Chicken Noodle Soup

• Bumps on a Log
• Carrot Raisin Salad
• Chicken Noodle Soup
• Homemade Brown Sugar Ice Cream

Bumps on a Log

Yield: 1

Ease of Preparation: Easy.

Ingredients:

Bumps on a Log

• 1 x celery rib, washed and ends trimmed
• 2 tbsp peanut butter
• 10 x raisins
• 10 x chocolate chips

Directions:

Bumps on a Log

1. Spread peanut butter along celery rib and alternately place raisins and chocolate chips along the top.

Carrot Raisin Salad

Yield: 4

Ease of Preparation: Easy.

Ingredients:

Carrot Raisin Salad

• 2 x large carrots, washed and shredded on a potato grater
• 1/2 cups raisins
• 1/2 cups walnut pieces
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 3 tbsp plain yogurt
• 1 x bunch fresh mint
• Salt and pepper

Directions:

Carrot Raisin Salad

1. Toss everything together then season to taste with salt and pepper.

Chicken Noodle Soup

Yield: 4

Ease of Preparation: Easy.
A recipe is merely words on paper; a guideline, a starting point from which to improvise. It cannot pretend to replace the practiced hand and telling glance of a watchful cook. For that reason feel free to stir your own ideas into this dish. When you cook it once, it becomes yours, so personalize it a bit. Add more of an ingredient you like or less of something you don't like. Try substituting one ingredient for another. Remember words have no flavour, you have to add your own! You can use your choice of any or all of the following vegetables or any others you have on hand: Broccoli, green beans, frozen corn, frozen peas.

Ingredients:

Chicken Noodle Soup

• A roasting chicken, drumsticks and thighs removed
• 5 x carrots, peeled and chopped
• 4 x onions, peeled and chopped
• 2 x celery ribs, chopped
• 2 x garlic cloves
• 5 x bay leaves
• 6 x sprigs fresh thyme
• 1 head of broccoli, chopped into florets
• 8 ounces green beans, chopped
• 1 cup frozen corn
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 1 lb. of your favourite pasta noodles
• Salt and pepper

Directions:

Chicken Noodle Soup

1. Put the chicken carcass, thighs and drumsticks into a large soup pot.
2. Add the carrots, onions, celery, garlic, bay leaves and thyme and cover completely with cold water.
3. Bring to a simmer and simmer gently for two hours.
4. Strain off the broth and reserve the chicken.
5. Once the meat has cooled pick it from the bones and return it to the pot with the broth.
6. Bring the broth back to a simmer and add your choice of vegetables.
7. Simmer for a few minutes, and then add noodles and cook just until they have softened.
8. Adjust seasoning and serve.

Homemade Brown Sugar Ice Cream

Yield: 6

Yield: 6 servings with leftovers. A recipe is merely words on paper; a guideline, a starting point from which to improvise. It cannot pretend to replace the practiced hand and telling glance of a watchful cook. For that reason feel free to stir your own ideas into this dish. When you cook it once, it becomes yours, so personalize it a bit. Add more of an ingredient you like or less of something you don't like. Try substituting one ingredient for another. Remember words have no flavour, you have to add your own!

Ingredients:

Homemade Brown Sugar Ice Cream

• 4 cups milk
• 2 cups heavy whipping cream
• 2 tbsp vanilla extract
• 12 x egg yolks
• 2 cups brown sugar

Directions:

Homemade Brown Sugar Ice Cream

1. Pour milk, cream and vanilla into a large saucepan and bring to a simmer.
2. Whisk egg yolks with brown sugar, until mixture is thick and pale.
3. Slowly add the hot milk mixture to the eggs, one ladle-full at a time, whisking continuously until all the cream has been added.
4. Pour the mixture back into the pot and cook over low heat for just a few minutes longer until the mixture thickens and coats the back of a spoon.
5. Strain through a fine mesh strainer.
6. Cool and then chill thoroughly.
7. It is best to make the ice cream base the day before freezing so it has a chance to thoroughly chill.
8. Pour into a commercial ice cream maker and follow the manufacturer's instructions for freezing.

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Lasagna with Speedy Tomato Sauce

Michael turns a weekend treat into a simple weekday dinner with his speedy lasagna, Sicilian salad, herb butter bread, and strawberry banana turnovers with cinnamon-crusted ice cream.

