Celebrate Summer with Ice Cream

We got away for a few days to spend some time at the gorgeous white sand beaches of Florida to soak in the sun.

Now it is time to think about the 4th of July and fireworks!  If you have hung around our blog long enough you know that ice cream is a favorite summer treat for our family.  This week we are taking a look back at 9 great ice cream favs to try this summer.

Treat #1: Tequila Strawberry Lime Ice Cream Pie

This is one our favorite ice cream desserts.  The strawberry, tequila, and pretzel crust make an interesting but very tasty combination.

Treat #2: Kerrygold Ice Cream

Hands down, this is the easiest, yummiest homemade ice cream we’ve ever tried.  The recipe is so basic and simple that it is easy to adapt for other flavors.

Treat #3: Kerrygold Caramel Shake

 

This shake is like discovering a gold mine of ice cream and chocolate delight.  The easy recipe makes this a fun and quick dessert for any guest.

Treat #4: Mojito Ice Cream

Based on the same recipe as treat #2, this ice cream has a rum and mint twist.  Serve with a sprig of fresh lime and let the refreshing, cool taste wash over you!

Treat #5: Cafe’ Borghetti PBIF Pie

Peanut Butter Ice Cream Fudge Pie is Craig’s favorite dessert of all time!  The chocolate sauce mixed with the crispy peanut butter crust is a delicious combination.

Treat #6: Cannonball

We shared this treat with you in May.  Like other ice cream treats, this can easily be adapted for a range of flavors and tastes.  We are thinking about making a red, white and blue combo for the 4th.  What do you think?

Treat #7: Espresso Ice Cream

Have you tried this one yet?  We (Rhonda) recently finished the last few bites of this yummy treat that were left in our freezer.  Don’t forget to check out the fun serving suggestions included in this post.

Treat #8: Choco Menta Shake

The king of our ice cream treats — The Choco Menta Shake!  If you are a mint chocolate chip or a Girl Scout Thin Mint fan, this is the shake for you.  Stay extra cool on the inside and out with this special treat.

Treat #9: Borghetti Coke Float

So easy, so tasty, and so fresh!  Remind yourself what it was like to be a kid — only better, by trying the Borghetti Coke Float.

Which treat is your favorite? Try one or try them all.  We’d love to hear about it.

 

Disclaimer:  Beverages on this site are meant for adults 21 years of age and older.  We do not condone underage drinking, and never drink and drive.

The Spritz of Summer: Strawberry Aperol Spritz

Summer is now in full swing at The Blind Pig household, and what can make summer better than the perfect summer cocktail?  It is no secret around here that Rhonda loves anything that has spritz in the name, and  lately the Aperol Spritz has been her go-to drink of choice.  It’s low hassle and easy to order or make. We paired this popular drink with strawberries, because what says summer better than anything with strawberries?

This cocktail is very easy to make, but you will need to plan ahead. A day or two prior to making the drink you will need to slice some fresh strawberries and infuse them with some Aperol.  We only infused about a cup of Aperol with a cup of strawberries, because we knew we were only going to be making a few drinks at a time.  If you are planning on making Strawberry Aperol Spritzes for a crew, then you may want to infuse a half of a bottle or more.  Place the Aperol and strawberries in the fridge and wait one to two days.  🙂

When you are ready to serve your drinks, you will need fresh strawberries and orange slices for garnish, strawberry infused Aperol, and a bottle of your favorite chilled prosecco.  Since Aperol Spritzes are usually served with a large cube of ice, make sure you have some on hand.

Add 2 ounces of strawberry infused Aperol to the glass with large cube of ice.  Pour 4-5 ounces of prosecco over the top.  Lightly stir.  Garnish with an orange slice and fresh strawberries.  Delish!

We were surprised by the hint of the sweet strawberries that came through and the Aperol did not overpower the strawberries.  The orange slice gave the drink a nice hint of citrus.  We are used to serving our Aperol Spritzes with an olive, but now may switch to the orange!

If you are viewing this post via email, visit us at www.theblingpig.blog for a printable recipe of Strawberry Aperol Spritz.

The Strawberry Aperol Spritz allows you to serve a great drink to your friends, and still  sit back, relax, and enjoy a delicious toast to summer with drinks, food and friends!

 

Disclaimer: The beverages on this site are meant for adults 21 years of age and older.  We do not condone underage drinking, and never drink and drive.

