Everybody loves a bread bowl, but few know how easy it is to do. Don't panic when you've been elected to have the family over for a holiday gathering - just try filling a bread bowl with Red Pepper and White Bean Hummus or a classic spinach dip. A piping hot chili inside your favourite ACE loaf will quickly become a family favourite - a fast and scrumptious warm-up after snowman building. Neighbours popping over for hot chocolate? How about clam chowder or cream of mushroom soup served up in no time flat in one of our distinctive artisan loaves?

How easy is it? Simply pick up your favourite ACE round or oval loaf. Slice off the top of the loaf, scoop out the centre leaving about 1.5 inches all around. Cut the bread into 1-inch cubes for dipping or set aside for your turkey stuffing! For thick dips like hummus, use bowl as is. For moist dips or soups, make a seal by basting the interior generously with olive oil, and bake for 15 minutes or until inside is golden brown.

The ACE Bakery cookbooks are a goldmine of impressive suggestions. The Smoked Trout Pâté with Lemon Mayonnaise is a classic topper for ACE Artisan Crisps. With two new flavours, ACE now has six varieties of Artisan Crisps. Roasted Garlic Crisps are a perfect base for easy hors d'oeuvres and a few Olive Oil and Sea Salt Crisps broken into pieces, instantly take salads to the next level.

Don't forget to pick up an extra loaf of the kids' favourite bread for French toast on Boxing Day, or see if Santa prefers our new Artisan Granola to cookies and milk! Any bread leftovers? One New Year's tradition is that in the early hours of New Year's Day, a piece of bread left outside a door, with a piece of coal and a silver coin, is supposed to bring you food, warmth and riches in the year ahead.

One of North America's leading artisan bakeries, ACE Bakery's Baguettes and artisan breads are available at hundreds of restaurants, hotels, caterers, grocery, and gourmet food shops across Canada, the Midwest and East coast of the U.S.A., and as far away as the Bahamas. ACE Bakery opened in 1993 as an artisan bakery creating hand-made, European-style rustic breads. The gentle shaping of each loaf, long fermentation periods, and a stone deck oven all work to create exceptionally flavourful products with a light, airy texture and crisp golden crust.

Community involvement is an essential part of ACE's philosophy. The company donates a percentage of pre-tax profits to charitable organizations in the principal centres where ACE bakery products are sold. ACE's focus is on food and nutrition programs that assist low-income members of the community, financing culinary scholarships, and supporting organic farming initiatives.

ACE Bakery is recognized as one of 26 top Canadian brands of all time in Ikonica: A Field Guide to Canada's Brandscape (2008).

Apple and Dried Cranberry Stuffing
Makes enough stuffing for a 12- to 14-lb. (5.4- to 6.3-kg) turkey

Use bread bowl filling from two large ACE Bakery loaves
3 to 4 Tbsp. (45 to 60 mL) finely chopped fresh sage
½ cup (120 mL) unsalted butter
4 cups (950 mL) sliced leeks, white and pale green parts only
4 medium-sized tart green apples, peeled, cored, and diced
4 celery stalks, coarsely chopped
½ cup (120 mL) dried cranberries
½ cup (120 mL) minced fresh parsley
1 cup (240 mL) turkey or chicken stock
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 lb. (455 g) sweet Italian sausage, casings removed, meat crumbled and sautéed over medium-high heat for about 10 minutes, or until cooked (optional)

Cut the bread into ½-inch (1.2-cm) cubes, trimming the crust if you wish. Put the cubes on cookie sheets and bake in a 275°F (135°C) oven until crisp but not browned, about 15 to 20 minutes.

Heat the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the leeks, apples, and celery, and sauté until the leeks soften, about 8 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat, mix in the dried cranberries, and cool to room temperature. The recipe, up to this point, can be made one day ahead and refrigerated.

In a large bowl, mix the bread cubes, the cooled fruit and vegetable mixture, parsley, stock, salt, and pepper to taste, and toss gently. Add the sausage, if using.

Stuff the turkey just before roasting.

© Adapted from The ACE Bakery Cookbook by Linda Haynes.

