Mo's Bacon Bar

Hold on to your hats ladies and gents--this ain't no Snickers. No, we're talking about Mo's Bacon Bar from Vosges chocolatiers. You can order it from the link I've attached or find it at Whole Foods--either way it will set you back about $8, but this is applewood smoked bacon, alderwood smoked salt and deep milk chocolate we're dealing with.

Just accept it before it destroys you.

Won't You Be My Neighbor?

In a city where one rarely gets to know their neighbors, we actually met two of ours recently, a delightful couple who live down the hall from Baby and me--we happened to strike up a conversation in the elevator and as we rode up, discovered we lived on the same floor!

Stephen is British and Gisela is from Mexico. Over drinks one night, we learned she makes a mean enchilada, served with her own homemade green sauce. I told her about my chicken mole and plans were soon made to arrange a dinner together. The day before our meal, Baby and I hit the farmer's market where we found incredible red spring onions that became a new addition to the regular yellow onions in my mole, which I let sit overnight in the refrigerator after cooling so the flavors could truly develop. Instead of buying a rotisserie chicken as is my wont, I roasted a hacked apart chicken with some poultry seasoning, fresh ground black pepper and sea salt. I also added in about a cup of Corona beer this time to simmer in with the mix of onions and garlic. If I must say, the results were pretty extraordinary.

Over Gisela's great guacamole, we sipped Sangrita and shots of tequila and also had agua fresca (in this instance, watermelon puree with sugar). I poured some Corona and lime juice in mine. Dessert was fresh cut mango with a little salt. Fantastico!

But this was the whole show, Gisela's recipe which covered the enchiladas:

Famous Tomatillo Green Sauce

Ingredients

Green tomatillos (for a salsa for two people, use 10 tomatillos) without the skin and cleaned - they can be quite dirty!

1 sliced white onion

2 cloves garlic

2-3 jalapenos (depending on how spicy they are)

1 cup or so chicken broth

Quarter bunch cilantro

Method

On a pan, roast the tomatillos, garlic and jalapenos turning them on all sides, around 5 minutes. This will cook them a bit and tomatillos might turn a different green. Put roasted tomatillos, garlic, jalapenos (only one), cilantro, onion (a slice), salt, chicken broth in blender and liquefy. Add more jalapenos and salt to taste--remember that they will be served on top of enchiladas with cream (queso fresco) and cheese (queso blanco) so it does not matter if it is a little spicy as this will diminish when served so its needs to be very tasty. Transfer sauce to pan and warm it (it will turn from bright green - raw- into a dull green -cooked). Serve with warm tortillas, cooked, shredded chicken, cream and cheese.

Gisela's Guacamole
Ingredients
4 mashed avocados
1 slice onion, chopped
2 finely chopped ripe tomatoes

Method
Mash avocados, and mix with cilantro, onion, and tomatoes. Add a bit of the green sauce (half a cup). Decorate with the colors of the Mexican flag: green, white, red on top if you want. You can add chopped jalapenos too for more kick.

Watermelon Basil Margaritas

It's watermelon time! These gorgeous beauties are everywhere but when Baby and I purchased one the other day I didn't at first think to make margaritas with them. We also had some basil in the fridge et voila!

The image featured here is a painting by artist Paul Keysar.

Watermelon Basil Margarita
Makes 1 cocktail

Ingredients
2 oz 901 Silver Tequila
1/2 oz Cointreau
2 Tb simple syrup
1 Tb fresh lemon juice
1 cup chopped seedless watermelon
6 basil sprigs

Method
Muddle the watermelon and basil sprigs with the Cointreau, simple syrup and lemon juice. Fill a shaker with ice and start shakin' until chilled. Either strain into a coupette or serve on the rocks in a double highball glass. Cheers!

What the Woot!?

It's very simple: go to woot.com for one sweet deal every day, and add five bucks on top of that for shipping, wherever you may live. We've snagged a Kalorik toaster, a Presorvac marinater, and a digital Kodak camera with which I've taken many pictures that I post on Evenings With Peter. Love all of it. Woot woot!

