I’m a big fan of bourbon. But having tried numerous different kinds over the past year due to all the different cocktails I’ve concocted, I’ve come to discover that so far Woodford Reserve is my favorite. Now I know there are plenty more out there that I have yet to try, but this is what I’ve discerned thus far. Why am I talking about different kinds of bourbon? Because the type of bourbon you use makes all the difference in the drink you’re mixing up. If you don’t like the bourbon, chances are you’re not gonna like the drink. So no matter what drink you’re making, be sure you like the alcohol you’re using.

I made this discovery this week when I created my very first Whiskey Sour. It was just too strong for me and I really don’t believe it had anything to do with the cocktail itself. Others that tasted the drink (my husband and mother-in-law) both loved it. But I felt the drink was just too strong for my palate. In case you haven’t guessed, I did not use Woodford. I was out of Woodford (which I need to remedy ASAP). So I used Blanton’s because that’s what we had. This is the third or fourth time I’ve used the Blanton’s and I gotta tell you, not one of my favorite bourbons. I couldn’t tell you why exactly, just that it’s not for me.

Now, that’s not to say the Whiskey Sour is not a great drink. As with all my cocktails, this one is a classic. And anything that’s been around for over 100 years can’t be all bad. But as with your favorite brownie or chocolate chip cookie, everyone has their preferred chocolate to use. And everyone (including myself) believe that their specific chocolate makes their brownie or cookie better than all the others. So if you’re a fan or Bulleit or Blanton’s or another bourbon I haven’t heard of (and I’m sure there are many) then use that to make this fantastic drink.

The Whiskey Sour is a smooth cocktail that’s definitely not for the weak. It may have a serious kick, but the tart flavor from the lemon juice make it the perfect choice this time of year when citrus can be found at every corner grocery store. You could use grapefruit, limes or even oranges in this cocktail. But if you want the original, then lemons are absolutely the way to go.  While it’s true the Whiskey Sour wasn’t found in print until the late 1800′s, many believe the cocktail was created decades before when sailors added citrus fruit to their alcohol to help prevent scurvy. Of course it’s been updated over the years by adding sour mix or a variety of citrus fruits and even herbs. But at this blog nothing compares to the original and the original is just four ingredients: bourbon, simple syrup, lemon juice and a maraschino cherry.

Whiskey Sour Cocktail

Ingredients:

• 1/2 ounce simple syrup
• 1 ounce fresh lemon juice
• 2 ounces bourbon
• 1 maraschino cherry
• 1 lemon slice (optional)

Directions:

1. Combine syrup, lemon juice and bourbon over ice in a cocktail shaker. Vigorously shake for about 15 seconds. Strain into a cocktail glass and garnish with the cherry and lemon slice.

Last year I was lucky enough to attend Charlie Palmer’s Pigs & Pinot event in Healdsburg. If you don’t know about Pigs & Pinot, it’s a weekend long charity event that’s devoted to pinot noir and pork. While it lasts all weekend, hubby and I only attended the Taste of Pigs and Pinot which is a night dedicated to tasting 60 different pinot noirs and the delicious pork tidbits to go with them. They had everything from roasted pork loin to grilled pork chops. But they didn’t just have appetizers and main courses dedicated to the pig. Every dessert that was presented also had some semblance of the swine attached to it.  There was chocolate covered bacon, bacon chocolate chip cookies and my favorite, Twinkies filled with a bacon bourbon cream. These little Twinkies were so delicious, I must’ve had at least half a dozen. I wanted to go back for more, but they disappeared quickly.

Anyway, they left such an indelible mark on my palate, I just had to try and recreate them; and what better time than a few weeks before Super Bowl Sunday. Why did I want to make them for the Super Bowl? Because if you’re having a party there’s going to be plenty of savory tidbits for people to munch. So why not add something sweet they can pop in their mouths when they’re done with the burgers and chili? And since there’s both bacon and bourbon involved, it’s really the perfect sports-themed dessert.

But as you can see from the photos I didn’t want to make Twinkies. They’re just too big to pop in your mouth while you’re watching the game. I thought it’d be easier to make mini-cupcakes. But just because they’re cupcakes doesn’t mean you can’t stuff them full of bacon, bourbon whipped cream. I mean Hostess did it. Well, without the bacon or bourbon but imagine how good those chocolate cupcakes would be if they did.  Hey, there’s an idea… But I digress.

