Category Archives: QuickandDirty

BERRY WEEK: Berry Sangria

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Hello internet friends,

Berry Week Logo

As you might have already guessed, my favorite group of bloggers has teamed up again to bring you Berry Week!  I love doing these theme weeks because it spurs on my creativity in using ingredients for something new.  This week I decided to make berry sangria!

I’ve posted several berry recipes in the past, but this “recipe” is one of the easiest and by far the booziest.  I put recipe in quotes because it’s mostly dumping ingredients into a pitcher.  Ain’t nobody got time for a more complicated cocktail recipe. The most complicated recipe we used in college was “D the B”, in other words, drink the booze.

Sangria prep

I had the best time acting as a mixologist for berry sangria because each variation needed its own glass taste test. *hiccup*  In the extensive taste testing, I discovered Triple Sec is the secret ingredient and cannot be omitted.  Also, there are many different schools of thought on sangria, but my own personal beliefs are that wine should never be diluted with soda. Ever.  Amen.

You will need:

  • 1 pint strawberries
  • 1 pint blueberries
  • 1 pint raspberries
  • 1 orange
  • 1 lemon
  • 2 bottles chilled white wine, preferably Riesling (I used Firestone)
  • 1/2 cup Triple Sec
  • 1/4 cup sugar

Thoroughly wash all berries.  Slice orange and lemon into rings.

In a large pitcher (or a small pitcher + awkward Tupperware container like me) stir together wine, Triple Sec, and sugar until the sugar is completely dissolved.

Toss in the fruit and refrigerate for at least an hour before serving.  The long chill time allows all of the booze to soak into the berries.

Berry sangria

The great thing about this recipe is that you can easily halve it if your party is small.  The OTHER great thing about this recipe is that it tastes delicious.  The other OTHER great thing about this recipe is that you get to eat a ton of booze berries at the bottom of your glass.

What’s your favorite use of summer berries?

-Mads

P.s. Check out all of tasty ways you can use summer berries with these fantastic recipes:

Two Second Salmon Dip

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This weekend marks my last weekend of summer freedom before the second year of graduate school starts again.  Not that I really had “summer freedom”, as I was in summer school up until last week.

The point is, I am living it up as much as possible until Tuesday evening hits like a ton of bricks.

Which is what brings me to this salmon dip.  I brought it to a friend’s backyard BBQ and ate like it was my last supper.

This recipe takes anywhere from two to ten seconds…total.  It’s that easy.  If you love salmon, you’ll love this…I promise.

The cast of characters:

We bought the fancy salmon this time around, but cheapo salmon works in a pinch.

1 package cream cheese (I always use 1/3 less fat without any ill effects)

1 package salmon in the pouch – shredded

1/4 cup diced onion

1/4 cup capers

Splash of hot sauce

Salt & Pepper to taste

Simply combine all ingredients and chill until you are ready to serve with crackers or veggie sticks.

Use about this many capers…or more if you’re feeling frisky…or less if you’re feeling capered-out.

This recipe is in our stash of family favorite recipes, but we got the original from our friend, Ginger.  The family favorites are tried and true, never fail to please a crowd, and taste delicious served with love.  You know those recipes…the ones that have tattered corners and get passed around at every major holiday?  Yup.  mmmm

Shred the salmon a little bit with your weirdly angled thumb. I swear my right thumb isn’t normally this disfigured.

We ended the bonfire with an outdoor movie and popcorn and I couldn’t have asked for a better way to end the summer!

Two Second Salmon Dip

What are you doing to celebrate the last few days of summer?

-Mads

 

Peach Bellini

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Hey hey folks,

It’s Cocktail Week on the internet!  And by the internet, I mean the few incredible blogging women who have decided to join me on this quest to quench The Thirst.

I recently got married…where have you been?!?  The wedding prep, bachelorette night, bridal showers, wedding night, etc. have naturally been brimming to the top with champagne.  I also recently discovered that champagne is a MUCH better cure-all than ice cream.

The point is, we’ve had a bottle of Freixenet Cordon Negro on tap since January.  Think nothing of it.

But sometimes that bottle of champagne needs a little facelift.

This recipe is perfect for ladies brunching, cheers-ing newlyweds, commiserating a friend’s breakup…you name it!

Step 1:  Create a simple syrup by heating up equal parts sugar and water.  Cool this off in the fridge before you blend your cocktail.

Step 2: Peel yo peach!

If you are using a huge batch of peaches, it’s best to do the boiling pot method of peeling.  However, since I’m the only one drinking the Bellini at the moment, I can peel a single peach with a potato peeler faster than I can boil water.

Magic!

Step 3: Pop that peach into the blender and pulse to a pulp!  (Yay alliteration!)

Pulse that peach!

It will resemble baby food, but don’t even trip.

Step 4: Mix champagne, peach puree, and simple syrup.  Serve and enjoy!

As always, in the words of Barefoot Contessa, “How easy is that?”

I really loved this cocktail.  It’s like an elevated mimosa and all of your guests will be impressed.  🙂

Peach Bellini

You will need:

6 peaches

1/4 cup water

1/4 cup sugar

1 bottle champagne (Prosecco and sparkling white wine also taste fabulous)

Heat water and sugar on stove until sugar has dissolved.  Cool in fridge until ready to serve.

Peel peaches and blend into pulp.

Combine peach pulp, champagne, and simple syrup into pitcher and serve.  Or pour a splash of each ingredient into champagne glasses to serve one at a time (this is my preferred method because everyone likes a different ratio of booze to fruit).

-Mads

P.S. I’m getting tipsy off of all of the bubbly floating around in blog land.  Check out some of the other zippy drinks my friends have whipped up:

Raging Aztec Frappe (includes a KitchenAid giveaway!)

Peach Pie Prosecco Palmer

Raspberry Thyme Tom Collins

Traverse City Cherry Mojitos

Amaretto Sours

Watermelon Mojo

Paloma

Radlermass

Blueberry Smash Cocktail

Taco Dip

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This recipe was originally given to me by my friend, Sarah.  I ate pretty much the entire tray of taco dip and then looked at her with sad puppy-dog eyes, begging for more.

Warning: You may eat the entire tray of taco dip.

My favorite part about this recipe is that it takes 3 minutes to whip together.  3 MINUTES!

The party starts with 1 pkg. softened cream cheese, 8 oz. sour cream, and 1/2 packet taco seasonings.

Made for each other.

Mix those bad larrys together until all the lumps are gone, and then spread on a pan.  I used a cookie sheet, but I also double the recipe…

A double batch fits perfectly on a cookie sheet.

Bust out your taco sauce and drizzle a fair amount on top.

See?  This recipe is so easy, it doesn’t even need precise measurements.

My drizzle looked like this:

Party PLATTER

Ok.  Now sprinkle the top with shredded lettuce (~1/3 cup) and shredded cheddar (~1/3 cup).

Sorry about this pic. Nighttime fell, which happens in real life, but not for real food bloggers. I apologize for not being a real food blogger.

If you want to get fancy, you can add all sorts of toppings…tomato, black olive, beans, etc.

Full recipe:

8oz. package of cream cheese

8 oz. sour cream

1/2 packet taco seasoning

Drizzle of taco sauce

Sprinkle of shredded iceberg lettuce

Sprinkle of shredded cheddar cheese

Combine cream cheese, sour cream, and taco seasoning until smooth.  Spread on serving dish.  Drizzle with taco sauce.  Sprinkle with lettuce and cheese.  Serve with tortilla chips and veggies.

What’s your favorite party dish to make?  What recipes do you fall back on in a pinch?  

Don’t say I didn’t warn you about eating the whole pan.

-Mads