Aroma Cucina

2014 Food & Beverage Trends & Predictions

The New Year is a time for reflection, resolution, and endless lists of the best or worst whatevers of the past year. Best Special Meal Requests by Vegan Customers, Worst Italian-American-Jewish Restaurants Ever, Most Underrated Vegetables You’ll Never Find at Whole Foods, and of course, Most Popular Food Allergy. (Gluten free still tops the list 5 years running, while peanut allergies have mysteriously plummeted to 8^th place, once again allowing airlines to toss us bags containing 5 peanuts or less.)

Here are our Aroma Cucina “2014 Trends & Predictions”.

Predictions:

Chef Tattoos: In a timesaving move, many restaurants will have on-sight tattooing stations for line cooks.

Sustainability becomes a hot button topic as two chef contenders in the reality show “Last One Standing” shoot each other over the final remaining morel in the state of Oregon.

 

Food Mashups will continue to evolve. After the doughnut married the croissant to begat the cronut, what's next?

• Dogburger: Ground hot dogs shaped into round hamburger patties and deep-fried.

• Pizzacorn: Cryogenically frozen nuggets of Sicilian style pizza are blasted to look like popcorn.

• Meatghetti: Using special meat glue, pork is force fed through a pasta machine creating nearly-almost 100% meat noodles. The Gluten Frees are thrilled with this non-wheat noodle until they find out the technical name for meat glue is transglutaminase and that must be a problem, really, for some reason….

Food Matters:

Inner Lives of Carrots Revealed. Vegetables have feelings too. Exhaustive research that began with understanding how chickens count more accurately than toddlers has lead to even more tiring research about the inner emotions of vegetables.

The Farm to Table movement is alive and well. New legislature requires the name and history of each person who helped raise the vegetable be printed on a sticker that must firmly adhere to the vegetable. This gives rise to the “Sticker Shock” mini-cottage industry of greenmarket workers who will remove the stickers without damaging the fruit.

Kiwi Free & Proud. Intra-state shipping of produce is banned in the U.S. This leads to widespread rioting in New York when residents learn that tomatoes cannot grow in the snow. “Who knew?”, asks Shirleene Madison, sandwich shop employee at the popular Organic Brooklyn Eatery.

Status Symbols of the Foodistas:

Frack-Free Water Bottles: These water bottles are made from 100% pure Himalayan stone and do not contain any petroleum products. The stone is hand-harvested by children attending the free Frack-Free Day Care Facility in Nepal. Although the bottles are quite heavy, they can also be purchased with an optional Sherpa who will schlep and refill the bottles as needed. (See craft water below for further info.)

Virtual Kitchens: An expanding trend originating with the skinny hipster crowd who don’t eat anyway. These virtual kitchens utilize the latest 3-D projection technology so it actually looks like you have a kitchen instead of a bulletin board crammed with take-out menus.

Trends:

Extreme Ethnic Foods: Remote island destinations are seeing a surge in chef tourism as chefs are forced to find rare and unusual plants, animals and protein-rich insects.  We are all still in shock over the untimely death of Chef Rad Forager who did not know that raw water hemlock has some nasty side effects.

 

Craft beer and distilleries have led to the craft water movement. Hand-held sparking tools are used to smash home grown hydrogen with filtered high altitude oxygen to create custom craft waters. Roaring Bull Energy Drink has been banned in most EU countries, but their marketing campaign for “Hindenburg Death Rain” Craft Water has been highly effective as it features the extreme danger of sparking hydrogen to create water.

The Anti-Foodista movement has had resurgence in street cred as they embrace the previously derogatory label of “Foodie”. Foodies remain the number one readers of food-centric blogs and purchase more VitaMix blenders than any other demographic.

And that, Dear Readers, is our year-opening roundup of what we have to look forward to in 2014!

Happy New Year from our crazy family of cooks to yours!

