I have been looking forward to Friday since Sunday (which isn’t healthy) and it has felt like this week went by at a snail speed (also not good). However, I must say, this week turned out a lot better than I had originally created in my head last weekend. I had my first girly get-together at our place since we moved, and because it went so well, I was inspired enough to commit to hosting a Memorial Day BBQ. Since I pinned us down on a BBQ next weekend, today I was scouring the web looking for fun ideas and got completely distracted. I didn’t even get very far…while I was searching this website, I stumbled upon a new favorite blog, and found these photos and recipes. Turns out I have chocolate on the brain! These are going on my must-make list…

Happy weekend! Explore and have fun!

xx Jen

photos via: www.ahouseinthehills.com

INFUSED TEQUILA + SPICY MARGARITAS

Infused Tequila

What you need:
2 to 3 jalapeños
1 bottle quality blanco tequila (we used melagro)
1 bottle or jar to combine ingredients

Process:
Slice jalapeños lengthwise and remove some, but not all of the seeds (the more you leave in, the spicier the tequila will become).  Shove pieces into jar or bottle then proceed to fill with tequila of choice.  Seal tightly and set aside. We infused for a week, but feel free to taste halfway to be sure not to overdo it. Strain tequila to remove seeds and remaining pieces of jalapeños. Place tequila back in bottle or jar.

Spicy Margaritas

What you need:
2 ½ to 3 limes (depending on preferred tartness)
2 oz. infused tequila
1 oz. orange liqueur (I recommend Citronge)
Jalapeño slices for garnish
Flake salt
Agave nectar

Mix it up:
Place some flake salt on a plate. Rim a glass using a lime wedges and then push the rim of the glass into the rock salt until you see the salt sticking to the edge of the glass.  Fill glass with ice and set aside.

Put a few cubes of ice into a martini shaker and add the juice of limes, infused tequila, orange liquor and agave nectar to taste (about 1 tsp.).  Shake thoroughly and pour into glass.  Garnish with jalapeño slices.

*Tip: since we make margaritas all the time, we just started juicing limes a head of time and keeping the juice in a squeeze bottle for easy impromptu margarita making.

In the meantime, here are some photos of what we’ve been up to. True story: to celebrate Brian’s birthday last weekend we went to Red O, which is one of Rick Bayless’s restaurants (p.s. we’re fans of his cooking, our favorite restaurant in Chicago is Frontera Grill and we often cook out of his cookbooks, see example here) and not just for dinner, but yes, brunch the next day. Go ahead, call us nerds, but it was worth it! So other than binging on Rick Bayless Mexican, we have been doing some cooking of our own and playing around with new drinks to share. Oh, and I finally received my gold pouf from Joss and Main and I love it.

{ pork belly sopes from Red O}

{infusing}

{blended homemade lemonade and vodka}

{this was the start of a delicious lamb tomato sauce}

{Logan welcoming the pouf to the family}

To make a fantastic drink, sometimes all you need is one perfectly-aged bottle of tequila. I’d like to introduce you to: Reserva de la Familia® by Jose Cuervo. If you’ve ever had tequila, you are probably familiar with the terms Blanco and Añejo, but have you ever heard of Extra Añejo?  Well, that’s exactly what this tequila is, Extra Añejo, meaning it has been aged for at least three years in oak barrels. This smooth, colorfully-tasting tequila is perfection simply pored over ice with a squeeze of lime to finish.

When I was first offered this drink, I almost turned it down. My thoughts were, “tequila on ice? This is going to burn and why would I want to put myself through that?” After one stern, “you can’t pass this up; you are going to love it.” I agreed and had the drink. Ever since, I have grown an entirely new respect for tequila and its finer qualities. I am not an expert, but I really enjoy learning about all the different tequilas, and as I discover more, I will continue to share what I find with you.

Do you have any you think I should try?

*Fun facts about buying this tequila are there is only a certain amount made each year, so the bottles are all numbered. Plus, every year a new artist is commissioned to create the artwork on the packaging. Making it collectable, if you are into that kind of thing.

This weekend is all about the margarita.

This time of year in California is filled with delicious citrus. I was recently at my grandparent’s house and they have a lemon and blood orange tree that just keeps on giving. I swear the trees were picked for hours last weekend and we still didn’t totally get them all. With that said we have been putting lemons and oranges in pretty much everything, so  why not up the ante with a mouthwatering blood orange margarita?

BLOOD ORANGE MARGARITA

What you need:
1 blood orange
1 lime plus two wedges
2 oz. good blanco tequila
1 oz. orange liqueur (I recommend Citronge)
Flake salt
Agave nectar

Mix it up:
Place some flake salt on a plate.  Rim a glass using one of the lime wedges and then push the rim of the glass into the rock salt until you see the salt sticking to the edge of the glass.  Fill glass with ice and set aside.

