Margarita + Mojioto + Watermelon = Watermelon Mojarita!

"The Mojarita" is, of course, the near-holy union of a mojito and a margarita. I'm not sure if I am the first to coin the term mojarita but if I am not I'm sure I will get threatening emails from some corporate attorney. I will certainly ask Ms. Barrister to defend me if I do!) If it turns out I did make the name up and it is fact mine, then it is my intention to give it to the world for free use. Open source cocktailing if you will. Cocktailing as it was ment to be: shared.

Recently, I was quite stressed and in need of a few good drinks. This was due to the fact that my DH had scheduled a dinner party for our fathers and our father figures on the eve of our early morning flight to New York. Why do I agree to things like this? If there ever was a time to knock back a few drinks, this was it. Under these circumstances the bottle of tequila was clearly staring at me but I also had plenty of watermelon and mint on hand which would go to waste if I left it behind for the week. I ask you, what else was I suppose to do but figure out how to use it all up in a cocktail?

Watermelon "Mojarita"

• 4 oz watermelon
• juice of 1 lime
• 1 T simple syrup
• 8 mint leaves and 1 sprig reserved for garnish
• 3 oz tequila (preferably silver)
• splash of soda water

In a mixing glass, place mint leaves and the simple syrup. Muddle the mint leaves thoroughly to release the mint. If you do not have a muddler. Buy one! Or do what I usually do (because I can never find mine when I need it) and use a wooden spoon. Add the watermelon and keep muddling to break down the watermelon into juice and mush. Add tequila and ice cubes and stir. Strain into glass filled with fresh cubes. Top with a splash of soda and garnish.

You will want to make one of these before you make it for guests so that you can adjust the proportions to your liking. Less simple syrup is needed if the watermelons are extra sweet, more if they are not quite developed or if your concentration of syrup is light, etc.

Minted Watermelon Salad with Feta

I love it when the simplest things make a disproportionate impression. If this combination of foods sounds a bit bizarre to you please put aside your skepticism and try this one. At the barbecue I threw last week this dish was the last one tried by everybody and yet it was the only empty bowl at the end of the meal. I first had watermelon and feta salad as a signature dish of my friend Jock who does some amazing catering. The first time I tried it I was just amazed at how all the disparate flavors came together. I never worked up the guts to ask Jock for his recipe but when I needed something to serve with "fancy hamburgers" I remembered it and set out to at least capture its essence if not its actual composition.

Like so many summer salads this is one that can take an infinite number of adaptations to accommodate what you have on hand. We were preparing for a trip so there wasn't much in the house and I didn't want to go shopping. I think Jock's version used basil and had a stronger pepper taste. Next time around I would not be afraid to use red pepper flakes in this to get more of a bite. (For this group, mint was pushing it!)

Minted Watermelon and Feta Salad

6 cups watermelon, seeded and cut into chunks (I used seedless.)
3 T lime juice
1/2 cup mint leaves, roughly chopped
3/4 cup good feta, cut into large pieces
fresh ground pepper

Put watermelon into a bowl and drizzle with the lime juice. Add mint and gently mix together. Add feta and mix being careful not to break feta. Sprinkle with pepper to taste.

Olive Oil Muffins

Every now and then I run across a recipe for something with what immediately sounds like unusual ingredients for the genre. Then the more I think about it the more I 'get it'. Such was the case when one of my blog idols, The Food Librarian, plucked this recipe from the Giada Delaurentis archive at The Food Network. After a minute or two of contemplation, I just knew I had to make it. I appreciate baked goods that aren't too sweet yet have lots of flavor and while I've baked with Olive Oil before there was just something about the idea of adding balsamic vinegar to the mix that I just new would work. Balsamic is not just for salads! The effects of drizzling it on strawberries is legendary. So why not muffin? The other nice thing about this recipe is that its ingredient list is comprised of things you are more than likely going to have at the ready. Don't have almonds? This would be quite good even with roasted pine nuts! Seriously. I may even try these with extra lemon and a hint of basil... This muffin definitely makes me think.

