Truly Easy Cocktail

Everyone is missing their favorite restaurants and hang outs right now.  We know you can still order carry-out from most, but it’s just not the same is it? The guacamole or the queso doesn’t taste the same in Styrofoam as it does in a molcajete or a big ceramic bowl.  Some restaurants are even serving cocktails to go, which is nice, but sometimes you just want to make it yourself.  If you are a long-time fan of The Blind Pig Blog, we thank you and you know that you can get lots of Easy, Tasty, Fresh cocktail recipes right here!  We have one this week that is so basic, it will remind you of your college days!

The Truly Watermelon Lemonade has only three basic ingredients that you can purchase easily at your grocery store or local liquor store.  You will need a can of Truly Watermelon and Kiwi Hard Seltzer, watermelon vodka or regular vodka, and lemonade.

First mix the lemonade and vodka together in a measuring pitcher.  Pour half of the lemonade mixture into a rocks glass.  Add ice and top off with Truly Hard Seltzer.  Garnish with a wedge of watermelon and a mint sprig.  It’s that easy!

If you are viewing this post via email, join us at www.theblindpig.blog for a printable version of the recipe for Truly Watermelon Lemonade.

We chose to serve our Truly Watermelon Lemonade in a mason jar.  First of all it gives the cocktail an easy-laid back type of vibe.  We also thought this would be the perfect drink to prep before a backyard picnic or a day at the lake.  Mix your lemonade and vodka at home. Pour into mason jars.  Screw on the lids.  Throw the jars in the cooler with the cans of Truly.  Head to the lake and finish the mixing once you are settled in your chair on the pontoon!  Oh yes… we all long for those carefree days of summer!!

If you are new around The Blind Pig Blog, here are some other great stay at home easy cocktail recipes that we recommend you try!

Apple Mule

Corralejo Skinny Agave Margarita

Fernet and Coke

Gin and Tonic

Mary Ann or Ginger?

Orange You Glad It’s Carpano?

Paloma

Raspberry Mojito

The Royal Hurricane

Salty Dog

The Thin Mint

If you want more… check out our Beverages and Cocktails page.

What kinds of new cocktails have you been trying out since you’ve had more time at home?  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.  Drink responsibly.

When the Going Gets Tough…Bake!

A popular trend during this COVID crises is to bake bread.  Rhonda has been baking since our stay at home orders began.  Who knew?  There is something very comforting about the smell of fresh baked bread and eating it is even more of a solace.  Even Jimmy Fallon and Hugh Jackman were baking bread on the Tonight Show this week.  These are tough unforeseen times that we are living in, and we are looking for anything that is a momentary distraction. So, as they always say,  “When the going gets tough… the tough bake!”

Out of all of the breads that have been popular to bake lately banana bread is topping the trend list.  We shared with you a great banana bread recipe a couple years back, Zaya Banana Bread, which was a huge hit in The Blind Pig household.  Today we are going to share with you the recipe for Chocolate Banana Bread.  It has a little bit chocolate, a little bit banana, and of course we Blind Pigged it up with some Caffe’ Borghetti!  Chocolate Banana Bread did not last long at our house.  Let’s see if you fare a little better.

To make Chocolate Banana Bread you will need flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, eggs, butter, bananas, vanilla, semi-sweet chocolate chips and Caffe’ Borghetti.

The recipe is a very basic bread recipe that does not need you to add yeast or wait for the dough to rise.  First mix the dry ingredients together.  Then mix together bananas, eggs, melted butter, Caffe’ Borghetti and vanilla.  Fold the two mixtures together and add the chocolate chips. Pour it into a greased loaf pan and bake at 350 degrees for about 65 minutes.  So easy!

If you are viewing this post via email, visit us at www.theblindpig.blog for a full printable version of the recipe for Chocolate Banana Bread.

After about an hour, remove the bread from the oven and place on a cooling rack.  You can serve it warm or cooled.  This bread is a great breakfast bread with a hot cup of coffee or makes a delicious afternoon snack.

For more great bread recipes from The Blind Pig Blog, check out these links below.

Angry Orchard Bread

Zaya Banana Bread

Easy Pumpkin Beer Bread

Kerrygold Cinnamon Rolls

Has the COVID crisis given you the urge to bake more?  We would love to hear about what you’ve been up to!

