Rum Punch

I love Leafcutter Designs Cocktail Dice. They are so versatile and fun. As soon as they arrived, I rolled and went with the first try! Don’t take it too seriously, use ingredients that you have. Mix and match as you see fit. You can create delicious libations with just one roll.

When I rolled my dice, I immediately thought of all the rum punch that is flowing freely on the islands of the Caribbean. Spiced rum and fruity ingredients make for a delicious, refreshing beverage. Even though I did not have any lemon lime soda, I did not fret. I substituted pineapple juice because I had some in the pantry. So, if you are longing for the beautiful beaches of the Caribbean, make this tasty punch. The fresh nutmeg is traditional to Caribbean rum punch and the pomegranate juice adds a little twist. Just roll with it!

Rum Punch
By Tracy Hersh
Makes 2

2 ounces light rum
2 ounces dark rum
1 ounce triple sec or other orange liquor
6 ounces pineapple juice
6 ounces pomegranate juice

Garnish:
Nutmeg
Orange wedge
Star anise (optional)

In a small pitcher or 2-cup measuring cup, stir together rums, triple sec, and juices. Fill 2 highball glasses with ice and pour.

Garnish each glass with freshly grated nutmeg, orange slice and star anise. Add a straw and enjoy.

Asian Chicken Thighs with Bok Choy

Leafcutter Designs, based out of Berkeley, CA, has a wonderful little item: Recipe Dice. This set of twelve dice is made of solid wood, and features more than 60 seasonal vegetables, grains, meats, spices, and herbs. With a simple roll of the dice, these cool cubes will provide endless suggested menu combinations! What a terrific gift idea for the foodie in your life. In addition to a vegetarian version, they offer Cocktail and Chai Dice, too!

My roll for this recipe included: Chicken, oregano, broccoli, bok choy, onion, bell pepper, parsley, rice, and lemon juice. Taking a cue from the bok choy die, I made this dish with an Asian flair, adding garlic, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, oyster sauce, and sesame oil. Delicious!

Asian Chicken Thighs with Bok Choy

By Gary Gee

Serves/makes 2-4

6 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs, trimmed of fat

Coarse salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano, crushed

1/4 teaspoon Aleppo pepper

2 Tablespoons light soy sauce PLUS

1 teaspoon light soy sauce, divided use

1 Tablespoon oyster sauce

1 Tablespoon hoisin sauce

1 Tablespoon toasted sesame oil PLUS

1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil, divided use

1 Tablespoon peanut oil, more as needed

1 cup fresh broccoli florets, rinsed and drained

1/2 cup sliced red onion

1/4 cup red pepper, julienned

Brown sugar

1/2 pound baby bok choy, halved, soaked, rinsed, drained

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 Tablespoon water

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

1 Tablespoon chopped parsley, PLUS

Whole parsley sprigs, for garnish

Steamed rice, for serving

Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare a shallow baking pan by lining with foil, arranging rack on top, then spraying with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.

Place chicken in a shallow baking pan. Season with salt, pepper, garlic powder, oregano, Aleppo. Drizzle with 2 Tablespoons soy sauce, oyster sauce, hoisin, and sesame oil. Turn to coat evenly. Set aside for 30 minutes, or cover and refrigerate overnight.

Arrange chicken thighs on rack and bake for one hour, or until cooked through, basting once or twice with fat from the pan. This will help “lacquer” the chicken skin. Remove from oven and cool slightly.

In a large wok or Dutch oven, heat peanut oil over high heat. Add broccoli and season liberally with salt and pepper. Let rest in wok until browned on one side. Toss until edges are browned, but broccoli is still firm, about one minute. Remove to a dish. Add onion, red pepper, and pinch of brown sugar. Stir fry until browned, about one minute. Remove to a dish. 

Add more oil if needed to coat wok. Heat until smoking, and add bok choy. Toss to coat; cook until leaves are slightly wilted. Add garlic, and season with salt and pepper. Add water, continue cooking until edges are slightly brown and stems are fork tender, about one minute. Add remaining teaspoon soy sauce and sesame oil. Remove to dish.

To serve, arrange bok choy, peppers, chicken thighs, broccoli florets, and onions as desired. Sprinkle with lemon juice, garnish with parsley, and serve with rice.

The Bus Stop

This is one of the hardest posts I've ever written. I'm dedicating this drink, which I made using the Cocktail Dice from Leafcutter Designs, to my dear friend and fellow 37 Cook member, Christy Hughes, who recently, suddenly, and totally unexpectedly passed away. Christy was from Texas and she loved jalapeno peppers, so I knew I had to incorporate a jalapeno in my recipe as a nod to her. Also, I think everyone that knows me expects something a little spicy in most of my recipes! I had tears running down my face as I was assembling the drink but, as Christy would expect, I held the drink up and toasted her. I love you, Christy.

