where o where has my little blog gone

No sooner do I hash out a redesign at this (and my other) blogs, that blogging seems to take a backseat. What have I been doing? Well culinarily, not much.

I mean, I am virtually swimming in beer. And excess breeds indifference,… (so naturally, I’m on a coffee kick. Coffee coffee coffee - but his time, not in beer) But - I did find some great 3-4 ounce glasses, I bought 24 of them for a song (don’t you just love a bargain?) and am planning to have a couple beer flights (mini tastings) at the coming family gatherings. After weighing the collective opinion of my beer-drinking friends and family, I’ll know better what to make (and gift) in the coming year. For now, I’ve put the kegs on vacation. I have cases and cases of ales, stouts, dopplebocks, IPA and pilsners OH MY! taking up precious kitchen space.

Right before Turkey, work (the day job) found me doing some overnights in Quechee, VT. I love that town, and we frequented a local brew pub - just across the river. The first night there we were serenaded by a Birthday Party of theatre types (I”ll let you paint your own picture of colorful 20 somethings - each trying to outsing, and out talk the next)… but, unlike the family chain restaurants, this bunch could belt out a great rendition of Happy Birthday. I enjoyed a Russian Imperial Stout with my fish and chips - huge portions for the price - and really, really good.

On a return visit I had a beer flight of six or seven? samples - basically everything on tap. Liked the lighter beers then. The Cream Ale, and Canadian especially.

Back across the river, we went to Firestone’s - Brick oven flatbread pizzas (inspired two return visits!) Their clam chowder was about the best I’ve ever had - odd, being so far from the ocean (for a New Englander). My beer of choice there, wasn’t the local microbrew… but rather Bass Ale - perfect with a Margarita pizza, 3 mushroom and chicken, or whatever the special was the first day. mmmm

I was going to take some of my homemade stout and make the same Guiness Gingerbread I did last year, and try my hand at the Guinness bread in my “recipes to try” page. Long days, and road trips have kept me out of the kitchen for the most part. I’m only going to do two Christmas cookies this year. (Two great big ones!) Both new favorites of mine as of last Christmas (and both thanks to Food Network)  - Chocolate Peanut-Butter Biscotti - salty, a little sweet, and surprisingly good with coffee, and a variation of AB’s Chocolate Peppermint Pinwheels - heretofore called Chocolate Bailey’s Pinwheels. Skip the peppermint, go green, go Irish! -A splash in regular chocolate chip cookies wouldn’t be a bad idea either.  For years we’d dine on Mom’s Chocolate Brownie Bailey’s Pie for Christmas Breakfast, but I digress.

My latest food find, also thanks to being on the road, and the fantastic Co-op in Lebanon, NH - was really a food re-find. One thing that’s great about my local Trader Joe’s is they can get all sorts of neat things - and packaged under their own brand, come pretty cheap.

I happened to find out that their private-label brand of yogurt is locally made Stonyfield, which is all-natural, organic and totally what we’d be buying if we shopped at a different store. I can also guess with considerable certainly that some of their pizzas are made by Amy’s, which we used to get for a dollar or two more elsewhere. But they also carried bags of Coffee Candy, two bucks for dozens and dozens of little coffee hard candies. I was nearly addicted to those puppies. Kept a full candy dish on my desk at work. It never stayed full for long (I had help), but they were cheap, and easy to come by… until they didn’t sell them anymore after a year or so. Poor seller? They have another line of coffee candy, a name brand, a little chewy and, IMHO gross. An internet search found a bag of my mystery ones on Amazon for, big bucks. I wasn’t 100% sure they were the right product, and at that price, they had better arrive on velvet cushions and recite Shakespeare and Douglass Adams! Gevalia also offered them up in one of their gift baskets, in one, and only one catalog. Oh well, it was a good thing while it lasted… BUT THEN, I found tins of them at the Coop, with all sorts of other Stocking stuffers. Bali’s Best - from Fusiongourmet.com - oh how I love thee. Santa could bring me nothing but a stocking full of your rich coffee deliciousness,… (and I promise not to get addicted!)

This year, I’m all about simplifing the kitchen. Two cookies, lots of coffee (in candy and regular form) and one birthday cake - two flavors in the form of Blue’s paw print (yes, That Blue) Blue frosting on a chocolate paw, and 4 yellow toes - with a #5 candle in case you were wondering.

