El Raja Key pt. 2

I wanted to try the El Raja Key again, this time with the edits I talked about here. Last time, the flavors didn't blend well, and it was too tart. This time, I replaced the grapefruit bitters with Peychaud's, used orange juice instead of muddled kumquats, and topped it off with soda water. How'd I do?

Much better. The tartness is much more subdued, more of a underlying note to the raspberry flavor. Not only that, but the raspberry flavor is more subtle, allowing everything to come together. I think the orange juice/kumquats helps the citrus to be more of a layered effect, and not simply a lemon-lime, but I'm not sure how much the ginger really adds. Perhaps I should try a variant and use Domaine de Canton instead of the simple syrup and see how that works. This isn't really a winter drink, but it'd be great for the patio in the summer warmth. Recipe after the jump.

Tre Amici

I started off wanting to do a variant negroni with the new bitter I bought over the weekend, but this turned into something else entirely. I was going to swap out the Campari for Aperol, but then started thinking about the other substitutions I could make, a la the Mr. Potato Head theory of cocktails. I know that Cardamaro can be a good substitute for sweet vermouth, if you like your drinks a bit more savory and bitter (and I do!) So that led me to start thinking about what I could sub for the gin.

Most of your major spirits don't make good substitutes for gin. Vodka is boring. Rum is sweeter and, to be honest, often less complex. And the brown spirits are really another thing entirely. But I had the fortune of purchasing (finally) a bottle of Cocchi Americano yesterday, and was eager to try it out. So I figured why not sub the Cocchi in for the gin? The first sip was fairly tasty, but a bit bitter. It needed something to tie it together. After two dashes of Boker's Bitters, it was complete.

Unsurprisingly, the Tre Amici is fairly bitter. But it's balanced out by the latent sweetness in the Cardamaro, and the Boker's really helps tie it together. You can taste all of the components, but they work off of each other to produce an exceptionally balanced cocktail. Recipe after the jump.

Lamb Chops with Tomato Butter

When we're looking for a recipe, I usually turn to Epicurious for ideas. Their browse feature is great, allowing you to page through recipes with as broad or narrow criteria as you might wish, and their community is really great. Thanks to the reviews, I've only rarely had something from them that wasn't above average. (Though, on the other hand, the cooking times are also generally above average.) The last time I was on there, I was looking for something quick and easy to prepare after my run. I found three recipes, and my wife picked out the lamb chops with sun-dried tomato butter.

I don't normally like lamb as much as steak, due mostly to its gaminess, but these were great! The walnuts and tomatoes in the butter helped balance out the gaminess of the lamb, and the cayenne pepper added a subtle spiciness. Unlike a lot of epicurious recipes, this one really was quick and easy. Recipe after the jump.

Nouveau Carré

The Speakista has been doing a series on tequila drinks lately, and since I generally like his drinks, I was really excited to try one of his tequila drinks. I love tequila for the smokiness and the vegetality it brings to drinks, and I haven't had it for a while, so I was glad for the excuse. Sadly, most of his drinks required ingredients I don't have (seriously, did you need to include mezcal in 75% of them?). But I finally got a chance to try his "Nouveau Carré".

It's really a pretty good drink. It's a bit sweeter than most drinks I make, but that sweetness is balanced out nicely by the vegetal qualities of the tequila. It almost tastes like there's honey in it; I assume that's from the Benedictine. This seems like it would be a good drink to fool around with, switching the Benedictine for other liqueurs to vary the taste. And I suspect I'll do that the next time I'm doing a tequila drink. Recipe after the jump.

Bottom Shelf Booze

I always appreciate Will Gordon's Drinking the Bottom Shelf column. Not only is it handy because, despite what I try to tell myself, I can't always afford the top shelf stuff, but he's also a wonderfully funny writer. It seriously brightens up my day to see his take on things like Blue Moon Winter Abbey Ale. "We can admit that regular Blue Moon doesn't suck. Neither does the Winter Abbey Ale, but it comes close." So it was with joy I saw he had commented on my favorite bottom shelf brew, Grain Belt.

I will be very pleasantly surprised if I come across a finer CARL [Cheap American Regional Lager] than this Minnesotan beauty. It doesn't smell like much of anything, which is a good quality in a cheap yellow beer, but it sits pretty thick on the tongue for its kind. What really sets Grain Belt apart is its kinky and unique caramel cream flavor. I can totally see Prince pouring this on his loved ones. I'm going to Minnesota.

I have fond memories of living with Steve back in my graduate school days. It was only a few months, but somehow it felt longer. At one point, he went on a road trip to Missoula, and he came back with a case of Grain Belt. It's not available in Indiana, or anywhere else I've lived, so I've not had it since. But it had a unique flavor like nothing else I'd ever had. Somehow, it tasted gritty. The texture wasn't actually gritty, it was fully liquid, but somehow it tasted like it should be gritty. (For some reason, my wife doesn't think this is a recommendation.) So next time I'm in Minnesota, I'm definitely making mine a Grain Belt.

Bacon Bourbon Beef

After brunch recently, we had a large quantity of bacon left over. Since we don't usually have bacon in the morning, we figured we should use it for dinner. A little bit of searching, and we found this recipe for beef tenderloin steaks with smoky bacon bourbon sauce. It sounded great, but when we got to the store, we found that the short ribs looked fantastic, so got those instead. (My wife also really liked the apple fritter, but that's a different story.) Of course, short ribs necessitate a different cooking method from tenderloin.

What I did is take the ribs and brown them in a skillet. I put them in the slow cooker with the ingredients for the sauce, deglazed the pan with water, and added that to the slow cooker as well. I added some rosemary, because I like rosemary, and a chipotle pepper to give it a bit of heat and some additional smokiness. We left it on low for about seven hours.

It turned out great! Fork-tender, of course, but with a really good flavor to it. There was a bit of heat from the chipotle, but not much, and it added some complexity and balanced well with the bourbon. The asparagus made a really nice complement to the meat. When I do this again, which I think I will, I want to try reducing the liquid to make a sauce, as I think that would make it even better.

Italian Gastro-pub and wine bar coming to Logan Circle

Via Prince of Petworth:

Back in Nov. 2010, we learned that HR-57 was moving from 1610 14th St, NW to H Street, NE. The Logan Circle space, located next to Pearl Dive, remained vacant ever since. It was only a matter of time before someone scooped up this prime location. A recent liquor license application says it will be a:

“New full service Italian gastro-pub and wine bar with DJ or live music, no more than five piece bands. Dancing with no designated dance floor, and occasional cover change.”

Sounds good to me!