Watermelon Margaritas

Posted on April 29, 2013 by Gina Marie

Watermelon Margaritas | So...Let's Hang Out

Last week.

Don’t even get me started.

I came here on Friday to write you a post about my various kitchen mishaps. The post got too long. That’s right. It was that kind of week. I found myself on Facebook complaining and insisting we all have margaritas. Yeah, I wasn’t kidding…

These drinks are what happens when you manage to make lemon bars taste like scary scrambled eggs, spend hours making gluten-free gnocchi that ends up turning into doggie treats, and make yourself a green smoothie that tastes like wet salad. Yes, I did these things. It got real. Oh, boy. I have some scores to settle with a couple of recipes. They will be mine. Mark my words.

Watermelon Margaritas | So...Let's Hang Out

Maybe it’s unorthodox to have a margarita post on a Monday. But, you know what? Mondays are hard. Last week was hard. These would go really well with a couple of chicken tacos for dinner. Am I wrong? Go with it. It’s totally almost Cinco De Mayo. Yes, that holiday where we’re allowed to have a margarita with lunch and eat obscene amounts of guacamole on EVERYTHING. Gosh, that’s a good holiday! Let’s do that.

Watermelon Margaritas | So...Let's Hang Out

This weekend was really warm in the Bay Area. It was verging on summer temperatures. My husband and I spent a lot of our time outside. There was a lot of grilling, entertaining and awkward tan lines. I don’t know about you, but when it starts to heat up, I fantasize about watermelon. I think about eating it by the slice. Cold. A lot of it. Admittedly, I tend to over do it with the first watermelon of the season. Things happen to your body when you decide to take on a whole watermelon by yourself. This is not recommended. Slow down. Be sensible. Share it with a friend of two. Make these margaritas! Sure they are pink and are garnished with a slice of fruity-goodness, but your dude-man-friend will totally like them. My manly-whiskey-beer-drinking-husband drank two.

Watermelon Margaritas | So...Let's Hang Out

See? I even caught his man-hand on camera pouring himself a fresh drink. Good man.

The ingredients are fresh and simple. We juiced some fresh limes, pureed some watermelon in the blender, salted the rims of some glasses and the rest is simple and boozy. I know traditional margarita recipes call for Cointreau, but we didn’t have any on hand. Instead we used some plain, non-name-brand triple sec, which worked just fine. Feel free to adapt the recipe as you see fit. I prefer my margaritas on the rocks, but this recipe would make a fine blended drink as well! These are best enjoyed while sitting on the deck, lightly sweating, in unflattering workout pants. That last statement might be slightly subjective.

Watermelon Margaritas | So...Let's Hang Out

Cheers, Friends! Here is a to a fantastic week!

Watermelon Margaritas

Ingredients

2 shots of silver tequila
1/2 shot of freshly-squeezed lime juice
1/2 shot of triple sec
1 1/2 shots watermelon puree
Ice
Coarse sea salt, for rim
Wedge of watermelon and lime, for garnish

Instructions

Slice up part of your watermelon, remove the rind, and add a couple of slices to a blender. I used two large slices of watermelon, and it yielded about two cups of watermelon puree.
Add ice to your cocktail shaker. Add tequila, triple sec, lime juice, and watermelon puree to your shaker and shake vigorously.
Salt the rim of your glass by running a lime wedge around the entire rim and then dipping the moistening lip of the glass into a shallow dish of sea salt.
Add a couple of ice cubes to your salted rim glass, and pour the margarita from the shaker into the glass.
Garnish with a slice of watermelon and a lime wedge.
If you want to prepare these as blended margaritas, forgo the shaker and put all of the ingredients into a blender and process on high. I would use approximately 10 ice cubes in the blended version. Serve in a salted glass.
Enjoy!

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Strawberry, Honey & Lime Spritzer

Posted on April 19, 2013 by Gina Marie

Strawberry, Honey & Lime Spritzer | So...Let's Hang Out

Sometimes, I can be a little dramatic. I’m not proud of this. It just happens.

