TACOS AL PASTOR and AQUA PEARL

I was cooking Tacos Al Pastor at the same time we were receiving a tutorial on a water system that produces alkaline water along with a myriad of health benefits.
Once our lovely and compelling presenters had left, I indulged in a cocktail. Using the pineapple juice I had drained from the tidbits that are featured in the tacos.

TACOS AL PASTOR

1 pound pork tenderloin, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 (8 ounce) can pineapple tidbits in juice, drained
1 onion, chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon chopped garlic
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon canola oil
6 tortillas, warmed
Toppings: sliced radishes, fresh cilantro leaves, crumbled queso fresco, sliced jalapeño

Combine pork, pineapple, onion, cilantro, chili powder, ground cumin, oregano, pepper, garlic and salt in a large zip-top plastic freezer bag. Seal and chill 4 to 24 hours.
Cook pork mixture in hot oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat, stirring often, 10 minutes or until pork is done. Serve mixture with warm tortillas and desired toppings.
Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from Southern Living, June 2009
www.southernliving.com/food

AQUA PEARL

3 ounces pineapple juice
6 tablespoons gin
4 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons simple syrup or agave syrup
2 teaspoons blue curaçao liqueur
4 dashes of angostura bitters
ice cubes

Mix pineapple juicce, gin, lemon juice, simple syrup, blue curaçao, and angostura bitters in a cocktail shaker. Fill with ice. Cover and shake well. Strain into 2 martini glasses.
Enjoy!

GINGER BOURBON COCKTAIL and MAINBRACE COCKTAIL

 Perfect to warm up a chilly evening!!

GINGER BOURBON COCKTAIL

1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon rainbow peppercorns
2 slices fresh ginger
ice
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 ounces bourbon

In a pan, simmer the sugar with 1/2 cup water, stirring, until sugar dissolves. Off the heat, steep the peppercorns and ginger until cool, strain.
Fill a glass with ice, and 1 tablespoon of syrup, lemon juice and bourbon.
Enjoy!

MAINBRACE COCKTAIL

1 ounce of gin

1/2 an ounce of Cointreau

1/2 an ounce of grapefruit juice

In a cocktail shaker, shake with ice, then strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from Dwell Magazine, September 2012

www.dwell.com/articles/recipes‎

BOULEVARDIER and RUM SWIZZLE and ADONIS and THE DOGWOOD and GRAPEFRUIT VESPER

I was deeply disappointed to miss cocktails at a friends house, due to a combination of my car not being drivable in the ice and snow, and having a sick child.
In an attempt to stop feeling sorry for myself, I mixed up my own cocktail, a poor substitute for the delicious sounding lavender cocktails she had prepared, but still delicious. I searched a long time to find a cocktail recipe, and almost gave up hope, until I unearthed The Boulevardier. It was interesting to note, while looking through magazines and my pile of recipes, that the older the magazine, the fewer, if any, cocktails were featured.

BOULEVARDIER

Combine 2 ounces of bourbon, 1 ounce of Campari and 1 ounce of sweet vermouth in a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Stir until shaker is very cold, about 1 minute. Strain into a cocktail glass, garnish with a lemon slice.
Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from Bon Appetit, March 2013
www.bonappetit.com/recipes‎

RUM SWIZZLE

ice cubes
2 ounces rum
juice of half a lime
juice of half a lemon
1 teaspoon agave nectar
generous dash of angostura bitters

In a rocks glass filled with ice cubes, combine ingredients. Use a swizzle stick to blend.
Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from Every Day with Rachael Ray
www.rachaelraymag.com/recipes/‎

ADONIS

In a cocktail shaker, combine 1 1/2 ounces sherry, 1 ounce sweet vermouth and 2 dashes of orange bitters. Add ice and stir well. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.
Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from Food and Wine, October 2010
www.foodandwine.com/recipes‎

THE DOGWOOD

Combine 1/4 cup white grapefruit juice, 3 tablespoons vodka and 1 tablespoon elderflower liqueur in a cocktail shaker filled with ice cubes.
Cover with lid and shake vigorously until thoroughly chilled, about 30 seconds.
Strain into a glass filled with ice cubes.
Garnish with a fresh rosemary sprig.
Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from Southern Living, March 2013
www.southernliving.com/food/‎

