March 31st, 2011

Making Cocktails

Later in the day I began my quest to make fancy cocktails. With the intention of having a "Floridian Vacation At Home" which involved, turning up the heater, lounging in my bathing suit and listening to Bob Marley with a fruity cocktail in hand, I had originally purchased some Malibu Rum Pre-Mixed Rum Punch in a bag. I was really just drawn in by booze-in-a-bag with a spout. Like box wine. But booze. How could I resist? Well, I certainly would have if someone had told me how gross it was. The punch was grimace-inducing strong with the out of place coconut aftertaste. I know its Malibu, but I just expect it to work. It didn't.

So I was left to my own devices with my fancy Absolut bottle, fresh fruit and herbs. I'd gone a bit crazy and purchased large bunches of mint, basil and dill for my cooking and salads this week. A bit more than necessary. But the mint and basil were perfect for my favorite cocktails! So I muddled up some fresh herbs, limes, berries and mixed them in various ways with (diet!) tonic water and vodka. They were divine. Mmm..

March 31st, 2011

Perfectly poached in water and vinegar

On a roll with my cooking, I was inspired by The Sharper Your Knife, The Less You Cry this week and immediately felt the need to conquer the perfect poached egg. There is a lot to know about poaching an egg that I never dreamed possible. Or rather, cooking eggs in general. The egg has rapidly become the most important part of my cooking and baking over the past few months. You can do everything and anything with it. It's like butter. It's special. The magic ingredient.

So I pulled out The Art of Simple Food by Alice Waters and turned to page 142 for her instructions on poaching an egg. Water, vinegar and understanding of when to remove the egg. The thing about the egg is that it continues to cook even after you remove it from the heat. For example, the key to scrambled eggs is to gently and patiently whisk/stir until its nearly opaque, but not cooked through. As in, you wouldn't want to eat it just yet as parts are a bit slippery, but given another couple of minutes, it will be moist, fluffy and perfect. So you take it off, and those last couple of minutes are done away from the heat.

The poached eggs seems to be similar. The fresher the egg, the easier the poaching, the more snug the egg ball. The water is kept at a quiet rolling boil. As it cooks you roll the egg with a slotted spoon to center the yolk, while also preventing it from sticking to the bottom of the pan. By the time the egg whites have all turned opaque, the yolk is still soft and runny - which in my opinion is perfect. The result is a delicious flavorful poached egg - the vinegar drawing out the hint of flavor without being vinegary.