Tag Archive for 'honey'

5 Easy Appetizers for New Years Eve

Published by Hal on December 30, 2007 in Hal's Hint, mixed drinks and recipes. 1 Comment

With New Years’ celebrations upon us, I thought it might be a good idea to give you a appetizers that look and taste gourmet, but are easy on the wallet and are easy to prepare.

1. Bacon-Wrapped Dates

Get a few packages of lean cut bacon and some containers of dates. Wrap a slice of bacon around each date and skewer with a tooth pick. Bake in the oven at 400 degrees for 10 minutes, or until the bacon is cooked.

2. Prosciutto-Wrapped Apples and/or Melon

Wrap some prosciutto around wedges of apple or melon, such as honeydew (but only if you have access to good quality melon!). These are sure to be a hit!

3. Honey-Nut Brie

Place an 8-ounce wheel of brie on the center of foil lined baking sheet and score the top. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle some fresh thyme leaves over the top. Cover with the foil, and bake in an oven preheated to 400 degrees for 10 minutes. When the brie is melty, plate it and cover with 1/4 cup of toasted pecans and 2 tablespoons of honey. Serve with crusty bread.

4. Bagel or Pretzel Dip

Combine 8 ounces of cream cheese with 5 ounces of Old English Cheese. Add about 1 teaspoon (up to 2, if you like the flavor) of garlic powder. Serve with cut up bagels or soft pretzels.

5. Easy Bruschetta

Dice 6-8 roma tomatoes and add to bowl. Prepare a chiffonade of fresh basiland add it to the tomatoes. Add a dash of salt about about 2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar and 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Stir to combine. Serve over toasted slices of French Bread.

BONUS COCKTAIL

Here is an easy, refreshing cocktail for your party. Fill a tall, thin glass with ice. Add one ounce of vodka, then fill with sparkling water. Squeeze a lime wedge into the drink and garnish with some curls of lime zest or a slice of lime.

Hal’s Hint: As you can see, these appetizers are really easy, the most difficult having only five ingredients. And, most only have 1 “gourmet” ingredient. Because of this, your guests will be amazed–but we know the secret, that these recipes cost nearly nothing. Another trick that will “Wow!” them is presentation. We eat first with our eyes, so having these dishes arranged artfully on a nice platter will be certain to whet your guests’ appetites. Be creative and festive–your guests will appreciate your effort!

Recipes: Bourbon Pork

Published by Hal on December 10, 2007 in Hal's Hint and recipes. 2 Comments

I love bourbon–it’s actually one of my favorite liquors. I’d love to style a restaurant with bourbon as the key ingredient. Keeping that in mind, I looked for a bourbon glaze that I could us with some pork chops we picked up from the grocery the other night. I found one here, that I modified slightly to fit my particular available ingredients.

Bourbon Pork

Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup bourbon
  • 3 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 1/2 cup onion, grated
  • 3/4 cup brown sugar (light or dark–I used light; the recipe above called for dark)
  • 1/2 cup butter, melted
  • 1/4 cup honey
  • 4-6 boneless pork chops, trimmed and cut into about 1 inch cubes
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • rice
  1. Combine the bourbon, garlic, onion, brown sugar, butter, and honey in a large bowl. Whisk together.
  2. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
  3. Add the pork to the skillet and allow to brown (Hal’s Hint: Take the meat out of the fridge at least 10 minutes before you put it in the pan. Once it’s in the pan, LEAVE THE MEAT ALONE! Let it hang out for about 5 minutes before you attempt to turn it. If you don’t, the meat might stick and tear or won’t brown as quickly).
  4. Add the bourbon glaze and allow to come to a boil.
  5. Stir until the glaze is reduced by about half.
  6. Serve with cooked rice.

(Hal’s Hint: I like to add spices to my rice to make it more aromatic. I added a stick of cinnamon and three small bay leaves to this batch of rice, making it a little sweeter and full of flavor. Remove these before serving.)

Bring the glaze to a boil and reduce by half.Serve along side aromatic rice.Another view.

My thoughts: My wife really liked this. I thought it was a pretty good interpretation of a bourbon sauce dish you’d get at a Chinese-American restaurant, so I call this “Carryout at home.” However, it was too sweet for my tastes. My wife and I suspect this is because I used 1 cup of sweet stuff (1/4 cup of honey, plus 3/4 cup of brown sugar). I did this because I needed more liquid to carry the flavor of the bourbon and I didn’t want to grate another onion–I had grated one, plus the half of one from last night’s dinner. In hindsight, I probably could have done without, used water, or added something savory (like diluted soy sauce–1 tablespoon soy sauce to 3 tablespoons water).

Regardless, I thought it was tasty. It was just too sweet for me usually. I have another bourbon glaze I’d like to try, but it’s more like a barbecue sauce so I’ll need to wait until I have a brisket or some ribs. Plus, my wife doesn’t like barbecue sauce much, so I’ll need to a new guinea–I mean, taster :).