One of my favorite flavors of all time is that of gingerbread.  The combination of clove and molassess is a match made in heaven.

Gingerbread is so spicy and not overly sweet which makes it the perfect dessert for me.

I experimented a lot this winter with cooking and baking with bourbon and rum.  This is one of those experiments and it turned out to be a favorite.

Andrea’s Rum Gingerbread
Dry:

• 1C Whole Wheat Pastry Flour
• 1C Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 1tsp Baking Soda
• 1 1/2tsp Baking Powder
• 1 1/2tsp Ground Cinnamon
• 1/4tsp Ground Allspice
• 1/2tsp Ground Clove
• 1/2tsp Ground Ginger
• 1tsp Grated Fresh Ginger
• 2TBSP Brown Sugar

Wet:

• 1/2C Unsweetened Coconut Milk (the kind found in the dairy aisle)
• 1/4C Rum
• 1/2C Molasses
• 2TBSP Light Olive Oil

Preheat oven to 375 and spray a square baking dish (9×9) with oil or nonstick spray.

In a large mixing bowl combine all dry ingredients and whisk together.  In a medium sized mixing bowl combine wet ingredients and whisk.

Gently pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture and stir.  The batter will be slightly thick and sticky.

Pour gingerbread batter into the greased baking dish and place in oven.  Bake for about 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Remove from oven and allow to cool for about five minutes before cutting.  Serve and enjoy!

This gingerbread is spicy and a bit denser in texture providing a hearty dessert.  Or breakfast in case you roll that way.  I definitely do sometimes.

I tend to lean more towards the clove and molasses flavor so if you would like more ginger punch, feel free to add in some more.

You can use your favorite nondairy milk of choice or regular milk if you have it.

Perfect for a party or just a lazy Sunday at home.

Have fun guys, and remember, always play with your food! Enjoy!

Comments: 1

These are a few of my favorite things….

I hope everyone had an amazing holiday!  We’re still on vacation and I’ll check back in with you in a couple days!

Comments: 8

What we all ate while we were being festive.

Here’s a few recipes to get you through the holidays and if you have enough energy left for some baking. Or perhaps you’re still looking for a few items to add to the table.

Bourbon Applesauce, perfect for any time of the day. No really, it is.

French Onion Soup For Two, when you want some quality time with your special someone.

Fig and Date Coffee Cake makes for a great Christmas morning treat.

Kale Hash when you’re looking for something a little different.

Spaghetti and Eggs, to lighten things up and make a quick and easy dinner.

Have a great holiday gang and I’ll talk with you next week!

Comments: 3

Please take a look at these links and have fun checking out all the cookies that everyone made!

Diana made Whiskey Molasses cookies, recipe by yours truly.

Rachel made pecan brittle bars.

Alyse made gingerbread cookies.

Jess made oatmeal cookies.

I made Italian Chocolate Meatball Cookies.

Also swing over to Lori’s site to see the rest of the roundup! She’s got a big list of recipes to share!

Thanks to everyone who participated this year! What fun to see all these cookies!

Comments: 3

But we have it all the time and I use it in a lot of different applications.  Sweet potatoes were something that was completely traditional for Scott to have at Thanksgiving so we couldn’t skip them.

What to do? They had to be part of the menu yet as a side dish would put us way over the edge.

I decided to remove them as a side dish and return them as dessert.

This has worked out very well!  We’re still getting sweet potatoes for the big day but not as a sticky gross mess (sorry but that whole marshmallow thing needs to go!).  Instead it’s served up in pie form!

And if you’ve got folks who claim they hate pumpkin (GASP!) you can serve them this instead!

This year I experimented a little and added a crumb topping and some good rum into the mix.

Andrea’s Rum and Sweet Potato Pie

For The Crust:

• 2C Whole Wheat Pastry Flour
• 1/4C Coconut Oil
• 1TBSP Light Olive Oil
• 1/2TBSP Sugar
• Cold Water

Combine flour, oils, and sugar into a food processor.  Pulse and slowly add in the cold water, 1/4C at a time.  Pulse until the mixture comes together and starts to form a ball.  The mixture should be easy to handle and come out of the food processor without sticking.  Wrap dough in plastic wrap and place in the fridge for at least two hours.  Can be made up to two days ahead of time.

