LCBO Food & Drink Summer 2017

DIY YAKITORI PARTY Customarily, yakitori is brushed with the glaze, or tare, in the final moments of cook- ing. To avoid cross-contamination by shared brushes and potentially uncooked meat, the glaze is reserved for brushing on the skewers after they come off the grill, and the skew- ers are given a quick toss in marinade before they hit the fire to help build layers of flavour. To check the heat of a grill without a built-in thermometer, hold your hand 5 inches (12 cm) from grill and if you can’t hold it there for longer than 2 to 3 seconds, your grill is in the hot range—450° to 550°F (230° to 290°C). As opposed to narrow, cylindrical wooden or bamboo skewers, flat or gun-style skewers have wide flat ends to hold on to, making them easy to flip and turn. Because vegetables tend to shrink a lot when cooking and won’t grip the skewer, use single flat ones, or two gun- style at a time to create a flat, broad raft of the vegetables skewered on both sides. 1 cup (250 mL) mirin ¾ cup (175 mL) sake 2 tbsp (30 mL) peanut oil ¼ cup (60 mL) firmly packed brown sugar 2 green onions, trimmed and cut in half lengthwise 5 slices ginger, ¼ inch (5 mm) thick 1 tsp (5 mL) coarsely ground black pepper 1 Combine soy, stock, mirin and sake in a pot over medium heat; boil for 5 minutes to burn off alcohol. Remove 1 cup (250 mL) and set this portion aside for use as marinade; stir in peanut oil and let cool. 2 Return remaining soy mixture to heat, add sugar, green onion, ginger and pepper; sim- mer 20 minutes or until reduced to 1 cup (250 mL). Strain and set aside for use as glaze; let cool. YAKITORI MARINADE & GLAZE 1 cup (250 mL) Japanese soy sauce 1 cup (250 mL) chicken stock

PINEAPPLE SKEWERS 5 inch (12 cm)-long peeled and cored pineapple, cut into 8 equal-sized 5 inch-long (12 cm) pieces 8 flat or gun-style skewers, each 6 inches (15 cm) 1 Thread 1 piece of pineapple, lengthwise, onto each skewer. Arrange on a separate plate. BEEF FILLET & GREEN ONION SKEWERS 1¼ lbs (625 g) beef fillet, cut into 24 slices, each slice about ¼ inch (5 mm) thick 24 green onions, trimmed, 1 Cut each slice of beef in half to create two equal sized pieces—you should now have 48 pieces total. Working with 1 skewer at a time, thread 6 pieces of beef, folding to neatly fit, and 3 green onions on each, alternating be- tween them. Arrange in a separate glass bak- ing dish or pie plate large enough to hold in a single layer. Ten minutes before your guests are ready to grill, pour ½ cup (125 mL) of the reserved marinade over and gently toss. SHIITAKE & SHISHITO PEPPER SKEWERS 16 thick medium-size shiitake mushrooms 24 shishito peppers 8 flat or 16 gun-style skewers, each 6 inches (15 cm) 1 Working with 1 flat skewer or 2 gun-style skewers 1 inch (2.5 cm) apart and parallel to each other, thread 3 shishito peppers and 2 shiitake, alternating between them. Arrange on a plate alongside the pineapple skewers. TO COOK 1 Preheat your tabletop grill to about 500°F (260°C)—see headnote for gauging the tem- perature of your grill without a thermometer. 2 Grill the skewers, turning from time to time, until cooked to desired doneness: 8 min- utes total for the chicken, 4 minutes total for medium-rare beef, about 4 minutes or until warmed through for the pineapple, and 3 to 4 minutes for the vegetables. Serve cooked skewers with glaze and a brush alongside. Serves 6 to 8 pale white and light green part only, cut into 1¼ inch (3 cm) lengths (freeze greens for use in stock if desired) 8 flat or gun-style skewers, each 6 inches (15 cm)

WHAT TO SERVE Gekkeikan Junmai Sake VINTAGES 145433

$10.20 Follow tradition and serve sake with Yakitori. Sake’s delicate palate and creamy texture are a perfect foil for the tangy flavours of the glaze. Asahi Super Dry LCBO 572313, 500 mL $2.45 Crisp, dry and cleansing, Japan’s best-selling beer is an inspired pairing for Yakitori. Serve well-chilled.

BL I STERED TOMATO & CORN SALAD WITH SALAMI VINAIGRETTE

Never miss an opportunity to add great grill flavour to everything by using your grill while it’s heating up or cooling down. Smoky crou- tons are a favourite way to use up remaining heat after dinner. Corn too—simply throw on the grill after dinner is cooked, turn it a few times, and you’ve got something delicious to add to salad or salsa the next day.

SALAMI VINAIGRETTE ½ cup (125 mL) extra virgin olive oil 2 tsp (10 mL) white wine vinegar

1 tbsp (15 mL) lemon juice ½ tsp (2 mL) Dijon mustard 1 small clove garlic, finely chopped or grated 2 oz (60 g) Genoa salami, finely chopped Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste 2 corn on the cob, shucked 24 cherry tomatoes 2 cups (500 mL) grilled croutons (see TIP) 1 cup (250 mL) basil leaves, torn if large 3 green onions, sliced 3 heads little gem lettuce, leaves separated and torn into bite-sized pieces 1 For the vinaigrette, whisk together oil, vin- egar, lemon juice and Dijon; stir in garlic and salami. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

CHICKEN THIGH SKEWERS 8 boneless skinless chicken thighs, each cut into 8 pieces of roughly the same size 8 flat or gun-style skewers, each 6 inches (15 cm)

1 Thread 8 pieces chicken thigh, folding to neatly fit, on each skewer and arrange in a glass baking dish or pie plate large enough to hold in a single layer. Ten minutes before your guests are ready to grill, pour ½ cup (125 mL) of the reserved marinade over and gently toss.

150  FOOD & DRI NK SUMMER 2017