Put a few cubes of ice into a martini shaker and add the juice of one blood orange and one lime, tequila, orange liquor and agave nectar to taste (about 1 tsp.).  Shake thoroughly and pour into glass.  Garnish with lime wedge.

I suppose it is only natural to start this weekly ritual. Every Friday I will be posting a new cocktail. And hopefully, together we can become more confident mixologists, and of course, have fun in the process!

MOSCOW MULE

What you need:
1/2 ounce lime juice
2 ounces vodka
4 to 6 ounces ginger beer (best is Gosling’s Blend, we found ours at Trader Joe’s)

Mix it up:
Squeeze lime juice into a glass (or Moscow Mule mug) and drop in the used wedge or two. Add ice cubes, then pour in the vodka and fill with cold ginger beer. Garnish with a lime slice.

I did it. I made pancakes from scratch. Little secret, it wasn’t nearly has hard as I thought it was going to be. I’ve made these many times and they have always been a huge hit, but I wanted to up the ante for a special Valentine’s Day treat. Thanks to Joy the Baker, I have a new go-to recipe, and to be honest, it will be hard for me to look back to my old “box” recipe. If you love to cook (or just like to eat), check out her fabulous blog and you can see the recipe I used here.

Look at me…cooking from scratch!

{Every year I buy these candy hearts, next year it would be nice if they made them taste better}

Everyone seems to have a strong opinion on what this holiday means. I’ve heard everything from: “It was created by the card/flower companies just to make money”, or “It’s a solid reminder that I’m single and the holiday is LAME”, “My boyfriend always forgets”, “I don’t even know why I need to get my girlfriend something” –and of course the– “We have been together for SO long, we just don’t celebrate it anymore.”

Well, here’s my opinion (hope you wanted it). I love Valentine’s Day. I believe this day is a time to slow down and celebrate LOVE. You can celebrate a love for life, you (of course), your girlfriend, boyfriend, friend or family member. It doesn’t mean you HAVE to get/give flowers, candies, jewelry, etc. Rather, it is time to reflect and focus on how you can best show your love and spend quality time. Since Brian and I celebrated Logan’s graduation day on Valentine’s Day, we will be celebrating our love this weekend. Our Valentine’s Day will look something like this: my pancakes in the morning, pajamas all day (maybe a nap), a walk outside and a dinner we make together, all paired with a few cocktails here and there.

This is what our love needs this year (some quite time).  If you’ve already celebrated or still need to (why skip this day, we all need it?), be sure you do exactly what you want, not what you think you should do!

Okay, okay way off topic…but the entire time I was writing this, I kept humming this song to myself (don’t ask).

{Logan sporting the Thunder Shirt}

{Graduation}

I am a dog lover…always have been. It is probably more accurate to say I am an animal lover. As a young girl, I always wanted to take animals home with me (cats, lizards, fish, turtles, puppies, mice, hamsters, you name it, I wanted to take care of it). I have owned many animals in my young life and one thing always rings true, you never know what you are going to get. Each pet is unique, with his or her own little quirks (just like us, I guess).

Why am I bringing this up? You may know of my goofy, exceptionally charming French bulldog, Logan. I have mentioned him on the blog here, here, here, here and here before (wow, that’s a lot). There’s one thing I’ve left out: his uncanny quirky behavior/issue that we can’t seem to get him over. His big deal/life-stressing quirk is a frustrating one. Logan gets himself worked up into a tizzy every time Brian or myself leave him alone (god, I wish he spoke English, I could just tell him, “No biggy buddy, we will always come back” or like my Pap used to tell me when I little and wanted to know how long something was going to take, “We will be back in two Cosby shows”).

Basically, he howls and cries as if the moment, right before we leave, is the last he will ever see either of us again. I adopted him when he was one and he is going on five in March. His separation anxiety has escalated into a more extreme state since we moved from Chicago to L.A. in August. This has been something I’ve constantly been working on: Currently, we are taking him to a dog class @ the ZoomRoom to build his confidence (he graduated last night), we tried the Thunder Shirt (which was a total bust, it seemed to push him over the edge) and now we are giving him Sleepy Time Tonic every time we leave.

He is loved, and I just want him to be happy; live a life without undeniable fear that we will never return. If you’ve ever experienced this with your dog, I would love to hear how you solved it.

p.s. Thank you for bearing with me on the abnormally long post (I needed to vent).

xx Jen

In my opinion, the epitome of simply delicious is the classic Rice Krispie Treat. They aren’t complicated to make and the ingredients are a perfect complement to one another. I have many memories making them as a child and they are just as fun and easy to eat at the age of 28. I found this recipe on the famous Cupcakes and Cashmere blog and discovered the amped up take on the original treat is from one of my favorite food bloggers, Smitten Kitchen. Basically, the butter is cooked a bit longer and you add a dash of salt, making the flavors that much better (did you think that was even possible?). I whipped up a batch on Super Bowl Sunday and surprisingly they are wierdly good with an ice cold beer.