You've Got To Taste This

Strap your Manolos on tight, ladies, we've got a cocktail that's red carpet ready and the perfect way to begin the weekend of the long-awaited Sex and the City movie.  It's called a Sweet Jubilee, and while it may be full of fun and fruity flavors, the result is anything but sweet.

We made the drink at a recent after-hours staff gathering and had a very serious tasting.  After meticulously measuring its quality, legs, and body, we tossed out the score cards and poured everyone a second round.

Make a batch for your next appetizer party.  The unique combination of ingredients, including jalapeño pepper, sake, and dark cherries, perfectly balances where all you taste is a fresh and delightfully fruity beverage that's perfectly suited for all tastes.  You can't, however, taste the alcohol, so pour with caution, and enjoy!

Sweet Jubilee (Created by Bombay Sapphire's Master Mixologist James Moreland)

Step 1: Mash one quarter of a thinly-sliced green apple with 12 dark cherries, and a few little slices of jalapeño (you can always add more, to taste) with four heaping teaspoons of raw sugar.

Step 2: Squeeze in the juice of one lemon (Be sure to catch the seeds!)

Step 3: Add 2 ounces of sake and 2 ounces of gin (we tested with Bombay Sapphire Gin--yummy)

Serve chilled or over ice  in martini glasses and strain before serving.  We served ours over ice with a little of the fruit left in, so it tasted like a zestier sangria. (Makes 2 rockin cocktails)

For anyone ignorant of the joys of pimento cheese, I'd encourage you to do a little research by reading Southern Living Executive Food Editor Scott Jones' blog post first. Then check out the Southern Foodways Alliance 2003 Great Pimento Cheese Competition to get a sense of why this stuff generates such enthusiasm south of the Mason-Dixon line. Once educated, come back and we'll have some fun.

Educated? Ok, so here's my story: Last week, I'd made two quarts of pimento cheese for a neighborhood gathering. Even after filling a tower of little finger sandwiches, I still had about a pint left over. How was it going to get consumed? Let's count the ways:

1. Eaten, one spoonful at a time, straight from the refrigerator.
2. Spread inside the pocket of a halved pita that was then toasted on a greased cast iron skillet. Pita crisps more readily than other breads, so when I bit in, I got a satisfying crunch followed by a lava-like gush of molten cheese.
3. Scraped onto pretzel sticks for an after-work snack.
4. Mixed with a dash of smoked paprika for a version that was sort of delicious, but also embarrassingly trendy and just, well, wrong.
5. Eaten on a grilled cheese sandwich nuzzled up next to crisp slices of bacon.
6. Made into Pimento Cheese Cheese Straws. I feel like I should cue the dramatic music here, because this was a major innovation for me. After all, pimento cheese is mostly just cheese and mayonnaise — which is primarily fat — and cheese straws are just flour, cheese, and butter — which is also primarily fat. So after mixing a cup of flour into an equal amount of pimento cheese, I rolled out the dough like piecrust, cut it into pencil-thin lengths, then baked the straws at 350˚F for about 16 minutes. They came out of the oven crunchy and flaky, with tiny nubs of browned cheddar and the irresistible flavor of pimientos throughout (which explains why my fingers disobeyed every attempt to stop the plate-to-mouth action).

That's six ideas from me, but what else do y'all do with pimento cheese? Maybe it could be molded into balls and rolled in crushed pecans for a pimento cheese truffle, or used as a topping for grilled tomatoes... I'm sure we could think of at least 13 variations. So come on and share your thoughts — I'd love to hear them!

It’s Memorial Day and I have celebrated by eating a big plate of barbecue and trying out a new sauce: Smokin’ Joe Jones Barbecue and Dippin’ Sauce. I sampled it at the Fancy Food Show where it captured my attention because it’s a “no sugar added sauce”. Since I have diabetes, I usually try to steer clear of traditional sweet barbecue sauces because they’re typically high in carbs, so I was happy to find one with only 2 grams of carbohydrate in 2 tablespoons.   I liked what I sampled at the show, but was eager to give it a true test and eat it on some pork.

We had some barbecued pork butt that a friend brought us, so I just spooned a little bit of the sauce on the pork rather than basting with it, and I liked it a lot. It’s a real thick, dark sauce and looks a little bit like fudge topping.  It’s a tomato-based sauce, but has a good bit of tang from vinegar and mustard, and a rich smoky flavor.  The sweetness comes from the low-calorie sweetener sucralose (brand name Splenda), but it’s the next-to-last-ingredient listed, meaning that it doesn’t have a lot of it.  It did not taste artificial to me, but I suppose it might if you are not used to Splenda.

My usual preference is for thinner, vinegar-based sauce, but it was great to enjoy my barbecue with this thick, rich sauce with just the right balance of heat and sweet and tanginess. 

Smokin’ Joe hails from Yazoo City, Mississippi and claims that his sauces come from recipes passed down from his grandmother.  The other sauces in his line are Mild, Spicy, and Hot.  Check them out on www.smokinjoejones.com.   I think Granny would be proud. 

Every time I host a party or am asked to bring an appetizer to a gathering, I immediately offer to bring hummus. You’ve got to taste Our Favorite Hummus from Southern Living Cooking School. I love it because it has a sturdier texture than some of the thinner commercial brands as well as bold flavors from garlic, fresh lemon juice, and cumin. This recipe is so easy that I committed it to memory quite a while ago. Best of all, it uses ingredients that can be found at any grocery store (no tahini required).

Follow these two tips for the best results: blend for at least one minute for an extra smooth consistency and don’t forget to add the water. (Water is listed in the method rather than the ingredient list so it’s easy to miss.)

When entertaining a crowd, I like to pair the traditional hummus with the two variations listed at the end of the recipe (and shown in the photo): Spicy Cilantro-Lime Hummus and Roasted Red Bell Pepper Hummus. Serve with English cucumber slices, pita chips, baby carrots, and bell pepper strips for a top-notch appetizer your guests are sure to love!

We here at MyRecipes.com fully believe in abiding with general health guidelines (and old wives' tales), so when we saw these gourmet apples, we figured it was a tasty way to get in our recommended daily allowance of fruits and veggies.

Gourmet apples, granny smiths cleverly disguised with thick and gorgous layers of caramel, candy coating, cookie crumbs, nuts, mini marshmallows, and even edible gold dust, are popping up everywhere.  We found these beauties in an upscale Las Vegas hotel, but we've spotted them in theme parks, music festivals, and gourmet gift baskets.  These aren't the kind of apples you simply bite into; ask the vender to slice the treat before you leave if you plan on eating it before you get home. 

Check out www.amyscandykitchen.com to get a peek at the beauties you can order online. Or, try a few of our "do it yourself" recipes to get a treat worthy of passing out as party favors to friends, or hording all to yourself.  The combination of tart apple and sweet toppings makes this delicious treat ideal for a snack or dessert.  Plus, there's more than enough to share.

Chocolate-Coconut Caramel Apples

Black-and-White Caramel Apples

Chocolate-Coconut Caramel Apples

As far back as I can remember, my family has only used sauce for grilling--usually the well known brand names. For some reason, rubs just never sounded appealing. I never liked the idea of having to smear it all over the raw meat with my bare hands! That all changed last weekend when I found a jar of McCormicks new "Grill Mates Cinnamon Chipotle Rub" that I had intended to sample at some point, buried in the cabinet, and decided to break tradition and try it. I cut up some boneless chicken breasts into cubes for kebabs, dipped the skewered pieces in the rub and threw them on the grill. Wow, was I surprised! It tasted great and the meat was tenderer and much juicier than it had ever been with sauce. Everyone loved the sweet and spicy combination, including my three boys, who can be very picky about flavors. It was also nice not having a messy jar of sauce dripping all over the place.

