Maine Grilling Woodsplanks are locally harvested from a family of woodcutters (check out www.mainegrillingwoods.com). Use them off-season in the broiler or oven.

Planked Grilled Scallops

Not technically an aphrodisiac, the smoky saltiness of these tender bites serves as a teaser for round II. Load up a platter of these and some toothpicks to stir the fires while the rest of the meal cooks.

• 3 scallops per person, depending on size
• Olive oil
• Sea salt
• Cracked black pepper
• Fresh parsley
• Dab butter

1. Douse and season scallops in the ingredients listed, except butter.
2. Grill 6 to 8 minutes over soaked and oiled wooden plank. Adjust cooking time depending on size of the scallops. Hit the scallops half-way through with a dab of butter.
3. Serve with a killer steak butter, fresh lemon and moonlight. Have a crisp bottle of white wine and a game of Twister handy.

Planked and Drunk Grilled Salmon

This is a basic recipe and can easily be improved by adding more herbs like fresh rosemary or thyme, mustard or shallots, for example. Be creative, it’s just fish. Serve the leftovers the next morning on top of grilled bagels with capers, dill and crème fraîche.

• 1/2 pound fish per person
• Equal parts vermouth and orange juice
• Half that amount olive oil
• A handful fresh parsley, chopped
• Dab butter per fish steak

1. Marinate fish for a few hours, in all ingredients except butter.
2. Grill 8 to 10 minutes over soaked and oiled wooden plank (cedar or pecan). Hit the fish half-way through cooking with a dab of butter.

Grilled Whole Cauliflower

The expression “like butter” is made for this dish. It’s got an almost candy-like taste that will make you think of this vegetable in a new, highly inappropriate way.

• 1 whole cauliflower, cleaned and trimmed
• Olive oil
• Butter
• Sea salt
• Cracked black pepper
• Shredded parmesan or asiago

1. Coat cauliflower with olive oil and butter.
2. Season with sea salt and cracked black pepper.
3. Sprinkle with cheese liberally.
4. Wrap the entire cauliflower in aluminum foil and then grill 25 to 30 minutes, until cooked.
5. Open foil and scoop out with a spoon. Yeah, it’s that soft.

Grilled Greens

Spin the notion of a salad by serving yours straight from flame to plate.

• Several heads of your favorite greens (baby romaine, endive, etc.)
• Olive oil
• Sea salt
• Cracked black pepper

1. Toss greens in olive oil, sea salt and black pepper.
2. Place directly on the grill, cooking until slightly charred on both sides.

End the meal with a scotch under the stars. If guests have an actual sweet tooth, swing by your ice cream shop pre-party and nab a few pints of your favorite hand-crafted flavors. Boom, you’re done.

Sidecar Dennis Lee's shiitake mushroom dumplings with a bloody mariko and call it a day.

His melting pot, Namu, serves Asian-inspired street food sans the street, truck or cab cart. The menu changes daily, but we have a feeling that the creative spark changes in a nanosecond. Here’s what’s currently brewing in Lee’s head:

served raw: how much does your menu change according to locally available ingredients?
Dennis Lee: There are several changes in garnishes, things like wild arugula to purslane or mizuna, and butterball potatoes to fingerlings. There are usually two protein changes, like pork shoulder porcetta to pork chop, or lamb loin to meatloaf. We also usually have one verbal special that changes. The raw items, sashimi or crudo, change almost daily. The pickles usually change once to twice a week, but we always have 3 different ones so one or two of them will change.

though your cuisine has been noted as predominantly Asian, there are ingredients indigenous to other countries in your menu like brioche, gelato from Buenos Aires, your “taco” … what’s up?
The only reason that we use the words Korean and Japanese is because it’s my background; I learned to cook from my mother. Namu’s cuisine is really non-genre. It’s contemporary American cuisine and it’s reflected in the nuance of multiple inspirations and origins.

Loco Moco from Namu's "secret menu" — yeah, it needs a stylist but what do you expect from an impromptu shot?

how do you put new twists on traditional dishes like kimchi or miso soup?
I never try to reinvent the wheel, so I do kimchi and miso in a pretty traditional way, actually. Sometimes I do play with kimchi ingredients. I did one with Brussels sprouts, but that goes on our pickle list.

tell us about your pickles…
Sometimes we’re given things from farmers because they want us to try it, or they have extra, or whatever and we end up pickling it if there’s too much of it to go through at the restaurant. Then there are things that I love and must have pickled, like shallots, Persian cucumbers, asparagus, ramps, daikon and ong choy.

We do a variety of pickles, mostly salt-, soy- and vinegar-based brines. We use ume paste, yuzu, herbs, miso, dried tuna blood lines, kelp, lemons, honey, dried peppers and many other things. Our approach is very open, we have a deep understanding of the aging and fermenting process, and we just play with textures and flavor development.

what’s the weirdest thing you’ve pickled?
Sea beans are a popular unusual pickle. Mangoes are good, too. Nearly everything can be pickled, including proteins like pork skin.

we thought pickles would be an awesome garnish for a cocktail …
Our bloody mariko — ginger- and wasabi-infused bloody mary with Thai chili soju — is garnished with a skewer of our pickles. Kimchi juice and other brines also make a great addition to cocktails.

3-D presentation with a street-food taste. Photo: Namu

]]> http://www.servedraw.com/2010/07/michael-lazar/feed/ 0 http://www.servedraw.com/2010/07/cocktail-party-canapes-crepes/ http://www.servedraw.com/2010/07/cocktail-party-canapes-crepes/#comments Thu, 29 Jul 2010 16:31:34 +0000 Shirley http://www.servedraw.com/?p=7086 Lights are dim, music is pumping, guests are a couple of drinks in — we say, go ahead and let their eyes wander … over to the lineup of hot bites (by that we mean actual food) next to the sideboard. These mini crêpes are hot and easy to nab fast, barely causing a speed-bump in someone’s efforts to cruise your party. That’s what we call a thoughtful hostess.

Goodbye crudité, hello cocktail canapés.

Begin with a basic crêpe recipe, then cut cooked dough into small shapes and top, stuff or pile on the delicious toppings, like:

• Roasted cherry tomato, bacon and goat cheese with fresh basil.
• Mini crab or salmon cakes with lemon and dill aioli.
• Short rib ragu with a touch of orange marmalade.
• Grapes baked until soft with a hint of olive oil then sprinkled with kosher salt and fennel seed.
• Grilled calamari and white bean salad.

Once stuffed, hold the bite in place with a cocktail pick and display on a stylish serving platter.

Roasted Cherry Tomato, Bacon and Goat Cheese Crêpe Bites

Master a few combinations of ingredients and this becomes an easy go-to party recipe that changes hopefully as often as your guest list.

• 1 pint cherry tomatoes
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
• Olive oil
• S&P
• 8 strips bacon, cooked and cut in 1-inch pieces
• Goat cheese
• Basil, chopped
• Crêpe dough, cooked and cut into 3-inch rounds (use a cookie cutter or slice around the bottom of a large ramekin with a knife)

1. Toss tomatoes with garlic, olive oil and S&P, then spread in a single layer in a roasting pan.
2. Bake in a 350-degree oven for 15 minutes, then watch and pull out of the oven when they begin to brown.
3. Layer round crêpe dough with a roasted tomato, a dab of goat cheese, a small bacon slice and fresh basil.
4. Roll the ingredients into the dough, place a cocktail pick in each wrap to hold, set on a tray to serve.

Fill the glasses with wine and sidecar your plates with jam and chutney galore. Photo: Beall and Thomas Photography

served raw: how do you find inspiration for creating amazing fruit spreads?
Maggie Davidson: I want someone to open a jar of summer fruit jam in January and immediately be taken to summertime. White nectarines, for example, smell and taste like summer. Other fruits we use are blackberries and peaches. Most of what we buy is from within about an hour or so away from here, so that’s my main guide.

so in a way, the local terrain is your muse …
I choose fruits that I can get from as local as possible. If it doesn’t grow here or within a state that touches Tennessee, I won’t touch it. One of my goals coming into the preservationist job was not to use added pectin or chemicals. I read a lot and learned everything I could to make preserves, and discovered that I really just wanted the most pure fruit flavor to come through. No pectin, citric acids, chemicals or preservatives.

are there other off-roaded fruits or flavors you’re working with?
I had never heard of black raspberries before — they’re amazing. They taste a little tart, but when they start to boil in the kettle they actually smell just like raspberry Kool-Aid.

is there a secret to making a perfect fresh fruit jam?
It’s pretty simple, really. We use 1 pound fruit to 1/2 pound sugar, plus 1/2 ounce lemon juice. You add lemon to brighten the color and taste, but you don’t want to pucker up or lose the sweetness of the fruit.

sweet … what about savory?
The spicy pear chutney. I made my own curry powder, then took it around and asked all our chefs what they thought. Once we had the final version, I added onion, bell peppers, garlic, brown sugar and vinegar to the pears. We don’t sell that one to restaurants like we do with a lot of our other products.

