Red, white, and blue food is always part of the upcoming Fourth of July holiday and so this year, I turned to Catherine McCord, founder of Weelicious, a website and cookbooks dedicated to healthy eating, getting kids into the kitchen and to the table. She also is co-founder of One Potato, the first organic home meal delivery kit service designed getting family meals together in 30 minutes or less and that are kid-friendly so that children can help. All the ingredients for One Potato are pre-prepped, making it easy indeed.
A former model, actress, and culinary school graduate McCord, the mother of three, who has been on the cover of such magazines as Glamour and Elle magazines, also appears as a judge on Food Network’s Guy’s Grocery Games.
Named by people magazine as “one of the 50 most influential “Mommy Bloggers.” She updates her blog with a new recipe a day. Visit her at www.weelicious.com
The following recipes are courtesy of McCord.
Fourth of July Parfaits (makes 8 parfaits)
Prep Time: 5 mins Cook Time: 0 mins
Angel food cake (store bought or homemade, recipe below)
1 cup strawberries, stemmed & quartered
1 cup raspberries
1 cup blueberries
Coconut whipped cream (recipe below)
Homemade Angel Food Cake:
1 cup cake flour, sifted
2/3 cup powdered sugar
12 large egg whites
1 1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Cut the angel food cake into 2-inch cubes.
Alternately layer the angel food cake, coconut whipped cream, and berries in clear glasses or mason jars so you can see all the colors and textures.
Homemade Angel Food Cake:
Preheat oven to 325F degrees. Whisk the flour and powdered sugar in a large bowl.
In a standing mixer fitted with the whisk attachment beat the egg whites, cream of tartar, and salt on medium-low speed for about 30 seconds. Increase the speed to medium-high until the egg whites are very foamy and barely form soft peaks, about 45 seconds longer. Gradually add the granulated sugar and continue to beat on medium-high speed until whites are firm and glossy and hold stiff peaks (if you over beat, the meringue will look dry and curdled). Beat in the vanilla and lemon juice.
Sift one-third of the dry ingredients over the meringue. Continue to beat on low speed until just incorporated. Continue the sifting and mixing process 2 more times. Remove the bowl from the standing mixer and fold batter several times with a large spatula to make sure all ingredients are fully incorporated.
Pour half of the batter into ungreased tube pan. Using a spatula push the batter all around the pan as it will help with a more even cake after baking. Scrape remaining batter into pan and spread the top evenly.
Bake the cake about 40 minutes or until top is puffy and golden. Immediately invert the pan onto a baking rack. Allow the cake to cool at least 1 hour. Turn the cake right side up and using a thin metal spatula, cut around sides and loosen cake. Release the tube from the cake pan. Using thin metal spatula, loosen cake from bottom. Invert cake onto a plate or cake stand and remove bottom. Allow to cool thoroughly before cutting into cubes.
Coconut Whipped Cream
Makes 1 ½ cups
1 can full fat coconut milk
1 teaspoon powdered sugar
Place the jar of coconut milk in the refrigerator to chill overnight.
Being careful to not shake the can, open the coconut milk.
Spoon out the thick coconut cream into a large bowl, which is about 2/3 of the can. Once you get to the liquid, stop and discard or save for smoothies.
Beat the coconut cream with a handheld electric or stand mixer for 1 minute.
Add the powdered sugar and continue to beat until light and fluffy, about 30 more seconds.
Fruit Wands
1 watermelon
2 pints blueberries
20 skewers
Slice the watermelon into 1/2 inch round slices, and then cut out star shapes using a three-inch star-shaped cookie cutter.
Gently slide the blueberries on wooden skewers* and finally place a watermelon star on the top.
Place the skewers in a tall glass or in decorated floral foam as an eatable centerpiece.
Red, White & Blue Pops
Makes 8 Popsicles, depending on the size of your molds
Prep Time: 5 mins Cook Time: 0 mins
12-ounce bag frozen blueberries, defrosted
6 tablespoons agave, divided (you can also use honey)
1 cup plain yogurt
1/2 cup milk (you can use cow’s milk, almond, rice or soy)
12-ounce bag frozen raspberries, defrosted
Place defrosted blueberries and 2 tablespoons agave or honey in a blender and puree until smooth.
Pour the blueberry puree 1/3 way up each popsicle mold and freeze for 30-45 minutes.
Combine the yogurt, milk, and 2 tablespoons of agave or honey in a bowl and whisk until smooth.
Pour yogurt mixture 2/3 way up the popsicle molds on top of the blueberry mixture, gently tap to even out the yogurt layer, and freeze for another 30-45 minutes.
Place defrosted raspberries and 2 tablespoons agave or honey in a blender and blend until smooth.
Finish the popsicles by pouring the raspberry puree over the yogurt, place sticks in and freeze 6 hours to overnight, until frozen through.
*Because all popsicle molds are different sizes, you may have left overs. You can refrigerate the remaining berry purees and use as toppings for yogurt, granola, pancakes, etc.
This article also appeared in the Food section of the Herald Palladium.
We may be in Las Vegas, but Saginaw’s Delicatessen located in the posh and very hip 1.25- million-square-foot, $1 billion Circa Casino & Hotel in the trending upwards historic Las Vegas district called the Fremont Street Experience, certainly has a Michigan spirit to it all. Paul Saginaw, who dropped out of graduate school and co-founded Zingerman’s Deli in Ann Arbor almost 40 years ago, helping to grow the little Jewish delicatessen into a business that brings in over $45 million a year and has upwards to 600 employees.
Now at an age when many people are planning on retiring, Saginaw has rented a condo that’s just an eight-minute walk away. That way he can put in 12 to 18 hour days at his deli which is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
“My friends think I’m insane,” Saginaw tells me over a lunch the includes many of the sandwiches recognizable by those who have eaten at Zingerman’s Deli—such as their corned beef topped Swiss Emmental cheese, coleslaw & Russian dressing on Jewish rye bread, kreplach—the house made chicken broth with a brisket-filled dumpling, latkes, and knishes.
But despite the hours, Saginaw says that owning a place in Vegas is exactly where he wants to be.
Saginaw is a storyteller, often breaking into asides. Talking about growing up in the Detroit area, he says his sisters taught him to dance because he wasn’t handsome. That couples with being able to make women laugh was how he snagged his wife Lori Saginaw decades ago.
I’m torn, wanting to write everything down which is, of courses, why I’m here, but also nibble on the food that’s spread out on the table in front of us. Not exactly sophisticated of me, was it?
But here’s the gist of how our meeting went.
As I take a bite out of Ben Sherman’s Corned Beef & Pastrami, the house-made Russian dressing drips on my notebook. I’m torn between whether to try to clean it up with a napkin, eat more of the sandwich, or take notes as Saginaw tells me about how as kid, he ground-up chicken livers for his Grandmother Sherman as she prepared Friday Shabbat dinner. That quickly leads him talk about making gribenes from schmalz (chicken fat)—a necessary if complicated step to create what he describes as the most sublime chopped liver dish ever.
He recites the entire recipe for his grandmother’s or as its listed on the menu Bubbe’s chopped liver, but by now I’m too busy eating a matzoh ball. Talking about Grandma Sherman leads us next to Saginaw’s great uncle Charles “Chickie” Sherman, the number one Detroit bookie who was first arrested in 1925 and then added at least another 64 to the score before the big bust at Detroit’s Anchor Bar in 1971. That’s when two guys playing pool all of a sudden jumped over the bar and announced, “this is a raid.”
Chickie and 151 other people including about 15 policemen were arrested. Saginaw tells me he read the transcripts of the wiretaps the Feds made before the raid which ran thousands of pages. But Chickie’s business problems didn’t hurt the bookie’s popularity. When he died three years later, his funeral at the Ira Kaufman Funeral Chapel in Southfield, Michigan set the all-time record for attendance.
As an aside, those who want to take a stroll through Detroit’s mob days, the Anchor Bar is still in business.
Uncle Chickie is a big part of why Saginaw, who co-founded the very famous Zingerman’s Deli in Ann Arbor with Ari Weinzweig back in 1982, is in Vegas. He’s always wanted to be here since first coming when young and hearing Chickie ask for chips and the pit boss ordering five big ones be sent over.
Indeed, we may be in Vegas, but really—as I mentioned earlier–there’s a lot of Detroit here as well. Derek Stevens, who owns the Circa, used to eat at Zingerman’s when he was a student at University of Michigan. When he emailed and asked Saginaw to open up a place at his new casino, what could Saginaw do but say yes. There are other East Michigan restaurants at Circa and as well as Stevens’ The D Las Vegas also part of the Fremont Experience as well including Andiamo Steak House, a high end Italian-inspired restaurant and the family owned American Coney Island. Owners Chris Sotiropoulos and Grace Keros also started up their first new concept Victory Burger & Wings Co in over one hundred years at Circa. The restaurant overlooks Circa’s sportsbook – the world’s largest, in fact.
As if Saginaw isn’t busy enough, he and partner Steve Mangigian also developed Jack Pots for Circa, a contemporary coffee stand serving their only-at-Circa coffee blend.
Honoring the original Detroit Tiger Stadium in Corktown where Stevens spent a lot of his youth, Circa’s Overhang Bar is located on the top floor of the Sportsbook, which by the way is the largest in the world. It was created to look like one of his favorite overlooks at the sports venue.
There’s also, though this has nothing to do with Stevens’s hometown of Detroit except that it’s every Michigan sports fans’ dream, a three-story, high-definition 78 million megapixel television screen. Don’t even think about buying one, because it cost approximately $20 million.
All in all—Stevens has brought Michigan to the desert.
“This has been on my bucket list forever,” says Saginaw who says he had a fascination with downtown Las Vegas versus the stretch of casinos on Las Vegas Avenue further south called the Las Vegas Strip.
But it’s not only restaurants that migrated out here. Saginaw brought along a lot of Zingerman’s menu items including the corned beef made exclusively for them by Sy Ginsberg at United Meat & Deli in Detroit.
According to Zingerman’s blog, when they first opened, “Sy delivered our corned beef out of the back of his Volkswagen. Then he’d stick around the deli for a few hours during the lunch rush to help out on the sandwich line. Paul sometimes introduces Sy as ‘the man who made the first corned beef sandwich at Zingerman’s.’”
As for the bread, well, it seems that though we’re still in U.S., there’s enough of a difference between the water and the climate that Saginaw worked for several years with Carlos Pereira, a well-known Vegas baker to perfect the rye bread so it tastes like what you get at the Ann Arbor deli. Cheeses come from Zingerman’s Creamery and sweets from Zingerman’s Candy in Ann Arbor along with other items made by their eleven community-based businesses.
The décor at Saginaw’s Delicatessen also reflects Detroit. An entire wall—a very large one—has blown up photos for the family including Great Uncle Chickie, who standing with his wife, doesn’t look like a mobbed up bookie but rather just an ordinary guy. Lori Saginaw was also at the deli the day I was there. She works with her husband and comes out to Vegas regularly.
“They branded me,” says Saginaw about the big stature of him by the deli’s entrance. Indeed, Saginaw’s name has become so connected with Zingerman’s quality foods, that drawings of his trousers with suspenders, jaunty hat, and black glasses are used in ads. But while Saginaw and Zingerman’s always had a type of hippie-ish ambience going on, there’s a lot of glitz at the new delicatessen in keeping with Circa itself whose tag line is “The Conduit Between the Las Vegas of the Past and the Las Vegas of tomorrow.”
As for Saginaw—well, he describes it as “a dream come true.”
Some recipes to try from Zingerman’s.
Zingerman’s Curried Chicken Salad
4 cups roasted turkey, diced and packed
¾ cup roasted cashews, chopped
¼ cup cilantro leaves, chopped
½ medium red onion, diced small
½ bunch scallions, sliced
¾ cup plain whole milk yogurt
¾ cup mayonnaise
1 tsp garlic, minced
2 tbsp Épices de Cru Trinidad curry blend
2 tsp lemon juice
2 tsp sea salt
Place all ingredients in a large mixing bowl and stir until well combined.
Serve the turkey salad on a bed of greens or your favorite Zingerman’s bread. To do it up Zingerman’s Deli style, place a couple generous scoops of curried turkey salad topped with microgreens between two slices of toasted Zingerman’s Bakehouse pecan raisin bread.
Bea’s Molasses Cookies
2 1/3 cups Zingerman’s Bakehouse All Purpose Flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp allspice
3/4 cups butter
1/2 cups dark brown sugar
1/2 cups white sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup molasses
Sift flour, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, and allspice
Cream butter and sugars. Beat in egg and vanilla. Then molasses.
In thirds, add dry ingredients to wet, mixing between additions. Wrap in plastic, chill 30 minutes up to overnight.
When ready to bake, preheat an oven to 325 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Roll 2″ balls of dough, roll in sugar. Place on baking sheets 2-3″ apart, flatten slightly with fingers.
Bake 10-12 minutes. Cool on racks.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Sprinkle the corned beef with a little water, wrap it tightly in aluminum foil and steam it in the oven.
Meanwhile, put the whole loaf of rye bread (unwrapped) into the oven. Bake the bread until the crust is very crunchy, about 15 minutes. Set the bread on the counter and let it cool for about 5 minutes.
When the rye bread is cool enough to handle place it on a cutting board. Hold the bread knife at a 45-degree angle and cut 12 slices.
Take the corned beef out of the oven and unwrap it. Spread each slice of bread with Russian dressing. Layer half of the slices with corned beef, sauerkraut and slices of Swiss cheese, then top the sandwiches with the remaining slices of bread (dressing-side down).
Heat 2 large heavy skillets over medium heat. Brush the bread with butter. Put the sandwiches in the pans and weight them with a lid or heat proof bowl topped with something heavy. Cook until the first sides are crisp and golden about 7 minutes then flip the sandwiches. Cook until the second sides are also well toasted, and the cheese is melted. Lift the sandwiches onto a cutting board. Cut each in half diagonally and serve.
Russian Dressing
Yield: 2 cups
3/4 cups mayonnaise
1/4 cup plus 2 to 3 tablespoons chili sauce
2 tablespoons sour cream
2 teaspoons chopped curly parsley leaves
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon minced Spanish onion
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon minced dill pickle
1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon grated horseradish
1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
Combine the mayonnaise, chili sauce, sour cream, parsley, onion, pickle, lemon juice, horseradish and Worcestershire sauce in a bowl and mix well.
When Prince-Elector Friedrich V married Elizabeth Stuart, the daughter of King James I in 1613, it was–like the majority of royal marriages—based on political alliances and gains. Love had nothing to do with it.
Photo by Jane Simon Ammeson
But sometimes it worked out differently and so it was between Friedrich and Elizabeth who fell in love. Heidelberg Castle, where they lived, was already old, dating back to 1200s and the Prince-Elector wanting Elizabeth to love her new home added an English Palace and an elaborate Baroque garden.
But theirs was to be a tragic love story. There were battles, a throne lost, regained, and then lost forever. During all that, Elizabeth bore 13 children before Fredrich died and she sought life in exile.
Heidelberger Schloss
The castle, a romantic ruin of seemingly endless staircases and corridors taking you here, there, and sometimes nowhere, stands 330-feet above the Alstadt, Heidelberg’s wonderful old town. Towers and battlements protect stone facades, their decorative features still intact though the rooms behind them are gone. Views into the multitude of windows reveals not an interior but woods and the Neckar River below.
“Deserted, discrowned, beaten by the storms, but royal still, and beautiful,” is how Mark Twain described the Gothic-Renaissance castle. He was one of many poets and writers who spent time in what they considered the most romantic city in the world.
