The folks over at Pom Wonderful contacted me a while back and asked if they could send me some of their juice to try (for free, okay, FTC?). I [...]]]> Some people come from money; I, on the other hand, come from funny (which is even better). My Uncle Steve named this drink. Don’t you love it?

The folks over at Pom Wonderful contacted me a while back and asked if they could send me some of their juice to try (for free, okay, FTC?). I was honestly a little hesitant because, um, I was pretty sure I was the last person who hadn’t tried pomegranate anything yet and I wasn’t sure what to expect. A lot of people love the stuff, however, so I gave it a shot.

For my first attempt I thought I’d try pomegranate molasses.

Fail, party of one. Not having a clue what I was doing following a specific recipe, I cooked the mixture too long and ended up with a giant Le Creuset-shaped lollipop. Oops.

Not wanting to wash that pan again repeat my mistake, I thought I’d try something different. And, if y’all haven’t noticed, it’s a million degrees outside so a cool cocktail sounded like the thing for my next pomegranate attempt.

Success! It is yummy and tart and sweet and limey (is that a word?) and I’m loving it.

Please to mix:

• 2 Tbsp. simple syrup
• 2 Tbsp. pomegranate juice
• 1/4 cup rum
• squeeze of lime

Pour over ice and enjoy!

This makes a sweet drink, so feel free to adjust the simple syrup as your little heart desires.

What it is:

What it’s not:

What’s not to like?

Combine these:

Stir or shake to combine. The end! See? Crazy easy. And you can customize it, [...]]]>

What it is:

• Crazy easy to make with only two ingredients
• Completely natural, chemical free

What it’s not:

• Loaded with high fructose corn syrup
• Neon (because, um, ew)

What’s not to like?

Combine these:

• 16 ounces simple syrup
• 12 ounces key lime, lime or lemon juice or some combination thereof

Stir or shake to combine. The end! See? Crazy easy. And you can customize it, of course, and make it a little more sweet or a little more sour — whatever floats your boat. Or your margarita shaker.

It’s summer! The time when I reach for Lucy Buffett’s cookbook before anything else.

This one is based on Lucy’s Cadillac Margarita, adapted to, naturally, include key lime juice. Because I am obsessed love it.

Do me a favor and combine in a shaker:

Try not to be blown away by the beauty of that picture, okay?

I saw bottled simple syrup for sale the other day for a kind of ridiculous price and I was kind of horrified. Its name is no accident, folks; this stuff is crazy easy to make.

Ready for this one?

The end. [...]]]>

Try not to be blown away by the beauty of that picture, okay?

I saw bottled simple syrup for sale the other day for a kind of ridiculous price and I was kind of horrified. Its name is no accident, folks; this stuff is crazy easy to make.

Ready for this one?

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup water

The end. See?

I fill my glass Pyrex to the one cup mark, then pour in one cup of sugar, and microwave. I leave a chopstick in it while microwaving because it helps the bubbles escape as it comes close to a boil, and because it’s handy dandy for stirring it every so often. Just microwave the syrup for a minute or so at a time, stirring after each minute, till the sugar is completely dissolved. Then set on the counter to cool. That’s it! I store mine in a Wilton squeeze bottle, but any bottle or jar will work just fine.

Now you’re all set to make key lime amaretto sours! Iced coffee! Key lime margaritas! The possibilities are endless.

Are you all rolling your eyes at me? Seriously, I don’t know what I thought was in there, but I certainly didn’t realize it was so easy. Homemade sweet and sour mix! In seconds!

I decided to celebrate [...]]]> I discovered last night that sweet and sour cocktail mix is nothing more than simple syrup and citrus juice.

Are you all rolling your eyes at me? Seriously, I don’t know what I thought was in there, but I certainly didn’t realize it was so easy. Homemade sweet and sour mix! In seconds!

I decided to celebrate this discovery with a cocktail! I mixed:

• 1 1/2 Tbsp. key lime juice
• 2 Tbsp. simple syrup
• 3 Tbsp. amaretto liqueur

Voila! The key lime amaretto sour:

Please to enjoy.

St. Patrick’s Day is coming! Why not celebrate with your own Irish cream? This is kind of cobbled together from a bunch of different recipes, adjusted for what sounded good to me.

I used:

Lissa and I have decided we’re going to be professional guacamole and margarita tasters. Anyone in the market for that? Anyone? Well let us know. We’re available.

Given our fondness for that combination, I thought it was time to share Lissa’s margarita recipe with you. I declare it Lissa week [...]]]>

Lissa and I have decided we’re going to be professional guacamole and margarita tasters. Anyone in the market for that? Anyone? Well let us know. We’re available.

Given our fondness for that combination, I thought it was time to share Lissa’s margarita recipe with you. I declare it Lissa week here at One Particular Kitchen! We’ll celebrate! (With margaritas!)

Pour this into a blender:

• 4 oz tequila
• 2 oz Triple Sec
• Splash of liquid margarita mix
• Splash of Grand Marnier
• Splash of orange juice
• 1/3 large can frozen limeade concentrate (like this, but limeade)

Blend away with plenty of ice. (One of these doesn’t hurt; I’m just sayin’. Mine even works after a user error fail!)

