New Orleans Bloody Mary

Tomato juice spiked with hot sauce and Worcestershire sauce and lime juice, not to mention vodka, the traditional cocktail gets a twist in this New Orleans Bloody Mary, the addition of pickled okra.

 

A couple of summers ago, my friends and I organized a long weekend trip to New Orleans, to celebrate all of our fiftieth birthdays that year. We booked a great apartment just off Bourbon Street with enough beds for the 10 of us, where we could park the cars nearby and not need to use them again till Sunday for the road trip back to Houston. There was going to be some drinking.

And because this is the digital era, I created a group Pinterest board where we could all pin favorite restaurants, places to shop, what we wanted most to see and do. Planning the trip, the anticipation of excursions and meals and time with dear friends, was a big part of the fun.

Over the years, I’ve been to New Orleans many times since I have family there, but this was the first time it would be just a group of girlfriends with no ties and no firm plans, except to eat and drink and enjoy.

That great weekend immediately came to mind when I received an email offering me a copy of author Steven Well Hicks’ updated 2015 edition of 25 Definitive New Orleans Restaurants (And a Dozen Damn Good Places to Drink.) for review. (<affiliate link) This is the sort of book I could plan whole vacations around, never mind the occasional long weekend! 

Not your typical restaurant review book, Hicks has consciously limited himself to just 25, to make sure that justice is done to each restaurant, both in telling its history and sharing what makes it special. It’s a great read, even if you don’t have a trip planned to New Orleans any time in the future. But if you are going, or if you have good memories of a trip already taken, you are really going to love this book.

The New Orleans Bloody Mary
On Saturday morning we had split into smaller groups of three or four to wander the French Quarter and do a little shopping. We had been walking for a while when we happened upon a small shop selling witchcraft and voodoo supplies. New Orleans is like that. We went in but the whole thing gave me the heebie-jeebies so I left my friends there and moseyed on down the block window shopping until I came to a corner bar. 

Doors and windows were wide open, dark green shutters folded back, a ball game was on the television and the friendly bartender called out a welcome. I helped myself to a comfortable bar stool and ordered a Bloody Mary. Because Bloody Marys are totally allowed in the morning, on weekends or holidays. This was all three.

Now there are lots of recipes for Bloody Marys and I’ve been drinking Bloody Marys for a lot of years. But the icy red libation, spiked with hot sauce, lime and Worcestershire sauce, that was pushed across the bar to me – in a plastic cup, of course – had one element I’d never seen before in a Bloody Mary. Pickled okra! “Oh!” I exclaimed in delight and surprise. “I love pickled okra!” And that doll of a bartender filled another glass with more okra and passed that over too.

Ingredients
2-3 pickled okra (plus more for munching) Talk o’ Texas is my favorite brand.
Ice
Wedge of lime
1 1/2 shots vodka
Worcestershire Sauce (Lea & Perrins is the best.)
Hot sauce (We like the Louisiana Habanero Hot Sauce. It is SPICY.)
Tomato juice

Method
Tuck one long pickled okra on the side of your glass as you fill it with ice cubes.

Add in your vodka, then a generous amount of Worcestershire (at least a couple of teaspoons) and a more moderate few shakes of the hot sauce.

Squeeze in the lime juice and drop the lime wedge in.

Top up with tomato juice and give the whole thing a good stir.

Add a couple more pickled okra for garnish.

Enjoy!

A little more about the author and book from the official blurb
“After 40 years of searching for what makes the restaurants and saloons of New Orleans unique, novelist Steven Wells Hicks has come up with some answers – 37 of them to be precise. In his sixth guidebook on the subject, 25 Definitive New Orleans Restaurants (& A Dozen Damned Good Places to Drink), Hicks has distilled several hundred reviews into a manageable cluster of establishments that he believes will point city visitors toward ‘the real deal.’ “

Hicks’ bio describes him as a curmudgeon but I thought he was delightful and honest, an entertaining storyteller. Whether you are planning a trip to New Orleans or just love a good foodie story, you’ll enjoy this book.

Pin this New Orleans Bloody Mary! 

Petit Croquembouche Citron Framboise #ValentineCroque

Both an edible centerpiece and a festive celebration, this choux pastry bun turret is filled with fresh lemon custard and held together with crunchy when dried royal icing, thereby fulfilling the croque part of its croquembouche or "crunch in mouth" name. Fresh red raspberries add a burst of color and a wonderful juicy counterpoint to the choux buns and lemon custard.

Traditional croquembouche are tall, tall towers constructed of choux buns filled with vanilla pastry cream and are held together as much by faith and luck as the spun caramelized sugar. When my friend Jenni, from Pastry Chef Online  - of Fearless in the Kitchen fame - challenged me to make one as part of a group event, I signed up in haste and repented in leisure.