These little morsels are the perfect size to grab one or two or three, pop ‘em in your mouth, and take a swig of beer without missing a single play. So if you’re full up on chips, dips, and potato skins, add these sweet & salty cupcakes to your table. They’ll be gone before the end of the half.

Mini Vanilla Cupcakes with Bacon Bourbon Cream

Ingredients:

For Cupcakes

• 1/2 cup pastry flour
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 4 large eggs
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

For Bacon Bourbon Cream

• 3-4 slices thick cut bacon
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 2 tablespoons bourbon
• 1 tablespoon sugar

For Salted Caramel Frosting

• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 teaspoons smoked sea salt
• 1 cup butter, at room temperature
• 3/4 cup powdered sugar

Directions:

For Cupcakes:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray mini muffin tin with cooking spray and set aside.
2. Whisk the flours, baking powder, and salt together in a bowl.
3. Melt butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Remove from heat, add the vanilla and set aside.
4. Separate the eggs. Beat the egg whites on high speed until foamy. Gradually add 1/4 cup of sugar and the cream of tartar and continue to beat until the whites reach soft, moist peaks, set aside.
5. Beat the egg yolks with the remaining sugar until the mixture is very thick and a pale yellow color, about 5 minutes. Add the beaten egg whites to the yolks, but do not mix. Sprinkle the flour mixture over the egg whites and then mix everything on low speed until just combined. Remove the bowl from the mixer and gently fold the melted butter mixture into the egg mixture until everything is evenly mixed, about 15 strokes.
6. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin tin and bake until the cake tops are light brown and spring back when touched, 12 to 15 minutes. Allow the cupcakes to cool for at least 10 minutes.

While the cupcakes bake make the Bacon, Bourbon Cream:

1. Cook the bacon in a large skillet over medium-high heat until nice and crispy, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer the cooked bacon to a paper towel to drain.
2. Pour the bacon grease, bourbon, whipping cream and sugar into a large mixing bowl. Beat on high until cream is stiff, about 5 minutes.

To fill the cupcakes:

1. Once the cupcakes are cooled, take an apple corer and gently push it into the center of your cupcake. Rotate the corer a full 360 degrees and pull it out of the cupcakes. Remove the tiny cake round from the corer and repeat with the rest of the cupcakes. Make sure not to go all the way to the bottom of the cupcake as this will cause your filling to leak out.
2. Pipe the bacon bourbon cream into each cupcake and frost with the Salted Caramel Frosting.

For the Frosting:

1. Stir together sugar and water in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil and continue cooking, swirling pan occasionally, for 5 minutes until the mixture turns a dark amber color.
2. Reduce the heat to low and slowly pour in the vanilla and cream. Stir until combined and smooth. Remove the pan from the heat and let cool for 10-15 minutes.
3. While the caramel cools, beat the salt and butter together in a large mixing bowl on high speed for about 3 minutes. Reduce the speed to low and add powdered sugar. Continue mixing until completely combined.
4. Pour the caramel into the butter mixture and mix for another 3 minutes.
5. Frost your cream-filled cupcakes and top each with a little piece of bacon. Serve immediately.

Note: If you’re rushing the day of the big game, and don’t have time to make these cupcakes, you can make the cupcakes, bacon bourbon cream and frosting all a day or two ahead. Then just assemble the day of the big game.

Today is Friday the 13th.  I know, I know, you just want to pull the covers up over your head and pretend this day doesn’t exist. But unfortunately it does. So rather than avoid that black cat or those ladders, why not grab a rabbit’s foot, throw some salt over your shoulder and head out with your head held high. But if that’s not enough to get you to peek outside, I just happen to have the perfect thing to help you take that big step – a cocktail (it is Friday after all) called the Corpse Reviver.

This drink was created by Frank Meier at the Ritz Bar in Paris back in the 1920′s specifically to help those that had had too much to drink the night before. It was supposed to wake people up and get them ready to face that difficult day ahead. Sounds like the perfect drink choice for the biggest bad mojo day of the year.

Corpse Reviver

Ingredients:

• 1 ounce lemon juice
• 1 ounce Lillet Blanc
• 1 ounce Cointreau
• 1 ounce gin
• a couple drops of Absinthe
• 1 marachino cherry (optional)

Directions:

1. Pour all the ingredients into a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake vigorously and strain into a cocktail (martini) glass. Garnish with a cherry if you’d like.

