The CookingBites Recipe Challenge: Juniper Berries and/or Gin

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Ok, here we go:

First, so many recipes. So, so many recipes. I'm confused and overwhelmed just scrolling through the titles! 🥴

Seriously, though, that's the whole point of these challenges, to get new recipes added to the forum, so it's a good thing, and a sincere thanks to all who participated. I really didn't expect juniper berries to get much traction, but I'm pleased to say I was wrong. As always, forum members embraced it and rose to the occasion, and that means we're all winners, because we all have these lovely new recipes to try in our own kitchens. Well done, group!

Ok, honorable mentions (and there are a lot):

Hemulen, for submitting nearly 20 recipes. I haven't been here that long, but that must be a record. I submitted nine (I think) once and thought I was pretty hot stuff for doing so, but now I see I'm an amateur! Recipes of note are:

Recipe - Pollo con bacche di ginepro
Recipe - Fruit, Juniper Berry and Cheese Pie
Recipe - Cucumber & Lingonberry GT

Morning Glory, as usual, really upped the bar with her entries. I particularly liked:

Recipe - Cauliflower and Egg Mornay with Juniper Berries
Lamb Prebonata

CraigC was hitting me right at home with his German dishes:

Recipe - German Beef Rouladen
Recipe - Rotkohl

All the cocktails were a welcome sight, and The Late Night Gourmet went as far as to make his own gin:

Recipe - Detroit River Blues Gin

And LissaC sacrificed her favorite cup to contribute her recipe (a moment of silence, please😔)

Recipe - Spicy shrimp
Even the honorable mentions were hard, because I think everyone who contributed deserves one, I really do. Such good work from everyone.

Anyway, as the movie says, "there can be only one," and I finally, after much hemming and hawing, have selected your juniper berries recipe challenge winner...a big round of applause for...drumroll, please...

Hemulen and her recipe for celery crepes!

Recipe - Celery Crêpes With Juniper Berries

I absolutely love the idea of bringing celery forward and using it to make, of all things, crepes. Braised celery...sure. Celery gratin...not unheard of. But celery crepes?! Amazing inventiveness! I'm a bit of a crepe-head, and I like making a lot of sweet and savory crepes, and I love celery, but if I made crepes every day for a thousand years, I don't know if I'd ever hit upon the idea of celery crepes. Fan-<bleeping>-tastic! Thank you for that recipe, Hemulen!
 
TastyReuben said:
Ok, here we go:

First, so many recipes. So, so many recipes. I'm confused and overwhelmed just scrolling through the titles! 🥴

Seriously, though, that's the whole point of these challenges, to get new recipes added to the forum, so it's a good thing, and a sincere thanks to all who participated. I really didn't expect juniper berries to get much traction, but I'm pleased to say I was wrong. As always, forum members embraced it and rose to the occasion, and that means we're all winners, because we all have these lovely new recipes to try in our own kitchens. Well done, group!

Ok, honorable mentions (and there are a lot):

Hemulen, for submitting nearly 20 recipes. I haven't been here that long, but that must be a record. I submitted nine (I think) once and thought I was pretty hot stuff for doing so, but now I see I'm an amateur! Recipes of note are:

Recipe - Pollo con bacche di ginepro
Recipe - Fruit, Juniper Berry and Cheese Pie
Recipe - Cucumber & Lingonberry GT

Morning Glory, as usual, really upped the bar with her entries. I particularly liked:

Recipe - Cauliflower and Egg Mornay with Juniper Berries
Lamb Prebonata

CraigC was hitting me right at home with his German dishes:

Recipe - German Beef Rouladen
Recipe - Rotkohl

All the cocktails were a welcome sight, and The Late Night Gourmet went as far as to make his own gin:

Recipe - Detroit River Blues Gin

And LissaC sacrificed her favorite cup to contribute her recipe (a moment of silence, please😔)

Recipe - Spicy shrimp
Even the honorable mentions were hard, because I think everyone who contributed deserves one, I really do. Such good work from everyone.

Anyway, as the movie says, "there can be only one," and I finally, after much hemming and hawing, have selected your juniper berries recipe challenge winner...a big round of applause for...drumroll, please...

Hemulen and her recipe for celery crepes!

Recipe - Celery Crêpes With Juniper Berries

I absolutely love the idea of bringing celery forward and using it to make, of all things, crepes. Braised celery...sure. Celery gratin...not unheard of. But celery crepes?! Amazing inventiveness! I'm a bit of a crepe-head, and I like making a lot of sweet and savory crepes, and I love celery, but if I made crepes every day for a thousand years, I don't know if I'd ever hit upon the idea of celery crepes. Fan-<bleeping>-tastic! Thank you for that recipe, Hemulen!
Click to expand...

Bravo Hemulen. :bravo: That recipe is so innovative. And yes, you have broken all records with you number of entries!

I too was surprised at the number of recipes received overall. As TastyReuben said - juniper is not a much used ingredient generally. Really well done to everyone and thanks to TastyReuben for his thoughtful judging.

Its now over to you Hemulen to choose the ingredient and become the judge. Just post your choice of ingredient in this thread and I will set up a new challenge thread. Its best to choose an ingredient which is fairly accessible in our various countries. If your ingredient is not 'vegan friendly' we allow suitable substitutes so that vegan/vegetarian recipes can be submitted.

To see which ingredients have gone before, please see here: in date order and in alphabetical order. It really doesn't matter if the ingredient has been chosen before as long as its not too recently.
 
Great choice, TastyReuben...not only for the winner (because there were other things by Hemulen that I really like), but also that recipe. Fantastic work, Hemulen!

And, thank you again TastyReuben for picking this ingredient. As I've said many times before (and I'm certain to say again), the recipe challenge is my favorite part of this site because it always opens my eyes about an ingredient, even if it's one I've used before. Juniper berries are something I've never used in a recipe, but now they're something I love.
 
TastyReuben said:
Ok, here we go:

First, so many recipes. So, so many recipes. I'm confused and overwhelmed just scrolling through the titles! 🥴

Seriously, though, that's the whole point of these challenges, to get new recipes added to the forum, so it's a good thing, and a sincere thanks to all who participated. I really didn't expect juniper berries to get much traction, but I'm pleased to say I was wrong. As always, forum members embraced it and rose to the occasion, and that means we're all winners, because we all have these lovely new recipes to try in our own kitchens. Well done, group!

Ok, honorable mentions (and there are a lot):

Hemulen, for submitting nearly 20 recipes. I haven't been here that long, but that must be a record. I submitted nine (I think) once and thought I was pretty hot stuff for doing so, but now I see I'm an amateur! Recipes of note are:

Recipe - Pollo con bacche di ginepro
Recipe - Fruit, Juniper Berry and Cheese Pie
Recipe - Cucumber & Lingonberry GT

Morning Glory, as usual, really upped the bar with her entries. I particularly liked:

Recipe - Cauliflower and Egg Mornay with Juniper Berries
Lamb Prebonata

CraigC was hitting me right at home with his German dishes:

Recipe - German Beef Rouladen
Recipe - Rotkohl

All the cocktails were a welcome sight, and The Late Night Gourmet went as far as to make his own gin:

Recipe - Detroit River Blues Gin

And LissaC sacrificed her favorite cup to contribute her recipe (a moment of silence, please😔)

Recipe - Spicy shrimp
Even the honorable mentions were hard, because I think everyone who contributed deserves one, I really do. Such good work from everyone.

Anyway, as the movie says, "there can be only one," and I finally, after much hemming and hawing, have selected your juniper berries recipe challenge winner...a big round of applause for...drumroll, please...

Hemulen and her recipe for celery crepes!

Recipe - Celery Crêpes With Juniper Berries

I absolutely love the idea of bringing celery forward and using it to make, of all things, crepes. Braised celery...sure. Celery gratin...not unheard of. But celery crepes?! Amazing inventiveness! I'm a bit of a crepe-head, and I like making a lot of sweet and savory crepes, and I love celery, but if I made crepes every day for a thousand years, I don't know if I'd ever hit upon the idea of celery crepes. Fan-<bleeping>-tastic! Thank you for that recipe, Hemulen!
Click to expand...
TastyReuben, you're welcome. You make me cry. I'm a complete novice in making recipes - and because of free time (work and studies on hold due to the pandemic) and with a family tradition in preparing dishes with juniper berries I had undeserved advantage on my side.

I'm new on the forum so it felt bad to start firing recipes almost twice a day - but I was literally on fire with this challenge. I was overwhelmed by the fantastic entries the other participants posted - and not only to this challenge but to other threads as well. They were an inspiration - and a constant incitement to try more ---- and more --- and more.

I shot some twenty entries; most of them bad or mediocre - but I do believe that TastyReuben chose the winning entry because he genuinely liked my innovative use of celery. I think the crepes were my best entry, too. The idea came in the middle of the night when I thought of underestimated ingredients which could go with juniper. I love celery but I've only used celery in Waldorf Salad, vegetable-based soups, in mussel broth, with dip sauces and as a garnish in Bloody Mary.

Thank you each and every one for being so nice and sharing such enthusiasm for cooking. This forum has been a great joy from the start. Thank you TastyReuben for being such a gentleman - a real cantankerous old fart from south-central Ohio.
 
Hemulen said:
Thank you each and every one for being so nice and sharing such enthusiasm for cooking. This forum has been a great joy from the start. Thank you TastyReuben for being such a gentleman - a real cantankerous old fart from south-central Ohio.
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I'm so pleased you are liking it here. It means a great deal to me.

You are now in the driving seat Hemulen - see my post above re choosing the next ingredient!
 
Hemulen said:
What a feeling to steer the wheel :D.

My choice for the next recipe challenge is.... <the sound of drums>....puff pastry.
Self-made or ready-made puff pastry dough - that's up to you. What I'm interested in is what's combined with it. Enjoy the rally!
Click to expand...

Good choice. I reckon MypinchofItaly will like this challenge.
 
Congrats Hemulen great recipe!!
congrats.gif
 
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