Fruity drink

We are just back from a long weekend in Miami. We spent time in South Beach checking out the architecture, exploring the scene at the boutique hotels and dining in as many places as possible to take advantage of the wonderful and varied food. One lunch brought us to the Raleigh hotel which is one of the cuter hotels in my opinion; it is relatively small scale and not as overwhelming as the Delano and has an amazing deco lobby. We had lunch at poolside café and were lured into a fruity drink that we saw the next table order. It turned out that our waiter invented the drink and although the ingredients sounded a little unusual, the combination was amazing. I spent some time reverse engineering the drink at home and I think I’ve got it. What’s great about it is not only the taste but also how pretty and festive the multi-colored layers look. I tried it in a few different shaped glasses and the layers seem to form best when made in a champagne glass; must have something to do with surface tension – who knows. Give it a whirl and pretend it’s not subzero outside!

Ariel Royale

¾ oz tequila
¼ oz triple sec
Pineapple juice
Cabernet
Grenadine

Combine tequila and triple sec with enough pineapple juice to fill champagne glass 2/3-¾ full. Slowly pour in grenadine (to taste / to visual appeal); it will sink to the bottom of the glass and form a red layer). Very slowly pour in cabernet (I transferred some wine to a small pitcher and slowly and gently poured it into the glass in a spiral motion; this is a tricky layer to create). The cabernet should settle both above the grenadine layer and at the very top of the glass.

Serve in layers but stir before drinking to combine flavors – enjoy!

Lentil salad

Long time no blog! No excuses really -- just being slow and lazy. We've been eating a lot of good winter foods: beans, soups etc., despite the fact that it has only just recently gotten cold here.

One of my all-time favorite light lunches (or sides) is lentil salad. I recently found some gorgeous lentils I've never seen before that I'm enjoying playing around with: black beluga lentils. They really do look like giant pearls of caviar and they have a nice buttery flavor and bite. I make them in my favorite kitchen gadget: the rice cooker. Yes, this might seem like a completely unnecessary item but it's actually much more versatile and helpful than the name would suggest. I use it less often for rice than I do for beans, lentils, and, amazingly, oatmeal. It always cooks everything just right and you don't have to hover over the stove to make sure you're not scorching or creating mushy food. Lentils in particular come out just right every time.

I usually cook lentils for 40 minutes in chicken stock, adding salt and pepper once cooked. I remove the lentils while still warm and stir in olive oil and red wine vinegar to taste – usually a couple of tablespoons for ¾ cup uncooked lentils. The lentils soak up the liquids and the flavor permeates every pearl (or seed to be technical). I then season with salt and pepper and a squeeze of lemon, and mix in chopped vegetables (whatever is on hand). My favorites are diced red onion, cucumber, red or orange pepper, and carrot. I usually like to add crumbled or cubed French feta and occasionally avocado (particularly if I think it will get eaten in one sitting). I finish with some finely chopped flat leaf parsley and adjust seasonings when done.

Beef bourguignon

Happy new year all!

We rang in the new year with a quiet dinner. I decided it was time to attack Bouchon's beef bourguignon (patiently waiting on my “to cook” list). We’ve both been under the weather and huddling in but the local grocery store will shop and deliver so I figured if all the ingredients walked in the door I’d be up for slowly and lazily cooking everything. I called in the ingredients and they showed up an hour later. I started cooking the day before to break the recipe up into manageable steps.

The whole process was similar to coq au vin in that it involved making a red wine reduction out of wine seasoned with leeks, onions, carrots, bay leaves, black peppercorns, thyme, parsley, celery and garlic, browning the meat and then braising it in the reduction and beef broth, and then cooking a series of “garnishes” (red and white pearl onions, mushrooms, carrots, lardons and fingerling potatoes) seasoned in the same way as the wine, and combining them with the beef at the last minute. On my first, cursory read nothing seemed too complicated; just a lot of steps and attention to cooking each individual item to the right level. As I got partway through I realized that the braised beef needed to steep in its cooking liquid for at least a day and up to 3 days (argh!) so it was lucky I started early. The great thing about Keller’s version is that it uses luxurious beef short rib for the meat and because the braising liquid is continuously seasoned and clarified the broth develops into a rich, aromatic, almost silky liquid. Since the garnishes are not added until the end, each retain its own distinct color, texture and flavor and the whole dish becomes a cornucopia of wonderful, hearty flavors without becoming overly stew-y and heavy.

I’m not going to post the recipe because it was pages long; but if anyone would like it, I’m happy to bite the bullet and send it along.

Ricotta, spinach and prosciutto ravioli adapted from Giada DeLaurentiis

In an unusual (in a good way) turn of events, R was inspired to cook dinner this weekend. He watched a Giada DeLaurentiis Everyday Italian episode on the Food Network and decide to try his hand at ricotta, spinach and prosciutto ravioli; not an easy choice for a first meal! It was a huge treat and turned out great (albeit not without much stress and angst emanating from the kitchen). He even adapted the original recipe to substitute an olive oil sauce for an unhealthy butter sauce and added toasted pine nuts for extra flavor.

Ricotta, spinach and prosciutto ravioli adapted from Giada DeLaurentiis

1 (15-ounce) container whole milk ricotta cheese
1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, squeezed dry
4 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto, chopped
2 large egg yolks
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
48 wonton wrappers
1/2 cup olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
Freshly grated pecorino

Whisk the ricotta, spinach, prosciutto, egg yolks, salt, and pepper in a medium bowl to blend.

Place 1 tablespoon of the ricotta filling in the center of a wonton wrapper. Brush the edge of the wrapper lightly with water. Fold the wrapper in half, enclosing the filling completely and forming a triangle. Pinch the edges to seal. Transfer the ravioli to baking sheets. Repeat with the remaining filling and wrappers. (Can be prepared up to 2 hours ahead; cover and refrigerate.)


Heat the olive oil in a heavy small skillet over medium heat. Add the oregano and stir 1 minute. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper. Remove from the heat.

Working in batches, cook the ravioli in a large sauté pan of boiling salted water until just tender, stirring occasionally, about 4 minutes per batch. Transfer the ravioli to a large shallow bowl.

In a small skillet, toast the pine nuts until golden brown and fragrant.

Pour the oregano olive oil over the ravioli and toss gently to coat. Sprinkle the pecorino and pine nuts over the ravioli and serve.