Tag: Brandy

Italian Fig Cookies (Cuccidati)

Tomorrow, March 19th, is the Feast of St. Joseph, an important feast day in Italy or more specifically, Sicily. St. Joseph is particularly important to Sicilians, because he is credited with preventing a famine in Sicily during the Middle Ages through prayer. Each year, a large feast is prepared in his honor. Desserts typically include Zeppoli and Italian Fig Cookies.

Italian Fig Cookies, or Cuccidati, also tend to show up around Christmastime, so they are more of a “celebratory” cookie than linked to any specific holiday.

I wasn’t ready to conquer Zeppoli just yet, so I thought I’d try Italian Fig Cookies! This recipe is based off a recipe from Epicurious.

Ingredients:

Cookies:

  • 1/2 cup honey
  • 6 tablespoons brandy
  • 4 teaspoons orange juice
  • 2 cups chopped dried figs
  • 3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 2 large eggs
  • 6 tablespoons milk
  • the zest of 1 lemon
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 cup walnut pieces

Glaze:

  • 1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar, or as needed
  • 1/4 cup milk, or as needed
  • 1/2 teaspoon almond extract

Optional:

  • sprinkles, for decoration

Continue reading Italian Fig Cookies (Cuccidati)

Pressure Cooker Coq Au Vin

When I first began learning to cook, Coq Au Vin was one of the first recipes I attempted to make. And boy, did I fail miserably. So I’ve stayed away from the recipe since — I haven’t tried to make it in over a decade!

I figured it was time to finally try making it again, and use my trusty multi-cooker to make it fail-proof!

This one-pot-wonder for Pressure Cooker Coq au Vin takes about 80 minutes to prepare, so I’d suggest saving this for a weekend. I made this on a Sunday and saved it to eat during the week.

Ingredients:

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more if needed
  • 4 ounces pancetta, diced
  • 2.5 lbs chicken, assorted pieces (I used bone-in and boneless chicken thighs and legs)
  • salt and pepper
  • 2 large carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
  • 1 (8 oz) container sliced mushrooms
  • 1 large shallot, thinly sliced
  • 3 garlic gloves, minced
  • 1/4 cup brandy
  • 1/2 (375 ml) bottle dry red wine
  • 1 cup chicken broth
  • 10 fresh thyme sprigs
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • freshly chopped parsley, for garnish
  • buttered egg noodles, cooked (optional)

Continue reading Pressure Cooker Coq Au Vin

Grilled Camembert Cheese Plate

Note: I was sent a jar of Maille Rosemary Honey Mustard to try. Opinions are my own.

I’m kind of obsessed with my new Coyote Outdoor Grill. I’ve basically made a game out of finding things I can grill that are a bit outside of the box. (To see some of my other recipes I’ve made using my beloved grill, check them out here.) So, today, I bring you a grilled cheese plate, specifically a Grilled Camembert Cheese Plate.

Cheese with a thick outer rind, like a Camembert or Brie, are perfect for grilling. The inside becomes this beautiful gooey dip that I just cannot get enough of.

Just sticking a round of cheese on a grill honestly wouldn’t make for much of a recipe, so I decided to grill the whole cheese plate! I paired my lovely cheese with Grilled Rosemary Cashews and Brandied Rosemary Cherries. To finish off the plate, I included honey for drizzling as well as Maille’s Rosemary Honey Mustard that comes in the most beautiful green sandstone jar.

I was sent a jar of the Honey Mustard and I knew it would be the perfect addition to this cheese plate!

Ingredients:

For Grilled Rosemary Cashews:

  • 1/2 cup roasted cashews
  • 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh rosemary
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon butter

For Brandied Rosemary Cherries:

  • 1/2 cup dried cherries
  • 4 tablespoons Brandy
  • 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • the zest from 1 orange

For Grilled Camembert:

  • 1 Camembert round, at room temperature
  • Olive oil, for brushing

Other Cheese Plate Ingredients:

  • local honey
  • Maille Rosemary Honey Mustard
  • French bread, cut into 1 inch slices and grilled

Continue reading Grilled Camembert Cheese Plate

Kourambiethes (Greek Christmas Cookies)

It’s time for my annual Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap post!

The Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap hosted is by Lindsay of Love & Olive Oil and Julie of The Little Kitchen. For the past five years, the Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap has helped raise money for Cookies for Kids’ Cancer, a national non-profit organization committed to funding new therapies used in the fight against pediatric cancer, which claims the lives of more children in the US than any other disease.

 

In the past, I’ve made Hot Cocoa Cookies and Oatmeal, Chocolate Chip, and Pecan Cookies and Dark Chocolate Chip Cranberry Cookies. This year, I went for something completely different: Kourambiethes!

Kourambiethes are Greek Christmas Cookies, but also show up for really any celebratory event, so they are an all-year kind of treat. They are nut butter cookies, typically made with almonds or walnuts, which are then rolled in confectioners sugar. The result is a shortbread cookie that melts in your mouth!

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups walnuts
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
  • 2 large egg yolks
  • 2 tablespoons brandy
  • 1 tablepsoon vanilla extract
  • 3 tablespoons orange flower water
  • 1 cup confectioners’ sugar

Continue reading Kourambiethes (Greek Christmas Cookies)

Lower Calorie Sangria

Last year, I gave my dad sangria for Father’s Day. He loves sangria, so I thought I’d make it a yearly thing.

