Four words: Bourbon Banana Pudding Cheesecake. And, if you want to get technical: With Bourbon Whipped Cream. You know you want to see how this all goes down.

Basically, we followed this recipe from The Candid Appetite, minus the extraneous garnish. And if our crust experience was any indication, I’d swap out the Nilla wafers for your typical graham cracker crust (but that might be due to our use of gluten-free wafer impersonators, so take that for what it’s worth). We also pared way back on the photos, ’cause you know what isn’t cute? Mashed banana, numerous portioned amounts of the same ingredient, whipped cream cheese and pouring. So much pouring. We’re assuming you’ve got that stuff covered. We did take some liberties with the quantity of bourbon in the whipped cream, though. (Full disclosure: we may’ve doubled it…and then splashed in a little extra. Shhhh, just go with it.)

So this dairy-fueled adventure concludes our Bourbon Series. I mean, seriously, where do you go after Bourbon Banana Pudding Cheesecake? Nowhere. There’s no next step from there. Except a nap, maybe.

Hope you enjoyed our favorite booze 3 different ways! Did you try them all? Just 1? Are you one of those bourbon-haters we’ve heard about? Let us know what you think we should build a series around next!

This is a meaty, smoky, spicy, messy and totally irresistible sort of dish. It’s for people who aren’t shy about having sauce on their face, their hands, maybe down the front of their shirt. Basically, it’s a recipe for bros. Or ladies with a little edge. Ready? Let’s get to it.

This time of year, weekends are dominated by football. College, pro and (in some parts of the country) Friday night lights. Am I right, fellow Southerners? You know what I’m talking about. Anyway, regardless of your preferred level of play, tailgating, fantasy leagues and weekends crowded around big screen TVs or bar booths wearing your team’s jersey is totally a thing. To rise to the occasion, we’ve got bacon-wrapped chicken, slathered in bourbon BBQ sauce.

These will disappear quickly, so be sure to make probably a dozen or more than you think you need. Seriously. The upside is that it’s so simple to throw these together that you won’t even mind. 1) Wrap chicken in bacon 2) Place in oven 3) Combine sauce ingredients and simmer for a few minutes. So easy it should be criminal.

Here’s the recipe we used. Don’t judge, Betty’s been around the block and she knows a thing or two.

Now go get messy. Ready? Break!

In case you hadn’t noticed, it’s October. Which means that in all reasonable parts of the country (but not Southern California), there’s a chill in the air, pumpkins seem like an appropriate seasonal purchase and footwear has transitioned into cute boot territory. Not that I’m jealous. Ahem.

Anyway, in an effort to capture even the tiniest sip of autumnal magic, we decided to hop behind the bar (it’s never a tough decision to make) and whip up a cocktail that conjures the crunch of crisp fallen leaves, buffalo print scarves and the smell of crackling fires. Or, y’know, knock a few back while watching football and impress the socks off your friends. Choose your own autumnal magic here, we’re not judging. Let’s get to the bourbon, shall we?

First, you gotta make the apple cider ice cubes. We were working with some giant ice trays, so 2 cubes were all that would fit in the glass, but if you have a “standard” tray, you’d probably want 3 or 4. Once those are nice and solid, all you’ve got to do is toss in a small spoon of brown sugar, a few dashes of bitters and muddle that business. Add the cider ice cubes and then top with bourbon. Feel free to play with the ratios of frozen cider to bourbon (or just pour a bit of leftover cider on top for a less boozy cocktail). Easy peasy and super seasonal. Cheers!

Apple Cider Old Fashioned

Inspired by this recipe by Stir & Strain (but with bourbon, because bourbon always wins)

Apple Cider Ice Cubes

1 spoonful Brown Sugar

2-3 dashes Angostura bitters

Bourbon (we used Bulleit, but go with your favorite)

Here at 6D, we’re big fans of bourbon – smoky, sweet and smooth, with just a smoldering hint of heat at the end, it’s one of our go-to liquors. (What? We like a cocktail.) With whiskey as our muse, we wanted to put together a little series for you that showcases 3 ways to enjoy a shot (or two) of the good stuff. So here’s what’s coming up: a bourbon cocktail with fall flair and a nice spicy depth, a bourbon BBQ sauce (and bacon-wrapped chicken to slather it on), and a sinfully Southern-inspired, bourbon-infused cheesecake that will blow your mind. Stay tuned, because we’re kicking off soon.

Life as a carb-loving glutard (def. one who is unable to deal with gluten due to allergy, sensitivity, or Celiac) sucks. You’ll wistfully remember every sandwich you unfairly deemed “boring” or scone you passed up on the chance that it was too dry and regret you didn’t devour every last morsel with flour-loving abandon. Or maybe that’s just me. At any rate, once you know the mere suggestion of your typical baked good will send your body into DEFCON 3, you will do almost anything for a substitute that doesn’t taste like gritty cardboard. Enter this recipe.

This cake is light, lovely and has a wonderful balance of tart lemony sunshine, warm vanilla bean and delicate powdered sweetness. But be warned, it is a bit labor-intensive (I’m looking at you, unreasonable amount of lemon zest and meringue), but it will TOTALLY pass the, “This is gluten-free?!” test of incredulousness. The best part (if it gets better than being an actually delicious gf cake) is that it actually gets better after a day or two in the refrigerator, so feel free to hog it all for yourself share generous pieces with people so they may also have leftovers. But enough with the chit-chat. Let’s get to the good stuff.

From Cakelets & Doilies:
Lemon, Ricotta and Almond Flourless Cake
(Adapted from Donna Hay Magazine Winter June-July 2013)

1 stick unsalted butter, softened

1 1/3 cups sugar, divided

1 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped

1/4 cup lemon zest

4 eggs, separated and at room temperature

2 1/2 cups almond flour

10 1/2 oz ricotta

Flaked almonds, to decorate

Powdered sugar, for dusting

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line the base and sides of a 9″ springform pan with baking paper and set aside.Place the butter, 1 cup of sugar, vanilla seeds and lemon zest in an electric mixer and beat for 8-10 minutes or until pale and creamy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, then gradually add the egg yolks, one at a time, continuing to beat until fully combined. Add the almond flour and beat to combine. Fold ricotta through the almond meal mixture.Beat the egg whites in a clean bowl with a hand-held electric mixer until soft peaks form. Gradually add the remaining sugar to the egg whites mixture and whisk until stiff peaks form. Gently fold a third of the egg whites into the cake mixture. Repeat with the rest of the egg whites.

Pour the mixture into the prepared pan, smooth the tops with a palette knife, decorate the cake with almond flakes, and bake for 40-45 minutes or until cooked and firm to touch. Allow to cool completely in the pan, then carefully remove the outer rim and transfer to a cake plate. Dust with powdered sugar to serve.

We’ve been spending a lot of time in the kitchen around here, and we’re not at all ashamed that much of said time centers around mixing drinks. So when we happened across a particularly (innocent enough) non-alcoholic summery beverage over on Smitten Kitchen, we simply couldn’t resist the opportunity to turn it into a delicious frozen blended rum concoction. Can you blame us?

Recipe adapted from Smitten Kitchen. Serves 6:

4C ice

1C frozen pineapple chunks

2C coconut milk (we used the canned kind)

2/3C lime juice

1/3C granulated or superfine sugar (more or less to taste)

1C coconut rum (optional)

Lime slices & mint for garnish

Basically, all you have to do is throw everything in a blender (depending on what you’re working with, you may want to pulverize the ice and pineapple a bit first before you add the remaining ingredients) and pulse until you have a nice slushy consistency. Top with a lime wedge and some fragrant mint and your taste buds may as well be on a tropical vacation. Warning: this is EXCEPTIONALLY easy to drink, especially if you’re hot, thirsty, or umm…alive, so just keep that in mind. Cheers!

The changing of seasons always makes us thirsty. As do Mondays, busy days, slow days, all phases of the moon, weather of any sort and food. So, maybe we just like drinking. At any rate, this seemed as good of an excuse as any to jump behind the bar and share three different cocktails that all boast a lot of freshness to celebrate Spring. Or Wednesday. Whatever.

First up is this light and refreshing concoction with champagne, elderflower liqueur, cucumber and mint. Thankfully, it couldn’t be simpler, so even those with zero bartending skills can whip this out and impress a fancy crowd.

Throw some ice in a lowball glass, pour what looks like a socially acceptable amount of bubbly in there, top off with elderflower liqueur (St. Germaine is a staple, but we opted to try an organic version here) and then toss in a few cucumber slices, some mint and give it a stir. The champagne may make it seem fussy, but the cocktail is actually quite refreshing, perfect for pairing with a meal, or you can enjoy the delicate flavor on its own.

Next on the docket is a springy twist on a cocktail staple in the 6D repertoire. A quick bourbon and ginger ale is our zingy happy hour go-to, but the addition of muddled strawberries and basil makes it more special and seasonal.

