Fernet Branca marinated fig ice cream

With squinting eyes and a hacking cough I spat out my first gulp of Fernet-Branca.    It’s a common reaction with Fernet virgins – so why didn’t the liquor salesman or the pastry chef warn me?   My startled nostrils and taste buds were screaming Robitussin and Listerine.  The dark brown concoction was highly medicinal with a strong dose of Pine-Sol - and nasty to put it kindly!   After shelling out a pretty penny for the bottle, I realized that I should have done my homework and goggled it before I planned to use it with my small but precious harvest of figs!   Just look at my blog header and you’ll understand my love of figs. 

I considered trashing the bottle but local pastry chef Plinio Sandalio recently tweeted that “fernet branca makes miracles”.   I’m not sure what planet he comes from (ok, I know he’s from Bolivia) but I believe he was thinking “miracles” with desserts.  Upon further research I discovered that Fernet is a miracle potion for those with hangovers!   It’s considered the national drink of Argentina and is wildly popular in San Francisco.  I tried it with iced coke, a common mix which I found a little more palatable, but I was still thinking that I was not going to let this Fernet fool around with my beloved figs!

So who am I to question a professional chef?   As you can see, I sacrificed a few figs to find out that this overzealous digestif does indeed have special powers…when used in small amounts.   I found a marinade in Cooking Light magazine from San Francisco chef Luis Villavelazquez and marinated them for several days…just because I wasn’t quite sure what to do with them just yet!   Eventually I decided upon fig ice cream and made a rich custard base from a recipe by ice cream wiz David Lebovitz.   Rich in egg yolks and cream,  the classic custard base was the perfect complement to the brazen marinade. 

The result was brilliant!   We were swooning with delight as we scooped spoonfuls into our mouths.  It was a beautiful marriage of velvety sweet figs, rich custard, and a gentle hint of herbs and spices.   A miracle!

FYI:   Fernet began as a medicinal potion compounded by Bernardino Branca, a chemist in Milan.  It was taken to ease stomach ailments, hangovers and cramps.   The list of ingredients is incredibly long – over 40 with some still remaining a secret.  Based on grapes, it also contains a sizeable portion of saffron, myrrh, mint, cardamom, aloe, mushrooms, fermented beets, coca leaf, gentian, rhubarb, wormwood, zedoary, cinchona, bay leaves, absinthe, orange peel, Echinacea, quinine, ginseng, St. John's wort, sage, galangal, peppermint oil – and the list goes on!  Today it is made by fifth generation Fratelli Branca.  It is aged in oak barrels for 12 months and contains over 40% alcohol.  The alcohol content in the marinade prevents the ice cream from hardening rock solid.  Even after a few days it remained the perfect scooping texture.

A vintage label

Fernet Branca marinated fig ice cream

Fig marinade adapted from Cooking Light, August 2010

¼ cup water

¼ cup honey

1 tablespoon Fernet Branca (a little goes a long way!)

1 teaspoon lemon juice

pinch of salt

6 fresh figs, stems removed and then quartered

Combine water, honey, Fernet Branca, lemon juice and salt in small saucepan.  Bring to a boil.  Remove from heat.  Place figs in a glass container.  Pour marinade over figs and cover.  Refrigerate for up to 3 days - the longer the better!  Keep chilled until ready to add to the Custard base.

 

Custard base adapted from David Lebovitz’s Vanilla Ice Cream recipe in The Perfect Scoop

1 cup (250ml) whole milk

A pinch of salt

3/4 cup (150g) sugar

2 cups (500ml) heavy cream

5 large egg yolks

Combine the milk, salt, sugar and heavy cream in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat. Scoop out ¼ cup milk and set aside.

Whisk the egg yolks in a medium bowl to combine. While whisking, add ¼ cup milk drop by drop to warm the eggs and prevent them from curdling. Pour the egg mixture into the milk in the saucepan and whisk continuously. Return saucepan to the heat and bring to a boil. Cook for 1 minute until it thickens slightly and then set aside to cool completely. Refrigerate for several hours or overnight until thoroughly chilled.

Freeze the custard in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions for 10 minutes. When ice cream starts to thicken, slowly add the marinade but hold back the figs.   Continue to freeze in the ice cream maker (about 10 more minutes) and then add the figs.  Freeze until well blended and set.  Transfer to a container and freeze.

