Thirsty Thursday (Primo Edition): No Throw Solo

Happy Valentine's Day!  You might be expecting a holiday-themed cocktail...and you'd be right...just not THAT holiday.

My cousin Primo messaged me over the weekend with this new cocktail recipe, so I had to get it posted for this week!  Since Mardi Gras season is in full swing down in in New Orleans, he created this as his cocktail special to run through Fat Tuesday (March 5 this year).  If you're going to be in NOLA for Carnival season, head over to La Bayou, say hey to Primo, and order one up...or you can make it at home.

INGREDIENTS:
1.5 oz Scotch (Primo uses Grant's Family Reserve)
1 oz dry Riesling (Kung Fu Girl)
1 oz pineapple juice
1/2 oz Thyme simple syrup (recipe below)

DIRECTIONS:
Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice.  Serve over ice and garnish with a sprig of fresh thyme (and charred pineapple, if you have the means).

P.S. Don't forget to follow Primo's newest culinary adventure, Snaxidermy, a pop-up restaurant serving up killer creations like Texas brisket tacos and smoked rib sliders.

Thyme Simple Syrup:
1 cup water
1 cup white sugar
handful of fresh thyme

Combine sugar, water, and thyme sprigs in a small saucepan. Bring mixture to a boil over medium-high, stirring until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat, and cool to room temperature(~30 minutes). Strain to remove thyme sprigs. Store in the fridge in an airtight container.

Pineapple Upside Down Pancakes

The Hubs made these for us for breakfast the other day and they were soooooo good.  So I wanted to share the recipe!

INGREDIENTS: (makes about six 6-inch pancakes)
1 cup Pancake Mix (we use Alton Brown's recipe)
1 cup skim milk
1 egg
coconut oil for frying (add as needed for each batch)
3 Tbsp Butter
2 Tbsp Praline Liqueur
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1 cup fresh pineapple pieces (you can use rings if you want it to look fancy, we didn't have any on-hand)
6 maraschino cherries

DIRECTIONS:
Combine the pancake mix, milk, and egg, and set aside.
In a medium sauce pan, combine the butter, liqueur, and brown sugar and heat over medium until dissolved, then add the pineapple.  Cook for about 5-6 minutes or until caramelized, stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile, heat a skillet over medium and add about 1/4 cup of coconut oil.  Once hot, scoop pancake mix into the pan, using about 1/3 cup of batter per cake.  Top each cake with a pineapple ring or about 5-6 pieces and a cherry.  Continue to cook the brown sugar sauce so it thickens (this will be your syrup).  Once the bottom is browned, flip the cakes and cook until golden.

Serve with the brown sugar syrup and devour!

Thirsty Thursday: The "Honey I'm Home" (Ginger Honey Pineapple Cocktail)

Our friends recently decided to host a throwback 50s style cocktail party, and it was SERIOUSLY fun.  I talked about the jalapeno bacon deviled eggs that we brought in an earlier post, but now it's time to talk about the COCKTAILS!

Everyone was tasked with bringing a bottle of booze, while the host provided an assortment of mixers and garnishes.  There was a wall of classic cocktail recipes for those who wanted to play mixologist.  Me, I was happy with a good ol' amaretto sour (coincidentally, one of the only "hard liquor" cocktails I would drink in college. I know, I'm such a girl.)

My friend Chelsea created this signature cocktail to accompany the theme of the party.  Many thought it was a little heavy on the ginger but I LOVED it.

INGREDIENTS:
2 oz honey-pineapple vodka
2 oz tonic water (could alternately use sparkling/seltzer water for a fizzy version...or even just ginger ale)
1 oz honey ginger simple syrup
fresh pineapple, honey & turbinado sugar (to garnish)

DIRECTIONS:  
In a shaker, mix the vodka and simple syrup with ice and shake to combine.  
Dip the rim of the glass in a small plate of honey, and then subsequently into a small plate of sugar to create the sugared rim.  
Fill the glass with ice, pour in the vodka mixture, and top with tonic water, and then garnish with a slice of pineapple.

Enjoy!

Adventures in Pepper Jelly: aka Smoked Pineapple Jalapeno Refrigerator Jam

As I mentioned in my last post, we were recently bestowed with an ENORMOUS stockpile of jalapenos & banana peppers.  I decided, "hey, I've never made pepper jelly before, and I have a Cajun food blog--I think it's about time!"

