There is nothing more delicious than fresh ricotta.  While I have yet to make it (I need to get my act together!) I have picked it up a few times from our local grocery store.  Usually I eat one of two ways – on bread with a slice of prosciutto or I just stand in front of the refrigerator spooning into my mouth like I’m afraid it’s going to run away.

After I finally talked myself into trying something new, I settled on making pancakes. Why not? Pancakes are delicious and who doesn’t love a good pancake. Am I right?

These pancakes cooked up light, fluffy and full of flavor. The light hint of lemon added a nice fresh flavor. The pancakes are not sweet (there is no added sugar) but that is where the blueberry sauce comes in.  If you’re not a fan of blueberries (what?) or fruit on your pancakes (why would you not like that?) maple syrup is equally delicious too.

So, if you ever find yourself in the position of having fresh ricotta, lemons and blueberries I think you know what to make!

Lemon Ricotta Pancake with Blueberry Sauce:

4 eggs – separated
2 cups fresh ricotta cheese
2/3 cup plain yogurt
1 tablespoon lemon zest
1 1/3 cup flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cup whole milk

Separate egg yolks and whites. Add whites to small bowl. Set aside until needed.

Whisk yolks, ricotta, yogurt and lemon zest in a large bowl. In another bowl whisk flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda.  Add flour mixture to yolk mixture and stir until combined. Stir in milk. Using an electric mixer beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Fold egg whites into batter.

Cook on hot griddle.

Source: Adapted from Epicurious

Blueberry Sauce:

16 ounces fresh or frozen blueberries (I used frozen)
3/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon lemon zest
1 cup water

Add all ingredients to a large pan and cook over medium heat until thick.

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I took a break for a  couple of months but I’m happy to report I’m back for this months Secret Recipe Club!  Lucky for me I got a GREAT blog to work with – Dinner, Dishes, and Desserts.  After looking over all the recipes I finally settled on making homemade Nutella.  I have been wanting to make it for a long time but somehow never got around to it.

I changed very little about the recipe and was beyond impressed! By impressed I mean I started shoveling it into my mouth until I had to put it away for fear I would gain a million more pounds.  It was that delicious!

Homemade Nutella:

1 cup hazelnuts – toasted
220 grams dark chocolate – melted
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
3 tablespoons honey
4 tablespoons coconut oil – melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup coconut milk

Process hazelnuts in the food processor for about 5 minutes until smooth, nut butter in texture. After desired consistency is met add melted chocolate, unsweetened cocoa powder, honey, melted coconut oil and vanilla extract. Pulse to combine and add in coconut milk.  Pulse again until combined. Add to storage container and enjoy!

Adapted from: Dinner, Dishes, and Desserts

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Have you ever wanted to learn more about me? Interested in seeing pictures of my house? If you have answered yes to any of these questions you are in luck! Today one of my blogger besties, Rachel Cooks (formerly Not Rachael Ray) is interviewing me for her new series – A Day in the Life….

So, since I know you are all dying to learn more about me why don’t you head over and show some love?

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If you saw my post on Monday about my tour of Tuthilltown Spirits you will love this post too!  While I was on my tour I bought a little kit that includes one empty bourbon bottle and a piece of the charred honeycomb stave.  It’s supposed to help bring color and flavor your favorite clear cocktail but instead I used it to make homemade vanilla.

Making homemade vanilla is simple and takes almost no time at all.  A few vanilla beans and some vodka and you are set.  You let it sit for a awhile and will see it turn a beautiful shade of dark brown.  When it gets low you just add some more vodka.  You never have to buy vanilla again!  Plus you can use it to make vanilla bourbon ice cream….you know you want that in your life!

Enjoy!!!

Homemade {Almost} Barrel Aged Vanilla Extract:

3 vanilla beans – halved and sliced down the center (don’t cut all the way through just enough so the beans flavor can get out)
1 Tuthilltown Spirits Barrel Aged Spirits Kit
Vodka

Cut vanilla beans in half and put into bottle.  Add vodka to bottle and fill till full. Let sit in a cool, dark place for at least 1 month before using.  Shake the bottle once a week to help combine the vanilla. When bottle gets half full refill with more vodka and and let sit for another month before using.

*In the first picture you will see I need to refill my vanilla.  That is about the lowest level you will want your vanilla to get before refilling.

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Tuthilltown Spirits
14 Gristmill Lane
Gardiner, NY 12525
#845-633-8734

Hours:

Tasting Room: Thursday – Monday from 11am-6pm, except Sunday from 12pm-6pm

Tours: Saturdays & Sundays at 12pm, 2pm and 4pm by reservation only.

