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  • Weekly Cocktail #52: Boston Expat Punch

    May 30, 2013

    11 Comments

    Boston Expat Punch

    Boston Expat Punch

    We often say here at the farm that “if life gives you lemons, make lemonade”. But when living in Boston gave Carolyn lemons, she moved back to Norcal (I followed from Connecticut, if you are curious). We think it was a good choice.

    But we can’t say life in New England was a total loss. We ate plenty of good seafood, gained an affinity for the Red Sox (which continues, as long as they aren’t playing the Giants) and still have plenty of friends to visit. And the beaches of New England and Long Island in summer are as close to perfection as you can get…..outside of country farms in Northern California. 😉

    expat2Back when we were in Boston, it was not much of a cocktail town. Lots of beer, whiskey and attitude were served at most bars, and that was fine with us. Nowadays, Boston has quite the cocktail scene, and it is very well-documented by Fred Yarm at Cocktail Virgin Slut, among others. Plenty of creative, new-school cocktails from Boston have graced these pages, but for this week’s cocktail we are going dead simple and very, very old-school Boston.

    expat3expat7One of the complaints comments we often get about our cocktails is the use of random, geeky and hard-to-find “esoteric” ingredients. And we have to cop to that, we like playing with booze (in moderation, of course). But when we stumbled upon this simple recipe from noted cocktail historian David Wondrich, we figured it would be a fun recipe that we can adapt, and almost anyone can make.

    expat6expat1Boston Expat Punch is based on the traditional Boston Punch. Boston Punch is simply lemonade and dark, aged rum, sometimes with grated nutmeg. Back in the day, this was the stuff Paul Revere drank when he wasn’t brewing beer. Our version just uses the sweeter and less acidic Meyer lemons (very common in Norcal) for the lemonade and we heavily suggest using the nutmeg. Wondrich also recommends using a very flavorful rum like Smith and Cross, which is very good but almost too much for some. As the Meyer lemons have a notably sweeter flavor, slightly lighter rums like Appleton V/X or El Dorado 3yr also work well. And even lighter rums will play, but then the nutmeg really helps to add some depth.

    Boston Expat Punch

    Boston Expat Punch

    How does it taste? Like rum and lemonade with a whiff of spice. And since rum adds sweetness and funk, it compliments, rather than dilutes the flavor of the lemonade. And the better the lemonade, the better the drink. As a last bonus you can mix Boston Expat Punch as a single drink or make a batch to serve on a lazy summer day. Works for us….even in California.

    Boston Expat Punch:

    (Adapted from David Wondrich)

    Ingredients:

    • 2 oz. dark, aged rum (Smith and Cross or Appleton V/X)
    • 4 oz. Meyer lemon lemonade (see below for recipe)
    • Nutmeg
    • Lemon wheel, for garnish

    Assemble:

    1. Fill a cocktail shaker with ice and add the rum and lemonade. Shake until cold and then pour the liquid and ice into a highball or pint glass. Grate nutmeg over the top and garnish with a lemon wheel. Serve.

    —-

    Meyer Lemonade:

    Ingredients:

    • Peels of 6 Meyer lemons
    • 3/4 cup white sugar (superfine is good here)
    • 6 oz. Meyer lemon juice
    • 24 oz. water

    Assemble:

    1. Place the lemon peels and sugar in a large bowl. Muddle to extract the oils from the peels and let sit for at least 2 hours.
    2. Add the lemon juice and water and stir until the sugar dissolves. Strain out the peels, pour into a bottle and store in the fridge.
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  • Butter-Poached Shrimp With Grits

    May 28, 2013

    43 Comments

    Butter Poached Shrimp With Grits.

    Butter Poached Shrimp With Grits.

    “Umm…ok” is what I heard from Carolyn when I told her we were having shrimp and grits for dinner. The boys just looked confused. Then I said “think of it as prawns and polenta with butter sauce” and they all looked relieved. It’s funny, because Carolyn knows that grits and polenta are basically the same thing, but there is something about the word “grits” that (at least for many outside the south) has some negative culinary vibes attached.

    gritsgrits1And that’s too bad, because this is a killer dish that uses simple, readily available ingredients and is easy to make. Carolyn and the kids loved it. And that shouldn’t have been a surprise. We all enjoy polenta (cornmeal mush), so the grits were just a slightly more rustic version of the Italian classic. Basically the grits were polenta, but with bacon, onion and butter added instead of the cheese and pancetta we might include in polenta.  Either way, pretty hard to go wrong here. Just remember to stir (the only real work with grits or polenta is to stir often to keep it from burning).

