Classic Coleslaw

Such a classic summer dish. So versatile and fresh on a hot summer day. As an FYI, these measurements are what one might call strongly "guesstimated" as I really didn't measure anything at all. Just go for it - any combination you make will probably taste great and "coleslaw" is a very loose term anyways. I don't like my coleslaw very 'mayonnaisey' but many folks do so feel free to play around with the quantities of ingredients. I also recently heard of a 'blueberry coleslaw' that I think I'll have to try (and post!) sometime soon. Bon appétit folks!

Ingredients
1 cabbage
2/3 cup creamy salad dressing (like Miracle Whip)
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon cider vinegar

1 apple
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon poppy seeds

Directions

1. Thinly chop your cabbage, shred carrot & apple and combine in a large bowl.

2. Whisk together the salad dressing, vegetable oil, sugar, vinegar, salt, and poppy seeds in a medium bowl; blend thoroughly. Pour dressing mixture over coleslaw mix and toss to coat. Chill before serving.

Garlicky Roasted Asparagus

I love asparagus. Among all the vegetables, it's probably one of my favourite (besides baby spinach maybe... and broccoli, I also really love broccoli). I have recently been thinking of growing my own in the garden - have any of you ever tried growing asparagus? Everything I have read though says that it will probably take at least  three years before I can chew on a homegrown asparagus stalk. Three years. That will make me 30. Hmm. Homegrown asparagus + 3 years = 30. I can only hope to harvest my own 30 asparagus by the time I hit 30. Gardening certainly teaches one to be patient. 

This is a delicious, vibrant side. Having a quality garlic press will make things a WHOLE lot easier for you. Easy goes it on the oil though as these guys can get quite oily quite quickly. Bon appétit!


Ingredients
2 pounds asparagus, trimmed
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced or pressed
Coarse salt and ground pepper

Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. On a large rimmed baking sheet, toss asparagus with oil and garlic; season with salt and pepper. Roast until tender and browned in spots, 15 to 18 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

- recipe cred Everyday Food; picture EEE Cooks

Mango Chicken Salad

Yum. So easy. So simple. So tasty. And, possibly best of all, it's so darn good for you. What more can I say? Bon appétit!

Ingredients
4 cups arugula (or any other greens)

1 mango, peeled and sliced into 1-inch-long pieces
1 red pepper, trimmed, seeded, and sliced into 1-inch-long pieces
1 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
Sea salt
2 teaspoons honey
1 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 boneless chicken breast (about 4 ounces)
1/4 cup slivered almonds
+ anything else you like in your salad!

Directions
1. In a large bowl, combine arugula, mango, and red pepper. In another, smaller bowl, whisk together olive oil, vinegar, and a pinch of salt. Set aside.

2. In a shallow, wide bowl, stir together honey and mustard. Add chicken and toss to evenly coat.

3. Grill chicken over medium-high heat (or cook in a skillet with 2 teaspoon olive oil) until golden brown, 8 to 10 minutes, turning once halfway through. When done, chicken should register about 165 degrees on a meat thermometer, and juices should run clear when pierced with a knife. Transfer to a cutting board and let sit 5 to 7 minutes.

4. Slice chicken into 1-inch-long pieces. Add to salad; toss to combine. Add balsamic vinaigrette and almonds; toss again before serving.

- recipe & photocred Delish.com

BBQ'ed Jerk Chicken

Homemade jerk chicken? Oh soooooo good. Such authentic flavours and smells, I`m telling you guys - it was truly amazing man. We have a pre-made jerk seasoning that we often use to make this dish, but today I felt like trying to make this recipe from scratch. The result? I`m throwing out that pre-fab crap. It just didn`t compare. Jerk seasoning, if you are unfamiliar with it, is based on two main ingredients - chili peppers (or habaneros) and allspice, and is a Caribbean staple. You can make your seasoning plenty spicy if that`s what floats your boat and the leftovers are great the next day in a chicken salad. Serve up with some plantains or rice and a very large glass of über cold beer.Warning: this is a marinading dish that takes a couple of hours so you`ll want to try this recipe on a Saturday or possibly even prepare it the night before or something. Taking the time to marinade the chicken REALLY pays off so it`s not a step you want to skip.  Bon appétit!


