The Cobbler Cocktail: Vodka with Grapes Macerated in Monastery Herbal Liqueur & Pandan Simple Syrup for the International Incident Cobbler Party

You may be wondering what the heck I'm doing posting a cocktail for the September International Incident Party - hosted as always by our lovely foundress, Penny aka Jeroxie - when the theme is cobbler. Have I lost my mind? Is this an alcoholic's coded cry for help? Is there nothing I won't do to get out of making dessert?

Well, yes, no, and yes, but that's beside the point. You see, I did a little cobbler research and discovered that while it can certainly be a fruity dessert wth a crumbly topping ("pie for the unmotivated,"  stated one definition) there is an older and more arcane definition: An iced drink made with wine, sherry, sugar, and lemon. Bingo!

So I decided to combine the fruit element with the wine element and incorporate macerated grapes into my cocktail, which I have dubbed "The Cobbler." Drink enough of it and its name changes to "The Bobbler."

Chicken & Pork Posole with Avocado, Radish, Cilantro & Lime for the International Incident Mexican Breakfast Party

Welcome to this month's  International Incident Party, hosted as ever by our plucky foundress, Penny aka Jeroxie.  Having recently posted machacado con huevos, or Mexican dried beef with egg, I felt a bit silly when I found out that the August theme is Mexican breakfast!  If only I had remembered, I would have saved that post, as that dish is one of my new favorite things. But no matter: That's why they call these things challenges, after all.

Indo-Chinese Sichuan Fusion: Spicy Mapo Paneer for the International Incident Sichuan Party, Plus a Dragon's Hollow Wine Giveaway!

I am a bit late to this month's Incident Party, as I honestly thought it wasn't happening. You see, our fearless foundress and hostess Penny aka Jeroxie recently lost her dad. My mom died in 2006, and I unfortunately know a thing or two about the grieving process: It's long, exhausting, unpredictable, and  utterly nauseating.

But then I found out the Incident gang was going ahead and posting in support of Penny, and I'm all for that. Watching someone grieve is a helpless feeling, because there is nothing at all you can do. That said, it's important to show your support, so if you have a moment please go stop by Penny's blog, check out her tribute to her father,  and give her some love. I know she will appreciate it. Penny - this post is for you.

Before I get to my dish, I've got a really cool giveaway at the end of this post. It's a bottle of Dragon's Hollow Chinese wine. As far as I know, it's the only fine wine produced in China - but it makes sense, as it's on the same parallel as Napa and Bordeaux. I met David Henderson, the company's founder,  at the Fancy Food Show, and after tasting his delicious wine (at 10 am!) I set this giveaway up. More 2 year blogoversary festivities! As always - you have to get to the end of this post to see the goods.

Goat Cheese Mousse, Sour Cherry & Pistaschio Terrine: A Tragedy in Three Layers for the International Incident Terrine Party

 

What's in a name? As it turns out, absolutely everything. 

If, for example, this were the International Incident Spreads Party, or the Tortes Party - or even the Cheese Party - what I have made here would be a modest success. The bottom layer is a goat and cream cheese mousse, lightly flavored with fresh cherry juice. On the top perches a layer of goat cheese and fromage blanc mousse, dotted with fresh chopped basil. There is a scrumptious sour cherry spread from Croatia's Dalmatian Coast sandwiching the two layers together, and the whole lot is topped with crumbled pistachio. Tastes good, and with a bit of set design it even looks sort of pretty. But nonetheless, this wiggly loaf is a failure.

Crab Imperial on the Half Shell with a Blue Cheese & Bacon Wedge Salad for the International Incident Nostalgia Party

I am sure that many of my fellow International Incident Nostalgia Party attendees - hosted as ever by the lovely and talented Penny aka Jeroxie - will share with us their fond memories of family recipes and dishes their their mothers, grandmothers, aunts, uncles, or fathers made and lovingly shared with them,  forever imprinting their little kid brains with Important Culinary Associations and Warm Family Feelings. Alas, as I have documented here before, I have no such memories. I did not stand at my mother's knee and watch in awe while she made a special cake or pastry or pasta dish - other than beans and cornbread, no family recipes were passed down to me, if indeed any ever existed in the first place.

