Chatelaine

It's no longer the boring vegetable from the holiday crudité platter — it's a star ingredient on dinner plates and restaurant menus everywhere.

But as a play about the brutal New Delhi bus rape shows, they do. When I grew up there, the constant threat of sexual violence was just part of being female.

The negroni, an Italian cocktail of gin, red vermouth, Campari and orange peel, is a classic sipper for those with adventurous palates.

Vanessa Taylor shows how to add just the right amount of sparkle for any type of seasonal fete.

This recipe came about when we ended up getting a bounty of wax beans from Jocelyn at Jardins Bio-Santé. I love fish and chips and I love wok-fried beans, so why not have the best of both worlds? So the plate doesn’t look like a one-trick pony, I make two different batters from the same base recipe, one with a blonde beer and one with a red. -DD

I was in a mall one day and came across a Laura Secord—a famous Canadian chocolate chain named, for some reason, after a heroine of the War of 1812. I hadn’t been in one of these stores for eons. I figured they’d probably gone extinct. As a kid I would sometimes get some of her butterscotch pudding in my school lunch, and since we had just come back from tapping trees for maple syrup, this recipe came to me. Sucre à la crème hurts my teeth (in a good way), and pudding is awesome, so why not combine the two and get the best of both worlds? -DD

This is a classic technique that works beautifully with all kinds of fish. Working with impeccably fresh cod, like we did in Newfoundland, is a rare treat, so I wanted to treat it simply. This delicious method came immediately to mind. Whatever fish I use, I like to take the centre cut from the fillets and gently poach them in chicken stock until they are just set. Then I glaze them in a fumet made from their bones and infused with fresh herbs. It makes for a stunning plate of white on white, and it really lets the fish sing. Extra sauce can be frozen. -DD + CJ

Forget the overflowing box of mismatched paper, tissue and bows. It only takes a few basic items to create stunning gift wrapping combinations.

Baked French toast is the easiest brunch for a crowd. Mincemeat gives this recipe a delightfully festive flavour.

Step 1 can be done up to 6 hours in advance. Finish sprouts in the pan just before serving.

For crisp, savoury snacks, use all-butter puff pastry, thawed overnight in the fridge.

Few things excite us as much as a sale. Scope out our favourite awesomely discounted picks this week.