I bought a box of these magic bacteria and started experimenting.  The instructions recommend using filtered juices that don’t require refrigeration and aren’t artificially sweetened. But, I’m bad at following instructions, and I don’t trust a juice that doesn’t require refrigeration.  I grabbed a bottle of Pink Lemonade, Mango, Blackberry and Sweet Tea from Trader Joe’s.  The pink lemonade worked well – after 48 hours, it was quite fizzy, though I couldn’t really taste the alcohol.  The Sweet Tea fizzed a bit, but also didn’t taste “spiked” – it just tasted awful.  The Mango juice (which wasn’t fully filtered) formed big solid clumps during fermentation.  I’m not sure why, exactly, but they were gross so I filtered them out with cheesecloth before drinking.  Again, some fizz, no buzz. 

The Blackberry juice was the winner by far.  It also developed some solids (even though it was very clear juice to begin with), and you’d never mistake it for wine, but it was delicious.  Think blackberry Lambic, but with an adjusted price of $1.75 per bottle (64oz of juice at $3, $1.50 per packet of yeast, 25oz in a wine bottle).  This is something I’d make again, and certainly something I’d serve to dinner guests or corruptible children. 

The instructions state that you can allow the fermentation to continue longer than 48 hours to achieve up to 14% ABV.  It also recommends using Welch’s or Ocean Spray – I guess we’ll have to agree to disagree there.  To me, the best part of this product is that you’re free to choose great starting ingredients, like a locally-produced cider, or raspberry juice from plants in your back yard.  But for the fun of quick, easy DIY booze, I’ll raise my glass to this product!

Spike Your Juice – $9.99 (or $20 for a 2-pack on Amazon)

With Thanksgiving just around the corner, it’s time to start planning the fate of your leftovers.  Personally, I love a great turkey sandwich after a busy morning of shopping (online, of course) for Black Friday deals.  But what’s a turkey sandwich without mayo?  In this recipe, we use a very olive-y oil to give our mayo a wonderful, rich flavor – something our day-old turkey would appreciate.

Makes: about 2.5 cups
Total kitchen time: 10 minutes

Shopping list:

• 2 egg yolks
• 1 tbsp. of water
• 2 tbsp. of fresh squeezed lemon juice
• 1 tsp. of plain white vinegar
• ¼ teaspoon of salt
• 2/3 of a cup of extra virgin olive oil

1. Combine all ingredients except the olive oil in a food processor or blender.  Pulse a few times until combined.
2. Using the “drizzle holes” on the top of your food processor, or by pouring slowly into your blender, incorporate the olive oil while mixing on low speed.  Depending on the size of your egg yolks, you may not need to use all of the olive oil.  If the mayo is too thin, add more oil.  If it is too thick, add a little water. 

That’s it!  Now you’ve got a delicious spread for your Thanksgiving leftovers, or a dip for your crudités!  

Making your own butter is simple and rewarding – nothing tastes quite as good as homemade.  Just put heavy cream in your blender or food processor for about 10 minutes, or until the butterfat separates from the buttermilk (mine took a little less than 10 minutes).  Once you’re there, you’ve got fresh unsalted butter.  But why on earth would you stop now?  Jazz it up with thyme, sage, honey, cayenne pepper, or, as the video shows, add some chopped porcini mushrooms and black truffle salt. 

Oh, and whenever you’re working with small appliances, be sure to wear your geek glasses for protection