Category Archives: Cooking

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Cooking With Honey – Honey Grapefruit Margarita

grapefruit margarita

With the weather heating up, this is a delicious way to cool down!  The honey and the grapefruit combine wonderfully.

Yield:  2 servings

Ingredients

3 oz tequila

2 oz orange liqueur

2 oz fresh-squeezed lime juice (2 limes)

6 oz fresh-squeezed ruby red grapefruit juice (1 grapefruit)

Simple honey syrup, to taste

Salt, for rim

Grapefruit wedges, for serving (optional)

Directions

Mix tequila, orange liqueur, lime, and grapefruit juices well. Add a generous splash of simple honey syrup. (To make simple honey syrup combine equal parts honey and water and heat until honey is completely dissolved. Refrigerate after cooling to save.)

Rub one of the used lime or grapefruit rinds around the rim of two glasses and dip in cocktail salt.

Fill each glass with ice and pour in the margarita.

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Cooking With Honey – Honeycomb Pull Apart Cake

Reblogged from Chronicles of a Beekeeper Wife

Honeycomb Pull Apart Cake

Honeycomb cake image

Do you have some special people coming over, a birthday celebration, or maybe you are going to your annual beekeepers’ potluck? You’ll do no wrong by serving this conversational piece. It is easy to make and fun to serve. The honey lemon glaze is especially tasty, and on a hot summer day, I suggest serving alongside a scoop of lemon sorbet or Italian ice. Either way, serving up this honeycomb cake is going to be a hit at your next gathering!

Prep
You’ll need to purchase this Honeycomb novelty pan. It is made by Nordic Ware (very high quality heavy cast aluminum construction). Mine was purchased onsite at the King Arthur Flour Bake Store in Norwich, VT; however, I don’t see it in their online store. The good news is that Williams-Sonoma and Amazon currently sell it.

honeycomb cake pan image
Front side
honeycomb cake pan image
Batter side

You’ll need to pick up several ingredients if you don’t already have them in your pantry.

honeycomb cake ingredients image
Love using local ingredients whenever possible!

Below is the recipe that came with the cake pan.*

Honey Lemon Cake
3 cups cake flour (I used King Arthur Cake Flour)
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup butter, softened (I used Cabot)
4 eggs
2 Tbsp finely grated lemon rind (I needed 2 large lemons)
1 cup sour cream (I used Cabot)

Glaze
3 Tbsp Honey (I used Heavenly Honey Apiary)
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 Tbsp lemon juice (I only needed 1 lemon to get this)

Directions
Heat oven to 325° F. Grease and flour pan; set aside.

Tip:  Really get into each cell and side of pan. I used a pastry brush with liquid vegetable oil and floured liberally and tapped it all around and then tapped the excess into the sink.

In medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; set aside.

In large bowl, beat butter and sugar on low speed until blended. Beat on medium speed until light and fluffy.

Creamed butter and sugar

Add eggs and beat until well blended.

Honeycomb cake batter image
beating honeycomb cake batter image

Add fl0ur mixture, sour cream and lemon rind; blend on low speed 1 minute, scraping bowl often. Beat on medium speed 2 minutes.

Grater and lemons with zest
Honeycomb cake batter image

Spoon batter into prepared pan.

Tip: I folded a kitchen hand towel in half and placed it on the kitchen counter. I then gently tapped the cake pan with the batter in it, to make sure that the batter settled into the crevice of each honeycomb cell.

Honeycomb cake going into oven image
See the over rack above pan? It’s too low. Raise it or take out.

Bake for 45-55 minutes, until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in pan.

Tip: Don’t over bake, although I kept a very close eye on the baking, and I took it out as soon as the toothpick came out clean, I thought the outer edge pieces resembled a plain donut texture and the middle pieces were moister. 

Meanwhile, make glaze: in small saucepan, combine all glaze ingredients and heat over medium heat until sugar dissolves and glaze is warm.

Honey Lemon Glaze image
Honey lemon glaze
Honeycomb cake out of oven image
Gently run knife around edge
honeycomb cake thickness image
Bakes to high volume. Be mindful of oven rack placement.

Invert cake onto cooling rack and brush with honey glaze.

honeycomb pull apart cake cooling on rack image
Placed wax paper underneath in preparation for glaze.
glazing honeycomb pull apart cake image
I gingerly brushed ample glaze on each honeycomb cell.
dirty honeycomb cake pan image
This was the pan after inverting — Cleanup a cinch!
Tip: After glazing, I let the cake thoroughly cool for about 2 hours before I plated it, because the underside of the cake was still really warm to the touch. 

Place on a decorative plate and serve!

finished Honeycomb pull apart cake image

*I don’t see a copyright notice on the packaging so I’m sharing.