Ingredients
1 bunch scallions, chopped (3/4 cup)
1 garlic cloves, chopped
1/2 a jalapeno chile, chopped (ribs and seeds removed, for less heat)
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice
1 tablespoon olive oil, plus more for grates
1/2 tablespoon light-brown sugar
1 teaspoons ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Coarse salt
4 pieces bone-in chicken (drumsticks and thighs), skinned and trimmed of excess fat

Directions
1. Make marinade: In a blender, combine scallions, garlic, jalapeno, lime juice, oil, sugar, allspice, thyme, cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1 tablespoon water; blend until smooth. Set aside 1/8 cup for brushing.

2. Place chicken in a shallow dish; season all over with salt. Pour remaining marinade over chicken; toss to coat. Cover; refrigerate, turning once or twice, at least 2 hours, or up to overnight.

3. Heat grill to medium-high; oil grates. Lift chicken from marinade, letting excess drip off (discard marinade); place on grill, and cover. Cook, turning occasionally, until chicken is blackened in spots, about 10 minutes.

4. Move chicken to a cooler part of the grill; brush with reserved marinade. Grill, covered, until chicken is cooked through, 10 to 15 minutes more. Serve immediately.

Shrimp Scampi

"Shrimp scampi". Sounds so gourmet that it must be incredibly difficult - right? Heck no. Cooking up this dish will testify to the fact that fancy does not always mean hours in the kitchen. Scampi is possibly one of the the most popular ways to cook up shrimpies and the nice thing about it is that it's super easy and super quick (no more than 10 minutes from start to finish - booya!).

For this recipe, you can use either raw or precooked shrimp. If you are using the precooked variety, cook them just long enough to heat them and coat them with that wonderful garlic butter sauce. You'll need to thaw them first though and don't forget to rinse em' out. We served our shrimp with sides of baked sweet chili sweet potatoes and oven asparagus. Bon appétit!

Ingredients:

About a dozen large shrimp
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons minced garlic
2 green onions, thinly sliced
1/8 cup dry white wine
1 tablespoon lemon juice, fresh if possible + zest
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Rinse shrimp and set aside. Heat butter in large skillet over medium heat. Cook garlic 1 or 2 minutes or until softened but not browned.

2. Add shrimp, green onions, wine, zest and lemon juice; cook until shrimp are pink and firm, about 1 to 2 minutes on each side. Do not overcook.

3. Add chopped parsley and salt and pepper before serving. Garnish with lemon slices and parsley sprigs if desired.

- recipe cred Diana Rattray

Stove-Top Popcorn

Anyone who knows me knows that I love stove-top popcorn. Just love it. I feel that it's almost a lost art that needs to be preserved and passed down to the generations to follow. My Papa died when I was only 4-5 and one of the very few memories that I have of him is him shaking away the popcorn pot at the stove - sparks flying from the friction on the electric burner! So why should you make popcorn on the stove-top and not just throw in a package of the microwave variety? Well, there's a couple of reasons:

1) With homemade popcorn, you can control the amount of butter and salt. 

2) You don't get that icky film on the roof of your mouth from the artificial flavourings in microwave popcorn. 

3) Stove top popcorn has a much richer taste and you end up with significantly less left-over non-popped kernels

4) Making your own popcorn is much, MUCH cheaper than buying the microwave packs. For less than the price of a box of 3 microwave popcorn packs, you can buy a bag of popcorn and get 33 batches out of it. Yes, 33. You just can't beat that. Bon appétit!

Ingredients:

3 Tbsp vegetable oil (essentially, just enough to cover the bottom of your pot)
1/4 cup popcorn kernels
3 Tbsp butter, melted
Salt to taste

Directions:
On medium high heat, add the oil and 1-2 kernels to a large pot. Once the kernels pop, add the remaining kernels and immediately cover the pan. Shake the pot constantly (and I mean SHAKE IT!) until you don't hear any more popping, about 2 minutes. Remove pan from heat and pour popcorn into a large bowl. Drizzle the melted butter over the popcorn and season with salt.

ps - if you'd like a video tutorial, click here :)

Orange & Thyme Grilled Shrimp

More grilled shrimp, what can I say? It's so delicious! This recipe makes up a tasty little dipping sauce that can also be used as a salad dressing. I'm dedicating this recipe to my dear friend and babysitting buddy, Farnaz. This was my first attempt at making dinner with a 1 year old ... needless to say, I did a lot of "supervising". I did make the marinade myself though and surrendered to my love affair of cooking with oranges. The oranges truly were really loved today. So loved that I grated off all their fragrant zest and reamed the crap out of them to steal all their juices. I hope they know they are appreciated. We served these shrimpies up with a nice plate of greens and some naan. Bon appétit!

Ingredients
1 pound large shrimp (about 24), peeled and deveined, tails on
1 1/2 teaspoons grated orange zest, plus 1/2 cup fresh orange juice
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for grates
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1/3 cup light mayonnaise

Directions
1. In a shallow dish, combine shrimp, 1 teaspoon zest, 1/4 cup juice, garlic, oil, 1 tablespoon thyme, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and teaspoon pepper; toss to coat. Marinate in the refrigerator for 30 minutes (or up to 8 hours). Soak eight 8-inch wooden skewers in water 30 minutes before cooking.

2. In a small bowl, combine mayonnaise, remaining 1/2 teaspoon zest, remaining 1/4 cup juice, and remaining 1 teaspoon thyme; season dipping sauce with salt and pepper.

3. Heat grill to medium; lightly oil grates. Thread shrimp onto skewers, and grill, turning once, until shrimp are opaque throughout, 3 to 4 minutes. Serve shrimp with dipping sauce.

- recipe and photo cred to Martha Stewart Everyday Food

Bok Choy, Carrot & Apple Colslaw

This coleslaw turned out to be quite a treat. I had never thought about using bok choy in coleslaw before but why not? It's cabbage pure and simple. Bok choy is so darn good for you too. A big boost of Vitamins A & C. The carrots and great for your eyes too. The freshly grated ginger gave the dish quite a zingy flavour. While talking ginger, I highly recommend that you stick to the suggested 1tsp and don`t overdo it or the ginger can totally take over the flavour. One final note is that this recipe has no mayonnaise, which is nice - just natural flavours from the sweet apple, peppery bok choy, and tangy lemon juice. We served this up with some classic grilled hamburgers. Bon appétit!

Ingredients
1 pound baby bok choy (4 to 6 heads)
1 teaspoon coarse salt
1 peeled apple, cut into matchsticks
2 large shredded carrots
1 tablespoon finely chopped red onion
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 teaspoon finely grated peeled fresh ginger
Coarse salt and ground pepper

Directions

1. Halve baby bok choy lengthwise; rinse under cold water to remove grit. Cut crosswise into thin strips; place in a large colander, and sprinkle with coarse salt. Toss to coat. Top with a plate that fits inside colander; weight with a heavy object (such as a skillet or canned goods). Set aside in sink to drain.

2. In a large bowl, mix apple, carrots, lemon juice, vegetable oil, and peeled fresh ginger. Add bok choy; season with coarse salt and ground pepper. Toss.
- photo cred delish.com

BBQ'ed Tilapia with Cherry Salsa

I felt like quite the chef preparing this dish. I think that any kind of 'cherry' dish will make you feel that way; that, or making your own "salsa" (Martha tends to think outside the salsa box that's for sure). And who doesn't love nice, fresh cherries? And bbq'ed fish? Oh boy. Even if you don't have the time, or the ingredients, to make up the cherry salsa, just preparing  the salted coriander rub for your fish is enough to highly elevate its deliciousness. Paired with a crunchy, feta-topped arugula salad - mmm mmm. I'd recommend chopping up the cherries a little more than what you see in my picture (I halved them) to spread out the cherry flavour a bit more. You could also easily make this salsa with other kinds of fruit like grapes, peach or mango ... or try it with other fishes! Bon appétit!


Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil, plus more for grill grates
1/2 pound (2 cups) cherries, pitted and coarsely chopped
1/2 small red onion, finely chopped
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1 jalapeno chile (ribs and seeds removed), minced
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
coarse salt and ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
4 tilapia fillets (4 to 6 ounces each)

Directions
1. Heat grill to high; lightly oil grates. In a medium bowl, combine cherries, onion, cilantro, jalapeno, and lime juice. Season with salt and pepper, and toss to combine; set salsa aside.

2. In a small bowl, stir together coriander, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Rub tilapia all over with oil; sprinkle with spice mixture.

3. Grill tilapia until opaque around the edges and underside loosens easily from grill, 2 to 3 minutes. Using a metal spatula with a thin blade, flip fish; continue to cook until opaque throughout, 2 to 3 minutes. Serve tilapia topped with cherry salsa.

Tomato and Avocado Salsa

This is such a nice, bright summer salad that is super easy and super yummy. Having a couple of different coloured tomatoes definitely ups the colour palate in this recipe - I had a lot of fun picking out big, small, green and orange tomatoes at the grocery store.  We served this dish with Jerk Chicken on the BBQ (to follow!). Enjoy and as always... bon appetit!

Ingredients
2 pounds assorted tomatoes (any color), sliced or halved if small
1 avocado, halved, pitted, peeled, and sliced
Extra-virgin olive oil

Dash of lemon juice

1 tbs balsamic or cider vinegar
Coarse salt and ground pepper

Directions
On a large plate or platter, arrange tomatoes and avocado. Drizzle with olive oil, balsamic vinegar (or cider vinegar would be nice too), a dash of lemon juice and season with salt and pepper.

- Photo cred Martha Stewart, recipe adapted from Everyday Food

Tandoori Chicken Kabobs

Well, the mercury hit 30C on Monday. Hot time summer in the city. The hottest day of the year so far. I was walking home from work and felt like my poor feeties might melt in to the pavement. The AC was busted and it`s days like that that I say "thank you Lord for the bbq!" With CBC Radio 3 playing in the background, I present to you this delicious bbq dish. It's pretty simple but does take a bit of prep (calls for 2 hours of marinading). Admittedly we marinated it for 0 hours and it still tasted great. We reserved a bit of the sauce for serving given the fact that we skipped the marinating state. Get ready for electric yellow chicken! Bon appétit!


Ingredients
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
4 garlic cloves
1 piece fresh ginger (2 inches)
2 jalapeno chiles, chopped
1 cup plain yogurt
1 tsp turmeric
8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 1 3/4 pounds)

Directions
1. In a blender (or with a hand mixer), puree lime juice, turmeric, garlic, ginger, and chiles. Add yogurt, and blend until smooth.

2. Halve each chicken thigh lengthwise. Thread 4 chicken pieces on each of 4 long skewers. Arrange skewers in a nonmetallic dish; pour marinade over, and turn to coat. Cover; refrigerate at least 2 hours or up to overnight, turning periodically.

3. Heat grill to high; lightly oil grates. Place skewers on grill. Cover grill; cook, turning occasionally, until grill marks are visible and chicken is no longer pink in the center, 8 to 10 minutes.

Spicy Maple Salmon

Unfortunately I forgot to take a picture of this dish, so I included a photo that I am sure most, if not all, Canadians would recognize: the maple syrup tap. How our native Canadians ever figured out how to extract, collect and boil down maple tree sap into syrup, I'm not really sure, but the result really is pure sweet joy. We did this dish on the BBQ, rather than in the oven, and found that it was very helpful to have saved some of the maple/cayenne mixture to pour on your salmon right before serving. Quite a yummy little dish and a fun, new way to spin an old favourite. Bon appétit!

Ingredients:

1 cup long-grain white rice
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 pound skinless salmon fillet, cut into 4 pieces
Coarse salt and ground pepper
Nonstick cooking spray
1/2 of a whole (4 pound) pineapple, peeled, cored, and cut into 8 pieces lengthwise
Lime wedges (optional), for serving

Directions:
1. Heat broiler, with rack in top position. Cook rice according to package instructions.

2. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, stir together maple syrup and cayenne pepper. Season salmon with salt and pepper. Spray a rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray, arrange salmon and pineapple in a single layer, and brush with half the maple syrup glaze. Broil until salmon is cooked through, 8 to 11 minutes, brushing salmon and pineapple with glaze halfway through.

or... alternately:
Heat BBQ grill to medium and lightly oil grates. Cook salmon until coated through, about 2-3 minutes per side. Ensure fish is cooked through. Reserve 1/4 of your maple/cayenne mixture to serve on top of salmon.

3. Cut pineapple into chunks. Serve rice with salmon, pineapple, and lime wedges, if desired. If BBQ'ing, drizzle maple/cayenne mixture over fish. Enjoy!

- recipe cred Martha Stewart

Tequila Lime Grilled Shrimp

Yum. Soooo yummy. Today I made up our dinner menus for the week and decided to have BBQ each and every night. It's supposed to be hot and steamy this week so it'll be nice not to have to cook up the house while we're cooking up our dinner. It's not everyday that you get to cook with tequila and we thankfully just happened to have some on hand from a party last summer.  I'm sure this dish would be tasty with any other hard liquor. I had a swig as I was preparing the marinade and almost cried it burned so much on the way down ... I just don't understand the appeal of hard liquor.. I really don't. Served this up with some delicious greens and grilled corn on the cob. Mmmm. Bon appétit!

Ingredients
1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/4 cup silver or white tequila
1/4 cup lime juice (from about 3 limes)
1/4 cup fresh orange juice (from 1 orange)
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 jalapeno, seeded and minced
Lime wedges (for serving)

Directions1. In a medium nonreactive bowl, stir together shrimp, tequila, lime juice, and orange juice; season with salt and pepper. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate 20 minutes.

2. Heat a grill or grill pan to medium-high. Clean and lightly oil hot grill. Grill shrimp until opaque throughout, 4 to 6 minutes, flipping once. Transfer to a platter and top with jalapeno. Serve shrimp with lime wedges.

- Photo & recipe cred Martha Stewart

Grilled Corn on the Cob

A couple of years ago, a good friend of ours introduced us to what he calls "York Corn on the Cob" (thanks Mr. Rossiter and congrats on getting married buddy!). Essentially, when you've cooked your corn, instead of topping your cobs with the standard salt & butter, 'York Corn' involves topping with a sprinkling of chili powder and a squirt of lime juice. So good! don't knock it til' you've tried it!  This recipe is a little different, but still really quite good. We tried this grilled corn for the first time last week and were so darn pleased with our cooking prowess. If you've never grilled corn before, you're in for a treat. BBQ season is upon us folks - get out there and get grilling :) Bon appetit!


Ingredients
4 ears of corn
Oil, for grates
1 tablespoon butter, cut into 4 pats
Coarse salt and ground pepper
Chili powder or paprika

Directions
1. Peel back husks, leaving them attached at the base of the ear. Remove and discard silk; pull husks back over corn. Place ears in a large bowl or pot; cover with cold water. Let soak 10 minutes.

2. Preheat grill to high; lightly oil grates. Drain corn. Arrange ears on grill. Cover and cook, turning occasionally, using tongs, until husks are slightly charred and corn is tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove ears from grill. Holding bottom of hot ears with a towel, peel back husks and, with a knife, coat kernels with butter. Season corn with salt, pepper, and chili powder or paprika. Serve.

