Cinco de Mayo: Tacos Bistek

It's a post so epic that it was three weeks in the making (which definitely had nothing to do with the onslaught of weddings monopolizing my time recently). At last, I present the thrilling conclusion to our Cinco de Mayo festivities: The heart and soul of any fiesta: THE TACOS! (I'm pretty sure I get blogger bonus points for using multiple colons in one sentence.). For our main course, we went with a Kevin and Faron classic- Tacos Bistek, where perfectly seasoned rib-eye steak serves as the centerpiece of a mouthwatering tortilla encased classic.

Tacos Bistek
From the minds of Faron and Kevin

One day I won't live with Kevin, and I'll be woefully unprepared to make meat.

Time: 20 minutes (plus 1 hour for marinading)

Rib-eye steak
Olive oil
Fajita seasoning
Cumin
Onions, diced
Cilantro, chopped
Lime, wedged
Cotija cheese
Salsas (recipes here)
Corn tortillas

1. Prep the steaks. Marinade them in olive oil then rub on the fajita seasoning and cumin and let sit for an hour.
2. Cook the steaks to medium rare on a grill. For extra flavor, you can baste them with the adobo sauce from canned chipotles (conveniently found in the salsa recipe) right before they're finished.
3. Sauté the onions in olive oil until soft and translucent.
4. Grill the tortillas. 
5. Tear the chips away from the delicious salsa long enough to use on your tacos then fill the tortillas with steak, cotija cheese, cilantro, onions and salsa. Sprinkle them with your lime wedge and enjoy.

By showing a second picture at a different, much weirder angle it's like an entirely different dish (Nope, I'm definitely not being lazy).

These tacos served a key function for the evening; they provided the delicious bridge to get us from the heavenly salsas to the perfectly drunken margarita cupcakes (plus they probably added some much needed nutrients and protein to round out a complete feast). Faron and Kevin's Tacos Bistek are a superb addition to any taco night that is easy to prepare yet provides a truly authentic tasting Mexican experience that rivals anything you'll find in a Taco Truck. With the smashing success of each course of our Cinco de Mayo celebration, there's only one logical place to go from here: form an awesome Mexican band. Stay tuned for the exciting new adventures of My Mariachi Their Kitchen!

Cinco de Mayo: The Salsa Compendium

Hand modeling and picture taking at the same time. I'm so very talented.

First impressions are of the utmost importance. As such, my salsa experience often dictates whether or not I like a Mexican restaurant. If a restaurant can have me doing a rough calculation of how many tortilla chips my stomach can handle before bursting, then that establishment will rate highly in my book. I want my dining experience to come with the shame of looking over and realizing you just demolished your third basket of chips before your drinks came. Luckily, we had resident salsa expert Faron on hand to help us perfectly capture both ends of the salsa spectrum with some of the finest red and green salsas this palate has tasted.

This man knows how to turn a tortilla chip into a powerful tool in your culinary arsenal.

Salsa Roja
Servings: Enough for a grand fiesta
Time: 30 minutes

Chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
3 Roasted Poblanos (tutorial here)
1 large tomato
1 large onion
3 garlic cloves
1/4 cup water
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp olive oil
Handful of cilantro

1. Roughly chop everything and add it to a pot. 
2. Cook until the veggies soften (10-15 minutes). If it's overly liquidy, bring to a simmer and let reduce.
3. Mix in the olive oil and puree in a blender.
4. Let cool then stuff your face using convenient tortilla shaped transportation tools.

Kevin, our floor and my t-shirt learned that the immersion blender should be completely immersed before turning on.

Roja caliente may have been a better description of this delightfully spicy salsa. The roasted poblanos and chipotles yielded incredible flavors and a memorable kick. Aside from gracing your favorite chip or taco, this salsa was tailor made to liven up a breakfast omelet or migas (which I made sure to test out the next morning.).

Salsa Verde

Adapted from The Homesick Texan

Servings: 4-5 cups

Time: 25 minutes

3 medium-sized green tomatoes, coarsely chopped

4 tomatillos, cleaned and chopped

1-2 jalapenos, stemmed, seeded and coarsely chopped

3 small garlic cloves, minced

3 medium rip avocados, peeled, pitted and sliced

4 sprigs cilantro

1 tsp salt

1 1/2 cups sour cream

1. Combine the tomatoes, tomatillos, jalapenos and garlic in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes.
2. Remove from heat and let cool.
3. Add the tomato mixture to the avocados, cilantro and salt in a blender and puree until smooth.
4. Pour into a bowl and stir in the sour cream.

