Saturday Down South: NOLA-Style BBQ Shrimp

It's here again, folks... it's officially Alabama-LSU week in college football. It's essentially the biggest game of our season. Even though my Crimson Tide is undefeated and ranked #1, this game has got this entire house nervous. Unfortunately for us, we're playing in Baton Rouge this year, so we weren't able to go root on our boys in person, but we are certainly there in spirit! As a part of SEC tradition, everyone typically bases their tailgate spread on the food of what the opposing team is famous for. So naturally, that means Creole or Cajun recipes on this particular weekend. When we made the trip to New Orleans for the college playoff game two years ago, I heard about Barbecue Shrimp. Now, this isn't your ole typical BBQ. It involves unpeeled, head-on shrimp that is simmered in a shit ton of butter, hot sauce, worcestershire, and lemon. This buttery spicy sauce is heavenly in every way possible... and even better, there is a requirement of serving it with a baguette of french bread, so that you can sop up all that sauce. Um, yum. I added my own little touches to it by adding my favorite homemade BBQ rub, which sweetens it just a tad, and by also infusing the dish with some fresh parsley + chives. I think that it lends another element to the whole thing that is much needed. We adored this recipe for NOLA-Style BBQ shrimp and have every damn intention of making it over and over and over again. It is absolutely fabulous for feeding a crowd or you know, just you and a friend... whatever you wanna do is up to you!! Enjoy :)

oh here comes the bread for soppin'

um... perfection.

For the BBQ Shrimp:

6T Unsalted Butter

3 Sticks Unsalted Butter, Cut into Cubes + Chilled

4 Cloves of Garlic, Minced

1C Beer

1C Hot Sauce

½C Worcestershire Sauce

¼C Freshly Squeezed Lemon Juice

2T Homemade BBQ Seasoning

2T Fresh Cracked Pepper

3lbs Head-On Large Shrimp (unpeeled)

Kosher Salt (as needed)

1T Fresh Parsley, Minced

1T Fresh Chives, Minced

1 Lemon, Thinly Sliced (for garnishing)

Warmed French Bread, For Dipping

Directions:

1. Heat the 6T of unsalted butter in the largest skillet that you have over medium-high heat (we used a paella pan and it worked great). Add in the minced garlic and cook until it is soft and fragrant… about 1-2 minutes (do not burn the garlic).

2. Add in the beer, hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, BBQ seasoning, and pepper. Stir to combine it into the melted butter and garlic. Bring this mixture to a simmer and cook until the sauce has reduced by half, about 8-10 minutes. Add the head-on, unpeeled shrimp; cook, flipping once, until the shrimp is cooked through (just when it begins to turn pink). This should only take a few minutes. Reduce the heat to medium-low and stir in the cubed, chilled butter to make a smooth sauce. Season with salt.

3. Remove the pan from the heat, sprinkle the chives and parsley all over the shrimp and place the sliced lemon evenly throughout the pan. Serve the BBQ shrimp with warmed French bread for sopping up the sauce. Enjoy.

Caramelized Apple-Beer Battered Cheese Curds with Homemade Pecan Bacon Syrup

Caramelized Apple-Beer Battered Cheese Curds with Homemade Pecan Bacon Syrup

FOOTBALL IS BACK, it's o-fish. Yep, my people, the Atlanta Falcons are back in action tonight, which means tailgating season is finally upon us. THANKGAWD. It feels like it was forever ago when I was watchin' Alabama win the National Championship and suffering the loss of the Falcons in the playoffs. But all is well because I have a new snickitty-snack to share with my loyal followers, and the tailgatin' series will start off with some fried cheese curds. Have y'all had fried cheese curds? They are kinda like mozzarella stick nuggets, if you catch my drift. I had to pimp out just a smidge a lot by adding a beer battered, caramelized apple chunks, smoky bacon, toasty pecans, comforting spices, and sweet maple syrup. Yeah, I did it, I went way over the top. But who doesn't love the classic pairing of cheese + apples? No one. Who doesn't like beer batter? Fuggettaboutit. And bacon? Well, don't get me started if you are a bacon-hater. These are extra sweet, but super-oozy-cheesy-yummy goodness. You can give them an extra spicy kick by sprinkling them with some cajun seasoning or cayenne right before serving because of course we did!! Now, let's hope the dirrty birds pull off a pre-season win tonight!! Enjoy :)

deep fried goodness.

