Holiday Margarita

November 29, 2020 / theblindpig11 / Leave a comment

Are you in the holiday spirit yet? It’s that wonderful time of the year between Thanksgiving and Christmas that we love to get that holiday feeling. How do we like to celebrate this time of year at The Blind Pig Blog? Through recipes of course! We have several fun holiday recipes lined up for you this season, and our first is going to be the Holiday Margarita! Though the title is not the most original, we think you will love the cocktail to toast your merriest during the season.

This fun little festive drink is made with premium silver tequila. (We used Espolon.) Like all of our other signature margaritas, we have included fresh lime juice, cocktail ready agave nectar and our secret ingredient in this beauty is Carpano Botanic Bitter. We have shared Carpano Botanic Bitter with you in the Hibiscus Mule.

We chose to garnish our Holiday Margarita with a festive sprig of rosemary and a few frozen cranberries. The rosemary brings out the botanic notes in the Carpano Botanic Bitter, and frozen cranberries are great to keep on hand during the holiday season for quick garnishes for beverages, appetizers, and meat and cheese boards. Who doesn’t like a festive little berry on their plate or in their glass?

Unlike most margaritas, which are loaded down with a syrupy, sugary flavor, the Holiday Margarita is more bitter than sweet. The bitterness makes it a great cocktail to serve with rich holiday foods. It won’t leave you with the feeling that you are on sugar overload, and the Carpano Botanic Bitter gives this cocktail its beautiful festive color.

If you are viewing this post via email, visit us at www.theblindpig.blog for a full printable recipe for the Holiday Margarita.

We spent the past few days putting up our holiday decor. Now we are ready for the holidays. Stay tuned for the rest of December when we will share more holiday cocktails and treats with you!

Disclaimer: Beverages on this site are meant for adults 21 years of age and older. We do not condone underage drinking. Please drink responsibly.

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We are Thankful…Fall Favorites

November 21, 2020 / theblindpig11 / Leave a comment

As the Thanksgiving holiday quickly approaches we have been reflecting on all that we are thankful for at The Blind Pig Blog. We are thankful for our family (all three of the piglets) and of course our extended families in Texas, Missouri and abroad. We are very thankful for our friends and health during this crazy year, and we are thankful to our faithful Blind Pig Blog Readers.

Writing a blog can be like calling into an abyss at times. You are never really sure if anyone is reading your posts and reacting to what you have to say. We appreciate those of you who have reached out to us through comments, likes and other means to let us know that you are “out there somewhere” reading and nodding your head.

Thanksgiving is one of our favorite holidays, because the focus is not on presents and gift giving (not that Rhonda doesn’t like a good gift– wink, wink). The focus is on family, spending time together and reflecting on all of our blessings this year. Of course, the food and beverages are a fun part of the holiday, too. Who doesn’t love the yummy food?

Like ours, your Thanksgiving may look a little different this year. There may be fewer people around the Thanksgiving table and you may not be spending the day with relatives that you only see a few precious times each year. However, you can still make this day special whether you have 2 or 10 at your feast. We thought that we would share some of our favorite posts from this year and years past to help you plan your Thanksgiving celebration.

To host the perfect Thanksgiving meal large or small, you need to offer some great cocktails. Here are a few that we hand selected for you.

Don’t have time to fix drinks for guests while you are checking on the turkey? No problem. Try one of our sangrias for a large batch cocktail that can be prepared before guests arrive.

Punt e Mes Sangria

Carpano Antica Sangria

Need something on the lighter side for a before or after dinner drink? We’ve got you covered with an Orange You Glad or an Apple Mule.

For those who like something a little more alcohol forward a Spiced Fall Manhattan or a Reverse Manhattan works before or after a big meal.

Every big meal needs to have a grand finale. Need some dessert ideas to make for the big day? Any of these would be a perfect ending to a delicious turkey meal.

Bourbon Pumpkin Dump Cake

Not Your Mama’s Apple Crisp

Templeton Pecan Pie

Ginger Crumble Apple Pie

There are always those who would rather drink their dessert, so try a Pumpkin Spice Martini. It will be a crowd pleaser.

It seems like this is a good year to keep some old traditions and mix in some new. Which Blind Pig Blog favorite is going to make it into your Thanksgiving spread this year?

Disclaimer: Beverages on this site are meant for adults 21 years of age and older. We do not condone underage drinking. Please drink responsibly.

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Ginger Crumble Apple Pie

November 15, 2020 / theblindpig11 / Leave a comment

Next week is Thanksgiving and in Blind Pig fashion, we like to share a fall pie recipe with you during November that you can put on the table for your Thanksgiving feast. A good apple pie is always a winner with our family, so we wanted to share this alternative to the traditional apple pie.

We cannot lay claim to creating this recipe. This is a recipe that is an adaptation of an adaptation. (Aren’t most recipes?) The original recipe was adapted from Helen Corbitt’s Cookbook, and we adapted our recipe from June Naylor who is a contributor to the Dallas Morning News.

Our recipe is made with gingersnaps, brown sugar, ground ginger, butter, fresh green apples, candied ginger, lime juice, flour, rum, cinnamon and chopped pecans. If you have not purchased candied ginger before, we found it at our Kroger near the dried fruit and nuts.

Instead of a traditional pie crust, our pie is made with acrushed ginger snap crust, which is made similar to a graham cracker crust. Bake the crust for 10 minutes at 350 degrees.

The filling is made by combining chopped fresh green apples, chopped candied ginger, lime juice, rum, flour and cinnamon. When the pie crust has cooled, add the apple filling to the crust and top with the ginger crumble that is prepared with the remaining ingredients. Bake at 375 for about 40 minutes. Make sure to watch your pie carefully as it bakes so it does not burn or get too brown on top.

Cool the pie completely before serving. Our pie lived up to its “crumble” name and was difficult to remove from the pie pan in one beautiful piece. However, we assure you that our taste testers agreed that it tasted delicious. It pairs especially nice with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top — yummo!

The chewy pieces of candied ginger intermixed with the tart apples makes for a burst of unexpected flavor with every bite. We had not had an apple and ginger pie prior to this recipe, and we were pleased with the way the flavors complemented each other. This pie recipe was extremely easy– especially if you are someone who likes pies, but does not want to make a traditional crust.

How are you planning on spending Thanksgiving? Are you getting together with family and friends or keeping the feast small this year?

If you are viewing this post via email, visit us at www.theblindpig.blog for a complete recipe for Ginger Crumble Apple Pie.

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Punt e Mes Margarita

November 8, 2020 / theblindpig11 / 1 Comment

Margaritas are always a consistent cocktail go-to no matter the season of the year. Have you ever offered a margarita to a friend and he declined? Of course not! Americans love margs! We have shared with you a variety of margaritas over the years, and this week we stay consistent with our basic margarita recipe but with a little Punt e Mes added in. We shared Punt e Mes with you a few weeks ago in our Punt e Mes and Soda and our Punt e Mes Sangria. This week we are excited to introduce you to the Punt e Mes Margarita.

It made sound a little strange to add a vermouth to a margarita. However, when you think about it, many people have been adding sangria, which is wine based, to margaritas for years. The bitter taste with a bit of a kick creates an interesting flavor within the margarita base. A dash of orange bitters rounds out the Punt e Mes to create a burst of citrus within the margarita.