And so began my adventure.  Let's just state for the record--I have little to no jelly-making experience. I've made some cranberry-pineapple refrigerator jam which turned out pretty well, but in general, my homemade jam experience primarily involves magical childhood memories of enjoying strawberry freezer jam made by my Nana over warm Amish-made sourdough bread.  So...mostly I just have experience with EATING a lot of fridge & freezer jam.

As with most cooking adventures, I started on Pinterest.  The first recipe I tried resulted in an absolutely beautiful product that tasted lovely...but was the consistency of roof tar.  I couldn't even clean out the jar to try & reuse it.  *sniff* So sad.  

Lesson learned: Not all pectins are the same.  I have a jar of INSTANT pectin SPECIFICALLY for making fridge & freezer jam, meaning it's not intended to go through the boiling process.  I'm sure if you try this recipe with the RIGHT pectin, it would be fabulous.  

So for Attempt #2, I went straight to the Ball Website to find a pepper jelly recipe for my type of pectin.  And I did!  We decided to tweak this just a little bit: instead of green peppers & canned chilis, we went with our fresh jalapenos, and we grilled the pineapple & jalapenos first to add an extra layer of flavor.  

Lesson learned:  You are not as bad@ss as you think you are.  Remove at least SOME of the seeds before you puree.  We ended up having to puree more pineapple and add in a bunch of pineapple juice in order to bring this down to an edible level--and even then it was really ONLY tolerable with cream cheese to kill the capsacin.

THIS is exactly why I only make one jar of things, rather than a whole batch.

So...we made ONE MORE BATCH, using all our lessons and tinkering, and THAT'S what I present to you today.  

(Served over cream cheese for our most recent work potluck luncheon.)

INGREDIENTS (per 8oz [pint] jar):
1/2 cup sugar
1 Tbsp INSTANT Pectin (for fridge/freezer jams)
About 8 oz of pineapple slices (we did use canned for our last batch and it still tasted fine)
3 jalapenos, seeds & ribs removed (you can leave the seeds in one if you like heat)
Juice of 1/2 lime
1/2-1 tsp Liquid Smoke (optional, to taste)
Pineapple Juice (as needed--grilling removes some of the moisture so you may need to add a little juice to get a full jar)

DIRECTIONS:
Have a clean, sterilized pint jar ready (as always, we used EasyClean, but you can also use your dishwasher or any of the other sterilization methods)
Grill your pineapple rings & jalapenos until they have a light char.
Stir the sugar and pectin together in a medium bowl, set aside.
Add your pineapple, jalapenos, lime juice, and Liquid Smoke to a blender or food processor and pulse until finely chopped.  Then pour the mixture into the bowl with the sugar/pectin and stir for 3 minutes.  Taste & decide if you want to add more of the Liquid Smoke (a little goes a LONG way, but we think it ups the smoky flavor from the grill).

Transfer the jelly into your pint jar, and add a little pineapple juice if you need in order to get a full jar, and mix well.  Stick in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to thicken.  You can keep it in the fridge for about a month or in the freezer for a year.

Thirsty Thursday: Wishful Drinking

Man...this no "real" Thirsty Thursday thing can really get a woman down!  So, let's do some "virtual drinking" together, shall we?  I'll put up the Abita umbrella on the back patio, make sure the comfy chair cushions are nice & clean, put the dog out in the yard, and then whip up a few of these perfect summertime cocktails... (and if those cocktails just happen to feature some of my favorite Missouri and Louisiana spirits, all the better!)

"Boat Shoes" - recipe created by Missouri Spirits

"Moonshine Mule" - recipe featuring Copper Run Distillery , made in Walnut Shade, Missouri

(several other good recipes from Copper Run behind that link)

"Bayou Berry Lemonade" - recipe featuring Bayou Rum, made in Lacassine, Louisiana

Blackberry-Lemon Gin Fizz (aka the "Berry Manilow") - recipe featuring Oryza Gin made in Thibodaux, Louisiana

Slainte, folks! (And please...somebody out there have a few for me? Please???)

Thirsty Thursday: Pina Colada Smoothie or Daiquiri

With the weather warming up, I feel like I should be at the beach.  But alas, I am 12-14 hours from anything even slightly beachy (assuming rocky shores along lakes don't count, and they DON'T).  When temps creep above 70, all I really want is to be by the water with my toes in the sand, a cold drink in my hand, and to hear the lapping of waves in the distance.

