How to Add As Much Bourbon to Your Holiday Dinners As Possible
There is something about bourbon that just screams “holiday party”. Whether it’s Old Fashioned or wrapped in bourbon balls, the dark sweet spirit brings a festive mood to every party and dinner it attends. Your holiday season should contain a lot of bourbon cocktails, yes, but don’t overlook the culinary uses of brown booze.
Bourbon can be used in a variety of recipes, both savory and sweet. Since I don’t really believe in this “too much good” concept, I’m going to show you how to add a whole bourbon to your holiday dinners.
Roll it into sweet potatoes
Sweet potatoes are a festive swatch. As a side, they need a little more than a little oil and salt, but they also absolutely dominate the pie game . To add it to mashed potatoes, simply cook a couple tablespoons of this product with a few tablespoons of oil for a minute before mixing with the potatoes. (Alternate plan: Try Pope Bourdain’s candied sweet potatoes .) For the pie, simply add two tablespoons to the batter along with your usual wet ingredients.
Mix it with the sauce
Bourbon and meat are a natural pair and you can easily add them to gravy. Making bourbon gravy is as easy as making a gravy. Just do it as usual, and when it’s time to add broth, add 1/4 cup bourbon (for every six glasses of broth). (Pour the same amount into your glass while you’re there.)
Make a special vinaigrette
You thought the salad would run away without the bourbon? Think again, my friend. Bourbon maple vinaigrette is perfect for your salad and will add a bit of a decadent flavor to a dish of otherwise healthy plant parts . You can add a couple tablespoons of booze to any vinaigrette, or use this:
- 2/3 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons bourbon
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons of ground mustard
- 2 garlic cloves, very finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons grated or powdered Parmesan (the cheap product is really good here)
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 fresh sage leaves, finely chopped
- 6 tiny sprigs of fresh thyme, leaves removed from stems
Bake it in pecan pie, obviously
It is a very obvious and delightful combination of flavors and vices. I’m not going to reinvent the wheel here with a new recipe; Alton Brown is doing well . (There is bourbon in the filling and crust.)
Glaze ham
I love glazed ham more than any other holiday meat, and I love glazed ham even more. I loosely follow this recipe , which combines bourbon (I increase it to half a cup), minced pineapple, garlic, honey, and brown sugar. Slice the ham, place it in a bag of bourbon mixture, and let it hang overnight before cooking as usual (pineapple and cherry kitsch rings are optional, although I recommend it).