My Only Sunshine

Balcones Rumble - The Watkin

 

My husband got so excited when he heard that his hometown, Waco Texas, had recently opened a distillery.  Whiskey hasn’t been distilled in Texas since prohibition.  I, on the other hand, was a little sad to find out that this new Texas hooch came just a little too late for my Godfather, Bruce.

 You see, Bruce Watkin Barrick was unlike anyone else has ever been or ever will be.  He was without a doubt the most eccentric person I have ever met, and that is really saying something.  He loved art, history, music, telling stories, whistling, cooking, playing RISK with his best friends, and a good bourbon and Coke.  He was also completely “pro texana”.  He would have LOVED Balcones Distillery and Rumble.  That’s why I named this drink after him.

 

 

Now you can’t call Rumble a true bourbon because it is not composed of at least 51% corn.  Balcones does make products made from blue corn, which I can’t wait to taste, but this isn’t it.  Rumble is distilled from Texas wildflower honey, Mission figs, and turbinado sugar.  These flavors come together to make a lovely, sweet, and floral shot of liquor.  You could easily sip this if that was your thing but I prefer my alcohol mixed into something refreshing.  It gets dang hot here in Texas. (it will be upper 80s later this week!)

 

 

Bruce might have mixed his Rumble with a little Diet Coke but I thought it might sing a little sweeter mixed with blood orange juice.  Blood oranges have a lightly citrusy orange flavor mixed with floral and berry notes that make it more mellow than a standard orange.  They also have their trademark red color that makes for a gorgeous cocktail.  I decided bringing out the wildflower honey flavor in the Rumble would be great too so I made a local North Texas honey simple syrup too.  These components and a little ginger ale, to lighten things up, created a beverage Bruce would have loved.  He would have been proud it was from Texas.

 

 

 

 

The Watkin

 

1 oz honey syrup

2 oz blood orange juice

2 oz Balcones Rumble

ginger ale

ice

garnish

 

To make the honey syrup put 1 Cup water and ¼ Cup honey in a sauce pan and heat over medium high heat until the honey has melted into the water.  I prefer local honey because it seems to help with my allergies.  If you can’t find honey local to your home then Texas honey is always a good way to go.

Add the honey syrup, fresh squeezed blood orange juice, and Rumble to a cocktail shaker with ice and give it a good shake.  Strain into a high ball glass over ice and top with ginger ale to fill the glass.  Garnish with a slice of blood orange or an edible wildflower.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Maybe I'll have to name the next drink I create after this rock, The Ripple Mark sounds yummy doesn't it?

 

Happy Fat Tuesday

 

Lately Bug has been wanting to cook with me.  I cannot begin to tell you how happy this makes me.  Now you've seen pics of both Girlies cooking with me before but it has mostly been them stirring and then getting bored and wandering off.  They are both fantastic bowl licker outters and they get better about eating the things I cook every day, but this is something new.

 Bug got a Jeni's Ice Cream cookbook for Christmas and boy have we been enjoying that.  She takes the initiative picking out what she wants to make, making sure we have the ingredients, doing the grocery shopping. It's amazing.  The stove makes her a little nervous so I help with that to the point of almost doing it myself. Everything else is all her.

These pictures obviously aren't showing her making ice cream, though I will absolutely be posting about that.  These pictures are all about the Mardi Gras King Cake.

Sunday morning Bug woke up and came down stairs to tell me that she had decided she wanted to make a King Cake.  Now I've never made a King Cake before, but I have made many other yeast doughs so I was pretty sure we could handle this.  Bug wanted it to be all her so she got online (she's in love with Pinterest too) and started looking for a recipe.  She found two she liked.  She wanted the dough of this one.  That was fine with me, I love Baked Bree!  She wanted the filling from this one.  Liv Life was new to me but obviously I'll be going back again and again.

