On the Lamb threw a Speakeasy last night… complete with Bathtub Gin and Juice, Pork and Wild Boar Sliders and Cherry Bourbon Ice Cream. There was bourbon and scoundrels as far as the eye could see. Before we get down and dirty with my new favorite ice cream flavor, here’s a peek at what setting up a roarin’ Speakeasy looks like.

A Speakeasy requires a guest list, a password at the door, and a cash box for cashmoney.  

The menu.  Stellar.  

I think every good Speakeasy should have the option to play Spin the Bottle… don’t you? 

As the night progressed, we would come to know these strawberry flavored marshmallows very well.  

Silly games for a party full of strangers.  

We are the ladies of On the Lamb and we require pretty dresses.  

We had streamers on the ceiling.  No… these streamers did not hang themselves.  We hung them.  Every one. 

Ever go snooping in a medicine cabinet?  Yea…. me too.  We have candy in our medicine cabinet.  Everybody wins. 

Brioche buns for the pork and veal sliders.  Shut up.  So good!

We run a tight ship.  Our night was all planned out.  

And before we got the hungry grumpies from all our prep work, Rachel made us lunch.  Bless her soul. 

The Speakeasy was a raging success.  Pictures of the evening will be up shortly.  I was running around with food and cocktails, not my camera.  Thank you to everyone who shared their evening with us.  You people made our gathering amazing!  Y’all know how to bring the fun!  Thank you for your support and your thirst and your appetites.  

If you’d like to know more about On the Lamb and be on the mailing list for our upcoming events, check out onthelambfb.com.  Oh!  Daily Candy likes us too.. RAD!

Now let’s get down to business.  We have some ice cream to talk about… just about the best ice cream ever!  Bourbon soaked cherries in a gorgeous vanilla ice cream.  Take a few days to soak dried cherries in bourbon.  They’re amazing in desserts, in cocktails, in your face… you can’t go wrong.  

This ice cream base is Alton Brown’s recipe.  I love that it is devoid of eggs.  Sometimes ice cream bases with egg yolks get a little too… eggy for me.  In this recipe, the cream is heated to 170 degrees F, then cooled overnight and churned the next day.  It works out wonderfully!  The bourbon in this recipe really works to keep the ice cream pretty soft even when it’s in the freezer.  Dreamy.  Do it.  

Cherry Bourbon Ice Cream
     adapted from Alton Brown

     makes 1 quart of ice cream

     Print this Recipe!

2 cups half and half
1 cup whipping cream
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 Tablespoons cherry preserves (not jelly. preserves)
1 vanilla bean split and scraped
1/4 cup bourbon soaked cherries, roughly chopped
1 to 2 cups of bourbon for soaking cherries, 2 Tablespoons bourbon for the recipe

Make bourbon soaked cherries by combining 1/2 cup dried cherries with 1 to 2 cups of bourbon. Let the mixture sit in a clean jar with a lid, for at least two days. Once the cherries have plumped up you can make this ice cream with the cherries and a bit of the bourbon… and you can sit around just sipping on the rest of the bourbon. Deeelicious.

Combine all ingredients except the chopped cherries and bourbon, in a large saucepan over medium heat. Place a candy or frying thermometer in the milk mixture. Stirring occasionally, bring the mixture to 170 degrees F. This is pretty hot for milk. If your milk breaks a bit, don’t worry too much. It’ll work out in the end.
Once 170 degrees F is reached, remove the pan from the heat and allow to cool slightly. Remove the vanilla bean and add the chopped cherries and bourbon.  Stir to combine  and  place mixture in a lidded container and refrigerate overnight. This will allow the flavors to mellow and improve the texture of the milk.
Freeze mixture in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions. The mixture will not freeze hard in the machine but will increase in volume and be the texture of soft serve ice cream. Place the mixture in a container with a lid and freeze for at lease one hour before serving.

Let’s just close out eyes and pretend we’re sitting under an orange tree. An orange tree heavy with fruit… but with the occasional late blooming blossom. There are honey bees too. Just a few. The friendly kind. The kind of honeybees that remind you that life is full of creatures big and small… and we all have tasks to do.

Let’s just hang out under our orange tree for a while. Right here in the shade, greeted by little spots of sun as the wind spreads the leaves.

It’s nice here.

Sweet. Thanks. I’m glad you’re here.

Simple.  Big.  Bright.  Tangy.  A game changer, taking your day from overcast to bright and shiny with just a sip.  

Thank you to Tracy and Sunset Magazine for the inspiration.  

Super Citrus Smoothie

     adapted from Sunset Magazine

     Print this Recipe!

Here’s what you’ll need for one big smoothie:  

A juicer

A blender

2 Tablespoons Meyer lemon juice

the juice of 1/2 a grapefruit (save the other half for tomorrow’s smoothie?) 

1/2 cup fresh orange or tangerine juice

2 tablespoons honey

heaping 1/2 cup Greek yogurt

1 frozen banana (they blend better when frozen)

1/2 cup ice cubes

In a blender, combine juices, yogurt, and honey.  Blend for a few seconds.  Add the ice cubes and blend until smooth.  This recipe makes one giant smoothie.  Yumtown. 

This big old bowl of tomatoes and cream is the best thing to ever come out of my kitchen.

So good.  So right. I’m thinking of retiring.  I’m thinking of hanging up the apron strings and ending on a high note.  You know, like Seinfeld did in the 90’s.

But it’s just tomato soup?  What could be so special about it?  Let me explain. 

Tomatoes.  Top quality canned Italian tomatoes make all the difference in this soup.  I got my hands on two giant cans of whole San Marzano tomatoes and they made this soup absolutely irresistable.  

But they’re just tomatoes.  Yes they’re just tomatoes… just the best canned tomatoes EVER!

San Marzano Tomatoes are a type of plum tomato with a thin skin, fewer seeds and an oh so sweet and less acidic tomato flavor.  They’re like tomato bombs from heaven, except they don’t really explode and they’re  from Naples, Italy where they’re grown at the base of Mount Vesuvius.  For real… this actually happens.  Tomatoes at the base of a volcano.  Amazing.  It’s the volcanic soil that filters out any water impurieties before they reach the plant.  Rad.  Want to make some kickass soup?  Get your paws on these tomatoes, and I mean now!

Creamy Tomato Soup

     adapted from Martha Stewart

     serves 6

     Print this Recipe!

4 Tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter 

2 Tablespoons olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

1 medium carrot, finely diced

course sea salt and fresh black pepper

splash of red wine vinegar (just over 1 Tablespoon)

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

3 Tablespoons tomato paste

1 dried bay leaf

2 cans (14 1/2-ounces each) low sodium chicken broth

2 cans (28-ounces each) whole peeled tomatoes in juice  (with basil if available)  

1/2- 3/4 cup whole milk or cream

In a large saucepan or Dutch oven melt butter over medium heat.  Add oil, carrot and onion and season with salt and pepper.  Cook until the onion is translucent and the carrots are well on their way to softening, about 7 to 8 minutes.   Add the splash of vinegar at stir until cooked off.  

Turn flame to low and add flour.  Incorporate into the onion and carrots.  Add tomato paste and cook for 1 minute to distribute the paste and cook off the flour taste.  

Add chicken broth and bay leaf.  

With clean hands add the tomatoes to the pot, breaking the whole tomatoes up with your hands as you add the tomatoes and the juice.   Bring to a boil and reduce heat to a simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.  

Remove from heat.  Using an emulsion blender, puree soup in pot until you’ve reached the desired consistency.  Maybe you like more chunks than some folks!  If you don’t have an emulsion blender, let the soup cool for about 30 minutes and, working in two or three batches, puree some of the soup in a conventional blender until smooth.  Place pureed soup in a bowl and puree the remainder in the pot.  

Return pureed soup to the pot and stir in milk or cream.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  

Let cool to room temperature before dividing among airtight containers or jars (leaving 1 inch of space at the top) and freeze.