Al Dente

A Toast To Sweet Tea And The Waning Days Of Summer

It's hard to believe August is nearly over. In many parts of the country, school has already started. The leaves are turning in the mountains near my home. Days are shorter.

Yet, I'm still sipping my favorite summer refresher, sweet tea with extra lemon. I got hooked on the stuff while living down South in Memphis, Tenn., where the amber liquid flows as freely as espresso shots in Seattle. Funny thing is, as well as the Northwest knows its coffee, it don't know iced tea. At least in restaurants. Every time I've ever ordered it, it's weak and insipid or bitter and cloudy from being over-steeped. Come on people! We're not talking about brain surgery.

I would steer the clueless to a recipe from Martha Foose's James Beard-award-winning Screen Doors and Sweet Tea. The secret is cold brewing. It makes for an intense flavor without the bitterness associated with leaving the bags in the scalding water too long. I like to keep a jar of simple syrup in the fridge, sometimes tossing in a handful of fresh mint. (Which makes for some mighty fine mint juleps, too.)

If you happen to be near Nashville this weekend, be sure and check out the very first Sweet Tea Festival in Franklin. I can almost hear the ice cubes making beautiful music as they bump up against the tall glasses.

Sweet Tea

From Screen Doors and Sweet Tea

4 pitcher-size cold-brew tea bags or 6 tablespoons orange pekoe leaves in a diffuser

3/4 cup sugar

2 lemons, sliced

ice cubes

fresh mint sprigs, optional

Place the tea in a pitcher and add three quarts cold water; steep for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, combine 1 cup water with the sugar. Boil, stirring occasionally, until the sugar is dissolved. Remove the tea. Add the sugar mixture and stir. Serve over ice with lemon and fresh mint, if desired.

-- Leslie Kelly

The Best Cocktails and Food I Never Had

I’m guessing this has happened to everyone (except those lucky few who somehow manage to have extra hours in the day to fit in every possible option. I dislike those people). You see a special cocktail or food event, or menu that’s one night only, or even pass a restaurant that looks scrumptious on vacation, but you just don’t have the time to take advantage of it, no matter how super-fabulous it is in your mind. And then you think about it, or hear about it, and wish you could go back in time and re-organize your schedule.

Recently, this happened to me and I’m still dwelling on it. See, here in Seattle, two of the top chefs in the city, Brian McCracken and Dana Tough (co-owners of both Spur and Tavern Law, a couple of Seattle’s must-visit cocktail and food spots by-the-way) combined with a number of top bartenders, all under the banner of one of my all-time nostalgia inducing favorite bourbons, Maker’s Mark, to put out an exclusive evening of unbelievable food and cocktails. On August 11th. And I had to miss it. And (to make me even sadder and my mouth water even more) I have the menu and some pics. So, I’m making you share in my sadness (unless you were there. In which case, go reminisce giddily and leave us to pout). Here was the lineup:

Course One
Bartender: Anu Apte of Rob Roy
Drink:  M3
1-1/2 ounce Maker’s Mark
1 ounce Fino Sherry
Just over 1/4 ounce maple syrup
Dash grapefruit bitters
Food:  Foie Gras Torchon:
wild pear, molasses, sherry

Course Two
Bartender: Nathan Weber of Tavern Law
Drink: French Prince of Bourbon
1-1/2 ounce Maker’s Mark
3/4 ounce grapefruit juice
1/2 ounce Dolin Blanc vermouth
1/2 ounce rosemary syrup
2 dashes Jerry Thomas bitters
Dash old time aromatic bitters
Food: Sockeye salmon:
fennel, onion, purslane.
 
 Course Three
Bartender: Benjamin Perri of Zig Zag
Drink: A Lick and a Promise
1-1/2 ounce Maker’s Mark
1/2 ounce Cynar
1/4 ounce Tuaca
1/4 ounce Cherry Heering
Dash mole bitters
Lemon twist, for garnish
Food:  Sous Vide Pork Belly:
sunchoke, bing cherry.
 
 Course Four
Bartender: Craig Schoen of Spur
Drink: The Long Hand of Sadness
1-1/4 ounce makers
1/4 ounce Lovage gomme
1/4 ounce Averna amaro
2 dashes aromatic bitters
White pepper/brown sugar rim
Food: Waygu Beef Brisket:
coffee, corn, arugula.
 
