Rhum Agricole

Last night my friends and I had the great pleasure of attending a special dinner to showcase Rhum Clement and Rhum J.M. Both are brands of rhum agricole, a type of rum distilled from freshly-squeezed sugar cane juice rather than from molasses like most rums. Only recently have these brands jumped through all the necessary hoops to find their way onto the shelves of Washington liquor stores, and on this night we were lucky enough to have them shaken up for us by some of Seattle's top mixologists then paired with five incredible courses made by the chefs at Spur Gastropub.

Pairing cocktails with food works surprisingly well. As with wines, cocktails can span every flavor profile from sweet to acidic, from earthy to mineral, from smoky to herbaceous to floral. The key difference between the two is that, when making a cocktail, a bartender has the opportunity to take a variety of different flavors and mix them together at different ratios on the spot. While I won't argue that nothing is more awe-inspiring than a flawless wine and food pairing, there is something impressive about a mixologist who's skilled and knowledgeable enough to blend the perfect libation to go with an already perfect dish. This was my experience last night:

First

Tuna Tartare

wrapped in avocado with chili and lime "chips".

Saint Pierre

Clément Primier Canne, ginger, champagne vinegar, lime bitters.

by Cale Green

Throughout the dinner we were brought our cocktails first, followed by the food. This course was my favorite pairing because, at first sip, this cocktail came across as a little too sharp and acidic. Once I was able to try it with the food, however, I found it to be balanced as the ginger and vinegar elements in the cocktail helped to cut through the rich flavors of avocado and raw tuna.

Second

Sous Vide Pork Belly

with cabbage, pineapple, and creole mustard.

Carley’s Conundrum

Rhum J.M Gold, lemon, orgeat, demerara, boker’s bitters.

by Nathan Webber

Both of these would be just as good on their own as they were together. The complex and sweet flavors of the orgeat (an almond and infused syrup flavored with rose or orange flower water) and the demerara (a golden raw sugar) in the cocktail mirrored those of the soft pork belly and cooked pineapple on our plates.

Third

Smoked King Crab

on braised greens with butternut squash soup and pecans.

Calypso King

Brown Butter infused Rhum J.M Silver, falernum.

by Craig Schoen

As the bartender was describing his cocktail to us he proposed something I’d never heard of before: we were to dip or smoked king crab into the cocktail. Equally fun and delicious, the browned butter flavors infused into the rhum paired expectedly well with the crab, and the bite of alcohol in the finish served to cleanse the palate. 

Fourth

Beef Cheeks

with raw, braised, and pureed carrots, curry demi-glace, and horseradish foam.

Chimenea

Clement VSOP, rye, cynar, punt e mes, hickory syrup, orange bitters.

by Marley Tomic-Beard

This cocktail seemed to get mixed reviews from those sitting around me, but all agreed that it was much better with the food than on its own. The strong notes of hickory smoke and cynar (a bitter apéritif flavored with artichoke) were too much to handle alone, but the beef cheek sauced with curry demi-glace did much to help these potent flavors find there place.

Fifth

Rhum Walnut Sponge Cake

topped with a dehydrated banana-juice chip, paired with praline ice cream and banana panna cotta drizzled with caramel. 

Rhum Clément Cuvée Homère and Clément X. O.

For our final course we were given two blended barrel-aged rhums, served neat. The first, Cuvée Homère, was a marriage of the brand’s best rhums over the last fifteen years: 2001, 1999, and 1997. The second was a rare blend of very old aged rhums including the highly regarded vintages of 1976, 1970, and 1952. It was a great opportunity for all to see the incredible range of character that rhum agricole can have. After all, wasn’t that the point of the entire meal?

A Quiet Night

When I was growing up every holiday was an event, and Halloween was no exception. My siblings and I would decorate the entire house, carve pumpkins, toast pumpkin seeds, help each other build our costumes, go trick-or-treating, and eventually get sick from eating ridiculous amounts of candy. As I moved into high school and my siblings moved away to live on their own, Halloween morphed into a time to go out with friends, get dressed up, cut loose, cause trouble, and still eventually get sick from eating ridiculous amounts of candy. College wasn’t really much different, except that the “trouble” got more interesting, the parties lasted longer, and the costumes generally got sluttier. 
Which brings us to now. The crazy parties have gone away, and I'm no longer excited by the idea of eating my weight in miniature candy bars. In fact, now that I've got a real life with a real job and a real girlfriend and real rent to pay I can barely be bothered to dress up for the occasion. My concept of "fun" has changed such that now all I really want is a nice relaxing evening at home carving pumpkins and making dinner with my lady.

