This month, all our kids and grandchildren joined us for a family ski holiday at Silver Star Mountain in B.C.'s Okanagan Valley, where we all crammed into a large chalet and cooked hearty meals for most of the week. Here are some of our chalet favourites including Chicken and Vegetable Soup, Pasta Al Forno with Mushrooms and Sausage and an Apple Rum-Raisin Loaf for dessert. These dishes also work well for potlucks.

If you love Lucy's Globe and Mail videos, keep checking the Globe website for new videos on Valentine's Day treats and ideas for hosting a smashing Oscar party...coming soon!

When it comes to holiday treats, I love something with a touch of citrus or something akin to traditional Christmas cake but much lighter. Here are three distinctive holiday desserts that are both traditional and contemporary: a zesty Ginger-Lemon Meringue Tart, a new twist on Trifle and a festive Cranberry Orange Cake topped with candied orange peel and glazed cranberries. Each can be made ahead of time, a boon to the busy person.

Eating locally, seasonally and sustainably were among the top food trends of 2009, so why not end the year by incorporating them into a New Year's Eve menu? Start off with a few local oysters topped with Horseradish Gelée, then move on to a Wasabi-Spike Parsnip Soup with Parsnip Chips, followed by a Roast Rack of Pork served with Polenta and Braised Greens. Don't forget the champagne at midnight.

I'm so greatful for the wonderful reviews and feedback I've gotten from cookbook authors, reviewers and readers about my latest book, A Year in Lucy's Kitchen. Check out some of the kind words people have been sending my way:

"The tone of this book gives the reader a major cooking urge, especially for parties." - Montreal Gazette

"What's most refreshing about Waverman's approach to food and food writing, in these days of camera-ready, television-famous celebrity chefs with outsize personalities, is her warm, accommodating and inclusive tone. Amateur cooks of any skill level or background will feel welcome to step inside Lucy's kitchen and stay a while." - Globe and Mail

"A Year in Lucy's Kitchen, organizes the recipes and meal suggestions around seasonal ingredients, though certainly they can all work at any time of the year...there is a recipe for Spiced Braised Lamb Shanks that has me salivating." - The Dewey Divas and the Dudes

"Lucy Waverman has the magic touch." - Pierre A Lamielle, author of Kitchen Scraps

"Lucy's recipes work. They just do." - Cream Puffs in Venice

Here are some of my favourite foodie gifts to bring joy to cooks everywhere. I like to give gifts for the kitchen because they are really useful. Some of my picks are new this year and a couple are old favourites but they're all gems in the kitchen.

Cookbooks are great for gifting during the holidays--some of my most treasured items are cookbooks I received as gifts from my loved ones. Here are my picks for the best of the season, from my fellow Canadian authors to top international titles. You'll be sure to find something here for the foodie on your list.

There is no reason why Christmas dinner shouldn't also be a satisfying experience if you're vegan. If I were creating a vegan feast, I would start off with a lentil and sweet potato soup and segue into sensational Roast Portobello Mushrooms with Chestnut Stuffing accompanied by Garlic Mashed Potatoes and Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Almonds, and for dessert a decadent Chocolate Cake.

I don't really enjoy making hors d'oeuvre because they are fiddly, time-consuming and have to pack a lot of flavour into single bites. If an occasion calls for them, however, I do have a few easy recipes that never fail including Edamame Tartlets, Bagna Caude Dip, Chicken Liver Pate and Shrimp Toast with Avocado Butter.

Whenever I visit Vancouver, I am always impressed by the mushrooming food scene: the quality of the food and the dedication to sustainable and local ingredients. Here are three recipes from top Vancouver chefs adapted for home cooks, including Josh Wolfe's Clam Chowder, David Foot's Slow Baked Char with Truffled Mashed Potatoes and Neil Taylor's Buffalo Mozzarella With Bruschetta Of Wild Mushrooms.

The next time you're making brunch for a crowd, liven things up with these unexpected recipes including Caramelized Onions with Spinach or Refried Bean with Chorizo as toppings for Eggs Benny, plus a rich Mushroom Tart and a decadent Corned Beef Hash. These recipes can easily be doubled, tripled or cut in half.

We love Indian food in our family, but authentic Indian cooking can take many hours of labour. Here are some easy recipes that use other flavourings like ginger, garlic and garam masala along with Indian pastes to add depth of flavour and zing. You'll love the Spiced Halibut, Spinach King Mushroom Sauté, Mint And Cauliflower Rice Pilaf and, to cool it all down, a Tomato and Cucumber Salad. All you need is some naan and a simple Indian rice pudding for dessert, and you've got a marvellous meal.

Now is the time of year when we start to crave comfort food and these rustic Italian recipes should fit the bill perfectly, including Zucchini Parmesan with Homemade Tomato Sauce, Polpettone (like an Italian meat loaf) and a delectable Pear Tatin Cake.

If writing a cookbook is a labour of love, my latest, A Year in Lucy's Kitchen, is closest to my heart because it's about my family life as well as my cooking.

The book is organized by the month and offers seasonally inspired menus that I typically cook for my family and friends at a given time of year. I also explore topics such as making marmalade in January and showcasing tomatoes in August. Organizing menus by the month ensures that the produce used is as local and seasonal as possible.

As I hope the new cookbook suggests, taste and ease of preparation are the two most important goals for me when developing recipes for readers. Here is a menu from the book that I'll be using at the end of October for my husband Bruce's birthday, including Scallops with Chorizo, Roasted Veal Chops With Lemon Olive Salsa and Beignets.

We were away on a mini hiatus but we're back and we come bearing delicious gifts: new Mediterranean recipes inspired by The Globe and Mail Odyssey cruise I was recently on, including Lynn Crawford's Tuscan Prawns with Tomato Bean Ragout and Limoncello Tiramisu and my own Provençal Lamb Steaks with Tomato Coriander Vinaigrette.

Here is a series of hors d'oeuvre that incorporate classic Sicilian ingredients such as olives, capers and anchovies. No matter what the occassion your guests will love everything from the Caponata, Cheese and Anchovy Fritters and Baked Olives to the Pizza with Tomatoes and Buffalo Mozzarella and, of course, the Sicilian Popcorn.

This menu pays homage to the flavours and cuisine of Turkey. When it comes to spices, the Turks like to combine two in particular: mint and paprika. Together they round out many dishes and give them their special taste. Use dried mint (not fresh) in these recipes. From the Marmalade of Greens and Baked Turkish Chicken to Blueberry Cake made with yeast, these recipes will appeal to those who like their palates challenged.

President Obama famously hates beets (he even refused to have them planted in the new White House kitchen garden) but they are sweet, tasty and, as I discovered after much experimentation, excellent bases for cakes. So just as my mother used to disguise food to try to get us to eat it, I offer the Beet Cake in this menu (which also includes Beet Carpaccio with Goat Cheese and Candied Walnuts and Sticky Rice and Duck Confit with Asian Pickled Beets) as a way to overcome Obama's aversion to the vegetable.

Using leftovers is a favourite topic of mine. I can't tell you how many people end up throwing them out when all it takes is a bit of creativity and practically no work to turn them into a delicious "new" meal. Here is a recipe for a Simple Sirloin Steak where the leftovers can be used in a Niçoise Beef Salad or Herbal Thai Beef Salad the next day.

In his latest blog entry, Bruce discovers the joys of Canadian pinot and finds a new favourite pairing for salmon in the process... with a little help from chef Michael Smith. Read about it on Bruce's Wine Blog.