GRAPEFRUIT VESPER


GRAPEFRUIT VESPER

In a cocktail shaker, combine 1 ounce each of vodka, gin, grapefruit juice and sauvignon blanc. Add 1 1/2 teaspoons of honey and 1 cup of ice. Shake well. Strain into a cocktail glass.
Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from Rachael Ray Magazine, November 2011

www.rachaelraymag.com/recipes/‎

CRACKER SPOONS WITH CREAMY PIMIENTO CHEESE and LAVENDER GIN GOAT CHEESE COOKIES and CHOCOLATE MACADAMIA NUT BARS

A dear lady and lovely friend hosted a gathering at her home, a farewell party for a colleague of her husbands. I offered to make and deliver some tasty tidbits to help her out a little with the refreshments. 


CRACKER SPOONS WITH CREAMY PIMIENTO CHEESE

1 1/2 package of refrigerated piecrusts
1 egg white, beaten
3/4 teaspoon salt
creamy pimiento cheese (recipe to follow)

Heat oven to 400F.
Unroll pie crusts, brush with egg white and sprinkle with salt.
Cut dough into rounds, or spoon shapes. Place cutouts onto baking sheets.
Bake for 9 to 11 minutes, or until lightly browned and crisp.
Remove from baking sheets to a wire rack, and cool completely (about 20 minutes).
Spoon creamy pimiento cheese into a zip-top plastic freezer bag, snip one corner of the bag to make a small hole. Pipe pimiento cheese onto end of each spoon.

CREAMY PIMIENTO CHEESE
Beat 10 ounces of sharp cheddar cheese, shredded, 1/2 cup mayonnaise, 1 (4 ounce) jar of diced pimiento, drained, 1 teaspoon grated onion, 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard, 1/4 taspoon ground red pepper, and a dash of Worcestershire sauce at medium speed with a heavy duty electric stand mixer 1 minute or until creamy. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from Southern Living, April 2012
www.southernliving.com/food/‎




LAVENDER GIN GOAT CHEESE COOKIES

3 sticks of butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon gin
3 1/2 cups flour
3 teaspoons dried lavender
generous pinch of salt
2 to 3 egg yolks, beaten
6 ounces of goat cheese

Mix the butter, sugar and gin together until thoroughly blended. Mix in the flour, lavender and salt until it gets doughy. Roll out the dough on a floured surface to 1/2 inch thick. Freeze for 10 minutes.
Roll the dough into about 24 little balls and dunk them in the beaten egg yolks. Put the balls on a silicone baking mat on a baking sheet and smash them with your thumb to make craters. Put some goat cheese in each crater. Bake until lightly golden on the edges, about 10 minutes.
Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from Food Network
www.foodnetwork.com › Recipes › Baking‎


CHOCOLATE MACADAMIA NUT BARS

CRUST
1 1/2 cups flour
1 cup dark brown sugar
3/4 cup cold butter, cut into pieces
1 cup chopped macadamia nuts, toasted
CARAMEL AND CHOCOLATE
3/4 cup butter
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate morsels

Heat the oven to 350F.
Grease a 13 by 9 inch baking pan.
To prepare the crust, combine flour and sugar in the bowl of a food processor. Process about 10 seconds to combine thoroughly. Add butter and process until mixture is crumbly, about 30 seconds. Trtansfer mixture to prepared pan and press firmly. Scatter nuts evenly over crust and press them in firmly.
To prepare the caramel layer, melt the butter in a heavy medium sized saucepan over low heat. Add the brown sugar and stir well until thoroughly combined and smooth. Increase heat to medium high and cook, stirring constantly, until entire surface of caramel is bubbly. Immediately pour hot caramel over nuts and spread evenly. Bake 18 to 20 minutes or until caramel is bubbly.
Remove pan from oven. Wait 1 minute, sprinkle chocolate morsels evenly over caramel. Let stand 2 to 3 minutes for chocolate to melt. Spread chocolate evenly. Cool completely, then refrigerate 30 minutes to set. Cut into bars with a sharp knife.
Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from Relish Magazine
relish.com/recipes/‎

GIMLET and BLUEBERRY TARRAGON SPARKLERS and THE LUSTY LADY and OLD PAL and LYCHEE MARTINI

My husband enjoys a Gin and Tonic in the summer and a Bourbon and water in the winter, so on the nights we sip and savor a beverage at home, I experiment and mix up an interesting cocktail for myself. I'm accomplished at adapting a recipe to yield one - and on occasion I will mix two and deliver one to my neighbor.

