Happy Friday before Labor Day, everyone! I am back and here is tonight’s tipple – the Hunter Cocktail. Recently, I was reading a viewpoint about mixing cocktails with few high quality ingredients being courageous. I will admit that I all acts of creation take a modicum of courage – it exposes the creator to criticism and review regardless of the ingredient count. The beauty is that people take the chance to share something and extend their experience and knowledge, regardless of the accolades or critique. This is one of those cocktails; ingeniously simple and…
Today I want to share with you a delicious experiment I recently completed. After sharing the Balsamic Ginger Fig Jam with friends and co-workers (to rave reviews I might add), I found Adriatic figs at my local international store and decided to see if I could work the same magic with them. I was thinking something along the lines of the Fig Newton filling – but with a bit of something extra. How about an adult Fig Newton; one laced with bourbon? So, I set about to create this concoction and here are the results…
Here is a quick Thai inspired beef satay dish that really satisfies. Intensely flavorful and simple to prepare, I just don’t know why I haven’t made this dish before… or 100 times before as a matter of fact. I like these skewers of marinated thinly sliced beef with peanut sauce when preparing as appetizer or jasmine rice and stir fried vegetables when made as a meal. Really, nothing much more is needed. And with these waning days of summer, it is a great excuse to fire up the grill. So invite…
How does shredded beef in a rich, flavorful sauce sound? This Caribbean dish has roots in the region’s Spanish influence, specifically from the Canary Islands. Ropa Vieja is known as the national dish of Cuba and Puerto Rico also has a famous variant. The beauty of Ropa Vieja is in braising the beef in a rich sofrito, then shredding the beef into the sauce before adding sauteed peppers and onions along with briny green olives and cilantro. My variant is a bit different – an experiment to see if I can replicate the braised…
With the heat recently, I just have not felt like cooking. These are times when simple appetizers satisfy best and this hummus recipe is easy to prepare and delicious to enjoy. The recipe is based on this one from Inspired Taste and it produces a wonderfully creamy hummus that can be tweaked as you see fit. Roasted red pepper, no problem. Roasted garlic, again easy to add. Only your imagination limits you when it comes to this Mediterranean staple. My favorite add is the simplest – lemon zest. I like the increased ‘zing’ from…
How about a summer Saturday evening tipple to tantalize your taste buds? This riff on the violet imbued Aviation cocktail swaps in St. Germain elderflower liqueur for the Creme de Violette. But don’t be fooled, gin is the star here so choose it wisely. Different gins will provide you with different flavor profiles, some of which may not be particularly palatable. Just think of how a string juniper forward gin would pair with elderflower – probably not well in my humble opinion! So I kept my concoction solidly in the floral range by using…
Hot on the heels of the Sous Vide Corn on the Cob comes the best burger I think I have ever tasted – sous vide wagyu burger. I was feeling a bit flush this week and bought some wagyu ground beef at my local grocery store. Of course, the only thing on my mind was how this choicest of choice meats was going to taste prepared sous vide. Well, it is fabulous – plain and simple. The burger was tender, juicy, and flavorful like no other burger I have ever had. I paired it with sous…