Limoncello

I tried my hand at something new this year: limoncello. There are countless recipes online and they all seemed somewhat simple: take lemon zest and put it in alcohol and let it steep. Add simple syrup and then put in the freezer. The not so simple part is that there are nuances to the recipes that I think will take a couple of tries to adequately sort out.

For my recipe, I used 15 lemons and a bottle of 100 proof vodka. I steeped for 30 days and then added simple syrup made from 3 cups of water and 3 cups of sugar. I let it sit once more, for three weeks, and then removed the zest and put in the freezer. The result is good... if you use it as a mixer. The taste is a little harsh and very strong on the vodka-side. There is also a slight bitterness.

Further reading told me how important it was to have absolutely NO pith in the mixture. The bitterness in my case is not all that bad and goes away with a little more sweetener. I think that I may try another recipe with more sugar (some I have seen call for as much as 5 cups) to combat this. The piece that seems to be the biggest hangup, for me, is the vodka. The flavor is very pronounced and a bit much. I found a few recipes that call for grain alcohol instead. Actually, some insist on it. I even found a few unique ways of extracting the lemon essence. But since suspending lemons over vats of alcohol seem to be beyond me at the moment, I may just try the grain alcohol next time. When I get to the second limoncello experiment, I will post about it.

Until then, I will find some uses for the bottle of limoncello I have left. So far I have used it as a drink with soda water and a little sugar (very tasty). One of the coolest recipes I've found with it is this limoncello pie. It came out great and I strongly recommend it. For the holidays, I am going to add it to my anignetti.      

A good year for gardening

This has been a remarkable year in the garden.  I believe that the draught and warm weather has actually helped us out.  Typically, at this point in time, I am throwing away tomatoes that have developed black spots and mold and others would be sitting green on the vine.  This year, we've been harvesting ripe tomatoes for weeks.  I also already have winter carrots and lettuce in the ground and they seem to be doing well too. 

The showiest tomatoes we have are these violet ones.  They are the deep color of eggplant and have an interesting sweet/tart flavor.  The other two varieties are a pink variegated variety of cherry tomato and another called "black truffle".  The latter, pictured below, are the tastiest.  They are also the ones that are taking the longest to ripen and they are also the ones that the squirrels seem to like the most.  

The true star of this year's garden are the cucumbers.  We over planted with eight plants but the towers have worked out nicely.  Where the towers left off, my daughter's fourteen foot tall sunflower took over.  Some of the cucumbers are so high, we will probably need a ladder to get at them.  We are harvesting about ten a week and giving away many of them.

This past weekend, we pickled several jars of cucumbers and beans.   They should be ready in a few weeks and I am anxious to see how they came out. 

The whole family got in on the "pickle assembly line" this year, which made things run more smoothly than usual.

Until the pickles are ready, we can still enjoy a mix of our cherry tomatoes.  This year has been a real treat.

It's really so easy

The simplest things we grow in the garden is garlic.  I think it is the most worthwhile as well.  You take  a single clove and put it in a hole in November and this is what you pull out in July.   We use red garlic and the taste is awesome also. 

We had a huge crop of raspberries so far also.  These are only slightly more work.  I made jelly tonight so that the four quarts I picked this morning wouldn't go to waste.  Curious: why do classic recipes make such a huge deal about the foam?  Am I barbaric for not needing a perfectly clear and clean jelly surface?

The Defibrillator

I feel like I was on a Food TV show yesterday.  You know, one of those shows that features an overweight guy trying to jam a thousand pound sausage or three foot wide pizza or gallon-ice cream sundae into his gut in ten minutes.  My episode happened at my cousin's restaurant in the Finger Lakes Region of New York State.  Dugan's Country Grill is a diner/greasy spoon type place with above average food and personality and this was my first time visiting it.  I wasn't there when they were serving their famous fish fry or prime rib dinner but I couldn't resist ordering something from the menu called the "Defibrillator".  To call it a  "burger" is one of the biggest understatements there is.

The "sandwich" is two beef patties, four slices of cheese, bacon and eggs served on grilled sourdough bread.  You can get it with a side of fries or macaroni salad.  I got the macaroni salad but only ate a few spoon-fulls.  It wasn't that it didn't taste good but after finishing the awesome burger, there just wasn't any room.  The defibrillator was awesome and spending time with my cousin Michael was an added bonus.  I strongly recommend the place to anyone that is in the area and has a taste for home-cooking on  a grand scale.  I can't wait to get back when they introduce their heart-stopping milkshake, "the Stint". 

