Thirsty Thursdays: June Challenge Round-up

Talk about short and sweet ... I had but one entry into my Thirsty Thursdays June Jalepeno Challenge! I think the heat may be getting to all of us! Fortunately, its a spectacular entry, as you will soon see.

If you recall, The Duo Dishes chose jalapeno as the ingredient for this month's challenge. While I had hoped for broader participation, given this interesting choice, I do understand that the summer is in full swing and things can be slow in the blogging world as a result.

The good news is that our sole entry is a spectacular one. Team Noodle, from Tangled Noodle, has triumphed again - offering up the Hot Fuzz for your spicy sipping pleasure. This gorgeous cocktail boasts an interesting twist on the jalapeno theme; using some chipotle infused tequila in combination with lime juice, peach schnapps and orange juice to create a fuzzy navel inspired margarita. A winning combination if there ever was one, I'd say.

As Noodle explains in her post, the peach/chile pairing is a natural: "this luscious stone fruit and piquant chili achieve a perfect taste combination of sweet and spicy, and is already a popular pairing in salsas, barbecue sauces and jams."

Run, don't walk, right over to Tangled Noodle and check out the recipe for their Hot Fuzz cocktail - I know you'll be as anxious as I am to try it.

Given the lack of participation this month, I've decided to suspend the challenge until fall. We will resume in September and Tangled Noodle will have the honor of choosing the next ingredient or spirit.

My deepest thanks to Team Noodle for being such good sports and taking up the challenge once again. Congratulations on an inventive and delicious creation!

Cheers!

Thirsty Thursdays: June Challenge - Jalapenos!

As you may recall, The Duo Dishes won the May TT Challenge and they have selected jalapeno as this month's featured ingredient. A most excellent choice!

I've long been a fan of the spicy cocktail and jalapeno plays well with so many flavors and spirits. Of course, the most obvious use for jalapeno is a spicy margarita ... and I have gone that route in the drink I'm featuring today.

That said, I am going to encourage you to think outside the box, should you choose to enter this month's challenge. Jalapeno pairs well with: lemon, lime, orange (or any kind of citrus), pomegranate, mint, cilantro, tomato, cinnamon, and salt, to name but a few.

Be aware that jalapenos can vary in their intensity from pepper to pepper. Some peppers are rather mild, while others are extremely hot. Always taste your pepper to determine heat level before you mix your drink. If it is extremely hot, reduce the amount of jalapeno you are using, especially if you're going to muddle the pepper. If the pepper is extremely hot, remove the stems and seeds prior to mixing.

In terms of spirits, I'd say almost anything goes. I wouldn't hesitate to pair it with: vodka, gin, tequila, mezcal or beer. But, really, you're limited only by your imagination! As far as extracting the flavor goes, you have two choices: you can muddle the pepper, or infuse your spirit with the jalapeno. If you go the infusion route, wash, dry and slice your pepper, then add it to a quantity of your chosen spirit and allow it to sit for at least 4 hours, or overnight, depending on how hot you'd like your drink.

I've taken today's recipe from Navan's site. I liked this unusual twist on the margarita, especially for the lovely vanilla notes that the Navan brings to the party. The original recipe calls for silver (or white) tequila, but I only had gold on hand. Do as you see fit.

The Madagascar Margarita:

• 3 ounces tequila
• 1 ounce Navan
• 1 - 2 teaspoons agave nectar, depending on your taste
• 3 rings of fresh jalapeno, or less, depending on heat level
• wheel of lemon or lime for garnish

Place the fresh jalapeno rings into a cocktail shaker and over them pour the tequila. Muddle the peppers, crushing slightly to extract their juice. Add the Navan and the agave nectar and fill the shaker with ice. Cover and shake well until the outside of the shaker frosts. Strain into an ice filled rocks glass and garnish with a wheel of lemon or lime and a slice of fresh jalapeno. Serve and enjoy, repeat as necessary!

To enter this month's challenge:

1. Create a cocktail using jalapeno as an ingredient and write a blog entry about it. Post your entry sometime before midnight on Friday, July 2nd, and include a link back to Beach Eats:

http://beacheats.blogspot.com

2. Send an email entitled Thirsty Thursdays June Challenge to: ttchallenge[at]gmail[dot]com

The email must include the following information:

• Your name
• The name of your blog
• The name of your cocktail
• The link to your blog entry and a photograph of your drink
• Entries must be received by midnight on Friday, July 2nd

3. You can still participate, even if you don't have a blog. Simply send an email with the above information, minus the blog stuff, and I will include you in the round-up.

The round-up will be posted on Thursday, July 8th and a winner will be declared at that time.

