3 is NOT a crowd

After having and blogging about the two margaritas. I met my friend, Keith, at Applebee's and my wonderful bartender, Diane, took a look at my recipe book. She said, "which one am I making you?" We flipped through a few pages, and we came up upon the Key Lime Margarita. I was very excited about this one, but it wasn't the best one I'd had. Several people tried the margarita up at the bar, and again, I got mixed reviews. No blame on Diane! She said that she followed the recipe exactly.

Margaritas & Memories

Tonight, 6 other women and myself enjoyed the Brunch Margarita and the Watermelon Margarita while enjoying a Creative Memories party learning how to do digital scrapbooking! I answered lots of questions about my summer margarita challenge as to why, how, and what my favorites are. The other women were flipping through the book, and the married women with children DID seem a bit jealous. But I was told that I do have my priorities straight. The watermelon margarita is made with watermelon schnapps. As we opened the bottle, my friend, Sara, and I agreed that it smelled like a jolly rancher candy.

The verdict is out... I took a vote and 3 women voted for the watermelon, and 3 women voted for the brunch margarita. I was the deciding factor!! I chose the watermelon margarita! So, there you have it! I will definitely make that again... especially since I have watermelon schnapps leftover! Yum!

"By far, my favorite was the brunch. It did not remind me of my children's candy," Sara Letourneau.

Can you truly put a lime in the coconut?!

I was very excited to open up a coconut. That is something that I've never done before! It was a big deal even buying my first coconut! I always wondered about that song. How do you put a lime in the coconut and shake it all up?

I invited my friends back for a guest blog and a drink, Nate & Lucy Smith! We had the Coconut Margarita and the Asian Pear Margarita. Both of the margaritas were delicious. The coconut was beautiful and white; and little colored umbrellas in it, just was the icing on the cake! The coconut margaritas went down cool and smooth! (And quite quickly I may add!)

As for the Asian Pear Margarita, it was very delicious. The recipe called for the recipe called for an Asian pear with its peel. The peel in the blender made very small chunks in the drink. It was a great flavor, but we ended up pouring it through something to get the chunks out. Then, it was a little more enjoyable.

My friend, Nate had two jobs. First, he was to buy the Asian pear. He thought that, that I was some sort of expert, and I should KNOW whats the difference between a pear and an Asian pear. He bought 3 different kinds, and we never really figured it out. His other job was the break open the coconut. Thanks to Google, we learned that a coconut has 3 eyes. One of them is soft. THAT is the one you poke through to get out all the water first. That was a pretty cool thing, that I probably would have never learned had it not been for this little challenge of mine!!

I think Nate liked the coconut margarita better (because he finished his and Lucy's very quickly), and Lucy like the pear Margarita better!

Cheers until tomorrow!

Margarita Sunday!

My sister and brother-in-law invited themselves over for dinner, and I offered to make the beverages. Tom and Kate were excited for margs, since they've not yet enjoyed some with me. I made and served the Pineapple Margarita, reverted back to the Midori Margarita, and then the Pine-Orange-Banana Margarita. I also made my pregnant sister both the Virgin Margarita and the Shirley Temple Rita. Kate and my niece, Amelia, really enjoyed looking at the book.

The Pineapple was a little too frothy for my taste, but it was good. My mom liked it, while Tom was indifferent. However, he refilled his glass a time or two. Then, my mother told me to make the Midori one. That was a big hit again! The Pine-Orange-Banana was good with my T-Bone steak, and I would make it again if I wanted a light, fruity and frothy margarita!

I'm very excited for hitting 50 margaritas this week! That's going to be a big deal in this goal! Making the half way point after a little under 2 months, with 2 months to go! I am going to complete this goal if it kills me!

Mango Margarita

The Mango Margarita and the Sangria Rita! Dinner and drinks out on the deck was another wonderful evening! Tonight's beverages were shared with Paul & Nicole Boegel. We blamed the blender for not blending everything exactly the way we wanted it. We, of course, refuse to blame ourselves. They were both very simple to make and delicious in their own way. I didn't enjoy the mango one, but you can never go wrong with Sangria!

“Love the Sangria Rita. It was a big hit. The Mango was a little meaty. The mango one sucked to be honest.” -Nicole Boegel

Today, I received a very special gift from one of my students and their family. In order to successfully complete my goal, they gave me a beautiful 750mL of Patron! That will be a wonderful treat to some of the cheaper tequila choices.

The Midori Minute

I came up with a new time increment, while I sip on the Midori Margarita. I'm not really sure what it means, or how long it lasts, but I know that I am happy within the Midori Minute... no one is complaining or arguing, there's no one to bother me, and I haven't a care in the world. I don't care that I'm single. I don't care that I am running late. I don't even care that I've started drinking margaritas before 5pm. I am right here, right now, within the Midori Minute!

I'm sitting here in my towel attempting to get ready for my evening, drinking the Midori Margarita! It is very delicious and I can most definitely see myself drinking this on the rocks, on the deck, on a hot, summer day! NOW, I know how I'll be using the giant bottle of Midori I have!

