Watermelon Spritzer. If you love watermelon, you will love this watermelon cocktail (pg. 104 Sandra Lee semi-homemade Cocktail Time).

WATERMELON SPRITZER

Makes 4 drinks
• 4 cups watermelon, cut in chunks, seeds removed
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• 2 cups sparkling water, chilled (I used Pellegrino)

In a blender, combine watermelon, sugar, and lime juice. Cover and process until smooth. Strain into a pitcher. Top with sparkling water. Pour into glasses and serve. Thank you Sandra Lee for the cocktail recipe.

My friend was at my house, working hard on completing drapes for my family room. She loves watermelon, so I whipped up a batch of the Watermelon Spritzer. This worked out great because it is an alcohol free cocktail, and we do want the drapes to hang evenly after all!

We both loved this cocktail. Then I got to wondering, why didn’t I like the Watermelon Fizz (May pg. 83 Sandra Lee semi-homemade Cocktail Time) when I like this Watermelon Spritzer so much? They both have fresh watermelon and some version of lime added. What was the difference then? The Watermelon Fizz had watermelon vodka in it and the Watermelon Spritzer did not. Was this the difference?

In the name of research, I added a shot (1oz.) of watermelon vodka to my cocktail and tasted that. It still tasted great. Comparing recipes, I noticed that the Watermelon Fizz used club soda, while the Watermelon Spritzer used sparkling water. And it must be said, I do not like club soda. Tonic water – yes. Sparkling water – yes. Club soda – NO.

So that clears up that mystery. If you like club soda, you might want to give the Watermelon Fizz cocktail a try too.

But either way, do try the Watermelon Spritzer cocktail. With or without the watermelon vodka.

Does the Watermelon Spritzer get rated Semi-HomeTested LUSH IT, LUSH IT A LOT, or LEAVE IT? My friend and I both agree, the Watermelon Spritzer gets a Semi-HomeTested rating of LUSH IT! Thank you Sandra Lee.

Salude!

T-Cee

Cocktails and Air Travel.  They go well together.  Umm, that is if not in excess.

Some cocktails and flights  are great; some are OK.  Others not so much, like the Mango Beach Cocktail (pg. 114 Sandra Lee semi-homemade Cocktail Time). More on that later.

So …Air Travel. We love to Hate it. What do we love to Hate most?

Is it airline annoyances such as:

1. being charged extra for the privilege of checking luggage?
2. the audacity of airlines charging a premium for extra leg room?
3. having to walk barefoot at the security station when you forget to bring socks
4. confirming that your flight is on time, right up till you get to the gate – then delaying for 2 hours?
5. extra taxi-time prior to takeoff?

Or is it passengers that:

1. are in your assigned seat who tell you they need your seat so they can be with  their child?
2. are farting while in line to the rest rooms when you have the back row aisle seat?
3. are freakin LARGE and spill over in your seat.   I know that’s not PC, get over it.

BUT then there are the better flights like my flight the other day where I DID give my seat to a mom who wanted to sit with her child but she ASKED ME before she moved her child.  And then as KARMA would have it, 5 minutes later, I noticed that I knew the stewardess.  Who comped me some wine.  Woo hoo!  Made the extra wait on the tarmac no problem.

So the flight ended well.  Unlike the Mango Beach Cocktail. This is a blender drink of mango, vanilla yogurt, mango nectar, and my bud Jose Cuervo. I have to say it looked really, really good. But it tasted BAD.

So out of LUSH IT, LUSH IT A LOT, or LEAVE IT, I have to give the Mango Beach Cocktail a Semi-HomeTested rating of LEAVE IT. The flavors just didn’t mesh well at all. C’mon Sandra Lee – I’m hoping the next cocktail will be better!

Salude!

T-Cee

Another beautiful day on the lake. I spent the morning planting 2 bushes and 3 (hopefully) perennial flowering plants. Which in this area means using a spade to dig out rocks and huge clippers to cut tree roots. But make way in the ground for my new plants I did.

And how lucky am I that as a reward, I got to go out on the boat on another fantastic day. Just lazing, reading, lazing, reading… you get the picture.

Then a quick trip to the market ’cause these fabulous grocery stores here actually steam your lobsters for you – all for $6.99/lb!!! Living large on a budget – that’s what I’m talking about!

OK, so after such a perfect day, I was a little nervous about making a Sandra Lee semi-homemade cocktail – because the last few I’ve made have been really bad. I’m beginning to think that Sandra Lee took the month of July off when she put her cocktail book together. The cocktails from the other months have been mostly great.

So, here goes. I made the SUNBURST COOLER (pg. 106 Sandra Lee semi-homemade Cocktail Time). This turned out to be a simple mix of whiskey (I used Seagram’s 7 – thank you Ralph). frozen lemonade mix and lemon-lime soda (I used Fresca- they don’t call it diet, because it has never ever had calories). I thought it would taste like a Whiskey Sour and it pretty much did, but the Fresca gave it a nice zing. Very Refreshing!

So, LUSH IT, LUSH IT A LOT, or LEAVE IT? I give the SUNBURST COOLER a Semi-HomeTested rating of LUSH IT!

OK, I’ve got to get a few things done before I tune in to “Bethenny’s Getting Married?”.

Salude!