Preservationist Maggie Davidson putting the finishing touches on a round of pickles. Grab your bloody mary. Photo: Beall and Thomas Photography

how are your jams and chutneys being used in cooking?
Our chef did a dinner last month and used the pear chutney. You could roast a chicken and use it as a relish, or as a condiment next to pork roast. I also make a winter jam, it’s just all kinds of dried fruit, apples, cherries and cranberries, cooked in brandy and it goes great on a cheese tray. You could use the pear chutney the same way.

and since you are a former pastry chef, what about in baking?
Our breakfast cook makes a danish with wild blackberry jam and our lunch chef makes a strawberry-orange cake layered with strawberry jam. She also sometimes prepares a peanut butter pie with our house made peanut butter.

Maggie Davidson’s Apple Butter

Brandy in butter, yes, please and thank you … This recipe is large enough to try with different liqueurs — we would split into thirds and try cognac, armagnac and pisco just to mix things up a bit.

Yield: Approximately 15 12-ounce jars.

• 10 pounds apples, peeled, cored and sliced
• 5 pounds golden cane sugar
• 2 1/2 pounds commercial apple cider
• 5 ounces lemon juice
• 5 ounces Calvados or other brandy
• 1 ounce vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1. Bring all ingredients to a full, rolling boil in a large pot, stirring occasionally.
2. Turn kettle off and pour into a clean, dry container. Cover the surface with parchment paper, allow to cool, and cover with a lid.
3. Refrigerate over night. The next day, blend the ingredients as smoothly as possible.
4. Pour into steam kettle and bring to a full, rolling boil. Cook on high to medium-high heat (beware of splattering), until mixture will remain mounded on a chilled porcelain plate. Blend again, if necessary and jar immediately.

Aside from app trays and condiment platters, we love a bar spoon full of these in our favorite whiskey and tequila cocktails (just lighten up on the other sweeteners in your recipe). Photo: Beall and Thomas Photography

Cognac is the new gin. Proof is in Andrew's "C and T". Photo: Blackberry Farm

served raw: what ingredients or techniques are inspiring you in spirits?
Andrew Noye: We take most of our inspiration from the area that we are in. The foothills of Tennessee offer such a large bounty of ingredients — whether it be ramps, heirloom tomatoes or watercress, if you look hard enough, you can find something fun to work with. We’ve been using sassafras and other herbs from the farm to make syrups. I hope to start using them to make our own bitters in the near future.

any off-the-radar spirits or bottles you’ve got your eye on right now?
Armagnac will be something that will see a mainstream push here in the next year or so. They’re great to use to make a traditional julep or sazerac.

we’ve seen your Cognac and Tonic and The Old Western recipes and love the ingenuity … any other cocktails you’re toying with?
I’ve been playing around with a rye whiskey and carrot juice cocktail, originally titled Cigarettes and Carrot Juice [see recipe below]. This is a really unique drink that truly embodies what you can do when your heart is in the right place.

your sarsaparilla syrup recipe [below] landed on our radar … any other syrups or mixers you’re experimenting with?
We’re always playing around with syrups. Making them out of what’s fresh is a way of preserving flavor at the height of the season, just as you would pickle something. For Derby-time, we created a sourwood honey and thyme syrup to use in a julep. Sassafras is currently what we’re working with because it really adds depth of flavor and acidity to a cocktail.

we love your off-roaded use of Pappy … have you infused the spirit or used it in food?
We have not tried to infuse Pappy with anything. I have a lot of respect for what Julian and his son Preston are doing and I would hate to overshadow the sheer greatness of their bourbon. That said, we’ve used it in the past to cure some of the charcuterie items that we make.

Andrew's lush lab. A new cocktail recipe lurks somewhere in these fields. Photo: Beall and Thomas Photography

Garden Acoustic #3

You have to admit that any cocktail with carrot juice seems medically savvy — certainly any blurry vision encountered from the nearly 3 ounces of spirits will be counteracted by vitamins A and C. And dare we say, we prefer mixologist Andrew Noye’s original title for this: Cigarettes and Carrot Juice?

• 2 ounces Wild Turkey Russel’s Reserve Rye
• 3/4 ounce St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur
• 2 ounces raw carrot juice
• 1 ounce orange juice
• Pinch cinnamon

1. Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker and shake vigorously for 30 seconds. Serve over ice in a rocks glass.

Andrew's Old Western mixes Pappy Van Winkle with sarsaparilla syrup, muddled fruit and peach bitters for a refreshing summer cocktail. Garnish with your cowboy boots. Photo: Blackberry Farm

Andrew Noye’s Sarsaparilla Syrup

Off-road this sweetener in your favorite rye- or bourbon-based cocktail to add depth and acidity.

• 10 teaspoons of ground sarsaparilla root
• 1 quart hot water
• 3 cups sugar

1. Add the sarsaparilla root to the hot water and let steep for 10 minutes. Strain through a coffee filter. Add the sugar and stir until dissolved. Chill before using.

To get the most out of this recipe, start with your favorite spices, then experiment with more unusual flavors. Next, seal your syrups in jars and soon you’ll have a mass collection of concoctions to inspire your creativity. Finally, let us know when you’re hosting the next party.

This cocktail calls for Middle Eastern mahlab but you can easily sub in your favorite spiced simple syrup, the bigger the flavor profile, the better. It's worth a shot.

Spiced Simple Syrup

Try mixing this syrup into your signature cocktail recipes in lieu of your regular sweetener to add a new dimension to the flavor.

• 1 cup water
• 1 cup granulated sugar (sub in brown sugar, demerara, honey, maple syrup or any other sweetener)
• 1 heaping tablespoon dried whole spices or 1/2 tablespoon ground spices (no spices excluded here … you can even try combinations of spices)

1. Bring water to a boil. Turn off heat, add sugar and stir until evaporated. Add spices and let sit 30 minutes or an hour, to desired taste/strength.
2. Strain spices through a superfine mesh strainer, double-strain if using ground spices. Store in a glass jar with lid.

Spices we recommend: whole peppercorn, crushed cardamom pods, whole fennel seeds, saffron, mace and ground nutmeg, cloves, dried mahlab, chili peppers, lavender.

Mahlab Sour

A Middle Eastern spice that’s commonly used in baking makes a surprising, if not seemingly off-putting entrance into the world of cocktails. Wait, hear us out: Paired with spicy whiskey and sour lemon, the sweet and sour dried cherry pits gives this sip the perfect balance. May we recommend a little Sarazino while you shake.

• 2 ounces rye whiskey
• 1 ounce fresh lemon juice
• 1 ounce mahlab-spiced simple syrup*
• 2 dashes cherry bark bitters
• Brandied cherry, for garnish.

1. Shake ingredients over ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a brandied cherry.

*For the mahlab-spiced simple: Boil 1 cup sugar, 1 cup water, 1 tablespoon dried mahlab, then cool.

Danish.
We are not ones to hide our obsession with Scandinavian design (hey, if the sleek, architectural and highly fashionable shoe fits …). This time, the focus is on an ultra-tall, metal-meets-wood ice bucket. Yeah, it works well, but we just like looking at it. Skjode Skern, $105.

Awesome vintage at almost a foot tall and outfitted with a plastic liner.

Double-walled.
Any time our cocktail gear can be sexy and functional, we’re in. This version is stainless steel within glass which means no leaking or condensation. The expensive facade on your side table will thank you. Faces, $264

Hmmmm ... is it just us or can you recreate this look with what you already have, sans the designer label?

Cork. There we said it.
Invest in a retro Three’s Company-inspired cork version — BYOshort-shorts — by scouring Etsy or ebay for a ’70s sideboard vibe. Or spring for a modern cork version that keeps cubes cold while you’re blanket lounging at the park. FunkyQuailVintage on Etsy, $22.

Break this out when you're recreating your own Regal Beagle lounge.

Over-sized.
Purple, insulated plastic, and able to hold a massive amount of ice means bottle service just moved to your backyard. Italesse, $162

The raised bottom on the tower allows you to drain off melted water. Or streamline with the bucket-size when your cube demands aren't as high.

Asymmetrical.
A funky gift and completely handy if your cocktailing always ends with hallucinations or wonky vision. Karim Rashid, approximately $180.

Comes in a Nambe-esque silver version with the tilt.

Mini.
This take-anywhere size is perfect for when your party for two moves from room to room. Zojirushi, $32.

Double-walled insulation keeps the condensation inside so feel free to turn up the heat.

1. Flower power.
Place potted marigolds around the perimeter of your party. Mosquitoes hate their scent and will naturally stay away from them (and you if you’re hanging near them). At the very least, they’re a stylish way to deco your patio. Gurney’s Seed & Nursery, $4.45.

The gorgeous warm-color hues are inspiration for matching your cocktail to.

2. Functional centerpieces.
Citronella candles provide ambiance and make mosquitoes wary, but they’re typically not fashionable. This bucket style serves as a chic alternative to the unattractive metal styles — place center table to keep bugs away from food. Crate & Barrel, $6.95.

Mix and match various sizes along the perimeter of your yard as well.

3. Inconspicuous tea lights.
We love the mini citronella candles along walkways and on deck railings to create a glittering nightscape and hopefully a warning to pests. Crate & Barrel, $5.95.

Finally, citronella that doesn't look like it came from the corner hardware store.

4. Somewhat-chic lamps.
Finding a modern, stylish bug zapper is next to impossible. This solar-polared version is socially acceptable thanks to stainless-steel casing and a copper top — oh, and it works, too, sans the disgusting pest-obliterating zapping noises. Mosquito Genie, $99.

Kills mosquitos with an organic plant-based vapor that's harmless to humans. Bonus: it's not made of unsightly, ultra-ornate black metal.

5. Lethal scents.
Natural oils that make you hippie chic can also scare bugs away. To name a few: citronella, geranium, castor, rosemary, lemongrass, cedar, cinnamon, clove and peppermint. Dab a little behind the ears (right next to your Chanel No. 5) or try this earthly evening perfume — we can’t guarantee who you will attract but we can bet on what you won’t: bugs.

Evening Perfume

• 10 to 25 drops peppermint oil
• 10 to 25 drops clove oil
• 2 teaspoon alcohol

1. Mix oils. Emulsify with alcohol. Dab on wrists, neck and ankles.

Star anise works hand in hand with the herbal tones of the tea.

2. Amaro Nonino

An Italian might want to take you out for not sipping this delicate, floral elixir on it's own, but we say go ahead and mix with it — no harm, no foul.

3. Barolo Chinato

Made with quinine and so amazingly delicious that we're also also subbing it into every recipe that calls for tonic water.

4. Clear Creek Douglas Fir Eau de Vie

Nothing more refreshing than a taste of the great outdoors.

5. Gran Clasico Bitter

Add this to your list of all great things Swiss (cheese and watches notwithstanding).

6. Nocino della Cristina Walnut Liqueur

Gettin' nutty with it.

7. Your own hand made Cranberry Liqueur.

When you can't choose a single color scheme for your party, we say use them all. Makes apps much more visually stimulating and gives wallflowers something to talk about.

Start with thinly sliced, toasted bread, such as:

• French baguette topped with goat cheese and cherry honey then sweetened with a drop or two of juice from your brandied cherry jar.
• Sourdough topped with thin-sliced grilled merguez, plus a pinch of arugula tossed in a coriander vinaigrette.
• Rye topped with a “salad” of cooked red potatoes, finely chopped green beans, blue cheese and honey, sprinkled with chives.
• Whole-wheat baguette topped with a spoonful of chimichuri seasoned chicken salad.
• Flatbread topped with fava bean and chickpea purée.
• Foccacia with chopped eggs, chives and tomatoes, topped with fried prosciutto.

Fava Bean and Chickpea Purée

This simple, fresh-tasting topping is surprisingly flavorful and a cool alternative to tapenade. Use leftovers as a spread on burgers or fish sandwiches.

• 1 pound fresh fava bean pods, main shell removed (or 1/2 pound frozen, they come with the outer shell removed)
• 1 can garbanzo beans, rinsed
• 1 roasted red bell pepper
• Juice from 1/2 lemon
• 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Salt and cayenne pepper

1. Wash (and thaw if using frozen) shelled fava beans. Bring a medium pot of water to boil. Add fava beans, cook for about 4 minutes on high heat.
2. Prepare an ice bath in a large bowl while the beans cook. Drain blanched fava beans and place into ice bath to cool.
3. Make a small incision on the skin of each fava bean with a paring knife, then peel skin away from the inner bean. Discard skins.
4. Pulse all ingredients in a food processor until well combined and creamy.
5. Taste and adjust flavor and texture by adding more freshly squeezed lemon juice, salt, cayenne pepper or extra virgin olive oil.

Sex up your herb spread with edible flowers.

Herb Spread with Julienned Veggies

We love the fact that you can basically make this with what you have in your fridge combined with what’s growing on your ledge, stoop or sill.

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/3 to 1/2 cup half and half
• Juice from 1/2 lemon
• 1 to 3 tablespoons fresh chopped herbs, to taste — such as dill, tarragon or oregano
• S&P to taste
• Fresh vegetables, julienned — start with zucchini, carrots, parsnips or even fruits like green mangos or papaya.
• Chives, chopped on a bias, for garnish

1. Blend olive oil, half and half, lemon juice, herbs and S&P in a food processor.
2. Toss desired amount with julienned vegetables and place on top of crostini. Garnish with chopped chives.

Even carnivores will find the taste and texture enticing. Sex up the presentation with some edible flowers.

served raw: how did you get inspired to put such a creative twist on food?
Steve Rinauro: The inspiration probably came to me about 12 years ago when I was on a beach in Malibu and met a master yogini. At that time, I was very experienced in vegetarianism, but it really clicked in her yoga ashram. Most yogis believe in a very pure and clean diet.

I began to see and believe that it’s all about health, body and mind. You are what you eat, so to speak. If you have a Ferrari, you’re not going to put in just any gasoline and people should treat themselves with the same care and attention. Now, in the restaurant, I make sure that our ingredients are ultra clean. We use the best oil, the best salt. It’s still rich food, but very clean.

tell us about the vegetarian experience in your restaurant.
Maya Radisch: It’s been a really interesting experience — even though we’re in California, which is rather progressive, we’re actually in cattle country. It’s a demographic of people who are eating meat and potatoes. We’re both vegetarian, but Steve has been trained classically. Our philosophies have culminated into the basic belief that if you go out and spend money, especially in this economy, you should have something that you can’t, wouldn’t or don’t have time to cook at home. People generally think “brown rice and veggies,” but we don’t do that. We like modern cooking and global flavors, like Southeast Asian, backed by French technique.

