'Summer Sparklers' for J. McLaughlin

Credit: Niki Nero Photography

“The most interesting cocktails for summer, whether you have a pool or not, have some effervescence which relates to the sparkling water filling the pool or the ocean, near or far. Champagne, or any sparkling wine, adds pure magic to a cocktail. You might call it bubbles, I might say dryness. But the wisest of us all know Champagne sprinkles a fairy dust of magic.

“There are a few things to think about when choosing a house cocktail. We do not want a ‘normal’ drink available anywhere and everywhere. Instead try something people might not have tried. Leave complicated cocktails to mixologists. Your home is not a bar. You must be able to make repeat versions; meaning a first drink, possibly a second, and if the occasion arises for a third, you will be able to walk up a flight of stairs and mix another….”

 Read more & find 3 recipes for easy, breezy Poolside Cocktails, all with Champagne (or Prosecco if you’d prefer), via J. McLaughlin’s newsletter/blog HERE!

'Half a Dozen Summer Party Tips' for J. McLaughlin

“The #1 tip concerns conversations because we haven’t been face to face in so long! Just thinking about it sparks excitement, which gets energy flowing and makes party planning extra pleasurable. 

Suzanne and a guest converse at the debut of our collaboration with J. McLaughlin…

[Credit: Niki Nero Photography]

Let’s Talk
Consider possible party talk even before your event. Conversation starters can range from fun and frivolous (like showing off your matching napkins and dress) to deep dives straight for the heart of the matter. Think about each guest and what might be going on in their life so that you can ask pertinent questions, showing that they have been on your mind and that you care for them. Conversations which easily shift from light to meaningful are unforgettable. Simply skimming the surface leaves an empty feeling later. To more easily dive deep, start shallow as a means of getting there. Pointing out your matchy matchy napkins and dress will ignite laughter and spark interesting talk.…”

Read the rest of Suzanne’s party tips and find our recipe for a perfect French 75 via J. McLaughlin’s blog HERE!

Summer Pantry Week Two

A few years ago I was working on a book with the working title, The Music of Food. For that project (not completed) I interviewed well known musicians whose second passion was cooking. My favorite question to ask was, What do you want to eat when madly in love? The answers were all fabulous but one stood out above the rest, from Grace Potter:

Spaghetti. All day. I mean, it’s a love food! It is the most romantic food in the world because it’s just like…twirl things around in your mouth, basically what love is, you know? Whether it’s the tongue or something else. It’s basically the most — I think it’s essential food. For me the tactile experience is like twirling the pasta, or if I am madly in love with someone who doesn’t know how to twirl pasta, watching his clumsy fingers trying to learn how to twirl pasta. I love that so much, it’s one of my favorite things. So it’s a lady in the tramp experience you know…

With Grace in mind, we put together four no-cook pasta sauces for Week Two in Summer Pantry. Most of the ingredients come straight from the cans, jars, bottles, and boxes sitting on your pantry shelves this very minute. No need to turn on the oven! Let’s keep the heat out of the kitchen and in rooms where hotness really belongs. First put love right on the dinner plate. Satisfying a tummy ignites happiness in the heart. Proudly serve a plate of pasta that will delight the pickiest eater in your house, or a James Beard Award-winning chef if one happens to drop by around dinnertime. 

P.S. Still time to sign up for the rest of our Summer Pantry series HERE, and you should because you never know what you will learn. More than the recipes!

Spaghetti with Tuna, Garlic, and Cream Sauce

Mix everything by hand to get a grainier, more interesting texture. Delicious with shell pasta! Seggiano is my favorite brand, carried by Whole Foods. The pasta has a rough surface to which the sauce can cling…

• 7-ounce can of tuna packed in olive oil, drained 

• 1 clove garlic, chopped fine

• 1 large bunch flat-leaf parsley, stems discarded, leaves chopped

• 4 tablespoons heavy cream

• 1 egg, lightly beaten

• 3 tablespoon butter, softened

• salt and black pepper in a grinder

• 1/2 cup freshly grated parmigiana, plus additional for the table

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Add pasta and cook for about 9 minutes, or according to directions. 

2. Meanwhile, in a bowl, mash the drained tuna with a fork. Add garlic, parsley, cream, egg, butter, salt, liberal grindings of pepper, and 1/2 cup of grated cheese. Mix well until a creamy sauce emerges. Taste and correct with salt and pepper.

3. Drain pasta, toss immediately with tuna mixture, and serve at once.

A Summer Night's Dream with J. McLaughlin

Credit: Mark Staff Photography

‘“Sparkling summer cocktails in chilled glasses, your closest friends mingling amongst dragonflies and bite-sized hor’s d'oeuvres, farmer’s market blooms that match your botanical print dress, that match your napkins, that somehow magically match your notecards as well.”

A recipe connoisseur, author, and all-around party genius— when Pollak mentioned to J.McLaughlin Creative Director and Co-founder Kevin McLaughlin that she wished she had a dress that matched her fête essentials, we knew we had to make it come true…’

Now you can shop J. McLaughlin’s dreamy new collaboration with Suzanne HERE, and read all about last night’s launch party HERE (both via the J. McLaughlin blog!)

Rice 103: Pudding!

While the first two rice dishes in our Rice summer school series — paella and risotto — have great cultural pasts, rice pudding is personal, evocative, emotional... 

