Tequila Cocktails

I received the book Viva Margarita as a gift a couple of years ago, and Kurt and I flipped through it again last week to pick a couple of interesting cocktails. We’ve done wine tastings and beer tastings, so why not a cocktail tasting? There are several great drink ideas in the book, all involving tequila, like the Noches Mexicanas with half and half and Frangelico, the Avocado Colada, and the Mango Pellegringo, and choosing two was difficult. Our bottle of tequila had just enough left in it for two options, so we mixed and judged.

The first cocktail we selected was the Feisty Jamaican Splash. This is a little like a tequila mojito. Mint leaves were muddled in each chilled glass with some sugar and lemon juice. Tequila was added, then ice, and it was topped with Jamaican ginger ale. I initially thought that I would taste this and wish it had been made with rum. I was wrong. The tequila, surprisingly, worked quite well with the lemon and the mint. The ginger ale sweetened it up and added some fizz, and the drink was well-rounded and delicious. I gave this one four and a half stars out of five, and Kurt gave it four.

The second contestant in battle cocktail was Cuatro Amigos Liquados, or a blended cocktail involving raspberries and lime, lemon, and orange juices. Those ingredients were placed in a blender along with honey, half and half, ice, and tequila. I thought for sure this one would be the clear winner. It sounded like a great combination. Unfortunately, it was a little thick in texture and crunchy from the raspberry seeds. This did make an excellent alcoholic smoothie, but Kurt and I both scored it at three stars.

Perhaps the Feisty Jamaican won it because it caught us off-guard. A good ginger ale with a strong ginger flavor played very well with the lemon, mint, and tequila. It wasn’t too strong or too sweet or too anything, and it’s a simple enough cocktail to enjoy with hors d’oeuvres. The Cuatro Amigos was nice in its own way, but seemed more filling and somehow less interesting. Timing and atmosphere could affect the success of these drinks. For instance, if I were sitting outside on a July afternoon, this blended one would probably win it hands down.

Sweet Potato and Root Vegetable Gratin with Sweet Potato Sauce

Having already planned the fried chicken night, my goal was to locate a light vegetable side to go with the leftovers the next night. Another piece of my goal was to use some winter roots one more time before the season is gone. Most people are doing their best to rush spring into place, but I wanted to hang on to winter for just a moment longer. In truth, winter is actually already gone here in Austin. It was 88 degrees last Friday, and it’s going to be about 80 each day this week. And, spring doesn’t really happen; it just flits by and waves as it ushers in the ferocious heat of summer. I’m not complaining, really, the summer heat doesn’t bother me too much, but I did want to pretend that winter wasn’t gone just yet.

Needing a light, wintry, vegetable dish led me to Taste Pure and Simple by Michel Nischan. This book is all about applying healthful cooking techniques to pristine ingredients to create dishes that are pure in flavor and not masked by excess seasoning or fat. Fruit and vegetable juices are reduced and made into sauces without added starches or butter, while the main ingredients’ true characteristics are allowed to shine. I’ve had this book for a few years, and the reason I haven’t cooked from it more is that I don’t own a juice extractor. Making this root vegetable gratin with sweet potato sauce depended on locating some sweet potato juice. I wondered if I could find a bottled vegetable juice that would be close or maybe even a squash juice. No such luck. I asked at Whole Foods, and the juice guy, who had never seen sweet potato juice, suggested I sweet talk the folks at the juice and smoothie counter into making some for me. Thank you again to the juice and smoothie counter ladies who so kindly played along and obliged my unique request. They had never juiced sweet potatoes but were willing to give it a try. Two large sweet potatoes produced a large plastic cup full of juice, and all the other ingredients I needed were very easy to find.

The gratin was built with layers of thinly sliced rutabaga, russet potato, sweet potato, and parsnip. The layers were stacked and repeated, and each layer was seasoned with salt and pepper. Minced onion was spread in the middle. This was covered and baked for 50 minutes. At that point, the gratin was removed from the oven, the parchment and foil covering was removed, the top was sprayed with oil, it was sprinkled with chopped parsley, chives, and sage, and it was returned to the oven for another 20 minutes. Meanwhile, the sweet potato juice was poured into a saucepan while leaving the collected starches at the bottom of the cup. It was reduced to one cup and then left to steep with sliced ginger, chopped Thai chiles, and lemon juice. I tasted this as it was stirred and strained the sauce once the ginger and chiles had imparted their flavors.

I wondered if the gratin with no cream or cheese or butter would taste of boringness and earth or if the root vegetables and onion would develop into something fantastic on their own. Develop they did. This was full of bright, vegetable flavor without any heaviness. There is plenty of moisture in the vegetables which prevented the gratin from being dry. Really tasting each vegetable layered upon one another was delightful. The sauce was sweet and spicy and rich but only in flavor. Really experiencing the simplicity of ingredients is a lovely thing, and it greatly reduces the guilt of eating fried food for two meals in a row.

Spicy Fried Chicken

Every now and then, I’ll notice a book on the shelf that I haven’t used for a long time. Last week, my Dean and Deluca Cookbook seemed to be giving me puppy dog eyes and wondering why I hadn’t opened it in so long. This was one of the very first cookbooks I acquired before a collection even began to form. I remember seeing David Rosengarten on the Today show promoting this book back in 1996, and I got the book shortly thereafter. I learned how to make risotto from this book. I clearly recall a very hot summer night when we were living in a tiny apartment, and I had decided to attempt risotto. Why I thought it would be a good idea to stand over a steaming pot of rice and broth while it was about 100 degrees outside I have no idea, but it turned out very well and I’ve made all sorts of risottos several times since then. There’s so much great information in this book, and the origins of the food presented span the globe. I sat down with it last week and flipped through the entire book again. I made a few mental notes of things I’ll try soon, but the first thing I had to make was spicy fried chicken.

This recipe was intended as a multi-culti, their wording, dish due to the chicken being marinated in buttermilk with garlic, ginger, lemon, and chiles. I chose to focus on a more southwestern kind of approach and left out the ginger. To speed up the initial steps, I bought chicken pieces instead of a whole chicken. I intended to buy some breasts and wings, but for some reason, Central Market only had wing drumettes. So, I marinated some breasts and the drumettes in the buttermilk mixture for about six hours in the refrigerator. I stirred and re-arranged the pieces twice during that time. Then, the chicken was removed from the marinade, tossed in seasoned flour, and left to rest while the oil heated to 350 degrees. Frying is a messy venture, so I recommend frying a lot of chicken while you’re at it. Leftovers re-heat nicely in the oven, and the more you have in the end the more the mess will seem worth it. It takes about 20 minutes total in the oil to cook chicken, and it came out golden and crispy.

I can’t even remember the last time I fried chicken, so this was a rare treat in our house. The crunch of the hot, freshly fried coating was almost as satisfying as the flavor. The meat was very tender and the lemon and garlic accented it nicely. The jalapeno flavor was more subtle, and we would have preferred it even spicier. We decided we should have left some pieces of jalapeno on the chicken before flouring it, so we’ll go that route next time. Although, there’s also a cornmeal-molasses fried chicken recipe in the book, and that may have to come first.