Bring on the Maker's Mark

Last night, Matt, John and I went to Bespoke Cuisine for another of their Mix It Up cooking parties. This one was called "Best of Bourbon" and all of the foods we cooked had Maker's Mark in them.

Here's what was on the menu:
- Appetizers: Bourbon Profiteroles and Fall Mushroom Bourbon Crostini
- Salad: Greens and Bourbon-Glazed Root Vegetables in Cider-Bourbon Vinaigrette
- Entree: Bourbon-Brined Pork Chops accompanied by Twice-Baked Sweet Potatoes with Bourbon-Herb Butter and Garlic-Almond Swiss Chard
- Dessert: Chocolate-Bourbon Bread Pudding with Cinnamon Whipped Cream

We first stopped off at Dominick's to pick up some wine and Maker's Mark (of course!) for the party.

John got this nifty "Rock the Vote" special edition bottle of Maker's to take with us to the cooking party


We drew for which cooking group/chef we would be working with - Matt got entrees (after he switched with me), I got appetizers/side dishes and John got the salad (which was good because Calvin was the chef for that).

Here's Matt getting ready to chop up some spices... he is already starting off with a Maker's


Chopping up garlic... he gets this job every time we go and his hands still smell like garlic the next morning!


I was in the group that made the twice-baked sweet potatoes... very good!


Matt getting the pork chops ready for grilling


I think he singed off quite a bit of arm hair doing this... but look at those grill marks - excellent job!


Here Ryne showed us how to cook up the caramelized Bourbon sauce for the pork - the alcohol is burning off


I forgot to get a picture of the final product on the plate. I think I was just really hungry! The guys finished off more than half the bottle of Maker's... and I had some red wine. The food was really good, except for the dessert. I'm not sure what happened at that station, but it didn't turn out right. As Matt said, it tasted like a bunch of croutons with whipped cream on it... the bread pudding got a little dried out!

Next cooking class on the agenda:
November 16 - Braising with Da Bears (from 11:30 am through game end)
Description:Bespoke turns into Bear Down central as we watch the Bears take on the Packers on the flatscreen and cook up a buffet spread including two delicious braised entrees with all the fixins

Menu:
Appetizers: Spicy Sriracha Chicken Wings -AND- Sausage Stuffed Mushrooms
Salad: Harvest Salad with Candied Pecans and Maple-Balsamic Dressing
Entrees: Hard Cider-Braised Chicken Thighs -AND- Porter Ale-Braised Short Ribs
Sides: Individually Baked Homemade Macaroni and Cheese, Celery Root and Sweet Potatoes
Dessert: Autumn Apple Crisp with Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

I think this sounds awesome! Plus, the chef that's running the party is Calvin, who is a lot of fun! Matt is definitely going... but if it's all dudes, I'll probably pass. I can make my Kraft mac-n-cheese and watch the game at home.