Blood Orangecello

by Kate Djupe

I am a dark beer, red wine, Pepsi or cold milk drinking girl. I am intimidated by liquor solely because I do not know what I like or what to order.  

Lori is the perfect enabler for a girl like me. She introduced me to creamy limoncello at the very first CMH Dinner Club dinner and I was in love. Seriously.

I may be intimidated by mixology but I am not shy about making anything that ends up in a Ball jar. 

After that night, I made a few batches that I never quite got around to giving away as Christmas gifts and I worked my way through them quickly (with a little help from my friends and family). I heard Lori talking about her experiments in making new cellos (pumpkin and ginger) and started thinking of any possible way I might improve on this beautiful drink.

Hey! It is blood orange season! 

This might not look like the most delicious thing drink but it is: not too sweet, excessively drinkable and more than a bit like an alcoholic Dreamsicle (or is it Creamsicle?).

I haven't started cooking with it yet, although Lori and NPR have told me that I should try. So, that is on the to do list. First, I must put in an order for a case of blood oranges...

 

Blood Orangecello

Recipe adapted from NPR's creamy limoncello

8-10 blood oranges (or any citrus fruit)

5 cups pure alcohol*

1 half gallon whole milk (I suggest Snowville Creamery Whole Milk because you can taste the difference.)

5 pounds sugar (10 cups)

1.5 oz whiskey

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

*NPR used Everclear. I used cheap-ish vodka that I ran through a Brita filter 3 times. Yes, I know that this will not make it taste like good vodka but it does make it smoooooooth like those more pricey vodkas. My thinking: Taste is not going to be a problem with this drink. Some alcohol will cook off in the process; if you want a strong end product, start with a strong liquor.

 

  • Peel oranges being mindful to minimize the amount of pith (white part of the peel). More pith = more bitterness = sad face. 

  • Optional: Juice the peel-less oranges. I cooked the juice with a couple tablespoons of sugar until it had reduced by half so that I could add it to the finished cello. If you don't want to do this, segment the blood oranges and toss with lettuce, shallots and Little Rosie's dressing (available at the Hill's market). You win either way.
  • After a week (or two), strain the orange alcohol and discard the peels. 
  • In a large, heavy bottomed saucepan, combine orange alcohol, milk, sugar, whiskey and vanilla. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and lightly simmer for five minutes while stirring continuously. 

  • Skim the foam/skin from the top of your creamy cello (discard the foam) and strain your cello into jars.

  • Freeze. Keep your blood orangecello in the freezer when you are not pouring a glass to drink. 
  • You can stop here and have a lovely white (almost pale blue) velvety drink or you can add the cold blood orange syrup into your very cold orangecello. You might end up with that Mylanta looking drink, but that added orange flavor really pops when you add any mixers to your glass.  (After adding the syrup, you may want to restrain the cello if the added acidity results in any separation of the milk.)

When pouring my drink, I prefer 1 part cello to 1 part club soda. It can be sipped straight up (remind yourself to sip this smooth drink slowly), used for cooking (icing a plum cake, for example) and although I have no experience doing so, I am sure that you could use this in other mixed drinks.

Hurry up. Blood orange season will be over in a month.

 

(Some photos were taken by my favorite drinking and kitchen experimenting partner, Paul. He would like you to call this drink a blocello.)

Showcase of Crusted Arts

by Kate Djupe

(art by MichaelCoyote)

 

The rules for the third CMH Dinner Club dinner were simple:

1. Show up with a dish that had a crust and a filling.

2. Enjoy yourself.

 

The savory spread:

I'm going to attempt to tell you what you are looking at (correct me where I need it, please). From the bottom left and moving clockwise:

Jim & Emily's English pork pie

Talcott's Goat cheese and root vegetable pizza

Mike & Katie's Turkey and leek pie

Cheese pies from Salam Bakery

Katie Rowell's vegetarian mini pies

(we are moving to the top of the right side of the photo now)

Spicy meat pies from  Salam Bakery

Paul's & my Spanakopita

Anne & Kevin's Chicken pot pie

Debra & Greg's Crab and shrimp with pimento cheese biscuits on top

Bethia's Fish pie (cod, smoked haddock, prawns topped with crusty mashed potatoes)

Not shown in this photo:

Carl's Hot pockets (and lean pockets)

Jennifer's Pierogis (butter & sour cream dough; rosemary, garlic, onion filling)

Christy's Salt crusted fish

Lori's Pastrami

Michael's Fish galette

Paul's Sriracha (not a pie, but worth a mention)

I know!

 

And the sweet spread:

From the bottom left and moving clockwise:

Carl's Banana and chocolate ganache pie

Jim & Emily's Cardamom buttermilk pie bruled

Debra & Greg's Hershey's pie

Jim & Emily's Cardamom buttermilk pie

Molly's Meyer lemon tart with bittersweet chocolate layer

Jenny's World famous clementine pie with graham cracker crust

Paul's & my Wayward Seed peach and child tear infused blueberry pie

Valerie's Pecan octopi (get it?)

Zach's Corn syrup-less pecan pie with Bourbon whipped cream

 

Amazing, right? Let me show you more:

Christy's salt crusted fish is a must repeat. The flesh that was closest to the blood oranges was so incredible, moist and delicious that I cannot think of it without my stomach growling.

And her skills made for a beautiful unveiling:

 

These are the last known photos of pie before it was devoured:

This is my attempt to fit all of the desserts onto one little plate:

The people! Oh the people! I don't have many pictures of people. I got caught up in conversations and drink mixing. I cornered myself in the kitchen so I could keep picking at the fish and the pastrami; so I could taste my first French 75 and down the Blood Orangecello.

I am sure that there are plenty of stories for the other guests to share.

I'll leave this with the view from where I stood (and only including people that let me find them in my viewfinder):

I don't know what the next dinner will be, but it has a high bar to clear. Molly & Christy were incredible hosts, all of the cooks were skilled beyond belief; the drinks were delicious; conversation mighty fine and event name impressive. 

Thank you everyone!