Eating Dinner With My Family

WOW!  I have to say, this was a tasty drink!  It is potent so be careful!  It doesn't taste as strong as it is.  But it is amazing!   Marcus Samuelsson's Spiced Apple Martini   For the Apple-Spiced Simple Syrup: 1 teaspoon cinnamon, ground 1 teaspoon ginger, ground 1 teaspoon allspice, ground 1 teaspoon nutmeg, ground (freshly ground if possible) 1 cup granulated sugar 1 slice of a red apple, 1/4 inch thick 1/2 cup water For the Drink: 2 ounces SKYY Vodka 1/2 ounce of above syrup 1/2 ounce lime juice 2 dashes angostura bitters Ice Slice of apple (for garnish) For the Apple-Spiced Simple Syrup: Place all ingredients in small saucepan. Bring to boil. (Leftover simple syrup can be strained into airtight container, cooled and refrigerated. It will stay fresh for up to 2 weeks.) Add 1/2 ounce of simple syrup, the vodka, lime juice and bitters in a cocktail shaker. Add ice and shake well. Strain into chilled ...

It's a cheating post!  I made these yesterday, but for tonight's meatless Monday dinner we made cauliflower soup out of some cauliflower I hade from FPP. It is a repeat, but it is magical that it turns one of my son's veto ingredients in to something he eats. No not eats but devours. (And I smugly say see you don't hate cauliflower!). As for the drink, YUM!  It was perfect for me, but my husband found them a bit fiery and diluted them with some tomato juice.  That didn't stop him from still enjoying them ;).  I loved this take on one of my favorite cocktails. Kimchi Bloody Mary 2 packed cups kimchi (16 ounces) 46 ounces tomato juice 1/4 Cup Sriracha chile sauce 2 Tbl Worcestershire sauce 2 Tbl sherry vinegar Salt Freshly ground pepper 2 Cup vodka (16 ounces) Ice Mint sprigs or shiso leaves for garnish 1. Working in batches, puree the kimchi with the tomato juice, Sriracha, Worcestershire and vinegar. Set a fine-mesh strainer over a bowl and str...

I have been away from the blog for what feels like forever, but I promise there were good reasons.  First of all, the refrigerator, yes the fairly new one, has been having some issues which resulted with us not using it for a long time.  (parts on back order ugh!)  Then we went away for a week for a family reunion.  So, I am now trying to get back in to my blogging groove.  Since we still aren't doing much cooking, fridge fixed Wednesday, I thought I would keep it simple, so with our further ado, the post;). I have a new toy, a soda siphon .  We waste so much club soda between making myself less sweet syrupy sodas & cocktails, I thought it would be worth the investment. While I am digging the extra fuzzy club soda, and we are using the heck out of it, the jury is still out on if it is more economical. I thought one way I can justify the purchase is to make "sodas" for the kids too. I found this recipe for  making syrup from a variety of berries a...

I have a new drink I love!  This raspberry spritzer is perfect in so many ways.  It is a great substitute for those super sweet, high calorie sodas.  It tastes great and is super refreshing.  It is also a great "daytime drink"  What do I mean by that?  Well if you opt to use the Chambord rather than raspberry syrup, it feels like a cocktail, but unless you drink a dozen of them, you aren't going to get drunk.  I love a fruity cocktail by the pool or beach, but inevitably the combo of sun and rum makes me at best sleepy after a drink, at worst a little loopy.  Not something I want to feel when at the pool or beach. (Even more now that we have kids!)  This was made for our Memorial Day festivities, and it was great in the heat. refreshing and tame;).  I want to play around with other flavors.  I am afraid that the Chambord is not replaceable.  It is a pricey ingredient, and  would like to find an economical substitute, ...

Well after that last Bloody Mary, I have rediscovered my love for them! I have always thrown some traditional ingredients in to some tomato juice, but I thought I would poke around for a recipe. I really liked this one. The curry in was noticeable but not overwhelming. This was a tasty take on a Bloody Mary! My only complaint was the let it sit overnight! When I was mixing this up, I wanted it then, but I do think that the overnight sitting in the fridge helped blend and mellow the flavors. A New-Look Bloody Mary   4 Cup tomato juice 1 Cup dill pickle juice 1/4 Cup fresh lemon juice 1 Tbl prepared horseradish 2 Tsp Worcestershire sauce 2 Tsp curry powder 1 Tsp Sriracha 1 Tsp kosher salt 1/2 Tsp celery seeds 1/4 Tsp black pepper 2 Cup vodka 8 celery stalks 8 lemon wedges Preparation Combine first 10 ingredients in a large pitcher. Chill overnight. Add vodka to pitcher; stir well. Fill tall glasses with ice. Divide Bloody Mary cocktail among glasses. Garnish ea...

