Absinthe

the green fairy

recipe #86

The truth is that you cannot really make absinthe without a distiller. I looked into one. I found them for $200 and up. The 200 dollar one was made from an old beer keg and for sale on ebay. Other distillers were for sale with photos of topless women standing next to them. Hot stuff, but still, not enough to make me shell out the big money. Plus, I'm not sure I could safely distill in my apartment w/ 2 small kids. Maybe when we move to LA and get a back yard I can set up my illegal moonshine/absinthe shop.

So, without distilling, I had to fake it. I soaked a mess of stuff-- most importantly wormwood in everclear for a week. I added a wee bit of salvia to the mix just incase the wormwood fails to cause its desired effects.

I'm going to test it out on folks at Playa del Fuego this weekend.

I'll post the results.

BTW, this is the face my husband made when he tried it.

ewwww

It is true, it tastes something like soap even after the warm water and sugar has been added. Oh well. Maybe folks won't notice after some starter shots of tequila.

UPDATE:

Absinthe NOT a hit at Playa Del Fuego. Here are a couple pictures as proof:gag

not awesome

Well, to be really honest I stopped offering it to people after the 2nd person to try it gagged and needed to go sit down and chew gum to get the taste out of her mouth. It occurs to me today that maybe she was just being dramatic.

a ridiculously expensive disaster aka chicken confit

recipe #78

Here is the disasterous recipe that is either wrong or I screwed up:
CHICKEN CONFIT
* 4 chicken leg portions with thighs attached, excess fat trimmed and reserved (about 2 pounds)
* 1 tablespoon plus 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
* 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
* 10 garlic cloves
* 4 bay leaves
* 4 sprigs fresh thyme
* 1 1/2 teaspoons black peppercorns
* 1/2 teaspoon table salt
* 4 cups olive oil


Lay the leg portions on a platter, skin side down. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of the kosher salt and black pepper. Place the garlic cloves, bay leaves, and sprigs of thyme on each of 2 leg portions. Lay the remaining 2 leg portions, flesh to flesh, on top. Put the reserved fat from the chicken in the bottom of a glass or plastic container. Top with the sandwiched leg portions. Sprinkle with the remaining 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt. Cover and refrigerate for 12 hours.

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F.

Remove the chicken from the refrigerator. Remove the garlic, bay leaves, thyme, and chicken fat and reserve. Rinse the chicken with cool water, rubbing off some of the salt and pepper. Pat dry with paper towels.

Put the reserved garlic, bay leaves, thyme, and duck fat in the bottom of an enameled cast iron pot. Sprinkle evenly with the peppercorns and salt. Lay the chicken on top, skin side down. Add the olive oil. Cover and bake for 12 to 14 hours, or until the meat pulls away from the bone.

Remove the chicken from the fat. Strain the fat and reserve. Pick the meat from the bones and place it in a stoneware container. Cover the meat with some of the strained fat, making a 1/4-inch layer. The chicken confit can be stored in the refrigerator for up to one month.

The excess oil can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator and used like butter for cooking. The tinge of chicken taste in the oil is wonderful and I use the oil to roast potatoes, cook green beans, and pan-fry veal.

This was an Emeril recipe, BTW.
Mine was like leather after 12 hrs. of cooking.

All told I think that this screw up cost me around 20 some odd dollars.

Bummer.

mad good

recipe #79 and 80

Cemitas de Carne Enchilada

For chile-marinated pork
6 dried guajillo chiles
1 dried ancho chile
4 thin (1/2-inch) rib pork chops (1 lb total), bones discarded
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/4 teaspoon black peppercorns
1 whole clove
1 (1/2- by 1/4-inch) piece cinnamon stick
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
2 large garlic cloves, quartered
1 teaspoon dried oregano (preferably Mexican), crumbled
1 teaspoon salt
2 to 3 tablespoons vegetable oil

For sandwiches
4 Mexican cemita rolls
2 ripe California avocados
1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves
6 oz Oaxacan string cheese
4 canned chipotle chiles in adobo (optional), finely chopped
1/2 large white onion, thinly sliced
1 large plum tomato, thinly sliced crosswise

Prepare chiles and pork:
Discard chile stems and cut guajillo and ancho chiles open lengthwise with kitchen shears. Discard seeds and ribs.

