I LOVE cabbage when it is braised just right and this recipe (#12 this year) was an attempt to use up what we had on hand. The cabbage cooked up nicely and paired with the ginger was a huge hit. Amazingly, the salmon was uber moist. I am going to assume it was the cooking method....(let's say so anyway). We will definitely make this again. Bon appetit.
Not a huge fan of Moscow Mules, but while in Memphis I had to try the Whiskey Mule at the Peabody as my affinity for bourbon was calling.....Recipe #4 this year is the closest I can find to that yummy concoction. Note that I added about 1/4 of a fresh squeezed orange to give it a bit more brightness. Perfection! AND don't forget it must be served super cold in a copper cup!!!!!
Ingredients
2ouncesirish whiskey
6ouncesginger beeror more!
juice of half a limeabout 1 ounce
lime slicesoptional, for garnish
mint sprig (optionalfor garnish
ice
Instructions
Fill a copper mug (or other glass) with ice. Pour in whiskey and lime juice, top with ginger beer. Stir to mix, garnish with lime slices and mint sprig.
Notes
*Ginger beer is to taste. If you like more of a whiskey taste, add less ginger beer. If you like a sweeter drink, add more! I usually just top the glass off with ginger beer.
So here we go....2020 brings on new ideas and new challenges...Bring out the wine (or the champagne, as the case may be), invite over a bunch of friends and pull out all the stops. I don't make resolutions, but I am committed to making 120 new recipes in the new year. Not all of them will make the blog as this is only a site for me to record the ones I really liked in order to have an archive. Happy New Year and bon appetit.
First three recipes of the new year would, of course, come from my favorite chef of the moment, Yotam Ottolenghi, from his NOPI cookbook. All were delicious and super easy, but the shrimp recipe and the ricotta fritters would definitely be on my list for a rerun...
2. King Prawns with Pernod, Tarragon and Feta - delicious, but I couldn't get prawns this time of year so I substituted jumbo Mexican blue shrimp and the flavor of the marinated shrimp and spicy feta tamed with the lovely flavor of the tarragon and the Pernod really made it special. https://www.foodrepublic.com/recipes/king-prawns-with-pernod-tarragon-and-feta/
3. Ricotta Fritters with Blackberry Sauce and Chocolate Soil - I must say that I don't typically eat much dessert. I am more the savory girl. BUT Yotam has made me rethink my theology on that. The combinations he presents are so very layered and interesting. Rarely very sweet, I find the desserts to be the most interesting part of the meal sometimes....And the techniques he proposes can translate into many new interesting combinations. I love the "chocolate soil" in this recipe and I will definitely be using that in other capacities. I also enjoyed making fritters, a truly southern kind of thing, but one I don't usually make.
Ricotta fritters with blackberry sauce and chocolate soil
Yotam Ottolenghi’s ricotta fritters with blackberry sauce and chocolate soil. Photograph: Jonathan Lovekin
These are a really impressive way to round off a meal, and have the added advantage that much of the preparation can be done well in advance. The “soil”, the sauce, the star anise sugar and the batter can all be made well in advance – two days for the batter and sauce; much longer for the soil and sugar – so you’ll just need to fry and bake the fritters on the day. You’ll have some soil left over, but it keeps for a week in a sealed container and is a treat to sprinkle on ice-cream and milkshakes. Serves six.
For the chocolate soil 45g plain flour ½ tsp cornflour 40g caster sugar 30g cocoa powder 40g unsalted butter, melted Coarse sea salt
For the ricotta fritters 20g icing sugar 100g plain flour ½ tsp baking powder 500g firm ricotta Finely grated zest of 2 large oranges Seeds of 1 vanilla pod 2 eggs, plus 1 extra egg yolk 450ml sunflower oil, for frying
For the blackberry sauce 50g caster sugar 700g fresh (or frozen) blackberries 120ml sloe gin (or 90ml regular gin)
For the star anise sugar 2 whole star anise, finely ground (or 2 tsp ground star anise) 70g caster sugar
First make the chocolate soil. Heat the oven to 160C (140C fan)/gas mark 3. Put the flour, cornflour, sugar, cocoa powder and half a teaspoon of salt. Mix, then slowly pour in the melted butter. Using first a wooden spoon and then the tips of your fingers, mix until it’s a crumble-like texture, then spread out on a parchment-lined baking tray. Bake for 15-20 minutes, stirring once halfway through, until it’s the consistency of a crumbly cookie. Remove from the oven and set aside – if the mix has clumped together, you’ll be able to break it up once it has cooled and set.
For the fritters, sift the icing sugar, flour and baking powder into a large bowl. Add the ricotta, orange zest, vanilla seeds and a quarter-teaspoon of salt and mix to combine. Put the eggs and extra yolk in a separate bowl and whisk until pale and trebled in volume (about three minutes using an electric whisk). Fold into the ricotta mix and refrigerate for at least four hours, to firm up. The batter will keep like this, covered, for up to two days.
Put the sugar for the sauce in a small saucepan with two tablespoons of water, bring to a boil, stirring to help the sugar dissolve, then set aside to cool. Put 500g blackberries in a blender and blitz to a puree. Pass though a fine sieve to strain out the seeds, then pour into a bowl. Pour over the sugar syrup and gin, mix to combine and refrigerate for at least an hour: it needs to be very cold.
Put the star anise in a medium bowl, stir in the sugar and set aside.
Just before you want to serve, heat the oven to 220C (200C fan)/gas mark 7. Pour enough sunflower oil into a medium saucepan to come about 3cm up the sides and place on a medium-high heat. Once hot, use two dessertspoons to shape the ricotta mix into rough balls weighing about 50g: use one spoon to scoop the mixture up and the other to scrape it off into the hot oil. Fry in batches of four, so as not to overcrowd the pan, for three to four minutes, turning constantly so they go golden-brown all over.
Use a slotted spoon to transfer the fritters to a plate lined with kitchen paper to drain while you cook the remaining batter. Transfer the cooked fritters to a parchment-lined baking tray and bake for eight minutes, until cooked through. Remove from the oven and, while they’re still hot, roll in the star anise sugar to coat.
To serve, divide the blackberry sauce between six shallow bowls. Place two hot fritters on top of the sauce, sprinkle over a teaspoon of chocolate soil and garnish with the reserved blackberries. Serve at once.
