Archive for December, 2012

WHEN IT COMES TO BOOZE, ONE SIZE FITS AL!

Posted: December 21, 2012 in Cocktails, drink recipes, Drinks, MARTINI, mixology, Southern New England
Tags: , , ,
3

20121220-172330.jpg

For me, fine spirits are the best gift for the holidays. You can go with some aged rums…sipping tequilas…or classic cognacs. And then there’s the whole list of liqueurs…sweets for the end of the meal or a key ingredient in a flavorful cocktail. Here’s my list of favorite bottles…

Kelt XO Cognac: What makes this cognac special is that it leaves the Cognac region of France in barrels and gets loaded onto ships that travel the world for months at a time. The barrels of cognac mellow, as they slowly rock back and forth in the ship’s hold out in open seas, much like they did hundreds of years ago before we loaded pallets of product onto cargo planes. The ships then return to Cognac, where the spirit is unloaded and bottled. The result is an exceptionally smooth cognac that is still my favorite to date. What’s really cool is that each bottle has a summary of what ship it was on and where it traveled. The VSOP is great, but the XO is outstanding. And yes, it makes a difference if the ships go around the world clockwise or counterclockwise!
Diplomatico Reserva Exclusiva Rum: If you’ve got a friend that likes sipping rum, this takes it to a whole new level. Made in Venezuela, it has a sweetness that you won’t want to mix…on the rocks is perfect. I have turned more friends on to this rum in the last couple of years than any other spirit I’ve discovered. Thanks to Jeff and Geremie, owners of Fluke restaurant in Newport, Rhode Island, for giving me my first sip of this wonderful rum years ago.

Jose Cuervo Reserva de la Familia tequila: I am not a fan of Jose Cuervo tequila in general. If all you want is a reposado or anejo, there are so many other better ones out there: Don Julio, Don Eduardo, Corazon, and Sauza Tres Generaciones just to name a few. And for silver, nothing beats Patron. But this top-of-the-line Cuervo is excellent, and you pay the price for the designer box as well as the tequila. Worth every penny.

St Germaine: a sweet liqueur crafted from hand-picked Elderflowers that grow in the Alps, and featured in an excellent house drink called The Elixir at Cooke and Brown Public House in Providence, Rhode Island, featuring Irish whisky, St Germain, honey, lemon and bitters.

Bols Genever: First made in Holland in 1575, this is the stuff the British fell in love with, tried to copy, and then shortened the name of their resulting product and called it “gin.” But it’s better than gin. Many a great cocktail starts with this key ingredient. One of my favorites is a take on the classic Negroni: combine 1.5 oz Bols Genever, 1 oz Gran Classico, and .5 oz Punt e Mes.

Coole Swan: Imagine a Bailey’s that tastes like melted vanilla ice cream, and you sort of have an idea of the flavor of this terrific cream liqueur. It’s a key ingredient in my espresso martinis. Here’s my recipe: 3 oz Belvedere vodka, 3 oz freshly brewed espresso, 1.5 oz Kahlua and 1.5 oz Coole Swan. Mix all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake vigorously. Makes 2 martinis. You will never drink another espresso martini as long as you live!Rumchata: Horchata is a very popular drink in Hispanic countries. It comes from many ingredient combinations, but one of the most popular is rice, vanilla and cinammon. Imagine a liquid version of rice pudding and you sort of get the idea. So if you add rum to it…you get a liqueur unlike anything you’ve had before. Very tasty.

Castries: This creamy liqueur takes its name from the capital city of the island of St Lucia….and it surprises me that it took this long for someone to come up with a peanut flavored liqueur. Sure, there are other nut liqueurs: almond liqueurs, like real Amaretto (not Disaronno, which is made from peach or apricot pits)…and hazel nut liqueurs like Frangelico. But this one is very different. It’s creamy, not clear, and quite delicious.
Sortilege: This liqueur made from Canadian whisky and maple syrup is the definition of liquid dessert. It’s hard to describe how good this stuff is. All I can say is: once you open it, it will vanish very quickly. I haven’t poured it on pancakes yet, but some hungover morning I will!
Cheers!

