Peach and Apricot Cider

Rain, rain, go away. Wow — I was just getting the chicken off the grill for family dinner when the earlier few drops of rain turned into a serious rainfall. OK, so much for Monday night tennis.

There are 2 good things from this cancellation though. One, I actually blew my hair dry earlier today (gotta look good when meeting friends for lunch) and I have to say it looks pretty good. So, now I don’t have to muss it up with sweat and showers and such.

And two. I made a batch of PEACH AND APRICOT CIDER (pg. 168 Sandra Lee semi-homemade Cocktail Time)  in preparation for what was to be a chilly night on the courts. And now, its MINE, all mine! I thought about saving it for book club night Wednesday, but, a.) once I tasted it, there was no getting the mug out of my hand, and b.) I can whip up something equally fun for Wednesday night.

So, before I refill my mug, here’s the recipe for PEACH AND APRICOT CIDER, courtesy of Sandra Lee.

Peach and Apricot Cider

• 2 cans (11.5 oz each) peach nectar
• 2 cans (11.5 oz each) apricot nectar
• 1 bag (12 oz.) frozen peach slices
• 3 cups water
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 cup bourbon
• 1/2 cup lemon juice
• 1 tsp. ground allspice
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• Cinnamon stick

In a 4 quart slow cooker, combine peach nectar, apricot nectar, peach slices, the water, brown sugar, bourbon, lemon juice, allspice, and 2 cinnamon sticks.  Cover and heat on Low heat setting for 2 or 3 hours.  Discard the cinnamon sticks.  Turn slow cooker to Warm heat setting.  Serve in mugs with additional cinnamon sticks.  Makes 10 drinks.

Now you can either take your batch of PEACH and APRICOT CIDER to a chilly evening sporting event, or keep your hair looking good, Southern style, by staying inside and enjoying a serving  or two of this cider in your favorite mug.  Like any other cocktail, I find that drinking this cider out of  a beautiful glass makes it even more enjoyable.

T-Cee reviews Sandra Lee semi-homemade cocktails

Rating time – does the Peach and Apricot Cider get a Semi-HomeTested rating of LUSH IT, LUSH IT A LOT, or LEAVE IT?

You’re on a roll Ms. Sandra Lee – the Peach and Apricot Cider gets a LUSH IT A LOT rating.

Definitely serve this Peach and Apricot Cider at your holiday gatherings.  Your family and friends will love it.  And I have to say at only 1 cup of bourbon for 10 servings, it is not going to knock anyone out.  You can adjust accordingly.  I’ll never tell.

Salude!

T-Cee

P.S. Click on Leave a Comment below and tell me how you enjoyed it.

Sandra Lee Happy Homemaker Cocktail

Here’s a Happy Homemaker Cocktail (pg. 143 Sandra Lee semi-homemade Cocktail Time) for all you stay at home moms.  Don’t get up in tizzy – if you’re not a stay at home mom, you can enjoy this cocktail too.  But today I want to celebrate the stay at home moms who are putting the pride back into the housewife.  And then need a little wind-down! (recipe below)

That’s right.  I said it.  Pride in being a housewife – I’ve had several corporate, well paying jobs, and let me tell you – there is nothing with more staying power than the pride  you get from the full time job of helping your family be a family!  Now that my family is getting older, I am entertaining other opportunities, but I salute all the new mom’s entering the housewife foray.

I think Sandra Lee has the right attitude (though she certainly is NOT a stay at home mom).  Her attitude is make it look great, taste great, and don’t knock yourself out doing so.  While I do enjoy cooking healthy foods from scratch (as opposed to Sandra Lee’s semi-homemade meals), I definitely partake in the ‘make it great, treat yourself right’ attitude.

Maybe that’s why I’m enjoying reviewing the Sandra Lee semi-homemade Cocktail Time book so much.   So after a busy day of appointments, chauffeuring, cleaning, and shopping, I made and enjoyed this delightful Happy Homemaker cocktail.  And thank goodness I brought it to tennis last night, cause I lost, lost, lost, and I hate, hate, hate that.  OK, here’s the recipe, courtesy of  Ms. Sandra Lee.

Happy Homemaker cocktail

• 2 1/2 oz. pineapple juice
• 1 1/2 oz. white rum (I used Bacardi)
• 1/4 oz lime juice
• fresh mint (optional)

In a cocktail shaker, combine pineapple juice, rum, and lime juice.  Add ice; cover and shake until very cold.  Strain into a chilled martini glass.  Garnish with mint (opt’l).

T-Cee cocktail reviews

Does the Sandra Lee semi-homemade HAPPY HOMEMAKER cocktail get a T-Cee Semi-HomeTested rating of LUSH IT, LUSH IT A LOT, or LEAVE IT?  This delightful cocktail is a sweet little shot at the end of a hard, or hot, or exhausting, or frustrating, or happy, or whatever day, and I give it a Semi-HomeTested rating of LUSH IT!

OK, all you wonderful housewives, try making this cocktail for yourself and your pals (or hubby) and let me know what you think!  Oh, and my tennis buddies too – leave a comment below.

