15 minute read
Stirring Up Memories
Stirring Up Memories By Darcie Duttweiler
EIGHT AUSTIN CHEFS AND BARTENDERS SHARE THEIR FAVORITE COCKTAIL AND CULINARY RECIPES
Sure, everyone’s mom makes the best stuffing, but this holiday season it’s high time you branch out from your traditional recipes and try something new. We asked eight Austin chefs and bartenders for the dishes, desserts and cocktails they make their loved ones during the happiest time of the year. From homemade graham crackers to pork rechaad, these culinary masters offer tips to help you celebrate in style.
Baking graham crackers fills the house with the smell of toasted honey and butter. I like to use red fife whole wheat from Barton Springs Mill when they have it because it has notes of baking spice in the wheat to add extra seasonality to your day
Chef Susana Querejazu
LUTIE’S RESTAURANT / LUTIES.COM
Joining partner and Executive Chef Bradley Nicholson at Lutie’s Restaurant, which opened in the heart of the Commodore Perry Estate in spring 2020, Executive Pastry Chef Susana Querejazu has more than a decade of professional pastry experience, working at several beloved eateries, like Enoteco Vespaio, Uchi, Uchiko and Odd Duck. Her gorgeous desserts are one of the huge highlights of dining at the beautiful hotspot. Here, she shares her graham cracker recipe — perfect for making s’mores with the kiddos.
Graham Crackers
• 850 grams whole wheat • 510 grams brown sugar • 3 tablespoons soda • 3/4 teaspoon salt • 300 grams butter • 3 tablespoons whole milk • 255 grams honey • 6 tablespoons vanilla
Cream butter and sugar. Add in honey, salt, vanilla, and soda. Mix in dry, then wet. Wrap and chill for 15 minutes. Roll out to 4 sheets, each at 1/8th inch thick. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Then, use a wheel cutter to portion into 3-inch squares. Continue to bake until cookies are dark and well cooked.
Yields 60 cookies
The Hot-Buttered Painkiller is a great mash-up of a classic hot drink that makes you think of sitting under a cozy blanket next to the fireplace while simultaneously transporting you to the Caribbean at the Soggy Dollar Bar sipping on the flavors of coconut, tangerine and pineapple with a tasty blend of rums
AND TATSU-YA SAKE SOMMELIER BRYAN MASAMITSU PARSONS (RIGHT) PICTURED WITH TATSU-YA BEVERAGE DIRECTOR MICHAEL PHILLIPS (LEFT) COCKTAIL PHOTO BY GABY DEIMEKE, PORTRAIT BY JANE YUN Cory Starr
TIKI TATSU-YA / TIKI-TATSUYA.COM
Leading the Tiki Tatsu-Ya beverage program is Cory Starr. While the Tatsu-Ya group is wellknown for their inventive cocktails, their new tiki bar takes things to a whole other level. Starr learned about tiki concoctions while working at The Four Seasons Resort Hualalai for five years before moving to Chicago to bartend at the award-winning Three Dots and a Dash. In Austin since 2019, Starr has passionately worked on crafting some of the most creative tropical cocktails in Austin alongside Tatsu-Ya beverage director Michael Phillips and Tatsu-Ya sake sommelier Bryan Masamitsu Parsons. His Hot-Buttered Painkiller is a Yuletide twist on a tiki classic.
Hot Buttered Painkiller
• 1 1/2 oz Caribbean Rum Blend (Starr suggests a blend of rums from Jamaica, Guyana, and Barbados) • 1 heaping tablespoon Butter Batter (Recipe below) • 4 oz Hot Coconut Chai Tea Zhi Tea
Coconut Chai Tea • 2 oz Painkiller Whipped Cream to garnish (Recipe Below) • Fresh grated nutmeg
Add rum and Butter Batter to your favorite festive coffee mug. Pour piping hot tea over batter and rum, stir to combine. Top with Painkiller Whipped Cream. Grate fresh nutmeg over top and enjoy!
Butter Batter
• 8 oz highest quality unsalted butter • 6 oz Steen’s Louisiana Cane Sugar • 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper • 1/2 teaspoon allspice • 1/2 teaspoon ginger powder • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon powder • 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract • 1 teaspoon shiro miso
Combine all ingredients. Can be made ahead of the season in larger batches and kept in the freezer for up to three months.
