Tropical Coquito Eggnog hold the lactose, go with Goat!

For the backstory on Coquito read about it here. All the same applies to the goats milk version, creamy coconut and rum eggnog without eggs from Puerto Rico. First, I made it the traditional way with cows milk products. Along the way I wondered if I could make a convincing recipe using goats milk. I made a few tweaks to the traditional recipe to make a safe version for the tummies of me and other lactose challenged folk!

It worked, and we may all drink to our hearts content. Beware it is as rich and strong as it is festive.

Coquito de Cabra

• 10 oz goats milk
• 1/2 cup - 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 can evaporated goats milk
• 1 can coconut milk
• 3/4 can coconut cream
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 375 ml white rum

Mix the goat milk and sugar in a saucepan. Heat on low, stirring occasionally, just until the sugar dissolves. No need to heat the milk further. Mix this in a blender with the remaining ingredients. It may take two batches of blending to fit all the liquid. 

Coquito, Tropical Coconut Eggnog from Puerto Rico

Coquito is spiced, creamy, and full of rum. This Caribbean version of our traditional eggnog hails from Puerto Rico where it is a must have for every party during Christmas time.

Also now a must have at my house, everybody who tries it falls in love! Coconut, sugar and dairy products create a creamy base for rum. It is the tropics and christmas of memories all in a glass. (FYI, if you are lactose free, check out my recipe for Goat Coquito!)

Rich and strong, it can surely be dangerous if not drank from small glasses or at least in short pours. The richness will likley stop you before things get out of hand, If it is to be compared to anything else, it might be coconut custard, or melted ice cream.

Give it as gifts, or to bring to parties, typically it is put into reused liquor or clear wine bottles with stoppers. This has a cute DIY homemade feel to it as a gift.

These are my adorable bottles all filled and ready to gift away. I am now so enchanted with them it will be tough to part with them.

(Just note, it should remain refrigerated.)

Coquito, when looked up in the dictionary, translates not only into "eggnog" but also:
1) A small coconut.
2) Grimace to amuse children.
   (hacer coquitos)
3) A turtle dove of Mexico, having a song like the couckoo's.

Much like traditional English eggnog there is milk, cinnamon, and sometimes eggs, but not in mine. The eggs are not necessary to give it thickness and body, the coconut does that work. I have to say it is terribly easy to whip up with a blender, as most of it comes from cans and it is a matter of pouring, blending, tasting and serving it up in a pretty way.

In each bottle or jar place a cinnamon stick. When you go to shake it up before pouring, the cinnamon stick bangs around to help mix it up.

Coquito, made without eggs, could last in the fridge for likley a long time. However, good luck keeping it around longer than a week. You would have to hide it in the back of the fridge. Delicious!

Ceylon cinnamon, allspice, and vanilla comprise all the spices. The three of them are complex all together and people can't easily place what they are drinking, which is fun. I used a vanilla bean powder, but extract or a real bean would be great.






Cinnamon is a key flavor here, and for best results use real Mexican cinnamon, (aka Ceylon cinnamon, soft stick cinnamon, or canela.) The flavor is less aggressive than the typical cinnamon we find in the states. It smells heavenly, has notes of citrus and is very complex. I am lucky to be treasuring a small stash of cinnamon sticks from Granada brought to me as a gift. This seeming the perfect time to use them I blitzed them to dust in my spice grinder (right...coffee grinder.)

This is freshly ground cinnamon. And then all the spices laying atop the coconut milk.

Coquito 

• 1 can condensed milk
• 2 can evaporated milk
• 1 can coconut milk (unsweetened cooking variety)
• 1 can coconut creme (coco lopez)
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 375 ml white rum (Don Q or Bicardi)

Simply open all the cans, measure the spices and rum. Using a blender, whip it into a frothy wonderland. In my regular sized blender is two batches of blending. Have a larger container ready to mix the two batches together before pouring them into bottles for gifting and serving. Store in the refrigerator, where it will have a chance to thicken up.

Serve cold in small amounts over ice, or not. For best results drink and share with friends in festive atmosphere.

Check out my Coquito de Cabra if you prefer goats milk to cows. It works and is just as yummy.

