barbeque

Cantaloupe Margaritas

/ Jodi / 37 Comments

Cantaloupe Margaritas.

Summer is coming to an end, but there is still plenty of time for celebrating!

And what is more summery than melons…. and margaritas?

Combined…….. they create heaven in a glass!

We were invited to friends’ house for dinner one evening this week, and I was asked to bring wine.

Well – I love my wine (and took a bottle with us), but I thought something a little more creative was in order for our little get-together, so I decided to make a pitcher of this amazingness!

We LOVED them!  (and can I admit I actually doubled the recipe provided below… which is already doubled from the original I found?)

Sooooo worth it!  Even if you don’t think so the next morning! <wink>

Create this beautiful sunshine in a glass before summer is over.   You will be the hit of the party!

Cantaloupe Margaritas*

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup water
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
  • 1 medium cantaloupe, seeded, skin removed, and cut into small pieces (to produce 2 cups of strained pulp)
  • 1 cup Triple Sec
  • 1 1/2 cups Silver Tequila
  • Coarse Salt or Raw Sugar for rimming glasses
  • Cantaloupe balls and lime wedges for garnish

Directions:

In a small saucepan over medium heat, bring water and sugar to a boil.  Stir until clear to create a simple syrup.  Remove from heat and add the lime juice.  Set aside to cool.

In a blender (or food processor), blend cantaloupe chunks into a fine pulp.  (You may need to do in small batches.)  Pour pulp into a fine mesh strainer set over a large measuring cup or small bowl and strain, lightly pressing the solids until you get 2 cups of liquid.

Combine syrup and lime juice with cantaloupe in pitcher.  Add triple sec and tequila and stir.  Chill.

Pour over crushed or cubed ice into glasses rimmed with salt or sugar.  Garnish with melon ball and lime slice if desired.

Enjoy!

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

*Recipe Source:  The Brewer & the Baker

Best Ever Dry Rub Mix for Ribs and Pork

/ Jodi / 29 Comments

dry rub seasoning mix

I recently mixed up a batch of seasonings for a dry rub mix that has rocked our world (well – that might be a teensy bit of an exaggeration… but I really wanted to catch your attention.)  

But seriously – who knew mixing spices could be so exciting…  Pack so much punch…. add such “zip” to what would otherwise be so … ordinary?!

And once you make a batch of this, you will have it for a while…  But you will want to use it often!

I’ve used it so far for slow roasted oven baked ribs where I rubbed it on and baked them for 8 hours on a low heat in the oven.  O. M. G!

I’ve also rubbed it all over a couple of pork tenderloins and marinated all day in the refrigerator, then grilled.  YUM!

Both ways turned out amazing.

I’m looking forward to trying it on more things… Maybe chicken?  Beef?  I’ll bet it would even be a nice seasoning for roasted potatoes.

This mix smells so amazing, that we sometimes just open the jar and breathe it in!

I am sure you can mix and match the ingredients as you see fit or as you have on hand, but I believe the two most key ingredients are the SMOKEY paprika (oh how I wish we had smell-a-blog or scratch and sniff photos on our phones and computers so you could experience this smell if you never have – it is very different from “regular” or Spanish paprika) and cinnamon (the smell and bit of sweet bite that you don’t quite expect takes it over the top!).

dry rub seasoning on ribs

Here is the recipe.  I hope you will give it a try.  If you do, let me know how you liked it.

Best Ever Dry Rub Seasoning Mix for Ribs and Pork

  • 3 Tbsp paprika
  • 2 Tbsp Penzey’s smoked paprika (I think this is one of the KEY ingredients)
  • 3 Tbsp chili powder
  • 3 Tbsp coarse salt
  • 1 Tbsp coarsely ground black pepper
  • 1 Tbsp ground ginger
  • 6 Tbsp brown sugar
  • 1 Tbsp freshly micro-planed nutmeg (or ground)
  • 1 Tbsp ground oregano
  • 1 Tbsp ground thyme
  • 1 Tbsp curry powder
  • 2 Tbsp dry mustard powder
  • 2 Tbsp garlic powder
  • 3 Tbsp dried onion flakes
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tsp cinnamon (another KEY ingredient)

Mix all together and store in airtight jar.

To use, sprinkle and rub liberally over all sides of ribs, pork tenderloin, pork chops, or anything you like.  Let marinade for several hours or overnight.  Bake or grill to your liking.

This really is an amazing seasoning mix to kick up your pork tenderloin and ribs.
It would also make a great gift to give in pint size jars for the holidays for gourmet cooking friends on your holiday gift list.

The guys we had over for dinner this past Saturday evening loved it.  I think you will too!

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi