Fancy Pants Manhattan

What the heck Philadelphia. It's not suppose to be 92 and humid as heck in MAY. This does not bode well for the summer. Plus I'm out of tonic. Sighs. In order to beat the heat Mr. Lawyer mixed us up some these beauties. The vermouth takes the edge off but it still has a nice burn. Top it off with the fancy Luxurado cherries Mr. Lawyer got for Christmas and BAM! Delicious.

Classic Manhattan

(from the Ultimate Bar Book)

Ingredients:

2 ounces rye

3/4 ounces sweet vermouth

2 to 3 dashes Angostura bitters

1 to 2 maraschino cherry

Directions:

1. Stir the liquid ingredients in a mixing glass with ice.

2. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

3. Garnish with the cherries.

Irish Steaks

The cold weather has Mr. Lawyer going all manly on me. I asked him to pick a recipe and he picked one with steak AND whiskey. It was a delicious steak and onion combo but I must admit I did not taste the whiskey at all. He claims he could, perhaps it's a boy thing. We opened a NY State red wine (they are not known for their reds) and while it was acceptable it was so one dimensional and boring after all our fancy Italian red wine (thank you parental units!). We decided that we'll have to look at our finances and create a fancy wine budget. I was half joking but I think Mr. Lawyer was serious. I think I'm in trouble!

Irish Steaks

(from allrecipes.com)

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 tablespoons butter
1 onion, chopped
4 (4 ounce) beef top sirloin steaks
1 clove garlic, cut in half lengthwise
1/4 cup Irish whiskey
salt and ground black pepper to taste
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
Directions:
1. Heat vegetable oil and butter in a heavy skillet over medium heat until butter has melted. Cook and stir onions in butter and oil until lightly golden brown, about 10 minutes. Push onions aside with a spatula.
2. Rub steaks with cut sides of garlic clove.
3. Place steaks in the skillet, leaving the onions to the side, and cook over medium-high heat until meat is browned but still lightly pink inside, 2 to 4 minutes per side.
4. Remove the skillet from heat. Slowly pour Irish whiskey into the hot skillet (be careful, whiskey fumes are flammable). Mix browned onions into whiskey and bring to a simmer over medium-low heat.
Sprinkle steaks with salt, black pepper, and parsley; turn steaks over in whiskey pan sauce to coat both sides, and serve drizzled with sauce.

We had such pretty plate colors to choose from!

Love it!

Hot Toddy!

We survived Disney! But now I'm coming down with a cold which I will blame on our hellacious airplane ride home. Nothing like being stuck in a holding pattern above Philly for 30 minutes after the bumpiest flight I have ever been on. Luckily Mr. Lawyer whipped me up this Hot Toddy to help with my throat....and by help I mean burn with both temperature and whiskey. Whiskey is not my favorite liquor so the first few sips made me make a face and go yiiiiiikes! But it will definitely help me sleep! We're going to get my penguin humidifier out too!

Whiskey Hot Toddy

(from the Ultimate Bar Book)

Ingredients:
Lemon slice studded with 3 whole cloves
1 teaspoon granulated or brown sugar
Pinch of grated or ground nutmeg
1.5 ounces bourbon
6 ounces boiling water
1 cinnamon stick
Directions:
1. Drop the clove-studded lemon slice into a warmed heat-resitant mug.
2. Add sugar, nutmeg, and bourbon.
3. Pour in the boiling water, and stir with the cinnamon stick.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

I seem to have an obsession with alcoholic cupcakes. These Irish Coffee Cupcakes are more mellow than the Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes in both alcohol content and sweetness but still pretty amazing (although not as much fun?!?....). Both cupcakes are best the day they were made and okay the next day as the alcohol begins to evaporate from cake and frosting so it loses a lot of the flavor. I can't pick a favorite between the two recipes because they are both amazing! But this is obviously the sophisticated adult cupcake while the Irish Car Bomb Cupcake is the drunken college kid cupcake.

Irish Coffee Cupcakes

(Martha Stewart Magazine)

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup boiling water
2 tablespoons instant-espresso powder
1/4 cup whole milk
1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar
2 large eggs
Frosting Ingredients:
1 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon confectioners' sugar
1 tablespoon whiskey
Instant-espresso powder, for dusting
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. 

2. Pour hot water over espresso powder; let cool. Combine espresso with milk. 

3. Beat butter and granulated and brown sugars with a mixer on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with espresso-milk mixture.
4. Fill about 15 cupcake cups and bake 20 to 22 minutes. Let cool.
5. Make the frosting: Whisk together cream and confectioners' sugar until medium peaks form. Add whiskey; whisk until slightly stiff peaks form.
6. Top each cupcake with 2 tablespoons frosting; dust with espresso powder.

mmmm...Happy St. Paddy's Day!

Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes

Last week was my birthday and there was a lot of celebrating and eating out. This week I was sick and started work so there was chinese food and Mr. Lawyer cooking. So there has been a lack of experimenting in the kitchen. However, for my birthday I did make some delicious Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes, or if you're being politically correct Chocolate Whiskey and Beer Cupcakes with Baileys Buttercream Frosting. But since it's named after the drink, I'm sticking with the original name. These cupcakes were amazing but really rich. I have a huge sweet tooth but could only eat one at a time. The Baileys Buttercream Frosting is an amazing gift to mankind! Sadly, it looses it's flavor after a day so if you make the cupcakes ahead of time, don't make the frosting until right before your gathering. My Pancake Pen was extremely useful and amazing at filling the cupcake pan since I always make a mess and can never keep them even.

Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes!

Guinness Chocolate Cupcakes Ingredients:
1 cup stout (such as Guinness)
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
2/3 cup sour cream

Chocolate Whiskey Ganache Filling Ingredients:
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate
2/3 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons butter, room temperature
1 to 2 teaspoons Irish whiskey

Baileys Buttercream Frosting:
3 to 4 cups confections sugar
1 stick unsalted butter (room temperate)
3 to 4 tablespoons Baileys

Cupcake Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 24 cupcake cups with liners. Bring 1 cup stout and 1 cup butter to simmer in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add cocoa powder and whisk until mixture is smooth. Cool slightly.
2. Whisk flour, sugar, baking soda, and 3/4 teaspoon salt in large bowl to blend. Using electric mixer, beat eggs and sour cream in another large bowl to blend. Add stout-chocolate mixture to egg mixture and beat just to combine. Add flour mixture and beat briefly on slow speed. Using rubber spatula, fold batter until completely combined. Divide batter among cupcake liners, filling them 2/3 to 3/4 of the way. Bake cake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, rotating them once front to back if your oven bakes unevenly, about 17 minutes. Cool cupcakes on a rack completely.


Ganache Filling Directions:

1. Chop the chocolate and transfer it to a heatproof bowl. Heat the cream until simmering and pour it over the chocolate. Let it sit for one minute and then stir until smooth.  

2. Add the butter and whiskey and stir until combined.

Assembly Required!:

1. Let the ganache cool until thick but still soft enough to be piped. Meanwhile, using your 1-inch round cookie cutter or an apple corer, cut the centers out of the cooled cupcakes. (Or your sweet, sweet cupcake corer!) 

2. Put the ganache into a piping bag (or a baggie with the tip cut off) with a wide tip and fill the holes in each cupcake to the top.

Baileys Buttercream Frosting Directions:

1. Whip the butter in the bowl of an electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, for several minutes. You want to get it very light and fluffy. Slowly add the powdered sugar, a few tablespoons at a time.

2. When the frosting looks thick enough to spread, drizzle in the Baileys and whip it until combined. If this has made the frosting too thin beat in another spoonful or two of powdered sugar.

3. Frost your cookies!

YUM!