LICK YOUR LIPS MINT JULEP

Frankly, my dear. I don't give a damn if you're tired. Let's bang.

I do declare! Watching all these thoroughbreds at the Kentucky Derby sure does make me hot under the collar. The horse racing is nice too. The Southern belles wearing their summer hats and sundresses easily bests watching graceful four-legged beasts kick up fresh grass. Hot to fucking trot! It seems this race is nothing more than an excuse for bourgeois people to socialize and fornicate. Fine with me. It’s like a guy in a threesome. He’s only there so the girls don’t feel like they are lesbians. Don’t worry, girls. Guys will always be willing to be your reason du jour. Naturally, girls peeling sundresses off in the summer heat makes you want to cool off with a classic Southern beverage like the mint julep. Plays your cards right, mix the drink well, and you gents might be lucky enough to be the excuse for a threesome. Just remember, you’re really only there to watch. Enjoy the show!

Total time: approximately 33 minutes
Projected cost: $4 (excluding booze)
Drinking Buddy: If this isn’t enough booze for you, I suggest drinking rubbing alcohol.

Ingredients:
1. 2 shots of bourbon (per drink)
2. 1/3 cup of brown sugar
3. 2/3 cup of white sugar
4. 1 cup of water
5. Crushed ice
6. 1 sprig of mint leaves (per drink), another handful for the simple syrup

Step 1
Create a simple mint syrup. Boil the cup of water, then mix in the white and brown sugar, and stir until the sugar dissolves. Turn off the heat and throw in a large handful of mint leaves and allow them to steep in the fridge. (Approx 30 minutes)

Step 2
Frost your serving glasses. Fill your glass almost to the brim with crushed ice. Place the spring of mint leaves in with the ice. Match the amount of bourbon to the amount of simple syrup and mix vigorously. Now serve this up to a Southern belle or gentleman as if you’re name is Smarty Jones.

Sautaced Bass with Mint Pesto and Spiced Carrots

So tonight we cooked the fancy fish dish. We didn’t use bass, but frozen dover sole. The fillets almost fell apart in the cooking process (so excuse the ugly plating), but it was still a delicious dish nonetheless. We weren’t too fond of the carrots cooked in chicken broth though… maybe something like white wine or vegetable broth would have been better. The mint pesto is delicious! So who designated this the week of pesto?

Sautéed Bass with Mint Pesto and Spiced Carrots

Recipe from Bon Appetit. This will be the last recipe we make from the April ‘07 issue… seeing as Taylor made a mess with the fish and spilled raw fish juice all over the magazine, so now it is contaminated. Ooops. Some good recipes in there too!
Makes 4 servings.

INGREDIENTS
Pesto:
1/4 cup packed fresh mint leaves
1/4 cup lightly toasted shelled unsalted pistachios
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 garlic clove, peeled
coarse kosher salt

Fish:
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
4 6-8oz striped bass fillets (with or without skin)

Spiced Carrots:
1/2 teaspoon coriander seeds
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
12 ounces medium carrots, peeled, thinly sliced into rounds
1/8 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
1 cup low-salt chicken broth
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

DIRECTIONS
For pesto: blend mint leaves, pistachios, olive oil, and garlic in processor until coarse puree forms. Season with coarse salt. Can be made 1 day ahead; cover and chill, bring to room temperature before using.

For fish: combine olive oil, mint, and thyme in small bowl. Spread herb mixture all over both sides of fish fillets. Cover and refrigerate fish at least 3 hours and up to 5 hours (yeah right… we marinated for maybe 30 minutes tops).

For spiced carrots: Stir all seeds in small dry skillet over medium heat until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Transfer seeds to spice mill or mortar and grind coarsely.

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add carrots, crushed red pepper, and ground seeds; sauté until carrots begin to brown in spots, about 5 minutes. Add broth and lemon juice and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until carrots are tender, about 6 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Sprinkle fish with salt and pepper. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in each of 2 large nonstick skillets over medium-high heat. Add fish and cook until browned on both sides and just opaque in center, about 5 minutes total.

Divide carrots and any juices among 4 plates. Top each serving with 1 fish fillet. Spoon pesto over and serve.

Kabob-less Lamb Kabobs with Mint Pesto

These were supposed to be kabobs, but we didn’t want to deal with soaking the skewers or our miniature grill or the hassle of cleaning the caste-iron grill pan, so we just sautéed them all together instead. There was a lot of liquid in the marinade (that we *cough* only marinated for 20 minutes), so it didn’t brown that nicely, so we tossed it in the broiler for a few minutes at the end instead. Someday when we actually have space to grill we’ll have to try these again on actual kabobs.

Makes 16 mini-kabobs (or about 4-6 servings). Recipe from Wolfgang Puck.

INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup honey
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 small onion, minced
1/4 cup minced mint leaves
1/4 cup minced parsley leaves
1 teaspoon minced rosemary leaves
1 teaspoon minced oregano leaves
2 pounds boneless lamb leg or shoulder, cleaned and cut into 1 1/2 -inch cubes, makes about 32 pieces
16 (8-inch skewers) *see cook’s note
16 pear or cherry tomatoes
16 pearl onions, peeled
1 large green pepper, cored, seeded, cut into 1-inch squares (at least 16 pieces)
16 small button mushrooms
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Mint Pesto:
1/2 cup fresh mint leaves
1 tablespoon honey
Pinch kosher salt
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
Freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup olive oil

DIRECTIONS
In a non-reactive bowl, combine the olive oil, lemon juice, honey, garlic, onion, mint, parsley, rosemary, and oregano. Add the lamb and toss to coat well. Marinate in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours.

Preheat the grill or a grill pan on high.

On each skewer, thread a tomato, meat, onion, pepper, meat and mushroom. Repeat until you have 16 prepared skewers. Season the skewers with salt and pepper. Grill to desired doneness, about 3 to 5 minutes per side for medium to medium-rare.

To make mint pesto, combine all of the ingredients except for the oil in the blender. Pulse until well pureed. With the blender running on low, slowly drizzle in the olive oil. Taste, and adjust seasonings. Drizzle over kabobs and serve.

*Note: if using wooden skewers, be sure to soak them in water for at least 30 minutes before placing on the grill.