I was so disappointed with my attempt at an Irish Potato Salad Roll that it drove me to drink.
Quite luckily as it happened because that particular cab on the road to rack and ruin drove me right up to the Emerald Presse. And you know, if there’s one other thing the Irish are famous for outside of potatoes, corned beef and cabbage, it’s drinking. And the Emerald Presse will tickle the tastebuds of even the most fastidious of Fassnidges.
Emerald Presse1
I’m not normally a whiskey drinker so I was not sure how this would taste. I liked the idea of the mint, apple and lime even though they seemed a weirdly light combination for what I always think of as being a heavy drink.
Anyhoo….Put ’em together and have you got? Not bibbidi-bobbidi-boo but…My new favourite drink!!!!
Emerald Presse2
The flavours worked really well together. That little frizzante from the sparkling apple juice also added some lightness to it. In my best Irish accent this was the fooking craic!!!! I can’t even begin to tell you how delicious this is. You need to make it immediately and come back to me.
Go on
I’ll still be here when you get back.
Now, take that first sip and “Ohhhhh…..Yeah, sooooooo good”
Then we’ll have a sneaky second. Just because that sparkling apple juice isn’t going to sparkle forever.
Emerald Presse3
The original recipe for this called for 45 ml of Jameson’s. When I measured this out, it looked like a huge amount of whiskey. I scaled mine back to around 30mls and found it about right for my taste. You can scale up or down according to your preference.
Styling Tip
If you really wanted your whiskey in a jar, this would look really cute served in mason jars – in which case you probably could use the full 45ml of Jameson’s.
[yumprint-recipe id=’27’] Happy St Patrick’s Day, may the road rise to meet you!
No, I’m not getting out my love beads and turning all peace, love and mung beans on you but I have been inspired by all things floral this week and I made you an amazing cocktail which is a veritable flowerbomb of flavour! (And not even the slightest hint of Parfait Amour).
Spring has sprung in Melbourne which means it’s constantly windy, all the better to spread pollen all over the place, so I’m sneezing constantly. We’re also having bizarre weather changes….Seriously WTF Melbourne? From 27 to 13 in one day? We’re living in crazy times!
On a happier note, the sun has been shining more frequently, we’ve had a couple of gorgeous warm days, I did twilight yoga in the park the other night and the garden is growing like crazy. Back at Easter we planted the front garden – I was going for a Mediteranean look so we have an olive tree, rosemary, thyme and lots of lovely lavender. We have a couple of dark pink ones:
Pink Lavender
As well as the more traditional purple ones:
Purple Lavender
Then my mum brought over these gorgeous roses from her garden:
So in between the sneezes, it really has been all about the flowers. And they have inspired a fabulous cocktail, called the Flower Power. It’s really a trashed up Lavender Lemonade, and you know what? I can get pretty damn trashy!!!! I was almost tempted to call this one the snowball, because once it got started it took on a life of it’s own.
So here is the entire evolution of the Flower Power Cocktail.
The Spark – Flower Power Coctail v1
The lavender in the garden got me thinking about a recipe I read ages ago on Thug Kitchen (which is an awesome blog) for Lavender Lemonade. Which you can find here:
You could just make this and live happily ever after. It’s nice, it’s refreshing and they are very, very funny people. But you know, with all due respect to Thug Kitchen…it’s not nearly trashy enough for this girl!
Lavender Lemonade Ingredients
Enter the Flower Power Cocktail v2.
Flower Power Cocktail v2 – A Kiss From A Rose
I had some gorgeous dried rosebuds bought to make my Persian recipes for book club (coming soon) and thought that they would be a nice addition.
They were.
The mixture will start to turn colour after about 15-20 minutes. For the best flavour, let the petals steep for at least an hour, I left mine overnight. An added bonus is that during the steeping your kitchen will smell like a garden
The Lavender and Rose Lemonade was really good. And a gorgeous pink! Very girly and perfect for sipping on a sunny afternoon.
