Peach Æbleskiver with Habañero Honey Whisky Glaze

Our August ingredients for the #ImprovCookingChallenge are the unlikely duo of Peaches & Peppers. Usually my go-to with these two ingredients would be a salsa sorta like the one I created here five years ago... But, since my sis handed me down a cast-iron æbleskiver pan, I figured it was about time we tried that out -- making some peach-filled itty-bitty round Danish pancakes/doughnuts.

(The hot-pepper glaze was just a happy little afterthought!) 

If you have never made æbleskiver before, I recommend you try a recipe using regular flour.

Also, I will suggest that having a filling (many cooks serve plain with jam or syrup on the side) makes these more difficult to turn properly. Other than that, these little guys are fun to make & eat.

Let's start with the glaze: Boozed + Infused is where I found the recipe for the Habañero Honey Whisky. It was quite simple to make. 

• 1 habañero pepper, quartered & seeded (unless you want it super hot!)
• 1/4 c. honey
• 1 cinnamon stick
• zest from 1 small lemon
• 1.5 oz. water
• 1 c. whisky

Put the first 5 ingredients in saucepan, simmer on low for 5 minutes. Remove pepper and let the remaining ingredients cool. Strain honey mixture into jar & combine with whisky. Shake once or twice a day for 3 days. Strain through coffee filter into decanter. Let infusion rest a few days before using.

 

 To make the glaze:

• 1 T. butter, melted
• 1 T. Greek yogurt
• 1 c. confectioners sugar
• 1 T. habañero honey whisky

Mix yogurt & melted butter until smooth. Stir in sugar. Whisk in the whisky!

This glaze was amazing! It totally elevated those peach-filled pastries.

Now for that æbleskiver recipe -- the first batch I made with coconut flour, and they weren't bad; we just prefered the ones made from almond flour.

• 1.5 c. almond flour
• 1 T. honey
• 1/2 c. Greek yogurt
• 1/2 c. milk
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 eggs, separated
• 1 peach - peeled, pitted & finely diced

Separate eggs and whip the whites. Whisk first 5 ingredients and egg yolks together in a bowl until batter is smooth. Gently fold in the whites. Allow batter to stand at least 15 minutes.

Heat (maybe a half teaspoon in each cup) oil in æbleskiver pan over medium heat. Drop about a tablespoon of batter into each cup, top with around a teaspoon of the peaches, then top with another teaspoon of batter.

Cook until bubbles form around the edges, then turn the batter a quarter turn with a chopstick. The wet batter should slide down into the cup while the browned portion rolls upward. Repeat process until the pastries are browned all around.

Makes 24 æbleskiver. 

Now you don't HAVE to enjoy your æbleskiver with a bottle of iced coffee, but I highly recommend it!

OK -- so go check out the links below where my friends share their peaches & peppers recipes:

An InLinkz Link-up

Italian Berry Mule

As I googled recipes utilizing BERRIES & BALSAMIC vinegar for July's #ImprovCookingChallenge I came across one I couldn't shake. Actually, I could shake...

**WARNING**
There's a little bit of quite a backstory, you can skip down to the  ^*^recipe^*^ if you wish...

This story actually begins in 2006 with the death of our friend who was a fighter pilot. (You can read about his widow's & their 5 kids' story in this incredible book.)
Folds of  Honor is an organization that steps in to help families of our military who have paid the ultimate price for our country. It has been exciting the past few years to watch the breadth of FOH's fundraising grow. At first it was golf tournaments, soon QT was involved and now there are many major donors giving to honor the sacrifices made for our blessed nation.

So when Budweiser advertised their tribute, we had to buy a carton (even though we don't like beer...)

Perhaps you've seen this ad:

^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^recipe^*^ *^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^

First I made a ginger syrup with about 8 oz. ginger I thinly sliced with the mandolin. Boiled it up with 4 cups of water and 2 cups sugar, then simmered for an hour. I strained it into glass bottles & refrigerated.

For the mule (adapted from here) we used the following ingredients:

10 raspberries

1 shot vodka

2 t. fresh lime juice

1/2 t. balsamic vinegar

1 T. ginger syrup

beer to top off

Muddle raspberries in a cocktail shaker. Add ice and remaining ingredients excepting beer and shake well. Strain into an iced highball glass and top it off with the beer.

or

10 blueberries

1 shot vodka

2 T. ginger syrup

1/2 t. balsamic vinegar

beer to top off

Muddle blueberries in cocktail shaker. Add ice and remaining ingredients but the beer and shake well. Strain into an iced highball glass and top it off with beer.

