Food Glorious Food (and drink)

So to take a 180 from my last post, today I'm writing about how much of a kick @$$ homemaker I am, specifically in the food department. Yes, there will be photos but I didn't get everything photographed because sometimes I just want to eat.

To start, I discovered the best liqueur to make your boring old cocktail officially HOLIDAY (it's red). It's called PAMA liqueur and I had to pick it up at BevMo (45 minutes away) even though I'd rather shop local. My corner liquor store did not have it because "they only sell what the locals drink." That's funny, because I am local. Anyways, for Thanksgiving I added 1oz of PAMA to 3oz of Prosecco and it was just that much more fun than having bubbly by itself. Then, just one week later I was out with a friend and I discovered another drink featuring PAMA. This cocktail is even better because it involves whiskey, one of my favorite liqueurs. On top of that, the waitress told us how to make it.

Yup, there is a giant lemonade ice cube in the middle. So you take whiskey, 1oz PAMA, simple syrup and some squeezes of lemon and lime, shake it up and voila. Basically a holidayified whiskey sour, and it's so good. I have yet to make this at home because I just recently gave away all the rest of my homemade simple syrup (which I had mulled with vanilla beans, cinnamon, clove and nutmeg). But what I did make was this:

It looks like a piece of fine art but it tastes like it belongs in a dusty booth at a dying craft show. Here is the recipe: http://www.foodrepublic.com/2014/09/29/check-out-video-spiral-vegetable-tart-then-try-rec
The video makes you fall in love with this tart, and I do admit I was humming "Once Upon a Dream" while rolling strips of colorful vegetables around in a circle. However, the final result was just weird*. I didn't like the mustard flavor at all and there was way too much creme fraiche. I think next time I will put half the creme fraiche, sprinkle it with sauteed garlic, onions and sage and add no or very little mustard. Once your vegetable pottery is crafted, generously drizzle with olive oil and cook for an extra 10-20 minutes to really get the veggies more tender and crust more cooked. *Side note: my husband loved it (?!).

So what you see above is Chicken Kiev, or as our family calls them, "Exploding Chickens" (usually because you squirt yourself in the eye with piping hot buttery, garlicky, goodness upon your first cut). Before I move on, let me address what might appear to be a completely obnoxious photo: quaint lantern, vintage salt and pepper shakers, vintage cloth napkin and lovingly plated dinner. Real story: Lantern gifted to me years ago that I had no idea what to do with and stuck on the table at Thanksgiving because I felt bad for not using it ever before. Vintage items were all gifts and yes, I do use them on a daily basis. Just realized how obvious it is to use cloth napkins instead of paper, although with the current drought in California I'm not really sure what is better. The plating has to do with something that used to be fun but is now just completely infuriating. On a daily basis my husband rates my food on taste AND presentation. WTF? So, please note that the silverware in the background is set in the wrong direction, with no vintage cloth napkin, before judging me for an irritatingly perfect photo.

Oh yeah, the Chicken Kiev was great and not the terrible disaster I thought it would be. Recipe here: http://www.foodrepublic.com/2014/12/02/chicken-kiev-goat-cheese-and-chopped-greens-recipe. The only change I made was to use sage instead of tarragon because I had sage on hand from the previous recipe and I don't really like the flavor of tarragon.

Not pictured: This morning I made my favorite fancy breakfast straight from one of Martha Stewart's recipes: http://www.marthastewart.com/960744/fried-egg-and-bacon-puff-pastry-squares. Why it only has a three star rating is beyond me... puff pastry with bacon? Hello!