For the Caramelized Apple Chunks:

2 Granny Smith Apples, Peeled & Cut into Small Cubes/Diced

3T Dark Brown Sugar

2T Unsalted Butter

Pinch of Salt & Cinnamon

For the Beer Battered Cheese Curds:

2/3C Cider Beer

2 Large Eggs, Separated

2T Brown Butter, Melted

3T Sugar

¾t Ground Ginger & Cinnamon

¼t Grated Nutmeg & Ground Cayenne

¼t Salt (heaping)

1C AP Flour

1T Cornstarch
Prepared Caramelized Apple Chunks, Cooked

2C Cheese Curds (tossed in a little bit of flour and remove the excess)

Vegetable Oil or Canola Oil, For Frying

For the Homemade Pecan Bacon Syrup:

2C Diced Bacon, Cooked until Crispy

2C Chopped Pecans

2/3C Lemon Juice

¼C Sorghum Molasses

2 ¼C Maple Syrup

¼t Red Pepper Flakes & Ground Nutmeg

1t Salt + ½t Cinnamon

2T + 2T Unsalted Butter

Directions:

1. For the Caramelized Apple Chunks: Meanwhile, toss apples with sugar in a bowl. Melt remaining 2 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add apple mixture; cook, stirring occasionally, until apples are golden and caramelized, about 10 minutes. Set them aside until they are cooled before adding them to the beer batter.

2. For the Beer Battered Cheese Curds: Whisk the beer, egg yolks, melted butter, sugar, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and salt together in a medium bowl. Whisk the flour and cornstarch in until just blended. Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel and let the batter sit for 30 minutes. After it has sat, add in the cooled caramelized apple chunks. Meanwhile, toss the cheese curds in some flour and shake off the excess. Heat an inch of vegetable oil in a deep and wide pan or a deep-fat fryer to 365°F. Beat the egg whites to stiff peaks (but not dry – dry is when it looks clumpy) and fold the whites into the batter. Dip each cheese curd into the batter to coat, and then let any excess drip off before frying them. Carefully place it in the hot oil and fry for a few minutes on each side. When the bottoms turn a deep golden color, use tongs or chopsticks to flip the curds over. Let the other side turn deep golden and remove from the oil to the cooling rack or paper towels. Repeat until done.

3. For the Pecan Bacon Syrup: Heat a skillet over medium heat and render the bacon until almost crispy. Add in the pecans and toast for a minute. Add the remaining ingredients and simmer the mixture until it has reduced by a third. Whisk in the butter just before serving. Keep warm and serve with the curds for dipping.

4. For Serving:Place the crispy cheese curds onto the center of a plate with a bowl of the warm pecan bacon syrup on the side for dipping. Enjoy immediately while they are still hot!

"Elvis" Yeasted Banana Bread Beer Doughnuts with Creamy Peanut Butter Glaze, Crumbled Bacon, & a Drizzle of Honey

"Elvis" Yeasted Banana Bread Beer Doughnuts with Creamy Peanut Butter Glaze,
Crumbled Bacon, & a Drizzle of Honey

