Whiskey Ginger Pom and a trip to Willie's Distillery {Ennis, MT}

What are your thoughts on whiskey?

Over the Summer, a friend of ours schooled us on whiskey and bourbon. He travels to Scotland often for work and his knowledge is legit.  (Thanks Matt B.!)  I don't often drink hard alcohol, and if I do it is usually in the form of a margarita.  I've never been a fan of whiskey.  My theory being, why have Jack and Coke when I can have Captain and Coke?  As a food blogger, I often see whiskey and bourbon popping up in all kinds of recipes.  After getting educated, I was intrigued.  

Later in the Summer on our annual trip to Montana, we were excited to find out a nearby town had a distillery (Willie's Distillery in Ennis).  The Ennis Art Festival was happening, so we headed over to check it out and also stopped in to Willie's.  

Of course we partook in a whiskey tasting (does anyone go to a distillery and not do this?).   After some great explanations from our server and consulting over the flavors, we left with a nice bottle for home. 

Don't they make wonderful models?  Thanks Mom & Nicholas.

The first drink we made at the suggestion of the distillery was a whiskey and ginger beer. 

It was tasty, and the ginger flavor was a nice compliment to the strong whiskey taste. It was also the inspiration for this drink, the whiskey-ginger-pom.

I wanted to use a seasonal fruit and thought pomegranate would be perfect. The tartness and beautiful color makes this more of a ladies' whiskey drink, but Nicholas loved it too.  This is a great drink for the holiday season.

Thanks to Willie's for a fun day and thank you for joining me for a whiskey.

For the recipe, click over to PopSugar or my Recipe page!

Cheers!
TCW

Homemade Cranberry Sauce with Mandarin, Pomegranate, Ginger and Honey

Hello there friends, long time no post.  Let's start today with a debate.
Canned or fresh?
That's right.  Canned or fresh cranberry sauce on your Thanksgiving table?

Via

Honestly, is this really even worth debating?

I know there are sticklers out there who love their canned sauce.
And, admittedly, I have taken a slice of the can shaped cranberry blob in Thanksgiving past.
Yes.  Yes I have.

In my opinion cranberry sauce is an essential part of the Thanksgiving table.
It is the tart-sweet counterpart to the savory deliciousness of turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy.
It is the key ingredient to the day after Thanksgiving leftover sandwich.

So yes, I have partaken in the canned shape blob.  But that was before.
Before I knew how easy it was to make your own.

It happened many a Thanksgiving ago in Hermosa Beach, in a house that had a stripper pole in the basement (just for fun.  Don't ask.) and a ladder to the attic with a very cool guest room for us girls. We decided to have a "friend Thanksgiving" the weekend before real Thanksgiving.

Lo and I brined a turkey in a cooler, the oven broke and said turkey was cooked down the street at a friend's. There were cocktails and a DJ.  It was a potluck.  And I made cranberry sauce even though I had no idea what the heck I was doing.  It was hands down the best tasting Thanksgiving meal I've ever had.  I still remember the carrots in brown sugar and butter.

The original Hermosa Beach Cranberry Sauce recipe has evolved, along with my cooking skills, into this recipe. The best part is, it's easy!  Even better - you can make it a few days in advance of Thanksgiving.  If there are leftovers (if!), it is great spread over toast with goat cheese.

So, can shaped cranberry blob or the real deal?
That's not even a question.

P.S. Mandarin's are in season!  My mom picked mine up at the Mandarin Festival.

Ingredients:
2 12oz. bags fresh cranberries
4 mandarin oranges, peeled and sectioned
1 cup pomegranate juice
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon peeled and minced fresh ginger
1/4 cup honey (I use raw)
1 teaspoon cinnamon

How to:
Add cranberries, mandarins, water and pomegranate juice to a large saucepan or pot.
Bring to a boil, then reduce to medium high heat.
Simmer until cranberries begin to pop open.
Add sugars, ginger, honey and cinnamon, stir frequently and continue cooking until well blended.
Remove from heat and let cool.
Transfer to a sealed container and keep overnight in fridge before serving.
(The sauce will seem thin at first, don't worry, it will thicken in the fridge overnight.)
You can prepare the cranberry sauce 2-3 days in advance.

Happy Turkey Day everyone!

♥TCW