Living in the suburbs of Montreal, Canada is a sad place in terms of finding high quality hamburger buns. I mean I have one local store that SOMETIMES carries brioche buns but that’s it. What about delicious potato buns??? You can forget about it! Also since we are currently under quarantine, procuring such delights has…
Extra-Juicy Chicken Burgers
I know that every time I post a recipe I say “IT’S THE BEST!!!” and these burgers really are! They’re the poultry burger equivalent to my smash burgers which are hard to match! Let’s face it, the best chicken burgers we know are delicious fried chicken ones. I’m not talking about those. When you want…
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Extra Crispy Baked Fish Tacos
These baked fish tacos are THE best and absolutely fool proof. I’ll confess here and now that I made these without issue after a virtual happy hour in which I had two pretty strong margaritas! Hence the lack of photos lol. (More to come, after I make these again) I am always searching for recipes…
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Obscenely Chocolatey Chocolate Cookies
Since Easter, which was cancelled, I have been craving chocolate; specifically Cadbury mini-eggs. Seems like after the toilet paper, lysol wipes, hair dye and flour shortages the obvious next things to go were Cadbury mini eggs of course! Weird. Anyway, this post has nothing to do with mini-eggs but it does have a lot to…
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Spicy Chicken Stir-Fry with Celery and Peanuts
I was watching Instagam, you know… as one does especially during this self-isolation period that we’re going through. Many chefs/food editors/ trainers and other various professionals are thankfully supplying us with recipe ideas, cooking and fitness videos. You need the fitness videos after all of the cooking videos. It’s giving us access to more content,…
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Salted Buckwheat Chocolate Chunk Cookies
I am starting quite the collection of chocolate chip (or chunk) cookie recipes here on this site! I just love them, in any form with any flour any type of fat any type of chocolate. This particular cookie is thin, crispy edged with a chewy centre with delicious large pools of intense chocolate flavour. Using…
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Wine-Braised Chicken with Artichoke Hearts
The weeknight-friendly dinner that’s pretty enough if someone suddenly declares that they’re going to pop in for supper on a weeknight 😉 Have this recipe in your arsenal, just in case! It’s also pretty and delicious enough to serve your guests on the weekend when you’d rather be obsessing over your table setting and wine…
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Turmeric-Coconut Curry with Pork and Greek Yogurt
The dish has everything! – different flavours and textures; soft, crunchy and creamy. It’s warm and cool from the yogurt, bright with citrus and hot too, if you care to add some chili pepper. It’s one of the more satisfying dishes I’ve had in a while. Maybe next time I’ll try ground chicken instead of…
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Internet Famous Chocolate Chunk Shortbread Cookies
Chocolate Chip cookies are probably my #1 favourite type of home made cookie! If you peruse my site you’ll find a few for sure and they’re all the ultimate chocolate chip cookie, in their own way. I have my Secret Ingredient Chocolate Chip Cookies and my Nutella Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies. Because these are kind…
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Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich Cookies
Hello there! I discovered this recipe in my early years of blogging, back in 2012 on a lovely food blog called Just a Taste. Peanut butter and jelly is one of my favorite combos; reminiscent of childhood, but in the form a grown-up cookie. You can make these with a 3″ round cookie cutter as…
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BA’s Smash Burgers
So what’s a smash burger? Well, ever been to Shake Shack? ‘Cause they’ve got smash burgers and after I tried one for the first time, a couple of years back on a trip to the US, it changed my hamburger eating life forever. Now I’m obsessed with this style of burger. The patty is thin…
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Winter Crunch Salad
A delicious robust salad that can totally withstand dressing and become even more delicious as it sits so it’s an ideal make-ahead recipe! Each ingredient offers its own flavour and contrasting notes; the bright tang from the apples, spice from the dijon, toastiness from the seeds and nuttiness of the parmesan, to name a few….
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Sausage and Cranberry Stuffing Muffins
On Canadian Thanksgiving, this past October, my niece Claudia wowed everyone with her Sausage and Cranberry Stuffing Muffins. Everyone all around was exclaiming “Wow! These are beautiful!” and rightfully so! Compare these holiday hued muffins, each tucked into their own pretty wrapping with their red cranberries cutting through the shades of brown from the beautifully…
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Nut Butter Granola Bars
Hello all! While browsing the Bon Appetit web site as I do every single day for recipes and meal inspo, I fell upon this recipe for nut butter granola bars. The ingredients were incredibly clean, plus the peanut butter sold me! These have to be delicious! So I made them and posted it on my…
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Barefoot Contessa’s Coconut Cake
This is the ultimate celebration cake; decadent & buttery with a delicious cream cheese frosting. Print Recipe Barefoot Contessa’s Coconut Cake Course Dessert, Party Food Keyword Difficulty- Moderate Servings People Ingredients Ingredients: pound ¾ unsalted butter at room temperature, plus more for greasing, 3 sticksthe pans2 cups sugar5 extra-large eggs at room temperature1 teaspoons ½pure…
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Twice-Baked Sweet Potatoes with Toum and Honey-Butter
These twice-baked sweet potatoes are so next level! Not only is the flavour combination amazing with the sweetness of the honey-butter and the hit of garlic, but the dish is so darn pretty too. You’ll want to make this for your next dinner party for sure! FAST TRACK: When I want to make this recipe…
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Roasted Vegetable Lasagna with Boursin Cheese and Ricotta
What is it about the process of roasting vegetables that makes them so incredibly delicious. I’d say it’s the caramelization, the olive oil and the seasoning. Roasting a vegetable transforms it and it suddenly it becomes a vessel for any delicious flavours and aromatics you can throw at it! Think roasted potatoes with lemon and…
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The Juiciest Brined Grilled Chicken
Brining, this is new to me. I mean, I know that capers are brined, cheese and and Turkey too…. I know I like it but I’d never done it! What does it do, how do you do it? Thankfully, it’s a no brainer and you’ll never go back to grilling chicken breast without brining it first.
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Giada’s Eggplant Timbale
Watch my instagram highlight for a step by step view of how I made it! @vanilla_bean_montreal Print Recipe Giada’s Eggplant Timbale A Timbale or Timballo depending where you are from, is essentially a pasta or rice pie made in a springform pan. Traditionally the exterior crust is comprised of a thin bread crust, commonly filled…
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One-Pot Crispy Braised Chicken
This chicken is deceptively easy to make and my favourite part about it is that you get both tender braised chicken with a satisfyingly flavourful crispy skin. The little broth that is produced has a slight hint of vinegar, which is used to deglaze the pan, which may sound unusual but it is spectacular as…
