LCBO Food & Drink Spring 2017

EDITOR’S NOTES

It’s time once again to refresh our palettes with the first tastes of Spring! For us, that means tucking away those tried-and-true comfort food recipes and the heavier wines and beers that saw us through fall and winter and revisiting favourite seasonal ingredients as they reappear in grocery stores and farmer’s mar- kets. Also, and more adventurously, it means trying flavours and ingre- dients that are new.    “Springing for Pasta” on page 62 combines those two ideas brilliantly, with Christopher St. Onge provid- ing lightened-up fresh-tasting pasta recipes that we have paired with wines that are new to the LCBO. And we’ve done something similar with cocktails too (page 68)—sharing the trendiest cocktail tools (most of them classics) that we think are worthy of adding to your home bar and putting each one to good use with a unique drink recipe.    Although rosé wines are great sippers year-round, they really come into their own when warmer weather returns. That’s when a whole new selection shows up in our stores. But which one to choose? We asked our Senior Editor, James Chatto, to pro- vide a primer on how you can work out

the style of wine inside a bottle of rosé before you buy it. Check out “Rosé Outlook” on page 89 and let the ex- periments begin! Speaking of experi- menting, don’t miss James’s mixed case of products to try for spring (page 39); we’re sure you will discover a new favourite amongst his picks.    Also in this issue, you’ll find a fabulous Cuban menu with cocktails paired to each course (page 74); it’s a unique dinner-party idea and a great way to introduce friends to new flavours. On page 31 we’ve taken the humble celery stalk and trans- formed it into four dishes that will ensure you never turn up your nose at celery again. There’s also a weekend lunch menu starting on page 95 that bridges the gap between winter and spring with warming spices used in fresh dishes.    And finally, just for the fun of it (and because April Fool’s Day falls on a Saturday this year), we’ve developed a menu full of dishes that trick the eye—where what you see may not be what you get! It starts on page 54 and whether you make the whole dinner or just add one recipe as a course of your own menu, we hope you’ll give them a try.    Have a great Spring!

PORTRAIT BY JAMES TSE

FOOD & DRI NK SPRING