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Cooking With Honey – Butterfly Honey Spread

ambrosia

This is a simple yet delicious way to prepare a honey-based spread.  In a pretty jar, it makes a wonderful gift!

Ingredients

1 cup heavy cream

2 cups honey

3 sticks unsalted butter, softened

1 tsp vanilla

Directions

In a sauce pan combine cream and honey. Heat on medium-high heat and stir until the honey is melted and completely combined with the cream, about 2-4 minutes.

Pour the hot mixture over the butter and mix until blended, either by hand or machine. Add vanilla and blend again. Pour mixture into a container, cover and let cool in the refrigerator. Keep refrigerated.

Serve on warm bread, toast, oatmeal, pancakes, or anything else!

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Cooking With Honey – Strawberries With Honey Rebecca Sauce

strawberries with rebecca sauce

This is a traditional Kentucky Derby favorite. Enjoy the seasonal abundance of fresh strawberries with this heavenly sauce.

Yield:  6 servings

Ingredients:

2 quarts fresh strawberries

· 1 pint sour cream

· ½ cup honey

· 1 tablespoon vanilla

· 1 tablespoon dark rum, brandy or bourbon (bourbon makes a more Kentucky-tasting sauce)

Directions:

Wash berries. Drain on paper towels. Divide among 6 pretty bowls or plates.

Combine sour cream, honey, vanilla and rum or bourbon. Stir to mix well. Spoon over strawberries and serve.

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Cooking With Honey – Spicy Honey Barbecue Pulled Pork And Coleslaw On Homemade Buns

pulled pork

Among my friends and family I’m renowned for this dish. It’s good all year around!!

It’s a scientific fact that honey makes food taste better.  Honey is largely composed of gluconic acid, a completely safe and natural flavor enhancer. According to the National Honey Board, a federal research and promotion board under USDA oversight, honey “balances and enhances the flavor profiles of other ingredients used in a recipe.”

The use of honey as a healthy and flavorful alternative to refined sugars has exploded in popularity in recent years. Raw honey is organic, easily digested, adapts to all cooking processes and lasts virtually forever.

Raw honey is also an integral part of the local food or “locavore” movement. Nationwide, small farms, farmers markets and specialty food makers are popping up and thriving as more people seek locally produced, seasonal foods. More than half of consumers now say it is more important to buy local than organic, according to market research firm Mintel.  Deputy Agriculture Secretary Kathleen Merrigan called the local food movement “the biggest retail food trend in my adult lifetime.”

Enjoy this recipe and feel good about it!!

Spicy Honey Barbecue Pulled Pork

Yield: 10-12 servings

Ingredients:

1 Boston Butt roast, about 5-6 pounds

Wet Rub:

1 cup honey

1/2 cup garlic, granulated

1/2 cup kosher salt

1/2 cup paprika

2 tablespoons onion, granulated

1 tablespoon dry mustard

1 tablespoon Creole seasoning

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 tablespoon ground red pepper

1 tablespoon ground cumin

1 tablespoon ground black pepper

Sauce:

3/4 cup cider vinegar

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 cup ketchup

1/4 cup Worcestershire Sauce

1/4 cup chili sauce

2 tablespoons onion, chopped

1 tablespoon honey

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon dry mustard

Dash ground red pepper

Directions:

Stir together all rub ingredients in a bowl. If needed, trim the fat back to about 1/8 inch thick on shoulder. Smear meat generously with rub, massaging it into the meat. Wrap tightly with plastic wrap, and chill overnight in the refrigerator.

Stir together all ingredients for the sauce in a medium saucepan over medium heat; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, stirring occasionally, 40 minutes.

Divide sauce into separate containers for basting and serving at the table. Refrigerate table sauce and reheat for serving.

Heat oven to 200 degrees Farenheit. Place meat in a Dutch Oven and add 1 cup water. Baste with 1/2 of the barbecue sauce. Cover tightly and cook for 4-5 hours or until pork is very tender.

Remove pork to a large cutting board or platter, cover with sauce from pan and let rest for 10-15 minutes. Pull, slice or chop to serve. Serve in buns with barbecue sauce and coleslaw.

Coleslaw

Yield:  12 servings

Ingredients

6 cups shredded cabbage

1 cup shredded carrot

1 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup white wine vinegar

1 teaspoon celery seed

1/4 cup honey

Salt and pepper

Directions

In a large bowl, combine cabbage and carrots. In a smaller bowl, make dressing by combining mayonnaise, vinegar, celery seed, honey, salt and pepper. Toss dressing into cabbage mixture and let chill.

