Chard + Roasted Garlic Pesto

What can be said in New Year rhymes, That’s not been said a thousand times?

The new years come, the old years go, We know we dream, we dream we know.

We rise up laughing with the light, We lie down weeping with the night.

We hug the world until it stings, We curse it then and sigh for wings.

We live, we love, we woo, we wed, We wreathe our brides, we sheet our dead.

We laugh, we weep, we hope, we fear, And that’s the burden of the year.

The Year, Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Chard and Roasted Garlic Pesto

Yields: Approximately 1.5 cups pesto

Ingredients

1 head garlic 1 bunch chard (around 4 cups of packed leaves), rinsed, dried and deribbed 1 bunch fresh parsley, stems removed 1/2 cup slivered almonds Juice of one lemon 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, finely grated Olive oil

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Prepare a piece of aluminum foil that's big enough to wrap around the garlic. Peel off the majority of the paper from the garlic and slice off the top to expose the tops of each clove. Place in the center of the aluminum foil and drizzle a little olive oil on top. Wrap with aluminum foil and place directly on oven rack. Bake for 35-40 minutes.

2. In a small sauté pan set over medium heat, cook the almond slivers, stirring often to make sure they don't burn, until they become lightly toasted.

3. Remove garlic from the oven, squeeze out each clove and transfer to a food processor, along with the toasted almonds. Pulse until the almonds are chopped and have turned into a coarse paste. Add the chard, parsley, and lemon juice, along with 2 tablespoons olive oil, and pulse until pureed.

4. Transfer mixture to a serving bowl. Stir in Parmesan cheese. Serve with bread or toss with pasta.

The Cider Mill (Scotch and Cider Syrup Cocktail)

I failed at posting a Hanukkah recipe. I had one in my head but never got around to making it. I guess I'll just have to save it for next year. This seems to always happen to me when it comes to holiday recipes. Even this post, a cocktail to ring in the New Year, almost didn't happen. Vijay, Brandon and I had talked a few weeks ago about doing another What I Drink post, since we had such a blast with the first one. We're a few guys who not only love food, but enjoy getting creative with our cocktails. And whenever a holiday comes around, you can bet that the three of us have come up with a creative beverage to go with the celebratory feast. But, as I said, we were pretty close to not succeeding in our second installment.

I'm so glad we stuck to our guns, though. Each of us have come up with drinks that use seasonal ingredients and somewhat underused booze.  Brandon's working with champagne and infused brandy. And Vijay did a little switch up by putting mezcal in his version of a Blood and Sand, and cranberries are always a wonderful addition to a cocktail, both in flavor and color.

As for this little concoction I mixed together, well, it took me a little while until I figured out exactly what I wanted to make.  Originally, I had a hot toddy in mind, but I'd been anxious to try out this little cider syrup trick and I've already posted an apple hot toddy... so that was out. Then I considered doing something with mezcal (I know, I'm obsessed), but when I looked in our cabinet, I found that we were all out (GAH!). So, I went with Scotch. Despite my love for a little single-malt goodness, I've never had it paired with other ingredients. Well, I'm hooked now. Don't be skeptical. Try it, and you will be too. Promise.

I'm not sure I'll be able to whip up something for next week. I might just take a little time off. We'll have to see. Then again, if there's some free time and I'm inspired, you may see me pop up here.  If not, I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday.

Happy Hanukkah. Merry Christmas. Enjoy your Kwanza. Or your Festivus.

Oh, and happy New Year.

The Cider Mill (Scotch/Apple Cider Cocktail)

Yields: 6 drinks

Ingredients
For the cider syrup
3 cups apple cider
3 star anise
2 inch piece of ginger, peeled

For the cocktail
10 oz single malt Scotch (nothing too peaty, I used Tomatin)
2 tablespoons Amaro Luxano
3-4 dashes Grapefruit bitters
1.5 oz lemon juice
Lemon peel

Ice cubes

Instructions

1. Add apple cider, star anise and ginger slice to a pot and set over high heat. Boil until the cider reduces to 2/3 cup or until it reaches a thin syrup consistency.  Let cool. Remove star anise and ginger.

2. In a large bowl, mix together cider syrup, Scotch, Amaro, grapefruit bitters and lemon juice.

3. Add 8-10 ice cubes to bowl and give it a good stir with a spoon or ladle. Let sit for 10 minutes to let the ice melt a little. This will dilute the drink slightly. Ladle drink into punch cups and rub each rim with lemon peel.

 

 

Za'atar Roasted Beets with Honeyed Yogurt, Orange + Pistachio

We had our neighbors over for dinner on Sunday. They're a lot of fun. By that I mean that they like to imbibe just as much as we do (and they're really nice, thoughtful guys). We've been known to get sucked into the vortex of their porch, where wine is poured freely and in great quantity. A quick hello turns into a three hour gossip session.

When we lived in South Boston, we knew our neighbors but we didn't have a close relationship with any of them. Most of them were pleasant. Others, not so much.

To be perfectly honest, I didn't think much about the whole neighbor thing until we'd been here for a few weeks and got to meet everyone. We live on a smaller, dead end street. Everyone's been here for a number of years. Many grew up on the street, which I think says a lot about the area.  They all look out for one another, helping with yard work or cleaning the gutters or shoveling. It's all very sweet, in a Pleasantville kind of way. (Except this is Massachusetts... where everyone has a bit of an edge)

Well, I got off track a bit. Our neighbors. Dinner. Sunday. They came over (at 4, because I know our track record and figured it'd be best to start our martini consumption early). Eric smoked a duck on the grill, I made the sides. One of those sides was this roasted beet dish, which our guests enjoyed immensely. In fact, I knew these two were good people when one of them said, "Oh, are these beets? I love beets!" I hear so much from the naysayers (They taste like dirt! Beets? Gross!) that I was thrilled to have a fan in our midst.

Za'atar Roasted Beets with Honeyed Yogurt, Orange and Pistachio

Servings: 4-6 as a side

Ingredients 6 medium-sized beets, trimmed, peeled and quartered (if larger, cut into smaller pieces) Olive oil Kosher salt 1 tablespoon za'atar, plus more for plating 1 naval orange, segmented 3 tablespoons full fat Greek yogurt 2 teaspoons honey 1 tablespoon chopped unsalted pistachios Black sesame seeds, optional Parsley leaves

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking pan with aluminum foil. Add the cut beets to the pan, drizzle with olive oil and season with Kosher salt and the za'atar. Roast beets for 40 minutes, checking on them every 10-15 minutes and giving them a flip to ensure even cooking.  Once they're done, remove from oven and let cool slightly. They can be served warm or at room temperature.

2. Whisk together the Greek yogurt and honey. Spoon onto a serving platter. Add the cooked beets to the plate, along with the segmented orange.

3. Sprinkle pistachios on top of the beets, followed by a little more za'atar, black sesame seeds, and fresh parsley.