Celebrate the Oscars and All Special Events with a Pisco Sour (don't have Pisco, use Vodka or Mezcal)

I like watching the Oscars because it's a celebration of filmmaking, one of the world's greatest art forms. We'll watch the Red Carpet beforehand hoping to catch sight of our oldest son who represents one of the actors who is in contention. And, we'll watch the ceremony in real time. No pausing because we know our smart phones will be buzzing all through the ceremony sending us updates about who won for which category. 

So I spent today cooking. I made carrot salad with almonds and golden raisins soaked in rice wine vinegar and seasoned with black pepper. I also made Yukon potato salad with charred corn, carrots and parsley. And Cole slaw with green cabbage, carrots, chopped roasted almonds and the golden raisins, tossed in a sauce of equal parts mayonnaise and sour cream and a splash of rice wine vinegar. 

Tomorrow I will either make brown sugar spare ribs and kimchi chicken wings or fried chicken with honey-butter topping. 

I'll definitely open some of the clams I picked up at Whole Foods to take advantage of their 12 for $12 every Friday sale. I've been enjoying them with classic cocktail sauce and with a recipe I'm working on, a Viet-Chinese style sauce made with fish sauce, water, sugar, finely chopped shallots and lime juice. 

I top off the oysters with the sauce and a few cilantro leaves that I've deep fried and with a few tasty bits of fried prosciutto fat for crunch.

To toast the winners, I'll make a Pisco Sour, a drink that I had when we stayed at Hotel Jakarta Amsterdam. In the lovely Malabar at the top of the hotel with a view of Amsterdam across the River IJ, mixologist Tyrone Sullivan and bar manager Tarik showed me how they prepare their Pisco Sour.

Since I've been home, I've made the cocktail dozens of times. It's that delicious. Finding Pisco in Los Angeles isn't easy, so when I don't have Pisco, I use vodka or Mezcal instead. The taste difference is negligible. 

So, here it is, the best drink recipe you'll ever try at home and the one I recommend you make when you have something (like the Oscars!) to celebrate. 

All the best and, as the ad says, drink responsibly.

PISCO SOUR

Serves 1

Ingredients

2 ounces pisco

1 ounce lime juice, freshly squeezed

1/2 ounce simple syrup (made with equal parts water and white sugar - see below)

1 egg white (save the egg yolk to have for breakfast)

Garnish: Angostura bitters

Directions

To make simple syrup is, well, "simple." Since you can keep the syrup in the refrigerator for an indefinitely amount of time, make enough to use for many cocktails.

Place 1 cup white sugar in a small sauce pan. Carefully hand 1 cup of water. Do not stir. Allow the mixture to heat on a low flame until the sugar dissolves. Cool and place into a jar or bottle and reserve in the refrigerator.

Place the egg white, Pisco (vodka or Mezcal), simple syrup and freshly squeezed lime juice into a shaker. With the lid and top on, do a "dry" shake (which means you don't add ice). Holding the top and lid on, shake vigorously 25-30 times. Shaking caused the egg white to froth, which creates gas which will pop off the top if you don't hold on tightly.

Open the top to relieve the pressure, then open the shaker and add 4 ice cubes. Put the lid and top back on and vigorously shake again.

To serve, either pour into a martini style glass or into a large glass filled with ice. Drizzle a few drops of Angostura bitters.

Corn Salad, Elote Style for End of Summer Feasts

Today's Labor Day, tomorrow it's back to work after a wonderful vacation-work trip to The Netherlands and Berlin. Last night we had our annual dinner with friends at Back On The Beach (445 Pacific Coast Hwy, AKA Palisades Beach Road, Santa Monica CA 90402). Today is the last dinner service at Back On The Beach so we were happy to enjoy a meal and the sunset.

We're joining a potluck dinner tonight at our neighbors around the corner. We're looking forward to catching up and hanging out. We're bringing homemade pickles and my version of an elote salad. I'm reprising the post I wrote after a trip to Mexico.  Enjoy!

Mexican street food 

Travel in Mexico and you'll encounter street vendors selling a great number of delicious food snacks. Elote is one of the best. An ear of corn is grilled, dusted with dry cheese, slavered with mayonnaise and seasoned with chili powder and fresh lime juice. The ear of corn is always served whole, sometimes resting in a paper dish or with a stick in the bottom like a corndog.

Elote is delicious but messy to eat. A whole ear of corn takes two hands to manage. And, with each bite, the finely grated Cotija cheese floats into the air, landing on clothing.

Deconstructing elote

Cutting the kernels off the cobs makes the seasoned corn easier to enjoy. In Mexico there is a corn kernel snack called esquires, which employs some of the elote seasonings. The recipe I settled on uses olive oil instead of mayonnaise. That way the salad can be served as a light entrée topped with a protein or as a side dish accompanying grilled vegetables, meats, poultry and fish. A perfect summer recipe.

The best way to cook corn on the cob is a topic of heated debate. There are those who will only boil corn, others who will only grill it. I have seen elote prepared using both. My preference is to strip off the husk and grill the ear so that some of the kernels are charred, adding caramelized sweetness to the salad.

Just the right cheese

What gives elote its distinctive flavor is the combination of spicy chili powder, fresh lime juice and Mexican Cotija cheese. 

Powdery when finely grated, Cotija cheese is salty so you may not need to add salt when you make the corn salad. Often described as having qualities similar to feta and Parmesan, Cotija tastes quite different.

Mexican Corn Salad

Adding finely chopped Italian parsley to the seasoned corn kernels brightens the flavors. Cilantro can be used instead of parsley to give the salad a peppery flavor.

The corn can be prepared ahead and kept in the refrigerator overnight. In which case, do not add the Cotija cheese or parsley until just before serving.

To create a colorful salad, just before serving, toss the seasoned corn and parsley with quartered cherry tomatoes, cut-up avocados and butter lettuce or romaine leaves.

After tossing, taste the salad and adjust the amount of Cotija cheese and chili powder and, if needed sea salt.

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 15 to 20 minutes

Total time: 25 to 30 minutes

Yield: 4 entrée servings or 8 side dish servings

Ingredients

4 tablespoons olive oil, divided

1/2 teaspoon sea salt 

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

4 large ears of corn, husks and silks removed, washed, dried

1/2 cup finely grated Cotija cheese

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

Directions

1. Preheat an indoor grill or outdoor barbecue to hot.

2. Pour 2 tablespoons olive oil into a flat pan and season with sea salt and black pepper.

3. Roll the ears of corn in the seasoned olive oil to coat all sides.

4. Using tongs, place the corn on the grill, turning every 2 to 3 minutes so that some of the kernels char, being careful not to burn the ears.

5. After the corn is cooked on all sides, remove and let cool in the flat pan with the seasoned olive oil.

6. To cut the kernels off the cob, use a sharp chef's knife. Hold each ear of corn over the pan with the seasoned oil and slice the kernels off the cob.

7. Transfer the kernels and the remaining seasoned oil into a large mixing bowl.

8. Add Cotija cheese, chili powder and parsley. Toss well.

9. Drizzle the remaining olive oil over the salad and toss.

10. Serve at room temperature with lime wedges on the side.