When I sent my DH grocery shopping (in case you’re new to my blog, my hubby loves to go grocery shopping, so I let him do about 90% of it – actually I’m happy he wants to), I told him to buy some Tuaca. Huh? he said. What’s that. I just said it’s a liqueur. When he got home he said, with a rather strident voice . . . do you know how much that stuff cost? No, I didn’t. $25.00 he said. But I’m going to use just 1/2 cup, honey. That mollified him a little!

Until today I’d never tried Tuaca (pronounced too-ah-kah). And because I didn’t know much about it except that it’s vanilla scented, I went online to read up about it. Tuaca was originally produced by the Tuoni and Canepa families of Livorno, Italy. The liqueur is sweet and golden brown in color. Its ingredients include brandy, essence of orange, and vanilla. Vanilla is the dominant flavor.

The recipe supposedly dates back to the Renaissance. A legend claims that it was created for Lorenzo the Magnificent. Well, whatever its source, it’s a lovely flavor. It’s sweet, but not sickeningly so like some liqueurs can be. It’s more like a flavored brandy than it is B&B or Drambuie type. I did taste it – a tiny sip just so I’d know what the stuff tasted like – it’s nice.

For this lunch we did the other day for six couples (an old friend/couple came to town on a visit so we had a friends-reunion kind of thing), I wanted to serve something lighter, summer fare, for a drink. Some folks in the group don’t drink, so we had ice water and soft drinks. And I didn’t think that many people would want sangria – but, oh yes they did! I didn’t have enough of this. Wish I’d had at least double the amount – I’d have had no trouble getting rid of it – maybe I’d have had some leftover, which would have been nice. Very, very nice. Guess I’ll just have to make it again. Sooner rather than later.

I scrounged around in my to-try recipe file and found three sangria recipes that seemed interesting, so I took some ideas from each of them. Some of our guests don’t drink red wine, so I made it with white (Sauvignon Blanc). But then I added some other nice stuff: Limoncello, the Tuaca, fresh orange juice, a little sugar, some cinnamon sticks and then fruit stuff. I chilled everything the night before and muddled the fruit, sugar and wine for an hour or two before our lunch. Then I added some 7-up just before serving – not a lot, just enough to give it some spritz. And served it in that pretty pitcher you can see up top.

All of it lovely. I think Tuaca will keep on your liquor shelf for a looooong time, so even though it is an investment, you’ll be able to use it for years to come. Limoncello won’t keep quite as long, but almost. If you don’t want to invest in either of those liqueurs, add a little jot of vanilla and some lemon juice. But do make this.

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A year ago: Heirloom Tomatoes
Three years ago: Shrimp and Bread Skewers with Romesco Sauce

I’m on a food quest – a mission, if you will. To find out how to make perfect Thai iced tea. It took me a couple of weeks of periodic research online (finding various recipes, with use of various kinds of milk, hearing about the different kinds of Thai tea to buy, visiting several Asian markets trying to find it) before I finally just went to my local Thai restaurant and asked them if they’d sell me their tea. Sure they would. For $7.00 for the bag you’ll see in the photo down below. The kind owner was trying to tell me how much of the tea mix to use, but I couldn’t understand him well enough to know what he was saying. How much tea to water? I couldn’t understand. The bag does have a recipe on it (in English!), but I think it would be way too strong. I don’t want to stay up all night with all the caffeine. So I resorted to just trying it, guessing on the quantity.If you don’t know about Thai iced tea, you’re really missing out. Well, that is, if you enjoy sweetened and milky iced tea. I didn’t know whether I’d like it or not, but my friend Norma (the one who died recently of pulmonary fibrosis) introduced me to it – she and her husband Mike lived in Asia for awhile and knew all about it. I was hooked as soon as I tasted it. But then, I like milky tea, and sweetened tea; not everyone does. My DH doesn’t like it at all. I served it to one of my daughters and she could hardly swallow it. So maybe it’s an acquired taste?

