Rhubarb !! Booze and bars edition

Great minds think alike Mike!!  🙂

I have 5 or 6 rhubarb plants in my yard, and have been harvesting a lot lately.  I too have been turning to Smitten Kitchen (smittenkitchen.com) for ideas.  My first foray into all-things-rhubarb was a rhubarb “cordial” (original recipe here).  Maybe it’s from spending too much time in England as a child, but ‘cordial’ implies no alcohol to me, so let’s call this what it is:

Rhubarb flavored gin

To make the flavored gin:

• 1 pound rhubarb, trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 3 1/2 cups (830 ml) gin, plus more if necessary (note that because it’s more than a standard 750 mL bottle, you just have to buy the bigger one).  I used Minnesota’s own Prairie gin.
• 3 wide strips orange zest
• 1/2 cup sugar
• **after 1 month of waiting** 3 Tbsp Orange flavored liqueur (I plan to use Cointreau)
• **to serve** fizzy water or prosecco

Put the rhubarb, gin, orange zest, and sugar in a jar. Cover and shake to dissolve sugar. Store in a cool, dark place, shaking it every few days, for a month.  Patience is a virtue – mine will be ready on my birthday!  Here is a photo of mine after about a week.  It goes without saying, I hope, that if you use red rhubarb the liquid will be red (like mine), if you use green rhubarb the liquid will be green (like the batch my mom made).

After waiting a month, use a fine-mesh strainer to strain the rhubarb gin into a large measuring cup or bowl with a spout. Add the orange flavored liqueur. Pour into a clean bottle and tightly cork. Store the rhubarb gin for up to 1 to 3 months longer, or start using right away.

To serve, pour into small tumblers with a few ice cubes, a twist of orange or tangerine peel, and a splash of sparkling water, tonic, or sparkling wine.

Next up, a delicious bar recipe that is SO good (but I love almond).  Made these two days ago and exercising major restraint to not eat all at once.  Original recipe here – I did modify it to reduce butter (I didn’t want to crack open another stick of butter for just 1 Tbsp).  Also, I didn’t have sliced almonds on hand, but I did have almond flour.  So I just subbed 75 g almond flour

Rhubarb frangipane bars

Crust
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon table salt
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, cold

Filling
3/4 cup (75 grams) sliced almonds, ideally toasted and cooled  **I used 75g of almond flour, and it was great
1 tablespoon all purpose flour
A few pinches of salt
6 tablespoons [also known as 3/8 cup] plus 1 teaspoon (5 grams) granulated sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, cold
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon almond extract, 2 teaspoons brandy or another flavoring of your choice – I used Cointreau 🙂
1/2 pound rhubarb sliced thin (1/4″?)

Heat oven to 350 degrees F.  Use parchment paper to create a sling for easy removal later.

Make the crust: Combine the flour, salt and sugar in the bowl of a food processor. Cut the butter into chunks, and add it to the bowl, then run the machine until the mixture forms large clumps — it might take 30 seconds to 1 minute for it to come together.

Transfer the dough to your prepared baking pan and press it evenly across the bottom and 1/4-inch up the sides. Bake for 15 minutes, until very pale golden.  LET IT COOL BEFORE ADDING FILLING OR IT WILL MELT AND BE MESSY.

Make the filling: In your food processor bowl, grind almonds, 6 tablespoons sugar, flour and salt together until the nuts are powdery. Cut the butter into chunks and add it to the machine. Run the machine until no butter is visible. Add any flavorings and egg, blending until just combined. Spread filling over crust.

Arrange the fruit: *Now, this is where I deviated heavily.  Deb took great pains to cut her rhubarb all fancy and arranged it.  I did not.  I was not serving this to company.  I simply cut rhubarb into thin rounds, and tossed it on top.  Done!

Bake the bars: For 45 to 55 minutes, until they’re golden on top and a toothpick inserted into the almond cream underneath comes out clean.  *It took the whole 55 minutes for me, and honestly the top was pretty greasy.  But it sank in as it cooled.

Let cool in pan.

What will be next?  I’m thinking of this rhubarb strawberry soda syrup or an easy jam recipe that involves a box of strawberry jello! 🙂