The Impatient Chef Cocktail Recipe: The Kodachrome Memorial Cocktail

Kodachrome Memorial Cocktail

Why make a Kodachrome Memorial Cocktail? As many of you know, The Impatient Chef moonlights as Gary Quay who also moonlights as Gary Quay Photography (or is it the other way around?). A staunch devote of film photography, I have watched film stocks dwindle to a trickle since around 2005 as many great emulsions left the market. Kodachrome was the first true color slide film, and as documented by none other than Paul Simon.

"Kodachrome
They give us those nice bright colors
They give is the greens of summers
Makes you think all the world's a sunny day, oh yeah
I got a Nikon camera
I love to take a photograph
So mama don't take my Kodachrome away."

For me, the loss of Kodachrome was like the loss of Pete Seeger, or David Bowie. I had never known a world without them. They were iconic, and widely loved. So, when the last roll was developed in 2011, I came up with the idea for a Kodachrome Memorial Cocktail.

Why did it take so long? Remember those nice bright colors? That's why. I wanted the cocktail to be clear, and bright. I did not want to use vodka because the drink needed flavor. Above all, it had to have a hint of purple. My first attempts were less than stellar. Some ended up gray as different colors ganged up to defeat my Prime Directive. Some tasted awful. I tried off and on, for a couple of years, and then abandoned the pursuit as an impossibility.

In 2020, in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, I had a splash of inspiration. I had been trying to make purple out of a combination of red and blue liquors. I had the answer all along in my cabinet: Parfait Amor. It's a purple liquor that has a sweet, orange flavor. I needed the right gin, a bittering agent to cut down on the sweetness, and maybe an apéritif to give it some balance.

The right gin.

Oregon has had a vibrant craft liquor industry for over a decade.  These three Oregon gins will work in this cocktail:

• Joe Penney's Gin by McMennamin's Edgefield 
• Elk Rider by Heritage Distilling Co.
• Ransom Dry Gin

This cocktail requires a gin with some flavor, but not a Genever, or an Old Tom.  Use ONLY one of the 3 gins mentioned above.  I can't vouch for it with other gins.  

You must use a gin from the list above for this drink. It really does not work with a light gin like New Amsterdam, or Hendrick's. You could get away with using Tanqueray, or Beefeaters, but you would need to add a few dashes of orange bitters, and some of the magic would be lost.

The Impatient Chef Presents: The Kodachrome Memorial Cocktail.

3 oz Gin (Portland Dry)
1/2 oz Parfait Amour (Marie Brizard)
1 oz Lillet Blanc
8 drops citrus bitters (Bitterman's Hopped Grapefruit Bitters works best)
Stir with ice.
Garnish with a lemon twist.

The impatient Chef makes big cocktails. You can cut this one in half if you desire.

The Studio Setup.  

Note on the lens onto which the cocktail is placed:  It's a Voigtlander Euryscop Portrait lens, made in the sometime between 1888 and 1898.  

Thanks for reading!

--The Impatient Chef

The Impatient Chef Writes a Poem

I haven't written a poem for a few years, but I had a the inspiration a while ago,  I sat on the idea for this one for a while, and then worked on it slowly.  I think it's finished.  So, The Impatient Chef presents...

Whackety Chop

Winter wind swirls at the country cafe

With tall trees in the back, a parking lot, 

And a chicken coop full of laying hens, 

Making breakfast for the regulars.

She twirls in the kitchen while raindrops ,like

Bumble bees at full speed, splat on the windows.

With two spatulas she makes omelets, 

Whackety chop, clanging on the hot grill.

“Order up!” she calls out above the noise.

The trees bend, morning regulars murmur.

The roof creaks.  Hens squawk.  Eyes wide as the storm.  

A fox is near, nose points to the hen house.

He is wet.  And so cold.  The hens are dry.  

Lightning sizzles.  She cracks eggs in a bowl,

She beats them with a fork, swirling like leaves.

Whackety chop.  Eggs on the grill, ham

Hash browns, bacon, biscuits, chicken fried steak.  

“Order up!” she calls above the plates.

The hens lay eggs, and lay more tomorrow.

 Pigs are fully committed to the meal.

Their smells intermingle on the hot grill, 

And with coffee with cream, and some sugar.

Eyes glow in the cafe window’s soft light.

The wind howls so that the fox won’t have to. 

The coop roof lifts off, and sails through the storm, 

The chickens look up, understanding ham.  

The Impatient Chef Recipe: Super Speedy Greek Linguini

 

The Impatient Chef is, of course, impatient when supper is needed, and the day was spent not thinking about supper. Quickly throwing something delicious together is a necessity.  I raided the fridge, and formulated a plan.  I found a container of cooked linguini, and a bag of mushrooms.  The rest could have cooked itself.  Note: the amount of linguini is not given in internationally recognized quantities.

Ingredients:

• 2 large handfuls Linguini (pre-cooked and stored in water)
• 10 medium sized Crimini Mushrooms, halved stem to stern, and then sliced.  
• 20 Kalamata Olives
• 1 can Artichoke Hearts (packed in water,  not the marinated kind)
• Crumbled Feta Cheese
• 1 oz Parmesan Cheese, shredded
• 1/4 cup Olive Oil (more if necessary to coat all noodles)
• 5 cloves garlic, sliced thin widthwise
• Salt 
• Freshly ground Pepper

Directions:

1. Drain linguini.  If you don't have pre-cooked linguini (what's wrong with you?) cook the whole pack, drain, run it under cold water, and then separate the 2 large handfuls.  This recipe feeds 2 people, so use that amount.  Let the pasta drain while preparing the rest.  It should go into the pan with as little moisture in the surface as possible so it won't stick.  
2. Slice the mushrooms and garlic.  Quarter the artichoke hearts lengthwise.  Note on the artichoke hearts:  The Impatient Chef like Trader Joes' packed in water Artichoke Hearts.  Napoleon (not the general) has a similar product.  Packed in water is crucial for this recipe.  
3. Shred the parmesan cheese, and crumble the feta.  
4. Heat up a large iron skillet.  When a few drops of water evaporate within a few seconds, it's ready to use.  Add the olive oil, and then the mushrooms.  Sauté them, stirring often, until soft, and that pleasant mushroom smell is emanating from the pan.  Add the garlic, and stir constantly for about a minute.  You don't want the garlic to brown.  Add the artichoke hearts, and kalamata olives.  Cook until warmed.  You can add the olives later if you want.  My wife does not like them, so I add them when I add the feta.  
5. Add salt and pepper.  Stir for another 30 seconds.  I used about 1/2 tsp of salt, and about a teaspoon pepper.  This dish thrives on proper application of pepper.  It's okay to leave a little out at this point, and add more later to taste.  Remember the total amount that you use, and use that amount in this step the next time you make this dish.  Getting the pepper taste into the oil is important.  The oil is what carries the flavor in this dish.   
6. Add the noodles, and turn them constantly until they are warmed.  I used a pair of tongs to mix the ingredients into the noodles, and to turn them while they warmed.  Why start with cold noodles?  Other than that's what I started with, I think that they get more time to absorb the flavors.  
7. Add the parmesan cheese, and keep the noodles moving until it is melted.
8. Serve with crumbled feta cheese.  

Enjoy!

--The Impatient Chef