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  • Mixology Monday “Intercontinental” Cocktail #2: Two Trios

    October 21, 2013

    9 Comments

    Two Trios Cocktail.

    Two Trios Cocktail.

    Lots of cocktails at the farm these days (well, sort of, more reading and shopping than actual drinking, but such is life).  We may just need to change the name to Putney Tavern (hmmm…I like the sound of that). In any event, we are the hosts of Mixology Monday and the drinks are rolling in, so we figured we would do one more cocktail. The theme is “Intercontinental” and the challenge is to use ingredients from multiple continents (full details here). We used five continents in the Horn of Good Hope cocktail, so now we are looking to use six.

    mxmologotrioSeeing as our bar is already full of ridiculous esoteric bottles, we decided to look to the orchard, garden and pantry for ingredients from the “tough” continents like Africa and Australia. And pretty soon we learned that our Cayenne pepper is from Africa (who knew?) and that our candied and crystalized ginger is from Australia. From there, things started rolling.

    trio1trio2One concept we are familiar with is the “holy trinity” of Creole cooking, the mirepoix of onion, green pepper and celery. But there is also a lesser-known “trio” of using black, white and red pepper in spicier recipes. The idea is to give heat, bite and burn to a dish so you get layers of spice. This concept works really well in cooking, so we figured we could apply it to the cocktail. The ginger has heat and the Cayenne burn, so all we needed was some “bite”.

    trio3Well, with booze, that is easy enough. The spirits themselves have kick, and citrus (without too much sugar) has that sour bite. So now that we had a few ingredients, we just looked to the map and started to play. One of our favorite spirits, El Dorado Demerara rum comes from South America, we chose to go in the direction of a daiquiri. And since we were thinking of trios, we decided to use three types of citrus that would add complexity and help finish our “map”.

    trio4The Two Trios combines Demerara rum (Guiana, South America), Persian lime juice (North America, oddly enough), Meyer lemon juice (originally from Asia), Curaçao (Europe, France in this case), ginger liqueur (Europe, although the ginger is Asia or Australia), a pinch of Cayenne pepper (Africa) and a crystalized ginger garnish (Australia). Antarctica will have to wait.

    trio5So how does it taste? Very, very good. One of our better Mixology Monday cocktails, and one we will make again. The Two Trios lands somewhere between a daiquiri and a tiki drink with a clear rum and citrus base augmented by a wave of extra spice. You get sour lime and rum up front and then the orange, lemon and ginger in the middle. And at the end you get just a hint of burn from the Cayenne. It builds, but just enough that you know it’s there. And if you take a bite of the crystalized ginger you get a nice blast of sweet heat. A good sip from beginning to end.

    trio8So that is our second Mixology Monday cocktail. Every time we do this it gets the creative juices flowing and we learn something along the way. And usually we end up with a tasty cocktail. Not a bad deal…not bad at all. Roundup post coming soon!

    Two Trios Cocktail:

    Ingredients:

    • 2 oz. Demerara rum (El Dorado gold)
    • 1/2 oz. Curacao (Pierre Ferrand)
    • 1/2 oz. ginger liqueur (Massenez)
    • 1/2 oz. lime juice
    • 1/2 oz. Meyer lemon juice
    • 1 pinch Cayenne pepper
    • Crystalized ginger, for garnish

    Assemble:

    1. Spear the crystalized ginger on a long toothpick or cocktail spear.
    2. Combine all the liquid ingredients and the Cayenne in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake until well-chilled and strain into a chilled cocktail glass or coupe. Garnish with the crystalized ginger. Serve.
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  • Mixology Monday “Intercontinental” Cocktail #1: The Horn Of Good Hope

    October 18, 2013

    19 Comments

    Horn of Good Hope Cocktail.

    Horn of Good Hope Cocktail.

    Ah, another Mixology Monday, always good fun and a nice little prod to keep us from becoming lazier lazy drinkers. And this month we can’t be lazy at all, since we are hosting. The theme is “Intercontinental” and if you want to full download here it is. But basically we need to mix some drinks with ingredients from most of the continents. So far, there are already a number of very creative (and quite tasty looking / sounding) cocktails submitted. So we figured we may as well get going with a few of our own creations.

    mxmologoAnd since we already have a geographic theme we decided we would go a little further and look at the globe for inspiration. In this case we said where is the “end of the earth”? And we decided that Cape Horn in Chile and the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa fit the bill and started looking for spirits (we also looked at Cape Grim in Tasmania, but came up short on ingredients, otherwise we would have ‘The Grim Horn of Good Hope’, oh well…sigh).

    cape7cape5For Chile / Cape Horn it was easy to find an ingredient, Pisco, the local grape brandy that is very common here in Norcal (Pisco also comes from Peru) . For South Africa / Cape of Good Hope we have more options with all sorts of South African wine or Amarula, the local cream liqueur from the Marula fruit. We aren’t big cream liqueur fans, but couldn’t resist trying out the Amarula (we already have a few Amarula sightings for this MxMo).

