Matcha Green Tea Mojito

For our inaugural tea party menu, we looked for summery cocktails that contained tea since they sounded a lot more refreshing than hot tea in the middle of July. I wanted one with black tea and one with green tea, and I chose this one for the green tea drink!

Notes:

• The original recipe calls for 1.5-2 fl oz of the green tea syrup. I used 1.5 fl oz and even then it tasted quite sweet to me, so I recommend 1.5 oz. You can add more if you like it sweeter.
• I like a strong green tea taste so I doubled the amount of matcha from the original recipe.
• The original recipe says to muddle the mint, but people have a wide variety of ideas as to how muddling should be done. The goal of muddling is so that the mint releases its flavor, but what most people want and find pleasant to taste is the sweet, cool aromatic compounds in the oil just below the surface of the leaf, and not the bitter vegetal flavors you might get in addition from tearing or mashing the leaves. Clapping the mint between my hands has been the most successful way for me to achieve the sweet, cool mint flavor I am looking for in my drinks, so I recommend doing that instead, especially if you don't have a proper muddler or professional bartender training. (Plus, it makes your hands smell good.)

Verdict: Mojitos are not something I have often because they require simple syrup and fresh mint (neither of which I generally have on hand) and I don't think I've ever made or had one that really knocked my socks off. That said, this was my favorite attempt yet. I found this refreshing and would definitely have it again.

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RECIPE:

Matcha Green Tea Mojito
adapted from 40 Aprons
Serves 1

For each drink:
5 fresh mint leaves, rinsed and dried, plus extra if desired for garnish
1.5 fl oz (45 ml) matcha simple syrup, recipe follows
2 fl oz (60 ml) white rum
1 fl oz (30 ml) plain vodka
About 3/4-1 cup crushed ice
Club soda or plain sparkling water
Green tea bag tags (optional, for garnish)

Matcha simple syrup (makes enough for 2 drink servings):
1/3 cup (67 g) sugar
1/3 cup (80 ml) water
1 tsp matcha

Make the matcha simple syrup: Place sugar and water in a small saucepan over high heat on the stove, and stir until the sugar is completely dissolved. Remove from heat. Measure matcha into a small heatproof bowl. Add about 2 tsp of the sugar syrup to the matcha and stir to make a paste, making sure it is thoroughly blended (matcha will not dissolve). Repeat with another small amount of sugar syrup. Whisk in the remaining sugar syrup until thoroughly combined, then let cool completely. If not using immediately, store in the refrigerator in a clean glass jar.

Prepare the drink: Clap the mint leaves between your hands to release their aroma, then place in the bottom of a collins glass. Add matcha syrup, rum, and vodka, and stir until combined. Fill glass about 2/3 full with coarsely crushed ice, then top with club soda or sparkling water. Garnish with a sprig of mint and/or tea bag tag. Serve immediately.

Spiked Lemonade Iced Tea

For our inaugural tea party menu, we looked for summery cocktails that contained tea since they sounded a lot more refreshing than hot tea in the middle of July. I wanted one with black tea and one with green tea, and Sarah chose this one for the black tea drink! If you like the combination of black tea and lemon, you'll almost certainly love this.

Notes:

• I used New Amsterdam citrus vodka.
• For further variation, you could try a different fruit flavored vodka or a fruit flavored black tea that goes well with citrus and tea (berry flavors in particular sound nice).
• I made the tea concentrate part ahead (this is especially convenient if you have limited fridge space so you don't have to store a whole pitcher) and finished making the lemonade the next day, right before the gathering at which I served it.
• You will want to let the ice cubes melt a bit to water it down, otherwise it's going to be VERY strong. Alternatively, you could add less vodka if you want a less boozy beverage.

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RECIPE:

Spiked Lemonade Iced Tea
adapted from Tea & Candles and inspired by The Lemon Bowl
Serves 6

4 neutral flavored black tea bags, or about 3 tbsp loose leaf black tea
3/4 cup (6 fl oz, about 175 ml) boiling water
1/3 cup granulated sugar or honey
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 1/2 cups (12 fl oz, 350 ml) citrus flavored or plain vodka
Ice

In a small heatproof bowl, steep tea in boiling water for 5-7 minutes, or up to 10 minutes if you like strong tea. Remove or strain out and discard tea bags/leaves. Add sugar or honey and stir until dissolved. Let cool until the bowl is cool enough to handle, then refrigerate until chilled. Transfer the tea mixture to a pitcher. Add lemon juice and vodka and stir to combine. Add about a tray's worth of ice cubes (~14 cubes) and mix to combine. Serve immediately.

Emeril's Flourless Chocolate Cake

I was asked if I might be willing to make a gluten free cake for a coworker's retirement party, and was told that she really liked flourless chocolate cake. I accepted because A) I like this person and B) I had just the recipe in mind and it was a perfect excuse to make and eat this cake.

Admittedly I have only tried one other flourless cake recipe in my life, but I like Emeril's flourless chocolate cake recipe so much that I don't feel like I need to go looking for another. This one is fudgy and has an intense chocolate flavor, probably because there's an entire pound of chocolate in it, but is not overly sweet. If chocolate had the texture of butter, it would be this cake, and you won't find me complaining about it.

Notes:

• The recipe allegedly serves 16 but I think that's a generous estimate because it's very dense and rich. If you've served an entire meal before this it will probably feed more people, especially if they don't have big appetites to begin with. I served it to a group of 25 people who were mostly light eaters, and we still had leftovers.
• For serving: I topped it with a dusting of powdered sugar and fresh raspberries and blackberries, as shown in the picture.
• If you are averse to putting alcohol in your cake or don't have any Kahlua, you can substitute espresso or strong coffee.
• I used semisweet chocolate chips for part of the chocolate but I would definitely use the highest quality real chocolate you can find (I have learned there's such a thing as chocolate *flavored* chips. What are they made out of?).

RECIPE: Flourless Chocolate Cake

Holiday Bakeathon 2015

Holiday baking day #2! We learned from the previous year and seriously dialed things back so that we could finish everything in one day, such as keeping it down to 1 type of cutout cookie. We kept some recipes we really liked, but also collectively chose some new things to try out. I liked making everything so close to Christmas this time so things could still be really fresh to bring to family celebrations.

RECIPES

• Spicy Gingerbread Cookies (Smitten Kitchen) -- this year's designs featured hipster owls and hipster bread men (gingerbread men with glasses and sweater vests). I taught Sarah and Caroline to pipe frosting and they had a lot of fun with it.
• Cream Cheese Frosting
• Decadent Hot Chocolate Mix (Smitten Kitchen) -- so good we made it again. I gave some to a friend, and she introduced me to some adult beverage serving suggestions that make it extra cozy: 1/2 ounce (1 tbsp) or so of banana liqueur (she strongly recommends 99 Bananas) or blackberry brandy! I have tried both and love both.
• Cinnamon-Sugar Rugelach -- something new to try that I first had at a work potluck, featuring the irresistible combination of cinnamon, sugar, and butter.
• Homemade Marshmallows (Alton Brown) -- to accompany the hot chocolate again, though just as delicious alone.

BAKEATHONS PAST

• 2014

Bread and Butter Pickles

Sweet pickles are a relatively new addition to my life. I had tried them before but was really put off by how sweet they were, especially when I grew up eating pickles that were sour and salty. My grandma's dill pickles were the gold standard for most of my life.

However, on a trip to a meat market and old timey general store, they had samples of bread and butter pickles, and theirs were just a little bit sweet, and they tasted amazing! I thought I didn't like them, but it turns out I had only had bad ones before.

Fast forward to this summer, where I ended up with more cucumbers than I knew what to do with and decided I'd try to make some into pickles. I wanted to try and make some not-so-sweet bread and butter pickles, so I compared recipes and Smitten Kitchen's was on the less sweet side, plus she rarely steers me wrong, so I gave Deb's recipe a shot. These have become a late summer staple in my house.

Notes:

• I like using ground coriander a little better than the whole seeds because they're kind of big and hard to eat with the pickle.
• I have used both yellow onions and white onions when I can't find sweet onions.
• I use about 2/3 cup sugar per batch.

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RECIPE: Bread and Butter Pickles

Salad Rolls with Peanut Dipping Sauce

I was taught how to make these at a party recently, and when it got really hot I wanted to have some more. These are fresh tasting and super filling, and great for using up your farmer's market haul!

