Fat Hooker

 

Once August hits, and it is here, I feel as though summer is over. Summer weather is certainly not over, and won’t be for another couple of months, but August is my stair step into September, and that’s when I start thinking about fall decorating. I mention this because I had plans to try loads of tropical drinks this summer and I didn’t get to a one of them. I plan to make up for that in the next couple of weeks sharing my results with you. Having recently purchased a bottle of peach schnapps with no idea why, I started looking for recipes that contained this as an ingredient, pleased at how many there are. Ergo, my first cocktail of this summer is the Fat Hooker.

This is a good one. It’s a nice blend of ingredients so that it doesn’t taste like too much of any one thing. I think this would be an excellent cocktail to serve with brunch. It’s far more complex and interesting than the Mimosa, and would make such a pleasant, tropical change. The only downside is that it is very refreshing and drinkable, so it’s hard to realize that it is indeed an alcoholic beverage, and to slow down.

Fat Hooker
Serves 1

1/2 oz. Peach Schnapps
1 oz. Vodka
1/2 oz. Coconut rum
4 oz. Orange juice
4 oz. Pineapple juice

Place all ingredients into a tall glass. Add ice, stir, and enjoy. Garnish as you see fit. 

Pineapple Cheese Ball

As I’ve mentioned before, I occasionally like to rummage through my mother’s recipe box. I decided to do that last week and came upon a recipe for pineapple cheese ball written in my late aunt’s handwriting. This seemed like the season for it and it sounded refreshing. Her version of this cheese ball called for green pepper. I like green pepper, but I wanted a little more zing, so I substituted the green pepper with pickled jalapeños, and that made a world of difference! This is one of those simple hors d’oeuvres that often goes unnoticed. It looks like nothing special, but the flavor is bright and tropical, with a nice amount of heat. If you are a fan of afternoon tea, this makes an excellent sandwich spread, particularly on a heavily seeded, nutty, whole wheat bread.

Pineapple Cheese Ball

2 8-oz. pkg. cream cheese, room temperature
1 14-oz. can crushed pineapple, drained
2 c. toasted pecans, chopped, divided
2 Melissa’s pickled jalapeños, seeded, stemmed, and minced
1 t.  seasoned salt

Beat cream cheese until smooth. Add pineapple, 1 cup pecans, the jalapeños, and seasoned salt. Beat until combined. Form into a ball and roll in remaining cup of nuts. Chill overnight. If you want something a bit sweeter, consider replacing the pecans with toasted coconut.

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Jungle Nights Tablescape

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This table setting came about quite by accident. I was folding clothes and pieces of yardage that I had laundered for storage. I had turned the right sides together on a large piece of black denim, and found the wrong side to be quite interesting. I spread it out on top of the table, and it gave me a kind of a jungle feel. Does this, or does this not remind you of snakeskin? It did me, and I could just see that snake dangling out of a tropical tree. A jungle theme, I thought, and here is the result.

The conservatory that was completed in the spring (for those of you who have followed me for sometime let me just say that the lanai is no more) definitely has a jungle vibe. I pulled the monkey bookends off of the bookshelves, grabbed some books, a pair of Amiri fans, plants, and piled it up in the center. A few plates later and the table was done.

 The centerpiece is really the star of this show. Nearly all of it I inherited from my mother. The delightful monkeys were hers as well as the trio of Moroccan lanterns (A good selection of these can be found on Amazon, beginning here.).

 Plants are straight from the conservatory.

 The chargers are Bordallo Pinheiro geranium leaf plates; the square dinner plates are on old offering from Rachael Ray. They are no longer available, but you can get something similar here.

  The bamboo-handled flatware is always fun to use and works perfectly in an exotic setting.

 I wanted to mix things up a bit and add some sparkle, so I used my mother’s crystal knife rests. It’s not often that you see these, I can tell you! Hers are vintage, but you can find something similar here.

 The stemware was my mother’s as were the napkins. The stemware is Fostoria, and was discontinued years ago, but a similar version can be found here.

 The wonderful bamboo bordered palm and banana tree salad plates are by Fitz and Floyd. Two different tree designs are on these plates, the design is called “Cape Town.”

 I hope that you enjoyed viewing this table as I did creating it.

  This post is linked to:

Tablescape Thursday

 

 

 

Banana, Coconut and Ricotta Pancakes with Ginger Syrup

I teased you yesterday with the recipe for ginger syrup, telling you that one of its delicious uses would be posted today.  Now, remember the luscious cocktail that was served in the coconut half that I showed you here?  Obviously, there was another half to that coconut, one with three holes in it for draining the water, but one that also had wonderfully fresh, moist coconut meat.  It was that meat, freshly grated in the food processor, that sent me on my quest for a breakfast recipe in which I could put it to good use.  Thanks to Epicurious.com, I found a decadently delicious recipe that is full of complex tastes and will make you feel that you’re breakfasting on a tropical isle.  The beauty of this recipe is that it, like the ginger syrup, can be made ahead, so you won’t have to labor in the morning to put a fantastic meal on the table.  I used a Cuisinart Griddler to make my pancakes, so there was no need for the butter as mentioned in the recipe.  Also, as I'm not keen on pineapple other than eaten alone, I eliminated it as a topping ingredient.  Personally, I don’t think the pineapple has a place here at all as it would have clashed rather badly, I think, with the ginger.

Banana, Coconut and Ricotta Pancakes with Ginger Syrup

4 large eggs, separated

3/4 cup whole milk

2/3 cup whole-milk ricotta cheese (about 6 ounces)

2/3 cup all purpose flour

2 tablespoons sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon (generous) salt

1 1/3 cups finely grated fresh coconut (about 4 ounces)

6 teaspoons (or more) butter

3 bananas, peeled, sliced on diagonal

1/2 pineapple, peeled, cored, thinly sliced, cut into triangles

 Whisk egg yolks, milk, ricotta, flour, sugar, baking powder, vanilla, and salt in large bowl. Stir in coconut. DO AHEAD Can be made 12 hours ahead. Cover and chill.

Beat egg whites in another large bowl until stiff. Gently fold into ricotta mixture.

Melt 1 teaspoon butter on griddle or in large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Working in batches, drop batter onto griddle by 1/4 cupfuls. Cook until bubbles form on pancakes, about 2 minutes. Flip pancakes; cook 2 minutes longer, adding butter to griddle by teaspoonfuls between batches. Arrange 3 to 4 pancakes on each plate. garnish with sliced fruit; pour warm ginger syrup over.

This post is linked to:

Sweets for a Saturday

Seasonal Sunday

Sunday's Best Party