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

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.

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

Continuing on the Russian theme, this is a dish we’ve all eaten at least once, probably years ago. The name alone — where it came from, no-one seems to know — makes any home cook feel important. And the taste, no matter what cut of beef you may choose to use (recipes call for everything from yesterday’s prime rib, to filet, to skirt steak — your choice), offers pure rib-sticking comfort.

For an easy afternoon snack, whip up this delicious soy smoothie, using Tetra Pak packaged soy beverage. Use your favourite local berries for a treat the whole family will love.

Nothing blah about them. Crisp bacon and lettuce teamed up with avocado is an inspiring threesome. Go BLA!

Recipe courtesy of www.pc.ca .

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

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.

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.

Another fun dish, which when done with minimal care can make you a kitchen hero. Especially when the butter spurts. Steamed vegetables, minimally seasoned, will pair nicely with this rich dish.

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.

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.

Spread this delicious curd on toast and croissants, use it to fill pastry shells, or pour into a pretty jar and give it away.

After a month or so, citrus-based vinegars lend their bittersweet flavour and fragrance to the vinegar. You can even slice up the fruit and use it (peel and all) in salads and roasts.

There’s a difference of opinion on this one: some of my tasters preferred a sharp wedge of Gorgonzola with the salad, others favoured the milder Brie. You decide what’s best for you. To make this a dinner salad, add grilled chicken and a baguette.

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.

Not a rub at all, but a creamy dressing that takes advantage of the herbs in your cupboard. Change it up based on what herbs you have on hand.

Be sure to choose firm cucumbers for this dish. English Cucumbers are the easiest to use because they contain minimal seeds. Otherwise, you can remove the seeds from other cucumber varieties with a small spoon.

Christine Sharp submitted this recipe for Tidings' Maple Syrup Recipe Contest

She makes a simple applesauce to accompany pork that all of her guests rave about.  It has a certain je ne sais quoi, except that only she and her husband know exactly what the "quoi" is. She likes the fact that no one can really tell what makes it taste so good.  The secret is a tablespoon each of maple syrup and calvados.

Skip takeout and start making easy-breezy sandwiches at home. This steak wrap couldn’t be simpler and comes with way less attitude than the teenager rolling up your sub sandwich at the strip mall.

The 3 - 2 - 1 ratio of flour, buter and water is the secret to making the ultimate flakey pie crust.

Adapted from a recipe by Oster.

In India, a chat is a snack, an appetizer or a light salad.

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 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.

My friend John Ash, a great writer who founded his own restaurant twenty-four years ago in California’s Sonoma County, says that one of the simplest and best ways to cook asparagus is to give it a light coating of olive oil and grill it. Grilling, says John, brings out the sweetness and more of the “vegetal” notes. It may also diminish that other unmentionable asparagus attribute! Add some good olives, thinly sliced prosciutto and maybe a sprinkling of fried capers for a delicious antipasti course. Wine? I’m sure that John would suggest a Russian River Sauvignon Blanc.

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

This recipe is quick and tasty. It's a great way to use up all of those tomatoes that are so abundant in late summer.

This is a quick and delicious appetizer courtesy of McCormick Canada. The shrimp can be replaced with large scallops. Serve with lemon or lime wedges. These are also delicious cold. Remember, if you're using wooden skewers to soak them in water 2 hours to prevent burning.

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.

This honey-sweetened vinaigrette is a perfect complement for green or fruit salad. Adapted from a recipe by McCormick Canada 

This has been a mainstay at any number of restaurants for years, a dive-in dip that can be made ahead of time and heated for the appetizer moment. Invite one of your guests to pour the Champagne, while you uncork a big red for later. (And remember, the trick with Champagne: after you’re unwired the cork, covered it with a napkin and pointed the bottle in an innocent direction, hold the cork and twist the bottle.)

The weather has been a little erratic this winter. But we’re still skiing up a storm — no pun intended. In this version of a traditional Mayan chocolate drink, you get a little spike of heat from the chili. If you need a bigger spike, throw a little Irish Cream into the mix.

The stuff you love to order at Greek restaurants, but you rarely make at home. It's very easy, seems to last well in the fridge and is marvellous for those 20 hungry minutes just before dinner.

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.

Recipe courtesy of Oster.

Read Kitchen Essentials -- Meringue for tips and tricks on how to prepare this simple, gourmet dessert.

Henny Smith submitted this maple syrup-based recipe for the Tidings' Maple Syrup Recipe Contest.

Henny's recipe for maple pie is made with her own dark syrup. It is a variation on a maple tart recipe from Harrowsmith Country Life.

To make this mocha even more decadent, add a splash of amaretto liqueur.