Lychee Martini

This is one of my favorite martinis. I'm going to put two different recipes. One will be a traditional martini while the other one will be a bit of a short cut. Here is how it is traditionally made.:

Ingredients

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup water

1 cup drained canned lychees (15 to 20, from a 16- to 20-oz can)

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

6 oz (3/4 cup) vodka (preferI used Grey Goose)

1 1/2 oz (3 tablespoons) Cointreau or other orange-flavored liqueur

Instructions

1. Heat sugar and water in a 1-quart saucepan over high heat, stirring, until sugar is dissolved, then pour into a heatproof bowl set in a large bowl of ice and cold water. Let stand, stirring occasionally, until syrup is cold, about 3 minutes.

2. Purée lychees with sugar syrup and lemon juice in a blender until smooth, then force through a fine mesh sieve into a bowl, pressing hard on solids and then discarding them.

3. Fill cocktail shaker halfway with ice cubes and add lychee purée, vodka, and Cointreau. Shake 15 seconds and strain into Martini glasses.

Now here's my lazy version. This one I use for my mom since she happens to be the biggest light weight I've ever encountered.  In the cocktail shaker pour 1/2 a cup of the lychee juice from the can. Add a shot of vodka (or half a shot when it comes to my mother), a tablespoon of agave, squeeze a little bit of lemon juice and toss in some ice cubes. Shake for a few seconds and then strain into Martini glasses.  You could garnish with a few whole lychees from the can. You could also rim the glass with sugar or as in the case of my picture some coconut and sugar.

Balsamic Infused Strawberries over Ricotta

A pretty and healthy alternative to the junk I've been eating lately.

Ingredients

• 1 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
• 2 tablespoons honey/agave/pure maple syrup
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 (16-ounce) container strawberries cut to pieces
• 2 tablespoons fresh basil leaves

Directions

1. Put the ricotta cheese, honey and vanilla extract into the small bowl of a blender  and process until smooth, about 1 minute. Transfer to a small bowl and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

2. In a small saucepan combine the vinegar and sugar and bring to a boil. Simmer over a medium heat for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Allow to cool completely.

3. In a medium bowl, toss the berries with the basil and the balsamic syrup.

4. Divide the cheese mixture among 4 cocktail glasses, top with the berry mixture and serve.

Kalua Pork

This tastes great with a little hoisin sauce on top or if you can get a hold of Mang Tomas All Purpose Sauce (it's a Filipino sauce).

When I first came across this recipe I initially thought that the kalua referred to the alcohol. This recipe definitely doesn't use kalua. It's actually a traditional Hawaiian pork dish. This recipe is amazingly easy and produces such tender shredded pork. You just have to plan ahead with the recipe since it takes more than 12 hours to properly cook.

 
Ingredients:

·         4 to 5 pound pork butt

·         1 tablespoon liquid smoke

·         2 1/2 tablespoons sea salt  

Instructions:

1.      Place pork in the crock pot and stab it all over with the tip of a knife.

2.      Rub sea salt all over pork.

3.      Drizzle the liquid smoke all over.

4.      Set the crock pot to low and cook for about 16 hours. Shred with two forks.