Thanksgiving with a deep fried turkey

Nope, we didn't plant palm trees behind the Tiny Bungalow, we spent the Thanksgiving away from home this year and opted for a warmer location with family in Florida.  We were all up for a change of pace, food-wise, as well so we thought we'd try a deep fried turkey.  It was a relatively easy process and not quite as dangerous as most people would have you think.  It is also convenient as all of the items you need are now available at your local hardware store and the cooking time is very fast.  

We did a small bird this year and I injected it with an herb and wine mixture of my own making.  You heat the oil (measured to the perfect amount to cover the bird) to 350 and then SLOWLY lower the DRY and DEFROSTED bird into the hot oil.  I have a feeling that this is where most morons screw up and drop the sucker in, sending oil and fire everywhere.    

The wire hanger was a much needed part of the process.  I was going to opt for the entourage of two or four people lowering it in on a giant spit-like contraption but the bird seemed a little small for all of that. 

 The only thing that is a small pain is that you have to watch the thing vigilantly, keeping the temperature regulated between 325 and 350 degrees.  This really isn't such a big deal since the entire cooking process takes all of 45 minutes.  I thought this was the best part.  Well, next to the crispy skin, it's the best part.

 Pulling the turkey out of the oil seemed like another place where most morons, after polishing off a six-pack while waiting the 45 minutes for the bird to cook, could screw up.  The bird came out great.  Now that we've done it once, I think I would have cooked it for a little less time but otherwise, the deep fried turkey was a huge hit.  

The only down-side to the whole operation is that I like the turkey stuffed with stuffing and the gravy that comes from the drippings in the pan.  Sadly, there is no way to replicate these with a deep fried turkey.  This might be why, upon returning home to the Tiny Bungalow, I went out and got a turkey today and am roasting it in the oven. 

Egg Nog

It has been a tradition of ours for decades now to have a large holiday party where egg nog and champagne are the beverages of choice.  The champagne is usually cheap and plentiful and the egg nog homemade, strong and tasty.  The fact that it is home made seems to startle the guests and elicits a lot of questions: What’s in egg nog?  Is it hard to make?  Do you cook the eggs?

I still recall the first batch of home made egg nog I ever made.  The recipe came from my roommate’s father in 1988: my dad makes this awesome egg nog that is pretty strong and everyone loves.  Mr. Sargent’s recipe was straightforward: whip together a dozen egg yolks with a cup of sugar and add in a quart each of heavy cram and milk.  Add a quart of your favorite booze (we mixed thirds of 151, Capt. Morgan’s, and brandy) and then fold in 12 whipped egg whites.  Top with nutmeg and serve. 

It’s a simple recipe as long as you are not trying to yield more than a couple gallons of nog.  I think we maxed out one year with six gallons of the stuff.  Separating that many eggs is no small task.  This recipe is still my favorite because it brings back a flood of good college memories and I usually throw on Neil’s “Hot August Nights” while making it because, for some reason or other, it reminds me of my roommate.

Over the years, I started getting some negative reactions to the nog recipe.  Everyone still loved the taste but the thought of drinking un-cooked egg, no matter how much alcohol was accompanied with it, turned people off.  I tried the recipe with irradiated eggs for a couple years but given the volume we were making, it got kind of expensive.  In 1991, I discovered a new recipe.  It came from the home-making diva herself, Martha Stewart (It is published in her 1996 Holiday magazine).  

Martha’s recipe is slightly more complex that Mr. Sargent’s and yields very tasty ice cream-like nog.  The other advantage is that Martha’s is cooked so no one is turned off by it.  Of course, being Martha, it is a bit more difficult to make but it is a labor of love.  It eventually became a tradition of sorts to have a kitchen-full of people separating eggs and helping to whip up the annual batch on the eve of the annual party.  

Last night, I put on Neil and with memories of holidays past swimming through my head, I started simmering a quart of milk with a split vanilla bean.  While that the bean is imparting it’s goodness to the milk, I separate a dozen eggs and mix the yolks with 1 and ½ c of sugar and 1/2tsp. salt.  Temper the egg mixture and then add to the simmering milk.  Allow this to thicken, over medium heat while constantly stirring, until it coats the back of a spoon.  Remove from the heat and add 1pt whipping cream and 1pt milk then let cool.  Martha then adds a quart of her favorite booze but since we have a lot of children at the party these days, I leave it out and let folks spike their own.  I usually have decent bottles of bourbon (my spiking liquor of choice), spiced and flavored rums, cognac and brandy on hand for this job.  You finish off the nog by topping it with 1pt of cream whipped with 1/2c sugar then sprinkled with freshly shaved nutmeg.  This year, I multiplied the recipe by 3 and made enough to yield about 2 gallons.  It’s not the kind of volume we’d make in years past but I am sure it will be enjoyed just as much.       

