There is a profusion of premixed herb, spice and seasoning blends out there, and it’s sometimes hard to choose just the blend you want.

We suggest making your own, for several reasons:

Put together your own spice mixes for specific ethnic cuisines, barbecue rubs, salad seasonings and more.

•  The cost will be much less.
•  You can fine-tune the blend to your taste.
•  The blend won’t have any filler in it or a lot of added salt or sugar – which is something you end up paying for with many commercial blends.
•  You can mix in small batches, so that the spices don’t lose flavor by sitting around on your spice shelf for long periods of time.
•  Spice and herb blends are easy to do, and make good gifts. Check out craft stores, art shops, etc., for packaging ideas, or use your imagination and make your own.

With no further ado, here are a few that we like.  Use them as they are, or start customizing!

Lavender, a good addition to a summery herb blend. (Photo courtesy Becker Vineyards)

Herbes de Provence

This is a fine-tuned blend, from the South of France, that alternates stronger herbal flavors with lighter.

It adds a wonderful, summery flavor to casseroles, game or poultry — even steaks. Also, add some fresh parsley to a couple of pinches of this as a dry blend, and whip it into the eggs for an omelet. Fold a little crème fraîche into the omelet just before you serve it.

This blend calls for dried herbs, but not ground (except for bay leaf). If you don’t want to grind the bay leaf, you could put a small, whole leaf into each blend, but not add the whole, dried leaf to food. (The edges are sharp, unless you grind it down some.) You can also make this blend with fresh herbs, if you have the herbs on hand. We don’t suggest mixing fresh and dried, though.

4 teaspoons dried leaf thyme
2 teaspoons dried marjoram
2 teaspoons dried parsley
1 teaspoon dried tarragon
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
2/3 teaspoon culinary lavender flowers
½ teaspoon celery seeds
½ teaspoon lightly ground white pepper
1 crushed bay leaf (take leaves off dried stem, and grind in a mortar)

Mix together the herbs. For using, 2-3 teaspoons is sufficient in a recipe for three-to-four people.

Adapted from “The Spice Bible; A Cook’s Guide” by Ian Hemphill

Fines Herbes

This “delicately balanced bouquet of finely flavored herbs … is found in French cuisine,” writes Ian Hemphill in “The Spice and Herb Bible.” This recipe may be made with fresh or dried herbs.

Flat-leaf parsley

Here’s a sidelight I found amusing. In my vintage (1961) edition of the English translation of the French culinary bible, “Larousse Gastronomique”, the entry for fines herbes is typically terse. However, the writer also allows himself (and, surely, it was a “him”) a little crabby comment to chefs of the time.

“Generally speaking, this term is used not of mixed herbs, but simply of chopped parsley. Therefore an Omelette aux Fines Herbes is an omelette containing only parsley, in addition to the usual seasonings.” (Probably a reference to salt and white pepper.)

The writer goes on: “Actually, fines herbes should be a mixture of herbs, such as parsley, chervil, tarragon and even chives. Indeed, this was the original meaning of the term. In earlier times chopped mushroom and even truffles were added to the list of herbs above.”

We give our firm approval to adding truffles to a fines herbes mix!

Hemphill’s recipe follows. In addition to the herbs mentioned above, he adds green dill tips and lovage. While the Hemphill doesn’t add chives, fresh chives would be fine, and it is included in this slight adaptation. Again, if you wish to make this blend with all dried herbs, it’s fine.

Fines Herbes (for fresh or dried herbs)

2 tablespoons parsley
1 tablespoon chervil
1 tablespoon lovage
2 teaspoons green dill tips
2 teaspoons French tarragon
2 teaspoons minced chives

This blend goes well with any egg dish, and is also wonderful in a creamy salad dressing, blended with a half cup each of mayonnaise and heavy cream.

Adapted from “The Spice Bible” by Ian Hemphill.

Texas Herb Rub

Lamb, beef, pork -- all will taste better rubbed with spices!

Here’s an herbal rub with a Texas twist, from Tom Perini. Put it on meat (of course).

1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper

Combine all the ingredients and rub over the surface of the meat.

