This is one of the most satisfying things I’ve made in a long time.

It’s sauce.  It’s just sauce.

I know.

But would you look at it.  Rich, burgundy colored, speckled with coarse black pepper and onion bits!

Shut.  It.  Up.

Where’s the chicken.  Tell me you brought the chicken.

We’re making this sweet barbecue sauce in 10 easy steps.

Step 1:  saute chopped onions.  Do it.

Step 2:  add minced garlic.  Saute that too.

Step 3:  add bourbon.  Yes.

I mean… obviously.

If you don’t want to add bourbon.  Guess what?  You don’t have to.

Step 4:  add orange juice and orange zest.

Step 5:  that was cider vinegar.  Add that too.

Step 6:  molasses.  Sexy.

Step 7: Worcestershire sauce.  Necessary and proper.

Step 8:  brown sugar and white nail polish.

Step 9:  ketchup x 2.

Step 10:  Add salt, pepper, and coriander.  Boil and simmer and simmer and serve.

This barbecue sauce is sweet and deep.  It’s tinted with the flavors of bourbon and orange, spiced with coarse black pepper and coriander, and brightened by cider vinegar.

The cooked onions and garlic remain and little minced bits  in this sauce… if that bugs the heck out of you, you could totally put this sauce in the blender to smooth out.  Be careful blending hot liquids, leave a bit of room in the lid for the mixture to breathe.

Sweet, orange, slightly spicy… what a beautiful barbecue glaze.  I love that we can make this happen!

The chicken?  I used The Pioneer Woman’s recipe for Barbecue Chicken.

I’d smile at rum.  Coy… but not really coy.

I’d say hello to vodka.  I’d wave, and smile with teeth.

I’d totally make out with gin… tonic and lime everywhere.

But bourbon.  I’d marry bourbon… as long as bourbon understands that I often stay up until 3 am writing silly blog posts, with a scarf on my head, a shaky leg, and post-it notes everywhere.  But I have a feeling that bourbon understands me.  I’m not too worried.

Little itty bitty kitchen peek.

What is pleasantly cropped out of this picture is my cat in the kitchen sink attacking the dirty kitchen sponge.

Livin’ classy.

I’m fairly certain that we’re approaching the time of year when it’s reasonable to drink uncanny amounts of sweetener in cold, black tea.

It seems only natural to add fresh mint, muddled orange and bourbon.

This cocktail is simple, uncomplicated, refreshing, easy to drink, and a really lovely celebration of mid-spring.

You know it’s going to be summer soon, right?  There are short dresses and summer heels in my future. Oh man.  I need tan lotion and tea.

Imagine how glorious your day would be if you took plain old, super soft white bread and baked it with milk and sugar, bananas and bourbon.

Seriously… what are you doing right now?  Unless you’re shoe shopping or naked with someone you like… I think you should stop what you’re doing and at least think about making some bread pudding.

Or you could watch this video.

Bake Out with Jill and Joy.  We’re at it again.  We do a fair amount of giggling.  We eat piping hot bread pudding and try to pretend that we’re not burning our freaking faces off.  I also announce myself as the winner of the game of life… cause yea.

Are you one of those people who thinks that they don’t like bread pudding?  Would it make you feel any better if I called this Baked French Toast?  Would you feel even better still if I told you that you can totally get away with bourbon at breakfast?  Yea.  Sneak it in with milk, eggs and bread and no one will think you a lush…. or at least I won’t.

This bread pudding is unique.  It’s not a completely soggy mushfest.  The bottom layer of cooked bread and custard is soft and flavorful.  The top layer of bread pudding is crispy, buttered toasted topped with a good helping of cinnamon sugar.  It’s the best of both worlds and you know it.

Plus banana (including a dash of banana extract), plus bourbon… plus awesome.

Fresh bananas are fine indeed.  I like kicking the banana flavor up with a touch of banana extract.  If this offends you, go heavy on the banana slices and throw in some vanilla extract.

On the Lamb threw a Speakeasy last night… complete with Bathtub Gin and Juice, Pork and Wild Boar Sliders and Cherry Bourbon Ice Cream. There was bourbon and scoundrels as far as the eye could see. Before we get down and dirty with my new favorite ice cream flavor, here’s a peek at what setting up a roarin’ Speakeasy looks like.

A Speakeasy requires a guest list, a password at the door, and a cash box for cashmoney.

The menu.  Stellar.

I think every good Speakeasy should have the option to play Spin the Bottle… don’t you?

As the night progressed, we would come to know these strawberry flavored marshmallows very well.

Silly games for a party full of strangers.

We are the ladies of On the Lamb and we require pretty dresses.

We had streamers on the ceiling.  No… these streamers did not hang themselves.  We hung them.  Every one.

Ever go snooping in a medicine cabinet?  Yea…. me too.  We have candy in our medicine cabinet.  Everybody wins.

Brioche buns for the pork and veal sliders.  Shut up.  So good!

We run a tight ship.  Our night was all planned out.

And before we got the hungry grumpies from all our prep work, Rachel made us lunch.  Bless her soul.

The Speakeasy was a raging success.  Pictures of the evening will be up shortly.  I was running around with food and cocktails, not my camera.  Thank you to everyone who shared their evening with us.  You people made our gathering amazing!  Y’all know how to bring the fun!  Thank you for your support and your thirst and your appetites.

If you’d like to know more about On the Lamb and be on the mailing list for our upcoming events, check out onthelambfb.com.  Oh!  Daily Candy likes us too.. RAD!

Now let’s get down to business.  We have some ice cream to talk about… just about the best ice cream ever!  Bourbon soaked cherries in a gorgeous vanilla ice cream.  Take a few days to soak dried cherries in bourbon.  They’re amazing in desserts, in cocktails, in your face… you can’t go wrong.

This ice cream base is Alton Brown’s recipe.  I love that it is devoid of eggs.  Sometimes ice cream bases with egg yolks get a little too… eggy for me.  In this recipe, the cream is heated to 170 degrees F, then cooled overnight and churned the next day.  It works out wonderfully!  The bourbon in this recipe really works to keep the ice cream pretty soft even when it’s in the freezer.  Dreamy.  Do it.

These bourbon laden treats were inspired by two things:  those still spring, but almost summer days that give you a hint at just how blazing hot this summer is going to be, and… this weekend’s Kentucky Derby.

Here’s what I know about Spring:

It’s green.  Once we get past the Easter Bunny stage, it’s all about blooming flowers and May showers.  Spring makes me feel like I’m in love with the world… probably because I am.

Here’s what I know about the Kentucky Derby:

Horses.  Hats.  Mint Juleps.

Here’s what I know about bourbon:

Dang, it’s good!

Here, for your Spring and Derby pleasure, are Mint Julep two ways.

The first is a classic Mint Julep cocktail.  If you’re from the South and think that somehow this recipe is not a classic version, then please accept my humble apologies as a native Californian.  This is the (ooooh so delicious) way I’ve had Mint Juleps foreva-eva-eva.

The second version is all of the Mint Julep fix-ins on watermelon cubes.  Brilliant, right?  So refreshing, so fun, and just the perfect way to get ready for the summer sun.