Seven Very Canadian Recipes for Canada Day

Come on barbie, let's go party! Sip a "cross-border" martini as these mini sandwiches sizzle on the grill.

There are only two seasons – winter and patio – so barbecue recipes are perfect for a fabulous, sunny Canada Day long weekend. My picks? Canadian sliders and barbecue salad.

I chose these dishes because they’re simple with great flavour, and they have many ingredients that people don't usually associate with Ontario or Canada.

The mini sandwiches are a favourite of mine because you can literally throw them on the grill and continue with what you’re doing while they cook. Assembly is super easy, but the flavour is out of this world.

The barbecue salad is also ideal; the dressing is so simple yet addictive. Ice wine, pineapple vinegar, and maple syrup – sweet, savoury, and strong, perfect for the nutty flavour of the arugula, and again an easy recipe but also a healthy one that looks incredible.

The no-fuss preparation will give you plenty of time to kick back and relax with a cross-border martini, combining Kentucky bourbon and Italian liqueur with bing cherries and good ol’ Canadian maple syrup.

When I think of Canada Day long weekends, I always think of my parents barbecuing when I was a kid. There were always great little snacks coming off the hot grill, so big flavours from simple barbecue recipes remind me of relaxing with family and friends while enjoying the natural beauty and bounty this country has to offer.

Canadian Sliders

16 thick slices of Canadian back bacon 16 slices of Granny Smith apple 16 slices of Canadian cheddar cheese (old) 1 onion, sliced 2 tablespoons of butter 5 tablespoons of maple syrup 8 mini hamburger buns

Coarsely chop the onion and sauté with butter, covering the onion to allow it to sweat. After seven minutes, add the maple syrup to coat.

Barbecue the back bacon. Once one side is cooked, flip and add a slice of apple to each piece. Add cheese two minutes before bacon is done and stack to make eight piles.

Add onion and place on buns.

Makes eight mini sandwiches.

Barbecue salad

6 pieces Canadian prosciutto
1 sheet of puff pastry
2 cups of baby arugula
1/2 cup of canned mandarin orange segments
1/2 cup of unsalted cashews
1/2 cup of Ontario chèvre

Dressing
1/8 cup of Niagara Vinegar Company pineapple vinegar
1/8 cup of maple syrup
1/8 cup of Inniskillin ice wine

Combine dressing ingredients well and place in a misto.

Place unrolled, slightly cold puff-pastry sheet on a well-oiled sheet of foil. Add two more sheets of foil underneath. Add arugula, crumbled chèvre, orange, and cashews spread evenly. Spray generously with the misto every three to four minutes.

Place on barbecue grill on high until bottom is golden-brown. Turn off barbecue and allow the top to turn golden-brown as well.

Spray before serving.

Cross-Boarder Martini

2 ounces of Woodford Reserve
1/2 ounce Disaronno amaretto
1 tablespoon of maple syrup
4 dried bing cherries

Pour ingredients into a shaker half-full of ice and shake until well chilled. Strain into a martini glass. Rim the glass with a sliced bing cherry so that the oils of the cherry smear around the rim.

Makes one martini.