Scotcheroos

My grandmother was famous for a wide variety of sweet treats, from cookies to bars to doughnuts. Scotcheroos were always one of my favorites. I consider them an upgrade of the standard Rice Krispie bar (her extra-buttery version of those is also a family classic), incorporating peanut butter, chocolate, and butterscotch. They're a quintessential Midwestern "bar." Enjoy with a cup of black coffee after finishing your hotdish.

While I enjoyed them for years, I never knew anything about their origin or attempted to make them myself. I found this recipe in the same church cookbook as my meatloaf recipe from January. I did some cursory internet research and was surprised to find an amazing level of consistency across recipes. There is a little variance in the amount of chocolate and butterscotch, but for the most part, the recipe is unchanged. With a little more digging, I discovered the recipe appeared on the side of a Rice Krispies box in 1965, and the recipe has been passed around ever since. 

I haven't reinvented the recipe, but having now made them myself, I do have comments. The corn syrup/sugar mixture is extremely sticky, as it functions as the glue to turn the cereal into a cohesive bar. It's important to move quickly to get the cereal coated and into the dish before it solidifies. It was a little tricky to get into an even layer an into the corners. Avoid the temptation to press down too much as these are already quite dense.  The recipe I have doesn't mention this, but I would recommend buttering the dish to help get the bars out.

Jungle Bird

The Jungle Bird is a "modern" tiki drink, originating at the Hilton Kuala Lumpur in the 1970s, decades after the heyday of the tiki culture. It is unique in its use of Campari, an Italian apéritif with a striking red color. Campari's intense bitterness makes it a tricky ingredient which can overpower a cocktail if not used carefully. This is a perfect cocktail for Campari beginners, as the bitterness is present, but balanced out by the other ingredients. Today, it was a perfect way to celebrate the start of spring break on the porch. 

Although the original recipe apparently called for 4 ounces of pineapple juice (similar to a Painkiller), the typical recipe found many places online calls for just 1 1/2 ounces. My version is a modification of Martin Cate's recipe from Smuggler's Cove, which uses 2 ounces. Pineapple juice is an amazing ingredient in shaken cocktails, giving them a lovely froth on top without having to mess with an egg white. In contrast to citrus (fresh lime is required here), canned pineapple juice works just fine. Since Cate calls for a sweeter simple syrup than I typically use, I increased the amount a little. The bitterness of the Campari plays very well with the fruit juice and syrup in this cocktail. 

For the rum component, Cate and others call for a black rum. Gosling's Black Seal is probably the most commonly available. I decided to kick it up a notch by mixing in some fiery Smith & Cross for a little Jamaican funk. There's definitely a lot of latitude in rum choice. If you get 1 1/2 ounces of rum you like in the drink, you did it right. People tend to go nuts on the garnish on the Jungle Bird, but I kept it simple by dropping in a couple of amarena cherries. The red-orange color and froth make for a distinctive presentation all on their own.