Christmas Carol Punch

This Christmas Carol Punch started a couple of years ago when a friend gifted me a bottle of Sorel. Sorel is one of those made-in-Brooklyn hipster sort of products that is based on old traditional Caribbean recipes. It’s a liquer that’s made with Brazilian clove, Indonesian cassia, Nigerian ginger, Indonesian nutmeg, Moroccan hibiscus, pure cane sugar, and grain alcohol. It took me awhile to figure out how best to work with it. Because of the clove, I’m really only open to it during the winter, but others may not have such a strong seasonal association and find it enjoyable all year. The clove, ginger and nutmeg make the drink just a hint spicy and the hibiscus gives it a lovely red color that enhances the cranberry juice. The Christmas Carol Punch is strong but balanced. It’s got lots of tart, plenty of spice, and just enough sweet to make this go down just a little too easy. Another fun part about this Christmas Carol Punch is that because the cranberry juice, the rum, and even the tequila can really change how the final product tastes, you can experiment until you make the perfect one for your own taste. In fact, … Continue reading

Sweet Potatoes Cranberry Glaze

Tis’ the season when Dirty Laundry Kitchen turns into Thanksgiving central starting off with this recipe for Sweet Potatoes Cranberry Glaze. I can’t take credit for this recipe, it’s one that I use almost as written by Marcia Miesel for Food and Wine. It’s one of the Thanksgiving recipes that I’ve made more than once, and that’s saying something. I like to try new things every year, and if I come back to something, it has to be really good. I made it originally as part of my Thanksgiving 2011 menu, but it has definitely come up again since then. The Sweet Potatoes Cranberry Glaze is an interesting dish, because the baking time is really long. The first time I made it I thought it might even be an error. I intended to change that part of the recipe for sure, but as it turned out, it’s really good. They definitely don’t seem mushy and overcooked and the dish is gorgeous, so it’s fun to include on the table. It’s a dish that should be served in the pan it’s baked in, so if you have a really beautiful oven to table pan, this is the dish to use it … Continue reading