After making my Coconut Ube Butter, I got the urge to make some sweet potato butter, too.
Not because one can never have enough potato butter in their pantry, even though I'm starting to think that this notion could be true.
The urge came from the fact that my brain runs, literally, too fast for my own good. I mean, I literally thought up a hundred good ideas to post on here throughout the day, including a sandwich I'm going to make in the next few days that I predict will change the world. Or, at least my world. But, to get to that sandwich, I had to go through a twisting and turning chain of events that started with Coconut Ube Butter and led me to the present.
I feel like even my blog posts meander in a way that only I understand them.
Is this true?
You can tell me. We've bonded over potato butter. We're, like, practically best friends.
If you've ever seen me chow down at Thanksgiving (which, luckily, you haven't because I assume it's not the most appetizing visual), you would know that I'm a huge fan of sweet potatoes. My favorite way is covered or mixed with maple syrup and marshmallows. I just love over-sweetening already sweet potatoes.
It's kind of like dessert for dinner.
Another favorite thing of mine.
This sweet potato butter has a healthy dose of maple syrup and a touch of salt to bring the flavor out. When this is done slow cooking to perfection, you'll want to put this on just about anything!
Maple Sweet Potato Butter
1 28 oz. can Pureed sweet potato
1/2 cup maple syrup
2 tbsp Pumpkin Pie Spice
1/2 tsp salt
Combine ingredients in a slow cooker.
Cook on low for 8 hours, stirring occasionally.
Pour into sterilized jars.
Monday, January 13, 2014
Saturday, January 11, 2014
Chipotle Chicken Barbacoa
So...
Since I did a Beef Barbacoa that naturally knocked my socks right off, I decided to try my hand at a chicken version. I didn't want the recipes to be exactly the same because, well, that's just not very creative on my end, now is it?
I decided that for the chicken, I wanted to omit the taco seasoning, as I just don't like using it on chicken. I don't know if that's a 'me' thing, or an understanding among the general population, but in my world, taco seasoning is left for beef while fajita seasoning equals chicken all day long.
Probably just a 'me' thing.
I did keep the chipotle peppers, mostly because I still had half of an open can from the beef I made. Plus I added some extra adobo for a little spice action. Some apple cider vinegar to sweeten it and this was ready for slow cooking.
The result is tender, moist chicken that falls apart in your mouth while making your lips tingle from the slight burn of the chipotle. Not too hot, but if you're not into spicy, back off on the chipotles a bit. This would be great in a burrito, or even my 7-layer Burrito Dip. I'm definitely a fan of using this recipe for chicken in any Tex-Mex style dish from now on!
Chipotle Chicken Barbacoa
2 lbs. chicken breast
2 cups Pico de Gallo
1 2/3 cups chicken broth
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
2 tbsp. minced garlic
2 tsp Fajita seasoning
2 minced chipotle peppers
2 tbsp. adobo sauce
Salt & Pepper to taste
Combine all ingredients in a slow cooker.
Cook on medium heat for 6-8 hours.
Pull meat apart with forks to shred.
Since I did a Beef Barbacoa that naturally knocked my socks right off, I decided to try my hand at a chicken version. I didn't want the recipes to be exactly the same because, well, that's just not very creative on my end, now is it?
I decided that for the chicken, I wanted to omit the taco seasoning, as I just don't like using it on chicken. I don't know if that's a 'me' thing, or an understanding among the general population, but in my world, taco seasoning is left for beef while fajita seasoning equals chicken all day long.
Probably just a 'me' thing.
I did keep the chipotle peppers, mostly because I still had half of an open can from the beef I made. Plus I added some extra adobo for a little spice action. Some apple cider vinegar to sweeten it and this was ready for slow cooking.
The result is tender, moist chicken that falls apart in your mouth while making your lips tingle from the slight burn of the chipotle. Not too hot, but if you're not into spicy, back off on the chipotles a bit. This would be great in a burrito, or even my 7-layer Burrito Dip. I'm definitely a fan of using this recipe for chicken in any Tex-Mex style dish from now on!
Chipotle Chicken Barbacoa
2 lbs. chicken breast
2 cups Pico de Gallo
1 2/3 cups chicken broth
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
2 tbsp. minced garlic
2 tsp Fajita seasoning
2 minced chipotle peppers
2 tbsp. adobo sauce
Salt & Pepper to taste
Combine all ingredients in a slow cooker.
Cook on medium heat for 6-8 hours.
Pull meat apart with forks to shred.
Beef Barbacoa
2014 is not starting out the way I had hoped.
This whole 'polar vortex' thing where record lows were set all over the country affected my neck of the woods very little. Oh, except for the part where it dumped sixty inches of snow on us.
60 inches...
5 feet...
Just a few inches shy of covering my whole vertical body.
Perfect.
This storm caused most of us to stay inside for several days. This left me to scour through my fridge for things I could throw together. Some beef, some taco seasoning, some pico de gallo...
Voila! Beef Barbacoa for dinner.
I didn't have anything other than tortilla chips, so this beef dish became a big plate of nachos by the time I was done. The flavor was authentic Mexican and the beef came out super moist and tender after cooking in the beef broth. I think this would be perfect stuffed inside some tortillas for a barbacoa burrito as well.
This hot beef dish will definitely keep you warm in the middle of a polar vortex!
Beef Barbacoa
2 lbs. beef brisket
2 cups Pico de Gallo
2 cups beef broth
2 tbsp. minced garlic
2 tsp Taco Seasoning
2 minced chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
1 bay leaf
Salt & Pepper to taste
Combine all ingredients in a slow cooker.
Cook on medium heat for 6-8 hours.
Pull meat apart with forks to shred. Remove bay leaf prior to serving.
This whole 'polar vortex' thing where record lows were set all over the country affected my neck of the woods very little. Oh, except for the part where it dumped sixty inches of snow on us.
60 inches...
5 feet...
Just a few inches shy of covering my whole vertical body.
Perfect.
This storm caused most of us to stay inside for several days. This left me to scour through my fridge for things I could throw together. Some beef, some taco seasoning, some pico de gallo...
Voila! Beef Barbacoa for dinner.
I didn't have anything other than tortilla chips, so this beef dish became a big plate of nachos by the time I was done. The flavor was authentic Mexican and the beef came out super moist and tender after cooking in the beef broth. I think this would be perfect stuffed inside some tortillas for a barbacoa burrito as well.
This hot beef dish will definitely keep you warm in the middle of a polar vortex!
Beef Barbacoa
2 lbs. beef brisket
2 cups Pico de Gallo
2 cups beef broth
2 tbsp. minced garlic
2 tsp Taco Seasoning
2 minced chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
1 bay leaf
Salt & Pepper to taste
Combine all ingredients in a slow cooker.
Cook on medium heat for 6-8 hours.
Pull meat apart with forks to shred. Remove bay leaf prior to serving.
Friday, January 10, 2014
Coconut Ube Butter
Did you know I'm obsessed with the color purple?
Even though it doesn't have anything to do with anything significant in my life. I mean, my car is silver. My motorcycle is pink (amazing, but still...). My sports teams are, ahem, black and gold, obviously. Besides a few gorgeous shirts and some jewelry, I don't even think I own anything purple.
So, I make up for the lack of my favorite color by stocking up on these ube potatoes. Because they are purple. Because they flabbergast everyone I know. Because I live to flabbergast.
They taste like sweet potatoes, but they are sooooo purple.
They might just be my favorite root vegetable ever.
I love the taste of coconut with these, so I incorporated a little bit of that flavor in with the use of some extract. I tried using flaked coconut on the first go-around, but I found the taste to be way too mellow, bordering on non-existent. Plus, the texture of flaked coconut in the butter was a huge turn-off. Maybe if it was prepared with something other than a slow-cooker, the results would be different, but really, the slow-cooker has been my go-to for all my other butter experiments, so I didn't want to stray from the norm too much.
Coconut for garnish, though? That might be a new thing.
Oh, and I couldn't find any canned pureed ube, and truthfully, they are so hard to find that it might not even be an option, so I had to puree my own. No big deal, but it does add a little extra work. It's definitely worth it, though. And, seeing the faces of your guests as you pull out a breakfast tray full of biscuits with some bright purple butter?
Flabbergasting.
Coconut Ube Butter
4 cups pureed Ube
1/2 cup white sugar
2 tbsp Pumpkin Pie Spice
1/2 tsp Coconut extract
Peel and dice ube potatoes. Place in a pot of boiling water and cook until the chunks are fork tender. Drain the water out.
Transfer ube chunks to a food processor and puree until smooth.
Combine all of the ingredients in a slow cooker.
Cook on low for 8 hours, stirring occasionally.
Pour into sterilized jars.
Even though it doesn't have anything to do with anything significant in my life. I mean, my car is silver. My motorcycle is pink (amazing, but still...). My sports teams are, ahem, black and gold, obviously. Besides a few gorgeous shirts and some jewelry, I don't even think I own anything purple.
So, I make up for the lack of my favorite color by stocking up on these ube potatoes. Because they are purple. Because they flabbergast everyone I know. Because I live to flabbergast.
They taste like sweet potatoes, but they are sooooo purple.
They might just be my favorite root vegetable ever.
I love the taste of coconut with these, so I incorporated a little bit of that flavor in with the use of some extract. I tried using flaked coconut on the first go-around, but I found the taste to be way too mellow, bordering on non-existent. Plus, the texture of flaked coconut in the butter was a huge turn-off. Maybe if it was prepared with something other than a slow-cooker, the results would be different, but really, the slow-cooker has been my go-to for all my other butter experiments, so I didn't want to stray from the norm too much.
Coconut for garnish, though? That might be a new thing.
Oh, and I couldn't find any canned pureed ube, and truthfully, they are so hard to find that it might not even be an option, so I had to puree my own. No big deal, but it does add a little extra work. It's definitely worth it, though. And, seeing the faces of your guests as you pull out a breakfast tray full of biscuits with some bright purple butter?
Flabbergasting.
Coconut Ube Butter
4 cups pureed Ube
1/2 cup white sugar
2 tbsp Pumpkin Pie Spice
1/2 tsp Coconut extract
Peel and dice ube potatoes. Place in a pot of boiling water and cook until the chunks are fork tender. Drain the water out.
Transfer ube chunks to a food processor and puree until smooth.
Combine all of the ingredients in a slow cooker.
Cook on low for 8 hours, stirring occasionally.
Pour into sterilized jars.
Banoffee Pie
'Ello bananas.
As much fun as it is to parade around my kitchen working on my best cockney accent, it really doesn't translate well to paper, or computer screen. So I'll stop... for your sake.
I made this pie for a couple of reasons. Truthfully, banana is not in my top ten fruit choices, but sometimes, a recipe is so interesting that I have to try it. Plus, the idea of combining bananas with toffee and graham crackers seemed like an intriguing combo.
I wanted to try this boiled can trick with the sweetened condensed milk that I've seen roaming around the internet for a while. I didn't realize that this would produce a perfectly thick and smooth toffee. And, to be completely honest, waiting for the toffee to boil is the hardest part of this whole deal.
It's a no-bake wonder that require little more than pouring and smoothing ingredients.
Even I can do that!
Banoffee Pie
1 1/2 cups crushed graham crackers
1 stick butter, melted
3 ripe bananas
2 cans sweetened condensed milk
1/2 tub of whipped topping
Fill a large pot with water. Place cans of sweetened condensed milk in pot, making sure that they are completely submerged at all times.
Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook for two hours, covered.
Preheat oven 350F.
Combine the graham crackers and butter in a bowl. Transfer to a pie plate and press into the bottom and 1" up the sides of the pan. Bake for 10 minutes. Let cool.
Slice bananas into 1/4" slices.
When the two hours is up, remove cans and let cool completely before opening.
Arrange a row of banana slices along the bottom of the pie pan. It should take about 1 1/2 bananas. Pour half the toffee over the top. Repeat this with the second half of the ingredients. Smooth the toffee so it's flat.
Chill for 1 hour.
Smooth a thick layer of whipped topping over the top of the filling prior to serving.
As much fun as it is to parade around my kitchen working on my best cockney accent, it really doesn't translate well to paper, or computer screen. So I'll stop... for your sake.
I made this pie for a couple of reasons. Truthfully, banana is not in my top ten fruit choices, but sometimes, a recipe is so interesting that I have to try it. Plus, the idea of combining bananas with toffee and graham crackers seemed like an intriguing combo.
I wanted to try this boiled can trick with the sweetened condensed milk that I've seen roaming around the internet for a while. I didn't realize that this would produce a perfectly thick and smooth toffee. And, to be completely honest, waiting for the toffee to boil is the hardest part of this whole deal.
It's a no-bake wonder that require little more than pouring and smoothing ingredients.
Even I can do that!
Banoffee Pie
1 1/2 cups crushed graham crackers
1 stick butter, melted
3 ripe bananas
2 cans sweetened condensed milk
1/2 tub of whipped topping
Fill a large pot with water. Place cans of sweetened condensed milk in pot, making sure that they are completely submerged at all times.
Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook for two hours, covered.
Preheat oven 350F.
Combine the graham crackers and butter in a bowl. Transfer to a pie plate and press into the bottom and 1" up the sides of the pan. Bake for 10 minutes. Let cool.
Slice bananas into 1/4" slices.
When the two hours is up, remove cans and let cool completely before opening.
Arrange a row of banana slices along the bottom of the pie pan. It should take about 1 1/2 bananas. Pour half the toffee over the top. Repeat this with the second half of the ingredients. Smooth the toffee so it's flat.
Chill for 1 hour.
Smooth a thick layer of whipped topping over the top of the filling prior to serving.
Friday, January 3, 2014
Apple Pie A La Mode Moonshine
Since I had everything on hand to make my Apple Pie Moonshine, I decided to do a second batch of the rest of the ingredients doing an 'a la mode' twist.
Here's the recipe:
Apple Pie A La Mode Moonshine
(makes 4.5 quarts)
1/2 gallon apple cider
1/2 gallon apple juice
1/2 whole nutmeg
5 cinnamon sticks
5 vanilla beans, slit lengthways
2 cups brown sugar
1/2 liter grain alcohol
1 cup Vanilla vodka
Combine all ingredients in a large pot and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes. Remove nutmeg.
Pour into sterilized jars. Put one cinnamon stick and one vanilla bean in each jar prior to sealing.
Here's the recipe:
Apple Pie A La Mode Moonshine
(makes 4.5 quarts)
1/2 gallon apple cider
1/2 gallon apple juice
1/2 whole nutmeg
5 cinnamon sticks
5 vanilla beans, slit lengthways
2 cups brown sugar
1/2 liter grain alcohol
1 cup Vanilla vodka
Combine all ingredients in a large pot and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes. Remove nutmeg.
Pour into sterilized jars. Put one cinnamon stick and one vanilla bean in each jar prior to sealing.
Apple Pie Moonshine
Did you do anything fun to ring in the new year?
I have to say, in comparison to my previous NYEs, 2014's was a little tame for my tastes.
Maybe I'm growing up. Or, maybe my friends are all growing up. Maybe I need to find a new place to celebrate, because truthfully, I'm just not ready to give up the sparkly dresses, the confetti, the glittery shoes, the noisemakers or the midnight flutes of champagne.
This year, I completely disregarded my inclinations and went for a low-key celebration. We're talking jeans, fleece coats, Hank Williams Jr. on the juke box, and a swig of Canadian beer as the ball dropped.
Yes, I represent a very strange dichotomy in that half of me wants to be prim and girly and full of fun, city energy, while the other side of me can be described simply as 'redneck'.
Yes, we exist even in upstate New York.
So, in honor of that particular side of my personality, I decided to make up a special batch of Apple Pie Moonshine for New Year's Eve.
Now, I know what you might be thinking, and yes, moonshine is, ahem, not the most legal of things. But, I have found that using any grain alcohol will produce the same results. Since you'll be diluting the alcohol down, you won't discern the subtle (read: impossible if you're not a professional taster) differences between store-bought alcohol and real moonshine. If you're a fan of spirits like Limoncello, you'll appreciate this kind of drink.
Sweet and spiced just like apple pie, this is a perfect sipper that is sweet like dessert, but warming like a good spirit should be. This is sure to heat up any chilly New Year's Eve party!
Apple Pie Moonshine
(makes 4.5 quarts)
1/2 gallon apple cider
1/2 gallon apple juice
1/2 whole nutmeg
5 cinnamon sticks
2 cups brown sugar
1/2 liter grain alcohol
Combine all ingredients in a large pot and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes. Remove nutmeg.
Pour into sterilized jars. Put one of the cinnamon sticks in each jar prior to sealing.
I have to say, in comparison to my previous NYEs, 2014's was a little tame for my tastes.
Maybe I'm growing up. Or, maybe my friends are all growing up. Maybe I need to find a new place to celebrate, because truthfully, I'm just not ready to give up the sparkly dresses, the confetti, the glittery shoes, the noisemakers or the midnight flutes of champagne.
This year, I completely disregarded my inclinations and went for a low-key celebration. We're talking jeans, fleece coats, Hank Williams Jr. on the juke box, and a swig of Canadian beer as the ball dropped.
Yes, I represent a very strange dichotomy in that half of me wants to be prim and girly and full of fun, city energy, while the other side of me can be described simply as 'redneck'.
Yes, we exist even in upstate New York.
So, in honor of that particular side of my personality, I decided to make up a special batch of Apple Pie Moonshine for New Year's Eve.
Now, I know what you might be thinking, and yes, moonshine is, ahem, not the most legal of things. But, I have found that using any grain alcohol will produce the same results. Since you'll be diluting the alcohol down, you won't discern the subtle (read: impossible if you're not a professional taster) differences between store-bought alcohol and real moonshine. If you're a fan of spirits like Limoncello, you'll appreciate this kind of drink.
Sweet and spiced just like apple pie, this is a perfect sipper that is sweet like dessert, but warming like a good spirit should be. This is sure to heat up any chilly New Year's Eve party!
Apple Pie Moonshine
(makes 4.5 quarts)
1/2 gallon apple cider
1/2 gallon apple juice
1/2 whole nutmeg
5 cinnamon sticks
2 cups brown sugar
1/2 liter grain alcohol
Combine all ingredients in a large pot and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes. Remove nutmeg.
Pour into sterilized jars. Put one of the cinnamon sticks in each jar prior to sealing.
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