You are currently browsing the category archive for the ‘Recipes’ category.
See my recipe featured in Readers’ Recipes: The New York Times Magazine.
I’ll never forget the first bing cherry I ate. In 1992, after moving from Oklahoma to California, I attended a cookout with friends from my new high school. Along with the garden burgers and hot dogs was a bag of fresh cherries. I found it odd to see cherries eaten out of a produce bag, not immersed in syrup. Always the adventurous eater, I tried a fresh cherry and immediately fell in love with the intricate flavors that barely resembled the sticky sweet cherries of my youth. Every summer since I’ve anticipated their seasonal purchase and consumption.
This gelatin consists of cherry juice, cherries, and rum on top; sweetened condensed milk, almond extract, and cherry juice on bottom. The cherry/almond/rum combination is sweet and lovely.
Recipe
Top layer
- 2 cups 100% black cherry juice (I always prefer 100% juices to blends, but if using a blend, you may want to adjust the sugar)
- ½ cup sugar (or to taste)
- 2 packets gelatin
- ¾ cup cold water
- ¾ cup cold rum
- 1 cup pitted and halved cherries (thoroughly washed and dried)
Bottom layer
- One 14oz can sweetened condensed milk (cold)
- 1 ¾ cup water
- ¼ cup cherry juice (optional – gives the bottom a pink color. Use 2-cups water for a white bottom layer)
- 1/4 teaspoon almond extract (optional)
- 2 packets gelatin
See this mold featured on Delicious Links at Apartment Therapy The Kitchn.
I’m a huge fan of the show Mad Men. Not only do I adore the show’s style, acting, and social commentary, I’m fascinated by the cocktail-centric world it depicts. In honor of Mad Men’s 4th season premier, I created the Don Draper gelatin mold.
The Don Draper is based on an old-fashioned, a cocktail consisting of bourbon (Don preferred Canadian Club whisky), sugar, water, dash of bitters, twist of lemon (or orange), and a cherry. It was a challenge to convert an old-fashioned into a gelatin mold, but I think I’m finally figuring out the magic cocktail-to-gelatin formula.
Recipe for 3.5 cups
- 2 packets knox gelatin
- ½ cup water (for blooming)
- ¾ water
- ½ cup sugar (or to taste)
- Juice of one lemon (approx. ¼ cup) with zest reserved
- 1 ¾ cup bourbon
- 6 dashes of aromatic bitters, or to taste
- 1 cup strained maraschino cherries
Put ½ cup of water in a medium bowl and sprinkle the 2 packets of gelatin on top. Set bowl aside. Put water, sugar, and lemon juice in a saucepan over medium heat and bring to a low boil until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and add lemon zest. Let stew for 10-minutes. Strain the lemon syrup, and return to saucepan. Reheat the syrup, and pour over the bloomed gelatin. Stir until gelatin dissolves. Stir in bourbon and bitters. Note: if bourbon is cold, it will reduce the amount of time needed before adding cherries.
Put mixture in refrigerator (or freezer) until thickened to a soft gel consistency. It should be easy to stir but thick enough to suspend the cherries. Stir in cherries and spoon mixture into mold(s). Put in refrigerator until set, at least 4 hours.
See this mold mentioned here in The Globe and Mail, and here at Apartment Therapy The Kitchn.
I love figs and I love cardamon, but I never thought of combining them until I read this fantastic article about simple syrups by Addie Broyles in the Austin American Statesmen. The article describes perking up summer drinks with simple syrups, but I immediately transferred the concept to gelatin molds. This mold was made with sweetened condensed milk, rum, and fig and cardamom syrup. Fruity, spicy, and boozy – this may be my favorite gelatinous experiment to date. My friends enjoyed pouring additional fig and cardamom syrup on the creamy mold – yum! We also enjoyed eating the cardamom and sugar soaked figs.
To make a fig and cardamom simple syrup, combine 1-cup water with 1-cup sugar in a saucepan and bring to a low boil. When the sugar is dissolved, remove from heat and add 1-cup dried figs and 2-Tbsp. whole cardamom pods. Cover pan and let sit overnight. In the morning strain the syrup and store in an air-tight container in the refrigerator.
Recipe for 3.5 cups
- 2 packets Knox gelatin
- ½ cup water (for blooming)
- ¼ cup fig and cardamom syrup (see above)
- ¼ cup rum (I used white rum, but any would do)
- 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
Sprinkle two packets of gelatin on top of ½ cup water. Set aside for 5 minutes.
In a small saucepan heat up rum and the previously prepared fig and cardamom syrup, but do not boil. Once heated, pour over the bloomed gelatin. Stir until gelatin dissolves. Stir in sweetened condensed milk, and then spoon into mold(s). Refrigerate until set, at least 4 hours.
See this mold featured on Relish Austin, Addie Broyles food blog on austin360.com.
Flavored simple syrups, like the ones described in this article by Addie Broyles in the Austin American Statesmen, are the key to creating complex and unique gelatin molds from scratch. Here I combined homemade basil simple syrup, 100% blueberry juice, blueberries, lemon juice, sugar, water, club soda, and vodka. The resulting taste was like summer in gelatinous form – tart, sweet, and herbalicious.
