On the trail of great food in Portland Oregon - part six

What we brought home...

Rose petal black tea, Portland rose soap, huckleberry jam and marmalade
lavender jelly,  lavender tea

Kokeicha green tea and Glendale OP black tea
from The Olive and Vine

Ghost pepper salt (oh yes she did!) and pink peppercorns

Rosebuds and juniper berries from Pat's Pantry in Astoria...
soon to be opening a second location in Portland!

Sonic screwdriver

Chocolate milk for Halloween?

Did you know that chocolate milk is the official beverage of Halloween?  How can that be, you might ask...how can any milk product be passed out to trick-or-treaters without risk?  Well, I recently learned about the Milk Unleashed campaign, which is introducing what's called Shelf Safe Milk to folks who haven't heard of it before.

What is Shelf Safe Milk?  It's simply milk that has been briefly subjected to higher than usual temperature in the pasteurization process.  You get the same nutrition and great taste, but it doesn't need to be refrigerated until opened.  This means that small "juice box" style cartons can be passed out for Halloween, as well as tucked into lunches, picnic baskets, etc.  And just in case you are wondering, these small boxes are recyclable too!

I was sent several different varieties to try, and being the chocolate milk fiend that I am, I can tell you that there is no difference in taste.  So check out your local grocery store and see if they are carrying shelf safe milk...hint, hint...it won't be in the dairy case!   

Coffee

Balsamic strawberry smash

What do you do when your strawberries get too ripe?  Cut off any funky parts and turn them into a fantastic adult beverage, of course!  I found a recipe for Balsamic Strawberry Smash on Serious Eats.  Wouldn't want to have this too often, but it was quite an eye-opener!

Cranberry sorbet...and Jägermeister!

I found a bottle of Jägermeister in our freezer after our daughter left to return home after Christmas.  She couldn't take it on the airplane since she was doing only carry-on.  Too bad.  Especially too bad if she thinks it's still going to here when she next visits!

I made a wonderful cranberry sorbet, and instead of actually "sorbetting" all of it, I froze some solid and cut it into cubes to serve with the Jägermeister.  We liked it this way, but now I'm looking forward to making the sorbet and trying it as a slush!

Anyway, here's the sorbet recipe.  You can either freeze it and cut it up or you can run it through an ice cream machine.

Cranberry Sorbet

3/4 c water
1-1/2 c fresh cranberries
1-1/2 c sugar
1-1/2 c orange juice

In a large saucepan, simmer the cranberries until the skins all pop.  Remove from the heat and puree the cranberries with an immersion blender.  Add the sugar and return to the heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves.  Let the mixture cool and add the orange juice.  Chill thoroughly before processing.  Makes about a quart of sorbet.

The French Connection

The perfect drink (for me) to sip while enjoying the Patriots-Jets game.  The problem is that after I had one, I forgot which color I was supposed to be rooting for and decided that the green uniforms were really pretty  :-/

French Connection

1 oz Amaretto
2 oz Brandy
1 splash Triple Sec

Serve over ice.  Be careful!

Classic Margarita

For each drink:

Lime, cut in half
2 T fresh lime juice
Salt
1 1/2 oz (1 jigger) white Tequila
1-1/2 T Triple Sec
Ice cubes

Rub the rim of a chilled glass with the cut lime and dip the rim in salt to coat. Combine the Tequila, lime juice, Triple Sec, and 1 c ice cubes in a cocktail shaker, shake well, and strain into the glass. Alternately, pour the mixed liquids over shaved ice in the chilled glass.

Do you have a favorite variation? Some of my friends love Black Jack margaritas, some are purists. Leave me a comment with your personal favorite!

Image: WikimediaCommons

Our saké set

Mike returned from Japan earlier this month with a lovely bottle of saké in tow, so we got to break out our little saké set with the adorable puffer fish (which we purchased at DisneyWorld). How hokey is that? I really don't care...it's a fun set to use.

In English, we refer to Japanese alcohol rice beverages as saké. In Japanese, saké is just the term for alcoholic beverages in general, and this drink is called Nihonshu, which means Japanese saké. We also tend to call it “rice wine”, but the processing method makes it more like a brewed beer than wine. Confused yet?

The Venetian Spritz

When we visited Murano, Italy, we were told by one of the men at the factory that we couldn’t leave Venice without sampling the famous Venetian Spritz. Apparently, the drink originated with the Austrians, but the Venetians have morphed it into a drink that is truly their own.

There are 3 common variations that he told us about, each with a different aperitif. We chose to sample the “man’s drink”, the Spritz with Campari. It’s a very pretty drink, but a bit confusing at first, being garnished by both a slice of orange (mostly skin) and a large green olive! Hmmmm…

The first few sips were both bitter and sour, and I wasn’t sure that I liked it at all. But as our tongues adjusted, all of us started liking it more and more. We began to realize that every section of our tongue was getting involved. The sweet of the orange and the salt of the olive, together with the bitter and sour of the beverage made us totally sit up and take notice. In short, we ended up loving them!

As close as we can figure, this is how it was made:

Spritz with Campari

2 parts dry white wine
1 part Campari aperitif (or substitute other aperitif)
Splash of mineral water (either fizzy or naturale)
Slice of orange
Large green olive on a toothpick

Watermelon raspberry drink

You can serve it straight up, add sweet wine (like zinfandel), or something a bit harder. I liked it with tequila, but I've hear that rum, vodka, or gin goes well too.


Watermelon Raspberry Drink
1/4 watermelon, seeded
1/2 c raspberries
1 c water
1/3 c sugar
Juice from 2 lemons

Blend or process the watermelon and raspberries and water until smooth. Strain out pulp (save it to use with yogurt!). Stir in sugar and lemon juice. Refrigerate for about an hour and serve with any additives of your choice.

Limoncello

Limoncello di Capri

I was told that one of the things I simply must try/buy while I was in Italy is limoncello. OK, I’m game! Made from Sorrentine lemons, this lemon liqueur has its birthplace on somewhere on Italy (the websites don’t all agree who started it!). Here’s a recipe using limoncello that I hope to try, compliments of Limoncello di Capri.


COCKTAIL “QUISI NIGHT”
A sophisticated fusion of the flavours of Capri.

1/3 Limoncello di Capri
1/3 Espresso coffee
1/3 Single cream
Grated Sorrentine lemon
Serve in a glass

Just in case you’d like to try making it yourself (it seems very simple), you can find instructions at What’s Cooking America.

Mint juleps for tomorrow…

The mint julep has been the official drink of the Kentucky Derby since 1938, so go ahead…indulge.

For each drink:
Sprig of mint leaves
1 t sugar (superfine preferred)
Splash of water
1-3 oz of Kentucky bourbon, or more
Lots of crushed ice

Chill a tall glass like a collins glass in your freezer.
Strip off a few of the leaves of mint and smush them around in the bottom of your glass with the sugar and splash of water. Add a bit of ice and stir it up well. Add half the bourbon and stir again.
Fill the glass with ice and pour the rest of the bourbon over, agitating gently.
Garnish with mint.

Did those little old ladies know their stuff or what?

Image: Stock.xchng