The Hemingway Daiquiri

There was no dry January around here.  Mainly because we are foodies and empty nesters and I'm in the era where I love to hang out with Mr. Devilish Dish.  He's really into cooking lately, and I'm still recovering from the busy holidays so I'm happy he is enjoying the meal preparation.  I do wash the dishes, but most of the time while he cooks, I sit on a bar stool at our counter and keep him company.  He does this thing where he throws a dish towel over his shoulder and says, "What can I get you to drink Ma'am?"  He's just too cute and funny to resist.  In addition to honing his cooking skills, he has really honed his bartending skills too.  My two favorite cocktails he makes for me are the Hillstone Crisp Martini and this daiquiri.  I love anything fruity or floral so it makes sense that I love this flavor profile.  This daiquiri isn't your typical poolside frozen drink.  This classy cocktail is a tempting combination of rum, maraschino liqueur, lime juice and grapefruit juice.  Shaken and served in a coupe glass, it's a sophisticated cocktail, originally created in the 1930s for Ernest Hemingway, who desired a more spirit-forward version of the classic daiquiri.  This is crisp, slightly tart, and a beautiful pink hue.  It's an ideal drink for spring and summer, or a special occasion.  Or in my case, to forget the dreary cold days of winter, and looking forward to sipping this on the patio during warmer weather.  The gorgeous pink hue makes it ideal for a Valentine's or Galentine's party too, so enjoy now, and bookmark this recipe so you can make again when warmer weather arrives.

My new favorite cocktail:
The Hemingway Daiquiri

The ingredients:  Simple and fresh.

A beautiful presentation in 
a coupe glass.  This would be so 
cute to serve at Valentine's Day,
not to mention how much this will be served 
during the summer!

A cute "pretend" bartender helps lol.

THE HEMINGWAY DAIQUIRI

2 ounces white rum
1/2 ounce maraschino liqueur
3/4 ounce lime juice, freshly squeezed
1/2 ounce grapefruit juice, freshly squeezed
Garnish: lime wheel

Add the rum, maraschino liqueur, lime juice and grapefruit juice into a cocktail shaker with ice and shake until well-chilled.  Strain into a couple glass.  Garnish with a lime wheel.

Enjoy Safely,

Turkey Charcuterie Board

I'm obsessed with making fun little charcuterie boards for various holidays.  My Halloween Fruit Char-BOO-terie board was a big hit, so I decided a Turkey Charcuterie board was just thing for Thanksgiving.  Imagine bringing this cute little guy and a bottle of wine to Thanksgiving or Friendsgiving?  It's just so fun and the ideas are endless, as to the meats, cheeses, fruits and crackers.  I have a giant round board I like to use for tailgates and parties, and I think it would make a gorgeous turkey board.  It's pretty huge, and since I was making this board for just my husband and I, this version was more simple.  I just used an assortment of meats, cheeses, crackers and grapes.  You could certainly make his feathers fancier with the addition of apple slices, more nuts, and even small bowls of mustards and jams.  All you need is a pear for the body and then go to town with your favorite charcuterie board ingredients.  You can be as whimsical as you want (with candy eyes) or go for a more classic look with dried whole cloves or pepper corns.  Whatever you decide, this will be a fun and delicious addition to any Thanksgiving get together.  Who doesn't love to graze on some cheese and crackers while the real turkey is cooking!

THIS and a bottle of wine.
The perfect FRIENDSGIVING.

Grab your standard charcuterie ingredients
plus a pear for the turkey body.

I used candy eyes and cheese for the beak.

Create the look of feathers by alternating
meats, cheeses, crackers, fruits, nuts,
olives etc... on a round board.
Use your imagination.  The bigger your board
the more "feathers" and ingredients you can add.

Fill in any gaps with small clusters of 
grapes and garnish with fresh rosemary.

Serve with some good wine and have
a Happy Thanksgiving.

TURKEY CHARCUTERIE BOARD

1 pear (brown, red or green)
assorted meats, cheeses and crackers
assorted fruits
smoked almonds and other nuts
Optional: Candy eyes 
Fresh Rosemary for garnish

Cut your pear in half.  Place him at the bottom of a round charcuterie board or platter.  If you wish to add eyes, do it now.  I cut a piece of cheese for the beak and turkey wattle.  If you want your turkey to look less whimsical you can skip this step. 

Place the smoked almonds around the pear (turkey body) 

Begin alternating meats, cheeses, crackers and fruit in concentric circles around the pear to create the look of feathers.  For round pieces of salami and other meats, fold them in half, and then in half again.  This will give your board some depth, and create a ruffled look.  You can also opt to place your ingredients in single rows so each "feather" is a different color.  Think a vertical row of cheese, then crackers, then meat, then nuts etc... There really is no correct way to do this, just fill it all in an make it look nice and tasty. 

