Baker Lucy Allison - Cooking with Booze

Copyright 2007 George Harvey Bone, first published by Snowbooks Ltd in 2007 First Skyhorse Publishing Edition 2017 All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without the express written consent of the publisher, except in the case of brief excerpts in critical reviews or articles. All inquiries should be addressed to Skyhorse Publishing, 307 West 36th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10018. Skyhorse Publishing books may be purchased in bulk at special discounts for sales promotion, corporate gifts, fund-raising, or educational purposes. Special editions can also be created to specifications. For details, contact the Special Sales Department, Skyhorse Publishing, 307 West 36th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10018 or .

Skyhorse and Skyhorse Publishing are registered trademarks of Skyhorse Publishing, Inc., a Delaware corporation. Visit our website at www.skyhorsepublishing.com. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on file. Cover artwork courtesy of the author ISBN: 978-1-5107-2336-8 eISBN: 978-1-5107-3184-4 Printed in the United States of America CONTENTSFOREWORD G eorge Harvey Bone and I are kindred spirits (pun intended). Ever since the idea for my own cookbook, The Boozy Baker, first popped into my head, Ive been obsessed with infusing cakes, cookies, pies, puddings, and more with alcohol. Not only does it add a new dimension of luscious flavor, but it also makes them a whole lot more fun.

But, as George has taught me, that fun doesnt have to end with dessert. In Cooking with Booze, he demonstrates that wine, beer, and spirits can be incorporated into recipes for every meal of the day with incredibly delicious results. How about a bagel slathered with cream cheese and layered with homemade gravlax cured with fresh dill and brandy or Pernod? And I dont know about you, but I could certainly get used to topping my morning English muffin with Irish Whiskey Butter and Port Jelly... just as long as I can go back to bed afterwards. When people think of boozy midday meals, the three-martini power lunch is what often comes to mind. Of course theres nothing wrong with that, but Ive always been more of a soup and salad girl myself.

A big bowl of Beer & Onion Soup with a side of Amaretto Spinach Salad is just the ticket (a slice of Bierbrood wouldnt hurt, either). For cozy family dinners, theres Meatballs in Vodka Sauce, or Stout and Spicy Pasta with Chicken and Guinness, and for festive nights with friends you cant beat Roast Pork with Apple Stuffing and Cider Sauce or short ribs braised in not one, not two, but three entire bottles of red wine. Now thats sure to get the party started! Im no slouch when it comes to desserts, and the ones George includes here had me running to preheat my oven. Hello, Double Chocolate Grand Marnier Brownies! Where have you been all my life, Mojito Cupcakes? Baking with alcohol is devilish and decadent, and it has a hidden bonus, too. Not only does it infuse desserts with incredible flavor, that flavor actually improves over time. Trust me, day-old cake never tasted so good.

Throughout the pages of Georges delightful little book, his humor and dry wit prove infectious. I confess to being one of those strange people who reads cookbooks like novelsI have a stack by my bed. Right now, Cooking with Booze is at the top of the pile. Reading his droll descriptions of each recipe makes me want to meet up with George at the corner pub for a pint or two (on Whiskey and Honey Cake: The sort of thing to sit down to after tossing a few cabers and killing a few Englishmen. With a nice cup of tea.) While the recipes in Georges book feel fresh and new, the tradition of cooking with alcohol spans the globe and goes back thousands of years to when it was first used as a way to preserve or cure food. So now that we have refrigerators and freezers, microwaves and sous vide machines, why do we still splash a little something into our dishes? Because its fun, pure and simple.

Adding a shot of rum or half a glass of wine is a terrific way to experiment with flavor, change things up, and breathe new life into an old recipe. In addition, its convenient. If you are like me and hate 1) letting opened bottles go to waste, and 2) recipes with a laundry list of ingredients, then Cooking with Booze is for you. Georges recipes are a great way to use up whatever has been languishing in the back of your liquor cabinet or that bottle of wine you couldnt quite finish. And, since alcohol adds loads of complexity and flavor, you dont need a zillion other ingredients to cook up a quick and simple dinner that tastes restaurant-level delicious. (I for one would love to drown my sorrows in a pint of sweet Marsala Ice Cream, or raise a toast not with a flute of champagne, but with a broiled oyster swimming in champagne sauce.) It makes perfect sense to combine the two in one. (I for one would love to drown my sorrows in a pint of sweet Marsala Ice Cream, or raise a toast not with a flute of champagne, but with a broiled oyster swimming in champagne sauce.) It makes perfect sense to combine the two in one.

So forget the barit turns out the best place to drink is actually in your kitchen. Its time to pour yourself a glass and get cooking... with booze of course! Lucy Baker, author of The Boozy BakerINTRODUCTION I t is not often that one feels the weight of history upon ones stomach, but this is such a time. The book you are holding in your hands contains some of the finest dishes known to man, bringing together as it does his two greatest pleasures: food, and booze. These recipes have been gathered and archived by my family for many generations. The Bones are an ancient line, extending back through the famous de Beaune vintners of France who arrived with the Norman Conquest, and beyond, and in more recent times we have done our best to maintain the old ways.

My maternal grandfather was well known in the County for his extraordinary home-brews. He claimed to have invented a new kind of Pimms, and the release of his Attic Stout No 4 upon an unsuspecting village fte led directly to the defrocking of a bishop and the loss of an entire scout troop. My grandfather on my fathers side was also a disciple of the finer things. After an unfortunate incident in the Sudan, when his regiment lost an entire Christmas beer supply to a freak sandstorm, he swore never to go without again, and was heard to remark on his 90th birthday that he would consider putting more tonic than gin into his daily G&T, but the suggestion was unlikely to meet with much support. The civilising effects of the gentler sex in the form of their respective wives went some way to persuading both of them to reduce their liquid intake and increase their solids, leading directly to many of the recipes set down upon these pages. I learnt much from these fine ladies -not least my grandmothers assertion that the difference between a good cook and a great cook is half a pound of butter.

I urge you to heed such words as you peruse this compendium, and consider what you may learn from it. Be liberal in your measures, and adventurous in your sampling. If you dont have the stated ingredients to hand, substitute freely, and if you come across obscure terminology and foodstuffs that bewilder you, then the electronic telegraph and its modern incarnations are your friend. Now, some may tell you that attempting to use alcohol in a cooked dish is a waste of time, and that all the good stuff will evaporate off long before it reaches your palate. Well, opinion is divided on the issue and this tome certainly contains weak as well as strong dishes but the Angels must have their share, and if you feel hard done by, slosh in a little more. To those who say such a concentration on the products of fermentation and distillation surely Gods greatest gifts to man are injurious to health, I can only say that I am long in the tooth, and blue in the conk, but none of them have done me any harm.