HERB AND GARLIC MEATLOAF (from Claire’s book: UNCOMPLICATED: TAKING THE STRESS OUT OF HOME COOKING) INGREDIENTS: 1 pound (450 g) lean ground beef 1 pound (450 g) ground pork 1 small yellow onion, grated 2…

Listen to Chef Claire Tansey making one of her classic Sunday night dinners- meatloaf. Her cookbook UNCOMPLICATED: TAKING THE STRESS OUT OF HOME COOKING proves that great food doesn’t have to be difficult to prepare. Listen to why Claire decided to make the book, what Sunday night dinners were like for her as a kid growing up in Montreal, and why creating a family tree through recipes fascinates her.

She’s funny, relaxed and smart, and I had a great time spending an afternoon in her kitchen. I highly recommend her book (and so does my mom- the woman whose least favourite room in the house is the kitchen!).

WHEN it comes to French cooking, roast chicken is one of the most celebrated dishes out there.  Roast chicken is one of Mardi’s favourite “fast food” options in France– you can find it in any…

Mardi Michels teaches French at a small school for boys in Toronto, and she also writes the blog eat. live. travel. write.  As part of her teaching job, Mardi runs cooking classes twice per week for boys aged 7 to 14.  Mardi loves France (where she lived for five years before moving to Toronto) and on this episode, she makes a French classic: roast chicken.  I also visited Mardi and her students at cooking club while they made meatballs and tomato sauce in under an hour.  It was totally inspiring.  Mardi and her partner, Neil, own a historic home in southwest France which they operate as a vacation rental property.  Check it out here: neracvacationrental.com

 

** Photo by Kelly Brisson of The Gouda Life

 

 

 

Nana Aba Duncan is the host of CBC Radio’s weekend morning program, Fresh Air.  She was born in Ghana, she grew up in Newmarket, Ontario, and she lives in Toronto.  This soup is called Groundnut Soup in Ghana, where it is a well-loved dish.  It can be made with any kind of meat (goat, chicken, beef), any combination of vegetables (okra, carrots, beans), and lots of peanut butter.  Listen to Nana Aba talk about family roles, visiting Ghana, comfort foods, and the movie, Black Panther.  And we also got to talk to her wonderful mom in Ghana.  Thanks WhatsApp!

To listen to Nana Aba’s podcast, Media Girlfriends, go here: https://soundcloud.com/mediagirlfriends

 

Easy, delicious, and beautiful– this pasta dish is the perfect recipe for a comforting Sunday night dinner.  It comes from Skye McAlpine’s new cookbook A Table In Venice, which is a mouthwatering collection of recipes…

When Skye McAlpine was six years old, her family decided to move from London to Venice for a year.  More than 25 years later, they’re still there.  They fell in love with the city, and, now, Skye, her husband and young son live in the same house where she grew up, overlooking a sleepy canal in a quiet corner of the city.

Her blog FromMyDiningTable.com is a love letter to her adoptive city and a beautiful meditation on food, family and la dolce vita. Her new cookbook A TABLE IN VENICE, offers a varied collection of dishes that she and her family enjoy, alongside some absolutely gorgeous photos of the floating city.

Skye came to my kitchen to make a simple yet delicious dish called Tagliolini con Scampi, Zucchine, e Zafferano.  We ended up with spaghettini instead of tagliolini, but Skye assured me that any long, thin pasta would do.  She talks about her daily life in Venice, how she learned how to cook Italian food, some of her favourite Venetian dishes, and she offers some great tips on making great pasta.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Coincidentally, Skye and I are both in the latest Cherry Bombe magazine- the Home Cooks Rule issue!  What an honour!  If you don’t know Cherry Bombe, check them out.  They rock.  Here’s their mission statement:

“Our mission is to support women in the world of food by sharing their stories and to build a community of people making the world a better place through food. We also encourage everyone to cook for themselves and their loved ones; to be confident, curious, and creative in the kitchen; and to sit down for meals with others whenever possible.”

 

 

You can find the podcast episode with Feist and Adrienne Amato HERE.

 

Litovitz-Lee Instant Pot Beef Stew Sook-Yin and Adam use their Instant Pot a lot.  They put whatever they have in their kitchen into their “delicious machine” and dinner’s ready.  This stew changes depending on what’s…

Chef Charlotte Langley is a Pierogi making expert.  She messed around with a recipe that she learned from a friend’s mom in high school, and the results are delicious.  Classic comfort food, Charlotte’s recipe is…

Come into Chef Charlotte Langley’s kitchen and listen to her making cheese and potato pierogi.  A classic dish, and one of her favourite Sunday comfort foods.  She also talks about rocking culinary school, her home province of PEI, and why she moved away from cooking in fine-dining restaurants.  She’s feisty, passionate and lives most of her life in the Land of Po.  Press play to find out what that means!

Check out Charlotte’s website for links to many of the fabulous things she does!  chefcharlottelangley.com

And follow her on IG (@chefcharlottelangley) and Twitter (@ChefCharLangley) for the latest info and updates on current projects.