Special Chocolate Shortbread

Melted chocolate helps kick in superb chocolate flavour. Try the chocolate dough in the classic way below; or try it with added toasted pecans, crystallized ginger or white chocolate chips; or, best of all, mound it into rounds and top each with a chunk of chocolate nougat.

Ruby Sorrel Refresher

This combination of ruby red sorrel and ginger with port and rum is very refreshing. Look for dried sorrel in Latin American or West Indian stores and choose packages of whole, uncrumbled leaves. This drink can be steeped and strained, then kept for weeks in the refrigerator, ready to offer guests.

Dewson Public School Pumpkin Muffins

Serve these moist and flavourful muffins hot, with butter if you like, for breakfast or a snack. Far variety, add up to 3/4 cup (175 mL) chopped nuts or 1/2 cup (125 mL) chopped peel or a few pieces of chopped preserved ginger to the batter.

Carrots with a Moroccan Twist

Think of carrots as the canvas on which you can paint a whole spectrum of flavours. Here, it's cumin for a mild Moroccan twist; in the variation, it's ginger and lemon for an East Asian accent. Both are nutritious, all-season, multi-purpose sides that complement poultry, pork, lamb and vegetarian dishes. 

Honey Hazelnut Baked Apples with Rum Sauce

Apples baked with this honey-and-hazelnut m?nge are fine for any fancy dinner party. Northern Spy, Ida Red and Rome Beauty hold their shape best for baking. Serve these apples in your handsomest large wine goblets and pass a bowl of whipped cream or a pitcher of Custard (see Apple Snow with Preserved Ginger recipe).

Szechuan Tofu with Pork

This spicy Chinese classic, called ma po doufu, is named after the pock-marked (ma) grandmother (po) who served this dish in her restaurant. Stir-fried green onions, ginger, black bean garlic sauce and ground pork provide the flavour, with tofu adding textural contrast. Sprinkle traditional ground toasted Szechuan pepper or toasted hot pepper flakes on top. Serve with rice and snow peas.

Black Bean, Pork and Lobster Stir-Fry

Celebrate Chinese New Year or another special occasion with this traditional Chinese lobster platter. Filled with succulent, sweet morsels of lobster accented with salted black beans, ginger and garlic, this festive dish paired with steamed rice will more than satisfy anyone's taste buds. Just turn the page for step-by-step photos that show how easy it is to impress both friends and family.

Great Canadian Cheese Platter

Canada produces excellent cheeses from coast to coast. Though most are from large, high-quality factories, there are many small-scale cheese makers perfecting artisanal cheeses. Fig and Wine Conserve, Red Onion Marmalade or Sweet Ginger Almonds all make great additions to your cheese board, as well as fresh fruit. As a rule, buy 1 to 1-1/2 oz (30 to 45 g) of each type of cheese you're serving per person.

Blue Christmas

Chinese-Style Turkey Meatball Soup

This is a great way to use the tasty Homemade Turkey Stock (and it doesn't require any leftover meat). Kids will love the meatballs. Napa cabbage adds a touch of sweetness.