Mexican Fiesta!

Tonight I'm having some girlfriends over for a mexican fiesta!  Our group used to get together almost once a month, but once kids arrived it made our gatherings hard to coordinate.  So tonight will be a fun night of laughs and catching up.

The menu:Pink Cadillac Margaritas and Iced Mango Sweet Tea

Chili Lime Mixed Nuts

Three Sisters Salad

Spanish Rice

Chicken Enchiladas

and Sopapilla Cheesecake with Dark Chocolate and Coconut Ice Creams

I like putting menus in frames - it makes the event seem more formal and is a fun touch. 

Each place setting had a dark chocolate bar with the name of each guest.

And where there is mexican food, there is tequila!

The enchiladas can be made in advance and refrigerated. I made mine yesterday - just take them out of the fridge for a bit before putting in oven.  

Three Sisters Salad - perfect dish for a dinner of sorority sisters!  Corn, butternut squash and beans make up the sisters.  I snuck a taste and it is delicious!

And to give the party another fun touch... premixed margs in mason jars and labeled with guest names.  Just add some ice and shake!

I have to thank Southern Comfort magazine (August 2012 issue) for this great menu.  And also want to thank Trader Joe's for their amazing (and super spicy) chile lime mixed nuts.  Addicting.

Click on the image below to enlarge the recipes.

Hurricane!

Today our beloved Dawgs played LSU in Louisiana.  To say this was a painful game to watch is an understatement.  At least both teams colors are purple and gold so no matter what happened there was a lot of school spirit!

In honor of Louisiana I made a huge batch of Hurricane cocktails.  I have had a hurricane or two in New Orleans and they are super tasty, super fruity and super strong.  I mean, super strong.  Nothing like almost two full bottles of rum mixed in with grenadine to get a hurricane swirl'n!

Thanks to Emeril Lagasse, the king of southern cuisine, I had a mega batch of hurricanes to bring to our friend's Dawg watching party!  Warning, many of the guys thought the drink was a tad sweet, nothing a splash of club soda couldn't resolve.  But the rest of us loved it.  So much that it was almost gone!

Mix the batch in advance in a large pitcher and place in fridge to get very cold.  Serve over ice and with a wedge of orange.  This is a great party recipe because it makes a lot of drinks at once.

Click here for Emeril's recipe. 

Red, White and Blue

I'm a sucker for anything red, white and blue.  So when these bottles were staring at me in the dairy section, I was smitten.  And the grocer's product placement totally worked.  My trip to the store for milk, sandwich bread and fruit was altered just a tad by two bottles of champagne. 

But who can resist a few bottles of patriotic bubbly!?

Drunk Gummies

I saw an idea on Pinterest last week.  Soaking gummy bears in vodka, creating a drunk gummy bear.  The gummies sit in some vodka for a day or two and they absorb the liquid creating a dangerously tasty 'shot'.  I of course wanted to try this, since I'm constantly reinventing the gelatin shot... But instead of using vodka which has a strong odor and flavor, I tried Malibu Rum.  Malibu's appealing scent and flavor seems similar to a gummy bear, so why not?

After two days of bears soaking up their rum bath, I tried one. Then another.  Nevermind it was only noon on a weekday, but these puppies (or bears...) were GOOD.  This is one fun trick that will definitely be used in the future. Maybe for my girls weekend in a couple weeks, and definitely for Husky Football!

Honeycrisp Apple Sangria

Making honeycrisp sangria was a risk.  Frankly, I don't like red wine based sangria (the only kind I've tried), but because I love honeycrisp apples and chardonnay, I thought this would be a fun try.  And if it was good I'd make a larger batch for Thanksgiving dinner.

The biggest challenge was finding 'unoaked' chardonnay.  Not every bottle makes it clear if the wine is unoaked so with the help of my local market's wine steward, I found a nice and inexpensive bottle to experiment with ($12.99). 

My test batch was just half a recipe.  I feared I would ruin an entire bottle of wine if I didn't like this drink.  I combined the wine, fruit, schnapps and spices in a tight sealing tupperware and placed in the fridge overnight. (I did not use pisco as called for in the recipe)

Today I anxiously awaited the sangria taste test.  I garnished the wine glasses with sugar and cinnamon. Such a beautiful color and great addition to a autumn decorated dinner table.

