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Weekly Cocktail #46: Sunny In The Garden

April 1, 2013

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Sunny in the Garden cocktail.

We know spring just sprung, and hasn’t reached many of you at all, but we are already thinking about “long drinks” for summer. For those who are unfamiliar, long drinks are simply large volume cocktails, often six to eight ounces, with more mixer than spirits, usually served on the rocks and often associated with warm summer afternoons, garden parties and preludes to long naps. (We also like to drink them while gardening, but that is just us). The Tom Collins is probably the classic long drink, highballs like the Gin and Tonic also qualify, and there are other well-known classics like the Cuba Libre, Paloma, Pimm’s Cup and the Dark ‘n Stormy. All worth a try, and you may see some more here on the blog over the next few weeks.

Part of the fun of long drinks is that you can take almost any mixer, add some spirits, and perhaps a few modifiers, and you have a new drink. The variations are almost endless and it is pretty hard to screw up. In most cases the mixer is non-alcoholic like juice, soda water or ginger ale, but we decided to make a long drink from an apéritif and just a splash of spirits. And if we mix with an apéritif, it will often be Lillet Blanc, one of our favorite ingredients. (See the Rose Pearl for another long drink, this time using Lillet Rose.)

Lillet Blanc is a fortified wine that combines white wine with citrus (mostly orange) infused spirits. It is sweet with citrus notes and a slight bitter quinine edge (if you like things a bit more bitter use Cocchi Americano) and is very easy to sip on the rocks. But we wanted to amp the orange flavor, tame some of the sweetness and add some “heat” from alcohol, but not mess with the core flavors of the Lillet. So we figured this might be the kind of cocktail that makes good use of the vodka gathering dust on our bar (gin tends to win out here at the farm). And while vodka is not always a respected mixology ingredient, it does have its uses, and this was one of those times.

The Sunny in the Garden combines Lillet Blanc, vodka, lemon juice, orange bitters and a large orange twist, served on the rocks. The aroma is wine, floral and citrus, perfect for summer. As for the taste, you get a big, sweet wine and orange sip up front, but balanced by the lemon juice and just a bit of kick from the booze at the finish. Is this the world’s most complex cocktail? Hardly. But is a very enjoyable sipper you can linger over, think “like white Sangria, but way better”. In fact, we may serve the Sunny in the Garden along with summer meals as a substitute for wine or Sangria. But summer is still a ways away, so for now we will just have to sip this while gardening. We can live with that. Now about that nap….

Sunny in the Garden cocktail.

Ingredients:
- 4 1/2 oz. Lillet Blanc
- 1 oz. vodka
- 1/2 oz. fresh lemon juice
- 2 dashes Regan’s orange bitters
- Long orange peel, for garnish
Assemble:
1. Combine all the liquid ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake until chilled and then strain into a highball or Collins glass filled with ice.
2. Twist the orange peel over the drink and rub along the edge of the glass. Add the orange peel to the cocktail. Serve.
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Posted By: putneyfarm Category: All Recipes, Cocktail Recipes, Entertaining, Vodka Tags: best lillet cocktail, cocchi americano, Cocktail, Cocktails, cooking, drinks, DrinkWire, food, lillet, lillet blanc, Long drink, long drinks, photography, photos, recipes, summer cocktails
Easy Oven Ribs With Sriracha Barbecue Sauce

March 29, 2013

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Easy Oven Ribs With Sriracha Barbecue Sauce.

We do love our ribs here at the farm. And, without a doubt, we love Memphis-style barbecue ribs with a dry rub, mop and slow smoking over applewood and hickory. Toss in some hot, vinegary Carolina barbecue sauce and Nirvana awaits. But we just made it into spring, the rains come and go, it’s still cold and the smoker needs to be set up (and we are tired from working in the garden). Time to turn on the oven.

And there is nothing wrong with making ribs in the oven. In fact, some would argue that it may be a better place to cook ribs, assuming you use the right tools/technique and choose the right seasoning and sauce. The one thing that is really hard to do is get the deep smokey flavor and “smoke ring” color from the oven. But you can get very flavorful, tender ribs.

