I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Mine was excellent. There was plenty to be thankful for this Thanksgiving: an awesome end to the presidential election, a much-needed four day weekend, another wonderful Thanksgiving meal and especially the fact that my pumpkin pie turned out okay! It wasn’t until my mom put me in charge of the pumpkin pie this year that I realized I had never made pie before. Crazy, I know! I’ve made my share of cakes but never pie (which is funny considering that, in the age old pie vs. cake debate, I’ll take pie any day of the week.)

Pie is intimidating, particularly when it comes to making the crust. Just type “pie crust disasters” into google and you’ll find tons of tales of pie crusts gone awry. Many pumpkin pie recipes have you pre-bake the crust before adding the filling (also called “blind baking.”) This keeps the crust from becoming soggy but can also be the source for some problems. Steam trapped under the crust can cause it to puff up considerably making for an uneven crust and reducing the amount of room available for filling. Also, the sides of the crust can shrink or sag while baking. In my case, the sides sagged quite a bit; in some places it completely folded over itself like a pair of crumpled socks! I gently eased the crust back up the sides while it was still hot from the oven and was thus able to avoid having my very own pie disaster. However, my decorative edges, which were quite “rustic” to begin with, were all but gone after pre-baking. Oh well, it doesn’t need to look good to taste good!

With my crust done, it was time to move on to the filling. The recipe that I chose, Pumpkin Butterscotch Pie, is not all that different from a standard pumpkin pie. Oh, except that it has scotch in it! To make the filling, you first heat brown sugar and butter together to form a caramel. Then, you are told to whisk in the scotch and cream until smooth. Um…it didn’t exactly happen that way for me. There was no “whisking until smooth.” As soon as the cold liquids hit the hot caramel, I was left with a solid sheet of hard candy. It looked like delicious candy, but nobody wants a pumpkin pie with a sheet of rock hard caramel in the center. Luckily, the caramel eventually melted back into the cream. Another near-crisis averted! The rest of the process – adding pumpkin and spices, filling the crust, and baking – was easy as pie (pun intended.)

The pie was a huge success! Everyone in my family went crazy for it. The butterscotch flavor wasn’t overly pronounced, yet it provided a nice, subtle background note. The crust turned out really flaky and the filling was amazingly smooth. The only issue was that the pie was a slightly off-putting neutral color. I’m thinking that this might have been because I used a fresh pumpkin which had much paler flesh than the brilliant orange stuff you find in cans. Again, it certainly doesn’t need to look good to taste good, and none of us cared one iota about the color as soon as we bit into our slices. It was a lovely way to end a lovely Thanksgiving meal (the leftovers made for an equally lovely breakfast this morning!)

I’m declaring this weekend to be the unofficial start of the holidays. Thanksgiving may not be for another few days, but I’m ready to start celebrating now! People around here get so mad when they see the shops putting up their Christmas decorations early, but I’m a total sucker for it. I just love the winter holidays. Robert won’t allow Christmas music until after Thanksgiving, but I know one way to start celebrating this weekend – by mixing up a special holiday cocktail!

My perspective is that holiday cocktails should always involve bourbon, brandy, or one of the other brown liquors. This isn’t the time for vodka (although, gin, with its wintry pine flavor, is acceptable.) Winter flavors such as orange, spice, apple and pear work well for a holiday drink. Flipping through a recent issue of Bon Appetit, I came across a recipe for a cocktail called Northwood #2. Inspired by the New England woods he grew up around, David Moo of the Brooklyn bar Quarter, created this special cocktail that fits my idea of a holiday cocktail perfectly. To make the Northwood #2, simply shake the following ingredients with ice and strain into coupe glasses:

3 tablespoons gold rum
2 tablespoons brandy
1.5 tablespoons fresh apple cider
1 teaspoon pure maple syrup
3/4 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

It couldn’t be easier to make, and tastes delicious! This is a pretty strong drink; the apple and maple flavors are quite subtle. I suspect that some people would want to increase the amount of apple cider to make the drink more palatable, although I thought the flavors were perfectly balanced. Then again, I might be some kind of lush because I thought the recipe made a perfectly reasonable single serving (it is actually supposed to serve two!) I may try this again using spiced cider for even more of a winter flavor. Happy holidays!

My wine for this week is a red Zinfandel: Kunde Estate 2005 Zinfandel. Zinfandel is a red grape varietal that has been planted in the United States since the mid-19th century. Although its origins were a mystery for many years, DNA research recently revealed it to be a clone of the Croatian grape, Crljenak Kaštelanski (Crljenak Kaštelanski is also the source for the Italian Primitivo grape.) It is unknown where the name Zinfandel came from. Zinfandel is most closely associated with California, where it makes up approximately 10% of that state’s vineyards. It is grown in many other states as well, including some that we don’t normally think of when it comes to wine (Arizona, Texas, and Tennessee for example.)

In addition to red wine, Zinfandel grapes are used to make sparkling wine, late harvest dessert wine, a fortified wine similar to port, and the ever popular White Zinfandel, a semi-sweet, blush wine that is commonly sold as an inexpensive “jug wine” (although sales have declined some over the years, White Zinfandel continues to outsell its red counter part by six to one.) Zinfandel grapes are hardy and thrive in warm climates. They tend to ripen rather unevenly: a single cluster of grapes may contain both green grapes and overly ripe, “raisined” grapes. In order to harvest the fruit at the same level of maturity, they must be hand-picked over several weeks. It is a laborious process and is one reason that some Zinfandels are able to command a high price.

