Town very busy, Bar Unico sold out, I ended up at The Greek Brothers. It was very busy. I was lucky to find a table free.
I ordered burger and chips. It was reasonable, not a McShit burger, though not of the quality of Kine (closed and relocated to the White Horse).
OK for somewhere cheap to eat, but sadly not of the standard of food in Athens.
River Witham outside flowing very High and fast.
Last two days, winds over 45mph, torrential rain. Today,winds over 20mph.
Lincoln as last week, packed, but at least no queues.
I was in town an hour and a half late. Everywhere sold out. Baker no bread, no fruit and vegetables market stalk, Bar Unico sold out, kitchen closed.
Last resort, The Greek Brothers, it was packed. I ordered burger and chips.
It was ok, not a McShit burger,and reasonable chips. Tiny burger. When brought to my table,I thought, I could have gone to Kine,now relocated to the White Horse.
Then to Coffee Aroma for a coffee.
It’s about time we took the boulevardier out of the shadow of the Negroni. — Anders Erickson
– 25ml Campari
– 25ml Cocchi sweet vermouth
– 37.5ml Tullamore Dew Irish whiskey
– ice
– orange dlice
Boulevardier: A wealthy socialite, a man about town.
Boulevardier: A magazine edited by Erskinne Gwynne.
The Boulevardier first appeared in Harry McElhone’s Barflies and Cocktails, not in the A-Z listing of recipes but in a piece called “Cocktails Round Town” contributed by Arthur Moss, the “Around the Town” columnist of the New York Herald, Paris.
Now is the time for all good Barflies to come to the aid of the party, since Erskinne Gwynne crashed in with his Boulevardier Cocktail: 1/3 Campari, 1/3 Italian vermouth, 1/3 Bourbon whisky. — Arthur Moss, 1927
This suggests that the recipe was not one of McElhone’s but was created by Erskine Gwynne, a regular at McElhone’s Harry’s New York Bar in Paris. Like McElhone, Erskine Gwynne was an American expatriate, but he was also a socialite, nephew of railroad tycoon Alfred Vanderbilt and edited a monthly magazine called The Boulevardier, hence the drink’s name.
The Negroni originated in Florence in 1919, the first written recipe we have for the boulevardier comes from Barflies and Cocktails, the 1927 book by bartender Harry McElhone. He attributes the drink to Erskine Gwynne, writer and editor who published the Parisian magazine The Boulevardier.
We think today, a Negroni, with whiskey substituted for gin, thus assume one followed the other. But could it be, both influenced by the Americano? I’ll leave that as a hanging question.
Can be served in a chilled cut-glass rock glass or a martini glass. Garnish with orange.
I have made the boulevardier with an Irish whiskey not a bourbon.
If we think of a Negroni as a summer cocktail, then a Boulevardier winter cocktail.
Chicken risotto using leftover chicken from Christmas dinner.
Adapted from Jamie Oliver turkey risotto.
ingredients
– chicken skin
– sprig of fresh rosemary (or any woody herb)
– onion
– stick of celery
– carrot
– garlic vlove
– chicken or veg stock-
– half a mug of Arborio risotto rice
– Lincolnshire Poacher cheese
– chicken
– knob of butter
– extra virgin olive oil
method
Lettover chicken skin from the bottom of the carcass into a large frying pan , medium heat so the fat naturally renders out and it becomes super-crisp, like crackling, turning halfway.
When it’s golden, strip in the rosemary leaves to crisp up for just 10 seconds, then scoop the crispy skin and rosemary on to a plate, tovsetvasidevfor later. Save the chicken fat for later.
Half an onion, celery, stick, carrot, inely chop . One garlic clove finely chopped.
Add to the pan of fat to a medium heat, a knob of buttrr, a splash of olive oil. then add the veg and fry for 10 minutes, cook fora couple of minutes until soft. stirring occasionally
The stock into a separate pan and bring to a simmer on a low heat.
Stir the rice into the veg for a couple of minutes until turns translucent. then pour in the Prosecco. Let it cook away, then start adding the stock, a ladleful at a time, letting each one cook away before adding more. Keep a close eye on it and stir constantly for 17 minutes, or until the rice is cooked but still retains its shape.
Meanwhile, finely chop the chicken meat, stirring it into the pan halfway through.
Ather around seventeen minutes, turn off the heat stir in the cheese,knob of butter,, splash of olive oil .
Leave to rest for a couple of minutes.
Plate.
thoughts
A very tasty dish. I overcooked the ride, cooked for twenty minutes. I should have needed Jamie Oliver’s onlyseventeen minutes. The chicken is already cooked, only needs reheating.
Enzoni is a twist on the classic Negroni, equal parts Campari, gin and sweet vermouth, on the rocks with a slice of orange.
Mix in a crystal rock glass (cooled in the freezer), squeeze the orange slice into the glass, run around the rim, then drop into the glass.
