LCBO Food & Drink Autumn 2024

BROWN BUTTER CHOCOLATE CHUNK COOKIES WITH PECANS & CARAMEL We give chocolate chip cookies the pecan pie treatment by folding in bits of chewy caramel and toasted nuts. They’re on the larger side, but you can make smaller cookies—perfect for gifting—by halving the portion size and baking 9 to 11 minutes.

6. Using a 2-oz (55-g) ice-cream scoop or 1/4-cup (60-mL) measure, portion cookies on prepared baking sheets, about 3 inches (8 cm) apart. Do not flatten. Bake cookies on mid dle rack, one batch at a time, until edges are golden-brown, 12 to 14 minutes. Let cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes, then move to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with remaining batches, making sure to cool cookie sheets completely before reloading with a new batch.

3/4 cup (175 mL) pecan pieces 1 cup (250 mL) unsalted butter 2 cups (500 mL) all-purpose flour

Makes about 16 large cookies

11/4 tsp (6 mL) fine sea salt 3/4 tsp (4 mL) baking soda 2 bars (each 100 g) good-quality dark chocolate, preferably Lindt 70% 1/2 cup (125 mL) caramels, such as Kraft, about 12 pieces 1/2 cup (125 mL) white sugar 3/4 cup (175 mL) dark brown sugar 2 large eggs 1 tbsp (15 mL) vanilla extract 1. Run your knife through the pecans a few times until they are all roughly the same size. Place pecans in a large sieve and shake vigorously to get rid of any nut dust, which would burn while toasting. 2. Melt butter in a medium pot over medium heat until foamy, about 3 minutes. Add pecans and cook, stirring often, until pecans are toasted and butter is browned, about 4 minutes. Remove from heat and quickly pass butter through a strainer and into the bowl of a stand mixer. Set nuts and butter aside to cool, separately, for 15 minutes. (Do not skip the cooling process or the hot butter will cook the eggs.) 3. Meanwhile, whisk flour with salt and baking soda in a medium bowl. Roughly chop choc olate into pieces about 1/4 to 1/2 inch (5 mm to 1 cm) in size. Unwrap and cut each caramel into 1/4-inch (5-mm) pieces. 4. In a stand mixer with paddle attachment, add sugars to bowl with butter. Mix on medium speed until combined—mixture will look sandy—about 1 minute. Add eggs and vanilla. Mix until several shades lighter in colour, about 1 minute. Add flour mixture then mix on low until just combined. Remove bowl from mixer then fold in pecans, chocolate and caramels with a rubber spatula. Cookie dough will be very soft. Chill mixture in fridge, uncovered, just until firm enough to scoop, about 20 minutes. 5. Meanwhile, position rack in middle of oven, then preheat to 325°F (163°C). Line two large cookie sheets with parchment.

RICE PILAF WITH BUTTER-TOASTED VERMICELLI

WHAT TO SERVE Cameron’s Chockie Wockie Chocolate Milkshake Stout LCBO 41098, 473 mL, $3.75

After reading through this recipe, you may be asking yourself, “Isn’t this just Rice-A-Roni?” Well … yes and no. The San Francisco treat is actually an adapted version of this Armenian style pilaf. Our version adds toasted garlic and a healthy dose of herbs for an extra boost of flavour. 3 tbsp (45 mL) unsalted butter 1/4 lb (115 g) wheat vermicelli, broken into 1-inch (2.5-cm) pieces, about 1 cup (250 mL) (see TIP below) 4 small garlic cloves, thinly sliced 11/2 cups (375 mL) basmati rice 3 cups (750 mL) no-salt-added chicken broth, 1. Melt butter in a medium pot over medium-high heat. Add vermicelli. Cook, stirring occasionally, until noodles just start to brown, about 3 minutes. Add garlic and cook, stirring, until noodles are deep golden-brown, about 4 minutes more. Stir in rice until evenly coated then add chicken stock and salt. Season with pepper. 2. When it comes to a simmer, cover and reduce heat to low. Cook until rice is tender and has absorbed all liquid, 15 to 17 minutes. Remove from heat and let sit, covered, for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork and stir in herbs. Transfer to a large bowl and garnish with herb leaves. TIP Wheat vermicelli can be hard to find, but luckily there are several substitutes. Capellini spezzati and German soup noodles will work and are already the perfect size, so they don’t need to be broken into small pieces. You could also break up angel-hair or capellini pasta. Serves 6 to 8 preferably homemade 1 tsp (5 mL) fine sea salt Freshly ground black pepper 3/4 cup (175 mL) finely chopped mixed herbs, such as parsley, cilantro and dill, plus more leaves to garnish

If you could turn these divinely decadent cookies into a drink, you’d have a chocolate stout full of rich roasted malt and cocoa flavours, with a smooth, weighty body.

CHARRED GREEN BEANS & MUSHROOMS WITH CRISPY SHALLOTS This dish has all the components of a classic green bean casserole, but it’s dressed in a zippy fish sauce caramel instead of cream of mush room soup. The whole thing comes together fast—in a fraction of the time a casserole would take—so make sure you have everything ready to go before you start cooking. 1/4 cup (60 mL) granulated sugar 1/2 cup (125 mL) hot tap water 1/4 cup (60 mL) fish sauce 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 red bird’s-eye chili, halved (optional) 1/4 cup (60 mL) canola oil 2 small shallots, thinly sliced into rings 1/2 lb (225 g) shiitake mushrooms, stems discarded, caps halved or quartered 1 lb (455 g) green beans, trimmed, cut on bias into 2-inch (5-cm) pieces 1 lime, halved

1. Stir sugar with water until dissolved then add fish sauce, garlic and chili, if using. Set aside.

2. Set a fine-mesh strainer over a medium heatproof bowl.

3. Combine oil and shallots in a large frying pan. Heat over medium-high until shallots start to sizzle, then stir constantly until gold en-brown, 6 to 8 minutes. Quickly remove pan from heat and strain shallots through prepared strainer.

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———————— AUTUMN 2024