Jane Espenson, a TV writer I adore, was recently on twitter talking about how she’s never satisfied by the store bought cranberry muffins she gets at various coffee shops. I know what she means because I feel the exact same way. The muffins at those chain coffee shops are either too orangey or too sweet, and they never, ever have enough cranberries in them. I have one coffee shop by me, Catalina Coffee, whose cranberry muffins are nearly perfect. They still don’t have enough cranberries, but they’re not too sweet and they’re unbelievably moist. Why all the talk about cranberry muffins? Because this is the time of year they seem to be everywhere.

Every fall into winter I try tons of different cranberry muffins and never seem to find the perfect version, mainly because they’re all lacking in the cranberry department. The other problem with store-bought cranberry muffins is that they only seem to be around for a few months. Once cranberries disappear from the grocery store shelves so do those delectable little treats.  That’s why I always, always buy an extra bag or two and freeze them. That way I can make delicious cranberry muffins year round and include all the cranberries I want. But I don’t have to stick to just cranberries, I can add nuts or apples or even orange juice… if I really want to that is.

It’s unfortunate that this time of year there aren’t too many fruits available. All you can really find these days are citrus fruits and a numerous variety of apples. But luckily I love apples. Granny Smiths used to be the only apple I’d touch because the grocery store sells them year round and they have a wonderful sweet crunch. But thanks to the farmer’s market, I’ve recently discovered several other varieties that are just as good, if not better – Pippins, Fuji, and my favorite, the Pink Lady. I’ll eat them straight from the vendor or add them to salads, pies and muffins. I added them to my cranberry muffins and I was immediately transported to nirvana. The sweet apples combined with the tangy cranberries made for the perfect alternative to the typical blueberry muffin. But what was even better was that this was a muffin I wasn’t going to find in any coffee shop display case. This was a muffin that would only come out of my oven… or yours.

Cranberry Apple Muffins

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup butter
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup light sour cream
• 1 cup pastry flour
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1-1/2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries, chopped
• 1 large apple, chopped

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. In a large mixing bowl cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about three minutes. Mix in the eggs and vanilla. Fold in the sour cream.
3. In a separate bowl combine the flours, baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg and salt.
4. Stir the dry ingredients into the butter mixture until just combined.
5. Fold in the cranberries and apples.
6. Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups two thirds full. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until muffins are golden and a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes and serve.

New Year’s Eve is tomorrow night. Time to say good-bye to 2011 and hello to 2012.  What do you have planned for the evening? A night of partying or are you going to keep it low key and stay in? Since we have a toddler and I’m pregnant, the hubs and I decided to go low key this year. But that doesn’t mean we’re not gonna open up a bottle of bubbly after the little guy goes to bed and toast to the excitement that awaits.

But plain old champagne is just that, old. There are some delicious champagnes that should probably never be tampered with – Dom, Cristal… you know those super high end brands that the celebrities are always toasting with and spilling all over themselves.  But then there are the lower end that while decent on their own, deserve to be mixed with other liqueurs every now and then. This is when I pull out the Creme de Cassis and make myself a Kir Royale. It’s sweet, and sparkling and the perfect way to celebrate. And since it’s so easy to make, it should absolutely be on your list of champagne cocktails this New Year’s Eve.

Now I know it looks and sounds like some newfangled concoction, but believe it or not the Kir Royale has been around since WWII. It originated in Burgundy, France in the ’40s and is named after Félix Kir who was a hero in the French Resistance during the Second World War. After the war was over, he became mayor of Dijon and kept the distinguished position until his death in 1968. Kir was very interested in supporting local products from Dijon and created a drink called the Kir by combining the local peasant white wine with the sweet local black currant liqueur, Creme de Cassis. Kir’s recipe was a huge success in Burgundy and became so popular, it spread all over France, finally reaching the upper class who thought it would be more appropriate to use champagne instead of the peasant wine and thus the Kir Royale was born.

So whether you’re going out or staying in, turn your champagne into French high society by adding a little Creme de Cassis. Not only is the Kir Royale beautiful to look at, it’s delicious as well.

Kir Royale

• 1/2 ounce Creme de Cassis
• 4 ounces champagne

Pour the Creme de Cassis into a champagne flute. Add the champagne and enjoy.