AMERICANO COCKTAIL
Ingredients
Serves 2
3 oz (90 g) Campari
3 oz (90 g) Vermouth
club soda
orange twist, for garnish
Instructions
- Pour the Campari and vermouth into a rocks or highball glass filled with ice. Add a splash of club soda and garnish with an orange twist.
Featuring
CARROT, CUCUMBER AND JICAMA SALAD WITH SMOKY GRILLED LAMB
Ingredients
Serves 4
2 lbs (1 kg) well-trimmed boneless leg of lamb, cut into 3 equal pieces
2 tbsp + ¼ cup (90 ml) olive oil, divided
1 tbsp (15 ml) ground cumin, divided
salt and pepper, to taste
3 tbsp (45 ml) rice wine vinegar
1 tsp (5 ml) liquid clover honey
¼ tsp (1 ml) dry mustard powder
4 cups (1 L) roughly chopped romaine lettuce
2 large carrots, peeled and cut into long julienne curls with a spiralizer
1 unpeeled English cucumber, cut into ribbons with a vegetable peeler
2 cups (500 ml) peeled and diced jicama
2 cups (500 ml) cooked chickpeas
¾ cup (175 ml) pitted green olives, cut in half
2 tbsp (30 ml) finely chopped fresh chives
⅓ cup (75 ml) fresh cilantro leaves
Instructions
- Preheat barbecue grill to medium-high.
- Rub lamb with 2 tbsp (30 ml) oil and season with 2 tsp (10 ml) cumin, salt and pepper. Let sit at room temperature for 10 to 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, in a medium-sized bowl, whisk together remaining 1 tsp (5 ml) cumin, vinegar, honey and mustard powder. Slowly incorporate remaining ¼ cup (60 ml) oil until dressing is well combined. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Set aside.
- Grill lamb, turning frequently, for 25 to 30 minutes, or until nicely charred and an instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part registers 135 F (57 C) for medium-rare. Transfer lamb to a carving board to rest for 10 minutes.
- In a large bowl toss together romaine, carrots, cucumber, jicama, chickpeas and olives. Drizzle with dressing and toss again to coat salad. Transfer salad to a platter. Thinly slice lamb and arrange overlapping slices on salad. Garnish with chives and cilantro before serving.
Drink Pairings
CAJETA ICE CREAM WITH TORTILLA CONE
Ingredients
Serves 8 tortilla cones
1 vanilla bean, split in half lengthwise
1 cinnamon stick, about 4-in (10 cm) long
4 cups (1 L) goat’s milk
¾ cup (175 ml) granulated sugar
½ tsp + ⅛ tsp (2.5 ml) baking soda
pinch kosher salt
2 cups (500 ml) chilled whipping cream
1 tbsp (15 ml) dark rum or vanilla extract
salted popcorn, optional, for garnish
CINNAMON SUGAR TORTILLA CONES:
½ cup (125 ml) sanding sugar or turbinado sugar
1 tsp (5 ml) ground cinnamon
8 Homemade Corn Tortillas, 6-in (15 cm) each
¼ cup (60 ml) vegetable oil
2 tbsp (30 ml) clover honey
Instructions
- Scrape seeds out of vanilla pod and reserve for another use. In a medium saucepan stir together vanilla pod, cinnamon stick, goat’s milk, sugar, baking soda, and salt. Place over medium heat and cook, stirring occasionally with a heat-resistant spatula, until sugar dissolves and milk gets foamy, about 15 minutes.
- Continue to cook at a gentle simmer, stirring and scraping down sides of saucepan very frequently until milk is thick, golden, and reduced to no more than a thin, very thick layer, about 45 minutes. Stir mixture more frequently as it thickens to prevent scorching. Cook mixture until a trail remains for 1 to 2 seconds when spatula is dragged across bottom of saucepan. Remove from heat and discard vanilla pod and cinnamon stick. If total amount of cajeta is less than 1 cup (250 ml) thin with a bit of extra goat’s milk or else it will be too thick once cooled. Transfer cajeta to a large heat resistant bowl and allow to cool to room temperature. Refrigerate until ready to use.