 

This was no cinnamon roll cake.  Bug knew she wanted cream cheese as the filling and she also knew she wanted it to be distinctly lemony. She's a citrus girl. She whipped up a glaze for the top that was mostly lemon juice and powdered sugar with a hint of vanilla to warm it up. It was perfect with all the crazy sprinkles.

Bug stuffed a little plastic baby in there and then off to school the cake went. I made her a sign letting the teachers know that she made it herself and that we would love to give a prize to the teacher who finds the baby. I'm hoping she will hear from a teacher tomorrow so we can take them something from Starbucks.

 

It wouldn't be Fat Tuesday without a little Jambalaya.  My family loves their cajun food so I will finish this post with the recipe I've been cooking for years to celebrate our imaginary cajun roots.

 

 

Sunshine's Jambalaya
 
1/2 lb pork
3 boneless skinless chicken thighs
1 boneless skinless chicken breast
1/2 lb beef polish or cajun sausage
Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning to taste
Tobasco to taste
1 yellow onion
3 stalks celery
1/2 green bell pepper
2 cloves garlic
2 Tablespoons butter
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1/2 Cup flour
32 oz chicken stock
1 1/2 Cups rice
salt
pepper
 
In a large dutch oven, sear bite sized cuts of all four meats, one meat at a time, over medium high heat.  Remove meat once it is seared and set aside.

Dice onion, celery, green pepper, and garlic and add to pan.  If it's too dry add a little oil.  Season to taste.

 Cook the vegetable "trinity" until translucent and then remove from pan and add to previously browned meat.

 Put butter and oil in pan and heat over medium heat until the butter is melted.  Add flour and whisk until there are no lumps.  This forms the roux that gives the jambalaya it's color and deep flavor.  Cook the roux until it is a deep mahogany color.  Stir to prevent burning throughout the process.

Once the roux is dark, add back in the meat and vegetables.  Pour in your stock and bring to a boil.
 Add rice and cover.  Reduce heat and simmer until the rice is tender, around 20 minutes.  Try not to stir too much or the rice will get gummy, but don't let the rice burn to the bottom either.

 

I served the jambalaya with some good crusty garlic bread and a yummy new cocktail for Buster and me.  Watch for that tomorrow, it will be worth the wait.

Happy Valentine's Day

Check out the Candy Kabob's my Girlies made for their classmates.

Valentine's Pie

 

Credit where it is due...  this amazing custard hand pie was not my idea.  I saw it on In Katrina's Kitchen and stole it shamelessly.  You see, I have a similar story to hers.  I LOVE McDonald's holiday pies.  In my defense, my mother works for Bama who makes these wonderful little baked creamy beauties for Ronald McD so I'm just supporting her work.  The problem is that you can only get them at Christmas and this year we didn't find them at all.  Yay for Katrina and her kitchen.

Once I had the idea, it was easy.  You see, I already had the cute little Wilton heart pie maker.  I even had pie crust and puff pastry in the freezer.  All I needed was a yummy scrummy little egg custard to put inside.  That's easy, a couple of egg yolks, a cup of milk and a half cup of cream, a touch of sugar and vanilla bean and I was all set up.

 

I cooked the custard in a nice water bath and chilled it over night.  All that was left was a little squishing in the pie press between some pastry and then bakey bakey.  I had frosting in the fridge leftover from some cupcakes so I zapped that just a touch and drizzled it over the top.

My kids loved them and they went FAST.  Probably good for my waist line but not so much for my taste buds.

 

Baking Style - Lisa Yockelson

Last week I was killing some time at Barnes and Noble when I was drawn in by the big table of cook books.  The funny thing about this table is that it draws you in via your stomach.  So many of the books are covered in glossy photos of scrumptious foods that it's impossible for an even moderately hungry person to pass it by without at least a quick look.  All the gorgeous books and their yummy looking food, and I fall for a book with no pictures on the outside.

