The use of wine barrels to age tequila is said to have been started by the Real family, who live and produce tequila in Amatitan, which can be found in the Jalisco State of Mexico. The red wine elements from the barrel are said to give the tequila its pink color (hence "pink tequila"), along with floral aromatic notes and berry elements in the flavor. The end result is a tequila rosa.
Chef Bolek
Using food, beer, wine, and, of course, cooking to promote empathy, learning, and understanding.
Saturday, April 26, 2025
Pimp My Sleigh: The Pink Tequila Barrel Edition
Saturday, April 19, 2025
Sos ti-Malice
There are seemingly as many variations on that Haitian legend, as there are recipes for the sauce. Generally speaking, the sauce consists of shallots, bell peppers, tomato paste, vinegar and, of course, scotch bonnet peppers for the heat. The ingredients are cooked together in a pot to produce the hot sauce. Some recipes suggest an additional step: blending the ingredients together to produce a smoother sauce. Whether one goes with a traditional sauce (keeping the ingredients whole, as pictured in this post) or blended, Sos ti-Malice is a great accompaniment for many traditional Haitian dishes, like Griot and Tassot.
For me, the most important thing about this recipe is its underlying lesson. Traditional Haitian hospitality is something that could make the world a better place. (If only Haitians currently had the space and the means to provide that hospitality, but that is another post, series of posts or even another blog entirely.) But, when we try to be anti-social, we could end up with more people at our door. So, perhaps, the better approach to life is to be more welcoming and more hospitable. We can expand our own communities at many different levels. And, we can start by welcoming Haitian immigrants and migrants (along with other immigrants and migrants) into our communities to live, and in our homes for a meal, rather than trying to get them to go away.
SOS TI MALICE
Recipe from Kitchen Travels
Ingredients:
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 3 shallots thinly sliced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 1/2 green pepper sliced
- 2 Scotch Bonnet peppers, thinly sliced
- 3 cloves
- 1 tablespoon parsley, finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon salt
Ingredients:
1. Sauté the shallots and garlic. Heat the oil in a saucepan. Add the shallots and garlic. Saute until shallots are softened and translucent.
2. Continue preparing the sauce. Add tomato paste, vinegar and 2.5 cups of water. Whisk well to dissolve the tomato paste in the water and bring to a boil. Add the bell peppers, Scotch Bonnet peppers and cloves. Reduce heat to medium and simmer for 10 minutes.
3. Finish the sauce. Add parsley and salt. Stir to combine.
PEACE.
Saturday, April 12, 2025
Mr. Bayley's West Indies Salad
Bill Bayley, Sr. settled in the Mobile area after serving in the Merchant Marine. During his time at sea, he worked as a port steward aboard a vessel operated by the Alcoa Ship Lines. In that role, Bayley would have had many responsibilities, including the stocking of groceries for the vessel. Bayley would have also helped with the preparation of sandwiches, salads and other food for the crew. During a stop in the West Indies, Bayley was working in the galley. He boiled some lobster, added some onions, and then dressed it with oil and vinegar. Bayley remembered that dish and it would play an important role in his future plans.
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Source: Alabama.com |
The menu featured an appetizer called West Indies Salad. The dish was inspired by Bayley's time as a port steward. There was one big difference: Bayley did not use Florida lobster. Instead, he chose an ingredient much closer to his new home ... Alabama blue crabs.
As it turns out, blue crabs were (and, relatively speaking, still are) present in Mobile Bay and its tributaries. One could go to various points along the shore, from Old Nan Seas to Coden Beach or Port of Pines to find crabs. When one zooms out and looks at what Alabama fishermen pull in per year, it is well over one million pounds of blue crabs per year (at least as of 2016).
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Bill Bayley, Sr. in the kitchen. (Source: AL.com) |
The dish survived, as Bayley's son, Bill Bayley, Jr., opened his own smaller restaurant in the building that previously served as the catering kitchen for his father's restaurant. The West Indies Salad, along with other dishes created by his father, such as the Fried Crab Claws, were the centerpiece for the son's menu. People from all around came to Bayley's Seafood for the West Indies Salad, Fried Crab Claws and other dishes. Bayley, Jr. continued to operate his restaurant for another few decades, until he ultimately closed the doors in 2022.
While the Bayleys' nearly 80-years of operating a restaurant and serving West Indies salad may have come to an end, the recipe and that dish continue to live on. Interestingly, the family held onto that recipe as a closely guarded secret. The secret was revealed in 1964, when it was published in a Junior League of Mobile cookbook. This is definitely one of the easiest dishes to make, and, it is a great one to serve to guests. For that reason, the recipe continues to live on in the Savage Bolek household.
WEST INDIES SALAD
Recipe from Food.com
Serves 4
Ingredients:
- 1 medium onion
- 1 pound fresh lump crabmeat
- 4 ounces Wesson oil (or vegetable oil)
- 3 ounces cider vinegar
- 4 ounces ice water (as cold as you can get it)
- Salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
Directions:
1. Prepare the crabmeat. Spread half of the onion over the bottom of a large bowl. Cover with separated crab lumps. Add the remaining onion. Season with salt and pepper. Pour oil vinegar and ice water over the onions and crab meat. Cover and marinate for 2 to 12 hours.
