Dark Rum Custard Ice Cream

Dark Rum Custard Ice Cream

Recipe Link: http://www.food.com/recipe/dark-rum-custard-ice-cream-351042

Ingredients
2 cups heavy cream
2 cups milk
1 vanilla beans, halve lengthwise
lemon zest ( a 2-by 1/2-inch piece removed with a vegetable peeler)
2/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
8 large egg yolks
1/4 cup good-quality dark rum ( such as Bacardi Black)

Directions

In a 2 1/2- to 3-quart heavy saucepan combine cream and milk. Scrape seeds from vanilla bean into cream mixture, dropping in bean. Add zest and bring mixture just to boil.

In a large metal bowl whisk together brown sugar and yolks until combined well. Add hot cream mixture to yolk mixture in a slow stream, whisking, and return custard to pan. Cook custard over moderately low heat, whisking constantly, until thickened and coats back of a wooden spoon, about 3 minutes. (Do not let custard boil or it will curdle.)

Pour custard through a very fine sieve into cleaned metal bowl and cool slightly. Stir in rum and chill, covered, until cold. Freeze custard in an ice-cream maker.

Orange Chiffon Cake

Orange Chiffon Cake

Makes: 12 servings

Prep: 30 minutes

Chill: 1 hour

Bake: 30 minutes
Cook: 15 minutes

Ingredients

3 oranges
2 egg whites

1-1/2 cups sugar

2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk
1/3 cup cooking oil
2 egg yolks
Orange Fluff Frosting (see recipe below)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degree F. Grease and flour two 9x1-1/2-inch round cake pans; set aside. Finely shred 1 tablespoon of peel from 1 orange. Squeeze juice from 2 oranges to measure 1/2 cup juice. Section remaining orange. In a large mixing bowl beat egg whites to soft peaks. Gradually add 1/2 cup of the sugar, beating to stiff peaks. In another large mixing bowl combine flour, baking powder, salt, and remaining 1 cup sugar.

2. Add milk and oil. Beat on low speed of electric mixer until combined. Add orange juice and egg yolks; beat 1 minute. Gently fold in egg white mixture until combined. Fold in orange peel. Divide batter evenly between pans. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted near the centers comes out clean. Cool completely on wire racks; remove from pans. Frost with Orange Fluff Frosting. Top with reserved orange sections. Makes 12 servings.

Orange Fluff Frosting: Finely shred 2 tablespoons orange peel; set aside. In small saucepan stir together 1/3 cup sugar and 4 teaspoons cornstarch. Stir in 1/2 cup orange juice. Cook over medium low heat, stirring frequently, until mixture thickens; cook and stir 2 minutes more. Remove from heat; stir in the reserved orange peel. Cover; chill 1 hour. Beat 2 cups whipping cream to stiff peaks; fold into chilled mixture

Recipe Link: http://www.bhg.com/recipes/printRecipe.jsp?recipeId=R050907&catref=rcbhg1

Straw-berried Treasure Cupcakes

Another play on words. I'll admit that I cheated and just used yellow boxed cake mix with milk chocolate canned frosting. That's pretty much treason for dinner club in my eyes but this was just a bonus for everyone's treasure box party favors.  It was still cute and delicious!

While I'm on the thought....let's debate.  Boxed cake mix.  Hate it or love it?  As much as I pride myself on making things from scratch, I can go either way with boxed cake mix (and brownie for that matter, too!).  Honestly, I think it tastes pretty darn good and great in a pinch.  It gets a bad rap because it's not homemade but when it tastes delicious and/or you doctor it up a bit to be more fancy, then who cares?!

But, if you want the homemade version and have the time (which I didn't), checkout the link in the source.

Straw-berried Treasure Cupcakes
Yields: 18 cupcakes

• 1 box cake mix of your favorite flavor
• 1 can of frosting of your favorite flavor
• 18 strawberries, hulled

Directions

1. Prepare the cupcakes per the instructions on your box.  Set aside to cool.
2. Once the cupcakes are cooled, using a small paring knife and the cone method or 1"-1.5" cookie cutter cut out the center of each cupcake.  In this case we're not replacing the tops so eat the cupcake scraps as you're carving or save them for later to make cake balls (truffles).  Yum.
3. Insert a strawberry into each cupcake.  Just shove them in there.  They'll fit :).
4. Frost your cupcakes.  If desired, add a cute pirate flag.  Stuff your face and enjoy!

Source: Inspired by I Heart Cuppy Cakes

Grilled Maple-Chili Salmon

This was my play on words.  We grilled our salmon up on cedar planks so called it Cedar PLANKed Salmon to go along with the pirate theme.  It was Chris and my first time using cedar planks so we're just glad it didn't catch fire on the the grill :D.  I LOVED the way that this dish turned out.  The flavor was fantastic and I will for sure be making this again.

We bought a gigantic wild salmon filet from Costco and the maple syrup that I used came from one of our new Dinner Club members, Delia.  She hails from the border of NY and VT so gets some of the best maple syrup.  Scott was skeptical when he saw me drizzling it on as the finishing touch.  I could see it in his eyes lol.  But I think it's safe to say he's converted.  The sweet, smokey, and savory is a wonderful combination.

Grilled Maple-Chili Salmon
Yields: 3-4 servings

Ingredients

• 1 lb salmon, cut into 3-4 filets
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/8 tsp garlic powder
• 1/8 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp salt
• Fresh ground black pepper
• 1 Tbsp creole mustard (or any spicy brown mustard)
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 3-4 tsp maple syrup

Directions

1. If using, soak the cedar plank per the manufacturer instructions.
2. Stir together the dry ingredients and then stir in the olive oil and mustard.
3. Spread the rub over the top and sides of the filets and let sit while the grill heats.
4. Preheat grill to medium-high.  Place fish on the soaked plank and cook for ~15 minutes, until the fish flakes and the internal temperature reaches 140.  If not using the plank, place skin side down and cook 8-10 minutes.
5. Remove from heat and immediately drizzle each filet with ~1 tsp of maple syrup.

Source: Confections of a Foodie Bride

Jerk Chicken

This recipe was supposed to be a play on Pirates of the Caribbean and parrots.


I was honestly a little disappointed in how this turned out.  Go figure that the one time I used a recipe I've actually made before (vs. nearly everything is a new recipe when I make it) it fell flat to me.  The flavor wasn't nearly as good as what I remembered despite marinating for a full day.  Maybe it's because I had to bake the chicken instead of grill (which is what I did last time but the grill was otherwise occupied by the salmon).  Oh well, at least we had a TON of food so it doesn't matter when a dish doesn't "perform" :).


Jerk Chicken

• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 onion, coarsely chopped
• 2 scallion, coarsely chopped
• 1 large jalapeno pepper, stem and seeds removed
• 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated
• 3 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh thyme
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon light brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
• Pinch ground cloves
• 1 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon fresh lime juice
• 4 chicken thighs, skin on, bone in
• 4 drumsticks, skin on

Directions

1. Puree all the ingredients, except the chicken, in a food processor until almost smooth. Piece the chicken with a fork to make tiny holes. Place the chicken in a large shallow baking dish and rub the marinade into the chicken. Cover and refrigerate for 24 to 48 hours, depending on how intense you want the flavor to be.
2. To grill - preheat grill. Grill chicken on each side for 5 to 6 minutes or until cooked through.  Or, to bake - preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place chicken on baking sheet lined with foil and bake in the preheated oven for 30-35 minutes or until the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 160 degrees.

* To make ahead/freezer meal - Prepare the chicken as directed above and place in a gallon sized freezer bag to marinate. Seal and freeze chicken. When ready to prepare the chicken, defrost completely and following the cooking directions for either the grill or oven.

Source: As seen on and adapted by What's Cooking Chicago from Bobby Flay

Caribbean Rum Punch

Hello web world.  Are you still with us?  We have still been having our dinner clubs all these years but had gotten lazy about posting the recipes we used with each theme.  Sadly, we recently lost 2 couples to relocation but on the bright side, found 2 more couple friends to join in the fun.  Yesterday we kicked off Dinner Club Part 2 with a Pirate Party theme at my house.  Everyone did a great job with their interpretation of the theme which required a little more creative thinking than normal.  

Here's to hoping everyone gets their recipes up and we get back to sharing again :).

I'll kick us off with the signature drink for the night, Caribbean Rum Punch.  Squeezing all those limes was not so fun so next time, I'm being lazy and using the bottled stuff lol.  I made 1.5x the recipe which used nearly an entire liter of The Captain in it but you couldn't taste a darn thing.  Deadly and delicious!

Caribbean Rum Punch

Yields: 20- 4 oz servings

Ingredients

• 1 cup fresh lime juice
• 2 cups simple syrup
• 3 cups amber rum (used spiced Captain Morgan's)
• 4 cups orange juice
• 4 dashes bitters (omitted)
• freshly grated nutmeg (omitted)

Directions

1. To make the simple syrup, combine 2 cups sugar and 1 cup water in a small saucepan.  Heat until sugar is fully dissolved then set aside to cool.
2. In a pitcher, combine lime juice, simple syrup, rum, and orange juice.  Add a few dashes of bitters and some grated nutmeg to taste.  Serve chilled over ice.

Source: All Recipes