Blood Orange Negroni

Blood Oranges are one of my favorite fruits, and they come right at that critical time right at winter's end, and spring's fresh beginning.  I always buy bags and bags of them, always intrigued by their dark purple interior.  I don't know what it is, but there is something so forbidden about them, like you're in on some sort of secret.

In an effort to preserve these delicacies, I infused them in spirit, obviously.  Again, with the sous vide (are we seeing a trend here?  yes, I'm obsessed), I infused gin with the crimson fruit, and it makes a gorgeous spirit that maintains the complex sweetness of the fruit, but without any of the bitter flavors that can come from infusions.  My favorite part is that you dont have to add tons of sugar to extract the flavor, which is how liqueurs like limoncello or orancello are made.  It's a clear spirit, perfect for mixing.

Naturally, I made Negronis.  The sweetness of the Blood Oranges marries perfectly with the gin, the bitterness of the Campari, and balances nicely with the baritone flavors of Punt E Mes.  My favorite part is that I can now enjoy Blood Oranges all year (or at least until I run out of Blood Orange Gin).

Blood Orange Negroni
Created by Gastronomista

1 oz Blood Orange Gin
3/4 oz Punt E Mes
1 oz Campari

Stir with ice, and strain into a cocktail glass.  Garnish with a Lemon Peel

Blood Orange Gin

2 c Gin
2 Blood Oranges, peeled and sliced

Peel and slice oranges, making sure all pith is removed.  Place oranges and gin in a vacuum bag, squeeze out all excess air, and seal.

Submerge in the Sous Vide at 140 Degrees Ferenheit for 1 Hour.

Strain with Cheese Cloth, and store in a non-reactive container.  (I like glass flip-top bottles).

Equipment: Sous Vide Supreme, vacuum sealer, & vacuum pouches.  Glass bottles for storing.

Pro Tip: Use the seal function only, do not use the vacuum function when preparing liquids.


Blood Orange Gin recipe is from The Cocktail Lab by Tony Conigliaro

-This post is part of a series for Sous Vide Supreme-

2011 Gift Guide - So So Bittersweet

The cocktail, born right here in America during the early days of bathtub gins, was a creation that was designed to mask the strong, and often unbearable flavors of alcohol.  Cocktails of the 19th Century almost always included Spirits, Sugar, Water, and Bitters.  Bitters often played a primary role of the cocktail, giving the cocktail the flavor of the herbal concoctions.  While bitters were once used by the Navy to help with nausea, they are also known to be used both as apéritifs and digestifs to help settle the stomach before all those cocktails come on.

Lucky for us, we are in a Bitter Renaissance, companies are making Bitters in an range of flavors from Orange, to Jamaican Jerk Bitters.  They can be had with soda water, or used to add some additional flavor notes to your favorite Spirit.  Either way, they are a unique and delicious gift.

Without further ado, some of our favorite Bitters:

1.  These Sage Bitters by Hella Bitters have caught our eye recently, a nice compliment to a very fruity cocktail, or a necessary ingredient for a sage martini.

2.  One of the most memorable cocktails we've ever had was a Smoky Bourbon & Coke.  So delicious.  Now you can make one in house, without the hassle of smoking your own Coke Syrup, with Bitter's Old Men Smoke Bitters.  Made with Lapsang Souchong Tea and Asian Pear.  Also recommended with Sake, Shochu and soju cocktails. 

3. We've heard that some like it hot.  Well, so do we.  Brooklyn Hemispherical Bitters makes Sriracha Bitters, which we want to put in pretty much everything.  Especially our little sipping glasses of Root on ice. 

4.  Angostura Bitters are a basic for every liquor cabinet.  We like our Angostura just with soda water, but it can be used for everything from salad dressings to staining your wood floor. 

5.  Buy these for someone you really like, or perhaps these fall under the "gift to self" category.  Fee Brothers Whiskey Aged Bitters that are aged in an oak whiskey barrel from Tennessee.  These bitters are very rare, as they are only made once a year.  Perfect for Manhattans or other Bourbon based cocktails. 

6.  Orange bitters are pretty common - but how about Stirrings Blood Orange Bitters?  How about that to go with your Solerno cocktail??!!?

7. Need to pick up your tired Margarita?   We recommend Bitter's Old Men Prickly Pear Bitters.  Or just add a few drops to your sipping tequila, or a good Vodka for some added flavor (we recommend Reyka).

8.  Summer may have come and gone, but we're still craving that Henry Street Punch.  A surprisingly delicious cocktail made with Plymouth, sweet vermouth, celery bitters, celery mash, and the juice of fresh grapefruits and lemons.  The key ingredient - Celery Bitters.

9.  Bittermens Elemakule Tiki Bitters were gifted to us, and are now an integral part of our home bar.  Whenever we need a little escape to the islands, a little Tiki goes in our spirits.  Great with Bourbon, Gin, or Vodka.   

Or if you can't seem to make up your mind - there are always Bitters Starter Kits - Fee Brothers offers a range of flavors: Original, Aztec Chocolate, Grapefruit, Rhubarb, Orange, and Cherry.   They key word there is and. 

Last Days of Summer

It's already feeling a bit like fall in NYC, and we've been missing the heat of the summer already.  It's going to be a long winter, we believe.  While we usually find ourselves piling on the sweaters prematurely and getting excited about cider season, this year, we are still craving everything lime and that sweet summery feel of freedom. 

In an effort to relive our days under the sun, we share with you our Gastronomista pool party - a celebration of meat and libation.  We took to the suburbs armed with 3 chickens, boar sausage, pork chops, a goose, and lots of delicious spreads and tapenades. 

We kicked off the weekend with a delicious Gastronomista Solerno Cocktail:

2 oz. Solerno Blood Orange Liqueur
4-5 dashes Angostura Bitters
Top with soda water
Garnish with orange peel
Served over ice

Solerno makes a surprisingly good in a simple cocktail, which can be credited to the all natural ingredients - sweetening from beets, and of course, those gorgeous Italian Blood Oranges..  It's such a lovely liqueur (and don't even get us started on that bottle, or we'll be here for days gushing on about red glass).

We hit the pool - which is where we spent most of the day paddling around and enjoying the sun (as it should be).  But we know you don't visit Gastronomista to see us float around in pools - on to the food:

 The dudes prepping the chickens for fire

Tapenades and Kale Salad

(The spicy olive was the clear winner)

 mmmm  meaaatttt

Miss Duquesne getting down to business

 The nymphs left us a gift in the grotto

 Birds on the Spit

and... done.

We're already looking forward to next summer...

Cocktail Redux: Solerno Grapefruit Margaritas

We love going out for a proper cocktail - but sometimes one must bring the proper cocktail home. 

This weekend we decided to mix up the Margarita.  We've been longtime fans of the Grand Marnier Margarita - but quite honestly, we were downright wooed by that handsome Solerno Blood Orange Liqueur bottle.  (Grand Marnier, time to step up your game).  With the abundance of grapefruits around we decided to mix up some Fresh Squeezed Grapefruit and Solerno Blood Orange Liqueur Margaritas.  Major Yums.

1/2 Part Solerno Liqueur
1 1/2 Parts Tequila Blanco
Fresh Squeezed Grapefruit Juice

Shaken with Ice

Rim Glass with Fresh Blood Orange Juice, garnish with Blood Orange Rind. 

Solerno is a Blood Orange Liqueur that is made and bottled in Sicily, triple distilled with Sanquinello oranges, orange zest, and Sicilian lemons.  We were surprised that the liqueur was clear - but very full in flavor.  It's quite refreshing served with soda water.  We're also pleased to learn that Solerno is sweetened with sucrose from sugar beets, not corn syrup.  All that goodness, and quite frankly, we're smitten with the bottle.  What a beauty.

Blood. Orange. Caramels.

Some days, we come across a flavor combination that just blows our minds. Bitter chocolate and ancho chili pepper at Vosges Haut Chocolate. Brussels sprouts and sriracha at Joseph Leonard. Ahi tuna with brown butter at Mas (farmhouse).

Today, we stumbled across a flavor bomb at one of our favorite sites ever, MattBites. Blood Orange Caramels. With Toasted Almonds. And Sea Salt. Matt, you have brought us to our knees.

images via MattBites

Matt Armendariz is well-known and widely admired (by none other than Miss Martha Stewart herself) for his incredible photography and artistic direction, and everything on his site is just so damn appetitey. Thank you, Matt, for your consistently inspiring work.

Speaking of inspiration, we're making these TONIGHT.

(This recipe reproduced from MattBites)

Cindie’s Blood Orange Caramels with Toasted Almonds and Sea Salt
Could you use regular oranges? Perhaps. I wouldn’t. Blood oranges are very special and I’m quite fond of them. And they are in season right now. Cindie says if you prefer a tart candy you can cut the brown sugar in half. I happen to think they were just perfect as written.

3 cups blood orange juice, strained
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/3 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup toasted almonds
2 teaspoons sea salt flakes

Line the bottom of an 8-inch square baking dish with parchment paper. Butter parchment paper and set aside.

Place blood orange juice in a 4-quart heavy saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Let boil until liquid is reduced to 1/3 cup.

Remove from heat and stir in sugars, butter, and cream. Return to high heat and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Turn heat to medium and let boil until a candy or deep fat thermometer reads 248 degrees F (or when a half teaspoon placed in a glass of icy cold water turns into a firm, chewy ball), about 17 minutes.

Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.

Scatter almonds on bottom of parchment paper. Pour caramel over almonds. Let sit until cool and firm, about 2 hours. Remove from baking dish and sprinkle salt flakes over top. Cut into 1-inch pieces.