2. Finish the dish. Toss lightly. Serve as a salad on a bed of letter or on crackers as an appetizer.
PEACE.
P.S.: I actually posted a recipe for West Indies Salad fourteen years ago. This post will take the place of that old one. For the original blogpost on Chef Bolek (for what it is worth), click here.
Saturday, April 5, 2025
No Man's Land Seasoning
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Source: Explore Louisiana |
NO MAN'S LAND SEASONING
Recipe adapted from Southern Living
Prepares 1/4 cup
Ingredients:
- 1 tablespoon sundried tomato powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon crawfish powder (optional)
Directions:
Combine all of the ingredients in a small bowl and stir until well combined.
PEACE.
Saturday, March 22, 2025
China Poblano
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A view of the bars, from the Mexican one to the Chinese one. (Source: TripAdvisor) |
Saturday, March 15, 2025
Lowcountry Brown Oyster Stew
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Dawadawa (Source: Slow Food) |
LOWCOUNTRY BROWN OYSTER STEW
Recipe from Saveur
Serves 4
Ingredients:
- 2 teaspoons toasted benne (sesame seeds)
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon lemongrass powder
- 4 tablespoons all purpose flour
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 celery stalk, finely chopped
- 1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
- 1.5 tablespoons sundried tomato powder
- 2 teaspoons Caribbean bay leaf powder or 2 dried bay leaves;
- 1.5 teaspoon crawfish powder or dried shrimp powder
- 2 teaspoons ground dawadawa
- 1.5 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1.5 teaspoon onion powder
- 1.5 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon chipotle powder
- 2 pints shucked fresh oysters
- 6 cups seafood stock, vegetable stock or water
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped onion sprouts or chives
Directions:
1. Toast the spices. in a large skillet set over medium-low heat, add the benne, ginger powder and lemongrass powder; toast until golden-brown, 3-5 minutes. Remove from heat.
2. Prepare the roux. In a large pot over medium high heat, whisk together the flour, 2 tablespoons of oil and the butter. Stir continuously until the roux turns a dark chocolate brown color, about 5 minutes.
3. Saute the vegetables. In a separate skillet over medium high heat, add the remaining oil, celery and onion. Cook, stirring frequently, until soft and translucent, about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat.
4. Continue working with the roux. Turn the heat down to low, then add the tomato powder, bay leaf powder, dawadawa, crawfish powder, garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika and chipotle powder. Cook, stirring continuously until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in the celery-onion mixture and then slowly pour in the oyster liquor and the tock, stirring continuously until all the liquid is incorporated into the roux. Add the salt, turn the heat up to medium-low to bring the stew to a boil, then turn the heat back down to maintain a simmer. Cook until the broth is thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon and has reduced by about a third, 40 to 45 minutes.
5. Finish the dish. Remove the stew from the heat, then immediately stir in the oysters (the residual heat will cook them). Season to taste with more salt as needed. Ladle the brown oyster stew into wide soup bowls, garnish with onion sprouts and reserved benne seed-ginger-lemongrass mixture and serve hot.
PEACE.
Saturday, March 8, 2025
Arrachera Verde
ARRACHERA VERDE
Recipe from B. Lopez, Asada at 74
Serves 4
Ingredients:
- 1 cup loosely packed basil leaves
- 1 cup loosely packed fresh mint
- 1 cup loosely packed fresh parsley
- 1/4 cup fresh oregano leaves
- 2 Fresno chiles
- 3 large cloves garlic, peeled
- 1 lemon, zested and juiced
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 teaspoon citrus vinegar
- 2 tablespoons sea salt
- 2 pounds flap steak
- Warm tortillas, for serving
- Salsa de Pina Tatemada, for serving
Directions:
1. Marinate the steak. In a food processor, add the basil, mint, parsley, oregano, chiles, garlic, lemon zest and juice, olive oil, vinegar and salt. Pulse until a smooth paste forms. Pat the steak dry with paper towels and place it in a large bowl. Rub the paste mixture all over the meat. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or overnight.
2. Prepare to grill. Remove the meat from the refrigerator to allow it to reach room temperature before grilling if possible. Start a charcoal or gas grill. The gas should be set to high. If using a pellet grill, preheat your grill to 450 degrees Fahrenheit for at least 15 minutes. If using charcoal, the coals should be red but entirely covered with gray ash.
3. Grill the steak. Remove the meat from the marinade and put it on the grill directly over the fire. Close the lid and cook, turning once, about 4 to 5 minutes on each side. Transfer the meat to a cutting board and let rest for 5 minutes.
4. Finish the dish. Slice the meat against the grain. Serve with warm tortillas and the salsa.
PEACE.
Saturday, March 1, 2025
On Count Rostov's Plate: Latvian Stew
That provides the setting for what happened next, and, by extension the recipe that is the subject of this part of my On Count Rostov's Plate series. It is perhaps, from a culinary view, one of the most interesting aspects of the story. What happens next provides a window into life as a nascent Soviet Union came to terms with new economic, social and ideological principles.