I have been living in the Hudson Valley for over five years, yet I’m still amazed at the new things I find.  How I didn’t know about Tuthilltown Spirits until this winter I will never know.  However, I’m happy to now report I know about them and I’m in love with them.  They have turned me into a bourbon lover, which I never thought would happen! Don’t tell my gin that I’m cheating on her. I don’t want her to get jealous. And yes, I refer to my gin as a girl.

My first impression of the Tuthilltown property was that it was quaint.  I looked around and saw a few barns and a lot of barrels.  I made my way into the welcoming and warm (it was a cold January day when I went so this way a plus) tasting room.  It was early, so I quietly wondered around and snapped a few pictures.  I even spied a little kitty curled up on top of an empty barrel.  I knew immediately this was my kinds of place.

Before I tasted the bourbon I took a tour with the production manager Joel Elder. Let me tell you something about Joel, this man knows his stuff! I was blown away with his knowledge and understanding of spirit making.  Going on a tour with him was like watching a great documentary. He took me through each step of the bourbon making process, showed me how the equipment worked and even let me barge my way into get a picture of EVERYTHING!

The mash is alive! See that little bubble, it’s working away!

I had no idea how much work was going on on this property.  From beginning to end it’s done here. The grain is ground, fermented, distilled, barreled, matured, bottled, hand dipped in wax, labeled, numbered by hand on each label and finally packaged. For the small number of staff they have this is a lot of work that needs to be done.  There are three large stills in a room that is about the size of my house. Each still is progressively bigger.

Mmmmmmm alcohol!

This poor guy is in a lot of my shots. I guess it proves he does a lot of work!

Joel showing me the honeycomb staves that are inside the barrels.

Finally, after walking through the property, and asking a million questions it was time for the tasting.  I had to know what this stuff tasted like! Now, in full disclosure I have never been a fan of bourbon so I was interested in seeing if I could be won over.

Filling the bottles!

Checking for impurities.

Hand cranked labeler and hand written batch numbers.

There was a large array of deliciousness to sample but by law (boo) I was only allowed to sample three.  How in the world would I choose? I finally settled on trying the Hudson Baby Bourbon Whiskey, Hudson Manhattan Rye Whiskey and finally Spirit of the Hudson Vodka which is distilled from 100% New York apples.  After the tasting I wanted more. No lie I wanted more.  The bourbon was smooth and had a nice light oak flavor.  I thought to myself “I could drink this all winter long!”  And I did, just incase you were wondering.  I was also able to taste the most delicious bourbon barrel aged maple syrup.  It’s sold by Wood’s Vermont Syrup and I swear I could drink it by the bottle. Be on the look out for a couple recipes featuring their product as well.

I left Tuthilltown with a bottle of Baby Bourbon, Hudson Valley Vodka and a Barrel Aged Cocktail Kit. If you have never heard of a barrel aged cocktail kit it’s amazing. The kit contains an empty bottle with one of Tuthilltown barrel’s honeycomb staves for maturing your favorite white cocktail with full American oak flavor (description taken for the Tuthilltown website.)  I decided instead of using it to add flavor to my cocktail I was going to make vanilla in the bottle. The most delicious vanilla I have ever made.  I will be showing this on Wednesday so be sure to come back if you want to see a step by step of the homemade vanilla making process.

So now that I was armed with some bourbon and some vanilla I had to make something amazing.  I finally settled on ice cream.  Ice cream is delicious anytime of the year…even if there is still a chill in the air…agree?

I followed a David Lebovitz recipe but tweaked a few things to add a bit more flavor.  Also, because of the addition of homemade vanilla (alcohol) and bourbon (more alcohol) the ice cream will not get super hard.  It will firm up but it will remain soft and creamy.

Vanilla Bourbon Ice Cream:

2 cups heavy cream
1 cup whole milk
3/4 cup granulated sugar
Table salt
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise and seeds scraped out
5 large egg yolks
3 to 4 Tbs. bourbon
2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

In a medium saucepan, mix 1 cup of the cream with the milk, sugar, and a pinch of salt. Warm the cream mixture over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until the sugar dissolves and tiny bubbles begin to form around the edge of the pan, 3 to 4 minutes. Add vanilla paste.

Prepare an ice bath by filling a large bowl with several inches of ice water. Set a smaller metal bowl (one that holds at least 1-1/2 quarts) in the ice water. Pour the remaining cup of cream into the inner bowl (this helps the custard cool quicker when you pour it in later). Set a fine strainer on top. Whisk the egg yolks in a medium bowl.

Take warm cream mixture and in a steady stream, pour half of the warm cream mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly to prevent the eggs from curdling.

Pour the egg mixture back into the saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly and scraping the bottom with a heatproof rubber spatula until the custard thickens slightly (it should be thick enough to coat the spatula and hold a line drawn through it with a finger), 4 to 8 minutes. An instant-read thermometer should read 175° to 180°F at this point. Don’t let the sauce overheat or boil, or it will curdle. Immediately strain the custard into the cold cream in the ice bath.

