Appetizers

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Heat a 10-inch cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Add the bacon and cook until crispy, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and transfer the bacon to a paper-towel lined plate to drain. Remove all but a thin layer of bacon grease from the skillet (about 2 tablespoons remaining).
2. Return the skillet to medium heat. Add the garlic and jalapeño. Cook until slightly softened, 2 minutes. Remove from the heat. Add the cream cheese, mayonnaise, sour cream, Worcestershire sauce, and black pepper. Stir or whisk until smooth. Stir in about two-thirds of the bacon.
3. Sprinkle the cheddar cheese all over the top of the dip, followed by the crushed chips. Bake until the edges are bubbly and the cheese is melted all over, 12 to 14 minutes. Top with the remaining cooked bacon and extra slices of jalapeño. Serve with more tortilla chips and toasted baguette. 

PREPARE

In a saucepan, heat the whiskey with the raisins and vanilla. When it’s just about to boil, remove from the heat and let stand for 30 minutes.

Divide the raisins among four individual casseroles or mini cocottes, reserving a few for garnish. Divide the brie into four equal portions and place these on top of the raisins. Pour the whiskey over the cheese. Grind black pepper on top. Set aside.

MAKE

Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).

Bake the cocottes for about 20 minutes, until the cheese is soft. If the top isn’t browned after 20 minutes, turn on the broiler and broil until golden brown. Scatter the reserved raisins over the brie.

Serve each cocotte on a plate lined with a napkin so it won’t slide. Serve with the breadsticks and the endives, and some pieces of pear or cooked baby potatoes on a skewer.

1. In a food processor, combine the shrimp and eggs and process until almost smooth. Add the butter and truffle oil, if using, season with salt and white pepper and pulse until the butter is incorporated but still visible in small pieces. Test a small amount for seasoning by microwaving it at high power for 10–15 seconds, or by sautéing it in a little oil in a small pan.
2. Adjust the seasoning if necessary. Use or place in a container, cover and store refrigerated for up to 2 days.
3. To form the shumai, have a bowl of water handy. Hold 1 wonton wrapper in the palm of your non-dominant hand. Cup the hand and place 1 heaping tablespoon of the mousse in the centre of the wrapper. Bring the wrapper up around the filling, pressing it to adhere to the filling and pleating as you go. Continue around the filling. There will be 6–8 pleats and the filling will be exposed. Tap the dumpling against the work surface to flatten the bottom. Repeat with the remaining wrappers and filling.
4. Put the scallions on a platter. Add the sesame seeds and combine. With a wet palm, press down on the shumai, flattening them to a thickness of about ½ inch. Press the ‘open’ top side of the shumai into the scallion mixture.
5. Line a large plate with paper towels. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add 2 tablespoons of the oil and swirl to coat the pan. When the oil is hot, carefully add half the shumai to the pan coated side down and cook until golden, turning once, for 1 ½ – 2 minutes per side. The tip of a paring knife, when inserted in the shumai, should emerge hot.
6. Transfer the shumai to the kitchen paper to drain. Cook the remaining shumai with the remaining 2 tablespoons oil. Transfer to a platter, sprinkle with the reserved scallion greens and serve.

serve with bread or crackers

In a large nonstick skillet, saute onion in oil until tender. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Add beans; mash gently. Stir in the tomato, picante sauce, cumin and chili powder. Cook and stir just until heated through. Remove from heat; stir in cheese, cilantro and lime juice. Serve warm with chips.

