LCBO Food and Drink Early Summer 2016

4 Place a large sheet of plastic wrap on the counter and tip the chocolate mixture down the centre, shaping into a long even log using the plastic wrap and your hands to help mould it into a firm, even salami shape. Wrap with a second piece of plastic and refrigerate over- night. 5 Before serving, allow log to sit at room tem- perature for 15 minutes, then remove plastic wrap and sprinkle or roll log in icing sugar so that it looks like a salami. Present at the table, and allow guests to slice off rustic chunks and enjoy. Serves 8 to 10

before it comes to a full boil. Stir in Domaine de Canton liqueur. 3 In a large bowl, whisk together egg yolks with ⅔ cup (150 mL) of sugar until sugar dis- solves and mixture is smooth. Add a dash of the hot cream and whisk thoroughly. (This is called tempering the eggs). Put a kitchen towel under the bowl to help secure it in place while you whisk. Slowly stream the rest of the cream into the egg yolk mixture, whisking continuously. Mixture should thicken enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon. Strain through a fine sieve into a large measuring cup or pitcher. 4 Divide chopped strawberries among eight 6- to 8-oz (175- to 250-g) ramekins and then fill ramekins equally with custardy brûlée mixture. 5 Place filled ramekins in a large baking dish on the middle rack of the preheated oven. Using the same rinsed-out large measuring cup, carefully pour enough hot water into the corner of the baking dish, so that the water comes halfway up the ramekins. Do not allow any water to splatter into the custard-filled cups. Bake for 50 minutes, or until just set; the centres should jiggle a bit but you don’t want browning on top. 6 Gently remove ramekins fromwater, pat dry, cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least 3 hours. 7 About 30 minutes before serving, remove crème brûlées from refrigerator and let sit. Top each with an even layer of remaining sugar, about 1 tbsp (15 mL) each. Fire up the blowtorch. One at a time, tilt and turn each ramekin, keeping the fire close to the sugar, using a sweeping motion so that sugar quickly melts and spreads and turns a dark amber colour. Let cool for 5 minutes before serving. Serves 8 WHAT TO SERVE Domaine de Canton Ginger Liqueur LCBO 157917 $49.95 This liqueur has exhilarating and authentic fresh gin- ger flavour—use in the recipe and pour with the fin- ished dessert. Tequila Rose Strawberry Liqueur LCBO 382747 $28.00 Ginger in the recipe acts as a flavour enhancer, bring- ing focus to the strawberry flavours in this cream liqueur.

CHOCOLATE-SAMBUCA SALAMI For a sweet little nibble with coffee, nothing beats a chunk of chocolate. That is, nothing beats a chunk of chocolate studded with fruit and biscuits and nuts and a touch of liqueur. This easy party-pleaser has a whimsical pre- sentation, coupled with every texture in the dessert arsenal. ¼ cup (60 mL) pitted dried chopped dates ¼ cup (60 mL) sambuca liqueur ½ pkg Social Tea Biscuits (200 g), usually 1 sleeve of the 2-sleeve pkg ¼ cup (60 mL) unsalted pistachios,

WHAT TO SERVE Caffe Lucano LCBO 410878

$25.20 Intense coffee flavour creates a perfect background for the luxurious flavours of this dessert. Grand Marnier LCBO 1784 $44.95 The sweet and citrusy notes of Grand Marnier com- plement both the anise and chocolate components of the dish.

roughly chopped and toasted 6 tbsp (90 mL) unsalted butter 2 bars (each 100 g) 70% dark chocolate such as Lindt, chopped 1 tsp (5 mL) instant coffee powder ½ cup (125 mL) icing sugar, plus more for dusting Pinch of kosher salt

DOMAINE DE CANTON AND STRAWBERRY CRÈME BRÛLÉE

A classic is always appreciated but it never hurts to update a perfect dessert now and then. With simple additions of fresh ginger, ginger liqueur and strawberries, this deca- dent treat is begging you to crack its amber- torched top and dive on in. You need a blow- torch for this recipe. You can either go top of the line, from a fancy kitchen shop, or a less expensive but equally useful industrial one fromCanadian Tire. Tell the service reps what you’re using it for and they’ll set you up. 4 cups (1 L) 35% whipping cream 1 piece ginger, 2 inches (5 cm), roughly chopped 3 tbsp (45 mL) Domaine de Canton liqueur 8 egg yolks, at room temperature ⅔ cup (150 mL) plus about 8 tbsp (120 mL) sugar 8 oz (250 g) strawberries, hulled and sliced into quarters 1 Preheat oven to 300°F (150°C). 2 Pour cream into a medium saucepan over medium heat, add ginger, and gently heat, stirring often, until very hot and just a few bubbles break the surface. Remove from heat

1 In a small bowl, combine chopped dates and sambuca and let steep for 30 minutes. Drain alcohol and pat date pieces dry. 2 Break up the Tea Biscuits into small pieces of about ½ inch (1 cm). Don’t crush them and don’t pulse them in a food processer. Easiest bet is putting them in a large Ziplock bag and smashing them with a rolling pin for a bit. Add the prepared dates and toasted pistachios to the mix, shake it up and set aside. 3 Over a double boiler (alternatively in the microwave, in a medium bowl) melt butter, then add chopped chocolate and using short 20-second spurts in the microwave, carefully melt chocolate into butter and mix well (this should take 1 minute total). Add instant cof- fee powder, icing sugar and salt and mix well, then allowmixture to cool for 10 minutes. Add the chopped dates-biscuits-pistachio mixture to the chocolate mixture and mix until com- bined. (Using 2 soup spoons is the easiest way to bring this mass together.) Refrigerate for 20 minutes.

158  FOOD & DRI NK EARLY SUMMER 2016