Impress dinner guests without excess kitchen labour Readers share recipes for welcoming the new year with low-fuss, big-taste fanfare Homemade
By: Eva Wasney Posted: 4:25 PM CST Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025

New Year’s Eve is a chance to go big. One last hurrah to end the year on a memorable note.

It’s also the finish line for a long season of dining, drinking and celebrating — making it hard to muster the energy for another big bash.

Our final Homemade column of 2025 is dedicated to all the noble NYE hosts looking for showstopping mains with a good ROE (return on energy). This week’s reader-submitted recipes are fit for a crowd and are relatively easy to assemble.

Paul Doyle’s Paella is a colourful, one-very-large-pot dish packed with protein, rice and veg.

Arleen Kristofferson’s Arctic Char and Wild Rice Pie makes use of two classic Manitoba ingredients and is served with a rich dill sauce.

And don’t let the prospect of homemade pasta scare you off. The dough for Nonna Lola’s Manicotti, from Laura Dacquisto, is made in a blender and can be assembled a day in advance.

May your new year be filled with happiness, health and many satisfying home cooking adventures.

Want to share a recipe? Visit winnipegfreepress.com/homemade to fill out the submission form.

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Paella

• 3 chorizo or mild Italian sausages
• 30 ml (2 tbsp) olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 fresh tomatoes, finely chopped
• 10 ml (2 tsp) crushed garlic
• 1 red and 1 green bell pepper, cut into rings
• 500 ml (2 cups) long grain rice
• 1 L (4 cups) chicken broth
• 750 ml (3 cups) frozen peas
• 10 ml (2 tsp) sweet paprika
• 2.5 ml (1/2 tsp) turmeric
• 15 ml (1 tbsp) dried parsley
• 2 large pinches saffron
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 900 g (2 lbs) mussels
• 225 g (1/2 lb) raw calamari rings
• 450 g (1 lb) raw small scallops
• 450 g (1 lb) raw medium shrimp

Preheat the oven to 350 F.

On the stovetop, cook sausages over medium heat in a paella pan or a large shallow skillet with a lid. Remove sausages and set aside.

Add olive oil to the pan and sauté the onion and tomatoes for several minutes. Add garlic, peppers and rice. Stir and cook for 3 minutes.

Add broth, peas, seasonings, saffron, salt and pepper. Stir, cover the pan and bring to a boil. Once boiling, place the covered pan in the oven for 15 minutes.

Add mussels to the pan, return to the oven and bake for 5 minutes.

Cut the cooked sausages into thin slices and add them back to the pan, along with calamari, scallops and shrimp. Stir and bake in the oven for another 10 minutes.

— Paul Doyle

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Arctic Char and Wild Rice Pie

• 180 ml (3/4 cup) wild rice
• 30 ml (2 tbsp) butter
• 4 green onions, sliced
• 625 ml (2 1/2 cups) mushrooms, sliced
• 1 whole Arctic char, cooked and flaked (can substitute with whole salmon)
• 30 ml (2 tbsp) fresh dill, chopped
• 30 ml (2 tbsp) fresh parsley, chopped
• 4 eggs, beaten
• 375 ml (1 1/2 cups) sour cream
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• Pastry for a 10-inch pie dish
• 1 egg, beaten

Dill Sauce

• 1 L (4 cups) whipping cream
• 2 green onions chopped
• 15 ml (1 tbsp) butter
• 45 ml (3 tbsp) fresh dill, chopped

Cook the rice in a pot of salted boiling water until tender.

Add butter to a large skillet over medium heat and sauté onions and mushrooms. When softened, add rice, flaked Arctic char, dill, parsley, salt and pepper.

In a bowl, beat eggs and stir in sour cream. Gently mix into the fish and rice.

Spoon the mixture into a deep pie dish and top with pastry (I don’t do a bottom crust, as I find it gets soggy). Brush pastry with the beaten egg and cut some slits to let steam escape.

Bake at 400 F for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 F and bake for another 35 minutes.

To make the dill sauce, melt butter in a non-stick pan and add onions, cooking until tender. Pour in whipping cream and heat until it comes to a soft boil, stirring occasionally until the cream thickens. Top with fresh dill, pour into a serving pitcher.

Cut the pie into eight pieces, serve hot with the warm dill sauce.

— Arleen Kristofferson

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Nonna Lola’s Manicotti

Sauce

• 80 ml (1/3 cup) olive oil
• 375 ml (1 1/2 cups) onion, diced fine
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 1 can (796 ml) San Marzano tomatoes, crushed by hand or with a food mill
• 1 can (156 ml) tomato paste
• 30 ml (2 tbsp) fresh parsley, chopped
• 15 ml (1 tbsp) sugar
• 15 ml (1 tbsp) salt
• 5 ml (1 tsp) dried oregano (fresh if possible)
• 5 ml (1 tsp) dried basil (fresh if possible)
• 1 ml (1/4 tsp) pepper
• 375 ml (1 1/2 cups) water

Manicotti

• 6 eggs
• 375 ml (1 1/2 cups) flour
• 1 ml (1/4 tsp) salt
• 375 ml (1 1/2 cups) water

Filling

• 900 g (2 lbs) ricotta cheese or cottage cheese
• 225 g (8 oz) mozzarella cheese, cubed
• 80 ml (1/3 cup) Parmesan cheese, grated
• 2 eggs
• 1 ml (1/4 tsp) pepper
• 5 ml (1 tsp) salt
• 30-45 ml (2-3 tbsp) fresh parsley, chopped, or spinach, blanched and drained

For sauce, sauté onion over low heat until it starts to brown lightly. Add the garlic and sauté carefully until soft but not browned. Add the tomato paste and let it warm up with the onions and garlic and let it cook a little to enhance the flavour. Add the rest of the sauce ingredients and continue to cook for about 30 minutes on low heat.

To make manicotti, place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Chill in the fridge for 30 minutes. Cook manicotti as you would crêpes in an eight-inch pan. Let cool and place between wax paper. You can make the manicotti a day ahead, store it in the fridge covered with plastic.

Combine filling ingredients together in a bowl.

Spread 375 ml (1 1/2 cups) of sauce on the bottom of a 12×8-inch baking dish. Fill manicotti with 30-45 ml (2-3 tbsp) of filling and roll into a tube. Place filled manicotti in the baking dish and cover with remaining sauce. Top with more Parmesan cheese and bake, uncovered, at 350 F for 30 minutes or until bubbly.

— Laura Dacquisto

 

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