 Course Five
Bartender: Marley Tomic-Beard of Spur
Drink: The Pine Box
1-1/2 ounce makers
1 ounce smoked pineapple juice
3/4 ounce ver jus
1/4 ounce Campari
1/4 ounce Luxardo marascino
Grilled pineapple, for garnish
Food: Amaretto Sponge Cake:
smoked almond, pineapple, yogurt.

Now if that line-up doesn’t have you glassy-eyed with culinary and cocktail desire, maybe you don’t have taste buds? If you’ve missed a dinner that rivals this one, well, then I pity you. And hope you feel the same for me after missing the above amazing evening.

--A.J. Rathbun

Photos Copyright 2010, Chad Pryor

How Many Seattle Bartenders Can Fill Up Tales of the Cocktail 2010?

There is no event that brings together such talent in one industry as the Tales of the Cocktail. Held in the firm grip of summer in New Orleans, at the legendary Hotel Monteleone, Tales is a frat party for cocktail geeks, a platform for new and interesting spirits, a culmination of the great minds in the industry, and an excuse to drink cocktails in class. Seminars range from "Creativity and the Power of Brainstorming" (our own contribution) to "Old Tom Gin," "Self-Publishing," and the "Fine Art of Negotiation."  The subject matter covers professional series and introduction for newcomers, but all are geared toward the spirit soaked, and the spirit forward.

Seattle, few can argue, has one of the most thriving cocktail scenes in the country, but it’s banishment to the far northwest coast leaves it forever in the shadow of New York. While the mammoth city will forever drive trends in food, fashion, and now cocktail, here right under your nose, where sourcing fine spirits is far harder than anywhere in the country, there is a revolution stirring with no sign of dilution. it a resurgence in class and taste, barmen and woman, revitalizing the dignity of a craft that we’ve not experienced in roughly 100 years. 

This greatness is exemplified by Seattle’s representation at Tales.  You can’t flick a cold draft cube without hitting a bartender, blogger, author, or ambassador who hails from the Emerald City (pictured to the left, Evan Martin, Jim Romdall and Thomas Bondesson … good NW boys!). Throw in Portland and we could take the entire east coast for a bar crawl of no comparison.  And for the record, we always throw down for Portland. 

Representatives of nearly every great cocktail bar in Seattle were in attendance at Tales, and not merely as attendees, as panelist, experts, contest winners, brand representatives, bloggers, media and honored guests.   Roberts Hess, author and cocktail historian, and "Drink Boy", a great resource for anything cocktail was honored at the opening reception and presented at more than a couple seminars.

Andrew Boeher, writer of Cask Strength and barman at Mistral Kitchen carved 600 ice balls with Anu Apte and Zane Harris of Rob Roy for the Mad Men themed awards party. 
 

Anu, Andrew and Zane carving like mad!

Ted Munat launched Left Coast Libations, a beautiful cocktail book featuring "the Art of West Coast Bartenders,"  and Small Screen Networks, a webisode network based out of Seattle was on hand to document the event, taping the highlights of the conference. 

“Drink Boy” – Robert Hess holding up a copy of Left Coast Libations

Kathy Casey Food Studios® and Liquid Kitchen™ returned to Tales to present a pro-series seminar “Creativity and the Power of Brainstorming.” We outlined the creative nature of developing drinks for menus, brands, or contests - to a room full of already creative individuals and then we challenged them on the spot, to create a great cocktail with whatever was on their table.  (Pictured to the right, seminar participants develop a drink with the ingredients found on their table.)

The winning cocktail was aptly named "Morris Day and the Thyme," there were a few explicative’s thrown in as well, so be creative with your own version of the name. The drink included Hendricks Gin, Catdaddy Moonshine, fresh lime juice, cucumber, honey and fresh thyme. The winners took home a great bar roll kit from UberBartools.
  

 Ms Franky, Kathy Casey and Cameo McRoberts with the hard task of picking the winner!
 

Then there was of course the “Jeffery Morganthaler annual room swag off”- (this is a gathering of all the stuff from the swag room... booze, booze, booze and then as much other "stuff" that everyone dump on the table, peoples' names thrown in a hat, 3 judges and contestants are chosen, and contestants having only 5 minutes to make a cocktail)... It’s a cluster and a lot of fun!
  