From “Texas Cowboy Cooking” by Tom Perini

Wild Willy’s Number One-derful Rub

This is a good, all-purpose barbecue rub, from Cheryl and Bill Jamison’s “Smoke & Spice.” Use it on ribs, brisket, chicken and more.

¾ cup paprika
¼ cup freshly ground black pepper
¼ cup coarse kosher or sea salt
¼ cup sugar
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 tablespoons garlic powder
2 tablespoons onion powder
3 tablespoons cayenne

Mix spices thoroughly in a bowl. Store covered, in a cool, dark place. Makes about 2 cups.

Tunisian Tabil Rub

This is a spice mix that’s become somewhat trendy in the U.S. in the past few years.  The  aromatic, spicy blend known as tabil is generally used with lamb and imparts a pungency that will give your barbecue an exotic flavor. Tone down the hot spice (hot pepper flakes) if you need to do so.

2 tablespoons coriander seeds
2 tablespoons cumin seeds
2 tablespoons caraway seeds
2 tablespoons hot pepper flakes
2 tablespoons coarse (kosher or sea) salt

Combine the coriander, cumin and caraway seeds in a dry skillet and cook over medium heat, shaking the pan to ensure even cooking, until toasted and fragrant, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and let cool.

Place the mixture in a mortar and grind to a fine powder with the pestle, or use a spice mill. Store in an airtight jar away from heat and light for up to 6 months. Makes about ½ cup, or enough for 3-4 pounds of meat, poultry or seafood.

From “The Barbecue Bible” by Steven Raichlen

John Griffin contributed to this article.

An unpeeled celeriac, also known as a celery root.

A recent recipe that called for celeriac, also known as celery root, prompted a question from a reader: What do you do with it?

Start by cutting off the bottom.

It’s very simple, and it’s a tasty alternative to potatoes, especially if you are looking to cut back on carbohydrates in your diet. The root has between 7 and 9 grams of carbs per cup, depending on which nutritional guide you pay attention to.

It’s also low in calories and a good source of both vitamin C and phosphorus, according to nutritiondata.self.com. Magnesium, manganese and potassium are other pluses you get from this root vegetable.

Let’s start at the supermarket, where the roots are usually stores in the produce section near other exotics. At my H-E-B, it can generally be found near the daikon, when it’s available, and the bok choy.

Peel off the sides, as you would a pineapple.

Choose one that is hard. It could be gnarled or knobby. Some stores sell them in various sizes and by the pound; others offer larger versions that given a per-root price.

You don’t need to wash it. Just set it on its side and cut the bottom off of it.

Then set the cut side down on your board and proceed to peel it with a sharp knife the way you would a pineapple until all sides are cleaned.

Then you can cut it into slices and finally into cubes. Or you can cut it into larger chunks in order to grate it. Slice into wedges and prepare it as you would steak fries. Use a mandolin and cut thin slices to be fried up as chips.

That’s about all it takes.

Then, it’s time to start cooking.

You can use celeriac in this parsley soup. Or try this recipe for celeriac gratin from Martha Stewart that bubbles up with flavor from two cheeses, cream, nutmeg and Dijon mustard in addition to the celeriac.

Martha Stewart’s Celeriac Gratin

Unsalted butter, for the dish
4 shallots, thinly sliced
3 medium bulbs celeriac
2 sprigs fresh thyme
1 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
Freshly grated nutmeg, to taste
Salt, to taste
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
3/4 cup freshly grated Gruyere cheese
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

You can cut celeriac in different ways, depending on how you're going to use it.

Butter a 1 1/2-quart gratin dish. Scatter shallots over bottom of dish. Peel celeriac and cut into 1/4-inch slices, and then julienne. Arrange evenly in gratin dish. Sprinkle thyme leaves over celeriac.

In a small bowl, whisk together cream, mustard, nutmeg, and salt and pepper. Pour over celeriac, and sprinkle with cheeses. Cover with foil, and bake for 20 minutes.

Remove foil, and continue baking until top is brown and bubbly and cream is thickened and reduced, about 20 more minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes, and serve.

Makes 4-6 servings.