• Cinnamon Crusted Ice Cream
• Roast Garlic Oregano Butter
• Sicilan Salad with Orange, Olives, Red Onions and Mint
• Speedy Lasagna
• Strawberry Banana Turnovers

Cinnamon Crusted Ice Cream

Yield: 4

Ingredients:

Cinnamon Crusted Ice Cream

• 4 tbsp course sugar
• 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
• 4 scoops vanilla ice cream

Directions:

Cinnamon Crusted Ice Cream

1. Whisk together the sugar and cinnamon and roll the scoops of ice cream in it.

Roast Garlic Oregano Butter

Ingredients:

Roast Garlic Oregano Butter

• 1 x garlic bulb
• 1/2 cup softened butter
• 1 tbsp dried oregano
• Salt and pepper

Directions:

Roast Garlic Oregano Butter

1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
2. Roast the garlic until juices begin to bubble out of the top, about 45 minutes.
3. Cut off the bottom of the garlic bulb with a serrated knife and squeeze the soft roasted garlic into a small bowl. Remove any stray garlic peel.
4. Add the butter, oregano, salt and pepper and mash everything together with a fork until smooth.
5. Spread on your favourite bread and toast until golden brown.

Sicilan Salad with Orange, Olives, Red Onions and Mint

Yield: 4

Ingredients:

Sicilian Salad

• 6 x large oranges
• 1 cup of pitted green olives, sliced
• 3 tbsp capers
• 1 x red onion, sliced thinly
• 1 x large bunch fresh mint leaves, sliced thinly
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• Salt and pepper

Directions:

Sicilian Salad

1. Zest the oranges into a medium-sized salad bowl.
2. Trim the peel off of the oranges and cut them into half-inch slices.
3. Toss well with the remaining ingredients.

Speedy Lasagna

Yield: 4

Ingredients:

Tomato Sauce

• 3 tbsp of olive oil
• 2 x medium onions, peeled and chopped
• 10 x cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
• 1 lb. ground beef
• 4 x Italian sausages, casings removed
• 1 x 28 oz can tomatoes, crushed or pureed
• 1 x small can tomato paste
• 2 cups beef stock
• 3 tbsp dried oregano
• 2 tbsp dried basil
• 3 x bay leaves
• Salt and pepper

Cheese Sauce

• 2 x eggs, beaten
• 1/2 cup 35% cream
• 475 g (1 pound) ricotta cheese
• 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 4 cups grated mozzarella cheese
• Salt and pepper

Assembly

• 1 box of ready-to-bake lasagna noodles
• 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

Tomato Sauce

1. Heat the oil in a large saucepot and add the onions.
2. Sauté until they soften and turn golden brown, about 5 minutes, and then add the garlic.
3. Sauté a few moments more then add the ground beef and sausage meat.
4. Chop the meats thoroughly with a spoon to break them up into small pieces.
5. Add the tomatoes and their juice, tomato paste, beef stock, oregano, basil, bay leaves, salt and pepper.
6. Stir well and heat until the entire mixture is simmering and heated through.
7. Taste and add salt and pepper to taste.

Cheese Sauce

1. Whisk eggs and cream together, then stir in the cheeses.
2. Season with salt and pepper.

Assembly

1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
2. Layer the ingredients together in a 9" x 13" x 3" or other baking pan.
3. Follow this sequence: a cup or so of sauce, a layer of noodles, half of the cheese sauce, one third of the grated Parmesan, noodle layer, meat sauce layer, noodle layer, remaining cheese sauce, one third of the grated Parmesan, noodle layer, remaining meat sauce, remaining Parmesan.
4. Cover tightly with foil and bake for 1 hour.
5. Remove foil during last 15 minutes of cooking to allow the top to get golden and crusty.

Strawberry Banana Turnovers

Yield: 4

Ingredients:

Strawberry Banana Turnovers

• 1 pkg frozen puff pastry, thawed and cut into four squares
• 1 x banana, peeled and diced
• 1/2 cup marmalade
• 1 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/4 cup grated or flaked coconut
• 2 x eggs, beaten
• 2 tbsp coarse sugar

Directions:

Strawberry Banana Turnovers

1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
2. Lay pastry on a flat surface. Cut into 4 squares.
3. In a small bowl, stir the banana with the marmalade, nutmeg and coconut.
4. Place a large dollop of the mixture into the center of each pastry square.
5. Brush the edges with beaten egg and fold one corner over to meet the other, forming a triangle, or alternately a rectangle.
6. Press edges together with a fork to seal tightly.
7. Brush tops with more egg wash and sprinkle with course sugar.
8. Place on a lightly oiled baking sheet and bake until puffed and golden, about 12 minutes.

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Summer Salads

It’s a beautiful day for a picnic and Michael improvises cold salads to maximize his time outdoors. A feast of Asian spinach salad with orange dressing, Asian cabbage salad, salsa, and tuna potato salad is made complete with homemade ice cream sandwiches.

