Kitchen Ranch

Fancy a Pineapple-Mint Mojito?

When there are four pies to be made, one needs a great drink (or two) to sip on the side.  I think I have mentioned before, that my idea of a good time is hanging out in the kitchen with friends cooking and drinking.... for hours on end.  So, when a friend mentioned that she might be keen to open a pie shop in town and wanted to spend some time making pies and trying recipes-I said, Yes please!   

So yes, four pies were made: Carrot Pie, Carmelized onion and blue cheese galette with walnuts, potato and squash quiche and a coconut cream pie (not yet assembled in the photo below).

The pineapple-mint mojitos served us well and all the pies were top notch delicious.  The kids went nuts over the carrot pie and the grown ups all agreed that the galette was pretty divine.

It was agreed that the meal felt like a Thanksgiving dinner.  

Thanks for the recipe Bon Appetit! 

Pineapple-Mint Mojito

• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 cup (packed) fresh mint leaves
• 1/4 pineapple, peeled, cored, cut into 1-inch pieces (about 1 1/2 cups)
• 4 limes, each cut into 8 wedges
• 1/2 cup (packed) fresh mint leaves
• 2 cups light rum
• Club soda (for serving)

Pineapple-Mint Purée

Bring sugar and 1 cup water to a boil in a small saucepan, stirring to disolve sugar. Remove from heat, add mint, and let cool completely.

Meanwhile, place pineapple in a blender and purée until smooth. Strain mint syrup through a fine-mesh sieve into pineapple purée and pulse to combine. Transfer to a jar, cover, and chill.

For each cocktail, muddle 2 pieces of pineapple, 3 lime wedges, and 1 tablespoon mint leaves in a cocktail shaker until lightly crushed. Add 2 ounces rum and 2 ounces pineapple-mint purée to cocktail shaker, fill with ice, cover, and shake until outside of shaker is frosty, about 30 seconds.

Pour drink into a highball glass (do not strain) and top off with club soda. Garnish with a lime wedge and serve with a straw.

DO AHEAD: Pineapple-mint purée can be made 3 days ahead. Keep chilled.

Ginger Lime Vodka Fizz with Fresh Blueberries

This cocktail is a KEEPER (yes, it is that good and deserves all caps to emphasize). I am looking forward to a hot day that offers up the opportunity to sip this in the backyard while the children play.

Ginger Lime Fizz Vodka Fizz with Fresh Blueberries (Recipe Modified from its original appearance in VegetarianTimes)

• 1/ 2 Cup Sliced Fresh Ginger
• 1 Cup Sugar
• 1 1/3 Cup fresh Lime Juice (about 12 limes)
• 1 Cup Vodka
• Fresh Blueberries

Bring Ginger, Sugar and 1 1/2 Cups of water to boil in a saucepan. Once boiled, reduce heat and allow to simmer for 10 minutes.

Remove from heat and cool.

In a large jar or pitcher... mix lime juice and vodka. Strain cooled ginger simple syrup into the mix. 

Serve over ice with Blueberry garnish.....

 

Pixel Graphics and a Hazelnut Liqueur follow up

Pixel's desk on any given day.... my children are very familiar with the term 'Mise en Place' in theory...

I love this project Pixel has been working on nonstop- her version of a polaroid camera:

These are a few of the photos that the camera takes:

The cookbook I spoke about so poorly on Monday has a winner recipe (sort of). The Hazelnut Liqueur turned out fantastic. Now, the ingredients did not yield as much as the recipe stated (in fact it yielded about half of what it should have-that is why I give it a sort of). 

I doubled the recipe and a small bottle of liqueur was produced (maybe 2 cups total).... lovely to sip neat.

Hazelnut Liqueur

Hazelnut Liqueur from HomeMade by Yvette Van Bovan

• 2 Cups Hazelnuts
• 1 Cup Vodka
• 2/3 Cup Cognac
• 1 1/4 Cup water
• 1/2 Cup Granulated sugar
• 1/2 Cup Raw and superfine sugar

Coarsely chop nuts in food processor. Place in a large jar (I used Mason jars) and cover with vodka and Cognac. Leave for 6 weeks...

Strain then through a sieve and then again through a coffee filter.

Leave to stand for 2 more days. Strain last of the residue through a coffee filter.

Heat water and sugars to majke a syrup. Combine cooled syrup and nut drink into a bottle. 

Drink it up!

Brewing up a bit of liquor as a gift for the holidays..... I will follow up on the taste of this... my six weeks is almost up!

Limoncello

Not only was the kitchen abuzz with cookie making but also Limoncello making. An easy and delicious cocktail to offer friends and family for the holiday season.

