The Cocktail Experiment

As I mentioned previously, my husband and I are trying new (and revisiting old) cocktails.  We call this the Saturday Night Cocktail Experiment.  Turns out we sometimes do it on Friday in case it is really delicious and then we can have it on Saturday too!  When I was battling the flu I skipped it for several weeks.  It all balances out.

The way we usually pick a new recipe is to evaluate what we have behind the bar and plug an ingredient into my Mixology app.  This time, however, I saw a Facebook post by Tipsy Bartender with a recipe that looked refreshing.  I had everything but Strawberry Vodka. So a couple of weeks ago I went out and bought some.  Voila!  The Vanity Cocktail!

The Vanity Cocktail

1 oz. Strawberry Vodka

1 1/2 oz. Peach Schnapps

Splash of Cranberry Juice

Dash of Sweet & Sour

Top with Sprite or 7Up

Garnish with strawberries

That's it!  Very simple and pretty good.  I'd give it a 6 out of 10.

But now I have Strawberry Vodka on hand.  So this past weekend I hit up Mixology and found this:

Creme Rosa

1 oz. Bailey's Irish Cream (I used Saint Brendan's because it is what I had)

1 oz. Strawberry Vodka

1/2 oz. Bacardi Rum

5 dashes Grenadine

Strawberry garnish

Shake all ingredient vigorously, then pour into a cocktail glass.  Garnish with a strawberry.

Also pretty good.  Another 6/10.

But this got me thinking!  Todd had just purchased some lemonade.  I had the strawberry vodka and grenadine sitting right there.  So I threw an ounce of strawberry vodka, a splash of grenadine and 3/4 filled with lemonade, and 1/4 filled with Sprite in a cooler glass over ice.  Pretty tasty if I do say so myself!  I forgot to get a picture, but I'll give this one a 7.5/10.

Let me know if you've got a favorite strawberry vodka cocktail recipe and I'll try it, share it here and give you credit!

This is how you do it!

Today was a particularly good day!  I closed on the sale of a house I had listed for some of the sweetest sellers a realtor could hope for.  I went for a run in 19 degrees on a snowy path to maintain my streak.  And I took leftovers for lunch that smelled so good to my coworkers came out of their offices and asked me what it was.

HOME

First week of the year and I closed a sale!  Not a bad way to start things off!  Not to overstate it - it was the third escrow on the same house.  But a lovely family just purchased themselves a really lovely home and my terrific sellers get to move on to their newly built home to start a new job.  Very exciting!  It is really the a perfect example of why I got into real estate - dreams coming true left and right!

RUN

Day 1153 of my running streak.  Yesterday I did my run at the Sparks Marina Park because they are super-diligent about keeping the walkways clear and we got 3-5 inches of snow )depending on the location).  Today I worked until after 4 and then planned to help a dear friend move sandbags to his house because of the flooding that is expected in the next few days.  That left a small window of time to go for a run.  So I squeezed in my 1.1 mile route around my neighborhood.  Cold and crisp but oh so beautiful.  The snow on the path was like running in loose sand except where it was a sheet of ice.  A treadmill would have been easier - but THIS is how you keep a streak going when your treadmill dies!

RECIPES

My sister shared this recipe for Mexican Lasagna with me recently. "You probably already have all the ingredients!"  She was almost right - I did have to buy a green pepper.  Sheila got this from her sister-in-law Diana so we have renamed it Diana's Mexican Casserole because Todd objected to the use of "lasagna" when it doesn't call for lasagna noodles.  It is so easy and delicious and is one of those meals that actually tastes better as leftovers!

Diana's Mexican Casserole

½ to 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 onion, chopped

1-2 cloves garlic, minced

1 green bell pepper, chopped coarsely (we’ve used red and yellow)

1 tsp ground cumin

1 Tbsp chili powder (or to taste)

Dash cayenne pepper (optional)

1 c. whole kernel corn

One 16 oz. can pinto or kidney beans, drained (we’ve used black and it turns out great)

1 c. tomato sauce

Six 7 inch corn tortillas

1 c. low-fat cottage cheese

½ to 1 c. cheddar cheese (we use the shredded Mexican)

Saute bell pepper, onion, garlic until soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in the spices and saute 1 minute more.