With the reading I did, I found out there are lots of qualities of Thai tea out there. The rusty brown color you see above is created by mixing the dark tea with some yellow food coloring (which is impregnated in the tea, I guess). Some of it may be from annatto seeds, which have a natural red/brown color to them. I’m not thrilled about ingesting all that much Yellow Food Dye #3, but I must if I want some of this tea. The tea itself is spicy – along the lines of Chai tea, but it contains different spices than Chai tea. Chai is from India. Obviously Thai tea is different! And according to many people who commented, if it’s Thai tea you want, the tea must come from Thailand because only they know how to make it. The package I bought from my local restaurant is from Thailand and it says it contains green tea, spices and yellow food dye. It also has Vietnamese words on it, so guess I’ll have to visit a Vietnamese store in our local community to find more, perhaps.

Having read about a dozen websites with information about making Thai iced tea, this is what I gleaned: (1) you must mix the tea, water and sugar, bring it to a boil, then let it sit for awhile. There were variations on how long it’s to sit. Some wanted a short time; others said much longer than traditional for English tea [which generally is 5 minutes]; (2) strain it to get out all the twigs and spices, then allow it to cool, and chill it; (3) pour it out over lots of ice, and using the bowl of a spoon close to the tea surface, pour in the milk – most sites said evaporated milk – other said sweetened condensed milk. I concluded using the sweetened milk would make the tea excessively sweet.

So I made some – using about 1/2 cup of the Thai tea mix in about 6 cups of water. If I had added the sugar then I’d probably have put in about 1/3 cup. I wanted to use Splenda and added it later. I brought the tea mixture to a boil, allowed it to sit and mellow for about 10 minutes, then strained it through a very fine mesh strainer (and even then I didn’t get out all of the very finely ground spices). Once it cooled, into the fridge it went to chill for awhile.

As you can see from the photo at left, the tea is strong – but interestingly enough – it’s not bitter like strongly made regular English type black tea – even after steeping for awhile.

After it was thoroughly cold, I poured it over a bunch of ice (this is when I added Splenda – that’s definitely not authentic). Very carefully I tried adding some fat-free half and half. Nope. Didn’t taste right at all. Then I tried evaporated milk and yes, that was it. From a little 6-ounce can of Carnation evaporated milk, I was able to make 2 tall glasses of tea.

If any of you know some secrets about making Thai iced tea, I’d be grateful for suggestions. I found a website called instructables. It had the best ideas, I thought. As with lots of recipes, this one is open to interpretation, adjustments, enhancements. And if you don’t want to go through all the hassle I did, most Thai restaurants have it as a beverage – just ask at your local Thai eatery if they have it on their menu (don’t get the ones with tapioca balls in it), and order a glass of it.

A year ago: Couscous Chicken Salad
Two years ago: Sarah’s Ginger Scones
Three years ago: Hot as Haiti (an adult rum drink)

The other night was our son’s birthday, and I took a good part of the dinner to their house. Karen made a lovely roast chicken and I made Brussels sprouts with orange brandy and dried cranberries, a green salad with some of the Rose’s Vinaigrette from a week ago, and dessert.

Last weekend we were in No. California and at a winery tasting room I bought a bottle of Earth & Vine’s Black Raspberry Elixir. It’s a bottled fruit concentrate (see photo below right) you can use mostly for beverages, I’d suppose. Although you could probably add it to fresh fruit, or on top of yogurt. The recipes on the bottle are all beverages, some with liquor, some without. The elixir has no alcohol in it – it’s just the straight fruit (both black and red raspberry purees), sugar and lemon juice.

There was no recipe for a float on the label, but it just sounded like something you could do with this, so I made it up in my head. I bought some Haagen-Dazs vanilla bean ice cream, brought along some Chambord and chilled club soda. That’s all there was in it. I looked up a few recipes for root beer floats and then just winged it. For each drink I used about a tablespoon of Chambord, about 2 tablespoons of the black raspberry elixir, about 6 ounces of club soda, then plopped in a nice rounded scoop of the ice cream. A straw was all that was needed. Do make sure the ice cream is really solidly frozen, though. Ours was a bit on the melting side so it oozed into the drink faster than we liked. Still mighty tasty, though. You might have to hunt for the elixirs (there are other flavors, but you can read all about them online at Earth & Vine). Then make up your own combination.

One Year Ago: A photo of a riddling rack made into an herb garden
Two years ago: Lemon Oregano Vinaigrette
Three years ago: Caramelized Carnitas Tacos

Here I am again, giving you an aperitif, when I don’t drink all that much. This one was so refreshing, though, that I had to share it with you.

This was served at the charitable event my friend Cherrie and I attended a couple of weeks ago. Wine was on offer, and two cocktails. This one hit the spot. It’s on the tart side, actually. You’d think, looking at the photo, that it’s sweet, but with grapefruit juice as its major component, it’s definitely puckery. Aperol is the liquor in it, and it’s not all that sweet either. It’s compared by many as a toned-down version of Campari. It’s really tart, so I’d agree with the assessment.

If you haven’t heard about Aperol, you should check it out. It’s a new alcohol-type aperitif, sold in some regular markets, but in most liquor stores for sure.

Aperol was launched by the Barbieri company, based in Padua, in 1919. The news is that it’s an aperitif with an alcohol content of only 11%. Aperol’s unique flavor and color are achieved through a subtle blend of bitter orange, gentian, rhubarb and an array of herbs and roots.

Aperol is a bit hard to find in some places – you may have to request they stock it. I don’t own a bottle of it yet, but the very next time I’m at my local warehouse beverage store, I’ll look for it.

A year ago: Layered Hummus & Eggplant (oh-so-good)
Two years ago: Chicken with Artichokes & Olives

If you enjoy margaritas, but prefer just a little bit of sweetness, this recipe is for you. It’s still got the margarita kick, but it’s not sickeningly sweet like some of the fruit concoctions made at restaurants. Usually they are simply too sweet for me. But this one, from a Phillis Carey cooking class, was just great. A little bit of fruit, a little sugar on the rim, and a goodly sock of tequila. [I had a 3 ounce margarita total, so don't get excited.] Don’t use frozen strawberries, as that will make the margarita more like a smoothie. As usual, photographing beverages is a bit difficult – I snapped this at the class, balancing a cafeteria tray on my lap with nothing but the printed recipes as my decorative backdrop!

When I pulled out these really stunning mint julep cups, my DH said to me, “Uh, where did THOSE come from?” Blithely I said “Oh, I’ve had these for a couple of years, but we’ve never had an occasion to use them.” That was a true statement. He did think they were sterling silver (they’re not), and he thought they were probably ridiculously expensive (they weren’t). But I HAD kept them snugly tucked away in a cupboard. Obviously he wasn’t home when I brought them into the house, so I just put them away (cheeky grin). My DH doesn’t think I ever, in my entire life, need to buy one more THING for the kitchen. But he’s learned, that’s probably not going to happen. They’re silverplate. And cute as bugs. Or cute as baby mint leaves. And I own four of them. My friend Cherrie also owns four, so we combined assets and had ample for our Creole Jambalaya dinner party. 

The recipe mostly came from the Food Network - but I did a slight variation. Since simple syrup (a necessity for juleps) was required, I wanted to make it with agave nectar instead. Why? No reason. Just because. So I patched together two recipes, the one from Sara Moulton, and another I found on the ‘net for an agave simple syrup.

What’s unique about this is that the mint leaves are infused in bourbon, then the whole mixture chills for hours or overnight. So the bourbon has a really good hit of mint before you even start. And everything gets good-and-chilled before you serve them. I liked this a LOT. I even made one more the next night with the little bit of leftover mint infusion. It was just as good; maybe better.

