rum cake

This is a wonderful holiday cake.

Cake:
1/2 cup Bacardi Rum
1 cup chopped pecans
1 18.5 oz package yellow cake mix*
1 3 3/4 oz package Instant Vanilla pudding
4 eggs
1/2 cup cold water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
* if using cake mix with pudding already inside, omit the pudding, use 3 eggs instead of 4, and use 1/3 cup oil instaed of 1/2

Glaze:
1/2 cup Bacardi Rum
1/4 lb butter
1/4 cup water
1 cup sugar

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour 10" tube or 12-cup Bundt pan. Sprinkle nuts over bottom of the pan. Mix all cake ingredients together. Pour batter over nuts. Bake 1 hour. Cool. Invert on serving plate. Prick top. Spoon and brush glaze evenly over top and sides. Allow cake to absorb glaze. Repeat until glaze is used up.

Glaze:
Melt butter in saucepan. Stir in water and sugar. Boil 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Stir in rum.

coquito

here's a tasty beverage for the holidays. its a latin-style egg nog, minus the egg.

1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 can evaporated milk
1 can coconut milk
1/2 can (or to taste) coconut rum
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

mix it all together and enjoy. and as always, drink responsibly. :)

Green Bean Bacon Wraps

for my cousin Justin!

this is a recipe which i take no credit for. it comes from my fish school son, Jeffrey's, mom. She's amazing at these...and he's become quite the impressive green bean bacon wrap maker too at our Fisher-Price Thanksgiving Dinners!

2 can of French-style cut green beans (drained)
a pack of bacon (the thicker the slices the better, in my opinion)
butter (melted)
brown sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Start off with slicing the pack of bacon in half; this way you get twice the amount of wraps and the bacon doesn't overpower the green beans. Then take a bundle of green beans in your hand, (I squeeze any extra juices out) and wrap one half slice of bacon around it and hold it together with a toothpick. Repeat to the entire pack of bacon and/or green beans, whichever runs out first. Then take the melted butter and brush each wrap with it. Sprinkle some brown sugar on each one and toss into th eoven for a little over 30 minutes. Keep an eye on it...you dont wnat the bacon raw; once it gets dark, a bit blackened even, take it out and serve!