For me, a Bloody Mary isn't just a drink, it is an appetizer!  I love to load it up with all kinds of nibbles: olives, salami, cheese cubes, shrimp, and any pickled veggie!  I did use some restraint tonight as we were about to have dinner and the cocktail is filling by itself!  I think of it sometimes as meal replacement shake;).  Now I adore Sriracha, but I haven't ever had a 'recipe' to follow for it's use in a Bloody Mary before. If you haven't had Sriracha, stop reading right now and go out and buy some!  There is a picture at the end of the post.   I have no idea where I found this recipe and recent googling didn't find me this particular recipe however there are plenty of others out there.  The only changes I made: a splash of soy sauce instead of salt, omitting the large caper berries as I had none, omitting celery because I don't like it, and adding pickles and olives.    Sriracha Bloody Mary 4 Cup tomato juic...

Ok, confession time.  I have an embarrassing secret.  I have hijacked my son's brand new PS3 and play Skyrim all day.  I am not even exaggerating about all day.  I will start when the boy goes to school, and find that he is home the next minute.  Not being a totally irresponsible parent, I make sure everyone eats, they get to and from school and all their activities,  that there are clean clothes and dishes, but only the bare minimum.  It started the week I was really sick and there wasn't much else I could do, but having returned to health, I have no excuse.  Needless to say, I have neglected not only the blog but the new recipe thing.  I am going to do better, as soon as I rid Skyrim of all evil and tyranny! :)  While I may have cobbled together leftovers for dinner, I do have a new discovery to share with you, a totally yummy cocktail or shot depending on you proclivities.  I used diet lemonade, and I hate diet drinks, and I...

So, I am not cooking this Thanksgiving!  I am both happy and sad about that.  We are going to friends house, but I have to bring something. (despite their protests;)  I am taking them their favorite salted caramel pretzel bark , but I also want to try out something new and holiday.  As I am thinking of it, there appears on my tv, Alton Brown doing a cranberry show!  I am also getting cranberries in my Front Porch Pickings basket!  Not being one to ignore fate, I decide to make some recipes on the show.  I choose this granita for two reasons.  The light, fresh and tart ice sounds like a great treat on a day full of heavy foods.  The other it that it can be made in to a cocktail!  That is a win-win for me.  I am bringing a desert and a drink with one recipe.  I made this early to taste it and make sure that I was bringing a guest worthy treat and cocktail.  It was.  I loved the granita.  It was a Thanks...

I have found so many recipes that I want to try, and a good percentage of them have come from my fellow food bloggers.  This recipe comes from one of  my favorite food blogs called We Are Not Foodies .  Not only do they have a lot of good looking recipes, but I like the writing style of the group.  I "made" this over a month ago. but tried it tonight for the first time.  I will say I was afraid of ruining a perfectly good bottle of vodka in my first attempt at a liqueur, so I guesstimated a smaller batch.  I was happily surprised with the taste and that I didn't mess it up.  The end result was really good and unique.  I think I want to order the book they talked about and perfect my liqueur making knowledge and skills.  Not only so I can reap the benefits, but it would make awesome Christmas presents! If you didn't see my previous post from a blogger, you may not know why I only listed the ingredie...

Well after a long day at the beach that included a pretty good hike around the nature trails of a local park, we had a late lunch of some giant slices of pizza at Lenny's .  We were all too full at dinner time to want to eat. Totally worth it; it was a great day of playing in some big waves, building enormous sandcastles and hiking through some beautiful scenery.  What goes better with beach than daiquiris?  Not too much.  So we invited some friends over to have some drinks and have a game night.  This is my mother's recipe for strawberry daiquiris but we also switched out the fruit and made some mango ones too.  It must be the heat, senioritis, or  whatever but I have totally slacked since Sunday.  I got to get back to work on proper meals tomorrow!  We did serve some meat, cheese and fruit with the drinks.  And after the company left, we nibbled on some leftovers, but those don't count as a recipe;).  So instead I share my mom's...

I didn't cook dinner tonight.  I insisted on finishing all the leftovers in the fridge.  It is the beginning of summer vacation and I want my fridge free to cook up a storm.  But I did make the drinks for tonight's dinner.  I used the lovely pineapple mint that came in my Front Porch Pickings basket.  The kid's and I loved it. It is a lovely refreshing drink for hot summer days.  I also like that you can control the sweetness. I think for summer parties this would be a great beverage because you can serve it to everyone, but can spike it with some rum for the adults that are so inclined.  It is also super easy.  It is best freshly blended; it tends to separate a bit after it sits. Watermelon And Mint "Agua Fresca" (Fresh Fruit-Blended Water) 8 Servings 4 c  watermelon,seeded and cubed (about 3 pounds) 1/2 c  water 24    mint leaves,divided 8 T  super-fine sugar (adjust if too sweet when using ...

Well another day without a proper refrigerator.  (grrrr)  My lovely friend invited us over for Mojitos and Pizza.  Both were delicious!  The Mojito recipe is from our friend Benny.  They are most likely the best mojito recipe on the planet!  They go down WAY to easy!  Since the pizza was from a local place, Luigi's, the only recipe I can include is the one one for the mojitos. Enjoy responsibly ;) I can't wait until I can cook properly again! Mojitos 1 Cup sugar 5 Limes 750 ml of bacardi white rum 1 Bunch of mint leaves Crushed Ice 1) Muddle the sugar and mint well 2) Add the juice of the limes and mix 3) Add the rum and stir Pour over a pitcher full of crushed ice.  Enjoy!:)