Thankfully, this recipe takes care of one of those things.  We developed this smoothie in our second year of The Scoop, and it was a huge hit.  It has a very tropical feel to it, and can very easily convert into a tasty adult beverage with the addition of just a bit of coconut rum.

INGREDIENTS:
8 oz frozen pineapple chunks
2 tbsp shredded coconut
1/2 cup Vanilla Greek yogurt
1/2 cup orange juice
1 tbsp coconut syrup
1 tsp toasted coconut to top

To Make Daquiri:
Add your preferred coconut rum (Malibu, Cruzan, Parrot Bay, etc) to desired strength--you can replace part of the orange juice or yogurt if you want to maintain a nice semi-thick texture. A friend gifted me with some pineapple honey vodka that is also great in this.

DIRECTIONS:
Blend the first 5 ingredients (plus booze, if you're making the daiquiri version) on High until well combined and no large chunks remain.  Then top with the toasted coconut*.

* to make toasted coconut, spread sweetened or unsweetened coconut flakes on a cookie pan, then place in a 350F oven for 5-10 minutes until golden brown.

Cranberry-Pineapple Refrigerator Jam

I can’t seem to commit to full-on canning & preserving.  I like the idea, but really, our pantry is full enough with random jams, jellies & salsas, and a lot of the time, I don’t want to make a full batch of something, using a new recipe, and then find out it sucks.  So I like that Ball offers these little packets of “small batch” pectin so you can make two half-pint, or one full pint jar. 

Cranberries are super-cheap this time of year, so I tend to stock up.  There’s at least two bags in the freezer right now, waiting to be turned into sauce or gooey butter bars, or who knows what.  But I also just made some of this cranberry-pineapple jam and was pretty pleased with the results.  Since I made only one jar, I can put it straight into the fridge and not have to worry about preserving it for shelf-storage.

INGREDIENTS: (makes one pint)

• One packet of small-batch pectin
• 1 1/3 Cups cranberries
• 1 Cup of crushed pineapple with juice
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 Tablespoon orange juice
• 1/2 Tablespoons orange zest
• 3/4 Cup sugar (to taste—I like my jam to be a little tart)
• One sterilized pint jar (I use Easy Clean)

 

DIRECTIONS:

Pretty easy stuff--combine the cranberries, pineapple, juice, zest, nutmeg, sugar, and pectin in a pot & stir over low heat. Continue stirring  until the sugar dissolves and the mixture begins to boil.

Then, crush the fruit in the mixture with a potato masher over medium heat on the stove; let the jam boil for approximately 15 minutes; longer if you want a thicker jam.

If you plan on using right away, you don’t have to worry about doing a water bath or freezing. 

Makes a mean PB & J!

Mini Pineapple Upside Down Cakes.

I’ve been a little absent this week: for that, I apologize.  But there’s been some IRL-drama that has kept me from doing much of, well, anything.

Last week, I posted about my company’s 20th anniversary potluck.  Well… in a very tragic turn of events, our company president was killed in a single-engine plane crash this past weekend.  She was a vibrant, amazing, highly successful 46 year old woman who we all adored, so things have been really rough around here.

And I, being…well…ME… have been baking as a coping mechanism.  It seems to be far less destructive than booze or pills, and my coworkers and husband get to benefit as well, so it’s sort of a win-win.

These mini upside-down cakes have been on my Pinterest board for quite a while, and they seemed somewhat appropriate since our world is a little “upside down” at the moment.  They were also super easy.  And very delicious, and pretty comforting.  And visually pretty.  Just generally awesome.  And I just bought a new jumbo cupcake tin last week, so I wanted to test it out.

Ingredients:

For the Cake -

2 eggs
2/3 C white sugar
4 Tbsp pineapple juice
2/3 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 cup shredded coconut

 

For the Topping -

3 Tbsp light butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1-can pineapple rings (NOTE: I used crushed pineapple instead, since I had an open can of it in my house, and I really liked the result.)
6-maraschino cherries

 

Directions:

Step one, as always – heat your oven to 350F.

In a large mixing bowl, combined the egg, sugar, and pineapple juice.  Then slowly add your dry ingredients (I added about 1/8-1/4 cup at a time with the flour) and beat until well combined.

