30 Days of Beverages - Day 7 - It Makes me think of Jimmy Buffet!

I don't know why this drink makes me think of Jimmy Buffet, but it does. Maybe it's the Key Lime aspect. Maybe it's the pineapple juice or maybe it's the fact that it makes me wish I was floating on a boat somewhere with some guy playing a guitar...or maybe not.... Regardless, today's drink is a favorite of mine - the Key Lime Pie Martini!

Now the first time I had this drink I was with my friend, Melissa, at an upscale Chinese restaurant sitting at the bar for dinner. We'd had our share of cocktails that evening and the bartender asked if he could make us a drink for dessert. I immediately said "No, thanks!" since most dessert drinks are either too-sweet-for-me wine or icky-bitter-coffee-and-booze drinks, neither of which are up my alley. He argued that this was neither and based on our cocktails of choice all evening he felt certain that we would like this treat. So, who am I to turn down a free drink.

And so my love of the Key Lime Pie Martini was born. It's not something I have often, since I don't always have the ingredients on hand, but when I have one - wow! Just wow! It's great every time. Try it....I think you're going to like it!

You're going to need all of this.... plus ice -

You'll need to do this to some graham crackers because graham cracker crumbs on the rim of the glass are a KEY part of this cocktail....

Then you can start mixing - vanilla vodka, key lime liqueur, a little pineapple juice and heavy cream - then you add ice and shake, shake, shake...shake your mar-tini, shake your mar-tini!

It's a beautiful thing....

Key Lime Pie Martini

compliments of some bartender dude in a Chinese restaurant in Houston

Lime wedge to wet the rim of the glass

Graham Cracker Crumbs for the rim of the glass

3 ounces vanilla vodka

2 ounces key lime liqueur

2 tablespoons pineapple juice

2 tablespoons heavy cream

Wet the rim of a martini glass with the lime wedge and then roll the glass in graham cracker crumbs to coat. In a shaker, combine remaining ingredients, add ice and shake until well mixed. Pour into chilled martini glass, garnish with a lime wedge and serve.

30 Days of Beverages - Day 6 - Honey! It's Happy Hour!

First, I have to confess that this is not going to be about the drink I had planned for today. I had one of my all-time favorite cocktails booked to play this gig, but as it often does, life intervened and didn't let me get to Spec's (our fabu, huge, mother-ship of a liquor store) today to buy the one ingredient I didn't have on hand! But never fear cocktail loving friends...I found another and here is how I arrived at it -

This Sunday my mom and dad leave on a week long cruise. They head out of Galveston, Texas and will ride the seven seas (well, the Gulf and the Atlantic) to the Bahamas and somewhere else that I can't remember right now! They're really looking forward to it and are sure to have a blast. I have mom on a side-mission to scope out the Atlantis Resort...I think it'd be a perfect vaca for the weeone and me next year! Anyway, they're leaving for a week.

The day before my parents arrive back in Houston, the weeone and I will hop a jet plane and head to Lancaster, PA, by way of BWI -my favoritest(new word alert!) airport ever. We're going to the Amish Country to relax and commune with nature absent of electricity and modern conveniences like computers and cell phones - you know, really disconnect and get away from it all. HA! Can you imagine? Me, the girl who won't camp, trying to be Amish?!?!?! There's a really bad reality show in there somewhere. Anyway, we're going to visit my brother, Doug (or as the weeone calls him, Uncle Dougie-poo-poo-pants), his wife ( my fab sister-in-law ), Colleen (Aunt Coco), and the 2 coolest guys under 18 I know...my nephews, Collin and Andrew.

2 weeks is a LONG time in the weeone's mind as well as Nana's for those two to be separated. So, tonight, we (the weeone, Nana, Pap and me) headed out to our favorite little Mexican dive - Don Jose's. My family's been eating there since I was five. It was our regular Friday Night Dinner when Doug and I were kids. I have a point, really -

So, when I had to pick a new drink for today, I kept in mind that Don Jose's margarita's were in my future. Being a girl who learned long ago that "beer before liquor = never sicker and liquor before beer=never fear" and that not all liquors mix well, I chose something with Tequila.

Wow...that was a long story just to say I wanted something with tequila in it! =)

I stumbled across a Honey Bee Cocktail...sounds sweet, huh? teeheehee. Yep, I'm a dork.

The recipe claims to serve 4, but I stand firm that this recipe makes 2 cocktails! It's very similar to a margarita, but the honey gives it a unique flavor that makes the tequila really come alive. It's a great option on a hot day when you're craving something on the rocks.

Honey Bee Cocktail

8oz tequila

2 oz honey

Juice of 2 limes

Ice

Combine tequila, honey and lime juice in a shaker and mix well. Pour into glasses with ice. Serves 4. (I say 2!)

Hey - Check out the monkey in the palm tree....how cute is he?!?!?!

