LCBO Food & Drink Holiday 2022

INSIDE SCOOP

ENTERTAINING Bite Vision

If surprise guests show up over the holidays, it’s nice to put out something more interesting than a bowl of chips. Stock up on a few pantry items and basic ingredients, and you’ll be ready to whip up dozens of hors d’oeuvre on the fly. Start with these handy examples, and we bet you’ll soon be inspired to create your own instant canapés.

Cherry tomato half

Pickled beet

Guacamole

Za’atar

Hummus

Feta

Pita chip

Tortilla chip

Dill frond

Artichoke heart

Cooked shrimp

Mortadella

Sour cream

Basil pesto

Cucumber round

Baguette round

SUSTAINABLE OLEO-SACCHARUM 101

Before you juice up a big bowl of citrus, remember there’s also a lot of flavour trapped in those peels. The cocktail syrup oleo-saccharum (Latin for “oil-sugar”) is the key to unlocking it. The process is simple: strips of citrus zest (removed with a Y peeler to minimize bitter white pith) are mixed with sugar and allowed to sit. The sugar extracts the oils, and it turns into a potent syrup. Favoured by 19th-century bartenders, oleosaccharum will amp up punch, a French 75 or any citrus-based drinks including lemonade. Using our Lemon Oleo-Saccharum recipe (at lcbo.com/fdholiday22) as a blueprint, try your hand at concocting your own with a variety of citrus peels, from mandarin to lime to grapefruit.

34 FOOD & DRINK HOLIDAY 2022