recipes « Putney Farm

Mixology Monday LXXXI Cocktail: The Other Anejo Highball

January 18, 2014

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Mixology Monday is back again. And not a moment to soon. We have some resolutions that need breaking….(who are we kidding, they are long gone). Anyway, here is the theme from the excellent food, booze and cigar blog Southern Ash:

Highball – n. 1. a long iced drink consisting of a spirit base with water, soda water, etc. -Collins English Dictionary Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition… For this month’s theme, I thought we could strip away the complexities of cocktails and relax with a nice highball… Most cocktails are at least three ingredients with the highball relegated to emergency or last resort status, but in those highballs we will seek refuge. The end of the day is sometimes better served by a simple liquor plus mixer combination than an artfully measured Corpse Reviver No. 2 This month, tell us what you’ll do with a liquor and a mixer (with maybe a wee bit of garnish) to ease into the new year.

Ah, highballs. Not only are highballs easy to make (a good thing after all the holiday festivities), but they are a favorite here at the farm. The Florodora is a favorite (our house punch is a variation), the Diablo is another welcome sip and we have a love affair with Gin and Tonics. This was going to be fun, and we knew just where to go- a Buck.

Bucks are a variety of highball using spirits and ginger ale or ginger beer as the mixer, you can add juices, sweeteners, liqueurs and/or bitters as well. My sister Tina introduced us to Gin Bucks years ago and we have played with Bucks ever since (the Folordora and Diablo are Buck variants). Might as well keep playing…

After a little research we found Dale DeGroff’s famous Anejo Highball, a combination of anejo (aged) rum, Curaçao, lime juice, ginger beer and bitters with a citrus garnish. Good stuff, but it got us thinking that we should use the “other” anejo, tequila. Tequila plays well with ginger, so this wasn’t much of a stretch. And after a few trials, we got something we like.

The Other Anejo Highball combines anejo tequila, lime juice, agave nectar, ginger ale and orange bitters garnished with lime and orange wheels. We went with ginger ale for cleaner flavor. And let’s face it- ginger beer gets funky sometimes, great with a vodka-based Moscow Mule, not so great with aged tequila. We also went to orange bitters and agave to keep the tequila from fighting with heavier Curaçao.

What did we get? Basically, the Other Anejo Highball tastes like a sparking ginger margarita made with really good tequila. That works for us, plus it’s easy to make. And while we usually save anejo tequila for sipping, the extra depth and richness of the anejo does shine though. Worth a try, and certainly worth the effort. Continue reading →
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Posted By: putneyfarm Category: All Recipes, Cocktail Recipes, Tequila Tags: anejo highball, anejo tequila, Cocktail, Cocktails, cooking, DrinkWire, food, mixology monday, mxmo, photography, photos, recipes
Five-Spice Baby Back Ribs

January 10, 2014

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So say you made some southern collard greens, what should you serve them with? Well, collards are a natural with barbecue, so how about some ribs? But what if it is cold outside (or, like me, you are just feeling lazy) and you don’t want to fire up the smoker? Easy, just make some Asian-inspired ribs in the oven. Takes about the same amount of time, doesn’t make much of a mess (until you eat them), and you get to play around with some interesting flavors.

And in this case the “interesting” flavor is Five-Spice, a Chinese spice mixture that usually has star anise, cloves, Sichuan pepper, cinnamon and fennel seeds. It may also contain just about any other Asian spice, but you get the idea. Five-Spice is a lovely mixture of spice, heat, bite and funk that works particularly well with rich ingredients, accenting flavors but cutting through the fat. Not surprisingly Five-Spice is often used with duck or pork. A perfect fit for rich, juicy ribs. Just don’t use too much spice…a little goes a long way.

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Posted By: putneyfarm Category: All Recipes, Dinner Tags: 5 spice ribs, baby back ribs, barbecue, Cocktails, cooking, five spice ribs, Five-Spice, food, photography, photos, recipes, ribs, ribs in the oven

Southern Collard Greens: Good All Year

January 2, 2014

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Southern Collard Greens

It’s traditional in the south to serve slow-cooked, smoky collard greens to celebrate the New Year, and we are all for it. But frankly, collards are so good, we enjoy them any time we can get them. Here in California, that usually means winter after a frost. And while we have had almost no winter rains so far, it has gotten cold enough that we saw some collards at the farmers market. We bought a big batch, cooked them up for the New Years and are still enjoying them. We never seem to get enough greens.

Unfamiliar with collard greens? Basically a forerunner of kale (and in the same family) collards are big leafy greens with larger, rounder leaves than kale and with a bigger, earthier flavor. The main differences (that we know of) is that collards need to cook longer than most types of kale and loses its color a bit more during cooking. But the flavor is so rich, and so deep, that we prefer collards to kale for long slow cooking, particularly if pork is involved.

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Posted By: putneyfarm Category: All Recipes, Garden and Orchard, Lunch / Salads / Sides, Vegetables Tags: Cocktails, Collard greens, collards, Cook, cooking, Cuisine of the Southern United States, food, recipes, southern collard greens recipe, vegetables
Mixology Monday LXXX Cocktail: The Royal Sazerac

December 24, 2013

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The Royal Sazerac cocktail.

