Pea Funk

I feel in love with this drink from the moment I saw its name!  When I saw it on the menu at Barrel and Ashes, I knew I had to have it and then make my own version.  This drink is unique, really refreshing and you can totally taste the snap peas!  Sit at the bar if you make it to Barrel and Ashes, it is transfixing to watch them make drinks!

I made an ingredient tweak on the drink for availability; you can try my version or sub back in the Oro Blanco if you have them available to you.  For those of you who do not know what Oro Blancos are (because I did not); it is a citrus fruit, similar to a grapefruit.  There, now you know!

Now, let's learn about Pisco; most of the time you see this used it is for Pisco Sours.  But I had never really given much thought to what it actually is.  Pisco is actually a brandy that is made in Peru and Chile regions; if you have a choice between one from Peru and one from Chile, go with the Peru one.

Alright, now that we know what is in our drink; let's get shaking, cocktail shaking that is!

Wanderer's Shopping List
20oz Snap Peas (this will give you enough for about 4-6 drinks)

This is all listed per drink
1oz Lime Juice
1oz Pisco or you can sub in tequila if you have a hard time finding Pisco
1oz Grapefruit Juice

1oz Simple Syrup (1 part Sugar to 1 part Water - i know; crazy sweet)
Soda

Make your simple syrup (if you don't already have some on hand; you can make a batch of this and store in the fridge in a sealed bottle for about 6 months).  Combine sugar and water in pot on medium heat until sugar dissolves.  Set aside and let cool. 

Remove peas from pod, add 4tbsp water and blend until pureed. Mixture should be thick but pourable; add water to reach this consistency. 

Combine 2oz pea mixture with lime juice, pisco or tequila, grapefruit juice and simple syrup over ice in cocktail shaker and shake until chilled.  Pour over ice in glass and top with soda.  Garnish with snap pea. 

Now get down to that pea funk while enjoying your drink!  Cheers!

Greek Feast

Greece is my absolutely my favorite place!!!  My husband and I had the best time while we were there.  It was a quick trip; we hit Athens, Mykonos and Santorini in about 10 days!  The days stretch on forever, it was light out until about 11pm, there is amazing food (for cheap), friendly people, beautiful sunsets, active nightlife, breathtaking beaches and ocean views, a volcano, ruins, the acropolis...I mean what else can you ask for in a trip!  You can bet we will be traveling back there!

Every time you stop for a Mythos or Alpha (those are local beers) or a delish house glass of wine, they always give you yummy little snacks; love that!  We like to stop for lots of drinks and little snacks through out the day when we are traveling; we find we get to try more things that way and you get a little break from all of the running around trying to see everything.   And at the end of every meal they bring you some sort of dessert, fruit (I remember our first meal they brought us a piece of watermelon with seeds.  It occurred to me that I have not seen seeds in watermelon in the US in years upon years - odd!), or some lethal shot!

Everything we ate while traveling was spot on; here are a few of my favs:  stuffed wine leaves, moussaka, spanakopita, saganokia, baklava, and more!!  But my total addiction for food there was the souvlakis (gyros).  And the best place to get these was Souvlaki Row in Athens! 
Couple of things to know, so these can be made with a few types of meat or a combination, usually beef, lamb or pork.  They come on a pita and in addition to the meat they generally have tomatoes, red onions, tzatziki (yogurt/cucumber sauce) and the best places have french fries on them! 
Other piece you need to be aware of, is to avoid the restaurants for these; the best ones and the best prices are from the stands or window type shops(where you ordered at the window).  If you are on Souvlaki Row, the best one is right along the square and sells out of a little window. Now, if you need to sit down for a break and do try to order these at a restaurant, make sure you specify that you want the "sandwich", otherwise they will bring you out this ridiculous plate that is just not the same.

Now, as you may or may not know; souvlaki or gyro's meat is roasted on a vertical rotisserie; I don't know about for you, but that is a little outside what I can accomplish in my tiny kitchen.  So, this meal incorporates my very first meal I had in Athens!  It was a tiny little restaurant that was recommend by a local; in looking for it after we checked in, as we were incredibly jet-lagged and exhausted, we managed to walk past it about 5 times before we figured out it was the place we were looking for.  Our persistence paid off as the meal was excellent!  We had the most flavor filled seared pork that hit the spot just right!    So, for this feast, I took those same elements of this pork and the components of souvalki and combined them; and then added on a greek salad (which is where I incorporated my tomatoes and onions) and some olives to round out the meal.   This meal is really easy to make, but is great for hosting a dinner party; your guest will totally be impressed and feel transported to Greece! 



