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

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

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

I had some apples that needed used up and quickly! They weren’t good to eat, kind of mealy, a little too soft, and the skin was wrinkled.

I wasn’t about to toss them because I knew they could be used for something!  I thought it over for a couple of days and realized that making applesauce would be the perfect solution!

After cooking the whole thing gets pureed which takes care of the mealy and soft aspects of the less than perfect apples.  The skin gets peeled, so that problem is solved as well!

I’ve made applesauce before but I really wanted something a little different this time around. Something a little more spicy and something with a bit more kick.  Once I realized that I could use bourbon, well everything just fell into place after that!

Keep in mind the measurements for this are estimates because I didn’t write anything down.  Also applesauce isn’t an exact science, it’s very forgiving and easy to adjust amounts based on what you have on hand.

Andrea’s Bourbon Applesauce

• 1lb Small Apples, Type is up to you but I would go with sweet and semi-sweet.
• 1/2C Bourbon, split into 1/4C increments
• 2C Apple Cider
• 1TBSP, Packed Brown Sugar
• Cinnamon
• Ground Allspice
• Ground Clove

Peel and cut apples into chunks.  Place in a medium sized sauce pan and add cider.  You want the cider to almost cover the apples.  Not completely but close.  Add in cinnamon, allspice, and ground clove along with the brown sugar.  For the spice amounts, go with personal preference.

Bring mixture up to a boil and reduce to a simmer.  Simmer until the apples become cooked through and very soft.  Add in 1/4C bourbon, slowly.  You don’t want a flare up.  You can remove the pan from the heat to do this.  Stir and let simmer again for about 3 minutes.

Remove from heat and place mixture in a blender.  Add in the remaining 1/4C Bourbon and blend until the mixture is smooth and creamy.

Serve warm or can be chilled.  Store in a glass container, will keep up to a week in the fridge.

This has easily turned into my favorite applesauce so far.  I decided to blend it because I wanted a really smooth and creamy applesauce.  Nothing chunky.

We like lots of spice, so I used probably around:

• 1tsp of Cinnamon
• 1/2tsp Allspice
• 1/2tsp Ground Clove

Clove is our favorite and really brings a holiday feel to dishes which is what I was going for with this applesauce.  Using the bourbon makes it a little bit more special.

The deep color is from the cider and the spices.  Since the bourbon and the cider both bring sweetness to the recipe, this is why I only used 1TBSP of brown sugar.  There was enough sugar going on that this recipe really didn’t need any more.

Definitely give this a try for the holiday season!

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

Comments: 6

I again bring your attention to the fact that it’s summertime and that means HOT.  Or if you live where I do, it means HUMID with a side of sticky.  You don’t really want to do much of anything except take time out to sip on something delicious and preferably very cold.

I do not drink mixed drinks because that kind of alcohol always seems a little heavy on my stomach.  Plus a lot of drinks are made so they are super sweet and I’m not one for sweet.  Even with wine I do not like sweet.  Scott on the other hand likes mixed drinks a great deal and I will occasionally make him a little sumptin’ sumptin’ to sip on while dinner cooks or perhaps while he’s manning the grill out back.

This new drink just came to me not that long ago and it ended up being a beautiful combo.  Scott loves it and it’s super easy to make.

Andrea’s Coconut Lime Spritzer

• The juice of half a fresh lime + one slice for garnish
• 2oz of Coconut Rum
• Lime Seltzer

In a small tumbler squeeze in the lime juice and add the rum.  Fill the glass the rest of the way with the lime seltzer.  Stir, add the lime slice for a garnish and serve!

Does it get any easier?  Even I can take a few sips of this drink and be very happy about it!  The drink is cool and has a crisp taste from the lime and the seltzer.  The rum isn’t overpowering and the drink doesn’t come across as overly sweet.  It’s a nice sipping cocktail and perfect for a hot day.

Having a party?  Make this your signature drink!  One of the best party tips is that if you are going to serve drinks, consider making a signature drink to serve instead of having multiple types of beer or wine available.  This way it helps you stretch a buck while still entertaining your guests with class.

This drink is perfect for that!  Because does it get any cheaper than seltzer?  You can get liters of it for under a $1.  Most stores will even offer up deals where you can buy 5 for $5.  I know that Giant Eagle and Whole Foods both have such deals.  I prefer the Whole Foods seltzer because it’s a bit fizzier in my opinion but any seltzer will work!

Now you have a nice refreshing drink for Thirsty Thursday!

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

Comments: 4

Blogging also helps us get the chance to sample products we might otherwise never have known about.  One of my blogging buddies, Lori, sent me this tea for my birthday earlier this year.  She’s in Kentucky and sent me a blend of tea made at a local Inn.  Elmwood Inn is located in Perryville, KY and they’ve been making teas since 1990.  Once a public tea room, they now focus exclusively on selling and importing teas.

The tea Lori sent me is Elmwood’s Kentucky Blend Tea which is a combo of different Chinese black teas.  The first mug of this I had, was on an unseasonably cold April afternoon.  It was perfect!  Sometimes black teas can have a bit of a bitter finish to them but this was very smooth and needed very little honey to help balance it out.

Right away I knew that I wanted to make a drink with this tea!  Since the Inn itself has a deep Kentucky history and because the name of the tea also includes Kentucky, I had to obviously honor the state south of me.  After some thinking, I came up with a great afternoon drink!

Andrea’s Kentucky Summer Sippin’ Tea

• 12oz of Iced Tea
• Half an orange
• 1 Orange slice
• 1oz Kentucky Bourbon Whiskey

For my iced tea, I used 3 bags of Elmwood Inn Kentucky Blend Tea and 3 bags of regular black tea.

Add the juice of half an orange into a glass, then add the bourbon.  Pour the iced tea on top and stir.  Garnish with an orange slice and start sippin’ away!

This tea was so good!  I’m not a huge hard liquor person so I literally only had a few sips but what I did have, I honestly enjoyed.  I made this for Scott to sip on while he manned the grill for our Homespun Sunday Supper.  He loved it!

The bourbon doesn’t weight the tea down at all, it stays light and sweet.  The orange juice brings just a bit of freshness to the tea brightening up the flavor.  It goes down very smooth and you’ll most definitely contemplate having another with your meal.

I think some mint leaves or a squeeze of lime added to the mix would also work here!  We have more tea left so I’m going to assume that this will get made again in the near future.

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

Comments: 4