Kentucky Derby, Progressive Dinner ##…I’ve lost count!

We were scheduled for a Progressive Dinner when we returned from Arizona. Our neighbours John and Nancy were the main-course hosts so they chose the theme: the Kentucky Derby. This group is a hoot and everyone chose something fun to wear that was indicative of the Derby. JT and Tom wore bow ties (JT made his bow-tie from a standard tie using this video, don’t you just love Google?!). Iona and I wore crazy hats and Nancy dressed up as a jockey, she is around 5 feet tall and really looked the part. Neighbour John dressed as a stable-hand, all in denim! It was a super fun night that ended somewhere around 2am!

People at the Derby seem to wear brightly coloured clothes and the guys always seem to sport bow ties.

I was responsible for dessert and I went a little crazy and did Mint Julep three ways: Panna Cotta, Macarons and Trifle! You may notice a sablé horse on the plate too but I didn’t like the recipe so it will be ignored. The desserts went over well, the bourbon was noticeable but not overwhelming, as was the mint. I doubt I’ll make these flavours again but it was fun for the night. And yes, we were served Mint Julep’s at Tom and Iona’s as part of our starters.

My crazy hat!

Kentucky Derby, Mint Julep Three Ways

• Panna Cotta
• Macarons
• Trifle

Mint Julep Panna Cotta with White Chocolate Almond Crumb

To print the Mint Julep Panna Cotta, please click here.

Serves 6

Ingredients:

• 8 g Powdered unflavored gelatin
• 50 mL Cold water
• 700 mL Whole milk
• 75 g Sugar
• 2 g Tonka bean, finely grated
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 g small bunch Fresh mint leaves, including stems
• 1/4 tsp Real Mint extract
• 65 mL Kentucky Bourbon (to taste and optional)
• 1-2 tablespoon finely chopped mint leaves

Directions:

1. Dissolve gelatin in the cold water. Set aside. Lightly rub vessels with a non-flavoured oil, set aside.
2. Warm milk with sugar, grated tonka bean and cinnamon to 150° F (DO NOT BOIL), add mint leaves and allow to steep for 10 minutes Stir in gelatin until dissolved.
3. Strain milk mixture through a fine sieve and discard mint. Into the strained mixture, stir in the mint extract and Kentucky Bourbon a little at a time, tasting each time until the desired flavour is achieved. Cool slightly.
4. Pour into prepared vessels and chill for 2-4 hours or until set.

White Chocolate Almond Crumb

Ingredients:

1. 50 g white chocolate chips
2. 5 mL Bourbon
3. 25 g ground almonds
4. 15 g coconut flour

Directions:

1. Melt the chocolate with the bourbon on low heat, stir in the ground almonds and coconut flour, it will be rather thick.
2. Sprinkle/spread relatively thinly on a Silpat and bake for 3 minutes in a preheated 350° F oven, until golden.
3. Cool completely and crumble with a fork until relatively fine. Reserve for assembly.

Mason Jar Mint Julep Blueberry Trifle

Please click here to print this recipe.

Serves 6

The Blueberries

Ingredients:

• 300 g Blueberries
• 125 mL Bourbon

Directions:

1. Combine the blueberries and bourbon and allow to sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes or one day.
2. Strain, reserving the blueberry bourbon. Set aside until assembly.

The Sponge

Ingredients:

• 4 large eggs
• 120 g sugar
• 120 g all purpose flour
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 tbsp granulated sugar

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 350° F. Line a 23 cm x 33 cm (9″ x 13″) cake pan or jelly roll pan with parchment paper, carefully folding the corners. Spray with non-stick cooking spray.
2. Separate the eggs into two medium bowls. Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form, but not dry. Set aside.
3. Beat the egg yolks with the sugar until pale and creamy and falls in a thick ribbon.
4. Fold in 1/3 of the egg whites into the pale egg yolk mixture.
5. Sift about 1/3 of the flour into the egg yolk mixture, then alternate folding in with the egg whites being careful not to deflate the batter.
6. Once all of the egg whites and flour have been folded in, the mixture will be thick. Pour carefully into your prepared baking pan and spread out evenly. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until your cake tester comes out clean.
7. Lift the cake out of the pan using the parchment edges and allow to cool completely.
8. Measure your Mason jar diameter and select a round cookie cutter of similar size. Cut 12 rounds for the trifle and set aside.

