Holiday and Hosting

Crisp on the outside and marshmallowy inside, meringue pairs with rich mascarpone cream and fresh, juicy fruit in perfect balance of textures and flavours. Pavlova always lands well, whether you make one large centrepiece or a batch of minis like these.

Crisp, nutty meringue layered with praline pastry cream and dark chocolate ganache — this intensely rich and indulgent dessert is like a refined chocolate bar in cake form!

A luxurious stew with plump shrimp, briny clams, tender white fish and morsels of sweet lump crab meat simmered in a deeply flavourful tomato and wine broth. You’d be surprised how simple this dish is to make at home.

White chocolate and cherries make a delightful pairing, coming together in this twist of a familiar Italian classic. Think, billowy white chocolate mascarpone cream meets a bright cherry compote meets the aromatic bitter notes of coffee-soaked lady fingers. Sublime!

Every bite of this one-layer lasagna is loaded with hearty tomato meat sauce, melty cheese and crispy, golden edges that everyone loves. And without the tedious layering, this is so much faster and easier to make. It’s a definite win-win.

Charred cabbage wedges topped with creamy miso mushrooms make a luxurious and flavourful vegetable dish. The cabbage turns tender with deeply browned edges while the mushrooms soak in a rich, umami sauce. This is anything but a mere side kick on the dinner table!

A French beef stew made with red wine, tender beef, mushrooms and carrots in a rich and glossy sauce. It is comfort and decadence in every bite. Serve with mashed potatoes, egg noodles or crusty bread.

This Dill Pickle Bacon Pasta Salad is a flavour-packed summer main or anytime side dish — combining crunchy dill pickles, smokey bacon bits and a creamy pickle brine dressing tossed with tender pasta. It’s always a winner with my people and at every gathering!

This Confit Garlic and Scallion Dip is a creamy, savoury dip that combines the rich, mellow sweetness of confit garlic with the bright punchiness of scallions. It’s the kind of thing that has everyone digging in and then asking you for the recipe.

Cheesy on the inside and crunchy on the outside, the format of these Crunchy Mac and Cheese Bites is so great as a party appetizer, a fun side or even as a unique element on a charcuterie board.

All the vibes of a classic sweet potato casserole presented in irresistible mini stacks with a crumby streusel topping and lots of caramelized edges (aka the best part of roasted sweet potatoes)!

Pommes Anna (or Potato Anna) is a classic French dish of buttery sliced potatoes stacked into a cake-like form that is baked until tender on the inside and crisp on the edges. The signature presentation of a Pommes Anna is flipped over onto a serving dish where the golden brown bottom becomes the top. You must have a really good non-stick pan or a really well-seasoned cast iron pan to pull it off. Do practice this dish before serving it to guests at a dinner party. Once you can comfortably pull this off, it is a rather satisfying culinary triumph!

This BROWN BUTTER APPLE STREUSEL CAKE is tender, brown buttery, and apple-forward thanks to the generous chunks of apples in the batter. It is essentially a classic French Apple Cake where melted butter is replaced with nutty brown butter, and topped with a chunky almond streusel topping. Because if there are two truths I believe in, is that brown butter and streusel are always good ideas!

These Crispy Potato Stacks with Garlic Herb Butter come out of the oven with ruffle-y, crispy edges around a tender and creamy centre. They are the perfect side dish for the holidays or for hosting dinner guests you really want to impress.

Crisp meringue topped with billowy whipped cream and macerated strawberries creates a sublime trifecta of sweet, tart and texture. This Strawberries and Cream Pavlova is always a show-stopping favourite whenever I serve it!

Onions cooked until nearly melt-in-your-mouth in a simple but flavourful 3-ingredient braising liquid of butter, miso paste and water. Served over green beans, under a blanket of the umami-rich, unctuous sauce.

These are the easiest spring rolls you will ever make! No filling to prepare and cool before assembling, these Easy Shrimp Spring Rolls are inspired by one of my must-get dim sum items — but simplified. Golden and crunchy exterior with a succulent bite of shrimp inside, you won't be able to stop at one or two or three!

