Nibbles & Sips

Fun with food and beverages: recipes and opinions about what, how, and why we eat.

Nibble on This: Nora Ephron on Carbs

Nibbles

I’ve had this one in my tickle file for a couple months, now, ever since NPR re-ran an interview with Nora Ephron after her death in June from pneumonia, a complication of her leukemia.

Screenwriter, Producer and Director, she’s had a hand in many of the movies that shaped my teens and twenties and, of course, served all three roles with the lovely Julie and Julia.

From that 2006 interview on Fresh Air, this particular portion snagged me enough that I sat at my desk and did the old-fashioned play-pause-type-rewind routine just to get it all down:

This is just a crap shoot. This is a lottery. Who knows? So I feel–I don’t think about the next 20 years, I think about today. So, today, I’ve already been to a bakery. This is the thing that I’m obsessed with is carbohydrates. I feel that I’m now living in an age where there’s the best bread we have ever had in the history of the world, there has never been more bread that is good out there. So it seems to me a shame not to eat some of it. Even if, and this is one of the terrible dilemmas of old age, you know, do you save all your money as if you’re gonna live til you’re 90, or do you spend it all because you might die tomorrow? Do you diet like a fanatic in the hopes that it’s gonna buy you a couple of extra years, or is it going to have nothing to do–are you gonna be hit by a bus and your last thought will be ‘I shoulda had that doughnut.’ And it’s very confusing to know what to do, but I’m coming down on the doughnut side. So I feel that, you know, that’s one of the things–I’m not so into 20 years, I’m kinda into is this meal I’m having something I really want to have? And if someone says to me ‘let’s go somewhere that’s not good’ I say ‘let’s not, let’s not, because I have a finite number of meals ahead of me and they are all gonna be good. They’re just gonna be good. That’s the truth.

I’d have to come down on the side of the doughnut, too. Or, in my case, lately, soft pretzel bread. I made some this weekend that was divine while being absolutely comedic in the making–kind of fitting for this quote in it’s own way. I’ll tell you all about it, I promise (next week), but for now, I’m going to enjoy a bit of wonderful, homemade bread and put on a fun movie to finish out my Sunday evening.

AlcHOLidays | National Bluebird of Happiness Day | Pursuit of Happiness

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Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, you say? Notice that it’s only the pursuit of happiness we’re guaranteed, not the finding or attainment.

In the 1940 film The Blue Bird (starring Shirley Temple, speaking of drinks), the bird in question is given as a selfless gift, and then escapes. The moral being that the bluebird of happiness is always to be pursued, not captured. And from the 1934 song,

be like I, hold your head up high,
’til you see a ray of light and cheer

and so remember this, life is no abyss
somewhere there’s a bluebird of happiness

—Bluebird of Happiness, Harmati & Heyman

All this to say, September 24 (that’s this coming Monday) has become known as the National Bluebird of Happiness Day. Now, you can take that as a challenge to always look for the silver lining, to keep optimistic as the days get shorter and the weather turns brisk (which is a plus in my book), or to go out of your way to spread a little happiness for someone else; essentially being a bluebird of happiness yourself!

And if you’re into old movies but not feeling the Shirley Temple vibe, watch Hitchcock’s The Birds, instead. I’m certainly not going to judge what makes you happy.

Pursuit of Happiness Cocktail for National Bluebird of Happiness Day, September 24

Part of what makes me happy, of course, is creating fun cocktails for any and all reasons. Historically, there is a cocktail known as the Blue Bird, using either gin or vodka, triple sec (ptoo!) or curacao, and bitters. I suppose gin would make sense for the era (Vodka didn’t get a good foothold in the US until mid-century, after all), but my thought process was veering a bit more tropical, plus I’ve been wanting to use this new Denizen Aged White Rum from Holland (look for a full review forthcoming), so rum and blue curacao (of course) means pineapple isn’t very far behind. Then I decided to try and see what the difference would be between pineapple juice and pineapple soda. Just because.

Pursuit of Happiness

2 oz Pineapple Juice
1 oz Aged White Rum (like Denizen)
3/4 oz Blue Curacao
garnish of a slice of Pineapple with or without a little bluebird pick

Combine the juice, rum, and curacao over ice and shake til you’re feeling happy. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish with a slice of pineapple.

Making little themed picks from a bird stamp, blue ink, and toothpicks is totally optional but fun!

So, I tried this both ways: with pineapple soda and pineapple juice. No surprise that the juice version won out, really, it’s only to be expected. The soda just didn’t have enough oomph to blend well and stand up to the two alcohols, while the juice gave the drink some body and you really got more pineapple flavor. Now, if you wanted to, I’m sure you could cut it half and half and be fine, but I was feeling more all or nothing last night.

And for those who might wonder if the Cruzan Vanilla Rum I reviewed a while back might not go lovely in this drink, it’s too sweet. I know, is that really possible? But yes. The aged white rum has depth without being harsh, the vanilla would be a bit cloying. That said, if you were inclined to combine the pineapple juice and the pineapple soda and then lace it with a bit of that Cruzan Vanilla Rum, what you would have would be more than a little reminiscent of pineapple upside down cake.

