Coctails 2: Treats from Baltimore, Washington, MD

I saved this clip from the newsmagazine 'Foodservice Monthly' because I thought it might bring me inspiration down the road. I found it again while brushing off my dusty thesis papers now that I intend to pick it back up for the final stretch. But pardon this procrastination.... I just have to post these drinks!

Firstly comes a list of interesting coctails from the B&O American Brasserie, in Hotel Monaco in Baltimore, MD. These have been created by Brendan Dorr.

Washington Nightcap: Madeira with Drambuie and warm apple cider with roasted nut garnish

Orient Express: Sake, lychee and ginger root juice, lemon bitters, and simple syrup

Hobos Cola and Bourbon: Bulleit Bourbon and home-made cola (love the idea of homemade cola)

Parfait Poire: Absolut Pears, pear puree, fall spiced syrup, and a splash of champagne

Boxcar Beer: Tröeg's Nut Brown Ale, Scrumpy's Organic Cider, St. Elizabethäs Allspice Dram

Smokestack: Sazerac Rye, Dolin Sweet Vermouth, fig jam and liquid smoke

Freight Train: Square one botanical vodka, Dolin Dry Vermouth and mixed olives

B&O Manhattan: Woodford Reserve Bourb0n, port, angostura bitters, and maple syrup

Cable car: Captain morgan spiced rum, orange curacao, and lemon juice with a cinnamon sugar rim

Scotch Cobbler: Famous grouse scotch, orange and lemon slices, Dolin Blanc

Pom-Nectar Margarita: agave tequila, organic Agave nectar, pomegranate and fresh lime juice

Orginal Martinez: Bombay dry gin, sweet vermouth, luxardo maraschino cherry liqueur, angostura bitters

Next comes from the Sou'Wester in Washington, D.C., created by Carlton McCoy:

Tropic Thunder: 10 Can rum, coconut-grains of paradise elixir, pineapple juice

Root Beer Float: Jack Daniels Whiskey, Sou'Wester Root Beer, Vanilla Bean, Angostura bitters, soda and vanilla nuage

Tantris Sidecar: Remy Martin, Busnel Calvados, Countreau, Green Chartreuse, Lemon and Pineapple juice

Negroni My Way: Plymouth gin, Carpano Antico Vermouth, Campari, soda and orange wheel

Finally, from PS7's coctail menu, created by Gina Chersevani:

'Yes we Can'ton: Cava, Domaine de Canton, pineapple

the Situation rum: Mount Gay XO, Cointreau, hibiscus tea

Hibiscus Margarita: Sauza blanco, lime, hibiscus

Recession blues 'the Cure': miller lite, domaine de canton, ginger

Pilgrim's Plunge: Apple and Pear infused Bombay Sapphire, lemon, rosemary

Gnome's Water: Hendrick's, cucumber water, lemon, lavender syrup

'Ale'ments: warm apple ale, rum, cardamom

Grape Smash: cuca fresca, red grapes, grapefruit, cinnamon

Sun and Sand: Rootbeer crust, fresh orange, brugal, vanilla

g.H. Sazerac: Old Overhold Rye, Kubler Absinthe, shiraz syrup

Toasted Spice Apple Cider Punch: Hose made apple cider, navan, bourbon, toasted spice

'San Guisto' Sips: currants, aperol, griner veltliner

Gina's Gibson: Vodka or Gin with pickled cippolini

Best of all, these coctails are all made non-alcoholic if you request.

Other things I liked about these recipes is, aside from their originality, were the use of garnishes, flavour infusions, fresh fruits, home-made ciders and sodas, and finally the use of herbs that one might not expect in a coctail, such as rosemary.

Other parts of these recipes I have had to research for lack of better knowledge. I could ask A, a certified bartender, but even some of these he is unfamiliar with.

Coctails!

A sample or two of the coctails listed in the infamous A21 bar's menu. A21, named for it's address on Annankatu in Helsinki, was voted world's best coctail lounge in 2008. We went to check it out one night for after dinner drinks and found a few delish drinks we just had to save these ideas.

From the 'Suomi' (Finland) list, there were quite a few creative ideas.