Homemade Buns

Yield: Makes 28 buns

Ingredients

1/4 cup warm water (100° to 110°)

1 (1/4-oz.) envelope active dry yeast

1 teaspoon honey

1 3/4 cups milk

2 large eggs, at room temperature

1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled

1/3 cup honey

3 teaspoons salt

6 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, bread flour or whole wheat flour, divided (I use King Arthur’s)

Directions

Combine first 3 ingredients in a small bowl, and let stand 5 minutes or until mixture bubbles.

Meanwhile, heat milk in a saucepan over medium heat 3 to 5 minutes or until 100° to 110°.

Stir together warm milk, eggs, and next 3 ingredients in bowl of a heavy-duty electric stand mixer, blending well. Add yeast mixture, stirring to combine. Gradually add 5 cups flour, beating at medium speed, using paddle attachment. Beat 3 minutes. Cover with plastic wrap, and let stand 1 hour.

Uncover dough, and add remaining 1 1/2 cups flour, beating at medium speed 5 minutes. (Dough will be sticky.) Transfer to a lightly greased large mixing bowl. Cover with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm place (85°), free from drafts, 1 hour or until doubled in bulk.

Punch down dough. Turn dough out on a well-floured surface, and roll into 28 (2 1/2-inch) balls (about 1/4 cup dough per ball). Place balls in 4 lightly greased 9-inch pans (7 balls per pan). Cover and let rise in a warm place (85°), free from drafts, 1 hour or until doubled in bulk.

Bake rolls at 400° for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown. Brush tops with butter.

Note: To freeze, place baked buns in zip-top plastic freezer bags, and freeze up to two months. Let thaw at room temperature. Reheat, if desired.

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Italian Chocolate And Honey Cupcakes With Chocolate Sour Cream Frosting

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Let’s celebrate the arrival of Spring with some lovely decadent cupcakes!

Yield:   2 dozen

Ingredients:

For the cake:

1/2 cup butter, at room temperature

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup honey

3 eggs, separated

1 1/2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled

1 2/3 cup all-purpose flour

3 tablespoons Dutch-processed cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 cup buttermilk

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup shredded sweetened coconut

1/3 cup finely chopped pecans

For the frosting:

1 cup shredded sweetened coconut

1/2 cup finely chopped pecans

1 cup (about 6 ounces) semi-sweet chocolate chocolate chips

1/4 cup butter

1/2 cup sour cream

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 cups powdered sugar

Directions:

Heat the oven to 350 F and line two 12-cup cupcake pans with paper liners.

In a medium bowl cream together the butter, sugar, and honey until smooth but not fluffy. Add the egg yolks and mix well, then add the melted chocolate and mix until well incorporated.

In a separate bowl sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and baking powder. Once sifted whisk in the salt.

Alternately add the flour mixture and buttermilk into the butter, in three additions, beginning and ending with the flour. Stir in the vanilla, coconut, and pecans.

In a clean bowl whip the egg whites until they form stiff peaks. Fold the egg whites into the batter in two additions making sure no streaks of white remain in the batter.

Divide the batter evenly between the cupcake liners and bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until the cupcakes spring back when gently pressed in the center. Cool for 5 minutes in the pan then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely. Leave the oven on.

While the cupcakes cool prepare the frosting.

Spread the coconut and pecans on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring after 5 minutes, until the coconut and nuts are toasted. Remove from the oven and cool to room temperature.

In a microwave safe bowl combine the chocolate and butter. Microwave for 30 seconds then stir the mixture. If the mixture is not completely melted return to the microwave for 15 seconds bursts, stirring after each, until smooth. Allow to cool for five minutes.

Add the sour cream and vanilla and whisk to combine, then add 2 cups of the powdered sugar and whisk until smooth. Add the remaining powdered sugar a tablespoon at a time until the mixture is thick but not too stiff. The frosting will stiffen further as it sits. Reserve 1/3 cup of the toasted coconut and pecans for garnish. Stir the remaining coconut and pecans into the frosting.

Pipe or spread the frosting on the cupcakes as desired. Sprinkle the tops with the reserved coconut and pecans.

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“Bees And Beekeepers – A Sweet Life”

Carl White, Executive Producer and Host of the award-winning syndicated TV show Life in the Carolinas, was kind enough to send me the video of his recent show on North Carolina bees and beekeepers.

I really enjoyed it!  Did you know that North Carolina has more beekeepers than any other state? Or that North Carolina beekeepers like to compete to see who can light his or her smoker the fastest?  I was impressed!

Speaking of North Carolina, I’ll be conducting “Cooking with Honey” workshops at the North Carolina State Beekeepers Association Summer Meeting on July 11-13 in Pinehurst, North Carolina. Come by and visit me if you’re in the area!

