Champagne Cocktail Discovery: The Korbel Poinsettia

Tom was sent one of those promotional pdfs from Korbel, the kind with recipes. He sent it on to me and, although I was too frenzied at the time to take interest in the food ideas, I did pick up this champagne cocktail idea for Hannah and Rose to try at Christmas. They loved it and so did we, even though champagne does not need any enhancement for us to enjoy it.

It makes a lovely pink drink and we always have cranberry juice and triple sec on hand so it is easy also. We didn't float any berries in the top of the drink as in this Korbel photo, but obviously that is a nice touch.

Korbel Poinsettia

Korbel Champagne
1/4 oz triple sec
Splash Ocean Spray Cranberry Juice or Cranberry Juice Drink

Put triple sec and cranberry juice in a champagne flute and top with Korbel.

Pecan Rolls

Our family's traditional Christmas breakfast, these Pecan Rolls are probably actually Schnecken from Germany. However, as pecans are native to America, these have been Americanized.

We have one pan on Christmas morning and I freeze the other to thaw and warm for New Year's breakfast. A sweet start to the new year, right?

These are simple and the result is impressive. The only thing you need to have plenty of is time as the recipe is a fairly forgiving one. 

It originally came from the Meta Given's Modern Encyclopedia of Cooking which was my mother's go-to book for many recipes that became family favorites ... such as the Tuna Puff Log. Yes, it sounds strange but it was a brioche loaf which one baked and then cut off the lid to in order to hollow out and fill with a delicious creamed tuna (fairly stiff but with walnuts and a dash of nutmeg). It made a surprisingly sophisticated dish which I seem to recall my parents serving to company ... who would eat seconds.

I have adapted the dough recipe for this somewhat to modernize it and I divided it into steps to make it easier to follow. I also simplified it as I am used to kneading yeast breads, etc. But the rest is pure Meta Given.

Pecan Rolls

Step 1:
1/3 cup butter, melted
1 cup warm milk
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon yeast (or 1 package yeast)
1/2 teaspoon malt powder (optional, I get it from King Arthur flour, not in the original recipe)
4 cups flour

Combine and knead as usual for yeast dough. Let rise. Punch down dough, turn out on a lightly floured counter and let rest 10 minutes.

Step 2:
1-1/3 cups moist light brown sugar
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1/4 cup white corn syrup
Pecan halves or pieces

Meanwhile, mix brown sugar, butter and corn syrup until smooth and spread in the bottom of two 9” cake pans. Place pecan halves (upside down) in circles covering pan spread. If using pieces, press enough cover thoroughly firmly into mixture. Set pans aside until after rolls have been made.

Step 3:
1/2 cup soft butter
1/2 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Roll half of dough into a 8x10” rectangle, about 1/3” thick. Spread with butter and sprinkle with sugar mixed with cinnamon. Starting on wide side, roll up snugly. Cut into twelve 1” slices. Place into one pan in circles, with rolls not quite touching. Brush with melted butter. Repeat with remaining dough. Cover lightly and let rise in warm place until double, about 1 hour.

Bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes.

Remove from oven; let stand 2-3 minutes, then loosen edges with a knife and turn upside down onto serving plate. Hold pan over rolls a minute for syrup to drain out on rolls. Serve warm nut-side-up.
These freeze well. Dough can be used for any sweet rolls.

Salsa Mac 'N' Cheese

When I did a little lagniappe episode featuring Velveeta on my podcast, Forgotten Classics, I promised to link to this recipe. Only to discover I never shared it.

Not surprisingly, this recipe came from the Pace Picante Sauce website. It is one our family's favorite dishes. Easy, quick, and tasty. Though, you must like Velveeta. Which we do!

Salsa Mac ‘n’ Cheese
Step 1:
    1    pound extra-lean ground beef
Brown beef; drain.

Step 2:
    1    16-ounce jar Pace Picante (chunky salsa)
    2    cups water
    7    ounces dried elbow macaroni
Stir in all. Simmer, covered 10-15 minutes until macaroni is tender.

Step 3:
    12    ounces Velveeta, cut up
Add and stir till melted.

We Can't Never Get Enuff o' Turkey Bone Gumbo

Made the broth using the turkey bones and skin on Thanksgiving weekend. Froze it along with enough turkey to make it.

Thawed the whole buncha it out and made Turkey Bone Gumbo yesterday.

Yes, you've heard about it before, but it's good enough to take another look. Once again, my thanks to Sara Roahen for graciously taking the initiative to send me that recipe. I love it so much that I'll make a turkey just to have the gumbo later.

