i arrived home from teaching and taking yoga at eleven this morning ready to get busy in the kitchen. it's friyay, so duh, i had to make and enjoy a cocktail with wes. and then it was time toprep, prep, prep for the baby shower we are catering for my good friend lish tomorrow morning. 

but as soon as i started fiddling around at the bar, wes told me HE wanted to make our cocktail. 

you got it buddy! i'll happily enjoy the fruits of your labor and spend a couple minutes relaxing on the couch before the madness. so he got to creating. 

after we shot the cocktail, we headed out to our garden to enjoy it and some last moments of calm. as i edited the photos, i couldn't help but laugh. that sweet man has spent so much time watching me style photos, there was the perfect amount of props and garnish. too bad he didn't use most of them. so don't mind the muddler, long spoon or that rogue pineapple wheel in the corner of the ingredients shot/the background of many of these shots. they are pretty, but not required. 

while his styling might need work, his bartender skills are well honed. try this orange blossom for a fresh, easy drinking, summer cocktail. 

orange blossoms
serves: 1 cocktail
prep time: 2 minutes
active time 1 minute
total time: 3 minutes
ingredients: 2 oz vodka. 2 oz fresh squeezed orange juice. 1 oz st. germain. .5 oz hibiscus syrup (you can purchase it HERE). lime wheel for garnish. orange peel for garnish. 1 cup ice. boston shaker. ice for serving. 

fill your boston shaker with 1 cup of ice. 

pour in your vodka, orange juice, st. germain and hibiscus syrup. shake well. 

pour the liquid over ice. 

garnish with lime wheel and orange peel and enjoy. 

xo, a

orange blossoms serves: 1 cocktail
prep time: 2 minutes
active time 1 minute
total time: 3 minutes
ingredients: 2 oz vodka. 2 oz fresh squeezed orange juice. 1 oz st. germain. .5 oz hibiscus syrup (you can purchase it HERE). lime wheel for garnish. orange peel for garnish. 1 cup ice. boston shaker. ice for serving.
fill your boston shaker with 1 cup of ice. pour in your vodka, orange juice, st. germain and hibiscus syrup. shake well. pour the liquid over ice. garnish with lime wheel and orange peel and enjoy.

yeah yeah. i know. it's saturday. well i'm late for good reason. 

yesterday, i catered an elopement at one of my favorite places. the ocean institute in dana point, where wes and i got married. every time i'm there it feels very surreal. it feels like a place i keep being pulled back to. i first went there as a nine year old for a field trip. over the years, i visited it for random reasons. a charity event when i was twelve, a party i attended as my dad's date when i was a teen, getting married there. wes and i worked a wedding for another catering company there last year and even rented the couple the marquee letters from our wedding. 

and yesterday, i went back. to serve my own food. it was a total trip. it doesn't hurt that the locations is stunningly beautiful. it perfectly embodies the expression "breath taking." but what was supposed to be an easy job was of course way more difficult than expected. instead of serving food up by the kitchen, i had to trek four styled food platter & a beverage dispenser 500 yards down the beach. over rocks. so this friyay cocktail is now your saturday libation. trust me, it will be just as good. 

naranja margarita
serves: 1 cocktail
prep time: 3 minutes
active time: 2 minutes
total time: 5 minutes ingredients: 2 oz blanco tequila. 1 oz lime juice. 1 oz orange juice. 1 oz triple sec (or other orange liquor). zest of 1 lime. 2 tsp kosher salt. 1 cup ice. shaker. tumbler glass. lime wedge (or dried blood orange in my case) for garnish. 

*note that you could serve this margarita three ways. you could serve it straight up with no ice since you are shaking it over ice. you could serve it on the rocks (over ice). or you could take all the ingredients and blend them for a blended margarita. 

start by combining the lime zest and salt on a shallow dish or on plate. rub the rim of your glass with a lime and then dip the limed rim into the zest and salt mixture. 

coating the rim of the glass. set aside.

fill your shaker with ice. 

pour in the tequila, juices and triple sec (if you are blending your marg, just place all ingredients in a blender and blend till smooth). 

shake well.

strain into your prepared glass straight up or over a large ice cube or additional cup of ice. 

garnish with lime wedge and enjoy. 

xo, a

naranja margarita
serves: 1 cocktail
prep time: 3 minutes
active time: 2 minutes
total time: 5 minutes ingredients: 2 oz blanco tequila. 1 oz lime juice. 1 oz orange juice. 1 oz triple sec (or other orange liquor). zest of 1 lime. 2 tsp kosher salt. 1 cup ice. shaker. tumbler glass. lime wedge (or dried blood orange in my case) for garnish. *note that you could serve this margarita three ways. you could serve it straight up with no ice since you are shaking it over ice. you could serve it on the rocks (over ice). or you could take all the ingredients and blend them for a blended margarita. start by combining the lime zest and salt on a shallow dish or on plate. rub the rim of your glass with a lime and then dip the limed rim into the zest and salt mixture. coating the rim of the glass. fill your shaker with ice. pour in the tequila, juices and triple sec (if you are blending your marg, just place all ingredients in a blender and blend till smooth). shake well. strain into your prepared glass straight up or over a large ice cube or additional cup of ice. garnish with lime wedge and enjoy.