The Lush Chef

I'm a huge fan of HBO's "Boardwalk Empire," because...well, why wouldn't I be?  I just love the representation of that time period, and of course, the cocktail culture.  Even though it was Prohibition, and nary a libation could be found in plain sight, it forced those first bartenders to be rather creative.  If you weren't shaking things up at a speakeasy or making gin in your bathtub, you were probably overseas fashioning cocktails for the elite in Paris, London and Tokyo.  I was inspired by this past Sunday's premiere to make a libation representing that time.  The Scofflaw was one of those classic cocktails created in 1924 during Prohibition at the legendary Harry's Bar in Paris — a haven for American expats.  The drink can be made with bourbon or American rye whiskey.  I chose Templeton's Rye Whiskey, because of it's tie to the era, and used my favorite dry vermouth, Dolin's.

The term "scofflaw" was also coined during that year.  There was a nationwide contest hosted by The Boston Herald to come up with a word that represented mocking or ridiculing the Volstead Act, the incredibly clunky law set in place to enforce Prohibition.  There were two separate entrants that came up with the word "scofflaw," and they split a $200 prize.  Now, the term is used to mean anyone who displays disdain for laws that are basically difficult to enforce — kind of like what we're experiencing with the illegality of marijuana right now.
Scofflaw
Ingredients:

• 2 oz bourbon or rye whiskey (I used Templeton's Rye)
• 1 oz dry vermouth (I used Dolin's)
• 1/2 oz grenadine (I used Rose's - the classic)
• 1/4 oz lemon juice
• 2 dashes orange bitters (I used Fee Brothers West Indian Orange)

- In a shaker filled with ice, add all of the ingredients and shake.
- Strain into a chilled coupe glass.

Libations used: 1/4 cup tequila...
Libations left over: How about making a Blood Orange & Thyme Paloma to go with this ceviche...
The heat wave has continued in LA, and it just really discourages me from cooking anything, but I've been the fortunate beneficiary of a lot of fresh fish from a friend.  He's been catching boatloads this past summer off the coast of Alaska, Mexico and California and sharing his catches with his friends.  A few weeks ago, I used some of his fresh fish for this Miso-Glazed Halibut, so this week, it was time to make use of all the Yellowtail I had on hand. This ceviche from AllRecipes, was a perfect end-of-summer recipe with plenty of mango and tequila, and since I'm a sucker for avocado, I added some of that in there too!  You can't go wrong with a quick ceviche for parties, and you certainly won't be slaving away at the stove.  Serve this with tortilla chips, or devour it on it's own.  Either way, you'll be satisfied and hogging the whole bowl.

Yellowtail, Mango & Avocado Ceviche - serves 6
Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 lbs of skinless, boneless yellowtail (or halibut), cut into 1/2-inch cubes.
• 1/3 cup fresh-squeezed lime juice
• 1/4 cup fresh-squeezed lemon juice
• 1/4 cup tequila (I used Patrón Silver)
• 3 jalapeños, seeded and minced (use 1 or 2 if you can't handle the heat, but the citrus really mellows it out)
• 2 mangos, peeled, seeded and diced into 1/2-inch cubes, reserving half for the inital ceviche preparation
• 1 green bell pepper, seeded and finely chopped
• 1/2 cup finely chopped sweet onion
• 1/2 cup finely chopped red onion
• 2 avocados, chopped in 1/2-inch cubes
• 1/2 bunch fresh cilantro, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley, finely chopped
• 1 tsp salt, to taste

- In a non-reactive bowl (i.e. glass, plastic, ceramic), combine the yellowtail, lime and lemon juices, tequila, jalapeño, and 1/2 of the chopped mango.
- Cover and refrigerate for 1 1/2 hours.
- Add the green pepper, sweet and red onions and mix well.
- Cover and refrigerate for another 30 minutes.
- Gently fold in the rest of the mango, avocado, cilantro and parsley.
- Season with salt, to taste, before serving.

These hot summer nights make me crave Negronis and Aperol Spritzs.  For some reason, when it's too hot to move, I want Campari or Aperol, those bitter and refreshing Italian liqueurs in the amaro family.  I was making this Chicken, Black Olives & Lemon Spaghetti earlier this week, and I had about a whole bottle of Chardonnay left over. The Bicicletta Cocktail is like a twist on an Aperol Spritz and is a very popular Italian cocktail served as an aperitivo.  Hat tip to Bon Appetit for the recipe.  I'd recommend making this with a Pinot Grigio instead to stick with the Italian theme — I may be a lush, but I'm only going to open so many bottles of wine, kids.