Happy Easter, y'all! I hope that you got to catch up with friends and family, or even better, do an Easter egg hunt. I especially love Easter because of the food. I mean, I guess that goes without saying for any holiday celebration, they each revolve around a certain cuisine, course, or classic food traditions. In my family, we have always done an Easter brunch after attending our church's morning service. I live for brunch, like literally. Some classic recipes that we usually make are quiches, french toast casseroles, cinnamon rolls, eggs benedict, and a honey baked ham. Well, these doughnuts I'm featuring today should most certainly make that beloved list. Now, you're probably a little hesitant to make these, mainly because of the strange flavor combination, but trust me it works. You know how I know that? Elvis "The King" Presley had a fondness for peanut butter, banana, & bacon sandwiches, so much so that he would binge eat, sandwich after sandwich. That's my kinda man, my friends. If you can't trust me, trust Elvis... he's got culinary street cred. Now onto my recipe, I knew I didn't want to make the classic sandwiched treat. I had to rejuvenate it with a little twist and a whole lot of flavor. Enter the Elvis Doughnut. I knew from the get-go that I wanted to make a light + pillowy yeasted doughnut, no heavy or dense cake variations allowed. I scoured the internet looking for a banana flavored yeasted doughnut recipe, but to no avail. So, I had to play around with my favorite recipe, which proved to be quite the task. I kept thinking about what I could add that would banana flavor, but wouldn't compromise the lovely texture that comes from yeast + proofing. The dough includes three elements of banana... mashed ripe bananas, banana extract, and BANANA BREAD BEER. You heard me right, I found a Banana Bread Beer at my local grocery store and it tastes exactly like banana bread (epic). The only thing that you have to do is measuring out the required amount and let it become flat in the refrigerator overnight (or you can whisk the crap out of it to speed up the process). Doughnuts are already delicious, but then you add a flavored beer, and it becomes untouchable. After you fry them up, you've got to dunk n' double dip them into the Creamy Peanut Butter Glaze, so they are nice + covered.  I personally like to submerge the entire doughnut, let the excess glaze drip off, and then allow the thin coating to harden. The next step is just another dunking, but this time, you want a thick layer on the top of the doughnut. This will help to keep the toppings from falling off, and well, it also tastes so much better! Now y'all know me well enough by now that we are bacon-lovin' people. So, we fried up a whole mess of thick-cut bacon until they became extra crispy, and then we finely chopped them into homemade, rustic bacon bits. And these bacon bits cover a lot of real estate, "doughnut real estate" to be exact. All that's left for you to do is drizzling the honey for the final garnish. Who knew that these flavors could work so harmoniously with each other? Well, apparently Elvis did, and boy was he right!! Enjoy :)

Look at that thick & creamy layer of peanut butter glaze...

There's nothing more satisfying than a big 'ole stack of doughnuts!

Homemade Bacon Bits

For the Yeasted Banana Bread Doughnuts:

2 Very Ripe Bananas, Thoroughly Mashed

1C + 2T Banana Bread Beer, Flat (all of the carbonation has to be removed)

2T Milk Powder

¼C Sugar

2 ½t Active Dry Yeast

2 Whole Large eggs, Beaten

1 Stick + 2T Unsalted Butter, Browned & Cooled

1t Vanilla & Banana Flavored Extract (add the banana if you want a really strong flavor)

4 ½C AP Flour

¼t Salt & Cinnamon

A pinch of Freshly Grated Nutmeg

1Q Canola, For Frying

For the Peanut Butter Glaze:

1 ½C Confectioners’ Sugar, Sifted

4T Homemade Peanut Butter

1t Vanilla Extract

4T Whole Milk (or a little more if it is too thick)

Pinch of Salt

For the “Elvis” Doughnuts:

Yeasted Banana Bread Doughnuts, Fried

Prepared Peanut Butter Glaze

Crispy Bacon Pieces, For Topping (we used about 2-3lbs of bacon for 24 doughnuts)

Honey, For Drizzling (optional)

Directions:

1. To Flatten the Beer:Measure out the banana bread bear and leave open overnight, or pour beer into a bowl and whisk vigorously to remove some carbonation.
2. For the Mashed Bananas Component: Place the ripe bananas into a mixing bowl and mash until only little pieces of bananas remain. Heat a sauté pan over medium heat and add the mashed bananas to the pan. While cooking the bananas, use a rubber spatula to keep the mixture moving, so there will not be any burnt spots. This process will help remove extra liquid from the bananas (it should be thicker).  I cooked my mixture for 10 minutes, but it could require another 5-10 minutes if you have bigger or riper bananas. Remove the reduced banana mash to a mixing bowl and let it cool completely.
3. To Make the Dough: In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flour and spices. Once the beer has rested, whisk in 2T of milk powder (since I substituted beer for milk, I added milk powder for a little creaminess). Warm the beer and milk powder is nice and warm, but not overly hot. Add sugar to milk. Stir to dissolve. Add yeast into a small bowl. Pour beer/milk/sugar mixture over yeast. Stir gently, and then let it sit for 10 minutes. Stir the brown butter and beaten eggs into the cooled bananas, along with the vanilla and banana flavored extract (if you are using it). Add the banana mixture to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook. With the mixer on medium-low speed, pour in the yeast mixture. Allow the dough hook to stir this mixture for a couple of minutes, making sure it’s thoroughly combine. With the mixer still going, add ½C increments of the flour mixture until it is all gone. Stop the mixer, scrape the bowl, and then turn the mixer on the same speed for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, stop the mixer and scrape the bottom of the mixer. Turn on the mixer for 30 seconds. Turn off the mixer off and let the dough sit, undisturbed, for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl. Toss the dough to coat, then cover with plastic wrap and place straight in the fridge. Refrigerate for at least 8 hours, or overnight.
4. To Make the Doughnuts: Remove the bowl from the fridge and turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Roll out to ¼inch thickness. Using a 3inch cutter, cut as many rounds as you can, then roll out the remaining dough and once again cut as many as you can (repeat until you can’t anymore). Cut holes out of each round using a 1-½inch cutter. Cover with a large tea towel and place in a warm place in your kitchen. Allow the doughnuts to rise undisturbed for at least one hour. They should be visibly puffier and appear to be airy.
5. To Fry the Doughnuts:Heat the canola oil in your deep fryer to 375 degrees. One to two doughnuts at a time gently grab the doughnuts and ease them into the hot oil. Allow them to cook 1 minute on each side; they will brown very quickly. Remove the doughnut from the oil with a slotted spoon, allowing all the oil to drip off. Place the doughnut immediately on paper towels, for about 5 seconds, and then flip it. Allow the doughnuts to cool slightly.
6. For the Peanut Butter Glaze:Add all of the ingredients and whisk until smooth. Once it is ready, immediately glaze the doughnuts, by dipping each doughnut into the glaze until submerged. Remove from the glaze, and then turn right side up on a cooling rack over a cookie sheet (to catch extra glaze). Top the glazed doughnuts with a thick coating of crumbled bacon. Just a tip: we like to double dip our doughnuts, so that they have a thick glaze. So, we doubled the glaze recipe. After the second glazing, we immediately dipped them into the crumbled bacon (the technique you use is up to you). 
7. Right before serving, drizzle the tops of the doughnuts with honey. Enjoy... immediately!!

Revamped: Boozy Low Country Boil with Homemade Tartar Sauce + Homemade Wasabi-Cocktail Sauce

Boozy Low Country Boil with Homemade Tartar Sauce + Homemade Wasabi-Cocktail Sauce

