For those of you that are not keen on green beer, never fear, the alcohol doctor is here! And I have a yummy green cocktail that will rock any St. Patty’s celebration!!
1 ounce Midori Melon Liqueur
1/2 ounce green Creme de Menthe
1/2 ounce Creme de Cacao
2 ounces half and half
Garnish with a glittering cloverleaf
And Voila!! Now get to drinkin’!! Happy St. Patrick’s Day!! Well, ya know, a day early or whatever. It’s Thursday. There are no rules against Thursday drinkin’.
Valentine’s Day is just around the corner!! And while my husband and I don’t go all out for it, a holiday that is all about pink is just too good for me to pass up when it comes to decorating!!! So here are a few ideas for a romantic Vday tablescape for you and your love.
Until next time, have a drink for me. Of the pink champagne variety methinks.
New Year’s Eve has got to be one of my favorite holidays. What other holiday marries heavy drinking and fire hazards?!?!? What could possibly go wrong right? Oh wait, I guess the 4th of July marries those two things as well. Well, it only happens twice a year. New Year’s Eve is definitely more creative with the types of drinks than the 4th of July, and it actually happens all over the world, therefore, making it better. Ha. So in celebration, I have photographed three beautiful (and strong) cocktails for you to get yourself into as inebriated a state as possible tonight. First up, well, its a popular one among our guests. . .
The Screaming Orgasm
I tell no lies, my husband makes a good one. For real though. It contains. . .
1 oz vodka (get the good stuff)
1 oz Disaronno
1 oz Kahlua
1 oz Bailey’s
I could make this really complicated but here is all you need to know. Cut a lime, run it around the rim of the glass. Put the sanding sugar on. A wet paper towel also does the trick if you are all out of limes. Pour the other ingredients plus ice into your shaker, shake it all up and pour it into a glass. Drink it.
I can’t actually drink these anymore. I spend one night when I lived in Germany getting hammered on about twelve of them. I had a two day hangover. And even though it’s been seventeen years, I still can’t even stand the smell of them. But I will warn you, these little suckers will sneak up on you VEEERY quickly.
I chose these next two because, well, honestly, I had some pomegranates and cranberries left over in the fridge from Christmas and thought that it would make a pretty awesome photograph. Don’t judge me.
Pomegranate Margarita
1 oz of white or gold tequila (I prefer white)
1/2 oz of triple sec
2 oz of Pom pomegranate juice
Repeat above steps. You may put ice in this one. It’s a margarita. It’s allowed. I used pink and black sanding sugar for this one. Warning: the black sanding sugar dye runs. Annoying. So be careful if you use it. You could also use salt if you prefer.
If you aren’t too inebriated, you could also put some pomegranate seeds in the glass for looks. This might become a choking hazard as the night progresses though so be careful. . .
Cranberry Martini
1.5 oz vodka (get the good kind)
1/2 oz orange liqueur
1/2 oz dry vermouth
3 oz cranberry juice
Cranberries for looks
And some red sanding sugar (find this in the baking aisle)
It also calls for a cup of ice. But really, who puts ice in a martini? Put ice in the shaker and chill it.
Repeat the above mixing steps.
And there are three fab drinks to really try out any time! You should have the screaming orgasm often.
Until next time, have a drink for me! Make it of the screaming variety. . .
If you’re looking for a fun and fabulous New Year’s Eve tablescape, look no further!!
A little while back, I found the most adorable bakery in Covington, GA called Bread and Butter. I was lucky enough to be there for a food photoshoot. I have been dying to share this fantastically beautiful Pomegranate Cheesecake complete with the recipe!! Enjoy!
Ingredients:
19 oz Cream Cheese, softened
6 oz Granulated Sugar
1 oz Butter, softened
½ oz Lemon Juice
¼ oz Vanilla Extract
5 oz Whole Eggs
2 oz Heavy Whipping Cream
2 oz Sour Cream
Method:
Mix Cream cheese and sugar.
Add Butter and mix well.
Add eggs and mix well.
Add remaining ingredients, mix well.
Pour into crust and bake at 250ºF with water bath until set – approx 2 hours
Okay. Now I won’t lie. I have not tried this recipe. And it seems a bit vague to me on things that an amatuer baker like myself might want to know. Like what the hell is a water bath?!??!?! Thank god for Google! A water bath is. . .
If I ever get adventurous enough to try this recipe, I’ll let you know how it turns out. Until then, if YOU get adventurous enough to try this cheesecake, comment below and let me know how it goes!! Til next time, have a drink for me!! And you can go back to regular drinks now. . . I am feeling better. Perhaps something fun and fizzy in celebration of the upcoming New Year. . . Roll on 2017!
When fall was over, I was super sad to have to leave fall faffing behind. But man, Christmas faffing has been so amazing. Now I am sad to leave it behind for something new. But maybe that something new will be even better. . .
Well, it’s time for our 2016 holiday baking roundup!! So if you missed any of our stellar recipe posts, you can find them all in one convenient location. How cool is that?!?!?! I know, I know. It’s awesome. So. . . here they are!!
Peppermint Bark (In cute little holiday molds)
Reese’s Candy (Amazing!!)
And. . .
And to top it all off with, don’t forget about the homemade whipped topping! Now don’t be sad, I do still have yummy recipes that I will continue to share from time to time. But I don’t want this to turn into solely a food blog. . . Aw crap. I just realized that I am going to have to come up with new recipes for next year!! Damn! I did have this amazing cream cheese danish bread loaf type thing today. Maybe I can get the recipe for that. . .
Til next time, have a drink for me! Keep going with the hot toddy variety. That cold is still hanging on. . .
Pecan pie has been a staple around my house for the holidays since I was just a kid. Sometime around the time I became a teenager, it became my responsibility to make it. And since it’s my dad’s favorite dessert and his birthday is around Thanksgiving, I tend to make it a lot this time of the year. I am told that it’s the best pecan pie on the planet. I can’t honestly attest to that fact since I don’t eat it. Remember, I don’t like nuts in the mouth. . . Tehe. So anyway. I won’t keep the recipe a secret any longer. My secret is honestly just the fact that I have lowered the amount of sugar in the recipe.
Ingredients:
½ cup Light Karo corn syrup
1 cup chopped pecans (not too big but not to little either)
¼ cup of butter, melted
½ to ¾ cup of sugar (I tend to go closer to ½)
3 beaten eggs
1 tsp vanilla
One regular pie crust
Method:
Mix together, pour into crust and bake at 350 for 55 minutes or until knife comes out fairly clean. 55 minutes should be perfect.
This pie goes perfectly with my homemade whipped topping so be sure to head over and grab that recipe as well to make them together!! Another super easy dessert recipe!! Enjoy!
Til next time, have a drink for me!! Preferably something hot toddy like. I have a cold. . .
Well, it’s finally here. The mac daddy of my recipes. This is about as complicated as you will see me get with a recipe. It’s not super complicated in terms of people that really know how to cook, but for me, it’s pretty difficult. And it took me quite a few years to master it. It’s worth it though. I swear. And you guys can benefit from all of my trial and error with it. So here ya go. . .
Chocolate Royale Cheesecake
Ingredients:
4 pkg (8 oz) cream cheese (It says to go 1/3 less fat but what the hell? If you are going to eat cheesecake, go all out. And anyway, less fat only means more sugar. And more sugar just means that it will turn into fat in your body anyway when your liver gets ahold of it. Oops. Digressing.)
2 pkg Baker’s Semi Sweet chocolate (This used to only be 1 package but apparently they are cutting down on their portion size so now you have to buy two. Maybe it’s really just a gimmick to make you spend more money. . .)
2 tbsp all purpose flour NOT self rising
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups crushed Oreo chocolate sandwich cookies (They used to make these already crushed but I haven’t been able to find that in years. Yes. It’s a pain in t he ass to scrape the middle out and then crush them all. I put them in a Ziploc Freezer bag and beat them with a kitchen hammer. It’s great therapy. Don’t take my word for it. Try it yourself.)
2 tbsp butter
4 eggs (farm fresh remember!)
1 cup sugar
Method:
Okay. I am not going to do this by the way that the actual recipe does it. I am going to tell you how to actually create the best workflow to prep this cheesecake in the smallest amount of time because it is a BEAST! Start by melting your chocolate. Very slowly. Please don’t use a microwave. Microwaves are so bad for you. Use a stove. That’s what they were invented for. Okay. Once you have the chocolate on and slooooowly melting, scrap all of that pesky Oreo stuffing into the trash and toss the cookie part into your Ziploc bag. By the way, aren’t Oreos gross? Who actually eats Oreos past the age of 12? Anyone? Someone must because they come in about 15 variations now. I thought I would never find regular Oreos. They had double stuffed, vanilla, double stuffed vanilla, super thin, super thin vanilla, and the list went on and on and on and on. Outside of this recipe, you will never see me touch an Oreo. Blech!! Oops. Digressing again. Okay, so once you have what you think is 1 1/2 cups, go to hammering away on that bag!! Fun isn’t it? Told you that you would like that. Once you get all of your pent up aggression out, mix the crushed Oreos and melted butter together. Pour into a 10 inch Springform pan and press into a crust. Bake at 325 for 10 minutes. Remember, you are still melting your chocolate. Don’t let it burn. . .