Notes:

• Don't let the wrapper sit too long in the water or it will get really soft and might rip or get gummy.
• These don't keep very well (the wrapper texture gets kind of tough and it's kind of like chewing on plastic) so be sure you're going to eat them within about an hour of assembling them and do not refrigerate them. You can prepare and chop all of the ingredients and then store them until you're ready to make them.
• Suggestions for fillings:
• Vegetables: lettuce leaves, salad greens, cabbage, carrot, cucumber, sweet pepper, kohlrabi, radish
• Herbs: Thai basil, regular basil, mint, cilantro
• Proteins: dry fried tofu, shredded cooked chicken or pork, cooked shrimp
• Others: cooked rice vermicelli, cooked glass noodles, mango, avocado

RECIPE: Salad Rolls with Peanut Dipping Sauce

Chai Spice Cinnamon Rolls

I first tried chai as a high schooler. My friend and I would sometimes go to coffee shops for our friends' live band shows but I did not really like coffee. She suggested chai to me as an alternative and I ended up liking it a lot! I drink it with a lot less sugar in it these days, but the warming spices mixed with black tea and milk is a winning combination.

A recent jaunt on Pinterest gave me a hankering for chai spiced cinnamon rolls. Somehow cinnamon rolls don't seem like middle-of-the-summer food but that was what I wanted. Sometimes you want to try something so badly you don't care how hot it is and you turn on your oven and deal with it.

Notes:

• I used this recipe by Fit Foodie Finds to determine general ratios of the spices in the filling, but feel free to tweak them to your liking.
• If you don't have whole milk, low fat milk can be used. I have not tried it with non dairy milks but I think they would work just fine here.
• Plastic pizza cutter wheels are a wondrous tool and they also work great for cutting doughs like this one.
• I needed to add more flour to the dough. 
• There's a LOT of filling and I might cut back on the butter/sugar next time. 
• Definitely roll from the short side! I accidentally rolled mine from the long side and they were falling apart.

Verdict: They're really soft and a little chewy. I loved them and would make them again.

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RECIPE:

Chai Spice Cinnamon Rolls

adapted from Life Made Simple

Makes about 12 rolls

Dough

2 3/4 cups (350g) all purpose flour, plus more for rolling

2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast

1 tsp kosher salt

1/4 cup (52g) granulated sugar

2 tbsp (1/4 stick, about 28g) butter

1/2 cup (120 ml) warm water

1/4 cup (60 ml) whole milk

1 large egg

Filling

1/2 cup dark brown sugar

1 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp ground cinnamon

Heaping 1/4 tsp ground allspice

Heaping 1/4 tsp ground cardamom

Heaping 1/4 tsp ground cloves

3/4 tsp vanilla extract

3 tbsp (42g) butter, softened

Glaze (optional)

1 1/2 cups (195g) powdered or confectioners sugar

1/4 cup (1/2 stick, about 56g) butter, melted

1 tsp vanilla extract

2-3 tbsp (30-45 ml) milk

Make the dough: Stir together flour, yeast, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer until combined, then set aside. In a glass measuring cup or small microwave safe bowl, heat the sugar, butter, water, and milk in the microwave on high until the butter is almost melted and the mixture is hot, about 90 seconds. (If you do not have a microwave, heat these ingredients in a saucepan over medium high heat, stirring frequently, until hot and the butter has almost melted.) Add this to the flour mixture in several additions, then add egg, stirring well, until a sticky dough forms. Switch to the dough hook attachment and let mix on the lowest setting until the dough becomes elastic, about 4 minutes. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let rest for about 5 minutes.

Fill and shape the rolls: Preheat oven to 200°F (95°C) while you shape the rolls. Prepare a lightly floured surface, then roll the dough with a lightly floured rolling pin into a 16 x 9 inch (40 x 23 cm) rectangle. Combine brown sugar, spices, and vanilla extract in a small bowl with a spoon. Spread softened butter on top of the dough rectangle. Sprinkle the brown sugar mixture evenly over the buttered dough. Grab the short side and tightly roll the dough into a log. Cut log into 12 equal slices.

Let rolls rise: Lightly grease a 9 x 13 inch baking dish and gently place the rolls inside. Cover the dish with aluminum foil. Turn off the oven and place the baking dish inside. Let rise for about 25 minutes, then take the dish out of the oven.

Bake the rolls: Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C). Once it is ready, return baking dish to oven and bake until the center of each roll is golden brown, approximately 15-18 minutes. Place dish on a rack and let cool while you prepare the glaze.

Prepare glaze: Place all ingredients (with the smaller amount of milk) in a small bowl and mix with a spoon or beat with a hand mixer until smooth. It should be fairly thick but still pourable; thin with additional milk if needed. Spread or pour on top of slightly warm (not hot!) rolls.