Kissed By A Rose – Lavender and Rose Lemonade
But you know what? Sometimes this girl needs a little bit o’ booze mixed in with her flowers and citrus…so enter version 3…
Flower Power Cocktail v3 – The Crackling Rosie
So if you take your Lavender and Rose Lemonade and add a little hit of a florally gin like Hendricks you have a very pleasant cocktail. Still very girly and whilst you could sip it all afternoon it does have a little ginny kick to it.
Flower Power v3 – The Crackling Rosie
But you want more. I know you do.
So, without further ado…..
The Flower Power Cocktail
So far, we have been topping our lemonade or our cocktails up with a little sparkling water.
For the true Flower Power Cocktail, use the lemonade mix straight.
Add your half nip, or hell, a whole nip of Hendricks. Top with St Germain Elderflower Liqueur.
Oh baby, oh yeah!
A couple of these and you’ll feel like you’re in San Francisco with flowers in your hair!
The Flower Power Cocktail
Gilding The Lily – The Flower Power Cocktail Bling
If you really want to trash up your Flower Power Cocktail you can add some flower petal ice cubes and make some lavender sugar to rim your cocktail glass. If you make the ice cubes use big trays to make them. My ice cubes were kind of small and it was a hot day so I ended up with a couple of mouthfuls of petals. Which is not great tastewise and even worse if you’re trying to look all classy and have to keep spitting out lavender buds!
I got a mention on a Christian website the other day. And no, they weren’t damning me to hell for my potty mouth and occasional smutty innuendo. Far from it. They actually described this as:
“the cutest Australian retro site”
And just in case you think I’m fibbing, you can link here.
And shame on you!!! As if I’m going to lie about the Christians!!! Let’s just say I’m taking Pascal’s wager on that one. If nothing else.
And…
YES!!!!
I believe for only the second time ever that Philosophy major I undertook at university has come in handy. I knew all that time and money would be worth it someday.
And consider yourselves lucky I’m not doing a Paleo blog – otherwise the references to Plato and his cave would be coming thick and fast.
BOOM! – That would be three.
Happy Easter
But given it is Easter, how about a quote from the modern-day philosopher Bill Hicks:
“A lot of Christians wear crosses around their necks. You think when Jesus comes back he ever wants to see a fucking cross? It’s like going up to Jackie Onassis wearing a rifle pendant.”
And farewell to the readers I picked up from the Christian website, it was nice knowing you.
So let’s talk about how I celebrated Easter….
First there were cocktails. Then sandwiches. Then home made Easter Eggs.
Not one of them normal….because what would be the fun in that?
We’ll get to the others in due course but today is all about the cocktail.
Remember back in February when I did the post with the Parfait Amour? At the time, I said:
A cocktail recipe called the Simply Divine which uses Parfair Armour, Gin and Citrus. And it is AWESOME!!!! So, so tasty…sweet and tangy and floral and delicious….except for one thing….
The citrus mix was a very pretty peachy colour.
The Parfait Amour and gin was purple.
So the result should have been a pretty pinky purple as per the original recipe.
That didn’t happen.
If you were looking for some sexed up paintchart name for the colour this went, you’d probably call it Dove Wing Grey. Technically, I think the weird browny purple grey colour it turned is called puce. Unofficially, it prompted the so-called-beloved to ask if I was drinking bong-water. After I explained that I had no idea of what he spoke of, we decided that this is not so much Dove Wing Grey but that this is what it looks like when doves cry.
As long as you don’t mind drinking something that looks like the water you washed your socks in, this is a super drink – the citrus and gin really do cut through the sweetness of the Parfait Armour to create a drink that has a really nice balance and is very refreshing.
And because I changed the ingredients slightly from the recipe and nothing that colour can be truly called Simply Divine, ladies and gentlemen meet the:
WHEN DOVES CRY
Ingredients
30ml gin – I used Hendricks
30ml Parfait Amour
1 red or pink grapefruit, juiced
1 lemon, juiced
1 tangerine, juiced
Instructions
Fill a glass with ice
Add the gin and Parfait Amour
Top with the mixed citrus juice
Stir.
Wince at the colour.
Enjoy!