Baking Style by Lisa Yockelson is a substantial book.  I LOVE a well made book.  The subtitle on the front fits me perfectly, "Art Craft Recipes."  That is exactly how I view cooking.  It appeals to my artistic and crafty side just like glue, paper, and yarn do.

This book is filled not only with recipes and photos, but also with culinary essays that I found captivating.  It's much like reading a food blog but without the clicking and scrolling.  So many of the recipes in the book were things I want to make but it was one recipe that sealed the deal...  marzipan scones.

The funny thing about the changes I made with this recipe?  I didn't use marzipan for the marzipan scones.  I used Almond Paste instead.  Marzipan and almond paste have the same three ingredients: almonds, sugar, and glucose syrup.  The difference is that marzipan has slightly more sugar and is sweeter than almond paste.  I am quite sure that these scones would be delicious with marzipan but I love almond paste just as much and didn't need the extra sugar.

The recipe tells you to cut your marzipan into chunks and then it is worked into the dough by hand at the end of the prebake process.  You can't go wrong with large chunks of sweet almondy goodness in your scones.

 

The almond paste mixed in easily and left me with a lovely sweet dough.  I didn't get any pictures of the dough disk or wedges after they were cut.  The dough was very sticky and needed to be cut and moved to the pan quickly.  It was a bit hard to work with the sticky dough but well worth the gorgeous texture after they were cooked.  I wouldn't have wanted more flour added to make them less sticky causing a tougher final product.

I cut down on the nutmeg a little in my dough because I wanted to make sure the almond flavor was crisp and clean.  If you can't tell, I'm an almond fan.

Just like Lisa says in her book, the texture of these scones isn't your standard flaky and semi-dry texture.  These little lovelies have a soft crumb that is more dense but just as soft as cake.  They are a joy to eat.

The almond paste holds the shape you cut it into but the lumps disperse through the dough evenly.  It spreads it's flavor throughout but maintains it's lovely mouth feel.

I ate my scone with a little homemade clotted cream.  It was delicious but I actually like them better just as they are.  Warm is nice but room temperature is even better.  I also loved it just as much the second day.

 

Marzipan Scones

From Baking Style by Lisa Yockelson

 

7 ounces marzipan (I used almond paste)

2 cups plus 2 tablespoons unsifted bleached all-purpose flour

2 ¼ teaspoons baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg (I used a little less)

6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, softened (I used salted)

5 tablespoons granulated sugar

2 large eggs

1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons milk

1 teaspoon almond extract

¾ teaspoon vanilla extract

 

confectioners’ sugar, for sifting over the baked scones (optional – I didn’t use any)

 

makes 6

 

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

 

Line a heavy rimmed sheet pan or cookie sheet with a length of ovenproof parchment paper.

 

For the dough, cut the block of marzipan into small cubes and set aside.

 

Cream the butter in the large bowl of a freestanding electric mixer on moderate speed until smooth, about 1 minute.  Add the granulated sugar and beat for 1 minute on moderate speed.  Whisk the eggs, milk, almond extract, and vanilla extract in a small mixing bowl.  On low speed, blend in a little less than half of the sifted mixture, all of the whisked eggs and milk mixture, then the balance of the sifted mixture.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl thoroughly with a rubber spatula after each addition.  The dough will be firmly moist.  By hand, work in the chunks of marzipan, using a sturdy rubber spatula.

 

On a lightly floured work surface, form the dough into a plump 5 ½- to 6-inch disk.  Cut the disk into 6 wedges.  Place the scones on the prepared baking pan, spacing them 3 inches apart.

 

Bake the scones in the preheated oven for 20 minutes, or until risen, set, and golden on top.  Cool the baked scones on the pan for 1 minute, then remove them to a cooling rack, using a wide offset spatula.  Serve the scones warm or at room temperature, their tops sprinkled with confectioners’ sugar, if you wish.  Store in an airtight container.