My Italian side decides to flip a switch, and the drama starts coming out of my pores. It’s like watching a train wreck.

Let me give you an example:

Yesterday I woke up in one of those moods where everything – and I really mean everything – made me feel like I was going to lose my mind. I woke up, rolled out of bed, and seemed to be on a certain path of emotional self-destruction. We’re not talking about big and terrible events that sent me into dramatic upheaval, but instead, basic things.

I made myself eggs. I wanted to put salsa on my eggs. I love salsa on my eggs. I opened the fridge. I couldn’t find the salsa. I almost cried…over salsa. This is never a good sign. Big, glaring red flag.

The second emotional outburst of the day occurred when I tried to purchase a piece of camera equipment to try out. The website wouldn’t accept my Visa number. This happened three times in a row. I screamed. That is right, you read that correctly. That sentence did not say “I wanted to scream,” but in fact just said “I screamed.” Audibly. Totally not a good sign.

The final straw occurred when my darling husband decided to hit me up on G-chat. He made a friendly suggestion about how he thought I should make us dessert to go with the movie that we planned to watch that evening. This is a nice thought. He had no idea what was coming. I decided to hit the Caps Lock button and things got real. My response was a simple:

“WE DON’T HAVE ANY EGGS!!!!!”

Whoa.

He suggested I could go to the store and get some. This to a logical non-evil-screaming-Caps-Locking version of myself would seem like a simple suggestion. I, however, was already too far down the rabbit hole of disturbed emotional upheaval (crying over salsa, people. Salsa!). As you can guess the response to his suggestion was tinged with a hint of drama. My fingers flew across the keyboard typing with all honesty, a sentence to this effect:

“AHHHHHH! I’M NOT GOING TO THE STORE. I would rather hide in a dark closet and live in a pool of my own tears.”

Hmm. Descriptive. Also, one would have to cry a lot of tears in order to fill it with a pool big enough to sit in. Oh, whoa. I said LIVE IN. Have I never heard of trench foot? Curious.

My darling husband did not respond to my emotional outburst. Could I blame him? What is there to say to a woman who is threatening a life of solitude and tear-soaked loneliness over her husband’s craving for cookies? Not much. Not much at all. Bless my husband. Seriously.

Strawberry, Honey & Lime Spritzer | So...Let's Hang Out

It was at this point I realized today was not worth crying over. What is that old saying? Don’t cry over spilled salsa? Something like that. I looked at my flowery and overdramatic G-chat responses and laughed. I needed to turn this day around. STAT.

After consuming roughly half the world’s supply of kale chips (this helps emotional situations), I decided it was time to 1) Shower. 2) Put on pants. 3) Venture out into the world. It was 75 degrees and sunny. No one needed to be screaming at a computer screen in this weather.

While taking a shower, I started day dreaming about a post that I saw on Shutterbean. There was a strawberries, honey and lime over ice cream situation. Also, yes, I do daydream about food in the shower. I’m not sure if this is normal. Since I’m still technically doing my 30 days of paleo eating, the ice cream part of the recipe was a no go. However, I could totally fashion this strawberry, honey and lime situation into a fine and refreshing cocktail. How my brain rationalizes that ice cream is not okay to eat while eating paleo, yet vodka is fine, is slightly suspicious.

I was so excited over this idea I threw my sopping wet hair into a bun, hopped into yoga pants and hobbled into Trader Joes looking an eye-twitch short of crazy. It turns out when you’re having the kind of day that escalates to a dramatic peak of you threatening to lock your perfectly fine self into a tear-soaked closet, the promise of a refreshing cocktail is a serious motivator.

If you’re wondering, I totally picked up some eggs too. I’m that kind of gal. Also, my husband kind of deserves cookies. I used the Caps Lock. It got serious. Ugh. I need to chill the heck out.

