Category: Parfait Amour

B is for Baby Bundt, Bacon & Bay and Blonde Bombshells

B is also for Bozo, Blog and Birthday.

Quadruple Chocolate Baby Bundt
Quadruple Chocolate Baby Bundt

As in guess which bozo forgot to celebrate her own blog’s 2nd birthday on May 25th?

So, today we’re having a Belated (don’t worry, I promise I won’t capitalise every word that starts with a B) Birthday, (no really, I won’t) celebrating my second annivesary with food using the second letter of the alphabet.  See what I did?  Second year, second letter?

You’d think I planned it.

Maybe you should keep thinking that….I”m all for anything that makes me look better!!!

So anyway, it’s my birthday so let’s get this party started.  And I’ve said it before, and no doubt I will say it again, (purely because I’ve got a bottle of the stuff that isn’t going to drink itself) a retro party isn’t a retro party without Parfait Amour. And any party is better with a blonde bombshell!

Nope not like this, the blonde bombshell I am referring too is a cocktail made with the aforementioned Parfait Amour. I’m not sure why it’s called a Blonde Bombshell as it comes out a gorgeous dusky pinky purple.

First Course – The Birthday Blonde Bombshell

It’s my party…cocktails count as a course….in my perfect world, we would skip main meals altogether.  We would move from cocktails to fingerfood to dessert.

Blonde Bombshell

Wow!!!  I think I may have found my Parfait Amour drink of choice.  This was lovely!!!  Sweet and florally and almost kind of musky…it reminded me a little bit of Turkish Delight…maybe it was the roses in the Parfait Amour. Very girly, very pretty. Easy to drink….hmmm….maybe getting rid of that bottle won’t be as hard as I previously thought!

Second Course – Bay Wrapped Bacon and Prunes

Bay Wrapped Prunes in Bacon3
Bay Wrapped Prunes in Bacon3

This is basically a take on a Devils on Horseback.  But wrapped in a bayleaf. And I added a little smear of my Strawberry Habanero Sauce to the bacon before wrapping it around the prunes.

Note for the unwary – grilling bay leaves makes your entire kitchen smell like you’ve been smoking marijuana.  For about a week.  Which is fine until you have a plumber come to fix your leaking tap and they ask you if you can score them some bud.

Bay Wrapped Prunes in Bacon
Bay Wrapped Prunes in Bacon

I barely even know what that means.

Despite that, you really can’t go wrong with these…salty, sweet, spicy, crispy…The bay leaves added a slight resiny flavour that was quite pleasant but prevented the bacon from getting really crispy which was slightly disappointing.

I served it them with some more of the strawberry habenero sauce.  And the saltiness was a great foil to the sweetness of the Blonde Bombshell.

 

Bay Wrapped Prunes in Bacon2
Bay Wrapped Prunes in Bacon2

Delicious!

But now to the piece de resistance. The dessert.

So….what’s better than a triple chocolate baby bundt?

A QUADRUPLE chocolate baby bundt.

And what’s better than a quadruple chocolate Baby Bundt?

A Quadruple Chocolate Chilli Baby Bundt!

Third Course – Quadruple Chocolate Chilli Baby Bundt

So, if you’re following me on Instagram you would have already seen me post my first experiment with the Spice Peddler’s Mexican Chilli Chocolate Cake Mix.  That was a Chili Chocolate Cupcake with a Chilli Toffee Shard topped with Vanilla Icecream and my Strawberry Habenero Sauce.  OMG, I thought this was the best thing ever…so, so good.  The cake was fudgy and spicy and delicious, the vanilla icecream and chilli sauce worked together perfectly and the chilli toffee was a cute and quirky touch.  Basically, this was me on a plate!!!!

Chocolate Chilli Cupcake with A Chilli Toffee Shard
Chocolate Chilli Cupcake with A Chilli Toffee Shard

Gahhh….so how do you top that?

Well, I found a recipe for a cake called a Tyroler in a Delicious Magazine and I had a little play with it.  And came up with the Quadruple Chocolate Chilli Baby Bundt.   I used the Spice Peddler Mexican Chilli Chocolate Cake Mix as my base and it was super delicious!

Quadruple Chocolate Baby Bundt 5
Quadruple Chocolate Baby Bundt 5

This was really good.  Then again, how could it not be?

It had quadruple chocolate.

And a touch of chilli.

And walnuts.

And rum soaked sultanas.

And did I mention quadruple chocolate?

Quadruple Chocolate Baby Bundt3
Quadruple Chocolate Baby Bundt3

So, it may have been belated but worth the wait because these were all awesome!!!!

I’ll try to be on time next year and if not, I can always repost this and rename it Birthday 3 – Cocktails, Canapés and Cake.

Hope you all have a fabulous week!!!!

(Recipes below)

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Blonde Bombshell

A delicious cocktail, perfect for a celebration.

