Tuesday, May 31, 2011
By now most of you know, I love bourbon. I know a lot of people who say “Whoo, I can’t drink bourbon. Too strong!” And it’s true, bourbon is not for sissies. It’s not a frou-frou drink, but I think it’s still something that can be made feminine. Just look at the beauty of this gorgeous Manhattan I made last fall. I think a lot of people are probably just intimidated by the powerful aroma & taste of bourbon. Or perhaps they had a bad experience with a not-so-good bourbon. That’s sad, because, I think bourbon is such a complex spirit with a large palate of flavors that it can pull from to produce a unique flavor experience. In my opinion, in most expertly mixed drinks, when you order a vodka-mixed drink, you’re tasting the flavors of the other things in the cocktail + the alcohol. But when you order a bourbon cocktail, you’re tasting the spirit enhanced by complimentary flavors. The bourbon is the star, and the other ingredients are the supporting cast.
I used Four Roses for this ice cream.
As I step down from my soap box, let me encourage to you to try bourbon. Whether it be for the first time, or to give it a second chance. For anyone wanting a reintroduction into the flavors of bourbon, how about using it in the kitchen? Cake is a good place to start. Dessert bars. And now, ice cream! Obviously, ice cream is a DELICIOUS way to eat anything (corn ice cream anyone?). This ice cream calls for a mere 5 Tablespoons, so it’s definitely not going to scream “BOOOOOOZE!” while you eat it. I actually cheated and snuck in a little more bourbon, because instead of adding regular vanilla, I used vanilla I made myself by steeping fresh, plump vanilla beans in a bottle of bourbon.
To describe this ice cream, I would say it is grown up & sophisticated. Definitely not something you would be serving to kids (duh). Not just because of the fact there is alcohol in it, but be cause there’s no way they could appreciate the smooth & subtle flavor essence, with hints of caramel & vanilla that bourbon brings to the table in this ice cream. This ice cream has elegance & class! I kinda wish now I’d enjoyed it in a crystal goblet. Except for the fact I don’t have one. Hmm…
Now, you’re probably gonna want to know what this deliciousness is that is drizzled on top of the ice cream, right? Salted Caramel Sauce. Yeah, you’re gonna want to make that too!
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Bourbon Ice Cream
Yield: about 5 cups
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 9 hours 30 min
I suggest choosing a higher quality bourbon for this ice cream. I went with Four Roses, but you can also consider Woodford Reserve or Knob Creek. Also, this ice cream will set softer than others. It's likely due to the high alcohol content that makes freezing more difficult. I suggest definitely giving your custard plenty of time to rest, such as overnight, in the coolest part of the fridge, to ensure it's as cold as possible before churning.
Ingredients:
2 cups heavy whipping cream
2 cups half and half
1/2 cup nonfat dry milk powder
6 large egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup (packed) dark brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
5 tablespoons bourbon
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Directions:
Bring first 3 ingredients to simmer in heavy large saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring until milk powder dissolves completely. Remove from heat.
Combine egg yolks, sugar, brown sugar, and coarse salt in large bowl; whisk until thick and blended. Gradually whisk hot cream mixture into yolk mixture. Return mixture to same saucepan. Stir over medium-low heat until custard thickens enough to leave path on back of spoon when finger is drawn across and temperature registers 175°F to 178°F, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat. Mix in bourbon and vanilla extract. Refrigerate custard uncovered until cold, stirring occasionally, at least 3 hours. DO AHEAD: Custard can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and keep refrigerated until ready to churn.
Churn according to your ice cream maker's instructions.
To further spread the knowledge & joy of bourbon, here’s some link love from other bloggers. I get so happy to see bourbon featured on blogs, and I enjoyed reading each of these posts.