Start with a highball, toss in 3 or 4 ripe strawberries and give them a good crushing. (Nothing personal strawberries, and I promise it’s for a good cause.) Then add ice and bourbon (we used 2oz. of Bulleit). Add the ginger ale to taste (less if you like this one beefy, more if you’re just looking for a little afternoon pick-me-up), and then top with basil. The result? A little sweet, a little spice, a little heat, and a little snack at the end. Boozy strawberries are the best.

And finally, a rum concoction that will have you magically transported to Hawaii. Because that’s where we got the rum. And the idea. And this drink is best enjoyed beachside, because it’s essentially a papaya mojito.

Plop a single sugar cube at the bottom of a highball. Pour some papaya juice over the top (an ounce or two, depending on your taste), toss in your mint and then muddle them together to meld the flavors. Pour in 2 oz of rum (light, spiced or dark, it’s up to you – we liked spiced) and then get fizzy and top it off with club soda. (I always add a splash more juice at this point, too, mostly because it helps complete the illusion that I’m back in Hawaii. Just go with it.) Give it a stir, then garnish with more mint, a squeeze of lime and enjoy.

This edition of “In the Kitchen” is going to take a bit of a turn. Why, you ask? Well, because one of our own is in the middle of her own personal hell – an extremely (and we can’t emphasize extremely enough) limited diet to identify food allergies and sensitivities. We won’t give you all the details, because, well, they’re kinda gross. But here’s a little peek at what happens when you take someone who loves food (and writes about it daily) and take away dairy, grains, gluten, soy, sugar, tomatoes, eggplant, spices, tropical fruit, eggs, shellfish, beans, alcohol (and some other stuff she can’t even remember right now because she’s carb-deprived) for 6 weeks. Spoiler alert: it’s not pretty. (My dog/kitchen helper is awfully cute, though.)

You may notice from that list above that my food choices mostly include meat and green vegetables. So, that’s I’ve been cooking…a lot of. My local Farmer’s Market has become my new best friend. I can get pretty much all my produce there and save the major investment for meat from Whole Foods (and I do mean ‘major investment’). Working long-ish days means I usually have to do all my cooking on the weekend and then reheat leftovers throughout the week. Here’s one such weekend.

So I start by soaking all the green stuff in a vinegar mixture to kill any yucky stuff like E. Coli and agitate everything around to get off the dirt/bugs/other things I don’t want to think about. We’ve got kale, brussels sprouts and some broccoli in there. Fiber, much? Not pictured is all the bacon I cooked while my veggies were in the bath. Now, I don’t normally condone cooking things in bacon fat (despite my solidly Southern roots), but desperate times call for desperate measures. Spoiler alert: that kale is getting cooked in all the bacon pan drippings. Believe it.

Here it is, freshly washed and dried and piled in the dutch oven. With the added bacon-y deliciousness in there, all I add is a little garlic and a sprinkle of pepper. Stir it all together and then let it wilt down to a texture you don’t have to chew for about 3 days (you know what I’m talking about). I keep the kale leaves moving so they all get a nice even coating and don’t burn. Try this. You can thank me later.

While that’s working, I gather and prep all the fixin’s for my chicken. The stuff in the bowl (sage, thyme, rosemary, salt, pepper, and olive oil) go on top of the bird. Everything else goes inside. Yes, I feel a little strange taking advantage of a chicken with aromatics. After you taste the finished product, it’ll feel less wrong. A couple garlic cloves, about 1/4 – 1/2 of a sweet onion (depending on the size), some citrus (lemon or lime), and a little bonus basil gets tucked inside, and the oil and herbs get rubbed into the skin. Like so.

(Note: I hate fussing with twine nonsense, so I just cut a small slit through the skin to tuck the legs in and keep them from getting too dry.) Pop that bird in a 425 oven for around an hour ’til it’s lovely, golden and ready to be devoured.

While the oven is occupied, I’ll put the crock pot to use, too. Chop up some onion, more herbs, pour in some chicken stock (for moisture) and top with pork chops, salt, pepper, dry mustard and anything else that would go well. (If I was allowed, there would also be some cumin and maybe a little chipotle in there.) Set that sucker on low for about 8 hours.

Not pictured: the broccoli and Brussels sprouts I roasted with garlic, rosemary-infused olive oil and onion. Also not pictured: the parmesan cheese I would’ve really liked to sprinkle on top of both those vegetables….if I could.

So there you have it, friends. If you’re free to eat whatever your heart desires, have some cheese for me. I’ll be eating my bazillionth salad and sweating meat until this madness ends.

I know it’s been a rough week when I start planning what I’ll be baking over the weekend on Friday night. It was one of those weeks. Therapy baking ensued.