You can mix up the citrus too – lime would be great, as would orange!!!!
I’m going to try to redeem myself in the next post which will feature some of the cutest sandwiches you ever did see.
Oh and I’m now on instagram. You can follow my feed by clicking on the icon at the top o’ the page.
I was really worried that it would be an epic fail…It was the garlic in the spice rub that threw me, how would that work in a cocktail? However, in the end the strong flavour in the simple syrup was the thyme with the pepper and spices providing more of a background notes and warmth. (Yes, I’ve been reading wine labels again!)
I based this on a recipe from Martha Stewart which you can find here.
I also used tequila not vodka. Just because I had some that has sat on my drinks trolley for about 10 years. Seriously. I think it was given to me as a housewarming present for the last house I moved into.
I really, really wanted to use the Spice Peddler Big 5 mix in a cocktail but I thought it would be better to infuse the mix into the simple syrup. So, I mixed a teaspoon of the pepper mix into the sugar and water, and then I threw the thyme in as well to make a thyme and pepper simple syrup. Dammit, I should have thrown the grapefruit rind in as well…ah well, next time! Maybe some chilli too…
Then I kind of completely forgot about it as we were trying to hang some pictures in the new house and either the beloved or I have a skewed view of reality because it took us over 30 minutes and the use of spirit level before we could agree that a painting was straight….and this was before we started on the cocktails.
Thyme and Black Pepper Simple Syrup
So what I ended up with was the thick black syrup you can see in the photo above. What you can’t get from the photo is that this mix of thyme, sugar and pepper smelled ridiculously like marijuana.
Or so I was told.
By the complete stranger who just happened to knock on the door at that exact moment. Then disappeared equally as quickly. Didn’t catch his name, Officer. So sorry.
Which in turn reminded me of something that never happened and is a total figment of my overactive imagination.
So imagine if hypothetically you turned up unannounced at your parent’s house. And the imagine that said house smelled overwhelmingly of….erm…thyme and pepper infused simple syrup. And imagine they were being a little silly and giggly.
Move over Quentin Tarantino, I think I just bested you in the Mexican Standoff stakes…
The problem with accusing your parents of “imbibing the thyme and pepper simple syrup” is that then then they know that you are also familiar with “thyme and pepper simple syrup”.
So, what do you do?
Borrow the drill you came to get and GTFO of Dodge is what.
Cos, you know possibly they were also just making cocktails.
I mean, if that had ever happened.
Which it didn’t.
Grapefruit, Thyme and Pepper Cocktail3
Wow, this post is making my head spin. What will not make your head spin, or spin only in the right way is this cocktail. Which is super. – tangy from the grapefruit ,zingy from the pepper, aromatic and resiny from the thyme….
Drink it, enjoy, have a fabulous, fantastic Christmas everyone!
Special thanks to Mercy and the team at The Spice Peddlers for their trust and belief in me.
And major thanks to everyone for reading and your kind words over the year.
A few weeks ago I, was chosen to be one of the brand ambassadors for The Spice Peddlers, a great shop in Sydney selling a fabulous range of herbs and spices!
Each month, they will send me a different spice or spice blend and I can play with it as much as I want.
Happy days people, happy, happy days.
I can’t tell you how excited this made me. Well, I can’t tell you…but I can can show you.
There may have been a bit of spontaneous dancing round the kitchen.
I may have done a little bit of this… Followed by a bit of this…
I drew the line here.
It seemed a little bit too Monty Python Ministry of Silly Walks…
But I was right back into the groove with this…
That’s how excited I was.
Then I got my first blend and…the fear kicked in. What if it was terrible? What if I was totally uninspired? What if what I made turned out awful? What if the sky fell on my head? You know the usual nonsense panicky “I’m not worthy” that plagues the best of us at times….
Smoked Salmon Fritatta, Kale and Onion Pie, Best Bloody Mary Ever!
So first things first. Which for me was to open up the pack, lick my finger, dip it in and have a taste.
Yeah, I know…
I’m classy.