June Bonus Post: Espresso Ice Cream Treats

It’s already time for your June Bonus Post, and this month we are bringing back an oldie but goodie.  We’ve shared our sooo easy, tasty and fresh ice cream recipe with you in posts like Kerrygold Ice Cream and Mojito Ice Cream.  This month we are using one of our favorite liqueurs — Cafe Borghetti to give the ice cream a delicious coffee flavor. However, we are not stopping at just the recipe, we are also sharing with you some great alternatives for easy ice cream treats to serve to your guests that will put your hosting level over the top!

We started with the basic recipe that we have shared with you previously.  Each time we make this recipe we are reminded how amazingly easy this is, and the ice cream tastes sooo yummy.  In case you missed the first post, here are the steps.  The ingredients that you will need are: 1 can sweetened condensed milk, vanilla extract, salt, Cafe Borghetti Espresso Liqueur, and heavy cream.  Yep!  That’s it.  Now, before you dig your ice cream churn out of the attic, let us tell you that you are not going to need it.  All you need is a hand held electric mixer and a freezer.

Make sure that your mixing bowl and beaters have set in the freezer for about 20 minutes before starting the ice cream.  It will make the cream peak faster.  Stir together the  milk, vanilla, salt and Cafe Borghetti. Set aside.

Place cream in the chilled bowl and beat on medium-high speed for 4 minutes or until peaks form.

Fold 1/3 whipped cream mixture into milk mixture to lighten it and then fold in the remaining cream until ice cream mixture is smooth. Be careful not to over whisk and stir.  You don’t want to deflate the whipped cream.   The air is what makes this ice cream so light and creamy. Pour the mixture into a loaf pan and place in a freezer for 8 hours.

If you are viewing this post via email, visit us at www.theblindpig.blog for a complete recipe of Espresso Ice Cream.

After freezing we decided to use our ice cream to  make some pre-made treats for friends.  We found these cute little cups at World Market.  They come with three in a package and  are coated on the inside with chocolate.  We scooped ice cream into each and placed them back in the freezer until we were ready to serve our guests.  It was a such an easy summer treat, and our guests felt like we had put forth extra effort.  If you want to give the treat an extra Blind Pig twist, pour a little bit of Cafe Borghetti into the bottom of the cup for an added surprise and dipping while eating the ice cream!

We also used some of our Espresso Ice Cream to make ice cream sandwiches.  Instead of using the typical cookie we found some Italian waffle cookies also at World Market.  We scooped a spoonful of ice cream on to the bottom waffle.  Next we added a handful of Heath pieces and then topped with a waffle cookie.  We placed the sandwiches back into the freezer until we were ready to serve.  The waffle cookies gave just the right amount of crunch to the sandwich without overwhelming the ice cream.  It was sort of like eating a flat ice cream cone.

Other ways to spruce up this delicious treat are to drizzle the ice cream with some Kerrygold Hot Fudge Sauce or just simply dribble a little bit of Cafe Borghetti over the top.  YUMMO!

Spending the week at the lake or beach and want an easy, tasty, fresh ice cream treat?  This is the recipe for you.  With just a few basic ingredients and a hand mixer, you can have your ice cream and eat it too!

 

 

 

 

Reverse Manhattan

This week we are toasting to dads everywhere with a twist on a classical cocktail.  We shared how to make a Manhattan in a past post.  Craig loves a good Manhattan, but lately he has been a little more interested in a Reverse Manhattan.

Why a Reverse?  A Reverse Manhattan flips the amount of whiskey and the amount of vermouth needed.  When Manhattans were originally created they were created to have 2 parts vermouth and 1 part whiskey.  However, as Manhattans became more popular oftentimes bars did not have a high quality vermouth.  To offset a low quality vermouth, bartenders started to put more whiskey in the cocktail than vermouth.  With our Reverse Manhattan, we encourage you to use a high quality vermouth, such as Carpano Antica Formula, so you can enjoy a Manhattan the way it was meant to be enjoyed.  Another benefit of a Reverse Manhattan is since there is more Carpano Antica in the cocktail, the drink has a lower alcohol content.  Cheers to that!

To make a Reverse Manhattan you need Carpano Antica Formula and your favorite whiskey or bourbon.  Add two ounces of Carpano Antica and an ounce of whiskey to a shaker of ice. Shake for about 20 seconds, and strain into a martini glass.  Garnish with Luxardo cherries and enjoy.

If you are reading this post via email, join us at http://www.theblindpig.blog for a printable Reverse Manhattan recipe.

