Carol’s Comfort Foods

Sweet ice tea is a mainstay in the South.  There are numerous recipes for sweet tea, but the good ones all have one thing in common – the use of simple syrup as the sweetener, as opposed to granulated sugar.  Granulated sugar does not dissolve well in cold water and if you sweeten the tea with it you can sometimes get a “grainy” feel to the tea and the sugar settling down in the bottom of the glass.  Any brand of tea can be used, but my personal favorite is Luzianne.  

INGREDIENTS

Simple Syrup

1 cup water

2 cups granulated sugar

PREPARATION

Bring water to a boil and then stir in the sugar.  Cook until the sugar dissolves completely and then remove from heat.  Allow to cool to room temperature.

Tea

3 family-sized tea bags

Pinch of baking soda

PREPARATION

Bring 3-4 cups of water to a boil.  Add a pinch of baking soda to the water and add 3 family sized tea bags.  Remove from heat, cover and let steep for at least 20 minutes.  Pour into a gallon pitcher and add cold water.  Add simple syrup to taste.  Refrigerate. 

In case you’re wondering….. a small bit of baking soda reduces the bitterness in the tea.

Yield: 1 Root Beer Float 

INGREDIENTS

2-3 scoops of good vanilla ice cream

1 – 8 ounce bottle of your favorite root beer

1 – glass beer mug – frosted

PREPARATION

Approximately ½ hour before assembling the float, place your mug in the freezer and chill.  Remove mug and pour about 3-4 ounces of root beer into the bottom of the mug.  Add 1 scoop of ice cream.  Pour another 2 ounces of root beer over the ice cream.  Add another scoop of ice cream on top and then fill the mug to the top with the remaining root beer.   

The Mojito is a traditional Cuban cocktail which in recent years has become very popular in the United States. The traditional Mojito is made up of five ingredients: rum, sugar, lime, carbonated water and mint. The mint and lime are muddled together at the bottom of the cocktail shaker with a wooden tool called a “muddler” to release all the flavors of the lime and mint. The remaining ingredients are then added and poured over crushed ice in a tall glass. Garnished of course, with mint. The recipe below is renowned chef, Bobby Flay’s adaptation of the Mojito, including ginger and Thai basil. Delicious!

Yield: 1 drink

INGREDIENTS

2 lime wedges

6 mint leaves

4 Thai basil leaves

1 tablespoon Ginger Simple Syrup

1 ounce club soda

1 ounce white rum

Fine sugar

Ice

Coconut milk

PREPARATION

Place the lime, mint and Thai basil in a cocktail shaker and muddle well. Add Ginger Simple Syrup, club soda and rum and shake well.

Rim a tall glass with fine sugar and fill with ice. Pour drink over ice. Float coconut milk on top of the drink.

Ginger Simple Syrup

INGREDIENTS

½ cup sugar

½ cup water

1 (2-inch) piece ginger, thickly sliced

PREPARATION

Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and cook until the sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and cool. Once cool, strain out the ginger.

Source: Bobby Flay – Food Network – Episode# BT0109

3 ounces Champagne
1 ounce Peach Schnapps
1 dash Grenadine

Pour all ingredients into a champagne glass.

1/2 oz vodka
1/2 oz gin
1/2 oz light rum
1/2 oz tequila
1/2 oz triple sec
3/4 oz lemon juice
3/4 oz simple syrup
2-4 oz Coca-Cola
In a shaker filled with ice pour in all ingredients minus the Coca-Cola. Shake well and strain into a tall glass filled 3/4 with ice. Top with Coca-Cola. Stir lightly and garnish with a lemon wedge or a twist.

3 oz peach nectar
Dash of grenadine
1 oz lemon juice
Pour ingredients into a champagne flute and add approximately 4 ounces of club soda.

Stir and enjoy.

This classic is always a hit with both kids and adults.

One part orange juice
One part 7-up
One part Ginger-Ale
Dash of grenadine
Mix ingredients into a collins glass filled with ice. Garnish with a cherry and an orange slice.

1 tablespoon Orgeat Syrup
6 ounces Hot Chocolate

Mix in pousse cafe glass.

This is by far one of my favorite gin drinks, unfortunately more then once when ordering this at a bar they had no idea what I was talking about and made me a Sloe Gin Fizz.

2 1/2 ounces gin

1 ounce fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon superfine sugar or 1 ounce simple syrup

San Pellegrino mineral water

In a shaker half filled with ice cubes, add in the gin, lemon juice, and sugar or simple syrup. Shake well. Strain into a collins glass almost filled with ice cubes. Top off with San Pellegrino mineral water and stir well.

My favorite gin to use in the United States is Tanqueray No. Ten. Another good option for gin is Bombay Sapphire. Bombay Sapphire may not be quite as good as the Tanqueray No. Ten but it is still quite good and here in Switzerland I have taken to using it as Tanqueray No. Ten is much harder to find without a trip to London or at least a higher end liquor store.

2 ounces gin

5 ounces tonic water

1 lime wedge

Pour the gin and tonic water into a highball glass that has been filled with ice cubes. Stir well and garnish with the lime wedge.

My favorite gin to use in the United States is Tanqueray No. Ten. Another good option for gin is Bombay Sapphire. Bombay Sapphire may not be quite as good as the Tanqueray No. Ten but it is still quite good and here in Switzerland I have taken to using it as Tanqueray No. Ten is much harder to find without a trip to London or at least a higher end liquor store.

This is a great drink to enjoy on Kentucky Derby Day (the first Saturday in May) or any day.

3 ounces Kentucky bourbon

6 fresh mint sprigs

1 teaspoon superfine sugar

crushed ice

Muddle 4 of the mint sprigs with the sugar in the bottom of a rocks glass. Fill the glass almost completely with crushed ice. Add the bourbon, stir with two short straws or a cocktail stirrer, and garnish with the reaming two mint sprigs.

My Favorite Kentucky bourbon is Makers Mark which can be found in most liquor stores in the US or Europe.

4 ounces hot coffee

1 teaspoon raw sugar

2 ounces Paddy Irish Whiskey

2 ounces heavy cream

Pour the coffee and stir the sugar into an Irish Whiskey glass. Add the Whiskey and stir. Float the cream onto the top of the drink by carefully pouring it over the back of a teaspoon.

Paddy Irish Whiskey may be hard to find in the US but is well worth using if you can find it. If you can’t find Paddy then you can use Jameson Irish Whiskey which can be found at any liquor store.