Photo Jane Simon Ammeson
The castle is also home to the Heidelberg Tun, a 58, 124 gallon wine barrel said to be the largest in the world. It was built in 1751 on orders from Prince Elector Karl Theodor to store the wine paid in taxes by the region’s wine growers. We should all be so lucky to have too much wine.
Brews and Pork Knuckles
Taking the funicular down to the old town, I meet friends at Vetter’s Alt Heidelberger Brauhaus on Steingasse, Europe’s longest carless street. It’s one of those baronial style Germanic places with high ceilings, large wood beams, long tables and a lot of dark highly polished wood.
Famed for their Vetter’s 33, which they say is the strongest beer in the world, its alcohol content is—you guessed it—33%. But it isn’t all beer her, they’re famed for their traditional German food and so I decide to go full German, ordering the pork knuckle, sauerkraut and dumpling with gravy. Skipping the 33, I opt for the Hubier—a mix of the lager and elderberry syrup.
History, Luxury and a Family Touch
Courtesy of Hotel Europaischer Hof Heidelberg.
My love affair with the city began several years before when I checked into the five-star Hotel Europäischer Hof Heidelberg. The hotel, one of the few five-star family run hotels in Europe, opened in 1865 and has been owned by von Kretschmann family since around the turn of the last century.
Courtesy of Hotel Europaischer Hof Heidelberg.
I’d heard that Sylvia von Kretschmann, who with her husband Ernst-Friedrich, ran the hotel for a half-century before their daughter Dr. Caroline von Kretschmann took over, regularly did the hotel’s large floral arrangements. So it was no surprise when I ran into this very elegant woman doing just that in Die Kurfürstenstube, the hotel’s opulent dining room that opened in 1866. Such a romantic place and romantic tradition—how could I not fall in love?
Courtesy of Hotel Europaischer Hof Heidelberg
Chocolate Kisses
My romance continued at Chocolaterie Knosel where owner Liselotte Knosel talked about studentenkussor or student kiss, a chocolate covered nougat created by her great grandfather Fridolin Knosel in 1863. His Café Knosel was frequented by male university students who admired women from a local finishing school who were, alas, chaperoned by their governesses. A gift of student kisses was a sly way to start a flirtation.
We don’t know how well it turned out for the students but these confections, still hand crafted, remain best sellers more than 150 years later. Café Knosel—the city’s oldest café—is my go to spot for coffee and a pastry at one of their outdoor tables overlooking the church on Marktplatz.
At dusk, on my last night, I boarded Patria, a 1930s ship for dining and a cruise along the Neckar River. Watching the city lights sparkle in the calm water, I knew that though my visit was ending, the romance was just beginning. I would be back.
Evan Williams, Kentucky’s first distillery, is hosting “The Ideal Bartender Experience” as part of Louisville’s celebration of African American history. The distillery was founded by Evan Williams in 1783, but the experience takes visitors no further back then to the final days of Prohibition and into a secret speakeasy at the Evan Williams Bourbon Experience, a multi-million dollar artisanal distillery, immersive tourism destination and retail location on Louisville’s Whiskey Row.
The Ideal Bartender Experience, separate from the other tours available at Evan Williams, introduces guests to Tom Bullock, the first Black American to write and publish a cocktail book. Written in 1917, “The Ideal Bartender” was almost lost to history despite Bullock’s fame at the time.
Greg Boehm, owner of the New York-based company, Cocktail Kingdom, has close to 4000 books about cocktails in what is said to be the largest collection in the world. Consider the collection research as Cocktail Kingdom manufactures professional barware, reprints vintage bar literature, and a full spectrum of professional and custom barware, artisan bitters and syrups.
According to Go to Louisville, several years ago Boehm was contacted by a woman wanting to sell a first edition of The Ideal Bartender. It was the one book Boehm was missing and so he jumped at the chance to own an original copy.
“In the cocktail bar industry, unfortunately, the African American community is not very well represented at all. It is just not a diverse group, so anything that lends diversity to bartending is a good thing,” Boehm explained. “In addition, The Ideal Bartender is a little snapshot of what people were drinking pre-Prohibition, and unlike a lot of cocktail books, none of these recipes were cribbed from anyone else. This is a completely unique cocktail book.”
Bullock, a stately looking man, was known to make some powerful — and according to article in The New York Times — addictive cocktails. He was also reputed to be a great conversationalist and to have a wide range of knowledge on current events–which was expected of a bartender working in rarified places.
Though Bullock was known to the wealthy elite who sipped his cocktails he was relatively unknown until former President Theodore Roosevelt filed a libel suit in 1913 against a newspaper claiming he was not only a liar but also frequently drunk. In his testimony, Roosevelt said that one of the few drinks he’d ever had — and that didn’t happen until he had left the White House — was a mint julep mixed for him by Bullock at the St. Louis Country Club. And, Roosevelt told the court, he took only a sip or two.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch called this out as a lie, printing an editorial opining, “Who was ever known to drink just a part of one of Tom’s juleps? Tom, than whom there is no greater mixologist of any race, was taught the art of the julep by no less than Marse Lilburn G. McNair, the father of the julep. Are the Colonel’s powers of restraint altogether transcendent?”
Marse, for those who don’t know their Missouri or mint julep history, was the grandson of Alexander McNair, the first governor of the state.
Whether he drank more than half of the mint julep or not, Roosevelt won his suit, and Bullock became famous for his bartending skills. Patrons who loved his cocktails included George Herbert Walker — you know the last name, as he was the grandfather and great-grandfather of our 41st and 43rd U.S. presidents, and August Busch Sr., CEO of Anheuser-Busch, who each helped get the book published.
“I have known the author for many years, and it is a privilege to be permitted to testify to his qualifications…” In all that time I doubt that he has erred in event one of his concoctions,” wrote Bush in the intro to Bullock’s book.
Bullock was quite creative when it came to drinks, creating a version of an Old Fashioned easily transported in a flask for those attending the matches at the St. Louis Polo Club.
The 45-minute tour at The Ideal Bartender Experience includes a taste of three premium whiskeys as well as a mint julep made from one of Bullock’s recipes, is one of several fascinating immersive experiences taking place in Louisville.
Tom Bullock’s Old Fashioned for the Polo Field
Fill one eight ounce flask with 100 proof bourbon near to the top. Shove four raw sugar cubes or pour four raw sugar packets into the mouth of your flask, dash eight times with Angostura. Shake the flask vigorously. Pour the contents over the largest ice cubes you can find.
The flavors and foods of Miami, with its imaginative and creative cooking, wide ranging cultural traditions, and unique culinary identity, are brought to the fore by its amazingly talented and award winning chefs and mixologists, Sara Liss, who has been writing about the city’s food scene for more than 15 years captures the culinary essence of the city’s fascinating food scene in Miami Cooks. Presenting 75 signature dishes and drinks from 35 of the hottest restaurants and chefs, either just rocketing to fame or James Beard winners, Liss shares their recipes–ranging from craft cocktails to satisfying brunch dishes to airy desserts. The flavors are global–Cuban food capital of America, but it also home to so many other cuisines―Peruvian, Venezuelan, Puerto Rican, Haitian, Jamaican, Cuban, Mexican, Asian, classic French with a Miami twist, and Floridian (of course). All evoke the passionate gastronomic spirit of The Magic City.
Avocado Pizza. Chef Helene Henderson of Malibu Farm Miami Beach. Henderson recommends Caputo (or “00”) flour for the pizza dough as it is an authentic Italian flour used by pizza makers to produce a very soft, flavorful thin crust.
But Liss takes it one step further. Stating that her mission was to make the entire creative process acceptable and achievable for the home chef, she makes it easy for us to take our cooking to the next level.
Miami Cooks, published by Figure 1m is currently available for purchase now.
