The King's Toddy, or My New Health Tonic

I have never been one to sip a little something when I'm not feeling well. I always thought it was an old wives' tale that having a dram of whiskey or something could cure your ills. I'm beyond thinking that now.

A few months ago, I was invited to the Boston launch of No. 3 Gin and The King's Ginger (a ginger liqueur) at Eastern Standard. I, of course, tried all the iterations of gin cocktails that were offered to me, but my favorite of the night was a simple hot toddy made with both No. 3 and King's Ginger. The King's Ginger especially was intriguing to me because it has a much better, richer, fuller ginger taste than the other ginger liqueur on the market. I couldn't wait to get a bottle for myself. Or I thought I couldn't. Instead, I forgot all about it.

Last week, though, after feeling sick for most of this month, I was reminded of the cocktails I had tried at the event, and I remembered just how much I had loved that hot toddy. I searched around for No. 3 and King's Ginger (eventually finding them at Downtown Wine and Spirits in Somerville) and got to work.

I've made these toddies a few times now, and it only takes a sip or two to feel its effects. Between stress at work (Christmas retail in a store with concrete floors is HELL) and whatever illness I have that won't go away, I'm definitely more tense than I should be, but a King's Toddy soothes like nothing else. The warmth coupled with the intoxicating ginger, the subtleties of the gin paired with lemon and honey all add up to love in a mug.

The King's Toddy
1 oz No. 3 Gin
3/4 oz fresh lemon juice
1/2 oz King's Ginger
tsp honey

In a mug, combine gin, lemon juice, ginger liqueur, and honey. Top with hot water and whisk to dissolve the honey. Garnish with lemon twist.

Lemon Basil Shortbread

I don't know if my mother taught me this, or if it's something I just figured out on my own at a very young age, but the best way to make friends is with baked goods. Don't believe me? Try bringing a batch of something homemade along the next time you go somewhere and you don't know anyone.

Case in point: I've been enamored by a new sewing and craft shop in Cambridge since the moment I heard about it. Gather Here is, as the name implies, a place where people can get together to work on crafty projects. They have loads of classes and sewing machines that you can rent by the hour, as well as weekly gatherings where all are welcome. Anyone who knows me in real life, and many who know me only through the interwebs, know I'm a crafty person, but I'm especially obsessed with embroidery. And when I learned about Gather Here's weekly Saturday morning gatherings, how could I not attend, stitching in hand? (The piece above, a Tower of Babel meets Supernatural piece, was the one I dragged along.)

Of course, I was headed into a group that, for all I knew, were the best of friends who met every week, so I decided to whip up some cookies too. Hey, couldn't hurt, right? I have a load of basil growing in my garden right now, so I decided an update on one of my favorite recipes was in order.

(By the way, the Saturday morning group at Gather Here is awesome, and I'm looking forward to getting back there when my schedule allows. They also meet every other Thursday evening. And yes, everyone liked my cookies, so at the very least, I had that to talk about.)

Lemon Basil Shortbread
2 sticks butter
3/4 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups flour
1 Tbsp finely chopped fresh basil
1 tsp lemon zest
pinch of salt

Cream butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy. Mix in egg and vanilla. Add in flour, basil, lemon, and salt until combined. Halve dough and shape each half into a log about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Wrap in parchment paper and freeze until firm, at least one hour.

Preheat oven to 375°. Cut dough into 1/4 inch thick rounds. Place rounds on parchment-lined cookie sheet, and bake until edges are golden, about 15 minutes. Do not let the cookies brown, just look for hints of color at the edges.

The Best Chicken Marinade Ever

Let's be frank: chicken gets boring, and if you're grilling it, it can get pretty dry too. I threw together this marinade a few years ago, not really thinking it would be anything special, just to add some flavor to yet another grilled chicken breast. But I ended up finding my favorite (and now default) way to eat (boring but healthy) chicken breast. There are, of course, plenty of other ways to spice up chicken, but I like that this one is pretty low-hassle and I usually always have these ingredients on hand.

The Best Chicken Marinade Ever
zest and juice of 1 lemon
zest and juice of 2 limes
1 Tbsp olive oil
pinch cayenne pepper
1 Tbsp minced fresh parsley (I threw in a little fresh oregano too)
salt and pepper
2 chicken breasts (whole or cut into kebabs as above)

Whisk together the juices, zest, olive oil, and cayenne. Stir in the parsley and season to taste. Add chicken (whole or in pieces) and toss to coat. Let rest in fridge for 2 hours.

Grill whole breasts for 10-12 minutes or until cooked through, turning once. Skewered kebabs will take a little less time.

