Gentleman's Tea
Gentleman’s Tea
1 oz Jack Daniels® Tennessee Whiskey
2 oz lemonade (not concentrate)
2 oz tea
Splash of Sprite®
Lemon or lime slice
In a mixing glass filled with ice, add Jack, tea, and lemonade. Roll contents but do not shake. Pour into a highball glass. Add splash of Sprite. Garnish with lemon and lime slice.
Happy Friday y’all.
Categories: happy hour.
One of my favorite restaurants is Roy’s. Hawaiian fusion, great cocktails, amazing food, friendly people. This recipe is for Butterfish, also known as Black Cod, also known as Sablefish. It can be little oily for my taste, but delicious prepared this way. It’s a locally sustainable fish, so I’m excited to add this recipe to my files.
Top: restaurant version Hibachi Grilled Salmon, Roy’s Original Blackened Island Ahi & Hawaiian Style Misoyaki Butterfish, Bottom: my version (before the sauce)
Hawaiian Style Misoyaki Butterfish With Kim Chee Lime Butter Sauce
Serves: 2
Active Time: 45 mins
Start to Finish: 1.5hrs (+ marinating)
7oz. butterfish
Miso Marinade
1 cup sake
1 cup mirin, a sweet Japanese beverage used mostly in cooking
1/2 lb sugar
1/2 lb miso paste
(Note: Marinade quantity is sufficient for several pieces of fish)
Kim Chee Lime Butter Sauce
3 tbsp olive oil
1 small sweet onion, chopped
1 tablespoon shallots, chopped
1 clove garlic
1/3 cup white wine
2 tsp fish Sauce
1 tbsp fresh lime juice
2 tbsp cream
2 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped
2 tbsps unsalted butter
1 tbsp kim chee sauce (when was the last time you hit up Chinatown?)
3 tbsp chili sauce
Preparation:
Combine marinade ingredients in small saucepan and simmer until it becomes a dark, caramel color. Authentic sake, mirin and miso can all be found at any market specializing in Asian foods. After marinade has cooled, submerse fish completely and refrigerate for 24 hours.
Using a small amount of the olive oil, sauté the onion, shallot and garlic, until they become translucent. Deglaze the pan with white wine and fish sauce, and then reduce by half. Add cream, lime juice and a pinch of cilantro. Reduce the mixture until it thickens and slowly blend in the kim chee sauce and butter. Strain sauce through a fine sieve or cheese cloth and then mix in 1 tablespoon of cilantro and the chili sauce.
Take the marinated fish and place it into a sauté pan on medium heat with a small amount of oil. Cook for 2 to 4 minutes on each side. Place fish on the center of the plate on top of your starch of choice. Ladle the Kim Chee Lime Butter Sauce around the fish and top with chopped cilantro.
While searching for this recipe, I came across Oh-So Yummy, take a peak, lots of restaurant recipes and reviews.
Categories: flavor of the week.
Mai Tai at the House Without at Key, Halekulani
Here, coconut palms sway, birds do sing and the Royal Hawaiian stands out from blocks away — a pink and green garden oasis nestled among Waikiki’s high-rises. The hotel re-opened a year ago last November after extensive renovations.
Joni Mitchell wrote the familiar “Big Yellow Taxi” (1970) after her first visit to Hawai’i. As the song goes: “They paved paradise and put up a parking lot. With a pink hotel, a boutique and a swinging hot spot. Don’t it always seem to go that you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone.”
True, but I’m pretty happy with what they’ve got down at the Mai Tai Bar at the Royal Hawaiian. There is much debate over the origin of the Mai Tai, but to me the cocktail is Hawaii in a glass. Aloha.
Mai Tai, Royal Hawaiian
1 ounce Barcardi Silver rum
1/2 ounce Orgeat syrup (made from almonds, sugar and rose water or orange-flower water)
1/2 ounce orange Curaco
1 ounce orange juice
2 ounces pineapple juice
1/2 ounce Whalers dark rum
1. Combine all of the ingredients except the Whalers Dark Rum in an old-fashioned style glass over shaved ice. Carefully pour the dark rum on top.
2. Garnish with a pineapple wedge and a parasol with a skewered Maraschino cherry and fresh lime wedge.
Mai Tai taste test, Chucks Steakhouse & Hau Tree Lanai, Moana Surfrider
Categories: happy hour.
clam chowder ready to serve
Quick Clam Chowder
Serves: 4
Active Time: 15mins
Start to Finish: 40 mins
6 thick bacon slices, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch pieces
1 large onion, chopped
1 small fennel bulb, chopped
2 large carrots, peeled, chopped
1 1/4 teaspoons dried thyme
3/4 teaspoon crushed dried rosemary
3 tablespoons all purpose flour
4 cups whole milk
1 large unpeeled white-skinned potato, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
3 6 1/2-ounce cans chopped clams in juice
1 8 3/4-ounce can corn kernels, drained
pinch saffron
Chopped fresh parsley & homemade croutons
Preparation
Cook bacon in large saucepan over medium heat until crisp. Transfer bacon to paper towels to drain. Pour out all but 3 tablespoons drippings from pan. Add next 5 ingredients to pan; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Sauté until vegetables are crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle flour over; stir 1 to 2 minutes. Gradually add milk to pan, stirring constantly. Bring to boil; reduce heat to medium and cook until slightly thickened, stirring often, about 5 minutes. Add potatoes, clams with juice, and drained corn. Bring to boil; reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until potatoes are tender, stirring often, about 10 minutes. Add the saffron at the end and let simmer for a few minutes more. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Divide soup among bowls, sprinkle with bacon and parsley, and serve.
Categories: flavor of the week.
A new recipe on the way… any guesses?
travel inspired recipe
Categories: artsy, flavor of the week, on the road.
ingredients from Rue Mouffetard for Ravioli with Gorgonzola Sauce
This is a great on the road recipe when you have a small kitchen to work with, but the cupboards are bare. The cheese sauce doesn’t require flour or butter and goes well with steak, pork or pasta. I picked up all ingredients at the shops below our apartment. Ricotta and herb ravioli, green beans, chantrelles, garlic and basil. A quick saute of the vegetables, a dash of wine and dinner is served. I can’t say enough about rue Mouffetard in the 5th, a pedestrian cobblestone street filled with cafes and markets.
Gorgonzola Sauce
Serves: 2
Active Time: 10mins
Start to Finish: 1hr
4 cups cream (fat content up to you)
3 to 4 ounces crumbly Gorgonzola (not creamy or “dolce”)
3 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan
pinch of S&P if you have on hand
3 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
Bring the cream to a full boil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, then continue to boil rapidly for 45 to 50 minutes, until thickened like a white sauce, stirring occasionally.
Off the heat, add the Gorgonzola, Parmesan, salt, pepper, and parsley. Whisk rapidly until the cheeses melt and serve warm. If you must reheat, warm the sauce over low heat until melted, then whisk vigorously until the sauce comes together.
the local cheese and wine shop
On another note, I feel rosé wine is seriously underrated in Canada. We’re not talking California zinfandel, but true rosé from the fermentation of red grapes. The wine in the image at the top of this post is from Domaine Ollier Taillefer, a mere 5 euros. Real men drink pink.
Instead of poking and prodding the produce, let the vendor select it for you, they know what's at it's best and what's appropriate for what you're cooking. And they look at you funny if you touch everything, I tried it.
Categories: flavor of the week.
It’s Friday and instead of ditching my computer for a festive evening, I’m face down in a mug of NeoCitran.
I have a feeling I’m not alone. ‘Tis the season after all.
Here’s a Holiday Happy Hour Horror recipe:
Ginger Tea
To make 4 cups of ginger tea, start with a 1 inch piece of ginger. Peel the ginger and grate it coarsely or slice thinly.
Bring 4 cups of water to a boil and add the ginger. Reduce the heat and simmer the tea for 15 to 20 minutes depending on the strength you like.
Pour off the tea, or strain if necessary. Sweeten it with a little honey, and a squeeze of lemon.
Categories: happy hour.
Colour of the Year
Hello turquoise? Pantone has unveiled the Color of the Year for 2010: PANTONE 15-5519 Turquoise. I must admit I was a little more excited about 2009′s PANTONE 14-0848 Mimosa. Hopeful, sparkling, versatile, and representing both a cocktail and a beautiful tree (I have one in my yard!). What could be better?
From Pantone on Turquoise: “Combining the serene qualities of blue and the invigorating aspects of green, Turquoise evokes thoughts of soothing, tropical waters and a languorous, effective escape from the everyday troubles of the world, while at the same time restoring our sense of wellbeing.”
Ok, I’m sold. Full story here.
In honour of my friend, Pantone 14-0848 Mimosa, I remind you of this sparkling cocktail, perfect for the holiday season. It doesn’t get any easier than this: part OJ, part bubbly, and you’re in business. Best enjoyed in your 2010 turquoise jammies.
Categories: happy hour.
Continuing with my previous post, I found that many people in France enjoy a Kir as an apéritif. Originally the wine used was Bourgogne Aligoté, a lesser white wine of Burgundy. Apparently the wines now used are based on region and the bartender’s choice but often you’ll find a Chardonnay-based Burgundy, like Chablis. In most restaurants, about a 1/4 oz. of cassis is poured in first, and topped with wine.
A Kir Royale is made with champagne instead of wine, and I like to add the cassis last so it floats at the bottom.
Categories: happy hour.
It’s a rainy, blustery afternoon. If I had the choice, I’d envision my Friday evening going something like this:
X2 Resort Koh Samui, Thailand
I guess I’ll just have to try their “national cocktail” instead:
Siam Sunray Cocktail Recipe
Ingredients
30-40 ml. of Smirnoff vodka
30 ml. of coconut liqueur
15 ml. of syrup
¼ cm. of Thai chilli pepper
3 slices of young ginger
1 Kaffir lime leaf
3 slivers of lemon grass
3 drops of lime juice
Soda water
Preparation:
Crush the small Thai chilli pepper, young ginger, Kaffir lime leaf, and lemon grass together in a shaker to bring out the aroma and flavour of the Thai herbs.
Add syrup, lime juice, Smirnoff, and coconut liqueur, and shake well.
Strain into a glass with ice; top up with soda water; garnish with chilli, lemon grass and a slice of lime.
Categories: happy hour.
Dark and Stormy cocktail
Categories: happy hour.
French Onion Soup
It’s amazing what you can do with a 3lb. bag of onions. This is a lazy (wo)man’s favorite, and cheap to boot. Great for a day like today, wet and chilly. Even better the next day. You can do without the booze in the recipe, but if can spare some, at least try to throw in some white wine.
Soupe à l’Oignon Gratinée
(French Onion Soup)
Serves: 6-8
Active Time: 30mins
Start to Finish: 2-3hrs
3 Tbsp. butter
1 Tbsp. olive oil
2 ½ – 3 lbs white or yellow onions, thinly sliced
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. sugar
1 Tbsp. flour
8 cups beef broth, preferably homemade or quality store-bought stock
1 cup dry white wine, such as Riesling or Sauvignon Blanc
¼ cup Cognac or good brandy
Thick slices of baguette, toasted
1 – 1 ½ cups grated gruyère cheese
In a heavy dutch oven (or soup pot), melt butter and oil over medium low heat. Add onions and stir to coat with the butter. Cover and cook over low heat until translucent and wilted, around 10-15 minutes. Remove the cover and turn heat up to medium high. Add the salt and sugar. Cook, stirring occasionally while onions begin to brown. Cook until onions are caramelized, a deep brown color, about 30-40 minutes (note: the onions took 2hrs to reduce and brown for the soup I made this week! The onions were extremely juicy. I’m wondering if it was because they were organic?)
Sprinkle flour over onions and cook for 3-4 minutes. Pour in 2-3 cups of beef broth, stirring constantly to incorporate the flour. Add the rest of the broth, cognac and white wine. Bring to a boil and turn heat down to low. Simmer for 1 ½ hours with a loose lid, adding a little water if liquid is evaporating too quickly. Stir occasionally.
At this point you can either go the traditional route and pour soup into individual, oven-safe bowls, or just place everything in the pot. Either way, place bread slices on the soup and top with cheese to completely cover the bread. If gruyere isn’t available, use a stongly flavoured cheese. Broil until cheese is melted, about 5 minutes. Serve immediately, with some good, cheap red wine.
(adapted from Julia Child’s The Way to Cook and the Gourmet Cookbook)
La Frégate
On my recent trip to Paris, I had the best onion soup (twice) at La Frégate restaurant. Located on the Left Bank, on the site of the home of Marshal D’Artagnan, who inspired Dumas to write his masterpiece “The Three Musketeeers”. It’s a great place to drop in if you’re visiting the nearby Louvre, Tuilerie Gardens or Musée d’Orsay.
Categories: flavor of the week, on the road.
Waitrose
Categories: on the road.
Fresh tomatoes from the garden make the transition to fall at little less painful. You can’t go wrong with a little sea salt and pepper sprinkled on top. Add some olive oil, reduced balsamic, basil and bocconcini for a take on a traditional caprese. I picked up a large, fist-sized round of creamy Saputos bocconcini from Thrifty Foods this week. I’ve seen the smaller rounds and pearls at this grocery store before, but not the large rounds. If you’re feeling adventurous, try a different rendition with soy sauce, sesame oil and cliantro.
Newsflash: Thrifty Foods is now offering a loyalty program. Get cash back on groceries, aeroplan points and rewards. Info here.
Categories: flavor of the week.