From Martha Stewart/Martha Stewart Living

By Cecil Flentge

So, you have decided to cook a turkey.  It doesn’t matter if this is the  “coming of age”  step where you show your friends you can do things like big kids.  It doesn’t matter if it is just the bait to get your scattered relatives to gather once a year.  You have made the decision, so now it’s time to plan the meal.

There are many ephemeral articles that will give you ideas for decoration, invitation, or theme.  There are many recipes listed to stir your imagination.  But here I am just offering tips you can use to slice your Thanksgiving turkey.

1. Let the big bird rest!  This gives it a chance to let the juices inside settle so they stay in the bird (making it moist) and not pouring out all over the counter.

2. While it is resting, move it into a shallow baking pan.  You know, it has a lip but isn’t more than 1 inch deep.  Then, when you slice, any juices that do drip can be poured over the breast slices or added to the huge cauldron of gravy!

3. Pick up your toaster and cut the turkey.   No!  You wouldn’t use a toaster to cut a turkey.  So don’t use a big chef’s knife; use a thin-long-sharp carving knife!  Yeah, that knife you never use because you can’t chop with it and it is way too long for paring an apple.  Now is the time!  When the blade is sharp and only about an inch wide, you get less “drag” as you slice.  Now is the time to get your knives sharpened before Thanksgiving.

4.  Grasp the end of the drumstick and slice the skin that attaches it to the main body.   Then you can lean the leg and thigh away from the breast.  This will show you where the thigh joins the turkey.  Cut through the joint and remove the hindquarter from the bird. Repeat on the other side of the bird.  Separate the thigh and drumstick at the joint.

5. Then cut along the bones and slide the meat off the leg and thigh, then slice.

6.  Insert a fork in the wing to steady the turkey.  If the wing is too loose, just cut it off at the joint.  Make a long horizontal cut above wing joint through to the body frame.

7. Measure in 1/2 inch and slice down the breast.  Slice straight down with an even stroke. When knife reaches the cut above the wing joint, the slice should fall free on its own.  Continue to slice breast meat easily by starting the cut at a higher point each time.

8. Relax.  If all goes well, great!  If it doesn’t, you have something to talk about!

Peppers and onions grill with skirt steak for fajitas.

Fajitas originated in Texas, and as such we should have the last word on how to make them. For instance, if we were to make the World’s Biggest Fajita Taco, I’d suggest to the Guinness Book people that genuine South Texans be consulted about how fajitas are made (beef fajitas are made with skirt steak) and when they are cut (after the steaks are grilled).

But, as for the marinade, it seems just about any ol’ ingredient will do.  Soy sauce and Worcestershire Sauce seem to crop up in recipes created by real Texans, including respected cooks and restaurateurs. Glancing through several sources recently, I found some recipes called for  herbs, such as basil, or spices, such as cumin. Some have garlic, some don’t.

The first time I made fajitas, according to the recipe I was using, they were doused in a ton of Worcestershire Sauce. I’d had to  special order the skirt steak to be shipped up from Phoenix, as no stores in Prescott, Ariz., as yet, were carrying this inexpensive cut back in the mid-1980s. I had to order a 40-pound box, and they cost, maybe, $1.29 a pound.

Forty pounds of skirt steak serves quite a few people, so it was a big party. My guests seemed to like this dish, unfamiliar to them at the time. But I thought my fajitas tasted awful. The second time I had them was at a restaurant in Flagstaff, Ariz. These, too, were laced with Worcestershire, and I thought, OK, I guess I just don’t like fajitas.

Then, I visited my husband-to-be in San Antonio. He, as part of the his ploy to lure me permanently to the Alamo City, took me directly to the old Rosario’s.  If either Worcestershire sauce or soy sauce was in the marinade, it wasn’t the main ingredient. I was hooked.

The upshot of all this is: San Antonio needs to have a fajita cook-off. I’d be interested to see how many cooks used basil in their marinade.

Recipe for SavorSA Fajitas

We like to keep it simple; plenty of salt and pepper, citrus and garlic.  I have tried the marinade below using tenderizer, sprinkled on before grilling, or not using tenderizer at all. It didn’t seem to make a difference.