Ronnvik Martini: clouberry puree, Beefeaters, and a hint of black pepper
Suomen Neito: Finnish berries, Bombay Sapphire, and sprite
Birch cooler (I'd love to know how they got the essence of birch into a coctail!)
Sea Buckthorn Sour: Jaloviina, sea buckthorn, orange bitters, and orange juice
Apple and Cinnamon Breeze: apple jam, absolut vanilla, and cinnamon
Rhuba Martini: rhubarb puree, basil, and Grey Goose vodka

A few of the others that I thought were particularly creative are also, listed below:
xxx: Anejo, blue agave tequila, balsalmic vinegar, agave sugar, rosemary
Rose petal martini
Cherry foam rum manhattan: the cherry foam looked so cool!
Pear and ginger cooler: based with tequila and bear, with a hint of spicy ginger

There were also a lot of other classics, like the Knickerbocker, Blinker, Singapore Sling, Rye Fashioned, and Side Cars (their 1st class version is made with Martell L'Or cognac and sells for 87 euros each). Starting price for coctails is 9,50 euro, and many are under 15, but beware of a large tab if you intend to stay a while!

Rice Paper Wraps and Sup Tom Xao Lan (Shrimp Soup)

V for Vendetta.... or Vietnamese (food)

First time back to the ethnic markets on Hameentie in over 3 months! I bought some rice paper and veggies and decided to make some wraps. I'm making these fresh, summery wraps mid-January in celebration of my and my and A's new year's commitment to eat more healthy. You may even blanch the vegetables a bit to warm them up and make this a warm dish. However, Vietnamese cuisine is known for its use of healthy and fresh ingredients, and a range of spices such as lemongrass, mint, coriander and basil. And because of the Buddhist influence, there are many vegetarian Vietnamese recipes!

To make it a meal, I'll make some shrimp soup, or Sup Tom Xao Lan to accompany it with something warm and hearty. Shrimp can be substituted with tofu, naturally, without compromising anything of the taste.

Sup Tom Xao Lan Soup

1 liter boiling water
4 tbs Nuoc Cham sauce (recipe follows)
raw or frozen shrimp
three stalks lemongrass or half tsp lemongrass powder
one can of mushrooms, straw mushrooms preferrably or whatever is avaiable
1 scallion or small onion
the juice of 3 limes
3 keffir lime leaves, or a scant pinch of keffir lime leaf powder
salt and pepper
fresh coriander (optional)

Prepare or thaw the shrimp. Cut the tops off the lemongrass, if you're using fresh, then add them to the water, with shrimp shells if you have, and the keffir lime leaves or powder to make a stock. Bring to a boil, strain, then return the water to the pot. With pestle and morter, grind lemongrass stalks, before adding them to the pot of soup. Then add the remaining ingredients exept for the shrimp, and simmer for 10 minutes. If adding tofu, this is the time to do that as well. Save the shrimp for last, so that they don't become overcooked- they can tend to get rubbery.


The recipe calls for Nuoc Cham sauce, which is simply a mixture of the following ingredients, according to regional and personal preferences:
garlic
sugar
lime juice
fish sauce
red pepper flakes
water

The name of this recipe makes me wanna have a friend named Tom Xao Lan, so I can see him on the street and shout ''Sup Tom Xao Lan!?. Let's wrap and roll!'

Rice Paper Wraps with Vegetables

as many rice papers as you intend to serve (2-3 per serving)
an asorment of julienned vegetables: red and yellow peppers, snow peas, bean sprouts, carrot, mushrooms, and possibly strips of firm tofu, raw or pan seared in some of the dressing sauce
other herbs: cilantro and/or basil
buckwheat or soba noodles seasoned with rice vinegar and sesame oil

Soak rice papers one at a time for approximately 30 seconds in warm water to re-hydrate. Roll each wrap one at a time. Soaking more than one rice paper at a time will likely end up with papers stuck together, impossible to separate, and spoiling the aesthetics and logistics of making a wrap.

Roll portions of vegetable mixture, noodles, and some sauce to the middle of the rice paper, fold in sides, roll to the end. Not as easy as it sounds, but with a little practice I'm sure I'll get the hang of it.... the dipping sauce is the easy part.

Dipping Sauce

1/3 cup orange juice
2 tbs sugar
2 tbs soy sauce
1 tbs lime juice
1 tbs sesame oil
salt
chili flakes
1 tsp balsalmic vinegar

Mix the ingredients to taste, trying to mix the yin and the yang. In Vietnamese cooking as well as lifestyle, it is important to have a balance of the elements. Spicy with sweet, salty with sour, salty and sweet....all great combinations. Way to celebrate the funny way opposites attract, and why chocolate covered pretzels and salt and vinegar chips both rock.

Sweet Potato Gratin

Many recipes I've used many times come from my homeland of America. North America to be exact. Therefore, while they may be ethnically inspired, they are more or less, just, American.

Since the sweet potato, or the softer- yam- as it is known in America, is native to the Americas, this is not a stretch. It has long since spread throughout Polynesia, Hawaii, New Zealand, and Africa. The sweet potato is considered a staple crop in many African countries, such as Uganda, Rwanda, and Burundi, since they grow heartily in temperate climates if rain is scarce.

Furthermore, the Center for Science in the Public Interest compared sweet potatoes to all other vegetables and ruled that sweet potatoes were of the highest nutritional value, due to high amounts of fiber, complex carbohydrates, vitamins A & C, iron, protien and calcium. What could make you happier about grubbing up something delicious with these orangy spuds?!

I made the following recipe for my boyfriend, A, and his parents, who rather typically of their generation, have a difficult time thinking up whole meals that don't contain either fish or meat. I do believe they said 'ruokka oli hyvaa'. :)

Sweet Potato Gratin
(serves 4)

2 tsp oil
1 large onion, chopped coarsely
2 tbs sage or herbs de province
3 medium sweet potatoes, thinly sliced
salt and pepper
2 cloves garlic
3/4 cup shredded guyere, smoked mozzerella, or any smoky flavored cheese
grated parmesan
1 cup cream, warmed

1. Preheat oven to 190C, oil a gratin dish, and set a pot of water to boil
2. Add sweet potatoes to water with a pinch of salt. Depending on how thinly you were able to slice them, they should take only a few minutes to soften. Test softness with a fork.
3. Heat onion, garlic and herbs in a skillet until the herbs are fragrant and the onion translucent.
4. Add sweet potatoes to skillet and mix well.
5. Layer 1/3 sweet potato mixture, 1/3 cheeses, until all are used. Salt and pepper to taste as you go.
6. Pour cream evenly over all other ingredients.
7. Bake with foil cover for 25 minutes and without for another 25 minutes.

I used a less expensive smoked cheese than guyere, and herbs de province instead of sage.
This recipe was modified from Deborah Madison's 'Vegetarian Suppers'.

I served it with steamed broccoli on the side and another vegetable high in beta carotine, a curried carrot salad.

Curried Carrot Salad
(serves 4-6)

1 lb carrots, peeled and shredded
1/4 cup finely diced leek/green onion/onion
juice of 1 lemon, or 1/4 cup vinegar (good quality red wine vinegar or equal)
1/4 tsp cumin
1 tsp curry
3tbs olive or safflower oil
1 tbs honey

Add all ingredients together and let marinate at least 20 minutes before serving.
Add optionally something sweet, like pineapple, shredded apples, raisins, or currants. Or use something bitter or sour, such as pickled capers for a burst of additional flavour. Sugar can be a substitute for the honey if that's all you have available.

This recipe can be modified to whatever you have in the kitchen, or or your preferences. I have also heard of people cutting thin slices of the carrot and quickly blanching them, cooling them before adding other ingredients.

This recipe was modified from Martha Rose Shulman's 'Fast Vegetarian Feats'.

A new project for 2010

I was recently inspired to write a more focused food blog about the ethnic recipes I'm often trying. The 'Julie/Julia' movie dramatized the true story about an ambitious woman determined to learn Julia Childs French cooking in one year. However, as a vegetarian, boning a duck isn't whatsoever appealing to me. Furthermore, French cooking has a lot of prohibitive barriers, such as difficulty of technique (not that I don't enjoy a challenge) and many expensive ingredients not available everywhere in the world (I currently live in Helsinki, Finland).

My challenge is to write a blog that covers authentic ethnic recipes from each country in the world- vegetarian ones at that. Not that I don't have my favorites already, including Indian, Thai, Chinese, Ethiopian, Morroccan and occassionally some seafood recipes from my hometown of Annapolis, Maryland, USA, where the blue crab and oysters reign supreme.

Being rather indecisive at times, I started my other blog, 'Make Yourself' as an all inclusive blog that outlines any DIY, crafts and cooking/baking that I attempted. Anything from cleaning out the plumbing, hanging a shelf, making hats, baking cookies, and yoga/meditation.... all things that I'm determined to conquer.

Therefore, I will most likely follow recipes in alphabetical order, starting naturally with Afghanistan, which is similar to many middle eastern recipes that I am already familiar with. When possible, I will have the help of someone that knows the recipes, either in making or tasting. Luckily in Helsinki, there exist many ethnic grocers, though not all speak either Finnish or English, and if Finnish is the lingo franco, some ingredients may not be so easily translated. This is part of the challenge of course!

If you have any questions or comments on how I can improve this blog or my recipes, I am more than happy to hear them!!

Good eats everyone :)