Honey, Whiskey & Strawberries

How sweet it is... strawberries, honey, butter & whiskey all on top of a flaky puff pastry. Straight up strawberry seduction. That's all that is. Lucky me, I seduced an amazing photographer into documenting my impulsive behavior...

I have to preface this recipe with one rule: you're only allowed to make this during strawberry season. Otherwise, save yourself the disappointment and just drink the whiskey.

Strawberry Honey Jack Pastry

• 1 - 2 pints of the sweetest organic Camarosa strawberries you can find, sliced
• 1 - 2 shots of Jack Daniel's Tennessee Honey
• 1 - 2 Tbsp of your favorite local honey (if you can find it)
• Approximately 1/2 tsp sweet cream butter
• 1 sheet of frozen puff pastry

Preheat the oven and prepare the puff pastry according to the package directions. Meanwhile, warm up a small sauté pan on medium low for 1-2 minutes. Use just enough butter to coat the pan; add the strawberries and a shot of whiskey (more if you're feeling frisky).

Stir the strawberries gently and continue to heat on medium low for 5-7 minutes. Place the puff pastry on a plate and top with strawberry whiskey goodness. Drizzle with honey. Be saucy about it, please.

Enjoy yourself & don't be surprised if you get a little out of control. I did.

Bachelor Life

Dang, the other day I felt like a total bachelor... for a couple reasons. Reason #1: I was eating dinner alone. Reason #2: I had garlic bread & Sierra Nevada IPA for dinner. Immediately after the garlic bread, I had a Theo chocolate almond bar... the salted almond, dark chocolate bar in the hot pink wrapper. I ate the chocolate so quickly, I couldn't technically call it dessert. Garlic bread, beer & dark chocolate for dinner. Bachelor status.

To all my fellow bachelors, you can make dinner with only 5 ingredients & actually feel pretty accomplished. A baguette, garlic, butter, beer, and chocolate. The dark chocolate is an excellent source of antioxidants, which could mean nothing... or could mean everything! and ultimately, you have a legitimate buzz at the end of dinner and no hangover in the morning (assuming you drink water appropriately).

Homemade garlic bread is like homemade croutons, and if you don't know what that's like, what the fuck have you been doing all this time? Ultimate comfort food. Mmm Mmm Mmm. So, 2 recipes in 1 here, y'all. Recipe #1: Garlic bread. Recipe #2: Cut garlic bread into crouton-sized pieces, and you have croutons. Impress any child you know with this trick.

Impress your company with your croutons.

Garlic Bread

• Fresh baguette*
• ~ 1Tbsp room-temperature butter** - you're choice, salted or unsalted (hopefully you always have room-temp butter on hand, because you keep your butter in a butter dish on the counter like every other person from the South - it makes toast a much more delightful experience)
• 1 clove garlic
• Sea salt
• Fresh Italian parsley, if you want to feel fancy

*If you're a bachelor and you're making this for yourself, half of a small baguette will do (a small baguette is usually 10-12"). If you're anyone else, not eating dinner alone, this recipe covers 6" of whole baguette, so double or triple appropriately.

**Substitute olive oil if you're making croutons.

Preheat oven to 350 (can be made in the toaster oven!). Cut baguette in half, lengthwise. One way to determine the "freshness" of your baguette is whether or not it is pre-cut. What I'm tryin' to say is your baguette better be fresh.

Mince the garlic like you mean it. Combine the garlic with the butter. If using unsalted butter, I recommend a few grains of salt. Nothing crazy... the garlic is gonna take care of the crazy.

Spread garlic butter on the 2 cut halves of the baguette. Pop in the oven. Wait 7-9 minutes. The garlic should be hella fragrant.

Parsley & freshly grated Parmesan make everything fancy

Enjoy your garlic bread with beer. The beer will make the bread taste better, and the bread will make the beer taste better. Win win.