So much for the first unfounded fear. The team at the Spice Peddlers had sent me a container of their Middle Harbour Seasoning. This is a blend of sea salt, lime leaves, lime zest, Tasmanian Pepper, black pepper, green peppercorns, lemon myrtle, dill, chervil and green and white onion.
Otherwise known as delicious! It’s tangy from the lime, zingy from the pepper, punchy from the salt with a very slight herby, aniseedy undertone. So good. So, so good.
This would be perfect just spinkled on pita bread which is then toasted in the oven until crispy to have with dips and a lovely crisp cold glass of white wine on a hot summer day. And you know what? I’ll be doing that very soon.
Cooking With The Spice Peddler’s Middle Harbour Seasoning
However, for the purpose of experimentation I wanted to get a bit more fancy.
We are heading into party season and I wanted to experiment with some new fingerfood dishes…have I ever mentioned how much I love fingerfood? There is something magical for me in a party pie, a mini burger, a bite-sized pizza, a canape….you get my drift.
I was once waxing lyrical to a friend about how if I owned a restaurant it would only serve small bits of food and wasn’t it crazy that no one had ever thought of that before?
She gave me a look. You know. That look. “They’re called tapas bars” she said in a voice that suggested she was speaking to the mentally incompetent.
Yeah but…
No but…
My idea is to have cocktails and fingerfood and it would only be open for the cocktail hour…
Ok…never mind…it’s a tapas bar.
Damn those Spanish and their eerily prescient good food ideas.
Let’s quickly move on and talk about some of my better ideas…like this:
Smoked Salmon and Herb Frittata
Makes 16 mini frittatas
8 eggs 400ml cream
500ml milk
4 spring onions
200g smoked salmon, chopped
2 tsp Middle Harbour Seasoning
1 tsp chopped tarragon
1 tsp chopped chervil
1 tsp chopped chives
1/4 cup grated parmesan
Preheat oven to 150º.
Whisk together the eggs, cream and milk.
Add the spring onions, salmon, spice mix and herbs and parmesan.
If not using the spice blend, season with salt & pepper and increase herbs to 1 tbsp each.
Pour into greased muffin trays and place in the oven for 15-20 minutes or until base and sides are set. Serve sprinkled with additional chives.
Except again, I subbed in the Spice Peddler Middle Harbour Seasoning for half of the herbs and I also sprinkled a little bit of the mix on the top of the pastry before cooking.
The mixture for this is delicious. However, when I make this next time, instead of the “pastry” mix in the Serious Eats recipe I would use a really light crispy buttery shortcrust pastry or even a filo.
Kale and Onion Pie
As soon as I tasted the Middle Harbour Mix I knew I wanted to make cocktail with it..and what else would go with a lemony, peppery zingy herb mix than a Bloody Mary?
Can i just digress for a moment to talk about how much I love a Bloody Mary? I love a Bloody Mary the way Don Draper loves a Manahattan. To me they are the height of sophistication. In my mind, enjoying a Bloody Mary is like enjoying oysters…when you can do it, you know you’re a grown up. Even more so if you can down one before noon!
I’m also a big fan of drinking my vitamins and all that tomato juice, has to be good for you!
This recipe is probably the best one I have tried. I think it’s the splash of sherry which adds a teeny bit of sweetness into the mix that does it – and I used the Spice Peddler Middle Harbour instead of the celery salt and also to rim the glass.
Bloody Mary
OMG, this was sooooo good, it set off another bout of dancing…
Bloody Mary
200ml tomato juice
1 tbsp Worchestershire sauce
1 tsp Spice Peddler Middle Harbour Seasoning or Celery Salt
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
6 drops Tabasco sauce
30ml Vodka
Splash of cream sherry
Stir ingredients in a mixing glass with ice, strain and serve!
Barbie Allen Dance/Exercise
I’m going to be spending my week perfecting my moves from my new favourite possession – the Barbie Allen Dance/Exercise Book.
She has an entire routine for Xanadu which I may share as a special Christmas Present for all of you…hell, if I get full enough of some Christmas spirit (we here at RFFMT are quite fond of a little bit o’ Hendricks for the holidays) I may even dance it for you!
