New Year's Eve Specials and some drink suggestions

Happy New Year to All!

New Year's Menu

Prime Rib au Jus for $18.96,

Beef Wellington with a Liver Mousse Pate and wrapped in a Puff Pastry Shell for $28.96,

Baked Crab Stuffed Haddock for $18.96,

Stuffed Chicken breast with Cranberry Walnut Stuffing for $18.96

Try a couple new drinks out for New Years while you are at the Pub for New Years!

Black Velvet

Ingredients:

• 5 oz chilled stout (Guinness is the best!)
• 5 oz chilled Champagne

Preparation:

• Pour stout into a champagne flute. Add champagne carefully, so it does not mix with the stout, and serve.

Baileys Chocolatini

Ingredients:

• 2 oz. Baileys Original Irish Cream (25 oz. per bottle)
• 1/4 oz. vodka
• 1/4 oz. chocolate liqueur

Preparation:

• Add Baileys Original Irish Cream, vodka and chocolate liqueur.
• Shake with ice and strain into martini glass.
• Garnish with raspberries or cherrys

Chard-tini

Ingredients:

• 3/4  oz. Vodka
• 3/4  oz. Chardonnay
• 1/4 oz. peach schnapps
• 1 oz. lemon-lime soda
• 1 slice lemon
• 1 slice lime

Preparation:

• Mix the Chardonnay, Vodka and peach schnapps.
• Shake with ice and strain into a chilled wine glass.
• Top with lemon-lime soda.
• Garnish with lime and lemon slice

Snap, Crackle, Pop

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 oz. Tequila
• 7-8 dash bitters
• 1 oz fresh ground black pepper
• Lime wedges

Preparation:

• In a small bowl mix the bitters and freshly ground cracked black pepper until it becomes a paste
• Take a wedge of lime and coat one side with the paste
• Take a bite of the coated lime and then the shot

Peppermint Martini

Ingredients:

• 5 oz. vanilla Vodka
• 2 oz. white creme de menthe
• 1/2 oz. Peppermint Schnapps

Preparation:

• Pour all ingredients into a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a martini glass. Garnish with a candy cane if available

And check out our wine list at http://www.6housepub.com/wines.htm, beer list at http://www.6housepub.com/beers.htm and cocktails list at http://www.6housepub.com/cocktails.htm

Fruitcake, doorstop or delicious treat?

In our family we receive a fruit cake every year by Airmail from overseas. We having a running joke that it’s the same one, because the one from the year before mysteriously disappeared and no one seems to remember what happened to it. We DO recall not eating the thing and we are pretty sure we didn't use it for a doorstop.

Fruitcake has a bit of a bad rap. Although these two suggestions are my favorite in terms of what to do with one of those rock hard ones that seem to turn up perennially:

1. Hollow out to store valuables - no one will touch it, so your valuables will stay safe!

2. Send one to the junk mail company with a note asking them to take you off their list or you will send more of them.

Here's an old family recipe though that is quite delicious and does not have the traditional nuts or candied citron in it and the Grand Marnier makes a nice touch as well.

Grand Marnier Fruitcake

Recipe Yield 1 - 6 inch round pan

Preheat oven to 325 degrees

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup dried orange flavored cranberries
• 1/8 cup chopped dried sweet cherries
• 1/8 cup chopped dried mango
• 1/4 cup dried blueberries
• 1/4 cup Grand Marnier
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 cup dark molasses
• 2 tablespoons heavy cream
• 1/4 cup Grand Marnier, split in half.

Directions:

• Soak the dried fruit in 1/4 cup of the Grand Marnier over night, covered and store at room temperature.
• Grease a 6 x 3 inch round pan, and line with parchment paper.
• In a large bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar. Beat in the eggs. Mix together the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon; mix into the butter and sugar in three stages, alternating with the molasses and the heavy cream. Stir in the soaked fruit.
• Bake in preheated oven for 40 to 45 minutes. While still hot, sprinkle with 1/2 of the set aside Grand Marnier. Let cool. When the cake is cooled remove from the pan and sprinkle with the remaining Grand Marnier.
• This cake is best stored wrapped in Cheese cloth soaked in Grand Marnier and does actually improve with age.

I tried one of these ideas a few years ago, the Chocolate covered fruitcake balls and they were great, so here is a great article about Unusual Uses: Christmas Fruitcake Leftovers 7 Ways (real ways to recycle fruitcake)

http://www.diylife.com/2009/12/21/unusual-uses-christmas-fruitcake-leftovers-7-ways/

Don't forget: Gift Certificates for the '6 House Pub and the 1896 House make wonderful stocking stuffers for that special person in your life or a great getaway for your parents (or your kids).

Tis the Season to Give….Chocolate!

Gift Certificates for the '6 House Pub and the 1896 House make wonderful stocking stuffers for that special person in your life or a great getaway for your parents (or your kids).

In addition, everyone loves goodies for the holidays, especially CHOCOLATE ones and what better way to tell your family and friends how much you appreciate and love them is make them chocolate truffles!

Here are some links to my favorite, easy to make and delicious recipes from around the web:

Easy Chocolate Truffles

http://www.marthastewart.com/356071/easy-chocolate-truffles

With this recipe, I prefer to leave the cardomom out and the lemon peel actually tastes better zested

Nutella Chocolate Truffles (these are a totally yummy!)

http://steamykitchen.com/13940-nutella-chocolate-truffles-recipe.html

Avocado-Chocolate Truffle Recipe (strange sounding but delicious)

http://whatscookingamerica.net/Candy/AvocadoChocTruffles.htm

As an alternative to rolling the truffles in powered sugar, they are wonderful rolled in toasted and then fine ground up almonds.

Baileys Irish Cream Chocolate Truffles

http://www.grouprecipes.com/27314/baileys-irish-cream-chocolate-truffles.html

With this recipe, while very easy to make, just make sure you don't hit the chocolate up too much as you are stirring in the egg yolks as you could end up with chocolate scrambled eggs. J

Easy Champagne Chocolate Truffles

http://www.epicurean.com/featured/champagne-chocolate-truffles-recipe.html

For this recipe you can do without the orange oil and it tastes a tad better with a touch more sugar then the recipe requires.