I had some friends over to my home to bake with me on Tuesday; specifically to bake pies with me. Sandy was the more experienced pie baker so for her it was THE perfect pie crust; Ansh was here to make her first pastry crust pie. No novice to baking or cooking but pies were not a part of her repertoire and she thought it time to change that. Everyone brought something to the table. Ansh her INFAMOUS AND AMAZING Chicken 65 (yes I ask her to bring it every time I see her and no, I am not tired of it at all) and Sandy brought us some of the new Lays Wasabi and Ginger potato chips. Knowing I had tried the Cappuccino chips and absolutely hated them (I was kind enough to save them for her so she could not enjoy them too!), it could have seemed risky but not so…savory and potato chips go together. Coffee and sweet chips are UGH awful. I had made a favorite dish of mine, this Cilantro Rice and had Cherry Pie Bars leftover from a photo shoot the day before. We were set. Except for a cocktail.
I wonder if it’s time for my big confession? Will it ruin any street cred I have if I share that I don’t drink a lot? I love to have a cocktail with friends or a glass of wine, I sure love making cocktails for my Friday Cocktails posts and I’m even in the process of working on a separate cocktail blog. But boozer? Nope; not really. So on this day of baking there was no way we were going to drink through the process; I guess I live the mantra I used with my kids a LOT; get the work done first and then we’ll play. So, we did. Worked first. We made enough pie dough for two pies; both with Colorado peaches; one with a lattice crust and the other with a walnut and sugar crumble. We made Cilantro rice, we had a fantastic lunch and once we were done and just sitting and chatting Sandy and I thought a cocktail was in order but nothing elaborate; we were all tired. She suggested vodka in Squirt and I suggested tequila; thinking that it would be good with citrus. Done. And we enjoyed those really easy drinks and I thought I should blog about them…and how easy they were.
So to be sure I was a real innovator, I did a Google search. Really there already is such a thing called a Paloma? Drats. And then you know that little thing back in the way back farthest reaches of your brain that sends a signal of remembrance but you’re not quite sure why? Sort of a first cousin to Déjà vu, which translated from French literally means “already seen”, the phenomenon of having the strong sensation that an event or experience currently being experienced has been experienced in the past, whether it has actually happened or not. Got that? This was not as clear as one of those Déjà vu moments but it was enough of a bother I decided to check something out.
I did a quick search and yep, there she was; the Paloma Cocktail. ON MY OWN BLOG. And embarrassingly not all that long ago; can we credit that to moving and unpacking and pneumonia and all around life being overwhelming? I’m not ready to concede to old age memory issues just yet! Maybe this was a sign but only one that I have a lot of great cocktails I LOVE that are forgotten after a bit…and I think today is the day for remembrance. I say that my favorite cocktail is the one I just made and that’s often true; I’ve discovered such a wealth of great drinks once I decided to go beyond the margarita (although there are some of those too!) and want to share some of the great ones with you today. Here for your drinking pleasure are some of my favorite summer cocktails…still plenty of summer left to make a few!
Honey Mint Peach Julep – Not just for the Derby; with fresh peaches in season now this HAS to happen!
The BEST Margarita - This started my love of margs and it’s never stopped and this is still and will always be…the BEST!
The Blue Hawaii – Make it sweet and blue and with fruit and imagine you’re in the Islands!
Rosemary Cherry Crush – Tequila, Cherry Preserves, Rosemary and Lime. Amazing.
Bourbon and Hot Fudge Milkshake - Oh yes I did! Decadent and divine.
Cherry Mint Margarita – This was amazingly good; one of my new favorite Margaritas!
The Paloma Cocktail – Mexico’s Favorite Cocktail!
Raspberry Vodka Mojito – Light, so refreshing and just beautiful!
Jack Daniels Honey Whiskey Cupcakes – OK, so not really a cocktail but SO good; one of the most favorite boozy treats on my blog!
Raspberry, Limoncello and Prosecco Cooler – Light and gorgeous and perfect all summer.
Orange Creamsicle Cocktail – What we wish we could have delivered by the ice cream man!
White Peach and Bing Cherry Sangria – My favorite sangria EVER!
There you go…a dozen drinks and still plenty of time to enjoy a few before we are inundated with the ‘P’ word. (Pumpkin if you must know but hush…I’m SO not ready).
Need More? Visit Friday Cocktails for additional ideas; and come back each Friday and join me! Cheers!!
