i've been off the blog rails. but i'm getting back on track. after baking MANY fourth of july cakes, prepping and cooking for our fourth of july bash and teaching the morning of the fourth, i needed some time to regroup. 

i am working most of the weekend, but i have some beautiful summer strawberries that i need to use, so i made some time to take a cocktail break with my husband before we both ran off to work. wes loves margaritas (who doesn't) and i'm always looking for new ways to spice it up for him. this combo ended up being the perfect mixture of sweet, spicy and summer cool. 

strawberry ginger margarita
serves: 1 cocktail
prep time: 7 minutes
active time: 3
total time: 10 minutes
ingredients: 2 oz tequila. 1 oz triple sec. 1 oz strawberry puree (about 1 strawberry, just blended in the food processor). .5 oz lime juice. 1 tsp grated ginger (and whatever juice comes with it). 10 small basil leaves + a sprig of basil for garnish. 1 small strawberry for garnish. 1 cup ice. boston shaker. strainer. muddler. glass & ice for serving. 1 tsp sugar optional. 

start by combining the lime juice, ginger and basil in the base of the glass part of your shaker. if you like your drink a bit sweeter now would be the time to add in the optional tsp of sugar. 

muddle until the basil leaves are well broken up. 

fill the other side of your shaker with ice, the tequila, triples sec and strawberry juice. pour in the muddled lime juice, basil and ginger. cover and shake until well combined. fill your glass for serving with ice and add your basil and strawberry garnish. 

over the base of your shaker with the strainer and pour it over ice.

 serve and enjoy!

xo, a

strawberry ginger margarita
serves: 1 cocktail
prep time: 7 minutes
active time: 3
total time: 10 minutes
ingredients: 2 oz tequila. 1 oz triple sec. 1 oz strawberry puree (about 1 strawberry, just blended in the food processor). .5 oz lime juice. 1 tsp grated ginger (and whatever juice comes with it). 10 small basil leaves + a sprig of basil for garnish. 1 small strawberry for garnish. 1 cup ice. boston shaker. strainer. muddler. glass & ice for serving. 1 tsp sugar optional.
start by combining the lime juice, ginger and basil in the base of the glass part of your shaker. if you like your drink a bit sweeter now would be the time to add in the optional tsp of sugar. muddle until the basil leaves are well broken up.
fill the other side of your shaker with ice, the tequila, triples sec and strawberry juice. pour in the muddled lime juice, basil and ginger. cover and shake until well combined. fill your glass for serving with ice and add your basil and strawberry garnish. cover the base of your shaker with the strainer and pour it over ice. serve and enjoy!

well, i'm wrapping up another week of craziness over here at la casita costa mesa. this week, i hosted the hardware house kitchen's first ever menu tasting for an upcoming wedding we are catering. 

naturally, wes was scheduled for a double he couldn't get out of. so it was just me, myself and i prepping a four course meal for two. oh, and our tasting space is our home. so on top of all the meal prep i had to whip my home into serious shape. after prepping all day (and teaching at six in the morning) i was just starting to feel like i had everything under control. until the client called and was arriving twenty minutes early. basically they had already parked and were about to walk in. 

but instead of getting crazy and freaking out like i probably would have done a year ago, i took a deep breath, slapped a big smile on my face and got to work. the tasting went flawlessly, the bride and her mother walked away feeling confident about the day, and it finally sunk in that i am living my dream. which is fabulous, but it doesn't change the fact that i'm still exhausted and i definitely need a drink to unwind from the crazy. 

cucumbers have an amazing way of cooling and relaxing. they make any cocktail feel a little extra soothing. and since i missed this weeks tips & tricks, here is how i get delicious cucumber juice with out too much muss, fuss or mess. micro planes are not just for zesting citrus. next week's tips & tricks is dedicated to it's great uses. but one of the best uses is for grating cucumbers to extract their juices. 

start with a hot house or english cucumber. slice off the tip of the cucumber and use the flat edge to grate the cucumber on your micro plane. for every ounce of cucumber juice you need, you will want to grate about 1 inch of cucumber. make sure to hold your micro plane at an angle, over a bowl so you capture any of the juices created while grating. 

strain your cucumber through a mesh strainer, making sure to press out any remaining juices left in the flesh of the cucumber. then use your cucumber juice as you like.

honey + cucumber margarita
serves: 1 cocktail
prep time: 2 minutes
active time: 1 minute
total time: 3 minutes
ingredients: 2 oz tequila. 2 oz cucumber juice. 1 oz grand marnier. 1 tbs honey. 1 oz lime juice. 1 slice cucumber for garnish. kosher salt for garnish. 1 cup ice for shaker. shaker. 1 cup ice or 1 large ice cube for serving. glass of choice. 

start by making your honey cucumber garnish. dip one edge of your cucumber garnish into the honey just till it is lightly coated.

sprinkle the honey with kosher salt till lightly coated. 

make a small slice in your cucumber, gently place it onto your serving glass filled with ice. 

in your shaker with ice, combine the tequila, grand marnier, 1 tsp honey, lime juice, and cucumber juice. 

shake till well combined. 

strain over ice. 

serve & enjoy. 

xo, a

honey + cucumber margarita
serves: 1 cocktail
prep time: 2 minutes
active time: 1 minute
total time: 3 minutes
ingredients: 2 oz tequila. 2 oz cucumber juice. 1 oz grand marnier. 1 tbs honey. 1 oz lime juice. 1 slice cucumber for garnish. kosher salt for garnish. 1 cup ice for shaker. shaker. 1 cup ice or 1 large ice cube for serving. glass of choice.
tart by making your honey cucumber garnish. dip one edge of your cucumber garnish into the honey just till it is lightly coated. sprinkle the honey with kosher salt till lightly coated. make a small slice in your cucumber, gently place it onto your serving glass filled with ice. in your shaker with ice, combine the tequila, grand marnier, 1 tsp honey, lime juice, and cucumber juice. shake till well combined. strain and serve.