the best of jelly shots

April 23, 2013

As soon as the weather gets nice and picnics come to mind, so do jelly shots. My sister always makes Jell-O eggs (yes, Jell-O in the shape of eggs) for Easter …I always wonder what it would be like to create a jelly shot egg! I have never tried it since I have a niece and some nephews well below the legal drinking age, but Easter always seems to start me thinking about making jelly shots.

Back in my college years, I discovered Jell-O shots and started making and bringing them to parties. I would prepare Jell-O, substituting most of the water in the recipe to some type of alcohol and pour it into small paper cups. I loved experimenting with flavors of Jell-O and liquors to come up with some cool combinations.

Over the years, I discovered that using Knox gelatin opened up a whole creative avenue…no longer were my creations limited by the flavors of Jell-O…Knox could make any liquid become a gelatin! Flavor combinations became much more sophisticated. And, small paper cups were replaced…shapes were cut or fancy molds were used.

A fun way to serve a school of fish shaped jelly shots is on skewers. These are vodka pink lemonade jelly shots.

If you are less adventurous and would like some recipes already proven to be winners, check out the recipes of Michelle Palm. Her blog, with tons of recipes for jelly shots, is amazing and contains more recipes than you could ever think of…for any occasion! Today, I adapted one of her recipes for my ‘fish’ shots. I chose the vodka pink lemonade for this post because it is pretty basic – a real crowd pleaser – everyone seems to like pink lemonade!

Vodka Pink Lemonade Jelly Shots Recipe (makes a school of fish)

2/3 cup frozen canned pink lemonade, thawed
2/3 cup water
2 envelopes + 1 tsp. Knox gelatin
2/3 cup vodka

Pour the lemonade mix and water through a strainer into a medium size sauce pan. Sprinkle the gelatin over the surface, letting it saturate for about 2 minutes. Heat over low heat, stirring constantly to dissolve – about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in vodka. Spoon into molds and refrigerate until set.

I used fish shaped ice cube trays that I purchased at IKEA. There are 12 fish in each tray and this recipe filled 4 trays.

Please remember that this recipe contains alcohol. It should not be used or consumed by anyone except a responsible adult that is of the legal drinking age.

If you want to make some shots for the under 21 set, you can also use Jell-O brand gelatin to make Jell-O jigglers which only require adding water, or you can use your own fruit juice to make Knox Blox… these can be made from any fruit juice and the instructions to make them is right on the Knox gelatin envelope. Another really fun idea for the kids is to make glow–in-the-dark gelatin by using tonic water.

Hope this inspired you to create your own ‘school’ of jelly shots… (with or without alcohol), they are a fun warm weather treat!

Thanks so much for visiting!

Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

Sharing at Coastal Charm, Little Red House, The Inspiration Gallery at Craftberry Bush, and A Pinch of Joy.

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a gift of saffron

February 19, 2013

I enjoy some Middle Eastern foods, but as far as preparing authentic dishes myself, I can’t say I have a big Middle Eastern selection in my personal repertoire. Like many people I know, I have made hummus and I have toasted pita bread to make my own chips…not much else.

Many years ago, when I landed my first ‘real’ job I made a good friend that was of Middle Eastern heritage…not yet a U.S. citizen when we first met. He taught me how to make baklava…if you can perfect only one Middle Eastern recipe, believe me, this is the one to perfect!

I was thrilled to learn how to make an authentic baklava and for many years this became my ‘go to’ dessert to make and bring to parties and holiday gatherings.

Like the cool discovery of baklava with my friend long ago, a recent discovery with a new friend has gotten me excited once again about Middle Eastern flavors. This time, the motivation was a gift of a Middle Eastern spice called saffron from this friend’s native country…the largest producer of the spice. Most people have heard of saffron, but I don’t think many know exactly what it is. Saffron is the dried stigmas of the saffron crocus. And because these stigmas need to be collected by hand, and only a few are contained in each individual flower, saffron is the most expensive spice in the world!

I discovered rosewater as an ingredient for the first time when I learned to make baklava. Now in much the same way, I am exploring saffron and cardamom ….and using these flavors in combinations with additional Middle Eastern flavors of the rosewater and pistachios. Using these flavors in various combinations and recipes really illustrates to me that there is so much more to Middle Eastern cuisine than just hummus and baklava.

One of my favorite recipes is the one I found for Persian Love Cake from a 2005 issue of Bon Appetit (aah, the beauty of the internet!). This cake really embraces a subtle saffron flavor as well as cardamom, rosewater, and pistachio. It is so wonderfully delicious, it was gone – devoured by my family – before I could even finish making the candied rose petal garnish!

