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  • Mixology Monday LXXIV Cocktail: The Baur Au Lac

    June 15, 2013

    14 Comments

    Baur Au Lac Cocktail.

    Baur Au Lac Cocktail.

    Time for another Mixology Monday cocktail (yes it’s Saturday but we try to get ahead on these things). As always, thanks to Fred Yarm at Cocktail Virgin Slut for keeping our monthly online cocktail party going, and thanks to Andrea at Gin Hound for hosting this month and for the excellent theme of “cherries”. Here is the scoop:

    mxmologoSingapore Gin Sling, Blood and Sand, and the Aviation wouldn’t be the same without them… But cherries in cocktails are also horribly abused, few things taste worse than artificial cherry aroma, and the description of how most maraschino cherries are made can make you sick to your stomach. So it’s my pleasure as the host of Mixology Monday… to challenge you to honor the humble cherry. However you choose to do that, is entirely up to you. You could use Maraschino Liqueur, Cherry Heering, Kirchwasser, Belgian Kriek Beer, cherry wine, or any spectacular infusions invented by you in a cocktail. Or make your own maraschino cherries for a spectacular garnish.

    lac2lac7Another excellent theme for us “farmers” to work on. The only bummer is that we have already worked with cherries quite a bit (seeing as how we grow our own). So far we have made our own maraschino cherries, venison with cherry Cumberland sauce, clafoutis, cherry crumble pie and cherry and chocolate chip muffins. And that’s just the food, as for cocktails we have cherry-lime Caipirinhas, Scott’s Manhattan, the Cherry Fling, the Tax Evasion cocktail and the Kentucky Royale all using cherries or cherry liqueurs. We got a lot of cherry goin’ on here at the farm.

    lac6lac5So while we love the ingredient, we were lacking a bit in inspiration. But this is where a good cocktail book is helpful, so we reached for “Bottoms Up“, one of our favorite retro classics. Bottoms Up is a 1951 collection of cocktails from all over the world, shared by hospitality professional Ted Saucier (he was the publicist for the Waldorf-Astoria…nice gig). And along with hundreds of recipes, the book also includes “saucy” illustrations from a dozen of the best illustrators of the day. Good drinks, good fun and a great coffee table book.

    lac4We decided that we would use the first good cherry recipe we found in the book, and after passing on a few recipes we found the Baur Au Lac, a cocktail named after the famous hotel in Zurich. The original recipe includes kirchwasser (cherry eau-de-vie), Cherry Heering, orange juice and lemon juice shaken and strained. We added muddled fresh cherries and a cherry garnish- we had fresh cherries and figured we may as well max out on the theme.

    lac8 Continue reading »

  • Calm Before The Garden Storm

    June 13, 2013

    22 Comments

    Eggplant blossom.

    Eggplant blossom.

    Life is never really “stormy” here at the farm, or in our garden. But we are in our early season lull before our late summer “pop”. The blueberries, herbs and flowers are in full swing, but otherwise we are in a quiet period. Our cherries are long since gone, but the farmer’s market has more (we aren’t quite done with cherries, stay tuned). The strawberries are between crops, the peaches and nectarines are weeks away, the apples and pears are further out.

    prep2prep3But the tomatoes, squash, cukes, peppers and eggplant are coming, and when they come, they come on strong. If we have a good season (and that is a big “if”), the challenge will be keeping up with the tomatoes. This is a good problem to have, one we look forward to. Giving away tomatoes is a very good way to buy new friends and keep existing ones…and we aren’t above that sort of thing.

    prep4prep1But for now we wait, work and watch the bees in the flowers. It’s summer. The sun shines during the day, the stars sparkle at night and the garden has new surprises every morning. The storm is coming, but it will be welcomed with open arms.

    prep6prep7 Continue reading »

  • Mai Tai Sorbet

    June 11, 2013

    21 Comments

    Mai Tai Sorbet, with a little extra rum...

    Mai Tai Sorbet, with a little extra rum…

    This is one of the best dishes we’ve made so far at the farm. What do we mean by “best”? Well, it certainly tastes great (like a Mai Tai) and was fun to make, but it is also “ours”. This one was our inspiration and our recipe. We searched the web for Mai Tai sorbet recipes and other than a passion fruit and pineapple thing that may taste good, but has nothing to do with a real Mai Tai, there are no other recipes. We will “claim” this one so please excuse us if we crow a little. But if anyone has examples otherwise, that is fine. We are just happy to keep making this.