Salude!

T-Cee

PS – for those of you following the Real Housewives of New Jersey, Caroline, one of our favorite housewives, was just deposed in the Danielle Staub debacle.

A youthful combination of berries

The Mixed Berry Daiquiri (pg. 124 Sandra Lee semi-homemade Cocktail Time) is a cocktail full of anti-oxidant rich blueberries, raspberries and strawberries. So it was a fun Girl’s Night and an exercise in creating a youthful appearance!  We were certainly feeling younger by the end of the evening.

My friends and I do not rely on Science for this, we just know what we know and we know when we are feeling younger.  Any questions?

Mixed Berry Daiquiri (feel younger cocktail)

• 3 oz frozen mixed berries
• 1 3/4 oz sweet and sour mix
• 1 1/4 oz spiced Rum (I used Cpt. Morgan)
• fresh mixed berries (for garnish)

In a blender (I used my Margaritaville) combine ice, frozen berries, sweet and sour mix, and rum.  Cover and blend until smooth.  Garnish with fresh berries. Pour into a chilled glass.  Serve with a straw.  (We decided it was too thick so I added another 1/2 oz of the sweet and sour mix).

Be sure to make a blender full when you have a group of friends over.   And modify the ingredients for thickness – if you use more frozen berries and more ice for example, you will have a thicker cocktail.  Add more sweet and sour mix as I did, and you will have less requirement to use a straw.  Then let the party begin.

T-Cee review of Sandra Lee cocktails

OK, time to rate this cocktail. Do I give the MIXED BERRY DAIQUIRI cocktail a Semi-HomeTested rating of LUSH IT, LUSH IT A LOT, or LEAVE IT?
Because the MIXED BERRY DAIQUIRI cocktail was delicious and made us feel so youthful, it gets a Semi-HomeTested rating of LUSH IT A LOT.

So, invite your friends over and mix up a blender full of Mixed Berry Daiquiri cocktail. Leave your comments below to tell me what you think of this anti-oxidant rich youthful cocktail. (don’t forget to click on ‘submit comment’)

Salude!

T-Cee

The Ciroc Blue Ocean cocktail (pg.122 Sandra Lee semi-homemade Cocktail Time) is a delightfully fresh summer drink. And it gave me an excuse to use some of my favorite liquor glasses. You’ll see when you make this blue curacao inspired drink, that it makes a very small quantity. So although in her recipe, Sandra Lee just specifies to ‘strain into a glass’, I found that the quantity just gets lost in a regular 6oz. cocktail glass. So when you make the Ciroc Blue Ocean cocktail, dig out your tiny 3 oz. glasses. And although this cocktail is more a shot size drink, you won’t want to down it like a shot, you’ll want to sip this one and savor the flavors.

Ciroc Blue Ocean (cocktail)

• 1 oz. vodka (I used Smirnoff)
• 1/2 oz. blue curacao
• 1/4 oz. grapefruit juice
• 1 splash sugar syrup
• Thin lemon or lime slice

Fill a cocktail shaker with crushed ice.  Add vodka, blue curacao, grapefruit juice, and sugar syrup.  Cover and shake vigorously.  Strain into a glass.   Garnish with lemon or orange slice.

T-Cee review of Sandra Lee cocktails

OK, time to rate this cocktail. Do I give the Ciroc Blue Ocean cocktail a Semi-HomeTested rating of LUSH IT, LUSH IT A LOT, or LEAVE IT?
This is a tiny but beautiful summer cocktail and gets a Semi-HomeTested rating of LUSH IT.

So, if you can’t go to the ocean, kick off your shoes and enjoy the Ciroc Blue Ocean cocktail. Leave your comments below to tell me what you think of this blue curacao inspired cocktail. (don’t forget to click on ‘submit comment’) Or tell me about your favorite blue curacao cocktail.

Salude!

T-Cee

Bethenny really does seem to have it all. And that’s great. How funny was it when Bethenny and Jason hit the road on their way to vacation when they realized that in spite of all the baby stuff they were lugging, they didn’t have the porta crib. Ha! All us moms have been there.

Jason sure took a lot of ribbing about trying to use ‘just the tip’. It was just a tad odd that the new baby nurse would enter into that discussion! Anyway that went on for about 10 minutes – Bethenny is such a hoot. Bethenny must have said ‘just the tip’ about 50 times. Jason DOES seem to be chompiing at the bit.

Hey – I just thought of something weird! Did you notice that Bethenny’s maid of honor was not around for any of the baby celebrations? She maybe was in a quick camera pan of a party, but she hasn’t been around since she showed up sloshed at Bethenny’s wedding. We’ll have to stay tuned for more on that. Someone Google that and let me know.

Hey, I have to say I’ve really enjoyed this show. It’s been nice watching a reality show where nice people go through normal life events with high spirits and actually care about each other.

I hope BRAVO brings the show back for another season! Hmmm, Bethenny DID have to go on a business trip to do a TV show – wonder which one that was…. RHONY?? Getting ready for next season?…. will Bethenny return to the Real Housewives of New York?

