Royal Whisky Sunrise

So, I tend to collect a lot of different types of alcohol, mixes and liqueur in my cabinet.  So much so, that it gets stuffed in, and you have to be careful to open the doors when opening.  Or, I just end up having to start putting it elsewhere.  Why do I collect so much alcohol?  Well, two reasons really.  The first being that I love to experiment with new recipes and that always seems to require buying yet another bottle of something or another.  And, if you looked at my current selection, right now, it's kind of sad as I'm not even stocking blue curacao or grenadine, or even a nice chocolate liqueur.  But my liquor cabinet is busting at the seams regardless, and that's when reason number two comes in.  I throw a lot of parties. People tend to bring alcohol.  People leave opened bottles behind, I put them in my cabinet. 

I have 2.5 bottles of Tequila.  I have 5 kinds of rum.  I have 3 kinds of whiskey.  I have at least 4 bottles of vodka.  And add to that a few miscellaneous like triple sec, sweet vermouth, etc and voila, the cabinet is stuffed.  Not to mention there is a bottle of Crown Royal (a big one) with what appears to be just a single shot left rolling around in the bottom.  Why not just throw it out?  'Cause it's Crown Royal!  That would be alcohol abuse.

In the mood for a cocktail last night, I decided to take on the challenge to use that last shot of Crown Royal.  But it couldn't just be straight into a glass with ice.  That's no fun.  I had to play.  And after reviewing my selection of grains to go with it, here's what resulted:  The Whiskey Sunrise.  I should mention that this is not for the faint of heart.  You must enjoy the taste of whiskey.  There's no masking it here.

Royal Whiskey Sunrise
(amidst my dust of kitchen renovations)

Royal Whiskey Sunrise

1 part Crown Royal
1 part Light Rum
1 part Triple Sec
2 parts Pineapple juice

Pour into shaker over 3 cubes of ice
Shake well.

Pour into martini glass
Drizzle in about 1T of maraschino cherry juice

     - This is your sunrise, you'll notice how the cherry juice stays on the bottom.  Your drink will change as you consume it, the flavors mixing differently from pineapple, orange and cherry.  I found it to be a very nice adventure.

Now, since I had just 1 shot left of the Crown Royal, and I was in the mood for a 2nd drink, I did attempt to make a second with Johnny Walker Black Label whiskey.  While the drink had the flavor remnants of the first... JW is a much stronger whiskey in flavor.  It was "OK" but going forward should I ever decide to make this again or serve it at a bar or to friend, Crown Royal is the only way to go, there really is no other substitute.

Spring into Spring Rolls

A while back we hosted a party at our house.  I know, right, me, throw a party... could you imagine. <yes I'm being sarcastic)  And I said "a while back" meaning it was more than just this past month.  Most people will tell you that I entertain a lot.  Well, I do.  I like it.  No, I love it.  I entertain, a LOT.  If something isn't going on at my house that month, I go stir crazy.  Heck, it's a reason just to keep my house clean!  I thrive on having a house full of guests, laughing, drinking, having a good time, and eating.  I like the feeling of slaving over a hot stove all day creating a well deserved master piece, whether it's a recipe I've done before or something new.  And then presenting it to them to enjoy, all the while soaking in the ooooos and aaahhhs and oh yummmms.  So when I entertain, I always whip up something I know I can do well and has been done in the past, but I also like to toss in something new, never tried.  Sometimes they go well, sometimes they flop.



So, this party.  It was a pot luck.  And although the pot luck means everyone should be bringing one dish, I of course still worry that there won't be enough food.  So I cook more than I should.  Also, it's just so hard to choose only one recipe.  I had recently been craving spring rolls.  I didn't want to go for the pre-frozen, and I didn't want to order them from the local Chinese restaurant.  It's obvious, it was going to be a homemade attempt.  I don't have a deep fryer.  Shock, I know.  So, this could go well, or it could go poorly since I can't fry them, they will have to be baked.  But whatever, it's about playing.  After compiling a subset of several different recipes and things to try, I gathered my ingredients, or what I thought should go inside spring rolls and started to wing it.  Here are those results.





Ingredients:
 - Spring rolls are loaded with veggies.  Crunchy ones and soft ones.  Here's what I chose.

Shredded Carrots	Sprouts!  (who doesn't love sprouts?)
Mushrooms	Broccoli Slaw

- (but not just ANY mushrooms, I found the most awesomist mushrooms ever "Enoki Mushrooms!") 
- You're going to want to rinse off and trim your mushrooms


       - Spring Rolls rice paper wrappers, not to be confused with Won-ton wrappers.  The Spring roll rice papers can be found int eh international aisle of your grocery store.  I found them with the special Chinese noodles.
       - Salt, Pepper
       - Soy Sauce
       - Sesame Oil

Let's Play!

 - Use a wok if you have one.  If not, just use your stainless steel and get it as hot as you can.
 - Drizzle sesame oil to taste and add all your shredded veggies
 - Salt and Pepper and soy sauce to taste
     - Don't over do the soy sauce, as it will make stuffing your wrappers very messy
 - Cook until the veggies are at the tenderness you like
     - I do mine al dente so they still have crunch, but are not raw
     - Make it a habit to take a piece out and taste it, test it.  Not just for tenderness, but flavor.  More salt?  More pepper?  More sesame oil?  More soy?



Get Rolling!

 - Let your veggies cool down a bit, since you'll be handling them with your fingers.
 - Locate your baking dish or cookie sheet and spray generously with cooking spray.  If not, they WILL stick.
 - Get a saute/frying/pot big enough to fit your rice paper flat.  Fill with just about 1 inch of water and get it hot, but not boiling.  You're putting your fingers into it.  If found hot water from my sink was good enough, no need to turn on a boiler.
 - Place one rice paper into the hot water and let it soak for 2-3 seconds until it softens.  Don't let it dissolve.
 - Put the now soft wrapper on your work area.  Grab a small amount of veggies and place in the center of the wrapper.
 - Fold the sides in over the veggies.  Fold the bottom up over the veggies.  Roll.
 - Repeat and repeat and repeat.
 - If you see rips and tears int he wrapper, try to start with those so that they wrap on the inside.
 - Line your rolls up on your dish/sheet
 - Oven at 375, into to bake, until they "look good"
 - Pull them out and serve

I served mine with a pre-made, store bought sauce and of course doctored it up with scallions and ginger.


You can also attempt to deep fry these, but I'm not sure how well that would go over, as they could fall apart.  My brother in law and I attempted to deep fry them the next day (yes, they SAVE) and they fell apart.  So he battered them, and then deep fried them, and Holy they were yummy.  So that's an option too!

Just a Simple Dish, Really

So, there I was sitting at lunch yesterday, chatting with coworkers and enjoying my meal.  We're talking food.  Of course.  The conversation, while I don't remember how it started, happened to fall upon salting one's food and how it is perceived by others around you; showing your personality.  It is said that if you salt your food prior to tasting it, then you are one to make certain assumptions prior to testing, and tend to jump to conclusions.  And if you're one to taste your food first, and then salt after if necessary, you are a more cautious person, not one to jump to assumptions.  This method has been used by employers taking potential job candidates out to lunch.  Now, I find this interesting, because for me, I taste and salt later, which would "tell" you that I don't make assumptions.  But if you know me, I'm the first one to jump into a situation with "well I think this and that" and am far too over opinionated for my own good.  But enough about me, back to salt.

Pre-salting your food can also seen as a great insult to the chef.  You're, again, making an assumption that the food is not good enough and requires salt before you even taste it.  But, you can look at the other way too and one who tastes and salts afterwards can be viewed the same way.  I did experience this once with a family member; only it wasn't salt, it was hot sauce.  Before I knew that he hot sauced everything, I was quite insulted to watch him "ruin" several of my meals with hot sauce over, and over, and over again.  Until I learned, he just liked things hot.  So, it is the same with salt.  One who salts, simply, just likes salt.  Regardless, I do tend to under-salt most of my food, for that very reason.  I let my diner salt it up to their desire, and I will add other spices to compliment.  So, word to the novice chef, salt is good but too much salt is bad.  Use your discretion and cater to the crowd you're serving.

