Sunday Dinner, Sunday Drinks

As I'm writing this post, I'm watching the snow coming down outside my window.  My roommate's pup is curled up on the chair next to me, and I'm drinking a ginormous cup of hot coffee.  All perfect things to do when it's cold outside.  Other perfect things to do when it's cold outside?  Start a slow-cooked, stick-to-your-bones Sunday dinner, watch football, and enjoy a smooth, spicy cocktail!

Yesterday, I started the day with an Irish coffee made with cinnamon and vanilla infused whiskey.  This spice blend made the whiskey taste completely appropriate for the season, and I think it would be great served on the rocks, but it will also lend itself to plenty of delicious wintry cocktails, which I will explore at a later time.  For now, I'll give you the recipe for the whiskey, and recommend throwing a splash of it in your coffee. 

Last night's dinner consisted of a Bacon-wrapped Pork Roast, and Polenta with Gorgonzola and Sage.  A meal like this is best enjoyed when it's chilly outside.  I seasoned both the roast and the polenta with sage, fennel, garlic, and black pepper.  This spice combination compliments heavier foods extrremelly well, as the fennel and sage cut some of the richness to create a perfet balance of flavors.  The flavorful pork and the creamy polenta pair well with a cocktail made with scotch and Cardamaro, a spicy, bitter Italian liqueur similar to Amaro, but distilled from cardoons and artichokes.  Similar to a Godfather (my favorite drink) in that this is made from smoky scotch and an Italian liqueur, I appropriately named this new drink "The Consigliere."  Toast to Tom Hagen if you try one. 

Cinnamon and Vanilla Infused Whiskey

1 pint bottle Irish Whiskey (I prefer Jameson)
2 cinnamon sticks, cracked
1 vanilla bean, split down the middle

Start by removing about 1 shot from the bottle (a/k/a, do a shot).  Next, add the cinnamon pieces and vanilla bean to the bottle.  Close tightly, and shake for about 30 seconds.  Let sit for at least 24 hours, shaking occasionally. 

It is ready to go after 24 hours.  If you keep the vanilla and cinnamon in the bottle, it will continue to develop flavor.  If you like the seasoning to be subtle, remove them from the bottle (you  may have to strain it and re-bottle). 


Bacon-wrapped Pork Roast

1.5 pound pork loin roast
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 T. minced sage
2 t. rushed fennel seeds
generous amount of cracked black pepper
splash olive oil
4-6 slices center-cut bacon

Combine all the ingredients except the bacon in a large bowl.  Allow the pork roast to marinate for about 2 hours, turning it occasionally and rubbing the spices in with your hands. 

Preheat the oven to 500.  After the pork has marinated, lay the strips of bacon side-by-side on a small plate.  Place the pork roast in the center of the bacon strips.  Now, carefully pick up the plate and the roast, and invert it, placing the pork roast in a shallow baking dish so that the bacon-side is facing up (as shown). 

Use string or roast ties (they look like rubber bands but are oven-safe and heatproof), secure the bacon to the pork.  Now, place the baking dish on the center rack of the oven, and bake for 15 minutes at 500. 

Once this is done, reduce the heat to 275.  Do not open the oven door.  Cook for 1 hour to 1 hour 20 minutes (if you are using a meat thermometer, you want the center to register at about 155 degrees)

When the pork is done cooking, remove it from the oven and let it rest for about 10 minutes.  Remove the string or ties, and carve into slices with a sharp knife.  Serve alone, or make a gravy out of the pan drippings (I like mine plain). 


Polenta with Gorgonzola and Sage

2.5 cups water
2 t. cracked fennel
1/2 cup instant polenta (I prefer Pastene brand)
3 T. chopped sage
2 T. butter
2 oz. mountain gorgonzola (also called "gorgonzola piccante")
salt and pepper to taste

In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, combine the water and cracked fennel.  Bring the water to a rolling boil.  Add the polenta in a slow stream, stirring constantly.  Continue stirring.  The polenta will start to thicken up; at this point, add the sage, butter, gorgonzola, salt and pepper (you may want to go easy on the salt; gorgonzola tends to be salty).  Continue to stir - do not stop stirring, or the polenta will become lumpy and stick to the pan. 

Once the polenta is thickened, pour it into a shallow baking dish.  Spread it with a spatula so that it is about 1/2" thick.  Let the polenta "set" for a few minutes, and serve in slices along with the pork roast. 


The Consigliere

1.5 oz. smoky Scotch (I like Islay single-malts, such as Ardbeg)
1.5 oz. Cardamaro
1 oz. Limoncello

Combine in a tumbler over 2 ice cubes.  Stir, sip, and stay off the road. 


The Wartime Consigliere

This version adds Grappa, a fiery, potent liqueur made in Italy from the remnants of wine grapes. 

Follow the recipe above, using only 1/2 oz. limoncello.  Add 1/2 oz. grappa.

Tales from the Tasting, Tuscan Martinis

Last night, The Wine Bottega on Hanover Street hosted a tasting featuring wines from France’s Loire Valley imported by Louis/Dressner, along with special guest Joe Dressner, one of the company’s partners and “kind of a big deal” in the wine world. 

What does that mean to me?  Squat!  After all, I still buy the $7 glass jugs of Carlo Rossi Chianti (I tell myself it’s just for my Chianti Tomato Sauce, but I always down a glass or two while I’m prepping and stirring).  But, the reason I began writing this blog was to record my culinary adventures and share any lessons I learn along the way, so I figured I should attend this event.  I’m very glad I did.

We tasted about 9 different wines, beginning with the whites and moving on to the reds.  Each was completely different from the previous, but if you asked me to describe those differences, I would sit there with the classic Deer In Headlights look on my face before replying, “why don’t you taste them yourself?  Then you’ll understand.”  That was the moment that I knew I had to ask Bottega’s proprietors if they had some sort of “Wine for Dummies” session that I could attend.  They do, and kindly, it is called “Wine 101,” not “The Moron’s Guide To Wine” or something along those lines! 

I am very excited to attend Wine 101– I love drinking wine, I can definitely taste the subtle differences between blends, but asking me to describe a specific wine or how one region’s blend differs from another would be like asking me to write a love song in another language – I know what I’m feeling, I know what I want to say, but if I don’t have the words to convey those thoughts to an audience so that they can relate and sing along, what’s the point? 

I have a feeling that no matter what I learn about wine, I’ll probably always stick to my Italian reds, such as Chianti, but variety is the spice of life.  My goal as a student is to learn to spot the differences in Italian regional varieties, and I’d like to soak up as much knowledge as I can about wines hailing from Italy’s Abruzzo region, which is the homeland of my Italian ancestors! 

Speaking of Italy, along with the world’s best wine, food, and people, it also produces Limoncello, a sweet and quite potent lemon-flavored liqueur.  In Italy, it is consumed as an after-dinner drink, served in cordial glasses and sipped slowly, but in the States it is more likely to be used as an ingredient in cocktails, as I have done in my original cocktail, the Tuscan Martini. 

Tuscan Martini 

6-8 pitted green olives (3-4 per glass, depending on size)

4 sprigs fresh rosemary

2 lemon slices

2 oz. limoncello

2 oz. dry vermouth

4 oz. gin (rosemary-infused gin is perfect for this recipe!)

serves 2

Prepare the garnishes for two martini glasses:

Thread 3-4 olives on a sprig of fresh rosemary, as shown in the photo.  

Using a sharp knife, remove the zest from the lemon slices, keeping it in one strip.  Twist it, add it to the glass.  Cut away the white pith from the lemon slice, use as a garnish on the rim of the glass. 

In a large shaker filled halfway with ice, combine the limoncello, vermouth, gin, and leaves from the remaining rosemary.  Shake well for approximately 20 seconds, then pour into the prepared martini glasses.  Serve immediately, and sip slowly – these babies are strong! 

VARIATION:  To make your Tuscan martini dirty, add a splash of the olive juice to the glass.