Ep. 1 - I'm Having a Party!

Hey guys, thanks for tuning in. I'm going to give a little recap, or pre-cap as it were (we're a bit behind schedule with editing b/c our producer & director are furiously at work on yet another reality show) of episode 1, and dish out the recipes & whatever secrets I might have to divulge behind these culinary semi-masterpieces. As always, our A-Team style mission here at Cooking on Television is to bring you vegetarian meals & drinks that are hearty, healthy, and most importantly, Kick Ass. So, party animals, here's the run-down of what we're Cooking on Television today.

In a little segment that I like to call "Can He Do It?", I'll be making the cocktail du jour for my party, the Rum Runner. Now, I know we can all whip out our handy Mr. Boston bar book & get the drink recipe for a Rum Runner, that's not where the "Can He Do It?" comes into this recipe. If you do care to flip through the pages of your favorite bar guide & look up the Rum Runner, you'll find the recipe calls for two ingredients that you might not have on even the most fully stocked bar: Blackberry liqueur and Banana liqueur. My take on these two ingredients goes something like this: while it's totally acceptable to go to the liquor store & stock up for the party, I don't think it's really the Cooking On Television way to get 60-70 bucks deep into two specialty liqueurs that will be sitting on my/your shelf for the next 4 years unused. So, I thought it'd be a fun experiment to fully incorporate these two flavors using fresh ingredients and the central ingredient in the Rum Rummer, i.e. Rum, to try and synthesize a little alcoholic paste to sub for the liqueurs. The result worked out amazingly, and made a cocktail unlike i'd ever tasted (or seen!)

Secondly, we're making the dip. Okie caviar, aka black eyed pea salad/salsa, is something I like to bring when I want to be the literal hit of the party. It's super duper easy, relatively healthy (let's just forget about all those tortilla chips used to dip in to it), and really inexpensive to put together. As nondescript as this recipe is, I defy you not to make it and not be labeled the hit of your next party/game day. Beats the heck out of pizza and store bought salsa.

Finally, and speaking of pizza, I thought pizza would be a fun thing to bring our little party, but was worried that it wouldn't be festive enough, would be too greasy & just not "special" enough for my special little party, so I thought it'd be fun to make little mini-pizzas out of some mini egg frittatas, loaded with all the fresh ingredients that constitute my favorite pizza from my favorite pizza joint. Throw some broiled tomatoes on top of those little guys, and the result is bite sized treats that work perfectly as both finger food and main course. Also, for all the omnivores out there, I added some sliced soppresatta to another batch of these and they were universally praised by all my party goers. Ok, there's the synopses, here are the recipes:

Okie Caviar - Party Size (adjust increments for one-man party size)

30 oz. Black eyed peas (as always, much better made fresh, but 2 16 oz cans will do the job)
1 16 oz. can of hominy (again, fresh is best, plus it's so much fun to slice the kernels off an ear of corn. If you care to do it fresh, just boil 1 ear of white corn, let it cool, and slice the kernels off. Easy, breezy, beautiful)
2 Jalapenos, finely diced (seeded if you don't want it spicy, seeds in if you like the spice)
2 Cans Rotel (once again, I recommend making fresh Pico de Gallo)
2 Tsp Cumin
Juice of 2 Limes
Salt & Pepper to taste

Directions - Combine all ingredients, stir and serve. How simple is that, right?

Mini Pizza Frittatas with Broiled Tomatoes

12 eggs, beaten
1 cup Cream (I used Almond Milk in mine, Soy Milk works great too. Recipe is just as good made for those Lactose intol folks at your party)
6 cloves garlic, finely minced
10-12 large Basil leaves, loosely chopped
15-20 Cherry/Grape tomatoes, Broiled

Directions - In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs and cream/milk substitute. Add Basil and Garlic, mix in thoroughly. Grease muffin pan and pour mixture into cups (no paper muffin cups necessary), leaving 1/4 inch at the top of each cup. Frittatas will rise when cooking, but will settle back down upon cooling. Place in preheated oven at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes. You'll be able to tell when they're done by placing a toothpick/fork into mix and it comes out dry, just like baking a cake or muffin. When you're ready to serve, pop the frittatas from muffin pan and top each frittata with a peeled, broiled tomato. Broiled tomatoes can be prepared in advance, place tomatoes in small pan and put them in the broiler of your oven for 5-7 minutes. Let tomatoes cool and then peel, tomato skins should come right off and peeling should be a very simple, if slightly messy, operation.

A Very Special Episode of the Rum Runner

First, the Banana/Blackberry paste. Peel 2 bananas and mash in a medium bowl until bananas have a baby food like consistency. Then, add 1 small package (roughly 8-10 pieces) of blackberries and mash into banana mixture. You should, at this point, have a scary looking paste that is beyond ready to be made into a nice strong syrup for cocktails. To do that, start by adding two 3/4 oz shots of your favorite dark rum. Stir until rum and banana/blackberry paste have started to make a syrup roughly the consistency of molasses. If the syrup is too thick, add one more shot of rum & mix in until syrup looks, well frankly, like a purple mess but has the consistency of molasses & not pancake syrup. The rest of this recipe is for 3 drinks, or one very large one, and remember because of the "Very Special" nature of this Alco-paste we've prepared, there's one and only one rule for mixing this Rum Runner, & that's to James Bond it. Shaken, not stirred!

In a cocktail jigger/pint glass, combine:

3 shots dark rum
3 shots light rum
3 shots pineapple juice
3 shots OJ (I prefer freshly squeezed, but I realize that's a real P.I.T.A.)
2 shots prepared Banana/Blackberry syrup (see above)

Shake the mix up, shake the mix up again, & shake the mix up one last time for good measure. Serve over ice with an orange wedge and serve yourself first. If drink is way too strong, add 2 more shots OJ & re-shake. Since a Rum Runner is a classic cocktail, it should have a bit of a kick to it, but should also be very refreshing.

Alright guys, thanks for tuning in, be sure & post any questions/comments you have to any of the recipes here at the blog, & be sure to check for our next episode right here, on Television!