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November Team N

TYKUSOJUTy

So we didn't really mean to get "diet" liquor. We were looking for Ichiku, served at Keichii in Denton, TX and couldn't find it at Paradise or Goody Goody so we came home with this. Not as good as Ichiku, but not bad either...

Ty Ku Soju
1/2 the Calories and Twice the Taste of Vodka. Asia's best kept secret, Soju (also known as Shochu) is the #1 distilled spirit in the world. TY KU Soju updates this ancient spirit by producing an unbelievably smooth beverage that is lower in calories* and more versatile than vodka. Its superiority is the result of expert small batch distillation & cold filtration, utilizing 100% premium barley. TY KU Soju is crafted from the finest all natural ingredients with no additives, no preservatives and no sweeteners. TY KU Soju is best sipped chilled and enhances the natural flavors of fresh fruits and juices without the need of added sugar, creating better balanced, better tasting and lower calorie* premium cocktails.

and we paired it with a recipe a friend suggested a few ago

http://farmhousetable.wordpress.com/2010/11/18/asian-pork-meatballs-with-braised-winter-greens/

(the photo is from the website)

Team N September

Blueberry, Basil and Goat Cheese Hand Pies

Ingredients

For Thomas Keller's Buttery Pastry Shell
(via Smitten Kitchen)

2 cups (250 g) all purpose flour, divided + extra for dusting
1 tsp kosher salt
1 cup (2 sticks / 225 grams) cold unsalted butter, cut into small dice
1/4 cup (60 ml) ice cold water

For Filling

1 pint (about 2 cups) blueberries
1/4 cup goat cheese
1/4 cup buttermilk
3 Tbsp honey (or to taste)
1 Tbsp finely chopped fresh basil
small pinch of salt
about 2 Tbsp flour to thicken

For Assembly

1 egg
1 Tbsp whole milk
raw sugar, for sprinkling

Cooking Directions

Prepare pastry crust. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix 1 cup of the flour with all of the salt. Then, with the machine on low speed, add the bits of butter, a handful at a time, until the butter is completely incorperated. Add the remaining flour until just blended, then the cold water until thoroughly incorporated. Dump dough onto a piece of plastic wrap, divide it equally in two, and form each piece of dough into a flat, round disc. Wrap them with the plastic and chill for at least one hour and up to two days. It can also be frozen for up to three months.

Heat oven to 400° F.

Prepare filling. Mix blueberries with all of the ingredients except the flour. Sprinkle flour gradually over top and mix well until desired consistency is reached and mixture is smooth. Cover and chill while you roll out the pastry.

Generously flour your work surface. Place one chilled, unwrapped dough on the flour and flour the top of the dough. Keep the other disk refrigerated while you work. Gently roll your dough out from the center until about 1/8 inch thick. Re-flour your surface as needed, continually lifting and rotating your dough to make sure no parts are sticking. If the dough becomes difficult to work with at any point, chill for a few minutes in the freezer on a baking sheet before continuing.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Cut an even number of circles in desired size using a floured biscuit cutter or the base of a small bowl. (I made 4" pies using the base of a rice bowl.) Lay circles on parchment lined baking sheet. Lightly beat egg with milk for wash in a small bowl.

Top half the circles with a small amount of filling, brush edged with egg wash, top with another round, and seal edges by crimping with a fork. Brush top with wash, sprinkle with raw sugar, and cut to vent. When completed place in the refrigerator to chill and repeat with other disc of dough and remaining filling.

When second sheet of pies are formed, put in fridge and remove the first sheet. Bake for the first batch for 20 minutes or until golden brown on top and bottom. Repeat with second batch, allowing all pies to cool on a rack.

and the link to give credit where credit is due:
http://localmilk.blogspot.com/2012/07/blueberry-basil-and-goat-cheese-hand.html

Served with Francis Ford Coppola Director's Pinot Noir

Team N's August Contribution

Caribbean Food and Drink you would find on a Cruise Ship

Mangospacho
we halfed the recipe and served 12pp

8 cups (1kg) peeled and finely diced mango (about 12 mango)

1 cup (250ml) water

1 cup (250ml) ginger ale

1/2 cup (125 ml) rice wine vinegar

1/2 cup (125 ml) light olive oil

1 tablespoon granulated sugar

salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

2 cucumbers, peeled, seeded and finely diced

1/2 cup (70 g) finely diced red onions

3/4 cup (100g) chopped fresh cilantro

1. In a blender or food processor, combine half the mango with the water, ginger ale, vinegar, oil and sugar. Puree until smooth. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer the soup to a noncreative bowl. Cover and refrigerate until cold (about 4 hours)

2. In another noncreative bow, combine remaining 4 cups (560g) mango, cucumber, red onion and 1/2 cup (70 g) cilantro. Cover and refrigerate until cold.

3. To serve divide the cucumber mixture among chilled soup bowls that are each sitting in a bowl of crushed ice. Ladle the soup over the cucumber mixture and sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 (35 g) cilantro. Serve immediately.

