This is a dish that can be made well in advance while rest of the meal cook and then simply finish it just in time for your guests.

3 Cups Sweet potatoes – peeled, cubed and mashed
¼ Cup Butter
3 Eggs
½ Cup Coconut Milk (unsweetened)
1 TB Orange Zest
1 TS Vanilla
1 TB Lemon Juice
1 TS Salt
1 TS Cinnamon
1 TS Ground Nutmeg

Topping:
1 Cup Chopped Pecans
1 Cup Flaked Coconut
1 Cup Brown Sugar
½ Cup Flour
¼ Cup Butter
Cook the potatoes and mash. Add melted butter, eggs, coconut milk, vanilla and remaining ingredients. Mix well and place into a greased baking dish. Cover and hold for finishing steps.
Mix the topping ingredients together in a bowl. Sprinkle over the sweet potato mixture and bake at 350F for 30 minutes or until the top is crisp and the middle is hot.

1 Gelderman Farms Fresh Pork Tenderloin www.geldermanfarms.ca
1 ½ cups all purpose flour
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 shallot minced
Zest from ½ an orange
1 teaspoon honey
½ cup Black Cloud Altostratus Pinot Noir www.blackcloud.ca
½ cup fresh BC cherries, pits removed and roughly chopped
1 sprig of fresh thyme
2 tablespoons unsalted cold butter cut into small peices
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 200F, and place an oven-safe platter on the middle rack to warm.

Cut your pork tenderloin into slices aprox. ½ inch.
Spread the flour out on a deep plate and season it with salt and pepper. Season the pork with a sprinkling of salt and pepper, then dredge it in the flour, shaking off any excess.

Heat the oil in the sauté pan over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot and shimmering, add the medallions without overcrowding the pan, you may need to do them in batches. When they’re brown on the first side, flip and brown them on the second side. Don’t cook them longer than 5 minutes or so – they cook quickly. Take them out and put them in the oven to rest while you make the pan sauce.

With your pan over medium heat you want to add the shallot, sauté until soft – add the Altostratus wine and scrape the crisp caramelized bits remaining in the bottom of the pan. Allow the wine to reduce by about ½ . Add the cherries & thyme  and allow the mixture to cook for 5 minutes. Finally, add the honey, the orange zest & the cold butter – whisking well to combine. At this point the sauce should be slightly reduced and the cherries warmed through – the sauce will thicken slightly. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Pour your pan sauce over the pork medallions and serve immediately with the rest of the bottle of wine ! Enjoy.

“Momosa”

Make mom’s morning extra special by serving her a delicious “Momosa” in bed while the pancakes are
cooking !

½ cup fresh strawberries stemmed and cut in half
½ cup fresh squeezed orange juice
½ cup ice
½ teaspoon honey
club soda, sparkling water or 7-up

Combine strawberries, orange juice, ice & honey in blender. Blend until smooth and serve in a tall glass garnished with a whole strawberry and a splash of club soda.

Banana Pecan Pancakes with Maple Syrup

My secret in this great kid-friendly, easy to make recipe is the yogurt. It replaces the oil you usually have to add to the mixture to keep the pancakes nice and moist. By using a flavored yogurt you can change it up however you like. Try Blueberry yogurt with fresh blueberries, Lemon Yogurt with fresh strawberries, Coconut Yogurt with toasted pecans etc.

1 cup of all purpose flour
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
Pinch of salt
¾ cup vanilla yogurt
3 tbsp butter, melted
Dash of freshly grated nutmeg
½ tsp vanilla extract or paste
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
¼ cup toasted pecans, roughly chopped
1 large over-ripe banana, smashed with a fork
2 firm bananas and 1 cup of maples syrup

Combine the flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda & salt in a large bowl, stirring well to combine. Combine yogurt, 2 tbsp. butter, nutmeg, eggs, pecans, and mashed banana in a small bowl, mix thoroughly. Add the flour mixture to the yogurt mixture, stirring until smooth.
Pour about ¼ cup of batter per pancake into a hot lightly buttered non-stick pan. Cook 2 minutes or until the tops are covered with bubbles and edges look cooked. Carefully turn pancakes over; cook 2 more minutes or until bottoms are lightly browned.

Slice the 2 firm bananas and add to a sauté pan with 1 tbsp. of melted butter. Sauté until warm, add the maple syrup to heat through and spoon over the hot pancakes. Serve immediately.

Turkey & Guinness Sweet Potato Shepherds’ Pie

Sweet Potato Top
6 medium sweet potatoes, peeled & cut into chunks
Coarse salt and freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
¼ cup half and half
2 tablespoon butter
Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
Salt & pepper to taste

Turkey Filling

1 tablespoon olive oil 2 pounds ground turkey thighs
2 small onions, finely chopped 2 cloves garlic, minced
2 stalks celery, finely diced 2 carrots, finely diced
2 teaspoons fresh chopped thyme 1 tbsp herbs de provence
½ cup frozen peas 1 teaspoon dried oregano
Pinch ground cloves (optional) ½ cup rich chicken stock
½ cup Guinness beer 1 tablespoon Worcestershire
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste

For the Sweet Potato Topping

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil – add a good pinch of salt and the potatoes – boil until fork tender.
2. Mash the sweet potatoes and add butter, cream, nutmeg, and salt & pepper. Stir with wooden spoon until blended. Adjust seasoning as necessary.

For the Meat Filling

1. Put oil into a large deep skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and sauté until softened. Add garlic and continue to sauté for 3 minutes.
2. Add the turkey, breaking it apart and stirring until it’s browned.
3. Add the celery, carrots, thyme, herbs de provence, oregano & season with salt and pepper.
4. Continue to cook over high heat until carrots begin to soften.
5. Add the beer and stock into pan and then add the Worcestershire and Dijon. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to low.
6. Stir in the peas and season the mixture with salt and pepper – simmer covered, until meat is tender and moisture is absorbed, about 20 minutes.
7. Put meat mixture into a baking dish. Spread the mashed sweet potatoes over top and bake until top is golden and meat filling is bubbling, about 25 to 30 minutes. Serve Immediately.