Stabilized Mint Julep Whipping Cream

Ingredients:

• 3 g unflavoured gelatin
• 15 mL Cold water
• 15 mL Bourbon
• 1 mL mint extract
• 125 mL whipping cream,
• 8 g icing sugar
• 2 g freshly chopped mint, as garnish

Directions:

1. Dissolve the gelatin in the cold water, mix in the bourbon and mint extract, set aside.
2. Whip the cream with the icing sugar. Add a bit of the whipped cream to the gelatin mixture and whisk well to combine. Strain this mixture if it’s lumpy. As you are whipping the cream, add the gelatin mixture and whip until well-combined.

Assembly of the Mason Jar Mint Julep Blueberry Trifle

1. Layer one sponge round into the bottom of each mason jar, sprinkle about 5 mL to 10 mL of the reserved blueberry bourbon onto each sponge in the mason jar. Add about 15 blueberries on top of the sponge in each jar. Using a pipping bag, trop the blueberry layer with the stabilized whipped cream. Sprinkle lightly with the chopped mint garnish.
2. Layer the second sponge on top of the whipped cream, sprinkle about 5 mL to 10 mL of the remainder of the reserved blueberry bourbon onto each sponge in the mason jar. Top with the whipped cream and finish with about 12-15 blueberries in each jar. Sprinkle with the remaining mint garnish. Tightly close lid and refrigerate until serving.

Mint Julep Macarons

Makes about 10 macarons (four ;-)for the cook!).

To print this recipe, please click here.

Ingredients:

• 35 g blanched, finely ground almond meal or flour
• 58 g icing sugar
• 1 large egg white, room temperature
• 25 g granulated sugar
• A pinch of gel food colouring (I used green)

Directions:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 350° F. Line your baking sheet with parchment with circle-round templates beneath it (this is a more detailed account of this recipe).
2. Combine the almond meal with the icing sugar and sift a few times, discard or reserve the larger bits for something else.
3. In the small bowl of your stand mixer, whisk the granulated sugar and egg white together by hand and then beat on #4 for 2 minutes, #6 for 2 minutes.
4. Add the pinch of food colouring now and beat for a final two minutes on #8.
5. Pipe onto the prepared parchment onto the circle-rounds. Tap the baking sheet on the counter to remove any air bubbles and bake for 13 minutes or until feet have developed but the cookie does NOT brown. Cool on parchment and remove carefully. Fill with Mint Julep Buttercream (recipe below).
6. Unfilled cookies may be kept in the freezer for up to one month in an air-tight container.

Mint Julep Buttercream

Ingredients:

• 57 g butter (softened)
• 200 g icing sugar
• 2.5 mL mint extract
• 25 mL bourbon
• 2.5 mL brandy
• Gel food colouring of choice

Directions:

1. Combine softened butter with the icing sugar, mint extract, bourbon and brandy and beat until extremely light and fluffy.
2. I wanted this buttercream to resemble the colour of bourbon so I coloured it with a little brown, red and yellow gel colouring.
3. Fill a piping bag with the buttercream and fill each half cookie carefully. Top with the second half of the cookie. Store on its side in an air-tight container in the fridge. Cookies remain fresh for up to one week. Allow to come to room temperature before serving, but make sure the room isn’t too warm otherwise the buttercream will melt.

Mint Julep Four Ways Plating

1. Sprinkle the white chocolate crumb on one side of the plate. Top with the mint julep pannacotta and garnish with small mint leaves.
2. Add the macaron on its side and finish with the uncovered trifle. Serve with a shot of bourbon, or pass like we did (I just thought it looked nice for the photo).

The horse cookie was a sablée that did not work out as well as I had hoped. Recipe will not be forthcoming. Yes, I bought a horse cookie cutter!

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Silky, Creamy Orange Gelato

Recently, we spent the weekend in Niagara-on-the-Lake with dear friends. It’s not the first time we been to NOTL, but it’s the first time we spent a summer weekend there. It’s usually ridiculously expensive because it is tourist season but we found some lovely rooms above an Irish pub that’s one street away from the beaten path. The rooms are reasonably priced, a good size AND they give you two $25 gift cards for the bar! What a deal! The humidity had broken and the temperatures were manageable, it really was a lovely weekend. We ate a picnic lunch and then rented bikes for an hour or so along the bike path along side the Niagara parkway. If you’re ever down this way, I urge you to take a moment and enjoy the ride! Although I would strongly recommend you buy your picnic lunch elsewhere as the grocery store in town is ridiculously expensive!

I wish I had taken some of this silky, creamy orange gelato as it would have made a refreshing treat after the sunny ride!

For the original recipe, please click here.

This recipe makes about 500 mL gelato.

Ingredients:

• 200 mL fresh orange juice (from about 3 good-sized oranges)
• 45 mL fresh lemon juice
• 200 g granulated sugar
• 500 mL milk
• 30 g skim milk powder
• Pinch of salt

Directions:

1. Combine everything in a blender and blend until smooth.
2. Pour into your frozen ice cream maker pot and turn on. Run as per manufacturer’s instructions (mine took about 35 minutes).

We are having a heat wave right now, so it’s a bit of a challenge keeping the gelato frozen. Yep, it’s that hot!

I also made lemon gelato which turned out exceptionally well, but, I forgot to take a photo because we took it to friends for dessert! I would have to say that the lemon was my personal favourite.

Dreamy, Creamy Lemon Gelato

This recipe makes about 500 mL gelato

Ingredients:

• 1 cup fresh Lemon Juice (from about 5 good-sized lemons)
• zest of 1 lemon, very fine
• 200 g granulated sugar
• 250 mL skim milk
• 250 mL heavy cream
• 10 g skim milk powder
• Pinch of salt

Directions:

1. Combine everything in a blender and blend until smooth.
2. Pour into your frozen ice cream maker pot and turn on. Mine took about 35 minutes to a very creamy consistency, it will not freeze rock hard.

Notes:

• The lemon gelato was a lot creamier than the orange version because of the 35% cream, and although I prefer less rich things, I think this is worth the splurge.
• The lemon gelato did not freeze solid, whereas the orange did so I had to leave it out for a few minutes to serve.
• I did add orange zest into the orange gelato but found it made it a touch bitter, so I adjusted the recipe. If you like bitter, try 5 g or less.

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Moscow Muled Ginger Beer

It’s quite funny how the universe works, isn’t it? Case in point, we were down in Arizona in March-April and my dear friend Theresa decided to introduce me to a Moscow Mule, a refreshing alcoholic bevy served in a classic copper mug. I had never had one before. It is made with ginger beer and vodka and lime juice, and it is very tasty and refreshing. Fast forward a couple of months, I’m minding my own business and to my surprise, I receive an unsolicited email from a Canadian company out west who imports and sells their very own, wait for it…Moscow Mule mugs! What a coincidence indeed! We spoke on the telephone and I suggested that I could do a post for them, focussing on a recipe that would be served in said mug. Of course, they sent me a couple of their mugs so I can post pics of the recipe in them. The mugs are beautifully hand-hammered by an artisan group in India, but most importantly, they are lined with nickel lining. Apparently, using mugs without nickel can cause a series of serious health issues (so if you have such mugs, check to make sure they have a non-reactive lining and you are not drinking directly from a copper mug). This blog post talks about the importance of nickel lining.

The Moscow Muled mugs are reasonably priced at $16.60 Canadian ($12.50 US) each and would make great hostess gifts or stocking stuffers during the holidays.

I added a couple of cute tea towels, but another great idea would be a gingerbeer kit, complete with vodka, gingerbeer and limes!

Moscow Mules were invented circa 1941 in LA in a British pub called Cock ‘n’ Bull by their head bartender, Wes Price. The story is quite interesting, so if you wish, you may read about it here.

Take the worry out of the mug, Moscow Muled mugs are made with “100% pure high-grade and food-safe copper with an inner layer of high-grade nickel.”* Plus they look awesome and will keep your bevy cool on hot summer nights! I knew I wanted to make the Authentic Ginger Beer recipe on their website, it’s relatively easy (just a bit of time) and you probably already have all of the ingredients at home. The only thing I did to this tasty recipe is half it (there are only two of us and it still made around 4 litres) and I converted it to weights instead of volumes.

Raise a Moscow Muled mug with this tasty and refreshing drink, Cheers guys.