Wanderer's Shopping List
 Greek Pork
4lbs Boneless Pork Shoulder
10cloves Garlic
5sprigs Rosemary
10sprigs Oregano
1tsp Kosher or Sea Salt
1tsp Ground Pepper
1/2tsp Crushed Red Pepper
1/2 Yellow Onion
1/2cup Chicken Broth
Olive Oil

Greek Salad
1 English Cucumber
12oz small Tomatoes
1/4 to 1/2 Red Onion (to your liking)
2clove Garlic
2tbsp Red Wine Vinegar
1tbsp Olive Oil
8oz Feta

Greek Fries
2 Baking Potatoes
2tbsp Paprika
1tbsp Granulated Garlic
2tsp Kosher Salt
2tbsp Fresh Dill
Olive Oil

Tzatziki

2clove garlic
4tbsp finely chopped cucumber
1 Lemon - juiced
2tbsp finely chopped dill
2cup greek yogurt

To go with
Mediterranean Flat Bread
Greek Olives

First we are going to start with the Pork.  Your fresh herbs are key to the flavor of this meat!  Break out your slow cooker; this is going to be some delicious tender meat.  Turn on slow cooker to low and coat with olive oil.  Slice onion and place in bottom of slow cooker.  Finely chop garlic, rosemary and oregano; mix with salt, pepper and crushed red pepper.  Rub all over pork.  Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in large skillet over medium heat.  Add pork to sear outside; rotating 2 minutes each side.  You want a nice brown sear all around the pork, just be careful not to burn your seasonings.   Once you have your sear, add to slow cooker on top of onions.  Add chicken broth to skillet and scrap of all those good bits.  Pour in slow cooker along the side.  Place lid on and let go for 6-8 hours. 

Now, you have plenty of time to make your salad, tzatziki and fries; I recommend for you to make the salad now for it to sit and soak up all the flavors and make the fries right before you eat this glorious feast.  But it is all your call.

For the Salad; dice your cucumbers, tomatoes, onion and finely chop your garlic.  Mix together with salt, vinegar and olive oil.  Refrigerate until ready to eat.  Just before serving add feta on top.

For the tzatiki; mix cucumber, garlic and lemon.  Let sit for five minutes.  Add dill and yogurt; mix and refrigerate.  See how easy that was!  Now you don't ever need to buy this pre-made from the store again; and it is going to taste so much better!

Now the fries; so we are going to do a little pre-work on these.  Cut your potatoes into strips; as close to the same size as you can get them.  Rinse and soak in salt water for 1 hour.  Rinse and dry completely.   Soaking the potatoes helps to keep them crisp when you bake them.  Set aside until 30 minutes before meal time.  Preheat oven to 350 and toss potatoes with olive oil, paprika, garlic and salt and spread out on baking sheet.  Make sure the potatoes have plenty of room and are not crowded on the sheet.  Bake for 20-30 minutes; flipping half way through.  Watch carefully so they do not burn.

When you turn your oven off, through your flat bread in there for just a couple minutes to warm it up.

Now the best part; time to eat!  Eat however you would like; but this is how I did mine.  Flat bread, pork, tzatiki, fries and them some salad and olives on the side.  So good!  Yamas!

Turkey / Bacon / Mozzarella Panini aka The Gobbler

I spent a weekend up in Sonoma County a few weeks back; it is absolutely beautiful there with vineyards as far as the eye can see.  Which means there is plenty of wine to be had!  I grew up the area, but it has been 15 years since I lived there.  So much has changed, there are so many more restaurants, shops and wineries!  Which means I have a full agenda every time I go.

This trip I spent some time in Healdsburg around the town square; so sweet there and a great way to spend a weekend afternoon.  You can hop from a tasting room into one of many independent shops...my favorite Mr. Moon's; it is a always a must hit for me when I am in the area...then back to another tasting room and just when you are ready for some lunch (to help balance all that yummy wine) you can hit up The Blackbird Cafe & Soda Fountain!  This just opened last year (well, it changed owners, names, was remolded, and has a whole new menu and decor - so it is basically like it just opened) and has quickly gained popularity with the locals.  It is a family owned spot; family has been living in the area for oh so many years.

 

There is some great art up on the walls, available for sale; however my favorite piece, when I visited, was the original logo art (not for sale), created by a local artist Levi Miller.  He has some great pieces, so be sure to check out his site.

Now to the menu....you have to try the soup when you come!  They are all made in house by the owner, Patrick Timmsen (featured in the above photo), and every one I have tried has been delicious.  The most popular one is the Loaded Baked Potato soup; you can not go wrong ordering this!  Great thing is they always have a vegetarian option too!

