OSU kicked ass. Louisville is going to be putting on a good show against UCONN. Texas got upset. Notre Dame got romped upon. Both Pitt and Rutgers looked unimpressive (which will make the road to a bowl game that much easier for Louisville). And Michigan State almost got beat by Northwestern.
So I'm in an upbeat mood. Whereas last weekend all of my teams lost, this week we're looking strong. Also, I'm still undefeated in my fantasy college football league.
So I'm working out new recipes for both food and cocktails. Muy excellente.
Friday Night..
APPLEJACK MANHATTAN:
Built like a regular bourbon manhattan, but with Applejack.
Equal parts Applejack and Sweet Vermouth
1 dash of bitters
3 ice cubes
Saturday afternoon....
BOURBAREE:
1 part lime juice
1 part honey
1 dash bitters
3 parts bourbon
8 ice cubes
blend and serve
Makes plenty of cocktail action
This came out looking like a tall glass of orange juice with a lot of pulp. It is very aromatic. My only complaint is that with the ice, the honey didn't mix well at all. I can still taste plenty of it in my drink, but next time I might just skip the honey and use some of Wild Turkey's American Honey Liqueur. OR, if the Evan Williams version (at a fraction of the cost) was available in New Jersey, I'd use that instead.
DRUNKEN HOT DOGS:
As my drunk blood brother would say, "zOMG!" This is the best barbecue sauce I've ever freestyled! I tried to follow the instructions from my Bourbon Cookbook, but I had to improvise because I was missing some otherwise obvious ingredients (I didn't have enough ketchup, so I added a small 8 ounce can of tomato sauce, and I didn't have any worcestershire sauce, so I used Sesame Garlic Asian sauce).
1 lb hot dogs
3/4 cup bourbon (I used Evan Williams)
1 tsp worcestershire sauce (substituted Sesame Garlic Asian sauce)
1/8 tsp Tabasco
1.5 cups ketchup (substituted with 1/2 cup ketchup + 8 oz tomato sauce)
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon grated onion
Cut hotdogs into half-inch slices. Simmer with rest of ingredients for one hour in frying pan. If liquid dries too much, add more bourbon.
The sauce didn't really dry out, but I added 1/4 cup more bourbon at the 45-minute mark anyhow. I only used a 1/2 pound of hotdogs, too. Also, I could have put this into a small pot instead of a frying pan, and it would have worked just as well, if not better. Also, next time I will use Lil' Smokies instead of hotdogs. The hotdogs themselves didn't soak in any taste (I don't they ever do), but the sauce rocked crazy Les-Miles-Voodoo-Hat hard. So I'll use this sauce again. It would be great with chicken wings or ribs (beef or pork). The only way I would alter this would be to add honey (if you don't think its sweet enough) or liquid smoke (especially if you're not grilling this). Otherwise, its good to go. And, the more I think about it, the more I prefer the substitutions I used.
HOT BUTTERED BOURBON: (from The Bourbon Cookbook by Tom Hoge)
boiling water
1 lump of sugar
1 pat of butter
3 oz bourbon (I used Old Turkey 101)
Warm up a bourbon glass (I did this by taking a glass, filling half-way with water, then putting into the microwave, and warmed with "8 oz. beverage warmer" setting)
Boil pot of water
Place sugar in warmed whiskey glass
Fill 2/3 of the glass with boiling water
Add butter
Fill rest of the way with bourbon
Well, I maintain my position that bourbon is ok strait with ice. Its harder for me to drink as a shot. And it gets incredibly more difficult to drink when its hot. This doesn't taste bad by any means, but whenever I drink a hot bourbon drink, the bourbon taste really dominates. I don't see any evidence of the butter in this drink, with the exception of the gradually-dissipating froth on the top of the cocktail. I can barely taste the sugar, but there's just a *hint* of it there. The drink itself is perfect for a cold day, and it completely cleared my sinuses with the first drink. My recipe claimed that this would be the perfect drink if you just spent a day out in the snow. And I totally agree. After making a snowman or sledding or skiing, this would be the perfect drink to thaw whatever chilled your bones. Much better than any other cocktail or beer.
After letting this drink cool off a little bit, its much easier to drink. Still, I would use a better-than-average bourbon if you're going to serve it hot. Any weaknesses in a bourbon
are exaggerated even more when its served warm, in my opinion. I love Wild Turkey 101 as a standard go-to bourbon for shots or served neat or drinking right from the bottle. But served warm? I'd go to Maker's or something higher shelf. Maker's should be the standard for this drink.
SIDENOTE: I'm starting to get tired. Time for a second wind...and dinner...and more cocktails...
UPDATE: It took me a while to gather my second wind, but I got there, and I made dinner. And I'm glad I did.
Dinner ended up being Pecan Fried Chicken with Buttnernut Squash Soup and a big 22 oz. Southern Tier Pumking Imperial Ale. It was one of the best meals I've made for myself in a long time. I've made good meals for myself here and there, usually with a highlight entree and some forgettable sides. Not so fast! Today was a solid day of food and cocktails.
This is the finished product. And it looks decent decked out in my only plateware...which happens to be fall colored year-round.
BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP:
6 tbsp chopped onion
4 tbsp margarine or butter
6 cups peeled and cubed butternut squash
3 cups water
4 cubes chicken bouillon
1/2 tsp dried marjoram
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1/8 tsp ground cayenne pepper
2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese
1. In a large saucepan, saute onions in margarine until tender. Add squash, water, bouillon, marjoram, and peppers. Bring to boil; cook 20 minutes, or until squash is tender.
2. Puree squash and cream cheese in a blender or food processor in batches until smooth. Return to saucepan and heat through. Do not allow to boil.
This was relatively easy to make. The only foil in my plans came with my blender decided to separate and split in half. There was a pureed squash and cream cheese explosion in my kitchen. It pissed me off to no end, and I found myself needing to drink a lot of beer to compensate. There was seriously a layer of pastel yellow goo all over the place. I turned my iPod onto the most mellow of all instrumental playlists, cleaned the kitchen up, drank a lot of beer, and started from scratch. The end product was delicious, and the only recommendations I can make would be to add more squash -AND- don't use a cheap blender.
PECAN FRIED CHICKEN
3 boneless skinless chicken breasts (pppffftttt...boneless)
1 cup pecans
1/2 cup panko crumbs
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg
2 tbsp water
2 tbsp olive oil
Put pecans, panko crumbs, cayenne, black pepper, basil, oregano, and salt in a food processor. Pulse the mixture until finely ground. Transfer mixture to a large plate.
Whisk together the egg and water in a shallow dish.
Dip each piece of chicken into the egg mixture, then dip in the pecan mixture making sure to coat all surfaces. Set aside.
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add chicken breasts and cook until browned (3-4 minutes). Turn and repeat on second side. Transfer to a plate and cover to keep warm, repeat process with remaining chicken breasts.
I also cooked some white onion and green peppers while I was frying the chicken. They served as a fine side with the chicken and soup. The only thing I wish I would have made along with this would have been some toast. It would have complimented the soup well. Otherwise, this was a delicious, complete meal.
The Southern Tier Imperial Pumking Ale was such a welcome compliment to this meal, too. I had my first ever ale from the brewery last weekend. It was an excellent addition to this meal, too.
HOT BUTTERED BOURBON version 2: (From the Evan Williams Distillery's "Cooking With Bourbon" pamphlet)
2.5 oz bourbon
6 oz apple cider
1 tsp brown sugar
1 cinnamon stick
1 tsp butter
dash of nutmeg
Heat everything except cinnamon, butter, and nutmeg in a sauce pan. Pour into a warm mug. Add cinnamon stick and butter and stir. Sprinkle with nutmeg.
This version of Hot Buttered Bourbon is much, much mellower. The other version is very dependent on the quality of the bourbon. This version is much more dependent on the cider. So whatever the quality of bourbon you use, the drink is much more forgiving. Whether you drink this cocktail warm or cool, the cider plays the complimentary partner to the drink, and it really softens whatever chunky imperfections a bourbon might bring with it.
When I first served this a couple years ago, Mike was kind of skitterish about butter being in his drink. He loved cider. He was learning to love bourbon. But the thought of butter being in his drink freaked him out. Later, Lauren and Taylor shared similar reactions. Its funny, because butter isn't something you expect in a cocktail, but I don't think anyone would mind if they didn't know any better. Its definitely an insulating ingredient to the cocktail, possibly inasmuch as cider is. So I'm tempted to not tell people that there's any butter at all in the drink.
So it goes.
Missouri just beat Oklahoma. Oregon should be the consensus number 1 in college football. This means Ohio State and Michigan State should both move up in the polls. I can't imagine Missouri gaining leverage over either team. I can only hope that neither Boise State or TCU take top spot. I'll be cheering for Oregon for the rest of the season (unless either BS or TCU get upset at some point). It doesn't look like Ohio State will end up in the National Championship Game, but here's hoping for another top 5 finish.
Enjoying 17 hours of college football is one of those unique experiences that require just the right balance of ingredients. Today I had all of mine, and they lined up perfectly. Good games, good food, and good drink.
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