Product of the Week - Runamok Maple Grenadine

Welcome to a new feature on Minxeats! Every once in a while, we'll present to you one of our favorite store-bought products. It might be a chip, or cereal, or condiment, and it will definitely be something that we purchase and consume regularly. We hope you are curious enough to check out our suggestions, and if you do, let us know by leaving a comment.

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Grenadine is a sweet and tart non-alcoholic syrup that is commonly used as a flavoring and coloring agent in various cocktails including classic Shirley Temples and Tequila Sunrises, as well as several other mixed drinks.

The word "grenadine" is derived from the French word "grenade," which means pomegranate, as it has traditionally been made from the juice of that fruit, simply reduced and with sugar added. Over time, the recipe evolved, and some commercial versions may no longer contain pomegranate juice as their primary ingredient, instead relying on citric acid, food coloring, and artificial flavorings to achieve a similar flavor and vibrant red color. (Rose's, for example, contains high fructose corn syrup, water, citric acid, sodium citrate, sodium benzoate, preservatives, Red 40, natural and artificial flavors, and Blue 1.) Commercial grenadine is also more sticky and sweet than the original, about as close as a neon-red cocktail cherry is to an actual fresh fruit. 

One can make their own grenadine by cooking pomegranate juice with sugar until its reduced to a syrup, but why go to the trouble? 

You already know Runamok's products are among my very favorites because I've posted about them numerous times in the past, so my next sentence won't be particularly surprising. Runamok Maple Grenadine is even better than homemade. It's truly tart, because it's made with both pomegranate and lime, and it's sweetened with pure and delicious maple syrup. (Their whole line of cocktail mixer thingies are fabulous, including the maple bitters and the Smoked Old Fashioned mixer made with pecan wood-smoked maple syrup. Expensive, yes, but you only need a tablespoon to make a sublime drink. But I digress.) And while it's perfect to use in a cocktail, I find myself using it as a substitute for the pomegranate syrup called for in many Middle Eastern recipes. For example, my favorite recipe for Muhammara--a red pepper and walnut dip--calls for 2 teaspoons of pomegranate molasses, but I often find myself using a tablespoon of Runamok Maple Grenadine instead. It's both sweeter and more tart than the brand of pom molasses currently in my cupboard, so it hits both of the essential flavor points that I feel just about every recipe needs. 

Try substituting it for the pom molasses in these recipes: Lamb Meatballs with Spiced Sweet Potato Puree and Yogurt Sauce, Chicken with Walnut Pepper Sauce. It's also great drizzled on Bobby Flay's roasted brussels sprouts, 

And here's a classic drink recipe, modernized with booze. I used to beg for a Shirley Temple when my parents would take me to a nice restaurant. It made me feel grown up, even though I was essentially drinking a pink soda. I'll drink them now, too, but with the addition of good vodka.

Dirty Shirley

2 ounces vodka of your choice

1 ounce Runamok Maple Grenadine

Lemon lime soda

Maraschino cherries with stems

Fill a highball glass with ice. Add the vodka and grenadine. Pour in about 4 ounces of the soda and stir. Add more soda, if desired. Garnish with a cherry or two. 

* Any products in this post that are mentioned by name may have been provided to Minxeats by the manufacturer. However, all opinions belong to Minxeats. Amazon links earn me $! Please buy!

Posted on Minxeats.com.

Flashback Friday - Bacon Grilled Cheese

This post originally appeared on Minxeats.com on July 3, 2013.

I was so pleased with my sample of Lori's Salt Caramel Syrup, I thought I'd play with it a little more. Why not use it as a glaze for bacon, then add that to a simple grilled cheese sandwich? The syrup added just the right amount of sticky sweetness, while letting both the cheese and bacon flavors shine through.

Caramelized Bacon Grilled Cheese

6 slices bacon, cooked through but not crunchy
3 tablespoons Lori's Salt Caramel Syrup
4 slices of bread
cheese of your choice, enough to cover a slice of bread in two thin layers (aka about the size of a slice of American cheese)
softened butter

Coil bacon slices into circles; secure with toothpicks. (It doesn't have to be particularly neat; this is just to help the caramel-stiffened bacon fit on the bread.) Place bacon rings in a cold saute pan and pour the three tablespoons of syrup over the bacon. Put heat on, at about medium. Watch carefully. The syrup should start to bubble in a minute or so, but you don't want it to bubble too quickly, otherwise it will harden. As the syrup bubbles, use tongs to turn the bacon every half minute or so. Cook until the bacon is well-glazed and there doesn't seem to be much syrup left in the pan.