Fajitas from La Margarita cooking at Fiesta Arts Fair

SavorSA Beef Fajitas

2 large garlic cloves, peeled
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup fresh lime juice
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
1 cup water
Salt, to taste
Pepper, to taste
1 medium white onion, peeled, cut into eighths
1 green bell pepper, trimmed and quartered
1 dozen warm flour tortillas

Suggested garnishes: Guacamole (see recipe link below), pico de gallo and/or your favorite salsa

In a long, flat dish or pan with sides, just big enough to lay steaks flat in one layer, mash the garlic cloves with a fork and spread around the surface of the dish. Pour in vegetable oil, lime juice, cayenne pepper and optional orange juice. Add water and mix it all together well. Lay the steaks in the pan to soak up some of the marinade, then turn them over. Cover with plastic wrap and let marinate at least an hour, turning once. If you want to marinate them for longer, put the meat in the refrigerator. When you are ready to grill, take the steaks out and keep at room temperature for 15 minutes or so before cooking. Drain the marinade off steaks and discard it.

Prepare medium-hot charcoal or gas grill. Season steaks with salt and pepper. Put them on the grill and cook for 15 minutes or so on each side.  When the steaks are done, take them off the grill and put on a warm platter and cover with foil. Let them rest for 5-10 minutes.

In a pan on the stove, put in two tablespoons of oil and add the sliced onions and peppers. Fry/sauté them until they are just cooked, so the peppers are still a pretty, fresh green color. Or, you can lightly oil them and put them on the grill about 10 minutes before the steaks are done and grill them that way.

When you have the tortillas warm and all the optional sides ready, take the steaks from the platter and slice them with a sharp knife on a cutting board, against the grain. Put them back in the platter so they soak up a little of the juice. They should be not too thin, not too thick: about a quarter- to a half-inch thick. Let people build their own tacos and garnish them with onions, peppers and other options.

Makes 4 to 6 servings.

From SavorSA

Bonnie’s Guacamole

Making flan is easy once you get the knack of it.

When a friend from church announced that she was being deployed to Afghanistan, it was time for a dinner to send her off in style. What would Erica want for her last meal with us?

Boil the syrup until it turns a deep amber.

Tex-Mex, she said. And Tex-Mex she got.

Everyone in the group pitched in with a lengthy array of delicious dishes from beef enchiladas and tacos to fresh guacamole and borracho beans. I decided I would make flan, simply because I had never made it before.

I had certainly eaten enough of this caramel-topped custard in my years, but making it was another matter. I experienced a little trepidation about making it, though, because I’ve failed at making caramel and melted sugar candies in the past. It was time to try it again, if only for Erica’s sake.

The first thing I had to do was find a recipe. I turned to the original “Joy of Cooking” and found one of the oddest recipes for flan I’ve ever seen. The dish in the book is actually called Custard Tarts or Flan with Fruit, and the recipe reads: “Fill Prebaked Tart Shells … with: 1/2-inch layer of Baked Custard. Top the custard with: Strawberries or other berries, cooked, drained apples, drained cherries, peaches, bananas, pineapple or coconut.”

Not a help. And certainly not the flan I remembered that was an egg-rich custard topped with a silky caramel that ran down the sides and flooded the plate.

I thumbed through a number of other cookbooks that were unfortunately no help. “Make a caramel …” would be the full extent of directions offered. Mexican chef Rick Bayless was no help. His new cookbook, “Fiesta at Rick’s,” features a flan recipe, yet it is far from traditional. Instead of caramel, the coffee-flavored “Café de Olla” Flan calls for pre-

Spread the caramel quickly before it solidifies.

made cajeta. Bayless’ introduction offered no comfort, either: “This recipe is an unorthodox approach to flan, since the caramelized sugar — a kitchen terrorist if ever I have seen one — is replaced by store-bought cajeta (goat milk caramel) and the custards are baked in flexible silicone muffin molds for easy removal.”

“A kitchen terrorist”? Oy, what had I gotten myself into?

So, I pulled out the 1997 edition of “The Joy of Cooking.” If you are a cookbook foodie, you know this is the much-maligned edition of the otherwise beloved cookbook, the version that was deemed too hoity-toity for the general populace. Yet the description of how to make a traditional flan, or crème caramel, as the French call it, was written in plain English.

To make the caramel, you had to pay attention. Watch the pot of water and sugar boil, and you’ll do fine, the authors seemed to be saying. So, I gave it a shot. I made sure I had all my ramekins ready and handy before I filled a small saucepan with 3/4 cup sugar and topped it with 1/4 cup water. I didn’t stir the pot but swirled it as it cooked over medium heat. Eventually, the mixture cleared, just as the book said it would.

So far so good. I raised the temperature and brought the mixture to a boil, then covered it for what seemed like an eternal 2 minutes. Any moment, the syrup would boil over, I feared, because the lid was making an angry racket. Then I uncovered it and continued to watch it boil. And watch it and watch it. I swirled it regularly to make the time pass. After a few minutes, the mixture started to get somewhat darker. No matter how long you’ve been watching the syrup, do not let your attention wander at this point. Watch it closely as it gets darker and darker in a matter of seconds. When it’s the color of a fine bourbon, it’s time to remove it from the heat.

Some of the egg custard has spilled into the water bath, but it doesn't matter.

I was so excited to see the syrup turn dark that I almost let it go a little longer on the heat than it should. Get it too dark and you’ll burn the sugar and the caramel will solidify in the bottom of your pan.

Be ready to work quickly at this point. Grab a ramekin and swirl a little in the bottom and slightly up the sides. The book said to get it halfway up the sides, but I wasn’t fast enough for that. The caramel had solidified in seconds, and I had more dishes to coat. So, I divided the lot equally among the dishes and let them set.

At this point, it’s time to make the egg custard, which seems easy in comparison. Yet it is also easy to mess up, if you are not careful. Don’t let your milk get so hot that it cooks the eggs before you bake them in the oven. Use one hand to pour the milk into the egg mixture slowly while whisking constantly with the other. Divide the egg mixture among the caramel-lined ramekins, then place the dishes into a large pan and fill halfway with boiling water. Place the pan carefully in the oven to bake.

I somehow jostled the tray as I was sliding it into the oven and the egg mixture spilled over the sides. It baked to the outside of the ramekins, but it was no great problem, because your guests won’t see the ramekins anyway.

The stress of making the caramel had made me somewhat anxious. My thought was, is all this worth it? Do I really need to do all that?

Though the flans look great just out of the oven, let them chill before eating.

After 50 minutes or so, the custards looked good enough to eat. But I couldn’t. The recipe said to let them chill first.

Plus, my work wasn’t done. I had another recipe to make because of how many would be at the dinner. For the second batch, I decided to try the Orange and Tequila Flan from “The Golden Book of Desserts.” The description of how to make the caramel was a little too basic, so I used the knowledge I had gained from the first recipe and put it to work.

This time there were no problems, no kitchen terrors. The procedure went flawlessly, even though the recipe was a little more involved. Having made the first batch, the second seemed positively easy.

Inverting the flans proved to be simple, too. Thanks to the help of a friend, a knife and a pot of almost boiling water, each serving came out beautifully with that caramel bath covering each plate.

Best of all, Erica seemed to enjoy it. I’ll have to make it again when she comes back in six months. God keep her safe.

Yerba mate

Add yerba mate to the growing list of superfoods – a lineup that includes the likes of açai, mangosteen and goji berries – that are said to promote health through a hyper-abundance of vitamins, minerals and other beneficial elements.

Yet, what is yerba mate? Where do you get it? And what do you do with it?

Simply put, yerba mate is a tea-like drink made from the dried leaves of a tree in the holly family (flex paraguariensis) that grows in South America.

Drinking it is said to offer focus and energy with a scant trace of caffeine. It’s also linked to greater strength and endurance, better sleep patterns, reduced cholesterol and blood pressure, and a healthier immune system. Studies say it can repair damaged gastrointestinal tissues, increase cardiac efficiency and stimulate activity among white blood cells.

As if that weren’t enough, it is also been shown to break down fat in the body, making it a natural diet aid, while increasing the libido.

I can already sense most of you doubting almost everything you’ve just read.

