Bourbon and Ginger

Bourbon and Ginger Ale is a good old standby when you're too lazy to make a real cocktail.  And it feels right, too -- I have vague recollections of the men I looked up to when is was little drinking them.  "I'll just have a bourbon and ginger", they would say, and it must have stuck way back there in my earliest memories.  I still have one on occasion, but my tastes now go to something a little more adventurous, a bit more spicy.


So I recently tried a couple of recipes I came across in a site called Creative Loafing Tampa, which I think must also be the name of one of those rags that you find in the little free racks by the real estate flyers in restaurants and mini marts.  Amazing what you can find with Google.


Both recipes use bourbon or rye (please don't use any of the good stuff for these -- they have enough citrus and sweet to offset anything but serious rotgut).  They are both really good, one surprisingly so, since it calls for maple syrup for the sweetener!!!

Ingredients for the Nor'easter.

I put both recipes together on one page because I thought you might throw the Nor'easter recipe in the trash without even trying it, like I just about did.  (Sounded just about as bad as recipes that include Southern Comfort or Malibu Rum, but I digress.)  Anyway, by the name, and the fact that it uses maple syrup, I will attribute the recipe to some creative sole in Maine or maybe Vermont.   And in combination with lime and a nice spicy Ginger Beer, the maple flavor  makes a very nice cocktail.  I hope you will give it a try and let me know what you think.

Ingredients for the Cablegram.

The other drink is called the Cablegram and it sounded a bit tastier before trying it.  Still tart from citrus, this time lemon, and spicy from ginger beer, and I like it a little better than the other one.  


Both cocktails are keepers, so don't go cutting the Nor'easter off the page when you print these out.

Hemingway Daiquiri Update

Here is an update on my previous post about the Papa Doble (Hemingway's Daiquiri).  This new Hemingway Daiquiri recipe, from a post in the Houston Press by John Kiely, is less sweet, more tart, and a lot better than my previous recipe.  I think an excerpt from Kiely's post describes the experience very well:

Whoa. The Papa Doble shut down my face for a long 10 seconds, and put my tongue's sour buds on blast. The second taste wasn't much easier, but halfway through, I enjoyed it, and by the end, I preferred it.

Why so tart? Hemingway's father suffered diabetes, so Ernest simply avoided sugar in his drinks. Brilliant move, at any rate. Once your palate adjusts to a lower level of sweetness, the flavor of liquor and other ingredients take up the slack, usually resulting in a better cocktail.

I went through my menu of sixty-nine cocktails, removing sweetness wherever possible, but ironically, not so much from the Hemingway Daiquiri, just half of a teaspoon of simple syrup, as Maraschino keeps the tartness at bay. Thank you, Ernest Hemingway.

I think this is now one of my favorite cocktails...

The Best Spaghetti and Meatballs

Bobby Flay is a bit of a food dork, but I love his Throwdowns on the Food Network.  And he, along with his trusted helpers Stephanie Banyas (Bobby's business assistant and a graduate of the French Culinary Institute) and Miriam Garron (a graduate of Peter Kump's Institute of Culinary Education) really crank out some AWESOME food.


His recipe for spaghetti and meatballs from the Meatballs Throwdown is absolutely the best I have ever eaten anywhere!  Throw in an Italian sausage or three with the meatballs, and it gets even better.


The Throwdown judges thought this was a bit spicy and loved it.  If you are a spice wimp, just cut back some on the crushed red pepper.


Bobby Flay lost this throwdown.  His opponent, Mike Maroni and his Grandma Maronis Meatballs 100 Year Old Recipe and his sauce must be pretty passable too. 




