Bubble Gum Infused Vodka

This seemed like a fun concoction to add to my growing collection of infused liquor!

Ingredients:

32 pieces of bubblegum, cut in half, or several rolls of bubble tape (it was all they had at the grocery store!)

4 cups (32 ounces) of vodka

3 tbsp sugar

Directions:

In large airtight container, combine bubblegum, sugar, and vodka. Seal and allow to infuse, shaking every few hours, for about 24 hours. Pour vodka through a strainer and discard bubble gum.

This vodka will need to be filtered at least once.  I explained the best ways to filter candy vodkas in my previous boozy post, when I made Skittles Vodka.  Here's the link (I used the t-shirt filtration again for this vodka, and it worked great! ):

Skittles Infused Vodka

Once all of the white stuff is filtered out (a sort of powdery remnant from the outside of the gum that will float to the top), the bubble gum vodka is ready to serve!  It literally tastes exactly like bubble gum.

The top of my bar is starting to get a little full with all of this infusing!  Looks like it's time for another party!

I would suggest drinking this with Sprite or Ginger Ale.  I also tried it with a bit of grenadine mixed in - mmm, cherry bubblicious!  Or you can drink it as a shot!  Enjoy!

Buttermilk Bacon Smashed Potatoes

Hmm... Mashed potatoes.  Bacon.  Butter...and roasted garlic.  Anything wrong here?  I don't think so!

Ingredients:

2 pounds red potatoes, skin on and boiled

4 tablespoons butter

1 cup buttermilk

5 cloves roasted garlic, smashed to a paste

1/2 cup cooked bacon, crumbled

Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Directions:

Boil the potatoes for about 15-20 minutes, until soft.  While doing so, fry bacon in a pan until crispy, and crumble.

While the potatoes are still hot, combine all of the ingredients except the bacon in a medium bowl and smash, don't puree.  Sprinkle with the bacon crumbles and serve.  Hooray, you have bacon on your potatoes!

Oreo Cream Cheese Truffles

These were really simple to make and I have lots of ideas on what else to do with them!  The cream cheese and cookies mixed together makes for a very soft, truffle-like consistency.

Ingredients:
1 8 oz. package cream cheese, softened

1 16.6 oz package Oreo cookies, crushed

Almond bark in the desired flavor (vanilla or chocolate, or both!)

Directions:

Crush cookies (you can either do this with a food processor, or by placing in a ziplock back and by hand/rolling pin!)

Reserve about 1/2 a cup of the crushed cookies for garnishing.  Mix the softened cream cheese and rest of cookie crumbs until well blended.

Shape into 1 inch balls - your hands will get messy, but these were quite easy to mold.  I stuffed a little white chocolate in the middle as well (by melting white chocolate chips until soft and spooning some into the truffle before rolling into a ball).

Once you have molded all of the balls, melt the almond bark in a microwave safe bowl according to package directions.  Using a fork, dip each ball in melted chocolate and place on wax paper to dry.  Sprinkle with remaining cookie crumbs. Refrigerate for about an hour, or until firm.

Tips:   There are a lot of ways you could decorate or fill these - sprinkles or crushed nuts on top, peanut butter in the middle, using a different type of cookie for the filling.  It's a very versatile recipe so get creative!

Shanghai Chicken Drummettes

This recipe was quite a find - nearly perfect as is!  I hardly made any changes, and it was delicious... and I don't even really like chicken.  This is also a great recipe for parties, since it is easy to make in advance (and difficult to screw up!).

Ingredients:
3 lbs chicken wingettes 

1 cup hoisin sauce 

2 tbsp soy sauce 

2 tbsp sesame oil 

2 tbsp thai chili sauce 

1 1/2 tbsp cider vinegar

1 tbsp chopped fresh ginger

4 cloves garlic, minced

Garnish: sesame seeds, sliced scallions

Directions:

Whisk all of the ingredients besides the chicken and garnishes. Separate about a cup of the sauce and cover and refrigerate to use as a finishing glaze.

Pour remaining mixture into a large ziptop bag or tupperware container and add the chicken. Shake to coat the chicken pieces in the sauce. Refrigerate overnight.

Heat the oven to 400 degrees.  Line a cookie sheet with foil and lightly spray with cooking spray.  Arrange the drumsticks on the tray in a single layer.  Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, turning chicken once, until tender.  After this step, you can either crisp the chicken immediately under the broiler, or cool and refrigerate until later.

