Drink and a nosh: Grapefruit tarragon gin and tonic, radish chive toasts

I ran across a buzzfeed post on 22 gin and tonics that will blow your mind. That smacked not only of hyperbole, but I was more than a tad skeptical, because let's face it: A simple gin and tonic is simply divine, and the ultimate reason for the advice: Keep it simple, stupid. But I had some ruby red grapefruit that needed using and I love tarragon, so I thought I'd give this a try.

Grapefruit tarragon gin and tonic

From Proper Tasty

Ingredients

1 tablespoon demerara sugar

2 sprigs tarragon, divided

½ ruby red grapefruit, plus wedge for garnish

1½ ounces gin

Ice

Tonic water

Method

Put sugar and 1 tarragon sprig in a glass. Juice half a grapefruit and strain into glass. Muddle the mixture together.

Add the shot of gin. Fill glass with ice, then top with tonic water. Garnish with remaining tarragon sprig and grapefruit wedge.

Rating: Wondrous. Gin and tarragon are made to go together. I’d been feeling a little bit like I was coming down with something but this acted, well, like a tonic. (True, it was a short-lived rebound before I got truly sick with a stupid cold, but still, a welcome respite.) Very repeatable. Maybe tampering with a gin and tonic isn't blasphemy after all.

Radish chive tea sandwiches with sesame and ginger

Adapted from Bon Appetit, April 2008

Ingredients

16 slices French bread

4 tablespoons butter, room temperature

2 tablespoons chives, divided

¾ teaspoon chopped fresh ginger

¼ teaspoon toasted sesame oil

10 small radishes, thinly sliced

Coarse salt

Method

Toast bread slices briefly. Let cool.

Combine butter, 1 tablespoon chives, ginger and sesame oil in a small bowl. If using unsalted butter, season to taste with salt.

Spread mixture on bread toasts. Top with radish slices and sprinkle with remaining chives and coarse salt.

Rating: Very nice. It's a combination I couldn't have fathomed being willing to eat as a child, when I disliked radishes, but it works quite well. An excellent spring appetizer made with some adorable little radishes we got at the farmers market.  None of those oversized, woody supermarket offerings that make people legitimately dislike radishes.

Play along: Imelda May's “Love Tattoo”

 

Grilled asparagus with gribiche dressing

 

The Midtown Farmers Market reopened last weekend, and of course I had to buy more than one bunch of asparagus to spread the love around among my old favorite, and soon-to-become favorite vendors. Perfect weather for opening day for a change.

Grilled asparagus with gribiche dressing

Adapted from Bon Appetit, April 2017

Ingredients

1 bunch asparagus, tough ends snapped off

Olive oil, salt and pepper

6 cornichons, chopped

1/3 cup olive oil

2 tablespoons white wine vinegar

1 tablespoon grainy Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon small capers, drained

3 hard-cooked eggs

2 tablespoons chopped tarragon or parsley

Method

Preheat grill. Place asparagus spears on a long piece of tin foil. Drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Wrap up to seal. Grill about 10 to 12 minutes or until tender crisp.

Combine cornichons, 1/3 cup olive oil, vinegar, mustard and capers. Stir briskly to emulsify. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Grate one hard-cooked egg into mixture. Coarsely chop the remaining two eggs and add to mixture. Stir in herbs.

If making in advance and refrigerating the mixture, bring it to room temperature before serving.

Rating: A very nice combo pack of flavors, and very versatile and repeatable. If you're planning to use this on something that calls for a finer texture, go ahead and grate all of the hard cooked eggs. But the larger chunks were nice in this application. Not likely to use it on tongue, which is apparently a common use for this sauce in France.

Derby cocktail

I grew up horse crazy, and the first Saturday of May would always find me glued to the tube to watch the horses run. But I've moved on from the days of being able to recite stats about Riva Ridge and Secretariat, and I'm not the Derby party throwing type. But for old-time's stake, here's a drink in honor of today's race.

Derby

From "Pocket Posh Cocktails"

Ingredients

2 ounces bourbon

¼ ounce Benedictine

1 dash angostura bitters

1 lemon twist, for garnish

Method

Stir bourbon, Benedictine and bitters over ice. Strain into a cocktail glass and garnish with lemon twist.

Rating: It's basically gilded bourbon. So as long as you use good bourbon, and believe there is such a thing, then this one works. Or you could just drink the bourbon.

Today's installment is a drink sans nosh. I intended to make these little mini Derby tartlets. But I didn't find mini phyllo shells at the store, and decided to take that as a sign and get out and enjoy the day. We were rewarded with scented drifts from the spring-flowering trees, a glimpse of a canoe flotilla floating briskly downstream with ducks sedately in its wake, and a perfectly framed scene from a bench at the lake: four sailboats fanned out across the horizon, two paddleboats, two ducks closer to shore, the archetype backdrop for the fish jump-plop in the foreground. 

Farro vegetable pilaf

Farro vegetable pilaf

From “The Pollan Family Table” by Corky, Lori, Dana and Tracy Pollan

Ingredients

1 ½ cups farro

4 cups water

1 teaspoon coarse salt

4 tablespoons olive oil, divided

½ cup chopped red onion

¾ cup finely chopped carrots

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

½ cup chopped red bell pepper

2 green onions, chopped

¼ cup chopped fresh chives

¼ cup chopped fresh parsley

Method

Combine farro, water and salt in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and simmer, covered for about 20 minutes or until tender but not soft, a sort of al dente for grains. Drain and transfer to a serving bowl.

Meanwhile, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a saute pan. Add onions and carrots and saute until onions are soft. Stir in remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Stir into farro along with bell pepper, green onion, chives and parsley. Let set for at least 10 minutes to let flavors develop.

Rating: A very nice combination of flavors that really does get better as you allow it more time to settle in. Could work cold or as a picnic dish. Very hearty, and a nice change of pace from rice pilaf or quinoa.