Herb-brined Chicken, Roasted with Apples and Onions

This is a terrific dish to serve when the weather turns cold and you start craving comfort food. I've brined many a chicken in while working in restaurants, but it's not something I often think of doing at home. The process is deceivingly quick, as long as you make the brine and get your chicken into it the night before (or even that same morning), your actual working time is less than 30 minutes all together. The end result will be the juiciest, most flavorful chicken you've tasted.

Brine

• 1/2 gal water
• 1/2 cup Kosher Salt
• 1/4 cup Sugar
• 1 bunch Fresh Thyme
• 3 sprigs Fresh Rosemary
• 1 Bay Leaf
• 1 head Garlic, cut in half horizontally
• 1 small Onion, sliced
• 2 T Pink Peppercorns
• 1 ea Lemon, halved
• 6 ea Chicken Drumsticks

Roasted Chicken

• Salt and pepper to taste
• 2 Tbsp Butter, salted
• 1 Tbsp Vegetable Oil
• 1 small Yellow Onion, diced
• 1 Apple, Granny Smith or other firm apple
• 1 bunch Fresh Thyme
• 1 ea Lemon, quartered

Combine all ingredients for the brine except the chicken in a sauce pan on high heat and bring to a boil. Stir to dissolve the salt and sugar, then remove from heat. Refrigerate until cool and then add the chicken. Let sit at least 8 hours, or preferably over night. Remove chicken from brine and rinse well, then pat dry. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. 
In a cast iron pan over medium high heat add the butter. Once the butter has melted add onions and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the apples, thyme, and lemon. Stir together and cook about 2 minutes, then place all ingredients in a casserole dish. Return the pan to heat and the vegetable oil. Sprinkle chicken drumsticks with salt and pepper then brown each side, 1-2 minutes per side. Remove from pan and place in casserole dish with the apple onion mixture. Place dish in the oven and cook for 20-30 minutes, or until a thermometer registers 160 degrees.

Tarragon Mashed Potatoes

I served the roasted chicken with these mashed potatoes. I've made them plenty of times in one form or another, but this is the first time I've actually written down a recipe for it. I make mashed potatoes without measuring (adding ingredients to taste) and I encourage you to do the same, but this recipe should serve as a good guide. If you've got other herbs around to use besides tarragon then use them.

• 2 Russet Potatoes, peeled and cut into 1” pieces
• 2 Tbsp Sour Cream
• 1/4 cup Butter, salted
• 1/4 cup Whole Milk
• 1/4 cup Fresh Tarragon, chopped
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Simmer potatoes in heavily salter water until they yield easily to a fork. Drain well and return potatoes to the pot, add remaining ingredients and mash together until smooth.

Claire Robinson wouldn't last a day in a 150° restaurant kitchen

When I first started this blog my sole intention was to make it all about the food. What it was, why I chose it, and how I cooked it. More importantly, I wanted to avoid letting it become a Big List Of Gripes (an acronym that, while unintentional, is often suitable), but when I read this article by Claire Robinson of the Food Network "exposing" the "tricks" that are often used by restaurants to increase sales I felt the need to rebut.

A quick Google query will tell you that Claire has had a full and noteworthy career. She earned her B. A. in Communications from the University of Memphis, where she also worked part time selling lotions and other beauty products. She also worked in both radio and television, and handled marketing for the University of Memphis’s athletic department. After a few years she decided she'd rather pursue cooking and attended the French Culinary Institute in New York City. She became a private chef and worked behind-the-scenes on several cooking shows before landing one of her own on the Food Network. As I said, full and noteworthy. Yet, search as I might, I couldn't find one lick of actual restaurant experience. If there had been any to speak of I'm sure Claire would have found something better to write about than "gaze-patterns" on menus, or what it costs to make a dish of pasta. I've seen plenty of things going on in a kitchen that would be much more surprising to the customer than that. You want examples? If the dude grilling your steak is really in the weeds, he may just drop that piece of meat in the deep fryer to speed things up a bit; hardly what a person expects when they pay $20-$30 for a filet mignon. I've been that dude. What's more, I probably had a beer in my hand and a few more in my belly while I was doing it. I'm not proud, just honest. Hell, I once opened the walk-in door to find a cook standing completely naked save for a well placed watermelon in his hands; his idea of humor (and that watermelon found its way onto about 50 appetizer plates later that day, yummy).

