I do not make New Years Resolutions… but every January 1st. I do promise myself that I will exercise more, eat better, be kinder, etc. and I really do try. In support of eating better on January 1st I threw the remaining Christmas baking in the compost. All as been well until recently when I started thinking about cake…I don’t know why, because I really do prefer cookies. However, it is cake that has been on my mind. In fact I am attaching a picture of a particularly delicious and festive cake that Michelle in our office made before Christmas to contribute to the department potluck.

 Curious on how she made this…send us a comment and we will send you her secret.

 Of course, posting this picture has once again piqued my desire for cake, but all is well, my daughter reminded me the other night that we have cake occasion coming up…my birthday! I had completely forgotten this…and for good reason. You see my birthday is really December 21st; however a couple of years ago I made the decision to officially...

Christmas Has Come

 I know it is only Mid-October, but the St. Albert Botanic Park has provided us a reason to start celebrating a little early this year. Until October 22nd the gift shop is open and selling everything Christmas. Christmas baskets, ornaments, and end tables adorned with poinsettias are just a few of the items waiting to delight you. As well as a wonderful Christmas shopping opportunity, the Botanic Park complements the experience by providing hot apple cider and a tray of goodies…including my perennial favourite “shortbread” cookies. www.stalbertbotanicpark.com

  I only eat shortbread cookies once a year and I am a purist. I was taught to make shortbread cookies with butter, cornstarch, icing sugar, and flour, topped with a ½ maraschino cherry…and these are the only ones that satisfy me. Recipe below:

1 cup butter, softened 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar 1/4 cup cornstarch 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour...

Over the Labour Day weekend I went and visited my father in Smithers, BC.  My Dad lives alone, so when I arrive I take over the cooking role. I enjoy cooking, and cooking for two is easy so I am not complaining. However, as soon as I return to my childhood home, I start cooking like my mother - meat, potatoes, and vegetables in heavy cream sauces…seriously in the twenty-five years I had children living at home they maybe had vegetables in a cream sauce a total of six times, oh and don’t forget the gravy to go with the potatoes…once again, served at my house only on special occasions like Thanksgiving and Christmas.

 On Monday we had company for dinner, I served a medley of grilled vegetables seasoned with balsamic vinegar, chicken shish-ka-bobs, tomato bocchini salad, and a rosemary/garlic artisan bread with a rosemary dipping sauce…does this sound at all like what I served my Dad all weekend? In my Dad’s opinion this would have been highfalutin city food…putting on the dog as such…however, this is a normal...

I love to bake…I drool when I see commercial kitchens. Gleaming stainless steel, gas burners, convection ovens…oh there is so much to love. I make cookies almost nightly; they are given away to co-workers and friends. When I have trades people working at my house I leave out plates of cookies before I go to work; it really is a subtle form of bribery. This summer we had a major landscape project going on, once again, cookies were strategically placed outdoors on the picnic table before I left for work…I thought my plan was going along brilliantly until the contractor confessed that it was hard to get his guys motivated to finish the job…lesson learned here.

I bought a new spring form pan a couple of weeks ago; I cannot stop talking about this pan, the design is brilliant; I don’t know why I did not think of it. I certainly have spent enough hours cursing as I moved my cheesecake from the pan to the cake plate.

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St. Albert’s River House Grill has made the latest edition of the prestigious Where to Eat in Canada. This cross-country restaurant guide, now 41 years old lists restaurants that have made the cut. The food writers that select the restaurants arrive unannounced, do not identify themselves and are not allowed to accept free meals, so they really are non-partisan.

If you have ever eaten at the River House Grill, selection by this prestigious publication will not come as a surprise to you. Head Chef and owner Willie White focuses on serving fresh, local meat and produce and his cuisine is triumphantly Canadian – Albertan to be exact.  Nearly every ingredient is locally sourced, from bison to tomatoes.

Thanks Willie. Your selection to this publication is certainly reflects favourably on St. Albert!

Riverhouse Grill is located at 8 Mission Avenue, 780.458.2232 and at www.riverhousegrill.com

Easy strawberry dishes