Ingredients

• 8 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1/2 cup (125 mL) flour
• 1 tsp (5 mL) tarragon
• 1/2 tsp (2 mL) salt
• 2 tbsp (30 mL) butter
• 1/2 cup (125 mL) dry white wine
• 2 tbsp (30 mL) lemon juice

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 F (180 C). Place chicken breasts between wax paper and flatten to 1/2″ (1.3 cm) thickness. Combine flour, tarragon and salt; mix to combine. Dip chicken breasts into flour mixture, shaking off excess. In a skillet set over medium-high heat, melt butter. Add chicken to pan and sauté until lightly browned, approximately 4 minutes each side. Add more butter if chicken begins to stick to pan. Transfer chicken to baking dish. Deglaze skillet with wine, scraping up brown bits. Reduce heat slightly. Add lemon juice, stir, and pour over chicken breasts. Bake in oven for approximately 15 minutes.

Remove from oven and serve immediately.

Serves 8

Ingredients

• 1 lb (500 g) ground lamb
• Large fresh morels (quantity depends on size)
• 1/4 cup (60 mL) chopped fresh tarragon
• 1/4 tsp (1 mL) ground cardamom
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 egg
• 3 tbsp (45 mL) cracker crumbs

Directions

Select same-size morels for even cooking. Clean and slice morels lengthwise. Number needed varies between 6 and 20 depending on size. Mix remaining ingredients in
a bowl. Stuff each half of the morel with the mixture. Bake in a glass-baking dish at 350 F for 25-35 minutes until meat mixture is just cooked (no pink colour remains). In smaller morels, this makes a delicious appetizer. Larger morels make a great main dish served with salad.

Serves 6

Ingredients

• Arm River Twice-Baked Potatoes:

  • 5 Yukon Gold or red potatoes
  • 1 cup (250 mL) ranch dressing
  • 3 tbsp (45 mL) thinly sliced green onions
  • 4 strips bacon, cooked, crumbled
  • 1/2 tbsp (7 mL) chopped fresh parsley
  • 1 cup (250 mL) grated Cheddar cheese
  • 1 1/2 tsp (7 mL) salt
  • 1/2 tsp (2 mL) pepper
  • 1/2 tsp (2 mL) garlic salt
  • Grated Parmesan cheese for garnish

• Lydia’s Garlic Buns:

  • 5 cups (1.25 L) milk
  • 2 1/2 cups (625 mL) cold water
  • 1 tbsp (15 mL) instant yeast
  • 1 cup (250 mL) sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 1/2 cup (125 mL) butter at room temperature
  • 15 cups (3.5 L) flour, approximately
  • Garlic salt
  • Melted butter
  • Parsley flakes
  • Sesame seeds

Directions

Arm River Twice-Baked Potatoes:
In a preheated 400 F (200 C) oven, bake potatoes until soft, about 1 hour. Cut in half lengthwise. Carefully scoop out potatoes so as not to tear the skin. In a medium-sized bowl, mash potato. Add dressing, green onions, bacon, parsley, Cheddar cheese, salt, pepper and garlic salt. Spoon stuffing into shells and sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese. Bake another 20 minutes at 350 F (180 C).

Lydia�s Garlic Buns:
Scald milk; add water and instant yeast. In a separate bowl, beat sugar, egg and butter together; add to milk mixture. Add enough all-purpose flour to make a soft dough. Knead 10 minutes. Cover and let rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour. Punch down dough and turn over; cover and let rise again. Form into golf-ball sized portions. Grease 5 to 6 pie plates. Sprinkle bottoms with garlic salt. Set 10 to 12 buns into each plate. Cover and let rise 1 hour. Brush top of buns with melted butter, sprinkle with parsley flakes, garlic salt, and sesame seeds. Bake in a preheated 350 F (180 C) oven for 20 to 25 minutes.

Serves 10

Ingredients

• 1 roasting chicken, about 7 lb (3.5 kg)
• 1/2 cup (125 mL) room temperature butter
• 1 tbsp (15 mL) fresh parsley, chopped, plus 5 sprigs
• 1 tbsp (15 mL) fresh rosemary, chopped
• 1 tsp (5 mL) dried thyme
• 1 tsp (5 mL) fresh ground pepper
• Zest of 1 lemon, reserving lemon
• 2 shallots, roughly chopped
• Sea salt and fresh ground pepper

Directions

In a mixing bowl combine butter, parsley, rosemary, thyme, pepper and lemon zest; blend well. Preheat oven to 400 F (200 C). Sprinkle salt in main cavity of chicken. Stuff cavity with shallots, parsley and lemon that has been cut into quarters. Starting at neck end, slide fingers under skin of breast and upper part of legs, loosening skin. Spread 1/4 cup (60 mL) of mixed butter under skin around breast and upper leg meat. Place chicken on a rack in a large roasting pan, tying legs together with butcher’s string. Sprinkle top of chicken with sea salt and fresh ground pepper. Roast chicken for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and brush with
1 tbsp (15 mL) butter mixture. Return to oven for another 30 minutes. Remove chicken from oven again and brush with 1 tbsp (15 mL) butter. Return to oven and continue to cook until a thermometer inserted into thickest part of thigh registers 180 F (80 C). Remove chicken from
rack and place on a platter; tent with foil for 10 minutes. Carve and serve immediately.