For the Filling:

• 1, Very Large Sweet Potato
• 2TBSP Butter, room temperature
• 1/4C Whole Wheat Pastry Flour
• 1/4C Dark Rum
• 1tsp Ground Cinnamon
• 1/4tsp Ground Clove
• 1TBSP Molasses
• 2TBSP Brown Sugar, Packed
• 2tsp Vanilla Extract
• 1/2tsp Baking Powder

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Poke holes in the sweet potato and place on a greased baking sheet.  Bake until a knife can be inserted easily.  Remove from oven and allow to cool completely.  Remove the outer skin and place sweet potato into a bowl for your stand mixer.  Add all the remaining ingredients for the filling and mix until everything is well blended.

For The Topping:

• 1C Pecan Halves
• 1C Oats
• 1/4C Rum
• 1TBSP Brown Sugar
• 1TBSP Butter

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and pulse until it resembles a crumble mixture.

Assembling and Baking:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Pull out a 9inch pie pan and grease using nonstick spray or olive oil.  Roll out pie dough until it’s about 1/4inch thick.  Place and fit into pie pan.  Crimp the edges and use a fork to poke holes in the bottom to allow steam to escape.  Add filling and smooth the top.  Sprinkle crumble topping on top using all of the mixture.

Bake for about 25-30 minutes.  A toothpick inserted will come out clean.  Remove and allow to cool completely before slicing and serving.

Serve and enjoy!

This pie went over very well this year!  The crust was flavorful but since I used whole wheat pastry flour, it had some great chew to it.  I like pie crusts to have some heft and not be too much like a pastry.

The rum was extremely prominent in this pie!  Next time I would probably leave out the rum in the crumble topping but feel free to play around with it and see what you like! I would probably add a little bit more olive oil or butter to the topping as well so it has a little bit more moisture to it.

Leftovers can be frozen and pulled out when you feel like a little slice of the holidays is necessary.

Have fun guys, and remember, always play with your food!  Enjoy!

Comments: 3

Everyone else is starting to post holiday cookie recipes and I’m over here still talking turkey.

This is my last leftover post and then you are free to put Thanksgiving behind you.  Or if you’re like us, you’ve got leftovers in the freezer and might be pulling them out soon to make this.

It was two days after Thanksgiving and I wanted to use up a little bit more turkey before it was wrapped up and placed in the freezer.  I thought of making sandwichs and I knew soup was right out.

I wanted something fun and a little different.  Plus it was a game night and game foods started running through my head.

I finally settled on nachos!

Turkey nachos, easy, different, and fun to eat.

Andrea’s Turkey Nachos

• Leftover Turkey, cubed or shredded
• 1/2  Red Onion, chopped
• 1 Green Pepper, chopped
• 1 Carrot, shredded
• 1 Can Pinto Beans, drained and rinsed
• 1C Frozen Corn
• Salt
• Garlic Powder
• Chili Powder
• 2C Your Favorite Salsa
• Shredded Cheese
• Tortilla Chips

Preheat oven to 400 Degrees.  Line a baking sheet with foil and spray with nonstick spray or olive oil.  Put a layer of tortilla chips on the baking sheet.

In a sautee pan, add in about 1/2TBSP olive oil and heat over medium heat.  Add in the onion, pepper, carrot and season with a little salt, garlic powder, and chili powder (amounts are to your taste).  Sautee for about two minutes.  Add in the turkey, beans, and salsa.  Heat until everything is heated through.

Remove mixture from heat and pour over the tortilla chips.  Sprinkle the top with your favorite cheese and place in oven.  Bake about 10 minutes, just until the cheese is melty and bubbly.

Remove from heat and serve with guacamole and sour cream!

Perfect way to get out of the Thanksgiving leftover rut and simple enough to put together that you aren’t slaving away in the kitchen.  Again.

I used pepperjack cheese and chihuahua cheese.  Nice and creamy melty goodness!

Have fun guys, and remember, always play with your food! Enjoy!

Comments: 2

Bourbon.

For Thanksgiving this year, I decided to go with a Southern inspired meal.  Mashed potatoes and stuffing were standard but I made collards for a side dish and wanted to make my turkey have a bit of a Southern flair to it.

