The Blog

Cocktail Recipe du Jour: Fresh Pineapple Margaritas + General Update

Posted on April 30, 2020 by Miriam Zelinsky

Hi guys!

Wow! I just saw it's been a solid year since I last wrote in...time really flies (when we're not in quarantine!)

Hope you're all staying safe, healthy + sane amidst these crazy times.

With all of this extra time indoors and at home, I can't be alone in wanting to experiment with new cocktail recipes (especially those who are homeschooling!) It was so nice out this weekend that I wanted a refreshing, tropical cocktail that would be light enough for day drinking...i.e. not a creamy pina colada. We had pineapple in our fridge so fresh pineapple margs it was! Recipe below...

Besides making cocktails, it's been fun to make new recipes. We've been loving the recipes on Marion's Kitchen for a change of flavor. Her 15-minute garlic prawn udon has been a favorite that we mayyy have made three times so far. Below is a picture of her basil stir fry – also excellent!

Otherwise, having theme nights has been a fun break from the regular. Taco night has been a winner – cooking up whatever meat you prefer and then putting out a bunch of toppings on the table like fresh guac, cheese, lettuce, pico, jalapeños etc so everyone can make their taco exactly how they'd like...and of course, taco night is not complete without a margarita! Playing some mariachi music makes it extra festive!

I think my most favorite activity so far has been wine tasting at home. I gave Apops an invitation and set up different stations of wine – starting with sparkling and ending with a heavier Cabernet. Each station had a snack as well so it was really fun!

Being a little creative during these tough times definitely helps lighten things up a bit! What have been your favorite recipes? Hoping this is all over soon – in the meantime, stay safe + healthy!

Cheers, guys!

Miriam

Fresh Pineapple Margaritas

What You'll Need:

Fresh pineapple

The juice of half a lime

2 shots of your favorite silver tequila

Half a shot of Cointreau or triple sec

Ice

What To Do: (Makes 1 drink)

1) Add about 8 cubes of pineapple to a blender and blend until smooth.

2) Strain the pineapple juice until it's just juice.

3) Add the pineapple, lime juice, tequila, and Cointreau to a blender with ice. (You can also do this recipe over ice and add the ingredients to a shaker), but blending everything cooled everything down nicely.

4) Blend until smooth

5) Garnish with a fresh pineapple slice + bonus points for adding Tajin or something spicy to the rim to balance out the sweetness of the pineapple.

A yummy variation, though we didn't have any on hand, would be to add some cilantro!

Also, here's a link to my favorite cocktail recipe of all time just as a refresher: https://lazyjackpress.com/blogs/news/cocktail-recipe-du-jour-fresh-watermelon-margarita

Posted in blog, cocktails, fun, margarita, pineapple, quarantine, recipes, spring, stay home

Cocktail Recipe du Jour: Grapefruit/Elderflower Cooler

Posted on April 29, 2019 by Miriam Zelinsky

Hey guys!

Happy spring!

I have been loving this grapefruit and elderflower cocktail with either gin or vodka and have been making it quiiite often. It's refreshing and since it uses actual fresh juice, it's packed with tons of vitamins so it must have some health benefits, right? Bueller? What I love about this cocktail is it feels fancy enough for a weekend but it's also quick to whip up on a weekday. If you're really in a time crunch, you can sub out the fresh grapefruit for bottled, but if you have the extra three minutes, the fresh juice really does make all of the difference! You can even make a big batch in advance for when company comes over! (Or just save it all for yourself! teehee!)

Cheers, guys!

Miriam

What You'll Need:

2 shots of your favorite spirit - have just done gin or vodka, think tequila would be yummy! Guess I'll be trying that tonight...
The juice of one fresh ruby red grapefruit per person.
1/2 a shot of St. Germain
Ice
Seltzer or your favorite sparkling water. We use Pellegrino just because we have it on hand.
Mint for garnish (optional)

What To Do:

1) Juice the grapefruit. I use a little hand held juicer - sort of like this:

It's not as efficient as a big juicer, but it does the trick.

2) To a highball glass filled with ice, add the grapefruit juice, gin or vodka, St.Germain and stir.

3) Top with seltzer.

4) Garish with some mint...it really compliments the whole drink!

Posted in cocktails, gin, grapefruit, refreshing, st germain, vodka

Cocktail Recipe du Jour: The BEST Pina Colada

Posted on March 29, 2019 by Miriam Zelinsky

Hey guys!

I’m so happy that winter is finally over and that spring is (basically) here!

One of my favorite things to do on a Sunday night is to have a theme night. It’s guaranteed to chase away the Sunday blues (if any) and it just makes a regular night a lot more fun and festive! Basically, you pick a theme either based on a trip you loved or even a local day adventure and make a meal from a cookbook or favorite restaurant, as well as a typical cocktail, and then listen to tunes from that place. It’s also a fun way to learn a new recipe!