- In a large bowl, whisk whipping cream and rum together until stiff peaks form. Stir a third whipped cream into chilled cajeta until just combined. Gently fold remaining whipped cream into cajeta mixture before pouring into a 9x5-in (2 L) loaf pan. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze until firm, about 6 hours. Serve ice cream scooped into Tortilla Cones and garnish with a sprinkle of salted popcorn, if desired. Enjoy immediately.
- To make CINNAMON SUGAR TORTILLA CONES: Preheat oven to 350 F (180 C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a small bowl, whisk together sugar and cinnamon. Set aside.
- Brush both sides of each tortilla with oil before rolling each into a cone shape. Secure seam with a couple of toothpicks. To ensure cone keeps it shape while baking, crinkle up some tin foil and place it inside cone. Place tortillas seam side down on baking sheet and bake for 5 minutes. Rotate cone so seam side faces up and continues baking until lightly browned and starting to crisp up, another 5 to 10 minutes. Allow cones to cool for 1 minute before removing and discarding toothpicks and foil. Cool to room temperature on a wire rack. Tortilla cones should crisp up as they cool. If still a little soft, return to oven for another 2 to 3 minutes. When cool, paint a 1-inch (2.5 cm) line around top of cone with honey. Dip honey pained portion of cone in sugar cinnamon mixture to coat. Tortilla cones are best served eaten within a couple of hours of being made.
Drink Pairings
BLACK FOREST CUPCAKES WITH KIRSCH CHERRIES
Ingredients
Serves 24 cupcakes
CUPCAKES:
2 cups (500 ml) granulated sugar
1 cup (250 ml) all-purpose flour
¾ cup (180 ml) cake and pastry flour
¾ cup (180 ml) unsweetened cocoa
1½ tsp (7 ml) baking powder
1½ tsp (7 ml) baking soda
1 tsp (5 ml) kosher salt
1 cup (250 ml) milk
½ cup (125 ml) melted butter, plus extra for greasing pans
2 whole eggs, whisked
2 tsp (10 ml) kirsch
1 cup (250 ml) boiling water
MARINATED CHERRIES:
1 cup (250 ml) fresh cherries, pitted
¼ cup (60 ml) granulated sugar
2 tsp (10 ml) kirsch
CHANTILLY CREAM:
1 cup (250 ml) whipping cream
¼ cup (60 ml) granulated sugar
¼ vanilla bean, seeds scraped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F (180 C). Line 2 muffin tins with paper liners or generously grease muffin tins with butter.
- To make CUPCAKES: In a large bowl, combine sugar, flours, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Sift together to blend.
- In a separate bowl, combine milk, melted butter, eggs and kirsch. Whisk until combined.
- Whisk milk mixture into dry ingredients until no lumps remain. Gradually whisk in boiling water until blended.
- Ladle equal amounts into prepared muffin tins, each about ¾ full. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the centre of a cupcake comes out clean. Rotate pans halfway through baking. Once done, remove from oven and thoroughly cool in tins on a rack before removing.
- While cupcakes are baking, place cherries in a bowl with sugar and kirsch. (You should have at least 24 cherries.) Stir to evenly blend. Marinate at room temperature for 1 hour or refrigerate overnight.
- Drain juice from cherries into a small, heavy-bottomed saucepan, reserving cherries. Gently boil juice over medium heat, reducing it to a syrupy consistency, about five to ten minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.
- To make CHANTILLY CREAM: In an electric stand mixer fitted with a wire whisk, beat whipping cream in a chilled bowl until soft peaks begin to form. Gradually beat in sugar and vanilla seeds until medium peaks form.
- Drizzle cooled cherry syrup over whipped cream and gently stir together, creating swirls of cherry syrup in cream.
- Pipe or dollop cherry cream onto each cupcake and garnish with a reserved, marinated cherry.