 

Prijatno!

Mardi Gras and a pomegranate martini!

This post is a tribute to our dear friends Jeff and Doris, who have just reached 30 years of marital bliss!  Their marriage is one for the record books – loving, respectful and adventurous.  From a woman’s point of view, Doris, you’re a saint!  Just kidding, Jeff!

Jeff and Doris’ tradition is to celebrate their anniversary at Sunday Brunch at Brennan’s in Houston.  Unfortunately, Hurricane Ike caused a fire which still has Brennan’s Houston location closed.  That of course, left only one alternative:  go to Brennan’s in New Orleans for brunch or, heaven forbid, b r e a k   w i t h    t  r a d i t i o n !

Our wine and dinner group was privileged to be invited to celebrate this momentous occasion.  Laissez les bons temps roulez!!!  Cher, you know it doesn’t  take much prodding for us to skip town and enjoy a fancy outing!  After a nine hour drive from Houston (during which I was able to knit two complete scarves!), including a lunch stop in Henderson at Pat's Fisherman's Wharf and two traffic jams, we arrived in NOLA!  That’s New Orleans LouisiAna - for those of you unfamiliar with that acronym.

The Hotel Monteleone on Rue Royal, is situated in the heart of the French Quarter, just a few easy blocks from Jackson Square and the Mighty Mississippi.   The hotel is a literary landmark (bestowed by the Friends of Libraries, USA) because it was often frequented by Truman Capote, Ernest Hemingway, Eudora Welty, Anne Rice, William Faulkner, Tennessee Williams and Rebecca Wells (Ya-Yas!).  Our room was elegantly decorated and the bathroom was spacious, modern and sparkling.

The rotating and fanciful Carousel Bar:

It was an exciting time to visit NOLA.  Mardi Gras season was in full swing and many parades were scheduled for the weekend.  There were police and sanitation crews everywhere.

The most charming parade was small - no fancy floats but several groups of local kids and a few horse drawn carriages.  It wound its way down Bourbon Street through the narrow streets of the Quarter.  Leading it was the Warren Easton Senior High School Marching Band.  I’ll bet some of these kids have horrific post Katrina stories to tell.  Their school is now a charter National Blue Ribbon School and was closed for a year after the hurricane.  Look at them now!

 

Pretty flags of the Color Guard: 

Characters on stilts – check out the tiny shoes!  How do they do it???

Decked out balcony from which the beads will be tossed later at night:

The first evening of our visit, we dined in the wine cellar of a restaurant called August.  We feasted on scallops, gnocchi with blue crab and Perigord truffle to die for!, sweetbreads and duckling.  We were highly entertained by our oft-mistaken-for Antonio Banderas waiter from Venezuela who imitated  Mandy Patinkin perfectly: “Hello.  My name is Inigo Montoya.  You killed my father.  Prepare to die!”  from the entertaining comedy The Princess Bride.  If you haven’t already seen it, go rent it NOW! 

We started the evening with Pomegranate Martinis.  Doris especially loves Martinis, she even named a cat after the drink!  I am a relative newcomer to the drink, but I especially enjoy it if it includes my favorite spirit - vodka.  It’s clean and bright, and gives this martini the perfect boost without compromising the tart body of the pomegranate.  Here’s my version:

 

Pomegranate Martinis

Serves 2, generously

Because of the absence of simple syrup (sugar and water) this martini is not very sweet, but the sugar on the rim of the glasses adds a touch.

1 cup pure pomegranate juice

2 ounces vodka (I used unflavored vodka, but feel free to use a citrus infused vodka if you wish)

3 ounces PAMA pomegranate liqueur (the ruby red color is exquisite)

crushed ice or ice cubes

a few drops of fresh lime juice, optional

sugar, a lime wedge, thin slices of lime peel, for the rims of the glasses

Combine pomegranate juice, vodka, pomegranate liqueur, ice and lime juice (if using) in a stainless steel shaker and shake vigorously until well-chilled. 

Moisten the rim of two martini glasses with the lime wedge and dip rims in sugar to coat.  Pour chilled martini in glasses and serve with lime peel.

After several poignant toasts at Bayona (more about this innovative restaurant in a later post) and a wonderful traditional brunch at Brennan’s we headed home.  Here’s to another 30 years of wedded bliss and our next trip to NOLA!

Prijatno!