The Blood of Flowers

A little while back Jamie hosted us for a delightful evening of cocktails, food, and discussion on a really great novel. Jamie picked The Blood of Flowers by Anita Amirrezvani. I will admit at first we were a little skeptical about the book but once we got started we knew it was going to be a great story.

The story takes place in 17^th century Iran and follows the story of a poor girl and her mother. Everyone enjoyed the story and it made for great conversation. We would highly recommend it. 

Do you like bitter? If the answer is yes then continue to the cocktail recipe of the night- Negroni Sbagliato. Not a fan? Then we would suggest  passing  on this one and grabbing a beer like Jamie and Cindy.

 Negroni Week is also coming up so this is a perfect cocktail to celebrate!

Jamie served cedar grilled rosemary salmon, herbed rice pilaf, and salad. Tony was a little bit worried about leaving Jamie in charge of the grill but she did a great job!

Of course we ended the night we a chilled bottle of champagne. Is there any other way to end bookclub?

Cinco de Mayo: Tacos and Tequila

We love any excuse to enjoy Mexican cuisine and cocktails. So a gathering for Cinco de Mayo was in order.  A variety of tacos, fresh Mexican crema, and tequila cocktails made for a great meal.  We would suggest trying them all.

Homemade Mexican Crema

1 cup regular sour cream

3/4 cup heavy cream

1 tsp salt

Shake all ingredients in a mason jar and let sit at room temperature for 3 hours. 

If you are not ready to use it within the 3 hours then return to fridge. 

However, make sure to sit it out at least 30 minutes prior to serving. 

The Paloma cocktail is a very popular drink in Mexico. 

It is light, refreshing and goes great with spicy food!

 Paloma 

(Serves 1)

3 oz- 100% Agave Tequila Blanco

1/2 cup fresh squeezed ruby red grapefruit juice 

(about half a grapefruit)

1 oz simple syrup 

(you can also use agave syrup here but it is much sweeter so we would use less)

Half the juice of a lime

 Splash of club soda

Mix the tequila, grapefruit juice, lime juice, and simple syrup. 

Pour over ice and top with a splash of soda water and garnish with a lime wheel.

We also made up a batch of Rick Bayless' Margaritas. His recipe is hard to beat! 

We do make a few minor adjustments to it. 

We add more tequila and more lime juice for each drink. Please do not use cheap orange liquor!

The Pioneer Woman has a great recipe for restaurant style salsa just add a side of beans and tortilla chips. Our pick for the best ready-made chips are Juanita's. 

 You cannot find better unless you fry your own!

What is better than one style of taco? Three! The beef tacos began with Josh sautéing red onions and garlic. He then added thinly sliced skirt steak and seasoned them with spices including Hungarian paprika. This spice adds a very different type of heat to the beef.  It is a sweet rich heat. 

The beef tacos were topped with the Mexican crema and chopped green onions.

The chicken verde tacos are a family favorite. Start by shredding chicken.  Skylar used chicken breast she had cooked in the dutch oven but a rotisserie chicken works great too and saves time.  Add salsa verde and chopped cilantro .  Top with Mexican crema and shredded cabbage mixed with lime and cilantro.

To make the shrimp tacos sauté peeled and detailed shrimp in olive oil and garlic until pink. Top with a fresh salsa of cilantro, chopped tomato, red onion, radish and lime juice.

We ended the night with a traditional shot of Corralejo Reposado.  A very crisp finish!