Blue Lagoon Cocktail

The Blue Lagoon cocktail (pg. 122 Sandra Lee semi-homemade Cocktail Time) is another summer mix drink made with blue curacao. This BLUE LAGOON however is also made with gin which is not a particularly favorite cocktail ingredient of mine.

It is interesting however, that I made the BLUE LAGOON on the same day that I was surrounded by a ‘sea of blue’ – I’ll explain that later, but first, here’s the mix drink recipe, courtesy of Ms. Sandra Lee.

Blue Lagoon cocktail drink

• Superfine sugar (I used regular sugar)
• 3/4 oz gin (I used Seagram’s)
• 1/4 oz. vodka
• 1/4 oz. blue curacao
• 1 splash lime juice (I used Rose’s)

Wet the rim of a (tall shot) glass with water.  Dip rim in sugar.  In a cocktail shaker, combine remaining ingredients, add ice cubes.  cover and shake.  Strain into glass.

Note:  Use a tall shot glass for this – the small quantity gets lost in a cocktail glass unless you fill it with ice first.

OK, now you’ve got the recipe, go ahead and make one and enjoy my ‘sea of blue‘ story .  Actually, it’s not a long story.  I was simply taking my son to practice at the school which is being renovated. Not only is the school campus a mess, the streets surrounding it are also a mess – some streets are blocked off entirely and entrances and exits to various parts of the campus have been changed.

So, I decide to follow the two cars in front of me that are going down a street next to the school. They appear to be driving with no hesitation, so I figured they knew where they were going. Zip, Zip, around the corner – no problem. Zip, Zip, into a parking lot which I assumed they must know is a back way through the construction.

WRONG. Those two parked their cars and the officers in each of the cars got out and made a bee line for the building – apparently they were late for work and the parking lot was the precinct back lot. And of course the split second I realized this, an iron gate slammed behind me locking me in the parking lot. Now I look around and realize I am surrounded by a ‘Sea of Blue‘, so I burn rubber racing around the parking lot to catch up with the last officer entering the building, roll down my window,and yell “hey, do you know how I can get out of here?” She looks at me like I’m from mars and says “how’d you get in here?” I indignantly reply “I followed you”. (I’m thinking, I’m a taxpayer and what the hell kind of security is this? – but I wisely keep this thought to myself). So, the officer has to get on her talky thingee and get some guy to remotely open the gate, and I make my escape. Not bad for 7AM! I wonder what else I’ll do today.

T-Cee reviews Sandra Lee cocktails

I really didn’t get into any other trouble that day, but that evening, I did make the BLUE LAGOON cocktail in honor of my Blue Sea adventure.

So does the BLUE LAGOON cocktail get a Semi-HomeTested rating of LUSH IT, LUSH IT A LOT, or LEAVE IT? The BLUE LAGOON cocktail drink was not particularly tasty – even a bit bitter. Although the BLUE LAGOON cocktail was a tad better when I threw it in a glass of ice, I have to give it a Semi-HomeTested rating of LEAVE IT. Sorry Ms. Sandra Lee.

Salude!

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

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!

Does anybody else find all the services offered by the “Med Spas” confusing?  I went into two different Med Spas today to try to make sense of all the services.

First, they hand you a sheaf of papers to fill out – my response was, “No, I don’t really want to give you my medical history – what I wanted was to get some information from you”.

OK then. I get to go to a private office to speak to the ‘consultant’. NOW I’M THINKING…. Should I be concerned that her face doesn’t really move much??? She informs me that she just “loves facial fillers and BOTOX”… Gee…. ya think? I am not opposed to any of these helpful services, but everything in moderation, yes?

So I get out of there pretty quick.

Then I check out another place. They tell me about facials, chemical skin peels, facial fillers, BOTOX, and something called Photo Facial Rejuvenation. And wait.. there’s also Facial Thread Lift! What??? And then there’s something called Smooth Shapes to get rid of cellulite. Now that sounds awesome and the pictures look great — BUT — I can’t help wondering if this really would work – and it’s REALLY expensive.

So, I sign up for the light chemical peel – this will supposedly get rid of uneven skin tones, blah, blah, blah. But wait… I can sign up for a monthly service – and there are 3 different plans each with different services. So, I get too confused to sign up for those – it would be a full year commitment after all.

Now, I’m home ready to enjoy a Daffodil Driver cocktail (pg. 94 Sandra Lee semi-homemade Cocktail Time) reading the forms that the Med Spa wants me to fill out and bring with me tomorrow before my chemical peel, and it says ‘no sun for at least 1 week’. Crap. I’m going to be in the sun every day for the next month. So, I guess I have to postpone that idea till the Fall. Maybe I can just get a good old pore cleansing facial.

Anyway, the Daffodil Driver cocktail is a mix of tequilla, apricot brandy, and Gran Marnier, topped off with apricot nectar. The cocktail looks beautiful, but it tastes a little ‘syrupy’ to me. I look at the apricot nectar ingredients and find that it is water, high fructose corn syrup, and apricot puree. Ahhh – that explains what I was tasting - I wasn’t fond of the texture or the taste. I tried adding more Gran Marnier and that made it slightly better. But not much.

So, LUSH IT, LUSH IT A LOT, or LEAVE IT? I give the Daffodil Driver cocktail a Semi-HomeTested rating of LEAVE IT. Sorry Ms. Sandra Lee.

Now… I’ll just have to figure out what to do with the rest of the Apricot Brandy. Maybe I can create a new facial??!

Salude!

I was really looking forward to this Cuervo Caribbean Mist cocktail ( pg. 88 Sandra Lee semi-homemade Cocktail Time book). The picture looked so beautiful – a clear emerald green – I thought it would be so refreshing.

I had the fruit juices on hand and, of course, the Jose Cuervo. But no blue curacao. Not that I dislike blue curacao. It’s just that I never tried it before. Well, that might have been what was in our cocktails eons ago at a bachelorette party. … In Dallas. … But that’s a different story.

Anyway, off I go to get the Blue Curacao. OK – I hit every red light. And cr*p… its the end of the school day and there’s no way for me to turn around and get out of that traffic. So, I search for some decent music on the radio – where’s my ipod when I need it? – and fagheddaboudit – nothing but commercials!!.

But, I persevere. I get to the liquor store, get the blue curacao, have a pleasant chat with the lady at the counter. Then back in traffic. And home again.

Get dinner made. Everyone’s happy. No one needs a ride anywhere. Sooooo…. out comes my Sandra Lee semi-homemade Cocktail Time book. In goes the ice, the juices, the tequila. And the Blue Curacao. Shake it up. Pour it out. And…. what???? I notice it’s not quite the same clear emerald green. But it’s pretty nevertheless.

But taste? Not so much. Out of LUSH IT, LUSH IT A LOT, or LEAVE IT, I am sorry to say Ms. Sandra Lee – I have to give the Cuervo Caribbean Mist a Semi-HomeTested rating of LEAVE IT.

Salude!