Cool the custard to below 70°F by stirring it over the ice bath. Stir the bourbon and vanilla extract into the cooled custard.

Refrigerate the custard until completely chilled, at least 4 hours. Then freeze the custard in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions. It will have the consistency of very soft soft serve. Do not panic this is ok. It’s because of the alcohol.

Transfer the just-churned ice cream to an air-tight container, and freeze overnight or up to 2 weeks.

Source: Slightly adapted from Fine Cooking

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This post brought to you by Scotts®. All opinions are 100% mine.

Spring is here and that means it’s time to break out your gardening gloves and start the garden! Sadly for me I lack a yard, which makes gardening hard. However, I have recently turned to the world of container gardening.  If I want fresh herbs and vegetables I’m not going to let my lack of yard stop me one bit!

The folks over at Scotts have asked me to review their new product Micracle-Gro Expand ‘n Gro™. The best part is that the planting mix is concentrated and expands up to 3 times when mixed with water AND is feed plants for up to 6 months! I have a feeling this years garden is going to flourish!

According to Scotts some of the differences between the new Micacle-Gro Expand ‘n Gro and traditional soil is that it can:
- Help produce up to 3x more flower and vegetables versus native soil
- Significantly improves soil for multiple years
- Concentrated planting mix expands up to 3x when water is added
- Feeds for up to 6 months
- All natural fibers hold up to 50% more water than basic potting soil

Another way Expand ‘n Gro Concentrated Planting Mix is different from basic potting and garden soils is it’s unique blend of Miracle‐Gro plant food and coconut coir fiber. It helps the concentrated planting mix expand up to 3 times when mixed with water, feeds plants for up to 6 months, makes native soil more workable and retains up to 50% more moisture than basic potting soil.

Since I had never heard of coconut coir fiber I wanted to learn more. Coir is a lightweight, all-natural material derived from coconut husk. Coir consists of 2 components: fiber (both long and short) and pith. Sri Lanka, India, Vietnam, Dominican Republic, and Mexico are the top producing countries of coir. Harvesting coconuts begins with de‐husking. The copra (flesh) and milk of the coconuts are used as food, but the husk itself is also useful. First, long fibers are removed. These will be used in the manufacture of ropes, doormats, mattresses, automobile car seats, and garden pots. The remaining short fibers and the pith, which makes up about 70% of the weight of the husk, are by‐products of the fiber industry. Previously, these materials were disposed of, but now they are compressed and sold around the world as soil amendments. How cool is that!

This year I’m going to be growing a large pot of tomatoes, cucumbers, and huge pot full of different herbs. Because Expand ‘n Gro helps retains up to 50% more moisture than basic potting soil I’m happy it will help me make sure my plants or not over or under watered.

I have a feeling this year is going to be a great year for my container garden…what about you? Are you going to plant a garden? Would you like to try out Scotts Miracle-Gro Expand ‘n Gro Concentrated Planting Mix? Lucky for you I’m giving away a bag!

Giveaway Information

One winner will receive a bagof Scotts Miracle-Gro Expand ‘n Gro Concentrated Planting Mix.

Fine Print:

- Giveaway starts March 16th 2012 at 2:00pm EST
- Giveaway ends March 23rd 2012 at 11:59 pm EST
- Only residents who are over 18 years of age and reside in the US are eligible for this giveaway
- The winner will be chosen using Random.org
- I will personally contact the winner and they have 3 days to respond. If they do not respond a new winner will be picked via random.org

How to enter:

- Leave a comment telling me what you will be growing in your garden this year.

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This meal and the warm weather do not exactly go together. However. I’m assuming some of my friends who live up in north must still be having chilly weather….right? It can’t be 70 degrees up in Canada already…

I actually made this dish on Valentine’s Day as the appetizer to our main dish.  I had gotten all the lovely endive from the awesome folks at Discover Endive. They actually sent me a bouquet of endive….it was so cool! I had never seen the root of a endive before…have you?

Now. Back to the deliciousness that was this meal.  I got the idea for this dish from my friend Faith over at An Edible Mosaic.  She told me about a delicious endive gratin and I knew it had to happen in my kitchen!

I decided to take it up a notch and wrap the endive halves in prosciutto.  Why you ask? Why not! Prosciutto is amazing and should be wrapped around everything….except maybe a donut. Unless it’s a savory donut. Wait….I might be on to something…

Ok. Lets get back on track.  So after I wrapped the endive in prosciutto I paired it with béchamel, comte cheese and baked it.  It was amazing. Creamy, cheesy and full of flavor. Definitely something I will be making again!