GIMLET

1/4 cup gin
1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon simple syrup
1/2 teaspoon Roses lime juice

Pour into a shaker filled with ice cubes. Cover, shake vigorously until outside of shaker is frosty.
Strain into a coupe glass, add 1 large ice cube.
Enjoy! Please share recipedoodle with your friends!

Recipe adapted from Bon Appetit, September 2012
www.bonappetit.com/recipes‎

BLUEBERRY TARRAGON SPARKLERS

1/2 cup blueberries
1/4 cup honey
2 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon
ice
2 bottles of sparkling white wine

In a medium saucepan, bring blueberries, honey, 1/4 cup water and tarragon to a boil over medium heat. Stir until honey dissolves, about 3 minutes. Off the heat, muddle the blueberries and let stand for 20 minutes, strain and let cool. Spoon 1 tablespoon blueberry syrup each into 8 glasses. Add ice, then the sparkling wine.
Enjoy! Please let your friends know about reciepedoodle!

Recipe adapted from RachaelRay Magazine, July/August 2013
www.rachaelraymag.com/recipes/‎

THE LUSTY LADY

2 ounces gin
1/2 ounce lime juice
1/2 ounce agave nectar
3/4 ounce cranberry juice
3 to 4 dashes of lavender bitters

Fill a shaker with ice. Pour all the ingredients into a shaker. Shake until frothy.
Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from Scrappys Bitters
scrappysbitters.com/lavender/‎
I would love for you to share recipedoodle with your friends!

OLD PAL

3 tablespoons bourbon
2 tablespoons campari
2 tablespoons dry vermouth
1 lime twist

Combine bourbon, campari and dry vermouth in a cocktail shaker. Add ice and stir until shaker becomes frosty. Strain into a coupe glass. Garnish with a lime twist if desired.
Enjoy! I would love for you to share recipedoodle with your friends!

Recipe adapted from Bon Appetit, February 2012
www.bonappetit.com/‎

LYCHEE MARTINI

ice cubes
3 ounces vodka
2 ounces lychee juice
splash of vermouth
2 lychees for garnish

In a cocktail shaker filled with ice, add vodka, lychee juice and vermouth. Shake until chilled. Pour into a martini glass and garnish with lychees.
Enjoy! and please share recipedoodle with your friends!

Recipe adapted from Danny Boome and The Food Network, 2008
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/rescue-chef/lychee-martini-recipe/index.html

HONEY JASMINE LEMONADE

I first made this cocktail for a fabulous friends fabulous party around Christmas time. She invited everyone to bring a cocktail and the accompanying recipe, she put out little bites and small sampler cups, and it was such a great blend of personalities, drinks, people and food.
The tea, honey and fresh juices seemed like the perfect combination to ward off the end of winter illness, but I have found it is also an excellent mix for the summer sense of well being.

HONEY JASMINE LEMONADE

1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup hot water
3 cups freshly brewed jasmine tea
1 cup gin
3/4 cup Limoncello
3/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup fresh orange juice

Stir honey and water in a bowl until honey dissolves. Combine honey mixture, jasmine tea, gin, Limoncello, and juices in a large pitcher and stir to blend.
Serve over ice.
Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from Bon Appetit
www.bonappetit.com/recipes‎

THE STRAWBERRY MUDDLE

I served this fun cocktail before a friend and I attended a recent show at the Walton Arts Center. Our regular mama schedules left little time to catch up before the performance, so it was a quick drink, bite to eat (I thought this yummy and fresh cocktail paired well with a triple cream brie with strawberries and crostini sprinkled with sea salt and herbs de provence) and an excited flurry of words on the back deck before rushing off to the show.
"Listen to your Mother" was absolutely incredible, we laughed, we cried and I felt my role as a mother was re-affirmed and re-energized. Every women (and Man) up there had a wonderful, touching, thought provoking story, that made me feel so very thankful to be a mother.
I told my kids about the show earlier and my oldest son said "no Mum, what is it really called". They were as intrigued as I was, and I'm not sure I could find the words to fully explain its awesomeness to them even after seeing the show.

