SPIRITED SIPS FOR TRICK-OR-TREATING
BOO! Did we scare you? ‘Tis the season for frighteningly good food and fun. Lucky for you, we’ve got all that and a festive Fall cocktail to wash it down!
AU: Real talk—after three years of dodging the lil sucker like a champ, I finally got Covid for the first time! Since last week, I haven’t been able to smell or taste a thing—and honestly, that’s what’s driving me crazy the most! I’ve been vaxed and boosted, so my “sicky” symptoms didn’t last too long, but not having a sense of smell or taste is just weird, and frankly, very annoying!
EK: I can relate! I also dodged the C-ball until the end of January this year and everyone said, “but you were so careful…” Well, it eventually finds us all :) ! I’m glad it’s over and behind me, especially the “no taste, no smell” part of it. I slowly got back my sense of smell and taste after I tested negative and—thankfully—it’s like it never happened! Hopefully, you will be back to tasting and smelling in no time!
AU: From you lips… I was gonna develop a new delectable recipe for this week, but without being able to taste anything, it’s difficult to bake or cook with any confidence that the end result is tasty. Luckily, we have some excellent entertaining options from the W4D archives… but first, Elizabeth has a little something to whet your whistle!
FOR THE ADULT TRICK-OR-TREATER: HOT HONEY & BACON SET THE BAR HIGH
EK: While Anthony is recuperating, I am thinking ahead to next week and planning my trick or treat snacks. I am going to sit outside, drink an adult beverage and hand-out candy to all the cute costumed kiddos in my neighborhood. And, my candy is going to be these seasonal Pumpkin Spice Candied Bacon Swizzle Stix that I am kind of obsessed with! They are a real treat with an easy trick to making them!
I love bacon swizzle sticks—and I love candied bacon swizzle sticks even more! When I saw a recipe from Coleman Natural Foods for Pumpkin-Spice Candied Bacon, I thought, gee-why didn’t I think of that?! It’s so obvious yet not thought of—at least by me!
The combination of the smoky bacon, rich pork flavor, warm autumn spice and caramelized brown sugar is a match made in glutton heaven! Add a touch of cayenne for balance and I am one happy pumpkin!
I immediately thought the idea would make great bacon swizzle sticks for a cocktail. The thing about bacon swizzle sticks is that the bacon needs to be meaty but thin-cut, so that they stay twisted. Thick-cut bacon won’t work in this recipe.
If you aren’t familiar with Coleman, it’s a family business that has been around since 1875. The bacon is very good and just the right cut for this recipe. It is made from pork raised in the USA with no antibiotics or added hormones, and is all-natural, smoked with hickory or applewood, with no added nitrates or nitrites.
But even if you use thin-cut bacon it has a tendency to unravel as it cooks. There are some tricks you can do, like making sure the bacon is room temperature so that it sticks to itself, but can still unravel. I was lamenting this fact with Anthony before I made the swizzle sticks and he had a brilliant idea!
AU: Well, I was just channeling my arts-and-crafts energy from camp. I never won any sports awards, but I was very crafty! Who hasn’t safety-pinned thread to act as anchor for braiding a friendship bracelet?
EK: So I decided that I would do exactly as he said… pretend these are friendship bacon stix! They are certainly friendly!
PUMPKIN-SPICE CANDIED BACON STIX
EK: The recipe is very simple and straightforward. You mix brown sugar and pumpkin spice. I make my own pumpkin spice blend, because it’s easy to do and I already have the four spices—cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves—in my pantry.
EK: You dredge the bacon in the sugar-spice mixture—I used a loaf pan, instead of a bowl, to dredge them because bacon is long and skinny. Twist the bacon slices by holding each end with your respective thumb and forefinger and twist until the whole piece is twisted.
EK: Next you thread the bottom and top of each swizzle stick with a skewer so that they lay flat like a raft. Pop them in the oven for 15-20 minutes a side and you are mere minutes away from your very special treat!
EK: When they are still warm, you transfer them to a clean sheet pan fitted with clean parchment paper—the original pan is messy with bacon dripping and hot molten sugar as you can imagine. Don’t skip this step! You must transfer them to a clean sheet because the sugar is like superglue as it cools. While they are still warm, snip the ends of the bacon to release the skewers (with a pair of kitchen scissors). It will give your bacon even/straight edges, but don’t throw the skewers away until you nibble off the candied bits left on them—cook’s treat!
AU: Yum! Even if I don’t use them in a cocktail, I want to have these out as an unexpected—and festive—nibble for guests. They look like little magic wands, or spooky branches!
EK: And there you have it—make these next week and anytime you want to up your bacon game! I would not skip adding a pinch of cayenne to the sugar-spice mixture for a little heat!
THE HOT HONEY: BOURBON & APPLE CIDER MAKE NICE WITH SOME SPICE
EK: ICYDK, Hot Honey is no longer a culinary twist like it was when I made it from scratch for my NYC fried-chicken restaurant, Hill Country Chicken in 2009. It is now ubiquitous. Most honey brands have a hot or spicy honey and French syrup company Monin, named Hot Honey Syrup their flavor of the year.
The difference is between “hot honey” and “hot honey syrup” is that hot honey syrup is used to add the flavor of hot honey to drinks, especially cold drinks where the honey alone won’t dissolve easily.
AU: No one, and I mean NO ONE made better fried chicken than Hill Country Chicken… and oooooh that housemade hot honey was just as good on a fried chicken thigh as it was on a buttermilk biscuit!! My mouth is watering just thinking about it (and don’t get me started on the pies…).
EK: A trip down memory lane:) Thank you A!
You can buy hot honey syrup or make your own by combining equal parts hot or spicy honey and boiling water. Let it cool, and you have hot honey syrup which you can store in the refrigerator in a glass bottle for up to a month.
This HH tangent is a long way of saying that I wanted to make a hot honey cocktail for fall/winter. Just like HH, spicy margaritas are everywhere, but people don’t think of adding heat to bourbon in the same way that they do with tequila or mezcal. If you think about it, it makes just as much sense—what’s a cinnamon red hot or a fire ball? Cinnamon + sugar + heat and we all love cinnamon and bourbon.
EK: As is the case with most of my cocktails, this one is very easy to make and calls for ingredients that are readily available or you may already have on hand.
AU: The best kinds of cocktails are ones you can make at a moment’s notice, amiright?!? I feel like this one is going to give my favorite Quirky Turkey a run for its money…
EK: I think it just might! I decided that I wanted the drink to be on the lower alcohol scale and include pure apple juice (or apple cider) to cut the natural heat of the bourbon, complement the other flavors and give all the fall feels. Lemon was a must to brighten and lighten the mood and I added a full ounce of fresh lemon juice which gives the cocktail a sophisticated, layered spicy whiskey sour vibe.
In fact, even though it is not a whiskey sour, it is the best “whiskey sour” that I have personally ever tasted! I am calling it The Hot Honey!
This is my new favorite bourbon cocktail and I love that it is both refreshing and warm with notes of apple, honey, caramel, spice, creamy vanilla and bright lemon.
One note is that it is important to use a good bourbon in this cocktail for flavor and balance. I am partial to Russell’s Reserve 10-year made by Wild Turkey. The flavor is quintessentially Kentucky bourbon with strong caramel, vanilla, spice and aged oak notes. At 90 proof, it’s not a particularly “hot” bourbon, which is a good thing, and mixes well. All that to say, use a lower proof, classic bourbon for best results.
Make one tonight or make it next week and let us know what you think! CHEERS!!
THE HOT HONEY
This is one smashing cocktail! It is the bourbon whiskey sour of my dreams. It is not technically a “sour” and not technically a “smash” but it has all the best flavors of fall updated with a little spice from Hot Honey. One sip and it will put a smile on your face. It drinks like the best bourbon sour that I have ever tasted—perfect for a Halloween treat or any other time you need both a drink and a pick-me up.
Makes 2 drinks
2.5 ounces bourbon such as Russell’s Reserve 10-year
3 ounces pure apple juice or cider
½ ounce hot honey syrup*, prepared or homemade
1 ounce fresh-squeezed lemon juice
Ice
Apple slice and cinnamon stick for garnish
Method:
Add ice, bourbon, apple cider, hot honey syrup, and lemon juice to a cocktail shaker. (You can add a full ounce of hot honey syrup if you like things spicier.)
Shake until chilled.
Fill a cocktail glass with ice cubes and strain over the mixed drink.
Garnish with an apple slice and a cinnamon stick.
*Note: To make Hot Honey Syrup, mix together equal parts boiling water and your favorite hot/spicy honey. Stir until the honey has dissolved completely.
Just in time for cold, flu & covid season: a more flavorful hot toddy.