Beverages

Piña Colada Smoothie

When I was in Clearwater, Florida two weeks ago, I went to the beach one day with my friend Lori while my other two friends went golfing. The beach had a little tiki bar which we ponied up to while we contemplated lunch. After seeing the bartender hand a piña colada to the guy next to us, sinfully rimmed in honey and shredded coconut, we decided to forget our diets and forgo lunch for one of those decadent drinks. As we slowly enjoyed the high-caloried rum cocktail and licked the honey off our fingers, we talked about how a low-caloried Piña Colada Smoothie could easily be made at home, even as a cocktail with a shot of rum. With today being Lori’s birthday, it seemed only fitting that I post this in honor of her and our memories of the tiki bar that sunny day.

I’m weird about my smoothies and prefer them made with frozen fruit instead of ice. Frozen fruit tends to blend easier whereas with ice, I can never get it as smooth as I like. I already had frozen pineapple in my freezer and also had leftover coconut milk from the mahi mahi dish I made last week so all I had to add was a banana. The coconut milk adds the slightest coconut flavor without adding sweetness but if you like more coconut, consider adding in a little shredded coconut (but keep in mind, it will add more calories). A shot of white or coconut rum will make this a low-fat piña colada that you don’t have to feel guilty about.

Piña Colada Smoothie (makes 1 smoothie):

1/2 cup frozen chunk pineapple
1/2 small banana, sliced
1/2 cup light coconut milk

Place all of the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Garnish with a pineapple wedge and a maraschino cherry. To get even more decadent, rim your glass with honey and dip in shredded coconut for a fun presentation (like they did at the tiki hut – it was worth the sticky fingers!).

The ingredients:

Blend all of the ingredients in a blender.

Garnish with a pineapple wedge and maraschino cherry (or honey and shredded coconut).

Source: Me! 🙂

Pineapple Upside Down Cake Martini

Okay, so maybe when you are thinking of drinks and cocktails for a Super Bowl party, a martini isn’t exactly what you have in mind. To me, football means beer. And lots of it. But not everyone loves beer and sometimes people just want something with a little more flavor that just might put them on their butt faster. Well, let me introduce you to Pineapple Upside Down Cake Martini!

First of all, I’m guessing most of you like martinis because the Birthday Cake Martini I posted back in September is still my most popular post to date! So, please, please, please try this. I love this martini SO MUCH MORE! It’s sweet, fruity, strong, and oh-so-flavorful. Second of all, it tastes like pineapple angel food cake in a glass. So, maybe you don’t like football that much but you are having a party because your honey is obsessed and you have ten people coming over. Get some pineapple juice, cake vodka, and amaretto and make this. Nothing else will matter.

The ingredients:

Mix pineapple juice and vodka in a shaker with a splash of amaretto and serve.

Additions: None

Omissions: None

Substitutions: None

Overall Rating: Love It

Source: Three Olives website

Salty Chihuahua

Salty what?!? Yep, this cocktail is called a Salty Chihuahua. Apparently it was created by a bartender in Chihuahua, Mexico in the 1940’s. This is the first cocktail I’ve made so far with tequila and it isn’t because I don’t like tequila, it’s just not my favorite. Tequila feels heavy to me and, aside from the occasional margarita, I prefer my cocktails lighter so I usually stick to vodka (or bourbon!).

My staff at work got me a bottle of white tequila for my birthday in July and it’s been sitting there unopened begging to be given some life. This cocktail gave me a reason to open it. Although the recipe calls for silver tequila, I didn’t see why my tequila blanco shouldn’t work. I have to say that this cocktail is pretty good. With the salt around the rim, it’s pretty much like a shaken grapefruit margarita. And there is something about the tanginess of the grapefruit juice that almost makes you forget you are drinking tequila. Almost.