The first chapter of the book deals with how to infuse spirits, as well as to make various syrups, bartender mixes, etc – grenadine, sour mix, lime cordial syrup. When shooting the divider shot for that chapter, we infused FIVE LITERS of vodka with various flavors. We made coffee vodka.. strawberry, jalapeno, earl grey with lemon, and more. Not only did it make for a great photo, it left us anticipating the tasty finished products that would come.
This weekend, we made liqueurs from all of our infused vodka, and had some friends over to sample. I’d love to share the recipe for one of the biggest hits – Homemade Kiwi Liqueur. This is a very smooth, drinkable liqueur with great flavor. In addition to the 100+ dessert recipes, kiwi is just one of the many liqueurs you can learn to make from buying The Spirited Baker, due out on August 31. Preorders still available, hint hint!
Back when we were shooting for The Spirited Baker, most of the shots were “bake and eat”. One shot, however, gave us something to look forward to in the future!
 
Photo courtesy M. Porter Photography
Archive for July, 2010
Homemade Kiwi Liqueur Recipe
Wednesday, July 28th, 2010Low Country Boil, aka Frogmore Stew
Saturday, July 17th, 2010Everyone’s heard variations on the saying “The cobbler’s kids go barefoot”, and it’s not all that different around here at times. Sure, we have great meals on a regular basis.. but when things get super busy, we tend to lose all creativity and drive, and slap together one of our go-to meals. Easy, little effort, and very satisfying. In winter, that usually ends up being chili.. but in summer, we love our low country boil.. not a common thing here in Minnesota, but it is SO freaking good! It’s also pretty much the ideal meal for getting together – and would be great for a rehearsal dinner or small, casual wedding dinner.
Pink Grapefruit Daiquiri Cupcakes
Thursday, July 15th, 2010In honor of the upcoming release of our first cookbook, “The Spirited Baker”, here is one of the recipes from the book! Between the flavor and the color, I think these would be particularly fun for summer bridal showers, bachelorette parties, or just “Girls Night Out”
Grandma’s Potato Salad
Wednesday, July 14th, 2010This recipe was originally posted last summer.. but with recent weather, BBQs, and a wicked craving for it.. figured it’s about time to drag it back to the spotlight!
Lately, I’ve been on a mission to translate my family favorite “recipes” (no, that’s not a misuse of quotation marks!) into actual recipes.
It’s a bigger endevor than it sounds to be – my family writes down recipes like we cook. By that, I mean that “a handful of” or “some” are used as actual units of measurements, or any indication of actual quantity is left out completely. We add an ingredient till things look or taste right, which is fine when you’re comfortable with what you’re doing.. but not so hot for conveying a recipe to my blog readers!
Take, for instance, my grandmother’s potato salad recipe. She makes the most amazing potato salad I’ve ever had, but this is her recipe, in its entirety:
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boil red potatoes, cut in 4
Don’t overcook them
Cool them
Put in fridge, cover with italian dressing, let sit overnight
Take them out, add chopped green onion, celery, radishes, eggs (hardboiled and sliced)
Use Hellman’s full fat mayo, don’t use too much
—–
See what I’m dealing with? LOL.
The recipe is far too great to NOT share with the world, so here it is:
A Love Letter to the Goddesses of Cheesecake!
Friday, July 30th, 2010There are two main truths you should know – or possibly already do – going in to this blog entry.
1. If you’ve ever seen me, you could probably tell that I’m someone who takes cheesecake seriously. This isn’t “Fat”, it’s CREDENTIALS!
2. Much like wedding cake.. there is an awful lot of crappy cheesecake out there. Also – again, much like wedding cake – it surprises me what some people consider “good” cheesecake. You need to try truly amazing cheesecake, to be able to have an accurate reference point. Again, see truth #1.
I bring this up because today is July 30th! You know what that means? It means NATIONAL CHEESECAKE DAY.
Growing up, my exposure to good cheesecake was hit and miss. It was rare to come across a great slice of cheesecake, and – even if I did – there’s no guarantee that a.) I’d ever be at the establishment again (travelled a lot!), or b.) the consistency was there, that my next stop at that establishment would yield an equally awesome slice. Sigh.
My lifetime quest for the most epic cheesecake came to an end when I met Amy and Tami from Muddy Paws Cheesecake.
So… where to start? Amy and Tami are complete sweethearts. Really, that’s probably an understatement. Love em! They’re two of my absolute favorite people in the local industry, no question. Any bride that hires them for wedding desserts is in VERY good hands.
Photos courtesy Studio Laguna Photography
While my fangirling up about those two goddesses is completely exclusive of the fact that they rock the cheesecake like nobody’s business… this blog is about the cheesecake. So, let’s go there.
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