Monthly Archives: February 2013

  • Mixology Monday Cocktail #2: Elmer Fudd’s Revenge

    February 16, 2013

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    Elmer Fudd's Revenge Cocktail.

    Elmer Fudd’s Revenge Cocktail.

    Mixology Monday drinks are due this Monday, so we are adding another recipe for our “inverted” theme. The last week we spent a good deal of time looking at the bar and pantry and asking “can we invert that?” And the answer always seems to be “yes”, as long as we are willing to stretch the definition of “inverted” (and we are certainly willing to do that). And this cocktail, the Elmer Fudd’s Revenge, does fulfill the theme, even if the connection is a bit ridiculous tenuous.

    elmer4So if you want to understand how the randomness “creative process” works here at the farm, here is how we created the cocktail:

    • We saw a bottle of Laird’s bonded applejack looking lonely on the bar.
    • The first drink we thought of was the Applejack Rabbit (good stuff).
    • Maybe we could riff on the Applejack Rabbit for MXMO.
    • We thought of famous rabbits and Bugs Bunny came to mind.
    • Elmer Fudd never catches Bugs Bunny. Poor Elmer.
    • So what could we “invert”? How about Elmer catching Bugs?
    • If Elmer caught Bugs it would be a bloodbath. (Elmer has some pent-up frustrations.)
    • Hey look, we have some Moro blood oranges.
    • How about an Applejack Rabbit with blood oranges?

    And that’s how we think before we start drinking….so the experiments began. The traditional Applejack Rabbit combines applejack, lemon juice, orange juice and maple syrup. It’s a sweet drink with just enough sour from the lemon juice to tame the maple syrup and orange. But when we used blood oranges, with their tart and berry notes, the maple syrup didn’t play as well. So we used simple syrup. That worked, but we lost the extra character of the maple. We fixed this by subbing 1/2 ounce of rye whiskey for some of the applejack. The spicy rye and blood oranges (surprisingly) play very well together.

    elmer3Elmer Fudd’s Revenge combines applejack, rye, Meyer lemon juice, blood orange juice and simple syrup. This is a dryer cocktail than the Applejack Rabbit, with the applejack and rye in the lead and a bright, tart finish and a touch of berry flavor from the blood oranges. This is a very refreshing sip and an excellent way to use blood oranges in a cocktail, as the color and flavors make the drink, but don’t dominate. The only issue with this drink is that it goes down very easy…But after catching that “wascally wabbit”, Elmer deserves more than one to celebrate.

    elmer1OK, one more “inverted” recipe to go (it’s been in the works for 10 days, not quite there yet).

    elmer5Elmer Fudd’s Revenge:

    Ingredients:

    • 1 and 1/2 oz. Laird’s bonded applejack
    • 1/2 oz. rye whiskey
    • 3/4 oz. Meyer lemon juice (or regular lemon juice)
    • 3/4 oz. blood orange juice
    • 1/3 oz. simple syrup (use 1/2 oz. if not using Meyer lemons)

    Assemble:

    1. Combine all the ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake thoroughly. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass, flute or coupé. Serve.
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  • Massaged Kale and Brussels Sprout Salad

    February 15, 2013

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    kale

    Massaged Kale and Brussels Sprouts Salad.

    Of all the vegetables we grow and eat here at the farm, brussels sprouts are one of the most challenging. Our attempts to grow them fail (and they attract a massive amount of aphids) and the only brussels sprouts recipes we like usually have tons of bacon and bacon fat to enhance the flavor. While we do love our bacon, we would like brussels sprouts to taste good on their own. After multiple failures, we usually avoid brussels sprouts, but every once in a while we try a new brussels sprouts dish in a restaurant or see a recipe that sounds promising. Usually, we are disappointed. But not this time. Carolyn tried this salad at a restaurant (Bar Bocce in Sausalito) and we adapted it for home cooking, and it’s very good- we didn’t even have to add any bacon.

    kale10kale7And, oddly enough, what we needed to enjoy the brussels sprouts was some different technique and the addition of another veggie. For the technique, we use finely shaved raw brussels sprouts, and for the extra veggie we added kale. One might not expect two earthly vegetables to compliment each other, but the sweeter sprouts play well with the “briny” notes of the kale. Add some roasted almonds for crunch and nutty flavor, shave on some romano cheese for salt and umami and finish with a bright, acidic dressing and you have a delightful salad.

    kale8kale11Simple enough, but there is one extra step that makes this salad really sing, the “massage”. And no, there is nothing creepy about massaging your kale. What’s really going on is that you add some of the lemon juice from the dressing to the kale and sprouts, mix or “massage” the juice with the greens and then let them sit for 5 to 20 minutes. The acid will actually start to “cook” or soften the kale and sprouts. It makes a big difference in texture of the salad. Usually dressing a salad too early makes it wilt, but for a tough green like kale, this is a good thing. (This approach will work for most kale-based salads).

    kale6kale5A few other notes about this salad. Firstly, the kale and sprouts are very hearty, so you can store the salad, dressed, in the fridge for a few days- so go ahead and make a big batch, if you like. Secondly, if you want to make a vegan version of the salad simply substitute the cheese with caramelized shallots. It won’t be exactly the same, but it will still be very good. And finally, it is best to shave the brussels sprouts with a small hand slicer or mandolin, but if you don’t have these tools use a very, very sharp knife and take your time. Brussels sprouts can be slippery little suckers, be careful…and then enjoy a very healthy and tasty salad.

    Massaged Kale and Brussels Sprouts salad

    Massaged Kale And Brussels Sprouts Salad:

    (Adapted from Bar Bocce)

    Notes Before You Start:

    • We use lacinato kale for this dish but most types of kale will work in this recipe. Just be sure to remove the tough ribs from the middle of the kale.

    What You Get: A good recipe for brussels sprouts that doesn’t hide them behind bacon or fat.

    What You Need: No special equipment required. But a small hand slicer or mandolin would be a big help.

    How Long? About 30 minutes with 10 minutes of active time. Anytime dish.

    Ingredients:

    • 4 cups kale (we use lacinato), washed and roughly chopped
    • 8 large raw brussels sprouts, washed and thinly sliced
    • 1/2 cup almonds
    • 2 tbsp olive oil
    • 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
    • 1 tablespoon honey
    • Pecorino romano cheese (sub parmesan, if you like)
    • Kosher salt
    • Freshly ground pepper

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