Recipe for 3.5 cup mold
- 2 packets gelatin
- ½ cup water (for blooming*)
- ¾ water (for syrup)
- ½ cup sugar (or to taste)
- Juice of one lemon (approx. ¼ cup) with zest reserved
- ½ cup 100% blueberry juice
- 6 large basil leaves
- ¾ cup vodka
- ½ cup club soda
- ½ cup blueberries
Put ½ cup of water in a small bowl and sprinkle the 2 packets of gelatin on top of the water. Set bowl aside. (*This is called “blooming.” Blooming allows gelatin to absorb water and thus dissolve easily when added to hot water.)
Put water, blueberry juice, sugar, and lemon juice in a saucepan over medium heat and bring to a low boil until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat, add lemon zest and basil leaves. Let stew for 10-minutes. Strain the lemon/basil syrup, and return to saucepan. Bring to boil, remove from heat, and add the bloomed gelatin. Stir until gelatin dissolves. Stir in cold vodka and club soda.
Put mixture in refrigerator (or freezer) until thickened to a soft gel consistency. It should be easy to stir but thick enough to suspend the blueberries. Stir in berries and spoon mixture into mold(s). Put in refrigerator until set, at least 4 hours.
My lovely friends enjoyed this tart and boozy mold.
This mold may not be the prettiest I’ve made, but it was definitely the tastiest. Inspired by this mold, my ingredients included 100% pomegranate juice, vodka, sugar, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, and blueberries. I worried the combination would demonstrate too tart, but the sugar and berries nicely balanced the pomegranate and vodka.
Recipe for 3.5-cup mold
- 2 cups 100% pomegranate juice (If using a juice blend or one with added sugar, you may want to reduce sugar in the recipe)
- 1-cup sugar (or to taste)
- 2 packets gelatin
- ¾ cup cold water
- ¾ cup cold vodka
- 1 1/2-cup berries of choice (thoroughly washed and dried)
Put pomegranate juice and sugar in a saucepan over medium heat and bring to a low boil. Once sugar is dissolved, remove from heat and add gelatin. Stir until gelatin is fully dissolved (approx. 2 minutes). Transfer liquid to a bowl and stir in the cold water and vodka.
Put mixture in refrigerator (or freezer) until thickened to a soft gel consistency. It should be easy to stir but thick enough to suspend the berries. Stir in berries, and spoon mixture into mold. Put in refrigerator until set, at least 4 hours.
The Cooking Channel blog, Devour, featured this mold. So exciting!
Inspired by my love of blueberries, this creamy gelatin consists of 100% blueberry juice, vodka, sugar, and blueberries on top; sweetened condensed milk and blueberry juice on bottom. The intense dark blue of the top layer is naturally lovely – and delicious. I used a set of small vintage molds found at an Austin antique mall. Finding vintage molds is just as fun as making the gelatin itself!
Recipe for 6-cups
Top layer
- 2 cups 100% blueberry juice (100% blueberry juice is expensive but worth it – blueberry blends don’t result in the same flavor or intense dark blue color)
- ½ cup sugar (or to taste)
- 2 packets gelatin
- ¾ cup cold water
- ¾ cup cold vodka
- 1 cup blueberries (thoroughly washed and dried)
Bottom layer
- One 14oz can sweetened condensed milk (cold)
- 1 ¾ cup water
- ¼ cup blueberry juice (optional – gives the bottom a light blue/purple color. Use 2-cups water for a white bottom layer)
- 1/8 teaspoon vanilla (optional)
- 2 packets gelatin
Top layer: Put blueberry juice and sugar in saucepan over medium heat and bring to a low boil. Once sugar is dissolved, remove from heat and add gelatin. Stir until gelatin is fully dissolved (approx. 2 minutes). Transfer liquid to a bowl and stir in cold water and vodka. Put bowl in refrigerator.
Bottom layer: Bring water and blueberry juice to a boil and remove from heat. Add vanilla (if using) and gelatin, stir until fully dissolved. Transfer liquid to a bowl and stir in sweetened condensed milk. Put bowl in refrigerator.
Once the blueberry gelatin has thickened to a soft gel consistency (it should be easy to stir but thick enough to suspend the berries), stir in berries, and spoon mixture into mold(s). Put in refrigerator until almost set – some gelatin should stick to your fingers when lightly touched. When the blueberry layer is almost set, spoon the creamy layer into the mold(s).
Put in refrigerator until set, at least 4 hours.
Based on my friend Monti’s favorite “girls night” cocktail, the French Bohemia is made with sparking wine, St. Germain (elderflower liqueur), and blackberries. Since St. Germain is quite expensive, I substituted it with elderflower flavoring syrup. The sparkling wine (I used prosecco) gives a light sparkling texture while the elderflower syrup provides a subdued and floral sweetness.
French Bohemia (recipe for 3.5 cups)
- 2 packets Knox gelatin
- ¼ cup water (for blooming)
- 2 ½ cups sparking wine
- ¾ cup Elderflower Syrup (or St. Germain)
- ½ cup blackberries (or other berry of choice)
Put ¼ cup of cold water in a medium bowl and sprinkle 2 packets of gelatin on top of the water. Set bowl aside.
Put Elderflower syrup or St. Germain over medium heat and bring to a low boil. Remove from heat add to gelatin. Stir until gelatin dissolves. Stir in sparkling wine.
Put mixture in refrigerator (or freezer) until thickened to a soft gel consistency. It should be easy to stir but thick enough to hold the blackberries. Stir in blackberries and spoon mixture into mold(s). Put in refrigerator until set, at least 4 hours.
The Modern Gelatina 