LCBO Food & Drink Spring 2017

a splash of RYE from page 15

taking stalk from page 31

1 to 2 tbsp (15 to 30 mL) sriracha 3 large apples, halved and cored ½ cup (125 mL) raw pecan halves 1 Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C).

CELERY GRATIN My favourite way to make celery, and a test- kitchen favourite. If you don’t like Gorgon- zola or other blue cheese, use Gruyère with a sprinkling of Parmesan on top. 1 head celery 3 cups (750 mL) chicken or vegetable stock, or more if needed

2 With the tip of a very sharp knife, cross- hatch the surface or fat cap of the cold ham. Stick the whole cloves into the ham in a ran- dom pattern but evenly distributed; make sure to place a few cloves into the centre of a few of the fat “diamonds.” Set aside to come to room temperature. Lightly oil, butter or spray the bottom of a large roasting pan so the veg- etables won’t stick. Arrange the cut vegeta- bles in the pan to create a “raft” for the ham to sit on. Season with black pepper to taste. 3 Set the ham on top of the vegetable raft and pour in ½ cup (125 mL) of the maple water (or ginger ale), ¼ cup (60 mL) of the rye, and all of the broth. Season the ham all over with more black pepper to taste and the freshly grated nutmeg. When adding the liquids, I like to pour the maple water (or ginger ale) all over the ham; this moistens the surface and helps the pepper and nutmeg to stick. 4 Cover with either a lid or foil and braise in oven for 1½ hours. While ham is braising, make the glaze. 5 In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, add the butter, maple syrup, remaining ½ cup (125 mL) maple water (or ginger ale), sriracha, and remaining ¼ cup (60 mL) of the rye; stir to melt and combine. Be careful dur- ing this step, as the rye may ignite. It’s fine if it does, just mind your safety! Bring to a gentle boil for about 15 minutes—stirring often—un- til the glaze has thickened to the consistency of maple syrup and has reduced to about ½ cup (125 mL). Set aside. 6 After 1½ hours, turn oven heat up to 450°F (230°C). 7 Remove cover or foil from roasting pan, ar- range the apples and pecan halves around the ham and, with a pastry brush, baste the ham all over with one-third of the glaze. Pop back into the oven for another 10 minutes. If the very top of the ham darkens too quickly, loosely tent with foil. Remove and baste 2 more times, with 10 minutes in between; use up all the glaze, for a total of 30 minutes at 450°F (230°C). 8 When nicely glazed and golden, transfer ham to a serving platter, surround with the roasted vegetables, apples and pecans, or transfer the roasted veggies and pan juices to a vegetable dish and bring to the table with the ham. Spoon the pan juice over the ham slices; it’s sweet, spicy and delicious! Serves 6

½ small onion, halved 1 dried chili (optional) 1 cup (250 mL) whipping cream 1 cup (250 mL) crumbled Gorgonzola Salt and freshly ground pepper ½ cup (125 mL) panko bread crumbs 1 tbsp (15 mL) butter

EASTER HAM WITH ROASTED VEGGIES, APPLES & PECANS IN A SPICY RYE-&-MAPLE GLAZE For the best flavour and juiciness, bone-in ham is best; pick a ham with a generous fat cap. For an extra level of juicy sweetness, we’ve braised the ham in maple water (sap) first, then finished with a maple-syrup-and- rye glaze. Maple water can be found at health food and gourmet shops, but the same amount of ginger ale will work just as well. Sriracha is a deliciously nuanced hot sauce, available ev- erywhere. For a nice level of heat, stick with 1 tbsp (15 mL), but if you like it hot, hot, hot, go for 2. Ham or no ham, this glaze will be- come your secret weapon for veggies, poultry or beef ribs. Save the ham bone for soup! In fact, be a little generous and leave some meat on it; it’s just the thing to start a beautiful French Canadian pea soup. 1 fully or semi-cooked, bone-in, smoked ham, 8 lbs (3.5 kg), (cooking time will not change) Approx. 25 whole cloves Oil, butter or spray 3 leeks, tough green parts and roots removed, cut in half widthwise, then in half again lengthwise 3 to 4 heirloom or regular carrots, peeled, trimmed and cut in half widthwise, then in half again lengthwise 3 to 4 stalks celery, cut in half widthwise 1 to 2 sweet potatoes, peeled, cut into wedges about the same thickness as the carrots Freshly ground black pepper to taste 1 cup (250 mL) maple water (sap) or ginger ale, divided ½ cup (125 mL) rye whisky, divided ½ cup (125 mL) low-sodium chicken or vegetable stock ¼ tsp (1 mL) freshly grated nutmeg 2 tbsp (30 mL) butter ½ cup (125 mL) maple syrup

1 Trim off base of celery. Remove leaves and chop, reserving 2 tbsp (30 mL) for garnish, and keeping the remainder for another use. 2 Cut stalks into 3-inch (8-cm) pieces. Com- bine stock, onion and chili (if using) in a large skillet. Bring to a boil and add celery. Top up stock if necessary to cover celery. Return to boil then reduce heat to medium and simmer for 25 to 30 minutes or until celery is tender. 3 Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Butter a 10‑inch (25-cm) gratin dish. 4 Using a slotted spoon, remove celery to pre- pared gratin dish. Continue simmering stock for 5 minutes or until about 1 cup (250 mL) remains. Remove and discard chili and onion. Add cream and boil until cream begins to thicken, about 5 minutes. Crumble in blue cheese. Season lightly with salt. Season with pepper. Pour over celery. 5 Combine bread crumbs and reserved chopped celery leaves. Sprinkle over celery. Dot with butter. Bake for 25 minutes or until sauce bubbles and bread crumbs are golden. Serves 6

WHAT TO SERVE Winzer Krems Grüner Veltliner 13 LCBO 375022

$12.95

 Château des Charmes Aligoté VQA LCBO 296848

$14.95

114  FOOD & DRI NK SPRING 2017