Drunken Pineapple - Mint Julep

For a refreshing, sweet, bourbon treat, mix a pineapple with a mint julep

Mix together
3 Tablespoons bourbon
1/4 cup fresh mint, chopped
1 Tablespoon sugar
Let sit half an out
While that's sitting, cut up a whole pineapple
Pour the mint mixture over the pineapple, stir it all together and serve!

Maple Bacon Bourbon Carmel Corn

Delicious snack but I think this will be the last of the bourbon cooking experiments for awhile...

1 cup of popcorn kernels
 5 strips of bacon
1 stick of butter
1 cup of packed brown sugar
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup bourbon
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda

Pop the popcorn
Cook the bacon and cut it into small pieces
Preheat the oven to 250
Put the butter, brown sugar and maple syrup  in a pot on the stove. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, stirring constantly, simmer for 5 minutes

Mix together bourbon, vanilla, salt and baking soda, turn off the heat on the stove, slowly add this mixture to the mixture on the stove, it will cause the mixture to bubble up so go slowly, stirring constantly until mixed

Pour the mixture over the popcorn, sprinkle in the bacon and mix well
Spread onto a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for an hour. After half an hour mix the popcorn again. Let it cool and enjoy!

Since we had a big blizzard in Boston we made this treat while we were snowed in, the public transit wasn't running,  so we brought it along on a walk in to Boston.

B3 Bourbon Bacon Brownies

I have one brownie recipe that I uses, my Grandmother's. It's probably just the recipe off the Baker's Chocolate box although I've never checked. Insert Friend's reference here. But then I found a recipe for bourbon brownies and saw some references to putting bacon in brownies so here's what I did.

I started by preparing the bacon
5 strips of bacon cooked until crisp
removed fat pieces and chopped up rest of bacon, came to a generous 1/4 cup

Then I prepared the brownie batter
Melt in a double boiler
2/3 of a cup of semi sweet chocolate chips
1 stick butter
Once melted add it to
2 Tablespoons of cocoa powder
1 cup of sugar
once that's mixed add
1 teaspoon of vanilla
3 eggs
once mixed add
3/4 cup flour
6 Tablespoons of bourbon
And lastly add the cooked, chopped bacon.
Grease a brownie pan with bacon fat (or whatever you'd usually use if you prefer)
Bake at 325 for 30 minutes

Bourbon Dip & Drinks

Bourbon Onion Dip
First a dip it's a bit more time intensive than I would expect - about an hour to get it all done

First prepare the Onions
2 sweet onions - thinly sliced

4 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup bourbon

In a pot on high, heat the oil, then add the onions and salt
stir frequently so they don't stick
Once soft (about 5 minutes) reduce the heat to medium and cook about 15 minutes longer for onions to get some color
Add 1/2 cup of bourbon, reduce the heat to low and let cook 30 minutes to cook down and caramelize
Then stick the onions in the fridge or freezer to cool them down to room temperature (if you use the freezer make sure you do not actually freeze them)

While the onions are cooling...
Mix together
3/4 cup greek yogurt
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
once well combined fold in
1/2 cup sour cream
Add
1 tablespoon of bourbon
And season to taste with
salt
pepper
pinch of sugar
lemon juice
Then add the cooled onions

Flavors are better the next day so you may want to make it a day ahead.
Great as a dip with veggies or potato chips

All this cooking may have made you thirsty... here are a few more bourbon cocktails to try with the dip...

Admiral Schley Punch

1/2 ounce lime juice

lime zest

1 ounce Blackstrap rum

1 ounce bourbon

1 teaspoon sugar

Add lime juice and zest to cocktail shaker along with rum, bourbon, and sugar. 

Fill shaker with ice and shake.

Pour mixture into goblet without straining. 

Kentucky Colonel

2 ounces bourbon

3/4 ounce Benedictine liqueur

dash of Angostura orange bitters

Stir with ice

Strain into chilled cocktail glass 

or serve on the rocks 

John Collins

1 1/2 ounces bourbon

1 ounce simple syrup

3/4 ounce fresh-squeezed lemon juice

club soda

Maraschino cherry

Orange slice

Combine bourbon, syrup and lemon juice in shaker & shake well

Strain into ice filled glass and fill with soda

Garnish with cherry & orange

Bourbon Baked Tofu

I've really been enjoying baked tofu and have a few vegetarians coming to our bourbon party so I figured I should have some veg friendly foods too

1 package of extra firm tofu, rinsed, dried & cut
Mix together marinade
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
3/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/4 cup apple juice
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon bourbon

Let marinate overnight
Bake at 300 for about an hour