A seasoned chef hard at work:

 

 "tee-hee! what do I do with all these eggs?!?"

I work in kitchens, and you don't see me writing an exposé on sneaky tricks that people in marketing or media use, mainly because I have only a remedial idea of how they do things. You like food? That's great. I like TV but it hardly makes me an expert on what happens behind the scenes. The moral of the story: go with what you know. Rather than re-post her article here I've decided to paraphrase it, just a little bit.

5 Things Restaurants will do to Screw you out of all your Hard-earned Dough:

1. While it may appear that the sole purpose of a restaurant is to cater to your every whim and desire after you've spent a long day working in the salt mines, they're actually businesses that have been cleverly designed to turn a profit. Am I blowing your mind yet? (Cooks and waiters usually work there asses off for the sake of a paper-thin profit margin. Rarely is there a dish that yields "BIG bucks", as Claire puts it in her statements. Yes, a pork chop only costs us a few dollars. Yes, we will charge you four or five times that for the finished dish, it's how we stay in business. Keep in mind that restaurant profit margins usually hover around 5%-10%. Far less than, say, the kind of money a television show can make.)

2. The beef in that beef stew you ordered from the special menu might have been an entirely different dish the night before, and the veggies in there would have gone bad if they hadn't been used right away. If this one surprises you then I've got another news flash: that sale rack at Nordstrom is actually just the "leftovers" of last season's clothes that nobody wanted. If your asking yourself "why don't they just throw that stuff away?" then refer back to paragraph 1. (Throwing food away is a sin. Finding delicious ways to use it before it goes bad is the mark of a good chef. If something's "about" to go bad, that means it's still good, and if you're the chef or owner who paid for it then you'll find a way to use it quick if you want to keep the doors open and the lights on.)

3. Cocktails are usually expensive. Restaurants will try to trick you into ordering them using three techniques: 1. They'll put them all together on a little menu. 2. They'll make them delicious, often using fresh fruits and herbs as tools in their clever scheme. 3. They put booze in them. The customer's only recourse is to drink something less expensive like water or soda. (Thank God Claire Robinson was there to reveal this one.)

4. Just because the pasta dish is the cheapest on the menu doesn't mean the restaurant makes the least amount of profit on it. The mark-up is a greater percentage on pasta dishes than on chicken dishes for example, even though we charge a little less for the pasta dish. This is because we're trying to trick you into getting the cheaper dish, padding our already enormous bank accounts with the extra change we might make. (Or, maybe food isn't the only cost associated with getting a plate to your table. Pasta might cost a lot less than chicken, but the cooks, dishwashers, hosts, and waiters that all work to bring it to you and the rent for the space you're eating it in cost the same no matter what you get.)

5. Menus are specifically designed to get you to buy what the restaurant wants you to buy. This malicious little trick is often referred to as "product placement". They put the things they really want to sell you in the first places you'll look. Often, they'll use bold text or fancy borders to draw the eye. Shocking, I know. Of course I'll bet nobody else realizes this, as restaurants are surely the only kind of business using this method of deception.

Washington Grown

Okay, I'll admit it. I've been using "life" as an excuse for not blogging. I had decided to take a short hiatus... but that was in February. Then I decided to start back up again... but that was in May. Now it's almost October and I feel like the waters are finally calm enough to spend a little time writing.

If there's one thing I've learned so far this year it's that it takes a lot of energy to relax. The older I get, the less appealing just sitting on the couch (or in a bar, for that matter) becomes. And Seattle, wonderful though it may be, is often just too intense a place for proper repose. In fact as I type I'm remembering that this is exactly how I felt around this time last year (check out Gone Camping, my post from last November) so perhaps its seasonal, but in any case I find myself trying to take the time and effort to get out of Dodge and into the woods again.