This time around though, I was also trying to sneak something by him. Instead of using sugar in the sangria, I used Monk Fruit In The Raw, a natural substitute. My father is diabetic, and Monk Fruit In The Raw is diabetic friendly (according to their website, “Monk Fruit In The Raw contains less than one gram of carbohydrates (by food exchange measure) and may be used in conjunction with food programs for people with diabetes as well as with guidelines for people with diabetes who use carbohydrate counting.”)

Now, I understand sangria in itself is not exactly diabetic friendly. But he is able to enjoy a glass or two once a year. The real reason I am trying the Monk Fruit In The Raw within the sangria is to see if he can taste a difference. You see, not only is he diabetic, but he is what some refer to as a “super taster.” He can tell you the secret ingredient in a recipe, and knows whether a wine is worth drinking. But, boy can he be picky too.

Unlike stevia, which leaves behind an aftertaste, Monk Fruit should be undetectable. So this is the first test to see if I can sneak Monk Fruit In The Raw into future recipes for my dad. So what is a Monk Fruit? Monk Fruit is a vine-ripened fruit found in Asia that kind of resembles a tiny watermelon. Monk Fruit In The Raw is made from Monk Fruit extract, which is about 300 times (!) sweeter than sugar. To make it measurable for consumption, dextrose (a natural bulking agent) is blended with the extract. Monk Fruit In The Raw also comes in a Bakers Bag, which is measurable cup-for-cup like sugar (in volume, not weight). The Bakers Bag contains Maltodextrin, which is also a natural bulking agent, that does not change the flavor of the sweetener. I used the Bakers Bag for this recipe.

Lower Calorie Sangria Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup brandy
  • 1/2 cup fresh orange juice (~3 oranges)
  • 1 bottle Rioja wine
  • 1/4 cup Monk Fruit In The Raw (Bakers Bag)
  • 1 apple, cored and sliced
  • 1 orange, thinly sliced and quartered
  • 1 lemon, thinly sliced
  • 2 limes, thinly sliced
  • club soda, to taste

Continue reading Lower Calorie Sangria

Applejack Spiked Hot Cider

Well, we are apparently forecasted to get hit with yet another nor’easter on Halloween. I remember as a kid, some houses would serve us hot cider to keep us warm while trick-or-treating. Those (along with the houses with candied apples and tons of Reeces) were my favorite. Now that I no longer go house to house on Halloween, nor do I even get trick-or-treaters, I wanted to make a more adult hot cider to enjoy during the crummy weather, or Applejack Spiked Hot Cider, to be specific.
Cooking Light must’ve read my mind, because The New Way To Cook Light showed up on my doorstep this week, with a wonderful sounding recipe for Applejack-Spiked Hot Cider!
Ingredients:  (makes 6 servings)
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 2 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 10 black peppercorns
  • 8 whole allspice berries
  • 5 whole cloves
  • 2 cinnamon sticks
  • 6 cups apple cider
  • 1 tablespoon honey
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 (2-inch orange rind strips)
  • 2 (2-inch lemon rind strips)
  • 3/4 cup applejack brandy
  • for garnish (optional):
  •   1 tablespoon brown sugar
  •   1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Continue reading Applejack Spiked Hot Cider

Champagne-Browned Butter Chicken

My CSA share this week came with the most beautiful carrots. I am not the biggest fan of carrots but I don’t mind them mixed into a dish. These were too pretty to not use! Cooking Light had a recipe in its latest issue that sounded really intriguing: Champagne-Browned Butter Chicken. The dish is pretty simple to make, although it takes a good hour and a half so this is not a weeknight meal. But the presentation is definitely snazzy enough for company!
Ingredients (serves 2 heartily, or up to 4):
  • 2 slices center-cut bacon
  • 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
  • 2 bone-in chicken thighs
  • 2 bone-in chicken drumsticks
  • 1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
  • 3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
  • 2 tablespoons canola oil, divided
  • 1/3 pound potatoes, cut into equal pieces
  • 1/2 poundbaby bella mushrooms, halved
  • 1/4 cup brandy
  • 2 shallots, halved
  • 3/4 cup no-salt-added chicken broth
  • 1 tablespoon black peppercorns
  • 3 thyme sprigs
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1/2 bunch fresh flat-leaf parsley
  • 6 baby carrots with tops
  • 1 cup Champagne
  • 3 tablespoons butter
  • 1 teaspoon all-purpose flour
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
  • 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
Continue reading Champagne-Browned Butter Chicken

Sangria

For Father’s Day, I wanted to make my dad a somewhat traditional sangria. He is a man who has nothing and wants nothing (which is probably a result of having two daughters and a wife who want everything), but he does love a good sangria. I hope he likes it!
Ingredients:
1 bottle of Rioja wine
1/2 cup brandy
1/4 cup triple sec
1/2 cup orange juice
1/4 cup cranberry juice
3 table spoons simple syrup
1 apple, cored
1 orange, cut into thin slices
1 lemon, cut into thin slices
1 lime, cut into thin slices
1 peach/nectarine, pitted and cut into wedges
Ginger ale, to taste

Combine the wine, brandy, triple sec, orange juice, cranberry juice and simple syrup. Stir.
Prepare all of your fruit.
Add the fruit to the wine mixture and refrigerate for about 1 hour.
When ready to serve, pour sangria into a glass and top with the ginger ale to taste.
I took only one sip of this, so my dad will have to be the true judge of this recipe. It seemed to taste good to me: not too sweet and still a hint of actual wine. You can make a bunch of substitutes for this recipe. If you don’t have the time to make simple syrup, just use 3 tablespoons sugar and stir until it dissolves in the wine mixture. Feel free to substitute or eliminate some of the fruit choices: blackberries would also be a nice addition in the sangria.
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