Yamazaki Sidecar at Nobu: Whisk(e)y Wednesday presented by Calandro's Supermarket

Yamazaki Sidecar and Mia Margarita from Nobu in Malibu

While in Los Angeles a few weeks ago I had the opportunity to dine around a few different parts of town. My friend Shelly and I somehow got reservations at Nobu in Malibu, so we drove from Hollywood to the beach in order to get a taste of the acclaimed restaurant. With a Ferrari a few Bentleys in the parking lot, we made our way in and ordered a couple cocktails to enjoy while overlooking the Pacific Ocean before dinner.

In honor of Whisk(e)y Wednesday, I decided to share our cocktails with you here. I, of course, ordered a whisky drink. The Yamazaki Sidecar featured an ice sphere and Yamazaki 12 year single malt Japanese Whisky. I've actually reviewed the whisky before on a Whisk(e)y Wednesday post if you want to read about it. The sidecar also contained Gran Torres Orange Liqueur and yuzu juice from the Japanese fruit. The beverage treated me well as the cool breeze blew in from the ocean and the sound of crashing waves set our ambiance.

Shelly had a Mia Margarita. While not a whisk(e)y drink, I still thought I should mention it. Corralejo Anejo tequila, passion fruit, shichimi, and lime juice filled the glass. The flavor packed punch from the shichimi spice mix combined with a quality aged tequila made this an excellent margarita. Dinner at Nobu impressed even more than the starter cocktails. It was a little dark in the restaurant and my pictures can't do the food justice. We did a 12 course tasting menu that I'm still thinking about weeks later. Nobu is a beautiful restaurant with rockin' menu and some great cocktails, that's for sure.

Cocktails Through Time: Bite and Booze Radio Show presented by Calandro's Supermarket

Jay and George toast with Old Fashioneds in Crowntown

George Krause, executive chef and chief bartender at Doe's Eat Place, is currently doing a cocktails though time promotion at his bar, Crowntown. The cocktails through time spends a two week period during each era of cocktails. At this point he's well into the 1900's and going a decade at a time, but when we recorded this episode of the Bite and Booze Radio Show, the program had just started. Chuck P., Blair Loup, and I join George to talk about the drink menus for cocktails through time. It'll continue all summer, so make sure to get over to Doe's to try out George's signature cocktails!

The Bite and Booze Radio Show presented by Calandro's Supermarket airs on Saturdays at 5 PM and replays Sundays at 8 PM on Talk 107.3 FM in Baton Rouge. The show is hosted by Jay Ducote and won a Taste Award in January 2014 as the best food or drink based radio broadcast in the country. The producer of the show is Chris Courtney at Guaranty Broadcasting and the field producer is Charles Pierce from the Me and My Big Mouth Show. It is also available on iTunes. The show's sponsors include Calandro's Supermarket, Visit Baton Rouge, Portico Restaurant and Bar, Lock & Key Whiskey Bar, Le Creole Restaurant, Slap Ya Mama Cajun Seasoning, Mama Della's N.Y. City Pizzeria, Mason's Grill, Donner-Peltier Distillers (Rougaroux Rums and Oryza Vodka and Gin), Louisiana Cookin' Magazine, Juban's Restaurant, the Tin Roof Brewing Company, the Louisiana Culinary Institute and Triumph Kitchen.

Monkey Around and Eat Like a Local: Jay's Adventure in the Dominican Republic Part Dos

I made a friend

Dawn broke on day two in the Dominican Republic as I slumbered at a beachside resort in Cabarete, listening to the sound of the Atlantic Ocean in the background. Our arrival day for MancationDR had come and gone. I witnessed some sights of the country's beautiful north coast, saw plenty of friendly folks enjoying their moped rides in tropical paradise, and gotten my first taste of Dominican bite and booze, but now the adventure really began. Our group hopped aboard a bus operated by Sexy Carlos with Bavaro Runners, as opposed to our Dominican Tourism Carlos, to make our way down dirt roads and over mountains to Monkey Jungle and Zipline Adventures. The great thing about Monkey Jungle is that it is actually a doctor and dentist office, offering free care to many Dominicans who could otherwise not afford any medical treatment whatsoever. The money raised from the monkey hangouts and ziplines is used to pay for medicine and supplies, and much of the treatment is provided by volunteer doctors. The monkeys aren't native to the Dominican Republic, but they sure were playful and adorable, especially when we had food for them. The ziplines took me for a wild ride as well, and I especially liked the brief moments I had to check out the incredible views while speeding down a cable in a rather snug harness.

A view over the zip line course at Monkey Jungle

Medical and Dental Offices at Monkey Jungle

Sandro's Cafe in Cabarete

The monkey feeding and ziplining worked up a hunger in our group, so we took a stroll back to the beach and hit up a restaurant on the main drag in Cabarete. Sandro's Cafe offers up authentic Dominican cuisine which of course made me very excited. There are a handful of dishes that I knew I had to try included the famous pollo guisado and fried plantains.

