Strawberries, Margaritas and Mom's

Strawberries, margaritas and Mom's.  These are a few of my favorite things.

I have been obsessed with strawberries since I was a kid.  I'm sure part of that had to do with a certain doll named Strawberry Shortcake, but I wouldn't leave out the dessert either.  The sweet little strawberry has always been my favorite fruit.

As we are approaching Mom's Day I thought it would be fun to do a post with my mommy, otherwise known as IronMom.  My mom is a strawberry lover too, so I wondered, what could we do with this delicious little fruit?

Eating it by itself is always a good option, but we made you two delicious things instead.

First up, dessert.
Strawberry Margarita Tart.

A frozen dessert, with a hint of tequila, Cointreau and lime gives this creamy strawberry tart a refreshing taste.

Add to that a salty pretzel crust and the deal is sealed.

Don't forget to share it with your mom!!

Now, because we bought a ton of strawberries, we figured we should make something else for you too.

Next up (because when you have delicious strawberries, tequila and Cointreau at your fingertips), Muddled Strawberry Margaritas!

Muddling with your mom is fun.

Sharing a cocktail with your mom is better.

So, however you enjoy your Mother's Day, with strawberries, or tarts or tequila, enjoy your mom.
I hope all of you are so lucky to have a mom like mine.

I bought all of the ingredients for this post at my local Save Mart in Sacramento (Folsom & 59th).  I must say, these were the best and sweetest strawberries I've found this season!

Things are happening here. #margaritaville @ Save Mart instagram.com/p/YolmAWHlhG/
— Sarah (@TheCyclistsWife) April 28, 2013

Strawberry Margarita Tart

Ingredients:
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 cup finely crushed pretzels
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 overflowing cup of strawberries, stems and cores removed
5 tablespoons lime juice
1/2 can (7 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
1 teaspoon lime zest
1/8 cup tequila (Cazadores is my favorite)
1 tablespoon Cointreau

How to:
Start by making the crust.
In a food processor  blend the pretzels until you have a fine flour.
Transfer to a mixing bowl and add brown sugar, mix well.
Add melted butter until combined.
Press into a greased 9 inch tart pan with a removable bottom.  I recommend greasing with a cooking oil spray.  The consistency will be crumbly.
Bake in a 350 degree oven for 10 minutes.
Place in the freezer to cool.
Meanwhile, make the filling.
In a blender, combine all of the ingredients and mix well.
Once the filling is mixed and the tart crust is cooled, pour the filling into the crust. Do not remove the crust from the pan yet.
Freeze for 6 hours or overnight.
Remove from freezer and let it defrost until the filling becomes firm, but not completely frozen.
Removing the tart from the pan is a bit tricky.  Tap the removable bottom with the handle end of a butter knife to loosen the freeze and remove it very carefully.  Don't rush.  This is where I should have listened to my Mom and been more patient!
Top with sliced strawberries and lime zest.
Enjoy!

Muddled Strawberry Margaritas

Ingredients:
6-7 large strawberries, stems and cores removed
2 oz cold water
2 tablespoons sugar
8 oz lime juice
6 oz tequila
8 oz Cointreau

How to:
Muddle your berries.  Add water and sugar to strawberries in a bowl.  Use a wooden spoon and smash those strawberries until there are only a bit of chunks.
Mix the remaining ingredients well.
Salt glasses and place ice inside.
Spoon strawberry muddle over the ice.
Pour in margarita.
*This makes about 4 margaritas.

I was compensated for this post, however all opinions expressed are completely my own.

I'm baa-aack! Well.....sort of + a private beer tasting

Hello Blogworld and friends! Oh how I've missed you.

I last said hello a couple of weeks ago when our kitchen looked like this...

YOWZA.

I'm happy to tell you that we have made quite a bit of progress since then.  If you follow me on Instagram you may have seen this sneak peek...

Let me just say this has been quite the endeavor.  To be honest there were times it was a miracle it didn't end in divorce.  However, there is a good reason that The Cyclist and I decided to take on this project in the middle of his last semester of school, but I'll share more on that later.

For now, let me give credit where credit is due.  Even though this is a project "we" took on, I am not handy. This was primarily the work of The Cyclist with me helping where I was able....even when that meant occupying The Munchkin while our house was in disarray, which is a way better job and I know it.  The efforts of my hubs here are truly admirable and I am a lucky wife.  I lack words to explain how thankful I am not only for this kitchen, but many other things.  So THANK YOU Cyclist!

In other thank you's, we had the help of friends and parents as well, which was truly invaluable.  A big shout out to our own personal wood whisperer, Mr. F for being a huge, gigantic help.  For reals.  Thanks, all of you for everything.

In case you are now sick of me blubbering thank you's over our kitchen and bummed that I'm not showing before and after photos today (coming soon to a blog near you!), let's talk about beer.

Yes beer.

A midst the chaos of our kitchen, Mr. F's wife suggested we hit a private beer dinner at OneSpeed, a favorite restaurant in our hood.  This was a brilliant idea that gave us a much needed break.

OneSpeed paired up with The Brewing Lair of the Lost Sierras for the dinner.  The Lair itself looks like a sweet place and I'm excited to make a trip up there, but until then, let's talk about their beer and of course, food.

 Let's start at the beginning, shall we?

Antipasto - A selection of tasty, savory things to rev up your palate & appetite.  Served with Uncle Elliot's, IPA.

We were actually greeted at the door with Uncle Elliot's IPA and mingled for a bit before sitting down to enjoy these tasty appetizers.  Obviously we have a deviled egg there, but I seriously can't remember what the other starter is!  Sorry, I should have taken notes.  My brain is saying it was some type of liverwurst, but that sounds gross and it was good so...?  I leave it to you to guess or comment.  We were also served a mini hot dog in honor of baseball's opening day.  It is not photographed because I ate it.

Let's forget about my transgressions and talk about the first course, OK?

1st Course - Crispy Fried Oyster Slider, Spicy Gulf Shrimp Mayo, Watercress, Fennel, Bacon-Onion Jam, Citronette.  Served with Ambush, IPA.

They had me at fried oyster but add in all that other good stuff (bacon onion jam?!) and this may have been my favorite thing of the night.  I tend to favorite things I can't make at home.  I am not good at frying, so I had a soft spot for this dish.  The bite of the Ambush IPA was a nice compliment.

Because OneSpeed pizza is a thing, of course there was a pizza course.....of course!

Pizza - Sopressata, Fiscallini Farms San Joaquin Gold Aged Cheese, Greens, New Potatoes, Spring Onions, Olives & Chile Oil.  Served with Incognito, Saison.

Sopressata is an Italian dry salami.  I found it to be mild as far as salami is concerned and it was a nice compliment to all of the other delicious items on the pizza.  The chili oil gave it a nice kick.  The Brewing Lair describes Espionage Ale as "a Red IPA with floral hoppy-ness and caramel malts". 

It's totally normal to eat an entree after enjoying appetizers, a fried slider and pizza right?
Just checking.

Entree - Braised Shoulder and Shank of Yolo County Lamb, House Made Egg Noodles, English Peas, Asparagus, Spring Carrots, Rosemary and Salsa Verde.  Served with Odd Job, Brown Ale.

This dish was local and good, after everything, I still ate it all.  The Odd Job was one of my favorite beers of the night.

It would be a crime to not add dessert to this madness, so....

Dessert - Ricotta Cheesecake, Candied Hazelnuts, Espresso Caramel and Valrhona Cocoa Powder.  Served with Stake Out, Coffee Stout.

I am not a huge fan of cheesecake.  Don't get me wrong, I like it, it's just not on the top of my dessert fav's. This one was light (my guess is because of the ricotta), which was nice after all the food and beer already consumed   My favorite part were the candied hazelnuts   The Stake Out Coffee Stout was super coffee infused.  I don't know how I would like it on its own, but with this dish it was really good.

So that is it!  I hope to have a before and after kitchen post soon, but you can bet I won't be showing you until all of the final final touches are complete!  In the meantime, there has been some good food generated from that kitchen already, but because we are still hard at work, my posts may continue to be a bit sporadic.  :(

I miss you all and I hope to be back on the regular soon!  Thank you for your patience!

♥TCW