Last weekend, I spent a few days in New York City hanging out with other bloggers and Sandra Lee. We were all brought together to celebrate the launch of Sandra’s beautiful and functional new housewares and small appliance lines with Sears and K-Mart. Make sure to check out the beautiful products she has as a part of her new line.  As a gift, they have provided a coupon to Dine & Dish readers for $5 off any $15 purchase of any of Sandra Lee’s new products at Sears.com.

I’ll write more about this trip and my favorite products from her line very soon… in short, Sandra was so kind and personable! I honestly didn’t know what to expect, but I was pleasantly surprised at how real and genuine she was… she treated us all like long time friends.

If there is one thing Sandra is known for it is her love of a great cocktail. The drinks we were served at this event were pretty awesome, but the one cocktail that stood out to me was this Meringue Margarita. I knew I needed to share it with you before Cinco de Mayo as it might just be the perfect cocktail for your weekend festivities! Who knew that crushing a simple meringue cookie and adding it to the rim of your glass could make such a difference in a simple margarita!

(And although there is nothing wrong with using pre-made margarita mix, if you want to whip some up on your own, try this killer habanero margarita recipe from my friend Jeffrey Saad or this Blue Margarita Recipe from Dinners Dishes and Desserts).

Thanks to the Sandra Lee and her photographers for the photos!

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Sandra Lee

The simple addition of a crushed meringue cookie makes this margarita a memorable one!

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 ounces margarita mix
• 4 ounces crushed ice
• 1 teaspoon meringue cookie crumbs
• 1 fresh lime wedge

Instructions

• Combine margarita mix and ice in a blender.
• Rub the rim of a cocktail glass with lime and dip into crushed meringue cookies.
• Pour blended margarita into cocktail glass and garnish with a lime wedge.

The post A New York Kind of Cocktail {Recipe: Meringue Margaritas} appeared first on Dine and Dish.

It all began with a lime…

Well, a lime I was cutting up for a dinner recipe and a very long day full of one thing after another with my kids. My patience was shot and I welcomed the retreat into my kitchen to cook dinner.

As I was squeezing the wedges, the sweet citrus scent of the lime seduced me. I remembered the bottle of tequila I had in the pantry with the habanero pepper floating at the bottom and suddenly I couldn’t wait to indulge in a Habanero Margarita.

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This Habanero Margarita recipe was shared with me by Jeffrey Saad, one of my favorite TV chefs whom I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know through my relationship with Bush’s Beans. Jeffrey is a master at infusing flavors and his margarita with a beautiful, fiery kick is one cocktail that does not disappoint. Go ahead… give into your senses and allow a Habanero Margarita take you away. Cheers!

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Jeffrey Saad's Habanero Margarita

A most wonderful margarita with an extra spicy kick! From Jeffrey Saad

Ingredients

The Tequila!

• 1 bottle of silver tequila we prefer Patron
• 1 fresh orange habanero pepper

Per Margarita!

• Juice of 2 limes
• 1 1/2 ounce habanero infused tequila
• 1/2 ounce orange liquor
• 1 Tablespoon agave syrup

Instructions

For the Tequila!

• Cut habanero in half. Remove stem.
• Put habanero in the bottle of tequila. Wait 24 hours (or longer) before use.

For the Margarita!

The post It Began With a Lime {Recipe: Habanero Margarita} appeared first on Dine and Dish.

I’m leaving my family. Saying goodbye to my husband and kids. Packing my bags and heading south.

Don’t worry – I’ll be back. I’m just going on a very much needed girls weekend! This is the first girls weekend I have been on, kid/baby free, in more years than I want to count. I’m excited to sleep in. To eat at restaurants that don’t have a kids menu. To sit in the hot tub without having to turn my head every 30 seconds to watch some fantastic trick being performed in the pool. To carry a tiny purse. To sleep in a bed, alone without tiny feet and hands punching and kicking me in the middle of the night. To shop without having to drag a kid out of the store because of a meltdown. To shop without having to take someone to go potty. To eat my dessert without having to share. To ride in the car listening to songs I want to listen to. Oh the joys… I can’t wait.

I’m also a little excited, in a very rude “you probably shouldn’t say this out loud” kind of way that my husband is going to have a crazy, busy weekend. 3 soccer games, 2 baseball games and one T-Ball game, plus a softball practice thrown in. I know that it is not nice of me to wish a busy weekend on him, but I can’t help it. I’m secretly smirking. With his crazy travel schedule last year, I did it all by myself for so long. He needs a little dose of mommy reality.

And I know when I return, he’ll be a little more appreciative of what I do and I’ll be a little more appreciative of him as well. I’ll be a better mom for taking some time out for me. I need it. I deserve it. I can’t wait.

(and I’ll make my husband one of these as soon as I get home… he’ll need it. He’ll deserve it. He doesn’t know it yet, but by Sunday night, he won’t be able to wait.)

The Perfect Margarita from CHOW

The post Time to Be Free (Recipe: The Perfect Margarita) appeared first on Dine and Dish.

My friend Kathy and I were making our daily walk back to our houses after picking up our kids at school. It was during that walk that an idea sparked… “Do you like Pomegranate?” I asked. “Yes!” “Well, why don’t you all come over and help me test out this recipe for Pomegranate Margarita Martinis?” (Yes…it is a tough job being my neighbor when I have cookbooks to review!) I didn’t have to say anything further and Kathy and her husband were soon on their way to my house.

The Best Summer Drinks recipe book is a little book that packs a lot of punch. Created by Ray Foley, the publisher of Bartender Magazine, the Best Summer Drinks recipe book is a must have for any summer party, impromptu happy hour, or even a night out on the porch swing reading your favorite novel. Featuring 500 incredible cocktail and appetizer recipes, I have already bookmarked many pages of drink recipes to try. What I love about the Best Summer Drinks recipe book is that even with a partially stocked bar, there are a ton of recipes that you can make. With categories like “Summer Cocktails” and “Summer Punches and Pitchers” your next gathering can be complete by adding this collection of great cocktails to your home bar. Want to hear the best part…this collection of recipes can be purchased from Amazon.com for only $4.99!

Just to tempt you even more, I’ll share two of the recipes that got our attention and tempted our tastebuds. Pomegranate Margarita Martini (pictured) and Blueberry Lemonade.

Pomegranate Margarita Martini
2 Cups Jose Cuervo Golden Margarita Mix
1/4 cup pomegranate juice
1/4 cup Jose Cuervo Especial tequila
Juice of 1 lime
Lime zest curl for garnish

Shake liquids vigorously with ice. Strain into a chilled martini glass, and garnish with the lime zest curl.

Blueberry Lemonade
2 oz Hiram Walker blueberry passion schnapps
1 oz Hiram Walker 60-proof triple sec
6 oz lemonade
2 lemon twists and 2 lemon wedges for garnish

Pour half the schnapps and triple sec into a tumbler over ice; repeat. Fill each tumbler with the lemonade, and stir.
Garnish each with a lemon twist and lemon wedge. Serves 2.

Disclosure: This blog post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

The post Happy Happy Hour (Recipe – Pomegranate Margarita Martini) appeared first on Dine and Dish.

Whew – it has been a long week! I spent this past week teaching preschool crafts to 100 3 and 4 your olds for our church Vacation Bible School program. Yes…100 three and four year old children came through our classroom each day to learn a message and do a craft each day. I am used to being around my own kids, but these three hours of other peoples children every day wore me out. I came home in the afternoon and could not wait to get a nap in. It did not help that my husband was in New York all week on business either. I had to be in full-time Mommy mode 24/7….

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