Christmas Spiced Hot Chocolate

Christmas Spiced Hot Chocolate

It’s time for my annual Christmas story. Before I begin, let’s set the stage … https://youtube.com/watch?v=a8n7NR5lK30%5BEmbed%5D The above, in all its needle-felted adorableness, is courtesy of Dairy Farmers of Canada. I can’t figure out how they animated wool, but the video captures the feeling I 

Burnt Caramel Nut Brittle

Burnt Caramel Nut Brittle

I’ve decided to change the idiom from “watching paint dry” to “waiting for sugar to caramelize”. It doesn’t roll off the tongue, but it’s a fair description of the process. This recipe for Burnt Caramel Nut Brittle calls for deeply caramelized sugar. While it doesn’t 

Last-Minute Sugarplums

Last-Minute Sugarplums

I always assumed sugarplums were plum-shaped candies made of marzipan and dusted in sugar. When I asked friends and family for their theories, guesses ranged from holiday jellies to booze-soaked prunes. We had never seen, let alone tasted one. To us, these Christmas confections existed only in Clement Clarke Moore’s poem 

Sticky Toffee Pudding

Sticky Toffee Pudding

When I first saw the The Dirty Apron Cookbook by David Roberston (Figure 1 © 2014), I wanted to run home and make the ravioli pictured on the front cover. They looked rustic enough to give me hope, yet exuded artisanal confidence. I knew they wouldn’t disappoint. Besides, 

Zdena’s Walnut Crescent Cookies

Zdena’s Walnut Crescent Cookies

The Canadian Food Experience Project – The Christmas Edition – Walnut Crescent Cookies In our family, Christmas changes little, year to year. Once the New Year arrives and the decorations are packed away, all Christmases Past roll together into a single, hazy holiday scenario to 

Caramel Apple Icebox Trifle

Caramel Apple Icebox Trifle

The holidays are rushing in and the panicked questions have begun. With crazed eyes and shaking voices, friends ask me for easy holiday recipes to take to a party or serve their own guests. They always say “easy” with extra emphasis, pausing before and after 

Crispy Chocolate Rice Squares

Crispy Chocolate Rice Squares

Swag. It used to mean some sort of garland or window dressing. But times have changed. Ignoring the Urban Dictionary’s profanity-laced first definition, I pieced together other entries and conclude it’s an overused term meaning one’s personal style or attitude. I think it’s the new 

Mushrooms Rockefeller

Mushrooms Rockefeller

I got myself into this and I’m going to get myself out. I did not, repeat not, acquire a one-trick pony of a pan. I could point you to the Indian, Thai, Korean and Japanese variations of the aebleskiver, but really, they’re all just spins on batter 

Cumin Carrots with Cilantro Vinaigrette

Cumin Carrots with Cilantro Vinaigrette

Fool me once, shame of you. Fool me twice (a dozen times), shame, shame, double-shame on me. It took years, but I learned my lesson. No Newspaper Recipes. None. Do not clip them for me. I will throw them out. Do not make them for