Food Lush

I Made Cacao-Infused Vodka. Now What Do I Do?

Editor's note: For our last week at Food Lush, I've asked the writers to share both a favorite post by another writer, from over the last three years, and a favorite post of their own. You'll see these posts linked to at the top of their new post for the week. Enjoy a stroll down Lush memory lane!

By Tara C.

Choosing a favorite Food Lush post is tough. I was a reader before I started writing here and I have enjoyed so many posts over the last couple years. And I can't tell you how much fun I have had writing here. Erica H. never fails to make me laugh. Her Summer Party: Sundae Bar post is one of my favorites. This party looks on par with a visit to Willy Wonka's factory. In terms of my own posts, the Harry Potter and Downton Abbey cookbook reviews/giveaways were insanely fun to write. 

***

When pondering what to write for my last post at Food Lush, it did not take me long to realize that I must hijack this opportunity for my own nefarious purposes. That's right, I'm not leaving without asking for advice one last time. How could I not take advantage of this access to you fine, food and drink-loving readers?

Anyway, I made cacao-infused vodka. Essentially, this involves adding a bunch of cacao nibs to a bottle of vodka, and shaking it daily for about a month to allow the nibs to release their chocolately-goodness into the vodka.

It seemed like a good idea at the time. Now I'm wondering what I should do with cacao-infused vodka. Is this something that people drink straight? Do you have suggestions for a fabulous cocktail or mix that would work well with chocolate-flavored vodka?

I heard just the other day that cocktails only came into fashion in the 1920s as a way to cover the off-putting taste of homemade spirits during Prohibition in the U.S. There was even a joke on a recently episode of Downton Abbey in which the Dowager Countess scoffed at the new-fangled cocktails. So maybe a cocktail is not entirely necessary, but it might be tasty.

Also, since I've never infused anything in anything else, I'm not entirely sure what to do at the end. Right now, the little cacao-nibs are all swollen and bloated with vodka and appear to be taking up a lot of space in the bottle. Before using, I assume I need to strain the nibs out and then pour the vodka back into the bottle? I'm curious to see how much liquid is left since it looks like the cacao nibs have soaked up a lot.

So, please tell me--if you had cacao-infused vodka, what would you do with it? I'd be ever so grateful to know. Thank you for reading. I'm blowing you kisses across the Internet.

(photo from: me)

Zuppa di Anglio Fresco

By Tara C.

You guys, I am feeling pretty lousy this week. This winter has just been one cold after another around here. And do you know what I don't care about when I feel this way? Food. I really don't want to put forth the effort to make anything, and just about everything tastes bland and scratches my throat anyway.

One thing that does sound good is soup. It doesn't get much more comforting than a nice warm bowl of soup. One of my favorites is this Zuppa di Aglio Fresco. That would be Fresh Garlic Soup. Yes, chicken noodle soup is the traditional remedy for a cold, but in my opinion garlic soup puts up a good fight. It's especially good if you pour the hot soup into your bowl over a slice of crusty bread, then let your bread get nice and soggy in the soup.

If someone you care about is feeling under the weather, you should make them a bowl of soup. They will probably love you forever. I know I would.

Zuppa di Aglio Fresco

Adapted from Food to Die For: Secrets from Kay Scarpetta's Kitchen by Patricia Cornwall and Marlene Brown

4 T. olive oil

1 1/2 cup finely chopped carrots

10 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed

4 cups chocken broth

1 t. dried thyme

1 bay leaf

1/4 cup dry sherry

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

salt and pepper to taste

1. Heat olive oil, add the carrots and garlic. Cook over medium high heat, stirring frequently, for 3 to 5 minutes or until tender but not brown.

2. Stir in the chicken stock, thyme, and bay leaf. Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, for 30 minutes.

3. Discard the bay leaf. Puree the soup (I use an immersion blender). Stir in the sherry and cheese. Heat medium heat for around 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Don't let it boil.

(photo from: Eating Well)

Rice Krispie Treats Topped with Cajeta

By Tara C.

While paying for some take-out at a local restaurant recently, I noticed a basket by the register of what appeared to be rice krispie treats topped with a dark caramel-colored topping. The topping turned out to be cajeta. If you are not familiar with cajeta, it is a Mexican confection made from sweetened carmelized milk.

When I hosted book club last week, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to try this combination. This was my first attempt at making cajeta. I followed this recipe, which seemed easy enough. I replaced the vanilla bean with a cinnamon stick. The recipe I chose called for the milk and sugar mixture to be cooked in the crock pot for 10 hours on high. I turned on the crock pot when I went to bed and I awoke the next morning to a delightfully sugary smell. However, I soon discovered that my crock pot had bubbled over, splashing the sticky caramel sauce all over my counters and floors. Big mess. I suspect that my crock pot runs hot and this could have been avoided by leaving it on low instead of high. Anyway, there was still plenty of cajeta in the pot, and while it was probably a little darker in color than it was supposed to be, it tasted just fine. If I make cajeta again, I will probably either do it during the day so I can keep an eye on it, or maybe use a non-crock pot recipe like this one.

For the rice krispie treats I followed the traditional recipe, but added about a teaspoon of kosher salt when I was melting the butter. I think adding a little bit of salt to the bars was a nice contrast with the sweet cajeta. Once it was cool, I spread the cajeta over the top. The result was very good. Overall, I really enjoyed this combination. It's simple yet a little unexpected. You should give it a whirl the next time you're looking for something crunchy and sweet.

(photo from: me)

The Unofficial Downton Abbey Cookbook + Giveaway

Updated: The giveaway is now closed, and we have a winner! Congratulations to Stephanie M. (#7). I'll be in touch this week to get your mailing address to send your cookbook to. Happy cooking!

***

Editor's note: Tara received a free copy of The Unofficial Downton Abbey Cookbook with no obigation to review and her thoughts are all her own. 

By Tara C.

The holidays may be over, but fans of Downton Abbey still have a reason to celebrate--the U.S. premiere of Season 3. And what could make your viewing experience even more pleasurable? How about some tasty, Downton Abbey-inspired treats?

When I was offered a review copy of The Downton Abbey Cookbook: From Lady Mary's Crab Canapés to Mrs. Patmore's Christmas Pudding--More Than 150 Recipes From Upstairs and Downstairs by Emily Ansara Baines after reviewing The Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook, I jumped on the opportunity.

I recruited several Downton Abbey/cooking enthusiasts to help me try some recipes, including our own Food Lush writer, Erica. Never one to shy away from a theme, Erica arrived in a sparkly tiarra. I'm not pictured here, but let's imagine that I was dressed as a scullery maid.

Here are the recipes we tried:

• Lady Mary's Crab Canapés
• Crunchy Fig and Bleu Cheese Tarts
• Mrs. Isobel Crawley's Smoked Salmon Tea Sandwiches
• Sweet Cream Scones
• Classic Cornish Pasty
• Pork Pie Balls

 

Lady Mary's Crab Canapés

Crunchy Fig and Bleu Cheese Tarts (above) and Mrs. Isobel Crawley's Smoked Salmon Tea Sandwiches (below)

Perhaps not surprisingly, the cookbook contains more "upstairs" recipes than "downstairs" recipes, and, in my opinion, they're generally more appealing. An upper-class family at this time would have had access to a wider variety of foods than their working-class counterparts. Only two of the recipes we tried, the Classic Cornish Pasties and the Pork Pie Balls, were from the "Sustenance For The Staff" section. The recipes were pretty conceptually similar, as both involved meat wrapped in pastry dough. My friend Gina made the Classic Cornish Pasties and I made the Pork Pie Balls. While we made the dishes separately, we realized later than neither of us had used lard in the pastry as written in the recipe. We substituted Crisco. Other than that, we followed the recipes pretty closely. I think when you've spent much of your life avoiding lard, it's hard to consciously include it.

Classic Cornish Pasty

I somehow neglected to take a picture of the Pork Ball Balls, but they were not very photogenic anyway. Picture enormous meatballs wrapped in pie crust and you get the idea. 

Throughout the cookbook, the author includes Times Gone By sections that place the recipes within an historical context. There are also Etiquette Lessons scattered throughout. For example, did you know that a true tea sandwich has the crusts removed only after the sandwich has been prepared and not before?

While most of the recipes in the book call for ingredients that are easily accessible by modern cooks, a few of the recipes are a little authentic for my taste. Take, for example, O'Brien's Black Pudding, which calls for fresh pork blood, or Boiled Beef Tongue for breakfast. Erica and I may have surreptitiously eyed local turtles for the turtle soup recipe, but I can assure you that no turtles were harmed.

We thoroghly enjoyed all of the dishes we made. In fact, it was hard to decide which recipe to share with you. I think our favorites were the Crunchy Fig and Bleu Cheese Tarts, Lady Mary's Crab Canapés, and the Sweet Cream Scones. Mrs. Isobel Crawley's Smoked Salmon Tea Sandwhiches were quite good too. After eating them for breakfast for the next several days, I decided that you really should have the Sweet Cream Scone Recipe. I have made a lot of scones, and these are probably the best I have ever made. They are moist, somewhat sweet, and very tasty.

Sweet Cream Scones

 Sweet Cream Scones Receipe from The Unofficial Downton Abbey Cookbook

1 cup sour cream
1 teaspooon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking soda
4 cups all-purpose flour
1½ cups sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature and cut into pieces
1 egg, at room temperature
Heavy cream for brushing
Granulated sugar for sprinkling

1. Blend sour cream, vanilla extract, and baking soda together in a small bowl. Set aside.
2. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a large baking sheet.
3. In a lare bowl, blend together flour, sugar, baking powder, cream of tartar, and salt.Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse bread crumbs. Stir in sour-cream mixture and eggs until just barely moistened.
4. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface, kneading briefly. Pat dough out into a 3/4-inch-thick round. Cut into 12 wedges and place them 2-3 inches apart on the greased baking sheet. Lightly brush with cream, then sprinkle with granulated sugar.
5. Bake 12-15 minutes or until golden brown on the bottom.

If you are a fan of Downton Abbey who also enjoys cooking, you probably need your own copy of this cookbook.

(photos from: Target-book cover image, me)

Giveaway details:

Now, one lucky Food Lush reader can comment for the chance to win your very own copy of The Unofficial Downton Abbey Cookbook!

GIVEAWAY: One copy of The Unofficial Downton Abbey Cookbook
TO ENTER:  Comment, answering the question "Are you a Downton Abbey fan?" 
GIVEAWAY ENDS: January 11th (this Friday) at 11:50pm PST
SHIPS: To any U.S. reader
EXTRA DETAILS: One comment per reader. Winner will be selected through random.org and announced as an update to this post by January 14th (that's one week from today).

Foods to Welcome the New Year

By Tara C.

In the melee leading up to Christmas, I feel like New Year's festivities are sometimes overlooked. And it's too bad--New Year's Eve seems like a great opportunity to bring out our fanciest food and drinks. It's a time to reflect upon and celebrate the past year and welcome a new one, full of new beginnings and possibilities.

Lately our New Year's Eves have pretty been lame to tell you the truth. The last time I partied like it was 1999 on New Year's Eve probably was 1999. But back then I was a young, childless newlywed. Times have changed and today we're lucky if we can even stay awake until midnight.

Other than champagne toasts on New Year's Eve, which I assume are pretty ubiquitous, I'm curious about what other New Year's food traditions Food Lush readers follow. I assume there are a lot of regional differences in terms of the New Year's food traditions, even within the U.S.

When I was growing up, my mother always served black eyed peas on New Year's Day for good luck in the new year. In high school, I had a friend who insisted that we each eat twelve grapes at the stroke of midnight. At the time, I had never heard of this tradition, but I have since learned that it's a Spanish tradition.

I would also love to find something that would elevate our quiet New Year's celebration a notch or two. I'll be back here on Food Lush in the New Year with a review of the Unofficial Downtown Abbey Cookbook and a giveaway, so maybe I'll kick off my Downtown Abbey cooking spree with some "upstairs" delicacies for New Year's Eve. The Countess of Grantham's Moules en Sauce? Lady Mary's Crab Canapés? Who knows--maybe one of these dishes will become our new New Year's Eve tradition.

So, tell me--what are your New Year's Eve and Day food traditions?

(photos from: myrecipes.com, npr.org)

Clever Christmas Food-Related Ideas

Tara C.

I recently came across this compilation of 38 Clever Christmas Food Hacks That Will Make Your Life So Much Easier and thought I would highlight some of my favorites here. You've probably seen some of these on Pinterest before, but some were new to me.

Personally, I will probably try the simplest ideas that require little to no effort. If they don't work, so what? For example, putting ice cream in a plastic bag to keep it from getting too hard:

(photo from: fullpunch.com)

Or for your smaller ornaments, try storing them in egg cartons.

(photo from: toostinkincute.blogspot.com)

We don't eat Pringles, but now I'm going to be on the look out for food containers that I can re-purpose for gifting baked goods.

(photo from: momsbyheart.net)

Using condiment bottles for cookie icing looks like a great way to minimize the mess.

(photo from: bakeat350.blogspot.com)

So, those are some simple ideas. I have to disagree with the title, which suggests that all of these ideas will make your life easier. Some of these ideas don't look easy to me at all. But I guess if you're going to choose one time of year to fuss over the details of your food, it's probably Christmas. For me, the following ideas fall into the category of Things I Think Are Adorable But Will Probably Not Attempt Because I Know Myself to Have The Attention Span of a Flea.

Take, for instance, these tiny elf donuts made from Cheerios. (The Buzzfeed list calls them elf cookies, but they are clearly donuts, right?) Maybe I'm just a sucker for wee little foods, but I think they are precious. I am actually quite fascinated by all the teeny dollhouse-sized foods pictured in this post.

(photo from: unconfidentialcook.com)

Likewise, this tiny strand of Christmas lights made from candy is adorable, but probably requires patience beyond that which I possess. But is your gingerbread house feeling under-dressed? How great would it look with these little lights? Or wouldn't this look great on a cake or cupcake?

(photo from: hungryhappenings.com)

And, finally, I would love to try one of these gingerbread men jello shots. I may need to have a party just so I have an excuse to make these. Unless Wednesday night is an excuse to make gingerbread men jello shots?

(photo from: thatssomichelle.com)

Christmas Date Balls

Tara C.

When you saw the title of this post, there's a good chance that you thought ewwww. And I know, I know, date balls are not cool. What's next, fruit cake recipes? Let me explain. Back in August, I posted about the family recipe book with photos that I made a few years ago. In this post, I mentioned that every year I make my grandmother's date balls at Christmas because they just feel like Christmas to me. Well, it's that time again. 

When I was a child, every year at Christmas my grandmother would come to our house with pretty little tins of treats, including these date balls, wrapped delicately in tissue paper.

In my previous post I made it sound like I didn't really like these date balls but I make them anyway. That's not really true. I do like them. But would I like them if I didn't associate them with warm and happy memories? That's hard to say. I think food and smells have the ability to seep down into the primative crevices of our brains, and those crevices are not very articulate or good at providing objective analysis. So let's just say I like them.They are sweet and crunchy and completely addictive.

I find it strange that this is the second recipe I've posted here that uses Rice Krispies. In general, I don't consider myself to be a Rice Krispy afficionado. But these are both vintage recipes, so maybe that's just a sign of the times. Like dates, baking with Rice Krispies was once more en vogue than it is today.

To me, this is what nostalgia tastes like.

Date Balls

1 pound pitted dates
1 egg
1 cup sugar
1 teas. vanilla
1 tablespoon butter
1 cup chopped nuts (I used pecans)
1 cup Rice Krispies
1/2 cup powdered sugar

Cut dates fine, combine with beaten egg, sugar, vanilla and butter; cook in a saucepan until dates are soft. Add nuts and Rice Krispies, blend. Shape into balls about 3/4-inch in diameter and roll in powdered sugar. Makes about 50 balls.

These cookies freeze well. Storage time about 3 months. Thawing time about 30 minutes.

What foods do you make that remind you of childhood holidays?

Cuisine at Home Magazine

By Tara C.

If you have seen Caitlin's wonderful gift guide (and if you haven't you should) you may have noticed that Cook's Illustrated topped her list--this year with the cookbook and last year with the magazine subscription. But let's say the food lover on your list already has a subscription. I'd like to throw in another magazine idea--Cuisine at Home.

I was introduced to Cuisine at Home magazine a couple years ago when my aunt Diana, who is a fabulous cook herself, gifted me with a subscription. It quickly turned into my favorite food magazine. Their Old Fashioned Chocolate Cake recipe (adapted here) might be my favorite chocolate cake recipe. And that's saying a lot; it's hard to choose a favorite chocolate cake. They're all so lovable.

Here's what I love about Cuisine at Home:

• The recipes are reliable. Everything I've tried has been good (including this Mac n' Cheese Soup).
• There are tons of photos and step-by-step instructions.
• There's an emphasis on technique.
• There are no ads.

