A chocolate-free holiday is, for many of us, a recipe for Grinchy behavior. Good news: you can keep the peace with a batch of homemade better-for-you cups filled with creamy peanut butter goodness. Plus, you get the chance to elevate them with exciting add-ins like spices, crunchy cacao nibs and a whisper of salt. If you don’t want to use peanut butter, almond butter works great too. Or, if you want these to be nut free, employ sunflower butter.
For the most antioxidant goodness, choose chocolate that contains at least 70 percent cocoa.
Per serving:
Place 16 mini-muffin silicone or paper cups on baking sheet or large cutting board. You can also stuff them into a mini-muffin cup tray.
In heatproof steel or glass bowl, place chocolate, 2 Tbsp coconut oil, cinnamon and cayenne (if using). Set bowl in pot filled with about 1 inch of water (be sure the bowl does not touch the water). Bring water to a slight simmer and heat chocolate, stirring often, until smooth. Stir in cacao nibs (if using). Turn off heat and leave pot on stovetop to keep warm. Alternatively, combine chocolate, 2 Tbsp coconut oil, cinnamon and cayenne in microwave-safe bowl and cook on medium power in 15-second intervals until melted, stirring well in between each interval and to incorporate cacao nibs once mixture is melted.
In separate bowl, stir together peanut butter and remaining melted coconut oil.
With small spoon, scoop in a little melted chocolate to cover the bottom of each mini-muffin liner. Place in freezer for about 5 minutes or refrigerator for about 20 minutes to slightly set. Divide peanut butter among muffin cups and place remaining chocolate over peanut butter to cover. Sprinkle on flaky salt (if using). Return to freezer or refrigerator until cups are set. Keep chilled in refrigerator until ready to serve.
Tourtière is, for me, the dish that best represents Québec. It can be traced back to the 1600s, and there’s no master recipe; every family has their own twist. Originally, it was made with game birds or game meat, like rabbit, pheasant, or moose; that’s one of the reasons why I prefer it with venison instead of beef or pork. Variation: If you prefer to make single servings, follow our lead at the restaurant, where we make individual tourtières in the form of a dome (pithivier) and fill them with 5 ounces (160 g) of the ground venison mixture. Variation: You can also use a food processor to make the dough. Place the flour, salt, and butter in the food processor and pulse about ten times, until the butter is incorporated—don’t overmix. It should look like wet sand, and a few little pieces of butter here and there is okay. With the motor running, through the feed tube, slowly add ice water until the dough forms a ball—again don’t overmix. Wrap, chill, and roll out as directed above.
My love of artichokes continues with this classic recipe, one of the best ways to eat this interesting, underrated, and strange vegetable. Frozen artichoke hearts are a time-saving substitute, though the flavour and texture of fresh artichokes are, by far, much superior and definitely preferred.
Cervelle de canut is basically the Boursin of France, an herbed fresh farmer’s cheese spread that’s a speciality of Lyon. The name is kind of weird, as it literally means “silk worker’s brain,” named after nineteenth-century Lyonnaise silk workers, who were called canuts. Sadly, the name reflects the low opinion of the people towards these workers. Happily for us, though, it’s delicious—creamy, fragrant, and fresh at the same time. Cervelle de canut is one of my family’s favourite dishes. It’s a great make-ahead appetizer that you can pop out of the fridge once your guests arrive. Use a full-fat cream cheese for the dish, or it will be too runny and less delicious.