    cape4It may be a hokey description, but Amarula basically tastes like “tropical Bailey’s” with sweet cream, caramel, a touch of ginger and mango-ish notes. Not bad at all, and not surprisingly Amarula is often mixed into coffee or chocolate cocktails. We chose to go in the direction of coffee, and the rest came together pretty quickly.

    cape3cape6The Horn of Good Hope combines Coffee Liqueur (Kahlua Especial from North America), Pisco (South America), Amarula (Africa), Grand Marnier (Europe) and a dusting of nutmeg (Asia), shaken with ice, strained and served as a cocktail. The flavor is in the Black Russian / Bailey’s and Coffee realm, but the Pisco adds strength and heat, the Grand Marnier adds burnt orange notes and the Amarula adds spice and tropical fruit flavor. The nutmeg adds extra depth of flavor and aroma that rounds things out. There is also a lovely nutty note throughout (no idea where it comes from, but don’t mind it being there). A good sip, even if somewhat (dare we say it) “frappuccino-ish”.

    cape2But this is a sweet, boozy drink, and best served as a sip- or almost a small dessert. We suggest you split this cocktail in half or even thirds and serve it as a quick shot or 2-3 sip cocktail. The first few tastes are the best, before the drink loses its chill and the sweetness takes over. Otherwise, if you like sweet drinks take your time and enjoy the full cocktail.

    cape1So that is our first try at “Intercontinental” cocktails. We got five continents on this one. We are aiming for six or seven with our next creation. Stay tuned…

    The Horn Of Good Hope:

    Ingredients:

    (Serves 1 to 2)

    • 1 oz. Pisco (We actually like Encanto from Peru, but Chilean Pisco is great, too)
    • 1 oz. Coffee Liqueur (Kahlua Especial)
    • 1/2 oz. Grand Marnier
    • 1/2 oz. Amarula
    • Fresh Nutmeg, for dusting

    Assemble:

    • Combine all the liquid ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake until very cold and double-strain into small chilled cocktail glasses or coupes. Dust with fresh nutmeg. Serve.
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  • Weekly Cocktail #59: The Honeymoon…..And The Annulment

    October 4, 2013

    20 Comments

    The Honeymoon Cocktail.

    The Honeymoon Cocktail.

    Fall is here and it is time to get back to our weekly cocktails. And when we think autumn cocktails, we tend to look towards apples and Applejack, America’s apple brandy. We are big fans of Laird’s Bonded Applejack, with its dry apple flavor and strong (100 proof), spirituous core. Landing somewhere between the lighter spirits (gin, tequila) and darker spirits (bourbon, rye), Applejack is a natural for cocktails, as you can build a light, bright cocktail, or a dark, heavy drink, simply by playing with a few ingredients.hmoon4

    hmoon2For a lighter Applejack drink we really enjoy the Honeymoon cocktail. A simple combination of Applejack (or Calvados, that French stuff), Cointreau, Benedictine and lemon juice. At first you might think this is a sweet drink, but with 2 ounces of Applejack and a light hand with the other ingredients, you get a strong boozy core accented by citrus and then spice from the Benedictine. There is more here than you would expect, and it is certainly better than your average “sour”.

    hmoon8hmoon5Originally a pre-prohibition cocktail, the Honeymoon has been discovered, forgotten and rediscovered a few different times. And cocktail writers from Jim Meehan to Ted Haigh to Fred Yarm all sing its praises for a reason, it is a delightful sip. And certainly a pleasant intro to Applejack and a good reason to get a bottle. Oh, and it’s inexpensive, too….

    hmoon3Along with being a good sip, the Honeymoon is a fun drink to play with. And one of our experiments gave us our next drink, the Annulment. One of our creations, the Annulment keeps the basics of the Honeymoon, but adds to the Benedictine’s slight herbal, bitter and spice notes through the use of Amaro and bitters. We basically doubled down on the heavier flavors.

    The Annulment Cocktail.

    The Annulment Cocktail.

    For the Annulment, we add a splash of Averna, an amaro known for sweet, herbal, bitter and spice flavors, and both Angostura and Tiki bitters for depth and added spice. What you get is an entirely different drink. Where the Honeymoon is light and bright, The Annulment is darker and spicier, with a clear bitter edge that reminds us of the tannic edge of apple skins. If you like spiced apple cider, you will enjoy the Annulment. As it is we enjoy both the Honeymoon and the Annulment to follow…hmoon6

    The Honeymoon Cocktail:

    Ingredients:

    • 2 oz. Applejack (Laird’s Bonded) or Calvados
    • 1/2 oz. fresh lemon juice
    • 1/2 oz. Cointreau (or triple-sec)
    • 1/2 oz. Benedictine
    • Lemon twist, for garnish (optional, we omit)

    Assemble:

    1. Combine all the liquid ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake until well-chilled and strain into a chilled cocktail glass or coupé. Garnish with lemon twist, if you like. Serve.

