You know we’re all about the cocktails here at Endless Simmer, but if there’s one thing we like more than mixing up a drink, it’s mixing our liquor up into our cooking. From cheesecake to truffles, noodles to wontons, there are few dishes that can’t be improved by a little booze. Some of them are simple (brats cooked in beer, anyone? Some of them take a double-dose of booze to get going, like our Corona cupcakes topped with frosting made from rum.
Love chocolate and love beer? Put the two together and you’ll be down for the count. Word of warning — these are addictive so try to eat them in the presence of others so you don’t end up inhaling them. On that note, they’re perfect for a super bowl party — what’s better than beer and chocolate in the same mouthful?
2. Chocolate-Beer-Filled Donuts
OK, now take those beer truffles–or adapt them with Scotch, Cognac, or rum, and throw them up inside a deep-fried donut.
The mango salsa has been a keeper in our summer concoctions and it really is pretty simple, if you can handle the loads of chopping. The secret ingredient, as you have probably guessed, is booze. It’s best after it sits a day, but really who plans that well? It does taste pretty good for the following week or so–so if you are ambitious enough to make ahead–go for it and keep eating through the week! It doubles as the perfect study snack: chips and salsa.
4. Beer Bread
With this little number, you can have your beer right when you wake up on Sunday morning, and no one can say, “Um, isn’t it a little early to start drinking?” No, no it’s not, because you’re making breakfast. Beer bread it one of the easiest breads to make because you don’t have to knead it or let it rise or mess with yeast. If you don’t bake, don’t worry. If you can use an oven, it will be delicious. Serve it right out of the oven, with a fried egg on top.
Bourbon. Fruit. Habaneros. Fried. What’s not to like?
Like most legacy cocktails, the history of the mint julep is clouded in the hangover of the past. The name itself is a mutation of the Persian word for “rosewater,” and we can see how far it’s come from that simple definition. Even just a debate over the proper preparation of the drink is equivalent to fightin’ words in some circles of the Deep South. Muddle the mint or no? Simple syrup or superfine sugar? Cracked ice or seltzer water? It hardly matters, since a long drink like the mint julep is little more than a bourbon delivery system anyway. Also, like most drinks, it’s even better in cupcake form.