(light up the night!)

If you're looking for more BERRIES & BALSAMIC recipes, please check out the links below:

An InLinkz Link-up

Strawberry Jalapeño Cornmeal Cream Puffs

So, along with the Pretzel Dogs, I wished to use the jalapeño & cheese #ImprovCookingChallenge ingredients in a dessert. The past few weeks I've seen quite a few recipes featuring strawberries with cornmeal -- shortcakes, muffins, waffles... I wanted to make something gluten free, of course, but desired it a little "fancier" than cornbread. I looked for cornmeal pâte à choux, but consensus seemed to deem that ingredient as too heavy for puffs. I decided to use my successful gf profiteroles recipe from December and just sub in a little cornmeal. IT WORKED! THEY PUFFED!

The texture was what I wanted. Plus, they tasted of cornmeal!

Cornmeal Pâte à choux

1 c. water
½ c. butter (if using unsalted, add a pinch of kosher salt)
¾ c. Bob’s Red Mill® Gluten Free All Purpose Baking Flour 

¼ c. yellow cornmeal

4 large eggs

(It’s easier to assemble ingredients before starting, because the process goes fast!) Break the eggs into a spouted measuring cup. Preheat oven to 425°. Whisk the flour & cornmeal together. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment.
Combine the water & butter in a saucepan; bring to a rolling boil.
Remove from heat and add the flour mixture all at once, stirring vigorously.
Transfer the dough to the bowl of a stand mixer, and beat for a couple minutes until it’s cooled to below 125°F.
Beat in the eggs one at a time on medium speed; scrape the bowl after each addition.
After the last egg, beat the dough a couple minutes until it holds a peak.
Scoop about a 2 tablespoon-size portion of batter onto the prepared baking sheets for each puff. (Allow space for the puffs to expand.) This made 12 puffs for me. 
Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 350°. Bake for an additional 20 to 25 minutes, until the dough has risen and the pastries are a medium golden brown. (They should sound hollow if you tap them…) Remove the pastries from the oven, make a small slit in the top of each, and return them to the oven for another 5 minutes, to allow the steam to escape.
Transfer the puffs to a rack to cool.
Split each one in half & fill the bottom with a scoop of the jalapeño strawberry mixture then replace the tops. 
Serve immediately!

Now, about that filling:
It actually evolved from what I'd planned, but happened to turn out ever so much better than I thought it would.

First of all I candied fresh jalapeño slices in a piloncillo syrup.

I had found an interesting recipe for strawberry flan from Spain that I adapted for my filling. But here's what I did instead:

• 1 lb. hulled fresh strawberries
• 1 piloncillo cone, chopped
• 1 c. half-and-half
• 4 oz. caramel sirup (see Joy of Cooking pic)
• 6 Eggs
• 8 oz. cream cheese
• finely chopped candied jalapeños, to taste
• 2 T. tequila

(recipe from 1946 Joy of Cooking)

Add first 5 ingredients to blender & chop until smooth.

Pour into sauce pan & cook on medium to 180° (as if you were cooking a custard, so stir frequently...) Cover & chill.

Beat cream cheese & candied jalapeños until creamy. Add a shot of tequila & beat some more. Combine chilled strawberry mixture & beat again. Pour into freezer-safe container & freeze until firm. Scoop & enjoy!

(SOMEBODY has to eat the melty leftovers...)

(Enjoy responsibly! BTW - you don't have to add the tequila, but it just makes the flavor soooooooo much better.)

As always, check out the links to jalapeño & cheese recipes by my friends:

An InLinkz Link-up

Cookies & (Irish)Cream Pie

Featuring Oreo® Baileys® Butter & Oreo® Toffee...

I truly cannot take credit for this idea. You know how when kids start carrying-on at the table & stuff just begins to snowball? Such was the case here -- I simply asked my fellas what comes to mind for cookies & cream. One said "Irish Cream?" and then it was all downhill after that.

We started by making the butter. Since we needed a full cup we tossed 2 Oreo® sleeves into the blender and used a little help from Baileys® to create this magical spread.

Next we needed to make the toffee.

(I got this idea while perusing candy recipes, but actually used a 1946 "Joy of Cooking" for the toffee recipe.)

