Tag Archives: citrus

Outdoor Dining: Campari Citrus Popsicles

5 Aug

It feels like a million degrees in NYC right now.  The only way to beat the heat is to stay inside blasting my AC (which is already on it’s last legs) or toughing it out in the heat outside.  I’ve been opting for the latter recently and having a lot of ice water and popsicles/ice cream/etc. on hand has helped me survive.  The only thing I like more than an icy cold popsicle is an icy cold popsicle that also has my favorite apertif Campari in it!  I found this recipe at The Kitchn.  If you have any leftover from the mix, you can combine it with club soda and lots of ice and enjoy an afternoon cocktail while your popsicles are freezing.  Instant gratification never tasted so good!

Campari Citrus Popsicles 
Recipe found here

Ingredients
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
3 cups grapefruit juice
1/2 cup Campari

Directions
1. Mix water and sugar together in a small pan over low heat.  Bring to a boil until the sugar dissolves.  Now you have made “simple syrup”!
2. Allow the simple syrup to boil for 4 minutes then remove from heat and cool.
3. Combine the citrus juice and Campari and 1 cup of the cooled simple syrup (you might have a little extra, keep this in case you want to sweeten).  Adjust to taste.  The mixture will be VERY sweet – it will get less sweet in popsicle form.  If you want a LESS tart popsicles, add 1-2 more tbsp of simple syrup.  If you want LESS sweet popsicles, add 1-2 tbsp of PLAIN water to the mix.
4. Pour mixture into popsicle molds and freeze at least 8 hours to overnight.  Enjoy your grapefruit-Campari-club soda cocktail while you are waiting. 🙂

Tags: , , , , , ,

Outdoor Dining: Grilled Fish Tacos

31 Jul
Grilled Fish Tacos

stock photo because I was so hungry I forgot my camera!!

I found a recipe for grilled fish tacos here and I couldn’t wait to make these for a dinner al fresco one night this summer.  Unlike most fish tacos that are battered, fried and salted, these fish tacos are grilled, lightly seasoned and very healthy.  We served these with a corn and tomato salad and margaritas (decidedly not healthy, but a great complement to the meal).  For those of you like me who HATE cilantro, you can omit it from the recipe.  However, I included a little bit because D loves it and I couldn’t taste it in the final product.  I have no idea why, but I only took a picture of the fish pre-cooking so there’s no “finished” product photo to share here.  D remembers that I was so hungry when I made these that I refused to let him take any pictures before diving in.  Lesson learned for next time around!

Grilled Fish Taco Marinade

Grilled Fish Tacos
Serves 4
Adapted from recipe found here

Ingredients
1 red onion, chopped, divided
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro, divided (optional)
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
5 tbsp fresh lime juice, divided
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp dried oregano
1 pound tilapia (note: you can also use striped bass, sturgeon or mahi mahi.  I prefer tilapia because it’s the flakiest and does well in a marinade)
Soft flour tortillas
1-2 avocados, diced
1-2 tomatoes, diced
1/2 small head of cabbage, cored, thinly sliced
Shredded cheese
Lime wedges
Jalapenos (optional)

Directions
1. Stir 1/2 chopped onion, 1/2 of the cilantro, lime juice, garlic and oregano in a medium bowl.  Spread half of the mixture over bottom of a glass baking dish.
2. Season fish with pepper.  (No need for salt with this lime-y marinade!)
3. Arrange fish atop onion mixture and spoon remaining mixture over fish.
4. Cover and chill for at least 1 hour (flip fish halfway through so both sides marinate evenly).
5. Using a grill pan or a grill, brush lightly with oil and turn heat to medium-high.  Grill fish with some marinade still clinging to it until just opaque in center, 3 to 5 minutes per side.
6. Coarsely chop fish and place on platter.
7. Grill tortillas (about 10 seconds per side) or warm them in the over (5 minutes at 300 degrees).
8. Serve fish with warm tortillas, remaining onion and cilantro, along with avocado, lime wedges, cheese, cabbage, tomatoes, jalapenos and any other garnishes you have in your kitchen!

Tags: , , , , ,

Outdoor Dining: Campari Cocktail

29 May

Campari Cocktail

When I was ten, my mom and I took a mother-daughter trip to Switzerland.  We each had one carry-on suitcase for a ten day trip.  This meant we pretty much wore the same thing every day (minus clean underwear and socks) and I still have nightmares about our matching neon windbreaker jogging suits.  Weren’t the 90s a riot?  Clothing choices aside, it was an amazing trip where we visited some of the prettiest cities in Europe – Lugano, Lucerne, Grindelwald, and Zermatt, to name a few. We also ate a TON of cheese, nutella and muesli.  On this trip I was also introduced to Campari.  At dinner some nights, my mom would have a Campari on the rocks with a twist at the start of dinner.  One meal, she let me try a sip, which upon tasting, I promptly spit it out all over our table.  For being such a bright red drink, I was expecting a taste akin to Kool-Aid.  I was wrong.  Campari (read about it here or here) is VERY bitter.  My mom called the drink an “acquired taste” and I was content sticking with milk and Perrier for the rest of the trip.  Now, almost two decades after my first experience with Campari, I have “acquired” a taste for it and it’s actually one of my favorite summer drinks.  For a more potent pre-dinner apertif, I recommend drinking it exactly as my mom did on our trip – on the rocks in a lowball glass with a twist of lemon or orange.  For a more cocktail-type drink, check out the drink I’ve created below.  It’s very simple and goes great with appetizers or a meal like this one.  Drink outside for maximum refreshment!

Campari Cocktail
Serves 1

Ingredients
2 oz. Campari
1 Can of Club Soda
Splash Fresh Lemon Juice
Lemon Peel, for garnish
Ice

Directions
1. Put ice cubes in a highball glass.  (Note: In picture above, we used a lowball glass and one giant ice cube.  This made for a more potent cocktail.)
2. Add Campari to glass.
3. Fill glass with club soda and top with a splash of lemon juice.  If the cocktail is too bitter, add another splash of lemon juice.
4. Stir then add a piece of lemon peel for garnish.  (You can use a vegetable peeler or a paring knife to do this.)

Tags: , , , ,

← Older Entries