Good luck and get mixing ... I'm looking forward to your spicy creations!

Cheers!

Thirsty Thursdays: Cucumber Edition

First off, this picture doesn't do this drink justice. To be honest, it never had a fighting chance. I was hot, tired and thirsty when I made it - and anxious to take the first sip. Patience never was one of my virtues. I wonder if cucumbers are patient?

If not, they need not worry, they're blessed with a host of other virtues sure to compensate. Cucumbers are crisp, brightly green in flavor, kinda tart yet a little bit sweet, and possessed of marvelous cooling properties. It is these cooling properties that intrigue me, in so far as mixology is concerned.

For my cucumber Challenge entry, I wanted to think outside the box a little bit and reach for something, perhaps, a bit unusual: Mezcal. And, no, I'm not talking about that rot-gut stuff of wormy legend. Today's Mezcal is a premium spirit and it is distinctly sans worm. We've been having fun mixing it up with Mezcal, Chez Diva, and I'm well pleased with the results. I'll offer a more detailed explanation of the spirit in subsequent posts - but for now, the simplest way to describe it is: a smoked tequila. Leaves of the agave plant are roasted over hot rocks and mesquite, which combine to lend a pronounced smoky flavor to the spirit.

Since we happened to have a bottle of Sombra Mezcal on hand, I looked to their website for recipe options and lo and behold, there was a drink entitled: Cool as a Cucumber. Sold! While the original recipe calls for some passion fruit nectar, I was unable to find any at my local market so I've substituted some papaya juice instead. The result? A crisp, refreshing cocktail with a slightly smoky finish. Magnificent!

Cool as a Cucumber:

recipe adapted from Sombraoaxaca.com

• 1 1/2 ounces Sombra Mezcal
• 3/4 ounce fresh lime juice
• 1 ounce papaya or passion fruit nectar
• 3 cucumber slices
• 1 teaspoon agave nectar
• 1 ounce ginger beer
• some ground chile powder for garnish

1. Place the lime juice, agave nectar and cucumber slices into the bottom of a cocktail shaker and muddle with a muddling tool to crush slightly the cucumber and release its juice.

2. Add the Sombra, papaya (or passion fruit) juice, and the ginger beer and fill the shaker with ice. Cover and shake well until the outside of the shaker frosts. Strain through a fine mesh sieve into an ice filled rocks glass. Garnish with a slice of cucumber and sprinkle a bit of chile powder on top. Serve and enjoy, repeat as necessary!

I used some New Mexican chile powder, but anything with a slightly spicy kick will do. This little sprinkle may seem like a frivolous garnish, but do not skip it - that slight hint of spice really adds something special to the mix.

The cucumber, agave nectar and fruit juice combine to temper the smoke of the mezcal and the finished drink is remarkably smooth and balanced. While initial notes are slightly sweet and a bit green, the final note is softly smoky and thoroughly intriguing. This is a cool, crisp drink that's just perfect for the warmer weather. In fact, its almost like a cucumber margarita. A winning combination in my book. I hope you'll try it!

There's still time to enter this month's Thirsty Thursday's Challenge. Details to be found here, entries are to be posted and emailed to me by midnight on Monday, May 31st. I hope you'll join us!

Cheers!

Thirsty Thursdays: Milkshake Edition

Today's offering is by no means a health drink. Consider it a splurge and a somewhat off-beat way to enjoy bourbon - one of our featured ingredients for this month's Thirsty Thursday's Challenge.

Adult milkshakes seem to be on the rise. I've come across more than a few restaurants with boozy shakes on their dessert menus of late and the options really run the gambit. While bourbon seems to be the go-to milkshake spirit - it pairs well with both vanilla and chocolate - I've also seen some made with Irish Whiskey, Irish Cream liqueur, and Cognac as well.

For this particular shake, I've used a combination of Maker's Mark Bourbon and Navan, a vanilla infused cognac. My inner fat cop forced me to use some non-fat chocolate frozen yogurt in place of ice cream, but that's a personal choice. Opt for the ice cream if you're not fat-phobic, doing so will ensure a thicker, richer shake. Frozen yogurt tends to break down in the blending, so the texture will be thinner if you go this route.

Basically, you can add the bourbon, cognac or whiskey to any shake you make, but I will include a recipe for guidance. Its best to have the ice cream soften a bit so that it will blend easily. Leave it out on the counter for 5 to 10 minutes before making the shake.