I knew that I wouldn’t have the time to make a towering tower. But I have a hard time resisting a challenge, especially one of a baking/food nature. So I thought to myself: How about a small turret? A turret would be totally doable, right? But what about the unattractive and painful sugar burns that are almost always the result of spinning caramelized sugar?  Wouldn’t royal icing work instead? If it can hold together a gingerbread mosque, surely it could cement a few choux buns in place, providing the necessary eponymous crunch in the process. Channeling Jenni and her fearlessness in the kitchen, I plowed ahead. I’ll let you be the judge of the results - it's not the straightest of turrets - but I can tell you that it was delicious.

Come join me and all my croquembouche building friends as we leap outside our comfort zones for your amusement. Make sure you scroll down to the bottom to see all the links. This is a long post because there are three recipes to make and then assemble but you can do it too!

Ingredients
For the lemon custard:
1/4 cup or 50g sugar
3 tablespoons plain flour
1 pinch salt
1 cup or 240ml milk
Zest 1 lemon
1 egg yolk, slightly beaten (Save the white for the royal icing!)
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon butter
Plus another teaspoon or so of lemon juice to slightly loosen the custard after chilling, if necessary.

For the choux pastry:
1/4 cup or 50g butter
1/2 cup or 120ml water
1/2 cup or 65g plain flour
1 pinch salt
2 eggs, at room temperature

For the royal icing
1 1/2 cups or 190g pure icing sugar, sifted
1 egg white
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
Tiny pinch salt
Pinch cream of tartar

Method
I made the choux buns a couple of days before I needed them and kept them fresh and dry in a Ziploc bag. I read somewhere online that as long as you let them cool completely before bagging, the drier, two-day-old choux buns are actually better for assembling your croquembouche because they stay crisp longer once filled with custard or pastry cream. The custard and royal icing can also be made a couple of days in advance. Just keep them well covered in the refrigerator to prevent them from drying out. Fill the buns and assemble the croquembouche no more than a few hours before serving lest they soften too much and risk collapse.

Lemon Custard Filling
In a small saucepan, not on the stove or with the stove turned off, combine sugar, flour and the pinch of salt. Stir in your milk, a little at a time, whisking until smooth.

Turn on the stove and bring your mixture to the boil over medium heat, stirring constantly.

Boil 60 seconds and then pour about a 1/4 cup or 60ml of the hot liquid into the beaten egg yolk while you whisk constantly. This warms the egg yolk so it doesn’t cook when you add it to the saucepan. Now add the heated egg yolk to the saucepan gradually, once again, whisking all the while and then keep stirring until mixture starts to bubble again. Your custard should be quite thick now.

Remove from heat and add the lemon juice, zest and butter. Stir well until the butter is melted and the butter and juice are fully incorporated.

Put the custard in a bowl and cover the surface with cling film so a skin doesn’t form on top as it cools. Chill in a refrigerator until ready to use.

Preheat your oven to 400°F or 200°C and prepare your baking sheet by lining it with parchment paper stuck down with a little non-stick spray or a silicone baking mat.

Choux Pastry Buns
Sift together your flour and a pinch of salt and put it right next to the stove in readiness.

In a medium pot, combine the butter and water and bring to the boil. Pour the flour/salt mixture into the boiling water/butter all at once.

Stir vigorously until the mixture forms a ball and pulls right away from the sides. This takes just a minute or two.

Now take the pot off of the stove and add the eggs, one at a time, beating well with your wooden spoon in between. It looks like the egg won’t mix in and the dough starts to fall apart but keep mixing and after a couple of minutes of hard labor, the dough comes together again and it’s time to add the second egg.

After both eggs have been added in.

After the last egg has been incorporated into the dough, put it by spoonfuls into a piping bag with a large tip.

Pipe the soft dough on the parchment paper in 1 inch or 2.5cm circles about an equal measure apart from each other.

Poke down any pointy tops with a damp finger.

Bake in your preheated oven for 10 minutes then turn the temperature down to 350°F or 180°C and bake for a further 30 minutes.

Remove from the oven and poke a hole in one side of each choux bun with a toothpick. This allows the steam to escape and helps the choux bun keep its shape as it cools. Cool completely on a wire rack.

Royal Icing
Sift your icing sugar into a medium sized mixing bowl and add the pinch of salt and cream of tartar.

Beat your egg white until it’s a little frothy and add it along with the lemon juice to the icing sugar.

Mix thoroughly. Cover the icing with cling film to keep it from drying out.

