Salted Caramel Apple Cocktail

Let me start by saying, I am SO excited to share this drink recipe with you! It turned out so well.

 

I know I told you in my last post that I am on a no-booze diet - on the wagon, so to speak. It is no fun, lemmetellya! But my boyfriend and I scheduled a Halloween themed housewarming party for this past weekend, and I planned to indulge a bit and enjoy the tricks and treats I was whipping up for my guests. I didn't want to force my boring sugar free diet on my loved ones, so I came up with quite the delicious menu, this drink included. We ended up having to cancel the party last minute (that is a story for another day!), but since I already had the ingredients for the specialty cocktail I dreamed up, I decided to go ahead and indulge on Sunday afternoon and break my 42 day booze fast with this fantastic, tasty, autumn inspired cocktail. What else are Sundays for anyway?!

 

The inspiration for this recipe is widespread. For starters, one of my favorite dessert flavor combos is the famous salted caramel. My friend Michelle over at Fifty Shades of Cakes makes an insanely delicious salted caramel cupcake. And my favorite chocolate shop even has a sugar free salted chocolate covered caramel, which I have been loving lately as a little treat. There was just a natural connection for me there with the salted caramel flavor and apples, with it being autumn. I knew that I wanted to have a pot of cider mulling on the stove during the party so that the house would smell fantastic, plus it's such a classic fall drink. My friend Erica had a really great cider at her crab feast over the summer that she made herself, so I decided to ask her for the recipe so I could use that as the base for my specialty cocktail. So major shout out to Erica for today's cider recipe, which is perfectly delectible served on its own. The only two things I left out were the "couple squirts from the dropper of elemakule tiki bitters and Angosutra bitters." I'll be honest: I have never heard of those two things and had no idea where to get them! haha But feel free to add them to the following recipe if you happen to have them on hand!

 

First up is the cider recipe, and following is the recipe for the specialty cocktail. Funny thing - I actually intended to make this drink with a caramel flavored vodka, but when I went to the local ABC store, they had nothing caramel flavored other than this Mary Hite Bowman Caramel Cream Liqueur, as well as Bailey's Irish Cream with a "hint" of caramel flavor. So I chose the MHC brand and I am SO glad it worked out that way! The drink turned out to be really frothy and creamy, with the perfect amount of richness. This would go down as a perfect dessert drink.

 

One last note: make sure to peep the very bottom of the cocktail recipe for tips on how to make this as a hot toddy instead of a cold drink.

 

Alright ladies & gents, let's get shakin'!

 

 

Boozy Cider

Servings: 1 gallon

Prep time: 40 minutes (includes cooling time before bottling)

Cooking time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

1 gallon apple cider

4 whole cinnamon sticks

2 star anises

Palm full of cloves

1 teaspoon bourbon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

3 orange rind peels

2 ounces brandy

Place a large pot on the stove over medium high heat. Pour the gallon of cider into this pot.

Add your cinnamon sticks, cloves, and star anise.

 Drop in the orange peels as well.

Bring these ingredients to a slow boil for a good twenty minutes.

At the end of the twenty minutes, pour in the shots of brandy.

Stir the ingredients once and remove the pot from the heat. 

Set it aside to let cool for about a half an hour.

Once the cider has cooled a bit, it's time to pour it into the bottles it will mull in for two days.

Place the bottle in the sink with a funnel in the mouth and pour the cider from the pot through the funnel and into the bottle

Use a fork to pick out the cinnamon sticks, cloves, star anise, and orange peels from the bottom of the pot and push them through the bottle mouth. You want all of that flavor mulling with the cider while it's in the fridge.

If you're serving this recipe for guests, make sure to dress up the bottle a bit. I added this homemade name tag & pretty Halloween ribbon.

Totally festive!

Stick the bottle(s) in the fridge and leave for at least two days. Pull out when you are ready to make...

Salted Caramel Apple Cockie

Servings: 1

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: n/a

Ingredients:

4 teaspoons caramel sauce (I used jarred)

4 teaspoons kosher sea salt

2 handfuls ice

1 (dry) cup Boozy Cider

2 ounces Caramel Cream Liqueur

2 apple slices for garnish

Start by setting two small plates side by side. 

Drizzle the caramel sauce on one, and the sea salt on the other (kinda hard to see the salt in this picture because the plate is the same color as the salt, but it's there!)

Next, dip the rim of your cocktail glass so that the caramel is coating around the entire thing.

Do the same thing in the salt (the caramel will make the salt stick).

Add ice to the glass.

To add the apple slices to your glass's rim, cut a slice down the center of the fleshy part of the apple, but stop before you hit the skin.

Place the apple slices on your glass as a garnish.

Set aside.

Now, add ice to your cocktail shaker.

Make sure to shake up the bottle containing the cider before you pour it for your drink. This will stir all of the sediment from the bottom so that it will mix throughout the liquid. 

Place a small strainer over your measuring cup and pour the cider through that to catch any large sediment.

 Pour the cup (dry measuring cup) of cider into the shaker.

Next, poor in the two shots (ounces) of caramel cream liqueur.

Place the lid snug on the shaker and shake vigorously for fifteen seconds.

Remove the lid to the strainer and poor the drink concoction into your prepared glass!

 Now you are ready to enjoy your cocktail!

 Salute!

P.S. If you want to enjoy this cocktail warm instead of chilled, that tastes great too! Make the original batch of cider and place it in the fridge for two days. Then pull it out and pour it into a pot on the stove (or pour a cup and warm it up in the microwave). While the cider is warming, garnish the rim of the glass as instructed in the recipe above. Add the Caramel Cream Liqueur to a your glass and ladle the hot cider over it. Sprinkle the top with some freshly grated cinnamon sticks and sip slowly! Enjoy!

Pumpkin (Punkin!) Butter

Happy OCTOBER everyone!

 

As much as I love the warm summer temps, there is a certain excitement that comes along with fall that involves getting cozy, watching football, burning creamy, spicy scented candles, and eating or drinking everything pumpkin flavored you can get your hands on! To celebrate the kickoff of autumn, I wanted to share a recipe evocotive of the season - everyone's favorite spreadable treat: pumpkin butter!

 

This recipe is going to be a little unique for vorace. I'll start by saying that I've recently discovered (thanks to a very helpful integrative doctor) that I have some health issues that need some attention. No need to get into the nitty gritty, but I wanted to share that bit of info as a way of prefacing the following recipe, as well as recipes I'll be posting in the near future. One of the holistic approach's treatment techniques focuses on lifestyle changes - one of which being diet. This treatment is based on the idea that what you eat has an effect on how you feel, how your body functions, and how healthy you are overall. This is definitely in line with my thinking, as I have done other research on my own and came to this same conclusion, so I was more than willing to take the advice of my doctor and embark on a new adventure of clean eating.

 

Clean eating means a lot of different things to various groups of people. The meaning behind the way I use the term is specific to myself and my health needs and is just a convenient way to shorthand my diet. To clarify, along with trying my hardest to maintain a whole-foods, plant-based diet (with the occasional addition of cheese & seafood), I have cut out almost all sugar & carbs - especially simple carbs. Sugars & carbs sneak their way into my diet in the form of low-glycemic fruits (strawberries! melon!) & complex carbs. So far that has been OK. But no sugar means no white sugar/honey/agave/syrup, and most importantly: no booze. Major sad face.

 

Not eating sugar is HARD. There is sugar in everything! Even stuff that doesn't  really need it. Take a look at any label in your local grocery store. I did this on a recent trip to my fav Trader Joe's. It was depressing how little I could take home. One funny thing did happen though: I came across the obligatory PUMPKIN! display - pumpkin pancake mix! pumpkin cookies! pumpkin macaroons! pumpkin ice cream! pumpkin butter! Pumpkin butter you say? I picked up the jar and read the ingredients list and saw that it contained honey, and immediately thought, "honey! I can have that in moderation as like a treat every now and then! At least it's not the white sugar devil!" I bought it, took it home, and promptly enjoyed a smathering of it on my new fav go-to snack, brown rice cakes. A few days later I took another gander at the ingredients label and sure enough, sugar was listed. In my desperation to legitimately be able to treat myself to ONE pumpkin based seasonal cheat, I went selectively blind to the word "sugar," and tricked myself into thinking TJ's PB was kosher. And it wasn't.

 

I thought to myself, there has got to be a way I can make myself a version of pumpkin butter that I can have. I referred back to a pumpkin "ice cream" clean eating recipe I had found on Pinterest that I had tailored to my dietary restrictions. That recipe called for maple syrup so I skipped that and used maple extract. To sweeten it, I used my new best friend, Stevia. I figured I could use this same idea to create my own clean pumpkin butter. In the hayday of sugar ignorance bliss, I had been enjoying the TJ's pumpkin butter atop a healthy portion of creamy cashew butter, spread on the rice cakes. It.was.amazeballs. I decided to use the cashew butter as the base for my clean pumpkin butter and incorporate the ingredients from that "ice cream" to make it pumpkin-y, more like traditional pumpkin butter. And get a nice little protein boost to boot!

 

Before we get started, I have to say that I named this recipe after my favorite nickname for my puppy, Milli. Last year around this time I started referring to her as "pumpkin face," which quickly turned into "punkinface." I say this about a million times a day, so it made sense to name this recipe after her. Why not?

 

OK let's get cookin'!

 

Punkin Butter

Servings: One 16 oz jar

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: n/a

Ingredients:

1/2 cup pumpkin puree

2 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice mix

3 packets of Stevia

1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon maple extract

1 cup cashew butter (creamy, not chunky)

Start by placing the pumpkin puree in a bowl & mixing it so that the water (juice?) that has separated combines with the pumpkin.

Add the pumpkin pie spices and Stevia to the pumpkin and stir so that the spices are completely incorporated into the puree.

Next, drizzle in the extracts... 

...and stir to combine. 

Spoon the cashew butter into a food processor.

Add the pumpkin mixture to the food processor. Turn on the processor long enough for the cashew butter to combine with the pumpkin mix.

You may have to do this several times, scraping the sides down with a spatula in between.

When the pumpkin & cashew butter are fully mixed, use the spatula or a spoon to scoop the punkin butter back into your empty cashew jar or a food storage container with a tight fitting lid. You'll want to store this in the fridge.

 [YUM!]

There are so many things you can eat this with! I spread it on brown rice cakes:

But it would also go great on graham crackers (if you're eating sugar), apple slices, pumpernickel toast or pretzels (if you're eating carbs) - the choices are endless!

I must say though, the brown rice cakes are pretty scrumptious with this punkin butter spread on them. Give it a try!

 Salute!

Kale Salad, Between Vineyards

Let me start by apologizing for my short absence over the past few weeks. I have good excuses, I swear! I ended up buying a new car (woot woot!) the same week I was preparing to leave for vacation, so between figuring out car logistics and packing, there was no time for blog cooking or writing. Then I went on vacation (yay!), so the only thought of cooking or blogging that week came by way of gaining inspiration from all the yummy food we were eating in northern California. And lastly, I was easing back in to real life after vacay, but I did manage to make three home-cooked meals last week - one of which is the delicious recipe I'm going to share today. So that week wasn't a complete waste ;-)

