Eating Dinner With My Family

It's a cheating post!  I made these yesterday, but for tonight's meatless Monday dinner we made cauliflower soup out of some cauliflower I hade from FPP. It is a repeat, but it is magical that it turns one of my son's veto ingredients in to something he eats. No not eats but devours. (And I smugly say see you don't hate cauliflower!). As for the drink, YUM!  It was perfect for me, but my husband found them a bit fiery and diluted them with some tomato juice.  That didn't stop him from still enjoying them ;).  I loved this take on one of my favorite cocktails. Kimchi Bloody Mary 2 packed cups kimchi (16 ounces) 46 ounces tomato juice 1/4 Cup Sriracha chile sauce 2 Tbl Worcestershire sauce 2 Tbl sherry vinegar Salt Freshly ground pepper 2 Cup vodka (16 ounces) Ice Mint sprigs or shiso leaves for garnish 1. Working in batches, puree the kimchi with the tomato juice, Sriracha, Worcestershire and vinegar. Set a fine-mesh strainer over a bowl and str...

Well after that last Bloody Mary, I have rediscovered my love for them! I have always thrown some traditional ingredients in to some tomato juice, but I thought I would poke around for a recipe. I really liked this one. The curry in was noticeable but not overwhelming. This was a tasty take on a Bloody Mary! My only complaint was the let it sit overnight! When I was mixing this up, I wanted it then, but I do think that the overnight sitting in the fridge helped blend and mellow the flavors. A New-Look Bloody Mary   4 Cup tomato juice 1 Cup dill pickle juice 1/4 Cup fresh lemon juice 1 Tbl prepared horseradish 2 Tsp Worcestershire sauce 2 Tsp curry powder 1 Tsp Sriracha 1 Tsp kosher salt 1/2 Tsp celery seeds 1/4 Tsp black pepper 2 Cup vodka 8 celery stalks 8 lemon wedges Preparation Combine first 10 ingredients in a large pitcher. Chill overnight. Add vodka to pitcher; stir well. Fill tall glasses with ice. Divide Bloody Mary cocktail among glasses. Garnish ea...

For me, a Bloody Mary isn't just a drink, it is an appetizer!  I love to load it up with all kinds of nibbles: olives, salami, cheese cubes, shrimp, and any pickled veggie!  I did use some restraint tonight as we were about to have dinner and the cocktail is filling by itself!  I think of it sometimes as meal replacement shake;).  Now I adore Sriracha, but I haven't ever had a 'recipe' to follow for it's use in a Bloody Mary before. If you haven't had Sriracha, stop reading right now and go out and buy some!  There is a picture at the end of the post.   I have no idea where I found this recipe and recent googling didn't find me this particular recipe however there are plenty of others out there.  The only changes I made: a splash of soy sauce instead of salt, omitting the large caper berries as I had none, omitting celery because I don't like it, and adding pickles and olives.    Sriracha Bloody Mary 4 Cup tomato juic...

Ok, confession time.  I have an embarrassing secret.  I have hijacked my son's brand new PS3 and play Skyrim all day.  I am not even exaggerating about all day.  I will start when the boy goes to school, and find that he is home the next minute.  Not being a totally irresponsible parent, I make sure everyone eats, they get to and from school and all their activities,  that there are clean clothes and dishes, but only the bare minimum.  It started the week I was really sick and there wasn't much else I could do, but having returned to health, I have no excuse.  Needless to say, I have neglected not only the blog but the new recipe thing.  I am going to do better, as soon as I rid Skyrim of all evil and tyranny! :)  While I may have cobbled together leftovers for dinner, I do have a new discovery to share with you, a totally yummy cocktail or shot depending on you proclivities.  I used diet lemonade, and I hate diet drinks, and I...

So, I am not cooking this Thanksgiving!  I am both happy and sad about that.  We are going to friends house, but I have to bring something. (despite their protests;)  I am taking them their favorite salted caramel pretzel bark , but I also want to try out something new and holiday.  As I am thinking of it, there appears on my tv, Alton Brown doing a cranberry show!  I am also getting cranberries in my Front Porch Pickings basket!  Not being one to ignore fate, I decide to make some recipes on the show.  I choose this granita for two reasons.  The light, fresh and tart ice sounds like a great treat on a day full of heavy foods.  The other it that it can be made in to a cocktail!  That is a win-win for me.  I am bringing a desert and a drink with one recipe.  I made this early to taste it and make sure that I was bringing a guest worthy treat and cocktail.  It was.  I loved the granita.  It was a Thanks...

I have found so many recipes that I want to try, and a good percentage of them have come from my fellow food bloggers.  This recipe comes from one of  my favorite food blogs called We Are Not Foodies .  Not only do they have a lot of good looking recipes, but I like the writing style of the group.  I "made" this over a month ago. but tried it tonight for the first time.  I will say I was afraid of ruining a perfectly good bottle of vodka in my first attempt at a liqueur, so I guesstimated a smaller batch.  I was happily surprised with the taste and that I didn't mess it up.  The end result was really good and unique.  I think I want to order the book they talked about and perfect my liqueur making knowledge and skills.  Not only so I can reap the benefits, but it would make awesome Christmas presents! If you didn't see my previous post from a blogger, you may not know why I only listed the ingredie...

I started this recipe a week ago and fortune smiles on me because we were making "pepperoni pizza" with the leftover pepperoni sauce from last night and I needed a recipe for the blog.  I messed up and used 80 proof vodka.  It tasted like lemon vodka to me.  We needed to add some club soda or sprite to make it drinkable.  I think it will make a very cool ingredient in drinks but I can't see us sipping it by itself.  You should note that the simple syrup seemed to settle and freeze where the alcohol did not.  So we had to let it warm up a bit before we could mix it and taste it. Limoncello 2 lb lemons,about 8 to 10 750    ml vodka,100 proof 2/3 c  water 2/3 c  sugar Carefully remove the zest from the lemons using a microplane or rasp grater, being careful not to remove any of the white pith. Reserve the lemons to make lemonade or squeeze and freeze the juice for later use. Put the lemon zest into a lidded glass container ...