Spicy Barbeque Bourbon Whiskey Sliders:

“I believe that the great American hamburger is a thing of beauty, its simple charms noble, pristine. The basic recipe—ground beef, salt, pepper, formed into a patty, grilled or seared on a griddle, then nestled between two halves of a bun, usually but not necessarily accompanied by lettuce, a tomato slice, and some ketchup—is in my mind, unimprovable, by man or God. A good burger can be made more complicated, even more interesting by addition of other ingredients—like good cheese, or bacon. . .  relish perhaps, but it will never be made better.

I like a blue cheese burger as much as the next guy—when I’m in the mood for blue cheese. But if it’s a burger I want, I stick to the classics: meat—and bun.”

– Anthony Bourdain, From Medium Raw

My wife and I hadn't made any whiskey laced meals for a while now and having lately become addicted to Portland's Little Big Burger, our new favorite small burger chain which serves amazing little "little big burgers" along with a wonderful selection of canned beers, we've been wanting to try some slider-style burgers at home. Though they may not be the classic burger, as in just meat and bun, these spicy little guys in no way overcomplicate things. Perfect for satisfying our current addiction. So easy to prepare, and great for entertaining, if you love everything that is the burger, you should really check out this amazing comfort meal!

1 pound makes about six patties, but double or triple it depending on the size of your party - make sure to season these puppies well.

Butter makes everything taste better, don't skimp on it!

Add more or less jalapenos depending on your taste-buds. 1/4 of a cup really doesn't add too much heat.

Set aside patties while you prepare the sauce and buns.

You can use bourbon, scotch, rye, etc. Don't use anything too expensive, its not needed. I used Old Grand-dad because this 100 proof bourbon will really stand out in the sauce.

Ingredients:

1 pounds Ground Meat (beef)

Salt And Pepper

2 ½ Tablespoons Butter

1 Medium Onion, Diced

1/2 cup Bourbon Whiskey (Nothing too pricey)

2/3 cup Barbecue Sauce (We used Laurelwood Brewery)

At least 1/4 cup Jarred Jalapeno Slices

3 Hoagie rolls, halved (leaving 6 small buns)

Preparation Instructions:

Turn oven to 350. Form the meat into 6 small slider-size patties and season both sides. Melt the butter in a skillet over medium-high heat and cook the patties about 3-4 minutes each side – note that they will be cooked longer in the sauce, so you don’t need to cook them fully through. Remove them from heat and place aside. Drain off all but 2 tablespoons of grease, and then return the skillet to the stove. Place buttered buns on a cooking sheet, place in oven for about 10 minutes, placing cheese on top of half the buns about halfway through.

Now start onions in the skillet and cook for about 3 minutes. Pour in whiskey and stir together. After the whiskey reduces a bit, for about 1½ to 2½ minutes, mix in the barbecue sauce and jalapenos.

Reduce heat to low and place the patties back in the sauce, making sure to coat each patty in the goodness. Allow patties to simmer until everything's hot and bubbly.
Place the patties on individual buns and be sure to spoon extra sauce over the top of each one before topping with the other half of the bun. 

Enjoy with beer.

Recipe from the amazing Pioneer Woman.

Imbibe Mondays: Spiced Rummed Cherries

"He who likes cherries soon learns to climb." - German Proverb

The more cocktails my wife and I make at home the more maraschino cherries we have been going through. So naturally the progression to homemade maraschino, brandied, and rummed cherries was inevitable. Rummed cherries won out as the first experiment mostly because there was still a bit of Kraken Spiced Rum left on the bar. The Kraken, which I am sure I will review at some point based on its sheer novelty factor, really complements these cherries because of the spices present within. Not to mention, despite the branded image it exudes (quite brilliantly, if I may add) and the fact that it is more often than not mixed with cola rather than drank neat; it is quite a flavorsome and well made product, but more on that some other time.

Rummed Cherries:

½ cup soft demerara sugar
½ cup water
1-2/3 oz fresh lemon juice
1 cinnamon stick
Pinch freshly grated nutmeg
Half scored vanilla pod
1 pound sweet pitted cherries
1 cup aged rum (I used the Kraken)
6-6, 8 oz short canning jars

Rummed Cherries Directions:
Step 1: Wash and pit cherries. I had never pitted cherries in my life and I didn’t have a cherry pitter, so I searching youtube for a how to guide to pitting cherries I found Nedah from Leankitchen.com. She used the “paper clip method,” which somewhat tedious, allows for just one hole in the cherry without cutting it all the way open.
Step 2: In a saucepan, combine all ingredients except the cherries and rum and bring to aboil. 
Step 3: When liquid begins to boil, reduce heat to a light simmer, add cherries and simmer for 5 minutes.
Step 4: Remove from heat, and add rum to cool everything down. Add to Jars.  You can either keep jars in the fridge or can them (directions below). I suggest leaving two jars in the fridge for easy access and canning the rest.
Step 5: Enjoy in a cocktail or on top of cake!

For Canning Cherries: Heat a large stock pot of water to a simmer. Using 8 oz short (half pint) jars, fill with finished rummed cherries and close with lid and band tightly. Place jars in boiling water for 10 minutes, covering jars in one inch of water. Here is a Ball Brand preserving guide if needed.

Imbibe Mondays: Bourbon Cake-in-a-Jar with Bourbon Butter Sauce, Whipped Cream, and a Rummed Cherry:

"A bad review is like baking a cake with all the best 

ingredients and having someone sit on it." - Daniel Steel

It's time for the first baked product of Imbibe Mondays. Anyone who has been perusing the blog world for baked treats will know very quickly that the cake-in-a-jar is currently the thing to do and looking at various recipes my wife and I thought we should give it a go. The thought of putting jars in the oven was a little strange at first, but being that we have been doing some canning as of late (i.e. heating glass jars in boiling water) it wasn't too much of stretch to move onto baking with glass. This version of the cake-in-a-jar was most appealing not simply because of the use of whiskey, which is the whole reason for blogging it here, but because the flavor arrives beautifully. And when it comes to the bourbon butter sauce, the alcohol doesn't cook out entirely, leaving you with a stronger and more pronounced baked whiskey product  in line with something like a rummed tiramisu.

I do want to give a shout out to our neighbors and their friends who graciously tasted and sampled the finished product. Needless to say, we didn't have leftovers!

Also to Sprinkle Bakes, from which much of the recipe is adapted.

We used tall and short jars. Any will do, just make sure they are 8 oz.

The main key is to fill the jars halfway - they rise quite a bit so filling the jars more than halfway will cause overflow.

Note: that the sauce is thin, so the skewer makes the perfect size hole for the sauce to seep into.

Yes, they're good!

Cake:
2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups brewed coffee (instant coffee works fine)
1/4 cup plus 3 tbsp. Bourbon whiskey
1 cup unsalted butter
1 tsp cinnamon
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 1/3 tsp vanilla extract

10 - 8 oz. or 12 oz. glass canning jars

Directions for Cakes:

Step 1: Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Step 2: Whisk flour, baking soda and salt together in a large mixing bowl and set to the side.
Step 3: In a medium saucepan, add coffee, whiskey, butter (cut in slices), cinnamon, and cocoa powder.  Place over moderate heat and whisk until butter has melted.  Remove from heat and add the sugar.  Whisk until combined and pour into a large bowl. Give a small amount of time for it to slightly cool. 
Step 4: Whisk eggs and vanilla extract and gradually pour into chocolate mixture.  Add flour mixture and whisk until combined.  Note: that the mixture will be very thin.
Step 5: Place canning jars on a cookie sheet and fill each with batter halfway. Bake for 45-55 minutes. 

Bourbon-Butter Sauce:
1/4 cup Bourbon (I used Bulleit Bourbon)
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup water

Directions for Bourbon Butter-Sauce:
Step 1: Combine ingredients in a small saucepan, and cook gently over medium heat until sugar has dissolved. Then remove from heat.
Step 2: After the cakes have cooled for ten minutes, with a skewer, poke holes in each of the cakes.Divide up sauce evenly between all jars.

Final Step: Top cakes with whipped cream (recipe below) and rummed cherry.

Homemade Whipped Cream (2 cup heavy cream yields about 4 cups whipped cream):

1 pint heavy cream and flavorings in mixing bowl. Note: Avoid ultra-pasteurized cream.

3 teaspoons of vanilla extract per cup of cream

3 tablespoons of sugar

Directions for Whip Cream:

Step 1: Add all ingredients into mixing bowl.

Step 2: Using a mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat cream. Starting slowly, increase speed of the mixer until it can go as fast possible without splashing. As the cream thickens, turn the speed up. The end product should form a soft peak which bends over at the top when you remove the whisk. As it starts to lighten, begin checking for this soft peak. Once this peak begins to form, slow down, so as not to over whip (essentially making it into butter). If needed adjust the flavorings as you go along.

Step 3: Top on Bourbon Cake-in-a-Jar.

Total Time: 5 minutes

*After a few hours, it will start to lose volume. But you can mix it again and it's still good to eat, even after a day or two.