PC cooks, so you don't have to!

 

Chef Tom - my BFF in the kitchen

It’s always a treat to visit the Loblaw’s Test Kitchen and see what Tom Filippou, head chef for PC Cooking Schools and Dana Speers, head chef for the kitchen itself have — along with their team — cooked up for the holidays.

 

Generally speaking, I’m a big fan of the PC food line. It’s around this time of year, when I’m looking for help with holiday entertaining, that I appreciate it the most.

The product line-up is pretty exhaustive, so I can’t get it all in here, but here are a few items I thought really worth mentioning.

Try the sea- salt rosemary crackers with a little goat cheese and Black Label Bacon Marmalade. There are also excellent Black Label Flatbreads. Use both for cheeses and other snacks, but don’t discount them for dessert, either. Try the almond version with vanilla ice cream, drizzled with the Black Label lemon oil. For extra kick, use the salted caramel ice cream (but skip the oil).

If you like to make shortbread, and you’re not a purist, chop up some of the PC Milk Chocolate with Toffee Pieces  and Fleur de Sel and add it to the recipe. Naturally, you will have roasted the flour by spreading on a parchment-lined baking sheet and putting in a 300˚F oven; then turning slightly ever five minutes or so for about 20 minutes. SO worth it!

I also love the Fouée pocket flatbreads, which the PC team discovered at a small bakery in the Loire Valley. Try them filled with chicken tarragon salad There’s also a nice Tandoori Roti, which you can try with this recipe from the President's Choice website.

New hors d’ouvres include spicy jalapeno meatballs and Nova Scotian sea scallops, both wrapped in bacon.

Lastly, if you’re doing a cheese platter, grab some of the ash-wrapped Cendre Des Anges – heavenly. Or for convenience, grab a four-pack of mini Triple Crème Brie and top it with fun stuff (I love the Fig Cabernet wine jelly and the caramelized onion spread from the Black Label line.)