cucumber libation

I am looking for a recipe that involves gin and cucumber, for perhaps no particular reason. Hendrick's recipes are shite, btw. Here's what I've found so far:

From My Man's Belly: Hendrick's Gin Cucumber Cooler

Ingredients

• 2 Teaspoons Sugar
• 1 4 Inch Piece of Peeled Persian Cucumber (cut into chunks)
• 4 Mint Leaves
• 2 Ounces Hendrick’s Gin
• 1/4 Ounce St. Germain
• Heavy Squeeze of Fresh Lemon Juice

Instructions

1. In a cocktail shaker add the sugar, chunks of cucumber and mint leaves.
2. Using a muddler, or the back of a spoon, mash up the sugar, cucumber and mint leaves until the sugar is completely blended in with the other ingredients.
3. Add in the gin, St. Germain and lemon juice (add as much or as little lemon as you like).
4. Then add in some ice cubes, cover the shaker and shake vigorously.
5. Strain and pour into a glass.
6. Garnish with a lemon twist and a sprig of fresh mint.

The Cuke (from the NY Times)

Adapted from Adam Frank

6 limes, rinsed
1 cup packed mint leaves, no stems, plus 6 sprigs for garnish
3 unwaxed cucumbers
½ cup sugar
2 cups vodka or gin, preferably Hendrick's gin
Sparkling water.

1. Thinly slice 3 limes and place in a pitcher. Juice the rest and add juice to pitcher. Add mint leaves. Slice 2 cucumbers and add, then add sugar. Muddle ingredients. Add vodka or gin. Place in refrigerator to steep 30 minutes or longer.

2. Peel remaining cucumber and cut lengthwise into 6 spears.

3. Fill 6 highball or other large glasses with ice. Strain mixture from pitcher into each. Top with a splash of sparkling water, garnish each glass with a sprig of mint and a cucumber spear, and serve.

Yield: 6 servings

From Small Hand Bartender

Gin Snaggler
Cate Whalen, Pizzaiolo, Oakland, CA

1/4 cup chopped cucumber
1 oz fresh lime juice
3/4 oz 1-to-1 simple syrup
several mint leaves
11/2 oz gin
Prosecco

Muddle cucumber in mixing tin. Add ice and remaining ingredients and shake vigorously. Double-strain into a flute. Top with Prosecco. Garnish with a sprig of mint.


Cricket Club Fizz
Erik Adkins, Heaven's Dog, San Francisco, CA

several slices fresh cucumber (peeled if waxed)
several mint leaves
1 oz fresh lime juice
1/2 oz St. Germain elderflower liqueur
3/4 oz 1-to-1 simple syrup
2 oz gin
1/2 oz egg white
seltzer

Muddle cucumber in a shaking tin until juicy. Add remaining ingredients and shake without ice for several seconds. Add ice and shake vigorously. Double-strain into a fizz glass. Top with seltzer. Garnish with a slice of cucumber threaded with a sprig of mint.

mushroom risotto--first attempt

Having been a while since I made risotto, doing a 1 and 1/2 batch of the recipe turned out to be a bit ambitious, and take much longer than the recipe suggested (even if you 1 1/2 times the cooking time). Nonetheless, it turned out a success.

Important to chop everything ahead of time. For dinner parties, critical that the parsley gets picked ahead of time even if you chop it at the last second. But the onion and the mushrooms should be finished. The garlic should be peeled, even if broken and chopped at the time of the meal.

Some things I discovered. First, the butter in which you cook the onions and mushrooms disappears quite quickly. No reason to be alarmed. Let the onions soften and the mushrooms reduce. Second, have the wine ready at its appropriate stage. Quite important not to burn the garlic. Third, KEEP STIRRING. This labor intensive dish works if one is willing to perpetually keep the rice in contact with the liquid.

Getting the risotto cooked properly is difficult. The best method is to keep tasting it, when the broth you are adding gets low. The grain will go from tough to soft quite quickly. It was still crunchy one minute, then after one more addition of liquid, was appropriately al dente. Get a feel for it. Possibly most importantly, keep some water in the kettle and warm it in the last stages. You may need some additional water (I did), and it won't do to add it cold.

Finally, don't be shy on the salt. I would add a few (start with three) pinches with the butter and cheese and parsley. Then start adding to taste.

mushroom risotto

A basic recipe for mushroom risotto

1 oz (28 g) dried porcini (1 cup)
3 3/4 cups hot water
5 1/4 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth (42 fl oz)
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon olive oil
3/4 stick (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter
1 small onion, finely chopped (1 cup)
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
3/4 lb fresh cremini mushrooms, trimmed and thinly sliced
1 lb Arborio rice (2 1/3 cups)
2/3 cup dry white wine
1 oz finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (1/2 cup)
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Special equipment: parchment paper (if reserving some risotto for another recipe)
Garnish: Parmigiano-Reggiano shavings

Soak porcini in 1 1/2 cups hot water in a bowl until softened, about 20 minutes. Lift porcini out, squeezing liquid back into bowl. Rinse to remove any grit and coarsely chop. Pour soaking liquid through a sieve lined with a coffee filter or a dampened paper towel into a 3- to 4-quart saucepan, then add broth, soy sauce, and remaining 21/4 cups water to pan and bring to a simmer.

Meanwhile, heat oil with 1 tablespoon butter in a 4- to 5-quart heavy pot over moderately high heat until foam subsides, then sauté onion, stirring, until just softened, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and fresh mushrooms and sauté, stirring, until mushrooms are browned and any liquid they give off is evaporated, about 8 minutes. Stir in porcini and cook, stirring, 1 minute, then add rice and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Add wine and cook, stirring, until absorbed, about 1 minute.

Stir 1 cup simmering broth into rice and cook, stirring constantly and keeping at a strong simmer, until absorbed. Continue cooking and adding broth, about 1 cup at a time, stirring frequently and letting each addition be absorbed before adding next, until rice is tender and creamy looking but still al dente, 18 to 20 minutes. Thin with some of remaining broth if necessary. (You will have about 1 cup left over.) Remove from heat. Stir in cheese, salt, pepper, and remaining 5 tablespoons butter until butter is melted.

If reserving some risotto to make one of the following recipes, set aside 3 cups and cool to room temperature, then chill, covered with plastic wrap.

Stir parsley into remaining risotto and serve immediately.

Epicurious
Gourmet
April 2005
2005-03-09 11:52:38.0

"add to boiling, salted water"

Most boiling and parboiling of anything (pasta, green beans, etc.) calls for salted or heavily salted water. I have, quite frankly, never bothered to salt water. I am now resolved to do so, but not to overdo it either. The one time in my youth when I did salt water, I ended up with spaghetti that tasted like tire rubber. Let us not repeat.

I am blanching green beans right now for a dinner party for ten. Three pounds of them in two batches. I've trimmed them and added 1/2 to water at a rolling boil. I used 3 pinches of kosher salt. For my purposes, a pinch is the exact measurement of salt that is achieved when I triangulate a portion of salt with my thumb, index, and middle fingers. They cooked for about nine minutes before ready, after which I gave them the cold water shower. The second batch went in with 5 pinches of kosher salt.

I'm probably way underdoing it. Neither seemed particularly salty, but the green beans were very tasty coming out. They are in the fridge right now, awaiting a slivered almond and butter sauteing later on.