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Bourbon + Pecan Bon Bons
I am so excited to share this recipe with you. I am sure you’ll agree that when you put these earthly pleasures in your mouth, you’ll be tempted to sell your soul like Faust. Each bite explodes with bourbon-spiked pecan pie filling slathered with chocolate. Sweet, sweet magic in your mouth. And because they are so diminutive, they are practically guilt-free one-bite treats. Many of you know my mother’s family is Greek. What you may not know is my papou made chocolate confections. At any given time, there were vats upon vats of chocolate melting on the stove in his basement-turned chocolate factory workshop. Let that sink in. Imagine an…
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Tipsy Watermelon Ice Lollies
Did anyone else’s mother require that popsicles be eaten outside? It was one of those “because I said so” things we heard when we were growing up. We were so excited to have freezer pops that we didn’t even question the why. We just did what we were told. This week I had a flashback to those childhood moments of popsicle bliss, of how damn happy popsicles can make us. I was also reminded why Mom’s rules were such a good idea when on an intolerably hot day my Tipsy Watermelon Ice Lollies started dripping down my arm. I do not love July’s heat, but I do love summer, because…
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Cool Cucumber + Basil Gimlet
Another cocktail recipe? You bet your sweet ass. So I know it looks like I am boozing it up this summer—cocktail recipe after cocktail recipe—but let me explain. The Man is an eater, not a drinker. So while he is away, I have become a self-proclaimed mixologist. Besides, I can’t possibly eat all those delicious food blog recipes by myself, right? It is out of respect for his boundaries that I am making these cocktails in his absence. (That’s what I keep telling myself.) This Cool Cucumber + Basil Gimlet recipe is so refreshingly delightful yet so easy. Simply grate + pour + shake + strain + smack + float…
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Summer Watermelon Mojito
Clear your calendar. Summer in a glass is coming your way! When I think of fruity tropical drinks, I think RUM. And when I think of summer fruits, I think WATERMELON. So when I get to thinking and concocting in my head, the basic math side of my brain tells me that RUM + WATERMELON = WATERMELON MOJITO! (Check my math on that, okay?) Whatever your plans are for today, cancel them. Run to the store. Grab some watermelon, chop it up, and stick it in the freezer. Then you can pull it out when you are ready to suck down create these dangerously delightful Summer Watermelon Mojitos! All you…
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Sparkling Strawberry + Rosé Mojito
Pop! Fizz! Clink! Music to my ears. If that isn’t already your summer anthem, it will be once you make these insanely refreshing Sparkling Strawberry + Rosé Mojitos. This mojito recipe varies from a typical mojito because you are subbing sparkling rosé in place of club soda. Just thinking about this cocktail’s effervescence makes me a bit loopy. You will lose your mind over its deliciousness! The key is choosing bubbly rosé for this recipe. Typically, club soda adds the zip to a mojito. So if you are replacing the club soda with rosé, you’ll want to grab the zippy one. Choose carefully: some rosés are still, some are semi-sparkling,…
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Sugar-Rimmed Raspberry Gin Smash
I’m going to a pool party next weekend and have been put in charge of libations. So when the question is What is cool + light + refreshing + fruity? the answer is Sugar-Rimmed Raspberry Gin Smash. But what is a smash? A bartender* once explained a smash as a julep but with a choose-your-own-adventure spirit. You add booze (of choice) + herb (of choice) + sweetener (of choice) + seasonal fruit (of choice)—whatever blows your skirt up—to a glass of ice. Give it some swirls and bottoms up! Or use a straw if you are sassy. Summer raspberries are bulging with juice, so turning them into a smash makes…
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Rosemary + Gin Cocktail
What time is it? It’s cocktail o’clock, of course! So bring on the Rosemary + Grapefruit Gin Cocktail! Why this combo? Because I love gin. Aaaaand my rosemary bush needs a trimming. If you read my post on Rosemary Not-So-Simple Syrup, you may have wondered where I was going with that. Well, my fellow imbibers, here we are. I introduce to you the Rosemary + Grapefruit Gin Cocktail. I recommend you use freshly squeezed juice. Do not misunderstand me–I totally get that sometimes we need shortcuts. And there are plenty of good store-bought options. But if you’re up to it and you have the time, squeeze the citrus yourself. Ripe…
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Rosemary Not-So-Simple Syrup
“There’s rosemary, that’s for remembrance; pray, love, remember.” Ophelia, Hamlet, Act IV, scene V. Rosemary. Even the most delicate brush against this woody evergreen releases a waft of fragrance. Similar to pine and eucalyptus, it is intensely aromatic, nay potent. So potent that it purportedly increases our memory. Substantiated or not, its tenacious oil refuses to be ignored. Rosemary’s first culinary uses trace back 2,500 years ago. The ancient Greeks believed it helped improve memory + concentration + digestion + circulation. It is even alluded to in the Bible. So how does rosemary’s potency translate into a sweet syrup? Beautifully, I must say, and in various + sundry ways. Other…
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Spicy Pineapple + Jalapeño Margarita
Occasionally, at the end of the work week, I gather my tribe for a postmortem rendezvous. Our primary focus, of course, is to ruminate the meaning of life. And during our meetings we may imbibe elixirs that make us sound brilliant (at least we think so). After all, we have had a lot of epistemological practice. Some might even say we are PROFESSIONAL philosophers. Today I reveal a brilliant revelation: why wait till the end of the week to drink solve the world’s problems? Doesn’t the world need our sagacity every day? So I share with you the most momentous decision you can make any day of the week: to…
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Dirty Dalmatian
Have you ever laid your lips on a cocktail, and your first thought is, “Uh-oh”? As in, “Uh-oh, this concoction has some kick to it!” or “Uh-oh, I may end up drinking quite a few of these!” or “Uh-oh, these Dirty Dalmatians won’t last very long around here!” Meet your new best friend—the Dirty Dalmatian. This Dirty Dalmatian is a complementary amalgamation of Black Peppercorn Not-So-Simple Syrup and fresh Ruby Red grapefruit juice. When you sip it, you feel a rush of warmth in your throat swilled away by cold + refreshing + tangy acid. I call it a Dirty Dalmatian because the peppers have commingled with the syrup for…
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Cool Cucumber + Basil Gimlet
Tipsy Watermelon Ice Lollies
Raspberry + Thyme Frosé
eat. drink. bemerry. repeat.
