Bourbon Vanilla Marshmallows

 

My husband loves homemade marshmallows.  He has a nut allergy, so he's usually pretty wary of holiday cookies, but our dear friend made marshmallows one year and he loved them so much!  I had to try making them too. 

Marshmallows are not difficult to make, but they require some things you may not normally use in your holiday baking.  A candy thermometer is one.  A stand mixer also makes things much easier. You'll also need corn syrup and gelatin, which not everyone has on hand. But the ingredients are inexpensive and easy to find.  Once you have them you can make marshmallows in any flavour you desire. 

I made bourbon vanilla marshmallows, but the bourbon flavour doesn't really come through.  I would try using more bourbon next time. 

It is so neat to watch the clear liquid transform into white ribbons as you mix the marshmallows. 

Marshmallows keep really well at room temperature for up to 6 weeks.  They're great in hot chocolate or on a cookie tray (and gluten free too!), or you can give them as gifts. 

Adapted from this Epicurious recipe

Ingredients
2 vanilla beans
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons bourbon
vegetable oil or cooking spray
3 packets (7 grams each) unflavoured gelatin
1.5 cups granulated sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions
Split the vanilla beans lengthwise and scrape out the seeds with a sharp knife. Place 1/3 of the vanilla bean seeds in a small bowl with the bourbon.  Place the rest of the seeds in a medium bowl with the powdered sugar.  Mix well, crushing the vanilla seeds with the back of a spoon to incorporate.  Let sit one hour.

Brush or spray a 9-inch square baking pan with vegetable oil.  Sprinkle with vanilla sugar and tap out the excess that doesn't stick to the sides. 

Place 1/2 cup water in the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the gelatin and stir to combine.  

Combine 1/2 cup of water, granulated sugar and corn syrup in a small pot and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Add the empty vanilla bean pods to the sugar syrup and place the thermometer in the pot, not touching the bottom.  Boil until the syrup reaches 240 degrees F (this took about 7 minutes for me).  Remove from heat and use tongs to remove the vanilla beans. 

Use the mixer's whisk attachment and whisk the gelatin mixture at low speed.  Carefully pour the hot sugar syrup down the side of the mixer bowl with the mixer running. Increase the mixer speed to high and whisk for about 5 minutes until the mixture is very thick and looks like ribbons when you raise the whisk attachment. Add the bourbon and vanilla seed mixture and whisk until incorporated. 

Using a rubber spatula, pour the marshmallow mixture into the prepared pan.  Let stand, uncovered, at room temperature, at least 4 hours or overnight, until marshmallow is dry.

When you're ready to cut the marshmallows, cover a cutting board with vanilla powdered sugar and invert the pan onto the cutting board. Use a spatula to pull the marshmallow away from the sides if you need to.  Dust the top with vanilla powdered sugar.

Cut the marshmallows into 36 squares (or 64 smaller squares). Place each individual marshmallow in a bowl of vanilla powdered sugar and shake to cover.  

Store in a covered container separated by parchment paper.  

Happy Hour - Hot Toddy

Is this a cocktail or is it medicine?  Many cocktails were created to be medicinal and a Hot Toddy is often said to "cure" a cold or flu.  Speaking from personal experience I can say it does relieve cold symptoms!  

The heat of the drink can clear sinuses and, along with the honey, ease a sore throat.  The lemon is good for vitamin C, and the bourbon just makes you feel better in general before helping you get to sleep.

This drink couldn't be easier, so even someone weak from a cold can handle the recipe. 

Simply stir bourbon, lemon juice and honey with hot water until the honey melts, and drink while relaxing. 

Hot toddies are sometimes made with other whiskey, rum or even brandy. You can use whichever you  prefer or have on hand. Personally, I love the sweetness of bourbon in this drink. 

Here's my recipe but feel free to adjust to your own taste:

2 oz bourbon
1 tablespoon honey
1 oz lemon juice
1/2  cup hot water (just below boiling)

Stir together all ingredients in a large mug until the honey is melted.  Top with a slice of lemon if desired. 

Happy Hour: The Sherman / Doctor Strange Cocktail

This post comes from Matt, the Beer Baron.  Follow him on Twitter or Instagram @geekcanuck

We seem to be living in the Golden Age of geekdom, where even lesser known characters from the comic books of my youth are being given the full-on blockbuster treatment. Case in point: Doctor Strange, the Marvel Universe’s own sorcerer supreme, created in 1963 by artist Steve Ditko, whose brilliant, creative and often trippy style of art was a perfect fit for both the time and the good doctor’s strange, interdimensional adventures.

Flash forward to 2016 and the Doctor Strange movie boasts a cast (Benedict Cumberbatch, Tilda Swinton, Mads Mikkelsen, etc.) that betters that of most Oscar-bait movies and stunning visuals that still honour Ditko’s awesomeness. Clearly, it is a good time to be a geek. To celebrate, I wanted to find a cocktail that would be worthy of Doctor Strange.

