Mint Julep

Drinks of the Triple Crown
It's Derby Day at Churchill Downs and time to imbibe a few of these classic southern libations. Mint Juleps are distinctly American, originating in the Commonwealth of Virgina in the 1700s. Kentucky is where they make the best Mint Juleps, however, featuring the state's indigenous Bourbon whiskey and mint.

Recommended Equipment:
pewter or silver glass or mug

Ingredients:
3 to 4 oz. bourbon (I used Maker's Mark)
fresh mint leaves
1 oz. of simple syrup
crushed ice

Preparation:

1. Pour 1/2 oz. of syrup into glass.
2. Pour mint leaves into glass and mix with syrup using a wooden spoon.
3. Rub the entire inside of the glass with the syrup-covered leaves.
4. Pack the glass over the top with crushed ice.
5. Pour the remaining 1/2 oz. of syrup over the ice.
6. Pour in the bourbon.
7. Garnish with sprig of mint.
8. Place your bets!!

Related posts:
The Preakness - Black Eyed Susan
The Belmont Stakes - Belmont Breeze

United States Kentucky

Kentucky Derby Beer Cheese Recipe

This Saturday is Derby Day, the first stop on the road to the Triple Crown. It is a perfect excuse to get friends together for a little mid-day party just before Mother's Day. To do it right you will need to include the traditional food and drinks popular in the Bluegrass State.

Your bar should have each of the signature drinks from the Triple Crown on hand. These include the Mint Julep, the Black-eyed Susan, and the Belmont Breeze. Pair these with classic Kentucky dishes like the Hot Brown and Beer Cheese and your party will become an early May tradition.

Ingredients:
3/4 bottle of your favorite beer
1/4 large yellow onion, minced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1/4 tspn ground black pepper
1/2 tspn Tabasco sauce
1/2 tspn Worcestershire sauce
pinch of Kosher salt
1 tspn dry mustard
16 oz. grated cheddar cheese

Recommended Equipment:
food processor


Preparation:

1. Open a bottle of your favorite beer and let sit for at least 3 hours.
2. Add all of the ingredients except the beer to a food processor and pulse until all of the ingredients are well mixed.
3. Turn the food processor on continuously and pour the beer into the food processor.
4. Transfer the mixture to a sealable container. Place a piece of wax paper directly on the cheese and then put lid on container.
5. Refrigerate for 2 days.
6. Serve with your favorite vegetables, crackers, and pretzels.

United States Kentucky [ print this recipe for Kentucky Derby Beer Cheese ]

Swedish Pancakes

When our daughter is in the mood for pancakes, we usually make this recipe or the one for yogurt pancakes because they only require basic ingredients and are so fast and easy to make. This recipe makes pancakes that are thicker than crêpes and thinner than traditional pancakes. If you have fresh fruit on hand, this recipe for fruit pancakes is another good option.

Ingredients:
3 tbsp sugar
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tspn salt
2 cups whole milk
3 eggs
2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted

toppings:
confection sugar
maple syrup
strawberries and whipped cream

Preparation:

1. In a mixing bowl, mix together the sugar, flour, and salt.
2. Add the milk and eggs to the mixing bowl and mix well until all of the ingredients are well combined. The batter will be thin compared to traditional pancake batter.
3. In a large skillet over medium heat, cook the pancakes.
4. Dust the pancakes with confection sugar before serving.
5. Serve hot with maple syrup or strawberries and cream.

Sweden [ print this recipe for Swedish Pancakes ]

Red Cabbage Recipe

Red Cabbage is both sweet and sour and a great compliment to the rich flavors of beef, pork, or potatoes.

Ingredients:
1/4 pound unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups red wine vinegar
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 head of red cabbage, shredded

Preparation:

1. In a large pot over medium heat, mix together the butter, red wine vinegar, and sugar and bring to a boil.
2. Reduce the heat to low and add the shredded red cabbage to the pot. Do not cover the pot.
3. Cook over low heat for 1 hour or slightly less time if you like your cabbage crisp.

Germany [ print this recipe ]

Udon Noodles in Tomato Broth Recipe

Last weekend, the temperature here was very cold so a pot of soup was just what the doctor ordered. So we decided to make udon noodles in tomato broth - a type of soup that is popular in Japan.

It was basically a two step process. First, boil the udon noodles and then distribute them in serving bowls. If you use ready to serve udons, you can skip the boiling of the noodles and cut about 20 minutes off the prep time. Second, prepare the tomato broth. This step is pretty simple as there are only a few ingredients. Give it a try this weekend.

Ingredients:
2 packets of dry udon noodles
1 cup canned diced tomatoes
1 tbsp canola oil
5 scallions
1/3 cup mirin
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tbsp sugar
4 cups chicken stock
kosher salt

Preparation:

1. Fill a large pasta pot with water and bring it to a boil. Add the noodles to the pot. Cook until al dente ~ about 4 to 5 minutes.
2. Drain the noodles and rinse them under warm running water.
3. Distribute the noodles to serving bowls. It is OK if they get cold.
4. Dice the scallions. Try to keep the white portion of the scallions separate.
5. Heat the canola oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the tomatoes and the white, diced scallions. Cook for about 1 minute.
6. Add the soy sauce, mirin, and sugar and cook for two minutes.
7. Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Season with salt. Reduce heat to low.
8. Using a ladle, pour some of the broth into each of the serving bowls and garnish with the green part of the diced scallions.

Japan  [ print this recipe for Udon Noodles in Tomato Broth ]

Slow Cooker Gumbo Recipe

We only used to make gumbo on Fat Tuesday (Mardi Gras).  Even though this dish is outstanding, we would only make it once a year because it takes about 4 hours from start to finish!  This is a much simpler recipe for gumbo that tastes just as good.  You can add everything into the slow cooker before you go to work and have great tasting gumbo for dinner any night of the week.  Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:
1 tbsp unsalted butter
1 tbsp olive oil
1 yellow onion, diced
salt and pepper to taste
3 cloves garlic, diced
3 ribs of celery, finely chopped
1/2 green pepper, diced
1/2 red pepper, diced
2 serrano chilies, deseeded and finely diced
16 oz. smoked Andouille  sausage, cut into thin rounds
flour, for dusting chicken

2 chicken breasts, chopped into 1 1/2 inch pieces
salt and pepper to taste
ground cayenne pepper to taste

12 oz. can of chopped tomatoes
3 cups chicken broth
1 tspn Tabasco sauce

Preparation:

1. In a skillet over medium heat, heat the butter and olive oil.  Add the onion and saute for about 4 minutes.  After the onions have finished cooking, add them to the slow cooker.
2. Add the salt, pepper, garlic, celery, green pepper, red pepper, serrano chiles and Andouille sausage to the slow cooker.
3. In a medium sized bowl, mix together the flour, salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper.  Add the chopped chicken to the bowl.  Mix the pieces of chicken with the flour mixture so that they are well coated.  Remove the pieces of chicken from the bowl and add them to a skillet over medium heat.  Cook for about 8 minutes.  Add some of the chicken broth to the skillet to clean the bottom of the pan.  Add the chicken and broth to the slow cooker.  Discard the remaining flour mixture.
4. Add the remaining chicken broth, chopped tomatoes, and Tabasco sauce.
5. Put the lid on the slow cooker and cook on low for 8 hours.
6. After 8 hours, taste the gumbo and season as needed with Tabasco.
7. Serve over warm rice. 

United States Louisiana  [ print this recipe for Slow Cooker Gumbo ]

St. Patrick's Day - Corned Beef, Cabbage, and Green Beer Recipe

This meal of corned beef, cabbage, and garlic mashed potatoes is a classic Irish St. Patrick's Day feast. I also included a pint of green beer just for the occasion. Sláinte!!

The preparation of the potatoes and the cabbage is pretty strait forward. However, the corned beef takes some planning ahead of time. You will need a brining bag or a few heavy-duty zip-lock plastic freezer bags that you will use to soak the beef in a brine (salt) solution. This process takes about 7 days (believe it or not). The recipe for corned beef that you will need is listed below. But if St.Patrick's Day is just around the corner and you want to make corned beef in a pinch, you can get a kit at most grocery stores that include a pre-seasoned brisket and spices. Either way, you will be able to make a great, traditional St. Patrick's Day feast featuring corned beef and cabbage!! Erin go Bragh!!!

If a home stand in the kitchen is not what you had in mind, there are a few cities here in the States that have sizable Irish immigrant populations and also have respectable St. Patrick's Day celebrations. These include Boston, Chicago, New York and Savannah, Georgia. Out of these four cities, Chicago would be my first choice. Here is a guide to additional events happening in the Windy City this weekend...

If you do decide to go to Chicago, I recommend going to McGees and Kelly's. These two pubs are conveniently located across the street from one another in the Lincoln Park neighborhood on Chicago's north side. As stated in an earlier post, if you visit McGee's be sure to try the Irish Nachos!! Anyway, back to the recipes....

Recommended Equipment:
Dutch oven
brining bags (you can get them at Sur La Table) or heavy-duty plastic Ziploc Freezer bags

Corned Beef
Ingredients:
2 1/2 pound beef brisket
5 cloves garlic, cut in half
8 cups water
1/2 cup vinegar
4 tbsp sugar
1 cup kosher salt
3 bay leaves
1 tspn dry mustard
2 tspn peppercorns
1 pinch of ground cloves
1/4 tspn whole cloves
1/2 tspn allspice
4 garlic cloves, diced

Preparation:

1. In a large pot, mix together the water, sugar, kosher salt, white vinegar, bay leaves, 1 tspn of the peppercorns, 1/2 tspn of the dry mustard, and a pinch of ground cloves.
2. Bring the mixture to a boil and then let it cool. This mixture is called the brine.
3. Put the beef brisket in a brining bag. Then pour in the brine mixture and the 5 garlic cloves. The brine should cover the beef at all times so try to seal the bag with as little air remaining as possible. Then, place the bag in a larger bowl (in case the bag leaks). You may have to place a can of soup on top of the bag to keep the beef below the surface of the brine.
   
4. Place the bag in the refrigerator for 7 days.
5. After 7 days, remove the beef brisket from the brining bag and discard the brine.
6. Rinse the brisket with water and then place the meat in an oiled Dutch Oven or large pot.
7. Add enough water to cover the lower 2/3 of the beef brisket.
8. Add the remaining 1 tspn of peppercorns, the allspice, the remaining 1/2 tspn of dry mustard, 4 diced garlic cloves, and 1/4 tspn of whole cloves.
9. Heat the pot over medium heat until it comes to a boil. Skim off any foam that forms.
10. Reduce heat to low, cover pot and simmer for 4 hours.
11. Remove from pot and cut the brisket across the grain of the meat.
    

Cabbage
Ingredients:
3 cups of the mixture in which the brisket was simmering.
1 head of cabbage, sliced into thin ribbons.
salt and pepper to taste
3 cloves garlic, diced
2 tbsp unsalted butter

Preparation:

1. Add the 3 cups of the brisket mixture and the cabbage to a large skillet.
2. Add the garlic and season with salt and pepper.
3. Heat the skillet over medium heat.
4. Heat the cabbage until it has softened but still has a slight crunch.
5. Remove from heat and drain off any excess water.
6. Add butter to the cabbage and stir.
7. Serve hot.

Ireland [ print this recipe for Corned Beef and Cabbage ]