This is a quick pasta made mostly with pantry items. INGREDIENTS 3-4 Italian sausage, casings removed 3 heads roasted garlic small can cannelloni beans 1/2 cup whole black olives, halved small jar roasted red peppers, drained and chopped 2 tablespoons olive bruschetta spinach rigatoni pecorino romano DIRECTIONS roast garlic heads ahead of time and remove… Read more »
Chocolate Roasted Salted Macadamia Nut Cookies
Costco sells dry roasted sea salt macadamia nuts that are divine. They taste fantastic in these chocolate macadamia nut cookies. I also don’t like white chocolate so I used milk chocolate chips instead. INGREDIENTS 2 cups flour 2/3 cup cocoa powder 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1 cup butter,… Read more »
Asparagus Soup
This soup has a strong asparagus taste seasoned just right with parmesan. The parmesan adds a salty taste, so be careful when seasoning early. This is a small recipe perfect for 2 people with left overs, but it can be doubled. While it can be frozen, I find cheese soups do not reheat well after… Read more »
Fruit or Apple Crisp
“Lot’s of crunchy topping on this apple crisp.” Update: The recipe below was my original large batch crisp. To make a smaller batch I use the same 1-2-4 ratio. One part butter, two parts brown sugar, 4 parts oats. So for example 1/4 cup butter, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1 cup oats. I often skip… Read more »
Beet Salad with Capers, Pepitas & Balsamic Vinaigrette
A bright, tangy side dish that pairs beautifully with rich meats like wagyu steak. Make the vinaigrette early so you can marinade the beets in the fridge for a couple of hours. This is enough for two with a little left over dressing for the next day. Balsamic–Shallot Vinaigrette: 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar 1 tbsp… Read more »
Mixed Greens, Pear, Walnut and Goat Cheese Salad
This salad went well with pesto-herbed pork tenderloin but would be good with any Tuscan style meal. Salad Mixed greens blend 1 ripe pear, thinly sliced 2-3 tablespoons toasted walnut pieces 2-3 tablespoons goat cheese Mix greens with dressing. Just before serving slice pear and add with toasted walnuts and chunks of goat cheese. Mix… Read more »
Pesto Ricotta & Mushroom-Stuffed Pork Tenderloin with Balsamic-Pear Salad
I’ve been experimenting with my new steam oven, particularly the convection humid setting which seems to be my favourite way to put together a weeknight meal so far. The meat and potatoes or vegetables can be cooked in one shallow glass pan. I like stuffing pork tenderloin so put together this combination for dinner. The… Read more »
Braised Maple Dijon Chicken Thighs
Easy and very flavourful INGREDIENTS 1.1 kg deboned chicken thighs, clean off extra skin 1 cup maple syrup 1/2 cup Dijon mustard 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar 1 tablespoon mirin 4 teaspoons soy sauce 1 teaspoon kosher salt 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper 1 sprig rosemary chopped DIRECTIONS Preheat oven to 450F Combine all sauce… Read more »
Christmas Cookies & Cocktails
What happens when you mix sweet treats, signature cocktails, and five friends? A lot of fun! Recently, I hosted our neighborhood ladies for a Cookies & Cocktails afternoon. I thought it would be fun to combine my love of baking with some festive libations (which I’m new to). Here are the cocktail recipes that accompanied… Read more »
Classic Rolled Shortbread Cookies
I adore the idea of making festive cutout cookies during the holidays – but traditional sugar cookies are just too sweet for me, and we don’t like icing on our cookies either. Since I’m a big fan of buttery shortbread, I figured – why not try shortbread cutouts instead? I asked Claude (my AI assistant… Read more »