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1/2 ounce Parfait Amour
  • 1/2 ounce St Germain Elderflower Liqueur
  • Sparkling Wine, preferably pink, definitely chilled

Instructions

  1. Pour the Parfait Amour into a chilled champagne flute.
  2. Add the Elderflower Liqueur.
  3. Top with the sparkling wine.

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1

Retro Easter Part 1 – Cocktail: When Doves Cry

I got a mention on a Christian website the other day. And no, they weren’t damning me to hell for my potty mouth and occasional smutty innuendo.  Far from it.  They actually described this as:

 “the cutest Australian retro site”

And just in case you think I’m fibbing, you can link here.

And shame on you!!!  As if I’m going to lie about the Christians!!!   Let’s just say I’m taking Pascal’s wager on that one. If nothing else.

And…

YES!!!!

I believe for only the second time ever that Philosophy major I undertook at university has come in handy.  I knew all that time and money would be worth it someday.

And consider yourselves lucky I’m not doing a Paleo blog – otherwise the references  to Plato and his cave would be coming thick and fast.

BOOM! – That would be three.

Happy Easter
Happy Easter

But given it is Easter, how about a quote from the modern-day philosopher Bill Hicks:

“A lot of Christians wear crosses around their necks. You think when Jesus comes back he ever wants to see a fucking cross? It’s like going up to Jackie Onassis wearing a rifle pendant.”

And farewell to the readers I picked up from the Christian website, it was nice knowing you.

So let’s talk about how I celebrated Easter….

First there were cocktails.  Then sandwiches. Then home made Easter Eggs.

Not one of them normal….because what would be the fun in that?

We’ll get to the others in due course but today is all about the cocktail.

Remember back in February when I did the post with the Parfait Amour?  At the time, I said:

If I was to make this again,  I would add some zing, maybe with some lime juice and also maybe a kick of a flavoursome gin like Hendricks – I think the floral notes in the Hendricks would combine well with the floral notes in the Parfait Amour.”

Well guess what I found?

Simply Divine Ingredients

A cocktail recipe called the Simply Divine which uses Parfair Armour, Gin and Citrus.  And it is AWESOME!!!!  So, so tasty…sweet and tangy and floral and delicious….except for one thing….

JuiceSimply DivineThe citrus mix was a very pretty peachy colour.

The Parfait Amour and gin was purple.

So the result should have been a pretty pinky purple as per the original recipe.

That didn’t happen.

If you were looking for some sexed up paintchart name for the colour this went, you’d probably call it Dove Wing Grey.  Technically, I think the weird browny purple grey colour it turned is called puce.  Unofficially, it prompted the so-called-beloved to ask if I was drinking bong-water.  After I explained that I had no idea of what he spoke of,  we decided that  this is not so much Dove Wing Grey but that this is what it looks like when doves cry.

When Doves Cry

As long as you don’t mind drinking something that looks like the water you washed your socks in, this is a super drink – the citrus and gin really do cut through the sweetness of the Parfait Armour to create a drink that has a really nice balance and is very refreshing.

Simply Divine3

And because I changed the ingredients slightly from the recipe and nothing that colour can be truly called Simply Divine, ladies and gentlemen meet the:

WHEN DOVES CRY

Ingredients

  • 30ml gin – I used Hendricks
  • 30ml Parfait Amour
  • 1 red or pink grapefruit, juiced
  • 1 lemon, juiced
  • 1 tangerine, juiced

Instructions

  • Fill a glass with ice
  • Add the gin and Parfait Amour
  • Top with the mixed citrus juice
  • Stir.
  • Wince at the colour.
  • Enjoy!

You can mix up the citrus too – lime would be great, as would orange!!!!

I’m going to try to redeem myself in the next post which will feature some of the cutest sandwiches you ever did see.

Oh and I’m now on instagram. You can follow  my feed by clicking on the icon at the top o’ the page.

Hope you had a fabulous Easter!!!!

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Cheap Love and a Cheap Date…Happy V Day!

As Valentine’s day looms,  I thought I would take a leaf out of the lovely Emily (aka Yinzeralla’s) book and share one of my dating horror stories with you.

Then we’ll have a cocktail and drink to forget.

Cheap Love Cocktail
Cheap Love Cocktail

But first lets step back in time to the late 90’s.  I was fancyfree and footloose.  And I met a boy who was funny, handsome and smart.

Or so he seemed the night I met him.

Mind you, my view may have been slightly skewed by a shit ton of booze and a pair of inch thick beer goggles. He called me a few days later and we arranged to have dinner at a Thai restaurant in the city.  He claimed it was the best Thai restaurant in Melbourne.  I’d never heard of it.  This should have been a red flag.

 

Cheap Love Cocktail
Cheap Love Cocktail

It wasn’t.

The place looked like it should have been condemned.  And believe me, I had plenty of time to examine it as I waited for him to show up.

At 15 minutes, I ordered a glass of wine and placed mental bets on which cockroach would crawl up the wall faster.

At half an hour I called his cell.  It went to voicemail.  I ordered another glass of wine. And, bored with the cockroaches, I counted the rest of the health code violations.

He arrived 45 minutes late.  “Got caught up” he said.  No sorry.  Just “Got caught up”.

Another red flag.

Cheap Love Ingredients
Cheap Love Ingredients

Which I ignored.

Because I’m stupid.

And you  know, it wasn’t like he was a brain surgeon, who couldn’t put down the scalpel to make a call.

He was an auditor.

Third red flag.

We moved from the bar to a table.  He ordered two Coronas.

“Wow, you  must be thirsty” I said. “Two beers”

“One of them’s for you”

“I don’t drink beer”

“Beer goes with Thai food.  No one drinks wine with Thai food.”

Yeah?  Just watch me.  Waiter?  Another Sauv Blanc please.

Cheap Love Ingredients 2
Cheap Love Ingredients 2

He then proceeded to order for both of us.  And let me tell give you a little clue gentlemen who read this…this is not Mad Men retro sexy.  It’s arrogant and obnoxious and patronising and makes your date want to punch you in the face. Repeatedly.

And quelle surprise, he had an unerring ability to pick the exact things on the menu I least wanted to eat.  Not that I wanted to eat there anyway.  Refer  back to my comment about the cockroaches and the code violations….

So,  by now, I kind of hated him and just wanted this farce to be over.  He could have two meals to go with his two beers.  I ordered another glass of wine.

He frowned.  “That’s your second” he said,  voice aghast.  It was actually my fourth but who was counting.

“Yeah, I know” I said.

“But….but…they’re seven dollars a glass”

“I’ll pay for them,”  I may have said this through gritted teeth. Then next time the waiter passed, I asked him just to bring the bottle over.

Muddling the Cheap Love
Muddling the Cheap Love

My date then talked about himself the whole meal.  And ate all the food.  Often at the same time.

That was delightful and endearing.  Whoops, no, I meant disgusting and nauseating.

When the bill arrived, I put down a 50 for the food I hadn’t eaten, (I paid for my wine separately).  He claimed not to have any change, pocketed my money and paid on a card.  I’d eaten a piece of broccoli and a spoonful of rice.

He then asked me how I was getting home.

“Taxi” I said.

He offered to drive me home.  Which seemed like an incongruous act of chivalry.  But yeah, ok…given I had paid for six fifths of the dinner I reasoned he probably felt he owed me.

So we drove to my house.  Parked out the front.  He turned and gave me a look of intense expectation.

I’m sure I didn’t do a good job of hiding my horror.  He honestly didn’t expect me to kiss him did he?

Cheap Love 3
Cheap Love 3

Short answer, no he didn’t.  Because the next words out of his mouth were  “So, what would a taxi here cost?”

“Twelve….maybe fifteen dollars”

“So how about you put in ten for petrol?”

I didn’t have a ten.  He took the twenty I gave him and drove off.  Thankfully, never to be seen or heard of again.

I went inside and made myself a grilled cheese sandwich.  Nearly a hundred bucks down and I still had to make myself dinner!

But, enough about him.  Let’s talk about the Cheap Love.

Cheap Love 4
Cheap Love 4

Parfait Amour, meaning Perfect Love in French is a much maligned liqueur, redolent of the 1970’s and sickly sweet concoctions.  However it is a gorgeous colour and my  local alcohol shop claims it is used in many romantic cocktails.

“Flavoured using rose petals, vanilla and violets it is no wonder that Parfait Amour is so closely associated with love”

Wait up what?  Rose petals, vanilla and violets?

You may as well just say raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens….

 

Parfait Amour
Parfait Amour

So , what could be better than celebrating Valentine’s Day with a cocktail made from a liqueur called Perfect Love?

And voila…..

The Cheap Love Cocktail

To make the Cheap Love, you mix Parfait Amour with  delicious berries, yummy orange and lovely lemonade.

So on the surface this should be the most amazing cocktail ever right?

Hmm, yeah….Not so much.

Best I can say is….it wasn’t awful.

And that’s what you call damning something with faint praise…

No, seriously, it wasn’t bad, it was just….bland.  And horrendously, tooth achingly, sweet.  And that’s coming from someone who has been known to sit in front of the telly with a tin of condensed milk and a spoon!

If I was to make this again,  I would add some zing, maybe with some lime juice and also maybe a kick of a flavoursome gin like Hendricks – I think the floral notes in the Hendricks would combine well with the floral notes in the Parfait Amour.

And now that I have a bottle of it to get through, we may be seeing a little bit more of it on here.

I can’t hardly wait.

Anyway, Happy Valentines day everyone, and in a complete reversal of this post may your dates be sweet and your cocktails cheap!

Oh and sorry, sorry, sorry if you got a bulk lot of everything I ever posted yesterday….we’re having some technical problems at la maison de la retro food!

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