 

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2014 Food Trend Predictions from the Supermarket Guru

Pass the Prosciutto - Just in time Holiday Potatoes

What's in a name? that which we call a ham
By any other name would smell as sweet.*

Ham.  Prosciutto. Prosciutto crudo. Prosciutto cotto. Prosciutto di Parma. Prosciutto di San Daniele. Iberico. Seranno.  Confused yet? It’s all pork, but that’s like saying wine is just grape juice. This post is sponsored by Prosciutto di Parma and the fine folks at Honest Cooking, and what a tasty post!

One of my first trips to Florence, I saw a man being served a plate of nothing but prosciutto. I thought that was crazy. Who would want a plate of just one thing? Silly me. A fine plate of nothing but exquisite, hand-carved prosciutto is the stuff dreams are made of.

What exactly is prosciutto?

It’s the hind leg or thigh of the pig. The word ‘prosciutto’ is derived from the Latin words ‘pro’ (before) and ‘exsugere‘ (suck out moisture).  Bonus point!  You know you’ve always wondered how to say ‘moisture sucker’ in a way that sounded totally cool, scientific and could be used in a game of Latin Scrabble.


Back to prosciutto.  Traditionally made in winter months, the hind leg is rubbed with a salt and fat mixture, with the salt drawing out the remaining blood and moisture. This takes about two months, then the salt is removed and the meat is left to hang for another period of time. And yes, mold matters when you are curing meat.

This is basic prosciutto crudo, or cured 'raw' prosciutto.  Prosciutto cotto is cooked ham, and is the ham you get in delis. You have to specifically ask for prosciutto cotto otherwise the default is prosciutto crudo.

The other variations like Prosciutto di Parma, di San Daniele, Iberico or Seranno indicate where the meat was cured and each have their own set of rules & regulations.

Prosciutto di Parma is one of the best known, and with good reason. It’s a DOP product, or “Protected Designation of Origin”. This means there are complex rules about breed specifications, where the pig is raised, what it eats (those lucky Parma pigs get to eat the whey from Parmigiana cheese making, but not more that 15 liters a day!), how big it is when slaughtered, no nitrates or additives, only sea salt etc.

This all means that each of these types of prosciutto have very different textures and flavor profiles. Prosciutto di Parma is silky, medium salty and has a bit of a nutty finish.  Prosciutto di San Daniele is softer, silkier, maybe even a touch sweeter. Iberico ham comes from Spain and is oily and unctuous.

In Umbria, our local prosciutto is more rustic. It’s harder, saltier and an umami bomb. They are all delicious, but it’s our prosciutto of choice in melon season.

However, we aren’t in melon season. It’s holiday season. That time of year when you are either entertaining, or being entertained and you need to bring something delicious to the next party.   
Here’s a simple and delicious way to make potatoes. If you use little red potatoes and a chopped parsley as a garnish, it will look extra holiday perfect.

Red Potatoes & Crispy Prosciutto di Parma
Small Red Potatoes
Prosciutto di Parma (1/4 slice for each potato)
Grated Parmigiana cheese
Robiolina or Robiola cheese (it’s a soft white Italian cow cheese)
Salt, Pepper
Finely chopped parsley as a garnish (optional)

This recipe is completely scaleable, which means that it can just as easily be made for two people or twenty people. Figure on 1-2 small red potatoes per person.

You can buy Prosciutto di Parma in packages with the ham already sliced, or at the cured meat counter where it will be sliced for you. My preference is always to have it freshly sliced, but you go with what you can find! And I specifically like Prosciutto di Parma for this dish because it is not overly salty or oily.

Preparation
1) Preheat the oven at 400F/204C. You want a hot oven.

