Pomegranate-lime cocktail

During our cocktail hour this weekend I tried a Pomegratate, lime and vodka cocktail that's perfect for summer evenings. It looks so damn pretty I almost didn't want to drink it.

Almost.

Here's how to make your own.

Ingredients:

1 shot of 100% Pomegranate Juice

1 shot of good quality Vodka

1/2 shot Gran Marnier (or Gran Gala)

Two good sized lime wedges

Four ounces of club soda

Mix the juice of one lime wedge, Pomegranate juice, vodka, and Gran Marnier in a cocktail shaker with ice. Sugar the rim of a large wine glass, put some ice in the glass and add the club soda. Now add the ingredients from the shaker, and garnish with the other lime.

Perfection.

I also realized that the Limoncello Cooler is great when mint and cucumber is substituted for the basil. So refreshing!

It's raining boots

Weather is a great metaphor for life - sometimes it's good, sometimes it's bad, and there's nothing much you can do about it but carry an umbrella. ~Terri Guillemets

It's been raining in Rhody for the past few days, with continued downpours in the forecast through Saturday. It's the type of weather that makes you want to stay in bed and sleep until the sun shows itself again.

The less time I have to look out the window on days like today, the better. So I stay busy with work, and work-outs, and cooking, and cleaning, and I get so much done.

Since I'm in a glass half-full kind of mood, I can also appreciate that the rain justifies me wearing my cheapo Capelli New York rain boots that happen to smell so strongly of vinyl that I have to keep them in the entry way.

But I love them anyway.

Lemony Libations

I'm enjoying my latest batch of Limoncello by using it in refreshing Limoncello Coolers and during cocktail hour this weekend, I whipped up a Limoncello Martini so deliciously tart and sweet it made my heart pucker.

Here's what you need:

One shot Vodka

Two shots of Limoncello

Lemon wedge

One tsp. sugar

Here's how to make the magic happen:

Chill a martini glass in the freezer

Put the sugar in a saucer. (This will be used to sugar the rim of the glass).

Fill a cocktail shaker with ice, and combine the vodka with the limoncello. Shake it for about 30 seconds to get it freezing cold.

Rub the lemon wedge along the rim of the maritini glass and stamp it in the sugar.

Pour Limoncello Martini and sip to your heart's delight.

Limoncello Recipe in the Raw

Limoncello is an Italian lemon liqueur that I've always considered a special treat, because it's a sweet indulgence and the really good quality bottles can be a bit pricey. So when Rob's aunt gave us a bottle of her homemade Limoncello for Christmas a couple of years ago, I was estactic and had to learn how to make it myself.

I tried it for the first time last year and though the process takes about a week, the steps are all quick and easy after peeling the lemons.

Last week, I started the homemade Limoncello process by peeling ten lemons and letting them steep in vodka for four days. This weekend, it was time to put on some Andrea Bocelli music and finish the steps.

Here's how it's made, from start to finish.

I used Giada De Laurentiis' Limoncello recipe and substituted white sugar for raw cane sugar. Sugar in the Raw is a tan color because it hasn't been bleached like white sugar, so using it means compromising that vibrant yellow color you see with traditional Limoncello. The final product is a tannish-yellow color, but the taste is just as delicious.

Ingredients:
•10 lemons (Sorrento lemons, if you want to follow tradition)
•1 (750-ml) bottle of vodka
•3 1/2 cups water
•2 1/2 cups sugar

Using a vegetable peeler or paring knife, remove the peel from the lemons in long strips, being careful not to include pith with the peels. Throw all the lemon peels into a 2-quart pitcher or Ball Jar, and pour the vodka over the peels. Cover it up and let the lemon peels infuse the vodka for four or five days at room temperature.

Now that the lemon peels have infused the vodka with citrus flavor, you can move on to step 2. Stir the water and sugar in a large saucepan over medium heat until the sugar dissolves, about 5-6 minutes to create a simple syrup. Let it cool, then pour the simple syrup over the vodka mixture using a funnel to avoid spilling it all over the place the way I did the first time I made it.

Cover and let it stand at room temperature overnight. Then, strain the limoncello through a mesh strainer to filter out all of the peels. Discard the peels, transfer the limoncello to bottles. Seal them and either put them in the refrigerater or the freezer, to keep it longer than a month.


My favorite ways to drink limoncello is with club soda and basil (Limoncello Cooler), as a Limoncello Martini, or just to sip after dinner.

That's amore...

The Crimson Margarita

Cinco De Mayo is code for Margaritas and Mexican food, which we'll be enjoying tonight. The plan is to make Shrimp Fajitas, rice, black beans, corn on the cobb, to go with our tequila.

I recently made up this "Crimson Margarita," and Rob and I both loved it. I use Pomegranate juice, which is tart and sweet, with tequila, lime and orange liqueur. It's perfection.