The swag off “paparatazzi” – Cameo in center stage!

  

Hum…. things are getting blurry… That’s me chatting it up with the winner Thomas Bondesson: winning cocktail – BBQ sauce, whisky and some other strange things… we can’t remember….

 

The  Coup de grace? Imperial proof of Northwest dominance in all things libatious? Murray Stentson, of our own Zig Zag brought home best bartender in America. And you best believe the hype. Drinking a cocktail poured by the bar geek version of Obi-Wan Kenobi is truly a gift.

So get down to a fancy drinking hole and pay the ten dollars for that handcrafted, hand carved, hand made cocktail. It is equal or greater to seeing that little band in the café, or catching the tasting menu of a great chef on the verge, or a picture caught in time that you may never see again but it made you feel a little warm inside

. 

Cheers to another great Tales of the Cocktail!

--Kathy Casey and Cameo McRoberts

© Copyright 2010 by Kathy Casey Food Studios®

For more Dishing with Kathy Casey and recipes visit www.kathycasey.com/blog. Follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/kathycaseychef. Become a Facebook fan at Sips & Apps.

Geek Alert: Wine Gizmo Comes Complete With Sound Effects

When it comes to wine gadgets, I'm a minimalist. I don't have a fancy storage system, just my trusty Vacu Vin. While there is a nifty wine fridge in my kitchen, my "cellar" is a corner of my pantry. It stays fairly cool, but there's no temp control or humidifier.

I'm not looking to expand my wine gizmos, especially because I've been skeptical of these dealie-bobs that promise to aerate wine as it's poured from the bottle to the glass. The tool is designed to allows you to skip the carafe when decanting older wines or, when drinking low-brow, bring out another dimension.

But then I got a chance to taste the results a trip through the Vinturi made in a wine I brought to a family dinner party. The wine was a 2003 reserve Cabernet Sauvignon from Eagle Creek, a tiny winery near Leavenworth, Washington, home to a growing number of producers. My brother was pretty pumped about his recent acquisition of a Vinturi, so we decided to put it to the test in a side-by-side tasting of wine poured through the aerator and one simply swirled in the glass. The aerated wine had a deeper, more intense flavor while the other glass was still good, but slightly less spectacular.

The plus or minus, depending on how you look at things, is that this gadget is downright noisy by design. It sounds like a faucet running at full force as the wine trickles through the aerator into the glass. I think it's pretty funny and incredibly useful, so have added it to my must-buy list.

What's your favorite wine accessory?

-- Leslie Kelly

National Rum Day is August 16

National Rum Day (August 16) is nearly upon us, and the folks at Infinium Spirits have the perfect way to celebrate: Zaya, a 12-year-old rum from Trinidad featuring notes of Tahitian vanilla, butterscotch, brown sugar, and maple. My favorite way to enjoy rum is in a Dark and Stormy--rum, ginger beer, and lime juice--yum! National Rum Day supposedly marks the end of the sugarcane harvest (from which rum is derived), which the harvesters celebrate with a huge party. If you can't make the trip to a tropical climate to celebrate in person, pick up Zaya at your local liquor store and try the recipe below--served best in a highball glass or glass tumbler, over lots of ice.

Zaya Dark and Stormy

Ingredients
2 oz Zaya rum
Ginger beer
Fresh lime juice
Ice

Directions
1. Pack a highball glass with ice, and fill the glass halfway with the rum.
2. Top off with ginger beer, and add fresh lime juice to taste.
3. Stir and enjoy!

--AndreaLeigh

Sophisticated & Slim Summer Cocktails

Summer heat has us drinking slimmer, or at least thinking about it!  Vodka definitely comes to mind in that category. But though vodka is typically a neutral tasting spirit, I had the pleasure of tasting an amazing vodka recently. Yes, that’s right--tasting!

Purity Vodka is an organic brand of vodka that is still new to the US markets (available only in California, Georgia, New Jersey, and New York so far).  But don’t let its “new” status fool you! Made from estate grown wheat and barley mixed with the purest water from an artesian well, Purity Vodka is full-bodied, complex, and loaded with character--a front-runner in the new, and what I like to coin as the “Complex Character,” genre of vodkas. Vodka with taste!

To be clear, this is not vodka for the mainstream. The Purity Vodka-making process comes to life in small batches at the 13th century Ellinge Castle in the south of Sweden. Thomas Kuuttanen, Purity Vodka’s master distiller, uses a proprietary pot still made of copper and gold, which produces a unique spirit. A spirit so refined that no filtration is necessary.
 
I met with Thomas a few months ago at my Food Studios for a more formal introduction to Purity Vodka. As he spoke, you could feel the passion in his story in how it took him nearly a decade to complete this vodka recipe. As we sat, sipped, and talked, my mind was reeling with ideas to mix up with this unique vodka.

What is totally interesting is that the week before Thomas’s visit my friend brought me a fresh bottle of the new Bainbridge Legacy Organic Vodka from Washington’s Bainbridge Island. This vodka also has a complex flavor character. So I whipped out the bottle for Thomas during our meeting to taste and he was very excited to see others also making vodka with character! I love his attitude of “the more the merrier” in this category!

After much tasting and brainstorming, the cocktail development started. The vodka definitely had to be the star and I wanted to mix it with ingredients that would highlight its unique characteristics. So first up was the Frisk (Swedish for “fresh”), in which I wanted to incorporate a bit of Swedish flavors. Muddled fresh cucumbers with a light wash of aromatic aquavit and shaken hard, all made for a clean crisp cocktail. A tiny dill sprig garnish gives a fresh herb scent as you take your first sip. An excellent cocktail on its own or paired with a tasty appetizer of smoked salmon on a crostini with a shallot and caper crème.

My next cocktail creation was inspired by the very spa-related movement in cocktails. The trend is seen heavily in healthier drinks like skinny margaritas moving up rapidly on the popularity chart. Yet many sippers are looking for something more sophisticated and less sweet; something clean and crisp. So the Berry Purity H2O came forth. I infused water with berries, then shook it with Purity Vodka … dry, fresh and H2O enhanced--very pure and simple.

Happy summer sipping!

Frisk
The clean flavor of Purity Vodka dances well with the crisp, fresh cucumber in this cocktail. A whisper of aquavit and the fragrance of dill enhance its complexity.

Ingredients:
2 ounces Purity Vodka
1/8 ounce wash of aquavit  
3 slices cucumber
Small sprig of dill for garnish

Directions:
1. Add the aquavit to a cocktail shaker glass and roll around. Shake out any excess.

2. Drop in the cucumber slices and press with a muddler to release the juices.

3. Measure in the vodka and fill with ice. Cap and shake vigorously.

4. Double strain into a martini glass and garnish with a small sprig of dill.

Berry Purity H2O
This cocktail is lightened with a refreshing berry infused water. It’s slim and sophisticated with a dry berry finish.

1 ounce Purity Vodka
3 ounces Berry Water (recipe follows)
Fresh berry on a pick for garnish

1. Serve the vodka mixed with the Berry Water--either shaken and served strained, or just combined over ice.

Berry Water

Makes about 10 servings

Ingredients:
1 cup mixed berries, such as raspberries, strawberries, blackberries, or blueberries
1 long piece of lemon zest
4 cups distilled or bottled high-quality water

Directions:
1. Combine the ingredients in a glass pitcher and let sit, refrigerated, for at least 4 hours--or preferably overnight, before serving.

--Kathy Casey

© Copyright 2010 by Kathy Casey Food Studios®

© 2010 Photos by Kathy Casey Food Studios®-Liquid Kitchen™ for Purity Vodka

For more Dishing with Kathy Casey and recipes visit www.kathycasey.com/blog. Follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/kathycaseychef. Become a Facebook fan at Sips & Apps.

The World’s Fastest Human Beer Opener

Andrew Bohrer is one of the best bartenders I know, and currently manages the bar at Seattle’s Mistral Kitchen and writes the (sometimes PG 13) awesome behind-the-bar blog Cask Strength. He may also be the fastest beer bottle opener in the world. In the below video--the sound’s a bit low, so turn it up--he actually challenges all other bartenders, and then shows off (the real opening-of-beer is at about the 32 second mark) how fast he really is. And he’s pretty amazingly fast. So, if you think you’re faster, step up, make a video, and let him and us know about it.

--A.J. Rathbun

I’m Turning Japanese (Cocktails) This Summer

While I love the 1980 hit (loosely using that term) “I’m Turning Japanese” by the Vapors, this summer I’m not just singing the refrain, but drinking it, thanks to Yuri Kato’s tasty and well-written cocktail book: Japanese Cocktails: Mixed Drinks with Saké, Shuchu, Whisky, and More (Chronicle Books, 2009). Not only is the book brimming with recipes using Japanese and other ingredients in drinks such as the Tokyo M&M, the Ajisai, which means “hydrangea” in Japanese, and the Enoshima Swizzle, it also is bubbling over with bits of history about Japan and Japanese drinks, fun and entertaining facts about towns and places in Japan, and cultural information (in the book, for example, you can find out what “love hotels” are, and then drink a cocktail named after them--with that special someone, if the mood takes you). And though the recipes do use items that will be new to many, I haven’t had a problem finding any of the ingredients used in the book.

I think, though, that the best part of Japanese Cocktails is how Yuri writes in an entertaining, but still graceful, style, which matches well with the nature of the cocktails in the book. This makes the book a delightful read as well as a resource. The Japanese cocktail style is to have drinks that aren’t quite as strong as many found in the U.S., and this lighter nature of the drinks makes them ideal for summer, when you don’t want to be weighed down. This is why I’m turning Japanese at the outdoor bar this season--and why you should, too. To get you started, here’s a recipe for the Lady Godzilla.

Ingredients:
4 to 5 fresh mint leaves
1/4 ounce umeshu
Ice cubes
1-1/2 ounces white tequila
1 ounce Midori melon liqueur
1/4 ounce freshly squeezed lemon juice
Fresh mint sprig for garnish

Directions:
1. Add the mint leaves and the umeshu to a cocktail shaker. Using a muddler or long wooden spoon, muddle well.

2. Fill the cocktail shaker halfway full with ice cubes. Add the tequila, Midori, and lemon juice. Shake well.

3. Strain into a cocktail glass (chilled if possible). Garnish with the mint sprig.

A Note: Umeshu is a Japanese liqueur made from ume fruits, a base spirit, and sugar. Yuri has a handy recipe for it in the book, or you can look for it online if you can’t find it in a nearby liquor store or Asian market.

Not Your Madre's Water Bottle, But Maybe Your Abuela's . . .

Having trouble choosing an eco-friendly water bottle? I've just found one that you may not have heard about.

It's been used for hundreds of years, and it's still used today in the hottest parts of Spain, where temperatures over the summer routinely reach 100 degrees F. and the sun is so bright sunglasses aren't for fashion, they're for survival.

The water bottle I'm referring to is called a botijo, and not only does it keep water cold, it's environmentally friendly too. As soon as the botijo, which is made of unglazed clay, is filled with water, the water will begin to seep out of the porous clay, wetting the outside of the jug. As the water on the surface of the jug evaporates, it cools the water inside. No Freon necessary!

Now the botijo is not a bottle you'll be snapping to your backpack. Even without water it weighs a ton. Keep your botijo in one place, outside in the shade of a tree is best, and you'll have cool water to quench your thirst all day long.

--Tracy Schneider

Mojito: The Antidote to Monday

It's finally summer here in Seattle (well, an on-again/off-again one, at least), and if you're not about to sail away on a fantastic summer vacation, I suggest you make a toast to whatever sunshine you can get here at home. Or, you know, just take the edge off a summer Monday with a few friends. A good way to do that? With a mojito in hand, of course. An easy way to fake the taste of paradise are the flavored rums from Rum Jumbie--they come in coconut, pineapple, mango, and vanilla. The mojito recipe below is equally delish with whichever flavor you choose, and tastes best while wearing flip-flops and a flower in your hair. No need to get fancy with the glassware either--mojitos are best served in tumblers or a simple pint glass. Enjoy!

Ingredients (serves 1)
1.25 ounces Rum Jumbie Splash
12 mint leaves   
1 tbsp sugar
0.5 ounces lime juice
2 ounces soda

Directions
1. Place mint leaves in bottom of glass.
2. Add crushed ice, rum, sugar, and lime juice.
3. Gently muddle.
4. Add soda water and garnish with mint leaves.

--AndreaLeigh