BarBQBoozers

Let's see....we have bananas, whipped cream and booze.... what a combo!! A Party with a Capital P! You agree with that Burgerman??? Yes you do! Get the booze....hehe..

My first thought~ I was going to use Bourbon...but then it hit me: Bailey's!! And a short poll on facebook showed most people would choose Bailey's for the Bananas (without knowing what kind of party it would be!). And who am I to neglect that, so I obeyed instantly! Yeah that's so me haha!

Been planning on making this pie for a week, but for several reasons I didn't. But what's better on a cloudy Sunday morning to see those bananas on the kitchen table...I'll spare you what they said to me but oooww!!!
Well....when I finally started with the pie....a few things went wrong. I'll be honest, sometimes the easiest things are the things you easily mess up. Lesson 1: ALWAYS check if the milk you're about to use is still ehm...drinkable...ugh...and the bad thing was I already had poured the Bailey's in the measuring cup...what a waste!!! Lesson 2: you can't buy proper pre-baked pie crusts here... Lesson 3: don't try to hurry when separating egg yolks and whites...

It was a nice sticky mess in my kitchen and the party hadn't even started!!

Are you ready??? Let's gooooooo!!! Oh I do need to mention that it's an adapted recipe from Dorie Greenspan, okay, let's do it:

1 cup whole milk
¼ cup Bailey's
3 egg yolks
¼ cup packed brown sugar
¼ cup cornstarch
½ teaspoon apple pie spice blend
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
3 ripe bananas
1 pie crust
1 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons confectioners sugar, sifted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon apple pie spice blend
2 tablespoons sour cream

 Bring the milk and Bailey's to a boil.

Whisk the yolks with the sugar, cornstarch, apple pie spice blend, vanilla extract.  

Add the milk and keep stirring. Put the pan over medium heat, and keep stirring for about 1 minute, or until it thickens.

Let it cool and don't forget to press a piece of plastic wrap on the surface of the custard.

Aahhh the bananas!

Mash the bananas.

Make layers (as much as you can, the pie crust I bought could barely hold the first layer...arrgghh) with the custard and bananas.

Then it's time to make the whipped cream (with the sugar, vanilla and apple pie spice). When that's done, carefully stir in the sour cream.

Divide the cream over the pie and you're done!!! (ehm...well almost..)

Enjoy the party.....

You want this...you need this...you will love this....I know!! Everybody loves ice cream, and homemade has it's advantages... I mean, where can you get this variety?? Nowhere, but I'm here to make your day a lot brighter, more luscious, creamier and you'll be completely satisfied after you tasted this ice cream....mmmm!! Heaven in a bowl!

It's an ice cream that screams “SUMMER”,and “EAT ME”, so you better obey and get this thing started!! Let's do it...!

Oh yeah, before I forget, if you can't get Passoa you can also use Peach liquor of course, or any other liquor...hehe...

What you need for this:

2 peaches (yes!! you see 3 in the picture...let's just say there was some Passoa involved...hehe)
2 tablespoons sugar
½ teaspoon lemon juice
¼ cup Passoa (here ya go)

Cut the peaches into pieces, add to a pan.  

Mix in the other ingredients. Bring to a boil and let it boil for about 15-20 minutes until the peach is soft and the mixture thickened.

Let it cool completely! A quick way for this (because you can't wait, I know you!) is to put the pan in some ice cold water.

Then you need: (makes ½ quart of icecream, double it if needed but then you'll need to double the peaches ingredients too!)
1 egg
¼ cup sugar
1 cup heavy cream
½ cup milk

Mix all the ingredients plus the cooled peach mixture with the help of a blender. Make sure you pulse it long enough to make the batch filled with air, and you get this:

here we go again....waiting and churning....

Follow the instructions of your ice cream machine (say that out loud, it sounds awesome haha!) and you will have this for dessert (or anytime you want it!):

Cheers and enjoy!

Sometimes when I come up with a recipe it seems so weird (in my mind) that I just have to try it!! Is that normal? Okay, what's the definition of normal...I know I know...we BarBQBoozers have a slightly different standard for that, and you will have to get used to that (we could, so you can do it too haha!).

This happened to the following recipe. Who on earth would combine this... I did, yeah you an expect (almost) anything from the Dutchess....Sometimes you gotta live dangerously in order to move ahead! Trust me!

First we start with Ranch Dressing (found this one in our local supermarket here...wow...that's world news!!) and a bottle of Vodka.

