Step up your holiday cocktail game with a Smoked Pecan Old Fashioned made with Chicory Pecan and Spiced Cocoa Tea Bitters alongside Creole Orgeat Syrup for a delicious and aromatic twist on a classic cocktail. Be the host with the most with a Plum, Yuzu, Gin & Beer punch for your next gathering. Made with El Guapo Holiday Pie Bitters, this unique recipe boasts seasonal flavors of pumpkin, pecan, apple and sweet potato alongside refreshing citrus flavors. In other reinvented classics, impress your guests with French-inspired specialty appetizers by Les Tres Petits Cochons’ Spanish Eggs made with Organic Mousse Basque and Organic Mousse Truffée with Potato Puree and Parmesan Tuiles! Enjoy!
Smoked Pecan Old Fashioned
This cocktail is perfect as a digestif with friends after a huge meal. Easy to make at home but incredibly impressive, don’t forget to properly stock your bar ahead of the holidays!
• 2 oz Woodford Reserve
• .25 oz El Guapo® Creole Orgeat Syrup
• 2 dashes El Guapo® Chicory Pecan Bitters
• 2 dashes El Guapo® Spiced Cocoa Tea Bitters
• Applewood chips, blowtorch & cloche, for smoking
In a mixing glass filled with ice, combine bitters, syrup, and bourbon. Stir until well chilled, and strain into a rocks glass over one large rock. Place on a flat board, and torch applewood chips until embers are lit. Cover with a cloche for one minute, removing just prior to serving to release aromas and smoke.
Plum, Yuzu, Gin & Beer Punch (Serves 5)
Created by Monica Carbonell, Beverage Director of Liquid Culture, this off the beaten path punch is sure to be a hit at any holiday gathering!
• 5 Brown sugar cubes
• 10 dashes El Guapo® Holiday Pie Bitters
• 6 oz Gin
• 3 oz Yuzu liqueur
• 8 oz Plum juice (2 plums + 1/2 cup water blended & strained)
• 3 oz Orange juice
• 5 oz Club soda
• 2 Cinnamon sticks
• 2 Cloves
• 5 oz Oast Brewery Saison ale (or any saison ale)
• Plum slices, for garnish
In a pitcher, combine sugar cubes with bitters and an ounce of club soda. Muddle and stir until well dissolved. Add gin, liqueur, juices, the rest of the soda, cinnamon and cloves. Fill pitcher halfway with ice and gently stir until well chilled. Strain into a punch bowl, but keep the cinnamon and the cloves in the liquid for 30 minutes before serving to properly steep. For individual pours, use a rocks glass with 1 large ice cube and top with 1 oz of beer per cocktail. Garnish with plum slices.
Organic Mousse Truffée with Potato Puree and Parmesan Tuiles
with Organic Mousse Truffée – Organic Chicken Liver Mousse with Truffles (15 to 20 appetizer-sized portions)
- 1 – 4 oz. Package Organic Mousse Truffée
- 2 each large Yukon Gold Potatoes, about 3 1/2 cups, peeled
- 1 cup Butter, melted
- 1/4 cup Milk, warmed
- 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon Crème Fraîche
- 1 teaspoon Champagne Vinegar
- 3 teaspoons Salt
- 2 tablespoons Black Truffle Paste
- 2 cups Parmesan, grated
- 1/2 bunch Chives, chopped
For the potato puree, dice the peeled potatoes into 1/2 inch cubes. Place in a medium pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil and cook potatoes until soft. Using an electric mixer or potato masher, mash up the potatoes. Slowly add the melted butter and milk. Add the Crème Fraîche and season in the end. Keep the potato puree warm.
For the truffle mousse, mix the mousse truffée with the vinegar, salt and truffle paste. Set aside. For the Parmesan tuiles, take a non-stick baking mat on a sheet tray and arrange the grated parmesan in an even layer into 3-inch circles. Bake at 350 F for about 8 minutes, or until lightly colored. Have a rolling pin or other large tubular surfaces. Pull the cheese out of the oven and, working quickly, mold the tuiles over the rolling pin to make taco shapes. Let the cheese cool. To serve, fill the tuiles with about 1 teaspoon of the truffle mousse, then 1 teaspoon of the potato puree. Garnish with the chives on top.
Spanish Eggs with Organic Mousse Basque
with Organic Mousse Basque – Organic Chicken Liver Mousse with Espelette Pepper (10 to 12 appetizer-sized portions)
- 1 – 4 oz. Package Organic Mousse Basque
- 1 tablespoon Moutarde de Dijon
- 1 doz. Eggs, hardboiled
- 2 ea. Roasted Red Peppers
- 1/2 cup Marcona Almonds
- 2 tablespoons Sherry Vinegar
- 1 teaspoon Spanish Paprika (plus more for garnish)
- 1 tablespoon Olive Oil
- 1/2 bunch Chives
- Salt and Pepper to taste
Cut the hardboiled eggs in half and separate the yolks from the whites. Clean the whites in a medium bowl of water and dry, cut side down on a paper towel. Next, put the red peppers, almonds, Dijon mustard, vinegar and 1 teaspoon of the paprika in a blender and process until smooth. Mash the yolks with a fork and add the pepper puree and the mousse to the eggs and mix until incorporated. Season to taste. Spoon or pipe the egg filling into the cleaned whites and garnish with the chopped chives and remaining paprika.