RPI: Egg - The Happy John

The Lowdown:

Every cocktail seems to have a story. Perhaps, it put the tale in cocktail. In that case, a storyless beverage would be a... well, let's just leave that up to your imagination. This cocktail is no different. Although it may not have the disputable history of the Old Fashioned, it always makes me laugh when I order it. Perhaps snicker, laugh seems to be a bit too out there.

This story begins when we were young enough to sneak spiced rum into the late night showing of the horror-movie-du-jour. Okay,I'm not going to lie I still think it's fun. Everyone would then get their favourite pop to mix. Simple enough. That is until you order Orange Crush. You then sit down, add the two flavours up in your head, and realize that you may have to endure the grossest drink ever. Wrong! It's actually amazing.

Fast forward two years. We are all sitting at our favourite BBQ joint, when I notice that they have Orange Crush and spiced whiskey. Eureka, an instant classic. Until I was smited by the bartender and my fellow friends that is. Apparently whiskey and orange soda is some form of faux-pas in the realm of beverages. Once again I endured.

Fast forward a couple of months. The setting: the same BBQ joint, rainy night, approximately 7*c, gentle northeasterly breeze, 8:30pm PST. Everyone is sitting at the table with their drink of choice, the Happy John. The components, as you may have guessed, are orange soda and spiced whiskey. But where is the irony you say? It lies in the fact that in my absence the drink was now named after the person whom originally ostracized me for ordering it all those months ago.

Oh the humanity! The humility! Now, locked away in my attic, I have been burning the midnight oil to recreate this untold masterpiece to get my own form of justice; the Happy John v.2.0 (which is essentially a modified Boston Sour). Remove the redneck, add a touch of class, and recreate a classic. And just like that, I get my silent revenge (not to mention a delicious cocktail in front of me and my RPI: Egg post completed).

The Playlist:

The Happy John
2 oz Spiced Whiskey
1/2 - 1 oz Simple syrup (depending how sweet oranges are)
1 Egg white
1/2 Naval orange, juiced

Orange Simple Syrup
3 cups Water
2 Oranges, peels only
5 Allspice berries
Sugar 

The Skinny:

1. In small pot: combined water, orange peels, and allspice berries. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Once boiling reduce the heat to low, uncover, and allow to simmer for 30 minutes.
2. Strain contents of the pot, keeping only the orange liquid. Using a measuring cup, make a 1:1 ratio of sugar to orange liquid. Put this mixture back into the pot and heat until sugar is fully disolved. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
3. In ice-free martini shaker: combined cocktail ingredients and shake vigerously. Strain into an ice filled glass. Garnish as desired.
4. Enjoy. 

Stay Rad -h
Featured on: Premeditated Leftovers, 33 Shades of Green, Chef in Training, Food Renegade, 

RPI: Maple Syrup Mulled Wine

The Lowdown:

Apparently in the world of internet, there is a heated debate over mulled wine/hot punches (I'm not pardoning that pun, so just accept it). Everyone seems to have a different idea of what is acceptable, proper, or at the very least, tasty. All this means to me is that I can slip my version somewhere in that mix unnoticed and sneak away unscathed. Really, this is one punch you wont mind taking in the kisser. So for the time being, we'll just accept the fact that bickering over hot punch recipes is silly and childish. Well, I'm not sure how childish, because if any child inquired about my mulling abilities I would seriously question their upbringing. Then again, here I am sitting at 11am sipping on mulled wine.

I'm not much for Christmas spirit. Don't get me wrong, I love the tree full of memories, seeing family, getting hit in the head by freezer doors at Christmas dinner (don't think I forgot about your lovely hospitality Kristy), Baileys and coffee, mulled wine, the jazzy old Christmas albums, and a select few movies (Charlie Brown and National Lampoons Christmas). But the rest of it has gotten out of control. I'm not a present person in the first place, so this added presence of presents really kills me at this time of year. Not to mention, I swear everyones' IQ plummets into some intelligence-draining abyss when they enter the little pockets of hell known as the shopping centre.

No thank you, I'll sit here and sip on my mulled wine. Meanwhile, the commercially aspired "Christmas spirited" people can get mauled in malls, because I prefer to get mulled within my walls. So here's to one of those things that we can hopefully agree upon. Cheers, and enjoy your holiday season.

The Playlist:

1 bottle Red wine
3/4 cup Maple syrup
2 sticks Cinnamon
10 Cloves
6 Allspice berries
1 pod Cardamom
3 slices Ginger
1/2 tsp Vanilla
1/2 Mandarin, peel and juice
1/2 Lime, peel only
2-4 oz Yukon Jack (optional)

The Skinny:

1. In large sauce pan: add citrus peels, 1/2 cup of wine, maple syrup, and ginger then bring to a boil on high heat. Boil for two minutes, as this really brings out the oils from the peels.
2. Reduce heat to low, add the remaining ingredients, and simmer for 30 minutes.
3. Serve warm by a fireplace.

Stay Rad -h

Featured on: Premeditated Leftovers, Food Renegade, Chef in Training, 33 Shades of Green,

Pickled Fennel with Orange

 Good morning sugar pops!

There are some traditions we could stand to lose - witch burning, paying for medical care, exclusively heterosexual marriage... 

But then there are some that we need to fervently grab onto. 

One of these, is preserving food.

It's something many of our parents, their parents, and their parents before that have done for centuries but in a pro-mass produced, anti-think consumer culture it seems to have fallen by the way side. After all, why would we go to all that trouble to collect an abundance of one particular food stuff, process it ourselves and make space to keep it in when the big chain grocery store down the street has everything we could possibly ever want or need? 

For me there are three reasons.

First, it's a well known fact that Vancouver Island has only about 3 days worth of food available to us, should all shipments cease due to natural or man made disaster. That's not very long. And when people get hungry, they get scary. It only makes good food sense to make sure we have our own back ups in case of emergency. And if you don't believe me, ask the folks at Doomsday Preppers.

source

Second, all that handy-dandy-ready food at the grocery store? Most of it's filled with shit you don't wanna eat. From GMO corn and soy, to artificial "natural" flavors and colors, to preservatives, to who the ef knows what else. Every action has an opposite and equal reaction. In other words, everything you eat effects how you feel, look, and do. What do you think those additives, fillers, replacements, etc... affect you?

And third, it's fucking fun. And if it isn't, it should be. Preserving food - whether it's curing, canning, pickling or otherwise - is a fundamental knowledge to our survival as a species. That's pretty neat. And the more we embrace that, the more bourbon soaked cherries we'll have for the year. Now that's fun.

For this week's recipe from another blog, I decided to opt less for boozy fruit and more for citrusy fennel - if for no other reason than because I got a shit ton of fennel from our CSA over the past 2 weeks. ¡DPM! Does - a Brooklyn based duo creating recipes from Clara's Abuelita  in Argentina - make a damned good batch of pickled fennel. So I'm sharing it with you...

Pickled Fennel with Orange
(printable recipe) - makes 1 500ml Jar.

Ingredients:

4 Medium Sized Bulbs of fennel, very thinly sliced (a mandoline is useful here).

1 Tsp Fine Sea Salt.

1 Orange for zest cut into thin strips.

6 Tbsp white wine vinegar.

6 Tbsp orange juice.

2 Tbsp sugar.

4 Whole black peppercorns, cracked.
A Couple Sprigs of Fennel Tops (optional).


What to Do:

Toss the sliced fennel in a shallow bowl with the salt. Let them stand for one hour.

Meanwhile, sterilize your jar(s), lid(s), and ring(s). You can do this in a water bath canner if you have one or if you don't just use a very deep wide stock pot with one of those old fashioned metal steamers laid out in the bottom. This will keep the jars off the bottom of the pot so they don't break. Fill the pot with water and bring to a rolling boil. Using a pair of tongs with rubber bands wrapped around the ends to prevent slippage, carefully place the jars, lids and rings in the water in batches so they fit comfortably with 1 to 2" of water above the jars and boil/sterilize for about 15 minutes. Carefully lift jars, lids and rings out of the water and set aside on a clean, dry surface. Sterilized!

If any brine exists in the bowl after this time, drain and toss the slices with the orange zest. Pack them into a sterilized pint jar, placing a fennel sprig or two against the side of the jar is using.

In a saucepan, heat the vinegar, orange juice, sugar and peppercorns over medium high heat. Bring to a simmer, stirring constantly to dissolve the sugar. Pour the hot liquid over the fennel, leaving 3/4" of head space at the top of the jar. 

Secure rims and lids on the jars and place back in the boiling water to ensure seal for 15 minutes. Carefully remove from the water and allow to set and cool to room temperature. You may hear a "ping" noise coming from the jars - this is an excellent sign. Once cool, check to make sure the rings have in fact sealed and refrigerate any that don't.

Those that are sealed can be stored for many weeks while any open jars should be used within a week or two.

Eat.

Do you know how to preserve food? How about small rodents? Do you think "preserving" this kind of knowledge is important?

 

This post is linked up with Cast Party Wednesday; Whole Foods Wednesday; Fresh Foods Blog Hop; Frugal Days Sustainable Ways; Full Plate Thursday; Keep It Real Thursday; Showcase Your Talent; Tastetastic Thursday; Wellness Weekends; Fresh Bites Friday; Foodie Friday; Carnival of Home Preserving.

