Recipes, tips and reviews
These recipes are developed, tested and re-tested until perfect. Try one at home tonight.
I used the Japanese Kuri squash which is a fiery red colour. It roasts well. You can use any drier variety of squash for this curry.
The best Scottish shortbread handed down through my family. Crumbly, sweet and buttery.
This dish has a salty, savoury sauce with a little bit of a kick. If you don't want the spice of the jalapenos, leave it out, and finely diced onion can be used instead of the shallots.
This is the one hors d’oeuvre that I keep being asked for time and time again. It’s crunchy, creamy, spicy and hits all the high spots.
Mushrooms and squash have a real affinity and this soup proves it. I like to use oyster mushrooms, but chanterelles, which I found at the supermarket this week, provide the best flavour.
The fifth taste, umami, has much to do with glutamate, an amino acid found in such foods as prosciutto, soy sauce and a number of cheeses. Umami can show up in your glass, too (fermentation is glutamate’s old friend).
When this recipe originally ran in The Globe and Mail, I received a lovely note from reader Barbara Zuchowicz. This dish reminded her of a wonderful meal she had in Italy: "It brought back joyful memories of a trip to Italy my late husband, an exceptional cook, and I took a number of years ago.
Polpettone is essentially an Italian meat loaf that is shaped in a roll. The mixture can also be used to make meatballs simmered in tomato sauce. I serve this with the zucchini, although a proper Italian would serve it afterward.
Read MoreAt Café Cinquecento, an Italian restaurant on King Street West in Toronto, owner Liliana Mancini invites her mother and aunts to cook at the restaurant for her popular monthly La Notte Delle Mamme nights. These special meals are always sold out because the food is exactly what you would enjoy if you had an Italian mamma of your own. On the night we attended, we had antipasto, zucchini Parmigianino, homemade pasta with sausages and fritto misto as the main. Liliana's mamma, Carmela, cooked it all. This is her recipe for Zucchini Parmesan, which also includes a classic homemade tomato sauce, which Carmela makes in huge batches and freezes.
Read MoreI like to serve this salad with Indian food. It is simple but adds fresh flavours to the whole meal.
Read MoreThe minty flavour complements the spicing of the halibut. I used the last mint in my garden to make this dish. You can also substitute potatoes for cauliflower if you wish.
Read MoreThis mild and tasty curry using thick, juicy king mushrooms makes a good vegetarian main course, too.
Halibut absorbs strong spicing well to remain moist and mouth-watering. There is no sauce with this. Serve a chutney on the side.
In this recipe, I treat the salmon as though it were a cut of meat. Buy salmon on the skin as it roasts better. You can also serve this cold.
This is a magic soufflé: You bake it once, set it aside and, when you're ready for dinner, pour cream over it and - presto! - it rises in the oven once again. It's the best make-ahead vegetable dish I know.
Read MoreThis is a quick, nutty green-bean dish that adds colour to the plate. Use pecans or almonds instead of pistachios if desired, although the green on green looks very attractive.
Read MoreAnother great side dish to make ahead of serving. It could also be served as a first course with a salad.
Read MoreI love this as a topping to liven up Eggs Benedict (another option is Caramelized Onions With Spinach), but it also makes a wonderful side dish, full of spice and flavour.
Read MoreThis is great as a topping for Eggs Benedict (you can also try Refried Beans with Chorizo). The spinach elevates the onions to another level.
Read MoreThere are different ways to make corned beef hash. Some prefer it mashed together like a pancake and others as a sauté. This is more the sauté type.
Two of these tarts will serve 16 people. Freezing the tart shell means the shell won't shrink while baking.
Read MoreExecutive chef David Foot of Market by Jean-Georges Restaurant in the Shangri-La Hotel slow-cooks the Arctic char garnished with Brussels sprouts and the richest mashed potatoes for an outstanding dish. The restaurant is very cool, beautifully designed and great for people watching. When you cook potatoes, reserve some of the potato cooking water to mash with them.
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Jerusalem artichokes - knobby root vegetables that are neither from Jerusalem nor artichokes but provide the same flavour - add an unexpected twist to creamy soup. Garnish with some chives and a grating of Parmesan.
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This was a big hit at my last dinner party. The meringue rolls beautifully and you can fill it with anything you like. Baking at a high hear turns it a little spongy, making it easy to roll. You can make your own lemon curd or buy it in a jar. The jarred kind needs some extra lemon rind and juice to spark it up.
Read MoreI developed this recipe by mistake when I mistook ginger for garlic and only noticed when I tasted the pâté. The liver was less livery with the hint of ginger as a background note. I also added a teaspoon of curry paste to give the pâté a goose of flavour. If you don't like fruit in pâté, just omit the port and cherries. Serve on apple slices or toasted challah.
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© 2018, Lucy Waverman.