Asian Stir Fry Sauce

This is a super easy, super yummy sauce for any stir fry. So much better than just throwing on some soy sauce and really not all that complicated. If you have never cooked with sesame oil, I highly, highly recommend you get out there and pick some up. It has such a rich, authentic taste. Mmmm. Bon appétit!

Ingredients:
- 3/4 cup chicken broth
- 1 tbs. cornstarch
- 2 tbs. soy sauce
- 2 tbs. rice vinegar
- 2 tbs. Chinese rice wine (or dry sherry, or we used wine)
- 1/2 tsp. sesame oil
- 1 tbs. sugar
- 2 tsp. asian chili sauce

Directions: 
1. Mix all of your ingredients together.
2. Add your sauce to your wok at the end when you have all of your meat/veggies etc. mostly cooked. Stir until your sauce is mostly thickened  - about 3 minutes. Enjoy!

Sweet Heat BBQ Sauce

In exciting Giles`news, my husband and I bought our very first gas bar-b-que. It`s a cute little Cuisinart Tabletop Portable BBQ ... just right for the 2 of us. We`ve had our little hibachi for some time now but were finding that the charcoal was a bit of a pain (though very, very worth it for taste) and wanted something no-hassle that even I could light. In fact, we`ve got some chicken on the go right now. I thought that I would share this yummy BBQ sauce from Jamie Oliver. A good idea would be to make up a bunch ahead of time so as not to be tempted to use store-bought bottles. Just think about the dollars you'll save :)  The nice thing about this recipe too is that it is very low cal. No big sticks of butter (sad for some I know). Bon appétit!

Ingredients:
• 1 orange
• 1 dried chile
• 1 ½ heaped teaspoons smoked paprika
• 1 ½ teaspoons Dijon or English mustard
• 3 tablespoons honey
• 3 tablespoons ketchup
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1/16 teaspoon sea salt and
• freshly ground pepper, to taste

• 1/2 teaspoon liquid heat (if you have some)

Directions:

1. Finely grate the orange zest into a shallow bowl. Crumble in the dried chile. Add the paprika, mustard, honey, ketchup and a splash of olive oil. Season with a small pinch each of the salt and pepper and mix well. Spoon out a few tablespoons of the marinade and set it aside. 

2. Add your chicken (or shrimp, or pork tenderloin or flank steak) to the bowl with the remaining marinade. Turn them over in the marinade so they’re well coated, cover with plastic wrap and leave to sit for 5 to 10 minutes or until the grill is ready.

Stained Glass Tree Cookies

These are Martha`s versions...
so beautifully back lit and practically
perfect in every way!

Okay, so this post is a little Christmassy for Spring but I was chatting with a dear, very pregnant Aussie friend of mine this morning and remembered that I'd made these cookies at her wedding a couple of years ago and just had to share them on the blog. I will be upfront with you all and tell you 2 important things about these cookies 1) they`re gorgeous and you will get tonnes of compliments on your baking prowess and 2) they are an unbelievable pain in the butt to make.  You will probably end up crying and cursing and tossing a third of em' because they'll break or crack or the candy center will leak all over your cookie... you get the idea. I recommend a couple of things: use a nice, wide cookie cutter and do not make the inside triangle too big (or else the dough is bound to break when you transfer it to the cookie sheet). Also, use nice, FRESH candy or else you'll be hammering away at a horrible, gooey mess. Yah. Been there. These little guys really are lovely at a wedding, shower, Christmas party or to hang on your tree... next year! Bon appétit!

Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface
1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
7 ounces assorted clear colored hard candies, such as Jolly Rancher, colors separated and finely chopped (about 30)

Directions
1. Sift together flour, salt, and baking powder into a large bowl; set aside.

2. Put butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add egg; mix until smooth, 1 minute. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture, and mix until combined. Stir in vanilla.Wrap dough in plastic, and refrigerate until cold, about 45 minutes.

3. Preheat oven to 325 degrees, with racks in upper and lower thirds. Roll out chilled dough on a well-floured surface to a little more than 1/8 inch thick. Cut out shapes using a 5-inch tree-shape cookie cutter. Using a metal spatula, space 2 inches apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Using the tip of a paring knife, make a triangular cutout in center of each cookie for candy filling. Reroll scraps, and cut.