Prosciutto Wrapped Endive:

4 endives – halved
salt and pepper – to taste
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
1 1/2 cup milk – room temperature
pinch of nutmeg
8 very thin slices of prosciutto
2 1/2 ounces comte cheese – grated (gruyere is another nice choice)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Cut out cores of halved endive.  Add to pan with 1/2 cup water, season with salt and pepper and boil for 15-20 minutes.

In a medium sized pan melt butter, whisk in flour, slowly whisk in milk.  Cook for 10 minutes until thick then add nutmeg.  Stir to combine. Take off heat and set aside.

Wrap endive in prosciutto, add to baking dish, cover in hot béchamel sauce and top with cheese.  Bake for 15-20 minutes until cheese is golden brown.

Enjoy!!!

Source: Nutmeg Nanny

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There is nothing more classic than roasted chicken.  I used to be scared of roasting whole chickens but I like to think I have now become a master.  Plus, it’s beyond easy and makes a nice big meal. 

You can stuff your bird with almost anything but I prefer lemon, fresh rosemary,  fresh sage and lots of salt and pepper.  Sometimes I add fresh thyme for good measure as well.

The best part about roasting a whole chicken is the skin.  So get that stuff nice and crispy! Then devour it all. Don’t be a pansy and throw it out. As my grandfather would say “eat the skin…it will put hair on your chest.”

How can you argue with logic like that?

Classic Roast Chicken:

5 pound whole chicken
Kosher salt
Black pepper
3 lemons – halved and quartered
Fresh sage
Fresh Rosemary
1/2 cup dry White wine

Preheat oven to 450 degrees

Remove giblets from chicken and rinse chicken cavity with cold water.  Pat chicken dry and add to Dutch oven.

Liberally sprinkle the inside of the chicken cavity with kosher salt and pepper.  Stuff with the majority of the lemon  and fresh herbs.

Sprinkle the outside of the bird liberally with kosher salt and pepper and add remaining lemon and herbs around the chicken. Pour white wine into the bottom of the pan and add to oven.

Cook for 25 minutes at 450 degrees and lower temperature to 375 degrees.  Cook for approximately an hour until a meat thermometer register 165 degrees when tested into the middle of the thigh meat.

Now the most important step. Let the chicken rest for 15 minutes before you carve. Then enjoy!

Source: Nutmeg Nanny

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Happy Friday everyone! I did an interview over at My Kitchen Addiction for her weekly Friday Favorites post.

Head on over and spread some love (Click here to be taken to the interview)

Also it’s time for a little shameless self-promotion.  I would love if you would vote for my chipotle chicken lettuce cups in the Saucy Mama contest.  You can vote once a day (Click here to vote)

Have a great weekend everyone! I have a super delicious post coming up on Monday. I can’t wait to share it with you all!

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I often settle for less than delicious (think boring) when it comes to lunch.  Since I leave for work around 1:30pm I don’t like to spend too much time in the kitchen right before I leave. 

However, I have found my new favorite lunch dish and I can thank Saucy Mama for that.  They asked me to participate in their “Skinny Mama – Cooking with Mustard” contest and I was super happy to play along.  I love their products and I’m a sucker for a fun contest.

I decided to play with their chipotle mustard since I have recently fallen in love with chipotle. It’s a love affair I don’t see going away anytime soon.

Part of the contest rules was that the dish had to be healthy.  So I knew I wanted to stay away from anything with too much fat or calories.  What I ended up with was flavorful, fresh and super simple to throw together.

Enjoy!!!

Chipotle Chicken Lettuce Cups:

Serving size 4
Calories per serving chicken cups – 211*
Calories per serving avocado sour cream – 99*

1 tablespoon coconut oil
1/2 red bell pepper – diced
1/2 – 1 chipotle pepper in adobo – finely diced
1 pound ground chicken
1/2 cup frozen yellow corn
2 tablespoons Saucy Mama chipotle mustard
1 lime – juiced
1/4 cup cilantro – chopped
Kosher salt – to taste
Hydroponic bibb lettuce leaves

Melt and heat coconut oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add red bell pepper and cook for 3 minutes until it starts to soften. Add diced chipotle pepper and sauté for 1 minute.

Add in ground chicken and cook until no longer pink. Add in corn, chipotle mustard, lime juice and cilantro. Let ingredients heat through and add kosher salt to taste.

Serve warm chicken mixture in bibb lettuce cups. Top with avocado sour cream.

Avocado Sour Cream:

1 whole ripe medium avocado
1/4 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon sriracha
1/2 lime – juiced
Kosher salt – to taste

Add avocado, sour cream, sriracha, lime juice and kosher salt to food processor. Blend until smooth.

* These calorie counts are estimates as I am not a professional

Source: Nutmeg Nanny

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