Thursday, December 11, 2008

dulces

Did you know that there is a Touchez/Rock The Light/San Kazagascar show at Javalounge on saturday?

One of the many things I love about Corti Brothers (yes, I am going to talk about Corti Brothers again) is their selection of weird, obscure, canned goods.  I picked this up a few months ago because I was intrigued by the can and it was only a few bucks.  You can't really see, but there's a chef guy on it who has a tomato for a face.
The ingredients are: wild fennel, onion, sardines, currants, and spices.  The fennel is wild indeed because it is mostly fennel tops, which are very fibrous.  This was a very exotic and interesting tasting dish.  I enjoyed it, but I'm not sure if I will purchase it again.
I went to a flea market yesterday that had a vendor selling a wide array of Mexican dulces, and now I have a whole new perspective on Mexican sweets.  I usually just think of the dry pastries and say thumbs down.  This booth had tons of candied fruits and coconut stuff.  I passed a guy who had big chunks of that brown stuff pictured below, and he was cutting off hunks and chewing on them.  He said it was mezcal, I guess he means it's agave.  It's slightly sweet and very fibrous, like chewing on sugar cane, but with the addition of a complex and very tabacco-ey flavor that kind of blew my mind.  He said people put it in tequila, and I happened to have some at home and that's what I did.
These are coconut-stuffed, candied lime peels.  This is one of my favorite candies I've ever had.  They also had blocks of this brown pudding/caramel stuff that they were giving samples of.   I think it might have had guava?  Anyone know about this?
I infused the tequila with the mezcal for an hour or so and it turned brown. I added lime, too.  Delicious.  This would pair perfectly with a cigar.

9 comments:

archbishop said...

How'd you like the Little Creatures Pale Ale? Is there an American equivalent?

Anonymous said...

It was good. Seems like they were going for an American style pale ale & they managed to get it right. It's on the lighter, more drinkable side of things compared to a lot of US Pale Ales. As far as an equvalent, it's hard to say. But if you like it my guess is that you like the more floral aspect of hops (as opposed to the piney or grapefruitey) - I'd give the Avery IPA or the Deschutes Hop Trip a try if you're looking for something in the same ballpark.

And thanks again for the bottles!

-miller

Caroline said...

hmm, would that mezcal cocktail be available for sipping during a pickle party?

(sounds so naughty!)

Anonymous said...

Was it guava cheese? That's when they cook the fruit with sugar down to a sticky pudding consistency. Though I've seen it way more in Puerto Rico than in Mexico.

Also the guys with the trays of candy are the best! Favorite would either be the pralines that have either pecans (Oaxacan style) or big chunks of fresh coconut (Yucatan).

beckler said...

It might have been that. But the block was semi-solid. They were cutting chunks off of it.

Yeah, we should be able to have some cocktails and pickle, as long as you're cool with 2nd degree burns. We could cover them up with stylish satin opera gloves.

beckler said...

I took my first lesson of coffee break French. Lesson one: I cannot say "tres" correctly.

Anonymous said...

The whole time we're in France I'm just going to be saying "I will put it on vibwayte" over & over.

-miller

beckler said...

people who don't go to the crest very often are going to think that's a vibrator joke.

if anyone hasn't been to movies on a big screen yet, tomorrow is your chance. here's the info:
Location: 600 4th St, West Sacramento (corner of 4th & F in West Sac, just over the river from downtown).

Friday, 12/12 7PM and 9:30 PM

Admission: $5.00

I Need That Record: The Death (Or Possible Survival) of the Independent Record Store


We had previously announced that Dennis Yudt (aka The Master Bastard from the old Cattle Club days) would be speaking along with the owner of Esoteric Records. Unfortunately, Esoteric's owner will be unable to attend, and in his place, Scott Soriano (who besides having started the defunct, co-op, indie, underground record store Hindenburg, also started The Loft, is co-owner of Time Tested Books, runs S-S Records, and has done a bazillion other things) will join Dennis Yudt following the 7 PM screening!

A documentary feature examining why over 3000 independent record stores have closed across the U.S. in the past decade.

Greedy record labels, media consolidation, homogenized radio, big box stores, Ecommerce, shoddy "stars" pushed by big money, and the digital revolution all pose threats on the very well being of our favorite record stores. Will these stores die? Will they survive?

Featuring Thurston Moore (Sonic Youth) Ian Mackaye (Dischord Records and Fugazi/Minor Threat) activist/author Noam Chomsky, Mike Watt (Minutemen), Chris Frantz (Talking Heads/Tom Tom Club), Lenny Kaye (guitarist, the Patti Smith Group), guitar composer Glenn Branca, Patterson Hood (Drive-By Truckers), Pat Carney (The Black Keys), punk author Legs McNeil, rock photographer Bob Gruen, and many many indie record stores across the U.S. of A!


If the 7 PM is running late, the 9:30 PM will start a bit later.

Snufkin said...

Hmm, semi solid might be guava cheese. It's basically cooking the fruit and a ton of sugar down to an almost fudge like consistency (http://www.caribbeanfoodemporium.co.uk/guavacheese.htm).