Category: Alcohol

My First Macarons and a Early Friday Cocktail Hour.

Due to the Holiday and some other goings on week, I will finish this post with Friday Cocktail Hour and I wont post this Friday( stay tuned however because I will be posting mid week!). Certain Someone and I got a lot done this Holiday weekend and are still working on it. Our place is very cluttered and I have an abundance of books. He installed our new Expedit books shelves from Ikea to house my hundreds and books and bring some order and design to our space.I wont show you before because its frighting. And the afters I’ll post later. Certain Someone is a repressed interior designer. Anyway we also had some good cocktails, BBQ,and I decided to make Macarons for the first time.
Certain Someone loves Hazelnut and I had some Hazelnut flour from King Arthur’s. I followed the recipe and tips from the famous Tartelette. She wrote a informative long awaited article for a online Desserts Magazine. My ganache was bit runny,and some of my macarons cracked. But overall I feel some confidence in hope that they turned out OK for my first try. I hope my future attempts get better. My ganache was just some heavy cream, orange icing gel( a type of paste used for flavoring cakes and icicngs),some more hazelnut flour, white, and Amano Chocolate(from the Blake Makes Give Away). I used the Ocumare. I found a new spray luster from my cake decorating shop and sprayed a soft golden luster on top. I like the gold accents I see on some Pierre Hermes macarons.The taste? Very sweet but nice. I will play around with more variations. But I least I got over the intimidation factor. I’m also entering this in Couture Cupcakes Mad For Macarons In May.

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Friday Cocktail Hour Holiday Edition

I love a nice daiquiri. Just plain with some lime juice. simple syrup and rum. I played with this to use up a lot of apricots I have from the vegetable delivery. Its not to sweet and refreshing on a nice day. Oh and Peter if your reading this…this may be to girly for you. I have a nice cognac called Landy XO from France. A bartender once referred to it as ‘Happy Dog’. When I asked why he showed me the bottle. The stopper was of a dog with his long tail curved under. It gave the appearance of your nickname, thus the name. He also said it was a ‘Mans’ drink. So a pour of Landy for you and some daiquiris for my girls! Cheers!

Apricot Daiquiri serves 1

1 part rum
1 juice of a lime
1/2 part apricot brandy( I cheated and used some brandy I made from Prickly Pear)
3 apricots peeled and stoned
ice

Mix all with ice in a blender.Pour into a chilled glass.

New Feature…Friday Cocktail Hour

I try to see the good in everybody. While most sophisticated foodies loathe Sandra Lee (I am in no way whatsoever endorsing Ms. Lee’s Semi Homemade!) with a passion, there is one segment of her show that always brings a smile to my face. For better or worse,when she says ‘It’s Cocktail Time’ and shakes her shaker I wake up and show some interest. I ” love to hate” .Most times her concoctions make me grimace ( I’m remembering a blue one she made with that awful Hypnotique to go with her blue table scape).But Sandra Lee is my inspiration for this new weekly feature.

I love a good libation and love to play with the findings in our bar. I constantly pester Certain Someone to bring me back some Duty Free booze on his travels. So I have decided to devote my Friday posts to the cocktail. What better way to unwind after a hard week, than with a cocktail?I can see why its Sandra Lee’s favorite time of the day and show. Cheers you all!
For this weeks cocktail, I used the last of my homemade Cream Limoncello for this sneaky treat! I was inspired by a dessert I saw using limoncello and raspberries. Think of this a liquid grown up dessert. Its pretty strong and sweet, so one is all you need.

Cream Limoncello and Chamborbtini

1 part Cream Limoncello

1/2 part vodka

1 drizzle of Chambord for the bottom of the glass

Shake ice, vodka, and cream limoncello in a shaker. Add a few drops of Chambord to the bottom of a martini glass. Pour mixture over and into glass.You can garnish with fresh lemon slices or raspberries.

Toasted Pecan Chipolte Pesto….A Taste of the Mediterranean Event

OK, so this is not so Mediterranean. Antonio is hosting a monthly event devoted to all things of a Mediterranean influence. And he has some great prizes. This months theme was to create a Pesto. The only rules were that it have ground nuts,oil, and cheese. Now this is affordable event for me. With the change of seasons a lot of Bloggers are taking breaks or focusing on lighter foods. If you have noticed I have been a canning binge. I can still cook , but don’t have to eat it all at once. Along this line,condiments fascinate me. So with my pantry ingredients I created this powerful, fragrant pesto that’s burst with flavor!I can also store it the fridge for a few weeks, but by that time it will be gone.I served my pesto up with a simple pan fried chicken breast light;y seasoned, as the pesto would would be the focus. Boy was it good.I’m not a huge nut fan, but I have come to love pecans used in crusts for savory dishes.When you examine the benefits of this nut you can see why Glamah is in love. Vitamin E and anti oxidants! I could double this as facial mask(you can tell I have been in the Cosmetics industry too long).And the big fat cloves of garlic used are known as a antibiotic . So here it is quick and simple.

Toasted Pecan Chipolte Pesto

 

3 oz pecans halves( half a 6 oz bag)
3 large cloves of garlic
1 dried chipolte pepper
4 tablespoons Reggiano cheese
Sea Salt
Extra Virgin Olive Oil ( about 1/4-1/2 cup depending on texture)

 

Lightly toast your pecans in a dry saucepan. Because of the high oil content , toss frequently and do not burn.In a spice grinder , grind the chipolte pepper.Add pecans and pulse . Do not turn to a butter. Add Chipoltes and pecan mixture to your blender of food processor. Add cheese and salt to taste. Pour in olive oil gradually and blend, occasionally scrapping down sides, until all is incorporated.Store in a sealed container in the refrigerator up to 2 weeks.
A few side notes…

 

Marie over at Proud Italian Cook asked me for my watermelon martini recipe. I made a lot of these last summer for a family party. Due to large size of guests it was the perfect drink as I could pre make my ‘watermelon juice’. The trick is to strain it so your shaker doesn’t get all clogged up. I also used frozen bits to keep it cold. As I have a freezer bag of watermelon this week( also makes great smoothies people!) I came up with this for Marie.This is based for 1 drink.
2 parts frozen or non frozen watermelon
1 part citrus flavored vodka
1 part pomegranate juice( optional or lemon juice if you use regular vodka)
1 part triple sec or Cointreau.
Blend all the ingredients in a blender. Pour in Shaker to strain as you pour into chilled martini glasses.
And last but not least…

Swati of Sugar Craft India gave me this award. I admit I’m horrible with the award and meme thing. I know I have let some go unanswered ,but I truly appreciated it. I’m more of a voyeur than doer. If you haven’t seen Swati’s blog check her out. Shes amazing and I wish Certain Someone would suggest we fly to India to visit this amazing woman so I can take some classes from the Sugar Craft Master!Please honey? Anyway Swati says I make her day and I just want all of you to know you make Mine!So consider this award passed on to all of you fun, bright , creative people.

Oh Canada!

At last I’m home! I have the whole house to myself this weekend. I love my solitude. Both Certain Someone and I are only children and share this trait. By the way he was tickled pink with all of the comments about his culinary efforts in the previous post. He may actually become a monthly guest blogger.

Anyway I love Toronto! And I know I will love the the west coast and east coast of Canada as I start to visit more during the year. Not only did I work well with my colleague, who I think was separated at birth ( we are alike in many ways), but I got to meet the Man! Peter M. aka ‘The Boner King’. A good Catholic educated girl is taught never to look down below and I had a peripheral view of a T shirt that I just quickly assumed was a Burger King T shirt.I though how very Anti Foodie. But we all clicked immediately and it finally dawned on me what his shirt said!. It was all in good fun. Peter brought his camera and I had my Blackberry camera. Unfortunately mine turned out like crap and I looked like a drunk hunchback leaning into the Boner King. We all had amazing conversation and spoke about food, blogging, food, travel. food, race/culture, food , politics, food,money, food,and more food! I could have stayed hours more with my colleague but work called. Until next time.

As for food in Toronto, from what little I saw it didn’t disappoint. I love the diversity and strong Asian influence. My first meal was a Indonesian Bami Noodle dish with the most amazing fresh pepper sauce. It was at a fast food joint called called Rich Field Market. Amazing. My boss wanted to buy a jug of the sauce and vowed to recreate it. Then as chose to dine in the hotel at a pretty good Japanese Restaurant on the roof called Sagano. I started with a lychee and cherry based cocktail called a Tomokyoto and then went to a great Lychee Sake Martini.I love Lychee!
Then I was torn as to what to order. I settled on a Soft shell crab Maki roll. And then a appetizer portion of Chicken Yakitori. That totally used up my $50 per Diem but it was so worth it. I slept well after that.Upon departure I grabbed some Canadian specialties such as Ice wine( sample size packs) and of course 100 percent Maple Syrup and granules to play with in my baking endeavors. I will be back for sure.

A Euro Evening with The Green Fairy

I can just imagine my Monday morning water cooler chat.


Absinthe.
Originally uploaded by DonnellyImages


How did you spend your weekend.Oh I tried some Absinthe and went to see ATB.They would look at me blankly and wonder what the hell I was talking about. ATB was new to me, however Absinthe was on those ‘Things to do before I reach 40 list”,which is rapidly approaching. Where did all those years go?Back in the day , just released from the nuns at a school which will remain nameless, my parents turned me loose in Paris. A night like last night would be a weekly occurrence.Certain Someone loves DJ’s like ATB. Unfortunately he was away and I had to represent . I planned to have fun because I havent had a evening like this in a while. A German friend had brought over some Tabu Absinthe. Its legal now to bring into the US, and there are some US producers. A few of the group had it in Prauge and don’t have pleasant memories of it, taste wise.In reading I hear the Czech ones are the worst. The Thirty Something Frat Boy men gathered shots glasses lighters,and sugar and tried to prepare it.No one knew what they were doing. I was trying to recall this sexy scene with Susan Sarandon and Jude Law in Alfie where she tries to educate him on to prepare a proper glass. Cant find it on You Tube. Needless to say we just downed it with some sugar on the bottom. Now water ,as I am to find out is essential. However I read the brand we consumed can be taken straight. Half liked the anise flavor,and half wanted to hurl. All of us were warm and fuzzy as it was 100 proof someone said.We all started talking about how old were getting and how our joints don’t seem to be like before.I thought it was just me. We were skeptical of the twenty somethings that would be at the event. Nothing hallucinogenic happened to us that evening. We all continued to imbibe vodka as we watched the Go Go type dancers in their neon pink underwear and boots, on raised platforms , dance to the ‘Messiah’ like DJ. Thank goodness we were cordoned off in our Yuppish VIP section while the masses in hundreds danced on. Where did these people come from and what do they do by day we asked. Then I remembered I was one of them once and I turned out alright.All in all a clean crowd. I was rather surprised. I made it to bed at 4:45 forgoing the after hour party in some Russian Bath House. No Thanks. The old timer Thirty Somethings grabbed some Burritos from one of those Taquerias on Ashland(good eating), and bitched about how we were going to make it through the week. I woke up and felt like I had been hit by a truck, and I didn’t even get drunk.That’s why I don’t party anymore. I leave you with Monsieur Creepiness to see how to prepare Absinthe properly.