Thirsty(ish) Thursday: Bloody Mary Tomatoes

This recipe needs to be made about 3-7 days in advance.

I ran out of time (after being out of town until 2 days in advance), so my recipe had only 24 hours to marinate.

People still loved it, so I can only imagine how much better these will be over time.

The recipe is here from Oprah.

My only notes is that A) I couldn't find pepper vodka, but I did find Absolut New Orleans, which worked just as well, I imagine. (And it helps a good cause, so bonus!)

B) I didn't have a lot of patience for poking holes in the tomatoes (big surprise), so I took one of those double pronged corn cob holders and ran it completely through each tomato, twice.  It was the most time consuming (active) portion of this recipe.

Not too shabby, I think!

Thirsty Thursday: Blue Lagoon Margarita

secret ingredient!

Over ice, with diving fish

I love fresh margaritas.  Freshly squeezed lime juice and tequila can pretty much make my day.  However, when I was told the family was going to host a "Margarita-Off" competition, I wanted to go a little off center from the norm.  I wanted blue with fish.  The rest is just made up.
Ingredients:
2 oz pineapple juice
1 oz blue curacao
1 oz tequila
1 oz lime juice - I love the Key Lime juice, but fresh is always amazing.
about 4-6 Sweedish fish

Blended.  To achieve the swimming effect, pour half, place fish, blend more, add to top off.

Thirsty Thursday, call a cab edition!



Yeah, don't take it in the face!

I know, I've been going back and forth with drink recipes that may or may not contain alcohol, that way all of my friends and colleagues who may not want to partake (for any reason from preference to pregnancy) can feel included.  Well, sorry guys and gals, but this week is probably not going to be the best week for you.  You can fake out some of these ingredients, but I can't imagine the essence of goodness that is this beverage can really be enjoyed without some of the fully leaded liquids!

Behold - the Raspberry Tequila Sangria! Okay, you know how it goes, at least it's the ingredients for it.

Do you see that Ultimate Mandolin in the shot? Oh yeah, I totally busted it out for some uber-thin slices.  I'll admit, my orange was almost too big to use easily, but it fit and I totally made it work.

Check the difference between when I used a knife to thinly slice my lime, and when I used the mandolin.  Freaky, right?

In the spirit of a real sangria, I put all of the ingredients (minus the "champagne" and Sprite) in the pitcher to soak up some of the alcohol.  I had this sitting about an hour as I waited for Thomas to come home for the day, and as soon as he walked in, I added the bubbly ingredients.

It only took two glasses a piece and we were out for the count.  We were so sleepy after dinner that we retired at a ridiculously early hour.  It was totally worth it, however, and was a great way to spend an evening after a long day of work.  Oh, and it was the day I learned that I was being laid off, so in the long run, completely necessary!

Drink up, kids, it's almost Friday.  Cheers!

Thirsty Thursday, multiple liquor edition!

It's been that kind of week where we need a drink.  Or two.  In fact, we're having such a versatile drink this week, that you can serve it with a multitude of liquors, and it's great with every one...

Behold, the ingredients for a Sparkling Citrus Cooler!

Once again, I can't follow a recipe to save my soul. Well, maybe I can, but I have this thing about left over ingredients.  If I can't throw in a whole can, or find the right amount, I don't like saving the leftovers.  They usually go bad before I get a chance to use them again.  This generally stems from me not knowing how to throw random ingredients together to "create" a recipe, but I can admit my weaknesses, and therefore don't feel too bad if I fudge a current recipe to save me from the excess waste.  Long story short (too late!), I doubled up on the frozen orange juice because that was the only sized can I could find.

This drink is so easy to make, and it's quite versatile.  I tried it with tequila, with vodka, and with no booze at all (gasp!).  All three were winners, plus I think if there had been any Malibu or Parrot Bay on hand, rum would have been a great addition as well.  And, unlike the Sangria, I wasn't afraid to have leftovers for the next day, or the day after that.  The sparkling water added to it, but didn't leave a "flat" taste, like I was worried about with the Sprite Zero.

The only downfall, if you let it be one, was the fruit cocktail left over in the bottom of the pitcher.  Unlike Sangria (although this doesn't have to be the case), you don't soak the fruit in the alcohol before serving it up, so there's no "bonus" benefit from chomping down on the lemons or limes.  So, make a plan.  Serve up your drinks with the fruit mixed in, or leave them in the pitcher and have a sweetened dessert after your meal.  Either way, drink up, and enjoy the extra dose of vitamin C!

God Bless the Safe House!

Cheers!