If you want to try it, you should be able to find the "Grill Mates" rubs in the spice section at a supermarket near you, or you can order it directly from McCormick. http://www.mccormick.com/productdetail.cfm?id=12691

At my last big dinner party, I served 2 dozen friends the simplest dessert I've ever made. Nothing more than a scoop of top-shelf vanilla ice cream doused with spicy ginger ale, the 2-ingredient concoction had guests swooning all night long. "I don't even like ginger ale, but this is amazing," gushed one, while another has since decided to serve it at her wedding. Do I sound annoyingly self-congratulatory? Well, guilty as charged. It really was that good.

Known as a Boston Cooler, the drink has been a local favorite in Detroit (home of Vernors ginger ale) for decades, where it was supposedly invented on Boston Boulevard. The key to success is using a really robust, complex ginger ale to play off the creamy vanilla — Vernors is obviously delicious, as is Buffalo Rock, or try a Jamaican-style ginger beer (available at www.vernors.com, www.buffalorock.com, or at well-stocked supermarkets). Cool and creamy, it's also got a mouth-tingling bite that says, "This float is for big kids. Now go pour another."

When a friend invited me to dinner last night, I immediately accepted and asked what I could contribute.  “Wine” was the request, so I asked about the menu and was told “Roasted Halibut.”  I immediately set out to do some research and discovered an ideal pairing. 

An Oregon Pinot Noir is a delicate red with fruit that won’t overpower the fish, but enough acid to stand up to the roasting method.  I don’t usually pick lighter bodied reds, but I am trying to expand my palate.  We were both pleased with the pairing results. 

To try your own hand at pairing, you've got to taste these roasted halibut recipes from MyRecipes.com:

Roasted Halibut with Romesco Sauce and Olive Relish – Cooking Light

Halibut Roasted on a Bed of Salt – Sunset

Oven-Roasted Halibut with Cranberry Chutney – Coastal Living

Who’s cooking fish across the web:

Ling Cod with Tomato andOrange– Simply Recipes

Baked Cod with Roasted Sweet and Sour Vegetables – Karina’s Kitchen

Poached Halibut with Sweet Garlic, Parsley and Lemon - Orangette

I love to sample candy from the bins at grocery stores--Pick-a-Mix 3 for $0.25 is my favorite. I come equipped with my quarter every time I go grocery shopping. Besides for the occasional caramel, the only type of candy I ever try are the malt balls. But, no longer do I waste my time (and calories) with those dried-out, single-dipped, excuses for candy. Once I experienced a Bissinger’s All-Natural Malted Milk Ball (both in milk and dark chocolates), I knew I could never go back. You have GOT to try this confection! The malt center has the perfect combination of soft crunch and caramel malt and it is double dipped for an even richer, more sensual mouth-feel. They are truly blissful!

The concept of “legal moonshine” is very puzzling to a girl like me who grew up in North Alabama near the foothills that are the very end of the Appalachians. Isn’t legal moonshine an oxymoron? I’d heard lots of hushed stories about moonshine, but never sampled it, so when I saw it on the menu at Cochon (Donald Link’s very popular new restaurant in New Orleans), I ordered a glass to see what all the fuss was about. There were several choices-Catdaddy, Georgia Moon, Virginia White Lightning, and Conecuh Ridge—but our waiter recommended the Catdaddy.

I lifted the shot glass, threw my head back and gulped it down. Expecting a raw burn in my throat, I got a pleasurable tingle instead. The first hit was one of sweet vanilla and maybe a bit of nutmeg. Our waiter said that he could always taste a bit of citrus—maybe mandarin orange—but I didn’t get that at all. After the first gulp, the smooth sweetness sort of lingered in my mouth and was quite nice. So nice, in fact, that I declined dessert just to hold on to that moonshine magic a moment longer.

If you’re wondering what moonshine even is, it’s distilled corn liquor made in a still of copper pots. Catdaddy is made by Piedmont Distillers in the hills of western North Carolina. Check out their website and see how it’s made. You don’t even have to worry about the “revenuers”. For more information, check out http://www.piedmontdistillers.com/catdaddy/