Pimm's Jelly Shots

My friend, Alisa, shared this link.  I think she did it because I was the one who introduced her to Pimm's.  I haven't tried these, yet, but I'm betting they are refreshing and a fun item for guests.  

This recipe is on the Serious Eats website.  

Drink The Book: Pimm's No. 1 Cup Jelly Shots

Posted by Caroline Russock, 4 Comments

June 6, 2011 at 4:00 PM

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Tags: Drink the Book, Jelly Shot Test Kitchen, jelly shots, Michelle Palm, Pimm's

[Photographs: Amy Webster & Michelle Palm]

As you may have noticed, we have a thing for Pimm's. We've long been fans of the Pimm's Cup, a citrusy sweet, lightly bitter refresher traditionally garnished with cucumber and sometimes strawberries and orange, and lately, we just can't resist a Pimm's concoction, whether it's mixed with whiskey or muddled with mint and Hendrick's gin. But a jello shot Pimm's Cup had never occurred to us until we saw these Pimm's No. 1 Cup Jelly Shots from Jelly Shot Test Kitchen.

In order to incorporate all of the flavors of the Pimm's Cup into the shots without veering into chunky Jell-O salad territory, cucumber, strawberries, orange and mint are muddled together with the Pimm's to make the base. A tart lemon syrup and ginger ale are mixed in along with the gelatin to mimic that sparkly tartness of the classic cocktail.

Once jelled you can get fancy with all sorts of elegant garnishes like slivers of strawberries and individual mint leaves or serve them on top of little discs of cucumber for easy popping.

As always with our Drink the Book feature, we have five (5) copies of Jelly Shot Test Kitchen to give away this month.

Adapted from Jelly Shot Test Kitchen by Michelle Palm. Copyright © 2011. Published by Running Press. Available wherever books are sold. All Rights Reserved.

Special equipment: 1-pound loaf pan (approximately 8” x 4”), large cocktail shaker and cocktail muddler

INGREDIENTS

serves 12 to 18 jelly shots, active time 30 minutes, total time 3 hours

• 4 strawberries
• 1 orange slice (about 1 inch), coarsely chopped
• 2 large sprigs fresh mint
• 1 (1-inch) piece cucumber, coarsely chopped
• 3/4 cup Pimm’s No. 1 Cup
• 6 ice cubes
• 2/3 cup ginger ale
• 2/3 cup lemon syrup (recipe follows)
• 2 envelopes Knox gelatin
• Slivers of cucumber, strawberry, orange, and mint for garnish if desired
•  
• Lemon Syrup:
• 1 ½ cups water
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 4 medium lemons, each cut into 8 wedges

PROCEDURES

1. 1
   Make the Lemon Syrup: Combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan. Muddle the lemon wedges. Bring to a rolling boil over medium heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and strain immediately. Allow the syrup to cool to room temperature.

   Short cut: A 50-50 mix of frozen lemonade concentrate and water may be substituted for Lemon Syrup. Make sure to strain to remove any lemon pulp!
2. 2
   Muddle fruit together the strawberries, orange, mint, and chopped cucumber in a large cocktail shaker. Add Pimm’s and the ice cubes and shake vigorously. Strain liquid through fine mesh strainer and set aside (you should have approximately 2/3 cup of liquid).
3. 3
   Combine ginger ale and lemon syrup in saucepan in a medium saucepan and sprinkle with gelatin. Allow gelatin to soak for a minute or two. Heat over very low heat, stirring constantly, until gelatin is fully dissolved, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and add the reserved Pimm’s liquid, stirring well to blend. Pour into pan and chill until fully set, several hours or overnight.
4. 4
   To serve, cut into rectangles. To garnish, peel “ribbons” from cucumber using a vegetable peeler. The ribbons should be about 6 inches long for easy handling. Group the slivered fruit and mint as desired, and tie each bundle with a cucumber ribbon. Trim the ribbon ends to desired length. Place a fruit bundle on each jelly shot.

Caramelized onion & apple sandwich with pineapple cashew couscous

Our friend, mixed media artist Sue Bleiweiss, who is the facilitator of the Sketchbook Challenge project, has a little secret:  she is also a trained chef!  Once I found this out I asked her to (please!) submit a favorite dish.  She graciously agreed to do just that.  I hope you will try this yummy-looking entree, and let us know how you liked it!  

Thank you, Sue, for the beautiful food.

Caramelized onion & apple sandwich with pineapple cashew couscous

This caramelized onion and apple sandwich is one of my favorite lunchtime meals. The crunchy apples paired with the sweet and savory onions along combine with the tangy creaminess of the goat cheese to make a deliciously satisfying sandwich. 

Ingredients

1 onion (Vidalia if available)

1 tbls Olive oil

1tsp brown sugar (optional)

1 apple

Spreadable goat cheese

1 tbls walnuts chopped

Lettuce

2 slices of bread

Caramelize the onions: Cut the onion in half and then slice it very thin.

Heat a skillet, add the olive oil and then toss in the onions.  Sprinkle them with a bit of kosher salt (if you have it) give them a toss and then turn the heat down to a low to medium flame. 

When you are caramelizing onions the most important thing is not to try to rush the process!  Low and Slow is the secret to bringing out their sweetness and getting them that rich golden brown color.  Give them a toss in the pan every so often so that they cook evenly.  Depending on how thinly you have sliced them the caramelizing process can take anywhere from 20 to 30 minutes. 

Once the onions have cooked down I like to toss in a teaspoon of brown sugar.  This adds color and just a touch bit more sweetness.  Stir in the brown sugar and then set the onions aside while you prepare the rest of the sandwich.

Peel and slice the apple

Spread a little goat cheese on each slice of the bread and then sprinkle with the chopped walnuts.

Add a bit of lettuce and then slices of peeled sliced apple.

Add the caramelized onions.

Top with the other slice of bread.

If you’re not a fan of apples then try this sandwich with sliced pear instead.

Pineapple Cashew Couscous

1 box Near East Couscous Parmesan (or your favorite couscous)

2 cups steamed broccoli (asparagus works nicely here too)

1 or 2 scallions chopped (white and light green parts only)

1/4 cup chopped cashews

Pineapple - 1/2 cup fresh cut chunks if it’s available, if not then a small can of drained canned pineapple chunks will do.

Prepare the Couscous according to the directions on the box.  When it’s done stir in the brocolli, cashews, and pineapple.  Toss to combine, add salt to taste and serve.

Easy Summer Steak Salad

We always seem to prepare one-too-many steaks when grilling outdoors.  This is fine with me, because I like using the leftovers in new dishes.  

The weather here in San Antonio has been very hot.  Sometimes I don't want to eat a hot meal in the summer, and tonight was one of those times.  Enter the leftover steak.

Unfortunately, I failed to take step-out photos, but this is so easy you won't need them.

Ingredients:

a variety of washed, dried, cut lettuce

one yellow zuchini (or other vegetable of choice) halved lengthwise and sliced crosswise

one red onion, sliced

olive oil

one avocado, cubed 

leftover steak, cut into 1/4 inch slices (cut against the grain of the meat), then cut into rectangular pieces

(think fork-friendly size!)

dressing of choice

Prepare lettuce and place in salad bowl to dress, but wait until just before serving to dress the greens.

Slice avocado in half with skin intact.  Using knife, create slices lengthwise in the flesh of the avocado, then crosswise.  Pop the pieces out into a prep bowl.  Easy!

Heat a wok or saute pan with 2 Tablespoons olive oil until medium-hot.

Drop onions into hot oil and sautee until nicely carmelized.  Remove from pan into a prep bowl with a slotted spoon.

Add zuchini and saute until edges are beginning to brown.  Again, remove from the pan with a slotted spoon.

Turn your sliced steak into pan.  You may wish to add a small amount of seasoning or dry rub onto the meat.  I threw a teaspoon of a steak rub I had on hand.  Quickly toss the meat in the pan enough to heat through but not cook.  Remove pan from heat until ready to serve.

Dress the salad, then plate it.

Layer the ingredients over the salad:  squash, onions, avocado, then steak.  Serve!

It was delicious and simple.  Just my kind of summer meal.

*Note:  this idea works with any leftover protein:  salmon, shrimp, pork, or chicken.  It is a nice change from a traditional chef salad!  Try it and let me know what you think.

Going to the Produce Market

 We've been going to Orange Home Grown produce market every weekend in Orange, California.  These mushroom, which I can't remember the name - you cut off the crown on the bottom and saute them with onions and garlic - oh so delicious. And Shitake mushrooms below, another favorite of mine.

The fruits and veggies are amazing.

The most flavor able and sweet strawberries!

Asparagus

The largest beets that I have ever seen.

Carrots

Dining Out in Denver, Colorado

Leslie Jenison and Jamie Fingal dined at this restaurant May 10, 2011 in Denver, Colorado.  We were celebrating the fact that we had both finished taping workshop DVD's  for Interweave in Loveland, Colorado.  We treated ourselves to a tasting menu with red wine pairings.  Rioja, 1431 Larimer, Denver, Colorado

This is the street outside the restaurant was lined with these white lights, which gave it a magical feel - the perfect start of our amazing dining experience. The chef of Rioja is Jennifer Jasinski and her book "The Perfect Bite" has 76 delicious recipes from the Rioja kitchen.  Our waiter was wonderful.  This meal reminded Jamie of dining at the French Laundry in Napa.

First Course - (Left side) tuna sashimi and tuna tartare, marinated apple and fennel, anise vinaigrette, crispy apple chips, which was fresh and sweet.  (Right side)  fresh bacon,cardamom spiced Kurobuta pork belly, Madras curry scented garbanzo bean puree, which melted in your mouth.  2007 Piedra Rojo Pinot Noir, Oregon

Second Course - roasted candy striped beet salad, cucumber mint vinaigrette, snow drop goat cheese, crispy beet chips, pickled red onion, micro beets, mint syrup, and this was one of the highlights of our tasting! 

Third Course - thyme scented tapioca gnocchi, morel mushrooms, English peas, asparagus, lemon yuzu nage.  Just the right amount of wonderful and delicious seared gnocchi.  2009 Own Roe Sinister Hand, Columbia Valley

Fourth Course - thai scallops, lemongrass panna cotta, compressed pineapple, plantain tuille, coconut kiffir lime puree.

Fifth Course - grilled Amish NY steak, organic tri-colored carrot gratin, cumin mustard vinaigrette, carrot reduction, grilled red onion marmalade, watercress, sugar snap pea, shaved carrot salad.  We were practically stuffed at this point, but managed to eat most of this entree.  It was utterly delicious.  2007 Bocchino Roccabella Nebbiolo, Langhe

Dessert - fig and goat cheese beignets

Dessert - Peanut Butter and Jelly.