FROST BITE SPRITZ 3 oz champagne 1/2 oz Aperol 1/2 oz St. Germaine 1/2 oz Meletti amaro 1/2 lime squeezed
Pour champagne over ice. Add Aperol, St. Germaine, Meletti and lime.
Top off with: Frozen cranberries, a homemade ice cube, frozen grapes or a small candy cane
For one 8 inch crust: 1 cup all purpose flour 1 stick butter 3 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar 1 tsp chopped rosemary
Filling: 5 medium apples, peeled and chopped ¼ cup fresh lemon juice ½ cup apricot jam 4 tablespoons of butter (1/2 stick) 1/8 cup rum 2 teaspoons cinnamon 1 teaspoon vanilla
Preheat oven to 375 degrees
To make the crust, in the bowl of a food processor, combine the flour, butter, sugar and rosemary. Pulse 8 times until combined then run processor for 30 seconds, until a ball of dough forms. Press dough into the sides of an 8-inch tart pan. Prick bottom of the crust with a fork and bake 15 minutes or until golden brown.
Put all of the filling ingredients in a pan and cook on medium heat until the apples start to resemble applesauce. About 15 minutes. Put filling into your baked tart crust and bake for 40 minutes at 375 degrees. It is great served with vanilla bean ice cream or cinnamon whipped cream.
Tip 1: you can slice up an extra apple to put on the top of the tart after cooking for 20 minutes. Pull it out of the oven and arrange on top. Put it back in the oven for the remaining 20 minutes. It just makes it look pretty.
Tip 2: When my husband and I were shooting this picture he wanted me to put a little glaze on top to make it look “prettier”. I took out the apricot jam from the fridge and put a spoonful in a small skillet with a spoonful of water and stirred on low until it was mixed together. I strained it through a tea strainer and then brushed it on top of the tart. It really will make your tart look beautiful.
Tip 3: Another way to keep apples from turning brown besides lemon juice is to mix them with 7up, drain and your good to go. The 7 up trick I learned from my chef friend Lisa Masuda.
Tip 4: Red and green apples sliced up look great in a bowl on a cheese board. Use tips above when you do this.
2 12 oz. cans of frozen Limeade2 cans of dark rum 2 oz. Amaro Meletti 2 cans of prosecco or champagne 2 cans of Simply apple 2 cans club soda 1 tablespoon cinnamon 1 tablespoon of pumpkin pie spice
Use your empty limeade can as your measuring cup. Mix all ingredients together. I came up with this drink for my cooking club. Make it in batches and store for impromptu gatherings. Being on the west coast fall is one of the seasons I miss the most, this drink transports me right back to the east coast. I like to garnish it with a slice of orange or apple. I used my custom made Lulu Powers stickers and tags to label my finished product. You can find my stickers and tags at Lulu's Store. I'm so excited to have my own personalized stickers and tags. I've been labeling everything in my pantry! I love them...check them out!
I first discovered Caroline's cakes at my friend Ashley McDermotts house in Nantucket. It was so good that I ordered my self my very own birthday cake from them! At Caroline's cakes you can order half of two of their delicious cakes and they will ship it to you in one of their signature red tins. I got half the classic caramel cake, which is what they are known for and the infamous coconut cake. Not only do they look beautiful displayed on a cake plate but both were scrumptious. I used my vintage cake breaker (a birthday gift from my good friend Sally Horchow from Current Vintage) to cut the cake. This cake breaker is one of my favorite birthday presents yet.
Coming up on Labor day weekend, this is a great recipe to bring to the end of summer BBQ's. This dish goes great with just about anything grilled, especially on steak or fish. Its easy to make and can be prepared in advance. Texas Caviar
1 cup sugar
½ cup Cider Vinegar
½ cup Olive oil
warm over medium heat until sugar dissolves then let sit until cool
Mix Well;
1 can of Pinto Beans (rinse well)
1 can of Black Eyed Peas (rinse well)
1 can of White Shoepeg Corn (rinse well)
1 small jar of Pimentos (rinse well & chop)
1 small or ½ large Red Onion (chopped)
1 Green Pepper (chopped)
Toss well and combine with liquid, marinate for a minimum of 2 hrs
Drain liquid when ready to serve
Tips: Save the liquid and use as marinade or salad dress. I also like to add freshly chopped herbs to the mixture.
Works best when served with “Scoops” Tortilla Chips
Whole Foods Cotton Candy
My god child Jazzie loves red velvet cupcakes, salty caramel ice cream and any kind of candy she can get her hands on. So for her birthday I wanted to include all of the above for her cake. I had about 20 left over red velvet cupcakes from a dinner party I held at my house which I decided to crumble and freeze. I bought Malton salt, caramel ice cream and cotton candy from whole foods. I used an 8 inch spring form pan which I covered entirely with plastic wrap. I then layered the bottom of the pan with the red velvet crumbles, on top of that I added the caramel ice cream and sprinkled it with the Malton salt and then repeated the process. Next put in the freezer for about 2 hours or until frozen. When you are ready to serve the cake, take it out of the freezer, turn it over on to the plate you will be using to serve the cake. Adorn with cotton candy. Jazzie and her friends went crazy for this cake. They couldn't believe you could put cotton candy on top of cake. Goes to show you can do anything you want!
This is one of my absolute favorites on a hot summer day. Learn how to make this Chile and Cilantro Margarita in the above video.
Chile and Cilantro Margarita
1 small piece of Serrano Chili A small bunch of Cilantro 2 oz. Patron Tequila 1 oz. fresh squeezed lime juice 1/2 oz. Agave
Add chili & cilantro to a glass and with a spoon or muddler crush. Add the rest of the ingredients along with ice and shake.
Idea: Add a few cubes of Watermelon or your favorite summer time fruit when you muddle.