As the economy has shifted, we’ve become a little more casual. We make everything from scratch, including the buns of our burger, our most popular item. We’ve tried to fuse identifiable items with the unidentifiable, so people can segue into the more experimental cuisine that we offer.

so, when creating a dish, where do you start?
Maya: We change the menu sometimes every week, sometimes every two weeks. We try to use what’s available and as much local produce as we can. If there’s something ready in the garden, that will be Steve’s inspiration, so it changes a lot throughout the year. The menu is not vegetable-centric, just layered and complex; we don’t do just plain vegetables — everything has a lot of prep.

Steve: My ideas take less than 3 minutes to conceive and construct. The compositions tend to come to me through flavor and texture first, and then I find a way to achieve them through the dry pantry and the garden.

does divine inspiration also help you keep your flavors bold and rich?
Steve: We have a huge arsenal. This restaurant has a lot of weapons and we have to figure out how to use them. We have an extensive pantry, comprehensive list of spices, we pull from our garden, and so on. In our menu, we typically have 18 to 20 dishes which include 5 to 7 components made from scratch using about 90 different ingredients.

Love the arsenal of vinegars and oils — keep a stash on hand and ready to jack up the flavor intensity of your vegetarian dishes.

that sounds vastly complicated — but, wouldn’t you say that your quest is to demystify veggie cuisine?
Maya: Yes…at least 95% of our clientele are not vegetarians. The majority are traditional eaters, they just come to enjoy the flavor and the experience. We definitely don’t try to mix food and politics — we don’t try to convert them.

Steve: I typically think of things that are layered and textured, so we take one flavor and build on it. A dish is like a house: you lay foundation, build walls, insulate. We build a dish from the ground up from the garnish to the sauce to the speck of salt. Each ingredient might be a little bold or big by itself, but when you bring it all together it works beautifully.

you’re in such a little town for such big cuisine, why not a city?
Maya: I grew up in this town. Though I’ve lived in San Francisco, there’s definitely nothing like Murphys. It’s actually an up-and-coming wine region. There are 20-plus tasting rooms in town. The demographic is a lot of second homeowners and tourists, people who come to a small area to relax and appreciate the good things in life.

All the other restaurants in town are traditional American. There’s no ethnic food, so we provide something eccentric and important. We keep a few dishes simple like the burger and mac & cheese to keep it approachable, so no one feels intimidated.

how would you suggest a vegetarian get the Mineral experience for themselves?
Maya: The experience would change depending on the country. Though the flavors on our menu are very global, they’re also very grounded in local produce.

Steve: Find your nearest ethnic market, grab as much vegetarian ethnic ingredients as possible — turmeric, bamboo, etc. The foundation is on ethnic ingredients. Also important is to find the purveyor of the best salt, olive oil and vinegar.

Papaya Avocado Salad with Vanilla Vinaigrette

Steve Rinauro, Mineral Restaurant. Sweet, spicy and Thai-inspired. Thank you, sir, we’ll have another.

• ¼ cup champagne vinegar
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• Few pinches sea salt
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• Seeds of two vanilla beans
• Canola oil
• Papaya (diced)
• Thai basil
• Black sesame seeds
• Avocado (diced)
• Fresh salad greens

1. Mix champagne vinegar, sugar, sea salt, Dijon and vanilla seeds.
2. Blend and emulsify mixture with canola oil.
3. Toss vinaigrette with the diced papaya.
4. Add Thai basil and black sesame seeds.
5. Serve with diced avocado and fresh salad greens.

Replace whiskey, gin or vodka with cognac for a new twist on classic cocktail recipes. Photo: http://toddappel.com/

served raw: what flavor attributes do you want to look for in the spirit when crafting cognac cocktails?
Todd Appel: You can sometimes get some stone fruit; tasting usually depends on my palate that day. You could get almond … cognac almost has a liqueur taste with a deep, nutty flavor, vanilla tones and maybe a hint of black pepper in the back. That plus the essence of grape goes nicely with fruit.

what known flavors pair well with cognac?
It goes well with fruits and flavored liqueurs, citrus pairs well, fresh pureés … basically, anything goes.

are there any rules you abide by when mixing with it?
I tend to like drinks spirit-forward, for example, the classic Sidecar. It’s basically a brandy sour made of equal parts cognac, Cointreau or Grand Marnier, and lemon juice, but I want the Cointreau and lemon to be a small part of the drink that’s just there to flavor the cognac. Same thing with whiskey cocktails. I want to taste the whiskey, I want the spirit to be a major ingredient of the cocktail.

If you’re using cognac as a secondary ingredient or if you were going to make a wine-based drink or a bowl of punch, then you’d probably want to make it less spirit-forward.

I break rules all the time, they’re all made to be broken, but I just don’t like to mask a good spirit with mixers.

in addition to the sidecar, what are some of your go-to cognac cocktails?
I’m from Wisconsin and they actually drink brandy manhattans there. I like to switch that up and use a super high-end VSOP cognac for a luxury manhattan. Bourbon and rye are powerful, but cognac offers a totally different, more subtle flavor.

One of my other favorites right now is a cognac cocktail made with pear purée, rich ginger syrup and fresh lemon juice. This started as a bourbon drink, but uses cognac instead of bourbon because it plays well with the fruit and doesn’t overpower the drink. I like to make my ginger syrups on the stronger, richer side too, but you could use a ginger liqueur like Domain Canton if you weren’t making your own syrup.

any advice for those who want to nab a bottle of cognac and mix a round of cocktails for friends?
You could use cognac in place of whiskey in any whiskey cocktail. The original sazerac was made with cognac — long before the era of whiskey in this country people drank a lot of cognac. You could make cognac mint juleps, cognac old fashioneds, a brandy crusta, a cognac-inspired “pisco sour” by adding an egg white and bitters to a sidecar recipe. Even a cognac mojito with muddled mint works. You could try a cognac French 75, subbing out the gin for cognac.

I also like to make wine- and champagne-based cocktails with cognac. I make a white sangria where I’ll steep the fruit in cognac before putting it in the punch and adding champagne.

should we mix with the “good stuff”?
I tend to always use the big 3 cognacs for mixing. I usually use VSOP in spirit-forward drinks like a manhattan or old fashioned. For more light, refreshing drinks, you want the cognac to be young so you could use a VS. Ferrand 30 Reserve and Ambre bottles, Hine Vintage Cognacs, Martell Cordon Bleu … they’re all unique.

and a good way to un-wind with cognac?
After dinner, I’ll mix a good VSOP with a little fruit liqueur like pear or peach, and keep it at room temperature. You don’t want it chilled because you want to have the bouquet in your nose. Put it in a brandy snifter and sip.

Todd’s Post Workout Refresher

• 3 parts cognac
• 1/2 part or splash pear purée
• 1 part fresh lemon juice
• 1 part rich ginger syrup (or a ginger liqueur like Domain Canton)
• Lemon peel or fresh ginger, for garnish

1. Shake ingredients in a Boston tin filled with ice, strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a lemon peel or piece of fresh ginger.

Sidecar

• 1 part cognac
• 1 part Cointreau
• 1 part fresh lemon juice
• Sugar and lemon peel, for garnish

1. Shake over ice, strain into a sugar-rimmed cocktail glass. Garnish with lemon peel.

DeGroff's Singapore Sling is complex, aromatic and herbal, rather than sweet.

House-made grenadine works with a variety of spirits and in an infinite number of cocktail recipes, including these:

• Gin a la Singapore Sling — so many variations, so little time … we like Dale DeGroff’s version partly because it doesn’t use an overpowering amount of pineapple juice and partly just because he’s The King.
• Rum a la Planter’s Punch — shoot up your standard rum, lime and simple daiquiri with a shot of grenadine to give it an added dose of fruit flavor and some pretty color, too.
• Bourbon a la Dave Wondrich’s Ward Eight Cooler — imagine popping open the door of your ice chest on a sunny day and it’s filled with pitchers of icy cold, bubbly bourbon cocktails. An idea that’s easy to endorse…

Grenadine Syrup

Hand-crafted pomegranate syrup is versatile enough to become a regular in your sideboard. And it takes only a few minutes to prepare, about the same time as rifling through your fridge in search of the expired bottle of Rose’s that tastes a touch on the funky side.

• 1 cup pomegranate juice
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons molasses
• 1/2 teaspoon orange blossom water

1. Heat pomegranate juice over medium-high heat until warmed through, stir in sugar, molasses and orange blossom water until dissolved.
2. Store in a glass bottle in your refrigerator.

*Do not cook or simmer the mixture as you will lose the desired consistency if you let too much liquid evaporate. Molasses will turn your syrup from pretty pink to brown-ish — start with just a dash if you don’t want to change the color of your cosmos.

The dynamic duo of spirits — brandy and rum — make a great starting point for riffing new recipes.

Transatlantic Old Fashioned

You’ll find this recipe, a favorite of armagnac ambassador May Matta-Aliah, at Raines Law Room in NYC.

