Category: Food & Beverage

Food & Beverage

A FEW OF MY FAVORITE THINGS: EBOOK

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YOU FOUND IT!! Welcome to my website and thank you for your interest in my ebook/cookbook. This is just a small sampling of some bigger things I have coming in the next year, and I am excited to share that journey with you. You can buy/download the ebook here. Go ahead, just click this link!

Thank you again, and be sure to be on the lookout for “Bassett’s Blends”, my line of seasonings/spices that will be dropping soon as well. Its only up from here! Don’t for get to let me know your feedback for A Few Of My Favorite Things, so that I can continue to bring you the content you want!

Chris

Food & Beverage

THIRSTY THURSDAY | THE ESPRESSO MARTINI

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I still am just not understanding the hype around this martini. I thought this thing died out in the 2000’s, but now it is EVERYWHERE. Maybe its just because I am not a fan of coffee, I just dont see the allure of this cocktail. I actually did a pretty funny IG “skit”/reel on this cocktail a few months back. A lot of you had voted for this one last week, and it was close, real close, so I decided that because so many people asked for it….I would make it this weeks cocktail.

Traditionally Kahlua is used for the coffee flavoring, but the purpose of this blog/Youtube channel is to turn you on to NEW and FUN things that you may or may not have heard or used before. There is a moonshine company (don’t get all weirded out, not the moonshine that burns holes in your esophagus, but a lovely, smooth drinkable moonshine) based out of Richmond, VA that I love , called Belle Isle Moonshine. I actually have posted about them here a few times in the past, and their whole line of products is just amazing. Anyway, I can talk about them another time. For our espresso martini, we will be using whatever vodka that you like, along with the Belle Isle Cold Brew Coffee moonshine. Now, I said earlier that I do not like coffee, coffee flavored drinks, coffee flavored desserts, but when I tell you how good this stuff is…..its really good! So good that I enjoy it on its own with just an ice cube or two.

Here’s the video….enjoy!

Food & Beverage

RASTA PASTA w/ JERK SHRIMP

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OK you “cream sauce crusaders” I hope this dish is to your liking! I loved it! This one is an easy one to do and has a TON of great flavor. The best part is that aside from cooking the pasta, it only requires 1 pan, so there is minimal clean up. I used the Walkerwoods HOT & SPICY jerk seasoning, so feel free to get a milder version or even use a dry rub if that is too hot for you. This is not a “traditional” rasta pasta” but I believe it rings true to the original dish. Dont eat me up too much in the comments for it. I say it in the video, if you are vegetarian, and dont want to do the shrimp or sausage, a good “meaty” mushroom is a great substitute here.

Grocery Cart:

2 tablsepoons avocado oil
1 pound shrimp
1/2 pound andouille sausage
1/2 red bell pepper, sliced
1/2 yellow bell pepper, sliced
1/2 red onion, sliced
2 teaspoons garlic paste
3 oz white wine (optional)
2 tablespoons jerk seasoning (wet)
2 cups heavy cream
1 tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup fresh grated parmesan cheese
1 cup pasta water, if needed
salt and pepper TT

Food & Beverage

THIRSTY THURSDAY | OUT ON DUVAL

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Its Thirsty Thursday and you all wanted vodka, so here it is! I really thought it was going to be an espresso martini, but you all voted for “something different”. I had to dig in “the vault” to find this one, but it is a Chris Bassett original. I created this back in like 2012 for a beverage program I was running at the time. I probably have not had this cocktail since I left there, and drinking it again today…I remember why I liked it so much. It is a little on the sweet side, but has some really good acid as well, and you can never go wrong with vanilla!

Enjoy

Food & Beverage

THE ONLY “SPAGHETTI” SAUCE YOU WILL NEED….SIMPLE POMODORO IN 30 MINUTES

Listen, I love a rich cheesy cream sauce as much as the next person. Throw in some blackening or Cajun seasoning, and just take all my money! But seriously….what is the choke hold that these sauces have on the internet/foodie community? There are so many other sauces out there that are just a flavorful and delicious, and wont leave you feeling like you need to run a 5k to enjoy them. This sauce here is one of them. Its in the simplicity of the ingredients, that short amount of time it takes to deliver a ton of flavor, and the versatility to add cream if you want!

This recipes literally has only 6 ingredients (8, if you count salt and pepper), and gives all the flavor you can handle. Not only is it quick and simple, but you can use this sauce for plain pasta, or for meatballs, your chicken/eggplant parmesan. You like a spicy vodka sauce, sure you can adapt this sauce for that. You need some full fat richness? Just add that heavy cream.