The finished product?  A crisp, refreshing and perfectly fall flavored cocktail.   It was so good my husband was asking for more and I knew this would be a great drink to start off our Thanksgiving dinner at my mom's.  Now back to the store for more unoaked chardonnay!



Honeycrisp Sangria, adapted from Adam Seger & Food and Wine Magazine

2 Honeycrisp apples
One 750-milliliter bottle unoaked Chardonnay
1/3c peach Schnapps
1/4c pisco (I excluded)
1/4c honey
2 oranges- 1 quartered
1 lemon – quartered
1 lime – quartered
2 cinnamon sticks
2 quarter-size slices of fresh ginger
3 whole cloves
2 Tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
Ice
Club soda

Peel, core and chop one of the apples. In a bowl, combine the Chardonnay, Schnapps, pisco and honey. Add the quartered orange, the lemon, lime, cinnamon sticks, the chopped apple, ginger and cloves and refrigerate at least 4 hours. (I let mine sit overnight)

Strain the sangria into a pitcher. Peel, core and finely chop the remaining apple. Peel, section and chop the remaining orange. Mix the apple and orange in a bowl.

On a small plate, blend the sugar and cinnamon. Moisten the rims of wine glasses and dip in the cinnamon sugar to coat. Fill the glasses with ice. Pour in the sangria until three-quarters full. Top with a splash of club soda. Garnish with a spoonful of the chopped apple and orange.

Meyer Limoncello and Lemon Curd

What do you get when you combine 18 meyer lemons worth of peel and a bottle of vodka?  Hopefully a very nice limoncello liquor in about 60-80 days!  I saw an article about limoncello and have always wanted to make some.  Due to the lengthy process, I had to make it today in hopes that it may potentially be ready in time for our Christmas Eve party. I seem to be good at finding 'must do now' projects.

I thought peeling the lemons would be a cinch.  Turns out you 'can't' have any white pith on the skin - just pure yellow.  This is a bit more work being so careful!

By the end of all these lemons I got pretty good at peeling in one continuous strip.

I divided my one 750ml bottle of vodka between 3 jars, then divided the peels evenly between jars.

Turns out I was able to fit all the peels and vodka in to two jars... So much for me dividing the lemon peels in to three pretty, little piles and weighing them (yes, I weighed them)...  The color of the peel in the jar is so vibrant, this picture doesn't do it justice.

I then placed the two jars in a dark and cool place and will check on them in 30 days! At that time, I'll add a sugar mix and another 750ml bottle of vodka and let it sit for another few weeks before giving it a try! Stay tuned and stay patient since this will be a long time in the making!

When I was done making liquor I realized I had 18 lemons remaining.  What to do, what to do!  And I was in the mood to make something with immediate return, instead of the 2-3 month torture of the vodka lemon mix.

I searched the internet for meyer lemon recipes and the one that kept coming up was meyer lemon curd.  The curd is imilar to a pudding and is spread on scones, pancakes, muffins, or used in tart-like desserts.

Eggs whisked in bowl.

Lemon juice heating up on stove.

Whisking sugar in to the eggs.

The eggs and lemon mixture on the stove.

Adding cream, vanilla and salt after mixture has been removed from stove.

Pressing the mixture through a strainer directly in to a jar.

The finished product is a gorgeous lemon yellow (no pun intended).  It's flavor is similar to a semi tart lemon pudding and is amazing on toast, pancakes, and scones.  You must give it a try - especially if you make a batch of limoncello!

Lemon Curd, courtesy of Cooks Illustrated
1/3c. lemon juice, from 2 lemons

2 large eggs
1 egg yolk
1/2 c. sugar
2 Tbsp unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes and chilled
1 Tbsp heavy cream
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
pinch table salt

Heat lemon juice in small nonreactive saucepan over medium heat until hot but not boiling. Whisk eggs and yolk in medium nonreactive bowl; gradually whisk in sugar. Whisking constantly, slowly pour hot lemon juice into eggs, then return mixture to saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with wooden spoon, until mixture registers 170 degrees on instant-read thermometer and is thick enough to cling to spoon, about 3 minutes (see photos, below).


Immediately remove pan from heat and stir in cold butter until incorporated; stir in cream, vanilla, and salt, then pour curd through fine-mesh strainer into small nonreactive bowl. Cover surface of curd directly with plastic wrap; refrigerate until needed.

Picnic on the Boat

Today we took a boat ride around the Sound for Father's Day.  I packed Tony a special lunch for our family that we enjoyed.  Try these for your next picnic or meal at home.