 

 

Best Dressed Drinks

Just like the right accessories for your favorite outfit, the trend in cocktails is the more embellished, the better.  Any trained chef will tell you that the presentation is almost as important as the taste.  We have wanted to write this post for more than a year, but always seemed to have a more urgent recipe or idea that we wanted to share with you.  Once we started exploring the idea of cocktail garnishing we realized that this topic goes much deeper than a cute umbrella in your pina colada!  This post is going to focus on some common and easy ways to garnish a cocktail.

In our  Orange  Basil Spritzer, we glazed some blood red oranges with some sugar and a creme brulee torch. Then we added a whole basil leaf as a float.

First you want to make sure that the aroma and the flavor of your garnish pairs well with your drink. You don’t want to stick a cube of cheese with tequila based cocktail or pair watermelon with a bloody Mary.  Or maybe you do?

In our Orange Anejo Sour we use the froth from the egg white to help our slice of orange float.

There are a variety of items that you have around your kitchen that can easily be used or purchased to give your cocktails a little extra flair.  Here are some of our favorite choices for garnish.

Use Fresh Fruit. The easy choices are fresh fruits.  Place a slice of citrus, such as, a lime wheel or a slice a pineapple on the edge of the glass.  It is simple, but still adds a pleasing visual to your cocktails that entices the senses.

The layering effect of the wine, square ice cube and a dehydrated lime wheel give an interesting visual for our fall cocktail the Rojo.

Use citrus peels. Using the peel of citrus is a very popular way to garnish cocktails.  Use a peeler to peel off a piece of the peel.  You can simply plop the peel into the cocktail or you can ribbon it through with a cocktail skewer for a fancier look.  Fine ribbons of peel are popular to use.  You can spiral them around the glass or twist them around a skewer into a cute little spiral.  We have even seen bartenders take citrus peels and fold them like origami into cute sculptures to place on the edge of a glass.

In the Spiced Manhattan we ribboned a lemon peel through a skewer and added some Luxardo cherries.

Use berries. While we are on the topic of fruit, don’t forget about fresh or frozen berries.  Berries can easily be placed on a skewer, toothpick or just plopped in the glass or pitcher as a float.  Berries are one of the easiest ways to add color and some added appeal to a cocktail.

Layered effect with an orange wedge, cranberries and sprig of rosemary in the Holiday Aperol Spritz.

Use fresh herbs. Sprigs of fresh herbs also make a great garnish.  Not only is this an easy garnish to use– all you have to do is snip it and place it in the drink.  We love to use fresh herbs in the summer.  We just go out to our garden snip a few herbs and head back inside — instant garnish.  Herbs that we often use for garnish are: thyme, basil, rosemary, and mint.

The Savannah Special is garnished with rosemary and a blackberries.

Use vegetables. Vegetables are often forgotten as a garnish for cocktails, but can make a very effective display.  One of our go-to vegetables to use is cucumber.  We like add slices or long strips of cucumber to summer drinks.  Other great vegetables to use for garnish are carrot strips, pickles, asparagus, celery, tomatoes (yes, its a fruit…), and little baby corns.

Double Thyme is garnished with fresh thyme and a sliver of cucumber.

Bacon, peppers, celery, and shrimp anything goes in this Bloody Mary.

Don’t forget the ice!  The kind of ice you choose and what you put into the ice can also be used to impress your guests with a very visual cocktail.  We share some of our ideas about ice with you years ago in our Ice, Ice Baby post.

A flag and a moon shaped ice cube finish the look of the Moon Walk.

Berries, fresh mint and a heart stirring stick layer the garnish for the Raspberry Mojito.

Use fun trinkets. You can use non-edibles in your cocktail, like colorful straws, cute stirrers, cocktail umbrellas or other funny little trinkets.

The Menta Daiquiri looks like a party on the beach with a cute umbrella.

Make sure to layer. The real artwork in garnishing comes from layering several of these ideas together into a spectacular visual display.  Depending on the look you are going for, the crazier the better.

Basil, strawberries and an American flag garnish the Strawberry Basil Margarita.

It’s all in the details. Whether you are serving a glass of sparkling water or a bloody Mary to your guests, take time to prep for a special garnish.  It makes any beverage look best dressed and makes your guests feel a little more pampered.  What is your signature garnish?  We would love to hear your ideas.  Look for future posts on garnishes.  We still have more ideas to share with you.

The Reverse Manhattan is enhanced by a simple skewer of Luxardo cherries.