    grits2grits3grits4We adapted the recipe from Michael Ruhlman’s cookbook “Ruhlman’s Twenty“. We are fans of this cookbook, it has 20 different ingredients, tools and techniques for the home cook and then provides recipes to match. Some of it is basic stuff like “salt” “roast” and “butter”, but it is always good to remember fundamentals like seasoning and cooking with butter.  So when we want to expand or refine our cooking, we often open “Ruhlman’s Twenty“. In this case we were looking for different ways to cook shrimp and Ruhlman had butter-poached shrimp with grits in the “butter” section. Good stuff.

    grits5grits6grits8The key technique here is to poach the shrimp in a butter and water emulsion over low heat. This technique is easy and gives you very moist, flavorful shrimp. Even at low heat shrimp still cook quickly, so it only takes 4-5 minutes. This is also a forgiving technique, so if you go a little over the cooking time the shrimp will still be good (unlike high-heat cooking methods). You also get the bonus of a very flavorful butter sauce to enhance the grits and drizzle over the shrimp. Add a little seasoning and some lemon and you are in business.

    grits9grits10So regardless of what we call it, we will make this dish a few more times this summer. So, once more, we say “thanks Ruhlman” for a successful recipe, we expect to say it again soon…

    Butter-Poached Shrimp With Grits:

    (Adapted from Michael Ruhlman)

    Notes Before You Start:

    • You can use white or yellow grits, just look for high-quality stoneground grits.
    • The recipe suggests you make the grits with water and then stock and/or milk. We like chicken stock, but feel free to experiment.

    What You Get: An excellent shrimp dish and some very tasty grits. A good introduction to a southern classic.

    What You Need: No special equipment required.

    How Long? 45-60 minutes, most of it active. This is an easy dish but there is plenty of work to do. Anytime dish if you find cooking therapeutic after a long day. Otherwise, best made on weekends.

    Ingredients:

    (Serves 4 as a main course)

    • 4 oz. bacon, diced
    • 1 medium onion, diced
    • Kosher salt
    • 1 1/4 cups stoneground grits
    • 2 cups chicken stock, vegetable stock or milk (or water)
    • 2 cups water
    • Freshly ground black pepper
    • 1 cup butter, cut into 12 chunks
    • 1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
    • Lemon wedges
    • Smoked paprika, for garnish (optional)
    • Italian parsley, for garnish

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  • Caramel Cake

    May 23, 2013

    37 Comments

    Caramel Cake.

    Caramel Cake.

    caramel13So here is the good news, this is one tasty cake. The caramel frosting has a crystallized, almost maple candy-like outer shell and a creamy, caramel-flavored interior. The yellow cake is moist and delicious. The combination is a perfect bite. You don’t even want ice cream with this cake. Just enjoy it as it is.

    caramelcaramel1So here is the bad news. This is a hard cake to make and not one that welcomes any messin’ around with the recipe. Caramel frosting is tricky stuff and you need to make a sturdy cake to handle such a heavy frosting. But if you follow the formula you get a delightful dish. And it is worth the effort.

    caramel2caramel5And we do use the word “formula” here. As we (and others) often like to note, baking is a form of chemistry. And in many cases you simply can’t play with the basic formula and get good results. To be fair, baking is hardly as exact a science as “real” chemistry. Humidity, inconsistent ingredients, finicky ovens and variations in cookware make baking a very inexact science, even in the best conditions. But we suggest that if you make this cake you stick with the recipe (at least the first time you bake it).

    caramel7caramel8We adapted the recipe (barely) from a Cook’s Country recipe. Cook’s Country is Cook’s Illustrated’s less  ridiculous? obnoxious?  “overbearing” cousin, and tends to feature recipes that you can make and actually work. This is one of those recipes. They do add some technique and tuning to a traditional recipe, but in real terms the big addition is using all-purpose flour in the cake and not softer cake flour. Using AP flour makes for a firmer, but still moist, cake that can handle the thick, heavy frosting.

    caramel9caramel11Otherwise, the other key technique is to beat extra butter into the frosting just before you apply it to the cake. Butter does make everything better, and if it makes the frosting easier to work with, then we are all for it. The bigger challenge will be keeping your fingers out of the frosting. It tastes so good, you can lose quite a bit as it makes its way to the cake. But we do encourage a little patience. When you combine the frosting with the cake, it is even better.

    caramel10caramel14So if you have the time this Memorial Day weekend, this is a cake worth making. Is it a bit of extra fuss? Well….yes. It it worth it? Without a doubt.