THE STRAWBERRY MUDDLE

1 1/2 cups chopped hulled strawberries
3 tablespoons of agave nectar
juice of 1 lemon
6 ounces of gin
6 thin lemon slices
ice
1 chilled bottle of prosecco

Divide strawberries among 6 glasses, add 1/2 tablespoon of agave nectar, a splash of lemon juice, and 1 ounce of gin to each glass. Mash with a muddler.
Add a lemon slice to each glass, several ice cubes and top with prosecco.
Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from Bon Appetit, July 2009
www.bonappetit.com/recipes‎

CUCUMBER LEMONADE CHILLER and SPRING SALAD WITH LIME VINAIGRETTE and WHITE PEACH CRISP

We were really looking forward to having some of the most fabulous people we know for dinner. What started out as a small gathering, grew to 12 adults and 14 children.
We started the evening outside on the deck, with a cocktail, and radishes sliced in half, spread with goat milk butter and sprinkled with sea salt. We then moved inside to dine on braised ox-tail, roasted vegetables and pork shoulder my husband had slow cooked in hoisin sauce and red apple ale. I rounded out the meal with a spring salad lightly dressed with a tangy lime vinaigrette and a simple white peach crisp served with whipped cream and coffee.
It was a delightful spring menu for an incredible evening, joyfully served to wonderful friends.

CUCUMBER LEMONADE CHILLER

3 cucumbers
1 tablespoon of fresh rosemary, chopped
2 cups gin
1/2 cup lemon juice
3 tablespoons of agave nectar

Peel and chop the cucumbers, transfer to a food processor. Add rosemary and puree.
Pour the puree through a fine-mesh strainer set over a large measuring cup. Press on the solids to extract all the juice. Add gin, lemon juice, and agave nectar to the cucumber juice, stir until the agave is dissolved. Divide among ice filled glasses and garnish with rosemary sprigs.
Enjoy!

SPRING SALAD WITH LIME VINAIGRETTE

FOR THE SALAD
1 green apple, cored and diced
grated zest of 2 limes
juice of 2 limes
3/4 cup artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
5 green onions, chopped
1 cucumber, peeled and seeded, diced
2 stalks of celery, diced
4 tablespoons parsley, chopped
1 cup seedless green grapes, sliced in half lengthwise
butter lettuce
1 avocado, peeled and diced
FOR THE LIME VINAIGRETTE
1/4 lime juice
1/4 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1 teaspoon horseradish
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon green onions, finely chopped
salt and pepper to taste

FOR THE SALAD
In a small bowl, coat the apple with the lime juice and set aside. In a medium bowl, combine the lime zest, artichoke hearts, green onions, cucumber, celery, parsley, and grapes. Separate the leaves of the lettuce, and place one on each plate. Top with the vegetables, and arrange avocado on top.
FOR THE LIME VINAIGRETTE
Combine all ingredients and mix well. Drizzle over top of salads.
Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from the Arkansas Democrat Gazette, June 2005
www.arkansasonline.com/news/features/food/

WHITE PEACH CRISP

STREUSEL
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup cold unsalted butter, diced
1/2 cup sliced almonds
1/4 cup sugar
PEACHES
1 1/2 pounds ripe white peaches, peeled and diced
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon sugar

STREUSEL
Heat oven to 325F.
In a food processor, pulse together flour, butter, almonds and sugar until crumbly. Spread mixture on a cookie sheet. Bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes. Cool on sheet, then crumble into pieces.
PEACHES
In a medium saucepan, combine peaches, honey, lemon juice, and sugar. Cook over medium heat, stirring until peaches are tender and juices thicken slightly (I ended up adding a little cornstarch to thicken). Remove from the heat and cool.
Spoon 1/3 cup peach mixture onto each serving dish. Sprinkle each serving with streusel. Serve with vanilla ice-cream or whipped cream.
Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from Oprah Magazine, July 2004
www.oprah.com/food.html