summer cocktail extraordinaire...

We found it! THE perfect summer cocktail. This watermelon margarita recipe came from a recent Everyday Foods (by none other than Martha, goddess of entertaining) and we served it at a recent soiree with much success.

When picking a cocktail du jour for your next party, you want something that can be made ahead of time in batches. That way you aren't slaving away at the bar, one high ball at a time, when a guest wants another cocktail. This watermelon margarita can be blended early in the day and kept cool in the fridge in a pitcher until serving time. Go on and make a double batch- you'll use it!

We served it with some grilled shrimp,  Mexican style corn rolled in spices and cotija cheese, and a fresh salad with hearts of palm and avocado. I love summertime.

Watermelon Margaritas
In a small saucepan, bring 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 cup water, and 3 wide strips of orange peel to a boil over high. Reduce to a simmer and cook until sugar dissolves, 3 minutes. Let syrup cool. In a blender, puree 12 ounces of watermelon cubes (about 2 cups) until smooth. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve, pressing on solids, into a pitcher (you should have about 1 cup juice). Stir in cooled syrup, 1/4 cup fresh lime juice (about 3 limes), and 3/4 cup white or silver tequila (we used golden tequila in a pinch). Fill salt rimmed glasses with ice and pour over margarita mixture. Garnish with lime wedge.

a delicious new year...

While I don’t normally have an overly large sweet tooth, the cold weather of the past few weeks has kept me indoors eating nothing but stews and sweets. Not a terrible life. I recently tried a recipe for a three layer lemon cream filled meringue tower that was to die for. Three large flat meringues (almost the size of a pie) are layered with a homemade lemon curd full of tons of tangy zest folded with homemade whip cream. And repeat the layers and repeat again. If you can avoid eating the entire thing in one sitting, you are stronger than I. Thought the least I could do was share the recipe…

I didn’t take any pictures of my towering lemon confection, but I found a picture of a similar concoction in Gourmet Magazine July 2009. They used berries instead of lemon, but the concept is the same.
Lemon Meringue Torte
6 egg whites
1 ½ cups sugar
¾ tsp vanilla
6 egg yolks
1 ¼ cups sugar
4 ½ TB lemon juice
2 TB lemon zest
1 ¼ cup whipping cream
3 teaspoons vanilla

Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Beat egg whites until stiff in a electric mixer. Gradually add 1 ½ cups sugar and ¾ tsp vanilla. Divide the meringue mixture into thirds and pour onto a baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Spread to the diameter of a pie pan. (tip: I took an old pie pan and traced the outline on the parchment, then flipped the parchment over so you don’t get pen or pencil marks on your meringue. Makes gauging the right size of each meringue much easier) Bake one hour.

In a medium bowl beat egg yolks. Add remaining sugar, lemon juice and zest. Cook over a double boiler until thick (consistency of pudding), stirring occasionally. Cool. Whip cream with an electric mixture until it forms soft peaks. Whip in remaining vanilla. Remove cooled meringues from parchment and place the first on a cake stand (plate will do but its not as pretty). Spread with 1/3 the lemon cream. Layer the second meringue and repeat with filling. Repeat again. Thinly slice a lemon or two and place on top for decoration. Keep refrigerated. Serves 10. Enjoy!