Heat a dry 10- to 12-inch heavy skillet or griddle over moderate heat until hot, then toast chiles, a few at a time, turning and pressing down with tongs, until softened and fragrant, about 10 seconds per side.

Transfer chiles to a bowl, then cover with hot water and soak until softened, about 20 minutes.

Flatten pork while chiles soak:
Trim fat and sinews from pork and pound between 2 sheets of wax paper with flat side of a meat pounder or with a rolling pin until meat is about 1/8 inch thick.

Marinate pork:
Heat skillet over low heat until hot then toast cumin, peppercorns, clove, and cinnamon, stirring constantly, until fragrant and cumin is a shade darker, about 1 minute. Transfer hot spices to a blender and add vinegar, garlic, oregano, salt, and soaked chiles with about 1/3 cup soaking water, then blend until smooth. Transfer half of chile paste to an airtight container and chill or freeze for another use, then put remainder in a small bowl.

Spread a thin layer of chile paste in middle of a sheet of plastic wrap large enough to wrap all of meat and put 1 pork chop over paste. Spread a thin layer of chile paste on top, then continue layering meat, spreading each piece with chile paste. Wrap stacked pork in plastic wrap and marinate, chilled, at least 2 hours.

Cook pork and assemble sandwiches:
Heat 1 1/2 tablespoons oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking. Season pork chops with salt and sauté, in batches, adding more oil as necessary, until just cooked through, 1 to 2 minutes per side. Transfer chops as cooked to a sheet of foil and keep warm wrapped in foil.

Preheat broiler. Cut rolls in half horizontally and arrange, cut sides up, on a large baking sheet. Broil buns about 6 inches from heat until golden, about 1 minute.

Halve, pit, and lightly mash avocados in peel with a fork, then spread thickly on cut sides of rolls. Season avocado with salt, then top with papalo. Make sandwiches with pork, cheese, chipotles (if using), onion, and tomato, pressing sandwiches together.

Cooks' note:
Pork can be marinated up to 2 days.

This looks very long and intricate, but it isn't too bad and the chilie sauce can be used for so many other things. It is a great sandwich. I loved it.

I looked pretty hard for the cemita rolls (well, not that hard really) and never found them, so I used a brioche instead. goooood.

For the plantians, which I never made before I put them in the brunch sandwich, You just slice up very ripe ones and fry them in oil. Add salt. Serve with lime wedge and sour cream.

date syrup

recipe# 85

Date Syrup
* 1 cup pitted Medjool dates
* 1 cup water
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

In a medium saucepan, bring water and dates to a boil. Reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Add vanilla and simmer for an additional 5 minutes.

Allow mixture to cool to room temperature. Place mixture in a blender with the cinnamon. Pulse until smooth and completely blended.

Store in a sealed container in your refrigerator. Warm the syrup before using.

I found this recipe here.

I used it to make a sandwich recipe, but it is very good on crusty bread with butter, or pancakes or ice cream.

Finally, Fox Testicle Ice Cream aka Dondurma aka Turkish Ice cream

recipe #84

I finally made it.
And it was chewy.

I wrote about it in a couple of previous posts, here and here.

I have no photo as it looks pretty much like vanilla soft serve --that is, it is pure white.

Here is the recipe I used:
Turkish Chewy Ice Cream or Dondurma
* 2 cups of double cream or whipping cream
* 2 cups of full fat milk
* 3/4 cup of sugar
* 2 teaspoons of salepi (level)
* 1/2 teaspoon of ground mastic (see below)
Grind the mastic: Mastic is usually sold in drops of resin which can stick to the mortar and pestle during grinding. To avoid, freeze mastic for 15 minutes before using and place it along with 1-2 tablespoons of the sugar in the mortar.

