Hot Dram! How to Behave in Washington a la Whiskey Punch Lessons

If you’ve been enduring the range of cold and bitter weather that’s been our most unwanted holiday ‘gift’ this season, your thoughts may be straying to what’s warm and comforting.

Nothing fills that bill as well as a cup of hot whiskey punch.  Easy to make in a mug or in a larger party punch bowl, it’s one of the best cocktails for these chilly winter days.  Indeed, its Irish heritage is highlighted in the January 2011 issue of Esquire Magazine.

Yet missing from David Wondrich’s delightful story is the often overlooked lesson about how American politicians should and shouldn't behave. 

Well, back in 1829 Andrew Jackson was getting ready to celebrate his inauguration as America’s newest president.  Old Hickory, as the president was called by both friend and foe, was cut from a very different cloth than his more elegant predecessors.

He was not a gentleman farmer nor was he a Harvard educated New England lawyer.  Unlike Thomas Jefferson, he did not care a fig about fine French wines or gourmet cuisine. Instead he liked a shot of good ol' American corn whiskey in a rustic rural tavern with local farmers and veteran soliders.  This was not an Englishman who became an American by revolution. 

He was, instead, a different kind of American, born and breed on native soil – strong, raw, ready to create an new nation from an unknown future.

Well, after Jackson was inaugurated, he opened the White House to everyone and anybody who wanted to come to the in-house reception. It seemed at the time a fair and very republican idea.

Thousands of undisciplined and unprincipled citizens poured in and, fueled by the warmed whiskey punch served, nearly destroyed the White House.  Rugs, curtains and irreplaceable fine china were all broken and destroyed as every ‘guest’ fought to get something just for him self.  

These days, as the composition of the U.S. government shifts, one can only hope that some of the lessons learned then will be remembered now by the many new and untried senators and representatives coming to Washington. 

Disorder and self-serving choices are not activities that serve democracy well any more then they are welcome at any banquet reception.  Manners and civility matter.

Hopefully, a hundred and eighty plus years later we’ve all learned to get along well enough with each other to be able to embrace Jefferson's hope that we'll “mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor".

Your Culinary World copyright Ana Kinkaid/Peter Schlagel 2010

Christmas and New Year Champagne Myths and Secret Mixer

There’s no beverage better than champagne to launch your holiday fun.  Whether it’s a toast on Christmas morning or a sparkling cocktail with friends as the New Year starts, there is nothing better than champagne or more misunderstood.

Here are some of the reoccurring champagne myths that seem to pop up with frightening regularity on the Internet:

Champagne and wine are two different beverages.

WRONG: Champagne is a true wine, just one with bubbles.  Indeed, many chefs consider champagne (along with sherry) one of the greatest dinner wines because it ranges from ultra dry to delightful sweet.   

Always chill champagne in an ice bucket packed with ice.

WRONG: If you have lots of time and long to be oh so elegant, by all means use an ice bucket.  But if time is a concern, ice cold water works a lot faster.

Don Perignon invented champagne.    

WRONG: Don Perigon, a Benedictine monk in the 17^th century, did say “I see stars” but probably followed up that statement by say “Not again!”  In fact, Don Perignon spent his lifetime trying to get the bubbles out of champagne, not to retain them.  Proper credit for the production of champagne as we enjoy it today should go, instead, to Veuve Clicquot, the legendary Widow of Champagne.

The proper way to open a bottle of champagne is to send the cork flying.

WRONG: Not only does this method waste champagne, it is dangerous.  Due to the enormous pressure created by the bubbles in the sealed bottle (60 to 90 pounds of pressure per square inch of glass), opening a champagne bottle incorrectly risks an explosion.   The correct method is to carefully recover the wire cage from around the cork. Wrap the top of the bottle in a towel. Holding the top steady, till the bottle away from guests and glasses, twisting the base of the bottle and pulling downward.  If done correctly, you will hear only a soft and gentle pop, not a dangerous explosion.

Every wine that bubbles is champagne.

WRONG:  There are other sparkling wines but they are not be properly called "champagnes". True champagnes are only produced in designated regions of France.  Each of the other sparkling wines (and there are many that are wonderfully delightful) have different names, such as “cava” for Spanish sparklers and “asti spumante” in Italy. 

All that said, there is a new champagne product out this season that is a secret favorite of those in the know how to give a party: Tastefully Simple’s Citrus Celebration Drink Mix.  You simple add champagne to the bucket container (no ice bucket needed here) stir and freeze. 

After your guests arrive, just spoon the icy mixture into champagne coup glasses and serve. What could be easier and more unique?  It’s simply perfect for the busy host with a flare for the tasteful.