MOUCLADE is a divine dish of steamed mussels in a mild saffron curry cream sauce kissed with cognac. It originated from La Rochelle in south western France and is my favourite way to enjoy fresh mussels! In my version, it is a bit lighter (and almost dairy-free) by using oat milk instead of the traditional heavy cream. Lighter, but ever so luscious and flavourful. A fresh, crusty baguette is a must for sopping up all the saucy goodness.

These SHANGHAI SPRING ROLLS are exactly the kind I grew up eating so they are, hands down, my favourite type of spring rolls! My paternal Shanghainese grandmother used to make it and my dad makes it. We usually make a big pot of simple meatless congee to go with it for a weekend lunch everybody looks forward to!

A light and airy dessert featuring a spongy meringue rolled around whipped cream kissed with honey and orange blossom water, dribbles of luscious mandarin curd, and fresh juicy mandarin segments. The only word to describe it is sublime.

Last week I threw a little tapas dinner party and it was sooo much fun. Not to mention, utterly delicious! I made some of the greatest hits and you know what, they are all surprisingly easy to prepare, as you'll see in the recipes below. Are you ready for this epic, six-recipe blog post featuring some of the most popular and best loved tapas? I promise the deliciousness you're about to encounter will make your tastebuds extremely happy!

I think there is a certain consensus among those of us who are living through Winter right now that citrus fruits are basically the best part about it.  The other features of our winter - air so cold it hurts any exposed skin, shoveling and de-icing all the things all the time, extremities that are always cold even while INDOORS, plus a few other things that make you swear under your breath - I can live without!    

WHUT.  Christmas is less than a week away, and the year is done-zo in less than two!  How are you feeling?  Are you getting holiday stress?  I had myself a panic moment a few days ago when Aubrie asked me why there are still no presents under our tree.  I mumbled something about not wanting them to poke around the presents and wreck the wrapping like last year, instead of the truth, which is I was procrastinating the mundane task of wrapping them up.  On the actual gift-buying side, I had 90% of gifts purchased by early December but the last 10% is by no coincidence, the most difficult.  People like my dad, dad-in-law, etc are impossible to buy for.  So I'm still working on that last 10% ... kiiiinda cutting it close, I reckon.  Socks?  Again?

I'm giddy with excitement this time of the year when holiday season is in full ramp-up mode!  It's my favorite.  I love that the season is about giving to others.  While I don't condone frivolous over-consumption (which is admittedly a huge downside associated with the holidays), I really enjoy putting careful thought into the gifts that I am giving to the special people in my life.  There's a dizzying joy and smug satisfaction when I just know I've found the perfect gift for someone. 

I'm still giving myself pats on the back for the Aesop hydrating cream for my mom / sister, and the fold-able (brilliant!) vegetable spiralizer for my brother-in-law last year.  We won't talk about the socks I gifted my dad tho - he's a hard one to buy for!

Due to popular demand, I'm putting up this recipe which is an oldie I found through the Food Network website and have made it again and again.  These days we are limiting gluten and refined sugars but I make exceptions when I'm baking for others or just as an occasional treat.  Believe me I don't go wasting that 'quota' just on anything.  I have to tell you, these shortbread cookies are well worth it.  

You might not guess from miso's intense brininess and gochujang's spicy pungency, that they would mellow out to result in a tender braised pork dish that is rich and deeply savoury yet well-balanced. Serve with rice, pasta or other carb-y side of choice to enjoy the saucy goodness.

Being prescribed a grain-free diet by my daughter's naturopath just before the holidays is like getting sick right before vacation ... or scoring free drink tickets only to get bar rail liquor ... or finding a hole in your sock the moment you take off your shoes at someone's house ... or dripping yellow mustard on your brand new sneakers (that stuff's like dye and never completely comes off!) ... or getting an unexpected visit from Auntie Flo when you're totally unprepared OK THAT IS GOING TOO FAR.