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For those who've missed my chats about funny things the weeone has said and done...suffice it to say I'm taking notes and will have an arsenal by the time this 30 days project is up! Just to tide you over - A couple of week's ago she told my mom, "Nana, it's good that you're handicapped because we get good parking!".

And here's the photo face I get lately when I pull out the camera.....she's moody, that 7 year old girl...but I love, love, love her!!!

30 Days of [Blank] - Day 5 - Your Liver needs a Break!

I decided that for the 5th day of my 30 Days of Beverages, our overworked livers could use a day of reprieve...a little break...a little time to gear up for what's coming next. So, today's drink is one the whole family can enjoy! A rated G beverage, what more could you ask for? What? What's that you say? You say today is cocktail day? Well, for those who still want a little sumpin', sumpin' in your beverage, I'll give you a twist at the end....so hang in there a few more minutes!

I'm a fan of The Pioneer Woman and she recently launched a new site called Tasty Kitchen where readers can contribute recipes. Readers can comment and review recipes as well. I went surfing the site last night in search of today's treat. I found a recipe for Summer Sweet Raspberry Lemonade that sounded irresistible....so here it is!

I pureed some of these, but the frozen variety, with sugar and water....

Then I pushed the puree through a sieve to get rid of the raspberry seeds...

While that was dripping along...literally...

Look how incredibly smooth this sauce comes out - I will be making this portion of the recipe as a cheesecake topping, ice cream topping, brownie topping, etc soon!!!

I made a simple syrup (I wasn't going to post this photo because my pots are so old and ugly, but I guess that just shows you can make yummy stuff in old pots!)

I added the simple syrup to the raspberry sauce and some lemons I juiced (I decided to spare you from another day with a photo of a lemon being cut and juiced. You're welcome.) And I added the rest of the water.....and here's what I ended up with - Pure Bliss - and for those who really wanted a cocktail? Add a shot of vodka per 8 oz of lemonade and I think you'll be happy as a clam. =) Cheers!

Summer Sweet Raspberry Lemonade

from joythebaker at Tasty Kitchen

For the Raspberry Sauce

6 oz frozen raspberries

1 tablespoon sugar

1 tablespoon water

For the Lemonade

1 cup sugar

1 cup water

1 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice

4 cups cold water

1/4 cup Raspberry Sauce

For the Raspberry Sauce:

Place the thawed raspberries in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a blade attachment. Add sugar and water and mix until the raspberries form a smooth puree. Transfer raspberry puree to a fine mesh strainer fit over a bowl. Press the puree through the strainer, until only the raspberry seeds and a bit of pulp remain the the strainer, and a beautiful raspberry sauce is all that’s in the bowl.

For the Lemonade:

Make simple syrup by heating the sugar and water in a small saucepan until the sugar is dissolved completely.

While the sugar is dissolving, use a juicer to extract the juice from 4 to 6 lemons, enough for one cup of juice.

Add the juice and the sugar water to a pitcher. Add 4 cups of cold water, more or less to the desired strength. Add the prepared raspberry sauce and stir to combine. Refrigerate 30 to 40 minutes. If the lemonade is a little sweet for your taste, add a little more straight lemon juice to it.

Serve over ice.

You’ll have extra raspberry sauce, save it for your next ice cream sundae or next batch of lemonade!

30 Days of [Blank] - Day 4 - The Rum Edition

I don't drink rum. I keep rum in the house for guests, but it's not something I generally drink. There was a night in college that involved rum that I'd rather erase from my memory, but I can't, so I just don't drink rum. However, if you rule out rum in your quest for 30 days of Beverages you rule out a lot of things that sound so good in the summer heat.

So here goes....30 Days of Beverages - Day 4 - The Rum Edition!!!

I dug the Bacardi out of the liquor cabinet....grabbed some lemons and sugar and off I went. The drink itself was easy to make and used ingredients any of us would have on hand, so you can make it anytime. Although this was a decent drink, and if you like rum, you'd probably really like it - it wasn't for me. I would offer to make it for someone though, so it's not off my list completely - it's just not MY drink! =)

Bacardi Handshaken Daiquiri

www.bacardi.com

1 part Bacardi Superior

1 part Lime or Lemon Juice, freshly squeezed

1/2 teaspoon sugar

Mix all ingredients in a shaker with ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass or serve on the rocks.

I think tomorrow we'll lay off the booze for a day. I don't know if my liver can take 30 days of this!!!

30 Days of [Blank] - Day 3

Yep, I'm late. I have a great excuse, though. Wanna hear it? Yesterday evening the weeone had a birthday party to go to....at....wait for it....my least favorite place in the world....Chuck E. Cheese's! Boo-hiss for the big blue rat! I can't stand the place. The weeone, however, loves it as do all her cohorts...hence the party. The kids had a blast and pretty much dominated the place. I guess rush hour in Houston isn't when the happening crowd hits the "Cheese's" for happy hour!

The kids played, ate pizza, danced with the rat while the grown-ups (or so we're told that's what we are) chatted, gossiped, wished they had a bar, commiserated and laughed. I had a good time, but by the time we got home I was ready for a party for one. =)

That brings me today's (well, yesterday's) drink for my 30 Days of Drink Recipes. I wanted something alcoholic after the birthday party and something light and summery. A friend had gifted me the book "Any Bitch Can Drink" a few years ago, so I started flipping through the 180 pages of cocktails and landed on this one. A cross between a Cape Cod (my standby) and a Margarita (always a treat), the West-Texas Sunrise sounded perfect!!!

You start with all of this....plus crushed ice.

Do a little of this....and if you have this great citrus juicer it's simple....

So you put it all together and you do the hokey pokey and this is what it's all about!

Pretty, huh? Tasty too!

It was delightful. A perfect mix between my two favorite drinks, it almost tasted like a Cranberry Margarita - the tart of the cranberry, the crisp of the lime and woohoo of the tequila! Now, here's where the excuse comes in....the recipes makes 4 and I didn't read that part until the drink was made....and we are in a recession, so I wouldn't want to waste anything.... =). So rather than drinking and blogging, I decided to post today. This drink gets 2 thumbs up from me and will be repeated sometime down the road when these 30 days are up!

West-Texas Sunrise

from Any Bitch Can Drink

6 oz Cranberry Juice

6 oz Tequila

Julice of 4 limes

Crushed Ice

Put all the ingredients in a shaker. Shake well and pour into wine glasses. Serves 4.

30 Days of [Blank] - Day 2

Woohoo! Not only is this Day 2 of 30 Days of [Blank], but it's also my 100th blog post. Can't you just feel the excitement of it all???? In honor of this very special occasion, I'm making one of my FAVORITE drinks today. It really all came together. This is a drink that I love on a hot day, and guess what? It's hot today in Houston. This is a drink that I love with Asian food, and guess what? The weeone and I had takeout Chinese for dinner! This is a drink that my mother is counting on my blogging about, and guess what? I get to do it early in the 30 days before she goes off vacationing and living the life!

So, what you ask is it?

Here are some hints....

You take this....

...and you need some of these....

...in order to have THIS!

Lemon Drop Martini

(aka Heaven in a Glass)

2 oz Vodka (citrus if you have it)

1/2 ounce Triple Sec

1 Tablespoon Splenda (or a tad more if you don't like them tart)

3 Lemons, juiced

Superfine sugar for the rim of the glass

Decortive lemon peel for making your drink pretty

Shake all of the ingredients with ice in a cocktail shaker and strain into a martini glass!

Makes 1 so double if you've had a day and quadruple if a friend is joining you!

If you drink too many...they look more like this....

This is my mother's favorite cocktail. She's the woman who taught me that "There's never enough Vodka"!

Cheers, Mom!

30 Days of [Blank] - Day 1

Yep, I know I'm posting this one Day 2 even though it's about Day 1. I'm cool like that. Procrastination is an art for me. You know you wish you could be me...but ya'can't! Plus, I was shopping yesterday...at an outlet mall...that had a Le Crueset store...do you really blame me for putting off the Day 1 post? I had important work to do stimulating the economy! Nahhhh...I knew y'all would forgive me.

It's been tough - the decision on what to do for 30 days. I've tried to be funny and creative in my ideas. I've tried to be brave and daring in my ideas. I've tried to consider that we'll be on vacation for a week in my ideas. So, here's what I've come up with - I love food, right? Ya'll know this about me. It's why a couple of times a week, you come here for a funny story and find that I'm force feeding you a new recipe or such that I loved! What if for 30 days I give you recipes.....for drinks!!!! I'll test them out, of course. I wouldn't want you to encounter a bad drink! There will be a variety of beverages - alcoholic, non-alcoholic, smoothies, slushes....the works!

If you have a recipe you'd love me to make, send it to agirlinthesouth@gmail.com . Of course, now my mother is going to be sending me four different recipes for Lemon Drop Martinis....bet on it! But for now I'm left to my own devices. Bwaaahahahahaha! Let the crazy concocting begin!!!

Day 1 of 30 Days of Beverages....

Just to prove that I'm not a raging alcoholic, we're going to start with a smoothie / milkshake that the kids will enjoy. I got this recipe out of a cookbook that the weeone's dad bought for her on one of their many Barnes & Noble trips. It's got fun food that's easy for little ones to help with and she's been just DYING to make something from it!

Under a Blue Moon Smoothie

adapted from The Mermaid Cookbook by Barbara Beery

2 1/2 cups frozen blueberries

(I used fresh since I was making their milkshake into a smoothie)

1 3/4 cups apple or white grape juice

1 cup vanilla frozen yogurt

(I used homemade strawberry ice cream because it's what I had!)

1/4 cup milk

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 cup fresh blueberries for garnish

Combine all ingredients except your berries for garnish in a blender. Serve immediately garnished with fresh blueberries.

Variation: Try using raspberries instead of blueberries! =)