Link to a printable recipe for your file: Bobby Flay's Spaghetti and Meatballs
And a little clip from the show:  Meatball Throwdown

Cod with Mustard Sauce

Here is a recipe that is simple, takes only a few minutes to make, and is worthy of serving to your favorite company.  Cod with Mustard Sauce would be best with fish that just came out of the ocean, but mine was made with frozen Cod that just came out of the Costco, and it was still wonderful. You don't need anything fancy with it.  I had some green beans, leftover coleslaw, some fresh mango, and a little glass of Jacob's Creek Riesling (also from Costco).  This was so simple that I did not imagine how good it was going to be, and I ate it all before blog pictures could happen.  

Speaking of Costco, I think I have said it before, but I will repeat that I highly recommend it for the quality of its meats, cheeses, and seafood.  In particular, they carry frozen fish that contains nothing but fish.  Flash frozen in individually wrapped pieces, and no preservatives or other chemicals.  Good wines cheap, too - I rarely buy wine anywhere else.

The recipe comes from The Fannie Farmer Cookbook, one of the very best general cookbooks - great for everyone from beginning cooks to the most advanced. Great present for newlyweds, but if you don't have it on your bookshelf you should buy it for yourself.

Jambalaya

Pretty good day today - got a few errands done, set up the new rain gauge (ok - I know that's wierd), and, most importantly, got to talk to my wife, my daughter, my son-in-law, and my grandbaby twins.  Skype is a wonderful thing.  Kathy is in Champaign helping Leslie take care of the babies who are getting fat and sassy, but that is no reason that I can't fix a nice meal. Wish they were all here to enjoy it with me, but I'll get to see them all soon.

Tonight's meal was a nice Jambalaya, which was based on a recipe from Emeril Lagasse - his Clean Out the Ice Box and Freezer Jambalaya recipe.  I love it, because it is just an idea - do only what you  want!  Preceded by a Sazerac cocktail, which I have previously posted, and served with a tangy coleslaw (cabbage, lime, cider vinegar, parsley, minced jalapeno, onion, and mayonnaise) and an Abita Amber beer, which I found in the beer fridge.

This really is a recipe that you don't have to follow.  Just make sure that you use liquid in proportion to the amount of rice you use.  Everything else is whatever you want to make it.  Tonight - no shrimp, and added some tomato paste with the rice after the chicken was browned.  Substitute freely - I ran across some Johnsonville Andouille at the store today, which was the inspiration for this meal, but use some nice Kielbasa or some other spicy pork sausage that serves as your inspiration.  I went heavy on the cayenne, which I happen to like but could be left out depending on who is eating with you. (Kathy likes lots of cayenne too, but if my dad was here, there would be none - I would add some Crystal hot sauce or Tobasco when it was served.)  Whatever is leftover in the fridge is fair game.  Beef, pork, any kind of shellfish -- it's all good.

I hope you will try this, and if you do, let me know what you added and how you liked it.

Houston's Thai Beef Salad

It's getting to be time to think about good summer meals.  The kind you eat out on the patio on a lazy Saturday afternoon when you don't need anything real heavy.  We just discovered this salad recipe, and it is just right for that kind of day.
 
I flat stole the recipe.  I had an urge for a Thai Beef Salad, and I found this one on the internet.  No adaptation, no combining with other recipes, no adjustments (well, I did double the Sriracha sauce, but the recipe allowed for that).  The recipe is great just the way it is.


This salad is the author's interpretation of a recipe from Houston's Restaurant, a chain.  The restaurant's menu describes it as "Thai Steak & Noodle Salad (or with Chicken): Marinated filet or rotisserie chicken with avocado, mango and herbs in Thai dressing" and they get $19 for it.  I have never been to a Houston's, but as I was looking at their web site, I discovered that there is one at Kirby and Westpark in Houston, just a few blocks from my brother's house -- I guess we will have to give it try sometime so I can make my own judgement on Houston's version.

I found a picture of the salad purportedly taken at a Houston's in California - I think mine looks better, but judge for yourself.