Courtesy of Royal Caribbean Cruise Line

Caribbean Lemonade

fresh squeezed Lemon

All Spice and candied ginger SImple Syrup

Boil sugar, water, all spice and candied ginger until boiling. Remove from heat and

let sit for one hour

Add water to taste

Serve with a shot of Bacardi Limon

Courtesy of NIcole Probst

Team N's Combo Contribution

July's alcohol that started from grapes from South America or Australia because we rolled a wild card Tasting

We decided to marry both the South American and Australian region with our Appetizer and Alcohol pairing.
For the booze we served Barefoot Dry Sparkling Wine from Australia with a splash of El Presidente Brandy from Mexico. For food we served a Kiwi Salsa with Cinnamon Tortilla Chips.

Kiwi Salsa

served 10

Ingredients

2 mangos diced
4 kiwi, peeled and diced
3 nectarines, diced
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced
2 tablespoon lime juice
3 green onion, chopped
4 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1 pinch salt

Directions

Combine everything into a bowll; gently stir to combine.

Team N June Tasting

We infused McClelland's single malt lowland Scotch Whisky with Pistachios and served it alongside Pavlova. A meringue dessert similar to Pavlova was already popular in Europe but when Pavlova toured Australia and New Zealand this particular recipe came about and was named after the graceful ballerina. I can't believe we forgot to take a picture, Nathan did such a good job. It was as tasty as it was beautiful!

Corey Byrne's Mum's Pavlova Recipe

5 Egg Whites
1 1/2 Cups of superfine Sugar
1 Tsp. White Vinegar
1 Tsp. Vanilla Extract
1 1/2 Cups Whipped Cream
1 1/2 Cups Raspberries
4 Passion Fruit

Yield: 4 servings

Preparation

Whisk Egg Whites to a Soft Peak. Slowly add Sugar and Continue Whisking . Whisk in Vinegar and Vanilla.

lace on a Greased Plate/Tray and Bake for 2 1/2 hours on 220 degrees Fahrenheit .

When time is finished leave Pavlova in oven to cool.

Push in the Top of the Pavlova. Fill in the hole with Whipped Cream. Top with raspberries and passion fruit

The Show Malbec Wine
The Show Wine Labels
The Hatch Show Print
With so many Malbecs on the table at the Ancient Ovens Tasting Team N thought we would let you know why we picked ours.
The Show Wines are certainly tasty but really it's all about the label. At a couple of Student Design Conventions I went to, I had the pleasure of hearing a designer from Hatch Show Print talk about their print shop. In the heart of Nashville Hatch Show Print creates infamous concert posters, political posters and anything else you can think of. All of their work is printed on presses from the 19th century and all of the type plates they use are original to those presses. A pretty amazing shop that still makes history with its work.

-Nico

Team N's Contribution to Beer & the Western Hemisphere

We decided on a green salad with beer dressing.

http://recipes.rodale.com/Recipe/arugula-salad-with-sweet-and-sour-beer-dressing.aspx

And Little Kings Cream Ale brewed in Cincinatti and comes in 8 packs.

Currently available at Denton's own Midway Mart.

Oh! And a map!!!

About Light Beer

Noun 1. light beer - lager with reduced alcohol content

lager beer, lager - a general term for beer made with bottom fermenting yeast (usually by decoction mashing); originally it was brewed in March or April and matured until September

Dictionary definition

"Watering down" and reducing carbohydrates in the mash are used to cut calories, alone or in combination. Some companies do indeed simply dilute their beer, which reduces the calories but also the taste and alcohol content. Others add the enzyme alpha amylase, which converts most of the dextrins (which are carbohydrates responsible for much of the beer''s aroma and flavor) to alcohol, allowing you to use a lower-carb mash and make a beer with less carbohydrates but the same amount of alcohol. Or you can add glucose in the place of some of the barley malt (glucose is more easily fully converted to alcohol than the malt), which also bumps up the alcohol content while letting you use less carbs.

Most light beers, however, are made from a process made possible in 1964 with the commercial introduction of amyloglucosidase. This enzyme makes all the dextrins fermentable, unlike alpha amylase, which only affects some. All the starch in a beer can then be converted to alcohol, producing a slightly more alcoholic beer (about 1% higher than standard beer). In addition, because there are no dextrins left, the alcohol is absorbed more rapidly into the bloodstream. Tasteless beer that gets you drunk pronto? Sounds like a frat boy's dream. However, not wanting their customers to get blindsided by an unexpectedly potent drink, and perhaps realizing they can produce the beer less expensively with the same intoxicating effect of regular beer, brewers generally add water to adjust the alcohol content to slightly below that of a regular beer. There you have it--a weak-flavored, low calorie (from the loss of dextrins and subsequent dilution) beer with the same "kick" as regular beer.

Source http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1809/is-light-beer-made-by-watering-it-down

Everybody ready for Saturday?