I am a saltaholic so I go for the lime-and-salt rimmed glasses. The Yankee not so much — no salt for him. The Kiddo? All Cheerios all the time. That’s how we roll.

This [...]]]> The Kiddo loves him some Polar Express. He loves the hot chocolate song and wanted to make some to enjoy while we watched the movie. And by “enjoy” I mean “direct me to drink on his behalf” because he has very strict rules about drinking anything other than milk and water. Alrighty then.

This is actually so easy that it barely deserves to be called a recipe. Don’t you love that kind of recipe?

Stir together in a mug:

1. 3 teaspoons cocoa powder
2. 3 teaspoons sugar
3. Pinch of salt

Now add either boiling water or steaming hot milk and stir. Add marshmallows at will.

Feel free to entertain your taste buds by adding peppermint syrups, Bailey’s, cinnamon, etc.

That’s all. Isn’t that easy? Don’t you want to quit buying those little packets?

Stay warm!

Confession: I wasn’t sure I’d like this. I remember making eggnog all the time when I was a kid (sans rum, obviously), but at some point my mama started getting creeped out by raw egg consumption and nixed it. That was so long ago I wasn’t sure I’d even still enjoy it.

These days I live [...]]]>

Confession: I wasn’t sure I’d like this. I remember making eggnog all the time when I was a kid (sans rum, obviously), but at some point my mama started getting creeped out by raw egg consumption and nixed it. That was so long ago I wasn’t sure I’d even still enjoy it.

These days I live on the edge. I drink raw eggnog. I eat raw cookie dough. I do not, however, run with scissors; I’m pretty sure my mama would rise up and strike me down, and no one wants to see that happen.

Since eggnog and I were just getting to know each other again I made a small batch using Alton Brown’s recipe:

• 2 egg yolks
• 2 1/2 tablespoons sugar, plus 1/2 tablespoon
• 1/2 pint whole milk
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 1/2 ounces bourbon
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 2 egg whites

For the living-on-the-edge uncooked version:

1. Beat yolks until their color lightens (I did this in a large glass bowl with a whisk). Slowly add 2 1/2 tablespoons sugar and continue beating until all sugar is dissolved. Add milk, cream, bourbon and nutmeg, stirring to combine
2. Using an electric or stand mixer, beat egg whites to soft peaks. While mixer is still running slowly add 1/2 tablespoon of sugar and continue beating until egg whites are at stiff peaks
3. Pour yolk/milk mixture into stand mixer and mix just till combined
4. Chill and serve!

For the taking-no-chances cooked version:

1. Beat yolks until their color lightens (again, large glass bowl with a whisk works great). Slowly add 2 1/2 tablespoons sugar and continue beating until all sugar is dissolved. Set this aside
2. Set a medium saucepan over high heat and add in milk, cream and nutmeg. Bring just to a boil, stirring occasionally, then remove from heat. Slowly and gradually temper the hot milk/cream mixture into the eggs and sugar, stirring all the while.
3. Once combined, pour everything back into the saucepan and cook until inserted thermometer reads 160F degrees. Remove from heat, pour into medium mixing bowl and stir in bourbon. Set in the refrigerator to chill
4. Using an electric or stand mixer, beat egg whites to soft peaks. While mixer is still running slowly add 1/2 tablespoon of sugar and continue beating until egg whites are at stiff peaks, then whisk egg whites into chilled mixture and serve

Verdict: fantastic stuff! Even The Yankee liked it, and he was nearly positive he wouldn’t. This is also crazy good with amaretto instead of rum. Give it a try!

Can I just say, for the record, I have no idea why this is called Russian Tea? I don’t. But I DO know why I’ve kept this recipe, written on orange construction paper, for so long: it is SO GOOD. I used to be a preschool teacher, and the teacher in the next room over [...]]]>

Can I just say, for the record, I have no idea why this is called Russian Tea? I don’t. But I DO know why I’ve kept this recipe, written on orange construction paper, for so long: it is SO GOOD. I used to be a preschool teacher, and the teacher in the next room over gave me this recipe forever ago. Every year I make it it’s just as good as I remembered! There are a lot of versions floating around out there, but this one has never failed me. You will need:

• 2 cups Tang mix
• 1/3 cup lemonade mix
• 3/4 cup instant tea (recipe says decaf; I use fully leaded because I have a 3 year old)
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 tsp. ground cloves

Then just mix it all in a bowl and store in a jar — so easy that this is a great project for the kids to help with. To serve, pour one cup of hot water over 1 Tbsp. of tea mix (grownups only with the boiling water, obviously).

This mix looks very pretty in little jars for presents, along with some sugar spice craisin nuts.

I must confess, though, my favorite thing to do with this tea is to enjoy a steaming cup of it in the afternoon with a little plate of cookies. It’s downright civilized, I tell you. My two favorite accompaniments for Russian tea this year are these buttered rum meltaways from Erin’s Food Files, and these shortbread cookies from The Novice Chef, my two bloggie sisters in crime. Try them… you won’t be sorry!