Cooking Question

[gothicmom]

I want to do some cooking that requires bourbon. I have no clue what to buy. Please help before Thanksgiving if ya can. Thanks

[Dubh Aingeal]

Bourbon-Soaked Chocolate-Covered Cherries

About 100-125 medium long-stemmed cherries

About a cup of really good bourbon

Fondant (recipe below)

1 pound of tempered dark chocolate

Drain long-stemmed pitted cherries and dry them well on paper towels. Then place them stem-side up in a Tupperware container and cover the cherries with bourbon. Allow them to soak at least 24 hours, but the more you soak, the “merrier”…

Remove the cherries and set aside to drain well on paper towels and reserve the bourbon (it is cherry-flavored, though).

Fondant

1 ½ cups water

1/3 cup light corn syrup

4 cups granulated sugar

pinch of salt

Set aside a 9”x13” glass baking pan.

In a heavy 4-quart saucepan, combine the water, corn syrup sugar and salt. Place over high heat and stir with a wooden spoon until the mixture comes to a full boil. Clip on your calibrated candy thermometer and cook, without stirring, until the mix reaches 240 degrees F. (soft-ball stage).

Remove from heat and, without stirring or scraping the pan, pour the fondant into the baking pan. Leave it alone to cool to room temperature (about 6 hours).

When the bottom of the pan is no longer warm, begin stirring the fondant with a wooden spoon. This will be a slight workout, as the mixture eventually (after about 10 minutes) begins to turn white and thicken. Continue until the fondant becomes creamy white and firm, usually about 15-20 minutes.

Gather the fondant up into a ball and wrap in several layers of plastic wrap and allow it to rest 45 minutes or so to soften, or place into a heavy-duty Ziploc and allow to rest on the counter at room temperature overnight. (It will also store for weeks in the fridge, and practically until the end of time in the freezer...)

This makes enough centers for about 125 chocolates.

To make the cherries…

Line a cookie sheet with waxed paper. (This will hold the dipped chocolates.)

Divide the fondant in half and place half in the top of a double boiler. Over medium heat, melt the fondant, stirring gently with a wooden spoon. Add about ¼ cup of your reserved bourbon and stir gently to incorporate. Clip on your candy thermometer and bring the fondant up to 150 degrees F. (It will be necessary to repeat this stage with the remaining fondant to complete the rest of the cherries.)

Using one cherry at a time, dip the cherry into the fondant, allowing the fondant to come almost to the top of the cherry, but not all the way to the stem. Set aside on waxed paper to harden.

While those are drying, it’s time to temper the chocolate…

Chop chocolate blocks into small pieces or use chocolate wafers.

Fill bottom of double boiler so the hot water does not touch the bottom of the upper pan. Do not let the water boil. Stir the chocolate while melting to ensure even heating. Try to avoid creating air bubbles. Heat chocolate to 120 F. to 122 F.

Replace the hot water with 70 F. water, no cooler. Stir until the chocolate cools to between 79 F. and 80 F. It may occasionally be necessary to add additional cool water to the bottom of the double boiler.

Now replace the 70 F. water with warm water (about 92 F. to 93 F.) and raise the temperature of the chocolate to between 88 F. and 89 F. for dark chocolate or 84 F. to 86 F. for milk chocolate or white cocoa butter coating (white chocolate). Maintain the appropriate temperature while dipping. If the chocolate exceeds 90 F., it will be necessary to repeat the tempering process.

Once all the cherries have been dipped and the fondant is hardened around them, using one cherry at a time, dip each cherry into the melted chocolate and be sure to completely cover the cherry – all the way to the stem – to completely encase the fondant. Set aside on waxed paper to harden.

Store in an airtight container at room temperature. The cherries will need to “cure” for about two weeks for the centers to completely liquefy. Of course, test-tasting along the way…just to be sure…is always recommended.

[Dubh Aingeal]

Probably more what you were looking for:

Apple Bourbon Baked Ham

Ingredients

7 to 8 pounds fully cooked bone in smoked ham

1/2 cup bourbon

1 1/2 cups water

1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed

1 cup apple cider

1/4 cup Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon ground pepper

Instructions

Place unwrapped ham on rack in large roasting pan. Let stand at room temperature about 1 hour. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Skin ham; trim fat to 1/4-inch. Score fat in diamond pattern. Cover top of ham with foil. Pour 1/4 cup of the bourbon and all the water into roasting pan. Bake 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, in small saucepan, combine remaining bourbon, the sugar, and 1/2 cup of the apple cider. Cook, stirring over medium heat until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat. Stir in mustard and pepper. After ham has baked 30 minutes, remove foil and baste with 1/4 of the glaze (add water to pan if needed).

Bake 1 1/2 hours longer, basting 3 times with remaining glaze, or until internal temperature registers 140 degrees F. on meat thermometer. Transfer ham to platter; tent with foil. Let stand 15 minutes. Pour drippings from pan into glass measure; skim and discard fat. Place same roasting pan across 2 stove top burners over med-high heat. Add remaining apple cider, scraping up any browned bits from bottom of pan. Add reserved drippings and any juices from ham on platter. Simmer 5 minutes. Serve pan juices with ham.

Yield: 8 servings

Wild Turkey Wild Turkey

Ingredients

1 wild turkey breast

1/2 cup honey

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

3 tablespoons hot Dijon mustard

2 cups Wild Turkey bourbon

all-purpose flour

Cajun seasoning to taste

Canola oil for frying

1 cup (8 ounces) grated cheddar cheese

1/2 cup chopped onion

Instructions

Slice turkey lengthwise into 2-inch wide strips, removing skin; wash and drain. Microwave honey at high for 1-1/2 minutes. Add Worcestershire sauce, mustard and bourbon to make marinade. Marinate turkey in mixture in refrigerator 2 to 4 hours.

Remove turkey from marinade, shaking to remove excess liquid. Combine flour and seasoning in bag. Add turkey strips and shake to coat. Fry in canola oil till golden brown. Place on serving dish and sprinkle with cheese and onions. Microwave until cheese is melted. Serve as hors d'oeuvres or with wild rice.

[gothicmom]

*drools*

Any one know anything about Boubon chicken like the stuff you get at the Cajun restaurants at the mall. I love that stuff.

[Ginevra]

" A favorite named after Bourbon Street in New Orleans, Louisiana and for the bourbon whiskey ingredient; although this dish, sold as Cajun-style cuisine in malls all over America, is reported to be nothing of the kind (not genuine Creole or Cajun fare)! Note: If you double the recipe, make sure that the chicken is still in a single layer. Laissez les bons temps rouler! " Found at — Aug 11, 2001

4 chicken breasts

1 teaspoon ground ginger

4 ounces soy sauce

2 tablespoons minced dried onions

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup bourbon

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1. Place chicken breasts in a 9x13 inch baking dish.

2. In a small bowl combine the ginger, soy sauce, onion flakes, sugar, bourbon and garlic powder.

3. Mix together and pour mixture over chicken.

4. Cover dish and place in refrigerator.

5. Marinate overnight.

6. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).

7. Remove dish from refrigerator and remove cover.

8. Bake in the preheated oven, basting frequently, for 1 1/2 hours or until chicken is well browned and juices run clear.

[gothicmom]

*kisses Ginevera's feet*

Thankyou thankyou thankyou!!!!

The place in NC put dried crushed red pepper in it! That was GOOD

[Fierce Critter]

I was searching for a chicken picatta recipe the other day, and came across a couple bourbon chidken recipes.

Found a lot of great recipes just by plugging in some ingredients & the word "recipe" in Google.