Making your own hard liquor is a whisky business.

February recipe number two! I knew I had to pull of two things for the month, otherwise I would be really behind. On the 28th I looked at what I could do, and made a drink. My Blender 101 book came from Vitamix (the maker of the fancy blender I treated myself to last year). They did a recall to update the blade in the carafe on some models, so when you got yours back they extended their awesome 7 year warranty another year and gave you a book. No complaints from me!
The drink is called a Caramelized Pear Macerate. It was very easy, and very good. For a drink, there was more involved than usual though.

 

Caramelized Pear Macerate

1 Bosc pear
1 oz simple syrup
Dash of ground nutmeg, plus extra for garnish
Dash of ground cinnamon
2 oz cognac
1/8 tsp vanilla extract
2 oz heavy whipping cream

Peel the pear, core it, and cut into thin slices (save a couple to garnish). In a sauté pan over medium heat, sauté the pear slices with the simple syrup, nutmeg, and cinnamon until the pear slices become soft. (You made need to add additional simple syrup to prevent the pear slices from sticking to the pan.) Add the cognac and vanilla and scrape everything into a blender. Add the cream and blend for about 5 seconds. (At this point I did let it sit for a few minutes so it wasn't as hot.) Add about a half cup of ice and blend until smooth. Pour into a small cocktail glass. Garnish with pear slices and a dash of nutmeg.

The thinner you cut the pear slices, the faster they will cook. So if you are doubling or tripling the recipe, that would help the total time. The slices don't have to be pretty or uniform since they are just getting blended anyway. A Vitamix is totally not necessary for this drink either, just one that is good at pulverizing ice! This only makes two portions, that is the only drawback. But those who drink too much at night have to worry about the mourning after. ;)

Not amazing, but not berry bad either.

I totally slacked off on my posting duties last month! I actually made two things, but I will post separately. The first one I did mid-month was Fruit Swirl Coffee Cake from my Bisquick cookbook. This one kind of turned out funny for me. First thing, it really felt more like a cobbler. With the way Bisquick is, that makes sense! Here's the recipe, then I will explain the complications:

Fruit Swirl Coffee Cake

4 c Bisquick
1/2 c sugar
1/4 c margarine or butter, melted
1/2 c milk
2 tsp vanilla
3 eggs
1 can (21 oz) fruit pie filling (any flavor)
1 c powdered sugar
2 tbs milk

• Heat oven to 350. Grease jelly roll pan, or two square pans (or be like me and use a 13x9 pan). Stir all ingredients except pie filling, powdered sugar, and 2 tbs of milk in a large bowl until blended; beat vigorously 30 seconds.
• Spread two-thirds of the batter (about 2 1/2 c) in the pan (or half of that in two pans). Spread pie filling over batter (filling may not cover batter completely). Drop remaining batter by tablespoonfuls onto pie filling. 
• Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. Mix powdered sugar and 2 tbs of milk until smooth; drizzle over warm coffee cake. (I totally forgot the frosting step.) Serve warm or cold.

First, for the pie filling I used a blackberry—yuuum! There were a ton of different ones at the store, so it could change all the time.
I think my troubles started with using a smaller pan. A jelly roll would have allowed it to spread out more and become thinner. So when I first cooked it I added on some time and it looked okay. I tried some of the corner and was happy with it...then the next day I got closer to the middle and it was a little doughy, as if it hadn't cooked properly. So it got thrown back in the oven the next day for another 20 minutes and seemed a lot better. The biscuity part just never seemed too happy sitting next to gooey pie filling after a day or so. Because of that, I think this would be awesome to do and serve/finish quickly. Even then, don't think Steven and I didn't eat that whole thing ourselves! I love blackberry, uh, anything. So it suited me just fine.

Next...pear me up with an alcoholic drink, and I can work wonders!