The flavored vodka market appears to have exploded in the past few years. On a recent trip to the spirits shop, there were shelves upon shelves of vodkas in all imaginable flavors. Whipped cream, bacon, and sweet tea were new ones that caught my eye, but not quite my wallet.  Infusing alcohols is an ancient practice. I read recently of a newly translated Mongolian cookbook dating from 1330, that included a recipe for lamb stew infused vodka. When my husband and I were in China for our honeymoon, on several occasions we were offered a nip from a large glass bottle of grain alcohol, which housed several poisonous snakes. The traditional elixir is thought to have medicinal properties, and held a place of honor in most of the homes we visited. I can't comment on its medicinal effects, but when we finally gave in (impressed?), it wasn't awful, though had a slightly slippery feel as it went down my throat. And I didn't die.But snakes and bacon aside, infusing your own spirits is a simple and delicious project, and good skill to have at the ready. A couple of months ago I posted a recipe for DIY Vanilla Extract, which included instructions for homemade vanilla vodka. I took my own advice and gave a few of these as holiday hostess gifts, and was the belle of the ball. My very first attempt at home infused alcohols was this beautiful recipe for fresh strawberry aquavit liqueur, from the gorgeous La Cucina Italiana magazine. In both cases I very much appreciated that I was able to use fresh and natural ingredients, that resulted in a far superior flavor, from anything I had tasted from a store. (more…) | ||||||||||||||||
In honor of last week's National Popcorn Day, I've done some tinkering in the kitchen with flavorings. My favorite project was coming up with different flavored salts. It is outrageous that I haven't done this sooner, and even more outrageous the number of super costly little precious jars of flavored finishing salts that I have sitting in my spice cabinet. The technique is nothing more than combining good quality salt, either kosher or sea salt, and good quality spices, herbs, citrus, or a combination. It is up to you as far as the ratio of salt to flavors, depending on how concentrated you want the flavor and the color, and how strong the ingredient is you are using. On average I used about 1 part flavor to 1 1/2 parts salt. Simply put all ingredients in a spice grinder, coffee grinder, food processor, or mortar and pestle and pulse or grind until well incorporated. Hint: For spices, toast them lightly first to release more of their flavor. Place them in a dry pan over medium heat, swirling frequently for a few minutes until they start to become fragrant. This powdery little flavor bomb is amazing sprinkled over hot fresh popcorn, and as a finish for so many of your dishes. It also looks gorgeous as a pop of color sprinkled around a plate. They'll keep for about a year in an airtight container, making them fantastic gifts. I mean, have you seen what these things cost lately? Here are a few ideas below, but the combinations are endless. Keep a little jar or two on your counter, and you'll find yourself using them on everything. Put a few small dishes on your dinner party table, and let guests play with their food. CURRY SALT I used a brilliant french version of an indian masala, called Vadouvan, from the exquisite Spice House in Chicago. Amazing on popcorn, but also chicken, fish, roasted vegetables (especially cauliflower), or a cold chicken salad. PIMENTON SALT Smokey, sweet, brilliantly colored spanish paprika. It rocked on popcorn. Would also be stunning on fried eggs, roasted potatoes, grilled shrimp, and roasted meats. CHIVE AND SHALLOT SALT I used some high quality freeze dried shallots and chives (again, thank you Spice House), resulting in a savory blend that exploded with the most amazing aroma as it hit the hot popcorn. It was also absurdly good on my poached eggs this morning, and the small batch is almost gone. Mashed potatoes? Yes. Roast Chicken? Yes. Just about anything you want to spruce up with a little savory brightness? Most definitely. Bonus points for drying your own homegrown chives. CITRUS SALT Zest the peel of a lemon, lime, orange, meyer lemon or tangerine. Allow to dry on paper towel, and then combine with salt. Poultry and seafood would be particularly good, as well as roasted peppers. VANILLA SALT Split and scrape a vanilla bean, and combine seeds with salt. Could have interesting results with some delicate fish and lobster, but I'm dreaming more of a stunning salty finish to a dessert, on a scoop of dense gelato, or a crunch on dark chocolate covered caramels. CHINESE FIVE SPICE POWDER SALT Get the best five spice you can, and then bring me the popcorn! ...And the roasted chicken wings, roasted pork, roasted brussels sprouts, and noodles. PORCINI SALT Pulse dried porcini mushrooms in grinder to a fine powder, and then pulse with salt. This earthy, chocolaty, elegant finisher adds a new element to a side of rice, a creamy pasta, eggs, a crostini with oozy cheese, or topping a puree of potato soup. LEMONGRASS AND KAFFIR LIME Dry both slightly, and grind with salt to make a bright, southeast Asian inspired topping. Beautiful in a ramen soup, on grilled fish or chicken, and even as an unexpected finisher to desserts.  | ||||||||||||||||
Bleached flour, partially hydrogenated lard with BHA and BHT, wheat starch, water, xanthan gum, potassium sorbate and sodium propionate (preservatives), Yellow 5, and Red 40.
Butter, Flour, Salt, Water, and sometimes an egg. The first is a list of just some of the ingredients of a popular, store-bought, ready-to-unroll, pie crust. The second is what comprises a homemade, you-are-looney-not-to-make-yourself, pie crust. I remember taking a homemade pie, with a homemade pie crust to a friend's house a few years back. When someone raved about the crust and asked what brand it was, I told them I had made it myself. They were shocked, and I was shocked that they were shocked. They then responded that "it must be nice to have the time to make your own pie crusts"... Well, I'm here to tell you, my friends, that you can have these made in about the time it takes you to defrost your hydrogenated lard sheets of dough, and your golden color will come from creamy butter and perhaps a farm fresh egg yolk, instead of Yellow numero 5. And let's just chat about cost for a brief moment. At a recent glance, store bought refrigerated or frozen pie crusts ranged from $3.79 to $4.99 for a two crust package. Making it at home will run you about $2. Are you with me people? But isn't it really tough? Only if you over work it. (gluten humor.) No! But there are a couple of things to be aware of that will help you achieve buttery flaky pastry nirvana, and avoid a gravelly, leaden disappointment. Gluten! This small word (from the latin word for glue) is getting an enormous amount of air-time these days. Gluten is a substance found in certain grains and flours, most commonly wheat, that when mixed with moisture is activated to create a sticky, bonding compound which makes great bagels so chewy, or lousy pastries dense doorstops. The stronger the gluten bond, the less flaky and light the crust will be. Fats, sugar, or acids inhibit the formation of a strong gluten structure. However, the more you knead, play with, or "work" a dough, the more developed the gluten bonds will be. So when working with a dough, you want to handle it as little as possible. Don't leave the food processor on high and have the ball of dough whipping around the machine. Don't knead it! Just do as much as you have to to get the ingredients to come together, and then hands off. Also, allowing the dough to rest in the refrigerator for a half hour after you've made it, will allow the gluten structure to relax some as well. The recipe below makes two crusts, for one double crusted pie (top and bottom), or two separate single pie shells. If I am going to take the time to get flour about the kitchen, I always make this full recipe, sometimes doubling it for four crusts. Divide and wrap unused dough in two airtight layers of plastic wrap or freezer bags, and they can be frozen for about 3 months. Remove to the refrigerator the day before to thaw. Give this a try. The ease, and more importantly, the taste will astound you. Get this down now and you'll be a crust making-fool in time for peach pie season. BASIC PIE CRUST PASTRY Makes 2 crusts for one double crust pie, or two single pie shells. 3 cups all-purpose unbleached flour 1 teaspoon salt 8 oz (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cubed and chilled (or popped in freezer for 15 minutes after cut into cubes) 1/2 cup water, ice cold OR 2 large eggs with 4 teaspoons of water Step 1: Combine flour and salt in a food processor. Add cubes of chilled butter.  Step 2: Gently pulse food processor, until the butter is the size of small peas. These pieces of fat in the dough will create pockets when it is baked, and result in the flaky texture.  Step 3: Evenly distribute the ice water, or egg and water mixture, and pulse just until the dough comes together in a ball. It may be necessary to add just a bit more moisture, which you can do a tablespoon at a time, again, just until the dough comes together.  Step 4: Pour the dough onto a well-floured surface. In balls about the size of a walnut, gently push and smear the dough out with the heel of your hand, just once each ball. Continue until you have done this with all of the dough. The term for this in french is fraisage. It will help make sure there aren't any giant pieces of unincorporated butter, that will melt and cause a hole in your crust, but will also help create long layers of butter in your dough, that will ideally help with the flakiness.  Step 5: When all of the dough has been fraisage-d, form into two disks, that are generally flat and round. This will help give you a head start on the shape you are trying to achieve when it comes time to roll it out. Wrap individually in plastic, and place in the refrigerator for a half hour to rest. You can also freeze the disks of dough at this point.  Step 6: Remove the dough disk from the refrigerator and place on a gently floured surface. It might need a minute or two to come up just a bit in temperature, so it doesn't crack all over when you put a rolling pin to it. Gently press down with a rolling pin, and apply light pressure, at first, as you roll forward. Continue to roll forward only, turning the dough as you need, until you have a circle about an inch wider on all sides than the pie plate you are using.  Step 7: Brush excess flour off the top surface of the dough. To transport the rolled out dough to a pie plate, gently roll the dough around the rolling pin, brushing off excess flour on the bottom, as you go.  Step 8: Bring the dough-wrapped rolling in to your baking dish, and unroll in the opposite direction.  Step 9: Loosely fit the dough into the shell, using a small ball of spare dough to push it gently into the corners, if needed. Trim any large overhanging edges, leaving about a 1/2 inch on all sides. With your thumb and pointer finger on one hand, and the tip of your thumb on the other, go around the top of the edge, pinching your two hands together every inch or so, to create a fluted edge to your crust.  Step 10: Return pie shell to the refrigerator to chill slightly before baking, or filling and baking. Voila! | ||||||||||||||||
