Remember the apricots?
Oh, so many apricots. I didn't know how I could possibly handle them all.
In the end, I sliced the rest in half and dried them in the oven with the intention of soaking them into some sweet, boozy concoction that would be good drizzled over ice cream. So I did that, using bourbon instead of the more traditional brandy. And then I did that other thing, spreading them over vanilla bean ice cream. And then I collapsed into a heap of ecstasy.
So. Effin'. Good.
So effin' good that I had to immediately swear never to make them again, lest I become the sort of lush with such an extremely exacting addiction that I can only get outrageously, embarrassingly drunk during the late spring, when apricots are in season.
Make this, my friends, immediately.
If you don't have a dehydrator, you can dry apricots in the oven. I set it on the lowest temperature (for my oven, that's 170F) and arranged the halved apricots on an oiled baking sheet. I dried them for about 8 hours, then flipped them over and let them dry another 4 hours or so, until they were just barely moist. (If you plan to store them, though, they should be completely dry.)
Bourbon Apricots
2 c. dry apricot halves
4 c. good bourbon
1/2 c. maple syrup
1 cinnamon stick
Combine the bourbon, maple syrup, and cinnamon stick in a small saucepan.
Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer 1 minute.
Add the apricots and simmer for 3 minutes.
Remove the cinnamon stick and let cool for 15 minutes.
Pack into 2 pint jars.
Let them sit in the refrigerator for 3 days to get good and syrupy before serving.
Serve the apricots over vanilla ice cream.
Enjoy (in moderation) (or not)!
(This post is a part of the Two for Tuesdays blog hop @ girlichef.)
2 c. dry apricot halves
4 c. good bourbon
1/2 c. maple syrup
1 cinnamon stick
Combine the bourbon, maple syrup, and cinnamon stick in a small saucepan.
Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer 1 minute.
Add the apricots and simmer for 3 minutes.
Remove the cinnamon stick and let cool for 15 minutes.
Pack into 2 pint jars.
Let them sit in the refrigerator for 3 days to get good and syrupy before serving.
Serve the apricots over vanilla ice cream.
Enjoy (in moderation) (or not)!
(This post is a part of the Two for Tuesdays blog hop @ girlichef.)
9 comments:
SO effin' good, indeed! You do NOT know how badly I want that whole jar in my hot little hands right now. I'm saving this for next season...with crazy anticipation, YUM! Thanks so much for sharing this with Two for Tuesdays this week =)
You COULD cheat and make this with store-bought dried apricots. I won't tell. :)
Chandelle! YOu are a girl after my own heart! Whooo hoo! I so want some of them...alas, no fresh apricots in sight, but I too might cheat like Heather and make some with store bought! VERY cool and thanks for linking to the two for tuesday hop! :) Alex@amoderatelife
Oh my I don't know that I could contain myself without serious help! What an amazing addition to two for tuesdays! Thanks for linking!
Thanks, guys! This is the best reaction I've ever had. Hooray for alcohol! :)
Oh wow! Why did I not know about this blog before? I'll answer that. It's because I'm stuckin' foopid when it comes to figuring out all this blogging stuff and I'm still feeling my way around. However, I am getting better. I'm just a slow learner.
These apricots look incredible. Mike is so much of a meat eater and I'm not. If you don't mind I may have to camp out and live here for awhile.
You're to be forgiven - I have ambivalence about sharing this stuff with the whole wide world anyway. But these apricots ARE incredible and don't you have a section on your blog about cooking with booze? Well, here ya go.
I always find it interesting how many men feel a strong need for meat while their female partners don't, necessarily. Men have a slightly higher protein requirement but women have very real iron needs that men don't share, so really it should be the other way around if we're talking about basic nutrition. In my own relationship, my partner was vegetarian as long as I was; he's a runner and still claims to have no interest in meat. But many of the women I know tend toward vegetarianism while butting heads with carnivorous male partners. Kind of curious!
It is curious. Another strange and counterintuitive thing: I had problems with low iron for years, couldn't even give blood. I cut my meat portions way back and bumped up my veggies -- just because I wanted to. I ate meat once per week at most. My iron levels went up and I took no supplements.
A good friend of mine has had a similar experience. She has problems with anemia if she eats too much meat. Now she only eats fish and no anemia.
I had the exact same experience (which I mentioned here: http://www.chicken-tender.com/2010/08/herbal-syrup-for-iron-boost.html). Red meat does help some people with iron-deficient anemia, but it can also be difficult to digest, which can block nutrient absorption and even induce bleeding. I always laugh when people ask about anemia - I was constantly anemic when I was eating meat three times a day, but vegetarianism cured me. :)
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