Remove bacon to a plate. Wash pan.

Assemble sandwiches: for each sandwich, arrange a quarter of the cheese on one slice of bread, then add half the bacon. Top with the rest of the cheese, then the second slice of bread. Spread softened butter on outside of top slice.

Turn heat on under saute pan to medium. Add sandwiches butter-side-down. Cook over medium heat until bottom bread is nicely browned and the cheese is starting to melt. Butter the top slice of bread and flip sandwiches. Cook until bottom is browned.

Cut sandwiches in half, diagonally, and serve with your favorite soup or a handful of potato chips. Or both.

* Any products in this post that are mentioned by name may have been provided to Minxeats by the manufacturer. However, all opinions belong to Minxeats.



Posted on Minxeats.com.

Maple Bacon Bourbon Sticky Buns

A few years back, my friend Kate and I would make a regular pilgrimage to South Jersey to get haircuts. Yes, that is a long way to travel from Baltimore, and yes, there are hair stylists in this town, but we enjoyed the road trip. That, and the visit with our stylist, Karen, who, along with her husband, are personal friends.

On the way to Jersey, we'd have to make at least one pit stop, preferably at one of the rest stops in Delaware. We'd hit the Starbucks for coffee and Cinnabon for a decadent cinnamon roll. It was during these every-6-to-8-weeks road trips that I realized something.

I don't really like cinnamon rolls.

It's the cinnamon thing. While I like cinnamon just fine, especially when it's part of a blend of spices, like in pumpkin pie or chai, I'm not so fond of it when it's used by the cupful. Bagels and other pastries encrusted in a layer of gritty cinnamon isn't my thing. And neither are cinnamon rolls.

Sticky buns are another thing entirely.

Give me a brioche-style pastry coated in sticky goo and nuts, and I'm a happy girl. I love the sticky buns at Au Bon Pain, but they have over 800 calories each. Ouch. They are a rare treat, eaten on days when I don't plan to have lunch, and dinner is going to be light (that means almost never). I got it in my head recently that I wanted to try baking my own sticky buns. Not that they'd have less calories or anything. I've been getting over my fear of baked goods, and watching the Great British Baking Show on PBS made me want to try something more challenging than my usual brownies and chocolate chip cookies. So I found a recipe I thought sounded good and altered it to my tastes. Not just pecan sticky buns, my additions of maple syrup, bacon, and bourbon make them a little more savory and slightly less sweet than traditional sticky buns. They're great for breakfast or dessert, or hell--even dinner.

They do have a bit of cinnamon in the filling, but it's barely enough to notice. It just rounds out the flavor a bit.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake buns until puffed and golden, 30-40 minutes. If they brown too quickly, cover with foil. To ensure the buns are cooked, use an instant read thermometer to measure the internal temperature, which should be around 180°F. Let buns cool for a couple of minutes, then place a platter a couple of inches larger than the pan over the buns. Carefully invert the pan onto the plate. The buns should slide right out. Spoon any sauce that remains in the pan over the buns.

Maple Bacon Bourbon Sticky Buns

For the dough:
1/2 cup milk, warmed to 110°F
1 1/4 teaspoon active dry yeast
2 teaspoons sugar
3 tablespoons cooled melted butter
2 whole large eggs and 1 egg yolk
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2 cups all-purpose flour

For the sauce:
2 tablespoons bacon fat
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 cup bourbon
3 tablespoons maple syrup
1/2 cup heavy cream
Pinch kosher salt

For the filling:
4 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon softened butter
1 scant cup chopped toasted pecans
1/2 cup crumbled bacon

Put the milk in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Combine the yeast and sugar and stir into the milk. After five minutes or so, the liquid should appear foamy or thickened. Add the melted butter and eggs and stir to combine. Add the salt and flour. Turn the mixer on to low and beat until a dough forms, scraping bowl down as necessary. Turn the speed up to medium low and knead dough for 5 - 7 minutes, until it pulls away from the side of the bowl cleanly. The dough will be sticky.

Remove the dough and pat it into a ball. Dribble a little bit of oil into a bowl, and put the dough ball into it, rolling it in the oil to coat. Cover the bowl and allow dough to rise until doubled, 1-1 1/2 hours.

While dough is rising, make the sauce.

Melt the butter in a heavy saucepan over medium heat. Stir in remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium low and simmer until golden brown, five minutes or so. Pour sauce into 9" round baking pan, swirling the pan so the sauce also coats the sides. Put the pan in the fridge until the dough is done.

Combine brown sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Remove the pan with cooled sauce from fridge and sprinkle with half the pecans.

Put the dough onto a floured work surface and roll into a 9" x 12" or so rectangle. Using your fingers, smear the softened butter evenly over the dough, then sprinkle on the filling, followed by the rest of the pecans and the bacon. Roll the dough into a tight loaf. Gently slice the loaf into 6 evenly sized pieces using a serrated knife. Arrange buns over the pecans and sauce in prepared pan. Cover with a tea towel and allow buns to rise at room temperature for another hour or two, until they are crowding each other in the pan. You may also refrigerate the pan at this point and bake the buns the next day. Make sure to remove the pan from the fridge an hour before you want to bake the buns.

Allow to cool a bit more before handling. Enjoy warm or at room temperature. Makes 6 large buns.



Posted on Minxeats.com.

Bacon Grilled Cheese

I was so pleased with my sample of Lori's Salt Caramel Syrup, I thought I'd play with it a little more. Why not use it as a glaze for bacon, then add that to a simple grilled cheese sandwich? The syrup added just the right amount of sticky sweetness, while letting both the cheese and bacon flavors shine through.

Caramelized Bacon Grilled Cheese

6 slices bacon, cooked through but not crunchy
3 tablespoons Lori's Salt Caramel Syrup
4 slices of bread
cheese of your choice, enough to cover a slice of bread in two thin layers (aka about the size of a slice of American cheese)
softened butter

Coil bacon slices into circles; secure with toothpicks. (It doesn't have to be particularly neat; this is just to help the caramel-stiffened bacon fit on the bread.) Place bacon rings in a cold saute pan and pour the three tablespoons of syrup over the bacon. Put heat on, at about medium. Watch carefully. The syrup should start to bubble in a minute or so, but you don't want it to bubble too quickly, otherwise it will harden. As the syrup bubbles, use tongs to turn the bacon every half minute or so. Cook until the bacon is well-glazed and there doesn't seem to be much syrup left in the pan.

Remove bacon to a plate. Wash pan.

Assemble sandwiches: for each sandwich, arrange a quarter of the cheese on one slice of bread, then add half the bacon. Top with the rest of the cheese, then the second slice of bread. Spread softened butter on outside of top slice.

Turn heat on under saute pan to medium. Add sandwiches butter-side-down. Cook over medium heat until bottom bread is nicely browned and the cheese is starting to melt. Butter the top slice of bread and flip sandwiches. Cook until bottom is browned.

Cut sandwiches in half, diagonally, and serve with your favorite soup or a handful of potato chips. Or both.

* Any products in this post that are mentioned by name may have been provided to Minxeats by the manufacturer. However, all opinions belong to Minxeats.

Posted on Minxeats.com.

Bourbon, Bacon, and Caramel Cocktail

I'm going to the Fancy Food Show in NY next week. This will be my first one, and I'm excited! In preparation, I contacted a couple of the purveyors listed on the Specialty Foods web site in order to get information in advance. There are way more exhibitors than I'll be able to visit, and I figured this way I'll get a better idea of products that might be of the most interest to me.

One of those products was Lori's Salt Caramel Syrup, from the French Connection in Ashland, Oregon. They won't be at the show, but they were willing to send me some of their product to sample.

The syrup is made from caramelized cane sugar, Tahitian vanilla, Celtic sea salt, and a soupçon of maple. The flavor is subtly salty, and subtly maple-y, and I can see how it would be terrific on pancakes. Their marketing director suggested that it can also be used on ice cream, oatmeal, and corn bread, but I thought it would make a nifty addition to a cocktail. With bacon.

After trying the syrup with both rum and bourbon, I determined that bourbon was the perfect choice. The resulting drink is simple, and reminiscent of a Manhattan. Because of that, I'm calling it an Ashland, after the town in which Lori's Salt Caramel Syrup is produced.

Ashland

Lori's Salt Caramel Syrup
bourbon (if you can get some bacon-infused bourbon, all the better)
Angostura bitters
crumbled crisp bacon
twists of lemon peel

For each cocktail, stir 2 ounces of bourbon, 1/2 ounce of salt caramel syrup, and a dash of bitters together with ice.

Dip the rim of a cocktail glass in a bit of the syrup, then in the crumbled bacon. Strain the drink into the glass. Add the lemon twist.

* Any products in this post that are mentioned by name may have been provided to Minxeats by the manufacturer. However, all opinions belong to Minxeats.

Posted on Minxeats.com.