Consider this information, from an article by Dr. Daniel Mowrey: “The tea was introduced to colonizing and modern civilizations by the primitive Guarani Indians of Paraguay and Argentina and has seemingly always been the most common ingredient in household cures of the Guarani,” he writes. “They use it to boost immunity, cleanse and detoxify the blood, tone the nervous system, restore youthful hair color, retard aging, combat fatigue, stimulate the mind, control the appetite, reduce the effects of debilitating disease, reduce stress and eliminate insomnia.”

Luciano Ciorciari pours yerba mate into a mate.

I was as doubtful as the next person. Then I started brewing my own, and I can at least attest to the improved energy and focus that yerba mate provides – and without being too wired to sleep at night.

I was introduced to the drink by Luciano Ciorciari, former general manager of Pesca on the River, now Ostra, and Brasserie Pavil. Luciano, as he’s known to most, is now running an online food business, www.GauchoGourmet.com, which specializes in yerba mate among a number of gourmet items.

In his San Antonio warehouse on North Loop 1604, he stocks more than two dozen varieties, from organic to herbal-infused mixtures. You can also buy them in different forms, from bags of ground leaves to tea bags. “You can do it in a French press, if you like,” he says.

But yerba mate isn’t for drinking the way people gulp down coffee or tea.

Drinking it is more of cultural touchstone for many, Luciano says. In his home country of Argentina as well as Paraguay, Chile, Bolivia, Peru and Brazil, it is a part of daily life, and there’s a ritual to making and sipping it, he says: “It’s very symbolic.”

His mother remembers being awakened with it when she was a child. And to this day, she shares yerba mate with her grandchild every Sunday afternoon when the family gathers.

The process may also seem a little intimidating to the newcomer, but Luciano will gladly demonstrate it for anyone interested. (For a video demonstration, click here.)

GauchoGourmet.com sells bombillas and mates for drinking yerba mate.

If you want to drink yerba mate in the traditional manner, which is recommended to get the full effect, you will need to get two items in addition to the leaves:

• The mate – This is the gourd from which the yerba mate is sipped
• The bombilla – This is the straw-like sipper through which you drink the infusion.

(A single unit that’s like a thermos with built-in compartments for the leaves and hot water as well as the bombilla is available. It’s called a matermo, and it allows you to take your yerba mate on the road with you.)

To get started, you need to cure the gourd. To do this, fill it with the dried leaves and hot water and let it set for a day, he says. Then scrape out the leaves and repeat the process. After two days, any leftover membranes on the inside of the gourd should have loosened and come out with the scraping. Your mate is now ready for use. (You can also buy cured mates, if you like. Or you can just start drinking from the gourd and scraping out the sides after the first two uses, he says.)

Now that you’re ready, fill the gourd at least tw0-thirds of the way full of yerba mate, he says. Cover the gourd with the flat of your hand and invert it, shaking for a few seconds. Set it upright and brush off any dust that may be on your palm. This removes some of the smaller particles from the yerba mate that may clog your bombilla.

Place a finger over the sipping end of the bombilla, then insert the filter end into the gourd at an angle, making sure it touches the bottom.

Bring your water almost to a boil before pouring it over the dried leaves, Luciano says. Fill it until it bubbles on top and give it a minute to allow for steeping. “Yerba mate brews from the bottom up,” he says.

Pour hot, not boiling, water, over the yerba mate.

If the bombilla is stopped up, don’t remove it from the mate. Simply tap the mate firmly on a table or flat surface a couple of times and that should loosen things up.

There is generally only one mate for a whole gathering. The host, or cebador, generally takes the first sip, he says, so that any small particles that make get sucked into the bombilla are removed. The gourd is then passed around to the rest of the gathering, so that all may share a sip.

When the gourd is empty, it is passed back to the cebador, who refills it and starts the process over again.

That may not appeal to some germaphobes in the States, but it’s not a problem in South America, Luciano says. “I think this is the best meaning of trust and acceptance,” he says. “It says, ‘I trust you. I welcome you. I accept you.’ ”

The flavor of the yerba mate in its most natural form is grassy, with notes of hay and bark. Like regular tea, it may be a bit too aggressive for some. That’s why sweetened versions and herbal-infused combinations have developed as the market has increased.

