A Negroni is an Italian apéritif made from equal parts gin, Campari and vermouth.
Legend has it that the Negroni was invented at the Caffè Casoni in Florence, in 1919. It was supposedly named in honor of Count Camillo Negroni, whose request for an Americano with gin led to the creation of a brand new pre-dinner drink.
Variations on the classic Negroni -- which is traditionally garnished with a curl of orange peel -- include the American version, with sparkling water and lemon. Other Italian versions substitute spumante brut or vodka for gin. A Sparkling Negroni is made with Champagne or prosecco. A Negroni Zimbabwe is made with orange juice.
In 1919, the Negroni Family opened the Negroni Distilleries in Treviso, manufacturing a ready-made Antico Negroni 1919 formula.
What kind of salt should I use to line a margarita glass?
What kind of salt should I use to line a margarita glass?
To line a margarita glass, we like to run a lime wedge along the rim and dip it into coarse sea salt. Kosher salt has light, flaky and irregular crystals that play nicely off the cocktail's flavors. Or you could use fleur de sel for a slightly more delicate taste and feel. Steer away from fine table salt, which is too salty and lacks texture. And don't bother falling for the marketing gimmick of branded "margarita salt".
Related article: How to choose tequila (Cookthink)
Related article: What is tequila? (Cookthink)
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What can I substitute for nutmeg?
What can I substitute for nutmeg?
The best substitute for nutmeg is mace, the red membrane that surrounds nutmeg when harvested. Though it's a bit more delicate in flavor and lacks nutmeg's bittersweetness, mace will work in a pinch.
Cinnamon is brighter, sweeter and less woodsy than nutmeg, but it fills in nicely in smaller amounts. Allspice and garam masala are both reminiscent of several spices, and will also work in place of nutmeg in small amounts.
Pomegranate molasses is made by heating pomegranate juice to evaporate its water, reduce its volume and concentrate its sweet and bitter taste and ripe fruity flavor.
You can mix the syrupy molasses into cocktails, add it to salad dressings, marinades, sauces and glazes, or just drizzle it over grilled or roasted meats. Finding a bottle of pomegranate molasses used to mean a trip to local Middle Eastern market, but now it's widely available at all kinds of grocery stores.
Recipe: Oysters With Pomegranate Mignonette (hogwash)
Recipe: Duck Breast With Pomegranate Glaze (Washington Post)
A pavlova is the national dessert of New Zealand and Australia. A light, elegant disk of meringue topped with whipped cream and fruit, it's a snap to assemble.
Cornstarch and vinegar are often added to the meringue mixture before baking to give it a crisp exterior and a pillowy interior. You can top your pavlova with whatever kind of fruit you like -- kiwi, passion fruit, raspberries, peaches, or pomegranate seeds for Christmas, when it is often served.
The pavlova was named for Anna Pavlova, a lightfooted Russian ballerina, during her visit to Australia in 1929, though the New Zealanders claim to have invented it first.
Recipe: Pomegranate Pavlova With Mixed Fruit (Cookthink)
Caster (or castor) sugar is superfine refined sugar. That makes it finer than granulated sugar but not as fine as confectiones sugar.
Caster sugar dissolves easily and so is used to give baked goods (especially meringues) a lighter texture.
If you don't have any or can't find caster sugar, you can pulse regular granulated sugar in a food processor to help break down the grains.
Recipe: Rhubarb Syllabub (Cook & Eat)
Recipe: Meringue Cookies (Cookthink)
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No-knead bread is a no-brainer method for making homemade bread.
Dry ingredients -- bread flour, yeast and salt -- are swirled with a fork.
Water is added and the dough is quickly mixed.
The dough is then covered with cling film and left alone in a warm place for 12 to 18 hours.
After a long rest, the dough is fully risen and ready for basic shaping.
A fold, a roll and a pat into a dome shape and the dough is ready to rest in a cornmeal-covered cloth while the stock pot and oven heat up to 500F.
After 30 minutes in the stock pot, the lid is removed so the loaf browns and the crust can develop.
The interior crumb is soft and dense and richly flavored. The crust is crackly and crunchy, breaking under the fingers and teeth.
Vermouth is fortified white wine that's been infused with herbs and spices.
The word vermouth is from the German word for wormwood (wermut), which was a main ingredient until somebody decided it was poisonous. Vermouth was first commercially produced in Turin, Italy in the 18th century and now most vermouth is produced in Italy and France. But people have been making fortified wines since the 5th century.
Vermouth ranges from dry to sweet. White dry vermouth is a popular apéritif and used to make a martini; sweet red vermouth is drunk on ice or mixed into cocktails like a Manhattan; white bianco vermouth is slightly sweet.
Vermouth is also used in cooking, primarily to add an herbal wine-flavored touch to sauces.
What's the difference between light and dark rum?
What's the difference between light and dark rum?
Rum is a liquor made from both fermented sugar cane and its syrupy by-product, molasses. The rum is aged in casks of various materials which determine its final color.
Light rum (also called silver or white) is fermented in steel and filtered and has a clear color and a light, slightly sweet taste. Gold or amber rums are aged in oak, which produces a more caramel color and richer, more pronounced flavor. Rich, caramel dark rum is made by aging clear rum in charred oak casks, giving it a deep brown color and a full flavor. Note that spiced rum, which is flavored with spices and (often) caramel, does not qualify as dark rum.
Shortcake is a thick, sweetened biscuit with a crumbly scone-like texture that is used to make a classic American dessert.
Strawberry shortcake was born in the 1840s in the U.S. and was an excuse for 19th-century ladies to throw a party. The dessert consists of making a biscuit from flour, baking powder, sugar, butter or shortening (which some say is the "short" in "shortcake"), milk and occasionally eggs. The cooked biscuit is split down the middle and filled with sweetened whipped cream and sliced strawberries or other fruits, such as apples and rhubarb, peaches or blueberries. The sliced or cut-up fruit is usually tossed with sugar and left to macerate for awhile before using, so that it becomes extra sweet and creates a light syrup.
Because strawberry shortcake is such a popular dessert, you can find yellow individual sponge cakes or corn muffins with wells for fruit and cream in the supermarket that are marketed as ready-made shortcakes. Shortcake-loving southerners have been known to make shortcake with broken up pieces of pie dough.
