ARKANSAS VS. KENTUCKY
Last week was a food blog fail. I planned to write about the Food Truck Festival in Little Rock and offer up a lot of photos, etc., but that all went terribly wrong under the oppression of a 45-degree drenching rain. But that's in the past!
In honor of our Kentucky opponents, this week's menu is inspired by our favorite liquified substance: Maker’s Mark® bourbon!
Reasonable men can quibble about who makes the greatest bourbon. I can get really happy, for example with a bottle of Woodford Reserve. My boss, on the other hand, loves Blanton's and its ridiculous price. And, to be honest, I have made do at times with the likes of Old Crow. But for my money the best investment in liquid happiness is a liter of Maker's dipped in that wonderful red wax-like plastic seal. The bottle itself is a work of art. The typeface on the label gives me devilish ideas. Especially in fall, the sweet, caramel flavors of Maker's seem to complement everything. (Like fresh apple cake with caramel icing? Mmm hmm.)
Maker's is subtle and nuanced enough for the most pretentious people around, but its still high-living for regular guys. It's like a really good applie pie: there's something to love there for everyone. I love it on the rocks, with Coke Zero and in various cocktails. But there's something really special about a homemade mint julep.I pull the sword from the stone as a husband every time I make this sweet minty drink for my wife.
This week's menu is totally bourbon-tastic with the sole exception of the potatoes. The spuds come from Emeril Lagasse, former boss of my brother-in-law, Frank Szymanski, who worked as a chef in his restaurants in New Orleans and the Mississippi Gulf Coast.
So what about the football? Last week's Auburn great was a great achievement for this Razorback team. Let's have more of that.
Fueled by these boozy recipes, we plan to root these wounded, fullback-and-linebacker-deprived Hogs on to another great victory against tthe Wildcats, and look forward to what promises to be a great game in a couple of weeks with the Ole Miss Admiral Ackbar Black Bear Rebels, hopefully with our tight end and some defensive players back in the fold. You can look forward to some game notes today, but for now, on to the food!
Three of today's recipes were developed by working chefs who like bourbon. As it happens, they are all posted to the Maker's Mark website, so check visit
www.makersmark.com/recipes if you want to
check my work.
Bourbon-Marinated Hangar Steak
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| The steak covered with the most fantastic meat sauce you will ever taste. |
What's a hangar steak, you say? Same as a skirt steak. Comes from the bottom side of the cow, and is frequently used for fajitas, with the meat sliced against the grain. There is a membrane on there that you have to cut off. But as they say in "Airplane," that's not important right now, because I'm not using skirt steak anyway. That's right -- we are substituting in the flatiron steak (from the top of the cow because we really like it and there is no membrane to remove.) But you go right ahead and make the recipe with the hangar/skirt steak. Whatever you buy, it will be three times as expensive as it was last year because of the corn-pocalypse of 2012.
This recipe was developed by Adam Fleischman, chef at a restaurant called Umami Burger. Prep time is 12 hours before hand to marinate the beef. Cook time is 10 minutes. Here is what chef Adam he has to say:
"This easy marinade makes for a distinctly bourbon-flavored steak that is great on top of a salad, alongside stir-fried vegetables or even on a sandwich. Hangar is a prized cut otherwise known as the "Butcher’s Steak," being well known for its flavor, texture and lower price point."
Let me summarize this way: It's incredible!
1/2 cup Maker’s Mark® Bourbon
6 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
1 teaspoon fresh ginger, finely grated or minced
1 teaspoon garlic, pressed or minced
1 tablespoon shallots, minced
1 pound hangar or skirt steak, trimmed
1/4 cup heavy cream or veal stock (I think you know I don't have veal stock laying around)
To make the marinade, combine ingredients in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and simmer for 1 minute. Pour the marinade into a shallow dish large enough to hold the meat and set aside to cool.
