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Louisville Recipe of the Month: Bourbon Bacon Jam

bourbon bacon jam recipe
By an act of Congress in 2007, September was declared National Bourbon Heritage Month, but for us Kentuckians, this is a celebration practiced year round. To pay our respects to our state’s coveted spirit, we asked Crushed Ice Catering‘s executive chef, Laurence Agnew, to serve up a creative bourbon inspired recipe. Much to our delight, his solution was a sweet and savory creation that will most certainly earn a place in your arsenal of culinary staples Bourbon Bacon Jam.
This Bourbon Bacon Jam recipe is a perfect addition to keep in the fridge. It makes for a flavorful addition to morning waffles, gives a tasteful twist to the classic grilled cheese, and makes as a great topping for beef, chicken, or pork!

Bourbon Bacon Jam

Ingredients
  • 3/4 pound bacon cut into inch slices then cut in half
  • 1 large shallot minced
  • 2 garlic cloves minced
  • 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup sherry vinegar
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 2 Tablespoon Maple Syrup
  • 4 Tablespoon Kentucky Sorghum
  • 1/2 cup bourbon 
  • 1 teaspoon yellow mustard
  • 1/2-1 teaspoon kosher salt depending on your bacon
Instructions
  1. In a medium skillet, cook bacon, stirring occasionally, until done and on the verge of crispy, approximately 10 minutes. Remove to a paper towel lined plate.
  2. Add garlic and shallot directly to the same skillet with rendered bacon fat. Soften for approximately 4-5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to a medium sauce pan. Add drained bacon and remaining ingredients, stir well. Simmer on low heat for 60-90 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  3. Liquids should evaporate leaving you with a sticky bacon jam fit for any dish.

Give your taste buds my best,

Morgan Blake

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Recipe of the Month – Beer Batter for Fish

ALMOST as vital as green beer, Beer Battered Fish and Chips is next up on the list. Be inspired this St. Patrick’s Day with Chef Agnew’s Beer Batter for Fish!

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  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 cups cornstarch
  • Two 12-ounce beer (ale, larger or dark beer if preferred )
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 cup all purpose flour or cornstarch for dredging
  • For the Batter: Whisk together flour, cornstarch, beer, egg, and salt in a medium-sized bowl. Make sure there are no lumps. Cover bowl and place in fridge for at least 20 minutes, and up to 3 hours before batter will be used.
  • Tips:
  •  Batter should be the consistency of heavy cream, don’t be afraid of trial and error
  • Dredging : Always pat dry fish fillets or other items you may be frying before dredging into all purpose flour or cornstarch. Also tap off excess dredging flour before dipping into batter.
Frying Oil and Temperature:
Optimal temperatures should range from 360-380 degrees Fahrenheit
Safflower or Peanut Oils are great for frying for higher smoke points.
If your looking for more flavor focused oils try lard or beef tallow.
Draining: When removing fried fish or any fried item for that matter, it’s been to place on an oven rack or grate as to allow the crispy coating to cool without trapping steam underneath to cause the coating to get soggy.
Paper towels will drain the fat from the fish but can still trap steam causing excess moisture on the coating.
If you are going to season with salt or other spices do so immediately after removing from fryer onto draining rack.
Lastly don’t over crowd your fryer with too much at one time. Overcrowding will cause a steep decrease in temperature and cause crispy fish to be greasy.
Pour yourself a Guinness and give Chef Agnew’s Recipe a shot! You won’t be disappointed.
May the winds of fortune sail you,
May you sail a gentle sea.
May it always be the other guy
who says, “this drink’s on me.” 

Cheers!

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Recipe of the Month: Mardi Gras King Cake

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Mardi Gras King Cake

Crushed Ice Catering‘s February Recipe of the Month is near and dear to our Chef’s heart. Before landing in Louisville, Executive Chef Laurence Agnew was born and raised in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, just a short ways away from New Orleans. When he was 20 years old, he decided to move to the Big Easy – and held culinary positions at both the Ritz Carlton New Orleans Victor’s Restaurant , and John Besh’s Restaurant August.

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Executive Chef, Laurence Agnew

With Mardi Gras just right around the corner, it only seemed appropriate for Chef to tie in his Cajun roots with the greatest “free show” on Earth. Pour yourself a Hurricane, throw on some jazz and whip up Chef Agnew’s King Cake for a true Mardi Gras celebration! Interested in the history and tradition behind the King Cake? Check it out here.

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The Big Easy

INGREDIENTS

For the cake:

  • 1 cup lukewarm milk, about 110°F
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 tablespoons dry yeast
  • 3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup melted butter
  • 5 egg yolks, beaten
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon grated fresh lemon zest
  • 3 teaspoons cinnamon
  • Several gratings of fresh nutmeg

For the icing:

  • 2 cups powdered sugar
  • 1/4 cup condensed milk
  • 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
  • Purple, green, and gold decorative sugars
  • 1 fava bean or plastic baby to hide in the cake after baking

