Food-Pairing Friday: Winter Citrus

Photo courtesy of Todd and Diane at WhiteonRiceCouple.com

It's another gray morning here in Southern California. And even though the sun was out part of this week, the frequent showers, and the sky's steely shroud are beginning to wear a bit on me. I'm sure my friends in Oregon and all the East Coasters getting pummeled yet again by snow have very little sympathy for my Vitamin D-deprived whine, so I'll keep it brief and get straight to the remedy: winter citrus.

The extra rain here in L.A. has been good for a few things. It's helped pull us out of years of drought, and it's been great for the citrus trees that grow up and down the coast. My favorites are the tangerines. About the size of a Hacky Sack, these easy-to-peel fruits have skins the color of a crossing guard's jacket and juice that appears to be lit from within, tangerines have the power to turn they grayest of days into orange-colored bliss. Tangerines are sweet, with a tang that can be a subtle whisper or like little pin-pricks on your tongue, depending on the variety. To find the best ones, if you don't have a tree in your yard, go to the nearest farmers' market to taste the many options. The fruits make a fantastic energy-filled afternoon snack, complement the anise flavor of fennel perfectly in a crunchy salad, and they play nicely with spice, too.

But I think our friends Todd and Diane over at White on Rice Couple put their homegrown tangerines to the best weekend welcoming use in their Double Tangerine Cocktail, which uses fresh tangerine juice, fresh lemon juice, ginger simple syrup and Cognac. I would tweak the recipe a bit and sub the ginger simple syrup with regular simple syrup so that I could use the Domaine de Canton Ginger & Cognac Liqueur (750ml $31.99), which has plenty of ginger heat along with the subtle nuances of a top-notch Cognac.  If you'd rather invest in an unflavored Cognac, I recommend the Ferrand Reserve Grande Champage 1er Cru du Cognac (375ml $28.99), with its notes of apricot, dried flowers and licorice.    

Have a great weekend.

Leah Greenstein

A Thanksgiving Cocktail

Photo courtesy of White on Rice CoupleLet's face it, Thanksgiving can be a little stressful. All that traveling, all that cooking, all that family. So why not warm everyone up with a cocktail or two? And of course, since this is Thanksgiving, shouldn't that cocktail be based on the quintessential American spirit: Kentucky Bourbon?

The Buffalo Trace Kentucky Straight Bourbon, which is currently on sale for $19.99, comes from America's oldest distilling site and has been named Wine Enthusiast and Malt Advocate Distillery of the Year numerous times since 2000. The whiskey is smooth, with mellow toffee notes, and is perfect for mixing.

If you can get your hands on some fresh tangerines, I'd highly recommend mixing up the Kentucky Sidecar proffered up by the White on Rice Couple, but if they're scarce, I'd mix up the Grapefruit Moon from the Cocktail Chronicles. (And, frankly, if you could work some Tom Waits into your Thanksgiving feast, you'd be my new hero.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! We'll be back next week.

Leah Greenstein

Food-Pairing Friday: Roasted Brussels Sprouts w/ Sriracha & Mint

It's been more than four years since I wrote my first ode to Brussels sprouts, the cute, grassy green little cabbages about the size of a golf ball. And I'm still amazed that despite New York Magazine declaring that "Vegetables are the New Meat," their reputation hasn't improved much more than rosé wine in some circles. (See this summer's post, No Way Rosé.) But Brussels sprouts are deliciously sweet with nutty overtones when they're cooked properly. And you can do almost anything you want to them--though I often default to a quick sauté and dressing them up in the salty goodness of Fra-Mani pancetta--as long as you don't boil them. They're even amenable to a little kick, like in this simple recipe for Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Sriracha and Mint from our friends the White on Rice Couple.

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