I wanted to solicit feedback on how to improve upon it, and generate ideas for more blog entries. I was so glad my sister took the time to provide me with her honest opinion, and some ideas for future posts. (You can always rely on my sister […]
Mocha Cappuccino Marbled Coffee Cake
- You would think that one coffee cake recipe would be sufficient in a week’s worth of blog entries, but this week I’ve got two, because Meat and Tater Man was fortunate enough to take both of these to work this week as part of his usual baking roundup that he packs on Sunday nights to […]
Storecupboard Spiced Chicken
- If you’ve read my blog post on Nobu’s Teriyaki Chicken, you know full well where I stand on chicken for supper. Chicken is the easiest option, but it’s also the most brain-wracking option because you’ve got to figure out how you’re going to cook it (poach, bake, grill, roast, fry), and what flavour elements you’re […]
Butterrum Puddings
- This started out as butterscotch pudding, but we’re not scotch drinkers, so I switched the scotch with rum, and baptized it with a new name. And I dare say, it was a match made in heaven. My husband’s mother used to make butterscotch pie all the time, so this dessert brings back special memories in […]
Strawberry Coffee Cake
- There is something rather delightful that happens when the food about which you write is also being consumed as a snack at the same time. In this case, I’ve got a thick slice of strawberry coffee cake alongside a large mug of chai tea, and am ready to write about it. First, I take a […]
New Orleans French Toast Casserole
- The fabulous sub sandwich rolls I purchased a couple of days ago were looking at me rather sadly through their plastic bag, begging to be used up in one final productive way, instead of being tossed in the bin, or ground up to make breadcrumbs. My craving for French toast and my desire to have […]
Cantina Sopa de Lima
- Winter has me seeking heat, and today is no different, even though the sun is shining and the mercury is actually hovering around zero (instead of being buried deeply into the negative numbers). What better than a soup to warm you up, even when you’re stuck indoors all day. Just the idea of cold weather […]
Garlic and Dill Pickle Relish for my Cuban Inspired Hoagie
- Let’s put something on the table right now, shall we? When it comes to food, I’m weak, and I have no resistance to cravings whatsoever. Like, none. It’s a bit like being pregnant your whole life; the cravings set in, they need to be fulfilled NOW, and they never go away. Story of my life, […]
Apple Sauce Crisp
- You didn’t think I’d leave you hanging, now did you? After yesterday’s Alpen Magrone blog post praised the virtues of combining carbs, I chose to end it with a only a picture of my Apple Sauce Crisp, hinting at how glorious it was following our pasta and potato feast. Well, dear reader, today […]
Alpen Magrone (Mountain Macaroni)
- Winter doesn’t seem to want to cut us a break, and when it’s really cold outside, my body naturally craves carbs. Something I can eat a whole bowl of, and feel better for doing so. My inner child leans strongly towards mac and cheese (in any incarnation), and today was no different. With my daughter […]
Baklava Muffins
- Every weekend I bake a batch of muffins. I find it tremendously comforting to have some baked goods in the house at all times; it gives me that domestic goddess feeling, and I quite like the idea of owning up to that image of the happy homemaker who cooks and bakes from scratch for the […]
Roast Chicken (Notes for my daughter)
- Hardly a week goes by without me roasting a chicken in the oven. For me, roast chicken is the ultimate comfort meal. One bite takes me back to the immediately soothing and familiar taste of my mom’s roast chicken, and provides me with a lifetime of memories at the tip of my fork. There is […]
February 2014
Bloody Caeasars
- Well, as the old saying goes, it’s five o’clock somewhere, right? Time for a drink. Especially after I asked Meat and Tater Man to help me out in the kitchen with the dinner prep. An extra set of hands in the kitchen quickly turned into a conversation on how we have too many lids for […]
Nobu’s Teriyaki Chicken
- You would think that someone who has over 500 cookbooks could come up with at least a dozen recipes for boneless, skinless chicken thighs at the snap of a finger, but today, I drew a complete blank. What to do, what to do, with these little pink mounds of flesh staring blankly back at me […]
Pork Tenderloin Sandwich