I came home and I got to work. Strawberries were washed and sliced. Honey and lime zest came together into a syrup. This syrup soaked itself into the strawberries. Strawberries drenched in honey-lime syrup were made into a puree. This puree was put into a mason jar with sparkling water, an extra squeeze of lime and a little bit of vodka. The vodka in this recipe is totally optional. I suspect your kids or your non-drinking-pregnant-lady friends would totally groove on this recipe without the booze. It’s super refreshing!

After I finished whipping up my beverage, I sat in the wonderfully sunny weather with a composition book in hand. Writing. Sipping (“recipe testing”). Putting pen to paper. Soaking up vitamin D. Not bad. Not bad at all. What was I freaking out over earlier? I just needed to take a breath, slow things down, and lay off the Caps Lock.

It’s amazing how much you can turn your day around with the right intentions (and maybe a spritzer). It turns out cocktails in the sun trump crying in closets EVERY TIME. Powerful life lessons. It’s serious stuff.

Happy Friday, Friends! Wishing you a dramatically AWESOME weekend! Get your spritz on!

Strawberry, Honey & Lime Spritzer

Ingredients

Strawberry Honey & Lime Puree

1 lb of ripe strawberries, washed and chopped
1/4 cup of raw honey
Zest from 1 lime

Strawberry Honey & Lime Sptrizer

1/4 cup Strawberry Honey & Lime Puree (more if you like your drink sweet!)
Juice from 1/2 a lime (optional)
1.5 ounces of vodka (optional)
Sparkling water
Ice
Lime wedge to garnish

Instructions

Wash and chop all of your strawberries, then set them aside in a heatproof bowl.
Measure out your raw honey and add it to a small sauce pan with your lime zest. Heat your honey over low heat until the mixture starts to bubble. Allow it to bubble for 1 to 2 minutes while stirring and then remove it from the heat.
Pour the hot honey and lime syrup over your strawberries and stir together until all of your strawberries are coated. Allow this mixture to sit for at least 20 minutes. Your strawberries will start to absorb the liquid and become soft and syrupy.
Once the strawberries are done, you can add them to a blender. Blend together until a puree forms. This will only take 30 seconds or so.
To assemble your cocktail you will need a glass full of ice, half of a lime and your shot of vodka. You will also need your sparkling water. I simply used water made with my soda stream, but you can use tonic water if that is what you have on hand. Pour your puree into the bottom of the glass over your ice cubes. Now add your shot of vodka. If you like your drink to be a little on the tart side you can add the juice from 1/2 of a lime. Fill the remainder of your glass with sparkling water and stir.
If you are planning on making these non-alcoholic, omit the vodka, but repeat all of the other steps.( I suspect that this would also we very good with a little bit of lemonade in the mix.)
Garnish with a fresh lime wedge and enjoy!

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The Whiskey Sour | How To Combat Awkward

Posted on January 12, 2013 by Peter

Hey, Friends! Let me introduce you to the peanut butter to my jelly, the spaghetti to my meatball, the polar bear to my top hat! This is Peter. He is my husband. He usually sits idly by eating my recipes and humoring me by laughing at my jokes. Today he wants to talk to you about booze. Take it away, Pete…

I didn’t grow up drinking hard alcohol. To be clear, I also didn’t grow up (from childhood) drinking. I’d probably be surlier and have more scars. When I started drinking, it was generally beer that went down my gullet, probably due to the Dutch blood pumping through my veins.

It wasn’t until I met my wife’s parents for the first time that I really acquired a taste for something more refined. Sure I’d downed some watered-down vodka tonics and dabbled with gin in college. I even insulted an old, Danish family-friend by suggesting his 30-year old Scotch tasted like rum (I was all of seventeen at the time). In essence, my alcoholic reference shelf was stocked with beer until my mid-twenties.

Gina first introduced me to her parents far before any standard of social norm or traditional scheduling. We’re talking about three to four weeks after our first date. And this wasn’t a matter of “hey, my parents are in town would you like to come to dinner?” Rather, this was “hey, I’m 400 miles from home and I’m sitting awkwardly across from your imposing, Italian father in their beautiful home.”

