Strawberry Long Island!

After visiting a local restaurant (Grizzly's) and discovering a Strawberry Long Island, I set out to make my own version of this wonderful drink! Now, I share this tasty beverage with you...

Ingredients (for 2)
8 medium strawberries
2 oz gin
2 oz rum (Captain Morgan spiced if you have it)
2 oz vodka
2 oz triple sec
1 can of lemon-lime soda
Ice cubes

Directions
Cut off the top of the strawberries and place them in a blender. Pour the one cup of liquor mixture with the strawberries and blend. Strain the strawberry mixture into a liquid measuring cup. Add the lemon-lime soda until the measuring cup is at about 2 cups.
Pour the Strawberry Long Island over ice, half into one glass and half into another glass. Top off with remaining lemon-lime soda (if you desire).

The strawberries add a great flavor to the long island!

Do you like pina coladas? I do, I do!

The trick to making a killer pina colada... fresh pineapple. Who knew?


I usually stay away from the bars because they charge far too much for drinks, but I have one weakness: pina coladas. Despite much searching and agonizing, I hadn't found a good recipe or pre-mixed pina colada, so I was at the mercy of the bars... until now!




Pina Colada Recipe
1 cup coconut milk (or cream of coconut and skip the sugar)
4 tbsp sugar
1 cup fresh pineapple, cut
1/2 - 3/4 cup rum (I use spiced rum, but it's more conventional to use silver rum)
8 ice cubes

Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until ice is crushed. Then serve with a slice of pineapple, Reddi wip, and a marischino cherry. Enjoy on a hot summer day!

Strawberry Daiquiris go so well with Chocolate!

One day after making cheesecake...
I just had to follow my craving and make my homemade strawberry daiquiris to go with my next piece of deep dark chocolate cheesecake!

I love strawberry daiquiris and have found this to be the best recipe so far. I have messed around with the amounts and tried omitting some items (like the sugar), but they were never quite as tasty. For an extra bubbly sensation, Sprite makes a great addition to the drink.



Ingredients:
1 cup chopped strawberries (fresh or frozen)
6 cups ice (give or take depending on how big your blender is)
3/4 cup rum (I use Captain Morgan's spiced but others prefer silver rum)
1/2 cup fresh squeezed orange juice (or from concentrate)*
1/8 cup sugar

Throw it all in a blender and enjoy!

*Note: When I don't have any oranges or even orange juice around, I have been known to use Pineapple juice as a substitute. It is very tasty!

I enjoyed my smooth, thick daiquiri with another piece of the deep dark chocolate cheesecake. For an added bonus, add sugar to the rim like they do in the restaurants! Simply take a plate and put some water on it. Lightly dip the rim of your glass on that plate making sure to get water evenly around the edge. Put some sugar on another plate and dip the rim of the glass in the sugar, turning it so the sugar spreads evenly. Garnish with a strawberry and voila! A tasty treat.