Dinner at My House

We are a busy family.  With both my Girlies dancing with the ballet company this year, we spend a large part of dinner time driving back and forth to dance classes.  Last year at this time I made the commitment to cooking at home as often as I can even with those crazy time constraints.  Not only do I cook at home, but I try very hard to have well balanced meals that are both yummy and if not always perfectly healthy, at least not terribly unhealthy.  I've noticed a huge change in my family from this year long commitment to eating better.  Buster and I have lost weight and are feeling great.  The Girlies have gained healthy muscle mass which they needed.  Take a look.

Now I'm going to show you what kinds of things we eat.  My kids have developed a love of all things sea food and Bug loves nothing more than going to the fresh fish counter at Central Market and asking for one of everything.  Last week we had mediterranean tilapia with baked zucchini fries.  This is pretty much Bug's favorite meal.  It's not the prettiest dish I cook but it tastes really good and is so healthy.  The tilapia is cooked on the stove and then the oven with onions, tomatoes, and capers.  The zucchini batons are dredged in egg whites and breadcrumbs and then baked until crispy.

Last night we had stuffed shells.  Bitty loves Italian food.  Buster and I don't love all the carbs.  This was a good way to go.  Part-Skim Ricotta cheese from Central Market was dialed up with herbs, mascarpone, and my favorite sea salt.

Then Bug spooned it into a zip top bag for easing stuffing.

See, a little help from the kid and cooked shells are easy to turn into stuffed shells.  We stuffed them really really full so we could use fewer shells and more yummy cheesyness.

I went easy last night and used premade meatballs from the butcher.  They were fennely and delicious.  I also used Rao's sauce.  It was the best prepackaged marinara I have ever eaten.  Sure, I could have made sauce from scratch, meatballs too.  I may have mentioned back at the top how busy we are.  This was a good compromise and the kids went back for more. 

 

Cheesy Stuffed Shells

 

12 ounce box of jumbo shells

15 ounces of Ricotta cheese

4 ounces of Mascarpone cheese

1 egg

2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese

1 tablespoon Italian spice mix

1 jar marinara or red sauce of your choice

store bought or homemade meatballs

shredded mozzarella cheese

salt

pepper

 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

 Cook the shells according to the directions on the package and drain.

 While the shells are cooking mix together the ricotta, mascarpone, egg, parmesan, spice mix, and salt and pepper to taste.  Fill a large zip top bag with your cheese mixture.  When your pasta is done drain it well and then cut the tip of your cheese bag and pipe cheese into pasta.  As you fill the shells, place them in a lightly greased (I use olive oil spray) baking dish.

 Brown your meatballs in a pan on the stove.  Cook your meatballs at least ¾ of the way through before adding them to your pan with your stuffed shells.  If you need your dinner faster then make sure your meat is cooked all the way through so that your pasta will not need to bake as long.

 Cover pasta and meatballs with your sauce and then sprinkle with mozzerella.

 Bake pasta in the preheated oven for 30 minutes or until meatballs are cooked all the way through and the cheese on top is golden and delicious.

 

Cajun Turkey and Jalapeno Pinwheels

Sometimes when I am looking at food blogs on the internet I will come across a picture of something that looks yummy and want to make it.  I'm very visual which often means that I only look at the pictures and maybe the name of the dish, but not the actual recipe.  That is what happened with these pinwheels.  I saw a picture of some pastry and cheese concoction and thought it would make a good quick lunch for me and Buster on some busy weekday.  I went to the store to get the ingredients and realized that beyond refridgerator dough of some sort, I didn't know what the ingredients were.  Here's what I came up with.

I used Pillsbury Crescent rolls from a can.  The big ones, not the cute little tiny ones.  Instead of seperating them into triangles I left them attached in two triangle rectangles, which made them easier to roll up.  I also used deli cajun turkey sliced on the thick side, Laughing Cow Light Garlic & Herb cheese, a jalapeno, and some cheddar and chihuahua cheese I had in the fridge already.  Oh, and it didn't make it into this picture but I also threw in some French's french fried onions because even though they are a little silly, we love them.

