Summer Sangria Recipes

Summer struck Chicago, but then it was gone.  Gone baby gone.  Like the waistband in the sweats I've been rocking.  BUT, summer will be back and it will be back soon so I think we (meaning me) should stop complaining about the roller coaster of weather and start prepping for summer.  I'm not talking about spring cleaning or anything adult like - I'm talking about booze.  Lots o' booze.  Here are some killer sangria recipes to check out:

1. Frozen Sangria.  UMMM HELLOOOO why didn't I think of this.



2.  Although this recipe was intended for Christmas, I love the idea of mixing rosemary and pomegranate in the summer.



3.  Ooooo apple and pear sangria.  I bet this is delish.  My mom would like this.



4. What up watermelon and basil sangria.  LOVE THIS.  Words can't describe how obsessed I am with fresh watermelon...'specially in my DRANK.



5.  I'm a weirdo and like lavender and herbs and other things in my drinks.  Check out these lavender and white peach sangria pops.

Are you guys licking your screen yet?  Oh?  Just me?  Cool.

Stay hungry!

Watermelon Raspberry Bootlegs

I recently did a post on my all time favorite drink - bootlegs.  About two months ago, Charlie and I went to grab some Mexican and a few drinks.

I ordered a fresh watermelon margarita which was SO ridiculous good so I decided to combine two delicious things to make a more delicious thing - watermelon raspberry bootlegs yoooooo. 

Start by blending the fresh mint, raspberries, watermelon, and limeade concentrate. 

Voila...

Prepare a vodka and soda or a gin and soda and spoon some of the fruit mixture on top. Garnish with a little extra fruit...

And kick back and relax because you are drinking something delicious my friend.  Stay hungry (thirsty)! 

Watermelon Raspberry Bootleg Recipe 

1 Can Frozen Limeade Concentrate 

50 Fresh Mint Leaves, stems removed

1 Cup of Fresh Watermelon 

1 Cup of Fresh Raspberries 

Vodka or Gin

Soda Water 

Blend the first four ingredients together in a blender or food processor.  Make a vodka and soda or gin and soda then spoon some of the blended mixture together.  Serve immediately and enjoy! 

Bootlegs

My bootlegs bring all the boys to the yard and they're like, it's better than yours, damn right, it's better than yours, I could teach you but I have to charge.

Ok.  Sorry.  I'm back.  My cousin (in law) Lesley gave me the coveted bootleg recipe, pitcher, and cups featured below, as a shower gift a couple of summers ago.  She knows how OBSESSED I am with this drink.  It's sad really.  Anyway, whether or not I've stuck to the original recipe is another story, but this is basically it. 

 BOOTLEGS.  Where do I even begin?  Mint.  Lime.  VODKA.  Hello, sir.

Bootlegs are a Minnesotan thing.  Charlie's from Minnesota and I think I had my first bootleg about 8 years ago when we were visiting his family one summer.  This is one of my all time favorite drinks.  No.  Really.

 

It's so light, so refreshing, so perfect for a hot day on your porch, in your yard, or at the beach.  It's amazing with or without vodka.  Why you would want it without vodka is another issue for another time.

I'm just drooling.  I wish I had another bucket of these right now.

Here's the recipe:

50 Fresh Mint Leaves (or about 4 cups, doesn't really matter) 

1 Container of Frozen Limeade Concentrate 

1 Container of Frozen Lemonade Concentrate 

Juice and zest from 1 Lime 

Vodka or Gin 

Club Soda 

In a food processor or blender, blend the mint, lime juice, zest, and the limeade and lemonade concentrate together.  Make a vodka soda or gin and soda and spoon 2-3 tablespoons of the bootleg mixture on top and mix.  It will look like swamp water but taste AMAZING. 

Stay thirsty! 

Dark Cherry Fizz

I don't know why, but this past weekend, I was craving dark cherries.  Oh, and vodka.  Enter, the Dark Cherry Fizz. 

Most of the newer restaurants in Chicago have drinks that include Creme De Violette.  It's a liquor that comes from violets...the flower.  Yes, you read right.  It's floral and perfume like, but it's delicious when used properly in a drink.  It also adds this beautiful purple hint. 

The fresh cherries really make the drink.  They are so beautiful!

You might want to make a big pitcher.  This will go fast.

Here's the recipe per cocktail: 

1 Oz Vodka

1/2 Oz Creme de Violette

1 Tsp Agave Nectar 

Lemon Juice, Splash 

Black Cherry Seltzer Water 

Mix everything together in a shaker.  If black cherry seltzer isn't available, skip the agave and use zero calorie dark cherry soda instead. 

YUM!  Stay thirsty.  

Sonoma: Lauren's 30th Birthday

My bff Lauren (aka L'Ron, L'ronimo, etc) celebrated her 30th birthday this year and we went to Sonoma to party it up.  Lauren, her husband Zan, my husband, and Colleen and her fiance Bill all went.  It was seriously a trip of a lifetime.  We laughed our butts off and drank so much wine we were all hungover for a week.  Here are some of my favorite pics from the trip...

Here is Lauren with her husband Zan at Benzinger Winery.. 

This is what happens when I ask Colleen to hold my camera while I use the restroom.  Clowns.

Here they are at Unti winery...

Here is Mr. Unti himself...

 Oh hello hubby...

This is when the wheels started to fly off the wagon...

Aww... lovebirds.

We pre-ordered a picnic for the ride.  I got the brie and prosciutto sandwich.  It was crazy good.  It was so good it hurt me. I cried a little.

Lauren and I... you know... just taking in the sights.

I loved it at Unti.  It was like being in Tuscany.  Just beautiful.  THE WINE and the wine.  The wine was so good.

The last winery we went to, Bella Vineyards, was frickin sweet.  The winery and the tasting was underground in a cave.

As we were waiting for the gate to open, I came across the most heavenly smell...BACON.  I tracked it down like the little pork hound that I am and found this lady.  Prepping for a big event.  It was SO DELICIOUS.  Thick cut with a hint of brown sugar.

Okay, back to the trip.  Here's Charlie in the entry of the cave.

...here we are inside the cave in the coolest tasting room ever.  It was amazing and such a cool experience.  We felt like royalty.

I absolutely can't wait to go back.  Next adventure...Napa???  Stay drinking hungry!

Champagne & St. Germain (& Raspberries!)

Have you guys ever had St. Germain before?  Jaisa introduced me to this delicious liqueur back in my Brooklyn days, when she would visit and we would bar crawl up and down Smith Street ordering champagne & St. Germain cocktails.  It never ended terribly well, but it was always a lot of fun.

We recently celebrated my mother-in-law's 60th birthday and she is a real champagne enthusiast.  I had a few of these little "TSA approved" (that's what I call them, at least) St. Germain bottles left over and decided to mix up a tasty, bubbly cocktail (with some local raspberries thrown in for good measure):

You'll need champagne (or prosecco), St. Germain liqueur, & raspberries (I used 2 per glass).

First, I poured in a shot of St. Germain into my flutes (approximately 1.5 oz), filled up the rest with champagne, and then tossed in two raspberries:

It took about 10 seconds to make each drink (& not that much longer for my in-laws to take them down!).  A tasty, celebratory drink that I think would be nice with many different fruits (raspberries were just what I had on hand).  Maybe a sliver of pear during this harvest season?

And, as somebody who has learned my lesson the hard way with these delicious cocktails, please drink responsibly!  Stay thirsty and stay hungry!

Pink Lemonade Jello Shots

My friend Lauren made these last weekend for a bachelorette party and they lasted for, like, a second.  They were soooo yummy and girly and cute.  Perfect for a special night for a special bride to be.  Thanks Tablespoon for the awesome idea. 

Here are the directions straight from the source:

12 whole lemons

1 cup pink lemonade

2 packages plain gelatin

1 cup vodka

Cut the lemons in half. Scoop out the insides. Add the lemonade to a saucepan, sprinkle the gelatin over the juice. Let it sit for 2 minutes. Heat the lemonade over low heat, stirring, until the gelatin has dissolved, about 5 minutes. Stir in the vodka. Pour into the lemon halves. Refrigerate until set, about 4 hours.  If you use a muffin pan it will help prevent the lemons from rolling around.  Cut the lemons into half and serve.

Stay sober (not) and stay hungry! 

Lavender Thyme Lemonade (Calorie Free!)

Well it's wet your whistle Wednesday and guess what?  I'm pretty amped about this recipe.  Mainly because it came out incredibly refreshing, but I also managed to make it calorie free and you couldn't even tell!  JAISA?  CALORIE FREE?  

Ok now you guys are just being mean. 

I don't like to drink my calories.  There isn't a replacement for butter but there is for sugar!  Enter - TRUVIA BABY. 

Suga suga da da da da DA da ah honey honey...

This is an incredible recipe from our friend Karen over at LL Farm, that I've modified a bit.  We got some AMAZING lavender buds from her farm in New Hampshire and I can't wait to find more ways to use them.  Yummy. 

Ice Cubes

1/4 cup dried lavender

2 cups boiling water

4-6 Tbs of Truvia (taste and modify for desired sweetness)

8 lemons, juiced 

Lemon Zest 1 Lemon

4-5 cups cold water

Place the lavender and the lemon zest into a bowl, and pour boiling water over it. Allow to steep for about 10 minutes, then strain out the lavender.  Charlie said our condo smelled like a spa.  I agreed. 

Mix the Truvia into the hot, strained lavender water, then pour into a pitcher with the ice. Squeeze the juice from the lemons into the pitcher, getting as much juice as you possibly can.  Sometimes it helps to microwave the lemons for 10-15 seconds first to get the juices flowin'.  

Top off the pitcher with cold water, and stir. Taste, and adjust lemon juice or more Truvia if desired.

Adding thyme as a garnish totally changed the flavor and aroma of the lemonade.  I think next time I'll try to steep the lavender and thyme together...

I am CRAVING this right now.

You know I drank this with vodka all weekend.  Tito's vodka to be exact.

Stay thirsty and stay hungry my friends! 

Hungry's Must Try Summer Cocktails

I can't speak for Caitlin, but my new thing is herbal infused cocktails.  I love 'em.  Herbs lend so much flavor and balance out tart or sweet cocktails.  I'm going to make some lavender thyme lemonade (yum).  To get me in the mood, I started scouring the blogosphere for some out of this world, wet your whistle Wednesday cocktails.  WAHOO.

Check out Bowllicking's Rosemary Rhubarb Grapefruit Cocktail.  I love, love fresh grapefruit juice.  My gal pal Lauren got a juicer for her wedding and a couple of months ago, she made me a Greyhound with fresh grapefruit juice and vodka.  Absolutely ridic.  I love the idea of adding rosemary and rhubarb for a sophisticated, yet unpretentious twist.

Yowza!  Check out Cookie + Kate's super unique, super drool worthy Pineapple Cilantro Serrano Cocktail.  I would never had thought about using cilantro in a cocktail but why not?!  What about a salted rim with chili powder?  There's a restaurant in Chicago that serves their pineapple margs with a spicy salt rim...I think we're on to something.

Hey!  Urban Baker!  How did you know I was thinking about a Watermelon Basil Cocktail?  And you make it fizzy?  Be still my little lushy heart.

DUDE.  I can't get over this one.  Pink Parsley's Blackberry Thyme Margaritas are just what this hot July is calling for.  I could drink, oh I don't know, 10 billion of these.  YUM.

Last, but certainly not least, how about some Strawberry Rosemary Sangria courtesy of A Cozy Kitchen?  I love how fresh and organic and delicious this looks...I bet the mason jars make it taste even better.   This reminds me of homemade strawberry jam.  How summery.

Whew.  That was hard work.  I need a drink.  

What do you guys think?  Stay tuned for some of Hardly Housewives' very own summer cocktails...stay thirsty and don't forget to stay hungry!