And awkward it was. An expanding bubble of silence enveloped the room as Gina and her mom caught up on old times elsewhere in the house. At the starting gate, we had absolutely nothing in common. I didn’t golf, he didn’t watch soccer, and I was only on the precipice of really knowing his daughter. Luckily, five words broke the silence and they never sounded so good: “would you like a drink?”

Thus began the fine tradition of drinking quality spirits with my father-in-law. It started with dirty martinis and evolved into a love of whiskey. From strong Manhattans to double pours of twenty-year old booze, I found myself drifting away from beer to a world of caramel-colored refinement.

Fast forward to this past Christmas where Gina and I hit a dual gift-for-you-for me situation. Jumping on an opportunity in her wishlist, I bought her (me) a donut pan that produced some terrific coconut ganache donuts which were almost healthy, but still tasted damn good dipped in coffee. Then she bought me (her) a bar book that held the secrets to over 1,000 different drinks. While the packaging had a “To: Peter” tag, her beautiful brown eyes seemed to read “lemon drops.”

After our holiday visitors left town and things settled down to their normal flow, the bar book started calling out to us in the evenings as the sun went down (sooner, some days). So taking quick stock of the bottles in our cupboards, we narrowed down our options to what was available. The decision landed on a classic: Whiskey Sours.

I’d had a carelessly-poured whiskey sour with store-bought sour mix before, but I decided to take this back to basics. Brew some homemade simple syrup, squeeze some fresh lemons, and head off to the races.

Here it goes:

Simple Syrup

2 Cups Sugar

1 Cup Water

Throw (well…pour) your sugar and water into a pot on the stove. Bring to a boil and stir until the sugar is absorbed. Remove from heat and let the concoction cool. You’ll have a long-lasting batch of this syrup in a handful of minutes, and it beats the store bought stuff every time. Once cool, transfer your syrup into an airtight container and refrigerate. It should keep for about a month when stored in this way.

Whiskey Sour

2 ounces blended whiskey (two shots)

1/4 ounce simple syrup (quarter shot)

Half a lemon (officially ¾ ounce of fresh lemon juice)

Maraschino cherry (or two)

Get yourself a cocktail shaker, fill it about half full with ice, then add your whiskey and simple syrup. For a sweeter sour, add a little more simple syrup (the “official” recipe uses a half shot).

Squeeze the half-lemon into the shaker.

Top your shaker and [insert Andre 3000 reference] until everything’s fully mixed.

Add a few ice cubes to a highball glass and pour your mixture over the top. Add a maraschino cherry (if you like them) and enjoy!

A well-crafted cocktail is sure to break the ice on even your most awkward interactions and might even forge lifelong relationships. Good luck out there (and drink responsibly, please).

(Adapted From Ultimate Bar Book)

Cranberry Ginger Simple Syrup | A New Year’s Eve Cocktail

Posted on December 30, 2012 by Gina Marie

It’s nearly New Year’s Eve and although I don’t have any fancy plans, I DO intend to be holding a fancy drink when the clock strikes twelve (Midnight. Not noon. Unless I have one at noon. It’s a holiday)

I’ve made you a cranberry and ginger simple syrup and cocktail to match. Actually, I kind of made it for me. I am currently sipping on the one pictured above. I had to test it for you. Make sure it wasn’t awful (It’s not.). You’re safe. Drink away.

I had never made my own infused simple syrup before, and it turns out it’s totally easy (perhaps this is why they call it “simple” syrup). Boil some water and sugar, add your desired infusing ingredients, let it all cool and you are in business. It’s not a lot of work, and you will seem super fancy. Nay, you ARE super fancy. No seeming about it.

Let’s make some simple syrup!

Cranberry Ginger Simple Syrup:

2 cups granulated sugar

3 cups water

2 cups fresh cranberries

1 inch of ginger root, peeled and thinly sliced

Add your water and sugar into a pot over medium heat.

Bring it to a boil. Let it bubble together until the sugar dissolves into the water and it becomes thicker. Stir it occasionally. The whole process will take around ten minutes.

Once it has come to a boil, add in your ginger and your cranberries and reduce the heat.