    mts6mts5The inspiration came from a somewhat odd source. A few weeks ago Carolyn made Elegant White Cake with Chocolate Ganache, and it was very, very tasty. One of the key flavors of the cake was a little almond extract that gave the cake a marzipan-ish flavor. We wondered what other dishes might benefit from a touch of almond and we immediately though of the almond and orange flower water flavor of orgeat syrup. If you are unfamiliar with orgeat, it is the key flavoring that makes a Mai Tai a Mai Tai. We also had some Cara Cara oranges we need to use, and suddenly the idea of “Mai Tai Sorbet” came up. Carolyn thought it sounded like a decent idea, so we gave it a try.

    mts7mts8The recipe came together quickly. A Mai Tai cocktail combines two aged rums, lime juice, Cointreau (or orange Curaçao), orgeat, simple syrup and is garnished by a lime shell and some mint. Our Mai Tai Sorbet combines lime juice, orange juice, simple syrup, a few drops of almond extract, dashes of aged rum and Cointreau (you could also use rum and/or orange extracts) and some Bittermen’s Tiki Bitters (optional, but very good). We garnish with a sprig of mint and some grated lime zest to mimic the lime shell in the cocktail.

    mts10mts9The only trick to this recipe is to taste your sorbet base as you make it. Oranges vary in sweetness and extracts vary in strength. We make a little extra simple syrup to tune our base, and remember that the base will taste sweeter than the final sorbet- frozen foods taste less sweet. So if the base tastes a bit sweeter than you like, it is probably right. We also add the almond extract a few drops at a time and taste. Almond extract is strong stuff, so we used about 8 drops, tasting as we went. Same for the Tiki bitters, we ended up at about 6 drops, but tune to your taste. Continue reading »

  • Smoked Chicken With Peanut Coleslaw

    June 8, 2013

    20 Comments

    chix1

    Smoked Chicken

    chix11

    Peanut Coleslaw (before mixing)

    Here at the farm we normally post recipes with a mostly well-defined take on the ingredients and process. With this dish there may still be some work to do. But since this version was very good, and we will be tinkering with this recipe all summer, we decided to share it now. The reason for sharing is that the chicken came out incredibly moist and with a sweet, smoky flavor that was enjoyed by all. A winner. (Good enough that we ate it before we could take a shot of individual pieces. Oops.)

    chix3chix4chix5The reason we aren’t “done” is that we consider this a barbecue recipe (serious stuff in these parts) and these recipes require a lot of tweaking on the smoke, rub and sauce. But these pleasant diversions refinements are mostly to fit our tastes. Meanwhile, the fundamentals are already there for everyone to play with: brine the bird and smoke low n’ slow over fruitwood. If this seems like the same basic steps for pork barbecue, that’s because they are. Why not start from a strong foundation?

    chix6chix7chix8But there are a few differences worth exploring. Firstly, chickens don’t cook evenly due to an irregular shape and different target cooking temperatures for dark and light meat. This means you need to alter the shape of the bird for more even cooking (or cook it in pieces, which isn’t a bad idea, btw). You can either truss the bird into a bit of a ball or cut out the spine and flatten the bird as if “spatchcooking”. We flattened our bird, but trussed birds do cook evenly as well.

    chix9Secondly, rather than placing a dry spice rub on the bird, we use a liquid mixture of spice rub, vinegar, molasses and ketchup to baste the bird during cooking. This is traditionally called a “mop” and is rarely used on pork shoulder, but is often used on pork ribs to keep them moist, and this works equally well for chicken. You can also reduce any left over mop into a sauce, if you like. It is also worth noting that we use our standard pork rub on the chicken, but if you have a poultry spice mixture you like, we suggest you try it (this is the area where we will most experiment over the summer).

    chix10 Continue reading »

  • Weekly Cocktail #53: The Siesta

    June 4, 2013

    13 Comments

    The Siesta Cocktail

    The Siesta Cocktail

    It’s no surprise that when summer comes around, our taste in cocktails tends to shift towards simpler, more refreshing drinks. But it isn’t just a case of the weather (it’s nice here most of the year), it has more to do with the nature of summer, giving us plenty of free time with family and friends. Cook-outs and impromptu get-togethers mean lots of opportunities to mix quick, tasty cocktails. And since we are often mixing at someone else’s place, it is good to have some creative recipes that use common ingredients. (Trust us on this one, we once drove all over eastern Long Island trying to find a bottle of Benedictine. No Luck.)

    siesta10siesta5But using common (or at least, easily purchased) ingredients doesn’t mean you get a common cocktail. A little tweaking and tuning on classics often gives you a very tasty, complex sip, but without a lot of work. Such is the case of this week’s cocktail, the Siesta. The Siesta combines blanco tequila, Campari, lime juice, grapefruit juice and simple syrup. It lands somewhere in between a margarita and a Hemingway Daiquiri with the added bitter kick (and beautiful color) of Campari. The first sip makes it clear this is a summery drink, but the Campari and grapefruit give the depth that makes the last sip as good as the first.