In a mixing bowl, beat 1/2 cup of the milk with the ground mastic (and sugar used to grind) until completely blended. Dissolve the salepi in 1/2 cup of cold milk. Warm the remaining 1 cup of milk in a saucepan over low heat. Beating at high speed, add the warm milk to the mastic mixture, then the dissolved salepi. Add remaining sugar and cream.

Transfer the mixture to a saucepan and boil over low heat for about 20 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent sticking and clumping. Remove from heat and set aside to cool to room temperature.

Pour into ice cream maker.

Remove from freezer 10 minutes before serving.

the mountain orchid which both flavors and thickens the ice cream

There are 3 hard things about making this stuff. First is finding the mastic (online), second is finding the salep in one of its many spellings and last is getting the mastic ground. If it is not ground fine enough it will form little pellets which stick to your teeth as you chew. Not awesome. I had this issue. If I make this stuff again, which I plan to- I will grind the heck out of the mastic.

The other this is, the mastic tastes like pine sap. So, if you are going to make this ice cream, make it and eat it pretty much right away because otherwise the sap flavor will marry with the ice cream flavor and instead of the wonderful subtle sapel you will taste sap. Blech.

good fall roasted sauce

sauce makings

recipe # 75

I had a few things left over in my fridge that needed cooking so I decided to make a sauce.
Here is how it went:

Good Fall Roasted Sauce
grape or cherry tomatoes
peeled and chopped carrots
garlic cloves
salt
olive oil
thyme
beef broth

Throw it all in a baking pan together (minus broth), cook it at 400 degrees until everything is soft (maybe 45 minutes). Throw in blender or food processer with beef broth and turn into a sauce of whatever thickness you like.

I made a lasagna with this sauce with manchego cheese. It was very tasty.

Gobhi Matar Rasedar

cauliflower, green peas and potatoes in a spicy herb sauce

spinach yogurt salad

recipes #76 and 77

More from Julie Sanhi. These were alright. My husband made the puffy wheat bread to go along with it.

even more indian food

recipes #69-74

So lame I have neither photos or am adding recipes. Just a list.

onion fritters or piaz pakode
moghul braised chicken
baigan masaledar -spicy baby eggplants
paratha
carrot pudding or gajar ki kheer

The chicken wasn't great. It actually wasn't even good. The eggplants were meh, which is sad because they were these lovely tiny little things I bought at the Troy NY farmers market.

The carrot pudding would be great as ice cream. I think I'm going to try that.

more indian food

recipes #64-68

The night after I made dinner for my Dad I made another huge meal at my moms. It was a pretty big undertaking. I wish I had photos.

I'll just list what I made:
aloo samosa (potato)
tamarind relish
hydrabad relish
mint relish
masala gosht (beef in tomato sauce)
oakra pilaf
mango fool

Everything but the Mango Fool was terrific. I had to cook down the beef for much longer than the recipe calls for to get the sauce thick enough.

Month of Indian Cooking

indian dinner for my dad

recipes # 53-63

It has been way way too long in between logs.

First, I broke my camera. I went to a wedding at Gustavinos and dropped my camera onto the marble floor.

Second, I've been a bit busy. I'm not sure with what. . but just busy.

I think I must have tried at least 30 new recipes. Most of them Indian. I'm just going to make a list, post recipes from those that aren't from the Julie Sahni book and then just try to start blogging more regularly.

The picture above is a dinner I made for my Dad. It is Rogani Gosht, peach pilaf, indian fried rice, herb stuffed oakra, beet relish, mint relish, and hydrabad hot chutney. That is recipes #53-60

I made crab malabar (which wasn't so great, but made a fantastic crab cake the next day) and stuffed tomatoes (bhare tamatar) as starters. Recipes 61 and 62.

crab malabar

For dessert I made what Sahni calls a coconut fudge. Fudge it was not. I messed it up and it never solidified, so I just served it over ice cream. Recipe # 63

chutneys and relishes

indian fried rice with purple cauliflower

all photos from this post taken by Bill Eastman