 There is little that will get me running to the kitchen faster than reading about a new (or most of the time, quite old) culinary trick to produce a food or ingredient that I had never thought about making by hand. Food and Wine magazine has a great feature this month on the Best Handmade Gifts. Included in that article is a recipe for homemade vanilla extract. Who knew?The procedure couldn't be simpler: Combine 10 vanilla beans, split lengthwise, with 1 1/2-2 cups of vodka in a clean glass jar or bottle. Add a 1/2 cup more vodka, if needed, to completely cover the beans. Let sit for about 6 weeks in a cool, dark place. The extract is ready when the vodka is a rich, dark color and knocks you over with vanilla wafting from the jar when opened. If you'd rather not have the grainy vanilla bean seeds in your extract, pour through a coffee filter to strain. I also read in another extract article online, that you can make a second batch of extract with the same beans. Just fill up the container again with vodka when empty, and repeat the steeping process one more time. Yes, Christmas is only 3 1/2 weeks away, and well, Happy Hanukkah already. But I can certainly see giving this a start with the time you have, and then portioning it out for gifts, beans included in each bottle, with instructions to wait a week or two more before using. It would also make a lovely Valentine... Speaking of Valentine-- This year for Valentine's Day I gave my husband, the ice cream chef in the family, a half pound of glorious, moist, outrageously fragrant vanilla beans. I found an amazing online vanilla bean resource, Amadeus Vanilla Beans, and the totally indulgent bundle of about 50 beans, for about 65 cents each, far exceeded my wildest expectations. Start there. And here are a few great options for packaging up your gift portion of bean and extract: The Container Store Save on Crafts Specialty Bottle And finally, with New Year's right around the corner, while you are working with these same ingredients, how about also getting a larger glass bottle, using a slightly less vanilla bean to vodka ratio (2-4 beans per liter of vodka, depending on desired strength), and make homemade vanilla vodka. I mean, anyone can bring champagne to the party. Ho Ho Ho! | ||||||||||||||||
 I was recently asked to be a guest blogger for the wonderful heart-healthy food blog What Would Cathy Eat? Cathy asked for a cranberry sauce for thanksgiving, that was less sweet than usual. Here is the post and recipe below, in case you hadn't caught it on her site. --Catie For years, as a child at the 1970’s American thanksgiving table, I too believed that cranberry sauce was always cylindrically shaped, with neatly organized parallel rings encompassing it. That is not to say that my family were not great cooks, slaving for days before over dozens of homemade recipes. However, somehow that little wobbly dish seemed like a required fixture on the holiday table, that someone very well might miss if absent. Though it felt far from “food” and as a result, usually went untouched. It also seemed somewhat sacrilegious to think of smearing that puckeringly sweet jelly on that luscious turkey meat that I had waited an entire year for. How could this red goo possibly improve on roasted perfection? So I took a crack at it myself this year. Drawing on ideas of recipes like Duck with a Sour Cherry Sauce, or a deeply flavored Indian Chutney stirred into a chicken salad, ending up with a condiment that I would actually want to add to my turkey to add to it’s flavor. I eliminated a lot of the sugar found it most recipes (up to a cup of white sugar was common). It’s on the tart end of the spectrum, but balanced, with lovely spice notes that will be beautiful with the richness of the meat. I think it would also be outstanding dolloped on top of a bowl of Greek yogurt for breakfast the next morning, and though not yet tested, I imagine pretty great pureed and used as a base for a holiday prosecco cocktail.
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Catie Baumer Schwalb is a chef, food writer and photographer, who splits her life between the city and the country. Not too long ago Catie was a New York City based actress and playwright for more than a decade. She has her Master of Fine Arts from the National Theater Conservatory, and her Grand Diplôme in classic culinary arts from the French Culinary Institute in New York City.
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