Recipe: Gnudi (Ricotta Dumplings)

Gnudi with Wild Mushroom Sauce

Yes, the "g" is silent - like gnaw, gnome, and gnocchi.... In fact, gnocchi and gnudi are close cousins - gnudi comes from southern Italy and replaces potato with ricotta.  This recipe is foolproof.  Sure you can get gnocchi from the grocery store, but these are on another level! Light and moist... like little clouds dancing across your tongue.  Say "No!" to dry, dense, rubbery pasta!

Recipe: Banana Pancakes

Banana pancakes.... they really do exist!  If you have your own pancake recipe or make your own pancakes regularly, this will be noticeably different - both while you're making them and when you finally eat them! 

Recipe: Rabbit Ragù

Confused by the title and the picture?  These fellas are so adorable but most people are okay with eating chicken.  So why are people so weirded out about eating rabbit?  Rabbit is a sustainable meat choice and also incredibly lean and healthly.  But enough with the lecture.... ragù is a meat sauce typically served with pasta. There are various different types based on region. This version uses rabbit, but lamb is also very delicious, and I won't hold it against you if you want to use beef. 

Recipe: Veal Goulash

Goulash is a Hungarian meat stew seasoned by paprika.  There are many different varieties of parprika and substituting here will really change the flavour.  In Hungary, or at least so I'm told, they use "parprika cream" which comes in a tube and is a puree of paprika and bell peppers.  So unless you are a frequent visitor of the eastern European country, we will have to make our own paprika cream here!

Recipe: Perfect Mashed Potatoes

Sure, I know what you're thinking - Who can't make mashed potatoes?  But these aren't ordinary mashed potatoes.  Really good mashed potatoes are more than just the literal definition of the name, sort of like scrambled eggs (and haven't we all had some bad scrambled eggs?) 

Recipe: Roasted Beet Salad with Goat Cheese

Woah!  Have I been having a lot of fried food lately.  I need to give my arteries and my waistline a rest!  This is a simple but elegant way to enjoy roasted beets.  The sweetness of the beets, the creaminess of the goat cheese, and the peppery arugula are a perfect combination!

Tip: Beets can be dressed in the vinaigrette in advance. Avoid assembling the salad until the last minute to prevent the arugula from wilting and staining the goat cheese.

Techinique: Roasting Beets

Beets - they get a bad wrap.  Poor things.... A lots of people have bad memories of their parents forcing them boiled or pickled beets as a child.  But beets can be delicious, especially when roasted.  Roasting concentrates their flavour and brings out their sweetness.