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| Shallots in a small dice. |
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| Our steak in the bourbon marinade. |
Add the beef to the cooled marinade, stir to evenly coat and refrigerate overnight for no more than 12 hours.
Dry the beef with paper towels. Heat a large pan/skillet over high heat. (We are using a new Lodge pre-seasoned cast-iron skillet I got at Kroger). Sear the beef 3 minutes on each side for medium rare, remove from the pan and rest meat. Cook down excess marinade as a pan sauce, whisking a little cream or veal stock in at the end. Slice and serve.
A note from John: This sauce is the best sauce I have ever had in my life! Little browned bits of shallot and garlic, bourbon, soy, the flavor of the beef itself...only one word describes this sauce: savory.
Maker's Mark and Balsamic Roasted Tomatoes
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| Steam covers the camera lense as the tomatoes come out of the oven. |
This recipe comes from Lee Anne Wong, Chef and Maker’s Mark® cookbook editor. Prep time is 10 minutes. Cook time is 10 minutes.
"These tomatoes are about as easy as it gets when it comes to a simple side dish that is both elegant and rustic at the same time. The balsamic and Maker’s Mark® Bourbon reduce together in the oven to help glaze and flavor the tomatoes and work well with the acidity and natural sweetness of the tomatoes."
- 3 tablespoons Maker’s Mark® Bourbon
- 1 pound cherry tomatoes on the vine (if you can’t find on the vine, regular cherry tomatoes will work)
- 2 tablespoons aged balsamic vinegar or cream of balsamic
- 1/4 cup water
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
Preheat the oven to 500°F. Place the tomatoes in a single layer in a nonstick baking dish, leaving the vines intact.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the remaining ingredients. Pour the dressing over the tomatoes (it will pool in the bottom of the dish). Roast the tomatoes in the oven for 8-10 minutes until the skins burst and the glaze has reduced, gently shaking the pan once during cooking.
To serve, carefully place the tomatoes on a plate. Spoon the reduced glazed over the tomatoes. Serve immediately.
Nola's Mashed Red Potatoes
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| These are God's own potatoes. For real. |
I got lucky on this one. Sarah made these potatoes and they, by far, the best mashed potatoes I have ever experienced that were not adulterated by cheese, bacon, sour cream, etc. You must try this! Amazing.
- 3/4 pound small red bliss potatoes, quartered
- 12 whole roasted garlic cloves (you can get these from the olive bar at Kroger)
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons butter
- Salt and freshly-ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon chopped green onion, for garnish
In a saucepan, cover unpeeled potatoes with cold water and bring to a boil. Cook just until tender -- do not overcook or potatoes will be watery. Drain well, return pan with potatoes to low heat and shake to dry. Squeeze in garlic cloves, cream, butter, and salt and pepper to taste. Mash together with a potato masher until ingredients are combined but potatoes are still lumpy.
Buttermilk Bourbon Pie
Absorb that for a second. Buttermilk and bourbon. Can it get more southern? This recipe also was created by Lee Anne Wong. It should be called "Oh my God" pie. The crust alone -- a buttery
pate brisee -- is incredibly easy but beautifully golden and crunchy. No shortening-based crust can live up to this standard. The filling is golden and radiant with the mellow-sweet flavor of the bourbon. The buttermilk and cider vinegar give the pie a slight tang that just works perfectly with the sweet caramel flavors. Amazing. And I love the brown spotty coloration the top of the pie gets in the oven. The flour, cornmeal and buttermilk combo give a breadiness to the custard that is unusual, unexpected and downright cool. But the bourbon is the best part!
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| Here is the butter crust. I am going to use this on all future pies. |
The recipe calls for a dollop of creme fraiche or whipped cream. Frankly, I tried my own whipped cream and it simply masked the flavor of the pie too much. Go with the naked truth! And make sure that you serve the pie at room temperature. The first bite I took of the pie at breakfast was too cold for the flavors to fully register on my tongue. A later, room-temperature slice was like 22/7 -- perfect pi/pie.Prep time is 1.5 hours, and cook time is an hour. Here is what Lee Anne has to say:
"This rich and buttery pie is similar to the Southern favorite, chess pie. The addition of Maker’s Mark® and buttermilk give it a smooth and tangy flavor. Enjoy cold with a dollop of whipped cream or crème fraiche."
1/4 cup Maker’s Mark® Bourbon
1 recipe Pate Brisee
1-1/2 cups sugar
1-1/2 tablespoons cornmeal
1-1/2 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup buttermilk
3 large eggs
1 egg yolk (there was a weird type on the recipe here and this is my interpretation of what they meant)
1/2 cup melted butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon cider vinegar
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| Admit it: This photo is driving you crazy. You can not imagine how this pie tastes. Buttermilk and bourbon? Shut up. |
Preheat the oven to 375°F. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out pie dough to 1/8 inch thick; place it in an 8-inch pie plate, and press into sides. Crimp as desired. Place in refrigerator to chill for 30 minutes.
Combine the sugar, cornmeal, flour and salt in a small bowl. Set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together the remaining ingredients. Add the dry ingredients in and whisk until well blended. Pour the custard into the chilled pie shell.
Bake until the crust is golden brown and the center of the pie is set when touched, about 55-60 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool before serving.
Pate Brisee
- 1/2 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into small dice
- 1-1/4 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- Pinch salt
- 1–3 tablespoons ice water
Mix the flour, sugar and salt together in a large bowl and then using your fingers or a pastry cutter, blend the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles a coarse meal.
Add the ice water and gently knead the dough until it just comes together (you do not want to over work the dough, it will become tough). Knead several times more until the dough is smooth. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for at least an hour to rest.
Mint Julep
By John Haman
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| This is the julep d'amore. |
This is my personal recipe, developed over months of experimentation. To make this work you must have fresh mint, good bourbon, simple syrup and something wooden like the handle of a wooden spoon to muddle with.
First, make the simple syrup. Put two parts water to one part sugar in a sauce pan and heat it, stirring, until the last sugar crystals dissolve. At this point, the solution might start turning just a tad amber in color.That's ok but do not cook past the point where the sugar is dissolved. At this point, being in a rush to have my first julep, I usually plunge the bottom half of the saucepan down into a collander filled with ice to cool off the liquid quickly and fill with water around the sides of the saucepan to hasten the process.
Do not do this by putting the sugar directly into the glass an skipping the syrup step. If you do you will see a lot of sugar crystals suspended in your drink and it will be weird.
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| Muddling with a bamboo spoon. |
With the syrup made, put enough loose mint leaves in the bottom of your glass to fill about 1.4 to 1/3 of the glass without packing. It is ok of there are some stems in there. Now take the muddler -- one of those little wooden baseball bats or the handle of a wooden spoon and bruise the leaves of the mint in the glass by compressing them and then stirring around, releasing the mint oils. Don't be dainty with this. Go ahead and crush that stuff around for like 30 seconds. Bruising it releases the flavor. Now, all the mint will be pressed against the bottom.
Now this is key: The ice goes on next. Pack the glass all the way with ice. You must do this so the ice will hold down the mint leaves and keep little pieces from getting in your mouth while you drink.
Now, fill the ice-packed glass half-way with the bourbon. Then fill the rest of the way with the simple syrup (it can still be warm -- just not hot -- and stir. Take a sprig of mint and put it in the top of the drink for a garnish. And there you go: the best mint julep you have ever had.
For those who want to make a version for the kids, do everything the same but instead of using bourbon, put like a half-teaspoon of vanilla extract in there and use more syrup, possibly watering it down a little so it is not so sweet.Leftover simple syrup is perfect for sweet tea.
And here is another tip: Make a lot of syrup, have a good amount of mint, have friends over, buy some lime and rum, and you can make both juleps and mojitos with the mint and syrup, easy as can be.