Building the Croquembouche
When you are ready to build your turret, take the custard out of the refrigerator and give it a good stir to loosen it up. Put a test spoonful in your piping bag with a filling tip and see if you can squeeze it out. If it’s too stiff, add one teaspoon of lemon juice to the bowl and stir well to completely incorporate it. Mine was borderline so I decided to just power through and squeeze hard.

Note: The Wilton site says that the filling tip doesn’t work with a coupler but I didn’t read that until after, so I made it work with a coupler. It wasn’t easy but I got that sucker all screwed together properly. Amazing what one can do when one doesn’t know one can’t.

Fill your piping bag with the lemon custard. Use the filling tip to poke a bigger hole in the choux buns where you put the toothpick to let the steam out. I ended up with 7 oz by volume or 240g, which was enough to fill 19 of my 21 buns. I used 17 of those in the croquembouche.

Put your royal icing in a piping bag with a small round tip. I used the Wilton #3. Pipe some icing onto your plate in a circle to anchor the filled choux buns.

My bottom layer had only six in a circle initially but then I realized as I built up that one in the center of the bottom was needed for structural integrity so the layers are as follows, with royal icing between, under and on top of each:

Bottom – seven choux buns

2nd layer – five choux buns

Leave the croquembouche to set for about 20-30 minutes at this point, in a cool, dry place, which allows the royal icing to harden.

3rd layer – four choux buns

Top – one choux bun

Use the royal icing to fill small gaps between the choux buns and drizzle decoratively, generously, on the outside.

Allow to dry for a further 20-30 minutes, or longer.  When you are ready to serve the croquembouche, stick the raspberries on the reasonably horizontal bits with more royal icing. You can get them to stick to the sides if you have time to hold each one on till the icing hardens but I am guessing ain’t nobody got time for that.

Enjoy! Now that wasn’t so hard, was it?

If you are looking for inspiration for Valentine’s Day, start with this great link list of croquembouche. There’s even a savory version for those who aren’t crazy about sweets.

• Chocolate Orange Croquembouche from Laura of Mother Would Know
• Dulce de Leche Croquembouche from Ansh of Spice Roots
• Kick Ass Croquembouche from Sophia of NY Foodgasm
• Lemon Cream Croquembouche from Liz of That Skinny Chick Can Bake
• Lobster Chantilly Croquembouche with Black Truffle Confetti from Camilla of Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Menage a Trois Croquembouche from Amy of Gluten Glory
• Petit Croquembouche Citron Framboise from Stacy of Food Lust People Love
• Raspberry Rose Croquembouche from Jenni of Jenni Field’s Pastry Chef Online
• Valentine Croquembouche from Kim of Ninja Baker

Welcome to our Valentine Croquembouche Challenge (#ValentineCroque). We are a group of intrepid bloggers who occasionally like to push ourselves well out of our comfort zone to meet baking challenges fearlessly.

We are here to show you that you do not always have to be bound by tradition, so we created croquembouche that adhere to the spirit of the dish if not the actual letter. You’ll find all sorts of combinations of flavors here (including a savory version) that will hopefully expand your idea of croquembouche. Not all of our croques were wildly successful, but we all learned something, and we all pushed ourselves. Besides, blogging shouldn’t always be about aspirational and often unobtainable Pinterest moments. It should also be about the near misses and the journey we take when we take a chance. Thanks for joining us today.

If you’re interested in participating in future challenges, please contact Jenni.

Follow our Valentine Croquembouche Pinterest Board for more Croquembouche inspiration.

Going with French tradition, I served the croquembouche for my dear mother-in-law's 81st birthday dessert, instead of cake. And for family, here's two shots of the birthday girl enjoying her treat. 

 

Cherry Apple Crumble Tart #FoodieExtravaganza

Sweet juicy cherries tossed with tart green apples then topped with a brown sugar oatmeal crumble and baked in a slightly sweet crust, this may well be the perfect tart. 

This post is a little walk down memory lane for me. Two and a half years ago, we were living in Cairo, Egypt. Vegetables and fruit are grown all along the verdant Nile valley, an area so abundantly fertile that it makes a dramatic satellite photo. With such a proliferation of fresh produce, hardly anything is shipped in so eating seasonally is just about the only choice. And the honest truth is that the majority of Egyptians could not afford expensive imported goods.

                                                                                                                                               Photo credit: National Geographic

Isn’t that extraordinary? Lush vegetation thrives all along the river valley, in the middle of starkly barren desert. According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, arable land makes up only three percent of Egypt's land mass.

Here in Dubai, we have the same issue but no Nile. There are some lovely vegetables grown in farms in the desert but they require substantial irrigation from expensively produced water and have growing months limited by the scorching temperatures of summer. Fruit trees that require cold weather to blossom are out of the question. Which brings me to cherries, which are our ingredient of the month for my Foodie Extravaganza group.

