Spiced Rack of Venison with Apple Ginger Chutney

Simple Indian spicing perks up a luscious rack of venison, which is accompanied by apple chutney. The chutney should have some heat, so adjust to taste from a very mild pinch of cayenne to a hot 1/2 tsp (2 mL). Since you will have more than enough chutney, serve the remainder with roast pork or turkey or with aged Cheddar cheese and crackers. Caribou or elk racks can also be made this way

Roasted Vegetable Pot Pie

Make the sour cream pastry with non-hydrogenated shortening (available at health food stores and some supermarkets) for a vegetarian dish.

Sour Cherry Apple Pie

Quickly saut?ng the apples first gives them a silky texture and reduces the airspace that naturally occurs under the top crust as the apples shrink during baking.

Baklawa

Baklawa, the flowerlike individual Lebanese version of Greek baklava, contains pistachios, rose water and orange blossom water, all available at specialty and Middle Eastern food stores.

Dagger Through the Heart Cake

As the grand finale, this playfully gory cake brings to mind tales of killing vampires with silver stakes through the heart. In this case, the heart is chocolate, and the dagger, a sugar cookie — both much tastier than, and not nearly as painful as, the real thing.

Baked Manitoba Harvest Ratatouille

This dish is inspired by the wonderful fresh produce from the Osbourne Village Farmer's Market which is across the street from my house in Winnipeg. The market is open Thursday nights from June to September and features only very local farmers, including some urban farmers. Each week my son and I would go to the market and buy one of each item available. Towards the middle of the summer I ended up with many varieties of peppers, summer squash, eggplant, tomatoes and herbs, so I developed this recipe to celebrate the Manitoba Harvest. All of these ingredients, with the exception of quinoa, are grown in Manitoba. Quinoa is an excellent source of iron and magnesium as well as one of the best vegetable sources of protein. Serve this dish with a slice of whole grain bread to complete the protein.

Pulled Venison Sandwich

My dish is a classic family dinner; it has meat, potatoes, and vegetables. It can also be a grab and go, if you make the sandwich on its own. This dish must be served hot, on a Kaiser roll. It is ideal to hollow out some of the roll, this helps avoid spillage. In my household we serve it with roasted garlic mashed potatoes and sautéed green beans. When we have celebrations in our home we like to cook buffet style, and these sandwiches are ideal because the meat can sit in a slow cooker and be eaten periodically without any affect to its taste. My inspiration for this pulled venison sandwich came from my father; the reasoning behind that is, he hunts for deer and brings us meat. After several years of cooking it the same way I became bored of it and looked for a new solution. Being an avid watcher of the Food Network I am inspired by many Chefs who appear on that channel. Following an episode of Rachel Ray?s 30 Minutes Meals I decided to try her pulled pork recipe with venison instead. This was a hit at my dinner table and now we can?t get enough of it!

Baklava Tart

Cedar Planked Salmon with Maple Curry Glaze

This dish is a favorite at our home for entertaining - it is delicious, easy to make and guests are always impressed with the presentation (we bring the plank directly to the table and serve off of it!). My husband, who is currently serving in Afghanistan, was home on leave recently and it was his homecoming request for dinner! Since we are currently living in New Brunswick, we love that fresh atlantic salmon is readily available and the maple syrup here is some of the best in the world! In the spring time, I love to serve this dish with steamed fresh fiddleheads tossed in garlic butter and jasmine or basmati rice (or wild rice when we were living near Winnipeg). At other times of the year, I serve garlic sauteed spinach. If you aren't a curry lover, just leave it out and the dish is still great! Cedar planked Salmon is fantastic on the grill but can also be prepared in the oven. Enjoy!!

Century Christmas Pudding

This November, Toronto teacher Trish Gresham and her family will make this rich, traditional pudding for the 70th consecutive year in Canada. Her mother, Lilian Rollinson, brought the recipe — already a family tradition for 30 years — from England in 1932. Trish serves it with hard sauce, while her sister, Pamela Scott, simply pours cold whipping cream over top.