| Q: While dining in your restaurant the bartender
recommended a "Hawthorne" Martini. It was great and he said you came up with it.
What inspired you? Paula - P.G.A: This is the best martini
I have ever had. I'll share this with you Paula, because I am in constant search for the
best and enjoy sharing my finds! About six years ago we were sitting on a knoll at the Big
Sur Jazz Festival with friends Rhonda and Miles Williams enjoying the music with the hot
sun beating down on us. No water or wine was available (but who wants to drink wine in the
hot sun - we’re talking headache time there folks). When it was over, we checked out
some of the local Big Sur galleries and ended up at Greg Hawthorn’s gallery - close
to Nepenthe. It’s a big, beautiful building on the left side of Highway 1, heading
south. The whole family is involved as artists in the gallery. A great place featuring
paintings, sculpture, jewelry, woodworks, ceramics and glass - as well as other leading
artists from around the country (check out www.hawthorn.com). Greg took one look at us and thought we needed
something special. He made these incredible martinis for us, which I named, in his honor. |
|
|
Now for the recipe.Hawthorn
Martini Recipe: Equal parts of Ketel One Vodka and Bombay Sapphire Gin in a shaker with
ice and a splash of dry vermouth. Shake exactly 10 times and strain into a large frozen
martini glass. Garnish with an olive and an onion. Sip very slowly - only one to a
customer. This is the smoothest martini in the world and the best part is - it will make
you very hungry. Home-Cured Olives, Part Two of Three:
This one is from Ron Aliotti: Ronnie
has been known to pick olives in people’s yards. Word has it he has a reputation all
over the state. Getting him to give up his locations is worse than trying to get mushroom
locations out of me. Foodies are funny that way. Ronnie was very
generous in giving us his favorite recipe. As I understand it, he
learned from Jean "The King" and Dr. Roy Thomas learned from Ronnie -
anyone dizzy yet? This recipe is for black olives picked from
mid-October through mid-November. Pick only olives that are still green.
De-stem and sort by size taking out leaves, etc. Wash them very well. In
one-quart mason jars, place olives of similar size and add one
tablespoon of sea salt - then wild fennel, dried bay leaf, whole |
|
| garlic or
coriander - in any combination you want. Put mason jar
lids in boiling water for 20 seconds, one or two at a time to sterilize. Fill jars with
pure distilled water and seal with hot lids. Hand-tighten and dry off. Turn upside-down to
make sure each is properly sealed and store in a cool place for 2-4 months. Start feasting
on small olives after 2 ½ months, larger ones 2 ½ to 3 ½ months. To serve: rinse well -
then with a mallet, crack (not crush) the olives one at a time. Place olives in a bowl
with dried oregano, crushed garlic, diced celery, par-boiled carrots and raw chopped
cauliflower. Finish with pure extra-virgin olive oil, cracked black pepper and a shot of
red wine vinegar. Stir well and serve with wine or just as a snack. Okay, folks let get
going!On a serious note, I
want to pass along information sent to me by Janice Harwood, a nutritional advisor with
the University of California. She cautions that home canning must be done properly to
avoid contamination or spoilage. My expert friends have years of experience, however, a
leaflet entitled "Home Pickling of Olives #2758" is available from the web site:
http://anrcatalog.ucdavis.edu
and is highly recommended for novices. We don’t want to lose anyone! |
|