And there’s nothing wrong with that!

And because this is one of my favorite TMBG songs and actually has ties to the original Bluebird of Happiness (bluebird of friendliness, anyone?), I have to close with Birdhouse in Your Soul.

(Direct link for the Feed Readers: Birdhouse in Your Soul by TMBG)

Cheers!

ICC | Besan Ki Masala Roti

Nibbles

It’s mid-month and you might recall that that’s when I get to try out another authentic Indian dish and see how much I can avoid mucking it up with my American ways. In other words: it’s time for another Indian Cooking Challenge!

This month’s recipe was very easy to incorporate into our weekly dinners, as it’s an Indian bread (roti), and we love our breads. This particular roti is “stuffed” with a masala (mixtures of spices) and cooked on a griddled. As an unleavened bread, it’s somewhere between a cracker and a biscuit, but very tasty nonetheless. It paired nicely with the Thai-style cauliflower curry and basmati rice I made for supper one night this week.

Besan ki Masala Roti with Cauliflower Curry and rice

Besan Ki Masala Roti

from Marwari Vegetarian Cooking, makes 8

Ingredients:

Masala:1 1/2 tsp ground Cumin
1/2 tsp ground Coriander
1/4 tsp ground Turmeric
1 Green Chili, diced
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Amchur (dried mango powder)
1/2 tsp Chilli Powder
1 1/s Tbsp Olive Oil		 Bread:1 cup Besan (gram flour)
1/2 cup Whole Wheat Flour
1/2 tsp Salt
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
4-6 Tbsp Water

Ingredients for the Masala

Combine the masala ingredients in a small bowl and mix until a paste forms. Set aside.

Masala Paste

In a larger bowl, combine the flours and salt and mix until uniform.

Ingredients for Roti dough

Stir in the olive oil until the mixture is crumbly, kind of like pie crust.

Crumbly dough

Add in the water a tablespoon at a time until the dough forms a tight ball. It took my 5 Tbsp and then my dough was a bit sticky, but a little more flour fixed that.

Dough for roti

Divide your dough into 8 equal parts and form each into a ball.

Balls of roti dough

Roll each ball into a circle, about 4 inches or so in diameter, then divide the masala filling between each, spreading it around a bit.

the stuffed roti

Fold each circle in half over the filling, and in half again to make a triangle with one rounded edge. Roll these stacked packets into triangular roti–about 1/4 inch thick or less if you can manage it without sticking or tearing.

re-rolled triangular roti

Heat a griddle and drizzle a little olive oil on it, “pan frying” the roti until each side is golden brown. Serve warm.

I had the devil of a time rolling out the stuffed roti–the filling wanted to make the dough squish around and tear, to the point that were I to make these again, I’d definitely just mix the spices into the dry ingredients from the get-go, and skipped the filling step. It definitely would cut down on the chances of over-handling the dough (always a landmine when dealing with breads), which I also think I did this time.

Besan ki Masala Roti

Still, they were tasty–pretty much anything made with besan is awesome in my book.

Oh, and the original recipe used ghee (clarified butter). I opted to use olive oil for health reasons and convenience, but to be more authentic, ghee would be your best bet.

AlcoHOLidays | Mexican Independence Day | The Caliente

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Raise your hands, all of you who think (thought) Cinco de Mayo was Mexico’s Independence Day.

Okay, put your hands back down.

For the record, Cinco de Mayo (May 5th) celebrates the Mexican victory over the French at the Battle of Puebla in 1862. Fifty-two years earlier, however, Mexico began it’s fight for independence from Spain with the “Cry of Dolores” (Dolores being a city, not a person–the actual “cry” came from a Roman Catholic Priest by the name of Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla) on September 16, 1810. Even though they would not be completely free of Spanish rule until 1821, September 16th is recognized as the National Day of Independence in Mexico.

Partida Tequila and the Caliente cocktail for Mexican Independence Day

Now that we’ve had our history lesson for the week, let’s raise our glass, once again, to independence.

Tequila Partida contacted me about the upcoming holiday and sent me some samples of their lovely, lovely tequilas. They also wondered (and I have to join them in their puzzlement) why Americans celebrate Mexican holidays (or, you know, Tuesday) with blanco tequila, when the aged reposado and anejo tequilas are the grades of choice for celebrations in Mexico.

I’ve never been a huge fan of blanco tequila (aka unaged tequila)–it’s often too harsh and lacks that wonderful warmth that I associate with a good margarita (and that would be a margarita on the rocks, none of this slushy nonsense thank you very much). True, the aging process (while adding quality) does add to the price, but for superior flavor I think it’s worth it..

I had the opportunity to sample the Partida’s blanco, reposado, and anejo tequilas and I have to say, I was surprised that I liked the blanco better than the reposado, but not at all surprised that I enjoyed the anejo even more. What’s the difference?

  • Blanco is not aged at all, but Partida’s blanco is relatively smooth, light and crisp without the hard edges the other blanco’s I’ve tasted have had.
  • Reposado, by Mexican law, must be aged a minimum of 2 months. Partida ages their for 6 months, which gives it a nice, light amber color. While I enjoyed the depth of flavor, it hadn’t smoothed out as much as I would have expected.
  • Anejo, by Mexican law, must be aged a minimum of 1 year. Again, Partida goes beyond the minimum and ages their anejo for 18 months, the outcome of which is a smooth, complex flavor and a nice, golden color. Tasting them side-by-side, even a tequila novice would be able to tell the difference in how smooth and mellow the anejo is compared to the reposado. This is what I want in my margaritas from now on.

Of course, you know me, I like my spirits best in a well-balanced cocktail, and this recipe (courtesy of Jacques Bezuidenhout and Tequila Partida) might be just the thing to add to your tequila cocktail repetoire.

The Caliente

3 chunks of fresh Pineapple
2 coins of fresh Ginger
1/4 oz Lime Juice
1/4 oz Agave Nectar*
1 1/2 oz aged Tequila (like Partida Reposado or Anejo)
1 oz Ginger Ale

In a mixing glass combine the pineapple, ginger, lime juice, and agave nectar and muddle until the ginger is broken up a bit. Fill the glass 3/4-full with ice and add the tequila. Shake like you’re keeping time with a lively mariachi band. Pour in ginger ale and swish it around to chill everything together before straining into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a piece of crystallized ginger.

Jacques will have to forgive me as I made some tweaks to the recipe–he recommends Partida Reposado, I would go with Anejo, and he used a scant 1/4 oz of ginger ale and I thought why bother if that’s all your adding? I also have you serve it in a cocktail glass where he suggests over ice in a highball. Do what you like. I liked the ginger in this cocktail, the tequila gives it a very nice flavor, but I do wish the pineapple were more foreward–it gets a bit buried under the oompf of the other flavors, so you might want to try pineapple juice instead of the ginger ale or maybe even pineapple soda!

*Agave Nectar is making quite a buzz in culinary circles, and therefore with the home gastronome as well. Most folks say it’s lower calorie but that’s not really true. What is true is that, ounce for ounce, agave nectar is sweeter than table sugar, so you can use less–IF you use less, volumetrically-speaking, then yes, it’s reducing your calories, but a gram of sugar and a gram of agave nectar both add the same amount of calories. Read those labels, though! Manufacturers have been known to stretch their agave nectar in the name of profit with high fructose corn syrup, so check that the ingredient list includes only 100% agave nectar before bringing it home.

Okay, folks, remember to go for the gold? Age before beauty? Something like that! But if you were looking for a reason to try some really good tequila this weekend, now you’ve got it!

And come back next week to find out what we’re celebrating next!

“¡Viva Mexico! ¡Viva la independencia!” 

——————–

FTC Disclaimer: I was provided samples of Partida Tequilas for the purpose of review. All opinions are my own. 

Stuck in a Recipe Rut

Nibbles

Anyone who’s ever followed any sort of mean plan probably knows what I’m talking about with the recipe rut.

Several years ago we were subscribers of a recipe service. There were definite upsides as it totally took care of the “what’s for dinner” quandary each night and, depending on which track you subscribed to, could help you adjust your eating habits to be a little more healthy. We subscribed for quite some time, saved our weekly pdfs, and were pretty happy with the convenience it provided, all-in all.

We stopped using the weekly recipes for a while but noticed, eventually, that we were picking up some tasty, but not quite as healthy, habits again, so at the beginning of the year we dusted off the archives and started cooking from them once again. And it was about that time I stopped going to the farmers market because it was easier to shop all at once from her list, than my current habit of shopping the farmers market and building a menu from that.

This time it only took 8 months (instead of 2+ years) to reach that feeling of recipe rut.

Even though each week’s menus were slightly different, there were a lot of similarities and it just started to get to me: every week there was at least 1 pork dish, 1 fish dish, a chicken dish or two, and something would go into the crock pot. There’d be a rash of the same core flavoring ingredients (I may never be able to stand soy sauce in a fish marinade again, folks), the same side dishes, the same rhythm each week. And it’s like that part of your brain atrophies that can think up creative substitutions.

You’re locked into the list.

That perceived stuck-ness took the fun out of cooking. I rolled my eyes and thought of picking up take-out many times (but I still cooked because I’m a so-called responsible adult). Even on the weeks it was Todd’s turn I’d mentally pout when I’d see what was on the menu that week.

It was just. so. boring.

So this week I went rogue. Played the rebel. Struck out somewhat on my own.

Since we’re still aiming for healthy, I reached for a stash of old Cooking Light recipes I’d kept around. And cobbled together a menu I’m actually looking forward to for a change. I didn’t make it out to the farmers market this weekend, but with fall around the corner I’m thinking I might be able to get back into that habit again as well.

I’m sure there will be weeks when I’m just totally uninspired that I’ll go back to the recipe service archives and pull one out for conveniences sake, but it won’t be any time soon, I’m thinking.

So whether your habit is Meatloaf Mondays or Taco Tuesdays or Pizza Fridays, consider shaking things up every now and then just to keep things interesting. Maybe even before you, too, get stuck in the recipe rut.

Variety is the spice of life, after all.