Red Zinfandel comes in a wide range of flavors and styles depending, in part, on the ripeness of the grapes. Wines from cooler climates, where the grapes ripen to a lesser degree, tend to have soft, red berry flavors (similar to Beaujolais Nouveau.) Wines from warmer climates have more intense dark berry and pepper profiles. Zinfandel grapes have even been known to produce robust, tannic, high-alcohol wines reminiscent of Cabernet Sauvignon. Despite this broad range of styles, the fruit-forward quality common to most Zinfandels makes them good food wines. Casual foods such as grilled steaks, burgers and spicy fare all work well with Zinfandel. Because it can be paired with such a variety of foods, Zinfandel is commonly suggested as a Thanksgiving wine.

Kunde Estate is a family-owned and operated winery in the renowned Sonoma Valley of California. The 2005 Zinfandel is actually a blend of 89% Zinfandel, 4% Petite Syrah, 3% Syrah, and 4% mixed varietals. According to Kunde Estate’s website, the grapes were harvested over a one-month period at full maturity. It is specifically noted that there weren’t too many “raisins” included in the harvest. The winemaker describes the wine as follows: “Boysenberry, cardamom, pepper, and a hint of chocolate combine to make a distinct wine that is instantly enjoyable.” Suggested food pairings include barbecued baby back pork ribs and greens with roasted beets and goat cheese.

For dinner, I made macaroni and cheese with a twist: winter squash! It sounds unusual but there are actually quite a few recipes for this dish available on the internet. I came up with my own simple version using pureed sweet dumpling squash, milk, nutmeg and cheddar cheese. The squash adds a nice texture and flavor to the dish and also allows you to get away with using less cheese, thereby reducing the fat content significantly. Guilt-free mac & cheese! The wine was true to the description on Kunde Estate’s website with obvious dark berry flavors and just a touch of pepper. Despite its high alcohol content (14.5%) it tasted almost like fruit juice (don’t let your kids near this wine!) Medium-bodied with soft tannins, this proved to be a good food wine; it went especially well with my fun winter squash mac & cheese.

Friday night, Robert and I headed down the street to finally check out Boom Noodle. When I learned last year that my neighborhood was about to get a Japanese-style ramen house, I was super excited. I pictured a noodle shop just like those in the International District: crowded, loud, harshly lit and lacking in decor, all offset by a menu of cheap, delicious noodle dishes. The perfect spot for a quick, satisfying meal on a rainy night. When Boom Noodle finally opened it’s doors and revealed itself to be an extremely posh restaurant and cocktail bar (with prices to match) I have to admit that I was a little disappointed. Silly as it may be, because it wasn’t my vision of what a noodle house should be, I hadn’t been particularly motivated to try Boom Noodle yet. Friday’s blustery, rainy weather had me craving noodles so we thought it was finally time to give Boom Noodle a shot.

The ambiance at Boom Noodle is hyper trendy. It has a very modern, IKEA-esque look, with bright green walls, high ceilings, and lots of black, metallic, angular furnishings. Boom Noodle is also host to the single most obvious restaurant trend of 2008: the communal table. While I’m not a fan of communal tables, they seem to work well with Boom Noodle’s “upscale cafeteria” style. There is also a handful of individual tables located in the swanky bar just past the restaurant. Everything at Boom Noodle is very heavily branded. The chopsticks, the bowls – nearly every dish was adorned with Boom Noodle’s logo. I even spotted a “Boom” wine behind the bar. Boom Noodle isn’t a chain yet, but it clearly dreams of becoming one.

The menu at Boom Noodle is broken out between small plates, chilled noodles & salads, hot noodles & soups, wok noodles & rice, and extras. The surprisingly lengthy list of small plates includes such interesting choices as omakase pickle plate, edamame puree and miso broiled rice cakes. The balance of the menu is devoted primarily to noodle dishes. Offerings range from the very traditional (chilled somen noodles served with grated daikon and tempura dipping sauce) to the more innovative (roasted red beet soba, a soup made with julienned beets, pickled plum, wakame seaweed, shiso leaf and red beet broth.) The drinks menu is also quite inventive. Ingredients such as shiso, ginger and yuzu all make an appearance on Boom Noodle’s cocktail list.

We started off with a couple pints of Sapporo and the Curry Potato Korokke: Japanese potato croquettes served with a ginger creme fraiche. The croquettes were tasty, and the flavor was strikingly similar to that of Indian samosas (it kind of left me wishing we had a tamarind chutney for dipping instead of the ginger creme fraiche.) For his main course, Robert ordered the beef yakisoba. He liked that it wasn’t overly sweet but thought it was a bit too aggressively flavored. I was really tempted by the red beet soba but ultimately chose the salmon udon which consists of thick udon noodles served in a white miso broth with spinach, shiitake mushrooms, lightly smoked white salmon and a hard boiled egg. The soup is garnished with a crispy salmon skin “cracker.” The noodles were perfectly cooked – chewy and thick like good udon should be. The salmon was delicious and the broth was good, although, like Robert, I found it to be too heavily flavored. Subtle doesn’t seem to be on the menu at Boom Noodle.

Boom Noodle’s name is derived from the Japanese term “my boom” which means the thing that you are currently obsessed with. After one visit, I can’t say that Boom Noodle is “my boom” just yet, but the innovative menu and the tasty (if overly bold) food is enough to keep me coming back. Plus, I still have to try that red beet soba! You can certainly get cheaper food in the International District but, on a rainy night when I want some noodles, the four block walk from my apartment to Boom Noodle sounds awfully good. Boom Noodle is located at 1121 East Pike Street.