Allow it to simmer for an additional five minutes over low heat.

Once five minutes have passed, turn off your flame, remove the pot from the heat and stir.

Allow your mixture to cool completely and then bottle it.

You can use a fun bottle or keep it simple and use a mason jar.

It should last for a few months in the refrigerator.

Now… it’s cocktail time! There are tons of possibilities with this simple syrup! I suspect that it would be very tasty with your champagne. I, however, threw it in some vodka, shook it up, and it turned out pretty darn delicious.

Cranberry and Ginger Fizz

4 shots of vodka

4 tbs of cranberry ginger simple syrup

Soda water (I used water from my Sodastream)

Ice

Sugar, for garnish

Lime, for garnish

First, take your martini glasses and using a lime wedge, wet the rim of your glass.

Place your glass rim down in a shallow dish of sugar.

Now you have a fancy sugared rim! How festive!

Add your ice, vodka and simple syrup to your martini shaker… and, you guessed it, SHAKE!!

Pour your mixture into the martini glass until it is a little more than half way full.

Add in some sparkling water.

Garnish with a lime.

Note: No matter how much your husband insists that it is okay to SHAKE your fizzy water vigorously in your cocktail shaker, don’t believe him. There is a reason we don’t shake soda. This reason is currently all over the top of my dress and my counters. Just add it in later.

A toast to you, my friends!

Wishing you love, happiness, and all that is good this new year! Once again, thank you for making 2012 so major. How do you say? Oh yes. You are all the cat’s pajamas. The snake’s hips. The polar bear’s top hat. I might have fabricated that last one… but if you know me, you know I love nothing more than a polar bear dressed up festively. Cheers!

Apple Cinnamon Whiskey | Musings From A Birthday Girl Mess

Posted on December 6, 2012 by Gina Marie

This is the whiskey that turns a non-whiskey drinker into a friendly, sloppy, whiskey-filled birthday girl mess.

It is delicious.

You’ll think it’s good enough to drink by the half glass. Don’t bother with what your mother taught you…that whole “Stick with one kind of liquor” nonsense. What does she know? You are twenty-eight now. Total grown-up. You can make decisions. When your girlfriend asks you to have a Skinny Girl Margarita with her, you do it. It’s your freaking’ birthday, right? So what if you switch from tequila to vodka? That should be fine. You are twenty-eight. You know what you are doing. Not your first rodeo. So what if you’re not a big drinker? You just want to play Dance Central and show off some moves.

How do I know all this? I might have been this birthday girl (yup).

Flash forward to the next morning.

Headache. The rays of bright late-morning light beaming into your twenty-eight year old eyeballs, scorching them open. Nope, close your lids. That hurts. Do you have a massive head injury? You check for bleeding. Nope, all clear. That is ALL headache. You think to yourself that your mom has some wise advice. She knows what she’s talking about. You will not tell her this.

You manage to guzzle down a bottle of water and a couple of Advil. It helps. The whole rest of the day you feel like you got hit by a party bus. You ate too much cake. You drank everything. You danced like it was a disco. You hugged most of your friends for a suspicious amount of time and told them all just how TOPS you think they all are. You made some inside jokes that you no longer remember.

This is the year that it becomes glaringly clear that you cannot “party” like it’s 1999. Why did you think you could? Your hobbies are baking scones, and crocheting hats and maybe some light canning. You go to bed at 9:30 pm pretty much daily. You play eight Words With Friends games at a time with your Grandmother. You are about five years away from shaking your fist at hooligans when they try to walk on your lawn.

This is what twenty-eight looks like. Real.

Now, I don’t think twenty eight is old. I really don’t. But, this is the first birthday in a long string of birthdays that has hit me like a stampede of polar bear paws. Time is passing quickly. How did I get to be two years shy of thirty?

Time. Is. Flying. I am thinking about creating a “things to do by the time I am thirty” bucket list. Wring the most out of my twenties. Maybe I will even add a “Don’t mix whiskey and tequila” note at the bottom of it. It is a good note.