Just when the red salsa had you sweating, the cool and creamy green salsa based on Ninfa's recipe was there to bring you back down with its splendid combination of tomatillos and avocados. This truly was an almost exact replication of the amazing salsa from Ninfa's (up next, we must figure out Chuy's creamy jalapeno salsa). Trying to pick a favorite between the two salsas proved impossible, so we loaded up our tacos with both and our stomachs thanked us for it. 

And now a brief intro to canning (Watch your feet because Kevin's about to drop some knowledge.):

If only he could knit too, Kevin would make the perfect husband for some lucky lady one day.

1. Read the above paragraphs and make your salsa.
2. Say "hot damn" after trying the deliciousness and decide you want to share it with all your friends through the magic of canning (note: please don't can the green salsa as the sour cream may prove less than pleasant afterwards).
3. Boil the jars and lids.
4. Add your salsa to the jars and wipe the tops off.
5. Seal the lids and boil the jars for 40 minutes.
6. Listen for the popping sound when you remove them from the water to know that they're sealed.
7. Spread joy throughout the world.

Now they just need their Kevin's Crazy Canned Salsa Cans labels.

Cinco de Mayo: Margarita Cupcakes

This picture is tilted, much like your world is after nights involving Patron.

Much like St. Patrick's Day, Cinco de Mayo is a most holy day reserved for drinking stupid amounts to properly honor what is being celebrated. Since Kevin and I realized we are no longer in our early 20s (with constant reminders from our bodies), we opted for a quiet night in with friend to the blog Faron and a whole lot of cooking. We started off the evening with some truly mouth-watering rib eye tacos (with 2 kinds of salsas!) and ended it with some of my most spectacular alcoholic cupcakes yet. As always, we'll start with the most important part of any meal- the cupcake course.


Margarita Cupcakes
Adapted from The Brown Eyed Baker
Servings: 12 cupcakes
Time: 45 minutes (plus cooling)

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs, room temp
Zest and juice of 1 1/2 limes
2 tbsp decent tequila (plus more for brushing)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup buttermilk
Lime curd (recipe follows)
Margarita buttercream frosting (recipe follows)
Lime wedges for garnish

The sheer amount of lime zest had me excited.

1. Preheat the oven to 325 F. 
2. Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt together in a medium bowl and set aside.
3. Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on medium speed.
4. Add the eggs one at a time until thoroughly incorporated.
5. Mix in the lime juice, zest and vanilla extract.
6. Drop the mixer speed to low and alternate adding in the dry ingredients and buttermilk in three intervals (dry->buttermilk->dry->buttermilk->dry). Be careful not to overmix.
7. Realize you forgot to add the tequila (forgetting things: a side effect of tequila) then add it in and pray to god the batter doesn't curdle (which it fortunately doesn't). You could also add the tequila in with the lime juice step, but since my Cubanness means I'm superstitious, I will continue to add it in at this step in the future.
8. Fill lined cupcake tins 2/3 full with batter then bake for 18-23 minutes or until the toothpick tests comes back clean. Also, make sure to turn once halfway through.
9. Let cool on a wire rack.
10. Core the cupcakes and fight the urge to eat all of the cupcake holes when you notice these are freaking delicious.
11. Brush the tops and holes with tequila then spoon in the lime curd filling.
12. Frost the cupcakes and garnish with a lime wedge.

You will not find a more perfectly composed cake.

Kevin and I were both a little hesitant about these cupcakes to start since tequila tastes like regret to us (thanks, college!). I have been craving lime recently, so I was willing to look past the devil liquid's presence. Just like I had hoped, the true star of the cupcake is the lime that comes through spectacularly in the cake itself, the curd and the frosting. Brushing with tequila helped add the tequila flavor for a true margarita experience without triggering my gag reflex. Just make sure you use decent tequila since not all of it is going to bake away. These delicious flavors were bolstered by what may have been the perfect cake. I often talk about moist and bouncy cakes, but this truly was the epitome of what a cake should be. It almost seemed like a crime to be removing the centers for filling.

Lime Curd Filling

Adapted from All Recipes

Servings: Enough for 12 cupcakes

Time: 30 minutes plus cooling

1/2 cup sugar

1/8 cup butter

6 tbsp fresh lime juice

1 1/2 tsp lime zest

1 egg, beaten

Tarty kick in convenient Ghostbusters slime color!

1. Determine that you hate limes with a fiery passion after juicing and zesting so many of them.
2. Combine the sugar, butter, lime juice and zest in the top bowl of a double boiler and stir over high heat until the butter melts.
3. Spoon about 1 tbsp of the hot mixture in to the eggs and mix well. 
4. Reduce to medium heat and slowly whisk in the eggs.
5. Cook for 20-25 minutes, whisking occasionally until the mixture thickens (and can coat the back of a wooden spoon.
6. Let cool then put in the freezer once you're sure the bowl will no longer shatter from the temperature shock.

I've flirted with lemon curds and blackberry curds in cupcakes before, and I am a huge fan of the tartness they bring to the table. In order to properly mimic a margarita, I wanted these cupcakes to have some kick (that didn't come from tequila). The slight shock of sour from the curd served its purpose beautifully and again hammered home the wonderfulness of the lime. In a cupcake that has three excellent components, the curd somehow managed to shine the brightest.

Margarita Buttercream Frosting

Adapted from The Brown Eyed Baker
Servings: Exactly enough for 12 cupcakes
Time: 5 minutes

1 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 1/2-3 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1 tbsp lime juice
1 tbsp tequila
Pinch of salt

Quite possibly the tastiest and smoothest buttercream frosting

1. Whip the butter on medium speed using the whisk attachment of a stand mixer.
2. Slowly add the powdered sugar and let mix. make sure you scrape down the sides of the bowl .
3. Add the lime, tequila and salt and mix until light and fluffy. If it's too soft, add more powdered sugar.

Just remember not to bite into the lime wedge.

Whenever I make buttercream frosting, I always find myself lamenting passing on yet another round of the always delightful cream cheese frosting. This time, however, I knew I had the right frosting for the task. This was an unbelievably silky smooth and flavorful buttercream that I will definitely be trying variations of in the future.

To make the cupcakes more flashy, I'd recommend adding some light green food coloring to the frosting then making an outer circle of decorative sugar pearls to mimic salt.

My Cinco de Mayo Margarita Cupcake quickly joined the pantheon of cupcake greatness. It even made a believer out of the typically sweet averse Kevin, whose declaration that he would have 1/4 of a cupcake quickly quadrupled after his first bite. From cake to curd to frosting, everything came together perfectly for an adventure in cupcakery that none of us will soon forget. Furthermore, it solidified in our aging minds the fact that we made the right choice by staying in and celebrating with food (a fact further proven by me not being curled up in a ball on the couch this morning).

The best part about making cupcakes: incorporating them into a healthy breakfast (It's just like a muffin, a far more sugary and fattening muffin with the alcohol you need to get you going in the morning!).

More Cinco de Drunko Mayo fun to come with rib eye tacos and 2 kinds of salsa!

Carrot Cake Pancake Cake

Not pictured: Robin's hand quickly moving away from supporting the tower. Also, this kind of reminds me of Jabba the Hut or at least his cousin Pizza.

If there's one thing I've learned in baking, it's that redundancy makes everything far more whimsical. As such, this desperately in need of a Thesaurus cake was already off to an auspicious start (really, it was off to a magnificent start the second it was a cake made up of a copious amount of pancakes). Breakfast and dessert come thundering together for this thrilling edition of the Robin Farewell Baking Tour 2012 in a dish that you can pretend is healthy since it involves carrots (thus negating the cake and cream cheese aspects).

Carrot Cake Pancake Cake

Adapted from the Joy the Baker Cookbook

Servings: 1 large cake consisting of about 6 pancakes

Time: 45 minutes

Pancakes

1 cup all-purpose flour

1tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

Pinch of ground ginger

2 tbsp raisins

1 egg

2 tbsp packed brown sugar

1 cup buttermilk

2 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 cup peeled and finely grated carrots

Cream Cheese Frosting

8 oz cream cheese

1/2 cup powdered sugar

2 to 3 tbsp milk

2 tsp pure vanilla extract

Cinnamon to taste

1. Preheat the oven to 200 F to keep the pancakes warm after making them.
2. Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and raisins together in a large bowl.
3. In a small bowl, whisk the egg, brown sugar, buttermilk and vanilla extract together until well incorporated then stir in the carrots.
4. Pour the wet ingrendients into the dry ingredients and stir until just mixed. Let sit for 5 minutes and watch the fun bubbles forming.
5. Make the cream cheese frosting while you wait by whisking the cream cheese until no lumps remain then mixing in the powdered sugar, milk, vanilla and cinnamon. Place in the fridge to keep cool.
6. Get a frying pan or griddle warmed up over medium heat then melt butter to grease the pan. 
7. Pour about 2-3 tbsp worth of batter into the pan and cook until both sides are golden flipping once (or attempting to flip. see the crime scene photos that follow). Each side will take between 1-2 minutes. Place each pancake in the oven on an oven safe plate to keep warm while making the rest.
8. Stack the pancakes together with layers of cream cheese and quickly get a picture before the melting cream cheese causes the ill-fated tower's imminent demise.

We learned an important lesson: the plate you just took out of the oven is super hot as well!

There may not be anything in the world that can beat fresh hot pancakes, and these carrot filled cakey disks delivered. They had a fantastic bounce and the carrot, raisins, cinnamon and ginger really came together to simulate that carrot cake experience in easy to enjoy breakfast form. The actual recipe called for 2 cups of carrots, but we ran out of carrots to grate leading to it being halved. This was a nice amount of carroty goodness, and I think the full 2 cups would be overkill (but 1 1/2 might be just right for my next try).

Take that syrup!

The cream cheese frosting differed from my from previous encounters with it in various forms of cupcakery in that it didn't have butter and had far less powdered sugar. The result was a less sweet cream cheese with a thinner, more spreadable texture. This slightly less rich version served to enhance rather than overpower the pancakes and was an excellent (albeit melty) addition. Together, the two elevated sweet breakfasts/brunches to new heights with a wonderful recreation of a favorite dessert. Even though the pancake tower would have been condemned by the housing commission, the flavors more than made up for its wobbly aesthetic.

Shockingly, the cake became far more structurally sound once we cut into it for some strange bizarro jenga.

CSI: Kitchen Homicide Division

Nearly a year after taking the criminalist entrance exam, the LAPD finally contacted me about interviewing for a position. Having now decided to devote my life to baking and science instead of looking at dead bodies and saying witty things while whipping off my sunglasses, I declined and decided to focus my talents honed through years of watching Law and Order and Bones on solving kitchen mysteries (pilot script in the works).

In the culinary blogging system, the food is represented by two separate yet equally important groups: the amateur chefs who investigate recipes and the people whose kitchens they make a mess of. These are their stories.

Robin's first attempt at flipping a pancake led to quite the batter splatter. ::Whips off shades:: Now that's what I call being flattened like a pancake.

Not to be outdone, I too made a splash with my flipping skills.

This is what happens when you don't get enough air and the pancake folds in on itself as it falls. ::Whips off shades:: Looks like someone was suffering from a bad case of crepe envy.

The Great Pasta Throwdown of 2012

There can be only one!

Saturday night, Kevin and I began the journey to accomplishing my life's goal of winning Cupcake Wars by competing in my first ever cooking competition. The pressure was running high, as I didn't want to disappoint my myriad fans (read: my mom and the 3 others). Would Kevin and I emerge victorious from the Pasta Throwdown or would we retreat to our house with our tails tucked between our legs? 

For our entry, we went with the popular blog post Sausage & Mushroom Cannelloni (with zucchini!). We knew this was a winner, so we confidently walked into the kitchen stadium that is Jake and Pauline's ridiculous kitchen of my dreams and prepared to take on some of the fiercest foes ever. If we were going to have any chance, we were going to have to come up with a spectacular sauce to bring our delicacy to life.

Kevin's Special Pasta Sauce
Servings: Enough for 16 cannellonies

Olive Oil
1 Onion, diced
6 cloves garlic, mushroom
12-16 cremini mushroom, destemmed and sliced
1 zucchini, quartered and sliced
Jalapeno, minced and seeded
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
Oregano to taste
Fresh basil to taste
Red pepper flakes to taste
24 Campari tomatoes, quartered

1. Sauté the onion, garlic, mushrooms, zucchini and jalapenos in olive oil until tender, stirring frequently.
2. Stir in the salt, pepper, oregano, basil and red pepper flakes and cook for an additional minute.
3. Add in the campari tomatoes and simmer over medium heat to reduce. 
4. If desired, brown any meats then toss in to the already reduced sauce.