Horchata Cachaca Cocktail, it is not Eggnog, but tastes like a holiday!

All good ideas come from somewhere, I found this one at La Brasa in Somerville. They feature a small but mind bogglingly global menu with local sources.

Our table was throughly impressed. A dinner full of punchy unexpected flavors and a really laid back vibe from the whole place.  

(clockwise: pickled beet eggs, lamb shepherds pie, flan, coconut tapioca pudding with spiced pears, awesome soup spoons.)

The element that stuck with me was the horchata. Spiked with rum (honestly I don't know what kind) it became a joyful creamy, cinnamon laced experience. Something like a Mexican white Russian or Eggnog. However, much thinner than eggnog, as horchata is made from almond or rice milk, and dairy free! It sparked a discussion with my friend about coquito, a Puerto Rican coconut holiday drink, which I am going to mix up and bring to her later this week. (Stay tuned for coquito.)

Here is La Brasa's dreamy horchata over crushed ice.

What is HORCHATA, you ask? A milky drink made from rice (or almonds or chufa) soaked with cinnamon. Sugar is added and sometimes other spices or vanilla. It is special, simple and refreshing.

So I had this new discovery, horchata with rum. Here I was, going along, thinking virgin horchata was perfect. So I had to try it again. However, not in the mood to make horchata or even crush ice,
here is my lazy version.
I totally just bought an horchata from my local taqueria and brought it home. Shout out to La Victoria Taqueria, you rock. (Finally a good taqueria around here. You make me so very very very happy.) When I go in there to get food I always order an horchata because it is awesome, it is delicious, creamy, sweet, goes with spicy food, makes me smile, and think of California. And when I ask for the horchata, the same girl always looks me in the eye and smiles like "Oh, yeah, good ordering, you know whats up!" I love that feeling. If I was her, I would sip on horchatas all day long.

But this is an horchata for after work, hear that everybody? So bring home your takeout horchata, try not to drink much on the way, this is the hardest part of it all.

Toss in a jigger of Cachaca and some optional ice. Done!

Cachaca is a white spirit, like rum, that is made in Brazil from sugarcane juice. It was a great flavor pairing with the cinnamon and creamy elements.  Instead of cachaca you could use white or light rum.

This is obviously not a precise science, it will likley taste superb no matter what you do. I swear you will not regret it. You will only regret when the horchata is empty and that you didn't buy a second one.

Maybe one day I will make horchata from scratch and then I will link to this post. For now, save yourself time and find your closest most awesome taqueria.

An evening of antique drinking and games: The Brooklyn Cocktail and Mah Jongg

An old fashioned game and an old fashioned cocktail to go along with it made up my tuesday evening.  Here is old-fashioned style black and white to get in the mood. 

What sort of cocktail, say you? Nope, not a an Old Fashioned. Nor a Manhattan. It's a Brooklyn! The evening's plan was to play Mah Jongg with my fabulously fun aunt. She was recanting a tale about an impressive cocktail she had enjoyed the evening previous at Rialto while celebrating her anniversary. So, we decided to keep celebrating and make a few Brooklyns.

Rye whisky, Picon, Dry Vermouth, Maraschino Liqueur. And a cherry if you please.

Wait a minute, what is Picon? It is rare around here, very difficult to find in the US. A French aperitif, made from bitter oranges. It reminds me of marmalade. The glorious parts of marmalade flavor in booze. I loved it from my first taste when I was last in France. It is commonly served in a Picon Biere, simply a pale beer with the aperitif added. For one thing, it makes the so-so beer taste more interesting. A picon biere is are nice on an afternoon after a walk when the sunshine has warmed the stones underfoot and there is nothing left to do but pull together dinner. People mix it with white wine too. 

I dragged this bottle of Picon back in my suitcase and have been enjoying it slowly, hoping the day never arrives when it is empty. (Honestly, I forget about it for long stretches of time which is why I still have it)

Ok, so you didn't bring Picon back in your suitcase (but now you wish you did) so what can you use? Torani Amer, perhaps Cynar. Or mix Campari and Triple Sec for a balanced sweet-bitter profile.

