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.

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.

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

Surprise your taste buds with these tasty burgers.

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.

Pick up cooked chicken fillets, bagged salad, cheese, mango and ciabatta bread at the supermarket on your way home from work and assemble this salad in minutes. The hearty vinaigrette pairs well with leftover turkey too.

Take advantage of fall’s bounty with these vegetarian stacks topped off with bubbly cheese. It may seem time-consuming to create “Napoleons” but they stack up in a snap. Try to find an eggplant and tomatoes of approximately the same circumference.

Recipe adapted from the Canadian Beef Information Centre. Steak Burgers are packed with more flavour than just what’s on top! With fresh ground Round, Chuck or Sirloin from your local grocer, it’s easy to make these signature burgers at home.

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.

It’s very important to get tomatoes that are in season because they are what make the dish.

With the addition of olive oil to the herbs, this classifies as a ‘wet rub.’ For a more colourful mix, try purple and yellow potatoes, too. I sometimes add about one-quarter cup of grated Pecorino cheese to the oil for an extra kick. Cut back on the salt if adding the cheese.

Recipe adapted from the Canadian Beef Information Centre. These lean Canadian beef burgers really sizzle: spiked with smoky bacon, chunks of Canadian Swiss and punchy horseradish. Try them either on the grill or cooked in the oven. Other cheese options to try: Canadian Mozzarella, medium Cheddar, Provolone or Gouda.

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.

Vancouver food guru Lesley Stowe, who devotes much of her life these days to manufacturing and distributing her beyond-delicious Raincoast Crisps (www.lesleystowe.com ) shares a favourite recipe: It’s an “easy mid-week dinner, or leisurely weekend lunch that’s healthy, sexy and spicy.” Everything you want, says Lesley, in a quick-and-easy pasta dish. This dish screams for a Pinot Grigio from Alto Adige. Say that ten times fast.

You can buy frozen meatballs, but freshly made meatballs are so much better and so easy to make.

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.

My BFFs are a wonderful group of women who meet regularly to eat, drink, talk and laugh together. One of the gang, Nancy B, is a vegetarian and an amazing cook. She makes cooking look effortless, especially when she whipped up a delicious frittata for us at our after-Christmas party. Nancy added sautéed zucchini and goat cheese to the frittata. This is my version — use whatever you have on hand to make your own!

Figs are the most underrated fruit of all time, and I will continue to be their greatest fan. They are a good source of potassium, calcium, iron and dietary fibre. Reputed to be Cleopatra’s favourite fruit, figs were also enjoyed daily by the petulant Persian king Xerxes who ate the fruit to remind himself he no longer controlled Greece, the land where figs grew abundantly. The ancient Romans revered the fig tree as sacred and offered the first fruits of the season to the god Bacchus who is often depicted as wearing a crown of fig leaves. Somewhere in time, we lost our connection to this noble fruit. Forget the Newtons and all the other ways in which you’ve grown to hate figs. Try them in a dish with gorgonzola cheese and walnuts. Then fall on your knees: you’ve been converted.

Cook this recipe up even faster by picking up pre-washed and cut greens from the supermarket.

Mild sweet leeks are available year round but their peak season begins in the fall. Trim off the root end and green leaves, and use only the tender white part. Be sure to wash thoroughly as leeks can be gritty. Mushrooms, like leeks, are grown in dirt. Although some cooks prefer to gently wipe mushrooms, I always wash them in cold running water, patting them dry afterward with a paper towel.

Risotto is very easy to make. Give it a little attention as it simmers, and you’ll end up with a flavourful and enticing dish.

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

This recipe is courtesy of La Fontaine de Bernn snail farm.

The key to smooth, creamy spaghetti carbonara is to make sure that the heat under the pot has been turned off. The heat from the drained pasta is enough to cook the eggs without scrambling them.

This recipe is a family heirloom. We all make some version of it. New brides in our family get the recipe and a large pasta bowl along with unsolicited and long-winded advice on how to make it. My niece Katie actually wrote a paper on it for school, following its history and its many versions through the family tree. This dish never appears at family gatherings since we all make it at home. But we often talk about how we make it and argue over whose version is best. Unlike the rest of my weight-conscious family, I use an entire pound of bacon, easily making mine the best — or the worst, depending on how you look at it.

When she presented me with her The Lesley Stowe Fine Foods Cookbook (HarperCollins), my friend Lesley wrote “Never eat more than you can lift” on the opening page, and ever since I have heeded the advice. Lesley is a food icon in Vancouver, and has made a national name for herself with her Raincoast Crisps, delicious and nutritious crackers that have made their way into food stores and supermarkets across the land. If you can find some, top them with Lesley’s sun-dried tomato pesto.

A strata is a sandwich that is baked in a very light custard -- actually, a lot like dressed up French toast. This one's perfect for breakfast, brunch or lunch.

Recipe courtesy of the Dairy Farmers of Canada.