Canada's House: Rideau Hall and the Invention of a Canadian Home - Hardcover

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Margaret MacMillan is the Provost of Trinity College and a professor of history. Her bestselling book Paris 1919: Six Months that Changed the World won the Samuel Johnson prize for non-fiction among others in the UK and the US; and in Canada the 2003 Governor General’s Literary Award for Non-Fiction.

Marjorie Harris is Editor-in-Chief of Gardening Life magazine and her column appears in The Globe and Mail. A commentator on CBC radio and the author of over ten gardening books, including the bestselling Seasons of My Garden, her most recent is Botanica North America.

Anne L. Desjardins’ column appears in Quebec City’s Le Soleil. A producer of documentary series for Radio Canada, she has won a gold medal from Toronto’s Human Rights and Race Relations Centre for La Sens de la fête. She is a member of the International Association of Culinary Professionals and Cuisine Canada.

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In this remarkable book — thoughtful, intimate and stunningly illustrated with archival and original photos — three of the best writers in their fields join with Adrienne Clarkson and John Ralston Saul to tell the story of Canada's house in the 21st century.

Opening wide the doors, Canada's House reveals how Rideau Hall has reinvented itself into a place that mirrors the varied identity, gardens and foods of the country — immensely inspiring, alive with a vitality and distinctiveness that is Canada today. Over the last five years, Rideau Hall has been transformed into a place that vitally reflects Canada's unique contemporary identity: its kitchens are now a hive of activity using indigenous foods and wine from across the country; and its garden has been redesigned into a true Northern Garden — a showcase for Canadian flowers, plants and trees, and organic vegetables. It has become a unique home that represents Canada and Canadians from coast-to-coast.

Three of our leading writers have come together to tell the story of how Rideau Hall has come to reflect so much that is both distinctive and excellent from across Canada:

Margaret MacMillan, Governor-General's Literary Award winner, contemplates the history of "home" in Canada, and the story of the great house — the hub of the country's public life since before Confederation — through the people who have given it life.

Marjorie Harris, award-winning garden writer, writes vividly on the Canadian woodland garden, the flowers and plants, as well as the organic vegetable garden that provides the fresh herbs and an impressive proportion of the fruits and vegetables for both daily life and state dinners — essential reading for all who love gardens, as well as those who aspire to creating a Canadian garden.

Anne Desjardins, award-winning Quebec food writer, shows how Rideau Hall has become synonymous with contemporary Canadian cuisine, its cross-country diversity and its riches — from the shellfish and cloudberries of the Maritimes to the cheeses of Quebec; from the oolichan of the West coast to the teas and caribou of the Far North; from the wines of the Okanagan to Niagara, recognized world-wide for their excellence. With an introduction to the country's leading food and wine producers, as well as thirty original recipes tested for home cooks by Rideau Hall's famous Chef Oliver Bartsch.

Throughout the book, Adrienne Clarkson and John Ralston Saul share their experiences in helping to bring our national house — a place that reflects Canada as diverse, bountiful, self-confident and rich in achievement — into the 21st century.

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Ontario Woodlands Wild Ginger and Roasted Niagara Plum Crème Brûlée

Our eastern woodlands are full of wild ginger, a wonderful root vegetable. The wild ginger harvest begins even before the snow has melted because it comes up underneath the snow — early proof that spring is coming. You can easily grow it in your backyard, and it’s now one of the underplantings in Rideau Hall’s woodland garden. The chefs use it in a variety of desserts, including a wild-ginger chocolate recipe, this crème brûlée, and too many savoury dishes to name. Whenever someone dining at Rideau Hall remarks on any one of these delicious desserts or dishes, the chefs will always credit the Canadian ginger. Suggested wine: Inniskillin Riesling Icewine

Serves 4

2 cups (500 mL) heavy cream
1 cup (250 mL) finely chopped wild ginger
5 egg yolks
2/3 cup (165 mL) granulated sugar
4 plums, diced
1 tbsp (15 mL) melted unsalted butter

In a heavy-bottomed saucepot on medium-high heat, add the cream and slowly bring to a boil. Add the wild ginger and cover. Remove the pot from the heat and set it aside for at least 1 hour to infuse the cream. Once the cream is infused, strain it through a fine sieve and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, lightly beat the yolks and all but 2 tbsp (30 mL) of the sugar until creamy.With a wooden spoon or spatula, slowly incorporate the infused cream. Meanwhile, in a medium sauté pan, sear the plums for 2 minutes with the butter and the sugar. Remove the plums from the heat and divide them into four 5-ounce (150 mL) ramekins.

Preheat the oven to 300°F (150°C). Pour the cream mixture into the ramekins. Place the ramekins in a bainmarie (a 2-inch-high baking pan containing 1 inch of water), put it in the oven, and bake for about 1 hour or until a skin has formed on the surface. Remove the ramekins from the bain-marie and allow them to cool. Once cooled, place them in the refrigerator for at least 4 to 6 hours or until they are set.

When ready to serve, remove the ramekins from the refrigerator and sprinkle the remaining 2 tbsp (30 mL) of sugar on the surface to form a thin layer. Heat with a torch or under the broiler until the sugar melts and caramelizes. Serve immediately.