Thirsty Thursday - Wedding Punch

I decided to come up with my own punch recipe when we got married.  It took a little experimenting (I discovered that pineapple juice and soda cancel each other out, and it's just weird), but I finally came up with a recipe that had a good balance of flavors, and just the right amount of alcohol. It was a huge hit at the wedding, and it disappeared fast!

Wedding Punch

Ingredients

• 1 qt Hawaiian Punch (Fruit Juicy Red)
• 1 can pink lemonade concentrate
• 2 cans water 
• 1/2 can Peach schnapps
• 1 can Spiced rum
• 2L bottle of Sprite (or generic lemon-lime soda)

Instructions
Mix all ingredients except Sprite.
Add Sprite just before serving.

I typically store the mix in a sealed pitcher or a Hawaiian Punch jug until it's ready to serve.  You can also make this non-alcoholic and just leave out the schnapps and the rum, and it's still a tasty mix.

Sadly, I don't have a picture of the punch.  But here's a picture of one of our wedding toast flutes!

Thirsty Thursday - Dirty Monkey

I might start doing an occasional feature where I share drink recipes.  Now I'm not going to go mixing up new alcoholic beverages mid-week on a regular basis, as that may have unwanted side effects (working hungover is not fun).  I will, however, share some good ones that I have in my repertoire already, some of which are my own creation.  I might even expand the selection to homemade smoothies and juices.  We'll see where this goes.

A co-worker of mine recently came back from a cruise and told us her drink of choice while down there was something called a "Dirty Monkey".  From her description (frozen, brown, and yellow) I deduced that it must be some sort of chocolate-banana based drink (makes sense, right?). Yes, I just used the word "deduced".  I just finished watching season 3 of Sherlock, and now I can't wait for the next season!  But I digress...I looked for a "dirty monkey" recipe online, but every recipe I found was a little different, so I decided to take the idea and make my own.

Dirty Monkey

Makes 2 servings

• 1 banana
• 2 shots of rum (I used spiced rum)
• 1 shot of kahlua (coffee liqueur)
• 1 shot of Coco Real (a squeezable bottle of coconut cream that I was recently introduced to)
• 2 cups of ice (approximately, use your judgement here)
• Hershey's syrup

Mix all ingredients except chocolate syrup in a blender; blend well, until smooth.  Squirt chocolate syrup around the inside of the glasses you are going to serve in.  Pour blended mixture into glasses.  Serve with a straw, and garnish as desired.

It looks...dirty

Not bad!  The chocolate and banana flavors were prominent, with a hint of coconut, and coffee to cut the sweetness a little.  The alcohol was not very noticeable, but I did feel it by the time I finished the drink. The recipe could easily be adjusted a bit to use some different types of rum, maybe even some chocolate liqueur, and there are many options for garnishing if you're not lazy like me.

The Verdict

This one is a keeper!  (Although there are other frozen drinks I would prefer over this one.)  Maybe next time I will try it with some coconut rum.  Mmmm!

Bourbon Cheesecake

When the hubby offered to make a cheesecake for me for Valentine's Day, I was definitely excited!  Cheesecake is one of my favorite things.  Ever.  Seriously.  My first thought was to make a dutch apple streusel cheesecake recipe I had been eying for a while, but I stumbled across this recipe for bourbon cheesecake and it sounded really good.  It has a shortbread crust, bourbon in the cheesecake, and it's topped with a bourbon chocolate ganache...AND the recipe is for two small cheesecakes!  I actually bought a set of mini springform pans a while back ($4 for a set of 4 at Ross!), so this was the perfect excuse to try them out.  (Of course, I knew that the hubby offering to make cheesecake for me would require my help, and probably turn into me making it with his help.  I wasn't wrong.)

Original recipe is from Sugar Dish Me.

Bourbon Cheesecake with Boozy Chocolate for Two
Makes: 2 mini cheesecakes (using Wilton's 4-in diameter mini springform pans)

Ingredients

• For the Crust:
• ¼ cup unsalted butter, softened
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• ½ cup all purpose flour
• For the Cheesecake:
• 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
• ¼ cup granulated sugar
• 1 egg, at room temperature
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 tablespoon heavy cream (or half & half)
• 1 tablespoon straight bourbon whiskey
• For the Boozy Chocolate:
• 4 ounces hot fudge (the ice cream topping)
• 2 teaspoons bourbon (more to taste)

Instructions

1.  To make the crust, preheat the oven to 400. In a medium bowl combine the ¼ cup butter, 2 tablespoons of sugar, and ½ cup flour until a smooth ball of dough forms. You may have to use your fingers to press it all together.
2.  Divide the dough in half and press it across the bottom and halfway up the sides of the 2 mini cheesecake pans. Gently prick the dough across the bottom of the pan with a fork several times. Bake for only 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside.
3.  Reduce the oven temperature to 350.
4.  In a large bowl beat the cream cheese and sugar until fluffy and smooth.
5.  Add the egg and beat for about 1½ minutes. Add the vanilla, cream, and bourbon. Beat until combined. Divide the batter evenly between the two par-baked crusts.
6.  Bake at 350 for 15 minutes. Reduce the heat to 275 (I like to open the oven door for just a minute to help the temperature drop) and bake for 15 more minutes. Turn the oven off and let the cheesecakes cool IN the oven.
7.  When they have cooled to room temperature, remove and refrigerate. (If you are in a hurry, you can take them out when it is cool enough to grab by hand — the pans will still feel warm) The cheesecakes will need to chill for at least an hour (from room temperature)

Baked and cooled

8.  While the cheesecakes chill, and just before you are ready to serve,heat the hot fudge in a small saucepan over medium high heat. When it is smooth and warm (a pourable consistency), stir in the bourbon. Drizzle the chocolate over each cheesecake and serve.

With chocolate topping

The Verdict

For a cheesecake, this was really pretty simple to make.  The only thing I would change about the recipe is to cut back on the chocolate topping; it makes probably at least twice as much as needed.  (GASP!  Recommending LESS chocolate!  I know, right?)  Some cheesecakes turn out too "cakey", and some too runny...the consistency of this cheesecake was just about perfect!  Nice and creamy, but firm. The shortbread crust is a nice touch, and I thought it went well with the bourbon flavor, but it does make it a bit richer than your typical graham-cracker crust.  The bourbon wasn't overpowering in the cake itself; it added a little bit of tang, but wasn't too strong.  Where you really taste the bourbon is in the chocolate "ganache" topping (but again, not overpowering).  I think you could easily substitute another flavor (for example, irish cream) for the bourbon if you wanted to change it up a little.  This recipe is definitely getting saved for future use!  I will probably try experimenting with some other flavors, but keep the base recipe the same. 

P.S.  If you're wondering if you can get tispy from bourbon cheesecake, the answer is no.  You can get tipsy, however, from a meal that consists of vodka sauce, bourbon cheesecake, Angry Orchard, and wine.  :-)