Oh and chicken and panko and chicken seasoning (but that's less important). Mix the seasoning with the chicken and add the Ranch Dressing (about ½ cup depending on how much chicken you got, of course) and add some … Vodka. 

Then it's time for the S&S. That's stir & sip, so get yourself a glass and a spoon and take your time! This is my favorite moment!

Add the panko, enough to cover all the pieces, and arrange the chicken pieces on a baking sheet. Preheat the oven to 325F.

The chicken will need 20-25 minutes.

In the meantime...have a sip of vodka and cut some bacon and mushrooms, and boil some water for the pasta.

In the pan, with butter and oil, cook the bacon and mushrooms until almost done. Add a shot and take another shot of Vodka yourself and let it simmer for 1 minute.

Add 1 cup of cream and bring to a boil. In the meantime cook the pasta. When done, add a few tablespoons of the water to the sauce. Drain the pasta and mix pasta and sauce in the same pan. The pasta will soak up all the sauce (oowww!), make sure to add some grated Parmesan Cheese and some pepper (no salt).

Okay....dinner is ready! Weird but very tasty!!

Cheers and enjoy!

Since most of you seem to have very hot weather over there, I thought it's time for some refreshment. Even though it doesn't fit the weather that I'm having over here, but I do it for you not for myself... Oh geez...I'm good ha...yeah...

Today I'm giving you the recipe for a sorbet made of red grapefruits with....tadaaa....Campari!! And I know what you're thinking, bitter!!! Noooo....there's enough sugar in it to make taste perfect!

No doubt this recipe will cool you down, but if you have too much of it it might cause some other heat, but that's up to you to decide how much you can handle! If I were you I'd keep the a/c going!

 Ingredients:
2-3 red grapefruits
½ cup sugar
1 teaspoon lemon juice
Campari

You only need the juice of the grapefruits, and you have to make sure that you have 1 cup of grapefruit juice. For me 2 grapefruits were enough.

Add the sugar and the lemon juice to the juice and mix until the sugar has dissolved. Taste, and add some more lemon juice if you like.

Put it in the fridge for at least 2 hours. It has to be as cold (not frozen) as possible when you are going to make the sorbet. And a good idea is to store your Campari in the fridge too. I always keep it in the fridge but I wanted to mention it just in case you don't!

Use an ice cream machine for this, and follow the instructions. Usually that means: throw it all in the freezer bowl, and churn until it's done. Easy! And no I didn't forget the Campari!! Just wait...the best part usually comes at the end!

Churn....

Churn.... ooww I'm a bit dizzy!

When the sorbet is ready, fill a nice glass with it and add a shot of Campari (there you go), as much as you like...but it's not a soup-sorbet so don't over-do it! You better make some more if you think the booze isn't enough... Serve immediately!

This is sooooo good!!! You can also serve this sorbet in a glass with Prosecco, now that's a nice idea!

Cheers!

Are you ready for Cole Slaw number two?? Yes you are, because this one you’ll be making over and over again! Of course, the booze is king in this recipe, so it’s also another adult recipe. But if you really insist (….) you can leave the booze out, but it’s not the same…. It just isn’t…

In the recipe Number One I used Tequila but for this one we’re going to use rum, spiced rum that is.

The repeating ingredients are of course the cabbage, and yes the carrot too. I don’t know what it is with carrots, I always buy too much of them. Greedy maybe?? And I really didn’t plan on using them in this recipe, but hey…what else could I do with them?!  Still have a few left and I think it’s better I use them for let’s say ehm… a carrot salad, with Bourbon?? We’ll see, first I have this recipe for you to write down. It’s getting harder trying to remember what I added, I really must write it down while making the recipes… Could it be an age thing, or do you think it’s the booze?? Whatever it is, I’ll drink to it!

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons vinegar (white wine I used…)
1 tablespoon dried tarragon
2 teaspoons lemon juice
¼ teaspoon sugar
1 fennel bulb
1 apple, a firm and crisp one
½ a cabbage

One large carrot

¼  cup chopped walnuts

Pepper/salt

And….. a few tablespoons of rum (I used 3 tablespoons Captain Morgan’s)

First make the dressing of the oil, vinegar, tarragon, lemon juice, sugar and the rum! Add some pepper and salt to taste.

Use your food processor to shred the cabbage, fennel, apple and carrot.

Stir in the walnuts and then add the dressing.

