For Wynn, the upside down sunset....

Hey Again All,

This recipe is one I promised quite some time ago to a cute lil' bear of a man I met via Burning Man.  I don't know a ton about him, but occasionally we get a chance to interact and he was keen on learning about my Upside Down Sunset drink.....its really freaking easy, and is lots of fun, and if you mix it right will get you fall-down drunk :)

First make a good strong syrup, my basic recipe is 1 cup sugar, 1/2 cup water, 1/4 tsp flavoring, bring it all to a boil, then let it cool. 

I've been getting my flavors from Gygi's.  They are a glycol rather than ethanol base and tend to carry way more flavor and evaporate less than extracts from the store, making them perfect for this.  Most of the Lorann oils are colored, so that takes even more guess work out of it.  In this example, I'm using grape.

So first, pour ~1/2 oz. of flavor into a clear glass.  Tee hee, this one is an omage to good ol' Wyoming.

 

Next add the ice.

 

Next add your vodka and orange juice.  Considering the nearly lethal amounts of vodka I put in mine, I did do a broken out example.

Gently stir, so just a bit of the flavor mixes in.  The syrup will sit on the bottom, adding additional flavor as you drink down, but will also be there for the next round, so you just need to top with ice and vodka and orange.  The syrup is usually good for about 3 drinks.

Other fun flavors, cherry makes for a more traditional sunset appearance, and lime/green makes for a "Packer Backer" if you happen to like them.

Got crazy drink recipes you like?  I'd love to try them, especially if they have lots of booze in them :)

The Uova....no need for sauce

Hey All,

Got out and did some local shopping.  Made one merchant in particular's day.  She's a sweetheart and I love her shop, its a custom scenting bath and body boutique and she was rolling out a new line today.  Now, more than ever she's less expensive than the big box bath 'n body places, does custom scenting, and her products are a million time better than anything you'll ever get at those "other" places.  If you are in the foothill village area and in need of bath 'n body type stuff check out, Scentsations.  My recommendations, the White Tea and Shea moisturizing shower creme for scalp, and the Every Day Essentials lotion.  Also, if you don't mind synthetic fragances, try the Mahogany.....its reminiscent of Aspen cologne and I love it.

So after that, it was time to cook the Uova da Raviolo, so here's how it went down.

Mix together 1 lb ricotta, 3 oz. finely shredded parmesan, a few leaves of chard cut finely, plenty of fresh oregano and thyme, 1/2 of a dried shitake ground and reconstituted.  I'm thinking a bit less shitake next time, I know some folks love that flavor, but I think it was just a hair too powerful.

Next lay out a wonton skin, put a couple of heaping tablespoons of the cheese mixture in the middle and make a well.  Crack a small egg into the well....coat the edges with an egg wash and seal up.

 Bring a pot of well salted water to a boil and reduce to simmering, gently slip the ravioli in for 8 minutes.  I used a large slotted spoon to get it out and slip it onto the plate.  We also had some beans almandine going in the microwave to go with it.  After the first test run, we decided no sauce, this was perfectly rich and delicious on its own.

Now for the guiltiest pleasure of all, poking that perfectly poached egg so it runs its delicious rich goey goodness all over the plate.

It was rich, and fantastic!  And because I can, and its the winter months and I need something bright in the kitchen, some lilies :)

Oh and later we're having cheesecake to wash it all down :)

Uova...the hens are laying

Hey All,

So I went on a crazy hiatus there.  Crazy from the standpoint of "JCF"....its sounded so much more adorable coming out of an old alcoholics mouth.  I've been working hard, and barely keeping my head up, so the Thanksgiving break has been welcomed.  I'm extremely excited to be enjoying time off.  Usually, I get just enough sleep to have a productive Monday and Tuesday, and then struggle through the rest of the week.

OK, let's put that aside for a minute and talk about fun new food ideas.  This past summer we got chickens.  Turns out we got the perfect mix of one horny rooster who keeps our girls satisfied, and five beautiful hens, who just started laying a couple of weeks ago.  Its not going to be too long until we are up to our eyebrows in eggs.

I was watching Chopped, or maybe The Next Iron Chef, it gets blurry sometimes, and they made a Uova da Raviolo.  Something about eggs on meals fascinates the daylights out of me, especially when a perfectly cooked egg oozes all over a dish and crystalizes just perfectly and makes it all sorts of tasty.  A while back I did a fried egg on a burger with Asian flair and it was amazing....drippy, rich....on  and on.

So I'm going to make this egg ravioli, but with a lot of shortcuts and adaptations....so here's the plan.  We'll know tomorrow how it turns out.

So for the ravioli, I'm cheating and using wonton skins.  Its a weird 9+9=27 kind of thing that I remembered wonton skins are basically pasta....so that part is easy.

I'm going to mix chiffonade chard, a powdered and reconstituted dried shitake (sorry kids, I don't have the cash for a truffle, but I hope this will give the meaty/earthy/oniony flavor that is needed), garden fresh oregano (usually I'd use dried because it has a stronger flavor, but I want these to be a subtle meld of awesome), garden fresh thyme, ricotta, and parmesan cheese.  I'm going to go ahead and use the powdered parmesan in a can, as the only alternative would be freshly cut, and well, again, see my bank statement......  This will make a well in the middle of the ravioli to hold the egg.  Seal up with egg wash and drop into boiling water for no more than 8 minutes :)

Over the top, will go a bacon cream sauce.  I plan to render up 4 slices of bacon, top up the drippings to make 2 Tblsp fat, then add 4 tblsp flour to make a roux, diluting up with about a cup of creme to make a sauce, and salt to taste.  Drizzle over the top and garnish with a blend of 50/50 oregano and parsley, just enough to add color.

I'll try and post pictures tomorrow.....it should make for an amazing meal.

Chard Scampi.....welcome Fall

Hey All,

A huge shout out to my readers in France, Germany, and Spain.  THANK YOU!  I'm touched that my recipes can inspire on the European continent too :)

So, let's talk chard scampi.....a brilliant moment and yum!

So what I did,

I harvested a good handful of chard.  Trimmed the leaves from the stems, cut the stems to fit in the bowl.  Top with part of a diced tomato, a generous helping of butter/margarine, garlic, plenty of salt, and a sprinkle of oregano.  Put in the microwave, push the "Vegetable" button and off we go.  The stems were just a hair undercooked, but had a nice crunch, the rest turned out great.....served with dry toast for sauce mopping, it was perfect!

Here's a picture of the dish before it went into the microwave:

It wilted down and tasted amazing.  I hope you all enjoy.

Speaking of chard, do you have a favorite recipe?  I'd love to hear it, several of my friends are also inundated with a great harvest and I'd love to share your ideas.

Lotsa Love,

3day