The Derby

This was a calm weekend. The highlight was the Kentucky Derby party held by The Queen and Ms. JLJ. At first I was hesitant to go due to its early start time (5:30PM), the long week we had just put behind us, and likelihood I would simply fall asleep at a party if I attended after doing yoga.

Putting all my concerns and worries aside, we had a great time. There were only a handful of guests, the conversation spanned countless number of topics, and the food and drink were plentiful. It was just my kind of party.

The race itself lasted under a minute. TV coverage was mostly of the partying leading up to and following the race. The hats! The copious amounts of alcohol! All the regalia was shadowed by the poor weather, muddy track, and copious amounts of drinking we were doing as well. This was my first exposure to pre-mixed mint juleps. Delivered in a bottle very similar to the Jim Bean large format but wrapped in garb commemorating the 135th Derby, the blend of bourbon and mint was just perfect. I'm not a bourbon drinker. Hold a Manhattan under my nose and my face will scrunch up in disgust. My my how a little sugar and mint changed my mind.

One of the hosts relayed the story of his quest to find said mix. Apparently Episcopalia (the area around the Cathedral) had some pent up thirst and cleaned out all liquor stores of the sweet nectar of the Derby. One store owner retold how a customer came in and bought 18 bottles in one stop. Our meager share expired shortly after the race. That's when I took charge and asked the host for a pan, water, sugar, and any and all remaining mint leaves to whip up a simple mint-flavored sugar syrup. Following the same method as for mojitos, I crushed the mint in a small bowl using white sugar to break up the leaves and release their oil. Bringing the crushed leaves and sugar to a simmer over medium heat on the stove released the remaining flavor. In the meantime we set up a pitcher with a fifth of JB, a splash of soda water, and plenty of ice to cool the warm syrup. The result was just as good if not better than the mix! I was certainly proud of myself.

Having consumed more than my share of juleps, I couldn't stop nibbling on my other contribution to the party. Early Saturday morning I revisited my love-hate relationship with Pastafrola. Crack of my childhood, the shortbread dough is difficult to work with, gets soft far too quickly, but at least can be patched up in the container. Using my last can of Membrillo (quince paste) brought up from Argentina and lots of cursing to push, pull, stretch, and dab the dough I put together quite a beautiful tart:

 It's sweet, but not too sweet. Much like figs, quince have a unique somewhat smokey/foreign flavor that makes my mouth water. The dough was crispy but not dry, adding its own crumbly texture to the smoothness of the filling. Can you tell I'm salivating already?

I think I've found a new way to spend Saturday mornings while the Mex swims. Instead of running around the condo doing chores or ironing, I should turn to baking. Not only was I calm, relaxed, and absolutely giddy with myself when I pulled the tart out of the oven, I was even happier once I'd eaten about a quarter of it :)