Store it in the fridge for at least one hour.

Cheers!

The Burgerman had Divine Inspiration or maybe Too Much Wine; but no matter where my intervention came from...These Recipes are tastefully special ones and the results were Better than just any Pig In a Poke....

First-The Pork (Poke) Butt Recipe:

Found this great looking Pork (Poke) Butt on sale and picked it up. I was actually on a mission to find a Ham to BBQ, but here in CA I could not find any hams at the store..well except for that canned pressed thing they call a ham. Sorry-no go...I can't eat anything out of a can except tuna, sardines, and well maybe beer!! haha. (Oh and maybe veggies when I'm desperate).

The Pork (Poke) Butt was about 5 lbs and was actually a really nice piece of meat and after trimming away some fat and rubbin my butt (haha), with some spices like garlic salt (lots of salt), black pepper, and a secret rub mix..I was ready for the marinade/glazing to begin.

This is where the fun begins. First I bought a California Merlot (cheap one at that). Like the lady at the market said: "Why spend too much...because after the first bottle...does it really matter anyway?" As you can see: It's a "classy" town..and believe it or not, she actually had all her teeth. So after considering her advice, I bought some $3.00 CA Merlot and poured 2 cups in a bowl and then included some magic.... added 6 tablespoons of honey in with the merlot. Stirred it up until the honey dissolved and WahLa...A sweet merlot marinade.

Next we need a can of pineapple rings...whoops there ya go..guess I also use canned fruits (if you have been following along-you know what I mean). Grilled pineapple rings are one of the favorites of my friends.  

Wrap the pork(poke) butt in tin foil, surround it with pineapple rings, cover in merlot/honey marinade and make sure everything is nice and tight... (you don't want your juices or anything else dripping on hot coals.... could cause flare ups among other things) Now at this time,  also pour 1/2 of the pineapple juice from the pineapple ring can in with the marinade... (We'll be using the rest of that pineapple juice later)

Place this bad boy of poke butt, marinade and pineapples on the grill and make sure the temp stays around 250-300 degrees. Depending on the size of the butt it will take 2-1/2 to 4-1/2 hours to cook. You want to cook and baste it several times and, wait until it reaches 140-150 degrees, when checking it in the middle with a meat thermometer.

And there..Ladies and Gentlemen..is the finished product. It was moist, tasty, and even though it wasn't the ham I originally wanted...it became the POKE Butt I learned to love! Just like being at a meal back home! Kinda brings a tear to your eye..doesn't it? haha

BUTT wait..we were not done...no mam' I had more divine inspiration to create a dessert to go with this grilled pokers delight.

Thus we have the Blueberry Merlot Crumb Pie! Everyone will love this one! You can amaze your friends and perhaps even impress someone special with your Grilled Blueberry Pie!

Here is your list of ingredients for the pie filling:
3/4 cup of sugar
2/3 cups of all purpose flour
1/2 a squeezed lemon
lemon zest from that 1/2 lemon
1 cup of California Merlot (see a trend here?)
6 tablespoons of honey (another trend)
1/2 a cup of pineapple juice (see can above :-))

Combine all these ingredients in a bowl until everything is mixed very well..and then the most important ingredient: Blueberries (5 cups). Slightly frozen works best, so the berries don't get squashed. Blend in the blueberries and pour into a 9 inch pie crust. (Frozen ones are the best pie crust- Let the Pillsbury Dough Boy make them and just giggle, like him, when you pour in all the ingredients) (PS-add more flour if needed, to make the filling like a runny paste).

To make the Crumb Crust you will need:
2/3 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
6 Tablespoons of butter

Mix well and spread evenly on the pie.

Now it is grill time. Make sure your coals are burning on low and you want to try and keep the temperature around 200 degrees once adding the grill lid. You want to grill until the top crust turns a light golden brown and don't let things get too hot..otherwise you will burn the crust on the bottom.  (about 1 hour..but keep your eyes on it)

Here is the finished product....Add a scoop of icecream and/or some whipped cream and watch for the giant smiles! It will be a crowd pleaser and make your friends break into uncontrollable smiles and laughter...(though if you are serving drinks too, that could also be all the alcohol giggling) 

Cheers to all! Hope You Enjoy the Poke &  Pie! Pour some CA Merlot! Get Out The Chips and Cheese... The Burgerman will be right over!!