1. Make sauce: Bring sugar and water to a boil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring until sugar melts completely. Reduce heat to a medium-low and add soy sauce, mirin, ginger, coriander and peppercorns. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until reduced by half, about 30 minutes, though this took me a bit longer to reduce it until it was syrupy enough that I thought it would coat, and not just dribble off the meatballs. You can keep it on a back burner, stirring it frequently, while browning the meatballs in the next step. Once it has reduced to your satisfaction, strain through a sieve.
2. Make meatballs: Mix turkey, scallions, cilantro, egg, sesame oil, soy sauce and several grindings of black pepper in a bowl. I like mixing meatballs with a fork; it seems to work the ingredients into each other well. Roll tablespoon-sized knobs of the mixture into balls. The mixture is pretty soft; I find it easiest to roll — eh, more like toss the meatballs from palm to palm until they’re roundish — meatballs with damp hands.
3. In a skillet over medium-high heat, generously cover bottom of pan with vegetable oil. Working in batches to avoid crowding, place meatballs in pan and cook, turning, until browned all over and cooked inside, about 8 minutes per batch. Arrange on a platter (a heated one will keep them warm longer), spoon a little sauce over each meatball, and serve with toothpicks. Alternatively, you can serve the glaze on the side, to dip the meatballs.
4. Do ahead: The sauce can be made up to 2 days in advance and refrigerated until needed. If needed, you can rewarm or keep the meatballs warm in a 200-degree oven until ready to serve. I’m storing mine in the fridge overnight and crossing my fingers they’ll taste fresh tomorrow.

Notes

I fiddled with the recipe a bit, using less cilantro and ginger than called for and cooking the sauce for much longer than suggested, in hopes to make it a true glaze that would hang onto the sides of a dipped meatball. I almost dialed back the sugar, but once the glaze was all reduced, I ended up liking the sweetness to balance out the salty kickiness of the soy and ginger.[br]Note: This recipe is gluten-free if you use a soy sauce that is labeled gluten free. There were many options on the shelf at the store.

Yield: The original recipe suggest 24 but I got 34. This pleased me.

1. Slice Vidalia onion in half, then thinly slice. Separate rings and set aside. You should have about 4 cups (1 L). Slice white parts of green onions and add to rings along with garlic. Sprinkle with salt and sugar. Stir to mix.
 
2. Heat butter and oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion mixture. Sauté 5 minutes, stirring often, then reduce heat to low. Continue to cook, stirring often, until onions start to caramelize, 20 to 25 minutes.
 
3. Turn cooked onion mixture onto a chopping board. Finely chop. Put in a large bowl. Thinly slice green onion tops and set aside 2 tbsp (30 mL) for garnish. Stir remainder into cooked onion. Stir in mayonnaise. While stirring, sprinkle in 3 cups (750 mL) shredded cheese.
 
4. Turn into a shallow ovenproof dish that will hold about 3 cups (750 mL). Roughly smooth the surface. Cover and refrigerate at least until cold, or up to 2 days.
 
5. About 30 minutes before serving, heat oven to 375°F (191°C).
 
6. Sprinkle cold onion dip with remaining 1/2 cup (125 mL) cheddar. Place in oven and bake until golden, 30 to 35 minutes. Sprinkle with reserved green onion and serve warm with baguette slices, chips, crackers or vegetables for dipping.

Preparation

FOR THE SHRIMP:

1. Combine salt, sugar and 6 cups water in a medium pot and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.

2. Using a pair of scissors, snip through the shrimp shells, down the backs of each shrimp, stopping right where the tail begins. You're not going to remove these shells until after they're cooked, but this will make it a hell of a lot easier to peel them. If you see any dark veins running down the line that you snipped, use a paper towel to pull them out.

3. Have a timer at the ready — shrimp can overcook very easily, so you need to be prepared. Once the water comes to a boil, turn off the heat, add the shrimp and cover. Set a timer for 4 minutes; the shrimp should be pink and turned from translucent to opaque.

4. Meanwhile, fill a large bowl with ice water. Drain the shrimp and plunge them into the ice bath. Let sit until very chilled, 10-15 minutes.

FOR THE DILLY HORSERADISH CREAM:

1. In a medium bowl, stir together the crème fraîche and prepared horseradish.

2. Finely chop the shallot and dill leaves. Add the dill to the crème fraîche along with the chopped shallot.

3. Finely grate the zest of 1/2 lemon into the crème fraiche mixture and squeeze in the juice. Cut the remaining 1½ lemons into wedges for serving. Season with salt and lots of black pepper.

TO SERVE:

When the shrimp are completely chilled, peel and discard the shells, leaving just the tails attached. Transfer to a shallow serving bowl full of ice cubes (or over crushed ice if you're fancy). Cold shrimp is key! Serve with the lemon and Dilly Horseradish Cream.