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Pimiento Cheese With Honey – A Tribute To The Masters’ Tournament

masters

The Masters’ Golf Tournament in Augusta, Georgia always makes me crave the pimiento cheese of my youth. It’s a Southern delicacy, and the Masters’ sells tasty pimiento cheese sandwiches wrapped in green wax paper.

Most pimiento recipes these days call for extra sharp cheddar cheese, but my mother L.J. made hers with Velveeta. Both versions are terrific.

The honey called for in this recipe is there to enhance the other flavors, not to make the pimiento cheese sweet. Try it and see!

pimiento cheese

Yield:  8 sandwiches

Ingredients:

16 ounces extra sharp yellow cheddar or Velveeta, grated

2 jars of pimento, drained and chopped

8 tablespoons mayonnaise

1 1/2 – 2 teaspoons hot pepper sauce

1 teaspoon honey

1 teaspoon grated vidalia onion

salt to taste

16 slices of good whole-wheat or white bread

Directions:

Mash cheese, pimento, mayonnaise, honey, grated onion, and hot pepper sauce in a small bowl with a fork until well combined.  Season with salt to taste.  Cover and chill 1 hour for flavors to blend.

Serve on two slices of bread (with crusts removed, if desired).  For an authentic “Masters” touch, serve with a thin slice of sweet vidalia onion and a sprig of watercress on top.

This is also an excellent spread for crackers or a dip for vegetables.

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Honey Broccoli And Pasta Salad

broccoli-grape-pasta-salad-sl-l

The weather is finally warm, and this pasta salad is tangy and delicious.  Just the thing for summer!

This salad is also good with blanched and sliced asparagus.

Yield:  6 generous servings

Ingredients

1 cup pine nuts

1/2 (16-oz.) package bow-tie pasta

1 pound fresh broccoli

1 cup mayonnaise

1/3 cup honey

1/3 cup diced red onion

1/3 cup red wine vinegar

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups seedless red grapes, halved

8 cooked bacon slices, crumbled

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°. Bake pine nuts in a single layer in a shallow pan 5 to 7 minutes or until lightly toasted and fragrant, stirring halfway through.

Prepare pasta according to package directions.

Meanwhile, cut broccoli florets from stems, and separate florets into small pieces using tip of a paring knife. Peel away tough outer layer of stems, and finely chop stems.

Whisk together mayonnaise and next 4 ingredients in a large bowl; add broccoli, hot cooked pasta, and grapes, and stir to coat. Cover and chill 3 hours. Stir bacon and toasted pine nuts into salad just before serving.

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Spicy Honey-Roasted Leg Of Lamb

200308-r-indian-spiced-lamb

Celebrate Spring with this spicy-sweet leg of lamb!

Ingredients

Marinade

6 large cloves garlic, peeled, and coarsely chopped

1/2 ounce fresh ginger, peeled, and coarsely chopped

1 tablespoon garam masala

1 tablespoon ground cumin

1 tablespoon ground coriander

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon red chile powder

5 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 tablespoons water

Kosher salt

Lamb

1 leg of lamb (about 5 pounds)

Honey rub

3 1/2 ounces blanched almonds

3 1/2 ounces Greek yogurt, plain

1 1/2 tablespoons honey

Directions

For the marinade: Blend together the garlic, ginger, garam masala, cumin, coriander, black pepper, chile powder, lemon juice, vegetable oil, water, and salt, to taste.

For the lamb: Trim the excess fat and membranes from the leg of lamb. Make deep regular cuts all over the flesh with a paring knife. Rub the marinade into the lamb, making sure you get it into the deep cuts. Place the lamb in a plastic food bag with the remaining marinade and leave in the refrigerator, for a minimum of 6 to 8 hours, or ideally for 24 hours.

For the honey rub: Blend together 2 ounces of the almonds, the yogurt, and 1/2 the honey in a blender or food processor. Take the lamb out of the refrigerator and remove from the plastic bag. Rub the honey blend into the lamb, and leave the lamb for at least 30 minutes, or ideally for another 2 hours, covered, in the refrigerator. Remove the lamb from the refrigerator and bring to room temperature before cooking.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Place the lamb on a rack with a roasting pan placed underneath the lamb on the rack below. Cook for 15 minutes, then lower the heat to 350 degrees F, and cook for another 1 hour 40 minutes, or until the meat juices run fairly pink when pierced, basting every 20 to 30 minutes.

Scatter the remaining almonds and drizzle the remaining honey over the lamb and roast for another 10 minutes. Check if the meat is cooked using a meat thermometer. The temperature should be 130 degrees F for rare to 150 degrees F for well done, depending on the desired degree of doneness.

Remove the lamb from the oven. Loosely cover the lamb with aluminum foil and allow to rest for 15 minutes before slicing. Pour out the juices, spoon off any excess fat, and serve it on the side.

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