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Category: Recipes

Rum Manhattan

In reading The Skillet the other day, I came across Claire Lower’s 3 ingredient cocktail feature. In exploring these drinks, the Rum Manhattan popped up. After reading the comments, I decided I had to try it – and share it with all of you. Many commenters mentioned the cocktail would be overly sweet, which is possible, but I think with an aged rum, this tipple would actually be very balanced and quite nice. BTW, I was correct – very balanced and quite enjoyable. So here goes… regardless of where you stand on this cocktail, don’t shoot the messenger. Thanks for another winning cocktail Claire! Save Print Rum Manhattan Prep time:  5 mins Total time:  5 mins Serves: 1   Ingredients…

Tuxedo Cocktail

How about a Saturday evening cocktail to ease into the binge watching one of your favorite shows?  The Tuxedo Cocktail is what Jerry Thomas would call a ‘fancy martini’ – and this tipple seems to have as many variations as the previously posted sibling concoction – the Trilby. First up is the basic Tuxedo Cocktail – gin, sherry, and orange bitters. According to Punch, this cocktail was created during the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries at the Waldorf Astoria Bar and was named after Tuxedo Park – an experiment in exclusive country club style living. Tuxedo Park was established in 1886 outside of Jersey City as a respite for wealthy New Yorkers seeking to live outside the city in comfort and…

Sous Vide Chicken and Artichokes

Tonight my experiment was to make a simple chicken and artichoke meal sous vide – something with tender and juicy chicken and a delicious sauce. This dish does just that – flavorful sous vide chicken with a silky, savory, citrus tinged sauce. I like this type of dish in various other incarnations – chicken piccata, chicken marsala, etc.  And I enjoy the subtle flavors added by the artichokes and sun dried tomatoes into this simple sherry and lemon sauce. I paired it with orzo and roasted Brussels sprouts, a delightful combination all around and the sides are just as simple to prepare as the main dish. Give it a try and enjoy this tasty chicken dish – easily prepared using your sous vide cooking device! Save Print Sous…

Elder Fashioned

Happy Friday the 13th! For all you triskaidekaphobics out there, put your worries about the 13th away and try this happy hour delight. Hot on the tail of the last week’s Old Fashioned cocktail post comes this variant. Do I sense a new theme here?  Well, this variant will tickle your taste buds as I am substituting the sugar with St. Germain – that lovely elderflower liqueur that powered such favorites as St. Germain Spritz, Agave Bloom, Elderflower Thistle, Citadelle Germain, Next to the Last Word, and Holiday Spritz. And this cocktail really delivers. Part Old Fashioned, part Negroni in flavor, I like it. It is different, yet simple… and who doesn’t like that! Give it a try yourself and let me know…

Experiment: Sous Vide Deconstructed Chicken Cacciatore

Here is one of the bonuses of my new job – testing pre-production equipment. Tonight I used the Vesta Imersa immersion circulator to make a sous vide chicken cacciatore. Yep, you read that right and the process was simple. I placed the sauce ingredients into a large recloseable bag with a valve, suctioned the air out, and cooked it in the water bath at 185F for at least 6 hours. After the 6 hours (or more), I lowered the temperature of the water bath to 145F in order to cook the chicken. Here is a pro tip – adding ice to the water bath will bring the temperature down to the target. I placed a chicken breast in a small recloseable bag with the desired spices and…

Old Fashioned

During a recent conversation with friends about cocktails, specifically the old fashioned, a quick search of the blog from my phone left me quite embarrassed.  I could not believe I have posted several variations of this classic, but never celebrated the original. Well, it is time to rectify that oversight tonight! This cocktail is considered one of the six basic drinks documented in David A. Embury’s The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks. It’s earliest reference is in an 1806 response to a letter as the definition of a ‘cocktail’ – to wit – a potent concoction of spirits, bitters, water, and sugar. That is the very definition of the classic Old Fashioned, which really explains how this tipple received its name. I…

Japchae

Last night’s dinner was another Korean dish I recently encountered while doing some research.  I have enjoyed this wonderful dish at my Korean friends’ parties and honestly, I just had to pare and simplify this recipe down for one. Or two, depending on how hungry you are. From the recipe I used as a base, I had to find a way to make this easier so I broke out the components of this dish. Marinated stir fried beef. That is easy enough, I have done that several times in the past. Stir fried vegetables. Same.  Korean glass noodles.  Well, that is a new one for me.  I have read several ways to prepare these sweet potato starch noodles – from what I can tell one…

Pasta Frittata

Tonight’s dish is a great dish for using leftover pasta, especially straight pasta like spaghetti, capellini, etc. And if you don’t have any leftover pasta? No sweat, just make a small batch while you crisp up the guanciale!  This dish is based on a flexible ‘use what you have’ type of recipe but can be adapted to a planned meal easily enough. I used asparagus and red pepper for vegetables, which pairs wonderfully with eggs and pasta. Just think, this dish is just out of the ordinary to give you something new to enjoy for dinner… or brunch! Give it a try and adapt it to suit your pantry and tastes. I am confident you will enjoy the results! Save Print…

Prospector

I finally found a cocktail that is as varied as this Spring weather. Meet the Prospector. While researching this evening’s tipple, I found recipes that used tequila, cognac, blended scotch, or bourbon as the main spirit and absolutley no consensus on the other ingredients. From what I can tell, all these cocktails named Prospector have their own origins but there is nothing easily identifiable in regards to an actual history. So I will through caution to the wind and present the Prospector that caught my eye – a Manhattan variant (imagine that – dang, I need to get out more!).  Mixing bourbon and Averno Amaro seems like a natural pairing, but spiking it with a ‘pop’ of sherry is what got my attention. And…

Take-out Fried Rice

Today’s dish is one that many people enjoy when ordering take-out or delivery Chinese food. This simple fried rice, usually with diced Chinese BBQ pork, scrambled egg, and peas and carrots, just satisfies a hunger like many other comfort foods. And that is a good way to look at this dish – a satisfying comfort food that you can make at home faster than your nearest joint can deliver! Using leftover rice insures it fries nicely without turning into a ‘stuck to the bottom of the pan’ mess. With just a few ingredients alongside the leftover rice, this dish comes together almost on its own. Are you ready to give your belly something you both will enjoy?  If so, read on! Save Print…