Cheesecake-Swirled Brownies

I recently had the opportunity to make the dessert for an office birthday celebration.  And in my office, finding a recipe that everyone will like is not necessarily an easy task.  The birthday girl told me she didn't want anything fruity, and one of the finicky ones in the office doesn't like nuts.  Best recollection, though, is that everyone in the office is a chocoholic, and they all seem to like cheesecake, so this recipe for Cheesecake-Swirled Brownies seemed like the perfect choice. Even so, it was my first time to try the recipe, and I was a little nervous about how it would work out.

They turned out great! I think the best measurement of success at the office is the number of requests for the recipe, and that was pretty high on this one. The recipe is a very easy one, too, so it gets a high recommendation for casual group get-togethers.

I should also mention the source.  The Smitten Kitchen Blog consistently has some of the best recipes around (and pretty food pictures too).  I would highly recommend adding it to your bookmarks.

These brownies are really rich.  I cut the pieces about 2 1/2" square, and several people said they could have been smaller.  They are so rich that serving them with a little Häagen-Dazs Vanilla Ice Cream actually cuts the richness.

Super Pizza

I had a hard time deciding what to have for Super Bowl Sunday this year.  I don't own a FryDaddy and that ruled out some ideas -- fried fish and jalapeno hush puppies with cheese grits, and buffalo wings were out.  Wasn't in the mood for chili, or burgers, or steaks, and it was way too cold outside to do ribs on the smoker.  Then I remembered I had those deep dish pizza pans from when we lived in Chicago.
  
Chicago has a lot of good pizza places, the most famous of which is probably Pizzeria Uno with its deep dish pizza.  Lou Malnati's is right up there in popularity.  Some people like Gino's, but I always thought a sheet of Italian sausage covering the entire bottom of the pizza was just too weird.  My favorite was the stuffed pizza from Giordano's - lots of cheese and meat and veggies encased in pizza dough in a deep pan, with sauce on the top.  My recipe for Stuffed Pizza is a very good approximation of Giordano's, and it is the only way I know to get to get a good stuffed pizza when you live 1200 miles away from Chicago in central Texas.

The recipe I started with called for a stuffing of fresh spinach and mozzarella, but that didn't seem right for the Super Bowl -- gotta have lots of meat with football.  The stuffing in this one is Italian sausage, mushrooms, onion and red bell pepper and lots of provolone and mozzarella cheeses. And on top of the pizza is an sauce of chunky tomato, garlic, herbs, Parmesan cheese, and olive oil that cooks only after the pizza goes in the oven.

  
It had been more than a few years since I made one of these, and it turned out just like I remembered.  Makes my mouth water just looking at the picture. (click on it to look closer - you can almost smell it...)

Chef Alex

In a recent Facebook post, Lisa asked whether it is normal for a three year old to insist on having the title, "Chef."  In his own words..."Chef Alex, ready for action!!"

I have come to the conclusion that while there are not too many kids that are entitled to the title, Alex is an exception.  After all, how many kids do you know that love avocado and hummus equally with Alamo Springs Cafe burgers, or who notice the similarity between rosemary and the needles on Christmas trees?  Or who love helping mom cook, or watching Food Network equally with playing ball, digging holes, playing the part of Bob the Builder, or building tall Lego structures?

There are also signs that he may become a master griller as soon as he is allowed to play with fire.

My conclusion was reinforced last night when I received an email from Alex's dad with an Alex submission for Jim's Place for Food and Booze. (While Alex is multi-talented and very smart, he has not yet learned to use email or Facebook -- I expect that will happen pretty soon.)  I am pleased to post it on Alex's behalf.

Alex had decided that his mom's Baked Potato Soup could use some enhancements as shown in the photo above.  A little grated cheese, some green beans, cucumbers, and bacon did the trick.  What a beautifully styled dish and a great photo by dad.  I wish I could have been there to taste, but I understand my bowl did not go to waste - Alex ate it too.

My only additional suggestion might have been to add a little spice, perhaps some hot sauce or spicy peppers.  Not to worry though -- his Unca Joe or PaPa will teach him how to enjoy those soon enough.