For me, rice pudding brings up memories of college dinner parties my sister & I gave for our friends. Instead of time at the library, we devoted hours devising menus and guest lists, then walked together to the grocery store to buy ingredients only to haul them back to our apartment (as we neither owned a car nor even possessed driver's licenses.) We had small monthly allowances so dinner parties were a creative way to please people on a culinary shoe string, with our financial resources combined. Rice was our standby dessert because pudding pleased everyone, even if it wasn’t their childhood comfort food, or ours. Rice pudding was easy to make, exotic to our friends, foolproof, inexpensive, delicious.

[Illustration, Pepperidge Farm Cookbook, c. 1970]

Our recipe came from an old-fashioned standard, Margaret Rudkin’s Pepperidge Farm Cookbook. We soaked raisins for a topping and always whipped heavy cream by hand to top the topping. Gilding the lily was our mantra straight through college, at least where food, parties, and dress were concerned. We didn’t always apply the philosophy to our studies — funny I should be a “Dean” now. But Charleston Academy classes always start with drinks followed by food, so perhaps none of this should come as a surprise.

Paella uses bomba rice, risotto: Arboria rice, both medium grain and starchy which do not make good puddings. This leaves long grain rice for puddings. Do not use ‘instant’ or ‘minute’ rice. Basmati and jasmine rice are excellent choices too. 

Pepperidge Farm Cookbook Rice Pudding

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Ingredients:

• 1 quart whole milk

• ⅓ cup rice

• ½ teaspoon salt

• ½ cup sugar

• Dash of cinnamon

• 2 tablespoons rosewater

Directions:

1. Butter a 2-quart casserole. Put the rice in the casserole and pour in the milk. Add the seasonings and stir well.

2. Bake for 3 hours, stirring every 15 minutes during the first hour to keep the rice from staying in the bottom of the casserole. 

3. When cooked, sprinkle the rosewater over the top. Serve hot or cold, with or without soaked raisins (in brandy, cognac, or just hot water) and whipped cream.

Summer Salad #2: Porky Pig

Why do we love eating decadent fatty meals disguised as salads? Because everyone everywhere loves to be deceived, lulled into thinking their meal was extra healthy. But guess what? This salad is actually healthy, despite the indulgent addition of slow-roasted pork...

FRISÉE - A lettuce that balances the fattiness with its bitter bite and texture. Remember, one small head delivers way more volume than you can imagine once you separate the leaves and tear them into manageable, bite-sized pieces. Tearing is absolutely necessary. Who wants a mouth full 4” spiky leaves, delicious as they may be?

PORK - We like to make this the day after serving Pork Butt in Milk with Cabbage Slaw for dinner. If you and your guests were not too piggy (pun intended) then you'll have plenty of leftovers. Simply reheat in a frying pan over low heat, or in the turned off oven after roasting the eggplant. The pig will crisp right up.

EGGPLANT - Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper. Thinly slice unpeeled eggplant. Lay slices on parchment paper. Lightly drizzle olive oil on slices, turn over and drip olive oil on top. There is really no wrong way to do this. After years of making these eggplant slices, we can say for certain that sometimes they turn crispy, sometimes softer, but every time delicious! Roast slices in a 425-degree oven for 15 minutes, turn over and roast another 5-10 minutes, until golden brown on both sides. Some parts will blacken but that is okay. There is a fine line, a few minutes, between a little black, and the burn taking over the slice.

Après Eclipse

No need to call off the party after viewing the Total Solar Eclipse this afternoon. Make your friends a drink!

Q: What’s better than hosting eleven for dinner? A: Making cocktails for just a few!

This August, invite guests over for a Late Summer Old Fashioned. Serve with a platter of coppa, speck & pâté (we rely on Goat Cow Sheep) along with silver bowls full of almonds and heirloom cherry tomatoes. Easy Peasy!

Here's to make our signature cocktail, plus a tip on how to refresh your drink without overdoing it.

Late Summer Old Fashioned

• 1 1/2 ounce (Blanton’s is the Dean’s current favorite but can be hard to find...)
• Mountain Valley soda 
• Generous drops of Peach Bitters (no need to be stingy!)
• Drops of Angostura Bitters
• Fresh slice of peach and a cherry (fresh or Luxardo Maraschinos)

1. Fill cocktail glass with large cubes of ice. Pour in bourbon.*
2. Sprinkle quite a few drops of peach bitters on top (five to ten according to your love of peaches) plus three or four drops Angostura bitters. 
3. Top with soda, and garnish with a slice of peach and a cherry. 
4. To slow down after one or too many drinks, without throwing in the towel, make this cocktail sans bourbon. In your same glass, refresh the ice, pour a speciality soda (Fever Tree or Mountain Valley), then top with a generous splattering of bitters. This concoction is as delicious as a real cocktail and will make you feel better in the morning.

*To use an old bartender's trick -- three to five second pours equal an ounce or two in the glass.

Cheers, and Happy Eclipse-ing, from the Academy's Summer School!

SUMMER PARTY PLAYLIST

Alain Delon, Brigitte Bardot, & Eddie Barclay beat the heat with style in St. Tropez. Where else?

Once you know what to wear to a mid- (OK maybe late) Summer eve cocktail party, you may as well just get gussied up and host one of your own. But you are going to need a signature cocktail -- perhaps a Paloma? -- and some choice tunes to make it all sing!

So we turned to our dear friend, Alex Admiral Collier, composer and music manager at Eastward Music for a summer playlist to help entertain guests and distract from the blistering heat. This playlist includes new and old songs alike, to usher in wistful memories of cooler, simpler times. Enjoy while imbibing with friends for a heightened sense of nostalgia while subconsciously creating new memories. CHEERS!