Southwest Chicken Wraps with Tabbouleh salad (made yesterday), sliced apples, chocolate chip cookies, pies in a jar and margaritas in jars for drinks (see below). 

The chicken wrap was very quick and had a nice flavor.  Picnic food can seem pretty boring, so it was nice eating something on the go that was both healthy and tasty. (Recipe below)  The Tabbouleh was made yesterday and was easy to pack along in a container.  You could also pack in individual serving sized containers to avoid needing plates.

I made the margaritas last night and poured in to the jars to let them chill overnight.  When we were ready to drink, I added ice cubes, screwed the lids back on and shook for a few seconds.  Presto!  Marg in a jar!  My new fave.  Plus, enviromentally friendly in reusable jars.

And to carry on the jar theme I made little pies in mini jars for dessert.  Just add your favorite pie filling to the jar, top with pie dough and bake on a cookie sheet for 20-40 minutes or until lightly browned.  Once cooled, screw lid on and you've got dessert to go! (Also a preview of whats to come at a baby shower I'm hosting this week...)

Southwestern Chicken Wraps, adapted from a Martha Stewart recipe
3/4 cup reduced-fat sour cream

2 Tbsp chopped pickled jalapenos (I skipped this since kids were involved)
2 Tbsp fresh lime juice
Coarse salt and ground pepper
4 - 10" tortillas, (I used sun-dried tomato flavor)
3 cups baby spinach or baby greens
3 cups shredded cooked chicken or turkey (I used sliced chicken breast that I bbq'd yesterday)
1 can (15 ounces) drained and rinsed black beans
1 large tomato, thinly sliced
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
1 avocado, thinly sliced

In a bowl, whisk together sour cream, jalapenos, and lime juice; season with salt and pepper.

Spread sandwich wraps with sour-cream sauce, leaving a 2-inch border. In center of wraps, layer equal amounts of baby spinach, shredded chicken, black beans, tomato, onion, and avocado. For each wrap, fold two sides of wrap over filling, then roll tightly, ending seam side down.

Pretzel Chicken and a John Daly

I saw a blog article discussing a killer chicken dish which involved pretzels.  Yup, pretzels.  The dish is served at an NYC restaurant called City Bakery and has a loyal following.  To make the dish work, you must buy thick, hard, sourdough pretzels.  I found large pretzel bites and thought they worked fine.  The end result was a nicely flavored chicken with a perfectly crunchy shell.  I did find that even though the pretzels I used had salt, most of it was lost in the blender, so you may find that you need to add a touch of salt to the finished chicken to maximize the flavor.

The kids loved this meal and so did we.  We'll definitely make it again!

The chopped pretzels ready for chicken...

The mustard sauce...

And the cocktail to go with dinner on a hot, sunny day...  An 'Arnold Palmer' (half ice tea/half lemonade), but the grown up version...using sweet tea vodka and lemonade!  This is technically called a 'John Daly'. Yummmmm.  This is a sweet drink, but you can play around with the vodka/lemonade ratio and can also add a splash of club soda to help cut the sugar.  Oh, and random thought... A Shandy is lemonade and beer - also a good summer drink but not something you'll drink all night.

Pretzel Chicken, courtesy of City Bakery in NYC and Food & Wine Magazine
1/2 lb hard pretzels, coarsely crushed (4 cups)

1/2 c. canola oil
1/2 c. whole-grain mustard
2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1/4 c. water
3 Tbsp red wine vinegar
Salt and freshly ground pepper
6 large skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

Preheat the oven to 400°. In a food processor, pulse the pretzels until coarsely ground; you should have coarse chunks and fine crumbs. Transfer to a large, shallow bowl.

Wipe out the food processor. Add the oil, whole-grain and Dijon mustards, water and vinegar and process until smooth. Season the dressing with salt and pepper.

Pour half of the dressing into a large shallow bowl, add the chicken breasts and turn to coat. Dredge the chicken in the pretzel crumbs and transfer to a rack set over a rimmed baking sheet. Bake in the upper third of the oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until cooked through. Slice the chicken and serve warm or at room temperature with the remaining mustard dressing.

Skinny Girl Disappointment

I'm not afraid to admit this.  I watch the Real Housewives of New York and Orange County.  I also watch Bethanny Ever After and have been intrigued by Bethanny's 'Skinny Girl Margarita' since watching her order it over and over on RHNY.  This week I looked up the pre-mixed beverage online and found that it was available in our local liquor store; and then made Tony pick up a bottle on the way home from work.  Yes, my poor husband had to walk in to the manly liquor store and buy a $15 bottle of Bethanny Frankel's Skinny Girl Margarita.  Not a very masculine task if you ask him.

I was uber excited to try the cocktail that contains a quarter of the calories of a typical restaurant margarita, and to find a margarita that was so easy to make that all I needed to do is twist open a bottle and pour.  I even went the extra step of shaking the drink with ice before pouring in to two glasses. 

First sip reaction?  Hmmm, this isn't too bad. 

Second sip reaction?  Maybe a slice of lime will help.

Third sip reaction?  I don't think I like this and it tastes tinny.  A slight 'diet' drink after taste. Severly disappointed.

Final outcome?  Tony drank his because it was a margarita.  He agreed it wasn't good, even with a half a lime squeezed in to our glasses.  I was disgusted by it.  I really wanted to love this drink because sometimes I get tired of juicing 20 limes for my killer margs.  But, I'd much rather make a Costco trip and stock up on limes than need to drink this premade margarita again.

I'll admit.  I tried it again today at dinner.  Even worse the second time around.  It killed me to pour out a margarita.

I won't hold it against you Bethanny.  I like that you came up with a margarita that is so low in calories (who knew restaurant margaritas were SO bad for you!?), the label is cute, and you made a few bucks off of me.  I think I'll just stick to watching your show with my own margarita recipe.

If anyone wants to try this marg let me know.  I've got over half a bottle left and I refuse to drink it.

Bellini

Take two RIPE white peaches. (there are some good ones right now!)

Peel and pit them, then put in a blender and puree the life out of them.

 Pour the puree through a strainer.  You may need to push it through with a strainer.

Pour a tablespoon or so in a champagne flute.  (add some simple syrup if you prefer sweet, like me)

 Fill the rest of the glass with chilled prosecco.

This is one tasty cocktail.  Two peaches will be enough for one bottle of prosecco.  Enjoy!

Dirty Hippy

I'd like a tall, iced, nonfat, vanilla, dirty hippy chai latte please!

Translated? A soy chai latte with a shot of espresso and vanilla.

If you like chai but find the flavor too sweet, ask for a dirty hippy chai latte (soy) or a dirty chai latte (milk).  This is my absolute favorite coffee shop drink ever!  I dislike the flavor of coffee and the chai masks it perfectly.  Unfortunately, this bad boy (or dirty hippy) in Tall size will set you back about $4.25 at most of the big chain shops.  It is usually less at the independent spots due to either lack of knowledge or better pricing.  Or both...

Try one.  They're pretty amazing. 

Today, after my oh so good dirty chai, I kept the cup and replaced all the contents with a Los Brisos cocktail.  Yes. I turned my Tully's cup in to a 'Traveler'. (Traveler - cup for alcoholic beverage on the go)

We don't do glass by the pool, and I haven't washed our acrylic glasses... still in the box!  So, a Tully's cup will do.  And, I think I have now found the perfect way to camouflage a cocktail during a tailgate party, trick-or-treating or any other random event.  No, I do not have a drinking problem.  But there are occasions where a cocktail with friends would be nice, like a concert at the park!

Blue Kus (pronounced: Blue Koos)

One of my favorite cocktails on a hot day? A Blue Kus of course.  A glass of ice, shot of blueberry vodka (or two), and topped off with club soda.  Garnish with blueberries skewered on a cocktail stick or toothpick.

I ran out of blueberries this morning, so just pretend that strawberry is a big 'ole blueberry! :)

Los Brisos (or Las Brisas?)

My mom's infamous cocktail.  It is so refreshing and so deadly - you can't taste the alcohol... And one is never enough.  I believe the correct spelling is Las Brisas (the breeze in spanish - though if you Google this version there is a totally different drink recipe), but it is my mom's drink so she gets to name it whatever she wants!

There really isn't a recipe, just a list of ingredients:

Limeade concentrate

Anejo Rum

Splash of club soda or water

Wedge of lime

Place above ingredients in a glass with ice and enjoy!

Drinks Anyone?

