Vootbeer

This special little cocktail is very dear to my heart, and quite possibly the reason I am where I am today. It was this unsuspecting mixture that gave me the courage and lack of inhibitions to “seduce” my now Hubby during our first meeting almost 3 years ago. Basically I was drunk and he was nice enough to simply fall in love with me rather than take advantage of the very inappropriate situation this cocktail created. It was a warm summer day on the lake… Just me, my closest friends, my future Hubby and my vootbeer. The rest is history and well worth the hangover! The Hubby and I go together like peanut butter and jelly, however, we and liquor still don’t mix. It is a very tasty concoction though.

Ingredients

• 2 ounces vodka
• 5 ounces root beer
• Whipping cream for garnish
• Maraschino Cherry (optional)

Directions

Fill glass (mason jar) with ice. Pour vodka over said ice and then fill with root beer. Garnish the top with whipping cream and cherry if desire. Pretty simple, right? But it will change your life!

Notes: It’s way tastier when you drink it out of a mason jar!

• Source: Creative Culinary
• Recipe Yields: 1 serving

Watermelon Margarita

Ingredients

• 2 ¼ cups frozen watermelon cubes
• ½ cup water
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• 1 large lemon, squeezed (lime juice also works very well! use 2 limes)
• 1 fresh banana
• 2 shots of tequila (or sub with more water or fruit juice)
• Cayenne powder (few dashes)
• 2 slices of watermelon (frozen with rind on for garnish)

Directions

Add ingredients to blender and blend and pour. The cayenne pepper can either be added to the mixture or over top after blended.

Garnish with frozen watermelon rind slices.

Serve and enjoy!

• Source: Happy Healthy Life
• Recipe Yields: 2 servings

Homemade Pizza {in Singapore}

Eureka! I found fresh basil in Singapore! I had heard rumors that you could find it at stores such as Cold Storage, but I am a Fair Price shopper. It’s locations are more convenient and for the most part it tends to be less expensive. The only problem is only certain Fair Price’s carry the different ingredients I love. The Jurong Point Fair Price has amazing french baguettes. They are better than the stuff I find at some grocery stores in the states, no joke. The Clementi Mall Fair Price has a good fruit selection and now the Jurong East Fair Price has fresh basil. Slowly but surely, Singapore is becoming more and more livable. Unfortunately, as we discover the tricks that make living in another country easier, we simultaneously start to miss home, family and friends more as well. However this pizza I made for lunch today makes it all a little more bearable… I call it food therapy, which can me dangerous, so be careful now. Emotional eating is never good, but if you are going to do it, why not soothe your woes with something fresh, healthy and most of all delowcious. I know what you are thinking, “Elizabeth, pizza is not a healthy food.” Yeah, yeah yeah, I know. Not usually, but this time it is different. I made my pizza on a whole wheat tortilla, used a minimal amount of cheese (just a sprinkle to lightly cover the sauce), garnished it with fresh veggies (tomatoes and fresh basil) and seasoned it with garlic powder and crushed red pepper. The thin crispy tortilla lowers the normal high carb count of pizza and makes it more like an italian tostada. The garlic powder and crushed red pepper add tons of flavor without tons of sodium. And I don’t have to tell you what the veggies do. Unless I am missing something, nothing about that screams bad for you. In fact, it all seems pretty healthy.  Here is how I made my margarita tostada…

Ingredients

• 1 whole wheat tortilla
• 1 tablespoons of preferred pizza sauce (spaghetti sauce will work)
• 2 teaspoons of garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon of crushed red pepper
• 4 red grape tomatoes (cut is 4ths)
• 4 yellow grape tomatoes (cut in 4ths)
• 8 fresh basil leaves (chiffonade)
• 1 handful of grated Italian cheese mix
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil

Directions

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.

1. Spread sauce over tortilla.
2. Sprinkle with garlic powder to taste.
3. Cover with cheese.
4. Add crushed red pepper. (I like to add the red pepper before I cook my pizza. It really brings out the flavor.)
5. Scatter  sliced tomatoes on the tortilla.
6. Sprinkle with fresh basil.
7. Drizzle olive oil over top.

