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I love a cocktail that reeks of its place of origin, made with a liquor whose terroir is evident in every sip. One such liquor is Cachaca. Made from fermented sugarcane, it is the drink of choice in Brazil, a country that has grown beautiful under benevolent rays of the sun (think Giselle Bundchen). Tiny bikinis, sun-kissed wavy beach hair everywhere you look, bronzed men on surfboards and... the national drink of choice, the Caiprinha. Seriously though, it is the national drink of Brazil. Come on America, what is OURS? BUD LIGHT?! God I hope not.
A Caiprinha is very simple. Let me break it down for you.
Ingredients
2 tsp superfine sugar (or 1 oz simple syrup, or for our diabetic friends, 2 tsp splenda)
4 lime wedges
2 oz Leblon cachaca
You will be making this icy treat in a rocks glass. So, add lime wedges and sweetener to your glass. Muddle into a juicy slurry for about 15 seconds. Add ice (crushed is recommended). Add cachaca. Cover glass with cocktail shaker and SHAKE WHAT YA MAMA GAVE YA. Or, just stir it. Up to you.
Garnish with a lime wedge.
Now put yourself in the horizontal position, perhaps in some outdoor situation. Let the breeze blow over you and take a deep breath. You are probably not on a beach but you can pretend. And if you are on a beach, well, screw you (but only because I'm jealous). Because guess what? It's cachcaca o'clock.
Salud!
A few months ago, I submitted five of my favorite local foods to a DC blogger, Metrocurean. She does a post every Friday, called Five Bites on Friday featuring readers' picks from area restaurants and purveyors of fine foods. You can read the original post at this link. Annnnyway, one of my favorite things are the Marcona Almond Green Beans at Bar Pilar. I love a lot of things on their menu, but there is something so surprising, so incredibly savory and delicious about biting into one of these green beans. They have lots of delectable little plates (tapas) of both the vegetable and protein persuasion. To a carnivore like me, it is really saying something when I tell you that these green beans are as satisfying as something meaty. One of the things that stands out at this tiny, often crowded restaurant is the simplicity and quality of the ingredients that go into each dish.
Anyhow. This dish was at the top of my list, and soon after the post was posted I received an email from the chef at Bar Pilar, Justin Bittner. This is one of my favorite things about blogging guys! I was very excited that a) Mr. Bittner was glad to hear someone out there loves his green beans (which I'm sure he's already aware of, duh) and b) that he sent me the recipe as a result! It appears he typed and sent this recipe via iPhone, which in and of itself takes some patience and dedication. I promised that I would make the recipe, and well, here we are. You, reading this blog and me, with a big plate of green beans. Life just isn't always fair, y'all.
So, thank you Justin for the recipe! If any of you are in the Washington, DC area, you should make a stop by Bar Pilar on 14th st NW. You won't be disappointed. Now, without further ado: the recipe.
Photo credits: these were randomly sprinkled throughout google image search- if these are your pictures, let me know and I will credit you!
Bar Pilar Green Beans
Firstly, Bar Pilar uses fresh green beans from Tuscarora Organic Farms. You can get your beans from your favorite produce aisle or farmer's market. I'm going to warn you that this recipe is not exact, but not to worry. You'll get it, I'm sure.
Collect as many beans as you are capable of eating, snap the ends off. Fill a large pot (3 gallons maybe) with water and add kosher salt until it is "as salty as the ocean". Chef Bittner says that a lot of water helps cook the beans faster, keeping them greener, while the salt changes the temp at which the water boils (which I think helps cook them faster, keeping them crisper and greener as well).
Prepare a bowl of ice water for dunking the beans.
Bring water to a rolling boil. Add beans to the pot by the handful. When they change color slightly, pull them out and dunk them in the ice water. Repeat until you are out of beans. Dry on towels after they cool.
Heat a skillet with a couple tablespoons of whole butter (I used Plugra) until the butter foams. Add beans and season with salt and pepper. When they brown slightly, add some chopped shallots, thyme, oregano and marcona almonds. Adjust seasoning, transfer to a plate. Sprinkle with fresh lemon juice and finish with a sprinkling of sea salt.
While I clearly do not possess the skills of Chef Bittner, I think my beans turned out pretty well...and they were gone almost immediately. But next time I get the craving, I think I'll head over to Bar Pilar to get my fix... along with a dozen other tasty morsels and some more fancy cocktails.
Salud!
A week or two ago, I was doing my standard lurking in Whole Foods when I came across a big, fat display of muskmelons. Heavy, slightly damp and green tinged, these melons whispered my name seductively as I passed. Their distinctive, earthy-sweet melon smell hung in fragrant clouds around the display, perfuming passerby as they hurried to and fro in search of other, shinier fruits. Hesitantly, I stopped. Oh, you tricky melons...how many times have I taken one of you home, only to carelessly let you rot on the counter top?
Basically, a lot.
This time, with an ice cream maker as my secret weapon, I vowed that this melon would not go to waste. I confidently hoisted a round, promising fellow from the pile and finished my binge-shopping. Any trip to Whole Foods feels like a shopping binge in my opinion, and although I would rather go to the weekend farmer's market, sometimes I NEED a ripe fruity treat in the middle of the week. Anyway, I hustled my melon home and left him sitting on the counter. For six days. On the seventh day, as the melon began to display his doubts of being eaten with the emerging presence of fruit flies, I made melon sherbet.
So, the slim difference between sorbet and sherbet (because I KNOW you were all asking yourselves this question), is that sherbet has milk or some other fat in it that makes it creamy. Sorbet is basically fruit, ice and sugar. I think melon is fantastic for sherbet. Melon puree has it's own natural creaminess, but with the addition of a little whole milk, honey and that crucial, tasty pinch of salt, it transcends. Summer, frozen against the winds of time in your freezer.
Melon Sherbet (from 101 Cookbooks)
Cut the melon flesh from its rind into a medium bowl. I chopped into cubes and pureed in a blender. You will need 2 cups of puree.
Add the milk, and salt. Now blend in some of the honey and taste. Add more to taste, but be careful not to overpower the super-fresh taste of the melon. When it is flavored to perfection, pour into an ice-cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions.
While the sherbet is delightfully slushy at this juncture, I recommend freezing for a couple more hours.
And for an added treat...
I had considered throwing a lemon cookie or gingersnap into the mix, but instead decided to go the all natural route. I sliced up a pineapple into thick rings, rubbed it with brown sugar and threw it on the grill for about 3 minutes on each side. You just want it to be warm and juicy, with light grill marks.
I let the pineapple cool, scooped in some sherbet and added a mint garnish. Tropical and delicious!
Enjoy!