Who can forget about margaritas on Cinco de Mayo!? I have the all the stuff made and ready to go: simple syrup, freshly squeezed lime juice, and freshly made lime-salt-sugar for rimming. The lime-salt-sugar is not only tasty, but it adds a fun kick of color to the rim. Oh yeah. Its 5 o'clock somewhere, right? 

These margaritas will be a staple cocktail around our home.  These may even beat out my 'Blue Kus' as #1 cocktail in my book.  Now that is saying somethin'!

Margaritas
Ice cubes
3 ounces tequila
2 ounces freshly squeezed lime juice
1 ounce Simple Syrup, recipe follows
1/2 to 1 teaspoon orange liqueur
1 tablespoon Lime-salt-sugar, recipe follows
Lime slices as garnish

Fill cocktail shaker with ice. Add tequila, lime juice, and Simple Syrup. Cover and shake until mixed and chilled, about 30 seconds. Place Lime-salt-sugar on a plate, and moisten rim of glass with edge of a sliced lime. Press the rim of a rocks glass into the mixture to rim the edge. Strain margarita into the glass. 

Simple Syrup
1 cup sugar
1 cup water

Put the sugar and water in a small saucepan. Cook over low heat, stirring, until the sugar dissolves. Store in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 1 month.
Yield: about 1 1/2 cups

Lime-salt-sugar
Zest of one lime
2 1/2 Tbsp kosher salt
1/2 Tbsp sugar

Blend together lime, salt and sugar in a small blender or mini food chopper.

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

I went to the Food Network website this morning and came across this chicken enchilada recipe by Tyler Florence.  It has rave reviews and looked pretty good... you can cheat and use a whole roasted chicken, and the vegetables are either frozen or canned chiles/tomatoes.  So if you're searching for a last minute recipe idea for tonight, try this out!

This recipe makes pleeenty.  16 individual enchiladas, probably serving 7-8 adults if you include sides of rice and beans.

Chicken Enchiladas, courtesy of Tyler Florence

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 1/2 pounds skinless boneless chicken breast
Salt and pepper
2 teaspoons cumin powder
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon Mexican Spice Blend
1 red onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup frozen corn, thawed
5 canned whole green chiles, seeded and coarsely chopped
4 canned chipotle chiles, seeded and minced (I used one chile as these get spicy. You can always top with more after baking)
1 (28-ounce) can stewed tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon all-purpose flour
16 corn tortillas
1 1/2 cups enchilada sauce, canned
1 cup shredded Cheddar and Jack cheeses
Garnish: chopped cilantro leaves, chopped scallions, sour cream, chopped tomatoes

Coat large saute pan with oil. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Brown chicken over medium heat, allow 7 minutes each side or until no longer pink. Sprinkle chicken with cumin, garlic powder and Mexican spices before turning. Remove chicken to a platter, allow to cool.

Saute onion and garlic in chicken drippings until tender. Add corn and chiles. Stir well to combine. Add canned tomatoes, saute 1 minute.

Pull chicken breasts apart by hand into shredded strips. Add shredded chicken to saute pan, combine with vegetables. Dust the mixture with flour to help set.

Microwave tortillas on high for 30 seconds. This softens them and makes them more pliable. Coat the bottom of 2 (13 by 9-inch) pans with a ladle of enchilada sauce. Using a large shallow bowl, dip each tortilla in enchilada sauce to lightly coat. Spoon 1/4 cup chicken mixture in each tortilla. Fold over filling, place 8 enchiladas in each pan with seam side down. Top with remaining enchilada sauce and cheese.

Bake for 15 minutes in a preheated 350 degree F oven until cheese melts. Garnish with cilantro, scallion, sour cream and chopped tomatoes before serving. Serve with Spanish rice and beans. Online recipe can be found here.

Baby Shower Treats

Today I cohosted a baby shower for my good friend Piper.  Dierdre, Kim and I had a wonderful time hosting the brunch and helping shower Piper and baby with love!

I made my favorite onesie sugar cookies for treats.  Decorated in bright pink and bright blue icing with matching jelly beans to snack on.

We made a Piperlini cocktail/mocktail for the guests.  It is a popular drink at Donald Trump's private Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Florida.

The Piperlini Cocktail/Mocktail:

Fill champagne glass about half way full with orange juice.

Tilt glass to side and SLOWLY pour grenadine down the side of glass so it sinks below orange juice.

Slowly pour in champagne or sparkling water. (We used Piper Sonoma champagne in honor of Piper!)