We’re going to slow down a bit, after all it's summer and we want to keep you away from the stove. It’s time for Coleslaw! And then I mean Coleslaw for Adults. No sorry it’s not some kinky coleslaw, (in my opinion cabbage isn't very sexy...but I could be mistaken...), what I’m talking about is booze! And yes, you can use booze in coleslaw! Never tried?? Doesn’t matter, we are here to do the testing for you, and we do it with pleasure!!! Cheers!

Nothing beats this as a side dish, okay almost nothing and you have to agree that making this recipe is as easy as chop chop chop (if you want you can substitute the word chop for plop if that sounds more familiar to you). Besides, we don’t have just one recipe, nope, we got two! One is such a lonely number, and you can handle two can’t you? But you’ve got to learn to have some patience, because we’re going to tease you: we won’t give you the two recipes at once, we’re going to spread it out…!

For this first recipe you need:

Cabbage (half)
1 large carrot
1 cup dried cranberries
Mayonnaise
Old Bay Seasoning
Vinegar (I used white wine vinegar) (of course)
Sugar
Tequila
Pepper/salt

Make a dressing of ¼ cup of mayonnaise, 1 tablespoon Old Bay Seasoning, 3 tabespoons Tequila, 1 tablespoon vinegar and 1 teaspoon sugar, some salt and pepper. Taste the dressing before you add it to the salad, you might want to add something more (Tequila for example).

Let your food processor do the work of shredding the cabbage and the carrot, add the dressing and the dried cranberries and put it away in the fridge for at least one hour.

Coleslaw Number Two (always the best) is going to be very special, so keep an eye on our Blog!

Cheers!

Finally! It's weekend! And for me that means today no cooking on this Friday Evening but a quick snack! With booze, because that's the way we roll here at the BarBQBoozers Website! The booze is calling us (and you too) and we just can't resist....

And what did I make for you this time?? A new twist on the Philly Cheese steak! I know you're about to ask me if that is such a good idea, why change a winning team?? Because I say so and because we want booze! Trust me in this one (yeah I know, not easy) and you'll be on your knees thanking me (again and again, as you should) for bringing this cheesy boozy stuffed piece of bread into your lives.... now, sit down, read on and enjoy this ride!

First you must start with grabbing the bottle of Tequila, and ask yourself the most important question of today: is there enough in it to get me through at least another couple of hours?? If yes: great, pour me one shot too. If not: go buy a new one but don't expect us to wait for that, we got more important things to do! Arribbaaaaa! Look at this picture!!

Other stuff you need:

1 garlic bread (bake off, cut in half horizontally)
6-8 mushrooms (I choose chestnut mushrooms aka brown cap mushrooms)
1 sweet onion, thinly sliced in rings
a few jalapenos (from a jar), finely diced
half a green bell pepper, finely sliced
roast beef, thinly sliced
pepper/salt
a piece of very soft cheese (I used Taleggio)
shredded cheese
and don't forget that Tequila!

Got that? Good, time for shot #2.

Toast the bread and owwww....that smell!!

In the meantime add some oil to a large pan and add the mushrooms, onion rings, jalapenos, bell pepper, salt and pepper. Have another shot (I lost track).

Cook it for about 5 minutes and then add a big (what's big, liquid-wise I have no explaination for that, just a very large shot I'd say...)splash of Tequila (to the pan and have another shot yourself too). 

Let it boil for a few seconds and then add some shredded cheese over it....owwww that smell!!

When the bread is ready, start building the sandwich and start with the roast beef, then the soft cheese and then the Tequila mixture. Top with the other half of the bread and then.......owwww......mmmm!!!

Did I make you happy??? Good!!

Oh yeah and if you insist on thanking me anyway...we accept bottles, full ones, but that's obvious!

Cheers!

OK OK.....I finally did it!! Being The Burgerman is a tough job, but somebody's gotta do it! I know most of you think, all this clown knows how to make is grilled burgers...but there is more to this tall, dark, and handsome exterior than you may think!! hahaha

 So had an idea-A Burger Bisque..that's what I needed to do. The Dutchess was hounding me because she thinks she has to do all the work on this blog. (and she would be correct) Though we know life can't be all work and no play... yet I guess I seem to be one-sided on this equation. Hmmm-I wonder which one that would be?