You can make this in a large batch, let it cool, and then store it in quart size freezer bags. Now you have a portioned sauce that is good for 4 to 6 people, and you can make each one differently when you choose to make it. This is how cooking should be; stress free, flavorful, with multiple uses. Check out the video for this quick and easy sauce:

Food & Beverage

CRISPY DRY RUBBED WINGS……IN THE OVEN!!

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OK, so the Super Bowl is tomorrow and I just had to gie you all a wing recipe. Now I do not own an air fryer….never have, never will….so if YOU own one, feel free to cook them in your air fryer. For those of us who do not own an air fryer, and dont always enjoy the clean up after deep frying in the kitchen….this recipe is for you!

In addition to the wings, and dry rub, I also have an Alabama White Sauce recipe for you too! Something about the acid and the tang of this sauce, I just love on some good dry rubbed wings!

Food & Beverage

SUPER BOWL PULLED PORK SLIDERS

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So the #SuperBowl is just days away and you need some appetizer ideas! You want some #bbq, but dont have a #smoker, no problem, I got you covered! Check out this full flavor, delicious #pulledpork that you can do in the oven. This #pulledpork is super juicy, tender, and your guests will love it. I even show you how to make a South Carolina sweet heat mustard sauce that will knock your socks off. The best part is that you dont have to spend hours monitoring a smoker, and can do it form the comfort of you own kitchen.

Grocery List:

1 4# Pork Shoulder or Pork Butt
2 table spoons yellow mustard to use as binder
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1 cup apple juice (not apple juice cocktail)
1/4 stick of butter

For the rub:
2 tbl brown sugar
2 tbl salt
2 tbl smoked paprika
1 tbl ancho chili powder
1tbl garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp chipotle chili powder
1 tsp black pepper

For the Mustard Sauce
1.5 cup yellow mustard
1/2 cup spicy brown mustard
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup ketchup
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup honey
2 tbl worcestershire sauce
cayenne pepper to taste

Food & Beverage

THIRSTY THURSDAY | THE SILVER MONK

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Thanks to you all, #thirstythursday is back, and we are going to keep it going! I put out a poll on my IG (if you dont follow already, its @cbassett33) for everyone interested to vote for what spirit you all want to see a cocktail for and #tequila won. I honestly thought it was going to #bourbon, but I am more than thrilled with #tequila.

I have also been thinking about a few ebooks, some of my favorite foods, home bar basics with cocktails, appetizers, etc. Is this something that you would be interested in from me? Let me know in the comments!

Ok enough of the talk, here is the link to this weeks video!!

Food & Beverage

THIRSTY THURSDAY’S | MANHATTAN

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In our first installment of #thirstythursdays, we will be making a #Manhattan cocktail. This one is a classic and THE cocktail that got me interested in creating my own. Traditionally this cocktail is made with #rye #whiskey, although most people prefer #bourbon. Feel free to make it however YOU like it, I mean you are th e one that is going to drink it after all!

Check out the full recipe and directions here:

Food & Beverage

SMOKED NEGRONI COCKTAIL

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Its cocktail time! It has been a while since I have done anything beverage related, and for those of you that enjoy that, my apologies for neglecting you….it won’t happen again. I had forgotten how much I actually enjoyed a negroni until a few weeks ago. I had a client taking one of my online cocktail classes, and one of their clients was campari. So naturally we were making negoni’s. As I went through this class, talking about the origins of this cocktail, making it, and tasting it with my class, it just kind of came back to me how much I really enjoyed this particular drink.

The drink itself is very simple, it is equal parts gin, campari, and sweet vermouth. Sounds simple enough right? You can actually watch the full youtube video of how I made this smoked version here, https://youtu.be/9HtpYAcDK9A . Now, even though the ingredients themself are simple, technique and the right gin/sweet vermouth are crucial components. I opted for a Japanese Gin, a little smoother than its London counterpart, a little more floral, and a little less juniper. For the vermouth we went with Carpano Antica, which is my favorite to use in cocktails.

SO where does the smoke come in you ask? Well, I used a cedar plank, you can usually find those in the seafood section of your local grocery store (think cedar plank salmon), and a small torch to light it on fire a bit to cause some great smoke. I placed the cocktail glass over the smoking cedar plank, and allowed the glass to fill with the smoke. Cedar smoke is thick and has a great aroma, so it just coats the inside of the glass, and you get that smokey nose throughout the cocktail.

Directions:

First you are going to get the cedar plank smoking, then place your glass over the smoking area. Then, in a mixing glass or shaker add in 1 oz of gin, 1 oz of campari, 1 oz of sweet vermouth, and a dash of orange bitters (optional). Next add some ice to the mixture and stir, do not shake, we don’t want to agitate the drink, we want to keep it smooth and velvety. Finally strain the contents of the mixing glass/shaker into your smoke filled drinking glass, over some fresh new ice. Then garnish the cocktail with an orange peel!

Enjoy!