Second Blogaversary for Ginger and Scotch

I have been blogging for nearly 6 years but this week marks the 2nd blogaversary for Ginger and Scotch.

I know I am supposed to reflect about the past year and today’s overcast and rainy weather (a rare treat for Dubai!) should be highly conducive for introspection.

But my absence from blogging for all of April is still affecting my will to blog today and so I will leave you with a round-up of all seven scrumptious (if I do say so myself) recipes from Ginger and Scotch inaugural week.

In terms of blogging “work,” managing to post these seven recipes was the hardest thing I had ever done for this blog. I normally *try* to post once a week and to post one recipe for seven days in a row (including all the cooking, shooting, writing, editing…) kept me up quite late each night but I was very happy with the results.

I really do love all of these seven recipes and except for the haggis one, I actually make these dishes quite often and refer to the recipes on my own blog.

Day 1 – Ginger and Scotch Inaugural Post – Whisky Chicken Soup

This Chinese chicken soup with whisky is great for sick days and is also traditionally prepared for new moms during their first postpartum month because of its nourishing properties.

Since I’m feeling very under the weather and with the gloomy weather, I’m actually making a large pot as I type.

Day 2 – Ginger and Scotch Chicken Wings

Sweet, sticky, smoky and gingery, these chicken wings with Ardbeg whisky is one of my favorite ways to bake up a batch of wings. Of course, we don’t always have Ardbeg whisky in the house which lends its signature smoky peatiness to the flavor of the wings but we always have some kind of Scotch.

Day 3 – Ginger and Scotch Pork Ribs

Making this recipe changed the way I prepared ribs forever. A little bit of love and attention the last few minutes of baking/broiling made such a huge difference in taste and texture. These ribs come out beautifully caramelized and so “tender and gooey, and just gorgeous.”

Day 4 – Ginger and Scotch Haggis with Whisky Mushroom Sauce

Haggis? Yes, this recipe is an ode to my Scottish husband.

I first had haggis in Scotland when I was backpacking Europe in 1995. I didn’t know what all the negative fuss was – I liked it at first taste and have certainly eaten stranger foods being Chinese.

I paired this dish with the traditional accompaniments of buttery turnips and potatoes and my own addition of a mushroom cream sauce spiked with whisky – delish!

Day 5 – Ginger and Scotch Chilli Prawns

I can’t believe how much I gushed over my love of seafood in this post! And I even threw in a little trivia on the differences between shrimps and prawns – do you know the difference?

I wish I could eat the picture of this dish right now! Succulent chilli’d prawns over a bed of jasmine rice to soak up all the sauce goodness – might have to whip up another batch of this and soon.

Day 6 – Ginger and Scotch Chilli Martini

I still remember my first chilli martini at Okku in Dubai. I think I had four that night and even convinced a few random bar patrons around me to order the cocktail just so I could watch the barman in action and take copious notes on the ingredients and preparation.

In this recipe, Scotch is mixed with ginger ale and flavored with pineapple, red chilli, and, of course, ginger. Perfect for those hot Dubai summers (and spring…and autumn).

Day 7 – Ginger and Scotch Ice Cream

This was my first attempt at making ice cream and I couldn’t believe how easy it was!

I did not have an ice cream maker but it was not difficult to use an electric whisk every few hours to stir the ice cream mixture. And the final result was so amazingly good that I have since whipped up a few batches to gift to friends.

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Happy May everyone and here’s to many more blogaversaries to come!