Passenger
Took this a while back, but I finally downloaded it from the camera last night and just had to share it.
February 2010 S M T W T F S « Jan 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 Pages
Ideas
the cure
Delicious success
The sorbet came out wonderfully. It took WAY more oranges than I expected because the oranges available were fairly small. We had to go back to Berkeley Bowl for a second round. I loved the mint and basil–they keep the citrus from being overwhelming. I might add a little less sugar next time, but overall we loved it.
The cold rain and hail don’t really make it seem like great weather for having icy desserts. However, I think the citrus and fresh herbs really make a rainy winter day seem a little brighter.
Blood Orange Basil Mint Sorbet
It’s blood orange season! I have had this recipe on my to-do list for the last couple of years, but I keep missing blood orange season — I don’t particularly think of any citrus as “winter fruit”. Now that I’ve remembered, I think it’s time for a trip to Berkeley Bowl for some so I can make this sorbet.
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
2 cups blood orange juice
1/2 cup packed basil leaves
1/2 cup packed mint leaves
3 tablespoons fresh lemon or lime juice
2 tablespoons orange liqueur (such as Cointreau or Grand Marnier)Combine the water and sugar in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and cook until the sugar has dissolved. Remove from heat and add the blood orange juice, basil and mint. Let steep for about 5 minutes. Add the lemon/lime juice and strain into a bowl. Chill completely.
Stir in the liqueur and freeze mixture in your ice cream machine.
Once the sorbet is frozen, transfer to 1-quart container and store tightly sealed in the freezer for a few hours until firm.
My mouth is already watering.
Brunch!
We had a lovely brunch with our friends P & A to celebrate the good news that they are expecting. We got to break out some of the wedding gifts we received — we dressed up our everyday dishes with champagne glasses, some lovely stainless steel bowls and the Mr’s “evil napkin rings”*. And since we got a cake for the occasion, we even got to use our domed cake platter.
They brought over wild boar bacon and we served up waffles, eggs, fruit, yogurt, coffee and mimosas (alcoholic and non). It was a yummy and fun morning.
As you can see, we have more or less finished our dining area. We upgraded some of our old furniture. We found some great Toleware chairs and a lovely Ethan Allen table on craigslist. We downsized our cabinet to a tower glassware cabinet from IKEA. We still need to hang some photos and maybe paint (I’m considering the color November Rain from Benjamin Moore — an off-white, sagey color that seems to work well with the green accents we’ve got in the room already). Otherwise, I think it cleans up pretty well, don’t you?
* When P & A went on a trip to South America, they tried to bring us a present of a kind of liquor you can’t find in the States. However, the alcohol they bought was confiscated and they got us some napkin rings from the gift shops in the airport instead. The Mr calls them evil because they are made from a variety of somewhat rare hardwoods. We assume the woods were obtained from clear cutting. He loves them.
Happy New Year!
Menudo, just like mom makes.
This dish is a holiday tradition in my family, so I really wanted to make it and the new year seemed a good time. It’s an acquired taste — it’s pretty much just tripe, hominy and spices. I didn’t like it until I was 11 or 12, but now I love it. I eat as much of it as I can when my mom makes it for our visits. Yum! Bonus, the Mr ate a bowl of this too! I don’t think it’ll be his favorite dish anytime soon, but he did like it well enough. Yay!
Last night, we went with one of his family traditions: seafood dinner before toasting in the New Year. We made some drawn butter, warmed up some giant crab legs and poured two flutes of champagne. I had never eaten crab legs before, but cracking the legs was a bit difficult for the Mr in his splint, so I was very good at it by the end of dinner.
I think those two traditions were a great way to bring in the new year!