Last Sunday, we did Caribbean night! We picked out a recipe from the cookbook of our favorite restaurant in Anguilla (Blanchards), listened to tropical music, and made pina coladas. (May have also worn matching t-shirts!)

Now, pina coladas aren’t normally my go-to cocktail because, aside from the brain freeze, they don’t pack enough punch for the amount of calories they boast, but bear with me here. This recipe comes from the bartender where we stayed and it was absolutely delicious! Also, because it calls for three different types of rums (yes, THREE!), you won't feel as guilty and it will definitely have you feeling fine in no time. Besides three rums, you definitely need fresh pineapple juice – it makes such a huge difference compared to canned pineapple juice! Trust me on this. The juice IS worth the squeeze on this one. Finally, grate fresh nutmeg on the top! Oh yeah, and never say no to a floater!

Here’s to a wonderful spring ahead!

Cheers!

Miriam

What You’ll Need (Serves 1)

- Fresh pineapple cubes – about 3 ounces worth

- 2.5 of Coco Lopez

- 1.5 ounces of Bacardi white rum
- 1.5 ounces of Malibu rum

- 1.5 ounces of Myer’s dark rum

- Ice

- Blender (if no blender, you can also serve this shaken over crushed ice!)

- Fresh nutmeg

What To Do:

1) Add everything BUT the Myer’s dark rum to the blender and blend until smooth.

2) Top with a shot of Myer’s.

3) Grate a little nutmeg on the top.

4) Garnish with an orange or pineapple wedge and/or maraschino cherry.

PS. Did you know that the pina colada dates back to the 1920s from Puerto Rico?

Posted in anguilla, cocktails, pina colada

The Atlanta Gift Show - Jan 2019!

Posted on January 17, 2019 by Miriam Zelinsky

Hi guys,

I just returned from the Atlanta International Gift Show and I'm feeling so excited and inspired. I'm so grateful about our new stores who have joined the family, our reorders, and new custom projects! I've already started designing for some of these projects and can't wait to see the finished product!

For those of you who have never been to the show, AmericasMart (the show venue) is absolutely huge! It's literally 59 miles of market and 7.2 million square feet!

I was lucky enough to be in the Toss Showroom (building 2, 813A) and was among some pretty great brands (and people). It was a preppy paradise!

Here are some picts of what my section looked like:

Next up: Toss Designs – they have cute/witty accessories for women – many of which can be customized with your hometown, initials etc!

Haute Diggity Dog – the snazziest toys for your dog! (Also the maker of the Barkin bag - my personal favorite!)

Next, Clairebella – such beautiful and preppy stationary, wallpaper and other gifts designed by Kathy. Literally obsessed with all of her designs!

Next stop: Fornash – super fun, bright, and preppy jewelry and accessories! I love all of their bright colors!

Finally, DefineMe Fragrance – a fun, fresh, and empowering fragrance brand for women! My personal favorite was their hair perfume!

Of course, we had zero fun! Love this picture of Connie sporting Haute Diggity Dog's Rolex watch dog toy, a perfect compliment to her outfit. Wouldn't you agree?

And no day was complete without some champs/wine at happy hour! It was so great getting to know everyone – from pow wowing about our businesses and sharing ideas, to sharing our (mis)adventures from the night before...

See you all next month at the NY Gift Show and get ready for round two this summer in ATL! If you're going to the show, make sure to stop by the Toss Showroom – not only do we have the best group of designers, but we also have the most fun!

Cheers!

Cocktail Recipe du Jour: Peach Wine

Posted on September 20, 2018 by Miriam Zelinsky

Hey guys,

So this is sort of cheating since it's not a technical cocktail recipe, but peach wine is almost no work, super refreshing +delish, AND you're getting an extra serving of fruit! Win-wn-win! Let's be honest, sometimes during the week (begrudgingly) we don't have the energy to make an elaborate cocktail. I often want something more than just wine before dinner. Don't get me wrong – we normally opt for wine during dinner, but we like to have something different while we're cheffing.

While on our honeymoon in Italy, our concierge told Apops and I that we must try the wine with peaches. It was a local specialty. As there was a pretty strong language barrier, I didn't get an explanation, but I was obviously curious to try it out. Was it sangria? No. Was it super sweet with fruit juice? No. It was just dry, white table wine with fresh cut peaches. It wasn't life changing, but it did add a subtle extra layer of flavor that jazzed up the wine. And obviously, minus pouring the wine and cutting the peach, it's almost zero work.

I tried peach wine for the first time at a tiny restaurant in Amalfi that was on its own little island. They sent their boat to get us, which was so cool in itself. And after that, I was hooked. I had the peach wine everywhere I could (especially when the sun was blazing and we were taking a pool break – I had to rehydrate, you know?)

As it is still technically summer, I'm going to hit up the farmer's market in town today and add some peaches (while I still can) to tonight's white wine! Bonus: wine with peaches also goes super well with all things BBQ!

Cheers, guys!

Miriam

As I didn't have peaches last night, I added 4 raspberries to my dry rosé and it was also awesome!