Mango Margaritas

So I’ve been busy…
And not just drinking these delicious margaritas
We’ve had skating competitions…

BMX races in PA and NC and all throughout FL…
And sadly only an 8 week summer to fit it all in!
But this is all about these delicious margaritas that we made last weekend.  I have a friend who keeps me in nice supply of fresh herbs, lemons and mangos depending on the season.  Right now we are coming up on the tail end of mango season and she brought me bags full!  I juiced all of the mangoes in my heavy duty juicer.  Some of the juice became popsicles and I made a delicious batch of Mango Frozen Yogurt (which I just polished of without so much as a picture *sigh*).  But with the rest I wanted to make something adult like.  That celebrated the fruit at it’s finest.  Mango Margaritas it was…
Mango Margarita
2 oz Tequila
1 oz limoncello (or triple sec but we like the lemon flavor with the mango)
3 oz of fresh mango juice
2 ounces of water
juice of 1/2 a lime

Mix all ingredients together and serve chilled over ice.  These could be made into frozen margaritas by simply blending with ice but they were delicious like this…

Watermelon and Blueberry Margarita!

To me the Memorial Day weekend marks the official start of summer!  I know, by the calendar we are still weeks away from the official start but I have always been a summer lover and it sure is stinking hot here already.  With all of the thought about summer and the long weekend I started thinking about drinks that I could serve over the weekend and I remembered one that I had made last year but could not for the life of me find the recipe for it again.

Finally success!  It is a Bobby Flay recipe and it is a true summer time drink…beautiful juicy watermelon, ripe plump blueberries and fresh from your garden mint!  How could it get any better?  TEQUILA!!!!

Watermelon and Blueberry Margarita (recipe by Bobby Flay)

This makes enough for about 8 drinks…

Ingredients

1. 1/4 cup water
2. 1/4 cup granulated sugar
3. 8 cups diced seedless watermelon (1 pound)
4. 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
5. 1 3/4 cups blueberries
6. 3/4 cup lightly packed fresh mint leaves, plus 8 sprigs for garnish
7. 1 1/4 cups silver tequila
8. Ice

Directions

1. In a small saucepan, bring the water to a simmer with the sugar and stir over moderate heat until the sugar is dissolved, about 1 minute; let the sugar syrup cool.
2. In a blender, puree the watermelon until smooth. Set a fine-mesh strainer over a bowl and strain the watermelon juice, pressing gently on the solids to extract as much juice as possible. Discard the pulp.
3. In a large pitcher, combine the sugar syrup with the lime juice, blueberries and mint leaves. Using a wooden spoon, lightly muddle the blueberries and mint. Add the watermelon juice and tequila. Refrigerate until chilled, about 2 hours.
4. Pour the cocktail into tall ice-filled glasses. Garnish with the mint sprigs and serve.

You make your own birthday cake, right???

It was my birthday last weekend and I made a birthday cake for myself.  Never really thought about it but from the reaction I got from everyone who knew I was doing this, not everyone does it!  Control issues?  Maybe, but I know what I like and how to get it!  Do it myself.

My birthday always comes when strawberries are plentiful so naturally most of the cakes I have baked have strawberries involved.  This year they took center stage…along with some Limoncello of course!

I first made this cake almost 2 years ago, here, and absolutely fell in love with it.  It is a beautiful dense cake and the mascarpone whipped cream was the perfect compliment but I was not really keen on the sherry macerated berries so this year I decided to macerate the berries in Limoncello…good move too!

Mascarpone-Filled Cake with Limoncello Strawberries – adapted from Gourmet, July 2008

Ingredients:

For cake:
2 cups sifted cake flour (not self-rising; sift before measuring)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon lemon extract
2 large eggs
1 cup well-shaken buttermilk

For berries:
1/2 cup Limoncello
1/2 cup sugar
4 cups strawberries, quartered

For cream:
8 ounces mascarpone cheese (1 cup)
1 cup chilled heavy cream
1/4 cup sugar

Directions:

Make cake:
Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle. Butter a 9-inch round cake pan (2 inches deep). Line bottom with a round of parchment paper, then butter parchment.

Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

Beat together butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy. Beat in vanilla. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. With mixer at low speed, beat in buttermilk until just combined. Add flour mixture in 3 batches, mixing after each addition until just combined.

Spread batter in cake pan, smoothing top. Rap pan on counter several times to eliminate air bubbles.

Bake until golden and a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Cool in pan on a rack 10 minutes. Run a knife around edge of cake to loosen, then invert onto a plate. Discard paper and reinvert cake onto rack to cool completely.

Macerate berries:

Pour the limoncello and the sugar over the berries and toss gently ( allow to satnd for about 30 minutes mixing periodically - or you can do it the real way and bring Limoncello and sugar to a boil in a small heavy saucepan, stirring until sugar has dissolved. Put berries in a bowl and pour hot syrup over them, gently tossing to coat. Let stand 15 minutes. make cream and assemble cake.

Beat mascarpone and cream with sugar in a large bowl using cleaned beaters until mixture just holds stiff peaks.

Halve cake horizontally with a long serrated knife. Carefully remove top half and reserve. Put bottom half on a plate, then spread evenly with half of the cream and replace top half. Use the rest of the cream on the top and serve with berries.

Cooks notes:
•Cake, without cream, can be baked 1 day ahead. Wrap in plastic wrap once cool and keep at room temperature.
•Berries can macerate at room temperature up to 2 hours.

POM Cello-Rita

Remember a couple of weeks ago I posted my Cello-Rita recipe?  I had come up with the cocktail for a contest that my friend Courtney over at CocoCooks was holding and guess what?  I won!!!  Yay!  Thanks so much Courtney!  Expect to see a lot more drink recipes when I receive the book I won!!!

It’s summer and we spend A LOT of time in and around the swimming pool.  My youngest swims probably about 3 times a day sometimes more.  Here are some pictures of my youngest and our crazy Golden Retriever who really thinks he is one of the kids…

My youngest and the golden retriever diving into the pool!

Crazy dog swimming under water!  He really thinks he is one of them!

Last Sunday I was chillin’ in the pool.  A necessity in the hot and steamy days of summer here in South West Florida when T. walked out of the house carrying a nice cold drink for me!  When asked what it was he told me to guess.  I took one long sip of it and I knew instantly and it was delicious!!!

POM Cello-Rita

2 parts of Tequila El Conde Azul Blanco (or your favorite tequila)
1 part Limoncello (homemade preferably, thanks Jenn!!!) 
2 parts of your favorite margarita mix
1 part POM Wonderful (hopefully supplied to you by the generous folks at POM Wonderful!)
squeeze of lime

Shake all ingredients and serve over ice.

This is delicious with a salt rim or not. But should be enjoyed on a hot summer day either on the beach or by the pool! Bartender optional but highly recommended!

As Always…

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com

The perfect summer rum drink

It’s hot outside…I mean really hot outside. We’ve had days where it has been about 110F with the humidex calculated in. For me I can take anywhere up to 90F and then I start wilting. But I’ve found over my years of living here in Florida that some things can help.

My favorite of all is to float around in my pool with a nice refreshing cocktail fitted just perfectly into the little cup holder on the side. Try convincing the kids though that it really is to hold drinks and not all of their dive sticks I am suppose to be throwing in while relaxing! Anyway, sometimes I win and get my drink there and just recently it was this…

I used this rum…

And this juice…

And this recipe…

My Easy Rum Runner

Ingredients:

2 ounces of rum (any rum will do but I did really like this Tommy Bahama Rum)
4 ounces of Welch’s Berry, Pineapple and Passion Fruit Blend
splash of Perrier or San Pellegrino
Ice

Directions:

Mix all ingredients together in a glass and enjoy.