Painkiller Whipped Cream
• 8 oz of Thai coconut milk • 1 oz dark rum • 2 oz fresh tangerine juice • 4 oz fresh pineapple juice • 6 oz granulated sugar
Combine all ingredients. Chill very well. Use a stand mixer for 3-5 minutes to whip into stiff peaks, or alternatively use an ISI whipped cream charger.
Pork Rechaad
• 3-pound pork butt roast • 1 large yellow onion diced
Trim fat from roast. Cut remaining meat into 3-oz pieces. Fry fat down until dark brown and use it for cooking oil. Sauté onion with the fat. Make rechaad paste.
Rechaad Paste
• 1/3 cup garlic cloves • 1/4 cup ginger peeled • 1 teaspoon cinnamon • 1/2 teaspoon cloves • 4 Kashmiri chiles • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper • 1/8 teaspoon mustard seeds • 1 tablespoon paprika • 1/4 teaspoon white pepper • 1 cup apple cider vinegar • 1/8 cup jaggery or molasses • 1/4 cup tomato paste • 1/8 cup sugar • 1/8 cup honey • 3 tablespoons lemon juice
Grind all ingredients in a blender or food processor until smooth. Add meat and paste to pot. Cover and cook slowly on extremely low heat for 3 1/2 hours.
Prepare one pineapple
Clean off peel and eyes. Cut down the spine on 4 sides. Cut long pieces in 3/4-inch thick chunks. Sauté in 1 cup dark rum and caramelize in 1/4 cup sugar. Finish pineapple on the grill for smokiness or roast in the oven on parchment until brown at 425 degrees for 10 minutes.
Braised red cabbage
Pan roast one ear red purple cabbage shredded with 1/4 cup ghee, 4 tablespoons brown sugar, and 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar.
To assemble: Layer platter with each of the three components slightly overlapping; first cabbage, then pork, then pineapple. Garnish with cilantro leaf and sliced limes.
This dish stems from my experience in Goa, combining two traditional dishes and flavors, rechaad chili used in fish dishes and sorpotel, a pork stew, adding some more tropical elements that are local to the area. This is also a great dish to make for the holidays, as pork is often thought of as a good luck food to inspire progress and ring in the New Year
Sidney Roberts
MUMTAZ MARKET BY G’RAJ MAHAL / MUMTAZMARKETATX.COM
An Austin native, Sidney Roberts is most known for her Rainey Street food truck turned brick and mortar, G’Raj Mahal, which opened in 2009, but she has spent most of her life in the hospitality industry, training as a chef at 19 years old. It was during an early trip to jolly ole England that she fell deeply in love with Indian food. Her newest concept, Mumtaz Market (opened in October 2020) is a natural evolution of G’Raj Mahal, dubbing itself “cuisine fit for a queen.” Her Pork Rechaad recipe will whisk your family away to Goa and bring good luck into 2022.
Robert Bjorn Taylor
IG: @KINGBJORNCE
Robert Bjorn Taylor is as famed for his hearty hugs as he is for his high-end cocktails. For the better part of the past decade, the gregarious bartender has crafted libations for some of the city’s best restaurants and bars, like Vixen’s Wedding, Otoko, Emmer & Rye, Peché and Midnight Cowboy. Nowadays, you’ll find the sober bartender freelance consulting on some hush-hush upcoming projects, working as a graphic designer and writing a book called “NAH: Non-Alcoholic Handbook,” which will focus on the alternative lifestyle and drinking culture of a bartender and recovering addict. He aims to create an inclusive positive influence within drinking culture and the service industry by promoting mental health alongside constructive consumption. His version of a wintery sipper takes you to the Great White North.
Gimli Club
• 3/4 oz Crown Black • 3/4 oz Crown Vanilla • 1/2 oz lemon juice • 1/2 oz Winter Spiced Simple Syrup (Recipe below) • 1 egg white • Bar spoon raspberry preserves • Grated nutmeg to garnish
Add egg white to the shaker first, then all ingredients and dry shake. Add ice and shake. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.