The equipment is simple enough. Stirring glass, bar spoon, measuring device. And a glamorous coupe to serve it in. There should also be a strainer here, to keep the ice behind in the cup.

Brooklyn Cocktail

1 3/4 ounce Rye Whisky

1/2 ounce Dry Vermouth

1/2 ounce Maraschino Liquer (Luxardo)

3/4 ounce Picon or other digestif

Combine all ingredients in a stirring glass with plenty of ice. Stir until very cold. The sides of the cup should be covered with condensation. Strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a cherry.

This is what mah jongg looks like. Previously I only knew some ancient computer game where the tiles seemed to be stacked like a pyramid. That is not this as far as I can tell. This is a mind bogglingly old game from China. It is also mind boggling to learn it, but well worth it. Similar to poker or bridge, although I have never played bridge. There are suits, numbers, jokers, and you try to make patterns.

 Mah Jongg became popular in the US in the 1920's, so a lot of the sets are vintage bakelite which makes it fun to play with them! There is a portion in the beginning of each hand called "the charleston" where players trade tiles. It mimics the footwork of the Charleston dance, (popularized at the same time) so at a previous game I got up to dance the charleston in front of my opponents to demonstrate this right-over-left / left-over-right pattern. Such a good teaching moment. 

Happy playing, cheers!

The Rum Rhubarb Collins

I love rhubarb, ill say it again! For a sour vegetable stalk it is so versatile. The season is begining to ebb as we are at the solstice and these hot days favor berries over rhubarb stalks. Eat up while we can.

I seem to love pink drinks too. Rhubarb makes a refreshing drink, which could replace pink lemonade. After the rhubarb juice is made, a cocktail is the next logical step.

Rum Rhubarb Collins 

Tested by many friends this week, it evoked comments like "It's so refreshing!", "You can really taste the rhubarb-ness", "...so pretty!"And me the bartender says, "...so easy!"

You might at first wonder why add more sour citrus juice to an already tart situation. People are always trying to sweeten it up. But lemon and lime add to the flavor pop of rhubarb, when I make pie I always add some lemon to the rhubarb, it gives it more dimension. 

The amounts given in the rhubarb juice are a guide, it is impossible to predict how much sugar it will take to get your batch to taste nice. So it tastes like tart lemonade, sugary, sour, and drinkable.

Rum Rhubarb Collins

1/4 of a organic lime

1 1/2 ounces white rum

3 ounces rhubarb juice (recipe below)

1 ounce seltzer water

small rhubarb stalk, sliced narrow, for garnish

Fill a glass with ice.

Squeeze lime well, over ice. Drop lime into glass.

Pour white rum and rhubarb juice over ice. stir.

Top glass off with seltzer water.

Garnish with trimmed stick of rhubarb and trendy or metal straw.

(Making a pincher of drinks would be a great idea if having many people over.)

Making Rhubarb juice

Rhubarb Juice

2 pints rhubarb chopped into 2 inch sections

3 pints water 

1 cup organic white sugar

Wash and chop the rhubarb into 2 inch sections. Place into a soup pot. Pour water over, it should cover the rhubarb by a few inches. Turn heat on high to bring to a boil. 

Lower the heat to medium low and keep it simmering. 

After roughly 10 minutes the rhubarb will fall apart when poked with a spoon. Turn off the heat now.

Let cool, more flavor will steep out while it cools down. If you want to go away and run errands, now is the time, don't worry about it.

When cool, set a mesh strainer over another vessel large enough to hold all the liquid. And have an extra bowl nearby. Pour or ladle the pink rhubarb pulp and juice into the strainer, catching all the gorgeous pink juice. Briefly press down on the pulp to extract a bit more liquid. (It is a strange consistency.) Dump the pulp into the extra empty bowl. Repeat until all the liquid is strained.

The juice may look pretty, but it is still sour. Stir in some of the sugar, allowing time for it to dissolve. Pop the liquid back on the stove and heat it for under 5 minutes to warm it up enough for the sugar to melt well. Taste and add more sugar, creating it to your liking.

Cool, pour into jars. Will save for 2 weeks in the fridge. It freezes well in plastic containers, to be used later in the summer.

Rum Rhubarb Collins