2) Clean the potatoes with a soft scrub brush under running water. Do not peel.
3) Boil the potatoes in salted water with a good glug of red wine vinegar. (A glug is a unit of measure that means you pour the vinegar while saying the word glug: finish the word, finish pouring). The vinegar helps the potatoes from falling apart as they boil.
4) Cook the potatoes until they are soft and the tip of a knife easily slides into the potato. About 15 minutes depending on the size and freshness of the potato.
5) Drain and let the potatoes cool until you can handle them, then slice in half, lengthwise. If you are using large potatoes, cut into large bite size bits.
6) Layer a baking pan with parchment paper (optional). The pan or dish should be big enough for all the potatoes to lie flat in one layer.
Spread an even layer, about 1/4”/6 cm of the robiola cheese on the parchment paper,
7) Wrap each potato half in a piece of prosciutto. Lay the wrapped potatoes in a single layer on top of the cheese. Generously sprinkle with grated parmigiana cheese. Wrapping each piece of potato, instead of draping the ham over the top means it will be much easier to serve at the table. Just in case you were thinking about taking a little short cut.
 8) Bake in a hot, preheated oven until the prosciutto begins to brown and turn crisp. Approx 25 min.  Serve piping hot.  Using the parchment paper means you can lift the whole finished dish right out of the baking pan and directly onto a serving plate. And the baking pan isn’t full of stuck-on cheese....The dishwasher in the crowd will love you forever.
     If you are transporting this dish, assemble it and finish baking at the host’s house. The potatoes are cooked, so you are simply heating and crisping the top.

Onion Variation: In case you can’t find robiola cheese, you could substitute a bottom layer of sauteed onions, lightly tossed with heavy cream. What you want in the dish is a creamy, flavorful base for the potatoes.

Fennel variation: Cut the fennel into bite size bits and use it instead of  the potatoes. Plan on baking the dish about 40 minutes to roast the fennel.

*Left over bits of Prosciutto di Parma?

What good luck! Just eat it and you only have to share if you feel like it.

*You could finely chop he prosciutto and saute the  bits to make crispy crunchy prosciutto shards that taste great sprinkled on just about everything, probably even Cheerios.

*You can add it to your soffrito.

*Saute  a bit of chopped prosciutto and onion, add it to your roasted brussel sprouts, and finish the whole dish with the tiniest drizzle of good maple syrup.


Happy Holidays!

*Apologies to William Shakespeare, and Juliet for corrupting her verse to Romeo.

Follow Parma Ham on Twitter for a chance to win $50 worth of the world's most famous ham. Click on the banner below to participate. This post is a collaboration between the blogger and Parma Ham.

 

The Mad Men of Le Forna

Surely there are plenty of mad women in the village of Le Forna on Isola di Ponza,  but it’s the mad chefs of Le Forna that captured our hearts and stomachs. From crusty pizza to oily, inky black spaghetti, to delicately fried fish, to impressive apertivi, to a feast on a boat, these men know how to cook!
Il Maestrale
Via Chiesa
Le Forna, Ponza

This is Chef Maurizo’s restaurant and it’s the unofficial town hub for locals. Maurizio can keep an eye on the traffic outside his kitchen, so he’s ready when the fisherman comes to drop off the anchovies, the lady who salts them comes to pick up and drop off, the beer man shows up after being delayed on the mainland for 2 days by bad weather, a boat captain who needs a translation for his advertising (but really just wants to hang around and talk), the guy who builds awnings that Maurizio has declared an artist, and the occasional group of tourists who just enjoy Maurizio’s company. (That would be us!) Going for a swim meant walking by Maurizio’s, which meant we were offered something to eat or drink every time we went by. This is sincere from-the-heart hospitality at its finest. Not to mention that an ice cold Prosecco tastes exceptionally good after hiking up the steep steps from the sea.

Maurizio is also a mad scientist when it comes to liqueurs. He  brewed up a batch of a thick boozy licorice liqueur that would make our Finnish friend Kevin give up his beloved Panda candies and move to Ponza. Kev, forget the Ullr and come to Ponza!
Another time Maurizio was brewing up ‘myrtille’, a sort of herbaceous blackberry digestivo that is perfect after a meal.  Maurizio kindly gave us a bottle to take home, and we’re doling out our last precious sips of Ponza.
Come to Il Maestrale for the excellent pizza and fish, but you’ll keep coming back just to visit with Maurizio.

