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Happy Hour: Gordon's Cup

YumSugar — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 14:00:00 -0700

I am always tempted by cocktails with cucumber in them but often disappointed. Aside from the classically refreshing Pimm's Cup, the cucumber-based recipes I've tried have either been too sweet, not sweet enough, or way too much trouble.

The Gordon's Cup, however, made me giddy, and it wasn't just the 1/4 cup of gin. This cooling Summer cocktail is easy to make: simply muddle lime and cucumber in a shaker, toss the other goods on top, give it a few shimmies, and dump everything out in your cup - no straining required. Shake up your Summer and get the recipe.

Happy Hour: Watermelon-Tequila Cocktails

partysugar — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 16:00:45 -0700

Since today is National Tequila Day (cheers!), I thought I'd share my latest obsession with you. While I'm a huge fan of the classic margarita combination of tequila and fresh-squeezed lime juice, it pales in comparison to the delightful pairing that is watermelon juice and tequila. I'm so crazy about this dynamic duo that I've already made three different cocktails with it. The one seen here - my current fav - is a mixture of watermelon, tequila, mint, blueberries, and lime juice. With its sweet, minty flavor, refreshing thirst-quenching quality, and beautiful blushing color, this cocktail is almost perfect. I say almost because it's far too easy to drink. A problem that's quickly solved with a generous float of tequila. To get the party, or the weekend, started, make this drink tonight

Yummy Links: From Green Cake to Broken Corks

partysugar — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 06:50:45 -0700

Celebrate the color green with a kiwi matcha lime tea cake. - Cooking With Amy
Is CBS making a knockoff of The Chopping Block? - Eater
Learn how to make an amazing tomato salsa. - Serious Eats
Could it be time to put a fork in Top Chef Masters? - Grub Street
A week of no-cook dinners. - Bon Appétit
Another reason to dislike Kelly Choi: her annoying tweets. - Eat Me Daily
What to do when you break a wine cork. - Chow

Sunday BBQ: Grilled Salmon With Lime Butter

YumSugar — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 06:00:38 -0700

After a week of eating flavorful yet indulgent meals like barbecue, pizza, and chicken Parmesan, I'll be lighting up the grill for a simple, unembellished fillet of wild salmon for dinner tonight.

If you haven't had fish with lime zest before, give the technique a try: it lends a clean, bright note that enhances the freshness of the fish. Get grilling when you read more.

Grilled Salmon With Lime Butter
From Gourmet

Ingredients

Salmon:
6 (6-oz) pieces center-cut salmon fillet (about 1 inch thick) with skin
1 1/2 teaspoons finely grated fresh lime zest

Lime Butter:
1 large garlic clove, chopped
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, melted

Directions

Make lime butter: Purée garlic with lime juice, salt, and pepper in a blender until smooth. With motor running, add melted butter and blend until emulsified, about 30 seconds.
Make salmon: Prepare grill for cooking over medium-hot charcoal (moderate heat for gas).
Season salmon all over with salt and pepper, then grill, flesh sides down, on lightly oiled grill rack (covered only if using gas grill) 4 minutes. Turn fillets over and grill (covered only if using gas grill) until just cooked through, 4 to 6 minutes more. Sprinkle fillets with zest and top each with 1 tablespoon lime butter sauce.

Serves 6.

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Happy Hour: Caipirinha

YumSugar — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 14:00:30 -0800

It may be the dead of Winter, but this past weekend, San Francisco felt like pure Summer, with clear skies and balmy temperatures. I decided to celebrate with a drink that couldn't be more appropriate: the Caipirinha.

This drink, is made with limes, as well as a special liquor called achaça, which incidentally happens to be the national liquor of Brazil. Over the past five years, cachaça has developed a large fan base in the United States. Like rum, it's made from sugarcane, but while rum is made from distilled molasses, cachaça is the product of fermented sugarcane juice. To make this cocktail, you can choose any brand, but I used Água Luca ($28.99), a premium variety of cachaça that's filtered a whopping 12 times.

On the nose, it resembles tequila, and it has a light, clean flavor with a slightly sweet finish. Although Água Luca can easily be enjoyed by itself on the rocks, its sweet-tart flavor is incredible when used in a caipirinha. To transport your palate to Brazil, read more.

Caipirinha
From Água Luca

Ingredients

2 oz. cachaça
1 oz. simple syrup
1 lime, quartered
Cracked ice

Directions

In a shaker, muddle sugar and limes thoroughly.
Add cachaça and cracked ice. Shake vigorously and pour contents of shaker, including ice, into an old-fashioned glass. Garnish with a lime wedge.

Makes 1 cocktail.

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Happy Hour: Jalapeño Margarita

partysugar — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 16:00:15 -0800

Since my mom's favorite drink is the margarita, I'm always looking for new recipes to experiment with. While the classic combination of tequila, orange liquor, and lime juice is delicious, it's exciting to try different variations. When I saw this recipe for a "margarita with a twist" in the new Food Network magazine, I knew it would be perfect for Super Bowl Sunday. Watch out though: It packs a spicy punch! The ingredient that provides the twist (and the heat) is jalapeño. For a brighter green color, use white tequila instead of the gold. I prefer my margs on the rocks, but if you enjoy them blended, by all means, blend it! To look at this refreshing recipe, read more.

