Recipes With Spirits

“Bring Joy” Drambuie Cream Sauce

Posted on: February 17th, 2013 by Carla Johnson No Comments

“Cooking is at once child’s play and adult joy. And cooking done with care is an act of love.” - Craig Claiborne

What exactly is a “foodie?” The word gets used a lot and was even spoofed in a recent TV ad for Boston Pizza. So, I googled it and found this:

“Noun 1. foodie - a person devoted to refined sensuous enjoyment (especially good food and drink)”

That’s pretty much what Diane Smith Stewart said too. Recently I met Diane through mutual friends and when I asked her about food and cooking she said, “I love to bring joy to others using food!” She loves everything about food. She loves trying new pairings, new cooking techniques and presentations and she is always looking for a new food or recipe from a part of the world she hasn’t yet experienced.

I like Diane because she also really enjoys *sin.* She loves great wine and the finest of spirits. Her favourite drink is the Rusty Nail, a mix of Drambuie and Scotch. It’s possible the name Drambuie came from the Gaelic phrase dram buidheach which means “the drink that satisfies” and I think that suits Diane perfectly.

Carla Johnson Cooking with Sin

Diane & Dwayne - photo credit Diane Smith Stewart

Diane has been married to Dwayne for 20 years and they are not looking back. They are busy parents supporting all the activities of their two teenagers, 18 year old Sarah and 15 year old Cam. They do all that while running two Vancouver businesses, one of which provided the official snow removal services for the Vancouver Olympics in 2010.  Yes, their lives and full and gratifying.

Diane and her daughter. Photo by photoart by Simpson

When she celebrated Robbie Burns Day with friends a couple weeks ago, she whipped up a Drambuie cream sauce for the haggis. Diane is an organic food person. She grows some of her own vegetables and supports local producers, so she made sure she served her sauce with the most delicious, savoury haggis she could find.

Diane also said her sauce is wonderful on ice cream and you might want to eat it straight from a spoon. “But,” she says, “try not to drink it all before supper!!”

“Bring Joy” Drambuie Cream Sauce

 
½ cup Drambuie
¾ cup heavy cream
 

1. Place Drambuie in saucepan, bring to boil and reduce by half (about 10 minutes).

2. Remove from heat and stir in cream. Heat to warm, do not boil. Serve.

Yum!!!!

How to Make a Rusty Nail

Slange Var!

Carla Johnson Cooking With Sin

One of the Diane's gorgeous cakes

You might enjoy more Cooking With Sin recipes for Robbie Burns Day on “Ode to the Haggis” Burns Nicht.

Flaming Cherries Jubilee

Posted on: February 14th, 2013 by Carla Johnson No Comments

“Love must be as much a light as it is a flame.” H. D. Thoreau

Cooking With Sin Carla Johnson

This past Saturday I shared Flaming Cherries Jubilee, a simplified version of  “She’s a Trooper” Cherries Jubilee on the Cooking Stage at The Total Woman Show in Kitchener. On the Friday evening before I was practising my flambé skills – fortunately nothing was singed! – when I realized I was running low on Kirsch. I made a point of heading out early Saturday morning to buy another bottle only to learn the entire city of Cambridge was sold out!

Cooking With Sin Carla Johnson

I needed something with an alcohol content of 40% so it could ignite and one of the liquor store managers talked me into using marshmallow vodka. I had never bought or tasted it before, but I decided to take his word for it. I’m so glad I did!

When I arrived at the show I was so happy to find out my friend Jay Chagnon was hosting my segment. I was also relieved to have my friend Chef D of Chef D TV working nearby to help re-jig that cooking surface for me. Jay and I ended up inviting Chef D to join us on stage and we had a fantastic time. Much hilarity ensued and I just hope the audience had as much fun as we did.

Cooking With Sin Carla Johnson

Me and Chef D on The Total Woman Stage - Photo Credit K. Stenhouse

Deciding to add the marshmallow vodka at the last minute was certainly a risk, especially with a live audience there to taste it, but it was a wonderful surprise! In fact, it was so good that two of the volunteers who were helping afterward cleaned up the pan with their bare fingers! Yup, “finger licking good!” :lol:

If you saw us on stage, you know we joked about measuring the booze with a “wrist feel” where you pour until your wrist feels lighter, but for this post I’ll give you some more specific amounts. Feel free to add as much as you want. That’s all part of the fun and it’s especially timely for a Valentine’s Day dinner.

Flaming Cherries Jubilee

 
Serves 6
 
1 can cherry pie filling
2 ounces Cointreau
2 ounces marshmallow vodka
2 ounces Kirsch
vanilla ice cream
 

1. Pour the can of cherry pie filling into a large pan. Heat on high until bubbling.

2. Move the cherries to the side of the pan then pour the alcohol onto the scrapped side of the pan. This ensures the alcohol comes in contact with the pan directly and heats up quickly. Using a lighter with a long nozzle, ignite the alcohol.

3. Let the flames burn down then mix it into the pie filling. You can also douse the flames with the pan lid if you wish.

4. Pour the warm cherries and sauce over individual dishes of vanilla ice cream and serve.

*Tip* You will want to make this in the evening when it is dark to appreciate the glow of the flames.

I especially like this recipe because it is very simple, very showy and the cherries remain a nice red colour.

Cooking With Sin Carla Johnson

Photo credit www.RovingEye.ca

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Carla Johnson Cooking With Sin

“I Love NY” Sangria

Posted on: February 10th, 2013 by Carla Johnson No Comments

Monica and her dad are very close and they have an annual tradition; they make wine together at a local wine makers. It is a special father-daughter venture and each year they choose a new red grape juice to work with. They have made Shiraz, Merlot, Cabernet, Cabernet-Sauvignon and several others.

Cooking With Sin Carla Johnson

While she teaches grade 5 students by day, on the holidays Monica might be your tour guide on a bus trip to Montreal or New York. She has been to New York enough times that she has several favourite places. It was at a little Italian restaurant in NYC where she fell in love with their sangria and she set out to make her own version at home in Cambridge, Ontario, Canada.

Monica loves to entertain and invite people to her home. When it comes to party hostesses, she is one of the best. She is especially known for her delicious sangria. She has worked hard to find the right mix and at her last party I got a chance to have a few sips of it myself. I just loved it!

I find that sangrias can sometimes have a bit of a dry edge, but Monica’s is a smooth as silk. Her key ingredient cherry brandy. It works wonderfully.

“I Love NY” Sangria

 
1 750 ml bottle of Monica’s red wine
1/2 cup cherry brandy or cherry whiskey
1/2 cup triple sec
1/2 cup peach schnapps
1/2 cup lemonade
1/2 cup orange juice
1 cup Sprite
Frozen berries
 

1. Mix the liquid ingredients together in a pitcher or punch bowl. Monica pours her sangria into large plastic pop bottles which are nice to pour from and make it easy to store.

2. Monica keeps a bowl of frozen berries nearby to spoon into each cup as it is served.

Note: You want to look for cherry brandy specifically, not Kirsch. Kirsch is a cherry brandy that is made with the whole cherry, including the pit. It works really well in my Flaming Cherries Jubilee, but is too bitter for Sangria.

Christmas Crispy Squares

Posted on: December 23rd, 2012 by Carla Johnson No Comments

Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful. 

~Norman Vincent Peale

Cooking With Sin Carla Johnson

Cooking With Sin Carla Johnson

What’s your favourite part? Watching the soft cottony marshmallows become a white satiny mush? Stirring in the crisp rice cereal? Pressing it into a pan with buttery fingers?

When I find the seasonal red and green rice crisps on the grocery store cereal shelf, I still get a giddy child-like rush. Crispy rice squares are such simple and beloved treats and they have become a Christmas staple in many homes. A few days ago, I was making a batch and I knew I had to make them a little *sin*ful – but of course!

Cooking With Sin Carla Johnson

The recipe on the cereal box is easy to follow and when I stirred in the vanilla, I also added 3 tablespoons of Irish Cream. Then, once the cereal was stirred in, I tossed in several handfuls of dark chocolate chips. When it comes to chocolate chips, generosity is the rule!

These squares are really rich and deeelish! And don’t worry; they are super kid-friendly.

Cooking With Sin Carla Johnson

*Tip – Use only fresh marshmallows. The first time I tried to make these squares I used older dry marshmallows, but they refused to melt. They just rolled around in the margarine and actually started to roast a bit! It made me laugh.

During this Holiday Season,

May your Home be Blessed

with Laughter and Love.

Cooking With Sin Carla Johnson

*Sin*ful Advent Calendars

Posted on: December 9th, 2012 by Carla Johnson No Comments

Last weekend I put up my daughter’s Advent Calendar. I just love it. The charming set of red and green pockets hails the start of the season and the 25 day countdown to Christmas day.

There is one problem though. This year my daughter is 16 and the excitement and appeal of the daily treat is no longer the thrill it used to be for her. She enjoys it, but it no longer trumps the need for extra sleep in the morning.  I think I enjoy putting the  little treats in each day is possibly as much as she enjoys pulling them out. The stick-on earring treats from years past have been replaced with foil-wrapped chocolates, but I believe the child in her – and in me – still enjoys it.

This week I found some boozy advent calendars that definitely appeals to adult in me. I bet they do for you too!

Wine Advent Calendar

Originally created as wine bottle table numbers for a wedding reception, Pinterest fans have revamped the idea into an advent calendar. A bottle of wine a day may be better shared with a friend, but it is proving to be a popular idea.

Beer Advent Calendar

There is a different type of beer each day mixed with canning jars with tools & treats. More info on this idea is found here.

Whisky Advent Calendar

You can buy this one & a couple other versions here.

Don’t worry. I won’t be making any of these for my daughter. She’s still a few years away. I’m just pleased I don’t have to live vicariously through her advent calendar anymore. :lol: