Aunt Mary in the Afternoon

One of my good (and ridiculously talented) friends has created a delicious summer (and really all year long) treat that is all natural and insanely addictive. His product, Aunt Mary's Velvet Ice, is relatively new but can be found in several Farmers Markets in the Los Angeles area. If you happen to come across this stuff, don't just get one silly 1/2 gallon. Get lots. Keep it in your freezer, give it to friends, serve it at parties. It's - quite simply - awesome.

In the event that you do manage to find this stuff (it should be available for online ordering soon), here is one example of how you can make it even more awesome for a summer evening get-together. 

Aunt Mary in the Afternoon 

(invented by J. Johnson)

2 cubes ice

2 generous scoops Aunt Mary's Lemon Mint Velvet Ice

3-5 fingers Tanqueray gin

Mix well. Serve cold. 

Taste-tester approved. :)

Black Velvet and Colcannon (St. Patrick's Day feast)

Now, I know, I usually do food recipes for the holidays, but I mean... it's St. Patrick's Day! C'mon!

So I'm switching it up a bit and starting with a drink.


Black Velvet
A Black Velvet is my favorite way to celebrate St. Patrick's baptism of the Irish. This recipe makes 2 pints.

1 pint Irish stout (Guinness, Murphy's, or Beamish - not Harp)
1 pint champagne

Chill both. Combine in a large glass jug. Stir. Pour into pre-chilled tall glasses. Drink. Repeat.

Slainte. :)

Colcannon
Now, colcannon is traditionally Halloween fare in Ireland, but it's my favorite "pub-at-home" food so here you go. :) Makes about 4 servings.

1 lb kale (or green cabbage if you can't find kale)
1/2 pt water
1 tbsp grapeseed oil
1.5 lbs potatoes, peeled and quartered
2 medium carrots, peeled and cut into chunks
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 cup skim milk
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Simmer kale (or cabbage) in the water and oil for 10 minutes.
Drain thoroughly, chop finely.
Boil potatoes and carrots in the same pot until tender.
Put milk and onion into a saucepan and cook lightly.
Drain the potatoes and carrots and mash them together. Add the onion, milk, and cooked kale to the carrot/potato mash. Mash and mix some more. :)
Serve warm. Enjoy!

[These recipes are from a book called "The Feckin' Book of Everything Irish", with alterations.]

Australia Day

Australia Day is the official national day of Australia. This holiday, celebrated annually on January 26th, commemorates the arrival of the First Fleet at Sydney Cove in 1788, the hoisting of the British flag there, and the proclamation of British sovereignty over the eastern seaboard of Australia (thanks wikipedia).


I do not know much about Australia besides the following facts: it has some of the deadliest creatures on earth, it's the home of the best shiraz in the world (thanks to all that great volcanic soil), they have kangaroos, and my longtime net pal Yuhan lives there.


So, in honor of this national holiday, I asked Yuhan (who happens to be a kitchen guru in his own right) to jot down one of his favorite recipes for me to share with you all today. Here it is: 


[translations available in brackets]

Strawberry Cheesecake

Ingredients:

500g Cream Cheese

300 ml Cream

3 Eggs

250g Plain Biscuits

125g Butter, melted

Sponge Finger Biscuits

1 Punnet Strawberries [approximately 1 pint]

Dash of Sherry (or other fortified wine)

1/4 cup water

1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice

90g Icing Sugar

4 Tsp Sugar

Optional:

Ginger Snap Biscuits

Pecans

Lots of other berries

First make a Strawberry Syrup:

Halve/Quarter some of the larger strawberries (you will use them for presentation later). Place them in a saucepan. Add Sugar, Water and Sherry. Boil for a few minutes, leave it to cool.

Crumb Biscuits for the cheesecake base (digestive biscuits are great for this).

OPTION: crush some ginger snaps and pecans and add them to the mix.

Mix the biscuit crumbs with melted mutter. Press the mixture into the base of a medium spring base tin - put it into the fridge to harden.

Whisk cream cheese, cream, lemon juice, eggs and icing sugar until smooth.

Take the strawberries out of the syrup and place them on the cake base. 

OPTION: add extra berries at this stage - blueberries work well here.

Pour half of the cheese mixture into the pan.

Dip sponge finger biscuits into the syrup and place them on top of the cake mix (they should rest on top of the cooked strawberries). 

Mix the remaining syrup with the cheese mixture for colour and pour over the sponge biscuits.

Bake the cake @ 210 degrees Celsius [410 F] for 10 minutes, and then @160 degrees Celsius [320 F] for 45 minutes.

Note: The sponge finger biscuits are not essential, but give the cake another layer of texture and support the cake structure itself. It is possible to use other biscuits (like ginger snaps), but sponge fingers will hold their shape better due to their thickness. If using a different biscuit (or not using the sponge layer at all) the cake may still be custard-like in the centre after baking. In this case, place it in the fridge to set before serving.

Serving suggestions: dust with icing sugar and garnish cake slices with fresh mint.