Even though the soup is excellent; I just love the paninis!  First off, they have the most adorable names!  They are all after birds (or some sort of flying animal); you have The Cheessy Pigeon, The Flying Pig, My Little Chickadee...just to name a few.   You will have to visit to see the other great names.   Second, they taste so good!  Now these are all good and you just have to go with what you are in the mood for.  One of my favs is The Gobbler; it certainly has some of my go to ingredients.  Check out my version below; but I also totally recommend a trip to try out the original. 

Wanderer's Shopping List
Bread of your choice (myself I like this on a Sourdough or Rye, but your call)
Turkey
Bacon (cooked to your liking)
Mozzarella (or you can use a jack; which I did, as it was what I had in my fridge)
Spinach
Pesto Aioli ( 2 cloves garlic, 1 cup or large handful of basil, 1 egg yolk, juice of 1/2 lemon, olive oil, salt and pepper)


The ingredients are pretty easy to assemble, I know you can make a sandwich, so we are going to talk about how to make your pesto aioli and how to make your panini without a panini press.  Of course if you just go to Blackbird you won't have to worry about this.

First up, pesto aioli. Easiest way to do this is in your food processor or bullet; I used my bullet.  First separate your egg yolk and set aside in small bowl; you want this at room temperature.  Add garlic and pinch of salt into bullet; pulse until finely chopped.  Add basil and 1/4 cup olive oil; pulse until finely chopped.  Add lemon juice to egg yolk and whisk with fork until blended; add to basil mixture.  Pulse until blended. Add another 1/4 cup olive oil; pulse until blended. Done - you just made aioli; how fancy are you!

Careful, you are consuming raw egg with this recipe.  If this makes you nervous, you can use and tofu based egg substitute or you can really cheat and just make the basil portion and mix with mayo.  I won't judge you...promise!  This is also a great time saver if you are in a rush.

Now, assemble all your ingredients on the bread; best order - bread - cheese - bacon - spinach - turkey - aioli - bread.  Just be ready to start grilling so your bread does not get soggy.

Panini time!  Now, you need some sort of grill; it can be a bbq, a foreman grill; I used my cast iron grill. It is flat on one side, perfect for pancakes, and ridged on the other side.  Obviously, you want the ridged side for those great grill lines.  Of course, if you have a panini grill, use that and just ignore all of this part.  The other tool I used to improvise my panini press is my bacon press!  If you don't have one of these, a heavy cast iron skillet will work too; or even a brick wrapped in foil.

Heat your grill to medium heat; season grill with olive oil (or some of that left over bacon grease).  Place panini on grill and press with bacon press just for a few seconds to get started.  Leave press sitting on top and grill 2-4 minutes.  Flip and repeat. It is just that easy; plate and garnish with your favorites.  I add a homemade pickle to the side of mine. 

A root beer would go so good with this; of course a glass of wine would also be totally acceptable so you can get that full wine country experience!  Gobble, Gobble, Cheers!

Lavender Lemonade Cocktail

It's Friday and it is time for a cocktail!  I don't know about you, but it has been a long week and I am ready for a drink at home.  It has been really warm these last few days, which makes this cocktail perfect!  It is your homey lemonade glammed up with the lavender and spiked with your booze of choice.  This drink works with whatever liquor you are in the mood for; or if it is one of those days whatever you have on hand.    I love lavender and it is in so few recipes, I hope that you enjoy it as much as I do!

Wanderer's Shopping List
1cup Water
1/2cup Sugar
2tbsp Lavender
1/2cup Lemon (About 2 lemons)
1oz booze (per drink)
Sparkling Lemon Water

First up, make your lavender simple syrup.  Combine water, sugar and lavender in pot and simmer for 30 minutes.  I used my wire mesh tea strainer to put the lavender in; but you could cheese cloth or just strain it after it is done.  After, let cool.  You can totally make this ahead of time or make a bigger batch too.  It is going to be super sweet, but remember it is going to be mixed with other it items.


Up next, juice your lemons and make sure you get all the seeds out of the juice.  Mix this with your simple syrup.

Okay, the hard work is behind you.  You just have to pick the booze you want.  I have had this drink with gin, vodka, champagne, and prosecco.  It would totally work with tequila or whiskey too; maybe even a wheat beer.  If you are going to use champagne or prosecco as your liquor component then I would leave out the sparkling water.

Now it is time to start mixing!

Glass...ice...1/4cup lavender-lemon mix...1oz booze...sparkling lemon water...Drink!

This drink is totally flexible and everyone can easily mix up their own cocktail and do their own twist.  Enjoy!!

Cheers!