Now for the filling, mix together cream cheese (soften first), sugar, flour, and vanilla on medium speed. My Kitchen Aid stand alone mixer is amazing for this and makes it sooo much easier. So if you have one, be sure to use it. Mix in melted and cooled chocolate (see, I told you to melt it first). Mix in eggs one at a time just until blended. Bake at 325 for 40 minutes or until center is almost set. Here is really diverge from the original recipe which calls for 55 to 60 minutes of cook time. This is what I find when I cook it over 45 minutes, it cracks around the edges. And I personally like really creamy cheesecakes. Do you remember those Jell-o No Bake Cheesecakes? I am assuming that they still make them in all of their chemical yumminess. Anyway, those are amazing. So I want my cheesecake to be super creamy and not hard and dry. So I never bake mine any longer than 45 minutes. Let cool. After cooled, refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight. I always do overnight. Now take a butter knife and separate the cake from the pan sides. Otherwise, you are going to screw up your cake when you try to take the sides off.
And there ya go! A super yummy, super decadent chocolate cheesecake. It’s really rich and heavy so your guests won’t need much. Well, this is America and we are known for eating way too much. If you are reading this from anywhere else in the world, you won’t need much of this. But it is just so fabulous.
To get my homemade whipped topping recipe, head over to my pumpkin pie recipe. It is perfect to pair with this cheesecake. And I give away my cheap DIY tip for decorating it too!! Oh, and for the record, you are supposed to chop up peppermint and sprinkle on the top, but my husband threatened not to eat it if I did that. . . So I didn’t do it. But that is really pretty for a Christmas party. And make sure it’s a party with people you like, and who will appreciate all the time and effort you spent on this dessert. Don’t make it for people that are just as happy with Wal-mart cookies. You will be mad at yourself.
Til next time!! Have a drink for me!!
Did someone say cream cheese? Yes please!! I am pretty sure that cream cheese is one of favorite dessert ingredients of all time. It has been a fact since I was a child. This particular dessert stands at the forefront of my memories of childhood Christmas baking. Probably, mainly, because I would never eat it. The original recipe calls for the pecans in the crust. And, well, as my husband always laments, I don’t like nuts in my mouth. Honestly, this isn’t entirely the truth. I don’t like nuts mixed in with other foods in my mouth. I am perfectly fine with nuts by themselves in my mouth!! I love pecans. And peanuts too!! Tehe. It’s a texture thing for me. I also don’t like coconut. That particular texture issue stems from a birthday where my mother made a lamb cake covered in shredded coconut. I puked. Everywhere. And I haven’t been able to eat coconut since. Even the taste of coconut water makes me want to vomit. Anyway. I probably shouldn’t talk about food and vomiting huh? Okay. I’ll stop now.
So every time my mother would make these yummy cream cheese squares, she would put pecans in the crust. She refused to not do it. So I would scrap out just the cream cheese part and not eat the crust. Fortunately, my sister would take pity on me, and she would make me my very own cream cheese squares without the pecans! She’s so sweet isn’t she? Well, guess what? Now I am the one making the cream cheese squares and NO ONE gets nuts. Bahahahahaha!! Karma is a bitch!! Remember that Donald Trump! Now, on to the recipe. This is another super easy one that the kiddos will love to help with. Zoe loves to help me break the eggs and then mix up the ingredients.
Crust:
1 Super Moist Yellow Cake Mix (This means is has EXTRA propelyne glycol in it. But hey, it is only once a year. . .)
1 stick of butter, melted
1 egg
1/2 cup of chopped pecans (If you are so inclined. If you love the little girl in me though, you will just say no.)
Mix together and press into a 9×13 pan, pressing the corners up to form an edge.
Filling:
8oz cream cheese, softened
1 box of powdered sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
Blend and pour into crust. Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes.
Alright now, get to baking. And for the love of all little girls out there, leave out the nuts. Til next time, have a drink for me!
Suburban Crunchy Girl 