Ingredients:

1 shot of (100%) Pomegranate Juice

1 shot of (100% Agave) Silver Tequila

1/2 shot of Orange Liqueur (Gran Marnier or Gran Gala)

2 good size lime wedges, one for squeezing, the other for rim and garnish

Splash of club soda (optional)

Put your margarita glass in the freezer, then put the orange liqueur, Tequila, and Pomegranate Juice together in a cocktail shaker full of ice. Squeeze one of the lime wedges into the cocktail shaker, and then shake the shit out of it all. You want it nice and cold.

Rub the other lime wedge along the rim of your glass, then dip the rim in either sugar or salt, or a combination of both for salty-sweet goodness.

Put some ice in the glass, and if you like some fizz, put in a splash of club soda. Now pour your Crimson Margarita over the ice, and sip to your hearts delight.

It's so good. And pomegranate juice is full of antioxidant, so you could even say it's healthy! (I know, I know, alcohol isn't exactly healthy. But everything is relative. Compared to Margaritas made with mixes that are full of artificial coloring and sweetners, this is a better bet!) Enjoy it.

For other Cinco De Mayo food and cocktails, check out these options:

The Lolita Margarita

Fajitas and Mojitos

Light Strawberry Mojito

Poetic License and Lolita Margaritas

Hi there, everyone. I’m Bianca Strzelczyk and I’m beyond excited to share my shoes and my cocktails on Bridget’s fabulous blog.

This past weekend my boyfriend and I celebrated our five-year anniversary at Lolita Cocina and Tequila Bar in Boston. The restaurant has a dark, seductive feel -- with red lights behind the bar, large leather chairs in the lounge area, and lots of black detail on the walls. It’s dungeon-like and creepy – but in a good way. (Yes, that’s possible.)

Naturally, super sexy, super high heels are a must at place like this, and I flaunted these badass Poetic License beauties.

I’d bought them a week earlier at a little shop in my neighborhood for … wait for it … $39. Craziness, right? The brand retails at Nordstrom for at least $100.

But that’s George’s Shoes for you in Jamaica Plain – the place is so small it doesn’t even have a website. Trust me, though, if you’re ever within 10 miles of the shop, you must go. Great deals, fun styles, what more could a gal ask for?

Besides the perfect margarita, of course.

Inspired by the Lolita Margarita (pictured above) – which is an absolute phenomenal combination of ingredients – I set out to recreate a comparable drink the morning after my anniversary. (Literally – I started Googling recipes at 10:30 a.m.)

After some research, I think I pretty much got it. (Well, at the very least, I got some ridiculously delicious.)

Looks similar, right?

It’s a combination of the SkinnyGirl Margarita and the Lolita Margarita, so it’s semi-calorie light. I like my margaritas a bit more salty (mmm sodium!) than sweet and this recipe reflects that but feel free to tweak it to your taste.

Ingredients
2 oz silver tequila
3 to 4 Tbsp fresh grapefruit juice (one grapefruit is plenty)
1 Tbsp fresh lime juice (one lime is plenty)
1 tsp (or more!) agave nectar* (or simple syrup)
Splash of Triple Sec, Grand Marnier or Cointreau
Lime wedge for serving
Salt (or sugar) for serving

Rub some lime on the rim of a glass. Tip it in salt or sugar. Put a few ice cubes in the glass and set aside. (I usually put mine in the freezer.)

Combine the tequila, grapefruit juice, lime juice, agave nectar (or substitute), and Triple Sec (or substitute) with ice in a shaker. Shake well.

Pour into the glass and garnish with lime.

Enjoy!

*I just so happened to have agave nectar on hand, and decided to give it a try. Turns out, it’s an absolutely perfect sweetener for margaritas, and at only 60 calories per tablespoon (and I only used a teaspoon in the recipe), it’s a great low-cal alternative to simple syrup.

Which naturally means you can drink two. Or five.

Bottoms up!

To read more from Bianca, check out the animal blog Current Instincts, and articles about drunk elephants.

Mello Yellow

I started the homemade limoncello process yesterday by peeling 10 lemons, putting the peels into a large mason jar, and filling it with 750 milliliters of vodka. In four days, I can move on to step two of the process, which involves sweetening it up. I can't wait!

The gorgeous yellow lemons got me in the mood to break out my bright yellow peep-toe sling backs by Guess, my no-name saffron-colored purse and the giant yellow quartz ring I scored at the jewlery counter at TJ Maxx for about $30 a handful of years ago.

I paired it with a blue and white pinstripe denim blazer and a pair of white skinny jeans by Michael Kors.

I'll write more about making limoncello later this week and I'll post some shots of the process. In the meantime, I need to find a great margarita recipe for Cinco de Mayo! Share your suggestions. I'd love to try them out.

Cheers!