Though I'm considering saving up roasted chicken carcasses during the year so we can have some Chicken Bone Gumbo.

Which Bars Make the Grade When You Request Something Off-Menu? Not the Ones Who Advertise Their Drinks Most.

Since our newest hobby of sampling cocktails has begun we have been surprised at the places which cannot come up with a decent cocktail. Namely, these are often places which pride themselves in promoting their cocktails.

On the other hand, we have often been surprised and pleased at the unexpected places which work hard and get a cocktail juuuuuust right.

Our test?

Not difficult. We simply ask for a cocktail we enjoy, provide the recipe when invariably no one has heard of it (along with glassware and ice requirements), and sample the results.

Here is our list, admittedly short, of places that pass ... and fail.


STRAIGHT A
The key is not that hard. Willingness to please the customer and using the ingredients called for. Too bad it is such a rare combination.

• Dino's Steak and Clawhouse in Grapevine, Texas.
  We asked for a Chelsea Sidecar. The waiter was intrigued, friendly, and happy to pass on the recipe, which he was not too proud to jot down. The result was double the usual amount and absolutely delicious. (The food was fantastic also ... pricey but fantastic.) Visited Feb. 2010.
  
  
• Riad Mediterranean Cuisine in Springfield, Missouri.
  As with the best places, the server was interested and willing to see what the bartender knew, and then to take back the recipe when a Chelsea Sidecar was unknown to them. Again the portions were doubled. Is there anywhere in America that just doesn't want to pour liquor down your throat in gigantic quantities? At any rate, they did a stellar job, fresh lemon juice and all, when we were there on two different occasions. (The food? Authentic and wonderful.) Visited Oct. 2009.
  
  
• Arris Pizza in Springfield, Missouri.
  This is a unique sort of pizza place, featuring Greek pizza and with a side room that is a small cocktail lounge worthy of the name. Again, the excellent service of willing servers and bartenders provided me with a delicious Chelsea Sidecar. Also, this pizza is to die for. Visited Oct. 2009.

FLUNKED OUT
"What did I do to deserve this flat, flavorless Manhattan?"* If you think a cocktail can't be flat and flavorless then you've never sampled one off-menu in the below locations. Here's a tip guys. If you're bragging about your cocktails then at least have the goodness to use fresh citrus juice in it when called for.

• Ozona Grill & Bar in Dallas, Texas.
  Although they tout a "tantalizingly good selection of drinks" (which is what I assume they mean to say on their website), Hannah discovered last weekend that what they meant was "order off our menu or face the consequences." She gave the White Spider recipe to which the waitress responded in a surly fashion. Hannah didn't think to specify it shaken with ice and served in a cocktail glass and the waitress certainly didn't ask, so it was served in an old fashioned glass with ice cubes. Made without fresh lemon juice, this was truly a disappointment and certainly a contrast with the solicitous service received by a friend who arrived later, ordered from the menu, and was peppered with questions about what sort of gin to serve in her cocktail. For shame, Ozona. Visited Oct. 2010.
  
  
• The Porch in Dallas, Texas
  Our hopes were high as we'd read good reviews and seen the boast on their website: The 45' bar features hand crafted cocktails including retro classics and neo-classics with house made syrups, infusions and fresh juices. Not only did the waiter not bother to write down the recipe, in which I did specify "shaken with ice and served in a cocktail glass," but he scornfully told me that the old fashioned glass I received (with drink on the rocks) was a "cocktail glass" and I should have said, "martini glass."
  
  Thank you for that education.
  
  I am not sure if it was his lack of detail or the bartenders who were responsible for slipping sour mix into the Chelsea sidecar which I eventually received in a cocktail glass (warm) but the result was truly flat and flavorless. (On a side note, the food was very good but the huge silverware and booths made me feel as if I were in the land of the giants. There was also high noise level as everything had a hard surface. Those weren't deal breakers but considering the service and cocktail we won't be returning.) Visited May 2010.

* The Simpsons

When Is a Bagel Not Really a Bagel? When It's an Obwarzanek Krakowski .

It's round, has a big hole in the center and is made of thick, chewy dough.

But don't call it a bagel.

Read it all at the WSJ.

Parmesan-Eggplant Crisps

Our current eggplant glut reminded me of this recipe from Cooking Light 2000. In fact, in looking through my four Cooking Light cookbooks' indexes for this one, I realized that there are tons of eggplant and okra recipes in these books which include everything from the magazine for each year.

This one is simply delicious.

