Quaintrelle Weekender

Four ways to a better (holiday) weekend

Welcome to Quaintrelle Weekender.

This is a short list of things I am currently loving to make eating, drinking, and hosting easier and a lot more interesting.

It’s another long weekend in Canada, and, if I’ve got my calendar right, the US celebrates their big July 4 extravaganza next weekend. Oh, the revelry of summer. With all the fireworking, hot-dogging, cocktailing, swimming, camping, boating, and cottaging that will mark these lazy, hazy, crazy days, I’ve decided this edition of the Weekender will focus squarely quick tips to get you out of the kitchen and back to the party.  

Feel the Heat

Bomba Calabrian Chili Sauce

I tend to get into food benders, and this is my current obsession. Sort of a spicy caponata, each recipe is a little different, naturally, but it’s generally some sort of blend of hot peppers, eggplant, tomatoes, porcini mushrooms, and onions in olive oil. I’ve gone through an entire jar this week alone. You can use it to top pizza, swirl into risotto, slather on burgers, add it to a cheeseboard, put it on eggs… I even spread it on toasts for a little bomba bruschetta (a super quick and easy cocktail snack!) If you have yet to try bomba sauce, get this immediately.

In a Pickle

Quick Pickles

Sometimes I’m just too close to the stove to see the steam, know what I mean?

I was teaching a cocktail-making class last Saturday, and these were the tangy snacks I served alongside the drinks. The students were blown away. Not because of my superior pickling skills (well…) but because they had never considered making their own pickles, or the ease of which it can be done. Including chilling time, it took me an hour to make three half-litre jars (but, full transparency, I had the benefit of a kitchen fridge which is colder and has more air flow than home fridges).

Start with this recipe and see how you like it; from there adjust the sweet/salty ratio, and should you feel so bold, add in flavours of your own: garlic, peppercorn, coriander, dill, chili flakes etc. You can also use this recipe to pickle other vegetables like onions, cauliflower, peppers…

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. mini cucumbers, sliced about a finger-width thick

• 3 Tbsp kosher salt, divided

• 1 ½ cups white vinegar

• 1 cup white sugar

• 1 tsp fennel seeds

How to Make It:

1. In a bowl, toss cucumber slices with 2 Tbsp Kosher salt and allow to sit for 10 minutes.

2. Bring the vinegar, sugar and 1 Tbsp Kosher salt to a boil, dissolving into a clear, clean liquid.

3. Drain cucumber in a sieve and rinse with cool, running water, and pack into clean, 500ml jars.

4. Pour the hot vinegar over the cucumber, and, once you can safely handle the hot jars, refrigerate for one hour before serving.

5. These pickles will last easily a couple weeks in the fridge, but I doubt they will last that long.

Love Potion

Rosé Sangria

My personal party mantra is, “Measure once, drink all day.”

Why get stuck shaking and stirring behind the bar, when you could be bouncing on a pool noodle?

Here is my all-time favourite sangria recipe, that apparently, tens of thousands of you like as well.

Ingredients:

• 1 bottle (750ml) dry rosé wine (pick a favourite, but no need to go super high-end since we’re blending it with other flavours)

• 750ml lemonade (bottled or homemade)

• ¼ cup orange flavoured liqueur

• Mix of fruits (I usually go with lime*, watermelon, and strawberries/raspberries/cherries depending on what’s in season)

How to Make It:

1. Wash and cut up the fruit. Place in a bowl and pour over the liqueur. Allow to soak for an hour or so.

2. Add the soaked fruit and all the juices to a large pitcher, topping with both the lemonade and rosé. Chill until needed.

3. When ready to serve, add any citrus slices, and pour into ice filled glasses.

*I don’t like adding citrus to liquids for very long, as the pith infuses the drink with a harsh and off-putting bitterness. I add citrus maybe 15-30 minutes before serving for some flavour without the bitter note.

Kitchen Tip: Keep Your (Drinks) Cool – Not Diluted

Frozen fruit and other cool tricks

I’m not one to harp about how you prefer to enjoy your wine. As long as you’re drinking, I don’t care how you’re drinking. But I will say, if pressed, adding ice cubes to wine, is a no-go for me.

Here are some much better hacks for keeping your drinks cold in the sweltering sun:

• Frozen fruit: berries for red wine, peaches for white… whatever your little heart and taste buds desire.

• À piscine: in Provence, where the temperatures reach meltingly hot, its common to order a glass of rosé à piscine. Bars and restaurants freeze the same rosé that you’re drinking and drop a few cubes in the glass. As they melt, the wine doesn’t dilute and also tops itself up.

• Whisky rocks: what’s good for the whisky, is good for the wine. Keeping these marble or stone cubes in the freezer allows them to get deeply cold, thereby keeping your wine chilled but not watered down.

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Thanks for reading. Happy Canada Day, or basic weekend, wherever you are.

xo -Erin