all the recipes

Membrillo is a thickened and sliceable fruit paste, to accompany cheese platters, prepared in autumn, almost always with quince, and sometimes with apples & pears and never, to my knowledge with strawberry tree berries, which grow in our garden, so I gave it a try ! The scientific name of the strawberry tree is ‘arbutus unedo’...

This comforting dessert is well known and straightforward to prepare, though it requires some time, so the following method can be used with a single type or multiple types of rice, along with optional flavor enhancements to demystify and simplify the preparation process ! Arborio round dessert rice, basmati and jasmine rices, whole red rice...

A chilled soup, that you can drink or enjoy with a spoon, that is savory, packed with greener vegetable flavors, inevitably refreshing and an excellent option for the summer heat ! Most of you may be familiar with a red gazpacho which includes red tomatoes and peppers and onions, as well as more water-rich cucumber and of course, garlic (lots...

One Easter dessert that fulfills all of those holiday cravings and is triply chocolate in taste as well as visually, with a moist cocoa and coffee cake and a rich mascarpone and melted chocolate frosting and topped with crunchy chocolate easter eggs ! I’m not going to lie by telling you that I made these cakes this spring, but I did make...

It’s a complicated name and a lengthy title and description for a new type of dessert that you may wish to attempt for this year’s Epiphany (January 6th) in order to replace the more traditional king’s cake or the brioche and/or galette des rois, because it’s luminous and festive and creamy and crunchy too ! It’s a...

A simple, nourishing and vegetarian green and yellow soup that I started making last summer in Montreal (at my mother’s request), which is lightly spiced with cumin and coriander seeds and complemented with oregano, rosemary and parsley and brightened with fresh lemon juice, making it a great soup for all seasons ! I make a...

This summer in Montreal, I asked my mom to show me how to make "kolokithàkia yemistà mé avgolémono," a summer dish I hadn't had in years. The beautiful weather matched the delicious meal. The bright lemon and herbs, tender and sweetened zucchini shells, savory beef and rice filling, and creamy egg-lemon...

Some food assemblies can remain utterly simple, without any actual mixing and each spoonful of this dessert reveals a difference in taste and texture, depending on how much of each individual element of that assembly is in that same spoonful; nectar and ambrosia ! Usually, I would not dare to publish such a simple recipe/assembly but a slight...

A nourishing and hearty winter season pizza, combining fried up and crumbled sausage stuffing and roasted onions and bell peppers, highlighted with a hint of additional accents and spices and topped with different cheeses and fresh herbs and a little story about how I organize my prepping and cooking ! Please understand, I never begin slicing...

Grown-ups like chocolates too, especially during the holidays, but chocolates that are stronger in flavor, thus darker and less sweet and perhaps saltier and crunchier too, so here are some snow-capped chocolate domes for the winter festivities ! They’re smooth, yet rugged, but not quite like rocky clusters either, despite the open cracks...

An extremely simple spread that we’re often served when we’re out dining or on vacation but rarely make at home, so it’s easiness and the availability of its basic pantry ingredients mean that it’s time to make some at home ! The initial 5 ingredients which are canned sardines in oil, butter, lemon juice, salt and pepper...

A little bit of this and a little bit of that added, to lighten up the heavier and saltier and denser flavors of the black olives, resulting with a dip or spread that is still powerful but somewhat brightened and better balanced ! Some olives are to be enjoyed as is, when packed in quality olive oil or in a well-balanced brine and some are...

I find myself often testing “caesar salads” in restaurants, often topped with chicken when I want a one-course quick meal, so I finally decided to make my own version that is fresh yet more filling … :) The first ever Caesar salad was created on July 4, 1924 by Caesar Cardini at Caesar's in Tijuana, Mexico, when the...

The most delicately flavored and comforting winter pasta dish I’ve ever made, using basic sausage meat and that wonderful prepared in advance, pre-cooked and jarred onion-carrot-celery sauce base I shared with you several months ago, with just the simple additions of some white wine at first and then chicken stock and finally heavy cream, to...

Here’s a new variation of an accompaniment for your meat & cheese platters and other appetizers, that isn’t a sliced baguette or flatbreads nor dry and crunchy breadsticks or crackers; here are your new freshly-baked and tender bread bites ! These bread bites visually resemble the different versions of the crunchy and dry...