Winter Spiced Simple Syrup
• 1 1/2 cups sugar • 1 1/2 cups water • 6 cardamom pods cracked • 2 star anise pods • 2 cinnamon sticks • 1 teaspoon allspice berries • 1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns • 1/2-inch piece fresh ginger thinly sliced
In a small pot, combine the sugar and the water. Bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally to dissolve the sugar for about 10 minutes. Toast spices for about a minute until you smell the aromatics. Add the toasted spices and ginger to the pot. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat, let cool to room temperature for about 30 minutes. Using a fine-mesh strainer, strain the syrup into a suitable container. Bottle and refrigerate for up to 2 weeks.
The story of this cocktail is a nod to the Vinarterta holiday cake of Manitoba, Canada. It’s an Icelandic traditional fruit layer cake usually composed of prunes, cardamom and vanilla. By marrying the flavors of the Vinarterta cake with Crown Royal Black’s rich flavors, it creates a harmonious festive cocktail! The egg white sour gives it the beautiful mouthfeel of an airy cake and balances out this holiday treat
Sipping chocolate is the decadent version of everyone’s favorite nostalgic winter drink, and this hot cocoa has a special indulgence added to keep you extra warm Holiday Sipping Chocolate
Krystal Craig
INTERO RESTAURANT / INTERORESTAURANT.COM
Native Austinite Krystal Craig is the Managing Co-Owner & Chocolatier/Pastry Chef of Intero Restaurant. At 21, the self-taught chocolatier co-founded her first dessert company, focusing on small batch, sustainably sourced handcrafted artisan chocolates. After years of producing sweets for The Four Seasons, Jeffrey’s and Hotel Van Zandt as well as a signature chocolate line at Armadillo Christmas Bazaar for more than 14 years, she opened Intero in 2018 with Chef Ian Thurwachter. Her recipe will transport you back to your childhood.
• 16 oz 60-70% Favorite Couverture Quality Dark
Chocolate Callets or Chopped • 2 oz Red Brute Cocoa Powder • 4 oz granulated sugar • 1/4 teaspoon Himalayan pink salt • 1 6 oz milk or milk alternative
In a food processor, finely blend chocolate, cocoa powder, sugar, and salt.
Whip Cream Top
• 8 oz whipping cream • 1 oz powdered sugar • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
In a mixer with whisk attachment or large bowl, whisk by hand. Add all ingredients together and whisk to medium-soft peaks.
To make: Heat milk in a pot on the stove on low heat until warm, whisk continuously. Once warm add cocoa mix, turn up and heat on medium. Whisk constantly until completely melted and blended. Pour into espresso cups, add whipped cream to top, and serve.
Northern Cardinal
• 1 oz Waterloo Yaupon Gin • 1 oz Cranberry-Infused Italicus Liqueur • 1 oz Campari • Smoked rosemary
Add all ingredients to the mixing glass, add ice, and stir. Strain over one large ice cube and finish with a sprig of smoked rosemary.
I love to drink negronis when the weather gets colder, so the Northern Cardinal is the perfect holiday cocktail because it’s a fun themed spin on a classic negroni
Sarah Rahl
AUSTIN PROPER / PROPERHOTEL.COM/AUSTIN
Sarah Rahl has been shaking up the cocktails at Austin Proper’s outlets, Goldies, La Piscina and Peacock, since November 2019. Prior to honing her skills at the downtown hotel, she worked at Ellis Bar and the Four Seasons Austin. Originally hailing from Maine means that the bartender knows her way around a cold-weather drink or two, especially bourbon. For her recipe, however, she puts a spin on a classic gin sipper.
Pozole Rojo
• 2 29 oz cans Maiz Pozolero (White
Hominy for pozole) or 4 cups • 3 1/2 to 4 pounds bone-in pork shoulder that will yield 2 1/2 pounds • 1 tablespoon salt • 2 bay leaves • 2 tablespoons Mexican oregano, without stems • 2 cups diced onion • 5 garlic cloves • 3 oz Guajillo chiles, stems removed • 2 Ancho chiles • 1/2 oz Arbol chiles, crispy fried or toasted • 2 cups thinly sliced cabbage • 1 lime, cut into quarters • 4 radishes, thinly sliced • 16 tostadas
Take as much meat off the bone and cut into 1 1/2-inch-thick pieces, place all the pieces and the bone in a large stockpot, cover with 5 quarts of cold water or chicken stock, add 1 tablespoon of salt. Cook over medium-high heat, bring to a hard boil, skim off all the grayish foam that rises to the top, and discard. Add 1 cup of onion, bay leaves, and 1 tablespoon of oregano. Partially cover the pot and simmer over medium heat, cook until the meat is tender but not falling apart, about 60 to 80 minutes.
