Bourbon Balls

Bourbon Balls from Paloozer 2015

These boozy babies replaced rumballs this Xmas but are pretty much the same recipe. Advantage: no baking! I used the most excellent SMOKED MAPLE BOURBON from Knob Creek, yeah baby. 

http://www.tastingtable.com/entry_detail/chefs_recipes/19204
Recipe adapted from Kat Kinsman, Editor in Chief Tasting Table

Yield: 3 dozen  balls- not cooked!

Prep Time: 25 minutes (plus 2-3 hours to bourbonate pecans)

Cook Time: 15 minutes (toasting nuts)

Total Time: 40 minutes, plus chilling time of 2ish hours

keep in mind soaking the nuts & chill-firming the balls, and it's really a 6-7 hour recipe

INGREDIENTS

1 cup pecans

¾ cup MAPLE SMOKED bourbon, divided

2 cups Nilla Wafers crumbs

½ cup Dutch-process cocoa powder, divided

½ cup confectioners' sugar, divided

¼ cup light corn syrup or honey

I added dry instant coffee to the powdered cocoa coating

DIRECTIONS

1. In a small bowl, combine the pecans and ¼ cup of the bourbon. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit until the pecans have absorbed some of the bourbon, 2 to 3 hours. Drain and reserve the bourbon.

2. Heat the oven to 325°. Spread the pecans onto a baking sheet and bake until lightly toasted, 12 to 15 minutes. Your house will smell heavenly. Let the nuts cool, then finely chop and set aside.

3. In a large mixing bowl, combine the chopped pecans, remaining bourbon, Nilla Wafers crumbs, ¼ cup cocoa powder, ¼ cup confectioners' sugar and the corn syrup. Stir until smooth. Might try these sometime with molasses instead of light corn syrup.

4. Using a heaping tablespoon portion, roll dough into 1/2 inch to ¾-inch balls. Smaller balls firm up better.

5. In a separate bowl, combine the remaining cocoa powder and confectioners' sugar and coat each ball in the cocoa sugar. I added a packet of Starbucks Via or other good instant coffee.Transfer the bourbon balls to a parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet. Cover and chill for at least 2 hours or until firm.

Salmon with Anchovy Butter

Melissa Clark

http://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1017329-salmon-with-anchovy-garlic-butter  includes a video

INGREDIENTS- serves 4 : ABout 500 cals/serving, takes 20 mins

This recipe is salty enough for Carol Carter Wall.

3 tablespoons unsaltd butter, softened :

                          USE THE BEST BUTTER

4 anchovy fillets, minced or can use paste

1 fat garlic clove, minced (or 2 small ones) -I use 2

• ½ teaspoon kosher salTFreshly ground black pepper 

I USE GOOD LEMON-PEPPER/SALT LIKE TRADER JOE'S

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• 4 (6- to 8-ounce) skin-on salmon fillets NOT the Farmed STUFF!

• 2 tablespoons drained capers, patted dry

• ½ lemon

I MAKE EXTRA ANCHOVY BUTTER, it's great for cooking scrambled eggs. The key to this recipe is to use 1/2 the anchovy butter to cook the salmon, then stir second half into pan to make a sauce at end. You get the mellow garlic (cooked) and sharper raw garlic taste.

PREPARATION

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees. In a small bowl, mash together butter, anchovies, garlic, salt and pepper.

1. In a large ovenproof skillet, melt about half the anchovy butter. Add fish, skin side down. Sear the salmon- Cook for 3 minutes over high heat to brown the skin, spooning some pan drippings over the top of the fish as it cooks. Add capers to bottom of pan and transfer to oven. Roast until fish is just cooked through, 8 to 10 minutes.

1. Remove pan from oven and add remaining anchovy butter to pan to melt. Place salmon on plates and spoon buttery pan sauce over the top. Squeeze the lemon half over the salmon and garnish with chopped parsley. Serve.

1. I like to braise fennel in the same pan in oven, after the salmon is seared, it provides flavor as it steams if you cover the pan. Lemon zest added with lemon juice is good.
2. sorry about all caps, some strange cut & paste function. I wasn't really yelling at youse.

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Parmesan Rosemary Polenta "Fries"

This is a great dish for leftovers -- make polenta for dinner one night, and then cut up the leftovers into "fries" for the next night.  Also a great party dish -- you can make the 'fries' ahead of time and just heat them up right before the party.


1 1/2 cup chicken broth (or vegetable, if you're making it vegetarian)
1 c water
1 c milk
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp fresh rosemary, minced
1/2 tsp salt
1 c cornmeal (I like to use a coarse grind)
1/2 c parmesan, grated (more for top, optional)
olive oil for baking, optional


Bring liquids and spices to a boil in a saucepan.  Lower the heat to medium and whisk in the cornmeal, a little at a time, so it won't clump.  Whisk for about 15 minutes until it's creamy.  Take off the heat and stir in the cheese.  At this point you can serve it, or pour it into an oiled baking dish and let it set (or sprinkle with more cheese and bake it until it browns a little on top).  You can also put it in the fridge and do the rest the next day if you prefer -- polenta keeps beautifully. 


Once set, cut into 'fries'.  Heat the oven to 400. Line a baking sheet with parchment and sprinkle it with a little olive oil.  Place the fries on the parchment and toss them a little to get oil on them.  Bake for about 20 minutes or until begin to brown a little.  Serve hot.