As for the tools and technique, the main thing you need is some time, sauce (we will get there) and aluminium foil. The big thing with ribs is that they need to cook low and slow and, preferably, in a moist environment so they don’t dry out. This is particularly true for baby back ribs, which don’t carry much extra fat. But if you season and sauce the ribs and then wrap in a packet of foil, you can trap the juices from the ribs and gently steam the ribs for a few hours until they reach the desired temperature of 185 F. You need the temperature to get at least to 185 so the collagen in the meat turns to gelatin (that luscious texture) and the ribs get tender. Then you open the foil packets, add some more sauce and finish the ribs under the broiler for a few minutes to get a nice crispy, caramelized crust. Easy, but like most good things, you need a few extra steps.

And now for the sauce. Since we don’t feel we can get a southern-style smokey flavor, we look more to Asian flavors. Instead of a base of ketchup, cider vinegar, Worcestershire and hot sauce, we go with ketchup, onion, garlic, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar and Sriracha. You get a familiar texture of barbecue sauce but the more Asian-inspired notes and some heat. And you can control the heat to your liking by just adding or subtracting Sriracha and/or some red pepper flake. Good stuff and good fun.

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Posted By: putneyfarm Category: All Recipes, Dinner, Musings Tags: barbecue, Cocktails, cooking, East oven ribs, food, photography, photos, recipes, sriracha, sriracha barbecue sauce, sriracha bbq sauce, sriracha ribs

First Come The Herbs…

March 26, 2013

24 Comments
Oregano in the garden.

While we are still deep in winter citrus, and the fruit blossoms are everywhere, we only have a few “crops” that are ready (or close to ready). But we do have some of the good stuff. The mix of sun and light rain brought the herbs back to life, and with gusto. Oregano, marjoram, tarragon, thyme, mint, chocolate mint and the always-present rosemary are thriving. Still have to wait on basil, but soon (sigh). Artichokes and potato plants seem to bend the laws of nature, they grow so quickly. And the blueberries and strawberries are forming, first tastes in 7-10 days (hopefully). Serious planting is starting soon….

Marjoram.

Tarragon.

Mint, already trying to take over.

Artichoke.

Blueberries forming.

Strawberries sooner than you think.

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Posted By: putneyfarm Category: Garden and Orchard Tags: Cocktails, cooking, farm, food, garden, gardening, herbs, photography, photos, recipes
Lasagne. You Gotta Problem With Dat?

March 25, 2013

37 Comments
Lasagne. Hungry?

Well, we certainly don’t. Is there a better dish in the world than good lasagne? Even the word “lasagne” (or is it “lasagna”?) brings a smile to our faces. There is something about a bunch of meat, cheese, béchamel and tomato sauce encased in pasta, and then covered by more cheese, that almost always works. Heck, you can make tasty vegetarian versions of the dish and it will still rock. Hard to go wrong here…as long as you have a good recipe and take your time.

And if there is one drawback to lasagne (beyond expanding waistlines), it does take a little time to make. But not nearly as much as you think. And since you can make a big batch, you can feed your family for a couple of meals. Make lasagne over the weekend and you get an easy night during the week. So you can even view lasagne as a time saver…kinda…sorta. In any event, you get the idea, we think lasagne is a perfect dish to make at home.

The key to a good lasagne is not to accept any short-cuts. You need to make your own meat sauce, béchamel and ricotta mixture. Again, none of these steps are hard, they just take time. You can save some time using “instant” lasagne noodles, if you like. We have run this experiment enough, and don’t see any difference (unless you use fresh pasta). But one of the secrets is to use as little pasta as possible, just enough to keep everything together. That way you get a big dose of tomato, béchamel, meat and cheese (and that is what you want, and what you need).

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Posted By: putneyfarm Category: All Recipes, Dinner Tags: Cocktails, cooking, dinner, food, garden, Lasagna, Lasagne, photography, photos, recipes

Weekly Cocktail #45: The Paper Plane

March 23, 2013

20 Comments
The Paper Plane cocktail.

“Now that’s a good brown drink, I like that”, is something we rarely hear from Carolyn when whiskey is involved. She likes her gin, vodka and rum just fine, but most “brown drinks” with bourbon, rye or scotch taste too sweet and heavy for her tastes. And to be honest, even I prefer the spice of rye to the sweetness of bourbon. But we do like the caramel and vanilla notes of good bourbon, we just don’t want it to dominate the drink. But this week’s cocktail, the Paper Plane solves this problem quite nicely. It is by all measures a bourbon drink, but it is a very bright and refreshing sip.

Created a few years ago by well-known New York bartender Sam Ross, the Paper Plane combines equal parts good bourbon, lemon juice, Amaro Nonino and Aperol and is garnished with a lemon twist. The combo of the whiskey and lemon is standard, but the key to the Paper Plane is the use of two sweet and bitter ingredients, the Amaro Nonino and Aperol. These are both bitter ingredients but come from very different ends of the spectrum. We would not have thought to combine these ingredients, but it really works, and that’s why cocktails are fun. There are always surprises awaiting.

Aperol (which we have discussed in the blog and is one of our favorite ingredients) is Campari’s lighter, less boozy, cousin and features sweet citrus and rhubarb notes with a bitter finish. The Amaro Nonino is a whole other animal. It’s amaro, but it is sweeter and boozier than most and with some fruity notes to compliment the herbal core. Nonino is seriously good stuff and is fun to play around with in all sorts of whiskey-based drinks (Nonino Manhattan variants are very tasty). Also fun to substitute for Benedictine. Along with Montenegro, the Nonino is now one of our favorite amari for mixing. Worth picking up a bottle if you can.

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Posted By: putneyfarm Category: All Recipes, Cocktail Recipes, Whiskey / Rye Tags: Aperol, Cocktail, Cocktails, cooking, DrinkWire, food, Mixology, Nonino, paper plane cocktail, photography, photos, recipes
White Whole Wheat Biscuits

March 20, 2013

36 Comments
White Whole Wheat Biscuits.

So let’s get right to the question, “what is white whole wheat”? It’s real whole wheat, just from a variety of wheat that has none of the red color and somewhat less of the overtly strong and tannic flavors of traditional whole wheat (think albino whole wheat). White whole wheat flour has all the nutritional benefits of whole wheat, but has a softer flavor with just a pleasant hint of “nuttiness”. What it also means is that you can bake whole wheat biscuits, scones and pastries for your kids (and other picky eaters) and they will eat and enjoy these treats as if they were made from refined flour. A neat trick. Good for you, too.

And if you get your hands on some white whole wheat flour (we use King Arthur, but there are other brands), we suggest you make some biscuits. Why biscuits? Firstly, who doesn’t like a biscuit? Secondly, you can get a good idea how white whole wheat flour provides a hint of “whole wheat” flavor and color, while having a texture like refined flour. And finally, biscuits are easy once you get the hang of it.

Making these biscuits follows a mostly traditional method. You combine dry ingredients with cold butter. Then add in wet ingredients and lightly mix to create a dough that just holds together. The less you handle the dough, the less gluten forms, the more tender the biscuit. The only trick in this recipe is that if you use honey as your sweetener (and you should, but you can use sugar), is that you need to heat it slightly so it will mix easily with the eggs and cold water without clumping. Otherwise, just cut the biscuits from the dough, bake, eat and repeat. And smile.

Before we get to the recipe, a note about one of the ingredients you may not see in most recipes, the dry nonfat milk powder. Dry milk powder is basically the calcium and protein from the milk without the water or fat. Protein makes baked goods firmer and calcium helps with browning- without adding extra water that may alter the chemical balance of the recipe. In this case, the milk powder helps get you a nice brown biscuit that holds its shape. There are other ways to add protein and calcium, but they can require some serious reformulation (and remember, baking is chemistry), we just use the dry milk powder when we are told. It works. So if you see it in a recipe, there is nothing to worry about, just get some and use it, there are even organic versions. One more tool for your baking “arsenal”.

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Posted By: putneyfarm Category: All Recipes, Breakfast Tags: baking, best whole wheat biscuits, biscuit, biscuit recipe, Cocktails, cooking, cuisine, food, king arthur flour, photography, photos, recipes, vegetarian, white whole wheat biscuits, white whole wheat flour