The original recipe called for using a small sauce pan to make your brown sugar syrup, but I was feeling a little lazy, so instead, I melted my butter in a pyrex measuring cup in the microwave (about 15 seconds), then added the brown sugar, mixed well, and nuked in the microwave for another 30-45 seconds.  If you don’t have a microwave, just melt the butter & brown sugar together in a small sauce pan on the stove & let simmer on low for 1 minute.

Spray your muffin tin with cooking spray (will make 6 jumbos, or about 8 regular size cupcakes), and then divide the brown sugar syrup between the tins (about 1.5-2 tbsp per cake).  Then place a cherry in the middle of each tin, and then add your pineapple. (With the crushed pineapple, a heaping tablespoon filled each cup.)

Now pour your batter over top, dividing it equally between the cups.  Bake for 25 minutes for the jumbos, or about 20 minutes for the regular size cakes.

Voila!  Looks like lil’ angel food cakes, huh?

Let cool for about 3 minutes, and loosen the edges by running a butter knife around the outside of each cake.  Then place a wire rack over the top of the pan, and invert onto the rack.  You might want to place a cookie sheet under the rack in case any of the syrup drips down.

Let cool for a bit, then serve!

The cake part tasted a bit like angel food.  It was delicious…and sort of appropriate. :)

R.I.P. Robin…we miss you very much.

NutriFacts:

Calories 331.4

  Total Fat 8.6 g

  Saturated Fat 4.6 g

  Polyunsaturated Fat 2.1 g

  Monounsaturated Fat 1.4 g

  Cholesterol 61.7 mg

  Sodium 295.3 mg

  Potassium 142.9 mg

  Total Carbohydrate 67.8 g

  Dietary Fiber 1.4 g

  Sugars 55.7 g

  Protein 4.2 g

Pineapple Sorbet vs. Pineapple Whip.

One of my favorite things about Springfield in the summer time is seeing these little trailers scattered across the city:

PINEAPPLE WHIP. 

For $2.25, you get 8 ounces of heaven in a styrofoam cup.

 

“It just looks like soft serve,” you say.  Well…yeah.  But it’s SO much more than soft serve.  Because it’s laced with bits of pineapple & full of pineapple juice & AWESOMENESS. 

It’s also full of calories.  About 200 by my best guess, though I think their website says 150.  Other sites estimate 180-220 in an 8oz serving.

Pineapple is one of my absolute favorite fruits.  Aside from being abundantly naturally sweet, it has tons of fiber, manganese, vitamins B1 & C, and can help ease arthritis, sinusitis, and indigestion.  They’re also plentiful this time of year and can often be found on sale (Aldi’s is running a $1.29/each sale right now).

And with ONE pineapple, you can make 5 servings worth of your own frozen pineapple treat, with about half the calories.

INGREDIENTS:

1 medium pineapple, cut into chunks (outside & core removed), about 5 cups of chunks

1/2 cup sugar

2 tbsp lemon juice

 

DIRECTIONS:

1. Place all the ingredients in a blender or food processor & pulse until smooth.  If the mixture is too sweet, add more lemon juice—it adds a good balance to the sweetness of the pineapple.

2. Pour into a container, cover, & freeze for 3 hours, or until the top & edges are frozen but the center is still slushy.  Then whip with a fork or place back in the blender to mix. 

3. Pour back into your container & freeze for another 4 hours.  Then scoop & serve!

 

For a more adult treat, you could mix in some coconut rum (50 calories per ounce) & have a mighty nice frozen cocktail!

And as my husband just showed me, it’s also delicious with a dollop of Cool Whip & some shredded coconut sprinkled on top!

 

NutriFacts: (for an 8 oz serving)

Calories 125.2

  Total Fat 0.4 g

  Saturated Fat 0.0 g

  Polyunsaturated Fat 0.1 g

  Monounsaturated Fat 0.1 g

  Cholesterol 0.0 mg

  Sodium 1.0 mg

  Potassium 114.7 mg

  Total Carbohydrate 32.2 g

  Dietary Fiber 1.2 g

  Sugars 29.9 g

  Protein 0.4 g

  Vitamin B-6 4.2 %

  Vitamin C 28.9 %

  Copper 5.3 %

  Folate 2.8 %

  Iron 2.0 %

  Magnesium 3.4 %

  Manganese 77.9 %

  Thiamin 5.9 %