The waiter -- referred to as "the Bishop" by Count Rostov because of his appearance -- is standing over the couple ready to take their order. As Towles recounts:
But for a hopeful young man trying to impress a serious young woman, the menu of the Piazza was as perilous as the Straights of Messina. On the left was a Scylla of lower-priced dishes that could suggest a penny-pinching lack of flair; and on the right was a Charybdis of delicacies that could empty one's pockets while painting one pretentious. the young man's gaze drifted back and forth between these opposing hazards. But in a stroke of genius, he ordered the Latvian stew. (Id. at 96.)
Latvian stew -- a dish of pork, onions and apricots -- that was both exotic and a call to "the world of grandmothers and holidays...."
In writing his book, and, in particular this part of the story, author Amor Towles recounted his own encounter with the Scylla and Charybdis. While he chose to use the Latvian stew, Towles had his own questions about the dish. He had a recipe for the dish from Saveur, but the ingredients did not include any wine, spices or stock. But, that was the point, as Count Rostov recalls (because he also ordered the dish): "The onions thoroughly caramelized, the pork slowly braised, and the apricots briefly stewed, the three ingredients come together in a sweet and smoky medley that simultaneously suggest the comfort of a snowed-in tavern and the jangle of a tambourine." That is quite the review.
LATVIAN STEW
Recipe from Book Club Cookbook, written by Amor Towles
Serves 6-8
Ingredients:
- 3 pounds boneless pork shoulder, trimmed and cut in to 1-inch pieces
- Salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 6 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
- 6 carrots, peeled trimmed and sliced cross-wise
- 4 tablespoons tomato paste
- 5 cups of water
- 1 cup dried apricots
- 1 pound white boiling onions, peeled, each cut into 6 wedges
- 1 cup pitted prunes
Directions:
1. Begin the stew. Season the pork with salt and pepper. Heat 3 tablespoons of the oil in a large heavy bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Add the pork and cook, stirring occasionally, until the meat releases all of its juices and is no longer pink all over, about 5 minutes. Add the carrots and cook until slightly tender, about 10 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste and water, then add apricots. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low, and gently simmer, uncovered, for 45 minutes.
2. Sauté the onions. Meanwhile, heat remaining oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions and cook, stirring often, until deep golden brown, about 15 minutes.
3. Finish the dish. Add the onions and prunes to the stew and continue to simmer over medium-low het until the pork is tender and the sauce has thickened, about 30 minutes more. Adjust seasonings. Serve with boiled potatoes, buttered and garnished with chopped parsley.
PEACE.
Saturday, February 22, 2025
Salsa de Pina Tatemada
SALSA DE PINA TATEMADA
Recipe from B. Lopez, Asada at 195
Makes 2 cups
Ingredients:
- 3 cloves garlic, peeled
- 1 large red onion, minced
- 1 medium pineapple, cored and cut into 3/4 inch slices
- 2 habanero chiles
- 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 1 teaspoon sea salt, plus more as needed
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/2 cup flat leaf parsley, minced
Directions:
1. Start the grill. Start a charcoal or gas grill. Gas should be set to high. If using a pellet grill, preheat the grill to 425 degrees Fahrenheit for at least 15 minutes. If using charcoal, the coals should be red but entirely covered with gray ash.
2. Grill the garlic and onion. Wrap the garlic and onion in separate aluminum foil packets. Place them on the grill until the garlic and onion have softened, about 15 to 20 minutes.
3. Grill the pineapple and habanero peppers. Meanwhile, place the pineapple slices and habaneros directly on the grill. Cook until the pineapple has charred evenly on both sides and the skin of the habaneros has charred evenly too, about 5 to 10 minutes. Turn every 2 to 4 minutes for even cooking. When charred, remove everything from the grill.
4. Prepare the salsa. On a cutting board, chop the grilled pineapple into 1/4 inch cubes. In a serving bowl, mix the pineapple with the grilled onion and lime juice. Reserve. Add salt and garlic to a molcajete and grind until the garlic has dissolved into a paste. Next, slowly incorporate the habaneros and the olive oil, continuing to grind until you are left with a paste.
5. Finish the dish. Add the habanero paste to the bowl of pineapple and onion, add the parsley, and stir to combine. Taste for salt, adding more as needed and serve.
PEACE.
Saturday, February 15, 2025
Bergstrom Cumberland Reserve Pinot Noir (2020)
The Cumberland Reserve is produced with grapes grown in the Willamette Valley AVA. The AVA - or American Viticultural Area - is the designation that has been given to the region by the Bureau of Alcohol and Firearms back in 1984. Since that time, the Willamette Valley AVA has been further divided into ten (10) sub-regions. These sub-regions include the Dundee Hills AVA, Chehalem Mountains AVA, and the Ribbon Ridge AVA. Bergstrom has five vineyards in these AVAs.
In recent years, I have been finding Bergstrom wines in stores near where I live. And, while these wines tend to be a little pricey (as do most really good Oregon Pinot Noir wines), I buy one every once in a while so I can remember what my beautiful Angel and I enjoyed when we were on our honeymoon.