4. Sprinkle candy in a single layer in hole of each cookie, avoiding edges of triangle. Refrigerate until dough is firm, about 15 minutes.

5. Bake cookies until candy has melted and completely filled cutout and cookie edges are just starting to turn pale golden brown, 11 to 12 minutes. Do not let the cookies brown, or the candy centers may become bubbly. Let cool completely on sheets on wire racks. Use a metal spatula to remove cookies from parchment. Cookies can be stored in airtight containers at room temperature up to 5 days.

- recipe cred to Martha Stewart Holiday Cookies

Here`s what mine looked like... not too bad if you ask me!

Arépas (Venezuelan Corn Cakes)

As I`ve said in the past, one great thing about having married in to the Giles` family is learning how to make their amazing Venezuelan food - one of the most exciting being the arépas. Arépas in Venezuela are equivalent to our bread here. They`re eaten anytime, anywhere and with whatever you want. This recipe is for tuna-salad style arépas, but I`ve also added a couple of different variations. Arepas were originally made by the indigenous inhabitants of Venezuela and Colombia. These small corncakes are sold in Venezuelan restaurants called "aréperías" and really are stuffed with all manner of different fillings (much like we would a sandwich). From what I understand, in Colombia, arepas are made a little smaller and are spread with butter or topped with cheese. A mini arépas is an 'arépita' (aww! so cute!).

This is what you're looking for!

A couple of important notes: the cornmeal used to make arépas is a special, precooked type that usually goes by the name masarepa, or masa precocida or Harina PAN (it is in a yellow bag with a lady wearing a polka dot head scarf). It can definitely be found in Latino markets but I have also seen it frequently at Freshco and Loblaws. The more commonly found masa harina is not the correct type to use for this recipe.

Buen provecho!

Ingredients (Makes 5-10 arepas)
2 cups Harina PAN Pre-cooked cornmeal (see notes) --
Salt - 1/2 teaspoon (we use a dash of Adobo Seasoning instead)
Water - 1 1/2 cups
Oil - 3 tablespoons

for filling (other ideas posted below):
1 cans of tuna
1 onion, chopped
1 green pepper
mayonaise (mixed to desired consistency)
cheese, shredded for serving on top

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400ºF. In a large bowl, mix together the cornmeal and salt. Pour in 2 1/2 cups of the boiling water and mix with a wooden spoon to form a mass. Cover with a towel or plastic wrap and set aside to rest for 5 to 10 minutes.

2. Using wetted hands, form balls of dough out of about 1/4 cup of dough and press to form a cake about 3 inches wide and 3/4 inch thick. If the dough cracks at the edges, mix in a little more water and then form the cakes.

3. Heat the oil in a sauté pan or skillet over medium-high heat. Sauté the patties, a few at a time, to form a light brown crust on one side, 5 to 6 minutes. Flip and brown on the other side.

4. When all the patties have been browned, transfer them to a baking sheet and bake in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or until they sound lightly hollow when tapped. Serve immediately.

5. Split your arepas in half when finished and scoop out a little of the soft dough filling. Stuff with your chosen filling.

Variations:
- Arépa de Pabellón: shredded, seasoned meat and black beans.
- Reina Pepeada: chopped chicken, avocado, and mayonnaise mashed together.
- Arépa de Dominó: black beans and crumbled white cheese.
- Arépa de Perico: scrambled eggs with tomatoes, peppers and onions.
- Columbian Arepas: make smaller and thicker and don't bake. Top with butter and melted cheese.


Other possible fillings: grated white or cheddar cheese; guasacaca, ham and cheese, hard-boiled quails eggs.