Serves 4

Credit: Brandon Boone

My mother-in-law says I must have a certain type of blood flowing through me that may explain the reason for my constant desire to eat meat, nay, crave meat at every meal.

I’m not sure if it’s blood related, a result of what my Mom made me as I was growing up (lots of meat and potatoes) or just a general like of consuming this protein, but it’s true–I love a hunk of meat as part of my meal.

There’s a ton of information out there that suggests a diet that contains meat at every meal can increase my risk of developing obesity, diabetes or cardiovascular disease. That said, I’m a big time believer in moderation so if my daily meat consumption falls within Canada Food Guides recommended amounts, where does that leave me?

In between methinks.

Our in-house nanny who takes care of my little girls during the week is a vegetarian and as part of her compensation, we agreed to provide her with lunch, snacks and beverages throughout her workday. As a big meat-eater, that has at times caused me to rack my brain for meal options for her that simply aren’t ones I’m making for our family dinner without the meat added.

They need to be healthy, tasty and complete meaning, it can’t just be a big bowl of pasta or beans–there needs to be vegetables and some kind of protein alternative in there too.

In the past, I’ve bought commercially prepared vegetable burgers as an option and after making one and tasting it, there was so way I could subject her, or any person for that matter, to something so fake tasting.

So, into the kitchen I go.

After tinkering around with a whack of ingredients and combinations, I’ve finally devised a recipe for what I think is truly a delicious and deluxe veggie burger.

And you my lucky readers, get the fruit (or should that be vegetable?) of my labour!

Without further ado, here’s the goods:

Pinto & Rice Burger with Chili Lime Coleslaw

Burger:

8 oz can pinto beans

1 cup cooked brown and wild rice blend

1/2 cup diced tomatoes

1/2 cup minced shallot

1/4 cup yellow cornmeal

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, minced

4 garlic cloves minced

Salt and pepper

1 cup peanut oil, for frying

4 Kaiser buns, cut and toasted

Coleslaw:

3 cups bagged coleslaw

3/4 cup sour cream

1/4 cup cold-pressed canola oil

2 tsp cayenne

1/4 cup chili powder

1 tbsp brown sugar

zest and juice from 1 lime (or more to taste)

Salt and pepper, to taste

DIRECTIONS:
Burger:
Combine all ingredients in a bowl and knead together with your hands. Form into 4 patties. Heat oil in a skillet set over medium heat. Panfry patties in oil until golden and crispy. Remove from oil and let drain on paper towels.

To Assemble:

Place 1 patty on a bun and top with coleslaw. Serve immediately.

Serves 4

While to some it may seem like I’m cooking five-course meals most nights, even we have ones where I’m looking for something still made from scratch, but doesn’t keep me cooking in the kitchen for too long.

To wit, I default to a shrimp pasta dish that takes very little time, but pays out big in flavour.

It’s got a little of everything I love–some heat, some savoury and some sweetness.

First off, shrimp.

I never buy anything smaller than 31-40 a pound as the smaller stuff, in my opinion, tastes too briny and fishy. My wife for many years balked at the idea of eating a shrimp dish because as she was growing up, I believe her mom used only the little baby ones.

Honestly, if I was only exposed to that kind (and flavour) of shrimp, I think I’d run screaming from the house at the thought of consuming them for dinner too. (Sorry Mom #2).

But, if you stick with the bigger ones, you won’t run into that problem.

For fast dinners, I go for shrimp peeled and deveined too. If you’re a keener or have the time, buying bulk shrimp that haven’t had this done to them is WAY cheaper but obviously, requiring more of your time to prep. That said, when serving a lot of them at something such as a cocktail party, save yourself a few bucks and go this route as you’ll get a lot more for your grocery dollar.

And without further ado, the recipe:

Shrimp Linguine with Garlic, Chile Flakes & Grape Tomatoes

1 pkg linguine

1/4 cup olive oil

1 head of garlic, peeled and cloves minced

2 tsp (10 mL) chile flakes (or more to taste)

1 pint grape tomatoes, half of them cut in half

1/4 cup white wine

2 cups baby spinach, trimmed

1 lb 31-40 shrimp, thawed or fresh

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS:

Prepare linguine according to directions on the box. When al dente, reserve 1/4 cup of water from the pot before draining.

In a skillet set over low heat, combine oil, garlic, chile flakes and tomatoes. Cook for about 5 to 7 minutes or until the garlic is very fragrant but now browned. Add wine, spinach and shrimp to pan and cook until shrimp is pink and spinach is wilted. Add linguine, reserved water and Parmesan cheese, tossing to coat. Season with salt and pepper and serve immediately.

Serves 2 (with leftovers)