Now that we’ve cleared that up, let’s get to the cheesy baked goodness.

As an avid reader of Shutterbean, I owe Tracy a thank you for providing me with lots of new recipes to try, this one included. So here it is:

Cheddar Cheese Bread

makes 2  5 x 9 loaves

recipe slightly adapted from Rachael Ray Magazine 

• 3 1/2 cups flour
• 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 3 tablespoons butter, softened
• 5 ounces sharp orange cheddar, coarsely shredded
• 1 3/4 cups buttermilk

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees . Grease two 5-by-9-inch loaf pans. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt and baking soda. Using your fingers, mix 2 tbsp. butter into the flour mixture until well incorporated (it should look like sand). Add the cheese; toss to coat. Add the buttermilk and stir until the dough just comes together. Divide between the pans; smooth the tops.

Cut a shallow cross all the way across the tops of the loaves. Thinly slice the remaining 1 tbsp. butter. Place the butter in the cuts in each loaf. Bake until the top is browned and a tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool in the pan at least 30 minutes before slicing.

**

I definitely did not wait the prescribed cooling period before slicing. How can any normal human being resist not one but TWO pans of warm, melty, buttery, fresh-out-of-the-oven-y cheese bread?! They can’t. Or at least I couldn’t. And it was just as dreamy as I had hoped.

Curious how the process looks? Oh, good. Because there are photos to share.

Shred up your cheese. Sneak a few bites. Get your dry ingredients whisked, mix in the cheese, and bring the wet ingredients to the party.

Stir it up until all the liquid is incorporated. It’s gonna be messy. Divide the dough in half and plop it into 2 greased baking dishes.

Now it gets really diabolical. Slash a little cross into the tops and shove some butter in there. Trust me.

Once it comes out of the oven, all golden and buttery and delicious, I dare you to try to wait long enough for it to cool down before you begin shoving pieces in your mouth like an animal.

What do you do when you’re craving fall, possess an urgent desire to bake, and hungry coworkers are freely dropping hints about their favorite cookie? Obviously, you make pumpkin snickerdoodles. Or maybe that’s just me.

The fact that the weather here in LA is still arguably too warm to be considered autumn and the thought of turning on an oven for a half hour gives you anxiety (and actual) sweats is a minor consideration. There were cookies to be baked!

(Full disclosure: I made the recipe straight from Annie’s Eats for the first batch, but I found they were missing a little something, so I made a fresh batch with the following recipe.)

Pumpkin Snickerdoodles (adapted from Annie’s Eats)

Yield: about 3-4 dozen cookies
Ingredients:
For the cookies:

• 3¾ cups all-purpose flour
• 1½ tsp. baking powder
• ½ tsp. salt
• ½ tsp. ground cinnamon
• ½ tsp. ground nutmeg
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• ½ cup light brown sugar
• ¾ cup pumpkin puree
• 1 large egg
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract

For the coating:

• ½ cup granulated sugar
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

Directions:
In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.  Whisk to blend and set aside.  In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat together the butter and both sugars on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes.  Blend in the pumpkin puree.  Beat in the egg and vanilla until incorporated.  With the mixer on low speed add in the dry ingredients and mix just until incorporated.  Cover and chill the dough for at least 1 hour (I did it overnight, and it really helped the rolling and sugar/spice coating.)

Preheat the oven to 350˚ F.  Line baking sheets with parchment paper.  Combine the sugar and spices for the coating in a bowl and mix to blend.  Scoop the dough (about 2 tablespoons) and roll into a ball.  Coat the dough ball in the sugar-spice mixture and place on the prepared baking sheet.  Repeat with the remaining dough to fill the sheets, spacing the dough balls 2-3 inches apart.  Using your fingers, flatten down the tops of your dough balls a little to make small discs. These cookies are definitely on the cake-y side, so they won’t spread much.

Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes, or until just set and baked through.  Let cool on the baking sheets about 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.  Repeat with the remaining dough.  Store in an airtight container. Or devour immediately. Whichever appeals to you most.

Don’t get us wrong, we love a great cocktail. But is there any better liquor than tequila when it comes to really getting people into the partying spirit? Add to that the summer heat and the immensely snackable nature of chips and salsa and our dear friend tequila reigns supreme. So, in advance of National Tequila Day tomorrow, we thought we’d share some yummy cocktail recipes to get everyone excited. At least until tomorrow, then it’s up to the tequila to keep you excited.

The Paloma Cooler recipe comes from the undisputed queen of entertaining herself, Ms. Martha Stewart.