Serve up a Reverse Manhattan for the special dads in your life on Sunday.  Let us know if you do, we’d love to hear about it!

Happy Father’s Day to our favorite dads — John, Tom, Kirby, Alan, Ryan,Todd, Jeff, and Chris!  The world needs more dads like you!

 

Disclaimer:  The beverages on this site are meant for adults 21 years of age and older.  We do not condone underage drinking, and never drink and drive.

 

Raising the Roof in Nashville with Some Hot Chicken

Selfie down by the Cumberland River

Last week we took advantage of Craig’s business trip to Nashville and added in a little extra fun time.  We love Nashville for all of the obvious reasons, the size, the friendly atmosphere, the honky tonks on Broadway, but are you aware that Nashville has some very cool rooftop bars?  While we were there we checked out 3 awesome rooftop bars and one interesting speakeasy.

The ever-famous Tootsies

We took in the usual sites and sounds in Nashville.  How can you not?  We visited Tootsies on two different occasions and scooted our boots with the rest of the crowd.  We went to Kid Rock’s Big Honky Tonk Rock ‘n Roll Steakhouse.  It was fun and the band really had the crowd rockin’.  However, Kid, your bar is way too  big and takes up too much of the dance floor in the center of the room.  Just sayin’.  We strolled down by the river and visited the Ryman Auditorium.  We were pleasantly surprised by the tour.  The history and artifacts from famous entertainers were fascinating.  Did you know that more than just country artists have performed at the Ryman?

The Ryman Auditorium — amazing

The first rooftop bar that we visited was in the Kimpton property of Aertson.  We were there for a private party.  It had a cool vibe with indoor and outdoor seating.  The outdoor area had lots of fun eclectic chairs and furniture.  Of course the bluegrass band playing live music was a great benefit to the atmosphere.  The bartenders both in the rooftop bar and in the Henley lobby bar know their stuff and can mix up some great concoctions for you.

Rhonda at the Aertson

Later we went to the rooftop bar above Hotel Noelle called Rare Bird.  What a great place!  Once again the furniture was super cool, but the view was stunning.  We hit the weather on a perfect night and enjoyed ourselves with a couple of nice cocktails while we rocked in our comfy seats taking in the beautiful view of Nashville.  We were so comfortable and enjoyed the view so much that we didn’t want to leave. This is definitely worth checking out the next time you are in Nashville and want to go hang out where the locals go.

Spending some rare time at the Rare Bird

The next night we visited The Bobby Hotel, which is only half a block away from Hotel Noelle.  The Bobby Hotel’s Rooftop Lounge takes the cake, or I guess we should say, “The Bus!”  They had a retrofitted bus airlifted on top of the hotel roof.  There is also an air stream camper up there.  The roof is a mix of zones and decor with a portion made to look like a backyard camping trip.  This bar was so much fun to visit and watch adults explore the various zones like they were 12 years-old again!  You can tell from our photos that we had a little fun with it, too!

Craig got hit by the bus

Another one drives the bus…

Fun chairs and tables fill the inside of the bus for a unique experience

Airstream camper in the backyard zone

Another destination for exploring fun off-the-beaten-path places in Nashville was a speakeasy in the basement of the Hotel Noelle.  Like all speakeasies the bar area was small but decorated with interesting items like a life-size polar bear, and glittery life-size monkey.  The menu had interesting cocktails listed and there was even a surprise entertainment for the guests.  It had us feeling like we were slipping back in time during the era of Prohibition.  It was definitely a fun place to visit, and unlike the rest of Nashville.

Hattie B’s Hot Chicken was the last place we visited before heading back to Texas.  Hattie B’s was near our hotel and we noticed that people seemed to be standing in line to get into the place during all hours of the day.  We were very curious about this spicy hot chicken, but we didn’t want to stand in that long line.  The regulars told us the way to go is to order on-line.  Then you can just walk in and grab your order and go —no waiting in the hot steamy sun.  So while in Nashville we did what the regulars do.  We placed our order on-line and walked in past the waiting crowd.  The chicken was delicious.  We ordered the mild spice because everyone said that we should “level down” in our spice preference, but we could have ordered medium hot — we are from Texas…  Hattie B’s is definitely worth a try if you are in Nashville.

Hattie B’s hot chicken — you gotta get some!

If you are in Nashville, stop by one of our spots and let us know what you think.  We’d love to hear from you!