• Asian Cabbage Salad
• Ice Cream Sandwiches
• Salsa
• Spinach Salad with Orange Vinaigrette
• Tuna Potato Salad

Asian Cabbage Salad

Yield: 4

Ingredients:

Asian Cabbage Salad

• 3 tbsp canola oil
• 1 heads of red cabbage, sliced thinly
• 2 cups of bean sprouts
• 2 cups of snow peas, thinly sliced
• 2 x carrots, shredded
• 3 tbsp of soya sauce
• 3 tbsp of honey
• dash of sesame oil
• Juice of 2 limes
• 1/2 cup of fresh cilantro leaves
• Salt and pepper

Directions:

Asian Cabbage Salad

1. Heat oil in a large pot and add cabbage. Season with salt and pepper and stir-fry for about 5 minutes, until it begins to get soft. Add bean sprouts, snow peas, carrots and stir fry for about 2 more minutes.
2. Whisk together the soya sauce, honey, sesame oil, lime juice and add to the cabbage along with the cilantro leaves. Toss well and adjust seasoning.

Ice Cream Sandwiches

Yield: 6

Yield: 6 sandwiches (depending on size of cookies)

Ingredients:

Ice Cream Sandwiches

• 1/2 cup of butter
• 1/2 cup of sugar
• 2 x large eggs
• 2 cups of chocolate chips
• 1 1/2 cups of flour
• 2 tbsp of cocoa
• 1 tsp of baking powder
• pinch of salt
• Vanilla ice cream

Directions:

Ice Cream Sandwiches

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Whiz butter and sugar together in a food processor. Add eggs and continue to whiz. Add chocolate chips and whiz until they are ground into small bits
3. Sift together the flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt and add to the food processor. Pulse until incorporated.
4. Roll dough into balls the size of golf balls. Place on a baking sheet and press down to flatten. Bake for about 6-8 minutes. Let cool.
5. Place a cookie on a baking sheet and top with one heaping scoop of ice cream. Put another cookie on top and push down until the ice cream spreads out and reaches the edges. It should be about an inch thick and evenly dispersed. Continue until desired number of sandwiches have been assembled and put in the freezer. You may need to put each sandwich into the freezer immediately after assembly to avoid excessive melting.

Salsa

Ingredients:

Salsa

• 4 x ripe tomatoes
• 1 cup of tightly packed fresh cilantro leaves
• 6 x green onions
• Juice and zest of 2 limes
• 1 x chipotle pepper
• 1 tbsp of ground cumin
• 1/2 cup of olive oil
• Salt

Directions:

Salsa

1. Puree everything in a food processor until smooth. Add salt to taste. Serve with tortilla chips

Spinach Salad with Orange Vinaigrette

Yield: 2

Ingredients:

For the Salad:

• 1 bag of baby spinach leaves
• 1 x red onion, sliced thinly

For the Vinaigrette:

• 2 tbsp of orange juice concentrate
• 2 tbsp of olive oil
• 1 tbsp of Dijon mustard
• Salt and pepper

Directions:

For the Salad:

1. Put the spinach and onion into a large salad bowl and toss with the vinaigrette.

For the Vinaigrette:

1. Whisk ingredients together until emulsified. Season with salt and pepper.

Tuna Potato Salad

Yield: 4

Ingredients:

Tuna Potato Salad

• 2 lb. of baby red potatoes, cut in half
• 1 lb. of green beans, cleaned
• 1 cup of calamata black olives
• 1/2 cup of olive oil
• 1 x heaping tbsp of Dijon mustard
• Zest and juice of 2 lemons
• 1 x 8 oz tuna steak
• Salt and pepper

Directions:

Tuna Potato Salad

1. Steam potatoes in a stovetop steamer until tender.
2. Remove potatoes to a bowl and add green beans to the steamer. Steam until bright green and still slightly crisp. Add to the potatoes along with the olives, olive oil, mustard, lemon zest and juice and season well. Toss to incorporate everything.
3. Begin to heat a cast iron pan or sauté pan over medium-high heat. Rub both sides of tuna steak with salt and pepper. When the pan is hot, sear the tuna for 2 minutes per side. It should be rare in the middle.
4. Slice the tuna and lay over the potato salad base.

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Chef At Large

7 Chocolate Courses

Dominique and Cindy Duby are Canada’s most notable pastry chefs and sought after "Sweet Ambassadors". They put it all on the line with a 7-course sweet and savoury “molecular gastronomy” meal. Each course features chocolate and the dinner is served at the famous Bel-Air Hotel in Hollywood. Michael travels with them as the Duby’s crusade in the name of science and their food is put to the test.