I went back and forth on what to use in the brine.  Finally it occurred to me that bourbon would probably be really tasty when used in a brine.  It’s sweet, smooth, and it’s made in the south.

I put the brine together the day before Thanksgiving and it smelled amazing!  And a little boozy. Happy Holidays!

Andrea’s Bourbon Brined Turkey

1, 12-14lb Turkey

Brine Foundation:

• 2/3C Bourbon, I used Knob Creek
• 3 1/2C Chicken Stock
• 4C Hot or Boiling Water
• 1C Kosher Salt
• 1/2C Brown Sugar, Packed

Additional Seasonings and Ingredients:

• 2 Fresno Peppers, sliced in half
• 2 Cherry Peppers, tops sliced off
• 1 Large Onion, chunked
• 3 Carrots, chunked
• 3 Ribs Celery, chunked
• 1 Large Sweet Apple, cut in half
• 1/2TBSP Poultry Seasoning
• 2TBSP Garlic Powder
• 2TBSP Chili Powder
• 1TBSP Smoked Paprika
• Additional Water

Roasting Ingredients:

• Carrots
• Celery
• Onion
• Olive Oil
• Garlic Powder
• Chili Powder
• Smoked Paprika
• 1/2C Bourbon
• 3C, Chicken Stock

In a large bucket, add in the all of the ingredients for the brining foundation.  Stir and allow to rest so the salt and sugar dissolve.  Make sure the turkey is cleaned, neck and giblets removed.  Rinse and pat dry.

Once the salt and sugar are dissolved and the liquids are cooled, add in about 4 more cups of water along with the additional ingredients.  Stir.  Add the turkey into the brine, breast first and legs towards the top of the bucket.  Remember, the turkey should be vertical in the bucket.

Fill bucket with cold water until the turkey is completely covered and submerged.

Store in a cold place, like your fridge.  Brine turkey for 24 hours.

Preheat oven to 350.  Remove turkey from brine, rinse and pat dry. In a roasting pan, add in the liquids and stir.  Add in the veggies and then place the turkey in the pan.  Allow to sit for at least 1/2 an hour before roasting.  Rub turkey with light olive oil and sprinkle with a little bit of garlic powder, smoked paprika, and chili powder.

Fill the cavity of the turkey with onion, carrots, and an apple.  In the roasting pan, roast turkey at 350, basting every half hour, until the internal temp of the turkey reaches 163F.

Remove turkey from oven, tent with foil and allow to rest for half an hour.  Carve and serve!

The chili powder will make the skin on the turkey roast to a very dark color.  It’s not burnt, just a deep brown!

This was hands-down the best turkey Scott and I have ever had.  We barely talked to each other during dinner because we were too busy making comments about the tenderness and flavor of the turkey.

It was sweet and succulent.  The juiciest turkey I have made to date.  Even leftovers the next day were amazing.  We declared this a winner and will be the brining choice for the next several Thanksgivings.

The bourbon flavor isn’t super strong.  It’s just enough to give the turkey a smooth buttery flavor and keep it moist through cooking.  Next time when I make this, I’ll add in more peppers to the brine and as I roast it.  I want a little bit of kick at the end just to give it a twist.  I might bump the bourbon up to a full cup as well.

Have fun guys, and remember, always play with your food! Enjoy!

Comments: 6

It wasn’t until I moved away to college in central PA that I learned most people call latkes potato pancakes.  Imagine my surprise when I ordered potato pancakes at a restaurant once and was served up latkes instead of what I know as potato pancakes.

No worries, I adore latkes because I will eat potato just about any way you want to serve it to me!

I honestly am not sure how my mom made her potato pancakes but this is how I do mine.

Amounts on ingredients will vary depending on how much leftover mashed potatoes you have.  If there’s a lot, you will probably need to up the flour and egg amounts.

Andrea’s Potato Pancakes

• Leftover Mashed Potatoes
• 3TBSP White Whole Wheat Flour
• 1 Egg, beaten
• Breadcrumbs
• Olive Oil

Combine beaten egg, flour and mashed potatoes.  In a large skillet, heat about 2TBSP of olive oil over medium heat.  Scoop up some potato mixture and form into a small to medium sized patty.  Cover patty with breadcrumbs and gently lay into the skillet.  Repeat until you have used up all the potato mixture.

If you have a lot, consider cooking in two batches.