All the fresh cherries in Dubai are imported and terribly expensive so I was debating what I could make or bake with canned or dried ones. Then I remembered this lovely cherry and apple crumble tart that I baked and photographed while we lived in Cairo but had never shared. The sweet deep purple cherries add such a lovely flavor to the crisp apples. In case you are curious, visit Egypt in August or September to enjoy the abundant cherry crop.

The recipe for the crust was shared with me almost 20 years ago by my friend, Mary, who lives in the Channel Islands.

Ingredients
For the crust:
1 1/2 cups or 190g flour
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup or 150g cold butter
1 whole egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1-2 tablespoons milk

For the pie filling:
10 1/2 oz or 295g cherries
2 medium apples
1/2 cup or 100g sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt

For the crumble:
1 cup or 95g rolled oats
1/4 cup or 50g butter, softened
1/2 cup or 50g brown sugar
Pinch salt

Method
In a large mixing bowl, sift your flour, sugar, baking powder and salt together.

Cut the butter into pieces and add them to the dry ingredients. Use a pastry blender to cut the butter into the flour, until you end up with a rather sandy texture.

Make a well in the center and add the egg, vanilla and one tablespoon of milk. Mix them into the flour with a fork.

Add more milk if it seems too dry to come together as a dough.

Knead quickly with your hands for just a few turns. Wrap the dough in cling film and chill for 10-15 minutes in the refrigerator. Meanwhile preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C.

While the chilling and the preheating are going on, let’s start preparing our filling. Pit the cherries with a cherry pitter or, failing that, three or four toothpicks taped together can be pushed through one end of the cherries to dislodge the pits. Put the cherries in a bowl that will be big enough to hold your apples, once sliced, as well.

When chilling time is up, roll the dough out and fit it into your tart pan. Mine is shallow and wide, about 11 in or 28cm across.

Prick it all over with a fork or the tip of a sharp knife to help keep it from puffing up while baking.

Line the inside of the crust with baking parchment and fill it with pie beads or dried beans. Bake it in your preheated oven for 10 minutes.

While the crust blind bakes, prepare your apples. Cut them in half and remove the cores. If you can manage to slice them very, very finely, you can leave the peelings on, otherwise, it’s probably best to peel. Slice them as thinly as you can and pile them into the bowl with the cherries.

Add in the sugar, cornstarch and salt for the filling and stir well.

In another bowl, mix together your crumble ingredients.

Once the crust has finished baking, take it out of the oven and allow to cool for a few minutes before carefully removing the parchment and pie beads or dried beans.

Pile the cherries and apples in the crust and spread them out somewhat evenly. Sprinkle on the crumble to cover.

Bake for 45-50 minutes or until the whole tart is golden and the apples are cooked through.

I completely forgot to take a photo of the tart being served but I can guarantee each slice was accompanied by a healthy pour of thick cream. Because that’s how tarts must be served, according to my husband. If you want to add a scoop of vanilla ice cream instead, feel free.

If this is your first time joining us, the Foodie Extravaganza is a monthly party hosted by bloggers who love food! Each month we incorporate one main ingredient into recipes to share with you and this month that ingredient is a Valentine's Day classic, cherries!

Be sure to check out the rest of these fantastic cherry recipes!

• 4 Ingredient Chocolate Covered Cherry Cake Balls by Keep it Simple, Sweetie
• Balsamic Cherry Brie Stuffed French Toast by Pantry Friendly Cooking
• Breakfast Yogurt with Cherry Sauce by Brunch with Joy
• Cherry Apple Crumble Tart by Food Lust People Love
• Cherry Chocolate Coconut Slices by Baking in Pyjamas
• Cherry Danishes by Passion Kneaded
• Cherry Glazed Cherry Muffins by We Like to Learn as We Go
• Cherry Pie Bars by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Cherry Pie Bites by The Freshman Cook
• Chocolate and Maraschino Cherry Shortbread Cookies by Making Miracles
• Chocolate Cherry Protein Smoothie by Mrs. Penguin
• Chocolate Cherry Brownies by Cindy's Recipes and Writings
• Crock Pot Balsamic Cherry Beef Roast by Rae Gun Ramblings 
• Dark Cherry BBQ Sauce by The Joyful Foodie
• Dark Cherry-Cranberry Compote by Rhubarb and Honey
• Fresh Cherry Crisp by Fearlessly Creative Mammas
• Real Maraschino Cherries by Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Vanilla Ice Cream with Dried Cherries and Dark Chocolate by Sew You Think You Can Cook

Follow our Foodie Extravaganza Pinterest board for past events and more deliciousness!