Rum Punch

Before there was Trader Vic's there was Don the Beachcomber.

Opened in Hollywood in 1934, Don's Beachcomber Café was the original tiki bar and Polynesian nightclub. Featuring exotic and potent Rum cocktails, Don the Beachcomber and his bar became synonymous with living the South Seas lifestyle.

Don The Beachcomber Café, c. 1940

A bootlegger during prohibition, Donn Beach (February 22, 1907 - June 7, 1989) was born Ernest Raymond Beaumont Gantt when he opened his first bar as Don the Beachcomber. Gantt is credited with the creation of such popular cocktails as the Zombie, the Tahitian Rum Punch, and the Navy Grog, to name a few. He is also claimed to have created the infamous Mai Tai.

It's all in the mix!

As the popularity of his bar grew, Gantt changed his name to Donn Beach and opened his first Don the Beachcomber Restaurant in 1937. Serving exotic Polynesian specialties in addition to his signature, sometimes lethal, cocktails, the place was an instant hit and began the tiki lounge craze that would sweep the United States.

So, on National Rum Punch Day, lets honor Donn Beach!

The Beachcomber Cocktail 
Created by Donn Beach

• 2 oz. (60 ml.) Dark Rum, like Myers® 
• 3/4 oz. (23 ml.) Cointreau 
• 3/4 oz. (23 ml.) fresh Lime Juice 
• 1/4–1/2 teaspoon Maraschino Liqueur (the juice from the jar, half-wit!)
• 1/4 teaspoon Simple Syrup (OPTIONAL), depending on your tastes
• Ice

Place all ingredients into a chilled cocktail shaker and shake to a South Pacific rhythm.  Serve in a chilled highball or hurricane glass garnished with a slice of Orange and a Maraschino Cherry.

Thanks to The Ministry of Rum.

Crumbs of Bread

Bread Crumbs 

Why do people buy them? 

I’ve always wondered. 

Just about everybody seems to have some kind of bread in the house, some fresh, some stale, some mouldy, etc. So, why are you gong to the grocery store and buying someone else’s stale bread that’s been pulverized into a can?? 

Ya’ got me. 

Unless you have chickens or are part of the Audobon Society’s Bird Protection Programme, stale bread can be very useful. Most people throw it away. 

Visigoths. 

Personally, I have bread every night with dinner; whether it’s Pita, Tuscan, or some kind of a roll. Whatever’s left over, winds up in a convenient cereal bowl until there is enough to pulverize into breadcrumbs. Believe me, after toasting this will not go mouldy, and will dry up quite nicely on its own in the open air of your counter top. 

So, what are breadcrumbs?

Well, they’re crumbs of bread, obviously; but where do they come from?

Does anybody really know??

Is it merely the fact that the bread manufactures have some horrible factory defects that they don’t want you to know about, which, they then pulverize into a can and re-sell to you as the important ingredient for breaded veal cutlets???? 

Apparently so. 

The real question is who is smarter? The bread conglomerate or you, who have just come from the fresh bakery down the block, with a beautiful loaf of crusty Tuscan that is destined for the best Bruscetta ever because your upside down tomato plant is in full fruit. But wait, I only really need half a loaf, that means that I need to throw out the other half because it will go stale. 

Foolish mortal. 

Whatever you don’t use, place into a paper bag and then place the paper bag into a plastic bag and place that into the fridge for tomorrow. The next day it will seem soft and stale, but, stick a few slices into the toaster or in the oven for a few minutes to revitalize it and make some sandwiches or some garlic croutons for your luncheon salad. 

After a few days, the bread is a bit too stale to use, so now it’s time for breadcrumbs. There are two ways to go here; you can either leave the leftover heel out on the counter to dry out on its own, or, what I prefer to do, is lightly toast whatever you have left and then leave it out on the counter to dry out. 

Once you have about a loaf of stale crispy crusts of bread, break out the food processor. Unfortunately this is a necessary piece of equipment, sorry. Normally I don’t extol kitchen gadgets when a good sharp knife can be used, but, in this case, you really need one of these. And, also, isn’t your birthday coming up?? Time to splurge.

Add your stale toasted bread and pulverize away!!!

Homemade bread crumbs in no time and you managed to but a dent in Progresso's profit margin.

Cheeseburger!

It's...

National Cheeseburger Day!!!!!!!!

There's really nothing more to say, other than this :

Jeera?

Since September is National Rice Month, it was time to talk about one of my favorite Pilafs.

