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Say goodbye to 2011 with this spicy-sweet cocktail. You guys know how much I love the banana-habanero combo, and it just begged to be in a margarita. This drink really is awesome. The banana puree makes it slightly thick, and the habanero simple syrup not only gives it a kick, but adds a unique tropical flavor. The byproduct of candied habanero adds a nice touch in the sugar on the rim.
Another last minute app for your New Years party. This dip is super spicy, but also sweet and a little sour. It's a great twist on cocktail sauce, which we all need because we have had the same old cocktail sauce 3 or 4 times in the past few months AMIRITE??? Come back tomorrow for an actual cocktail, but for now check out my Honey Chipotle Lime Cocktail Sauce recipe on Tablespoon.
Cooking fun finger food for parties is one of my favorite things to do. I know you guys are looking for some sweet apps to bring to your New Years party, so here is a list of 12 killer unique bites from the history of my website. Let me know if you decide to try one!
BLT Dip. With avocado. Way better than most BLT dips. It's almost BLT guacamole.
Caprese summer rolls. A vietnitalian dream come true.
Fried Dough Mozzarella Bites. This might be my most popular recipe of all time.
Fish and Chip tots, a recent addition to the list.
Pulled Pork Sushi. So wrong and yet so right.
This is one of my favorite things that I have made all year. Just look at all these attributes that I love that this recipe fills: Easier than expected, creative, impressive, interesting combinations, comes in flavors, customizable, party food, colorful, cheese. It's the perfect thing to bring to your New Years party this weekend. Seriously, check out my Flavored Cheddar Blocks on Tablespoon because they are awesome.
Everyone who lives at my apartment has a job and purpose. As Joe says, we all "bring something to the table". If you don't have anything to bring to the table, you are swiftly removed. When you live with 5 people, it's important that everyone carries their weight! My job is obviously in the kitchen. I keep things clean in there and also cook meals for everyone. Generally I am happy with my station, but the other day my roommate Tim asked me if I could make him a dessert for his company Christmas party. I instantly felt like the mom of the house! (moooooooooooooooommmmm can you make me cookies for the soccer banquet?) The only thing I could do to make myself feel better was make the manliest brownies possible. I baked up these bacon-burbon brownies that have been all over the blogs this year.
Some people need a shower to wake up in the morning. For others, a coffee gets them going. But for me, nothing starts the day off right like cracking an egg into a frying pan with butter. It's not about eating breakfast, it's about making it! I cook breakfast A LOT, but I almost never blog it. That's cause it's my time to just relax in the kitchen. It's also because I usually need to get out the door somewhat quickly. This is no time for photography! I've been playing around with this egg quesadilla for the past month, so I figured it was time to break out the camera. Whip up a couple of these for loved ones this holiday weekend and they will forget about the ugly sweater you bought them. That reminds me, Mom, do you have ingredients for this at home?
9 out of 10 times, I will choose a spiced chocolate over plain. For me, a pinch of cinnamon and a dash of chile powder really transforms boring chocolate into a complex and warming treat. Make these Mexican Chocolate Cream Pots and you will soon agree.
After writing an article recently about grilled cheese, and reading stories about how this grilled cheese trend is not going away anytime soon, I was craving a nice melt. I say melt because I think people are way to liberal with the term "grilled cheese". To me, a grilled cheese is just that. Bread and cheese. Maybe a condiment, pickle, or tomato. MAYBE. Once you start adding a bunch of other stuff you have a melt or pressed sandwich. Anyways, this sandwich came out awesome, but I can't say that about the article. For some reason they deleted the entire thing that I wrote and replaced it with some generic bullshit tips like "don't burn it"
It's been a pretty mild fall this year it seems for everybody. (remember kiddies, winter doesn't start for a few more days!) Despite this, there have definitely been some rainy chilly days where a bowl of soup really is a cure-all after work. I've never made a bean thickened soup, so I decided to give it a go last week. This black bean soup was the perfect mix of smokey bacon, creamy beans, and a trio of onions (caramelized, boiled, and raw) to warm me to the core.
I'm not often one to rave about a cookie. I mean, yea who doesn't love a great cookie once in awhile, but they just don't really spark my interest like they do to some people. That being said, ZOMG THESE COOKIES WERE CRAMAZING!!! I was having a long day and only planned on making 2 or 3 of them, taking some pictures, and calling it a night. I ended up making the whole batch because they were so damn good. (And much easier than I had expected.) They pretty much vaporized from our fridge in less than 2 days. Fresh mint, dark chocolate, creamy filling, crunchy shell. What more could you ask for? Make sure to check out my recipe for Mint Chocolate Pizzelle Cone Cookies on Tablespoon. And make them!!!
In almost 4 years of blogging, this is my first guest post ever on someone else's blog! Other people have asked me in the past, but I haven't done one until now. Bianca is a friend of mine not only on the Internet but IRL, so I was more than happy to help out while she is on vacation. Check out my recipe for Short Rib Chocolate Risotto on Confessions of a Chocoholic.
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia has been killing it this season. One of the first episodes of the season involved Frank walking around with a rum soaked ham so that he could eat and get drunk at the same time. I wanted to re-create this dish for an annual holiday party with some friends. It came out great, I brought it to the party, and we all got HAMmered. The party was a great time and everyone brought some awesome dishes!
Since I'm not much of a cookie guy, and cooking a perfect roast is important to know but boring and done to death on blogs, the time leading up to the holidays for me is spent making creative apps that you guys can bring to your Christmas and new years parties. This one is almost like a crostini or toastada but it uses a fried plantain as the vessel for the delicious stewed chicken and hot sauce. Oh and the secret ingredient in the hot sauce? Parsnip.
Do you love fish and chips but hate the extra effort of having to eat the fish separately from the chips??? (cue black and white video of people having trouble eating fish and chips) Well you are in luck! I had the idea for these tots after eating a classic Italian Bacalao (salt cod) preparation. The salt cod was soaked to remove some of the saltiness and then mixed with potato and deep fried. I thought why not skip out on the whole salting then un-salting process and just try it with fresh cod? They came out really great. Dipped in a makeshift tartar sauce these tots are pub food perfection.
We are all looking for apps to bring to that classy holiday party this season right? My first one is already coming up this Saturday! This guy is the perfect choice. Its a finger food, it's flavors everyone likes, its bite size, and most importantly, it's pretty. Check out my Mini Tomato Pie recipe on Tablespoon.
Lasagna is sort of a sacred thing to me. Ground beef, sauce, noodles, ricotta, mozzarella, parm. Don't mess with perfection! However, The season finale of Workaholics last week had me not only cracking up as always, but also craving the mysterious dish jerk chicken lasagna. So I decided I might as well get weird. In the show, Adam, Ders, and Blake were heading down to Jamaica for Thanksgiving break, and Blake couldn't stop talking about an Italian-Jamaican fusion restaurant called Pastafari that he made reservations at. The final scene of the episode shows the guys eating at the restaurant looking miserable because no one is in Jamaica. (probably with their families for thanksgiving) The waiter asks if Blake is enjoying the jerk chicken lasagna, and he replies "It's gross." Blake, if you are reading this, I can assure you, this version is not gross.
Duh. Right? I mean for a guy with over 15 mac and cheese recipes on his blog, and love of cheesesteaks, you would think that I would have done this already. No. It took me moving in with some guys from southern New Jersey to dream this one up. As you can imagine, people from around there have pretty specific ideas in mind of what is and isn't a cheesesteak so I had to stay true to the real thing.
© 2009 The Food In My Beard
