Drink up!

A few months ago (as a peace offering), my former boss bought me a bottle of Tito's Handmade Vodka, knowing I had a love for that particular spirit.  It is hands down, the only vodka I will drink now. 

Here's why it's better than other top brands out there:

• It's distilled 6 times
• It's extremely smooth with a sweet finish
• It's made from 100% corn, therefore it's gluten-free
• It's made in the USA
• It's ALL special reserve; Tito makes only the best
• The owner's name is Tito Beveridge - for real!

Ok...enough gushing for the moment.  

Before Tito's, I had tried a few espresso infused vodkas.  I enjoyed all of them, as I have a love affair with coffee as well.  Tito doesn't make flavored vodkas, but he definitely encourages his customers to make their own unique blends...and with his permission on Twitter, I did!

Twisty's Coffee-Infused Tito's Vodka...or TCITV

2 cups Tito's Vodka

1 cup coarsely ground coffee (only use GOOD coffee, fresh beans, the darker the roast the more robust the flavor)

1 tbsp raw sugar

Mix ingredients in a large glass jar with a cover, or an old Tito's bottle (if you're like me, you might have one or two).  Shake well. Place jar/bottle in a cabinet - room temperature, dark.  Try to forget about it for a few days...then shake it up again.  Repeat the shaking and forgetting for about 2 weeks.  There's no real time limit, experiment - it's SCIENCE.

After about 2 weeks or so, strain your muddy vodka mixture into a clean pitcher through a few pieces of cheesecloth or use a gold coffee filter, if you have one.  If you find you still have coffee grounds in your vodka, strain it again.  

I like my vodka extra cold, so mine stays in the freezer - until I pour some into a glass with a splash of half & half.  This would also be amazing in a blender with ice cream...really though, this vodka is pretty much amazing with everything.

I apologize for the lack of photo with this post...I...um...drank the test subject.

The Icebox Lemon Pie...now I just need an icebox.

I get these sudden urges - I have to bake something or else all I'll do is think about it.  My mind will be consumed with recipes and I'll search for new and delicious things to make.  Call it an obsession.  My family complains that my obsession makes them gain weight.  *rolls eyes*

Late last night, the urge struck me.  I looked through the cabinets of ingredients and really wasn't in the mood for cupcakes or cookies.  Really didn't want chocolate either - GASP, is she ill? I scanned my brain's recipe box and remembered a lemon pie recipe from a few years back...I've never made lemon pie...did I even like lemon pie?  I like lemon bars...so, sure!  

The recipe is very simple - you could even cut some of the time off by using a store bought graham cracker pie crust.  The homemade crust is so delicious, though.  Perfect amount of crunch, almost like that of a key lime pie crust.  Make the entire thing from scratch, at least once...ok?  

For the crust:

1/4 C unsalted butter

1 1/4 C graham cracker crumbs

1/4 C sugar

Place the butter in a 9-inch pie place and melt it in the oven while it preheats to 325°F.  Combine the graham cracker crumbs and sugar in a small bowl; once the butter is melted, remove pie plate from oven and sprinkle crumb/sugar mixture over the melted butter.  Mix with a fork until uniform, pressing firmly on the bottom and up the sides of the dish.  Place the pie crust back in the oven for 5 minutes; let cool.

For the filling:

3 egg yolks, slightly beaten

1 14oz can of sweetened condensed milk

1/2 C freshly squeezed lemon juice

While the crust is cooling, combine the egg yolks, the condensed milk and lemon juice in a small bowl.  Mix well with a fork or whisk and then gently pour the lemon mixture into the cooled pie crust.  Bake for 30 minutes at 325°F.  

After the 30 minutes of baking, remove the pie from the oven and reduce oven temp to 275°F.

For the meringue:

3 egg whites at room temperature

1/4 tsp cream of tartar

4 tbsp sugar

Beat the egg whites and cream of tartar with an electric mixer (a stand mixer is nice for this step) at high speed until foamy.  Add sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating until stiff peaks form.  Spread the meringue evenly over the pie filling, sealing to the edge of the crust.  Bake an additional 15-20 minutes at 275°F or until the meringue is lightly browned.  Garnish with lemon peel.

Let cool for 15 minutes and then place in refrigerator - if you're like me and can't wait, put a slice in the freezer.  After about 10 minutes you should be good to go.  Then take your slice of pie, a fork and a napkin to a quiet room...sit, and enjoy.  The napkin is for dabbing the tears from your eyes, as you'll be overcome with emotion for eating something so delectable.  I won't tell anyone if you end up licking the plate.

I'm going to go to my room and think about what I've done.

Nutty...

Oh I am such a slacker!  Why is it so bloody hot here in South Carolina??  I turn on the oven and suddenly my house feels like 120 degrees.

I've been making things that don't involve much heat - my latest obsession is housemade crunchy peanut butter.  It's simple and delicious and is good on everything.

2 cups of roasted, shelled peanuts
1-2 tbsp peanut oil
1/4 tsp salt (omit if you're using salted peanuts)
2 tbsp honey (only if you want the sweet stuff)

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and blend until you have your desired consistency.  Use a spatula to scrap the sides of the processor's bowl and make sure you don't have any unwanted big chunks.  If it's not sweet enough, add more honey.  If you want more salt, rock on with your bad self!  If you added too much oil, add more peanuts.  Really, there's no way to mess this up.

Store your peanuty goodness in an airtight container - without preservatives, it won't last that long, but something tells me you won't be able to resist a spoonful here or there and before you know it...peanut butter ALL GONE.

My weakness is peanut butter and chocolate.  I love that combination - so of course after I made the peanut butter, I needed something to eat it with.  My homemade chocolate espresso cake worked just fine.

Just a few photos...cakeballs and cupcakes, oh my!

A cup of cocoa would make this day.

It's raining and just icky outside...makes me wish I was curled up at home in a blanket with a mug of cocoa.  Sadly, I'm doing that work thing - but now I'm dreaming of real hot cocoa.  None of that Swiss Miss packet garbage...gimmie the good stuff!

So, even though I can't partake in a mug of chocolatey goodness at this moment, I can share a recipe:

1/3 C. dark cocoa powder
1/2 C. sugar
pinch of sea salt
1/3 C. boiling water
3 1/2 C. whole milk
3/4 tsp. vanilla
1/2 C. half & half

Combine dry ingredients in a heavy saucepan, add boiling water and whisk until blended.  Add milk and heat on medium setting, do not boil.  Once mixture is hot enough, remove from heat and stir in the vanilla.  Whisk in half & half to cool cocoa down to drinkable temp.  Top with homemade whipped cream if you like - or add marshmallows!

It Ain't Easy Bein' Green...or something.

A while back, I purchased some Matcha powder from Whole Foods.  I'd never really tried green tea lattes or anything like that before, since I usually just stick with coffee (or Irish Breakfast tea, when I'm sick).
I wasn't a fan of the green latte, but I did think that the light flavor would be excellent in cookie form - so I created a Matcha shortbread cookie and drizzled some dark chocolate on top.

My co-workers were skeptical of these green cookie wedges, and I don't blame them.  I mean, they're GREEN.
One bite led to two...and then before I knew it, there were crumbs left in the box!

Happy Valentine's Day, my lovelies!

Mmmm Bacon!

Now, I've had chocolate with many things: cheeses, chili, lime, ginger, all sorts of liquor and so on.  When trying to come up with a pairing for this challenge, I realized I'd never had chocolate and bacon together.  I know it's a combo that's pretty popular, but we never have REAL bacon in our house.  We like to pretend that turkey bacon tastes just like regular bacon because turkey bacon is not as evil as pork bacon.  Or something.  The first thing I had to do was purchase REAL bacon.  Mmmmmmmmbacon.

I knew it was a cupcake that had been done before, but I'd never done it...so to get the bacon flavor going right from the start, I replaced the oil in my favorite chocolate cupcake recipe with bacon grease.  Sounds kinda gross, eh?  Perhaps, but wow...that smoky bacon flavor really pops with the cocoa.  When I baked the cupcakes, I did everything I normally did...but I guess the change in the "oil" altered the balance just enough that the cupcakes domed over onto the pan.  I hate when that happens!  

While the cupcakes were cooling, I prepared the frosting - Pure Maple Buttercream.  I could eat this frosting by the spoonful if I didn't feel so guilty about doing so...my son on the other hand, doesn't share my guilt.  He's currently running around the house pretending he's The Flash whilst on a sugar high.  


Atop the frosting I placed a piece of chocolate covered bacon, hand dipped by yours truly.  And sugar sprinkles...I love sugar sprinkles.  If you combined bacon and French toast and then covered them in chocolate...yea, that's my cupcake.