Of course, Dominican cuisine really starts with rice and beans. We had plenty of puffy white rice and beautiful black beans to pass around the table. The pollo guisado dish consists of chicken that has been braised in a mixture of tomatoes and garlic, as well as some other flavoring vegetables and spices. It comes out juicy and tender. The fried plantains are sliced and smashed into discs of fruit ready to be fried. Somewhere between a banana and a potato in consistency, the fried plantains hit the spot as a great snack when sprinkled with a little sea salt. We also had some fried chicken, or pollo frito, to pass around. I truthfully liked the guisado better, but it is hard to pass up a crispy piece of fried chicken! I could eat this meal over and over again. In fact, perhaps it is time to try to make it for myself. Any volunteers to be taste testers?

Dominican Pollo Guisado, a Braised/Stewed Chicken Dish

A Platter of Fried Plantains

Pollo Frito

A Complete Plate with Rice, Beans, Pollo Guisado, Pollo Frito, and Fried Plantains

Going with the Grain Pop Up Dinner in Crowley, LA

One of the many large silos at the Cajun Country Rice Mill
in Crowley, LA

A few weeks ago, Cajun Country Rice and Louisiana Cookin’Magazine got together to throw a pop up dinner at the rice mill in Crowley. What’s unique about this dinner is not only the pop up style preparation, but that each dish incorporated a different grain from Cajun Country Rice, a local company which is in its third generation of ownership. This is the first dinner centered on rice that I've had the pleasure of attending, and what Chef Justin Girouard, one of Louisiana Cookin’ Magazine’s “Chefs to Watch” and executive chef at The FrenchPress in Lafayette, created with the Cajun Country Rice products truly impressed!

 

Inside the Cajun Country Rice Mill
where the grains are separated from the hulls

What’s better than taking a tour of a rice mill? Taking a tour of the mill with a drink in my hand, of course. Each guest got to see the inner workings of the mill and learned more than we thought possible about rice. There is so much to know about everything they do with rice in the way of feed, alcohol adjuncts, and of course, food. After the tour we made our way to the table to sit down to an incredibly creative and delicious meal. While each dish boasted unique elements, the coriander-seared Gulf tuna with coconut lobster fried rice rose to the top as my favorite of the evening. Keep an eye out for dinners like this in the future, because you won't want to miss them!

Cornmeal and Rice Flour Fried Oysters

Foie Gras Dirty Rice Croquettes

Cajun Country Rice "Tabouleh" Stuffed Quail Salad with Baby Arugula, Feta, Marinated Tomatoes and Balsamic Vinaigrette

Coriander-Seared Gulf Tuna with Coconut Lobster Fried Rice

Roasted Duck Breast with Duck Rice Dressing, White Asparagus, Braised Kale, and a Sauce Meurette

Cajun Country Rice Pudding

Bite and Booze Bonus: If you're looking for some booze that uses long-grain rice from Crowley, LA, look no further than the Donner-Peltier Distillery's Oryza Vodka and Gin. You can grab both of these at Calandro's Supermarket!

Ole Smoky Moonshine Mint Julep: Whiskey Wednesday presented by Calandro's Supermarket

Moonshine is typically the term used for illegally distilled spirits from back in the days of prohibition. While we are far removed from that, it certainly is still possible to make illegal moonshine as home distilling, unlike home brewing, isn't exactly legal. There are at least a couple good reasons for this aside from being anti-booze. Distilling is significantly more complicated and dangerous than brewing. The alcohols produced are flammable if not combustible, and methanol is pretty much poison so it takes some skill to separate the ethanol (what you want to drink) from the methanol (finger nail polish remover). The old legend about moonshine making you go blind... well, that's because somebody didn't know how to cut the heads and tails of the distillate properly. 

These days, the word Moonshine is used for commercial production just like White Lightning. It essentially refers to unaged whiskey, or spirits made from grains that have not sat in barrels for years. It goes straight from the still to a bottle, and therefore the name moonshine still fits. It doesn't have to bootlegged or made illegally anymore. For example, Ole Smoky Tennessee Moonshine legally makes quite a few flavored moonshines in addition to their original. And since the Kentucky Derby is coming up on May 3rd, I figured I'd share a Moonshine Mint Julep recipe with you!

Ole Smoky Original Moonshine

OLE SMOKY MOONSHINE MINT JULEP
·         2 oz. Ole Smoky Original Moonshine
·         1 oz. Simple Syrup
·         Fresh muddled lime
·         2-3 sprigs of mint
In a mason jar or silver julep cup muddle two sprigs of mint with simple syrup and 1 ounce of Ole Smoky Original Moonshine, until mint leaves are crushed and give off their liquid. Add remaining moonshine and serve over ice and with a sprig of mint.