Now, back to the dice challenge. The cocktail dice were a lot of fun, rollin', rollin' and rollin', trying to come up with different drinks. My oldest daughter is a bartender and she said if The Bus Stop came out good, she was gonna use it as a drink special in the restaurant where she works! Why call the drink The Bus Stop you ask? We have a really fun group on Facebook called Serious Eats Water Cooler. We travel all over the world in our imaginary bus to visit each other, cook, eat and drink and I think Christy would laugh at the name! If you make this drink, make a toast to my friend for me. Thanks.

The Bus Stop
by Matt the Butcher

1 scant teaspoon sugar

Fresh jalapeno pepper, sliced
1 ounce triple sec

1 ounce white rum

Ice

Ginger ale
Sweet pickled jalapeno slices for garnish

In a tall glass, muddle the sugar, 3 or 4 slices of fresh jalapeno pepper and 1 ounce of triple sec. Strain into a rocks glass, add three or four slices of fresh jalapeno according to how spicy you want your drink. Mine wasn't real spicy. Add the rum, ice, and a splash or 2 of ginger ale. I garnished mine with some sweet pickled jalapeno peppers that my dear friend, Brooke, sent to me. They're spicy, sweet, vinegary and really topped off this drink well!

Matt's daughter, Tanya and her boss. They featured The Bus Stop at their bar in Idaho. It was a huge success!

Earl’s Green Chili

Okay, raise your hand if you have had a loved one respond “I don’t know” or “I don’t care” when you ask them “what do you want for dinner”?  It so frustrating! All you want is a little direction, a little help in the creative process. Leaf Cutter Designs now comes to your rescue when you need a little to nudge to get the creative juices going. It is as simple as a “roll of the dice”.  

Leaf Cutter Designs markets their dice as a way “to inspire spontaneity and exploration in the kitchen.” I have to say it helped me produce a delicious dish that I dedicate to my deceased Stepfather, Earl, who loved the traditional Green Chili from his native Colorado.  

There are a total of 12 dice. On my first roll, I was able to pick out six dice that immediately made me start thinking “Tex-Mex.” The first six dice where pork, potato, rice, bell pepper, chili flakes, and tomatillo. I placed the other six dice back in the jar, rolled a second time and got a tomato, lime juice, lettuce, oregano, cabbage, and cheddar. This was very good and very bad. I was glad to see that I could eliminate some the dice because at first I had no clue as to how to incorporate lettuce, oregano or cabbage into my “Tex-Mex” dish.  

I started looking through my cooking magazines and I ran across a recipe in the All Recipe September/October 2015 for Mile High Green Chili. Not Tex-Mex, but similar in spicy flavors. My plan was to make enough Green Chili for two nights. The first night, I would serve it my husband’s favorite way over rice. The second night, I would serve it my Stepfather Earl’s favorite way, in a burrito. I also figured out a way to incorporate all the ingredients from all the dice. The lettuce would work on the burrito, the Mexican Oregano would taste great in the stew and I could use red cabbage as a garnish for a nice crunchy texture. 

Earl’s Green Chili – Served Two Ways/Two Nights/4 Servings

By:  Linda M Seasons to Seasonings

Adapted from: Mile High Green Chili, September/October 2015 All Recipe Magazine, Page 55 or online at Mile High Green Chili - Allrecipes

Ingredients for Green Chili

1 pork tenderloin, cubed (bite-size pieces)

Olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

4 cloves of garlic, minced

4 tomatillos, husked, peeled and chopped

2 Anaheim chili peppers, stem removed, seeded and chopped

1 Jalapeno pepper, stem removed and chopped

1 green pepper, stem and seeds removed, chopped

1 small white onion, peeled and chopped

2 large tomatoes, chopped

1 cup of lager-style beer

1 ½ to 2 cups beef stock

10 fingerling potatoes, chopped

1 teaspoon Mexican oregano

1 teaspoon cumin

2 teaspoons chili powder

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 cup red cabbage, sliced (for garnish)

First Night Extra Ingredients:

4 ounces cream cheese, softened

2 cups cooked rice

1 lime, cut into wedges

Second Night Extra Ingredients:

4 large flour tortillas

Bag of mixed lettuce

Cheddar Cheese, grated

Directions for Green Chili:

1.   In large Dutch oven, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil on medium heat.

2.   Add chunks of pork and brown, 3-4 minutes.

3.   Remove to plate.

4.   Add another tablespoon of olive oil to Dutch oven.

5.   Add garlic, peppers and onions to Dutch oven, saute for 4-5 minutes until tender.

6.   Add beer and 1 and 1/2 cups of the beef stock.

7.   Add oregano, cumin, chili powder and red pepper flakes.

8.   Add tomatoes, tomatillos, potatoes and browned pork.

9.   Bring to boil.

10. Reduce to low, let simmer for 10 minutes, occasionally stirring. 

11. Add additional beef stock, as needed.

12. Place in oven at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

Directions to serve Green Chili over Rice on first night:

1.  Divide Green Chili into two equal batches. Place one batch into refrigerator for second night.

2.  Place cream cheese in large bowl.  Add 1 cup hot Green Chili to bowl and mix well. 

3.  Add a 2^nd cup of hot Green Chili to bowl and continue to mix well. 

4.  Slowly add Green Chili with cream cheese back to original pot.  Mix well. 

5.  Serve immediately over cooked white rice, garnished with sliced red cabbage and a lime wedge.

Directions to serve Green Chili Burritos on second night:

Heat 2 1/2 cups of green chili in microwave safe dish (cover with paper towel) for 5 minutes.   Place ½ cup of green chili in each flour tortilla.    Divide remaining sauce on four plates.  Roll the filled tortillas and place seam side down on plate.  Top with a lettuce, cheese and red cabbage.

NOTE:   I adapted the original Mile High Green Chili from a slow cooker recipe to one using the stove top/oven.    This allowed me to start around 4:30 and dinner be ready to serve by 6:30.  Using a pork tenderloin cut into pieces will give you tender meat.  The long slow cooker method is needed in the original recipe to get the pork shoulder nice and tender.  

I did not add cream cheese to the batch for the second night, just to change it up a bit  However, if you decide to, do it the night you serve it, it will be better.

Enjoy!

Chai Ice Cream

If it seems a little silly to roll dice to choose ingredients for a recipe ... well, it is. In a very fun way. I've been having a blast with the chai, recipe, and cocktail dice from Leafcutter Designs. It's fun to let the dice choose ingredients for me.

Since I'm not an expert in chai, I really haven't experimented with different flavors, so I liked the idea that I could just roll the dice and just go with whatever appeared.

Since I got the chai dice, I've rolled quite a few drinks, but this time around, I decided to give the recipe a bit of a twist and make ice cream. I used the ingredients the dice suggested, and I added a few more, and I think I rolled a winner.

Chai Ice Cream
By Donna Currie, Cookistry

2 cups heavy cream
1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1 star anise
2 green cardamom pods
2 teaspoons dried lemongrass
2 black tea teabags* (I used a decaf breakfast tea, but use what you like best)
5 allspice berries
5 black peppercorns
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract

Combine the cream, sweetened condensed milk, star anise, cardamom pods, lemongrass, tea bags (tear off the little paper tag - you don't want bits of that in your ice cream. Ick.), allspice berries, peppercorns, and salt in a heavy bottomed saucepan. Bring to a simmer.

Let it simmer gently for just a minute or so. Give it a little stir to make sure all the spices aren't just lazily floating on top.

Turn the heat off, add the vanilla, and transfer all of it to a storage container. Let it come to room temperature (or close enough), then refrigerate until fully chilled.

Strain the mixture through a fine-mesh strainer to remove all the spices and tea and whatnot, and discard the spices and tea and whatnot.

Churn the cream mixture in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instruction. Transfer to a storage container and freeze until firm.

*You don't actually need tea BAGS. If you buy loose tea, use that as-is. No need to put in in a tea strainer or other device - it will get strained out along with all of the other spices.

The Leafcutter Designs Challenge

We were all so excited about our newest sponsor, Leafcutter Designs. They have all kinds of nifty products! We were given the opportunity to create some new recipes using their unique dice sets. The cooks had their choice of Recipe Dice (regular or vegetarian), Chai Dice, and Cocktail Dice (yep, our cooks LOVED the Cocktail Dice). 

Leafcutter Designs is a creative studio in Berkeley, California. It's run by artist Lea Redmond and her brother Devin. Their mission is to create a more playful and peaceful world by offering "curious goods, unique promotional and custom products, and participatory social art projects."

They offer custom invitations for events, promotional products, and direct mail concepts. Leafcutter Designs says "We love finding just the right idea, thing, or words to deliver your message with creativity, personality, and maximum impact.

Our participatory projects invite you to experience life in whimsical, thoughtful new ways, and are open to all. Whether you're a knitter, a writer, a romantic, or just about anything else, we'd love to include you in these creative adventures."

Pretty cool, huh? 

So, come along with us as we "roll" out some fun new recipes all created with a toss of the dice!

For more about Leafcutter Designs, follow them on Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter.