Beer Cocktails from Miller and Corona

Recently, my friends at Miller told me about a new trend in beer: beer cocktails. Since I've already used beer in cooking, I was more than willing to give beer in cocktails a try, and I'm so glad I did!

The beer arrived just in time for the Victoria Day long weekend and we tried out the cocktails at a small family barbecue. My mother-in-law had also recently heard of beer being used in cocktails and was excited to give them a try herself.

We tried the margarita first, after finishing a big load of yard work. I changed the recipe slightly from the original (for lack of ingredients), and the substitutions worked really well. It had a nice kick with the habanero sauce. Meredith was super-impressed, as I've never really mixed my own drinks before. She joked that when I was in university, I used my blender for cooking, while she used hers for mixing drinks.

We'll definitely be making these again for friends. Both drinks were hits and I'll be sure to pass the recipes on to friends.

Note about the simple syrup used in both recipes: you can make your own simple syrup by bringing one part water and two parts sugar to a boil. Remember to let it cool before adding it to your drink.

Coastal Surf Margarita

1 cup ice
1 oz tequila
1 oz lime juice
1 oz orange juice
1 oz simple syrup
splash habanero sauce
3 oz Corona Extra

1. Combine ice, tequila, lime juice, orange juice, syrup and habanero sauce in a blender until mixture is slushy.
2. Transfer to a glass and stir in beer.

The mojito was second - I mixed them up before I started up the barbecue. I ended up using a little more syrup than the original recipe, but that's just my preference. It also turned out much better than anticipated, and I'm quite happy about it.
1
Thanks so much, Miller and Corona

The mojito was the drink my mother-in-law was excited about trying and it met her approval as well (without the extra syrup).

Mojito Chill

1 lime, cut into eight wedges
24 mint leaves
2 oz simple syrup
ice
1 bottle Miller Chill

1. Divide lime, mint and syrup between two highball glasses.
2. Muddle and fill glass with ice.
3. Top with Miller Chill.

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Mama’s Bollos con Chocolate (Chocolate-filled Orange Blossom Buns)

There is a very long story attached to these buns, but I won't go through the entire heart-string-pulling bit. My grandmother used to make these buns, and they are my favourite dessert.

I hadn't really had them since my grandmother passed away over ten years ago. I have one cousin who has the recipe, but she refused to share it for reasons I won't discuss here.

Well, after getting my hands on a similar recipe from one of my dad's cousins (which I was asked to not share), Meredith made the buns. They didn't turn out as expected, but the flavour was right. That didn't stop us from sharing a sample with my aunt as it was still the closest to my grandmother's buns that I had ever tasted. I just couldn't share the recipe here.

Fast-forward a few more days and we're getting ready for Rosh Hashanah. My aunt decided to go through some papers from my grandmother and found an original copy of her bun recipe - in Spanish. She translated it and gave us a copy when we got together, and asked Meredith to make a batch for the following Saturday - for breaking the fast after Yom Kippour. My aunt also made it clear that my grandmother was all about sharing the joy that food brings, and I was welcome to share this recipe with my readers.

The second attempt, using my grandmother's notes, was a smashing success. I only hope Meredith wasn't discouraged by the amount of work involved, because I'm so incredibly happy with the result.

While making the buns, we consulted with Penny from Sweet Sadie's baking to fill in a few gaps and answer some questions, and we learned a few lessons. I've also included some additional notes:

1. For our particular stand mixer, we should cut the recipe in half. There's just too much dough and we made an incredible mess.
2. Don't experiment with a milk wash instead of an egg wash. It just doesn't turn out the same.
3. You need to buy a lot of chocolate. A lot. I'm not kidding. Around a pound, depending on the size of the pieces (maybe more). It's best if the pieces you use are maybe 1-2 inches x 1/2 inch or it gets too wide rather than long. We had pieces that were more square in shape.
4. You can make these without chocolate and roll the dough into balls as well.

Mama’s Bollos con Chocolate

2 packs yeast
½ cup lukewarm water
8 eggs
1 cup oil
1 ½ cups sugar
1 cup milk
1 cup orange juice
2 tsp orange blossom water
rind from 1 orange
11 cups flour
several chocolate bars or 1 bag chocolate chips (at least)
2-3 eggs for egg wash
2 tbsp confectioners sugar (optional)

1. In a small bowl, combine the yeast and lukewarm water and let sit for 10-20 minutes.
2. In a mixing bowl, combine eggs, oil, sugar, milk, orange juice, orange blossom water and rind. Whisk together.
3. Slowly add 4 cups flour to liquid mixture and mix using a large standing mixer with a dough hook.
4. Add the yeast mixture and mix again.
5. Slowly add the remaining flour until well mixed. Add extra flour if necessary.
6. Roll dough into a large ball, place in a large bowl and cover with plastic.
7. Let dough rise for three hours at room temperature or overnight in the fridge.
8. To make the rolls, press a small handful of dough into a 3 x 3 square. place some chocolate at one end and roll it up. Place rolls on a non-stick baking sheet.
9. Cover rolls with plastic and let stand for a few minutes.
10. Preheat oven to 335-degrees.
11. Beat eggs for wash and brush onto buns with pastry brush.
12. Bake for 20-30 minutes or until buns are slightly golden-brown on top.
13. Sprinkle buns with confectioners sugar when done.

Buns can be frozen for later use.

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Rhubarb Curry Chicken

This curry gets its flavor from the brown sugar caramelized
on the chicken and the super-tasty rhubarb sauce. 

When rhubarb was ready to harvest, a generous colleague handed me a bag with at least a couple pounds of the red stuff. My first thought was "I can only eat so much pie!" Then I realized that there might be an alternative.

After tweeting about my newly found produce, and lamenting that I could only find dessert recipes, the Food Floozie came through. She had just finished making a chicken curry in a rhubarb sauce, and if I could sit tight, the recipe would be posted by the next morning. What luck!
The Floozie's curry was an interesting one. The sauce was made separately the chicken and it used wine. The chicken was pan fried, and the whole concoction goes into the oven to finish off. It looked great.

After a short conversation about the dish, I discovered that I could use orange juice (which I had) instead of wine (which I didn't have) and I made a few other changes to make it my own.

When I took it out of the oven, it was awesome. The brown sugar had caramelized and the sauce was sweet and spicy. Meredith said that it reminded her of the curries her mom made when she was a kid.

Rhubarb Curry Chicken

• 2 tbsp + 3 tbsp oil
• 1/4 tsp + 1/4 tsp kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 2 tsp coriander
• 2 tsp cumin
• 2 tsp ginger, minced
• 1 tsp curry powder
• 2 tsp mango powder
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1-1/4 cups orange juice
• 1/2 pound rhubarb, ends trimmed, cut into 1/2" pieces
• 1 kilo chicken thighs, boneless, skinless
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1/3 cup brown sugar

1. Preheat oven to 425-degrees.
2. In a medium saucepan, heat 2 tbsp oil over medium heat and saute onions for 2 minutes, 
3. Add 1/2 tsp salt, cayenne pepper, coriander, cumin, ginger, curry powder and mango powder and saute for an additional minute.
4. Add orange juice and rhubarb, bring to a boil and cover and let simmer for 10 minutes over medium heat. Stir, re-cover and let cook for an additional 10 minutes. The rhubarb should be reduced to a sauce.
5. In a large skillet, heat remaining oil on medium-high. Place chicken in pan and season with remaining salt and black pepper. Brown chicken for 3-4 minutes on each side.
6. Place chicken into a greased 9x13 baking dish and cover with rhubarb mixture; sprinkle with brown sugar.
7. Place baking dish into  oven and bake for 30-40 minutes.

Serve with rice.

Inspired by Food Floozie's Curried Rhubarb Chicken.

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Hamentashen

It seems like Jacob's school dismisses early just about any time there's a holiday even remotely nearby, so when Purim rolled around, Meredith decided that the afternoon was a perfect opportunity to make Hamentashen with Jacob.

She found the cookie recipe from Second Helpings, Please!, the only Jewish cookbook with Jell-o recipes (although none of them involve suspended vegetables), and made up the filling recipe from scratch.

With Jacob's help rolling and cutting the dough before filling, they were about 90-minutes in before my mom arrived to relieve Meredith and continue on with Jacob finishing off the second two trays of cookies. It's the first time he participated in the full process and didn't lose interest. Meredith was very proud of him - and very exhausted.

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Hamentashen

by Meredith Burbidge May-25-2011

These chocolate-filled Hamentashen are the perfect Purim treat that can be enjoyed any time of the year.

Ingredients

• 3 eggs
• 1 cup oil
• 3 cups sugar
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 4 cups flour
• for brushing milk

For chocolate filling

• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 tbsp milk
• 1/2 tsp vanilla

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350-degrees.2. Combine eggs, oil, sugar, baking powder, water, orange juice, salt and flour and mix until dough is soft and not sticky. Add additional flour if necessary.3. Let stand for 15 minutes and divide into 4 equal parts.4. On a floured board, roll to 1/4" thickness and cut into 4" circles.5. Place a spoonful of filling in the centre of each circle and form triangles by folding up the sides and pinching the corners.6. Brush with milk.7. Place on a lightly greased baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes.
For filling:

1. Melt the chocolate chips in the microwave on medium-low power watching carefully to not burn the chocolate (microwave times vary).2. Mix in sugar, egg, butter, milk and vanilla until thoroughly combined.Note: the butter should melt from the heated chocoate. If it doesn't, put it back in the microwave for 10-20 seconds.

Details

Prep time: 45 mins Cook time: 30 mins Total time: 1 hour 10 mins Yield: 50-60 cookies

Dough recipe based on Second Helpings, Please!

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