RPI: The Born Again Old-Fashioned

The Lowdown:

Kristy and I, unfortunately for you, are currently experiencing the side-effects of being just too freakin' popular. Friends begging us for our presence, text messages out the wahoo (yeah, that's right I said wahoo), not to mention we've been asked to attend all of Victoria's most highly acclaimed art shows, movie premieres, and backyard barbecues. Art shows... nah. Backyard barbecues definitely get the thumbs up though. What I'm getting at is that our RPI didn't quite formulate. In fact, it failed. Miserably. If you enjoy the finer side of spirits, this is a bonus for you. If not, well... shit.

Bartending, to most, is a simple and effective way to look cool. How can I say anything different? I've been bartending for some time now, and rarely do I ever look into the history of what I'm making or, mostly likely, drinking. But I sure as hell do look cool. To be honest, I only got into bartending to put myself through too many agonizing years of school. Finally, knowing that my days as a bartender are nearing at an end, I thought I should start to explore the classier side of bartending.

One thing, that I can truthfully say, is that I have always appreciated the classics. Sugary and fruity drinks have never been my thing. Scratch that, they haven't been my thing since I was 16 and drinking out of a 2L cider bottle with 4 other friends. Ah shit, scratch that once again. I did also enjoy freshly made pina coladas while I was away on vacation last month. But how can you resist a bit of Jimmy Buffet - Margaritaville and a freshly made blender drink? That's right, listen to that song and tell me you aren't craving a blended drink.

Beyond the aforementioned slips of my past sips, I've always enjoyed the bite that a well crafted drink has. This of course, is much different than the bite that a poorly made drink at a stag or toga party has (you know, where coke is added for colour). Bite. Yes, bite was one of the reasons that this cocktail has so many variations (or so history says).

This recipe (not the name however), and the word cocktail, are claimed to have been published in 1806. The term cocktail was a simple definition that included a beverage that contained bitters, sugar, water, and spirits. It's clear to see that a Old-Fashioned clearly fits within these boundaries. Although, 1806 is when the general definition of a cocktail was unveiled, it wasn't until 1895 that the words "Old-Fashioned" were published in relation to the, once again popular, cocktail (Kosevich, 2009). Although, the Old-Fashioned is synonymous with whiskey today, it used to be a simple process of building a cocktail (Patterson, 2011). In other words, every spirit had its own version of the old-fashioned (IE: rum old-fashioned, tequila old-fashioned, etc).

Cocktails, in their primitive definition, were essentially there to make the spirits of the time manageable. Since then, the original recipe has spawned a million illegitimate children. Some say that the prohibition was to blame, when underground bartenders made cocktails that were disguised as non-alcoholic beverages. A few other sources stated that spirits, during the prohibition, were made so poorly that fruit had to be added just to make them bearable (Kosevich, 2009).

So whether you are a purist wanting to prove your historical sense of this cocktail, or you're the type that enjoys an entire fruit salad muddled into your Old-Fashioned, I hope you enjoyed this extremely brief look at one of the world's most misunderstood cocktails. Now you know why one of the first cocktails invented was referred to as an Old-Fashioned. So while you're enjoying making your own Old-Fashioned, listen to this fine diddy, because it's 5 o'clock somewhere. 

The Playlist:

1806 Old-Fashioned

3 oz Rye**

3 dashes Angostura bitters

1 Sugar cube*

1 tsp Water*

1 sliver Lemon zest

* This is essentially simple syrup, so if you are in a rush (or lazy) you can substitute 0.5 - 1 oz of simple syrup for these two ingredients.

** After reviewing many bartending sites the preferred alcohol is Rye because it is much less sweet than Bourbon. "Purists," don't hate, because there will always be a place for Bourbon in the Old-Fashioned. 

Sarsaparilla Old-Fashioned

3 oz Rye
3 dashes Angostura bitters
1 oz Sarsaparilla infused simple syrup***
1 sliver Orange zest

*** In small pot: bring 1 cup water, 1 cup sugar, 1 tbsp sarsaparilla root to a gentle boil until sugar is fully dissolved. Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature. Strain out sarsaparilla root.

The Skinny:

1. In an old-fashioned glass (now usually referred to as a rocks glass) muddle sugar cube, bitters, and water together until a paste forms. Rotate the glass on an angle so that the sugar paste coats the lining of the glass. Or if you are using simple syrup simply put the simple syrup in the glass (a bit of a tongue twister).
2. Add rye (or bourbon), a large ice cube, and the lemon zest.

Stay Rad - h