AN FAO SCHWARZ SECRET

Posted: December 10, 2012 in New York City, travel
Tags: , ,
0

Anyone that plans a trip to New York City for the holidays with the kids (or even without the kids) better end up at FAO Schwarz, if they know what’s good for them! It’s a great store with loads of history and two huge levels of candy, toys, games, and the world-famous “Big Piano,” as seen in the Tom Hanks movie “Big.” Toy soldiers greet you at the door, inviting you into a world as far away from the hassle of Manhattan traffic as anything on 5th Avenue and 58th Street could be!

Most people don’t know that they can get a 45-minute private tour of FAO Schwarz, one hour before the store opens, guided by their own toy soldier. It’s a really fun experience that we had last year, when my daughter turned 5 years old. But you can’t just show up. And there’s limited space. (We found that signing up for a tour after Christmas was the way to go.)

We found out about the private tours from a small ad in a local magazine: Time Out New York. There was no web address…just a phone number. I called…I made an appointment for the tour…it cost a ridiculously small amount of money…and we were in!

We showed up at our designated time and met our Toy Soldier, who led us through the entire store, giving us all kinds of information about the toys and the history of the building itself. The awesome part was that we were the only ones in the building, with the exception of store workers getting things ready for another day’s enthusiastic crowds.

toy1

And the best part of the tour: we got to dance around on The Big Piano privately, before the store’s doors opened up and the wild crowds rushed to get in line to take advantage of their 3 minutes on the piano. We got almost 15 minutes to dance around, take pictures and simply have a great time.

toy2

If you’re trying to think of what you can do to bring your next holiday trip to New York City to whole new level, this will make you a real hero with the kids.

Here’s a link I found with more information:

http://www.fao.com/shop/index.jsp?categoryId=3810526

And by the way…tip the toy soldier well. He still has to pay the rent!

OVEN-FRIED CHICKEN WINGS

Posted: December 5, 2012 in buttermilk, chicken, Food, frying, Recipes, wings
Tags: , , , ,
1

I love fried chicken. And despite what most people think, fried food is really not that bad for you if you fry it properly. Use clean oil every time, and get the oil to the right temperature: two key factors that will result in crispy chicken that isn’t bogged down with grease. But frying also means you have to stand over the chicken and watch it all the time…especially a pain in the butt if you’ve got guests and you’re making a lot of chicken! What makes this recipe great is that you get all the benefits of a crispy fried chicken without all the grease and without standing watch over it the whole time.

You can use chicken wings or any chicken parts for this recipe. Either way, I fry the chicken until it just turns golden brown and then bake it in the oven.

Ingredients:

10 lbs large chicken wings or chicken pieces

Vegetable oil, for frying

For soaking:

1 quart buttermilk

2 teaspoons Frank’s Red Hot, or other hot sauce

For the seasoned flour:

1 ½ cups all purpose flour

½ cup whole wheat flour

1 Tablespoon sea salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon granulated garlic

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon basil

1 teaspoon oregano

Open the bottle or carton of buttermilk and add 2 teaspoons of hot sauce. Close container and shake to combine. Place chicken pieces in a bowl and cover with buttermilk, letting the chicken soak in it for at least several hours or overnight.

Chicken soaking in buttermilk/hot sauce mixture overnight.

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine all purpose and whole wheat flours in a bowl. Add salt, pepper, paprika, granulated garlic, onion powder, basil and oregano. Mix well.

After chicken has soaked in the buttermilk, remove the pieces one at a time, leaving the buttermilk on them as you toss the pieces into the seasoned flour. Set pieces aside on a metal baking rack placed on a sheet pan.

Pour the vegetable oil into a large heavy-bottomed stock pot to a depth of 1-inch. Heat the oil to 360 degrees on a thermometer.

From the buttermilk, to the breadcrumb mixture, to the oil.