 

two brews with one (bermuda) stone

Seek not, and ye shall find, An (local) end to my quest?!

A fifth of Black Seal and two cans of Barritt’s! A Dark N Stormy Kit!

The proportions are rather odd - enough rum to make twenty-five drinks, but alas, ginger beer for four…

(maybe I’ll have to try the cran/orange/rum drink also on the package - 2 oz of each juice, 1.5 of rum)

though, after months of searching and waiting, I’ll take it! (and found about a half-hour from home) I don’t think I need to “save it.” But Oh, I’ll savor it!

now, I’m off to find a lime!

in case you don’t want to scroll back (or google) the recipe:

1. take a tall beer glass, fill 2/3 with ice.
2. Squeeze lime juice (1/2 lime) over the ice
3. add 2 oz. Dark rum (Black Seal, Baby!)
4. add 6 oz. Ginger Beer (Barritt’s if you’ve got it, won’t vouch for any others i’ve tried to date, still looking…)
5. add a slice of lime
6. try to drink just one!

 

Bermuda just got a little closer

I asked and, while there isn’t any of my favorite mixer in NH, there are several places that carry it in Mass. - granted they’re at least an hours drive from here - but since most of those liquor/package stores are close to family, I’m all set!

WooHoo!

So if anyones wondering what to bring to Thanksgiving dinner (or any impromptu cook-out this summer) just swing by:

Blanchards, 103 Harvard Ave, Allston, MA 02134
617 782 5588.

Charles Street Liquors, 143 Charles Street (Beacon Hill), Boston
617 523 5051

Liquor Land, 874 Harrison Ave, Boston
617 445 0560.

Haley’s Liquor Store, 116 Washington Street, Marblehead
781 631 0169.

Kappy’s, Rt 114 - 175 Andover Street, Peabody
978 532 2330.

Austin Liquors
20 Boston Turnpike Road, White City Shopping Ctr, Shrewsbury, MA
508-755-8100
&
117 Gold Star Boulevard, Worcester, MA
508-853-8953

and It can get a little Dark N’ Stormy around here - despite being a bright, sunshiney day!

 

(drunken) glutton for punishment

As mentioned in previous posts, I’ve been on an on-and-off quest to remake my precious Dark N Stormy. Today came version number… pick one, I’ve lost count.

This afternoon I found myself trolling the aisles of WholeFoods, which always makes for a glorious day - especially since It’s been about a year since I’ve set foot in one. (Note to Whole Foods: You just opened up a new store across the pond in London… can we get one in New Hampshire? Please!!!)

I grabbed, among other things, some fantastic sushi for dinner (car food supreme!) and my choice of water to wash it down, I spied a “new” ginger beer. I say new, its from a company that’s been making it for over 100 years in the UK. I only bought one bottle - trying to invoke Murphy’s Law to hedge my bets that it would be a good one…

(but as I’ve learned you can’t invoke Muphy’s Law - you can’t wash your car to Make it rain)…

And so, once again, the Dark N Stormy comes up short. Drinkable, but just not right. Probably akin to using fat-free milk in a Sombrero. I’d previously found (and tested) another ginger beer with the mysterious quillaia, close but not quite. Now i’ve learned that the ginger mash needs to ferment in Bermuda stone vats before bottling… Today’s gingerbeer from Fentimans was indeed fermented - in stone bottles no less - But alas, not in Bermuda stone.

I drank this one, despite the frustration - others have been poured down the drain, so this one was above par at least. I did some more google searches for the beloved Barritt’s to see if there were any more clues to either it’s availability - or it’s secrets.

I’ve also stumbled across other sites where equally frustrated Bermudian ex-pats, and tourists alike are unhappy with the state of other ginger ales and beers. Misery and company. Depending on which sites you read (and choose to believe), Barritt’s products are simply unavailable in the US or the UK… or they are available in select liquor stores (despite being a non-alcoholic product) across the US, and it’s territories. (I’m thinking positive here… and even made an inquiry to the companys help line as to the nearest vendor - fingers crossed it’s not in Montana).

So now I’ll be checking out the local liquor stores, whilst waiting for a response from the company (or an order form) before I lose hope.

No, I won’t lose hope… Worst case (or perhaps best case?) I’ll be taking a flight (or cruise) back to the island, and I’ll be bringing an empty suitcase (or two) with me. Customs restrict the number of bottles of alcohol one brings back into the county (Black Seal, while touted as hard to find, is available locally) however there’s no restriction on bringing in cases of soda!

 

it ain’t beer

The “other story” begins…

To explain, allow me to pull a large portion from a previous blog entry almost verbatim:

I’ve been making myself a nice (very nice if you ask me) Dark and Stormy since October. The recipe hasn’t changed, but I perfected the preparation, and somehow, that has made all the difference. I smuggled two bottles of Black Seal Rum and 2 liters of Ginger Beer (not the same as Ginger Ale, as one patron at the Grocery Store informed us. “That is not Jinjah Ale, that is Jinjah.”)

The simple recipe is to take 1 glass, fill with Ice. Add 2 oz rum, 6 oz Ginger beer, and a twist of lime. Enjoy.
I’d combined the rum and ginger beer in a measuring cup, poured over the ice, only to have it form a foamy head atop the drink.
After finding inspiration in various places (Food Network mostly), I’ve learned to modify the drink as follows:
1. take a tall beer glass, fill 2/3 with ice.
2. Squeeze lime juice (1/2 lime) over the ice
3. add 2 oz. Dark rum (Black Seal, Baby!)
4. add 6 oz. Ginger Beer (Barritt’s if you’ve got it, can’t vouch for any others, yet…)
5. add a slice of lime
6. try to drink just one!

*note to any federal agents, or legal types reading this post, I only use the smuggling term in jest, a pirate reference, having been to sunny bermudy on a boat and all that… I got my two bottles all proper and duty free like, with the knowledge that this Rum was described as “hard to find”… outside of the NH liquor store that is… So 1/2 of the equation is taken care of - futurewise, that is. As for some nice Jinjah beer, that is another story.

The small bit of research I’ve done so far has taught me that Ginger beer is made in Bermuda, England and also (of all places, Mass and RI. Yay, close to home. (Triangle trade route anyone?) I’d figured the (exact) rum was going to be the toughie… searching the web, well, the soda merchants aren’t exactly easy to find. (Despite one of them in RI mentioned in an episode of one of Rachael Ray’s shows)

So far I’ve tried one Ginger Ale I found at Trader Joes - missing one ingredient - Quillaia bark (whatever that is), but does contain sugar rather than high-fructose corn syrup (also missing from sodas made in and around the tropics). The verdict. Nope. Not even close. I was told that Root beer would also work, but I didn’t milk these 2 liters of jinja just to resort to some A&W or IBC.

There is a natural foods store up the road from me that carries a ginger ale with the mysterious quilllaia, but does regrettably have the HFCS I’d rather it not. So I’ll give that a shot next, but in the meantime, does anyone have access to anywhere that sells the real deal (Barritts) or perhaps knows of a micro-soda-brewery making the good stuff, and willing to ship?

 

Fritterin’ away

Several years ago, my wife and I headed out for a post-Pumpkin Fest pancake breakfast at Stuart and Johns, a relatively nearby maple sugar house and dairy farm with a large group of friends…. we did the same thing again this morning. Our second trip (being out-of-towners). Our friends’ much more frequent haunt.

The atmosphere was simple - folding tables, paper plates, plastic utensils. It kind of felt like a church breakfast, but with waitstaff. The menu was also simple - pancakes, french toast and fritters - essentially items that existed solely for the deliverance of NH maple syrup.

On our first visit, I saw fritters on the menu and didn’t bother to read ahead. Decision made! (Hadn’t had those since I was a kid, and I remember loving them). The waitress informd me that they were out.

Ok :(… I”ll have pancakes then.

Halfway into my stack, drowing in mapley goodness… the waitress came back over to me, with one lone fritter in a paper bowl.

“We found one fritter” she said, placing it down before me.

“Thanks” I said.

She walked away, we all looked down at the bowl, and at each other “What do you mean, she FOUND one? - Like on the floor underneath the fryer?”

Much to my delight, and everyone’s amusement, I ate it anyway. It was good. Crunchy and warm.  Everything I hoped for (save 4 or 5 others on my plate.)

