This is a cocktail to be served in a brandy snifter, with a lot of ice.  It's a strong fancy rum drink.... the perfect ending to a long day with the kids! 

For one generous cocktail, you'll need:

2 oz dark rum
1 1/2 oz Liquor 43 

3 sprigs of fresh cilantro
1 lime 

Muddle cilantro and juice from 1/2 lime. 

In shaker filled with ice, combine rum and Liquor 43 and juice from the remaining 1/2 of lime, and shake vigorously.

Fill your glass with muddled cilantro and lime juice, then top with the rum/Liquor 43 from shaker.  Garnish with a piece of lime and serve immediately. 

And relax!

I love a refreshing summer cocktail, but I tend to not like cocktails that are super sweet (unless I am having it for dessert).  I looked up a bunch of raspberry mojito recipes before coming up with what I think is the best combo of ingredients.  It is light and refreshing, slightly sweetened, and has a delicious bite of lime.  

Have you ever been raspberry picking?  I have had two experiences, the first was awesome...a sunny warm day in Michigan and my mom was visiting.  We laughed and ate as we picked, we took pictures and just enjoyed the company and the beautiful day.  We picked so many raspberries, we went home and made 2 dozen jars of jam!  

You will need:
2 cups sugar
2 cups water
1 cup mint leaves, loosely packed, plus a couple leaves to garnish each glass
White Rum (1-2 shots per drink)
Raspberries (a small handful per drink)
Lime juice (1/2 shot per drink)
Club Soda (to top off each drink)

First, bring your sugar and water to a boil.  Once boiling and sugar is dissolved, remove from the heat and add your mint leaves.  Stir and and then cover and let steep for 1 hour.  

After your mint water steeps, strain out the mint leaves and you are left with mint infused simple syrup.

To make your cocktails, fill a tumbler glass with ice.  Add 1 shot of rum, 1 shot of simple syrup, a small bunch of raspberries, a couple fresh mint leaves, 1/2 shot of lime juice.  Top off the glass with just enough club soda to fill the cup and serve....or sip...or gulp!

WOW.  I cannot believe it's been a year since we first started posted our recipes!  I mean can you believe it?  I can hardly believe it (say that like an old man from Long Island and then tell me what movie that line is from!).

For our 1st anniversary we thought it would be fun to have a virtual progressive dinner at each of our houses, since we wish we could actually do that in real life!   So we are  going to start with drinks and apps at my house in Michigan (Rachel), then move to dinner at Emily's in New Jersey, and finally finish the night with dessert with Mandy in New Hampshire.  We hope you enjoy having dinner with us!

For these fresh and sweet treats you will need:
1/3 cup fresh squeezed orange juice
1/3 cup fresh squeezed lime juice
3 Tbs granulated sugar (plus more for sugaring the rims of your glasses)
3 cups of cubed watermelon (I like to freeze the watermelon first so your drink is automatically cold when you blend it!)
1/3 cup water
1/3 cup tequila
Club Soda (enough to fill each glass 1/3 of the way)
Strawberries and limes for garnish

Run a lime wedge around the edge or your glass and then dip into a plate or bowl of sugar to sugar the rim.  Cut a strawberry and a lime and garnish on the edge of your glass.

Put all ingredients EXCEPT CLUB SODA into the blender.  If your watermelon is not frozen, add a couple ice cubes and leave out the water.  Blend until creamy.

Fill your glass 1/3 of the way full with club soda, then top off with your blended mix.  Give a little stir and enjoy!

This bruschetta is so delicious...I served it with thinly sliced french bread (I know, I should have used Italian since it's Italian food - but French is smaller and more sturdy!).  I also served marinated fresh slices of mozzarella cheese (marinated in olive oil, basil, oregano and S&P).

For the bruschetta you will need:
6-8 roma tomatoes, chopped
1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, packed in oil, chopped small (I did this in my food processor)
3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed 
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 Tbs balsamic vinegar 
1 cup loosely packed fresh basil, chopped
1/2 tsp salt (or to taste)
1/2 tsp fresh cracked pepper (or to taste)
1/2-1 cup fresh parmesan, shredded
1/2 red onion, diced (about 1/2 cup)
1 lemon wedge
1 French baguette, cut in 1/2 inch slices

The prep is super easy - just chop it all up nice and tidy and then squeeze the juice from the lemon wedge over the top (just a spritz otherwise it will taste lemony!) and then serve with the baguette slices.  Thanks for coming over to my house!!

For the scallops you will need:
20 jumbo scallops or about 40 regular sized
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 tsp grated lemon zest
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tsp minced fresh oregano
1 tsp minced fresh flat leaf parsley
sea salt and fresh ground pepper

Using a paper towel, brush a little olive oil on the grill grates so the fish doesn't stick when grilling.  Preheat grill to high.  

Rinse and pat dry scallops with a paper towel.  In a small bowl, combine garlic with lemon zest and juice.  Add 1/4 cup olive oil and whisk for 1 minute.  Stir in oregano.  Set this aside to spoon atop grilled scallops.

Brush scallops on both sides with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.  Grill about 2 minutes on each side.  Arrange on serving platter and spoon sauce on top, then top with fresh parsley garnish.