From the buttermilk, to the breadcrumb mixture, to the oil.

Working in batches, place the chicken pieces in the oil, being careful not to overcrowd them. Fry the chicken until it is golden brown on both sides, then place each piece back on the metal baking rack set on the sheet pan.

Once all the chicken has been fried, place the sheet pan in the oven for 30 to 40 minutes, until fully cooked and crispy.

fried chix

Feast!

MAKIN’ BACON!

Posted: December 1, 2012 in bacon, Food, pork, smoking, Uncategorized
Tags: , , , , ,
2

There are few foods as magical as bacon. Add bacon to just about any dish you’re preparing, and it elevates it to incredible new heights of flavor. The BLT is possibly the greatest sandwich ever invented: just a few simple, fresh ingredients, when placed together, transforming into one of the most amazing treats on planet Earth.

And it all depends on the bacon.

For so many years, I’ve bought my bacon on line from Burger’s Smokehouse, a family run business in Missouri that not only sells some of the best bacon I’ve ever had (get the thick-sliced country bacon—my favorite), but also smoked turkeys, pork, beef, chicken and more. The prices are very fair and they include shipping, so you know exactly what it’s going to cost you right from the start. (www.smokehouse.com)

But it was time to take the next step: I had to make my own bacon!

My favorite source of heritage breeds of pork, pasture-raised with tender loving care, is Caw Caw Creek, based out of North Carolina. They raise only a handful of pigs in an area that other pig farms would jam in hundreds. The pigs are allowed to roam freely and forage for their food. And as a result, the pork is some of the most flavorful you will find anywhere. (www.cawcawcreek.com) Tell Emile I sent you.

Bacon comes from the pork belly. So I bought a couple slabs from Caw Caw Creek, and followed the simple curing techniques outlined in a great book about making all kinds of prepared meats (sausages, salamis, and of course, bacon): “Charcuterie,” by Michael Ruhlman and Brian Polcyn.

If there is a skin on the belly, I choose to remove it before curing, but that’s a personal preference. I don’t eat it, so why have it? And it’s so thick, it blocks the cure.

To cure bacon, all you really need is some salt, some sugar, a little pepper, and what they in the curing biz call “pink salt,” which is not to be confused with salt that happens to be pink, like you would find in a basic spice catalog. Pink salt is bright pink—to let you know that this is special salt that should only be used in small quantities for curing. And the reason for that is because it contains nitrites. Nitrites delay the spoilage of the meat, and help preserve the flavors of spices and smoke. That’s good. But nitrites can break down into nitrosamines, which have been known to cause cancer in lab animals. But let’s face it: you would need to eat a ton of cured meat to really worry about this.

Once you rub the pork belly with the salt and sugar mixture, place it in a Ziploc bag, squeeze the air out of it, and seal it well. Place in the fridge for about a week, flipping it over a few times to let gravity do its work. You’ll see that the salt will draw moisture out of the meat and form a brine. This brine will continue to cure your pork belly, so leave it in there.
Once the pork belly has been cured, wash the brine off the meat, pat dry with paper towels. Now it’s time to cook. You can simply cook the pork belly at 200 degrees for about 2 hours, until the internal temperature reaches 160 degrees, or do what I did: place the pork belly in a digital smoker, cooking it at 200 degrees for 1 hour, then adding hickory chips and smoking it at 200 degrees for another hour.

That’s it. You have achieved bacon!

Bacon, straight out of the smoker.

Bacon, straight out of the smoker.

Let me tell you…that first slice you cut off that bacon and toss in a pan to lightly fry for a few moments will be the best bite of bacon you have ever had in your life!
The reward is so worth the effort. If you don’t want to bother going online to buy your pork, simply go to your favorite butcher and ask for pork belly. It’s usually available. And if you’re making one slab of bacon, why not make it three or four? It freezes well. And…you will eat it. You know you will!

 

Sliced, and ready for frying.

Sliced, and ready for frying.