Ingredients:
•    2 avocados
•    1 tomato
•    1 small white onion
•    1 lime
•    ¼ cup of cilantro
•    Salt

Instructions:

1. Cut avocados in half length-wise. School out pits (if you don’t finish the guac, put pits back in to preserve longer!)
2. Slice avocados both length-wise and width-wise inside peel. Scoop out into bowl.
3. Chop tomato and onion, add to avocados in bowl.
4. Mince cilantro, add to bowl.
5. Mix everything together with a spoon.
6. Add a dash of salt for flavor to your liking.
7. Add lime (personally I like lots of lime so I squeeze the whole thing in, but add however much you want!)
8. Serves 2-3 people. For larger portion, multiply ingredients proportionally.
9. Get out the corn tortilla chips and buen provecho!

Total preparation and cooking time should be about 20-30 minutes.

Ingredients: 

•      White Potatoes
•       Vegetable Oil
•       Fresh Cheese Curd
•       and Turkey or Brown Gravy  

Instructions:

1. Gravy should probably be your first concern.  I used a really simple McCormick gravy packet, but homemade gravy can be made from pan drippings if you’ve roasted a turkey, or other large piece of meat.  Gravy can also be made by adding flour and water to stock.  However you’re getting your gravy, it’s nice to get it started and thickening early, before you start frying anything. 
2. Next, find a pan to fry your potatoes in, fill the pan with about 1½ to 2 inches of vegetable oil.  While bringing the oil up to high heat, wash your potatoes with cold water and peel them if desired (personally, I prefer my fries with the skin on.)  
3. Chop the potatoes into medium thickness strips for frying (think steak fries rather than shoestring).  When the oil is hot enough (to test the heat, splash a little drop of water into the pan, if the oil starts sputtering, you’re ready to fry) gently slide your potatoes into the pan.  Be careful not to drop the potatoes in, a heavy plop will send burning oil splashing into your face. 
4.  Leave the potatoes submerged in the oil and undisturbed until they have reached a golden, crispy, brown.  Resist the urge to toss or stir them as the fry, this will cause them to split or break. 
5. While the fries cook, begin preparing the cheese.  If you found actual fresh cheese curd your job shouldn’t be too hard; just drain the curds and crumble.  If you could not find fresh curds (I couldn’t) you’ll want to use another soft white cheese; I recommend mozzarella.  Whatever sort of cheese you use, crumble or cube it into bite-size pieces. 
6. When your fries are ready, remove them from the hot oil and drain on a paper napkin.  Lightly salt the potatoes and then assemble your poutine while everything is still fresh and warm.  The process is pretty simple; you’re ready to enjoy your Canadian treat.

As I mentioned before, there is a lot of room to play with this recipe.  One restaurant in Toronto, substituted sweet potato fries, another used heavier beef gravy.  I personally want to give poutine zucchini fries a try (maybe with a tangier wasabi and teriyaki sauce?)  So turn on the curling game, pick up some Timbits, and get creative with this perfect Canadian comfort food.

Raspberry and Orange Chocolate Truffle Torte
 
Raspberry Puree:
• 1 cup fresh raspberries
 
Truffle Torte
• 1 lb bittersweet chocolate, chopped
• 2 sticks unsalted butter, cubed
• 6 eggs
• 3/4 cup raspberry puree
• 1/8 teaspoon pure orange oil
 
 
 
To prepare raspberry puree:

1. Puree the cup of raspberries in a food processor until smooth and liquified.

 
To prepare the Truffle Torte:

1. Preheat oven to 425. Line the bottom of a 9-inch spring-form pan with parchment paper cut into a circle. Brush inside of pan with melted butter.  Wrap foil around the outside bottom and sides of pan. Place into a large pan, filled about 1 inch with water.
2.  Melt the chocolate and butter in a double boiler. Add orange oil. Remove from heat and set aside. Place eggs over the same hot water in a separate bowl and whisk until warm to the touch. *NOTE: THIS DOESN’T TAKE LONG. DON’T LET THE EGGS COOK. 
3. Whisk eggs until they have tripled in volume. Fold whipped eggs into chocolate mixture, one third at a time, until mixture is smooth. Add raspberry puree until well incorporated.
4. Pour chocolate mixture into prepare spring-form pan. Bake for 5 minutes. Take torte out of oven. Reduce heat to 375. Cover with foil and bake torte for an additional 10 minutes. Remove from oven, let cool, and remove foil. Cake will be very jiggly. Refrigerate overnight.

