This week on Kathy Casey’s Liquid Kitchen, I make a Blended Peach Whiskey Sour! Using my Vitamix The Quiet One Blender, whole peaches (defrosted frozen peaches work too) are blended with bourbon and apricot jam for my refreshing take on the classic sip. Perfect for a hot, summer’s day!

Cheers! -Kathy

Blended drinks — from daiquiris and margaritas to grown-up boozy ice cream milkshakes — blended drinks are always great for crowds and refreshing on hot summer days and nights.

For something really unique, try out my Blended Peach Whiskey Sour. It’s my take on the classic whiskey sour and perfect for the whiskey lover. Fresh, ripe summer peaches, a whole peeled lemon, apricot jam, bourbon and just the right amount of ice mingle together for a sophisticated sip.

My Cheaters Blended Margarita is a fun and a super easy spin on the margarita. Simply add a can of frozen limeade concentrate – (yes, I know that I’m cheating — but really, it’s good!) – then, measure in a can-full each of tequila and light beer. Add to the blender with ice, zoom till slushy, and you have an amazing margarita – no, really!

Got a grown-up sweet tooth? Then try this, my Spirited Chocolate Cherry Milkshake. Made with bourbon, chocolate-cherry ice cream and brownies, this is more than the ultimate sundae-inspired treat!

So chill out on the last days of summer with blended drinks! -Kathy

Blended Peach Whiskey Sour
The addition of apricot preserves in the recipe helps bump up the flavor of this cocktail – especially if using frozen peaches. Try making also with fresh nectarines or apricots if in season. To see a me whip up this cocktail and more visit www.liquidkitchen.tv.

Makes 2 cocktails

2 cups ice
4 ounces bourbon
1 lemon, skin cut off, quartered
1 cup peaches (you can also substitute frozen, defrosted peaches if fresh are not available)
1 1/2 oz simple syrup
2 – 3 bar spoons apricot jam

In a Vitamix blender cup, add the ice, bourbon, lemon, peaches, simple syrup and apricot jam. Blend until the consistency is smooth. Pour into two, chilled small daiquiri or large glasses. Garnish with fresh peach or edible flowers.

Recipe by Kathy Casey Liquid Kitchen™

Cheaters Blended Margarita
Years ago, a friend made me a margarita using limeade concentrate, tequila, and beer . . . and it was crazy good! So, I’ve made up my own concoction here. What the heck, we’re all too busy sometimes! If you want to keep it on the down low, premix it (then hide the cans!) and put it in a pitcher, ready for blending.

Makes about 6 cups, enough for 4 to 6 servings

3/4 cup tequila

1/4 cup triple sec
1 (6-ounce) can frozen limeade concentrate, defrosted
1/2 (12-ounce) bottle lager or light beer
4 cups ice
Garnish: Lime wheels

Measure the drink ingredients into a large blender cup. Blend until smooth. Serve in margarita or old-fashioned glasses. Garnish with lime wheels.

For fun variations, try adding one of the following into the blender cup:
1/2 cup cranberry juice
1/2 cup pomegranate juice
1/2 cup blueberry juice
3/4 cup sliced fresh strawberries
3/4 cup cubed fresh mango

Tips: If you have a small blender, then process half batches. Serve in kosher-salt-rimmed glasses if desired. Sometimes, I like to do “half-salted” rims.

Recipe from Kathy Casey Sips & Apps, Chronicle Books

Spirited Chocolate Covered Cherry Milkshake
Boozy milkshakes are all the rage these days. Cherries, bourbon, ice cream and chocolate make for an indulgent milkshake treat, or for a sweet ending to your next dinner or cocktail party, serve in small tasting glasses. For a demo on how to make this drink, check out my cocktail show Kathy Casey’s Liquid Kitchen!

Makes 2 shakes or 4-8 spirited dessert tasters

1/2 oz Monin Dark Chocolate Sauce or other high quality thick chocolate sauce
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1 pint Ben & Jerry Cherry Garcia Ice Cream
3 oz bourbon
1/3 cup tart cherry pie filling
2 each petite brownie bites or 1 medium sized brownie
Garnish: Chocolate Whipped Cream (see recipe), Bourbon Soaked Maraschino Cherries**

Swirl the chocolate sauce inside a chilled milkshake glass.

Spoon the ice cream into the Vitamix blender cup. Pulse a few times until ice cream is broken up, then add bourbon, sour cherry pie filling and crumbled brownie.  Pulse again until just barely combined.

Serve in chocolate swirled glass, topped with a swirl of Chocolate Whipped Cream and a Bourbon Soaked Maraschino Cherry.

**To make Bourbon Soaked Maraschino Cherries: drain the liquid off of a jar of maraschino cherries. Then cover with bourbon. Let sit for at least 1 week before using.

Chocolate Whipped Cream
Makes about 2 cups

1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 oz Monin Dark Chocolate Sauce or other high quality thick chocolate sauce

Stir together whipping cream and chocolate sauce. Pour into an iSi Whipper. Screw on top and then charge with 1 iSi Cream (N2O) charger. Lightly shake whipper. Store refrigerated for up to 5 days.

Note: you can also whip cream with a whisk and then pipe from a piping bag or use a spoon to dollop on top of milkshakes.

Recipe by Kathy Casey Liquid Kitchen™

This week on Kathy Casey’s Liquid Kitchen: I shake up a Smitten cocktail! Fresh muddled in-season watermelons adds a great “cool” taste to the tequila’s bite while the dash of hot sauce adds a lil zing to the flavor. The Citrus Salt rim completes the sipping experience and works great as a garnish.

Remember: the hot sauce should be used sparingly and should enhance the flavor, not overpower it!

Salud! -Kathy

Nothing beats the sound and aroma of a sizzling steak on the grill, cooked to perfection. On summer days/nights in the Northwest, everything tastes better cooked on the grill. Fire up the grill because it’s time to talk steak!

First, always let your steaks come to room temperature for about 30 minutes. Then pat it dry and season both sides well. A great seasoning, marinade or rub is the best way to add flavor. For purists, salt and pepper and a swipe of olive oil can be all your steaks need. I like to jazz my steak up with a great seasoning like my Dish D’Lish French Seasoning.

Steak toppings are another great way to enhance the flavor of a steak, such as grilled onions and sexy gorgonzola cheese. If your yard is full of little cherry tomatoes, try skewering them, grilling then tossing with a splash of balsamic, EVOO, fresh basil and some minced garlic – then add just a pinch of sea salt. Now that’s a great summer steak topper!

Be sure to pre-heat your grill before throwing on your meat and always use tongs to flip the steak. Using a fork pierces the meat, making it easier to lose all those delicious juices to the burning coals.

D’lish steaks!
(Photo courtesy of MensHealth.com)

Once the steak is on the grill, leave it be! The less fidgeting and flipping you do to your steak, the better. All you want is to get a nice sear going on each side.

Pull it off before you think it’s done. Don’t worry! The steak will keep cooking for a few minutes, even when pulled off from the heat. Then let your steak rest a few minutes before serving for the meat to reabsorb all that juicy goodness!

IMPORANT: Enjoy your steak with yummy sides, a great bottle of Washington wine, and your favorite friends and family!

So show that steak who’s the boss and be a grill master! -Kathy

Savory Grilled Steak with Sweet Onions and Gorgonzola
This quick and easy preparation uses one of my favorite products – Demitri’s Extra Horseradish Bloody Mary Seasoning. Yes it’s great in a Bloody Mary – of course – but equally delicious as a steak marinade. It’s super easy! (Demitri’s can be found at well stocked grocery stores or online at www.Demitris.com.)

Makes 4 servings

4 steaks, such as New York, flat iron or tenderloin
1/2 cup Demitri’s Extra Horseradish Bloody Mary Seasoning
———————————————-
2 large sweet onions, sliced in 1-inch-thick rounds
1/4 cup olive oil
salt and pepper
1/2 cup gorgonzola cheese, crumbled (about 2 ounces)

Horseradish Steak Drizzle
1/4 cup Demitri’s Extra Horseradish Bloody Mary Seasoning
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
4 teaspoons red wine vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil

Garnish: coarsely chopped fresh basil

To marinate the steak: Trim the meat of any outer pieces of fat and silverskin. Put the steaks in a large re-sealable plastic bag. Pour the 1/2 cup of Demitri’s seasoning into the bag, press out any air, and then seal the bag. Move the meat around in the bag to coat well. Marinate, refrigerated, for at least 1 hour or preferably overnight, turning the bag a few times.

To make the Horseradish Steak Drizzle: Mix ingredients together. Cover and set aside.

To grill the meat: Preheat a grill to high. Drizzle the steaks and onions with a little olive oil and lightly season steak with salt and pepper. Grill steaks to the desired doneness. The grilling time will vary, depending on the heat of the grill and the thickness of the meat. Remove steak to a plate to rest for about 5 minutes before serving, allowing juices to settle. Top with cheese so that it starts to melt. Meanwhile, grill the onions till tender and nicely grill marked.