La Marina
Cala Feola
Le Forna, Ponza
This would be my fantasy restaurant. A shack, stuck into the cliff rock, right on the sea.  A kitchen filled with good music, loudly clanging pots, a barefoot cook, sometimes a dog, and always a few children. Eccentric, eclectic, and absolutely delicious. Because it’s so hard to find (you either have to find the right foot path and walk down about 150 steps, or come by boat) it feels like a private social club.  Not the stuffy club scene, but the grubby sea wolf and wench club.

I have no idea who owns the kitchen or is actually in charge; it seems like a loose confederation, but there is clearly serious attention being paid to cooking the food. The dude who takes the orders must sit down with you and explain what is available that day. Even his young apprentice Franceso needs to sit with you, and if you don’t know the type of fish that is being offered, they will happily draw a picture of the fish.
There is no reason to come here for a quick bite, it’s a place to linger, relax, enjoy the people watching and mangia bene. The menu changes every day, with super fresh fish and lobsters a speciality.

We had already met one of the chefs, called Mangia Fuoco, up at Maurizio’s, so the first time  we walked in we were greeted with a bellowing “Hey New York!” and that’s pretty much the way we were greeted each time we went back. If you care about strict restaurant rules, this is not the place for you. If you want to eat ginger flavored tuna tartare, an incredible plate of fried fish, spaghetti sauced with the strange but super delicious rana pescatrice, or a tomatoey moon fish appetizer, then this is the place for you.
Relax, enjoy, let time drift by and be happy it is summer time in Ponza.


TripAdvisor says they take reservations, but I sincerely doubt that. I think someone there might have a phone, but your best bet is just come and hang out.

Fauno
A Boat ride to Palmarola

One of the best day trips to do is to take a boat tour over to the spectacular small neighboring island of Palmarola. There are a number of boats that do this, but our loyalty belongs with Captain Francesco and his boat, Fauno.

Why is Captain Francesco mad? Because no one else will thread the needle between the razor sharp volcanic rocks like Francesco. He’s a confident daredevil, maybe a pirate and a show off, but always extremely careful.  His boat tour will wander around the Ponza coves and grottoes for awhile. He likes to get up close and personal with Grotte di Pilato (Pontius Pilate’s Caves...and yes Pontius hung out here, and Nero was born on the island. This island has some serious history.) Then he heads over to the marvelously awesome volcanic island of Palmarola. There are swimming stops, always different because of the weather and wind, and when you are good and hungry, he makes lunch. His wife makes the pickled zucchini and eggplant that come on top of the bruschetta, a very hard crust of bread that is dipped in sea water to soften it before being served. This is followed by an excellent pasta dish, sometimes made with swordfish eggs and finally some coffee. It is absolutely perfect.

He lives up in Le Forna, and you can buy a ticket from the little Everything Shop on the main drag in town, or you can just meet him in the port. The boat leaves promptly at 10:30 and gets back when Francesco feels like coming back (usually around 5:00 pm).  It’s the best bargain in town.
Marlin Bar
Main Street, Le Forna
(I’m sure the street has a real name, but it doesn’t really matter)

The Marlin Bar is right at the curve in the road, before the bus stop, and down a few steps. Mind your head if you take the direct route and step over the benches to find your seat on the little outdoor patio.
Devilishly handsome Clemente is the resident mad bar man and this guy knows how to do aperitivi!
The cocktails come out on pieces of beautiful olive wood that Clemente has created. The drinks are surrounded by all sorts of treats: spicy olives, pickled vegetables, soft balls of fried cod, every day it was a different feast.
He also makes one of the best mojitos this group has ever tasted, perfectly balanced between rum, lime and soda water.
Everyone shows up at the Marlin sooner or later, including my favorite dog, Johnny. It’s  an aperitivo oasis after a hot salty hike up from the sea.
La Tartaruga Bar
“Cornettaria”
Le Forna

Almost across the street from the Marlin is La Tartaruga and it’s more of a traditional Italian bar. Serving Neapolitan style pastries and cornetti (cornetti are croissants, but Italian style.) with excellent coffee in the morning, and switching over to light bar food and drinks in the afternoon. Flat screen TV’s play music videos, soccer matches and sometimes the news, and everyone stops there at least once a day.
 
The barmen aren’t really mad, they are just madly efficient and good at what they do. This bar is hopping, people come in waves, and Fabio and Andreas just roll along taking care of everyone.
We were there long enough to watch the transition from early tourist season into nearly high season, so some new barmen joined the ranks. I’m sorry I don’t know your names, but hats off to you as well, because La Tartaruga was always the best place to start our day. And the people watching isn't bad either! 

Quick Tips: Le Forna is the largest village outside of the port town. It's perched high on the hills and has terrific hotels, restaurants and access to the sea by foot. There is even a sandy beach over by La Marina. Access to the island is by ferry or yacht. If you are taking the ferry, you can depart from Anzio, Terracina or Formia, but Formia has the most options. Take the public bus instead of your car, driving is hair raising and parking is impossible.There are plenty of taxis at the port to take you to your hotel.

We’re back on the mainland now, back in Montone, and getting back into the swing of things, but I sure am missing the Mad Men of Le Forna!

4th of July List

 

Happy 4th of July!
The holiday that says you are surrounded by summer. Independence from school and work, and from  extra layers of clothing (unless you live in Portland, OR and then you are still wearing a hoodie).

All the things I miss:
Friends & Family
Crashing Atlantic ocean waves that sweep you off your feet
Abundant blueberries
Sweet, sweet corn on the cob
Soft Shell Crabs

Lobster
Little Necks on the half shell, with lots of cocktail sauce
Sparklers
Air conditioning
Ice cubes

All the things I have close to home:
The sea of choice...Adriatic & Mediterranean, or one of those delicious little islands

Endless people watching, the Italians believe in baring flesh no matter your age or condition

One bite wonder crabs,  so sweet a morsel of a bite is enough

Tomatoes

Abundant, sweet melons with hand carved prosciutto
Aperitivi hour when a cool drink does its job

Sparkling water, sparkling wine
Platters of lovely grilled fish

Viva the 4th of July!!
Viva la Dolce Vita!!

Enjoy your holiday wherever you may be!

New Year's: Let's Drink Punch!

People are coming over, or you’re going to a house party. What’s an appropriate libation? Something that doesn’t require precision, can be made in batches, and won’t knock you or your guests on their fannys would be a good start.

Punch to the rescue! Yes, punch. Back in style, thanks to David Wondrich’s lovely book, “Punch”.

Punch, that communal libation, needs a new image.  It makes me think of 1950’s high school dances where someone snuck booze into the party. No, I’m not that old, I’ve only watched old movies. Our generation smoked pot. Hence my nostalgia for big crystal bowls with silly matching tea cups hanging on hooks on the rim of the bowl.

When did the idea of putting a delicious Champagne punch in a too small tea cup seem like a good idea?

Time for a make-over!

Here are two festive Bubbly Punch recipes, one a classic and one so modern it’s almost, nearly good for you.

*A note about the Champagne. These recipes date back to a time when Champagne wasn’t so expensive and you couldn’t find good alternatives like Prosecco or Cava. For these recipes, you only need to use a dry, sparkling, white wine.   But, we’ll keep calling it a Champagne punch because it sounds so ritzy.

The Ritz Champagne Punch
1 bottle sparkling white wine
1 1/2 cups lemon juice
3/4  cup simple syrup
1/2 cup Maraschino liqueur
1/2  cup Triple Sec
16 oz. Brandy
16 oz. Club Soda

Approx 16 servings.

Mix the lemon juice and simple syrup together and taste. If it is super sour, add more simple syrup until the mix is pleasantly tart.

Combine the lemon juice mixture, Maraschino, Triple Sec Brandy into a chilled pitcher and keep cold.

If you are juicing your own lemons, and of course you are, you may want to save 1 or 2 of the lemon skins to make the garnish. Cut the top and bottom off of the lemon and then core out the flesh of the lemon. Slit the lemon skin open and lay it on a flat cutting surface. Trim off any of the white pith, so you just have the lemon skin. It’s a little tricky, don’t get too crazy with this, just get as much of the white off as possible. Now roll the skin into a tight ball, and secure it with toothpicks. When it comes time to serve the cocktail, thinly slice the skin, and unroll the now-curly strips, placing one end over the edge of the glass and letting the unfurled skin dangle inside the glass.

In a champagne flute, add a small shot of soda water, a small shot of the booze and lemon juice mixture, and top with the sparkling wine.

If you don’t want to fuss at all, at the last possible moment, combine all of the ingredients in a large, chilled punch bowl and let the guests help themselves.

This punch could be called the double whammy: it’s very drinkable but very strong! Be warned.

And now, for our nearly healthy punch!

Midnight in Mumbai
2 bottles of sparkling white wine
4 oz. brandy
4 oz. cointreau
1 bag of frozen cranberries
2 thinly slice oranges
1-2 boxes of raspberries frozen into a block of ice

First, everyone must dress like an extra from a dance scene in a Bollywood movie. It totally sets the mood.

Clean the raspberries and place in a square plastic container. Fill the container with water and freeze.

When it is party time, add all of the ingredients into a large chilled punch bowl, float the raspberry block in the punch and start dancing!

 Happy New Year from Jude, Jeff, Raffaello and Dante!

New Year’s Resolution: Craft Cocktails at Home or Why Cocktails are Like Sex

It’s time to take the plunge and start making some creative cocktails at home. Discovering cocktails leads you down the same path as learning about sex:

*Infatuation:  you throw vodka and rum into everything, pretend your are Capt. Morgan and drink with wild abandon.

*Experimentation: oh, gin is good; scotch is interesting, what happens when I add some bitters to the mix!  

*Regrets: I went home with who?? I’ll never drink tequila again.

*Getting selective: no more dark Latin rums after 10:00 pm

*You are a Player: you know what you like, you control the situation. Your cocktails are complex, interesting and you know when to walk away.

And just like sex, you build up your repertoire of satisfying moves. Adding a garnish, finessing with bitters, whiffs of exotic flavors, all make for an enhanced cocktail experience.  You fall in love with the classics and understand why you can keep going back and never get tired of them; just like your mate.

Ease into the home bar slowly as you learn what you like and don’t like. Start grasping the fundamentals of balance: sour to sweet, sweet to bitter, strong to weak. Learn when to shake (anything with citrus), and when to stir, and when to break the rules. Make room in your freezer and clear a shelf in the cabinet, because it’s exactly like when your significant other started staying over all the time..they need some dedicated space of their own. Bottles, tools, ice, and nice cold glasses all need to be treated with respect.

To get you started, here are a seleciton of gin cocktails that will fast forward you into Player status in no time.
Do not make that “I don’t like gin” face! Gin is vodka infused with flavors. Get out of your rut and go taste some gin. Some of our fav’s are Hendricks that has a whiff of cucumber crispness, or a newcomer Death’s Door, or Bulldog. Each one has a unique botanical flavor. Vodka is like drinking water, nice, but why not go bigger?

I’ve talked about these cocktails before, but these are go-to cocktails around our house so I know they are tried, true, and delicious libations.

And what makes a cocktail a ‘craft’ cocktail, you ask? Attention to ingredients, just like you do with your cooking.  

There are a few cocktails tips that you need to know before you start shaking.
1) Cold is your friend. Our recommended method, is to agitate by shake or stir, rest for 45-60 seconds, and agitate again. Keep your glasses, your bar tools, your hootch in the freezer, if you can.
2) Measure, don’t eyeball. Even if you don’t have a nifty jigger, use one small glass as your unit of measure.
3) More than 2 cocktails and you will be useless the next day. You are responsible for your actions.

Start with the Italian national cocktail: Negroni.

Negroni
1 part gin
1 part Campari
1 part Sweet Vermouth
Stir, serve on the rocks and garnish with an orange wedge.