PREPARATION

  1. For the cake, pour the warm milk into a large bowl. Whisk in the granulated sugar, yeast, and a heaping tablespoon of the flour, mixing until both the sugar and the yeast have dissolved.
  2. Once bubbles have developed on the surface of the milk and it begins to foam, whisk in the butter, eggs, vanilla, and lemon zest. Add the remaining flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg and fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients with a large rubber spatula. After the dough comes together, pulling away from the sides of the bowl, shape it into a large ball. Knead the dough on a floured surface until it is smooth and elastic, about 15 minutes. Put the dough back into the bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and set aside in a draft-free place to let it proof, or rise, for 1 1/2 hours or until the dough has doubled in volume.
  3. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Once the dough has risen, punch it down and divide the dough into 3 equal pieces. Roll each piece of dough between your palms into a long strip, making 3 ropes of equal length. Braid the 3 ropes around one another and then form the braided loaf into a circle, pinching ends together to seal. Gently lay the braided dough on a nonstick cookie sheet and let it rise until it doubles in size, about 30 minutes.
  4.  Once it’s doubled in size, place the cookie sheet in the oven and bake until the braid is golden brown, about 30 minutes. Remove the cake from the oven, place on a wire rack, and allow to cool for 30 minutes.
  5.  For the icing, while the cake is cooling, whisk together the powdered sugar, condensed milk, and lemon juice in a bowl until the icing is smooth and very spreadable. If the icing is too thick, add a bit more condensed milk; if it’s a touch too loose, add a little more powdered sugar.
  6.  Once the cake has cooled, spread the icing over the top of the cake and sprinkle with purple, green, and gold decorative sugars while the icing is still wet. Tuck the fava or plastic baby into the underside of the cake and, using a spatula, slide the cake onto a platter.

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2017 Catering Trends & Food and Event Trends

Every dreary Louisville January, after the excitement of the Holidays, Wedding Seasons and the New Year have worn off – you will find our Crushed Ice Catering & Ice House Coordinators and Culinary Team pondering over the previous year, and wondering with great excitement, what the future year will hold. This blog post is always one of my favorites to write – my fingers move faster than the keyboard will allow. I can barely keep up. And this year’s predictions exceed any we have seen thus far. Curious to see our predictions – check it out!

2017 Food Trends and  Predictions from our Executive Chef, Laurence Agnew and our Sous Chef, Zach Tackett:

2017 Catering Trends

  • Chicken Salt – long used and started down under in Australia in all the chippers. It’s actually a vegetarian seasoning used on chips (fries) that’s very tasty.
  • Proper old school butchery using animals either raised by the butchers or very close to the source and introducing real authentic bone broths and animal fats in classic and more modern takes.
  • Continued use of cannabis! As states continue to legalize recreational marijuana, so does the edible market continue to sky rocket into the billions from candies, tortillas, baked goods and cocktails.
  • Plant based cooking using Heirloom varieties, legume based pastas and dinners focused on plant leftovers and waste.
  • Drone delivery whether it’s pizza, burritos or burgers. We wouldn’t be surprised if Amazon started offering a delivery service for bigger cities and companies such as Shake Shack (it’s coming! you heard it here first).
  • Fried chicken in a bowl, bun, Nashville style, for breakfast, lunch or dinner – it’s not going anywhere anytime soon.
2017 Bar/Beverage Trends and Predictions from Derek Steinbrecher, Bar Manager

2017 Bar Service Trends

  • Higher focus on beverages and beverage pairings (food/wine), vertical tastings for both beer and wine, bourbon themed events, bigger budgets for better quality booze.
  • For cocktails, continued pushing the envelope of high tech crafty cocktails. I see Italian wines continuing to be highly demanded and educated about also see Croatian and Slovenian wines continuing to be of high interest
  • Bourbon, Bourbon and more Bourbon great for all Kentuckians, and there’s even a bourbon emoji now, we’ve gone mainstream.
2017 Event & Decor Trends from the lovely ladies at Crushed Ice Catering, Lindsay and Madeleine 

2017 event and Decor trends

  • Creating more vertical impact for event spaces with the use of draping, aerialists, hanging lights, greenery ceiling installations and even an increased use of aerialist entertainers.
  • Black is Back – using black in a strong or subtle presence, which will lead to a more formal “feel” for events.
  • The bouquet and garter toss is going to be a thing of the past – and we are completely okay with that :)
  • Both Band & DJ – it’s the best of both worlds! Starting the evening with a live band and switching to DJ for dancing. It is sure to be a crowd pleaser, as the younger guests may enjoy the DJ (it’s hard to find a live performer that can belt out Hotline Bling) and the older crowd may love that jazz trio for the dinner portion.
  • Drone Videography, because who doesn’t want an awesome wedding video or a cool tech-y gadget flying around their event?
  • Lighting change during the event – transitioning from a soft romantic glow during cocktail hour/dinner to a more party atmosphere (think neons, gobos and strobes) for late night dancing.

2017 Event & Decor Trends from the lovely ladies at The Ice House, Erica and Christina

2017 catering event trends

  • Seeing a shift in DIY from crafts/goodies to DIY services – photo booths, videos, DJ service apps and other service related niches that Brides can simply download on their phone and plug in to their event.
  • Less Instagram Hashtags to more event specific snap chat filters and groups
  • More unique configurations of event space and design. Away with the traditional “head table” or half round conference style set-up. We will see more unique table configurations (elevated, stage, etc) as well as alternatives to traditional “boardroom” style – more lounge furniture, and creative workspaces.
  • Event Flips – larger budgets will give way to satisfying client’s high demands for flipping event spaces during an event. From theater style, to cocktail hour, to seated dinner – clients will be more demanding than ever. And we will aim to please!
  • Mixed wedding parties – with marriage equality passing in 2016 we expect to see less common and new titles such as Best Lady or Man of Honor
  • Color Trends: Winter=glamorous (silver, white, gray), Spring=floral (blush, sage, champagne), Summer=bright (yellow, blue), Fall=earthen (amber, sage, orange)
  • Incorporating Pantone’s Color of the Year “Greenery” – We are not seeing this trend go anywhere anytime soon. It will be continuously popular – Eucalyptus, Ferns, Sage, Thyme color themes are here to stay in 2017.
 So there you have it folks – Do you agree with our predictions? There is only one way to find out if we are correct… wait and see what 2017 really has in store for us here at the Ice House and Crushed Ice Catering!
Cheers!
Erica