The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

18 Independent & Free Press,Thursday, December 30, 2010 Finish off the Christmas leftovers and look forward to the comfort food Dave Kentner is writing this week's column. As the Kentner Family households closed in on another Christmas Season, visions of favorite Christmas treats danced through my head. The long treasured sights and smells of my mother's house and the special treats of grandmothers long past were revived in my secret thoughts. Daily our home was filled with the sounds of the consulting between Gerry and Lori as they studied their recipe files, favourite Christmas magazines and of course, piles of cookbooks were strewn everywhere. Enough already! Lori Gysel & Gerry & Dave Kentner But the best of the Christmas treats are those humble offerings that follow the annual feasts. I look forward to several months of quiet meals featuring Gerry's time-tested specialties. Gerry is the undisputed "Queen of Leftovers". The Christmas (or Boxing Day or New Year's) turkey will become leftover turkey dinner (plenty of every dish on the original menu), then comes hot turkey sandwiches, next cold turkey sandwiches with dressing, cranberry jelly (always from a can), mayonnaise and of course, on white squishy sandwich bread, now comes the turkey pot pie baking in the oven and last is my favorite turkey soup. With these traditions out of the way we settle down to meatloaf, farmer's sausage, chili, stew, the occasional piece of fresh fish, pork loin, lamb chops, shrimps, Gerry's Sunday roast beef dinner and then Gerry's favorite of all meals "the invitation to someone else's home where Gerry will not be cooking". Gerry has a tremendous repertoire of recipes which means that a specific meal might only be served once a year or in some cases it is beyond recollection when it was last enjoyed. There often is barely time to enjoy these treats and suddenly the "grilling" cookbooks appear and the snow is melting on our deck and spring is just around the corner. Gerry, Lori and Dave wish you all a Happy New Year! Email comments, questions to whatscookin@independentfreepress.com Sunday Roast This recipe came from my mother-in-law many years ago. Ingredients · 3-5 lb. fresh sirloin tip roast (the best cut of beef in my mind for this type of beef dinner) · 1/2 to 1 cup of water Method Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place roast (fat side up, if there is any) in a roasting pan. Add water, cover with lid or foil and leave for 21/2 to 3 hours for well done. Remove from pan, cover and rest for 15 minutes before slicing. Gravy ingredients · flour, Bisto (or Gravee), red wine, salt & pepper Method Deglaze the roast pan over medium heat (scrape up bits on bottom) as you add 1 cup of red wine or beef stock. Add remaining liquid (generally water or water & beef stock). The amount of water will depend on how much flavor you have in the pan, so taste as you go. Add salt & pepper to taste. Mix approximately 2 tsp. flour, 4 tsp. Bisto (Gravee), and 1/2 cup cold water. Add slowly to liquid and simmer til it thickens. At this point you may need more liquid or thickener. Adjust as necessary. Cook's Tip: To roast vegetables with roast--45 minutes before cooking time expires, add pieces of potatoes, carrot chunks and whole cooking onions.