Grilled Salmon Steaks

While fresh salmon steaks are an extravagance, the sheer simplicity of preparation, the reliable good taste and the sense of celebration they bring to a meal make every flake worthwhile. What's more, with salmon on the Mother's Day menu, you can initiate the barbecue season and take part in entertaining your guests.

Spicy Bucatini With Roasted Tomatoes

Sweet, pungent basil has a reputation for being an herb of romance. Pair it with a touch of hot pepper to help ignite the fire, and you're in for a fun evening. Roasting the tomatoes concentrates their sweetness and flavour, even if they're out of season. If you prefer a mild pasta, use only a pinch of the hot pepper flakes.

Apricot and Red Pepper Pork Tenderloin

The sweetness of the apricots and the heat of the hot pepper flakes make the perfect balance of sweet and spicy. This recipe takes a bit longer to make than some, but the extra time it takes to stuff the pork is worth it. Make fresh bread crumbs by pushing stale bread in a food processor until in fine crumbs.

Chimichurri Salmon With Barley Risotto

Searing is one of the simplest, fastest ways to prepare salmon fillets. It ensures that the outside gets crispy while the inside stays moist and tender. The key to achieving that golden crust: Bring your nonstick skillet up to a high temperature before adding the fish to the pan. For a more subtly spiced chimichurri, reduce the hot pepper flakes to just a pinch.

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.

Swiss Chard Pasta

A simple vitamin-packed pasta dish is a lifesaver during the week. And this quick meal is sure to become a regular on your summertime roster because it uses up a bunch of Swiss chard in a way your whole family will adore. (Especially if you use fun pink- or rainbow-stemmed chard.) If you love heat, increase the amount of hot pepper flakes to taste.

Mussels in Black Bean Sauce

These mussels are in a rich, fragrant broth and take no time to clean or cook; most are already cleaned and only need to be rinsed. Chinese black bean sauce lends authentic flavour to stir-fried vegetables or steamed fish for quick takeout-style meals at home. Serve over steamed rice along with broccoli sautéed with garlic and a pinch of hot pepper flakes.

Espresso Chocolate Chip Cookies

I am going to say it outright: this is the best chocolate chip cookie I have EVER made.
I can typically control myself when it comes to indulging in all my home baking, but this time around I inhaled about 1/3 of the batch before I even realized what was going on! I’ll let you in on the two secret ingredients as to why these cookies are so addictively delicious: firstly, they contain espresso powder. You’ll want to make sure it’s instant espresso powder not just ground espresso, it should be the kind that dissolves completely into liquid. Espresso intensifies the flavour of chocolate, so you should consider adding it into your favourite chocolate cakes as well!
Second, sprinkling large flake sea salt onto these cookies as soon as they come out of the oven is an absolute game changer. Salt in general is the ingredient that brings all the flavours together, but both the texture and flavour of those little salty flakes as you eat this cookie will have you coming back for more. I baked these while I was in New York and found chocolate “morsels” at their grocery stores; these seem to just be an alternative name to chocolate chips, but they tend to be larger, so consider using these if you manage to find them, or large semi-sweet chocolate chips to add to that chocolate decadence. With the addition of nutty browned butter and toasted pecans, this is sure to become your favourite cookie recipe too!

Everything Bagel Seasoning

We've reimagined the iconic everything bagel in this addictive savoury blend of seeds and seasonings. Try it on your morning toast, boiled eggs or salmon.

Roasted Leeks with Parmesan