My birthday was last month and, rather than buy me something I'd never use, my lovely lady decided to take me on an incredible hike up Mt. Index. And when I say "up" I really mean it. I may or may not have been cursing under my breath for the last 3/4-mile but it was all worth it when we got to the top, largely because we'd packed wine and cheese.

It felt so good for both of us to get out of the city and away from everything that it was only two weeks before we were leaving town again; this time to Harstine Island where my sister has the perfect place. It's in the woods... on the beach... in the middle of nowhere... and surrounded by blue and red huckleberries as well as tons of blackberries. To top it off their neighbor, who passed away last year, left behind a fully-grown apple orchard which no one else seemed to be harvesting (no sense in letting the apples go with him, right?) The pickings were so good that we had to come back for more the following weekend. Which brings us to yesterday when, after all the picking and cleaning and sorting was through, my lady and I got to work preserving our pilferage.

The bulk of the huckleberries we dried for later use, but a few special handfuls we turned into liqueurs. Some of the blackberries found their way into cobblers in the weeks after picking, and a few more became their own liqueur, while the rest stayed in the freezer and may still become jam if we muster up the gumption. The apples became the delicious spiced apple butter below. We adapted this recipe from The Complete Book of Year-Round Small-Batch Preserving  by Eleanor Topp and Margaret Howard. The original recipe calls for peeling the apples first and skipping pressing them though the strainer, leaving chunks of apple in the finished product. While this sounded delicious we opted to leave the peels on (neither of us wanted to peel a bag full of little apples) and strain the cooked mixture, leaving behind the peels as well as the lemon zest and spices.

Spiced Apple Butter

• 4 lb mixed apples, 1" dice
• 1 cup apple cider
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• zest of one lemon (cut with a potato peeler and avoid the white pith)
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 12 whole cloves

Combine apples, cider, lemon zest and spices in a very large stainless steel or enamel saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat and boil gently for about 45 minutes or until the apples have broken down completely. Remove from heat and push the mixture though a strainer using a spatula until you are left with a smooth apple sauce. Discard the remaining peels and spices.

Return the mixture to heat and stir in sugar and lemon juice. Return to a boil, reduce heat, and boil gently for 25 to 35 minutes or until mixture is very thick. Remove from heat.

Ladle into sterilized jars and process as directed for Shorter Time Processing Procedure (www.epicurious.com).

The Delicious Dozen

I've always believed that the best times in life occur when good friends and great food are present. Last weekend I had the pleasure of being invited to my sister's dinner club, "The Gourmet 12". Every other month they pick a weekend and a theme, each couple brings a dish, food is prepared, wine is poured, and merriment is had by all. The last time I was invited the theme was Argentinian Grill and I managed to get away with not cooking a thing, merely offering advice or a hand when needed. This time however, seeing as how food had already been decided upon I instead offered my services as a bartender, shaking up the perfect cocktail to fit their theme of "France Meets India": rangpur lime-infused gin and homemade curried sour mix topped with a mango-rose foam, aka "The Bollywood". I then paired this with an amuse bouche of fresh strawberry topped with honey and toasted almonds. Once everyone had their libations in hand it was time to start the real cooking. First up was a seared foie gras crostini topped with pomegranate seeds and a drizzle of 25 year balsamic vinegar. The crunch of the pomegranate seeds and the fruit-forward acidity of the vinegar balanced flawlessly with the rich, sweet duck liver. From there the kitchen quickly filled with people cooking, drinking, and munching on foie gras and strawberries. The entree for the evening was a coriander-crusted duck breast with a red wine and mango chutney reduction. Accompanying this was a plethora of side dishes from charred broccoli to cucumber cilantro salad, crushed fingerling potatoes, even an Indian tofu scramble. The final result was a spread worthy of even the most discerning gourmand.

Coriander-Crusted Duck Breasts with

Red Wine and Mango Chutney Reduction

Duck Breasts

• 2 Tbsp coriander seeds
• 2 ea 1 lb duck breasts
• salt and pepper to taste

Sauce

• 3/4 cup red wine
• 1 tsp whole grain mustard
• 3 Tbsp prepared mango chutney
• 1/2 tsp orange zest
• 2tsp orange juice

In a large skillet, toast the coriander seeds over medium high heat until fragrant, about 1-2 minutes. Let cool completely, transfer to a spice grinder, and grind to a powder.