I mentioned northern California and I want to give props to the area for the tasty, creative, and satisfying food, mostly made from fresh, local ingredients, we were able to enjoy on our trip. We ventured from San Francisco:

to Napa Valley:

to Monterey:

and everywhere we went, we ate well! I think we hit our record for most consecutive days of fried calamari consumption, and enjoyed many a glass of California's famous wine. If you couldn't tell, one of my favorite activities in which to partake while on vacation is eating! I love to try new foods or some of my favorites made in interesting and new ways, and there is nowhere better to do this than in Napa Valley. In fact, that is where I got the inspiration for this salad. My friend, and seasoned Napa enthusiast, Lauren, recommended to us one of her favorite restaurants on the drive from Napa to the northern end of the valley. We are so glad we took her suggestion because it was one of, if not THE, best meal we had the entire week. Trust us: if you are in Napa Valley, pull into TraVigne and have the 'mozzarella al minuto' (pictured below). You can thank us later. Actually, you may want to plan far in advance and make a dinner reservation. We weren't able to get one, but lucked out by stopping in for a late lunch and managed to get a table.

We ordered quite a few dishes, but one of the ones I was looking forward to recreating at home was this delectible kale salad. Raw kale has never been that appealing to me unless it's ground to smithereens in a smoothie. I prefer it roasted or sauteed. But kale salads are all the rage right now, so I figured I would give it a try, especially since my boyfriend was so gung-ho about ordering it. We shared a plate and it was so good - it won me over to raw kale forever! You can see a little peek here in this cell phone pic I captured:

BTW - don't you just love when you are skeptical about something but try it anyways and are pleasantly proved wrong? I do. Happens to me all of the time where food is concerned and inspires me to always try new things.

The recipe I'm sharing is pretty much a straight up recreation of the one I had in Napa. Except I believe they used dino kale and I used just regular ol' kale (whatever the official name for that is!). And I had to create the dressing recipe on my own since I wasn't privy to all of the ingredients in their concoction. But other than that, this one tastes just as good as the one we had there, and boyfriend agreed! And bonus - this is pretty darn healthy for you! I was super excited about that.

Let's get cookin'!

Autumn Kale Salad

Servings: 2

Prep time: 45 minutes

Cooking time: varies depending on farro cooking instructions; approximately ten minutes

Ingredients:

1/4 dry farro

3 handfuls kale, chopped

1/2 fennel bulb, sliced thin

1 large handful dried cranberries (craisins)

1 handful pecans, chopped

1/2 teaspoon iodized salt

1/2 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper (FCBP)

goat cheese

Dressing:

Juice of 1 naval orange

4 teaspoons apple cider vinegar (I used raw)

6 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)

Start by placing the chopped kale on a large cutting board.

Run through it with a large knife once and then remove any large/thick stalks. Discard them. 

Place the chopped kale into a bowl large enough to toss the salad with the dressing eventually. 

Next, add the sliced fennel, cranberries, and pecans. 

To make the dressing, add all of the salad dressing ingredients to either a blender or food processor or cup so you can use a hand blender/emulsifier, as I did.  

Blend the ingredients together.

Pour 3/4 of the dressing over the salad and toss with salad tongs or two serving utensils.  

Sprinkle the salt & pepper over the salad and toss again.  

Place the salad bowl in the fridge. You're going to leave it there for at least a half an hour. 

Use this time to make the farro. Place a small pot on the stove over high heat. When the water starts boiling, add the farro. Set a kitchen timer to the amount of time indicated on the package cooking directions. 

When the farro is done cooking, drain it in a strainer and place it back over the pot (while still in the strainer) to cool and dry out a little. 

When the half an hour is up for the salad being in the fridge, remove it and add the farro and the remainder of the dressing, then toss.

Lastly, add the crumbled goat cheese to the salad and toss.

Add all of the salad to a serving plate - like the beautiful one I used here. I got it on our vacation at a vintage shop in Calistoga :-)

Serve with a glass of white or red California wine and enjoy!

Salute!

Sun-God Smoked Salmon Plate

This recipe is in honor of my friend, Alexis, who happens to LOVE smoked salmon, and who just gave birth last week to a precious baby boy, named Apollo (the god of light and sun in Greek mythology). She had to abstain from smoked salmon all throughout her pregnancy and is finally able to indulge now that Apollo is here, happy, and healthy. I plan to make this recipe and take it to her on my next visit to see the lil' guy, but I had to do a trial run this past weekend while we were house-sitting for my boyfriend's parents, you know - just to make sure everything tasted alright ;-)

The inspiration for this recipe came from the most fantastic of sources - a local restaurant's brunch menu. My friend Vanessa had been raving about this place for quite some time and suggested we go one weekend when we were making brunch plans. I will be forever in her debt for introducing me to this wonderful brunch menu! Everything was remarkably delicious and five hours after arrival, we had tried nearly everything (some twice!). It's all you can eat for a flat fee - can ya blame us?! One item on the menu really peaked my interest: the 'salmon & dough.' I've always been a little wary of smoked salmon since I actually do not like salmon in general (I know, I'm a weirdo), but Alexis' undying love for it has encouraged me to try it on occasion. I decided to give this one a shot when I saw it on the menu and I am glad I did. This dish has won me over to smoked salmon forever!

I've been wanting to try my own version of the 'salmon & dough' for a while, and I figured Alexis' return to the world of smoked salmon would be the perfect occasion to do so! The restaurant dish actually served their version with ricotta, but I wanted to do something to make the cheese a little more special. Typically, smoked salmon (or lox) is served with cream cheese. The ricotta was really good, but I wanted to do something more like the traditional version, so I chose goat cheese. Plain goat cheese would've been good, but that's too boring for me! I decided to throw in some dill, since dill pairs well with smoked salmon. I think this herb goat cheese really made a difference in this dish and I can't wait for you to try it!

I made this recipe for my boyfriend and me and will be making it again for Alexis, but it would make a really great addition to a brunch table, especially since it's so quick & easy to pull together. If you're serving it for brunch with a larger group, simply use a bigger serving platter and multiply the ingredients for this recipe by half of however many guests will be joining you. (For example, if ten people will be joining, multiply this recipe by five.) And if you're already serving brunch, might as well include one of these old favorites as well! ;-)

OK let's get smokin'!

Smoked Salmon Plate
Servings: 2
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: n/a

Ingredients:
1/3 cucumber, sliced
2 heaping tablespoons minced red onion
2 tablespoons capers
1 handful salad greens - preferably arugula
2 ounces soft goat cheese - plain
1 teaspoon chopped fresh dill
2 bagels - plain or another savory flavor (I used plain & egg)
2 handfuls bagel crisps, preferably plain
1/4 pound smoked salmon

Start by setting out a serving platter big enough to fit at least some of each of your ingredients. I used a square wooden cutting board, but a flat serving dish would work well, as would a tray filled with ramekins and small dishes for each ingredient.

Arrange the minced cucumber slices, red onion, capers, and salad greens on the serving platter in neat little piles. Make sure to leave room for: bread pieces, cheese, bagel crisps, and smoked salmon.

Now, make the herb goat cheese spread.

Place the softened goat cheese in a small mixing bowl, sprinkle in the chopped fresh dill, and stir with a fork to completely incorporate the dill into the cheese.

Use your hands to gather all of the cheese and roll it in your hands to create a patty (kind of like you would do if you were making a hamburger patty).

Lay the herb cheese patty on your serving platter (I pressed the tines of a fork into the center of mine to create a little design for some added fancy!).

Next, tear up the bagels into bite size pieces and place them in a pile on the platter. Arrange the bagel crisps around the cheese patty, leaving room for the salmon slices.

Now you can add the smoked salmon, laying it on the platter where you have left room.

All of your food is now in one place and you can take the entire thing to your serving area.

Set up some forks for serving the capers, onion, salmon, etc. & a knife for spreading the cheese. People can prepare everything themselves and place their bites on individual plates.

Now is the perfect time to pour yourself some prosecco!

To create the perfect bite, simply start with either a slice of cucumber, piece of bagel, or bagel crisp. Spread on the herb goat cheese and sprinkle with some capers and red onion.

Top it with a piece of arugula/salad greens and a slice of smoked salmon.

Sip your prosecco and enjoy!

Salute!