Hey, did you know Tuesday was National Margarita Day? Me either. I always celebrate margarita day on May 5th, because a.) That’s when there are margarita specials at bars, and b.) The weather is more margarita-friendly. It actually had the nerve to snow here on Tuesday, after 72 degree weather on Friday (Damn you, Mid-Atlantic)! Nonetheless, this post on Babble caught my eye the other day because it combines two fun things: booze and fire. (You know how I enjoy booze + fire.)

If you want to wow your friends with these fun strawberry margaritas you’ll need:

1 cup ice
1/2 cup fresh or frozen strawberries
3 ounces tequila
2 ounces lime juice
1 ounce Triple Sec or Cointreau
1/2 ounce simple syrup.

Blend all ingredients together in a blender. Pour into glasses.

Next, cut a hole in the middle of a medium-sized strawberry, then cut a small slit on the bottom and place on a glass. Fill the hole you created with room temperature vodka. Repeat for each drink you plan to serve. Then light each berry with a grill torch lighter and serve to your ooh’ing and ahh’ing friends.

It’s been so… damn… hot!!! Over 100 degrees. Too hot to cook. So last night we made Gazpacho, with booze of course. Our gazpacho got its kick with a hefty doze of Absolut Peppar. Yum!

What’s in the soup:
6 whole cloves garlic
3 large heirloom tomatoes, chopped
1 large cucumber, diced
3 medium celery stalks, diced finely
1 bell pepper, chopped
2 Tbs parsley, chopped
2 Tbs basil, chopped
1/4 cup chives, minced finely
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
3 oz Absolut Peppar (or more if you like, I used 3 oz)
salt, to taste
pepper, to taste
Tabasco, to taste
1 avocado, sliced (garnish, optional)

Typically this is a raw soup, but I like my garlic roasted, so I take the 6 cloves, put them in a small ramekin with enough olive oil to cover them and roast them at 400 degrees for about 10-15 minutes. Then I set them aside to cool. Once cooled, I chop them up and throw them in a pot with all the other ingredients. I use my stick blender to turn everything into a nicely pureed soup.

You’re supposed to put your gazpacho in the fridge to chill for a few hours, but if you’re impatient like me, nothing awful will happen if you skip this step.

I like to serve my gazpacho topped with a couple of avocado slices, but it’s not necessary if you don’t care for avocado, or garnishes. (Although if it’s the latter, WTF?! Who doesn’t like garnishes?)

P.S. I am giving away a $35.00 gift card through Raffle Dog. Please be sure to enter by Saturday if you want to win some free Ex-Boyfriend goodness.

We had friends over this past weekend and whipped up a brand new recipe. This creation comes via my wife who is terrible at taking notes on what she makes or measuring things. She’s like a mad scientist with a cocktail shaker. Any way, she made these perfectly refreshing martinis for a crowd of 6 and here’s approximately how.

15 basil leaves, muddled
1 cup strawberries, sliced and muddled
3 Tbs balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
1 liter club soda
vodka

Combine first 5 ingredients in a pitcher and chill until you’re ready to serve. Before serving add 1 ounce vodka to each martini glass and then fill the rest of the glass with the strawberry basil mix. Garnish with a basil spring and/or a fresh strawberry.

My tough relationship with Scotch has been well-documented in this blog. I keep trying to like it and I never manage to enjoy it. That said, I found a Scotchtail recipe on Liquorious that gives me some hope (see below). I’m pretty sure my purist Scotch loving friends would frown on this but fuck ‘em. Maybe I am just a teensy bit of a girl drink drunk. What of it?

Cocktail Culture’s April Cocktail

1 ½ Chivas Regal 12 yo

1 ½ oz. Ruby Grapefruit Juice

2 barspoons honey

Dash Grapefruit bitters

Stir the honey in the empty old fashioned glass. Add the whisky and continue until dissolved. Following the addition of the Grapefruit Juice, top with crushed ice.

We’ve been on a bubbly kick at the Ex-Boyfriend HQ. Probably because we scored all those $6.00 bottles of Prosecco at Trader Joes. (<Rant>Side note to Maryland, you are stupid. Because you refuse to let Trader Joes sell beer and wine, I buy all my beer and wine in Virginia. I buy cases of it there and they get all my tax dollars. Just let me buy my $6 wine in Maryland at Trader Joes and you can have my money.  </Rant>) It also helps that the weather has finally warmed, and bubbly drinks are so refreshing on sunny days. We’ll be hosting a few garden parties in the coming weeks and can’t wait to serve up some Champagne Ritas. That’s a champagne-based margarita.

Recipe:
1oz tequila
1oz triple sec
1oz limeade
Champagne (or Prosecco if you like)

Combine tequila, triple sec and limeade in a shaker, and shake with ice. Strain into a Champagne flute. Top with chilled Champagne and serve.

P.S. Check out Top Culture’s guide to opening Champagne like a pro.

Recipe via Wine Intro

To many of you out their in adult-beverage-land a lemondrop is a shot. An ounce of icy vodka followed by a bite of sugar dipped lemon wedge. All fun and games until someone loses their lunch. For more refined sweet/tart goodness, consider a lemondrop martini.  The icy booze with the pucker of lemon and sugary sweet finish makes for a delightful little drink. You’ll find me throwing a few back on my patio as soon as the temperatures make their way past 75 F.

Make yourself a Lemondrop:
1. Cut a lemon into 4 equal wedges and moisten two martini glasses around the rim with juice from the wedges.

2. Rim the moistened martini glasses with superfine sugar and set aside

3. Combine the following in your cocktail shaker:

• 3 oz chilled vodka
• 1 oz Cointreau
• 2 Tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 2 Tablespoons superfine sugar (plus extra for rimming your glasses)
• ice

4. Shake to combine ingredients in shaker and then evenly divide the martini into two glasses.

5. Top off with a splash of seltzer for a little added sparkle and serve immediately.

DIY booze is all the rage, from home brewing to home infusing. While cucumbers marinate in a vodka bath over my fridge, my attentions turn to sweeter stuff. Specifically Baileys. In our vegan household, we’re always interested in ways to veganize foods we’ve abandoned, so below is a recipe for homemade Baileys (along with substitutions to create vegan Baileys if you so desire). Recipe via Cupcake Project.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup light or heavy cream  (VEGANIZE: Soyatoo Whipping Cream or Silk Non Dairy Creamer)
• 14 oz sweetened condensed milk (VEGANIZE: Use melted vegan vanilla ice cream)
• 1 2/3 cup Irish whiskey
• 1 teaspoon instant coffee
• 2 Tablespoon chocolate syrup
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

1. Combine all ingredients in a blender and set on high speed for 30 seconds.
2. Bottle in a tightly sealed container and refrigerate. Shake before using.
3. Will keep for up to 2 months.

Bottoms up

Next decision, what to do with our new boozy sugary creation. Go a favorite recipe with Baileys? Let me know.