Cook potato pancake about two minutes on each side, until the breadcrumbs are crisp and the insides are warmed through.  Remove from heat and serve!

These are crispy, and if you’ve soaked your potatoes before mashing, they are light and fluffy.  Great as a side dish and you can also top with gravy if you want.

You probably should.

They can be kept warm in an oven and freeze very well.  When reheating, just place on a baking sheet and heat in a 375 degree oven until they are heated through.

Have fun guys, and remember, always play with your food! Enjoy!

Comments: 8

Yet I realized that I haven’t really talked with you about the equipment you’ll need or how to go about brining a whole turkey.

Because even a “small”, 12-14lb turkey is still a big thing to brine.

Do you need special equipment?

Yes.

Is it expensive and can only be purchased at a speciality cooking store?

No.

All you need is a hardware store and you’re good.  No really, I’m serious.

You need a bucket, a large one.  You can purchase a large bucket at your local Home Improvement store for super cheap.

In that picture is a 5 Gallon bucket.

When brining a whole turkey, you need to have a bucket or pot large enough that the whole turkey will easily be able to be submerged in brining liquids.  No part of the turkey should be out of the liquid and exposed to air.

The turkey also needs to be in a vertical position when brining.  It should not be lying flat.

A vertical turkey will ensure that the brining liquid is able to penetrate the entire turkey all the way around.  It also results in an even brine and that the cavity of the turkey also gets filled with brining liquids.

If the turkey is lying flat, then the brine isn’t encompassing the entire turkey. Resulting in a brine that doesn’t fully penetrate the turkey and therefore doesn’t fully work.

A 5 Gallon bucket has worked well for me over the years and has been big enough to handle up to a 14lb turkey.

You need to make sure that you purchase brand new bucket that is clean and has not been used.  You cannot use a bucket that already has seen time doing household chores.

Clean and brand spanking new is what you want.

Also make sure to label it so that you know the bucket is to be used for brining purposes only and not for anything else.  Store in an area where it won’t be confused with garage supplies.

Of course you can purchase a large stainless steel pot or a tall mixing bowl for brining.  The choice is yours.

A 5 gallon stainless steel pot runs you just over $20, while a 5 gallon bucket is under $5.  Personally, if for some reason I need to replace something, I’d rather be out $5 than $20.

You will be able to fit this bucket in your fridge, I promise.  You just have to finagle stuff around a bit to make room.  If you live in a cold area where temps are going to be in the 20s, you can stick the brine out on your porch or deck.  Just make sure measures have been taken to properly cover and secure the brine because you don’t want to risk something getting into your turkey!

Brine for at least a full 24 hours before pulling out the turkey, rinsing it off, and patting it dry.  Season as you normally would and cook as you normally would.

By following this method you’ll have a great brined turkey every time!

Comments: 2

The day started off with a 2.5 mile run for me while Scotty slept. I tried waking him up but he kind of mumbled, rolled over and went back to sleep.  I was on my own.  The body was a little stiff and sore from all the prep work earlier this week (mostly my back was super achey) so I just did a short run.

Back home to some fantastic coffee and a date and fig coffee cake.  My favorite coffee cake and made with beer! Whoo!

Once Scott got up, I pulled the turkey out of the brine and let it rest on the counter for a bit before setting it in the oven to get roasty and delicious.  I kept the menu simple this year, making a few key items, but experimented along the way.

On the menu we had:

• Bourbon Brined Turkey
• Mashed Potatoes
• Collard Greens
• Stuffing
• Gravy
• Rolls
• Cranberry Sauce

The turkey turned out so flavorful that we could not stop talking about it through dinner.  Both of us declared it the best turkey yet and we’ll probably be having this for years to come.  Tender, juicy, and made you want more and more!

For dessert we had Sweet Potato Pie, made with rum and it had a pecan crumble topping.

We hung out and chatted the day away as the turkey cooked.  Then we hung out some more but with less chatting as we ate because both of us were so focused on the tasty turkey.  When Scott starts gnawing on the bones, I know that things were done right!

Next week I’ll be posting recipes from dinner and talking about what my strategy was this year to keep things simple yet leaving me room to experiment and try different things.

How was your Thanksgiving? Did you try anything new this year? What was your favorite?

Comments: 4