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 1/4 cup water 1/4 cup granulated sugar 8 cups diced seedless watermelon (1 pound) 1/4 cup fresh lime juice 1 3/4 cups blueberries 3/4 cup lightly packed fresh mint leaves, plus 8 sprigs for garnish 1 1/4 cups silver tequila Ice Directions 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. 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. 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. Pour the cocktail into tall ice-filled glasses. Garnish with the mint sprigs and serve.

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Watermelon and Blueberry Margarita!

Crab Toast

?Simple, easy and oh so good. ? 1 can (8 oz.) crabmeat, well drained (can use fresh) ¼ tsp. garlic powder or ½ tsp. minced 1 jar Old English cheddar cheese 1 ½ tsp. mayonnaise 6 English muffins ? Mix together crabmeat, garlic, cheese and mayonnaise.? Spread on English muffin halves and place on a cookie sheet.? Place under broiler until cheese is bubbly.? Serve with cocktail sauce .? ? Changes – Use 1( 3 oz.) block of cream cheese , softened and ¼ cup of room temperature shredded cheddar cheese or cheese of your choice instead of Old English.? Use 1 container of soft serve cream cheese flavored with chives or add your own seasonings to soft serve cream cheese.? Change the bread to rye or use bagel thins.? This makes a great appetizer or brunch item.? You can also use tuna, salmon or even chicken in place of the crab. ?

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Crab Toast

Romaine Lettuce Wrap

As some of you know, on April 21, 2010 I’ll be a guest on WCNC’s show Charlotte Today.? I plan on making my Pina Colada Salad, found on page 129 of my cookbook Stir, Laugh, Repeat and I’ll also plan to demonstrate how simple Romaine Lettuce Wraps can be.? These wraps are great as appetizers.? If you want a change from that traditional salad at lunch, these are perfect.? You can even make them into a main dish.? It’s all a matter of being creative. The above are: Split carrots with cheese drizzled with Kraft Tuscan House Italian dressing & marinade Deli Ham rolls with Braswell’s Creamy Vidalia Onion dressing Wild Alaska Crab Delight drizzled with Louisiana Cocktail Sauce The 2 smaller wraps are the crab delight cut into pieces showing how they can be used as an appetizer.? Romaine lettuce makes the perfect lettuce wrap.? Due to the spine running down the leaf you have support for your filling while eating.? The leaves have the perfect width for wrapping and/or slicing.? I’ll be making a variety of these wraps for Easter, serving them as appetizers.? I plan on making those pictured above as well as adding tuna, egg salad and a several meats with cheese. Give these wraps a try and I bet you too will be saying? “These are so good, so simple, so attractive and so healthy”.?

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Romaine Lettuce Wrap

Cocktail Sauce

Cocktail Sauce I’ve tried different brands of cocktail sauce and never seem to find one that is as good as found in the restaurants. Finally I was able to talk a waiter at one of the seafood restaurants I enjoy so much to telling me what went into their sauce. Again, he could give me no measurements so after working on it for a while and wasting a lot ketchup and mayonnaise I finally came up with the perfect taste. And yes, I did say mayonnaise. That seems to be one of their secret ingredients. So here is what I use. 1/4 cup mayonnaise 1/4 cup ketchup 1/4 cup chili sauce 1 tsp. prepared horseradish 2 Tbl. lime juice 1/4 tsp. hot sauce (optional) Just mix everything together, cover and chill until ready to use. It makes not quite 1 cup. If you use fresh grated horseradish you may not want to add hot sauce. I’ve found that fresh horseradish tends to be slightly hot.

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Cocktail Sauce

Summer Chicken Parmesan

If you asked me where my keys, cell phone or sunglasses are…I may not be able to tell you. But if you asked me what we had for dinner at a friend’s house 8 years ago…then I just may be able to tell ya. Seriously…some meals are unforgettable right? Well, approximately 8 years ago, before my husband and I were married, we met up with a couple of his high school friends who were house sitting not far from where we lived at the time in Orlando. They invited us over for dinner, and I remember having a really nice evening with them. I also remember what they cooked…grilled chicken, topped with chunky tomato sauce and pasta. Something about this meal stuck with me…maybe it was the good company, or maybe it was just how good and fresh it tasted. I specifically remember our friend squeezing the canned whole tomatoes with his hands to make the sauce…you would think this would not be new to me…but apparently it’s taken me 8 years to actually make sauce this way on my own. Something about using whole tomatoes in your homemade tomato sauce…once those tomatoes get broken up, the smell of freshness is so overwhelmingly delicious. You’ve got to try it yourself. We enjoyed this meal with some Summer Vegetable Gratin and of course some good Chianti… Summer Chicken Parmesan Recipe from Aggie’s Kitchen 3-4 chicken breasts olive oil salt and pepper to taste 2 large cans whole peeled tomatoes 2-3 garlic cloves, minced bunch fresh basil leaves shredded mozzarella cheese freshly grated Parmesan cheese 1/2 pound whole wheat pasta Cook pasta according to directions on box. Season both sides chicken with olive oil, salt and fresh ground pepper to taste. Place over hot grill over medium heat. Cook for approximately 4-6 minutes on each side, depending on thickness. You can tell chicken is cooked through when juices run clear when pricked with fork or knife. Or cut through thick portion of chicken to check. After you take chicken…

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Summer Chicken Parmesan

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

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POM Cello-Rita

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

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The perfect summer rum drink