Blini with Crème Fraiche and Salmon Caviar
An elegant standby and each bite is a terrific combination of flavour and texture. Read more
Archive for
Oct 22
4 Comments
Roasted Butternut Squash and Fennel Soup
This soup has a rich and comforting flavour and it says ‘Fall’ to me. Read more
Brined Roasted Turkey with Italian Sausage Stuffing
It seems as if every year I try a different way to roast a turkey and I’m usually not very happy with it. The turkey is dry, over or undercooked, etc. etc. Each year I swear I’ll never cook one again, mostly because of the number of dirty dishes a turkey dinner creates. But, like most things, time makes me forget all that and I’m again craving the aroma of a roasting turkey in the oven and looking forward to having family and friends around the table. Read more
Plum Crumble with Plum Ice Cream
I tried this for the first time, having read the post on The Wednesday Chef. I had some perfectly ripe prune plums and was wondering what to do with them. I was really in the mood for plums, so paired this with the plum ice cream recipe below. And what a plummy dessert it turned out to be! Read more
Spiced Cranberries
In our family, we have some who like cranberries with turkey and some who don’t. I am in the latter category. But I always make it (sometimes forgetting to put it on the table) but every year I try a different recipe. This was the Thanksgiving 2011 version. Read more
Roasted Root Vegetables with Marcona Almonds
This recipe is adapted from Leite’s Culinaria. I used fewer types of vegetables, but stuck with the addition of sage-garlic butter, sherry vinegar and marcona almonds which combine to make this a unique dish. Read more
Our Traditional Potato Casserole
This has been part of our family’s Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner menu for many years. It can be assembled 1-2 days ahead, covered and refrigerated, then baked before serving. Or, it can be completely baked, refrigerated and then microwaved to heat. Just leave the onion ring topping till the end so they stay crisp. If I am feeling energetic, or I am contributing food to the Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner at someone else’s house, I have made my own deep-fried onion rings. But the tinned variety is so easy and quite good.
2. c. mashed potatoes
1-8 oz. package cream cheese, softened
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 eggs
2 T. flour
salt and pepper
1 can deep-fried onion rings
9″ square dish
Cook and mash potatoes. Beat in the cream cheese, onion, eggs, flour and salt and pepper. Turn into buttered baking dish and top with onion rings. Bake until hot, about 25 minutes at 350ºF. Makes 8-10 small servings and can easily be doubled for a crowd.
Tomatoes Stuffed with Creamed Spinach
1 T. unsalted butter
1 onion, chopped
1 T. flour
pinch grated nutmeg
3/4 heavy cream
1 package frozen chopped spinach, defrosted
1/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to tast
grated gruyère cheese
8-9 tomatoes
Preheat oven to 425ºF. Melt butter in heavy saucepan. Add the onions and cook until translucent, about 10 minutes. Add the flour and nutmeg and cook, stirring, for 2 more minutes. Add the cream and cook until thickened. Squeeze as much liquid as possible from the spinach and add the spinach to the sauce. Add Parmesan cheese and season to taste. Using a melon-baller, hollow out some of each tomato to create room for spinach stuffing. Fill tomatoes and top with grated gruyère cheese. Bake for about 30 minutes or until heated through and lightly brown on top. Tomatoes can be filled, covered and refrigerated the day before serving.
I can’t remember a time when food was not an important part of my day. From an early age, I observed and participated in the kitchens of my mother and two grandmothers. 
Nourishing Vancouver 