Diva's Chocolate Bourbon Shake:

• 1/3 cup of milk (non-fat, whole or soy milk will do)
• 1 cup of chocolate ice cream (or frozen yogurt)
• 2 oz. bourbon
• 1 oz. Navan
• some chocolate syrup for decoration

Add the milk, ice cream, bourbon and Navan to a blender and mix well on high until blended, pulsing if necessary, for approximately 30 seconds. Sample the shake for texture, adding a bit more ice cream to thicken if desired.

Drizzle some chocolate syrup around the rim of the glass and into it pour your shake. Serve and enjoy, repeat as necessary!

As written this recipe will yield one shake.

While I always end with "repeat as necessary" ... this shake is mighty filling and one is probably all you need. Feel free to play around with both the flavor of the ice cream and the amount of bourbon as well. I happen to think an adult shake should taste like one - so in this recipe, the flavor of the bourbon will not be lost. Your mileage may vary, of course. Experiment and have fun with it!

If you don't happen to have any Navan on hand, you can leave it out and let the bourbon go solo, or replace it with 1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract if you'd like a hint of vanilla. If you'd like a hint of orange, try some Grand Marnier.

Consider this my bourbon entry for May's challenge. I'm still working on the cucumber drink. Stay tuned.

I hope you'll join us with either a bourbon or cucumber themed drink for the May challenge. Details to be found here, the deadline for entry is midnight on Monday, May 31st.

So, are you a fan of adult milkshakes? If so, what's in yours? Thirsty Diva wants to know.

Cheers!

Thirsty Thursdays: May Challenge

If you read last week's post, then you already know the ingredients for this month's Thirsty Thursdays Challenge ... Bourbon and Cucumbers. The good news is that I'm not requiring you to pair them together!

Since we have two ingredients, you are free to choose either bourbon or cucumbers. If you're really daring and want to take a risk - go ahead and pair them. Who knows, maybe you'll create a new mixological sensation and become wildly famous. Maybe bourbon and cukes are a match made in heaven ... only time will tell.

So, a brief little primer on bourbon before we get to the rules.

Bourbon is an American whiskey distilled from fermented mash that's primarily (51% or higher) made of corn. Like most whiskeys, its aged in charred barrels to achieve its distinct brown color and to add to its flavor. In fact, in order to be classified as bourbon, the distilled spirit must be aged for a minimum of two years in new oak barrels that have been charred specifically for aging. Bourbon cannot be aged in used barrels; however, once the barrel has been used, it may be re-used to age scotch and or other spirits.

While bourbon can be made anywhere, the majority of American bourbon is made in the state of Kentucky. Popular brands include: Wild Turkey, Maker's Mark, Four Roses and Jim Beam, to name but a few.

Flavor descriptives often associated with bourbon are: sweet, smokey, vanilla, caramel, toffee, leather, molasses, maple, oak, brown sugar, apricot and almond. That list can go on and on, depending on the sensitivity of one's palate and the particular brand, of course.

Bourbon pairs well with: orange, lemon, vermouth, bitters, mint, peaches, butterscotch, grapefruit, ginger, grenadine, apricot, cherries, rosemary, honey, bacon, pineapple and maple.

And, so as not to leave our friend the cucumber out, let's take a moment to talk about pairing him up as well. In terms of spirits, I'd mix cucumber with almost anything clear ... vodka, gin, sake or shocou, etc., though you're by no means limited to that short list. Use your imagination!

Cucumber pairs well with: mint, cilantro, citrus, tomatoes, dill, parsley, chile peppers, pineapple, yogurt, lemons, limes and thyme, to name but a few.

So what are you waiting for ... get out your shakers and get mixing. The rules of the May Challenge are as follows:

1. Create a cocktail using either bourbon as the base or cucumber as an ingredient and write a blog entry about it. Post your entry sometime before midnight on Monday, May 31st. Previous blog posts in which you've used either bourbon or cucumbers in a cocktail recipe will be accepted.

2. Blog about your Thirsty Thursday Challenge Cocktail, including photos, and include a link back to Beach Eats: http://beacheats.blogspot.com

3. Send an email entitled "Thirsty Thursdays May Challenge" to: ttchallenge[at]gmail[dot]com

The email must include the following information:

• Your name
• The name of your blog
• The name of your cocktail
• The link to your blog entry and a photograph of your drink
• Entries must be received by midnight on Monday, May 31st

You can still participate even if you don't have a blog. Simply send an email with the above information, minus the blog stuff, and I'll include you in the round-up

The round-up will be posted on Thursday, June 3rd and a winner will be declared at that time. Said winner will have the privilege of choosing next month's spirit or ingredient. Good luck!

Special thanks to Tangled Noodle for choosing the cucumbers and to Suzy for choosing the bourbon. I can't wait to get mixing ... look for a new cocktail recipe next week!

Cheers!