Yes, it’s Tuesday. But it was Mixology Monday, and we did make a cocktail. Let’s hope Nick at the Straight Up blog (worth a regular visit, btw) will show some Christmas spirit and let us in late. As it is, here is the summary for this month’s theme, Anise:

While I had a few ideas I’ve been kicking around for this months theme, including some more holidayesque thoughts, I ultimately decided on one of my favorite flavors: anise. Although great any time of year, there is something about colder weather and the holidays that really sets my anise fetish into overdrive. While past MxMos have seen a few specific sources of anise, such as pastis and absinthe, I wanted to open things up to anything anise flavored, the more unique the better. Most folks have something with anise notes laying around, whether it’s absinthe or pastis, ouzo, Genepe, even Green Chartreuse, Peychaud’s, Raki, etc. Maybe get creative and make something tasty with some star anise, like a syrup, infusion or tincture. Show us that riff on a Sazerac or Improved Holland Gin Cocktail that you love, or create something entirely new.

Cool theme, and one we were quite happy to play with. As it turns out, there are plenty of ways to use anise flavor in cocktails. As a lead element, anise means licorice and herbal flavors. But as many home bartenders know, an extra dash of anise flavor is often used to supply that “I know not what” of extra complexity and depth to many famous drinks. From pre-prohibition cocktails to tiki drinks, you will find anise (usually in the form of absinthe or pastis) in dozens of drinks where you might not expect it.

We started this MxMo with the intent of experimenting and putting anise in the lead of a new cocktail. And we did have a nice gin, lime, fennel, tarragon, Chartreuse, absinthe and sugar thing going. That drink will eventually make the blog, but we got sidetracked.

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Posted By: putneyfarm Category: All Recipes, Cocktail Recipes, Sparklers, Whiskey / Rye Tags: absinthe, Cocktails, cooking, food, Mixology, mixology monday, photography, photos, recipes, Royal Sazerac, royal sazerac cocktail, sazerac

Gluten “Optional” Buckwheat Pancakes

December 17, 2013

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Gluten “Optional” Buckwheat Pancakes

Let’s start by making one thing clear, we certainly aren’t gluten-free here at the farm. Way too much baking going on. And grilled cheese sandwiches, along with pasta, are a constant fave with the kids (and the adults). That said, we don’t have any politics on the subject. We know a number of people who are gluten-free by choice, and that’s cool. We also have family and friends with celiac disease. And they need to eat when they stop by. So, with that in mind, we do some gluten-free cooking now and then, just to have some options.

With savory dishes, we have plenty of good gluten-free recipes to work with. But with baking, it is more of a challenge. In our experience (and we are by no means experts on the subject), it is rare that you have a recipe that works with wheat flour but is then easily adapted to using non-gluten flours. So in the end you have a whole separate group of gluten-free baking recipes. And that’s a bit of a fuss. But there are exceptions- and this recipe for Buckwheat Pancakes is one of them.

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Posted By: putneyfarm Category: All Recipes, Breakfast Tags: Buckwheat, Buckwheat Pancakes, Cocktails, cooking, food, gluten free pancakes, Gluten-free diet, photography, photos, recipes, vegetarian
A Gift Guide For The Home Cocktail Enthusiast

December 10, 2013

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So let’s say you have a friend or family member who is into mixing cocktails. And let’s go a bit further and say they are worthy of a gift. What should you get them? Well, we guess you could get them a bottle of their favorite booze. But since it is their favorite booze they probably have it already. And, truth be told, making drinks doesn’t require much fancy gear.

Nope, what we suggest here at the Farm is a bit of creative thinking and perhaps giving cocktail gifts that will last. Cocktail gifts that inspire. Cocktail gifts with some “legs”. Gifts that might lead to better drinks…and perhaps even a few more of them. Yup, that’s what we’re talking about. And here are a few suggestions:

Really Good Vermouth:

What? Vermouth? The stuff that’s been sitting on the shelf for years for when aunt Edna comes by and wants a Manhattan? Or the bottle you glance at while making a dry Martini? Yes, that stuff. But it can be so much better.

It turns out that there is some delicious vermouth out there. Vermouth you can happily drink on its own, but also makes for delightful cocktails. (And, by the way, you need to keep vermouth in the fridge after you open it- that’s why that old stuff tastes so bad). Try a few classic cocktails with good, fresh vermouth and you will stop asking for super-dry Martinis and you may rediscover the glory of a good Manhattan.

So what to buy? There are a lot of choices, but for sweet vermouth we suggest a bottle of Carpano Antica. This is the “grandaddy” of sweet vermouth and it packs a lot of big flavors. Carpano ain’t cheap, but it is good. It also comes in half bottles that are less expensive and fit better in the fridge. The bottle is quite beautiful and will “wow” anyone who is lucky enough to get Carpano as a gift.

Other good sweet vermouth include Cocchi Vermouth di Torino and Dolin. If we got either as gifts we would be very happy.

What about dry vermouth? There are a number of good, affordable options, but we suggest a bottle of Dolin Dry vermouth. This stuff simply rocks. Dolin will make for a great Martini, but also adds herbal depth and bittersweet notes to classics like the Scofflaw. And Dolin also happens to come in nifty half bottles. Heck, you could even give a combo pack of Carpano Antica and Dolin Dry to that special someone. Excellent.

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Posted By: putneyfarm Category: All Recipes, Cocktail Recipes, Entertaining, Musings Tags: Carpano Antica, cocktail gift guide, cocktail recipes, Cocktails, cooking, DrinkWire, food, Mixology, photography, photos, recipes