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

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

I ordered a wedge salad on one of my first dates back in the 1960s and felt very grown-up doing so. This satisfying salad fell out of fashion for many years but is now popping up on restaurant menus again.

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.

Recipe courtest of the Dairy Farmers of Canada.

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. 

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.

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. 

Most of the components of this dish can be prepared ahead, allowing you lots of time to enjoy your guests. Recipe adapted from Gina Steer’s The Fondue Cookbook (Whitecap Books).

If you have trouble finding some of the ingredients for this dish, there are some easy substitutions you can make, and you will still end up with the same delicious results. For the tamarind, make a paste out of lemon juice and dried dates, or use 1/2 cup cider vinegar mixed with 1 Tbsp sugar. For the galangal, use fresh ginger. For the lemon grass, use the rind of 4 small lemons.

Some people prefer to blend all the ingredients together while others prefer the look of mixed and chopped ingredients. Experiment to find which method is your favourite.

Recipe adapted from Great Foods of the World -- Regional Italian, Mexican and Asian Cooking by Evan Kleiman, Susan Feninger, Mary Sue Milliken, Joyce Jue (Fog City Press).

Feel free to prepare corn up to 1 day ahead. Instead of tying the corn husk in place, seal each ear with its husk in foil. The corn can then cook over direct or indirect heat.

Save time by preparing the béchamel sauce while the meat sauce simmers. The lasagna can be assembled up to one day ahead. Cover and chill, then when you're ready, bake it.

This recipe is comprised of five steps. The first four steps can each be made a day or two ahead. Don't feel daunted by the long list of ingredients and the many steps. The variety of chilies can be found at Mexican grocery stores as well as at Whole Foods stores. If worse comes to worst, don't sweat it. Use whatever chilies you can lay your hands on. Remember, by doing exactly that, the Mexicans created a handful of delicious mole variations.

It doesn’t get much better than this. Thick potato planks with a cup of bacon-flavoured dip. This is the dish to bring out whenever there’s a sports crowd at your home.

Serve the flavourful chicken over Thai Kitchen Select Harvest Jasmine Rice. Recipe courtesy of McCormick Canada.

Adapted from A. Jan Howarth’s The Canadian Fish Cookbook.

Change the toppings, grill it on a charcoal or propane barbecue .... This recipe is quick, easy and delicious.

Accompany this delicious chicken with buttered capellini pasta and a green salad with slivers of fresh fennel.

I always have a bag of frozen shrimp on hand for a quick weekday meal. You can vary this recipe by using whatever vegetables you have on hand. Just don’t forget the bacon!

This recipe by Chef Andrew George Jr. is taken from the book he co-wrote with Robert Gairns titled Feast! Canadian Native Cuisine For All Seasons. "This is a great favourite of anyone I prepare it for," George says. "The recipe is quite simple, and the end product is spectacular. Think of it: smoked duck breast, and red wine, and juniper berries. Use your imagination as you read this recipe and the flavours will almost jump off the page onto your palate, even before you start cooking."

Serve with very thinly sliced cucumber marinated in seasoned rice vinegar.

Looking for something different? Try this specialty adapted from Sarma Melngailis of One Lucky Duck consisting of raw cacao mole, marinated portobellos and green tomato salsa.