Giving Thanks with RumChata Pumpkin Spice

This past year has brought some fun and interesting food and beverage discoveries, with Mont’Amori cheese, arugula and prosciutto pizza, vanilla coffee jelly and a handful of seasonal beers just to name a few. My favorite find has to go to RumChata, the unique Mexican horchata inspired blend of Caribbean rum, vanilla, sweet cream and cinnamon, all packaged together in a beautiful cream-colored glass bottle. While quite tasty on its own, I quickly found myself using it often in coffee, or mixing it with spiced rum (2 parts RumChata with 1 part spiced rum will give you a creamy rice pudding taste, while an even mixture of RumChata and spiced rum offers up more of a cinnamon bun-like flavor).

Sticking with the seasonal pumpkin theme, I put together my own batch of RumChata Pumpkin Spice for Halloween night, using a 2/1 mixture of RumChata and Pumpkin Spice Liqueur. The drink was a big hit with family and friends, and is a perfect drink to be served alongside a nice slice of pie during Thanksgiving dessert. And with the holidays quickly rolling up on us, RumChata may make for the most fun and versatile spirit to have on hand or to give as a gift.

Also, be sure to visit their website, rumchata.com, for an extensive and creative list of food and drink recipes. From martinis, hot drinks, cocktails and shots, to pies, casseroles, smoothies and muffins…you’ll find that RumChata is well worth the purchase.

RumChata Pumpkin Spice

2 parts RumChata
1 Part Pumpkin Spice Liqueur

Mix together, pour over ice, top with a sprinkle of pumpkin pie spice. Enjoy responsibly!

Coming up next: Acorn Squash Ratatouille

Pumpkin Ricotta and Fig Crostini with Honey Maple Syrup

I always got a kick out of how television painter Bob Ross would turn artistic mistakes into ‘happy little accidents’.  This recipe isn’t so much of a mistake or an accident as it is a substitution, but it’s end result still made me much happier than anticipated.

My first intentions were to take the classic Italian dish of fresh figs, ricotta and honey, and add a little seasonal flare to it. My version would be fresh figs, pumpkin ricotta and a maple honey syrup. The only problem was that on the day that I planned to make this, I couldn’t find any figs. Every store I checked…nada. I guess I wasn’t the only one with figs on the brain that day.

I was offered two alternatives by one of the produce people that I spoke to that day. They suggested either dried figs or fig preserves. I didn’t think that dried figs would be a good substitute, but the jarred fig preserves got my wheels spinning. Since the preserves are obviously meant to be a spread, why not turn my idea into an autumn crostini? The lack of fresh figs turned into a happy and delicious Pumpkin Ricotta and Fig Preserve Crostini drizzled with maple honey syrup.

NOTE – the pumpkin ricotta is not as sweet and creamy as a pumpkin spread, filling or mousse. The ricotta cheese flavor stands out the most…with a bit of a cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice kick. It’s  quite delicious.

The following ingredients makes for a small batch of pumpkin ricotta. You can double up on ingredients to make a larger batch.
Pumpkin Ricotta
4 oz ricotta
2 oz pumpkin puree
1 tspn powdered sugar
1/4 tspn pumpkin pie spice
1/2 tspn cinnamon
1/2 tspn vanilla extract

Honey Maple Syrup
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup maple syrup

1 small jar fig preserves

1 French baguette, thinly sliced and toasted

Directions:
Combine all pumpkin ricotta ingredients into a bowl, whip together until well combined. Chill in fridge for at least 1 hour.
Melt butter in a small sauce pan. Remove pan from heat, stir in honey and maple syrup.
Lightly coat the toasted crostini bread with fig preserves, add either a smear or dollop of pumpkin ricotta. Lightly drizzle with honey maple syrup.

If you do happen to come across fresh figs, you can slice them and dip them into the ricotta, or you can add a dollop of the ricotta to the top of the figs and drizzle with the honey maple syrup.

Baked Tomato Zucchini Casserole

Here’s an easy, quick and healthy recipe that you can serve as either a side dish or a main course. With just a handful of fresh ingredients, you’ll have this meal assembled and cooked in less than an hour. My original plan for this dish was to bread the individual slices of zucchini and tomatoes, and then stack the slices in a baking dish. To save time and ingredients (and to make it a bit more interesting), I instead decided to make a basic breadcrumb topping (breadcrumbs sautéed in melted butter and mixed with parmesan cheese), and use the topping as a layer within the casserole. I also used a 50/50 mixture of regular breadcrumbs and panko breadcrumbs for an extra crunchy texture. Regular breadcrumbs will of course work fine on their own.

Ingredients:
3 green zucchini, sliced thin length-wise
8 plum tomatoes, sliced thin
1/2 large yellow onion, sliced thin, separated into individual rings
1/3 cup basil, finely chopped
garlic powder
salt and pepper
olive oil
2 tbspn butter
1 cup breadcrumbs (I used 1/2 regular and 1/2 panko breadcrumbs)
1/2 cup parmesan cheese

Step 1: Making the breadcrumb topping
Melt butter in a small skillet; add breadcrumbs and sauté until lightly browned. Remove from heat, and stir in parmesan cheese. Set aside.

Step 2: Assembling the casserole
Preheat oven to 375˚. Lightly spray an 8×8 baking dish. Cover the bottom of the dish with a single layer of zucchini. Next place a single layer of onion rings (you can spread out the individual rings so that the onions do not  over-power the dish), then add a single layer of tomatoes. Season with garlic powder, salt and pepper (to your liking). Sprinkle some of the basil on top. Drizzle with olive oil. Top with a light coating of breadcrumbs. Repeat the layered steps (zucchini, onion, tomatoes, seasoning, basil, breadcrumbs) until all ingredients are used up. Bake uncovered for 45 minutes. Remove from oven, let cool slightly. Slice, serve and enjoy!

The assembled casserole.

Sliced and ready to enjoy!

Coconut Lime Chicken

This past weekend, we had our annual end-of-summer neighborhood grill fest. Since chicken is always a crowd pleaser, and coconut and lime are two of my favorite summer flavors, I did some research and put together my own variation of grilled coconut lime chicken. Although I did not win the coveted Friendship Road ‘Golden Spatula’ for favorite dish, my entry seemed to be a big hit with everyone…so I’ll take that as a win any day! This is definitely a tasty dish that could be served up any time of the year, so I’ve also included baking instructions for those who do not like to venture out into the cooler weather to fire up their grill.

6 chicken breasts, cut in half length-wise (makes a total of 12 pieces)
1 13.5 oz can coconut milk
1/4 cup olive oil
3 cloves minced garlic
juice of 4 limes, plus zest of two limes
1/4 tspn ground ginger
1/2 tspn light brown sugar
2 tspn salt
1/4 tspn black pepper
1/4 cup shredded coconut

In a large mixing bowl, combine the coconut milk, olive oil, garlic, lime juice and zest, ginger, brown sugar, salt and pepper. Whisk until well combined. If grilling, reserve 1/3 cup of the marinade for later use.

Cut about 4 to 5 small slits into each chicken breast. Place the chicken breasts into a plastic baggie, then pour the remaining marinade mixture over the chicken. Squeeze all air out of the baggie, then tightly tie the bag closed. Let the chicken marinate in the refrigerator for 2-6 hours.

Grilling

Heat your grill to medium-high, evenly coating your grill grates with cooking spray. Remove the chicken breasts from the marinade and place on the grill. Discard the old marinade. Pour a small portion of the reserved marinade into a bowl. Grill for approximately 15-20 minutes, flipping occasionally, until the chicken is browned and evenly cooked. Baste the chicken occasionally with the small portion of the marinade, discarding what is left of the small portion of marinade when grilling is done.

When the chicken is done, remove it from the grill and place it in a baking dish. Pour the remaining marinade evenly over the chicken, and place the baking dish into your oven set to warm for 10 minutes. This will allow the remaining marinade to slightly thicken into a sauce.

While the chicken is in the oven, place the shredded coconut into a large pan. Toast over medium heat for 5-7 minutes, or until the coconut starts to brown.  Remove chicken from the oven, sprinkle with toasted coconut. You can also sprinkle with chives for extra color and flavor!

Baking

Preheat oven to 375˚. Remove marinated chicken from refrigerator, place in a baking dish. Pour marinade over chicken, making sure that all pieces are well covered (there is no need to reserve any marinade when baking). Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until chicken is completely cooked, flipping once half-way through. Remove from oven, top with toasted coconut (see instructions above for toasting coconut).