For the tuna you will need:
1 1/2 - 2 lbs fresh sushi-grade tuna
1 Tbs fresh ground pepper (this is important for a really peppery taste)
1 Tbs sea salt
1 tsp paprika
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 lemon cut into small pcs to serve with tuna

Same as for scallops; using a paper towel, brush a little olive oil on the grill grates so the fish doesn't stick when grilling.  Preheat grill to high.  

Grind your fresh pepper  (you can grind whole peppercorns in a coffee grinder or mini cuisenart, or just use a table pepper grinder and try to measure out a Tablespoon before your arm falls off).  

In a bowl, combine ground pepper, salt and paprika.  Rinse and pat dry tuna with paper towels.  Cut tuna into long thick strips, 1 or 1 1/2" thick.  Roll each pc in the pepper mixture and set on a plate.  Drizzle tuna with 1/4 cup of the olive oil and grill tuna about 1 minute on each of the 4 sides - just until seared.  (see below ***) Set on a plate for a few minutes before checking.  Then cut tuna into equal sized cubes.  Drizzle with remaining olive oil and serve with lemon wedges.

***4 minutes of total grill time should give you medium rare tuna, but cook to your liking. Mine is cooked through in the pics but ideally you want pink centers. 

Now don't eat too much, otherwise you will fall asleep on the ride to Mandy's house like they little cuties...

Our dad is a huge fan of strawberry rhubarb anything.  A few years ago I wanted to make him a delicious dessert but couldnt find a recipe anywhere for what i was picturing, so I came up with this.  I make it multiple times every summer now and have even made it with different fruit combinations.  

For the shortbread crust you will need:
1/2 cup butter (1 stick) room temp.
1/4 cup confectioners sugar
1 cup flour

For the fruit middle you will need:
1 1/2 cup rhubarb stalks chopped into 1/2 inch chunks
1 1/2 cup chopped strawberries
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1/2 cup sugar
2 Tbsp cornstarch

For the crumb topping you will need:
1 cup flour
1 cup oats
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/4 tsp baking soda 

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350.  Grease 8x8 inch baking pan (or a pie plate works).  Combine crust butter and conf. sugar in mixer until smooth.  Add crust flour until JUST BARELY combined- overmixing it makes it difficult to spread in pan.  Mixture should still look pretty floury.  Press dough evenly into bottom of pan and bake for 20 minutes or until lightly browned.

Meanwhile, heat rhubarb and strawberries in saucepan over medium heat, mashing and stirring it so it gets juicy and doesnt burn on bottom, until tender and juicy.  Stir in the 1/2 cup sugar.  Whisk cornstarch and lemon juice together until smooth and then add to the fruit and boil 1 minute until it thickens slightly.  Set aside. 

Mix all topping ingredients except butter in a bowl.  Then pour melted butter over that and toss with a fork until combined and crumbly.  When shortbread bottom is done, pour fruit over bottom crust.  Pour crumbly topping evenly over fruit.  Bake in oven for approx 25-30 minutes more or until topping is slightly browned and fruit is bubbling.  Cool completely before cutting into squares.  You may make a drizzle for the top with 1/2 cup conf. sugar mixed with 1-2 Tbsp milk if you want (makes a glaze icing).

We really hope you have enjoyed our progressive dinner as much as Remy (above) is enjoying her berry crumble!  It's been a really fun and busy year of creating and cooking and sharing...thanks for visiting and trying our concoction out!  

And a special thanks to my sisters Emily and Mandy for doing this with me - I love you both so much and have had so much fun!  I cannot WAIT to see you both next week!

That reminds me, next week is our family reunion at our parents cabin, so even though we probably won't be posting anything new while we are there, we will be sure to come back with some pictures and new recipes to share after! 

Enjoy your day, week or however long it is until we post again! 

You gotta be careful with this - make sure you have company to share it with because its very easy to refill your glass and refill your glass and refill your glass and then you cant count anymore...  Also I should mention ahead of time that this takes a few days to make.  It tastes ok when just made, but a few days in the fridge makes a huge difference in the flavor.

You'll need:2 oranges
2 apples
1/3 cup water
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 Tbs lime juice
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 bottles red wine (750 ml each)
2 Tbs brandy (optional)
Tonic or seltzer (optional)

To make:
Heat the water in the microwave and add the sugar - stir to dissolve then set aside to cool. 

Cut up the 2 apples and 1 of the oranges and drop them in a 1/2 gallon size (atleast) container.  Squeeze the remaining orange over the fruit, and also add the lime juice,
cinnamon, brandy and wine.  

Add in about 1/3 cup of the sugar/water mixture, stir then taste.  Add more of the sugar water (called simple syrup) to taste.  The mixture will sweeten over the next 2 days so make it just a tad less sweet than how you'd want it.  You could also save the rest of the simple syrup in the fridge to add later.  

Cover your container and place in fridge to let the sangria "brew" for at least 2 days before serving.  Can serve straight up or topped with a little seltzer or tonic.  Don't forget to eat your fruit too! 

Note: you can experiment with different red wines, but I like to add one darker wine like a burgundy and then one sweeter wine so i don't have to add as much sugar.