Cook Eat Pray completed the Bourbon Trail. (Pt 1 & Pt 2)
Veggie by Season did a Bourbon Inspired Dinner & Tasting Flight
Joy the Baker made Sweet Tea Bourbon Cocktails
and Bunky Cooks did an in-depth tour at Woodford Reserve & made Bourbon Sweet Potato Biscuits
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Please excuse my language here, but I am just not one of those people that has their shit together. Ever. I’ve been known to bring presents without bows, I’m habitually late, incredibly forgetful, have a hard time making the simplest decisions, and organization is not my strong point. And I might scream, cry, and curse at the drop of a hat (or boot). I haven’t been to the gym in ages, but yet that hasn’t stopped me from eating dessert, or indulging in an extra cocktail. I’ll never have the greatest food blog and the most followers; my writing isn’t engaging & witty, and my photos never seem to nail proper composure, exposure, & focus in the same shot. While I am proud of my accomplishments at my job, I never feel it’s good enough because someone else edited something better/faster/more important. My house never stays clean, has ZERO art on the walls, and something I need is always either two floors up or two floors down. I didn’t respond to an email, FB message, tweet, phone call, text, writing in the sky, etc. And I just can’t seem to catch up to my bills.
But you know what? No one is perfect. And not everything I do is insufficient. Every once in a while, it seems the stars align, and I actually have ALL the ingredients I need to throw together something I feel like eating. Such was the case with this salad. A sale on spring mix & strawberries, some leftover blueberry goat cheese, a handful of chopped walnuts and voila! Salad. And I even had all the ingredients to make my own dressing. I didn’t have any bottled dressings that matched the flavors of the salad, and didn’t want to have to stop at the store, so I just made my own. If your looking for a way to impress people, let me suggest whipping together a salad dressing. To people who don’t know how incredibly simple it is, it looks as though you’ve accomplished some an impressive feat. What they don’t know is that I threw together this salad & homemade dressing in a matter of minutes while my husband gave me the evil eye because I was making us late.
So stop beating yourself up. And I’ll try to do the same.
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Simple Balsamic Vinaigrette
Yield: about 1 cup
Total Time: 10min
This dressing was a delicious combo of tangy, zesty, & sweet. I used high quality olive oil, and I could definitely taste the difference. I also used strawberry balsamic vinegar, because I've had it for AGES and never could figure out what to use it for. But any balsamic vinegar would work. You can use this dressing for a salad like the one I suggested, or for whatever salad you have ingredients on hand for.
Ingredients:
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup olive oil
Directions:
Beat the vinegar in a bowl with the sugar, garlic, salt and pepper until sugar and salt dissolves. Then beat in the oil by droplets, whisking constantly. (Or place all the ingredients in a screw-top jar and shake to combine.) Taste and adjust the seasonings.
Toss a few tablespoons of the dressing with the salad mix and desired salad ingredients, and serve immediately.
If not using dressing right away, cover and refrigerate, whisking or shaking again before use.
I know I got a little photo happy in this post. It’s unlike me to want to post 3 photos! But I went from thinking all the photos of the salad & dressing were awful because I couldn’t quite compose it correctly, to finding 3 I liked. Funny how that happens when you let up on beating yourself down!
Thursday, May 12, 2011
After we returned from our honeymoon in New Orleans (I am slowly working on that blog post!), I knew I was craving a light & healthy salad to eat for lunches. A quick scan of my cupboard revealed about 6 cans of tuna. (Hey, when you catch a sale, you gotta stock up!) So after a quick search I found this recipe, for which all of the ingredients I already had on hand.
As I mentioned in this Tuna & White Bean Salad post, I grew up on one kind of tuna salad only; the mayonnaise based kind. I’ve enjoyed venturing out and experiencing completely different flavors to pair with tuna, that DON’T involve mayonnaise. This one is definitely a standout recipe, not only for it’s tastiness, but for the ease & speed in preparation. With the lemon juice & zest, paired with the banana peppers, it’s got some tang & kick. And best of all, it’s so quick & easy to throw together. I made a few adaptions, mainly to double the original recipe, and enjoyed this for about 3-4 lunches.
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Lemon Tuna & Chickpea Salad
Ingredients:
1 can cooked chickpeas, rinsed and drained
2 can albacore tuna, drained
2 green onions, sliced (I omitted)
½ cup mild banana pepper rings, chopped
Juice and zest of one lemon
1 tbsp (or more) olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
Place all ingredients in a medium size bowl and toss to coat everything with olive oil and lemon juice and break up the tuna. Garnish with more banana pepper rings or green onions if desired.
Also, for you Nashville locals, I have some info to pass along that might be of interest. The Woodbine Farmers Market is back for its second season. After a successful first season, it has proved to be a sustainable event for the South Nashville neighborhood known as a food desert. The Market has changed from Tuesdays, to Saturdays from 9am to 12pm outside the Coleman Park Community Center at the intersection of Nolensville Pike and Thompson Lane. This weekend will be the grand opening for the Market starting at 9am.