Either way, when ready to prepare and serve the chicken, heat the oven to broil.  Brush the chicken with the finishing glaze.  Broil until crispy, about 4 minutes.  Transfer to a platter.  Sprinkle with sesame seeds and scallions.  Enjoy!

Posh Popcorn

For my last dinner party, I wanted to make a fun appetizer ala Graham Elliott, and found this "recipe" for gourmet popcorn.  The seasonings and cheese give it a very intense flavor and everyone gobbled it up, so don't raise an eyebrow at this one - popcorn may not be fancy, but it sure tastes good!

Recipe:

1 bag microwave popcorn
3 tablespoons melted butter
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese 

½ teaspoon garlic salt
½ teaspoon black pepper, or to taste

Directions:
Prepare the popcorn according to the directions on the package.  When finished, pour it into a large mixing bowl.  Drizzle the popcorn with melted butter, then add the cheese, pepper, and garlic salt.  Serve while hot!  Also, don't eat too much of this - you'll get a tummy ache (learned from personal from experience...)

Black Bean Huevos Rancheros

 

If you read this blog regularly, you'll notice a lot of Mexican food popping up.  This is no coincidence.  If Mexican food had the opportunity, it would probably get a restraining order against me!

Pico de gallo:
1 1/2 cups fresh tomatoes, chopped
1/4 cup sliced red onion
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
3 tablespoons lime juice
1 fresh jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
Salt and pepper to taste
    
Huevos Rancheros: 
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 teaspoon (from 1 can) chipotle chiles in adobo sauce
8  corn tortillas
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
4 eggs

Directions:

To make the salsa, stir the tomatoes, onions, cilantro, lime juice, jalapeno pepper, and garlic in a bowl until blended.  Add salt and pepper to taste, then refrigerate until needed.
 
Preheat oven to 375 degrees and lightly grease a baking sheet.

Place 1 teaspoon oil in a skillet and heat over medium heat. Add the garlic, and cook 1 minute until light brown.  While that is cooking, open the can of chipotle peppers and remove 2-3 of them and chop.  Add those, with about 1 teaspoon of the adobe sauce, into the pan.  Mix in the black beans, chicken broth, and simmer until beans are heated through, about 5-10 minutes. Turn off heat, and keep warm.

Place 4 of the tortillas on the prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle cheese evenly over the tortillas. Top with the remaining tortillas.  Bake tortillas in oven until the cheese melts, about 5 minutes.

Place the remaining 1 teaspoon oil in a skillet, and heat over medium heat. Crack eggs into skillet, and cook to desired firmness.
 
To assemble huevos rancheros, place filled tortillas on serving plates. Top each tortilla with black bean mixture, a layer of salsa, and an egg. Serve while hot, with additional salsa if desired (yes please!)

Lobster Passion Fruit Ceviche

I stole this recipe from a restaurant and modified it to my own liking.  It's a delicious, refreshing, and tropical combination of flavors.

Ingredients:

2 (1 1/2 pound) lobsters, cooked, chilled, and shelled
2 oranges, peeled and diced
2 tomatoes, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1/2 cup chopped cilantro 
2 tablespoons lime juice 
2 tablespoons orange juice
1 cup passion fruit juice
1 cup coconut milk 

Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:
Dice the lobsters into large pieces and place in a mixing bowl. Add the tomatoes, cilantro, red pepper, and orange chunks.

In a separate bowl, combine the coconut milk, lime juice, orange juice, and passion fruit juice. Add the liquid to the lobster mixture and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Refrigerate until cold, then serve with tortilla chips.  This is the Nectar of the Gods!  Enjoy!

I served this with Dancing Belly, a cocktail and/or shot, for an appetizer cocktail pairing party.  Here's the recipe:  Dancing Belly

Flaming Dr. Pepper

This drink is called the Flaming Dr. Pepper for the obvious reason that you set it on fire, before drinking it.  Proceed with caution!  The end result, inexplicably, really does taste like Dr. Pepper.

Ingredients:

1 cup beer

1 oz amaretto liqueur

1/4 oz Bacardi 151 rum

Fire! 

Fill a pint glass or beer mug half full of beer.  Pour the amaretto into a shot glass and then layer the rum on top of the amaretto.  Carefully light the shot on fire. Drop the flaming shot into the half full glass of beer and drink it down!

Watch the video to see us chug this delicious elixir....  The drink seemed to have a different effect on each of us.  I look refreshed; Kyle looks disgusted, and Paul seems strangely aroused.  Cheers!

Cooking and Entertaining with Leah: Episode 2