Anyhow, back to lunch.  I was asked what it is that I'm eating, because apparently, it looks good.  When I told them it was just a simple throw together meal, they insisted I provide the ingredients and was asked if it was on my blog.  Of course it was not, it's not "gourmet."  I just tossed some stuff together!  Pretty sure I saw a similar recipe on Worst Cooks in America.  So I'm embarrassed to admit how stupidly simple this recipe is, but if executed correctly can feed a family of 4, with leftovers and can pass as dinner no problem and is disguised as gourmet.  I was so taken by the compliment however, that sure, I'll toss it up on the blog for others to enjoy.  After all, I was only playing with new variations of an old recipe.  Anyone remember Chicken Tonight?   Yeah, it's like that, only now mine is "semi-homemade" and yes, that theme song resonates through my brain the whole time I make this dish.

Ingredients:
Rice, just plain white
Chicken, I use both breast and thigh (boneless)
Green beans, frozen
Mushrooms, canned or fresh (I used canned as I was in a rush and no fresh in the fridge)
Cream of Mushroom Soup (any brand, but really, Cambell's is best)
Salt & Pepper to taste

 - But Jenn, how much of everything?  Well, now that depends on how many people you want to serve.  You know how much chicken you, personally, can eat.  How much can your toddler/child eat?  How much can your husband eat?  Decide if you need 2 breasts and 1 Thigh, etc.  (yes, that's what I used)  And since I can't stand leftover rice, I just did 1/2c uncooked rice to 1c water.  1 small can of mushrooms, and I pour the green beans in until it "just looks right."  And the soup is a regular 8oz can.

Prepare your Rice:  I've been getting creative lately with my rice, trying to give plain white rice some pizazz and flavoring up my food.  My absolute favorite rice is Jasmine rice.  But it's not cheap, so I really only make it with meals that I know it's going to compliment nicely.  And having had and love jasmine rice, plain old white rice is now just extremely boring.  So, here's how I prep my white rice.  In the water that you're boiling for the rice (according to the package directions), I add SALT.  Yep, that's right, I pre-salt my rice water.  It's a must in this case.  How much?  You decide.  1T for 1c uncooked rice usually does well.  But you know me, I don't measure, so it's just an estimate.  Along with the salt, I am now adding dry parsley.  Again, how much?  Just toss some in until it looks "right."  Why parsley?  Well, it adds some pretty color to the rice and flavors it just enough.  Parsley has a flavor, but not over powering.  So, boil your water, add your rice, cook according to directions.

Prepare the Chicken:  If your chicken is defrosted, cut it up into bite size cubes.  If it's not defrosted, get it to that state in your preferred method and then cut it into bite size cubes.  Get them into a frying pan with 2T olive oil, salt and pepper, and cook them on Med-High until golden brown on the outside.  Once brown, add your mushrooms and cook until also heated through.  Once the mushrooms are done, toss in your frozen green beans and the can of mushroom soup + 1/2 that same can of milk.  (Meaning, empty the soup from the can into the pan, then fill 1/2 that same can with milk and add that to the pan as well.)   Get everything stirred in nicely together and bring it to a soft boil and let simmer until the green beans are cooked through and the soup is hot.

Make Your Dish: I have a saucer bowl that I like to use for dishes like this, but you can also use a plate or an actual bowl.  On the plate/bowl lay down 1/2-3/4c of the rice.  Next to that, pour in 1-2c of the chicken mixture.  I like to let the chicken and rice overlap a bit, since by the end I've completely stirred everything together.  But it starts out visually appealing anyhow.

