Recipe: Fortified Canadian Coffee

As Winter continues I have mused to myself about topics such as Winter Comfort Food.  However, we cannot forget various beverages that are known for being comforting in Winter or in general.  Sheldon Cooper on "The Big Bang Theory" was taught my his mother than any time a friend or family member comes over late and is upset, you should make them a hot beverage like cocoa, hot tea or coffee.

Of course one thing that is usually nice in winter is to give the hot beverage a little kick by adding various mixable elixirs to them to help them warm you more and maybe give you a pleasant buzz.  Hot Cocoa can be fortified with Rum, Irish Creme Liqueur or Coffee Liqueur.  Egg Nog can be served hot with rum or bourbon.  And there are all kinds of fortified coffees out there, which usually involve some kind of sweet liqueur or whiskey.

A lot of folks are very partial to Irish Coffee (A cup of black coffee with a shot of Irish Whiskey mixed in)  like they serve at Durty Nelly's on the Riverwalk in San Antonio.  Plenty of folks in the Caribbean or Mexico will add a shot of Rum to hot or iced coffee.  Being that I am a Hockey Nerd and a Canada Nerd as well as a Food Nerd, I figured I could come up with a Canadian spin on Fortified Coffee.  The only thing is, I couldn't come up with a catchy name (Crowned Maple Coffee?  A Canadian in Winter? A Hot Hoser?).  If you can come up with a clever name for this Canadian Concoction, please feel free to Email Me.  In the meantime, here is your Beverage Blueprint:

Fortified Canadian Coffee:

Ingredients:

Ingredients for this beverage :)

• 1 12 oz mug of freshly brewed Tim Horton's, Nabob, Blenz, Take 5, JJ Bean's, Second Cup Ltd, or other Canadian brand of coffee
• 1 Shot of Crown Royal, Gibson's Finest, Yukon Jack, Canadian Club, Seagrams/Seagrams VO or other fine Canadian Whisky
• 2 to 4 Tablespoons of Real Maple Syrup that says "Product of Canada" somewhere on the label.  Adjust to your taste
• Half and Half or Heavy Cream to your taste

Directions:

1. Mix the maple syrup in the freshly brewed coffee and stir thoroughly. 
2. Add the Whisky before adding the cream if you want the flavour with a bit less alcohol buzz.  Add the cream before the Whisky if you want a bit more alcohol buzz. 
3. Enjoy!!!

You can vary the amount of whisky you use, or if you take your coffee black you can skip the cream.  Personally it's the mixture of all 4 ingredients that give this beverage its best flavour and character. 

NOTE: ALWAYS excercise good judgement and responsibility when drinking any alcoholic beverage.  Do not drink large amounts this beverage and drive, operate heavy machinery, Tweet, Blog, Text, Dial or go to an Ex's places, go home with a person you do not know, etc. 

Again, if anyone--especially if you are a Canadian Reader--can come up with a clever name for this beverage, please submit it to me.  Also, I'm not claiming that I am the inventor of this beverage.  Someone else may have already done it but I've never seen it before so what's the harm in sharing, right?


And remember:

Eat Happy!!!
Zao an, Ya'll!!!

Recipe: Italian Sausage Pizza Sliders

Okay folks.  I realize it has been a looooooooong time since I posted a recipe.  Truth to tell, creating or working recipes is hard work and I often don't have the time to try out as many as I would like.  However, I was inspired this evening during a supply run at my local grocer to make a batch of Italian Sausage Pizza Slider burgers.  The ingredients cost less than $10.00 and the recipe produces 12 of them for a nice snack or snack dinner.  So without further ado, here is your recipe blueprint:

Italian Sausage Pizza Sliders:

Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground italian sausage (can substitute ground beef, but will need to season with 1 teaspoon each salt, black pepper, fennel seed, garlic powder, and paprika, and mix with 2 tablespoons of Olive Oil)
• 1 packeet of 1 dozen King's Hawaiian Rolls
• 1 Jar Spaghetti Sauce--any brand will do; I used Bertoli
• White American, Mozzarella, Monterrey Jack or Borden 4-Italian Cheese Blend Slices

Directions:

1. Using a very sharp knife, carefully split the Hawaiian Rolls into tops and bottoms, then set aside.  NOTE: I recommend doing this after the rolls have sat in the refrigerator for an hour so the bread is a little harder--makes for easier splitting.  At room temperature the rolls will get mushed up. 
2. Form meat into 12 thin patties about 2 inches by 1.25 inches.
3. Coat a medium to large sized skillet with 1 tablespoon Olive Oil and preheat on medium for about 5 minutes.
4. Places patties in the skillet and sear each side for about 5 seconds.  Then cook each side for about 3 to 5 minutes each side to level of done-ness you prefer.  NOTE:  If you have a George Foreman™ clamshell style grill, it will go much faster.  Just be sure to lubricate the grill and allow it to preheat before cooking the patties.
5. While the patties are grilling, wrap the Hawaiian rolls in a paper towel and heat in the microwave 30 seconds on half power to soften/steam them. 
6. Heat about 1 cup of the spaghetti sauce in the microwave for about 30 to 45 seconds. 
7. When the patties are done drain them of any excess grease.
8. On each roll, place a patty, a half a slice of cheese, and about 1 tablespoon of spaghetti sauce. 

This recipe was partly the brain-child of my son Jason.  He and I were talking about Krystal Burgers and he said "I wonder if we could make little pizza burgers with pizza sausage instead of just a plain beef patty, Dad!".  Suffice it to say, these have been a hit with the kids in the family and have been requested a number of times since I first made this recipe back in mid-November.