It is a beautiful, lime green marg that sits well in the tummy so far. I do, however, feel like I should be working at the power plant from the Simpsons when I drink it.
More tomorrow when I dabble into more fresh fruit, and using that coconut I bought, hopefully!

Margarita Mix!

Some of you may be asking yourself, why would I use a margarita mix with these amazing, fun recipes!! Well, you are wrong.. I am NOT using that kind of margarita mix. I made the 2011 version, an iPod playlist kind of mix. I created a playlist for when I'm enjoying some of these margaritas. And I wanted to share it with you. Please feel free to download and enjoy your summer too.

Download Now!!
1. Put the lime in the coconut by The Hit Crew
2. Tequila makes his clothes fall off by Joe Nichols
3. Copacabana by Barry Manilow
4. Margaritaville by Jimmy Buffet
5. Escape (The Pina Colada Song) by Rupert Holmes
6. Tequila by The Champs
7. Summer Thing by Troy Olsen
8. Kokomo by The Beach Boys
9. Some Beach by Blake Shelton
10. It's Five O'Clock Somewhere by Alan Jackson
11. Tequila by Brooks & Dunn
12. Alcohol by Brad Paisley

Got more songs... let me know!!!

I was very well behaved this weekend, and to be honest a little too busy for drinking, if you could believe that! Tonight, I prepared for my upcoming week after a nice weekend off. I actually bought a coconut! Did you know you can buy coconuts in Minnesota, because I didn't. That was a wonderful surprise to me. I'm having some trouble finding other rare fruits, however, I may have to go on vacation just to get them.

Tonight's margarita is called Storange Margarita. Fresh strawberries and orange juice make a perfect flavor for a margarita. I'm going to go pour one more glass and listen to Tequila makes her clothes fall off.

Cheers until another day, when I learn to use that coconut! Yikes!!

Plum Margarita

Going, Going, Gone! So, I usually don't even like plums, but a Plum Margarita with a sugar coated rim, is absolutely delicious.

Bamboo Pink

I hosted a Bamboo Pink Jewelry party last night, and we had a quite delightful time! At our Bamboo Pink Party, I shared Margaritas with new friends and saw some really cool jewelry to buy. We served the Pink Lemonade Margarita and the Limeade Margarita! Both were delicious, and I WILL be making them again this summer when it is blazing hot outside.

We used pink lemonade and limeade from concentrate and mellowed them down with 7-Up, just as the recipe calls for. We had pink umbrellas and pink flamingos to tie it all together.

I would say it was a 50:50 split as for who liked which one. The pink lemonade was my favorite for sure! Thank you to my friend, Shannon, for helping me host the party, and for the amazing fun we always share!

"If you like Pina Coladas..."

...And getting caught in the rain" SO perfect for tonight!

Our night of drinking on the deck was brought inside by the rolling thunder and rain on the windows. Of course that did not stop our festivities. Thank you to my dear friend, Trish, for hosting margarita Tuesday. Trish is the original buyer of the book, 101 Margaritas. She gave me the book a few years ago as a gift, which we discussed tonight. I thought that she had given me the book for a college graduation or birthday gift. Boy, was I was wrong!! The gift was given to me to cheer me up after a difficult break up. I was suppose to drink my pain away, I guess. I didn't get that at the time. Whoopsie! That makes me appreciate the book even more now after I have begun this challenge.

Tonight, Trish had a few ladies over fort the Coco-Pina Margarita and the Caribbean Margarita. We all agreed that both margaritas could cause you to imagine you were on the beach!! The Coco-Pina Margarita was a very light and fruity shaken marg. We could definitely drink that one for hours lying on the beach somewhere in Mexico. And the Caribbean Margarita was unanimously a perfect escape from reality to a cruise ship floating through the Caribbean. We had fresh pineapple for our garnish and that was the perfect addition.

One of the recipes called for an ingredient called Co-Co Lopez. I wasn't sure what the hell it was for sure or where the hell to find it. Well, the interested fact of the day was that it's cream of coconut and it mainly used for Pina Coladas and can be found ANYWHERE at your local liquor store near the other mixers. Another lesson learned!

Sake Margarita Night

Tonight is quite the event!! 20+ people drinking margaritas! My friends, The Drinkers, hosted yet another Margarita night! 5 recipes down tonight. We started with the Sake Margarita, Bamboo Margarita, Rain Margarita, Sweet Ginger Margarita, and lastly Ginger Beer Margarita. Everyone got a sample of each margarita. But as our preplanned attempt to keep the party drinking usual, we ended up with the Limoncello Margarita AGAIN! Welcome ALL of my guest bloggers, this evening, and all my new followers! Happy Day!

