Bourbon Old-Fashioned with Cherry-Orange Simple Syrup

It's a new twist on an Old-Fashioned! Har!

When it comes to our kitchen, Joef is our drinks, desserts, and spice guy (I really wanted that alliteration to work...). This weekend, he made two amazing drinks, experimenting with making his own naturally-flavored, fruit-based simple syrups. This one he made up on his own, after we had something similar at a restaurant in San Francisco, Agricole. The simple syrup takes a little time, but is easy...you might even call it simple...and it really gives a ton of flavor to the drink. Delicious!

To make the simple syrup (makes about 2.5 cups):
2 cups turbinado sugar (Sugar in the Raw)
2 cups water
15-20 pitted Rainier cherries
1 navel orange, peeled

Combine all the ingredients together in a small/medium pot, and bring to soft boil. Boil for about 10 minutes, mashing the fruit as it softens, and stirring.

Remove the mixture from the heat and strain out the fruit pulp (it's delicious, btw!). Return the remaining liquid to a medium boil for another 10 minutes, stirring frequently. (Reduce the liquid while making sure it doesn't burn.)

Remove from heat and allow to cool. (This makes much more simple syrup than you need for one drink - you can save it for a bit, and use it in other drinks, or in fizzy water to make frobscottle!)

To make the Old Fashioned:
2 parts bourbon to 1 part simple syrup (if you like it sweeter, you can do 1:1)
Ice

Stir and enjoy!

French Toast with Cherry-Mandarin Jam and Mascarpone

(adapted from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything app)

My first post from our new computer...we've made the switch to Mac and are loving it!

In other exciting news, it was French toast for breakfast this AM...and, Joef made a new batch of jam! We're calling it "Old Fashioned" - it's cherries, satsuma mandarin oranges, and bourbon. And it is incredible.

Other than that - and the mascarpone cheese spread on top, a trick our friends Sanjin and Mary taught us - it's just your typical French toast. I've just never made it before. But it'll be on the Sunday breakfast roll going forward. Absolutely delicious.

2 cups milk
4 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
Dash of salt
8 or more slices French bread/baguette
Butter
Mascarpone cheese
Old Fashioned jam (or other)

Preheat your oven to 250. Mix the milk, eggs, salt, and vanilla together in a large, wide bowl. Slice your bread to the desired thickness, and let the bread soak in the batter. In the meantime, butter a griddle (or a pan on the stove), and let it get nice and hot and sizzling.

Place each piece of bread on the griddle. When it gets nice and browned, flip to the other side, and let it get nice and brown, too. Continue to flip for up to 10 minutes or so. To make sure the egg has cooked all the way through, you can pop the pieces into the oven and let it cook 10-15 minutes.

Spread with mascarpone and jam. Happy Sunday!

AND SPEAKING OF JAM:
4 pounds of cherries, pitted
3 pounds satsuma mandarins, peeled and chopped
7 cups sugar
1 1/4 cups bourbon
Juice of 4 lemons

For instructions on how to put these ingredients together for amazing jam, see: http://piccinacucina.blogspot.com/2012/10/homemade-jam.html.

Black Forest Cupcakes

(from "Martha Stewart's (omg) Cupcakes")

Another first for me (cupcakes) and another embarrassing retraction: yes, I like cupcakes now. Well, at least these cupcakes. And I still don't like the ones you get from the grocery store. But these - yes, these are delicious.

(Also, I went blog-wild today - don't miss the two posts below this one, mint juleps and oysters on the half shell!)

Makes 12 cupcakes (I halved the recipe in the book and it worked fine).

CUPCAKES
1 1/16 unsalted butter (1/2 cup plus 1 tbsp), plus more for tins
1/2 cup plus 1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder, plus more for tins
1 1/4 cup plus 1 tbsp all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/16 tsp salt
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 1/2 large eggs (that was NOT easy)
3/8 cup sour cream
3/4 cup buttermilk
12 oz
2 tbsp cherry or blackberry-flavored brandy
Pastry cream (see below)
Chocolate ganache glaze (see below)

1. Preheat over to 350. Rub butter inside the muffin tins, then lightly dust with cocoa powder, tapping out the excess.

2. Whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

3. Using an electric mixer on medium-high speed, mix the butter and the granulated sugar until pale and fluffy. Add the brown sugar and combine with the mixer until fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time until they're incorporated into the mixture. Mix in the sour cream. Reduce the speed to low, and add the flour mixture (above) in three batches, alternating with two batches of buttermilk, mixing until just combined after each addition. Your batter is done.

4. Divide the batter evenly into the muffin tin, filling each 3/4 full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through. (At this point you can start on the pastry cream and the chocolate ganache, below.) Tops should be firm to the touch, and a piece of spaghetti inserted in the top should come out clean - about 20 minutes. Take the tin out of the over and let cupcakes cool completely before removing from the tin (continuing to work on your pastry cream and ganache).

5. As the cupcakes cool, reserve 1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp of the cherry juice, and combine with the brandy. Cut each cherry in half. When the pastry cream and ganache are done, use a serrated knife to gently (sawing motion) split the cupcakes in half. Brush both cut sides with the cherry-brandy mixture, then brush the tops. Arrange the halved cherries over the cupcake bottoms, spoon a heaping tablespoon of the pastry cream over the cherries. Replace the top halves. Finish by spooning about 2 tbsp of the glaze over the tops.

PASTRY CREAM
4 large egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
Pinch of salt
2 cups milk
1 1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract

1. Whisk the egg yolks until smooth in a large bowl.
2. Combine sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a medium saucepan, and heat over medium. Stirring constantly, gradually add the milk in a slow, steady stream, and cook until the mixture thickens and begins to bubble. (Be patient.)
3. Whisking constantly, slowly pour about 1/3 of the milk mixture into the egg yolks (you do this first to prevent curdling). Now pour this into the remaining milk mixture in the saucepan. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture boils and is thick enough to hold its shape. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla.
4. Strain the mixture through a fine sieve (gets rid of any pieces of egg white). Cover with plastic wrap, pressing it right onto the surface to keep a skin from forming. Directions say to refrigerate until chilled and firm, about 2 hours - but who has time for that? I popped it in the freezer until the cupcakes were ready to go, but I found it a little too stiff. I'd probably just go with the fridge next time.

CHOCOLATE GANACHE GLAZE
6 oz semisweet chocolate chips
2/3 cup heavy cream
1 tbsp light corn syrup

1. Place chocolate in a small saucepan or heatproof bowl.
2. Bring cream and corn syrup just to a simmer in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Pour the hot mixture over the chocolate. Let it stand without stirring until the chocolate begins to melt.
3. Use a flexible spatula to gently stir the chocolate and cream together until totally combined. It helps to begin near the center of the bowl and slowly work your way out. Don't overstir. Will be smooth and glossy. (This would make a great ice cream topping, too, btw.)