When it comes to Pilaf, we’re not talking about that cereal bowl shaped mound of anemic white rice with some diced carrots running through it that you get at every “WASPy” Country Club dinner or wedding reception. Nor are we discussing that ubiquitous “San Francisco Treat” that legions are so fond of due to the heart stopping amount of MSG contained therein. If that is your definition of a Pilaf, then prepare to be amazed. 

Pilaf is a much derided and much maligned dish that can be a wonderful and glorious exotic catchall of flavour for anybody. It is undeniably one of the most useful side dishes in any “Cooking by Feel” chef’s pantheon. Additionally, the variations for Pilaf are limitless which makes it an ideal end of the week or weekend dish when you need to clear out the fridge of leftover bitsies.

Thy this on for size .....

Coconut Jeera Rice Pilaf

What the hell is "Jeera"?


And no, it's not some giant monster hellbent on destroying Tokyo. Jeera is simply the Indian word for Cumin seeds; not so scary is it? Cumin is one of those spices where the seeds themselves taste completely different than the ground up version of the same spice. Many people do not care for the pungent aroma of the ground version, here, in a Pilaf, the seeds provide a completely different and subtle perfume.

INGREDIENTS

• Cumin (Jeera) Seeds, whole seeds not ground
• A large bunch of Scallions or Green Onions
• Xtra Virgin Olive Oyl
• Basmati Rice, or Jasmine, or regular Long-Grain Rice
• Chicken Broth, low-sodium tinned or plain Water
• Unsweetened Coconut Milk

INGREDIENT NOTE : Do not be confused with Coco Goya®. It is not the same! Unsweetened Coconut Milk is easy to find in the Asian or Latin section of most Über-Marts, just read the label.

• Kosher Salt
• Fresh ground Black Pepper
• Some fresh Cilantro (Coriander Leaves), finely chopped

TECHNIQUE
Wash the bunch of Scallions and, using a knife, cut them in half and separate the white part from the green part. Finely chop the white part only into small rings and place them into a cereal bowl. Take the green parts and very thinly slice them on the diagonal bias and place them into another cereal bowl.

In a large saucepan, add a healthy glug, about a fat tablespoon, of Xtra Virgin Olive Oyl and place over medium-low heat to warm up.


When the oil is hot, add about 1 1/2 teaspoons of whole Cumin Seeds, just cup your hand and fill your palm (who measures?), and the chopped white part of the Scallions frfom the cereal bowl. Sauté the Cumin and Scallions for about two (2) minutes, stirring often, until the Scallions are softened.


Using a convenient Coffee Mug, fill it with the Basmati Rice, or whatever Rice that you are using, about one (1) cup, but, honestly, who measures?


Add the Rice to the saucepan and sauté, stirring frequently, for about one (1) minute making sure to coat the Rice thoroughly with the Cumin/Scallion, Oyl mixture.


Using the now empty trusty Coffee Mug, fill it with the Coconut milk and add that to the saucepan and stir. Fill the Coffee Mug again with the Chicken Broth and add that to the saucepan. Add a sprinkle of Kosher Salt and a few grinds of Black Pepper. Turn the heat up to high, and bring to a boil, stirring frequently.


When everything is boiling, cover the saucepan and reduce the heat to very low. Cook the Rice for about fifteen (15) minutes.


After fifteen minutes, turn off the heat and let it sit for another five (5) minutes. Do Not open the lid, no peeking!


After five (5) minutes, uncover the Rice and give it a fluff with a dinner fork.


SERVICE
Toss the fluffed Rice into a large bowl and toss with the thinly sliced green part of the Scallions from the remaining cereal bowl.


This Pilaf can be served on its own or with some simple grilled vegetables. It is fabulous as an accompaniment to any Meat, Fish, or Stew; it doesn't really matter.


Serves about six (6).


VARIATIONS
This Pilaf can easily be made vegan by substituting plain water for the Chicken Broth, just add some more salt to your tastes.


Brown Rice or even Wild Rice would be a fabulous variation as well, simply follow the package directions for cooking times.


If you don't like Coconut Milk or simply don't have any, just omit it and double up on the water or the Broth and add two (2) Bay Leaves to the mixture. This makes for a much thinner, less sticky, Rice with a lovely floral aroma.


Go for it!


©2011, L. M. Sorré, Wait At The Bar

Linguini

On National Linguini Day,

it's time for a Classic...