    siesta4siesta3The Siesta is from the PDT Cocktail Book and mixologist Katie Stipe. As PDT recipes go, it is one of the most simple. But it is in the book to illustrate what they call an “aha!” moment when Stipe made a small tweak to a classic and ended up with something new and very, very good.

    siesta2siesta6In this case, the real tweak is adding the Campari (look in the back our your liquor cabinet, you might have some). We have a love / hate relationship with Campari (we sometimes prefer mixing with its little cousin Aperol). Too much Campari and we get ashy, syrupy flavors that kill anything else. But when Campari is used well, we get the pleasant bittersweet and fruit notes that make it a mixologist’s favorite. The Siesta uses just enough Campari that you know it’s there, but it plays nice with the tequila, lime and grapefruit. (Another drink in this category is the Jasmine, also a good summer sip).

    siestaSo when you are mixing drinks this summer, by all means go with the Margarita, daiquiri or GnT, but leave a little room to play around. Look in the back of the liquor cabinet, pantry or fridge for something a little different. Then riff on the classic. You may have your “aha” moment.

    The Siesta:

    (From Katie Stipe and the PDT Cocktail Book)

    Ingredients:

    • 2 oz. blanco tequila
    • 1/2 oz. Campari
    • 1/2 oz. fresh lime juice
    • 1/2 oz. fresh grapefruit juice
    • 1/2 oz. simple syrup
    • Grapefruit twist, for garnish

    Assemble:

    1. Combine all the liquid ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake until will chilles and strain into a chilled cocktail glass or coupe. Garnish with the grapefruit twist. Serve.
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  • Elegant White Cake With Chocolate Ganache

    June 3, 2013

    19 Comments

    Elegant White Cake With Chocolate Ganache.

    Elegant White Cake With Chocolate Ganache.

    Funny thing about cake. Baking a cake is easy. Really. Frosting the cake may be a challenge, but once you have the gear, you can bake cakes pretty much whenever you want. All you need are a few cake pans and a mixer (if you don’t have a stand mixer, baking cakes is a good excuse to get one). Ingredients? If you have the basics like sugar, flour, baking powder, butter and eggs you can bake a cake. Easy.

    elegant3elegant2Once you get the basics down, you can mix and match flavors, fillings and frostings to your heart’s delight. And the delight of others. “And I baked a cake”, is something people like to hear. Baking cakes, assuming you share them, is a good way to make friends and influence people. Such is the power of cake. And cakes serve a crowd, so they are a good excuse to have people over. (If you are gluten-free just eat the frosting and have an extra drink ;-) )

    elegant5elegant6So what’s the catch? Well, it takes some time and planning to bake a cake, and frosting cakes is either something you love or hate to do. Carolyn likes baking and frosting cakes, so we are in luck. And one of the bonuses of summer grilling and smoking is that I am often out of the kitchen so Carolyn has plenty of space to bake without any bumbling interference from me. Carolyn even has time to experiment. That is usually good news for us.

    elegant7elegant8elegant9For this cake, our youngest son wanted “a cake that tasted like a hot fudge sundae”. So Carolyn combined a King Arthur Flour recipe for “Elegant White Cake” with a filling of chocolate ganache and a basic vanilla buttercream frosting. This cake is indeed white in color (no egg yolks), has a very fine texture (cake flour, not AP) and has the added bonus of almond extract that imparts a welcome marzipan-ish note. Real. Good. Cake. Elegant? Sure.

    elegant10elegant11elegant13And the “elegant” cake worked very, very well with the chocolate ganache and buttercream. In fact, one of the treats was dipping the cake trimmings into the ganache and frosting (until Carolyn kicked us out of the kitchen so she could frost the cake). It may seem like a simple combination, but vanilla, dark chocolate and the touch of marzipan kept us coming back again and again. This cake disappeared quickly. Good thing it is so easy to bake another…

    elegant4Elegant White Cake With Chocolate Ganache:

    (Cake adapted from King Arthur Flour)

    Notes Before You Start:

    • The cake recipe makes enough batter for 3 8-inch rounds, 2 9-inch rounds or a 9×13 single layer cake. This recipe is for the 3 8-inch rounds. If baking 9-inch rounds, increase cooking time to 25-30 minutes. If baking the 9×13 cake, cook for about 35 minutes.
    • If you don’t want to fill with chocolate ganache, just use the buttercream.

    What You Get: Fine-grained white cake with a touch of almond flavor and then a big kick of chocolate. What else do you need?

    What You Need: Cake pans and a stand mixer. You don’t have to use a mixer, but most modern recipes assume you will.

    How Long? A couple of hours from start to finish, with 30-40 minutes of active time. Nothing here is hard, you just need patience and a bit of planning.

    Continue reading »