Listen My Children and You Shall Hear of a Colonial Drink That Brings Good Cheer: Raspberry Rum Shrub

Shrub?

Isn't that a bush?

Yes, unless you are talking about a refreshing drink from before sodas were the order of the day.

Slow Food USA tells us:

Shrub is a colonial-day drink whose name is derived from the Arabic word sharab, to drink. It is a concentrated syrup made from fruit, vinegar, and sugar that is traditionally mixed with water to create a refreshing drink that is simultaneously tart and sweet. In the nineteenth-century, the drink was often spiked brandy or rum. Ubiquitous in colonial times, the use of shrubs as a flavoring for tonic and sodas subsided with increasing industrial production of foods.

Reading Eric Felton's entertaining and informative book, How's Your Drink?: Cocktails, Culture, and the Art of Drinking Well, I came across his recipe for a Raspberry Rum Shrub. I remembered having seen similar recipes as curiosities in old cookbooks and the vinegar was offputting to my mental palate. Until, that is, I remembered lemonade with its sweet-tart combination that was diluted by water and ice to make a refreshing summer drink.

Ah ha!

Suddenly a shrub beverage was recategorized mentally and I was interested. Especially when considering it as something that would stand up to dark rum.

This was an easy recipe and yielded a lot of syrup. Felten points out, for those who do not want to make the syrup or who want different flavors, that Tait Farm Foods provides ready made shrub syrups in many flavors. They also have recipe booklets I noticed when stopping by their website which may come in handy when trying to figure out what to do with all this Raspberry Shrub syrup. Although, honestly, I like its flavor so well I can dip it out on a spoon. Mmmmm....

I might add here that the Raspberry Rum Shrub, which we made with ginger ale, got two thumbs up.

Here's the recipe for those who want to give it a try.

Raspberry Rum Shrub
1 ounce raspberry shrub syrup
2 ounces dark rum
4 ounces ginger ale or soda water

Build with ice in a stemmed goblet (I used wine glasses), and stir. Garnish with fresh raspberries.

Raspberry Shrub Syrup
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
2 pints raspberries
2 cups white wine vinegar

Whisk water and sugar together at a boil. Reduce heat for a few minutes and add raspberries, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes. Add vinegar and bring to a boil for 2 minutes. Strain, cool, and bottle. Keep refrigerated (even if the Founding Shrubbers didn't).

(Recipe courtesy of Walter Staib, Chef of Philadelphia's City Taverns.)

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Lomo de Cerdo en Chile Verde (Loin of Pork in Green Chile Sauce)

My mother had been asking if I had Dad's green pork recipe copied down. Sadly no, but I am sure it's genesis was in Elisabeth Ortiz's original The Complete Book of Mexican Cooking. This is from waaay back in the day ... wait for it ... 1967. Yet it is fascinating to look at how authentic the results were that Ortiz communicated in her recipes using canned tomatillos and jalapenos. In fact, looking up the recipe, I was seized with the desire for green pork and also seized with curiosity about making it old-school Ortiz style.

I remembered when I was in the store and saw a pork roast on sale. Then I ran all over the store picking up the ingredients. Turns out this is not actually the recipe my parents favored. (They used the recipe under this one which I may actually get around to sharing one of these days.) They never had access to nopalitos. I actually saw some and threw them in. Not that I could see any difference ... but I was in an experimental mood and going for matching the recipe's requirements.

This was absolutely delicious. We scooped it into flour tortillas. Mmmmm ...

These days pork is not what it was then and I'd use a pork shoulder, though my roast did very well. Also, my ... ahem ... handful of cilantro is actually an entire bunch. What can I say? I'm a fan.

Elisabeth Lambert Ortiz did update her book (The New Complete Book of Mexican Cooking) and making this recipe made me curious as I am sure she now uses fresh tomatillos and the like. I have requested it from the library.

Lomo de Cerdo en Chile Verde
Loin of Pork in Green Chile Sauce

2 tablespoons lard or oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
3 pounds boneless loin of pork, cut into 2-inch cubes
2 10-ounce cans Mexican green tomatoes [tomatillos]
Handful of fresh coriander [cilantro], chopped
3 canned mild jalapeno chiles, cut into strips
1 8-ounce can nopalitos (cactus pieces), rinsed well
Salt
Freshly ground pepper

Heat the lard or oil in a skillet, and saute the onion and garlic until limp. Drain, and place in the bottom of a heavy, flame-proof casserole that has a cover. Add the pork, tomatoes with all their liquid, coriander, chiles, and the nopalitos. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cover; and simmer over a low heat until the pork can be pierced easily with a fork, or about 2 hours. Serves 6.

And the Oscar Goes To...

Since I'm from LA, an Oscars party is de rigueur. I usually hate watching the Academy Awards show (I started up again many years ago when one year I came home from going out and my roommate said, "Oh! You missed it! Rob Lowe and Snow White singing Proud Mary!" Since this was before the days of the internet, I had to start watching the show since I didn't want to miss anymore juicy tidbits such as that disaster) but I do like the party and the creative names that people give their Oscar centric dishes. This year the names of the nominated movies/actors left a lot to be desired when naming dishes (hint to screenwriters: give your script a clever title that may inspire a future Oscars party dish) but mumsy did come up with Avatartichoke in 3 D(ip).

As luck would have it, I was asked to sample some Mezzetta® products and to try out some recipes using them. Most people know Mezzetta® as the "peperoncini people" but they have so many more products than the famous pickled chiles; I especially love their varied marinated olive mixes. I was sent roasted peppers, pesto, and marinated artichoke hearts (just in time for me to make two of the three dips!)

The pesto came with a wonderful sounding pesto lemon goat cheese dip (recipe below - I must make this sometime soon since it sounds so good) but I had my heart set on making a variation of Michael Chiarello's Potato Cakes with Mozzarella and Pesto (I used an additional potato, "mashed" the potatoes in the KitchenAid mixer, added gobs of Parmigiano and grated low-moisture mozzarella to the potatoes before forming into cakes, and used fresh mozzarella to top the cakes.) This appetizer was well liked and paired beautifully with an unoaked Chardonnay (or you could try a nice dry sparkling white such as Prosecco.) I'm really picky about jarred pestos because they always seem a bit bland to me but Mezzetta's pesto was pretty tasty - I noticed on the ingredients list that there is Chardonnay in the pesto which probably gives it its oomph.

Below, a very easy appetizer to make: yummy Artichoke Cheese Toasts.

Well, this isn't actually a dip but it was so good, who cares? This appetizer is fabulous paired with an oaky Chardonnay and was one of my favorite apps - it was so cheesy and delicious. The artichokes added a nice zing to the toasted cheese. Did I mention that it was easy to make?

I also used the artichokes in a "lower-fat" artichoke bean dip that I've made on occasion that is quite popular with the party crowd. I liked how the Mezzetta® marinated artichoke hearts added a nice tangy flavor to the dip; far more preferable than the frozen artichokes that I've used in the past.

And the Oscar goes to...Roasted Red Pepper with Feta Dip!

The guests attacked this dip before I could take a photo of it. This dip was insanely good! And it couldn't have been easier to make. You'll want to make this dip everyday. All of the recipes came out fabulous and I would definitely serve them all again at a party but this dip was the crowd favorite (and it paired extremely well with Prosecco.)

I was a big fan of Mezzetta® product but now I like them even more. Because I didn't have to roast my own peppers, make my own pesto, or defrost artichokes, these recipes were so easy to make. Not only did they fit in well with the theme of the Oscars party, they are easy enough to make when you have last minute guests (ok, not the potato cakes but the goat cheese dip is easy) because you'd have most of the ingredients on hand.

Artichoke Cheese Toasts

1 jar of Mezzetta® marinated artichoke hearts
4 cups cheddar cheese
¾ cup mayonnaise
1/8 teaspoon of Cayenne Pepper
Touch of fresh ground pepper
Salt to taste
1 baguette
(Note: I added about 2 Tbsp. of fresh chopped parsley for color)

Preheat broiler. Drain Artichoke Hearts, pat dry, and chop coarsely. Combine all ingredients well, except bread. Slice baguette crosswise 1/3 inch thick and spread bread thickly with cheese mixture. Broil 5 to 6 inches from heat until cheese is bubbling and browned, about 2 minutes.

Roasted Red Pepper with Feta Dip

1 cup Mezzetta® Roasted Bell Peppers
1/8 cup olive oil (2 Tbsp.)
2 garlic cloves, peeled
2 cups crumbled feta cheese

Blend all ingredients in food processor until smooth. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve with pita chips, fresh vegetables, or crackers.

"Lower Fat" Artichoke Dip

1/2 cup sour cream
4 oz. cream cheese
2-3 Tbsp. mayonnaise
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 jar of Mezzetta® marinated artichoke hearts
1 15 ounce can white beans beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup grated fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, divided
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
3 garlic cloves, minced
olive oil for coating the baking dish

Preheat oven to 400°. Combine all of the ingredients (except olive oil) in a food processor - use only 3/4 cup of Parmigiano - and process until smooth. Spoon mixture into an 8-inch square baking dish coated with olive oil. Sprinkle top with remaining 1/4 cup of Parmigiano. Bake at 400° for 25 minutes or until bubbly. Garnish with the parsley.

Lemon-Pesto Goat Cheese Dip

10 ounces soft fresh goat cheese, room temperature
2/3 cup sour cream
½ jar of Napa Valley Bistro™ Homemade Style Basil Pesto
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 teaspoons grated lemon peel
2 tablespoons toasted pine nuts (optional)
Salt and pepper to taste

Blend all ingredients in food processor until smooth. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve with pita chips, fresh vegetables, or crackers.

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