It was Sunday dinner we lived for in our childhoods. When Sunday meant the stores were shuttered and the church doors open, those leisurely hours from noon to six were spent cooking. Often there were guests. Even when it was just family, the atmosphere was still festive. The mood was helped along by the aroma of a roast, usually beef, wafting through the house. Our mothers, frugal women that they were, would not want to heat the oven for just the roast so rolls, cake or fruit pie would be tucked alongside to keep the main course company. In summer there would be a bouquet of flowers picked from the cutting garden to grace the table. Moreover, it was from Sunday dinner that meals for the upcoming week flowed — roast beef sandwiches topped with bread-and-butter pickles, perhaps a meat pie of sliced roast and leftover vegetables bathed in gravy, potato cakes enhanced with ground leftover roast. In truth there was not a lot of variety in those dinners — in rural areas, even as recently as 20 years ago, there were not a great number of food options with which to work. Instead there was freshness: corn picked and husked minutes before hitting the pot of boiling water, beets and potatoes dug within the hour, berries still warm from the sun. One of us remembers an utterly sublime meal that consisted only of hamburger patties, boiled peas, carrots, new potatoes and sliced tomatoes. It sounds boring but the meat had not had a longstanding relationship with a Styrofoam tray. The local butcher ground the meat while his customers waited. The vegetables were straight off the vine or out of the ground. What we try to recreate today is the atmosphere of those dinners: the heady aroma of roasting meat and vegetables, of baking bread, the gem-like colours of a fruit pie or crumble, the steamy warmth of a kitchen at full throttle, the pleasure of sharing a meal with others.

In our cosmopolitan cities, what we have lost in earth-to-table freshness, we have gained in choice: a mind-boggling array of meats, produce, herbs and spices. We may have loved the plain roasted potatoes that surrounded the beef, but roasted potatoes with cumin borrowed from Mexican and Indian cooking are delightful too. Who has to settle for plain white rice when one can have risotto or pilaf? With such a smorgasbord before us we can seek pleasure from our own comfort foods or from those of another culture almost at will.

Elizabeth Baird and her colleagues in the Canadian Living Test Kitchen, cookbook author and cooking school teacher Bonnie Stern, the voluptuous English television cook Nigella Lawson, and globetrotting Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid seem like a rather disparate group. Yet there is more than a love of cooking uniting them. Each writer is highly aware of the importance of other people to one’s enjoyment of food. Whether it is the ongoing sharing of food with family members or the brief intimacy of a meal eaten with strangers in an exotic locale, these writers, more than just offering up recipes, give the readers a framework for preserving their own culinary experiences.

This dinner menu brings together the soothingly familiar and the exotically enticing — mouthwatering scents and vivid tastes and colours.

1. In saucepan, heat oil over medium-high heat; sauté onions, celery, shallots, garlic, thyme, marjoram, salt and pepper, stirring occasionally, until onions are completely softened and just beginning to turn golden, about 10 minutes.

2. Transfer half of the mixture to blender or food processor; purée until smooth. Return to pan.

3. Add stock, leeks, wine and bay leaf; bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer until leeks are tender-crisp, about 10 minutes. Discard bay leaf. (MAKE-AHEAD: Let cool for 30 minutes; refrigerate, uncovered, until cold. Cover and refrigerate in airtight container for up to 3 days. Rewarm over low heat.) Stir in vinegar. Ladle into warmed soup bowls.

4. TOPPING: Mix together chives, garlic and lemon rind. Place mound in centre of each bowl.

Makes 8 servings.

Charmoula Roast Turkey Breast
from Canadian Living Cooks

1/2	cup finely chopped fresh coriander	125mL
1/3	cup finely chopped fresh parsley	75 mL
2	cloves garlic, minced	2
1/4	cup extra-virgin olive oil	50 mL
2	tbsp lemon juice	25 mL
1	tsp each paprika and salt	5 mL
1/2	tsp ground cumin	2 mL
1/4	tsp cayenne pepper	1 mL
1/4	tsp pepper	1 mL
1	Pinch cinnamon Pinch boneless turkey breast (3 lb/1.5 kg)	1

1. In bowl, stir together coriander, parsley, garlic, oil, lemon juice, paprika, salt, cumin, cayenne pepper, pepper and cinnamon.

2. Pat turkey breast dry. Starting at right side with knife parallel to board, slice turkey breast in half lengthwise just to within 1 inch (2.5 cm) of edge; open flat like book. Spread half of the seasoning mixture over cut surface. Starting at 1 long edge, roll up. Tie kitchen string around each end and at centre to secure. Rub remaining seasoning mixture over roll. Place on greased rack in roasting pan.

3. Roast in 325°F (160°C) oven until juices run clear when turkey is pierced and meat thermometer registers 185°F (85°C), about 2 hours. Transfer to cutting board and tent with foil; let stand for 15 minutes before slicing
thinly.

Makes 8 servings.

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Roasted Plum Tomatoes
from Bonnie Stern’s Essentials of Home Cooking

3 lb (1.5 kg) plum tomatoes (12 to 15)
2 tbsp (25 mL) olive oil
1 tsp (5 mL) salt
1/2 tsp (2 mL) pepper
1 tbsp (15 mL) chopped fresh rosemary, or 1/2 tsp (2 mL) dried
1 tbsp (15 mL) chopped fresh thyme, or 1/2 tsp (2 mL) dried

1. Remove cores from tomatoes. Cut tomatoes in half crosswise and gently squeeze out excess seeds. Place cut side up on a parchment-lined baking sheet (cut a tiny slice off bottoms if necessary so they will sit upright).

2. Drizzle or spray tomatoes with olive oil and sprinkle with salt, pepper, rosemary and thyme. Roast in a preheated 400 F (200 C) oven for 45 to 50 minutes, or until some juices have evaporated and tomatoes are starting to brown on the bottom. Arrange tomatoes attractively on a serving plate. Serve warm or cold.

Makes 24 to 30.