Place pizza directly on the middle oven rack and cook for about 15-20 minutes, or until tortilla has reached your desired crispiness.

Cut in 4′s and serve immediately.

Enjoy!

Tequila Sangria

Ingredients

• 2 to 3 pineapple slices
• 2 to 3 orange slices
• 2 to 3 blackberries
• 2 to 3 lime wedges
• 2 ounce or ¼ cup tequila
• 1 ounce or 2 tablespoons elderflower-flavored liqueur
• 1 ounce or 2 tablespoons simple syrup

Directions

In desired drinking glass, add the pineapples, oranges, blackberries, and lime wedges. Cook’s Note: If you don’t like the fruits suggested here feel free to use whichever fruits you desire.

Next add the tequila, elderflower-flavored liqueur, simple syrup, pineapple juice, and orange juice. Add ice to glass and stir to mix ingredients. Top glass with red wine and enjoy.

• Source: Cooking Channel
• Recipe Yields: 1 serving

Grilled Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwiches

Let me start off by saying, grilled peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are possibly the most amazing sandwiches since the invention of sliced bread, which is fitting since sliced bread is one of the 3 very important ingredients necessary for its existence. With that said, there really is no recipe when it comes to making this sandwich. You basically make a PB&J and then grill it the way you would a grilled cheese. It is pretty phenomenal and a must try. It gives the american staple sandwich a little something extra that you would never expect. By toasting the bread, melting the peanut butter and warming the jelly, it almost becomes a dessert. And who would not want dessert for lunch or even dinner for that matter? However, there is one rule you that you must abide by when making this delowcious sandwich. DO NOT skimp on the ingredients. I don’t care if you are a lotta peanut butter and a little jelly person, or a lotta jelly with a little peanut butter person. In this scenario you are going all out with both. The more the better my friends, so load her up and throw another sanny on the grill, because Mama’s hungry!

Easy Asian Stir-Fry

When we go out to eat in Singapore our options are pretty much limited to Chinese, Indian, Thai or Malaysian. I pictured home cooked meals to be just that, a reminder of home and an escape from all of the curry and steamed rice. However, home cooked flavors and ingredients are not only hard to come by, but pretty darn expensive. So bring on the soy sauce and sesame oil, because they are dime a dozen. This next recipe is simple and easy, but packs a ton of delowcious flavor. Sure it’s Asian flavor, but it’s still good. Plus it looks pretty, if I do say so myself. Kudos to me!

Ingredients

Stir-Fry:

• Chicken (or whatever protein you prefer)
• 1 large yellow onion
• 1 carrot, cut into chips
• 2 bell peppers (1 red, 1 yellow)
• 1 cup mushroom
• 2 broccoli stalks, cut into crowns
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated
• ½ cup of red wine
• Salt
• Olive oil

Marinade/Sauce:

• ⅓ cup dry cooking sherry
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons sesame oil (use chili sesame oil for a kick)
• 1 tablespoon of teriyaki marinade/sauce (optional)
• ¼ cup scallions, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
• 2 garlic cloves, minced

Directions

As a Marinade:

Cut chicken into strips and marinate for 2-4 hours. ( I marinated mine overnight and it was quite flavorful. Possibly a little too flavorful, but it was still good)

Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet. Add chicken and cook until no longer pink in the middle, about 3-4 minutes stirring occasionally. Remove and keep warm.

Cook the veggies in two separate batches. Olive oil to pan and and add mushrooms. Allow to cook for 2 -3 minutes until the juices are released and then add onions, garlic and salt. Allow to brown. Deglaze pan with red wine. Remove from heat.

In a separate pan add bell pepper and clove of garlic to 2 tablespoons of olive oil and let cook for 2 minutes. Add broccoli, carrots and ginger. Cook to preferred tenderness.

Add chicken and mushrooms/onion mixture back to the pan and pour in remaining marinade and heat through.

Serve over steamed white rice, or brown if you prefer.

As a Sauce:

If you’re skipping the protein, throw sauce in over your veggies right before you’re ready to take them off the flame. Just enough time to heat through. This makes sure the sauce doesn’t just burn off during cooking.

Serve over steamed white rice, or brown if you prefer.

Notes: Add more garlic and ginger if you want a little more kick. Sometimes I add some Habanero peppers for some spice. You can also add some pineapple if you want a sweet and spicy flavor or mushrooms to add an earthy flare. Feel free to add veggies in whatever order you want them cooked. I like my onions and bell peppers pretty well done and my broccoli and carrots pretty crisp, so I used the above order, but adjust to your liking. You can even toss them in all at once if you are looking for a meal that is babysitting free. 

Singapore Sling

Well it’s Friday morning in Singapore, aka Thursday evening in the states, but I am pretty sure it is 5 o’clock somewhere. So let’s start drinking! I know a lot has changed here at The EGG with me moving halfway across the world and all, but I think I can keep a little consistency with maintaining the Friday cocktail recipe posts. Sure alcohol is a little on the expensive side here in Singapore, but the very least I can do for my readers is get drunk a minimum of one day a week. Hopefully in my drunken stupor I will remember to post on Saturday next time. That way you guys will actually get the recipe on Friday. Time zones can be so complicated, especially after you’ve had a few so bare with me here. Today’s cocktail is non other than the famous, or should I say infamous, Singapore Sling! The Singapore Sling is a cocktail that was developed sometime before 1915 by Ngiam Tong Boon, a bartender working at the Long Bar in Raffles Hotel. The original recipe used gin, Cherry Heering, Bénédictine, and fresh pineapple juice, primarily from Sarawak pineapples, which enhance the flavour and create a foamy top. Unfortunately, the original recipe is no longer being served anywhere on the island. The hotel’s current recipe was recreated based on the memories of former bartenders and written notes regarding the original recipe. (Pretty ridiculous in my opinion, but who’s to judge? Not I.) Basically the drink is different all over town, depending on who is making it, but we had ours at the Raffles Hotel, and since that is where the drink was born, that is the recipe we are going with. Seems silly since it is now made from a machine due to high volumes of orders, but whatever… Here is the recipe before I ruin the mystique of the drink all together.

Ingredients

• 1 ½ ounces gin
• ½ ounce Cherry Heering
• ¼ ounce Cointreau
• ¼ ounce Bénédictine
• 4 ounces pineapple juice
• ½ ounce lime juice
• ⅓ ounce grenadine
• 1 dash Angostura Bitters

Directions

Shake with ice. Strain into an ice filled Collins glass. Garnish with a cherry and/or pineapple.

Notes: This sucker will set you back about $26, so don’t go buying the house a round. You will be very  surprised when you get the bill. I would suggest limiting yourself to one, so you can say you did it, and then head over to FairPrice and pick up a couple of six packs. Beer isn’t cheap either, but after the Singapore Sling price tag, anything seems reasonable.

Ginger Cranberry Cocktail

Ingredients

For Ginger Syrup:

• 4-inch piece ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
• ½ cup sugar
• 1 ½ cups water

For the Drink:

• 1 cup frozen cranberries
• 1 lime, juiced
• 2 cups vodka or gin
• 2 cups cranberry juice
• Splash of club soda
• Shave ginger
• 1 cup ginger syrup, or to taste

Directions

For the Ginger Syrup:

Place all syrup ingredients in a saucepan and simmer until sugar dissolves and the ginger is infused in the syrup, about 20 minutes. Strain and allow to cool fully before use.

For the Cocktail:

Crush the frozen cranberries in a large glass pitcher. Add the lime juice and their juiced wedges to the pitcher. Pour in the vodka, cranberry juice, and ginger syrup. Put ice in low-ball glasses and fill glasses about 2/3 full. Top off with club soda and garnish with a shaving of fresh ginger.

Notes: Can be made without soda for a martini.

• Source: Dave Lieberman
• Recipe Yields: 8 servings

Sweet Crescent Rolls

One word describes these little buggers… Mmm! I would totally make these again, and again, and again, and maybe even one or two more times after that. They are super simple, and totally tasty. However, while eating them the Hubby and I did have a revelation. Add apples to make them more like little personal sized apple pies. I will totally try that next time.

Ingredients

• Package of crescent rolls
• Butter
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• ¾ teaspoon cinnamon

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Combine the cinnamon and sugar together and mix well. Place the unrolled crescent rolls onto an ungreased cookie sheet (I used my silpat mat). Spread a layer of butter on each triangle; top with cinnamon and sugar mixture. Roll from the bottom of the triangle to the point.

Place in the oven and bake for 10-11 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and serve while hot. Enjoy.

• Source: For the Love of Cooking

Happy Birthday to Me!

“Go, go, go shorty it’s your birfday. We gon’ party like it’s your birthday.” Yep that’s right, it is my birthday and I will cry if I want to. Unless, somebody makes me some Pink Lemonade Cake. Well technically they call it a pie, but is my birthday and I want to call it a cake, so a cake it is. Doesn’t it look delish. I love how pretty it is! My uncle made me an apple pie for my pre-birthday dinner and it was pretty good. Normally he cooks us Sunday Pasta dinner and he has perfected the Italian art form to a T. Recently he has added pies to his repertoire and it was pretty darn good. I will have to pass this recipe along to him.

Ingredients

The Crust:

• 1 ½ cups graham cracker crumbs
• ¼ cup sugar
• 4 tablespoons butter

The Filling:

• 1 8-ounce packet of cream cheese, softened
• 1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
• ¾ cup pink lemonade concentrate (not mixed with water)
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice (fresh or bottled)
• AmeriColor Red Red food coloring or equal

Directions

The Crust:

1. Mix the crumbs, sugar, and butter in a nine-inch pie pan or spring form pan. Mix until the crumbs have absorbed the butter and the mixture is uniform.
2. Press the crumbs across the bottom of the pan and up the sides.
3. Bake for eight to ten minutes at 350 degrees. (If it’s a hot July day, you can choose not to bake the crust. A baked crust holds together better because the heat melts the sugar to help hold the crumbs together.)

The Filling:

1. Using the whip attachment and your stand-type mixer or with a handheld electric mixer, mix the cream cheese and sweetened condensed milk together on medium high-speed until the mixture is smooth. (If you place the sweetened condensed milk in the bowl first, the cream cheese will not stick to the bowl and you will have little need to scrape the sides.)
2. Add the lemonade concentrate and lemon juice and continue beating. Color with red food coloring as desired.
3. Pour the mixture into the pie shell and place it in the freezer while you mix the topping.

Wait wait wait. Look what I stumbled upon… An actual Pink Lemonade Layer Cake that looks pretty awesome as well. Now that I found the actual cake version, you are allowed to call the above recipe a pie. See how that works? The birthday girl gets whatever she wants. However, when it comes to these sweeties, I am not quite sure which one I want to eat on my actual birthday, plus I am not a big fan of decisions, so I think I will take both please.

Ingredients

• One box of strawberry cake mix (plus oil, water and eggs as directed on box)
• 8oz. Philadelphia Cream Cheese, softened to room temperature
• 1 packet of Kool-Aid Lemonade (0.23oz.)
• Yellow food coloring gel, as desired for color
• 2 cups Jet-Puffed Marshmallow Creme
• 8 oz. Cool Whip Topping
• Fresh strawberries to garnish

Directions

1. Make cake according to box and bake in 2- 9 inch round cake pans as directed. Turn finished cakes over on cake racks and allow to cool completely.
2. Cream together cream cheese, lemonade and yellow food coloring until smooth.
3. Mix marshmallow creme in and then mix in Cool Whip until completely smooth. Refrigerate until cake is cooled and cut.
4. Cut each cake layer in half.
5. Alternating layers of cake with layers of filling, assemble cake.  End with layer of filling.
6. Top with sliced strawberries.
7. Refrigerate and serve chilled.