With enzoni we swap out the sweet vermouth and replace with crushed green grapes, sugar syrup and juice of a fresh squeezed lemon . We also omit the orange slice and shake not build in the glass.
Enzoni a modern classic created in 2003 by Vincenzo Errico whilst working at the bar Milk and Honey. He had previously worked with the legendary Dick Bradsell who created the espresso martini.
Yesterday I made the enzoni with the original recipe. [see video below]
– six crushed green grapes
– 10ml agave syrup
– 30ml Lincoln Steampunk gin
– 30ml Campari
– 20ml fresh squeezed lemon
Crush grapes with agave syrup in a mixing tin, build in the tin, shake with ice, strain into ice cold crystal rock glass with ice.
I found this not to be balanced. The gin and Campari to forward. Therefore change the recipe, 25ml of gin and Campari cf Negroni.
– six crushed green grapes
– 10ml agave syrup
– 25ml Lincoln Steampunk gin
– 25ml Campari
– 20ml fresh squeezed lemon
The green grapes tough, cut into quarters, crushed with agave syrup in a mixing tin, build in the tin, shake with ice, strain into ice cold crystal rock glass with ice.
I need a muddler.
I lacked sufficient ice. I had wished to garnish, balance a grape atop of the ice (ideally almost sliced in half).
This adjustment with the gin and sweet vermouth led to a far better balanced enzoni.
For good measure,added Himalayan pink rock salt, half a twist of a salt pot. A marginal improvement.
Cool tip: Roll the lemon before cutting in half. This breaks up the capsules, more lemon juice extracted.
Christmas dinner, roast chicken on a rack of carrots, celery sticks and an onion cut into large chunks. Heat flows under the chickens, the chicken drips onto the vegetables. Remove the chicken, add chicken giblets, water from green vegetables, pop back into the oven. Excellent gravy. Leave in the oven whilst eating dinner, now have a base for chicken stock. Waste not, want not.
In a large pot, add the chicken stock, half a carrot, celery stick, onion, garlic clove, season with a little salt and ground black pepper, bring to the boil and leave to simmer for around an hour. We now have chicken stock for gamafilafo, Italian risotto bianco with a Greek influence.
Prepare as would risotto bianco.
Olive oil and a knob of butter in pan on medium high heat.
Add diced hal an onion, celery stick, carrot, garlic clove. Cook for a couple of minutes until soft
Add half a cup of aborio risotto rice. Cook for a couple of minutes whilst stirring until translucent .
Add a splash of white wine (or Prosecco). Stir.
Add stock, stir, add stock,stir, for about ten minutes.
Turn off the heat, add a knob of butter, juice of half a lemon, season with salt and ground black pepper, stir, leave to rest for a couple of minutes.
Plate with two large spoonfuls of Greek yoghurt. Add to taste juice from the other half of the lemon
An organic chicken from Riverford.
In the bottom of a baking tray, a rack of celery sticks and carrots and a medium size onion cut into chunks. This enables the heat to flow under the roaring chicjen. It also makes for excellent gravy.
Stuff the chicken with mandarin segments. Cover the chicken with butter, season with salt and ground black pepper. Lay a couple of strips of streaky bacon across the chicken.
Lay on to of the vegetable rack.
Fan over 180C for one hour and twenty minutes.
After twenty minutes, add the potatoes to roast and the pigs in blankets.
After an hour, add runner beans and sprouting broccoli to a pot of boiling lightly salted water. Leave to simmer for around twenty minutes.
Remove chicken from the tray. Set to one side ready to test, then to be carved.
Drain the vegetables. Pour some of the water into the pan in which the chicken was cooked, add the gibjets, pop back in the oven.
Carve the chicken.
Plate with vegetables and serve
What is left in the baking tray, retain as chicken stock.
A riff on the Negroni where swap out the sweet vermouth and replace with crushed green grapes and sugar syrup.
– six crushed green grapes
– 10ml agave syrup
– 30ml Lincoln Steampunk gin
– 30ml Campari
– fresh squeezed lemon
Crush grapes with agave syrup in a mixing tin, build in the tin, shake with ice, strain into ice cold crystal rock glass with ice.
Hot tip: Roll the lemon before cutting in half and squeezing.
I slightly over did the Campari.
The grapes appeared to have armour plated skins and resisted crushing.
If I try again, I will dial down the gin and Campari to 25ml each.
#enzoni #cocktails #gin #Campari #grapes
Very windy, strong north wind, though not as windy as yesterday.
Nottingham was deserted on Monday, not so Lincoln today. Worse than a Saturday. Long queues everywhere. Long queue outside local family butchers, Pepperdine’s. Food Hall in M&S heaving, member of staff said it had been like it all day.
Everyone suddenly woke up to Christmas Day only a couple of days away.
Lunch at Bar Unico, coffee at Coffee Aroma. Both were busy.
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