***We sort of thought these tasted a little like rum runners and may try them blended one day to compare!

As Always…

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com

Coconut Rum Cake

I baked this a couple of weeks ago and sadly have just now gotten around to posting it.  You see, my life is now longer my own!  During the school year I have a solid 5 hrs without the kiddos around but now that summer break is officially here I am done.  Loving every single minute of it but with them nonetheless.  So there will be sporadic posts and visits to your blogs but trust me I am really…

Anyway I made this cake at the beginning of June for our monthly pot luck, that unfortunately we were all too sick to attend, with the theme being Caribbean.  The coaches and the other employees at the ice skating rink reaped the benefits.

I was also really, really lucky to be the recipient of some Tommy Bahama rum.  Pretty fancy bottles and they made a great rum cake.  I have yet to try it in a drink but I can’t wait!!!

This cake was amazing.  I did change a couple of things based on some of the comments that were left on this recipe and I made it more rum flavored.  The cake itself was light and fluffy and full of the rum and coconut flavor and the icing and the coconut on top were the perfect compliment.  

 

Coconut Rum Cake – Epicurious.com

For cake:

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 4 large eggs plus 3 large yolks
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (I used Rum Extract)
• 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 3/4 cup well-stirred sweetened cream of coconut such as Coco López (be sure this is at room temperature)

For coconut slivers:

• 1 medium coconut
• 2 teaspoons confectioners sugar

For icing:

• 3 tablespoons cream cheese, softened
• 3 tablespoons well-stirred sweetened cream of coconut (Coco Lopez)
• 1 tablespoon dark rum
• 3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (I used Rum Extract)
• 2 to 3 tablespoons heavy cream
• 1/2 cup confectioners sugar

• Equipment: a 9-inch round cake pan (2 inches deep); an adjustable-blade slicer (I used a 9 inch square pan)

Preparation

Make cake:
Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle. Lightly butter cake pan and line bottom with a round of parchment paper. Lightly butter parchment, then flour pan.

Whisk together flour (1 1/4 cups), baking powder, and salt.

Whisk together whole eggs and yolks, sugar, and vanilla in a large bowl. Gradually whisk in flour mixture until combined, then whisk in butter until just combined. Pour into cake pan and rap pan on counter to expel air bubbles.

Bake until golden brown and cake starts to pull away from side of pan, about 45 minutes. Cool in pan on a rack 10 minutes. (Leave oven on.) Invert cake onto rack (discard parchment) and cool 10 minutes more. Generously brush top and side of warm cake with cream of coconut, allowing it to soak in before brushing on more. Cool completely.

Make coconut slivers as cake cools:
Pierce softest eye of coconut with a small screwdriver, then drain and discard liquid. Bake coconut in a shallow baking pan 15 minutes. (Leave oven on.) Break shell with a hammer, then pry flesh from shell with screwdriver.

Thinly shave enough coconut with slicer (I used a vegetable peeler and it worked great!) to measure 2 cups and toss with confectioners sugar, then spread in 1 layer on a baking sheet. Bake until just dry but not golden (some tips may color), 5 to 10 minutes. (Shave and bake remaining coconut with more confectioners sugar to serve on the side, or freeze for another use.) Cool coconut completely. (It will crisp as it cools.)

Make icing:
Beat together cream cheese, cream of coconut, rum, vanilla, and 2 tablespoons cream with an electric mixer until smooth, then beat in confectioners sugar. Icing should be smooth and slightly runny; stir in remaining tablespoon cream if necessary.

Smooth icing over top of cooled cake, allowing some to drip over side, then top with coconut slivers.

Cooks' notes: Cake can be baked 1 day ahead and soaked with cream of coconut, then kept in an airtight container at room temperature.
Cake can be iced 2 hours ahead.
Coconut slivers can be made 1 day ahead and kept in an airtight container at room temperature.

As Always…

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com