Friday Night Cocktails

Cucumber Citrus Cocktail:
Boru Vodka
juice of lemon wedge
splash of simple syrup
2 to 4 slices of English Cucumber
muddle a few slices of cucumber in shaker with the ice
shake vodka, lemon juice, muddled cucumbers, syrup, and ice
strain into martini glass
top with soda
garnish with cucumber slices for nibbling

Roasted Garlic, Parsnip, and Asparagus Bisque

I thought I would throw some things together for a soup and see how it turned out. Roasted a bulb of garlic. Sautéed a chopped onion. Boiled parsnips and asparagus. Blended everything together, added some sea salt, pepper, and heavy cream. It turned out delicious. Served with some crusty bread for dipping. It is surprising how much sweetness the parsnip has. Only within the last year or so have I discovered the flavor of the parsnip, and love how versatile it is. And you can't go wrong with asparagus...

Chili

My significant other got this recipe for tomato less chili from his brother. No tomatoes, just meat, chiles, garlic, red pepper, cumin seeds, paprika, salt, sugar and beef suet. That is it. Beef suet is something to behold, let me tell you. The fat from the kidney of a cow is something unlike any other form of fat that I have seen. It is chunky, grisly, and slimy all at the same time. You fry the meat in the fatty stuff, so you end up with some greasy meaty goodness. The chiles are soaked, chopped, and pureed with all the other ingredients, then mixed with the stewed meat. As all the components simmer together the chili turns into a beautiful dark crimson color. A bit of corn meal is added to thicken the vat of mouthwatering tastiness, and you end up with a bowl of tangy chili.
My only critique, is that we should have chopped the meat into smaller pieces or got ground meat. We used beef stew meat that was already cut, and we even cut it up smaller, but even smaller would have been better. Also, it felt like the chili was missing something. Next time we will definitely have to give it an extra boost.

Kedgeree and Eggs

Not only is Kedgeree simple and delicious. But, having it mixed with scrambled eggs the next day for breakfast is definitely a great idea. After the flavors join together the light and fluffy eggs are an exuisite complement to the tangy essence of the cardomom and clove.