Remove from heat. Mix in corn, beans and up to 1 cup tomato sauce.

Place tortillas in a 2 quart casserole dish, arranging to cover the bottom of dish. Spoon ½ the 

corn/bean mixture and spread ½ c. cottage cheese on top. Sprinkle with ½ the shredded

cheese. Repeat layers. Microwave uncovered on high until heated through, 10 – 15 min. (I microwave for half the time and then bake/crisp the cheese.)

My notes:  This is so easily adapted to what you like or what you have on hand.  We added olives and diced tomatoes because we had them in the fridge. We used more corn and beans than the recipe called for and cut 4 additional tortillas into strips and added them in between the other layers and sprinkled about a tablespoon of dried cilantro on top of the second layer of cottage cheese.

Try it and let me know what you think!

Starting my year with VODKA!

Another year has passed and I failed miserably to maintain a regular blogging schedule.  But a new day means a new chance at achieving my goals so here I go!

HOME. RUN. RECIPES. recap:

HOME

Real estate was back-burnered through my mother's illness and passing and I am excited to be making strides again.  I'm working with two wonderful sellers (closing on one tomorrow) and am thrilled to help them make their financial dreams come true.  I became a realtor because I love houses and I really love people but I had no idea that I would make such dear friends with the people I work with.  Looking forward to new friendships and successes in the new year!  And let me know if you know anyone who is looking for a fantastic Sparks, Nevada home - single story, well-maintained, great location, 3bed/2bath, sunroom!

RUN

We started the year off strong with our midnight resolution run and I'm still on my running streak.  My cold, wet 1.1 miles today marked day 1151!  My darling husband (and inspiration for the streak - and everything else I do!) had to stop at day 1000 due to significant and increasing knee pain.  He is still very much the reason I get myself out the door each day.  A lot of my motivation comes from those that would love to run but can't.  Glen with his neuroma, Francine with her struggles with Lyme disease, Todd and his bone-on-bone knees. My mother and my aunt who were avid runners before they passed.  Whenever I think about quitting I think about them.  Amazing what I will do for others that I sometimes won't do for myself!

RECIPES

This is the funnest part of my post for me today!  I've already kicked off the year with some great new cooking experiences. Todd and I are trying a new (or revisiting old ones we haven't had in some time - hello Tequila Sunrise!) cocktail each week.  I'll start sharing those as well as food recipes.

I'll start with the recipe I used for dinner last night.  Todd said he's been wanting penne with vodka sauce.  I haven't made that from scratch before. Oh my gosh!  How easy and delicious it is!  I found two recipes that I liked the look of and merged them to create what I call Vodka-Pancetta Penne Pasta!  Kicking myself for not getting photos for you - but they wouldn't have done it justice anyhow.

Vodka-Pancetta Penne Pasta

16 oz penne pasta
2 Tbsp butter
4 oz thinly sliced pancetta, chopped
1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
1/2 C. vodka
3/4 C. heavy cream
7 oz  diced tomatoes, drained a bit (approximately half of a 15 oz can)
15 oz can tomato sauce
3 Tbsp fresh basil, chopped
Parmesan cheese

Prepare pasta per package instructions.

While pasta water comes to boil and pasta cooks - saute pancetta in butter until lightly browned.  Add onion and cook until soft.  Add vodka and simmer, stirring often, until reduced by half, about 5 minutes.  Stir in tomato sauce, diced tomatoes and cream. Add chopped basil when other ingredients are fully combined. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until pasta is done.

Serve sauce over pasta, top with Parmesan cheese to taste. 4 generous servings.

Note:  I will try this sauce with Italian sauce and red pepper flakes in the future.  Will also try substituting lobster ravioli for the penne and leaving out the pancetta.

Coming soon:  Pho, Mexican Lasagna, Georgia Punch and a popular web recipe for sugar cookies.

Look forward to sharing with you in 2017!!