First of all...the word "Bisque" is not one of those words that a burley guy feels comfortable saying.... (it's more like soup to me...but for all you foo-foo folks...I used the fancy word Bisque) Somehow I need to try and convince you that I have "class" somewhere... (though barely measurable).
(I would also like to acknowledge that my good friend on Facebook, Laury Bakie, helped with the inspiration for this recipe. I think she needed a recipe that she could serve proudly, which combined my specialty of burgers, with her classy Waterford wine glass guests-Hope this works...)

Now on with the show: Here's what you need....
(And yes I use canned and prepared items for most of my recipes...I don't have all day to spend in the kitchen...I got better things to do.. like dreaming up new burger flavors))

1 lb of Lean Ground Beef (85/15)

6 shots of Whiskey (3 each of your choice) I used Two Jim Beam and Two Wild Turkey for the recipe and One each for the cook!

One Finely Chopped Onion.. (Vidalia if you got 'em)

Several Pinches of Black & Red Pepper... I like Pepper so I threw in several pinches...but you choose what works best for you.

8-12 ounces of shredded cheese variety (swiss, american, parmesan)

2 cans of Stewed Tomatoes (with or without mushrooms)

I Cup of Unsifted Flour

One Can or Container of Beef Broth

8 cups of Whole Milk

12 slices of Crispy Fried Bacon

Now combine and grill as follows:
Brown the ground beef in an iron skillet on your BBQ grill..when it's almost done, pour off 1/2 the drippings, then add chopped onion, black pepper, red pepper and slowly stir in the flour to thicken. Then as things continue to simmer, slowly stir in the milk, stewed tomatoes, whiskey shots and beef broth. Make sure you cook this on low heat slowly stirring all the time.... You don't want to burn it.... (nows a good time to take your two shots of whiskey because the cheese part gets tricky..and even trickier when drunk).
Slowly add in the cheese and stir it as it melts...(this is where I screwed up and had to start all over-so be careful). If it's too hot..the cheese will burn and then you have a nasty looking bowl of bisque. (I won't show that photo)

When you are done..this is what it will look like with the bacon crumbled on top. (PS-even if it doesn't look exactly like this..don't worry...looks aren't everything, ( I know), but it still tastes good!

Enjoy your Cheeseburger Whiskey Bisque(y) (Soup)

The foo-foo guests may not still be impressed, but not too worry...give them lots of wine and they will lighten up, if the wine quantity is large enough.

Today is Wednesday, right? A.k.a. Hump Day and therefore we have a new recipe for you with balls: Meatballs! And not some average balls, not the one you know so well, but we have balls for you with red wine! Oh yeah these balls are smothered in a sauce, with red wine too. I think you’re going to have some party tonight ha?!

You can use leftover wine (huh? you have that?) or buy special small bottle(s) of wine for cooking if you’re not a wine drinker. For others: just open up that bottle that has been flirting with you for some time. You’re excused to buckle under that pressure!! I wouldn’t recommend to use an expensive one, you won’t taste that in the recipe anyway after you’ve finished the first bottle as an appetizer… and having said that, it would be nice if you could manage to prepare all the balls with the same size, but I won’t hold it against you if you can’t!

How do we get these balls in the pan:

The balls:

0.5 lb ground beef (lean)
1 egg
1 scallion, finely diced, only the green part
Salt/pepper
2 tablespoons tomato paste
3 tablespoons BBQ sauce
1 garlic clove, mashed
dried chili flakes (amount according to your own taste)
1 tablespoon dried Italian herbs
¼ cup red wine

Panko (about ½ cup, see recipe)

Mix all the ingredients, except the meat and the panko together, it won’t look nice…

Now add the meat and then the panko. Use just enough so you can make nice firm meatballs, not those softy ones.

Heat a pan, add some oil and cook the balls until brown on all sides. Handle with care. 

In the meantime, you can start thinking about the sauce:

1 small red onion, diced
1 garlic clove, mashed
1 can peeled tomatoes
½ cup red wine

Add some oil to a sauce pan and add the onions. On a low heat, stir occasionally until the onions are soft, not colored. Add the garlic, stir and immediately add the wine...

...and the peeled tomatoes. Bring to a boil and let it simmer until the meatballs are ready. Don't forget to taste if you should add more wine...

Pour the sauce over the meatballs and let this simmer for about 15 minutes.

You can boil some pasta (spaghetti is a possibility) in the meantime and serve these delicious wine balls as spaghetti with meatballs!!!! I served it with garlic pasta.
But whatever you do, don’t forget to serve it with lots of grated Parmesan Cheese and the (rest of the) red wine…..ooowww……

Cheers!!