Last week I was fortunate to find the last remaining jar of Spiced Fig Jam that I made last fall. I think the jar was hiding out in the pantry closet waiting for me to make something worthy of its inclusion. Outstanding combination. I broke down and had to have two. (I never do that.)

I'm including some extra shots with this post because I'm still trying to master the lighting in food photography. I set up a makeshift light box in the garage but I'm not so sure I'm doing it correctly. Too many shadows flying around. This natural light picture below looks much more vibrant:


Recipe found here and here.

Update: I remade this recipe again but doubled the lemon zest and omitted the orange. I added 1 Tablespoon fresh thyme leaves. They turned out amazing. Here's the updated recipe:

Olive Oil Muffins

• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 4 teaspoons lemon zest
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 2 tablespoons whole milk
• 3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 Tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
• 2/3 cup sliced almonds
• Powdered sugar, for sifting

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place paper liners in a 12-cup muffin tin.

Blend together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl to blend. Using an electric mixer beat the sugar, eggs, and zests in a large bowl until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in the vinegar and milk. Gradually beat in the oil. Add the flour mixture and stir just until blended. Crush the almonds with your hands as you add them to the batter and stir until mixed. Fill the muffin tin almost to the top of the paper liners. Bake until golden on top and a tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out with moist crumbs attached, about 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and cool for 10 minutes. Remove the muffins onto a platter and let cool for 5 more minutes. Sift powdered sugar over the muffins and serve.

Saturday Haiku: Or What Have You?

Aren't they all gay?
Heard of it, had to find it.
Now I will blog it...

(Thanks Jack!)

Google Home Page Updated! Sort of.

Google doesn't update its home page very much. In fact, hardly ever. But this week it updated its page to include background images. Fierce Google-ites went nuts and demanded that Google reverse this particular course that made its page look an awful lot like its competitor, Bing by Microsoft. I'm not much for World Cup Soccer but I am very interested in watching the corporate gamesmanship of the Big Titans of Tech: Microsoft, Apple, Google, etc. as they position themselves against each other and battle it out for our hearts, minds, cell phones, and everyday computing life. Within a few hours Google reversed course and made the feature 'opt-in' and also reversible. I like it. And Margarita appears to approve of my choice of background picture!

My iPhone now works as a phone!

(photo courtesy: Paul Stamatiou)

I took a time-out from the kitchen last night to get in touch once again with my inner geek. This time geeking out involved crawling behind the TV cabinet and wrestling with the jumble of power, USB, A/V, and Ethernet cables as well as my modem, router, and home automation controllers. (This is where all the fun stuff in our house gets its power from. The center of the island*.) I hate diving into that tangled mess doing so only as extreme necessity warrants (or as a wifi router reboot requires it.) The lure of actually getting "5 bars" of 3G cell reception for my iPhone at home won out and so I suited up to install the new ATT Microcell. This device just recently became available nationwide and it is certainly something you should consider if you have an iPhone (or any other ATT 3G phone) and your home reception is less than perfect.

I will freely admit it is a purchase that makes no sense! I bought a device that makes a service I already pay for work the way it's supposed to. Adding insult to injury, for an additional fee this device will also give me unlimited calling minutes by using another resource I already pay for: the Internet. Let me explain:

When asked about my iPhone I always tell people that the iPhone is an excellent pocket computer that sometimes works as a phone. The call drops would be annoying if I were the type of person who liked to spend a lot of time talking on the phone but I'm not. I use Google Voice as my primary number so my contacts are more often than not speaking to me on a land line when they call. (GV rings my direct office line and our home landline -- I'm usually at one of those two places anyway.) Still, it has not always been easy to get friends to use the GV number so if there was something I could do to get 5 bar reception on this thing when at home, life would be easier.

Now there is. The ATT Microcell is basically a mini cell tower that provides a 5000 square foot cell range using your home's internet connection to route calls to the ATT network. It costs $150 and gives you 5 bars at home. (You can get a cheaper deal if you buy an unlimited minutes plan or ATT DSL.) If you don't buy a $20/mo. unlimited minute plan it will just use up your plan minutes as usual. If you do, any call you initiate at home is "free", even if you leave home and continue the call on the regular network. I opted out of this since I always have plenty of minutes left over each month. Read Paul Stamatiou's review to get the lowdown on installation if you are interested in the details. My installation experience was about the same as his taking me two tries to get the GPS locked in. Once I moved the cell back in the cabinet I lost the GPS and had to start again.

So I now have one more gizmo box and power cords behind the cabinet. At least now, however, if I get a call on 3G while at home I won't have to ask the caller to hang up and then quickly call them back on my land line. I would think my apartment dweller friends in NYC would jump all over this if they can get past the price tag. (I think they can.) The truth is, not every cell carrier works well indoors anyway depending on your building construction. The call clarity is still a bit substandard but for now, my iPhone is a phone again and I'm happy about that.

Next tech project will be to install my new 802.11.n router. My laptop is n-band so hopefully my streaming audio will function better once I get this up. Oh, and I'll be all set for an iPhone 4, now improved with n-band wifi! Yup, there is a method to my madness since it looks like iPhone users will be stuck with ATT for awhile longer.

* "Lost" reference. I haven't quite let go of the tv show yet...

A Couple of Summer Side Salads: Greek Cole Slaw & Carrot Papaya

Here are two very easy salads for the summer. Both made great side dishes when paired with the spicy grilled peanut chicken kebobs. I usually mix up the dressings for these types of things in a jar and just put the jar in the bowl until its time to mix and toss. (This also makes it easy for last minute helpers...) Due to the volume I doubled these recipes and used a food processor and mandoline for the grating and chopping. For a smaller quantity I would have gone old school for a less "commercial look".

Greek Coleslaw

• 1 head cabbage
• 4 T E.V. Olive Oil
• 3 T red wine vinegar
• 5 oz good quality feta cheese
• 3 T fresh thyme leaves
• salt and pepper to taste

Slice the cabbage and put in a bowl. Crumble feta over it and add thyme leaves. In a jar, combine the oil, vinegar, salt and pepper. When ready to serve, shake jar and pour over slaw and toss. This salad can be served immediately or allowed to rest and wilt before serving to your preference.

Indonesian Spicy Carrot Papaya Salad

Juice of 1/2 lemon
Juice of whole lime
1 T light soy sauce or fish sauce
1 T rice vinegar or distilled white vinegar
pinch of sugar
1 lb carrots, grated
1/2 T red chili pepper minced
1/2 cup julienned, unripened papaya or cucumber
2 T minced fresh parsley
1/2 c roasted peanuts, minced

Combine the lemon juice, lime juice, soy sauce, vinegar, and sugar in a bowl. Whisk to blend. To the shredded carrots and the dried pepper, green papaya, parsley and peanuts. pour liquid over the carrots and toss well. Serve at room temp. Carrot salad can be prepared a half day in advance and kept in the refrigerator until 30 minutes prior to serving.

Peperoncini Stuffed with Salmon Dill Cream

Appetizers in my house get short shrift. My mom once said to me that she didn't understand why anyone would want to fill their guests up with food before you sat them down and served them dinner. Not that she ever needed the edge that ravenous hunger can give a cook but limiting hors d'oeuvres to a bowl of cashews was her idea of ensuring the success of her dinner. I'm just lazy. I just keep hoping that by the time my guests have dinner and dessert, they won't remember that I just put down a block of cheese and some grapes for an appetizer.

After weeks of blogstalking and baking out of Dorie's book I decided that for this weekend's guests I would reach back into my own recipe clippings and cook some of the very first things I ever prepared for others. This recipe is the very first I ever clipped out of Gourmet Magazine. It was in my first subscribed issue and I ended up cooking my way through the entire issue. The feature was on picnics with various dishes presented visually on a turned over canoe on a lake. Gourmet was not very practical-- more about the fantasy of cooking than anything else and could be a bit intimidating...perhaps leading to its ultimate downfall?

