Notes on the Perfect Mojito

Every summer I have the same goal: the perfect summer cocktail. This summer it's all about perfecting the Mojito, the Old Fashioned and the Mint Julip. Here is what I've learned about the Mojito. First question: raw sugar or simple syrup? It looks really cool to muddle sugar with the mint. But I can't get the sugar to stay suspended when I add the ice. The sugar sinks to the bottom of the glass. So I'm going with a simple syrup (1:1 sugar and water). I started with one shotglass of syrup but too sweet. One t was not sweet enough but a tablespoon is just about right.

Salmon Aioli, Gezpacho and Saffron Rice

Alright. This really did come out well. The aioli was made from fresh eggs collected from Mary's farm in Winchester: egg yolks, too much garlic, olive & peanut oil, lemon. *TIP* next time just one egg yolk, 3/4 cup oil (or maybe just one scant cup), 3-4 cloves garlic, one lemon. The salmon was wild sock-eye. Yes, it really is worth twice what you pay for farm raised. I smoked it in my green egg grill--cherry wood for the smoke. F#$% is was great. S&P and smoke. I think that's all the salmon wants. Got impatient with the rice *TIP* always start the rice first. Then you don't have to wait around like a dork for it to finish. Gezpacho was tomatoes, onion, green pepper, garlic (not enough--I put nearly everything in the aioli), tomato juice (well, V-8, I cheated), Cholula hot sauce. Thanks, Emma for reading me the recipe from the Internet. Finally, to complete the Spanish theme, paired with a Tres Ojos Grenache. I think I liked this more than the Evodia. Not as as much body but wonderfully spicey. A great companion to summer food and spicy gezpacho and aioli.

Evodia

Another throw back. This is the wine ordered at dinner at School. It's a Spanish Grenache. We liked it. Spicy, full flavored. Quite good. And it's a teaser for tonight's dinner. . ..

Moroccan Beef & Squash

Clearing out what's in the fridge. A little bit of that Greek youghurt -- maybe a cup. Steak strips. Lots of squash, zucchini and tomato. Toasted one T of cumin and corriander seed. Only one t was needed. First seared the steak medium rare Sauteed onions and garlic. Added veggies. Added spices. S & P. Added tomatoes and yoghurt at the end. Separately made couscous with 2:1 beef broth to cous.

Meatloaf Sandwich Surprise

An hors d’hourve from earlier this summer while staying at Rebe's house in Richmond. Hungry and waiting for dinner, I surveyed the contents of Rebe's fridge and found last night's meatloaf. Mixed mayo with the sriracha sauce I found there. I've been playing all summer with the Vietnamese chili garlic sauce that's showing up in my grocery store. Put that on the meatloaf. Ritz crackers and what looks like a little bit of chopped basil. Spicy good.

Chimichurri Steak, Maiz de la Calle, Black Bean & Tomato Salad

So on the streets of Mexico--at least in Central Mexico--vendors sells roasted corn slathered in mayonnaise and dusted with chili powder. My take on that was cutting corn from cob (from the CSA) and adding mayo, my chili powder, lime, and cilantro. The steak has my chimichurri sauce on it. Finally tomatoes, black beans, cilantro, lime and a hot pepper (thank you, Pearl and Leon).

Pesto Grits

Yep: grits with pesto (coming in at 12:00). Why not? Pesto has Parmesan in it. Grits have cheese. . . . Also served: black beans, corn and tomatoes with my chili powder (6:00), creamed potato soup (3:00), and a salad of tomatoes, cucumber, and baby Mozzarellas (9:00). All vegetarian. Very good.

But I may be the only person who goes for pesto grits.

School (a new Lexington Restaurant)

No--I'm in no way responsible for this. School is a new restaurant here in Lexington. The chef once appeared on Iron Chef Japan (for you Food Network addicts). The restaurant is French/Japanese. They have a conveyor belt that brings plates of sushi around to the tables. We ordered the appetizer sampler.

We had: foie gras, duck, shrimp, sweat meats, beef, colliflower purée. It was all excellent and the presentation was perfect.

Strip Steak, Purple Bleu Potatoes, Kale

Steak was pan seared. Laura's Lean Beef and served rare (why not?). It could have used my chimichurri sauce but, alas, it was frozen. More purple potatoes with bleu cheese (I liked it), and kale, sauteed in olive oil. *Tip* remove the stalk from the leaves. Sautee stalk first then add leaves, which cook faster

Panini, Purple Bleu Potato, Pesto Ziti

I've been doing a lot with panini. Ciabatta sliced and stuffed with salami, provolone, tomato, pepperoncini, kalamata olives and smothered with aioli or, here, with pesto. Purple potatoes from my CSA twice baked with bleu cheese. Ziti and pesto. Oh, and there was potato salad, too: dill, sour cream and potatoes.

Vichyssoise, Scallops Alfredo, Green Beans

This was a cream colored meal rescued by greens and reds: Note the green leek powder in the vichyssoise. Made from leek leaves dehydrated in my oven. Balanced with the red tomatoes in the scallops. The green beans were done with dill and butter.

Tomatoes, Basil and Goat Cheese

Tomatoes were cut rather thick and heavily sprinkled with kosher salt, pepper and balsamic vinegar and then put under a broiler and turned over once. After a few min. of cooking, 1-2 leaves of basil were placed on top tomato followed by a healthy dollop of creamy goat cheese (from Hannah's organic farm in VA) and then back in the oven for a minute or so. Michal Rasmussen approved.