 
To remove from pan:

1. Place pan over burner for 10 seconds. Flip over onto a serving platter.

Ingredients:

• 1 package oxtails, about 1lb
• 2 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
• 2 onions, peeled and roughly chopped. 
• 4 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
• One can (14oz ) crushed tomatoes
• ¾ cup chicken broth
• ½ tsp cayenne pepper
• ¼ tsp red pepper flakes
• 1 tsp salt
• Half to one bottle red wine, preferably Bordeaux

Instructions:

1. Sprinkle the oxtails with salt and pepper, heat olive oil in a large pot and brown the oxtails on all sides. Transfer to a plate
2. Add the onions and garlic to pan, and sauté until onions are tender, around 5 minutes.
3. Add carrots, then tomatoes with their juice. Add the oxtails back into the pot, and add the rest of the remaining ingredients. Add enough wine to cover the oxtails. 
4. Allow the pot to simmer for 2-3 hours until the meat is tender.
5. Now, at this point you can either serve the oxtails as is, or you can de-bone them and cut up the meat and serve with spaghetti. If serving with spaghetti, 
6. Bring the cooking mixture up to a boil and cook spaghetti directly in the juices. It allows the juices to thicken up a bit due to the starch from the spaghetti, making a wonderful sauce. After spaghetti is cooked until al dente, serve it with either whole oxtails, or the deboned oxtail pieces, salt and pepper to taste, and garnish with a sprig of parsley. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• ½ cup of sugar
• 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 1 ½ cups peeled, chopped, and toasted hazelnuts
• 8 ounces bittersweet chocolate chips (I used dark chocolate chips instead)
• 1 cup corn syrup (I used about ¾ cup to reduce the tart’s sweetness)
• 2 Tablespoons butter, melted (I recommend unsalted butter)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 store bought frozen pie crust, defrosted (or you can always make your own)

Instructions:
To toast & grind hazelnuts- 

1. Place hazelnuts in an even layer on a baking sheet and toast for about 10 minutes in a 350 degree oven. 
2. Then place in a food processor and grind until hazelnuts are in tiny chunks (the smell of chopped hazelnuts is amazing!).

To assemble tart- 

1. In a large bowl, mix together the sugar and flour. Add the eggs, hazelnuts, chocolate chips, corn syrup, butter, vanilla, and salt. Stir well. Pour the mixture into the pie crust. 
2. Bake for 1 hour.

Enjoy!

Recipe courtesy Emeril Lagasse, 2003
Prep Time:
16 min
Inactive Prep Time:
--
Cook Time:
44 min
Level:
Easy
Serves:
1 1/2 quarts soup, or about 6 servings


Ingredients

• 1 large or 2 small leeks, about 1 pound
• 2 bay leaves
• 20 black peppercorns
• 4 sprigs fresh thyme
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 strips bacon, chopped
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 5 cups chicken stock
• 1 to 1 1/4 pounds russet potatoes, diced
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 3/4 teaspoon white pepper
• 1/2 to 3/4 cup creme fraiche or heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons snipped chives

Instructions:

1. Trim the green portions of the leek and, using 2 of the largest and longest leaves, make a bouquet garni by folding the 2 leaves around the bay leaves, peppercorns and thyme. 
2. Tie into a package-shaped bundle with kitchen twine and set aside. (Alternately, tie 2 leek leaves, bay leaves, peppercorns and thyme together in a piece of cheesecloth.)
3. Using a sharp knife, halve the white part of the leek lengthwise and rinse well under cold running water to rid the leek of any sand. Slice thinly crosswise and set aside.
4. In a large soup pot over medium heat, melt the butter and add the bacon. Cook for 5 to 6 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the bacon is very soft and has rendered most of its fat. 
5. Add the chopped leeks and cook until wilted, about 5 minutes. Add the wine and bring to a boil. Add the reserved bouquet garni, chicken stock, potatoes, salt and white pepper, and bring to a boil. 
6. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes, or until the potatoes are falling apart and the soup is very flavorful.
7. Remove the bouquet garni and, working in batches, puree the soup in a food processor or blender. (Alternately, if you own an immersion blender, puree the soup directly in the pot.) 
8. Stir in the creme fraiche and adjust the seasoning, if necessary. Serve immediately, with some of the snipped chives sprinkled over the top of each bowl of soup.

Ingredients:

• 1 bunch of flat rice noodles (enough for one person)
• 1.5 teaspoon of fish sauce (you can substitute about this for about 1 teaspoon of soy sauce or salt)
• White vinegar
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 0.5 teaspoon of chili sauce(the recipe calls for ground chili pepper, but I used an Asian pepper sauce since I don’t have ground chili peppers)
• 1 egg
• 1/8 of an onion sliced
• 1/8 teaspoon of sugar
• 1 heaping tablespoon of peanut butter
• Shrimp, deveined and peeled
• 2 green onions (cut into 1 inch pieces)
• Half a lime

Instructions:

1. Cook the noodles until they soften. Since you’re going to be frying the noodles, it’s better for it to be a little undercooked than overcooked. 
2. Oil and heat (on high) a non-stick frying pan. When the oil slides across the pan smoothly, toss in your minced garlic. Fry until nearly golden and the drained noodles and stir fry quickly to prevent the noodles from sticking. Add fish sauce (or whatever substitute you’re using), a splash of white vinegar, and chili sauce.
3. Continue to cook the noodles, but push them to one side of the pan before cracking the egg. Scramble cook the egg thoroughly before mixing with the noodles. Cook thoroughly before placing the noodles in a dish. 
4. Turn the heat to medium and add the peanut butter to the same pan. Mix with sugar until the mixture softens and resembles a thick sauce before pouring over the noodles. Squeeze lime juice over noodles.
5. Turn the heat to high and oil the pan again. When the oil finishes heating, add the green onions and regular onion. Cook until fragrant (stir fry for 3-5 seconds). Add the shrimp and cook together with green onions. Top the noodles.

Ingredients:

• 4 Avocadoes
• 5 Limes
• Sea Salt
• Pepper
• Red Onion
• Cumin
• Fresh Cilantro

Instructions:

1. Slice all four avocadoes in half, length wise, then use a spoon to remove the green flesh from the rinds. Place the eight hemispheres in a bowl after removing the pits from the flesh. Leave the pits in the bowl, as they help the avocadoes from turning brown.
2. Place limes on a hard surface and roll them back and forth while applying reasonable pressure. This allows for a greater release of juice. Slice four limes into quarters and squeeze into bowl. The sooner the lime is added the better, as the citrus also deters avocado browning.
3. Slice the fifth lime into eighths
4. Dice red onion and add to bowl.
5. Briefly slice the avocado hemispheres using knife, but be sure to leave sizeable chunks. Next, using a potato smasher, smash the chunks of avocado to produce a guacamole-esque paste. Personally, I leave some sizeable chunks, but smash to personal preference.
6. Dice fresh cilantro after rinsing. Focus on the leaves and the leave the stems for the compost bin, the leaves carry the most flavor. Add diced cilantro to taste.
7. Mix contents of bowl and season with sea salt, pepper and cumin to taste. Avocado is an aphrodisiac that might just make the night for you and your senorita/senor. 
8. Test taste of guac- I usually add the rest of my fifth lime, but again, it all depends on your preference for that citrusy bite.
9. Emerge from your kitchen bearing the bowl of green heaven and watch as it disappears remarkably quickly. At particularly enjoyable fiestas this guac has been known to inspire the abandonment of chips and the use of certain celebrator’s own hands as conveyance from bowl to mouth.  In one case, even this shortcut was skipped and the face was simply placed in the bowl. I suggest that a request be made that this direct mouth on bowl action be at least restrained until most of the guac is gone.  It is a terrible waste because after this maneuver, the remaining guac is good for little more than a rejuvenating face paste taking the place of mud at a spa treatment. 

Ingredients:

• 1 cup pastina pasta (or any small pasta)
• 2 Tablespoons of olive oil
• ½ cup cubed chicken breast (uncooked; bite-size pieces)
• ½ cup diced onion (any type of onion you prefer)
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes with juice (I substituted this with marinara sauce)
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella
• ¼ cup chopped flat-leaf parsley (I omitted this)
• ¼ cup Parmesan cheese
• ¼ cup bread crumbs (Italian bread crumbs add extra flavor)
• Salt and pepper for seasoning
• About 1 Tablespoon of butter

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Cook pasta according to directions on package. Drain and put into a large mixing bowl.
3. Meanwhile, put the olive oil in a sauté pan over medium heat. Add the chicken and cook for about 3 minutes (until chicken begins to brown). Stir in the onions and garlic and cook until the onions are soft and the chicken is cooked through. *I added about a ¼ cup of the dry white wine as the chicken, onion and garlic sautéed for extra flavor, and continuously seasoned the combination with salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes.
4. Add the chicken mixture into the cooked pasta. Add the marinara sauce, mozzarella cheese, parsley, and season more if needed. Stir to combine.
5. Place mixture in a 8x8x2 inch baking dish that you can either butter or spray with cooking spray, such as Pam. Sprinkle the bread crumbs and parmesan cheese evenly over the pasta mixture. Dot with small bits of the butter.
6. Bake for about 30 minutes or until the top of the mixture is golden brown.

*Note- Instead of chopping fresh garlic cloves, I use ready-to-use chopped garlic. It’s much easier sometimes.
*Note- you can always omit the chicken for a vegetarian dish or choose another type of meat of your liking.