Hot Dog Octopus for Lunch

As the little ones around us grow up so fast, I think it's fair to say we all try to create memories as much for them as ourselves in an attempt to hold on to them as long as we can. For me, short of singing a torch song at karaoke or planning a Luau- or Western-themed surprise party, I try to inspire the children in my life with food. My niece still raves about my omelets with chives plucked from the garden. But one summer I made a special Hot Dog Octopus Lunch for my wee cousins who were only about 5 or 6 at the time. I don't remember where this recipe came from but it was hysterical and the kids loved it.

First get a bunch of hot dogs, some Ramen noodles, a squeeze-bottle of mustard and green or blue (or both) food coloring. Thinly slice the hot dogs from the mid-section down at least twice so when you boil them the ends will splay out like tentacles. Meanwhile, cook the noodles. After they're done, strain them, toss in a bowl with a few drops of the food coloring and then drop them on several plates to begin the creation of a wavy ocean scene for the youngins. Carefully place the cooked hot dogs on top, with their sea legs out and paint a smiley face on them with the squeeze-bottle of mustard.

Serve to what is hoped will be delighted yet calm little bodies.

P.S. Spaghettios heated up out of the can can also take the place of the Ramen and relish may act as a perhaps more theatrical green seaweed plot for a garnish in either case.

Sweet Ginger

It appears to have been quite a boozy few weeks, what with my toasts to Noel Coward and Sex and the City 2 in my recent drinkily delicious posts all in a month. And here's another--but this one is for any tee-totaler, to be made without the faintest suggestion of incorporating any alcohol: homemade ginger ale!

Appellation is one of my favorite spots in town, a definitive wine boutique, if I may call it that, which also offers an extraordinarily well-curated batch of liquors. The gentlemen behind the counters are incredibly knowledgeable, helpful and kind--and so patient as well for those of us with many questions.

During a recent tasting of a few wines, an event that occurs as far as I know only over the weekends, I was slipped a recipe for homemade ginger ale. I would really like to try to make it, and thought I should pass it along here at Evenings With Peter. I think you should slip it into one of my favorites, a Shirley Temple, the sweetly fizzy concoction with grenadine (skip the Sprite) that you probably haven't sampled since you were a wee ain--at least when I finally prepare this cask of sweet ginger, the curly-haired non-alcoholic mixy is first on my list.

Homemade Ginger Ale

Adapted from Appellation

Ingredients

Ginger Water:

1 cup finely chopped peeled ginger

2 cups water

1/3 cup simple syrup

Club soda

Lime juice

Lime wedges

Preparation

Bring 2 cups of water to a boil in a saucepan. Add ginger. Reduce heat to medium low and let ginger sit in the simmering water for 5 minutes.

Remove from heat and let sit for 20 minutes. Strain liquid through a fine mesh strainer. Discard ginger pieces.

Make individual (tall) glasses of ginger ale by mixing 1/2 cup of ginger water with 1/3 cup of simple syrup and 1/2 cup of club soda. Add a few drops of fresh lime juice and a lime wedge to each glass.

Blithe Spirit

One dreary Sunday afternoon in the Pines on Fire Island quite a few years ago, a friend and I wandered into The Blue Whale to seek respite from the rain and quite frankly, a little hair of the dog. We longed for something tropical, so I suggested the bartender pour us some coconut rum with a restorative dose of OJ and further thought to add a little Rose's lime juice for good measure.

Et voila, in the spirit of Noel Coward's wondrous work, and his Jamaica, as much as our own hangovers, the Blithe Spirit came into being with delicious magic. Now whenever I serve the drink to my guests, I add a maraschino cherry for color and a fragrant mint sprig, rife with summer. Also, try drizzling some of the cherry juice into the cocktail--it sinks to the bottom of the glass like a gorgeous summer sunset.

So cheers then to The Master himself, that indomitable, incredibly blithe spirit.

Blithe Spirit
3 oz. Malibu coconut rum
2 oz. orange juice
A splash or two of Rose's lime juice to taste

Stir all the ingredients in a shaker with ice
Strain the mixture into a highball glass filled with crushed ice
Garnish with mint or some tropical fruit, or both!


First published in part in Next magazine.