Serve the steaks topped with onions and drizzled with Horseradish Steak Drizzle.

Recipe created by Kathy Casey Food Studios® for Demitri’s Bloody Mary Seasoning

It’s been roughly a week since Tales of the Cocktail 2012 and there’s much libatious news to dish. Here’s a little review of one of the events that I attended: the Marie Brizard USA Cocktail Challenge! Held in the fabulous Bienville and Iberville Rooms at the swanky Hotel Monteleone, six finalists competed for a chance to be on the U.S. Team to compete at the annual Marie Brizard International Bartender Seminar and Competition in Bordeaux, France this November. The guest panel of judges definitely had their tasteful with creative cocktails (as seen to the right) like the Desirer Tropicale (Marie Brizard Cassis and Essence liqueurs, cachaca, lime juice, ginger-infused simple syrup and mango foam) and the “Made” Cocktail (Marie Brizard Anisette, Cynar, marachino liqueur, espresso and egg white).

For the full post and see the winning recipe, continue reading on Amazon’s Al Dente blog.

The beautiful part about summer is all the gorgeous, blooming flowers everywhere! But did you know that some flowers are edible, too?  From tiny cute Johnny Jump Up’s and frilly dianthus or carnations to lovely robin blue borage flowers – there is a world of tasty, beautiful, edible flowers awaiting you in the garden!

A tasty carnation!
(Photo courtesy of Types-of-Flowers.org)

Please note: Edible flowers are available at farmers markets, some grocery stores or in your own garden. Not all are, so double-check before you go into your yard and start munching away—also be sure they are pesticide free or organic.

One of my favorite edible varieties is nasturtiums. These lovely flowers have a pleasantly peppery note and are tasty torn over grilled shrimp, veggies or fish. Great way to add a little color too!

Toss some brilliant yellow marigold petals into an arugula salad with goat cheese and sunflower seeds.  They have a subtle citrus flavour and can add a new dimension to an everyday meal. Or how about the vibrant colored petals of tuberous begonias – so tangy tasty – and great torn over grilled fish!

Another easy way to incorporate flowers into your next meal is to chop them up and whip them up into tasty Petal Butter. In my Radish Sandwiches, fresh chopped petals are folded in with softened butter and sour cream along with dill for this perfect tea-time appetizer. My Stuffed French Toast is a great twist on the traditional breakfast and is topped off with a Wild Flower-Berry Butter. Yum!

And guys, I’ll let you in a on a secret: making a meal using edible flowers is a great way to impress the ladies.

So a rose may be a rose by any other name, but I’ll call it d’lish! By the way, roses are edible too! They are fun and tasty sprinkled on desserts or served as a garnish for a cocktail.  Try it in my easy to make Fragrant Rose Sugar, which is perfect on fresh berries or used in a shortbread cookie recipe.

So enjoy the colorful flowers around you and remember, some of them are edible too! -Kathy

Radish Sandwiches with Petal Butter
Borage, Johnny-Jump-Ups, calendula, and rose petals make a pretty petal combination for this recipe. It is always very important to know that the petals you are using are in fact edible and have not been sprayed with pesticides. Gourmet grocers or farmers markets usually carry edible petals in the spring and summer. Pick out fun local radishes at the market or try making with fresh garden cucumbers.

Makes about 24 – 26 sandwiches

1 tablespoon sour cream
4 tablespoons lightly salted butter, softened (use local farmers market butter if available)
1 1/2 teaspoons minced fresh dill
1 tablespoon lightly chopped, edible, mild flavored, wild flower petals*
about 1/2 a long French baguette
1 bunch local radishes (about 10 – 12 each)
extra edible flowers for garnish if desired
coarse sea salt

To make the Petal Butter:
Whip together the softened butter and sour cream in a small bowl until well incorporated and fluffy. Then fold in the dill and chopped, edible flower petals.

To assemble sandwiches:
Thinly slice radishes with a sharp knife or a Japanese mandoline. With a serrated knife slice the baguette into thin, 1/8- to 1/4-inch slices. (You should have about 24 – 26 slices. Use extra bread if any for another use.)

Spread each slice with Petal Butter, then top with slices of radish. Place sandwiches on a platter and sprinkle a few edible flower petals over sandwiches and tiny sprinkle of sea salt if desired.

Recipe by Kathy Casey Food Studios®

Stuffed French Toast with Wild Flower-Berry Butter
A Northwest twist on a breakfast favorite. Change the topping with the seasons, like juicy ripe peach slices dusted with powdered sugar for a sunny summer brunch.

