LCBO Food & Drink Holiday 2018

TURKEY STOCK RISOTTO WITH BRICKWORKS CIDERHOUSE HOLIDAY MIX PACK LCBO 607622, 4 pk, $19.95 One lovely turkey risotto (recipe on page 218) , four refreshing ciders from Toronto’s own Brickworks Ciderhouse. Batch 1904—a dry cider made from Ida Red and McIntosh apples—is Brickworks’s flagship and its crisp, subtle, fresh apple flavour is a super complement to the taste of turkey, cauliflower, saffron and Parmesan. But try the other ciders too—medium-dry Parkside Cherry and Stadium Island Peach or semi-sweet Queen Street 501, all of them named for Toronto landmarks. They all bring something different to the table. Let the experiments begin!

CASSOULET WITH CESARI AMARONE MARA OLIVE OIL GIFT SET LCBO 590000, 2 pk, $64.95

Cesari pairs a bottle of Amarone with another of its popular wines: Mara Valpolicella ripasso and a half-litre of excellent Italian olive oil, all packed in a handsome wooden box. The Amarone is a ripe beauty full of black fruit and prune flavours, but the richness is cut by a lively acidity that will also help the wine cope with the cassoulet (recipe on page 219) . Mara is essentially a younger sibling, recognizably related to the Amarone, still nicely concentrated, but not quite as rich. It has what it takes to live up to the opulent textures of pork and turkey in this hearty dish. And why not use the olive oil when you cook the cassoulet!

144  FOOD & DRI NK HOLIDAY 2018