The Americano variation: replace the gin with sparkling water. Lighter, still delicious.
The Sbagliato: (it means mistake in Italian) replace the gin with Prosecco. Perfect in the summer, actually perfect anytime you have some open Prosecco around. 

Now watch what happens when you swap out the Campari for Sweet Vermouth, you have a Martinez. The bitter element is gone, the vermouth turns the drink a whiskey color, and the palate embraces the complexity.

Martinez
2 oz gin
1 oz Sweet Red Vermouth
1/4 oz Triple Sec or Cointreau
Dash Orange Bitters

Stir, serve with a slice of orange.



The Avatrix is a variation on a classic Aviation...light, lemony, with an elderflower sweetness. The Aviatrix comes directly from the talented mixologist Katie Loeb in Philadelphia.  In fact, I'll credit Katie with being the person who made me realize that there is more to life than a good glass of wine.

Avatrix
2 oz gin
1/2 oz Maraschino Liqueur
1/4 oz Lemon Juice
1/4 oz St. Germaine
Shake, rest, shake, serve

Maraschino Liqueur is not the cherry juice from those dyed, icky cherries! It’s a rich, profound liqueur made from the marasca cherry.
St. Germaine is an elderflower liqueur that is sweet and marvelous.

A classic Aviation has Creme de Violette liqueur instead of the St. Germain, but to be honest, that violette stuff is a lot like chewing on a bag of old Sen-Sen that your grandmother kept in her  pocketbook.

Then there is the French Pearl, created by Audrey Saunders. With it's tasty cousin, the Italian Pearl, invented by us in Montone, because limes are nearly impossible to come by and it's OK to substitute. Substitution is the love child of desire and necessity.

French Pearl
2 parts gin (Plymouth Gin is preferred)
3/4 part freshly squeezed lime juice
3/4 part simple syrup
Pernod rinse
1 mint sprig, lightly muddled
Shake, rest, shake and pour.

Simple syrup is equal parts sugar and water. We make it up in batches and keep it in the fridge. 
Muddling means lightly crushing the fresh mint in the bottom of the cocktail shaker. The classic beginner mistake: muddling the hell out of the mint. This causes two problems: the mint becomes bitter and you wind up with little tiny green bits of mint stuck your teeth. Then you spend the next few minutes compulsively licking your teeth because  you’re sipping partner has green bits stuck to his teeth and you don’t want to mention it because it will totally ruin the mood, so you keep wiping your teeth hoping he’ll get the hint.

The Italian pearl uses lemon juice and Pastis or Sambuca in place of the Pernod.

Pomeranian is a true craft-tail because you need to make your own grenadine syrup. Relax, it’s equal parts unsweetened pomegranate juice and simple syrup with a little dash of vodka or gin to keep it from going fermented.

Pomeranian
2 oz gin
1/2 oz lime juice, fresh squeezed, but you know that
1/2 oz St. Germaine
1/2 oz fresh grenadine syrup

Shake, rest, serve. It’s a beautiful color; just the right shade for cocktails around holiday time!  In fact, Jeff invented this lovely crowd pleaser one Christmas night a few years back.

And speaking of holidays, our next post well be some good New Year’s Eve libations. Merry & a Happy, indeed!

Crackling Prosciutto Wrapped Potatoes: Perfect for a Party

“What can I bring?”
 It is the holiday season after all!  As the words are coming out of your mouth, your brain is flipping thorough your stockpile of recipes.
What can I make that is awesome and quick because you know your ToDo list is more frightening than the thought of a fat man in a red suit stuck in your chimney. Seriously, who came up with that story? An overweight guy squeezing down a filthy dirty chimney?

Crackling Prosciutto Wrapped Roasted Potatoes to the rescue. Tasty, simple to make, pretty and transportable. What more could you ask for?

Ingredients
Scrubbed potatoes cut into bite size wedges
Strips of prosciutto to cover each potato wedge (an average slide of prosciutto will cover  3 to 4 potato wedges)
Grated parmigiano cheese
Sliced shallots
Olive oil

Bring a pot of water to a boil, large enough to hold all the cut potato wedges, and lightly salt the water.
Boil the potatoes until they are just about soft. Usually no more than 10 minutes.

