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July 19, 2017

Strawberry Daiquiri

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Strawberry Daiquiri

July 19: National Daiquiri Day

Summers are hot, especially in Texas, so Highlander sometimes chills out with a strawberry daiquiri. The fruit is in season and is abundant around this time of the year here. So much so that we have been to two strawberry festivals in Texas (Poteet and Pasadena) which sell the fruit by bushels and baskets! On a hot summer day, relax and cool off with a classic cocktail—strawberry daiquiri—on National Daiquiri Day.

Recipe

(Adapted from Cocktails at Love to Know)

Ingredients

  • 1 ½ cups ice
  • ¾ cup rum
  • ½ cup lime juice, fresh squeezed
  • 3 tablespoon sugar
  • 2 cups fresh strawberries (washed and leaves removed)

Directions

In a blender, place the ice, rum and lime juice. Sprinkle the sugar.

Add the strawberries. Blend/puree/liquefy well. Pour into glasses. Garnish with a strawberry or slice of lime (optional).

Notes

  • For a mocktail (virgin version of strawberry daiquiri), eliminate the rum and substitute with lemon-lime soda.
  • Search our blog for more cocktail recipes.
 

July 18, 2017

Texas Caviar

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Texas Caviar

July 18: National Caviar Day

Our Ukrainian friend Olga W. eats real Russian caviar but we have not acquired a taste for that luxury cuisine. We even tried to fill some champagne macarons with caviar as well but we still did not care for it.

Perhaps our taste (buds) leans toward the beer (budget) than champagne (and caviar) kind. So for National Caviar Day, we went the cheap route and asked our friend, Karen B., to make her version of Texas Caviar for our blog. Her recipe does not have roe but lots of richness from the earth instead—beans and colorful chopped vegetables.

Our guest chef is a true Texan and is the perfect person to share her recipe for Texas Caviar. Born and bred near Houston, Karen loves her cowboy boots, the rodeo, BBQs and country music. She and Islander are friends through the local culinary and cake clubs.

Served as a side salad or as an appetizer with (Texas-shaped) tortilla chips, Texas Caviar is an economical alternative to expensive caviar on National Caviar Day!

Recipe

From Karen B.

Ingredients

  • 1 small onion (or half a Texas-sized sweet onion), chopped
  • 1 bunch of green onions/scallions, chopped (green parts only)
  • 1 cup cilantro leaves, chopped
  • 1 green bell pepper, chopped
  • 1 red bell pepper, chopped
  • 2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and chopped
  • 5 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 5 small Roma tomatoes, diced
  • 1 can (15 ounces) black beans, drained
  • 1 can (15 ounces) black eyed peas, drained
  • 1 cup sweet corn kernels
  • 1 bottle (8 ounces) zesty Italian dressing

Directions

Finely chop the sweet and green onions, green/red/jalapeno peppers and cilantro leaves. Mince the garlic and dice the tomatoes. Put them all in large mixing bowl. Stir in the drained black beans and black eyed peas. Add the sweet corn kernels. Pour in the zesty Italian dressing and mix well. Cover and refrigerate for about two hours to allow the flavors to meld. Serve in a bowl, garnished with extra chopped cilantro leaves, if desired.

Notes

  • Thanks to Karen B. for taking some photos for our blog and for making Texas Caviar for us. Take special note of her adorable Texas-shaped bowl that she used to serve the dip with tortilla chips.
  • Our church puts on an annual “Denim and Diamonds” fundraiser so we were inspired to photograph the food with our jeans and rhinestones. “Denim and Diamonds” is a popular party theme in Texas and is also a perfect backdrop for Texas Caviar.

 

 

July 4, 2017

Patriotic Peanut Butter M&M Cookies

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Patriotic Peanut Butter

M&M Cookies

July 4: American Independence Day

Americans are celebrating the 4th of July today by shopping the sales, seeing a blockbuster movie, watching fireworks, having a picnic or barbecue or enjoying the summer season with family and friends. Whenever we gather with them to celebrate USA’s independence day, we like to make festive food to share, such as these peanut butter cookies studded with red, white and blue M&M peanut butter-flavored candies. This dessert is easy to make and is always a welcome treat at parties with a patriotic theme. Happy 4th of July!

Recipe

Ingredients

  • ½ cup butter, softened
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • ½ cup creamy peanut butter
  • 1 egg
  • 1 ¼ cup flour
  • ½ teaspoon baking powder
  • ¾ teaspoon baking soda
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup peanut butter M&Ms (we used the seasonal red, white and blue peanut butter-flavored M&M candies)
  • ¼ cup sugar, granulated white

Directions

In a mixing bowl, cream the butter with the brown sugar. Mix in the peanut butter. Beat in the egg. Blend well.

In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

Gradually add the dry to the wet ingredients and mix until everything comes together. Fold in the M&Ms. Scoop 1-inch size balls form the dough. Roll in the sugar.

Place each dough ball on a lightly greased cookie sheet, leaving about two inches to allow for spreading. Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees F for 15 minutes or until the edges start to brown. Remove from the oven, transfer to a wire rack and let the cookie cool completely. Store in an airtight container. Yield: Approximately 2 ½ dozen cookies.

Notes

  • The use of red, white and blue M&Ms in this patriotic-colored recipe is similar to the one of the election cookies we made a few years ago.
  • Change the colors of the candies to suit the season (for example, red and pink M&Ms for Valentine’s Day and red and green M&Ms for Christmas).
  • Search our blog for other patriotic-themed recipes.

 

 

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