Sticky Pudding; Perfect Turkey Stuffing Every year the holidays approach, exciting us with the expectation of good food, good company and good gifts, but usually disappoint at the dinner table with lumpy mashed potatoes and dry stuffing. This year add a little zest to the holiday season by sizzling up your holiday table with some new and exciting side dishes. With the help of five of Canada's best chefs, find out how to turn a humdrum holiday table into a moveable feast.Sticky Pudding by Mark McEwan of The Food Network's new hit show The HeatYield 4-6 servings"This is my favourite holiday dessert because it's so versatile -- you can make individual puddings or a whole batch -- it's so good I could eat the whole thing!" Pudding:5oz pitted dates roughly chopped10 Mason figs roughly chopped1 1/4 cups water1 tsp. baking soda10 tsp. butter at room temperature1 1/4 cups dark brown sugar2 Tbsp. black strap molasses6 eggs10 Tbsp flour2 tsp. baking powder1/4 cup finely chopped walnutsToffee Sauce:3/4 cup dark brown sugar3 Tbsp. black strap molasses1 cup 35% cream Dash of vanilla extract or maple syrup2 Tbsp. butter• Pre heat oven to 350°F and butter and flour 4-6 ramekins. • Put dates, figs and water into medium saucepan over high heat and bring water to a boil. Continue boiling until the fruit has completely absorbed the water. Stir in baking soda to hot fruit mix and let fruit completely cool in a large bowl. • Mush the cool fruit with an electric mixer and slowly add in butter. Add brown sugar and molasses and beat on medium high speed until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time to fruit mixture making sure to fully beat the first egg in before adding the next. • In a small bowl sift flour with baking powder. Add walnuts to flour mix, and slowly fold dry mixture into fruit mixture.• Pour mixture into ramekins about ¾ full. Place ramekins in a roasting pan filled an inch high with water and cover the entire pan with aluminium foil. Bake for 30-35 minutes until toothpick inserted into the center comes out nearly clean.• While pudding is baking bring all the toffee sauce ingredients to a boil in a large saucepan. Boil mixture until reduced by half while stirring continuously. • Prick large holes in the top of the finished pudding and pour toffee sauce into holes allowing the sauce to seep into the bottom of the pudding cups.Serve warm.Perfect Turkey Stuffing by Darren Lewis of Chives Canadian BistroHalifax, Nova Scotia"This recipe is based on my grandmother Lewis' recipe. After graduating from the Culinary Institute of Canada, I worked at the Walt Disney Resorts in Florida, and was working all through the holidays and feeling rather home sick. To feel closer to home, I convinced my Chef to allow me to introduce my nanny's turkey stuffing recipe -- all Chef'd up -- to The Wonderful World of Disney. It was a great hit and as far as I know its still being used at Disney."Perfect Turkey Stuffing1 Spanish onion (small dice) 3 ribs celery (small dice) 6 granny smith apples (peeled, cored, medium dice) 2/3 cup dried cranberries (plumped in 1/2 cup warm sherry) 1 1/2 lb. day old bread (cut in to 1/2 inch cubes) 1/2 lb. ground Italian sausages meat (medium spice removed from casings) 2 Tbsp dried summer savoury sea salt & freshly cracked pepper to taste • Sauté the sausage meat until it begins to take colour. Add the onions, celery, and continue to sauté until the vegetables are translucent. • While still on the heat, add the plumped cranberries and any remaining sherry and continue to cook until all sherry is reduced away, then remove from heat. • In a large mixing bowl, combine the sautéed mixture with the remaining ingredients. • Rinse, dry and season the cavity of your turkey. Loosely fill the cavity, truss the bird, rub the skin with room temp butter, season with salt and pepper and roast in an open roaster breast side up at 325°F, 20 min per lb. until the leg pulls away from the bird easily and the juices run clear. Remove from the heat, tent with foil, and let rest for 20 min for the juices to redistribute themselves throughout the roast. Remove stuffing to a serving bowl, carve the turkey and enjoy. This recipe can also be cooked as a side in a casserole dish by buttering a dish and filling it with the stuffing and sprinkling it with 1/2 cup chicken broth just to moisten. Cover and bake for 45 min with the last 15 min uncovered to crisp the top.Get more stylish holiday menu and recipe ideas from other readers in our forums.Page 1 of 3 Rutabaga Glaze with Quebec Maple & Alberta Birch Syrup; Apple & Onion Bread Pudding Rutabaga Glaze with Quebec Maple and Alberta Birch Syrup by Patrick Turcot, Executive Chef of The Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge Jasper, AlbertaYield: 4-6 servings"I chose this recipe because I love maple and birch syrup and rutabaga is a comfort food that makes you feel good." Rutabaga Glaze with Quebec Maple and Alberta Birch Syrup1 medium rutabaga100 mL of maple syrup50 mL of Birch syrup50 g shallots diced50 g of butterSalt and pepperChopped chives• Peel and cut the rutabaga in 1" x 4" long batonnet (stick). • Blanch all the rutabaga in salted boiling water. When they are nicely cooked and still al dente, cool them down in an ice water bath to stop the cooking.• In a saucepan, sauté the shallots in butter and add the rutabaga. Add the maple and birch syrup and reduce the heat to a very slow simmer. It is important that the vegetables are slowly braised to get the full flavour of the syrups.• After braising for 15 to 20 min. season with salt and pepper and add chopped chives.Apple and Onion Bread Pudding by Executive Chef Ray Henry from The Metropolitan Hotel Vancouver, British ColumbiaYield: 8-9 servings "This is an upscale version of a comfort classic and is also an excellent alternative for vegetarians."Bread Mixture: 5 croissants cut into 3/4 inch cubes 3 slices rye bread, cut into 3/4 inch cubes • Place bread on a large baking sheet and let stand uncovered overnight to dry out. Vegetable Mixture: 1/8 cup unsalted butter Pinch salt and ground black pepper 2 cups onions, peeled, and thinly sliced 1/2 Tbsp. garlic, minced 1 1/2 cups Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and cut into 1/2 inch cubes Royal Mixture: 3/4 litre of cream 4 whole eggs 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese 1 Tbsp fresh chopped thyme 1 Tbsp fresh chopped sage 1 Tbsp fresh chopped parsley 1/8 tsp nutmeg 1/2 tsp salt or to taste 1/4 tsp ground black pepper or to taste • Preheat oven to 375º F. • In a sauté pan over medium heat, melt the butter and add a pinch of salt and pepper. Add onions, stirring often until they are soft and translucent for approximately 5 minutes. Increase heat to medium-high and continue stirring the onions to caramelize for approximately 10 minutes. Add garlic and sauté for 1 minute. Remove from heat and stir in diced apples. Transfer mixture to a large bowl. Add bread mixture to the bowl with the onions and apple and mix together to incorporate well. • In a separate bowl, whisk together all the royal mixture ingredients and add to the bread mixture. Mix well to incorporate and let stand in the refrigerator for approximately 1 hour, stirring every so often to ensure the bread/vegetable and royal mixtures blend together well and the bread is soaked through. • Place mixture into a glass baking dish or pan lined with parchment paper. Place into the preheated oven and bake for approximately 40-50 minutes until golden brown on top. Remove from the oven and let stand for 10 minutes before serving. Page 2 of 3 Upside Down Pumpkin Quiche Upside Down Pumpkin QuicheMartin Buijsrogge of Sodexho1kg pumpkin puree1/2 pint 35% cream6 egg yolks1/8 cup thyme, chopped1 tsp. nutmegSalt and Pepper1/2 cup toasted pumpkin seeds1 pkg. of puff pastry 1 egg, beaten• Preheat oven to 350°F.• Mix puree, cream, yolks, thyme, nutmeg and salt and pepper in a large bowl until combined.• Place mixture into a hotel pan (stainless steel cooking pan usually 12"x20") And bake for 35 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove quiche from oven and cool.• When the quiche has completely cooled, remove from baking dish and set on a large cutting surface. Using circular cutters cut quiche into 2 ½" circles.• Take out a single sheet of puff pastry and cut into 2 ½" circles with the same cutter used for the quiche. With a pastry brush, brush egg wash onto puff pastry circles, and place circles on top of each round quiche. • Place quiche back into the oven and bake for an additional 15 minutes or until the puff pastry has reached a golden brown.Page 3 of 3