Savory Caprese Sundae with Ciliegine di Mozzarella, Tomato Spheres, Powderized Olive Oil and Basil Dust for the International Incident Sundae Party

Confession: I haven't had a sundae since I was about 8 years old. It was at a Friendly's, right down from the Orange Julius and the Earring Tree, in a gross mall in the town where I grew up. It was vanilla, chocolate, and peanut butter ice cream loaded with pounds of sticky, messy sauce and topped with about a pound of Reese's Pieces.  I maybe got 1/3 of the way through it all, and promptly got sick. 

So when I found out that this month's International Incident Party - hosted as always by the lovely and talented Penny aka Jeroxie of Addictive and Consuming - had a sundaes theme, I wasn't exactly beset with great ideas. Not, that is, until I got to thinking about how I've been wanting to try my hand at modernist cuisine. (Or, if you prefer,  "molecular gastronomy," though I am learning that this is a somewhat contested/contentious  term.)

Savory Salmon Mousse Eclair "Hot Dogs" for the International Incident Hot Dogs Party

Welcome to the very first International Incident Party of the year, hosted as always by the effervescent and lovely Penny aka Jeroxie. But before I talk about what I've brought to the party, I'd like to direct you to her post about the Queensland floods. Many of you reading this may have friends or family affected by the tragedy; for those of us in North America this may bring back memories of Hurricane Katrina and the  ensuing devastation to the Gulf Coast. If you'd like to help, Penny's post outlines some things of the things that you can do - no matter where in the world you are. So please make sure to check it out.

And now, on to my dish. You may be wondering what savory eclairs and salmon mousse have to do with hot dogs.  But, when you break it down, what is a hot dog, really? It's simply ground meat with seasonings on a tube-shaped bun. And that is precisely what we have here! Plus, a hot dog is such a summery food, and I think my interpretation brings an element of picnic to what is usually a backyard barbecue kind of dish.

Homemade Pretzels with Black Lava Salt: International Incident Salt Party

Pretty mustards all in a row: Zwiebel (onion), horseradish, & Dijon

 Wars have been fought over it. People have been killed for it. In the wrong hands it can be underused, overused, or  downright abused. It is the single most important seasoning in the culinary world. Of course I'm talking about salt - the theme for this month's International Incident Party, hosted as always by our incomparable founder and host, Penny aka Jeroxie.

This salt theme has happily given me the push I (apparently) needed to fulfill a promise I made to Penny many months ago when I won The Salt Book in a giveaway she had. She asked that the winners make a dish from the book and share it with everyone. "Oh yes!" I said. "Definitely!"

Well, that was back in April ... 

Sweet & Spicy Lavender Honey Quickbread for the International Incident Lavender Party

Hey lavender! Are you ready for the party?

Have I mentioned how grateful I am for these monthly International Incident Parties? So often these days, my life gets overwhelmingly busy and I find myself neglecting (and missing) both my blog and the many, many food blogs I love to read. But these parties give me an assignment (the theme) and a deadline (the party date). And I always make my deadlines! Best of all, they help me stay connected with many of my fellow food bloggers. So many thanks (as always) to our awesome hostess and founder Penny aka Jeroxie!

Truthfully, at first I was a bit at a loss when I found out that this month's theme was lavender. Ironically, I had just used culinary lavender for the first time in the recent Incident Scones Party, in my lavender, cardamom, and cracked black pepper drop scones. Eek! Just how many lavender dishes can one person come up with?

It's an Eggs Party, and You're Invited!

 

Have you joined in on an International Incident Party yet? If not, now is the time! Who wouldn't want to come to an eggs party, after all? And September is my birthday month, and that means I get to co-host the shindig on September 26th with the awesome Penny aka Jeroxie, the founder of these monthly soirees.

Lavender, Cardamom & Cracked Black Pepper Drop Scones: International Incident Scones Party

When the theme for this month's International Incident Party was announced  - hosted as ever by the lovely Penny aka Jeroxie, along with August birthday babies Anh of  A food’s lover's journey and  Cherrie of Sweet Cherrie Pie - I must admit that at first I wasn't terribly inspired. Scones. What to do? Unlike many of my fellow party goers,  scones are not a cultural reference point for me. I didn't grow up enjoying scones at tea time.  I don't even know when "tea time" actually is.  I take coffee breaks and eat bagels.  Of course I wanted to make fun and creative scones, but I had no idea where to begin.

But then one day I was flipping channels on the TV, and I caught the end of a cooking show - I don't remember which one - about something called "drop scones." Hmmm. They looked like little pancakes. Ah, pancakes! Now that I can work with. Indeed,  a bit of research taught me that drop scones are also called Scottish pancakes. They differ from typical American breakfast pancakes in that they're smaller and not necessarily sweet, which I found appealing.

Spicy Korean Tacos, L.A. Taco Truck Style, for the International Incident Taco Party

I have never been to Los Angeles (*gasp*) but if I ever do find myself there, I know the very first thing I want to eat. Hmmm ... will I race to Mr. Chow's? Run to Mario Batali's Mozza? Skip to Matsuhisa?  No, no and no: What I really and truly long to do is taste one of Chef Roy Choi's Korean/Mexican fusion tacos. I envy the Angelenos who get to enjoy the amazing creations that come out of his Kogi Korean BBQ  taco truck. How could these things not be amazing?

Summer "Noodles" of Yellow & Green Zucchini with a Cool Basil Oil Tomato Sauce: International Incident Noodles Party

Please don't misunderstand:  I adore noodles. Spaghetti, fettuccine, ramen, udon, soba, cellophane, rice - I don't play favorites, I love them all. Making them is fun; eating (or slurping) them all up is even better.

But I decided to forgo the dough for this latest noodles-themed International Incident Party.  Thanks to the summer heat and humidity (at least in my hemisphere),  the thought of kneading dough and getting covered in flour and then - horrors! - boiling a big pot of water leaves me  exhausted and dripping with sweat.  These days I find myself craving crunchy, cooling, refreshing foods. So I decided to make ribbon-like "noodles" out of the ultimate cooling summer vegetable, zucchini. (To  check out what all the others brought to the noodles party, please visit our lovely hostess, Penny aka Jeroxie!)

This  dish is composed entirely of  ingredients I got at the farmers market. In fact, I made this the same day I visited the market - and it doesn't get much fresher than that!

International Dumpling Incident: Spinat Knödel mit Gorgonzola Sauce

Can you guess what time is is, kids? That's right, it's  International Incident time, a monthly (ish) event in which  food bloggers from around the world come together and create their own version of a dish based on a theme. After our last two successful parties - gnocchi and pizza pie - this month's Incident is all about dumplings. (To check out my compatriots' creations, please visit our party host, Penny aka Jeroxie.)

As much fun as I had with pizza, I've really been looking forward to this one because I've been wanting an excuse to recreate the hearty, rib-sticking dish I had at the Cafe Phönixhof in Vienna: rich and cheesy spinat knödel (spinach dumplings) mit gorgonzola sauce.

International Pizza Pie Incident: Lángos, aka Hungarian Pizza, Three Ways

 Because a little tiny bit of fried pizza never hurt anyone ...

Welcome to the second International Incident Party, in which food bloggers from around the world put their own spin on a different dish each month. For April, we celebrate the birthday of the Incident Crew's founding member, Penny aka Jeroxie, with variations on the theme of pizza pie. (For full details and info on how to participate, check out her post about it here.)  

I must admit that when pizza was announced as the theme, I initially felt a bit stymied. You see, though in general I don't tend to be overly didactic or rules-y about cuisine, pizza, to me, is a simple and beautiful thing. It's a plain New York-style pie, with no toppings other than a modest amount of mozzarella cheese, maybe a bit of fresh basil,  and that beautiful, tangy tomato sauce. That's how I always used to order it in Brooklyn, and that's how I make it at home.

I wanted to  break out of my own pizza preconceptions and go a completely different route for this party, but what to do? Well, my quandary was instantly obliterated during my trip to Budapest, where I tasted the delectable lángos, otherwise known as ... Hungarian pizza! Bingo.

My Gnocchi Came Naked to the Party: Nude Gnocchi a la Al Di La Trattoria

Welcome to the international gnocchi party! Hosted by Penny aka Jeroxie, my fellow guests and I have been tasked with bringing an umami-rich gnocchi dish to this virtual shindig. (There's a complete list of the other attendees, with links, and the bottom of this post.)  I took this challenge as the perfect opportunity to re-create a dish that has stuck with me for over 10 years: the malfatti, or nude gnocchi, as they are made at Al Di La Trattoria in my old digs of Brooklyn, NY.

When I first tasted these delectable pillows, I knew next to nothing about food or cooking.  I could tell something gastronomically special was going on, but I couldn't have pointed to the nutmeg, sage, Swiss chard, or brown butter as key players. I just knew I wanted more, more, more - but alas, I was broke and couldn't afford to eat out often enough to feed my malfatti addiction.  Plus I couldn't cook.