Some time later, I bought a box of “Perfect Fritter” in the natural foods aisle, but haven’t bothered to make them after all these years… biding my time for a trip back to Stuart & Johns (perhaps subconsciously).

Cut to two-and-a-half weeks ago, day 5 of our week long Bermuda cruise to be exact. After reading that fritters were one of the local delicacies I quickly found them on my lunch plate, right next to the other local delicacy, fish chowder. Except these weren’t your normal corn fritters. No, the Bermudians dig on the conch fritters - perhaps akin to the clam fritters I’d seen on the menu as a child down on the Cape and would never dare try.

The conch fritters were fantastic! I even liked the curry mayonaise they were served with - that was the bigger surprise for me. Another restaurant used tartar sauce. Ketchup would have worked too. The fish chowder was also fantastic… thought it might be too hot with the addition of the local sherry peppers sauce… but it was perfect. The rum didn’t hurt either. I ended up buying a local cookbook  (as well as the same rum, and pepper sauce) so I could recreate these treats back home. Thankfully both companies are online, so I won’t fear running out - no need for a “too good to use shelf” yet.

So this morning, fresh fritter memory in mind, I was determined to have me a heaping plateful of the corn variety - no way was I waiting several years for some more of these. I ordered them as my main dish, not merely a side order.

The first one was good. Crunchy on the outside, cakey, with whole pieces of corn on the inside. I must say though, they started to get somewhat “plain” - dense, like poundcake, and just barely undercooked.

The crispy/savoriness and variety of ingredients in the conch fritters has replaced the corn fritter in my heart. Today’s fare was more like a donut hole by comparison. Good, but relegated back to a mere side dish.

Next time I’m having breakfast closer to the ocean, I may give the clam ones a shot… That or we’ll be Bermuda bound, and enjoy the real thing!

 

mocha moocher

Ever since our daughter has been able to talk, when she’s asked what kind of ice cream she wants, it has always been the same, “vanilla!”. Put chocolate sauce on top and she’s in Heaven.

Still, it didn’t take us long to realize that she never ate very much. So we stopped asking and resorted to sharing a little of our own with her - my wife’s mint chocolate chip and, occasionally, my mocha chip. It wasn’t her good ol’ vanilla, but she was happy. And, again, she never ate a ton.

We took our Sweetie out for ice cream today. My wife changed gears and got a thick chocolate frappe. Considering Sweetie’s love for chocolate smoothies, we thought she would be thrilled with the choice.

Our daughter did admit that the frappe was “yummy”, but she was much more interested in what I brought to the (picnic) table. She climbed up to my side of the bench and sat next to me to more easily share my mocha chip waffle cone. Sure, a few licks - no problem! (The “Daddy’s Little Girl” shirt helped a little)
However, in a matter of minutes she had inched closer, and in no time I found myself looking at the back of her head. The little mooch was between me and my ice cream! Yes the plan was to share, but never has she had so much.

“Do you like Daddy’s ice cream, Sweetie?”

“Yeah. It’s yummy yummy yummy!”

Three “yummy”’s to Mommy’s one. Houston, we have a convert.

Next time, I’m getting a large.

 

Vacation, Day 6 - farm fresh

Saturday. The house’s internal temperature finally dipped below 90… so I dared venture back into the kitchen. But not before a run down to a local farm for tomatoes, blueberries, and corn on the cob.

I thought I was going to have some help with the corn, but I had to do the whole schuckin’ thing. The siren’s song of the blueberries was too hard to resist for one little girl.

 

weekend favorites

Had a really good food weekend (to balance out a fair amount of hard work).

The highlights:

Fresh tomatoes are one of my favorite things about summer. Found about a dozen different heirloom tomatoes at the market, grabbed two; a dark reddish/ almost purplish one, and a nice yellow/yellow orangish one. These were diced up, and baked atop some fresh bread, drizzled with olive oil, balsamic and a sprinkling of sea salt and fresh basil (chiffonade). They were gorgeous, as well as delicious. I’d have taken pictures, but I was too anxious to eat. I’ll make more, real soon… (speaking of tomatoes, I’m planning on making Alton Brown’s baked tomato sauce before the season passes. If it comes out great, I’ll be canning a bunch, otherwise it’s then back to jarred (organic) goodness from Trader Joe’s.

