Tag Archives: bourbon

Bourbon-Glazed Chicken

I’ve been a little bit of TV maniac lately.  Aside from the Superbowl and the Olympics, I’ve been binging on shows like House of Cards on Netflix and True Detective on HBO but then getting sucked right in to stuff like The Voice.  I can’t even tell you what I watch otherwise but I think it’s a bunch of syndication TV like Friends, White Collar, Will and Grace, and Gilligan’s Island.  You know, stuff that is on all the time.  I have a low tolerance for TV unless it’s either good or mindless.  If it’s anywhere in between, I lose interest rapidly.  I have work and I have my blog and I have other interests yet I still need my TV, even if it doesn’t get my undivided attention. I even have one eye on my TV when I make dinner at night.  Things quick and simple are all I can handle.  I cook things that take longer on the weekends when I have more patience so this Bourbon-Glazed Chicken is a quick chicken dinner that can get me to relaxing pretty quickly on weeknights.

Chicken cutlets are basted in a sauce of shallots, Dijon, maple syrup, and bourbon before being thrown on the grill until perfectly cooked and juicy.  This chicken is simple – a little sweet, a little tangy – and perfect for when you just want to eat, relax, and watch a little TV. Serve this with some steamed or microwaved veggies and this is a perfect meal.  We all have busy lives and sometimes just sitting down on the couch if front of the old boob tube just feels really good. There is always something else you could be doing.  But not doing it is sometimes just what you need. Laundry and everything else can l wait another day.

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Preheat grill to medium-high heat. Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add shallots and garlic; cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Stir in bourbon, Dijon mustard, and maple syrup; bring to a boil. Cook 1 minute, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat.

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Sprinkle chicken breast halves evenly with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.

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Arrange chicken on a grill rack coated with cooking spray; baste with half of bourbon mixture. Grill 5 minutes. Turn chicken over; baste with remaining bourbon mixture.

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Grill 5 minutes or until chicken is done.

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Additions:  None

Omissions:  None

Substitutions:  None

Overall Rating:  Love It

Source:  Cooking Light magazine

Double Chocolate-Chip Cookies with Bourbon Ganache

This is a cookie that will whip all your other cookies’ asses.  There are cookies…and there are COOKIES.  This, my friends, is a bad-ass COOKIE.  As in it’s almost a meal and if you can eat more than one, then you are my hero.  I took these Double Chocolate-Chip Cookies with Bourbon Ganache to work and got a lot of rave reviews.  One co-worker even commented that he wanted to make a grown-up cookie for a party and could I send him the recipe?  That is a successful cookie in my book.

Semi-sweet chocolate and heavy cream are mixed together and chilled before being knocked out by a hit of some good old bourbon and chilled again until thickened.  The creamy mixture is then spread between two basic chocolate-chip cookies (i.e. if you really wanted to use store-bought cookie dough here, you could) where you now have the chocolateyest (not a word) and most decadent sandwich cookie.  Because of it’s richness, I would consider either using milk chocolate in the ganache (since semi-sweet chips are in the cookie dough) or making the cookies smaller.  I used a small ice cream scoop for my cookies and think they could have been half the size.  These cookies aren’t joking around, I’m just going to tell you.  They have an attitude and aren’t afraid to show you.  I nearly didn’t finish one and I swear I heard it laughing at me.  I dare you to take them on.

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The ingredients:

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Preheat oven to 350°F. Beat butter and sugars at medium speed with a heavy-duty electric stand mixer until creamy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating just until blended after each addition. Add vanilla, beating until blended.

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Combine flour and next 2 ingredients in a small bowl; gradually add to butter mixture, beating at low speed just until blended. Stir in morsels just until combined. Drop dough by level spoonfuls onto parchment paper-lined baking sheets, using a small cookie scoop (about 1 1/8 inches).

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Bake at 350°F for 12 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from baking sheets to wire racks, and cool completely (about 30 minutes).  To make ganache, microwave semisweet chocolate morsels and whipping cream in a 2-qt. microwave-safe bowl at MEDIUM (50% power) 2 1/2 minutes or until chocolate begins to melt, stirring at 30-second intervals.

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Whisk in bourbon, softened butter, and vanilla. Cover and chill, stirring occasionally, 1 hour and 30 minutes or until thickened to a spreadable consistency.

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Spread Bourbon Ganache on flat side of half of cookies (about 1 Tbsp. per cookie); top with remaining cookies.

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Cover and chill cookies 2 hours or until ganache is firm.

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Additions:  None

Omissions:  None

Substitutions:  None

Overall Rating:  Love It

Source:  Southern Living magazine

Maple-Bourbon Sour

I gotta tell you, after spending this week enduring Hurricane Sandy-turned Nor’Easter-turned nightmare and the ensuing loss of power for days, I was just ready to go home, sleep in my own bed and make some food.  But I was tired.  And by tired, I mean tuckered-out tired.  My good friend Jodi put up with my sorry self since Sunday while I waited for the power to be restored in my freezing cold house.  Finally, the power came back last night and it really is such a relief to flip on a lightswitch and get light.  Plus, there really is nothing better than sleeping in your own cozy bed.  Because I anticipated losing power this week, I figured it was a great opportunity to bring you something that doesn’t require the use of electricity and helps that lonely time go by faster: Maple-Bourbon Sour.

Bourbon is mixed with nothing but maple syrup and lemon juice.  Sounds kind of crazy but the sweetness of the syrup and sourness of the lemon balance each other out while the smoky maple complements bourbon perfectly.  When I got home last night, I really didn’t have the patience to make one of these but instead poured myself a red wine and tucked myself into bed while I watched tv.  In the dark.  Yes, after complaining about losing power, I barely turned a light on when I got it back.  All I really wanted was my tv.  I’m a loser.  After seeing what happened to the New Jersey coast this week, I’m grateful that my biggest problem was a loss of power. I have to say that this week has been an emotional and heartbreaking time for those of us in New Jersey.  I didn’t grow up here but I’ve been here long enough to know just how special and important the Jersey shore is to the people who live here (and yes, it’s really called the “shore” here, not the “beach”).  It’s not just a stupid tv show (which I refuse to watch), it’s a way of life and a piece of the people here.  It’s their heart and soul.  And it will recover.

The ingredients:

Combine bourbon, maple syrup, and fresh lemon juice, stirring well.

Pour mixture into a cocktail shaker filled with 1/2 cup ice.  Cover and shake.

Strain mixture; divide evenly between two glasses.  Serve over ice, if desired.

Additions:  None

Omissions:  None

Substitutions:  None

Overall Rating:  Love It

Source:  Cooking Light Magazine

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