I was gifted with two Moscow Muled Mugs for this post, the opinions listed are my own.

*moscowmuled.com

I made new zippered covers for the sectional in the background, so happy with the way they turned out.

Makes about 4 L of ginger beer.

For the original recipe, please click here.

Ingredients, Step 1 Ginger Bug:

• 250 mL water
• 15 g sugar
• 13 g freshly grated ginger

Directions:

1. Combine the freshly grated ginger with the sugar and water in a glass jar.
2. Stir until sugar has entirely dissolved with a non-reactive spoon, like a wooden spoon or silicone spatula.
3. With a clean tea-towel, cover the glass jar and secure it with rubber bands and allow to sit at room temperature for a total of 5 to 7 days.
4. During these 5-7 days, every day, add another 13 g of freshly grated ginger and 15 g of sugar and stir until dissolved. Cover the glass jar with a towel or cloth, and secure it with rubber bands.
5. The mixture will form bubbles around 5-7 days and at 7 days, it should smell sharp with a strong yeast aroma.

Ingredients, Step 2 Ginger Beer:

• 85 g ginger root, peeled and grated
• 3.5 L of filtered water
• 2 g of sea salt
• 300 g sugar (white or brown, I used white because I wanted a clear ginger beer)
• 42 mL lemon juice
• 250 mL of ginger bug

Directions:

1. on the 5th or 7th day, combine 2 L of water, ginger, sugar and salt in a large non-reactive pot, bring to a boil then allow it to simmer for 5 minutes, stirring periodically to steep the ginger.
2. Remove from the heat and add the remaining water. Allow this liquid to cool completely. Once cool, use a very fine sieve to strain the ginger to make a clear liquid. Pour the ginger bug into the mixture (make sure that it is room temperature, about 23° C or 74° F, as you will kill the ginger bug if it is hot).
3. Add the lemon juice and stir well.
4. Pour into sterilized bottles, making sure they are only about 2/3 full because this ginger beer will actually ferment and produce carbon dioxide.
5. Store bottles in a warm, dark place away from light and allow it to ferment for about 10 days. Carefully loosen caps from time to time to relieve the pressure from fermentation (I did this once per day).
6. Refrigerate the ginger beer when it has reached your preferred level of sweetness. Refrigeration causes the fermentation to stall significantly. The longer the fermentation, the less sweet your ginger beer will be. We fermented our lot for 10 days and it produced a gingery, slightly carbonated beer that wasn’t as sweet as I thought it would be.

I know there is no orange in the Moscow Mule recipe, I just wanted a hit of colour.

Notes:

• I used recycled screw cap wine bottles, properly washed, rinsed and sanitized.
• Make sure you tighten the screw caps well so the ginger beer can ferment. Also, make sure you release the CO2 every day, by opening the bottles and allowing them to exhale, so the bottles don’t explode.
• Even after the ginger beer has fermented and is resting in the refrigerator, it contains a lot of effervescence, so be careful. Open bottles over the sink. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
• I suspect there is some alcohol in the ginger beer I made, but I don’t know for certain.

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Icelandic Yogurt Custard Tart

I was instantly smitten with my dear friend Lorraine’s Fig and Sour Cream Custard Tart, the gorgeous figs and stone fruit offset by the luscious golden custard, I knew I had to make it right away. Fortunately, my best friend from university, Kimberley and her husband were coming for brunch a few days after I saw the post so (after I checked that she was OK with spelt flour) I made this romantic tart! Thank you, Lorraine, for the inspiration ❤️♥️!

I always like to reduce the fat as much as possible so I used Sklar, the incredibly thick Icelandic yogurt instead of full-fat sour cream. It has a similar piquant flavour and it does not have pectin to thicken it. It is high in protein, fat-free and lactose-free so it’s a win/win.

Icelandic Yogurt Custard Tart

Makes 1 23 cm tart (about 8 slices)

For the original recipe, please click here.

To print this recipe, please click here.

