Garlic Herb Salt

Infusion is, without question, one of my most favorite ways of imparting extra umph and scrumptious goodness to the foods and drinks I love.  From coffee, to compound butter, to vinaigrettes, and beyond, it's found its way into my repertoire on more than a few occasions.  No coincidences there.

Over the weekend, I was inspired to combine some of my favorite herbs (thyme, rosemary and parsley) with several cloves of fresh garlic to create a beautiful and exceptionally delicious garlic herb salt.  And, if you're remotely like me, then you might be tempted to salivate slightly at just the thought of all the ways this treasure will transform your dishes and enhance your cooking regimen. 

The hand-chopped technique, along with the overnight air-drying, yielded the perfect coarse, crumbly texture.  All stored away, with a little reserved for gifting, it's a welcomed gourmet addition to my pantry--and it should be in yours, too.

Happy Eating!

Garlic Herb Salt
Recipe courtesy of Saveur

Ingredients:
6 cloves garlic
½ cup kosher salt
1 cup mixed fresh herbs

Method:
Crush garlic and coarsely chop with half of salt to form a chunky paste. Slowly add herbs and remaining salt and continue to chop into a fine paste. Spread on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and let sit uncovered overnight or up to 24 hours until dry and crumbly.  Store in an airtight glass jar up to 1 month.
 

Toast With This!: Spiced Iced Coffee

 

Now that Summer has officially arrived, I'm opting for cooler drinks for my sipping pleasure.  Most recently, I've taken to ordering the iced versions of my favorite coffee and Chai tea latte drinks at local coffee shops.  In fact, this became a daily ritual on my recent beach vacation.  

Back home and settled in (and with the Summer heat in full blast), I want to continue my indulgence without a planned outing to the coffee shop.  I want delicious iced coffee from my kitchen.  So, I consulted my reliable spice stash and came up with a variant of the Chai flavors I love (including cinnamon, cloves and star anise), for infusing simple syrup.  The spiced simple syrup serves as the oh-so-good sweetener to my cold, smooth, balanced (and acidity-free tasting) coffee concentrate.  Together, with a splash of cream or milk for those who do, they create a refreshing and frankly irresistible iced coffee drink that will fill my Summer (and beyond) with many rounds of decadent sipping.  

Perfect for breakfast, brunch, or an anytime indulgence, it's definitely toast worthy, and once you make it, I'm certain you'll agree.

Happy Eating (and Sipping)!

Spiced Iced Coffee 
In this recipe, I replaced my previous method of chilling brewed coffee and opted to steep the coffee grinds in water to create a robust coffee concentrate.  It was worth the extra time, and I'll never go back. 

Spiced Simple Syrup
Ingredients:
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup water
2 cinnamon sticks
2 star anise
4 whole cloves

Method:
Heat sugar and water in a small saucepan.  Once the sugar has dissolved, add cinnamon, star anise and cloves.  Remove from the heat and steep for at least an hour (or longer, for a stronger flavor).  Strain syrup and store in an air-tight container in the refrigerator.  

Coffee Concentrate
Ingredients:
8 oz. ground coffee
4 qts. cold water
Cheese cloth (optional, but recommended)

Add coffee to a large container and pour in water.  Stir together and steep overnight at room temperature.  Drain coffee through a mesh strainer lined with cheese cloth or paper towels.  Refrigerate coffee and allow to chill.
To prepare your iced coffee drink, fill a glass with ice, pour in the desired amount of chilled coffee and add in milk or cream, if using.  Sweeten to taste with the simple syrup and enjoy!  
{Cook's Note: Coffee concentrate and simple syrup can be stored for up to 3 weeks refrigerated in air-tight containers.}


 


 
 

Foodie Vocabulary: Flavor Infusion

One of my personal joys in cooking is discovering a technique that totally elevates food and drink, giving big pay-off with minimal effort.  Enter: Infusion.  

The technique of infusing flavor into food is exciting to me--allowing for the building and layering of flavors that make the end results nothing short of wonderful.  From garlic oil to tarragon vinegar to cinnamon infused milk to vanilla cream to lemon syrup to seafood broth--all examples of flavor infusions--there's seemingly no end to the myriad ingredients that lend themselves to flavor enhancements through 

infusion.  Most often the result will be a subtle, yet even, flavor nuance, however you can increase the flavor intensity by allowing your ingredients to steep and immerse longer.  The longer the time of infusion, the stronger the flavor yield.  

To get you going on a flavor infusion journey of your own, I invite you try some of DMRFF's favorite "infused" recipes!  Enjoy--and let me know how you like to infuse added flavor into your dishes.

Mulled Cider 

Basil Lemonade 

Mussels in White Wine 

Spiced Milk Tea   

Happy Eating!

Image Source