Your Culinary World copyright Ana Kinkaid/Peter Schlagel 2010

Divinity the Divine Christmas Candy Deluxe

From the deep South comes a snow white candy enjoyed everywhere during the Holiday season – Divinity.  You will find this heavenly treat on elite hostess dessert trays from Manhattan high-rises to Louisianan vintage residences nestled among the sweeping evergreen pines.

Yet few know that this angel white winter treat was launched onto the national culinary scene in 1903 by the Corn Products Refining Company of New York and Chicago to promote their new light corn syrup.

Prior to the arrival of this then new product on market shelves, housewives had to lug a syrup jar to their local grocery store.  There they refilled their own heavy kitchen bottle with thick inconsistent syrup from a standing corner keg. Then they had to carry it all the way home along with all the other groceries. 

And if anything broke - What a mess! What a pain! 

Imagine their delight when in 1903 they discovered Karo Syrup, named after Caroline, the wife of the leading firm chemist who perfected the even flowing sweet corn syrup formula.  

Here was a syrup easy to purchase in a single bottle and easy to use.  Eager cooks could now pour a quality boiling corn syrup into flavored beaten egg whites until they formed perfect sweet candy clouds light as snow.  Divine! Christmas Perfection!   

Divinity soon became a favorite holiday sweet throughout the whole United States, thanks to the convenient availability of Karo Light Corn Syrup in nearby neighborhood markets.

And though other outstanding Karo recipes have emerged (the Karo pecan pie recipe is still a great favorite everywhere), none can displaced the heavenly taste of divinity by the twinkling Christmas tree.  

It’s simply the taste of Christmas made divinely deluxe – Enjoy!

Your Culinary World copyright Ana Kinkaid/Peter Schlagel 2010

The Sweet History of Christmas Gingerbread Cookies

Ah, the smell of winter gingerbread!  There is nothing like it.  Whether it’s a soft cake topped with whipped cream or a rich decorated cookie, it’s simply a must for any Christmas feast.

But have you ever wondered where gingerbread in its many forms came from?  Well, it’s a great story that ranges from the tables of medieval knights to George Washington’s mother’s  kitchen counter.

Culinary history first records gingerbread in its firm “cookie” form in the Middle East.  During the 11^th Century the knights of the Crusade (including the noble Templars) encountered gingerbread in the markets of Acrea and Antioch.

They liked gingerbread enough to bring it back to Europe as one of the treasure of East. Soon there were “Gingerbread Fairs” throughout Europe where the now decorated cookies were made in a wide variety of shapes from flowers to knighty armor.

Rather quickly during this period the gingerbread dough was shaped into human form, especially male. Ladies, married and single, would buy them at the fair, eating them in the hopes of another child or a handsome first husband.   

By1598 Shakespeare himself was in favor of gingerbread when he wrote in Love's Labors Lost, “An I had but one penny in the world, thou shouldst have it to buy ginger-bread.” Not a bad recommendation from the master of the English language.

Even George Washington’s mother Mary Bell made gingerbread cookies.  Her pre-revolution cookies were English kings (off with their heads!) and brightly decorated American eagles after the revolution which she served to the esteemed General Lafayette.

There are still holiday gingerbread markets held in Germany called "Lebkuchen Fairs" that sell gingerbread cookies frosted with a sugary message such as “All I need is you” and “You’re the best”. All the hanging hearts and candies can’t help but remind you of Hansel and Gretel but with no witch present to spoil the fun.

Today any shape that pleases the cook (or cookie eater) is fine. Gumdrops and M&Ms have been added – the more the merrier.  Just don’t forget the raisin eyes. Good fortune is looking for you!

Your Culinary World copyright Ana Kinkaid/Peter Schlagel 2010

Chilean Miners Wine Celebrate the Best Story of the Year

There can be no doubt that this year's most amazing tale of courage was the struggle of 33 brave Chilean miners to reach the surface after a deep cave-in.  In a fellowship of survival, they put much of the world with its petty squabbles and concerns to shame.

Now the leading London design agency Unreal has created a limited edition of 33 bottles of "Chilean Winers", each etched with the name and story of one individual miner.

The long tall dark bottle represents the depth of the mine while an extended “I” from the word “Chilean” the escape shaft dug over many days to reach the brave buried miners.  Even the packaging was brought into the design, copying the narrow Phoenix 2 cylinder each miner in turn rode to freedom.

The design has so inspired holiday shoppers in England that Chilean wine sales there have risen over 25%! 

What an uplifting Christmas gift Unreal has created to share with friends and family as we look with faith and hope to the coming New Year. 

May the miners' courage and strength remind us all of what we are each truly capable when we reach deep into our hearts and find the best that we can be.

Your Culinary World copyright Ana Kinkaid/Peter Schlagel 2010