Now, I’m not much of a drinker of hard liquor. Despite the fact that you’ve read a few recipes here for some cocktails, I rarely drink them. That’s God’s honest truth. If I make them, I drink them, but I rarely make them. Does that make sense? But, last week I thought juleps would be perfect to serve before our feast of jambalaya, and they were. These go down easy. And I mean it - with the mint infusion, the agave/simple syrup, they slide. If you want them more powerful, add some more bourbon punch to it. I thought they were fine. Note that you sprinkle just a tad of powdered sugar on the top of the shaved ice and mint before serving. And now, my mint julep cups will go back into their clear plastic ziploc bag to retard tarnishing, and they’ll be returned to the dark corner in the dining room cupboard.

A year ago: Caramelized Onion & Sage Puffs (an appetizer)

Not everybody likes these new martini concoctions. On the other hand, I don’t like the “real thing,” the gin with a drop of vermouth. Or one made with vodka, either. But put a little sugar or fruit in it (or fruit juice) and it sounds more appealing. For many years I never even tried one, then one night we were out with friends and somebody said, “Oh, Carolyn, I know you’d like a lemon drop.” Well, okay, I tried it. It was delicious. Puckery, but sweet all at the same time. Not that I order them very often, but I do, maybe once a year. So when Phillis Carey gave a class a couple of weeks ago about martinis (and food with them) it didn’t take me long to say yes, I’d go. One of the three martinis I didn’t like – one made with Midori. My friend Cherrie liked it a lot, but then she likes Midori. If you’re interested in that one, here’s the recipe: Melon Tequini (it’s actually a margarita): 1 1/2 parts gold tequila, 1 part Midori, 1 part Cointreau (not Triple Sec), 1 part fresh strained lemon juice. Combine, shake, pour over ice with a melon wedge on the edge.

I already posted the recipe for the Pear Martini a week or so ago. But I’d forgotten about this one, the Blueberry Lemon Drop. It requires a bit of an investment in one of the intense flavored vodkas (either blueberry, or lemon). Once you have that, you can whip this out in a jiffy (providing you have a blender, some fresh lemons, Triple Sec, some fresh or frozen blueberries and some lemonade). Phillis strongly recommended the Stoli brand vodka. And she also recommended the Bols brand Triple Sec above all others.

She also gave us the recipe for one of her favorites – a Raspberry Lemon Drop: 6 parts lemon vodka, 2 parts fresh strained lemon juice, 1 part triple sec, 1 part simple syrup, a dash of Chambord and a few fresh raspberries to drop into the finished drink. Phillis told me she reads my blog (wow, thanks, Phillis), so if that recipe isn’t right, she’ll chime in and correct it.

So, go dig out your blender and mix up something refreshing! And oh, by the way, I just ordered a new blender. My 27-year old Hamilton Beach finally bit the dust, and it happened that Cook’s Illustrated magazine just did an article about them. I bought the #1 on the list, the Kitchenaid KSB580. It’s $142 (chrome) at amazon.com, and until July there’s a $20 rebate. The #2 on the list is a Kalorik brand (a “best buy” at $70). Only reservation on that one was a slower motor. The article focused on each blender’s ability to chop ice and puree hummus. There were other factors too, but those two were the most important.

A year ago: Sopa de Calabacitas (a Mexican soup composed of zucchini, chiles and corn) – really delicious

What is it about beverages – they just don’t photograph very well. Of course, I was in our daughter’s kitchen, using ambient light, no background to speak of. And she didn’t have martini glasses (neither do I, for that matter). You’ll just have to trust me that this recipe is worth reading about and trying yourself. I don’t like a salt-rimmed margarita, so my glass was just kinda plain looking.

It was about 5-6 years ago when I read an in-depth article in Cooks Illustrated about margaritas. And because the prose about it was so grand, I decided I had to try it. I’m not a fan of bottled margarita mix. It’s got some kind of off flavor to my palate. It’s certainly easy; but I’d almost rather do without than have to imbibe the ready-made mix. So this recipe for the real thing, using JUST fresh lemon and lime juices plus some sugar (plus the tequila and triple sec) is SO, SO much better. I made a huge quantity (to serve 10 adults for our son-in-law’s birthday) and had about 2 cups of the lemon/lime juice leftover. The next night we invited our friends Sue and Lynn over for dinner. Lynn said, after he’d downed two of them, “this, I think, is the best margarita I’ve ever had in my life.” I concur.

What sets this recipe apart from other margarita recipes is the marinating time. What? Marinating? Yes, you marinate the juices along with some of the lemon and lime peel to give it a much more intense flavor. Indeed it does. I marinate for 24 hours, always, but the recipe says 4 hours or up to 24. The second thing about these is the use of Reposado tequila. This isn’t the cheap-cheap stuff you use here, but the aged agave Reposado variety. Maybe a little harder to find, and a bit more expensive (but not a lot). However, the liquor is more mellow, if you can say that anything that’s 70+ proof alcohol is mellow. I’ve made these 4 or 5 times in the ensuing years and have heard good reviews every time. Don’t be lazy and use just lemon juice – the drink needs both lemon and lime juices. Perfect for a warm afternoon or a dinner outside!

A year ago: Chocolate Chunk & Dried Cherry Oatmeal Cookies

Well, I suppose this photo doesn’t look like much. But then, a regular, ordinary martini with gin and vermouth plus an olive doesn’t have much “color” character either. I don’t happen to like gin or vodka martinis at all. But the newer-fangled boutique martinis, that’s another story altogether.

The other night I attended a very fun cooking class with Phillis Carey. She teaches a few classes a year about margaritas and martinis (always to sold-out crowds). This one was no different! Packed. It wasn’t JUST martinis, of course – Phillis made three possible entrees and a dessert to go with the three different martinis. This martini was my favorite.

If you have the ingredients on hand, this has got to be a cinch to make. Usually Phillis doesn’t serve this with a sugared rim on the glass (in our case, plastic cups), but the cooking school staff got carried away dipping in lemon juice and dunking in superfine sugar. So you can eliminate the sugar if you’d prefer. The drink really doesn’t need it as it’s sweet enough. You can barely see a little wedge of pear floating in the bottom of the cup – I took it off the rim and let it soak - ooh, it was tasty after it had been in the martini for 10 minutes. Probably just ONE of these drinks would be enough before dinner or you and your guests might be, well, lying supine for the rest of the evening.

Pear Martini
Servings: 4, I think, if each part below is a jigger
4 parts Absolut pear vodka
2 parts Triple Sec (Bols brand is best)
2 parts canned pear nectar
1 part fresh strained lemon juice (measured after straining)
1 canned pear slice
1. Pour all the liquids in a shaker over ice. Shake and serve in a martini glass. (You can serve the martini over ice if you prefer.) Press a pear slice on the edge of the glass.

My happiest moment is when I prepare a glass of hot, strong tea, and then sit down with it to read, think or write a letter. I’ve become a fanatical devotee of Earl Grey, which in England, as everyone knows, is consumed only by little old ladies during afternoon tea parties, and which the English tea lover scorns as a perfumed, old-maidenish drink. …Václav Havel, Letters to Olga  

Ha! Havel bucked tradition in many things – not just tea, but the politics of his country (he was the first elected president of the Czech Republic and the above line is from a letter he wrote to his wife, Olga; he died in 1992). 

I was so happy the other morning – it was cool enough at about 10 am that I craved a pot of Earl Grey tea. The scent of the oil of bergamot in Earl Grey is what draws me to it. And I drink it with both milk and sweetener. The house still had that chilly edge. It’s been unseasonably cool here in Southern California for the last week (thank you, Lord!). Normally September is our hottest month, and I dread it. Our summer has been unusually humid – most mornings the humidity is up in the 80-90% range. The dense air dries out a bit later in the day, but we’re just not used to this sweating routine. I mean – we’re dry, desert terrain, you know? But when the weatherman said we’d be having temps in the 60′s and 70′s for a few days, I didn’t believe him. But he was right. I l-oved it. Every minute of it. Weather for a cuppa.  So, Mr. Havel, I salute you.