This drink is so easy to stir up and is sure to cool you down.  So sit back, relax with a giant plate of pasta, Netflix Vittorio De Sica's neo-realistic classic Ladri di Biciclette (The Bicycle Thief) and pretend you're in Italy...

Bicicletta Cocktail
Ingredients:

• Ice Cubes
• 2 oz Campari
• 1 1/2 oz dry white wine (I recommend a Pinot Grigio)
• 1/2 oz club soda
• Lemon slice, for garnish

- Fill a wine glass with ice.
- Add the Campari, white wine and soda and stir, stir, stir.
- Garnish with a lemon slice.

Libations used: 1/3 cup dry white wine...
Libations left over: Pretty much the whole bottle, so serve with dinner...
It's been so hot these past couple of weeks, so I really haven't felt like turning on the stove.  I was just craving pasta though, so I decided to suck it up and bust out the pots and pans for a little bit.  It's good to sweat it out every once in a while, right?  This Chicken, Black Olives & Lemon Spaghetti from Food52 was quick and relatively light.  Instead of turning on the oven and roasting a chicken, I cheated a little and bought one of those whole roasted chickens at the grocery store — it's a great way to speed up the prep for this dinner in no time, and make it a quick, weeknight meal.  I actually ended up using all of the chicken, a whole jar of black, pitted olives and tripled the amount of lemon zest and parsley.  I also upped the amount of liquid used for the broth, as I felt like 16 ounces of pasta called for a little more than the original recipe called for.  For the wine, I used Toasted Head Chardonnay, one of my go-to cheap whites.  Turning on the heat was worth it, as I downed this pasta in no time.

Chicken, Black Olives & Lemon Spaghetti - Serves 4-6
Ingredients:

• 5 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
• 1/3 cup dry white wine (I used Toasted Head Chardonnay)
• 3 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 2 to 3 Tbs defatted pan juices from roasting chicken (there was just enough in the container from the grocery store!)
• Salt & freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 1 lb spaghetti
• 1 jar pitted whole black olives
• 1 small whole roasted chicken, cut into bite-size pieces
• 3 tsps lemon zest
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
• 3 Tbs parsley, minced
• Parmesan cheese

- While your pasta pot full of salted water is heating up on the stove, place a sauté pan over medium heat.
- Add a couple glugs of olive oil and then add the garlic.
- Let the garlic gently cook until it just begins to turn golden (do not let it get browned).
- Add the red pepper flakes and stir.
- Add the white wine and let the alcohol burn off for a few seconds.
- Add the lemon juice, stock and pan juices.
- Bring the mixture to a boil, and season with salt and pepper, tasting to adjust the seasonings.
- Lower the heat to a simmer and let the mixture reduce by a third.
- Remove the pan from the heat if the sauce finishes before the pasta.  You can reheat before adding to the pasta.
- After the pasta is cooked, reserve about a cup of the pasta water before draining.
- Add the pasta back to the pot, and add the chicken, olives and lemon zest.
- Toss, and add some more salt and pepper, to taste.
- If the pasta is too dry, add some pasta water so there's a bit of broth.
- Add the parsley and toss some more.
- Garnish with plenty of Parmesan cheese.

One of my favorite things about living in Santa Monica are all the free outdoor activities that take place.  In the summer, they host the Twilight Concert Series on the pier, and always gather an eclectic and amazing group of musicians.  While there's some lovely dancing and rocking out on the pier, my friends and I prefer the massive picnic/illicit wine drinking situation on the beach.  This week is going to be very New Orleans-inspired with Trombone Shorty and the Dustbowl Revival, and that got me craving a Sazerac...so there might be some cocktail shaking in the sand...

It's one of America's oldest cocktails and is a New Orleans variation on an Old Fashioned.  The name came from the brand of cognac that was originally used in this classic libation - Sazerac de Forge et Fils - and was sold at the Merchants Exchange in the 1850s.  A gent named Aaron Bird took the space over and changed its name to the Sazerac House and served a cocktail using that namesake cognac, absinthe and some bitters from a local druggist down the street - a Mr. Antoine Amedie Peychaud.  In the 1870s, the cognac got switched out for rye whiskey because of an epidemic that devastated France's grape crop.  When absinthe was banned in the US in 1912, it was replaced with other anise-flavored liqueurs, such as New Orleans' very own Herbsaint.  The history and prevalence of this drink is so tied to the city, that a bill was actually passed in the Louisiana State Senate in 2008 to make it the official drink of New Orleans.  It's such a simple drink to make, and everyone should really have this American classic in their bartending arsenal.  Now time to whip up a batch of these for the beach!

Sazerac
Ingredients:

• 1 tsp absinthe (I used Pernod) or Herbsaint liqueuer
• 2 oz rye whiskey (I used Templeton) or cognac
• 1/2 oz simple syrup
• 2-3 dashes Peychaud's bitters
• Lemon peel

- "Rinse" a chilled coupe or Old-Fashioned glass with the absinthe by rolling it around the inside of the glass and evenly coating.
- Shake out the excess liqueur.
- In a mixing glass filled with ice, add the whiskey, simple syrup and bitters.
- Shake and strain into the prepared cocktail glass.
- Take a peel of lemon and squeeze over the drink to release the essential oils and drop in the glass.

You all know how I love my Negronis, and I'm always looking for fun variations.  Thanks to Liquor.com, they introduced me to the Tegroni, which swaps out the gin and adds in the tequila.  It's a fun, summer twist on a traditional drink.  For the sweet vermouth, I've been a big fan of Punt e Mes lately.  It's one of the more bitter vermouths out there, which is perhaps why I like it so much!  The taste is described by many as halfway between a sweeter Antica Formula and the bitter Campari.  Serve this cocktail up with a grapefruit twist and a giant bowl of guacamole...at least that's what I'll be doing for the rest of the summer and in to early fall.

Tegroni
Ingredients:

• 1 oz silver tequila (I used Patrón)
• 1 oz Campari
• 1 oz Punt e Mes or your favorite sweet vermouth
• Grapefruit peel or twist, for garnish

- In a mixing glass filled with the ice, add the tequila, Campari and sweet vermouth and stir.
- Strain into a chilled coupe glass and garnish with a grapefruit peel.

Libations used: Splash of sherry...
Libations left over: Basically the whole bottle, so pour yourself a little glass to celebrate how easy making this recipe was...
I had just come back from a lovely weekend celebrating a friend's wedding in Lake Tahoe, so I was far too tired to cook anything.  I knew later in the week I'd be going to a picnic at the Santa Monica Pier for one of their free summer concerts on the beach, so I wanted to bring something cheesy and delicious.  The Kitchn's recipe for Garlic & Herb-Marinated Mozzarella is full of fresh herb goodness, as well as a splash of sherry.  I used a mixture of fresh basil, oregano and thyme and added a bit more than 2 tablespoons.  Rather than use a cheap cooking sherry, I purchased a bottle of Tio Pepe Fino Sherry, which is a nicer, mid-range brand and better for sipping.  You can use either bocconcini or ciliegine mozzarella, but I prefer the small ciliegine as they're easier to share with large groups.  The Kitchn also recommends trying this recipe with other cheeses such as feta or goat cheese.  I plan on serving these tasty morsels up in an antipasti platter with olives, roasted peppers and prosciutto...and maybe finish off that bottle of sherry!

Garlic & Herb-Marinated Mozzarella - serves 6 to 8
Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup high quality olive oil
• 5-6 garlic cloves, thinly sliced (I used 6)
• 2 Tbs chopped fresh herbs (basil, thyme, oregano and/or parsley)
• 1 tsp black or rainbow peppercorns
• 1-2 bay leaves (I used 1)
• Peel from half a lemon, thinly sliced
• Splash of sherry (I used Tio Pepe Fino Sherry)
• Red pepper flakes, to taste
• Kosher salt, to taste
• 16 oz of ciliegine, drained

- Heat the olive oil and garlic in a small saucepan over medium-low heat until it's bubbling gently.
- Remove from heat and let cool for a few minutes.
- Stir in the herbs, peppercorns, bay leaf and lemon peel.
- Add the sherry, red pepper flakes and salt, to taste.
- In a large bowl, pour the mixture over the mozzarella and toss gently to evenly coat.
- Transfer the mozzarella and mixture to a mason jar or airtight container.
- Refrigerate overnight or up to two weeks.
- Bring to room temperature before serving.