"anise" news and stories

Happy National Anisette Day!

With the ever-increasing interest in cocktail culture and the classic drinks of the past, this timeless anise liqueur has been receiving renewed interest, especially on the tail of its more potent sibling, absinthe. Pioneered by Marie Brizard as early as 1755 Bordeax, France, anisette is a sweet cordial liqueur, similar to absinthe but less powerfully licorice-flavored.

According to its cocktail usage, the liqueur is a particularly potent one, often offset in drinks with bitters for balance. Nonetheless, the refreshing sip is most often imbibed simply swirled with water, slightly chilled or at room temperature.

Check out drinksmixer.com for some anisette cocktail recipes, but beware: They're strong! We suggest the potent Café de Paris, served with gin, cream and sugar, or the typhoon, which is a punchy Champagne-gin-anisette-lime concoction that is appropriately named for its high alcohol content. Sip with caution!

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Anise-almond biscotti. Photo: The Brown Eyed Baker

It's not Saturday morning .. yet. But just looking at this picture of anise-almond biscotti from The Brown Eyed Baker makes us forget that we still have an entire work day ahead of us.

That's probably because biscotti can't be enjoyed on a weekday like it can on a lazy weekend: dipped into rich coffee before it's slowly nibbled away at, only to be dunked again before taking a few more tiny bites, and on and on. And if biscotti like this is on the table, Saturday can't come soon enough!

[Via The Brown Eyed Baker]

Yesterday, my fridge was in dire need of a cleaning out -- not with disinfectant and a sponge, but with a hungry stomach willing to devour a whole ton of almost-bad veggies. At first, I was thinking about a veggie casserole. Then I remembered that I had dried some homemade egg pasta into fettucini and lasagna noodles. Ding, ding!

Picking up some fennel and cheese at the store, I decided to make a Pernod/Anise-flavored kitchen-sink lasagna. It was oh-so-good (even if I had to wait until 10 PM for it to be done), and shows just how versatile the classic dish is.

Instead of spinach in my ricotta, I sauteed some bok choy with a sprinkle of anise seeds to mix in. And then I set about preparing my lasagna's two layers. One consisted of the fennel, misc. peppers, and onion, with some anise seed sprinkled in as it sauteed, and the other consisted of quickly fried petit pan squash slices. Meanwhile, I reduced a quick sauce of a can of chopped tomatoes, some spices, and some Pernod.

All layered and baked, there was a nice freshness from the vegetables, with the Pernod adding a good zap of flavor to make up for the missing meat. Anise flavor in Italian food is just magic, so if you have any good recipes, please share them below.

Years ago, my friend's parents were cleaning out their liquor cabinet and gave me the above -- Ermita Ron Escarchado (translated to Ermita Frosty Rum). Holy crap, this stuff is good.

Ecarchado is liqueur enriched with sugar by putting an aniseed branch inside. Sugar than pulls itself out of the liqueur and crystallizes around the sprig and the base of the bottle, which ends up creating a thicker, more sugary liqueur. In the words of my friend, the rum becomes "viscous sh*t." (In the good way.)

The two main types of escarchado, after searching the web, seem to be the ron/rum variety and the anisette variety, although I've also seen brandy listed occasionally. It's not the easiest thing to find (if anyone finds it in Canada, please let me know), but can be scored in the states through sites like this, and much more readily in Europe.

• It's the third annual Best of the New issue of The Boston Globe Magazine, including the All-Star Sandwich Bar, Anise, Lulu's Bake Shoppe, Diva Lounge, and Pava.
• A guide to the best burger joints in Boston.
• How about trying a vegetable stew on these cold days and nights?
• What is vickning?
• What do you get when you cross Campbell's soup with cigarette butts?
• This week's recipes: Orange Salad and Dates Stuffed with Goat Cheese, Calabacitas, Shepherd's Pie, and English Toffee Bread Pudding.