- “This is trashy Midwestern eating at its finest. You could be on a back road goin’ nowhere, comin’ from nowhere, and haven’t even been anywhere, when all of a sudden you would come upon a roadside dive selling this tenderloin sandwich that was so big and so divine, you’d give up your virginity and your […]
Pizza Parlour Pasta Casserole
- Sometimes combining different recipe ideas into one dish works, and sometimes it doesn’t. In this case, I was really pleased when I combined the flavours of pizza with my one of my favourite carb fests, the baked pasta casserole. Not stemming from any recipe book, this recipe evolved over time. It goes something like […]
Easy Baked Beans
- I come from a long lineage of people who love baked beans. And if I may say so, I also come from a long line of great cooks who have perfected the art of making slow cooked, baked beans in a crock over a low fire, or buried in hot embers, or in a first […]
Bacon and Egg Strata
- Sundays are typically “bacon and egg breakfast” kind of days at our house. This Sunday is no different, only I have some leftover ciabatta to use up today, before it turns into a solid mass of bread where the only way it will be salvaged is by being turned into bread crumbs. Mine still has […]
My Favourite Roast Sandwich
- I’ve never been a fan of eating cold leftover meat, to be honest, but there are a few exceptions. Roast pork is one of them. I’m particularly fond of loin of pork, because it tends to be quite lean, and the fat will reside mostly on the exterior of the roast, making it very easy […]
Holiday Chocolate Muffins (AKA Chantal’s Toblerone Chocolate Muffins)
- Pop quiz. Are you: feeling sad feeling hungry feeling happy wanting to put a smile on someone’s face facing a mountain of leftover chocolates from the most recent holiday a chocolate lover any combination of the above If so, then read on. If not, stay with me here anyways, because today, you will find love […]
Tomato Onion Jam
- I’ve long been looking for that one signature recipe that I could claim as my own, so that for all get togethers, people would say, “Chantal, can you make your…” You know what I mean, right? It’s that recipe that no one has, but everyone wants. Only, instead of asking you for the recipe (though […]
Toffee Sauce
- Caramel is not just for children. It’s for adults too. Those two sentences on the back cover of Trish Deseine’s Caramel book caught my attention rather quickly.This book celebrates caramel in all its forms, and does so deliciously. This lovely little number is called Toffee Sauce in the book, but I prefer to call it […]
Star Anise Biscotti
- Do you trust your intuition? Over the years, I’ve learned to do so more and more. When I’m in the kitchen, I totally trust my inner voice when it says “a bit more salt”, or “that’s enough oregano”. I used to cook mostly from recipes, but I now am able to let my instincts lead […]
Hamburger Stroganoff
- When I was in high school, I worked at the local Red Lobster restaurant. At the time, entrees included a house salad and garlic bread. One of the regular guests (we weren’t allowed to call them customers, you know), Joe, would come in every week and order the same thing. Still, I would always ask […]
Pumpkin Spice Pecan Chocolate Chip Muffins
- If there is one consistent message around muffin making out there, it’s to not over mix your muffin batter, lest it be turned into dense little hockey pucks after baking. Over the years, I’ve made hundreds of muffin recipes, and try as I might, no matter how gentle I am in mixing the dry ingredients […]
January 2014
Thai Chicken Curry
- I used to think that cooking curries was a long, involved affair which started with a mise en place (read: pre-cooking prep) of 50 ingredients before even getting near the stove. I don’t know why I felt overwhelmed about this, but once I tried it, I couldn’t quite figure out what my problem was. You […]
Cinnamon Chipotle Brownies
- Confession time: I have eaten many, many brownies in my lifetime. I’ve also baked many batches as well. But, when I came across Pam Anderson’s recipe, I was hooked. It was just as she promised in her recipe title: the perfect brownie. What I also love about this recipe is that you make it in […]
Mushroom Frittata for a Cold Winter Morning
- Winter Sunday mornings seem to follow a pretty steady routine in our home. Upon rising, we both work out, and then we have eggs for breakfast. Meat and Tater Man prefers to work out in a gym, while I’m the polar opposite, and do my exercise in the comfort of my own home, where no […]