Cooking for Christmas

It just wouldn’t be Christmas at the Tiny Bungalow without some crazy food. Last year we went all out with traditional English fare right up to the Yorkshire pudding. This year, we decided to go with an Italian menu. There is nothing like an Italian grocery the days before Christmas. The crowd, orders for fish and meat and general chaos really puts me in the holiday spirit and luckily, we have one that's not far away.

We had a few friends over on Christmas Day and this is always an excuse to cook up something special (as if we needed an excuse). Christmas Eve was spent making homemade pasta – tortellini, that was later tossed in sundried tomato pesto and basil pesto
We also tried a brachiole recipe that called for a single piece of meat, flank steak, rolled in herbs, cheese and garlic, seared, and then put in a sauce. This was a great alternative to the smaller, more traditional ones made with flattened bottom round and it came out pretty good. The sauce and brachiole was served with fried polenta.

Finally, what good are veggies if they can’t be wrapped in meat? We had prosciutto-wrapped asparagus, a dish with sautéed peppers and olives, and fresh olives and fresh mozzarella to complete the menu.

It was a great day and even better since we shared it with good friends. Our friend Kim even got a chance to eat the food as opposed to just reading about it on the blog. I don’t think anyone left hungry because there aren’t any leftovers (to my dismay).

Finally, I have to give props to my friend Deanne. I was looking for something good to munch on while cooking and I found a great recipe for spiced pecans on her site. I ended up altering the recipe a bit - leaving out the chili and adding vanilla to the egg white. I might even add a tablespoon or so of butter to the egg whites in the future but this was an extremely simple recipe, they made the entire house small like the holidays and they tasted great.

Sunday night dinner: pasta with sauce from fresh tomatoes & meatballs and sausage

I got very little done at the Tiny Bungalow this weekend. It rained and rained and rained and luckily, didn't flood. I did go on an awesome Green Home Tour put on by Seven Generations Ahead where I finally got to meet Jennifer and Jason from Humphrey House. Their place looks great and all of the homes on the tour featured some good green renovation and living tips.

Sunday was spent cooking. Once a year I make sauce from fresh tomatoes and I figured that since the weather was so bad, this was as good a day as any for this year's batch. The tomatoes and onion came from the OP Farmer's Market and the basil and garlic from our garden.

It's a long process: peeling tomatoes, removing seeds, and then cooking it all down.

I simmer it a bit and then start the actual sauce.
I started off with a little olive oil and some beef ribs. I browned the ribs, added some bay leaf and then removed the ribs to leave a bunch of brown bits on the bottom of the pan. You can pretty much use anything for this: ground beef, beef shanks - I saw a woman on the Food Channel even used a lamb shank - awesome but a little heavy.
Remove the ribs.This is pretty much the best part of the entire cooking process. Add onions and garlic. There is an alchemy that occurs when onions, garlic, or shallots hit hot beef fat and brown bits. I am sure someone has written a dissertation on what occurs when you do this it but it's pretty much heaven. I am not sure that it makes the sauce any better but it makes the house smell awesome. After this stuff is translucent and the brown bits are all off the bottom of the pan, add the simmered tomatoes and then throw the ribs back in. Let this cook down to your desired thickness. Once that is done, you can add pretty much anything you feel like to complete the sauce. I usually add a can of tomato paste, some red wine, parm cheese, and a generous portion of fresh herbs (parsley and basil). Tonight I added browned sausage and meatballs and let it all cook down for another half-hour. I grew up with an extended family where no less than 20 of us were at the dinner table each Sunday night at my grandmother's, enjoying meals like this. She never made her sauce like this, using canned tomatoes and dried spices instead. I usually cook that way during the rest of the year. I think she also had a philosophy that spirals had some sort of medical benefit as they were usually the pasta of choice for her. She also had the thought that you could always cook more spirals so there was enough food for everyone, whether 20, 30, or 40 happened to show up on any given Sunday.Yes, my photography sucks. I served this over rigatoni last night and have enough sauce to freeze and to eat for the rest of the week.