Doctor Strange’s Sanctum Sanctorum (aka his magical residence for you non-geeks out there) is in New York, so my first idea was a Manhattan, but that didn’t quite have the flair of Doctor Strange (or Benedict Cumberbatch). However, it did lead me to a variation of a Manhattan called a Sherman, whose recipe comes by way of the Old Waldorf Astoria Hotel (opened in New York in 1893 and demolished in 1929 to make way for the Empire State Building, which is suitably cool) and contains absinthe (which seemed suitably trippy).

Without further ado (and geekiness), here is our slight variation of a Sherman cocktail, rechristened The Doctor Strange cocktail, which turned out to be just as awesome as the movie:

2 ounces bourbon

1 ounce sweet vermouth 

3 dashes absinthe

3 dashes orange bitters 

3 dashes Angostura bitters

Garnished with a lemon twist

Yes, that is my normal shot glass and yes, I’ve clearly leaned in to my geekiness. 

Most Sherman cocktail recipes call for rye whiskey or leave it up to you to choose between rye and bourbon. The Clockwatching Tart and I developed a crush on bourbon during our trips to Kentucky, so this was an easy decision to make. 

One of the many wonderful benefits of living with a good cook is the fact that the cupboards often contain many different types of alcohol. My new slogan: “Booze: It’s not just for cooking anymore!”

Absinthe smells and tastes like black licorice / anise but it isn’t as overwhelming as I might have expected. That said, it is still there to round out the flavours and not dominate them, so go easy. I used a tiny little salt spoon to make sure I didn’t overdo it.

The craft beer revolution has been in full swing for quite some time now, but the craft cocktail craze is relatively more recent (and much to our delight). Our favourite craft beer bar now boasts a fantastic cocktail menu as well and a relatively local distillery, Dillon’s Small Batch Distillers of Beamsville, Ontario, has a display of different bitters at the local LCBO. Good times all around.

The lemon twist isn’t just to look cool, the actual twisting is what releases the oils, which adds both aromatics and flavour to finish off the cocktail.

In the end, both The Doctor Strange (the cocktail) and Doctor Strange (the movie) get perfect scores of 4-out-of-4, as all four people at our little cocktail-party-turned-movie night loved both. Long may the Golden Age of geekdom continue!

Happy Hour Two for One: Negroni & Boulevardier

I'm fascinated by the world of cocktails, both classic and all the new craft cocktails being created in bars popping up all over. 

You can't read much about cocktails without coming across the Negroni, a beloved, bitter Italian aperitif. 

The first time I tasted a Negroni I was astonished that anyone would choose to drink something so bitter. I'd describe it as bracingly bitter. But, strangely, the Negroni grows on you.  And so I bought a beautiful bottle of Campari so I could have Negronis any time. 

But once you have a bottle of Campari you have to find other things to do with it. You can make a simple Campari and soda, or you can break out the bourbon and make a Boulevardier.

I prefer to buy the liquor with the most whimsical cap. 

Both the Negroni and the Boulevardier share the same basic recipe, but one is made with gin and the other with bourbon.  As you might imagine, the Boulevardier tastes sweeter and richer, while the Negroni is more crisp and sharp.  

I garnished my Negroni with the traditional orange peel but added a cherry to the Boulevardier to complement the bourbon. 

I have to admit a slight preference for the Boulevardier. The sweet depth of the bourbon offsets the bitterness of the Campari in a way I enjoy.  But in the heat of summer it's nice to have a classic Negroni for a refreshing change of pace. 

Here are the recipes, cheers!

The Negroni

1 1/2 oz London Dry Gin
3/4 oz Campari
3/4 oz Red (sweet) vermouth

Shake all ingredients in a cocktail shaker over ice.  Strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a twist of orange peel. 

The Boulevardier

1 1/2 oz Bourbon
3/4 oz Campari
3/4 oz Red (sweet) vermouth

Shake all ingredients in a cocktail shaker over ice.  Strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a cherry or twist of orange peel. 

Road Trip - Bayfield, Ontario

Wow, it's been a while since there's been a new post on this blog! Since we moved last December there has been lots going on and now that it's summertime, we're really enjoying our new yard and garden. 

This is one of the things we've been spending time on.  Our house's previous owner planted beautiful perennial gardens so every week brings a new surprise.  

But last weekend we decided to take a break from our garden and head on a little road trip to Bayfield, Ontario.  Bayfield is a little village on the shores of Lake Huron, between Goderich and Grand Bend.  It's only about an hour from home.  We've been there on day trips several times but this time we stayed overnight at The Little Inn of Bayfield, located right on Main Street in the centre of town. 

The Little Inn is an historic property recently under new ownership and it was a perfect place to stay. We had a little room with a king sized bed on the second floor. Service at the front desk was beyond friendly and helpful. In fact, service was absolutely fantastic everywhere we went in the Inn and its restaurants and bars. 

The first thing we did when we arrived was make a beeline to the Inn's weekly Backyard BBQ, every Saturday this summer from 11:30 am until 3:30 pm or until the food is gone. It's all you can eat for $19.99 per person and the food was surprisingly delicious!  We had pulled pork, ribs, chicken, brisket, corn, potato salad, pasta salad, coleslaw, amazing biscuits, and even pie for dessert. 

We also ordered some craft beer for Matt and a bourbon sour for me.  The BBQ is served outside in a lovely back garden with plenty of sun and shade. The service was once again terrific, especially from the young man handling the grill.

Next we headed for a walk down Main Street, which is great for shopping.  And then we walked down to the marina and main beach.  There are three beaches in Bayfield and we had a lovely time swimming in the lake.

For dinner we headed to the Black Dog Village Pub. We've had lunch here many times and we were looking forward to being able to stay longer and enjoy their extensive beer and cocktail list.  Unfortunately, service wasn't quite up to their normal standards so we were only able to order one cocktail each with dinner.  

The food was fantastic though!  This cauliflower & quinoa salad was so good I can't wait to attempt to make it myself. 

After dinner we were still thirsty so we headed to the Ashwood Inn's bourbon bar.  This place has been nicely renovated and has a huge patio.  

We headed back to our Little Inn for one last cocktail in their wonderful bar.  

We had a great sleep and in the morning we were delighted to find that breakfast was included with our room rate.  The breakfast buffet had eggs, bacon, sausage, cold meats and cheeses, excellent chicken and roasted vegetables, salads and desserts, plus juice and coffee. It was an unexpected treat. 

Before leaving Bayfield we stopped at the cutest bird store I've ever seen. Porter's Hill has a great selection of bird feeders and seed, plus other great gifts. And the service is extremely knowledgeable and friendly.  We will be back here for sure. 

On the way home we stopped by one of our favourite places, Twin Pines Cider House. We've been here several times but were pleased to see they now they have a new tasting room on the main floor.  We picked up some cider and glasses and headed home. 

It's so great to have such a wonderful getaway so close to home. Bayfield is definitely close enough for a day trip, but it was very relaxing to stay overnight. We will be back soon for sure!  

  

Happy Hour - Mint Julep

The Kentucky Derby is coming up next weekend. I don't follow horse racing, I just learned this from general chatter on the internet.  Two years ago, we drove down to Nashville via Kentucky and happened to be in Lexington on the weekend of the Rolex Kentucky horse racing event. We just managed to find a hotel room - the town was packed!  We had a fabulous time and returned the following year for Matt's birthday. On the way home from Nashville, we'd planned to stop in Louisville, Kentucky for lunch but we stopped at a visitor's centre on the highway and learned it was now Derby weekend and we should avoid the area at all costs!  So much for my thorough planning. 

Kentucky is where we fell in love with bourbon. Since we just bought a new house, we're not travelling this spring, so I thought I'd take a trip back to Kentucky through cocktails!

Happy Hour - Bourbon Old Fashioned

Tonight is the series finale of Mad Men, so I thought I'd raise a glass to the show with this classic cocktail.  

I've loved watching Mad Men over the past seven years. The characters are fascinating and the writing is exceptional. It's a show I love so much, I read as much about it as I can. So I was thrilled to discover Tom and Lorenzo's Mad Style, a weekly analysis of the costuming on the show.  They talk about the historical significance of the costumes, as well as how the costumes relate to the characters' moods and motivations. It is really marvelous and I don't know what I'll miss more - the show or Mad Style.   

Road Trips: Winter/Spring 2015

We've taken several short trips so far this year but I realized I haven't mentioned them much here on the blog. So it's time to fix that!

Back in December we took a drive back to Lexington, Kentucky for a few days for Matt (the Beer Baron)'s birthday. He had a fantastic time at Beer School at the Beer Trappe where he tried plenty of beer and met some friendly locals. 

Happy Hour - Bourbon Sour with Egg White

Way back at the end of December we took a little trip back to Lexington, Kentucky. We liked it so much when we were there last year that we decided to return.  

We visited Buffalo Trace Distillery and saw their bourbon making process.  It's a gorgeous operation. We had a great tour and even got to watch them hand-bottling Blanton's bourbon. 

The Beer Baron - Roll Out the Barrel

Did you know that to be real bourbon, the barrels can only be used once? It’s true! The Clockwatching Tart and I recently took a little road trip to Kentucky and took a tour of the Buffalo Trace Distillery, where we learned that fun fact. 

So, what to do with all those used but still perfectly good – perhaps even better – barrels? Make Ontario craft beer, of course. Honestly, it does make perfect sense when you think about it. If you can put clear, relatively tasteless alcohol into a barrel and have it come out as something as wonderful as bourbon, what happens when you put something already wonderful like beer into a barrel for aging? Magic, that’s what.

Happy Hour - Brooklyn Cocktail

I'm very interested in craft cocktails lately.  Ever since we went on our Southern USA road trip in the spring, I've been more interested in bourbon.  

The Brooklyn cocktail is usually made with rye but I used bourbon.  Here's what you need for one cocktail: