This is a twist on the usual presentation of a baked apple. I choose a large apple, then core it and slice it very thinly on a mandolin or another slicer. Be sure to keep all the apple pieces as intact as possible as you will re-assemble them so it looks like an apple, slices all stacked up, including the top slice. I then place the entire apple in a buttered ramekin dish that it... View Article
Artichoke is truly a spring treat. Available for only a short time in early spring (let’s forget the dehydrated specimen lingering in the produce section other times of the year), you have to watch for it and catch it when it’s in its prime. I always think of an artichoke as a mysterious vegetable. Round and plump, enclosed in a protective thorny armor it challenges you to get close and discover what’s inside. One of... View Article
A simple pasta dish that I make often and toss with just cherry tomatoes and garlic sauteéd in olive oil while the pasta water is heating up. If you have cherry tomatoes of different colour use them to make a rainbow effect. What could be simpler? Ingredients: 1/2 lb spaghetti 4 tablespoons olive oil 1 basket cherry tomatoes, halved 3 garlic cloves, halved 1/3 cup grated Parmesan or pecorino 1/3 cup basil or parsley, chopped... View Article
This is the last of the cherry tomatoes pasta “trilogy” of raw, sautéed and roasted. These are the simplest pastas dishes to prepare and are so good. This one is particularly easy as you can use tomatoes roasted in advance and kept in the fridge in a jar. Just heat them before tossing with the pasta. Roasted cherry tomatoes are one of those items I often have in my fridge. Ingredients: 1/2 lb pasta of... View Article
The Cookbook Company A Mecca for foodies, the cookbook company has been around since the early 80’s I believe and has grown to be a leader in the Calgary food scene. Their beautiful store on 11th Ave has everything a cook may wish for. Specialty and hard to find food items, cheeses, homemade stocks, oils, vinegars and special salts are just a few of the treasures you will find there. They also stock an excellent... View Article
Ahhh, tomatoes. Red and juicy, sweet and plump, tomatoes are the sine qua non of my kitchen. Asked to choose between cream or tomato sauce, tomatoes would lure me every time. Originally named Pomme d’Amour (Love Apple in French) tomatoes have had a love affair with culture and cuisine for thousands of years. They are believed to have originated in Mexico and were taken back to Europe on the explorers ships around the 1500’s. Italy... View Article
For apple lovers only. A heart-warming country style dessert to end a fall or winter dinner. Serve it floating on vanilla pastry cream or with a scoop of ice cream and caramel sauce. 1 apple per person (gala, empress, honeycrisp or other firm apples) Brown sugar Crushed granola Butter Vanilla cream (see recipe) Or: Caramel sauce: 1 cup sugar 2 tablespoons water 2 tablespoon butter 1 cup cream Cut the top off the apple and... View Article
Asparagus – spring One of the sure sign of spring is beautiful, crisp and green asparagus popping up at the farmers markets. It’s true that you can get asparagus almost all year but there is nothing like farmer’s market asparagus in season. Asparagus is a branch of the lily family. It is planted deep in the ground and has a short growing season limited to a couple of months, barely. Asparagus is planted in trenches... View Article
Chestnuts – Winter Chestnuts roasting on an open fire. Isn’t it an alluring imagery? Roaring fire, Hermes wool blankets, a good glass of wine and warm, sweet soft chestnuts. Even winter has its blessings. Chestnuts are truly seasonal and don’t really appear in the markets here until late September or even October. Thankfully, they stay until the end of January so we have a few months to enjoy this delicacy. If you are lucky and... View Article
A simple dish of white potato Gnocchi tossed with butter, sage and Parmesan. To add a touch of colour I still chop up a bit of flat leaf parsley for garnish. When making this recipe for just two people I use half to make the gnocchi with sage and Parmesan and freeze the other half, uncooked, to use another day. Ingredients: 1 recipe gnocchi made with white skinned potatoes 3 tablespoons butter 4-5 sage leaves,... View Article
Here is a recipe for basic potato gnocchi. Some gnocchi recipes call for russet (baking) potatoes, some for white skinned ones. I prefer regular boiling potato variety. You do need the potato ricer though. It helps mash or rice the potatoes into perfect texture for making the gnocchi. See image in the general entry about gnocchi and under the kitchen Gear tap above. Ingredients: 1 1/2 lb. potatoes (about 2-3 potatoes, depending on the type... View Article
Every culture has its dumpling and they form an integral part of their peasant cuisine. They are inexpensive to make, hearty, filling and bring home cooked comfort to your palate and your soul. Jewish mazzo ball soup is made with mazzo ball dumplings (kneidlach), Hungarians make their delicious spatzle, grated directly over a pot of boiling water, Chinese have their pot stickers, Ukrainians their perogies and Italians have their gnocchi. All these little treasures begin... View Article