    —–

    The Annulment Cocktail:

    Ingredients:

    • 2 oz. Applejack (Laird’s Bonded) or Calvados
    • 1/2 oz. fresh lemon juice
    • 1/3 oz. Averna
    • 1/3 oz. Cointreau (or triple-sec)
    • 1/3 oz. Benedictine
    • 2 dashes Angostura bitters
    • 2 dashes Bittermens Tiki bitters (or sub more Angostura)

    Assemble:

    1. Combine all the liquid ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake until well-chilled and strain into a chilled cocktail glass or coupé. Serve.
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  • Berkshire Bacon Fried Rice

    October 1, 2013

    27 Comments

    frice6frice10frice13Ah, home-cured bacon. The culinary gift that just keeps on giving. Once you start making your own bacon, the possibilities seem limitless. So much flavor, so many textures, so many ways to use it. You can use bacon as a main dish, an accent for salt and/or crunch, a sandwich ingredient, or just serve it for breakfast. And the fat adds flavor to anything you cook with. Good stuff.

    frice2frice3And good stuff becomes great stuff if you use the right pork. Most pork belly will work for home cured bacon, and it will be much better than store-bought, packaged bacon. But if you spend a little more time and money you can order a Berkshire (sometimes called Kurabota) or Duroc pork belly from an artisan farmer. Not only are these pigs more humanely treated, but they taste a whole lot better than “industrial” pigs. While there are a number of artisan breeds, we prefer the sweet, dark and meaty Berkshire for bacon and barbecue.

    frice4frice5Making bacon with Berkshire pork is no different from using regular pork, we just follow our standard bacon recipe. But because this pork is so sweet we prefer to very lightly smoke with applewood or simply finish in the oven. The pork has enough flavor to stand well on its own. Sometimes the best thing you can do as a cook is leave the ingredients alone.

    frice1So what do we do with our Berkshire bacon? Actually, we sell some to friends. It helps cover costs and keeps us from eating too much. And we do serve bacon for breakfast on weekends. But usually we cook with bacon as an accent. And there are few better ways to use bacon than in fried rice. So simple, so easy, but soooo good.

    For this dish we adapted a recipe from “Breakfast for Dinner” a fun cookbook that, not surprisingly, uses breakfast-related ingredients for dinner. While sometimes a real stretch (yes, fried rice has bacon and egg so there is some “breakfast” there…sorta), the recipes are fun and supply some good ideas. That’s enough for us.

    frice11The recipe combines fried brown rice with a mixture of bacon, onion, frozen peas, green onion, a little mirin (or water), garlic and ginger. You can top with a fried egg (our preference) or scramble the eggs and mix them in. Garnish with some carrot ribbons, green onion or sesame and then season with soy and Sriracha. Then you are in business…

    frice12How does it taste? Soft and crunchy rice with nutty flavors, crisp, sweet and salty bacon, savory onion, garlic and ginger, sweet earthy peas and rich eggs. Hard to go wrong here. Just be sure to make your own bacon, or use the best artisan bacon you can find. You won’t be disappointed.

    Berkshire Bacon Fried Rice:

    (Adapted from “Breakfast for Dinner”)

    Notes Before You Start:

    • If you don’t cure your own bacon, look for slab bacon or artisan bacon that is meaty and lightly smoked with applewood. Hickory-smoked bacon will work here but the flavor will dominate the dish.
    • We use left over brown jasmine rice in this dish, as the nutty flavors work well. But any long-grain rice (or really any leftover rice) will work. You need day old rice for this dish- as it will not turn mushy when cooked.

    What You Get: Tasty, easy fried rice at home. What else do you need?

    What You Need: No special equipment required, and you may have the ingredients in your fridge right now.

    How Long? If you already have the rice cooked, about 20 minutes. Anytime dish.

    Ingredients:

    (Serves 4-6)

    • 2-3 cups day-old cooked brown jasmine rice (or leftover rice)
    • 1/2 pound bacon, diced or cut into lardons
    • 1/2 large yellow onion, diced
    • 4 green onions, thinly sliced, plus extra for garnish
    • 2 cloves garlic, minced
    • 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced
    • 1 cup frozen peas
    • 3 tablespoons mirin (or water)
    • 4 large eggs
    • 1 medium carrot, sliced into ribbons
    • Salt and freshly ground pepper
    • Soy sauce, to taste
    • Sriracha, or hot sauce, to taste

    Assemble:

    1. Place a large nonstick skillet or wok over medium-high heat. Add the bacon and cook until slightly crisp and the fat renders. Drain all but a tablespoon of the fat from the pan, and reserve. Add the onions and cook until soft, 2-3 minutes. Then add the peas, green onion, and ginger. Cook for 2-3 minutes than add the garlic and cook for another 30 seconds, stirring frequently (don’t burn the garlic). Add the mirin, stir and cook for another 1-2 minutes. Remove from the heat and our the mixture into a large bowl.
    2. Place the pan back on the stove over medium-high heat and add the reserved bacon fat. You should have 2-3 tablespoons of fat (add oil if needed). Spread the rice in the pan and cook, stirring occasionally, until brown crispy spots form, 6-8 minutes. When done, add the rice to the bacon mixture and stir to combine.
    3. In another pan, over medium-low heat, cook the eggs until the whites set but the yolks are still runny (or to your preference).
    4. To serve, place the rice mixture in a bowl. Add an egg to the top and garnish with the carrot ribbons. Season with soy sauce and/or Sriracha. Serve.
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