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. 

Skor Apple Dip

This is an incredibly easy 3-ingredient dish that will wow guests at any potluck or holiday gathering. 

It doesn't seem like much - just cream cheese, caramel and crushed skor bars.  But when you combine them and refrigerate overnight, it becomes a tangy, sweet and crunchy dip for apple slices. 

In a class dish or pie plate, spread the cream cheese into a thick layer. 

Cover the cheese layer with caramel.

Spread into an even layer over the cream cheese. 

Crush the Skor bars into small crumbs by placing them in a plastic freezer bag and pounding with a meat mallet or heavy pan. 

Spread the crumbled Skor bits over the dip, cover, and refrigerate overnight. The chocolate on the bottom will start to meld into the caramel a bit, but the top will stay crunchy.

Serve with sliced apples for dipping.  You could even try dipping pretzels or ladyfingers.

Believe me, people will love this!

Here's the (simple) recipe:

Ingredients
340 gram tub spreadable plain cream cheese
250 gram tub old fashioned caramel sauce (found in the refrigerated section of the grocery store in the produce aisle)
191 gram package mini Skor bars or 5 full size Skor bars, smashed into small pieces
1 lemon
6-8 apples for serving, sliced

Instructions
Spread the cream cheese in a thick layer in a glass baking dish or pie plate. 
Spread the caramel sauce over the cream cheese
Spread the Skor pieces over the caramel layer
Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate 24 hours
Squeeze the juice of the lemon into a large bowl and add a cup of water.
Slice the apples and dip the slices in the lemon water to prevent browning
Serve the dip surrounded by apple slices

Enjoy!

Cacio e Pepe (Cheese & Pepper Pasta)

Just three ingredients.  It looks so simple and it is simple, but it tastes amazing.  Cacio e pepe literally means cheese and pepper, so aside from water and salt the only ingredients are pasta, cheese and pepper.

Here's all you need for this amazing, 20 minute meal:  

Chicken with Mango Salsa 1

In the summer, and even in the winter a lot of the time, our default meal is grilled meat with starch and veggies.  It is so simple, minimizes dishes to wash, and is relatively healthy and satisfying.  My husband has perfected grilling chicken (and most other meats I present him with), so I never have to worry about dried out chicken on the grill. Ours is always juicy and delicious. 

Normally, just grilled chicken with barbecue sauce or a spice rub is good enough, but for something a little more special, a nice mango salsa will spice up your chicken and make it a meal suitable for guests that's still easy as pie.

I have two different versions of mango salsa, so I'll start with one and share the other later in the week.  

This mango salsa starts with mangoes, hot peppers, red onion and lime.

I love  Ataulfo mangoes.  They always seem ripe and juicy, and I like the texture more than standard mangoes.  But I had one of each this time so that's what I used. The mangoes were a little over ripe but still worked great in this salsa.  

Dice the red onion.

Then dice the hot peppers. 

I used a Thai chili and a Hungarian yellow pepper. You can also use jalapeno or any hot pepper you like.
Slice the mangoes on either side of the pit.

The Ataulfo mango is buttery orange and smooth while the standard mango is yellow and a bit stringy. Then score the flesh into cubes. Don't cut all the way through the skin.  

Work the knife between the flesh and skin to slice these little cubes from the mango skin.  

If you're meticulous, chop the mango cubes to a uniform size, or just leave them in assorted sizes if you're lazy like me. 

Mix the ingredients together and squeeze fresh lime juice over all.

Serve over grilled chicken with some steamed broccoli and rice.  The fresh, spicy salsa adds a lot of flavour to a simple meal.