Welp folks, it was a hell of a weekend. I can't believe another famous St. Patty's Day celebration in Savannah is in the books... and unfortunately, we have to wait a whole year to have it back. My liver, and my body as a whole, is happy. But I'm sure I'll find another way to make up for its absence. Otherwise, it was a textbook Irish celebration, filled with bar hopping, drink making, and wearing green. To make life easier on ourselves, we decided to make a classic Low Country Boil for lunch/dinner after the parade. This is by far the best decision we have ever made, simply because it's not that high maintenance... all you do is throw a bunch of crap in a pot and pour it on a table. Done + done. I know that I have already featured a Low Country Boil recipe a while back, but it needed some revamping (we like to do that a lot around this joint) by adding a whole mess of beer and spices. But, what really put it over the top was the homemade dipping sauces that accompanied the meal. To be quite frank, those guys stole the show. I started off by making a classic garlic aioli and added some pickles and capers to make a classic, but divine, tartar sauce. I'm telling you, making the mayonnaise from scratch is key to everything here people, it's worth the extra 10 minutes of whisking. After the tartar sauce was finished, I moved onto my Homemade Wasabi-Cocktail Sauce. This was my favorite, but it does come with a fair warning... it will knock your socks off. Now that we have addressed that issue, I can say I couldn't get enough of the stuff. It was lip-burning, tongue-scorching, sinus-clearing spicy. And in our world, that is a very, very good thing. Between the Sriracha, Chili-Garlic Sauce, hot sauce, red pepper flakes, horseradish, and my secret ingredient, wasabi paste... this bad boy had a kick that won't quit. If you don't want a tear-inducing sauce, I suggest you start with a little bit at a time until you have found the spice level that y'all like. Besides that, this Boozy Low Country Boil is made extra special with lots o' beer, spices, and high-quality ingredients. It was the perfect way to eat on a hot Savannah day, and hey, it certainly helped us to sober up before the night's partying. Also, what is more satisfying with eating food off the table, with bare hands and an ice cold beverage? Nothin' gets better than that, take my word for it!! Enjoy y'all :)

Oh, we were ready to dig in alright. 

Georgia Shrimp. Potatoes. Vidalia Onions. Sweet Corn. Smoked Sausage. 

How easy is that? Almost too easy. 

Homemade Tartar Sauce 

Homemade Wasabi-Cocktail Sauce

For the Homemade Tartar Sauce:

1 Egg Yolk

1t White Vinegar

1 ½t Freshly Squeezed Lemon Juice

¼t Dijon Mustard & Sugar

4 Garlic Cloves, Minced into a Paste (with a little bit of sea salt)

½t Salt

¾C Canola Oil

½C Pickles, Cut into Small Cubes

3T Capers, Finely Chopped

1T Minced Shallots

1 Lemon, Zested (and you can use a little juice to taste)

¼t Worcestershire Sauce & Hot Sauce

Salt & Pepper, To Taste

For the Homemade Wasabi-Cocktail Sauce:

1C Ketchup

¼C Sriracha + 2T Asian Chili-Garlic Sauce

Prepared Horseradish, To Taste (we like a lot of horseradish)

4 Cloves of Garlic, Minced

1 Lemon, Zested & Juiced

1T Worcestershire & Hot Sauce

1t Red Pepper Flakes & Paprika

1T Wasabi Paste (we like it to blow our heads off)

Salt & Pepper, To Taste

For the Boozy Low Country Boil:

4Q Beer (or enough to completely cover all of the food in the pot)

¼C Soy Sauce & Hot Sauce

2T Old Bay Seasoning

2 Shrimp or Crab Boil Bags

3lbs Small Red Potatoes (or you can cut bigger potatoes in half)

2 Vidalia Onions, Cut into Medium Chunks

10 Large Cloves of Garlic

2 Packages of Conecuh Smoked Sausage, Cut into 1inch Pieces

6 Ears of Corn, Cut into Small Rounds

2 Lemons, Cut into Medium Chunks

3lbs Fresh Wild Georgia Shrimp, Unpeeled but Deveined

For Serving:

Cajun Seasoning, For Sprinkling (we love Tony’s)

Homemade Herbed Compound Butter, Melted

Homemade Tartar Sauce, For Dipping

Homemade Wasabi Cocktail Sauce, For Dipping

Lemon Wedges, For Squeezing

Hot Sauce, For Dipping

Newspaper & Paper Towels (for the table)

Directions:

1. For the Homemade Tartar Sauce: Combine egg yolk, lemon juice, vinegar, mustard, minced garlic, and ½t salt in medium bowl. Whisk until blended and bright yellow, about 30 seconds. Using ¼t measuring spoon and whisking constantly, add ¼C e oil to yolk mixture, a few drops at a time, about 4-5 minutes. Gradually add remaining ½C canola oil in very slow thin stream, whisking constantly, until mayonnaise is thick, about 8-10 minutes (mayonnaise will be lighter in color). Add in all of the remaining ingredients and stir until combined. Season it with any additional spices to taste. Refrigerate until you are ready to serve.