Linguini with Baby Clams

A staple in virtually every "Italian" restaurant on the planet. So simple and austere in its presentation that it's almost criminal; it's also criminal how so many people screw it up.


Today we're going to do something even more criminal. We're going to use tinned Clams.


Yes, you read that right. Tinned or canned Clams are a great, economical, and easy way to make this dish. Obviously, fresh Clams are the best and most flavorful way to go here, but sometimes we live in land-locked places, or it's a terrible winter night when there's no seafood to be had and all you have is what's in the larder, or you're just dead broke. Regardless, tinned Clams do work well and allow you to perfect your technique for when times are better and you're at your best friend's beach house with a whole bucket of little necks and want to show off your Linguini skills.


So, before you judge, give this a try.

INGREDIENTS

• One (1) box of dried Linguini, 1 lb. or 500 g.

INGREDIENT NOTE : Dried pasta is the traditional and best way to make this dish. I find that fresh pasta is just that, too fresh. The fresh pasta doesn't have the ability to absorb the thin sauce of this dish and becomes kind of gummy. Fresh Pasta will have its day, just not here.

• Two (2) cans of Whole Baby Clams

INGREDIENT NOTE : Generally, next to the canned tuna, you can find these in your local Über-Mart. Oftentimes, you will find tins of minced or chopped clams, however these don't work so well because they don't have enough juice and not enough clams. If all you can find are minced clams, see the VARIATIONS section for options.

• One (1) medium-sized Vidalia Onion, or any other "Sweet" Onion
• Four (4) cloves of fresh Garlic
• Xtra Virgin Olive Oyl
• Dry White Wine
• Pepperoncino (Red Pepper Flakes), OPTIONAL
• Kosher Salt
• Freshly ground Black Pepper
• A bunch of Flat Leaf Parsley (this is actually an ingredient and not a garnish; do not forget this! Also, try not to use Curly Parsley, it doesn't have the same flavor and texture (Larry and Moe may not care, but I do).

TECHNIQUE

Fill your large pasta pot about three-quarters of the way with cold water and place over high heat.

Using a sharp knife, peel and very finely chop the Vidalia Onion; place it into a cereal bowl.

Peel, smash, and mince the Garlic, and add it to the Onion.

Wash and dry the whole bunch of Parsley. Remove the leaves from the stems and discard the stems. Very finely chop the Parsley leaves and place them into another convenient cereal bowl.

Phew! That was a lot of chopping, go open the bottle of White Wine and have yourself a cockytale. But before you do, place a large heavy-bottomed sauté pan with high sides over medium heat to warm up.


With a glass of Wine poured and the sauté pan hot, add about three (3) or four (4) good glugs of Xtra Virgin Olive Oyl to the pan, about 1/4 cup, but who measures? Swirl the pan to coat the bottom. Add the Onion and Garlic, a sprinkle of Kosher Salt, a twist of Black Pepper, and stir to coat with the Oyl. Very gently sauté for about eight (8) to ten (10) minutes until the Onions are very soft, but not brown; adjust the heat accordingly to keep everything from burning.


When the Onions are very soft, pour in your glass of White Wine, about a cup. Give everything a good stir and go pour another glass of Wine, this one's for you! Simmer and reduce the wine until you have about 1/2 cup of liquid, about five (5) to eight (8) minutes.


Open the tins of Clams and, using the lid as a strainer, pour the Clam Juice out of the tins into the sauté pan. Give everything a good stir and add a few hearty grinds of Black Pepper. Don't worry about the Clams, we'll come back to them later.


This is OPTIONAL but lends a wonderful kick to the dish; add a heavy pinch, or more if you are feeling zesty, of Pepperoncino (the Red Pepper Flakes, y'all) to the pan, about a teaspoon and stir them into the Clam Juice.


Gently simmer the Clam Juice and everything else, stirring every so often, for about fifteen (15) to twenty (20) minutes until the Clam Juice begins to thicken and starts to form a sauce. You should be able to run a wooden spoon down the center of the pan and create a furrow that slowly fills with liquid. If the furrow fills too quickly just keep simmering, you're not there yet, if the pan looks too dry, jump to the next step.


When the sauce has formed, add the Clams from the tins and rinse out the tins with some water; add the rinsing water to the sauce. Recycle the tins (save the planet, y'all) and add three (3) hefty pinches of chopped Parsley, about three (3) heaping tablespoons to the sauté pan, don't be stingy! Stir the Clams, Parsley, and sauce together and continue to simmer for about five (5) more minutes.