I mixed the cheeses all together with the jalapeno and spread it on the crescent rectangles.  Then I put on the turkey and the onions and rolled them up.  The trick to getting good pinwheels is to roll as tightly as you can.  As you can see in the picture above, some of mine came out better than others.  I also found that it helped to squeeze the rolls a little before cutting to make sure they were squished tight.

Cook them on a lined baking sheet according to the directions on the crescent package.  Basically 350F for 12 minutes or so.

  We thought they were quite yummy though maybe not spicy enough.  I used half the jalapeno and it probably needed the whole shebang.  We are mustard junkies at my house so we had a little of that on the side.

In order to not being eating too crazy unhealthy I whipped together a little southwest salad to ride shotgun.  I love my Texasware bowl so much.  It's a little stained and worn but it is still the best all around mixing bowl ever.

Do you ever "find a recipe" just to realize once it is made that you didn't really follow the recipe at all?

Happy Father's Day

For Father's Day Bitty decided to make Buster some ice cream.  She got the idea from 2 Little Hooligans.  Both Girlies made ice cream for themselves as well.  Even though we have an ice cream machine this ziploc bag version was a HUGE hit.
She even decorated the inner and outer ziploc bags.

Once the cream in the inner bag was frozen she added mix-ins like caramel and butterfinger.  Can't go wrong there.

I'm Pinterested in Sewing

So I finally joined Pinterest this week. Very inspiring.  One of the first pins I repinned was this totally cute skirt from the blog Analog Me.  Even better than pinning it, I also decided to MAKE it!  I made a few changes and I am obviously way out of practice sewing and serging but I think it came out pretty well.

I started with two cheap t-shirts from Target.  I cut the neck, sleeves, and chest off of both of them. 

I saved the chest piece of one of them to turn into a waist band.

Then I cut one shirt into strips (tubes) to make ruffles on the other shirt body which would be the skirt base.

I serged both sides of the chest piece wrong sides together.

And folded it in half, right side out.

As you can see, I wasn't too precise with this.  It's a t-shirt turned into a simple summer skirt.  I didn't want to stress, I wanted to enjoy.
I turned the t-shirt body that would become the skirt inside out and then pinned the waistband I made inside the top (unfinished) edge.  I like pins, can you tell?
I serged together the raw edges of the folded waist bandand the top edge of the skirt.
I was too lazy to thread my serger with a matching color.  It's white, it doesn't show.

Here it is, right side out.  I was not careful with the gathering at the waist band.  I won't be wearing things tucked in with this t-shirt skirt so I'm not too worried about it.  I'll do better next time.  You believe me don't you?

Here's Jippy wearing the skirt before the ruffles were added.  See, not too precise, but still pretty good.
Jippy could even do some ballet at the bar in it.  You know, if she had arms or legs.
I supposed if I were built like Jippy I could even wear it as a top.  I am not built like Jippy (you know, the arms and legs thing, also uhh boobs) so it will be a skirt for me.

In a couple of places I didn't get both pieces of the waist band into the serged edge.  That's ok, I fixed it.  Once repairs were made I started pinning the pieces cut from the other t-shirt onto the skirt.
Next time I would use a larger t-shirt for the cut strips so I have more ruffling.  You live, you learn.
Still not all that careful and precise, still crazy for pins.
Once the pinning was done I sewed the ruffles on with my sewing machine, starting with the bottom ruffle.
Yes I used green thread.  Lazy seamstress over here.

Wow, I make crazy faces when trying to take pictures of myself in the mirror.
It works better when Buster is shooting.
All in all I was happy with reintroducing myself to sewing and with the skirt that came out of the deal.  Now I can wear t-shirt knit from head to toe!

My kid loves me

Bug made this for me while we were on a trip to Ruidoso, NM.  Isn't it fantastic?