2. For the Homemade Wasabi-Cocktail Sauce: Combine all of the ingredients in a mixing bowl and add in as much prepared horseradish as you want; stir to combine. We like a lot of horseradish, wasabi, and spice, so this sauce is quite pungent & spicy (make sure to season a little at a time until you have reached your desired taste). Refrigerate the sauce until you are ready to serve.

3. For the Boozy Low Country Boil: Fill a large pot with the beer and whisk in the soy sauce, hot sauce, old bay seasoning, salt, and pepper. Add in the boil bags and bring the mixture to a boil. Once boiling, add in the potatoes, sausage, onion pieces, and garlic cloves. Cook on medium heat for 20 minutes. Next, add in the corn and cook for another 10-15 minutes. Throw in the lemon chunks and the shrimp and cook for just 2-3 minutes or until the shrimp have just turned pink. Drain the low country boil and pour out onto a table that is lined with newspaper. Heavily sprinkle the boil ingredients with Cajun seasoning. Drizzle some of the melted herbed compound butter over the ingredients or serve it on the side for the corn. Put all of the homemade dips on the table, along with lemon wedges and hot sauce. Enjoy it while it is still hot, and with a lot of paper towels and cold beer!

We came. We saw. We conquered.

Even dogs try to sneak a bite!

Dark + Stormy's with Homemade Ginger Simple Syrup, Black Spiced Rum, & Ginger Beer

Dark + Stormy's with Homemade Ginger Simple Syrup, Black Spiced Rum, & Ginger Beer

Dark + Stormy's are a really popular bar drink, mainly because they typically just have ginger ale and rum in the cup. But, when we make cocktails at home, we have to make them special. My components are a homemade ginger simple syrup, black spiced rum, "extra ginger" ginger beer, and fresh lime. I like my Dark + Stormy's to be overloaded with ginger flavor, so feel free to substitute plain ole' ginger ale and classic simple syrup for a tame version. We garnished our drinks with a cane sugar rim, candied ginger cubes, and lime wheels. Short. Sweet. Simple. And to that the point. That's how all cocktails should be!! Enjoy y'all :)

Garnish with Candied Ginger & Fresh Lime!!

For the Ginger Simple Syrup:
1C Sugar

1C Water

10inches of Fresh Ginger, Cut into 1inch Pieces

For the Dark + Stormy’s:

3oz Black Spiced Rum, Chilled

1oz Ginger Simple Syrup, Chilled

1 Lime, Juiced & Zested

“Extra Ginger” Ginger Beer, Cold (to fill the glass)

Cane Sugar, For Rimming (with a leftover lime peel)

Candied Ginger Cubes, For Garnishing

Directions:

1. For the Ginger Simple Syrup: Bring the sugar and water to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring to dissolve sugar. Add ginger; bring to a simmer. Remove from heat, and let steep 30 minutes. Pour syrup through a fine sieve into an airtight container; discard ginger. Refrigerate up to 1 month.

2. For the Dark + Stormy’s: Get a chilled glass and rub the rim with a spent lime peel and dip to the cane sugar. Put in some crushed ice, and then zest and juice the lime on top of the ice. Next, pour in the black-spiced rum and ginger simple syrup. Slowly pour the ginger beer until it has filled the entire glass. Gently stir and garnish with candied ginger cubes and lime wheels.

Beer Battered Monte Cristo Sandwiches with Homemade Chipotle-Strawberry Jam

Beer Battered Monte Cristo Sandwiches with Homemade Chipotle-Strawberry Jam

Beer Battered Monte Cristo Sandwiches?? Yeah, that's the perfect way to start any Sunday morning. 

So, what's the cast of characters, you ask, well they are...

