It’s Kentucky Derby time, so here’s a cookbook from the caterer who popularized Benedictine spread in the early 1900s, as well as two products that show there’s more than one way to enjoy bourbon and mint.
Credit: Courtesy of Dover Publications
Credit: Courtesy of Dover Publications
Louisville caterer’s cookbook
The first edition of “The Blue Ribbon Cook Book,” by caterer Jennie C. Benedict, came out in 1904, and the University Press of Kentucky has republished the 1938 edition in paperback. Benedict is a storied figure in Louisville, known for supplying the first school lunches, for her downtown tearoom, and for all the Derby Day parties she catered. The cookbook offers a look back at when luncheon menus included chicken croquettes, and dinner might start with cream of celery soup. Benedict’s best-known recipe was her Benedictine sandwich spread, a mixture of cream cheese, cucumber and, sometimes, onion. Benedict never included this recipe in her books, but the introduction to this new edition includes several versions. We tried them all, and our favorite was the one that might be the original — cream cheese mixed with cucumber juice, onion juice and a bit of salt and cayenne.
$16.95. Available at bookstores or at kentuckypress.com.
Credit: Courtesy of Elvis Piedra
Credit: Courtesy of Elvis Piedra
Bourbon salted pecan pancake and waffle mix
You can have your bourbon in a julep, but we’d rather have our bourbon in pancakes. We’re not huge fans of brown liquors, but the bourbon salted pecan pancake and waffle mix from chef Erica Barrett and her Tucker-based Southern Culture Artisan Foods converted bourbon lovers and bourbon agnostics alike. The mix includes just-right-sized pieces of pecans, enough salt to register its presence (but not too much), and a whisper of bourbon. The pancakes were light, fluffy and sweet enough that we didn’t feel they needed syrup at all. The package includes directions for both classic and vegan versions.
$7.99 per 10-ounce container, making 12 pancakes or four waffles. Available at socukitchen.com.
Mint cocktail syrup
Proof Syrup has been making cocktail syrups by hand since 2014, beginning with syrup for an Old-Fashioned. Most recently, the company has launched a line of botanical syrups made with fresh herbs and flowers — including our new favorite, mint syrup. The recipe on the bottle provides directions for making a mojito, but online you will find a julep recipe, calling for 2 ounces of bourbon with a half ounce of mint syrup. Don’t forget to add a sprig of fresh mint. Although not bourbon fans, we love this syrup for a mojito or a vodka soda, and our mocktail drinkers have been enjoying it mixed with seltzer and lime juice, and poured over ice. No matter what we mix it with, the clean, crisp mint flavor comes through, and we can see this being our go-to for all kinds of spring and summer drinks.
$32.95 per 16-ounce bottle, enough to make about 32 cocktails. Available at Mac’s Beer and Wine, the Spotted Trotter, Corner’s Fine Wine and Spirits, Merchants Package Store, Beverage World, Premium Package Outlet and at proofsyrup.com.
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