sexy white wine sangria

There's certainly no shortage of sangria recipes floating around out there in the recipesphere; but on a hot, casual Saturday afternoon, I'm usually wanting white wine, rather than red. The club soda in this particular version really does it for me by skimming off the overly sweet and leaving behind a thirst-quenching crispness.

Alone or with your best sangria drinkin' guys & gals, this super refreshing and very simple (chances are good you already have most of the ingredients in your kitchen) winey goodness does the trick.

Sexy White Wine Sangria

• 1 bottle of Sauvignon Blanc 
• 1/2 litre of club soda (or ginger ale if you like it really sweet ... I personally do not) 
• 2 kiwis 
• 1/2 cup of raspberries 
• 2 limes 
• 1/2 cup of sugar 

Cut the kiwi and the lime into wedges. Pour the wine into a large, preferably glass, pitcher. Add all the fruit and the sugar then mix well. Cover and let it sit in the fridge for at least one hour. When you’re ready to drink, add the club soda and about two handfuls of ice. Mix again and serve immediately.

SB12

Couldn't care less about the Super Bowl this year; but as usual, the folks at someecards gave me a good chuckle. Oh ... and I intend to make the First and Ten my gameday cocktail of choice.

First and Ten
Ingredients

2 ounces light rum

1 ounce pineapple juice

1 ounce orange juice

1 ounce grapefruit juice

1 ounce cranberry juice

0.5 ounce lemon juice

1.5 ounces dark rum

splash grenadine

0.5 ounce sweet and sour

4.75 ounces champagne or sparkling wine

1 slice orange

1 maraschino cherry

How to Prepare
Combine sweet and sour with all fruit juices in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake until well combined. Pour light and dark rum over ice in a large highball glass and add combined ingredients. Fill the glass with champagne or sparkling wine and add a dash of grenadine for color. Garnish with fresh fruit and a cherry and serve.

easy enchiladas & margaritas

It's been the perfect lazy weekend. No work. No travel. No stress. Yesterday I wanted comfort food--Mexican comfort food. A quick convo with my sister yielded the perfect answer: Black Bean Spinach Enchiladas. It was like she crawled into my head and pinpointed my exact craving.

Before sharing the enchiladas recipe, first things first: Margaritas (who cooks without a cocktail/glass of something in hand?). One of my girls, Kayla, introduced me several weeks ago to the Skinny Girl margarita. A total and complete margarita snob, I was more than a little skeptical when she made the recommendation. But I went ahead and made a quick trip to the greatest liquor store on the planet and purchased a bottle. Wow--they don't suck. At all. I add mucho fresh lime to mine, but for a low-cal margarita, you won't be disappointed.

Back to the enchiladas.

Ingredients

10-12 small flour or corn tortillas (I used corn)

10 oz. package chopped spinach, thawed (you can use your microwave)

15 oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed

14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes with green chiles and spices, drained

3/4 cup scallions, chopped

19 oz. can green chile enchilada sauce

8oz. sour cream

3 cups shredded pepper jack cheese (I couldn't find shredded pepper jack, so I used jalapeno jack instead. Worked fine)

Garlic powder and onion powder (I left out the onion powder. Your call)

Salt and pepper

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400-degrees and get out a 9x13 inch Pyrex baking dish.

2. In a colander, squeeze out as much water from the spinach as you can by pressing the spinach with the back of a spoon. Place the spinach in a large bowl. Add the rinsed beans, drained tomatoes, most of the scallions, and a dash of garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper, to taste. Set aside.

3. Mix together the sour cream and green chile enchilada sauce. Spread about 1/3 of the sauce mixture into the 9x13 inch dish.

4. On a plate, place a tortilla and top with some of the spinach mixture and a small amount of pepper jack cheese. Roll into cigar shape and place into the baking dish, seam side down. Repeat until the dish is full.

5. Spread the rest of the sauce on top of the enchiladas and top with the remaining cheese and scallions. Bake for about 30 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Wait a few minutes and serve.

I served my enchiladas with lime cilantro rice (white rice with chopped cilantro and fresh lime juice). It was a perfect mate.

southern cocktails

Last week on my Georgia vacay, I purchased a fabulous book ... one that's more than worth sharing. It's called Southern Cocktails: Dixie Drinks, Party Potions, and Classic Libations. Not only are the recipes phenomenal, but the photographs, narratives, and overall presentation are lovely.

Up to my lips and down to my hips

The further it goes, the better it gits.

Here's peace at home and plenty abroad.

Love your wife and serve the Lord--Drink!

--Early antebellum South toast

(I'm currently looking for a great set of the silver/pewter julep cups [on the book cover] to have monogrammed for myself. There's something about the condensation on the outside of the cup that makes me drool ....)

whiskey river take my {mad} mind

Tonight's Mad Men cocktail: the Whiskey Sour. Classic. Vintage. Retro. Authentic.

Describe it however you will, but the whiskey sour is the perfect sipping companion to the political incorrectness and fashion fabulousness (I don't think that's a word) that is the world of Sterling Cooper Draper Price.

Currently making my preparations.

maddening

Hot damn. Tonight's the night. The return of Mad Men.

In a few hours, it'll be just me, my vodka gimlet, and my TV.

pasta ponza

I've been away from home--on and off--for the better part of the past two months. What have I missed most of all? Cooking (and good food). But after a day of unpacking, doing countless loads of laundry, and generally putting my life back in order, I didn't want to do much in the kitchen this evening ... yet I did want to do something. So I thumbed through Giada's latest book, looking for a tasty (and simple) solution. Behold, page 85: Pasta Ponza.

pasta ponza (Giada de Laurentiis)

4 to 6 SERVINGS

Ponza is an island off the west coast of Italy ... Like all the best pasta dishes, this one is simple; what makes it special is how the sauce comes together. The tomatoes and capers are roasted with a bread crumb topping, concentrating their flavors and making them very juicy with a crunchy crust. When they're mixed with the hot pasta and cheese, the textures and flavor explode in your mouth. This just might be my favorite recipe in the book!

Unsalted butter for greasing

2 cups (12 ounces) red cherry or grape tomatoes, halved

2 cups (12 ounces) yellow cherry or grape tomatoes, halved

1/2 cup capers, rinsed and drained

1 tablespoon olive oil, plus more for drizzling

1/2 teaspoon of salt, or more, to taste

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or more, to taste

1/2 cup Italian-style seasoned dried bread crumbs

1 pound ziti or other short tube-shaped pasta

1 1/4 cups grated Pecorino Romano cheese

1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves

Place an oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 375°F. Butter an 8x8-inch glass baking dish. Set aside.

Combine the tomatoes, capers, olive oil, salt, and pepper in the prepared baking dish. Toss to coat.

Sprinkle the breadcrumbs over the tomato mixture.

Drizzle the top with olive oil.

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the top is golden.Cool for 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender but still firm to the bite, 8 to 10 minutes.

Drain the pasta, reserving about 1 cup on the pasta water. Transfer the pasta to a large serving bowl. Spoon the tomato mixture onto the pasta.

Add the cheese and toss well.

If needed, thin out the sauce with a little pasta water. Season with salt and pepper, sprinkle with parsley, and serve immediately.

Notes: I used Parmigiano Reggiano, rather than Romano cheese. It worked fine. Also, I added red pepper flakes--a much-needed kick. Finally, next time I make it, I'll finish the dish by sprinkling a little more Italian breadcrumbs on top then baking for a few minutes. It needed a tad of some kind of golden crispiness as a topper. Otherwise, super easy and tasty.

Oh ... almost forgot ... pairs well with gin & tonic. :)