Author: icookueataz

HEIRLOOM POPCORN with BROWNED BUTTER + SAGE

I admit, for a long time, I didn’t know how easy it was to make popcorn on the stove. You don’t need an air popper or any fancy equipment. Just a pot, some oil, and a lid. The lid is crucial. Otherwise, you’d be using your oven mitt like a baseball glove and catching all …

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CANDIED CRANBERRY COCKTAIL

I’m pretty sure this is the cocktail they served at the first Thanksgiving. If you don’t believe me, go check your history books. It should be right after the chapter that describes Christopher Columbus as a nice guy. Candied cranberries are a good snack. They’re crisp and both a little tart and sweet at the …

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AUTUMN SALAD

Let me start by saying cutting up a raw butternut squash is a little bit dangerous, at least the first cut. The squash is wobbling on the cutting board, and it’s rock solid. It’s nice that you can buy pre-cut squash now, although I still like getting the whole ones and toasting the seeds with …

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PUMPKIN ALE BROWNIES with CINNAMON CREAM CHEESE

Pumpkin has infiltrated about every food product. You walk into a Trader Joe’s this time of year, and you’ll see what I mean…from oatmeal to coffee to yogurt to cookies… I think the next frontier for pumpkin is beauty products. I’m waiting for Old Spice to come out with a “fresh pumpkin” deodorant, maybe Dial …

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CARAMEL APPLE COCKTAIL

RECIPE makes 2 4-6 oz hard apple cider 2 oz calvados 1 tsp grated ginger squeeze of lemon, about 1 tsp 2 thin slices of granny smith apple, for garnish 2-4 tsp caramel, for decorating the glasses caramel recipe: 1 c sugar, 1/2 c cream, 6 T butter, pinch of sea salt Calvados is an …

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SWEET POTATO EMPANADAS

You know how some sitcoms will do the flashback episode, where it’s about 5 minutes of new material, a few shots of them saying “remember…” and a bunch of clips from previous episodes. I hated those episodes. I still watched them, and probably laughed, but I thought it was a cop out. This post is …

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PUMPKIN MALT

One way to tell it’s fall in Arizona is when Four Peaks comes out with its pumpkin porter. The weekend before Halloween, we went to Four Peaks for some pumpkin porter shakes (which is the inspiration for this recipe), and we thought since it was the Saturday before Halloween people would be dressed up, so …

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ARIZONA CRAB CAKES with HOMEMADE TARTAR

I was reading about this lobster festival in Rockland, Maine that happens every August. I put it on my list of random things I want to do. In the meantime, I traveled vicariously by doing a google maps street view tour and making some crab cakes with tartar sauce. I know it’s not lobster, but …

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BLACK CARDAMOM CHUCK ROAST with YAMS + BROCCOLINI

So black cardamom. It has an amazing smokey smell. You’ll want to keep smelling it. It’s used in garam masala, and I hear it’s a good addition to a bloody mary… Don’t put it in your chai, unless you want it smokey. Green cardamom is used there. If you’re wondering where to buy cardamom, Salam’s …

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CHAI SUN TEA

We have to thank three different cultures for this drink. The straw is a mate straw from Argentina. Chai, you know, is Indian. And I think it’s safe to assume that sun tea is American. I use the mate straw because it has a built in spiral filter on the bottom. Traditionally, it’s used to …

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