LCBO Food & Drink Holiday 2020

Aroma therapy from page 136

4 Set over medium heat. Add leeks and celery. Sauté, stirring occasionally until softened, 8 minutes. Stir in tomato paste. Cook, stirring for 2 minutes, being careful not to burn. Stir in wine and broth. Add carrots. Bring liquid to a boil. Submerge short ribs in this mixture. Add studded orange wedges, allspice and bay leaf. Slowly roast in centre of preheated oven until very tender, about 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Add cinna- mon stick for last half hour of braising. If serv- ing the day of preparing, periodically use a spoon to skim off and discard fat from broth as it braises the meat and fat continues to rise to the surface (see TIP). Remove oranges and cloves, allspice berries, bay leaf and cinnamon stick. Season to taste with freshly grated nut- meg, salt and pepper. 5 Ribs are delicious served over Umami Polenta (recipe follows) or with mashed pota- toes—dealer’s choice. Garnish with parsley.

MULLEDWINE SHORT RIBS Mulled wine and slow-roasted beef are tradi- tional at this time of year. It only makes sense to incorporate mulling spices into a classic wine-and-beef short-rib braise. Short ribs are not easy to prepare but they’re not hard either. If you’ve made them, you know what I mean. If you haven’t, you’re about to discover the beauty of cooking short ribs. They take about a half an hour or so of prep and a whole lot of oven time (it’s really just babysitting at that point) and you’ve got yourself a glorious meal that’s restaurant-level without a lot of special technique. Just patience—which is kind of a special technique in my book. 4 to 5 lbs (1.81 to 2.27 kg) beef short ribs, each about 2 x 4-inch (5 x 10-cm) pieces 1 tbsp (15 mL) kosher salt 2 tsp (10 mL) ground pepper 1 tbsp (15 mL) extra virgin olive oil 5 carrots 2 orange wedges 8 whole cloves 3 leeks, thinly sliced 2 celery stalks, finely chopped 2 tbsp (30 mL) tomato paste 2 1/2 cups (625 mL) red wine 1 1/2 cups (375 mL) homemade or store-bought beef broth 5 whole allspice berries 1 bay leaf 1 cinnamon stick Freshly grated nutmeg Salt and pepper, to taste 3/4 cup (175 mL) chopped flat-leaf parsley, for garnish 1 Preheat oven to 325°C (160°F). Pat short ribs dry with paper towel. Sprinkle with 1 tbsp (15 mL) salt and 2 tsp (10 mL) pepper. 2 Heat oil in a very large, heavy-bottom oven-safe pot or Dutch oven set over medium-­ high heat. Working in 2 batches, brown the short ribs on all sides, 12 to 16 minutes per batch. As each piece is done, remove to a large baking dish or sheet. 3 Meanwhile, cut carrots in half crosswise then lengthwise so you have 4 long pieces from each. Stud each orange wedge with a few cloves. When beef browning is done, pour off fat leaving about 3 tbsp (45 mL) in the pan.

POPCORNWITH GINGERBREAD BUTTER

Simply drizzle a spiced-cookie-inspired butter over freshly popped corn for the perfect 10-minute holiday movie night snack. No planning required—you can put together this super festive treat with ingredients you proba- bly have in your cupboard.

Makes 6 servings

TIP  If making ahead, you can skip the skimming step. Simply refrigerate overnight and then remove and discard fat from the top before reheating. Short ribs will keep well, covered and refrigerated for up to 2 days.

1/2 tsp (2 mL) ground ginger 1 1/4 tsp (6 mL) ground cinnamon Generous pinch of ground allspice, ground cloves and ground nutmeg 2 tbsp (30 mL) salted butter 2 tbsp (30 mL) extra virgin olive oil 1/3 cup (80 mL) popcorn kernels Salt, to taste 2 tbsp (30 mL) salted butter, melted (optional) 2 tsp (10 mL) molasses

UMAMI POLENTA Parm, mushrooms and anchovies (optional) add rich umami flavour to classic polenta.

8 cups (2 L) water 3/4 tsp (4 mL) sea salt

1 pkg (14 g) dried porcini mushrooms 2 cups (500 mL) instant, quick-cooking polenta 2 anchovies, finely chopped (optional) 1/4 cup (60 mL) unsalted butter 2 1/2 cups (625 mL) freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

1 Place spices in a small saucepan. Heat over medium just until toasted, about 1 minute. Add 2 tbsp (30 mL) butter and stir until melted. 2 Pour oil into a large heavy-bottom pot with a fitted lid. Add kernels and set over medium heat. Heat and pop kernels, shaking pan occa­ sionally to prevent burning. When popping begins to slow, remove from heat. Immediately turn into a large serving bowl. 3 Using a spoon, thinly drizzle butter mixture over popcorn, stirring to evenly mix. Season with salt to taste. Taste and drizzle with more melted butter if you like (who doesn’t love more butter?!). Thinly drizzle molasses over- top, stirring to mix.

1 Pour water and salt into a medium sauce- pan. Add dried mushrooms. Bring to a boil. Slowly stir in polenta. Reduce heat to medi- um-low. Continuously whisk. When polenta mixture begins to thicken, about 5 minutes, stir in anchovies. Continue whisking polenta until thickened, about 5 minutes. Stir in butter then Parmigiano until evenly mixed. Serve immediately.

Makes 6 to 8 servings

Makes 4 servings

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HOLIDAY 2020 FOOD & DRINK