This dish comes together so quickly it will amaze you and your family. You can try it with Thai green or yellow curry as well. To save time, purchase peeled uncooked shrimp.

This decadent dessert is impressive and easy to make.

For a Mexican dinner, I substitute tomato salsa and guacamole for the Mango Salsa. Sautéed sweet red peppers and onions make a delicious side dish.

Adapted from The Fondue Cookbook by Gina Steer (Whitecap Books).

Courtesy of www.pc.ca.

So simple to make with so few dishes to clean up - a nutritious dinner in a bowl. This dish can be prepared quickly in the microwave. However, a wok or frying pan can be used as an alternative.

Serve with cherry or plum dipping sauce. Adapted from a VH Sauces recipe.

This white, meaty fish has great flavour whether its prepared simply or not. Rice and sautéed spinach make delicious accompaniments.

This takes forever to make, but man, is it good!

I deliberately buy too many bananas so I always have a few extra in the freezer for this bread. When bananas are just past the point of ripeness, peel and chop, then freeze them in a freezer bag or container. Be sure to use within two months. This recipe calls for sour cream or plain yogurt, which both happen to be staples in my fridge. They keep well and can be used for many other recipes as well. Plain yogurt is particularly delicious as a dessert when drizzled with honey.

Flank steak is a tougher cut of beef. It will be even juicier if you let it sit overnight in a marinade containing the juices of 1 lemon, 1 orange and 1 lime.

Beef tenderloin is an expensive cut, but instead of treating your friends to a fancy restaurant, make dinner at home. It will cost less than dining at a high-end steak joint.

This recipe has 3 components to it -- beets, goat cheese phyllo packets and an egg. You can choose to put all three together on one dish, make 3 distinct dishes, or create one unique combination.

This dish comes together in minutes, but be sure to turn on the fan because the cooking process creates some smoke. Serve French fries and a cooling side of coleslaw with the catfish.

Soy beverages in Tetra Pak cartons are a great alternative to buttermilk and it is full of vitamins and minerals.

Recipe courtesy of Lobel’s Meat Bible (Raincoast Books).

Surprise your taste buds with these tasty burgers.

Recipe courtest of the Dairy Farmers of Canada.

These delicious kabobs are perfect for barbecue cottage cuisine. Recipe courtesy of The Beef Information Centre.

This is a very yummy grilled flank steak recipe that I tried for the first time in Southern California. It’s a no-fail recipe that makes good use of a tough cut of beef. Serve with hot tortillas and salsa or with a side of grilled corn on the cob.

Recipe courtesy of McCormick Canada.

Serve this soup hot or chilled. Recipe adapted from Oster. 

This is a family recipe that has been passed down through the ages. This is not one of those crisp-tender veggie dishes — you cook the cauliflower until it’s soft and well-steeped with wine. If purple cauliflower isn’t your thing, try it with dry white wine. My older brother Allen prefers this dish made with red-wine vinegar and sugar rather than with regular vino. Try it all three ways and see what you think.

A soufflé isn't as tricky to make as is often thought. It's true that it must be served immediately for all to enjoy the sight of that spectacular puffy top. But, it's actually very tasty regardless of whether its "breath" has escaped and deflated it.

You can prepare the simple sauce a day in advance. Just heat before serving. When you're ready to serve it, arrange broccoli on a serving platter and top with chicken. Pour sauce over chicken and sprinkle with basil and green onion, if desired. Recipe courtesy of McCormick Canada.

I have been a paté freak ever since earlier writing times, when I would sit at the bar at Thursday’s in Montréal with a loaf of it, a jar of small, sweet gherkins and a red (probably plum) sauce. Whether or not there was bread, I can't remember. But it was a coarse paté; you could see the lumps and taste masses of herbs and tonnes of garlic. You don't forget things like that, especially in the first twelve or so hours! This recipe calls on several others, but ended up being mostly my own. I use frozen livers, and just before they thaw, cut them up like red ice cubes. It's less yucky than having a great glob of fresh meat!

My mother started making this dish when we were small. Imagine four little kids sitting around a dinner table with palates so refined that we scarfed up Chicken Marsala like other kids eat Kraft Dinner. Of course, we threw chicken at each other when our parents weren’t looking, so we weren’t totally refined. I use sweet Marsala Fine for a great tasting sauce.

Tuck the grilled chicken pieces into a pita, or lay them on top of hot buttered rice. For a great taste variation, try using turkey, pork or lamb in place of the chicken. You can also roast or broil the meat in the oven instead of grilling it.

There's nothing like homemade stock. Yes, it takes hours to simmer, but the resulting flavour is unequalled. Here's my take on a classic. Feel free to add your own variations to it.

The flavour of the dish will change depending on the type of curry you use, so pick the curry flavour you like best and run with it, paste or powder. I buy chicken breast fillets when they’re on sale and keep them in the freezer for quick no-fuss meals.

I had this lovely autumn dish at a restaurant and experimented with it at home. A light sprinkling of cayenne pepper adds just enough bite to balance the sweet sauce. This is delicious with mashed red potatoes and steamed broccoli, which is exactly how the restaurant served it to me.

Hot chili and chocolate make a surprisingly good combination. Sweet, smooth chocolate flavour melts on your tongue and satisfies your taste buds, then finishes with a kick of heat.

This Chocolate Ice Cream recipe has only 6 ingredients, requires no cooking, and with the right equipment is ready in 30 minutes.

Although this recipe calls for liqueur, whisky, rum or any other spirit would work as well.

This recipe is adapted from Tom Jaine's and Nicholas Campion's book, Cosmic Cuisine - The Astrological Cookbook (Windward).

This is the classic recipe that's typically used to make profiteroles (cream puffs) and croquembouche. 

Recipe adapted from Cosmic Cuisine - The Astrological Cookbook by Tom Jaine and Nicholas Campion.

Spread your favourite jam on each crêpe and spoon a dollop of whipped cream sweetened with sugar and a splash of Luxardo Maraschino liqueur to transform this appetizer into a luscious dessert. Updated from an old recipe I had from Sunset Magazine.

A court bouillon is a seasoned liquid that is cooked for only a short time. Once it has simmered for 30 minutes, it can be used to blanch vegetables or to gently cook fish or snails. 

A decidedly different cranberry sauce. Serve warm or cold.

Dried cranberries sometimes contain a trace amount of oil on the surface. Take a moment and use paper towels to blot off any oily film floating on the strained liqueur.

I’m not going to lie to you — there is some work upfront on this dish. A mandoline helps to slice the potatoes uniformly and it speeds up the process. Once the potatoes are in the oven, you’re home-free until dinnertime. This dish works with the Beef Tenderloin in taste, oven temperature and cooking time. Leftovers are fabulous and will make you the envy of the company lunchroom.