Limoncello thanks Giada

• 10 lemons
• 1 (750-ml) bottle of vodka
• 3 1/2 cups water
• 2 1/2 cups sugar

Using a vegetable peeler, remove the peel from the lemons in long strips (reserve the lemons for another use). Using a small sharp knife, trim away the white pith from the lemon peels; discard the pith. Place the lemon peels in a 2-quart pitcher. Pour the vodka over the peels and cover with plastic wrap. Steep the lemon peels in the vodka for 4 days at room temperature.

Stir the water and sugar in a large saucepan over medium heat until the sugar dissolves, about 5 minutes. Cool completely. Pour the sugar syrup over the vodka mixture. Cover and let stand at room temperature overnight. Strain the limoncello through a mesh strainer. Discard the peels.

Transfer the limoncello to bottles. Seal the bottles and refrigerate until cold, at least 4 hours and up to 1 month.

And I must say, I am partial to limoncello spritzers.....

Ginger Ale

Seems only fair that with all the wine making and beer brewing (more on that soon) going on around here that we would also make a soda....

Sidenote: We never have soda around, nor do we drink it except in rare circumstances... non soda bubbly drinks are appreciated.

When I suggested we make Ginger Ale.... well the squeals of joy were loud. That is, until we tasted the ginger ale then all of our squeals were loud. Delicious-ness!

Ginger Ale

Equipment needed: empty 2 liter bottle, big pot and that is it.

• 2 Cups Sugar
• 2 Liter Water
• 1 lemon cut into wedges
• 1/2 cup-1 cup diced Fresh ginger
• 1/8 teaspoon champagne yeast (ale yeast ok but I prefer the taste of the ginger ale made with champagne yeast)

In a large pot bring water to boil.... add ginger, sugar and lemon. Boil for 25 minutes. Cool.....Your home will smell amazing at this point.

When it is 70-76 F add yeast.

Strain into 2 Liter bottle. Add water to top off if necessary. Cap. Place in a plastic bag. Wait two days then refrigerate. Drink when cool......

Citrus Sangria

Delicious! This recipe is surprisingly great served alcoholic or non-alcoholic...

Citrus Sangria

• 1 Bottle of Red Wine or Grape Juice
• Juice of 2 Lemons & Limes
• Juice of 4 Oranges
• Chopped Apple and Sliced Orange

Serve with ice.... 

White Wine and Campari Cocktails

Oh Yes, we are on summer's threshold around here.

White Wine and Campari Cocktails

3 3/4 Cups White Wine
2 1/4 Cups Fresh Orange Juice
1 Cup Campari

Mix, serve over ice (Umbrellas are a plus).

Red Beer

When one of my favorite people on the planet asks, "Will you prepare the appetizers for my wedding of 60 plus guests?" I respond, "Well of course!" Then I sit with paper and pencil to make recipe lists, grocery lists, plan trips to cost co, Trader Joes, ensure the coolers are clean and there will be ice in the coolers to transport the food safe.

Thanks to Tanya, Kirstin, Mimi and Hanna the appetizers were prepared, assembled and delivered just fine.

Aside from wondering what does one make for a wedding appetizer spread, you may be wondering what did we drink all day in the hot kitchen for two days before the wedding while chopping and stewing?

Red Beer of course!

Now I must admit, my first thought was , "Ew. Tomato juice and beer?" No really, it is great-you must try it! Red Beers are quite lovely to sip as the morning breaks (uh-hem).

The appetizer line up was such:

• Stuffed Mushrooms
• Skewered Tortellini with olive oil, lemon, chopped parsley and Parmesan drizzled on top
• Skewered Tofurky, basil and half of a cherry tomato
• and
• Bite sized version of this recipe: Stuffed and roasted sweet peppers
• Kirstin's Raw Spring Rolls (Yum!)

 
The festivities approaching the wedding were delightfully fun (next up: Pinata Making) as was the after party which kept me dizzy for days...

Now they are married and how sweet that is really to be married (note the fashionable shoes on the groom!)

 

Whiskey Sour Recipe

The best Whiskey Sour for any evening or afternoon cocktail soiree (Thanks again Ina G the Barefoot Contessa!)

1/2 Cup Lime Juice Fresh
1/2 Cup Lemon Juice Fresh
2/3 Cup Sugar Syrup (1 Cup of Water and 1 Cup of sugar in a saucepan until the sugar has dissolved. No need to boil, just warm. Allow to cool before using)
3/4 Jack Daniels

Mix in a shaker with ice and pour over ice in a bucket glass, garnish with cherries and enjoy. (Careful, these are really delicious!)