Red Pepper and White Bean Hummus
Makes 3 to 4 cups (720 to 950 mL)

2 19-oz. (532-mL) cans cannellini or white kidney beans, rinsed and drained or 11/3 cups (320 mL)dried white beans (see below for cooking instructions and extra ingredients)
4 medium red peppers or 5-oz. (150 mL) canned or bottled Spanish red peppers
¼ cup (60 mL) tahini
4 cloves garlic, peeled
1 ½ tsp. (7.5 mL) cumin
¼ tsp. (1.2 mL) cayenne
¼ tsp. (1.2 mL) kosher salt, or to taste
juice of 1 lemon, or to taste
up to ¼ cup (60 mL) vegetable oil, if necessary, to thin the hummus

If Using Dried Beans
1 large carrot, chopped in large chunks
¾ of a medium-sized cooking onion, thinly sliced
1 stalk celery, chopped in large chunks
1 large clove garlic, crushed
6 grinds white pepper
1 tsp. (5 mL) kosher salt

Soak the dried beans in very warm water for about 1 ½ hours or until they look wrinkly. Drain and place in a medium-sized saucepan. Add the carrot, onion, celery, garlic, and pepper. Cover the beans with water by 3 inches (7.5 cm) and bring to a simmer. Cook for 45 minutes, checking periodically that the water has not evaporated. Add the salt and simmer for another 30 to 45 minutes, or until the beans are cooked. Drain and reserve.

For the Hummus
Preheat the oven to broil.

Place the peppers on a baking tray and broil each side until the skin starts to blister. Remove from the oven and cool. Peel the skin off the peppers and remove seeds. If using canned or bottled peppers, they should be rinsed and patted dry.

In a food processor, place all the ingredients except the oil and half the lemon juice, and purée. Pulse until smooth, scraping down the sides occasionally. Dribble in oil, if necessary, until the hummus is spreadable, but not too thin. Add more lemon juice to taste.

COOK'S TIP
If using canned beans, be sure to rinse and drain them well; otherwise, the hummus will be gummy.

© Adapted from The ACE Bakery Cookbook by Linda Haynes.

Smoked Trout Pâté
Makes 1 ½ generous cups (360 mL)

8 oz. (225 g) smoked trout, skinned and flaked
5 Tbsp. (75 mL) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 ½ Tbsp. (22.5 mL) lemon juice
salt and freshly ground white pepper to taste
¼ cup (60 mL) Lemon Mayonnaise (see below)
½ tsp. (2.5 mL) Dijon mustard
2 small branches fresh dill

Put the smoked trout and softened butter in a food processor and pulse until smooth. Add the lemon juice, salt, and pepper and pulse again until combined. Taste and add more seasonings if necessary. Mix the Lemon Mayonnaise and the mustard together and transfer to a squeeze bottle. Pull the dill branches apart into small sprigs. Spread the pâté smoothly over the Crisp, lightly drizzle with the mayonnaise mixture, and garnish with the dill. Refrigerate the remaining pâté and mayonnaise for future use. The pâté will keep for 1 week and the mayonnaise for 3 days. Bring to room temperature before using again.

© Adapted from The ACE Bakery Cookbook by Linda Haynes.

Lemon Mayonnaise
Makes 1 generous cup (240 mL)

1 tsp. (5 mL) Dijon mustard
1 egg
1 cup (240 mL) corn or canola oil
up to 3 Tbsp. (22.5 mL) lemon juice
¼ heaping tsp. (1.2 mL) kosher salt
1/8 tsp. (.5 mL) freshly ground white
pepper

Put the mustard in a bowl and whisk in the egg yolk. Dribble the oil very slowly into the egg, whisking continuously. If the whisking makes your arm tired, take a break. The mixture will not separate. When all the oil is incorporated, start adding the lemon juice half a teaspoon (2.5 mL) at a time. Continue to whisk. Taste after each addition. Add salt and pepper and taste again. If this method seems too daunting, put the mustard and egg yolk in a food processor and pulse to blend. With the processor on, slowly pour in the oil. When the mixture has emulsified, add the lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Mayonnaise made in a food processor will be thicker than mayonnaise whisked by hand. Cover and keep in the refrigerator until ready to use.

© Adapted from The ACE Bakery Cookbook by Linda Haynes.

For more information, contact Phil Gaudet, 416/241-3600, pgaudet@acebakery.com.


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