Welcome Back

Hello again.  Miss me?

I needed this hiatus. My posts became increasing preachy and I needed some time to refocus.  I didn't know it would be a year, but there you are.

In the mean time, I've still been cooking.  We've been travelling (Florence, Venice, Slovenia, Marrakesh).   I took my first cooking class.  I've been experimenting with gelatin and agar agar.  I don't have an oven but I do have crazy good skills for finding alternate heating sources to cook food.  I've explored more wild foods.  We've fallen in love with even more restaurants.

I promise to share all of it with you. 

So where to go first?  How about a few recipes and then we ease back into all this?  Here's two.  Please enjoy.

Chicken & Mushroom Mac n Cheese
2 Chicken Breasts
1 large Clove of Garlic, minced
Olive Oil
Mushrooms, chopped
Butter
Cheddar Cheese, grated
Cream
Salt & Pepper
1 1/4 cup Orzo (dry measure), cooked and drained
Parsley, chopped and Cheese, grated

Slow cook chicken breasts, with salt and pepper in olive oil and garlic. Remove chicken from pan, leaving drippings and garlic. Add mushrooms and increase heat to sauté. When mushrooms have cooked, chop the chicken and add back to the pan, and reduce the heat to low.

In sauce pan on medium high heat, melt the butter, then add the cheese and cream, stirring constantly.  When the cheese is completely melted and the sauce is smooth, stir in the chicken and mushroom mixture. Stir in the orzo.

Serve with a little grated cheese and chopped parsley on top. 


Thai Chili Bitters
1 tsp Cloves
10 Juniper Berries
1 tbsp Allspice Berries
1 Bay Leaf
1 tbsp Black Pepper Corns
1/2 star of Anise
6 Green Cardamom Pods
2 tbsp Coriander Seeds
2 Thai Chilies
Gentian Root Extract
750 ml Everclear

Follow the basic recipe for Bitters that I posted in 2010. 

After you've strained and filtered the bitters, pour it into a large non-reactive pot.  Reduce it over a very low heat.  This is the purest alcohol you can get and it's extremely volitile.  It will reduce quickly and you want it down to about 1/5 of it's original volume.  Use extreme caution if you are using a gas stove, because it could explode!  Do not cover.  Don't stir.  In fact don't even make this recipe unless you've got the fortitude to wade across a lava flow carrying that old lady who was too stubborn to leave her home until it was too late, even though Peirce Brosnan warned her to go.  But if you decide to make it, you will be rewarded with a spicy little number to accent your gin or rye.