This is one of those recipes that you will make once and then forever have it committed to your memory as you will be inundated with requests to bring them with you to potlucks and picnics. Removing the seeds from the peperoncini takes away the heat, leaving just enough to get cooled by the salmon dill cream. People expecting them to be too spicy will be pleasantly surprised by the great combination of flavors. Be sure to mince the shallot fine so you don't clog your pastry bag tip. And while I'm thinking of it, just go and get a pastry bag if you don't have one. They are cheap and cutting a hole in the corner of a Ziplock just won't cut it for this one. Make them a day ahead for even more ease on party day.

Peperoncini Stuffed with Salmon Dill Cream
Lovingly clipped from Gourmet Magazine

• 35 to 40 (three to four 9-ounce jars) peperoncini (pickled Tuscan peppers), drained
• 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter, softened
• 1/4 cup minced fresh dill
• 3 tablespoons minced shallot
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 6 ounces thinly sliced smoked salmon, chopped fine

Trim the stem ends off the peperoncini at an angle and, wearing rubber gloves, discard the seeds and ribs. Let the peperoncini drain on paper towels. In a bowl cream the cream cheese with the butter until the mixture is smooth, add the dill, the shallot, the capers, and the lemon juice, and combine the mixture well. Stir in the salmon and salt and pepper to taste, transfer the mixture to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch decorative or plain tip, and pipe the smoked salmon and dill cream into the peperoncini. The peperoncini may be prepared 1 day in advance and kept covered and chilled.

Red Velvet Cake: Happy Birthday Meshia!

I'm not much of a cake-baker. I'm grateful for the fact that frosting can cover a multitude of sins. I'm also smart enough to know that people first eat a cake with their eyes so that by the time that they actually take a bite they have already decided if they are going to like it or not. Mostly. Cake baking is a skill that really does take some practice to master and up until now it has just been too easy to whip up a fruit crisp or the occasional tart when a home made dessert is called for. Having said that, baking is one of the many things I set out to teach myself through the initiation of this blog. While cupcakes are fairly easy -- just plop a scoop into a cup, cool, and frost - baking a whole cake takes a bit more planning, time, and technique. Usually, when it comes to entertaining I'd rather spend the requisite time and effort on the main event. Appetizers get short shrift in my house as well for this very reason. When the dinner you are cooking for is for a birthday, however, you are somewhat obligated to present a cake so make the time I did.

I had been saving Cindy's easy cake recipe for the next time I would be called upon to make a cake --she and I share an aversion to fancy frostings and decorations -- but I knew the birthday girl, Meshia is quite partial to the red velvet cupcakes at Sprinkles . I set out, therefore, to make her a real old fashioned Red Velvet Cake. I never really thought the Sprinkle's recipe tasted much like the red velvet cakes I had remembered. (You can see Cindy's influence on me with the cake topper. )

The "flavor hook" of a good red velvet cake is in the buttermilk, vinegar, and cocoa combination. Sprinkles erroneously describes it as "Southern light chocolate cake". There is a lovely 'tang' and an extruded cocoa thing going on here. Thinking of this as 'chocolate cake light' is really short selling it. (Besides, how anyone can taste anything other than "sweet" in a Sprinkles Cupcake is beyond me. ) The 'red' comes from food coloring but apparently old style recipes called for beet root to color the cake due to WW II rationing. Someday if I should ever master this cake I will try to recreate a beet version as I would imagine beets add an interesting element to the flavor profile. So even though this particular cake flavor has had a second resurgence in popularity thanks to the many cupcakeries that use it as a calling card (the first resurgence came after the film Steel Magnolias Red Velvet flavored its famous armadillo groom's cake) I don't think many people have tasted a real Red Velvet Cake.

In the fridge firming up the frosting...