Ingredients for the tart base:

• 100 g unsalted butter
• 180 g spelt flour
• 15 g sugar
• 2 g salt
• 60-90 mL cold water

Ingredients for the Icelandic Yogurt Custard:

• 3 eggs, room temperature
• 1 egg yolk (use part of this yolk for the crust)
• 300 g plain Icelandic yogurt (I used this brand)
• 170 g caster sugar
• 15 mL  lemon juice
• 5 mL vanilla

Directions:

1. Combine all of the tart base ingredients except the water in the bowl of your food processor. Pulse until it resembles coarse sand. Slowly add the cold water until the dough comes together. Create a disk and wrap in plastic wrap and rest for 1 hour, or if your kitchen is warm, in the fridge for 30 minutes.
2. Pre-heat the oven to 400° F.
3. Roll out the dough to about 2 mm thickness and press into a 23 cm tart pan. Decorate with remaining dough or just leave plain. I decorated with the remaining dough and still had enough to make two much smaller, personalized tarts.
4. Bake the tart shells for 20 minutes then reduce the oven temperature to 250° F. Wrap the bottom of the tart pans in foil paper and set into a roasting pan with 4 cm sides.
5. Whisk the custard ingredients together until smooth.
6. Pour the custard mixture into each shell. Carefully pour enough water into the roasting pan to come up about 1-1.5 cm on the side and bake for an additional 30 minutes or until set. If the edges are browning too quickly, lay pieces of foil paper around the perimeter.
7. Allow to cool and decorate with figs, sugar prunes, kiwi fruit and blueberries.

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Hot Cross-less Buns

You caught me: I made hot cross buns at Easter while we were visiting our friends in Arizona but sadly their pantry did not contain icing sugar, so I was forced to skip the “cross” on the buns. They were exceptionally tasty (even without the icing cross), flavoured with warming spices and some rum-soaked currents.

For the original recipe, please click here.

To print this recipe, please click here.

This recipe makes 12 large, soft, pillowy buns.

Ingredients:

• 125 mL rum
• 100 g dried currants
• 375 mL milk, room temperature
• 2 large eggs, plus 1 egg yolk (save the white for the topping)
• 2 teaspoons instant yeast
• 53 g light brown sugar
• 550-600 g Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves or allspice
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1 3/4 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 85 g butter, room temperature
• 15 mL milk

Directions:

1. Soak the currents in the rum for about 20 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, combine the milk, eggs, yeast, brown sugar and whisk to combine. In the large bowl of your stand mixer, combine the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and baking powder, whisk to combine.
3. Add the softened butter to the flour mixture and mix until the butter is well combined (you may also do this with your fingers). Add the liquid ingredients to the flour mixture and beat until a soft dough has formed (if it is too soft, add a bit more flour to it and beat). Meanwhile, strain the currents and add them to the dough and beat well. This is a very soft and sticky dough.
4. Place in a well-greased bowl and allow to proof for 1 hour or until doubled in size.
5. Prepare a large, high sided baking pan by buttering the base and all sides.
6. When the dough has doubled in size, make about 112 g balls out of them. Place in the prepared pan and allow to rest with a clean cloth covering it for 1 hour.
7. Pre-heat the oven to 375° F.
8. Combine the left-over egg white with 15 mL milk and beat well. Brush the tops of the rolls with the mixture. Bake for 20 minutes or until the internal temperature reads 190° F. Allow to cool slightly before serving.

Fresh out of the oven, these pillowy-soft buns are fragrant and delicious.

Notes:

• The original recipe called for 50% more currents but I felt it was a little too much so I reduced it.
• My dough was quite soft and sticky with the originally called-for flour, so I added a bit more flour.
• The original recipe wanted the leftover rum to be incorporated into the dough, but my dough was already too soft and sticky so I skipped it.
• This tip from King Arthur flour sounds quite interesting and I will try it next time I make this tasty recipe:
  “Want to make these buns a day or so ahead of time? Try the tangzhong technique, a Japanese method for increasing the softness and shelf life of yeast rolls. Begin by measuring out the flour and milk you’ll be using in the recipe. Now take 3 tablespoons of the measured flour and 1/2 cup of the measured milk; put them in a saucepan set over medium-high heat. Cook the mixture, whisking constantly, until it thickens and forms a thick slurry; this will take about 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 minutes. Transfer the cooked mixture to a bowl, let it cool to lukewarm, then combine it with the remaining flour, milk, and other dough ingredients. Proceed with the recipe as directed. Well-wrapped and stored at room temperature, your finished hot cross buns should stay soft and fresh for several days.”

Would you care to try one?

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