2013 May « Putney Farm

Pouring a Brooklyn cocktail.

One of the many things we enjoy about the blog is that we get to “follow the muse”. Yes there are seasons, events and themes to guide us, but in the end we get to do what makes us happy. That’s the point, plus we usually get a few tasty dishes and drinks out of the deal and have excuses to invite friends over. (Have we found the secret to happiness? Maybe.)

So while we could be blogging on Mint Juleps for the Kentucky Derby (we like them, but not all that much), and we owe our friend Viveka a cocktail for winning our quiz (working on it Wivi!), we somehow found ourselves mixing a Brooklyn cocktail. And the Brooklyn cocktail is worth a try, particularly if you are a whiskey fan. And even if you aren’t, this smooth sip may surprise you.

The Brooklyn combines rye whiskey, dry vermouth, a dash of maraschino liqueur and a dash of Amer Picon. No one seems to have Amer Picon (a French digestif) these days, so most sources suggest amaro like Ramazotti, CioCiaro, Nonino or Montenegro. The recipe is flexible and all of these will work, we went with the Ramazotti, but also liked it with Nonino (we like a lot of stuff with Nonino). You can even just go with a mix of orange and Angostura bitters in a pinch.

If you notice a pattern with many of our cocktail posts, we tend to like to match rye whiskey with dry, rather than sweet, vermouth. Rye is dryer and spicier than bourbon, and we think you often lose those notes with some sweet vermouths (not always, but sometimes). If we want to enjoy the flavor of the rye, the herbal notes of a good dry vermouth seem like a natural fit. And we do like the combination in drinks like the Scofflaw (and our variant, the Tax Evasion ), so it isn’t that much of a surprise that the “muse” guided us towards the Brooklyn. (Or maybe it was Google….)

So what do you get with the Brooklyn? Firstly, you get a beautiful looking drink with deep golden hues. Lovely. As for the flavor, you get a smooth and slightly sweet sip, but with the spice of the rye, herbal vemouth and the bitter notes of the amaro keeping the flavor from becoming cloying. The maraschino adds some sweet, floral and nutty flavors. Basically, the Brooklyn is a dryer, smoother riff on a Manhattan. But since Brooklyn is way cooler than Manhattan these days, we think it makes sense that they have the smoother drink. (And speaking of Brooklyn- Hi Tina, Jonathan, Max and William!)

The Brooklyn Cocktail:

Ingredients:

2 oz. rye whiskey (Rittenhouse 100)
1 oz. dry vermouth (Dolin)
1/4 oz. maraschino liqueur (Luxardo)
1/2 oz. Amer Picon (sub Ramazotti or other amaro)

Assemble:

Combine all the ingredients in a cocktail glass with ice. Stir until well chilled. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass or coupé. Serve.

Weekly Cocktail #49: The Tax Evasion Cocktail (putneyfarm.com)
Weekly Cocktail #45: The Paper Plane (putneyfarm.com)
The Perfect Brooklyn Cocktail (corkdork.typepad.com)
The Best Liquor for Winter Cocktails is Rye (manoavino.typepad.com)
Manhattan (andrewho1026.wordpress.com)
Two Manhattans: Coffee & Cherries (16sparrows.typepad.com)
Income Tax Cocktail (drinkstraightup.com)
The Blinker Cocktail( 2 versions) (marlonhall.wordpress.com)

Well, if it’s “Royal” it has to be good. And it is. Very. But we do smirk at the name of the recipe. It comes from Yotam Ottolenghi’s (YO) cookbook “Plenty“. If you are unfamiliar with “YO” he is the hottest vegetarian cookbook author of the moment (he isn’t a vegetarian, but he’s rolling- we jokingly call him “the vegetable whisperer”.) And if you sense a bit of ~~intense jealousy~~ suspicion, you ~~are~~ might be right. But good food is good food, and this recipe is a winner. We aren’t proud, if a dish tastes good, we will make it. Often, if the kids like it.

And many of the recipes in the cookbook are true winners. There are also some recipes that require way, WAY, too much work for what you might get- but for the most part we are big fans. And YO does know his flavors. But, like many restaurant chefs, YO will ask you to do work that simply isn’t worth it, but looks/sounds good at the time. Chefs do that sometimes. Chefs are not home cooks, and they just can’t help themselves.

In this case YO asks you to make a very tasty potato salad with a bright pesto sauce and peas, but then adds halved, soft-boiled quail eggs. We like quail eggs, and used them in the recipe, but you can’t tell us that quartered hard-boiled chicken eggs wouldn’t work just as well (maybe better). And after you try to peel a dozen quail eggs, you might agree. But maybe that is what makes the recipe “royal”….whatever. (Actually it is named after Jersey Royal potatoes…but why let the facts get in the way of some good snark?)

As for the rest of the recipe, this is the good stuff. Boiled waxy potatoes with a herbaceous, not too garlicky pesto, peas and soft-boiled eggs is a lovely dish. We did adapt the recipe for more herbs, particularly parsley, in the pesto. But this is where you can play around to fit your tastes. But what you get is a mix of bright, earthy, sweet, herbal and umami flavors along with soft and slightly crunchy textures. If this sounds like a restaurant-quality dish, that’s because it is. We have come to accept that YO is truly a “vegetable whisperer”.

Royal Potato Salad:

(Adapted from “Plenty” by Yotam Ottolenghi)

Notes Before You Start:

You need “waxy” new potato varieties, or Yukon Golds in a pinch. Russets will not work here, as they will fall apart.

You can play with the proportions of parsley and basil in this recipe. If your basil is fresh and flavorful, lead with it. Otherwise go with more parsley, it makes for very good pesto.

Ingredients:

(serves 4-6)

10 quail eggs or 4 chicken eggs
1 cup frozen peas
2 pounds new or “waxy” potatoes
3/4 cup basil leaves
3/4 cup Italian parsley (plus more for garnish)
1/3 cup pine nuts
1/2 cup, about 2 oz. grated parmesan cheese
1 clove garlic, lightly crushed
1 cup olive oil
Dash of vinegar
1 bunch (handful) mint leaves, shredded
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

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Monthly Archives: May 2013

Weekly Cocktail #50: The Brooklyn Cocktail

Royal Potato Salad

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