Category Archives: Beverages

FROZEN MARGARITAS

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It’ll be a long time, maybe never, before Texans forget this past week.  Snowmageddon,  Snovid-19, whatever you want to call it, it shut down the state and left millions in the icy darkness of an epic electric grid failure.

We woke up Monday morning to a winter wonderland of sorts, at least for Houston.

Overnight, snow had fallen — enough to blanket roads and landscapes:

Jasper and Maisy had the rare opportunity to be the first to step on fresh snow, and it was so fun watching them race around in it:

Over in San Antonio, Izze couldn’t get enough of the snow:

One unexpected sight was the scores of cedar waxwings huddling in the trees with their feathers puffed up to keep them warm:

After the novelty of snow in Houston quickly wore off, and Texas’s electric grid famously failed, the 42 hours we went without electricity in below-freezing weather kinda sucked.  We were fortunate — no busted pipes, and we have a gas stove and fireplace, so we were able to cook and huddle by the fireplace for some warmth.  But it was cold.  Really cold.

These “unprecedented” Houston weather events are getting old — the unprecedented heat and accompanying drought in 2011, the unprecedented rainfall (up to 51 inches) and catastrophic flooding of Hurricane Harvey in 2017, and this past week’s unprecedented snowstorms.  The next “unprecedented” weather event we see here better be springlike weather stretching from June 1 to September 30.

When it came to recipe inspiration, all I could think of were frozen things (brain freeze, perhaps?).  But they seemed so seasonally inappropriate.  But wait — today is National Margarita Day! And so, inspired by a miserable, surreal, freezing cold week, I bring you our favorite recipe for Frozen Margaritas, to enjoy whatever the weather.

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FROZEN MARGARITAS
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Ingredients
  • Kosher salt, for rimming glasses
  • Lime wedges for rimming glasses
  • 6-ounce can frozen limeade
  • 9 ounces tequila
  • 2 to 3 ounces triple sec
  • Juice of 1 small lime
  • Lime slices, for garnish
Instructions
  1. To rim glasses: Pour the salt onto a small dish. The salt pile should be about a quarter of an inch high and wider than the rim of the glass you're using. Run a lime wedge along the outer edge of the glass. Place a glass upside-down into the dish of salt, and then twist the glass gently to coat the entire rim. Turn glass upright and shake off any loose salt.
  2. Place limeade, tequila, triple sec, and juice of 1 small lime in a blender. Fill with ice and blend until smooth. Pour into the center of the prepared glasses, taking care to avoid splashing the salt rim. Garnish with a lime slice and serve.

Frozen!

CRANBERRY VODKA & CANDIED CRANBERRIES

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I found this vintage photo of this somber-looking Thanksgiving dinner on eBay:

The back of the photo tells us that John and Bill were hungry, and Anne loves pheasant (the ceramic pheasant centerpiece?):

I feel their pain — holidays can be rough.  Come to think of it, I don’t think the pilgrims were that excited about Thanksgiving either:

So how’s your Thanksgiving 2020 looking?  Is it going to be a day of mourning like it seems it was for John, Bill, and Anne?  In a year that has been pockmarked with disease, death, dementia, discord, and depression — and that was just March — I’m trying my best not to let it get in the way of my family’s enjoyment of the holidays. Although it’s trying it’s hardest.

So I’m proceeding as usual, including creating my annual front porch fallscape:

I made the wreath with wooden cones — got the idea here.  I also made this wine cork wreath:

I got out my turkeys, laid in a supply of plants and floral materials to make centerpieces, and planned a Thanksgiving menu.  Since there will just be a few of us this year, I’m packing up half of it to share with a friend who has hit a bit of a rough patch lately.  I’m trying to decide whether the theme for my Thanksgiving dinner this year will be (a) You Get What You Get and You Don’t Pitch a Fit, or (b) May the Odds (of Not Catching Covid) Be Ever in Your Favor.  What do you think?  UPDATE:  We went with (a).

Honestly, though, it’s probably going to take a fair amount of alcohol to get through the holidays this year.  Inspired by the vintage photo and hoping to have a better time than John, Bill, and Anne, I made Cranberry Vodka.  I found the recipe here, and made it last year.  It was so good, that this year I wisely made a double batch.

To make Cranberry Vodka you’ll need two ingredients — cranberries and vodka.  Doh.  For each liter of vodka, you’ll need 2 cups of cranberries cut in half.  Make sure they’re not squishy, or your vodka will be nasty.

Pour the vodka into a large clean Mason jar, add the cranberries, and screw the top on tightly.

Set the jar in the refrigerator or a cool dark place for 1-2 weeks (2 weeks being preferable):

Strain the vodka through a cheesecloth-lined strainer set over a bowl, and then transfer the vodka to the original bottle:

Gorgeous, huh?  As an added bonus, the pectin in the cranberries gives the infused vodka a lush, silky feel.

But what to do with all those vodka-soaked cranberries?  

Candy them, of course!  You’ll be rewarded with gorgeous, sweet, tangy, jewels:

I haven’t tried coating them with chocolate yet, but will update if/when I do.  Meanwhile, I’ll probably toss some into salads, fold some into oatmeal cookie dough, or maybe spoon some of the cranberries with their syrup over vanilla ice cream.

Thanksgiving 2020, I’m ready for ya with my double batch of Cranberry Vodka!  However you’re celebrating this year, I hope there is much that you’re thankful for.

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CRANBERRY VODKA
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Ingredients
  • 2 cups fresh cranberries, halved
  • 1 liter vodka
Instructions
  1. Put the cranberries in a large clean glass jar. Add the vodka to the berries (and save the vodka bottle). Cover the jar and screw the lid on tightly. Keep the jar in the refrigerator or a cool, dark place and let the cranberries infuse for 1-2 weeks. Give the jar a shake every day or so.
  2. When the vodka has reached the desired intensity, strain the vodka through a cheesecloth-lined colander set over a bowl. Use a funnel to pour the vodka back into the original bottle.
  3. Reserve the strained vodka-soaked cranberries to make candied cranberries (recipe follows).

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CANDIED VODKA CRANBERRIES
Author: 
 
Ingredients
  • 1 cup sugar
  • ¼ cup water
  • 2 cups vodka-soaked cranberries
Instructions
  1. Place sugar and water in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Add cranberries, reduce heat, and simmer for approximately 15 minutes until cranberries become translucent. Remove from heat and allow to cool, then transfer to a jar and store in refrigerator.