Night Watch

Makes 1 drink, with ganache left for many more.

1 ounce Del Maguey Chichicapa Mezcal

ounce Clear Creek Pear Brandy

1 teaspoon Green Chartreuse

ounces Demerara sugar syrup

5 ounces hot milk 1 heaping tablespoon ganache

FOR THE GANACHE:

16 ounces heavy cream 16 ounces dark chocolate

Bring cream to a boil, pour over chocolate and allow to rest for two minutes. Using a whisk, start in the center of the bowl and gently stir. Be gentle or it will get gritty, and be patient, it will eventually come together and get smooth. Keep covered at room temperature.

Temper spirits and syrup in a mixing tin or metal bar shaker inside a mixing glass full of hot (or boiling) water. Once tempered, combine in a glass with ganache, top with 5 ounces hot milk and gently stir.

Garnish: Whipped cream, grated cinnamon, cocoa powder

Makes 10-12 pieces

FOR THE DIPPING SAUCE: 31⁄2 cups sugar

1⁄2 tablespoon salt 11⁄4 cups vinegar

1⁄2 to 3⁄4 cup ground garlic chile paste (sambal oelek)

1⁄4

FOR THE FILLING:

1 teaspoon oyster sauce 1 teaspoon sugar 1⁄2

cup chopped garlic teaspoon black pepper 1 teaspoon cornstarch

1⁄ pound ground chicken 4to 3 4 cloves garlic (chopped) 2 tablespoons cilantro stems

3 chopped fresh shiitake mushrooms

1⁄4 cup carrot (finely chopped)

1⁄4

cup peas

1⁄4 cup sweet potato (cubed to 1⁄4 inch)

FOR ASSEMBLING:

Vegetable oil

20 sheets spring roll wrapper (square or round,

8 by 8 inches)

20 Chinese chives

(also known as garlic chives) or the green part of scallions

Make Sweet Chili Dipping Sauce: Combine all ingredients in a sauce pan. Heat to a boil and cook for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool before serving. (Premade sauce is also available at Asian markets and most well-stocked grocery stores.)

Make the filling: Combine oyster sauce, sugar, black pepper and cornstarch in a bowl. Stir until well combined and set aside.

In a food processor, add ground chicken, garlic, cilantro stems and 2 tablespoons of the sauce mixture that you just made. Blend together and remove to a bowl; add shiitake mushrooms, carrots, peas and sweet potato to the chicken mixture. Blend well. Cover and keep in the refrigerator for 1 hour.

After 1 hour, add about 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil to a sauté pan. Heat to medium-high. Gently sauté the chicken mixture in the pan until it is a golden color. Take it off the heat and allow to fully cool.

Assemble the bags: Boil 2 cups of water and add a pinch of salt. Put chives (or onions) in for a couple of seconds and remove. Submerge them in ice-cold water, then remove after 10 seconds and squeeze out excess water. Set aside.

Once chicken mixture is cooled, take spring roll wrapper and put 1 teaspoon of mixture in the middle of the wrapper. I like to add half of another wrapper underneath the mixture as a reinforcement. With the mixture placed, grab the edges together like a bag and loop a chive strand around it twice, then tie. Trim off overly long chive ends. Continue until all the filling is used up.

In a pot, add enough oil to cover the bags and heat to 350 degrees. Add the bags and fry until golden brown, then remove. Set on a cooling rack for a couple of minutes to let the oil drain off. Serve with the dipping sauce.