LCBO Food & Drink Holiday 2019

INSIDE SCOOP

Temp agency EXPERT ADVICE

Whether he’s styling or de- veloping recipes for Food & Drink (or cooking at home), food stylist Christopher St. Onge has his digital probe thermometer at the ready. Linked to a mag- netized read-out that sticks to the oven exterior, it en- sures meat and poultry are always perfectly cooked. Christopher uses a ThermoPro that’s likely no longer in production, but he says the current model, the ThermoPro TP-17 ($23.99, amazon.ca), is close.

As the holiday season comes to a close, you’re go- ing to want a punch befit- ting the final blowout of the year. Our fruity, fizzy and fabulous Prosecco Punch with Persimmons (recipe at lcbo.com/fdholiday19) has got it all: sparkling wine, persimmon-infused vodka and a festive ice wreath. What punch should I serve on New Years Eve?

Any advice for people who have never used one of these devices? Because the internal tem- perature of a roast tends to rise after it’s out of the oven, it’s good practice to remove it a few degrees shy of your desired internal temperature. This is partic- ularly true of large roasts and those cooked at high temperatures.

What are the advantages of using a digital probe over an instant-read thermometer? A probe stays in the roast so you don’t need to keep checking on it. Constantly opening the oven results in wide temperature swings and can even cause the top element to come on again. With a probe, you can set an alert for your desired internal temp and forget about it.

Where should you insert the probe on classic holiday roasts? For poultry, the probe should be placed in the thickest part of the thigh nearest the joint where the leg joins the body. For ham and roasts that can be cooked rare to well-done the tip should be roughly in the centre of the roast without touching bone.

To make lumpy gravy a thing of the past, pick up a canister of Robin Hood Easy Blend flour before the big holiday feast. Milled by a special process, it’s a touch more granular than all-purpose flour, so it won’t clump when you add it to liquids. In addition to sauces and gravies, it’s great for thickening soups, and its texture makes it perfectly suited to breading and frying everything from cutlets to calamari. Blending in THE ENDORSEMENT

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HOLIDAY 2019 FOOD & DRINK