Substitute Shortbread

I did it! Matt pushed me to be healthier, plus i don't want a tummy for the wedding (his sister's), so i made a substitution list. I 5hen got this aborable heart cookie cutter with a cut-out to put on a coffee cup. It came with a recipe for shortbread. I subbed ground oats for flour, honey for sugar and bannanas for butter.

2 cups mashed bananas
1 teaspoon rum extract
1/4 cup honey
4 cups oats

Warning: these cookies taste too healthy.  Matt and I will figure it outn but in the meantime I suggest 1 1/2 cups mashed bananas and 1/2 cup butter or slathing the cookie with jam. Perhaps both.

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. Grind oats in food processor and mash bananas.
3. Mix all together and roll out to disired thickness.
4. Cut and bake 14 mins.

Try this at home

Northern Dark and Stormy

We didn't have rum, only cheap whiskey

1 bottle Reed's Ginger Beer
1.5 ounces whiskey (exept bourbon)

Central Florida

1 bag key limes
1 can sweeted condensed milk
3 egg yolks
2 oz. Ginger preserves
1 prepared pie crust
2 oz. Guava paste

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Juice all limes and add to eggs and condensed milk. Whisk all together. Set aside.
3. Spread ginger preserves on pie crust and pour in filling.
4. Bake pie for 10 mins. Meanwhile,  heat paste in saucepan until it's a liquid. Swirl  in pie with knife tip.
5. Bake pie 5 more minutes then place in fridge 1/2 hour

Sex with a Mediterranean Pirate

 Sure you're grimy, thieving and ruthless. But, while the stormy seas rage on, the smell of the salt air and the dirtiness of you make you taste oh so good.

Jigger rum
Jigger blood orange bitters
Top with half oj half pom juice
Garnish with cherry pirced by cocktail sword

Georgian Vodka

This vodka actually came into being because I wanted to combine my Dad's favorite flavors. He was born in Germany and has neven been to Georgia. So why are his favorite flavors the pride of this state?

1 ball jar
1 peach, cut into cubes
5 pecans
1 cinnamon stick
Vodka

1. Put the ingredients in jar, top with vodka, close tightly.
2. Place in fridge, shake twice a day for as many days as you want depending on how intense you want the flavors.
3. Drink and by merry.

4. Make a Georgia crumble with about the same ingerdients.

Grapefruit's Bite

The other day on Howcast got a tip about making fresh juice.  Apparently, to get more juice out of your citrus fruit, put it in a bowl of warm water for 5 minutes after removing it from the fridge.I couldn't believe it! I went the bartending school! Why didn't they teach us this?

But, that resulted in this great twist on a Gin & Ginger. 

1. In a rocks glass add 1 oz. gin and 1 oz. fresh squeezed grapefruit juice
2. Fill rest of glass with ginger ale
3. Drop in a squeeze of ginger puree and serve.

Spiced Gin Pucker

I had just been introduced to Gin and Ginger and was serving it up at a party, when my mom wanted a gin and bitter lemon. My boyfriend at the time took me to a international food store we love, I saw the bitter lemon and said I had to get it for my mom. He also got me some great ginger and lemon gummies. Following my taste buds and what we had in stock, I simply combined these ideas.

In a rocks glass combine:

1 oz. Gin
Equal parts Ginger Ale and Bitter Lemon

Sex in the Orchard

1 cup dried apricots
1 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 cup dark rum
1 stick cold butter
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon salt

1.In two separate bowls place chopped apricots and cover with rum, and dried cranberries covered with orange juice. Set aside.
2. Sift flour, salt, baking soda and ginger together in a large bowl.
3. In stand-up mixer bowl with paddle attachment, blend butter and sugars until light and fluffy.
4. Add to mixer bowl egg and dried fruit.
5. Cover dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours.
6. Drop dough onto cookie sheets in heaping 2 tablespoonfuls.
7. Bake cookies for 12-15 minutes, switching cookies between top and bottom oven racks about half-way through.

Sex in the Caribbean

One of my favorite drinks is Sex on the Beach. I called this Sex in the Caribbean because the alcohol in the cabinet was rum. Of course, I am also partial to rum. I have been a pirate for a halloween's,the latest being a Zombie pirate this past halloween, taken a pirate class where the last class was spent drinking grog and singing seashanties, and spent hours building a LEGO pirate ship.


1 ounce golden rum
1.5 ounces orange juice
1.5 ounces cranberry juice

1. In shot glass pour first rum then orange juice, then cranberry juice.
2. Garnish with a lemon twist.

Italy

Cookies:

5 tablespoons softened butter
2 cups flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup almond milk
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 cup rum
1/2 cup dried cranberries

Decoration:
Slivered almonds
Sugar


1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. To make dough, cream butter and sugar in large bowl.
3. Then add milk, flour, baking powder and salt. Blend well.
4. Once to dough is made, roll out thinly on a floured surface until the dough reaches about 1/8 inch in thickness.  Cut dough with cookie cutters, applying additional flour to cookie cutters when needed so the cookies do not stick. Decorate cookies by sprinkling sugar or arranging slivered almonds on top. I suggest a flour pattern.
5. Bake until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Try serving with whip or ice cream! (See Frozen Treats)

Japan

As I sat and watched a rather boring dance expo I had been dragged to one afternoon, I decided to think up drinks.This is still a daunting task given that I do not have much experience, just a certificate. However, I figured it was still a fun game to play whilst other people were enjoying the scenes in front of me.