By now you pasta water is boiling merrily, so add a good handful of Kosher Salt to the water and let it come back to the boil. Add the whole box of Linguini and stir constantly for the first minute to prevent the Linguini from sticking to itself. Let the Linguini boil, stirring occasionally, for about eight (8) minutes or until the pasta is "al dente", and, no, we're not talking about the baseball player.


While the pasta cooks, do not neglect your sauce, stir that every so often too.


Drain the pasta and add the pasta to the simmering sauce in the sauté pan. Add two fat pinches of chopped Parsley and thoroughly mix the sauce and pasta together. The pasta should absorb almost all of the liquid in the sauté pan.


SERVICE
Serve in large wide bowls, making sure to scoop up some baby Clams from the bottom of the sauté pan and place them on top, add an additional healthy pinch of chopped parsley as garnish.


This dish can be served either hot or at room temperature and is even better straight out of the fridge as a snicky snack while still dressed in your tattered bathrobe during your last bout of insomnia (and don't tell me that you've never done this, everyone has!).


VARIATIONS
As I said before, fresh Clams are the way to go here. Using tinned Clams is a concession. However, sometimes you cannot get fresh Clams or all of a sudden you have two extra people coming to dinner and don't have enough fresh Clams. This is where tinned minced  or chopped Clams come in. No matter what, I will often add a tin of minced Clams to the fresh Clams to increase the overall "clamminess" of the dish, sounds appetizing, I know.


When making this dish with fresh Clams or a combination of fresh and tinned, a few technique changes are in order. First clean, scrub, and purge your fresh Clams (if you don't know what all of that is, I'll write you up a seafood primer in future posts). When you add the White Wine, also add the fresh Clams and cover the sauté pan with a tight fitting lid. Cook the fresh Clams for about two (2) minutes and then check on them. If any of the Clams have opened, immediately remove them from the pan and place them into a large bowl. Re-cover the pan and wait for one (1) minute. Again, check the pan for open Clams and remove them to the bowl. Keep repeating. If, after about five (5) minutes of this, checking, waiting, and removing, all of the Clams that will open have opened. If there are any unopened Clams in the pan, simply remove them and discard them. Now, add the juice from the tinned minced Clams and proceed with the rest of the recipe. When you add the drained pasta to the sauce, add the reserved fresh Clams and mix.


The traditional version always uses Linguini, however, I personally prefer Fettuccini for this. I find that the wider pasta holds onto the sauce better and gives a better texture. Spaghetti and Capellini (Angel Hair) also work well, but, really, whatever long dried pasta that you like will work.

Obviously, this is a "White" Clam Sauce, but what about "Red" Clam Sauce? If you want a Red Clam Sauce, simply add a good squirt of Double-Concentrate Tomato Paste when you add the Clam Juice. Everything will turn nicely red!

Buon Appetito!

©2011 L. M. Sorré, Wait At The Bar

BBQ Pizza?

So what do you do with all that leftover Pulled Pork from yesterday's Barbecue?? 

You make...

Pizza!!! 

Ya silly.

Barbecue Pulled Pork Pizza

My cousin Marty recently discovered this somewhere in Montana and has been after me to come up with my version.


Give it a whirl.

INGREDIENTS

• About two (2) to three (3) cups of leftover Barbecued Pulled Pork, about three good hand-fulls

INGREDIENT NOTE : There is no cheating here. Go and get yourself an eleven-pound (11 lbs. or 5 kg.) Pork Shoulder, brine it overnight, give it a rub, spark up the grill, and come back in fourteen (14) to eighteen (18) hours. However, there is a "cop-out" method listed in the VARIATIONS section below, for those with instant gratification needs. But, you will be a "pantie-waist" and the source or much ridicule and derision for going that route. Wuss.

• About two (2) cups of your favorite Barbecue Sauce

INGREDIENT NOTE : As I mentioned above, do not cheat here. Make your own sauce, it's not that hard. If you absolutely have to go with store-bought, I recommend Stubb's®. But, seriously, man-up and make your own and avoid being told that you're a "sissy".

• A ball of Mozzarella Cheese, about one-pound (1 lb. or 500 g.)
• Three (3) medium-sized Vidalia Onions, or Maui, or Walla Walla, or any Sweet Onion
• Xtra Virgin Olive Oyl
• Kosher Salt and freshly ground Black Pepper
• Some Brown Sugar
• Some All-Purpose (AP) Flour
• A ball of Pizza Dough, about one-pound (1 lb. or 500 g.)

INGREDIENT NOTE : Pizza Dough is very easy to make at home and I advise you to do it. Recipes can be found on-line and in virtually every cookbook around. However, for those people afraid of flour and yeast, many Über-Marts have frozen pizza dough available (I know that Trader Joe's makes a good one). If I'm not making my own dough or using frozen, what I'll often do is stop by my favorite local pizza shop and ask them for a ball of their own dough, uncooked. Most pizza shops will happily sell you a ball of dough for about five bucks; though, you may get some funny looks when they ask you what kind of toppings you want on your raw dough.

TECHNIQUE
Place a large skillet over medium-high heat along with about three (3) good glugs of Xtra Virgin Olive Oyl to warm up.

Peel the Onions and slice them into very thin half-moon shapes.

When the skillet is hot add the Onions and give them a good stir to coat with the hot oil. Sprinkle with some Kosher Salt, a few grinds of fresh Black Pepper, and about a tablespoon of Brown Sugar. Give everything a good stir to combine, cover with a lid and sauté for about ten (10) minutes or until translucent and softened.


While the Onions are softening, using a box grater, coarsely shred up the whole ball of Mozzarella Cheese and place it into a bowl.


After the Onions have softened, remove the lid and reduce the heat to very low. Continue to sauté the Onions, uncovered, for another fifteen (15) to twenty (20) minutes, stirring frequently to keep them from burning and sticking to the bottom of the pan, until they are a caramelized dark golden brown. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.


Spark up the oven to 550°F (288°C) and move the rack to the lower third.


Grease the bottom of a 12x17-inch (30x43 cm) baking sheet with some Xtra Virgin Olive Oyl. Flour up your hands with some AP Flour and roll the Pizza Dough out onto the greased baking sheet; you can simply use your hands to stretch the dough out to your favorite Pizza shape or you can use a lightly floured rolling pin or empty wine bottle, it's up to you.


Once you have your Pizza rolled out, slather the top of the Pizza with a liberal amount of your favorite Barbecue Sauce, don't be stingy! I usually use about a cup here, but this is up to you; what you don't use here, will be needed later, not to fear.


Cover the Barbecue Sauce with as much shredded Mozzarella Cheese as you like. I generally use about a cup here, but, again, this is up to you and you will be using the rest later.

Place the Pizza into a 550°F (288°C) oven for about fifteen (15) minutes or until the bottom is crispy and the crust is golden brown. Don't worry if it takes five (5) minutes longer; everyone's oven is different.


While the Pizza cooks, combine the remaining Barbecue Sauce and the leftover Pulled Pork in a bowl.


After fifteen (15) minutes or when the Pizza is done, remove it from the oven and set it aside for a few minutes. Turn the oven to broil and rearrange the racks to about eight-inches (8 in. or 20 cm.) from the flame or heating element.

Evenly spread the Pulled Pork/Barbecue Sauce mixture all over the top of the cooked Pizza. Evenly spread the caramelized Onions (thought we had forgotten about them, didn't you?) all over the top of the Pulled Pork. Cover everything with the remaining shredded Mozzarella Cheese.

Place the Pizza under the broiler for two (2) to three (3) minutes to melt the Cheese and crisp up.
SERVICE
Serve at will with your favorite Beer!

VARIATIONS
Okay, okay, you don't have eighteen hours to make your own Pulled Pork Shoulder, so, what're you going to do besides wimp out? For the truly desperate and very lame, head on over to your local take out barbecue joint and buy a pulled pork "platter" with sauce on the side and no side dishes, but, really, what's the point? Use the take-out pulled pork the same way as you would your own, far superior, pulled pork but check it for saltiness and adjust accordingly (you may need to use less or more Barbecue Sauce to hide the lousy take-out BBQ flavor).

©2011 L. M. Sorré, Wait At The Bar

Let me know what y'all think....

Peanut!

Sometimes you feel like a ...

On National Peanut Day it's time to celebrate the nut that's not a nut (it's a legume, like beans, y'all).

So, today, I'm going to combine two of my favorite things,


Peanuts and Pork!

Grilled Pork Chops with Red Peanut Sauce

This dish is really quick and easy. The sauce can be made days ahead of time and kept in a jelly jar in the fridge for at least ten (10) days. The sauce also freezes extremely well and can be doubled and tripled so that you'll never run out!

FULL Recipe after the JUMP