With beautiful photographs and intriguing recipes, here are a few more to contemplate:
Cubano “Croque Monsieur” – This recipe was crafted by Executive Chef Frederic Delaire from Bar Collins. A Cuban play on a French classic, this towering sandwich teems with slow-roasted pork, an indulgent béchamel sauce, and many layers of ham and Swiss.
Hamachi Cilantro Rolls – “You’ll be sure to wow your mom with some homemade sushi rolls! It might seem intimidating at first, but once you get the hang of it, the technique is fairly easy,” writes Liss.
Shrimp Cakes – This recipe is an Executive Chef Klime Kovaceski specialty from Crust. Riffing on the classic crab cake, Chef Klime has created an easy go-to dish when you’re looking for a hearty brunch course.
Golden Geisha – This raspberry vodka cocktail recipe is from Owner David Grutman of Komodo. This refreshing cocktail is deceptively easy to prepare and heightened to a luxe level with edible gold leaf flakes.
Jim’s Yellow Fedora – From Executive Chef Daniel Roy from The Jim and Nessie, Jim’s Yellow Fedora cocktail is made with whiskey and chartreuse – a liquor distilled using 130 natural herbs, spices and flowers. In this recipe, it adds depth to whiskey for a play on the classic green hat cocktail.
Korean Braised Chicken with Glass Noodles
This popular Korean dish, also known as Andong jjimdak, originates in the city of Andong, Korea. All at once savory, sweet, and spicy, it sees spicy braised chicken cooked together with Korean glass noodles for a dish that explodes with flavor.
Serves 2 to 3
Marinade [ingredients]
5 cloves garlic, finely chopped
3 Tbsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp grated ginger
1/4 tsp black pepper
41/2Tbsp soy sauce
3 Tbsp concentrated pear juice (see Note)
2 Tbsp mirin
11/2tsp sesame oil
Marinade [method]
Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and mix well.
Note: Korean cooking often calls for pear juice for marinating and tenderizing meat. It can be found in most Asian markets.
Chicken [ingredients]
2 lbs, bone-in chicken thighs
Marinade (see here)
5 to 6 oz Korean glass noodles (sweet potato starch noodles)
Sesame oil, for searing
5 dried red chiles (divided)
2 potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
1 large Spanish onion, coarsely chopped
1 carrot, chopped
5 button mushrooms, thinly sliced
2 scallions, roughly chopped
Chicken [method]
In a large bowl, combine chicken and marinade, turning to coat, and refrigerate for 1 hour.
Soak glass noodles in water for 20 minutes, until softened.
Coat a large skillet with sesame oil and bring to high heat. Add 3 chiles and sauté for 5 to
7 minutes, until the chiles darken. Discard chiles.
Add chicken to the skillet, reserving marinade, and sear for 4 minutes on each side, until browned. Transfer chicken to a plate.
In a large saucepan over high heat, combine the reserved marinade and 4 cups of water.
Bring to a boil, then add chicken, reduce heat to medium, and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, until chicken is almost fully cooked. Add the remaining 2 chiles and the potatoes, onion, and carrot and simmer for 5 to 8 minutes, until vegetables are softened.
Add noodles, mushrooms, and scallions and simmer for another 6 to 8 minutes, until noodles are cooked. Remove the 2 chiles and serve immediately.
I recently received an email from Janet Fletcher, who lives in Napa Valley, California where she develops and tests recipes for cookbooks and magazine features, evaluate cheeses for her classes and columns, does extensive gardening, and prepares dinner nightly with her winemaker husband, Doug Fletcher. I’ve talked to her frequently in the past and wrote about several of her cookbooks including Wine Country Table and Cheese and Beer. I also follow her blog Planet Cheese.
Maggie’s Chicken. Photo by Meg Smith from Gather by Janet Fletcher.
Fletcher, the author of 32 books on culinary arts, who has won three James Beard Awards and the International Association of Culinary Professionals Bert Greene Award, has a new cookbook out, called Gather: Casual Cooking from Wine Country Gardensand I asked her if she would share recipes.
Courtesy of Gather by Janet Fletcher. Photo by Meg Smith.
She agreed, including recipes easily made at home and the California wines she suggests using when serving them.
“Gather features 13 wineries with edible gardens along with recipes,” says Janet, noting most of the wineries are in Napa Valley.
It started off as a magazine assignment with a focus on just a handful of winery gardens but grew into a book which took over a year to create. Janet worked Jen Barry of Jennifer Barry Design and photographer Meg Smith who has photographed the weddings of Anne Hathaway, Jimmy Kimmel, Governor of California Gavin Newsom, LeAnn Rimes, and the late Robin Williams. Her work appears frequently in Martha Stewart Weddings, Town & Country, and InStyle magazine. Barry has over 30 years in the design and publishing worlds and has designed and art directed hundreds of illustrated books on a variety of subjects ranging from from food and photography to nature and winemaking.
Working together, the three captured the lushly beautiful gardens that Janet describes as reflecting the hospitality, sustainability and the wineries dedication of the farm-to-table lifestyle.
Courtesy of Alexander Valley Vineyards.
Though Janet is an avid gardener, she was delighted to learn more when visiting the wineries’ gardens.
“Prisoner Wine Company grows over a dozen different basil plants, ones I didn’t know existed,” she says.
That’s led her to plant with more diversity and also use more flowers mixed with her vegetables to draw beneficial insects.
The following are recipes she created along with anecdotes about their origins and Fletcher’s wine recommendations. If for some reason you can’t locate these wines substitute what is locally available. Such as when a Merlot is called for you can substitute a local Merlot or one from another area though keep in mind that Fletcher paired her food and wines very carefully based upon California wineries.
Courtesy of Alexander Valley Vineyards.
Maggie’s Ranch Chicken
Serves 4
Ranch chicken has nothing to do with ranch dressing, says Katie Wetzel Murphy of Alexander Valley Vineyards.
“It’s what we called this dish as kids,” she recalls. “It seems that my mother, Maggie, only made it when we came to ‘The Ranch,’ which is what we called the vineyards before we had a winery.”
Baked with honey, mustard, and tarragon, the quartered chicken emerges with a crisp brown skin, and the sweet aroma draws everyone to the kitchen.
“Kids like it and adults like it,” says Katie, “and most of the food we make has to be that way.”
1 whole chicken, 4 to 4 1/2 pounds, backbone removed, then quartered
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup honey
4 tablespoons salted butter
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
4 fresh tarragon sprigs, each 6 inches long
Wine: Alexander Valley Vineyards Merlot
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Season the chicken quarters all over with salt and pepper. Put the quarters into a 9-by-13-inch baking dish.
In a small saucepan, combine the honey, butter, and mustard over low heat and stir until the butter melts. Pour the honey mixture evenly over the chicken. Place a tarragon sprig on each quarter.
Roast the chicken for 30 minutes, then remove the dish from the oven, spoon the dish juices over the chicken, and return the dish to the oven for 30 minutes more. The chicken will be fully cooked, with beautifully browned skin. Let rest for at least 15 minutes before serving to allow the juices to settle.
Antipasto Platter with Southern-Style Pickled Okra
The family pastime began as a way to preserve vegetables for winter and share homegrown gifts with neighbors.
Photo by Meg Smith from Gather by Janet Fletcher.
Today, Laura carries on the tradition, growing okra and other seasonable vegetables in the Regusci estate garden for pickling. Each Thanksgiving, pickled okra adds a southern spirit to the family’s antipasto board
3 pounds small okra
6 cups distilled white vinegar
4 cups water
1/2 cup kosher or sea salt
1/4 cup sugar
For Each Pint Jar:
1/4 teaspoon yellow mustard seeds
1/4 teaspoon dill seeds
6 black peppercorns
6 cumin seeds
2 cloves garlic, peeled
1 fresh oregano sprig
1 bay leaf
Pinch of ground coriander
Pinch of red chili flakes
When creating the antipasto platter use the pickled vegetables along with alongside figs, salami, other charcuterie meats, and marinated veggies like artichokes.