Meyer Lemon Curd

Ah, the continuing story of my bag of Meyer lemons from San Francisco...

After candying slices of lemon and blood orange, I was still left with a heap of lemons to use. After much internet searching (through Tastespotting and Google), I cobbled together a lemon curd recipe that seemed like an excellent and economical use of my treasure.

I've been intimidated by making curd for a while, but this showed me how simple the process can be. I've had the jar of curd sitting in my fridge for a week or so now, so it's a great thing to make ahead and just keep around for when you feel the need for a taste of sunshine. It would be perfect in a pie (I know, I missed pi day...), but I prefer it spread on some cream biscuits, topped with some of those blood orange slices... In fact, now I want to try this with blood oranges, since I have a bunch around...

Meyer Lemon Curd
3 or 4 Meyer lemons, zested and juiced (you want enough for 3/4 cup of juice)
3/4 cup sugar
3 eggs
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, cut into small chunks

In a double boiler or a medium pot, bring some water to a simmer. In the the top of the double boiler or in a stainless steel bowl, combine lemon juice, sugar, and eggs and whisk together. Place over simmering water (making sure the bottom of the bowl doesn't touch the water) and add butter. Continue whisking for about 5 minutes, or until the curd thickens (it will happen suddenly, and you'll know from feeling the whisk move through the curd that it's done). Make sure the water continues to simmer and not boil, and that you keep whisking, or the eggs will cook too fast.

Once the curd is formed, push it through a fine mesh strainer to get out any bits of cooked egg. Add in lemon zest and mix to incorporate. Store in a sealed jar in the fridge and use at will.

Candied Citrus Slices

As I mentioned, on my trip to San Francisco I was lucky enough to get to wander through the Saturday morning farmers market at the Ferry Building. I bought myself plenty of souvenirs, including raw olives (I'll post about them once the brining process is done) and a huge bag of Meyer lemons.

Of course, when I got home, that left me with a giant bag of lemons and not many ideas of what to do with them. I've had worse problems before ;) With a little internet scouring and a snow day, I managed to make my way through most of the lemons.

I've done candied citrus peel before. It's tasty and makes a great gift. But I wanted to try something a little different this time, so I opted to try candying whole slices of fruit (I also had a few blood oranges kicking around, so I candied them as well). The key here is to get super-thin slices, as thin as you can make them while still keeping the slices whole. It's also important to keep an eye out for seeds - take them out as soon as you see them, as they can make slicing a little more difficult.

Note: If you're using different types of citrus, candy the lighter colored ones first. Here, I cooked the lemons first, then the blood oranges. The oranges turned the syrup a beautiful deep ruby color (which I saved for drink mixing), but it would have stained the lemons if I had reversed their cooking order.

These are delicious for snacking, but they also make gorgeous garnishes on desserts and drinks. I'm keeping them wrapped in parchment paper in the fridge, ready for use.


Candied Citrus Slices
3 lemons (or Meyer lemons)
3 small oranges (or blood oranges)
3 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups water

Cut citrus into very thin slices, discarding the ends that are all pulpy white. Set aside.

In a large frying pan, combine sugar and water over medium high heat. (If your pan is too small, use 2 cups sugar and 1 cup water). Once sugar has dissolved, bring to a boil for about one minute. Reduce heat to medium low, or a gentle simmer, and add lemon slices in a single layer. Cook for 30-40 minutes, or until the rinds begin to turn translucent. Remove slices from the pan with a slotted spoon and arrange on parchment paper to cool. Repeat process with orange slices.

Once citrus has cooled, roll each slice lightly in sugar and put back on the parchment to dry for a little while. Store wrapped in parchment paper in an airtight container.

Buddhacello Beginnings

Just like my craft store problem, I have a problem with going to Russo's in Watertown. There are so many new and exciting fruits and veggies (not to mention cheeses, breads, dried fruits, etc) there that I have trouble not buying EVERYTHING I see. Case in point - the Buddha's hand.

The Buddha's hand is native to central Asia and is believed to be the first citrus to be brought into Europe. They're large and heavy and delightfully citrusy. Imagine what is so great about lemon peel - but all the way through the fruit. There's no juicy pulp, and the white flesh beneath the peel is not remotely bitter. In fact, the Buddha's hand is a bit sweeter than a lemon. It can be used wherever you would use lemon zest, and it can be eaten raw or cooked.

When I bought mine, the cashier asked if I knew what it was, and I said yes, a Buddha's hand. She asked if I knew how to use it, and I admitted that I wasn't entirely sure, but I knew you could make liqueur with it or candy the peel. She gave me a look like I was crazy to be buying an $8 fruit with no plan for use.