What do you think? Should Bethenny continue her own show or do the RHONY?

OK, have a Blue Seafoam cocktail (pg. 128 Sandra Lee semi-homemade Cocktail Time) while you contemplate that.

T-Cee

Cranberry Margarita. Perfectly tart. This cocktail (pg. 112 Sandra Lee semi-homemade Cocktail Time)  had just the right taste of fresh cranberry.  Of course I had to go to 3 different grocery stores to find the whole cranberry sauce needed for this cocktail recipe. Maybe this Cranberry Margarita should have been included in the November section of  the Sandra Lee Cocktail Time book.

And then off I go to the liquor store (again) for the Grand Marnier for this cocktail and some wine for my cocktail party/book review night with the girls.  I put a couple bottles of mid price wines in my cart and then I come across a wine from Africa.  The store wine ‘expert’ doesn’t remember what this wine tastes like, so I ask her if  she remembers if she spit it out. No?  OK, then I’ll take 3 bottles.  I know this is no way to select wine, but it’s got a great label and the book we’re discussing this month talks a lot about Africa, so whatever.  Click here for the book review of Half the Sky.

Now I get to the register and the cashier asks me for my ID!  Good thing I did not look excited or even smile, because in an instant, I realize she just wants to check my ID against my AMEX.  Again, whatever.

Back to the Cranberry Margarita.  It really was delicious.  Here is the recipe, compliments of Sandra Lee:

Cranberry Margarita

makes 1 drink

• 1/4 cup whole cranberry sauce
• 1 1/2 oz cranberry juice (I used diet of course)
• 1 oz. tequila – Jose Cuervo
• 1/2 oz. Grand Marnier
• 10 ice cubes

In a blender, combine all ingredients.  Cover and blend on high until slushy.  Pour into glass and garnish.

TIP: I quadrupled the recipe, stored it in the fridge, and later made it in my Margaritaville machine.  Makes it very easy for a crowd.

Does this Cranberry Margarita cocktail get a Semi-HomeTested rating of LUSH IT, LUSH IT A LOT, OR LEAVE IT? I definitely give the Cranberry Margarita a Semi-HomeTested rating of LUSH IT.

Try it soon

Salude!

T-Cee

Blueberry Sangria. A ‘just right’ Sangria that’s a blend of blueberries and lemonade that is perfect for a hot summer night.  Sandra Lee (pg. 104 Sandra Lee semi-homemade Cocktail Time) you sure nailed this one on the head!

The ladies are here!  Lot’s of food and discussion.  I’ll get to the book review in a moment, but first, here is the Blueberry Sangria recipe:

Blueberry Sangria

• 1 bottle (750 ml) white wine
• 3 cups lemon/lime soda (I used died 7-Up)
• 1 1/2 cups frozen blueberries
• 1 can (12oz) pink lemonade frozen concentrate, thawed
• 1 cup congnac (just get a cheap one – it’s punch!)

In a large pitcher, combine wine, soda, blueberries, lemonade concentrate, and cognac. Chill in refrigerator for 1 hour. Pour into tall glass. Add ice. Drink up.
==============================================

We munched, drank, and caught up with each other. Who did what, with whom, and to whom. We ladies, we love our drama. Oh, and someone broke my toilet. Another story for another day. Ok, now time for the book.

This month’s Book Review/Cocktail Party was about the book Half the Sky by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn.   It is a collection of real life stories of oppressed women in developing countries, primarily in Southeastern Asia and Africa as told to the authors of this book.

The book focuses on three areas of abuse against women: sex trafficking and forced prostitution; gender-based violence; and maternal mortality. But Half the Sky is about more than bringing these issues to light (these issues have periodically been brought to the public’s attention via different news reports over the years). The authors are very up front in their hope to recruit people to the movement to “emancipate women and fight global poverty by unlocking women’s power as economic catalysts.”

The authors clarify how throwing huge sums of money at the countries has not worked in the past, as a great deal of the money never ends up reaching those in need. They champion targeting small amounts of money to specific efforts. They do a great job identifying education and micro financing for women as pivotal changes that can create exponential improvement in quality of life.

Half the Sky does an excellent job in all that, but unfortunately, the authors are clearly from a liberal bias, and do an unfortunate amount of America bashing. Additionally, while they say that both liberals and conservatives must work together on this, they manage to include political digs.

So, would I recommend this book? Yes, definitely. We all have our biases and this book is certainly intended to help oppressed women.

So, maybe this is where Sandra Lee’s ‘Cocktailing for a Cause’ will come into play. I will have to research this more – Note to Self: Call Sandra Lee. In the meantime, there are 6 more women spreading the word!

As to the Blueberry Sangria, did the book club group give this a Semi-HomeTested rating of LUSH IT, LUSH IT A LOT, or LEAVE IT?
The Blueberry Sangria got a unanimous Semi-HomeTested rating of LUSH IT A LOT!

Salude!

T-Cee

Don’t forget to leave your comment. Have you read Half the Sky? Did you try the Blueberry Sangria?