Luciano’s customers include many who were introduced to yerba mate while visiting South America. Some have told him that they weren’t too enamored with the flavor when they first tasted it, but they quickly got hooked on it and are glad to find it available in the States.

“My mother says it’s company, because you’re drinking it all day long,” Luciano says. “You’ve always got it with you.”

GauchoGourmet.com offers free delivery in the San Antonio area for orders of more than $50. Orders under $50 can be picked up at the company’s warehouse on North Loop 1604 near Stone Oak Parkway at a pre-arranged time.

Ginger ale

I have never wanted to make my own soda. I don’t drink sweet fizzy things like colas, Dr Pepper or Big Red. Only on occasion will you find me with a ginger ale, and it’s usually mixed with Pimm’s No. 1, a bitter herbal liquor that, depending on what you read, may or may not be descended from gin.

Yet when a group of friends decided to have a Caribbean-themed dinner party, I announced that I would make my own ginger ale.

I consulted a number of recipes and finally decided to try one from David B. Frankhauser, a professor of biology and chemistry at U.C. Clermont College in Batavia, Ohio. It wasn’t the recipe itself that made me want to try this particular variation, which was fairly similar to all of the others I found. What I liked was the author’s sensible approach to bottling the brew.

Grate fresh ginger and mix it with lemon juice.

“Many have asked about bottling ginger ale in glass bottles,” Frankhauser writes. “I do not recommend it because ginger ale is a very aggressive fermenter, producing high pressure fairly rapidly. Plastic bottles can be felt to judge pressure. Glass cannot. Tardy refrigeration can lead to explosions. Exploding plastic bottles are messy. Exploding glass bottles are dangerous.”

So, plastic it was. I don’t need any explosions, glass or plastic, in my house.

I didn’t have the recommended 2-liter bottle on hand, so I used two 1-liter bottles. I made sure both were rinsed properly. I used a funnel to put sugar and yeast in the bottom. I then used a microplane grater to get a fine, juicy grating of ginger, which I mixed with lemon juice. I used a lot of that slurry went down the funnel, followed by tap water. I sealed the bottles and shook them slowly until the sugar was dissolved.

Use a funnel to insert the ingredients.

Then I let the bottles rest. First, they sat out on the counter for two days, then one day in the refrigerator.

That’s all there was to it.

The end result was a bit stronger than ginger ale. There was a slight bit of pulp at the bottom of the bottle, but that was a plus in that the fibrous gratings packed extra flavor.

But was it as good as it could have been? Naturally, I had to try another batch. I cut the sugar in half and I used even more ginger. This time, I also used lime juice, instead of lemon. In one of the four bottles I made, I added mint, which would make it perfect for mixing with vodka for a Moscow Mule. To another, I added basil, just to see what the flavor would be like.

All of the various bottles had a stronger flavor, but the yeast needed that extra sugar in order to keep its fizz for longer than a few minutes.

The infusions simply didn’t work. Not only did you have to filter the basil or mint out of the ginger ale, the flavor just wasn’t as good as using fresh in your drink.

For the third batch, I upped the sugar slightly and tripled the amount of ginger. I also tried raw sugar (which made the drink completely raw, for all you raw food fanciers); it also made the drink a little darker in color, which was just fine with me. The result was still not as carbonated as the first batch, but the flavor was just where I wanted it to be, so this is the recipe I will continue to use.

I would suggest opening each bottle over the sink. Though there have been no explosions yet, one bottle has bubbled over and several others have needed to be opened slowly because they have threatened to do the same.

Shake the mix until the sugar dissolves.

Now that I’ve made ginger ale, I may expand the repertoire. Root beer, maybe, or bitter lemon soda. Some of what I have in mind are mixers for cocktails, including my favorite, the Pimm’s Cup. I discovered this drink a couple of years ago on a trip to New Orleans, where it reigns as one of the city’s favorites. One sip of its bittersweet mix of ginger beer, bitter lemon soda and herbal Pimm’s was an elixir, a perfect antidote to the hot, sticky weather. I’ve been drinking them ever since. And they’re even better now that the ginger ale burns with full flavor.

