Being Social

[ithildin]

ninjababe and I finally went to a Cedar City Wine Club event. and we even talked to people!! Scary and strange, I know. It was held at the Iron Gate B&B, which is a lovely property. I now have a lodging recommendation for visitors in the area. And the occasion this time was the opening of the Iron Gate Winery - only one in the area. You have to go to Moab for the next one. I'd found out about the club via a Twitter followee, Larry the Wine Guy - another former Californian. It was nice putting a real face to the Twitter handle!

It's a nice setup - you bring a bottle of wine, and food to share. I tried something new, as our pears were just ready to be picked, and did a caramelized pear & sage crostini, with my own added touch of a little homemade pear liqueur in the pot whilst cooking. It came out quite nicely, if i do say so myself! And not just me - it got polished off. I'm always nervous bringing food, so I'm glad it turned out well.

This morning, I woke up with a crappy head cold, so am miserable. At least it held off till today.

Comments

[starhawk2005.livejournal.com]

Mmm, that crostini sounds awesome! *drools*

[i-llbedammned.livejournal.com]

It sounds very fancy and classy! At least you had fun.

I've never tried making my own liqueur, I always owrry I'll just end up making poison.

[ninjababe.livejournal.com]

The liqueur we make can't really go bad...

It's literally vodka, fruit, and simple syrup (a mixture of hot water and sugar cooled down after).

The amount of each depends on the liqueur... Here's a sample peach liqueur recipe: http://www.food.com/recipe/peach-liqueur-236277

My method: While steeping, you don't touch it. Then, when you're ready to strain, you move it from the dark, cool place a few days before to your kitchen so it can resettle. Then, I use a three foot long tubing I bought at an aquarium store (cost me $3) to 'rack' the liqueur. Basically, I put the bottle it'll stay in into the sink, I the liqueur container on the counter, on top of a large pot. (I use those gallon beverage containers you can get at Wal-Mart. They have a huge opening on top with a carry handle.)

Then, I put one end of the tube in the current liqueur container, and suck on the other end. When it gets half way through the tube, I stick the end I was sucking on into the container in the sink. I make sure that the end doesn't hit sediment so I don't get any into my finished product.

You will lose about 10-20% of the liquid, but it'll be clear and almost totally free of sediment...

This is what I think one of the best liqueur making books out there: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0882669869/ref=oh_details_o03_s01_i00

Ok... I didn't mean to go on and on about this... I'll stop now... :)

[i-llbedammned.livejournal.com]

Thank you for that! I don't mind you rambling. I'm going to have to try this now. For science!

[jinxed-wood.livejournal.com]

Sounds yummy, I adore caramelised pears and the idea or pairing it with sage sounds intriguing!