Archive for June, 2010

More On Kirsch and Tips for a Flambé

Posted on: June 24th, 2010 by Carla Johnson 1 Comment

Kirsch

Kirschwasser is German for “cherry water.” It is a clear brandy made from double distillation of the fermented juice and pits of cherries.

It is believed that Kirsch originated in Germany’s Black Forest where the morello cherry, the original kirsch cherry, was grown. Today, a few different types of cherries, both sweet and sour are used to make it.

Many clear fruit liqueurs are enjoyed in German-speaking areas of Europe. There is Obstler which means “fruity” is distilled from apple and sometimes pear juice, Zwetschgenwasser which means “plum water” and Himbeergeist which means “raspberry spirit.” In French-speaking communities they are called Eau de Vie which means “water of life.”

Kirsch is not sweet like cherry liqueurs. Kirschwassers have more of a bitter taste and are to be used and served like a brandy. It is an essential ingredient in Swiss cheese fondues and was one of the original ingredients in Schwärzwalder Kirschtorte, also known as Black Forest cake, that originated about 500 years ago.

Some chocolatiers make kirsch chocolates and they are very similar to brandy chocolates. Yum! cherrycola

Here is a fun drink with Kirsch.

Cherry Cola Recipe

Ingredients

Kirsch liqueur, 2oz
Cola, 2oz

Preparation
This Kirsch liqueur recipe serves two, so you can vary the measurement of the ingredients, depending on which flavor you want to taste more. Pour the ingredients into a Tom Collins glass, shake well and serve chilled with ice.

Tips for a Flambé

Flambé is the French word for “flaming” or “flamed.” It requires a liquor or liqueur with a high alcohol content. Brandy, rum, whisky, cognac and vodka are common. 80 proof or higher is best. Over 120 proof is too high and can be dangerous. Wine, champagne & beer do not have a high enough alcohol content to be flambéd.

The liquor can be lit before or after it is poured onto the food. In some cases, where the food is hot enough, the liquor will spontaneously burst into flames when it is added. Be sure to keep a lid handy in case it needs to be smothered. With Cherries Jubilee, you light it in a ladle. In this case, it is best to use a long stick match or a BBQ lighter, so your hand is back from the flame when it ignites.

Flambéing burns off the alcohol and the harsh flavours that can come with it to leave behind the sweetness of the sugars in the liquor. It will burn a dramatic blue flame you and your guests will enjoy.

flambe

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“She’s a Trooper” Cherries Jubilee

Posted on: June 24th, 2010 by Carla Johnson 1 Comment

“I feel the end approaching. Quick, bring me my dessert, coffee and liqueur.”

~ Pierette, great-aunt of Anthelme Brillat-Savarin

This story & recipe features the beautiful photography of Wayne Atack of www.RovingEye.ca.

May you enjoy the story, the recipe and Wayne’s stunning photographs. More of his work is featured in the “Cooking With Sin” book.

Health, strength and endurance are essential to living a vibrant life and taking good care of herself is something Sally Vlaar values deeply. She starts every day with a good 1 hour walk and she’ll jump at any chance to get in a good run too. It has been that way for years and it takes more than most of us could handle to keep her from being active.

Sally passed the love of fitness on to her family and recently she participated in a 10km run with most of her children and grandchildren. They often run for charitable causes, but this one was just for fun!

Her strength and endurance have served her very well. A few years ago, Sally was doing home care work travelling from house to house attending to the needs of people confined to their homes. Sally was visiting one particular house on an icy winter day when she slipped and fell hard onto the concrete sidewalk. The pain in her foot seared through her body and she knew she was in big trouble when she reached for her ankle and found it snapped over on a disturbingly unnatural angle.

At the time, cell phones were not attached to everyone, like they are today. Sally knew she had to get herself to a phone. Not wanting to yell and disturb the bed-ridden person in the home, she pulled herself onto her knees, careful to protect her badly broken ankle, and crawled back to the house, up the front stairs and let herself in the door. Keeping her composure, and not wanting to alarm the homeowner, she called out and identified herself as she made her way to the phone.

At this point, even the strongest among us would have collapsed and called 911, but not Sally. Her son-in-law Darcy says, “She’s a trooper” and he is so right. Worried more about the people under her care than her own ankle, the first call she made was to her work, to let them know she couldn’t make the rest of her rounds. Then she called her husband to pick her up and take her to the hospital. She could have called 911, but she believed there were worse emergencies at that moment than her ankle and didn’t want to occupy an ambulance unnecessarily. So considerate. So beautiful.

A few months ago, she was hospitalized for several days with a serious health concern, yet even in her weakened state with all kinds of tubes and vials connected to her, she got out of the bed several times a day and walked the hospital halls dragging the pole with her.

Since that hospital stay, she has had to change her already very healthy diet drastically. Fats and alcohol are almost completely cut out now and one thing she misses is her Cherries Jubilee. She loves making it and she loves serving it.

Sally says to make sure you serve it in the evening in dim light so you can enjoy the blue flame. Once she served it to her family in the light of day, but no one could see the flame so she increased the amount of Kirsch. The flame was huge… and so hot it almost burnt her arm!

This recent health scare forced her to slow down – for a brief stint – but now Sally is back to walking an hour a day and getting in a good run when she can.

Cherries Jubilee

4 – 6 servings

Ingredients:

1 can pitted Bing Cherries (These are dark cherries, not sour cherries, nor cherry pie filling)

¼ cup sugar

2 tablespoons cornstarch

¼ cup Kirsch or a cherry brandy

Vanilla ice cream

Equipment:

1 heavy sauce pan

1 large serving bowl that can handle flames

4 – 6 small serving dishes that can handle flames

1 ladle that can handle flames and has a handle that will keep your hand away from the flames.

Mix a small amount of the canned cherry juice with the cornstarch. Makes sure the juice is cold and stir until the cornstarch is blended. It will make a cloudy liquid.
Strain the remaining canned cherry juice into a heavy sauce pan, add the sugar and heat on medium-high heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar.
Just before the juice & sugar mix comes to a boil, slowly stir in the cornstarch mix keeping the heat on medium-high. Once the cornstarch is mixed in, let it come to a boil. Keep stirring until the liquid thickens and is clear & shiny.
Stir in the cherries and heat until everything is heated through. The cherries can be added earlier with the cornstarch, but the cherries don’t need to be cooked.
Pour the mix into a nice glass or ceramic serving dish that can that can handle a bit of heat.
Scoop the ice cream into individual glass or ceramic bowls that can handle some heat.
Pour the kirsch into a ladle that can handle heat and light it. It is best to use a long stick match or a lighter with a long tip and light it just at the edge of the ladle. The flame with travel across quickly, so keep your hand back.
Slowly pour the flaming kirsch into the cherry bowl, stirring slowly to let it continue flaming.
Pour the cherry mix over the ice cream and enjoy. It’s deelish!

The key to flambéing is to shake the cherries gently so the flame continues to burn off some of the harshness of the alcohol and candies the sugars. Your family and guests will be entertained by it, too.

Sally says,

“Do enjoy. Just don’t over do.” 😉

Wayne’s beautiful family enjoyed a special night of testing and tasting Sally’s Cherries Jubilee recipe

The next post discusses More on Kirsch & Tips for a Flambe in more detail.

Looking for a quick version? Check out my “Flaming Cherries Jubilee.“

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“Just Because” Carbonnade à la Flamande

Posted on: June 22nd, 2010 by Carla Johnson No Comments

“From man’s sweat and God’s love, beer came into the world.”

~ Saint Arnold of Metz, The Patron Saint of Brewers

Carbonnade à la Flamande is a Belgium beer and beef stew with a sweet-sour flavour. The key ingredients are beef, onions, Belgian beer and the flavours of thyme and bay.

The type of beer is important. It needs a beer prepared the Belgian way with a somewhat bitter-sour flavour. Oud bruin, Brune Abbey beer, Flanders Red Ale, Newcastle Brown Ale, Anchor Steam, Ommegang Alley Ale, or dark Trappist beers from Chimay or Orval.

There is no story to go with this recipe. I just thought I’d share it here because I am getting ready to go to print with this project and am looking for some interesting bits to supplement the recipes. This carbonnade is a cousin to the French Boeuf Bourguignon.

Ingredients

3 1/2 lbs chuck roast, cut into 1-inch pieces
3 strips of bacon
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 Tablespoons butter
3 medium yellow onions sliced about 1/4 inch thick (about 8 cups)
1 ½ Tablespoon chopped garlic
3 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups chicken or beef broth
1 1/2 cups (12 oz bottle) Belgian beer
4 sprigs fresh thyme
2 bay leaves
1 Tablespoon whole grain mustard
1 Tablespoon brown sugar

Season the roast pieces with salt and pepper, then brown in a large pot or Dutch oven with 2 tablespoons of butter on medium-high.
Brown the meat in 2 tablespoons of butter in batches. Brown the beef one side at a time, approximately 3 minutes per side. It is best not to stir so that the meat can brown well. Place the browned beef in a bowl.
Cut the bacon into small pieces and brown in the pan until crispy. Set the bacon aside leaving the bacon fat in the pan.
Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter to the large pot. Add the onions and cook over medium heat until the onions are browned. Add the garlic half way through as it browns quicker. Sprinkle the flour over the onions and stir until the onions are coated evenly (about 2 minutes).
Add the broth and stir loosening the browning on the bottom of the pan. Stir in the beer, thyme, bay leaf then add the browned beef and bacon. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Cook on medium-high until it is a full boil, then reduce and simmer for approximately 2 ½ hours, partially covered, stirring occasionally. If it doesn’t thicken, slowly stir in a mixture of cold water and flour or cornstarch.
After 2 hours, add the mustard and brown sugar and let it finish cooking for another ½ hour.
Remove the bay leaf and thyme sprigs before serving.
Can be served plain, or over potatoes, noodles, or French fries. Serves 6.

oud_bruin_heineken Because it is a traditional dish, there are a lot of different ways to prepare and serve Carbonnade à la Flamande. It can be made with chunks of ground chuck instead of the chopped roast. Vegetables can be added near the end. Potatoes work well cooked in the broth. The seasonings can be adjusted to taste; nutmeg and parsley work well.

To achieve the sweet-sour taste red wine vinegar or cider vinegar can be substituted for the sour and concentrated fruit juices or tomato paste can be substituted for the sweet.

For the final stage of cooking, bread spread on both sides with mustard can be placed on top of the stew to be absorbed into the stew. It adds flavour and thickens too.