When you make a basic Hollandaise, but add the flavors of fresh tarragon, shallot, tarragon vinegar, a pinch of black pepper and maybe even a bit of spicy cayenne pepper, the sauce turns from rich-but-tame to rich-but- piquant.

Béarnaise sauce is often used as a topping for filet mignon or grilled lamb. But, it’s also delicious and decadent  on top of poached eggs. Use in place of Hollandaise for eggs Benedict, for instance. Or, put it on poached or roasted salmon or sliced duck breast.

The recipe that follows is adapted from French chef Anne Willan’s recipe for Hollandaise sauce, in her book  “Cook it Right” (Reader’s Digest, $29.95).

Béarnaise Sauce

1 cup butter (2 sticks)
1/2 cup tarragon vinegar or white wine vinegar (or mixture of the two)
1 tablespoon fresh chopped tarragon plus 1 teaspoon, divided use
2 teaspoons minced fresh shallot
4 egg yolks
Pinch salt
Pinch black pepper
Juice of half a lemon
Pinch red (cayenne) pepper, if desired

Put butter in a small, heavy-bottomed pan to melt on the stove slowly. Skim off the white foam that collects on top and discard.

In another small pan put the tarragon vinegar, 1 tablespoon of the fresh chopped tarragon and the shallot. Turn the heat on medium-low and let the liquid reduce by about half. Strain this mixture, reserving 4 tablespoons of the seasoned vinegar. If you don’t have 4 tablespoons of liquid, add some water to it.

Set the melted, clarified butter off to the side of the stove and put a ladle into it. Next to the butter, on the counter, put a thick dishtowel.

Put a pan of water on the stove and bring to a simmer.

In a steel bowl that will fit just a little ways down into the pot of water, whisk together the 4 egg yolks with the 4 tablespoons of the tarragon vinegar liquid until the eggs are frothy and light in color. Now, put the bowl over the simmering water in the pot, and whisk vigorously to form a mousse that is creamy and thick enough to hold a ribbon train for 3 seconds.  Just 3-4 minutes or so, no more.  Don’t let the bottom of the bowl touch the hot water, or the eggs will cook too quickly.

When the eggs are thick, but not curdling, take the bowl off the water bath and put it on the dishtowel to steady it while you whisk in the butter. Pour the butter in with the ladle, slowly, a little at a time, whisking the sauce as you go. When the sauce is incorporated into the eggs, add the lemon juice along with the rest of the chopped fresh chopped tarragon and pinch of cayenne, if you wish, and whisk some more.

Set aside in a warm place for a few minutes, but use as soon as you can.

Makes 1 1/2 cups sauce.

Adapted from Anne Willan, “Cook it Right”

A truism about cooking the main meat for a holiday dinner is that roasts are easy.

They are easy in the sense that you set the oven at the correct temperature, season the roast (or turkey or goose),  then put it into the oven and forget about it for a couple of hours while you do other things.

Roasts only cause problems if the cook hasn’t thought through the preparation. Here are a few pointers:

• It would be very good if you had a meat thermometer and know exactly what your target temperature is.
• Remember that when you take the roast out over the oven it will continue to cook as it slowly loses heat. So, if you want a pork roast at, say, 165 degrees, take it out at 160, or a little lower.
• When you take the roast out of the oven, it would be excellent if you’ve thought ahead and have a good, big open space on the stove or counter top on which to put the hot pan.
• If you have overcooked the roast, there’s no going back, so try to err on the side of undercooking — at least you can cut into the meat and see if it’s done, and put it back in the oven if it is not. But, if you have a trusty thermometer and use it correctly, you shouldn’t have this problem.
• Give the meat a chance to “rest” after the roasting, at least 15 minutes, before cutting. If you don’t, the meat juices don’t have a chance to reabsorb into the roast. That means the meat won’t be as uniformly juicy as it might have been.
• Be sure you have a sharp knife to carve the roast, preferably on a cutting board with a groove around the edges to catch juices. You don’t want these running onto the floor; you do want these in your gravy.