I assure you that when consumed properly and not like a hollow-legged sailor, this whiskey beverage is fantastic. Respect it, and it will treat you like a lady (or gentleman) right on back. It is smooth and sweet and needs no fancy mixers. It is a cocktail all by itself.

Do not drink with vodka, tequila or rum. I don’t care how “skinny” those margaritas claim to be. It will be a bad choice tomorrow.You will get a headache. Listen to your mother, no matter how old you are. She knows things.

This entire bottle went very quickly and was a huge hit among my friends. I think it would make a really great Christmas gift! I’ve been asked how I performed this magical whiskey makeover, so, let me tell you!

It’s easy.

Ingredients:

1 bottle of whiskey

6 apples

6 cinnamon sticks

airtight container

Wash your apples well. Cut them up and put them into your clean airtight container.

Pour in your whiskey.

Add your cinnamon sticks.

Allow it to sit for two weeks in a cool, dark place.

Once it’s done, strain it.

Although you are tempted, I would recommend not eating the apples. It looks like they’re going to be tasty. They are not. The sweet apple flavor now lives in the whiskey, leaving the apples tasting of rubbing alcohol (we tried them to take the guess work out of it for you).

Now you can bottle it up!

Funnel it into a bottle of your choosing. I found this appropriately festive, apple-covered bottle at my local Ross.

It’s really that easy.

Bottle it up and share it with some great friends! WARNING: might induce hugging, dancing, and general need to celebrate.

Cheers, to YOU and you and YOU and you. xo

Gin & Juice With Pomegranate and Lime

Posted on October 27, 2012 by Gina Marie

So, we did it. We made it to the weekend. *Clicking heels together!!*

Maybe you had a rough week. Maybe you felt like you couldn’t get ahead. Maybe you got egg yolk in your freshly washed hair…twice. Maybe you made a holistic decision to try and cure your sinus headaches with peppermint oil. Maybe you used too much. Maybe you somehow managed to get that peppermint oil not only UP your nose, but also all over your lips and in your eyes. Maybe the only way to remedy the burning in this situation was to put Greek yogurt on a couple of Q-tips and shove the Q-tips up your nose. Maybe (definitely) your dog insists on humping your leg if you look at her the wrong way. The mother and daughter relationship starts to get weird. She’s five months now, and her hormones are flowing free. You wish you could just leave a copy of “Are You There God, It’s Me Margaret” in her crate, but she never learned to read human.

Maybe this is just uniquely my week. Maybe not. I am sure you have had your very own set of trials, tribulations and TPS reports.

Either way, it’s the weekend. The troubles of the week are over. The peppermint oil has stopped burning the inside of my nose and the corners of my eyes. There is no egg yolk in my hair today (yet). The dog will continue to hump me, but you can’t win em’ all right? Things are looking up.

What do you say we have a cocktail together? Yes? Perfect.

I have just reunited with Gin. My husband and I bought a bottle last weekend and both agree that it goes down nicely. Flowery and smooth.

Here is the easy as pie cocktail that we concocted. (BTW, why do we say “Easy As Pie?” Pie isn’t that easy. How about easy as a PB&J?)

You will need:

Ice

1 to 2 shots of Gin (It’s a Saturday. No judgements.)

Juice of 1/2 a lime

Fill the rest of your glass with pomegranate soda.

Put all of your ingredients into a glass with plenty of ice. Stir it up. Or Shake it in a shaker. No biggie.

Garnish with a lime wedge

Sip on your Gin and Juice

Crank up some music with a lot of bass

Have a dance party

CHEERS, FRIENDS!! Have a fantastic Saturday.

So…Let's Hang Out

Category Archives: Booze

Watermelon Margaritas

Strawberry, Honey & Lime Spritzer

The Whiskey Sour | How To Combat Awkward

Cranberry Ginger Simple Syrup | A New Year’s Eve Cocktail

Apple Cinnamon Whiskey | Musings From A Birthday Girl Mess

Gin & Juice With Pomegranate and Lime