Speaking of AB, he had a Good Eats episode recently on sushi, and I’ve had a hankering ever since. Last night we met friends, and filled up. I enjoyed crab salad, tempura salmon maki and a tropical, almost dessert maki, with pineapple and a kiwi sauce. With a 22 oz Sapporo of course, followed by “fish” ice-cream.

Today - even though I shouldn’t have, we went out for ice-cream. I figure I’d burned enough calories to justify. What were my choices? Didn’t bother to check, I always have mocha chip. Today it came in a waffle cone. Don’t know what I’ll do if they ever run out.

 

April (and burgers) in Paris

My wife (to be) and I had been dating for nearly a year when we went to France for vacation. We spent most of the week in St. Malo with the family who hosted me as an exchange student some years back. In many ways it was like going home. It was great to return, some things had changed, but when you’re visiting a walled in medieval city - many more things were exactly how you remembered them.

We ate our way around the region enjoying ourselves, my wife also enjoyed the “isolation” of not understanding French. I was her link to the world, and was even called upon to translate when she went to get her haircut - brave girl, but that’s another story.

We enjoyed some traditional fare, Crocque Monsieur, Pain au chocolat, gallettes and crepes, an all carrot salad, and turkey (because it’s more common than chicken). I even tried a pizza with fruits-de-la-mer (shellfish) - but I didn’t really like it. (But, I still think it’s a good idea and am willing to give it another shot)

We hiked up Mt. St. Michel, and saw the salt-meadow lamb, grazing in the pre’ sale’. We went down to the docks and watched the fishermen (farmers?) bring oysters in from the harbor in Cancale. We even had a great meal in a McDonalds. (We swear the food was fresher, and cooked healthier than back in the states). And we sat in numerous cafe’s and watched the world go by, bien sur!

The trip to McDonalds seemed to be an event to everybody but us, at first. (I mean it’s just McDonalds after all). They had the same menu (except, like they said in Pulp Fiction - they don’t call it a quarter pounder). However like any nicer restaurant, they had a hostess. Somehow they (or our host family) seemed to insist we order dessert (which they brought out to our table) and even though it looked like the same old vanilla soft-serve with chocolate syrup, it tasted fantastic! Everybody was dressed up too. Employees and patrons alike.

When we all left for McDonalds, our host mother’s father didn’t want to (perhaps refused to) come. We left him as he sat down to eat his own dinner. We had a nice, leisurely meal there and even took a meandering sight seeing drive on the way back home. “Grampy” was shocked - and perhaps disgusted, that we returned before he’d finished eating. Fast food - quelle horreur!

Days later we bid our hosts farewell and took the train back to Paris to explore the city for a couple days alone before we left for home. We walked the Champs Elysees, and ate in some fabulous restaurants…. as well as the obligatory lunch (on Easter Sunday no less) at the Hard Rock Cafe.

This was an interesting excursion, because, try as I might to speak French (which I can do) the waitress, who was French, would only speak English (this must be part of the HRC experience). Alas, I ordered my veggie burger, fries and a coke - chuckling at what my grandmother would think. Burgers on Easter!

The waitress asked how I wanted it cooked.

Odd, I thought, but I’m kinda new to this vegetarian thing, and perhaps they do things differently here. “Moyen - Medium - normale???.”

The answer seemed to satisfy, so I let it go… until I took my first bite…

“Umm, this isn’t a veggie burger”

“Oh. I’m sorry. Didn’t you think it was funny that I asked you how you wanted it cooked?

“Yes.”

Ok… so pronunciation, or enunciation… something needs a little work.

After lunch, we strolled up the Champs Elysees, towards the Arc de Triomphe - the entire city had come out by now. We almost stopped at Planet Hollywood for dinner, then thought better of it, and went for a more authentic French dining experience. I don’t remember what we ordered, just that the waitstaff didn’t seem to care if we ever left. Busy or not, they didn’t expect any turnover. It’s funny how different, but refreshing, the ‘old world’ can be. I miss the 2- hour lunches, the long leisurely dinners that always included bread, pate, salad and dessert.

The slow-food movement just can’t get here fast enough!