While the meat cooks, prepare the chile seasoning, remove the stems and seeds from the Guajillos and anchos, toast them in the oven at 375 or on a comal until lightly brown and fragrant. Bring 4 cups of water to a boil over medium-high heat, add the toasted chiles, half or less of the Arbol chiles, and garlic cloves. Turn the heat off and let them soak until soft and the water has cooled down. In a blender working in batches, puree the chiles and garlic with the cooking liquid, strain through a medium-mesh strainer. Set aside.
Open the maiz (Hominy) cans and place them in a colander, rinse out all the canning liquid and any extra starch there might be. Set aside.
When the meat is tender, remove it from the cooking stock, take all the meat off the bone and shred it, add it to the chopped cooked meat, set it on a baking pan to cool down if you are not serving the pozole immediately, or a bowl if you are. Add the chile seasoning, the maiz-hominy, the leftover cup of onions, and the oregano to the soup stock. Simmer until the soup is a little thicker and all the flavors have come together for about 20 to 30 minutes. Carefully add the cooked pork back in. Bring back to a soft boil, check for consistency; it should look hearty and brothy enough to be a soup or light stew. If it looks too thick add some water or chicken stock. Taste the broth for seasoning; you might need to add 1-2 teaspoons of salt to make up for what the hominy has absorbed. Let it sit off the heat for 10 minutes.
Crush the rest of the Arbol chiles in a Molcajete or chop them. Serve the pozole in a deep bowl, garnish with the cabbage, and a couple of slices of radish. Also serve with the limes, crushed chiles, and tostadas on the side, or let your family serve and garnish their own.
Serves 10-12 generous portions. If you are not going to serve the pozole right away, divide it into smaller containers, and cool it down immediately. You can freeze it once it is completely chilled.
Alma Alcocer
EL ALMA / ELALMACAFE.COM
Although she’s the Culinary Director for El Chile Group overseeing menus and dishes for El Chile Group concepts, El Chile and El Chilito, Alma Alcocer is also executive chef of her namesake, El Alma, the Barton Springs hotspot known for authentic Central Mexican cuisine. A native of Mexico City and an alumnus of Le Cordon Bleu Paris, Alcocer’s Austin culinary career began at Jeffrey’s, where she started as pantry chef and worked her way up to executive chef. A stint at Fonda San Miguel reconnected her with her Mexico City roots, and she began exploring the flavors of Central Mexican cuisine. In 2011 she partnered with El Chile Group to open El Alma. Slurp your way into Christmas with her Christmas Eve pozole recipe.
Pozole is a classic Christmas Eve meal, but it’s perfect for groups all winter! It can be made in advance, it freezes well, and everyone makes their bowl exactly the way they want it
Dante McGrath
VERBENA / VERBENAATX.COM
Located in the Canopy Austin Downtown Hotel, Verbena is a cozy spot with a lush open-air courtyard and a wood-burning hearth. Paired with the old-world farm-to-table fare, the cocktails at Verbena complement both the sophisticated dishes as well as the colorful restaurant, thanks to General Manager Dante McGrath. Raised in Atlanta, the mixologist-slash-manager has worked in the hospitality industry for more than 15 years with almost a decade in Austin, cutting his teeth at The LINE Austin and W Austin Hotel. His festive sipper will have you painting the town red.
Wish You Were Here
• 2 oz Hibiscus-infused Casamigos Blanco Tequila (See below) • 1 oz St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur • 1/2 oz fresh lime juice • 1/2 oz honey
Hibiscus-infused Tequila
Steep 1/2 cup of hibiscus flowers with 750 ml of your favorite blanco tequila for one hour. Strain and serve.
Combine ingredients and hard shake with ice. Strain and serve in a coup with a garnish of fresh lemon wheel.