Since the budding idea behind this blog is international fusion, I thought I'd try that.There was some sort of Asian routine going on.

1 oz. sake
1/2 oz. light cherry cordial
Top with Jasmine tea
Garnish with a gummi

Ginger-Lime

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon key lime juice
1 cup lime curd
1 egg
1/4 cup oil or applesauce
1/2 milk

Yield; 9 servings


1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease 9x9 inch brownie tray.
2. Mix sugar, flour and baking soda in large bowl.
3. In a cereal bowl, crack egg and beat with fork.
4. Add curd, egg, ginger, oil, milk and juice to mixture. Blend well.
5. When all ingredients are well mixed put in tin and bake of 30 min.
6. Serve with hot fudge if desired.

Hawaii

My love of baking started slowly in college. The industrial co-op kitchen was pretty intimidating and I really had no idea how to cook. Looking back, it's a interesting logic to let someone who can't cook BAKE, but since this was not culinary school, I suppose there was a logic of a sort. Since nothing too complecated was demanded of us, I became I breakfast cook, just baking cakes the night before. When the co-op didn't have what I wanted, I went out and got jam.

Yeah, I deeply regret those years of culinary ignorance.....

1 cup flour
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil or applesauce
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon orange extract
1 tablespoon freshly gated ginger
1/2 cup Guava Jam

Frosting:
Tropical Cream Cheese


1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and butter and flour cake pan.
2. In large bowl, combine dry ingredients with oil and egg.
3. Break down jam in cereal bowl with fork or blend in blender. Set Aside.
4. Add orange extract and fold in fresh ginger and jam.
5. Drop batter in cake tin and bake 30 minutes or until a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Tropics

Muffins:
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup honey or sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup butter


Filling:
1 jar guava jam

Icing:
Grand Mariner
confectioners sugar

Topping:
coconut flakes


1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Blend together all muffin ingredients in big bowl.
3. Spoon equal amounts of batter into each baking cup and be sure the bottom is covered, using about 2/3 of the batter. 4. Drop a spoon of jam onto batter, trying to keep the jam in the middle.
5. Cover jam with remaining batter.
6. Bake for 25 minutes.

7. While muffins are baking, mix Grand Mainer and confectioner's sugar in small bowl.
8. When muffins are ready, spoon some icing over each and sprinkle with coconut flakes.

Apples and Oranges

I created this drink for my mom. She loves Grand Mariner, which has an orange flavor, and apple was a obvious choice to compliment orange flavoring. In addition, her favorite colors are blue and green, so I decided to use Blue Curacao instead.


1 oz. Blue Curaçao
1 oz. Sour Apple Schnapps
2 oz. Sprite to taste
Lemon

1. In a martini glass,pour curaçao and schnapps.
2. Top with sprite until glass is full.
3. Garnish with a lemon twist.

Italy

Interestingly enough, I was at a dance recital when i thought of this. I have not actually tested this recipe, but I think that it makes a lot of sense. What no you think of when you think of Italy? Well, as you can read elsewhere, I spent 5 months in Italy on a archaeological dig and in Rome. I learned about Limoncello and Grappa. Also, I think blood orange juice is much more common in Italy then in the US.

I don't like Grappa because it has a very strong taste, for it is made of grape skins. But, you might like it.

1oz Limoncello
1/2 oz Grappa
2oz. Blood orange juice
Garnished with a amaretto cookie

1. In a champagne flute, pour Limoncello and Grappa.
2. Top with 2 ounces of blood orange juice.
3. Garnish with amaretto cookie.

French Chocolate

1/2 ounce Grand Mariner
1/2 ounce Chambord
1/2 ounce Godiva Chocolate liquor

Garnished with mint leaves

Spiced Orange Fuzz

One thing I was taught in bartending school was how to name drinks. Any spice is "spiced, too simple. Orange is "Navel", as is "Fuzzy Navel." And Peach is "Fuzz." So, i could have called this a variation on a Fuzzy Navel.

1 oz. Blue Curacao
1 oz Peach Schnapps
Fill with Ginger Ale

Florida

I decided to name this bar "Florida" because of the emphasis on key lime.

Cake:

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
2 cups key lime curd
2 teaspoons lime juice
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup vegetable oil or applesauce
1 egg, beaten


Frosting:
 Citrus Cream Cheese


1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease and flour a 9x9 inch brownie tray.
2. With whisk attachment on the stand mixer, mix sugar, flour and baking soda at medium speed.
3.  Get two cereal bowls out. In one, crack egg and beat with a fork.
4. In a saucepan, heat curd on medium heat until it breaks down.
5. Add curd and juice to mixture to form dough. Blend well.
6. When all ingredients are well mixed, pour in tray and bake of 30 min. Bars will be done when a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean.