Is honey a staple in your kitchen pantry? Honey is an amazingly versatile ingredient that plays well with others, imparting a distinct but not in-your-face flavor to everything it goes with. From stews and marinades to aperitifs and appetizers, honey gives you room to get creative when it comes to tantalizing the taste buds.
Need some inspiration? Here are some of the ways we love to perk up meals with Bees Knees Honey from Bushwick Kitchen.
Go Bold with Sweet, Spicy Stickiness
When you mix the delightful sweetness of honey with the zingy kick of Sriracha, you’re presented with bold flavors that are sure to leave your tongue tingling with this winning combo.
We like to mix one-part Sriracha with two parts honey – but if you like things hot, don’t be scared to experiment.
This tingling taste bud tantalizer goes exceptionally well with everything from salad dressings and hummus to chicken, pork, and even shrimp. Make it as a dip or baste your meat in it.
Garlicky Gooeyness
Garlic and honey are staples in many Asian dishes. We know garlic is a powerful flavor all on its own, so start small with this mixture and make sure there’s plenty of honey on hand to balance the taste. Depending on your recipe, you can add chili paste and soy sauce for a stunning flavor for your pork stir fry, cashew nut chicken or even shrimp fried rice.
Honey and Avocados
If you’re in the mood for a sweet yet healthy treat, drizzle honey on your avo. Whether you mash up your avocado to make guacamole, smash it on toast, or just eat it in halves, pairing honey with avocados creates a superfood blend that will satisfy your sweet tooth and your calorie count!
Fish and Honey
Specifically, we’re talking about salmon. Honey is rich in antioxidants, and salmon, as you know, is an essential-fats superfood. A honey and garlic sauce smothered over roasted salmon gives you a dish that’s bold, sweet and oh so good for you.
Honey and Salad
A light, crisp honey is the perfect way to amp up flavors and brighten your dishes. With refreshingly fruity undertones, honey truly takes the spotlight when drizzled over citrus-based salads that include sharp ingredients like arugula, caracara, or chevre.
Honey and Cheese
You already know how awesome honey and cheese are together. For something different, why not try this divine creamy ricotta and crusty bread recipe for an indulgent snack or for your next dinner party.
Here’s what you’ll need for about 4 to 6 crostini:
This snack is really easy to put together:
Honey Is the Perfect Pairing
There’s really no wrong way to enjoy honey. It pairs beautifully with pretty much every food group, and even just off the spoon.
Honey and cheese are a timeless pairing that can be tracked all the way back to a Roman gourmand in the first century AD. But you don’t need to stick to just honey and cheese. Experiment with walnuts, figs, pears, crackers, and different pieces of bread. Pick a few varieties of honey and drizzle over to find your favorite. The idea is to find pairings that contrast or complement the honey to create a brand-new flavor sensation for your taste buds.
If you find that one cancels out or overpowers the other, it’s a clash. So, try something else, like a fruity honey with creamy goat cheese. Or a rich, darker honey with blue cheese.
You can serve honey on the side, too, with vegetables, nuts, and fruits to add texture and color to your table. Or, add it to sauces, pastes or simply drizzle on top of your favorite dish. The choices are endless and you’re sure to have tons of fun serving up your favorite combinations at your next get-together.
Find a range of honeys for the perfect pairing at Bushwick Kitchen.
]]>The weekends are the perfect time to get the family together for breakfast or brunch. If it’s your turn to put on a tasty spread next, check out these 5 ideas that are sure to impress everyone around the table.
Summer Breakfast Bake
This breakfast bake is packed with fresh fruit and whole grains and requires very little effort. It’s also super filling and works exceptionally well with a topping of honey or maple syrup for a little sweet treat.
Ingredients:
What to do:
Crockpot French Toast Casserole
This crockpot French toast with raspberries and chocolate chips is an easy breakfast or brunch dish that is super decadent.
Ingredients:
What to do:
Peach Pie Scones
These easy scones taste like peach pie and are the perfect size for the breakfast table.
Ingredients:
What to do:
You can serve your scones with a vanilla glaze or a generous helping of honey!
Apple and Cheddar Tartine
This savory dish is sure to be a hit with the whole family.
Ingredients:
What to do:
We love this meal topped with Yassss Honey Spicy.
Super-Quick Asparagus Frittata
If you have family members who love a frittata for breakfast, we’re sure this stovetop asparagus recipe will be a big hit at your next family breakfast.
Ingredients:
What to do:
See the range of delicious breakfast accompaniments at Bushwick Kitchen!
]]>Whether you do meatless Monday every week or you just want to incorporate plant-based meals into your diet, Meatless Monday is easier than ever.
Sure, Mondays are a bummer. And we’re sure the last thing you want to do after that long 9-5 is think up something creative to put on the table. Don’t stress, we’ve got you covered with these mouth-watering meatless recipes you’ll want to make every Monday!
Stir Fry Veggies with Teriyaki
This has to be the best veggie stir fry we’ve come across in foreverrrrrrrrr. It’s easy, tasty, and a stellar spin on the standard Chinese takeout night.
We like a stir fry with rice, so we cook the rice according to package instruction and then get to work on the homemade teriyaki sauce.
Then, we thinly slice up some tempeh (that delicious soy-based product that’s similar to tofu), prep the veg (we love peppers, broccoli, green onion and ginger for this one, but you can throw in whatever you feel like) and get ready to cook. Here what you need to do:
We serve our veggies over rice with a generous squeeze of hot Gochujang Sriracha sauce for a Monday night meatless kick of note!
A Very Green Pasta
Just because it’s Meatless Monday doesn’t mean you have to go without a good helping of carbs after a tough day, because since when did pasta not make a day better? This very green pasta uses zucchini noodles and whole wheat pasta, making your bowl filled to the brim with heart-healthy fiber while going lighter on the carbs.
You need:
What you need to do:
You can either drizzle over a little extra olive oil and parmesan, but we really like a few squeezes of Trees Knees Spicy Maple for an extra-special Monday flavor savor!
Fast and Fabulous Mexican Quinoa
This dish is healthy, nutritious, and light. It’s so easy to make that it’s the perfect dish to throw together after your Monday night workout!
You need:
What to do:
We bet you’ll love these dishes so much that nearly every day could be meatless Monday from now on!
Add some sensational flavors to your dishes every day with the Bushwick Kitchen collection.
]]>Sriracha has been growing in popularity as the go-to spicy condiment for quite some time now, and with good reason. It adds a delicious dose of heat to everything from pizza to deviled eggs to Bloody Marys. This versatile sauce is also great for cooking and can help you breathe some fire into even the most exhausted of your tired old recipes. Here’s what you should know if you want to bring the heat to your kitchen.
On its own or combined with a few other simple ingredients, sriracha makes an excellent marinade. Ditch the barbecue sauce – let some ribs, chicken wings or shrimp soak up its heat and throw them on the grill for a new take on some old favorites. Add it to strips of steak to take your fajita game to the next level. If you don’t eat meat, you can use sriracha as a marinade for baked or grilled tofu. Don’t have the time or patience to marinate? Mix some sriracha into shredded chicken for savory sandwiches or add it to ground beef for fiery sloppy joes.
Sriracha can be added to bread and casserole recipes. It pairs especially well with cheese, like in this recipe for Sriracha Cheese Bread. Cornbread spiked with sriracha is the perfect pairing for a bowl of chili on a cold day. A few dashes in a cheesy pasta casserole will turn your dinner into something your tastebuds won’t soon forget. It’s the perfect addition to baked chicken and salmon. And you can even add a bit of sriracha to oven-baked cracker trail mix recipes, or to homemade kale chips for an extra kick.
Everyone loves your grandma’s potato salad that you bring to every summer get-together, but admit it: it could use an upgrade. Enter sriracha and its superpowers for transforming the humdrum into something extraordinary. Add it to potato, pasta and grilled vegetable salads and your friends will be begging for seconds.
Sriracha is great on eggs and avocado toast, but there are so many other ways you can put it to use at breakfast and brunch. Add it to waffle batter for a sweet-and-savory treat. Mix it into cream cheese to up your bagel game. Add a little into Hollandaise sauce for killer eggs benedict. Turn your Bloody Mary into an extra-spicy standout at brunch. Like your shakshouka extra spicy? Sriracha. A little heat can wake up your senses even better than a cup of coffee (well . . . maybe).
Few things delight the palate as well as the combination of sweet and spicy – and sriracha can help you concoct some one-of-a-kind treats. The heat from chili peppers goes surprisingly well with chocolate, so homemade candy bars and truffles can benefit from a few teaspoons of sriracha. Sweet and heat do wonders together on popcorn warmed up in the oven with a drizzle of coconut oil and sriracha. You can even make ice cream, popsicles and homemade candy with sriracha.
We’ve Got Your Sriracha
If you’re adventurous enough to cook with sriracha, we think you’ll love our take on it. Our Weak Knees Gochujang Sriracha combines the sweet-spicy flavors of a classic sriracha with the fermented complexity of gochujang paste. The result? Something unlike anything you’ve ever tasted.
Sources:
https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/231566/sriracha-cheese-bread/
https://olivesfordinner.com/2013/02/whisky-sriracha-candy.html/
https://food52.com/blog/9847-1-bottle-of-sriracha-5-dinners/
https://firstwefeast.com/eat/2013/12/best-sriracha-recipes/
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1 large egg, separated
1 cup all-purpose our
3 teaspoons baking powder
1⁄4 teaspoon kosher salt
3⁄4 cup whole milk
1⁄4 cup Trees Knees Cinnamon Maple
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
Vegetable oil for skillet
Add egg white to a medium bowl and beat with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form, about 6-8 minutes.
In a large bowl whisk flour, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk egg yolk, milk, maple syrup, and butter. Stir in flour mixture until combined. Gently fold in egg whites with a spatula until incorporated.
Place a skillet over medium-high heat and brush with vegetable oil. Use a measuring cup to ladle 1⁄4 cup of batter at a time. Cook until golden brown on one side, about 4 minutes, then flip and cook until other side is golden, about 2 minutes.
A Tip on the Flip: | |
Don’t be tempted to turn on the first sign of bubbles. Wait until the popped bubbles start leaving little air pockets. Then it’s time to turn. | Pancakes can be kept warm in a 200°F oven while you finish or, preferably, stacked onto plates straight out of the pan. |
Swap In: | ||
Honey will caramelize over heat, so the pancakes will cook darker. |
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Coffee. Maple. Bacon. If we could somehow get an egg and a piece of toast piled on, it would be a complete breakfast. We love the pairing of Trees Knees Coffee Maple here, but when it comes to bacon any product will be delicious.
Cooking the bacon in the oven gives the sugars in the coating plenty of time to caramelize and perching it on a baking rack allows the fat to drip away for perfectly crispy pieces, unlike the soggy chew and overly charred scenario of a pan-fry. If you don’t have a baking rack on hand, cover a cooling rack in tin foil and poke small holes. It'll have the same effect.
2 tablespoons Trees Knees Coffee Maple
1/2 teaspoon dark brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
8 pieces of thick cut bacon
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Whisk the first four ingredients in a large bowl until incorporated. Add the bacon and use hands to coat thoroughly.
Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil and set a baking rack on top. Arrange the bacon in one layer, brushing extra coating on top, and bake for 30 minutes.
1⁄4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon Bees Knees Meyer Lemon Honey
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1⁄2 teaspoon white pepper
Add all ingredients to a jar with a tight-fitting lid. Shake vigorously until combined.
Swap In: | ||||
Substitue chile powder for white pepper. | Decrease salt to 1/4 teaspoon. | |||
Substitute lime juice for white wine vinegar. | Substitute apple cider vinegar for white wine vinegar. |
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1⁄2 teaspoon coriander seeds
1⁄2 teaspoon mustard seeds
1⁄2 teaspoon black peppercorns
1 teaspoon thyme
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 14-ounce can of tomato sauce
1 cup bourbon
1⁄4 cup dark brown sugar
1⁄4 cup cider vinegar
1⁄4 cup Weak Knees Gochujang Sriracha
2 racks baby back ribs, about 2 pounds each
Toast cumin, coriander, mustard, and peppercorns in a dry skillet over high heat for 1 minute. Transfer to a spice grinder with thyme and salt and pulse to blend.
In a large bowl, whisk spice mix with tomatoes, bourbon, sugar, vinegar, and sriracha. Lay ribs on two rimmed baking sheets and pour mixture over. Use your hands to distribute evenly around ribs. Cover in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 8-24 hours.
Heat oven to 325°F. Remove plastic wrap and cover in foil. Bake for 3 hours until very tender. Remove ribs to a plate and pour pan juices into a bowl. Turn oven to broil. Return ribs to baking sheets and baste with reserved liquid. Broil for 5-7 minutes, basting once halfway through, until ribs are charred. Remove from pan and rest for 10 minutes before serving.
3 pounds Brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved
2 tablespoons sesame oil
1 tablespoon Weak Knees Gochujang Sriracha
1 teaspoon lime juice
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Heat oven to 450°F. In a large bowl, toss all ingredients together. Spread on a large baking sheet and roast for 40-45 minutes, stirring halfway through, until crispy.
Don’t own a biscuit cutter? Use things at hand! A small drinking glass or jar works great.
1 1/2 sticks of unsalted butter, very cold and divided
2 tablespoons Bees Knees Salted Honey, divided
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
Heat oven to 350°F. Cut 1 stick plus 2 tablespoons butter into 1/2-inch cubes and place in freezer. Melt 1 tablespoon butter with 1 tablespoon honey in a small saucepan over low heat. Grease bottom and sides of a 12-inch cast iron skillet with remaining 1 tablespoon butter.
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Add butter cubes and pinch with fingers to make a sandy dough with pea- sized chunks. Add buttermilk with remaining 1 tablespoon honey and stir to combine. Place uncovered bowl in freezer for 5 minutes.
Turn dough onto a floured surface and roll to 1-inch thick. Use a 2-inch cutter to make 14 biscuits, pulling together scraps as needed. Arrange in skillet and brush tops with honey butter. Bake for 40 minutes until golden brown.
Pro Tip: A spread of butter, a folded slice of deli ham, and a healthy drizzle of Bees Knees Salted Honey. Heaven in a biscuit.
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This is the cocktail you didn't know you needed.
Most people have only had overly sweet, blender whirring, chain-restaurant daiquiris. This is not that! A simple combination of rum, lime, and sweetener (in this case, maple syrup) makes for a light and delicious drink. The added woodsy notes of sage and warm heat of Trees Knees Spicy Maple round this out into one complex cocktail.
3 sage leaves
2 ounces light rum
1 ounce lime juice
1 ounce Trees Knees Spicy Maple
Set aside one sage leaf for garnish. Tear other two and add to a cocktail shaker with remaining ingredients plus plenty of ice. Shake vigorously until frosty. Strain into rocks glass filled with more ice.
Place remaining sage leaf in your palm and slap once, firmly, with other hand. Float on top as garnish.
No need for triple sec here—the honey does all the sweetening for you. And with that sugary coating out of the picture, your tongue gets a full tour of what we're really here for: tequila and lime. (If you still miss that orange note, add a splash of orange bitters or a twist of a peel to finish!)
Before you begin, you'll need to make a honey syrup. Add equal parts Bees Knees and hot water to a pot and whisk over low heat until you have one smooth liquid.
This recipe makes one drink, but the ratio remains the same to batch for a group. (Skip the shaking and serve over ice instead.) Just grab a pitcher and a calculator and you'll have an instant party!
As far as we're concerned, this is the final word in iced coffee.
A fairly unappreciated sweetener, maple syrup adds a round complexity to balance the acidic coffee. Add in the slow burn of Trees Knees Spicy Maple, warming spice of Cinnamon Maple or Gingerbread Maple, or extra punch of Coffee Maple and you'll have the kick you need to get your day rolling.
Iced coffee—brewed coffee cooled down and poured over ice—is great in a pinch. But we love the mellow smoothness of cold brew coffee, a much longer, but ultimately more rewarding, experience.
There are some excellent cold brew concentrates on the market—we're partial to the ones made by our friends at Grady's and Stumptown. But making a batch at home is about as easy and hands-off as it gets. Or just smuggle a bottle of Trees Knees into Starbucks and pour in a little nip. We're not here to judge.
3/4 cup coffee beans, coarsely ground
4 cups cold water
1 tablespoon Trees Knees Maple in your favorite flavor
In a large container with a lid—a 2 quart storage container or large pitcher is ideal—stir together coffee and water until all the grounds are soaked. Cover and let sit at room temperature for at least 12 hours or up to 15 hours.
Set a fine mesh strainer over a secondary container. Throughly wet a tea towel and drape it over top of the strainer. Slowly pour the coffee mixture over the towel and let it strain completely. Depending on the coarseness of your grind, this can take several minutes.
Add ice to a tall glass and fill halfway with coffee. Top off with milk or water and stir in your choice of Trees Knees.
Note: | |
This ratio of grounds to water doubles, or even triples, nicely. Just make sure you have a big enough container! |
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2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 quarter seedless watermelon
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon sherry vinegar
1 teaspoon Bees Knees Spicy Honey, plus more for serving
2 radishes, thinly sliced
10 mint leaves, roughly chopped
Flaky sea salt for garnish
Brush grill with vegetable oil and preheat on high heat.
Cut the watermelon in half lengthwise, then slice into triangles about ½” inch thick. Brush one side with olive oil and lay on prepared grill. Cover and grill for 5 to 7 minutes until lightly charred.
In a small bowl, stir together sherry vinegar and honey. Add radishes and toss to coat. Lay grilled watermelon on a large platter and top with radishes, mint, and a sprinkle of sea salt. Finish with a good drizzle of Bees Knees Spicy Honey.
Chicken wings come in three distinct sections: the fatty, the fatty and the nub, more commonly known as the drumette, the wingette and the wing tip. Most often, we encounter chicken wings with the drumette and wingette separated and the tips discarded. But some people really enjoy the super-savory cartilage-packed tips, and I’m not here to stop you from fulfilling your passion. They do cook faster than the other two sections, though, so be sure to remove them halfway through the first bake. They can go back in after the glaze bath. And even after the Super Bowl has come and gone, ditch the wings and keep making this glaze for brushing over a supper of planked salmon served alfresco, tossing with a comforting baking sheet of roasted root vegetables, stirring into a warm grain salad with dried fruit or drizzling over juicy portobello caps hot off the grill.
FOR THE WINGS:
2 pounds chicken wings, drumettes and flats separated
1 tablespoon grapeseed oil
1 teaspoon kosher salt
FOR THE GLAZE:
1⁄4 cup Bees Knees Spicy Honey
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1-inch piece of ginger, peeled and sliced
1 garlic clove, sliced
1⁄2 teaspoon whole peppercorns
1⁄4 teaspoon cayenne powder
Heat oven to 400°F. In a large bowl, toss wings with oil and salt. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil and set a baking rack on top. Arrange wings in an even layer and bake for 45 to 50 minutes until skin is crispy and juices run clear. (Alternately, grill over medium heat for about 5 minutes on each side until cooked through.)
While the wings bake, add glaze ingredients plus 1⁄4 cup water to a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 8 minutes. Remove from heat and let rest for 10 minutes. Strain into a large bowl and set aside.
Use tongs to transfer wings into honey glaze and toss until thoroughly coated. Return wings to baking rack and bake for 10 minutes longer.