Store bought sauce may be quick and easy, but nothing beats the results you get from a little extra effort. This tomato and basil packed sauce really brings everything together and makes sure that every bite of cannelloni is as amazing as possible. 

But enough of the boring recipes. It's time for the throwdown!!

The All-Star Cheftestants:

Sandy

Reigning throwdown champion Sandy (who won a taco throwdown with her heart-shaped seafood filled tortillas) once again showed the world what presentation points are for with her ridiculous dinnssert to start the evening. The wonderfully unique dish consisted of bow tie pasta tossed with strawberry, mandarin oranges and basil then glazed with lemon poppy seed dressing served in an adorable yet powerful dark chocolate cayenne bowl garnished with shrimp (and love). It was clear from this intricate course that we were not going to win the throwdown lying down. 

Dinnssert is served (and crazy good).

Just in case you were wondering how one makes chocolate bowls.

Alice

For the second course, the judges were treated to an unbelievable crab ravioli topped with corn. This resplendent dish got my pick for taste winner of the night and quickly had Kevin and I shaking in our metaphorical boots. The dish was some inspired combination of Italian cooking and a crab and corn chowder for the perfect storm of deliciousness.

Garnishing with a basil leaf! Who would ever do that?

Steve

Photobomb!

Resident foodie extraordinaire Steve presented a ninja like dish. What at first seemed like a standard tomato and basil pasta dish quickly proved to be anything but ordinary. From perfectly cooked noodles to one of the most flavorful sauces ever, this entry exceeded at every level. But what really brought it over the top was the mini caprese skewers serving as the world's ultimate garnish. Also of note, Steve entered the competition that afternoon after another cheftestant bowed out. Despite short notice, he delivered one hell of an entry to cement the notion that none of our competition could be taken lightly in this war of flavors.

It should be noted that the pasta isn't actually skewered too, so therefore this is cheating.

The Heartthrobs

I've never seen a picture more accurately capture our majestic bromance.

The ultimate bad boys of the kitchen (I have a goatee, so I technically qualify for boy band bad boy status) came together to serve up a revamped version of one of the signature dishes of this blog: Sausage and Mushroom Cannelloni. We heard about the competition right after kicking off Easter with this splendid foray into Italian cooking, so we were extremely eager to bring it into the thunderdome. Aside from some homemade sauce mentioned above, the only real change we made from the previous recipe was to add fennel to the sausage for some extra pop to the dish. Our homemade noodles were the star of the plate and perfectly encapsulated the inner cheesy goodness to complete a hearty meal that we were incredibly happy with. The third time was definitely the charm as this was the best this has ever come out.

Ok, we might garnish with a basil leaf. But there are two of them, so it's therefore prettier and more garnished.

The Judges Table

Our fantastic judges consisted of esteemed food critics Mimi, Princeton, Auris and Isabel. They were faced with the toughest task ever-resisting my many charms to fairly critique the food. Somehow, they managed to overcome the law of diminishing returns and fight off stuffed bellies to render a verdict...

The Champion

I'm not saying it was rigged, but IT DEFINITELY WAS RIGGED! (If you have any evidence of PastaGate, please call our toll-free hotline 1-800-TK4EVAS

After all the hard work everyone put in to a night of fantastic eats, it was finally time for a champion to be crowned. Following careful deliberation based on taste, technique, plating and creativity, the judges decided on the following order:

4th: Alice's Crab and Corn Ravioli

3rd: Sandy's Insane Dinnssert

2nd: Kevin and My Cannellonis

1st: Steve's Spaghetti de Awesomeo

Sure we were a little disappointed that we didn't win, but ceding the title of champion to any of these stellar courses was easy to live with. Everyone truly brought their "A" game for one hard fought competition we were so proud to be a part of. Just wait until there's a baking challenge. Just wait.

I offer my sincere and heartfelt congrats to Steve.

The Hosts

I would like to end things with a very big thanks to our awesome hosts Jake and Pauline. Everybody had a great time invading their house, but now I feel sad whenever I use my kitchen that is vastly inferior to their behemoth.

The Tax Refund Party: Bananas Foster Cookies

All good bakeathons must come in threes (See Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day, Easter and Housewarming). For my final sugary trick, I decided to attempt to transform a typical cookie into a thrilling homage to the greatest thing to come out of New Orleans aside from Bounce Rap- Bananas Foster (I must figure out how to make a bounce rap dessert or I will consider my life a failure.). Previously, I converted the brown sugar and cinnamon packed alcoholic banana dessert into cupcakes and créme brûlée, so really cookies were the final frontier (Ok. that and pie!). Would my guests approve of my take on a beloved treat, or would they throw their plates on the ground in protest?


Bananas Foster Cookies
Servings: 12
Time: 35 minutes (including making caramel)

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
2 ripe bananas, mashed
2 tbsp milk
1/2 tbsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp bourbon
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
Vanilla bean ice cream
Bourbon caramel sauce (recipe follows)

1. Preheat the oven to 325 F.
2. Cream the butter and sugars together in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment.
3. Mix in the bananas until well incorporated then add the milk, vanilla and bourbon.
4. Add in the flour, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon and blend well. Note: the banana will dull the cinnamon flavor somewhat, so you might want to add more to balance it out.
5. Place tbsp sized amounts of batter on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake for 10-14 minutes or until the bottoms start to lightly brown.
6. Remove from the oven and let rest on the baking sheet for two minutes then cool them on wire racks.
7. Prior to serving, heat up in a microwave (10-15 seconds) then top with a scoop of ice cream and a drizzle of bourbon caramel.

The hardest part about making banana cookies is always getting the texture right. I decided to use my snickerdoodle with some slight alterations in hopes that it would hit that perfect crispy texture I was looking for. In order to do this, I added some bourbon and replaced sour cream with bananas while relying on the brown sugar and cinnamon goodness that already existed in the cookies. Opening the oven resulted in the most ridiculously amazing aroma as the bananas and bourbon immediately lit up my nose. The cookie itself had an outstanding banana and cinnamon flavor, but wasn't crispy like I had hoped it would be (one day I'll figure this banana thing out). This shortcoming actually turned out to be a blessing in disguise as the soft cookie served to replicate the delicate banana from a traditional bananas foster dessert.

Bourbon Caramel Sauce

From Food & Wine

Servings: More than enough for double the cookies

Time: 15 minutes

2 cups sugar

1/2 cup water

1 tbsp light corn syrup

1 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup bourbon

The portion of this charred on my stove is not as appetizing looking (nor does it smell as amazing).

1. Bring the sugar, water and corn syrup to a boil in a medium saucepan over high heat. Once the sugar is dissolved, periodically swirl (but do not stir) until an amber color forms (about 10 minutes).
2. Remove from heat and carefully stir in the cream in a slow, steady stream (be careful a lot of steam will be given off). 
3. Let cool for 1 minute then stir in the bourbon. 
4. Bring the mixture to a boil and cook over moderate heat for 1 minute while stirring.
5. Freak out that the mixture has boiled over and is now sticking to your stovetop. Spend the next 30 minutes frantically trying and failing to remove it.
6. Breathe a sigh of relief when you realize it still tastes quite delicious (what's in the pot not what's stuck to the stove. That just tastes kind of burnt.).
7. Transfer the sauce to a bowl. When ready to serve, you can heat it up by microwaving it over medium power in 30 second increments.

The caramel sauce was far more liquidy than I would have imagined when I think of caramel, but it worked nicely for a lighter finish to the dessert than a thick, super-rich caramel would have. The bourbon really comes through to produce a sauce that could easy go on other desserts like bread pudding.

Cafe TH owner, Minh, eats dessert like he cooks (read: like a total boss). Whoopie pies and bananas foster cookies at the same time!

What started out as a wild shot in the dark turned into one fantastic dish that came closer to my favorite New Orleans dessert than I ever could have imagined. The hot, cold, hot combination of the cookie, ice cream and bourbon caramel was something that would have easily fit in at an actual restaurant (and produced one of my favorite pictures yet. Although, I think a banana chip garnish would make it even more awesome.). The real star of this decadent cookie was the bourbon/vanilla combo that permeated throughout each component. The true entertainment, however, came from me turning super serious as I tried to prep each dessert when requested by my guests. Presentation was key, and I was determined not to fall short (as disappointment would likely lead to my banishment from Cafe TH and subsequently starving to death). I am extremely proud of how this dessert turned out, and it was another fantastic and unique addition to go along with the Fiery Red Hot Red Velvet Cupcakes and Strawberry Whoopie Pies. Fortunately, all the calories were completely negated by the copious amounts of Kinect dancing we did at the party (Yup, I'm pretty sure that's how nutrition works.).