Brioche Bread (yes that buttery, heavenly, yet sinfully delicious bread)

Dijon Mustard

Gruyere Cheese

Honey Ham + Honey Turkey

Vanilla Bean Scented Beer Batter (vanilla bean goes in everything)

Confectioners' Sugar

Homemade Chipotle-Strawberry Jam 

This was one of our favorite brunches to date. I especially love Monte Cristo's, but my Mountain Man hadn't ever really had one. So, I explained to him that they were ham + cheese sandwiches that get the "french toast treatment", and then they are served with a dusting of confectioners' sugar and maple syrup or fruit preserves. We ended up deciding to go the fruit preserve route because I've caught the pickling + preserving bug this year, so any chance that I get to make a new concoction, then I'm on board. The only thing I was worried about was that between all of these sweet flavors, I knew we would want a spicy kick somewhere in the recipe. That's when I officially went off the deep end and added in some chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. This simple addition brought a nice smokiness + spiciness to the jam, but didn't overpower the natural sweetness of the berries. And lemme tell y'all, it perfectly complemented the sandwiches. Now for the good part... the beer batter. It's studded with a'whole'lotta beer, vanilla beans, cinnamon, and nutmeg. After assembling the sandwiches, you dip them into this luscious, smooth batter, and then you deep fry them in the hot oil until they are golden brown + crispy. Once they are "crunchified", you can slice 'em up and cover them in a good ole' dusting of that powdery, white sugar and then dip them into the sweet + spicy jam. And trust me folks, you get every foodie sensation from these guys... crispy, hot, buttery, melty, spicy, tangy, and ever-so-sweet. We loved these Monte Cristo's and I'm sure your family & friends will too!! Enjoy :)

These are soooooo good, people!!

For the Chipotle-Strawberry Preserves:

3C Sugar

2 Lemons, Zested & Juiced

¼t Salt

2C Strawberries, Cut into Small Cubes

1C Strawberries, Smashed

3 Chipotle Peppers in Adobo, Minced

For the Beer Batter:

2C AP Flour

1T Sugar

Pinch of Salt & Freshly Grated Nutmeg

¼t Cinnamon

1 Vanilla Bean, Split & Scraped for Seeds

1t Vanilla Extract

1C + 6T Beer

Few Drops of Yellow Food Dye

For the Monte Cristo Sandwiches:

Prepared Beer Batter

Slices of Brioche Bread

Dijon Mustard, For Spreading

Slices of Honey Ham + Honey Turkey

Gruyere or Swiss Cheese (sliced or shredded)

Vegetable Oil, For Frying

Confectioners’ Sugar, For Dusting

Chilled Chipotle-Strawberry Preserves, For Serving

Directions:

1. For the Chipotle-Strawberry Preserves: In a deep pot, mix together the sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, and salt. Cook over medium heat, while whisking, until the sugar dissolves. Add in the cubed strawberries, mashed strawberries, and minced chipotle peppers. Bring the mixture to a light bowl and simmer for another 20-30 minutes. Check the gel consistency by placing a small amount of the jam on a plate and refrigerate. If it is still runny, then simmer for another 10 minutes or so until it gels properly. Once you have reached the desired consistency, place the hot jam into sterilized jars and seal. Chill some of the jam for serving.

2. Heat the vegetable oil in your deep fryer to 350 degrees.

3. For the Beer Batter: Put all the dry ingredients and spices in a bowl and whisk together. Add in the beer, vanilla extract, and yellow food dye. Whisk until lumps are gone.

4. For the Monte Cristo Sandwiches: Assemble the sandwiches by spreading each slice of bread with a little Dijon mustard, and then layer on some cheese, followed by the ham, turkey, more cheese, and the other piece of bread. Place two toothpicks into the sandwiches, so that when you dip and fry them, they will stay together. Dip the sandwiches into the beer batter and let the excess drain off. Gently lay them into the hot oil for about 3-5 minutes or until golden brown & crispy. Remove the crispy sandwiches from the hot oil onto a paper towel lined plate to drain any excess oil. Cut them in half to form smaller triangles and dust with confectioners’ sugar.

5. Eat the sandwiches while they are still hot with some Chipotle-Strawberry Preserves for dipping!