Fill in any gaps with small bunches of grapes and fresh rosemary.

Enjoy.

Smoked Bologna - AKA "Oklahoma Prime Rib"

I've loved to cook since I was about 11-years old.  Just like my bio says, "I've been cooking since I was knee-high to a stand mixer, and when my mom only used garlic salt, I was riding my bike to the store for fresh garlic."  Heck I've even made a croquembouche once.  That's a big French word for a cone-shaped tower make of profiteroles (cream puffs).  So yes, sometimes I am fancy.  Other times I run straight back to my Oklahoma roots at enjoy a good fish fry or some smoked bologna now and then.  I don't know why, but you'll see smoked bologna at almost every true Okie Christmas get-together.  Maybe that's where the Prime Rib nickname came to be.  It's fancy and revered enough we only bring it out for the holidays.  Right up there with a Fried Bologna Sandwich.  Which is deep-diving into my Oklahoma childhood.  Everyone I know around here appreciates a good smoked bologna.  Whether they admit it or not.  A couple of years ago I made a "redneck charcuterie board" for a friend's birthday party.  A big ol gathering of friends that grew up in Oklahoma and Texas.  I added Easy Cheese and Crackers, Fritos Chips and Bean Dip, Twinkies, Honey Buns, etc... All of the stereo-typical redneck treats.  The star of the platter was smoked bologna and it was literally gone in a flash.  You just know everyone at that party remembers having a delicious smoked bologna when they were younger.  When we recently had a Fish Fry to celebrate my dad's 88th birthday, I asked Mr. Devilish to smoke a bologna.  There is absolutely no reason to save this for the holidays.  It's such a tasty treat.  You can slice it and eat it hot off the plate, thin slice it for a sandwich or even cube it up like an appetizer.  It is truly a nostalgic Oklahoma treat, and I'm all for bringing it back in style!  I'll share Mr. DD's method so you can enjoy our version of "prime rib" - just don't wait for the holidays!

A true southern treat.

You'll need a full chub of whole bologna,
 yellow mustard for a binder, and your favorite 
barbecue seasoning.

Unwrap the bologna.

Score diagonally with a knife.

Rub with a light coating of yellow
mustard and sprinkle generously
with your favorite barbecue seasoning.

Place in your smoker at 250 degrees
and smoke at least 2 hours.

Now you can stop here and eat it, dice it up as 
an appetizer or slice and enjoy.
OR you can take it a step further:

Place on a lightly oiled griddle or hot skillet and
fry on both sides until lightly browned.

Enjoy!

Oklahoma Prime Rib at his finest!

Here's our Redneck Charcuterie Board.
Check out that Chopped Smoked 
Bologna there on the left.

Blistered Shishito Peppers

 Last night for dinner, Mr. Devilish grilled a steak and we enjoyed a salad with HOMEGROWN lettuce AND tomatoes from our garden, AND HOMEGROWN Shishito Peppers.  He even made Homemade Ranch Dressing for our salad. Why the need for ALL CAPS? Why am I SHOUTING?  Well you should know I do not have a green thumb and I am super proud of our garden this year.  We have enjoyed BLT sandwiches with Cherokee Purple tomatoes at least twice a week for the last month.  I told him, "If you'd let me live in the country and have animals like I want we could have grown LITERALLY everything on this plate."  Which is a lie, if I had cows I would probably name them and love them like I love our dog Elli.  Anyway, I wanted the best preparation for the shishito pepper harvest so a quick consult with my brother-in-law who is a CHEF in New Orleans and I knew exactly what to do.  If you aren't familiar with shishito peppers, they are a small, slender green pepper, typically mild, and from East Asia.  Sometimes they have them in Asian restaurants as an appetizer.  Sometimes I see them at the grocery store, and definitely at the Asian Market.  They have a sweet, bright flavor and you just hold the stem and bite the whole pepper off and enjoy.  Most of the time they are not spicy, and I say MOST because once in a while you get a HOT one.  This experience is known as "Shishito Roulette" which has happened to me three times.  Shishitos are so delicious in flavor though, the risk of an occasional hot one is well worth it.  

Fresh from the garden and ready for Roulette.

Getting the wok "screaming hot"

Pour in the fresh peppers

They will sizzle like crazy.  BE CAREFUL
and wear an apron!

Stir constantly, keep them moving.
Remove to a bowl, toss with lemon juice 
and seasoings.

Enjoy! I'm so proud of our garden harvest.

BLISTERED SHISHITO PEPPERS

Shishito Peppers
Oil for frying
Juice from half a lemon
Flaked Sea Salt to taste
Red Pepper Flakes to taste

Preparation (According to Chef Jeff)

Place a small amount of oil in a wok.  "Get the wok SCREAMING HOT" Dump in your fresh shishito peppers and stir constantly until the skin starts to char and blister.  Place in a bowl and add lemon juice.  Toss and sprinkle with sea salt and red pepper flakes to taste.  Pour on to a platter and serve.

A Totally Awesome 1980s Party

 I am a true 80's kid.  You know...Generation X: Raised on hose water and neglect.  Literally.  Commercials came on right before the evening news and said, "It's 10 o'clock, do you know where your children are?" Television had to REMIND our parents to summon us home for bedtime.  It was truly a different time, and if you know you know.  We loved it.  Now I have my great nephews, the Littlest Devils making me kind of a pseudo grandmother.  A really cool Gen X grandmother.  You know Mr. Devilish Dish and I love live music.  In the last year we've seen Adam Ant, Psychedelic Furs, The Church, Duran Duran, Rick Springfield, The English Beat, Wang Chung, Paul Young, John Waite, Toto, Christopher Cross and Men at Work.  (Not including countless Red Dirt and other genres, but this is an 80's post!) Take me back!  Anyway, now that I am a cool Gen X G-ma, I saw these adorable personalized beaded bracelets.  I wanted them with the Littlest Devils names on them but they were kind of pricy.  You know I'm a crafty girl, so I landed upon the idea to make some custom bracelets (think those Swiftie style bangles) and it reminded me of the good 'ol days when we made friendship bracelets.  I remember in 10th Grade, I had a class with Mr. DD and he asked me to make a friendship bracelet for him.  Mind you he was NOT my boyfriend at the time.  He was just one of the cutest boys in the whole school and a very preppie golfer-type.  I remember spending hours at the craft store putting together the exact combination of embroidery threads to make him the ultimate preppie boy friendship bracelet.  Apparently it worked because we've been together over 30 years now.  Since I am still an 80s girl at heart, the night I decided to try my hand at creating the beaded bracelets, I invited over some crafty friends and decided to make a true 80's themed feast.  Not only did we create some totally awesome bracelets and have some good food and good laughs, we turned on YouTube and found some videos with assemblages of old 1980's commercials.  It was hilarious hearing, "Where's the Beef?" and "Mikey Likes It."  I hope this inspires your next get-together for some 80's themed fun!

Here's the full spread.  This was so much fun 
planning and putting together.

No 80s party is complete without some glow
necklaces and bracelets.

Remember the Sea Monkeys? My mom would NEVER
let me have those.  We enjoyed Shrimp Cocktail with
Mr. Devilish Dish's SPICY COCKTAIL SAUCE.

I made a small "charcuterie board" and cut a brie
cheese to look like Pac-Man.  I just added some salami,
crackers and fresh grapes.

The hardest part of the whole night was hollowing
out a cabbage for the "Cabbage Patch" relish tray.
Just ranch dip served in a cabbage with some
fresh veggies.

Remember hitting the mall for an Orange Julius?
Not only do I have a recipe for the DRINK HERE,
but I have a FRUIT DIP that tastes exactly like the
original drink.  We enjoyed that with fresh berries.

I added a bowl of candy and glow sticks.
Most of the candy I found at Dollar Tree.
Pop Rocks and Ring Pops were the thing
back then!

I hope you get some inspiration for your own 80s party.  This was kind of a spur of the moment event, but I know I will use these ideas in the future.  This could be the beginnings of a great costume or birthday party.  

Road Trip Snack Box Gift Idea

We have soooo many birthdays in the month of September.  My brother-in-law, father-in-law, Little Devil, Devilish Nephew, Mr. Devilish Dish, plus several close friends.  Now combine that with Christmas shopping a mere three months away and I'm always out of ideas.  I love a good theme gift like my fun "CHOCOLATE Lab" gift from years ago, or the PATRIOTIC BIRTHDAY BAGS I made for my mom and aunt and while back.  I made this gift for my father-in-law this past Father's Day, but the idea could be easily adapted for any occasion.  My in-laws are professional road trippers.  They have great friends in Arkansas that they visit several times a year.  We were struggling to come up with a good idea for his Father's Day gift when I stumbled upon these neat treat boxes at Hobby Lobby.  I sent Mr. Devilish Dish a screen shot and said, "Father's Day idea activated."  We went to our local Winco Grocery Store because they have an awesome bulk section of nuts, candies and other treats and bought all kinds of tasty treats to fill the separate chambers.  Of course the gift could have stopped there, but I'm extra and I need to zhuzh up everything I get my hands on.  I found a Hot Wheels car that is the same model as their car and made a couple of cute gift tags to tie on to complete Papa Bear's Road Trip Snack Box.  What little boy (even 77 year-old boys) don't love a race car? That way he had some tasty snack for his drive to Arkansas, and a neat box he can refill for future trips.  I know I will recycle this idea for future gifts, and I hope it inspires you for your gift giving occasions!

