Originally published in the Journal de Montréal on December 23, 2006.

Since the time it was served as a meal to the first hungry settlers, turkey has become the traditional Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner. What’s more, its low-fat and exceptional protein and vitamin content make it the perfect choice of meat for everyone.

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Originally published in the Journal de Montréal on October 11, 2008.

This year, I propose that you replace the traditional turkey with another bird that is very small in size and has tasty and delicate brown flesh: the quail. This is a small migratory bird (about 15 cm long) that lives in the wild in Europe, Africa and Asia. It looks a lot like the partridge but is much smaller.

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Originally published in the Journal de Montréal on April 14, 2007.

Minced meat is the most popularly sold meat in the market as a result of its many uses, its reasonable price and good taste.

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Originally published in the Journal de Montréal on September 18, 2010.

The Brome Lake Duck Festival will take place over the next two weekends. The program includes food tasting, a public market place, musical concerts and a host of other activities. In fact, it is in the Eastern Townships that the main duck breeders are located. To know more, visit www.canardenfete.com.

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Originally published in the Journal de Montréal on July 19, 2008.

If you are like me and don’t like to spend too much time cooking on those hot summer days, then a steak tartare is a good option. This dish is in fact very quick and easy to make, and the best part is that it doesn’t require any cooking: all you need is some chopped raw beef, seasoned with an egg yolk, capers, salt and spices.

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Originally published in the Journal de Montréal on May 24, 2008.

“Pollo al Mattone” (i.e. under-the-brick) is a traditional Italian cooking method in which bricks weigh down a butterflied chicken, thereby ensuring even and quick cooking, which yields a crispy skin and succulent meat.

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Originally published in the Journal de Montréal on March 1, 2008.

It was the Portuguese who brought back the guinea hen back from Africa. It is known as “pintada” in Portuguese, meaning “painted”. As a matter of fact, the bird has white spots that look as if they have been painted onto its dark grey plumage.

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