The Drinkers planned an amazing menu, yet again, thanks to Shanghai Bistro in Stillwater, MN. Holla to Still-H20! "We ordered Lo Mein, Chow Mein, edamame, egg rolls, and a platter of assorted sushi rolls to coincide with our Asian theme of sake Margaritas." -Sue Rinker

The kitchen counter is a fully stocked bar, from tequila, to sake, to Grand Marnier, to wines and juices. I was afraid that I would not like a sake margarita, but I was wrong! The sake margaritas were darn good. The bamboo margarita had Midori. I thought it was a bad sign that even the liquor store owner asked me, "how the hell do you use this?"

Since there are so many friends here, I will let them speak for themselves...
"The food rocked my face off" -Lolly Haas

"I love the limoncello... LOVED it! I liked the uhhh... sake one. I didn't like the Midori one or the Rain one. I enjoyed the limoncello one, in my opinion, is a mouthgasm!" -Steve Faust

N8 (or Nate) says, "Amazingly enough, you would think that co-mingling the Japanese and Mexican traditions would result in hard working auto workers, however when applied to alcoholic beverages, the results are quite sublime!" -Nate Smith

"The limoncello is a fantastic margarita. I would recommend it to anyone. We are having a very fun time. We've gotten to see three "tres" hot air balloons while sitting on the deck. I've liked every single one so far tonight. The one with the beer in it was my least favorite." -Kara Huelsman.

"I like the average margarita. I am drinking margarita mix from a bottle." - Fred Huelsman (I don't him that is not ok!)

"I like the Ginger Beer Margarita the best. It is the best!" -Tayna Gerald

Sara Letourneau, although I haven't known her long, she's hilarious and enjoys margaritas as much as I do, so she must be ok. "I loved the Sake Margarita and the Ginger Beer Margarita. The Ginger Beer was like the perfect drink on a hot summer night... Too bad it wasn't hot, huh?!"

Lucy Smith, N8's wife, says, "I was anticipating the Ginger Beer Margarita and the taste exceeded my expectations. TWO THUMBS UP!" - Lucy Smith

"I liked the Bamboo Margarita the best, then the Limoncello Margarita after that." -Jill S.

Todd Letourneau says, "I like the Rain Margarita. Be the rain! And I liked the Ginger Beer Margarita. I have had a great time this evening. Steve Drinker has an exceptional taste in beer."

I saved the best for last, Steve Drinker, "surrounded by great friends, great food, and great margaritas, it is hard to pick! I love all of them and everybody for spending time at my place."

I, Julie, have had a great time with awesome people and awesome drinks! Sake Margaritas... Not bad... Not bad at all!

Cherry Margarita

Finally, a summer-like, record breaking 97-degree day, and I didn't enjoy my margarita until after dark. I went walking first, then began my drinking. Tonight, with my pajamas on, I am thoroughly enjoying the Cherry Margarita! Its a perfect combination of fresh cherries, which are extremely expensive by the way, and Pomegranate juice. This photo is taken right next to my newly blossomed Orchid and I was just so excited that I had to share it.

People have been asking my count. Here is the official count thus far, as far as tonight...
27 down! 74 to go! However, this weekend has big plans to get a lot out of the way! Lots of guest bloggers and lots of photos to come!

Cheers to all... See you in a few days!

Fruity McFruit-Fruit!

Welcome summer! I love that a lot of the upcoming recipes have fresh fruit. That makes this warmer weather so much more enjoyable. Tonight, I headed over my friend, Gwyn's house, for a haircut and some margaritas. Together, we had the Strawberry-Banana Margarita and the Fruit Cocktail Margarita.

They were some of the most delicious margaritas we have ever had. The Strawberry-Banana Margarita was Gwyn's favorite, while the Fruit Cocktail margarita was my favorite. They tasted like smoothies. And who doesn't like a smoothie? We agreed that we could make large pitchers of these cocktails and get into some sort of trouble on a summer night! Of course, we put sugar on the rim. And added strawberries and cherries for our garnish. Not only were they beautiful, but they were delectable!

Are there grapefruits in your shirt or are you just happy to see me?

If you haven't guessed already, tonight I toast with the Grapefruit Margarita! I'm toasting to a finally summer-like day in Minnesota! After a busy few days at work, volunteering, family, and margaritas, I was ready to sit outside and enjoy a new recipe. The grapefruit margarita was very sweet and very delicious. My friends, Steve and Sue are joining me again. They enjoyed the bitterness of the grapefruit a little more than I did. We did try the salt on the rim, but we didn't enjoy the salt as much as the sugary rims that we have had.

We ventured back a few days and recreated the limoncello margarita in order to continue enjoying our evening out on the deck. Apparently we love the limoncello margarita. And the sugared rim, yummmmmy!!!

I must also share something that I learned today! My friend, Sue, taught me that you can microwave any fruits such as a lemon, lime, orange, or grapefruit to soften it and to get more juice when you squeeze it. Interesting, isn't it?!

While, we invite more friends to join our margs, we are learning life lessons and being very philosophical! A Wednesday night is NOT the night to do that!

Cheers until tomorrow!