Behind the Curtain

Repeal!

Chicagoans celebrate the repeal of Prohibition at the Congress Hotel.
(Image used in Ken Burns' documentary Prohibition.*)

Let us raise a glass and celebrate the repeal of Prohibition on December 5th, 1933, 78 years ago on Monday! What shall we drink? Hmm, how about something a little different and unique. Lets us go with...

Captain Cook
50% Gin
15% Luxardo Maraschino
35% Orange Juice

Shake over ice & strain, Orange Twist Garnish

The orange juice will be good for those with an early winter cold and for those who are not sick, a great way to trick you into thinking the drink is healthy for you!

Citizens of Detroit heeding a "last call" in the final days before Prohibition went into effect. (1920)

I shall enjoy this drink while writing and sending out my holiday cards this weekend. I normally send out my holiday greetings earlier than this, but I've been pretty busy, so they have been delayed. When do you normally send out your holiday cards?

*I am unsure of the original sources for these images, but they were used in Ken Burns' documentary Prohibition, and I got them via Fine and Dandy. If you know the original source, please inform me so I can credit them.

Chippy Cupcakes

Margarete's Kitchen (1914) from Shorpy

Some more baking! This is called a cupcake recipe, but I see it more as a dessert muffin due to the lack of frosting. Either way, it is tasty.

Chocolate Chip Cupcakes (Makes about 3 dozen)
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup (6 ounces) semisweet chocolate morsels
1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
1 teaspoon vanilla extract, divided
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

Beat first 3 ingredients at medium speed with an electric mixer until blended; stir in chocolate morsels, walnuts, and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla. Set aside. Beat remaining 1/2 teaspoon vanilla, butter, sugar, and 1/3 cup brown sugar until creamy. Add egg, and beat until blended.

Combine flour, soda, and 1/2 teaspoon salt; stir into butter mixture. Place paper baking cups into miniature (1 3/4-inch) muffin pans, and coat with cooking spray; spoon 1 1/2 teaspoons batter into each cup.

Bake at 350° for 12 minutes. Spoon morsel mixture over cupcakes, and bake 10 more minutes.

Recipe source.

Chocolate Drop Cookies

Baking Cookies in De Gruyter Fabriek 1930 from BRIGHT Creative's Flickr stream

I am finding any excuse to crank on the oven and make something, thanks to its amazing kitchen heating qualities. (Also the same reason I try NOT to turn on the oven all darn summer.) Here is a nice and easy cookie recipe to keep you warm this week. I will admit that the reason this recipe won out over others is because it gave me a good reason to use my vintage Pyrex double boiler. Oh, how I love it to pieces.

This recipe is from my American Woman's Cook Book (1942), which is one of the best purchases I have ever made. Nearly any recipe I have ever wanted or been curious about is in this volume. If you ever see it on sale, snatch it up! An now, the recipe:

Chocolate Drop Cookies
1 1/2 cups sifted flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 oz chocolate
1/2 cup shortening, melted (I used butter)
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla

Sift flour, salt, and baking powder together. Melt chocolate and add to melted shortening (I put the cut-up bits of butter into the double boiler with the chocolate). Add sugar, egg, milk, and vanilla, then add sifted ingredients. (I add the milk when it is still on the stove, but with the heat off so there isn't a shock between the warm chocolate and cold milk. I then add the other items with the top part out of the double boiler and off the heat.) Let stand 10 minutes.

Drop from teaspoon onto greased baking sheet and bake in moderate oven (375) 12-15 mins. Frost if desired. Makes 36 (I was only able to get 18 from this recipe.)

I've been meaning to write a little post on my double boiler, because I think it is a way better method of melting chocolate than in a microwave. It is also just a sleek looking piece of kitchenware. Would you guys be interested in seeing some of the tools I use in my kitchen?

Happy baking!

Turkish Delight & Treasure Hunts

I'm the type of person that when I read something about food or games in a book I immediately become curious about it and want to figure out how to make the item or play the game. If seed cake or Whist is mentioned in a story, I dog ear that page so that the next chance I get I can do research on it.

Imagine my delight while perusing a book shop to find a lovely title sitting on the shelf that touted "activities and delicious recipes...to follow in the footsteps of your favorite childhood heroes." Yes please. I purchased Turkish Delight & Treasure Hunts without a moment's hesitation.

Here's a small confession though - I haven't read most of the books that these recipes or activities are sourced from. I'm not sure how I managed to never get to them, but it didn't stop me from enjoying reading about the activities these characters engaged in. I also added a few of these titles to my "to read" list; who cares that I'm a grown up, I can still enjoy them!

I was concerned that since this book was in sections and had recipes, it wouldn't be very readable. Thank goodness I was wrong. I have been so hooked to this book the moment I got it and have already baked a few items from it. This book has given me many ideas of activites I want to do myself, as well as with nieces and nephews. I will be buying this book as presents for friends this year for sure. If you enjoy reading, entertaining yourself offline, or cooking/baking, I highly suggest you get this book. You'll thank me later.

Cold Brewed Coffee

We are a couple of caffeine addicted crazies. So when C came up to me with the idea of cold brewing our coffee I looked at him with a bit of hesitance. What the heck did he mean...COLD brewing?

Well, it actually makes a damn better tasting coffee and a WAY stronger brew as well. It is also super easy to make, it just takes patience. Here is how we do it:

Tools
Course ground coffee, French press*, cold water, and a spoon.

Technique
Measure out 2/3 cup coffee grounds and mix with 2 2/3 cups cold water. Stir together and let it sit for 6 to 12 hours. The longer you let it sit, the stronger and more flavorful it is. We let it sit overnight and strain it in the morning into another container.

This creates a concentrated brew that we normally cut in half with cold water. We leave it concentrated and let ourselves cut it in our own glasses so we can control the strength. This way I can make it stronger any particular morning a need an extra kick. Sometimes I drink it without diluting it, but it gets me a bit shaky if I have more than 1 tiny glass!

*You don't need a French press, this is just what we use to strain the grounds from the water. You could also use a sieve lined with cheese cloth or a filter of some sort.

For all I know, we could be doing this whole cold brew thing wrong, but this ratio/recipe works for us. There are plenty of cold brew recipes online (like here or here), so take a look at a few and see what works for your coffee drinking habits. All I can say is that I really love the taste of cold brew and it helps us stretch the coffee we get. Because we make concentrated batches, we've gone from going through 2 lbs in a week to 1 lb in 2 weeks.

If you cold brew and do it differently from us, let me know! I love to hear about people's different kitchen habits.

Large, Plump, Shiny Buns

Get your mind out of the gutter - this post is about Currant Buns. Well, without the currants. The currant buns recipe in Turkish Delights & Treasure Hunts (review coming soon) has been taunting me and with the temperatures finally dipping, I thought it was a fine time to crank the oven in the kitchen.

I went to the Farmer's Market hoping currants were still in season, but they were not. (I know you normally use dried currants in these buns, but I wanted to use fresh fruit for this one.) As a substitute, I got some ground cherries. I have a soft spot for ground cherries because their papery "shells" remind me of autumn leaves. They are similar in flavor to currants, but not as sweet. I really wasn't too concerned about substituting them because the recipe said you could also just make the buns plain and they would still be tasty.

The dough didn't work out the way I was hoping. The recipe called for bread flour. I was unable to find any, so after some research on the difference between all purpose and bread flours, I decided to just use the regular kind. The dough was a little more firm than I was expecting as a result of this, and the ground cherries weren't really sticking into the dough. There was several minutes of my kneading the cherries in, then rolling them into balls, only for the cherries to pop out of the dough. I surrendered and decided to make plain buns. Oh well, ground cherries in my oatmeal in the morning then!

The glaze that goes on top is almost a simple syrup, but it really makes these buns. Even with the dough not being as elastic as I was hoping and the ground cherries becoming airborne, I really am enjoying these buns. As you would expect, they go especially well with some tea.

There are plenty of fruit or tea bun recipes online, but if you get Brocket's book, this recipe is a quite nice variation. It is the first recipe I've made from this book and I hope to make a couple more before I write a little review post about the title. As it stands right now, I absolutely adore this book and will be getting a copy as a present for a friend.

Drunk Cherries

I know I just wrote a post about cherries, but they are only in season for so long and I wanted to squeeze in one more project about them before they are gone!

After way too long of a hiatus, Donovan & I got together for a Grandma Club meet. I'm starting to fancy whiskey more and more. With this new thirst, I have found the need for maraschino cherries in my home bar. I'm not really a fan of the corn syrup kind, so I went on the hunt for a recipe to make my own.

It is crazy easy to make maraschino cherries and it was probably one of the quickest grandma club meets we've ever had. You can check out the entire process and recipe over at the grandma club blog. As for the here and now, here are two drinks I'm currently enjoying these tasty cherries with.

Old Fashioned
teaspoon of sugar dissolved in a splash of water
dash Angostura bitters
2 dashes orange bitters (I prefer Fee Brothers)
Cherry (or two) smashed into sugar and water
1 to 2 oz whiskey (to your taste)

Manhattan
2 parts whiskey
1 part sweet vermouth
1 cherry
dash Angostura bitters

I'll be talking a little more about whiskey and my path to actually enjoying it next week.
Salute!

Tart Cherry Liquor

Making tart cherry liquor has turned into an annual ritual. I was afraid that this year, because of the wedding, I was going to miss cherry season. I tried to tell myself it was no big deal; I don't get to make this every year. To my great amazement, I saw tart cherries at the farmer's market last Sunday and snatched-up 2lbs at a mere $5. As I skipped home to start the first stage of making this liquor, I realized the making of it is a big deal to me.

I have a semi-auto cherry pitter, which is tons of fun to use. The cherry juice splatters everywhere, making it mandatory to tie aprons in odd ways around my body. The "cha-chunk" noise of my pitter as a push the lever into a fresh cherry is very satisfying. Better yet is the plunking of these mangled globes into the liquor and the patient waiting as it changes into something you aren't quite sure how it will taste. Each year I have made this liquor, it has tasted completely different. These type of surprises are ones we rarely get now a days. It reminds me a lot of when I was young and I would mail in a box-top with some money; I had no idea if I would ever get my snazzy decoder ring or my money was lost to the cereal prize gods.

It takes about 4 to 5 months to make it, which falls perfectly with winter, right when you want a little reminder of summer. A romanticized version of summer, of course, in a small glass of cherry goodness. This time around I decided to make a double-batch so I have some of this liquid to give as presents this holiday season.

Have you ever tasted cherry liquor? It is an acquired taste, but if you like dessert liquors or after-dinner drinks, I would give this drink a taste. If you still have tart or sour cherries in season where you are and you try this recipe, let me know how it turns out for you.

Renegade Asparagus

It is still asparagus season here in Chicago, so I made sure to snap up some bunches when I went to the Farmer's Market last Saturday. I tend to broil my asparagus and keep it simple with the toppings. Here is my go-to asparagus recipe:

Broiled Asparagus (from America's Test Kitchen)
1 pound asparagus, tough ends cut (normally an inch or two from the bottom)
1 T extra-virgin olive oil
fresh lemon juice

Adjust your oven rack so it is 6" from the broiler and preheat the broiler for 15 mins. Toss the asparagus in oil and add salt and pepper to taste. Lay the spears in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Broil the asparagus, shaking the pan at least once halfway through, for 10 mins. Sprinkle with lemon juice before serving. 

 The lemon juice really adds a nice fresh flavor to the whole plate and it makes for a great side. With just two of us in the house, I tend to have leftovers, which I love to put in a sandwich or salad for lunch the next day.

Asparagus aside, I must call attention to all those in Austin! 16 Sparrows & Letter Writers Alliance will be at this weekend's Renegade Craft Fair at the Palmer Events Center. Stop by, say hello. Mention that you read the blog and get a freebie!

Tea at the Engine

I have been craving afternoon tea, with all the pomp and sweets, on a near-daily basis lately. I can normally quiet the desire with a cup of tea and a biscotti, but the full force "I want scones and clotted cream!" has kicked-up some serious emotions in me after a few weeks of this. I decided it was high time for some high tea.

C & I recently had a lovely dinner at Owen & Engine, where they have hand-pulled cellar temp beers. While perusing the menu I saw that they had a mini-tea service and decided to make a Saturday date with Donovan to partake in their offering.

  

While not the full-force afternoon tea I was craving, this quelled my desire quite well. The scones were lovely, the clotted cream and jam was great, and the pot of tea was bottomless. All in all Donovan and I had a nice time and made some serious temptress eyes at the brunch menu, but we were plum-stuffed. I will definitely be going back for some tea and will have to venture to their breakfast offerings as well!