How to make a Copenhagen

This sounds delicious. I’m not sure what the big deal is, but I’m glad Denmark has decided to launch it’s very own cocktail called Copenhagen. There was a count down and everything. The ingredients in this intriguingly scrumptious cocktail is a list of liquors I’ve never heard of, and would probably be hard to find at a grocery store or liquor shop. In the US one can order on-line. Will definitely be trying this out in SF a few months from now.

5 cl. Bols Genever
2 cl. Cherry Heering Liqueur
2 cl. fresh pressed lime juice
2 cl. sugar syrup (Monin)
1 dash Angostura Bitters

Shake with ice cubes and strain into glass without ice.
Peal a slice of an orange and put it on top, so that the scent of the orange floats on top of the cocktail offering aroma of orange.

Rich, dark and moist this cake was much appreciated by my two twin nephews, H, J and S. My cousin H could not wait for the cake to cool down and when I went back to the kitchen I found the cake had been hollowed out around the edges. He shamelessly blamed his two kids, but I knew better! My nephews, afterall, are only three feet high and couldn’t possibly reach over the counter. Next day I took some of the cake to brunch with the gals (the part that looked decent and untouched), after getting our dose of Pinoy food and shopping, we went to S’s place and had the cake with some red wine. I don’t know which is better, eating it warm a little after it’s come out of the oven or the next day when the flavors have had time to develop.

Deep Chocolate Sour Cream Pound Cake

adapted from The Cake Book by Tish Boyle

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 cup cake flour

1 cup cocoa powder (pick a premiuim brand, I used Guittard)

2 1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

2 1/2 cups granulated sugar

4 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup sour cream

1. Position rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 325˚F. Use a non-stick 10-inch bundt pan.
2. Sift together the flours, cocoa, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl. Sift twice and set aside.
3. Using the paddle attachment of an electric mixer, beat the butter at medium speed until very creamy, about 2 minutes. Gradually beat in the sugar. Increase the speed to medium high and beat for about 4 minutes. At medium speed, beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary.
4. Stir the vanilla into the sour cream. At low speed, add the dry ingredients tot he batter in three additions, alternating with the sour cream mixture in two additions and mixing just until blended. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top.
5. Bake cake for 65 to 75 minutes, until cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean (use a toothpick). Cool the cake in the pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes.
6. Invert the cake onto a serving plate and cool completely.

This savory-sweet Lebanese recipe is adapted from Paula Wolfert’s “The Cooking of the Eastern Mediterranean”. Just delicious!

Eggplant with Pomegranate Sauce

2 (1 1/2 pounds total weight) Japanese eggplants, sliced 1/4-inch thick
extra-virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons pomegranate molasses
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
3 garlic clove, peeled and crushed to a puree with 1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
2 to 3 tablespoons shredded fresh mint, preferably spearmint
1 tablespoon chopped flat-leaf parsley
2 tablespoon fresh pomegranate seeds

1. Brush eggplant slices with olive oil. Grill.
2. Transfer cooked eggplant to a serving platter in overlapping circles or in a single layer.
3. Combine the pomegranate molasses, lemon juice, garlic, olive oil and salt. Drizzle the sauce over the eggplant. Sprinkle with the mint, parsley and pomegranate arils.

*To remove the arils from the pomegranate, watch a video I placed on the post before this one.

The season for pomegranates is here and bright red luscious Pomegranates are slowly cropping up in the groceries. I found some yesterday at Whole Foods and grabbed two. Pomegranates are ancient crops originating in the Middle East since around the 5th century. Together with olives, grapes and figs, it was one of antiquities most important crops. As well it should be, Pomegranates are bursting with anti-oxidants, higher proportionally than other fruits, wine and green tea. Pomegranates found it’s way to America by way of the Spaniards in the 18th century. Although cultivation was common in early California gardens, commercial production of Pomegranates started only a century ago. Today, most pomegranate farms are located in the San Joaquin Valley in California, and is a rapidly growing business dominated by POM Wonderful. Suddenly, pomegranate fruits were everywhere, in great abundance. I was a little perplexed and intrigued at the same time. I saw Martha Stewart singing the praises of pomegranate syrup. Recipes on line were sprinkled with pomegranate arils. Most groceries carried them. Clubs and bars offered cocktails with pomegranate juice. Geesh. I must try this gorgeous fruit. It took me awhile to actually use the fruit. Last year, I bought some and placed it in my fruit bowl. It was a gorgeous centerpiece for my table, but alas, it went into the garbage after a couple of weeks. It will be different this time, as I’ve collected some recipes to try out from my own collection of cookbooks and online sources.

Pomegranate arils from the Wonderful fruit are sweet-tart in flavor. Pomegranate syrup is a wonderful fruity sweet liquid. Some recipes call for both, some for one. Although, I’m tempted to cook an entire menu using pomegranate, I thought better of it and decided to try one recipe a day or a week. Let’s see how it goes.

Two ways of releasing arils of a pomegranate fruit:

In a bowl of water:

Or by tapping the fruit:

I had friends over for Sunday brunch on the last day of Fleet Week. In all these years I had not known what a great view of the air show I had from my balcony. I guess I was never home durng Fleet Week before. This I found out on Thursday when the jets were surveying the area and doing some practice for the weekend. The thunderous roar of the jets are inescapable so I had no choice but to put down my books and run out to the balcony and watch the performance. I thought, I have to share this with some friends.

Tomato Tarts

ready-made puff pastry, I used
extra-virgin olive oil
heirloom tomatoes, sliced thin, I used one red and one yellow
herbs de Provence salt

Cut pastry into rectangles, enough to fit a slice of tomato. Brush one side with olive oil. Top with a slice of tomato. Sprinkle with herbs de Provence salt. Bake in 350 degree oven until golden brown and puffed.

Roast Chicken

whole chicken, cut of fat and set aside
fine sea salt
stick butter
2-3 teaspoons herbs de Provence salt
extra-virgin olive oil
2 lemons
4-5 bulbs garlic, cloves separated, unpeeled

Season chicken well with salt, inside and out. Mix butter and herbs with paddle attachment of mixer. Scatter garlic cloves in the bottom of an iron enameled casserole.

Loosen skin of chicken by inserting fingers in between skin and flesh. Make sure you go down to thigh and drumstick. Be careful not to tear skin. Stuff skin with herb butter. Rub chicken with oil and place inside the casserole. Squeeze lemon all over chicken inside and out. Place lemon rinds in cavity of chicken. Place reserved chicken fat on top of chicken breasts. Cover pan and bake for 40 minutes. Uncover and continue to bake chicken until nicely browned and juices run clear when thigh is pierced.