    

Roasted Pepper Pasta Salad

I loved how fresh this salad tasted. I also loved the inclusion of the almonds and if you've never roasted your own peppers (or garlic for that matter), you're in for a treat. Actually taking the time to roast the peppers is definitely not a step to skip out on (read the title!). The salad itself does take a fair bit of time to make, but it`s worth it. Such a nice change from the standard `mayonnaise ` based pasta dishes. The only change I would make is adding a little more acidity. Even with the lemon juice I wanted a little more acid. I drizzled a little bit of balsamic over the top of my individual serving and that did the trick for me. Again, given that this dish has a fair bit of steps, I`d recommend making it with a buddy or doing some prep the night before depending on your time limits. Bon appétit! 

Ingredients
salt
12 ounces mezzi rigatoni or other short tube-shaped pasta
2 bell peppers (red and/or yellow), halved, stemmed and seeded
6 cloves garlic, unpeeled
1/4 cup almonds
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 lemon
8 ounces bocconcini (small mozzarella balls)
1 bunch fresh basil, leaves torn
Freshly ground pepper

Directions

1. Preheat the broiler. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook as the label directs. Drain and rinse under cold water to stop the cooking*. (we served ours HOT as a main dish for dinner and therefore did not cool it off). Shake off the excess water.

2. Meanwhile, place the bell peppers cut-side down on a foil-lined broiler pan, add the garlic and broil until charred, 7 to 8 minutes. Transfer the peppers to a bowl, cover and set aside about 5 minutes.

3. Heat a dry skillet over medium-high heat. Add the almonds and toast, shaking the pan, 4 to 5 minutes. Let cool, then coarsely chop.

4. Squeeze the garlic from its skin onto a cutting board. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt; mince and mash the garlic into a paste with a large knife. Peel the roasted peppers and slice into strips; transfer to a large bowl. Add the garlic paste and drizzle with the olive oil. Finely grate about 1 teaspoon lemon zest into the bowl and squeeze in all of the lemon juice. Add the bocconcini, basil, almonds, pasta, 1 teaspoon salt, and pepper to taste; toss.

- Recipe and photo cred to the Food Network (camera was out of battery that night!)

Crunchy Garlic Chicken

I felt like a real chef making this chicken. You'll need a food processor (or a natural ability to cut your food into teeny tiny little pieces). This is a Jamie Oliver recipe and he notes that the crumbing technique used is very versatile in that you can use it with pork or even fish (he suggests cod) in exactly the same way. As there is butter in the crumb mixture, you can grill, fry, roast or bake the meat dry in the oven and it will go lovely and golden. Bon appétit!

Ingredients (for 2)
• 1 clove of garlic
• 1 lemon
• 6 saltine crackers
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 4 sprigs of fresh Italian parsley
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 heaped tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 large egg, preferably free-range or organic
• 2 skinless chicken breast fillets, preferably free-range or organic
• olive oil

To prepare your chicken: Peel the garlic and zest the lemon • Put your crackers into a food processor with the butter, garlic, parsley sprigs, lemon zest and a pinch of salt and pepper • Whiz until the mixture is very fine, then pour these crumbs on to a plate • Sprinkle the flour on to a second plate • Crack the egg into a small bowl and beat with a fork • Lightly score the underside of the chicken breasts • Put a square of plastic wrap over each one and bash a few times with the bottom of a pan until the breasts flatten out a bit • Dip the chicken into the flour until both sides are completely coated, then dip into the egg and finally into the flavored crumbs • Push the crumbs on to the chicken breasts so they stick – you want the meat to be totally coated

To cook your chicken:
You can either bake or fry the chicken • If baking, preheat your oven to its highest temperature (475˚), place your chicken on a sheet pan and cook for 15 minutes • If frying, put a frying pan on a medium heat, add a few good lugs of olive oil and cook the chicken breasts for 4 to 5 minutes on each side, until cooked through, golden and crisp

To serve your chicken:
Either serve the chicken breasts whole, or cut them into strips and pile them on a plate • Beautiful and simple served with a lemon wedge for squeezing over, and a tiny sprinkling of salt • Great with a lovely fresh salad or simply dressed veggies.

- recipe cred Jamie Oliver