Bourbon’s Beauty

My Mother's Charlotte Russe
1/2  cup milk
2  tablespoons of unflavored gelatin
4  cups heavy cream
1 1/2  cups sugar
5  eggs, separated
1  cup bourbon

1. Place milk in a small saucepan and sprinkle-in gelatin. Set aside for 5 minutes to soften, then stir over low heat until dissolved. Set aside to cool.

2. In a large bowl, whip heavy cream with 1 cup of the sugar until firm peaks form when beaters are raised. Set aside.

3. Place egg yolks in a large bowl and gradually beat-in remaining sugar. Beat at high speed for several minutes, until mixture is thick and pale yellow. Stir-in gelatin and bourbon. With a rubber spatula, fold-in a quarter of the whipped cream to lighten mixture; then fold-in the remaining whipped cream.

4. In another large bowl, beat egg whites until soft peaks form when beaters are raised. Fold into cream mixture. Line an 8-cup charlotte mold with ladyfingers (or thin slices of sponge cake cut into strips measuring 1 1/2 ½by 4 inches), spoon cream mixture into prepared molds and chill in refrigerator until set.
Yield:  8 to 10 servings

Fig-Infused Small-Batch Bourbon
Makes 1 (750mL) bottle
1 pound fresh ripe figs, such as brown turkey, mission, or celeste
1 (750mL) bottle good quality small batch bourbon, such as Basil Hayden

Wash figs well under warm running water and pat dry. Remove stems and cut fruit into quarters. Place quartered figs into a 3-quart sterilized jar. Fill jar with bourbon (reserving the original bourbon bottle) and secure the top of the jar. Allow bourbon and figs to sit in a cool, dry place for at least two weeks or until the bourbon has a distinct fig aroma and flavor.

Strain the infusion through a fine-meshed sieve into a clean container. Place bourbon-soaked figs into an airtight container.  Refrigerate and reserve for the Fig-Infused Bourbon Toddy recipe. Pour the infused bourbon back into the original bourbon bottle. The bourbon is ready to use and will keep at room temperature for up to a year.

Fig-Infused Bourbon Toddy
By definition, a "toddy" is a drink of brandy or whisky, with hot water and sugar. But Idie Hasting's father Jim's toddy was always part whiskey and ginger ale over ice cubes. This updated version uses bourbon and ice.

Makes 1 serving:
3 tablespoons fig-infused bourbon
1/2 bourbon-soaked fig, cut into quarters
1 cup ice
1 preserved fig or maraschino cherry, for garnish

Combine bourbon, bourbon-soaked fig and ice in a martini shaker. Muddle until fig-half is well mashed and ice is somewhat crushed. Pour mixture into a rocks glass and garnish with the preserved fig, or cherry. Serve immediately.

© 2008