Enjoy:  Now, you can sit down and enjoy a meal that literally just took you 20 minutes to make.  And it only took that long because the rice had to cook.  If you have leftover rice, you can cut your cook time in half!  A 10 minute meal, yes please!!!  Oh yeah, and don't forget to place the salt on your table.  It's bound to happen, no matter what you cook, no matter how much you season, so just chalk it up to personal preference, don't look into it and know that you placed a fine meal on the table, salt or no salt.

(No picture of this meal since I hadn't planned on sharing it - perhaps next time I make it, I'll snap a few and edit for historical purposes)

Just a Splash of Irish

It's that time of year again where the boiled dinner smell wafts throughout the kitchens and everyone digs deep to prove they are at least 1/99th Irish so they have an excuse to drink. I don't make excuses, I just mix. And since this is the month of green, I got into my liquor cabinet to play.

Let me introduce you to my Peppermint Oreo Cookie Cocktail:

Into a shaker pour over ice:
2 parts mint Bailey's
1 part vodka of choice
1 part milk or cream
Shake vigorously.  Pour into a martini glass.
Makes 1

Variation on this drink:
2 parts chocolate liquor
1 part peppermint schnapps
1.5 parts cream
Shake vigorously.  Pour into a martini glass.
Makes 2

Garnish both drinks with a peppermint Oreo cookie.

- Now you ask me, what's a "part?" And, that, is up to you. How big is your shaker?

Drink It Simple - What's In YOUR Cabinet?

Well, it's been a while since I've posted, and I actually have 2 or 3 recipes that need I need to get going on, complete with pictures.  But I've been busy.  Work busy.  Children busy.  House busy.  Cake busy.  But mostly... children busy.  Having two, really takes it out of you. So, on a Friday night, when I need to relax, I open the doors to my liquor cabinet. 

I try to keep it stocked with one of everything.  Dark rum, Light Rum, Spiced rum, flavored rum, Vodka, Flavored vodka (this varies), Bailey's, Tequila, Whiskey, Vermouth, and of course, anything left over from the last party we had.  This means that at any given time, I have the good makings of just about any drink (traditional) that you could make.  Now, I don't stock the schnapps, the liquors and mixes for all these new fangled "in" drinks. But should I come across one I like, of course I stock up on the ingredients.  But regardless, when I need a cocktail, my liquor cabinet can serve me well.  Now, that's not to say that I stock my cabinet solely for drinking.  A well stocked liquor cabinet can also be good for cooking, which I often will toss in a splash of this, and a splash of that.  Think Rum, Whiskey, Vermouth, Marsala, and so on.

But tonight, I didn't cook.  No, tonight my husband was sent down to the local taco take out to pick up a few burritos.  I started to reach for the Tequila, yes, yes I did.  But what stopped me was knowing.. I have a really good purple juice in the fridge.  Blueberry and Pomegranate.  Now, my initial thought, was to pair this with rum, perhaps a coconut rum... hrm, but no that wouldn't do.  Vodka, yes vodka should serve my purpose.  But alas, I have BLUEBERRY vodka in the cabinet.  Oh swimmingly perfect.

So, I produced this.  Blueberry, Pomegranate cocktail.  So simple, so under the radar, but yet, it's perfect for tonight.  Let's play.

3 parts vodka
2 parts juice
into a shaker with ice
shake
pour
consume

Voila.

Don't like the whole "martini" aspect?  Too strong for your tastes?  No problem.  Pour this over ice in a rocks glass and add a splash of seltzer.  That's officially makes this a "spritzer."

Roasted Veggies a Go-Go

Apparently, I have a problem.  An addiction really.  Some might just call it an obsession.  A need to always be doing something.  A need to always be planning something.  A requirement to provide food, drink and good company to a crowd.  That's right, I LOVE to throw parties!  If something's not on the horizon, I feel empty.

At work, I am the lead planner for a Halloween party we have for the employee kids; it's called Trunk or Treat.  (ToT)  At the ToT event I provide pizza, salad, chicken nuggets, drinks and desserts for about 850 people, plus activities and trick or treating.  I am also on the holiday party planning committee for the employees that sit in my building, it's called Festivus.  This party serves up 350 people, we have it catered, it's potluck dessert, and oh yeah, there's a 40+ participant Yankee Swap and a 9 hole mini golf course setup by departments in the building.