OK, back in the day, (and my day ain’t over) a White Russian was a Black Russian with cream – which was vodka and coffee liqueur. BUT Sandra Lee’s version of a WHITE RUSSIAN (pg 110 Sandra Lee semi-homemade Cocktail Time) includes herbal liquor, creme de cacao,and grand marnier and vanilla ice cream.

What? So I Google herbal liqueur and find several listings, including Jägermeister. According to Wikipedia, Jägermeister’s ingredients include 56 herbs, fruits, roots, and spices including citrus peel, liquorice (their spelling, not mine), anise, poppy seeds, saffron, ginger, juniper berries and ginseng.

Off to the liquor store I go. And I’m searching the shelves for herbal liquors. But can I remember any of the names that came up on the Google search? And did I write any of the names of the herbal liquors that came up on the Google search? NO and NO.

So I ask my friendly cashier if they have any herbal liquors. The liquor store manager looks it up in the computer, and says blah, blah, blah, Jägermeister.

Then, BAM, the cashier gets a HUGE smile and points to a box on the counter next to the cash register which is FILLED with pints of Jägermeister. He says it is a huge seller, so I Google Jägermeister (again) when I get home and Walla. Apparently the young-bloods today drink it with Red Bull (the Jager bomb). I should mention that I’m in NH for a few days, so maybe it’s a local thing.

Anyway, I pop the Jägermeister, gran marnier, creme de cacao and ice cream in the blender. And taste it. Did I forget to mention that Jägermeister smells like cough syrup? And not the sweet cherry cough syrup kids get today. It smells like the the kind of cough syrup your grandma gave you. Hmmmm… Maybe grandma gave me Jägermeister???

So, out of LUSH IT, LUSH IT A LOT, or LEAVE IT. I have to give this version of the WHITE RUSSIAN a Semi-HomeTested rating of LEAVE IT. I would say sorry to Ms. Sandra Lee, but I kind of feel Sandra Lee owes me an apology for this one. And so does grandma.

Salude!

Kissable? NOT SO MUCH! This cocktail (pg. 110 Sandra Lee semi-homemade Cocktail Time) of orange flavored Vodka (I used Pinnacle), white creme de cacao, and milk sounded promising, but produced no fireworks!

I got super excited when I looked at the back of the creme de cacao bottle and read “rich chocolate liqueur”, but at least in this KISSABLE cocktail, it was anything but rich tasting! The blend of orange and chocolate should have been a no brainer, delicious combination — But it just fell flat.

Maybe it was because the recipe called for using milk? Normally I prefer to use milk rather than cream in a cocktail, but I think because both the creme de cacao and the orange vodka are clear liquids, adding milk made it look very watered and unappetizing and produced a weak candy bar taste. Using cream would certainly improve the look and texture of the drink.

Regardless, given a choice of LUSH IT, LUSH IT A LOT,or LEAVE IT, my 4th of July family gathering unanimously voted the KISSABLE a Semi-HomeTested rating of LEAVE IT.

Sorry, once again Ms. Sandra Lee.

Fortunately, we had the good old Margarita standby on hand. Hope you all had a wonderful 4th of July celebration.

Salude!

PS – See you at the Real Housewives of NY, Bethenny (Frankel/Hoppy) wedding!

I wonder how many cocktails in the Sandra Lee semi-homemade Cocktail Time book include the word “Fizz”. In May, the Watermelon Fizz was a fizzle, and so too is this month’s entry of CAPRI FIZZ.

The CAPRI FIZZ (pg. 108 Sandra Lee semi-homemade Cocktail Time) is a mix of bitter Italian aperitif (I used Campari), strawberry nectar, and strawberry vodka. The Campari is bitter (being a bitter Italian aperitif and all) and I think, is an acquired taste. I thought the addition of the strawberry nectar would soften it, but no, not so much.

Perhaps it is the ratio of the nectar to the aperitif used in Sandra Lee’s recipe. If I were to try this again, I would use a good 8 ozs. of strawberry nectar.

So, LUSH IT, LUSH IT A LOT or LEAVE IT? I have to give the CAPRI FIZZ a Semi-HomeTested rating of LEAVE IT. It was just too bitter for my taste! So sorry Ms. Sandra Lee.

Salude!

What’s not to like about Irish Cream and coffee liqueur? That’s what you get with the Shimmering Shiver (pg. 98 Sandra Lee semi-homemade Cocktail Time). And what could be simpler than pouring a generous amount of each liqueur with ice in a blender?

Easy, breezy, but easy does it – this one goes down super fast!

And did I earn this one! Yes, I was out trimming the trees and bushes in the back yard. And then I sprayed weed killer – there is just no keeping up with weeds by merely pulling them. I have given up on ‘organic’ gardening, much like ‘natural’ childbirth. What’s so special about pain? Or pulling weeds?

Crikey, it’s hot hot hot outside! But I love to hang out in my back yard when everything is nice and trimmed and I’ve got ice in my glass topped with a little somethin’ somethin’, and life is grand.

Make a Shimmering Shiver for yourself and let me know what you think.

Now, did I give the Shimmering Shiver a Semi-HomeTested rating of LUSH IT, LUSH IT A LOT, or LEAVE IT? The SHIMMERING SHIVER gets a Semi-HomeTested rating of LUSH IT A LOT!!!

Salude!