The Grand Opening will feature several special events throughout the morning. Together with Vanderbilt’s South Nashville Family Resource Center and CASTLES Program, a free teaching kitchen will take place. Chef Carlos Davis, from Riffs Fine Street Food- Food Truck will be teaching the demo featuring a seasonal menu with local produce and meats from the Market. (You may remember me mentioning them, I met them on the cheese tour!)
The first 25 people to pre-register will receive a $5 gift certificate to the Woodbine Farmers Market. There will be 2 demonstrations, one at 9:45am and the other at 10:45am inside the Community Center. In addition to the teaching kitchen, musician Robby Hecht will be performing live starting at 10am. There will also be a bilingual story time in both English and Spanish that begins at 11am.
The Market will be run by Good Food for Good People’s Mary Crimmins who founded the Woodbine Farmers Market last season, as well as local Woodbine resident Cindy Murphy. The Market will boast local produce, local meats, local cheeses, locally roasted coffee, local pies, and much more! For more information and complete list of vendors, please visit www.WoodbineFarmersMarket.com
Friday, May 6, 2011
I promised I’d share with y’all the pro photos from our wedding day, and they’re in! Scroll down below the recipe to see the links.
Let me apologize for posting the same photo for this quinoa post as I did with the Indian Spiced Chicken. I only took photos of the two together, not thinking that I’d probably want to post seperate photos. As I mentioned in my previous post, I chose the chicken recipe after I chose the quinoa recipe. This recipe instantly appealed to me from the moment I saw it. You may have noticed I’ve been on a curry kick. And I have professed my love of quinoa many times. So my friends, this means this recipe is quite a winning pairing of ingredients in my book. This wasn’t the quickest or easiest recipe, but it was far from difficult. The fact that it calls for frozen peas & carrots, means the only work I really had to do was chop the onion & zest the orange. It was originally meant to be a light main dish, but I know Nathan rarely gets full from dinner if there isn’t an animal protein involved. Thus, I chose to combine the quinoa with the chicken. That way, there would be more of the quinoa to go around, and hopefully leftover for lunch!
To say I loved this dish would be an understatement. I made it again a mere two days later. I loved the spice of the curry, the sweetness of the raisins, and extra flavor kick from the zest. MmmmMmmMmmm… Filling, healthy, and delicious. Seriously, make this, you will not be disappointed!
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Curried Quinoa with Chickpeas & Almonds
Ingredients:
1/2 cup(s) quinoa
1/2 cup(s) orange juice
1/2 cup(s) water
1 1/2 tsp curry powder
3/4 tsp table salt
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/8 tsp ground allspice
1 tsp olive oil
1 small onion(s), chopped
1 clove(s) (medium) garlic clove(s), minced
1/2 cup(s) cooked frozen peas and carrots, thawed
5 oz canned chickpeas, (garbanzo beans), rinsed and drained
2 Tbsp sliced almonds, toasted
1/8 tsp black pepper, freshly ground
1/4 cup(s) golden seedless raisins
2 medium scallion(s), chopped
1 Tbsp cilantro, fresh, chopped
1 tsp orange zest, grated
Directions:
Combine the quinoa, orange juice, water, curry powder, 1/2 teaspoon of the salt, the cumin, and allspice in a medium saucepan; bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, covered, until the liquid is absorbed, 12–15 minutes.
Heat the oil in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion, garlic, and peas and carrots; cook, stirring frequently, until slightly softened, about 3 minutes. Stir in the chickpeas and almonds; cook, stirring, about 2 minutes longer. Remove the skillet from the heat, then stir in the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and the pepper.
Transfer the quinoa mixture to a large bowl. Stir in the raisins, scallions, cilantro, and orange zest; toss well. Stir in the chickpea mixture and serve at once or let the mixture cool to room temperature before serving. Yields 1 1/3 cup per serving.
Wedding Pics, whoot whoot! We had SO.MUCH.FUN taking pictures with our photographer. Everyone keeps commenting that the pictures really captured our personality & style, so feel free to take a peek! Here’s her Facebook album with a selection of the photos, and her blog post with a slideshow.
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