At home, I have a Luau every year in my back yard.  Fully decked out and themed, I provide most of the food, people bring sides, we've had a live band a few years now; a guest list of 40-150 depending on the year.  I've been known to throw a "Last Holiday Party of the Year" party the end of January and open my house to 100 people.  Oh yeah, and one more, my husband has lots of 1st cousins, so we open our doors to a potluck that hosts 30 people in February.  And I love it.  I don't typically stress about it.  Key word there being "typically" because there's always something to stress about.  And not to mention the occasional family birthday or anniversary party I get to dig into from time to time.

 
But anyhow, I threw yet another party this past weekend.  Menu included pulled pork, baked macaroni & cheese.... and.... yep, you guessed it, roasted veggies.  Now, roasted veggies can come in all shapes, sizes and varieties.  Everyone has their own mantra on how they should be roasted, and what they should be roasted with.  I've roasted veggies on the grill, in the oven, on the stove-top.  Inside tin-foil, on the broiler pan, over a hot fire, on the grill.  And I always experiment with different flavors, oils and spices.  But this weekend, yeah, this weekend, I hit the mark.  These veggies were awesome!  And I loved my variety.  They were so colorful.  So let's play.
 


Select Your Veggies:


I went with the following:

• Carrots, shaved, rough chop into same sizes
• Turnip, shaved, rough chop into same sizes
• Baby Redskin Potatoes, diced to match the carrot sizes
• Baby Portabella Mushrooms, diced to match the carrot sized
• Broccoli, chopped to match the carot size, roughly
• 1 Red Onion, nice big pieces
• 8 gloves whole garlic, peeled

Place in baking dish.  Pre-heat your oven to 375 degrees

Now your flavorings:

• Olive Oil, very generous drizzle
• Basil, even sprinkle
• Oregano, even sprinkle
• Salt, generous
• Pepper, generous

Put on center rack in your oven, roast for 30 minutes.  Toss veggies around, return to oven for another 15 minutes.  Remove, cover with tin foil and let sit for another 10 minutes.

Voila!

Not Your Mama's Meatloaf!

Ok, let's be honest here, no kid likes meatloaf.  Growing up, I can remember slathering my slice of mushed meat with ketchup and showering it with salt in order to choke it down.  When mom made meatloaf there was always a standoff and an extra glass of milk to help make it go down.  But I think it's a requirement that mom's make meatloaf, and that they force their children to eat it.  I also grew up in a household where you ate what was on your plate.  None of this "I'll make a second meal crap" 'cause my kid is picky.  Honestly,  yes, there are a few meals that aren't worth the battle and I toss nuggets or fish sticks in the microwave instead.  I know my daughter will never eat "red sauce" on her spaghetti, but that doesn't require a second dinner, just omit the sauce and add butter to hers.  But for some reason, I allow certain battles at dinner to commence.  She must try everything, even if it requires tears and sitting there for 30 minutes.  She will learn eventually that she is of my genes and hence I am just as, if not more, stubborn as she is.

Funny enough, my daughter won last night's meatloaf battle by falling asleep at the table.  Four straight days without a nap, and late nights will do that to a four year old.  There she was refusing to eat the meatloaf one second, and the next her eyes were closed and she was snoring.  Kassidy 1, Meatloaf 0.  There will be a rematch.  And it was to her loss, since last night's loaf was surely a winner!!

I base my meatloaf recipe, of course, off my mom's.  I don't veer TOO far off the original, but I add a few extra ingredients to make it my own.  And for mystery sake, I'm not telling you what's original and what's not.  Personally, I like a meatloaf full of flavor, much like a meatball, only... in a loaf.  And I'm a strong believer that my meatloaf should not crunch when I bite into it, so no celery or fresh onion for me.  I also never make the same meatloaf twice.  I'm always changing something.  But last night, winna winna meatloaf dinna!  Let's play.




Ingredients
Put all this in one big bowl.

