lime tagged posts

One of the most used syrups in the mixology world is the Grenadine. It is the syrup that is used one in a large number of cocktails like the Jack and Rose, Tequila Sunrise, Sea Breeze, Roy Rogers, Pink Lemonade and Shirley Temple. As the name denotes, it is a pomegranate flavor syrup, that is sweet and tart making it the best additive to balance cocktails, specially those made with hard alcohols like the tequila or brandy. The Mott's brand "Rose's" is by far the most commonly used grenadine in the United States. Until sometimes in the 80s it was made with pomegranate. However, now it is a mixture of high fructose corn syrup, water, citric acid, sodium citrate, sodium benzoate, FD&C Red #40, natural and artificial flavors, and FD&C Blue #1. Yes you read it right. There is no pomegranate in the recipe anywhere. It is a glucose (or corn syrup if you prefer) and artificial colors. Not that I share the prejudice of many with the red dyes or artificially colors, but why something that is associated with the sweet and tart flavor of the pomegranate completely lacks it? Dear readers, mixologist and food hobbyists it's time to take the king of flavored syrups back. It is easy to make, has a thousands uses and darn it, it tastes good.

As the summer continues its course through the calendar year, cocktails hit the peak of their demand. Cocktails are one of the best beverages to cool off with under the hot summer sun. It is not just that they are over ice. It is the combination of all the ingredients working together to wake you up and tease the senses during the hot day or night. It is not a coincidence that most well-known cocktails were invented in hot and tropical places: Mojito in Cuba, Daiquiri in Miami, Caipirinia in Brazil Piña Colada in Puerto Rico... the list goes on!

Usually around this time I start posting a series of post entitled Summer Food. But, what is summer food? What makes a great summer food plate? It has to be, simple, fresh, not heavy in oils and fats, and most importantly remind you of summer. Being in Boston the summer food time is a little late, but it is here at last, and being in Boston it is a great opportunity to get our hands on some fresh amazing fish. This time some freshly caught (or at least I want to believe freshly caught) swordfish. Served with an unusual type of pasta…

Strawberry Shortcakes (Desserts | American)

A hot summer day there are very few things that can beat the refreshing taste of lemonade. It is not only the aroma of the lemon but also the sour and sweet that battle on your tongue for the last word. It is also the cold liquid, very often sparkling, liquid that accommodates such an event. There are many recipes for lemonade, but the one that is the most close to my heart is the one that the best cook I know used to make. That is my mom. The best lemonade period. Why? Well it is so simple! No need to make syrup boil the juice. A few simple ingredients and that’s all. Although I added a few tweaks myself, just so it can be closer to what I like the recipe is mom all over. There are no long introduction, or history about it… It is a lemonade that’s all it is. Actually to be precise I should call it citrusade. It can be done with all citruses that are unpleasant to the taste, lemons, limes, grapefruits, pergamont etc. All you need is sugar (and love, but that is not a real ingredient). So here, since the lemons are a bit of season I chose to go with limes, that are also of season but cheaper.

This is an alternative salsa, something you do not see very often. It is a sweet and hot spicy salsa, that is very good compliment to white meat like fish (tilapia, mahi-mahi etc) and chicken or pork. A quick method to turn this to a marinate is to pass it through a blender. This will pulverize the salsa to a thick marinate. An additional effect of this is the papain. It is an enzyme primarily found in papaya and it has the ability to break down proteins like collagen. This will tenderize the meat making it juicer. Its primary utility actually is the breaking down the tough meat fibers and has been utilized for thousands of years in its native South America. 

The summer is here and nothing reminds of summer better that the fresh veggies, the cold refreshing food and the porch snacking. Among probably the most common foods that can compete as the most summery food snacks is salsa. The mexican traditional food that took over the world. It is refreshing, easy to make, and a good way to polish your knife skills. 

I will start today a series of post that will be randomly posted through the summer, highlighting foods that are perfect fro the summer, either because the ingredients are available through the summer very cheap and at the pick of their ripeness, or because they are refreshing and summery. The first one is probably one of the simplest salads I ever conceived and it can be made in matter of minutes. As is true with those dishes, quality of the ingredients maters. Buy fresh, preferably locally and don ‘t fear to shed some extra bucks for organic products. As, typical in this blog, it is really important to take some time and talk about the star of the dish, which is the red onion for today.