Monthly Archives: December 2009

This was the perfect focal point for our Christmas dinner. A classic that is widely exploited on cooking shows like Hell's Kitchen, I never really felt compelled to make an attempt at this tried and true dish. I felt like it was far too classic to not at least attempt, and boy - I was absolutely not disappointed. The duxelle of mushrooms, shallots, and garlic adds a depth of earthy flavour to this dish, and although I didn't use pate, I absolutely loved the slight tang of the thin dijon layer. I will be making this year over year, especially given that my first attempt tasted like THIS! :)

My sister made this dish last weekend as an update to traditional creamed spinach, made

Wonton wrappers are for more than just eggrolls and wontons. They can be filled with virtually anything tasty, BBQ pulled pork, Curried Lamb Stew, but for this appetizer, I decided to fill the wonton cups with some Curried Chicken Salad.

There are two things I love about cooking as a hobby; 1) I cook enough game birds to harvest some delicious duck fat once in a while, and 2) I get to cook other delicious food items in said duck fat. This dish certainly isn't very health conscious, but the duck fat just sings in this application. During the cooking process, the bacon crisps up over the thyme and infuses a delectable flavour into the caramelized potatoes. Tis the season for hauling out the big guns, hey? :)

My Mom always makes Caesar Salad with anchovies, and it's always delicious. I'm not really sure why I haven't made this often in the past, but it's my favourite go-to salad in any restaurant situation, so I thought Christmas an appropriate time to make my own. With the coddled eggs, the dressing is creamy and quite reminscent of Caesar salads I've eaten in the best restaurants.

If you're like me, you plan to cook for only 2 people, maybe 3 or 4, but end up with enough leftovers to feed an army. I'm constantly tossing out expired food, and when I have an opportunity to reuse leftovers without getting bored of eating the same thing for 3 consecutive nights, I grab it. This casserole was a great way to use up my leftover taco fixings from my Pork Carnitas Tacos, and the cheese from my Queso Fundido. Also, I clearly underestimated my posting power in yesterday's queso post, so since this is absolutely my very last post until sometime next week, I wish you and yours a very Merry Christmas!

Living in Texas has it's perks and it's pitfalls. Mexican food eateries abound, and queso in local restaurants is about the best I've ever had. That's also a pitfall. Delicious, gooey, cheesy, spicy dip? Sign. Me. Up. So, for a recent gathering with my family, I made some Queso to go along with the Pork Carnitas Tacos I made this past weekend. This will most likely be my last post before the Holidays, so I wanted to wish all of my family and friends a happy and joyful Christmas, and a prosperous New Year. Lots of love from Texas!

I love tacos. Especially slow-cooked pork shoulder braised in a delicious beer and loads of garlic. Today was the weekly Sunday dinner with my sister, her husband, and my neice. I wanted to make something that had a bit of preparation at the outset, but not a terrible amount to do once my guests were here. This is a great entertaining dish - just throw it in the oven, and forget it for about 3 hours. Served with Weston's Guacamole and some caramalized onions, cilantro, and some queso fresco, this is a delicious meal, and you should have plenty of leftovers!

I think the reason I like this soup so much is simply because it reminds me of food my Mom used to make. A quick week night dinner (given you use smoked sausage), this was a delicious way to enjoy a cool night. It would be delicious paired with a grilled cheese sandwich, or served without the sausage as a starter for a lovely meal.

It's that time of year again - Christmas potlucks and Holiday get togethers! I struggled with what to make this year until I started working with so much pumpkin in October. I think I finally realized that I actually really like squash. The inspiration to make this came from a couple of places; my Creamy Pumpkin and Sage Pasta that featured bacon and sausage, and a delicate Butternut Squash and Port Bisque that we had at the Four Seasons this past Saturday. I was also thrilled to finally be able to utilize my duck stock!