I know I should probably ramble on and on about how making your tomato sauce from scratch is the only way to go, but the truth is, some store bought sauces these days are pretty darn good. To appease the culinary diehards, there is pride and joy to be found in making from scratch, jarring and tasting your own tomato sauce. The reality is, as Chef Dad I don’t always have the time to make sauce from scratch; dinners need to be quick, fresh and tasty. I feel more than comfortable using a prepared tomato sauce as a base and making it my own.

Scrumptious Zucchini Loaf
Makes: 2 Loafs Prep time: 15 minutes
Total time: 1 hour 15 minutes

Christmas dinner is not your usual turkey feast in our house. My wife is not a big turkey fan and has had her quota by Thanksgiving. The girls eat very little meat and turkey is not usually one of them, so it’s crusted salmon for them and prime rib for my wife and I.

I do miss the turkey though, not the big feast but the great meals to be made with the leftovers. So this year I am going to brine and roast a turkey breast for sandwiches and pot pie.

At this time of year, we often look for something entertaining and fun to make for the holidays. If you want to use your creativity, why not pick up a Compliments Gingerbread House Kit. They are a lot of fun to build and even more fun to decorate. I had the pleasure of going to the Sobeys Holiday Luncheon where there was a friendly competition to create a house with the decorating items provided.

Allow me to introduce myself. I’m Chef Ian Dowsett and I am new to the blog. I recently took over for James at the Compliments Culinary Centre at George Brown College. I hope that you enjoy my inaugural blog.

The tree is up and the Village is under the tree, adjustments will be made to ensure that it looks good from every angle. It’s finally starting to feel like Christmas.