Cranberry Ginger Whiskey Smash (and Homemade Ginger Liqueur) {GIVEAWAY}

I wrote the below text shortly before word began to spread about the attacks in Paris. I was about to put my computer away when notifications started popping up on my phone. My first thought: "Please, not again." The next hour was spent compulsively scrolling through feeds, but at a certain point I decided to disconnect. I deleted Facebook and Twitter and kept the news off the TV. Periodically, I'd look at the New York Times for updates, all of them devastating.

That evening, I just wanted to be with Eric. We hadn't seen each other in a few days since I was down in New Jersey visiting my family earlier in the week, and so we curled up on the couch, had dinner and put on some mindless shows. While he did the dishes, I went over to Maki's bed and lay beside her and she gave me a few licks with her tongue. She knew what I needed.

I'm not the DIY type. As a blogger, I feel like I'm in the minority. I've seen the posts featuring cool labels and homemade this and that, stared at them admiringly, Pinned them and thought, "That's so beautiful! I should make those for our next party." But then, when I'm cooking for 20+ people, I quickly forget about all of that and focus on just getting the meal on the table.

If there's anyone who could get me into DIY, it would be Maggie. I've known her for years, not just through her site, Eat Boutique, but on a personal level... she lives a few towns over from us and we try to get together about once a month. Maggie is an inspiration, not just because she's created a wonderful, hugely successful brand, but because she's a lovely person with a beautiful heart. When she first told me about her book, Food Gift Love, I was absolutely ecstatic. I know it was a tremendous amount of work... but the result is pure magic. It's a fabulous resource for recipes to make for family and friends (or, you know, to just treat yo self).

Eric and I have been playing around with homemade liqueurs. We picked up a handle of grain alcohol when we were in New Jersey a few years ago with the mission of making limoncello (at the time, grain alcohol wasn't sold in Massachusetts). The bottle sat in our cabinet for years, untouched. This past summer, I decided to try my hand at some homemade ginger liqueur. If we could, we'd put ginger in every cocktail, so it made sense to make our own. We pulled out our handy dandy sous vide and used that to speed up the process (this allows you to heat the liquid to a temperature where you won't burn off the alcohol).

So, here we are... a recipe for homemade ginger liqueur, a twist on the whiskey smash (perfect for all your holiday parties), AND a giveaway of Food Gift Love.  Could it get any better? I don't think so!

Ok, so here's the deal with the giveaway:

To enter: Leave a comment on this post. It can be anything, but I’d love to hear what you're all doing to celebrate the holidays.

Rules: This giveaway will end on Friday, November 27, 2015 at 12:00 PM EST.  I’ll pick one (1) winner via random.org and that person will be contacted via e-mail.  One (1) entry per person and entrants must have a US mailing address (sorry international friends) and provide a valid email address. Best of luck!

Cranberry-Ginger Whiskey Smash

Yield 1 drink

Ingredients
8-10 fresh cranberries
¾ oz homemade ginger liqueur (see recipe below)
2 oz whiskey (I used bourbon)
1 oz lemon juice

Crushed ice Lemon peel, for garnish

Directions
1. In a cocktail shaker, muddle the cranberries and ginger liqueur. Add the whiskey and lemon juice, cover shaker and give it a couple dry shakes (no ice).

2. Pour drink and muddled cranberries into a rocks glass filled with crushed ice.

For serving: garnish with a lemon peel or with candied ginger and sugared cranberries.

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Homemade Ginger Liqueur

Yield 2 cups

Ingredients
1 cup sugar
1 ½ cups water
3 tablespoons ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
1 teaspoon orange zest
1 cup vodka or Everclear (grain alcohol)

Directions
1. Add the sugar and water to a pot and set over medium heat. Whisk until the sugar has dissolved into the water. Add ginger and orange zest and bring mixture to a boil. Once it reaches a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes. After this, let the syrup cool to room temperature.

2. Transfer the liquid and all ginger pieces and orange zest to a large sealable jar with vodka or Everclear. Close tightly with a lid and give the mixture a good shake.

3. After 3 days, strain mixture through a fine mesh sieve to get all ginger and orange peel out.

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Sweet Potato, Black Bean, and Quinoa Burger

As a teenager and newbie pescatarian, veggie burgers never did much for me. I consumed them when I first stopped eating red meat and poultry 16 years ago, but only so that I'd feel included while everyone else chomped into hotdogs, hamburgers and grilled chicken. Over the years, I've learned that veggie burgers can be so much more than what I was served back then.

The joy of making them at home is that you can tailor them to your preferences, giving the patties some spice and all the textures you desire. When Negra Modelo reached out about partnering with them on their "Perfect Complement" campaign, there was no doubt that I was going to do a sweet potato burger. Working off the caramel and brown sugar notes in the beer, I roasted the sweet potato to bring out similar flavors.  A beer like Negra Modelo goes well with spicy food, so chopped jalapeño and a bit of smoked paprika felt like a natural fit. But, really, it wouldn't be a burger without some messy toppings. While you could easily throw blue cheese on there (and I fully support that), I went with a creamy, zingy avocado spread to brighten things up and purple cabbage slaw for crunch.

Disclaimer: Thank you to Negra Modelo for sponsoring this post. It's a pleasure working with brands who support my style of cooking.  All opinions expressed on my site are my own.

Sweet Potato, Black Bean, and Quinoa Burger

Servings Serves 4 (2 patties per person)

Ingredients

For the veggie burgers

3 or 4 sweet potatoes (3/4 lb.), cut in half lengthwise
3/4 cup chopped white onion
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 jalapeño pepper, seeds removed and diced
1 15.5 ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained
¼ cup all-purpose flour (or gluten-free flour)
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 cup cooked quinoa
Olive oil Salt

For the avocado spread

1 avocado, pit removed
1/8 cup cilantro leaves
1 garlic clove, chopped
½ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons white wine vinegar

For the slaw

1 cup thinly sliced red cabbage
2 tablespooons rice wine vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons sugar

4 hamburger buns

Directions

For the veggie burgers

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Place sweet potato halves on the baking sheet and drizzle with 1 ½ tablespoons olive oil and sprinkle with kosher salt. Cook sweet potato for 30 minutes, flipping them once halfway through.

2. Meanwhile, heat 2 teaspoons of olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and season with ½ teaspoon salt. Cook for 2 minutes and then reduce heat to low and cook for an additional 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and set aside.

3. Once the sweet potato is cooked enough that a sharp knife easily cuts into it, remove from the oven. Let cool and then peel the skin away from the sweet potato. Transfer the flesh to a mixing bowl and mash with a fork.

4. Stir in cooked onion and garlic and chopped jalapeno.

5. Gently mix in black beans, followed by the flour, garlic powder and smoked paprika. Once they are completely incorporated into the mixture, mix in the quinoa.

6. Line a plate with parchment paper. Scoop ¼ cup of mixture into your hands and mold into patties. Place on lined plate. Repeat with remaining mixture. Refrigerate patties for 30 minutes.

7. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add burgers and cook for 3-4 minutes on each side, or until brown. Transfer cooked patties to a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil and cook in the 375 degree oven for 15-20 minutes (or longer to dry them out and firm them up), flipping them half way through.

For the avocado spread

1. Using a blender (or an immersion blender), puree the avocado, cilantro, garlic, ½ teaspoon salt and white wine vinegar until smooth.

For the slaw

1. In a bowl, toss the sliced red cabbage with rice wine vinegar, salt and sugar. Let sit for 10 minutes.

How to Build the Burger
Place two veggie burgers on top of the bottom half of the hamburger bun. Top with slaw. Spread avocado mixture on the top half of the bun and place on top of the slaw. Serve with an icy cold Negra Modelo.

Curried Shrimp and Noodles

We leave for Hawaii in just over a month. I haven't mentioned it here because I've been trying not to think about it too much. You see, I've come to learn that anticipating, even something as wonderful as a vacation, doesn't do me any good. I get all excited and plan every moment. I start to dream about how great the whole thing will be. Before I know it, the trip has come and gone and I didn't really enjoy it because of these totally crazy expectations. So, I haven't planned a thing yet. We have our flights, our hotels, a car... but that's it. I plan to do a little work on things over the next couple of weeks, but unlike other trips, I'm just going to go with the flow. I'm even ok if there are days where we just sit on the beach, drinking cocktails and reading books. No need to schedule every second of our stay.

Of course, I do have a few things on the list. While we don't have a lot of hikes or other excursions planned, we do plan to go snorkeling. We'll also be spending a day driving the Road to Hanna, which we've heard is stunning and there are lots of stops to make (and pictures to take) along the way. I also want to go to a luau. But, really, besides that, we're going to just enjoy the warmth and try to decompress a little. I'm leaving my camera behind and will just take pictures with my phone. Maybe... maybe... I'll even leave my computer behind. We'll see.

It's fitting that we're ending the year with a big trip, since we began it spending a week in New Orleans. It was my first time and I totally fell in love with the city... the food, the people, the ability to walk around with a cocktail (oh, and Happy Hour!  Come on, Massachusetts, get with it!). We dined at a number of spots (though missed a ton of big ones too). Our favorite was Peche, which took the seafood restaurant concept to a new level. Every dish was inventive, but familiar. We both went nuts for their curried shrimp and agreed it was one of the best dishes we ate during our multi-course lunch there (they don't do a pre-fixe... we just kept ordering things). Shortly after we returned home, I was going through an issue of Bon Appetit and to our surprise, there was the recipe for the curried shrimp! I really can't believe it took me as long as it did to make it... but here it is. A perfect dinner for a cool fall night.

Curried Shrimp and Noodles

Source
Mildly adapted from the recipe by Peche Restaurant in New Orleans via Bon Appetit

Notes
The original recipe called for all-purpose flour, but to make it 100% gluten-free, I replaced that with rice flour. In addition to this, I used seafood broth to make it totally pescatarian-friendly. Lastly, I recommend removing all the seeds from the jalapeño, as the gochugaru provides enough of a kick.

Servings 4

Ingredients

1 large onion, cut into large pieces
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 small jalapeño, seeds removed
3 garlic cloves
1½ pounds small shrimp, peeled, deveined
1 tablespoon curry powder
1 tablespoon gochugaru (Korean red pepper powder)
2 teaspoons finely grated peeled ginger
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 tablespoon rice flour
4 cups low-sodium seafood broth
12 ounces wide rice noodles
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon finely grated lime zest
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
Chili oil, fresh basil leaves, and sliced scallions (for serving)

Directions

1. Finely chop onion in a food processor. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium and cook onion, stirring often, until soft and starting to brown, 6–8 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, finely chop jalapeño and garlic in processor; transfer to a small bowl.

3. Pulse shrimp in processor until coarsely ground; set aside.

4. Add jalapeño and garlic to skillet along with curry powder, gochugaru, and ginger; cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add tomato paste and cook, stirring, until paste darkens slightly, about 3 minutes. Add reserved shrimp and cook, stirring often, until cooked through, about 5 minutes.

5. Sprinkle flour over mixture and cook, stirring, until flour is no longer visible. Add broth; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer briskly, stirring occasionally, until reduced by half, 25–30 minutes.

6. Meanwhile, cook noodles according to package directions; drain. Add to sauce, tossing to coat. Remove from heat; stir in citrus zest and juice. Drizzle with chili oil and top with basil and scallions.