Author Archives: (y)our food choices

We cook a lot in our tiny kitchen and love it! Baked bread, simmering soups and homemade pizzas are just a few of the staples in our apartment. We are constantly experimenting with recipes and love a challenge. We’re not Iron Chefs but we do respect the men and women who are and their dedication to the craft. We’re just two men who are trying to get back into the simple ways of life. We’re all about farmer’s markets and grass fed beef. We believe that the food we eat is sacred, even if we are not of the religious state of mind, and that with every bite we take or every drink we consume we can all make a difference, for good or not so good. We hope you enjoy reading about what we are eating, peruse the pictures we take of our food, and tell us about what your eating and drinking. In the future we will be linking this blog to a new blog called Your Food Choices where we hope to get some lively discussions about food and how it affects us all. Cheers! Steve & Jason

Move over Mimosa

30 December 2010

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Party Tray! Front row: Sparkling Lemonade. Second row: Veuve and Bourb & Tangerine and Ginger Champs. Third row: Pop my Cherry, Violets are Indigo, & Cranberry Star Anise Champs.

10, 9, 8… the countdown is on! It’s almost time to say goodbye to 2010 and welcome in 2011. Unless you have a bottle of Veuve Clicquot or Dom Pérignon lying around waiting for a celebratory splurge, your sparkling wine options may seem mediocre – nothing fancy, but it gets the job done. And since most of us are still pinching pennies, we recommend you sidestep the big splurge this year in favor of a modestly priced and under appreciated Spanish, Italian or California sparkler. But we also appreciate the need for something delicious on the big annual page turner, and we want to offer up a few of our recommendations to change the drab to fab. So go ahead and pick up that inexpensive bottle of sparkling wine, or case if your having a party, and doctor it up with a few of these suggestions.

Fruit Reductions

If you’re looking for something a bit more colorful and interesting than just a splash of O.J. in your glass, try a fruit reduction with a little spice added. Over medium heat reduce 1 cup of any fruit juice along with an herb or spice, until there’s about 1/4 cup left in the pan. Be creative in your thinking but don’t overwhelm your palette. A good rule of thumb is one fruit juice with one spice. Some examples: tangerine juice and fresh ginger, cranberry and star anise, pomegranate and clove, apple and cinnamon. The combinations are endless. If you’re having a party, prepare a few different reductions and let your guests choose their own combinations.

Pucker up! Sugar never tasted so sweet.

Jams and Jellies

If you don’t want to reduce the fruit juice you can also try a little fruit preserves. Just add a small spoonful to the bottom of your flute, pour a little sparkling wine over the top, stir to combine and finishing by topping it off with more sparkling wine.

Sorbets

A little scoop of your favorite fruit sorbet in the bottom of a glass slowly topped with sparkling wine. Did we say, YUM?!

Veuve and Bourb

Any fan of Absolutely Fabulous will remember the season that Eddie’s kitchen sported a huge, clear glass fridge full of Veuve Clicquot. The ladies mixed a little bourbon with their Champagne to create one of our all-time favorite Champagne cocktails – “Veuve and Bourb.” For all those bourbon fans out there, this is a must try. Just a splash of bourbon (we prefer Bulleit) is all you need, topped off with your favorite bubbly. But be careful! These drinks have a way of sneaking up on you and before you know it, you might be passed out on the floor just like our best British gal pals Patsy and Eddie.

New Champagne Cocktails

Sparkling Lemonade: A little limoncello with a sugar rimmed champagne flute gives a bubbly elegant twist to the classic Lemon Drop cocktail.

Violets are Indigo: Crème de violet added to Champagne is a wonderful floral treat. Garnish with edible flowers to make it truly special.

Pop goes the cherry: Can you tie a cherry stem into a knot with your tongue? Maraschino liquor added to Champagne along with a maraschino cherry. If you’re a virgin, you won’t be for long after this drink!

Tried and True

After a sip of this cocktail, Elvis on Velvet will look like the Mona Lisa.

If you’re not up to being adventurous with your sparkling this year you can always stick to these classic Champagne cocktails.

Kir Royale: Crème de Cassis and a lemon twist with Champagne

Champagne Cocktail: a cube of sugar, a dash of bitters, Champagne and a lemon twist.

Bellini: peach puree added to champagne.

Black Velvet: For all those with a mixture of Irish and French heritage you might want to try a Black Velvet – half Guinness and half Champagne. After all, in our opinion, Guinness is the Champagne of beers.

Whatever your tipple, we hope your year-end celebrations bring you much joy and revelry as we all look forward to a healthy, happy and prosperous New Year!

Cheers to 2011!

Where are the holiday cookies?

24 December 2010

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At this time of year, we’re usually baking cookies and making confections to give out to our family and friends. We scour our cookbooks for weeks, spend hours shopping for the perfect container to put them in, then more hours baking, and more hours packing them up for shipment, only to have them reach their destinations where they sit on the counter along with all the other baked gifts from everyone else. Instead of contributing to the waistlines and blood sugar levels of our family, this year we decided not to give out baked goods. But, with the holidays right on top of us we know we need to write at least one post about holiday cookies.

We’ve decided to showcase a recipes that really isn’t a traditional holiday cookie – yet. With the addition of whole rolled grains and whole flours, these cookies might become a favorite to add to your collection next year. The recipe is one Jason created a few years back, and one that has been recently influenced by Kim Boyce’s Good to the Grain cookbook, with a whole grain philosophy, making it a little more unique. Typically made with 100 % rolled oats and all-purpose flour, Jason’s Cranberry Pecan cookies are earthier and chewier with a mixture of rolled whole grains along with a cup of oats and a flour ratio of one part Kamut flour to two parts all-purpose flour. The flavors of tart cranberries, toasted pecans and fresh orange zest make these cookies a real favorite year round. Of course, if you don’t have Kamut flour and multigrain cereal you can use rolled oats and all-purpose flour for the recipe.

While our families won’t be getting cookies this year, we have made a few batches in preparation for Santa’s imminent visit. On Christmas Eve, Santa will be greeted by a big plate of Cranberry Pecan cookies and a good-sized shot of Dalwhinnie to warm him up. And why not? Santa has a team of designated drivers to keep him on course through the night. He’s getting plenty of whole grain fiber in the cookies, which he obviously needs. We say let him enjoy a little nip before heading back out into the chilly night, belly full and cheeks aglow.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!






Cranberry Pecan Oatmeal Cookies

yield: 6 dozen cookies

1 1/3 cup brown sugar
1 1/3 cup plus ¼ cup sugar
1 ½ teaspoon salt
½ cup soft butter
½ cup applesauce
1 tablespoon orange or tangerine zest
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup rolled oats
2 ½ cups multigrain cereal
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup dried cranberries
2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup kamut flour
1 ½ teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream brown sugar, 1 1/3 cups sugar, salt, and butter until well cream, about 4 minutes. Add the applesauce and zest allow to incorporate. Add eggs and vanilla then continue to mix until eggs are blended. If the mixture looks a little broken, don’t worry the cookies will still work out.

In a medium bowl mix together the oats, multigrain cereal, pecans and dried cranberries. In a separate bowl mix together the kamut and all-purpose flours and baking soda. Add the oat mixture to the creamed sugar then slowly add the flour. Mix just until no flour is present.

Using a small ice cream scoop, scoop the cookies onto Silpat mat or parchment paper, spacing so that the cookies don’t touch during backing. Put the ¼ cup sugar on a small plate. Wet the bottom of a thick, flat bottomed glass and place the glass bottom on the sugar. Press down on the tops of each cookie, placing the glass back in the sugar after each press of a cookie. Bake for 10-12 minutes depending on the size of the cookies. The cookies may be a little crispy at first but will soften after a day or two in a cookie container.