Brown Cow for a Hot Afternoon

Here's a great, simple recipe I found this morning for a "Brown Cow". Take a half a glass of chocolate milk and slowly add Vernors - carefully to keep it from fizzing over. I personally haven't tried it, but some swear that it's delicious.

As another twist on the Brown Cow, try using chocolate ice cream instead of milk. Yummy.

Recipe for Duck l' Vernors

While browsing this morning, I found a recipe for Duck l' Vernors that sounds absolutely delicious...

(Note: part of the recipe originally mentions chicken and part mentions duck. I suspect either will work, but I went with the duck. You'll also have to check other sources to determine what temperature to pre-heat the oven.)

4 pounds Duck Quartered
Salt & Pepper To Taste
24 ounces Vernors Ginger Ale
2 Ginger Slices 1/4" Thick
1 cup Orange Juice
½ cup Brown Sugar; Dark, Packed
½ cup Orange Marmalade
2 tablespoon Mustard; Dijon Style
1 tablespoon Scallions; Minced
¼ cup Brandy

*GARNISH*
Orange Slices

Remove fat from cavity of duck; cut off extra neck skin. Wipe quartered pieces with damp cloth, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place skin side down on roasting pan. Bake 50 minutes.

As duck bakes, combine Vernors and ginger slices in saucepan. Simmer until reduced to 1 cup. Add orange juice, brown sugar, marmalade, mustard, scallions and 2 T brandy. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer until mixture is like a thin syrup, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove ginger.

Turn duck skin side up, drain fat, and baste thoroughly with Vernors sauce. Return to oven; bake another 45 minutes, basting every 10 minutes. Add remaining brandy to sauce and simmer until thickened. Remove duck to heated platter and pour on the sauce. Garnish with orange slices and serve.

EASY COCKTAIL MEATBALLS

I found a recipe today that looked pretty good, and as the name says, pretty easy. This one comes from Cooks.com:

SAUCE:
1 c. ketchup
1 c. Vernors ginger ale
2 tbsp. brown sugar

MEATBALLS:
1 1/2 lb. ground beef
1 pkg. onion soup mix
1 beaten egg

Mix sauce ingredients. Bring to boil. Lower heat and simmer to thicken. Mix meatball ingredients. Well. Form into small balls. Place on baking sheet. Bake at 300 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes.

I might suggest increasing the amount of sauce and cooking these slowly in a crock pot for a quick and easy appetizer.

Champaigne Punch?

Today I discovered the only recent news about Vernors is a recepie for champaigne punch from who I assume is the Food Editor for the Metro Times...

"A Tasty Beverage
Does the idea of holiday celebrating conjure up a glass punch bowl filled with a sweet-tasting, cold, fruity drink that lubricates your throat for caroling? Champagne punch is the answer. Start with a bottle of Champagne. Add a two-liter bottle of ginger ale (preferably Vernors). Then add a pint of vanilla ice cream (a quart if you like it creamier), some orange sherbet and a pint of fruit, such as raspberries, strawberries or orange slices. You get the idea. There are no rules other than to keep the kids out of the bowl."

http://www.metrotimes.com//editorial/story.asp?id=9928

The concept sounds pretty good, but I think I might stop at the vanilla ice cream. It reminds me of one of my favorite ways to drink Vernors - in the ever-popular float form. Yep a glass of Vernors and a couple of scoops of vanilla has been a staple in my diet for years.

I'll try out this recepie for New Year's Eve and let you all know how it came out.