When it came to actually using the Buddha's hand, I decided on the liqueur route. I've been wanting to make my own flavored vodkas for a while, so this was a good kick in the pants for me to actually give the process a try. I diced up the citron, added it to canning jars, and poured about 750 ml of 100 proof vodka over the top of each jar. In the photo above, the jar on the left has had the vodka added while the jar on the right is waiting to get boozy. These will sit in my (cold and dark) closet for the next two weeks, getting a shake every now and then, until I'm ready to sweeten it up with some simple syrup.

This stuff should definitely make the holidays more fun ;)

Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup

The roommate and I were both feeling under the weather this weekend, and the only things I could think about Monday morning were soup and orange juice. So, I did what I usually do when I'm sick, and I trudged off to the supermarket with a cloudy head and procured some home remedy ingredients.

I had been to the New England Soup Factory on Saturday for a filling meal before an afternoon of studying, and I had a hard time deciding between split pea with spinach or their orzo, lemon and chicken soup. So, of course, I still had the orzo, lemon and chicken soup on the brain Monday morning, and I had to try my hand at it.

And am I happy I did. Based on Greek avgolemono, this stuff is definitely a cold-killer, and it's easy enough to make when you can't entirely think straight. Although making this did make me wish I had a larger freezer - I used canned broth, but homemade stock would have been so much better, and that larger freezer would give me room to have it on hand. *sigh*

Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup

10 cups chicken broth
1 cup orzo
4 eggs, beaten
Juice of 3 lemons
Zest of 2 lemons
3 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
10 ounces fresh spinach, chopped
salt and pepper

In a large pot, bring the broth to a boil over medium high heat. Add the orzo and cook about 5 minutes. While stirring, pour in eggs in a thin ribbon (so they don't clump up in the heat). Continue stirring until the eggs are cooked into threads. Add lemon juice, zest, chicken, spinach, and salt and pepper to taste. Return to a boil, then remove from the heat and serve.

Strawberry Lemon Bars

Yeah, so I'm a little crazy. For my other blog, which focuses on books, I've signed up for a 24 Hour Read-a-thon - one whole day of nothing but reading and blogging about reading. So naturally, I took another whole day to get ready, including cooking lots of things so I can be well-fed (and well-caffeinated).

I read about these Strawberry Lemonade bars a while ago on Baking Bites, and I had been waiting for strawberry to really hit before giving them a go. And luckily, strawberry season and my reading marathon fell at exactly the same time.

With their sweet berry taste and lemony zing, these babies are sure to keep me going.

Strawberry Lemon Bars (adapted from Baking Bites)
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups flour
1/4 tsp salt

1 pint strawberries, leaves removed
3/4 cup fresh lemon juice
zest of 1 large lemon
1 1/4 cups sugar
4 large eggs
1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
powdered sugar

Preheat oven 350°. Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking pan. In a large bowl, cream together 1/4 cup sugar and butter. Add flour and salt slowly; mixture will be crumbly. Pour into pan and press into an even layer. Bake for about 18 minutes, until the edges are just beginning to turn golden.

In a food processor, puree the strawberries. Reserve 1/2 cup of the puree, then press the rest of the puree through a fine sieve, which should produce about 1/4 cup of juice; discard pulp and save the juice. In the food processor (no need to wash it out), combine strawberry puree, strawberry juice, lemon juice, lemon zest, sugar, and eggs, and process until smooth. Add flour, baking powder, and salt and pulse until combined.

Pour the filling over the crust and return to the oven for an additional 25 minutes (or longer if the filling has not set). Cool completely before cutting, then sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Can be served at room temperature or cooled in the fridge.

Rosemary Lemonade Soda

The absurd heat continues here in Boston, and although I'm spending most of my time inside my nice, cool apartment, I'm still more interested in finding unique cold drinks than in new food.

Last night, I had a framboise lemonade at the Publick House that was tasty but a little weak. So of course, it made me want to try my hand at a slightly different lemonade. The rosemary simple syrup was a breeze to make (although I made mine with Splenda instead of sugar), and I have plenty left in the fridge for my next lemonade fix.

Rosemary Lemonade Soda
1/4 cup rosemary syrup (see below)
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
seltzer water
small rosemary sprig

Mix syrup and lemon juice in a measuring cup. Fill a pint glass with ice, then pour syrup and juice over the ice. Top with selzer and garnish with rosemary sprig.


Rosemary Syrup
1 1/2 cups water
1 sprig of rosemary
1 cup sugar (or granulated Splenda)

Put water and whole rosemary sprig in a small sauce pan. Bring to a boil, then add sugar and stir to dissolve. Remove from heat and let cool. Before using, remove the rosemary and strain out any little pieces. Store in the fridge.