    Caramel Cake:

    (Adapted from Cook’s Country)

    Notes Before You Start:

    • No extra notes. Just follow the recipe and take your time.

    What You Get: A crowd-pleasing, sweet and flavorful cake with awesome caramel frosting. Yum.

    What You Need: A stand mixer (or electric mixer) and 2, 9-inch cake pans.

    How Long? 3 hours, with about an hour, maybe a little more, of active time. Details matter here, so taking your time is advised.

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  • Mixology Monday LXXIII Cocktail: The Strawberry Witch

    May 20, 2013

    9 Comments

    The Strawberry Witch cocktail.

    The Strawberry Witch cocktail.

    Wow, time flies. It’s Mixology Monday again. It seems like we just made our CSA Gin cocktail for the last MxMo and here we are. Happily, we have another theme that is close to this wannabe farmer’s heart, “the witch’s garden”. Here are the details from this month’s host Cardiff Cocktails (an excellent site, worth a visit):

    mxmologoAs far back as we can look, the use of fresh herbs have been prevalent in the world of mixed drinks. From the early days of the julep, through Williams Terrington’s 19th century Cooling Cups and Dainty Drinks, to Don the Beachcomber’s ahead of their time Tiki drinks, fresh herbs have always been at the forefront of mixology. So lets take influence from the bartenders that once ruled the world of mixology, raid your herb garden that too often gets neglected, and start mixing. I don’t want to put too many limits on this theme so get as creative as you please, want to use roots, spices or beans as well? Sure thing. Want to make your own herbal infusions or tinctures? Sounds wonderful.

    witchwitch1Well, we certainly have herbs here at the farm. Mint, thyme, basil, tarragon, oregano, sage, marjoram, lemon verbena, parsley and rosemary are all in full swing. But we also have strawberries that need to be used and we wanted to play with Strawberries and thyme for a while. So we chose these as the basis for the cocktail. We also took the name of the challenge to heart and immediately looked at our bottle of Strega (“Strega” means witch in Italian) as a potential ingredient.

    witch2witch4If you are unfamiliar with Strega, it is an herbal Italian digestif that features a rich yellow color (from saffron) and sweet herbal flavors. Strega, is usually enjoyed by itself, but we have been trying to get it into our cocktails. To our tastes, Strega has mint, juniper and citrus notes, so gin seemed like a good match (and one more herbal ingredient). But we were a bit concerned about too many herbal notes, so we added some lemon juice and a splash of sparking wine to brighten, and lighten, the overall flavor of the cocktail.

    witch5So how does the Strawberry Witch taste? In a word, herbal. But in a good way. Strawberries and thyme play very well together, the Strega sweetens without being cloying and the gin, lemon and champagne add the expected bright notes. The sip is tart, with mint and thyme flavors followed by some of the lemon and sweet notes of the Strega. The strawberries do more for color and aroma than flavor, but we are OK with that.The finish is very clean, almost dry.

    witch6(One last note here. Thyme can be strong stuff. At first we muddled it along with the strawberries and some lemon peel. This was a bad idea- the thyme got harsh and bitter. The next time around we muddled the strawberries and lemon first, then added the thyme and gave it just a few nudges. This worked way better, plenty of thyme flavor but not too much. Fresh herbs vary widely in strength and flavor, but be warned, you may want to do a quick test run before you muddle your herbs.)

    witch8Thanks again to Cardiff Cocktails and Fred Yarm at Cocktail Virgin Slut for another great MxMo!

    The Strawberry Witch:

    Ingredients:

    • 3-4 medium strawberries
    • Lemon peel
    • 2 sprigs fresh thyme, plus some extra for garnish
    • 1 1/2 oz dry gin
    • 3/4 oz. lemon juice
    • 1/2 oz. Strega
    • 1-2 oz. sparkling wine or Champagne

    Assemble:

    1. Place the strawberries and lemon peel in the cocktail shaker. Muddle until the strawberries are a smooth purée. Then add the thyme springs and lightly muddle a few times.
    2. Add the gin, lemon juice and Stega to the cocktail shaker. Add some ice and then shake until well-chilled. Double-strain the mixture into a coupé or flute. Top with the sparkling wine and garnish with a thyme sprig. Serve.
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