Serves 4

Egg Batter
4 eggs
2 1/4 cups half & half
1 1/2 teaspoons real vanilla extract
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Filling
1/3 cup chopped hazelnuts, lightly toasted
8 oz (wt.) cream cheese at room temperature
1 teaspoon grated orange zest
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest
2 tablespoons Liquid Kitchen™ 5130 Honey or local honey
————————————–
8 slices hearty Sourdough Raisin bread or French bread
4 tablespoons butter
Wild Flower-Berry Butter, (recipe follows)
maple or berry syrup, warm
powdered sugar (optional)
fresh seasonal berries (optional)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In a medium bowl, whisk together all the egg batter ingredients. Set aside.

In a small bowl, mix all the ingredients for the filling together until blended. Spread the filling evenly over 4 bread slices to 1/2 inch from the edges. Place the remaining bread slices on top and press together slightly. Place the sandwiched bread in the egg mixture on both sides for about 1 minute, or until both sides are thoroughly soaked.

Heat the butter in a very large skillet over medium-high heat. Place the soaked bread in the hot skillet and brown on one side for 2-3 minutes, then turn and cook 2-3 minutes longer.

Place the skillet in preheated oven for 10-12 minutes, or until toasts are puffy and lightly browned.

Place the toasts on warm plates and top with dollops of Wild Flower-Berry Butter. Garnish with fresh berries, if desired, and lightly sprinkle with powdered sugar. Serve with warm maple or berry syrup.

Wild Flower Berry Butter
Borage, Johnny-jump-ups, calendula and rose petals make a pretty combination for this recipe. Check with a specialty produce department for the availability of edible flowers. Some hot-house varieties are available out of season.

Makes 3/4 cup (6 oz. wt.)

1/4 pound lightly salted butter, cut in 1/2-inch pieces
2 tablespoons seedless berry jam
2 tablespoons sour cream
1 1/2 teaspoons sifted powdered sugar
Dash of ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons lightly chopped, unsprayed edible, mild flavored, flower petals (optional)

Whip all the ingredients except flower petals in a blender, food processor or mixer until well blended. Fold in the flower petals. (Or I like to roll the butter into a log in plastic wrap then chill a bit then roll into the flower petals to coat. Wrap and chill – then slice for serving!)

Recipe by Kathy Casey Food Studios®

Fragrant Rose Sugar
Old-fashioned and heirloom roses produce very fragrant roses which will perfume the sugar best. This sugar is delicious sprinkled on fresh berries, or used in shortbread cookies that call for powdered sugar. It is also terrific in homemade lemonade.

Makes 1 1/2 cups

1 cup tightly packed UNSPRAYED fragrant rose petals
1 1/2 cups sugar

In a glass or stainless bowl mix together the sugar and rose petals. Cover bowl half-way with plastic wrap. Let sit for 2 days in a dry place, stirring every day. Then toss, cover completely with plastic wrap, and let sit about 4 – 5 more days or until petals and sugar are dry, stirring every day or so. If sugar has stuck to bottom of bowl, gently tap bowl on counter to loosen.

In a blender or very clean-of-smells coffee grinder, process petals and sugar in small batches till sugar is powdered and no bits or lumps remain. (If using a blender, process the sugar in about 3 batches. If sugar has a hard time getting going in blender, shake blender cup with lid on and blend on high. You may need to shake it a couple of times before it gets going.)

Place sugar in a glass jar with a tight-fitting lid and keep in a cool dry place for up to about 9 months.

Recipe by Kathy Casey Food Studios®

Fantastic interview and article in Wanderlust & Lipstick! Seattle summers are gorgeous when the warm sun is out and with friends all around… with great foods and drinks! Check out my Seattle summer hot spots and my recipes for Summer Sangria, Veggie & Grilled Pita Greek Salad, and Grilled Alaskan Salmon with Garlic & Herbs

They say that summer in Seattle arrives on July 5—leaving us waiting and waiting until the Fourth of July holiday, and then treating us to its lovely sunny days for at least a couple of months. This year I’m not so sure that it’s actually officially arrived. Sure, we’ve had sunshine and some pleasant temperatures, but we’ve also had our share of overcast skies and thunderstorms. Still, however, it’s worth being ready to take advantage of sunny days each and every time they come.

To continue reading and for the recipes, click here.

Great post for Motivational Mondays on ThirstyGirl.com with my Sake Sangria recipe and video from Kathy Casey’s Liquid Kitchen! Spike your Mondays with this easy, Asian-inspired sangria recipe. For more cocktail inspiration, make sure to visit www.LiquidKitchen.tv!