I appreciate any feedback you can provide!

And remember:

Eat Happy!!!
Zao an,  Y'all!!!

Review: The Spicy Pickle

One of the things about working and living in Houston is that we have to do a lot of driving.  We usually don't live near where we work.  Our friends from church and school can be far flung.  Something we say is "just over there" may be a 20 mile drive on one of our many freeways or major roadways.  In my profession as a Community College and University Professor I have to drive all over Southwest, Central and Northwest Houston.  In visiting Family and Friends, I drive up to Conroe down to Clear Lake, out to Katy and in to West University Place.  Along the way I usually take a good look at my path and observe the restaurants, among other things.  The Spicy Pickle is one that caught my eye.

The Spicy Pickle Sandwich Café is a limited run chain that specializes in unique artisan style sandwiches and flatbread pizzas that have a Mediterranean and Southwest Fusion from my perspective, but the concept that folks in the industry use is "Fast Casual" (Think Panera Bread, Café Express, et. al).  The food is very fresh.  It is full of flavour and spices.  It is very colourful and a delight for the eye of the eater.  And like their name, they give you a pickle spear with any entree that has a spicy yet sour twang to it.

There are two locations in the Houston area.  The one I visited was on I-10 and Kirkwood.  I visited them two different times and had a very nice dining experience at a reasonable price.  During these visits I had their Spicy Santa Cruz Sandwich and their Molto Carne Flatbread Pizza.  So without further ado, here are your meal blueprints:

Santa Cruz Sandwich:
Roasted turkey
cheddar cheese
EVOO chipotle mayo
avocado
corn relish
lettuce and tomato 
served on Ciabatta bread
with macaroni salad

Molto Carne Flatbread Pizza:
Sausage
pepperoni 
capicola
mozzarella cheese 
and tomato sauce
I added Kalamata olives to it



First of all the Santa Cruz Sandwich was spicy, creamy, the turkey had a moist oven roasted quality, the corn relish was a nice suprise and the bread was nice and crusty as you'd expect Ciabatta bread should be.  A very satisfying sandwich.  The Molto Carne Flatbread pizza had a crispy crust that was slightly charred on the bottom, had a very robust tomato sauce, semi-spicy and savoury sausage and pepperoni, and the cheese was gooey, stringy and had a wonderfully smooth texture.  The bottom of the crust was slightly charred--reminding me of coal-fired pizza, almost.  This pizza was a real treat for me and I am looking forward to trying other varieties of pizzy at The Spicy Pickle.  And speaking of pickles, you will love the spicy pickle spears as a garnish.  It is an interesting mixture of sour dill and picante pepper flavours that is crunchy, cold  and hot all at once.  I need to see if they sell these by the jar because they'd be used at my place as a sandwich garnish or on a hot dog!

The Foodie Professor's Report Card for The Spicy Pickle:


Santa Cruz Sandwich: A-
Molto Carne Flatbread Pizza: A+
Spicy Pickle Garnish: A++
Service:
     Friendliness: B+
     Speed:  A-
Cleanliness:  A-
Atmosphere:  N/A


Overall Grade:  A


There are three locations in Houston, TX. I went to the one at:
11611 Katy Freeway
Houston, TX 77079
281.679.9300

And Remember:
Eat Happy!!!
Zao an, Y'all!!!

December Odds and Ends--No Absent-Minded Foodie Professor

Greetings readers!  I want to give you a heads up as to why I've been MIA for a few weeks--truthfully it has been a mixture of holiday activities and end of semester issues where College Professors fall down the "Black Hole of Teaching" until around December 15th.  I am looking forward to Winter Break, Christmas and New Year's, plenty of good food along the way and, God willing, plenty of time to blog.  So with all of this, here are some odds and ends for December:

1.  If you have not already done so, please vote in the Winter Comfort Food Poll on the left-hand sidebar.  I will be writing up about Poutine and other Winter Comfort Foods during the Winter Break.  If any of you readers have some suggestions of places in Houston for Good Chili, Mac & Cheese or other such items, please EMail me or post a comment and I will give it careful consideration.


2.  No readers made any donations for men's health research, so I just donated $50.00 of my own money to Prostate Cancer research.  I know times are tough and I know lots of you are being solicited by charities especially this time of year.

3.  Regardless of that, any donations the blog receives between December 1, 2011 and January 31, 2012 will be donated to Kids Meals Houston, a worthy organization that brings healthy meals to children of pre-school age living in poverty.  This is a glaring need in our society, and as much as I love good food, I am not going to just eat and not care for those who are in need as well.  I can't solve the whole problem--no one person can, but please if you can even give $1.00 via the PayPal link on the left, please do so!  I've already committed $50.00 towards this.  Let's do this, readers!

4. Last but not least, I have done some cooking experiments in the kitchen that I will share with you.  I haven't posted a recipe in a long time and I don't wish to neglect this attribute of the blog any longer.  I have a recipe for Italian style Sausage Pizza sliders that passed the palates of my kids I will be sharing with you in the coming days.

That's all for now!  I wish you all a Happy Chanukkah, a Great Festivus, a Merry Christmas, a Joyous Eid Al-Fatr, a Bountiful Kwanzaa, a Nice Whatever-Winter-Holiday-You-Observe-If-Any, and a most Prosperous and Happy New Year in 2012.

And remember to Eat Happy!
Zao an, Y'all!!!