Drain and run cold water over the potatoes. This stops the cooking process and it’s so much easier to work with cool potatoes instead of scalding hot ones.
Cut or tear the prosciutto into small strips and wrap a strip around each potato wedge.

If you are transporting: wrap the potatoes, and lay them into a plastic container with a cover. The less loose space in the container, the better, but don’t crush the potatoes.

I use the ‘caterer wrap’ to make sure nothing spills or leaks. Using plastic wrap, don’t just cover the top of the container, but literally wrap it around the container. Just like they do with suitcases at the airport. Nothing leaks out and nothing seeps in.

Peel and thinly slice 1 or 2 shallots. Mix with the grated cheese. You want a generous coating of cheese, enough to form a crust. Sprinkle a little salt and a generous amount of pepper into the cheese and mix thoroughly.
If you are transporting: put this cheese mixture into a plastic bag and seal it tight.

Ready to Bake:
Coat the bottom of your baking dish with a thin film of olive oil.
Arrange the prosciutto-potato wedges in a single layer in the baking dish. Use a pretty baking dish that can also be used to serve the potatoes.

Sprinkle the cheese mixture over the potato wedges and bake in a 375F/190C oven for approximately 15 minutes. You’ll know the dish is ready when the cheese is brown and crispy and the potatoes are hot.

Finish with a drizzle of good extra virgin olive oil.
Buon’appetito and enjoy your holidays!

Eating the NE Corridor: We gave thanks!

From New York City to Philadelphia to Baltimore to Washington NJ, we gave thanks. Thanks for family, thanks for friends who are extended family, and thanks for the memories to those who were not with us this weekend. Make no mistake, we ate and drank extremely well, but it was all about sharing.

Pre-Thanksgiving dinner at my cousin’s house has turned into a semi-annual event that is not to be missed. We all gather with choice wines in hand, and Jim and Zona turn out a 5 star meal.  One of the big hits of the evening: grilled pork tenderloin stuffed with figs and a Spanish blue cheese, served with a guava habenero sauce. Oh yeah!  The sauce was thick, rich and weighty, with a bracing kick of spice.

They have kindly shared the sauce recipe with us:
Ingredients:
                  12- 15 oz guava juice
                   2 heavy tsp. blackberry preserves or jelly
                   1 large shallot minced
                   1" piece of fresh ginger peeled and grated
                   1/4 cup honey
                   1/4 cup soy
                   1 good size habenero minced finely
 
Gently sauté the minced shallot in butter taking care not to brown the shallot.
Add the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil,  then reduce to low simmer.  
Add a butter/flour roux to thicken and cook for about an hour.
Refrigerate overnight and heat back up near a boil and and then strain the solids.

Our Baltimore Thanksgiving day tradition always starts off with a massive Oyster Rockefeller fiesta.  I see your face...”Oysters Rockefeller? That is so 1950's!” Which of course you are saying in your best "Honey Badger" voice.

If more people made this classic dish the way it should be made, you wouldn’t be making that face. Barely warmed oysters, topped with spinach, nuts and garlic, and sprinkled with grated cheese. The oysters are pulled out of the oven the instant the cheese bubbles.  The kind of perfection that people fight over! Serve with a cool glass of something sparkling.

We made our way back to Philadelphia on Friday where I had a taste epiphany: beer!


I’m one of the last holdouts in this craft beer craze that’s been going on, but I have seen the light at the fun and funky KraftWork Bar. Marvelously complex beers that are just crying out to be part of a cocktail, a dessert, or a little roast meat glaze. The idea flood gate has opened!

One last hurrah before the weekend was out: the annual Post-Thanksgiving Lobster fest featuring the best ceviche ever. Because, after all, there is always room for lobster, right?


Thank you to everyone who shared meals, laughter, wine, food and love with us this weekend!