Parmesan-Eggplant Crisps

1/4 cup fat-free mayonnaise [didn't have any, used regular]
1 (3/4 pound) eggplant, cut crosswise into 24 slices
1/2 cup crushed saltine crackers (about 12 crackers) [I didn't have any ... used breadcrumbs]
1/2 cup (2 ounces) grated fresh Parmesan
Cooking spray

Combine crackers and cheese in a shallow dish.

Spread about 1/2 teaspoon mayonnaise over both sides of eggplant slices, using a rubber spatula. As you spread the mayonnaise on a side, dredge it in the cracker-cheese mixture.

Place eggplant in a single layer on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray; chill 2 hours [I never remember to do this early enough to chill it ... it is great anyway].

Preheat oven to 425°.

Bake eggplant for 15 minutes; turn slices over; and bake an additional 5 minutes or until crisp. Yield: 4 servings.

Freezing Eggplant

One of the plants that thrives in hot, dry weather such as we've been having lately (105° anyone?), is eggplant.

We have been getting generous portions from our CSA.

Here is a link that we were given that has freezing instructions.

Looking at that, I was inspired by the idea of baked or grilled eggplant ready to pull from the freezer.

I preheated the oven to 450°, sliced the eggplant 1/2" thick, placed them in lightly oiled jellyroll pans, brushed them with olive oil and put them in to bake for 10 minutes per side (20 minutes total).

When done, they were beautifully browned on one side and soft when poked with a fork. I layered them with waxed paper and put them in 1-pound batches into the freezer.

This is especially handy in dealing with a glut since I love eggplant but have yet to persuade the rest of the family to share my delight. Tom doesn't mind it but no one else is very happy to see it show up.

The Unseen Heroes: Organic Farmers

Our CSA farmer has suffered greatly this year from terrible weather (too cold, then floods, then drought, then more floods ...), too few bees because of that cold weather, and now from squash beetles. Hearing about their struggles makes me appreciate the accomplishment it is to get in a good organic crop. Nature is out to get those plants before we do. Here is a sample from a recent update:

As we told some of you at last Saturday's delivery we had to sacrifice the second crop of yellow squash, zucchini, and patty pan because the plague of squash bugs had gotten so bad after working so many hours manually killing them and removing the eggs. The nasty bugs were just about to migrate to the second crop of cantaloupe and watermelons. We could not allow that to happen as the cantaloupes and watermelons look good. The squash bugs ruined our cantaloupe and watermelons one year as we didn't think they would be affected by squash bugs, but found out they will destroy them as well as squash. So we used our propane burner tractor attachment and destroyed them all along with the eggs and nymphs. It took quite a long time and used a full 58 gallon tank of propane, but hopefully we have "stayed the plague" and saved our cantaloupe and watermelons. This is part of growing organic. We could have provided some beautiful squash if we were using conventional methods---just spray them with harmful pesticides, kill all of the bugs, and have squash. However, we are committed to organic only and will continue growing produce accordingly. We will plant a third crop of yellow squash, zucchini, patty pan, butternut, and acorn squash tomorrow. I am sure we didn't kill every squash bug, but I believe 98% of them so hopefully the third crop of all the squash will produce abundantly in the fall.

I must say, though, that the crops we do receive have been the freshest and highest quality I have ever had since my parents' big gardening days. It is definitely worth the trouble.

Something I Really Like - Pupcakes!

Hannah had a gift certificate to Target and came home with Hello, Cupcake! and What's New, Cupcake? which she promptly proceeded to use. Luckily, she was provided with the perfect event as the vet where she works is having a goodbye party today for two vet techs who are going away to college.

These were amazingly easy. Plus, they will taste as good as they look as Hannah eschewed the authors' cake mix and canned frosting suggestions and baked from scratch chocolate cupcakes to adorn with real buttercream frosting. Now that's how you do it!

Fruit Crisp

I cobbled this together after experimenting with two different pie recipes in James Beard's American Cookery. It leaves a nice leeway for playing with various fruits and spices. I have used it for various fruit crisps featuring in turn, apples, peaches, and blueberries.

Fruit Crisp

Fruit Filling:
4-5 cups of apples, peaches, berries, or other fruit, peeled and diced if necessary
2 tablespoon flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon (or other spice to coordinate with crisp topping)
Juice of 1 lemon
1/2 cup sugar

Combine all ingredients and pile into a buttered pie pan.

Crisp Topping:
1/2 cup butter (melt)
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon or 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg or other spices

Combine all ingredients together well and crumble over top of fruit filling.

Bake 30-40 minutes in a preheated 400 degree oven. (Note: be prepared to test fruit to see if it needs to bake longer. Apples, obviously, will take longer than soft fruit like peaches. You may need to bake as long as an hour to be sure the fruit in the middle is cooked.