• 1 ounce Chateau Laubade XO
• 1 ounce Rhum Clement VSOP
• Sugar cube, orange bitters, angostura bitters

1. Place sugar cube in an old-fashioned glass and cover in one dash orange bitters and one dash angostura.
2. Add a bar spoon of club soda and muddle sugar into a paste. Add spirits and one large piece of ice.
3. Stir and garnish with lemon and orange twist.

Check the box on your "do something French" bucket list with a Momisette. A drink this enticing needs no garnish.

served raw: let’s talk orgeat … are we pronouncing it correctly?

Darcy S. O’Neil: I tend to pronounce it “or-zhat”. It’s similar to the Italian almond-flavored beverage called orzata, but I also came across a newspaper article in the October 19, 1911 Belleville News-Democrat from Illinois which puts the pronunciation as orzhat.

describe it’s flavor and how it acts in cocktails …

Orgeat is basically the liquid equivalent to marzipan. It’s also similar to amaretto, but not quite the same. It acts as a sweetener to cocktails, much like simple syrup. Because orgeat is emulsified almond oil and water, it can affect the mouth feel of a cocktail by adding a little fat. This is typically perceived as “smoothing out” the drink.

Homemade versions have a clean taste that’s not excessively sweet. Many of the commercial products have too much sugar and use artificial flavorings. The excess sugar can be problematic when trying to balance the flavors of a cocktail. The only downside to homemade is that it takes time to prepare and isn’t shelf-stable, so you’ll need to invite friends over for drinks if you make a batch.

tried and true orgeat cocktails?

The most obvious one is the Mai Tai. Orgeat seems to be incorporated in many tiki style drinks, but orgeat goes back centuries and was often enjoyed with just water / soda water. I personally enjoy the Momisette, which is simply pastis, orgeat and soda water. Another good example is the Halé Grog, which I didn’t create, but is a good example of a cocktail using orgeat.

any advice for experimenting with creating orgeat cocktails at home?

Staying with the tiki theme, rum seems to be a good match. It should be remembered that orgeat is a flavoured simple syrup, so flavors that help to balance out the sweetness, like sour and bitter, are going help make a better cocktail.

Orgeat Syrup

adapted recipe by Darcy S. O’Neil, Art of Drink

Using better quality products, such as quality almonds and filtered water, will make a better orgeat syrup. Makes about 1½ litres.

• 3 1/2 cups sliced almonds
• 3 1/2 cups water
• 3 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup vodka or brandy
• 2 tablespoons orange or rose flower water (optional)

1. Place the almonds in a bowl, cover with cold water, allow to soak for 30 minutes.
2. Drain and discard this water, then crush the almonds using a rolling pin or a food processor to chop them to a fine grind. If you need to, you can add some of the water to the food processor.
3. Transfer the crushed almonds to a large bowl and mix them with water, let stand for one to two hours.
4. Place a damp cloth or cheese cloth in a mesh filter, over another bowl, and strain the almond and water mixture. Squeeze the cloth to extract all the liquid.
5. Put the chopped almonds back into the almond water, let it stand for another hour and then strain again.
6. Repeat a third time if you wish. This is will get all the oils out of the almonds.
7. Note: To speed up the process you can gently heat the almond water to 125 degrees. If you do this, you can cut the soak times to about 15 minutes.
8. Pour the strained liquid into a pan, discard the almond pulp, add the sugar and cook over gentle heat, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat when the sugar is completely dissolved. Allow to cool for 15 minutes and then add the brandy or vodka and the orange flower water.
9. Store in a clean glass bottle.

Momisette

• 1 ounce pastis
• 1/4 ounce orgeat syrup
• Sparkling water

1. Serve pastis and orgeat syrup in a small glass room temperature or over ice, topped with sparkling water.

Freshly ground black pepper, crushed red pepper flakes or paprika add some heat to the crunch.

Here goes:

• Try them solo or lay them over scallops, fish steaks or a slab of your favorite grilled beef.
• Toss into salads.
• Crunch them over grilled vegetables, dips and omelets.
• Garnish a savory brunch cocktail.
• Make them thicker and serve as the bottom to your one-bite appetizer.

To fuel your OCD, off-road the recipe by hitting the cheese with herbs or seasoning, like parsley or dill, about half-way into cooking. You can also add minced jalapeños or kalamata olives if you want to make guests feel inadequate about their culinary skills.

The Parm Crisp

A good starter recipe, sub in any hard cheese for the parmesan. Our favorite are truffled cheese and those with nutty, stinky or savory notes.

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Micro thin-slice your favorite block of parm onto a lightly oiled baking sheet. You can also grate or shred cheese into a circular pattern.
3. Bake for 4 to 5 minutes, until golden. Cool and remove with spatula.

Serve these with a round of dips like artichoke-spinach.