The "no ads" part is probably what differentiates it the most from other food magazines, but the emphasis on technique has been most helpful to me. While I enjoy cooking, I never really learned a lot of the basic techniques. I am much more comfortable with baking than with cooking main dishes. And with a vegetarian mother, this is particularly true when it comes to cooking meat. I just never really learned some of the basics.

I think one of the best things about Cuisine at Home is that it allows less experienced home chefs to create elegant and tasty dishes. So, for something like Seared Beef Tenderloin Filets, they not only provide recipes but also give step-by-step instuctions, with photos, for trimming and searing the filets. This is not to say that it's only for the novice cook. But for those of us who like to have all the steps really spelled out for us, this is a great resource. I have thoroughly enjoyed my subscription--I highly recommend it.

(photo from: Cuisine at Home)

Barefoot Contessa Cupcake Mixes

By Tara C.

Let me tell you a little story about my experience with Barefoot Contessa cupcake mixes. I once worked with a woman whose personality was pretty darn melancholy. I brought some cupcakes that were leftover from my son's birthday party to a meeting, and we witnessed a complete personality transformation after she ate one of the chocolate ones. Now, maybe she just needed a good dose of sugar and chocolate. Perhaps there's a condition like scurvy that results from a baked goods deficiency. I really wouldn't know. Whatever the situation, I do think that the deliciousness of these cupcakes helped. For a few minutes at least, she seemed happy.

As someone who likes to bake, I don't usually rely on mixes. But sometimes we are all pressed for time and can use a little help. In general I don't think mixes taste as good homemade, but these cupcakes are an exception to that rule. I have made the chocolate cupcakes with chocolate frosting and the coconut cupcakes with cream cheese frosting. They were both excellent. When I served them at my son's birthday, several people said they were the best cupcakes they had ever had. The mixes are definitely a splurge at around $10-$12 a box, but they sure are good.

(photo from: Amazon)

Have you tried any mixes that you thought were as good as the homemade version?

Things To Do With Leftover Halloween Candy

 By Tara C.

Since becoming a parent nine years ago, I've never known the best way to handle the influx of candy around holidays, especially Halloween. What do you do with it all? Let the kids go wild and stuff themselves for a few days, then get rid of it? Let the kids exchange it for some sort of non-candy treat? Let it linger around the house until you realize that you not only have Halloween candy to contend with, but also Christmas, Valentine's Day, and Easter candy too?

Our pediatrician once recommended that we let the kids choose 30 pieces and let them have one a day for the next 30 days, but this did not go well for us. The kids obsessed over their candy like little misers and drove us nuts asking for their "daily candy." My experience has been that it's better to enjoy the candy for a few days, then remove it from sight. Here are a couple ideas for using the excess.

• Donate it. Find out where you can donate it in your community. Here in Austin, I know of a group that feeds that homeless and is accepting Halloween candy. I also know of some dentists who are participating in a program to collect and send candy to troops in Iraq and Afganistan.
• Experiment with it. Here's an idea that never occured to me. Use your leftover Halloween candy for science experiments.
• Save it for Christmas. The holidays are just around the corner and a lot of the candy from Halloween could be re-purposed as stocking stuffers or gingerbread house decorations. Stick the candy in the freezer if it's too tempting to look at it in the meantime.
• Bake with it. There are so many delicious things you can make with leftover candies, especially chocolates. One year I made Noble Pig's Leftover Halloween Candy Vanilla Bundt Cake and it was a big hit. 

(photo from: Noble Pig)

This year I made Take 5 Candy Bar Cookies and they were delicious. You could also just substitute M&M's for chocolate chips in your favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe or stir them into a batch of brownies or Rice Crispy Treats.

Taste of Home has a collection of leftover halloween candy recipes.This peanutbutter cheesecake recipe looks pretty scrumptious.

(photo from: Taste of Home)

You could also use candy as garnish, like on Pinch My Salt's Double Chocolate Pumpkin Cupcakes. Halloween may be over, but it's still fall. That's candy corn season, right?

(photo from: Pinch My Salt)

If you're sick of sweets at this point, it seems like there are lots of opportunity to give away baked goods this time of year. Just in the past week my kids' schools have asked for donations for a bake sale and treats for firefighters. 

Also, if you make something fantastic, you can freeze it and save it for dessert at Thanksgiving, which is barely over two weeks away.

This is all assuming that you have leftover candy of course. Maybe you ate it all. That's the obvious thing to do with extra candy. No judgement.

What about you? What do you do with leftover Halloween candy?