In a saucepan over medium-high heat reduce red wine and orange juice by half, then add mustard, chutney, and orange zest and stir together. Turn heat to low and keep warm until ready to serve, stiring occasionally.

 

Score the duck skin in a cross-hatch pattern and season with coriander, salt, and pepper. Heat a skillet on medium-high. Add the duck, skin side down, and cook until the skin is browned and crisp, about 5 minutes. Turn the breasts skin side up and cook until medium-rare, 4 minutes longer. Remove duck from pan and let rest for 5 minutes. To serve, thinly slice the duck crosswise and drizzle with sauce.

The Strawberry Proxy

With the recent heavy rains in California and Mexico, as well as the January freeze in Florida, the strawberry crop has taken a hefty blow this year. Of course we'll still find strawberries in stores for Valentine's Day, but the quantity and quality that we'll see seems to be uncertain ("The Packer" Strawberry availability in question for Valentine's Day). This little predicament got me thinking... can you really enjoy that bubbly champagne on the big night without some juicy, delicious strawberries to back it up? Can you even make a special drink for this holiday without incorporating them? And so began the quest to devise a sweet cocktail with all the romance of a flawless ripe strawberry, yet made with more dependable ingredients. Well, two bottles of champagne and a bottle of rum later, I came up with the perfect proxy: my Vanilla-Ginger Royale. Both ginger and vanilla bean are available year round and rarely have the quality or consistency issues of fruits. Additionally both of these ingredients are aphrodisiacs, as is the alcohol, making for a very efficient libation.

Vanilla-Ginger Royale

• 1/2 oz Vanilla-Ginger Simple Syrup (recipe follows)
• 1 oz rum
• Rose Sparkling Wine

Combine rum and syrup in a tumbler and top with ice. Stir briskly, strain into a champagne flute and top with rose sparkling wine. 

For the rum I've used 10 Cane brand here, but I would also recommend Cruzan white rum; really anything thats light in color and doesn't say "Bacardi" on the front. As for the wine, Barefoot Cellars makes a sparkling rose cuvee with a slightly sweeter flavor that works perfectly. The drier brut champagnes I tried didn't fair as well with this cocktail. You may find it necessary to adjust the quantity of simple syrup base on the type of wine.

Vanilla-Ginger Simple Syrup

• 1 vanilla bean
• 1/4 cup fresh ginger, peeled and sliced
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup water

Combine sugar, water and ginger in a saucepan over medium high heat, whisking occasionally. Cut the vanilla bean lengthwise, scraping the seeds from inside, and add both the seeds and pod to the saucepan. Once the mixture has come to a boil and the sugar has completely dissolved remove from heat and let steep for 15 minutes. Strain and cool.

The end result will still have a few specks of black from the vanilla, which I personally don't mind and actually find quite attractive dancing in my sparkling wine. If, however, you would prefer a cleaner appearance then use several layers of cheese cloth in addition to your strainer. This syrup should keep in a refigerator for up to a month.

"I don't like scallops..."

"I don't like scallops." she said. "They taste like fish-flavored gum." I knew exactly what she was talking about as she went on to tell me her previous experiences ordering scallops at various restaurants. I do believe it's one of the highest culinary sins to serve someone a fishy, rubbery, overcooked scallop, especially when that person is paying restaurant prices. The worst part, however, was not that she had eaten so many poorly executed scallops, but that she had never actually tasted a properly prepared one. They shouldn't be fishy; a good scallop should smell fresh like the ocean. Nor should they be rubbery; this is what happens when these delicate bivalves get overcooked. At restaurants often the culprit is not the preparation of the scallop, but rather the time it spends under the heat lamp once prepared. So the more I thought about this the more it began to eat away at me. Finally, when I simply couldn't stand it any longer, I insisted that she join me for a Saturday lunch over at my place so that I could remedy this epicurean tragedy.

Seared Scallops and Fried Artichoke on Green Salad

Dressing

• 2 Tbsp prepared sun-dried tomato pesto
• 1/4 cup light olive oil
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1/2 tsp granulated sugar
• Salt and pepper to taste

 Fried Artichokes

•  Vegetable oil for frying
• 1 jar marinated artichoke hearts
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 heaping cup fresh breadcrumbs (you may substitute panko)

Scallops

• 7 ea large scallops
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 3 Tbsp light olive oil or vegetable oil

Salad

• 6-8 cups baby salad greens
• 1 cup red onion, thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted
• 3 strips cooked bacon, finely chopped
• finely shredded Parmigiano-Reggiano (for garnish)

Combine all dressing ingredients except oil in a small bowl. Gradually whisk in the oil and season to taste with salt and pepper. Toss scallops with 2 Tbsp of the dressing as well as salt and pepper to taste and set aside. In a large bowl mix together salad ingredients, but do not add dressing until ready to serve.

Heat vegetable oil in a small sauce pan over medium heat until hot. Drain the artichoke hearts and toss with flour to coat, dip into the egg, then remove and press into the breadcrumbs. Fry in small batches until golden brown and crispy, then remove from oil and allow to drain on paper towels. Set aside.

To prepare scallops heat oil in a frying pan over high heat. Just as the oil begins to smoke gently place scallops in pan on their flat, circular sides. Cook for 2 minutes, or until the bottoms have become dark and well caramelized, then flip each scallop and cook for another 1-2 minutes (scallops should yeild to a gentle poke and should not feel rubbery to the touch). Once the scallops are finished this dish should be served immediately.

To serve, toss salad with dressing and plate, then top with fried artichokes and seared scallops. Garnish with Parmigiano-Reggiano.

Oh Boy!

Richard Oh, a California winemaker and self-proclaimed "all-around dude" has recently released his first distilled product: Ohzone. The liquor is best described by Richard himself, so here's an excerpt from his website: http://www.ohzonespirits.com/

"Made from first quality grapes via cold distillation, extraction and filtration, Ohzone is an entirely new category of spirit, so ask for it by name – it’s the only one of it’s kind. It’s not a vodka or gin or rum or tequila or brandy or moonshine or anything else out there…By itself, Ohzone tastes smooth and clean, with a hint of grape. And as the primary spirit in a never-ending, whirlwind tour of cocktails, infusions, culinary recipes – and in anything else the imagination may imagine – Ohzone transforms a spirit into the spiritual."

On my recent trip down to California I had the chance to give his new liquor a try at a small release party in Pacific Grove. He talks a big game, but the product surely speaks for itself. While Ohzone's mild nature will do just fine in familiar drinks like the cosmo or lemon drop, the sublte flavor lends itself much better to a more classic take on the cocktail that's becoming increasingly popular. I managed to get a bottle sent back up to Seattle for me to play around with. Give this one a try, if you're lucky enough to find a bottle of your own.

PomOhgranate Sour

• 2  oz. Ohzone
• 1 oz. homemade sour mix (recipe follows)
• 1/2 oz. pomegranate juice
• 1/2 oz. egg white

Fill shaker with ice and shake ingredients vigorously. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a twist of lemon.

Homemade Sour Mix

Nothing ruins a good drink faster than a bad sour mix. There are several premade sour mixes on the market, but I have yet to find a national brand that does justice to a quality cocktail. This simple recipe is a much better option. It can be made in large batches and keeps in a refrigerator for at least two weeks. Don't bother with store bought juices here; just squeeze the fruits yourself. The end result will be well worth the extra effort.

• 1 part granulated sugar
• 1 part water
• 1 part fresh lemon juice
• 1 part fresh lime juice

Combine water and sugar in a pan over medium heat. Whisk constantly until water is simmering and sugar has disolved, doing your best not to let the mixture boil. Remove from heat and allow to cool in the refrigerator, then combine with fresh juices and store refrigerated in large bottles or jars.

Variations: If you don't care for (or for some reason can't find) pomegranate juice you can make the drink plain by omitting it and increasing the quantities of Ohzone and sour mix by 1/4 oz. Also, I've found that this cocktail works quite well with my homemade blackberry liqueur taking the place of the pomegranate juice. If you're really in a pinch you can use bottled sour mix instead of the homemade version, just don't tell anyone you got the recipe from me.