Grapefruit Bourbon Punch & all things festive

My dog is stuck in the other room, looking at the freshly mopped floors with complete fear in her eyes. They are slicker than slug slime at the moment. Indoor ice skating rink for a 14 year old young dog. I tried hard not to laugh. They had to be cleaned, not because I actually care but my feet were sticking to them like a dirty dive bar at closing. There might have been a little bit of holiday cheer spilled across the pergo as friends gathered on here last Saturday night.

This is what the holidays are all about, close friends, new friends, good food, festive libations. Welcoming a house full of friends.

I have been up to my elbows in chocolate, creating hand dipped truffles for the holidays. Thank you to all have supported me in my endeavors. Anyone who is looking for a last minute gift idea and live in the Bellingham area, I have some truffles that would love to be gifted.

With all the heavy food around this time of year, including chocolate, chocolate and peanut butter covered in chocolate, bacon cheese logs and Cesar salad deviled eggs (that I really hope shows up at our Christmas), a vegan soup of all things has stole my heart. I just devoured this curried carrot soup. I tossed in a yam for good measure and replaced coconut oil for the canola oil. Make it. Make it for your colon. Be vegan for five minutes like it is no one's freaking business.

Then go eat chocolate for dessert.

Back to the holidays and debauchery. All things laden with heavy cream, cheese, meaty and boozy. I leave you with this punch that we quadrupled for our little party. It will treat you and your little holiday just right.

Bourbon Punch with Pink Grapefruit and Mint 
A twist on the mint julep that's perfect for a party.

Makes 8 to 10 servings By Melissa Clark December 2007

1/3 cup water
1/3 cup sugar
15 fresh mint sprigs, divided
4 cups strained fresh pink grapefruit juice
1 lemon
1 lime
2 1/2 cups bourbon
12 dashes angostura bitter 
1 cup club soda
1 ice block

Stir 1/3 cup water and sugar in small saucepan over low heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat and bring to boil. Add 5 fresh mint sprigs. Remove from heat; cool syrup completely.

Strain syrup into punch bowl.

Add juice, bourbon, and bitters; mix in soda and 10 mint sprigs. Add lemon and lime disks. Add ice to bowl.

The Petal Pusher

The best job I ever had was working in a floral shop.

Everything about that floral job was rather delightful from the wonderful women that I worked with, the vast experience I gained through hands on learning, I exercised my creative side every day, the interaction with customers that often became lasting friendships. I was surrounded by color, fragrance and beauty daily. This was a great job. I met J at that floral shop.

I have long since left that cute little corner where we made countless bouquets, I now proudly wear a ring from the sweet Texan with the red beard that I met there on a January day eons ago.

As I scour the country for job opportunities, I wonder if I will ever find such a perfect fit as the floral shop provided working my way through college. I can only imagine that some day I will find a career that pays the bills and makes me feel good about what I do. I know my time is coming, my work here is blossoming and there has to be something great right around the corner. There has to be something good waiting for me.

There has to be a bakery that needs a blond curly haired woman to run the show.

As I made this cocktail with the rose syrup, I was reminded of this floral shop gig and days I spent standing in rose petals. Literally there were flowers, roses, petals everywhere, my hair, the floor, every counter top. This cocktail is a great light punchy way to welcome the summer months and usher in roses that are just starting to bloom from their tight buds. Rose syrup and grapefruit are partners in crime.

Does your career keep you satisfied? Do you long to do something totally different? Do you have a dream job? Do you think that work can be fun and rewarding? Is your job technical in nature or is it creative?

The Petal Pusher 

Source - Lauren of ChatN’ Chow via  Kitchen Play
Yields two petite cocktails 


1 Egg White from a Safest Choice Pasteurized Shell Egg (Safest Choice Eggs)
1 oz. Pink or Ruby Red Grapefruit Juice (fresh squeezed from the market tastes great)
2 oz. Dry Gin (stick with a basic like Bombay)
1/4 oz. rose syrup
Ice
Sugar for rimming the glass (this can be your choice)

Pour liquids in a cocktail shaker and shake without ice for 20-30 seconds or shakes (this helps the egg whites bind).
 
Add a handful of ice then shake hard for another 20-30 seconds - this really gets the foam going!

Strain into a rimmed cocktail glass and spoon remaining froth on top of drink.
 
Enjoy!

Candied grapefruit peel

Where do I begin. Candied grapefruit peel is a hard one for me to admit to taking on as a project.

Baking bread and signing up to ride 204 miles on my bike in one day, no biggie. Taking the time to candy a bitter peel that could prove to be disastrous is intimidating but equally intriguing.

Citron

Meyer Lemons

Blood Oranges

Any type of oranges...

These citrus all make beautiful candied peels.

I had to choose grapefruit peels as my first experiment in candied peels.

We had a 10 pound bag of grapefruit, I had grapefruit on the mind lately. I think about grapefruit.

At first I was skeptical. Skeptical as in when you get a chunk of that white pith in a bite of perfectly tart grapefruit, how could that turn into an edible treat? A grapefruit has the potential pucker factor of 11 on a scale 1 to 10.

When Deb at Smitten Kitchen, the goddess of all things nummy, photographed them but had to trash them due to a foul taste, was I warned... nope. I saved the rind of four grapefruit and went on the search for a recipe. I asked Foodista and instantly got a few responses that inspired some confidence to go through with such a bizarre endeavor.

It was a gray and cold day in the middle of a long Washington winter in the desert. I had been squirreling away grapefruit peel in my fridge and had to admit to the fact that I was actually going to create something with what most people trash. With no desire to step foot outside, I entered the kitchen, face to face with a mighty project.

With a sharp double bladed knife, I removed as much of the pith as possible, leaving just the colorful and fragrant peel that I proceeded to boil, drain, rinse, simmer in sugar, and finally drenched in more sugar.

The result......

Beautiful, colorful, fragrant grapefruit peel that will garnish cocktails, speckle muffins and cookies and sit and look all pretty in our fridge

The end of a happy little story.

Unless you have some good ideas about how to use candied grapefruit peel in ways that shrivel my liver with booze.

Candied Grapefruit Peel

Loosely adapted from Food and Wine

Remove as much as the pith from the peel as you can. Pith is gross even with sugar.  Cut the peels into what ever size suits your needs, I left mine large, up to 1"wide, some were smaller, avoid large pieces.

4 grapefruit peels, pith removed and cut into strips of desired shape

1 cup sugar + more for dusting

1 cup water + more for boiling

In a large, non reactive pot bring 2 cups of water to a boil, add peel and boil for 1 minute. Drain in a strainer and rinse under cold water.

Return pot to medium heat with 1 cup sugar, 1 cup water and peel. Cook, uncovered until the liquid is nearly gone, the peel should be almost translucent.

Using tongs dredge each strip into a shallow bowl of sugar to coat all sides. Let cool on a wire rack and store in an air tight container in the fridge.


Grapefruit