The picture below taken with a flash reveals the outcome in a way you couldn't make out just looking at the cake with the naked eye. The crumb was not at all consistent throughout. While the taste was quite good and hit all the notes I was expecting in a red velvet cake. Nothing too sweet here though some bites felt tougher than others. The pic makes it look like some of the cake was not even cooked but to the naked eye it all looked the same color -- it was just the texture that was not even. At the time I thought it was my imagination until I saw this picture. I'll do some reading to figure this out and perhaps I'll retry this in a couple weeks with a different recipe. For now, I'm going to guess that my cake pans were over filled and/or I was just on the verge of overcooking the whole thing. Just a quick comparison to other recipe's online has me thinking that larger pans must have been used when this recipe was written. 5 cups cake flour seems like a lot for two 9" pans.

Red Velvet Cake
(from an old recipe card I found)

• 5 cups cake flour
• 1 t salt
• 4 T cocoa powder
• 2 cups buttermilk
• 1 bottle red food coloring
• 2 sticks unsalted butter
• 2 1/4 white sugar
• 4 eggs
• 2 t vanilla
• 2 t cider vinegar
• 2 t baking soda

frosting

• 16 oz cream cheese
• 1 1/2 cup whipped cream
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 3/4 t vanilla
• sweetened coconut flakes
  

Prepare the flour mixture by combining flour, salt and cocoa powder in bowl and set aside. Mix buttermilk and food coloring in second bowl and set aside. In the bowl of your electric mixer, mix the butter and the sugar until light and fluffy (about 2 minutes). Add the eggs – one at a time – beating well after each addition. Add the vanilla and continue to mix. With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the flour mixture and the colored buttermilk in small additions.
In a small cup combine the vinegar and baking soda. Allow the mixture to fizz and then quickly fold into the cake batter.

Butter 2 9-inch cake pans lined with parchment paper. Fill the prepared pans with about 4 cups of the finished batter each. Split batter among pans. Bake at 350 F for about 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.

Prepare the frosting. In the bowl of your electric mixer, process the cream cheese, vanilla and confectioners’ sugar until smooth. Then, in a separate bowl, with hand mixer, whip the cream until stiff peaks form. Gently fold these two mixtures together and place in the refrigerator for about an hour or until firm enough to spread.

Let cakes cool in pan for about 10 minutes on a wire rack before removing the cakes from the pan. Let cool completely. When completely cool, split layers with a bread knife. When your cake layers have cooled completely place one cake layer on a serving platter. Spread the cake layer with the layer of frosting. Repeat for layers and frost outsides of cake. Refrigerate cake to set frosting. Save extra frosting for touch-ups.

Flowers on a budget.

The floral and cake theme for our dinner party on Saturday...

...started with a $5 potted mum from Albertson's and a pair of scissors:

Summer Cocktail Series: Mojito!

After years and years of Tequila being king (or queen) of summer in our house, things are changing a bit. At least for me. My best friends, The Casadores Sisters, might be a bit alarmed to hear this but I've been enjoying the refreshing taste of rum lately as my summer beverage of choice. We got reacquainted on my most recent trip to Florida where I rediscovered its appeal after stumbling into a rum tasting at the resort hotel I was staying at. If you think all rums are created equal, think again. They aren't. They have all the subtleties of any other liquor so they deserve just as much studied attention as you would give a good pinot.

Mojitos themselves are a simple drink if you should be so lucky as to have fresh mint in the house or growing in your garden. You can make them by the glass or by the pitcher, as I did, if you are serving for a group. I prefer them over ice but you can shake and strain them into an up glass to make a very sophisticated alternative to a martini.

The recipe here is presented for a single cocktail but it is easily adaptable to a pitcher. The drink excels when the mint is allowed to steep into the rum for an extended period so a mojito born of a pitcher is the true expression of this cocktail art. The soda water should be added at the very last possible moment prior to serving. I prefer gold rums but white rums are more commonly associated with this cocktail. Create according to your own preference. But do make on this summer!

The Mojito

• 2 oz gold rum
• 1 oz fresh lime juice
• 1 T simple syrup
• 9 sprigs of mint

In a shaker with ice, put mint and simple syrup in a glass and muddle with muddler or wooden spoon breaking up mint, add rum and strain into rocks glass filled with ice. Float soda water on the top and garnish with lime wheel and sprig of mint.

Saturday Haiku: A Busy Day.

Could be at the beach..
Much love going into food.
Celebrate a friend!

Hot Cookies!

I'm in full party plan mode right now. For me, the key to party survival is in the planning and menu selection. That is all done now and we are in the "Time minus 24 hours" stage where the shopping gets done and any dish that can be made ahead of time is now on deck. Selected recipes have to not only go together thematically but have to be capable of being prepared in a small kitchen and not all require the same heat source to be completed. Grilling, the heat source of choice this time of year, presents its own unique problem because our grill is way across from the living room 'causing me to get quite a lot of exercise just before dinner gets served. We'll see how it all plays out... success or fail I will hopefully have enough fodder for [blog!] posts all week long.

In the meantime I got inspiration (again) from Greg at SippitySup. While I would look at a Lindt Chili Chocolate bar on the supermarket shelf and wonder why on earth anyone would try to improve on the great taste of chocolate with a spicy vegetable, Greg sees its sublime potential: use it in a cookie!Greg's genius is that once he says it, it becomes so obvious! The Korova Cookies of two weeks ago were a big hit and while they hardly need "updating" I was familiar with the recipe so I decided to give Dorie G's classic a kick in the pants instead of spicing up Martha S's as Greg had done. The combination is just great! Only a modest heat kicks in and then only as the initial deep chocolate taste has been fully realized. There is nothing obnoxious at all with regards to the heat in delights. I have planned a somewhat "ethnic meal" and these will be a perfect compliment (and give interest to the birthday cake I am required to serve -- this being a birthday party and all.)

Pictures? Of course the look exactly the same as the ones I did two weeks ago so I thought instead of boring you with more pictures I'd just share this tip for keeping the dough rounds shaped while in they are hardening fridge. The picture says it all I suppose. The tubes will also help you get a perfect round making the finished cookie look great.

Cookie dough will live in the refrigerator for up to three days but I as I've suggested before, keep some ready to go in the freezer (up to 3 months) for emergencies or for those occasions where you want all the home-made fresh-out-of-the-oven dessert glory without the last minute work. One dish down, 5 to go.

Baked Salmon with Thyme and Cranberries

Yes, I know somewhat went into "summer mode" when I still owed you a fall [slash] spring recipe I promised awhile back. I first worked this recipe out back when cranberries on fish seemed like a great idea and cooking on anything other than a grill wasn't anathema. Yes, I'm talking back in February and it is now June. I never got around to posting it because I wanted to serve it to my mother before she saw it here and started passing the recipe off as 'hers'. We do that a lot in my family. A very lot! There will be more on this later you can be assured.

Anyway, now that its summer it might seem a bit 'off season' to prepare salmon this way but I promise it is not so. Personally, I tend to shy away from grilling fish (I haven't masted the art of no stick fish grilling) and I can't be expected to give up salmon just because it is grill season. So I pan roast or bake. This recipe [slash] method is infinitely adaptable, however, so it should be in every salmon lover's bag of tricks. Add more lemon, some basil, and omit the cranberries and you have summer salmon. Voila.

Salmon with Thyme and Cranberries

• 4 6- to 7-ounce salmon fillets
• 3 T dijon mustard
  
• 3/4 cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs) or fresh breadcrumbs
• 1/4 cup dried cranberries, chopped
• 1/4 cup chopped green onion
• 3 tablespoons butter, melted
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
• 2 teaspoons grated lemon peel

Preheat oven to 375°F. Oil baking sheet. Sprinkle salmon with salt and pepper. Place skin side down on sheet. Spread dijon mustard over salmon filets. Combine panko, cranberries, onion, 2 tablespoons melted butter, thyme, and lemon peel in medium bowl; blend well. Season with salt and pepper. Spoon onto salmon, dividing equally. Press to adhere. Drizzle with remaining melted butter. Bake until topping is golden and salmon is just opaque in center, about 20 minutes.