Jalapeno Margarita
From Food Network Magazine

Ingredients

1 thin slice of jalapeno
handful of celery leaves
6 ounces lime juice
1 teaspoon confectioners' sugar
16 ounces tequila
8 ounces orange liqueur
ice, lime wedges

Directions

Pulse jalapeno, celery leaves, fresh lime juice, and sugar in a blender. Mix with tequila and orange liqueur in a pitcher; chill.
Serve on the rocks in salt-rimmed glasses with lime wedges.

Serves 8-10.

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Come Party With Me: Tailgate - Drinks

partysugar — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 12:30:53 -0700

When one hears the words "tailgate" and "drinks," the first thing that comes to mind is beer. And lots of it. At my tailgate, I'll supply guests with a selection of cold brews and an updated version of the shandy, a classic beer cocktail. Tailgates always get a little rowdy, so I won't serve hard alcohol.

It's a good idea to have sodas, water, and a couple bottles of chilled white wine on hand. Before heading to the stadium, don't forget to stock up on ice. There's nothing worse than warm beer on a hot afternoon. To look at the refreshing recipe for the beer cocktail - at my party it will be poured into Cal cups! - read more.

Lime Beer Cocktail
From Sandra Lee

Ingredients

1 (6-pack) light beer
1 can frozen limeade
1 lime, sliced in half

Directions

Pour beer into a large pitcher. Add still-frozen limeade and stir to combine. Stirring with a metal utensil can reduce foam. Allow foam to settle.
Squeeze half a lime into pitcher.
Finely slice the other lime half and place into pitcher, for garnish. Pour into chilled glasses and serve cold.

Serves 6.

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Sweet 'n' Tart Shortbread Cookies

YumSugar — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 16:15:19 -0700

Overcome by a cookie craving, I baked up something light and summery to suit the season. These cookies are perfect for hot months when chocolate-laden desserts are too heavy. Flavored with lots of lime, these scrumptious cookies are sweet yet sour with a light, crumbly texture. The bite-sized treats are the ideal finish to a picnic or BBQ.
The recipe is simple, but be sure to bake the cookies to a light golden perfection, otherwise, the zesty lime flavor is lost to the buttery shortbread. To learn how to make these shortbread cookies with a refreshing lime twist read more!

Lime Meltaway Cookies
Modified from Martha Stewart

Ingredients

12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup confectioners' sugar
Grated zest of 4 limes
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups, plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, cream butter and 1/3 cup sugar until fluffy. Add lime zest, juice, and vanilla; beat until fluffy.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, and salt. Add to butter mixture, and beat on low speed until combined.
Between two 8-by-12-inch pieces of parchment paper, roll dough into two 1 1/4-inch-diameter logs. Chill at least 1 hour.
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment. Remove parchment from logs; slice dough into 1/8-inch-thick rounds. Place rounds on baking sheets, spaced 1 inch apart.
Bake cookies until barely golden on the edges, about 8-10 minutes. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool slightly, 8 to 10 minutes. Place remaining 2/3 cup sugar in a resealable plastic bag. While still warm, place cookies in the sugar-filled bag; toss to coat. Bake or freeze remaining dough. Store baked cookies in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

Makes 6 Dozen Cookies.

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Tropical Mango Dreamsicle

YumSugar — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 16:15:55 -0700

With their tart, sorbet-like outside and smooth center, I love classic orange creamsicles. As I continue my popsicle obsession, I decided to experiment with my own variation. Using mangoes and lime, I made creamsicles with a tropical twist!

The tartness of the lime zest perfectly complements the sweetness of the mango and the creaminess of the vanilla ice cream. Replicating the ice cream center of a creamsicle proved extremely difficult (believe me I tried!) so instead, I opted for a swirl effect by alternating layers of mango-lime puree and ice cream.

If you love the flavor of fresh tropical fruit and want to learn how to make these exotic creamsicles, read more!

Mango-Lime Creamsicle
Original Recipe

Ingredients

2 large mangoes
2 limes
1 1/2 cups of store-bought ice cream
1/4 cup sugar

Directions

Zest and juice the limes, reserving the zest and juice in a bowl.
Dice the mangoes into small pieces: Cut the mango in half lengthwise. With a small sharp knife cut, score the flesh both horizontally and vertically. Pushing on the skin of mango, flip it inside out and cut off the flesh. Add sugar and mangoes to the bowl with lime zest and juice. Stir to combine.
Place the mixture in a blender and puree until smooth.
Fill the popsicle molds alternating layers of the mango puree with layers of the store bought ice cream.
Place in freezer and wait patiently.

Makes 6 popsicles.

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Name That Dish!

partysugar — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 15:20:31 -0800

As you all know, I'm making a lime-white chocolate cheesecake for my half birthday. Another equally delicious lime dessert is pictured below. Do you know what it's called?