Suggested Wine: Regusci Winery Rosé
Have ready six sterilized pint canning jars and two-part lids. Trim the okra stems if needed to fit the whole pods upright in the jars. Otherwise, leave the stems intact.
In a saucepan, combine the vinegar, water, salt, and sugar and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Keep hot.
Into each of the six jars, put the mustard seeds, dill seeds, peppercorns, cumin seeds, garlic, oregano, bay leaf, coriander, and chili flakes. Fill the jars with the okra, packing it in upright—alternating the stems up and down if needed—as tightly as possible. Fill the jars with the hot liquid, leaving 1/4-inch headspace, and top each jar with a flat lid and screw band. Process the jars in a boiling water bath for 15 minutes, then cool on racks without disturbing.
Refrigerate any jars that failed to seal and use within 2 weeks. Store sealed jars in a cool, dark place for up to 1 year. Wait for at least 1 week before opening a jar to allow the flavor to mellow.
Past Tucson on the road heading south towards Mexico, we took a detour to look for the home where my brother-in-law’s parents had lived up until 1989.
“Does this look familiar?” one of the passengers kept asking as we drove through Green Valley.
“Nothing in Arizona looks the same as it did even last week,” I said, checking Google which informed me that the population in Green Valley had doubled in the last 32 years.
We didn’t, as you might have guessed, find the home or even the street. But when we arrived in Tubac, located in a broad valley ridged by the Tumacacori Mountains with their reddish cast to the west and the larger more rugged Santa Rita range to the east, I discovered that I was wrong. Founded in 1752 as a presidio or fortified military settlement on the Spanish Colonial Frontier, Tubac provided protection for the Mission San José de Tumacácori, the remains of which can be seen in nearby Tubac Presidio State Historic Park—Arizona’s first state park. Also on site is the 1885 Old Schoolhouse, the oldest is the schoolhouse in Strawberry, Arizona.
Abandoned and resettled several times, Tubac’s days as an artist colony stretches back to the late 1940s and much of the adobe and dusty roads allure remains in this small village two dozen miles from the Mexico border. Tubac recently was the winner of the Best Small Art Town National Contest.
It was off-season on a day when temperatures climbed beyond one hundred. Even though the mantra in Arizona is “dry heat,” I can attest that 105 degrees with the hot sun beating down is—well—hot.
The 100 or so shops, art galleries, and museums, many of them made of dried earth, clay, and straw bricks called adobe, were painted in a variety of colors ranging from soft blues, greens, and pinks, to more bold pistachio and red. If it became too toasty perusing the displays of art ranging from tin javalinas and coyotes to intricately wrought metals, mosaics, tiles, pottery, and jewelry on the front patios and side yards of the art galleries and stores—which comprise, along with restaurants, the major businesses in Tubac—the interiors were cool.
A little history is called for and Tubac almost 250 years old, certainly has that. It’s current laid back charm as an artist colony belies a bloody wild west history including Apache attacks, Civil War troops, and desperados eager for quick cash litter its history. All to be expected on an outpost along the Spanish Colonial Frontier. Besides being the first European settlement in Arizona with the first newspaper and the first white women, Tubac was also where in 1789 the first school in the state first opened. Of course, it wasn’t a state back then but part of Mexico as it would remain—along with Tucson—until 1853.
Early times were tough for Tubaca (or as the friendly O’odham Indians would have pronounced it “s-cuk ba’a” “cu wa”) meaning place of the dark water or low place. Or at least that’s one story. Marshall Trimble, Arizona’s official historian and vice president of the Wild West History Association, writes its name came about based on a clash between bands of Indian. The resulting dead and the searing sun led the Pima to choose the name that translates to “Where something smelled rotten.”
Whatever. Since this is ultimately a food and travel story, we’re going to skip any more details like that except to say that it wasn’t quite as dreamy as it is now.
While Arizona booms—Phoenix is the fastest growing city in the U.S.—there’s a laid back charm to Tubac as if time stopped half-a-century ago.
The population in 2019 was just under 1400. Though the landscape is far from the verdant greens of the Midwest, the Santa Cruz River runs through here and feeds the stands of mesquite, willows, and the chartreuse-colored cottonwoods that make such a startling contrast against the desert palate of beiges, browns, and subdued yellows.
Creativity at all levels defines Tubac and the restaurants and overnight accommodations showcases great food and luxurious places to summon your inner—and slightly pampered—cowgirl. With no chains, the village’s restaurants are independent and often family-owned.
The 500-acre Tubac Golf Resort & Spa was once part of the Otero Ranch, settled in 1789 features several levels of dining options including The Stables Ranch Grille and La Cantina. Shelby’s Bistro serves Southwestern and Mexican cuisine. Both are almost always rated among the village’s top ten but the one that really intrigued me was Elvira’s because of its history having first opened in Nogales, Mexico in 1927 as a take-out joint. Now the place to go for sophisticated Mexican cuisine, owner/chef Ruben Monroy, grandson of the original founder, takes traditional dishes such as moles (they have a large variety), quesadillas, chiles rellenos including one named after Frida Kahlo the Mexican artist known for her use of bold colors, and other Mexican fare and kicks them up several notches. The drink list features tequila and mezcal, Mexican wines and beers as well as Margaritas made with a variety of fruits such mango, tamarind, and agave honey along with other cocktails such as mojitos and guanabanatinis—a martini made with guanabana, a fruit that grows in Mexico.
From the outside, Elvira’s is attractive with ochre-colored exterior walls, tile and wood accents, pots filled with flowers, and hanging lights made of large metal spheres with cut out stars.
Inside, it’s something else. Monroy earned degrees in graphic arts and interior design before going to culinary school and his training is evident. Blue walls are the backdrop for large-framed mirrors, colorful cascading lights suspended in various heights from the ceiling, a sleek wooden bar, vases and pots, red curtains, candle holders in an array of shapes and sizes, Mexican crafts and art, and so much more that everywhere you look there’s something fascinating to behold. In case you like what you see, there’s a home décor store adjacent to the restaurant’s entrance.
One of the streets in Tubac (and there aren’t many) is named Calle Frida Kahlo (calle is Spanish for street) but I couldn’t find any reference to her having visited the town during her short life. But I know that she was an enthusiastic cook and so I looked up her recipe for Poblano Chiles Stuffed with Picadillo that was adapted from “Frida’s Fiestas: Recipes and Reminiscences of Life with Frida Kahlo” (Clarkson Potter). The book, written by Guadalupe Rivera and Marie-Pierre Colle, says this dish was served at her wedding to Diego Rivera.
Mexican cuisine can be complicated and if you’re feeling somewhat lazy, you can turn this dish into a casserole using the recipe I included below the one served at Frida and Diego’s wedding. I should note that the marriage didn’t last but their on and off again affair did until she passed away.
Poblano Chiles stuffed with Picadillo
Serves 8
16 poblano chiles, roasted, seeded, and deveined
All-purpose flour
5 eggs separated
Corn oil or lard
3 lbs. ground pork
1 large white onion, halved
3 garlic cloves, chopped
6 tablespoons lard or oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 zucchini, finely chopped
1 lb. tomatoes, seeded, chopped
1 cup cabbage, shredded
3/4 cup blanched almonds, chopped
1/2 cup raisins
Tomato broth ( see recipe below)
Prepare chiles: Char chiles over an open flame or under the broiler, then place in a plastic bag, seal and let steam for about 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from bag and using the back of a spoon peel off skin.
Make a lengthwise slit in the chile, remove the seed cluster, seeds, and membrane with a knife but leave the stem intact and place on a cookie sheet. Place the poblanos in the freezer as they will easier to fill and batter when cold.