Here's the completed Road Trip Snack Box - 
it turned out so cute!

We added chocolate covered sea salt popcorn, 
limoncello almonds, macadamia nuts, M&Ms and more!
Thanks Winco!

Here's my supplies all gathered and ready to go.

I used double-sided tape to add the car to the 
little road strip tag.

Here it is all tied on and ready to roll!

ROAD TRIP SNACK BOX SUPPLIES:


One divided snack container with lid
Assorted snacks to fill the container
Hot Wheels Car
Gift tag or card
Scissors
Twine or ribbon
Hole Punch
Double-Sided Tape

 

PS: Here's the road strip I used to create the tag
for the Hot Wheels Car to drive on.  Right-click and 
save to your computer and print onto cardstock. 
Attach your car with double-sided tape.

August is National Catfish Month - Here's an Old-Fashioned Oklahoma Fish Fry

I love fishing.  It's probably my main hobby with cooking coming in a close second.  I'm not a huge fan of eating fish.  Lake fish that is.  Take me to the coast and I'll put away some serious seafood.  The rest of my family are complete opposites.  They would eat fried fish every night.  So my fishing hobby and their eating hobby mesh up very well.  Yesterday we celebrated my Dad's 88th Birthday.  There was absolutely no question that the event would be a Fish Fry.  I really only had to decide what kinds of sides to make and what kind of birthday cake we would be having.  I know I talked about National Catfish Month, but what we ate yesterday was mainly Striper and Crappie.  Occasionally when we're fishing for a big mess of fish, we will catch a catfish and go ahead a fillet it as well.  The preparation is the same for all three species, and all taste equally delicious, although I think my family would unanimously agree the Crappie is the absolute best eating.  Mr. Devilish Dish has evolved his own fish fry method, inspired by his brother the chef in New Orleans and my family will also agree this method is the tastiest.  The running family joke is the preppy golfer I married over 30 years ago is now CATCHING, AND frying fish on the patio for all family occasions like my grandfathers and uncles did in the past.  If you enjoy fishing, then give this method a try.  And if you're ever at Lake Texoma or Lake Fork I will share the information for both our Striper Fishing Guide and Crappie Fishing Guide.  We've gotten to know these guys pretty well and if you want to catch a mess of fish and host your own family fish fry, I highly recommend the experience. Not only is it rewarding to catch your own meal, but they even fillet the fish for you!

A proper Oklahoma meal.  We even had Smoked
Bologna (which is hilariously known as Oklahoma Prime
Rib.  I plan on sharing the recipe for that soon!)

Place your fish fillets in a bowl and coat
them with hot sauce.  Just a light coating
to help the breading stick.

Place the breaded fillets in the deep fryer.

Fry away!

They will turn golden brown and float when 
they are done.

Drain those golden, crispy fillets on paper towels.

Enjoy with your family's favorite sides.

Mr. Devilish Dish's Fish Fry Technique:

-4 Parts Louisiana Fish Fry Breading Mix combined with 1 part Cajun Seasoning or Dry Cajun Boil Mix (He uses spicy breading mix and a secret dry Cajun boil mix that I do not have permission to share)

-Crystal's Hot Sauce (He uses this as a binder.  You do not taste that heat of the hot sauce.  It's just to help the breading stick.  I've seen old timers do this same technique with yellow mustard but I'm a fan of this Cajun flavor)

-Peanut oil for frying (We use an electric deep fryer.  You could totally do this in a big skillet but I love the ease of the deep fryer for this. It's honestly the only time we use it.  And I'm sure you could use an air fryer too, I've never tried it that way.  I'm just an Okie girl cooking fish the way my ancestors taught me.  

Pat your fish fillets dry with clean paper towels.  In a bowl toss together fish fillets with a small amount of hot sauce.  Combine the fish fry breading mix and the Cajun seasoning or dry Cajun boil mix.  

Toss the fillets in the breading mix, shaking off any excess.

Fry in peanut oil that has been heated to 350 degrees F. Depending upon the size of your fillets, you'll fry them anywhere from 2-4 minutes.  Basically until they are golden brown and start to float.

Immediately turn the fried fish pieces out on to a paper towel to drain any oil.  This will help keep them crispy.  We like ours with more Crystal's Hot Sauce, but if you like cocktail sauce or tartar sauce feel free.

NOTE: I didn't use specific amounts here, as I don't know if you'll be frying two fillets or 12 pounds of fillets.  This is just the technique and products we use and enjoy.

FISHING GUIDE INFORMATION:

Lake Texoma Striper Fishing Guide: Steve Ford 

Lake Fork Crappie Guide: BJ Shelton