If you are a frequent visitor to my blog, you know how I get on my ‘secret ingredient’ kicks… In true Iron Chef style, in my house we have been experimenting with our gift of saffron as our secret ingredient…recipes for appetizers, main dishes, and desserts are being explored…the Persian Love Cake is a wonderful example.

Photo of Persian Love Cake…a recipe that embraces the Middle Eastern flavors of saffron, rosewater, pistachio, and cardamom.

Thanks for sharing my gift of saffron. I would love to hear about your favorite Middle Eastern recipes. My next project will be using the wonderful golden-yellow hue of saffron as an Easter egg dye…

I am also sharing at A Pinch of Joy.

Thanks for visiting, Jackie

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homage to hot tea month

January 22, 2013

Did you know January is National Hot Tea Month? When I happened upon this fact, I wanted to create a dessert as an homage to the occasion. I am ~~a little~~ obsessed with Food Network, so, with Kitchen Stadium in the back of my mind, I attempted to create a dessert using tea as the secret ingredient.

Earl Grey is my favorite tea, so I knew that was the starting point. My first impulse was to make a cookie…the wonderful flavor of the rosemary shortbreads I made over the holidays was fresh in my mind. Earl Grey shortbread? Seemed a little too obvious for Kitchen Stadium.

Ice cream? Creme brulee? My final idea: a cream puff filled with Earl Grey infused whipped cream. To finish it off; a lemon glaze…it is tea after all…lemon should pair well.

cream puffs infused with Earl Grey infused cream

A photo of pleasure in simple thing’s homage to National Hot Tea Month. Cream puffs filled with Earl Grey infused cream and topped with fresh lemon glaze.

After a few experiments, I found that six Earl Grey tea bags were the amount that gave the result I was looking for. I heated up whipping cream and used the tea bags to infuse the cream. Then, I put the cream in the fridge overnight…okay, in kitchen stadium I would need to use the blast chiller. Anyway, I chilled the cream. That way, I was able to get the Earl Grey flavor into the cream. After I made a standard cream puff, I filled it with the cream and added a simple lemon glaze. Perfect! I think I was pretty successful in creating my homage to National Hot Tea Month!

Probably everyone has a cream puff recipe, but I will include one here with the cream and glaze recipes, for your convenience.

Earl Grey Infused Cream

1 1/2 cups of heavy whipping cream
1 1/2 Tablespoons of confectioners sugar
6 Earl Grey teabags

Heat the cream until very hot, but not boiling. Steep 6 Earl Grey teabags in the cream for a good 15 minutes, until the cream turns a beige color from the tea. Squeeze the excess cream from the tea bags before discarding them. Cover the cream and put in the fridge overnight (or the blast chiller for a short time ;) ). When you whip the cream, add the confectioners sugar gradually. Don’t whip the cream too far ahead of the serving time.

Lemon Glaze

1/2 cup confectioners sugar
1 1/2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
grated lemon peel (optional for garnish)

After cream puffs are filled, mix the sugar and lemon together and spread over the top of each puff. Sprinkle with grated lemon peel, if desired.

Cream Puffs (Choux Paste) 18 to 20, medium-size

1 cup water
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1 cup flour
4 eggs (plus 1 additional egg for glaze)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Lightly grease a baking sheet and set aside. In a pan over medium-high heat, bring water, butter, salt, and sugar to a boil. When butter melts, remove pan from heat, add flour all at once, and beat with a wooden spoon until well blended. Reduce heat to medium. Return pan to heat and stir vigorously with a wooden spoon until mixture forms a ball and leaves sides of pan. Remove pan from heat and let mixture cool for 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating mixture after each addition until smooth. Let batter cool for 10 minutes before shaping.

Use two spoons to shape the cream puffs. With one spoon, scoop up about 1 heaping Tablespoon of batter. With other spoon, push batter off first spoon and drop in a mound onto prepared baking sheet. Place mounds about 2 inches apart.

In a small dish or cup, beat 1 egg with 1 teaspoon water. Brush egg glaze lightly over tops of puffs, being sure it doesn’t drip down sides and onto baking sheet (preventing proper rising of puffs).

Bake in upper third of preheated 425 degree oven for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 375 degrees and bake for 5 more minutes.

Cut a slash in lower side of each puff and continue baking for 10 minutes or until puffs are firm, dry to touch, and golden brown. Let cool on wire racks. Use within 24 hours; or wrap airtight and freeze. Makes about 18 – 20 medium-size puffs.

When ready to fill, carefully cut the top (upper third) from each puff (scoop out moist , doughy interior if desired). Shortly before serving, fill with a heaping Tablespoon of the whipped Earl Grey infused cream and spread top with lemon glaze.