• 1 pound ground beef (or turkey)
• 1/2 pound ground pork (a must, no substitute)
• 1/2 pound ground veal (a must, no substitute)
• Salt/Pepper
• 1T ground Savory, although I typically just dump a quarter size into my palm and toss
• 1/4 cup ketchup, estimated, I just squirt what looks good
• 2T Worcestershire sauce, estimated, I just put in 5 or 6 good shakes
• 1/4 cup milk, estimated, I just pour for 2 seconds
• 1 egg, exact
• 2-3 shakes garlic salt
• 2-3 shakes onion powder
• 1/2 cup bread crumbs (Italian, add flavor every where you can), honestly, this is an estimate, I just cup my hand and fill my hand, could be almost a full cup
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, again, I'm estimating, beucase I really just sprinkle a good layer over the top of the bowl I'm mixing things in

Run the water in your sink and get it nice and hot, run your hands under it and warm them up.  Remove any rings you're wearing.  The only way to properly mix is to get in there and do it by hand.  Why the hot water?  There's something about cold ground meat that just chills you right to the bone.  You're going to want to do this at least twice while you're mixing to reheat your hands.  Start rolling it around and squishing and get all the ingredients incorporated nicely.  I mix mine a little longer than my mom would, as I prefer a solid structure loaf, while she likes one to kind of fall apart.  The longer you "play" with raw meat like playdough, the consistently will change once cooked. Play with it less, you get more of a chunky loaf, play with it more, you get a solid structure.   Get it mixed up well and form a large meatball.

Select your pan.  I like to use my broiler pan.  Big enough to hold the loaf, but the slits also allow the juices to run down.  Plus, you don't feel like you're pushing to squish it into one of those traditional meatloaf pans.  This allows your loaf to "breathe."  So, prep the pan with a spray of cooking spray so it doesn't stick later and drop your big meatball down on top of it, form it into a loaf.

You didn't put the ketchup and Parmesan cheese away yet, did you?  If you did, get it back out.  Sprinkle the top with cheese, just a light dusting.  Then squirt on your ketchup.  Not too much, it's really for decoration and just a smidge of flavor.  (Hm... did you make breakfast this morning and not use the whole pound of bacon?  Here's a variation I've done once... before the Parmesan, lay the bacon across)

Your oven should be preheated to 350 degrees.  Place your pan on the center rack and let it go for 1 hour, 15 minutes.  Don't open the door.  When it's done, take it out, let it rest.  Very important to let it rest!!!  Just like a fine steak, all those juices are running wild inside and you don't want to lose them but cutting it open and letting it bleed.  By letting the meatloaf rest, the juices redistribute and calm down.  Give it 10 minutes, at least.

Good time to whip up your side dishes, or at least finish them up.  I always grew up with peas and mashed potatoes with meatloaf, so that's usually what I make.  And I got lazy last night, for some reason was really feeling the need for instant mashed potatoes.  Betty Crocker makes a good "butter" flavor.  And after letting it sit according to directions, add another tablespoon of butter, a dash of salt and a splash of milk, voila, no one knows the difference.  Hey, it's Christmas weekend, I had a lot going on, I deserve a cheat.

So, as we sit down to eat and commence the meat battle with Kassidy, she falls asleep.  I of course have my cell phone at hand and snap a picture.  The meatloaf battle in our house as a kid is a truth that both my sister and I share, so I sent her the picture and comment about the meatloaf battle.  She texts me back..... "wait, you made meatloaf with peas and potatoes????" - yes, there were four question marks.  Upon inquiry, I find out that she too, had made meatloaf, with.. peas and potatoes.  Now, ok really strange since we both detested it so much as children but now find that we actually kinda crave meatloaf once in a while.  And with this recipe who wouldn't?   At the same time, I had messaged my parents, the same said picture.  Yeah, turns out... they were having meatloaf too!  Really, it's funnier if you're one of our family, but it was worth mentioning.

So there's your meatloaf.  Makes a great meatloaf sandwich the next day too!  Enjoy!