Recipe: Old Fashioned Strawberry Soda's

Old fashioned Strawberry Soda's

Ingredients:
1 (10-ounce) package frozen strawberries in syrup, thawed
3 cups strawberry ice cream, divided
2 (12-ounce) cans creme soda, divided
whipped cream
4 whole strawberries

Prep:
mash thawed strawberries with a fork until strawberries are well blended with syrup. Add one cup ice cream and 1/2 cup creme soda, stir well. Spoon equal amounts of strawberry mixture into 4 (14-ounce) glasses; top with remaining ice cream and fill glasses with remaining soda. Garnish each serving with whipped cream and a strawberry.

Recipe: Sweet Potato Pudding with Tennessee Whiskey Sauce

Sweet Potato Pudding with Tennessee Whiskey Sauce

Ingredients
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cloves
Dash salt
2 1/2 cups uncooked sweet potatoes, shredded
1 1/2 cups milk
Tennessee Whiskey Sauce, recipe follows
Whipped cream
Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugars. Add the eggs into sugar mixture, one at a time, incorporating each egg into the mixture. Add spices and salt. Stir potatoes into sugar mixture; add milk and mix thoroughly. Pour into a greased 2-quart baking dish.

Bake for 50 to 60 minutes.

To serve, spoon Tennessee Whiskey Sauce over and top with whipped cream.

Tennessee Whiskey Sauce:
1 1/4 cups water
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 cup Jack Daniel?s whiskey
1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons butter
In a small saucepan combine water, sugar, and nutmeg. Bring to a boil. Combine Jack Daniel?s Whiskey and cornstarch; stir into sugar mixture. Cook until thickened. Blend in butter until melted.

Yield: 1 3/4 cups

Recipe: Flaming Irish Coffee

Flaming Irish Coffee

Ingredients:

3/4 - 1 cup Irish mist liqeur

6 cups hot coffee, devided

2 tablespoons sugar, devided

ground nutmeg

1/2 cup whipping cream

Prep:

Rinse glass with hot water, dry. Pour 2 tablespoons of irish mist into glass.  Rotate over flame of irish coffee burning until the liquer ignites. Fill with coffee, stir in 1 teaspoon sugar, top with whipping cream and nutmeg.

Recipe: Mimosas

Mimosas

Ingredients:
2 (12-ounce) cans frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed and divided
1 (16-ounce) jar maraschino cherries with stems, drained
6 cups extra dry champagne, chilled mint sprigs

prepare 1 can orange juice concentrate according to can directions. Pour into ice cube trays, place a cherry in each cube, freeze 8 hours or overnight.  Prepare remaining orange juice concentrate according to can directions.  Stir into the champagne just before serving, add ice cubes and garnish with mint.

makes 3 quarts

***TIP: Avoid diluting drinks by freezing a carbonated beverage, tonic, or soda water into cubes instead of using regular ice cubes.

Recipe: Slow Cooker Pork Tacos

Slow Cooker Pork Tacos:


Ingredients

3 whole ancho chiles

3 whole pasilla chiles

4 cloves garlic, unpeeled

2 to 3 chipotles in adobo sauce

1/2 medium white onion, roughly chopped

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons honey

1 tablespoon cider vinegar

Kosher salt

2 teaspoons dried oregano, preferably Mexican

3 3/4 cups low-sodium chicken broth

4 pounds boneless pork shoulder (untrimmed), cut into chunks

Freshly ground pepper

2 bay leaves

1 cinnamon stick

Corn tortillas, warmed, for serving

Assorted taco toppings, for garnish

Directions

Put the ancho and pasilla chiles and the garlic in a bowl; add 2 to 3 tablespoons water. Microwave on high until soft and pliable, 2 to 3 minutes. Stem and seed the chiles; peel the garlic. Transfer the chiles and garlic to a blender.




Add the chipotles, onion, 2 tablespoons olive oil, honey, vinegar, 1 tablespoon salt and the oregano to the blender; puree until smooth. Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet over high heat; add the chile sauce and fry, stirring, until thick and fragrant, about 8 minutes. Pour in the broth and reduce until slightly thickened.




Season the pork all over with salt and pepper and transfer to a large slow cooker. Add the bay leaves and cinnamon stick, then pour in the sauce. Cover and cook on high until the meat is tender, about 5 hours. (Or cook the meat in a large Dutch oven, covered, for 1 hour 45 minutes at 350 degrees; uncover and cook 30 more




minutes.)




Discard the bay leaves and cinnamon stick. Shred the pork with 2 forks; season with salt and pepper. Serve the shredded pork in the tortillas, along with toppings.

Recipe: Potato, Cauliflower and Cheddar Bake

Potato, Cauliflower, and Cheddar Bake


Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, plus more for dish
• 1 1/2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes (about 6 medium), peeled and sliced 1/2 inch thick
• Salt and pepper
• 1 small head cauliflower (about 2 pounds), sliced 1/2 inch thick
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
• 1 1/2 cups shredded sharp cheddar (6 ounces)
• 1/3 cup chicken broth

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Butter a 2-quart baking dish. In a large pot, cover potatoes with cold salted water by 2 inches. Bring to a boil, then add cauliflower and cook at a rapid simmer until potatoes are just cooked through and cauliflower is crisp-tender, about 10 minutes. Drain in a colander and let sit 5 minutes.

Place half the potatoes and cauliflower in dish, sprinkle with half the thyme and cheddar, and season with pepper. Repeat to make a second layer. Add broth and dot top with butter. Bake until cheese is deep golden and bubbling, 15 to 20 minutes.

Note:

Adding cauliflower to a potato bake may seem radical, but it adds great texture. A cheesy topping is a nice change of pace from the usual creamy casserole.

Recipe: Old Fashioneds

Old Fashioneds

Ingredients:
2 cups sweet citrus syrup (recipe follows)
6 cups lemon-lime soda
3 cups canadian whiskey
1/2 teaspoon aromatic bitters
crushed ice
orange, lemon and lime slices
maraschino cherries

combing all ingredients except for crushed ice, fruit slices and cherries. Fill glasses with crushed ice, pour mixture over ice.  Garish with fruit.

Sweet citrus syrup:
Ingredients:
1 (12-ounce) can frozen five fruit citrus beverage concentrate
1/2 cup grenadine syrup or maraschino cherry juice
1 tablespoon sugar

combine all ingredients in a saucepan, bring to a boil, remove from heat and let cool, coer and refridgerate for up to two weeks -yields 2 cups.