Prepare the Filling: Cook the pork with the onion halves, garlic and salt and pepper for about twenty minutes. Drain the liquid and remove onion. Heat the oil or lard in a sauté pan, adding the onion, carrots, and zucchini, cooking until onion is translucent. Add the tomato, cabbage, almonds, raisins and pork and season with salt and pepper to taste. Simmer mixture for about twenty minutes until it has thickened, and the tomato is cooked through.
Stuff Chiles: Stuff the chiles with filling, then dust with flour. Beat the 5 egg whites until stiff. Beat the yolks lightly with a pinch of salt and gently fold into the whites to make a batter. Dip the chiles into the batter and fry in very hot oil until golden. Drain on paper. Serve with tomato broth.
Tomato Broth for Stuffed Chiles
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, thinly sliced
2 carrots, peeled and thinly sliced
10 Roma tomatoes, charred, seeded, and chopped
1/2 cup vinegar
3 tablespoons sugar
Salt and pepper
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1/2 cup queso cotija or ranchero cheese, crumbled
Char the tomatoes using the same method as above for the peppers. Heat the olive oil and sauté the onion and carrots until softened. Add the tomatoes, vinegar, sugar, and salt and pepper to taste. Simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in the oregano and continue to cook until the broth is rich and flavorful, and the tomatoes cooked through. Ladle broth onto a plate and place the chile on top. Garnish with queso cotija or ranchero cheese.
Chile Rellenos Casserole
2 large fresh poblano chile peppers or fresh Anaheim chile peppers
1 ½ cups shredded Mexican-style four-cheese blend or make the Picadillo recipe above
½ cup crumbled Cotija or Ranchero cheese
3 eggs, lightly beaten
¼ cup milk
⅓ cup all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
⅛ teaspoon salt
1 large can of enchilada sauce or use the Tomato Broth recipe above
Serves 4
1 large can of enchilada sauce or use the Tomato Broth recipe above.
The basic difference here is that instead of stuffing the peppers, then coating them in batter, and frying, roast the peppers according to the first recipe, slice them lengthwise so the entire pepper can be laid flat.
Grease a casserole dish, add a layer of the sauce, lay the peppers on top and the cover with the desired filling—either the cheese or the picadillo sauce that Frida made.
Top with more sauce, another layer of roasted peppers, filling and sauce. Repeat until all the ingredients are used. a medium bowl combine eggs and milk. Add flour, baking powder, cayenne pepper, and salt.
Beat egg mixture until smooth. Or if using a food processor or blender, place in a food processor, cover and process or blend until smooth. Pour mixture over peppers and filling.
Bake for 15 minutes in a 400°F. or until golden brown.
Mushroom Quesadillas
Makes 6
12 flour tortillas
½ pound mushrooms
Butter
1 ½ to 2 cups shredded Mexican cheese mixture
1 Poblano pepper, roasted, seeded and finely chopped
Your favorite salsa
Thinly slice mushrooms and place in a skillet with one tablespoon melted butter. Cook until done. Drain any juices left.
Preheat oven to 300°F.
Heat a heavy skillet (cast iron works well) on high. Butter one side of each tortilla. Place as many as the skillet will hold but no more than six. Top each tortilla evenly with mushrooms, diced roasted pepper, cheese, and salsa. Top with the other tortilla, butter side up. Cook until cheese starts to melt, adjusting the heat to make sure the tortillas don’t burn. Flip over and cook until the tortilla is golden brown.
Transfer the quesadillas to a cookie sheet and place in oven. Cook the remaining quesadillas.
Serve with sour cream or Mexican crema and salsa. Can be served whole or cut in half or quarters.
Mango Margarita
From “Love & Lemons Cookbook” by Jeanine Donofrio.
3 cups cubed frozen mango, from about 4 small mangos
¼ cup lime juice, plus lime slices for garnish
3 ounces silver tequila
2 ounces Cointreau
3 handfuls ice cubes
Sea salt for the glass rims, optional
Place the mango, lime juice, tequila, and Cointreau in a blender and blend until smooth. Add the ice and blend to the desired consistency. If the mixture is too thick to blend, let it sit and melt for a few minutes.
If desired, use a lime wedge to moisten the rims of the glasses and then dip the rims in a small plate of salt.
Pour the mango mixture into the glasses and garnish with a lime slice.
Credited with popularizing Spanish cuisine in Great Britain. His cookbook, Basque (Hardie Grant 2021; $22.95), is a great way to explore the beautiful Basque region of Spain.
“The Basque Country is feted across Spain, and indeed the world, for its culinary creativity,” says Pizarro. “It has more three Michelin-starred restaurants than anywhere else, and I can understand why – there are so many local products that you can be inspired by here.”
Chicken Stewed in Cider & Apples
“My inspiration for this dish, as with many of my recipes, came from seeing the ingredients together,” says Pizarro. “When I see them, I just have to create a plate of food. When we were in Astarbe in a beautiful cider house, I saw the chickens hopping around the apple trees, and that was it.”
The Astarbe Experience includes a restaurant and an assortment of wonderful foods and tastings of their ciders.
Serves 6
olive oil
1 free-range chicken (1.8–2 kg/4 lb–4½ lb)
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 apple, peeled, cored and halved
2 onions, finely sliced
2 bay leaves
6 sage leaves
1 cinnamon stick
500 ml (17 fl oz) cider
400 ml (13 fl oz) fresh chicken stock
25 g (1 oz) unsalted butter
3 apples, peeled, cored and sliced into 8 pieces
1 teaspoon caster (superfine) sugar
75 g (2½ oz) sultanas
Preheat the oven to 160ºC (320ºF/Gas 3).
Heat a layer of oil in a large casserole dish. Season the chicken inside and out and brown all over in the casserole dish. Set aside and put the halved apple inside the cavity.
Add the onions to the casserole and fry for 10 minutes to soften. Return the chicken to the pan and add the herbs and cinnamon.
Pour in the cider and bubble for a few minutes, then add the stock. Bring to the boil, then cover and transfer to the oven to cook for 1 hour.
Meanwhile, heat a little oil and the butter and fry the rest of the apples with the sugar until golden and caramelised. Add the sultanas and toss in the buttery juices. Add to the casserole about halfway through the cooking time.
Remove the lid of the casserole and turn up the oven to 220ºC (430ºF/Gas 7). Cook for 10 minutes more to brown the top of the chicken, then serve.
Photo by Laura Edwards.
Sautéed clams with garlic, lemon & parsley
“Clams are popular all over the world as they are so versatile,” says Pizarro about this wonderful dish. “When you are planning to cook for more than a couple of people, this is something that you must consider; ingredients and dishes your friends will love but are also quick prepare, so that you don’t spend the whole time at the stove.
“You can boil some pasta with this for a really easy lunch, and add some chilli for an extra kick.”
1 kg (2 lb 3 oz) fresh palourde clams, cleaned few sprigs of thyme, leaves stripped
handful of finely chopped flat-leaf
parsley
Heat a little oil in a deep heavy-based stockpot. Fry the garlic and lemon slices for 30 seconds, then increase the heat to high, tip in all the clams and cover with a lid. Cook for 2–3 minutes, shaking the pan occasionally, until the clams have all opened (discard any that refuse to open).
Add the lemon juice and herbs and serve with lots of crusty bread to mop up the juices.
Photo by Laura Edwards.
Pan-fried hake with sautéed wild chanterelles & sage
“Hake is one of the most sought-after fish in the Basque Country,” says Pizarro when sharing this recipe. “I really don’t know why it’s not as popular here in the UK, particularly as it’s plentiful – I think most of the catch from the sea here goes to Spain!
“In my family, our favourite way of cooking hake is a la romana, or Roman
style, which means that it’s battered.
“In this recipe, I bring two big flavors together, the sage and the mushrooms, but they complement the fish very well.”
Serves 4
olive oil 2 French shallots, finely chopped 2 garlic cloves, crushed few small sage leaves 300 g (10 1⁄2 oz) chanterelles, cleaned
100 ml (31⁄2 fl oz) fresh fish stock sea salt and freshly ground black pepper 4 hake fillets (175 g/6 oz each)
Heat a little olive oil in a pan and gently fry the shallots for 5–10 minutes until really soft. Add the garlic and sage and cook for 30 seconds, then increase the heat and add the mushrooms. Fry for 4–5 minutes, then add the stock and bubble for a couple of minutes. Season and set aside.
Heat a heavy-based frying pan with a little bit of oil. Add the hake skin side down and cook for 4–5 minutes until almost cooked through. Flip over and cook for 30 seconds more.
Put the cooked hake, skin side up, into the pan with the mushrooms. Cook for a minute or two more, then serve.
Recipes excerpted with permission from Basque by José Pizarro published by Hardie Grant Books, March 2021.
Maple syrup, one of the original cash crops, is the rich and delicious gifts the sugar maples give us every spring–at least for those willing to tap and collect the thin sap that is then boiled down to a thick amber consistency. For Eric and Laura Sorkin of the Vermont-based Camp Runamok, who make barrel-aged and smoked maple syrups, it’s more than just a pancake topping in the morning. One of Runamok Maple’s core missions has always been to educate consumers about the versatility of maple as an ingredient and they recently upped the ante with a variety of fascinating products such as their special-editions syrups including Cocoa Bean Infused made with only two ingredients–organic maple syrup and cocoa bean nibs
The Sorkins also produce jazzy Maple Sparkles (yes, just like the name implies it’s sparkly), and Strawberry-Rose Maple Syrups that can be used as a topping on pancakes and waffles and also in such recipes as Crepes with Sliced Bananas and Peanut Butter Pie.
Now they’ve upped the ante with their their new collection of cocktail mixers includes four syrups – Maple Old Fashioned, Maple Tonic, Smoked Old Fashioned, and Ginger Mule – and three different kinds of bitters – Floral Maple, Aromatic Maple, and Orange Maple. All are made with 100% pure Vermont maple syrup. The cocktail syrups can easily take the place of simple syrup, and will leave cocktail enthusiasts wondering why they hadn’t previously opted for the rich, complex flavors of maple syrup instead. The maple-based cocktail bitters are jam-packed with earthy, botanical flavors and will quickly elevate cocktails with just a few drops. Customers can purchase 250 mL bottles of the cocktail syrups for $16.95 each and 100 mL bottles of the bitters for $11.95 on runamokmaple.com.
The line of cocktail mixers will feature four different syrups – Maple Old Fashioned, Maple Tonic, Smoked Old Fashioned, and Maple Ginger Mule – along with three different kinds of bitters – Floral Maple, Aromatic Maple, and Orange Maple.
“At Runamok Maple, we have been creating cocktails using our infused and smoked maple syrups since we started production,” said Laura Sorkin, co-founder of Runamok Maple. “Through our experimentation over the years, we have come to realize that our maple-based creations are, to this day, some of our favorite cocktails. With the launch of our new cocktail syrups and bitters, we want our customers to experience those same flavors that we have been sharing with our family and friends.”
Most cocktails feature a touch of sugar, which most commonly comes in the form of simple syrup, but the process can be tedious, particularly for the home bartender, and the taste of the granulated sugar dissolved in water is sweet but plain. Runamok Maple’s new cocktail syrups feature the rich, robust, and nuanced flavors of organic Vermont maple syrup, along with additional flavor notes from high-quality ingredients such as ginger and orange. The cocktail syrups, which are priced at $16.95 per 250 mL bottle, also have the added bonus of already being in syrup form, eliminating the extra step of dissolving sugar.
Made with 100% pure Vermont maple syrup, the Maple Old Fashioned cocktail syrup is an infusion blend of real herbs and spices, without any refined sugar. The syrup features a slight bite from Runamok Maple’s very own bitters, along with the subtle essence of orange and cherry, making it the perfect all-encompassing mixer to add to your favorite bourbon or whiskey. Similarly, the Smoked Old Fashioned cocktail syrup is packed with all of the classic Old Fashioned flavors – only this time Runamok Maple uses its Smoked with Pecan Wood maple syrup to add a unique flavor dimension. Maple syrup and whiskey are the perfect pairing, with each offering complex flavor profiles that bring out the best in the other. The added element of smoke creates the perfect drink to enjoy near a fire on a crisp fall evening.
In addition to the Old Fashioned, Runamok Maple drew inspiration from two more classic cocktails, the Gin & Tonic and the Moscow Mule, for its other cocktail syrups. The Maple Tonic combines Runamok Maple’s signature organic maple syrup with the addition of quinine extract, lemon, and lime, giving the mixer a bright, refreshing taste that will have cocktail drinkers quickly forgetting about traditional tonic water. Mixing the Maple Tonic cocktail syrup with gin and seltzer water makes for an easy and delicious summer cocktail. Like the others, the Maple Ginger Mule cocktail syrup features 100% pure Vermont maple syrup as its base. Runamok Maple then infuses fresh ginger and lime into the cocktail syrup to give it a crisp, zesty flavor profile and a cleaner overall taste than mixers that use artificial flavors.
On the back side of each cocktail syrup bottle and on their website, customers will find a suggested cocktail recipe to use with each syrup, including the Amber Old Fashioned (using Maple Old Fashioned), Tapper’s Tonic (using Maple Tonic), Leather & Velvet (using Smoked Old Fashioned) and Green Mountain Mule (using Maple Ginger Mule).
Launched alongside the cocktail syrups is Runamok Maple’s collection of cocktail bitters. Made in the traditional way with all-natural herbs and root extracts infused in alcohol, Runamok Maple delivers its version in a maple base. Though they’re maple-based, the bitters pack a punch, like traditional bitters, and just a few drops can take a cocktail to the next level. Each 100 mL bottle of bitters is priced at $11.95.
With notes of cardamom and ginger, the Floral Maple bitters combine botanical complexity and subtle aromas with a smooth maple base. The addition of rose, citrus, and clove makes these bitters perfect for any gin or vodka cocktail. Built on a warm base of maple, cinnamon, clove, and allspice, the Aromatic Maple bitters meld perfectly with the flavors of darker spirits, like bourbon and whiskey, and even feature subtle tasting notes of sarsaparilla and vanilla bean. Lastly, the Orange Maple bitters are perfect for brightening up any cocktail – whether fruity or neat. The citrus aromas, layered on top of a subtle maple base, make it a wonderful addition to cocktails made with vodka, gin, and even bourbon.
Runamok Maple’s full collection of products – including specialty maple syrups like Bourbon Barrel-Aged, Cardamom-Infused, Cinnamon + Vanilla-Infused, and Pecan Wood-Smoked – are available on runamokmaple.com. The products can also be found on the brand’s Amazon page, as well as at specialty food shops across the country.
For making cocktails, there’s a selection for mixing Manhattans as well as several types of bitters and with Mother’s and Father’s Day coming up, the gift packages should make any parent happy.
The following recipes are courtesy of Camp Runamok.
Roasted Pears with Royal Cinnamon Maple Caramel
2 pears, ripe but not too soft
2 tablespoons butter
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
1/3 cup Runamok Royal Cinnamon Infused Maple (can also use Sugarmaker’s Cut Pure, Cinnamon+Vanilla Infused or Whiskey Barrel-Aged)
1/3 cup heavy cream
Vanilla ice cream (optional)
Preheat oven to 375. Peel the pears and then cut them in half. Remove the cores with a melon baller or pairing knife. Slice the pears starting an inch down from the stem, keeping them still attached (if a slice comes off, just roast it next the the pear in the pan and add it at the end).
Find a pan that fits all four halves snugly but in one layer. Put the butter in the pan and heat on the stove until melted. Place the pear halves in and fan the slices gently. Baste with a the melted butter and then sprinkle the sugar on them evenly. Place the pan in the oven and roast for about ten minutes or until they have just begun to brown. Remove from the oven, take the pears out with a spatula and set aside. Pour the maple syrup into the pan and heat to a boil. Add the cream and stir, cooking about another five minutes until the sauce has thickened.
To serve, put two pear halves on a plate and drizzle with the warm maple caramel sauce. Add a dollop of vanilla ice cream if you like. Serves 2.
“If they are not crispy, chicken wings can be a big disappointment,” writes Laura Sorkin in this introduction to Wings with Maple Hot Sauce. “I never cared for them until I tried a recipe that involved baking them in high heat for almost an hour. Wow, what a difference. Most of the fat is rendered, leaving crispy skin and tender meat. Wings are now my son’s yearly request for his birthday dinner and we are always game for trying new sauces.
“Runamok Consiglieri, Curt Alpeter is all about wings and developed this sauce using the Cardamom Infused Maple for the sweet counterpart to the heat of Texas Pete’s. Curt is from Ohio which is near enough to Buffalo, New York that we are going to allow that he is a wing expert by proxy. He has related to me that the chopped scallions and cilantro are key. I did not include measurements because it should be a little-of-dis, little-of-dat kind of dish.”
Wings with Maple Hot Sauce
Chicken wings
Vegetable oil
Salt and pepper
Texas Pete’s Hot Sauce or similar
Runamok Cardamom Infused Maple Syrup
Butter, softened
Scallions, chopped
Fresh cilantro, chopped
Preheat oven to 400. Place wings in a sturdy pan, making sure there is enough room for a single layer. Drizzle just a tad of vegetable oil and sprinkle on some salt and pepper. Place in the oven and bake for about 25 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven, flip the wings over and return to the oven. Bake until crispy and brown, about another 20 – 30 minutes.
In the meantime find a bowl large enough to hold all the wings. Pour equal amounts of hot sauce and maple syrup and butter. If you are cooking a few pounds of chicken, try 1/4 cup of each. Combine with a fork, mashing up the butter and blending it. Don’t worry if the butter leaves chunks, it will melt when you add the hot wings.
When the wings are fully brown and crisp, remove them from the pan with a slotted spoon and put in the bowl with the sauce. Add scallions and cilantro. Toss until coated and serve immediately with plenty of napkins.
Sparkly Maple Bourbon Smash
2 ounces bourbon
1 ounce Runamok Maple syrup (Sparkle Syrup or Sugarmaker’s Cut)
I often spend what seems like hours reading the labels on the food products I’m considering buying at the grocery store. And I always find unpleasant surprises such as how a simple can of kidney beans often contains either high fructose corn syrup or sugar If you didn’t look you wouldn’t know and you’d be adding unnecessary calories to your chili or whatever dish you were planning to make. And who needs extra calories? Who wants sugar in their beans? I certainly don’t. And so I was happy that my friend Kath Beyer sent me some fascinating information on Pyure that takes stevia plants and refines them into a powerful but non-caloric sweetener we can use as a sugar substitute. But even better, the article she sent shows how to really read the new nutrition panels on the foods we buy.
Stevia is a plant product that can be used as a sugar substitute
First some background. As much as we love our sweets and sweet tastes, no one wants the extra calories nor what sugar does to our health. There are many sweeteners on the market but Pyure is a line of plant-based, sugar substitutes created for people who want the best sweeteners for both their taste and the health benefits we’re all looking for.
The Pyure Process
It starts with harvesting and drying the highest quality leaves from the best tasting species of organic, non-GMO stevia plants.
Then through a process similar to steeping tea, we extract the very sweetest part of the stevia leaf.
What’s left with is known as Reb A, a fine white powder 350 times the sweetness of table sugar!
For more information, the Sweet Talk blog is filled with information about the benefits of organic and zero-calorie stevia products.
Sugar and the New Food Label
Families using Pyure are taking a step towards more healthy eating.
First the Really Bad News
We as Americans consume WAY too much sugar. According to the U.S. Dietary Guidelines, the average person consumes approximately 17 teaspoons per day or 270 calories from added sugars. The World Health Organization recommends limiting added sugar to 10% of our total daily calories (about 50 grams for a 2000 calorie diet) while the American Heart Association recommends a limit of 24 grams per day (6 teaspoons) for women and 36 grams per day (9 teaspoons) for men.
That means we are typically eating almost three times the AHA recommendations. According to the FDA, scientific data shows that it is difficult to meet nutrient needs while staying within calorie limits if you consume more than 10 percent of your total daily calories from added sugar.
The new nutrition label makes it easier than ever to identify sugar and added sugars in your food.
Identifying added sugars on the label.
Naturally occurring sugars are found in foods like fruits, veggies, and dairy products like milk or plain unsweetened yogurt. These nutrient-dense foods are encouraged as part of the U.S. Dietary Guidelines, and the sugar grams found in them will count towards the total carbohydrates on the label.
The new label also requires listing “Added Sugars” in grams and as a percent Daily Value (%DV). The added sugars category includes sugars that are either added during the processing of foods or are packaged as is, like a bag of white sugar. It also includes sugars from syrups and honey, sugars from concentrated fruit or vegetable juices and sugar added to dried fruit.
The question of “refined sugar” can be confusing. Bottom line. When it comes to our bodies, sugar is sugar. Agave, coconut sugar and pure maple syrup may be marketed as better for you, but they are still 100% sugar and all count towards the proposed daily limits for added sugars.
The new labels are a huge improvement for savvy consumers because until now it was impossible to distinguish the amount of sugar that was added to foods containing both naturally occurring and added forms of sugar like flavored yogurt or a fruit and nut granola bar.
What about low and no calorie sweeteners?
Low and no calorie sweeteners like stevia are not included in added sugars since they do not provide significant calories, carbohydrates or behave like sugar in the body. That’s important for the more than 100 million Americans living with diabetes or prediabetes, as well as diseases like low blood sugar.
Since stevia is 200 to 300 times as sweet as sugar only a tiny amount is needed to achieve the sweet taste we look for in our favorite foods. That makes stevia or products sweetened with stevia an easy way to help manage the amount of sugar we consume.
Where do you find sugar alcohols on the label?
Since sugar alcohols fall into their own category, they have their own line on the nutrition facts panel. Sweeteners, like erythritol, that contribute zero calories per gram do not affect glucose or insulin levels, but they are counted in the total carbohydrate content on the food label.
That adds a bit of confusion, so there is a separate line for these sugar alcohols under the “sugars” line on the food label. To calculate the “net carbs,” subtract the fiber and sugar alcohols from the total carbohydrate grams. For example, Pyure Organic Maple Flavored Syrup (1/4 cup serving):
Total carbohydrate: 27 g
Dietary Fiber: 13 g
Erythritol: 10 g
Net carbs = 4 g
Only foods that actually contain sugar alcohols will have the separate line listed on the label, making them easier to identify.
Although the new label is more realistic and designed to be easier to read, when it comes to carbohydrates and sugars, there is still some sleuthing that needs to be done. We hope this breakdown clears everything up for you.
Now we’ve learned about reading labels, let’s take a break and try one of the recipes on Pyure website.
Microwave the cream cheese for 10-20 seconds to soften it. Make sure it doesn’t turn into liquid.
In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs well with a hand whisk.
Add the cream cheese, vanilla, and stevia. Whisk until well incorporated and smooth. This will require some time and patience!
Heat half the butter in two mini nonstick skillets (or use an egg frying pan) over medium heat. Add ¼ of the batter to each skillet. Cook until golden brown and set on the bottom, about 2 minutes. Flip and cook 1 more minute. Transfer to a plate and loosely cover with foil.
Repeat with the remaining batter, adding more butter to the pans.