Here we used another 35 cookies for the base, plus maybe a half-dozen more broken up to fill in the holes... (I did melt a cup and a half of semi-sweet chocolate chips to spread over the cooling candy, but next time I'll just leave it with cookies & toffee.)

So, here's the complete dessert recipe:

Didn't hear one complaint from the fellas...

(of course, their mouths were too full of cookies & cream to speak...)

I, however, was saying "Oh, oh, ohhhhhhhhhhh!"

For more information on our monthly Improv Challenge hosted by Nichole, you can visit her blog or our group's facebook page. 

And now, here are some cookies & cream recipes by fellow participants:

An InLinkz Link-up

Bananas Foster Biscotti (gf)

This mama doesn't "do" bananas. Used to -- but now, even their smell, ever since my first pregnancy, creeps.me.out. A couple of my fellas eat them, so I allow a banana or two in the house until it starts to become too yellow. Can't even have the peels in the compost bucket indoors -- straight out to the garden pile with it!
Imagine my chagrin upon learning Nichole deemed April's #ImprovCookingChallenge ingredients to be coconut & bananas! (Last time bananas happened, a couple years back, I didn't participate that month...)
Ah well! We're grown-ups! We'll add a little alcohol & make it work. Soooooooo... why don't we whip up a batch of these: 

The biscotti are a little crumbly, the rum drizzle drench is slightly tacky, but those are pretty darn good gluten-free, processed-sugar-free cookies! Here's the recipe:

#becauserum

Do you like almond butter? or cashew butter? or sun butter? I highly recommend coconut butter! I used Bob's Red Mill Shredded Coconut to make mine.

The resultant biscotti do not (thankfully) have a pronounced banana flavor. You could always add more banana liqueur to the cookie batter. ☺☺☺☺ The links below will take you to some more banana & coconut recipes:

An InLinkz Link-up

Angry® Mustard on Angry® Sausage

Here it is again, time for our Improv Challenge where cooks are assigned a couple unlikely ingredients and asked to come up with a recipe. September’s selected components are Sausage & Mustard.  I decided that I’d also toss in apples and hard cider, since it’s (supposed to be) Fall. My favorite hard drink, any time of year, is Angry Orchard® Crisp Apple.The mustard needed to be made a couple weeks early. It’s flavor is rather “angry” now – there’s quite a bit of kick to it. Next time I’ll not use that much of the mustard powder…The sausage I thought a little dry. So, next time I will skip the turkey and use all pork! To save time, (and because our final dish needed sausage crumbled) we did not stuff the mixture into casings – but I would highly recommend that for boiling then grilling…Our favorite way to eat sausage is to boil them in beer, toss them on the grill, shove them into a soft & chewy hoagie roll, pile them high with grilled peppers & onions, then slather them with some deli mustard!Unfortunately, when life hands members of the family a low-sodium & gluten-free diet, you have to modify that dream dish…

What I visualized was a nice Bob’s Red Mill^® Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour dough that I could wrap up some sausage & onion/pepper hand pies… Regrettably, said dough didn’t quite get that visualization and consequently did not cooperate in the desired manner.

I did manage, however, to spread the stupid uncooperative offending @$#%*&^ tacky dough across a sheet of parchment to create a sausage and onion & pepper flat bread. I put down a little mustard before sprinkling on the other ingredients.Oh wow! That turned out better than I’d hoped!And then, of course, served the Angy Mustard along side…

Here are the links to the SAUSAGE & MUSTARD dishes my friends created:

An InLinkz Link-up

HONEYdew mojito pops

Not a being a huge fan of “mint”, I figured I would have a tough time with this month’s Improv Cooking Challenge ingredients, MINT & MELON… That is, until a friend was describing her favorite drink: Watermelon Mojito. I thought, hmmmmmmmm – I could play around with that.

So I did…

But then I came across a recipe for honey-lime simple syrup. And it was obvious that the mint leaves should go into that, instead of being blended with the fruit.

I love my blender! It made short work of those honeydew chunks.I did have some difficulty pouring directly into the molds, though (& that was before the rum!)

My two “of-age” tasters loved the popsicle!

I even made a batch without rum for the teenagers. Again, rave reviews.Except from me – I just do not enjoy mint & lime.

 

But, here are some more MINT & MELON recipes developed by my friends:

An InLinkz Link-up